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bartistic · 3 years

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Bruce Goes To The Market!

knife tw, food cw, incredibly dumb self-indulgent concept cw, outsider (oc) pov

It is universally acknowledged that a cashier possessing free time, will be in want of an extra task to fill that free time. At least, that’s what James’ managers seemed to think. Privately, he agreed, as he found restocking the shelves to be a most agreeable pastime, one that could in fact suck up hours of his eight hour closing shift.

He was in the soda aisle, debating whether sparkling water belonged with seltzer or with the rest of the store brand items, when he noticed a broad-shouldered man in sunglasses and a Gotham University sweatshirt, inspecting the selection of diet tonic water and looking utterly flummoxed. Customer in need of assistance!

“Hi, how are you doing tonight? You need help finding anything?” Mentally, James winced at the preppy-ness of his ‘customer service robot voice’ as his favorite coworker Stephie liked to call it. Luckily, he’d thrown his voice out enough screaming to Queen karaoke the night before that his voice stayed in the normal octaves rather than shooting into the stratosphere. The man straightened up and looked down towards James, who suddenly felt very short in all of his 5’9” glory. (Well, 5’8 3/4” but who’s counting.)

“Yes, actually. I’m new to the store, could you direct me to where the soap is?” Oh god. Of all the things it had to be the one item James swore was never in the same aisle twice.

“Of course!” He lied through his teeth. “Here, right this way.” Turning, he set off towards the general direction of where the soap tended to lie, with a variation of four different aisles. Luckily, the first aisle was correct, and he watched, intrigued, as the customer gave a thorough inspection to at least 14 different bars of soap. “Anything else I can help you with?” He added, as the man finally selected a bar and placed it in his basket. The man looked sheepish.

“This is actually the first time I’ve been in a grocery store. I’m not usually the one doing the shopping. My—the person I live with gave me a list, but I honestly don’t know where or even what half of these things are.” He held out a grocery list, scrawled in an elegant cursive. It was double-sided. James checked the front of the store, where the other cashier was engrossed in his phone while trying not to appear engrossed in his phone. It was an hour and a half until they closed, and he was pretty sure there was only one other customer in the store at most.

“Sure! Alright, so our first step should probably be to hit the deli, seeing as they have the longest wait times.” After walking the man through ordering Roast Beef, Prosciutto, Pastrami, Swiss, Havarti, Gouda, and Picante Provolone (what) they moved on to the canned goods. “We should probably grab a cart, I don’t think that basket’s going to be able to hold all of this.” Turning into the canned goods aisle, James sighed.

“Caution: Hazard Detected! Precaución, ¡Peligro Detectado!” The store’s resident useless robot assistant was stuck in place, screaming at a small bit of an onion peel that had fallen to the floor.

“Batsy, I swear to god.” James went over and kicked the peel under one of the shelves, pressing the button on the robot to reboot it.

“...Batsy?” The customer sounded somewhere between bemused and amused. Perhaps just ‘mused.

“Yeah, it’s our obtuse robot that only sees what’s right in front of it and makes a big fuss over literally nothing. It can’t even clean anything up, and the few moments there actually is a spill it just skids through it and makes it worse. Technically corporate calls it Patsy, short for Patrick, because we’re Patrick’s, you know? But since this is Gotham, we call it Batsy. Short for... Batrick. I’m not the one who came up with the name, that honor goes to my coworker Stephie. She’s, uh, not working tonight.” James internally began banging his head against the shelves. Why. Was. He. Like. This. “So, do you know what brand of chickpeas your... roommate wanted?”

/ / /

Finally, after another 45 minutes of shopping, they were ready to check out. James noticed the shift had changed while he was away. “Alright, so I can actually take you at this register over here, ‘cuz I’m still logged in and all.” He gulped as the customer began to load up onto the belt. This was... a lot of food. He’d scanned around a quarter when he officially ran out of room, turning to bagging instead. “Let’s get you another cart, actually, so we can load into that without squishing what you haven’t unpacked yet.” He moved to go grab one, but the customer was faster, jogging back with another cart before he could even finish bagging all the protein shakes. There were, admittedly, a lot of protein shakes.

Scanning the meat-substitutes, James scanned his own mind for an avenue of conversation. “So, you mentioned that it’s your son who’s the vegetarian. How old is he?”

“He’s 13. It’s not religious or health-wise or anything, he just really loves animals. Our house is practically a zoo on a good day, and that’s not even counting all his siblings.”

“Oh, how many kids do you have?” It had to be a fair amount for it to be ‘all’ his siblings. The customer opened his mouth as if to answer, then shut it again. He seemed to be thinking. Did he... not know how many kids he had??

“Legally I have... fffffour? Five? Yeah... that sounds right.” James tried to hide the bewildered expression in his own face, but he must not have been doing it well. “That makes me sound like such a bad father. No, I promise, I love them all, I just have quite a few of their friends living with us as well, and I’ve known those kids long enough to feel like they’re my kids too. Not to mention the whole difference between the ones I’ve adopted, the one who was my ward who I then retroactively adopted, the one I’m fostering, and the one who is legally an emancipated minor. And... the one who. Is no longer with us.” James blinked. That was indeed complicated.

“You must have a lot of love in your heart,” he settled on, finally.

“I just h— Oh, #%*$.” The blueberry container had burst open, all over the floor. James internally groaned.

“Oh no! Sorry about that, that’s the third one tonight. The packaging is just... not great. Do you want me to go get you another one?”

“No, I can get it. Thanks though.” The customer gingerly stepped through the minefield as James power walked to go get the clean up supplies. Six feet away, Batsy was screaming at a blueberry.

“Eat your heart out, Mister Miyagi,” he aimed a light roundhouse kick at the button to reboot the robot. Batsy got two feet before it encountered another world-ending-threat, danger level blueberry. James sighed and went to go clear that area first.

/ / /

Finally, almost everything was scanned. James was scanning the bread and rolls as the customer fit all the bags into the two carts, like an expert game of tetris. There were a few hiccups where James had had to explain that you probably shouldn’t bag Raid with milk, or that it was a good idea to double bag heavy items, or that you should wait until the end to put the eggs in (and there were a lot of eggs. Gaston-levels of eggs. Probably to be expected with that many kids in the house. Hah. eggs-pected.) But by the end they were working like a well-oiled machine. James bagged the last item, hit the button to total it, and watched as the customer realized he forgot his deli items.

“I’m just gonna— gonna run and go get those real quick. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, sure. Can you fill out the charity question real quick though? Th...thanks.” The customer was gone before James could question him on the fact that he’d used the custom amount option to apparently donate $1k to Gotham General’s children’s ward. It was... probably a mistake, but he’d wait around to check. He turned as he heard the beginnings of a commotion behind him, from the one other customer in the store. This guy’s whole aesthetic just screamed gross, from the white-boy dreads to the Blue Lives Matter gaiter mask. It looked as if he was having trouble at self-checkout. James was about to head over to help when his coworker passed him. He turned back to keep an eye on the clock. 10 minutes until closing. Please come back with the deli items soon. He heard an aggressive murmuring that sent chills up his spine, a distinct feeling of Not Right Bad. He turned back to where his coworker was engaged with helping the other customer. His coworker who was... very pale. Frightened. The customer whose hand glinted silver with... oh #%*$, that’s a knife. Not Good Very Bad... oh hell no, you are not hurting my coworker on my watch.

“HEY #%$&FACE, EAT BEANS!” As the aggressive customer turned to meet the container of garbanzo beans that was currently hurtling towards his face at the maximum speed a theatre-kid-who-never-did-sports could throw, the world seemed to throw down. Faintly, James could hear rational thoughts pounding at the door to his mind, begging to be let in. Thoughts like ‘They’re definitely going to fire you for attacking a customer’ and ‘They’re definitely going to fire you for cursing in front of a customer’ and ‘They’re definitely going to fire you for damaging the merchandise’ and ‘You can’t even throw a ball to save your life, there’s no way that’s going to hit him.’ Praying to Freddie Mercury, Elton John, and all other things holy, James watched as the beans sailed through the air and struck their target true— albeit a little lower than planned.”

Grossface automatically brought his hands down to protect his nethers, apparently forgetting that their was a knife in his hands. He let out a second agonized howl as he stabbed himself in the balls. Blindly, James groped around for more ammunition. Holding out a zucchini as threateningly as he could, he watched as the would-be aggressor ran out of the store as fast as he could with both hands clasping his junk. “Are you okay?” He asked his coworker, feeling his voice echo through the suddenly very-quiet-sounding store. She nodded mutely. He nodded back, then turned back to his register and oH shit there’s His Customer, holding the deli items.

“Nice shot.” Okay, this time he definitely sounded amused.

“I... am so sorry about the beans, I can get you a refund on those or I can go get you some more or—”

“No need, they definitely went to a good cause.” The customer grinned and held out the deli items. Faintly, James began to wrestle with the bag to get to the barcodes. Finally, everything was scanned, for good.

“Alright, will that be everything?” The clock read two minutes until closing.

“Yes, that should be everything. Again, thank you for all your help.” James watched as even with the membership points taken off, the total soared to over $750.

“Alright, your total is... $754.33, here’s some coupons and a survey slip. If you fill that out you get entered for a drawing to win a $500 gift card. Which... I don’t know that you’d need, but. Why not.” The customer reached into his wallet and counted out 5 $100 bills. Then he pulled out a black card. He paid off the total with the card, then handed the bills to James.

“Here you go, I wasn’t sure how much you tip cashiers.” James opened and closed his mouth a few times, like a fish.

“People don’t normally... tip cashiers...” and especially not HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS.

“Oh. Well, you were a good cashier. You deserve it. And here—” at this he pulled a crisp business card out of his wallet. “At Wayne Enterprises we could use quick-thinkers like you.” Pulling down his sunglasses, he gave a quick wink. James waved absentmindedly as BRUCE #%*$ING WAYNE walked out of the store. He looked down at the business card. Written upon it were the words: “Call here for an interview, mention Malone and they’ll know I sent you. Best of luck with the current job— BW”

James sat down. The clock was 10 minutes past closing before he remembered to look at it. There were a million thoughts running through his head. Oh my god I joked around to a billionaire. I cursed in front of a billionaire. I chucked a can of beans into a man’s nutsack in front of a billionaire.

But oddly enough, the only question that remained at the top of his mind was this:

This is because I have black hair and blue eyes, isn’t it.

#batfam #batman #bruce wayne #crack fic babey #my writing #written over the course of 2 hours following an 8 hour shift #shameless self-insert time

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longitud-de-onda · 5 years

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ego

pairing; agent whiskey | jack daniels x female reader summary; you and jack are stuck in an apartment when the city you’re in goes into lockdown for covid-19. as the time goes by in isolation, tension can only rise. rating; t warnings; mention of sex and the results of a one-night stand, alcohol, angst, quarantine word count; 3.3k a/n; first whiskey fic! not sure how it went, but i’m happy with it. reader’s statesmen codename is agent cider

“Fuck!” Whiskey yelled from the other room and you heard the shattering sound of glass.

You didn’t want to get up but you figured you had to at this point.

“What’s wrong, Whiskey?” you say, leaning against the doorframe of your bedroom, staring out into the living space. He was pacing back and forth, which explained the sound that had been driving you insane. Glass littered the carpet near the coffee table.

“We have to fucking stay here,” he growled. He stopped to slam down his hand on the kitchen counter, causing you to jump. “Champ said the mission’s aborted. We’re stuck.”

Shit. “How long are we here for?”

“Don’t know. At least a couple weeks, if not more.” Whiskey was getting more worked up with every word. “The damn quarantine doesn’t start for another 12 hours, we could be long gone by then, but headquarters fuckin’ wants us to stay.”

“It’s for the best, right?” you said, trying to stay calm about things. You weren’t thrilled at the prospect of living with Whiskey for an unspecified period, but you couldn’t complain. Statesman would still pay you, and for the mission you were holed up in one of their properties, a rather large and well-stocked two-bedroom apartment. You weren’t supposed to be here for more than a couple more days so you’d need to get more food, but beyond that? You were set.

“For the best? The best would be lettin’ us not get caught in a damn city-wide lockdown. We could at least take up another job in another city.” He was so worked up you were worried he would smash another glass or pull out one of the guns you knew were strapped under that jacket of his.

You wandered into the living room, stepping carefully around the broken glass to perch yourself on the couch. “Agent Whiskey, you’re a smart man. What’s the primary purpose of Statesman?”

“To protect the people of the world from terrorists and other major threats,” he said, reciting the phrase every agent knew by heart. Not because they had to, but because Champ was always saying it.

“Right. And COVID-19? It’s a major threat. The virus itself, yeah, but also the panic surrounding it. Everyone’s going insane. Plus, the quarantine helps limit the spread. Staying here is best for the public health. And another mission in another city? Whiskey, you know that the rest of the US is going to follow suit soon enough. We’ve got to accept that we’re here for the foreseeable future.”

“I don’t want to be here for the foreseeable future.” Even though you were frustrated that Whiskey was acting like a baby, he had at least stopped pacing and was now sinking onto one of the barstools against the kitchen counter.

“It’s a big apartment.” You shrugged. There wasn’t much left you could do at this point. You had to accept the situation.

“I can’t sit and read another damn book.”

You looked up to see Whiskey standing a few feet away from the couch where you sat, working on a project on your laptop. He looked tired.

It had been almost 12 hours since you had lost contact with the rest of Statesman, along with all the intel work they had you doing. The distillery was shut down for health reasons, and given the high number of agents that had tested positive, they opted to shut down operations for a while, leaving you and Whiskey without anything to do to pass the time.

“You don’t have to read,” you said. “There’s a tv, a kitchen, you can do whatever you want. There’s an iPad too.”

“I don’t wanna sit around, doll. This life is much too boring.”

“It’s the life we’ve got to live, Whiskey,” you said, shutting your laptop and standing up. “And don’t call me doll.”

You walked back into your room and shut the door. Over the past couple of days, you had grown fed up with Whiskey; every couple hours he’d pop into wherever you were working and complain. He never wanted to talk with you. He never helped make meals. He didn’t want to do anything with you.

But you couldn’t necessarily blame him. Ever since that fateful drunken night a couple months ago things hadn’t been the same.

The two of you were celebrating a successful mission at the Statesman bar laughing and loudly boasting to whoever would listen. At 3am you stumbled out to the parking lot, attempting to get into your car when Jack sauntered up behind you.

“Cider, darlin’, you don’t think you’re gonna drive home in that state, are you?”

You scoffed. “I’m gonna do whateeeever I fuckin’ please, Jack, you can’t stop me.”

“I can stop you from driving home drunk.”

“What are you gonna do about it? Drive me home? ‘Cause I don’t think y’can like that.” You gestured lamely at Jack, swirling around your finger in front of his chest and then poking him.

“You’re right, darlin’, neither of us are gonna be makin’ it home tonight, but my truck’s got more space that that little sedan of yours so I’d suggest you sit pretty in my passenger seat, recline it and sleep.”

You made it into his car, but by the time he was helping you recline the seat-back you were tugging him on top of you, pressing your lips to his, and pulling him all the way into the truck. He closed the door and at the same time, dipped a hand under your shirt, working his way up to palm your breast. And the night disappeared into a drunken haze of moaning and connection and something slow and emotional that you were afraid to admit.

The next morning you woke up, pressed against Jack on the reclined seat of his truck, his breath light on your shoulder where his mustache tickled against your skin. Your neck was sore from the position and your arm hurt from the unnatural curve of the seat.

And you were both naked.

That was enough for your eyes to fly wide open. You had just drunkenly fucked your work partner of five years. Five whole years of a professional relationship. Five years of not letting his flirty nature get to you. And you ended up naked in his goddamn truck.

And Jack. He was still caught up on that high school sweetheart of his. The one he lost all those years ago. You knew Jack better than most, and ever since losing her, he hadn’t been one to fuck around. He was going to regret this, and you didn’t want to be the person that ruined things for him. Even if it was something you wanted. So you pushed his arm off from around you (thank god he was a heavy sleeper when hungover) and quietly opened the car door and slipped out into the morning sun.

Later that day you asked Champ to be reassigned partners. He looked you in the eye and asked you why and your silence told him everything.

And thankfully, he didn’t ask any more questions, just signed you off to work with Agent Brandy and for Jack to work with Agent Bourbon.

It was going smoothly until a week later you ran into Jack for the first time since that morning as you were entering the briefing room and he was leaving. The look of anger in his eyes when he saw you caused a sharp pang of guilt that you felt for the rest of the day. The following evening he approached you at the bar.

“So you requested a new partner? Was I that bad?” He was stumbling a bit. Drunk. That took a lot of work for him. A lot of alcohol. You could smell it on his breath.

“I’m sorry Whiskey, it didn’t make sense to keep going. Had to stay professional, you know?”

“Right. Professional.” You could tell he was trying to infuse his words with venom, but the alcohol slurred every syllable. “Throwing five damn good years down the drain, and now I’m stuck with Bourbon. Real professional, Cider.”

“You know it was the right decision. Don’t lie to yourself about it,” you said, trying to convince him. But you were also trying to convince yourself.

You didn’t see him for another couple months, missions keeping the two of you busy. That is until Agent Brandy got himself into a little accident and was stuck in the hospital for a few weeks and Champ gave you little warning before Whiskey wandered into the briefing room for your next mission, looking just as surprised as you were that the two of you were being assigned as partners again.

You sank down onto your bed. You’d be lying to yourself to say that you weren’t excited to work with Whiskey again, but you had fucked up and now he didn’t want anything to do with you.

“I’m going out for groceries,” you called back towards the bedrooms.

“Can you even do that?”

“Yeah, one person per household can leave for essential groceries.”

“When are you going to be back?”

“I don’t know, depends on the lines,” you said.

You heard a door open and Whiskey appeared in the living room. “Can you get some stuff for lasagna?”

“I don’t know how to make lasagna, Whiskey,” you said. If you were going to be doing all the cooking, he was going to have to deal with whatever you put on the table.

“I wanted to make it,” he said.

So Whiskey was finally willing to cook. Great. To be honest, you had missed his cooking. On previous missions, if you were lying low for a while, not unlike this, he would cook all the time. The two of you were both comfortable in a kitchen, but Whiskey’s cooking was really the best food in the world.

“Okay. Ricotta cheese, parmesan, the noodles, sauce, meat, what else?”

“Garlic and onion,” he said. And he smiled. That was the first smile he had directed at you. Probably since you had hooked up.

“Right. See you later?”

“See you later,” he grinned. You turn to head out the door. “And thank you, darlin.”

You would never let Whiskey know, but you smiled to yourself on the way out.

Things had gotten better between you and Whiskey after he made lasagna. He started helping out with meals. You had bought a few bottles of wine at the store and a few distilled drinks. Those made Whiskey’s eyes light up. Given your shared history with alcohol and each other, you were both pretty good at limiting yourselves, but a glass or two of wine with dinner had you talking into the late evening. You found yourselves spending more time sitting together on the couch to watch movies or read. Sitting down for every meal together became a standard, rather than an afterthought.

You still didn’t say a word about what had happened between you. You couldn’t. The whole thing was soaked in shame.

Sometimes you would come out to the living room but stop before you stepped into the light when you saw Whiskey staring at the photo of his late girlfriend that he kept in his wallet. Your stomach would turn and you retreat to your room again. As much as you hoped he didn’t notice you watching, you knew he did. He was nothing if not perceptive.

“Can we do something?” you looked up to see Whiskey standing in the door of your room.

“Like what?” you had been reading for the past five hours and were almost done with the series you had started the week before. It was probably good that he was getting you out of the room.

“I don’t know, I’m bored.”

“So am I.”

“Yeah, but—” he started. “Never mind. I get that you don’t want to spend time with me. I can take a fucking hint, just, next time? Can you just tell me and not act all distant?”

That went a completely different direction than you had expected.

“What do you mean, Whiskey?” You stood up. “I do want to spend time with you, where the hell did you get that idea from? I just asked what you wanted to do.”

“I mean you act so damn distant. I thought things were looking up, like you actually liked me again, but you clearly don’t.” His stance became defensive, and you could see the muscles in his face soften. “I try to do things with you and you accept but you’re never really there. You’re different, Cider. It’s like I don’t even know you.”

And here you had thought you were lucking out. Like he was beginning to forgive you for sleeping with him. For leaving him.

“Whiskey, I do like you. And I don’t know what I need to say for you to understand that.”

“I think you’re gonna need to do a lot more than saying shit,” he said. “You’re gonna need to do something. But maybe you could start by explaining things. That’d make me a bit happier.”

“And you think I want to keep talking?” You said it before you realized how awful it sounded. But the next words were tumbling out before you could stop them. “When you’re taking every word I say and thing I do and twisting it? I don’t have a fucking clue what I did that gave you the impression that I didn’t like you, I’ve been nothing but damn happy to have you talking to me again the past week. So I’m not going to be doing any fucking explaining when all you’re going to do is spit my words back at me like they were said to hurt you.”

“What did you do to give me the impression you didn’t like me? Does fucking disappearing the morning after and then asking to never have to work with me again count? Because that was a pretty clear message that you hated me,” Whiskey yelled. He turned around and slammed the door behind him.

He was right even if you didn’t want to admit it.

You spend the next couple of days holed up in your respective bedrooms. It was almost humorous how you managed to never run into one other. You even prepared meals separately, relying on leftovers from the week when you didn’t have the energy to cook. One lunch you made a plate for Whiskey too, leaving it out covered in plastic wrap on the counter. You heard him go out to the kitchen for lunch an hour later and that night when you made dinner, the plate was still sitting on the counter, wrapped up and uneaten.

He went out for groceries. You were in the living when he came back and stood up to help him unpack.

“I don’t need your help,” he said, almost devoid of emotion.

“I don’t mind helping.”

“Well, I don’t want your help.”

You took your leave. Not before seeing a large bottle of vodka peeking out of one of the bags. After you took your dinner into your room, you heard him wandering around with the television turned on, loud. When you went out to clean your dishes, he had a glass in his hand and was staring at the screen, playing some sort of morbid news about the virus. Something you were quick to identify as pure fear-mongering.

“You shouldn’t watch that, Whiskey.”

He glanced up at you, his voice thick with the alcohol and the southern drawl only amplified. “Cider, babe. You know my name.”

“And you know mine, Whiskey.”

“You should use it,” he smiled, “It sounds so nice coming from those pretty lips.”

Your stomach clenched. It was one thing to avoid you for what you had done. It was a whole other thing to torment you like this. You liked him, that was nothing new to you, the secret you had kept for years. Hearing him flirt again, flirt while drunk and out of it? It hurt.

“Right. Well, you should still stop watching. Good night.”

The next morning the entire bottle was empty on the countertop and you didn’t hear a single movement coming from Whiskey’s room until 2pm.

Things got worse. So much worse. The isolation was really getting to you. How anyone could manage this for more than a couple days was beyond you. Anyone doing this without anyone else in their home had to be the bravest souls.

“I can’t do this anymore,” your voice cracked as you stared down at Jack. You had pushed open the door to his bedroom after softly knocking and not relieving any response. It had been a couple days since that night with the vodka.

Jack was sitting on his bed, laptop up in front of him, but he closed it as soon as he saw you crying at the door.

“What’s wrong, Cider?”

“I can’t keep being alone in this house.” The tears were flowing down your cheeks and every few words were punctuated by a gasp for air. “I can’t keep avoiding you. I’m sorry. I fucked up, I know. And you haven’t responded well the last few days. But I know it’s ninety percent my fault, and I know you probably can’t forgive me at this point. I honestly thought you were getting close, but then—then you weren’t, and you probably hate me. And I’m so fucking alone now.”

In the time you had taken to say those words, Jack had sprung to his feet and was standing in front of you. His hands were planted on your upper arms, a calming pressure enough to get the tears to subside for a moment.

“Look at me,” he said, “All I ever wanted was an apology and for you to come back. I never wanted for you to disappear from my life, and then not offer any explanations. You’ve been my most trusted companion for years. I could never hate you.”

“You don’t hate me?”

“Of course not, darlin,” he smiled. “I’m mad at you, sure. Have been for a while. But hate you? Never. Can you just tell me one thing?”

“Anything.” You stared up at those swirling brown eyes that had always held you with such high regard. There were tears in the corners.

“Why’d you leave?”

“What?”

“That whole day was the worst day of my life since I lost her, you know? I woke up after an amazing night and you were gone, and then I got to work and was called in and told I had a new partner. It hurt. Just as much as losing someone. Maybe even worse ‘cause they’re still right there, but don’t want to see you.”

“Jack, I—” You weren’t sure where to start. Hearing his side of things made it so much worse. “You don’t do that. The whole, sleeping around thing? That’s me. But you don’t seem to have moved on, and I didn’t want you to resent me.”

“Resent you? I thought you knew. I wouldn’t have let that happen if I didn’t want it.”

“Do you mean—”

“Cider, you’re it for me. And I thought I wasn’t it for you. I thought you regretted that night.”

You stared up at Jack in shock. He didn’t regret that night? You had run away from him when he wanted you back? If you had stayed, would you two be—You couldn’t finish that thought.

“Am I wrong?” Jack asked, and you could now see the worry crossing his features. “You didn’t regret it, did you?”

“No. I didn’t.” It felt good to say that. After all of that, for those words to be out there. For the agreement to be laid down in front of the two of you.

He pulled you into a hug.

“You’re it for me too, Jack,” you said, and pushed him back. You wanted to see his face so that you could wrap your hands around his neck and kiss him like you had wanted to for years.

taglist; @pascalisthepunkest @turquiosenights @el-lizzie @sparrows-books @dxxkxx @opheliaelysia @trashbin2 @arcadianempress @rzrcrst @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead

#jack daniels #agent whiskey #kingsman golden circle #kingsman #agent whiskey x reader #camila writes #rated t #under 5 #reader #angst #kingsman fics #whisk x reader #haha now jack is whisk forever in my tags #for organizational purposes

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mizumelona · 4 years

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set me up | atsumu x reader

SYNOPSIS: You’re an ambitious career woman, who’s got everything…except a significant other. Your mom, sick of you showing up to family functions alone, sets you up on a series of (terrible) blind dates. You make these dates meet you at your favorite restaurant, Onigiri Miya, but for some reason the owner’s jerk of a twin brother always happens to be there exactly when things crash and burn.

MASTERLIST

PREV | DATE 1 - THE CLUELESS ASSHOLE | NEXT

TAGLIST: @awkwardali6106 @kasandrafaye @veggytaled @svtbitch @stinkyobeymerat@hollypastl @differentballooncollection @o51oc @sunboikyo00 @justxanotherxshipper @kaisemieita

Your date stepped into the restaurant with a smile. Glasses. Neat hair. Handsome enough to avoid any major roasts from your family. Perfect.

“Hi, it’s great to finally meet you! I’m y/n”, you tried to make your voice sound demure. Stay cool y/n. Stay cool. Don’t even think about what the lemon head jerk said.

“Hi. I’m Hanate. You look…great” Another snicker from the direction of the bar.

“Thanks for coming all the way here to meet me. So, let’s go sit over there”, You threw a warning look at Atsumu and guided Hanate towards a table as far away from the bar as possible, making sure Atsumu was out of his line of sight. Osamu soon followed, placing two glasses of water on the table.

He pulled out a little notepad. “What’ll you be havin’ today?”

Hanate looked at you. “What’s good at this place?”

“I love the minced tuna and spring onion rice ball.” You thought you saw Atsumu’s head perk up in your direction.

“Cool.” He turned to Osamu, I’ll get one of those too.”

“Two minced tuna and spring onion rice balls comin’ right up”, Osamu repeated the order and went back to the prep station. You turned to your date.

“So, how’s your day going?”

“I’m so glad it’s the weekend.”

“Yeah! Totally!”, you picked up your glass of water to take a sip.

“I’ll never understand those try hard workaholics. It’s like, who do they think they are acting all high and mighty”. Cough. Some water went down the wrong pipe. Okay, that was unexpected, but it’s fine he doesn’t have to know about your work habits right away. You could always warm him up to it later. First you’d get him to fall for you and everything could fall into place later.

“Uh…yeah…”, you tried your best to make your response sound enthusiastic.

“But it is nice to be making good money. You know, my uncle hooked me up with this sweet job. I barely do anything, and I’m still making stacks.” He gave you little side eye that he probably thought made him look cool. It didn’t. “You never know, if things work between us maybe he can work something out for you too”

You started to scoff but remembered that you were supposed to be getting this guy to like you, so you played it off as clearing your throat.

“Well…I don’t know about that”, You tried changing the topic. “So, what kinds of things are you interested in?”

“Ah my hobbies are pretty spread out. I don’t like to spend too much time on one thing. I can’t be tied down y’know. What about you?”

“I’m pretty interested in technology, especially applications that make education more accessible”

“Oh have you heard of the app GO”

“Ah, yeah I actually know a lot about it-”

“Well, did you know that the app won at the design awards last year. The creators must’ve spent ages coming up with it”

“Actually, It was a fairly simple concept rooted in values of co-creation”

“Uh…I’m pretty sure it was a minimal design where people work together toward the final result.”

Your eyebrow twitched. Isn’t that exactly what you just said but using different words?

“Well”, You started with a sly smile. “I think I would know the app I designed”

That shut him up. Haha.

But the satisfying moment was quickly interrupted by some loud guffaws coming from the blondie at the bar. Somehow you knew it wasn’t because he stumbled upon a funny meme. Sure, it felt great to flex on your clueless date, but that was none of his business. You made a sly glance in Atsumu’s direction. He was looking directly at you with a shit eating grin.

“Uh…Well…”, Hanate still looked like he was struggling coming up something to say after your little roast. He frowned turning to look in Atsumu’s direction “Wow that guy is really loud. Wait is he looking this way-“

“Oh!”, you exclaimed.

Oh hell no. You were not about to let some rando dye job jerk get in the way of your plans to conquer romance. You needed him to shut up. Now. But you weren’t going to be able to do that while trying to look like a lady for you date. Quickly, you formulated a plan. You lifted your arm as if you were going to pick up your glass of water, but made a sweeping motion knocking your phone off Hanate’s side of the table. Bingo.

“Oh I’m so sorry about that. My hand slipped. Could you grab it for me?”

“Uh sure no problem”

The moment his head dipped below the table, you made eye contact with Atsumu and made a quick motion dragging your thumb across your neck. Keep that up and you’re dead. He smirked and shrugged. Like I care. Bastard.

“Two minced tuna and spring onion rice balls”, Osamu was back at the table with your onigiri. Steam was billowing off the rice and the smell of the tuna wafted in the air.

“Wow it looks great! Thank you!”

The rice balls were delicious as always, but once you two started eating the conversation died. No matter what you asked Hanate’s responses were short. “Do you like the food?”, “Yeah…”, “Did you see that new movie?”, “Yeah…”. You took another bite resisting the urge to roll your eyes. Did getting roasted hurt his ego that much?

Once you finished eating you two split the bill and prepared to go your separate ways.

You turned to Hanate. “Well, I’m going to run to the bathroom before I head out, but today was nice.” It actually sucked but in case a second date was still an option you kept the thought to yourself. Even if this guy was clueless you could always dump him after you brought him to a family brunch.

“Yeah…”

Atsumu took another satisfying bite out of his onigiri. He’d been having a pretty shitty day, but watching y/n’s date crash and burn was the best thing he’d seen all week. Atsumu had no respect for useless, clueless people, so watching y/n roast this guy had been fucking hilarious. He did wonder why it seemed like she was trying to make this guy like her when she obviously didn’t like him. She was definitely out of this lame guy’s league, not that it was any of his business.

Atsumu watched as the guy in question picked up his phone, taking a call.

“Yeah…the date finished…yeah…not gonna lie though, she was kind of a stuck up bitch”

Atsumu scoffed and turned to tell the guy off, but before he could say anything the bathroom door swung open.

“At least I’m not a lazy asshole”, Y/n stepped out, looked at her date, and rolled her eyes. She flipped the guy off and walked right out the door.

Atsumu burst out laughing as the door slammed shut.

“She beat ya to it ‘Tsumu”, Osamu piped in from the cashier.

“Shut up ‘Samu”

Ugh what a waste of time. You were currently trying to forget about the stupid date by having a self care night. The candles were lit. Face mask was on. Wine glass was filled. You were about to turn on that new rom com movie that came out when your phone buzzed.

Mom:

I heard from Haru. You called him an asshole?? Y/n I can’t believe this

Lovely Daughter:

he called me a bitch first

Mom:

Okay fine we’ll just think of it as a test run but please try and be on your best behavior next week.

Lovely Daughter:

Next week?

Mom:

I ran into Rika at the farmers market and she told me her son is single. I already sent him the address to Onigiri Miya. You’ll meet him there next Sunday at 11.

Lovely Daughter:

!!!

You put your phone down. That was faster than you’d expected, but actually this worked in your favor. So the first date didn’t go so well, but that’s okay. This guy had just been especially bad, not to mention the banana head jerk who kept interfering. You sipped your drink with a sly smile. Next week you’d conquer romance for sure.

#haikyuu #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu x reader #atsumu #atsumu x reader #set me up

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jisungsmysugadaddy · 3 years

Text

𝐻𝒾𝓂 & 𝐼

*Small Smut Warning* (masturbation)

Word Count: 1.1k

Part 3 of Hyunjin and Me Fantasy:

One day Hyunjin and I were on his apartment balcony just relaxing, talking and enjoying the cool breeze together. But then there was a brief moment of silence and I felt the vibe was changing right there and then. Then I started thinking about what I saw at his last dance practice, sitting on the sidelines and watching Hyunjin move his body, the girl he liked standing right beside him and copying his movements. i sighed as I watched the scene,,, rolling my eyes whenever he put his hands on her, trying to fix her pose. Hyunjin obviously saw the irritation on my face, knowing he needed to talk to me but he didn’t know it was because of Lexani.

He cleared this throat, looking up in the sky while talking."what's up? you seem kinda... distant" he said to which I turned to him and sighed in disbelief."Me? Distant? I think it's you that has decided to leave their childhood friend for some new girl", he cocked his head back at me and raised his voice a little,"I haven’t left you Laila... it's just that I have the right to make friends beside you" he said, with me feeling like an arrow had just been fired at your heart. He was right but it hurt. So I took matters into my own hands. "Hyunjin...I think I like you."

Once I told Hyunjin that I liked him he froze. "Oh... Um", he didn't know what to say so there was total silence for about a few seconds. "Laila, with you as my best friend I love you and I've told you that before but... I want to date other people, plus you told me that you wouldn't be focused on a relationship right n-" I cut him off. "Wait no I'm not saying I want to be in a relationship, I just wanted you to know that I liked you and- I don't know where I expected this go but I just wanted to get that off my chest. And clear up the reason why it seems like I’ve been “distant"” Hyunjin nodded signaling that he understood. He then got up and gave me a big hug rubbing my back while doing so.

After that, whenever me and Hyunjin went over to each other's houses we started laying our heads on each other more than usual while we watched something on Tv or just having a conversation together. I want to believe it’s because he wants to make me feel better about me liking him and him being with someone else. It just felt so natural, but once I realized we were doing that I got butterflies in my stomach because it felt like we were supposed be together and that we completed each other.

Recently, my mind started creating ✨thoughts✨ about Hyunjin that were so lewd and detailed and once I started having them more often I felt less ashamed of them. I began to think about how big his cock must be because of the size of the print that I see in his sweats when ever he was at home and I was there (He caught me staring one time but never said anything ab it, he just started making dick jokes 😂). One night when I was alone, in my room late at night, I just couldn't control myself anymore and all these thoughts of Hyunjin just railing me into the mattress with his massive cock just kept swirling in a loop in my head.

My hand self consciously went into my panties and swiped some of the arousal that's seeping out of me up to my clit and started making circles on my swollen bud. The wilder my imagination became the more turned on I got, which meant I sped up the pace and pressure on my clit, the faster I went, the more moans came out of my mouth, "mmm.. Hyunjin please don't stop.. you gonna make me cum!" I was so into it to that all you could hear was soft moaning and squelching sounds coming from the covers I was under. I was shaking from the stimulation on my clit, I slipped two fingers inside my self going at a relentless pace imagining them as Hyunjin giving me the pounding of my life. "Yes! Yes! Ye-....*wet sounds* Oh my god!!". I was finally sent over the edge with nothing but pleasure washing over my body. Once all the blood made it's way back to my head I started giggling a little, not believing what I was saying a few minutes ago while also admiring the amount of cum that's on my fingers. "*Chuckles* if only it was real*. Sense I tell Hyunjin pretty much everything, this would have to be one thing I don't. "Imagine how he would feel knowing that his best friend has gotten off to him", I thought to my self.

The next day was a Saturday and I was supposed to be going over to Hyunjin's house. When I got there I was greeted by his mother, and greeted her back and asked was Hyunjin in his room, she told me he was and that's the first place I headed to. I went in and saw Hyunjin there lying on his bed and looking at me excitedly like he really wanted to tell me something. "Why do you look so excited", I chuckled. He ran up and closed the door behind me and said with a smile, "Me and Lexani made out yesterday after school.". "What!?", I said in disbelief. He went on to explain that he was paired with Lexani and another friend that he had to work with on a group project that was assigned by a teacher and class that they had together. "So we decided to go to Lexi's house and started the project there, Juan left earlier than I did and that gave us the chance to be completely alone". Not gonna lie I wanted to cringe so bad when he said the nickname "Lexi". "She started rubbing my thighs and told me to get on the bed with her. I thought she wanted to do something else but then she kissed me on the lips and I started kissing her back and that went on for like 5 minutes, until the door bell rang and then I knew it was my time to go home, I go back Tuesday" I decided to make a little joke to hide my jealousy "I bet her breathe smelled like onions and that you two were eating each other's faces", he laughed so hard😂 at that, but then assured you that it was better than that

"You sure that Lexani doesn’t do the same thing to every other guy she sees?" I say with a snark to which Hyunjin shook his head, furrowing his eyebrows."Don’t say that Laila, you barely know her so don’t make assumptions about her" he said. I scoffed."Sure, have fun with Lexi then" I said, turning around and slamming the door behind me, fleeing past his mom before she could say a word.

Thanks to Cherry🍒for the first and last paragraph😁

𝓝𝓮𝔁𝓽 𝓟𝓪𝓻𝓽

#hwang hyunjin #stray kids scenarios #hyunjin scenarios #hyunjin

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s0seo · 4 years

Text

The Heir Chapter 3

Pairing: OT7 x Reader WC: 9324

Rating: M

Genre: Vampire au mystery thriller with lots of angst and eventual fluff and smut (THIS IS A SLOW BURN)

Summary: After you and your friend are attacked during a night out, you discover a world much bigger and more dangerous than you could have ever imagined.

WARNINGS: 18+, mention of blood, swearing, mention of assault, mention of past abuse, lots of angst

A/n: Hello beautiful humans! I hope that everyone has been staying safe and healthy since my last update! Sorry it took me so long to get the chapter out, but I was suffering from a lack of drive. Also is it just me or are these chapters just getting longer and longer?

A/n 2: I want to give a big thank you to @kookieskiwi for hyping me up and getting me back into the writing mindset!

Chapters: 1 2

The taxi pulls up to your house, and you and Yoongi get out and look at it silently.

As you walk up to your front door, Yoongi, who made it a point to carry your bag for you, unlocks the door as well.

You’re grateful for the lack of physical strain, but you wish that he didn’t have to fuss over you. In fact, aside from the dull ache in your side, you feel completely fine.

As he turns the key in the lock, you reach out and open the door. He lets you walk in first and follows behind, making sure to lock the door behind him.

You look around your living room, now seeing it with new eyes. It’s spacious, but cluttered with furniture, bookshelves, and your entertainment system.

You stop in your tracks as your phone buzzes in your pocket and see a new message from your friend.

Jungkook: How are you guys feeling?? I know I already apologized, but I’m so sorry I couldn’t see you in the hospital.

Jungkook: I should be back in town tomorrow morning. I’ll stop by the house and check on you guys.

You pull up your keyboard to type a response, but before you can send it you are shoved forward by Yoongi as he runs into you.

“Oww! What was that for?”

“Why’d you stop right in front of the door? You know how heavy your bag is? What do you even have in this thing? Bricks?”

You ignore his comments and make your way towards the couch.

The kitchen, which is only a few feet away from where you’re standing looks smaller than you remember. You rub your face and let out a sigh before walking around the couch and taking a seat in the chair right beside it.

Yoongi follows your lead and places himself in the middle of the couch with your bag right beside him. You feel a wave of exhaustion hit you and look over at Yoongi. You notice the bags under his eyes and wonder how much sleep he's had over the past few days.

“Let’s just rest for a bit and then we can unpack and start going through the refrigerator” You say as you lean your head back and close your eyes.

“What?”

You hear the confusion coating his words as if he can’t believe you’re already suggesting chores as soon as you walk in the door.

You open your eyes a smidge and peer over at him.

“What do you mean what? We’ve been gone almost a week. The last thing we need is old food smelling up the fridge.”

He lets out a huff.

“If we’re talking about smelly things, I don’t think the refrigerator should be at the top of your list.”

You sit up in your chair and open your eyes fully.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He smiles at you in amusement.

“It means you smell like hospital.”

You pull your shirt up to your nose and give it a sniff, then your hair.

“oh, come on it’s not that bad”

He leans his head back and covers his face with his arm.

“trust me. it’s bad. You could make onions cry.”

You reach over, grab a pillow from the couch, and throw it at him, careful not to overstrain yourself.

He laughs as he puts his arms up to shield another possible attack.

“Hey! What? Did you want me to lie to you? You’d stink up the whole house!”

You stick your tongue out at him, grab your bag, and stand up, ready to scrub the smell of sanitation and hospital from your skin for the greater good.

As you make your way towards the hallway leading to your bedrooms you suddenly feel yourself become lightheaded. Your body slumps against the wall as your knees give out and your vision turns black.

When you open your eyes, you realize that it’s probably only been a few seconds. Yoongi is bending down beside you with his hand on your shoulder.

As you look around, he reaches up and turns your face to look at him.

“Whoa, what happened? Are you alright?”

You nod and try to stand, but your legs give out on you again. As you take in a dep breath you feel a sudden pain in your side and cry out. You feel tears forming in your eyes as the pain continues to increase.

You don’t know what happened. You felt fine a few seconds ago, but now it hurts to move. Maybe your pain medicine is wearing off or something, not that you even really needed it to begin with.

Yoongi helps you stand, and half carries you to the end of the hall to your bedroom. He guides you to the foot of your bed and walks back into the hall to pick up your bag. You feel a heavy wave of exhaustion hit you and your side starts to throb in pain.

You don’t understand what happened.

Your mind races as you wonder what you did to overstrain yourself. Slowly, the pain starts to make its way across more of your body.

Every breath is accompanied by the feeling of shards of glass in your lungs and a tightening in your chest.

Your tears begin to fall faster as you close your eyes and focus all of your energy on not crying out in pain.

‘I don't understand…. I don’t understand’ you keep repeating to yourself internally.

One minute you were fine and the next, your entire body hurts and you can barely lift your arms. You didn’t even feel this bad while you were in the hospital.

When you hear Yoongi return you open your eyes and reach out to take your bag. Your arm falls short however as you feel a sharp pain in your side.

Yoongi drops your bag and lowers himself to meet your eyes as he inspects your overall state.

You feel him rub your shoulder softly as he begins to understand the level of pain you’re experiencing.

“What’s going on? What happened” he asks, the concern clear in his eyes.

You close your eyes and focus on your words as you try to keep your mind off the pain.

“I don’t know. I felt fine just a minute ago.”

You try to reach for your bag again, but you feel that sharp pain shoot up your side once more causing you to cry out.

“Aghh”

“What’s wrong? Tell me what hurts...”

You look him in the eyes and spit out the words echoing in your mind.

“Everything. My...My side…Yoongs. It hurts to breathe...”

You feel the dull pain in your chest beginning to grow sharper, and you let out a wince as your breathing turns into quick gasps for air.

Yoongi looks at you, his eyes filled with uncertainty and rapidly increasing concern.

“I don’t understand. I thought you were getting better really fast just like me. Let me go find your pain medicine. Should we go back to the hospital?”

You let out an irritated grunt at the word hospital. Just the thought of returning to that god-awful place with that creepy as hell doctor makes you want to punch a wall.

“No...no hospital.”

You can tell that he’s getting more and more anxious by the second, so you hide your wince as you try to calm him down.

“I'll just...take some pain meds...and lay down. I'm sure...it’ll pass soon. I… I just need my medicine.”

He gives you a nod and you see him quickly head into the hallway as he gets your medicine from the kitchen counter.

When he returns, he has two pills in one hand and a small glass of water in the other.

You weakly reach out to take the pills, but he quickly shakes his head at you.

“It’s okay, just open your mouth”

You open your mouth and watch his hand as he reaches out and places the pills on your tongue. Your tongue grazes the tip of his finger, and he looks into your eyes.

You both stare at each other for a moment before he looks away and brings the glass of water to your lips. His cool palm brushes against your forehead, and you close your eyes and let out a sigh, thankful for the cool fingers on your skin.

“Jesus. You're burning up. I'm gonna go run a bath for you.”

You give him a small nod as he walks into the hallway. A cold bath is exactly what you want right now. Your body starts to shiver, and you close your eyes as you wait for him to return.

You feel your eyelids getting heavy and your breathing slow. Before you know it, you feel yourself fall backwards onto your bed as you lose consciousness once again.

When you wake up you feel fine.

You’re not sure how much time has passed but, judging by the faint blue hue through your windows it’s close to dawn.

You sit up slowly, remembering the pain you felt in your side just a little while earlier.

You reach around for your phone, and you notice that your body feels completely normal. Well, aside from the now dull pain in your side and a bit of soreness in your muscles. Overall though, you feel great.

‘I’ll find it later’ you say to yourself after having no luck in your search for your phone.

You look around and spot Yoongi’s sleeping figure beside you on the bed on top of your blanket. Your eyes roam over his face, and you admire his relaxed features as he breathes quietly.

You stretch your arms out hoping to loosen your muscles, and you pop your neck and your back as you stand up and make your way to the kitchen, looking for something to eat.

The longer you think about food the hungrier you become. Now that you think about it, you haven’t eaten anything since before you left the hospital.

Your hand slides against the wall as your fingers search for the light switch. Finally finding it, you flip the switch and look around the kitchen and make a mental note that it needs to be cleaned soon.

You open the refrigerator door and just as you reach for a bag of grapes, you hear Yoongi cry out from your bedroom. You quickly close the door and rush over to him to make sure he’s okay.

You turn your bedroom light on, and you see his face twisted in pain. You silently watch him reach across the bed as he lets out another cry. His face is covered in sweat and he begins to cry out again.

You realize he must be having a nightmare. You crawl onto the bed and place a hand on his shoulder as you try to wake him up. You keep your voice quiet and your tone soft as you slowly rub his arm and coax him from his dream.

“Yoongs, it's okay. You're okay. We’re safe. We’re home. I’m here.”

You feel him jerk beneath you as his eyes fly open, and he breathes heavily as his eyes search the room for a threat that isn't there. You continue rubbing his arm and comforting him.

“It’s okay Yoongs it was just a dream. You're okay. You're safe.”

His eyes meet yours and he looks at you for a moment before you see tears form in his eyes. You reach out and move his wet hair away from his eyes, hoping to help him see you more clearly as his body starts to tremble.

“Hey it's okay.” You say as you scoot your body back a bit and give him room to sit up.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He doesn't say anything. He just pulls his feet to his chest and buries his face in his knees, just like he did at the hospital. You place your hand on his back as you crawl across the bed and take a seat beside him.

“It’s okay, I'm not gonna push you. I'm here for you, whatever you need. Just please, don't shut me out.”

You both sit there for a while without saying anything. The only sounds filling the silence are Yoongi's sobs and his small gasps for air.

Yoongi continues to sob as your hand switches from rubbing his back to running your fingers through his hair to calm him down. You aren't sure how much time has passed by the time he finally lifts his head from his knees and looks over to you.

You take in his puffy red eyes and his red tear stained cheeks, and you feel your heart tighten at the sight of him in pain.

You look over at your nightstand and find the glass of water Yoongi left earlier when he gave you your medicine. You reach out for it and hand him the glass. He nods to you in thanks as he drains it in a few gulps.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He continues to stay silent and simply stares at a spot on the wall ahead of him. Your eyes roam over his disheveled state, and you can't help the pain that continues to form in your chest.

The bags under his eyes look deeper and darker than they had a few hours ago and his slumped shoulders make him look so much smaller than he really is.

You reach out to take the empty glass from him, but as your fingers graze his skin you realize that he’s burning up. You move your palm to his forehead, and it feels extremely warm.

You feel a look of concern make its way across your features and you move to get off the bed. You head to the bathroom and try to get his fever down the only way you know how, Tylenol and a hot bath.

He doesn't try to stop you and continues to stare out at nothing as if in a trance.

‘Gotta to get his fever down’ you say to yourself as you turn on the water faucet and plug up the bathtub, making sure to put some bubbles in as well because you know how much he loves them.

While you wait for the tub to fill you refill the small glass with some cool water and reach into the medicine cabinet to grab a few Tylenol and a Vitamin C tablet.

You place them on the counter next to the sink and return to your friend who is in the exact same position as when you left him.

You walk over to the right side of your bead and take a seat in front of your friend. Taking both of his hands you move your body until you are right in his line of vision and speak softly and carefully.

“Yoongs, you don't have to tell me what happened if you don't want to, but right now you're burning up. I think it would be a good idea to take some medicine, and I went ahead and ran a hot bath for you.”

You watch his eyes as they slowly make their way to your face. He gives you a small nod and you slowly help him stand up.

He moves to take a step forward, but his foot gets caught on the blanket and he falls into you. Your body stills as you feel his face land in the crook of your neck, and he takes a deep breath as if mustering up the energy to move again.

You can't stop the shivers that form on your spine as he opens his eyes and takes another deep breath before looking up at your face and parting his lips.

You can tell he wants to say something, but he just can't find the energy.

Your eyes search his face and you see him give a small sigh and look at the floor as he tries to take another step.

He walks the short distance into the hallway with you in silence, and you feel your worry increasing by the minute as his silence makes your stomach clench.

In all the years you've known him, Yoongi has never shut you out like his. If there was ever anything on his mind, you were the first person he told about it.

‘That was before we both almost died’ you remind yourself.

You walk together through the doorway just outside of your room and see that the water is almost finished filling up the tub, the bubbles close to reaching the rim.

You help him sit down on the lid of the toilet and let him take the medicine you left out for him as you turn off the faucet and quickly head to the other side of the hallway.

You open his door and grab a change of clothes out of his room. Opening his closet, you pick out a random t-shirt and grab a random pair of boxers and shorts from his dresser as well.

When your return to the bathroom the pills are gone, and the glass is once again empty. You grab a towel out of the closet for him and place it on the edge of the sink next to his clothes.

“The water is warm, and I brought you some clothes. Just let me know when you’re done, and I’ll make you some tea.”

You turn around ready to walk away when he suddenly reaches out and grabs your arm.

His eyes are full of fear and desperation as his grip tightens.

“Please don’t leave me alone.”

You turn around and look at him in confusion.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

His eyes begin to slowly form tears again as he softly begs you.

“I… I just… please don't leave me alone. I don’t want to be alone.”

You reach out and wipe away his tears as you comfort him.

“Hey, I’m not going anywhere. I'm right here. How about I just turn around while you get in? I'll stay with you as long as you need me to. I’m not going anywhere.”

You see his eyes search yours for something, and finding it, he softly nods.

“Okay.”

You feel your cheeks warm as you turn around and face the hallway.

A part of you feels awkward just standing there while he takes his clothes off, but a larger part of you convinces yourself that you’ve been friends for long enough; this shouldn't be that big of a deal.

‘It's perfectly fine. We’re friends. He needs this. No need to make it awkward.’

Your thoughts repeat themselves as your eyes find a small stain on the carpeted hallway and focus on it.

Behind you, you hear him removing his clothes, and your mind drifts back to what happened in the bedroom. The feeling of his breathing on your neck and the way your heart stopped in your chest as his face rested in your neck.

You think about how it felt when his nose rubbed against your neck as he moved his head to look up at you and his lips as they parted once his eyes found yours.

You remember the question that he held in his eyes, and you can’t help but wonder what it was

Your thoughts are suddenly interrupted by the sound of a hiss from behind you. You feel your cheeks get hotter as you shoo away your unnecessary thoughts.

Instinctively you raise your head to turn and check on him, but you stop yourself as you remember his current state of undress.

Making sure to keep your eyes on the floor you turn your head to the side and call out behind you.

“Are you okay? Did I make the water too hot?”

You hear the sound of water splashing in the bathtub and he says, “it’s okay you can turn around now.”

You turn around and see him chest deep in water, the bubbles even with his shoulders. Even seeing him like this makes your pulse quicken slightly.

Your eyes make their way to his collarbone and widen in surprise as you spot the scab where his wound once was.

Your hold in your surprise as you remember what his wound looked like less than a week ago.

‘This whole situation just keeps getting crazier and crazier’ you think to yourself.

His eyes find your face and he tilts his head and motions for you to take a seat beside him.

“I didn’t make the water to hot did I? I know it’s supposed to be warm, but my baths are usually really warm.”

You walk over to the wall and take a seat next to him on the floor between the bathtub and the toilet.

“It’s fine. Better than fine actually. It’s perfect.”

He leans his head back on the tub and gazes up at the ceiling before taking a deep breath and confessing “I can’t sleep well anymore. I don’t sleep at all really.”

“What do you mean? You slept beside me at the hospital.”

He frowns and glances over at you.

“No... I didn’t.”

You shake your head and frown at him not understanding why he would lie to you like this. You feel your temper rising at his blatant disregard for his own well-being, and you try to make yourself understand.

“I don’t understand…why didn’t you tell me sooner? We could have asked the doctors for some medicine or something.”

He shrugs you off.

“I didn’t want you to worry about me.”

“That’s bullshit.”

He rolls his eyes, but you keep going.

“Did you think things would just magically get better after we got home? Just because your body got better doesn’t mean your mind did too. That’s so selfish…”

His head snaps to you, and you know you fucked up.

“Selfish? You want to call me selfish? You’re the one who kept saying you wanted to leave the hospital.”

You open your mouth to defend yourself against his sudden verbal attack, but he doesn’t stop. In fact, he only gets more heated.

“You’re the one who wanted to leave so badly! All you did for three days was moan and complain about how much the hospital sucked and how horrible the doctor was! If it wasn’t for you, I could still be at the hospital getting the help I need!”

You feel tears forming in your eyes accompanied by jolts of pain in your chest after every verbal jab. After all, everything he’s saying is true.

Your shoulders slouch lower and lower and you look down at the rug you’re sitting down on. You focus on trying not to let his words hurt so much, but it doesn’t work.

At last you feel your tears finally fall as he grabs the side of the tub and lands one final blow.

“This is all your fault! It’s your fault I feel like absolute shit right now. It’s your fault for taking us to that god damn bar and telling me to wait outside! It’s your fault I almost died!”

You hear him breathing heavily beside you, but you can’t force yourself to look at him. Your silent tears are accompanied by deep and quiet breathing and you just stare at the carpet unable to move.

He’s right. You are selfish. It’s your fault that all of this happened. You knew he was tired and wanted to come home right after the game, but you pushed him to go to the bar to celebrate. It’s all your fault.

Why did you tell him to go outside? Why didn’t you get to him sooner?

Your thoughts continue to build, and you can't help the all too familiar question that pops into your mind.

‘Why am I like this? Why am I like this?’

The question echoes in your head louder and louder.

You don’t know what to do. You can’t fix this.

You feel the room getting smaller, and the oxygen in the room is getting harder and harder for your lungs to find.

‘I have to get out of here. I have to get out of here.’

The thought becomes more and more desperate as you realize that you can’t move your body. You’re stuck, frozen on the bathroom floor, and realize that you are all alone with your thoughts.

‘He hates you. It’s your fault. He hates you.’

The silence is deafening and all you can manage to choke out is a barely audible whisper.

“I’m sorry.”

Yoongi now calmer than a few minutes ago suddenly realizes what he’s done. You hear him gasp as he notices your hunched over shoulders and wet marks on your shirt from where your tears landed.

“I’m sorry please don’t cry...”

He reaches out and puts a hand on your shoulder, but you quickly jerk away.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

You feel pang in your chest at his lie. You know he meant every word he said. You force yourself away from him when he reaches out for you again, and you shakily stand up and rush out of the bathroom.

You know he didn’t want to be alone, but you couldn’t force him to be near you anymore. You left the door open for him so that he didn’t feel trapped, but you wish that he had someone better than you to help him.

You head over to the stove, grab the tea kettle, and fill it up before setting it on the stove and turning the burner on vaguely aware of the tears that continue to slowly fall down your face.

Even if he hates you, Yoongi still needs to feel better.

You feel yourself go numb, and at some point, your tears dry in your eyes. Looking at the refrigerator you feel your stomach clench in hunger and think about getting something to eat.

You immediately shut down the thought, knowing that right now it would be almost impossible for you to keep anything down.

So, you just stand there, leaning against the counter blankly staring at the kettle. You hear the faint sound of water splashing as Yoongi gets out of the bathtub along with the sound of him drying himself off before getting dressed.

Your heart pounds in your chest as you anxiously wait for him to come into the kitchen. You don’t want to see him right now. You can’t handle the disgust and hatred you know is going to be in his eyes.

Your heartbeat booms in your chest as you hear his slow footsteps creaking on the wooden floor, and you can’t bring yourself to look at him.

You stare down at the floor as you see his feet move across the floor and stop right in front of you.

He reaches out to touch you only to freeze after you flinch away from him once again.

“Y/N… I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean what I said earlier. I was upset. I promise I didn’t mean it.”

His voice is hoarse, and you can tell he wants to say more but stops himself.

He stays silent while he waits for you to respond, but you can’t bring yourself to say anything.

There is nothing left for you to say. You can’t help him, and he doesn’t want to be around you. All you’ve done is cause him pain.

You continue to stare at his feet silently until the abrupt whistle of the tea kettle makes you both jump.

Yoongi walks over to the stove and turns off the burner before turning back to you and slowly reaching out for you again.

You feel your body tense up as his hand reaches your shoulder and you feel his other hand softly rest under your chin. His fingers gently push your chin up to look at his face, and your breathing becomes shallow as your eyes travel form his feet up to his chest. You suck in a breath as your eyes make their way to the mark on his collarbone and you are reminded of the pain you caused him.

You force your chin out of his grip and turn to rush to your bedroom when you hear a sudden and persistent knock on the front door.

Neither one of you moves to answer it. You think that maybe the person will think that nobody’s home, but the knocking just gets louder.

Your eyes shoot to the door as you slowly approach it, and you silently peer through the peephole and spot your friend. You completely forgot Jungkook was coming by today.

You slowly unlock the door and open it. Your eyes widen in surprise as they shoot to his red hair.

You are met with a crushing bear hug as soon as he walks through the doorway.

You hold back a small wince as the pain in your side returns, but you lift your arms and burry your face in his neck as he squeezes you tighter.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t be here for you guys. I tried to come back as soon as I could but there was a storm and all of the flights got delayed.” You hear his voice become thick with emotion as he slowly lets you go and moves on to Yoongi.

“What happened to you guys?”

You just stare at him blankly, unable to use your voice, while Yoongi simply looks at him in confusion.

“Didn’t the others tell you?”

Jungkook quickly shakes his head.

“All I heard was that you were attacked. They made it seem like you were close to dying or something. Are you guys okay?”

You see Yoongi about to respond, but Jungkook suddenly makes eye contact with you and finally gets a good look at your face.

“What’s wrong,” he asks as his eyes search your face for any sign of what might be troubling you as he quickly makes his way back over to you.

Your empty eyes reveal nothing to him as you slowly avert your gaze. His long arms wrap around you and he gently holds your face in his hands.

When you don't say anything his gaze shoots to Yoongi.

“What’s wrong with her? Why is she being like this? What happened?”

Yoongi’s hand makes its way to his neck, and he looks away from you both as he explains.

“We kinda had an argument.”

You feel his arms tighten around you as his body stiffens.

“An argument? About what?”

Yoongi doesn’t respond and silently looks down at the floor.

“Yoongi...what...what did you say to her?”

You hear the worry in his tone as he looks at you again, and finally, he understands.

He turns back to Yoongi, his face uncertain as he asks the question he already knows the answer to.

“You didn’t...”

“Yeah...”

The guilt on his face makes you want to cry, and you know that it’s all your fault.

You should have just said okay and pretended that everything was fine. Now Jungkook is upset too. You are reminded once again that you ruin everything.

You feel Jungkook slowly pull away from you and lower his head to meet your eyes before gently asking, “how about we go lay down?”

You search his wide round eyes for any sign of anger or dismissal, but only find sincerity. Slowly you nod and let him lead you to your room, barely looking at Yoongi as you pass him by.

He lays you down on your bed and pulls the blankets up to your chest.

“I’m gonna go get you a glass of water. I’ll be right back.”

You want to reach out and ask him to stay with you, but you can’t muster the energy.

You watch him close the door a bit before heading to the kitchen. As you lay there staring off into space you hear his voice as he and Yoongi begin to argue.

“What did you say to her?”

You feel a wave of shock rush through you. In all the years you’d known Jungkook he’s never openly confronted any of your friends about anything.

Being the youngest one in your friend group, he usually just rolled with the punches and accepted what was going on.

“I was having a nightmare, and I was really on edge.”

You can tell by their tone that they’re try to keep quiet, but Jungkook begins speaking louder as he becomes more upset and aggression creeps into his voice.

“That’s not what I asked...”

“I… I told her that everything that happened was her fault. The attack...the nightmare...everything.”

“Why would you do that? You know what she’s been though! You know how she is! Why would you say something like that to her?”

“I didn’t mean it. I regretted it as soon as I said it, but she won’t listen to me.”

You hear the sadness in his voice, and you consider the possibility that maybe he didn’t mean what he said. Maybe he wasn’t lying to you.

Jungkook on the other hand only gets more aggressive.

“Obviously, she’s not going to listen to you right now. She’s afraid of you. She probably thinks you hate her or something close to it. You sound just like her parents.”

You feel your body tense at the mention of your mother and father.

Not your biological parents that you had never met, nor Yoongi’s parents that basically raised you alongside your best friend, but your legally adoptive parents.

Your mind jumps back to years and years of verbal and emotional abuse that you know you can never unlearn. Hours and hours of cleaning everything until it was spotless and making sure you were the best at everything only to continuously be assured that you were nothing more than an unwanted inconvenience that fell into their lives.

You had only ever mentioned them to your friends maybe once or twice, but you never talked about how they made you feel.

You faintly hear Yoongi respond.

“I didn’t mean it….”

You hear Jungkook open and close one of the cabinets and fill up a glass with water before heading back to your room and muttering the words “it doesn’t matter.”

You watch him as he walks over to you, and you slowly sit up and take the glass from his hands, careful not to drop it on your lap.

You take small sips and see him watching you from his position at the foot of your bed.

“Tell me what to do. What do you need?”

Your vision becomes blurry, and you feel tears fall down your face. He crawls over to you and wraps his arms around you before gently wiping your tears away.

“Please don’t cry. I can’t stand seeing you like this. What can I do? Please tell me.”

You lean into his body and burry your head in his chest, and you feel your grip on your emotions slip. You choke out a quiet sob and close your eyes as you think about how you got here.

You are extremely grateful to have him in your life. Even though he’s a few years younger than you, you’ve always seen him as an equal throughout your friendship. He's always been supportive of everything you do, and he’s always been there to catch you when you fall.

Sometimes you wonder if it’s because he feels like he owes it to you, given the fact that when he was forced to transfer to your school, you were the only one who chose to be his friend.

It’s not that other people didn’t like him, he was just extremely shy, and they didn’t want to put in the effort to get to know him.

The fact that he excelled at sports but didn’t try to socialize with anyone made him an outcast as well.

You remember the first time you looked into his big round eyes, you could tell that he would be well worth all the time and effort if he just let you know him.

You often invited him to hang out with you and Yoongi, but you could tell that Yoongi made him nervous given that they were usually competing for the same spots on their teams. Even then, you tried to make it friendly.

You invited him almost everywhere and you introduced him to the others hoping that you could all help him become the best version of himself.

Ever since then he’s grown into one of the most loyal and protective people in your life, and you know that you’re more than grateful for it.

Your attention is pulled back when you hear him suck in a breath and you realize that at some Point you looked up at him and began to stare.

His eyes search your face for a moment, and you know that you need to get out of this hole that you’re in, at lease for his sake.

You reach up to his head and take some of his hair into your fingers before clearing your throat.

“You cut your hair.”

He smiles at you, relieved at your comment.

“I dyed it too.”

You remember the long black hair he had before you all left for spring break a week ago. It looked really good on him and was always the topic of discussion amongst the girls you would hear whispering as you walked past.

His red hair on the other hand, along with his undercut, suits him perfectly. You can already picture how good it’ll look even as it fades and wish that you could do the same with yours. You run your fingers through it one more time and smirk.

“It looks good. Like really good.”

“Thanks.”

You see his ears turn a bit red, and he looks away in embarrassment which only makes you want to tease him more.

“I don’t know how I’m gonna manage to hang out with you looking like that. I think I might get mobbed or something.”

His ears turn redder as he tries to play off your comments.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

You smile at him and poke him in the side.

Come on don’t act like you don’t notice all the girls swooning over you every time you so much as step foot on campus.”

Let’s out a small laugh as he leans back against your headboard and lets you both get more comfortable.

“They do not swoon.”

You feel your eyelids getting heavy and you snuggle into his chest and whisper “Yeah they do” before falling asleep in his arms.

When you open your eyes you’re alone. The light is off, and you look over at your nightstand and see your glass of water from earlier sitting right beside your charging phone. Jungkook must have left sometime after you fell asleep.

You reach over and check the time. 8:45pm. You browse through all of your missed notifications and see at least six missed calls from Jungkook from before he came over this morning along with a few emails and texts from both Namjoon and Hobi.

Hobi: I’m so sorry I haven’t been able to come check on you! I wish I could have talked to you at the hospital, but I couldn’t miss my shows.

Hobi: Are you planning on going back to class next week? I can bring you if you want me too?

Namjoon: Hey I know you said you’re fine, but you can still take the rest of the semester off.

Namjoon: If you email them by midnight they’ll probably excuse you from your classes.

Namjoon: I understand if you don’t, I’m just worried about you. Jungkook told me what happened.

You read Namjoon’s second message and are brought back to your meltdown this morning. You feel the guilt eating away at you as you remember hearing Jungkook yelling at Yoongi.

You get out of bed, head to the kitchen, and make yourself a sandwich. You once again chide yourself for not eating anything since the hospital and decide to go ahead and make yourself another one too.

While you eat you think about how to apologize to Yoongi. You know that he was just angry when he said those things to you, but he wasn’t exactly wrong to say them. You just wish he would have said it a little nicer.

You finish your sandwich and wash your plate before turning around and walking back towards the bedroom hallway. You walk over to Yoongi’s door and give it a light knock just in case he somehow managed to fall asleep, but you get no response. Slowly, you open the door only to find his bed empty.

You turn around in confusion and head to the living room trying to figure out where he went when you see him passed out on the couch.

You walk over to him, grab a blanket, and lay it over him before curling up in your usual chair and going back to sleep.

Your dreams are filled with blood and tears. You find yourself back in the alley looking over at Yoongi’s body as your attacker watches you both. You try your hardest to crawl over to him and stop his bleeding, but your body is paralyzed. You feel the familiar grip of the man’s fingers around your throat, but when you look at his face you see Yoongi’s instead.

His grip tightens around your throat and he brings his face close to yours.

“You did this…”

The venom in his words match the hatred in his eyes and you claw at his hand, but he just smirks down at you.

You know he’s going to kill you. You’re going to die this time.

He brings his face to the side of your head as if to whisper in your ear and you close your eyes as you feel a sharp pain near your shoulder. He’s stabbing you in the neck, just like you did to him in the alley.

You feel your blood leaving your body before he releases his grip on your neck and your body crumbles to the ground.

You bolt upright in your chair. Your heart is racing, and your body is covered in sweat.

‘It was just a dream’ you repeat again and again to yourself hoping it will make the images disappear from your mind, and after a few seconds they do. Less than a minute later, you’ve forgotten about your nightmare completely.

You look over at Yoongi only to find him with his read on the arm of the couch watching you quietly. You rub your face in your hands and let out an unsteady breath.

“Did I wake you up?”

He shakes his head.

“I’ve been awake for a while now. Did you have another nightmare?”

Confusion makes its way across your face. You couldn’t recall having a nightmare recently.

“What do you mean another?”

“Every time you sleep you seem to have nightmares, or at least that’s what it looks like. You toss and you turn and sometimes you call out for people.”

You couldn’t remember having any nightmares recently. Now that you think about it, you can’t remember having any dreams while you were asleep. Once you wake up, the memories always seem to quickly fade away.

You shrug your shoulders at him and look down at your feet, knowing what you need to do.

“I’m sorry I freaked out earlier. I shouldn’t have called you selfish. I was just really worried about you.”

He sits up and motions for you to sit beside him on the couch. He holds your hands, looks into your eyes, and gives an apology of his own.

“No. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have blamed you for what happened. I know none of this is your fault. I shouldn’t have said those things to you. I’m sorry.”

You give him a small nod of forgiveness and tightly wrap your arms around him.

“I was just really worried about you. You haven’t talked to anyone about what happened yet, and I didn’t want you to feel alone.”

He pulls away from your embrace and looks down at you.

“Can I ask you something?

You tilt your head and nod.

“Of course, anything.”

“Why aren’t you freaking out about what happened? You seem indifferent about...well about everything. Even at the hospital you seemed fine.”

You furrow your brows in confusion.

“I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t. I just don’t really feel anything. Even when I was in the alley. I wasn’t scared of the man as he tried to kill me, I was only scared that you were going to die.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’ve always been like that. When it comes to pain, my mind can accept it and rationalize it. What hurts me is seeing people that I care about suffer.”

His eyes fill with realization, and he hangs his head as you continue.

“That’s why I’m completely fine talking about what happened to me, but I also understand if you aren’t.”

“I know, but I think if anyone deserves to hear it, it’s you.”

You see him move out of your arms and lean back as he prepares to tell you his story, his voice barely above a whisper as he explains everything.

“Everything was fine when I walked outside. I had just gotten a text from Hobi asking how the game went, when out of nowhere I thought I heard someone in the alley.”

You see his eyebrows furrow as he closes his eyes and concentrates on remembering what he saw.

“He was bent over with his head in his hands, and I reached out to see if he was okay. That’s when he attacked me.”

You see tears forming in his eyes as he finally opens them and gazes at you, and his hands begin to shake as he continues.

“He threw me against the wall and stabbed me. I didn’t see anything in his hands, but I could feel the pain. I tried to push him away, but I ran into the side of the dumpster and got stabbed in my side.”

You can see his whole body trembling now, and you wrap your arms around him as you rub his shoulder, trying to soothe him.

“I thought he was trying to rob me or something, but he just dragged me back to the wall and stabbed me again.”

He reaches his arm across his body and places it over his collarbone as he searches your eyes for comfort. His breathing becomes heavy as he blinks back his tears.

“I was so scared Y/N. I couldn’t move. Why couldn’t he just leave me there?”

You feel tears of your own threatening to fall but hold them back. You don't know how to answer his questions, and you wish you could help him.

He reset his head in your shoulder and you tighten your arms around him wishing you could make his pain disappear.

He continues crying into your shoulder but pulls away suddenly.

“But then...then I saw you…. you pulled him off of me. You came for me, and you fought him.”

You see the gratitude in his eyes, along with something else, and you can’t hold back your tears as they finally fall when he whispers to you, his face now inches away from yours.

“You saved me.”

You pull his body into yours, and he buries his face into your neck as he sobs with his arms wrapped around you. You lean back a bit and let him rest his body on top of yours.

One of your hands makes its way to his head as your fingers softly run along his scalp while the other slowly rubs soft circles on his back.

He was right. You had saved him. No matter how you put it, the fact of the matter was, you risked your life so that he could survive.

You think about what you did, and you know if you had the choice, you would do it over again. He’s your best friend, there’s nothing you wouldn’t do for him.

You let him rest in the comfort of your arms until his tears stop and his breathing calms. You listen to his steady breaths and realize that he’s fallen asleep.

His steady heartbeat gives you a feeling of comfort you didn’t realize you needed, and you remove your hand from his head, lean it on the back of the couch, and rest your head on it, closing your eyes.

Your dream is different this time.

You aren’t in the alley anymore. Instead you’re back in your house.

You’re once again on the couch with Yoongi, and his face is just inches away from yours.

This time when he looks into your eyes, they look different. Instead of their normal dark brown color, the look black.

They are no longer filled with gratitude. You see a different emotion lurking within them, but you can’t figure out what it is.

He once again whispers to you, but instead of burying his face in your neck, he slowly leans in and kisses you.

The kiss is soft, and it ends just as quickly as it began, but you find yourself wishing that it didn’t.

You look down at your bodies and they’re covered in blood. You pull away from Yoongi and fall onto the floor, gasping and trying to figure out what’s happening.

You look up at him only to find him with your heart in his hands. Your blood runs cold as you realize that the blood is yours, and you scream.

Your eyes shoot open and you feel your heart pounding in your chest. You feel Yoongi’s body still asleep on top of yours, and you remember what he told you yesterday along with the dream you just had.

You let out a small gasp as you realize you remembered your dream, and a small part of you wonders why this dream is so special.

You feel Yoongi stir from on top of you and he brings his eyes up to your face.

“I’m sorry I fell asleep on you.”

You let out a chuckle.

“It’s fine, just promise me one thing Yoongs”

His raises his eyebrows expectantly.

“Brush your teeth. Your breath smells like Joon’s cooking.”

He pulls away from you and feigns shock.

“Excuse me? How dare you compare me to such a monstrosity?”

You hold back your laughter as you stretch your arms and stand up and head to the kitchen where you left your phone last night.

“Monstrosity? Your dragon breath could burn down a village.”

You hear him let out a gasp from the other room and release a giggle.

‘Yoongi:1 Y/N: 1.’ you note to yourself as you remember his comment yesterday about your body odor, not that he seemed to have had a problem with it when he was lying on top of you.

You scroll through your messages and let out a curse as you re-read Namjoon’s text and bury your head in your hands.

“God damnit.”

Yoongi appears next to you a moment later.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“I never emailed my advisor. Joon said I had to email them by midnight if I wanted to take the rest of the semester off. Now I don’t have a choice but to go.”

Yoongi’s eyes grow wide.

“Namjoon texted me last night telling me to email them too, but I fell asleep.”

You rub your face in your hands and let out a sigh as you accept your fate.

“We’re fucked. Classes start up again tomorrow. How the hell are we supposed to finish out the semester like this?”

Yoongi puts his hand on your shoulder.

“It’s okay. We’ll make it through this. We can ask the other for help.”

You give him a small nod and try to calm yourself down.

“This has been the worst spring break ever.”

He gives you a small smile and puts his arm around your shoulder. You mind suddenly shoots back to your dream and you awkwardly pull away from him.

“I’m gonna text Hobi and ask him for a ride to class tomorrow”

You raise your phone in your hand as you walk to your room, close the door, and let out a deep breath.

‘What is going on with me?’ You ask yourself as you let your body fall on top of your bed and you text your friend.

Just outside your house

The girl watches you through your kitchen window and listens.

She overhears your conversation with your friend, and her head perks up at the mention of classes.

‘She’s a student?’ She wonders as she rolls her eyes at your constant complaining.

‘Figures. She looks like a goody two shoes.’

When the brotherhood assigned her the task of bringing you in, they forgot to mention how annoying you’d be.

Sure, you looked close to her age, but your complaining was not some she looked forward to dealing with.

As she watches you head to what she assumes to be your room, she readjusts herself on the tree branch she’s currently seated on and begins her planning.

‘Okay how’s this going to work? Should I take her in the morning? I think she’s going to be with her boyfriend. What about in class? No, I’m not a student. Maybe I could just hang around the campus until I run into her?’

As she begins growing more and more frustrated, she sees your friend through the window. He stands up and looks towards your room as if he’s listening for something.

Suddenly his eyes shoot to her and she crushes herself as close as she can to the tree, hoping the leaves will hide her.

He continues looking out toward her searching for anything that will warrant an investigation.

She holds her breath and sends a silent ‘thank you’ to the gods as he turns around and walks away.

She lets out a deep breath, and suddenly she has the perfect idea.

‘What if I get her to come with me? What if I can convince her to leave?’

She silently nods to herself and raises herself up on the branch. When she stands, she sees a car parked a few houses away from yours with what seems like two people in it.

She cocks her head to the side and concentrates on the image before her until her vision becomes sharper.

She lets out a gasp as she recognizes them.

‘Haven...’

Her body shudders at the mere thought of his name.

‘How did he find me? I was so careful!’ She screams to herself as she tries to find a way out of the tree without being spotted.

She looks out at the men again and notices that they seem to be asleep.

‘Maybe if I do things quietly, I’ll be okay.’

She quietly climbs down the branches and hides behind the trunk of the tree. Careful not to walk in front of your house's windows, she ducks down and quietly sneaks through the shadows until she gets to her car just around the corner.

Once she finally crawls inside, she finds herself realizing: if Haven is after you too you must be important.

She looks out of her window and watches her rearview mirror, ready to speed off if she has to.

As she starts the ignition, she is met with three important questions.

Who are you? Why are Haven and the Brotherhood after you, and if she found you before they did, what would they do in exchange for you?

The questions echo in her head and she drives away knowing one thing for sure: she might not know the answers to these questions just yet, but if everything goes according to plan, she’s going to find out.

A/n 3: I apologize for any grammar and or punctuation mistakes. I originally planned to post this chapter later on this week, but the area that I live in is about to be hit by two hurricanes so I was in a bit of a rush. I hope you all enjoy, and please, don’t hesitate to tell me if you like the chapter, we all know how much I love praise. i hope everyone is continuing to stay safe and healthy! until next time :)

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stylesgalaxy · 5 years

Text

mastermind; chapter 8

The next morning I wake up to unusual noises coming from the kitchen. I'm the only one who ever uses the kitchen so it's strange to hear someone else there before me. I pull myself out of bed and wash up in the bathroom before going to the kitchen.

Harry wears an apron and hums a tune as he's flipping pancakes on a pan. He's turns to throw the cooked ones on a plate when his gaze lands on me.

"Morning," he chirps.

"You're in a really good mood," I say, my voice croaky from disuse.

"Pancakes put me in a good mood. Here, sit," he demands, and places a plate full of pancakes on the small table. I comply and sit in front of the beautiful creation. He even went as far chopping fruits and arranging them neatly on top. He finishes up his plate before sitting with me and we eat together.

"Mmm, these are so fucking good," I moan, shovelling more in my mouth.

"Thank you, the secret ingredient is the chocolate chips," he says.

"Chocolate chips? We didn't have any chocolate chips."

"No you didn't, so I chopped up a few chocolate bars, I hope you don't mind," he replies sheepishly.

"It's okay, they went towards a good cause."

"There's a lot left over, we can melt them and dip strawberries in them," he suggests. I glance over at the bowl of chocolate bits and shake my head.

"No, leave them I have a better idea."

Harry offers to wash our dishes when we finish breakfast while I start prepping my ingredients for a batch of brownies. Harry may look happy but I know he's still upset about what happened last night so I wanted to make him my famous brownies—or Julia's, as he knows them to be.

Most of the things I need are already out because Harry was baking so I quickly whip a batch. While I'm mixing the ingredients, I worry brownies won't be enough and decide to cook another comfort food I know Harry loves: my mom's Beef Barley soup.

"What are you making? Are you making brownies?" burst Harry after he finished cleaning all the dishes.

"Yes," I answer with a smile.

"No way, I love brownies! Are they anything like Julia's? She makes the best brownies!"

"I, uh... yes. She taught me this recipe," I lie.

"Excellent, you'll have to teach me, too!"

"Sure. Do you have any idea what you want for lunch? I was thinking we can make... Julia's Beef Barley soup," I suggest.

"No fucking way. You know how to make that too?! Yes, please, that soup is the best thing that I've ever had!"

"Awesome. We'll just have to get started now because it has to go in the slow cooker and cook for a few hours."

He nods and pulls out an apron for me from somewhere.

"Where are you finding those?" I ask as he ties it behind my back. "I forgot I even got these aprons."

"Your kitchen is small, it's not hard to find things. And besides, I feel like I have to watch over you in the kitchen so you don't burn anything again."

I scoff, "Burn? Please, I've never burned anything."

"That's not what a little birdie once told me," he choruses. "It's okay you can admit it, I already know."

"I've never—" oh, right. I lied to him when I was texting him and said that I almost burned the kitchen down to excuse Julia's absence. "Okay, don't make fun of me."

Harry laughs, and I feel guilty.

For the next hour, we work together. He pulls the brownies out to cool while I gather the beef, carrots, onions, celery, barley, and other things I need for the soup. Harry helps me chop up the veggies and tells me stories of how he used to cook with his mother when he was younger. We joke and laugh more than we do work. I tell him about the ingredients I'm throwing in and why they're used. Despite stating he was going to watch over me so I don't burn the kitchen down, he was very attentive and obedient to everything I said. I was like the head chef and he was my sous chef.

We combine everything together in the slow cooker and I set it to cook for two hours.

"In a few hours, we add the barley," I tell Harry.

"What do we do now?" he questions.

"Now, we go sit because I'm tired."

We leave our aprons on the counter and plop down on the couch.

"Didn't realize how tired I was," Harry states, stretching his arms and legs.

"Feels good, though, doesn't it? I like being productive."

"Oh yeah, it's a good tired."

Harry's phone begins ringing. He pulls it out and I see Julia's name flash across the screen. He looks at me then answers the call, leaving to talk privately in Julia's room. In the meantime, I flick the TV on and flip through the channels.

---

Harry's been in there for a long time. I don't know what he's saying because he's mostly quiet, I only hope it's good. But it's been nearly two hours. So far, I've watched the second half of a Masterchef episode, a few Spongebob episodes, and now I'm watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

While Harry Potter gets his soul sucked out of him, Harry (Styles) opens Julia's door and walks out.

"Everything okay?" I ask.

"Uh, yea," he answers, running a hand through his hair. "She said she was hurrying to get her last minute shopping in before leaving and it completely slipped her mind to let me know."

The scowl on his face tells me he doesn't deem this a good enough reason (neither would I), but still I try to help ease his mind.

"She did find out when we were getting ready yesterday. And she left right after she told me."

He nods. "It's whatever. What's done is done now, no point in moping, we have a delicious soup to cook."

I grin. "It still has a few hours left before we have to add the potatoes, carrots, and barely," I tell him, bringing the volume of the TV down.

"Then I think I'm going to go home and shower," he says.

"Sure," I keep my eyes focused on the TV as if I'm not sad that he's leaving. "You can stay home, I'll bring the soup over when it's ready and we can share it with the boys."

"That's not a bad idea, But call me to come pick you up, it's too heavy to carry on your own."

"Okay," I answer, letting my eyes flit over to his. He gives a cheeky grin and grabs the plate of brownies.

"I'm taking these now, though."

"All yours," I laugh, warmth spreading through me.

---

Harry and I have gotten too close.

This is a problem because Julia has been gone for four days and every one of those day, Harry hung out with me. Usually we'd see each other almost everyday, but hang out once in a while. I don't know why he wants to see me all the time. My guess is that I'm the closest thing he has to Julia here and he probably misses her. Regardless, it has to stop because when Julia returns and he goes back to her, I'm going to miss his presence. Not to mention, if Julia finds out how much we've been around each other since she left, it might rub her the wrong way.

Which is why I'm at the art shop right now getting trained on how to use the cash register.

Randy, my manager, was a cool guy and Zayn tells me he comes into the shop about once a week. He came this week to hire me and train me. I say "hire" and not "interview" because Zayn referred me to him and the second I stepped into the store and greeted him he said "You're hired."

I told my manager at the movie theatre that I need some time away from work to focus more on school when in reality I was keeping it as my backup job. To Randy, I said that I could work weekends and most weekdays because if he schedules me a lot, then I won't have to see Harry.

I feel guilty because I haven't told Harry I work at the art shop. The main reason I picked it up was because I needed to stop getting so attached to him and I also knew that the art shop was one place he wouldn't come to bother me. He hated it here and he wasn't comfortable leaving his car out.

On my third day at work, Harry calls me.

"Are you avoiding me? Did I do or say something?" he inquires.

"What? No!" I answer. No one is in the store except Zayn and I know he wouldn't snitch on me for using my phone while working.

"Are you sure? It's okay if you are, I won't be mad. I just want to know if I said something that upset you so I could apologize for it."

"Harry," I sigh, my heart melting. "You didn't do anything. I'm not avoiding you, I'm just working."

"You've been saying that but I went to the movie theatre today to see you and they said you don't work there anymore," he says sadly. Oh I can see why he thought I was avoiding him. It looked like I lied about working to not hang out with him.

"Yeah, I actually got a new job."

"No way! Where?"

"At the art shop."

Silence.

Then, "What?! At the art shop?"

"Yes, Harry," I pressed, "at the art shop, now what's your issue?"

I know what his issue is. He doesn't like how far it is, he doesn't think the area is safe, and he most definitely doesn't like Zayn. But I need him to realize he has no control over my life and what I do.

"N-nothing... nothing," he stutters. "I'm happy for you. Good job, Aria."

"Thank you."

I hang up after we say our goodbyes and turn around to Zayn, who was waiting for me.

"Sorry about that," I apologize.

"S'alright. I take it he wasn't happy you're working here?"

I roll my eyes. "He just doesn't understand that some people have to work more for money and that I'm not gonna get murdered on Lancaster and Mill Rd."

Zayn laughs, "I wouldn't be too sure about that." My eyes widen, people get killed here? "I'm joking, I'm joking!"

"You make a lot of killing jokes, should I be concerned?" I retort sarcastically. Zayn had a tough exterior but inside he was a giant softie and couldn't hurt a fly.

Zayn was actually the second main reason I picked up a job here. It would be fun working with him, and I really feel like with time he's someone I could date. I wouldn't mind dating Zayn, it would be fun and exciting. He's very sweet and kind—

So is Harry.

But Zayn is also has a passion for art—

So does Harry, now.

Well, fuck. It's hard to find reasons that make Zayn better than Harry but that was because I've loved Harry for two years and I've only known Zayn for a few months now. Sticking around Zayn should get me to think less of Harry and maybe then I can finally move on from him. It's evident that we could make a great match, I just need to give Harry less attention than I'm giving Zayn.

The rest of my shift is spent helping Zayn clean around the shop and reorganize the merchandise on the floor so everything is neat. We joke and laugh and as much as I want Zayn to take my mind off of Harry like he used to, it's almost impossible. After every story he tells, I think about Harry and what he would have done. After every joke he makes, I think about how Harry would have told it.

I'm fucked.

---

On the 22nd, Harry and Niall throw Louis a massive, surprise early-birthday party. We were all going to be away for Christmas with our families, but since Louis' birthday is on Christmas Eve, that meant we had to celebrate it earlier. He was busy with work and his new girlfriend to plan his birthday this year so it was Niall's idea for all of us to pretend like we forgot about it too.

I sent Eleanor (who I was more acquainted with now) a text letting her know the details and when to bring Louis home. As far as Louis knows, they're just going out for a date and then coming back to his.

5 mins away, she texts me.

"Everyone, stop!" I scream at the top of my lungs in the kitchen. "They're five minutes away!"

Harry scrambles to place all the candles on the cake, Zayn spins in a complete circle to look for something to do or someplace to hide, and Niall hurriedly tries to light the candles as Harry is placing them. The rest of our many guests are quickly looking for good hiding spots. I pull the box of matches from Niall's shaky hand, worried that he'll drop one.

I finish lighting all the candles as Harry picks it up and stands to walk behind the doorway into the living room, where he would be out of Louis' sight unless he comes out. Niall hands me and Zayn a confetti cracker, before we all run to the living room. He crouches down behind a chair closest to the doorway Harry is behind, while I pull Zayn down behind the other sofa.

Everyone is silent the second the front door opens.

"See that's where your wrong, Eleanor," Louis' voice fills the entire house. "The Hulk is obviously the correct answer because he's the strongest Avenger."

"Yeah, but between the two of them, Ironman can fly," Eleanor's sweet voice replies. Not nearly as loudly. They walk into the living room and I smile. "I'm thirsty let's go get a drink from the kitchen?"

"Sure, love. You can go sit if you want," Louis says walking towards the door to the kitchen. "I'll bring you some ice water—"

"SURPRISE!!!"

We all rise and cheer, cracking our confetti. Harry walks out with the lit birthday cake, and the rest of the guests, with a wide smile on his face.

Louis stares at us stunned, then gapes at Eleanor before blinking.

"You guys—" he stammers.

"Happy Birthday!" everyone says, laughing. Someone turns the party lights and the music on.

"It's not even my birthday—" Louis tries to say.

"Oh, just shut up and blow the candles!" Niall yells. Louis shakes his head and blows all twenty-one candles out. We cheer and clap again, throwing more confetti at him.

---

The party is a blast. Any party hosted by Niall and Louis (or this time it was technically Niall and Harry) is amazing. Niall makes sure there's drinks for everyone, while Harry runs around and cleans up after people. Harry loves parties, but not the ones in his house. I started to help clean up a little after the extremely drunk because I felt so bad for him.

I wanted to hang out with Zayn because the farther I am from Harry the better it is for everyone, but Niall was being too clingy tonight. Even though he knew I liked Zayn, he didn't leave us alone until I finally realized what this was about. Zayn got front row seats to my great show of wingwomaning for Niall. I chatted with a bunch of pretty girls who Niall (despite being overly confident all the time) was too shy to go up to. There was one girl in particular I like, her name was Chelsea, so I casually bring her forward to meet Niall and as soon as the two introduce each other, I run to Zayn.

Zayn has his arm around me the whole night. Either around my shoulders, or my waist. It was nice having him by my side to make fun of other people with. We were not as drunk as everyone else around us, just enough that we found the tiniest thing funny.

"I wonder how Harry is doing, I haven't seen him in a while," I wonder once we're sitting on the couch, searching for a mop of curly hair.

"Hold on, I think I know how to summon him," Zayn says. He pulls his arm away from my shoulder and reaches forward to grab a forgotten Dorito chip. He crumbles lightly it in his hand and lets the broken pieces fall on the ground.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" seethes Harry, popping up from nowhere. I slap my hand across my mouth to stop from laughing, while Zayn bites his lip.

"Sorry, mate," he says, with wide eyes. "Just blanked out for a second."

Harry shakes his head in distaste before reaching a gloved hand out to pick up the pieces and throw them in a small plastic bag that he's carrying around with him.

"Harry, why aren't you having fun? Drink something!" I urge.

"I can't, if this gets stepped on it'll be harder to get out of the carpet," he huffs. He picks up the trash left around on the coffee table too just before Louis shakily stands on it. He enthusiastically pulls Niall up too, and the two holler and sing along with the song, both holding red solo cups. Harry lets out a sigh and presses his lips together, but doesn't scold Louis at his own birthday party.

"Harry? HARRY!" the two very drunk boys yell and grab Harry's arm to pull him too. Harry resists, but the two boys won't give up.

"What's that?" he asks looking down at my still full cup.

"Vodka and cranberry juice," I answer, unsure of whether he was keeping up with how much I was drinking and going to limit me. I just made it a few minutes ago and didn't have more than two sips so far, I didn't want this Bossy Harry to confiscate it.

"Great, thanks," he says instead, taking my drink away from my hand. My jaw drops.

"YEAH!" Niall and Louis encourage Harry as he climbs on the table and downs the drink. His face puckers for a few seconds before he joins in the cheering and Louis throws an arm around his two best friends. Niall manifests another drink seemingly out of thin air and urges Harry to have it, but Harry shakes his head and pushes it away.

"No, that's enough," he says. "Happy birthday, mate." He claps Louis on the back and stumbles down.

I put my hand on my hip and look at him unimpressed.

"Hey, that was payback for stealing my coffee that one time," he grins. I shrug and look around, not changing my stance because I wasn't accepting his answer. Internally, I was thrilled. I hadn't bantered with Harry in so long.

Harry sighs deeply and places his arm on my shoulders. "Alright, I'll make you a new one. Would that make you feel better?"

I pretend to consider it for a few seconds.

"I guess," I huff. He smirks and pulls me into the kitchen by my arm without looking back. Startled for a second, I turn to wave Zayn over so he's not alone but Louis had already pulled him along with whatever else he was doing.

Harry clears the island in the kitchen and stands behind it, pulling out a glass and bottles while I take a seat across from him. He shows off by sliding a bottle of vodka from the cooler across the island, then walks over to it, pulls out a tall glass and flips in the air. He almost drops it and has to scramble to not break it. I snort and Harry's face flushes.

"Just pretend like that was smooth," he murmurs, not making eye contact.

I am not able to contain my laughter, so I let it out and Harry rolls his eyes at me.

He makes a big show of pouring vodka and cranberry juice in my glass, with his random twirls and tricks. I watch in mock fascination but I think at the beginning he doesn't get it, because he smirks like he actually impressed me.

"Wait, are you being sarcastic again?" he whines, his shoulder's falling.

"Sarcastic? Oh God, no. I'm truly fascinated, I have never seen the art of mixing vodka and cranberry juice performed so gracefully and elegantly—"

"Okay, okay, I kinda need my ego intact, thanks," Harry states while I snicker. He finally finishes making my drink and slides it across the counter to me a little too hard. I hurry to stop the drink before it spills all over me. "Sorry," he says sheepishly.

I take a sip and nod in satisfaction. "It's good," I compliment. His shoulder slump in relief and a smile spreads across his face.

"Hey, man, can I get a rum and coke?" A tall guy asks Harry, coming up behind me.

Harry's expression hardens.

"The fuck do I look like to you? A bartender? Make your own drink," Harry chastises. "And don't you dare spill a single drop or I will make you—"

"Alright, alright," the guy holds his hands up in surrender and walks away. I look back at Harry apprehensively but he has a shit-eating grin on his cute face. I shake my head and roll my eyes at him affectionately. I've missed Harry these past few days and I can't help but find everything he does endearing.

Harry's gaze is fixed on something behind me and I peek over my shoulder to find that he's staring at Zayn counting Niall's shots.

"So, how's your new job?" Harry asks, bringing my attention back to him.

"Great," I say too quickly. "Uh, amazing. It's really fun."

All I do is clean. And talk to Zayn if he's in. But sometimes we just sit in comfortable silence when we have nothing to talk about and just stay in our own worlds.

"Good, good," Harry murmurs. "Is the discount good?"

"Yeah," I smile, not going into detail on what I buy. "How are things with you?"

He's quiet for a long time. His eyes are distant as if he's deep in thought.

"Great," he repeats my answer back to me. "Um..." he struggles to spill whats bothering him. I sit up straighter while he fiddles with a bottle. "Uh, great, yeah."

"Something bothering you?"

He bites his lip then brings his thumb and index finger up to play with it. I don't think I've ever seen Harry this nervous. It makes me wonder what happened in the time that I stayed away from him.

"It's nothing... just my Christmas plans," he mutters.

"Oh. What are your Christmas plans?" I didn't know exactly what he was doing, I just assumed all of us were leaving to stay with out families for a week.

"My father's girlfriend wants us to go on a lame skiing trip," he complains with a roll of his eyes. My heart jolts. He's never talked to me about his family ever. Well not directly. Except for one time when he offhandedly mentioned his mother's death.

"Oh? That sounds fun," I say slowly. He looks at me likes he's having a debate in his mind. I wonder if he's battling whether or not to talk to me about what bothers him, and I find myself hoping he will. I want to help him but to help him I need him to open up to me.

"Yeah," he huffs eventually. "My sister is coming, it'll be fun to see her."

He begins to move around the kitchen moving random things and not looking at me.

My shoulders deflate, but I still smile. There's too many people in this kitchen anyway, I wouldn't want to talk about something so personal at this time.

***

Hi guys! Sorry if you feel like things are going a bit too slow, but I've just finished writing the next few chapters and some exciting ish things are going to happen! In regards to that, I have a few more questions for you guys:

1. What do you think Harry thinks about Aria?

2. What do you think Zayn thinks about Aria?

3. How do you think Harry will react when he eventually finds out Aria's secret? (I'm not even close to writing this yet, I have it planned but I'm dying to know what you think will happen!)

Please let me know what you think! Thanks for reading :)

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#harry styles #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fic #mastermind

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selinenuli · 5 years

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MADE of STARDUST

Ch. 1

Ch. 2

Ch. 3

Ch. 4

Ch. 5 - high hopes, new words

a new chapter! yay! Please read and review!

As she busied herself with chopping onions, one particular subject won't leave Lauren's mind. Astrid might have been an innocent little girl... but she asked good questions. 'Cause maybe she was a bit lonely. It has been a while since she talked to any of her friends, and it's been ages since she'd seen her brother. But... but she was alright. She wasn't the most social person, but she was alright. And now she had Astrid. A little girl who was more than a handful. She sighed. Astrid was oquping herself, so she had some time. She grabbed her phone and quickly typed a message in the group chat, and hit send before she could regret it. She had sixty two unread messages, but she would go over those later. LaurenA: so guys... sorry i haven't been around lately, but i sort of adopted a kid. And of course it was only a second later regret started crippling through her thoughts. Anxiety sucked. But then her phone buzzed so many times in a row. Emmy_L0u: What???!! JJ_jake: When? How?? Why??? WnDennis: OMG, what happened??? JJ_jake: And what about college?? JJ_jake: Laurennnnn!!!!?? LaurenA: Okay guys, calm down. Emmy_L0u: Tell us everything. NOW. Lauren rolled her eyes, a slight smile at her lips. LaurenA: I think I'm gonna finish my classes online. For now, at least. LaurenA: Long story. Her name's Astrid. She's ten. Been living with me for about two weeks. She even added a picture. The one with the dress and bunny ears hat. And of course, her friends thought Astrid was adorable. Emmy had a thing for kids and Dennis had a three years old son. And Lauren tried to answer their question the best she could. She didn't want to lie, but neither did she want to reveal Astrid's origins. So she settled for an easy half-truth. Astrid's parents were dead and she ran away from the orphanage. She loved the stars, and used to sit outside the cafe Lauren worked in. They became friends. Lauren didn't want her to go back into the system. It was believable. Or so her friends seemed to think. She briefed Astrid, telling her to repeat the story if anyone asked. The kid seemed suspicious. Saying she wasn't supposed to lie. Lauren had to convince her that sometimes lying was okay. Only when it didn't hurt anyone.

They were eating dinner when there was a knock on the door. Lauren tensed. It was late, and she wasn't expecting anyone. "Stay here", she told Astrid, and went to answer it.

The man standing there was wearing a suit and a natural expression. A typical agent. An agent of what? That was beyond Lauren.

"Can I help you?"

As expected, he took out his badge. "Special agent Harlan. May I come in?"

"Do you have a warrant?"

He seemed to be surprised by that. Taken aback. But in her defense, Lauren had every right to be suspicious. She hadn't had the best experience with secret agencies.

And what if he was there for Astrid?

The agent sighed. "I would like to talk to you about the young girl currently in your care".

... that wasn't good.

"I have no idea what you're talking about".

He definitely knew she was lying. But, oh well. It's not like he had proof.

"Ma'am, we'd like to talk to the child. We've become aware of her... unusual origins. We'd like to confirm that information".

She could hear Astrid's footsteps not far behind. She couldn't't let him see her.

"Come back with a warrant or something".

He glared at her. She glared back. Then slammed the door in his face.

And god, that felt good.

Astrid was now standing right behind her, wand in hand. "Who was that?"

"No one".

"Didn't seem like no one".

"No one important". "You sure that wasn't someone wanting to take me away?" she asked, face furrowed in a mix of fear and confusion. "Go finish your dinner". She didn't seem convinced, not at all. But (surprisingly) she did as she was told.

They ate in silence. Astrid glared. Lauren tried to glare back.

How the hell did she manage to lose a staring contest with a nine year old?

The next day was saturday. Astrid was up since six am, driving Lauren out of her mind. She was bored, as she declared several times.

"Why don't you just... watch a movie, while I look for something for us to do?"

"Can I watch Tangled? I wanna watch Tangled".

Lauren sighed "Sure". She checked her emails, most of them from her professors. Than she opened the group chat. LaurenA: Hey guys... do any of you know what I'm supposed to do with a stir crazy nine year old? It took less than a minute for her to get a response. WnDennis: Take her to the park.

Emmy_L0u: Museum. JJ_jake: The movies. Museums are boring. Emmy_L0u: No they're not! I loved museums as a kid. I learned a lot. JJ_jake: That's because you're a nerd. Emmy_L0u: And proud. Lauren rolled her eyes. LaurenA: Thanks. LaurenA: And guys, we're all nerds. We met at a science convention, remember? JJ_jake: ... WnDennis: Right... Emmy_L0u: LOL. Lauren put her phone away. Going to the movies seemed like a good idea. It'll keep Astrid occupied and might give Lauren a few hours of quiet. She checked the schedule in the closest theatre. There was a kids movie in only a few hours. Animated, cute. She showed Astrid the trailer and she liked it. So until Tangled ended, Lauren made breakfast. And the movie was nice. Not too boring. Astrid enjoyed it. They spent some time in the playground before going to mcdonalds for lunch. "Okay, slow down. You're gonna choke". Astrid shrugged. "Why are there no other kids around?" she asked, scanning her surroundings. "Oh. It's noon. They're probably all still at school." "Am I supposed to be at school, too?" "Maybe". Actually, sending Astrid to school wasn't a bad idea. It'll give her a chance to interact more with the human world, and give Lauren more free time. It'll be good for the both of them. But the legal part was gonna be more difficult... Technically, Astrid didn't exist. And Lauren certainly didn't have a niece. That she knew of. It's been years since she talked to her brother. "Com'on, time to go home". Astrid pulled a face but didn't complain much. Just made Lauren put on disney song on the drive back. Lauren rolled her eyes. "Oh, stop pouting. You had fun, didn't you?" "What's that word?" She glanced at her for a second. "What, pouting?" "Yeah". "It's that thing you do with your lower lip when you're sad". "Oh". Astrid sighed in a very dramatic sense "Why do you humans have so many words?" Lauren chuckled. "It's called a language. We need it to communicate." She paused. "Hey, I have an idea. Every day, I'll teach you a new word. That way you'll talk like a human in no time". Astrid shrugged. "Sure, why not. I don't think I'll be human for much longer though. I'm gonna find a way home". Lauren decided it was best not to comment on that. She would hate to ruin that little girl's hopes.

#story #stories #My Story #My characters #original stories #original character #stars #fallenstar #writing #writers #writblr

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neokollection · 6 years

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Reaction To Finding Out You Had A Crush On Another Member

NCT U

‘His reaction when he finds out you used to have a big crush on one of his friends/band mates, before you started dating him’

A/N: The suggestion pretty much sums it up-

Taeil:

Being tipsy, you spout things you shouldn’t. He wasn’t really listening to your rambling at first and was just thinking about his next course of action to convince you it was time to head home. However, when you mentioned your previous crush on Doyoung his ears would definitely perk up. I mean everyone had suspected it for a bit, it was over a year ago, but having you confirm the rumor would finally gain a little closure. He loves it when you’re honest, he wants to know everything about you, including your secrets. He’d laugh it off, he knows it was in the past and that he has you wrapped around his little finger, so I don’t think he’d be jealous or upset in anyway, just teasing. “I’m better than him, right?”

Taeyong:

Taeyong seems sexy and strong, but there’s a lot lurking beneath the surface. He’s like an onion, you got to peel him back layer by layer; sexy & strong, soft & cute, insecure & uncertain. You mentioned it casually as a teasing joke, but to him it meant a lot. Especially with it being one of his fellow members and especially with it being Yuta. To him Yuta is strong competition, he’s handsome and sweet, sexy and funny; Taeyong would start to worry you could be swooned by the younger member. He’d tell himself he was being ridiculous, but from then on it’d eat away at him a little whenever he saw the two of you interact. “Oh... I didn’t know that-”

Kun:

Smiley; he’d laugh it off with you as you recall your dorky ways of flirting in the past with Jaehyun, so embarrassing... He finds you amusing all the time, so hearing stories, even if it’s about you having liked another member, he’s fully immersed and thinks you’re a comedy gold. He trusts you and his other boys, so I don’t think he’d be paranoid. “I can’t believe you said that to him; you never used that line on me... Maybe that’s why I liked you back and he didn’t-”

Doyoung:

"Ahhh...” Doyoung remembers this well. He’s very perceptive so he was definitely picking up hints last year that you were crushing on Taeil... Sadly for him, it was when he was first crushing on you... To have you confirm his suspicions [he probably asked randomly], he’d make one of those ‘I knew it’ faces and sigh as he attempts to hide his disappointment, it was a really sad time for him back then. “But I’m more handsome, so...” “There’s no reason to get petty.”

Ten:

I think Ten would find it amusing like Kun. He’d find this out through a game of truth or dare where he asked if you liked any of the boys... Smiling away. Especially if it was with Mark. He’d cringe so hard and make that ‘No’ face he did with Lucas at the park... He’d try to imagine it and squeal to himself. “OMG it’d be so awkward! He’s so awkward-” He wouldn’t have any hurt feelings about it and would be thankful you’re with him instead.

Jaehyun:

Jaehyun would have mixed feelings. Mostly because he wouldn’t ask you that kind of thing so if he found it out it’d probably be from another member... Like Lucas saying cheekily you used to like him. Jae isn’t the type to harbor any grudges or anything, so I don’t think he’d worry. When Jae would ask you later, he’d appreciate your honesty and understand your confusion by the sudden question. Ehhh... He’d just kind of purse his lips in a way before forming it into a smile and patting your head. “Are you upset??” “No.” “Um, okay then... How did-” “I just love you and I’m really glad you’re mine~” It sounds sweet, but there’s a hint of possessiveness, as if he’s reminding you...

Win:

How he found out, I don’t know, but he’s a little petty. He’d be asking you questions left and right about it then fall silent and you’d think the conversation was over until he asked you another... “Are you jealous-?” “No, he doesn’t stand a chance against me.” Toots his own horn a bit. I mean, if you fell out of your crush with Haechan and fell for him then he’s pretty confident in your love for him, so he doesn’t worry ^^

Jungwoo:

Another one who wants to play it cool. He’d laugh it off as you told him, but inside be feeling panicky. Taeyong’s a really sexy guy, how’s he supposed to compete with that...? That’s how he’d feel. He wouldn’t want to seem childish so he’d keep it to himself, but always kind of end up keeping an eye out for Taeyong when you’re together and closely watch your interactions. In fact, he may even unconsciously distance himself from TY, with or without you around, as he’d just feel self-conscious.

Lucas:

Dramatic as usual. “OMG... No.......... I’m disappointed in you-” Uh, an odd guy- Hard to tell if he’d actually feel a little self-conscious at the news or would really not give a flying flip. “Ten hyung?? Why not like ....Jaehyun or Taeyong?” He’d grill you for your bad taste, saying there were better member-options. Knowing that he won you over all those guys would make him feel like a champion of some kind. And would become real lovey. “Oh my God man...” *fist bumps chest* “I’m king of the world-” “...Sit down.”

Mark:

Not gonna lie, he doesn’t blame you, Jeno’s a cutie even to him. Ahhhhhh, he’d have that feeling tho of ‘Ahhh man...’ He’d feel a little embarrassed for you as you spill to him all the embarrassing things you used to do to get Jeno’s attention, but would brush it under the rug. He wouldn’t really be able to see Jeno in the same light. Jeno didn’t do anything, but there’s just a part of Mark that’s like... Wow, they could have been together. Not the type to hold it against either of you he really feels like he’s chill with it, it’s in the past. But... If he ever got in a conflict with Jeno, even over choreo or during a trip I think he’d hold a harder grudge against him than he would say... Chenle.

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wickedsingularity · 6 years

Text

Until Next Time [Chapter 9]

Banner by PhoenixAlthor @ TDA

The hand on my heart clenched painfully. I stiffened and gritted my teeth. My eyes stung and I couldn't breathe. I was there. I had reached the point where it hurt so bad I didn't know how to live for one more second.

War. We do what we can to find comfort and hope.

Remus Lupin x OC Warnings: Language Words: 2329

Note: Accidentally deleted this when I went to delete chapter 10 in November. Not gonna tag it again.

Chapter 8 | Masterlist | Chapter 10

Podmore

Avoided confrontations.

With a sigh, I landed on the slightly slimy flagged stone floor right outside Azkaban, climbing off my broom. Flying had been a pain and my movements made me wince. The events of last night were making themselves known.

When I woke up, I had at first felt a bit disoriented. Something had been different. But as my memory caught up with me, I had gone through cringing embarrassment, and then relief at the lightness in my heart. Remus had helped me take away the unforgiving hand that had squeezed my heart almost dry that evening in Grimmauld Place.

I wasn't naïve enough to think it wouldn't come back, that everything was suddenly alright because I had gotten laid and felt the nearness and care of another human being, like an old cliché. But it was a nice change to not feel the dread that had seeped into me since I found out we were at war.

Embarrassment kept bubbling to the surface though, as I thought about it. Embarrassment about the fact that we went at it right there in the hall against the front door, in a house full of people and children, and any of them could have walked in on us or anyone could have walked through the door. Or worse, the house elf could have seen.

I shook my head to clear it, stowed away my broom and made my way inside. My movements were still awkward, my legs felt stiff and well used, as did everything between my legs. But I welcomed it. Knowing someone had actually wanted to shag my brains out despite knowing what I did for a living was doing wonders on my ego. Allowing myself a small smile, I checked that my Patronus shield was holding strong, and then entered the office area.

"New prisoner today," Walter announced while he hung up his cloak and nodded towards a piece of parchment on the desk between us.

"Oh, who?" I enquired, as I too hung up my cloak, noticing that my brighter mood made the cold that was constant out here less noticeable.

Walter sat down and grabbed the parchment, squinting at it. "A mister... Sturgis Podmore."

A shock went through me and I was glad Walter was still reading the parchment. "Podmore..." I mused, trying to remember the guard schedule. I was almost certain that he was supposed to have been on guard duty a couple of nights ago.

"He was apparently caught trespassing down in the Department of Mysteries."

Right. "Why?"

Walter shrugged and pushed the parchment across the desk to me. I leaned over the table and read it through, my finger tracing each line. A watch-wizard by the name of Eric Munch had apparently caught him attempting to break into the Department of Mysteries.

I frowned. We weren't supposed to actually go down there. We were only supposed to hide out in the hallways and keep a lookout. But Sturgis had tried to break in? Something didn't feel right. "It says he's appearing before the Wizengamot next Wednesday but scheduled to stay in a holding cell here in the meantime."

"He should be arriving today then?"

"Yes. I'll get his cell ready after our rounds," I decided. While I hadn't had the chance to get to know Sturgis well enough yet, I knew enough to know that if he had really tried to break in, it was either on orders from Albus or something was wrong. I had to do what I could to make his stay here as bearable as it could be, surrounded by storms and soul-sucking creatures. I also made a mental note to contact the Order the first chance I got.

It was raining puffskeins and nifflers when I Apparated onto a side street of Grimmauld Place for the usual check of the area. Not being my thorough self and just wanting to get somewhere dry, I quickly appeared on the porch of our headquarters and rushed inside the door. I shook the water out of my hair as I closed the door as quickly and quietly as I could.

"Bloody rain," I muttered and shivered as I wiped my wet hands on my travelling cloak.

"Language."

I nearly screamed out of fright and spun around, coming face to face with Remus. My breath nearly caught in my throat for a moment. I hadn't even considered that I might run into him. We hadn't spoken at all since our quickie against the very door I had just closed. Suddenly I felt nervous. I didn't have feelings for him, other than the occasional rush of longing in my nether regions – he had been a bloody brilliant shag, and if I could do it again, I probably would. But something told me that he wasn't the kind to just sleep around and not get emotionally attached. I didn't need that in my life. I had tried the serious relationship thing before, and it wasn't for me. It never ended well.

All those thoughts rushed through my brain as I caught my breath and managed to snark back. "That coming from a Marauder." I started reaching for my wand to dry myself off. Remus raised one eyebrow and just stared at me, making me pause. The tension almost visibly floated into the room. I looked him over, at his twill trousers that were some kind of greenish grey, his chalk-stripe pale green shirt and grey knitted cardigan. It was all tattered and worn, and he looked like he was from a different generation. But it was part of his charm, and right now, it worked on me.

"So, you know about the Marauders?" He took one step closer.

"Who doesn't? You were legends. You are legends."

I now noticed he looked tired and worn, his face paler than usual, faint dark shadows under his eyes. But the look in them contrasted amazingly with the rest of him, and I knew he wanted me just as much as I wanted him. It was just like that first time, except now I wasn't fuelled by fear and worry and a need to be near another person.

"You're inflating my ego."

"I'm sorry, my mistake." Why was I flirting back?

"How have you been?" Remus suddenly asked, his eyes softening somewhat and he took even another step closer.

The question almost threw me off balance. I knew what he referred to and the very fact that he did ask, seemed to chip away at my wall. "I'm fine," I said. And it wasn't a lie this time, well, not completely. None of us would be fine until the world was at peace again.

He walked even closer, and if I raised my hand just a little bit, I could have touched him. "I, uh, that day..."

Dread filled me immediately at those words, but at the same time, there was the sound of shuffling feet and nonstop mutterings coming down the stairs. "Mudbloods and traitors. There's another one of them filthy beasts. My mistress –"

"Hello, Kreacher," Remus said politely, stepping back from me and looking down at the grimy old house elf that stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at us.

"It's the werewolf abomination talking to Kreacher. Oh, the shame." The elf ignored Remus completely.

I shuddered. We never had house elves when I grew up, but some of my extended family did, and I had liked them well enough. But there was something about this particular elf that made my wand tie itself in a knot.

"Go find something to clean, Kreacher." Remus' voice became surprisingly authoritative.

The elf lowered his head and he continued to mutter as he stalked upstairs again, his words unintelligible now.

Whatever moment Remus and I had, was gone. I at least felt a little awkward, shuffling my feet a bit and looking up at the beheaded house elves on the wall. Clearly, he didn't feel the awkwardness, because he stepped close to me again, but I panicked. "Is Alastor here?" I asked and he stopped short. "He said he'd be here and I promised I'd inform him of the outcome of Sturgis' trial."

"Uhm, yes. He got here half an hour before you, I think." Remus seemed to almost shake himself off, blinking rapidly a few times. "He's down in the kitchen, probably being force-fed onion soup by Molly."

"Thanks," I said and snuck past him and hurried down the stairs. It felt a bit cowardly to just run from him like that, but I couldn't deal with the conversation he had tried to start.

Down in the kitchen, Molly had indeed served Alastor soup. The two of them and Sirius and Arthur were all hunched over bowls, careful slurping the only sound to be heard. They hadn't even noticed me, until Remus came inside too, walking past me, his arm brushing mine.

"There you two are!" Molly exclaimed. She waved her wand and two extra bowls flew over and set themselves in front of available chairs.

I hadn't really planned on having dinner here, but the soup smelled delicious and the pile of bread rolls next to the steaming pot looked freshly made. Remus and I sat down on opposite sides of the table and helped ourselves.

For a few minutes, we all ate in silence and I felt Remus' gaze on me several times, but thankfully Alastor soon broke the silence and gave me something else to focus on. "Do you know Sturgis' verdict?" he asked, his magical eye swivelling to look at me as his normal eye kept its focus on the dinner. The others looked up at me over their spoons.

I swallowed the hot liquid as I nodded. "Yes. Parchment was on my desk after lunch. Long story short..." I put the spoon down and sat up a bit straighter, reciting what I had read. "He was charged with trespass and attempted robbery. He refused to speak in his own defence. And he was convicted of both charges and sentenced to six months in Azkaban."

"Damn," Alastor growled.

"He didn't say anything in his own defence?" Arthur asked.

"According to the report, no. He didn't even plead guilty or not guilty. He refused to say anything."

"What could he have said?" Remus said. "Even if he doesn't remember anything since having the Imperius Curse put on him, he couldn't exactly give the real reason he was down there. He would have been in trouble either way."

"Have you had any chance to talk to him after he arrived at the prison before the trial?" Alastor asked.

I shook my head, chewing thoughtfully on a bread roll. There hadn't been much time to talk when I led him to his cell. He had whispered that he was sure he hadn't been under his own control but couldn't remember anything for three weeks before he got arrested.

Suddenly Arthur slammed his hand down on the table and stood up so fast his chair flew backwards and banged into a counter, and the table rattled, some soup spilling. "Malfoy! Harry's hearing!"

"What are you talking about, dear?" Molly asked, looking startled and annoyed at her husband.

"Wasn't Sturgis on guard duty around the time of Harry's hearing?"

Everyone frowned, looking thoughtful. "Yes... I think so," Alastor replied.

"Remember I told you we met Lucius Malfoy and the Minister down there after the hearing? Lucius said he'd donated money, and I figured he was curious about Harry's verdict. He could have put the Imperius Curse on Sturgis then!"

"Sit down, Arthur," Molly begged and waved her wand to clean up the spillage on the table.

"I wouldn't put it past old Malfoy," Sirius said with a grimace like he had tasted something disgusting.

"Albus needs to know this," Remus said.

"You don't think he already made the same deduction?" I asked.

"Probably, but just in case."

"Arthur! Sit down!" Molly repeated and he finally picked up the chair and sat down again.

"I am meeting Minerva tomorrow," Alastor said. "I'll let her know then and she can relay the message to Albus. It's nothing we can prove, so there is no hurry."

The conversation died down as everyone finished eating their onion soup and bread rolls, but when people had finished it picked up again. Since I hadn't planned on staying for dinner anyway, I excused myself and went to leave. I heard someone follow me, and they managed to catch up with me before I was able to get to the door thanks to me struggling with my travelling cloak.

Remus said my name and I stopped and took a deep breath before facing him. "Yes?"

"That day..." he began. "I don't know what came over me, and I want to apologize."

"It's fine, Lupin. I don't know what came over me either."

He looked searchingly into my eyes, and again I noticed how drawn, pale, and tired he looked. And then I realised the full moon was coming up and that he was probably so on edge already, more and more of his animalistic instincts bubbling to the surface. And I felt bad for trying to avoid this conversation.

"It's fine, Remus, really," I repeated. "I'm guessing we both needed it at the time. It was good, gave me a good night's sleep for once. Thank you for that."

Still, he looked at me in that intense way, but a small smile crossed his lips for a moment. "So, it's okay?"

I reached out and laid my hand on his arm. "It's okay." Even through his cardigan, I could feel the intense heat radiating off him and I quickly retracted my hand. "I'm a bit tired, so I'm going to head home. Maybe make it an early night. Take care of yourself, okay?" This time I looked pointedly at him, hoping he realised I meant with is upcoming transformation.

"Thanks. You too."

Chapter 8 | Masterlist | Chapter 10

#until next time #remus lupin #remus lupin x reader #remus lupin fanficion #remus lupin imagine #remus lupin x oc #remus lupin x you #remus lupin angst #remus lupin fluff #remus lupin smut #harry potter imagine #harry potter fanfiction

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lakesandquarries · 7 years

Text

Cover Me Like Dust (Chapter One)

you held my head down, didn’t let me breathe

Pairings: Taako/Kravitz, Taako & Lup

Characters: Taako, Lup, Sazed

Other Tags: Abusive Relationships, Spoilers, endgame spoilers, Hurt/Comfort taako has trauma (tm), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder -, PTSD, Angst, sazed sucks

Warnings: sazed, ptsd

Words: 1530

Summary: The battle is won, the world is saved, everything is perfect. But trauma never really goes away, and neither does Sazed..

Other Notes: Art by @taakitoz, fic title from “Think of You” by MS MR, chapter titles from “Boomerang” by She Is We.

AO3

Backstage before a show, Sazed and Taako are kissing.

“We’re gonna be late,” Taako mumbles into Sazed’s mouth, though he doesn’t really care. He’s Taako , from TV - he gets to make people wait.

“It’ll be worth it,” Sazed says, pulling back just a bit. Taako’s leaned against a wall, Sazed’s hand on his wrist and his other hand on the wall next to Taako, leaned over protectively and a little possessively. “You’re beautiful,” Sazed whispers, kissing Taako again and again, soft and warm and wonderful, until Taako’s alarm goes off and they pull away like someone just caught them.

“Five minutes till showtime,” Taako says, turning it off.

“You nervous?” Sazed asks, leaning back so Taako can slip out from under him.

“Nah,” Taako lies. Sazed raises an eyebrow but says nothing. He doesn’t have to. Taako knows what that expression means. It means stop lying to me and did you really think I wouldn’t pick up on it? and every time he sees it, he wants to lie more. He raises his eyebrow at Sazed, an almost challenge.

“If you insist,” Sazed says, stretching. “Do you need any help today?”

“It’s cool,” Taako says. Sazed’s been… less than helpful in the kitchen, lately. Overly critical, harsh, convinced he has the solution to every situation. Like he knows so much more than Taako. And sure, maybe he does. He’s worked with other chefs before; he knows a lot about showbiz. But Sizzle It Up is Taako’s . Even if Sazed knows more than him - Taako knows enough .

It’s just a hiccup, though. He’ll talk with Sazed about how he’s feeling, and things will go back to normal, with Sazed offering help and affection and praise and not… (insulting, patronizing, mocking) teasing him over little things, offering unwanted advice, ignoring him when he's freaking out. It’ll be fine, like they always are, because he and Sazed are a team .

And in moments like these, it feels fine. Sazed is smiling and holding him, and they're kissing again, and any worries Taako has are shoved away because how can something that makes him feel so good be bad?

It's worth it. Every time Sazed’s made him cry, every fight they've had - it's worth it, to feel this good. It’s worth it, for Sazed’s mouth on his, their legs tangled together and Sazed’s hands in his hair.

They’ll work things out. They’ll live happily ever in a caravan and kiss between shows and fuck in shitty inns and go on romantic dates in every town they stop at, and everything will be perfect.

He doesn't detach from Sazed until the last possible second, and when he goes out on stage he's already breathless.

---

He wakes up crying.

---

It's strange, having trauma Lup doesn't understand. Stranger still not understanding hers. Taako finds her wrapped in blankets, hand on the window, staring vacantly at the world, disconnected and blurry. He burrows under the blankets with her and holds her hand until she remembers what feeling is like, but he’ll never understand it, never understand the years of loneliness trapped in the umbrella, with no one to remember her. Without him.

She finds him leaning against the kitchen counter, shaking, staring at a clove of garlic, and she’ll lead him out of the kitchen and remind him it wasn’t his fault, but she doesn’t understand.

She saw what happened. They don't talk about it, but - the chalice showed her too. He can feel it sometimes, the weight of her knowledge. No one else knows the full story. Magnus and Merle know bits and pieces, Angus and Kravitz know most of it, but he’s never told them the full story, and he doubts he ever will.

And Lup, his beautiful wonderful sister, his other half - she knows, and yet she doesn’t understand. How could she? In her eyes, Sazed is a monster, a demon, someone who’s only purpose was to hurt Taako.

But Taako knows better. Or, maybe he’s just an idiot and Lup’s got the right idea of it. But things were good once.

Once upon a time, Taako loved Sazed. Once upon a time, Sazed made him feel like he was on top of the world, like he was something beautiful and perfect. And Sazed - (“Great job out there! You barely stuttered that time!” “It's okay, everyone fucks up - even I used to.” “You're just not good at that, I guess, we’ll figure something else out”) - Sazed never cared. Or, worse, maybe he did care and something made him stop.

To Sazed, Taako was a means to end, a stepping stone, and Sazed was a steady stream of water drip, drip, dripping into the stone of Taako's self confidence, wearing it away so slowly he didn't realize until it was gone. And when Sazed couldn’t use him anymore, he threw him away.

It’s one of those days, again. One where Taako stands in the kitchen and stares at the stove and does his best not to break down.

“Taako,” Lup says, taking his hand, gently pulling away the garlic. “Sweetheart, c’mon.”

Taako makes a sound in the back of his throat, staring at his sister’s face, smooth skin and long lashes and delicate freckles, and he loves with his entire being but why did it have to be him ?

Why did he have to be the one left alone? The one who had to travel without her, the one with new scars and new fears and new nightmares? The one that lost everything? Even now he has his glamour up, masking what he lost in Wonderland.

They're not identical anymore. They were two sides of the same coin, and now - Taako is scuffed and worn and damaged, and Lup is perfect as ever, unchanged and unblemished, and some days he can’t bear to look at her face. He’d prefer to have been in the umbrella, he thinks. Lup could have handled it on her own, but him? He’s half a person, incapable of functioning on his own without the proper other half. He latched on to whatever, whoever he could find, regardless of how awful they were, because what else was he supposed to do? Be alone?

(It wasn’t his fault, he knows that, but if he’d paid more attention, understood what he was looking for, if he just remembered her , maybe…..maybe… )

(He doesn't want to hate Lucretia, and yet - sometimes he wonders about how he met Sazed. If it was her idea. If she had any fucking idea what she was doing to him. But blaming her, he finds, doesn't make it any easier for him.)

He never noticed when things changed, when praise turned to criticism. Testing recipe after recipe, that thoughtful look Sazed got when he wanted to say this is garbage but was too nice to. (It’s not any kinder to say it through facial expression.) Whispers late at night in bed - I can teach you so much and you’ve got so much potential and I can make you amazing.

You’re good at that , Sazed would say, and Taako would work it into his routine. Or, you’re bad at that , and Taako would burn with shame and never do it again. Or, worse, you’ll get it someday , and Taako would try and try and try and it’d never turn to praise. His routine became more and more based on flashy magic, on what Sazed liked. (Not what Taako liked, never what Taako liked, because what Taako liked didn’t matter.)

“Taako,” Lup says again, taking both his hands now. “Darling, you’re fading again.”

“Yeah,” Taako agrees.

“Don’t do that,” Lup says, pulling him in for a hug. He snorts into her shirt, wrapping his arms around her, and if her shirt gets a little soggy, she doesn’t say anything.

She helps him make dinner - tonight’s another double date with Barry and Kravitz. Reapers may not need to eat, but Kravitz has loved every meal Taako’s made. There’s something to be said about making food for someone that actually appreciates it, someone that’s already dead.

(It wasn’t his fault, but even if it was - these are people he can’t poison. He’ll take comfort wherever he can.)

He grates cheese and sautés onions and chops potatoes and falls into a familiar, wordless rhythm. Most twins have a secret language, and for him and Lup, it’s cooking. The angle they cut the vegetables, how they hold a knife, the way they measure all tell a story. Lup’s tense, her knife cuts delicate and precise, telling the story of a stressful day of reaping. Taako passes her the grater, and she takes it and passes him the knife.

They pass an hour this way, silent besides the hum of the oven and whistle of the stove, and once the finished product is baking, Lup collapses onto the couch dramatically, holding up a hand to high five Taako - her way of saying “Good job.” He returns it, pushing her legs away so he can sit on the couch too, the heat of the oven and the smell of food and his sister’s feet on his lap lulling him into a sleepy sense of security.

He fades again.

#taz #the adventure zone #taako (taz)#taako from tv #sazed #sazed (taz)#cora writes

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soul-music-is-life · 7 years

Text

Thoughts While Watching PLL “Songs of Innocence”

1) Toby begging to have five minutes alone with Andrew. He was gonna beat the shit out of him and I just love that.

2) Nooo, Emily, don’t make friends with Sara.

3) Seriously though, this girl’s acting is atrocious.

4) I don’t buy that Wayne Fields wouldn’t have gotten a furlough from the base after his daughter was kidnapped and held hostage.

5) All the girls and the scenes with their mothers hurt my soul. Pam sadly thinking about what could have happened had her daughter been missing for 2 years like Sara, Ashley refusing to leave Hanna alone, Ella and her comforting wisdom, and Veronica being all lawyer-ly.

6) Aria be like, “I’ll talk to the cops right now! Andrew a bitch and he needs to die!”

7) Veronica, your child was kidnapped. A little anti-anxiety meds are warranted.

8) When I saw Emily putting on her dad’s jacket I thought she was going to join the military to get away.

9) Spencer: “Ali, I’m going to say this as delicately as I can…your dad is a liar.” That’s my girl.

10) Pretty sure Shay Mitchell actually took lessons to learn how to fire a gun properly, because her form and reactions were on point.

11) I can’t remember if Toby’s partner Lorenzo is a good guy or a bad guy.

12) Emily: “You can’t sneak in your own house.” Ohhh, I remember Aria’s dad saying that to her in the earlier seasons. Throwback! Oh, God…I’ve watched way too much of this show.

13) Emily saying to her mother that Paige deserves to be happy and then watching Pam’s reaction knowing her daughter is miserable is too much.

14) The writers did a really good job with the PTSD. Every single one of them shuts down when someone talks about their kidnapping. I like the different way they all deal. Emily going to the gun range, Aria wanting to put a wall up, Hanna wanting to change everything, and Spencer…well…being Spencer.

15) Ashley: “This is your room. Anything you want, baby.” Me: “Stupid ninja chopping onions.”

16) Aria lying about seeing Andrew in the bunker because she is terrified he’ll be released. I’m just going to curl up and cry now.

17) Goddamn, these girls are so fucked up from everything they went through. I’m fucked up just watching this.

18) Pam showing up at the gun range, but not yelling at Emily because she’s terrified because of what Emily is going through.

19) Emily: “You just said I couldn’t use dad’s, so I rented a gun.” Me: “Where’s the lie tho?”

20) Pam: “I need to know what’s going on with you!” Me: “Uh…she was held hostage for almost a month?”

21) Emily talking about looking at Sara’s eyes. She always has been the one to see things. Glad the writers didn’t forget that.

22) Nia Peeples is amazing in this role. I really feel Pam’s emotions this episode.

23) “There were whole parts of my brain that were trying to stop me, but the stupid parts won.” Aria is me making decisions in life.

24) “Aria, you’re very smart. But please also remember you’re very wise.” Ella is also very wise and I love her to death.

25) Emily: *sees someone in a hoodie stalking her* “Aww, hell no, bitch.” I respect her reaction.

26) I like how the first person Aria called was Spencer, and the first person Emily called was Spencer. Spencer, you popular mah gurl.

#Pretty Little Liars #PLL #Songs of Innocence #Toby Cavanaugh #Andrew Campbell #Emily Fields #Aria Montgomery #Hanna Marin #Spencer Hastings #Pam Fields #Veronica Hastings #Ashley Marin #Ella Montgomery #Nia Peeples #Shay Mitchell #Wayne Fields

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fearofaherobrine · 7 years

Text

Roleplay Server Log #284

"Karla Releases Sammn, Evil In The Flesh, Ever And The Crafting Table”

-It's the end of the second week, by now Sammn was essentially physical-

[Lie] - Doc... Do you want me to call Ever?

[Doc] I think that depends on Sammn. How do you feel?

[Sammn] - shrugs groggily - Less sleepy, just sorta out of it, but not. Still can't belive I did all that.

[Lie] - It gave us quite the scare...

[Sammn] - sighs deeply - I am very sorry. I had no idea something was inside me, causing all these issues.

[Sammn] - Wish I knew how or why it's there, might help get rid of it.

[Doc] Lie seems to think her new friend has the answer. So we'll see.

[Lie] - The choice is yours Sammn

[Sammn] Call them, I'm more of a danger like this to everybody. Plus if it's gone, maybe... I'll remember something.

[Lie] Nods and grabs her phone, dialing Ever's number-

[Ever] Picks up the phone and there's cooking sounds in the background- Yellow?

[Lie] - Hey, you guys terribly busy?

[Ever] Well I was making dinner but I can accommodate company. What did you have in mind?

[Lie] - Our friend is awake and fully physical now, she'd like to see if the thing inside of her can be removed

[Ever] Oh. Did you get the... animals?

[Lie] - The spawn eggs I can easily get right now

[Ever] Can we beg some food for them off of you as well? I can go out tomorrow and get everything else, but it's late afternoon here.

[Lie] - Absolutely, do you want the horses right away? Or the eggs so you can spawn them when you want?

[Ever] You can do that?! Whoops! - There's a plunking noise like a ladle falling into liquid- Dammit! Just... just come over. I can't do this with the phone balanced.

[Lie] - Computer free?

[Ever] Pretty sure. Just go out the opposite door of that room and I'm down the hall on the left-

[Doc] Jumps a little as hir own phone goes off- Uh-huh... yeah.. oh... I'll be.. yes, I'll come right home. Lie...? Deerheart's having a small technical issue. Can you handle this without me?

[Lie] - See you in a few minutes then Ever- She hangs up- Yeah, absolutely Doc

[Doc] Thank you. - Xe goes around and turns off a few things to prep the bunker to leave it alone and empty again. - Do you need anythign before I leave?

[Lie] - Yeah actually, some horse spawn eggs and a few bales of hay

[Doc] Okay? Here- Xe takes the items out of creative and passes them to her.

[Lie] - Thanks- She puts them in her inventory

[Sammn] - stands and watches, rubbing her arms -

[Lie] - You ready to go Sammn?

[Sammn[ - nods -

[Lie] Goes over to the tv and creates an opening, holding her hand out to Sammn-

[Sammn] -swallows nervously and joins her - Let's hope this works.

[Lie] - Bye Doc, we'll see you... well, we'll see you. I don't know how long this will take- She guides Sammn through and out the computer on the other side, helping her out

-The black leaved tree almost seems to inhale their aura as they come out of the computer and then settle back into the fragrant soil that's been heaped up around it's trunk.

[Lie] Can smell the food Ever is making- Come on, let's introduce you to Karla and Ever- She follows Ever's directions to the kitchen

[Sammn] - follows, distractedly as she feels like something is lurking behind her -

[Ever] Is bustling. He's made a pot of soup that's thick with onions and beef and he's buttering slices of bread with a garlic paste. - Oh hey, there you are. Who's your friend?

[Lie] - Ever, this is Sammn

[Sammn] - looks around before settling gaze on him - Hello

[Ever] Makes a failed attempt to smooth his pointy blonde hair and the silver ring on the collar he's wearing jingles merrily. - Nice to meet you. I'd shake hands but I've been cutting onions.

[Sammn] Its alright, I'm not the diva myself. - Her black and white hair is a wild mess, her blue dress has seen better days, its still stained with blood. Pale as snow, with odd solid purple eyes, she tries to be friendly and smile at him. -

[Lie] - Is Karla preparing?

[Ever] Notices her eyes and the blood and pauses - Are you.. a creepypasta?

[Sammn] Creepy pasta? No.

[Ever] Oh. - To Lie- Yes and no? I don't know what you want her to make. But we have the materials.

[Lie] - You guys are the experts here

[Ever] Well... lets eat first, and we can talk. Nothing formal. [It's a large kitchen and there are stools around the island in the center] I'll get Karla. -There's already a stack of bowls and plates and such on the counter-

[Lie] Grabs the bowls and fills them for her and Sammn- You're actually probably pretty hungry Sammn

[Ever] I'll be right back.

[Sammn] - not fully paying attention, but grabs the bowl and stares at it. - Yeah... somewhat. Can I ask what this is?

[Lie] - Soup, it should warm you up

[Sammn] - sniffs cautiously, then tries a sip - Not bad.

[Lie] Sits at the island- Go ahead, sit down

[Sammn] - moves to a stool and sits, but only gets a mouthful or two before stopping to look around and listen -

[Lie] - Sammn? Everything okay?

[Sammn] - cocks her head to the side, listening - Not sure. I hear something.

[Lie] - What do you hear?

[Sammn] - looks over to the doorway - Whispering.

[Lie] Reaches for Sammn's hand- Do you want any of my flowers?

[Sammn] - her hand is cold and she's shaking - Yes. Quickly... they are getting louder.

[Lie] Spawns her calming flowers all around Sammn, even putting a very short wall of Xophiel's fire around Sammn- It's alright, I'm right here

[Sammn] - wraps arms around her - Yeah, but what else is here. As soon as we got here, I felt something ... following us.

[Lie] - I don't know, Karla does have an interest in the occult...

[Sammn] - tries to keep calm and struggles to eat some more - I really hope this helps. I don't want to think what will happen otherwise.

[Karla] Walks into the kitchen with a creak of boot leather, hir long silver braid thrown over one shoulder. Her scarred face creses slightly- Why it the floor covered with fire and foliage?

[Ever] Runs around her and starts trying the swat the fire out with a wet dishtowel- Oh NO!

[Lie] - Ah! It's alright, those are my flames! And my flowers! They aren't actually hurting anything!

[Sammn] - flinches and drops her spoon, splattering the counter with soup -

[Ever] Oh.... sorry. - reaches down to straighten a flower he accidently stepped on.

[Lie] - It's alright, the flowers would have calmed you eventually

[Sammn] Sorry... sorry... I - is totally distracted watching something move in the shadows behind everyone -

[Ever] Is still a little shaky and grabs some food. Prepping a bowl and some bread for Karla as well.

[Karla] Looks her slowly up and down and her expression softens slightly - you're the one who wants my help, aren't you? I've been where you are.

[Sammn] - blinks and refocuses on Karla - I... I think so, maybe...

[Karla] I wonder if those eyes will clear afterwards... - she sits down smoothly and takes her food.

[Ever] scarfs his happily, occasionally staring at the fire and plants-

[Lie] Finishes her food and strokes one of the closest flowers which eagerly responds to her-

[Sammn] - turns back to her bowl and stares at it, trying to ignore everything around her as best as she can -

[Karla] Eat, you'll need your strength.

[Ever] So... what does it look like?

[Sammn] Limbs, a lot of them. Hooves, claws, hands, tentacles, all black as shadows, but liquid.

[Ever] That's gonna be hard....

[Karla] I cannot sew liquid. It merely needs to be a suitible shape to contain the thing.

[Sammn] - stares at the soup - It has form, a black mass, a blob. They come from it, but only when the mouths whisper.

[Karla] Just a blob? That I can do in one night. - Eats contentedly-

[Sammn] - the soup swirls and glorps, thin strands of black start leaking up - Yeah, sure...

[Ever] Finishes first - I'll go get the materials-

[Karla] Good. - Watches his rear as he goes then turns to Sammn - Dare I ask why your clothes are bloody?

[Sammn] - watches the soup - We died.

[Karla] Then we have something else in comon.

[Lie] - I've died once, do not want to repeat

[Karla] Turns to Lie, and the huge scar beneath her shirt is visible through the neckline as she turns - You seem such a delicate flower. Did you learn from it?

[Lie] - Yeah, let my far more murdery and battle trained husband tend to his seed when there's a murderous NOTCH running around... Oh and being stabbed and deleted really hurts

[Karla] Nods knowingly and dots her lips with a napkin.

[Lie] - I was so panicked I actually forgot to summon my defense

[Karla] I think you've never been in a war. It gives you instincts you never truly forget.

[Sammn] War is hell, neither side wins.

[Lie] - Nope, never had to truly fight until CP dragged me in

[Karla] Rubs her gloved hands together thoughtfully- The most we can hope for as individuals is to escape with our true selves intact...

[Lie] - Well considering how a good chunk of my memories are just gone...

[Karla] That's a pity.

[Lie] - No, it was my choice. I gave all my happy memories from before I was brought into the game to a god. It helped make my decision to stay in the game easier

[Sammn] - whispers - Nisi victor est, qui metet animas.

[Lie] - Sammn? Are you feeling okay?

[Sammn] - blinks and looks up - I think I remembered something, but it doesn't make sense.

[Lie] - Well you were just speaking that other language again...

[Sammn] - The only winner is those who reap the souls...

[Lie] - Well at least you understood what you were saying

[Sammn] Yeah, but why would I know or even say that? That's the part I don't understand.

[Karla] I don't think He considers it a win. It's just his job.

[Ever] Comes back with a clear jar containing a white cotton packet and a ball of foil- I found the spares.

[Lie] Looks at it- Do you need a rose?

[Karla] Turns to her quickly and her eyes narrow- why did you ask me if you already know the method?

[Lie] - I don't, but I recognize that set up. It's what Dawn made for us when we went to... Well, resurrect somebody long dead. She had me make a rose for it

[Sammn] - stares at Ever, the feeling of something lurking is back tenfold, along with the whispering - What is that for?

[Ever] Is a little excited and it's unnerving- It's a heart and a brain.

[Karla] Stands up - shall we get started?

[Lie] - Where do you want us?

[Karla] The study. I need to do a little sewing first.

[Ever] Come on! I'll show you!

[Lie] - Okay- Offers her hand to Sammn

[Sammn] - takes effort to move, but finally manages to grab her hand - Whatever you are going to do, do it soon. The whispering is scared.

[Karla] Darkly - Good.

[Ever] Leads them around the curving hallway into the study. The fireplace isn't lit at the moment and some of the tables have been pushed to the walls. The couch looks as over-stuffed and inviting as ever.

[Lie] Dismisses the fire-

[Karla] Kicks over a bolt of denim, unrolling it on the floor, and slices it with a razor into large lozenge shapes. She adds a few skinny triangles as well and starts aggressively pinning it together.

[Ever] Watches her with love in his eyes.

[Lie] Sits on the couch- Lean on me if you need to Sammn

[Karla] Warms up a huge sewing machine with a loud thrumm and feeds the fabric through it in practiced motions.

[Sammn] - follows numbly and slowly sinks into the couch, unable to tear her eyes from watching Karla -

[Karla] Turns the heavy skin out and motions for Ever. The two of them drag out a trash bag of shredded rubber tire bits and stuff the cloth bag with fistfuls of it.

[Lie] Makes certain to keep in contact with Sammn, trying to keep her calm-

[Karla] Will you be able to provide suitible... restraints... if it gets out of hand Lie?

[Lie] Blushes a little remembering what happened the first time- Yes, I can

[Karla] Then we'll work in here. - she roughly forces the foil and cloth packets inside the bag and closes the last seam. It looks like an evil beanbag chair with tentacles.

[Sammn] - is shivering, radiating cold. Any shadows in the room deepen and a faint sound like wind moving leaves can be heard -

[Karla] Leaves the room and comes back with a box and a knife. She threads a needle and sticks it through the fabric of her shirt to keep it handy. - Sammn? Are you prepared?

[Ever] Leaves briefly as well to get a fruit from the tree and cradles it gently-

[Sammn] - stands - No, but do it... quickly.

[Lie] Watches nervously-

[Karla] Indicates the floor beside the bag- Kneel please-

[Sammn] - stumbles forward a few steps then stops, her head lowered. The temp drops enough frost is starting to form on the floor around her. She speaks, but it's not her voice, but many - Temptress prohibere tua stultitia.

[Lie] Leans forwards a little, ready to summon her vines-

[Karla] Chuckles- that's not going to help you now. - She takes the knife and slashes a hole in the bag with it. Then reverently holds the fruit of the tree aloft and cracks it against the flat of the knife. It breaks like an egg and the whitish sludge inside is full of tiny black seeds. She dribbles the contents into the gash and sews it back up again as quickly as humanly possible with large looping stitches-

-The thing seems to shift in the shadows-

[Lie] Her focus is on Sammn-

[Sammn/?] PROHIBERE! - she snarls, drawing both combat knives and lunging toward Karla -

[Lie] Vines shoot up out of the ground to tangle around Sammn- Shit! I forgot she had knives!- As soon as the vines make contact, they begin to frost over a little

[Karla] Barely bats an eye. She takes the box and opens it reverently. Inside is a very large dark gray feather that's exhuding a bluish aura. - Do you know who I stole this from, demon?

[Sammn/?] - is screeching loud enough to be painful. The ice spreads across the floor and over Lie's vines, withering them - HOC PUER EST MEUM, ET LOCUTUS EST AD ME!

[Lie] - Looks around a bit frantic- EVER! THE FIRE! LIGHT IT!

[Ever] Huh? Okay?! - He rushes to the fireplace, squirting lighter fluid on the logs and fumbling with the matches-

[Karla] Does a palmstrike on Sammns forehead with her free hand-

[Lie] Adds more vines to Sammn as some crack and break away-

[Sammn/?] NULLA! NOS NON ERIT CAPTI ITERUM! UNUM LOCUTUS EST NOBIS MORTEM ET SANGUINEM ANIMARUM! - the voices rise to even louder pitch -

[Karla] She brandishes the feather like a weapon and sweeps it across Sammn's brow, gathering up the entites on it's angelic bristles-

[Ever] Gets the fire lit-

[Lie] Focuses on the fire, letting her powers merge with it nicely this time- Let's hope this isn't as stinky as last time- With a burst of energy dark red vines flow from the fire, their heat a contrast to Sammn's cold as they grapple for a hold on her

[Sammn/?] - the voices scream in pain and rage. There is a deeper voice underlying the whole mess - NOS SUNT LEGIO! REGERE NON POTES NOBIS!

[Karla] Grins wickedly as she pulls the feather and the entities away from Sammn- Rette deine Bitten für die Engel. Schmutziges interloper.

[Voice/?] - screams unintelligibly, as the whole room shakes. A black mist forms around Sammn and follows the movement of the feather -

[Karla] Carries the feather across the gap and wipes the mist off the feather against the cloth of the sack before stepping back-

- Like a switch, the voices disappear and the warmth floods back into the space -

[Lie] Quickly removes the vines, ready to catch Sammn if necessary-

[Karla] Puts the feather away and watches the bag as it opens several red eyes and begins to move-

[Voice/?] - the eyes swivel around, all finally focusing on Karla. A single mouth appears below one of the eyes and it speaks in a deep raspy voice - Quid fecisti nobis?

[Ever] It can talk? The others never could....

[Sammn] - crumples, gasping for breath - It... wants to... know, what... what you did to it...

[Karla] Evicted it.

[Lie] Grabs Sammn, guiding her to the couch-

[Voice/?] - Several of the eyes blink, as they open they all look different. Some are different colors, a few clearly not human looking. The thing shudders and wails. - Carcerem nobis!

[Karla] Excuse me? If that's some sort of complaint then you shouldn't have possessed someone in the first place.

[Sammn] - looks up at the thing, scowling - Speak something... other than a dead language. You can, I know it.

[Karla] Puts her hands on her hips expectantly- Yes, let's see what you have to say for yourself.

[Lie] - If it's body weren't made of the materials it's made out of, I would absolutely have one of my pods bite it

[Karla] I don't think that would have any effect either.

[Voice/?] - whines, slowly wiggling a few tentacles - wE wErE pRomIsEd fReEdOm

[Ever] By who?

[Voice/?] tHe oThEr...fOuNd uS...sToLe uS...forced uS...pRoMiSeD uS bLoOd, sOuLs fOr oUr aRmY

[Karla] Well that's unfortunate for you then. So... shall vhe take it out and test zhe wunderwaffe on it?

[Voice/?] - writhes tentacles - pRoMiSeD uS, tHe child sAvEd oUr pRiZe! sAvEd hIm!

[Karla] Ignores it and addresses Sammn - Well?

[Sammn] - stares at the creature, thinking - Saved its prize... saved him. I did something, I had to.... he was hurt.

[Ever] Sounds like there was a deal and they included you without permission Sammn.

[Voice/?] oUr wHiTe eYeS! yOu tOoK uS iNsTeAd! rObBeD!

[Lie] - Now that part I understand, it has something to do with your brine

[Karla] So... no target practice? Damn.

[Sammn] - shakily stands up and marches toward it - How did I rob you?

[Lie] - If you really want to shoot at something Karla... I might be able to convince CP to spawn some zombies for you

[Karla] Slides over to Lie - Perhaps. But for now I'm more interested in the tribute you brought me.

[Voice/?] - it whines again, reaching out toward her - tOoK tHe bLoW iNsTeAd, dEaTh sHoUlD hAvE cLaImEd yOu, hE sAvEd yOu aS yOu sAvEd HiM.

[Lie] - The horses? I've got the spawn eggs on me right now

[Karla] Wonderful, once this is sorted out, we should go out and.... 'spawn' them.

[Lie] - Sure, I've got hay for them as well

[Sammn] - stares at it, then looks around the room, stopping to watch Lie and Karla. She kneels down just out of reach - The Imposter... the battle at Capital City.... he trapped you and planned on using you to curse, and.... I took the blow instead.

[Voice/?] - blinks all of its eyes - yEs!

[Karla] It appears you have remembered something?

[Sammn] - stands - Damn me nine ways to the Nether, its coming back slowly. What do we do with this thing?

[Karla] Kill it?

[Ever] Please don't leave it here....

[Voice/?] - screams -

[Karla] That's annoying.

[Sammn] I think we better not, it might be of some use. Plus... I think killing it, might free it.

[Karla] Is pretending to be agravated by this.

[Lie] Is thinking-

[Sammn] Anyone have something we can shove it into? I really don't want to touch it.

[Karla] Like what? A larger bag?

[Ever] Theres plenty of rope in my room....

[Sammn] A chest?

[Lie] - Hang on, I've got wood on me if you really think that will work

[Sammn] Can't hurt, plus that way no one else will come into contact with it either.

[Lie] Fashions a crafting table real quick and puts it down before crafting a double chest- Here we go

[Karla] Is boggling a bit at what Lie just did - what an... interesting table...

[Sammn] - takes chest and slowly scoops the thing into it. It wiggles and squirms, but is shut up inside -

[Lie] - It's a crafting table, it's how we make things in game

[Karla] Touches it gingerly and examines the block from all sides-

[Ever] Was watching Sammn but gets distracted- that's neat!

[Sammn] - sighs - Lie, can you send me back. I.... need time to think.

[Lie] - Sure, let's head back to the computer- She heads for the tree room so she can make an opening

[Karla] Follows her quietly-

[Sammn] - stows the chest in her inventory and follows, her brain on automatic - This.. has been ... strange.

[Lie] - That seems to be daily life for us- She reaches the computer and creates an opening, the server can be seen on the other side- Sammn, get some rest, I think you'll actually be able to sleep well now

[Sammn] - nods and turns toward Karla. Her eyes are still solid purple, although now they faintly glow - Thank you for the help. - She does a strange salute to her and heads back -

[Karla] You're welcome.

[Lie] Once Sammn is through she shuts the opening- Alright, now where do you want me to spawn the horses

[Karla] Gives her a slow look, making her hyper aware of the fact that they're alone together. - Outside...

[Lie] - Lead the way

[Ever] Is playing with the crafting table because he's unsupervised.

[Karla] Leads Lie past the kitchen and out the back door. There's a small structure outside with open stalls but no gates. - I can add to it later. The whole yard is fenced in all the way around twelve feet high, as you saw.

[Lie] - Oh yes I did- She pulls out the spawn eggs and offers one to Karla- Would you like to try?

[Karla] Takes one curiously and turns the brown speckled egg in her hands, holding it in the light from the back door. - How odd...

[Lie] - Just tap it, lightly that is, on the ground

[Karla] Leans down and does as Lie suggests-

-A full sized paint horse pops into existence-

[Karla] Skips back but recovers quickly- Mein Gott! I mean... that's amazing...

[Lie] - That's the miracle of birth in our game, everything comes from an egg- She taps out another horse, this one is a chestnut-

[Karla] Holds out a hand so the horse can sniff it- Are they female? Male? Something else?

[Lie] - Both

[Lie] Taps the one she spawned with an egg and a black foal spawns- And this is what the babies look like

[Karla] They're lovely, especially in the moonlight. You said you had hay for them?

[Lie] - Oh right, where do you want me to put it?

[Karla] I guess in the mud room will have to suffice for now. Minus a snack for each of them of course. I'll fill the water buckets. It looks as though Ever will have quite the shopping list for tomorrow, fence parts and grains and medication- She takes up te hose and drags it to some buckets under the small structure, neatly filling them

[Lie] Pulls out some apples in her inventory, offering them to the horses before going to put the hay away-

[Karla] Comes back and approaches the horses again. It's clear from her manner that she knows what she's doing checking them over. - It's been so long... And they are so wonderful.

[Lie] - They won't die of old age either unless they take extreme damage

[Karla] Perfection.... Will the little one grow up?

[Lie] - Oh yes, one moment they will be a baby, the next, an adult

[Karla] Gives the small foal a bit of scratching on the neck- The world you live in is one to be envied my dear. It sounds like a bit of heaven.

[Lie] - Not always, nightly there are monsters which will attack if given the chance, and there's always the dangers in caves

[Karla] What do you have to defend yourself from such creatures?

[Lie] - Swords, bows, light, shelter, and our own brine powers

[Karla] Gives the lightest little sigh - Seeing as I've had to take a vow to hide myself from the world anyway... it still sounds... forgive me. I'm rambling.

[Lie] - No, it's alright. Many have expressed the want to be there

[Karla] I hope your friend recovers.

[Lie] - I'm sure she'll be fine, she's strong.- A few flowers spring up by Lie's feet, sensing her currently calm energy

[Karla] More flowers? What kind are these?

[Lie] - Just flowers, but I have many that do have purposes

[Karla] They are pretty all the same. - Looks back at the horses, who are wandering a little bit, but slowly. - It will be a pleasure to teach my kitten to ride as well as be ridden...

[Lie] Blushes some- Speaking of flowers, I should probably clean up my plants inside, I kinda filled your kitchen with calming flowers...

[Karla] Will they break the tiles with their roots?

[Lie] - No, minecraft flowers don't really have roots

[Karla] Then just leave them for now. The one your friend brought back to life on my shelf has flourished quite nicely despite the absence of soil or even light.

[Lie] - Alright, although I should probably remove those new vines, I'm not sure what they'll do...

[Karla] Motions for her to lead the way-

[Lie] Heads back to the study entering and looking at the bit of a mess that she's made-

[Ever] Is exitedly waving around a wooden sword- It works!

[Karla] -Blink blink confusion-

[Lie] - Oh geez! Where did you even get the wood planks!?

[Ever] Gestures towards the fireplace, where the stack of wood cords in the brass holder is a bit smaller now-

[Lie] Groans a little and goes over to her new vines, touching them and memorizing their feel so she can recreate them later- Well this will probably be useful again at some point...

[Ever] Is showing Karla what he did and pulls a wooden shovel off the table-

[Karla] Magick...

[Lie] Let's the vines retreat away- I really don't have an argument against that, especially since I know Flux

[Karla] Flux?

[Ever] Starts throwing things out of a box digging for something.

[Lie] - She's the embodiment of magic in the game itself

[Karla] I'm suprised you didn't have her work on your friend. It seems nothing is impossible for your kind.

[Ever] Arranges some flat rocks on the table and a furnace falls off and clunks heavily onto the floor. - WOOO!

[Karla] Ever!

[Lie] - She was able to bind it, but she's much more used to running a server

[Karla] Stares at Ever-

[Ever] Sorry Mistress.

[Karla] It's blocking the door.

[Lie] - Do you need me to move it?

[Karla] If you can, please. I think Ever is... getting a bit over-excited.

[Lie] Gets up and gives the furnace a few swats, breaking it into a smaller version of itself- Should I take away the crafting table too?

[Ever] Looks sad-

[Karla] Is it dangerous?

[Lie] - I mean, without redstone the more dangerous things won't work... But pressure plates could always be used instead so maybe?

[Karla] Then go ahead. I think it's for the best.

[Ever] Sad meeping sound.

[Lie] - Ever, I can always let you into the game if you want to play with a crafting table- She swats it away

[Ever] oookay....

4 notes · View notes

gore-400 · 8 years

Text

Title: Rules

Rating: Mature

CW: abuse, torture, canon-typical violence

cross-posted to ao3 (here)

There are so many rules. Yoonbum is getting better, learning them, always trying to make sense of them. Wash your hands before touching me. Wash your hands before and after going to the bathroom. Dry the sink off with a towel, every time. Don’t overfill my cups. Don’t forget napkins when you serve me.

He wishes he could just make sense of them instead of having to be taught them one at a time, every time.

But he'd learn, either way. He'd figure it out, eventually. He has to figure it out, eventually.

Yoonbum jolts awake when Sangwoo puts his key in the door. He never sleeps deeply anymore, the faintest noises always wake him up with a start. It’s better than the alternative. It’s better than being caught off guard. He was never a deep sleeper to begin with. He gets up; it’s not safe to be laying down when Sangwoo comes home. If he’s in a bad mood …

It sounds like Sangwoo brought home bags, like he’s setting them down on the kitchen counter. Food, probably. Groceries. It’s unreal to Yoonbum that Sangwoo still goes out, every day, interacts with everyone like everything is normal, while Yoonbum is trapped, here.

Sangwoo swings the door to the spare room open and looks at Yoonbum piercingly.

“Do you know how to cook?” he asks, not bothering to greet him.

“Y-yeah, a few dishes.”

“Good. I’m hungry. Make something good.”

“Okay.” Yoonbum starts crawling to his chair in the hallway. He wasn’t expecting this. It had been almost a week since he’d been let upstairs, and Sangwoo had never asked him to cook before.

“Are you surprised? No shit you’ll do the cooking. Do you think you get to live up here scot-free?” Sangwoo laughs. “Are you a deadbeat, Yoonbum?”

“N-no.”

“Hm. Are you sure? You sure look like a deadbeat, and act like a deadbeat … you’re gonna have to to prove to me that you’re not. Hurry up.”

“Right, OK,” Yoonbum says shakily. He wheels himself to the counter, starts looking through the bags. Kimchee, pork belly, chives, onions, soft tofu, all wrapped individually in plastic bags and tied off with a tight, neat knot.

“You’ve made kimchee jjigae before, right?”

Yoonbum nods, feeling Sangwoo’s gaze boring into him. He doesn’t being watched like this, but there’s nothing he can do or say to change it, and they both know it. Yoonbum is glad, at least, that Sangwoo picked one of the few dishes he knows how to cook. Then he realizes that eventually, he’ll pick something he doesn’t know. He tries not to think about it. He’d deal with that when it comes up.

He opens the first layer of plastic around the pork belly and sets it on the counter, then rolls his chair over to the stove and starts heating a pan. Maneuvering in the chair is still awkward. Yoonbum is always terrified of bumping into things, making a mess. He has to keep his cool. Any misstep could mean an explosion. At least Sangwoo doesn’t seem to be in a mood today. Yoonbum is getting better at reading him. There are some days when Sangwoo looking for any excuse to kick him until he coughs blood. Kicking and kicking and kicking away at him with that dead look in his eyes, like Yoonbum is just a toy that he wants to make squeak in new and interesting ways.

But not today, he isn’t like that today. Today he seemed … fine, but even “fine” meant Yoonbum had to tread carefully. Fine could easily tip into not fine. Yoonbum had been learning how to dance around Sangwoo’s triggers, but not fast enough to keep him safe every time. He wishes he could just ask, so that he could make Sangwoo happy without having to make him so upset first.

He doesn’t like to think about the times when the rules contradict each other. It’d only happened a few times. Sangwoo had beaten him for not apologizing, and beaten him for apologizing too much. He’d cut into his thigh with a paring knife for filling up Sangwoo’s water cup too high, and he’d punched him in the stomach for failing to fill it high enough the next time. Those times … those were flukes. Those were just middle grounds that Yoonbum had failed to parse. There had to be an underlying meaning to it all, and Yoonbum is just missing the key that would make it all make sense. He’s getting closer to it, he can feel it, he’s figuring it out.

Yoonbum washes his hands in the sink. Sangwoo likes him to wash his hands before he touches him, has taught him how to do it. A full 30 seconds of lather with a generous amount of soap, hot water, thorough rinse. It should hurt at least a little, you’re burning the filth off. Yoonbum dries off with the towel on the stove – replaced, like clockwork, every day, so that it didn’t get too dirty – and rolls back over to the counter. He tears a hole through the plastic wrapping around the pork and pulls a strip out. He’s halfway to the pan when he feels Sangwoo’s hand on his shoulder.

“What are the fuck are you doing?”

Yoonbum’s stomach sinks.

“P-Putting the pork on-“

“With your hands, Bum?”

Yoonbum looks at his hand, holding the pork. He doesn’t understand, but he knows he fucked up. He’s failed another test, broken another rule. He knows he needs to apologize, but doesn’t know for what, and Sangwoo hates “placating bullshit.” Sangwoo grabs his arm, hard, and Yoonbum yelps. He drops the slip of pork, hears it land on the laminate floor with a sick slap.

“You touched it. Do you have any idea how filthy your hands are?”

“I just washed them,” he tries weakly.

“It doesn’t matter. They’re still filthy. There's no amount of washing you could do that could fix that.”

“I’m sorry-“

“You’re fucking disgusting. The entire strip is ruined. You ruined it with your filthy hands.”

“I won’t do it again-“

Sangwoo doesn’t listen. He lets go of Yoonbum’s arm and rolls his chair over to the stove. Grabs his arm again. Pulls it towards the pan.

Panic takes over. “No! Sangwoo, please, I didn’t know-“

“You should have known, you fucking pig.”

Yoonbum resists. He’s weak, so much weaker than Sangwoo, but adrenaline helps make the fight at least a bit more than laughable. He feels the heat emanating from the pan, but he’s able to struggle enough, Sangwoo can’t bring his arm down like he wants to. He might be able to talk his way out of this, he can convince Sangwoo he didn’t mean it, he’ll never do it again-

“Please, Sangwoo, don’t please-“

Yoonbum’s vision goes dark when Sangwoo slaps him upside the head. He slams the chair into the stove, knocking Yoonbum’s knees into it hard. Sangwoo leans down and slaps Yoonbum’s cheeks, forces him to focus and look at him. He’s angry. Annoyed. And amused. Something about this is funny to him.

“Take your punishment, faggot, or I’ll make it so much worse for you later.” Yoonbum looks into Sangwoo’s expressionless eyes and realizes there’s no way he’ll be able to talk his way out of this. Not this time. Sangwoo wants to punish him. “Are you ready to take it?”

There’s only one right way to answer. He nods.

“Give me your arm.”

His arms shakes as he raises it.

Sangwoo smiles. “Good dog,” he says, his voice viciously warm. He takes Yoonbum’s arm without much force. He knows there’ll be no more fight, and there isn’t. He brings it to the stove, again. Calmer this time. Firm, steady. Presses it to the pan.

Yoonbum screams. Jolts back, tries to escape.

Sangwoo holds him there.

Yoonbum can’t think of anything but the need to get away from the pain, escape from the pain. He tries to pull his arm away, involuntarily, but Sangwoo easily keeps him in place. The smell of charcoal forces itself into his throat, strangles him. He’s vaguely aware that he’s begging for Sangwoo to stop.

Eventually Sangwoo lets go. Yoonbum gasps for breath. Recovers slowly. The pressing sense of emergency dulls into searing pain. His arm is a throbbing welt of fire.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Tears stream down Yoonbum’s face, but he nods. He feels faint. He feels like he’s somewhere else. He’s watching this from somewhere else.

“Be glad I didn’t burn your hand. It’d be hard for you to cook like that, wouldn’t it?”

Yoonbum doesn’t respond. Doesn’t look up. But he nods. Sangwoo says something else that Yoonbum misses, he can’t focus, Sangwoo is talking so much and-

“Bum,” he says, sounding a little annoyed, and Yoonbum’s mind races. He knows he’s been asked a question, and he needs to answer. He tries to figure it out, but he can hardly think of anything that isn’t the throbbing pain in his arm. But he has to, he has to-

“Did you touch any of the meat here? Be honest and I won’t punish you anymore.”

Yoonbum thinks about it and nods.

“Where? Point, don’t touch,” he snarls, as if Yoonbum would even consider touching it again.

Yoonbum points.

“My-my finger just brushed this part, just a little-“

“Mm, okay.” Sangwoo draws a heavy knife from the cutting block. Yoonbum’s pulse races, his blood goes cold. He should have lied. He should have lied, why didn’t he lie?

“Please,” he says, his voice shaking and pathetic, “Sangwoo, I didn’t know, I’ll never-“

Sangwoo laughs and pats his shoulder gently. “Relax. It’s not for you.”

Yoonbum cautiously looks up to see Sangwoo chop the pork belly, a few inches off from where he’d touched it. He carefully wedges the knife between the two chunks. Makes sure there’s no overlap, then carefully removes the part Yoonbum had touched. Contaminated.

“If you just brushed it, we don’t have to throw it all out, just make sure to rinse it off before you cook it. The first strip, you got your filth all over. Fucking all over it. But if it’s just a little, we can quarantine it.”

Yoonbum nods as if he understands. Sangwoo seems to think he’s explaining something entirely reasonable, but it makes no sense. Yoonbum has to make sense of it. His arm is still a throbbing center of pain. He has to make sense of it. He has to understand the pattern.

Sangwoo throws the contaminated section into the trash, then opens the cabinet under the sink. He pulls out a box of disposable latex gloves.

“Use these.”

“Okay,” he says weakly.

Sangwoo tosses him a pair, and Yoonbum scrambles to put them on. They slide on too easily. They’re much too large. They’re sickly off-white and feel vaguely powdery, and dangle limply from Yoonbum’s gaunt hands and wrists.

Sangwoo notices.

“God, you’re so skinny. I’ll get some in your size tomorrow.”

“OK,” Yoonbum says. “Thank you.” His voice sounds strange and dead in his ears.

“Mm. And?”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

Yoonbum can’t bring himself to look at Sangwoo as he forces the words out. “I’m sorry I touched the food with my bare hands.”

“Good. You should be. We had to throw out a lot of pork because of your fuckup. Stuff’s not free, you know?”

Yoonbum nods. Sangwoo pulls out his phone, and Yoonbum gets back to cooking. The red skin on his arm throbs with every move he makes. The burnt charcoal smell still lingers in his nose, his mouth.

Don’t touch food without gloves.

He’d remember next time.

#killing stalking #iwrotethis #mine

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