#ok so like I had never HEARD of an imprinting AU and when I tried to google it only one actual fic showed up

[jmrothwell]

Okay but the generator gave me Alien Invasion AU and Imprinting AU and now I need it, for any pairing

Ok but like. . .

So in trying to be all which type of imprinting my brain went all “why not more than one?” 

Reggie, Alex, Luke, are part of the Alien Invasion, but like, really early first wave. See, the Alien species has been studying earth for a while and have noticed the human trend to adopt other species and have decided to use that to their advantage. 

What the Aliens don’t expect is for some of their first wave to be too young and form pack bond/familialy imprint on some of the species they first encounter. 

Which in the case of Reggie, Alex, and Luke is Julie. (Though over the course of the story Reggie and Luke would both question their bond with Julie. Reggie especially after he develops a second familial imprint on Ray and none of them have heard that happening before-though to be fair to them most of their education regarding their Alien culture was limited, they were in a sort of hypersleep for most of their lives/the journey to Earth. Plus, no one knew how that particular part of their physiology would interact with Humans and their pack bond tendency)

This leaders of this first wave decide on their own to sort of forgo the original plans and to just integrate with life on Earth. 

So all of Earth is dealing with how to do that exactly, many still advocating to eliminate the Aliens, others are very interested in learning about the advanced technology, others don’t want to risk incurring an alien species wrath. There’s a lot of background political drama.

Meanwhile, Ray decides to go ahead an open up his home to Reggie, Luke, and Alex. Carlos is ecstatic, Flynn is suspicious but can definitely see how the three are helping the Molina’s. 

Julie is just frustrated. She did not ever in her life expect to be treated like a mother duck, with three Aliens following around her like ducklings…or maybe they’re closer to a pack of puppies or energetic kittens. She feels a bit of guilty relief when Reggie eventually switches to following her dad around, eager to learn all about life on earth from him. 

The relief is heavily outweighed by Luke(and to some extent Reggie) acting weird around her in ways that Alex doesn’t. She’d almost think they were sometimes jealous if she didn’t know better. (She’s also wrong but that revelation doesn’t happen til later)

Things get more complicated when a second wave of Aliens shows up a few months after the first. This one follows a similar pattern to the first wave, however with a touch more hesitancy. They haven’t formed the same bonds and still recall the overall end goal was complete takeover of the planet.

This is around the time Alex runs into Willie, who as it turns out was actually apart of some of the last of the investigative research/preparation teams. He arrived a few weeks before the first wave did. 

Two important revelations occur with the introduction of Willie. First, Alex and Willie imprint on more of a mate level and Alex, after getting over that joyous shock, realizes that’s how Luke and Reggie imprinted with Julie. They’re all just too young/dumb to have noticed/realized sooner. 

Secondly, Caleb is part of the second wave. Willie used to work with/for him and knows Caleb is a major advocate for the world domination thing and was old enough to not have formed any of the bonds/imprints as others. There are also more older aliens who are very likely to rally around Caleb in this second wave. 

That’s as far as I have gotten plot wise…but I also love the idea that Trevor was among an earlier alien research party and just refused to leave, which then makes Carrie half Alien and adds a whole other level of drama when that comes to light.

[celestiall0tus]

Miraculous AU - Chapter 38 - Terror

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            “Run! The big, bad wolf is still hungry!” Ella and Etta shrieked. They laughed as they ran from Louve.

            Louve grinned and roared. “That’s right! And I’m looking for some scrumptious children to gobble up whole!”

            The twins ran in circles while Louve chased them around. Marlena smiled as she watched Louve entertain the twins. Nora rolled her eyes and helped Marlena with cleaning up dinner. Louve cornered Etta and reached to grab her, then stopped. The joy she felt faded along with her smile. Her ears straightened as a sickening dread consumed her. She took a step back and looked out the balcony doors. This hadn’t happened before. She had feelings, but nothing this strong before.

            “Is everything ok? You didn’t gobble me up,” Etta said.

            Louve turned to Marlena. “May I be excused?”

            “Did something happen?”

            “I don’t know, but I feel like something will.”

            Marlena nodded. “Be careful.”

            Louve nodded and grabbed her phone. She stepped out onto the balcony and leapt onto the buildings across the street. She focused on the dread and used Trail. A few paths appeared before her. She huffed, picked one, and followed it.

~~

            Rose hummed to herself as she washed the dishes. She was about finished when Fluff materialized before her. She opened her mouth to speak, but Fluff held a hand in front of her mouth to stay quiet. Fluff hovered closer and put a hand on her cheek.

            There’s a problem. Your stepfather has been akumatized.

            Rose’s jaw dropped. Her eyes widened as she shook her head.

            Fluff nodded. Transform and get out of here as quickly as you can. Get to the others. If you get caught, call for Alix, ok?

            Rose gulped and nodded. “Fluff, hop to it,” she whispered.

            Lapine peered out into the living room. She saw her stepfather sitting on the couch with his back to her. Fear struck her when she saw dark purple sludge cover his body. She covered her mouth and stumbled backward into the kitchen. She leaned against a wall and used Telepathy.

            Alix, I need you. My stepfather has been transformed. I’m going to try and run, but in case I get caught, can you be here to stop him? I need you.

            Lapine startled when she heard footsteps. She took a deep breath and ran but was caught by her stepfather. She squirmed as he lifted her up. What little of his smile she saw vanished when he looked her over.

            “Sweet, little Rose, what have we here? Cute little outfit you have there, my pretty ballerina.”

            Chills passed through Lapine as he spoke. She struggled against his hold, but he wouldn’t budge. She placed her hands on his arm, but when she tried to move them, they wouldn’t. Her hands were stuck to the ick.

            Her stepfather laughed. “Like a bunny caught in a trap, you aren’t going anywhere.”

            Her stepfather threw Lapine at the living room wall. She left an imprint and staggered to her feet. She moved to run, but he grabbed her and slammed her into the ground. The muck on his body fell onto her arms and legs that stuck her to the floor. She struggled against the ick as he moved his hands to her chest. He attempted to tear off the outfit, but it wouldn’t budge.

            He sneered. “Why won’t this come off?”

            “Because it can’t! It’ll never come off unless I say so! And there’s no way in heck I’m saying so.”

            “We’ll see how long you keep that attitude.”

            More sludge fell from his body and covered Lapine’s mouth and nose. She froze when she couldn’t breathe. She sent out one last message to Alix and remained still. She stared at him but refused to relent. Her body twitched as her lungs begged for air. She kept her eyes on him and his twisted expression as spots formed in her vision. Her head felt light as she saw a green flash.

            Alix stood behind Rose’s stepfather. Her eyes widened and she kicked his exposed skull. A loud crack broke the silence and he staggered. He turned and her eyes were draw to the necklace with a ring on it. The ring was black with a soft purple light. She kicked his face as she pushed him to the ground. He struggled against her, but he couldn’t move her. She lifted her leg and bashed his face with her skates. She did this until his face was a bloody, unrecognizable mess. She grabbed the necklace as the sludge completely returned to his body.

            Alix scooped up an unconscious Lapine and headed into Lapine’s room. She put Lapine down before she grabbed a large duffel bag. She filled the bag with Lapine’s clothes, electronics, and other essentials. She placed the necklace in her pouch, picked up the bag and Lapine, then attempted to use Voyage, but it failed. She tried again, but it failed. She swore and jumped out the window into the alley. She tore through the city at high speeds towards Juleka’s place. She slowed down and jumped onto the boat, then headed below deck. She hopped down the stairs into the living room where Juleka sat.

            Juleka turned as Alix landed in her living room carrying a large duffel bag and an unconscious Lapine. Fear gripped Juleka as she rushed over to the pair.

            “What happened? Why is Rose passed out?”

            Alix put the bag down. “Her stepfather was transformed. I don’t know what he planned on doing to her, but it looked like he was trying to kill her through suffocation.”

            “What? Why?”

            “Do I look like I know?”

            “Ok. Alright. Put her on the couch. I’m going to get Luka.”

            Alix watched Juleka barrel into Luka’s room. She snorted when she heard Luka’s girly scream and the pair arguing. She rolled her eyes and placed Lapine on the couch. She patted Lapine’s head, then headed back to Rose’s place. She stood on a nearby rooftop and watched the building.

            “Hey, Alix, what are you doing?” Louve asked.

            Alix looked back as Louve ran up to her. “Waiting.”

            “For what? Did something happen?”

            “Rose’s stepfather was transformed and nearly killed her.”

            “What? Where is she?”

            “With Juleka and Luka.”

            “Good. So, what’s the plan?”

            Alix took out the necklace and showed Louve. “Lure him away from Rose with this. Once he chases, bring it to Chat to be destroyed. Would you know where they are?”

            “Don’t need to when I can track them.”

            “Then I’m depending on you to lead the way once the monster emerges.”

            “Why hasn’t it?”

            “I might have killed it.”

            Louve furrowed her brow. “Is that possible?”

            “I’m not sure. I cracked his skull and smashed his face in. That should be enough to kill anyone, but this thing is still intact, so I’m worried.”

            “Is it where the akuma is?”

            “I think so. I can’t break it, so I’m assuming it is.”

            Louve hummed as an idea came to her. “Hey, your greater power allows you to defy rules, right?”

            “Yes.”

            “Do you think with it you could destroy possessed objects?”

            Alix blinked. She activated Defiance and took a deep breath. She gritted her teeth as she fought to break the ring. She broke it in two and released the akuma from within. It fluttered around, then flew off.

            Louve gulped as renewed dread filled her. “That can’t be good.”

            “Let’s worry about it later. Let’s check things out.”

            Alix grabbed Louve’s arm and teleported into the house with Voyage. They saw Rose’s stepfather sprawled out on the floor. Louve knelt and checked for a heartbeat. She looked at Alix and shook her head.

            “C’mon, let’s get the last of Rose’s things.”

            Alix and Louve went to Rose’s room. They grabbed some bags and gathered the last of Rose’s belongings.

            “So, what exactly happened?”

            “Don’t know. I heard Rose in my head saying that her stepfather had been transformed and was going to run but needed me in case she failed. I kinda ignored it until she reached out again almost begging me. When I got here, he was on top of her, suffocating her.”

            “And how are you feeling? After all this?”

            Alix stared at Rose’s plushies. “I don’t know. I guess I don’t really feel anything.”

            “Nothing at all?”

            “Well, I wouldn’t say that. I just… don’t know amongst everything.”

            Louve paused and placed a hand on Alix’s shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?”

            “Not really.”

            “It might help.”

            “I… know that. I just… don’t want to burden you guys with… my failings.”

            “You aren’t burdening us with anything, Alix. We’re friends. We’re all here for you no matter what.”

            Alix opened her mouth, then shut it. She shook her head and Louve’s hand off.

            “It’s ok if you don’t want to talk, but I do encourage that you do. If not with one of your friends, then perhaps a stranger?”

            Louve stepped back and looked at Alix. She could see the gears turning when she looked into Alix’s eyes. She smiled and finished packing the last of Rose’s belongings. She turned back to Alix, who held all of Rose’s plushies in her arms.

            “Awe, you do care.”

            Alix rolled her eyes. “Let’s go.”

            Louve placed a hand on Alix’s shoulder. Alix used Voyage and teleported them into Juleka’s home. Juleka and Rose sat on the couch while their kwamis and Sass sat on the coffee table. Mullo and Fluff ate banana nut bread while Sass ate tofu. Juleka and Rose jumped up at the sight of Alix and Louve.

            “Please tell me you have good news,” Juleka said.

            “Well, we have news,” Louve said.

            Alix held up a finger. “Kaalki, dismount.”

            Kaalki emerged from the goggles and transformed Alix back. Kaalki took a seat with the other kwamis as Alix placed a bag of carrots in front of her.

            “Good idea. Fang, let’s rest.”

            Fang appeared from the chain ring bracelet and transformed Louve back. Fang took a place with Mullo and Fluff as she ate some of the banana bread.

            “Alright, so, you don’t have to worry about your stepfather. He’s no longer an akumatized monster, but we do have another problem.”

            Kaalki inhaled a carrot. “An akuma is on the loose.”

            Mullo, Fluff, and Sass choked on their food at the news.

            “How is that possible? Why didn’t the black cat destroy the akuma?” Sass hissed.

            “Isn’t it obvious? We didn’t have the black cat with us,” Fang pointed out.

            “Then how did?” Sass stopped and glared at Kaalki, then Alix.

            Alix munched on her own carrot. “What?”

            “You need to be more careful with Kaalki’s powers. And Kaalki, you need to be more considerate of the holders you choose.”

            Alix snorted. She leaned forward and flicked Sass’ head. He tumbled back off the table.

            “Thank you,” Kaalki said.

            “Of course.”

            “So, what happens when an akuma is on the loose?” Alya asked.

            “If it didn’t just disappear, it’ll seek a new host. Remember Trail?” Fang asked.

            “There were three paths. Which means, there are two other hosts it can change.”

            Fang nodded.

            “We need to head back out immediately. Juleka, Rose, will help us?”

            “Yes. I won’t let someone else suffer,” Rose said.

            Juleka nodded.

            “How do we want to do this?”

            “Alix is the fastest with Rose being the second. We should split up. One person trail the akuma and another fetch Chat and Ladybug,” Juleka said.

            “Leave the akuma to me and Alix. Juleka, you and Rose get Ladybug and Chat,” Alya said.

            Juleka and Rose nodded. They transformed and headed out. Souris used Perception and located Ladybug and Chat. Lapine scooped up Souris and they headed to Ladybug and Chat.

~~

            Ladybug sat on a high-rise fence with a laser pointer. She smiled as she waved it around and Chat chased it. Mayura sat on a nearby bench as she watched the scene. She smiled behind her fan at the silly fun the pair had while they waited.

            Chat paused when he heard someone’s approach. “I think Bee’s almost here.”

            They all looked up and waited for Queen Bee but saw Lapine and Souris land in the clearing. Souris rolled out of Lapine’s arms and ran up to Chat and Ladybug.

            “We need you guys. There’s an akuma loose on the city, seeking a new host.”

            “What do you mean by that?” Ladybug asked.

            “Alix broke an akumatized object that transformed my stepfather. When she did, she set the akuma loose to find a new host to change,” Rose answered.

            Mayura stood and joined the group. “What did your stepfather want?”

            Lapine gulped as she turned to Mayura. No words left her mouth, but she mouthed: Me.

            Mayura’s eyes widened. “Where is the akuma now?”

            “We don’t know. Louve is tracking it with Alix right now. We came to get them,” Souris indicated to Chat and Ladybug.

            “You gained more help. Take us to them. Lapine, can you message Queen Bee and tell her the change in plans?”

            Lapine nodded and used Telepathy to share the plan with Queen Bee. Souris used Perception and found Louve as she faced off against a muck monster.

            “We need to go now! Someone has already been transformed!”

            Lapine scooped up Souris and headed off. Mayura followed after them. Ladybug readied her yo-yo but paused when she looked at Chat. She jumped down and approached him.

            “Hey, are you ok?”

            “I don’t know. I felt ready for this, but there’s still some hesitation. But I need to be ready for this. It’s the reality of being a hero, isn’t it?”

            Ladybug smiled and hugged him. “A reality you won’t face alone, I promise.”

            Chat smiled and hugged her back. “Thank you. I don’t think I could do this without you.”

            Ladybug kissed Chat’s cheek, then moved away. “We better hurry. We don’t want to fall behind.”

            “Want me to carry you? I am the faster of the two of us.”

            Ladybug smirked. “I think I should be carrying you. You’re fast on your feet, but my yo-yo beats you any day of the week.”

            Chat grinned, his ears straightened, and his tail wagged. “Is that a challenge?”

            “Race you to the finish, Whiskers.”

            Ladybug threw her yo-yo and flew off. Chat laughed and ran off after her.

~~

            Louve crashed through the wall as she plummeted towards the street below. Alix caught Louve and set her on her feet. They looked up as a distorted woman’s laugh filled the air. A sludge monster jumped down and stared at them. It paused and looked at Alix, then smiled.

            “Look who it is. I was warned about you. You’re dangerous, aren’t you?”

            “Wouldn’t you like to find out?”

            “Let’s see what you got. Or are you all bark and no bite?”

            Alix and Louve charged the monster. It stood and waited until they were close before it swung. It missed Louve by a hair, but Alix kicked it and stuck to it. It covered Alix’s mouth with sludge before Alix could activate Defiance. Alix screamed behind the sticky ick that cut off her breathing. It grabbed Alix and slammed her into the street. The pavement cracked and broke upon the impact. More sticky slime oozed from it onto Alix that stuck her to the street.

            “Alix!” Louve called out.

            “I was warned to take care of the redhead first. That she’d keep me from what I want. From the most beautiful creature in the world.”

            “I’m still here, monster! I won’t let you anywhere near them!” Louve yelled.

            The monster turned to Louve. “On the contrary, you’ll bring them to me. You’ll bring the bug, then the cat. Once I have them, I can lure out the beautiful creature.”

            Louve raised a brow. How did getting Ladybug and Chat lead this monster to the “beautiful creature?” That didn’t matter right now. She had to keep it busy and find a way to save Alix. She wasn’t sure how, but there had to be a way. She couldn’t leave Alix to suffocate.

            Louve summoned her armor claws on her right hand. She moved around the monster as it swung wildly at her. She attempted to move closer to Alix, but it threw sludge at her when she did. She dodged the attacks, until one caught her foot. She fell over as it was lodged in the goo. She fought to break it free, but it wouldn’t budge. She swiped at it with her sharpened claws, but it was stuck in the sludge as well.

            The monster laughed as it neared Louve. “Be a good little puppy and sit still.”

            Louve’s breath caught as she stared up at the monster. She could see some of the woman that was underneath. She noticed the more it used the sludge, the more exposed it was. She attempted to swing at the exposed parts, but it simply moved out of the way. It waited until she stopped, then moved closer again. She glared at it when she saw a green turtle shell shield hit the exposed creature’s face. It screamed and staggered back. Her eyes never left it as a Carapace stood between her and it.

            Louve blinked as she stared at the man. A strange familiarity bloomed within her that threatened to bring tears to her eyes. This person was someone she knew and loved. She shook her head as she ignored those thoughts and feelings. Now was not the time.

            “Whatever you do, don’t let your shield touch any part of her covered in muck.”

            Carapace remained silent.

            “Keep her busy, please. Give me time to escape and free my friend.”

            Carapace turned towards her and nodded. The familiarity returned as she saw his face. It was concealed by a mask that shielded the entire bottom half of his face and sports goggles that masked most of his upper face. Despite the masks, she saw a familiar face. A face that brought with it a sense of joy and anger with it.

            Carapace sighed and turned away from Louve. He charged at the monster as he aimed for the exposed parts of it. Louve watched him for a time as she tried to deny what she already knew. This man couldn’t be the broken boy she’s known. The boy that had been afraid of the world since he experienced traumatic loss. The boy that dared to push her away from being a hero. This man who fought with purpose and donned a kwami couldn’t be the boy. It couldn’t be.

            Louve’s ears twitched, and she was broken from her thoughts when she saw movement. The sludge that surrounded them moved towards the monster with each blow the man made. The ones that held her down moved away to free her. She rushed over to Alix and swiped at the sludge. Her claws didn’t stick as she cut through the paper thin muck to free Alix’s mouth and nose. She placed her ear to Alix’s chest and heard a faint heartbeat. She let out tears of relief as she worked to free Alix. Once Alix was free, she scooped her up.

            “Hey, let’s go!”

            Carapace turned as Louve took off with Alix in her arms. He smacked the monster one last time before he ran off after Louve. The monster screeched as it chased after them. Louve looked back as her ears flicked. She heard Ladybug’s voice, then the whirr of the yo-yo. A string barricade formed between them and the monster. It shrieked as it slammed into the strings and stuck to them. Ladybug jumped from the buildings and joined them.

            “Is everyone ok?”

            “Alix was nearly killed… again. We need to get her to Viperion,” Louve said.

            “We will, but first that.” Ladybug pointed to the monster.

            The monster stopped struggling as it stared straight ahead. They looked at it puzzled until they heard metal against the pavement. They turned and watched Mayura approach.

            “This is the power of the butterfly? Quite fascinating.”

            The monster squeaked. “It’s you! The beautiful peacock woman.”

            “Do I know you?”

            “No, but I saw you. Your beauty is unlike anything, and it stole my gaze. Since I saw you, I’ve thought of nothing else. Day and night, it’s just you. He promised me I could have you in any way that I desired.”

            Mayura sneered. “Flattering, but you should be careful when falling for a pretty face. Beauty is deceiving.”

            Mayura looked past the monster and nodded. Chat activated his Destruction and ran in. He sliced through the sludge of the monster. It broke and fell away to reveal the woman. Around her neck was a black necklace with a pendant that pulsed purple. Chat grabbed the necklace, and it broke at his touch. A butterfly fluttered from it and fell apart.

            The woman grabbed onto the strings as she looked at Mayura. “What do you say we ditch these kids?”

            Mayura glared at the woman. She closed her fan, then reopened it as the feathers turned to metal. She cut through the strings of Ladybug’s yo-yo, so the woman fell. She pressed her heel into the woman’s chest.

            The woman laughed. “Very scary, but you wouldn’t hurt me. You’re a hero.”

            Mayura snickered, then broke into hysterical laughter. The woman’s smile fell, and fear clouded her eyes as Mayura flicked her fan. A feather blade shot out and pierced the woman’s throat. Chat watched in horror as Mayura easily killed the woman, then walked away, laughing.

            Mayura fanned herself. “My, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed quite like that.”

            “Mayura?” Chat asked.

            Mayura stopped and turned towards Chat. “I’m sorry you had to see that. I… forgot myself.”

            “Why did you… why?”

            “That was a monster, not a person. They didn’t need a butterfly to be a monster.”

            “But did you have to… kill her?”

            “Perhaps not, but the alternative could have been worse. Alternatives that you all will need to consider when dealing with these people.”

            “But don’t these people deserve a chance to prove they can be better?” Ladybug asked.

            “I’m sorry, Ladybug, but not everyone deserves those chances. Some people can never change.”

            “You can’t be certain of that,” Ladybug said.

            “I have to agree with Mayura. Some people don’t want to change or refuse to, even when it’s too late,” Louve said as she looked at Alix. She looked over at Carapace. “That is, unless they want to, but it’s still something they have to decide on their own.”

            Carapace nodded.

            Mayura approached Louve. “Let me take the horse. I’ll take her to the snake.”

            Louve raised a brow, then looked around. She saw Souris, Lapine, and Queen Bee up on the rooftops, watching them. She nodded and handed Alix over, then turned to Carapace. He took a step back, then ran off. Her ears pinned back as she chased after him.

            Mayura turned to Ladybug. “You and Chat are free this evening. Make sure to enjoy it. Souris, Lapine, let’s go.”

            Souris and Lapine leapt from the building and joined Mayura.

            Ladybug approached Chat. “Are you doing ok?”

            “Not really. I never thought… she would always do the right thing.”

            “Maybe she did. At least, what she thought was right.”

            “But killing can’t ever be right, right?”

            “I don’t believe it’s ever the right option, but to some people, it can be. I suppose we can’t really judge since we don’t have all the context here.”

            “Do we need the context?”

            “Yes. We don’t know what all happened tonight. We don’t know what happened with Lapine’s stepfather, the fight with the new monster, or why people made the decisions they did. We just have to hope they made the right decisions, even if we don’t agree with them.”

            “There has to line, right?”

            “Yes. I’m just not sure where it is.”

            “What do you mean?”

            “This is a bizarre situation we’re in. Where should the line be drawn when there isn’t one. I feel like, at this point, anything is allowed. Alix has almost been killed… twice. You were in the claws of a monster. So many innocent lives have been put at risk and even killed. If there’s a line somewhere, I don’t know where it is.”

            Chat’s ears flicked. One ear pinned back while one stayed up. “If the line is missing, shouldn’t we draw it?”

            “We should, but where and to what extent? What is the right thing? What’s the wrong thing? After all of this, it seems like to take the right course, means doing the wrong thing. At least, if the situation calls for it.”

            “I suppose we’ll figure out as we go?”

            Ladybug held Chat’s hand. “We will together.”

            Chat smiled and squeezed her hand. “So, what now?”

            “The night is ours, Kitty.”

            Queen Bee watched from her perch as Ladybug and Chat headed off. She smiled, happy for the pair. More for Adrien, but Marinette too. Despite the joy, there was a pang of envy hit her. She stood and looked away. She wished it could be that easy for her.

[gamerwoo]

[Tales from the Pack] Joshua: Second Chance (Part Fifteen)

Characters: Joshua x female reader

Genre/warnings: werewolf au, fantasy, fluff, smut (kinda soft dom!josh, implied virgin!reader, biting/marking, multiple orgasms, mention of period sex toward the end but there’s no actual period sex ok, soft aftercare, idk there’s not really much spice here lmao sorry) ((also it’s implied/assumed that all impregnable people in this story other than mingyu’s mate obviously are on some form of birth control okay cool thanks))

Word count: 4,459

Summary: After his mate died, Joshua always blamed himself and never wanted to imprint again. However, fate has other ideas when he meets you: a young, energetic werecoyote that’s quite the opposite of him. He insists he doesn’t want a new mate – nobody’s even sure if he’s ready for a new one – but he can’t ignore his instincts.

a/n: things in bold are in english. also this was absolutely not looked over bc i hate reading my own smut lmao but i may or may not go back and edit this at some point and add and/or change some minor things bc idk i feel like this was rushed but i hope at least some of y’all like it lmao

Previous | Next | Second Chance Masterlist

Joshua could sense it coming, it was only a matter of time. So when he woke to an empty bed, he wasn’t worried — he didn’t feel any urgency anyway — or afraid of where you’d gone. He knew this was going to happen. And he wasn’t sure how prepared he was for this.

Your heat had started.

Of course you must’ve experienced it before, but you didn’t seem to know much about it. Jeonghan tried to explain it that one time just to be a dick, but he didn’t get very far with it. So while you knew what was happening to you because it had happened before, you didn’t know what it was called or that the rest of the pack also went through it — but the men only did twice a year instead of once every stupid month like you and Kyung.

And speaking of Kyung…

“You want me to find her?” the female alpha scoffed. “Josh, she’s your mate.”

“But you’re a girl! You can explain all this to her.”

“I think being her mate trumps being the same gender,” she snorted. “I get it’s awkward explaining to someone the birds and the bees of werewolves, but there’s nobody better than you for that.”

“Ugh!” he groaned, knowing he wasn’t going to get anywhere with her. He felt bad having to do this to you. He felt like he’d be using you and he didn’t want that. But Kyung unfortunately was right. He should be the one to explain it to you -- and help you if you wanted it. “Can you at least go find her? Just to buy me some time to prepare?”

“Prepare how?” she asked with a quirked brow.

“Figure out what to say, what to do…get everyone out of the house.”

“Yeah, good luck with that last one,” she chuckled, but turned to leave in search of you anyway. “Do you know where she went?”

“I can only think of one place.”

-

These feelings had never been this bad before. Sometimes you could even try to ignore them and act slightly normal, but this time it was like your body was on fire and every little touch was electricity. Your body felt so sensitive all over. You had to leave and get away from Josh until this passed.

The cave was the only place you could think to go. You curled up in the small, dark space. The coolness of the cave felt good on your hot skin, but you knew that slight relief from at least one of your symptoms wouldn’t last forever.

You heard movement outside your cave that sounded like walking, and then the scent hit you.

“_____?” Kyung’s voice called softly.

“No,” you whined, already knowing she was probably trying to bring you home. Joshua must’ve been worried about where you went. Maybe you should’ve left a note or something. Unfortunately, that wasn’t on your mind when you were trying to leave the house before anybody woke up.

Kyung chuckled as she ducked and entered the cave. She found you laying on your side with your cheek pressed against a rock, and your legs curled to your chest. There was a sheen of sweat covering your body, and your eyes were dilated to hell. Not only that, but she could’ve sensed you were going through heat from miles away.

She’d definitely seen you in better times.

She frowned slightly as she crouched down, “Do you feel okay?”

“N-no,” you replied, holding yourself tighter with your arms. “I’ll be fine. This happens…a l-lot. Just give me a few days.”

“I know,” she chuckled. “It happens to me, too. Happens to all of us.”

“W-what?”

“Do you know what mating season is? Specifically…heat, I guess.”

You slowly shook your head as you tried to focus on her words instead of the pain you were feeling in your lower abdomen, and the different kind of pain you were feeling even lower.

“It’s normal for creatures like us,” Kyung explained. “For us, we get it once a month. For the guys, it’s twice a year. But they’re…way more aggressive about it.”

“Wait…this is like, a thing?” you asked, bewildered.

She nodded, her mouth pressed into a thin line.

“H-how do I make it stop?” you whined.

Not to be picky, but you’d gotten so used to Joshua’s soft bed and his warm arms. Laying on the cave floor wasn’t something you wanted to go back to, especially not for the next few days or so.

“Uh…how did you make it stop before?” Kyung wondered, though she already knew the answer.

You frowned, eyes squeezing shut, “I tried, but this time is worse!”

“Because you have a mate now,” she nodded. “I hate to tell you this…but it won’t go away unless you ask Joshua to help.”

Your eyes widened, “No!”

“_____, it’ll be fine. Besides, he’s more just concerned about you coming home than anything. And if it makes you feel any better, I was in the same situation you’re in, but everything worked out,” she shrugged.

“R-really? What happened?”

Kyung snorted at the memory, “I hid in the pantry, and Suvi found me.”

“Oh…”

“Oh, it gets worse. She brought Soonyoung.”

“Oh no…”

“Yeah, so at least it was just me here to help, and I didn’t bring anyone else into this situation. But I’m telling you that you should just come home with me and talk to Joshua. It’ll be way easier, I promise.”

You still weren’t fully convinced, but it was becoming harder and harder to resist going home to Josh, “O-okay…”

-

Kyung wasn’t sure how, but it was just Hansol and Seokmin still at home when she managed to help you back to the house. Joshua was waiting in the kitchen with the two boys when Kyung walked straight to his bedroom with you and helped you into bed before going back downstairs to meet the trio.

“You managed to kick the pack out?” she asked, seeming impressed.

“Shua was actually really sentimental!” Seokmin grinned “He said he wanted to properly take care of _____ so we all agreed to give him space for a few hours.”

“They’ll believe anything,” Joshua scoffed.

But Kyung saw through it, smirking and slowly saying, “Suuuuure…”

“We were just waiting for you,” Hansol told her. “I think everyone went to The Capitol.”

“Let’s go catch up. Josh should get upstairs anyway — poor kid’s burning up,” Kyung frowned slightly. Then her gold eyes landed on Josh who was still sitting in one of the chairs. She could tell from the way his leg wouldn’t stop bouncing that he was very nervous. She’d never seen him nervous before. “If it helps, she’s probably more nervous than you are.”

“It doesn’t, but thanks,” he deadpanned.

“Look, don’t feel like you’re going to hurt her or seem like you’re using her. You’re helping her and she’s going to appreciate it and you. You’re going to become way closer,” Hansol reassured him with a smile.

“Yeah, and you should probably worry about her hurting you,” Kyung snorted.

“Can we please go already?” Seokmin whined with a soft blush on his cheeks.

“Good luck,” Hansol nodded before the three exited the house.

Joshua, despite every part of him wanting to rush up the stairs to you, waited until he couldn’t hear their footsteps anymore. Then he stood from his chair and made his way up the stairs, pausing outside his bedroom as he listened to the quick-paced thrum of your heartbeat. His mind was going a million miles a minute trying to figure out what he was going to say or do when he entered the room, but he couldn’t think of anything that seemed right.

“J-Josh…?” your voice sounded so pained and strangled, but the way you said his name was almost a moan. He knew you knew he had just been standing there for a moment.

The way your voice said his name did things to him that he didn’t want to focus on. He was supposed to be focused on you — but it was your current state that had his inner wolf instincts reacting in the ways he was trying to push back.

With a deep breath, he finally opened the door.

You were curled up in a ball on the bed, arms and legs wrapped around one of his pillows. The scent of you filled the room and he had to suppress the growl that bubbled in his chest.

Thankfully, something he didn’t know was that you’d been wiggling against his pillow because you refused to actually rock your hips against it. You inhaled his scent deeply from the pillow and it drove you nuts, but you also refused to let it go.

If he knew that, he’d lose it.

“Why’d you leave?” was what he decided to ask.

“I can’t be near you,” you croaked out, peeking over at him while most of your face was buried in his pillow. “I-it’s too much.”

“I know,” he nodded, “but it’s normal. We all go through it.”

“What exactly is this?” you wondered. “K-Kyung said I’m going through heat b-but...why?”

Joshua shrugged before letting out a short chuckle, “Because we’re half wolf -- or in your case: coyote.”

You let out a whimper, “I just want it to stop. It’s s-so much worse...”

“_____, I—“ he paused, trying to choose his words carefully. “I’ll help you if you want me to, but I don’t want to take advantage of you like this. Being in heat is a very vulnerable thing.”

“W-why would you take advantage of me?” you wondered.

“You know how to subdue these feelings, right?”

You shook your head the tiniest bit.

Joshua gulped, “U-um…well… Baby, what do you do when you get like this? What would help you feel better?”

“Touching myself,” you admitted.

“But now you’ve imprinted, so now only your partner can make the feelings subside for a while. Does that make sense?”

The realization hit you after you thought about it for a moment, “Oh…”

“But if you’re uncomfortable with that, I can try to—“

“No, it’s not that. I don’t want to take advantage o-of you,” you told him. “I don’t want to you do this just because you feel bad for me.”

“_____, trust me, I wouldn’t do it out of pity,” he let out a dry chuckle. “Since you’re my mate…this all has a very big affect on me, too. Really, I want nothing more than to help you, but I want to be sure it’s what you want. I only want you to be comfortable. But I also don’t want to hurt you.”

“W-why would you hurt me?”

“Werewolves can get…aggressive when they’re…feeling…aroused.”

Why did you like the thought of him being aggressive with you?

“I don’t want to go too far,” he continued. “I’m—“

“Josh,” you interrupted, suddenly sitting up and looking at him with desperation clear in your eyes. “Joshua…p-please help me.”

Joshua groaned and closed his eyes, “Don’t look at me like that.”

“You said you wanted to help if I wanted you to, and I need you to!” you whined, crawling toward him and reaching out for his hand. You gave it a tug with both of yours. “I don’t care if you’re aggressive — I want you to be aggressive. Anything. Please!”

God, what was he getting himself into?

“_____, you still hardly even understand any of this,” he said, more so trying to reason with himself and get him to calm down than anything else.

“I don’t care, I just want it to stop!” you whined, giving his hand another tug. “Josh, I want you!”

“_____--”

“Joshua, stop it!” you were begging him with the last little bit of your sanity you had left. “It’s too much, I can’t take it anymore! I feel-- I-I feel like-- like-- like I’ll explode if you don’t--”

“Okay, shh, shh, I get it,” he pulled his hand away from yours and cupped your cheeks between his hands, stroking your skin with his thumbs as he looked down into your eyes. “I know how you feel, alright? I’ll make it better, at least for a little while. Just calm down.”

You tried to breathe, not realizing you were on the verge of hyperventilating. But all your brain could latch onto was the idea of Josh and it was driving you insane.

After letting you take a few breaths, Joshua asked, “Are you sure about this?”

You nodded eagerly.

For a second, Josh seemed to hesitate, and you considered just having a mental breakdown then and there. But finally -- finally -- he pressed his lips to yours. You always liked kissing Joshua, but this time, it felt different. It somehow felt even better. And it wasn’t a fun thing that made your heart flutter, it made you feel even more aroused than you already were. Another whine slipped out as you tried to pull him closer, and Josh chuckled against your lips as he started to crawl onto the bed.

“Is it bad I think you’re kinda cute like this?” he asked in an amused tone, but the question seemed more like he was thinking out loud than looking for an answer.

You gripped the collar of his shirt once you’d scooted back on the bed with Joshua crawling on his knees. You laid back and pulled him down with you, bringing his lips back to yours. Kissing him was natural now, so it definitely made you feel more at-ease with all the new things that were about to happen -- not that you were nervous, you were more eager to be relieved from how you were feeling.

Joshua put a leg between yours, moving it forward until it was pressed against your core. You gasped as you instinctively moved your hips against him, trying to create as much friction as you could. The only thing between you and his thigh were his pants and your underwear, and he could feel how soaked you already were through the fabric. But even though he already expected that, it still caused a low growl deep in his chest.

“God, you’re going to kill me,” he mumbled against your lips before his began to trail down to your jaw and then to your neck.

His hands started roaming your body as you rocked your hips against him, letting out soft sighs and whimpers at the feeling. Even though you were desperate for anything, you still wanted more. You wanted him.

Joshua already knew. He knew how all of this worked, but he was also unsure if you’d ask for more. But you didn’t have to because his intent was to take care of you to the best of his ability. He wasn’t going to tease you or make you work for anything. He knew you were uncomfortable and he wanted to ease the pain for as long as he could.

But with how good you smelled and how you were reacting to him, it was starting to make him feel a little uncomfortable, too. He was already starting to get hard in his pants, but that was at the bottom of his list for things to worry about. No matter what, you were his main focus.

As Joshua’s fingers hooked into the waistband of your underwear, he suddenly pulled back to look at you. You already looked dazed as you looked back up at him, almost offended that he’d stop what he was doing.

“Can I ask you something first?” he wondered. “Before you’re in too deep and can’t think straight.”

“I-- Um...y-yeah.”

“Do you...want me to mark you?” he asked slowly, looking at you seriously. “Or do you want to wait?”

He saw the way your eyes lit up, and the way you grinned at him seemed so out of place considering the situation you were in, “Would you?”

“Do you want that?”

“Of course I want that. Do you?”

“Mm,” he hummed, dipping his head down again to capture your lips again, “I do.”

While Joshua occupied your lips, he started dragging your underwear down your legs. Your hands moved up under his shirt to push it over his head, but when he took too long to take it off, your hands started tearing at the clothing. He heard the soft tears and chuckled, deciding to just rip it off completely and toss the tattered material away.

But in return, he tore your shirt open, too.

His tongue moved with yours while your eager hands tried to work the button of his pants, but they were too shaky -- understandably so -- so he did most of the work for you. 

“It might get a little intense for you,” he warned lowly, slowly kissing along your jaw, “so if you need to feel grounded, just hold onto me. If you need me to stop, say it. Okay?”

You nodded, though your mind was already a little hazy.

Joshua knew mating season did things to you. It consumed you and made it so the only thing you could focus on was relief, and he didn’t know if it would be too much for you. So he wanted you to know that he understood how you felt and that you and your comfort were his upmost priority.

You felt one of his hands move from your waist down your side to your hip, and then over to your lower stomach, and then further down. 

You let out a moan feeling his fingers brush your clit. He pressed down and rubbed in circles, continuing to kiss and suck along your jaw and neck as he focused on making you feel good. Your hips bucked against his fingers as you whimpered and moaned, reaching your high faster than you had ever before.

He knew it would happen since it was your first heat with a mate, and you were pretty inexperienced anyway. And he thought maybe you’d get a little embarrassed about it or want to stop for a moment to check in, but instead, your hips continued to squirm and buck against his fingers as you whined. All you could focus on was release because the first wasn’t enough. You needed more. It was clouding your mind.

“You have to tell me what you want, baby,” he cooed.

It was starting to become a little difficult to focus on his words, but, “Y-you,” managed to tumble from your mouth.

While it wasn’t much to go off of, he knew it was the best he’d get in the state you were currently in -- and it would only get worse. 

As much as Josh wanted to just fuck you then and there -- and he knew very well that was what you wanted even if you couldn’t really articulate that sentence properly -- he wasn’t going to do that to you yet. He moved his fingers from your clit and slid his index finger into you. His thumb found your clit and he rubbed slow circles as he steadily pumped his finger. The noises you made for him were music to his ears and only made the instinct to throw his morals out the window even greater. And while he did know you’d have no problem with that, he promised himself he wasn’t going to let himself do that.

He added a second finger and scissored them inside you, stretching you out for him. You whimpered, clawing at the blankets beneath you. Despite doing things like this to yourself when you’d go through heat before you’d met Josh, you’d never felt like this before. Everything felt a million times better, but you were also a million times more uncomfortable. But every pump of his fingers brought you closer and closer to release, so all your brain knew to do was move your hips to chase your orgasm.

“Do you wanna cum again, baby?” he asked in his sweet voice.

All you could manage to do was whine, arching your back off the bed.

“Just relax,” he breathed. “I’m going to take care of you until you’re satisfied.”

“J-Josh,” you whimpered.

“Yes, baby?”

“I-I--” you bit down on your lip, eyebrows furrowing as you tried to not only come up with the words to tell him what you wanted, but try to move your mouth to form said words. But you couldn’t even keep that train of thought because the waves of pleasure building were washing everything else away. “I-I’m-- D-d--”

Your voice was lost to moans and whimpers. But then you suddenly let out a sharp, “Ah!” and the way your hips bucked made Joshua’s eyebrows raise. You kept your hips in the same position and rocked them in very slight movements.

"There?” he asked. “Does that feel good?”

You couldn’t even respond with a nod, moans spilling from your lips as his fingers curled over a spot that made stars pop behind your eyelids.

Another orgasm hit you, your body feeling warm and comfortable for a few moments until the waves subsided. Joshua relished in the feeling of you clenching around his fingers, helping you ride out your high before slowly pulling his fingers out of you. You whined loudly at the emptiness you felt, wiggling your hips in the air to say you still needed more. You were still feeling uncomfortable and needed the feeling to go away.

As your icy eyes peeled open, you saw Joshua’s fingers in his mouth. He slowly pulled them out, smirking when he noticed you watching him tiredly.

“Still not satisfied?” he asked with a slight teasing lilt to his voice. “You taste so delicious, by the way.”

Your thighs rubbed together, whining softly. Your body was so tired but you couldn’t stop until you were comfortable again. You needed more, and you wanted to tell him that. But all you could do was lay there and whine at him.

“I know,” he leaned forward to stroke your cheek, your hair sticking to it from sweat. “I’ll make you feel better, I promise.”

Finally, Joshua positioned himself between your legs. He was already hard from making you cum twice before and watching you writhe beneath him and moan for him. But he still stroked himself a few times before lining himself up with your entrance. Then he slowly pushed into you, letting out a low moan until he bottomed out. Your eyes closed as you mewled at the feeling of finally having your mate inside you and feeling so full. This was by far the most satisfied you’d felt so far, but this still wasn’t enough.

But he was very well aware of that.

He couldn’t get over how amazing you felt around his cock. He wanted to just thrust full force, but he stayed there for a moment to let you adjust. He leaned forward, holding himself over you to lean down and take his time kissing across your face. When he felt like it was okay to move, he did so slowly. He took his time pulling out and pushing back in, thrusting slowly even though you were clearly more impatient. But the last thing he wanted was you getting hurt.

He kept the slow pace for a few more thrusts before speeding his hips up. He gradually picked up the pace until the bed was hitting the wall and you were crying out his name. Your hands were everywhere: the blankets and sheets, grabbing at your own arms, and then moving up to him and gripping his biceps. Any sort of words that were able to get out between moans and whimpers was just jumbled mess, but you were trying so hard to say something to Josh. Your mind was completely fogged over from your heat and it was overwhelming, including how good Joshua’s movements felt.

“Shh, you’re okay,” he reassured you in a quiet but rough voice as he held you close and continued to pound into you. “I’ve got you.”

Your arms and legs wrapped around him, your nails dragging down his back as one of his arms snaked between your bodies to toy with your clit. It didn’t take much longer for your third orgasm to hit you, your head dropping back as you cried out in pleasure. 

Joshua’s release was building just as quickly, and feeling you clench around him was what did him in. He released inside you, his lips finding the crook of your neck before his fangs sank into your flesh. White flashed behind your eyelids as your body shook and you clung to Joshua like he was the only thing anchoring you to the earth.

It took you longer to come down, still shaking and whimpering. You could vaguely hear him shushing you and whispering and cooing to you. You could feel the warmth of his body as he guided your head into his neck. You relaxed back into the bed but kept your arms around him, weakly holding him to you -- not that he intended on moving.

Joshua stayed with you, laying half on top of you as he tried to guide your muddled mind back to reality. At first, he said reassuring words like “I’m here, I’ve got you” and “you’re okay, just breathe”. Then he started asking simple questions until you finally responded to one.

It took a few minutes, but you finally croaked out an, “I-I’m...o-okay,” a beat of silence after he asked, “Are you okay?”

“There’s my girl,” he chuckled, pressing a kiss to the side of your head. “Do you feel better?”

You nodded, letting out a yawn, “Tired...”

“I know, that’s normal,” he promised. “Can I clean you up quickly or--”

Before his question was finished, your arms squeezed as hard as they could -- which wasn’t very hard with how spent you were -- around him.

“Guess that’s a no,” he laughed softly. “It’s okay, we’ll make a mess again anyway.”

You managed to open your eyes halfway to look up into his golden ones, “It’s not over?”

“Not even close,” he snorted. “Don’t worry about it right now. Get some rest.”

“Wait, but what happens when I start...bleeding?” you wondered, just genuinely curious about how this all worked.

He chuckled, “What, are you more concerned about my bedding than yourself? Go to sleep and I’ll explain more to you later. I’m not going anywhere.”

And you knew he meant that. So you snuggled into him and let your heavy eyelids close.

“_____?” he spoke up just before you were completely out.

“Mm?” you hummed, half-conscious.

“I love you.”

“I...love you...”

He smiled to himself, burying his face in your hair, “I know.”

[omegasmileyface]

Bound by the Food Chain

"man what if there was something incorporating both the Ghost King and Ghost Hunger aus" i say, not prepared to spend weeks writing up an entire ecosystem structure for the ghost zone,

thanks @attackradish and @ectolemonades for help figuring out the science and writing!

summary: The ghostly Staff who've taken up residence in Phantom's Keep notice Danny doesn't eat any ectoplasmic food. That can't be good for him.

warnings: detailed description of ghost hunger, which is vaguely like cannibalism

words: 2830

AO3 link

===

“King Phantom, when do you feed?”

“Huh?” Danny looked up at the Keep’s Librarian, Vellum. It felt like an odd question, seeing as he was currently actively eating a sandwich he had packed up with him into the Zone. He was spending a few hours in the Keep that day since it was nice and quiet for getting work — from both realms — done, and he had brought some earth food over. Ghost plants just didn’t taste very good.

Vellum looked a little shocked, like she hadn’t realized she’d asked her question aloud. “I mean, clearly you eat human food quite a bit,” she gestured to his sandwich, “but I’ve never seen you take in any sort of ectoplasmic substance.”

Danny wasn’t an expert on the (strangely psychological) ecology of the Infinite Realms, but he was familiar with the fact that all ghosts had to take in some sort of ectoplasm if they wanted to be anything more than an inert impression of emotion. Since he had never gotten any enjoyment or significant energy from eating ghost plants or breathing in the stuff ambient in the air, he pretty much just stuck with eating human food and converting the chemical energy between his forms. He was lucky that he could do that, being part human. He knew he automatically gained some energy from the human emotions around him (including his own, another benefit of being liminal) but it was negligible. He got drained pretty easily, and he knew there were things he wasn’t trying, but… he was tired, not desperate. He’d be tired anyway, with his lack of sleep.

“That’s because I don’t. I can still use the chemical energy I get from human food in my ghost form, so…” he shrugged. “This is pretty much it.”

Vellum’s brows furrowed in concern. “Are you not a—” She pursed her lips. “Are you not tired?”

“What do you mean? I definitely eat more than a regular human, and as far as I’m aware I don’t lose any of my energy in conversion. I’m getting by.”

“I think we should talk to Dr. Marchs. I don’t know if it’s… ok, that you’re not feeding ectoplasmically.”

With some exasperation, Danny let himself be brought back to the Throne room, the preferred place for anything that could constitute a “meeting”. Apparently, talking to the Keep’s Doctor, Chef, and some other Staff members about his diet counted.

The various adult ghosts looked at Danny with shared expressions of confusion and concern from where they stood around him. He was sitting on the arm of the Throne, not the most comfortable but it still felt wrong to be properly seated in it unless necessary.

Dr. Marchs finally spoke their piece. “Forgive me for asking, Your Majesty, but… are you not a hunting-ghost?”

Danny was already out of his league culturally. He had a lot to learn. “As in… like, a predator?”

“Exactly! Your core best processes ectoplasm directly from other ghosts, correct?”

Danny paled. “I don’t… know? I tend to avoid going around, just… eating other sentient creatures.” He tried to say it in a humorous way. It didn’t work.

“So you’ve never tried! I had thought… Well, I think you must be a hunting-ghost. You put out a radiant power that is only associated with that core type.”

“None of us have seen you feeding,” added Vellum, “so we weren’t sure you didn’t just defy that association. I don’t think anyone really understands all the complications of half-human physiology.”

Dr. Marchs jumped back in easily. “It’s still just speculation. You have said that you don’t enjoy eating plants from this realm, yes?” Danny nodded. “And you don’t seem to get significant relief from human emotion. Well, we’re just going to have to have you try feeding on some ghosts.”

Danny jumped to his feet. “What?! I don’t… need that, I get by fine on human food!”

“But aren’t you tired?” pointed out the Chef. Her eyes widened. “That’s why you get so drained after using big attacks! Your energy reserves aren’t being nearly refilled.”

“I believe she’s right, Your Majesty. There’s only so much energy you can take from human food, which isn’t even alive… I think you’re always tired because your core is designed to have a level of energy that you can’t provide it without processing Vital ectoplasm.”

Danny didn’t want to admit that he was consistently pretty damn tired. Instead he tried to change the subject. Ghosts were passionate beings, and as much as he hated to take advantage of that, having one of the Keep Staff gush about one of their passions to him was much better than talking about his relationship with what was essentially cannibalism. “Vital?”

Dr. Marchs’ eyes sparkled a little. “Vital as in living, not as in essential. Ectoplasm comes in three major forms. Ambient plasm makes up most of the Realms, in environments and atmospheres and auras. All ghosts are made up of Vital plasm, and those with cores have their Obsession or Purpose imprinted into the crystal structure of their own ectoplasm, which can be turned into Charged ectoplasm. The Charged form can take up an elemental type according to the ability of its source, and it has the most capacity to hold or be converted into ectoenergy. The Charged form is used to transmit intention onto a target, so it’s generally created by Cored ghosts, who are creatures of intention, in attacks or construction. Regardless of type or state, ectoplasm processing depends on its form — Uncored ghosts can process strong human emotions or Ambient ectoplasm into the Vital type. Among Cored ghosts, hunter-ghosts can best process Vital ectoplasm, gatherer-ghosts the high-activity type of Ambient plasm found in ghost plants, and scavenger-ghosts human emotion. Additionally, Charged plasm no longer linked to the source of its intention will eventually disperse into Ambient, as its most inert form.”

Danny, sitting down, had already known part of that, but the Doctor was properly smiling at this point. Dr. Marchs blushed as they realized they had just been talking, but none of the other ghosts in the room appeared to mind.

“…Regardless, King Phantom, we should really find some blobs for you to try eating. I cannot in good conscience leave you persisting off such low energy.”

He wanted to argue, he really did, but all the Keep Staff present were looking at Danny with this pleading expression. They looked genuinely concerned, and he remembered a comment he’d heard before about some of the Staff latching onto the King with their Obsessions. Some unfortunate result of the connection they’d formed with the Keep, Danny certainly didn’t deserve it, but he did know how it felt to Obsess over taking care of someone and have them turn down that care. With the same concerned look directed back their way, he got up and was led to the Garden out back.

Danny was having second thoughts again once he found himself surrounded by blobs that had been enjoying the intricate plants and high Ambient ecto levels of the Keep Garden. They were squishy but soft, like mochi coated in a good layer of starch, each a bit smaller than his head, and they all looked at him with these big vibrant eyes. Their postures were energetic, like they expected to play a game.

Once he sat down with the rest of the small group — why did he have to have an audience? — the blobs swarmed around him, resting on the sky blue grass and on his shoulders and in the others’ laps. They looked almost as expectant as the Staff in front of him.

“I…“ he bit his lip. “I can’t justify eating a living creature when I can choose not to. I know lots of ghosts have to eat others to persist, but I have the privilege that I can eat human food instead. Since I have that option, I can’t just… end another creature so I can feel a bit better.” Hey, Sam would be proud of him.

The present Staff donned looks of confusion. An Advisor who used the Keep as a home spoke up, eyes wide with realization. “Ah! Living creatures all share a survival instinct — that’s a natural result of evolution, yes? Things that do their best to live have their genes passed on? That’s not necessary for Uncored ghosts, since they do not reproduce and therefore don’t evolve. The only instincts experienced by the Uncored are instincts to better the Realms. Unless they’ve developed a strong individual personality, the Uncored are much more interested in contributing than in persisting.”

Danny’s head tilted in curiosity. Dr. Marchs took the reins on the rest of the explanation.

“The Realms are built socially where the living realm is built physically. Our homes and well-being are made from emotion, belief, and community. So for Uncored ghosts, spawned of the dimension itself, they want their ectoplasm and energy to be where it supports those communities the most, and that means ensuring the health of the ghosts in charge. Generally speaking, the more powerful a ghost is, the more likely they are to have some importance to the Realms. The Uncored — and many Cored — can sense a ghost’s power due to how much excess ectoplasm they let off. In fact, that excess is almost immediately put off as Ambient ectoplasm, meaning that there is simply more Ambient plasm around a powerful ghost, and the Uncored are often attracted since that provides sustenance for them . It’s a mutualistic relationship where one entity feeds off another, and in the end the resources of the weaker ghosts are given to the stronger, supporting the Realms. In fact, there are some cultures who believe that converting ectoplasm into a form the Cored can process is the entire reason for the existence of the Uncored.”

Vellum smiled slightly as she added on, “It’s not an entirely accurate strategy, as the most powerful ghost around is not always going to be a hunter type. They usually are, seeing as that’s the most efficient form of feeding, but it’s not impossible to be otherwise. The result in these cases is Uncored ghosts following around said Cored ghost, and as the same aspect of community comes into play, that ghost soon ends up hanging around a hunter type, who feeds on the prey that was collected.”

Danny cringed a little at the use of the word “prey”.

He looked around at the blobs nuzzled up against him. Those who didn’t look to be something resembling unconscious were peering up at him. They certainly looked expectant, as much as something without even a permanent mouth can.

After he was silent for a few moments, another Staff member spoke up, likely wanting to lighten his mood. “They really do like you! I’m not surprised, even aside from your natural power, the role you play as High King causes ectoplasm to be magnetized to you. I’m sure they’re having a little feast themselves!”

It did not lighten his mood. Danny felt genuinely guilty. Even if he wasn’t doing it on purpose, wasn’t he effectively manipulating these creatures into offering themselves up to be eaten? It wasn’t right, to make them feel as if they want to be ended, just because he had some sort of aura.

But the gathered Staff were still concerned, and anticipatory, and, somehow, hopeful . He couldn’t turn them down at this point. He’d just have to bite into one of the little ghosts surrounding him, just once. He’d throw up, disgusted with himself, and the Staff would realize it wasn’t better for him, and the remaining blobs would remember that they don’t want to die, and they’d flee, and everybody would just leave the subject alone . He only had to try.

(The human dread he was emitting at this point must have been feeding everyone else.)

“…Okay,” he said simply, and gently picked up a blob that had been sitting on his leg.

Before he could rethink himself again, he brought it to his lips. He opened his jaw slightly wider than a human’s would likely go and, fangs instinctually extended, bit down.

Danny was familiar with the scent of ectoplasm. Copper and citrus and battery acid and salt. But when he broke the surface of the small ghost and the viscous fluid burst into his mouth, the salty and bitter aspects were lost on his tongue, replaced by a thick sweetness and the cold tingle of energy. Where his fangs pierced an inch down into the substance of the ghost, he tasted this fulfillment in its emotional ectoplasm. He’s not sure he would have been able to taste it if he weren’t part human. Still, the feeling was something distinctly ghostly, a similar satisfaction to fulfilling an Obsession or a Purpose. It was hard to feel bad, sympathizing automatically with that simple rightness. The way the emotion pressed at his brain, the way the semisolid edges of the ghost slicked against his tongue, his own self-revulsion melted to the back of his mind. The ectoplasmic flesh met his teeth with a thick resistance, but it was nothing to break past it and open up to the deeper substance. It was vibrant, a pure cool energy that pulsed against his fangs. (His core sucked it up greedily.) His mouth met the energy with a pulsing of its own, a harmonizing signal sent from his core throughout his body like a heartbeat. It came out as a low purr that vibrated deep through the charged air around him. He couldn’t help but rush to swallow, though his body absorbed it just as easily without.

The blob ghost had been the size of his foot, and now it was part of the energy making up his own form. Compared to the power his core was passively putting out, to the amount it longed to have refilled, it wasn’t all that much. Unconsciously, his core put out an ectoenergetic signal that he was ready to feed. The blobs around him nuzzled closer yet, making themselves available. Danny could feel a few other Uncored ghosts who were drifting nearby come into the garden and join them.

He looked up from his ectoplasm-stained hands at the Keep Staff. They were looking at him, relieved, pleased (even though they just watched him tear into a living thing and then absorb it into his being like it didn’t even matter, said a part in the back of his consciousness. It was hard to focus on, though. It was coming from his brain, not his hungry core, after all). With his core this active, he could feel the presences of all the other ghosts around. The blobs flocking around him had auras that were weaker than the Cored Staff, but sturdy. There was a balance to them that signaled the ectoplasmic types they were taking in and storing. He sensed the Uncored pulling in the Ambient ectoplasm that sloughed off of him, barely connected to him anymore if not for the weight of the space surrounding him. And he could feel all of their stores of energy-dense Vital plasm.

He could also feel, just as an aspect of his being, his own energy stores. The metaphysical space in his center that his form and all his strength drew from. He could remember, abstractly, the moment he died and that reservoir came to be and was instantly flooded with energy. The way the portal had searched the air until it found his body and his little human soul and used him as a conduit, and all that electricity punched a hole between planes right where his ghost was trying to form, and something tore outward from that starting place just on top of his being, and the vacuum that formed on earth and in the Zone and everything in between pulled until the Infinite Realms rushed his body and in one instantaneous moment his forming core was flooded with enough ectoplasmic energy to become entirely corporeal (if it hadn’t, his ghost wouldn’t have manifested nearly quickly enough to keep him alive), and his being was stretched beyond its limits containing everything. For one moment, he had been filled with more energy than he had thought possible, and his ghost had formed itself to accommodate. Since then he’d felt so… empty. His body took what it could from human food and environmental energy, but it was made for more than that. He had blocked out the awareness of his reserves and gotten used to trying to power all his defenses on so little. He was always so tired.

He still felt low, running on just enough to operate something humanish. But his core had latched on to the ectoplasm provided by the blob, the kind it was designed to process, and finally felt a little relieved. Most ghosts that stayed within the Realms were almost always full. Danny wasn’t nearly there yet.

He reached down and grabbed another blob.

[ramblinganthropologist]

Fictober 2021 (3) - “I’ve waited for this”

Fanfiction

Fandom: Mass Effect (Actor AU)

Summary: Macen Virius was supposed to be breaking things off with his costar. Instead, he’s pretty sure he might have just caught feelings. Damn it, it was just supposed to be a sex thing...

---

There was nothing like the end of a long day of filming to make Macen want to go to fucking sleep.

Every muscle in his body ached as he left the set to change out of his costume. Moments before, he had been in the blown out remains of a battlefield. Post would add the effects, but his hands still ached from holding his prop rifle and clicking the useless trigger button. Honestly, if he had been human, he would have expected an imprint there.

He was going to have to ask his costar about that later…

“Where is he anyway?” Macen’s mandibles twitched as he glanced around. Everyone was heading off, but there was no sign of Mass Effect’s leading man. Usually, he stuck around to talk to his costar – then again, he didn’t see the other ‘Commander Shepard’ either. They must have both taken off early…

He envied that about humans. They got out of costume and makeup way too quickly.

In the end, he too was back in his regular clothes. As he walked, he rubbed his right mandible, trying to get the feeling back. Part of playing Garrus meant that he needed fake implants to imply he’d had half his face blown off. With how numb that mandible got, it certainly felt that way. No doubt about it, he was looking forward to the final season where all he would need is scar tissue. At least he’d be able to move better in that.

A beeping drew his attention to his wrist as he left the set. His omnitool was letting him know he had a message from a certain fake redhead. As humans put it, curiosity killed the cat (don’t ask him, he didn’t even know what a cat was) so he opened it.

Alex Jones: Hey, rehearsal at my place tonight?

Alex Jones: I can get takeout from that levo-dextro place again. You liked their noodles.

He had liked their noodles. What he didn’t like was… well, this.

“You’re getting too attached, Virius. This is just supposed to be about sex.” He shook his head, half considering calling things off so he could have the night to himself. Problem was that his stomach had started to growl at the thought of those noodles. Besides, tomorrow’s shoot was supposed to involve a lot of emotional moments – he needed all the feedback he could get.

With any luck, he’d end the night in his own bed without fucking the human. After all… he was a turian of self-restraint and control. He could totally handle this.

…

Yeah, he was just going to keep telling himself that and hope for the best. Damn sexy human…

---

An hour later, Macen found himself standing in front of his costar’s door, frowning as he stared at the metal. As hard as he tried to talk himself into ending things, doubt still gnawed at his stomach.

He should end things. It never ended well when he got too into somebody.

“He should understand… it’s just sex… he’s my costar, and it’s just sex.” Macen shook his head again, frowning as he started to key in the human’s door code. Alex had given it to him a month prior, mostly so if he was going to be late he could get in.

That probably wasn’t a good sign, but he had elected to ignore it.

The door clicked opened, and he stepped in. Much to his surprise, the sound of upbeat music met him in the hallway. Not only that, but someone was singing to it if his translator was anything to go by. The damn thing was working overtime as he sidled closer to the entrance to the living room, holding his breath as he peaked in.

Lucky for him, Alex’s back was to him. The human had cleared a space in his living room in order to have room for what he was doing then. However, Macen was having a problem processing what “that” was. Well, he knew it was dancing – a somewhat odd version of it – but it was just so… old fashioned.

Also, since when did Alex dance?

“Let’s chase the dreaming light, and I’ll truly be myself…”

Dancing wasn’t the only thing on the menu. Macen’s jaw dropped as he realized the soft, sweet voice he had heard in the hallway was coming from Alex himself as he worked through the song with flowing, easy moves. Something about it was so painstakingly familiar, yet he couldn’t put his finger on it as he stood mutely in the hallway, watching the scene in front of him.

He had to wonder… what did it look like from the front?

“There’s a scene I want to show you. You have to wait for it… so let’s make a promise!”

Alex moved into a different position, holding out his hand to an imaginary audience that Macen couldn’t see as he took a step up. Every one of his moves were precise, even though he was doing nothing more than dancing around his apartment in his socks. Clearly, he had been practicing…

But for what?

“There’s a gentle wind wrapping around me… isn’t it warm?”

Macen knew a bridge when he heard one, and he felt himself holding his breath as he watched. Alex was getting closer to his imaginary audience now, probably for whatever was going to come in the final chorus. Maybe it was because he was so focused on the man that he hadn’t noticed his heart had begun to beat faster, but it thudded all the same.

“They’re overflowing, these endless hearts…” The man suddenly turned on his heel, facing the entry way. “Please carry them to tomorrow!”

And then no more singing happened as the precursor to the final chorus played behind him. He was fixed on the turian standing in his living room, looking rather shocked as if he hadn’t given him the door code. Macen wasn’t doing much better, mind you – he still hadn’t managed to shut his damn mouth.

And people thought they were cool. If only the blogs could see them now.

At least Alex shut the music off as he regained sense. He reached for a towel to dry off his apparently sweaty face, cheeks a slight pink from exercise. Maybe it was the sweat that had made him shine in that moment. For all Macen knew, it had caught the overhead light when he spun around like that.

Meanwhile, his heart wasn’t slowing down. Still…

“Uh… I guess my text didn’t make it.” At least his mandibles were starting to work. “I didn’t miss the noodles yet, did I?”

The human put his towel down as he started towards his phone propped up on a stand. “They’ll be here in 15 last I checked.”

The music started playing on his phone as he frowned. “Damn, I knew I spun the wrong way…”

This caused Macen to cock his head to the side. “Were you recording yourself for social media or something?”

Doubtful; this kind of thing definitely wasn’t in the human’s wheelhouse. After all, he was supposed to be playing Commander Shepard. While the man had some oddities, he probably didn’t dance around like that.

…

Then again, who fucking knew. Dude was weird.

Alex was still checking his phone as he spoke. “No, just recording my practice to see where I need to improve for filming next week.”

Surprisingly, he was grinning as he looked up. “I’ve waiteda for this for a long time, so I want to get it right.”

Something about the way he smiled did awful things to Macen’s stomach. However, the statement set his mind whirring. While he wasn’t a complete Reaper War freak like some of his coworkers, he at least knew enough to be sure something like that hadn’t happened. After all, there’d be videos, right?

Definitely videos, no way Joker would’ve let that slip by.

“Ok, you’re going to have to fill me in on this one… since when did Shepard do a little dance?”

Alex chuckled – again, there went his stomach. “2185, to be exact. The Normandy ran into a rogue AI that accidentally found its way into Shepard’s music collection. They needed to distract it, so he wound up putting on a little show. He disabled the cameras beforehand, but he wrote about it in his journal, so we know it happened. And now I get to do it on TV and make all the people who think he was just a military guy hate me. I’m thrilled.”

Clearly – he was sparkling again, and this time it wasn’t from the sweat. Macen felt his heart beat harder again, and he tried to distract himself by looking towards the door. If those noodles could save his ass, he’d marry them.

Besides, he was supposed to be calling things off with the guy.

Alex was still looking through his phone as he spoke. “It’s been such a long time since I’ve done a dance routine for TV, I was worried I forgot how. I’m definitely a little rough, but it’s better than I thought it would be. Good thing the director let me know early so I could practice a bit more.”

Macen started to open his mouth to ask, but then the memory came to the surface. He knew where he had heard the voice before, and honestly he was surprised he had forgotten about it. Back then, he had secretly loved to watch it.

Secretly, of course, because Citadel Idol Heart was really more of a girl’s show. The popular teen drama about idols competing in a Citadel-wide talent competition in hopes of seeing their dreams come to life had run for a few years, and he had seen every episode. More importantly, he had once crushed on the main character, a blonde idol with blue eyes and the sweetest voice he had ever heard. Whenever she took the stage, he had been unable to look away.

Just like he couldn’t look away now…

“You… I forgot you were on CIH.”

It was now Alex’s turn to blink back surprise as he looked up from his phone. “You watched that?”

“Kind of…” His eyes darted. “Your voice hasn’t changed much. I mean it’s gotten older sounding but I’m glad to know it wasn’t autotune or anything…”

Things had officially gotten awkward. There he was, with the crush from his teenage years… and he was fucking the guy without even knowing it. Life was weird, and it was getting worse by the second. If only teenage him could see him now…

The man’s cheeks turned a light pink at the compliment. “Well, it’s not like I’ve gone on T or anything, so no big surprise there…”

He got up, probably to check for the noodles. “I take it you were part of the Melody fan club then. Unless you were an edge lord and went with Black Rose. Her fan club was the absolute worst and insisted we hated each other, but I was the best man at her damn wedding last year…”

The rest of his statement was drowned out by the opening of a door and the ruffling of a paper bag. At last, the noodles had arrived. Unfortunately, Macen realized he didn’t have much of an appetite. His stomach refused to calm, and his heart still pounded as he sat there, processing everything.

At least the application of a warm box to his mandibles helped.

“Macen, your noodles are going to get cold.”

He blinked and realized Alex was nudging him in the face with his food. That shot him back to reality as he took the box and proffered plastic fork that went with it. The human then settled in next to him – not across! – and started to dig into his own box.

Right… food. And they were supposed to be rehearsing. And he was definitely supposed to be breaking up with his costar.

“I had the pin.”

His comment left silence in his wake. Alex had stopped eating and was giving him a rather incredulous look. This caused Macen to duck his head in lieu of eating noodles. After all, it was hard to do so politely when you had a face like his. Really, he should have sworn them off… but they were just so damn good he couldn’t resist.

Damn humans and their noodles, they were out to get him.

“You had the fan club pin?”

Yep – there went his mandibles, flapping in the breeze. “I was a big fan, ok? What can I say, everyone loves an underdog story… and you maybe… looked good in that one outfit. The orange one…”

Melody in the orange outfit had been taped to his bedroom wall until he left for basic. Hell, it might still be there…

“God, you’re such a nerd.”

Alex was chuckling though as he put his fork down. It was a nice sound, though it did horrible things to Macen’s stomach once more. Thoughts of noodles evaporated as he sat there, taking in the sound of the human’s mirth. He really needed to laugh more often… maybe he should work on making that happen.

“Well… I can’t exactly let a fan down, now can I?”

He stood and crossed the room to the open space he had created. The music was soon queued up to where he had last stopped, and Alex took position once more. The smile on his face made Macen’s heart want to stop as he sat there, a noodle still hanging from his mandible.

“I can take off into the dreaming sky… because I’m not alone.” Alex winked as he moved, following the song. “Wherever it is, I feel like I can go across the distant sky…”

Then the music swelled as it led into the final chorus. Macen forgot how to breathe in that moment as he watched his costar dance and sing along to the ancient song. All he could think of was how much better he had gotten since the days of CIH…

And how much he wanted to kiss him.

“It’s not enough to put into words, so I’m putting it into a song I’m wishing will reach you.” Another smile as Alex twirled, then began his final pose as the song began to wind down. “Beating my heart~”

The last pose, with his head cocked to the side and hands clasped together, held as the music faded. Then there was silence in the living room as Macen struggled to remember how to function. Right then, there was nothing there but Alex and the table in front of him that kept him in place.

Shit.

“It probably needs some work, but I think I’ve got the basics considering it’s only been a couple hours.” Alex landed back on the couch, picking his food back up. “What do you think, Macen? Got anything you noticed?”

Yeah… his heart was still beating like crazy.

“Macen?”

The turian shook his head – probably launching the noodle in the process. At least it didn’t hit the man next to him, so he could thank his lucky stars for that. However, it was hard to think then as so many feelings and thoughts crashed together.

He was supposed to be calling it off… that was why he came over. This was just supposed to be a sex thing… but every bone in his carapace was telling him to grab the other man and kiss the daylights out of him. They hadn’t even ever kissed outside of sex or prepping for scenes…

What the hell was wrong with him?

“I uh… I don’t know the song, but maybe hold the last pose a bit longer. They might be able to make your eyes light up a bit more.”

Alex nodded at this. “I’ll make a note. Also, don’t you hate cold noodles? Last time you wouldn’t stop complaining when the delivery guy was late…”

Right then, Macen wasn’t sure what he hated or liked as he shoveled the food into his mouth. He just needed something, anything to keep him away from the thoughts currently blooming in his mind.

He knew this path – he hated it. It never ended well. And long ago he had told himself he was never going to walk down it again if he had any sense in his head. This was nothing more than a rehash on an old teenage crush… he could overpower it.

“We need our energy to practice.” He slurped down the last noodle, glad that none were sticking to his face this time. “Tomorrow’s going to be hell if we’re not ready.”

At least his costar nodded as he worked to finish his dinner. “Tell me about it, I have a damn imprint on my trigger finger from that damn gun…”

Well, at least on the bright side that question got answered. It did nothing to quell the bubbling feelings Macen was trying so desperately to beat down, but at least his curiosity was sated for the moment. Maybe that would get him through filming.

One thing was for sure… he was fucked. No way about it – he was just plain fucked. The universe was laughing at him, and he only had himself to blame. All he could do was hope he could hold back and wait for the feelings to pass.

If they didn’t… see the previous statement for clarification. Fuck… he was supposed to be a turian sharpshooter, not a lovesick puppy. He didn’t sign up for this.

[polar534]

Hockey AU: Practicing

So. This is a shorter shot that's already been done and typed for a while now. I'd say it's probably going to be a part of a larger arc involving the Semi-Finals in general and the build up to Hockey Injury.

Anyways I'll stop explaining and let you get into it. No warnings this time. Just expect a mostly Luz focused piece featuring best friend Willow.

***

Luz Noceda has never given up on anything in her life. Not when she was told by her mother that she couldn't climb to the top of giant fake cat tree at the local pet store, or when the local kids bet her that she couldn't stand out in the snow with no shoes for longer then 30 minutes.

Or even when she was told (multiple times) that human's couldn't perform magic.

Now, finishing the last line of her glyph, she proved them all wrong once again as she gently tapped the edge of the giant ice spell she had created. In a glowing flash, a large circle of ice formed under her feet.

She was Luz Noceda. And she could do this.

"Luz!!" Willow called out worriedly as Luz's body almost immediately hit the ice with a loud smack.

She didn't know what happened. One second her legs were under her and steady and the next she's sprawled out and spinning slightly.

As she turned, she watched as Willow attempted to cross the ice to get to her. Panicking only slightly, Luz piled back together her limbs and got up on her knees.

"No!! Wait. I got this!" She yelled back worriedly, holding her hands up to signal to Willow to stop.

She set them down beside her and slowly, carefully, tried pulling her legs to a standing position.

It worked for about 1 millisecond before they were once again sprawled out on the ground with Luz's face going straight into the ice.

Luz let out a muffled groan.

She heard Willow slide onto the ice next to her. Spinning herself in a circle, Luz sat up and watched as Willow plopped herself into a sitting position, leaning supportively up against Luz.

"How's it going?" The plant witch asked playfully.

Before she could answer, Luz felt her butt sliding and suddenly she was sprawled out on her back.

"HOW?! I wasn't even moving!" The human exclaimed in frustration.

She heard Willow chuckle lightly.

"Ah. So not good." She observed wisely.

"I just don't understand how I can be so bad at this! I'm normally so perfectly in control of my gangly teenage limbs!"

This immediately caused Willow to fall back in laughter as she landed on the ice next to her friend.

"Rather bold of you to lie to your best friend." She chuckled.

Luz groaned again.

“I just want to be able to stand up. For like 2 SECONDS!”

“Why are you trying so hard anyways? You love it when Amity holds you.” Willow teased gently.

Luz chose not to answer. Instead she lifted her legs above her head and attempted to stand again. The momentum brought her to her feet, before she suddenly summersaulted forward and onto her face.

“It’s fine. I’m fine.” Luz mumbled as she accepted her fate and melted further into the ice, feeling the frozen liquid cool the burning in her face.

Why was this so hard?

"Oh Luz. Perhaps we should get off the ice for a bit. Before the ice gets an imprint of your face." Willow suggested helpfully.

"No!" Luz exclaimed suddenly, attempting to put her hands out in front of her and keeping them still. "I can do this. I have to do this."

Somehow, finding grip, Luz pulled herself up to her knees.

Good. She was steady.

Time to stand.

Luz felt her foot stick underneath her. Taking it slow, she felt the other foot stick next. Suddenly Luz was standing on the ice. For a moment, she let herself celebrate the small victory. Glancing down she grinned broadly at Willow as she attempted to take a step.

***

Luz held up a small bit of cracked ice up to her newly busted lip, trying to calm the swelling that would surely get her in trouble with not only her mother who was a nurse, but her girlfriend who was always on her about being careful too. Willow stood by her silently and carefully concentrated as she summoned some grass to cover the large field of ice that refused to melt.

"I still don't understand why you insisted on trying this again. Luz, you're hopeless on the ice." Willow sighed as she released the magic and caught her breath.

Luz held the ice tighter to her face, letting the sharp, cold pain distract her.

"Well, you know me, can't let anything get me down." Luz mumbled the best she could through her swelling.

Luz felt Willow lean against her shoulders.

"Yeah, but this is different. I can tell. I know you. You don't get a fat lip, just because."

"Please tell me?" Willow's pleaded with her with large, wide eyes.

Luz scrunched her face into a scowl before realizing just how much that hurt and growling lowly.

"Finnnnnee. I just want to be able to walk out onto the ice with Amity for the finals. It's the only time I'm actually, you know, officially allowed on the ice. All the players get to bring someone out with them." She admitted grumpily.

"Ahhh. There it is." Willow smiled warmly, before sliding down against Luz's back, facing away from her.

They sat there, back to back for a few moments, basking in the silence of the Boiling Isles woods.

"You know, you don't need to be good on the ice for Amity to like you." Willow spoke up after awhile.

Luz sighed and leaned further into her friend.

"I know. It's not even that. It's just, being out on the ice always makes Amity so happy. And I'm always just bungling it up, every time I try and share that with her." She admitted dejectedly.

"I just... and I know she wouldn't ever do this so I don't even know why I'm so worried. But I don't want her to leave me behind. Or be any sort of burden on her..." Luz continued, feeling her heart twist.

She felt Willow tense.

"Luz. You aren't a burden. To anyone. Much less Amity."

"I knowww. I just... I want to walk out onto the ice with her without taking away from her moment. She's worked so hard, the entire team has. I'm just going to hold them back when I go out there."

Willow sighed so heavily that Luz could feel it ripple through her body. The plant witch leaned forcibly against Luz, pressing the human down with her body, prompting a small giggle out of both them. Luz let herself be crumpled and with it, felt the tension she had been holding in melt away.

After awhile, the witch relaxed the pressure and sat back up.

"Luz. I love you. You are my best friend." Willow stated plainly. "But you will never be able to operate on the ice. And that's ok." She chuckled.

Luz felt herself smile, before wincing in pain as her lip split even further.

"Have you brought up any of these concerns to Amity?" Willow asked after a short pause.

It was Luz's turn to sigh. "No. You know Ami, she wouldn't let me get away with doubting myself even slightly. She'd just waste more time trying to teach me the impossible. Rather then enjoying herself out on the ice."

"Amity just enjoys being with you. On the ice or off. You have to know that."

"I hope so. I mean she has kept me around this long. Guess I've made some sort of impression on her." Luz joked half heartedly.

Willow elbowed her side gently. "Yeah. Kept you around. Day dreamed about you. Held your hand and absolutely gay panicked just about every time she's seen you ever since you guys first met."

Luz felt herself blush. How was it possible she was this lucky?

Or at least that oblivious.

"How about this. Instead of worrying about walking out there by yourself, just worry about walking out with Amity. That's all she's going to care about. That you're there with her. Whether or not your clinging to her for dear life is irrelevant." Willow suggested sagely.

"I guess I can do that. I do really like being held by her after all." Luz admitted sheepishly.

"Just like I said." Willow said smugly. "Now, can we please put all of this ice practice behind us?"

"For now. At least until my lip goes back down to normal. Then I'll be right back to practicing." Luz grinned determinedly.

She was Luz Noceda and even if it was ok to not be proficient on the ice, she wasn't able to give up. Until that moment that her limbs finally decide to agree to those terms, Luz supposed it was alright to be held close by her girlfriend and just enjoy being near and with Amity.

***

Psssst. Like this? Want to read more like this or figure out what the heck is even going on? Check out the Masterpost.

[kyloswarstars]

The Shelby Family Teleported Through Time • Part 3

„Right Into a Viking War“

Peaky Blinders • Series AU • Shelby!Reader

It seemed like all of your siblings barely had any time left for the family. You wanted to fix it all up and get back to what the Shelby siblings once were. At the Lee’s campsite you are gifted an ‚enchanted amber‘, along with the promise that it would help you get closer to your siblings again. Never did you think it would teleport you into another time: being faced by more problems than before.

Words • 4.8k

A/N • Lemme know what you think about it 🌚

TSFTTT • masterlist

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The sky was pitch-black. If it wasn’t for the burning houses you wouldn’t have been able to see the person next to you. Flames were making their way out of every second house, eating thatched roofs and burning people alive. Lifeless bodies were covering the ground. Desperate screams filled your ears. The smell of burned flesh instantly creeped in your nose and this time, still with the twisted stomach of your time jump, you bent forward and vomited into a corner of the dark alley.

A hand was touching your back as you gagged. It helped you sit up and get to your feet. Finn. The flickering flames all around you were brightening his face. He looked deeply worried.

None of your siblings were up for any jokes or blaming you for sending them here. Fear was winning over and made everyone step closer together. Your brothers shoved Ada and you behind their backs.

People were running through the alleys. Some tried to run away, others were running after them. Swords in their hands, mud under their boots and blood that was glueing their long hair together into big chunks.

„Please tell me this is a role play again,“ Finn spoke.

Tommy reached down to one of the many bodies and grabbed the sword from their grip. „I don’t think so.“ He examined the weapon and observed the people running past your sibling pile. 

„Did anyone of us fight with a sword yet? Except for me last night?“ You were worried and instantly wished Boomer, Eliza and Otter would’ve taught you some role play yielding techniques.

„No. But I think we will soon gain some experience,“ Tom nodded to your right. Two men were fighting at the end of the alley you were still in. Every time their swords met a metallic clicking was echoing over to you. One of them was slowly gaining the upper hand and placed several thrusts on his opponent. It took him one swift stroke to chop the other one’s head off.

Your eyes didn’t close soon enough to prevent yourself from seeing the head fall to the floor and rolling away.

The winner was turning around, spotted you and hurried over, driven by his blood frenzy.

Arthur grabbed a sword up himself, just in time for when the stranger reached you. He brought it up into the air, his arms shaking with not being used to the weight of the sword. Metallic clicking was ringing in the air when their swords met. Your oldest brother tried to parry the hits but the stranger was a warrior. He did to Arthur what he was probably doing for a long time now.

You closed your eyes again. You couldn’t see Arthur’s head fall to the floor as he tried to protect his siblings. That was something you wouldn’t be able to forget for the rest of your life.

An extremely loud gunshot next to you let your eyes fly open again, though. John was standing there with the rifle to his shoulder. In the chaos of the moment you forgot he still had that gun.

Arthur’s opponent was sinking to the muddy ground. He was dead. „Gun fucks sword,“ John stated with the smallest of a smirk.

„Fuck!“ Arthur wasn’t able to keep himself on his feet. He knelt down next to the dead man. „Who is the fucking enemy here, eh? This guy?“ First he pointed at the body in front of him, then to the one without a head at the end of the alley. „Or that guy?“

„When are we, Tom?“ Ada was stirring beside you.

Tommy knelt down next to Arthur. „That one looks like a Viking to me.“

„Bloody Vikings?“ John was losing his shite agin. „Can’t we just go back to our friends with the cardboard swords?“ He came over to you, an arm around your shoulders. „Can you bring us somewhere else?“

You closed the fist around the amber but it was pointless. Within this mess you would never be able to concentrate.

Ada and Finn were talking to each other in low voices. She seemed to calm him down.

A sudden voice startled you. „Who the fuck are you guys?“ When you turned and saw an armoured man coming to a stop in the dark alley, Arthur, together with Tom this time, stood up and held the sword in front of him. The stranger was looking at you closer, almost a little amused. „Travel theatre?“

„Are you the enemy?“ Arthur was still shaking but that wouldn’t hold him back from taking a second try at sword fighting.

„Fuck no. I’m just trying to save my own arse and get away from here. So, travel theatre?“

„Yes.“ Ada called out. Was she trying to lead the conversation again? To be honest, she had done a pretty good job back in the 21st century.

For a while the stranger was checking the surroundings and then observed you and your siblings again. „If you’re fast runners I can help you out of town if you want.“

The chances to die in this burning shithole were fifty-fifty. You had to get out for a fair chance at teleporting you to another time, or hopefully home. Tom shot a glance at you with a question mark imprinted on his face. You just nodded.

„Ok,“ he said to the stranger. And to the rest of you: „Everyone grabs a sword.“ You did as you were told. You knelt down into the cold mud to one of the countless dead people. Their fingers were already stiff around the hilt. You forcefully removed them with a whispered ‚sorry‘ on your lips. When you got back up, you spotted their belt with the scabbard attached to it. Once again, you knelt down, unbuckled the belt and yanked it free from under the lifeless body.

With the belt around your waist, and when everyone else had a sword too, you hurried after the stranger. He led you out of this alley and through many other ones. So many slaughtered people were plastering the way, the blood had seeped out of their bodies. You were unable to tell what outweighed: blood or mud on the ground. 

Your pulse was roaring in your ears and made it hard to understand the stranger’s voice, whenever he told you to follow as he changed directions.

He took a detour through a burning house. Some flames suddenly burst down from the roof as you left the single room into the backyard. They almost caught over to your clothes but someone pushed you. You fell to the ground, the smell of burned hair in the air, but out of range for the flames.

„Y/N!“ Finn helped you up, checked you for burnings, then grabbed your hand when he didn’t find any and hurried with you after your siblings.

It felt like it was never ending. You kept running even when you made it to the last house. You kept running when you left the wall behind your backs, which initial purpose to protect the village had failed. The screams of dying people let your feet continue to run, even though they grew distant when you reached a forest nearby. The stranger willingly guided you in. He repeatedly cursed, whenever a branch hit his face in the darkness, and kept up the high pace. You hadn’t done nearly enough boxing sessions at King Maine’s to keep up with that. Not without your lungs feeling like they were close to give out. Which brought up the question as to why this man was so good with running. Maybe he was a thief and running away was part of his job.

At some point you fell into a jog instead of the running. It was easier that way but not less tiring. The trees and their shadows were constantly surrounding you. The sounds of cracking branches under your steps were fading but it didn’t fully reach you until you ran into one of your siblings.

The stranger had stopped and everyone else had too.

„This should be five miles. We should be good.“ At least his voice seemed exhausted as well.

„No one will come after us?“ You heard Arthur ask but couldn’t pin down which of the shadows was him.

„Not tonight,“ the stranger responded. „Not when there are still women to be taken, ale to be drank and silver to rip out of the church.“

John’s voice was as breathless as your lungs felt. „Who are they?“

„What do you mean?“ The stranger was laughing at him. „Those are the fucking Danes.“

„Vikings,“ John pointed out, probably remembering Tommy’s words back in the alley.

The stranger laughed again. „Doesn’t matter what name you call them. Fucking barbarians, all of them.“

This pitch-black night, in a time where Vikings were all over England, which probably wasn’t even England yet, was creeping into your bones. One hand was wrapped around the amber, your other hand around the hilt of your sword. You had put it in the scabbard and it was dangerously dragging you to one side, constantly letting yourself fight for your balance. That thing was way too heavy but you wouldn’t dare to loosen the belt and put it away. Not after what you had seen in the village.

You wanted to go home. So bad. Your fingers were tight around the amber and your eyes shut. No twist appeared in your stomach, no dizzying headache.

„Well, thank you for bringing us out. We’ll head our way then.“ Tommy’s voice was cutting through and ripped your focus from the amber.

„Who said you could go? I didn’t.“ The stranger laughed once again, but this time it didn’t sound that devilish. Maybe he was just amused with what stupid folks you were. „I helped you, now you’ll help me.“

You heard some noises from below. Leaves and branches getting brushed together. Some clicking soon after. Not that metallic clicking of swords, though, more dull.

When a small flame came to life, being ignited by the stranger, it was as intense as the sun during daytime. Your eyes were blinded for a while until you eventually got used to it. It was relieving to see the outlines of your siblings faces again.

„We’ll crash down here for tonight.“ He sat down next to the flame and shoved more branches to it to let the fire grow. „My name is Alfred and if you don’t want to say your names that’s alright. But you’ll help me steal a horse and some other necessities I need, so I can travel south to Wessex.“

Tommy didn’t sat down, so none of the other Shelby’s did either. „Is this theft involving fighting?“

„It might.“ The stranger with a name now, Alfred, got rid of his sword and tried to close his fur coat tighter around his body. Seeing him warm his hands at the fire, with the adrenaline in your veins slowly subsiding, the coldness kicked in and sent shivers from your feet all the way up to your neck.

„We don’t know how to yield a sword.“

„Then I’ll show you.“ Alfred slapped his hand to the ground next to him. „What are you waiting for? Sit down.“

Your siblings waited for Tommy to make a decision. Your mind was circling around the words ‚behave, adapt, survive‘. Alfred thought you were travel theatre people, so you should behave like some.

Tommy sat down and everyone followed his example. Him and Ada were trying their best to pretend you were who Alfred assumed you were. He was talking about the Danes who had come to raid the town and that he had been too long in the North already. He asked where you were originally from. Ada, even amid the exhaustion of this day, was giving the best answer possible: „We’re a travel theatre. We travel, we don’t have a home.“

„And you always carry your belongings with you in those tiny bags?“ Alfred referred to the plain jute bags Eliza had given to each one of you. You had stuffed the sweatpants, she had given to you, in yours. As well as two stones. You had picked up a pebble stone as you sat in the bushes when that Roman cohort was passing by. And one from the parking lot as you went grocery shopping with Eliza in the 21st century.

Tommy was still nervous. „We like to be prepared, which seems to be a good thing when Danes are suddenly appearing.“

„Clever, should’ve thought about that as well. Then you wouldn’t have to help me get new things.“ He was laughing at his own statement. You didn’t like him at all. Sure, you were thankful he had guided you out of the flames, but you didn’t like sitting on this cold soil around a fire with this stranger.

It seemed you didn’t really have a choice for now, though. 

You slid closer to Finn who sat next to you. The night was getting colder minute by minute as you didn’t move around anymore. He laid his arm around you and pulled you into him. It was a little better for a while, but once the cold took over your body completely, it didn’t leave you anymore. You froze with your teeth clattering and noticed your siblings doing the same. Alfred’s fire was as effective as a candle.

/////

When the sun rose and covered you in its light, the shivering, which had followed you all through the night, finally lessened. You were entangled with Ada and Finn under your coats. A couple of times you fell asleep, but each time not for very long. You always woke with the image of all those lifeless bodies on the ground. The sword you stole from one of them was laying at your feet. And when the first daylight had brightened the people around you, your eyes were fixed on Alfred. He laid knocked out on the cold ground like nothing had happened. How many of those raids did you have to witness for it to become less haunting? You didn’t really want to know the answer.

Arthur and John decided to hunt some breakfast right after they woke up. Your empty stomach was crying out demandingly when the word ‚breakfast‘ fell. Their commotion woke up the rest of your siblings and Alfred.

Ada and Finn removed themselves from your arms where they’d been sleeping in last night. Your limbs were hurting as you moved for the first time in hours, so you got up on your feet to stretch your muscles.

„Y/N.“ Your sister gasped as she stared at you. She got on her feet as well. „There’s blood all over you.“

You didn’t get hurt last night, you were sure of that. When Finn pushed you away from the flames you fell, but you didn’t hurt yourself. So… the blood Ada was talking about must be from the dead.

Close to vomit again, Ada grabbed your hand. „Alfred, do you know if there is water somewhere?“

He observed the surroundings and tried to remember where you were. „I believe there’s a small stream in that direction.“

Ada instantly dragged you along, following the direction Alfred’s hand had gestured in.

You hadn’t noticed you had blood on yourself. Your siblings didn’t either last night with the little light the fire had brought.

The nausea in your stomach wanted to escape, but when you bent forward as you supported yourself at a tree, nothing came out. The gagging was worse when there was nothing left in your stomach. It brought hot tears to your eyes and it also brought back the screams of the dying people.

Ada dragged you further until she found the stream.

You hurried into it, not caring about your clothes that got soaked wet or the freezing water temperature. Your hands frantically splashed water to your face and tried to wash the blood all off. Along with your skin as it seemed by how forcefully you were scratching at it. You couldn’t stop yourself, though.

„Y/N.“ Ada grabbed your arms and held you still. „It’s okay. Let me help you.“

She guided you to a stone and sat you down on it. Ada pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, dipped it in the water and softly rubbed it against your temple.

Due to your rapid way of getting rid of the blood your clothes were all soaked now and your hair wet. Your body started to freeze again, after having a way too short time not doing so. Maybe you were also crying because that hot sting in your eyes didn’t stop. You didn’t understand why this was so upsetting. Back home you had seen a lot of blood as well, some dead people too, that was what came with being a Shelby. Here, this cruelty had a whole different impact.

„It’s okay,“ Ada repeated.

„It’s not.“ Pictures were flooding your vision again and they didn’t go away with shutting your eyes. „There were children. Dead on the ground.“

„I know.“ Her head hung low. Did she think about Karl? Did she think about all those mothers who lost a child last night? But those mothers were probably dead as well.

She continued washing the blood off of you, rinsed your hair once more and then walked back to the others with you.

Ada told Finn to collect some wood and start a decent fire, so you could dry yourself at it. At first, when Finn had managed to create a way bigger bonfire than Alfred the night before, those images were rushing back at you once more. You remained sitting there anyway and tried not to think about it with a fist tightly closed around the amber to help soothe your mind. Only when Arthur and John came back with two dead squirrels and a tiny rabbit, your brain was finally able to focus on something else. Their loud voices, bragging about how they hunted the animals with only their knives, was a welcoming distraction.

Your hunger came back when they roasted the animals over the fire. And it was relieving to finally assuage it.

Arthur chewed every last bit of meat off the bones. John was laying on his back again, floating in probably the same relief you felt. Tommy was talking to Alfred, but you couldn’t hear their conversation. Ada and Finn were sharing a rabbit leg and kept the fire burning.

„Time to teach you how to fight.“ Alfred finally said, putting an end to your breakfast gathering. It was foreign to receive a command from someone other than Thomas Shelby. But Tom followed his words, so everyone else did too. Behave, adapt, survive was the great motto.

It wasn’t actually swords you learned how to fight with. Alfred told you to cut some branches off a tree, remove the leaves and use them as swords. The first well-reasoned words you heard leaving his mouth.

Finn was your training partner when you mimicked the way Alfred was yielding his sword. You placed hits at Finn’s neck, his stomach, his chest, fake-cut his leg off and received the same in return. It reminded you a lot of your childhood, when you snuck out into the woods and pretended to be knights with your twig swords.

It was fun. The circumstances under which you learned how to yield a sword were not. 

„Y/N, help me find some more squirrels to roast over the fire, eh?“ Tommy, with a leaf less branch in his hand, came up to Finn and you. Alfred was occupied with Arthur, giving Tommy the opportunity to shoot one of his demanding looks at you.

„Sure,“ you replied, sensing that it wasn’t only the squirrels why he wanted you to come along.

Tom loudly announced you would go look for some lunch and then walked away from your little campsite.

He actually did look out for some animals crossing your path, a knife in his hand to throw if a chance would come up. You pulled your small knife out of your sock to increase your chances.

„How are you, Y/N?“ When you had left your siblings and Alfred behind, and couldn’t hear them anymore, Tommy stopped in his tracks and turned to you.

Was he being serious? „I don’t know, how are you?“ The sudden anger which filled you with his question and caused you to snap at him, subsided immediately again because he was indeed serious. „I feel guilty,“ you admitted and walked off, looking for food. You missed the 21st century supermarket a lot right now.

„About?“ Tom came after you.

„Everything. I mean it’s clear you and the others blame me for getting us in this mess – which is totally justified because I am the one to blame here.“

„Y/N–“

„And last night–“

„Y/N, stop it.“ Tommy grabbed your arm and stopped you from walking away again. „None of this is your fault. You couldn’t know what would happen with that amber. Your intentions were… brave.“ His hand pushed back his hair which had already grown out some. „Everyone knows we’re not the same anymore. No one admitted it, though. You were the one who wanted to change something.“

Thomas’ confession somehow caught you off guard. „If everyone’s aware of it why am I the only one who wants to change something then?“

„Because you’re the bravest out of all of us, I guess.“ A smirk was appearing on his lips.

„Sure, Tom.“ You rolled your eyes at him and continued searching for squirrels. They weren’t easy to be found and you wondered how your clumsy brothers John and Arthur were able to cull two of them.

A hedgehog was the only animal you laid eyes on. And you pushed Tom away when he wanted to throw his knife at it. „Don’t you dare,“ you half-laughed and continued the hunt.

Tommy successfully threw his knife at another small rabbit not long after the hedgehog incident. And it stayed with that animal. It wasn’t the time of day for the forest animals to stroll around and wait to be killed.

„Y/N,“ Tommy held you back when the voices of your siblings came into earshot again. His face was wearing the expression you had waited for: the initial purpose as to why he wanted you to accompany him. „I’ve talked to this Alfred. He’s a lot of trouble. When you’re ready, try to get us away from here, eh?“ Your hand automatically reached for the amber around your neck. „I don’t want any of us getting killed helping him steal whatever comes to his mind.“

You nodded.

Lunch. More sword training. Dinner, after Arthur and John came back from hunting. Again with squirrels. How? And a bonfire, not made by Alfred, which would keep all of you warm this night.

One hand was around the amber, your other one was fumbling with the burned hair on your left side. You pulled the knife out of your sock and handed it to Ada.

„Can you make this go?“ You tugged at the burned hair with a questioning face.

„I never cut hair before.“

„I don’t really care. Just make the burned parts go away, okay?“

She nodded with a tiny smile and shuffled to sit behind you. It would’ve been easier to have scissors but Ada seemed to do well. She first cut off the tips of the burned parts and then tried to even it to the same length on the right side. You couldn’t see yourself but the fact alone, that the burned parts were gone and couldn’t remember you of that night anymore, was good enough.

John crawled over to you. „Oi, clean up my hair too?“

Arthur joined as well. „And mine?“

„I can try?“ Ada offered. You could feel she wasn’t sure about it. Their signature haircut was something complete different than your hair.

„Well, I’ll take Y/N for my hair. She’s better with a knife,“ John smirked. „No offence, Ada.“ Your brothers moved to sit in front of Ada and you. John gave you his knife, which was way bigger, because Ada already started on Arthur's hair with your knife.

Usually, John kept his hair combed back. Since you had left your Birmingham he hadn’t been able to do that really, so his curls created one big mess. You didn’t know what to do about that, so you decided to only shave the sides.

Pushing the blade to his skin and dragging it along, you were slightly scared to hurt him. And him constantly fidgeting around didn’t make it any better. „John Boy, stop moving for fuck’s sake,“ you whispered, highly concentrated to follow the line of his hair. He obeyed and let you finish one side. The other side was done pretty quickly as well, faster than Ada was with Arthur’s hair. Having a bigger blade was probably the only reason why.

„I mean the hair is gone,“ you stated, not really able to decide if the result was better than the mess before.

„It looks fine,“ Ada endorsed with a smile. You handed her John’s knife for the rest of Arthur’s hair.

„Can you fix up mine too?“ Finn’s voice was full of hope. Ada and you just looked at each other for a second, thinking exactly the same, and broke into a small laughter.

„Sorry, Finn. We ain’t gonna repeat that sin of a middle parting.“ As his twin sister you were permitted to tell him his middle parting wasn’t really suiting him, weren’t you? You liked his curls, your mother had granted him, way too much. „Time for you to get a real Blinder haircut I suggest?“

„Who even told you that middle parting was a good decision?“ Ada dragged him over and sat him between the two of you, tugging at his hair to think of a way to tame it.

„Arthur did!“ Finn pointed at him and almost got up to throw a punch at him, realising that Arthur probably didn’t suggest it in all honesty.

Arthur broke into laughter, this real loud laugh coming from deep inside his chest. It was infective. „Wanted to see how long he’d look like an idiot until he realises.“ His voice was cracking a few times, unable to bite back the laughter. „Didn’t happen yet.“

„Not cool, Arthur,“ you called him out.

He didn’t care, though, still laughing and joking with John about it. Ada started to work on Finn’s hair, having a harder job this time to shave his sides because his curls made it hard to cut a straight line.

„Tom, you want me to fix yours too, now we’re at it?“ You had helped Ada with your own knife this time and looked from Finn’s hair to Tommy. 

„Don’t worry, I’m handsome no matter what my hair looks like,“ he stated in all seriousness and for a few seconds everyone froze. You stared at him blankly and then, together with your siblings, even Tommy himself, you broke into the hardest fit of laughter you had in a long time.

You had such a good time that evening. Fixing your brothers hair had been something you had never done before, but the trust they had offered you made you happy. Tommy was all for jokes that evening and everyone joined in. Even Alfred was a bearable company tonight. He had been hunting and brought back a satisfying dinner.

Finn asked you why you didn’t tell him earlier that the middle parting looked odd. To be honest: It wasn’t your place to tell anyone how they should look like. And you didn’t really know why you had done it today. There was nothing wrong with him wearing his hair the way he liked. You knew, though, he was too much depending on the personal opinions on others. He shouldn’t be, though. Other opinions didn’t matter as long as he felt okay with himself.

Your heart was a little lighter today. Throughout the day you had been able to ban the pictures of the previous night. When the sun began to sat, they slowly crept up on you again, dancing in the flames of the bonfire.

The fist around the amber was tight. You were the only one able to save your siblings from whatever Alfred wanted you to do for him. You wanted to be stronger, together with them. Just not in the sword yielding way if possible. You wanted to go home. And you wanted your siblings to have more peace. You wanted more of those joking nights.

One of your siblings gasped in the exact same moment as your stomach started to twist. Your eyes were closed as you almost gladly welcomed your head hurting like it could explode any second.

When you opened your eyes again, you couldn’t believe what they were looking at. You knew those surroundings too well. Charlie’s Yard.

/////

Tag • @theshelbyclan​ 

[hjh-ceilo-monster]

Miracle in December (Soulmate AU / Ot 7)

Do you believe in a winter miracle? Perhaps, such thing can be exist. Well, for me it was hard to believe too. Not until I met 7 guys during a christmas week. Who knows, not even me, that moment changed me for life.

a/n : This is going to be my first poly bts story so bear with all my mistakes ok? Also, you might see hundreds of soulmate au. I will try my best to write this one, promise. (Sign : Tattoo)

Summary :  Jimin and Namjoon remembered you from the Christmas eve concert. They had the urge that you were their soulmate since then. One day, when everyone entered the cafe, they all met you. Perhaps this was the time for those two to find a prove.

Y/N POV.

21th December

I hated this pandemic so much. I sighed while sipping the tea. This was a week of Christmas, but nothing was going on. No celebration nor decoration around the town. The snow started covering some part of Seoul yet no one came out and felt excited about it. This was the first snow!

‘Ha, my favorite song.’ I glanced at my phone which now playing one of the songs in love yourself album, Her. I loved the meaning of this song. Every time I listen to it, I have an urge to glance at my tattoo.

In this world, a soulmate is common among people. By finding your partner, there must be some sign that connects you with him/her. For me, it was a tattoo. A set of butterflies with different colors were flying and white petals were also flowing along with them.

Sadly, I didn’t find mine yet and now I am 26 years old. Not like I cared since I had already given it up on my 24th birthday. The bell then rang and the door widely open. I glanced at the new customers. They were a group of men. I took my eyes off them before they noticed my gaze and thought I am a creep.

“Hyung I will take a seat there with Jungkook and Namjoon hyung. Order anything for me.” I heard one of them spoke. Hearing those names, my eyes widened a bit.

How could I not? They were BTS....my fav band ever. I was listening to their song a minute ago when the bell rang and they entered. I tried my best to not glanced toward them again. I didn’t want to act like  a stalker.

Author POV.

You were sitting in the corner of the cafe while gazing out the window. Little do you know that someone caught you glanced at them before you took your eyes off.

‘Why is she so familiar?’ Namjoon thought while looking at you. He kept thinking until he took a seat. 

“Jimin, corner table,” Namjoon whispered to the younger boy. Jimin's eyes then started searching until he found your presence. He gasped quietly yet Jungkook and Namjoon caught the sound.

“Hyung, she was that girl remember...when I told you guys last year after our Christmas eve concert...” Jimin chirped excitingly. Making the others who just arrived at the table wonder.

“This cafe is nice. You pick a good choice today.” Hoseok complimented Taehyung.

“What were you guys talking and why were you staring at that girl?”

“Shhhh hyung, you will make her notice us.” Jimin and Jungkook spoke in unison, replying Yoongi.

You then looked around the cafe. You were bored so you decided to order some snacks to fill up your stomach. Jungkook with Namjoon started standing up and followed you.

“I would like...red velvet macaroon please.” You ordered the cashier without noticing 2 men standing next to you.

“We would like to have the same as her please,” Jungkook spoke. Namjoon then took out the cash and paid for you as well as their order.

“Uhh thank you, but you didn’t need to...”

“We insist.” They answered. While waiting, Namjoon struck the conversation with you and followed by Jungkook. Then they invited you to their table. The other, except Jimin, was sitting there with confusion.

“Finally...hi I’m Ji-”

“Uhh well...I know you guys.” You looked at the floor while spoke. Hoseok and Jin glanced at  me with a smile on their face.

“This is akward. Why do you drag the girl here? She must be startled by us.” Jin spoke.

“But she is our...” Jungkook and Jimin tried to reply, but Yoongi interrupted.

“I know she looks familiar...you went to our concert last year, right? For the Christmas eve concert. These two told us they had a feeling that you were our soulmate.”

“I don’t think I’m...” You didn’t get a chance to finish your sentence when Taehyung noticed the tattoo- imprinted the sets of butterflies and petals scattered around them. Representing different colors.

“Yes, you are.” He revealed his sleeves and showed his butterfly tattoo; Representing his color.

Poly soulmates were common, but 7? and with them all? You didn’t want to believe it. Not until when all of them decided to show their wrists. Each of them owns a colored butterfly. Not all of them had the same tattoo as yours, but adding together it was similar to you, except the petals that only you had them.

“Well...let’s call this our first quick date yeah?” Jin proposed.

22nd December

Finding yourself standing in front of their managers and Bang PD nim wasn’t something you expected to happen today. The boys told everything to them and introduced you.

While they were talking, you stood still in your place. You were sweating, despite the cold weather. Your hands were shaking like crazy so does your heart. The sound ‘Lub-Dub’ was so loud that you were so sure everyone could hear it.

“Y/N.... your wrist,” Yoongi called you. You snapped back to the real world and showed them your wrist.

“Unbelievable.” The manager's expression was beyond shock. They couldn’t believe the elegant mark that appears on your skin. Bang PD nim, however, only smiled and gently patted you on your shoulder.

“Welcome to Big Hit, this is such a surprise for me. I never know my boys will grow up so fast. Also, I heard from Jhope that you were their fan, right?” You nodded.

“Then be careful, I think after we have an official announcement, some fans will be wild. If they are too much, tell me and I will take action on that.”

Later on, all of you went to their dorm. They planned to show you around first so you will be familiar with it when you move in after the announcement. Their dorm was huge. Comparing this to your home, yours shouldn’t even call ‘home’.

“What do you want to do? We didn’t have any plan except give you a tour for today. We were sorry that we didn’t ask you what you like or dislike yesterday. It seems like we ranted about ourselves too much.” Namjoon gave you an apology look so do the others.

“No... it fines. Today, a lot happen to me.” You spoke with a soft voice. The feeling of anxiety didn’t leave you alone yet.

‘Then be careful, I think after we have an official announcement, some fans will be wild.’ Thinking of that situation, your face drained color. You were worry that those people would think you were taking advantage of them. This will be a rare case toward the public when the company gives an announcement.

They all looked at each other. Your face showed the word ‘anxiety’ clearly. They then decided to do some icebreaking activities. From playing games, eating dinner together, and having movies night at the end. Everything was simple-but thanks to their efforts, it calmed you down.

Lastly, they finally got to know who you are.

23rd December

Since they weren’t sure whether they will have any schedule on 25th December; they decided to divide today into half. In the morning half, you would be with the hyung line. The afternoon is for the maknae line.

“Ready?” Jin asked the others. They all sat scattered in the living room with patience.

When you stepped out of the room, all eyes were on you. Your palms sweated and your body shook a little. Each of them then started showing different reactions.

“Stop staring, I know I did a great job,” Jin spoke to snapped them back to reality.

“It’s because of Y/N.” Everyone mumble in unison. You who didn’t really know why they were staring got nervous even more.

“Ready, princess?” Jin asked. Namjoon, Yoongi and Jhope were already standing behind him.

‘Ahhh stop my heart is going to burst.’ You chanted in your head while you tried to calm yourself down and nodded as an answer.The maknaes sent you off and bidded you a good bye.

“It so quiet.” You looked around the places. The snow fell and piled themself up-Looking so soft like giant pillows. The atmosphere that usually would be loud with giggles and laughters was nowhere to be seen. You missed the old christmas. 

“It isn’t really fun this year, but at least we get to hang out without anyone bother us.” Jhope replied.

“Pandemic isn’t agood thing. However, we appriciate the time for ourselves. I don’t remember the last time I can walk down the street and relax like this as kim namjoon. This is refreshing.”

You felt guilty and delight at the same time. Guilty because what they had said after your comment. Still, you felt delight that you could walk around with them without creating any controversy.

This small date with them so far was lovely. Even though it was just walking around town, went to each of their favourite places and took pictures, you enjoyed the moment. You were happy they got to enjoy themselves and be themselves. This was how the date should be.

“Y/N...let selfie here.” Jin grabbed you and put you in the middle while the four of them gathered by your side.

click 

“Y/N...Y/N...let’s play arcade.” Taehyung proposed the idea while his eyes shoned brightly as if they were stars.

“Yeah let’s pair up. Me and Y/N, you and Jimin hyung.” Jungkook wrapped his arm around your shoulder. Your body got tense. The other two scolded him for his action.

After a long long arguement of who should be your partner, you finally got to play some games. You told them you would pair up with all of them. That became a final decision.

“Both of you should seperate, you guys are too good.” Jimin whined and pouted. When you and Jungkook became a pair, to 95 lines, it was like they had zero chance to win. 

“No.. I’m not...that good.” You denied with a stutter.

“I didn’t know you are an arcade geek.” Taehyung teased. Your face which already turned pink became crimson red. You couldn’t really handle when someone compliment or tease you. 

“Anothe round?” Jungkook proposed.

let’s go!

24th December

“Anything more?” You asked Jin and Jhope who was checking carefully. They didn’t want to miss any decorations for tomorrow.

“I think that’s all. Hyung, do you want me to buy more meat? I think there’s not much left in the fridge.” Namjoon checked the fridge again to make sure what they need to buy more.

“Finished?” 

Yoongi stood with a car key ready in his hand. When Jin finished the list, he gave to you. Jhope also reminded you and Namjoon to get everything, especially Namjoon.

“Please, take care of this baby as well.”

“Uhh..huh?” You nodded while Namjoon protested in the back. 

Indeed, on the 25th December, they had to perform. You made sure to go there and support them. Their performance was perfect. You eyes glued toward the screen in the back stage. You heart beated accordingly to the songs and your own excitement.

“How was it Y/N?” Jimin asked you pridefully. You were still zone out even after the performance finish for awhile and they entered the room.

“Her eyes glued to the screen.” The manager crew then chuckled. Making you blush and hid you face with your palm. With that sight, all of them laughed with delight.

“Now it’s the time to celebrate!!!” Jhope hyped with Jungkook and Taehyung along his side.

Living with them for nearly a week made you see various things. You got to know who their real selves. Everything about them that you got to learn was such a surprise, in spite that, you fell for them. And for this time, it wasn’t because of how they were your idols with good looking faces, enchanted voice and hardcore rap skills. This was because of their personalities, how they get along sometimes and fight the other time, how they were like biological brothers and how they loved one another.

Penny for your thought

You snapped back to reality. It has been a week and a half. You didn’t think that day at the cafe would lead you here. Thanking youself and your decision, you then answered the owner of that question.

“What is running in your little mind,petal?”

“Nothing really, just trying to process...”

“You still don’t believe it, do you.” Namjoon sighed and took a seat opposite you. Sipping his favourit cup of coffee, he looked at you deeply. You felt like he was searching something within your soul.

“Well, if you were in my position, it would be hard to believe, wouldn’t it?” You threw a question back to him as your answer.

“It wouldn’t, we trust our feeling.” Another voice appeared in between their conversation. Jungkook who just entered with Yoongi appraoched you guys and took a seat.

“It hard to explain, but when we first took a glance in the crowd and saw you, there was this feeling pounding in our chest....”

“And none of us couldn’t ignore it.” Yoongi finished Jungkook’s sentence.

Three of them now looked at you. Their eyes were begging you to believe and have a faith in them. Even if, this was something out of ordinary. 

“What a serious convo...” 

The rest of them entered. Jhope spoke and gathered around the four of you. Taehyung and Jimin could see how the other three tensed up. Jin, who tried hard to understand the situation, looked at you for the answer.

“You didn’t reject us, did you?” Jin asked with his firm voice.

Now six pair of eyes stared at you, fully upset with what thir oldest has asked. In the pass week, they had already prepared for rejection. However, as a human, they protected themselves by thinnking positively that you wouldn’t say it. 

BTS, the world boy band, wouldn’t get reject from anyone especially their own soulmate. Everyone loved them...right?

The atmosphere filled with nothing but silence. No one dared to speak. Only looking around and to each other. They sat there sweating. Heart beated like a drum. They couldn’t even breathe properly anymore.

“If I rejected you that day, I wouldn’t be here. Am I right?” Your arms now widely openned. And like the kids who finally found their mother, they ran into you and hugged tightly. Gripping on you as if you would escape them.

“Happy new year guys.”

“Happy new year petal.”

Perhaps, december is the most miraculous month.

Hey hey hey, first of, happy new year. I hope you guys will have a nice 2021. I planned to put this up earlier, but guess who knocked out in front of the lap top? Thanks for reading this story. This is my first poly ff so again bear with me. See you next story and HNY again...

[im-not-a-joke]

The Soulmate AU Thing

Whoop I wrote it

Read it on ao3

based off this post (and the comments on it)

warnings: none, really, there’s a little cursing and like a tad bit of internalized homophobia but it’s very minor

Relationships: Byler, Stoncy (but like, once, and its vague), Dustin/Lucas/Max/El

Wordcount: 1,753

you can also read it below the cut

The realization hit Mike like a truck.

Will and I are soulmates.

He had been minding his own business, just going about his regular day when he remembered the lab and Will’s episodes and seeing his best friend lose control of his own body. He remembered the Mark that was left exposed after the doctors had taken Will’s shirt. The same Mark that matched Mike’s own. He hadn’t thought about it at the time, being more concerned about his best friend being possessed. And he had forgotten in the aftermath, too busy focusing on said aftermath and the quickly approaching holidays. 

Well, forgotten may have been a strong word. He didn’t think it ever left his mind, but he had pushed it to the side temporarily to deal with bigger problems. He had quoted it during his Big Emotional Speech, but that was beside the point.

Now it was January, and Mike was back in school and bored out of his mind, so he let it wander. And it wandered to the little black you said yes imprinted on Will’s side. Luckily for Mike, Will had been possessed during his speech and most likely didn’t remember him saying it. (But the look in his eyes when Mike said it told him otherwise. Oh God, what if he knows that Mike knows what if he hates him oh no oh no no nonononono-)

(Deep breaths, Wheeler)

Mike had never really considered his soulmate. Sure, he occasionally wondered what they would be like and when they would meet, but who didn’t? And yes, he had found himself thinking about his small friend a little bit too much, but that was just because they’ve been friends since they were five, right? Apparently not, he grimaced to himself, how are you going to deal with this one? 

But that would have to come later, for now he had to make it through the day.

It wasn’t until he got home that the other realization hit him.

I’m gay.

That one was less surprising. He had never really been interested in girls, and liked El significantly less now that she looked more feminine. He had realized after the Snowball that he felt like El was more of a sister to him, and they had come to a mutual agreement to be friends and nothing more.

He supposed that the gay thing made sense, but he worried about what everyone else would think if and when they found out. Nancy would probably be okay, she had never really agreed with their father on anything, and Mike doubted she would start agreeing when it came to gay people. His dad might be more of a problem, but he didn’t have to know. Not yet, at least. His mom was a wild card. He hoped she wouldn’t be disgusted by him, but there was really no telling. His friends would understand, he hoped. Lucas would. He had once confided in Mike that he had three Marks, so he would definitely not be grossed out by Mike being gay.  

But what about Will? His reaction would probably be the most important. He was Mike’s soulmate after all. He wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t want to be Mike’s friend anymore, especially with having dealt with Lonnie.  But, soulmates were supposed to work out, right? Maybe not, he was 90% sure his parents weren’t soulmates anyway, so maybe his Mark was broken. Oh God, what if his was broken? 

It couldn’t be. That’s not how things worked. He was just tired and overthinking, a good nap would help. But, he had homework to do first. Ugh, homework.

~~~~~~~

Do you remember the first day that we met?

“Nancy, can I talk to you?”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing, it’s just,” come on, Mike! You can do it! “I like boys and not girls,”

Nancy’s face softened, she pulled the collar of her turtleneck down to reveal two soulmarks, one, a camera, the other, the nailbat.

“Oh.”

It was.. It was the first day of kindergarten. I knew nobody.

“Lucas, we’ll always be friends, right?” They were sat on Lucas’ bed, and Mike was reminded of Lucas’ angry, confused confession just a year prior.

“Yeah, unless you like, murder my soulmates,” Lucas had made a lot of progress, part of which was finding out that Max was one of his soulmates, and that, he didn’t hear it from Lucas but, she also had three soulmarks. Mike was 90% sure it would turn out to be Lucas, Dustin, Max, and El but never mentioned it.

“I’m gay. Will is my soulmate.” Lucas looked shocked for all of three seconds before he smiled at Mike.

“I’m glad you could tell me, dude.” He didn’t ask how Mike knew the Will thing, he just patted him on the back and went back to talking about the last family movie night he had to suffer through.

I had no friends. I just felt so alone and, and so scared

“Guys, I have to tell you something important.”

“What’s up, Mike?” He had four pairs of eyes on him. Two curious, one annoyed, and one knowing.

It was one of the few days Hopper would let all of them visit El in the cabin, but Will had a doctor’s appointment. Mike missed him, the group wasn't the same without Will there to offer his typically cheerful input. Mike also felt like he was third-wheeling the four other kids.

“I’m gay, I like boys.” El’s expression didn’t change, Dustin looked somehow, relieved? Max softened, but tried to keep up the annoyed flair. Lucas wore a proud smile.

“Doesn’t everyone like boys?”

“No, El, usually boys only like girls and girls only like boys.” That made it sound bad, fuck, backtrack backtrack backtrack-

“It’s not a bad thing, you can like whoever you want.” Thank the lord for Lucas Sinclair, saving Mike’s ass since first grade.

“Oh, well, in that case, I like boys and girls,” El looked pleased now, and the other three went red. Definitely soulmates.

But I saw you on the swings, you were alone too. You were just swinging by yourself.

“Steve, I need your advice”

“I swear to all things good and holy Dustin, if this is about any of your little- oh hey, Mike. What’s up?”

“You like boys and girls, right?” Mike barely knew where he wanted this conversation to go. But he knew Steve was definitely the one to go to.

“Yeah, why?” 

“How did you tell people that you weren’t sure about their reactions?”

“Hey uh, are you, are you bi?” Mike had never seen Steve this reserved before, it felt like he was trying to approach a scared animal, well, he may as well have been a scared animal at this point.

“No, no, I’m gay, i just, I want to tell my mom and Will but I’m worried about how they’ll react.” Mike had to cut himself off. He could feel himself start rambling and he didn’t want to say too much.

“Oh, ok then, uh,” he paused to think, “I think Will will be fine. As for your mom, probably sit her down and just rip the bandaid.” If he thought Will was going to be fine, he probably would be, Mike trusted Steve, he usually knew what he was doing.  

“Thanks, Steve.”

“No problem, big guy,” and Steve wrapped him in a hug.

And I just walked up to you, and, I asked. I asked if you wanted to be my friend

“Mom, I have to talk to you.” There was a rare moment of peace in the Wheeler house, and he was going to take advantage of it. He sat himself next to her on the couch, avoiding eye contact.

“Mike, sweetie, what’s wrong?” The concern in her voice gave him hope.  Things would be okay, she would love him no matter what.

“I know who my soulmate is, and uh, he’s a boy. And I really like him.” Mike had retracted in on himself, but his mom just grabbed his wrists gently, pulling his hands toward her.

“Mike,” he finally made eye contact to see her smiling down at him, eyes brimming with tears, “thank you for telling me, I am so proud of you, and I love you.”

He collapsed into her for a hug and cried. It had gone well. 

And you said yes. You said yes.

“I’m gay.” He was finally telling Will, the most important person in his life, after a good three months since his realization.

“Me too.”

And that was that.

And it was the best thing I’ve ever done.

~~~~~~~~

It had been four months since Mike came out to Will (and vice versa), and Mike could barely hold it in anymore.  Lucas had been bugging him about telling Will the thing since he had come out. He wanted to do it, but could never find the time without making things awkward.

The six of them were walking up the hill to set up Cerebro, WIll and Mike trailing behind slightly. Dustin was rambling on, holding hands with El (the four of them had come to their realization and had been inseparable ever since). Mike was going to do it now. He had to.

“Hey, uh, Will?”

“Hmm?”

“Can we, uh, talk?” He grabbed his wrist, and turned to face him, they had both stopped walking at this point. Will looked confused, usually Mike was very forward.

“What do you need?” Mike’s brain was firing at a million miles an hour, he had no idea what he was going to do.

“I have something to show you.” He was doing it. It was happening, this was real. He lifted his shirt a bit to reveal the small lettering on his side in the same place as Will’s. Will’s eyebrows shot up into his hair.

“I saw yours back in November when we had to take you to the lab. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before but I didn’t want you to be mad and I didn’t know how to say it and I really really li-”

“Mike. It’s okay. We got there in the end.” Will was smiling wider than he had in over two years now, and Mike felt complete. Will grabbed his hand.

“Y’know, back in the shed in November, I heard you say it. I brushed it of but it took me by surprise, I’ve wondered ever since.”

“So that’s why you looked at me like that.”

[realllllfangirllllll]

Beyond Lovers || Chp. 19

{More Than Friends Sequel}

Chairman!Jaehyun AU x CEO!Reader AU

Summary: You find yourself falling deeper and deeper in love with the former CEO after overcoming your fear of love. Although there were rough patches, both of you are now stronger than ever. However, you realize that maintaining a relationship and a company at the same time can be very difficult, especially if someone is out to destroy the both of you.

Masterlist

{Previous / Next }

"Ow ow ow! That hurts.” 

You glared at him, sending him daggers that could kill. In a scolding voice, you asked, “Then why did you let Xiaojun almost kill you? We both know you are more than capable of defending yourself, Jung Yoonoh.”

He stared down at the bedsheets, ignoring your question. It wasn’t until you pressed the towel against the bruise on his cheekbone that he started talking again. “Ok ok fine! What was I supposed to do? Hit your brother back?” His voice then lowered, his frame suddenly drooping, “And besides, I deserved it.”

Your hand stopped tending to the blood dripping down the side of his face. The lingering guilt crept in again. Jaehyun was gazing around your shared bedroom. He looked at the bedsheets, the mug steaming with tea on the bedside table, and to the door that was slightly cracked opened. He looked anywhere but at you. Both of you stayed like that for a while. Trying to interpret who was at fault, who should be feeling guilty and who shouldn’t. The hurt and frustration lingering between the two of you. The room’s tension was growing with intensity. Who should apologize first? Apologize for what? Why should they apologize first?

A series of thoughts ran through your mind, just as you were about to speak up, Jaehyun beat you to it. For once, he was looking at you, staring into your eyes. From his sorrowful gaze to yours, he gently placed his hand on top of yours. You heard him whisper as if he was scared to break the air, “Y/n y/l/n, I would never want to hurt you. I would rather hurt myself than to hurt you. Ever.”

With a slight crack in your voice, you asked, “Why?”

“I love you too much,” you felt his warm hands on your cheek and you unconsciously leaned toward it, “I love you more than I love myself. I can be hurt, but you can never be hurt,” you felt his thumb tremble slightly as he brushed it across your face, “The world has hurt you enough.”

Those were the words. Those were the words you’ve been wanting to hear. It was different than telling it to yourself. Words of comfort meant nothing when it came from your imagination. You were unsure of whether Jaehyun actually cared for you. You were afraid his feelings were only temporary, and it has already begun to fade away with time.

A single tear slid down your soft cheek. You tried your best to hold in any other tears in your eyes as you asked with a heavy aching in your heart, “Then why? Why did you resort to that?” You turned your head slowly toward the direction of the wall that Jaehyun imprinted a dent onto. 

Jaehyun followed your gaze and tears immediately fell down his cheeks. A hole was burned through his heart at the words that came out of your mouth. It was the bitter truth. Everything else just seemed like a lousy excuse. His voice cracked as he looked at your distressed face, “I-i’m so s-sorry y/n…”

Another tear rolled down your face as you saw your boyfriend break down. You cleared your throat as best as possible and said sternly, “I don’t want a sorry. I want an explanation. We can’t keep running away from what happened…”

“B-but it’s going to s-sound like an excuse…”

“Jaehyun, I don’t care. I want to know why. Don’t you think I at least deserve to know that?”

You stared at him expectantly as he took a deep breath and let out whatever he held back, “I-I tried to p-protect you…”

He knew the moment that word came out his mouth that everything would go back to square one. But no matter what happens, he had to let you know that this was exactly why he was so angry. No matter how absurd and contradicting it sounded, he had to let you know.

You scoffed, first Jaemin, and now Jaehyun. The world seemed odd to you. Why, in whatever twisted world, would Jaehyun be protecting you if you were almost hurt by his own actions? You felt a headache approach you and you couldn’t handle this conversation anymore. Right on queue, you heard the doorbell ring. Leaving after a deep sigh, you saw Jaehyun over your shoulders, having an internal battle with himself. It pained you to see him like that in his already beaten up condition, but you weren’t willing to resolve this if it meant he’d be giving the same, vague answers in response to your frustrations.

The door opened and revealed someone you were glad to see--Yuta. 

“Hey doll, I got what you needed.” He held up a paper bag and you let out a breath of relief. 

“Thank you, Yuta, really. We will get to our conversation after this, I promise.”

You grabbed the bag and turned to walk back into where Jaehyun was but you felt Yuta grab your wrist.

“Wait y/n, I brought someone with me. I think you guys need to work things out first.”

He stepped aside and Soojin appeared next to him. Your eyes widened, not ready to have two tough conversations in the span of an hour. However, Yuta swiftly grabbed the paper bag from you and headed to your bedroom, leaving the two of you alone.

Soojin gave you a weak smile, “Hey…”

You didn’t bother to greet her as you turned around and walked towards the couch. Soojin took a seat adjacent from you on the armchair, too guilty to sit too close to you. The living room was large but the tension that filled it was even larger. The two of you were silent for quite a while before Soojin finally mustered up her courage to speak.

Her voice was small as she confessed, “I really wasn’t thinking when I called Xiaojun, sorry y/n. I never wanted to see you hurt like this... Is your leg ok?”

She reached down to hold your ankle for inspection, but you flinched in pain. 

“Ow ow ow stop!”

She quickly raised her hands up as if she was caught in the middle of a crime, “Sorry! I didn’t know it was that bad…”

You muttered, “Well maybe you should tell my darn brother about this…”

Soojin’s ears perked up, “He doesn’t know? Was he that angry?”

You scoffed getting ready to expose your brother’s true colors, “Yes, to your second question. But for the first question, no. He knows yet he still decides to ignore it and tells me to stay away from Jaehyun instead.”

Soojin gave you a small “oh.” 

Your anger and frustration started to boil again so you continued to vent, “You know, I really thought Jaehyun would be the one. The one who would finally stop my picky, protective, brother. At first, I had high hopes. Even when Emily caused such a ruckus, Jaehyun, as if by magic, has convinced Xiaojun, and they were quite close to each other. But what changed? Oh! I know. You. You just had to tell Xiaojun that Jaehyun hit me! Even though he didn’t, might I add.”

She guiltily nodded her head. When she tried to speak up, you cut her off. You were too angry to stop your rant. You wanted to let everything out.

“Look Soojin. Did you not know Xiaojun is a dick to any guy who comes near me? Remember Jack? Yes. I admit he was a douche and deserved that beating from Xiaojun when I found out he was cheating, but the point is, Xiaojun is crazy! Do you know how scared I was when I saw him land a punch on Jaehyun? He may seem skinny and all, but he can really fight. I was so scared Jaehyun would pass out, and Jaehyun has beaten up many people. Not that I’m condoning any of their behaviors,” you scoffed, “But boys would always just be boys.”

You let out a huff after finishing your long rant. You looked at Soojin and saw her laughing to herself. You sent her a frustrated look, “This isn’t funny Soo!”

Almost immediately, she stifled her laughter and gave you a serious expression, “You’re right.” But then she gave you a wide grin and told you, “I’m glad you called me Soo again.”

You rolled your eyes at her, “Shut up. I’m still mad at you, but it was just hard to not talk to my venting buddy when I’m so angry and frustrated right now.”

She chuckled, moving to sit next to you on the comfy sofa, “You know, I’m glad to see you ranting like this. It shows that you really love Jaehyun. I know now that I don’t have to worry. So again, sorry for causing all this mess. I was dumb to even be a bit skeptical of Jaehyun.”

Scoffing at her words, you told her, “You should be skeptical of him. I am.”

Soojin raised her eyebrows, hinting at you for more details. You started to tell her Jaehyun’s contradictory behavior before you heard a loud noise in the direction of your bedroom. You and Soojin immediately rushed to the noise.

“What the fuck Jaehyun!” Your eyes widen as you swore at him. 

You saw the shattered tea mug lying on the floor beside Yuta’s feet. Looking up at him, you expected to see a horrified Yuta, but instead, you saw his sly smile.

“So doll, you’re telling me this is the guy who got beat up by your stick of a brother?”

You rolled your eyes, “Wipe that grin off your face Nakamoto. And you,” you pointed to your boyfriend, “What the fuck??!”

Jaehyun was steaming and ready to get up, but he quickly sat back down, clutching onto his bruised rib. You were fuming just as much as Jaehyun. Even to this day, he was still just as aggressive towards Yuta. You didn’t understand why and you were willing to get the explanation out of him. 

You somehow sorted out your problems with Soojin and you were suddenly determined to settle your situation with Jaehyun. As if she read your mind, Soojin gestured for Yuta to follow her out of the bedroom. Yuta rolled his eyes, following behind her.

You waited until they both left and turned to Jaehyun with both arms on your hips, “I don’t have any patience with you anymore. Jung Yoonoh you better spill everything you’re holding back today or you won't ever see me again.”

———

[rollzerox]

Hey you brilliant writer you! I ship the ever living hell out of hakyona but because that anon keeps bothering ya id like ya to do a Drabble on the most recent reunion of hak and yona with Jeaha and yona! You keeping doing you boo!

Thank you so so much! Your words of kindness mean so much to me!

Ok! So Iwent a different direction with this one: Instead of part of my AU start aseries of drabbles I’ve been wanting to do which is JaeYona confessionhappening in different parts of the series compared to the fanic ‘What Do YouThink of Me?’ which is Chapter 85, so in other words most bits still happenfrom the AU except after that point that they got together, more suggestionsare welcome! So instead of Yona’s regret of not telling Hak about her feelingswe have Jae-ha here so it’s a mix of Chapters 174 and 175 by having that firstpart of Yona’s regret leading into their reunion, hope you enjoy!

Also on anote while Jae-ha didn’t have Hak’s loud love confession he did have that canonbit where he said Yona is dear to him, so instead I’m having there is where shehesitated telling him lol

 ‘Whydidn’t I say it when I had the chance? Jae-ha… When you told me that I’m dearto you… That made me… Really, really happy…’

 Yona’s eyeswere getting too heavy and the smoke was getting worse from the fire. She hadheard Gobi near her but at this point passed out, she couldn’t breathe anymoreand all she could think of was her regret never telling her Ryokuryuu that she wasin love with him when she had the chance… She was sure this was the end.

 That’s whenthere was a loud crash that Yona didn’t hear due to her unconscious state,Jae-ha had just landed from one of his jumps after Algira and Vold told himwhere they saw her. While he was still wounded he knew he had to get her out ofhere fast, as soon as he could locate her. “YONA!” he shouted, thenheard little Ao making noises as he rushed around the corner, his eyes narrowedwhen he saw the priest looming over her, trying to make her call out for thedragons. “GET AWAY FROM HER!” with a swift kick from his dragon leg, Gobi wastossed across the room where he left an imprint on the wall.

 “Yona! Yonadear!” Jae-ha shook the redhead a few times, seeing her eyes closed and not movinghis mind went into panic, worried he was too late. Seeing those chains still onher feet burned a hatred inside of him, wishing he had kicked Kuelbo’s headstraight off earlier.

 “J-Jae-ha…”

 Jae-hagasped when he heard the small voice coming from the princess in his arms, breathinga sigh of relief that she spoke as he picked her up, rushing to get to anotherroom that wasn’t engulfed in flames as the way he came in was blazing with fireso that wasn’t a safe place to jump out now. Once he could find a decent windowhe could easily escape with her, so he raced through the inside of the palace, checkingon her again. “Yona dear, you’re safe now.”

 Yona didn’trespond at first, stirring a bit in his arms. But after a moment she spoke hisname again. “Jae-ha…”

 “Talking in hersleep I guess, calling for big brother in her dreams.” Jae-ha sighed, shakinghis head. “It’s alright, let’s just get you to safe-“

 “I loveyou…”

 Time stoppedfor the Ryokuryuu right then, his amethyst eyes wide with shock as he didn’t believehis ears. He froze right in place, staring at the unconscious girl in his arms.“… What..?” his heart thumped away in his chest loudly, burning with hisdesire for Yona that he’d been denying for a while now, thinking that her andHak would one day get together… But she said his name, didn’t she? Did thatmean that when Hak said her heart is stable now that he was the one that she-

 Jae-ha didn’thave time to continue that thought, the flames were catching up with him as thefire broke out into other areas of the castle. He had to rush off and find theclosest window to jump out of, landing at the other side of the castle. Hegroaned as his wounds were catching up to him, after all he let Kija beat himup as he refused to fully fight back his dragon brother not to mention the facthe never fully recovered from when they were captured. Also they were stillaway from Kouka so his body felt terribly heavy, so he didn’t want to riskanother jump with Yona and attempted to walk through the castle to get downbelow.

 “Unnn..”Yona stirred some more, coughing as she finally came to. “Where…?”

 “Yona dear?”Jae-ha stopped for a moment, smiling that she finally woke up. “Are youalright? We finally got back here to save you. Yoon’s free and all the dragonsare here. Kouka’s won against the Tully Tribe.” He immediately informed her,knowing she’d be worried. “Also your tip helped greatly in us winning thebattle.”

 But Yona wasfocused on one thing. “J-Jae-ha…? I-it’s really you… I-I did get to see youa-again…” her eyes were watering. “I-I… I wanted to t-tell you that I-“ shestarted coughing though, due to all the smoke she inhaled.

 “Yona dear,take it easy.” Jae-ha set her down for a moment. “You breathed in too muchsmoke, and yes it’s me.” He smiled as she reached out to touch his cheek as ifchecking if he were real. “I told you that you worry about us beasts too much…Are you alright?”

 Yona nodded,though coughed a bit more. “Everyone is ok..?” she managed to ask.

 The GreenDragon nodded. “Yes, we can return home now to Kouka safely. By the way, I apologizefor not doing this sooner but…” he immediately smacked down his right footagainst her chains, breaking them in half. “I’ll get the shackles off later butI’ve been wanting to do that since that bastard put them on you.” He growled.

 “My feet dofeel a bit lighter…” Yona commented, looking at the burns on them along withher injuries. “Where is Yoo-lan? Is she safe? She protected me when Gobi triedto…”

 “I ran intoher on my way here, some of that bastard’s goons tried to hold her back as shewas trying to rescue you.” Jae-ha explained. “Kuelbo was with her though when Ileft, though I probably shouldn’t have given him a chance to escape…” he grithis teeth.

 “Kuelbo cameback for Yoo-lan? That’s great!” Yona smiled, though she coughed again.

 Jae-hacouldn’t help but smile at her expression. “… You’re too kind, Yona dear. Aftereverything that man put us through…” he shook his head, though stiffened. “… Hedidn’t… Try anything did he? I was worried when you didn’t return to the cell…”

 Yona blinkeda few times. “Huh? Oh no he just slept next to me while watching me as aprisoner, and besides when you told him a beast like lightning would rip outhis throat if he asked me about it and I let him think that Hak would kill himsince I didn’t know he was married at that time.” She giggled, though startedcoughing badly again.

 Jae-hafrowned and hugged her close. “… I was worried sick about you… After the way hetreated you before and I couldn’t protect you… I’m glad you’re alive and safenow.”

 Yonaattempted to get her coughing under control, smiling at him. “Thank you forrescuing me again.” She chuckled.

 “It’s alwaysa pleasure.” He said, smiling warmly at her as he caressed her hair. What shemumbled in her sleep was still on his mind, he was even questioning if what heheard was real. But this really wasn’t the time or place to ask. He foundhimself pressing his forehead against hers, eyes closed as he was catching hisbreath as his wounds were getting the best of him. “Yona dear… I…”

 “J-Jae-ha?”Yona flushed from him being so close, then realized he was losing his balanceas she helped guide him to rest against the wall. “Jae-ha you’re hurt evenworse than before! You came back for me even when you’re like this?” shewhimpered.

 “I-I’m fine…Just give me a moment…” Jae-ha panted. “The smoke probably got to me a bitmaybe if I can just find some water…”

 Yona nodded,standing up and searching right away as they seemed near the food storage forthe castle, finding a vat nearby. ‘I’ve got to find water fast, don’t die onme Jae-ha not now!’ she rushed over, opening the casing and dipping herhand into the cool liquid to find it was water… But no ladle in sight. ‘Whatdo I do now?’ she whimpered, glancing back to see Jae-ha breathing heavily.Her mind in a panic, she did the only thing she could think of, she scooped upthe water into her mouth, rushing back over to her Green Dragon that lazilyopened his eyes.

 “Yonadear, don’t wander off…!!!” the Ryokuryuu’s eyes widened when Yona pressedher lips against his, passing the water to him through the kiss.

 Once shefinished Yona pulled back a bit, her face red as their eyes met but somethingin Jae-ha’s brain snapped, he reached a hand behind her head and pulled herback down as he kissed her, tracing his tongue over her lips and just finally lettinggo all those urges and feelings he’d been holding back.

 Startled,Yona pulled back a bit. “W-wait t-there’s no more w-water…” she said, blushingworse as he pulled her down for another kiss, her hand clutching at hisshoulder as she clumsily tried to kiss him back, her heart hammering away inher chest as part of her was cheering in joy while utterly embarrassed.

 Jae-hahummed as their lips parted, smiling warmly at her. “I guess I just mistookyour lovely salvia as more water, Yona dear…” he teased, holding her close. “I’llstop if you dislike it so much.”

 Yona’s facewas about as red as her hair now, she shook her head timidly. “J-Jae-ha…. I…”she felt a lump in her throat, one that was burning as she wanted to justfinally yell out her feelings now that she had him here, but since her voicecouldn’t come out she responded with pressing her lips back against his,kissing him full on this time.

 Jae-ha eagerlyreturned the kiss, savoring every moment as his fingers weaved into her hairand caressed her cheek. “Yona dear…” he breathed, his breath hot againsthers and they only parted when Yona started coughing again, she kept strugglingtrying to speak as she wanted to blurt out her confession to him but keptfailing as she’d have another coughing fit. He frowned at that, pulling awayand realizing he needed to get her out of this place as they could hear the firestill spreading through the castle. So he got back onto his feet, lifting herup into his arms and rushing to the nearest balcony to jump to the ground below.“Let’s get you to Yoon right away so he can treat your wounds.” He smiled,kissing her forehead as he whispered into her ear. “… After that we can have alittle talk… Because I love you too, Yona dear.”

[elejah-wonderland]

Where Did Your Heart Go?/3

Fanfiction

Part 3/3

Elijah Mikaelson x Elena Gilbert

This is a very AU TVD story. The Originals never came to Mystic Falls. Elena, nevertheless met Elijah in Mexico, and they fell in love, but he left, breaking her heart.

a/n: thank so much for reading. xoxo

tags:

@rissyrapp20 @dendrite-lover @cassienoble2000 @captainshurley @elejahforever @hides2000

________

Days later

Seeing one another again had left a tremendous impact on their hearts that none of them thought would kick them in the manner it had done. And like the songs said - and here we go, life seemed to be simple, but the heart could not stop loving and never will, even now when it all seemed to be so final. How to believe in miracles, when one's heart was tread on so savagely like he had done to her. But he will never forget, continuing being a traveler in the past, a soul without destination, paying harshly for his mistakes. Never stop loving, and forever waiting on the shores of loneliness.

Elijah now took a deep long breath moving away from the mirror opening the chest of drawers to get a different pair of cufflinks and saw the bracelet he had bought Elena for her birthday seven years ago, but as he had left, he had never given it to her. He picked it up and looked at it for a while and as he heard his sister's footsteps approaching the apartment he put it back in the drawer.

"Hey, there"- Freya said as she got in.

"Hello."- Elijah turned around and now walked to his sister.

"How are you?"- she asked.

"I have been better."- Elijah replied-"So, is everything all right?"

"Yes. The truce is still holding."- Freya answered.

"Good. You are keeping everyone in check?"- Elijah asked

"Yes, I do."- and then she stopped looking at him pensively and he knew there was something particular she wanted to speak to him about and now asked her what it was.

"It's about Elena."- Freya said.

"What about her? Is something wrong?"

"No, it isn't. Just- when she came to New Orleans, asking for you- she had this- something unusual- like a magical imprint - and I have been digging into things and -"

                Elijah now could not wait for his sister to finish her sentence- "Please whatever it is - tell me!"

"Elena is not really an ordinary woman. She is what we witches call- a natural occurrence- a magical reincarnation- and she is the reincarnation of the first huntress."

"How- what does that exactly mean? That she is a huntress?"- Elijah said baffled.

"Yes."- Freya now said-"As she celebrated her 25th birthday, two years ago, it has come in full circle."

"That means that- she- "- Elijah shook his head in disbelief.

"She can withstand any demon."- Freya said-"She was the one we have been waiting for. When Cade is awaken, we will be ready:"

"I can't believe this."- Elijah  looked at his sister somewhat gobsmacked and then continued-"how did I not notice anything?"

"Because her aunt Jenna made her wear a protective amulet. Her family, the Sommers are the guardians of the Aztec stone."- Freya  now said.

"All this time- I can't believe this-all this time - we could have been together  huh- I just can't believe all this. Damn!"

"I am so sorry, Elijah. But I though  you should know."- Freya commiserated with her brother.

Elijah felt like someone had taken all of life out of him.

His grim face now thought of Elena accusing him of not having enough faith in her to tell her who he really was. 

The Original now swished out of the Mikaelson compound, out to the French Quarter to try and calm down somewhat.

***

In Mystic Falls, Elena opened the door for Caroline and Bonnie.

"You look wrecked."- Caroline said straight to her friend.

"I couldn't sleep much."- Elena admitted and as they walked in the kitchen she now told her friend about the letter Elijah had left behind- now showing it to them as she poured coffee to her friends.

"OMG!"- was both Caroline and Bonnie's reaction as they read it- "Elena, this is the most romantic declaration ever!!

"I know- I just don't know what to do!"- Elena said-"My mind tells me no, and my heart is screaming- go and tell him that you love him and that you never stopped loving him. But, he cut me off like someone ripped his heart out of his chest and just left  me standing there like I was nothing. Who does that?"

"A stupid Original vampire"- Caroline replied- "but did you ask him why? I mean- that he is part demon and maybe he was afraid that he would hurt you- or something."

"We didn't talk- remember- I just blocked him."- Elena said-"UGH- what am I going to do?"

"You will go to New Orleans and talk."- Bonnie said-"you have to talk- and then- well, just make up you mind if he is worth it. I don't know what else to tell you."

"Ok- yeah. I have to do something. I have to go- I just- I need to look for flights first flight from Richmond? OMG- I can't believe I am doing this. I can't breathe-"- all of a sudden Elena was hyperventilating.

"Ok- you are experiencing an after shock thing. It's pretty normal."- Caroline said-"take deep breaths and soon you will be fine. Let me look for some flights. Get packing."

"Packing?"- Elena said now remembering-"I haven't really unpacked."

"Great"- Bonnie said-"Where is your bag?"

"In the car."- Elena said.

Damon now walked in Elena's house and asked what the commotion was about.

"Elena is going to New Orleans- and she and Elijah are getting back together!"- Caroline informed the vampire, and she proceeded with booking the flight.

In her room now, Elena could not wait to get to New Orleans and dialed Elijah's number, she was given by Freya, whom she called in the mean time.

There, Elijah, who was now at the Mikaelson house picked up his phone from the jacket seeing an unknown number and as he swiped he said-

"Yes?"

                Elena said without any innuendos-

                 continuing-

"I cannot stop loving you-I could never- and the letter you have left last night- was the nicest thing ever- I love you."

"I love you, too, so much. Elena, if only I could take everything back that I did that day, I would. In a heartbeat. I have acted out of fear, as my life- you know- is entangled in darkness of unbelievable proportions. Still, I should have told you the truth about myself."

"I know- and strangely- that same darkness has brought us together again."-

"Ironically"- Elijah said.

"Yeah-"

Caroline now shot in telling Elena they got her a flight and she will be driving her to the airport.

Elijah was delighted to hear that Elena would be in New Orleans within a few hours.

"You heard?"- Elena said.

"I did. So, I will see you soon."- Elijah said happily.

"Yes, you will."- Elena said and they both hang up as Caroline was now urging her to go.               

******

Flashingforward to a couple of months later

Elena now got her friends on the conference call with the biggest update of them all-

"Ok- are you ready?"- Elena said.

"Oh, come on, spit it out, finally-"- Caroline was impatient to hear what had happened as they could tell by Elena's happy voice that something great had occurred.

"Elijah proposed!! I am getting married!"- Elena shot out.

There were screams of happiness now coming from the phone.

Elena continued-"and I need you guys to help me plan it. But nothing huge-"

Caroline never understood the word nothing or not- or no- it wasn't really huge, but it was pretty big.

Elena chose to wear the Aztec bracelet he had bought for her so many years ago, and had not given her until the day they reunited in New Orleans again.

                 Everything was beautiful that day, and her witch and vampire friends and new family made sure darkness kept well away that day from all of them. There was only love and light to be had.

                 Elena and Elijah pledged - Always and Forever, and that they were never letting go , they soon left for their honeymoon in Mexico.

*

On the beach somewhere in Mexico

Elena now was ready to leave for the day already dressed and waited for Elijah to come out of the ocean. The sun had already set. She stood up to see if he was close to the shore now. And seeing him now waved at him, and he got out swishing to her smiling, taking her in his arms, soaking wet as he was. And Elena laughed and now moaned chuckling that he was making her dress wet through. Putting her down he then took her by the hand kind of dragged her to go into the water-

but she managed pulling her hand off him, both laughing. As he caught up with her, he enveloped her in his arms, and they both stumbled down on on the warm sand -

Elena ran her hands through his hair- and said dreamily

"Kiss me"

Elijah now smiled  and bent down, his lips gentle, then more fiery and demanding, her encircling him, drawing him closer to her, both melting away, entangled together, to love and hold forever and always.

And whatever demon tried to stop them from being happy, well, they made sure they were not able to do so ever again.

the end

_____

[gamerwoo]

[Tales from the Pack] Hansol: Fire and Ice (Part Six)

Characters: Hansol x female reader

Genre/warnings: werewolf au, fantasy, angst, the smallest bit of fluff just bc hansol’s optimistic and a sweetheart

Word count: 2,420

Summary: You’ve always been one to let your emotions get the best of you – your power reflects that – and you’ve never been good at expressing them. That’s why you always thought you’d be awful with a mate, but you never thought things would be this awful.

a/n: things in bold are in english. also this takes place the same night as the last part but it explains where hansol was when minghao couldn’t find him, and what happened to his mate after she woke up. AND it does talk about rika and baekhyun and i used to have a series for them called amend buuuut i also took that down to redo it lmao so there’s not really much backstory on them other than what i have for star crossed so if you’re confused, that’s ok lmao 

Previous | Next | Fire and Ice Masterlist

Hansol sat on the lawn as he usually did, staring up at the stars. He always wondered if you were looking at the stars, too. He wondered if you even liked looking stars, or what you preferred looking at instead. Did you like watching the clouds or animals in the forest? Did you like watching snow fall in the winter or rain fall in the summer? Did you still find staring at the fire comforting and pleasing even though you could easily form it effortlessly at your fingertips?

You were all Hansol thought about, and truthfully, he waited up every night for you. He never once felt you were in danger, and he knew he could find you quickly if there was danger. But for now, he was giving you space. He was just hoping you’d come back to him. If you did, he’d go see that doctor your pack recommended. If not, then he’d already be dead before the pain could get any worse – unless the silver managed to kill him first, in which case, it wouldn’t really matter anyway.

Hansol heard the front door open and shut before he heard somebody walking in the grass. He could smell Seokmin’s scent, so he knew it was him coming over.

“I’m about to go to bed, and everyone else is already in their rooms,” he told the younger boy. “I just wanted to see if you needed anything.”

“Actually,” Hansol spoke up, peeling his gaze away from the night sky to look at Seokmin, “I’ve been thinking...”

“About what?” Seokmin wondered as he sat down beside his brother.

“It’s been about a week since everything,” he began, staring at the grass between the two of them, “so I think it’s safe to go look back at the old house.”

Seokmin didn’t understand why Hansol would feel any need going back there. No doubt everything would be burned to the ground. Any belongings they had were what was left in their house, or what was put there by your pack in preparation for them to move in.

“Look for what?” he asked.

Hansol’s golden eyes practically sparkled when he looked up at Seokmin, “Something of Jiung’s or Chanseong’s. I want to give it to _____.”

“When?” Seokmin scoffed. “I don’t mean to sound mean, Sol, but do you even know if she’ll come back to you?”

“I’d go leave it at the house,” he shrugged. “I won’t go see her if she doesn’t want me to, so I’d just leave it there and go.”

“What are you expecting to find, exactly? You know there won’t be any bodies.”

“There might be. Or maybe there’s something small that didn’t get completely burned. I don’t know.”

As Hansol pushed himself off of the ground, Seokmin looked up at him, “Are you leaving right now?”

“Yeah,” he shrugged. “Do you wanna come help me?”

Seokmin sighed but got up as well, “Somebody has to keep you out of trouble.”

“Okay, Mr. Thunder-and-Lightning,” Hansol chuckled as the two brothers walked closer to the edge of their property and into the woods, “I think you are the trouble.”

“Hey, I helped!” Seokmin insisted.

“Yeah, helped Jooyeon have a heart attack,” Hansol laughed as the two disappeared into the thick brush.

-

You woke from your nightmare with tears streaming down your face. You’d been doing this a lot lately: crying so hard you’d wake yourself up. But this time, it was better that you woke up in the middle of the night. It was the perfect time to slip out unnoticed.

Ever since that first day after Jiung died, you felt the alpha pull to Hanbin. It was supposed to be you, but it never was. You tried to pretend, but nothing changed. You were never fit to be an alpha like Jiung, but you knew Hanbin would do a good job to protect the others.

Before you left, you got out a pen and some paper and wrote a quick note to Rin. You knew this would have the biggest impact on her, but you couldn’t stay here. If you weren’t an alpha like you were supposed to be, what was the point? It was like you didn’t belong here, but you definitely knew you didn’t belong with Seungcheol’s pack – not after you denied Hansol. To be truthful, you didn’t even really feel the tie to the pack anymore, not after the two days spent with Hansol. So you were going to just…go. You didn’t know what you’d do, but you’d either figure it out eventually or you’d die – whichever came first.

But you also knew Rin would have her mate soon enough considering she often went out and followed him around. Sure, he didn’t know since Rin kept herself invisible, but just knowing where her mate was and knowing he was doing okay was what you assumed would help her cope. It was why she was hidden the entire time his pack was here: she didn’t want her mate to see her and imprint on her – not until she learned how to speak to him, at least. So you hoped she’d be okay after you left, and that she’d learn Korean to finally go introduce herself to him. He seemed like a nice enough guy, anyway. He’d definitely help her get better and would make sure she was happy.

Rin,

When you read this, I’ll be gone. I don’t know where I’m going, but please don’t look for me. I know you’ll think I betrayed you by leaving, and I won’t try to make any excuses for myself. You were alone when Jiung and Chanseong you here, and all you had was us to rely on. I always promised to stick beside you, and I’m completely breaking that promise. I know you’ll hate me, and I deserve it. But I want you to know I still love you, and I hope you’ll do okay. And try not to stress so much – your mate will love you no matter what.

Please take care of yourself.

-_____

You left the note on your pillow before grabbing Jiung’s sweater that you left laying over the back of your chair, tugging it over your head, and going to the window. You pushed the window open before leaping out and landing softly on your feet before you ran into the woods, leaving behind your home, and the pack you used to consider family.

-

The wolves could already smell that burnt smell from the house, but they continued to run in their wolf forms until they were closer. They didn’t shift back until they reached the clearing where their house used to stand. But now, everything was reduced to rubble and ash.

“Shit…” Seokmin mumbled, looking around the plot of land they used to call home.

A place that once held bright and lively memories now looked dark and dead. They couldn’t believe this was the same place they used to run around and play. They couldn’t believe a large, warm house once stood here. On the other hand, they couldn’t believe that said house was now destroyed. It was all just a bunch of ash and useless pieces of debris.

“I’m gonna sift through some of this and see if there’s anything we can take back,” Seokmin said, gesturing toward the largest pile of dark ash.

Hansol just went over to where he last remembered seeing Jiung, all but ignoring Seokmin. There were small piles of ash around the house, which must’ve been all the dead or severely injured that they couldn’t save. There were even some detached body parts mixed in, but thankfully that stench was covered by the smell of the burned house that attacked his nose.

He reached the general area and got down on his bare knees, sifting through the ashes. He felt bad disturbing anything that might be a body, but he was determined to find something – anything – to make you feel like you could have even a little bit of closure. Hansol just wanted you to be happy.

Something suddenly caught his eye. It was something gold that shone in the moonlight above, which was what made him notice it. He brushed away some of the ash before picking up some sort of pendant on a thin gold chain. It was a plain gold circle, no bigger than a small coin, and it had Jiung’s first initial and your first initial engraved on it with a dot in between the two letters. Jiung and _____.

Hansol let the chain dangle from his teeth – he obviously didn’t have pockets, and that’s how he’d have to carry it in wolf form anyway – before searching through the rest in case there was anything else. He found a ring that had a date engraved on it as well. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he figured he should bring it just in case.

“Hansol!” Seokmin called as he rushed over with a few books in his arms. “I found a photo album, one of Danbi’s books, and a few picture frames that made it out.”

“Good job,” the younger wolf smiled. “Let’s get back to the house before sunrise, yeah?”

So the two shifted before Seokmin collected the small stack of things in his mouth, and the two raced off to their new home, happy with the small things they were able to find.

-

Hansol and Seokmin could hear their names being called before they even got close to home. They picked up their pace, Hansol howling to let them know they were nearby and safe.

When they finally made it back to the house, almost all the wolves were outside, waiting for the pair to return. Seokmin immediately dropped what he had in his mouth, but Hansol kept the ring and the necklace balanced carefully between his teeth.

Jihoon looked down at the ground, scanning over the things Seokmin brought before looking at the two wolves, “Did– Did you two go back to the house?! Are you kidding me?! You both could’ve gotten killed!”

Seokmin whined but Hansol didn’t regret it. He got what he was looking for.

“Jia’s been looking for you,” Seungcheol told Hansol.

The boy carefully placed the jewelry in the grass before shifting and collecting his two items, “Why?”

The eldest alpha sighed, running a hand through his dark hair, “_____ ran away from her pack.”

Hansol paused like he was trying to see if his instincts were about to suddenly warn him about his mate, but when nothing happened, he shrugged, “She’s okay.”

“What?” Soonyoung gasped. “You’re not even gonna go check on her?”

“No, she wants her space,” he insisted. “If something bad happens, then I’ll go find her, but until then, me smothering her won’t help.”

Junhui pointed at the gold pieces of jewelry that the younger wolf held, “What’re those?”

“They’re gifts,” he replied, smiling softly to himself as he looked down at the jewelry in the palm of his hand, “for _____.”

-

Maybe Rika was right. Maybe Baekhyun was the worst. Maybe you should’ve listened to the tiny mate whenever she complained about him. But you always found Baekhyun pretty enjoyable since he had about the same snarky attitude as Rin. But now, you were deciding to reconsider that.

Had he not had been sniffing around your property, you wouldn’t have been caught. Had he not been having issues with not only his mate -- if you could call her that -- and his pack, he wouldn’t have stopped you.

Had Chanyeol not been worried when he realized his brother was missing and gone out to find him, you would’ve gotten away.

“Can’t burn me if I burn too, _____,” Chanyeol sang as he forcefully carried you to their house.

But you had stressed that you didn’t want anyone knowing about this. Baekhyun couldn’t tell Rika, and neither of them could snitch on you to their pack. And considering the mental state they found you in, even Baekhyun knew not to double-cross you even though he just replied with, “I’ll think about it”.

Sneaking you inside was easy because the pack was asleep. So Chanyeol brought you up to Baekhyun’s room before setting you on the bed while Baekhyun shut the door. Then he turned to look at you, quirking an eyebrow while Chanyeol just studied you with furrowed brows.

“So...what happened?” Baekhyun quizzed.

He knew what happened to your alpha already. Their pack was friends with yours, and there was also the tie to Rika. But he didn’t understand what caused you to suddenly snap.

“I don’t have to tell you,” you told him, your arms crossed over your chest.

He shrugged, “Fair. But if you’re missing, I’m sure your pack will go looking for you when they realize, and then they’ll tell us what’s going on. And Rika will love me for saving her sister from a mental break.”

Your eyes widened, “I’m not going back.”

“You’re not going to do something stupid, either,” Chanyeol stated.

“I wasn’t!” you insisted. “I was just running away, okay?”

Baekhyun bit the inside of his cheek. He figured you must’ve realized that wasn’t the pack you belonged in anymore. They knew Hanbin was the alpha when they saw him last, sensing the authority radiating off of him and the way the pack acted around him. It was obvious.

But they didn’t know why you weren’t the alpha. So where did you belong?

“Is it because--”

“Where’re you gonna go?” Baekhyun cut off Chanyeol before he could ask a stupid question.

You just shrugged, “I don’t know. I can take care of myself, though.”

While Baekhyun would’ve rather just had you stay with them, he knew Junmyeon especially would ask a lot of question. And it was obvious you didn’t want to be bothered with that. Not only that, but he’d contact Hanbin.

Finally, he let out a sigh and grabbed your upper arm, “C’mon, let’s go.”

“Go where?” you asked.

He brought you to his bedroom door, whispering, “I’m gonna stay at the hut with you so I can know you’re safe, but so you’ll be away from everybody.”

You were surprised Baekhyun was doing something to help you, but you didn’t say anything else to him until you were out of the house and a good distance away. 

“Won’t your pack wonder where you went?” you pointed out.

He just shrugged, “Eh, probably not.”

[crimsoncobaltblue]

A Single Touch: Part 1 - Debbigail

(Ok so to kinda celebrate getting over 50 followers (yay!!!!) this is just a little story cuz I’ve really been wanting to write about my OTP!! This soulmate au is where you have the imprint of where they will first touch you and after they touch you it disappears and only reappears when they touch you again. Alright onto the story!!!)

Read the rest of the story! Part 2 | Part 3

——————————-

As I was about to pull on my blue shirt for the day, i couldn’t help but stop and stare at the imprints on my sides.

My soulmate’s imprints.

I couldn’t help but give a small smile at the thought of maybe meeting my soulmate. I wondered where she was and what she was doing. Was she thinking of me? Maybe even right now?

I lightly touched the marks before I was startled out of my thoughts by my brother.

“Dewey, come on! We gotta hurry!” Huey said, staring in the mirror at his own soul mark. The imprint of a hand right across his cheek. I felt a little bad for Huey; it seemed his soulmate would not be happy whenever they met. Or Louie’s soulmate for that matter.

I looked over at Louie who had his hoodie on already and was scrolling through his phone but I already knew what they looked like: two violent-looking handprints on the front of his shoulders.

Well, if nothing else, we could all laugh about each of our own ferocious encounters together. Provided each of our soulmates didn’t kill us at the time.

Louie and Huey suddenly stopped what they were doing, hearing Uncle Donald struggling to get ready for his job interview today. I snapped to attention, staring at my brothers as they went over to me.

“Alright, we’ve already sent the babysitter away,” Huey started, fixing his eyes on his checklist. “Louie and I will be keeping Uncle Donald distracted while Dewey hot wires the engine to the boat. I’ll get be sure to get Uncle Donald out by 10:00. Dewey, make sure you give us the signal before you start the houseboat up.”

I nodded and we all split up, Huey and Louie running out to the living/kitchen/dining room area. I ran up to the ship’s engine, (pointedly ignoring Uncle Donald’s frustrated telling) and flung myself onto the floor under the controls. As I reached for the wires my mind wandered back to soulmates. Specifically, mine. I had wished on more than one occasion that I knew more about her, other than the fact she’s gonna touch my sides upon meeting. I blushed a little but shook off any thoughts of cheesy, romantic encounters. That’s just crazy. It was more likely that I was gonna get pushed out of her way or something, like how my brothers almost undoubtedly are going to be by their own soulmates.

I quickly checked the time and saw it was 10:00. So, I hopped up and turned the key. The motor miraculously sputtered to life and I grinned wildly. Adventure and danger and risk are definitely gonna be a part of today, that’s for sure!

“Alright boys!” I yelled, pulling wires out and plugging them into each other. “We’ll get to Cap Suzette and back before anyone realizes we’re gone!”

I started to sweep my arm from the wheel of the boat to the door, imaging myself as the dashing and debonair Captain Dewey, a captain that struck fear and awe in the hearts of even the toughest. “So long, Dorkburg. And hello-oooo... Uncle Donald... What-What’s up..?” I tried to recover from what I had been saying as I saw the angry figure of Uncle Donald in the doorway. Based off his expression, I don’t think he’s buying what I’m selling.

The next thing I knew Huey, Louie, and I were literally thrown into the backseat of the car. I just barely heard Uncle Donald mention something about “not being able to leave us alone” but I was more focused on being angry at Huey.

“You were supposed to get him out by 10:00, Huebert!” I hissed at my brother clad in red while leaning over Louie a little, who looked bored like normal.

“Well, you were supposed to signal before you started the boat, Dewford!” Huey argued, the mark on his cheek standing out as his fury rose.

“Ugh. We never get to do anything!” Louie piped up, his hands shoved into his hoodie pocket.

“Boys,” Uncle Donald sighed. “If we want to keep our home afloat, we’ve all got to do things we don’t want to do.” He said while typing our destination into the GPS.

“Destination: McDuck Manor.” Said the GPS in it’s monotone voice and I wished I had some water so I could spit it back out in shock.

“McDuck Manor! As in Scrooge McDuck?!” Huey gasped, his eyes shining with admiration. His hand absent-minded my touching his mark as if to cover it up.

“The bajillionare?!?!” I yelled, forcing myself to get over the shock.

“You’re finally gonna sell us.” Louie leaned over the seats with a smirk.

Uncle Donald turned to Louie. “I’m not gonna sell... Ah, he owes me.” Uncle Donald started and ended the sentence as quickly as possible.

Cue me and my brothers talking about all of Scrooge McDuck’s daring deeds which we continued to talk about until we reached McDuck Manor and it was absolutely the most impressive place I’ve ever seen!

Uncle Donald was just leaning out the window to talk to the intercom-thing when we heard the screeching of tires behind us.

“Mrs. B. Open up. I need to get out of here before-“ Uncle Donald was cut off by a honk from the limo behind us. I stared at the limo in amazement along with my brothers. “-he gets here.” Uncle Donald finished his sentence with a sigh.

“Oy! Jettison that jaloppy from my driveway this instance, ya dead beat!!!” We heard from a duck with a thick Scottish accent. Uncle Donald slumped forward in exasperation before he stepped out of the car to meet face-to-face with the world’s richest duck.

“Donald Duck.” Scrooge McDuck said menacingly.

“Uncle Scrooge.” Uncle Donald said with venom in his raspy voice.

“UNCLE SCROOGE?!?!?!?” Huey screamed as loud as he could and I was too shocked to say anything so I just screamed along with my brothers excitedly. Rolled around a little on the car’s roof before freaking out a little to myself. Uncle?!?! If Scrooge McDuck is Donald’s uncle then that has to mean... WE’RE RELATED TO THE RICHEST DUCK IN THE WORLD!!!! I turned around and sat in the seat normally for a moment to process this while I was staring at the massive mansion. Out of the blue, I smiled. I wasn’t sure why but something about the place just seemed... oddly inviting despite the fact that the place was huge and intimidating.

——————————-

Soon enough, we were introduced to our great-uncle Scrooge and taken into the mansion. By the maid. Our newest uncle slammed the door on us but I personally didn’t care. I was just excited to be inside. There was diamonds littered in a random fruit bowl near the door and a shiny sword where you’d normally put umbrellas and on the wall hung impressive portraits of our Uncle Scrooge. But none of these truly captured my attention. My attention span was short as it was but I seemed intent to find something but I wouldn’t know what since we’d never been here.

As we passed by the roaring fire contained in the fireplace and under a painting of a very focused looking Uncle Scrooge, searching for treasure no doubt. I heard Louie whisper a near silent “woah” and I almost agreed with him until I noticed something. My right side, which was facing the fire, seemed warm, which was normal but... my other side seemed just as warm despite the fact it faces away from the flames.

Our Uncle Scrooge and the maid lead us into the dining room where Scrooge sat at the head of the long dining table, reading a newspaper with a sandwich next to him. We sat at the other end and the maid seemed to interrupt Uncle Scrooge’s reading to say something. He clearly ignored her and went back to reading until we all three silently agreed we had to ask him questions while we could.

——————————-

However after only having asked him twenty questions in a row did he and his maid shove us into an old, dusty room. Away from him.

Uncle Scrooge pointed his cane up towards the tall, scarily strong-looking maid that was with him. “You agreed to watch ‘em.” He said with almost what sounded like a growl. “Watch ‘em.” He ordered her.

Then he turned to the three of us. “Huey, Louie...” He paused, looking at each of them. “The third one.” He said, looking at me and I crossed my arms defensively, glaring at him as he tipped his hat to us and left.

His maid stepped forward with a bag of what sounded like marbles. “Please do not leave the designated ‘play-area.’” The maid started giving us quick and precise instructions as she threw the bag of marbles to me, which I caught. Of course, I did, what did you expect? “A gift from your great uncle.” She explained as I took out a marble and looked at it carefully. Huey and I stared at the marble with confusion and I’m pretty sure Louie was doing the same.

“You will return them upon your departure.” The maid, who I guess was the Mrs. Beakley both our uncles had mentioned. “He’s counted them.” Mrs. Beakley said before leaving and closing the door behind her.

I felt anger rise inside me. He’s counted them?! What kind of duck apparently couldn’t give a few ducklings even just one marble?!

“Great. Now we’ve got two boring uncles.” Huey stated as he took a few steps toward the wall, his arms crossed.

Louie casually faced Huey’s back as I marched toward the door. “So we’re totally ditching this room, right?” I heard Louie say and I felt a random surge of the warmth from earlier alongside my indignation. This warmth was different than the anger though. It was... happy? I didn’t have a word for it, besides I had more things to worry about besides worrying about some weird, warm feelings coming from my sides.

“Yep!” I responded to Louie’s question, turning to face him with the door right behind me. “And I know just how to do it.” I said with more than a bit of mischief in my voice as I dangled the bag of marbles in my hand, shaking it lightly.

Huey gasped, looking curiously excited to see what I meant. Louie looked proud, he probably already knew what I was gonna do. That annoyed me a little because I liked knowing something my brother’s didn’t but, again, I’ll focus on that later.

——————————-

After a few minutes of continuously hitting the doorknob with the bag of marbles, Huey and Louie sat down, looking bored. Well, I suppose it’s a good thing I’ve been hitting this stupid thing ‘cause those two would’ve given up long ago. Good thing the great dashing and daring Dewey Duck didn’t know the meaning of ‘give up’!!!

That, however did not mean I never got frustarated. I growled at the door rather loudly. “Stupid doorknob!!! COME OFF!!!!” I yelled, grunting with the effort of having to repeatedly hit a doorknob.

Finally, the doorknob gave way and came off of the old door. “Nailed it.” I muttered, laughing lightly under my breath at the unintentional pun. The feeling in my sides grew warmer and warmer with every passing moment and, strangely, I wasn’t worried about it. Most people would rush to the hospital but the feeling seemed to be saying ‘It’s okay. It’s safe here. You’re close.’ I really don’t know why on earth it felt like that but... It sure did feel comforting to be told it would all be okay.

“I can’t believe that was your best plan!” Louie complained. I just ignored him, knowing that’s just kinda what Louie does.

[thekidultlife]

The Coldest Human; The Warmest Robot | Jihoon! Android AU

Words: 13362 (yep. a lot. I know)

Genre: Fluff?, Slight Angst?

(A/N: So this fic was definitely based on the book “Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick (if you watched Psycho-Pass, you’ll know that Shogo Makishima makes the best dystopian novel recommendations) and the anime “Beatless”. Both gave such profound food for thought about androids and AI and I’ll tackle what I think about them in the following android series I’ll do since I enjoyed building this world, needless to say lmao. This first one is about androids and their lack of ‘emotion’ (dades named it as empathy, while beatless called it ‘soul’) and the possibilities of a relationship between androids and humans. I know others would feel reserved about this (I am too. It’s just fckiing weird) so I kept it open, a thought to explore. So here you go! I hope you guys like it!)

P.S. If you’re interested to discuss these things with me, the askbox and message box (?) are open! :) I’m more than happy for a thought exercise.  

“Ok. Good.”

He wouldn’t have imagined that those were the words he would hear after an immeasurable number of years.

“He’s working.”

He blinked; the machineries whirring in his chest and the cogwheels sphinning in his head. How many years was he out?

“Could you do a system evaluation?” he heard you ask and he answered without hesitation, the words spilling from his cherry pink lips.

“Memory, intact. System processing, stable. Vitals, stable. Body coordination, malfunction on the right arm joint…”

“Good. Just a bit of tweaking and repair,” you told him in such a mechanical voice that he wondered if you were one too. “Anyway, do you have a name?”

He blinked again; now aware that he was in a sitting position on a worn sofa and that he was in a small laboratory with you who was in a lab coat. His white blond hair fell on his forehead as he leaned in forward.

“I’m Jihoon.”

You nodded and gave a miniscule smile; a bit too cold for a human.

“I’m Y/N.”

3 hours earlier

“Ow! What the fuck?”

It wasn’t weird that you had almost tumbled forwards when your knees had hit a large box which was perfectly hidden by the dim lights of the hallway. It had been almost two years since you took a step into your mother’s old lab yet the throb of pain in your chest remained the same since day one.

You flicked the switch on, hoping that the other lights in the lab were still working, or else you might as well find yourself repairing every single one of them in the next few days. Luckily, you didn’t have to as the stark fluorescent lights flickered on without much difficulty.

With the lights now fully on, you glanced down on your feet to see what you had hit a little bit earlier. To your surprise, it was a large wooden crate that had your mother’s name and the address of her lab imprinted on it.

A slight look of confusion marred your face.

“Who on earth would have sent this?”

You asked even though you knew no one was going to reply. Trying to look for a return address, you only sighed when you found none and it kind of freaked you out. Nevertheless, the nagging feeling in your chest was tempting you to take the crowbar from the workshop.

“Well, doesn’t seem like it’s dangerous.”

You shrugged nonchalantly, holding the crowbar on your grasps and with a few strong tugs, you popped the lid open. What you found had you scrambling far, far away.

“—shit…!”

At the first sign of hair and limbs had your heart almost jumping out of your chest. There was no denying that a body of a dead person might have been sent to you and the image of the body sitting in fetal position was hammered into your head which you swore you will never forget in your entire life. Your hand immediately flew to the device you had on your wrist; looking for the emergency button which rang up the authorities automatically.

But taking a closer look, you noticed the unnatural white blond hair which almost looked like silicon and the pale asbestos white skin that was too perfect and too flawless to be human. Then, you finally saw the clothes which he was wearing—a black button-up and trousers which had a familiar emblem stitched into it.

“Wait…is that…oh.”

You took a few steps forward and hesitantly peered into the contents of the box with less panic and more objectivity. Finally seeing the signs which proved your thoughts, you gave a long sigh of relief as you sank to the floor on your knees; prying the other sides of the wooden crate open so that you wouldn’t have to carry something as heavy as an android.

Under normal circumstances, people couldn’t detect the difference between a human and an android and 99% of the time, there really was no difference—with the new Nexus 9 processing system, even fake emotions could be simulated. The only thing in the way is how androids cannot fully duplicate the humanness in humans.

Yet you have lived among these androids since you were born in a small colony orbiting Mars and your Mom was one of the best android engineers there ever was. Every miniscule twitch, or lack thereof, could alert you that the one you’re talking to is made of metal and codes after years of spending time with them.

“So, Jihoon?” you asked once more, trying to be sure if he was really fully functioning as you placed your tools back neatly inside a box.

He nodded, then scanned the whole lab as you observed his every action. Androids tend to do that—they’re logical to a fault. He could have already planned his way out within those few seconds, you thought.  

“Do you have any idea why you’re here?” you continued your inquiry, now sitting beside him.

“Yes, actually,” he replied without hesitation as he gazed right at you with unblinking eyes. “I wish to see Dr. L/N. She created me.”

Upon hearing his request, you sighed and slumped back on the worn sofa, thankful that dust was essentially non-existent in the filtered colonies. He was still looking at you and waited for any visible reaction but your gaze was as empty as his.

“She’s gone now. Dead,” you informed him nonchalantly as if you were just talking about the weather; trying to be as detached as you could be. “Gone ever since the mass riot in Hangar 15.”

Jihoon nodded since he was there in Hangar 15 when his fellow androids organized an uprising to escape the organization. Yet he chose not to participate in the event since he didn’t trust the plan that was laid, though he also chose not to help anyone, even the humans who perished.

“So, there it is,” you continued when he uttered no reply, standing up so you could stare at him.

You were not an idiot not to know that he was one of the recently escaped Nexus 9 androids from the organization and he was now on the hitlist of greedy bounty hunters disguised as police officers by the bureaucracy. What’s good about that was that you weren’t obliged to turn him in.  

“Are you her daughter?” he asked so suddenly that you raised your eyebrow in curiosity.

“I am. Why did you want to meet her anyway?”

He shrugged. “I needed to ask her something important regarding my functions.”

“Functions? You mean how you work?” you asked, inclining your head as if you were mulling the thought over. “Well, if that’s how it is, then maybe we could look into the computer over there.”

You pointed your head towards the direction of a series of computer screens on a workspace just to your left as Jihoon followed with his eyes. Walking over there, you turned on the main switch and rebooted the in-air holographic interface which allowed you to control several functions without really touching a solid object (ala Tony Stark style). Jihoon trailed behind you as he looked around and then back to you who was already providing the password.

“So, what did you want to look at?” you finally asked with a glitter in your eyes which Jihoon had noticed was only present in humans.

When you posed the question, the blond android immediately fell silent as he tried to rake his brain on what he actually wanted to know. However, within his usual processing time of five nanoseconds, he could not find any answer. In the meantime, you feared that he could be malfunctioning, so you walked closer and reached for his forehead, trying to see if his processor had heated up (which was so appropriately akin to a fever in humans). As soon as he felt your touch, Jihoon twitched and backed away, earning a surprised expression from you.

“I’m sorry. I feel disoriented right now,” he told you, avoiding your gaze.

“It’s ok. You might need some time to recalibrate yourself. Just rest on the sofa for the night…” you replied, a little bit confused and intrigued at the situation. “I’ll be leaving now.”

He nodded gingerly and returned to the couch as you moved to the exit and before you left, you glanced at him with an expression mix of worry and curiosity.

“An android’s main function is to protect itself, or, if it is programmed to work, then his responsibilities and obligations. It cannot work outside its program.”

Your instructor’s voice rang across the almost empty auditorium with its titanium walls and polyester seats burning your eyes with boredom. Being in class always felt too cumbersome, listening to a pre-recorded teacher who refer to androids as ‘it’, which you had some sort of strange distaste even though you knew they were right. Androids are nothing but a lump of metal, plastic and other materials with an artificial heart and brain—it shouldn’t be placed at the same level as humans.

“Everything they do are only mere pre-programmed responses. Even the Nexus 8 processor still has a few insufficiencies which could still possibly be detected by android detection tests such as the Voigt-Kampff scale and the Bonelli Reflex-Arc. However, Nexus 9 which was recently developed to perfection has undermined these insufficiencies, moving closer to simulate human beings. ”

That was how the whole system worked. The organization will produce these androids with a new Nexus processor and in a few and, often orchestrated escapes, these androids will be hunted down by bounty hunters. How, why and what killed these androids will then be used in order to improve the next line of androids.

Welcome to the organization.

“Y/N, I can’t seem to understand how to program involuntary movement.”

“Wow!  Didn’t you get the highest score in the last practicals?”

“Ms. L/N, please detail to us how the Voigt-Kampff tests work.”

“My goat back at home had kids. Sorry, I’m not allowed to give them.”

“Did you already get the programming assignment? It’s due tomorrow.”

“When I was an engineering student just like you, I knew how to work out an android with my eyes closed.”

“Hey, Y/N! Pay your electric bill. I don’t want you getting our electricity cut.”

“My parents got me an ostrich. They’re very rare these days.”

“Those are just androids. They’re not like animals or humans.”

 “You look tired.”

You blinked.

The gaze Jihoon was giving you seemed curious yet you only shook your head and slumped back on the worn sofa. These days, the only place which could give you solace was your mother’s old lab and Jihoon’s quiet presence. You were left on your own thoughts, which was a far contrast from the loud environment you were immersed in every single day.

“Class is shit as always,” you replied, pinching the bridge of your nose as you willed your nausea away. “My roommate is shit as always. My life is shit as always.”

“Why don’t you leave then?” Jihoon asked as he fiddled with an old laptop he found in the stockroom, trying to revive it, his voice as deadpan and mechanical as ever.

“It’s not as easy as you think,” you replied while you threw a severe look at him, which he only shrugged and continued soldering the wires into the motherboard.

“Humans are complicated. I cannot comprehend most of what they do and why they are doing it,” Jihoon remarked without even giving you a remarkable glance.

You looked at the distance with a blank look. “Most humans don’t understand what they’re doing or why they’re doing it. They just do it because that’s what they feel.”

Noticing his long stare, you averted your gaze back at Jihoon who had stopped fixing the gadget and just looked at you with a troubled expression.

“What does it feel like to feel?” he finally asked which had you returning his own stare, unable to think of an appropriate answer.

You sighed. “I’m sure you wouldn’t want to know.”

“Wouldn’t I?” Jihoon replied as he shot his brow, blond fringes falling softly on his forehead. “I’ve watched humans interact over the years and I’ve tried to understand their actions, yet until now, I couldn’t. Even at this time and age when emotions could easily be manipulated, I cannot comprehend why you still haven’t dialed up your Penfield for a happier mood to remove your unhappiness.”

Immediately, you narrowed your gaze at him for questioning your actions, yet you felt totally embarrassed that he had noticed the last shred of stubbornness remaining in you. After your mother’s funeral, you bought a Penfield mood organ so you wouldn’t sink into your eminent depression yet until now, you didn’t have the courage to use it; remaining in your wrist untouched.

“What do you want me to do then?” you finally asked, exhausted from the variety of emotions pushing you around.

Jihoon shrugged again, now returning to his work on the old laptop. “Nothing. You humans are so sentimental.”

You ignored him and inclined your head upwards, watching the bright fluorescent lights with a pensive mood.

Jihoon counted how many days since he had stayed with you since he basically had nothing to do but fix the entire lab to how it used to be and mull over his situation. He knew you knew that he was a rogue android yet he wondered why you haven’t reported him yet. He hypothesized that you couldn’t really be bothered to report him or you secretly enjoyed his presence.

Over the past few weeks, Jihoon had found himself thinking about you the most. He defended to himself that you were his mere case study yet why did he even bother to defend himself from his own? It was not like he had some sort of conscience, so then why? He didn’t want to tell you but he had long gotten suspicious about how his processing was a bit different than his fellow androids and maybe that was the reason why he had sought your mother. So whenever you weren’t around, he tried to snoop around your mother’s main computer to see if there were any notes left about how he was made or how his Nexus 9 processor was programmed, however, he had not found any significant data yet.

“What are you doing?” he asked, curious as he peered over your shoulder while you worked on the main computer.

“A project. We’re tasked to program specific responses in the event that someone tries to flirt with an android,” you replied without removing your concentration from the string of codes and numbers on the screen.

“I see. I guess that applies to prostitute androids,” he noted as he pulled out a chair to sit beside you, also monitoring the screen.

“You know that’s illegal.”

“Doesn’t stop anyone from doing it. Besides, the organization sells them anyway,” Jihoon shrugged as you arched an eyebrow at him, considering that he had a point.

“Androids are common commodity nowadays, huh? Sometimes you wonder what else they are made for.”

At that juncture, you had long been distracted from your work and was only staring at Jihoon, gauging if you could ask the question long floating in your head. Jihoon knew what you wanted to know by the path the conversation was going, so he had already beaten you down the chase.

“I’m designed for military use. Tactical adviser and technical expert,” he simply replied. “Our SVT line is equipped with quantum computers—the first of its own kind.”

You scoffed, a little bit amused. “You planned your whole escape, didn’t you?”

“I did,” he had no longer seen any reason why he had to hide that fact from you. “All five of us escaped. I don’t know where they are now and I don’t really care.”

Smiling, you finally asked the central irony of it all. “You escaped from the organization yet here you back in their labs. Why?”

Your grin morphed into a giggle when Jihoon turned his head away from you as if he wanted you to ignore that single aspect, sulking when you hadn’t.

“I have my reasons,” he replied with a pout.

“Which I’ll assume to be completely logical and a hundred percent android,” you retorted back with a playful grin and teasing eyes.

“Of course they are,” he defended with a glare and you only laughed at him. “I’m not joking, you know.”

“I know,” you smiled warmly and stood up, pinching his cheek to lift the frown on his lips, though much to his chagrin.

“Don’t do that,” he warned you, yet you only did it again on his other cheek. “Stop it already!”

You had already removed your hand before he could swat it away, as you laughed so hard that you almost fell to the ground. Jihoon was definitely not amused yet he had noticed some sort of malfunction in his system that made him all seem too light hearted. He’ll do a system check later.

“Haven’t I told you before?” your voice had finally caught his attention and dragged him away from his thoughts. “You seem so human. It’s so weird.”

I wish I wasn’t human.

These days though, you actually wished you weren’t.

It’s as if the colony was hell unloosened and you are right at the middle of it to feel everything. Though you were still a fool nonetheless, just like how Jihoon had said—not using the mood organ you bought when it was the most convenient. You didn’t need to feel hell, just a number to dial up and then you’re fine.

“481 for hopefulness; 888 for the incredible want to watch television and 3 for the desire to dial your Penfield mood organ! Come and feel complete!” You sang the commercial for the mood organ with every note dripping with sarcasm as you sat in fetal position on the worn sofa of the lab; fiddling with the buttons of the device. “If I used it, would I feel complete?”

“Data has shown that humans usually do not,” Jihoon’s mechanical voice interrupted your thoughts, together with the rattling of the toolbox filled with discarded devices he gathered from the stockroom.

You grinned cynically. “What if androids use it? Will you then feel empathy?”

The blond android paused for a while to look at you from where he sat on the workbench and then continued his search in the toolbox after a minute.

“You already know that we do not have a brain to attach the mood organ to. We have a processor yet it wouldn’t respond to the device,” he replied in an annoyed voice which would’ve meant that he need not to remind you what you had already learned in class.

“I’m just teasing you,” you replied with a small smile which immediately disappeared after a second.

Jihoon sighed. “Dial 999. It won’t make you feel anything.”

The android had caught your glare and held on to it. Using the mood organ was the most logical thing to do in your situation. He knew you were simply trying to hold on to a few loose strings and the best way not to let them go is to sacrifice something. He could not understand why you still refuse to do so.

“I can’t do it,” you confessed; hiding your face from his scrutinizing stare.

“Why?”

“I feel…I feel like if I did, I’ll lose myself.”

Jihoon stared. “I don’t understand.”

You smiled at him weakly.

Your head pounded, eyes burning, cheeks stained.

Where were you?

Bloodshot eyes blinking at the blinding white lights overhead, you soon realized that you cried yourself to sleep in the lab. It was awfully noisy unlike most days—incomprehensible noise which eventually turned into sweet, sweet music which almost lulled you back to sleep, except that you had noticed that it was Jihoon who was singing beside you on the sofa with a makeshift electric piano on his lap.

“Good morning. You look like you had a nightmare,” he remarked as soon as he saw you gazing towards his direction without a word.

You scoffed. “My whole life is a nightmare.”

“All humans say that,” Jihoon replied harshly, though you didn’t care. “Want some water?”

You nodded, feeling your throat as rough as sandpaper, and Jihoon immediately complied, moving the electric piano away with its bare wirings, and towards the newly-installed water dispenser.

“They still have that on sale?” you asked as you sat on the sofa beside Jihoon, pointing at the piano after he had brought you water.

“I found a shop online which sells old stuff, I saw a complete set of piano keys and put it together with an old stereo I found here,” Jihoon replied, looking proudly at his work.

You raised your brows in astonishment. “You’re incredibly resourceful.”

Jihoon gave a small smile (you knew this one was pre-programmed), and then replied, “Shall I play a song for you?”

“I wonder why ‘piano playing and singing’ was added to a tactical adviser’s program,” you teased, earning a genuine glare from Jihoon before he ignored your remark and moved on with playing.

Watching his fingers move across the keyboard, you couldn’t tell if he was an android or not. He moved fluidly, the notes he was making was enough to touch you—it was a song designed to make you feel relaxed since you had just cried. It was a song just for you.

You loved how the song dipped and rose; how Jihoon’s voice was husky yet soft against the notes; how he seemed like he was honestly trying to reach out to you, to comfort you. How is he capable of such skill which only humans could harness? It had filled your mind in more than one night, yet this night, you ignored the question and relished the beauty which Jihoon made with his music.

The song ended without you even noticing it. You continued to stare into the tiled floor as Jihoon studied you closely for any reaction.

“You know, I feel so tired.”

You began, holding the plastic cup which you drank water with as you continued to look blankly into the dark hallways of the lab.

“I feel so tired of feeling—feeling empty, then feeling overwhelmed; feeling like I could do everything, then life drops me down on the cold, cold asphalt,” you chuckled, every laugh dripping with cynicism. “Is there a way not to feel?”

“Be an android then,” Jihoon replied back with a frown; knowing you wouldn’t use the mood organ.

You sneered. “If only I could. Probably download my consciousness on a mechanical body—they’re developing it now, you know.”

“You’ll miss how to feel. You don’t want to be like me,” he told you as he himself gazed downward, his words reflecting a deep hidden yearning.

“I don’t think so,” you replied defiantly, with a sour tone on your voice. “I will be useless if I can’t do what I’m supposed to do, and my emotions are only in the way.”

“I’m sorry but I don’t understand why you want to remove your feelings. Humans cannot do away in this world without meaning, as what I am told of.”

“It’s ok. I don’t expect you to understand. What do you even know? You only copy humans to manipulate us into thinking that you are one of us. You only mimic feelings and emotions but do not understand the meaning behind them.” your voice was getting louder, harsher, colder; but it’s not like Jihoon could react to your anger. “Emotions brought nothing good to me. They impede with my work, they make me cry at night, they fill me with stress! Without it, I would have gotten on with my life much, much better when Mom died!”

Jihoon didn’t expect the rush of adrenaline surge into his system; a sudden temper induced by you who had emotions he might have wished for, yet you wanted to throw away.

He held on both your arms to stop you from shouting at him—forcing you to look at him straight in the eyes. His platinum hair looked like it was frazzled by static rage as his bangs covered one of his eyes.

“Listen to me. If you hadn’t had any emotions then how would you know if your mother cared for you?  How would you know if she loved you? You cried because you cared for her; because you love her and I, like you said, will never understand that. I will never understand what a meaningful life means, But you will.”

Rendered speechless, you could only stare at him with tears streaming down your cheeks.

“Even if your mother had died, she had loved you when she was alive. She raised you to be a normal human being even though she was alone. And here you are, abandoning everything she gave for you; wanting to forget the love she taught you.”

“I’m—”

“You think being an android is heaven?” he jeered. “Wait till you become one. Wait till you just move because that’s what the program says so; wait till you don’t have things like free will. Wait till you realized that you are nothing but what you are—a clump of metal and plastic stripped around mechanical organs. You don’t feel anything because you’re existence is meaningless and replaceable.”

Jihoon released you from his grasps yet reached out for your hand where the mood organ sat snuggly on your wrist.

“Use it. Dial 999.”

He ordered and you froze with mouth agape; filled with astonishment.

“Dial 999. You don’t have to feel anything you don’t want to.”

You simply stared at him.

“Use it Y/N! Use the fucking mood organ—”

“I can’t, okay?” you shouted…and then sobbed, holding on to his arm which was still on your wrist. “…I can’t…I fucking…can’t…”

The tears which flowed out from you seemed endless as you cried out two years’ worth of grief and hopelessness. Everything that you poured your heart into turned to nothing, the time you spent was all meaningless. You thought things will get better someday but life gradually destroys you day by day; as your situation and the people around you torture you endlessly.

“I don’t know what to do anymore…” you said in between whimpers as you fell between Jihoon’s arms. “If I used the mood organ…what would be left of me then…? Am I only made human because of this, this thing? My emotions will no longer be mine…”

Silently, Jihoon cradled you as he listened to you pour out to him, or to anyone about what you feel for the first time.

“But I’m so tired…tired of keeping up this illusion that I’m strong. I’m…the one always taking care of others…but who takes care of me when I can no longer put up this façade? They…they don’t know I’m so sick of studying…of being perfect. I want to rest already…” you resigned, burying your face on Jihoon’s shoulder and relishing his warmth despite how artificial it technically is. “I know it’s necessary to suffer to succeed, but how would one know if he’s on the path to success? What if all of this suffering turns into nothing? I wish life just has a skip button where I can skip to the point in my life where I’m rich and successful. Fuck this Jihoon, I’m so scared of the future.”

“Sometimes, we just overthink and things don’t really happen, you know?” Jihoon tried to assure you but he knew it wasn’t as effective as he hoped to be.

“I don’t want to get my hopes up and disappoint myself again in the end. The future is full of possibilities, one false move and my life comes crashing down. I wish I could be as easy-going as other people. I feel…so, so jealous of people enjoying their lives…while I’m stuck here trying to be perfect. This isn’t the life I want.”

“You don’t always have to be perfect…” Jihoon whispered in a solemn voice.

“No one will accept me if I wasn’t.” You sniffed, clinging to his black button up for support you dearly needed. “Everyone I know use me for their own purposes because I can get them through school, through life. They will leave me if I’m no longer useful.”

“I’ll accept you,” he replied immediately. “I don’t need you to be anything but yourself. It doesn’t matter to me. I will always be here for you if you need me.”

You chuckled amidst the sobs. “If you talk like that, then I would absolutely believe you. Please say this isn’t an analog hack,”

“I’m not lying. If I am that would just be ironic.”

You leaned back to gaze into his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“If I’m allowed to, I’ll tell you I can understand. Being useless, being abandoned…it’s an android’s greatest fear, if we indeed feel fear. I need to be special for people to use me, so that I can stay by their side and provide myself a sense of purpose.”

Gazing at him with wide eyes, you remarked, “I never knew androids find meaning in their work.”

“I can’t say about the other androids, but that’s what I think.”

For the first time that night, you smiled at him sincerely, as you strung your fingers between his locks, brushing them away from covering his eyes.

“Thank you for being here. There’s just days when I can’t hold it anymore, and need someone to cry on to. Please stay with me like this.”

“I’ll stay. Don’t worry,” he quietly replied, as he coaxed you back between his arms, and allowing you to stay like that as long as you’d like.

Buried on his chest, you hummed in satisfaction. “You’re the warmest android I’ve ever met.”

Your words had him thinking for days.

It wasn’t like a big surprise; he had already known that there was something different with him. Jihoon knew he was curious to a fault and had such a deep yearning to understand the things around him, though he didn’t know if it was because he was programmed to work that way.

Do all androids introspect?

For the first time in several months, Jihoon went outside the lab for a walk. Honestly, he disliked taking walks, or going outdoors, for that matter. Yet today, he suddenly had the urge to do it. He didn’t know why he had urges. He knew androids don’t usually have them. Is this some new feature of the Nexus 9?

It was nice that the colony had a special forest beside the laboratories and everything in it were all the remaining species of trees and plants on earth. After the third world war, radioactive dust from detonated nuclear bombs had ravaged the home planet and gradually killed the flora and fauna. There are people left on earth, mostly those who refused to migrate and specials who aren’t qualified to migrate, and they live in means Jihoon does not find suitable for people. Though even in the colonies, life isn’t as great as they advertised it to be.

He had been wrecking his processor for thinking day and night until his system had warned him that he was heating up. So the next possible solution is to cool it down with the artificial summer breeze blowing through his white blond hair, or so, he tried to reason himself. Why is he even trying to reason to himself? Why is he even trying to explain his reasons?

“Well, isn’t this new?”

Your voice rang suddenly behind him that he immediately turned around and caught you by the shoulder. You didn’t bat an eye at his actions, but instead, chuckled at him for mistaking you as an enemy.

“Relax. I’m not even authorized to carry a laser gun,” you replied with a smirk, as Jihoon released you with a sigh.

“Don’t do that again, please. I might have killed you,” he replied with a severe glare which had you raising both your eyebrows.

“Why not? Even if you had killed me, androids don’t feel any guilt,” you remarked as you slowly narrowed your gaze at him. “Yep. You’re truly weird.”

Jihoon refused to reply and simply glanced at you with a deepening frown. He was beginning to develop a distaste at how you were making him question his own self. He didn’t like how he was so confused; that he had so many questions.

“I still haven’t thanked you yet for the other day, have I? Come on,” you suddenly called his attention and grabbed his wrist, coaxing him to follow you down the forest path.

Jihoon had almost complained at how the grass was pricking his skin and convince you to return home, when you stopped at a clearing, showing you a glittering lake illuminated by the artificial moonlight. It looked truly beautiful as he stepped beside you, eyes wide and lips parted.

“Are you trying to deceive me again?” Your sing-song voice rang to his side as he gazed at you, who had already slid down the lakeside with a grin on your pretty lips. “You look pretty convincing.”

Again tonight, he had refused to reply and simply followed you down your path. In a dry spot covered by dewy grass, the both of you sat and simply observed the glistening lake as you savored the tranquility of the night. Fireflies dotted the evening air as they buzzed around the forest clearing, creating an atmosphere straight out of a fairytale.

“Sad that these fireflies are electronic,” you remarked, catching one with your hand to study the glass wings it had and the luminescent light it emitted from a nano-sized bulb built inside the small insect. “Real ones have long died out.”

“It’s to set the mood of this clearing. You are aware that this forest is a huge AI in of itself, aren’t you?” Jihoon replied, with his natural condescending tone whenever you say something stupid.

You pursed your lips to sulk. “I know, smart-ass. I just wanted to see real insects.”

“Why want a real one? There isn’t really much of a difference between the nanobugs and the real insects.”

“There is a great difference!” you defended. “Real ones don’t exist nowadays! It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see one!”

Jihoon scoffed, unable to consider the meaning again. “You humans put context to everything.”

“What’s wrong with that? Maybe that’s why we’re are able to live meaningful lives.”

Your rather pleasant conversation had once again turned into a full-blown debate about humans and androids. Jihoon, in your opinion, had interesting views regarding the current society, and how humans have long been outpaced by their own creations.

“You seem to enjoy talking to me,” Jihoon observed as he watched the artificial breeze sweep pass your locks while you tried to keep your hair in place.

“Because I dislike being lonely,” you replied without sparing him a glance. “But I need to be lonely to get things done. I need to be alone so that I can focus. There are things needed to be sacrificed.”

He raised his brows at you. “What does it feel like to be lonely?”

You inclined your head to your left to think. “The closest I could compare it to android terms is the lack of having an owner to serve. You are unable to do anything; unable to decide something outside of your understanding. An android cannot survive without being used as a tool.”

“Is that why humans seek partners in levels separate from the biological?”

A small huff. “Romance isn’t always about sex and offspring, you know.”

“Then what else is it about?”

Jihoon was now gazing at you intensely, intent of hearing out an answer from you, while you were proud to provide him information. He leaned in closer to hear you, incredibly curious.

“Listen. Liking, and then loving someone is a complex human behavior. Most androids don’t get it at all. But in simpler terms, people show their love in a million various ways and it comes in so many forms but it comes down to a simple factor—empathy, the ability to understand one another.”

“How are humans able to understand one another? I cannot find a straightforward process in the cloud, so I assume this process is based on emotional connections.”

You grinned at him as you inclined closer to his ear as if you were sharing some cool secret. “Correct, Mr. Android. But the problem is, even humans fail to understand one another, and wanna know what happens if humans fail to empathize?”

Jihoon gave an evocative gaze, waiting for an answer.

“War. Conflict. Murder. Death,” you replied, pausing a significant amount of time after every word. “Just like how the Earth is right now—just waiting to wither away underneath all that radioactive dust from nuclear warheads.”

You shook your head at the irony. “But here I am telling you all about this when I myself cannot always understand other people. You couldn’t imagine how difficult it is to understand someone bitching at you day and night; and then adjusting yourself for them.”

“I’m sorry,” Jihoon shook his head. “You’ve lost me there.”

You smile meekly. “Was that too much?”

“No, I just cannot see why you must adjust to someone who is clearly in the wrong. It’s not your fault, you didn’t commit a damn mistake, so why must you change?”

“You see, there are a lot of reasons people act the way they do, and who knows, you might be one of those reasons. If you adjust yourself, then you have removed one of the possibilities, lowering the chances the other person will do the action again. You simply cannot tell a person to change his ways. You can only change yourself.”

Jihoon considered for a while, and gradually nodded as if he had understood the logic.

“Things have become a bit more clearer for me. Thank you,” he replied with a small smile on his lips. Was he trying to deceive you again? How real is that smile?

“You’re always welcome to ask. Besides, it’s not like androids ask me about human behavior every day. In fact, you’re the only I know who had asked.”

Jihoon frowned and hid the fact that he did not like the honor of being the first android who had asked.

“Also, I still haven’t thanked you for staying with me the other night. You made me see things in a better light, and I’m trying to pick myself up from now on. I’ve read a lot of helpful books—”

Honestly, Jihoon had already lost your voice in the background noise as he had once again been swallowed up by his thoughts—thoughts regarding you and empathy. It would’ve been better if he had learned how to empathize so that you wouldn’t have to explain everything to him, and he would be able to simply understand you and your actions. But oh, you forgot to explain the physical aspects…the cloud had suggested a short cut to empathy and it seemed quite feasible.

“—so right now, I’m trying to coordinate my schedule and it seemed to be working. I’m not sure how long weekly planning will work for me, but I’m—”

Without anything—warning shots, preemptive touches, small pauses of time—nothing had prepared you to feel a pair of soft lips pressing against yours as you felt your body go numb in milliseconds. The next thing you felt was the hand cupping your chin, wondering how you had never noticed it before, as he pressed on further, moving his lips on yours and brushing so slightly, so sensually. You would’ve enjoyed the moment if not for the sudden realization that the one kissing you was Jihoon and you had to scramble away, breaking the kiss and Jihoon’s concentration.

Upon noticing your panic, he seized your hand to calm you down and to prevent you from running away. Slowly, Jihoon opened his eyes and met yours inquisitively.

“So tell me, have I established a connection between us now?”

Jihoon had sensed that he must have done something wrong. It had been days since he had last saw you and he had concluded that you were definitely avoiding him after what happened by the lake. However, he doesn’t get it.

“Was the kiss a mistake?” he whispered to himself, touching his lips with the tips of his fingers.

That time, he definitely sensed some circuit burst inside his stomach, however, when he checked his mechanisms later that night, his circuits seemed to be working fine. But, what was that then? He only did what he thought would induce empathy from both of you, yet it seemed to have backfired—prompting you to avoid him, while it caused only confusion for him.

“Did I only widened the gap between us?”

 beep. boop. beep. boop.

Jihoon snapped from his thoughts as he averted his attention towards the incoming call directed to his processor, which was a function he was thankful to have. He didn’t want anyone snooping around who he contacts.

“What?” he snapped, unappreciative of the interruption.

“Yo, Woozi! ‘Sup?” a cheerful, energetic voice echoed in his mind, almost tempting him to mute the caller.

“Stop calling me that. I’m Jihoon now,” he scowled at the invisible caller.

“Then, I ain’t Hoshi anymore. Call me Soonyoung!”

Jihoon rolled his eyes and leaned back against the sofa he had long been sitting on.

“So?”

“So, what?”

“You know, you could easily blend in as a brainless special if you stay on Earth.”

“Ah, you’re harsh as ever.”

“And so? You don’t have a heart to get hurt anyway.”

Soonyoung laughed as Jihoon automatically muted the caller as soon as he passed a certain level of noise. When he had stopped laughing, Jihoon turned on the audio again with a jaded look.

“Alright, fine. I’ll give you what you want,” Soonyoung surrendered as Jihoon sighed, relieved that he didn’t have to go through anymore bullshit. “They’re moving now. They already got to Vernon.”

Jihoon frowned. “So he’s gone?”

“I’m not sure. All I know is that they’ve found him.”

“What about you?”

Jihoon could imagine the other’s grin even if he couldn’t see him and clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“Oh, are you worried about me, Jihoonie?”

Jihoon growled audibly. “We both know you owe me one, and you’re not allowed to retire without paying me back.”

Soonyoung sighed dramatically over the line. “I get it, okay? Calm the shit down.”

“Good. I don’t want to repeat myself.”

“Sure. Anyway, how about you? It’s been months and they haven’t found you yet in their own labs.”

“Found someone not too bothered to report me.” Jihoon stared at his nails, checking any lodged dirt.

“And…does this person know what you are?”

“Immediately after she set her eyes on me. She’s a pseudo-human behavior engineer.”

“Oh. Oh. Oh.” Soonyoung’s tone turned for a playful dip again, which definitely made Jihoon sigh for the nth time tonight. “So this person’s a ‘she’! I can’t believe you’re cruel enough to deceive her!”

Jihoon was definitely disliking the way he’s painting him into a villain. “I’m not deceiving her. Haven’t you heard me? She’s an android engineer and she knows if I use analog hack on her, and I don’t use it.”

If he could see Soonyoung, Jihoon swore the other android will definitely raise his brows at him.

“There’s a possibility that you aren’t even aware you’re already deceiving her.”

Jihoon scoffed. “I don’t have a subconscious to do that.”

“But we’re androids designed to copy humans, it’s not that too difficult to go back to default processes.”

He was having none of it. “I’m not deceiving her. Anyway, I’ll contact you when I need something. Now leave me in peace.”

Without even waiting for a reply, Jihoon turned off his communication signature to rid himself of his exhausting companion. As soon as his attention was back to the empty and desolate space of the laboratory, he had noticed something odd.

“It’s already late. She should be here by now.”

While he was voicing out his observations, Jihoon was already searching for you—hacking into various electronic devices, CCTVs, your school gate’s log and so—yet in all the places you could be, he had not found your whereabouts.

“This isn’t good,” Jihoon muttered to himself, with a tight furrow on his brow. He tried looking at camera footages from the last few hours and in just half a minute, Jihoon found out what happened to you.

Somewhere while walking to the lab a few hours ago, a white van had pulled over where men donned in black came up behind you. Jihoon saw someone cover your nose with a handkerchief which he guessed was doused with chloroform and when you no longer had the consciousness to fight back, the men had carried you into the van and drove away.

While watching, Jihoon was already hacking into a self-driving car which was already waiting for him when he had emerged from the laboratory. As soon as he entered the vehicle, Jihoon began hacking his way into the colony’s security system so that he could track where the men had taken you. The car began moving when he had finally tracked you down—not so difficult for a military-grade android.

“The fuck do I know.”

You spat out vehemently, despite being tied into a chair and wired to a lie detector machine, and another which sends controlled volts to your system upon a tap on a tablet.

It should have been a normal day for you, yet when you were abducted just as you were going to the lab, this man has been interrogating you for almost half an hour already about an android your mother had supposedly made.

“Alright little girl. We’re not playing games here,” the man, masked and voice altered, warned you for the fifth time. “We know you have it! The SVT-class android Type 07 Woozi. Where is it?!”

With gritted teeth, you threw daggers at the man. “I already told you. I don’t know any Woozi!”

Well technically, you don’t. But it’s not like you—!!

A surge of electricity ran up your spine and left as soon as it entered. However, it had left you jerking horribly.

“I’ll ask again. Where is it?”

You glared, drool slipping down your lips. “I don’t…know.”

Volts shot straight up through your skin, this time longer. You writhe in agony.

“Two years ago, your mother Dr. Y/LN was the chief engineer of the Nexus 9 project. She had developed all of the SVT-class andys, but if that’s everything there is to it, she shouldn’t be dead right now?”

You froze at the revelation and wondered if you could trust what this person was talking about. As far as you know, your mom had died because she was shot by an android during the riot in Hangar 15. She was just unlucky to be at the wrong time and place.

“What do you mean? She was killed by an andy in the riot…she’s just unlucky.”

You could hear the man sneer behind his mask.

“There’s no such thing as luck.”

He operated a terminal and showed you several holographic images of a strange device and a screenshot of programming codes. You studied them carefully and you immediately knew what the device was, and you couldn’t believe what was just laid in front of you.

“That’s a lie!” You cried out but the masked man only laughed. “It’s impossible to create an empathy organ, and nobody has ever succeeded—”

“That’s why you’re mother’s dead, little girl.”

Instantly, you were reduced to silence; eyes darting back and forth to the man and the images he had shown you.

“Without permission from the organization, your mother had installed empathy organs inside the SVT-class androids. When the organization realized what she did, they had her killed. The riot was only a cover.”

You couldn’t believe what you’re hearing. “No, no. That’s not true!”

“Now, these androids have escaped and we want them. So, where is it?”

You shook from your restraints as you chewed on your lip—deciding what to do even though you still haven’t digested yet what big of an information the man has given you.

“I…I…the android…”

 —!!

A huge explosion stopped you before you could utter something coherent. Instinctively, you moved your face away from the debris suddenly hurling on the air in speeds you couldn’t calculate. Within seconds, you sensed yourself being freed from your restraints, and your heart leapt when you were then lifted from the ground and carried bridal style, your arms flying to cling to his shoulders for support.

“Sorry I was late.”

When you heard Jihoon’s voice, you immediately relaxed and felt relieved that you were finally safe. As the dust and debris fell away, you could see his eyes were on you, though you couldn’t read what he was thinking. As if finally deciding what to do, Jihoon moved you outside of the building, which was actually a warehouse, and placed you inside a self-driving car waiting nearby.

“We’ll go home after I take care of this one,” he silently told you and casually walked back inside.

When you had heard his words, you felt that there was something off with him. You couldn’t put it but you knew something was definitely going to happen and you were not going to like it. Despite the fact that you wanted to see what Jihoon was about to do, your body refused to allow you—the surges of electricity finally affecting your muscles, rendering them immovable or languid.

“Fuck this.”

Meanwhile, Jihoon kicked away the offending wood and twisted metal as if they were as heavy as pillows. His eyes were strained to only accomplish one mission—to look for the shitheads who kidnapped and tortured you. Though in a few seconds, it wasn’t his eyes which found them.

Dodging, a laser beam had missed him within a few centimeters as he retaliated back with a wave of electricity, visible as lightning and hurts just as much. Unlucky for Jihoon, the men had armor which protected them from his attack, and only left their laser guns unusable. Well, at least they’re unarmed.

Jihoon rushed towards his first victim within a blink of an eye, as he knocked the air out of him with a punch in the gut as strong as being hit by a freight train. He didn’t need to turn around to incapacitate the man who came running towards his back with a metal pipe, as Jihoon simply magnetized a sheet of metal to slice through the man’s neck.

Inside the car, you could hear the commotion going on and you willed your legs to move with desperation. You guessed that he was going to kill those men and you were absolutely right. He is a tool used for warfare and would not hesitate to rid himself of his enemies. That was what you had sensed in his words.

“Move, damn it!”

You cried out, slamming your fists repeatedly on your thigh. Maybe through sheer will, you regained a bit of control, albeit with little strength. Nonetheless, you crawled your way out of the car, and towards the destruction Jihoon was about to commit.

With only the leader who Jihoon purposely left out, the blond android casually approached the panicked man as he tried desperately to run away; except that Jihoon had his armor glued to the ground through electromagnetism as soon as he figured out that the armor was absorbing electric currents yet are not immune to magnetism.

Jihoon gazed at the man with impassiveness. “Heard you were looking for me. So here I am.”

The man couldn’t utter a single coherent word; his head all too riddled with anxiety to think of anything other than his eminent death.

“Also heard you electrocuted Y/N,” Jihoon inclined his head towards the side to wait for a reply, and when he heard none, the android picked up the man by the neck; his feet dangling on the air. “I’m curious what it feels like to electrocute someone.”

“S-so it’s true…y-you androids have, h-have an empathy organ…!” the man remarked as he sensed the anger in Jihoon’s voice, though he began wheezing when he felt his airpipes being gradually crushed.

“I apologize. I cannot comprehend,” Jihoon’s voice was void of any emotion. “Anyway, this ends here.”

“Jihoon, no—!”

Surprised to hear your voice, Jihoon averted his gaze towards you, who was heavily leaning against the concrete wall, all exhausted from reaching him. You took in your surroundings as you realized that he was already in for the last kill, and knew that you were too late, but still…

“Don’t kill him please. I’ll…I’ll just call the cops…”

Jihoon arched his brow, tightening his grip on the man who began to struggle to get out.

“Why? He tortured you. Don’t you feel angry?” the android asked, with a face still stoic.

“Just…just don’t kill him, please…” you pleaded, holding on to your still immovable arm.

You weren’t really sure what will happen as Jihoon simply stared at you, maybe studying the expression you had on your face, or maybe trying to comprehend the logic behind your request. But when Jihoon let go of the man (though, keeping him place as he stepped on the man’s leg, and a look that meant his limb will get ripped off if he doesn’t stop writhing), you sighed in relief.

“Alright, I won’t kill him. But I’ll call the cops and report the incident,” Jihoon’s voice and eyes were ice cold, which frightened you for a bit. “I won’t risk getting found.”

You nodded with a tiny smile on your face when he did what you wanted. “Let’s go home.”

“Wait for a bit, and oh, please look away,” Jihoon asked but you couldn’t understand what he had meant, but when he had picked up a metal pipe and pinned it through the man’s thigh without any sort of expression or effort, you wished you had followed him sooner.

The blond seemed to have understood the look of concern on your face and immediately took the measures to explain. “Don’t worry. I already called the police and he won’t die from bleeding if the pipe is stuck to his thigh.”

Jihoon removed his foot from the man’s leg and walked towards you, who looked as if you had seen something you shouldn’t. As soon as he got to you, Jihoon pulled you towards his arms and embraced you tightly, slowly patting your head.

“I told you to look away,” he reprimanded albeit softly.

His words seemed to have snapped the dam in you as you began sobbing on his chest, unable to control your emotions swelling up from inside you. Jihoon knew that the event left a huge trauma in you and could only comfort you, which was not one of his many talents.

“Let’s get you home, ok?”

Later that night as Jihoon finally had you sleeping against his chest, all sprawled out on the sofa, he received a call from Soonyoung.

“Mission accomplished, sir!”

“What did he say?”

“Just as you predicted. The guy’s from a competing android producer and they wanted to have the empathy organ.”

Jihoon hummed, finding this type of communication advantageous since he doesn’t have to speak as his processor directly receives the encryption and translates it into thoughts. This way, you don’t have to hear the conversation.

“Did you find any information about it?”

“Only pictures. I’ll send them to you right now. But I still haven’t found where it came from. I think that’s your specialty though.”

“Alright, just give them to me and I’ll trace it.”

“Got it. Anyway, you just tricked the goddamn girl. You told her you called the police, when it was me you actually called.”

“And the point is?” Jihoon looked at the ceiling and followed the lines formed by the lined titanium sheets, as he draped an arm over your shoulder and caressed your hair.

“You told me you wouldn’t a few hours ago?”

“I’m just protecting her. They’ll be back, so I’m simply nipping it in the bud.”

“But you also asked me to torture the guy?”

“An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. Besides, we got information.”

Jihoon could hear Soonyoung hum playfully on the other end. “An andy through and through. Anything for the owner, huh?”

He checked his nails once again. “She’s not my owner.”

Soonyoung paused for quite a long time that Jihoon thought the other had finally left the line, but when he had begun shouting, Jihoon had to turn off the audio in annoyance.

“What? What? What? She’s not your fucking owner?!”

“Yeah, what’s wrong with that?” The blond arched his brow.

“Everything is wrong with that! Why are you letting her use you when she’s not your owner?! Why are you devoting yourself to her like she owns you?! Why haven’t you asked her to be your owner?!”

“Alright, Soonyoung. Shut up before I hang up.”

“Sorry, it’s just that…I just can’t believe you…is this really you I’m talking to?”

Jihoon rolled his eyes. “As if there’s anyone who could steal my communication signature.”

“Wow…I just…wow…if we’re human, I would’ve said she got you whipped.”

The other frowned at the remark. “I’m hanging up. I’ll contact you again soon.”

“Huh? Wait, Jihoon—”

Again, Jihoon disregarded all the bullshit Soonyoung says and turned off his intercom. As silence filled his head once again, he glanced down on you who was peacefully sleeping on his chest on top of him, free of any worries of the real world. He already had his hand gently stroking your head, as he continued to take in all of you.

If he really had an empathy organ inside him, then it must have been real. He had done a lot of unexplainable shit that most androids will not understand or even do, as expressed by Soonyoung. (But that shithead will understand sooner or later, Jihoon smirked since all of the SVT line was said to be equipped by an empathy organ.)

So what if he indeed has one?  Was he still an android? Will his actions become more unexplainable in the future?  Today, Jihoon seemed to have gained more questions than answers. But he knew he wanted to understand you.

Days following the incident, you did your own investigative search about the empathy organ. Of course, you don’t want to believe your mother had created something so revolutionary nor do you want to believe Jihoon had one. He had acted so impassive and merciless all that time when he had saved you, which still send shivers through your spine, and that was a valid indication that he is an android.

On the other hand, Jihoon seemed to be as normal as he could be. He didn’t try to kiss you again, which was a relief because any more than that was seriously dangerous. You knew a lot of androids leisurely using a human being’s capability to be compassionate as a means to manipulate and you could vouch how powerful this could be, since you were one of the people who developed androids to reach this level of mimicry of the human behavior. As a human being, you weren’t immune despite how much you want to be indifferent. You still have emotions, which you refuse to let go of, and these emotions could easily be used against you by an android as high of a class as Jihoon. In the end, you still trust that everything he does was not to manipulate you.

“Y/N?”

His voice jolted you awake from your half asleep state on the sofa, papers about the SVT line all sprawled on your chest since you were studying them before you fell slightly asleep.

Sitting up, you replied as you rubbed your eyes. “Yeah? What is it?”

“Well, I want to ask something about how human emotions operate,” Jihoon began as he sat beside you, a terminal on his hands, which had something paused on its holographic screen.

“Ask away.”

Yawning and folding your legs to your chest in a fetal position, you listened to Jihoon’s question with interest.

“I’ve watched videos, movies and read articles and books about romance and how it involves human love. I’ve seen that it has physical and mental aspects, and just like you said, it isn’t always about biologically expanding the human species. I’ve analyzed that coupling brings about better understanding of one another by building emotional connections. A good way to exercise empathy. So, what if an android like me wants to do just that?”

If you weren’t shocked by his question, then you don’t know what you were feeling. His question was a good one. Most androids think but don’t understand neither do they give meaning to the things around them or what they do. They simply copy what humans do because it is what their program says, and it is the most effective and logical way to accomplish what they are programmed to do—a mere means to the ends. However, as Jihoon poses this very question, you knew the world was at its turning point, whether or not it had realized it.

“It’s impossible. You don’t have emotions to connect…to, to empathize,” you replied cautiously.

“Let’s say the engineers have invented something which enables me to do so. What then? Will humans respond in kind?” Jihoon persisted, much to your fears. You knew it was possible with the empathy organ, which might be embedded in Jihoon.

“Humans tend to empathize with everything that looks human. From animals with their big round eyes which induces motherly instincts because they look like babies who needed to be protected, to…to androids who look absolutely human,” you replied, looking at him with knowing eyes. “Of course, like anything revolutionary, there will an opposition.”

Jihoon considered your thoughts for a while and then continued. “What about you?”

You froze on your spot, afraid and unsure with your lips parted and eyes wide as both of you stared into each other’s eyes.

“You know,” you began with a small voice. “There’s a study that says if you stare into another person’s eyes, for several minutes as you share with each other your deepest emotions, fears and dreams, you will fall in love.”

The android was quiet, wondering what you were trying to imply—his calculations unable to predict your line of thought as it broke into a million pathways.

“If you have a soul, then it is possible for an android to…fall in love,” you were reluctant to complete your sentence but when you did, you felt the reality of it all reflecting on his dark cocoa eyes.

“Is it possible for me to have a soul then?” Jihoon asked, voice as soft as yours.

“An empathy organ is your ticket way there.”

“What if I do have one? Are you willing to try it with me?”

You knew Jihoon was sincerely asking you to try and love him, or everything to his wide eyes, parted lips and pleading expression was a lie, a well-crafted mimicry.

Closing your eyes, you turned your head away and sucked in a breath. He was getting into your system. Fuck, that study seemed true.

“I’m sorry…I’m not sure yet,” you replied, now avoiding his gaze.

“Why? Is it because it is unacceptable to have a relationship with an android?” Jihoon asked.

“No, I don’t really care about that…it’s just that I…I…”

You couldn’t say it. You don’t want to hurt him.

“Then what?”

“I…just…it’s just that—”

“You don’t trust me, do you?”

Frozen on your spot, you stopped your incessant movements and reprimanded yourself for hinting that he had hit you right at the jackpot.

“No, I…! I’m just scared, okay?”

Jihoon narrowed his eyes at you, frowning and cynic. “You’re scared I’ll use analog hack on you. You’re not sure if everything I say is true.”

You pursed your lips as you looked down, eyes beginning to wet. “I’m…I’m sorry.”

Jihoon sighed, his shoulder deflating as he looked at your crumpled figure. “I’ll leave you in peace.”

Standing up, Jihoon walked away with hands on his pockets towards the exit. You knew he was disappointed, or appeared to be, but you just couldn’t help but also look out for yourself. There was no certainty that he wouldn’t leave you for dead just like he did with your kidnappers and the thought of his soon-to-be betrayal left your heart wringing.

“Y/N, we got company.”

You immediately scrambled by the time you heard Jihoon, who was supposed to be outside, suddenly whisper to you in a low voice. Glancing behind him, you saw a man in a trench coat with a large briefcase on hand entering the lab.

“Bounty hunter?” you asked with sheer suspicion.

“Bingo.”

The both of you stood side by side as the man approached the two of you with a courteous smile.

“Good day, sir, ma’am. Let me introduce myself, I’m Detective Choi Seungcheol,” he reached out his hand which both of you shook cordially.

“Is there anything we could help you, detective? I hope we haven’t done something wrong,” you began, a smile on your face trained for situations such as this.

“Oh, don’t worry. You are, Ms. Y/N L/N, I presume? And he is um…Mr. Lee Jihoon?” Detective Choi replied as he checked his papers.

“Yeah, my um…my boyfriend,” you improvised, unable to think of the most appropriate relationship with him. You had concluded that before he came him, Choi had already checked you and Jihoon’s background, which you assumed was already fabricated by the android long before you met him.

“Yeah, well…I just moved a few months ago from the west colony,” Jihoon added, his ears red, giving the illusion of him embarrassed. You were amazed how much they could do.

“Oh, I see. Recently, there’s news about escaped Nexus 9 androids and there were reports that one could be here. So just to make sure, are you willing to take a Voigt-Kampff test?” Choi asked, both you and Jihoon glancing at one another.

“Sure, who’s going to take it first?” you asked, an eager to help smile on your lips.

“You. And only you,” Choi threw in a sly grin masked as a reassuring smile as he sat on the provided seat.

“Sure, no problem. How does this go?” you replied, as you gazed back to Jihoon, who simply held your hand for comfort.

The detective installed his device on top of a metal table you provided as you sat in front of it with an unsure look on your face, wondering why you were being tested but also relieved that Jihoon wasn’t being suspected as one.

“So, these patches on your cheeks will detect slight movements on your face as I read to you scenarios that will determine whether or not you’re an android. Let’s begin?”

You nodded quietly as Choi seated himself in front of you, holding a few cards as he chose the first scenario.

“A cat was ran down by a car, its organs spilling on the asphalt.”

You felt your stomach drop as the image popped into your head. Your breath hitched as you simply frowned.

“I’m sorry…” you replied, as you studied what Choi was doing, glancing at the meter before him and taking in some notes on his small leather notebook.

“Second one. A dog has been clubbed to death because it had bitten a someone,” Choi continued, looking at you expectantly, yet you were silent.

“That’s just…cruel,” you remarked, gritting your teeth.

“I swear you’re the most quiet I’ve ever tested,” the detective confessed. “Third. You saw your mother tortured. They would hit her head when she refused to confess to a crime, and they would leave her in a freezer naked until she gives up, but that doesn’t end there. An android who looks like you is then sent to slowly cut her fingers—”

“STOP! Stop! Stop it!” you suddenly shouted, pushing yourself away from the table, as you covered your ears. Tears were already running down your cheeks as Jihoon hurriedly came to your side, crouching to your level with an arm over your scrunched figure.

“That does it. She’s an android.”

Right after he said those words, the detective grabbed a laser gun from his briefcase and pointed it at you.

Everything was swirling inside your head and you couldn’t believe your fears had materialized faster than you had expected. It would be a no-brainer if Jihoon had already planned this months before, framing you as the android instead of him, so that he could forever be free from the bounty hunters. You didn’t want to hear it right from Jihoon’s mouth that you were duped and utterly fooled since day one.

“What the fuck are you on about?! I’m the goddamn android here, not her!”

His voice rang in front of you, his words a direct confession and a death flag. The impulsiveness of Jihoon’s action had you glance up to him, who was in front of you, shielding you from the laser gun the bounty hunter was holding. You couldn’t believe what he just did.

“If you’re an android, you wouldn’t say that,” Choi retorted back with a grin. “Stop protecting your girlfriend. She’s just analog hacking you!”

“Fuck you,” Jihoon simply replied and grabbed your hand, tossing the metal table up on the air as a distraction when both of you ran towards the exit.

“Hey!” The detective shouted, running after the two of you and shooting laser beams towards your direction.

Easily, Jihoon redirected the laser beams with his electricity and it went up, hitting the concrete beam connecting the two upper labs. You knew you were toast when Jihoon carried you on his back to dodge the large blocks of rock falling. Luckily, it was also blocking the way and the two of you sped up, losing Choi on the chase.

Heading towards the nearby docking bay, the two of you hid behind towers of cargo containers and rested for a while.

“Jihoon, what was—”

“Could you shut up for a while? I’m trying to keep us two alive here.”

“Hey! I just got fucking accused as an android when I’m clearly not—”

This time, Jihoon muffled your mouth with his lips pressed against yours. It was quite effective in keeping you frozen in place.

“Be quiet or that shithead will find us. I’m not done charging yet.”

You nodded quietly, still digesting what had happened.

“Alright. Stay here and don’t come out. I’d rather not see you dead,” Jihoon bid you farewell as he climbed the tower of containers, getting high as much as possible.

“Fuck this, Jihoon!” you cursed him as he had left you alone and without anything to protect yourself.

With the highest view, Jihoon could clearly see where Choi was.

Everything had gone out of his predictions as humans again proved to be quite unpredictable. He didn’t expect the bounty hunter would accuse you as an android as it was definitely clear as day that you were human through and through. Now, he had to protect you and fend for himself, but he didn’t really feel constrained by extra work. In fact, he was more than motivated to keep the fucker’s hands away from you.

Jihoon picked up a large device sitting on top of the container. It was a large but sleek device shaped like a slim black rectangle, yet when Jihoon had pulled the handle on its center and turned it clockwise, the device had morphed into a complex weapon, large arms extended from the center as it formed into something akin to a large gun. Holding it in one hand, Jihoon pressed firmly on the trigger, and pointed it towards the unsuspecting human as electric energy poured into the device and when the blond android let the trigger go, a laser blast hurled towards Choi.

Unfortunately, Choi was too jumpy for it to hit directly and Jihoon missed within half a meter, the android clicking his tongue in irritation as it only hit the nearby container. Jihoon again turned the trigger around as the weapon transformed once more; now breaking into several floating stakes, as it spread out into the area.

Now that Choi knew where he was, Jihoon swiftly moved to the next towers to conceal his location. On the other hand, you were scrambling to cover yourself when you heard the explosion, unable to do anything but to hide. However, when you saw that the explosion had caused a domino effect among the following tower of containers, you ignored Jihoon’s warning and ran before you get squashed to death.

Jihoon knew he had to move in for the kill before Choi finds you, so in a fast attack which involved kicking the detective with a dash of electric surge as dessert, he did just that but Choi was more veteran than expected and blocked his kick with his arms lined with anti-static material. Moving away, Choi had time to shoot a few beams but were unsuccessful when Jihoon simply bent them with electric currents, hitting the containers behind them; much thanks to classical physics.

Wasting no time, Jihoon drove a punch right in Choi’s gut which had him flying towards the end of the aisle. Walking towards the bounty hunter, Jihoon was however alerted that you had moved from your place, and when he got back to Choi, the guy had already disappeared.

Y/N, why are you so talented in screwing my head over and over again?!

You ran towards wherever you found was the most peaceful and quiet. You wondered if Jihoon was fine, yet you knew that he could take on an army and return unscathed, so you weren’t that worried. Turning by the nearby alley, you found a laser gun pointed at you.

“Gotcha.”

 By the time Jihoon found you, he had already found Choi pointing a gun on your head as he held you by the neck.

“I swear I can explain,” you began but Jihoon simply looked at you with an unimpressed look on his face.

“I told you to stay in one place, Y/N,” he replied back, rolling his eyes at you. “I can’t always come and save you every single time!”

“But if I don’t move, the containers will crush me! I don’t exactly want to die, Jihoon!” You retorted, your voice getting louder.

“Then what am I supposed to do? He’s got you at gun point! Now I have to think of a way to get you out of there!”

You scoffed, hands on your hips as Choi looked at the two of you awkwardly. “If you don’t want to save me, then why am I even your girlfriend? Break up with me and save your sorry ass yourself! I can take care of myself!”

Jihoon laughed mockingly, now clearly irked. “You aren’t even licensed to have a laser gun, so, how, I pray, are you supposed to fucking beat a bounty hunter?”

“Don’t underestimate me, Jihoon! I have my ways!”

“Like what? The other night you were whining about how you’re supposed to pass your subjects!”

You audibly huffed. “Ok, you’ve gone too far, you little shit. I’ll prove to you that I can do this. Let me go, detective!”

“Alright, alright! I don’t want to interrupt but we’re kinda in the middle of something here!?” Choi shouted quite annoyed, as he held on your neck tighter. “Don’t move or else I’ll blow a hole through your head.”

Jihoon rolled his eyes at you again, uncrossing his arms. “Just pull the trigger Choi. She’s just gonna be a pain all night anyway.”

“What! How dare you!” you shouted angrily, struggling around Choi’s arm holding you.

“So what do you want? Haven’t I already shown you that I’m the android here?” Jihoon ignored you completely, much to your chagrin.

“Yeah, I know. I’ll release her…if I got to shoot you,” the bounty hunter grinned, as the android simply removed his hands from his pockets.

“Alright. I’m all yours,” Jihoon immediately said, his arms up on the air as you stared at him in disbelief.

“No, wait! Fuck! I’m the android, ok? It’s not him! Kill me instead,” you cried out, writhing and panicking as soon as you saw the hunter’s gun pointed at Jihoon. “No, no! Shit.”

Without any explanation, Choi had let go of you and of course, you came running towards Jihoon’s side.

“Bye-bye.”

In a split second, Jihoon knew what was about to happen and it didn’t take him long to find a solution.

He pulled you towards him as soon as he had reached you and when Choi pulled the trigger of his laser gun, Jihoon was already behind you, covering your back from the oncoming laser beam. He didn’t know he actually felt something about death—he didn’t want to. Yet, for your sake, he’ll catch the bullet.

You were thrown to the ground in a painful blow, unable to process what had just happened. You sensed Jihoon covering your back, holding you tightly, as black smoke from what the beam had hit rose to the air.

“You two passed the test.”

Choi’s words echoed across the desolate cargo bay as he dropped his laser gun, walking away from you two. The meaning of the bounty hunter’s words finally got to you, and finally checked if Jihoon was alright. As it turned out, he was already gazing at you with a puzzled look on his face.

“Why? Why did you kill me?” Jihoon asked, his voice ringing.

Choi stopped walking. “An android will never sacrifice his life for someone else. Especially when she’s not his owner.”

“T-thank you!” You yelled back, your hand shaking as Jihoon held on it tightly.

“No worries, ma’am. These days, being a bounty hunter warrants more effort than I’m getting paid for. I’m exhausted. I’ll see you somewhere these days.”

He didn’t look back.

“We’re seriously looking into that empathy organ,” you remarked, settling in between Jihoon’s arms as you watched the colony rotate the solar panels outside the glass dome of the cargo bay.

Jihoon felt a circuit jump, or maybe it was a binary code—he didn’t care that much, but nonetheless, in human terms, he felt happy. Tightening his arms around you, Jihoon pulled you closer to his body.

“Does that mean you want to try the experiment?” he asked with a restrained grin, looking down on your face as his platinum blond bangs brushed against your cheek.

“We humans call it dating. But since you’re an android, everything’s an experiment,” you replied with a playful smirk, which then disappeared when you sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you before.”

Jihoon shook his head. “It’s okay. That’s understandable. I’m aware we androids have a penchant for analog hack, and I was warned I might be doing it unconsciously. I don’t want that to happen.”

“I’ll trust you despite that. It’s going to be hard but let’s see if that empathy organ is the real deal,” you grinned, poking his side.

“Are you sure?” Jihoon asked. “It’s going to be like infecting yourself with the disease and checking if the cure is effective.”

You chuckled. “Great analogy. But I know what I’m doing. Who knows we might have stumbled upon the future already.”

“If it’s enough for me to act mushy and cringey like this, I guess it’s stronger than we have estimated,” Jihoon joked around as both of you laughed together.

“We’ll see.”

Jihoon nodded and placed a chaste kiss on your forehead. “We’ll see.”

-Hyeri

[nctzenchuu-blog]

I am you, you are me

request: hello! Can I get an au with nct's Johnny where soulmates communicate/talk to each other only at night?

 Hello! Ok I hope those reading this won’t hate me since I made this into a bullet thing,,, also char is a better writer so plz don’t hate me- millie

This is CHEESY but johnny is a greasy man what can I say,,,

 a/n: btw he looks godly here

Soulmate AU!💙💙💙

Johnny/reader

·         Ok so this request straight up made me think of bf johnny like its cute ngl~

·         Your parents used to tell stories about how everyone was destined to be with someone that made them whole, and that you would know the minute you spoke with them

·         This was called “crossing” bc many people actually met their soulmates IRL

o   and when u met them it felt as if you were pulled together

o   soulmates were shown to have matching scars on their bodies

  ·         so you knew you had a soulmate because they always got hurt or did something dumb

·         one time you woke up with a giant black bruise that showed your soulmate probably,,broke their leg

·         as a teen they were more frequent so you guessed they did athletics since u didn’t play out much

·         some of your classmates would tease you because you haven’t discovered your soulmate

·         it was common to have already met them

·         so one night after studying you were a bit down worried, “ will I never meet them?”

·         you lied down onto your bed when you just started talking to yourself when you hear this D E E P voice break through the SILENCE

·         it freaks u out so bad that you knocked your head against the headboard,,,tragic

·         so youre just angrily whispering where the heck that voice came from

·         and the mysterious voice responds back with, “wait- you can hear me too?”

·         you both realize you’re not making this up so the two of you introduce yourselves

·         johhny he tells you, but you swear you’ve heard and seen that name before,,

·         since the two of you are intrigued by the fact that the two of you can communicate y’all just become friends right away

·         school, gossip, it was all comfortable talking to johnny about this stuff

o   it felt natural since he always listened and offered his input

o   there was still a thought that nagged ur brain whenever he would sleep so he couldn’t hear you think, “ could he be my soulmate?”

·         you find out johnny is a single child, in the football team,and a ladies man (though you didn’t ask him to tell you)

·         as time progresses, the more you want to learn about him besides the times when the two of you could talk at night

·         it wasn’t enough! So you thought about the voice that filled your head every night with new stories

·         during a night where johnny didn’t talk to you, it hit you at that moment that you missed him BADLY

·         like to the point you worried about him and tried to dial his number to ask if he was ok,,,,but you forgot to ask

·         at this time a truck of emotions hit u

·         worry, anguish, but love?? It never occurred to you that you felt such feelings towards johnny even though the two of you have never met??

·         Bc of that you looked into your journal where you document all the imprints that appeared on your skin since the day you could remember

·         And you find a journal entry where it said that one of the bruises was from your side when you fell down a slide and cut your elbow, and ended up with a crescent scar on it

·         So seeing that you thought back to one night convo w johnny

·         And he told you about how he had an unusual scar hohohO-guess which one

·         It was the crescent! But he said he thought he got it during football practice but you knew!!

·         He was your soulmate!

·         So at this point you’re trying to call out his name in the darkness hoping he could hear you

·         A thought comes up that maybe you should do it while looking around the city

·         A dumb,,,dumb + dangerous idea (what are u getting yourself into)

·         So downtown with just a jacket and pajamas your just calling him out in your head

·         But you KNOW hes near,, something strong was just pulling at you to search for him

·         Hours pass and it’s a busy night and you end up in front of a pond at a park

·         Its breathtaking, and it reminds you of all the things that led up to that moment

·         “ I wish u could see the moon with me, here beside me you know”

·         “ yeah wouldn’t want to miss the view”

·         But you heard his voice so clear you thought it was a fluke, it was impossible he was here!!!???

·         You turned around and there he was in all his boyish glory

·         A literal giant

·         You were holding in your breath bc you thought it was a dream

·         He was worried you weren’t responding so he was about to ask if you were ok before u SLAMMED into him, the poor LOG

·         It felt unreal, I mean he was real, him breathing, him smiling, him existing

·         It was something you would never have thought possible ??

·         You tell him everything , about the scar, your fears, you even blurted out how worried you were

·         And it didn’t cross your mind that you were clueless as to wether he reciprocated your feelings

·         Cue freaking out

·         He just smiles that goofy grin (yall know WHICH ONE)

·         “hey, didn’t it cross your mind that I fell in love since the first moment we spoke to each other?”

·         A cheesy G R E A S Y line

·         But its johnny, and u loved it regardless

·         Now that the two of you were tgt, the pull blossomed into a beautiful feeling between you two

·         Abd from that you no longer needed to only be limited to talking at night

·         Bc now fate led you to each other

·         All beneath the moonlight, and for many moons more