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#none of this is to guilt anybody that’s sent in an ask. if you’re an anon reading this this is NOT your fault
m1d-45 · 1 year
Note
-Pari Anon
What if Zhongli ended up finding Creator! Pari! Reader?
They were hovering close to where Xiao was fighting when Zhongli ran into them. He, sensing they were some sort of threat, took them with him.
When they don’t return to Xiao after his fight, he gets worried and starts looking for them. They’re typically nearby, out of danger.
Did they get eaten? Are they okay? Poor Xiao is panicking, calling for his little friend.
He finds them with Zhongli. Locked in a cage made of Geo.
Do you think he can convince Zhongli that his little friend isn’t a threat?
(please note that i know nothing about pari lore or behavior-)
i imagine xiao is rather picky about you accompanying him on patrols, always making sure you’re far away from the battle. you’re not to be where monsters can see, where you can get hurt, always at or near where he leaves you.
and you, to your credit, follow this rule fairly well! you watch from afar, typically either playing with butterflies or looking at the flowers around where he left you. you know how he worries, and have been fretted over by him many times, and you’re not keen on stressing him out further.
zhongli had been sensing disturbances in liyue, how the earth is rearranging, leylines shifting and ebbing, as if a restless child finally being out to rest. however, a change in the leylines is never anything safe, not when they’d been utilized by the abyss before. he’d trusted the adepti with it at first, knowing xiao would never allow such a danger to roam liyue unchecked, but it had been too long. he excused himself from the funeral parlor, approaching the area of disturbance himself.
it was… mundane. or, more accurately, par for the course. he heard the sounds of battle, the burning smell of ozone signaling the use of xiao’s vision, but there was no leyline blossom he could see or sense. the hilichurls weren’t stained with curse nor karma, and he decided to ask xiao after he was done. he was confident in his abilities to fight off the enemies, and he might as well get a head start on the search.
nothing. a few chitters from a bird or perhaps squirrel, but nothing disturbed. no marks to the earth, no upturned stones or deep pits, no abnormal elemental flow. and yet, he was certain this was where the cause of the disruptance was from…
he crossed his arms, frowning at his surroundings. it wasn’t xiao, it wasn’t the monsters.. perhaps some infected wildlife?
the birds chirped again. this time, he followed.
a few birds had gathered beneath a tree, surrounding a… pari? he wasn’t aware they even lived in liyue, let alone..
the pari seemed to be playing with the birds. batting a small stone between it and the birds. zhongli approached, uncaring of how the birds flapped away, focused on the twist of the pari looking up at him.
he crouched. “and what are you doing here, hm?”
the park backed away from his hand when he slowly reached out, and his eyes caught on how the grass in front of them seemed to grow quicker, weaving into a sort of shield.
everything clicked at once.
“so you’re the one doing this.”
his hand shot out, folding in the pari’s wings, grip tight. it squirmed and chirped, as if crying for help, but he paid it no mind. his free hand waved, a cage of geo sprouting from the ground, and he locked it inside with little hesitation. he’d have to alert xiao, so he knew why the leylines were acting up-
“rex lapis? what are you doing?”
that was convenient.
zhongli grabbed the top of the cage, turning as he stood. xiao still had his polearm in hand, eyes wide. he seemed frantic… perhaps he did know that this pari was the source of elemental dissonance?
“ah, xiao. i was simply collecting this strange pari-“ he waved at the cage, and the pari flapped its wings almost angrily “-as i believe it is the cause for the disruption of liyue’s balance. i assure you that i am more than equipped to handle this myself.”
“no, that’s not- that-..” xiao seemed to be lost for words, face twisting the longer he looked at the pari. “they’re not a threat.”
he was ready to protest, when he noticed the way the pari was acting. pressed against the side of the cage not to flee, but that was closest to xiao? how odd, he didn’t know that pari were that social-…
“have you been cursed, xiao?”
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sunshinedeekay · 3 months
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The Craving (DK’s version) || lsm.
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pairing: dk x gn!reader
genre: tooth-rotting fluff
warnings: tbh none. just some kissing n hugging n stuff. slight cursing but not really
word count: just over 6k
author’s note: WOW okay hello. this has probably been a little longer awaited than i anticipated, but it is done now! the first idea on my previous post and first completed fic i’ll ever post on this account,,, and tumblr in general.
anywho, if you notice some odd spelling of some words (centre, colour) i am canadian, so things are normally spelled a little differently here. so i apologize if that throws you off 😭
but finally, i felt like i had to base a fic off of this song. after hearing the craving (jenna’s version) for the first time and seeing the video for it. i was brought to tears just because of how cute and sweet it was. i’m also a huge twenty one pilots fan, so that’s another part of me that went “WRITE THIS FIC.” so, here it is. i really hope you guys enjoy it :))
special shoutout to my bestie @wooziorgans for helping me with publishing, tags, banners, and also gassing me up to actually finish this and post this. you all should follow him as well because his posts are SO GOOD. he’s such a great writer.
divider by @cafekitsune
now, onto the fic!
~sunshinedeekay <3
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“I don’t know why I can’t stop crying. I fear about getting old, and I don’t know a lot about you still…”
That was a voicemail that Seokmin constantly replayed in his long history of Y/N’s voicemails they had sent. He saved every single one. Even if it was the most mundane voicemail in existence, any sound of his precious Y/N’s voice was utter harmony to his ears.
He remembered that voicemail vividly. Waking up early in the morning to see a missed call and a voicemail from his partner of a few months. Y/N’s whisper sounded like they were crying, but also attempting to stay quiet and hold everything together. He remembered how nervous Y/N was of being good enough for Seokmin, and still not knowing a whole lot about him because they had only dated for a short amount of time. It crushed his heart to hear them like that.
He sent a plethora of loving words to them that day.
Now, here he was. Lied in an unfamiliar hotel bed in an unfamiliar hotel room. Darkness overcame the space, and the only light that shone was the screen of his voicemails. His thumb pressed the play button over… and over… and over. He kept thinking. Thinking more than actually doing, and that was what led him to the sinking feeling in his stomach. He felt so much guilt and remorse for what happened between them before he left for tour, and even if they talked after like nothing happened, it still lingered on his mind.
——
“You’ve been distant…” Y/N’s quiet voice brought up softly as Seokmin was cuddling their tired body that was still under the covers. He was up and ready to leave for SEVENTEEN’s short tour around the area. “Did I do something wrong?”
“Why would you think that?” Seokmin’s voice responded just as soft, if not even softer than Y/N’s sleepy tone. “I would tell you if something was wrong. You know that.”
“But you haven’t been telling me.” Y/N spoke back. Seokmin stopped in his tracks with that statement. “You’ve been out late at practice, always on your phone with something, and always sitting with that lost puppy look in your eyes. Every time I ask what’s wrong, you dismiss me.” Y/N continued as they slowly sat up and gently pushed Seokmin off. They finished their explanation with a rub to their sleepy eyes. “I’m beginning to worry there’s something you’re hiding from me.”
“Why would I hide anything?” Seokmin found himself getting defensive right off the bat. Why was he speaking like this? He never spoke like this right away to anybody, let alone Y/N who just asked a harmless question.
Y/N’s brows furrowed from the sudden defensive tone. Their nose scrunched with slight irritation. “I don’t know why you would. You never have before, so why do you seem to be now?” They spoke in the same tone back to him. Seokmin could tell that the way he spoke to Y/N irritated them.
“You act like I’m cheating or something.” Seokmin suddenly muttered. Then he thought about what he just said, and his eyes widened while his blood turned to ice. Did he really just say that? Even after he knew that was a sore subject for you? He cursed that dirtbag for even considering another woman over you… Now he just threw that out into the open.
“…What?” Was all that could come out of Y/N’s mouth. Their voice got quiet again, and their brows angled more with worry and irritation. “There’s no way you said that just now.” Despite the instant regret Seokmin felt for saying what he just said, he felt all of the stress from his planning and work bubbling over. He couldn’t stop himself from speaking now.
“Jesus, Y/N. I just wanted to say goodbye. I don’t have time to talk about this right now. Do you really not trust me enough to believe I could cheat on you?” Seokmin asked. His voice slightly sharpening with every syllable as he stood up and looked at his partner. His heart squeezed just looking at Y/N, their expression read as two parts confused, and one part hurt.
“Well excuse me for being a little worried and skeptical about your shady behaviour recently. You haven’t exactly been open and affectionate with me as of late.” Y/N started to argue. It was true. Because of Seokmin’s thinking and panicking about their relationship, he said less, and gave Y/N less affection than he normally did.
“Do I have to be clung to your hip the whole time in order for you to trust me? That’s a little much.” Seokmin retorted back. He slung his backpack over one shoulder and raised the handle of his suitcase.
“That’s not what I said at all, and you know it.” Y/N raised their voice slightly. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Seokmin.
“Well then I don’t know what you want from me, Y/N! It’s ridiculous that I change my routine with you just slightly and suddenly you think I could be cheating?” Seokmin just spoke without thinking. If current him could go back in time, god he would slap himself in the face. “I don’t have time for this. I gotta go before I’m late.”
“Fine. Leave.” Y/N spoke sharply. No “travel safe” or “I love you” spoken between either of them. Seokmin just left without a word, and probably too harsh of a slam of the front door.
——
Seokmin groaned internally thinking about that fight. Even though he apologized profusely over the phone to Y/N that night after he landed in Japan, he felt his heart still hurting. If he could explain everything, he would. But it wasn’t like that.
Truth be told, he was thinking about proposing to them.
He thought about it so much that it made him panic to himself. What if they weren’t ready? What if they said no? What if they realized they suddenly didn’t love him enough to want to spend a life with him like that? Sure, they had been together for about three years now, living together for one, and everything had been absolute bliss for Seokmin since then. But what if Y/N didn’t feel the same?
Seokmin continued to scroll his camera roll now. Having a folder made specifically for any of Y/N’s pictures or videos he would end up taking or saving. Every time he would look at a photo, the memory replayed in his mind.
Oh! Like the beautiful one of Y/N walking a trail full of looming evergreen trees. Dawned in a cute trench coat, a beanie, and a scarf he had bought for them just moments ago before that point. Their nose and cheeks were red from the cold, and their eyes were crinkled from their joyful, genuine smile.
——
“Take a few steps ahead, love! The scenery is perfect for a picture!” Seokmin told Y/N. His new camera he got for his birthday held in his chilled, slender hands while he placed it closer to his face to get a good frame.
Y/N didn’t even question it, but he could see the way they got flustered from him being so eager to take a picture of them. He knew they always got bashful when he insisted on taking a picture of them because that moment was just right. Even if the scenery wasn’t perfect, Y/N always was to Seokmin’s eyes. So a pretty scenery like this was just the cherry on top of an already delectable sundae.
Seokmin snapped a couple pictures, and as he looked back at them, his heart lept. Y/N looked so pretty. They were always so pretty. He couldn’t suppress the goofy smile on his face. He caught up to Y/N after taking the pictures with the same smile that started to ache his cold cheeks.
“Did they turn out good?” Y/N asked, but before they could even finish that breath, they felt Seokmin’s strong arms around their waist. Lifting them off their feet and spinning them in circles. Y/N burst into a fit of laughter, and held onto him tight.
“You’re so pretty.” Seokmin mumbled into their warm neck. He placed a lingering kiss against their supple skin. “I love you so much.”
——
Seokmin continued to scroll. Finding a video of him and Y/N playfully partner dancing courtesy of Seungkwan. There wasn’t any special setting, no special occasion, they were just dancing in their kitchen to the music playing on the TV. Both of their smiles infectious through the screen as they just looked happy to be with each other, and Y/N’s darling laugh as Seokmin tried (but ultimately fumbled) a complicated spin around. Seokmin wrapped his arms around his love, and the video ended.
There were so many little things. So many pictures that were taken at such different points in time. From fun and outdoorsy, to the mundane, soft, and intimate moments Seokmin got to share. All with one person. One person he knew he could and would love for the rest of his life. If Y/N wasn’t ready, he would wait for the rest of his days until they were.
He needed to let them know just how much he was ready for this next step. How much he loved them. He hated the thought of putting them on the spot like that, but goddammit, he would give Y/N the universe if they asked for it. Even if it meant taking a chance, and possibly taking some sense of security for such a big decision even for a split second. He would give them everything.
And that’s exactly what Seokmin was determined to do. He was gonna marry Y/N.
“So, I’ve had this idea for a while,” Seokmin started casually, sitting across Joshua in a secluded café the next morning. The warm sun comforting both of their bodies in addition to the lattes and pastries on a large plate in front of them. “But you have to swear to me that this stays between us. It goes to nobody else in the group or anybody else you know unless I say something to somebody else.”
This puzzled Joshua. He eyed Seokmin over his mug as he sipped from it for a lingering moment before setting the drink back on its saucer. He licked the frothed milk off his lips before he spoke. “Alright. What are you thinking about?”
Seokmin felt his heart begin to race in his chest once more as he nervously tapped his index finger onto the porcelain cup of his half-drank latte. He had to prepare himself to gain the courage to even say a few words- the main words- of his plan. How was he gonna explain everything he thought about the whole process?
“I…” His voice fell short for a moment. His throat forced a hard swallow before he sighed and tried again. “I’m proposing to Y/N.”
It was a good thing Joshua had his mug set down by now. Otherwise he’d have choked and had hot coffee spilled all over himself. Fortunately, only one of the two things happened. Except he choked on air when he heard Seokmin finally explain the summed up version of his idea.
He finished coughing a couple more times before patting his chest softly. “You’re being dead serious?”
“I’ve never been more serious than anything in my life.” Seokmin breathed. His brows furrowed in concern for his friend, but they quickly softened once he saw Joshua was fine. “I just,” he continued. “I was thinking about it all last night. Listening to their beautiful voice over the phone, looking over our old pictures and videos… It made me realize just how lucky of a person I am to have somebody as great as Y/N. They make me shine only the best parts of me, and I’ve never felt unsafe or uncomfortable around them once. I’ve thought about this for so long, and it was what was making me so off these past couple weeks. But now, I don’t think any other choice is a compromise.”
Joshua stared in awe, but the way his doe eyes twinkled when hearing Seokmin just open his heart up and speak truthfully about such a huge decision made his heart swell with pride for his best friend. Honestly, he wouldn’t be surprised if he cried at the wedding. “Seokmin…”
Seokmin looked to Joshua, and paused for a moment before continuing. The tapping on his mug stopped. “Every moment we’ve shared together has held a special place in my soul. Y/N is the most patient, loving, and perfect person I’ve been graced with. I want your help in carrying out the plan, and even the planning. I was thinking of asking Seungkwan as well, but I wanted to tell each of you this privately.”
Joshua couldn’t fight the smile on his face. He reached to take Seokmin’s nervous tapping hand and clasp it in a firm grasp. “I’ll do anything you need me to do. I’m so proud of you, Seokmin. You deserve Y/N and Y/N deserves you. To see the way you two have blossomed over the past couple years has been an honour, and I would love nothing more than to help you take the next step.”
Seokmin felt his eyes gloss slightly. He squeezed Joshua’s large hand with the same intensity as he gave him a tearful smile. His bright teeth in full view and almost glimmering from the morning sun coming through the window.
“I knew I could count on you.”
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“Y/N-ah!~” Seokmin’s sweet sing-song tone would call out to his beloved partner. His feet scuttled from the kitchen to their shared bedroom, where a sleepy Y/N, probably only about half awake thanks to Seokmin’s loud voice, would lie.
“Min…” Y/N would grumble. Opening their eyes and squinting from the neutral light that now flooded the bedroom. “What time is it?”
“I’m sorry, lovebug, I know it’s early and you like your sleep,” Seokmin started. Straddling his partner’s legs to lean over them and slightly press his weight onto their body. Peppering Y/N in delicate kisses. “But I have a big day planned. I’m making breakfast right now, so you can get ready while I finish. Dress nicely, because I’m pampering you, today.” He gave a cheeky grin. Leaning over to place one last kiss right in the centre of their forehead.
Y/N would laugh gently through their nose. They moved to lazily wrap their arms around Seokmin’s toned body and pulled him closer on top of them. “But you’re so warm and comfy like this…” They’d whine into his warm neck.
Seokmin would breathily laugh in return. He rested more of his weight onto Y/N’s body as he nuzzled his nose into their cheek and gave a lingering peck on their skin. “Mmm… But today is gonna be so fun. I know you’ll love it.” His voice was a sweet and low purr into Y/N’s ear. Something that could always make them shiver just from the sensation of his breath and the vibrations from his voice.
“Fine.” Y/N sighed and slid their arms from around Seokmin’s broad body. They lied flat with their arms sprawled out so he could climb off of them with ease.
Seokmin would grin like a child on Christmas while hovering over Y/N. Placing one more kiss onto their lips before climbing off. “That’s my lovebug. Trust me. You won’t regret it!” He exclaimed, then hurriedly shuffled his way back out to the kitchen.
Y/N pushed themselves up and sighed softly again. They looked over to the clock, 7AM. Jerk. As they rubbed the sleep from their eyes and face, they couldn’t help but wonder.
What did Seokmin have planned?
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“Okay… And… Open!” Seokmin uncovered Y/N’s eyes. He had covered them some minutes ago to lead Y/N to a very special place for the both of them. One they would often go to when they needed a break outside, but also didn’t want to do anything too huge. In front of Y/N was the small café where they and Seokmin had their first date. Nothing had changed about it, despite it being a couple years since that fateful day, but that’s what always made the experience so wonderful each time they revisited.
“I had a feeling you’d bring me here.” Y/N teased Seokmin with a grin and a small poke to the right side of his ticklish waist. Seokmin would laugh and grab ahold of Y/N’s hand, lacing his long fingers with theirs.
“Yeah, yeah… But you don’t love coming here any less.” Seokmin chuckled and led them into the café. The little bell rang as the cyan door opened, and Seokmin held the door for Y/N to let them enter first.
Y/N entered and absentmindedly made their way towards the table they always sat at since that first date, but a sight of something caused them to stop in their tracks.
Already lied out on the table was Y/N’s favourite pastries and coffee. The beverage being made just the way they liked it. On the little cup, the word “Lovebug” was written beside it with a small heart beside it.
“Min…” Y/N would gasp softly. Bringing a hand over their mouth as they felt their heart swell from the sweet gesture.
“Yes, love?” Seokmin would have a loving grin on his face again. Bringing his arms around his lover’s waist as he pressed them up against him a little more. “Is everything alright?”
“Of course, yes! Sorry I’m just—“ Y/N tried to explain. But there wasn’t any words that could put together the amount of love and tenderness they felt in this moment for Seokmin. Maybe it was because they resolved their fight just the night before, but they also just felt… Happy. Overjoyed to have somebody like Seokmin who loved them enough to do this.
“It’s alright… Just sit down and enjoy. We can take whatever we don’t eat back with us to the car.” Seokmin reassured with his gentle tone. Moving his hands over Y/N’s hips to gently rub gentle circles around the bones with the pads of his thumbs.
The café date was everything Y/N could’ve dreamt it would be. They caught up with Seokmin, who told many stories about SEVENTEEN’s escapades during their tour, showing pictures, videos, and whatnot. But not to mention, Seokmin was just as lovey-dovey as he always was.
He held their hands over the table, under the table, gently grabbed their knee under the table and gave it a loving caress. But the way he looked at them…
Y/N had never noticed it before, maybe because they didn’t believe the people who told them all the time about how Seokmin looked at them, but they saw it now. His eyes glimmered with the sun whenever his attention was on you. His expression was bright, beautiful, endearing. They didn’t think it was true, but Joshua was right.
“He looks at you like you put stars in the sky.”
“Everything okay, lovebug?” Seokmin’s voice would bring them back to reality. Y/N suddenly looked up to Seokmin’s curious, and almost concerned expression since they had zoned out suddenly.
“Mm? Yeah. I’m all good.” Y/N reassured. Gently squeezing Seokmin’s hand that was holding theirs on top of the table. “Keep talking, I’m listening to every word.”
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To let the food settle, Seokmin took them to a park next. One in the middle of town where they’d normally walk at any time of the day. Early morning, afternoon, middle of the night, you name it. They walked it.
Seokmin had Y/N’s hand in one hand, and the strap of his camera bag in the other. He was looking for a perfect scenery spot to take pictures. But not just of the trees, or that cute little bird that perched and twittered on the branch, no. He needed a picture of Y/N. One where he could capture the memory of this moment, of Y/N, before both of their lives would change forever.
“Y/N, go stand over there. Right under those trees. You see that little divot in the grass?” Seokmin tugged gently on Y/N’s hand to get their attention. Then leaned in real close to their side to point. He wanted to make sure they could see the spot, and that he wasn’t just crazy. But honestly? It happened more than he’d admit.
Y/N squinted to look for the spot. Seokmin looked over to their expression, and a small grin spread on his narrow cheeks. The way their nose scrunched always had his heart in a knot.
“I see it!” Y/N grinned. Slipping their hand out of Seokmin’s and making their way towards the spot. Seokmin was already getting his camera out. Taking test pictures to alter anything that made the picture look less than perfect. He then watched Y/N through the camera, and his heart pounded against his chest.
God. He was down horrendously.
“Now just look around. Don’t even worry about me being here. Just be you.” Seokmin instructed. Holding the camera up to his face as he carefully watched his loving partner through the lens. He couldn’t fight the goofy smile from his face.
Y/N would casually pose and look around. Smiling up at the little bird on the branch and even whistling back. Well— they attempted to, anyway. This made Seokmin laugh behind the camera.
When they saw Seokmin lower the camera, their attention caught glimpse of a group of pigeons. Picking from the ground and minding their own business. Y/N suddenly wondered how close they could get to the pigeons without startling them.
They took careful and slow steps to the group, and eventually found themself in the centre of the pigeon circle.
Seokmin looked up from his camera to where Y/N was before. They weren’t there? He looked around the area for them, and then found his partner standing in the middle of what looked like a pigeon cult. This made his chest ring with a hearty laughter as he took out his phone and started to video them.
“How did you get in there?” He laughed.
“I don’t know! I just walked in!” Y/N would respond with a giggle. Looking up to Seokmin and shaking their head when they noticed him recording. They continued to look down at the pigeons all strutting around them. Smiling when just watching their little mannerisms.
Suddenly, Y/N did a little hop. The pigeons went flying around them. They would laugh and shield their head. Rushing their way back to Seokmin, who was laughing even harder at this point. His dimples on full display as his eyes crinkled happily. He placed his phone away and took Y/N into his arms while they both still laughed.
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After the walk in the park, things were staring to get a little darker now. The afternoon was setting into dusk, and the air stared to get a bite of chill within the breeze.
“We’ll head home soon. There’s just one more thing I need to do.” Seokmin smiled. His voice had suddenly gone more quiet. It faltered slightly. Was he suddenly nervous?
“Is everything alright, Min?” Y/N asked. Squeezing his hand to attempt to reassure him, even if they didn’t know what was happening.
“I’m more than alright, my love. Don’t worry.” Seokmin smiled. Squeezing Y/N’s delicate hand in return as he led them to another small place. An abandoned boardwalk over a lake not too far from the park. It was deserted. Not a single soul in sight.
The only sign of life Y/N could see on it, was a path made just for them to walk. Small candles bordered the pathway to lead them towards the end of the dock. Their flames danced elegantly in the breeze.
“Seokmin? What is this?” Y/N asked with a surprised laugh. A wide smile on their face as they gawked at the scene in front of them. They couldn’t help but pull out their phone and take a picture.
“Shhh… Just walk with me.” Seokmin grinned. Moving his arm to wrap around Y/N’s waist and pull them into his hip. Leading them through the path in a slow pace. Like one you’d take through an art exhibit. Y/N took in the sight around them. The clear sky showed the beautiful colours of the forming sunset, the gentle waves of the lake plopped onto the shore from the slight breeze. They felt their heart beat pulsing against their chest. What was all of this?
Seokmin, on the other hand, was quaking in his dress shoes. This was it. This was the final step to take before he asked Y/N the biggest question he’d ever ask in his life. He did his best to stay calm on the outside. Pulling Y/N closer and just walking in silence to let them take in the scenery. It was beautifully romantic. Seungkwan nailed it.
As they approached the end of the dock. There was a projector screen that came into view, as well as a plethora of rose petals, and a small rug that was lied down in front of the projector.
Seokmin guided Y/N by the small of their back to stand on the rug. Watching their expression light up and their jaw slightly hang open as the projection finally came on. What would play is little video memories of Seokmin and Y/N together. From when they first dated, progressing into more recent times. While a gentle song played in the background. One Y/N had sent to him when they first started dating.
“When you touch me, yeah I feel butterflies
I’m gonna love you ‘till the day I die.”
Y/N covered their mouth with both of their hands now. Feeling tears well up in their eyes as they continued to watch the compilation of videos. There were so many. Recorded by Y/N, recorded by Seokmin, or even from an outside source of one of their friends.
Seokmin stood carefully behind Y/N. Making eye contact with Joshua and giving a small nod of acknowledgement. Joshua followed the signal. Sneaking out from his hiding place to hand Seokmin the ring box.
Seokmin clasped his fingers around the box. Joshua placed his hand over Seokmin’s fingers and the box. Joshua gave Seokmin a silent encouragement through the reassuring touch. Seokmin nodded, feeling tears already well in his eyes as he smiled to Joshua.
When the slideshow looped again, Seokmin tucked the ring box in his back pocket. He approached behind Y/N and casually wrapped his arm around their waist. He took a moment to appreciate the new music playing. A peaceful, romantic piece that Woozi had put together just for this special night.
“We’ve spent so many memories together, haven’t we?” Seokmin started. His voice just above a whisper as he tried his best to keep his own emotions in check for this important moment.
“Min…” Y/N started. Looking up to Seokmin. But he took their hands in his and gave them a tender grin. Rubbing his thumbs over their knuckles as if he still didn’t remember how they felt off the top of his head.
“I love you, Y/N. I always get so scared I don’t say it enough.” Seokmin started now. His chest tightened with tears. He sighed softly and just kept himself grounded by rubbing his thumbs over their small knuckles. “But I really do love you. With all of my heart, my soul, my existence. I wouldn’t be who I am if you weren’t by my side. I don’t know who blessed me to have you, whether it was some sort of god, or the universe, or just something that drew us together. But I will always be thankful for what I have. That I have you.” His voice broke slightly. The tears making his vision blurry as he tightened his grip on Y/N’s hands. Bringing both of them up to gently place a kiss on each set of knuckles.
“You’ve been my world, my happiness, my inspiration, my muse… You’ve been and always will be all of these for me. And Y/N I— to imagine a life without you in it breaks my heart.” Seokmin continued. He gently lowered their hands, but kept them in his grip. Blinking back his tears to meet Y/N’s tearful gaze.
They already figured it out.
“Which is why…” Seokmin trailed off. Slowly bringing himself to his left knee. His gaze never leaving Y/N’s, and his heart leaping when he saw them gasp alight from surprise and start to choke out silent sobs.
“I want you to be my everything for the rest of my days, Y/N. I don’t see myself in the future with anybody else other than you. You complete me, you love me in ways that I’m sure you don’t even know yourself. You’re kind, patient, caring, selfless… You’re everything I could ever hope to achieve.” Seokmin’s voice now began to break. Seeing their tearful expression mixed with the overwhelming feelings of both love and fear made it impossible for him to hold back his emotions now.
“I don’t say enough how much I love you or appreciate you, and I feel terrible I can’t remind you every single day just how deep my feelings root for you. So… I hope that this can tell you just how much I need you with me.” He finally one of his hands out of Y/N’s. Reaching into his pocket to pull out the black velvet box and lifting the lid of it. He held it up to them. The ring was a beautiful silver. The jewel wasn’t just a diamond within it, but instead, a mix of amethyst, his birth stone, and Y/N’s birthstone. A(n) [insert birthstone].
“Y/N. I’m not perfect in loving you like you deserve. But I’ve never been more sure of this choice in my life. So my question is, do you want to love me for just as long? Will you marry me?” Seokmin finally asked. There wasn’t much silence between them in terms of words, but even the most brief pause felt like a million years. Was he pushing this too far too soon? Was Y/N not ready? What if he just put them on the spot all for nothing?
“Yes… God, Seokmin, yes.” Y/N choked out through sobs now. Frantically nodding their head as they covered their trembling lips with their free hand that still wasn’t in Seokmin’s.
Seokmin felt his world stop for a moment. They… They said yes?
“You… You will?” Seokmin stuttered out. His eyes going wide in surprise as his jaw hung agape. The tears were now flowing down his tanned and flushed cheeks full throttle now. They said yes. He couldn’t believe they just said yes.
“Yes!” Y/N nodded as they nodded frantically again. Feeling more sobs escape their chest as they looked over the ring, then to Seokmin. The Seokmin who had lived them better than anybody ever could, the Seokmin who was made of affection and tenderness, the Seokmin who was now on one knee wanting their souls to be dedicated to each other.
Seokmin quickly took Y/N’s trembling left hand and the ring out of the box with his other hand. Sliding it over their finger and looking over it now. It was beautiful. Just as amazing as he’d imagined. The best part was, it fit perfectly.
Now, Seokmin had pushed himself up to envelop Y/N in a tearful embrace. Sweeping them off their feet to wrap their legs around his waist as he quietly sobbed into their neck, while they did the same on him.
“I love you, Y/N. I love you so much.” He sobbed quietly. Moving one hand to the back of their hair to press their face a little more against his warm skin. He wanted them to be as close as possible.
“I love you too, Seokmin. With everything I have.” Y/N sobbed back. Clinging to him tighter as if it would be the last time they would ever hold him. But they both knew now that that was far from true.
Suddenly, cheers erupted from behind the embracing and tearful couple. Y/N would look up and realize that indeed. Seokmin had help.
Seungkwan was throwing leftover rose petals in celebration, also crying with the two. Joshua was just crying and cheering for Y/N and Seokmin, a clear smile of pride written all over his tearful face. Wonwoo was clapping for the pair, his camera hanging from its strap over his neck as he had the widest smile out of the bunch. Soonyoung standing next to Seungkwan, who was also throwing petals and shouting in victory like a biking going to war. Finally, a calm Jihoon and Minghao, well— calm compared to the rest. They were just as happy as everybody else, but weren’t the open crier types.
Seokmin set Y/N down, which caused Y/N to look back up to him with a trembling smile. Seokmin wouldn’t hesitate in taking their face between his hands and connecting their lips together in a deep, loving kiss. Wonwoo raised his camera to take a few more final pictures of the beautiful moment.
When Seokmin pulled away from Y/N, his forehead went to rest against theirs. Just closing his eyes and enjoying their new moments as an engaged couple.
“You won’t regret this. I’ll be the best husband anybody could have…” Seokmin promised through a whisper.
“I know you will…” Y/N whispered back. “I love you, Min.”
“I love you, too…”
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As the group now worked to clean up the romantic scene, there was nobody short of a smile, or a stray tear. Joshua was clinging onto Seokmin from pure excitement, even though he wasn’t even the one that got engaged.
“Well,” Jihoon started. Approaching Y/N’s side and placing a gentle hand on their shoulder. “I guess the bad news from all of this is you’re really stuck with us now.” He joked with a slightly cheeky grin to his round face.
“Oh no, that’s gonna be terrible.” Y/N chided sarcastically as they playfully rolled their eyes.
“Listen, I’m just warning you now, this is your last chance to run for the hills.” Jihoon added. A chuckle leaving his chest as he finished. There were a few moments of comfortable silence between the two, before Jihoon tightened his grip slightly on Y/N’s shoulder.
“Welcome to the family, Y/N.”
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113 notes · View notes
clanwarrior-tumbly · 3 years
Note
Not the original anon but man i loved the fired Reader ask 😔😔😔
Can i get the same scenerio but with DJMM (i love him and need more of him), Roxy and Chica?
HCs: Animatronics' reactions to Vanessa getting Reader (who worked at the MP since opening day) fired to cover her tracks as Vanny
(Part 1 is here!)
..........
DJMM
He overhears your coworkers talking about how you were fired and pretends to be sleeping, listening in with sadness and confusion.
"They switched the DJ to Bouncer Mode by accident while guests were on the dancefloor," Vanessa explains to them. "A few got hurt."
"But there weren't any reported injuries...and hasn't [y/n] been here since opening day? How would they activate his experimental mode by accident?”
"Shit happens, and there were none reported. People still could’ve been injured or traumatized, you know.” She huffs.
"Okay, jeez..I was just asking. I don’t think the big man’s gonna be happy if we tell him-”
"Then don't.”
Vanessa walks away, though she feels uncomfortable by the lingering eyes of the giant DJ.
He never liked her for some reason. Every time she entered the arcade he just got bad vibes from her...and this situation didn't help.
Roxanne
“No...that’s not fair!!”
“Life isn’t fair, Roxy.” Vanessa tells her after you got fired. 
Since you were discovering what the sinkhole hid beneath the raceway, she had to get on your tail fast.
So she falsely reported you for the few destroyed driver assist bots (although it was all Roxy), fabricating enough evidence to have your employment terminated.
The wolf knows it’s all lies, even when other workers agree, and has barred Vanessa from entering her raceway ever again (not that the latter cares).
She’ll be snappier around the construction crew, hindering their work on the track.
If you’re not gonna be around to see it finished, what’s the point?
Besides herself, you were the only “winner” in her eyes. She was gonna miss you a lot and hopes you don’t forget about her.
When she goes to rip off a driver bot’s head, she imagines it as that stupid blonde and destroys it beyond repair.
Glamrock Chica
“Since [y/n] left that mystery syrup crap near you, they were indirectly responsible for you injuring the guests during your show, so they’re no longer working here as we speak.”
“....what?”
“Yeah it was bad. Management sent out a memo about the syrup..says we’re banning you from having that stuff again. Sorry.”
“S-Sorry?” Chica chokes out in disbelief. “You think I care about stupid syrup?!! Where’s [y/n]?!”
“Gone. But it’s a shame..they were a great worker. If only you had more control over yourself, they might still be here.”
That last snarky remark sticks to her like glue.
Little does she know it was actually Vanessa who planted the mystery mix somewhere she could easily reach it.
She refused to believe that was you. You were her best friend since day one, helping around the Mazercise. She knew you wouldn’t do anything to hurt anybody on purpose, human or robot.
But because of her uncontrollable actions, she’ll never see you again
And that guilt just eats her up inside.
392 notes · View notes
looooooooomis · 4 years
Text
F I N A L  G I R L  |   T W O
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You were his final girl. And there was no chance in hell that anyone or anything was going to mess that up.
p a r t  t w o  |  h a l l o w e e n   n i g h t
masterlist here
pairing: billy loomis x f!reader   word count: 4.3k   warnings: implied/referenced cheating, swearing (obv), drinking, implied smut, genuine S M U T, rough oral, thigh-riding, unprotected sex, all that fun stuff.
Billy couldn’t keep his eyes off you.
Not that he ever really could – and who could blame him, really – but tonight? Tonight, you were on a whole other level.
Stu’s house was packed to the brim with people, too fucking packed for Billy’s liking, but he’d make do. He might have wanted nothing more than to ditch the party, throw you over his shoulder, and have his way with you all night long but he couldn’t exactly do that. Not the first two, at least. But the second he could escape, he would, and he’d be damned if he wasn’t getting his hands on you tonight.
Maybe it was your little talk in the cornfield last night or maybe it was on account of that goddamn Halloween costume you were wearing but Billy was ready to have you all to himself. He needed to have you all to himself tonight.
It wasn’t as though he hadn’t seen you in your cheerleading uniform before, in fact, he’d seen you in it a thousand times prior to tonight but the way you wore it tonight made him harder than he could fathom. The skirt was hiked shorter than usual making you appear all the leggier in your white knee-high socks and tennis shoes and the though the top hadn’t changed all that drastically it, like the rest of you, was covered in fake blood. There were drops of crimson corn syrup, now long dried, dripping from those perfect lips of yours and continuing down your throat until bleeding into the material of your cropped cheerleading top. The sliver of skin showing your abdomen had a single bloodied handprint on it as well and your thighs, those gorgeous fucking thighs of yours, had a few more messy handprints that seemed to trail up your leg before disappearing beneath the hem of your skirt.
He was in agony watching you carry on laughing with Tatum from across the room. You had no right to look that fucking good tonight, not when Sidney was directly beside him idly talking to Randy about some stupid fucking test that he couldn’t bring himself to care about.
How could he focus on anything besides you tonight?
“Your girl’s looking hot tonight,” Stu chimed in quietly, smirking knowingly across the room towards where you and Tatum stood. “All that blood. All that leg.” He made a purring sound and grinned. “You going to be able to keep it in your pants until tonight?”
“Subtlety, dickmunch,” Billy growled. “Try it sometime.”
Throwing his hands up in mock surrender, Stu giggled and sprung across the room towards where you and Tatum were. Without missing a beat, Billy watched Stu throw Tatum over his shoulder, much to her chagrin, before running back to Billy, Sid, and Randy. Shooting Billy a wink, Stu mouthed a quick ‘you’re welcome’ before carefully plopping Tatum onto her feet. Sure enough, there you were, following the happy couple with a smile on your face as you joined them.
“Whole party just saw your girlfriend’s ass, numb nuts,” you laughed, playfully smacking Tatum’s ass. “Cute panties though, girl, take me next time. I’ll pick myself up a pair.”
Tatum grinned and cozied herself into Stu’s side. “Deal,” she chuckled, battling with the fake vampire teeth in her mouth. With a groan, she took them out and chucked them into the trash bin a few feet away. “Remind me again why I thought that would be a good idea.”
“So, you’re a vampire,” Randy mused, eyeing her all-black attire. “That checks out. You’ve got the personality down pat.”
Stu furled his brows as his girlfriend smacked Randy’s chest. “We’re both vampires, idiot, isn’t it obvious? I’m wearing a fucking cape.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Randy rolled his eyes and glanced around the circle of friends surrounding him. “The rest of you I got right off the bat. Sid’s a witch, Billy’s a moody looking skeleton boy and Y/N is a dead cheerleader.”
“Ah, ah, ah,” you clicked your tongue and pointed your beer bottle towards him in mock-outrage. “I’m not a dead cheerleader, Randy, I’m a demonic cheerleader. There’s a difference.”
“Oh, so you’re just a regular cheerleader, then.” Randy teased. When all he got was another smack to the chest, he surrendered. “Alright, alright. What’s the difference?”
“Well, for one,” you shrugged, “I’m not the victim. I’m the bad guy.”
“Bad guy, huh?” Billy piped in, watching you with that heavy stare of his. “What makes you so bad?”
“I eat boys,” you simply said, holding his purposeful gaze.
The corners of Billy’s lips raised in a small smirk at the innuendo but rather than let on, he simply ducked his head down and ran a hand through his hair. You were playing with fire tonight and it was obvious to him that you knew as much.
You’d definitely pay for that later on.
“Well, I think you look hot,” Sid smiled. “Blood and all.”
“Thanks, Sid,” you smacked on a smile and took a rather hasty gulp of beer. “You’re look like a babe tonight, too.”
“Thanks,” she flushed and looked down at her red dress. “It’s Tatum’s dress, I was scared it was going to be a little much on me.”
“Just enough,” you corrected with an honest smile. With your mouth suddenly dry and your guilt at an all-time high, you licked your lips and gave her a wink. “Billy’s a lucky guy.”
Leaning into Billy’s lean frame, Sid tilted her head up and placed a quick kiss to the side of his mouth. Averting your eyes immediately to the island between you and the doting couple, you tried not to let your discomfort show as you polished off the rest of your beer. That never got an easier to watch, no matter how much reassurance you got from Billy on the matter. At the end of the day, you were in love with Billy Loomis all the while being best friends with Sidney Prescott, his extraordinarily kind and sweet girlfriend. It was bound to be a tough pill to swallow.
From across the kitchen island, you caught Stu’s eye and for a brief moment, you saw a something eerily close to pity flicker across his face. Clearing your throat, you shook your empty bottle at the group and nodded towards the garage. “Anybody need a refill?”
“Yeah, sure,” Stu shrugged. “There’s a whole other keg in there actually. Be a dear and grab it?”
“A keg?” You snorted. “Who am I? The Hulk?”
Stu’s grin was cheeky as he nodded towards the garage. “Billy’ll help,” he simply said, squeezing Billy’s shoulder. “And hurry up, would you? Crowd’s getting thirsty.”
Rolling your eyes, you glanced at Billy briefly before nodding down the hall. “Come on, lover boy.” You teased, smiling apologetically at Sid who appeared none the wiser. “Be back in a sec.”
The hall leading down to the garage was crowded and full of your classmates dressed to the nines for Halloween. A few of the girls you were friends with smiled at you as you walked by, as did some of the guys, but the only thing you could focus on was the weight of Billy’s stare on your ass as you walked ahead of him. Sure, you mighthave been swinging your hips a little more than you should have been, but who could blame you? You were buzzed and Billy looked stupidly good tonight in his leather jacket and skeleton make-up. Even if said skeleton makeup was mostly gone from the amount of times he’d unwittingly rubbed at his face over the course of the night.
Pushing the door to the garage open, you held it open for Billy and shot him a brief smile as he walked into the chilly garage before closing the heavy door behind him. Walking down the steps towards the giant keg, you glanced over your shoulder and nearly laughed at the smouldering look he was giving you atop those steps. Turning around to face him fully, you gestured to the doorknob. “That thing have a lock on it?”
“Why?” He asked, leering. Slowly, he descended the steps towards you. Every step he took was agonizingly slower than the last but, being just as stubborn as he was, you remained firmly rooted in place with your own small smile in tow. “What would you have me do to you that would require a lock?”
“Who says you’d be doing anything?” You asked. “I’m the one who eats boys, remember?”
With a growl, he snaked his arms around your hips and pulled you into him. You could feel his budding erection through his jeans as he leaned down and nipped the base of your neck. The moan that escaped your lips on account of feeling his teeth dragging along your pulse point filled the empty garage and made Billy smile into the sensitive flesh. “Look at you in this fucking outfit. You’re a fucking tease, you know that?”
“Who’s teasing?” You asked. Reaching down, you gently squeezed him through his jeans and smirked when he swore under his breath. “I have every intention of following through.”
He kissed you hard and raked his fingernails up your bare thigh. The fake blood adorning your body might have been bone dry at this point in the night, but as he slid his hand beneath your skirt and rubbed his finger along the lace of your thong, a throaty laugh escaped his lips. You were so fucking wet. “Someone could come in here any second,” he whispered, pushing his finger beneath the material of your thong. The hiss that tore out of your throat sent him into a frenzy as he pinched your clit. “That get you wet, sweetheart? Knowing someone could walk in on us while I fuck you silly?”
“Billy,” you groaned, instinctually spreading your legs a little more to allow him full access to your slicked folds. “Lock the fucking door.”
“No,” he sucked at your bottom lip. “I want the whole fucking house to see us.”
Despite every rational part of your brain pleading with you to pull away from the infuriating man, you couldn’t. Not with how good he tasted on your lips and certainly not with his methodical fingers rubbing and pinching at your clit.
But two could play at that game.
Uncurling your fingernails from his shoulders, you got to work on his belt. Within seconds, it was gaping open as you fiddled with the button of his jeans and zipper before tugging them just far enough down his thigh for his cock to spring free. Biting down on his lip, you gave him a firm tug. “Lock. The. Fucking. Door. Loomis.”
You heard him laugh under his breath as he backed you into the keg. Once the back of your knees hit the coolness of the metal, you lost your footing and fell back against the piping along the top. The tap managed to hit you right on the tailbone, causing fireworks to explode behind your eyes, but with Billy’s deft hands still working your clit into a frenzy, you couldn’t bring yourself to care all that much. Stepping between your thighs, Billy’s hard cock danced across your wet folds as he tugged your underwear to the side. Your entire body was prepared to feel that familiar rush pure ecstasy that always followed that first, messy thrust. You were desperate for it in that moment, you craved it. But just as the tip teased its way down from your clit to your entrance, the garage door creaked open to reveal Stu’s handsome but mischievous face.
“Knew it,” he pretended to giggle as he quickly slid into the garage, being sure to shut it after to ensure nobody else saw the two of you. “Part of me thought ‘no way, they wouldn’t do it in my garage’ but the rest of me knew better. And, here you are.”
Swearing under his breath, Billy stepped away from you and ensured you were covered up entirely as he re-did his pants and belt. “You’re a real asshole, you know that?”
Between being caught up in the heated moment and feeling both shame and guilt for being caught, your cheeks must have been the colour of the devil himself as you ambled back onto your feet.
“Cock-block, asshole, the guy who just saved you from your girlfriend walking in on the two of you,” he casually waved it off, “I go by many names.”
“Shit,” you groaned, “how long were we gone for?”
“Not long,” Stu shrugged. “She just thought you two might need help seeing as how you were taking a few minutes.” He grinned. “Seems like you two kids had it all figured out, though.”
“Fuck-off for a second, would you?” Billy sighed and ensured Stu had turned around before looking back at you. Not wasting another second, he gently cradled your face and brushed something off of the tip of your nose. “White face paint,” he explained. Once he was sure it was gone, he leaned in and placed a sweet, chaste kiss to your lips. “Sorry about this.”
“Should have locked the door, Loomis,” you reminded him with a wink. Fixing your skirt, you walked back towards the steps and nodded towards the keg. “I’ll let you two carry that behemoth into the kitchen.”
Sliding past Stu, you opened the garage door and re-entered the crowded hallway. No one looked suspicious of you as you crept out and even when you re-joined Tatum and Sid – Randy having since left to tail some blonde chick in his algebra class – you simply smacked on a grin and asked them what you’d missed.
“Where’s Thing One and Thing Two?” Tatum asked, glancing over your shoulder.
“The keg’s a beast,” you simply said, “Stu showed up to help so I figured I’d leave it to them. Machismo bull-shit and all that.”
You hated how easy it was to lie to them. The guilt was still there, the guilt was always there, but over time the lying had become almost second nature to you. You could have a girl’s night with Sid, watch shitty movies all night long, and then proceed to fuck her boyfriend at two in the morning as she was sound asleep back home. It wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair.
And yet as Billy and Stu moseyed into the kitchen with the keg in tow, the look Billy gave you was enough to silence the swell of guilt boiling to the surface of your gut. It wasn’t a smoulderingly sexy look, not even an irritated look from having been cock-blocked by his best friend. No, this look was something different. Something softer, gentler, than the Billy everybody else knew so well. This look was one he’d reserved just for you. It was same look you got when he was half-asleep at three in the morning, groggily smiling across at you as though you’d hung the moon. The same one that seemed to take you in and memorize you as though half-expecting you to disappear before his very eyes. It was a look of pure wonderment, pure sincerity.
“You girls want to play beer pong?” One of the guys from the hockey team asked as you, Tatum and Sid watched the pair struggle.
“Yes,” the answer was out of your mouth before you had time to register the request. Dragging Tatum and Sid towards the dining room table, you shot one final glance at Billy before focusing ahead.
You were going to slip-up if he kept looking at you like that.
»»-------------¤-------------««
You’d barely managed to scrape all of the fake blood off of your face when you heard the familiar thud of your bedroom window. You were still dressed in your bloodied cheer uniform and the bloodied handprints smearing up your thighs and along your abdomen were still ever-present as you popped your head out of your washroom only to find Billy casually sitting on the edge of your bed.
“Couldn’t have waited until after I showered?” You asked with a small frown. “I look like Carrie from the neck down.”
Smirking, he pushed himself off of your bed and sauntered over towards you. He had since cleaned the skeleton make-up off of his face and the leather jacket had long been shed, but he still looked handsome as ever grinning across at you.
“I was hoping I’d catch you before you changed,” he admitted.
You raised your eyebrow and leaned against the doorway. “And why’s that?”
He said nothing at first, simply just reached forward to scrape his thumbs against your nipples which were pressing firmly against the thin material of your top. “Just because it’s after midnight doesn’t mean Halloween has to be over,” he slid his hands beneath the hem of your shirt and tugged it over your head. In nothing more than your skirt and knee-high socks, Billy’s calloused hands began to squeeze your bare breasts all the while never breaking eye contact. “Figured the demonic cheerleader might want to get one last kill in for the night.”
You hummed your approval as he pinched at your nipples. “And you’re volunteering yourself?”
Billy smirked and leaned down towards your chest to allow his mouth to consume your nipple. His expert tongue swirled along the sensitive nub a few times before devouring it entirely. Sucking and pinching and biting at your breasts, you barely noticed him steer you towards your bed until the soft material of your blankets were bawled into tensed fists.
“Billy,” you moaned, eyeing him through half-lidded eyes as he teased your nipples. “Fuck. Get up.”
Not listening to you whatsoever, he continued his assault on your tits before you finally gave his cock a firm squeeze from outside of his jeans. “Billy,” you repeated. When his cloudy stare caught yours, you cocked your head to the side and pat the mattress. “Get on the bed.”
With a smirk, Billy released your nipple before clambering onto the edge of the bed. Hitching your skirt up your thighs, you climbed over his lap and straddled him. His hungry eyes swallowed you up as you leaned into his face, your hair fell around you like a blanket, shielding you both away from everything around you as you very slowly tugged his head up to place a kiss to his nose.
His hands were on you immediately. They skimmed down your arms and waist and hips before giving your ass a long, firm squeeze. “You’re fucking perfect.”
You smirked and lowered yourself further down onto his lap so your clit was overtop his jean-clad thigh. “Shut-up,” you teased, slowly sliding back and forth atop his strong thigh. “Kiss me.”
With a quiet laugh, he craned his neck up to capture your lips as you continued to rock back and forth on his thigh. He wasted no time in hiking your skirt further up your body to allow him better access to your bare ass to which he hungrily massaged and grabbed. Moaning into his mouth, you felt his one of his hands wander from your ass and up your waist before giving your naked breast another firm squeeze. His mouth hungrily enveloped your breast as you gently flung your head back. Between the sensation of his tongue on your nipple and the feel of your clit scraping against his strong, muscular thigh, you were in heaven.
But fair was fair. If he wanted to be your ‘last kill of the night’? The very least you could do was play along.
Throwing your head back in ecstasy as he gently bit and sucked at your pert nipple, you reached down and unbuckled his belt. Your movements were frenzied as you worked on undoing his jeans next, and when you finally managed to undo his zipper, you unlatched your tit from his mouth and began to shimmy down his legs.
Billy watched you settle between his legs, barely taking notice of the damp streak on his thigh as you peeled his jeans down his hips. His cock sprang to life for the second time that night and as he watched your hungry eyes scrape over his painfully hard erection, he could have come right there.
Your lips were puffy from your little make-out session, your cheeks flushed. And as your chest heaved with each shallow breath you took, your already perky nipples only hardened. Scraping your fingernails up his thighs, you wasted no time in licking your way up from the base of his cock to the tip, swirling your tongue around his head as your hand gently massaged his balls. With hungry, half-lidded eyes, Billy watched that pretty mouth of yours take him. Slowly at first, but soon you fell into an easy rhythm as you sucked him off. He threw his head back as his fingers curled around your hair and tugged. Fuck, you were so good. And if he wasn’t careful, he’d blow his load in your mouth before you two could finish what you started in that damn garage.
Giving your hair another tug, you released his cock with a resounding pop and furled your brow. “Problem?” You asked stubbornly.
Without a word, he leaned forward and captured your lips in a bruising kiss as he carefully pulled you back onto the bed. Only rather than join you, he took his position between your thighs and tugged your thong clear off, exposing your extremely wet, throbbing pussy.
“Billy, let me fi—”
Before you could so much as think of your next few words, Billy buried his face between your thighs.
A guttural moan tore out of your lips as his dept tongue circled your clit, and as he inserted two fingers inside of you, you bucked into his mouth and grabbed a fistful of his hair. Billy’s tongue was euphoric, methodical. He lapped and sucked at your clit as his free hand reached up to play with your exposed breasts, rolling your nipple between his fingers roughly. “Billy,” you rasped out, squeezing your eyes shut as that familiar heat began to encroach its way up your body. Curling his fingers inside of you, you nearly screamed. Thank god your parents weren’t home. “Billy, fuck.”
You were going to come. Any second now. You felt that mind-numbing pleasure build up in your toes and up your legs and as he gave your clit another long, glorious suck, you let it overtake you. Your entire body shook as you bucked into his mouth. Stars flashed behind your eyes as a strangled moan tore from your throat.
Releasing your clit, Bily kissed and licked his way up your body before leaning forward to capture your lips again. You could taste yourself on his lips as you leaned forward and as your eyes caught sight of his erection, you opened your thighs on instinct. Pulling away from his mouth, you nudged your nose against his to catch his eye and reached down to stroke his unbearably hard cock. “Fuck me, Billy.”
He seemed to search your eyes for a moment as you pulled him back onto the bed. Once he was laying down, you wasted no time in climbing on top of him. Reaching down, you guided the length of him inside of your wet folds and slithered it along your clit before lowering yourself onto him. He hissed at the sensation and squeezed your ass, watching your breasts bounce with every bound you took. Leaning forward, he caught one in his mouth and bit down on your nipple, relishing in the moan he received on account of it. He must have bit harder than intended as within seconds, he could taste a metallic fluid rolling onto his tongue. Blood. Your blood. Looking back up at you, unsure of your reaction, his cock twitched inside of you when all you did was groan and tug at his hair.
You liked it.
Swirling his tongue around your nipple, Billy’s hands held your hips as you swiveled and bounced on top of him. He was going to come soon, he knew he was, but when he watched you reach down and begin to stroke your clit as he was buried inside of you, that was it. Leaning forward, he found your lips again as he came undone inside of you. “Fuck,” he rasped out, holding you firmly in place as his cock writhed inside of you.
Feeling his cock twitch, you waited on his last few pumps before breaking your kiss. “Happy Halloween, Loomis.”
A slow, lazy grin tore across his lips. The pair of you were stark naked in the middle of your bedroom, he was literally still inside of you, and yet there you were. Both grinning stupidly down at each other as your words sunk in. Slowly, you slid off of him and joined him on the bed your naked chest heaving up and down as he reached out to brush a strand of hair from your face.
“You going to kick me out of your bed so that you can shower?” He asked quietly.
“No,” you shrugged. “Not yet.”
Billy blinked, mild surprise showing on his face. But, before another word could be said, he leaned in and gently kissed your lips. Unlike the kisses you two had shared in the heat of the moment, this was soft and deliberate. And, as he pulled away, he placed another kiss to the tip of your nose before relaxing into the sheets. “Good,” he mumbled, pulling a thin blanket up your naked bodies.
You smiled and relaxed into the warmth in his chest. You absolutely should be slinking off to the bathroom to shower all the fake blood off of you, but that could wait another few minutes. For now, against Billy’s chest, basking in the pale moon glow shining in through your bedroom window, this was the only place you wanted to be.
LET ME KNOW IF YALL LIKED IT + IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE BILLY IMAGINES IN THIS SERIES BC YA GIRL IS WILLING
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enhyupn · 4 years
Text
always you!
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pairing: park sunghoon x gn!reader (ft jay too)
disclaimer: reader is incredibly insecure... i didn’t realise how insecure they were until i finished writing this pls
word count: 2.9k+
genre: angst and a dash of fluff... the fluff was a little treat, childhood friends to lovers!au based on heroine disqualified
a/n this was a wild ride to write omg i don’t usually write angst so i can’t tell if i displayed their emotions as well as i wanted but oh well it was fun to write 💭
was it worth it? was it a matter of luck or chance? was this worth risking everything? you believed park sunghoon was everything, he built you into the person you were today. his confidence, the way he would always take care of you, you weren’t ready to let go of any of that plus a stupid confession? you weren’t letting that be the cause sunghoon drifts away.
the way he ties your laces, the way he ruffles your hair when you feel down — how could you not fall in love with him? everyone around you believes that too.
maybe the happy smile on his face should of made you smile too. happy tears streaming down his face with a smile so big, you desperately wished that you were the one that made him smile like that. in the corner of your eye stood kim minju, holding a bouquet of flowers, the purple lilacs you helped him pick. the beginning of love, that’s what the flowers mean, sunghoon wanted the flowers to mean something.
“congratulations sunghoon” you staged a fake smile on your face. sunghoon caught off guard by your sudden voice flinched before turning to you with a bright smile on his face. “the first out of us two to start dating”.
“i beat you to it” he smirked, “can you believe she said yes”. you chuckled lightly at his enthusiasm, knowing if you said another word you might just tear up.
“i have to get to class” you spoke as quietly as you could, your head slightly tilting down so he couldn’t get the look of pure misery on your face. “see you?”.
“see you y/n” the corner of his eyes crinkled. you watched as he turned around before making his way to his new girlfriend. anybody could see they were a match made for each other, top students in both of their classes as well as part time models? why would sunghoon look your way when someone like kim minju is right in front of him.
even as months went on, you never really... recovered from the whole minju and sunghoon thing. frankly, with them basically being everywhere you go, you couldn’t even get a chance to get over sunghoon. little things started changing too. every time you asked to walk home he’d tell you he’s walking home with minju, meaning you had to watch them from the other side of the street while they giggle and hold hands every evening five times a week. he won’t even help you with your homework anymore, he won’t even come over when you spontaneously cook a meal that feeds two people. he’s accidentally missed so many calls from you and has left you on delivered so many times you can’t even count the amount on your fingers.
the realisation hit you fast, you depended on sunghoon for so long that he was the only thing that mattered to you. guilt ate you up for being upset with sunghoon, knowing that it was selfish to ask for all his time when he had his girlfriend right by his side. maybe, just maybe, this was the time to get someone by your side that wasn’t park sunghoon.
as time went on you realised, it wasn’t as easy as you thought. the image of sunghoon left your standards high and the selection right in front of you never met those standards. well, until you met park jongseong or jay. he was friendly, funny and never cared when you were upset over something silly like seeing sunghoon with minju at the café you told him about. jay filled in the space sunghoon once filled in, but something felt off. you never wanted to admit that jay was a sunghoon replacement, jay was jay and sunghoon was sunghoon. although, when you look at sunghoon, all you think about is sunghoon but when you look at jay, guilt eats you alive because all you can see is sunghoon.
“y/n i like you” the light breeze, green reappearing on the bare trees, everything looked perfect so why didn’t you think it was perfect? jay looked into your eyes desperately, trying so hard to look for an answer that you yourself didn’t even know. “i know, i know you still think about that sunghoon guy, but i— i don’t care y/n”.
“jay...” you looked everywhere but his eyes, you felt so many emotions that you couldn’t pinpoint a single one. you knew that it was selfish of you to even consider his feelings, you couldn’t give him an answer when he was standing right there. you so desperately wished to get away, not so sure if the mention of his name was the thing that set off all the emotions in your heart. “i— i should go...”.
“please” jay gripped onto your wrist lightly, the desperation in his voice and face confused you so much that you couldn’t even think straight. why you? jay was always there for you and he deserved someone better than you, someone that would be able to properly reciprocate those feelings same he had for you. 
“i’ll talk to you later jay... i’m sorry” the grip on your wrist loosened before completely coming off. the scene looked almost painful. there stood jay, his face completely blank and there you were, tears running down your face as you tried to grab a hold of your emotions. each step you made brought another tear down, you don’t know why you were so upset. was it guilt? the feeling was so overbearing that you couldn’t even answer jay.
you don’t know where your feet took you, but all you knew is how you had no idea why you were faced with sunghoon’s home. the black doorframe almost begging you to come closer, is this right? the doorbell almost sent you into tears again, the nostalgic sound adding to your emotional state. the silence following the sound maybe even snapped you back into reality, what are you doing here?
“y/n?” the voice was clearly not sunghoon, a smooth feminine voice only belonging to kim minju greeted you. just to make the night better his girlfriend opened the door and saw your puffy eyes and red nose.
“minju” you quickly wiped tears away from your cheeks, nothing could help however as new tears quickly formed before dropping down your face “i don’t know why i’m here i should—”.
“y/n?” a familiar voice sent chills down the back of your neck. he quickly made his way to you, a concerned expression that made you want to cry harder. “what happened? are you okay?”. you wished you could ignore the concern in his face, you didn’t want him to care.
“i’m fine, tell your mom i said hi and i’ll get going” the shakiness through your words failing to hide the immense despair you had in your voice.
“no you’re not!” sunghoon raised his voice, a habit he had when he was annoyed. “you’re shaking y/n... what happened?”. the boy didn’t know how his hands found his way to your shoulders, gripping them lightly to reassure you that he was there.
“sunghoon stop, i’m fine” you shook off his grip before stepping back to give yourself some space. “i’ll be going now”. the whole situation being only a mere five minutes long, the fact it felt longer than that made you uneasy.
the silence in the air was deafening, the sound of the crunching grass you were making as you walked home was the only thing breaking it up. sunghoon stood in shock as he watched your shaking body make each step. minju, who was watching the whole scene unfold in silence, didn’t know what to say. she’s never seen sunghoon so concerned, so emotional and so angry. what are you to him?
the following days were peaceful, it was a silent agreement for you and jay to act like none of that happened, the happy faces on both your faces as you eat cake together proved it. it was easy settling back in to your normal, everyday relationship. maybe even too easy. you wished that every day could feel as simple as that day, the normality of everything felt so easy.
“you should tell him” good way to hit the mark jay. suddenly this normality thing was crushing down. maybe it was too good to be true? it was bound to happen anyways.
“excuse me?” you questioned jay. you felt yourself grow hot at his sudden comment.
“tell sunghoon you’re in love with him”. one of jay’s traits you loved most was his straight forwardness, but honestly speaking maybe this was one of the times you didn’t love it.
“it’s like you want me to cry in the middle of this café” you joked as you took another bite of your cake.
“y/n i hate seeing you like this” jay looked into your eyes seriously, “why are you letting this happen right in front of you? why are you letting this eat you up?”. you could see the emotions he was bottling up, you could tell he’s been wanting to say this for a while. it just so happened that he let it all out in a little café while you ate cake.
“jay—”
“i should get going” jay said standing from his seat. you understood his feelings, obviously he was frustrated and annoyed with you. you felt the same about yourself. “i’ll call you later?”.
“where are you going—”
“see you y/n”
everything about this made you feel terrible, you’ve lost sunghoon and now maybe jay? why why why couldn’t you just forget about sunghoon? an amazing perfect guy likes you so much that he’s willing to date you even when you constantly think of someone that isn’t him. what was so special about sunghoon? every time you’re almost begging yourself to let him go, he always seems to show up right before your eyes.
the walk home was awkward, even when it was just you all alone. you couldn’t stop thinking about everything, when did this get so complicated? it all started with a one sided crush on your best friend, maybe that’s all it should of been. everything was falling apart and you so desperately wished someone could fix it all. your head felt so light that you couldn’t even think straight anymore. you sat down on the old, almost falling apart bench in the middle of the park. it faced a small pond, filled with lilly pads and a duck with its ducklings following them closely behind.
“hey y/n” you suddenly faced a hand holding a bottle of water. you looked up, your eyes widening realising it was minju.
“minju?” you moved over to make some room for her to sit in.
“hi” she weakly smiled. you knew in the way she fiddled with her fingers that she had something to tell you. “it’s weird how i just met you here, i wanted to talk to you but i realised i didn’t know anything about you. it’s kinda like we were fated to meet here”.
“yeah...” you looked down at your lap. awkward silence filled the air, both of you not knowing what to say.
“sunghoon and i broke up” minju broke the silence, you abruptly turned your head towards her in surprise. you noticed her nose was red and she was chewing on her bottom lip to stop her sudden tearing up. it didn’t work though, tears were streaming from her face at a fast pace. “we fought that night you visited his house, i realised something i never noticed before”.
“what do you mean—”
“he looks at you differently” minju continued, “he looked at you like you were the whole world. when his world looked like it was about to crumble he stopped everything to make sure it didn’t. after you left, he went back inside to grab his jacket because he knew for sure that if he ran to you he’d catch up”.
the tears in her eyes started to slow down but the shakiness in her voice told you that it was hard for her to tell you this.
“i stopped him, obviously. i was his girlfriend, i didn’t want him to leave me for someone else. but when i did, he was so mad at me” she chuckled sadly. “and i’ve never seen him so mad, it made me jealous. we fought and fought that night, by the end of it i couldn’t take it. i knew if i let this go on any longer it’d just break us. it wouldn’t be fair on both of us”.
“minju... i’m so sorry” you said quietly. tears welled up in your eyes, you felt the pain in her voice and expression.
“he’s in love with you y/n...” she smiled sadly at her words. “i noticed almost immediately when he saw you in tears right outside his door, and i think when i left his house he realised it too. i think he’s scared, i think he thinks he’s lost you. it’s not your fault, or his. maybe it’s mine actually”.
“it’s not your fault minju, don’t think that”.
“no, i should of known” she wiped her tears away. “he was always talking about you, mentioning little things you two did and would always tell me what flavours or things you liked”.
“he did?”
“yup, would never stop talking about you...” minju finished her conversation, her tone of voice still sounding sad. still, she found a way to cheerily smile at you. “you should tell him”.
“i can’t” you frown, “it’s too late”. you play with the bottle of water in your hands. you knew it wasn’t too late, you were just scared and being a coward. you know if you faced sunghoon at that moment, no words would come out. nevertheless, you wanted to see him, you desperately wanted to see him.
“y/n” minju held your hands, “please go to him, for his sake at least”. she looked at you with shiny eyes, hope in her eyes that you would listen to her.
“i’ll go, thank you minju. i’m so sorry for everything that’s happened too” you reassured her. you stood up from the bench, holding out the water bottle to her. the water bottle she gave you was all you could give back to her.
“this for me?” minju laughed weakly.
“yeah” you rubbed the back of your neck, “i felt like you needed it”.
“thanks y/n” she smiled sincerely. you felt yourself feel warm looking at her, forever grateful for her words.
you felt your feet pick up pace, trying to find their way to sunghoon’s house. you felt your heart burn at the sudden amount of exercise you put yourself through. you felt the wind flow through your hair, the pebbles at your feet almost making you trip. you didn’t care though, all you wished was to desperately get to sunghoon as quickly as you possibly could. you were completely wrong at the start, this was worth risking everything for.
“y/n what are you doing here— ” sunghoon stood outside his house as you made a stop from your constant running, wearing a hoodie and sweatpants he stared at you confused yet concerned. here you were, running towards him with hope in your eyes. he felt his heartbeat faster than anything else.
you didn’t know what happened, everything looked blank and all of a sudden you were in his arms. your arms wrapped around waist with your head against his chest, you couldn’t look in his eyes no matter how many times you told yourself.
“i know i’m stupid and incredibly dependent on you, i know i shouldn’t have ran all the way here because whenever i do i always end up passing out”.
“y/n what’s going on” you felt the vibrations of his voice through his chest. the comfort and the feeling of home engulfed you in so many ways.
“i love you” you pushed him back to finally look in his eyes. you watched as he stood shocked, his eyes widened hearing your words. “park sunghoon i’ve been in love with you for as long as i can remember”.
“you’re telling the truth right?” his shocked expression not falling as he spoke. “you’re in love with me?”.
“i am” you grinned, “i know i don’t have any flowers to give you or anything but—’.
your words were put at a stop due to the fact his lips were on yours. your widened eyes fluttered shut as you returned the kiss back. maybe the books were right, everything felt so cliché. the fireworks went off in your head, it just felt so right. nothing at all could stop the butterflies in your stomach and your reddening cheeks and ears.
“i love you” sunghoon whispered as he held onto your cheek. “i only figured it out recently but better late than never right?”.
“right” you let out a chuckle. you missed this feeling so much, the feeling sunghoon gave you. the feeling of home, comfort and everything imaginable. you felt like you could burst from all the emotions you were feeling.
he brought his forehead to yours, smiling at your blushing state. both of you couldn’t contain the giddiness you felt, you felt like the whole world could go into flames at that moment and you could care less.
all you cared about right at that moment was sunghoon.
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topazy · 3 years
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Silent Bloom
Parings: Finn Collins/reader Bellamy Blake/reader
Warnings: None
Chapter: 2.01
"Ok, tell me again."
You groaned into your hands. You had explained everything that had happened, from the mountain men chasing you to Ada letting you go countless times that morning. Blinking against the sun shining in your eyes, you let out a deep sigh. "I can’t. I’m sorry, but I’ve gone over it so many times the details are starting to become fuzzy."
Clarke gave you an uncertain look before leaning back in her chair. You yawned into your hand and fought against the urge to close your eyes. The lack of sleep was starting to catch up with you.
Bellamy cleared his throat, which helped ease the growing awkwardness. "Tell us again what the plan is."
"It's a labyrinth. We got to the dam through this tunnel. It's all connected to the mine system. That's our way in."
Bellamy looked skeptical. "Are you sure we can get past the reapers and the..." He paused as his eyes lingered on you before continuing, "mountain men? I swear to God if your mom doesn’t sanction the mission, I’m going by myself."
"You won't be by yourself," Clarke confirmed.
Your jaw opened slightly as you noticed Finn walking towards your table. Gulping, you did your best not to make eye contact with him. "Guess the inquisitions are over," Bellamy said, giving you a sympathetic look. "How's Finn doing anyway?"
You shrugged. "I haven’t spoken to him since...since I came back."
"Hey," Finn said softly.
You continued staring at the table in front of you while Finn made small talk with Bellamy, and Clarke. You were afraid to look at him. The Finn Collins who did this wasn’t the same boy you grew up with. He wasn’t your best friend, or lover. The person standing next to you was a stranger. A murderer.
"Next round on me," Bellamy said as he stood up to leave the table. He squeezed your shoulder as he walked behind you.
Finn sat down across from you. "Mount weather, what’s the plan?"
"Still working on it."
Glancing at the blonde beside you, it finally sank in how Finn’s actions had affected everyone. Clarke had lost one of the few friends she had, and you couldn’t even imagine what this was doing to Raven. You stood up from your chair and finally made eye contact with Finn. Staring into his brown eyes hurt. He looked so lost and confused, but it still didn’t change what happened. "Excuse me, I need to get some fresh air."
"You look lonely out here."
You frowned instantly upon hearing his voice. You weren’t in the mood. "What do you want, Murphy?"
Murphy placed his hands on his chest, pretending to be hurt, before sitting down on the ground next to you. "Not interested in our hero’s gathering either?"
"I came outside because I needed some air."
Murphy made a scoffing noise, "I thought you would have been the council's new shiny toy. I’d heard you’d escaped grounders and our good friends from the mountain."
"And I heard Bellamy almost beat you to death again for trying to hang him."
You noticed Murphy toying with his fingers. "Yeah yeah, the same old Murphy that everyone hates."
"I don’t hate you." You looked at him, confused, as he shook his head, and scoffed. Did Murphy think you were mocking him? Despite everything that he’s done, you didn’t hate him.
"What, do you think I’m lying?"
"You kicked me down a ladder."
"In all fairness, you had it coming." Murphy nudged your shoulder as you both laughed until you saw the others getting ready to leave. "Can I ask you something? Would you have done it?"
Murphy let out a sigh, before answering. Even without saying the actual words, he knew what you meant. "I tried to stop him...I’ve done similar things to survive."
"No, no you haven’t. We’ve all done things we aren’t proud of, but nothing... eighteen people are dead. I always thought I’d do anything to protect my friends, but after this, I’m honestly not so sure."
"He didn’t do that because he was looking for a friend. Finn did it because he’s in love with you."
As you opened your mouth to reply, Octavia’s voice cut you off. "We are getting ready to leave."
"Try to stay out of trouble, Murphy," you said as you nodded and stood up to join her.
"Right back at ya, Daze."
You walked beside Octavia in silence until you approached the rest of the group. The first thing you noticed was Abby shaking her head. "No, absolutely not. I’m sorry Y/N, but you can’t come with us?"
"Why?"
"Because..." her eyes moved to the side where Finn was standing.
"I’ll be a distraction."
The older woman nodded, "there are plenty of ways you can help in camp."
You rolled your eyes. Abby’s tone was patronising but you decided not to think much about it. You hugged Octavia. "Watch what you're doing out there, okay? I need you to come back in one piece."
She chuckled softly, "I always do."
You stepped back to let her pass and felt somebody squeezing your shoulder gently. Spinning round, you smiled, seeing Bellamy staring at you. He looked worried. "You’re not coming?"
"This is one party I’m not invited to."
"Voluntarily?" You didn’t expect to hear the harshness in Bellamy’s voice as he spoke.
"Abby has a point," you said quietly. Something seemed off. Bellamy was more intense than usual. Placing your hand on his, you sighed. "It’s probably for the best that I sit this one out."
You looked back to hear Clarke calling his name. "You need to go. Just…"
He chuckled, "I’ll keep them safe."
You smiled softly before letting his hand go. You watched the small group walk away while finding it hard not to worry.
"Hey."
You jumped when you heard somebody talking, dropping the pen and paper that were in your hand. "Jesus Finn, you scared me!"
"Sorry...I’ll leave you to it."
"No, I’m sorry." You sighed, "I just got a fright because I didn’t hear you come in. When did you guys come back?"
"About an hour ago, I was surprised I didn’t see you."
"I’ve been in here doing the food inventory. Is anybody hurt?"
"One of the guards died, but other than that, no," Finn said, leaning against the wall, his head bowed. "We almost got caught by acid fog but everyone managed to hide."
"Then what happened to the guard?" You asked.
"Lincoln killed him. He has been turned into a reaper. The mountain men turned him into one of them."
You stared at Finn's mouth agape while trying to process the information. If mountain men were able to turn Lincoln into a reaper, you dread to think what could be happening to Monty and Jasper. "God, I need to go find Octavia."
"Daisy, can you wait? We need to talk."
A wave of guilt washed over you. "I know we do, but Octavia-"
"O will need me," you said, frowning when Finn cut you off.
"She has Clarke and Bellamy with her."
You picked up the pen and paper you dropped previously in silence. You didn’t know how to talk to him anymore.
"You can’t stop looking at me like that."
"Like what?"
"I’m a monster you're afraid of."
"I don’t think you’re a monster, you just made a really bad judgment call."
The haunted look on his face sent a chill down your spine. "I thought they had you, and everybody else. When I saw Clarke’s father's watch, something just snapped inside me. I can’t explain it."
You look down at the ground, not knowing what to say. You couldn’t imagine the guilt that must have been eating away at him.
"Do you think we can ever get it back? What did we have before?"
Tears threatened to spill from your eyes. "I..I don’t know. So many things have happened, and I hope we can be friends again, but it will take time."
"What I did in the village was wrong, but at the time I thought it was the right thing."
"It's not just about the village..." you couldn't stop crying as your voice broke."You chose her over me."
"Daze…"
"No, don’t keep cutting me off. Do you know how hard it was watching you with somebody else? Especially when you spent the night before with me? I was heartbroken Finn but I kept it together the best I could. You made your choice. You chose Raven over me and expect me to act like nothing happened."
"It wasn’t like that Daisy. Raven means so much to me, I didn’t want to hurt her."
His words stung the same way being physically hurt would. Finn had a big heart, and regardless of how much he cared, you’d always be second best, and you couldn’t settle for it anymore. Hearing footsteps getting closer, you did your best to compose your emotions.
"I need to hand this in, and check on Octavia." You sighed, looking at him, "You still mean a lot to me, Finn. I’ve never stopped caring about you. We just need to take it slow with rebuilding our friendship again."
"Baby steps?"
You chuckled, "baby steps are fine with me."
Season two
Notes:
So here we are at season two, and Daisy has finally started to get the closure that she needs to move on from her relationship with Finn. Thanks again to everyone who’s shared or liked silent bloom so far!!
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thebookwormfairy · 4 years
Text
Buzzfeed Unsolved Part 3
Here's my contribution for Spooky season. This will be mainly class salt but there will be a little bit off the maribat team we love and their usual antics
Lila couldn't believe it
The whole point of pushing Marinette out of class life was to isolate her enough so that Lila would be the new class favorite but not enough that she'll leave
Who was suppose to to provide the class with free sweets and plan all the class outings and events
But here Lila was listening to Ms. Bustier as she made the announcement
Ms. Bustier: please take your seats class. We're going to hold elections for Class Representative
Alya: Shouldn't we wait for Marinette, Ms. Bustier? I mean she's the only one running right?
The rest of the class made sounds of agreement and nodded their heads
Lila tried not to roll her eyes
Ms. Bustier: Marinette will actually no longer be joining our class
Class: WHAT?!
Ms. Bustier: Marinette has been given a great opportunity to go to Gotham Academy one of the top rated schools in the world
Lila seeing a opportunity to spin this in her favor decided to speak up
Lila: So Marinette decided to abandoned us, even though she knew we counted on her. I mean who's going to help with costumes, or babysitting, or give us bake goods?
Alya: That's a good point!
Nino: This is going to mean we're going to have to cut down on our dates
Mylene: Oh no! The next school play is going to be a disaster without Marinette's costumes!
Adrien: How could Marinette just abandon us like this! It's not like her!
Ms. Bustier: Okay class calm down. We don't want any akumas now. Let's focus on the election for the next class representative. Are there any volunteers?
Unsurprisingly Chloe's hand shot up
Ms. Bustier: okay we have Chloe, anybody else?
Alya: how about you Lila? You'd make a great representative
Lila: Oh no I'm far to busy with all my volunteering and obligations, but you should definitely do it Alya. You were Marinette's deputy after all
Alya raising her hand: You're right? I mean how hard could it be?
Alya learned exactly how hard it is when she won the election and was told all her new duties
Alya: Are you serious? Marinette never brought any of these up to me
Ms. Bustier: She didn't want to cut too much into your time
It took awhile but Alya finally got the hang of things
Though none of the class events were as extravagant as when Marinette was in charge
She made Nino her deputy hoping it would give them more time together
And it did but it also meant that a lot of her paperwork was late meaning the class couldn't do as much stuff
But did the class blame Alya for this?
No
They blamed Marinette
Because somehow it was her fault that Alya were too wrapped up in her boyfriend to actually do her job
A couple of months later Lila and Alya watched the Ghoul Gang's (a/n: That's Marinette, Damian, and Jason's group name) first video that somehow had 10k views and already had 25k subscribers
Alya: How is she so popular?
Lila: How does she have so many views?
Alya: How does she have more hits then the Ladyblog?!?
They started scrolling through the short list of other videos that was posted
Adrien: Oh are you watching Marinette's videos?
Alya: You knew about this?
Adrien: Yeah it's not really my taste but I want to support our friend dont you guys?
Lila making her eyes tear up: Why would we want to support somebody who abandoned us
Alya wrapping her arms around Lila: Yeah Adrien she makes a good point. Marinette didn't even say goodbye!
Adrien trying to placate the two: Maybe she didn't have a chance
Lila: Oh please if she really wanted to she would had MADE time to say goodbye, right Alya?
Alya: Yeah!
The two girls showed the rest of the class the videos
And they had to admit they liked them
They were fun to watch and it was nice to see the old Marinette again
Lila could see this and it made her seeth
She had to turn this to her benefit
And she knew just how to do it
Lila: I can't believe you guys would support Marinette! It's obvious that she's just bragging and showing off her new life!
Chloe: I can't believe I'm saying this but Lila's right! It's obvious that Dupen-Cheng is just rubbing her new life in our faces! It's utterly ridiculous!
Alya hated that she agreed with Chloe but she also spoke of her agreement
Some of the other classmates agreed with them, but others like the member of Kitty Section and Nathaniel just thought that Lila and Alya were still a little hurt that Marinette left and Chloe was just jealous
They decided they would still watch the show just not talk about it with the rest of the class
A year later and Lila couldn't stand how popular Marinette's little YouTube channel was
She also couldn't stand that she had a richer boyfriend then her own, Adrien
So with the help of Alya, Nino, and of course her boyfriend Adrien they decided to do their own show
That was SLIGHTLY similar (read: rip off) of the Ghoul Gang's own show
They had Lila and Adrien as the host
Because of course they had to be the host, they were models and had more experience on camera
Nino did all the camera work
And Alya did research and worked sound
A lot of people called them out for being an obvious ripoff of the Ghoul Group's show from their name to their editing
But what people found worst that they were a bad ripoff
Lila and Adrien didn't have the same chemistry as Marinette and Jason
Adrien just agreed with whatever Lila said
There was no fun banter
And because neither of them believed in ghost there were no funny freakouts
Their show was mostly watched just for ripping on
Which both Alya and Lila hated
How could Marinette be so popular!
Lila just had to find some way to prove that her show is superior to Marinette's
And she learned the purest opportunity when she saw Marinette and the rest of the Ghoul Gang filming on some random street
Marinette: now we're back the next day at Rue Des Chantres after our terrifying investigation last night
Jason: What are you talking about it Thumbelina? It wasn't scary here last night. We even ran into the local heroes.
Damian: Which we'll be showing in a special bonus video at the end of our Paris series.
Marinette: Thanks Damian. And it was to scary. Remember what we heard on the spirit box, Green Giant?
Jason: Beep dop ga Apple tatter cre mauf
Marinette: No the other thing
Jason: Do you think we could make apple taters? Could that be a thing?
Damian: Focus Todd
Marinette: Anyway thanks for watching and join us next time to see us explore the famous catacombs under Paris. And for now weither the Rue Des Chantres is haunted will remain...
Marinette/Jason: Unsolved
Damian: And cut! Great job guys!
Marinette going over to hug Damian: Thanks honey. Great job filming as usual
Marinette gave Damian a peck on the lips
Jason: Seriously are Apple tatters possible? They sound good
Marinette: Maybe we can do some experimenting when we get back to the bakery.
Jason pumping his fist: Awesome!
Damian: We just have to finish on time to head to the catacombs. You wouldn't believe what I had to go through to get the catacombs to ourselves tonight
Jason laughing: Calm down demon spawn besides this will be a nice bonus video
The trio walked away and Lils felt a smirk grow on her face
If she and her lackies could best those losers to the catacombs they could have a episode before them and it would look like they ripped off her group instead of the other way around
Later that night the Ghoul Group showed up at the Catacombs fully expecting to be let in only to be stopped by secruity
Secruity: Sorry folks the catacombs are close tonight. Apparently their filming something tonight
Lila looking smug: Yes that will be us we're the Ghoul Group.
Secruity: I'm sorry but the filming permit is under the name Damian Wayne. Is that one of you?
Alya: No, but their must he some mistake. Lila said she called and we were clear to film here tonight
Secruity: Sorry but without a permit you can't film here. Please move along
Lila: How dare you?! Do you no who I am?
Marinette from behind the group: No, but I do
Alya, Lila, Adrien, and Nino turned around to see Marinette, Damian, and Jason standing behind them
Damian walked forward to show secruity his ID
Alya, Nino, and Adrien: MARINETTE!
Marinette: Why are you trying to steal our filming location?
Alya: Why did you abandon us?
Marinette: What are you talking about?
Alya: You abandoned us! You left without saying a word! Who did you expect to pick up the slack after you left?! Who did you expect to do costumes for the school play, or run fundraisers or babysit Chris or the twins?! You completely left us in the lurch
Marinette felt any guilt about leaving without telling anybody melt away
Marinette glaring: I thought that the people who I thought were my friends only saw me as an employee, and you just proved it
Ayla rolling her eyes: What are you talking about Marinette? You're being over dramatic as usual
Marinette: That is what I'm talking about! Think back to the final couple of months I was in Paris. The only time anybody in the class talked to me was to ask me to do something for them, not even asking if I have time to do it just demanding that I complete what ever they wanted me to do! And you know what leaving was the best decision I ever made!
Marinette didn't wait to hear what Alya had to say she joined Jason and Damian at the entrance and followed them inside never giving thought to the friends she left behind again
3 months later the Ghoul Group broke up.
After Lila was shown to be working with Hawkmoth she was sent to juvenal hall
Lila, Nino, Adrien, and the rest of the class were left wondering how they could lose such a great friend because of a liar who tricked all of them
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Riverdale//i didn’t realize how important you’d end up being
Request: Riverdale imagine the reader is from the Northside and is a Cooper and she changes her name when she's on the southside and she feels guilty for it but she didn't want her last name to be a problem for anyone bcuz of Alice and the Northside and either Sweet Pea finds out or Jughead is there and busts her and SP looses his temper and the reader feels bad and gives him a good explanation and Jughead too.
hey! i hope you like this!! it’s a little bit angsty at times and there’s a hint of a romance between the reader and sweet pea, but it has a happy ending and that’s really all that matters isn’t it? 
The moment you step foot over the threshold of The Wyrm, you can feel your heartbeat thumping in time with the loud music. Neon lights cast shadows over your skin and your face blends in with the crowd. It must be happy night tonight, because every time Betty has been, it’s been practically empty with only the regulars occupying the seats. 
Teenagers squash together in booths while older serpents sit at the bar and watch them carefully, just waiting for one of them to breathe the wrong way so they have an excuse to start a fight. 
Normally you wouldn’t be seen dead in a place like this. In fact, you would be better off dead if you’re mom caught you. You’ve seen the effect that her coldness has taken on Betty and even though she tries to remain nonchalant to practical abandonment, you know Betty’s just as upset as Alice is. They’re just too stubborn to talk to each other. 
But desperate times call for desperate measures, and with Betty locked in her room like Rapunzel, you’ve been sent on a suicide mission to find Jughead and tell him that she is currently unreachable. And if Jughead steps within 30 feet of the Cooper residence, Alice will kill on sight. 
A boy stumbles past you, his beer tipping over the edge of the glass as he tries to stay standing and you watch him drunkenly shouts across the room at a friend. A glass smashes from behind the bar and the people sat around groan collectively while watching a pink haired girl clean it up. 
You can see a lot of serpents, but none of them are the one that you want, making you huff loudly before spinning on your heel. You’re about to walk out and just ring him in hopes that he’ll actually answer his phone, but instead you walk straight into the chest of a very tall boy and now suddenly you feel the eyes of half the bar on you. 
“Sorry.” You dip your head down and try to move past him, but his hand grabs your arm, stopping you from going any further. “What the fu-” 
“Who are you?” He cuts you off, clearly unaffected by your tone or the way you pull your arm from his grip. You’re the one that has to stop yourself rubbing the sore bit of skin while he just stares at you, a scowl growing on his lips as the seconds pass. 
“Y/n...Pool...table? I mean, Y/n Pool. I’m Y/n Pool. I’ve said my name too many times haven’t I?” You ramble. Guilt worms its way into your heart, forcing you to think about the repercussions of changing your name. You love your family of course, but The Coopers can be a bit intense, and the only one that isn’t well known for something is you. 
So maybe it was wrong of you to change it, but it’s not like you’re ever coming back here again, and it’s not like it’s an official name change. 
“I’m looking for Jughead.” You say when you notice him staring. He’s smirking at you and a heat creeps up your cheeks when you realize you must have been staring at him for an awfully long time. 
Oh God, what if he thinks you were checking him out? Okay, maybe that wouldn’t be a lie. 
“Why the hell would you want to hang out with Jones?” He asks, a snarl replacing the smirk as he stands up straighter. 
“I don’t want to hang out.” You roll your eyes. “You must be Sweet Pea.” You add and he looks at you confused. You’ve heard Jughead complaining about some guy named Sweet Pea for weeks now, and to be honest, it was boring the first time you heard it. So what someone doesn’t like him, he also doesn’t get along with many people. “I need to tell him something.” 
“And you had to come all the way here to tell him? Don’t you have a phone?” He teases, a small smile playing at his lips and you have to suppress your own. A black curl falls in front of his face and he pushes it back before looking you up and down. 
“I do.” You nod and try not to show just how flustered you are. “It’s just he doesn’t use his.” 
“Well I use mine, I could always give you my number and then whenever you need to tell him something, you can text me and I’ll tell him.” He suggests and you narrow your eyes suspiciously. 
“Why? Do you not want to see me around here anymore?” 
“Nope. I just wanted an excuse to get your phone number.” He replies making you choke on air. If the bar didn’t already feel crowded, it certainly does now. 
“Oh-” 
“Sweet Pea, stop flirting with-Y/n?” Jughead’s surprised tone thankfully stops the conversation from going any further and you quickly turn around to face the beanie-clad boy, a slightly awkward smile on your face. “No offence, but what exactly are you doing here?” He asks, leading you away from Sweet Pea who you’re sure looks slightly disappointed while watching the two of you leave.
You look at him one last time, sending him a wave and a small smile before disappearing through a set of doors. 
“Hey Jug. Betty wanted me to tell you-” You start talking, but you’re not listening to yourself. You’re too busy watching the doors and wondering if you’d ever see him again. 
---
There’s only one light in the parking lot of the Whyte Wyrm, and it’s been broken since before you started coming regularly. Normally it doesn’t bother you, the light from the neon sign outside is enough to light your way into the surprisingly welcoming bar. 
Tonight however, there’s no light. Not even the sign is lit up and as you make your way across the dusty parking lot, you can’t help the frown that pulls on your lips. You pull your jacket tighter to you and crane your neck to see if there’s anybody around. 
Usually the place is packed with old trucks, new bikes and at least a few people standing around. Either drunk and puking against the wall, or sober and trying to have a conversation with someone that they’ve bumped into. But tonight it’s empty. 
You pull your phone out, ready to text Sweet Pea to ask if he knows what’s going on. You’re hoping that it’s just a last minute serpent meeting, but a part of you fears that it’s something worse. 
Over the past few weeks, you’ve been in pretty regularly, mainly talking to Sweet Pea, and the thought that something bad could have happened and that he could possibly be involved is enough to make your heart skip a beat. 
“There’s no need to text.” Sweet Pea says and you let out a relieved sigh. Your face lights up as you watch him come out from the around the back of the bar, his breath visible in the chilly air and the hairs on the back of you neck stand as you watch him slowly approach you. 
Is this it? After weeks of flirting is he finally making the move? Your heartbeat pumps with excitement and you stand waiting for him to close the gap. Your palms are clammy and you shake them out a little, trying to get rid of the nervous energy that still seems to be clinging onto the moment. 
“Why didn’t you tell me you were a Northsider?” He asks and your eyes widen. “More importantly, a Cooper?” He adds and your face falls. He stares at you, an expectant look on his face as he waits for you to answer. If it wasn’t for the full moon, you wouldn’t be able to see the disappointment on his face, and for the first time in you’re life, you wish the moon would disappear. 
Without it you wouldn’t have to see the hurt and betrayal that he’s trying and failing to hide. 
“Yeah, Jughead told me? He said he never thought he’d see me take an interest in a Northsider, let alone a Cooper. And when I asked him what he meant he told me you were Betty’s sister.” He adds and you gulp. 
He stops a few feet away from you and your gaze drops to his muddy boots. You can’t quite force yourself to look at him. You knew as soon as you lied it would catch up with you at some point. Either he would find out or your mom would, and before you weren’t entirely sure which one is worse. 
Now you know though. Because you’re mom’s been upset with you before, in fact she kind of is at the minute because you’ve ben defending Betty and her choices a lot recently. You can deal with Alice Cooper being pissed at you. It’s something she is at least once a week. 
But this is far worse. The way that he’s looking at you makes you feel sick and if you could go back a month, you never would have set foot in the bar in the first place. You would have told Betty to just text her boyfriend like a normal person and then you’d never have to see him look at you like this. 
“I’m sorry.” You start and look up at him. But the look in his eyes make you stop and drop your gaze again. 
“Sorry?” He repeats. “You know, the worst thing is, is that I actually liked you. You just turned up one day and you were all awkward and you looked so lost in there, but you looked nice and for some weird reason I wanted to help you.” He sighs and runs a hand over his face. His curls fall in front of his eyes and you move step forward, your instant reaction being to move them for him but he takes a step away from you, leaving your hand awkwardly hanging in the air.
“Okay, I lied too. I bumped into you on purpose so I had an excuse to talk to you, but at least I didn’t change or hide myself. At least I was honest.” He says and tears pool in your eyes. 
“Okay, yeah. What I did was bad. But I didn’t murder anyone and that’s what you’re acting like. All I did was change my last name, but can you really blame me? If I’d said ‘hey, i’m y/n cooper’, would you have honestly given me your number? Or would you have kicked me out the of bar yourself?” You glare at him and now it’s his turn to avoid eye contact. 
“I know it was a shitty thing to do, but I know what my mom is like and I know what her and the rest of the town have put you through. I just, I didn’t want to be associated with them. I was only supposed to be here to tell Jughead something and then I was never gonna come back. I didn’t think it would be worth the hassle of me telling you I’m not only a Northsider, but a Cooper too, all for two minutes of conversation.” You argue and stomp towards him. “So, I’m sorry. But at the time I didn’t realize how important you’d end up being to me so I thought it would be ok-what?” 
“I’m important to you?” He asks, his eyes wide and you feel your cheeks heat up at the confession. 
“Of course I do.” You say, your voice a lot softer. You dare to reach out for his hand and he lets you take it. “This past month I have been the happiest I have ever been and that’s because of you.” 
“It’s okay.” He nods. “I lied too. I don’t really use my phone.” He shrugs and you send him a look. “Okay, I lied again. I’m never off my phone. Now we’re even. Now I have a very important question that must be answered immediately.” 
“Go ahead.” 
“Do you even know how to play pool?” He asks and you shake your head with an embarrassed smile. “Come on, I’ll show you how to play.” He says and leads you to the front door of The Wyrm. 
“It looks closed.” You stop and stare at him confused. “Should we be going in?” 
“It’s okay. If we get caught you can just tell them you’re really convincing fake name and then we’ll just be able to leave.” He says. Your jaw drops as you stare at him annoyed before a loud laugh leaves your lips and you shove him. 
“You’re an ass!” 
“And you’re a liar.” He replies, his tone happy as he dances down the stairs. “Are you coming?” He asks from the bottom of them. “Y/n Pool...table? Hey if you were to marry a pool player that would be so cute!” 
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sadman-morgan · 4 years
Text
rainy night muse
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pairing: arthur morgan x neutral!reader
summary:  Heavy rain slammed against the tent’s folds as thunder roared throughout camp. This night felt longer than any other. You were exhausted. You just wanted to get some sleep.
word count: 1.7k
warnings: none, other than extreme fluff with one cowboy. 
---
You and Arthur had spent the day hunting, gathering supplies and various items requested by fellow camp members, all while committing petty crimes along the way. Hunting always made you incredibly sore to the point where other members had taken notice. Ms. Grimshaw always assured there were other ways for you to earn your keep, but you brushed the offers off. Despite the aching, hunting was always your favorite pastime to share with Arthur. 
After rounding up your hunts, you and Arthur decided to head back to camp. When you both approached your horse, Arthur saddled up first, then reached out his arm for you to hop on. On the way back, nightfall slowly began to creep into The Heartlands. Arthur had spent any free-breathing second scribbling away in his journal, which soon became the quickly discussed topic on the ride back. 
“What’d ya draw today?” you questioned. 
Despite not seeing his face, you could feel tints of red smearing across his face, and the heat coming off of it. 
“Uhh.. scenery? Not real sure, jus’ random things I saw beauty in, I suppose,” he laughed nervously. 
You were both usually quiet after strenuous days like today. Occasionally, you mumble-sang random songs together or pointed out breathtaking views. There was always something about talking to you that made Arthur’s heart skip beats, and his palms drown in his own sweat. Speaking his true mind was always a difficult task. 
Once you arrived at camp, the day turned into a deep pitch black, only to be combated by the bright illumination of the campfire. Arthur hopped off first to hitch the horse, then came back around to help you off. 
You both went around saying your hellos to those still awake, and gave your hunted animals over to Pearson.
After handing over the hunted animals, you and Arthur went back to your tent to drop a couple of things off, and to turn in for the night.
You sat down on your shared cot and quietly watched Arthur rustle through his satchel before finally placing it down on the table. 
Before coming over to sit down, Arthur mumbled, “Shit -- I’ll be right back, just forgot to do somethin’.” 
“Y’alright?” you questioned him. 
“Yeah. Just forgot to.. to give everyone their things. I hope they’re still awake. Shouldn’t be too much trouble, I’ll be back in a minute,” Arthur said as he shuffled through his satchel, picking out the few items that camp members had requested. 
After Arthur left, you dug through his satchel, took out his journal, and began to flip through his beautiful paragraphs and illustrations.
Arthur knew you read his paragraphs and looked at his drawings. It was mostly because of how you spoke about different things, and how you would try to compliment him on his art, which was never received well. He was self-conscious about his art and writing being seen by anybody else; it initially was for his eyes only. As time went on, he grew less worried about your reading, as long as it was only you seeing his work. He never believed you when you tried to compliment him on his art, and would sometimes grow defensive if he thought you were kidding. You would never do such a thing, but he suspected otherwise. 
Flipping through the pages, you finally found his writing and drawings from that day. On one side of the page, he wrote a small blurb about enjoying hunting with you, and how beautiful the scenery was. You laughed a little bit, before flipping the page to see his daily drawing. 
Tears immediately filled your eyes and trickled down your face. You glided your fingers across the page. His daily drawing was a beautiful portrait of you, "Muse" scrawled hastily underneath. You closed the journal and slipped it back into his satchel. 
You sat down on your cot and continued to happily cry with the cheesiest smile smeared across your face. You meant the world to Arthur, but he always struggled to outright say so. You raised your head to Arthur’s return, still teary-eyed.  
“I’m back, y’alright?” he questioned. He seemed mildly puzzled. 
“Yeah~ I’m alright. Nothin’ to worry about,” you responded.
But Arthur knew exactly what to worry about.
Arthur felt his heart begin to race out of embarrassment. He felt loved, but he also felt his usual sense of guilt. He didn’t believe that he deserved to be loved by such a beautiful person like you. After Mary had left, he grew afraid of history repeating itself. 
Arthur didn’t know what to say or do other than nod his head, and mumble, “Thanks.” 
You couldn’t bring yourself to look him in the eyes, so you gazed off into the void behind him.
“Don’t mention it, Morgan.”
Once you stood up, Arthur pulled you tightly into his arms. While nearly suffocating, you were welcomed by the soft aromas of pine and whiskey, mixed in with sweat. You felt at home. 
Arthur loosened his hold on you with one arm and used the other to gently ruffle your hair. 
“I care about you, Darlin’... so, so much,” Arthur mumbled into your ear.
Arthur could feel you smiling deep into his chest. He pulled you away so he could gaze into your gorgeous eyes.
“You’re my world, Y/N,” Arthur said as he carefully dragged his thumb across your face, wiping away the remainder of your tears. “You’ve turned me into a goddamned fool”. 
You pulled him back in and kissed his cheek, his stubble scraping against your skin. You felt a sudden temperature change in his face. 
You carefully pulled away while tracing his jawline, only to have him tug you back in and give you a quick smooch on the lips. 
“You’re so handsome,” you said. 
He gave you a puzzled look and chuckled. “Maybe it’s time to visit the eye doctor then?” 
You playfully shook your head. “Don’t think so, cowboy”. 
Your mutual flirtations were interrupted by bellowing thunder and heavy rain, and nearly every camp member rising to their feet. 
“Sonuvabitch,” Arthur sighed. “Let’s go help out.”
Everyone rushed to get their belongings out of the rain and load them back into the proper wagons. Thank God there wasn’t much to move around. You and Arthur were both completely drenched in no time, but kept on loading the wagons. 
“Everyone alright?” Arthur called out. 
“Yes, Mr. Morgan," "Yes, Arthur,” various voices across camp responded. 
“Alright, Just a bit of thunder and rain, nothin’ to worry about. Let’s try to get some rest.” 
As everyone went back to sleep, you and Arthur headed back to your wagon and tent. 
You looked and felt like shit, and so did Arthur. You were both overworked, exhausted, and soaking wet from the rain -- not to mention the deep aching pain throughout your neck, back, and shoulders. 
Arthur walked over to the small area where you both kept your pajamas and took them out. 
“Here ya go,” he said in a deep, exhausted tone. 
“Thanks,” you responded.
As you took your pajamas from Arthur, you gave him a small head notion for him to put his eyes elsewhere, or to turn around. 
“Alright,” he said as he turned around and covered his eyes. “I won’t look at ya.”
“Thanks,” you said as you finished getting dressed, pulling your shirt over your head. “‘Free to turn around now.” 
After you returned the favor, you both crawled into your shared cot. The rain continued to pour hard against your tent. 
You snuggled close into Arthur and carefully sprawled your hand across his chest, before putting your head down. 
His soft breathing and heartbeat were more comforting and relaxing than he could ever understand. Arthur raised his hand and gently played with your hair, which always sent tingles down your spine. 
You could’ve passed out immediately on his chest, but the harsh rain had decided otherwise. You hated it when it poured. Arthur never understood your hatred for the rain, as it always immediately lulled him to sleep. On stormy nights, he would battle the pull of gravity on his eyelids so he could lull you to sleep first. It seemed like this night would be the same. 
“Y’did good today, I’m so… so proud of you.” Arthur mumbled into your ear. 
His voice had dropped a ton in comparison to when he last spoke. His voice was naturally deep and raspy, but when that man grew tired, his voice sure could tell. He spoke so much slower, deeper, and raspier the more exhausted he was, and God did you find it to be one of the sexiest things about him. 
You gently kissed his neck before rolling off his chest and onto your back. 
You tried so hard to stay still and quiet, but you mindlessly tossed and turned. Sometimes you would move so much, you would accidentally kick Arthur. 
What felt like two hours passed, and you were still wide awake, kept conscious by the relentless aches in your muscles. 
 Arthur hadn’t slept. Your constant movement, kicking, and whimpers had kept him awake. 
“Wh… What’chu whimpering for? Is something wrong, Darlin'?” Arthur slowly said, barely conscious. 
“My back and shoulders… they… they hurt so badly, Arthur,” you whined. 
You sounded like you were about to cry. You just wanted to get some goddamn sleep.
Arthur laid still for a moment. “I… I have an idea, can you roll over on your stomach for me?” He muttered as he carefully nudged you onto your side, and then onto your stomach. 
Arthur motioned behind you and grazed his hand across your shoulder, “I’m gonna rub your shoulders and back for you, is that alright?” he asked. Once you nodded, he applied a bit more pressure, which caused you to wince. 
“God damn.... knotted up to high heaven,” he murmured as he began to gently massage your back and shoulders. You whimpered and groaned when Arthur found a sore or sensitive spot, but he could feel you begin to relax underneath him, telling him that his hard work was greatly appreciated. Arthur gradually slowed down for a minute to admire you. He smiled softly as he watched the rise and fall of your shoulders as you began to nod off. 
Only ten minutes after he started, you had fallen completely asleep. 
“Goodnight, Muse,” he mumbled as he ran his hand across your shoulders. 
After a job well done, Arthur slid off of your back, rolled onto his, and quickly dozed off. 
He loved to sleep to the ear-pleasing harmonies of the pouring rain, but only if you were taken care of first.
---
an: first fic for this fandom, I hope you guys like it! I’m always open to writing suggestions, feel free to leave some in my inbox. 
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shirtlesssammy · 3 years
Text
6x16: ...And Then There Were None
Then:
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Assistant Director Skinner and Mr. X were on Supernatural and I think that’s something to celebrate
Now:
At a truck stop, Eve finds a Jesus loving trucker and asks to tell him a secret. She goes to whisper in his ear, and instead, bites into it. The trucker comes home that night and bashes his wife’s head in with a claw hammer. 
Bobby fills the brothers in on a string of monster sightings alone I-80, leading to the trucker’s murder ramage on his family. 
They interview the trucker, who has no memory of the event. 
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The man is beyond distraught at what happened. 
The trio then looks over the truck stop camera footage and they find Eve.
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They discuss their options (Run) when the police get another call about another mass killing. Bobby heads out, only to find the FBI is already there --in the form of his old buddy Rufus. 
They check out the victims.
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Bobby finds goo in an ear. They decide to check out the cannery where the victims worked. 
They meet up with Dean and Sam and all head inside to investigate. Once there, they find the Campbell clan. Dean instantly heads to off his granddad. Sam stops him. Rufus then breaks up the family reunion to focus on the case. Samuel tells the others that Eve, the mother of monsters, is on Earth. Bobby fills Gwen in on Samuel’s little betrayal of Sam and Dean, and she heads off to talk to Dean. 
She asks about Samuel, and he confirms it. He then shoots her in the stomach. WHAT? When the others rush to her, Dean is gone. 
Sam tries finding his brother. Rufus tries saving Gwen’s life. Neither is successful.
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They split up to find Dean, who they believe has whatever the other killers had. Rufus and Samuel find Dean.
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Dean tells the group that he had some kind of slimy worm thing crawl out of his ear. They have to make sure it actually left Dean though. Bobby makes everyone give up their guns. Until they figure out where the worm is and if it’s in somebody, they have to be cautious.
With the guns locked up, Bobby and Rufus get to calling people about what they're dealing with. Samuel heads off to use the bathroom, and Sam and Dean follow. 
Rufus and Bobby get no leads. Bobby suggests going after the thing “guns blazing.” “Like Omaha,” Rufus retorts. Bobby gets pissed that Rufus would bring that up.
Dean and Sam corner dear old Grandpa Campbell into a family reunion. Samuel refuses to apologize, and the Winchester lads persist in their threats of murderous retribution. Dean notices goo oozing from Samuel’s ear just in time to stop him from firing some new holes into the Winchesters. Possessed!Samuel escapes into the factory. 
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They head out into the factory - hunting together in a pack like majestic wolves! At last, Dean’s horror movie obsession helps them out. (Never split up.) They discover booby traps! This is like Goonies except without the delightful pirate treasure!
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Sam gets split off from the pack and encounters Samuel - who immediately works the Sam guilt angle. Samuel closes in and Sam shoots him in the head. (It’s times like this that I really resent Supernatural naming them “Sam” and “Samuel.”) When everyone else catches up, they cuff Sam. A little later, examining the body, they discover that Samuel’s ears are clean. CLEAN! No monster ear wax! IS Sam the infected one? They determine that further autopsy is needed, so Bobby and Rufus head out to get Bobby’s cranial saw. As one does. 
Sam and Dean stand vigil over Samuel, and have a broment. They talk about feelings and guilt. Sam frets over what their mom would think about Sam killing her father. Dean opines that just because someone’s blood, it doesn’t make them family. When Bobby and Rufus return, the Winchesters leave the room in a flurry of soulful looks. Bobby and Rufus prepare to crack open Grandpa Campbell’s skull.
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It’s Bobby’s turn to have a soulful moment over a dead body. He brings up Omaha - he should have listened to Rufus. While Rufus has spent this whole hunt exuding amused ease, he grows serious quickly when Bobby tries to apologize. “You can blab all day and it wouldn’t change a thing, Bobby,” he says angrily. “I’ll never forgive you for what happened.” Rufus advises Bobby to change the subject and my entire body goes cold and I hurt so much for these two characters!
Speaking of hurt...they start to cut into Samuel’s skull, only for the guy to wake up and start beating everyone up! (You can see where Dean inherited his not-dead-yet tendencies.) Samuel gets electrocuted and it chases the khan worm right out of his head. 
They regroup, and try to figure out where the worm might have gone. 
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All their ears turn up clean, but Sam proposes electrocuting everyone to see if they’re possessed. Sam. Sweetie. 
Dean volunteers to be electrocuted first. Dean. Sweetie. 
They electrocute Sam, Dean, Rufus, and….Bobby tries to decline. As Rufus approaches, Possessed!Bobby stabs him. UGH. This is why I don’t rewatch this episode. RUFUS NOOOO!!!
Bobby wakes duct taped to a chair. 
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The worm speaks through Bobby. Enough people have died today, Possessed!Bobby posits. Do they really want to endanger Bobby’s life to defeat one little worm? Anyway, the worm’s eager to talk. “New monster just dropped,” the worm announces proudly (paraphrasing). Eve made him and she’s going to make monster-topia on Earth. She’s sent the worm to them with a message: “You’re all gonna die.” (I have to say, that packs a bigger punch than, say, scrawling “I am coming” on an angel’s chest.) 
They tape over Bobby’s mouth, nose, and ears and order Bobby to hang on. They’re gonna fry themselves up a worm! (But hopefully not a Bobby.) The worm drops out of Bobby’s electrocuted body eventually and we end the scene with Sam breathlessly announcing that “he’s not breathing.” 
Cut to the Winchesters standing over a fresh grave. Dun dun DUN.
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Bobby joins them, and we’re left to mourn Rufus. He eulogizes Rufus: Bobby was just a mechanic until Rufus saved him from his possessed wife. Rufus taught Bobby all about hunting. They hunted together for years, until Omaha. Dean tosses his opinion in before Bobby spirals too far down the self-recrimination slide. Rufus should have forgiven Bobby because “life’s short. And ours are shorter than most. Are we gonna spend it wringing our hands? Something’s gonna get us eventually. And when my guts get ripped out, just so you two know...we’re good.” Dean offers a blanket absolution. Then Sam and Dean wander off as it starts to rain, leaving Bobby to drink and mourn his friend.
Long Live Rufus Quoter:
C’mon man, it’s not rocket surgery
Somebody needs a hug
Monster possession? That’s novel
If anything crawls out of anybody, somebody step on it
This can’t be my afterlife, ‘cause the three of you are here
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crowclubkaz · 3 years
Text
Blood in the Sand (Din Djarin/Cobb Vanth)
read it here on ao3
Bounty hunters don’t work for free. This has been something Din Djarin has been firm with throughout his life – yes, some jobs pay in favors rather than in credits or beskar, but they pay none the less. There are some jobs he takes on because he owes someone something, some jobs he takes on because he can’t stand to see innocent people hurt.
Mos Pelgo has neither credits, nor beskar, nor does the Mandalorian owe them anything. And yet, when a distress call is sent from the town to him, he goes without hesitation. Not because he expects something in return. Not even because he knows the place is filled with nothing but innocents. He goes because of Cobb Vanth.
The distress call had been unclear, rushed and hurried and desperate, and most notably, not from the town Marshal, that much Din can tell. But the people of Mos Pelgo remember the Mandalorian that had slain the Krayt Dragon, the knight in shining armor that had bartered peace with the Tuskens, and so they know that fearsome reputation or not, he is a friend to them. A friend to Marshal Vanth. And although the call is sent out in vain, he is the only person they know to call. A small place in the middle of Tatooine has no desire to deal with the New Republic, lest they have their lives overtaken by pilots in orange.
Before Din’s ship even touches sand, he knows exactly what sort of trouble he’s in for. While Stormtrooper armor might bleed the white snow of places like Hoth, it sticks out clear as day against the browns and beiges of Tatooine. What Stormtroopers are doing in Mos Pelgo of all places, Din doesn’t know – but that doesn’t matter. Their presence means nothing good, only brings with it death and destruction and forced submission. And while one or two Stormtroopers can be ambushed perfectly easily, even by the townsfolk of as small a place as Mos Pelgo, the twelve that Din can see sitting straight along the road through the center of town alone tell him why this is a problem much better suited for a specialist.
Ask questions first, shoot second has always been Din’s motto – he likes to know why he’s shooting before he has to. Wants to make sure nobody innocent is getting hurt before he so much as reaches for his blaster. And while he doesn’t often give Stormtroopers the benefit of the doubt, he does this time. He does this time, because the last thing he wants is anyone getting caught in the crossfire of a fully-armored shootout. It’s just being safe.
The troopers are on him before he’s so much as reached the first building in the town.
“Mandalorian,” Din hears one of them say, and he can’t discern whether it’s spoken with shock, hesitancy, or as a precursor to being shot at.
Din is silent as two troopers approach him, blasters both held across their chests.
“State your business.”
His business. Ridiculous.
“I’ve come to see an old friend,” he says, because it’s not untrue, and it’s the truth that is least likely to result in an all-out firefight. Din wants to speak to Vanth, first. Wants to understand what’s happened, needs to decide what the best course of action is with the most information possible.
“This is an Imperial outpost,” one of the troopers informs him. It makes Din tense, makes him straighten impossibly so.
“And there are still residents here,” Din continues. He can see people staring out of the windows of their homes, with so much hope in their eyes that the Mandalorian is here to save them. But they stay quiet, and stay still, because Stormtroopers aren’t known for their patience or consideration for life.
The two troopers glance at one another, before speaking again. “Who are you here to see?”
At least they’re smart enough not to dismiss someone dressed entirely in beskar steel immediately.
“The Marshal.”
It’s the soft chuckle that one of the troopers makes that has Din turning his head slightly in their direction. Din has been grateful for his helmet more often than not, for the protection and anonymity it offers – he’s grateful for it now, too, because were it not for his helmet, the sharp danger in his eyes would have given away too much.
Though the other trooper doesn’t laugh, there’s a clear amusements in his voice when he speaks. “There are no Marshals here. This village is claimed by the Empire.”
Din’s blood runs cold in a heartbeat, at the notion that Vanth might be—no. No, he isn’t. Din would know if Cobb was dead. He doesn’t know how he’d know, but he would. Or maybe that’s just lingering hope.
“Cobb Vanth, then,” Din corrects, managing to keep his voice steady, emotionless.
One trooper looks ready to threaten Din off, so entirely unconcerned by what irrelevant, useless citizen of this pathetic town the stranger is here to see. But the other cocks his head a bit, before he nods. “Vanth,” he says, and there’s recognition there. Din considers that a good thing. For a moment.
“Isn’t Vanth the one we made an example out of when we arrived?”
And Din goes still. Silent. He fires his blaster square in the trooper’s chest before either of them have even realized Din’s hand has so much as moved.
It ends the way Din had hoped it might. With twenty-two Stormtroopers dead, before a single one of them can make a distress call. No civilian casualties, or even injuries. It’s a good day. When the fighting is done and the noise has all stopped, one lone man dares to venture out into the streets, as though to make certain they’re all safe. And when he’s determined that they are, the rest of the townspeople follow hesitantly out. Some cry in relief, some kick the bodies of the troopers, already taking armor off of them.
The lone man – Din recognizes him vaguely from the battle with the dragon – steps forward, to bow his head and run a litany of praise. “Thank you,” and “we weren’t certain you had heard the call, let alone that you would come,” and “those Imperial bastards have been ravaging the town for weeks.”
Din nods in his understanding, but his mind is elsewhere. He waits until the man has seemingly finished, before Din puts his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Where is Marshal Vanth?”
The relief and gratitude on the man’s face slips into something much more somber, and he drops his gaze to the sand. “Terrible business,” the man mutters, with a shake of his head. “Terrible, terrible business.”
“Where?” Din asks again, and it’s clear it isn’t a friendly query. The man points to a house that looks like many others around it, unremarkable and undistinguishable, and Din goes to it without hesitation.
The inside is as plain and simple as the outside. It would be nearly impossible to decipher who it belongs to, were it not for the red scarf laying across the nearby table. The house has so few rooms that it doesn’t take long for Din to find the single one that’s occupied.
Inside, Cobb Vanth lays on a bed on his side. An older woman, one Din doesn’t recognize, sits behind him, intently focused on the work ahead. When she hears someone enter the room, she gasps, and stands quickly, as though to give Din some show of respect.
It’s only then that Din understands what ‘being made an example of’ looks like. Cobb is shirtless, and his back is a mess of angry, bloody lash marks, some so deep that he thinks he might see muscle. They look a few days old, at least, and that they’ve been well-tended to, but they look painful. It takes Cobb a few moments before he turns his head over his shoulder, his gaze so defeated, like he’s expecting to see a Stormtrooper standing there to finish the job. But he doesn’t. He sees Din, and the way Cobb’s face lights up makes even the brightest sun in the galaxy look dim.
“You came,” he breathes, moving to sit up, but crying out in pain and laying back down when his back protests to the movement. Din moves forward instinctively, kneeling down by the edge of the bed, a firm hand resting on Cobb’s hip to keep him from moving further. Once Cobb catches his breath, he swallows hard, and turns his head to look at the woman. “Give me a few minutes, Retta,” he says, with that soft, charming little smile. She looks at him wearily, but it isn’t because she doesn’t want to leave Cobb alone with the Mandalorian. “I’m not gonna bleed out in the five minutes you’re gone,” Cobb offers instead, and she seems to relax more at that, before excusing herself from the room.
Though, when she’s gone, the first thing Cobb does is move. “Help me up,” he says, and Din would protest to it, if he didn’t know just how stubborn Vanth was. So he offers what help he can, until Vanth is sitting at the edge of the bed, and Din stays down on one knee on the floor. Cobb is pale, in pain, looks broken in all sorts of ways, but has that look about him that still says I’m the Marshal, I’m fine, wrap me up and I’ll be good to go. It wouldn’t surprise Din if those were the first words out of Vanth’s mouth after he’d been abused so badly.
“What happened?” Din says softly, hands resting on Vanth’s knees, rubbing slow, gentle circles with his thumbs. A soothing gesture, he hopes, and it seems to work, because a bit of the stiffness in Cobb’s shoulders seeps out of his muscles.
“Troopers came through the desert, looking for a place to set up a new Imperial base. I don’t give a damn what the New Republic says, those Imperial bastards are still everywhere, if you know where to look,” Cobb breathes, with a shake of his head. “Guess they thought it’d be easier to turn a town into their little outpost instead of starting fresh. So they came in and took over. Didn’t have the firepower to stop ‘em.”
Briefly, Din feels a stab of guilt. That maybe if Cobb had still had Fett’s armor, he might’ve been able to save himself and his town. But that isn’t true, and Din knows it. It took one, fully-experienced, fully-armored, pissed-off Mandalorian to take care of the troopers, and Cobb couldn’t have managed it alone.
“Played along, for a while. Didn’t want anybody getting hurt, or worse. But I been a thorn in their side since day one,” Vanth chuckles, and lightly, Din does, too. They’re both troublemakers, for the right causes. “Managed to duck ‘em for a few weeks. But then they started going after the little ones, trying to poach ‘em, get ‘em to train to be troopers. I wasn’t putting up with that. So when I tried to stop ‘em, they pulled me out into the middle of town and—” Cobb stops, gesturing vaguely to the mess at his back. “Guessin’ you can figure out the rest.”
Din exhales slowly, head dropping a little. “I’m sorry,” he says, after a few moments. But it only makes Cobb raise a brow. “For what, huh? Unless you sent ‘em here yourself, you got nothing to be sorry for.”
“I shouldn’t have left you vulnerable.” Whether that meant letting Vanth keep the armor (which Din couldn’t do), or staying behind to protect Mos Pelgo himself (which Din also couldn’t do). But there must’ve been something he could’ve done to stop this, and he didn’t. And it makes him hurt. Makes him hurt to see Cobb hurt.
Cobb brushes his hands down over the sides of Din’s helmet, pulls him in a little closer until Din can rest his head against Cobb’s chest lightly. “Ain’t your job to keep me safe,” he offers softly, because it isn’t. Cobb can take care of himself, thank you very much. And when he can’t, well—that’s life.
Another moment of heavy silence passes by, before Din reluctantly pulls away from Vanth’s touch, and goes to take his gloves off instead. “Lay down,” he instructs, as kindly and gently as he’s capable. And Cobb does without disagreement, because sitting up hurts too damn much right now. He lets out a relieved exhale when he’s back laying down, facing the stone wall ahead of him, listening to the Mandalorian shuffle around behind him.
“This’ll hurt,” Din warns, before he’s bringing the wet cloth the woman had been using to clean Vanth’s wounds to his skin. Cobb inhales sharply, but it isn’t an unbearable pain. “You even allowed to go taking your gloves off?” Vanth teases lightly, because Cobb Vanth could be broken and bleeding, but he’ll always be charming. Din doesn’t respond, but Vanth likes to think he can tell that the Mandalorian is smiling beneath that shiny helmet.
The movements are slower and more tender than Vanth ever expected a bounty hunter to be capable of. And when the water in the bowl has run red, and Cobb’s wounds are as clean as they can be, Din reaches for the cloth to wrap the wounds back up. His work there is just as steady, just as soothing, and Cobb’s eyes briefly flutter shut whenever he can feel Din’s skin brush against his own. “I’ve taken care of the troopers here,” Din explains as he works. “If you dispose of the bodies, I doubt anyone else will come looking for such a small outpost in the middle of a desert.”
And if they do? Din will make certain that he’s one call away. One signal, one click, and he’ll be there.
“Then I guess I owe you twice over, don’t I? For the troopers, and for playing medic,” Cobb hums, and he hates owing people, but he doesn’t mind owing Din.
“You owe me nothing,” Din says quickly in return, and he means it. He means it. And that doesn’t sound like the kind of tone Vanth was to argue with, so he doesn’t.
When his back is bandaged securely, Din runs his fingers over the layers of cloth strips, wishing he could heal it all with a simple touch. But he can’t. He can’t do anything to make this right.
But he can give Vanth something else.
With Cobb still facing away from him, Din’s hands go to his helmet. And Cobb holds his breath when he hears the thing come off, closes his eyes tight, even though he can’t see Din from where he’s laying, anyways. It just feels—respectful. Right.
Cobb is no stranger to touch, of course. He’s spent a few too many nights alone in the Cantina, after all, just looking for a good time. But when Din’s lips brush so lightly over Cobb’s shoulder, the first piece of exposed skin he can reach that isn’t bloodied, Cobb swears he could damn near cry. It’s such an intimate thing, so much more intimate in ways Vanth can’t even begin to explain.
“I’m sorry,” Din says again, his lips brushing Vanth’s shoulder as he speaks. Another kiss, then, to Cobb’s bicep. And as Din raises up on his knees, he can see that Cobb’s eyes are shut, and the warmth that fills Din is so overwhelming. Everyone he’s ever met has asked about the helmet, has all but begged him to see beneath it. And Din knows Cobb wants to see, too. But Din’s comfort and his Creed matter to Vanth, and he puts that before his own desire, even at his weakest.
Vanth is trembling lightly by the time Din kisses his cheek, and every part of Cobb wants to turn and catch Din’s lips, but he doesn’t. Doesn’t let himself push so far, because this intimacy is a gift he’s being given, and he knows better than to push his luck, or worse, be ungrateful.
“It isn’t my job to keep you safe,” Din agrees, so desperately softly. “But I’d like it to be.” And Din kisses Cobb properly, then, feels those rough lips against his own, and they melt into one another. But Cobb is still hurt, and Din is hyper-aware of that, so he pulls back long before either of them will need to start gasping for air, even when Vanth chases after the kiss in desperate for more.
No one’s ever offered to keep Cobb safe before. He’s always been something of a lone ranger, always keeping other people safe, always the first line of defense. And Maker, he wants to keep Din safe, too, but there’s really not much he can do for a man that’ll jet straight inside of a damned dragon without telling anyone about it first. Maybe the best that they can do is… protect each other. Or do their hardest.
“C’mere,” Vanth says, gesturing with his head to what little space is left in front of him on the bed. And armor and all, Din lays down with Cobb, and brings his hand up to brush over Vanth’s cheek. Cobb chases the touch like he needs it to survive, eyes still shut so tightly, just trying to get a feel for Din without really seeing him. He nestles in closer against all of that beskar, cool to the touch even under the hot suns. It settles and soothes him, makes him relax more than he has in months, let alone since the Stormtroopers invaded.
“Cobb,” Din half-whispers, in an attempt not to disturb the peace he’s created. “You can open your eyes.” Vanth recoils the barest bit, like he’s absolutely shocked, like even though he’s been given permission, he doesn’t know if he’s allowed. It makes Din smile, and he rubs his thumb over Cobb’s cheek. “You can. It’s okay.”
So, he does.
And he studies Din’s face for a long, long time. Takes in every inch of him, like he’s worried he’s gonna have to memorize this now, because he’ll never be able to see it again. “Huh,” Cobb says, after a moment. “Brown eyes.” He doesn’t know why he’d been expecting green.
“Brown eyes,” Din chuckles softly with a nod, still so unused to being... seen. Once the initial shock of getting to see Din has left Cobb, the barest hint of a smirk tugs at his lips. “Knew you’d be too damn handsome for your own good,” he says, just to see if he can get Din’s cheeks to go pink. And they do, a bit. It’s rewarding as all hell.
And this time, it’s Vanth that kisses Din first. And he goes slow, takes his time, brings his own hand up to brush through Din’s hair. It’s soft. Perfect. Just like everything else about him. Cobb knows in that moment that he’d do anything Din ever asked of him, and Din knows he’d do the same in return. Amongst all of the blood, and the sand, and the pain, they’ve found… this. Whatever this is. It’s more than either of them think they deserve, but neither of them are going to complain about having it. And as much as they both wish it hadn’t taken a public lashing to get here, fate isn’t always the kindest thing.
When they pull away, Cobb’s panting a bit, and Din’s trying not to. Can’t let Vanth see him breathless, otherwise his ego might swell too big for his own good.
“Think I could get used to keeping a Mandalorian around,” Cobb smiles.
Din mirrors the expression. “Think I could get used to staying.”
44 notes · View notes
cupidhaos · 4 years
Text
desk buddies
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pairing: bambam x female reader
word count: 2.3k
genre: fluff, slight angst, slice of life
summary: bambam would soon come to realize, that his ‘annoying desk buddy’ would be one of the most important people in his life
warnings: none
a/n: i was listening to cherry by rina sawayama when i was writing this and that fact is honestly not relevant to the fic at all i just wanted to tell everyone that they should listen to it too
[part of my What is Love? series]
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for most of his life, bambam kept his circle close. he never thought that he needed anyone else other than yugyeom in his life. the two boys had known each other since they were young - being the other’s first friend and all. all throughout elementary school, he had never found it necessary to reach out to anybody else. i mean he and yugyeom had each other - why would he need anyone else?
“you know - you should try to make friends other than me.” yugyeom told him one day on their way from school. it was only a couple more months until they would start middle school.
bambam frowned from where he walked by his best friend “why? if i have you then why would i need anybody else?”
it was yugyeom’s turn to frown “isn’t it better to have someone other than me though?”
the other boy just huffed in response “it’s not like you’re making any effort in making other friends either. besides, everyone else is irrelevant anyways. i don’t need any other friends if they’re just going to leave in the end and go off with someone else.”
the frown on yugyeom’s face deepens as the two of them walk in silence for a while. “i mean… that’s true… but you know i’m not good with making friends! at least you can talk to others.” yugyeom speaks up after time passes. bambam just rolls his eyes at him.
“if i have you then there’s no point in needing anybody else.”
the first day of middle school, bambam felt his world stop. him and yugyeom - for the first time since they have met each other, were now in different classes.
“i know it sucks bam, but it can’t be helped” yugyeom tells his friend who continues to stare at the sheet of paper listing their classes in disbelief. bambam didn’t know how to respond back as he just continued to look at the paper as if it were going to change the harder he stared.
before he knew it - he was sitting in his class filled with unfamiliar faces. he wondered how yugyeom was doing and was dreading the rest of the school year as he stared out of the window - an uninterested look on his face that made everyone avoid going near him.
‘see yugyeom. this is exactly why i don’t reach out and try to make friends. everyone here is all fake and irrelevant anyways. none of them even want to look my way and they’re all avoiding me anyways. who needs anyone else-’
bambam’s angry inner monologue came to a stop as he heard movement coming from the seat next to his. he looks up to see a girl setting up her materials and putting her stationary into the desk next to his. his eyes drift to a familiar wand-like pen peeking out of her pencil pouch.
“... sailor moon?” he accidentally slips out. the girl follows his gaze towards her pen and her eyes widen. she hurriedly shoves the pen back into her pencil pouch as her face visibly reddens. “what? no! haha i’ve never watched sailor moon in my entire life i have no idea who that is at all and it’s not like i’m a fan that i’d buy her merch or anything what? i mean - why are you peeking in my desk!”
bambam watches her ramble on with a confused look on his face. he had no idea why she was talking to him and why she was even defending herself in the first place.
‘wait - why was she accusing me?’
a frown takes up bambam’s face as he met her eyes. “i wasn’t peeking in your desk! you sit right next to me it’s in my vision!”
“well maybe you should keep your eyes on your own desk!”
an offended scoff leaves bambam’s lips at the comment. who the hell does this girl think she is?
“well maybe you should have better taste in anime!” “excuse me?!”
“you heard me! sailor moon sucks! she can’t even beat naruto!”
a loud and offended noise leaves her lips once she hears the comment. she clenches her fist angrily, neither of them noticing the attention of the classroom slowly being shifted towards them.
“not true at all! sailor moon can beat naruto’s ass in seconds!”
“nuh-uh!”
“yuh-huh!”
“y/n! bambam! is there a reason the two of you are arguing in class right now?”
the pair both turned towards their teacher with wide eyes before pointing an accusing finger at the other.
“she started it!”
“he started it!”
that was how the two of them were sent into the hallway on the first day of middle school. the two classmates stand on opposite sides of the hallway as they sit against the wall with their hands above their heads.
bambam looks over towards the supposed ‘y/n’ who sits there with a pout on her lips he feels. a tinge of guilt in his chest as he looked at her.
‘maybe i should apologize…’
“... naruto is still better than sailor moon” he mumbles.
and that was how they got into another argument for the second time that day.
after their first encounter - the two would get into arguments daily. since they were also desk partners, it was inevitable for them not to find something to fight about. whether it was y/n’s eraser shavings accidentally finding its way onto bambam’s desk - or it was bambam’s elbow accidentally bumping into y/n while she was writing, the two always found a reason to fight with the other.
over time though, arguments had turned more into friendly banter and teasing. y/n even began greeting him outside of class instead of the typical death glare that the two would share with each other if they saw the other during passing periods.
“you’ve been acting different” yugyeom says one day as the two were hanging out at his house. bambam looks up from his homework with a confused expression on his face “different? how?”
yugyeom just shrugs as he continues writing out the math problem on his worksheet. “i don’t know - you seem much happier and you’re even more talkative.”
bambam feels his eyes widen at his best friend’s observation. “i… have?”
the other boy just nods as he looks up at him with a mischievous smile “you have, is it because of that girl you’re always talking to in the hall?”
bambam feels his entire face heat up at the question and gives yugyeom an incredulous look. “what?! ew! y/n?! that’s so gross like i’d ever like her!”
the smirk on yugyeom’s face just grows at his friend’s response “i never asked if you liked her”
seconds later bambam has yugyeom in a headlock as yugyeom laughs loudly at his best friend’s behavior.
after that comment, bambam tried his best to shake off the happy feeling he got when he was around y/n. the two of them weren’t friends - he didn’t want to be her friend, was what he continuously tried to convince himself. it even came to the point where he tried his best to ignore her and isolate himself from the other.
another day passes by as he did his best to ignore y/n. but y/n was never one to back down easily.
“psst… bambam…!” she whispers from where she sat next to him. bambam just ignores her though as he continues on with doing his work. y/n pouts at the lack of reaction before trying again. after being ignored a second time she gives up.
bambam sighs in relief internally as he realized she was probably thinking of giving up of attempts to be her friend.
‘i’m really not surprised. this is how it usually turns out.’
seconds later though - a folded piece of paper makes its way onto his notebook. bambam stops what he’s writing and slowly turns to look at y/n with an unamused look on his face. y/n is turned away from him though as she looks into the other direction. her eyes slowly go to look at him and she gestures at the folded paper with her head. with a tired sigh, bambam opens up the folded paper to read the contents inside.
stop ignoring me >:(
was what was written in the paper. bambam rolls his eyes and y/n watches from her side view as he writes something down. he folds the paper back up and slides it over to her desk.
i’m not ignoring you. why do you even care.
bambam could hear her huff angrily and the sound of rapid writing next to him. the paper is then thrown back onto his desk.
um maybe because i’m your friend STUPID -_-
his eyes widened at the message. she considered him… a friend?
i never said we were friends. now stop bothering me.
okay well too bad because we’re friends now so tell me why you’re ignoring me
we are not friends. i hate you go away.
oh so you’re the tsundere type ~ well that sucks because i’m not going anywhere! ^u^
just leave me alone!!
`3` you’re so cruel T__T but fine, i’ll leave you alone for now - bestie ;P
bambam turns away from y/n as he reads the last message, he can hear snickering from behind him though as his face begins to turn red. the paper is quickly snatched out of his hands though before he could even respond. he turns around to face y/n but pauses once he finally gets a good look at her.
y/n looks at him with a playful smile as she teasingly waves the note at him. it was like the light around her glowed as bambam looked towards her and he felt a warm feeling rise up in his chest.
‘did she always glow like that?’ he wondered. the moment was cut short though as the note is quickly snatched from y/n’s hand. the two look up at their teacher who gave the two of them an unamused look.
“passing notes in the middle of class y/n? you as well bambam?” 
and that was how they both ended up out in the hallway for a second time. its quiet between the two of them as they sit against the wall with their arms above their heads.
“listen… i understand if you don’t want to talk to me anymore, i get it” bambam quietly tells y/n as they both sit at a distance from each other in the hallway. y/n looks up a him and gives him a confused expression “huh? what are you talking about?” “i’ve been ignoring you and i said some pretty mean things to you… it’s okay if you don’t want to talk anymore i wouldn’t be that surprised. i’m used to not having many friends.” he adds on. its quiet again before y/n breaks the silence with her loud laughter.
bambam turns to look at y/n with the same confused look that she had just moments ago. “are you mocking me now?” he asks her, annoyance was hinted at his tone. y/n just shakes her head at his question though before turning to meet his eyes.
“i swear i’m not i just - i knew that yugyeom said you weren’t used to having friends but i didn’t know he meant it” y/n explains in between her laughs. bambam gives y/n a horrified look “how do you know yugyeom?!”
y/n’s laughter stops as she stops to think back. “hmm i met him a couple of days ago through mingyu since they’re in the same class. he came over to gyu’s the same time that i was there and he told me he was your friend” she explains. the look of terror doesn’t leave bambam’s face the more he heard y/n speak “what?! what did he say to you?!”
she just responds with a mischievous look on her face as she sends him a playful wink “that’s a secret”. all bambam could do was groan in response as the two people he didn’t want interacting had already met each other without him even knowing.
“he explained to me how you didn’t like making friends since you ‘didn’t need anyone else other than him’ or something like that.” y/n adds on and bambam turns away from his classmate in embarrassment “yeah! what about it! friends are irrelevant! they could just leave you at any time they want anyways.”
she just nods in understanding at his words “i mean, yeah thats true and all but isn’t it kinda lonely? besides - theres no harm in making any friends anyways. if they leave then they leave and then you can grow from it. but then again you also have to give people the benefit of the doubt from time to time you know”
his eyes widen at her words and he looks back up at her. y/n stares back at him with a small smile on her face which just causes thirteen year old bambam to blush even harder.
“it sucks being alone - don’t you think?”
and it was in that moment, bambam realized that she was someone he didn’t want to let go of anytime soon. it was because of her words, that he had came to the realization that he was just trying to convince himself by saying he didn’t want to let people in.
“yeah… it does”
just like that - it was like a switch inside of bambam had flipped. from wanting nothing to do with anyone else other than yugyeom, he now craved for friends and social interaction with others.
from feeling like he was in a dark room all by himself - he now felt as if the door to that room was opened, and it was all because of her. he wanted to keep staying by her side, he didn’t want her to leave.
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moments of love masterlist
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futurewriter2000 · 3 years
Text
Heartless - pt.20
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A/N: Somehow... this turned out personal. God help me. 
XX
James couldn’t put his finger on the boy. He had never saw him on the school grounds. He would never remember a Slytherin like him. A Slytherin Mulciber would stand by all the time. 
“Oi..” James leaned to Sirius and then looked at Remus and Peter in front, who both looked up at him. “Who’s that Slytherin always hanging out with Mulciber? Is he new?” he asked, dragging his hand to his chin and pointing at the Slytherin table. 
Remus casually scratched the back of his head to turn around, meanwhile Peter was way too obvious at staring at the newly green-suited boy laughing with Mulciber and Avery at the far corner of the Slytherin table. 
“I have no bloody idea.” Remus turned back to James, trying to get another look. 
“I dunno.” Sirius squinted his eyes. “There’s oddly something familiar about him.” he added and James punched his shoulder in agreement.
“I know right!” he exclaimed as Sirius surprisingly looked at Remus. James haven’t done this in quite a long time. 
Something was back in James. Something small but it was there. And as might as well be the new Slytherin who was the cause. 
“I can’t put my finger on it.” James squinted his eyes as well, getting that curious uplift of his lips. 
“Wanna prank him?” asked Remus, who had asked this sort of question in his whole Hogwarts years.
“Nah.” James brushed his hand. “I need to know a bit about him.”
“I think his name is Aco. Or that’s how I heard Mulciber calling him.” said Peter, causing Sirius to laugh. 
He started chuckling to himself, unable to hold it in. “Imagine being cursed with a name like that.” he continued to chuckle. 
“You get a baby and look down on it.” James started to chuckle as well. “His name is Aco.” 
Sirius stared laughing a bit louder to the point he tapped James’ shoulder as James started laughing as well, tapping back Sirius arm. Both started wheezing for some unrealistic reason meanwhile Remus couldn’t help himself as well and chuckled as well. 
And for that short moment something came back to James. Yellow. But only for a moment before he had realised that he was happy and that you were gone. He looked at “Aco” in the distance and he was giving him a familiar look he couldn’t quite label yet. 
Guilt showered James like a storm and he had realised that he shouldn’t be happy. That if you weren’t here, he shouldn’t be happy. For what he did to you, he didn’t deserve happiness. 
“You’re rather enjoying yourself.” Mulciber leaned to the boy. “I thought you wouldn’t use your abilities for him.” 
“I only promised you I wouldn’t enter his dreams or anything.” he turned to Mulciber, lifting a corner of his dark, sharp eyebrows. “But a little guilt trip wouldn’t hurt him.” 
“You’re a snake, (y/n).” he whispered and the boys eyes changed colour from bright green to your usual eye colour, only to sent him a wink. 
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” 
To Mulciber it was easier to smile. For him to not grieve after you because really, you weren’t truly gone. Nobody of the Potters knew what had happened that night when they left. None of them knew he appeared in your room, he held you, he suffered the consequences with you but he had also gained more than your trust. He gained your loyalty just as much as you gained his. 
He had betaken it upon himself to take care of you that day. It seemed your heart has rather disappeared that night when your family had abandoned you just as he had foreseen. He truly wished you hadn’t experienced that. You had changed from this queer, lovely and innocent girl to a heartless, revenge driven woman. It was attractive and it had been everything he hoped  for but there was something much more lighter in the cheery girl before. But he didn’t mind that because the two of you were meant to go through thick and thin. The two of you were meant to grow together and if he had known anything in your special connection is that you will always hold a special light for him. You’re not like the rest. You never will be. To him, you will always represent the hope of his future being more than what his family intended to make out of it. This new version of you... it seems heartless but he knew the depth of you. He could feel you getting excited over certain things as spring flowers or snowflakes in the winter, though you never expressed it. He could also feel the hot-ranged anger in your veins as you had seen James laugh with Sirius for the first time in two months. Relief but anger, a complexion of emotions. 
Though it was a nice disguise, the boy you appeared to be, he had always prefered you in your own body. 
“You seem brighter.” he said without even looking up from his book. 
“I love being Alexi.” you said as you dried your hair with a towel and sat down beside him. “But God knows that I love having my hair and my eyes and my height.” you laughed, putting the towel on your lap as he looked up at you, watching you in admiration and giving you that look that only lasted a few seconds before it disappeared again. “I just wish I could be myself,... you know. Show the people here that I cannot be easily killed.” 
He sat up in a criss-cross position and pulled your back to his chest. “Well, beautiful. You’ll surprise them with that news one day... just not today.”
He smelt so sweetly, felt like home when he was with you. Sometimes you wished he would make the first move; to kiss you or hold you so close, closer than anybody before. How you wished he could read the thoughts you had with him- thoughts you kept under lock and key from him to enter. He really didn’t have a clue about you and you always wondered about that. Does he feel the way you feel or is he just pretending? You admired this boy more than your heart could let you. You obsessed over him, over the idea of you. His eyes, his body, his built, his hair... you loved every feature of his, even the a little bit of crooked nose he despised but you adored. It seemed to fit his God-like aesthetic. Like a Greek god if he stood up, not the one with carved muscles and perfectly curly hair but the softness in the cheeks and the most natural, normal English man-like appereance. You would constantly kiss him, if he had permitted you to. To kiss his nose, his cheeks, his chin and to run your fingers through his curls that were usually slicked back or rub your thumbs against his thick eyebrows. It wasn’t sexual to you, though sometimes you did think of thoughts like so as well but more than sexual, it felt romantic. The pull, the intesity... all you wanted to be with him is romantic. Just for him to hold you in your arms would be enough, to kiss his lips, to be caressed by him... It felt so much more beautiful to be with him than it has ever been with anybody you had known. Not with Marcus, nor with Sirius. But you were so afraid to tell him how you felt because you had no clue if he had ever felt the same. He gave you looks, signs that he did but sometimes he would act completely differently. So many mixed signals that kept you on holding yourself on the edge; to let go or to still hold. Every thought was about him. You saw a simple object and you would think of him. You’d try and eat, then think if he ever ate the same thing as you. Obsessive- that’s how it felt but if felt trapping as well. You just wished he would tell you or showed you... instead of always being so quiet.
But I guess you will never know. 
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ampleappleamble · 3 years
Text
Debriefing the Crucible Knights went about how Axa had expected it would. She and her companions had staggered out of Heritage Hill only to be immediately escorted back to Crucible Keep along with the little girl they'd rescued from her family crypt, the poor waif falling asleep on Edér's shoulders as they'd made their way through town. Once inside, they'd had their wounds tended to and their bellies filled as they recounted the events of their harrowing mission, repeating themselves over and over to one bewildered Knight after another. By the end of the evening, rumors, misinterpretations, and half-truths about the "end of the Curse of Heritage Hill" were all anybody in Crucible Keep could talk about– unless one preferred to gossip about the mysterious Watcher of Caed Nua instead.
Restful sleep was coming harder and harder to Axa, and the troubling trend had continued as they'd bedded down in the barracks that night. She'd woken the next morning feeling worse than she had when she'd laid down the night before, and her attitude had very much reflected it. She'd particularly let her ire show when her breakfast had been interrupted by a man who'd introduced himself as Penhelm, a name she recognized as the one belonging to the Knight that Osric had sent her after the day before, hoping she could recover his family's breastplate from the snooty little gossip.
"Is it true that you're not actually a Watcher, but merely a Cipher? Like the... others of your kind down at Hadret House?" Arrogance and curiosity mingled in his insufferable smirk as he spoke, not even having had the decency to wait until she'd finished chewing.
"That depends," she'd replied, her mouth still full of bacon. "Is it true you steal people's family heirlooms after talking shit about them and getting them kicked out of the service?"
Needless to say, she had gotten nowhere trying to convince him to do right by Osric. So on her way out, she'd passed through the scriptorium and, with a careful eye and a whispered word to Aloth, she'd left Crucible Keep that morning with Penhelm's soul lineage affidavit tucked away in her satchel.
She had been on her way to Hadret House to have the affidavit examined for authenticity, hoping to gain a bargaining chip that might pry the heirloom armor from the little bastard's hands, when a messenger had appeared at her shoulder, letting her know that her presence had been requested... at Hadret House. She'd almost laughed at the absurd coincidence– until the messenger told her exactly who had summoned her there, his tone low and reverent.
"Who is Lady Webb," she'd asked, "and what exactly does she want with me?"
The messenger had been young, with a casual, almost flippant air about him, but he had still had the good sense to lean close and keep an eye out for eavesdroppers. "You don't know her, milady? She's the directress of Dunryd Row, Defiance Bay's investigative peacekeeping force. No one's actually met her face to face, in... I don't know, a long time. But they say that despite her advanced age, her mind is a steel trap and her will is an iron fist. She and her Cipher operatives keep the city safe from threats that most kith are never even aware exist..."
Axa had listened, at first. She'd tried to listen. But as he'd spoken, as he'd thrust the wax-sealed summons into her hand, she'd found herself distracted by an all-too-familiar feeling. Something was pulling her toward Hadret House, something that had nothing to do with Dunryd Row or Ciphers or Lady Webb, and she'd turned away from the messenger in the middle of his speech to pursue it, helpless to resist.
He was there. Just outside of Hadret House, on the far side of Brackenbury. He was there, and she approached him–
–she approached him, any confidence she'd had before dissolving now in her sick stomach, trickling down her trembling limbs. She couldn't do this.
She had to do this.
He was already watching her, but the impact of his gaze was no less powerful than if he'd turned dramatically to face her. It was as though he knew what she was going to tell him already.
Of course he does, she thought. He knows all. He knows what I've done. What I–
"You look as though you've seen a ghost, dear."
Lady Webb chuckled in her throat, but her face did not laugh with her. "Although, perhaps you have. After all, you are the Watcher who wrested the ruins of Caed Nua away from poor, mad Maerwald, as well as the Watcher who ended the... 'curse' of Heritage Hill, if my reports are correct." The old, frail woman rose from her desk, crossed the room with a deceptive grace. "And they are."
Axa kept her head low, but lifted her eyes to meet Webb's gaze. "Why have you asked me here–"
"–You know why I have asked you here, child."  With anyone else, she would have felt that she was being chastised, but with him, she only felt kind, fatherly concern. "Your fellow missionaries have reported a change in your behavior recently. You neglect your duties, you are quiet and distant. What troubles you so to make you act this way?"
Tears stung her eyes. Her whole body quaked. Her breath caught in her throat. The quivering pit in her stomach broadened and her heart fell into it, and for a second she thought she might actually vomit, but instead it was her confession that flew from her mouth:
"Your Eminence, I... forgive me, but I wish... I wish to leave the order."
He folded his hands, frowning–
"You're not a stupid woman, Axa Mala. You should know why I've asked you here. Defiance Bay's concerns are my concerns, you see, and evidently, they are yours as well. But neither of us is overly fond of beating around the bush, so let's cut straight to it, shall we?" Lady Webb stopped at her bookshelf, turned to face Axa again, her keen eyes piercing the other woman's mind, her soul. "Why do you seek the Leaden Key?"
She had known, somehow, that Webb would ask her that, but it still took her by surprise. Nevertheless, Axa didn't waste time asking how she'd known. "I'm looking for someone. A man I saw in the ruins of Cliant Lîs. He... did something to me. And I need him to undo it."
The wizened old Cipher nodded at her, then, let her eyes slip shut, her face twitching–
–"You have been nothing if not an extraordinary asset to us," he said, slowly pacing as he spoke. "Your conviction in our cause has inspired your contemporaries to greatness, and together with them you have brought the light of redemption to thousands, if not more! What could possibly shake your faith in yourself like this? Your faith in us?"
Somehow, without her realizing, he had ended up crossing the room to stand directly before her. He looked into her eyes, worry and sorrow emanating from him. "What's wrong, Anthea? What happened?"
She squeezed her eyes shut but she still saw him in her mind, still saw the compassion in his eyes that a despicable sinner like her could never deserve–
Lady Webb opened her eyes, gasping softly.
"The gods are cruel," she murmured. "The man you seek is none other than the grandmaster of the Leaden Key himself: Thaos ix Arkannon."
The name echoed in Axa's head, the bearded man's masked face floating before her mind's eye. It felt like she'd always known him, or at least known of him, but only now could she put a name to the face.
"Thaos," she whispered–
"I cannot stay, Your Eminence. I'm... I'm tainted, wicked and weak." Anthea lowered her head, letting her tears fall to the floor. "I've done something terrible, something I can never undo, an unforgivable act of blasphemy. I fear– no, I– I know I am beyond redemption."
She curled in on herself, wracked with sobs, unable to continue. Shame and guilt burned her face, but she knew she deserved to burn for real, to burn forever. But even to cleanse her soul with holy flame would be too kind a mercy for a traitor of her magnitude. How could he, how could the gods ever forgive such a miserable wretch like her?
His hand fell onto her shoulder, steady and strong–
"He is a man unlike any other," Webb explained, her voice quiet and serious as she made her way back to her desk, hands folded behind her back. "The Leaden Key is an organization dedicated to obscuring, muddling, and destroying information, including any evidence pertaining to themselves or their activities. There's no way to be sure, but what little we've found suggests that they have supposedly existed for over two thousand years." She looked pointedly at Axa, one eyebrow cocked. "And it was Thaos who founded them."
"But that's impossible," Aloth blurted. "Even the longest-lived elves haven't even come close to..." He trailed off, twisting his fingers together anxiously, dropping his gaze to the floor.
"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Webb sighed, one drooping corner of her mouth briefly lifting into a smirk. "But when it comes to the Leaden Key, little is as it seems. If what we've managed to learn about him so far is true– and there's no guarantee that it is, but it's the best explanation we've got– he is one of Woedica's Favored, an agent of the Queen Who Was who has been gifted with the blessing of eternal life. In practice, this means that every time he dies, Thaos' soul is guided by Her hand to be reborn in an almost identical vessel, and once he reaches puberty, he Awakens to all of his past lives at once, in order to continue the work of his Mistress on Eora. So strong is his soul, in fact, that he can supposedly even project it out of himself and into others, crushing the will of lesser souls and usurping their bodies for his and his Queen's own ends." She regarded Axa with pity. "He is almost certainly the most dangerous, elusive, powerful man on the face of the planet. And while I can't deny being grateful for the company, you have my deepest sympathies that your path has also crossed with his."
"Why was he in Teir Nowneth the night the machine was activated in Heritage Hill?" Axa demanded, her head spinning. "What was he doing in Cliant Lîs? How did he Awaken me–"
–"So you have sinned," Thaos proclaimed gravely. "You have erred, stumbled on your path, and now you would cast yourself into the Void. Is that it?"
Anthea wanted to cover her face with her hands, wanted to run, to hide, but she could barely even find it in herself to draw the breath to answer him. "What I've done, no god could forgive me. Now or ever."
He brought his other hand around, then, gripped both of her shoulders firmly. "My child, my dear child, if you truly believe that then I have utterly failed you, as a teacher and as a leader. There is no sin so grevious that it cannot be absolved, no path so dark the gods cannot light the way to salvation! As long as you do not turn your back on Them, They will never turn Their backs on you."
She knew it couldn't be true. It was too good to be true, and nothing in her life had ever been half so good. Not since she was a child. But... would he really lie to her like that? He never had before. At least, she didn't think he had. Anthea slowly lifted her head to look at the man who would save her from herself–
Lady Webb sat back down, letting her chin hover just above her steepled fingers. "That's what I'd like to know. There's quite a lot I'd like to know about Thaos ix Arkannon and the Leaden Key, as I rather imagine you would, too. That's why I summoned you here today– to work with you, pool our resources, compare notes. The Key has been... active as of late, and where they go, you seem to follow, righting their wrongs. As you did in Heritage Hill." She smiled, her thin, red mouth like a slit cut into her face. "I'd like you to continue to do so, and to report your successes back to me. In return, Dunryd Row's resources shall be at your disposal should you need them, and with a bit of luck– well, a lot of luck, in truth– perhaps we two can corner him and get our answers at last."
There was something behind Webb's eyes, something mysterious and passionate and unrelenting that Axa couldn't quite place, but she knew instinctively that it wasn't for her. Whatever it was that drove this woman, whether it was a thirst for vengeance or a desire for the truth or a need for justice, the ferocity behind her eyes was only for Thaos.
She could respect that.
"Very well," Axa replied, "I accept–"
–"I... I want to believe that's so, Your Eminence," she stammered, "but even if it were, I don't deserve Their clemency."
"Some among the gods would see you punished, it's true," he murmured. "But the sting of the lash passes in an instant compared to the eternity afterward in which you shall enjoy the boundless mercy, the cleansing forgiveness, the all-consuming love of the gods. That is what makes one deserving– devotion. As long as you devote yourself to Them, They will return the faith you place in Them a thousand fold."
The tears fell afresh from her eyes, this time from sheer relief. Somewhere deep in her heart, she must have known he could make it all right, could show her the path to absolution. He always did. That was the real reason she had come here, wasn't it? What had she been so afraid of?
Thaos smiled warmly at her, his hands still gently clutching her shoulders. "Stay with us, Anthea. We need you. The gods need you. They have entrusted you with the truth of Their Word– will you return that trust?"
"I will," she whispered–
"Now, before you go– what was that bizarre display you put on just outside our door?" Lady Webb was already looking through another stack of documents, but she spared Axa a bemused glance. "It's not a good look, dear, standing around with your eyes glazed over and your mouth agog. You're liable to catch flies."
"I'm an Awakened Watcher," the orlan retorted curtly. "The memories from my past life tend to be a bit more vivid than the ones other Awakened kith might experience. And I don't exactly control what I see or when I see it."
The old Cipher shrugged. "I meant no offense. Only trying to warn you that you may have unwittingly broadcasted your whereabouts to someone who seems to have a bone to pick with you." She gestured vaguely toward the door to her office, and it swung open, an orlan man stepping in as though he'd been expected.
Webb looked at Axa the way a jaded teacher might at an impudent pupil. "Well? Show him the affidavit."
She blinked, and somewhat reluctantly, she reached into her satchel and produced Penhelm's affidavit, the one Aloth had pilfered for her at Crucible Keep. "Uh... Can you tell me if this is genuine?" she muttered.
The older man took it from her, looked it over briefly, and shook his head, wrinkling his nose in disgust as he handed it back. "Not at all," he pronounced. "Being perfectly honest, it's a rather shabby forgery, too."
Webb sighed, shuffling her papers. "Thank you, Kurren; you may go." The orlan gave her a respectful nod and left to return to his work downstairs as the directress of Dunryd Row grinned wryly at Axa. "Now you have your bargaining chip. Penhelm is waiting for you on the street outside. Do exercise caution, dear, and try to keep the blood off of my siding. We've only just had it repainted last month."
"Actually," the little woman smiled slyly, "I think I've got a better idea."
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thestarkerisobvious · 4 years
Text
The Theme Is: Guilt
for  @itfeelssogoodmrstark
Guilty was the key word.
Guilty, because he should not have had that much to drink when he found out the kid was going to be at the party.
Guilty, because he had drunk so much BECAUSE the kid had been at the party.
Guilty, because offering to give the kid a ride in his limo had been a shameless attempt to keep Peter with him, even if it was only for a few more minutes.  Guilty because, when he found out where the kid WANTED to go, all he wanted to do was refuse.  
Guilty, because when Happy buzzed in from the driver’s seat with the question “Heavy traffic Mr. Stark, alternate route?” and Tony had answered “Yeah, probably” that had been code for “ETA 10 minutes, need more time?” and “yes give us another half hour.”  And now Happy would drive randomly for the next thirty minutes. Because even he knew what Tony wanted to do with Peter in the back of his limo.
Guilty because this “It Will Get Better I Promise” hug should have ended several
 minutes ago, and yet here he was with his arm still around Peter’s shoulders, their heads very close.
Guilty, because all he wanted to do with the boy sitting next to him with his head bowed looking close to tears was pull him even closer and never, never let him go.
“I just thought I’d grow up to be better… to be smarter…”  Peter said, his voice hitching.  
“Hey, none of that,” Tony said, cupping Peter’s face in his hand and lifting the boy’s face up enough to look into his eyes.  Then letting the guilt pull his hand away.  “You are smarter… you’re the smartest guy I know.  Except for me, obviously.  And you’re are lightyears ahead of Quentin.  The reason you can’t figure out his complicated emotional demands is not because you’re not smart enough, it’s because he’s too damn complicated.  Does he even know what he wants?” Tony posited, until guilt made his mouth feel too heavy to move.  Guilt because he really, really didn’t want to be talking about Peter’s boyfriend right now.  Guilt because all he really wanted to do was make Quentin Beck disappear.  
“He keeps telling me what to do, he keeps explaining it, but I just can’t seem to do it right…”
“Is that because he keeps changing the rules?  Keeps moving the goalpost?  Making it impossible to win?  ‘Cause I know a little something about that…”  Tony muttered.  Trying to keep his hand from actively caressing the bit of Peter’s shoulder where it was resting.  Trying to keep his thumb from occasionally brushing against Peter’s cheek.  Trying.  Failing.
“You got to be careful, kid.  You can’t keep hitting your head against that brick wall and then blaming yourself that you haven’t knocked it down yet.  You’ll give yourself brain damage.  Next think you’ll know he’ll die in a car wreck and you’ll spend the next 10 years of your life refusing to try anything because you know you’ll never succeed.”
“Oh, Tony I’m sorry…” Peter said, suddenly distracted from his own problems and hugging Tony close again.  As if the guilt couldn’t get any worse.
“Seriously, Pete, don’t make me take you back there. Happy will drive you back to your dorm, or you can crash at the penthouse.  But don’t go back tonight.   You both need some space.  He’s got you doubting everything you do, now.  I mean, I don’t know how anyone could hypnotize you into thinking you were not smart…”
“That’s just it!  Every time I think I figured it out, every time I think I figured the combination out, I get something wrong!  And I did everything right this time!  I gave him plenty of warning, because he doesn’t like surprises.  I gave him the information right after work, but not right at dinner, because he can’t handle more stress at work and he can’t handle it during a meal.  I gave it to him in person because he hates finding out by phone.  I told exactly when I was leaving, where I was going, and now I’m home in plenty of time and he’s still…”  Peter gestured weakly at his phone, laying facedown on the seat.  Tony hadn’t gotten to see the message Peter’s boyfriend sent, but he had seen the look on Peter’s face when he got it.  Couldn’t un-see it.
“You keep trying to find the pattern, but maybe the pattern is chaos.  You keep trying to find the combination, but maybe he isn’t a combination lock.  Maybe he’s just a person who needs you to be constantly focused on keeping him happy, so you never have time to look up and realize ‘Why am I working so hard to make this man happy?’”
“He’s done a lot for me,” Peter said in a tiny voice.
“You’ve done a lot for him.”  
“But that’s… relationships take work, don’t they?”
He was looking up into Tony’s face, now, his eyes glistening, his mouth only inches away from Tony’s own.  And the guilt was making him sick.
“I’m not the one to ask,” he said suddenly, pulling away and leaning his head back on the seat (but keeping his arm firmly around Peter’s shoulders, squeezing him when Peter lay his head on Tony’s shoulder.)  “But it seems to me, you’re doing all the work. And in the meantime you’re calling yourself ‘stupid’ and ‘selfish’ and that’s just… weird.  In addition to generally being the smartest person in the room, you know, after I leave, you are always the most compassionate person in the room. You’ve got us all beat in that department, kid, hands down.  Ask anybody. Anyone who can’t see how tenderhearted you are is… lying.”  There, he said it.  He wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep his contempt for Peter’s boyfriend out of his voice…
…and then, suddenly, he decided to stop trying.  He sat up, looked Peter full in the face and decided his guilt could go to some alien planet and rot there.
“Peter Parker, you are quite a catch.  You have an angel’s face, and angel’s heart and…”  That was probably enough.  He probably shouldn’t be describing Peter’s body right now.  Or how much he thought about Peter’s body. Especially after dark.
“…and you have to say that,” Peter said with a little smile. Because you’re my…”
There was a moment of silence between them.  Tony looked into Peter’s eyes, startled for a moment to see Peter looking directly at his mouth.  
“I’m you’re what?” Tony whispered, suddenly terrified at the answer.
“You’re my mentor,” Peter suddenly, wrapping his arms around Tony’s neck and hugging him fiercely.
Tony hugged him back.
Guilt was an old friend.  An old, familiar friend.  An old friend that had come back to stay.
-------------------
THIS IS PART ONE TAG ME IF YOU WANT FOR PART TWO
(Because Tony is seriously showing a LOT of self-control here and WHEN has Tony been famous for self-control??)
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Not Broken Part 12 (Jaehyun Mafia AU)
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Not Broken Masterlist
Jaehyun X Reader
Trigger warning: mentions of abuse
I stayed in my room for several hours, just staring at the minimalistic digital clock Taeyong had set onto the vanity. It was 2:58, past the time Taeyong said lunch would be delivered to my room. In any other circumstance, I would have just gone to the kitchen and made something myself, but I really didn’t want to run into anybody from 127, especially not the pink-haired mobster himself. I hadn’t eaten at all that day, nor had I had anything to drink other than the tap from the bathroom. There were no cups to be found so I scooped the water into my mouth with my hands.  
I wondered if they had forgotten about me or if there was a delay. Either way, the hunger was becoming too uncomfortable to ignore.  
I glanced at the door, wondering who on earth could be on the other side. I was almost too afraid to find out. On one hand, it was very possible that they would turn out to be a staff member rather than an actual member of Nct given that Taeyong explained that they had a few staff members on hand that doubled as bodyguards. I couldn’t imagine that Nct 127 would waste any of their members’ time just to stand guard at my door, yet on the other hand, I couldn’t get rid of the sinking feeling that if I chose to find out I’d be confronted with someone like Doyoung whom I’m sure wouldn’t be so pleased with having to escort me around.  
I decided to come up with an excuse to open the door, that way if it turned out to be someone I didn’t feel comfortable with, I could just ask them to clarify a rule for me or something. I supposed I could also tell them that I was hungry, but I didn’t think that Doyoung would want to be sent on an errand either.  
After I made the decision to open the door, I suddenly became excited at the prospect of being able to leave the room I had just spent three hours in unable to do anything but stare at my bruises in the bathroom mirror, take nearly an hour-long shower, and look through the clothes in the closet. There definitely wasn’t anything I felt comfortable wearing in there and although I knew I shouldn’t feel any guilt asking for clothing more suited to my style, I didn’t have the guts the make the request.  
I took a few deep breaths to calm my nerves before I knocked on the door.  
Nothing.  
Was there no one on the other side?
Knock knock.
I instantly became confused by the sudden knocking that came from the other side of the door. I knocked again only for them to knock again.  
Wanting to know what was going on, I opened the door to see the blonde-haired boy I’ve come to know as Mark, fist still raised in the air.  
“What are you doing?” I asked him, too puzzled by his actions to feel any relief that it was him and not Doyoung.  
“Knocking,” He answered, matter of factly.
“Why?” I asked.
“Shouldn’t I be the one asking that? It makes a lot more sense for someone outside of the room to knock on the door than someone inside of the room.”
“What? I mean, you’re not wrong but I just...”
Mark began to laugh softly at my perplexed state. Despite feeling even more confused by his reaction, I did feel less nervous than before.  
“I’m just messing with you,” He revealed with a warm smile.
“What do you need?”
“Oh, um... I was just wondering if I could have something to eat.”
“Sure, no problem, let me just call the cook and have him bring something up,” He agreed, taking out his phone.
“W-wait.”
Mark paused.
“I was hoping I’d be able to leave my room at some point since there isn’t much to do.”
Mark stared at me as he processed my words and I worried that he would deny my request.
“Oh, I get it. Okay, sure,” He agreed.
“Yeah, I forgot that they didn’t really give you anything to do.”
“Yeah...” I confirmed, not wanting to sound like I was complaining.  
“Well, did you want to go now?”
“Yes, if that is okay.”
Instead of responding, Mark just started laughing. I couldn’t understand why because I hadn’t said anything particularly funny, so I just started awkwardly laughing with him.  
“Yeah, no problem. Let’s go.”  
We walked down a long hallway, and down a long flight of stairs that looked like something the Queen of England would step down to treat her guests.  
When we finally got to the kitchen, there were already several people inside, none of which I had ever seen before.  
“Come on, Chenle. You need to eat.”
A man with blonde hair and a faded blue fringe whose out-of-the-blue hairstyle made it look like he had literally ran out of blue hair dye and made Doyoung’s blue highlights look normal in comparison, was sitting at small kitchen table with two boys who looked to be in their mid-teens. In another part of the kitchen was an athletic looking man who seemed too busy cooking to notice that we had come in. He had light sandy brown hair that looked like it had been shadow permed and was wearing a short-sleeved shirt under a salmon colored apron. He was peeling potatoes and I couldn’t help but stare at his developed arm muscles that were more defined than any of the 127 members I had seen thus far, with the exception of Jaehyun, himself. The apron did nothing to take away from his masculine features and anyone who thought it did would have to be extremely antagonistic towards the color salmon.
The older male at the table looked up at us. Apparently, my fascination with the other gentleman must have been obvious since my attention was immediately brought back to him as he cleared his throat.  
“You must be Y/N,” He commented, getting up from the table.  
“Hello,” I greeted.
“Ah, uh, yes. Hello. My name is Jaemin. I’m the nanny,” He wavered in his response.
The man offered his hand and I shook it.
“And these are Chenle and Jisung,” He gestured to the two boys still sitting at the table.
I glanced at them, not fully understanding who they were. One of them, I didn’t know which was which, had blonde hair that had a bit more yellow in it than most people would have preferred. It was strange but he almost looked scared of me. His features made it seem as though he were experiencing great discomfort. He avoided my gaze choosing instead to stare at the full plate of food that sat in front of him.  
The other boy, whose plate was almost empty, had dark brown hair and an extremely small face. His expression reminded me of those mean girls in the movies when they were weirded out by someone less popular than them. He didn’t look mean though, just confused as to why I was there. The two of them didn’t resemble each other in the slightest so I assumed that they were unrelated.
“What happened to your face?” The second boy blurted out.
“Jisung!” Jaemin snapped before turning back to me.  
“I’m so sorry about that,” He apologized.  
“It’s alright, but who are they?” I whispered the last part.  
“Oh, those are Jaehyun’s younger brothers,” Mark answered for him.  
“Brothers?”  
Guess I was wrong about them not being related.
“Yes, and don’t worry. They’ve been caught up on everything, including your lack of involvement in the... issue at hand.”
I hadn’t even thought of the possibility that they had even known about my existence let alone about the suspicion that I was involved in their sister’s death.  
They really know everything that’s going on? At such a young age? No, it made sense. In this type of family, I’m sure that they are fully aware of their brother’s business and probably have been for quite some time. Maybe they’re even being trained to eventually become members.
“Have you put anything on... to... umm... treat that?” Jaemin asked as I continued to stare off into space.
“Oh, umm, no.”
“Hang on a second. I might have some vitamin K cream somewhere. Would you all keep an eye on the boys for a quick second?”
“Ah, I, umm,” I hesitated.
“I’ll handle it, Jaemin.”
I turned around to see the aproned man who had been busy cooking up to this point smile over at us.
“Awesome! Be right back,” Jaemin confirmed before hurrying out of the kitchen.  
The man who had volunteered to watch the boys rinsed his hands and dried them on a spare cloth before making his way over.  
“Hi, what can I do for you?” He asked in a pleasant tone.
“Hey Jeno, this is Y/N. We came to get her something to eat,” Mark took the lead in answering for you.
“Ah, yes. Miss Y/N. I was informed of your new status as a guest here just recently. I apologize for the delay. You can sit down at the table with Jisung and Chenle while I finish preparing your lunch.”
“Oh, so you’re the chef?” I asked, wanting to know more about the strangely attractive man, totally oblivious to my appearance.
“Hm? Oh, kind of. I’m actually-”
“The butler,” Mark interrupted.  
I turned to Mark and gave him an expression I can only describe as “Dude, what the fuck?”
“Well yes, butler, director of the household. It’s all the same. Stand-in-chef while the other staff is away. I pretty much do whatever is required of me in order to keep the house from burning down.”
“Oh wow. That’s impressive, especially with a house as big as this,” I beamed. 
I was surprised since someone of his stature seemed as though they would fit in perfectly as a gang member, but his kind eyes gave away his lack of involvement with the group’s more criminal activities.
“Not really, I have lots of great staff to help me. Anyways, have a seat and I’ll bring a plate over once everything’s prepared.”
Mark and I sat down at the table and it was... awkward.
Jisung and Chenle just stared at me as if I had three eyes... or maybe just two black ones.
“Did someone from 127 really do that to you?” Chenle asked looking noticeably sick.
Someone?  
What I wanted to say was that their brother did this to me, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell two teenaged boys how much of a monster their brother really was. Even if he deserved it, they didn’t.
“Uh, umm...”
“I’m back!”  
Jaemin’s timing couldn’t have been any more perfect.
“Did you miss me?” Jaemin cooed at the two boys, making an effort to pinch Jisung’s cheeks.
“Nana, stop!” He whined.
Jaemin frowned.  
“This is why they said there’s no use in raising kids.”
His attention turned to me.  
“Let’s get you taken care of, shall we?”  
Jaemin asked me to sit on the counter in the kitchen so that we could “talk” without having to worry about the kids and asked Mark to watch them in the dining room. Apparently Jeno and Jaemin were also included in the list of staff who could watch over me.
“So how are things going for you?” He asked.
Jaemin’s face seemed to hold genuine concern so I had no reason to give him a snarky answer, but I wasn’t certain whether I could be honest with the two of them or not. They might not have been members of NCT, but they still worked for them.
“Everything is just so hard,” I broke down.  
“Oh, honey,” Jaemin cooed sympathetically.
Jaemin took me into his arms as I started to quietly weep.
Jeno who had been busy cutting vegetables pushed them aside and joined us, patting my back as Jaemin continued to hug me.  
After a few moments passed, I somehow managed to cease my crying.
Once Jaemin pulled away, Jeno gave me a cloth to wipe my tears. I winced when the fabric came in contact with my bruised eyes causing Jaemin and Jeno to give each other a concerned look.
“Let’s put some of this on,” Jaemin suggested.
“I just feel so angry at how little control I have here. I feel so weak and for some reason, I feel like I have no reason to complain either, like I somehow deserve this,” I ranted as Jaemin applied the vitamin k cream with a q-tip.
“You know you don’t though, right? I mean yeah, this whole this is fucked but you just have to get through it. Do whatever you need to do to survive, even if it means taking advantage of their accommodations.”
“What do you mean?”  
“They told you that you could make requests, didn’t they? If I were you, I would take them for all they’re worth. I’d ask for expensive jewelry, clothes. You know, the works,” Jaemin continued.
“I just feel like if I ask for anything then I’ll be proving that pink-haired jackass right.”
“Hm?” Jaemin quirked.
I sighed.  
“Jaehyun made me an offer and when I didn’t accept it, he told me that he didn’t expect a dancer like me to refuse that much money. Then he told me we could renegotiate later. He thought I was some floozy trying to get her next payday. I don’t even want the money. I refused because what he did can’t be fixed with money.”
“Wow,” The two men uttered in unison.
“What?”
“Y/ N, you’re kind of a badass,” Jeno complimented.
“What? No, that’s the thing. I couldn’t even stand up for myself and tell him that. This whole time, I’ve felt so powerless and weak and I just wish that I could fight back just one time and have an impact.”
We all went silent as Jaemin finished applying the cream to my bruises.
“How do you like the clothes the maids picked out? This dress is nice, right?”  
“Honestly? I hate them. Everything is too fancy. I don’t feel like it’s exactly normal to wear Swarovski crystals when living in your kidnapper’s estate, not that there’s exactly a dress code for that.”
“Okay, no Swarovski crystals. What else?”
“Huh? Oh no, I didn’t mean. I’m fine, really.”
“Y/N.”
Jaemin grabbed my face as gently as he could to avoid causing any further harm to my already bruised face.
“It’s the least I can do given your situation, especially when I can’t do much else for you.”
His face was suddenly filled with noticeable anguish. He was trying so hard to relieve my sorrow, it made me want to relieve some of his.
“Okay then, I guess I do have a request or two.”
“Thatta girl!” He beamed, not a trace of sadness left in his features.  
“What can I do for you?”
“Would it be possible to get my own clothes from my apartment?”
“I’m sure I could find some clothes to better suit your tastes.”
“No, they have to be mine. Is that okay?”
Jaemin spent a few seconds to ponder the request.
“I don’t see why we couldn’t ask, right Jeno?”
Jeno nodded.
“What else?”
“Could I start eating meals with you guys? I don’t want to spend all day trapped in that room and I could really use the companionship.”
Jeno and Jaemin smiled at each other and then back at me.  
“Of course. Mealtimes are about the only time I ever get a break in this house. That’s when Jisung and Chenle get handed over to Momo, the other nanny. The only reason we were all in here earlier is because Chenle hasn’t been eating lately. The poor child. He’s only been like this once before when his sister died. I’m sure having everything come back up has been hard on both him and Jisung.”
I didn’t know whether I should have pried or if it was better to just change the subject, but Jaemin and Jeno seemed to be trustworthy so I decided to pry.  
“Are they really his brothers?”
“Adopted brothers. The previous head of the household adopted all of his children,” Jaemin explained.
“Including-” I started.
“Yes, including him.”
“He couldn’t have children otherwise, so adoption was his only option,” Jeno added.
“Jaehyun and IU were blood related though. Sooman, the former head of NCT, had been searching for quite some time to find a son to eventually take his place as leader. He and his wife went to countless orphanages but apparently he was looking for something in particular which is why they never brought anyone home with them. He would ask each of the young boys a question, but none of their answers satisfied him.”
“What was the question?” I asked, enamored by the almost folksy tale.
“No one knows for sure, but I did hear from one of the older staff, who used to work as Sooman’s personal servant, that he’d ask them why they thought he should adopt them. Simple right?”
I nodded.
“Well supposedly, when he and his wife visited the orphanage the current young master was living at, one of the workers told Sooman that the boy hadn’t spoken a word to anybody other than his sister since they arrived. Instead of skipping the young boy, Sooman asked to speak with him anyway. He probably wasn’t expecting much of a response, yet he went through the motions anyway, telling him that he was a wealthy man who was capable of changing his life and things like that. When he asked the boy why he should adopt him. The young master actually responded.”
“What did he say? How did he convince him to adopt him?”
“That’s the thing. He didn’t. He told him that he shouldn’t adopt him, but that he should adopt his sister instead. Then, after having not spoken for such a long time, he went on to explain how much of a good person his sister was and how she would make a wonderful daughter. Sooman decided to adopt them both, that very day.”
I was speechless. That kind and caring young boy who was willing to give up on everything he could have wanted to help his sister seemed worlds apart from the horrible violent man I had the displeasure of meeting. The only similarities between them was how far they were willing to go for their sister.  
“I guess Sooman wanted a son who valued loyalty,” Jaemin finished.
“What about the other two?”
“Oh, Jisung and Chenle? Their biological fathers both worked for Sooman, but died when they were a lot younger, so he adopted them as a service to them.”
“Umm, Jaemin?”  
We all turned to look at the sudden voice.
Mark was covered in bits and pieces of food and a string of laughter escaped my lungs.  
“Oh my god. Boys!” Jaemin ran out of the kitchen and into the dining room.
“Well, that was eventful. Anyways, food’s ready,” Jeno chuckled.
Jaemin had to go take care of the boys but he promised that he would be there tomorrow for breakfast.  
Mark, Jeno and I sat down at the kitchen table. At first it felt a little awkward having Mark there since he was a member of 127, but I was relieved to see that he didn’t think so.  
He told us how excited he was for another one of 127’s members to return after having been undercover for the last few months. He didn’t give me any specific details about the mission itself, but he did say the member’s name a lot. Apparently since he was so deep undercover, he was rarely able to interact with any of the members without the risk of blowing his cover.  
Yuta came in at one point after hearing our laugher from a nearby room.  
“Y/N, you look as beautiful as ever.”
“I have two black eyes.”
“And I can honestly say that not every girl can pull it off as well as you do.”
We continued talking hours after I had already finished eating. It was weird but nice. I pondered Jaemin’s words about how I should do whatever it takes to survive. I guess it felt like isolating myself wasn’t really my best option and that maybe opening up a little bit would make this whole thing more tolerable.  
I went to bed that night, annoyed by the small red camera lights that flashed every so often. The next morning, I decided to just wear the green dress again since it was the only thing I really felt comfortable in, but instead of leggings, I put jeans on underneath. It looked kind of strange, but I didn’t care.  
Jaemin told me that he was going to ask Jaehyun about my clothes at some point today. Jeno, Jaemin, and I met for breakfast. Mark tagged along since he happened to be guarding my door again. He quickly discovered that we made a promise to start eating meals together, so he also came to lunch despite not being on guard duty.
“Everyone else just eats in their rooms. We never have mealtimes together. I wish we would though,” He explained.
Not just him, but Yuta started to eat with us too. When it was time for us to meet for lunch, Yuta happened to be the one guarding my door, so he when he escorted me down to the kitchen only to see that Jaemin, Jeno and Mark were waiting for me, he demanded he stay to keep an eye on me despite there being three other men there to watch me.
It was strange at first, but it was nice to freely speak with each other without worry. Yuta continued to hit on me only to get scolded by Jaemin. Mark would laugh and Yuta would punch him in the arm, all while Jeno quietly smiled as though it were the most normal thing in the world for two mafia members, two staff members hired by said mafia members, and a former hostage kidnapped, also by said mafia members, to sit around a kitchen table laughing and having a ball.  
I noticed how whenever he smiled, his eyes would form crescent moon slits, that made it hard to believe that he could see anything beyond them.  
Nothing about the situation was normal, but I found myself feeling almost grateful for the scene unraveling in front of me. If this was going to be my new normal for the time being, maybe it wouldn’t be that bad.
<><><><><><><>
“The Itaewon lead was a bust. They found no trace of Wayv at any of their usual hangouts. Should I instruct S. Coups to have his men start canvasing the surrounding areas?” Taeyong updated his boss as they wandered the estate.  
“No need. Have them return to Neozone to await further instructions. Wayv’s aware we’re looking for them, so they know to cover their tracks.”
Jaehyun was visibly frustrated at the lack of breakthroughs in the search for Wayv. His face was noticeably thinner than it was just a few days ago.  
“We’ll just have to wait until they come for the girl.”
“Jae?” Taeyong quirked.
“Yes? What is it?”
“What’s that noise?”
The two men halted their conversation to focus on the sounds of laughter coming from the kitchen.  
“Should we go see what they’re doing? Taking your mind off everything for a bit might make you feel better,” Taeyong suggested.
“It’s probably just Jaemin and Jeno flirting with each other. I can’t for the life of me understand how they still insist on keeping their relationship a secret from me. I’ve never once said anything to give them the impression that I’d hold any disdain for their choices as long as they continued to fulfill their duties and besides, only an idiot would think those two were straight.”
Jaehyun noticed the disappointed look on his friend/colleague’s usually impassive face.
Jaehyun relaxed slightly, becoming conscious of how much stress the two have them had been under, discussing further plans of action while holed up in his office since the break of dawn.
“Perhaps I should go in to check with in Jeno, see if there are any issues with... well, anything there might be issues with,” He suggested, abandoning his strict facade.
Taeyong’s face lit up. His excitement was most evident in his already anime-like eyes which now looked to have doubled in size.
<><><><><>
My eyes continued to linger on the sandy brown-haired man who sat almost directly across from me. I knew that it was crazy to crush on someone who worked for the leader of NCT even if he wasn’t a member of the gang itself, but it had been a crazy past few days and who could blame me for being drawn to such a gentle yet strong and protective looking hottie?
“Y/N?” He asked.
Watching the pair of lips, I had been hungerly gawking at, suddenly mouth the syllables of my name immediately allowed me to snap out of whatever entranced state I had been in for the last several moments and enter into one filled with embarrassment. My eyes quickly retreated down to look at my half empty plate, hoping he hadn’t noticed my staring.
“Yes?”
“You have a piece of rice stuck to your face,” Jeno said matter-of-factly.
My cheeks started to burn from the awkwardness. I moved my hand to brush the food from my face only for Yuta to beat me to it.
I jolted away, withdrawing from the man’s touch. Ready to berate him for the abrupt intrusion, I turned in time to see Yuta bring the speck of rice to his lips with a mischievous grin. I scoffed, unamused by his playful antics, as he merely continued to smirk. I glared at him briefly while taking notice of his purple locks.  
His hair was always a dark purple similar to that of a plum, but under the bright kitchen lights it took on an especially violaceous hue. The intensity of the color and how it was almost hypnotic in a way led me to wonder if the devil might more accurately be depicted wearing violet than he would in his usual scarlet tones.  
Yuta’s sly smile grew into a Chesire grin as he saw my anger morph into mesmerism. My gaze retreated from his and my cheeks were noticeably redder than before.
“Dude, that was gross,” Mark commented, bringing my attention back to the three other men at the table.  
Yuta started laughing and I glanced at Jaemin and Jeno who glanced at each other and then back at me like two schoolgirls ready to hear all the hot gossip after seeing the school’s bad boy flirting with their friend.
Great, now they think something’s going on with Mr. Hits-on-anything-with-a-pulse over here.  
I did everything to stop from groaning, but it must not have been enough to hide my annoyance as for the first time, everyone at the table was laughing except for Mark who had a perplexed look on his face.
“Oh, how nice!”
We all turned in our chairs to find the source of the sudden voice.  
By now, I was easily able to recognize that the voice as belonged to Taeyong so when tufts of scarlet hair entered my vision, I thought nothing of it, but then a second man with oddly colored hair followed soon after. My lungs were empty of air, yet I couldn’t find the courage to breathe.  
He was dressed in the most casual outfit I had seen him in. A black shirt tucked into black jeans held up by a black belt with a silver colored buckle. A clashing gold colored watch with red and green detailing drew attention to his right wrist and consequentially, the veins that traveled up his forearms. His hair lacked any product as far as I could tell, and his bangs swept past his browbone and into his eyes. I noticed that the man’s rose gold locks were slightly translucent, probably from the bleaching process, and must not have done much to impair his ability to see past them.  
Unable to turn away, I silently prayed that he would overlook my presence, but that hope revealed itself to be a pipedream as our eyes immediately made contact with each other.
“What’s going on here?” Jaehyun demanded.
“They’re all eating together! How fun!” Taeyong observed, seemingly unaware of his boss’s hostile tone.
Taeyong wandered over to the table and took a seat in the last empty seat, leaving his boss to remain standing by the door.  
“You know, I always thought that we should start eating meals together, but it didn’t seem like the other members were up for it.”
Jaehyun stomped towards us, irritation written across his face. My instincts were telling me to flee, to run out of there and never look back, but instead my body braced itself, knowing that it didn’t have to courage to move even the slightest bit.  
“Jeno? Don’t you two have work to do?” He questioned the sandy-haired man.
Jeno and Jaemin looked at each other then back at their boss.
“Everything is running ahead of schedule, sir. I already have the ingredients prepared for tonight’s dinner.”  
Jaehyun paused, processing the response before turning to Jaemin.
“And what about you? Where are Chenle and Jisung?”
“Umm... sir? This is my scheduled lunch break. The boys are with Momo,” He responded with perturbed intonation.
Jaehyun brought his right hand to his face and pinched the upper bridge of his nose in frustration, sending a quick glance at Yuta and Mark.
“Don’t look at us, you only told us to be on standby in case we needed to have a meeting,” Yuta reminded in a disinterested tone.  
Before Jaehyun could chastise Yuta for such a cheeky response, Taeyong began to speak.
“Awesome. Since nobody is going to be busy for the time being, should we pull up another chair?” He asked staring up at Jaehyun’s intimidating figure.
I started begging the universe to save me from having to sit at the same table as the man who was possibly the only person I was more afraid of than Lucas.
“Actually, there was something I was hoping I could talk with you about, boss,” Jaemin announced, getting up from his chair.
“Shall we?” He asked.
Jaehyun looked down at the five of us who remained seated at the table before returning his gaze to Jaemin. Without saying anything, he merely made his way out the kitchen door, Jaemin waving goodbye as he followed.  
I took a deep breath and let it out, not intending for it to be as loud as it was. Everyone at the table looked at me with concern.  
“Y/N?” Taeyong quirked.
“I’d like to go back to my room please,” I mumbled, not wanting to hear whatever Taeyong had to say.  
Yuta volunteered to escort me back to my room. Not a word was exchanged between us on the way.
Once I was alone, I settled into my bed and began to softly sob into one of the pillows.
I was so scared of him that I couldn’t even move. I’m so sick and tired of being so weak and defenseless.  
I continued to cry until the tears began to sting my bruised eyes.
I can’t be afraid of him anymore. I need to get stronger. No matter what it takes, I need to survive.
<><><>
“Take a seat,” Jaehyun offered, already seated back at his desk.
“Oh, this won’t take long,” Jaemin replied, choosing to remain standing.
Jaehyun quirked an eyebrow at the staff member before leaning back in his chair.
“Very well. What is it you needed to discuss with me?”
Jaemin got straight to the point, not wasting any time to ease his boss into the issue at hand.
“Y/N doesn’t feel comfortable wearing any of the clothes that were picked out for her.”
The curiosity that had occupied Jaehyun’s features dissipated, replaced with the slightest hint of aggravation.  
“And so, the requests start to flood in,” Jaehyun muttered under his breath.
“I’m sorry, sir. What was that?” Jaemin asked, unsure if he was meant to hear his boss’s words.
“So, let me guess, the clothes aren’t good enough for her despite the fact that each article is probably worth more than what she’d make in a year?” Jaehyun sneered, not making any attempt to hide the disgust in his voice.
Jaemin furrowed his brows at the unexpected response.  
“No, sir. That’s the opposite of what I’m saying.”
Now it was Jaehyun’s turn to furrow his brows.
“Hm?”
“Y/N doesn’t feel comfortable wearing clothes of such a high quality, especially when they were paid for by her...” Jaemin paused, hoping that his boss would understand and that he wouldn’t have to finish the less than favorable account of why exactly Y/N didn’t want to wear the clothes Jaehyun had instructed to be prepared for her.  
Jaehyun glared at Jaemin, daring him to finish his sentence, not showing any hint of mercy towards the staff member.
“-captor,” The man finished, doing his best to maintain a professional demeanor while still presenting a strong front.
Jaehyun’s anger unexpectedly dispersed. He sat up in his chair, tapping the desk as he deliberated Jaemin’s words.  
“I’ll send a maid out on another run for her,” He decided.  
“Is that all?”
“Well, boss, that isn’t-” Jaemin began.
“Actually, why don’t you do it since you probably know more about her... tastes. I’ll have Jeno instruct Momo of your absence and let her know that she’ll have the boys for the time being.”  
Jaehyun’s voice was laced with an emotion Jaemin couldn’t quite make out. Was it bitterness or perhaps just irritation?  
“She doesn’t want new clothes, sir.”
Jaehyun’s dusted pink bangs, fell to the side of his forehead as his head tilted the slightest bit.
“Then why are you here taking up my time, Jaemin?”
“She wants the clothes to be removed from her closet and for someone to retrieve her own clothes from her apartment complex.”
“What?”
“Can that be done?” Jaemin pressed on.
“Hold on a minute. Why does she want her own clothes? We could have any article of clothing she wants prepared for her by the end of the day. Hell, we could create an exact replica of her closet if she wanted. Just have her tell us-”
“Excuse me for speaking so boldly and without tact, sir, but it seems as though Y/N doesn’t want any handouts you have to offer her,” Jaemin interjected.
A strange tension filled the air as Jaemin explained his understanding of the situation. Jaehyun seemed as though he were debating amongst himself as he processed this new and unanticipated information. His eyes stared past Jaemin instead of at him and all the younger man could do was wait for his boss’s reply.
Jaehyun took his office phone off its receiver and lifted it to his ear before pressing the 1 on the keypad. A moment passed before Jaehyun spoke up.
“B.I.? Yes, have S.Coups and his men stop by Y/N’s apartment in Hongdae before they return to NEOzone. I want all her things brought back with them. Someone will come by this evening to pick them up.”
After giving his instructions, Jaehyun hung up the phone and looked up at Jaemin.  
“Why don’t you take the rest of the afternoon off and head to NEOzone headquarters later tonight to grab her things?” He proposed, his face and voice having returned to their usual unreadable states.  
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
<><><>  
After Jaemin exited through his office door, Jaehyun was left to contemplate Jaemin’s words.  
Had he really misjudged Y/N this much? All this time, he assumed that if she wasn’t working with Wayv, that she’d probably cause problems for them by threatening to expose them unless she got whatever amount of money she needed to keep her mouth shut. Yet here she was, not only choosing to forgo making any requests for newer and better things but actively refusing them as well.  
It was enough to baffle Jaehyun to the point of complete frustration.  
What was it that she wanted? Was it possible she didn’t want anything except to go home? To be safe from Wayv’s grasp?
Jaehyun felt a strong urge to leave his office, the walls of which seemed to be closing in on him. He wondered if perhaps a walk would clear his head and allow him to organize his thoughts, but as he wandered through the halls, the weight of his actions finally hit him.
What have I done?  
Images of Y/N’s first night at the estate crept into the front of his mind, but before he could really weigh the impact of his actions, he remembered seeing his sister, naked and shoved into a box that was left on their doorstep.  
He shook the image from his mind and buried it along with any feelings of guilt that threatened to arise.
He couldn’t let his emotions get the best of him. After all, there was still a chance that Y/N was working with Wayv.
“Hey, boss.”
Too distracted by his thoughts, Jaehyun had unknowingly walked past the security room where Taeil had set up. Having been woken up from his thoughts, Jaehyun entered the room through the open doorway. Monitors showing live footage of Y/N’s room seemed to make up most of the room’s light with the exception of Taeil’s empty laptop screen. Taeil was holding a mug filled with either coffee or tea, Jaehyun didn’t bother to ask which.  
“What’s she doing?” He inquired, taken aback by the images displayed on the monitors.
“Working out, I assume,” Taeil answered not sounding so sure himself.  
“Why is she so... bad at it?”
They both watched in silence, suffering from secondhand embarrassment as footage of my first attempt at doing a push up since middle school gym played across multiple screens.
“Why is she- What is she-” Jaehyun couldn’t even figure out what to ask, giving up halfway through each unfinished inquiry.
“I don’t know but this has been going on for the last half hour. I was getting some work done since I didn’t really wanna watch her cry, but when she started doing jumping jacks all of a sudden, I couldn’t really look away,” Taeil reported, looking visibly uncomfortable.  
Jaehyun tore his eyes from the screen and returned his gaze to Taeil.
“Crying?”  
Taeil returned to his laptop, quickly reopening a dark colored window with past recordings of Y/N’s room. After muting the current footage, Taeil brought up footage timestamped 1:34, roughly ten minutes after Jaehyun left the kitchen with Jaemin.
Several cameras were installed to ensure there were no blind spots in the room, but the camera that produced this specific footage only provided coverage of the bed and some of the floor surrounding it. For the first few seconds, the room seemed to be empty of any life, until the sound of a door opening was projected from a nearby speaker and Y/N entered the screen’s image. She climbed onto the mattress, wrinkling the neatly made bedspread and sat there silently staring off God knows where. Jaehyun and Taeil watched as Y/N grabbed a pillow and held it tightly against her. She began to cry, occasionally reaching up to wipe away the tears that streamed down her bruised cheeks.  
Taeil paused the video roughly sixty seconds after the sobbing had started and turned to his boss.  
“This went on for like ten minutes, but then look at this,” He said, relaying the contents of the video.
Taeil pressed the fast forward key, stopping the video after a few seconds and then pressed the spacebar to resume.
The screen continued to show footage of Y/N crying, before she abruptly stopped altogether. She rubbed her blackened eyes visibly wincing from the contact. After several moments of just staring at nothing, she then preceded to get up from the bed and disappeared out of view. Taeil took a few seconds switching to another camera, this one showing a complete view of Y/N as she began to start doing jumping jack, like Taeil described earlier.  
Taeil paused the video.
“The next twenty minutes are just of her doing various exercises. She’s alright with cardio, but anytime she attempts any strength training, it ends up looking like, well... that,” He gestured towards the monitors that showed that the current Y/N was still struggling to lift herself back into the air after falling back down.
“She is persistent, I’ll give her that,” Jaehyun observed.
“Makes you wonder how we ever thought she was a part of Wayv,” Taeil laughed.
Jaehyun’s gaze shot back to Taeil.
He was right.
If Y/N was working with Wayv, she would have at least been trained in basic hand to hand combat, right? Yet here he was, watching her get visibly more and more frustrated with herself as she failed to do what even people who aren’t particularly athletic should be able to do.  
The possibility that she was faking it crossed his mind only for it to disappear without a trace when he watched Y/N fall onto her already bruised face, yelping in pain.  
“I think she’s trying to get stronger,” Taeil speculated.
Stronger?  
Jaehyun started to contemplate whatever possible motives Y/N could have for wanting to become stronger, when he felt a heaviness in his chest. A heaviness he hoped to ignore for just a little longer but couldn’t.  
“Hmm,” He hummed.
<><><>  
I woke up to the sound of knocking. A groan escaped my mouth as I turned to look at the clock. My eyes had still not adjusted to being open this early in the morning, so I struggled to make out the numbers that shined in blue light.
5:00.  
Five a.m.? Really?
It was still dark in my room as the sun had yet to rise. I rolled over in my bed and pulled the covers over my head, hoping the person knocking would get the hint and fuck off.  
They didn’t.
Eventually, the door opened, and I could hear footsteps approaching. Instead of feeling aggravated since my slumber was being cut short, I felt an unignorable sense of fear.  
Wayv.
I moved the covers just enough to look at the vanity table. There wasn’t much on it, but I could see the outline of a lamp.  
If I move fast enough, I could grab it and use it as a weap-
“Goodmorning Y/N!”
I screamed as the duvet was ripped from my body.
I stared up at the shadowy figure that stood at the foot of the bed.
“Oh, come on, I don’t look that bad in the mornings, do I?”
The lights turned on and suddenly I could see.
Jaemin continued to stare down at me in amusement as I alternated between looking at him, and Jeno who was standing by the light switch near the door.
“Guess who brought gifts!” Jaemin prompted, pulling a bag of clothes off the ground and spilling them onto the bed.  
“What?”  
“I brought you your clothes!” Jaemin replied as though it were the most normal thing in the world to wake someone up at five a.m. just to give them their clothes.
I looked down at the clothes on the bed and noticed a bag filled with clothes I didn’t recognize.  
I opened it and took out a bright orange hoodie, the tag still attached.  
“I told you I didn’t want any new clothes. Jaehyun will think-”
“Jaehyun doesn’t have to know. He gave me the afternoon off to pick up your stuff, but I noticed that you really didn’t have many clothes to begin with, so I thought I’d supplement your closet a bit. Don’t worry. These are gifts from me and Jeno, paid for with our money, not Jaehyun’s.”
“But-”
“No buts. It’s the least we could do and besides, it’s just a few hoodies. No big deal. Jeno and I wear this brand of hoodie all the time. They’re cheap, but comfier than anything you’ll find in any of the members’ closets.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Jaemin said with a smile.  
“But that wasn’t why I was saying but,” I began.
“Hm?” Jaemin hummed curiously.
“I really appreciate you bringing my clothes here, and the hoodies are lovely, but why did you have to wake me up at five a.m. to give them to me?”
Jaemin chuckled and looked to Jeno.  
“I’ll let him explain that and while you two are gone, I’ll get started on getting rid of the clothes in the closet and hanging these up instead.”
“While we’re gone?”  
I looked to Jeno for some help understanding what the other man was trying to say. Instead, Jeno walked over to us and smiled.
“Are you ready for your first day of training?
<><><><><>
After leaving me to get dressed in my workout clothes, a simple t shirt and yoga pants, plus a royal blue hoodie that I found in the bag along with the others, Jeno guided me out into the hall way, taking the time to answer my questions along the way.  
“What do you mean you’re gonna train me?”
“I’m in charge of training all the insider staff so that they can double as bodyguards if need be. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”
“I didn’t mean why you were going to train me, I meant why are you going to train me?”
Jeno hesitated before answering.
“Don’t you want to get stronger so you can feel safer?” He asked.  
“I mean yeah, but will it be okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I still have a cracked rib for starters and what if Jaehyun finds out?”
“I’ve trained people with worse injuries,” Jeno reassured.
“And you don’t need to worry about Jaehyun. He was the one who suggested it in the first place.”
“What? Why?”
I stopped in my tracks. Jeno stopped shortly after turning around to meet my gaze.
“Y/N, I know you’re probably more than a bit confused right now, but maybe don’t look a gift horse in the mouth? I mean, nothing good can come out of questioning Jaehyun’s motives. For now, just be happy that you’ll have something to focus on for the next few days.
Jeno resumed his steps and so did I. For some reason, Jeno’s words didn’t lend me any comfort.  
<><><><>
“Harder! Hit it harder!” Jeno yelled from behind the punching bag.  
It had been three days since Jeno started training me and somehow each day seemed to get harder and harder. My muscles were sore, and my bones felt like they would turn to dust. This was the routine, wake up at 5:00, warm up for thirty minutes, cardio for twenty, weight training also for twenty, and then the next two hours would be dedicated to basic self-defense and hand-to-hand combat. Despite my body feeling like it was one day away from falling apart completely, it looked better than it had in days. My bruises were almost completely healed, and my face had basically returned to normal. Breathing was still hard due to my slowly healing rib, but Jeno refused to let it hold me back as he constantly ordered me to hit harder, run faster, and lift heavier.  
The kind and gentle Jeno I knew was long gone by the time training began, replaced by a mountain of pent up rage and aggression. It was no wonder he was able to stay so unbothered despite working such a stressful job. As soon as he entered the gym, it was like he was releasing every ounce of anger he had built up over the course of his life, and damn there was a ton of it. If that wasn’t enough to get over my crush on him, learning that he and Jaemin were dating threw the whole thing away.  
I once asked Jaemin how he could stand to work out with Jeno when he was like this. His answer was surprising to say the least.
“I don’t know. I kind of like it. He just looks so sexy when he’s mad. Makes me think of all the dirty things I want him to do to me after we hit the showers.”
The rest of my days continued like normal. At mealtime, I would head to the kitchen and eat with everyone at the dining room table. We couldn’t sit at the kitchen table anymore since Taeyong, Taeil, and even Doyoung started to join us, but only because Yuta forced him to come along. The only members who didn’t join us were Johnny, Winwin and Jaehyun. I found myself wanting to ask what was going on with Winwin and Johnny since I hadn’t crossed paths with them since Jaehyun ordered them to stay glued to each other, but I couldn’t muster up the courage. I found myself missing Winwin. Even though he wasn’t the friendliest guy, there was something about him that felt comforting. For some reason I was beginning to find most of the members comforting to some extent even Doyoung’s threats seemed humorous when paired with Yuta’s sarcastic responses. I knew I should feel on guard with them, but after everything that had happened, it was nice to feel like I had friends.
Friends? Oh god. I better not be developing some weird form of Stockholme Syndrome.  
“Hey! Stay focused!” Jeno commanded as he pushed the punching bag into me, knocking me down on the floor.  
<><><><><>
Jaehyun chuckled softly as Y/N fell to the floor mat. He continued to watch through the two-way mirror as Jeno offered his hand to Y/N.  
On the first day of their training, Jaehyun felt a strange urge to go see how things were going so he decided to take a break from his work to check in on their progress. At first, he only stayed for a few minutes, but today, he found himself losing track of time.
“She’s lovely, isn’t she?” An unexpected voice entered the room.
Jaehyun’s subtle grin abandoned his face, replaced with an irritated scowl.
“I thought I told you I was too busy for any meetings today,” He mouthed, refusing to turn towards the new presence.
“Oh, I can see that, alright,” The voice taunted.
“How did you find me here?” Jaehyun coldly huffed.
“I just rang the bell and that younger member of yours let me in. Mark, was it? After that, I made my way to your office only to find that you weren’t there. Luckily, I ran into one of your staff members, one with a particularly strange hair style I might add, and he suggested I look for you here.”  
After a moment of silence passed and it was clear that Jaehyun wasn’t going to speak, the voice continued.  
“I’m curious as to why you’re allowing Jeno to train her in the first place,” The voice sighed as if it were suggesting something.  
Jaehyun could hear the smirk in the other man’s voice and it pissed him off to no end.  
“Having her know basic defense might serve useful if Wayv decided to break their way in here or if we decided to use her for bait or something,” He explained dismissively.
“Are you sure about that? Or are you perhaps feeling guil-”
Jaehyun finally looked at his unwanted guest.
“What do you want, Suho?”
Suho’s playful smirk morphed into a frown that almost perfectly matched that of the younger man.  
“We have things we need to discuss.”
<><><><><><><>
After training ended, I returned to my room to shower. Jeno decided to finish a little earlier today since he said that breaks were key to gaining progress. I don’t know how finishing thirty minutes early counts as a break in his mind especially with how long our sessions were to begin with, but I was thankful for the extra time I had to relax before heading down to lunch.  
Being able to wear my own clothes was something I was grateful for. It gave me a small amount of power knowing that I didn’t owe anybody anything. It also did a lot to make me feel more comfortable in such an uncomfortable setting. I chose to wear a simple pair of black skinny jeans, a white V-neck T-shirt that hugged at my curves, and my red converse.
I had lunch with everyone being their usual happy selves before returning to my room to rest. Mark was my escort to and from lunch, so once we got back, he and I played several rounds of cards before Yuta barged in.
“Ever heard of knocking?” I playfully teased.
Yuta winked at me.
“You know what they say, you can’t hide anything from your lover.”
Mark and I looked at each other before proceeding to make all sorts of fake vomiting noises.  
Yuta was unamused.
“Anyway, Mark, come on let’s go. Impromptu meeting in the billiards room,” He said suddenly in a rush.
“What about Y/N? Who’s gonna guard her?”  
“Nobody.”
Yuta turned to me.
“Congrats! The boss says you’re officially too old for a babysitter, now let’s go Mark,” Yuta announced before disappearing into the hallway.
Mark promised he’d be back soon to finish the game, but hours past and there was still no sign of them.  
When it was time for dinner, I decided to take advantage of my newfound freedom by making my way to the dining room unescorted. When I arrived, only Jeno and Jaemin were seated at the table. Dinner was mostly quiet. Jaemin explained that the meeting was probably still going on and that’s why we were the only three here. It made sense until Taeyong entered the dining room with a sullen look on his face.  
“Y/N? Are you finished eating?”
I nodded, unsure of what else I could say or ask.
“Jaehyun wants to see you in his office.”
Scared and not knowing what to expect, I asked Taeyong what was going on, but he refused to answer. I got up and followed him. Halfway to his office, we ran into Yuta. He smiled when he saw me and opened his mouth to speak. I was expecting him to say some cheesy pick up line, but what I didn’t expect was for him to just pause before looking down at the floor, moving to the side to let us by. I looked back at him as we walked past, utterly shocked that he had actually decided not to tease me for once. It made me uneasy.
When we got to Jaehyun’s office, Taeyong knocked on the door. Instead of a voice on the other side telling us to enter, the door opened and through it walked out two members of 127 whom I had not seen in a very long time.  
Johnny and Winwin.  
I smiled at them silently. Winwin said nothing and only stared at me. It wasn’t comforting in any sense, but it was better than the pat me on the shoulder Johnny gave me before whispering the words, “I’m sorry.” I watched the two of them disappear down the hallway before a voice I wish I could have forgotten called for us to enter.  
Taeyong led me to Jaehyun’s desk and pulled out the chair for me to sit in. Jaehyun kept his eyes glued to me, only looking away to dismiss Taeyong.  
Once we were alone, Jaehyun silently stared at me as though he were carefully deciding what to say next.
“Y/N.”
I did my best to meet his gaze, careful not to let him notice my uneven breaths which grew shakier the longer he delayed the next few words that would fall past his lips.
“It has been decided that you and I will get married this month.”
What?
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