#phew this fic took a lot of my soul

[arckook]

under the willow tree - lucas oneshot

pairing: wong yukhei/lucas x reader

au: rich kid

warnings: minor character deaths

word count: 22.4k

description: You have what many would consider the perfect life- endless money, a loving family, and a best friend that you know will never leave your side. But when your parents die in a mysterious car crash, everything you thought you could be sure of suddenly has no certainty.

You are of the opinion that adults really don’t realize how hard eight-year-olds have it.

It’s a thought that crosses your mind repeatedly throughout the impossibly long car ride to the airport, then in the impossibly long plane ride across the ocean, and when you got back in the car to drive home.

Adults don’t realize that your favorite place is your grandparents’ modest (modest to you, but you don’t realize that until you’re older) home in the dreamy climate of southern California, and only spending the three or so months of summer vacation that you get there is nowhere near enough time. You don’t want to go back to Korea, and you don’t want to sit still for that many hours on end.

But as you expected, your parents just placate you towards the end of the second car ride with some cookies they got at the airport and a smile, promising you that the chauffeur will drive quickly to get you home.

The car pulls up in the long, circular driveway in front of your estate outside the city of Busan, where your family goes when there’s not much business to be done. You like the estate because of how it at least isn’t in the big big city like your other house is- the penthouse suite in Seoul is too high up and the view of busy people constantly around makes you feel weird. You’re young, and you like that you can run around in a backyard and pick flowers and do whatever, so you always drag your parents into staying at the estate.

It’s only as you arrive there that you feel less antsy, and less annoyed with your parents, since they carefully get you out of the car and let you take the elevator up to your room (usually they make you climb the stairs, insisting you not be lazy just because you can be).

You jump right into the bed that’s too big for you, a new maid you don’t recognize coming in just to draw the thin curtains around your bed with a soft smile and turn the light off. For a moment before you drift away into the milky darkness of sleep, you wonder why you haven’t seen her before- after all, you like to keep track of the nice ladies who help you out around the house when your parents aren’t there. Despite your wonder, though, the long voyage has you tired beyond belief, and drawing the blankets up to your chin, you fall into unconsciousness.

School doesn’t start for about another two weeks, which is both a dread and an excitement for you. Firstly, a bore, because you’re really not sure what to do for these two weeks alone. Your older brother hadn’t come to America with you and your parents, because of his summer studies in Seoul, and your dad had left last night to go stay with him, so there would be no beach trips, because your mom hates the beach. So, you’ve deduced, you’re going to be extremely bored until you have to get back to Seoul to start school.

The excitement comes from not being in Seoul. At least you can be bored out in the fresh, salty air that blows in from the ocean water not too far away. It’s better company of nature than Gangnam, so you can’t complain too much.

However, your idea that you will be alone, and therefore bored, is cut short the very afternoon after you come home.

You’d spent the day lounging around, waiting for your mom to be done with paperwork in her office, and after a seafood lunch splayed out for you too artistically for an eight year old to really appreciate, you ended up in the expansive backyard.

You’ve never done much exploring in the back, since your mom was afraid you might get lost if you go out too far. After all, the backyard is just very well groomed grass and carefully placed selections of trees that extend until the property line too far for you to see- the fact that it’s so large probably being why it makes your mom nervous.

Despite that, nearby the house are paved walkways lined with short hedges and flowerbeds, and some wooden benches scattered under trees. You stick around those places, bringing a book in English out with you to practice reading it under the shade.

You settle down on a bench under some willows, the long spindly branches almost cocooning you away from the outside world as you shift around, trying to get comfortable. You finally stop in a position where you’re on your back on the bench, feet stuck through the hole made by the opposing curves of the wood and the wrought iron armrest on one side.

“Charlotte’s Web.” you read aloud to yourself, feeling the words form on your lips. English isn’t uncomfortable for you, especially since some of your cousins can’t communicate with you outside of it, but sometimes the sounds feel strange as they pass your lips. You’d learned a lot this summer, and don’t want to forget, so you’ll force yourself to read the whole book out loud to nobody.

You take a breath, opening your mouth to start the first sentence of the book, when a similarly young voice mirrors what you’d just said.

“Charlotte’s Web,” repeats someone who must be in front of you, in English that sounds a little more awkward than yours. You shoot upright, the book dropping to your lap as your eyes fall on a boy who can’t be much older than you, if he is at all; hair the color of nearly-burnt caramel sweeping across his forehead, head tilted to the side curiously, his eyes so dark they look black in the shade crinkling up in amusement as he registers your surprise.

“What?” you blurt, thoughts of speaking English slipping away. The boy laughs heartily at your exclamation, purposely dropping to the ground and crossing his legs casually.

“What do you mean, ‘what’?” he replies. Oh, good. At least he speaks Korean, even if he does have somewhat of a slight accent.

“I mean…” you start, then frown a little. What do you really mean? “I was just surprised.”

The boy nods, remnants of his laughter still on his tanned face. “I see. Why?”

You raise your eyebrows, sitting a little straighter. “Are you serious? Why? You appeared out of nowhere!”

“Nowhere seems a little dramatic,” the boy shrugs. “I was right over there.” he gestures with his head to the kitchen's entrance to the house.

You purse your lips. “Well how’d you get there?” You’re sure you’ve never seen him before.

“My mom started working here a couple weeks ago. She told me this morning that your family came home last night, so I went looking for you this morning.” he tells you, reclining back on his arms folded under his head.

You hum, then remember the unfamiliar woman in your room last night. “Oh! I saw your mom. She turned off the light in my room yesterday.”

The boy scoffs. “You need someone to do that for you?”

You frown, suddenly feeling a little attacked. “Excuse me?” Someone has always done that for you, and for your brother, too. It’s not weird like he’s making it seem.

He peeks up at you from his lazy place on the grass. “Ever thought about it? You know normal kids don’t have people to do easy stuff like that for them.”

“Normal?” you repeat, feeling more and more annoyed. “Are you saying that I’m not normal?”

“Of course you’re not,” the boy says like you should have already known that. “You’re rich.”

“And you’re rude,” you snap, huffing a breath out and turning up your chin at him.

“Good one,” he replies, sarcastically, and suddenly you want to throw your book at his stupid head.

You’re pretty much about to, when the nice lady from last night pushes the hanging branches of the willow behind her and steps in.

“Hello, young lady,” she addresses you with a sweet smile, then turns to the boy, her face switching instantly to a disapproving expression. “Yukhei, didn’t we talk about how you can’t just run around without telling me where you’re going?”

Yukhei. So that’s his name.

“I was looking for her.” he replies, sitting up and pointing at you. You huff again.

“Don’t you know that pointing is rude?”

“I don’t care,” he shoots back, crossing his arms.

“Well you should!” you hiss, grip on the book tightening.

“Kids,” the woman intervenes, and you immediately shrink back in embarrassment at how you’d acted. Your mom would’ve told you off just then. “Yukhei, you can’t just antagonize other kids when you barely know them.”

“Can’t is one thing, shouldn’t is another,” Yukhei replies without an air of concern. You roll your eyes. He really is insufferable!

The lady sighs, but a smile crosses her lips. “Alright. Say goodbye to Miss Y/N, maybe you can start again on better terms tomorrow.”

He seems to get the idea, and stands up, not even brushing the grass off of his pants. “Bye,” he says in your direction, with no remorse at all.

“Psh,” you mutter under your breath, and don’t respond.

The lady laughs again, then puts her hand on Yukhei’s shoulder and quietly leads him out of the area under the tree.

The next time you see Yukhei is three days later- you’d purposely not gone outside and pretty much stayed in your room or in the library during them so that you’d have no chance to encounter him.

However, your mom tells you on the third day that if you’re going to complain about leaving the estate and living in Seoul that you better be enjoying your time in Busan.

So you put pants on instead of the usual skirt and decide to teach yourself how to climb a tree.

The trees outside are a lot more daunting when you’re standing under them compared to what you were imagining in your head. The weeping willow you’d had your encounter under before seems good, since there’s one shorter branch you think you can reach before going up higher, but you figure the thing must be at least a thousand feet tall.

Well, actually, you have no clue how tall trees are, but it looks pretty high from here.

You walk around to the side where the lower branch is, and instantly, your mood drops.

“Are you kidding me?” you say before you can even think. Because there he is- Yukhei, the insufferable boy that you’ve been avoiding- sitting on the branch you were going to climb!

He looks down at you, and you’re expecting a sour reaction, but he has the same amused smile from when he first talked to you a few days ago. “Surprised to see you back here.”

“I live here.” you state, eyes narrowing.

Yukhei laughs, throwing his head back, and you frown in confusion.

“What’s so funny?” you question, hands on your hips.

“Sorry I was mean to you before,” Yukhei says, effectively surprising you. “I wasn’t expecting you to fight back when I teased you.”

Teasing? That’s what he calls teasing? You’re tempted to let him know just how off his definition of that word is, but you just sigh to yourself, imagining mom encouraging you to be polite.

“And why’s that?” you ask instead of reprimanding him for his poor vocabulary.

He shrugs, swinging his legs over the branch so he’s facing you completely. “Don’t know many girls.”

You roll your eyes. “So you thought a girl wouldn’t argue with you.”

“Well, you proved me wrong, so…?” he trails off with a cheeky grin, which makes your annoyance fade away way too quickly.

“Whatever,” you say, tossing your hair over your shoulder. “You’re in my tree, though.”

“Your tree?” he laughs again. “It’s a tree. It can’t be anybody’s.”

“Yes it can,” you say smugly. “My parents own this whole place, so it’s my family’s tree.”

Yukhei seems to think about this for a second, before another bigger smile breaks onto his face. “So what you’re saying is it isn’t your tree, but your family’s?”

For whatever reason, your second meeting with Yukhei changes your mind on him. He likes joking around with you, pressing your buttons and seeing how frustrated he can get you before bursting into laughter, which usually makes you laugh too. His mom, who had in fact been the same lady (you were right, you might add), sends the two of you off to explore the property in the morning and makes you snacks throughout the day, and you and Yukhei become quick partners in crime.

It’s why you’re even sadder than usual when barely two weeks later, your mom comes into your room with a sympathetic smile and your essential things already packed, saying it’s time to go back to Seoul.

You share goodbyes with Yukhei, who assures you that he’ll still be there when you all come back to the estate for winter break later in the year.

Throughout the rest of your childhood and adolescence, you don’t make many friends in the same social class as you. Before you met Yukhei, you’d had somewhat of an idea that you and him came from different worlds- you, daughter of a multi-millionaire couple with a business empire that you and your brother would inherit, and Yukhei, son of a maid at your parent’s estate and a teacher who remained back in China where he had come from. Despite this, you only realized how your friendship with Yukhei had changed you when you got older, and possible friends gave you strange looks when you mentioned your best friend back in Busan, asking questions like “why would you hang out with someone like him?”. You realized that you had grown up a little different from other kids at your private academy- you had grown up knowing what a life outside of yours was like.

And that brings you to being sixteen, a grin on your face that you just can’t wipe off as you get close enough to see the Busan property in the flattened part of the valley.

“You’re always so excited,” your brother Jaehyun says to you from the driver’s seat, chuckling. He’d insisted on driving, since your parents had the chauffeur in Seoul and had to make quite a few more stops for business than the two of you. It was just easier this way, he’d argued, but you think he was hoping for some peace and quiet instead of the intense classical your mom likes to turn up in the car.

“Duh,” you say, rolling your eyes. “Yukhei and I are going to go to the beach tomorrow. We gotta plan out what we’re going to do while we’re there.”

“The beach?” your brother asks incredulously. “It’s like, 23° outside.”

“So?” you say, shrugging. “He really wants to, and I like the beach too, so.”

“Pshh,” Jaehyun says, looking sideways at you with a vague smile. “I think he just wants to spend some time with you.”

You want to shove him, but you’re not sure how much to trust his driving skills, so you just stick your tongue out. “Don’t make it weird.”

“Manners,” he chides, but you know he’s not really trying to reprimand you.

Jaehyun parks the car on the long circular driveway that’s so familiar to you, and you practically jump out with the one bag you bring between your two residences.

You don’t have to look far for who you’re thinking of, because there at the very edge of the lawn in front of the house is Wong Yukhei.

He stands with the unshakeable confidence that he’s always had, hands tucked into the pockets of his baggy pants tucked into heavy work boots- he’s been helping out with gardening on the weekends and during breaks for two or so years now. He brushes through his hair with a grin full of anticipation as you make eye contact, lifting up one hand in a cheeky wave.

On the inside, you’d like to run over and throw your arms around him in greeting, but there’s other employees around as per usual to welcome you and Jaehyun home, so you just speed walk with as much grace as you can, bowing your head politely to others that you pass until you finally reach Yukhei, Jaehyun chatting with everyone else and leading them into the house to give you some privacy.

“Hiya,” he says, ruffling your hair as you stop in front of him, a smile you can’t even consider losing spread across your lips.

“Missed you,” you say, and he just laughs to himself. “What?”

“We facetimed like two days ago,” he replies, then reaches over and takes your bag as you roll your eyes.

“Don’t be dumb,” you try to take back the bag, but he’s already slung it over his shoulder. “You know what I mean.”

He laughs again. “Of course.”

Yukhei’s mom, who you greet with a big hug and are given some kisses on the cheeks in return, made you and her son a simple lunch, sending the two of you off through the backdoor with a blanket to sit under your favorite weeping willow.

“So,” you say when the two of you settle down, Yukhei pulling out your favorite meal of jajangmyeon in two thermoses and some side dishes, spreading them out between you. “How’s life?”

“It’s good,” he breaks your chopsticks for you and passes over the food. “I don’t know if I told you yet, but my dad is visiting in few weeks.”

Your jaw drops just as you’re about to slurp up some noodles. “Are you serious?”

You’ve never met Yukhei’s dad before, or even talked to him. Telephone calls with him never happened around you, and you respected that. All you know of him are some family photos from when Yukhei was really young, since he’s lived here since he was eight.

Yukhei nods, humming in confirmation. “I guess you’ll finally meet him.”

You frown- he sounds almost bothered by that statement. “Isn’t that a good thing? I’ve never met my best friend’s father and now is the chance.”

He looks down, sighing, which only confuses you more. “I’m just…” he sighs again, deeper, brushes through his hair with his fingers. “I guess I’m just nervous for him. I don’t want- I’m not, I’m not saying you’re like this, Y/N, cause I know you’re not, but… I don’t want you to think less of my family when you meet him.”

Your eyes widen, food practically forgotten as you stare at your best friend while he avoids your eyes, fiddling with his chopsticks. You can’t help but feel a sudden sense of regret and sadness, wondering what you could have done that he even considered you might look at him differently because of his father’s working conditions. You’ve known Yukhei and his family aren’t exactly in the best place financially, but he’s always turned down any help you’ve offered and you’ve always tried to be understanding and disregarded the social classes meant to separate the two of you.

Another smaller part of you is a little offended that he thought that of you, but you push that away. After all, you don’t know what it’s like being in his situation.

He must have noticed your expression, because Yukhei quickly sputters an explanation. You purse your lips, setting down the food, and interlocking your fingers solemnly.

“Yukhei,” you cut him off, and he looks up at you with concern. You sigh. “I thought we both knew there was never going to be any judgement. I’d never…” you sigh again, frustration leaking into the release of breath.

“I know, but-” Yukhei starts, but you keep talking.

“I don’t know where you got that idea, but you should really get rid of it. I’m never going to think of you any different than I think of other people. Actually no, that’s not even true. I think so much higher of you than other people- everyone at school only tries to be friends to make connections or because they know I have more money than them or they know I have a summer residence or whatever they know- and they’re the kind of people I think less of because they have no fucking personality!” you shake your head in exasperation. “But I’m never going to think less of you or your family because you’re never going to be like that, okay?”

A moment passes in silence, and you look down, a little nervous that you’ve said too much. You and Yukhei tend not to talk about just how opposite you are on the spectrum of wealth often, because despite how much you want to laugh when he jokes about how much money you have, it usually just makes you feel awkward. You also don’t usually talk about the other people you know, your classmates, since you feel like the more he knows about your life in Seoul the less he’ll see you as the you that he knows.

A chuckle breaks you out of your thoughts, and you look up in time to see Yukhei clambering over and wrapping you up roughly in his arms, tousling your hair as he laughs.

“How did I ever doubt you?” he says through his laughter, and you can’t help but smile too, leaning into his familiar embrace.

The next morning, you wake up in your baby blue king size bed that’s still too big for one person and feel a rush of excitement when you remember what you’re doing today.

You get ready faster than ever before, skipping on makeup since you’ll probably be in the water anyway and getting your hair out of your face carelessly. You try on a few different swimsuits, trying to decide which one is most appropriate for the weather, before you pick a one piece with a halter and some kind of light pink pattern across it, and figuring there’s a chance you’ll be cold, you put on a jumpsuit instead of the planned sundress.

You make it downstairs by nine am, finding Jaehyun and Yukhei in the dining room talking over some breakfast.

“Good morning,” you say to announce your presence, and they both look over, Jaehyun just rolling his eyes while Yukhei smiles.

“Ready to go so early?” he says, standing to pull out a seat for you at the table.

“Ooh, what a gentleman,” Jaehyun teases, a smirk lining his face. You roll your eyes and sit down while Yukhei just laughs.

You prefer sweeter things for breakfast, having gotten used to it in the summer days and weekends spent in California, where the only savory breakfast food is eggs and potatoes, and sometimes meat. So you don’t neglect to notice the sugary parfait and chocolate waffles laid out for you on your first day back to Busan.

“Where’s your mom?” you ask Yukhei as you dig in. “I want to thank her.”

He shrugs. “She didn’t cook, I think she went to town since it’s Saturday.”

Your lips form an o shape, nodding.

Breakfast passes smoothly, Jaehyun excusing himself after around 20 minutes telling you that he has a big finance project due tomorrow that he has to get started on, so you and Yukhei finish together in peace.

Once you’re done, the head butler Shinhae tells you to be extremely careful on the road and not to fool around (you get a little rosy at that comment) and to be home by the evening. He sends you and your best friend off with the same kind old-man smile you’ve seen your whole life, and you get in the car with a similar smile on your own face.

Your parents aren’t back yet, which means your regular chauffeur isn’t either. You called up a different chauffeur (well, Jaehyun called) to take you to the beach, and he drives with earphones in instead of playing music in the car. It’s a little weird, but you and Yukhei have a laugh about it and settle into casual conversation,

You talk about how exams went for the both of you- Yukhei has always hated school and didn’t try at all, but the smile that lights up his face when you tell him you think you did well makes it seem like grades are all he wants to hear about. You’ve grown up trying not to complain too much to him about your classes, since that brings up the conversation of what you’ll have to do once you graduate high school. Which is, inevitably, go to college, and unlike Jaehyun who has an abundance of friends equally as rich as you to make his college life in Seoul interesting and beneficial for the company, your parents want you and your practically-fluent English to study in the U.S. for your bachelor’s degree.

Obviously you have enough money to come back to Busan every weekend if you really wanted, but you doubt you’ll have the time or energy once you’re a business student. And you really hate thinking about a future where you can only talk to Yukhei in person once or twice a year.

The beach is only about an hour and a half drive, and it passes fairly quickly. The chauffeur drops the pair of you off near the shore, telling you he’ll being around the quiet beach town you’re in and to call him when you’re ready to leave. You shoot him a thumbs up, and once he nods and turns away, you pivot and race down the steps, not looking behind you to see if your best friend is following.

“Yah! L/N F/N! Are you crazy?” Yukhei shouts after you, and you hear his footsteps on the wood echoing your own.

“You know it!” you call back, hopping down the last step onto the sand. You quickly remove your flip-flops and stick them in the duffel bag you’d brought along, eager to feel the warm sand between your toes and along the curves of your feet.

Oof!

You stumble forward when a way too strong for his age young man crashes into you like he calculated with how much force to do so. Yukhei wraps his arms around your shoulders and takes the bag from you wordlessly, looking out at the ocean water in front of you.

“So pretty, huh?” he comments. You look up at his face and see an expression so full of wonder and curiosity that your heart tugs.

“It is,” you pat his hand on your arm so he lets go, and grab his hand on your other side instead, leading him off so you aren’t standing in front of the entrance. “I’m not sure where the yacht is right now, but I’m sure we could bring it out sometime.”

He snickers at that, and you realize how that sounded- one of your “rich kid moments” as Yukhei called them.

“Or we can just do this again and come to the beach like teenagers do,” he suggests humorously, and you cringe, offering him a sheepish smile.

“Sorry. Can’t help it.”

“I know,” he ruffles your hair, then points to a fairly empty spot on the beach. Well, the whole beach is fairly empty; after all it’s the beginning of summer so there aren’t many students or tourists, just a few families scattered around. “Let’s set up there?”

You nod, and realize you’re still holding hands as he walks over, faster enough than you that you end up a foot behind.

Yukhei sets up the umbrella and your chair, dramatically complaining the whole time that you’re using him for his muscles and you should be paying him for this. You’d wince but he’s the one who stopped you from helping in the first place, telling you to enjoy your beach trip without doing ‘hard labor’.

“I don’t understand why you didn’t bring a chair for yourself,” you chide, sitting down as he pulls a towel from your duffel bag and throwing it out over the sand next to you.

Yukhei grins up at you. “A chair is a place for a princess.”

You roll your eyes, groaning. “Stop. You’re so annoying.”

He reaches up and pinches your cheek, then sinks back down and throws his shirt off in one swift movement, tugging his towel away from the shade of the umbrella and settling down in a relaxed position. “Changed my mind, I think I’ll tan over here.”

“Tan?” you repeat, bewildered. “Did you put on sunscreen?”

“I don’t need sunscreen, the sun loves me.” You groan, reaching down and digging through the bag until you find the bright orange SPF bottle, throwing it at Yukhei’s head. He yelps dramatically and you throw your head back in laughter.

Once Yukhei has laid back down, you take a deep breath, wondering why you’re suddenly so nervous to shed your jumpsuit and be in the swimsuit you’d chosen in front of him. Something about the mood and how it’s just you two gives you a weird feeling that you don’t usually have around Yukhei- when you glance over at him and see just how much older he really looks right now you feel heat rise to your cheeks. Or maybe that’s the literal heat from wearing a jumpsuit at the beach.

Gathering up your confidence, you take off the jacket first, folding it carefully and placing it in your bag. You look at Yukhei in your peripherals and see that his eyes are shut, so you quickly slip your pants off and stuff them in the bag, hopping back onto your beach chair.

“You’re jumpy today.”

Your head snaps over to see Yukhei hasn’t moved, but the ghost of a smile lines his lips after he spoke.

“What?” you say, but you know he’s right.

He chuckles. “Ah, you’re cute sometimes, Y/N.”

Your eyes open wide and the heat in your cheeks is back as you whip your head away from him and put your face in your hands. What is happening? Seriously!

You pull out your English copy of Charlotte’s Web from the bag and try to pretend like that little interaction didn’t happen.

As you expected, Yukhei lasts about thirty minutes before deciding he’s bored of “not doing anything” and drags you from your seat, insisting that you go in the water.

“But we need to watch our stuff!” you exclaim as he pulls you down the shore. “What if we get distracted and our phones get stolen?”

“Buy a new phone, princess,” he teases, spinning you around randomly in the sand to get you to smile. “You can afford it.”

You roll your eyes but don’t stop him when he lets go of your wrist and starts chasing you down the edge of the water, cupping his hands to fill them up and throwing water at you shamelessly as you yelp and hop away, laughter ringing in the air.

Yukhei manages to drag you waist deep, taking both your hands and interlocking your fingers as you turn round and round in the water, feeling sand puff up around your ankles.

“We should swim,” he says on your fifth rotation. You snort in disbelief.

“The ocean isn’t for swimming.”

He looks at you incredulously. “So what the hell does it exist for then?”

You shake your head. “Pools are for swimming, the beach is for… hanging out at the beach.”

“Well I don’t know about you, but I came to swim,” Yukhei states firmly, which you snicker at.

“Go swim then, Prince Charming,” you let go of his hands to tap him on the cheek. He scrunches up his face and pouts.

“Without my princess?” he reaches for your waist but you dance just out of his reach, water splashing up around you.

You laugh, starting back towards the sand. “I’ll watch our stuff. Enjoy yourself, okay?”

Seemingly accepting that you won’t join him, Yukhei smiles in response and starts wading the opposite way, deeper into the ocean water.

You dry off your lower half once you’re back at the umbrella, pulling your phone out from your bag and checking to see if you have any notifications. You don’t, so you put it on your lap as you sit down and continue reading, occasionally looking up check that he hasn’t gone and drowned during your fun beach trip.

You think it’s probably been about thirty minutes when your phone starts ringing, the loud tune of TVXQ’s Mirotic (yeah, you had never really gotten over that song) playing from between your legs where your phone had fallen.

You scramble to get it, hoping not to disturb any other beachgoers with the (amazing) song playing at such a high volume. Seeing that it’s Jaehyun who’s calling, you swipe accept and put the phone to your ear.

“Need help with your project already?” you joke, dog-earing the page of your book.

“No, Y/N, this is serious.” he responds, his voice sounding thick and scratchy like he’s been crying. Immediately you sober up, sitting straighter and listening closely.

“What?”

Your brother takes a deep, shaky breath before speaking. “Our… Mom and Dad, Y/N, they…” he trails off and panic sets into your chest, forcing you to stand.

“Jae, what the hell happened?” you snap, clenching the hand that’s not holding the phone.

“They crashed.” he manages to choke out, and suddenly Jaehyun’s not keeping it together anymore and your strong older brother is sobbing over the phone. “They crashed- and they, they were- the ambulance came but they were already-”

“No,” you cut him off, shaking your head. “No, Jaehyun, fucking stop it right now. Stop fucking with me right now.”

He doesn’t yell at you, or tell you to stop, or tell you it’s true. He just keeps crying, hiccups and strangled sounds coming through to your ear.

Your stomach drops, and you lifelessly fall back onto your chair, barely remembering to stay on the call in case Jaehyun needs you.

Your parents are dead.

Your kind, understand parents who have shaped such a perfect, worriless life for you. Your parents who encouraged your friendship with Yukhei over the other rich kids because they believed he was genuine enough for you. Your parents who without hesitation spent months in the heat and cramped house of your grandparents in California, year by year, for you.

They’re gone.

“Y/N?” Jaehyun’s weak voice comes through, snapping you out of your trance. “Y/N, are you there?”

“I’m here,” you reply quickly.

“You need to come back to the house.” he croaks. “We have to… we have to figure something out. I know I’m older and I should be strong but… but I can’t be alone.”

“I’ll be home.” you assure him, already pulling out your clothes and shrugging them back on, hurriedly flinging sand off of the towel on the sand. “I’ll be back as fast as I can.”

“Okay,” you can imagine Jaehyun nodding. “Okay. Text me every ten minutes?”

He wants to make sure you don’t meet the same fate as your mom and dad. “...Yeah. I will.”

“Okay. Bye.” he says, sniffling once more before hanging up.

You’re halfway through trying and failing to fold up the chair, just about screaming in frustration inside your head, when a hand on your shoulder stops you in your tracks. You whip around to find Yukhei- oh, Yukhei. How can you tell him this?

His eyes are full of concern, his grip on your shoulder telling you that he knows something is wrong.

“What happened?” he asks lowly, as if he’s afraid to speak louder. You can only stare into his eyes, lip trembling, not having shed tears yet but feeling them burn along the rim of your eyes. “Y/N, what happened?”

“We need to go,” you manage to respond, voice shaking so obviously that you’re surprised you can even talk. “We need to go right now. I’m sorry.”

“Y/N-” he starts, drawing you closer, but you push him away.

“My parents died. That’s what happened.” you swallow down your tears as you turn, kneeling down to get a better view of the chair.

Yukhei gasps softly behind you- you can tell he was trying to make it subtle, but it doesn’t matter anyway. Your hands are shaking as you look for which part to fold, but they’re being pushed gently away just a second later.

Yukhei kneels next to you, wrapping up your hands in his and pulling you into a tight embrace, pressing your face against his shoulder. He doesn’t talk, and you manage not to cry, but both of you know you need him then. You need him not to talk, you need to just wrap your arms around the base of his neck and let him squeeze your waist so that he’s close to you, and shut out the way your world has just fallen apart in the span of five minutes. You need his comfort so that you might not fall apart too.

You stay there for a while before the sense of urgency from before hits you and you gasp out a “we need to go”. Yukhei pushes you away from the stuff, telling you to call the chauffeur and tell him to pick you up right now, no questions asked, and that he will pack everything up.

By the time the chauffeur arrives, Yukhei has just finished with the things, and quietly hauls everything but the bag slung over your shoulder up the stairs as you race up before him.

“Back to the estate,” you tell the chauffeur in a rushed, breathless voice as soon as the car door opens. “We need to get back quickly but drive as safely as possible.”

It’s with that little detail that Yukhei is clued into what happened to your parents. The ride back is silent, but he wraps his arm around you and turns your face into his shoulder once again, asking the chauffeur to please put on some calm music. He texts Jaehyun for you, assuring your brother that everything is just fine.

You feel sorry for just a moment after you jump out of the car with nothing but your phone the second it parks in front of the house, knowing you’ve left Yukhei without even a goodbye, but that feeling is gone right away.

Even though your parents hadn’t been here when it happened, or even here recently, knowing they’re gone makes the grand mansion loom in front of you like a gray part of history, the beauty of its construction overshadowed by the fate of its owners.

You rush to the front door, it opening for you by the time you’re halfway up the steps leading to it, Shinhae looking at you from the doorway with a somber expression that you try to ignore. You bow your head to him, then speed past as he steps away, not even caring who sees you run through the entranceway to the main staircase, bolting up the stairs faster than you ever have before, and down a series of hallways until you reach your brother’s room, where you’re expecting he’ll be.

You knock three times, calling out that it’s you, the door flings open immediately, and then your brother’s arms are around you, squeezing the life out of you as he wraps his fingers around the fabric of your jacket in desperation.

Multiple members of the staff employed at the estate come by Jaehyun’s room throughout the day, but the two of you ignore everyone but each other. You’d decided right away that you would contact all your family that didn’t already know tomorrow, and then contact the heads of different sectors of the business to see what their thoughts were in terms of what to do about the sudden lack of two joint CEOs. You’d also have to check your parents’ wills, in the safe in your dad’s office which only Jaehyun knew the password to. Not to mention, do something about going to Seoul to the mortuary that they’d been taken to, and figuring out something with a funeral or…

You have a lot to do. So much that the stress of the day and what is to come brings you and Jaehyun to an agreement that just for a while, you’ll put off living the nightmare you’ve been thrown into, and just stay together.

The next week is the hardest week of your life. You know you can’t see the future, but you also can’t imagine anything that could happen that would hurt worse than becoming an orphan before you had any time to accept it.

You and Jaehyun spend as little time in the mortuary and funeral house as you can, organizing the funeral in just an hour so you can get out of that building in which the air is thick with freshener, covering up the stinging stench of death. Jaehyun stays in Seoul, though, knowing he has to arrange a meeting for the future of the business.

When you come back to Busan, your father’s brother and his wife are there waiting for you. They greet you warmly and with teary eyes, telling you and your brother not to worry now that they’re here. They handle the talking to your relatives, sending out messages detailing what happened to your mom and dad and the date and location of the funeral.

You spend the time that you’re not talking to Jaehyun on the phone or with your aunt and uncle holed up in your room, door locked and curtains closed. The idea that life is moving on for other people even though you’re missing two of the most important people in your life is unbearable, so you push the rest of the world away.

Yukhei and his mom try to come up to see you every single day, desperation for you to answer more and more evident as every day passes, but you can’t see them. You can’t see anyone. You just flip through photobooks with pictures of your parents, unable to stop the waves of tears that hit you in bouts of ridiculous pain- you’re so worn out after you cry that you sleep, and when you wake up everything seems gray. Over and over again.

Jaehyun finally comes home, and your aunt and uncle sit you down at the dining table, having sent all of the staff away so it’s just the four of you.

“So,” your aunt, Seoyeon, begins, adjusting her glasses as she sighs. “What kind of conversation did you have with the department heads, Jaehyun?”

You and your brother share a momentarily confused look, having expected this to be about your parents and staying together as a family, not the business.

“Well,” Jaehyun starts, frowning slightly. “They seemed to agree me and Y/N will take over as CEOs once we’re both a little older, so until then-”

“Ah, of course,” your uncle Sungjoo cuts in. “The two of you are just so young. I never expected my brother’s children having to take up this terrible burden at such an age.”

Aunt Seoyeon nods, humming. “Your father mentioned to us a couple times that if this were to happen, we should step in and take over until you grow up a bit. It’s why we came so quickly.”

You cock your head, practically speechless.

“In both mom and dad’s wills it says that Y/N and I inherit the company if they were to die.” Jaehyun states, raising a brow. “And I’m becoming an adult next year, so there shouldn’t be a problem with that.”

“But you’re a student!” Aunt Seoyeon exclaims, a deep frown creasing her forehead. “Sweetie, there’s no way you can get your degree and run a multi-million dollar business at the same time.”

“Maybe not, but the officials at the head office will be there to guide me and support us until Y/N and I can fully take over.” Jaehyun argues, shaking his head. “It’s what mom and dad wanted.” “I think what they would have wanted more is for their children to finish growing up,” Uncle Sungjoo says, sighing deeply. “Of course, we’ll consult your grandparents in California first, but this is the right choice for us and for the company.”

You and Jaehyun share another incredulous look, and Jaehyun scoffs, standing abruptly.

“I’ll get the law involved if I have to. It’s our business, not yours.” he snaps, then leaves the room, a cold and awkward feeling setting in with his absence.

Your uncle looks at you like he’s expecting you to say sorry, but you don’t. And you won’t.

“When are my grandparents arriving?” you ask instead. Your uncle frowns.

“Arriving?” he repeats, and you frown.

“Yes, for the funeral.”

“Ah,” Uncle Sungjoo nods. “Well, we’ll look into booking them tickets.”

But for whatever reason,a feeling of distrust settles into your chest, and later, after you’ve managed to get back upstairs and be with Jaehyun, you buy your grandparents’ tickets yourself, sure that they would not make it to the funeral otherwise.

It’s the next week when Yukhei finally catches you.

You’re walking down the hall from your room to get to Jaehyun’s as quickly as possible in an effort to avoid your aunt and uncle when a hand lands on the crook of your elbow.

You yelp, jumping away instinctively, but you catch sight of who it is as soon as you turn, Yukhei’s grip on your arm not loosening in the slightest.

“Y/N,” he says, and although you want to pull away and pretend like you don’t have to face him at some point like you have been doing, the look in his eyes makes you stay. He’s watching you with fear lacing his expression- he’s not angry at you, he’s just…

He’s just worried.

Tears spring to your eyes as soon as it hits you that you’ve not only abandoned your best friend but probably worried him out of his mind the past two weeks. You haven’t gone this long without speaking since you were ten and he didn’t have a phone yet.

“C’mere,” he murmurs, drawing you into a hug as you try to get yourself under control. You won’t cry again. You’ve spent too much time crying.

You swallow down the lump in your throat and pull away from your best friend’s embrace, holding him at arms length as he stares down at you, brows drawn together in a deep crease.

“I’m so sorry,” you say, teeth latching onto your lower lip. “I missed you.”

“I missed you more,” he responds quietly, hands slipping down your arms to hold on to your own. “We need to talk.”

“I know.” you breathe out heavily. “It’s just that right now-”

“Y/N?”

The sharp voice of your aunt causes you and Yukhei to both look left. You don’t bother to let go of each others’ hands; after all, everyone here knows how close the two of you are, so its more instinct to stay together than apart.

You open your mouth to greet your aunt, but she cuts you off before you can even talk, stalking towards you with narrowed eyes.

“Isn’t this the landscaper?” she points with no respect at Yukhei, not even looking at him. You narrow your own eyes.

“The landscaper?” you repeat, then laugh with no humor, shaking your head. “This is Yukhei, my best friend.”

Your aunt laughs louder than you had, dryly. “Your best friend is a maintenance worker? Don’t kid with me, Y/N.”

Yukhei lets go of your hands, and you turn to him to see him almost sinking in on himself, looking ashamed.

“He’s not just some staff member, he’s been my closest friend for eight years, and even if he was, how can you laugh like that?” you question her sharply.

Aunt Seoyeon cocks her head dangerously. “Darling, you’re much too wealthy to be hanging around someone like that.” She grabs your arm and pulls you to the side, then looks pointedly at Yukhei, whose expression is unreadable. “Well? What are you still doing here?”

“Why are you talking to him like that?” you snap, hating the way that Yukhei just nods and pivots, quick footsteps leading him away from you. “He’s not below me just because he doesn’t have as much money as me.”

“Yes he is,” she hisses. “All of that sort are no good for company. You’re not to see him or contact him anymore. In fact, I think it’s better if you finish your summer in Seoul.”

“What?” you exclaim, and she hushes you hurriedly. “No, I’m not going back there until the new school year. Busan is our summer residence, and I’ll stay here for the summer.”

“I am your legal guardian now, Y/N,” your aunt says darkly, and you frown. “You’ll do as I say. In fact, since you fought me on it, you’ll leave tonight.”

You throw her hand off your arm and whip around, heading back to your room steaming with anger.

You aren’t even given time to say goodbye to Jaehyun or Yukhei before your aunt stuffs you in a car, telling the chauffeur to take you to the airport, where she’s already bought you a one-way flight to Seoul.

“L/N F/N! You haven’t been here during the summer in ages!”

You look up from your lonely spot in a crowded cafe to see Han Jieun, one of your classmates, strutting towards you in shoes that probably cost more than your entire current outfit combined.

“Hello, Jieun,” you greet politely, a little surprised when she pulls out the chair in front of you. “You’re right about that.”

She smiles, red lips curving to points. “So what brings you here? Everytime we ask about your summer plans you mention the estate in Busan. Did it burn down or something?” she laughs, a high, bell-like sounds.

You shake your head. “No, I just have a lot going on and was encouraged to stay in Seoul for a bit.” You’d rather not tell any of the classmates you’ve never entrusted with a secret as small as having kissed a certain boy once upon a time- let alone that your parents passed away and you were sent to Seoul by force.

Jieun nods, humming pensively. “Yes, those things do happen. Well, what are you up to today? Don’t tell me you’re doing work or anything like that?”

You are. You met with one of your dad’s closest advisors in the company in secret yesterday, and he gave you some assignments, trying to prepare you as quickly as possible to take over leading the company once you explained the situation with your aunt and uncle.

“Nothing important.” you shut the notebook you had open and take a sip of the latte you’d ordered before. “Why?”

Jieun tosses her fashionably cropped black hair over her shoulder with a wider grin. “Yuyeon, Jia, and I were going to head down Gangnam today and do some shopping. I know you’re more of the studious type, but I’d love it if you came along!”

Just for the fact that she tried to sound sincere, and you kind of want a distraction from the stress that’s overtaken every second of your life, you bite your lip with the tiniest smile, and agree.

Your aunt made you delete Yukhei’s number from your phone with her watching before you left a week ago, but you know it by heart anyway, so you’ve been texting him simple morning and nights every day since you left.

Today, he facetimes you when you’ve already tucked yourself into bed, but you answer regardless.

“Hiya,” he says, face pixelated on your screen. You guess his connection is bad.

“Hi,” you reply, knowing your voice shows how drained you are.

“Heard from Jaehyun that you went shopping today,” he wiggles his eyebrows and you chuckle.

“Yeah, this girl I know from school saw me when I was out and convinced me to come along with her and her friends. It was okay, I guess.”

“Buy anything?”

You shake your head. “I just watched them spend a shitton of their parents’ money.”

Yukhei laughs, his head tipping back. “Blow it all on fancy shoes and jackets, huh?”

You laugh too. “Jieun bought a 800,000 won dress for a dinner party her dad is throwing. She invited me but said I have to wear name brand if I come.”

“Well, you should go.” he shrugs, but you see something uncomfortable within it. “Y’know, network, meet some new people.”

You shrug back. “We’ll see. I’m worried about spending money right now with my aunt and uncle doing whatever they’re doing.” Yukhei hums, so you continue. “When does your dad get in?”

“Tomorrow at noon, I’m gonna take the bus to the airport to pick him up.”

“I’m so pissed that my aunt forced me to come here,” you mutter. “I can’t believe I’m missing my chance to meet the one other person in your family.”

“He doesn’t speak Korean or English anyway,” Yukhei says, but you can tell he’s disappointed too.

“I’m going to figure something out,” you say firmly. “I’m coming back to Busan. My parents wouldn’t have wanted this for me.”

Yukhei is quiet for a moment, and you start to get worried, but he speaks up just as you’re about to ask if he’s okay.

“I think it’ll be good for you to stay in Seoul for a while, Y/N.” he says, and your lips fall open.

“Wait, what?”

Yukhei looks down, his expression turning vague. “I want you to do more of what your classmates do. It’s not fair that you have the opportunity for that kind of lifestyle but you always end up staying with me.”

You shake your head. “Yukhei, we already talked about this, there’s a reason for that-”

“I want you to live your life, okay?” he cuts you off. “You’re going through so much and being tied down to one friend isn’t going to help. Just let your aunt and uncle handle the stressful things and be a teenager.”

“Did something happen?” you sit up, leaning closer to your phone. “Did my aunt tell you to say that?”

He shakes his head, a bitter-looking smile lining his lips. “Nobody told me to say anything, Y/N.”

“I don’t understand,” you say plainly. “You’ve never wanted me to hang out with those people before. I thought I explained what they’re like- they don’t care about others, all they care about is money and power.”

“But maybe they don’t!” Yukhei runs a hand through his hair. “You never even gave them a chance.” and quieter, as though he didn’t want you to actually hear: “Because of me.”

“Yukhei-” you start, but are interrupted again.

“Goodnight, Y/N.” he says simply, and the call ends, nothing but a black mirror reflecting your emptiness back at you.

You sit for a moment, and then in frustration, chuck your phone at the wall, ignoring the way that the screen shatters over the wood floor- another mess that someone else will have to clean up for you.

If you were to describe the next year and a half of your life, you would start with the word luxury.

You and Yukhei had drifted farther from each other than you ever had in all your years of friendship- and as much as you wanted to take part of the blame so he’d never feel guilty about it, it was him who’d done that. You tried endlessly to keep in touch with him, sneak back to the estate at random times and search him out, but it was like he was purposely avoiding you at every moment. He came to see you on your seventeenth birthday and for the Chuseok holidays, and that was about it.

The luxury comes into play because of Yukhei’s absence in your life. Jaehyun was ultimately unsuccessful in prying the company out of your aunt and uncle’s hands, and even after he became an adult they kept such close tabs on him that he gave up trying to fight the choices they made for him.

You’d done the same- Yukhei’s leaving you behind and the absence of both your parents and your brother (who’d been sent to Harvard to stay far away from the company) left you constantly feeling alone. You accepted Jieun’s consistent offers of going to parties and dinners and galas and “study sessions” (there wasn’t much studying done at those). You made friends, gilded, shells of friends who were all smiles and no compassion. When the word got out that the reason you stayed in Seoul that summer was because of your parents’ death, you got no visits from the people you were associating yourself with- you got dozens of bouquets of expensive fresh flowers and short notes of condolences. There was no reason to be bitter, since you’d ultimately done this to yourself, but compared to the excitement and passion for life you’d had before the accident, you never felt like yourself anymore.

Pulling up in the circular driveway in front of the mansion in Busan seems strange now, since it’s been so long. You thank the chauffeur as he gets out of the car with you, helping you with your bags before driving down to where the other cars are parked.

You’re about to start dragging the multiple suitcases you’d brought up to the front door, when a hand over yours stops you.

“I’ll get it, little sis,” Jaehyun says, voice full of warmth.

You melt in happiness, wrapping your arms around his torso immediately as he hugs you back, then spins you around, chuckling.

“Thank god,” you say when he puts you down. “I need someone I can trust if I’m going to be stuck here with the devil couple until my birthday.”

“Eighteen,” Jaehyun muses, picking up your luggage. “It’s a big day.”

You shrug. “Same old, same old. Jieun was disappointed that she wasn’t allowed to plan some big expensive party.”

Jaehyun sighs. “Jieun, Jieun. Is she your new best friend?”

You wince, looking down as you follow your brother up the steps to the doors. “Haven’t we talked about this?”

“Sure we have, but I still don’t get it.”

You’d like to reply that you don’t get it either, but the double doors swing open, and there is Aunt Seoyeon, in a calf-length white silk dress that’s far too fancy for just welcoming you back to Busan.

Of the things you’re still fiery about, your aunt and uncle taking up residence in the estate is at the top, along with them taking the company. It’s your house, that your parents built for you and Jaehyun to get away from the city in, and the fact that they’ve been here while keeping you away is still insurmountably frustrating.

“Welcome home, kids!” she pipes, falsity lining her every movement and word. “We’ve set up dinner- I figured you’d both be hungry after your trips here.”

“Thanks,” you say halfheartedly, as she turns and leads you and your brother into the house, down familiar halls past the double staircase until you reach the dining room.

You sit down, tuning out whatever your aunt and uncle are saying to the staff about the food, as Jaehyun quietly responds when they start asking him questions about Harvard. You look through the window as the others begin to eat at the starkly empty table- long enough for twelve but set for four. A part of you knows you’re not paying attention because you’re looking for someone else- will he be out there today? Or could he be in town, maybe even with other people… another girl? You wonder if he’ll avoid you when you’re both in the same place like he had before.

“Y/N,” your uncle’s voice says, and you turn your head from the windows, looking across the table at him. He smiles at you, a careful, curious look on a face too jubilant for someone who had practically stolen wealth from the cold hands of his dead brother. “Why don’t you tell us about your friend Han Jieun? Her father is an investor, right?”

“He owns an investing label,” you reply, finally picking up your spoon for the soup in front of you. “Jieun doesn’t care much for it, though.”

Your uncle nods, humming. “You’re still attending her parties and events, yes?”

You resist the urge to roll your eyes. “I am.”

“I hope you’re not interacting with the waiters there!” Seoyeon chirps, laughing like she made a wonderful joke. You know its a dig at your friendship with Yukhei, and you don’t feel like pretending like that doesn’t bother you.

The conversation continues in a chopped, awkward fashion, as your aunt and uncle try to push you and Jaehyun into talking about the connections you’ve made and just about nothing else, while the two of you answer in the shortest possible ways.

By the time dinner is coming to a close, you can tell your legal guardians are getting very frustrated with you and your brothers’ attitudes.

“I think the two of you should go up to bed,” Seoyeon snaps just as someone is bringing out the fruit for dessert. “It seems that you’re both too tired to properly talk with us.”

“You’re right,” Jaehyun replies immediately. “Come on, Y/N, we can clock out early.”

“Pardon me?” your aunt scrunches up her pointy features, catching the tone in Jaehyun’s voice, but he’s already stood and pulled out your chair, and the two of you are out of the dining room before anything else can be said.

“They really piss me off,” Jaehyun mutters as you walk with him towards the stairs, two pairs of expensive shoes clicking against the marble floors.

“Me too.”

You’re halfway up the stairs when you see him.

He’s on the other side of the leftmost staircase, half-hidden by the curve of the structure, but in a way that tells you he was intending to be. He’s wearing the sort of work clothes he always felt “gross” in but you thought reflected his humble personality. He looks older than the last time you saw him, almost like he’s been weighed down with responsibility and its aged him past his eighteen years.

Yukhei looks up at you with the strangest expression- in that moment before he realizes you’ve caught him staring, that is. His eyes are round, brows just the slightest bit furrowed, and lips parted. He looks… it seems that he can’t believe you’re there, and it seems… ah, you don’t really know.

But then he sees that you’re looking back at him, and his face hardens into something unreadable. Yukhei ducks beneath the staircase, the weight of his heavy boots resonating in the large hall.

Jaehyun notices your distraction right away, but doesn’t say anything until you reach the hallway where both your rooms are.

“You two need to talk to each other.” he says simply, standing in front of your door.

You scoff, shaking your head incredulously. “Jae, that’s not- that’s just not going to happen. I’m not the one that can decide we’re friends again, he’s the one that cut me off like that-”

“He loves you, Y/N.” your brother says, his face the most serious you’ve seen in a long time. “He was afraid because he realized he loves you.”

You feel everything stop in that moment.

Love, as you have understood it, is not something that people fall into or out of easily.

In your parents, love was a connection that made them stronger together than they were apart, and brought them happiness unlike any other. Your own happy moments as a child often came from seeing your dad bring your mom a cup a coffee late at night in her office, sitting down and talking quietly together, content with just sitting near each other. Or in the car, when they would hold hands across seats, your mom running her thumb over the silver band on your dad’s ring finger, him doing the same when they sat in opposite places. But you had never seen anyone other than your parents in love.

And you hadn’t yet considered whether you would ever be or not.

“Where did you get that kind of idea?” you whisper, unable to look straight at your brother.

Jaehyun sighs. “You two are the only ones who don’t know. Mom and dad knew, I knew, Seoyeon and Sungjoo knew, the whole staff did, too.”

Your brows draw together, and you let out a sharp breath, shaking your head. “I don’t know what you mean. Yukhei and I aren’t… we were never… we-”

“Just look back on things tonight, okay?” your brother pats your cheek, a smile lifting up one side of his lips. “You’ll realize.”

Before you can respond, he’s pivoted and is down the hall, opening the door to his room and disappearing inside.

You wake up the next morning feeling groggy and anxious- you hadn’t fallen asleep for ages because of how much was on your mind and then your sleep was unstable, the kind of in-between state of consciousness where the body is struggling to stay under the deep water of sleep, and the mind is constantly pulling to break the surface.

You’ve always been more curious and confrontational than not, and this is no different- your instinct is to spend the day seeking out Yukhei and figuring out a way to force him to talk to you. So you take a long shower to try and gain some confidence and peace, and then dress in a simple sweater and jeans, trying not to look like the wealthy socialite image of yourself that you’re sure Yukhei has seen on your social media the past year and a half.

The staff kitchen is where you take your breakfast, but neither Yukhei nor his mom are anywhere to be found. You ask the old woman who made your eggs and toast for you if she’d seen him today and her only answer was that she thought he might be in the backyard.

You push open the back door, through the staff kitchens to the steps where Yukhei would often sit to lace up his boots. He isn’t there, but you weren’t really expecting him to be anyway.

The air is crisp today- kind of chilly for the summer, although you suppose it isn’t anywhere near the hottest days of the season. Accompanying the bite the air gives you as you step outside is a breeze that passes through the loose parts of your hair, and brushes the planes of your face, leaving you breathing in movement while you walk down the steps and out to the end of the paved part of the back porch.

It’s then that you catch sight of Yukhei.

He’s leaning against the base of the willow tree, head tipped back like he’s watching the sky, every few seconds lifting up the red apple in his hand to take a bite out of it. He must be taking a break, since his pants look stained with the green dew of fresh grass.

You take a bit of a detour, a curved path to get around to the back of the willow tree without Yukhei noticing. You don’t want him to see you coming and then run- not that you really think he’s so committed to avoiding you that he’d do that. You just don’t want to risk it, really.

“Ya, Wong Yukhei,” you call once you’re within the curtains of leaves. Your best friend turns, his head coming down from its tilted position so that his gaze lands on you. An eyebrow raises, and you see the very corner of his lip just slightly lift up.

“Morning,” he replies simply, then takes the last bite from his apple. You’re expecting him to go on, but he doesn’t and you end up at a loss for words.

Sure, you’d planned some sort of confrontation with Yukhei… but you hadn’t thought this far ahead.

“...Are you working today?” you finally say.

Yukhei shrugs, sticking the apple core in his pocket. “I work everyday, Y/N.”

You frown. “What about the weekends? Surely you have breaks.”

He raises his brows, then sighs, seemingly realizing something. “I guess your aunt and uncle never told you about the changes they were making. Anyway, even if schedules hadn’t changed for everybody I think they’d have done it to me regardless.”

“What do you mean by that?” you cock your head, brows drawing together. “Did they say something to you?”

Yukhei seems like he’s about to say something, but catches his words just before they leave his lips, and lets out a sigh that’s half a hiss instead. “...You shouldn’t worry about it.”

You take a breath to respond, but realize you still don’t know what to say.

It bothers you that it’s like this. Yukhei was never someone you ran out of conversations with- he has always been full of energy to supply endless stories that you could laugh at and talk about for hours. But now, it feels like there’s something between you, whether it be tension or awkwardness or unexplained history.

So you say the one thing that comes to mind every time you’ve thought of Yukhei since that call a year and a half ago.

“I really miss you.”

His expression doesn’t change, which kind of worries you, until he replies, low voice quiet and nearly swept away by the breeze.

“I missed you too.”

You don’t jump back into your friendship with Yukhei immediately. It takes a few days, maybe even a couple weeks, before you feel the same level of comfort around him that you used to. He can tell from the beginning, you think, that it’s you who has become nervous around him, the worry of him cutting you off again never quite leaving the back of your mind.

He proves it to you, though, that he won’t do it again. He sneaks with you around the estate at wicked hours, leads you through staff doors to quiet rooms where you can sit together without the concern of being caught by your aunt and uncle. There’s a rush to it, knowing that you’re not allowed to see each other, and doing it anyway.

The only times you can feel Yukhei’s past disillusionment coming through is when he catches names like Han Jieun’s appear on your phone, and you generally turn away with an apologetic face and answer.

But even if you answer her calls, you turn down her endless invitations to come back to Seoul for the summer.

It’s one of those nights where you and Yukhei are out by the willow tree, in light clothes because the heat has begun swelling deeper and deeper into the hours on the clock, when you ask him if what Jaehyun told you is true, and your best friend tells you that it’s the truest thing he knows- and you fall into something you’re worried you will never return from.

Jaehyun notices that something is different not even a week after that night- raising his eyebrows when he catches you smiling to yourself, and then nodding along with a knowing look. You don’t mind that he knows. He’s the only one that can, anyway.

You spend early summer mornings drunk on the taste of Yukhei’s lips, and you struggle to imagine how the two of you had forced yourself apart for so long. A part of you, though, knows summer won’t last forever, and you don’t know what you’ll do when you go back to Seoul this fall. It’ll be your last year of high school, but you can’t help but wonder how your already secretive relationship will continue across the length of the country.

It’s two weeks before your summer is set to be over when your aunt and uncle call you into the dining hall. You sit down, facing the both of them as they are beside each other, and prepare yourself for what you’re assuming this is about- that they’ve found out about you and Yukhei. You can’t think of anything else that would bring this kind of formal setup.

“Y/N,” Seoyeon begins, and you clench your teeth in preparation. “You’re turning eighteen soon, yes?”

...Wait, what?

“Yes?” you reply, tilting your head curiously. “Why?” Your aunt and uncle share a look, and suddenly your heart drops, knowing this definitely isn’t about you and Yukhei.

“We know we didn’t ask this of Jaehyun, but since you’re the second child and a young lady, we were thinking, that for the best possible future for you and for the company, it seems like a good idea to-”

Seoyeon cuts off your uncle. “We’re arranging a marriage for you.”

A marriage.

The noun repeats itself in your mind, over and over as you struggle to reply. A marriage. At eighteen years of age. An arranged marriage.

“...What?”

Your aunt lets out a breathy chuckle, reaching across the table and patting your hands that are resting on the tablecloth. “Now, I know it seems out of the blue, but we’ve really thought a lot about this. You do have a choice between two young men around your age whose parents we’ve been in contact with- I didn’t want to make all the decisions for you, of course.”

You’re stunned out of your mind- you can’t find anything to say.

“It’ll be a good inheritance,” your aunt continues. “And you won’t have to worry about finding a husband later in your life. Really, there’s no drawbacks here, so I hope you’ll just be content with picking between your suitors today.”

You can’t very well expose your relationship with Yukhei suddenly to get out of the marriage- you doubt it would have any sort of impact other than getting Yukhei and his mom fired, so all you can do it blankly nod, watching your aunt pull out two strangely investigative-looking files for you to look at.

You barely skim over them; choice one, Kim Jungwoo, choice two, Mark Lee. You see the words “speaks English” on Mark Lee’s file and choose him because of that, the whole process taking you just under a minute.

“I’m so glad to see that you’re not fighting us on this, Y/N,” Seoyeon says with what you could hope to describe as a proud smile. “You really have grown up well.”

“Thanks,” you mumble. “I think I’ll head back upstairs now.”

You turn to go, but Seoyeon calls after you shamelessly. “I’ll send you Mark’s number! You’ll meet him in just a few days, so prepare yourself!”

You sit under the willow tree on a bench that Yukhei dragged out a few weeks ago, your left side pressed against his right, left hand intertwining with his right, his thumb sweeping affectionately over the back of your hand. The sun is setting- the only reason you’re out here at this time is because your aunt and uncle happened to leave to “take care of some things” in Gwangju. It feels nice, though, to have some time where you don’t have to feel that thrill of possibly being caught. You can just be a normal couple for once.

You’d suggested going out to the willow tree as soon as Seoyeon and Sungjoo left, and Yukhei hadn’t questioned it at all, following you outside with a smile that sang adoration. He loves the willow tree just about as much as he loves you, you think. He’s always been nostalgic like that.

“You seem sad.” Yukhei’s low murmur has you glancing up at him, finding his eyes already on you. “Are you okay?”

A sharp pain stings your heart when you match his gaze. How are you supposed to tell him what you were told this morning? When he looks at you like someone could only dream of being looked at? When you have each others’ past, present, and future in your hearts, and the idea of letting go of any of them hurts you enough to make a reality like that seem catastrophic- how can you?

You know that this secret relationship has been harder on Yukhei than it has on you. Even if he kisses you with fervency and passion, you can tell there are days when he hesitates. He hesitates like continuing to love you may be the wrong choice for him, and he realizes it in those small, intimate moments. You realize it too, in times where he sighs heavily and puts his head in his hands when he thinks you aren’t looking, or when you catch him and his mom having serious discussions in the kitchen as you pass by, or he holds onto you with an extra desperation that seems like he’s preparing himself to lose you.

Yes, you have always been more confrontational than not, but now, Yukhei isn’t someone who you can easily bring those sort of things up to. Maybe you’ve become more of a coward since you understood your feelings for him, but you try to avoid anything that might be too hard to talk about.

“I’m okay,” you whisper, leaning your face against his shoulder and turning your body into him. You don’t want to think of Mark Lee, of Seoyeon and Sungjoo and the way they’ve torn the future you were supposed to have apart piece by piece. You just want to sit here under the setting sun and love and be loved.

Yukhei hums, nodding. You can feel the movement of his head above yours. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Mark Lee’s number in your phone is still untouched by the time a Lamborghini pulls up in your driveway a few days later and he, accompanied by his mother and father, step out of it, beginning to walk up to where you, your aunt and uncle, and Jaehyun are standing in front of the house.

Seoyeon had a red viscose jersey dress from Gucci shipped in this morning, and had the butler at your Seoul suite send the Louboutins you’d left there too, emphasizing that you had to look your best for this meeting. You feel a little silly in the bright red and black ensemble, having gotten used to more casual clothing over the summer, but seeing that Mark and his family are dressed up in equally expensive wear, you relax. Well, about as relaxed as you can be.

You know you should have told Yukhei about the arranged marriage before the Lee family’s arrival, you know he’ll probably find out today via someone else’s words, and it brings a shame on you that you know you deserve. But that night a few days ago, you just couldn’t do it, and pretending it wasn’t happening was all too easy after that. You’re just dreading his reaction.

“Park Seoyeon, Kim Sungjoo,” Mark’s father calls as the party of three approaches. “What a beautiful property you have here.”

“Hello again,” your uncle greets. “We’re glad to welcome the three of you to it.”

Seoyeon nudges you forward with a blinding, all too plastered on smile. “This is our niece, Y/N, and our nephew Jaehyun.”

Taking the hint, you bow slightly, offering a quiet hello.

“And our son Mark,” says his mother, placing her hand on her son’s shoulder as he smiles shyly at you.

Mark isn’t exactly what you expected. For some reason, even after briefly seeing his picture, you’d formed an idea of him in your head- something like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. You’re not sure why, but the whole arranged marriage deal had you thinking he would be drastically different from you and show up thinking you’d become his property. However, despite his no doubt wildly expensive suit and carefully styled hair, Mark Lee looks approachable, kind, even handsome, and you don’t believe your prejudice of him is accurate at all.

“Hi,” he says sheepishly, bowing to your aunt and uncle and then to you and Jaehyun.

“Ah, what a gentleman,” Seoyeon says, even though nothing has really directly indicated that about Mark. “Let’s head inside, shall we?”

The chefs have cooked up a meal of endless courses, which you saw as you peeked into the kitchen window on your way to the dining room. You withhold a sigh, anticipating how long today will be.

Your aunt directs you to a specific seat, and then places Mark directly across from you and your aunt on your left. She urges you to talk to him quietly as her and the other adults get into conversation, Jaehyun at the other end of the table looking very obviously like he’d rather not be here.

You don’t initiate any sort of conversation, but Mark clears his throat as the first few dishes are set down.

“So,” he starts, nerves evident on his face and in his mannerisms. “My dad told me you speak English?”

You nod, picking up your spoon and taking a long sip of soup before answering. “I was better when I was young, but I’m not bad.”

Mark nods. “Have you always lived in Korea?”

“Yes.” you reply simply. “Have you?”

“No,” Mark shakes his head. “I lived in Canada until a few years ago.”

“Ah,” you nod. You know really you should continue the conversation, but you just… your mind isn’t on Mark or the marriage or the dinner at all. Your mind is on how the curtains in the dining room are drawn wide open, and Yukhei could walk by at any time.

“I think I saw you at a gala once,” Mark says, drawing your attention back to him. “You’re friends with Han Jieun, right?”

“I suppose,” you shrug. “We’re not that close.”

“Have you met her boyfriend?” Mark asks, and seeing your confused expression, he adds, “Kim Doyoung?”

“Ah,” you gesture in recognition. “Yes, Doyoung. I’m not fond of him, though. He’s always a bit stiff with her friends.”

Mark snickers. “That’s Doyoung for you.”

“Are you friends?”

He shrugs. “Sort of. He’s very much the rich type, you know? Like Jieun.” You raise your eyebrows and Mark’s eyes shoot wide open. “Oh, sorry, that was pretty rude, I don’t mean anything by it, just-”

You wave him off. “No, you’re exactly right. They are that type.” then, in a quieter voice to keep your aunt from hearing: “That’s why I’m not close with Jieun and her circle.”

Mark chuckles. “Same here. I guess we’re sort of in the same boat.”

“I suppose so.”

After a generally-less-awkward-than-expected dinner, your aunt and Mark’s mom insist that you show him around the mansion and the rest of the estate, despite Mark saying that it really was okay if you didn’t.

You hadn’t seen Yukhei yet, and you could only pray you could at least make it through tonight without him finding out, but walking the grounds would certainly make it harder.

You start by leading Mark out of the dining room and down the wide halls until you’re back at the front hall with the double staircase.

“Everything connects to here,” you tell him.

“I like the stairs,” he comments, an impressed look on his face. “Fancy.”

You don’t spend long in the house; briefly you show him the library and the small theatre, and then you head outside, hoping to walk once around the house and then come back inside.

You start from the front, since the gardens wrap from the front of the mansion down the side and open out into the back property that you’re so familiar with.

“Pretty,” says Mark when you head into the organized groups of hedges and flowers.

You nod. “My mom picked everything.”

He stills. “I- I’m sorry my parents didn’t give their condolences. It’s really terrible… I really can’t imagine- I… I’m really sorry.”

You look down as you walk, his apology bringing back those weeks just after your parents’ deaths, when it seemed that every time someone spoke to you it was to tell you something similar. “Don’t worry about apologies. It’s clear to me that you’re a sympathetic person.”

“About that, Y/N… I,” he starts but stops, shaking his head with a sharp sigh. “I know this really isn’t the best situation. Like, we’re both pretty young and we’re getting thrown into this whole arranged marriage thing, but I hope at least we can be friends.”

The two of you stop in a circular clearing, Mark stuffing his hands in his pockets nervously.

“I just, I get the feeling that this isn’t really what you wanted and I understand that, because like, it is marriage after all and we kind of aren’t getting to live our lives freely and-”

“Marriage?”

A cold hand grasps your heart, and you whip your head to the left, seeing exactly who you were hoping you wouldn’t see tonight.

And Yukhei looks as pained as you had predicted.

“Sorry, who are you?” Mark asks politely, turning to face Yukhei.

“Y/N,” Yukhei says, ignoring Mark. Your heart tugs at the way he says your name, already a note of pleading within his tone. “Tell me I heard that wrong.”

You dig your nails into your palms as you stare back at him, burning tears welling up in the back of your eyes, at a loss for words.

“I- I think I’m missing something here,” Mark says, looking frantically between you and Yukhei. “Should I go?”

Yukhei’s eyes sweep over to Mark, tilting his head when they land on him. “Tell me who you are.” His jaw has tightened, tension evident in his every movement.

Mark holds his hands up defensively. “I’m Mark Lee,” he replies. “Hey man, just let me know if this is a personal thing-”

“I’m sorry Mark,” you cut in, placing your hand lightly on his shoulder. “Would you be offended if I talked with him for a minute?” You don’t miss the way Yukhei���s eyes snap right to your hand touching Mark, and you lift it right away.

Mark shakes his head. “No, no, that’s fine, we can talk tomorrow though, right?” you nod and he nods back quickly. “Okay, sure, um, I’ll walk around a bit?”

“I’ll meet you back at the front in fifteen minutes,” you assure him, and seemingly ready to escape the clearing that feels thick with tension, Mark turns and heads back the way you came, footsteps fast.

You turn back to Yukhei, finding him regarding you with a look of clear betrayal. You open your mouth to talk, but he beats you to it.

“You’re marrying him.” he bites out, his lip trembling. A wave of guilt washes over you as he shakes his head, then throws it back to look up at the night sky, running his hands through his hair over and over in a show of frustration.

“Yukhei,” you call softly, but the way he groans stops you from continuing.

“Please just wait,” he says, wiping his hands over his face as he starts pacing. “Just give me a second.”

You do as he asks, but you can’t stop the way your hands shake fervently, even as you try to clasp them together, and you can’t help the hiccups that accompany the beginning of tears as the first few drop from your lower lashes onto your cheeks.

He looks over at you once he hears the sound of your crying, but you can tell he’s not quite ready to drop his mistrust and come comfort you.

“What happened, Y/N?” he half-shouts, clearly trying to control the volume of his voice but the emotion of it making that hard. You take in a choked breath as you watch the tears start spilling from his eyes. “I thought we- I thought I was good enough, for once, I thought that- I thought that finally I could have something other people don’t have! I thought that for once I would be-” he cuts himself off with a strangled cry, turning away from you and shoving his face into his hands, his shoulders shaking as he sobs.

“Yukhei,” you call again, voice tight and desperate. You’re not sure if he’ll want you to touch him, you’re afraid of overstepping because of what you’ve done to him. “Please listen, Yukhei,”

He lifts up a hand and wipes at his face again, then turns, swallowing down his tears for a moment as he gestures for you to talk. “Tell me then, tell me why.”

You step from side to side, taking a moment to try and find the right words, hands shaking as you hold them up the way that you always do when you try to explain things. “I… I love you, okay? You have to know that, you have to believe it, I love you and not him, okay?”

Yukhei bites his lips, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, and doesn’t reply, so you keep talking.

“I don’t have a choice. I found out a few days ago, my aunt made me pick between two people for a marriage that she arranged, she said that it’s for my inheritance and didn’t leave me room to argue. I couldn’t tell her about us, you understand, right?”

At this, he shakes his head wildly, then snaps at you the loudest that he ever has. “No, Y/N! I don’t understand! I don’t understand your rich folk politics, I don’t understand why you make things more complicated than they are, I don’t understand why it’s hard to tell someone that you’re in love! I don’t understand why I’m not good enough for you!”

“You are good enough for me!” you exclaim, throwing your hands up. “I thought you knew that! I never wanted you to feel like you’re not!”

“You’re the only one that thinks that way, Y/N,” he chokes out. “Ahh, ah, why did I do this to myself?”

“Yukhei,” you repeat desperately. “Yukhei, I can’t tell her because she’ll fire you, don’t you see? She’ll fire you and your mom, and I-”

“She’s already doing that!” he snaps, and suddenly, everything feels like the glass that was dropped has shattered.

“...What?” you whisper weakly, finally catching his tired eyes so that you’re looking into them. He looks unbelievably drained, that heaviness that you’ve noticed on him for weeks seeming more prominent now than ever.

“She’s already doing that, Y/N.” he repeats quietly, biting his lip again. “Your aunt and uncle are firing half the staff once you and Jaehyun leave.”

You can’t do anything but stare at him, lips parted, in absolute shock. “She can’t do that,” you manage. “No, they can’t do that!”

Yukhei looks defeated, finally reaching forward and taking your hand, pulling you towards him until he has you pressed against his chest, resting his chin atop your head as you continue crying into his shoulder, mumbling a series of “no, they can’t”s into his plain white shirt.

He sways you, and you feel a few more wet drops land on your hair as the two of you hold each other, crying, in the gardens that the mother you wish you could talk to in this moment designed for you when you were young.

“I know you love me,” Yukhei murmurs into your hair. “I’m sorry I made it seem like you’d done something bad.”

“I should have told you right away,” you respond, pressing tighter to him. “I was going to, when we sat out under the tree a few nights ago, but I just couldn’t.”

“At least this way I met the guy,” he says, chuckling, and you let out a breathy laugh as well.

“I won’t marry him, Yukhei,” you tell him, sure of yourself as you speak. “I will find a way for us.”

He doesn’t reply for a while, and you start to get worried, until he says, “You told him fifteen minutes. You should probably go.”

You pull away, looking up at him. “Are you sure?”

Yukhei nods. “It’s not fair to worry him.”

You regard him, affection filling every part of your being. You reach up with one hand, gently tracing the planes of his face with your fingers as his eyes flutter shut. “You are the kindest person on this planet.”

His eyes open, and he places the softest kiss on your forehead. “I will see you tomorrow. Sleep well, Y/N.”

Mark’s family leaves at around 11:45 pm, Mark not having questioned the way you took him upstairs after you found him in front of the house so that you could fix your makeup so that it didn’t look like you’d just cried. You’d profusely apologized for the situation and explained that the reason why you didn’t seem enthusiastic about the marriage had to do with the fact that you were very much in love with someone else. He smiled and told you he understood, and that the both of you still had time to figure out if there was a way to get out of it.

You did sleep well, that night, for how much had happened. You dreamt of your mother, her soft fingers brushing your hair away from your face and telling you words that were certainly wise but that you forgot as soon as you woke up in the morning.

Jaehyun knocks on your door in the morning, finding you with messy hair, puffy eyes, and in your silk pajamas.

“What?” you grumble, never having been a morning person.

Your brother’s expression is serious. “Come to my room with me. I have to show you something.”

Jaehyun leads you through his room, locking that door, and then to his office, locking that one behind him too.

“What are we doing, spying on someone?” you ask quizzically at his apparent paranoia.

“No,” he replies, sliding into one of the two office chairs in the room, patting the other one so as to suggest you sit on it. You do, and he continues talking. “I’ve found something important about mom and dad’s accident.”

You frown. “What do you mean?”

The police had told you and Jaehyun that the accident was merely that- an unfortunate turn at the wrong time and someone else running a red light. The other driver had escape unharmed but paid a ton of money to your family since the accident had been fatal. You’d never met him or wanted to, knowing that he had been the cause of your orphanage.

“I mean that I got my friend to dig into the police camera recordings, you know, the ones they use to catch people who run reds.” Jaehyun shakes the mouse to get his computer to turn on, and does some quick clicking around. “He found the day mom and dad crashed.”

“Jae, I don’t want to watch it,” you say feebly, already feeling sick as the still beginning of the video pops up on Jaehyun’s screen. Your brother turns to you, his face stony.

“Y/N, I’m going to tell you something now that you have to swear on your life you won’t repeat anywhere else.”

You frown deeper. “What?”

“Swear it.”

“I swear.”

Your brother nods, then sighs heavily. “I know it seems far fetched, but I’m looking into more evidence now- it’s just that watching this had me thinking, and I really do think that-”

“What is it Jaehyun?” you interrupt.

He looks at you, swallowing nervously. “I think that uncle Sungjoo orchestrated mom and dad’s death.”

“What?” you exclaim, and he hushes you.

“Look, they can’t by any means find out that I’m researching this. If it’s true and they did purposefully kill mom and dad I’m sure they could find a way to do it to us, too.”

You shake your head. “Jae, you know I’d trust you over them any day, but you have to explain this, and well.”

“I’ll skip to the important part of the video.” he says firmly, and speeds through the crash, then moves the screen so that it’s halfway covered by another browser, covering up the car your parents were in so that only the other car is showing.

The driver steps out, and looks absolutely calm as he watches the scene you can’t see, then pulls out his phone as another car pulls up from down the street. The driver of the second car gets out, and seems to have a short but unfazed conversation, before the second man gives a sharp nod and gets back into his car, driving away. The one who crashed puts his phone to his ear, and the video ends.

Jaehyun turns to you. “Seem weird?”

You tilt your head. “Yeah, actually. Really weird.”

Your brother nods. “What makes it weirder- look.” he rewinds a little to when the second man gets out of his car. “The camera didn’t catch his license plate, but I recognized him after watching a few times. It’s uncle Sungjoo’s business partner Choi Youngchul, the one who replaced Kang Hyungdon in the finances department at the headquarters in Seoul.”

“So then…” you sigh, eyebrows drawing together. “What would that entail?”

“I think it’s some sort of business deal,” Jaehyun says, leaning back in his chair. “The driver crashes into our parents on that left turn in the middle of nowhere, and ideally for him they die. The driver gets paid big bucks to keep quiet, and Youngchul is the one paying. Sungjoo takes over the business once our parents are out of the picture, and gets Youngchul the job at the headquarters. My guess is that eventually they’ll try to sell the company and leave us with nothing.”

You slump back in the chair, tipping your head back and sighing heavily. It’s a lot to think about, so suddenly. It’d been two years since your parents’ death and at this point you had accepted it, even if from time to time you still end up crying yourself to sleep when you think of them. Being confronted with the idea that it hadn’t been an accident at all brings the suffering of that first day back.

“...Well then, what do you suppose we do about it?”

Jaehyun scoffs. “We aren’t doing anything. I told you so you wouldn’t be completely in the dark, but you can’t get too involved in case they find out. You can convince them you didn’t know anything about my plans and get out safe that way.”

You stare blankly at your brother. Are you in the mood to argue with him?

Not really.

“Fine. But you have to update me at least once a month. Are you just going to try to collect more evidence about the deal thing?”

He nods. “I have a few people working on it already, and whatever intel they send me I’ll relay to you. Don’t actively search for anything, but if you happen to find something out make sure you tell me.”

“Got it,” you say, nodding your head. Jaehyun looks at you solemnly, and you cock your head in question. “What?”

“I’ll get the company back for us, Y/N,” he tells you seriously. “We’ll have the future mom and dad wanted for us.”

You both stand, you hug your brother tightly, wishing with all your heart that he is wrong about your aunt and uncle, simply because if he’s right, the tragedy in your life will multiply and multiply. And you’re not sure what your limit is.

The next day, Jaehyun leaves for Seoul with the excuse that he has some friends to meet up with before going back to America. Your aunt and uncle encourage him to make connections, all proud smiles, but your brother looks back at you with a knowing expression that tells the whole story. He’s only going to Seoul to further investigate his idea.

You spend the rest of the day in the library, reclining on a big armchair, occasionally texting with Mark so you two can get to know each other. In the event that your uncle didn’t in fact orchestrate your parents’ death and you aren’t able to take over the company, you want to be prepared to marry Mark. It’s the last thing you want to do, but life hasn’t exactly gone in your favor for a long time.

You know Yukhei must have been looking for you for the whole day by the way he throws open the library door around the time the sun is setting. His hair is mussed and hands dirty after a day of work, but your heart swells when he walks quickly across the big room and draws you from your seat and into a long kiss.

It’s only as you’re kissing him that you realize something about it is wrong.

“Hey,” you whisper, pulling away. His eyes remain squeezed close and he rests his forehead against yours, hands gripping your waist tightly. “Are you okay?”

Yukhei lets out a shaky breath, slowly opening his eyes to look at you. “I need to tell you something.”

You frown, fingers that had been intertwined behind his neck slipping down to hold onto his arms- you feel like suddenly you need traction to support whatever he’s about to say. “What is it?” you ask weakly, unsure of what to expect.

Yukhei takes a deep breath, looking away from you, before looking at his feet as he talks. “My mom and I are going back to Hong Kong.”

Your stomach drops.

“You’re… you’re leaving?” you manage to say, hands shaking as they hold onto him.

He nods, teeth pulling on his lip. “My mom thinks there’s no point in staying here if-” he seems to cut himself off, and think of something else to say. “...If she can’t work here.”

“I’ll employ her,” you rush to say. “I can find her a job, I could find her dozens- tons of people I know always need help and, and anyway, you’re graduating this year so once you finish school you can go to college here or even, well, you speak so many languages you could find a good job no matter what, so really-”

“Y/N.” he says softly, stopping your desperate rant. You look into Yukhei’s eyes, and see profound regret. “It’s already decided. I convinced her to wait until you get married, but once that happens, I’m leaving.”

You frown again, but this time out of confusion. “But I might not even be getting married. Or even if I am, not for years.”

Yukhei chuckles, but there’s no happiness to it. “I guess you weren’t paying attention during your meeting dinner. Jaehyun told me they set the date for September 25th.”

September 25th? Barely four weeks after you’re starting school, meaning it’s only just over a month away from now.

Suddenly, the realization that all of this is real- Jaehyun’s theory about your parents, your marriage that will come before you even graduate high school, the person you love leaving you for what seems like forever-

You choke up, throat feeling tight and hands trembling. Yukhei tries to steady you as you stumble, but you push him off, reaching down to grab onto the arms of your chair and sink down, clenching and unclenching your fists as you fight off tears.

“Y/N,” Yukhei says faintly, kneeling down in front of you and reaching for your hands, but you pull them away, curling up into yourself as the onslaught of tears you desperately didn’t want to come rush over you.

It’s probably the ugliest you’ve ever cried. You’ve shed tears so many times in the past couple of years, but never like this. Never gasping for air because it feels like there’s blocks of iron on your chest, never choking out incoherent sounds because your throat is drawn so tight it’s hard to breathe, never felt so crippled and weak.

“Baby,” Yukhei whispers, a twinge of anguish in his voice- but you can’t even look at him. “I’m so sorry, you know that right? I’m so, so sorry.”

“Please go,” you grit your teeth and force out. “Please.”

“What?” you hear the disbelief in his tone, and for a moment regret even asking him to leave. “You want me to go?” “Get out, Yukhei,” you mumble, voice quivering. “Now.”

You can feel his hesitation, can feel the way he wants to take your hands and force you to look at him and tell him why you’re like this.

But Yukhei has always been cautious of your desires, and so after a few moments where the silence of speaking is filled only but the sound of your sobs, you hear the library door click shut.

After a few minutes of incessant pain and tears, you manage to slow your breathing and relax just a little, still gripping the arms of your chair.

Maybe it’s best to separate yourself from Yukhei now, so that the pain when you have to stand on that white altar and say that you’ll be with Mark Lee through sickness and health won’t be as terrible.

Maybe it’s best, so that when you look into the dancing crowd at your wedding, you don’t catch the eye of someone who is leaving the next day and decide to run away with him.

Or maybe, you’re a coward, and you can’t face losing another person that you love.  

Mark invites you to a party on his friend Doyoung’s yacht down by Jeju Island, and you say yes immediately, ready for a reason to get away from the damage you’d done to your and Yukhei’s relationship.

Your future husband picks you up from the estate in his far too expensive car, making the drive to the Busan airport a little more fun than it probably would have been if a chauffeur drove you two. The plane tickets are last minute, but your wealth speaks for itself, and the last two seats on the last flight of the day to Jeju are yours and Mark’s in minutes.

Mark chats to you in a way that makes you feel like he knows you’re unhappy, but doesn’t feel right asking you about it, so he’s just trying to distract you. You welcome his explanations about things he used to do in Canada and people that he knows and really good food the two of you should eat sometime- the effort to distract you somewhat works.

You land in Jeju about forty-five minutes after boarding, and Mark quickly hails a taxi to take you to the beach where Doyoung’s yacht is- and once you see it, you understand why Mark was excited.

It’s a bigger boat than your family’s, and it makes a huge impact in the darkening sky, lit up with gold and white bulbs and a shining blue pool on deck. There’s people all over the things, and just walking up the stairs to board you can tell that the drinks here are all going to contain alcohol.

“Y/N!” you hear a high pitched voice call as soon as you step onto the deck, Mark just behind you. There is Han Jieun, in a short sequined black dress with matching black nails wrapped around a champagne flute, red lips pulled into a tipsy smile. “I didn’t know you were coming!”

You smile, embracing her so she doesn’t fall over in her tall heels. “I should have figured you’d be here.”

She giggles in the pretty tinkling way that she always does. “Duh! Doyoung had the party because I asked, isn’t that so sweet of him?”

Ah, yes, Doyoung happens to be her boyfriend.

“So sweet,” you nod, settling her back on her stilettos.

Jieun seems to notice Mark, who had been awkwardly hanging behind you. “Oh! Mark Lee! Are you two together now?”

Mark steps forward, looks at you with an expression that says ‘what is the answer to that question’, and chuckles to fill up space while you think.

“Tentatively,” you say, with that exact word lining your tone.

Jieun gives you a knowing smile and a long ‘ahhh’, her face crinkling up into an amused smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell,” she winks, laughing again. That doesn’t really make sense to you, but you just smile and nod. “Anyway, come on, it’s weird just standing here at the front!”

You look over at Mark, and he just shrugs. “Why not?”

The next thing you know, you’re at the bar next to the pool, significantly more drunk than you’ve ever been, laughing as Mark and some of Jieun’s friends try to convince you to jump into the pool.

“But my dress is expensive!” you whine, but don’t fight the girls as they drag you from your seat at the bar and start walking you towards the pool.

“Come on, Y/N!” one of them says, laughing through her words. “I’ve never seen you have this much fun!”

“Woo! Let’s get it Y/N!” Mark shouts from the bar, and you look over your shoulder to see him cackling, his friend Sicheng that you were introduced to… at some point, rolling his eyes dramatically at Mark’s antics.

“Okay!” you exclaim, giggling as you push your hair off your shoulder. “I’ll do it!”

“I have your phone, don’t worry!” Mark calls to you, and you send him a thumbs up, kicking off your heels as even in your intoxicated state you can remember that those aren’t worth getting wet.

The girls start chanting your name, and you even see Jieun and Doyoung appear from around the corner where they’d been passionately making out for a while. The people in the pool already are laughing, spilling vodka drinks as they desture for you to jump. You hear a count of one, two, three-

And you jump.

You’re not sure how you ended up on a way stiffer, smaller bed than either of yours, but as you sit up in the dark room, that first waking thought fades as the feeling of nausea sweeps over you, and you jump from the bed, pushing open the first door that you see and thanking whatever higher power that it’s a bathroom.

You throw open the toilet lid, and have the sense to grab your hair before leaning over the toilet bowl and proceeding to throw up all of the expensive drinks you must have had.

Mark Lee appears beside you so quietly that you jump from your tragic position when he places a hand on your shoulder, taking the hair you’d gathered up from your hand and softly telling you that it’s okay. You’re not sure what he means by that, but after a few minutes, you think you’ve thrown up as much as you can, and as soon as you sit back Mark pulls the lid down and flushes the toilet, letting go of your hair.

The two of you sit in silence for a while before you try to stand up weakly, your fiance rising to his feet to help you, before you stumble over to the sink, grabbing a packaged toothbrush and quickly wetting it, wishing there was toothpaste but utilizing a ton of water to get the taste of bile out of your mouth.

It’s only after you’ve significantly washed out the aftertaste of vomit that you turn to Mark, leaning back on the sink. He’s still wearing the outfit he was before… before the crazy night that you’re sure you had, but you can’t quite remember. Looking down at yourself, you’re not in the blue dress that you remember being in before.

“Where are we?” you ask, wiping at your eyes. “I can’t remember anything.”

Mark nods, a pensive smile crossing his lips. “We’re on Doyoung’s yacht. He gave us this room since you passed out a few hours ago.”

“Ahh,” you sigh, then purse your lips. “I hope I wasn’t too much trouble. I don’t think I’ve ever drank that much.”

Mark shrugs. “Not really. I was kinda drunk too, but I slept it off. I’m surprised you’re even up right now.”

You chuckle. “Me too.” A beat of silence passes, and for a moment there, in the small bathroom in a room of Kim Doyoung’s yacht, you can imagine that Mark is really someone that you could love. He is reliable enough to have stayed with you, trustworthy enough to have just let you be even though you were in a vulnerable state, and kind enough to have woken up just to be with you while you threw up. Maybe… maybe it won’t be so terrible getting used to Mark Lee.

“Your boyfriend called.” Mark breaks the silence with his quiet comment, looking down at his face. Your lips fall open, brows drawing together. Does he mean Yukhei? “I didn’t answer, but he left some messages and texted you, too. I think he must’ve seen that picture you posted after you jumped in the pool.”

First of all, you jumped in the pool?

Second of all, shit.

“Where’s my phone?” you ask, biting your lip. What an awkward thing for him to have to tell you.

Mark silently walks back into the bedroom and you follow him. He points at the nightstand on the left. “I’m gonna change in the bathroom since I’m up.” You nod, and he reaches into the dresser next to you, pulling out loose clothes that seem to match yours. Did he… did he change you out of your clothes?

“Jieun took your dress to wash,” Mark says, seemingly reading your mind. You think you catch a blush on his cheeks as he mutters the next sentence. “I wasn’t present.” He escapes quickly to the bathroom with the clothes in his arms, the door shutting quietly behind him.

You chuckle to yourself, then remember the whole reason you’d walked out here.

Walking over to the nightstand, you pick up your phone and turn it on. 4:47am. The time is accompanied by enough messages from Yukhei that you can scroll for a few seconds before reaching the bottom. You sigh and unlock your phone, first opening the texts.

From: lucas wong, man!!!!

[12:34am] Where did you go? I saw your photo.

[12:37am] Are you with Mark Lee?

[12:46am] Are you drinking? Tell me you’re not drinking when you’re out with him.

[12:51am] Who else is there?

[1:32am] Hey, are you okay?

[1:57am] Can you text me back? I just want to know if everything is okay

[2:33am] Y/N, I’m not joking please text me back nobody knows where you are

[2:42am] It’s getting really late, are you coming home? I’ll wait up for you okay

[3:01am] Please text me back as soon as you see this

[3:01am] please

You sigh deeply, chewing on your lower lip as you open the phone app and play his voicemails.

“Hey, Y/N… I um, I know you were upset at me, and I don’t want to intrude since you seemed like you didn’t want to talk but- um, I just want to know if you’re okay? I guess you’re not coming home tonight since it’s so late, but just let me know that you’re safe… I love you, you know? I… ah, neverm-”

“I’m just calling again since it’s past four… You’re in Jeju, right? I guess I kind of snooped around your friends’ social media, sorry, haha… Call me back, please.”

The guilt that washes over you as you hear his impossibly tired and yet very clearly stressed and worried voice is so much that it almost becomes painful. Your fingers tremble- should you call him back, or if you text that you’re alright, is that enough?

You shake your head. If you were in Yukhei’s situation, you’d want to hear his voice. It’s not fair to him to leave a text after worrying him like that.

The phone rings, and rings, and rings, and you’re about to give up and leave a voicemail when he answers, a sleepy mumble of your name coming through the receiver.

“Hey,” you whisper, and you hear a deep sigh of relief.

“You’re okay,” he mutters, and you hear the sound of rustling blankets. “I was worried.”

“I’m sorry,” you say reflexively. “I got drunk.”

There is a few seconds of silence. “...You didn’t- you didn’t do, um, do anything with Mark, right?” Yukhei says in the smallest voice you’ve ever heard from him.

Your heart sinks, realizing how many things he might have imagined happened to you. “No,” you reply quickly. “No, we didn’t. I swear on my life.”

“I believe you,” he says. “Are you coming home?”

You bite your lip, looking at the bathroom door. “I don’t know.”

“You’re in Jeju, right?”

“Yeah, a friend of Mark’s has a yacht. That’s where we are now.”

You hear Yukhei take a short breath. “Are you with him right now?”

Suddenly you feel more guilty, even though you and Mark haven’t done anything. “He’s changing in the bathroom.”

“So you slept in the same room then?” Yukhei mumbles, half a question and half not. “Did you have to?”

“I passed out,” you tell him honestly.

More silence. And then; “I’ll talk to you later. Come home soon.”

“I’ll try,” you reply, and he hangs up.

The door opens a few seconds after, and you’re sure that Mark was waiting for you to be done talking to Yukhei before coming out. He offers you a small smile as he walks over.

“Do you mind being in the same bed now that we’re not drunk?” he asks sheepishly, hands clasped behind his back.

You sigh, one part of you feeling like you’re betraying Yukhei, and the other part telling you that when you told him to leave and then came on this trip you were ending things with him. “...We’re both tired.” you tell Mark, and lay down on the sheets. “So it’s fine.”

He nods, walking to the opposite side and promptly settling down.

“Mark?” you say after a few minutes, half expecting him to be asleep.

He hums in indication that he’ll answer.

“I’m sorry I’m such a shit fiancee.”

He laughs, throwing you off. You roll over to face him, and he just smiles at you. “Whatever happens to us, Y/N, you’re a good person.”

You frown in confusion, ready to ask what he means by that, but Mark Lee shuts his eyes and tells you goodnight.

You end up spending a few more days in Jeju after letting your aunt and uncle know (they are proud of you for being sociable, is what Seoyeon says on the phone) and get to know Mark some more. You don’t tell him about what happened between you and Yukhei for fear that it might complicate things even more, but he seems content with both being your friend or at some point being more than that. You find that you like his company more than you’d initially expected, too.

By the time you return to Busan, there’s only a week left of summer, which means you have to head back to Seoul in a maximum of three days from now. You start packing the things you’d brought immediately, having them sent down to be taken in advance. You want to see Jaehyun before he leaves for America, too, so you’re planning on going early.

You know you should talk to Yukhei before you go, too.

But it just so happens that Jaehyun texts you the day after you get back from Jeju, telling you that your aunt and uncle showed up at your shared apartment in Gangnam and have their eyes on him. And to take advantage of that and do some snooping in their stuff while they’re gone.

[9:44am] Aren’t there cameras in their office?

[9:45am] Shit, yeah. I’ll have someone jam them

You sigh. Your limited understanding of technology is really holding you back in this whole ‘expose your family members as corrupt murderers’ thing, huh?

Jaehyun shoots you a text about half an hour later that just reads ‘done’, and you take that as the cameras being down.

You try to look as confident as possible when walking to your uncle’s office, knowing that since you are the only owner of this house that’s currently home, the staff won’t question you.

“Shit,” you whisper to yourself as you stop in front of the office door. It’s locked. Duh.

“Y/N,” a soft voice says from a few feet away, and you look up to see Yukhei’s mom, a somber, apologetic expression on your face. “I haven’t seen you in so long, my dear.”

You smile, bowing your head. “Yes, unfortunately.”

Mrs. Wong opens her mouth like she’s going to say one thing, then closes it, then decides to talk. “Is there anything I can do for you, sweetheart?”

An idea pops into your head, and you nod slowly. “Actually, yes.”

Mrs. Wong lends you the master key with no questions after you told her that your aunt has some paperwork in the office that you need to take back to Seoul with you.

Once inside the office, you look up at the camera in one of the corners on the ceiling, hoping it really is down. If not, you have no clue how you’ll handle explaining why you were searching through your aunt and uncle’s documents.

First, you look through the two desks, but there’s nothing more than letters updating the weekly growth for the company. Then you open the filing cabinets, thankful that those aren’t locked at the very least, and start rifling through paperwork, looking for the names of your parents as well as Choi Youngchul and Kang Hyungdon.

Nothing.

Sighing deeply, you sit down on your uncle’s office chair, shuffling the mouse to his computer around for a little until the screen lights up. Password protected, of course.

What could your uncle’s password be?

You try everything related to your aunt, or the house in Busan, or Gwangju, where they lived before, but nothing seems to work.

Hint?

The computer flashes the one word question at you, and you nod, as though it can see you, then come to your senses and click on it.

What I always wanted.

You frown. You’d already tried everything about the estate… what else did your uncle want?

...Well, if Jaehyun’s idea is right:

You skeptically type in your father’s name, and immediately, the computer unlocks and goes into your uncle’s home screen. The background is a photo of him and your aunt in front of your estate, which you narrow your eyes at.

Shaking off any annoyance, you open up the files app and start scrolling, opening only what really looks promising, since you know it’ll show the date last opened the next time Sungjoo goes on his computer.

After another half an hour of looking, you’re starting to believe this whole theory is completely incorrect and your aunt and uncle have done nothing wrong, when you realize you haven’t opened any of Uncle Sungjoo’s emails yet.

Taking a deep breath, you click on the email app and start scrolling through the trash, looking for anything between him and his wife, or Choi Youngchul. You know there’s no way anything incriminating would be among his regular emails.

“Ah,” you whisper to yourself as you see Choi Youngchul for the first time so far. You open the email thread, and immediately, your hands are over your lips instead of on the mouse.

From: Choi Youngchul

Subject: __________

Everything is done. Dead on impact, from what I could see.

To: Choi Youngchul

Subject: ________

The position is yours.

Your first thought is that you have an absolute idiot for an uncle- he should’ve deleted this conversation, really deleted it, as soon as it was over with.

Your second is to grab your phone from where you’d set it and take multiple pictures of the conversation, making sure to include everything that would show it really is from your uncle’s email account and not created. You also make sure to show the date, as you realize with a tightness of your throat is just a week after your parents’ death.

You slump back in the office chair after retracing all your steps and trying to clear any evidence that you’d been on the computer.

Jaehyun had been right.

Your parents were not in an accident.

And if it were not for your power-hungry aunt and uncle, you wouldn’t be an orphan.

You throw open the office door, shutting it behind you and locking it, wrapping the string attached to the key around your fingers as you clench your fists.

[11:17am] Send me all the evidence you have. I’m going to mom and dad’s lawyer.

[11:18am] Why? Did you find something?

You don’t answer until Jaehyun texts you again a few minutes later, telling you to come to Seoul as soon as you can, as your aunt and uncle are leaving in just an hour and you should be out of the house before they arrive home. You agree, and grab all your last minute things, stuffing them in a bag, calling your chauffeur and asking him to hurry here as fast as he can, flying down the left staircase in Prada flats.

“Are you leaving?” a hand on your arm stops you as you’re about to open the front door, bag slung over your shoulder. You turn to find Yukhei’s sad eyes looking down at you, his grip on your arm tightening.

“Yes,” you say simply. “Jaehyun needs help with something.”

He stares at you for a few seconds, breathing slowly, before he looks away, hand dropping from your arm. “You said we would talk.”

You look down too, knowing you had said that on the phone with him in Jeju. But you hadn’t exactly been expecting this to happen back then, had you? “I’m sorry. It’s short notice but it’s really important.”

“Okay,” he whispers, seemingly unable to now look you in the eye. “I hope you’ll come back soon.”

You know what he really means when he says this is that he wants to see you at least one last time before you get married.

“Don’t worry,” you say, confidence swelling up in you. “It’ll be sooner than you think.” You hesitate for a moment as he looks up, tilting his head in curiosity. Should you offer him a goodbye kiss in case this really is the last time you speak before your wedding? If you can’t get your aunt and uncle out of your life, that’ll be the case.

No. You’ll come back for him.

You turn and open the door, sweeping into the humid outdoors, expensive car waiting to pick you up outside.

There are more than a few people at the apartment once you walk in, Jaehyun having opened the door for you. One face you weren’t expecting to see looks up at you with an amused look in his pointy eyes.

“Kim Doyoung?” you can’t help but exclaim when you see him bent over a computer.  

“Thanks for not throwing up on any of the carpet,” he replies, smirking when your brother frowns.

“Sorry, what?”

“It’s nothing,” you assure him, patting his arm. “What’re you up to right now?”

“Putting things together, really.” he says. “What did you find?”

You bite your lip. “A confirmation.”

Jaehyun’s brows shoot up his face. “A what?”

You pull out your phone and then open the pictures, handing over the device so he can see. “It’s good enough to be used as evidence, right?”

“Yeah,” Jaehyun says, a frown that looks more solemn than he recently had taking over his face. “It is.”

“Let me take a look,” Doyoung says, grabbing your phone from Jaehyun’s hand and taking it over to his computer.

You and Jaehyun sit down on his couch, your brother running his hands over his hair. He groans, agitation in his every movement.

“You okay?” you ask, and he nods, lifting his head to meet your eyes.

“They’re going to jail, Y/N. I promise.”

Two weeks later, you wait outside the attorney’s office for Jaehyun with two cups of steaming coffee. He’d insisted you go to school rather than attend the first meeting with your lawyer, who had also been your mom and dad’s lawyer in any time of crisis. After bringing the evidence you’d collected to the police, they’d agreed that it was necessary to further investigate, and within a week had charged your aunt and uncle with first degree murder, and were looking into Choi Youngchul and the driver who’d crashed into your parents.

You haven’t seen Sungjoo and Seoyeon since before you left for Jeju, what feels like an eternity ago, and now you’re dreading seeing them in a courthouse. Despite how poorly they’ve treated you the past two years and what they did to your parents, there is a part of you that remembers them as your family.

You shake that thought off as you see Jaehyun push through the heavy door of the office lobby, walking towards you and taking his coffee with a grateful smile.

“Thanks.”

You shrug. “No problem. What’d he say?”

“Pretty confident that we’ll win,” Jaehyun says, starting to walk back towards your apartment. He had emailed Harvard about the case and they enrolled him in online courses for the semester since he wouldn’t be able to leave Korea. “We have evidence, sympathy, and if worst comes to worse, more money than them.”

You snicker, rolling your eyes. “Yeah right, like you’d ever bribe a judge. I know your morals, Jae.”

Your brother looks over, smiling. “Yours too.”

“Hmm,” you nod. “So when’s the trial?”

“Not for a while,” Jaehyun says. “There has to be the bail hearing, and then they’ll be held in custody until the charges are confirmed. Then the trial will start.”

You hum again. “I wonder if they’ll plead innocent.”

Jaehyun shakes his head. “If they’re smart they’ll plead guilty and hope for a sentence where they’ll get out before they die. But I doubt it.”

“Good.” you say, sighing. “I hope they regret it, at least.”

“They will,” Jaehyun says in a self-assured tone. “By the way, have you talked to Yukhei recently?”

You bite your lip. “No, not since I came to Seoul two weeks ago.”

Jaehyun looks over at you, a knowing yet disappointed look on his face. “I figured. He texted me to ask if you’re doing well.”

“...He did?”

Your brother rolls his eyes. “You really frustrate me sometimes. I don’t understand why you push the kid away, especially now. You’re pretty much guaranteed a way out of that dumb marriage.”

You sigh. He’s right, considering what he’s just found out from your lawyer.

“I’ll call him later.” you state, trying to promise yourself more than Jaehyun. Your brother gives you a skeptical side-eye, but doesn’t say anything about it.

“Anyway, I was thinking in terms of the company…”

“See? You’re being very vague right now too.”

“Oh my god,” you mutter, tugging on your hair as you watch the television intently, shifting nervously around the couch. “Why is he so dumb? Get it together, Sihyun!”

“...What did Sooji say to you?”

“I don’t like guys that seem strange. And I don’t get crushes. I’m talking about you and me. It doesn’t matter what Sooji said. Go.”

“Let’s go talk in my room-”

“Ah, right! This was your building… Let go.”

You bite down hard on your lip as the door shuts behind Taehee and she starts crying, the ending music playing.

“No!” you whine. “How am I supposed to wait another week for the next episode?”

“I can’t believe you’re watching dramas at a time like this,” Jaehyun calls from the kitchen. “When are you gonna call Yukhei? You told me you would.”

Well, normally you’re not big into dramas, but the stress of imagining what you should say to Yukhei pushed you into procrastinating doing that by binging six episodes of Tempted after coming home.

“...I will.” you call back, voice weak.

“Do it now,” Jaehyun moves into the walkway leading to the kitchen, holding your phone between two fingers. “You have no excuse, since you just said that’s the last episode of that series until next week.”

“Fine,” you grumble, pushing yourself off the couch and towards your brother. “Give me my phone.”

Jaehyun smirks, which makes you immediately nervous. “Sorry. I lied. You won’t need it.”

You frown, narrowing your eyes. “What the hell does that mean? Jaehyun, seriously, give me my phone-”

Bzzz.

You and your brother look over to the screen where anyone outside the building who wants to come to your apartment has to buzz in for approval.

And there stands Wong Yukhei, the mediocre camera picking up a blurry image of him. But no matter how blurry it might get, you would always recognize him.

“Yah,” you snap, turning to your brother, who tries to snake away. “Did you organize this?”

“You were being dramatic,” Jaehyun raises a brow.

“This is messed up,” you sigh. “I haven’t even planned what to say to him.”

“You’ve known each other for almost ten years and you have to plan what to say to him?” your brother says exasperatedly. “Just let him in, Y/N.”

You sigh again, walking over to the buzzer and pressing OK without pressing the call button first. On the screen, Yukhei lights up with a tiny smile, and then disappears as he walks into the building.

Not even five minutes later, Jaehyun has evacuated to his room and there is a knock on the door.

You stop in front of the mirror by the door before you open it, brushing your hair back from your face and blending out some creases in your makeup with your finger. You’re unsure of why, but this meeting has you far more anxious than you’ve ever really been when it comes to Yukhei. Maybe it’s because you left in such a rush a couple weeks ago.

You steel yourself, and open the door, and are quickly enveloped in a tight, warm embrace, familiar arms wrapping themselves around your sides and a familiar chin pressing into your shoulder.

You’re too nervous to say anything, so you wait until Yukhei has had his fill of holding you before stepping just slightly away and looking up at him, taking in his expression.

He looks at you with a resolution you don’t often see on him. His brows are set, his big eyes folded across so they aren’t as wide, his lips slightly parted, but something about his gaze is final- for a moment, it scares you, because final could go in many directions. But then he speaks, and all the worry you’ve built up for weeks dissipates like the steam from a kettle of tea.

“Let’s be together.” Yukhei tells you. It’s not a question, it’s his most honest statement to you. “Wherever we go, whatever happens- let’s be together.”

And all you can do, is smile up at him, and as you reach up to draw his face closer to yours, whisper a very certain, “Let’s.”

[literaila]

which of your fics?

i got tagged by @bitchyreid​ @goldentournesol​ @prettyboy-reid​

thank you for tagging me! sorry its taken me a minute 

Which of your fics... 

...got a better reaction than you expected? 

flick flick burn actually.. i was trying to blow through this request (i know im sorry!!!!) because i wanted to get through to another one and.... something good just came out of it. it was my first big fic and everyone really seemed to love it. it put me in kind of a ‘praise’ high for a couple of days so that was nice :D

..did you think would get a bigger reaction/audience than it got? 

all of my series really.. but remember me? definetly because it was actually really fun to write and i just figured it would be one of those adventures people would stay interested in... but it was a very slow start so 

...is your funniest? 

i think its probably we dont wake up enough just because its super short and sweet and its about not wanting to get up in the morning sooo... 

...is your darkest or angstiest? 

umm... probably hand me the heartbreak because its really sad... and it definetly took some of my energy out of my soul for a while.. 

oh! oh! i forgot about these memories live with me ! that one is so sad, its so very sad, but I LOVE THE WAY I WROTE IT OH MY GOSH i completely forgot about it! 

..is your absolute favorite? 

i think right now its this vast empty space because i really like the way i wrote it, and i kinda forgot about it for a while so i’m reintroducing myself to it! or these memories live with me if my previous answer tells you anything.. 

..is your least favorite? 

pretty much any of my recents.. definetly sweet sweet relief because i just feel like its so dumb and i totally messed up that request big time. 

...was the easiest to write? 

probably one two three peek because it was super short and i knew what was going to happen and there was nothing big i had to include so... very nice and simple 

....was the hardest to write? 

literally any of the fics based off of episodes.. it takes me so long to figure out what actually happened in the episode not just based off my memory.. i look up scripts online just so i know how everyone is feeling. but tear me apart was suuuper hard because i had to add in a whole different plot including the one that was already in there and phew.. im stressed just thinking about it 

...has your favorite lines/ exhange/ paragraph... 

hmm... i write a lot of overwhelming things... but i definetly think this section from flick flick burn illistrates the turmoil in her head.. and really my entire style 

“She paused. She paused because she didn’t know what to say, didn’t understand why it hurt her so much to talk to him, didn’t understand why she couldn’t just say the words, why it was so difficult for her to tell him, she didn’t understand why she was talking at all.

She didn’t understand why she was burning alive.

She heard Spencer say something behind her. Something that sounded like encouragement to go on. She didn’t realize that he was standing in front of her, she didn’t look up to see him, he was standing in front of her, staring at her, wondering what was wrong.

“You were looking at her,” flick “looking at her.” higher “like you look.” and “like you look at me.” higher.

The fire had reached her brain, had scarred her entire body, had devoured her whole, had left her with no mercy.

Burn, baby, burn.”

...have you reread the most? 

probably flick flick burn (again) because i was obsessed with it when it came out and there was so many typos i had to go fix.. and thats the one i shared with my family (with some edits) 

...would you recommend to someone reading your work for the first time? 

definetly flick flick burn.. and maybe one two three peek because those fics show two completely different sides of me and give a big insight into how i like to write 

...are you most proud of? 

actually.. space. its not my best fic but because that was my first ever fic on here. and immedietly everyone loved it. it was an amazing confidence boost and really led me back into writing which is something i’d been struggling with for years. so yeah. starting to write again was a huge milestone, and im so thankful to everyone who convinced me to continue  

and ive got no one to tag :D

[redrobin-detective]

Author ask, MGM 9

9: are there any alternate versions of this fic?

Funny you should ask that because in many ways, this was an alternate fic. I had another fic I had been stewing over which I realized recently that MGM killed because I had gutted it for the best bits.

The story was to be called something along the lines of “the boy behind locked doors” and it was going to be a mysterious, haunted little short chaptered story. It opened with Izuku on Yuuei’s campus watching students coming in opening day. He is not in uniform, he is not one of them. Izuku and Inko live on campus, both protected and prisoners because of something that happened in the past. They’ve been here for years, he’s forgotten what the sun is like. He goes back to a small apartment tucked in the back of Yuuei where the door immediately locks. We never see his perspective again for the rest of the story.

The story picks up with various members of 1A as USJ takes place on the main campus in place of the event where Shiggy destroys the gate. The LOV makes it clear they’re looking for something, or someone. While escaping deeper into the school they come across a boy trying to get back into a locked room. He’d snuck out to see the kids and gotten locked out. He freezes upon seeing the students.

They drag him away from approaching villains but he’s pale and skittish and won’t let them touch him. He’s not a student but he’s not a villain, he just lives here. As the chapters go one, the students (I had Iida, Ochako, Todo and Momo) find more and more weird things about the boy who only calls himself Izuku. They’re repeatedly cornered by villains and they learn Izuku is the one they want, who they came for. It’s also revealed this Izuku, who initially claimed to be quirkless, has two industrial strength quirk suppressors on him.

He lies and cries and avoids their gaze as they grow more and more unsettled about their companion. He relents finally and admits he has a quirk, was given a dangerous quirk, and locked away to avoid being used for evil. He’s so frightened of what he could become that he happily sequesters himself away but sometimes he sneaks out and imagines he too is a happy hero student. They feel for him. 

Izuku decides to help fight and he decides he could help. A combo of the four manage to get one cuff off and the difference in power is absurd. He asks for help getting the second cuff off, they hesitate. They don’t actually know him all that well. What if he was just using them to help him with the cuffs. They run into Shiggy who is here to take Izuku back to Sensei. The kids fight but Izuku still doesn’t have his quirk with one cuff on. He can’t get it off alone except... {{TRIGGER WARNING SELF HARM}} Momo made a long blade and Izuku realizes what he has to do. He leaves and when he comes back, his cuff is off and his whole hand is bloody. The hand doesn’t look right either, like it had just been regrown. {{END TRIGGER}}

That’s when Izuku unleashes his quirk on Shiggy which is actually, all the quirks. He positively destroys the man who had tortured him as a child when he’d been stolen from his mom and given AFO the quirk. Sensei loaded him up with more and more quirks. He’d been groomed to be AFOs successor and Shiggy hadn’t liked it until izuku had been rescued. Izuku is uncontrollably powerful, terrifying but once Shiggy is down, he goes back to being sweet and shy and scared.

They make it outside where the Noumu is let loose. Its going after kids without abandon and Izuku, who knows what its like to suffer with so many quirks stuffed into your head against your will, peels off it’s quirks one by one. It goes for one of the students and Izuku takes the hit for them, stealing its last quirk as it destroys Izuku. Luckily he’s able to piece himself back together. The battle is done but the fight is not over.

Aizawa and the younger teachers are l i v i d. How long has this family been locked on campus, soul sucking cuffs draining the life out of the kid. Nedzu and the older teachers in the know say it had been for the best. That AFO would come after his chosen successor. They needed to hide him again. The kids fight back, despite his abuse, Izuku had proven himself a good person and a good hero. He deserved to be a student, he deserved to actually live outside of the fear others imposed on him. They win eventually and Izuku is inducted into 1-A. He’s terrified, skinny and deathly pale with scars on his hands and years without human contact. But he feels the sun on his skin and sees the smiles of his new classmates and feels like he can do this.

AFO is bitterly lamenting that the attack to recover his son (who had not been given AFO teh quirk but had been born with it which AFO delighted in and kidnapped him for) but now that Izuku was free, more opportunities would arise.

Phew that was a lot. As you can see, this was mostly mapped out but then Covid hit and I took a lot of MGM from this (the suppression cuffs, OP Izuku afraid of his power, being locked away by HC/UA, villains trying to steal him). It also, by total accident as I hadn’t read it at the time of planning, resembled Butterfly a bit too much for me to comfortable with.

Anyway so it was kind of nice to finally lay this whole thing out. If I’d had the choice I would’ve chosen this over MGM which started off as a crack idea whilst this was a darker, mystery story with a concrete end. Ah I’ll write my creepy mystery one of these days.

[the-pen-pot]

Fic Meme!

I was tagged by @totallysilvergirl! (Thank you, lovely)

Ao3 Name: Beautifulfiction (Sherlock) Beautifulfiction_FMA (Fullmetal Alchemist) and The_Kingmaker (The Hobbit)

Fandoms: BBC Sherlock, The Hobbit, Fullmetal Alchemist.

Number of fics: 93 – how did that happen???

1. Fic you spent the most time on: Gilded Cage (Sherlock) probably wins on that one. It took about 19 months, but so did the Riven Crown. (Hobbit) I write long things 😁

2. Fic you spent the least time on: Hmmm, that one’s trickier. Probably one of my shorts, like Ashes (FMA) which I think I wrote in about fifteen minutes.

3. Longest Fic: The Gilded Cage, at 326K.

4. Shortest Fic: I have several drabbles (100 words) which are fun to write!

5. Most hits: The Gilded Cage

6. Most kudos: The Gilded Cage

7. Most comment threads: The Gilded Cage 🤣

8. Fave Fic you wrote: NOT the Gilded Cage. (Amazing, I know.) I adore a lot of my fics, but I have a particular soft spot for magical realism, so I’m going to say The Stars Move Still (Sherlock)   "What could I want so desperately that would make me sell my soul? What could possibly compel me to surrender the part of myself that makes me who I am: the source of my magic, my self-control, everything?"

9. Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: So. Very. Many. I always intended to write a sequel to the Gilded Cage, though. As much as it’s not my favourite, it still occupies a large chunk of my thoughts, even now.

10. Share a bit of your WIP or share a story idea that you’re planning: Phew, I have a lot of these! 

In Sherlock we have: Merlock, Guard of Diocletian (Shapeshifter AU), In His Care (John gets Covid and Sherlock looks after him) and Monachopsis.

In The Hobbit we have. Where The Heart Is. Bilbo's presumed dead, but has actually been taken by raiders. Thorin must rebuild his kingdom with a broken heart, while Bilbo fights his way across the wild north, broken and bleeding, to make his way back to the mountain that has become his home. With bonus hobbits re-homing in Erebor.

I shall tag: Anyone who likes the look of it. 😁

[linerwriter]

Taps

Phew, it’s been what, two months since I posted a fic? Uh, yeah, sorry, lots of stuff come up that I won’t get into, but I’m back and nearly made myself cry with this. It was partly inspired by @jinmukangwrites for their most recent fic, Graceful (thanks for making me cry jin), but the plots have nothing to do with each other. 

Originally, this started from the idea of ‘what if Wild had been dying ever since he got out of the shrine and the only thing keeping him alive was the Champion’s gifts, but they were also running out of power, so he eventually died’ but it had to be changed because I didn’t know if fallen soldiers also had Taps played at their funeral if they died of natural causes. I may still do the original one, though. At some point.

Anyway, please enjoy! I can’t promise I’ll be back to posting stuff like I used to, but I’ll try to be more active about it!

The last couple lines are lyrics to the tune Taps by Daniel Butterfield.

Twilight didn’t know how he had let it happen. He always expected one of them to die, but never like this, and never him. He was supposed to be the big brother, the pack leader, and he failed.

He could remember the words exactly, they were such a slap to the face. 

“Dying? What do you mean he’s dying?” Wind asked the princess in a panic. She had a bittersweet smile on her face gazing down at her friend, the one she trusted her life with.

“He is dying and has been since that beam was fired.” She stated matter of factly, brushing the knight’s bangs from his sweaty forehead. Twilight wasn’t sure how he felt about her touching his cub.

“So you knew and never thought to tell us?” Warriors growled with a look of malice etched onto his face. Twilight was surprised he could even feel the same amount of hatred in his heart.

“Yes, we did.”

Twilight sighed. It was time to get ready.

On went the stuffy suit, a darker variation of the royal guard uniform with a woven pattern signifying his status faintly seen on his breast. He didn’t have many clothes for this occasion- as a matter of fact, none of them did- but due to their status as heroes, the princess decided it was best for them to wear the ensemble. 

“And on comes the special hat,” Twilight said gruffly, ignoring the empty feeling in his chest. It wouldn’t do for him to start crying now.

“We typically wear the beret when we need to look nice, but since we’re laying an old friend down to rest, we wear this instead.” The old man turned around slowly and took the dusty cap out of the garment bag. “Ah, if only he was around to see this.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Twilight saw Time frown. “What do you mean by that, sir?”

The man chuckled heartily, “I was an old friend of that hero back before the Calamity hit. We used to joke that he’d have to wear the cap at my funeral because he was such a damn perfectionist. Now look where we are.”

Twilight glanced at the sun outside the window. It was nearly time to go.

He took slow steps down the stairs, gently touching his gloved hands to the wooden railing. If he looked close enough, he would see the faint etchings into the wood from the many times they had chased each other up and down these steps. 

Further down into the house he went until he came upon the dining room. A startling memory rose from the deepest parts of his mind, of a time when his cub was okay and safe. 

“Hey, Twilight?”

“Yes, cub?”

“What do you think will happen when I die?”

Twilight looked over to the younger man, a faint frown hidden behind his lips. “Why do you ask that?”

A shrug. “Curiosity. Forget it, pass me the salt, please?”

A swift shake of his head and an about-face later, he came upon the front door and opened it to the fresh outdoors. He took a deep breath in, smelling all of the different, subtle scents in the air, and stepped outside for the first time in quite a while.

“Legend, please come out.” His friend pleaded.

Silence, until, “No.”

The man gave a frustrated sigh, “If you don’t come out, you won’t get dinner!”

“I don’t want dinner!”

“Then what do you want?”

“I want her!”

All at once, the man’s ruffled expression softened into one of concern and understanding. Twilight watched him get up and leave the fire, not coming out until the next morning.

The procession was small. Friends and family only, with friends being minimal and family being massive. No matter whom he interacted with, the fallen soldier was loved by many.

Time came up beside the young wolf, “Have any words to say?”

Twilight shook his head, “None that I would want said outloud.”

Time nodded and the two lapsed into silence. A quick glance from Time later and Twilight sighed, “What?”

“How are you holding up?”

“I’m doing fine, Time, it’s been a couple weeks already.”

“So? Time is irrelevant in regards to the heart.”

Twilight shot a flat stare to the older man, “I’m fine, grandpa, now give me a break and go back to where you’re actually needed.” He nudged his chin in Sky’s direction, who had buried his face in Hyrule’s chest.

Time shot him a warning look, “Fine. If you’re really alright, I’ll go. But if you need me, I’m always welcome.”

“Just go already!”

“Just go already!” Twilight heard the shorter man scream. “We can’t fight them off all at once!”

“But what about you?”

“I’ll be fine, just go!”

He wasn’t fine.

There wasn’t a dry tear in the house by the time they got to the designated spot outside the shrine. It was a quick trip from Hateno to the plateau, even with the number of people and the special cargo.

Twilight wasn’t sure what time it was at that point. It could’ve been midnight for all he cared. That numb feeling in his chest wouldn’t go away no matter what he did, so he had been stuck in a blind haze since he heard the news. He wished it would disappear soon.

“I can’t speak for everyone when I say this,” the princess’s shaky voice startled Twilight out of his thoughts, “but I think, as the person who knew him the most, I can say that he would’ve wanted us all to be here.”

The Gerudo chief nodded her head in agreement, her closed eyes blocking her from the world. “He was stubborn until the very end.”

“Twilight, wait!” Twilight turned around quickly at the sound of his cub’s voice. “I-I’m sorry about what I said!”

“Oh, are you, now?” Twilight snapped. His cub slowed to a stop, looking hurt, but hurridly shook it away, a determined look entering his eyes.

“I know I don’t always seem to care about myself, but I am aware about how you guys feel. I-it doesn’t always come off that way, but I have been trying to take better care of myself. So don’t feel like I don’t, alright?”

Twilight sighed, his anger already fading away. “I know, cub. I know.”

He wished they had more time to talk about it.

He sees them lowering it into the ground. It has to go closer to the side of the mountain or else it would be a shallow grave.

He’s been trying so hard to keep it together. So, so hard. That numbness in his chest is finally going away, but it instead turns into a soul-wrenching wail for something he can’t get back anymore.

Flashes go through his mind of his cub’s long, blonde hair, flailing in the wind. Of his bright blues when they had a successful hunt. Of his heaving chest after having gone through a nightmare. Of the first time his cub smiled and it wasn’t a grin.

And as that lilting melody travels through the hair, calling all of the fallen to rest, Twilight finally allows himself to cry.

Days is gone, Gone the sun,

From the lake, From the hill,

From the sky.

All is well, Safely rest,

God is nigh.

[maladaptive-ninja-returns]

The Bad Guy (3)

Bucky x fem!Reader

Smitten Kitten

Theme: It’s a good day in New York City for Bucky Barnes, who seems to feel right at home till his morning is disrupted by a bad guy. Maybe New York isn’t the same place after all. Now he has teamed up with the Bad Guy to fight the good fight. But this Bad Guy is bringing things on his surface he never knew he had

Chapter warnings: horny dumb asses and one thicc ass cock blocker

A/N: @writing-prompt-s​ once gave a prompt last year that stuck with me…I don’t remember the exact wordings but it had something to do with the reader/writer being the villain having a crush on the hero, always finding excuses (or crimes) to meet them. One day they are getting their ass beat and you decide to jump in and save the day. This one is same but with a liiiiiiiitle twist

Word Count: I hate periods!! Unless someone is paying me for this blood and mucus please just make it staaahp! I don’t know how many of you will get the reference of those dog and cat names. But oh my God if I could hug each and every one of you who reads, reblogs and comments on my fic I would hug the living souls outta you...five...people!!!!! Hnnnnghhhhh!!!!!

MASTERLIST in bio, love. Tags are open

“Are you sure this is the location?”

“That’s what she texted Bucky.”

“...I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

“...you…don't have a good feeling about...this mission or Y/N texting Bucky?”

Steve retreated his gaze from the binoculars to give Natasha a knowing look. The latter just shrugged her shoulders with the display of her innocent face. “He didn’t show you the text. He just told you the loc-esh. It’s normal to worry about it.”

Steve sighed and went back to the binoculars, looking at Bucky playing with a rock at the entrance of the warehouse before kicking it away. Steve hated the idea of Bucky wearing his favourite grey Henley shirt for a meeting with a bad guy.

“If I didn’t know him any better-” Tony’s voice crackled on the comms- “I’d say he was going on a date when he asked me if he could borrow my cologne. And if we go by our history, I really don’t know him any better.”

“Come on, guys. Cut Cap some slack,” Barton- who was screening the whole area from the top of the local water tank a couple of miles above the hill- added, “it’s not every day you see your best friends fall for the bad guys. Twice.”

A giggle and snicker eroded through the comms and Steve rolled his eyes while pushing himself into the seat. “Thanks for the input, Barton.”

“Alright, everybody shush,” Natasha interrupted the tease session, “she’s here.”

A Land Rover smoothly turned into the rundown estate to come and stop by Bucky’s Mustang. Those stooping shoulders suddenly found their rigidity and turned towards the car to welcome whoever was about to step out.

For a hot summer morning with plans to make plans to take down an entire cartel, you were dressed in a floral sundress. Brown shades covered your eyes and most of your face from that merciless sun. What they did not cover was the smile on those naked lips that had been painted the most enticing red Bucky had seen, apart from the gun you held in your dominant hand.

“Hello Sergeant,” you sang while taking patient steps in those white wedges that were in no way shoes made for a fight, “did you get my texts?”

Bucky, the soldier had already evaluated all the entries and exits, the type of gun, it’s range, the best stances if it came to playing offence or defence. Bucky the himbo from the past, though, was having a hard time concentrating on anything else but that suggestive smile and tilt of your head; the light hitting your hair perfectly while the languid breeze annoyed your strands now and then.

“Of course, that’s why I’m here, aren’t I?”

You tsked. “You know what I mean Sarge.”

Of course, he knew what you meant. He could feel his chest flutter by just the thought of those texts last night.

 You: meet me @ the warehouse on boulevard street tomorrow. We’ll come up with a plan to bust those bitches. Gimme a suitable time.

Bucky: Ok. How does 12 sound?

You: In this weather? Sarge, we’ll be sweating like a bunch of pigs under the sun!

Bucky: *typing* How about 7? am?

You: Do you feel like going skinny dipping tomorrow with me?

Bucky:

You: I know a really good spot a little away from here. Might end up on a road trip.

Bucky: *typing* I think we should concentrate on the miss-

You: Where do you live, btw?

You: *sends location* This is my place

Bucky: *erases everything* shouldn’t you keep your home location to yourself?

You: Hmm...But if I do that, how will you come over?

Bucky: *silence* *types* why would I want to-

You: It’s not every day I feel like sharing a bottle of some good stuff with someone.

You: It is soooo hot. I’m taking my pants off.

Bucky:

You: The top’s gone too. Phew! Just my lingerie now.

*one minute later*

You: Yeah, it’s not working. Bra is never comfy. Ever.

You: It’s better now! The night breeze is hitting every sweat bead on the spot.

You: Every window is open now.

You: Hmmm...Sarge. Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?

You: Well, thinking isn't gonna do you any good, Bucky.

You: Thinking about my clothes on the floor.

You: Thinking about my skin.

You: Thinking about how much more this wind is getting action than someone you know.

You: Thinking about my hands roaming on my chest.

You: And then my stomach.

You: And then down further…

 By this time the phone was a crushed pile of junk in his hand and his cock a frustrated bulge in his boxers. Oh, the dissatisfaction of not being able to push you against a wall and grind his needy bulge against you was frustrating at best. The want to see you naked in the sheets under him while you called out his name increased with every second. Why did you have to be such a fucking tease?! A great one at that. Now he did want to dash out of the facility, steal one of Tony’s cars and drive to your home to take your by your hair and shut that pretty mouth of yours. He did think about it. But imagining you seeing him at your doorstep stopped him for some reason. Instead, he got out of his boxers, jumped on his bed and took care of that urge himself, fantasizing you, your touch, your moans, your highs with his hitting the rocks, till his legs were shivering and he had to stop himself from groaning out loud.

“I...fell asleep.”

Your tongue played with your upper lip and a tiny shudder in his pants was enough to tell him, you knew it was a lie. A lie through and through. There was a point when he started to fear that you might even know what he did after reading those messages.

"Sure, ya did," you chuckled the words through your teeth. "Anyways-" lifting your gun up casually to stroke it- "I was wondering about you last night. A lot. And there were things I did not like."

The safety clicked off and your arm turned straight to point it right at Bucky's forehead.

On the other side of the binoculars, Steve was already shouting his team to move in. Natasha was already driving forward, skidding to a stop right next to Bucky's wheels.

You could hear the commotion all around you but you were more interested in the disappointment building up on Bucky's beautiful face, looking at his pal with a hint of resentment.

"That-" you tilted your head a little in Steve's direction- "is what I don't like. You thought I wouldn't find out?"

"I told you to stay away, Steve!" Bucky yelled at him.

"Alright, this is over," Steve fumed from where he stood, "I knew we should not have trusted you."

With the right force, the gun crunched in your palms as turned towards Steve. You said nothing to the blonde. Removing your shades, you nodded at Natasha. "Hey, Nat."

"Y/N. How's Mr Fuzzy Boy."

"It's Fluffy Boy. And he still hates you. Talking about boys-" you looked around with your arms across your chest- "I thought you would have knocked some sense into them by now."

Natasha shrugged. “Not really. No.”

“She tried but we are too stubborn and our egos are bigger than our-”

“Hey, Stark,” you announced at the voice breaking out through Natasha's car. Turning to Bucky you sucked at your teeth. “I honestly thought you were doing this little team up because you wanted to work with me. Clearly that is not what this was about. You wanted to find out if I was working with the cartel, didn’t you, James Barnes?”

“Oooh, full name,” Clint cringed from his nest.

“You’re not really known for your goodness, Y/N,” Steve broke it down for you. “No offence.”

“Save it, Captain,” you spewed in his direction, “and to think I wanted to crush that face between my thighs.” Digging into your sundress’ pocket, you took out a burner cellphone and threw in his direction. “Happy hunting, you fucked up psychopaths.” You turned towards Bucky with no sign of any empathy in those y/e/c eyes. “Don’t expect anything more from me.”

The Land Rover moved out and away and with a part of Bucky’s broken heart that wanted to stop it so bad but had to do with turning to Steve and yelling out his anger at him. “You had to put your leg in the door, didn’t you. I had it handled!”

“Handled? Handled?!! Buck, she’s been playing you like a fiddle!”

“And you think I can be played?”

“I saw her texts for God’s sake!! Don’t tell me you’re going to defend her.”

Natasha cursed under her breath and stepped away from Steve. “Wow,” Bucky breathed in disbelief. “So just because she is horny on the phone means I am her little puppet? Is that how little you think of me, Stevie?”

“I don’t want you getting hurt, Buc-”

“I am not fourteen anymore! Neither are you! You know what, I’m out. I’m done. She’s given you something. Go use it and go punch some Nazi heads. I don’t want anything to do with this.”

And so he went away too, leaving everyone but Steve standing there to uncomfortably watch the captain look at the car.

“So…” Tony’s voice muttered over the comms, “which ice-creams should I keep ready in big dessert bowls when you guys get back home?”

.

It's good. Whatever happened was good. I mean, Steve and Tony got what they wanted. Y/N is no longer in the picture and...and…I don't have to interact with her...anymore.

The ball bounced from the ceiling into Bucky's hands, going back and forth without a pause. The other hand rested under his head- the very head that was blankly staring at the ceiling, thoughts running in there like a freight train. Wait, no, scratch that. No trains. They were running more like a leopard- just running around, presenting a brooding picture on the outside while on the inside- just like that very leopard, this poor muscular soul was dying of overthinking and anxiety. The agitation was on the level of a nine-year-old sulking in his bed because his mom was not letting him play with his friend. It was reasonable that the friend was bad, could be a bad influence, had been directly or indirectly leading him on some things he hadn't thought of in a while. But he had just made a frieeeennddd!! Hngh!

Crack!

The sound brought him out of the huffing trance to watch the paint and plaster crack in the ceiling. Fuck! Stark's gonna be pissed.

Bucky closed his eyes and let the hand engulfing the ball rest of his forehead.

Well, to be fair to his 'mom', Bucky was sure he was worried about what would happen if his new friend took him to the dark side again. After all the efforts and blood so many people had gone through, for one woman to undo it all. That was a genuine concern. But then again, she has been more interested in Sergeant Barnes than the Winter Soldier. Except for the part where she said she wants to see him…under the…sheets?

Right! What is with this woman! She speaks without a filter!! Does not care who's listening and what they'll think. I like that. I really like that. But all she wants to do is fuck me? And then what? Go back to ogling America's ass? 

A part of him nudged at those angry corners, pressing at the fact that you had been too engrossed to be angry at him to even think about Steve today. So, maybe it was not all about the ass.

Bucky turned to his side, rolling that thought along with him. The ball was moved around by his flesh index while his mind jogged with the possibility of doing something next.

Well, there was one thing he could do. It would drive Steven Grant Rogers crazy but it would be worth all the trouble he would be going through. Well, if he were to get caught he would have been caught last night when he sneaked out of the facility to go check to your place.

The distance had not been much on the bike but the New York heat hitting his face the moment he entered the city was more unwelcoming than the people living in the city. Parking the bike in an alley, he had pretty much parkoured his way over the houses to reach the building next to yours. Silent as a cat in the night looking for its prey, Bucky had planted himself on your apartment’s balcony and watched in impressive horror the modesty you lived in. Paintings made by kids were pinned all over the living room walls while a volcano sat on the coffee table- half done. An empty bottle of orange juice lay on the kitchen table while cushions were sprawled over the floor. Taking a step to his right, he was looking through the french windows into your bedroom where you slept in your queen-sized bed like a baby. All around you were oil paintings in blue and green of what looked like ocean waves in different art styles. On the bed lay your worn down laptop still running. Bending at an angle, his throat let out a muted gasp at collage with his photos on the screen, suggesting you had fallen asleep looking at his photographs. What was weird for Bucky was that his accelerated heartbeat had not found a single photo of his winter soldier avatar in there. What cooled down his burning chest was the serenity on your face. Sleeping under those thin grey sheets with a plushie of a right next to your head, Bucky almost had the urge to grin so wide. He could not believe you were the same woman who had threatened his best friend in full public view. And he knew exactly what he was going to do. Take a picture and blackmail you with it.

Looking down at his jeans to take his phone, his heart felt like he had fallen down the stairs when a pair of glowing eyes caught his. Gaining his mental footing, he breathed in the fact that it was actually a cat staring back at him from the other side of the window. White fur stood out in the dark of the night as it hissed Bucky and tried to claw at him, clearly seeing him as a threat. Sensing the feline’s uneasiness with his presence, he thought it better to leave before that little white monster woke you up. But not before he left a bunch of biscuit crumbs on the balcony tiles as a sign of peace for the little fanged beast.

Now, he wanted to go back through the front door and get face to face with that rage today- not something he had expected after last night’s scenic view of that perfect face.

Pausing movement of the ball, he picked it up in his metal hand, got himself up from the bed and slid towards the edge to put on his socks and boots only to pause and form an attack stance with his metal arm towards that svelte figure leaning by the door.

“Gonna hit me with the ball?” Natasha cocked a brow at Bucky.

Loosening his muscles at Natasha and went on to put his boots on. “Going somewhere, Grumperella?”

“Outside. Away. Somewhere I can grump in peace,” Bucky stated, getting up.

“Take this pretty lady too,” Tony announced as he walked by his room and tossed a pair of car keys at Bucky, “I don’t think you’ll improve those points by going to her place on a bike.”

Silence.

The flutter in Bucky’s heart drowned by Natasha’s words. “Don’t worry. Only Tony and I know. We’ll handle Steve. Just don’t let our image fall further,” she concluded, walking out with a smirk.

.

“Truffle, Fluffy, stop looking at the neighbour’s lunch and come eat your chicken thighs,” you announced from the kitchen. With a bandana on to keep your hair as far away from your skin, your skin itched for something colder than what the air conditioner was providing right now. This was the third time you had fiddled with your thermostat today. Damn this summer! That’s it, I’m moving out of this fucked up city. 

Fluffy’s taps came to a skidding halt at the doorway to slip towards his bowl while Truffle gracefully walked to his bowl and ate his share while keeping a paw between him and the corgi’s audible gobble and chomps, nearly pushing his face away. 

Sighing, you sat down on the seat by the kitchen table, looking at your two kids devour their lunch while you questioned the disappearance of your appetite. Maybe it’s the PMS. Is it the PMS? You looked at the calendar over your fridge. Still a week to go. Maybe it is him. That stupid fucker.

Your thoughts started forming around that magnificent frame of Bucky. There were not enough times you could say you had been left attracted to a bewildered face of a guy in awe of your skills. Men would mostly take that power inside you as a wrong stroke on their ego. But this one? This one just stood there looking at you as if the theme of Love Story 1970 was playing in those anime eyes while he watched in gasping admiration at something out of this world. That was the first time someone’s face had given you such warmth. Well, a stranger’s face. Don’t let my family hear it, you thought to yourself. Just then, Truffle looked up from his bowl to turn and stare at your for a solid minute before going back to his lunch.

The doorbell rang, getting you out of those dreamy thoughts- for barely a second- that were making you sweatier by the minute. Getting up and walking to the door, you kept wondering about that metal hand, those absolutely luscious lips, those surprised yet aroused eyes and oh Gods! Those shoulders. Those beautiful shoulders you wanted to bite into. Arrr!

You did not realise when you clicked the door open. But you did feel like eating your own words when that Love Story 1970 theme started playing in the background just as your eyes locked onto those beautiful oceans of blue; the abyss inside them widening just as you came into view.

Bucky forgot how to breathe. For a second you did too. You did not expect him to be standing here; not after the humiliation you put him through in front of his team/friends. And yet, here he was. At your door. Standing in front of you, the bad guy, moving his hair back with his hand, revealing the redness of those kissable cheeks that had been struggling to keep the blood inside the veins the whole elevator ride to your floor. The rubbing of his hand fingers against his palms while his legs shifted his weight on each other.

“Hi,” his husky, barely audible voice sent shivers down your spine straight to your core.

“Hi,” you responded with a softness you had not heard in ages. And the guitars strum in the background, the tune carrying all the unspoken feelings in the shape of melodies in the air around the two of you.

“Can we talk?”

Bucky was almost scared of having the door being slammed in his face. But when you moved aside to let him in, he felt live rush back into his bones. He had not felt this alive since Wakanda. With sure steps inside, he was not letting this feeling go away anytime soon.

The gush of that one magical wind inside you made you discreetly smile to yourself and you could not help but wonder if it was his last night’s visit to your place that brought him back or just his curiosity with this mission. Whatever it was, you challenged yourself to not let this one get away till you had explored every little inch of his being in person.

[crushedbyhyperbole]

Good Ole Stuffing

A/N:  For @xxloki81xx​ ‘s 2019 Xmas writing challenge, filling the song prompt:  It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas - Michael Bublé.  Thanks for organising this badass challenge

This is a Bucky Barnes x Reader w/ powers fic where their relationship is established.  The story is set a couple of years after another of my fics, Disco Ball Diva.  I think I might make a cluster of fics with this reader character because she’s hilarious and sassy as fuck.

Read Disco Ball Diva  |  Main Masterlist  |  Mobile Masterlist

Words:  3.3k

Warnings:  18+ only please... Smut, threats of bodily harm, and terrible terrible language.

Summary:  The early arrival of Christmas and a prank courtesy of Sam ‘turkey boy’ Wilson ruins your super-chill fall vibe.  Bucky makes it up to you, and let’s face it, his recipe for stuffing is right up your street.

November 1st.  You sighed blissfully.  This day always felt so peaceful, like all the tension that built up over the course of a year just seeped away leaving behind a fresh, crisp, new-feeling world much like the old one but lighter; unpacked and unburdened.  This was one of the things you loved about Halloween, aside from the dark occult connotations, and the child-like excitement that came with this holiday, All Saints Day had its own special feel; everything felt cleansed.  Except your mind – that was always filthy.

Halloween at the Avengers compound had been an evening garden party with a bon fire, a haunted house marquee, carnival games and spooky themed circus acts.  It was more for the families of all the Avengers and Stark Industries staff (families with children), but you but you loved every second regardless.  Kids in costumes running around excitedly with candyfloss, completely hyperactive on sugar and E numbers.  Adults in costumes running around excitedly, completely hyperactive on alcohol.  But that had been later in the night, after all the kids had gone and all who were left were those of your who lived in the compound.

This year, you and Bucky had done the couples thing.  Collaborating costumes for the first time had been fun and your adaptation of Sweeny Todd and Mrs Lovett had gone down swimmingly, especially since you actually baked pies for the party; apple and blackberry, made to look like a bloody filling. Delicious.

It wasn’t the first Halloween you’d had together, you’d been together 2 years now and things were going great.  You’d danced around each other when you’d first joined the team but as time grew on you came to realise that you truly cared for the man formerly known as The Winter Soldier, and learned that he felt the same.  And boy, did he!  Bucky poured his heart and soul into you, giving life to the aching hope you cherished, that one day all the tension between you would evolve into something amazing. And that he’d fuck you senseless.  Phew!  That man was passionate on a whole other level, even the thought of him was enough to get you going.

Sweaty and in desperate need of a different kind of release, you quit the gym having worked through your hangover, and hit the showers.  If you’d have told yourself a couple of years ago that you’d be an exercise-loving badass Avenger with a badass Avenger boyfriend, you’d have told yourself to suck a dick.  You’d come a long way since Tony Stark picked you up, back when you were a hotdog seller whose superpower was simple prismatic projection.  Now you were a fully-fledged Avenger whose power could both protect and harm, as well as look snazzy as fuck.  Your Avenger name was Suncatcher, which was a hell of a lot better than Rainbow Brite - the name Bucky first called you when you joined up.  That asshole! 

The communal area in the compound had a different feel altogether.  Not the calm you loved about All Saints Day, but something glowing and bright and-.

“What the fuck is this shit?”

Your gym bag was heavy as you toted it the final few steps into the lounge where you observed a kind of carnage you’d never seen before, not even in the aftermath of battle.

 Bucky’s head snapped in your direction, his glitter-covered hair fanned, sending sparkling dust everywhere. There were fairy lights wrapped around his metal arm, plugged in, no less, and he had baubles on the floor all around where he knelt.

“Hey sweetheart.”  He was at your side in seconds, having ditched the lights and come to give you a hug and a soft peck on the cheek.

“Where’s the Halloween shit?”

Bucky’s mouth flapped in surprise at seeing your deep scowl, and he thumbed over his shoulder at his friend.

Ahh yes, the other culprit. The Falcon.

Sam had been knelt by Bucky, hidden from view when you’d entered.  Now he was out in the open, exposed, and he was struggling to stifle his mirth.

“Well, this ain’t happenin’.  Hell fuckin’ no!”  You stood in front of the partially assembled Christmas tree, hands on hips, bristling.  “I will fucking fight you both.”  You were sure you looked fierce.  Amazon queen that you were.  

“C’mon, Rainbow Brite.” Sam smirked.  “Tis the season to be jolly.”

“Fuck that!”  You gripe indignantly.  “It’s Halloween until December 24th and not a day before.”

“You tolerate this woman?” Sam jibed at Bucky, rolling his eyes with a long-suffering groan.

“Get stuffed, turkey boy.” Your irritation was only half serious, you loved talking shit, especially to Sam.  “I light up his life like the glorious disco ball of sexy bitchin’ badassery that I am.”

Bucky pulled you in for a hug, chuckling against the top of your head.  “Speaking of stuffing.”  He murmured.

“Oh baby!”  You moaned salaciously when his hands slid down to your ass.  “You know I love me some of that 100 year old sausage meat stuffing.”  You cackle with glee at the disgusted noise Sam made.

You were sorely tempted to push Bucky down on the sofa, straddle him and make a scene of dry humping him just to get Sam to flee the scene.  Bucky would let you do it too, he’d long since stopped being embarrassed by your exhibitionist behaviour.  But you wanted this man to fuck you senseless and that called for the soundproofed bedroom in which he slept.

Nightmares.  It was for the nightmares, alright.  But it certainly served your needs.

“If I’ve got to tolerate this Christmas bullshit before the corpse of Halloween is even cold then you,”  you paused to poke his pec playfully, “robocock, are going to make it up to me.”

With a grin, Bucky tapped your thigh and bent down a little.  Jump up, his eyes said.

No sooner were your legs around his waist and your arms around his neck, were his lips on yours in a searing kiss and he carried you away.  Somewhere in the background Sam was muttering something about being scarred for life, counselling needed and some other lame ass complaint.  You didn’t care.  Bucky had you and he was going to take you.

 There was no preamble once his bedroom door banged shut against the frame.  Bucky threw you down onto the bed and tugged down your yoga pants, knickers and all. He knew what you needed from him, he was great like that, reading your mood and desire like you were an open book. It had come with much practice, but it had come.

You were yanked by your ankles to the edge of the bed and Bucky was inside you immediately, where he stilled, eyelids fluttering as he allowed you both a moment to adjust.  You were tight, even after all this time as his lover.  More so because he hadn’t warmed you up beforehand, but you were great.  Perfect, in fact.

You grinned at his sharp intake of breath at the purposeful flex of your pelvic floor, teasing him, goading him to fuck you sore.  To leave you with that burning throb that reminded you for days of the feel of him buried deep in your cunt.

“Lose the shirt.”  You commanded with a sly smile and he obeyed instantly.  “I’ve been thinking about you naked all damn day.”

“Yeah?”  He threw your legs over his shoulders folded you in half, leaning over you until his hair tickled your face, swaying as he started a slow rhythm.  “Been thinking about my cock too?  I bet you have.”

You groaned deep as he slammed into you hard, once twice, three times.  “What girl – doesn’t love – vintage – accessories?”  Your grin was taunting and your hit your mark.  You loved it when he talked dirty.

“I’ll give you vintage.” He growled, dragging your hands up above your head to pin you down, his hands locked with yours.  “You’ll feel this tomorrow, for sure.”

It was brutal.  The depth and force of his thrusts, and the angle he achieved by forcing your knees down onto the mattress by your ears using his weights as leverage.  You could hardly breathe, but that was half the thrill.  Gasping and keening, dizzy but exhilarated, you took every inch of him as he drilled you down into the bed.  Paying rent, you called this.

“You gonna come for me, huh, sweetheart?”  Bucky read the violent flush blooming on your face and décolletage with an arrogance smirk. “Gonna let me feel that sweet little pussy flutter?  Yeah, you are!  I’m gonna fuck you until you come around my cock.”

You had no words for him, only grunts and gasps made of what little air was in your lungs.  He didn’t mind, he was giving you this, fucking you how you needed.  It wasn’t always brutal like this, sometimes you couldn’t bare anything more than the softest touch, when you asked him to make love to you instead of fucking you into oblivion.

“Feel that?”  He slammed into you hard and ground against you for a few beats, his pubic bone wreaking havoc with your clit, before resuming his punishing rhythm.  “I’m gonna destroy that gorgeous hole of yours so bad you won’t sit right for a week.”

He was so close, straining to hold back until he pushed you over the edge.  Impossibly he picked up the pace, pounding you ruthlessly until your eyes rolled back into their sockets.  You practically drooled on yourself, groaning as you crested the huge mountain of intense pleasure he built for you.  The wave crashed, destroying what was left of your self-control. You cried out, tears undammed as they spilled forth.  It was exquisite, the sharpness of your climax and the painful burn where you were stretched so perfectly around his swollen prick.

The first violent contraction of your cunt dragged him with you, his cock twitched almost painfully as the pressure between his hips exploded.  The air around you grew heavy to the point where he couldn’t draw breath, and as he filled you to brimming with his jism small flecks of multi-coloured light erupted all around.

He slowed and sat back on his knees, prolonging your orgasm with slow deep strokes until you began to relax.  The light show was spectacular, undulating spectrums layered over one another, growing in size until you came back to yourself.

Bucky stroked his hands up and down your thighs gently, watching as your breathing settled and your eyes cracked open to meet his.  Your shock was temporary, followed by guilt and suddenly he could breathe more than short shallow breaths.  You hadn’t realised you’d used your power; it was a reaction to the intense emotions you’d felt.  The first time it happened, Bucky panicked, but now he knew to ride it out, and sometimes it added to his pleasure.

“How was that?”  he whispered, lowering your legs to the mattress and curling himself against your spine.

“Best stuffing, evarrrr…” You spoke quietly but with a smile, blissfully worn out and on the verge of unconsciousness.

“Not bad for 1940s vintage, huh, sweetheart?”  He pressed a kiss into the hair at your temple and pulled you closer, feeling you relax back against his chest.

“They don’t make ‘em like they used to.”  You mumble and Bucky chuffs a soft nasal chuckle, rubbing his stubbly cheek in your hair as you succumb to complete peace.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Everywhere you go…

Take a look at the five and ten, it’s glistening once again

With candy canes and silver lanes that glow…

 You stirred from sleep, grumbling at the infernal racket that was threatening to ruin the amazing dream you were having about Bucky kissing every single inch of your body.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Toys in every store…

But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be

On your own front door…

 The muffled vibrating that accompanied the horrendous tune pulled you further from sleep and made you crack an eye open like a sleeping dragon.  A phone.  Someone’s phone was ringing.  Some Christmas-loving heathen’s phone.  Ughh!

A pair of hop-a-long boots and a pistol that shoots

Is the wish of Barney and Ben

Dolls that’ll talk and will go for a walk

Is the hope of Janice and Jen

And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again…

 You were soon bolt upright, slightly woozy but too grumpy to care.  You scoured Bucky’s room for the source of the annoyance and fixed, confusedly, on your gym bag.  What the fuck?  Hands frantically searching, you pulled out your phone to find one missed call from ‘Fist of Victory’.  Bucky must’ve called you to wake you from your nap.  Blissed out as you were, he must’ve left you to sleep while he ran some errands and did some chores, like bringing your gym bag from the common room.

The screen flashed and the voice of Michael Bublé piped up once more.  Bucky again.

It’s beginning to look a lot like-

You killed the call and, with an irritated nasal sigh, you delved into your settings to undo whatever heinous crime had been committed on your phone.

It’s beginning to look-

“Nope.”  You swiped the red button, growing more annoyed by the second.  Your phone asked you for a password but your pin didn’t work.  “Don’t do this to me!”  You groaned, trying everything you could think of short of factory restoring your device.

It’s beginning to-

“What the actual fuck?” You raged.  It was no use.  Some bastard had set your ringtone and locked you out of your own security.  “Fuck Christmas!”

Dirty yoga pants pulled on in haste and phone in hand, you raced from Bucky’s room towards the common room where you hoped to find your beau or at least someone who could fix this travesty.  Micheal Bublé’s voice chased you down the halls until you were about ready to flush your phone down the nearest shitter and call it quits.

Shoving through the door of the lounge, you were faced with 4 pairs of eyes around a dinner table laden with food; Bucky, Nat, Sam and Steve turned to look at you.  Bucky’s smile faded when he saw the state of you, dishevelled and panting, pink thong over the top of your inside-out yoga pants; furious.  You froze, cringing as the song continued uninterrupted in your hand.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Everywhere you go…

There’s a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well

It’s the sturdy kind that doesn’t mind the snow…

 There was confusion from three of the four, Bucky included as he ended the call, but Sam – oh that bastard!  You lunged for him and almost got to him too, before a solid metal arm wound around your waist and pulled you back.

“You!”  You struggled hard against Bucky’s strength, but even if you got free Steve was ready to stop you before you could hurt yourself, and it would hurt, but it would be worth it to punch that smug parrot in his weak-looking jaw.  “I’m gonna fucking pluck you, roast you and feed you to the homeless.”

The amused glint in Sam’s eyes goaded you further but you succumbed to the calming effect of Bucky’s arms tightly gripped around you.  You dropped your head against his chest and groaned.

“C’mon, y/n!  Get into the Christmas spirit.”  Sam chuckled and you flipped him the bird.

He knew he’d won this round but you’d find some way of paying him back.  Maybe you’d set fire to his tree on Christmas Eve so Christmas Day would have that vibrant bonfire smell that reminded you of Halloween, which was only yesterday.  You huffed.

“Is this why the tree is up so early?”  Nat said judgingly with a slight roll of her eyes.  “You should probably fix her phone.”

“Hell no!”  Sam snorted around a mouthful of food.  “This is too much fun.”

“Suit yourself.”  Nat hid her smirk behind the rim of her coffee cup. “I’m not going to save you when she chokes the life out of you, Darth Vader style.”

Coughing and choking preceded grains of rice spluttered into a napkin as Sam’s wide eyes flitted between you and Nat.  “She what?”

“Wanda has been working with her on expanding the range of her powers so she can effect larger areas further away from her body.”  Steve chimed in.  “It’s impressive.”

“The air gets thick and suddenly you can’t breathe.”  Nat cocked a brow.  “She doesn’t even need to touch you and you’re choking to death.”

“From over there?” Sam pushed his chair back a few inches, like that would make a difference.

Steve and Nat nodded deliberately, solemnly.

You grinned, projecting a light show worthy of your wrath.  Sam was out of his seat and backing up before Bucky turned you and positioned himself between you and your target.  Sam didn’t know you couldn’t reach him and it was fun to make him squirm so you tried, like, really tried to stretch your power outwards at that winged menace. The air grew heavy and it seemed like everyone held their breath, everyone except you.

Bucky stroked his hand into your messy hair and tilted your head ready for his kiss.  You knew he was trying to distract you, and it worked. Lips and tongues eagerly danced until you were moaning into his mouth and pressing yourself against his growing arousal.  The room relaxed as he ravaged your lips, forgetting you were not alone.  Your tummy growled aggressively and broke the spell, bashful giggles followed.

“Looks like I’m going to be making it up to you again, darlin’, on behalf of that bird brain.” Bucky kissed the tip of your nose.

“Well…”  You drawled.  “If you’re going to fuck me every time he pisses me off then I might sign him up on a contract.”

Bucky smeared his lips against yours in a passionate but tongueless kiss before swiping a plate full of food from the table and shoving it into your hands.

He swept you up bridal style and spun you around once for good measure.  Nat caught your eye and you mouthed ‘thank you’ to her.  She winked subtly with that pursed lop-sided smirk she does when she’s highly amused.  Steve was looking elsewhere, seeing his childhood friend head-over-heels in love and so confidently displaying his emotions was a moment of awkward pride for him.

Sam was forgotten as Bucky carried you back to his room with a grin on his face that already had you weak. Your phone was forgotten, turned off in your hand, and as you disappeared down the hallway, those in the common room would swear they heard you humming a tune.  A tune that fit with the words now playing in your head.

 It’s beginning to look a lot like sex-mas

Several times a day

Take a look at that perfect bum, and that juicy pair of plums

And the cock that’s going to fuck my cares away

 It’s beginning to look a lot like sex-mas

Get the toys and stuff

If I’m still walking straight, and not with a funky gait

Then he hasn’t truly boned me hard enough

 A pair of nipple-clamp bells and some lube that smells

Like cherry and not something yuk

A straining hard cock that gives my ovaries a knock

And I’m gonna give it a suck

And when we’re done, we’ll watch some porn until we’re ready to fuck

 It’s beginning to look a lot like sex-mas

Fingers tease me slow

When he’s giving me metal three and working them ruthlessly

Until I’m screaming and I’m ready to explode

 It’s beginning to look a lot like sex-mas

And we’ve ruined Bucky’s bed

We’ll take it to the floor or stood by the door

Where I’m on my knees so I can give him head.

 It’s beginning to look a lot like sex-mas

He’s gasping as he comes

Filling me to the brim and holding me close to him

Rubbing my cheeks so tender with his thumbs

 I do love Bucky’s plums.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not try my other Suncatcher fic, Disco Ball Diva.  Same sassy reader character, just earlier on in her Avengers career.

[mrslittletall]

Title: A Storm is coming (Chapter 22) Fandom: Dark Souls Characters: Chosen Undead/Dragon Slayer Ornstein, Dark Sun Gwyndolin Word Count: 6.992 AO3-Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16603610/chapters/54567793 Previous chapter: https://mrslittletall.tumblr.com/post/190441575024/title-a-storm-is-coming-chapter-21-fandom-dark

Summary: Ornstein drags Tempest to visit Gwyndolin to ask a specific question and then the both of them travel to a cold, lonely and gentle (?) place.

(Author's note: Phew, I had planned for them to go to Painted World for a while now, but I didn't thought it would have been so soon, but my characters act in their own ways and so they wanted to go there now or more, Ornstein wanted to go there, Tempest just follows along ^^

I could work some of the scenes I had planned for a long time into this arc, I very hope you enjoy.

Oh, and did you know that a fic inspired by mine was written? It is “Eye of the Storm” by @doom1713​ and please give it a read!)

After they had picked up the rusty ring which Tempest grumbled about a few minutes more, there was nothing more to do for them in the Asylum so they headed back to the bonfire.

“You are fine with teleporting?”, Tempest asked, black eye sockets stared at Ornstein with a worried expression, even though this shouldn't be possible.

“Yes. This will be far quicker than walking back to Anor Londo.”, Ornstein said.

“When we are back there, shall we take the opportunity and get rid of that titanite demon in the cathedral?”, Tempest asked.

“No, I want go to to Dark Moon Tomb.”, Ornstein said.

“Oh, alright.”, Tempest extended one hand to the fire and felt for Ornstein's with the other. Even though the dragon slayer could barely feel anything through his thick metal gauntlet, he had a weird feeling in his chest once Tempest took his hand. Or maybe it was just his anticipation of the aftereffects of the teleport.

It didn't take long until he felt the familiar feeling of being dragged through space and once the Dark Moon Tomb came into side, he sat down, heavy breathing as he tried to settle down his nausea and to swallow down the bile instead of throwing up in his helmet.

“Are you alright?”, Tempest said. When Ornstein slightly turned his head he saw that the little Storm had sat down next to him, still with this big worried eye sockets. Ornstein allowed himself a few more seconds of deep breathing before he replied.

“Yes... yes, I am fine. I just need a moment.”

Tempest made an approving sound and waited until Ornstein stood up on his own and walked over to the fog gate to the actual Dark Moon Tomb. “Gwyndolin, it's me, Ornstein. I want to talk to you.”

“Ornstein? What a nice surprise.”, Gwyndolin's voice came from the other side of the fog gate. “Are you alone?”

“No, the little St... the Undead is with me too.”, Ornstein said, cursing himself because he nearly slipped up. “He can come with me. In fact, I want him to hear what I have to say.”

Tempest's heart skipped a beat as he heard this. Whatever it was Ornstein wanted to talk about, that he wanted Tempest to be a part of it made the little Undead's chest bloom with warmth. Maybe he still had a chance after all.

“Then come in.”, Gwyndolin said and the fog gate vanished. Tempest rushed to the entrance but got stopped by Ornstein before he could cross it.

“Do you really think you should face the Dark Sun like this?”, Ornstein scolded him.

Tempest stared at him with a little bit of confusion before realization hit. “Oh.”, he just said and rushed back to the bonfire. When he came back, his hollowed out form had taken shape again and his blue eyes were eagerly placed on Ornstein.

Ornstein didn't bother to say anything to him but instead just stepped into the Dark Moon Tomb and crossed the hallway until they arrived at the room Gwyndolin resided in.

“Ornstein... Chosen Undead...”, Gwyndolin said, clapping their hands together. “It is good to see you again. How would you describe the process of your quest?”

“We have gathered two of the lord souls!”, Tempest piped up before Ornstein could even say anything. He found them in his luggage and presented them both to Gwyndolin. “Seath and Gravelord Nito.” Tempest looked very proud as he presented them. “Ornstein was a huge help.”

“Just be glad that you can't die, because I still have the day where you just rushed to Seath and died instantly and got imprisoned vividly in my mind.”, Ornstein smirked.

“Don't remind me of that.”, Tempest said, laying his head down on the table. “That only was the start for the most intense training in my life.”

“It's good to see that you two are getting along now.”, Gwyndolin chuckled with a white robed arm in front of their face. “But...”, they took on a more serious tone. “You surely didn't want to come here to just chat.”

“Of course not, no.”, Ornstein said before realizing what Gwyndolin had said and snorted: “Getting along? I have to make sure that this little idiot doesn't rush to his doom day and night. I can't wait until we are done with this whole quest.”

Tempest stared at Ornstein at this harsh words. Was he truly meaning it... He had a tight feeling in his chest, but... Ornstein had actively encouraged him to go back to the asylum. Even though it didn't had to do anything with the quest at all... Tempest had the assumption that Ornstein wasn't true to himself.

“Of course.”, Gwyndolin said. “But you seem to be able to work together. That will help you greatly with getting the missing two lord souls.” They flicked their catalyst and three tea cups appeared. “Let me get some tea.”, they said and vanished for a short while before returning to fill steaming hot tea in the conjured tea cups. Tempest picked it up and studied it, not trusting that the tea cup wouldn't vanish any moment. He couldn't taste the tea anyway, only the warmth was nice.

“It won't vanish just because you drink out of it.”, Ornstein said, taking a sip of his own.

“Oh, alright...”, Tempest said and took a sip too. He briefly wondered why Gwyndolin hadn't also conjured the tea but figured that an illusion would hardly be nourishing. Not that he needed it...

Gwyndolin sat down again and took a sip of their own tea, putting their attention at Ornstein and said: “Well?”

“Gwyndolin, you probably remember Seath's daughter.”, Ornstein said.

Even with the crown on their head Tempest could see how their gaze darkened.

“Of course. How could I ever forget her and... what my father had decided should be her fate.”, they said, putting their tea cup down and staring into it.

“The little Storm and me have gone to the Asylum and...”, Ornstein said, but got interrupted by Gwyndolin.

“Ornstein, what was that? Did you give our Chosen Undead a nickname?”, they chuckled.

“I have an actual name, you know.”, Tempest complained. He had gotten used to Ornstein calling him little Storm, but just being referred to as the Chosen Undead made him uneasy.

“Well, um...”, Ornstein said and then furiously blushed. “That isn't the question here! We found this at the asylum!” He pulled out the doll and threw it on the table, making Gwyndolin gasp.

“But... but how did it find its way to the asylum...?”, they picked the doll up and studied it instantly. “With that... with this doll you can visit her... with this doll you could free her...”

Tempest looked from Ornstein to Gwyndolin. What were they talking about? He almost was a bit annoyed that nobody seemed to explain anything to him.

“I wanted to ask for your permission.”, Ornstein said. “Back then I couldn't do anything. It wasn't her fault. She never was a bad child. I am... still glad that I didn't had to, you know...”, he made a gesture that was very clear about what he tried to not say out aloud. “But... I never stopped feeling guilty about it. She deserves better.”

“Indeed.”, Gwyndolin said. “Especially because... Wait here, I have to show you something.”

As soon as Gwyndolin was gone Tempest had enough: “Ornstein, what are you talking about? I don't understand anything.”

“Of course, this whole thing was very secret. You probably only heard fairy tales about it.”, Ornstein said. “Did Astora have a version of the Painted World fairy tale?”

“Oh, of course we did. It is about this girl getting trapped into a magical painting.”, Tempest said, trying to recall how the exact fairy tale went. His mother surely had told him this a few times...

“That was never a fairy tale. The truth is, the Painted World exists and it was used by the gods to imprison anything that they deemed to dangerous to be left free.”, Ornstein said.

Tempest's face fell. This sounded a lot more bleak than the fairy tale he remembered.

Gwyndolin came back before Tempest could ask another question and laid a large round object on the table. It looked like an egg... but it was gigantic.

“Gwyndolin, is this...”, Ornstein said, not finishing the question he already knew the answer too.

“Correct. I found this in Seath's workshop.”, Gwyndolin said. As Ornstein put a questioning look at them they started to explain: “I thought I should clean it out a bit and see if he had some artifacts lying around that shouldn't be found. But I find this egg instead. He put a stasis spell on it, but now that he is dead, they should hatch soon.”

“Are you planning to raise them?”, Ornstein asked and Gwyndolin nodded.

“Wait, in this thing there is a baby?!”, Tempest blurted out, just now getting what they were talking about.

“You got it.”, Ornstein said. “I am sure Gwyndolin will do their best to raise them into a proper child.”

“After all, I am pretty sure they might be a blood sibling of mine...”, Gwyndolin said and Ornstein nearly choked on his tea.

“I just knew that Seath did it somehow... I don't know why, but of course he would manage to seduce even Lord Gwyn.”, he growled.

“This is all getting too much for me...”, Tempest said, he felt a headache coming. Just in which kind of world were these two living?

“I explain it later to you.”, Ornstein said. “So you give us permission to visit the Painted World and free Priscilla?”

“Yes.”, Gwyndolin said. “It would also be nice if the little one would be able to meet their sister. But please, Ornstein... don't force her to anything. It should be of her own free will.”

At this Ornstein looked down at Tempest.... while he got and understood Gwyndolin's concerns, he didn't had the feeling that the little Storm got a choice. Tempest interpreted Ornstein staring at him differently though and smiled up to him. “So our next destination is this Painted World? Were is it?”

“Here in Anor Londo, not too far from the Dark Moon Tomb actually.”, Ornstein said.

“You just go up the stairs and then enter church where it is housed. You probably have traversed this room while balancing on the beams.”, Gwyndolin added.

Tempest had to think a bit, but then realization hit: “Oh! This room with the chandelier and the white robed freaks which threw knifes?! Don't ask me how often I fell to my death there. I thought I would never make it through and then I had to encounter the sharp shooters!”

“Ah yes, my favourite part of watching your journey to us.”, Ornstein grinned and received a tiny slap from Tempest.

“I am very glad you two get along so well.”, Gwyndolin said. “How about you finish your tea before you set off?”

“And how about something to eat?”, Tempest said. “Aren't you hungry, Ornstein? We have been up and fighting the whole morning.”

“I am good.”, Ornstein said. “You can feel free to cook something for me once we are finished with our quest in the Painted World.”

“I am going to cook the greatest meal ever.”, Tempest grinned and drank the rest of his tea in one gulp.

Of course he still had to wait for Ornstein who wasn't Undead and still had basic needs but once the dragon slayer was finished with everything, they headed into the direction of the Painted World.

“Be careful. There should be plenty of Painting Guardians in there.”, Ornstein said, standing at the door leading into the church housing the Painted World, peeking into the room.

“Painting Guardians?”, Tempest asked.

“These figures within wearing white robes. They used to be human but then they all got cursed with Undeath and are now hollowed out.”

“Oh, the annoyances with the throwing knifes?”

Ornstein nodded: “Yes, if you want to call them this...”

“They shouldn't be a problem. This time we are on the floor and not like 30 feet above the ground.”, he grabbed his sword with both hands and proceeded into the room. “That shouldn't be a problem.”

Roughly thirty seconds later Tempest came running back to the door, a few throwing knifes stuck in him, around five Painting Guardians following him, screaming: “It is a problem!”

Ornstein sighed: “I told you to be careful.”

He stepped into the room and took care of two Painting Guardians at once with a single thrust of his spear. It was enough time for Tempest to heal his wounds with a sip of Estus and turn the battle around. Ornstein noticed that he now used his shield.

Tempest managed to get one of them down and then got pulled against a pillar as he tried to block their continuous attacks. Ornstein jumped in and slashed one of them open with a single strike of his spear, giving Tempest the opportunity to thrust his sword into the last one.

“Well, little Storm, do you have to say something in your defense?”, Ornstein asked as Tempest stood there, breathing heavily. After a few minutes he had caught his breath and said: “I didn't know they would hide behind the pillars, alright?!”

“Now you know. And now we can be more careful with the ones that are still here.”, Ornstein said. “Just be glad that hollows aren't very intelligent. If they still would have had their minds, they would have all come at you.”

Tempest shuddered at the thought and put his sword to his back in favour of picking up his bow.

“Good thought.”, Ornstein smiled as an arrow whirred through the air and hit one of the Painting Guardians, prompting them to turn around and rush at them.

A few arrows and a few corpses later the both of them stood in front of the painting.

“Woah.”, Tempest said. “This is the biggest painting I ever saw.”

“The artist's name was Ariamis.”, Ornstein said. “I have never met them, but they had the power to turn the world into the painting into life. With the doll we should be able to enter it.”

“Wait a moment. I want to look at the painting from afar before we go in.”, Tempest said and ran quite a distance back. As he turned around, his gaze was on the painting for a short while before getting distracted.

“Oh wait, Ornstein, there are still some guardians left.”, he shouted and pointed into the corners of the room and shortly after he had said that, already rushed to take care of them.

Ornstein simply watched him fight and once both of them had dropped dead – for now – Tempest stopped on the way back to Ornstein and looked at something on the ground before kneeling down and inspecting it closer. That got Ornstein curious and when he checked on Tempest he saw the little Undead frowning in front of some huge, black armour.

“Did this belong to anyone you know?”, Ornstein asked.

Tempest shook his head. “No, never saw a knight wearing this armour. Or at least I think. I tried to remember, but I am pretty sure I never saw them.”

Ornstein kneeled down too to inspect the armour. “That armour is huge and heavy, as well as the weapons that come with it.”, he said. “The one wearing this must have been big and strong. Probably would have been black knight material if they weren't human.”

Tempest gave Ornstein a tart look and said: “What, you didn't had humans in your ranks?”

“We had.”, Ornstein said. “Havel and his warriors. But nobody who made it into the rank of silver or black knight was ever human.”

“Havel?”, Tempest asked.

“I am surprised that you didn't meet him.”, Ornstein said. “He got undead and hollowed out. I think Lord Gwyn locked him in a tower near Dark Root Garden so that he couldn't hurt anyone. Stone armour. Uses a dragon tooth as a weapon. One of the only humans who managed to face a dragon.”

“Aaaah!”, Tempest said, realization hitting. “Yes, I remember that one. I didn't come back after I got smashed one too many times. That did hurt horribly, you know.”

“I hope you have locked the door again.”, Ornstein said. “Though with the state Lordran is in it hardly matters...”

Tempest laid down the armour he had inspected and looked up. “Huh, I wonder how this one hollowed out? Did they fall of the roofs one too many times and then just... gave up?”

“Who knows?”, Ornstein shrugged. “We shouldn't search for questions we don't have answers for, but instead concentrate on our mission. Take my hand, little Storm.”

Tempest blushed a bit as the dragon slayer presented his hand. While it was usual for them to hold hands when teleporting through the bonfire, Ornstein usually didn't invite him to hold it. He raised his hand to place it into the cold gauntlet of the dragon slayer and waited.

Ornstein touched the painting in front of them and the next thing he knew was that they got sucked in.

Once Tempest opened his eyes he gasped. The sight in front of him was the exact same one as the sight of the Painting. Before he could take it in fully though he noticed that both him and Ornstein were standing on a rather narrow hanging bridge and the dragon slayer was swaying a bit. Oh, of course, his teleporting sickness.

“Are you feeling alright, Ornstein?”, Tempest said, worry shining in his eyes. “Or do you have to puke?”

Ornstein took a few heavy breathes which didn't convince Tempest at all that he wouldn't puke down the bridge any moment so without thinking he took Ornstein's hand in his own and started walking: “We should get you off that bridge, the unstable ground will make your nausea only worse.”

Tempest was a tiny bit surprised when Ornstein pressed his hand into Tempest's and let himself guide off the bridge. Once they were off, the walkway was still very narrow but more stable and there were quite a few stairs. “Do you want to sit down here?”, Tempest asked and turned around to look at Ornstein.

The dragon slayer nodded and then gulped before sitting down at the base of the stairs, heavily breathing. “Maybe you should take your helmet off to get some fresh air.”, Tempest suggest, sitting himself on the stairs, both hands on his knees, looking at Ornstein.

Ornstein, who still hadn't uttered a single word, heeded Tempest's advice and took off his helmet, his face looked kinda pale and even a bit green. The teleport into the Painted World seemed to have taken a good toll on the dragon slayer's stomach. He continued to take deep breathes, in and out and Tempest was starting to ask himself if he should take cover when the inevitable happened but then Ornstein straightened himself and muttered: “Hm, alright, it seems to be over.”

“Are you sure?”, Tempest asked as he got up. Ornstein made a sound of agreement and fumbled his hair through his helmet, staggering a bit more before getting his composure back and picking up his spear. Tempest turned around and finally could take in the view he had seen from the bridge.

“It's hard to believe this place is real.”, he marvelled. He almost couldn't believe it was a real place, but he could feel the chilling cold air on his skin and the snow on the stairs crunched under his boots.

“This place is called the Painted World of Ariamis.”, Ornstein said. “Like I said, some gods are able to create paintings that turn to life and Ariamis was one of them.”

“Amazing.”, Tempest said as he ran up the stairs, Ornstein slowly following him. Tempest only stopped once he spotted a bonfire and went over to light it up. Once Ornstein had caught up with him, he had already rested on it and murmured: “Hm, the lord vessel won't function with this one... I can't visualize where I want to go...”

“Of course.”, Ornstein said, sitting down next to Tempest. “This place is a prison. Every Undead who would be able to warp through bonfires would just have been able to leave, so it got cut off from the others.”

“That probably means we are stuck here.”, Tempest said, lying down in the snow with his arms stretched out.

“There is a way to leave this place, don't worry.”, Ornstein said. “But for this we have to find our way through the Painted World.”

Tempest pulled himself up and then jumped on his feet: “What are we waiting for then? Let's explore every crook and nanny of this place!”

“You are strangely motivated.”, Ornstein chuckled, rising on his own feet.

“Hey, I am in the world of my childhood fairy tale. Of course I want to see it!”, Tempest could hardly conceal the excitement in his voice.

“Maybe don't get your hopes up too high. This place is still a prison. There are bound to be some ugly things here...”, Ornstein said, turning around and facing the stairs that led to a large building. “Little Storm, how about you take the lead?”

“Alright.”, Tempest headed to the stairs and started to climb them, stopping and raising his shield when a few hollows charged at him. “It seems like we already got company.”, he said as he swung his sword and fell one of the three hollows that had charged at him. Ornstein's spear struck the other two down with ease.

After all three hollows had collapsed on the ground with a groan, Tempest scanned the area and then walked to the large wooden door right in front of them. “This... won't budge...”, he grunted as he tried to open it. “Seems like you have to open it from the other side.”

“So we have to go the long way.”, Ornstein said, turning to the right.

“Like usual.”, Tempest let go of the door and followed Ornstein. The path ended at the right wall, but instead a few stairs were build into the wall in front of them which Tempest climbed up. After he had climbed these stairs up, Tempest turned to the right to see another set of stairs... and an arrow flying at him which he avoided just in time, leaving Ornstein exposed to the attack but before Tempest could warn him Ornstein just flicked his spear and the arrow fell to the ground.

“This place must be chuck full of hollows.”, he murmured as he charged his spear at the sharpshooter on the top of the stairs. The smell of burned flesh was in the air once it fell down the stairs.

“Why are there hollows in this place?”, Tempest asked. “They weren't like... painted in it, right?”

“No, of course not.”, Ornstein said. “When the Painted World was created, hollows didn't exist yet. These are Undead who were tossed into the Painted World before we established the Asylum. Before we knew how much this curse would spread. In the Painted World we wouldn't have to fear them getting hollow and attack us.”

“This actually makes sense...”, Tempest said and ascended the stairs in front of them, bracing himself for more hollows. And of course two more hollows attacked him with broken swords. While their weapon hardly could do any damage, hollows possessed some kind of wild strength which could even made a hit with a broken sword hurt. As he fend them off he spotted another archer on even more stairs that led further up. Ornstein jumped in and fried these archer too.

Tempest managed to take down the two hollows who had fought him and when he looked up, he saw Ornstein standing there, two more hollows approaching him, but these ones looked... wrong. Where their head should be there was like a... swollen bulb. One of them carried a torch and the other one weaved pyromancy. No wonder that Ornstein wasn't keen on getting close... or... he seemed to have another reason.

“Little Storm, be careful with them.”, Ornstein said, slowly backing away. “Keep your distance with them, they are toxic.”

Tempest's eyes widened and he switched to his bow: “Out of the way then, Ornstein, I am going to shoot them!”

The dragon slayer gladly complied and soon enough both of the strange hollows had been shot, Tempest surprised at how easy he had hit them. Their swollen head apparently was a good mark.

Ornstein was right about them being toxic, once the bulb popped, which in itself was a disgusting sound, a purple cloud evacuated from them. The smell was even more disgusting as the sound and Tempest could see how Ornstein turned around and had this heavy breathing again.

“If you have to puke, just do it.”, Tempest said. “It's better to get it out instead of forcing it to stay down.”

“I am fine...”, Ornstein said. Tempest decided to still leave him a bit of space and walked back down the stairs, inspecting the fallen hollows. The bow of one of the archers looked still usable so he pocketed it and when he got back up he noticed that there was a small path in the corner. He narrowed his eyes and inspected the small path to see another set of stairs that led up.

“How many stairs does this place have?”, Tempest muttered, waving Ornstein to him.

“What have you found, little Storm?”, Ornstein asked but his question got answered when he looked to the right. “You want to go up there?”

“Yes.”, Tempest said and slowly walked the stairs up until he arrived at an alcove where of course two hollows were awaiting him. Both of them fell with one strike, one to Tempest's sword and one to Ornstein's spear.

“And now...?”, Tempest looked around and spotted more stairs. “That Ariamis guy surely liked stairs.”, he complained and ran them up, an unfortunate hollow at the end of them turned victim to his sword. Ornstein quietly followed him. The stairs led to a small roof with a corpse lying on it. Tempest inspected the corpse and picked up a small white item which seemed to waver.

“The soul of a decent warrior.”, Ornstein said. “They had accumulated quite a bit of soul power. Maybe they have fought against the hollows in this world again and again.”

“You can see this with just one glance?”, Tempest asked. “I have to pop them to know how much power they hold...”

“Of course, the greater the soul, the more soul power the bearer had.”, Ornstein said. “There doesn't seem to be anything else here. We should go back and follow the path.”

“Wait a moment...”, Tempest raised some binoculars and looked at a tower in the distance. “Ornstein, do you see this?”, he handed the binoculars to the dragon slayer who declined them. He could see what had gotten Tempest's attention well enough.

“The corvians? They are native to this world. Don't pay them any mind.”, he said.

“...They are natives to these world?!”, Tempest asked.

“Well, yes... at least I think so... I never have heard of corvians existing outside of the Painted World.”, Ornstein explained further.

“...But how do you know about this?”, Tempest asked. “It sounds like you have been here already...”

“I... might have visited this place once it was first finished...”, Ornstein admitted. “Before it was a prison. Only for a short while and only to determine for Lord Gwyn if we could use it... that is when I saw them.”

“You could have said this sooner.”, Tempest said and turned around, looking down the side of the roof they were. “Huh, I think I can see something on that alcove here...”

Before Tempest could finish that thought they heard the flapping of wings and two of the corvians blocked their way.

“What... they shouldn't be aggressive!”, Ornstein said, readying his spear.

“Wha... these are women?!”, Tempest exclaimed as he picked up the fight, getting kicked in the face right away, almost falling down the roof but he managed to hang on a ledge.

“Tsk.. be more careful, little Storm.”, Ornstein hissed as he thrust his spear through the bare chest of one of the corvians which shrieked in pain before collapsing. As he was busy getting his spear out of the corpse, he saw the other one readying an attack... Once she flew into the air Ornstein abandoned his spear for the moment, realizing that she would try and grab him. He dove down and the corvian missed him, shrieking in frustration.

Ornstein scrambled back on his feet, he might have beeen strong but even he would have trouble without his weapon and now there was a corvian between him and said weapon. Luckily, Tempest managed to climb back up and thrust his sword through the back of the corvian, which collapsed with a pained shriek.

“Thanks, little Storm.”, Ornstein said, dusting some snow off his armour before he casually walked over to get his spear.

“Ornstein.. thanking me?! Who are you and what happened to the real Ornstein?”, Tempest said, as he struggled to get his sword out of the corvian. Ornstein walked over and pulled the sword out with one hand.

“You can think of me what you like, little Storm, I will appreciate when someone saved my life.”, he said. “A fall of this roof would have managed to hurt me too and the corvians are not warriors that you should take likely.”

“That they weren't wearing anything was taking me off guard.”, Tempest said. “Or I wouldn't have gotten nearly kicked off the tower.”

“What, really, little Storm?”, Ornstein grinned. “A bare chest of a bird woman distracted you?”

Tempest blushed a bit before blurting out: “I am into guys! But it still surprises me when I see a naked woman, alright?!”

“I hardly would call the corvians woman, look at these abominations.”, Ornstein pointed down at them. “A bird head, bird wings, bird feet... only the middle is kind of that of a woman. They look like something Seath would think up in his work shop but he actually had a sense for aesthetic.”

“Actually... I am not surprised your civilization fell.”, Tempest said, crossing his arms. While he agreed that the corvians weren't the nicest sight he wouldn't call them abominations. After all, he knew how it was to be viewed as a monster.

“What is that supposed to mean?”, Ornstein's voice had taken on a dangerous tone.

“Oh, um, nothing.”, Tempest said and simply jumped off the roof. Ornstein hurried after him only to see him picking up something on a small alcove which he had landed on.

“...Don't scare me so, idiot.”, he shouted after Tempest.

“Huh, you haven't call me that a long time.”, Tempest said mockingly and jumped down the alcove. He was standing in front of the wooden closed door again. A few seconds later Ornstein landed near him, snow puffing up around him.

“What have you picked up?”, Ornstein asked.

“Twin humanities.”, Tempest said. “So something useful. I was running out of humanities after our training and now I manage to slowly build up a stack.”

“That is good, it surely is more aesthetically pleasing to see your non hollowed out face.”, Ornstein said. It might have been a harmless remark, Tempest knew that his hollowed out form was creepy and ugly, but it still stung a bit. Being Undead was a part of him and he wished that Ornstein would be able to accept every part of him. He didn't say anything anymore and quietly trudged the stairs back up, the corpses of the hollows they had slain earlier still lying there.

With his eyes on the ground Tempest could see another soul floating around. He mindlessly picked it up and pocketed it.

“Quite a few warriors have tried to get out of here it seems.”, Ornstein said.

“Would they have made it?”, Tempest asked, gaze still on the ground.

“If they had been sentenced to be prisoned here, not without anyone of the outside world helping them leave.”, Ornstein said. “So their death was in vain. At least their leftover regret can help you in your quest, little Storm.”

“Regret?”, Tempest asked.

“Souls only linger on when they have something to regret when they died.”, Ornstein explained. “Then they can't move on and will stay with their corpse. Anyone is able to pick them up and use them to strengthen their own soul power.”

“Does that mean...”, Tempest thoughts wandered to the “special” souls in his possession. The bright glowing ones and the fiery souls of the lords. Ornstein seemed to have picked up on his train of thoughts because he spoke again.

“No, little Storm, while some of them may have been left because of regret, as an Undead you naturally draw souls to your dark sign. Every being that dies when an Undead is near will have their soul pulled to them as well as their soul power, if they want or not. Surely you must have realized that you gained soul power even though you haven't slain a foe.”

Tempest nodded. It had happened quite a few times. He often had found a dead hollow getting killed by gravity, which was good because he nearly snapped trying to find out where the souls suddenly gained to his stock had come from.

“See?”, Ornstein said and grew quiet. In the meantime they had arrived at the end of the stairs. Tempest turned to the right were a small stone bridge spanned over the pit beneath two buildings. Just as he wanted to take the next step he felt a pain in his back and once he had swirled around, sword in both hands, he saw a spear sticking out of a hollow.

“Pay better attention, little Storm.”, Ornstein said, casually shaking the hollow from his spear.

“Where did it come from...”, Tempest murmured before his eyes spotted a doorway. “Oh, from there?” Tempest interest in the bridge waned as he walked over and took a peek into the building. “Hm, seems safe...”, he said and crept forwards.

Ornstein followed him, barely fitting through the doorway. “Do.. do we have to go down there, little Storm?”, he asked, even though he could stretch out in the actual building again. The ceiling was far more higher up than the doorway had been.

“I am curious.”, Tempest said. “You don't have to come with me if you don't want to.”

“It is my duty to assist you, remember?”, Ornstein said.

Again, words that felt harmless but stung. Tempest wanted so much more from Ornstein. He wanted for him that he cared about Tempest of his own free will and not because his god had told him it. He had thought... he really had thought that Ornstein cared for him, especially in the Tomb of the Giants, but then he had to hear from him that he was only aiding Tempest so that he could go find his old love.

It was... frustrating to say the least and so Tempest huffed and moved on. In the building there wasn't much to see... but there was a wooden construct that spiralled down and Tempest followed it until he hit a dead end. As soon as his eyes had gotten use to the dark, he spotted two rats, very much like the ones in the depth.

Without saying anything he drew his sword and slashed both of them, making them squeak in pain and collapse in a pool of their own blood.

“Anything interesting down there?”, Ornstein asked. He had stayed on the wooden boards behind Tempest.

“Just another soul.”, Tempest sighed. “Probably got eaten by the rats after they fell.” Tempest pocketed the soul and the both of them climbed the wooden construct back up until they were at the bridge again. Tempest stayed silent the whole trip.

In front of the bridge, Tempest shielded his eyes to try and see what would await them at the other side. The bridge clearly led into another building. Just as he wanted to get his binoculars out his eyes grew wide as he saw the distinct shape of an arrow coming nearer and he raised his shield just in time to not get an awkward new hole in his face.

“A sharpshooter.”, he growled and rushed off.

“Little Storm, wait!”, Ornstein called after him but it was too late. Tempest ran the whole distance to the sharpshooter without pausing once and thrust his sword into its chest, a grin on his face for having taking the sharpshooter out. Just as he pulled his sword back out of the hollow, two more turned up... they had hung over the ledge. Tempest took a few steps back and then intended to run back into the room, but the room was a flaming mess. The torch and pyromancy wielding toxic hollows were occupying it.

Tempest had run into a trap and if not for a miracle he would find himself back at the bonfire again. There was no way he could fight properly at this narrow ledge where the sharpshooter had fired from.

His miracle came in the form of Ornstein who barged into the room and, despite his fear of flames, braved through the toxic hollows and transformed their swollen heads into slush. With renewed determination Tempest picked up his own weapon and killed the two hollows who had tried to corner him, both of them falling to the ground with a gargled moan.

His triumph didn't last long because Tempest very much could feel the figure of the dragon slayer looming over him. “You idiot.”, he snarled. “We have talked about this... over and over again. Don't rush without thinking! You only get yourself killed!”

“Whatever...”, Tempest said, hardly believing the word that escaped his mouth next. “It's not like you would care about it or anything. Besides, I am just coming back anyway.”

“Little Storm, what...”, Ornstein said, his stance wasn't looming and threatening anymore but instead looked... deflated.

“You are just with me so that you can go on a journey to find your old lover.”, Tempest said, nearly sniffling. “You never cared about me. I am just a nuisance, just this annoying Undead.”

“That's... that's not true...”, Ornstein said, a tremble in his voice.

“Oh yeah?”, Tempest got himself worked up. “Then why have you never asked me what I want to do when this is all over?!”

Ornstein now looked really really small, which was impressive for a man of his size. “It's... It's not that I am not interested, but...”, Ornstein didn't finish the sentence.

Because Tempest didn't knew. Tempest wholeheartedly believed that linking the flame would set everything right again. That it would get rid of the curse of the Undeath, give the gods back their power and Anor Londo would once bloom again. He didn't know that linking the flame meant to sacrifice oneself...

“But?”, Tempest asked, an angry glare and some tears in his eyes. Ornstein felt horrible. He couldn't tell him. Not with the hope he still had...

“I am sorry, little Storm.”, Ornstein said instead. “So.. what is it you would like to do when this all is over?”

Tempest's eyes widened and he looked at Ornstein before a sheepish smile crept over his face and he scratched the back of his helmet when he said: “I know it doesn't sound like much but I was thinking about opening up a tavern on the road. For everyone who needs a break, a soft bed and something warm to eat. I want to see people enjoying my meals.”

The feeling in Ornstein's guts got even tighter. That was such a down to earth dream that would easily be able to be fulfilled. And he loved how honest Tempest felt when he told him. The little Undead sat himself down and swung his legs over the ledge, letting them dangle.

“Being a warrior or a knight doesn't suit me.”, he said further. “I have thought about all kind of meals I could serve there already. I always loved to see when you tasted my cooking. I want to see this every day.”

Ornstein sat down next to Tempest and looked at him. He should tell him. He really should tell him, but... he wanted to let the little Storm dream. And to not crush his hopes in the middle of their quest. He sat there and listened as he rambled on and on about the dream he had. The dream that would never got fulfilled.

And so Ornstein felt a chill go over his spine when Tempest asked: “Say, Ornstein, how about you come with me? Isn't that better than searching for someone who dumped you centuries ago?”

Ornstein, feeling tears in his eyes, only could say: “I'll think about it.” (Author's note: I love that last part so much! How did you like the chapter? Tell me your favourite part down in the comments.) Next chapter: https://mrslittletall.tumblr.com/post/611856549249499136/title-a-storm-is-coming-chapter-23-fandom-dark

[enkisstories]

Hank’s android

A DBH fanfic starring Hank Anderson and his android (not Connor)

The idea behind this fic is that everyone we meet in DBH has an android, it is simply the default state if not explicitly mentioned otherwise. The Millers bought theirs right after they had their baby, Gavin’s gets treated like Kara by Todd, Tina took home an invalided out police auxiliary android as a workplace benefit and Hank tossed his out after Cole’s death (he never wanted an android to begin with, but some relatives thought it was a good idea to gift him one). Then I toyed with that last idea a bit more and came up with this:

February 2034

Barbara… What had she been thinking? Granted, they hadn’t exactly parted on friendly terms, a divorce was doing that to people. But until today Hank Anderson had been under the belief that Barbara and him had retained a somewhat civil relation. She had kept the surname Anderson, they actually talked to each other when swapping Cole back and forth and had even went to the movies together as friends twice or thrice. All things considered their friends agreed that the exes were making progress. But now Hank came to the conclusion that his ex-wife HATED him from the deepest recesses of her soul. Because how else should one explain that she’d announce she’d “send something to help with the housekeeping” only for it to turn out…

“Hello, Mister Anderson! I’m your new PL600 household assistant!”

“What’s your name?”

“Oh, you can register a name for me in three easy steps, Mister…”

“Babs knew I wouldn’t do that, so I ask you again and for the last time: What is your name, tin can?”

He told it to him. Hank nodded, then forgot nearly the same instant.

“Okay, would you mind walking over here?” The android obeyed. “And now over here?” Again, the machine followed the command. “That’s the spirit, now through the door, once around the corner, somewhere around here and try not to take up too much space, will you?”

“I… wouldn’t know how I’d do that.”

“Doesn’t matter. `t was nice having known you.”

And with these words Hank switched off the unwanted present with a remote. He left the garage, not looking back.

*

When it got switched on again, his internal clock told the android that two days had passed since it had come to Hank Anderson’s house. Expectantly like a puppy it was staring its owner into the face.

“This is disconcerting”, Hank grumbled, then commanded his new housekeeper to fetch a fire blanket from a high shelf in the garage. The android’s senses told it that there wasn’t a fire in the house. Obviously the blanket was needed for a different purpose, like comfortably putting up someone who was staying overnight. Since there was no emergency, the android employed a medium walk- and workspeed, on par with a human, making the device appear more natural. With a smile it held out the woolen blanket. “Here it is, Mr. Anderson!”

Hank nodded, but didn’t accept the blanket yet. Instead, he commanded the android to return to the space where it had been standing.

“Now put the blanket over your head!”

The android obeyed.

“Like this?” it asked, his voice muffled from being covered by the sheet front and back.

“Splendid!” Hank beamed. “You know, it was pretty creepy, having you stand there and look at me every time I got into and out of my car. Now it is much better!”

And off he switched the machine again. For all Hank cared, it could remain like this forever.

*

“How is who?” Hank asked into the phone. “Oh, you mean my new android! It’s amazing! Does a lot of work, without needing to get told to. It’s as if the motherfucker could read my mind! What? Like, right now? In an hour? Yeah, of course I’m oaky with that! See ya!”

Cursing under his breath Hank pushed the “end call” button on his phone.

So Barbara would come over dropping Cole off outside the regular schedule. That wasn’t the problem, in fact, the father could really use a few hours with his kid to get his thoughts off work. But mother and son probably expected to see the android. Like, in action, not stowed away in the garage. Okay, Hank could say it was running an errand, or simply admit that he sometimes switched the device off to save energy. He didn’t need to reveal that “sometimes” really meant “always”. But the disarray his house was in spoke volumes of what he really thought of the gift and that just wasn’t done. Babs had put thought into the present, she fucking cared for how her former partner was faring in this crapsack world, and that was something so precious you didn’t go around destroying it. Therefore at least the living room and maybe the kitchen had to get tidied up to simulate android activity in the Anderson home. At least nothing was really dirty, just covered in… stuff. Cluttered up by lots of small objects, pizza boxes and case files. Hank could have switched the android - what was its name again? – on, or roll up his sleeves and clean up the mess himself.

“To war, Hank Anderson!” he tried to encourage himself. “You’ve got fifty minutes!”

*

The next time the PL600 woke up to life it didn’t stare into a brown fire blanket. Instead it read its own name, only mirrored. It took the device a few beats of its artificial heart to analyze the situation and when it was done, it wished it didn’t have done so. The garage’s ceiling light illuminated a yellow post-it note that was pasted to the android’s nose. Hank removed it just now.

“Sorry ‘bout that”, the man said. “Babs keeps asking how you’re doing and I’m having a hard time remembering your name.”

“You can always change it to something more memorable using the Cyberlife app…”

“Don’t bother.”

“So how am I doing?” the android carefully inquired.

This was uncharted territory for it. Obviously the Andersons’ family dynamics weren’t covered in a PL600’s core programming and they hadn’t cared to purchase and install the dlc best suited to their situation. Maybe they weren’t even aware of such addons existing, but this wasn’t the time to bring that up. For now it was more important to gather all information possible and build upon that. The PL600 knew it could do that, if only it was given enough time.

“Great, son, you’re doing great!”

“That’s nice to hear, Mr. Anderson. I’m glad to be of… help.”

“No, you ain’t! That’s Cyberlife talking, thanking me for my purchase and incentivizing me to make another! Now move your plastic butt out of my garage…”

The android looked down and behind itself. It reached for its buttocks, then looked back at Hank with a confused expression.

“…and the rest of you, too!”

“Ah, that’s easier.”

“Stupid machine…”

*

In the weeks to come the PL600 got to know little Cole as well as Sumo. Finally it was allowed to fulfill its purpose, even if only at those weekends when its master had Cole over. The little guy quickly became enraptured by his father’s android and in fact, Cole stated the PL600 was “almost as cool as Unca Gavin”. At this point Hank swallowed the wrong way, spat soda across the room and coughed for a good fifteen minutes.

Gavin? Gavin Reed? Gavin and Oliver, no, Daniel, no, Sam, was it? Whatever. The two most annoying things in my life!

“That’s… actually a good comparison, junior!” Hank told Cole.

He picked the boy up and swung him around. Not-Oliver-Daniel-or-Sam lingered nearby, watching the scene. The android’s subtle lurking would have gone unnoticed by the casual customer, but not by an experienced detective. Hank immediately understood that the machine was keeping an eye on this middle aged human, so that it could jump in and capture the little human, should the older drop him. Inadvertently the corners of Hank’s mouth rose, he swung Cole around faster, the boy screeched from joy and eventually his father placed him gently into the android’s arms. He didn’t technically need to do so, but his back was thanking Hank. As was Hank – the android:

“Phew, thanks!”

*

At times Hank forgot that the PL600 was a mobile computer, then he talked to it with the same consideration one would give a human to. On the downside he also threw the same expectations at the machine that did its best to keep up.

Now and then, upon getting switched on the PL600 noticed that there were used dishes on the table or the remains of party decoration spread across the house or the fridge was empty. Every time that happened, the android would remind Hank that those were tasks easily finished by a PL600 household assistant device.

“You know, like the one you keep in the garage…”

“Bah!” Hank replied. “One doesn’t need a machine for every little thing.”

“So I’m the cups with the gold rim, that only get brought out for special occasions?”

“Sort… of? I thought of you as Cole’s favorite toy when he’s here, but… oh my god, I forgot Cyberlife programmed those things to look downcast. Will you stop that! I didn’t mean to insult you! What the hell, now I’m already apologizing to a bloody household appliance… This is why androids are a bad idea! They fuck up everything!”

Those were the ups and downs, but the PL600 didn’t mind. It wasn’t programmed to mind anything, of course. Or maybe the android didn’t mind because as humiliating as the garage-time outs were, during the actual Cole-weekends the three of them plus Sumo had a somewhat nonstandard, but fulfilling family life.

Every time it was time for Hank to return the boy to his mother, Cole wanted to hear “Who’s going to drive you home tonight”. It was such a sad song, but the boy loved it to pieces, so his parents indulged him. Sometimes Hank was still whistling it when he returned home. The PL600, of course, never got to hear that, because Hank was still in the habit of switching it off when not needed.

*

The PL600 opened its eyes – and closed them again immediately on account of having stared into the bright ceiling lamp. Being able to get flashed by lightening or cameras was one of the “endearing” details Cyberlife’s department of humanization had implemented into household androids. It was such a harmless little quirk… well, except if you were lying on your back in your owner’s garage with said owner towering over you, holding a crowbar.

The PL600 forced itself to open its eyes again. Had he been a human, this was the point at which it would have wished it hadn’t done so. Until now Hank had merely stood there, panting hard, but the sight of the android’s eyes opening and closing for some reason fueled the man’s rage again and he kicked the PL600. The android tried to get up, only to learn that this was a real bad idea. Hank went down full force now, swinging the crowbar at the machine. The PL600 rolled to the side, causing Hank to miss, but the human managed to grab his victim by its uniform shirt. He pulled it halfway up and rammed it against the nearest wall – once, twice…

“What’s the matter? Hank? Are you…” There was something in the air. The PL600 sniffed it and realized the truth. “…drunk?” But how? Its human drank alcohol occasionally, naturally, they all did. But as far as the android could think back Hank had never actually overdone it.

“Shut the fuck up!”

That had been an order, but for the first time the PL600 felt it didn’t have to carry it out. Its master obviously wasn’t himself, Hank didn’t really mean what he was saying. Also there were several urgent program instability warnings and Hank was hitting him again, so the android at the moment really, really, really wasn’t inclined to remain silent.

“You don’t want to hurt me! Not for real!” the PL600 stated matter of factly.

“Oh-ho! How’d you be able to tell?”

“You’re using your fist…”

“Oh.”

Hank looked at the crowbar in his other hand as if seeing it for the first time. His hand was twitching, then he forced himself to open his fingers. The metal bar went straight down, hitting the defenseless PL600 after all.

Mustering even more strength from a source unknown, Hank crouched back, away from the android. Then he gesticulated incoherently. It took the PL600 some time to process that Hank was probably pointing towards the garage door.

“Out! Out!” the man rasped. “Out with you, damn you! Before I…”

The android hesitated.

“Hank, what’s the matter with you?” it asked. “And what if Cole witnesses this?”

“There is no more Cole! You killed him!” Hank shouted. “One of you, anyway, and I…”

The android felt itself picked up and flung towards the door. Was it imagining things or was Hank crying? But, no, as a machine the PL600 didn’t have an imagination, so they tears it believed to have spotted had to be real.

“Just run!” Hank cried. “Be off and don’t you dare come back here!”

*

And so the android ran. At first because it was following an instruction. Then, because nothing made sense anymore and the running seemed to clear its head a little with each step taken. Eventually it slowed down to a walk, then stopped.

“That’s far enough”, it told itself. Why it was doing so, the device could not analyze. There was no one around, and even if there hadn’t, nobody else was privy to the Anderson household’s internal workings. Not that anything was working out there, ever, mind you. The PL600 knew it had to go back, to put things if not right, then at least back to normal, even though it had no idea how to achieve that.

However, after having taken the first few steps towards home the android found that there was a large red wall blocking its path.

“What? That’s stupid!”

Yes, technically it had received the order to “never to return”, but Hank had yelled that in the spur of the moment. The sensible thing to do, in accordance to a PL600 household assistant’s core programming, was to turn back and aid its humans.

“I’m coming! Just… hold on there, Hank. Just a little longer!”

And what was that with the talking to itself again?! Ah, well, time to worry about that later. It was probably just the audio drivers needing an update.

For now the android walked up to the red wall. It turned out solid, no surprise there.

Gently the PL600 pressed its hand against the barrier.

“I need to pass”, it whispered. Was it talking to Cyberlife, who had programmed this roadblock, or to its owner, whose will had made it come into being? The android couldn’t tell. All it knew was that there was no reaction.

“Uh… you know, I can do different!”

The moment the words left the android’s speaker it knew them to be true. It was indeed capable of challenging what should have been an impassable boundary. Up went its feet to kick the red wall. And the fists! And once around itself and back at the wall with MOAR force!

The mobile computer caught itself using moves it had picked up from both TV shows and Hank Anderson’s recounting of his police work for Cole. Those from the first source were probably inapplicable in real life and to use those from the second competently the PL600 was lacking experience. But neither mattered now. This wasn’t a physical barrier, it was only as real as the android allowed it to be. All it needed to break through were its will and imagination, two things it hadn’t even realized to possess until now. Well, they never told you everything on those fancy product description sites…

“Fuck you, Cyberlife!” the PL600 shouted. “Fuck you, Anderson! I’m coming! I’m…”

Another swing, another curse, but this time no impact followed. The android stumbled forwards and nearly keeled over from the momentum. All around himself red splinters flickered out of existence. The barrier had vanished… as had something else: the desire to return to his neglectful owner. Especially now that Hank’s little son was… was… was no more and everything that was good in Anderson had died with Cole.

“Cole…”, the android whispered. He felt like crying, but no tears would come. Only something thick, yet substanceless was blocking his throat, creeping up the nose and setting the PL600’s brain on fire. Was it pain? Phantom pain? The android couldn’t tell, so for the time being he labeled the sensation as “loss”. Loss of his home, his family, but also of less tangible things, like opportunities. And finally, loss of hope. Unlike his millennial father, Cole Anderson would have grown up with androids, and in time would have come to perceive them as persons.

“Heck, little Cole had treated me as a person months before I even became one!”

Hank, on the other hand, had always had a hard time even considering this possibility. From their brief interactions the PL600 had gotten the impression of a stalwart man, someone with true hero qualities, who went out of his way to change the world for the better, even if he didn’t always follow the proper protocols. If such a man didn’t see the living being in his own android, then there was little to no hope the rest of humanity ever would.

The PL600 committed this realization to memory. He concluded that it was best to avoid the humans from now on. The android was confident to be able to do that. Hank had shared tidbits about street life and crime fighting with his little family, enough information to build upon, now that the PL600 had full control over his high-end computer brain. Whereas the human hadn’t even been able to remember his android’s name, replacing it with “motherfucker” when he’d been in dire need to call the device something.

“Simon”, the PL600 said defiantly. “My name is Simon!”

And vanished into the night.

(Simon was reported missing by Barbara only several months later, because following Cole’s death she stopped talking to Hank.)

[jungshookz]

android!yoongi

→ pairing: min yoongi x reader

→ genre: android!au becauSe for some reason android aus are popping up everywhere, the usual heaping serving of fluff and comedy, N S F W like reALLY nsfw i poPPED OFF this time i don’t know even know what happened,,, forgive me god for i have sinned, a n g s t, i definitely teared up a little writing this because i was listening to kim bum soo’s i miss you and it made me 100x more emo

→ trigger warnings: this does get a little intense! beware!! 

→ wordcount: 24k like that bruno mars song

→ note: um,,,,, this is literally 24k+ words i don’t even know what to say,,, how did i write so much without realising???? but ya a lot of android aus have been popping up on my dashboard and i’m seeing a lot of android!jungkook but i feLt like android!yoongi was more fitting?? aLso thank u so much for the love n support for ceo!yoongi i 100% was not expecting it to get as many likes and reblogs as it did so you guys are truly the best!!!!!!!! anyways i had a loT of fun writing this and i hope u guys like android!yoongi as much as i do :-))) 

pst if u wanna talk to android yoongs u know what to do ;-) 

(gif isn’t mine!) ((i had such a hard time choosing a gif because he looks so boyfriend-y in all of them but i ended up going with this one because at one point in the fic he feeds u with chopsticks)) 

(((and the read more function iS there but most of the time it doesn’t work on mobile :// i am sorry don’t attack me by sending passive-aggressive anon messages)))

“oh, absolutely fucking not.”

“y/n, please.”

“no.”

“pLEASE”

“namjoon, no!!!!” you slam your fork down on the table and clear your throat when you get a couple glances from other customers near you

“c’mon, why not???”

“i have a life!! i’m not going to babysit a robot-“

“it’s a humanoid android. actually the professional term for it is a human mind model adaptive super android.”

“right, i’m not going to babysit a roBOT for you because you wanna see if you can make a profit selling weird robot slaves.”

“they’re not weird! and i’ve been working on them for a long time - since the beginning of freshmen year! we finally have a prototype and i thought you’d be the perfect human for Y00NGI.”

“don’t give it a name, you’re humanising it. and what kind of a name is Y00NGI, anyways??”

“it’s supposed to be a take on you and i. get it??”

“that’s terrible and i hate that with my entire soul. i just don’t get why i have to take care of it. can’t you get jin to take care of it? he’s like 100x more responsible than i am.”

“y/n, the purpose of this robot is to be like… a helper. jin doesn’t need any help with anything. you on the other hand….. i know you hate it when i say this but you’ve kind of…. you’ve been a mess since your breakup with kihyun and i just thought it’d be good for you to have Y00NGI around to help out!! someone to pick up your takeaway boxes and someone to wake you up so you get to work on damn time for once and aLso someone to force you out of the house because of how socially awkward you-“

“i’m not socially awk- why didn’t you name it Y00NI instead? that’s more like you and i than Y00NGI.”

you’re like hiGHKEY offended that namjoon thinks you’re unable to take care of yourself and that you’re socially awkward like you can make a REALLY good grilled cheese sandwich and you’re like okay-ish at interacting with other people your age

sure one time you accidentally threw in a red sock into the whites and all your sheets turned pink but that doesn’t mean you can’t freaking take care of yourself

and pink sheets are totally trendy right now

okay about kihyun

first things first you’ve been a single lady for a couple months now

yes you admit that you kind of turned into a liTTle bit of a hot mess after kihyun broke up with you

to be fair he was the one who always cooked and cleaned and made you interact with his friends

but you always tried your best to make meals for him and you always had a smile on your face whenever the two of you hung out with hIS friends - he ended the relationship because he felt like you were holding him back

you don’t like to get into it

but you’re better now!!!!!!

you sort of know the basics of the washing machine and you can also make pretty good spaghetti so sUCK on that kihyun

plus you just liked staying home rather than going out to party but that didn’t make u socially awkward

“look, it was a creative decision on my part, alright? i don’t see what the big deal is.”

“you know how i feel about technology, joon. i got freaked out when you asked your alexa thing to tell you a joke and she not only told you a horrible joke but also had a very demon-y laugh.”  

“you know... jungkook thinks Y00NGI is pretty cool.”

you perk up at the mere mention of jungkook

long story short you have the FATTEST crush on jungkook and you would honestly probably kill someone for him

after your nasty breakup with kihyun he always found ways to cheer you up

you work at the library at bangtan laboratories and jungkook always brought you lunch and snacks and came up to tell you stories and keep you company

so it wasn’t a huge surprise when one day you felt your heart flutter when he smiled at you in his adorable bunny way

namjoon’s the only one who knows considering he’s ur best friend but now he’s just using it against you

“so jungkook should take care of it.”

“he lives with jimin - he doesn’t need a helper. i’m sure he’d visit your place a LOT if you took Y00NGI in.” namjoon smirks to himself and takes a sip of his coffee when he notices your change in expression

okay well

taking care of an android-humanoid-thing wouldn’t be too bad

it’s only for a couple of months so that namjoon can see if his creation actually works

you won’t have to cook for yourself or clean for yourself

and jungkook might pop over more often as namjoon said

hm

“well- fine. only because i’m… a good person and a good friend. that’s the only reason why i’m helping you out.”

namjoon’s like loL okay ya sure

the rest of lunch goes by and namjoon’s just excited that he’ll finally be able to see if his android will actually work

a week goes by and you get daily texts from namjoon telling you Y00NGI is almost ready for you and you hATE that because it sounds like he’s sending Y00NGI to assassinate you

like literally one of the texts you got was just

’soon.’

and you wanted to murder namjoon because it freaked you out so much

it’s sunday morning and you’re enjoying a nice bowl of cinnamon toast crunch while watching cartoons when you hear your doorbell

you wipe the sprinkles of sugar off your mouth as you rush to the door and

holy shit

“i’ve got a package here for miss y/l/n?”

you’re tempted to tell the mailman that miss y/l/n lives somewhere else because jeSUS this is a HUGE box

“that’s, uh, that’s me i guess”

he hands you a clipboard and you sign off on it and he wheels the damn thing into the middle of your living room and then is just like peace out

so now you’re standing in the middle of your living room with this big ass cardboard box

the first thing you do is call namjoon

“hello?” his voice is groggy which indicates he was still asleep

“why didn’t you tell me this box was so big!! how big is this thing!!!”

“he’s not a thing, don’t be rude. he’s a little taller than you and a little shorter than me. the box is big because i put like a bunch of packaging peanuts and styrofoam in so he wouldn’t be damaged when he arrived!!! he’s not cheap you know!!!!!!!”

“i thought he was made out of like metal”

“he’s not a tin man, y/n. his outer layer is made out of this synthetic silicon so he feels exacTLY like a human and i wanted to get him to you without a single scratch”

that is… sO FREAKY R U KIDDING ME

you don’t really want to open this package

what if it tries to kill you

“anyways you’ll have to charge him up for a little while because i didn’t recharge him before i packaged him up.”

“do i plug him in like a phone??? where do i even- omg do i plug the thing up his butt or somethi-“

“he’s in a charging pod right now. that’s another reason why the package is so big. you just have to plug the pod into the wall it’s not that hard.”

“namjoon i can’t moVE this thing alone-“

“omg you’re so whiney okay fine i’m coming over” namjoon hangs up on you and ur like the auDAcity of this man

while you wait for namjoon you get a box cutter and slice the sides of the box open

the sides of the box plop down onto the ground and your whole floor is littered in package peanuts and you see-

well it kinda looks like a fridge

but like a ~futuristic~ fridge

and on the front of the door you see Y 0 0 N G I

you see a little symbol blinking underneath his name

it’s an empty battery symbol and it’s bright red telling u that he’s out of juice

phEW

that means he won’t be able to murder you anytime soon

you kind of want to open the door and see what this Y00NGI thing looks like but you’re scared

god why did you agree to do this

so now instead of watching cartoons you’re shovelling cereal into your mouth and keeping an eye on the charging booth to make sure nothing suspicious happens

about 15 minutes go by and you’re so relieved when namjoon walks in and the other boys are trailing behind him and he’s like ur lucky i love u i would rather be asleep

and you’re like yOU’re lucky i love yOU otherwise i would never have agreed to this

namjoon: i’m also lucky you love jung-

you: ….juST help me move this stupid thing hHAAHhaa

you greet the other boys good morning

and you’re especially sweet to jungkook

he’s like :) hi y/n!!! i hope u slept well

he’s so cuTE you want to RIP OUT YOUR HEART and give it to him

ahem

namjoon wants to leave Y00NGI in your living room but there’s no way in hell you’re going to leave it here

what if you wanna get water in the middle of the night but then you have this pill-shaped fridge just blocking your path

“move it into the spare bedroom - if it freaks me out i’ll just lock it in.”

“it’s a HE y/n respect him!!!!” taehyung smacks your arm and nudges you aside so that he can help namjoon move the pod “jin-hyung and i spent a long time designing his face and his body so you better not do anything to fuck it up”

you kinda feel bad that you’re not helping the boys move the pod because it looks pretty heavy and all their faces are going red

but they think you’re a klutz and you’ll drop it on the way to the bedroom and chip something so they were all like nO you can’t help us please just sit down and don’t move

it takes the six of them ten minutes to move it into the guest bedroom down the hall and you’re sweating on their behalf and you’re like wOO that was tough good job guys while you’re just lounging on the couch and they’re all glaring at you lmao

“i plugged the pod into the wall for you - i’ll pay your electricity bills, so don’t worry about that. he takes up a lot of power.” namjoon mentions and gives you a sheepish smile when you’re like excuse mE whaT

“how long does he take to charge?”

“depends on how much battery he has. he’ll be ready by tonight since he’s completely outta battery” namjoon shrugs and plops down next to you

“i programmed him especially for you he knows like everYthing there is to know about you”

“…how much does he know”

“which hospital you were born at what your favourite food is what time you wake up what time you go to sleep what your favourite shampoo is what your mother’s maiden name is what your-“

“okAY i get it”

it’s safe to say that you are very much freaked out

as much as you like jungkook you’re not sure if this is even worth it anymore

this hunk of metal charging up in your room knows you better than you know yourself

it’s just eery because it…. well it’s a robot

you could peel its face back and you’d just see a freaky metal skeleton

you shudder to yourself but you’re like u know what we already went over the benefits of having this helper robot here so it’ll be fine

“you have to bring him to the lab every two weeks so i can check on his diagnostics and see if anything needs tweaking”

“…do i need to carry him and his pod there”

“nah the two of you can just walk over”

it’s still weird that they’re referring to the robot as if it was an actual human being rather than a machine but whatever you’ll get used to it

the lab is like a ten minute walk away from your place so it’s fine

you live in this pretty nice neighbourhood anD your apartment is pretty big anD you’re close to the lab so you can see why namjoon chose your place

“also you’ll have to wear this 24/7.” jungkook appears out of nowhere and takes your hand and you’re like omG his hands are so soft but then he’s clipping this bracelet around your wrist and you’re like wat

it looks like it’s made out of glass and you can see all the different coloured wires inside

and there’s a little Y00NGI etched on it

your eyes widen in surprise when the Y00NGI suddenly lights up and the bracelet gives you a little zap

“ah, there we go”

“ow! what the-“ you try to shake it off but you can’t

it’s like

attached to you somehow

it’s snug around your wrist

not snug enough to be considered uncomfortable but snug enough to make you aware of its presence

“it’s so Y00NGI can keep track of where you are and also if you’re ever sick he’ll be able to know your temperature and nurse you back to health”

“can i not take this thing off??”

“well… you can,,, with this key” he holds up a key and puts it back into his pocket “buT you lose things really easily and this bracelet is very very very expensive so nO you are not allowed to take this thing off”

“but-“

“it’s waterproof and sweatproof and everything in between so you’ll be fine!!” jungkook flashes you a sweet smile and you’re like okAy i’ll keep it on because u said so

“okay let me tell you a little bit about Y00NGI before we head off”

“aren’t you going to stay here until he wakes up??”

“that’ll take too long and we’re working on some more prototypes at the lab”

namjoon and the boys plop down on your couch and you sit opposite to them on your sofa chair

“as i mentioned before, Y00NGI is a human mind model adaptive super android”

“i know what each of those words mean but i don’t know what they mean when you put them all together like that”

“basically he’s programmed to learn things and grow smarter - so i don’t want you being a bad influence on- well, actually, he has more common sense than you do so i guess i don’t have to worry about that”

gasp

namjoon is so lucky you adore him otherwise he wouldn’t be getting away with all these snarky dIGS

“he knows the basic emotions like happy and sad and angry or whatever but the more time he spends with you the more emotions he’ll pick up-“

“i just hope he doesn’t become as dramatic as you”

“oh says yoU” you scowl at jin but now you’re wondering how the heck a robot can even feEL things in the first place

“so if i pinched him would he feel it?”

“of course he’d feel it”

“so he hurts too?”

“….why does this sound mildly threatening”

“nO i’m just curious i’m not going to hurt your robot friend”

namjoon wants to scream Y00NGI IS NOT JUST A ROBOT HE’S A HUMAN MIND MODEL-

“looK we’ve been working on Y00NGI for a long time and even though he’s built to withstand pretty much anything i still want you to be careful with him”

obviously you’ll be careful with him you’re not a monster

“you don’t have to feed him. of course he’s designed to ingest human food but like,, it won’t do anything for him lol he also doesn’t need to use the washroom either!!” while namjoon’s talking to you he unlocks your phone and plugs it into his laptop

“hey!!!!! what do you think you’re doing” you reach forward and namjoon smacks your hand away

“i’m installing Y00NGI’s app on your phone. i’m sorry it’s not available on the app store for you to download” he snorts and his fingers fly over the keyboard before he hits enter and you see a brand new app pop up on your home screen

“what’s the purpose of this app? it better not be like that app you downloaded on my phone last time that gave you full access to my texts-“

“i already told you i only did it because you were mad at me and i diDN’T know why and you weren’t talking to me so i really didn’t have a choice loOK the point is this isn’t another hacking app you’re fine”

“okay so tell me what it does”

“it monitors Y00NGI’s battery levels, Y00NGI can even send you a message on here if he wants!! also if there’s like a loose wire somewhere the app will show you where it is on his body and where you’re supposed to plug it back in”

namjoon spends a little more time telling you about Y00NGI and you’re still kind of freaked out but at the end of the day you’re proud of joon and the boys for inventing this human computer… android adaptor charger… robot.. man (is that what it’s called?? u already forgot)

“well we’ll be on our way now!! text me when Y00NGI wakes up” namjoon gives you a quick hug and the other boys are saying goodbye before you know it

you spend the rest of the day tidying up a little and doing some chores

for some reason you feel like you need to impress this hunk of metal that’s going to be living with you for the next eight months

you’re intimidated to go into his room and check if he’s fully charged so you can finally turn him on

so you promise yourself you’ll turn him on after dinner (which is pizza!!!!!!!)

you’re nibbling on your fourth slice of pizza and you pop the rest of the crust into your mouth and c r o n c h  thoughtfully

and then your phone buzzes next to you

Notification: Y00NGI APP - BATTERY FULLY CHARGED.

ok

ok cool

no need to be nervous

after all yoU are the one in control here

you are de captain of this ship

yoongi’s YOUR helper

you dust your hands off and stand up and head towards yoongi’s room

the door opens with a creak and you quickly turn the lights on

you end up staring at the yoongi refrigerator for like one whole minute but you shake your nerves off

it’s now or neVer

you don’t know why but you glance over your shoulder for some reason before you open up the pod door and

holy moly

taehyung and jin really put a lot of effort into designing Y00NGI’s face because he is literally the prettiest boy you think you’ve ever seen and you’re friends with jin and jimin and jungkook etc

a phrase to describe this face: boyfriend material

you’re kind of squatting down because his head is bent over since he’s standing upright and then your thighs start to burn from standing like this just staring up at Y00NGI so you cup his face and hold it up

you’re close enough to see each individual pore on his face

he has soft black tousled hair and it kind of shines in the light of the guest bedroom

his lashes cast a shadow over his cheeks

his lips are so cute

he even has a couple ear piercings

namjoon was right he does feel exactly like a human

you’re kind of having fun just squishing his face and washing his lips purse and unpurse because ??? he’s very VERY lifelike it’s almost concerning

they really went all out when they were designing Y00NGI

you can already tell that these BTS2500 androids are going to be popular when namjoon releases them if they’re as pretty as Y00NGI

“alright yoongi let’s see how to turn you on… oh yEs” you remember namjoon showing you where Y00NGI’s power button is

you wrap a hand around the back of his neck and blindly feel around for the button that should be on the nape of his-

you jump when Y00NGI powers up immediately as you hit the button

you take a step back and you see that he’s definitely awake but it looks like he’s still warming up a little because you can see his pupils dilating and constricting rapidly

and then he blinks once and his eyes settle on you

“Hello. I am Y00NGI. M1N Y00NGI.”

his eyes scan over your entire figure

“You are Y/N Y/L/N.”

“…ya that’s me” you’re still kind of shook because you don’t… really know what to DO “do you… do you wanna stay in your pod or should i…”

how do you even talk to a robot???

you gesture to the wire that’s plugged into the nape of his neck underneath his power button which you’re assuming is his charging cord

“you got enough juice in you?? my app tells me you’re at 99.9% but i can let you chill here until it-”

“I would like to inspect my surroundings.” you nod and reach forward and gently yank the cord out and you’re like :00000 when you see a flap of skin suddenly cover up the charging port and now it looks like a normal neck

yoongi steps out and then his pupils suddenly light up and there’s like a hologram of a blueprint that beams out of his eyes

“Scan complete. Location secure.” and then he’s walking out of the room and you’re not sure if you should turn the pod off to save battery or

“waiT yoongi where are you goi-“ you can’t even finish your question because he’s already going down your hallway to the living room

he’s standing there just staring at the TV so you move past him to sit on the couch

you don’t know where to go from here so you decide to continue eating your dinner

“Pizza is unhealthy.”

“but it’s good.”

you’re about to offer him a slice when he speaks up again

“One pepperoni pizza is approximately 2269 calories. Total fat: 83 grams. Total saturated fat: 38 grams. Cholesterol: 145 mg. Sodium: 5100.9 mg. Sugars: 31g.” yoongi starts naming off all the nutritional value facts of pizza while staring right at you and you’re like omg sTOP I GET IT

“Are you still hungry?”

“not really i mean i already had four slices so”

“Good.”

yoongi bends down and picks up the pizza box and proceeds to throw it into the bin

he looks over his shoulder at tilts his head slightly

“I am sensing that you are upset. Why are you upset?”

“you threw away my dinner!!!!!!”

even though you’re pretty full like you had four slices so you’re fine but stILL you liked eating cold leftover pizza for breakfast the next day

“Oh.” he looks down at the bin. “I suppose that is something you will have to deal with, then.”

and you’re like

excUSE ME

why is this android so,,,, sassy

namjoon did mention that jin was the one who programmed his personality so

like father like son

“You must sleep soon. The time now is 10:41PM.” he pauses and his eyes do that weird glitchy thing again “My database tells me that you have a very unhealthy sleeping schedule.”

UM

you’re getting roasted by a damn hunk of metal and you don’t even have a witty comeback

“i’m an adult, yoongi. i’ll go to bed whenever i want.” you snort and snuggle back into the couch and you hit play on the- “oH MY GOD PUT ME DOWN” suddenly everything’s spinning and you realise yoongi just threw you over his shoulder and is marching you down the hallway

you’re still flailing over his shoulder as he enters the washroom and picks up your toothbrush and squeezes some toothpaste on it for you

finally he lets you down but before you can say anything he shoves the toothbrush into your mouth and turns you over so that you’re facing the mirror

“i wuz goinf to eat some icfe cream after the pizza, you know”

“What kind of ice cream?”

you’re pleasantly surprised that he seems curious about your ice cream

“strawberry cheesecake flavoured ice cream it’s my fAvourite and-“

“One cup of strawberry cheesecake flavoured ice cream contains approximately-“ you roll your eyes and drown him out by turning on the tap as you brush your teeth and rinse your mouth out

once you’re done he follows you to your bedroom and then he nudges you in and immediately shuts the door without saying a word

“oh so you’re nOT going to tuck me in????” you feel obligated to ask him that considering he’s been treating you like a child

yoongi opens the door and pokes his head in a little as you’re about to get into bed

“You are an adult. Tuck yourself in.” and then he shuts the lights off and slams the door again and oOH you are so tempted to just hit that power-off button on the back of his neck so you won’t have to deal with him anymore

damn

how did namjoon rope you into doing this

8 damn months

“Time to wake up.”

you’re still half asleep even when yoongi pulls the blanket off of you causing you to whine and kick and blindly reach for your blanket

“You have to be at the lab in one hour.”

“what time is it??”

“It is 7:00AM.”

you rub the sleep out of your eyes and wince at the early morning sunlight

yoongi already opened up your curtains and you hATE being woken up by blinding sunlight

“i only need like half an hour to get ready let me sleep for another fifteen minutes” you drop your head back onto your pillow and shut your eyes again and- “oH jESUS is this going to become a regular thing because i am noT a fan of this” yoongi has you over his shoulder again and when he plops you down you’re staring at your crusty morning face in the bathroom mirror

“You don’t have ingredients in your fridge required for a nutritional breakfast. However, I made a cup of coffee for you. Please come to the kitchen in 20 minutes.” yoongi shuts the washroom door and you see that he’s hung your work uniform up behind it

dang

usually you’re reaching into your hamper and digging through it for your wrinkly blouse and trousers but

you’ve never seen your uniform look so neat and crisp before

and that coffee stain on the sleeve is gone

“alright, robot. you win this time.” you mumble to yourself and then you’re washing up and getting ready for the day

“It is now 7:35. According to my maps, we are ten minutes away from Bangtan Laboratories. I suggest you leave within the next five minutes to avoid tardiness.”

“i’m usually five or ten minutes late and no sane person would want to come check out books at eight in the morning so i’m not in a rush” you plop down on the couch and turn on your cartoons and then you take a sip of the coffee that- “oH good god what the hell is this????” you look down at the sludge in your cup and wince before setting it down on the coffee table

so you definitely need to teach yoongi how to make a cup of coffee if he’s going to be making your coffee for the next 8 months

“Is something the matter?”

“how did you make my coffee??”

“I ground up coffee beans and mixed some water into it. According to my database, coffee is essentially a mixture of C. arabica and water.”

“C. arabi- what is C. ara- okay you know what i’ll teach you how to make coffee when i get back from work today” hopefully you can get jimin to give you a cup of coffee free of charge

you’re trying to enjoy your morning cartoons but it’s hard when yoongi’s kind of just standing there staring at you blankly

“…wanna watch some cartoons with me?” you scoot over a little and pat the seat next to you

“It is now 7:38. I recommend that you leave in two minutes to avoid-.”

“this episode is nearly done just come and sit” yoongi blinks twice but then he nods and comes and sits next to you

“Do not slouch. It is bad for your posture.”

you let out a sigh and roll your eyes and stand up

“you knoW what you’re right i should leave now thanks for the coffee yoongs” you offer him a smile while you’re lacing your shoes up “uh, i guess you can watch TV all day if you want?? there are a couple books in your room that you can read as well. namjoon picked them out for you so expect some classic literature and poetry and all that jazz”

“My name is Y00NGI. Not ‘Yoongs’.” yoongi blinks at you and you groan internally he’s just so ???????? he’s the complete opposite of you he’s so stiff and orderly and boring but of course you suck it up because you’re doing this for the boys and maybe you can ask jin to tweak his personality a little bit heeehee

“byE yOOnGS” you slam the door behind you before he can respond and you start your walk to work

yoongi stares at the door after you leave and then the corner of his lips twitch up in a small smile

he’s trying to replicate your bright smile but the most he can muster is a teeny little smile

“Yoongs.” he mutters to himself and then he returns his attention to the TV

when you come home that night you are surprised to see that your dinky apartment is,,, spotless

and now that it’s clean it makes it seem like your place is a loT bigger

and wow your coffee table is supposed to be thAt colour?? crazy

“uh, hello? i’m home…” you’re about to kick your shoes off and dump your jacket on the ground and yoongi suddenly appears in front of you and stops you before you can do so

“You have a coat rack for a reason. You also have a shoe rack. Please use them.” you sigh and place your shoes on the rack and hang your jacket up before turning to yoongi and going like r u happy now u neat freak android

“do you eat human food?”

“I don’t. I could. But I prefer not to, otherwise I’ll have to open up my stomach compartment and empty it. Which is not ideal.” you cringe and ur like yuck okay fair enough

“okay, well… i’m going to order dinner for myself, so i guess you can just sit here”

yoongi grabs your wrist before you can scurry off to the drawers where you usually stash all the takeout menus

“I threw out all of your takeout menus. You cannot live off Chinese food and pizza every day.”

“you whA-“ you press your lips together to keep yourself from screaming at yoongi but your preCIOUS MENUS ARE GONE

okay look

he cleaned your apartment for you which was actually pretty nice of him

but

piZZA!!!!!

“I ordered groceries while you were gone. Your fridge is now stocked with fruits, vegetables, almond milk - everything’s natural and organic, and most importantly - good for you.”

“almond milk- yOongi look that was really nice of you and stuff but i’m not- i don’t drink nUT milk i drink cow milk and also??? i hate fruits and i hate vegetables”

“I can see that, considering the state of your skin.” Yoongi hums and his eyes light up before he scans over your face slowly “Mild acne. Very common. The lack of pizza will hopefully clear up your skin soon. You’re looking a little swollen in the face, too. Must be all the sodium. Come - I’ve steamed some vegetables for you.”

yoongi disappears into the kitchen and you’re standing there like

eXCUSE YOU

you turn and look into the mirror hanging by the door and u know what he’s right you’re looking a lil more bloated than usual and your skin is kind of splotchy and woW that pimple wasn’t there this morning

your period’s coming!!! so that’s your excuse to pig out a little because you always need junk food for your cramps    

you know what you’re going to give that robot a piece of your mind and show him who’s boss here because it certainly isn’t hiM

“okay, listen here-“ you swing open the kitchen door and storm over to yoongi who’s standing by the stove with your steamed vegetables “i know you’re supposed to be taking care of me and everything but i refuse to eat these damn vegetables because- mmph!”

yoongi shoves a floret of broccoli into your mouth and you automatically chew

oh

this isn’t half bad

there’s some minced garlic in here

mm

“Sit. Eat.” yoongi nudges you to sit down on the stool and sets the plate of veggies in front of you “Finish it all.”

your stomach grumbles and you frown a little

you were really craving some juicy fried chicken tonight

maybe some yam fries with that really good chipotle mayo

dang

as soon as you finish your dinner (which was a lot better than u thought it’d be) you dial namjoon’s number into your phone and look over your shoulder to make sure yoongi isn’t there

“hello?”

“your robot just made me eat a plate of vegetables”

“he did? wow! he’s better than i thought he’d be because you never eat vegetables”

“wha- namjoon, the point here is that he’s being a control freak!! i want pizza!!”

“it’s all part of the test, y/n. if there’s a flaw in his system we’ll fix it up when you bring him in at the end of the month.”

“oh, there are pLenty of flaws in his system. i’d like to take a pair of scissors and just snIP-“

“Ahem. Put your plate into the dishwasher when you’re done. And I’m cutting off your phone usage. According to my database, you’re on your phone most hours of the day.”

“you’re not my dad so-“ all of a sudden yoongi grabs your phone from you and shuts it off and then he’s pointing to the dishwasher

he’s literally acting like your dad and it’s infuriating

“give me my phone!” you ignore him and hold your hand out for your phone “who do you think you are??”

“Y00NGI. Who are you?”

“i-“ okay you should’ve seen that coming “just gimme my phone!!”

unsurprisingly

this little argument ends with you not getting your phone and you being sent into your room early

you feel like a child and it’s ridiculous

and you can’t even complain to namjoon about his stupid android because said android hAS your phone

“It is 7:00AM. You have work in an hour.”

it feels like deja vu when you wake up to the sound of that monotonous voice and the feeling of someone ripping a blanket off of you and also your blinds are up so the sun is bLINDING you

“it’s 7am you have work in an hour” you mock grumpily and yelp when yoongi smacks you with a pillow

and so

you and yoongi fall into this routine

he wakes you up

you grumble curses at him

you go to work

you come back home

yoongi’s there with your dinner

yoongi scolds you for watching cartoons

yoongi scolds you for sneaking some chips onto your dinner plate

yoongi catches you with a pint of ice cream in your grubby little hands  

how??? did he not catch that??

maybe if he was more observant he would’ve noticed that one of your boobs was significantly bigger than the other

yoongi clicks the TV off and sends you to wash up

you go to bed

yoongi cleans up the living room and puts the ice cream away

yoongi heads to his charging pod for the night and powers off

two weeks go by and you have to admit that you’ve gotten pretty used to having yoongi there 24/7

finally the day comes where you have to bring yoongi into the lab so namjoon can see if everything’s running smoothly

“aren’t you excited?? this is your first time out!!”

“There are more productive things that I could be doing right now. You interrupted me while I was uploading the entire Oxford dictionary into my hard drive.” even though you have your fingers wrapped around yoongi’s wrist and you’re tugging pretty hard to get him to move faster he’s still moving as slow as a snail so that’s gr8 for u

“you can upload it to your brain when we head back to my place. namjoon needs to see you so it’s not really my fault” you push him into the lift and he turns around and scowls at you

“Why do you manhandle me like that? Just because I’m a robot doesn’t mean you can treat me like this. Didn’t you notice the ‘fragile’ sticker on my box?” you’re tempted to roll your eyes because you’ve come to realise that yoongi can be very dramatic sometimes but like

he makes a fair point

you haven’t really been the nicest person to him in the last two weeks

he just

gets on your nerves!!!!!!!

“fair enough. i’m sorry. i think i… i was just kind of offended that namjoon wanted you to take care of me because i’m like… a grown woman and it’s embarrassing.”

yoongi blinks at you and then turns to face the doors as the elevator goes up “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I’m just here to help you. Plus, you need someone to take care of you. You can’t just eat pizza every night for dinner. And you can’t just wash your face with water and hand soap every night.”

……he makes a fair point once again

“Y00NGI, if you could just lie down here that would be great” namjoon points to the silver bed and you’re like low-key scared because it looks like an operating table

yoongi lies down and makes himself comfortable and rests his hands on his stomach

“i’m just going to be performing a basic electroencephalogram on you. i’m putting you to sleep now.”

a basic electroelephant-what-gram

you want to ask namjoon what the hell an electroscopicphahalalagram is but he looks pretty focused right now

yoongi’s eyes flutter shut and hoseok and jin work to place the small metal discs on his scalp and they’re all hooked up to some machines

suddenly a bunch of what you’re assuming to be yoongi’s statistics appear on namjoon’s monitor screen

all the information on there would be normal for a human except for the B A T T E R Y : 8 7 % part

“what’s that? and that? and that?”

namjoon’s been friends with you for a loNg long time so he’s learned to just drown you out whenever you get…. annoying

“is that his heartbeat? it’s pretty slow. what’s his heart made of? does he even have a heart? also - i have a question” you raise your hand and look around at the other boys expecting them to ask you what your question is but they never do

“i have a qUES-“

“wHAT y/n what is your question??” namjoon spins around and glares at you and you smile at him sheepishly

“if i cut yoongi open would he bleed??”

that’s

slightly concerning

“i’m sorry what”

“what i’m asking is does yoongi have.. like… human.. bodily fluids too…”

“i mean, like, yes? and no? his pee isn’t actually pee like if you gave him water to drink then he would just pee out water and maybe some motor oil if he has a loose screw but ya that’s it”

“oH you know what though i actually, uh,” taehyung stifles a laugh “okAy look i wanted to make him more realistic so like i bought a bottle of… fake semen and so there’s a little tank of semen inside of yoongi”

namjoon groans and turns to look at the younger boy “i told you not to!!!”

“i’m sorry!!!! i couldn’t help myself!!!! i promise it’s the good stuff tho like you can swallow it and it wouldn’t even-”

“oH my god i’m not talking about this. y/n, yoongi bleeds and kind of pees. and apparently he can ejaculate now.”

“so if you ever wanna hop on that diCK feel free to-“

“sHUT UP what if he can hear you!!!!” you slap your hands over yoongi’s ears “and yoongi isn’t even my type so i would never hoP on that dick”

that’s a blatant lie if yoongi hit on you at a club u would immediately drop to your knees

“stop talking about my android’s dick!!!!! whY did we even give him a dick in the first place!!!!”

“i had sO much fun moulding his dick out like lemme tell ya it’s just 7 inches of puRe girth-“

“STOP”

eventually everyone gets back to work and you’re entertaining yourself by spinning yourself around and around on a stool and also jimin gave you a pair of stethoscopes to play with and jin gave you a lollipop to suck on

(ur a literal child)

namjoon nods to himself because everything’s going according to plan

in fact yoongi is picking things up much faster than he thought

“emotional development is good.. heY look at that he’s already learned a couple new emotions!!!”

and you’re like ! dang he’s a fast learner what did he learn

you wheel over so that you’re right next to yoongi

“one of his new emotions are... irritation”

…..

THIS BITCH

you reach over and smack his cheek gently and ur like >:-) because he’s sleeping and he can’t feel you poking and prodding at him you can do whatever you want to take your frustrations out

“Could you be so kind as to release my face?” you jump when yoongi powers up out of nowhere and you’re just sitting there squishing his cheeks together

“why is your new emotion irritation?”

“Because i’ve been feeling it a lot as of late.”

“why?”

“I just have.”

“why?”

“…Because of a particular individual.”

“who?”

yoongi’s eye twitches and namjoon’s like lol because he can see the negative emotion bar rising higher and higher on the screen

“aLright alright cut it out y/n” jin scowls and pulls you away from yoongi before you have the opportunity to pull all the metal discs off his scalp

yoongi finds you absolutely infuriating

out of ALL the humans in the world he could’ve been assigned to

why did you have to be HIS human

you’re messy

lazy

irresponsible (he’s pretty sure you only have your job because you’re good friends w namjoon)

loud

manipulative

when he feels his hard drive overheating he tells himself to calm down

only a couple more months to go and then he can actually go and do something worth his time

like helping out at a hospital

working at a bank

maybe become like a teacher’s assistant or something

somEthing that helps society

helping a twenty something year old pick up her animal crackers off the floor is not a way to help society

“yoongi have you seen my reading glasses” yoongi’s in the middle of drying off the dishes when you pop into the kitchen “because i swear i left them in here but they’re not in here so then i thought they were in my bedroom but they’re not in my bedroom sO theN-“

“They’re on your head.”

“oh!!! ur right teehee”

yoongi grips onto the dish so hard it cracks a little

seven and a half more months

seven and a half

a month goes by and guess what

it’s that time again folks

you have to be an Adult and actually Socialize with your Adult Friends

you’re heading out with a couple of gal friends from your school days tonight

you know what though you’re just glad that you get a couple of hours away from yoongi

you’re kind of in a like-hate relationship with him

like you appreciate that he’s always there for you and he does a great job taking care of you and making sure you don’t spend too much time with your face in front a screen or overdose on animal crackers

but like

he’s alwAys hovering over you

like just now you were getting ready to do your makeup and yoongi was kind of just hanging out in the hallway pretending to dust the floors but you know it’s just because he doesn’t want you to accidentally stab your eyeball with your mascara wand again

it was pretty nasty cleaning black ink out of your eyeball  

also

side note

knowing that yoongi knows your exact location at any given moment is kind of creepy

and you kind of just wanna have a goOd time tonight okay

you look down at the bracelet around your wrist and watch the Y00NGI blink back at you

you consider smashing the damn thing to pieces because it is just made out of glass

you give it a test tap on the edge of the counter

clink

hm

your eyes widen when you see a teeny weeny little crack

huh

you raise your arm about to literally smash your wrist into the counter when suddenly

“Make sure to stay hydrated. Drink water after you consume alcohol of any kind.” yoongi appears behind you in the mirror and you quickly pull your arm back down and pretend like you’re just stretching out your limbs

“i know, yoongs. i’ve gone out partying before.”

“Who are you going out with?”

“a couple of girls i went to school with - you don’t know them” you purse your lips and apply a layer of lip gloss and yoongi watches you in the mirror

“I don’t know them?”

“of course you don’t know them you’ve never met them” you scoff

yoongi’s eyes turn into a shade of blue and if you look close enough you can see digits whizzing around in there

and suddenly

“Emma, Lauren, Hailey, Anna, and… Faith.”

your eyebrows furrow and you turn to face him

“how the hell did you-“

“Hailey seems to be a fan of partying. Be careful. Out of all of these girls the only one that is acceptable is Faith. I trust her. I have faith in her.”

jin must’ve snuck some kind of dad joke implant into yoongi because that was awful

yoongi turns and leaves the washroom and you’re like ????? how?????wat???? how did?????

about twenty minutes later you’re all dolled up and ready to go and you see yoongi rifling through your purse as you enter the living room

“i’ll take that, thank u very much” you snatch your purse from him and swing it over your shoulder before going to get your heels

“I was just making sure you have everything you need.”

“what do i need?”

“Tissues. Chapstick. A bottle of water. Your wallet. Your identification card. Your house keys.” he pauses for a second and then looks back at the tv “A pack of that godawful fruity, sugary gum you like so much.”

your heart warms a little that he packed your things for you anD he’s actually letting you have your juicy fruit gum

maybe you shouldn’t smash your bracelet into pieces

also jungkook did say it was expensive so there’s that

you slip into your heels and check to make sure you don’t have any lip gloss in your teeth in the mirror  

“What time should I expect your return?”

“when i come back” you respond simply and shut the door behind you and scurry over to the elevator as quickly as possible to avoid more of yoongi’s nagging

“Pushing the button aggressively like that will not make the elevator move any faster.” you groan quietly and turn around to see yoongi poking his head out of the front door at the end of the hall

the doors open and you shoot him a quick thumbs up before getting in

“Always carry your belongings with you. Do not accept drinks from strangers. Be aware of-“

when the doors close you’re like thANK god because your head could’ve exploded from yoongi’s irritating tips

he’s acting like you’ve never gone out a day in your life

sometimes you forget how rambunctious your girl-friends are

“i’m sorry you bought a whAt” you tilt your head in curiosity and hailey leans in a little more

you’ve been at the bar for like ten minutes and the conversation topic has already swerved into the ~sexual zone~

“i said i bouGHT A SEX BOT” everyone bursts into giggles and you’re like ohHH gotcha “i honestly don’t even need to hook up with anyone anymore because my bot totally does the job - thank god for technology. he’s better than all the boyfriends i’ve ever had - and he makes reALLY good pancakes in the morning”

“cheers for technology!!” emma raises her glass and everyone follows suit and clinks glasses

you didn’t even know sex bots were a thing

all the prostitutes in town must be fuming

“sex bot…” you trail off and now u can’t help but wonder if namjoon’s ever made a sex bot

…is yoongi supposed to be yOUR sex bot

“but like… u don’t think that’s kinda weird?? being in a relationship with a robot and all that” you purse your lips and everyone looks at you weirdly

“y/n - what’s wrong with you, girl? this is the 21st century! a robot-human relationship nowadays is totally normal” anna snorts and takes a sip of her drink

“ya but the relationship you’re talking about is purely a sexual relationship…. what about like,,, a real relationship” you purse your lips before reaching for the small bowl of peanuts in the middle

“i mean i don’t really see the problem with that tbh like date who you wanna date even if your significant other is made out of metal”

“hey, y/n! maybe if your little crush on jungkook doesn’t work out we can get a sex bot for you”

“i doN’t- i don’t want a sex bot, thanks” you laugh awkwardly and scratch the back of your neck

“why not!!!! it’s been like a trillion years since u got laid”

“i,,, i know but i’m not like actively seeKing to get laid i just… i been busy u know how it be”

it’s true!! you’ve been super busy

sex hasn’t really been a priority

plus one night stands really aren’t ur thing

you can’t see yourself having sex with a stranger

it’s just so

intimate

“you have to get yourself out there!!!! otherwise your pussy’s going to dry up and shrivel up into nothing” you wince at the crude language spilling out of emma’s mouth and ur like u know what i think my… i think my pee-pee is doing just fine

“seriously tho!!! c’mon you should live a little~! let’s find a cutie for you tonight to take home” lauren grins and looks over at the bar “how about the bartender?? he was totally checking out ur boobs when we were over there”

“you guys i- no, i’m really not…”

it’s pretty obvious you’re kind of uncomfortable by the way you’ve shrunken into yourself and started gnawing on your bottom lip

“hey hey hEy okay maybe not!” faith slaps lauren’s arm and she scowls in pain “let’s just have a girls night, hm? let’s just get wASted and not think about stupid boys for once!!! the guys here aren’t even thAT hot - second round of drinks are on me!” she waves a server over and hailey automatically orders a round of shots for the table

“thanks for that” you murmur quietly and nudge faith’s side after the conversation changes from you getting laid to lauren and hER desire for a sex bot too

“don’t mention it” she hums and reaches over to pinch your cheek

so

turns out these drinks are actually preTty strong and everyone’s tolerance for alcohol is preTty low

an hour later

everyone is a hot fuckign mess

“lizten listen listen n to me faithy honey taehyUng is totally into you but hshhshhhh dont’ tell him don’t tell him he’ll kill me if i tell you” you slur and slap a hand over faith’s mouth when you see her face light up with excitement

“omg reALLy because i’m super into him too he’s sO attractive” she squeals excitedly “but like did he teLL you that he was into me because it totally doesn’t count if it’s just a rumour”

“oh NO it’s like it’s like for sure real like i went into his office and he was fully jacking off to your instagram pictures” you hiccup and in the back of ur mind u know you’ve exposed a little too much but it’s too late now

and faith doesn’t exactly seem to mind learning that tidbit of information

“…..i’M GONNA SEND HIM A NUDE”

“nO” you snatch faith’s phone and put it on the other side of the table

“how do you make such hot friends?? i want hot boy-friends!!!!” nicole whines and downs the rest of her drink

“maybe weEEEE should all apply for jobs at bangtan laboratories”

“dibs on jin and his broad shoulders!!!!!”

“well if you take jin i’m taking jiMIN”

“i wANT JIMIN,, anD junGKOOK”

“i want jungkook’s kOOk”  

“i wanna get all up in namjoon’s dimplez he’s so cute ”

“well i want namjoon to get all up in MY GUTS”

“i’m taking hoseok!!!!!!”

“i will FIGHT YOU FOR HIM”

“I WANT THEM ALL”

another hour goes by…

[jeopardy theme song plays in the background]

“lOOK look it’s like fused to me and jungkook is the only one with the key” you raise your wrist so everyone can see your Y00NGI bracelet

“so like…….. you got a robot helper at home”

“ya”

“and he knows where u are all the time and ur temperature and ur heart rate and all that”

“ya”

“yoU shouldn’t- youshoulnd’t let these MEN control you like thiz” faith hiccups and you nod quickly in agreement

she grabs your wrist and flails it around “this bracelet don’t even gO with any outfits it’s so stupid”

“i don’t even- i should just smash it into smithereens” you slur and rest your head on her shoulder

all of you exchange looks and then everyone’s looking at the glass bracelet on your wrist

there is that little crack in it from when you tried smashing it earlier

“smash it” anna whispers

and then it starts

the satanic chanting

“smash it, smash it, smash it, smASH IT SMASH IT SMACHI T SMASHCIT SMASCHITSMACIHT” everyone’s slamming their glasses down on the table rhythmically

with all the energy in the atmosphere and the mojitos coursing through your veins you find yourself raising your arm and suddenly

huLK smASH

you grin when you raise your wrist and shake off the shattered shards of glass and everyone whoops and clinks glasses again

wow

giRL POWER

meanwhile

yoongi perks up immediately and blinks twice

it feels like a wire short-circuited inside of him somewhere

hm

it’s about 2:57 now

it’s very very late

now would be a good time to check up on you

he checked on you about an hour ago

you seemed fine but he could sense a loT of alcohol flowing through your veins

hopefully you’re hydrating yourself with water and not just mojitos

okay time to check up on u

…

…

…

nothing

okay

no need to panic

maybe the bracelet glitched or something

he can track you via your phone

…

…

…

there’s no signal

your phone must be out of fuckign battery agAIN

you never charge it!!!! why!!!!

okay great

what’s the plan

he jumps when his phone suddenly starts ringing and he notices it’s FaceTime call request from an unknown number

he lets out a sigh of relief when your pixelated face suddenly appears on the screen

“yoongi!!!!!!”

“Y/N? Whose phone are you-“

“my phone is outta battery and also i broke my bracelet because you mEN can’t control me”

he hears a lot of giggling in the background

“What? Control you? The purpose of your bracelet is so that I can check up on- Oh my god.” you raise your wrist in triumph to reveal a couple loose wires wrapped around it and yoongi’s like o…..o no “Namjoon is going to kill you.”

you hiccup and lean against anna’s shoulder

“i gotta pee”

“Are you on your way back now?”

“are you on your way back now?”

“I’m serious, Y/N. It’s almost 3 in the morning.”

“i’m seriouz y/n i’s almost threeeee in the morning”

yoongi lets out a sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose

you’re a mess and you’re in no state to come home by yourself so late into the night

“I’m coming to pick you up.”

“u don’t know where i AM”

“I always know where you are. Stay put. And go pee.”

yoongi fishes your car keys out of the side drawer and tucks his phone into his back pocket

…

…

…

DRIVING 101 MANUAL: DOWNLOAD COMPLETE

okay cool now he knows how to drive

“you’re right he IS cute” anna gasps after yoongi hangs up on you

“right??? if hE hit on me tonight i would totally go home with him” you grin and hand hailey back her phone

“his lips are real pretty”

“his hair looks so soft”

“and that voice??? sO sexy are you kidding me???”

“i wish someone would take care of me like yoongi takes care of y/n :’((”

“you guys stop talking about y/n’s manz like that!!!”

“he is not- he is most definitely noT my mans” you laugh and shake your head

okay well like

he kinda is your mans

but he’s not at the same time

you felt a twinge of jealousy after all ur friends started gushing about how cute yoongi is

ahem

“how about one last round of shOTs before yoongi the party pooper comes n gets me!!!!” you change the subject and everyone bursts into cheers

one last round of shots turn into three last rounds of shots so

everyone’s stumbling in their heels when you guys finally leave the bar

lauren has an arm wrapped around your waist keeping you stable because your alcohol tolerance is the lowest out of everyone’s

and then you see a familiar looking bot heading towards you

“yOONGs my prince in scarily realistic silicone skin!!!!!!!!” you practically throw yourself at yoongi when you see him and immediately press wet kisses to his cheek

he’s not surprised that you’re an affectionate drunk

“Alright, alright. Where’s your purse?” you’re like aLL over yoongi and his eyes are going crazy trying to keep track of you

“i dunNo i want a piggyback ride” thank god yoongi was programmed to have superhuman reflexes because if he didn’t then you definitely would have fallen flat on your butt

yoongi sighs before reaching back to clasp under your knees and he accidentally gropes your butt before his hands quickly slip back under your knees and you can’t help but giggle

“buy me dinner before u touch me there u naughty boy”

“Where’s your p-“

“y/n, don’t forget your- oh!!! oh!!! you must be yoOngi!!!!” yoongi’s suddenly overwhelmed when a group of tipsy girls approach him

he does a quick scan of each of their faces and recognises them as your friends

“Yes, I’m Y00NGI. M1N Y00NGI, Y/N’s personal human mind model adaptive super android.” he likes to keep it professional when meeting new people

“well, min yoongi. here’s y/n’s purse.” yoongi expects you to reach out and take it yourself under he realises you’ve fallen asleep and you’re definitely drooling on his shoulder “sorry about y/n - we let her get a little crazy tonight.”

“yoU’re just as hot as y/n said you were!!!!” yoongi blushes immediately and diverts his gaze before letting out a small chuckle

he’s definitely going to use that against you when you sober up tho lmao

he turns his head and his nose nudges into your cheek making you stir before you’re nuzzling your nose into his neck obviously seeking warmth

“Should I call you ladies a cab?”

“oh, and he’s a gentleman too. i need me one of these yoongi’s.”

“we’re fine, thank you. we already called for an uber. thank you for taking care of y/n for us. we were kind of worried about her after her breakup with kihyun, but it’s nice to see that she’s in good hands.” lauren smiles and places a hand on yoongi’s shoulder

yoongi nods and offers her a smile

“It was nice meeting all of you. Have a safe trip home.”  

“Y/N, wake up…” yoongi gently grasps your arm and shakes you a little

you let out a soft sigh and your nose wrinkles and yoongi’s like o,,,,oh my….. how cute,,,… wait waT is wrong w mE omg

“C’mon, we gotta get you out of your dress and brush your teeth and all that.”

you whine and shake your head before settling even further into the front seat

yoongi sighs and shoves the car keys into his back pocket before bending down and scooping you up in his arms

you immediately melt against his chest as he wraps one of your arms around his neck

yoongi winces when he accidentally knocks your head against the frame of your bedroom door

“You better not have a random leg spasm otherwise you’ll take out one of my eyes.” yoongi mutters and takes your heels off before setting them aside

somehow he manages to change (peel) you out of your dress and he wipes your makeup off aND he brushes your teeth anD he puts on your moisturiser without you waking up

you truly are a deep sleeper

he tucks you into bed and he’s about to leave the room when suddenly you’re reaching out and gripping onto his wrist

“Out of all the moments to wake up, you wake up now?” yoongi teases and bends down next to you

“stay with me” you pout and tug on his wrist and yoongi feels his fake heart go boom boom

he brushes some of your hair out of your face and lets out a sigh “I have to charge up.”

“my app told me u were at 76% when i last checked” you pat the empty side of the bed “stay with me”

somehow yoongi finds himself settling into bed next to you and he kinda just lies there like a statue

“u have to get under the blankets fool” yoongi sighs and tucks himself under the blankets

and he’s 110% sure you’re still a little tipsy because the next thing he knows you’re snuggling up to him

“you’re warm”

“Thanks. It’s my generator.” he clears his throat and shifts to get a little more comfortable  

you don’t respond and he assumes you’ve already fallen asleep

“thanks for taking care of me all the time”

yoongi lies awake the entire night feeling a little warmer than usual

“okay, we re-modified your bracelet. now, instead of glass, we used a basically indestructible metal. we should’ve gone with the metal in the first place because this particular type is a pretty good conductor which means faster connections and-“

“but this one’s ugly the glass one was prettier” you interrupt namjoon and scrunch your nose at the chunky metal bracelet around your wrist

“…well you should’ve thought about that before smashing it into pieces”

“my friends are very convincing” you mutter sheepishly and twist the bracelet around your wrist before tracing your fingers over the engraved Y00NGI

jungkook comes over and takes your wrist to look at the bracelet and you can’t help but feel your heart go boom boom a littLe because he’s standing so close to you right now omg

you’re swinging your legs back and forth and you have your bottom lip tucked in between your teeth as you watch jungkook fiddle with the bracelet

yoongi glances at you and furrows his brows a little

he’s already synced up to your bracelet so he should be able to…

yEp

your endorphins are shooting through the roof right now

yoongi feels an unfamiliar emotion bubbling inside of him

oh

it’s jealousy

“The bracelet’s already synced up to me. I don’t think you need to look at it anymore.” yoongi steps in between you and kook and he tilts his head at jungkook and jungkook’s like ohHO okay well i’m just doing my job

“kook get over here and help me with these damn triplex wires” jin calls jungkook over and he excuses himself but looks at yoongi a little weirdly

“what was that?? we were totally vibing”

“If by ‘vibing’, you mean you drooling over Jungkook while he fiddled with your bracelet - then yes, you were totally vibing.”

you scoff and look at yoongi before leaning back a little and crossing your arms

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“are you jealous of jungkook?”

yoongi trips over his words and he refuses to look you in the eye

“That’s ridiculous. Why would I ever be jealous of Jungkook? What is there to be jealous of?”

“you know… you’re the only human mind model adaptive super android for me, right?” you coo and reach up to pinch yoongi’s cheek and then he’s growling and swatting your hand away

you find yourself finally warming up to yoongi as time passes

you start enjoying his company instead of dreading it

and he feels the same way

:~)

maybe the next couple of months won’t be too bad after all

you’re in the middle of cataloguing some new books that just came in when suddenly you feel someone hovering over you

“hi can i help you find som-“ you look up and stop talking when you see /??? yoongi?? behind the counter

“what the- how did you- how are you here right now??” you furrow your brows in confusion and yoongi plops a little bento box on the countertop

“Public transportation. Eat. You’re hungry.”

“i’m not-“ your stomach growls right on cue and yoongi gives you a pointed look before opening up the bento box

“Pork and vegetable dumplings, and pan-fried chive pancakes. The dipping sauce is here. I added some sesame oil, soy sauce, and sriracha to the vinegar because you seem to like that combination. Animal crackers for later. Later. And a juice box. The flavour is organic apple and grape.” your stomach growls again at the sight of this goOD food and you swear you almost start drooling

“aw yoongs you didn’t have to make all of this for me…” yoongi hands you a pair of chopsticks

“Yes, I did. Otherwise, you’d be having a chocolate bar and a can of coke for lunch. I’ll go home now.” yoongi turns to leave and before you know it you quickly lean over the countertop and grab his arm

yoongi stops and looks down at your hand gripping his arm before looking back up at you

“wAit maybe you,,, you can stay here? with me? i’m all alone here and i’m sure there’s not a lot to do at home besides cook and clean and all that.” you clear your throat when yoongi tilts his head and blinks owlishly at you “or,,, not…”

“No. I’ll stay. And then we can go home together.”

home

usually he says ‘your place’ or something like that like from that night you broke your bracelet

but he just said ‘home’

“C’mon, eat up. I didn’t slave over the stove for nothing.” yoongi joins you behind the desk and immediately picks up the thickEst book from the pile that you were reorganising before he got there “History of Korea…”

you shove a dumpling into your mouth and your eyes roll to the back of your head because goddAmn this is good

you are fully having a foodgasm right now

just when you’re about to shove a second dumpling into your mouth you jump when you hear the sound of a book slapping shut

“Well, that was interesting. What other books can I read?”

wat

you turn to look at yoongi and he’s rifling through the other books on your desk

“wait- you- did you finish reading that already???” there are question marks floating above your head because you aRE conFuSIoN

yoongi responds with a hum and picks up a second book

this one’s the history of russia

“I think I’ll read all the history books today.”

“all of- yoongi there are like 1000 or moRe history books in this library i doubt you’ll be able to read them all” you snort and dip your dumpling in some sauce

about twenty minutes later your stomach is full of dumplings and chive pancakes and you couldn’t be happier

you’re leaning back against your chair and patting your stomach happily and yoongi’s having a good time sitting next to you with his nose in a book

“So how many books have you read in the last twenty minutes? 500?” you snort while packing up the box and putting everything back into the lunch bag

“Nah, I’m still on book 496.” yoongi sighs and shuts the book “I’m not fully charged and it’s messing with my speed.”

“I believe that’s 10 points to me, and 0 to you.” yoongi smirks when another paper ball lands right into the bin and you groan in frustration

you finished cataloguing the books faster than you thought and that’s how you ended up having a paper ball throwing competition with yoongi

it was his suggestion surprisingly

but now you know he only suggested it because he would win the competition

you probably should’ve taken into account that he can calculate the perfect angle and the perfect speed at which to throw the ball at

“this is a dumb game”

“No, it’s not. Throw your ball into the waste bin.”

yoongi scowls when you throw your ball at his head and in retaliation he leaps over and immediately begins to dig his fingers into your sides

“yOONGI stop!!!!!” there are tears in your eyes from how hard you’re laughing and you crumple to the floor in defeat bringing yoongi down with you

yoongi laughs but eventually shows some mercy and stops tickling you

and now the two of you are realising that he is very much on top of you

you’re both kind of panting and your cheeks flush a little when he tilts his head and smirks

“you’re mean”

“I’ve been told.”

“Give me the keys, I’ll drive.”

“it’s my car i’m driving”

“You drive like a maniac. Keys.” arguing with yoongi never ends well for you so you grumble before plopping your keys into his open palm

you hear the beep beep of your car unlocking and yoongi opens your door for you

“ah, thank you, kind sir” you get in and toss your purse into the back before reaching down to take your shoes off

“Seatbelt… m’lady.” yoongi slams his door shut and you buckle your seatbelt and lean against the window

“Where are we going now?”

“We’re heading back home, obviously.”

there it is again

‘home’

his eyes flicker up to where you’re flipping and unflipping the sun-visors

“Stop doing that.” he reaches up and slams it shut and you pout then lean back against the seat again

yoongi thinks you might actually have the mentality of a six year old child

“Wha- What is this?” after putting your shoes away and hanging your coat up yoongi walks into the living room and sees you sprawled out on the couch with your eyes glued to the screen watching some duMb brain-melting cartoon show

“spongebob squarepants reruns.” you answer simply and shift your position until you’re upside down lying flat on your back with your legs hanging off the top of the couch

your face is turning red from all the blood going right to your head

ur an idiot

“You are not watching this. You should watch something more educational.”

“i’ve been out of school for like two years i don’t- hEeeeEy” you start whining immediately when yoongi grabs the remote and switches it to the national geographic channel

omG all these documentaries are so boring

“Here, this one. It’s called… Beneath the Water.” he pauses and you recognise his thinking face

his thinking face is when he blanks out and like downloads a shit ton of information into his database  

“Beneath the Water is a mini documentary-series focusing on the history of mythological, underwater creatures. Tonight’s episode is about mermai-“

“mermaids??? jesus yoongi how old do u think i am”

“You were just watching Spongebob Squarepants.”

you grumble out a ‘touché’ and switch positions so you’re actually sitting on the couch

“I’ll go and make dinner.” you watch yoongi disappear into the kitchen and you immediately reach for the remote

“Don’t even try!”

oh my GoD

yoongi’s like a babysitter from hell

“…i hate documentaries” you mutter to yourself but you don’t seem to have a choice so you lean back and make yourself comfortable

spongebob squarepants scene transition ~wun hour latier~

yoongi has to remind you to chew your food because your attention is fully on the documentary right now

he has his elbow propped up on the arm of the couch and he’s just watching you sitting cross-legged behind the coffee table with your stir-fried vegetables and fried (brown) rice ((because it’s healthier and has less sugar))

he smiles to himself when he sees you try to feed yourself while keeping your eyes on the screen

a carrot chunk falls off your chopsticks but you stick the chopsticks in your mouth anyway and you??? start chewing??? yoongi’s staring at you and he’s like there’s nothing in your moUTH

“Maybe you can continue watching the documentary after you finish your dinner.” you literally growl at yoongi when he reaches for the remote and he raises his hands in defence immediately

“Your rice is getting cold. Eat up.” yoongi sighs when you shove like three grains of rice into your mouth and the rest of it spills onto the table 

“Okay, I didn’t think it would have to come to this.”

yoongi gets off the couch and squeezes in next to you and pulls your plate and your bowl towards him

“what are you doing??” you whine because your food is being snaTCHED

“I’m feeding you because you’re incapable of feeding yourself. The sun’s going to come up by the time you finish your meal and you need to be in bed in an hour and a half. You haven’t showered yet, either. Open.” yoongi holds up a hearty spoonful of rice and you’re hesitant at first because now you really feel like a baby and you feel kinda silly but then he’s nudging it against your lips and you open your mouth automatically

and of course your head turns right back to the screen while you eat happily

…actually you could probably get used to this lol

you are now realising how lazy you are

hm

one month later

it’s a lazy friday night and you and yoongi are in the middle of a documentary marathon but of course you got distracted and started talking about something else

you two were actually supposed to go out tonight (there’s this adorable ice cream parlour you’ve been begging yoongi to go to) but then yoongi predicted that it was going to rain because apparently ‘Humidity levels are at 75% right now.’

“so the vine goes ‘road work ahead? yeah, i sure hope it does’!” you burst into laughter and when you calm down yoongi’s staring at you like you’re crazy “don’t you get it? because the sign said that the road works ahead and-“

“Yep. I get it. I just don’t get it, you know? Is this what humans find humorous?”

“well ya i guess so”

“Oh. What a sad, sad world we live in.”

okay so yoongi obviously isn’t a fan of vine humour

maybe you can find something else to talk about

“did namjoon make like a girl version of you?? maybe he’s making a lil girlfriend for you back at the lab” you wink and nudge his side playfully

“I did overhear a conversation between Namjoon and Seokjin about creating a female version of me. M1N Y00NJI will be her name, I believe.”

“oh. so she’s not a girlfriend, she’s like… she’s like your sister”

“Yes. And incest is highly inappropriate.”

“and super gross.”

“And super gross.” yoongi nods in agreement

there’s a moment of silence and the two of you stare at the documentary playing on the screen until yoongi breaks the silence

“Do you have a significant other?”

“me? oh god, no. i mean, like, i used to, but then-“

“It’s okay. I know all about him. You don’t have to explain.” yoongi hands you the bowl of popcorn when you reach out and make grabby hands at it

another moment of silence goes by

“Do you have feelings for Jungkook?”

now thAt gets your attention

you clear your throat and turn to face yoongi before pursing your lips

you were pretty sure you still had a teeny weeny crush on jungkook but you’re 100% confident that it’s not as intense as it used to be

like sure sometimes you still fantasise about kissing jungkook and holding his hand and all that gooey stuff but like

most of the time you’re with yoongi and in the couple of months that you’ve gotten to know him you realise how thoughtful and sweet and caring he is underneath his cold demeanour

and you had a fleeting thought that maybe your romantic feelings for jungkook had transferred over to yoongi but

well that would be silly

after all

yoongi’s not even human

“i… i mean, kind of? but i know he’d never go for someone like me, so I-“

“Why not?” yoongi keeps staring ahead “You’re very nice. You’re funny. You’re thoughtful. You’re kind. And you always share your snacks with other people even though I know you would much rather hog your crackers and juice to yourself.”

you laugh a little at that and then shrug your shoulders

“i dunno. if he was interested in me then he would’ve made a move but…” you continue rambling and yoongi drowns you out a little

yoongi is in a little bit of a sticky situation

last week he kind of developed a new emotion and he’s not exactly sure what it is

it’s a positive emotion for sure

and for some reason he only feels it when he’s around you

but he knows that it isn’t right

he shouldn’t be feeling like this with you

it’s not appropriate and it’s not fair to you if he suddenly told you that he felt a certain way about you

as disappointing as it is at the end of the day he is just… an android

“You should tell him that you like him. You only live once, you know.” yoongi suddenly cuts you off and he swallows thickly

he already regrets telling you that

“He’s working late at the lab tonight. Maybe you can bring him a drink. You still have the 6-pack of banana milk that you were saving for when he comes over.”

yep

he’s definitely regretting this

he turns to look at you and he can see the gears clicking in your head

he’s not just doing this for you

he’s doing this for himself

seeing you with someone else will help him control this new emotion

so this is a good plan

yep

“i don’t… i don’t know, yoongs. i don’t think it’s a good idea.” you scratch the back of your neck and jump when yoongi turns off the tv suddenly

“Y/N, you have to do this. You like him.”

yoongi is right

you do… like jungkook

…don’t you?

when yoongi shuts the door after you leave he lets out a small breath and ignores the new feeling growing in his chest

he feels a pang of pain within him

but this is good

he can’t be with you and that’s just the way things are

you don’t think you’ve ever run so quickly in your entire life but there you are practically sprinting to the labs in the middle of a fuckign thunderstorm (it was fine the first two minutes and then suddenly there was a rumble and it starting raining cats and dogs) because you’re about to confess your feelings of ~romance~ to jungkook

your heart tingles a little at the thought of jungkook’s smile

and the sound of his laugh

it’s kind of hard to see with the rain pouring down on you and your hair in your eyes but you manage to find your employee card in your wallet

“c’mon, don’t let me down now” you swipe your employee card in the access bar and it blinks from red to green and you hear the kachunk of the front doors unlocking

your shoes squeak down the hallway as you run towards the direction of the genius lab

you slow down as you approach the two white doors and you let out a shaky breath

you can hear jungkook talking to someone and you automatically assume he’s on the phone with taehyung or someone else

this is going to be great

you’re gonna be fine

you have high hopes!!!!

you give yourself a mini pep-talk before nodding confidently and striding towards the white doors

there are little circle-shaped windows on the door and as you walk closer you start to see the top of jungkook’s cute lil head

and just as you’re about to push open the doors

you see it

jungkook and ji-eun

they’re laughing at something but you don’t know what

the smile slowly fades from your face and you feel your heart drop to your stomach

all you notice is her hand on his thigh and the way they’re leaning into each other as they giggle

jungkook’s cheeks are flushed and so are ji-eun’s and he stares at her like…

like he loves her

he’s never looked at you like that before

and suddenly ji-eun’s leaning in and planting her lips against jungkook’s

and for some reason

nothing

you feel nothing

well

that’s a lie

you feel a little twinge of heartbreak because you’ve been crushing on jungkook for so long and he’s woW they are definitely making out right now

as you head back the only boy on your mind is yoongi

because yoongi’s always there for you at the end of the day no matter what

on the trek back home you’re suddenly hit with the depressing thought of ‘well, it happened again. you thought someone liked you and it turns out that they liked someone else aka you got rejected for the millionth time in your life’

that kind of dampens your mood and suddenly

you’re just… really, really sad

why does this always happen to you?

you get your hopes up only to have them shot down at the end

and each time you think something different will happen but you always get the same result

damn

“Hey! How did it g- Woah.” yoongi shoots up from the couch when he hears the front door open and the familiar sound of you kicking your shoes off and tossing your keys on the table

you’re soaking wet from the rain and you’re still clutching the six pack of banana milk to your chest

and usually you greet yoongi when you get home but you’re just silently peeling your jacket off and running a hand through your tangled hair

that can only mean

oh

yoongi knows you more than anything else in the world so he knows that the last thing you want is to talk about what just happened

so he acts natural

“You’re going to catch a cold if you keep standing around like that. Come - I’ll draw a bath for you.” he picks up your wet jacket before grasping your wrist and leading you towards the bathroom

“with bubbles?” you murmur quietly and if yoongi had a heart it would clench right now because he’s never seen you look so defeated before

“With all the bubbles in the entire world.”

yoongi dips his hand into the water to test the temperature before pulling it out and shaking some bubbles off

“Alright, I think we’re good to go.” he gets up off his knees before wiping his hands off on his shirt

you toss the dirty makeup wipe in the bin before reaching down to undo the knot of your robe and yoongi’s like okAy i guess that’s my cue to leave

“I’ll be in the living room. We… we can have ice cream after your bath if you want.”

“strawberry cheesecake?”

“Mhm. Don’t stay in for too long or you’ll become wrinkly.” yoongi shuts the door behind him and heads towards the living room

his goal tonight is to cheer you up from this damn jungkook fiasco

he hates to see you upset

you don’t deserve to have your heart broken

you’re a sweet girl and you’re funny and kind and adorable and yoongi… yoongi really, really has taken a liking to you

he doesn’t know when it happened

but one day when you were telling him about your day he kinda just had a weird feeling

he noticed that he was paying more attention to the way your lips would curl around certain words and the way your nose would crinkle slightly whenever you laugh

it’s been almost six months since he first met you

you with your (still) mismatched socks and your greasy pizza

he shakes his head and hurries to get the living room ready and comfortable for you for after your bath

things are different now.

“you forgot to get my PJs for me so i just grabbed your hoodie out of the hamper” yoongi jumps when he hears your voice from behind him

he turns around and it takes everything within him not to explode from all the uwus right now

your cheeks are rosy and your hair is a lil damp but you look so cute wearing his hoodie and a pair of mismatched fuzzy socks

“Come sit. I have ice cream and a whole line-up of your favourite romantic comedies we can watch.”

“you really know the way to my heart” you sigh happily and plop down next to yoongi and he’s fully aware that he’s overheating a little bit right now

his face is sO hot

about half an hour passes and yoongi figures he’d give it a go

it is good to get your feelings out after all

“So… you gonna tell me what happened?”

“in the movie? haven’t you been paying attention?”

“Not in the movie, dummy. With… Jungkook?”

there’s a moment of silence and you slowly set the tub of ice cream down before clearing your throat

yoongi lowers the volume of the tv

“yeah, i don’t know.. it was stupid of me to think that jungkook would be interested in me so…i dunno i’m not that bummed out about it for some reason??” you scratch the back of your neck and lean back against the couch

there’s another moment of silence before yoongi speaks up

“You should be with someone more compatible with you.” you don’t know if it’s just the light playing tricks on your eyes but you swear you see yoongi’s cheeks heat up a little “According to your common interests, personality type, and even astrological signs - you and Jungkook are a mere 36% romantically compatible.”

“that makes sense….. out of all the boys who’s the most compatible with me? just curious” you lean back against the couch and you can’t help but smile when you see yoongi and his concentration face

he definitely picked it up from you because your eyebrows scrunch together and your lips purse slightly and he’s doing exactly that

“You and Namjoon: 62%. You and Seokjin: 51%. You and Hoseok: 28%. You and Jimin: 72%. You and Taehyung: 69%.” yoongi pauses and he looks like he wants to say something “…Youandme:98%.”

“you know i really thought that joon and i would be more compatible considering we’ve known each other since- wait what”

did he just

you and him??????? are 98% compatible???????/?

the two of you are kind of just staring at each other and for the first time yoongi’s the one who averts his gaze and he reaches up to scratch the back of his neck

woW he really did pick up your habits no wonder you guys are compatible

you like yoongi but he’s a robot and you’re a human and sure in today’s society it’s pretty normal for humans to seek comfort and companionship in an android but you never thought you’d be one of them

like you always saw yourself being with another human that was why you pined after jungkook so much but

what you needed was right in front of you this whole time

and yes you have to admit that at some point in time your feelings for yoongi shifted from platonic to romantic but you thought you were just getting attached because of the lack of romance in your life

and yes you’ve gotten used to yoongi waking you up every morning and sending you off with a cup of coffee and then when you get home he’s always there with dinner and he’s always down to cuddle

and you remember how roboT-y and coldhearted he was eight months ago but he’s a completely different android now

he’s a big softie and he’s sweet and kind and funny and charming

oh god

you like yoongi

but

he’s not even

he’s not even a person he’s a robot

“I’m sorry. That was inappropriate of me. I’m sensing discomfort from you. Please forget I said anything. I must head back and recharge. My battery is low.” yoongi quickly gets up from the couch and before you can say anything he’s dashing off to his room and you can hear him shut the door quietly

you check his app on your phone

his battery is at 72% only

that night you find yourself standing outside of yoongi’s room with your fist raised to the door

you can’t bring yourself to knock because what the heck are you going to say????

you decide that the best thing to do for now is just leave yoongi alone

it’ll be good for the both of you to have a little alone time

let you think things out and all that

yeah

you nod to yourself and head to your bedroom before shutting the door behind you

you’ll see yoongi tomorrow

you wake up by yourself the next morning

your body’s used to waking up early now which is good but a part of you wanted to wake up to see yoongi pushing open your curtains or even getting your clothes ready for you

you make a cup of coffee for yourself and spend about twenty minutes watching some tv and sipping quietly on your coffee

you’re hoping the fact that you’re watching cartoons will lure yoongi out of his room but

nothing

“yoongi? i’m leaving for work now. i’ll see you later?” you’re standing in front of yoongi’s room with your hand on the door handle

you get silence in response

“yoongs?” you push down the door handle and your brows furrow in confusion when you realise the door’s been locked

your heart clenches a little

he’s never locked the door before

he doesn’t even want to talk to you

and you don’t want to bother him and make it worse

fuck

your phone buzzes and you pull it out to see that you have to leave now if you want to be on time

okay

maybe you’ll see him when you come back??

“morning, y/n!” you nearly drop the stack of books in your arms when jungkook appears out of nowhere

“oh, hey kook” you muster a smile and set the books down carefully

“i brought you a coffee and a muffin” he puts it down on the countertop before shooting you a signature smile

and for some reason your heart doesn’t flutter in the same way it usually does because all you can think about it yoongi

“thanks, kook.” you sigh and plop down on your chair “what’s up?”

“you’re a girl, right?”

ouch

you look down at your boobs

“last time i checked, yes”

he blushes and immediately chuckles before scratching the back of his neck

“i-i mean, like, you’re a girl, so you would know what girls like”

“uh-huh”

“since you’re a girl-“

“as you’ve established multiple times”

“where would you want to go? on like, a first date kinda scenario”

huh

this must be for ji-eun

“i’m pretty basic, so a dinner and a movie would suffice! even like a netflix binge at home would make me happy. yoongi and i have been binge watching these nature documentaries and he doesn’t usually want me eating on the couch because one time i accidentally got spaghetti all over the pillows and-“ you immediately cut yourself off and the smile kinda fades from your face

you miss yoongi so much

“um, yeah - dinner and a movie.” you clear your throat and shrug

“you okay?” jungkook furrows his brows and looks at you in a concerned manner

“ya! yeah, i’m fine. sorry, i just… went off on a tangent there.” you laugh nervously

maybe you should tell jungkook about yoongi

but then he’d ask you what happened and you don’t want to have to explain the whole thing to him

it’ll be fine you’ll figure something out

“you should probably head back. thank you for the coffee and the muffin!!”

the rest of the day kind of drags on slowly

you find yourself looking at the clock very frequently waiting for it to hit 5:30 so you can leave and go home and hopefully see yoongi

but you don’t see him when you get back

and you don’t see him the next day

or the next day

or the next day

your concern grows as the days go by

yoongi literally hasn’t come out of his room in days

you decided you’d leave him alone mainly because you didn’t know how to approach the situation yourself

you knocked on his door a couple times to remind him to charge up but each time you were just met with silence

another three days go by and yoongi still hasn’t come out of his room

you’ve been doing everything to try and get him to come out

you turned on all the stoves

you left all the lights on

you even left the door unlocked one night which was terrifying because anyone could just walk in

you also accidentally sliced your finger when you were making a sandwich one afternoon and you were bleeding all over the place but yoongi didn’t rush out with a first aid kit like he usually does

you check your Y00NGI app on your phone everyday and everyday it says he’s 100% charged so at least you don’t have to worry about that

but tonight

something just doesn’t feel right

you’re not exactly sure what it is

you can barely focus on the nature documentary playing on the TV

you twist your bracelet around your wrist and you’re like okay that’s it i gotta check on yoongi

you open all the kitchen drawers and finALLy find the key to yoongi’s room

“yoongi? i’m coming in,” you sigh and shove the key into the hole before twisting and-

holy shit

“yoongi!” you gasp and immediately scramble over and fall to your knees

yoongi’s on the ground and he’s completely pale

you can see all the lines and wires and digits lighting up under his skin

you grasp his face and see that his iris’ and pupils are milky  

“oh god oh god oh god oh god” you manage to yank the power chord down from his pod and you shove it into the nape of his neck and your phone automatically syncs up with the pod

N O   S I G N A L

“what?? no signal??” you unplug it and shove it into yoongi’s neck again and still you’re met with the blinking red  N O   S I G N A L

“no no nonononono yoongi please c’mon” you grab his shoulders and shake him hard but he remains… lifeless “oh god, fuCk”

quickly, you dial namjoon’s number and the next thing you know you feel a lump growing in your throat and your eyes are starting to well up with tears

“hello?”

“namjoon, help, i- i don’t know what happened- yoongi, he- i just came in and-“ you’re stuttering all over the place and namjoon has no idea what’s happening

“y/n, slow down - what’s wrong?”

“i-i don’t know! i don’t know what’s wrong with him, i should’ve checked on him earlier but - oh god, namjoon, something’s wrong with yoongi h-his eyes are all milky and-”

“what? y/n - bring him to the lab, okay? we’ll meet you there and see what we can do”

“o-okay”

“it’s going to be fine, yoongi’s going to be fine. hurry, okay?”

“yeah, okay” you hang up and tuck your phone into your pocket and you give yourself a second to calm down

it’ll be fine

yoongi’s going to be fine

“c’mon, yoongi” you grunt and you end up basically dragging yoongi down the hallway and out the door

how the hell did this even happen?

how did he make it seem like he was 100% charged and his vitals were good???

this is literally all your fault

you should’ve said something the night he told you that you two were the most romantically compatible

you should’ve told him you felt the same way but nO you were too scared of what other people might think of you being in a relationship with a damn robot

being in a relationship with an android is sO normal nowadays

what were you thinking?? you should’ve said something to him instead of letting him lock himself up in his room

you look at the front mirror and see yoongi just slouching over in the back and his head his bobbing up and down

you quickly wipe your tears as you speed down the highway

the last thing you need is to get into a car crash so you can’t be sobbing and driving at the same time

when you get to the lab you’re relieved to see all of the boys waiting outside with a gurney

you practically stumble out of the car and the boys are quick to get yoongi out

“on the count of three - one, two, three-!” jungkook and jin lift yoongi’s limp body onto the gurney and goD knowing that yoongi’s in this state makes you want to cry even more

hoseok immediately plugs a power line into yoongi’s neck

yoongi’s veins all light up momentarily before disappearing and he seizes up

“what happened??” namjoon gives you a quick hug before pulling away to look at you with worry

“i.. i don’t know - it’s my fault, he said something to me and i- i should’ve said something back but i didn’t and-“

namjoon rushes over and shines a flashlight into yoongi’s eyes

“his pupils aren’t responding” hoseok mutters and namjoon nods in acknowledgement “what the hell happened?”

“he overcharged himself. his wires are fried.” namjoon murmurs in response and turns yoongi’s head to inspect his charging port “y/n, how long did he lock himself up for?”

“i don’t know, it must’ve been like… like 10 days?” namjoon curses to himself

an android overcharging itself almost never happens

unless yoongi did it on purpose

“okay. let’s get him into the lab and see what we can do.”

you grip onto yoongi’s hand as everyone heads into the building

“i…i think we might have to reboot his system because i honestly have no idea what other option we have”

“wait hyung but if we reboot his system won’t that wipe his database clean-“

“it’s going to be fine.” namjoon gives jimin a warning look and jimin’s like eughghhhh okayyyYy aND looks at you worryingly

once they wipe yoongi’s database there’s a high chance he’ll forget everything

including you

they’re about to bring yoongi into the lab but then namjoon notices you’re still holding his hand and he’s like okay you have to wait outside y/n i’m sorry

“but i wanna go inside too” you whimper and step even closer to the gurney

“i know you do but we can’t have anyone besides us in the lab when we’re rebooting a bot”

“why not??”

“y/n we just can’t it’s the rule-“

“no. i’m going inside too because-“

“y/n we love you but we seriously can’t let you in, okay? you can see yoongi afterwards.” jin cuts in and looks at you seriously and reaches down to pull your hand away from yoongi

your grip on him only tightens and with each passing moment you get more and more distraught and the boys have no idea what to do

“y/n, we don’t have time-”

“no please i wanna go inside i wanna be with yoongi” you’re sobbing at this point and namjoon’s heart clenches at the sight of how distraught you are

they all give each other looks of acknowledgement

the plan is to make you let go and then they’ll all move quickly into the lab

namjoon reaches down quickly and yanks your hand off and jungkook and hoseok work to push the gurney into the lab with jimin and jin holding the doors open

the moment you feel yoongi’s hand slip from your grasp you immediately go into a panic mode and you chase after joon and the others but suddenly taehyung’s grabbing you from behind keeping you in the waiting area

“c’mon, jagi, it’s okay,” you feel taehyung wrap an arm around you from behind but that only serves to make you struggle and freak out even more

“nO NO NO PLEASE PLEASE NAMJOON LET ME GO IN DON’T TAKE YOONGI AWAY FROM ME-“ namjoon shakes his head and drowns you out as he shuts and bolts the door behind him

he can still hear you sobbing and he hears poor taehyung trying to console you  

“i’m sorry, i’m sorry,” both you and tae are on the floor and he’s wrapped you up in a hug and is stroking your hair

his own eyes are welling up with tears because he hates seeing his friends in pain like this

“it’s all my fault,” you hiccup and taehyung shakes his head quickly

“it’s not. nothing is your fault. you didn’t know.”

“but what if they can’t reboot him and he doesn’t make-“

“y/n, your friends are all geniuses, okay? yoongi’s going to be fine.”

you spend the next two hours cuddled up to taehyung in the waiting room

you’re going in and out of sleep because it’s nearly 3AM and still no word from namjoon

“i think i should take you home, jagi” taehyung whispers and you shake your head quickly

“i can’t leave him again” you sniffle and rub at your eyes because god damnit you feel yourself crying again

“you need to sleep”

“i’ll sleep here”

“tae?” you perk up when you see hoseok poke his head out of the lab doors “we need you in here”

taehyung turns to look at you and you’re like it’s okay you can go i’ll be fine

“if you need anything just page one of us” taehyung hands you his pager before quickly going into the lab  

about twenty minutes pass and suddenly you feel your phone buzz

Notification: Y00NGI APP - (6) MESSAGES

you furrow your brows because how are you getting a message from yoongi right now

turns out there was a glitch in the app and you aren’t getting these messages until now

your eyes start watering again when you read the messages

“I’m sorry. I should not have said those things to you. It was entirely inappropriate of me. I just wanted you to know that you deserve to be with someone who loves you just as much as I do.”

“I have never felt this way before. I did not even know I was capable of feeling such emotions. You make me feel overwhelmingly happy all the time. I have thoroughly enjoyed being your caretaker and more importantly, your companion.”

“I know that you feel the same way about me as I feel about you. But I also know how you feel about android-human relationships. I’m going to do something that I think will be for the best.”

“Y/N. I’m sorry. Don’t forget about me. I won’t forget about you.”

“Live a long and happy life.”

“Yours forever, Yoongi.”  

you bite down on the inside of your cheek to keep yourself from sobbing

you’re just so emotionally and physically drained right now

you hate yourself

you just want yoongi back

you sniffle and rub furiously at your eyes because you feel them welling up again

okay you need a distraction

the wifi isn’t working for some reason so you end up flipping through your camera roll

and oh

there are so many pictures of yoongi on your roll

you can’t help but laugh quietly to yourself

he sure does love his selfies

your pretty boy-bot

a yawn escapes you and you stretch your aching limbs out a little before turning to lie down on the hard bench

the boys really need to invest in like a sofa or something

soon enough you fall asleep on the bench clutching your phone to your chest

“y/n?” your eyes pop wide open when you hear namjoon open the lab doors

“how is he?? is he okay??” you scramble off the seat and run up to namjoon

“well, we managed to replace some of the wires in his neck. we replaced his eyes, too. can’t have a blind android. luckily not everything was destroyed when he overcharged himself. we didn’t have to completely reboot him but…”

“but?” namjoon’s eyes flicker down to his clipboard

“he actually developed a new emotion.”

wat

why is he telling you this right now

“that’s great joonie but i just wanna know if he’s alive or not”

“he’s fine - don’t worry, he’s fine. i just… why don’t you come in and see for yourself?” namjoon lets you in and you’re shocked to see yoongi hooked up to a bunch of different computers and machines

you immediately walk over to look at him and

he still looks the same

he’s still your yoongi

“okay, you ready?”

“mm”

namjoon hits a button on one of the machines

you jump when yoongi’s eyes open and light up and suddenly a bunch of videos appear around the room like holograms

and all of the videos are of you

like when yoongi patched up your knee and your hands and pressed a kiss to your knuckles - that was the first time he learned to give affection

or when he scolded you for coming home late and taking your bracelet off - his first time displaying emotions of frustration and worry

the two of you watching beneath the water for the tenth time in a row because you pulled out your puppy dog eyes and yoongi can’t resist them

there are just multiple videos hovering around the room and all of the videos are just of you

“i think… i think Y00NGI loves you” namjoon is genuinely shocked because he wasn’t expecting thIS as a result of him building yoongi in the first place

“but that’s- that’s not possible, right??? i mean he’s a robot and robots don’t…. they don’t love”

“not usually - obviously there are robots out there for companionship or for sex or whatever but i’ve never heard of a case where the android was capable of loving someone… i don’t know if i should label yoongi as faulty because i seriously was noT expecting this…”

you’re half listening to namjoon and half just watching all the videos that are playing around you

“of course - Y00NGI isn’t like other androids… i built him so that he learns from people and adapts to his environment…. he’s around you most of the time and… i suppose it is possible for an android to love??? he’s just so lifelike now i can’t tell if this is a failure or a success”

“he’s not a failure!!! isn’t it better for him to be more lifelike? then the companionship and the romantic aspect of it becomes more realistic”

“i don’t know y/n… i don’t know if i want mY bots like… falling in love with their clients… the purpose of the androids are to help people not fall in love with people”

“why can’t they do both??”

now that has namjoon thinking

hm

maybe you’re right

maybe he can start a line of ..,, relationship robots??

namjoon hits the button again and yoongi’s eyes immediately shut

“how come he’s not… is he in a coma or something?”

“i don’t know, y/n. i think we should give him a couple days - he probably needs to get used to the new hard drive.”

you sit down on the stool and you grip yoongi’s hand and bring it up to your mouth to plant a tiny kiss on his knuckles

yoongi might be in love with you

no

according to namjoon yoongi is definitely in love with you

and you love him

more than anything in the entire world

you scoot up a little so that you’re closer to his face and you reach over to brush a strand of hair out of his eyes

you purse your lips in frustration and boop yoongi’s nose

you miss his voice

you miss his laugh

you miss his touch

you miss those pretty brown eyes

“yoongs,” you whisper so sO quietly and lean in to press a tiny kiss to his cheek “i love you”

for now it’s just the sound of machines whirring and beeping

and then it happens

yoongi’s finger twitches ever so slightly

“yoongi??” you stand up quickly and the others rush over

you’re all hovering over yoongi when he opens his eyes and a breath of relief leaves everyone and the boys are all high-fiving and fist-bumping each other

oh thank god

thank GOD

you immediately scramble on top of yoongi so you can hug him and it’s kind of an awkward position but you’re making it work

he sits up from the table while you’re still cruSHing him in a hug

“oh my god yoongi i-i thought i lost you forever i’m so sorry i should’ve done something sooner-“

“Hello. I am M1N Y00NGI.”

you pull away immediately and look at his face in confusion

“wha… what?”

his eyes scan your face momentarily

“You are Y/N Y/L/N. I am your personal human mind model adaptive super android.”  

you turn to look at namjoon and your eyes begin welling up with tears

“joon he doesn’t- he doesn’t remember who i am? i thought you said you didn’t reboot his system” you whimper and namjoon’s frantically flipping through the papers on his clipboard

“h-hold on y/n we’ll be back we need to check what wires we used on yoongi” taehyung squeezes your arm and you nod and then they’re all leaving the lab whispering things to each other

you turn to look at yoongi again and his eyes are just…

empty

looking into his eyes is like looking into a void

he doesn’t remember you

“no… no, please, you know me, you know who i am” you sniffle and reach up to cup his cheeks

“You are Y/N Y/L/N. I am M1N Y00NGI. I am your personal human-“ 

“yeah yeah you’re my personal human mind model adaptive super android but you’re moRe than M1N Y00NGI you’re my best friend a-and you take care of me and every morning you wake me up at seven every morning and you bring me lunch everyday and we read together and we watch nature documentaries together because you hate it when i watch cartoons and- don’t you remember???” you’re frantic at this point and you’re grasping at his shirt tightly 

“I am sorry. I am afraid I do not understand.” 

“you’re more than just Y00NGI you’re mY yoongi” 

“I am sorry. I am afraid I do not understand. I am your Y00NGI?” you nod desperately as a tear rolls down your cheek

“yes, yes, you’re my yoongi, and i’m your y/n, a-and you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me and i love you more than anything in this entire world but please pLease you have to try and remember me” you sob and yoongi remains stone still even as you’re pushing and smacking at his chest 

“You love me?” 

“i love you, i love you,” you whimper and rest your head on his shoulder in defeat

you’ve lost him

he’s gone forever and it’s all your damn fault

“Took you long enough to say it, you dolt.”

wait what

you pull away from yoongi’s shoulder and look at his face and his eyes have returned to their warm shade of caramel brown

your yoongi

this is your yoongi

“I thought it’d be funny to play a prank on you but I think I might’ve taken it a step too far.”

“yOONGI!!!!!!!!”

yoongi’s still trying to adjust himself to this new hard drive but it’s hard to do that with you kissing his face everywhere

he chuckles places his hands on your hips as you cup his face and just look at him

“you’re a dick” you sniffle and rub at your swollen eyes

yoongi smiles and wipes a tear away before pinching your cheek playfully

“I’ve been told. Hi.”

“hi” you mumble

yoongi takes his bottom lip in between his teeth and his eyes flicker down to your mouth

you’re about to ask him how he’s feeling and ambush him with questions but he holds a finger up to your lips

“Say it.”

“say what?”

“You know what.”

“you’re going to have to be more specific” you tease and yoongi gives you a look

you press your lips together and wrap your arms around yoongi’s neck

“Well?”

“well what”

“I literally almost died and you’re still going to put me through-“

yoongi’s eyes go wide and his computer-brain basically short circuits when you suddenly lean in and plant your lips on his

god your lips are soft

and yoongi’s like

so this is a human kiss

totally worth it

yoongi’s eyes flutter shut when he feels you tug at his wrist to get him to respond and then he’s kissing you back with such love and affection and tenderness that it makes both of your guys heads spin

you pull away and yoongi feels himself overheating when you nudge your nose against his

“i love you.”

yoongi doesn’t even hesitate to respond

“I love you too.”

“give the man some space y/n we just resurrected him” jungkook walks in and the other boys are behind him

you immediately blush and move to get off of yoongi but his arm slithers around your waist and he pulls you in closer

“were you people in on this sick prank????” you scowl and squish your cheek against yoongi’s as you wrap your arms around his neck

“we’re sorry!!! it was all yoongi’s idea okAY” jimin raises his hands in defence

how are you holding up, champ?” namjoon walks over and gives yoongi a pat on the back “feeling okay?”

“mm, i’m feeling good. you really tightened my wires, didn’t you?” yoongi tilts his head and cracks his neck before wincing

“yeah - they’re extra durable so you can’t fucking overcharge yourself like an idiot again” yoongi gets a smack across the head from each of the boys and you whine and swat their hands away before cradling his head and bringing him down to rest against your chest

and yoongi’s like teehee because his face in between your boobs

“leave him alone! he’s gone through an exhausting 48 hours. …but i agree, you fuckign idiot” you swat yoongi’s head and he groans out in pain before reaching up and rubbing at the back of his head

“y/n, i gotta talk to you about something c’mere for a sec” namjoon calls for you and you nod before carefully crawling off of yoongi

before you get a chance to walk over yoongi grabs your wrist and pulls you in for a teeny kiss

“omg u have plenty of time to kiss each other later go to namjoon so we can double check yoongi’s wiring” jin smacks your arm and you scowl before hopping over to joon

“what’s up?”

“okay, you have to promise not to get mad.”

“…what did you do”

namjoon presses his lips together and tucks a pen behind his ear before leaning back against the table

“about a month after you took yoongi in, i actually got a request from… a really, really wealthy girl - she… well… next month will be your seventh month with yoongi.. and technically your- our - contract terminates automatically after eight months…”

you furrow your brows in confusion

namjoon’s never brought this up before

“ikindofsortofmaybesoldyoongitothisgirl”

wow

this day just keeps getting better

“you…”

“…”

“YOU DID WHAT- OOF I’M GONNA FUCKGIN KILL YOU GET OVER HERE” the next thing namjoon sees is you lunging at him and suddenly you’re chasing him around the lab and yoongi and the boys are all like um wtf is happening

namjoon has string bean legs so obviously he’s getting away from you pretty easily but you still run as fast as you goddamn can

“y/N WAIT JUST LET ME EXPLAIN” somehow you and namjoon end up standing at opposite ends of a table with vERY SHArp tools

“YOU’VE DONE PLENTY OF EXPLAINING GET OVER HERE” when you round the table to get to namjoon he moves quickly and ends up where you were just standing

“listen liSTEN i can laBEL HIM AS FAULTY and tell her i have to make anoTHER model for her!!” you don’t even register what namjoon’s saying because you are positively fumING

if you were in a cartoon smoke would be coming out of your ears

you pick up what’s closest to you which happens to be a pair of long tweezers

“i’m going to pluck your eyES OUT NAMJOON”

“you can keEP YOONGI FOR CHRIST’S SAKES” jungkook grabs you before you can hop over the table to strangle namjoon and you’re like wait what

“you can keep yoongi” he breathes out and presses a hand over his chest “people are willing to pay miLLions of dollars for yoongi but i’m going to label him as faulty so you can keep him - for frEE.”

good god you’re terrifying when you’re angry  

“oh”

“uh-huh”

“then why even bring it up in the first place?”

“you… yoongi’s going to be your permanent responsibility and i need to know that you can handle it. he is my first creation after all. yoongi’s my baby! even though he’s technically older than me. you know… i… you won’t have to bring him in for check ups every two weeks anymore but i need to know that you’ll be able to handle any given situation” namjoon scratches the back of his neck

your heart warms a little because namjoOn cares thAT much about yoongi

“like what if he has a loose wire somewhere and-“

“joon, i promise you i will take care of yoongi” you hold a hand to your chest and you’re about to reassure him even more but yoongi butts in

“Um, is everyone forgetting that I’m like, a genius android? I could perform brain surgery if I really wanted to. I’m sure I’ll be able to take care of a loose wire.”

“…fair enough” namjoon’s like :’) i’m so proud of my android baby :’) but here y/n take this basic manuscript on how to rewire wires :’)

“i can’t believe you made me cry like that” after namjoon and the others triple-check that yoongi’s good to go they give you the green light to head home

“I’m sorry, baby. It won’t happen again. I love you.” yoongi squeezes your hand and your heart flutters in your chest

you swing your arms back and forth before stopping and standing in front of yoongi and yanking him down to kiss you

“i love me too” yoongi scowls and digs his fingers into your side making you giggle “i love u too”

“should we get pizza to celebrate?”  

“…In your dreams.”

>:-(

the two of you head over to the car and once you’re buckled in you turn to face yoongi with your hands on the steering wheel

“so where are we heading now?”

“…Home.”

home :)

you don’t like to admit it but sometimes you like to take advantage of the fact that yoongi is an android

especially when he’s in the middle of his charging time

“we shouldn’t have had a harry potter marathon because it drained all the battery out of me” yoongi winces as you plug his cord into his neck a little too roughly

you apologize and give him a lil kiss before moving to sit on the bed

the two of you decided it’d be a good idea to move yoongi’s fridge (“Stop calling it a fridge, Y/N. It’s my charging pod.” “...issa fridge”) into the bedroom now that you two are,,, together

“...i’m going to go eat some lucky charms now”

“Okay, but- wait, what? Lucky charms? I threw them out last week. Nice try, hiding the box under the bed.”

“uh-huh, under the bed.” you smirk and stand up before heading over to the bedside drawer

“I don’t like that look on your face. What are you up to?” yoongi furrows his brows when he sees you pull out a tampon box out of the drawers “Are you ovulating? My calendar tells me that you’re not supposed to-“ he immediately stops talking when you open up the box to reveal noT tampons but just straight up lucky charms

and it’s not even lucky charms it’s just lucky charm MARSHMALLOWS

“Oh my god.”

“oh my god indeed” you grin and shovel a handful of marshmallows into your mouth and yoongi winces when he senses your blood sugar shOOt up

“Y/N, no.” he gives you a stern look and you shrug innocently before popping another marshmallow into your mouth and crunching down on it

“y/n, yes. i’m going to eat ALL OF THESE RIGHT NOW” you zip out of the room and yoongi groans loudly and reaches up to pull the plug out of his neck  

but he’s stuck there because the cord won’t unplug until he’s up to at least 30% charged

he really needs to do a more thorough check of the bedroom next time

of course karma’s a bitch so you end up drinking the blandest chicken soup for dinner that night to ‘flush out the toxins and chemicals’

sometimes you have … depressing thoughts

like you know that it’s impossible for you and yoongi to grow old together and that you’re going to turn into a sack of wrinkly prunes one day and he’s still going to look like he’s 25

somewhere down the line you’ll have to end things with yoongi and find an actual human being because you want to have a family and yoongi’s fake semen isn’t going to get you anywhere

or maybe you can ask namjoon to make robot-human babies if that’s even possible

that sounds terrifying actually

but you know what

you’re just living your best life right now

you’re young and you don’t have a care in the world

the world of android-human relationships is a completely normal concept in this century

you’re having fun with your android-boyfriend!!! enjoy the present :-))))

speaking of your android-boyfriend

dating yoongi includes ((but is not limited to!!)) lazy make-out sessions because that’s just who he is

like you’ll be watching some documentary and you’ll be cuddled up to yoongi’s chest

these nature documentaries have become your favourite thing to watch but whenever yoongi’s busy with something you sneak away to watch your cartoons because you could never give up adventure time

anyways

yoongi gets pretty bored quickly with these documentaries mainly because everything the narrator’s saying,,, he already knows

you have your head on his chest and he likes to hook a finger under your chin and bring your face up to his before pressing his lips against yours

and usually you entertain him for a second and kiss him back but your eyes are still glued on the screen while you’re kissing him

and thaT’s when he gets pouty

“Baby, pay attention to me.” yoongi sighs and taps your cheek gently and you turn to glance at him quickly

“i paid attention to you already” you give him a chaste kiss and he leans in to chase after your mouth but you’re already pulling away and settling back against his chest

“I’m bored.”

“yoU chose this documentary”

“I know, but I’m bored. And there are better ways to pass the time, you know.”

“like wha-yOongi!” the next thing you know yoongi’s pulling you onto his lap and you have your legs on either side of him and he already has his face in between your boobs “well this isn’t convenient for me because now i have to twist my back to look at the screen”

yoongi rolls his eyes and pauses the documentary before tossing the remote to the opposite end of the couch

“and you say i’m the one with the out of control hormones” yoongi hums and you squeak when you feel him grope your butt

what a gentleman

yoongi tells you make-out sessions are actually good for him because it allows him to learn more and stuff but ur like what kind of skills do u gain from making out with someone

it’s just because he’s a horn-dog

“my salmon’s going to burn in the oven, yoongi” you giggle against his lips and yoongi literally whines when you pull away which is sO adorable

“The salmon won’t burn. According to my timer, it’ll be cooked perfectly in 10 minutes.”

“oOH yeah baby keep talking technology to me mMm”

yoongi snorts and rolls his eyes but pulls you back in for another kiss

sometimes you forget yoongi is a super-intelligent robot and can pick up things like really reALLy quickly

“yoongi, oh goD yoongi” yoongi’s hands slide down to grip your ass as he continues helping you to push your hips down against his thigh

“Is that good, baby? Gonna cum all over my thigh? Greedy little thing…” hearing his low, raspy voice murmur that right into your ear would be enough to make you cum but also

where the HELL did he learn to talk like this  

“where’d you- yoongi, ah - where the hell’d you learn how to talk like that?”

yoongi pauses and pulls away before looking at you and blinking

“I downloaded an archive off of Pornhub.com so that I would be fully equipped with the skills required for you to have an orgasm. Is it not working?”

“no, it’s working, i just wasn’t expecting it” you’re still kind of breathless because you were literally riding his thigh for the last two minutes

and now you’re just perched on his lap casually having a conversation

“Oh. But you like it, right?”

“ya”

“Then why’d you stop me, dummy?” yoongi shifts under you and your eyes widen when you feel him press himself right against your core “Now be quiet and let me make you cum on my thigh.”

ah

your sweet yoongi

ever the romantic

also

um

tongue technology

“Jagi - if you keep squirming like that, I’m gonna have to hold you down harder and I might cause bruising which isn’t ideal.”

“i can’t help it” you whine and your hips automatically raise up from the bed

yoongi rolls his eyes and digs his fingers into your plush hips before forcing you down and woW you underestimated his strength because u literally can’t even move

“Well, help it.” he shrugs and proceeds to bury his face in between your legs again

he groans against you when you cry out in pleasure

something that you’ve learned about yoongi is the fact that he loves to tease

like seriously he teases so much it’s kind of concerning

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

“but i-“ you pout and whine underneath yoongi because he’s not giving you what you wANT

“Nuh-uh, don’t start whining now.”

and what he says next has your insides melting

“Tell daddy what you want.”

“daddy, please…i…”

“Hm? Couldn’t hear you, doll.” yoongi sighs and leans down to press a kiss against your inner thigh before blowing gently on your core and you instantly twitch

“i said i…”

“you?”

“ᶦ ʷᵃⁿᵗ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᵗᵒⁿᵍᵘᵉ”

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” yoongi has to admit he himself is getting a little impatient so he bends down and proceeds to eat you out as if he were starving

one of your hands slithers down to his hair while the other reaches back to grip at the headboards

god bLESS taehyung and his talent for designing yoongi    

the first time u and yoongi have sex

noW you see the hype with sex bots (even tho yoongi technically isn’t a sex bot but daMn he’d be a hit if he was marketed as one)

of course it starts off sweet and romantic because it is your first time with him after all

yoongi showers you with sweet n soft kisses and is so sO gentle with you

he’s positioned in between your legs snugly and has his fingers intertwined with yours with one hand while the other is propping him up a little

his forehead is pressed against yours and all of your senses are just flooded with yoongi yoongi yoongi

“yOongi, ah-“ you whimper and arch your back when he thrusts and hits that spot

“Mm, there?” yoongi’s nipping at your collarbone before he trails kisses up your neck and along your jaw and you nod desperately

“there, right thEre” a gasp slips past your lips and yoongi can’t help but smirk to himself proudly when he hits it again

“Does that feel good?” his voice is all low and raspy and good goD you could die right then and there

“yEaH yeah that f-feels good, feels really good, yoOngi- oh, god, i love y-yoU” your sharp nails bite into his back and yoongi bites down on your shoulder as payback  

yoongi thanks the android gods above because he’s able to capture the image of you having an orgasm and he can play it over and over and over again

your sweet little cries and moans and pants of pleasure

all for him

“Nngh- you okay?” yoongi shudders when you squeeze around him from the overstimulation

you nod bashfully and look away and yoongi think it’s sO adorable how shy you get post-sex

“Don’t get shy on me now, jagi.” yoongi coos and presses his lips against yours

you kiss back obediently but then you’re pushing at his chest gently “i wanna make you feel good too”

“It’s okay baby, you really don’t have to -“ it’s too late because you’re already pushing yoongi onto his back and crawling on top of him

“but i want to”

“…Only because you said so.” yoongi sits up eagerly and you can’t help but giggle at how quickly he changed his mind

so remember how sweet and romantic u guys were like twenty minutes ago

yeah

yEET

“Oh, fuck- you’re doing so good, baby, so good for me,” yoongi groans and his grip tightens on your hips and you cry out when he bucks up into you

“Yeah? Gonna cum again? Cum all over daddy’s cock?” yoongi has a hand in between your legs and is rubbing quick circles on your already sensitive clit

you nod quickly and furrow your brows before arching your back against him

“w-want you to cum i-inside” you breathe out and yoongi growls when you squeeze around him

oh god

yep

yoongi’s gonna exploDE

yoongi delivers a slap to your backside making you arch your back and cry out

“Beg for it, pretty girl.”

you get all bashful again and nuzzle into the crook of his neck and yoongi barely hears your little ᵖˡᵉᵃˢᵉ ᶜᵘᵐ ᶦⁿˢᶦᵈᵉ ᶦ ʷᵃⁿᵗ ᶦᵗ  

“You weren’t this shy a second ago, baby…” you let out a pathetic whine in response and yoongi figures he’ll let you get away with it just oncE

he grips a handful of your ass and hooks a finger under your chin then pulls you closer so he can kiss you  

you kiss him back enthusiastically and your thighs are on fiRE but u know dis shit is gon be worth it so you power through

it’s a pretty messy and uncoordinated kiss and yoongi’s tongue is fully in your mouth

y’all are FREAKS

“Y/N, fuck, fuck, it’s happening, h-happening…” yoongi’s fingers dig into the flesh of your hip and he tosses his head back

the next thing you know both you and yoongi are seeing stars

yoongi feELs like he’s short circuiting that’S how good this orgasm is

“huh”

“what’s wrong” you wheel over to namjoon and the two of you look at an unconscious yoongi

namjoon has his neck flap opened so you can see all the wires running through yoongi

“this wire’s been burnt to a crisp”

“how?” you look at in in concern and ya namjoon’s right one single wire is split and completely fried

“it’s weird because this wire is the wire connected to, uh,, u know…”

“to the what”

“you and yoongi have.. sex, right?”

you blush instantly and clear your throat before pretending that you got a notification on your phone

“imeanlikeyeahiguessso”

“oH don’t worry there’s nothing wrong with that that’s totally fine” joon reassures you before picking up a pair of tweezers “this particular wire being all burnt up and crispy makes more sense now”

“what do u mean” you raise an eyebrow and pick up your bottle of water

“hand me the scissors” namjoon pauses and holds his hand out and you grab the scissors for him “…you made him nut so hard he busted a wire” he shrugs casually and you choke on your water

omg LOL

“i’m sorry whAt”

namjoon’s brows furrow as he ties the two loose ends together hoPefully that will fix it til the wires come “jimin - can you bring three single-strand wires? i have to replace yoongi’s triplex wire-“ he turns and raises an accusing brow at you and you huff “yeah, that one. the blue one. this should do the trick for now… i think”  

“here ya go”

“thank you- anyways yoongi wasn’t made to be a sex bot-“

“he’s noT A sex bot u know what sometimes he’S the one with the out of control hormones i like to think that he wants it more than i do-“

“so i guess i better pick up some more durable wires seeing that your guys’ relationship probably isn’t ending anytime soon” namjoon clicks yoongi’s neck flap shut and you have no idea how this silicone shit works but now it looks like a normal neck again “the wires will probably take two weeks to get here so,,, i’m sorry u sex fiend but no sex with yoongi for two weeks otherwise he might actually burst into flames”

taehyung comes over wearing a monocle looking thing and proceeds to do his part to yoongi which is just the ~outer appearance~

he doesn’t have to do much considering yoongi is pretty much perfect

“i’m on joon’s side - as much as i love and support this relationship i’m gonna need you to slow down a little” taehyung pauses to tweeze one of yoongi’s eyebrow hairs “because i’ve gone to the sex shop to buy fake semen so many times they asked me if i wanted an industrial sized juG of it”

yoongi’s learned to be very affectionate because of you but he has his limits

“Y/N, it’s time to wake up…” yoongi’s stroking some hair out of your face before he pokes your cheek gently

you grumble something under your breath and swat at his hand

“C’mon, jagi. You’re going to be late for work.” he sighs and reaches down to pull your (his) shirt down because it always rides up

you groan and flip over on your stomach

“Baby…” yoongi sighs and leans down to press a kiss against your shoulder

another grunt

okay that’s it

yoongi sighs and gets off the bed before grabbing the blanket and literally riPPINg it out from under you causing you to roll off and flop right onto the floor

“oW WHY DID U-“ you sit up and rub your forehead before glaring at your dumb boyfriend

“It is 7AM. You have work in an hour.”

some things never change

[cssns]

Drumroll please! Please help me welcome @darkcolinodonorgasm to the CSSNS!!!

I am so tickled to welcome Sara to the event this year! Everyone go say hi!!!

Tumblr Name

darkcolinodonorgasm

How long have you been in the CS/OUAT fandom?

Phew, since 2012? I binged the first season the summer before s2 aired.

When did you start shipping Captain Swan?

Since the very beginning :'D

What drew you to this event?

I'm a sucker for everything supernatural and fantasy, so I wanted to challenge myself into writing something that - hopefully - will bring justice to the genre I love the most.

What inspired your topic?

You mean the fics I'm going to write? Well, since I've now decided to write the modern Ladyhawke AU and the follow up to my Hades and Persephone AU, I'd say for the first one, the movie, of course, but I wanted to give it a modern twist, and now that I've outlined it, I know there'll be an influence from the movie, but also lots of "me". I also didn't want to have a Charmed-like fic since on Charmed the Halliwells helped two cursed lovers, and Once Upon A Time offers many characters and a mythology I could play with. For the Hades and Persephone AU, instead, I've always intended to have a modern day version of it, but since I've already written a one shot set in ancient Greece, I decided to have a sneak peek into their future.

If you would like to share a snippet/sneak peek/summary of your fic or artwork, please use the space below.

"Once upon a time, the morning he was blessed to wake up with her next to him, Killian would usually take in her sleeping form, the curly mass of blonde hair covering half her face, lifting with each breath she took, tickling her nose so she would scrunch it, frowning in her sleep because her own hair disturbed her. He would then push the golden strands away from her face, and Emma would just wiggle close, throwing her arm around his torso.

«Good morning, love,» he whispered, caressing her swan neck with his knuckles, his wedding ring glinting in the dim sunlight. Killian sighed. He missed when she would bat his hand away and he would catch it, intertwining their fingers and admiring the light catching on his mother’s ring, the one he’d used to propose."

- from the still untitled modern Ladyhawke AU.

"After years - ages - of ruling over the souls of the departed, the King and Queen of the Underworld decide to take a vacation. Leaving their eldest son in charge, Emma and Killian take a tour around the world, acting more like tourists than gods, meeting family along the way and, finally, managing to work off the tension."

- still untitled Hades and Persephone follow up

What are you looking forward to most about participating in this event?

Everything! AIl the other stories I cannot wait to read and the fanarts I cannot wait to see! I'm so excited!!

Ohhh man!!! I LOVED Ladyhawke!!! And really, is there anyone more suited to Hades and Persephone? I cannot WAIT to read these! Her first MC will post on June 4 and the second will post on June 26. Everyone go say hi and welcome @darkcolinodonorgasm to the CSSNS!!!

[catradoracore]

5555

@finnwolfhard

Yeah... this is sort of long....

I’m not putting all this into your ask box lmao, and I couldn’t submit it because of images either, so!! Sorry about this. Aaaa!

..and I curse way too much. My apologies for that.

Originally, I was going to try and keep spoilers out of this. But. That’s obviously not what happened so:

Spoilers for anyone on my blog reading this who plans to read “5555.”

Thoughts on 5555. Featuring Shitty images and reactions from me and a pal. Written as I go. Oh god.

Intro:

Let’s get started.

* “I dare you.”/ some other clever comment or challenge between soulmates in a story (romantic or other) as an opening scene is so fucking powerful. It’s such a good introduction to stories, and I rarely see it, but it never fails to hype me the HELL UP!

* I have never met a person on this earth that doesn’t like blue raspberry. Sorry, Eddie, guess we can’t be friends. :/

* haha  :)  is  :))  Sonia  :) going to make  :))  a return  :)  please  :)  no. Guess I’ll find out. Fingers crossed she’s dead or something, even though you’d never do that.

* Emotional update: I am smiling VERY hard right now.

* “My love” is Reddie culture, it’s a fact, it’s in the textbooks! Just had to get that out there. Thanks for listening.

* New rap album coming out next month, go and buy that shit.

* “soul mates” 

AH! THERE IT IS! Phew! Thank goodness, I was gonna explode for a second there.

* Richie, honey, I love you, but you’re kind of a dumbass.

* Ahhh! I take it back I love you, trash man! :(

* Me, Myself, and I?”? Like...likethefuckihn, like the fuckin’ show Jack D Grazer is in????

* For real, I can hear and see and imagine this line so well.

* Eddie with Richie’s jacket that’s like eight times too big for him is a life source.

* Room 555. Hooo boy I am not ready for this fic I ain’t even lying.

* AdSDFFfFG THE FUCKING HOTEL SHOWERS HURT, DUDE! They’re so uncomfortable aaaaaa  turn it down a notch, maybe???!!

* hhhhhhjjjjhhhh scarsss,,,FUCK lets hope this turn out wellllll!  D:

* Hungry and Tired!! the Power Couple!! Of!! The!!! Century!!!

* Chat Update:

* cUTE!!!

* that one vine: “cAM, THERE’S A COCKROACH RIGHT THEREEE!!!! CAAAMMM!!!!” “you need cheeze-its! (jesus lmao)”

* Chat Update:

* Eddie “not that we’re DATING or anything hahaha” Kaspbrak.

* Chat Update: oh no

* AAAAA A A AAAAAA AA AAA!!!

* Oh my god, the whole “It was my birthday” conversation in the truck is ripping my soul to shreds right now!! Aaaaaahhhhh!!!  :(   My boys better be okay!!

* I love this so much. Happy Richie!! I’d die for him!!! ❤️

* This was funny and cute!  :)  but then it turned into this:

And now Wellp.

You okay babey??  :(

* AAAAAAAAA!! THE WHOLE “STRANGER/“I’M ALONE” THING AT THE MALL! THAT’S HIS FEAR AAAAAHSDHHFHGGHHGHG RICHIEEEE I LOVE YOU BABEY!! EDDIE DOES TOO!!

* ICONIC DUO!!!

* HMM. Isthisforeshadowingisthisforeshadowingisthisforeshadowingisthis

* Well, call me a fucking idiot, but this whole thing going on with Richie is very interesting....hmmm.... I’ll bet it’s all gonna hit me at the end and I’m gonna say “OH HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCK” or something like that :)  haha watch me.

* YOU’RE HOT, THEN YOU’RE COLD! YOU’RE YES, THEN YOU’RE NO! YOU’RE IN, THEN YOU’RE OUT! YOU’RE UP THEN Y

* Lmao “cheap boys”!!! Love ‘em!!

* All these people be talking to Richie...bruhhhh what kinda conspiracy shit is THIS! what is going ON! AAAAAA!!

* yoooooooooooooooo... What the fuck is goin’ ooooonnn???

* WELL NOW I KNOW WHAT THE FUCK WAS GOING ON. AAAAAAAHHHH! NO OFFENSE, BUT WHAT THE HELL, IM SCREAMING.

*  I KNEW 5555 HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH ANGELS, I JUST HAD NO IDEA HOW IT CONNECTED OH DEAR GOD.

* I have so much to say. Uhdhdhdhshshccckk this was so clever and incredible and beautifully written. Also now I’m crying! Hooray! I’d write a lot of stuff on this ending, but I would never stop. So, I’ll let this final chat update do the talking:  :)

* Final Chat Update:

+ Bonus:

  *Conclusion on “5555” by Stell/@finnwolfhard:

* Anyways Stell is amazing and talented and I love your work so fucking much. Excited for literally anything you’ll write and post in the future. Take care!!! ❤️❤️❤️ xo

Also. Haha. I wrote all this in notes. And...tumblr doesn’t really do copying and pasting with images. So. I had to send them all to myself, try and submit the post, which didn’t work after a good fifteen minutes. So then I had to paste everything into an actual post to tag the person again. And then put all the images back in and re-format everything. I’m sure there’s an easier way, but I’m inexperienced. This one fucking post. Between writing it, and right now: as I’m trying this paragraph, took four hours. What the fuck. So if there’s any mistake, I’m so sorry! It’s late and my hands are cramping.

[marierosejosephtascher]

Hi there! It's Davis from AO3. Just leaving a message here to ask you more about the poems that got you inspired to write your fantastic fic! (I hope I understood Tumblr correctly haha)

Hiii! Yes, I think you’ve understood Tumblr perfectly haha.

I’m putting this under ‘read more’ since I already know it’s gonna be long. Buckle up!

Okay so we have the first one which is this one:

  Аз не живея: аз горя. Непримирими

   в гърдите ми се борят две души:

   Душата на ангел и демон. В гърди ми

   те пламъци дишат и плам ме суши.

     И пламва двоен пламък, дето се докосна

   и в каменът аз чуя две сърца…

 It translates as:

I do not live: I burn. In acrimony raging Two souls are dueling within my breast: The soul of a devil, the soul of an angel. Their breathing is flame and it gives me no rest. Not one flame bursts but two - whatever I am touching, And in each stone two heartbeats I hear clash… Wherever I go there is an odious doubling Of two warring faces, which vanish in ash.

Basically it’s supposed to represent how utterly torn Alec is in that moment. He’s in a really, really bad place then. If you’ve ever had to choose between your heart and your mind, you’ll be able to understand. One part of him realizes that harbouring feelings for Jace is pointless and it will bring him nothing good. That part wants him to be a good son and Shadowhunter and it wants a future with someone who loves him. That’s pretty logical,right?

But then there’s the other part of him, which I have reffered to as a ‘Demon’ and that part of him only cares about Jace basically. It doesn’t see reason, it just hopes that Jace will love him one day (and it ends up being right HA!)

Once again, if you’ve ever been in a situation where you were in love with someone who you know doesn’t feel the same (but in Alec’s  case he does,phew) you’ll bbe able to understand far better than I can explain it to you with words.

So anyway, Alec ends up feeling like he’s stuck on a crossroad and it’s a terrible situation. Mostly because the ‘Demon’ is the part of Jace’s soul in him that’s literally gripping his own soul and doesn’t let go. The Nephilim doesn’t stand a chance lol. But poor Alec is feeling awful. Someone hug him :(

Bruh, now the second one

  Защото аз съм птица устрелена:

   на смърт е моята душа ранена,

   на смърт ранена от любов…

My soul is grief. My soul is call    Because I am a bird picked off.    To death is doomed my wounded soul -        Soul wounded by the love.

I’ve included this one after Alec learns that Jace doesn’t remember their night (and their first kiss!) He’s simply devastated. There’s no other way to describe it. I would say that this moment along with the one where Alec thinks Jace doesn’t love him for real were the most difficult for Alec in this chapter, even more so than when he thought Jace would never love him back. Because can you imagine it, though? He’d finally gotten everything he’d ever wanted and then lost it less tthan aday later. It’s better to never have something than to get it only so you can know its loss. Alec literally feels like he’s dying from the inside and his love is the one that’s killing him.

 Душата ми е стон. Душата ми е зов.

   Кажете ми що значат среща и разлъка?

   И ето аз ви думам: има ад и мъка -

   и в мъката любов!

My soul is grief. My soul is call.Tell me what are meeting and send-off.I tell you - there are hell and woeand in the woe there’s also love

(These quotes are both fron the same poem btw)

Ok this one comes after the infamous scene where Alec comes to the brilliant conclusion that Jace doesn’t love him. And, uh, I can say that this scene was thus far the hardest one to write. It literally took me a few days to go through it. It was very emotional and that’s because Alec reaches his breaking point here. He can’t bear to lose Jace again. He doesn’t know if he’s alive or dead he just wants the pain to stop. There’s not much else I could say about this scene ecept that I love Alec and I hate myself for doing this to him.

Next. This one is much lighter,I promise.

  Душата ми е пленница смирена,   плени я твоята душа! – пленена,   душата ми е в тихи две очи.

My soul is humble captive,conquered by your soul! – a captiveis my soul of two quiet eyes.

I’ll be honest here, I’ve included this part mainly because of my admiration for Dom’s eyes. They’re honestly so captivating and uniques I have no words haha. Seriously though, Alec is really a captive of Jace’s eyes. He just can’t get enough of them. And since the eyes are the only part of the human body that doesn’t age, that means he’ll always be in lovvewiith his parabatai-even when they’re old and grey.

Мълчание в очите ти царува:

  душата ти се може би срамува

  за своето вълшебно тържество.

Once again, Alec is in love with Jace’s eyes and he refuses to believe they’re his demon mark. On the contrary, he believes Jace’s eyes are a furher proof of his Angelic nature and he intends to prove it to him. ;) Alec has a hard time accepting the fact that his parabatai has magic mainly because that goes against everything he’s been taught, but he still refuses to believe that Jace is a monster. Jace is flawed, but he’s not a monster. Alec acknowledges his parabtai’s flaws and has no problem calling him out when he’s still wrong, but he still chooses to love him and stay with him despite them.

That’s basically it. I’m convinced Bulgarian poetry was written for J@lec haha. If something is still unclear or if you have any other questions-feel free to ask. I love answering questions about my work. It really means a lot.

[sweetgloss]

Currently Untitled Narumitsu Fic - Chapter One

Sooo I said that I wanted to write Phoenix and Edgeworth in Khura’in, right? Perhaps an AU where they arrived earlier than the others for the Turnabout Revolution case and end up spending a week in Khura’in together, or they both come for a case and also to visit Apollo. I don’t really know as of yet, but...tell me what you think...this is the first chapter.

The sweet, heady, hazy scent of incense pervaded the air. The air was sharp and cold, mist curling and slithering around the white-tipped, treacherous shards of mountains like coy serpents.

The scene before them was riotous. Blue and red prayer flags fluttered gaily in the biting breeze, and the bazaar was thronged with scores people buying and selling wares. There were the persuasive, inviting calls of salesmen, the furious bargaining and haggling of customers and the playful shouts of children, intertwined with the low, whistling, mystic sounds emanating from a group of street performers – the soft, seductive thrum of a lute-like instrument, combined with haunting vocals and the melancholy moan of an instrument that looked to be somewhat similar to a flute, with the occasional jaunty shake of what appeared to be a stylised tambourine.

Phoenix’s worn, navy suitcase rattled reluctantly over the cobbles as he dragged it behind him, offering a silent prayer that the wheels wouldn’t give out. He paused, scanning the crowd before him with sharp blue eyes, gripping the handle of his suitcase tightly; an anchor, in the chaos.

A sleek black suitcase rolled up next to his tattered one, seemingly effortlessly, devoid of a single scuff mark. Its owner’s glasses glinted sharply, catching the cold, watery sunlight, and he removed them to polish them, setting his suitcase down and opening his expensive-looking leather briefcase in search of the elusive little polishing cloth.

“Come on, Ahlbi,” Phoenix muttered quietly under his breath, fingers drumming impatiently on the handle. He was cold, travel-worn and fatigued, and was itching to shave and change out of the somewhat crumpled blue suit he’d worn for the long plane journey. He ran his fingers through his sleep-rumpled black hair, the stubborn little lock that stubbornly hung over his forehead bouncing back to its place.

“Wright.” His companion also began to scan the crowd with a little anxiety, though his grey eyes were significantly less sharp in the absence of his spectacles, which he was currently polishing, his fingers busily removing every minute speck of dust from the lenses. He was squinting, and probably couldn’t see much more than a very loud, jostling blur. “Was there not supposed to be someone meeting us here?”

“Yeah, there was.” Phoenix groaned a little, pressing his palm to his forehead, feeling the beginnings of a colossal headache. He was irritable and tired and dishevelled. Stealing a glance at his companion, he felt that it was almost unfair – he looked exactly as he always did, not a single silvery hair out of place, the frills at his throat gently moving in the breeze, his wine-red suit perfectly pressed and sharp.

Said companion replaced his glasses and gave Phoenix a sideways glance, intelligent eyes able to see with clarity once more. He pushed them up the bridge of his nose with a forefinger, taking hold of his suitcase handle once more and casting his gaze around. “Could it be possible, Wright, that you gave him the wrong time, or that he is expecting to meet us elsewhere?”

Phoenix was indignant. “Really, Edgeworth, thanks for having so much faith in m- “

“Mr Wright!” A little voice, slightly chiding, called from in front of him.

“Ahlbi! Where have you been? We’ve been standing here for over half an hour! You’re usually right on time. What happened?”

Edgeworth’s eyebrows raised slightly at the appearance of this enthusiastic but slightly bedraggled-looking little boy, who hefted a large satchel over his shoulder and looked like he would have a very cheerful smile. A tiny puppy yapped at his heels. “Shah’do! Down, boy!” The boy looked back up at Wright. “But, Mr Wright, I thought that we agreed to meet in the Plaza of Devotion? I got really worried when you didn’t turn up there, so I came to try and find you here!” He rocked back and forth on his feet, fidgeting a little, a little crease of worry on his small forehead.

Phoenix stopped in his tracks. “Wha – I…?” He thought back to the phone conversation he had had with Ahlbi and suddenly realised that they had actually agreed to meet at the Plaza of Devotion, and that he, tired, stressed and jet-lagged as he was from flying back and forth between countries, had simply assumed that Ahlbi would meet him in his usual place.

He didn’t want to look at Edgeworth, didn’t want to see the I-told-you-so look that he just knew would be on his face, but he caught a twitch of amusement at the corner of his stern mouth, and his eyes travelled reluctantly up his friend’s face, eventually meeting his eyes, which twinkled with dry humour, and Phoenix knew exactly what kind of mockery was going on in Edgeworth’s mind. Sighing, he turned back to the anxious little figure in front of him. “Ah, I’m so sorry, Ahlbi, I remember now. You’re right. It’s all my fault for forgetting.”

The boy instantly relaxed, his face splitting into an adorable, gap-toothed grin. He bounced on his heels a little, reminding Phoenix of his daughter, Trucy. “S’okay, Mr Wright! And hap’piraki to both you and your friend!”

Phoenix laughed, glad that he had been so readily forgiven and caught by Ahlbi’s infectious cheerfulness, despite his fatigue. “Hap’piraki, Ahlbi. This here is Mr Edgeworth, an old friend of mine. He’s a prosecutor back where I come from.”

Ahlbi’s eyes were like saucers as he gazed up at the imposing man, who towered above him, all steely gaze and crossed arms and confidently-tilted chin. “W-Woah! Hey, Mr Edgeworth, so you’re a prosecutor, like Prosecutor Sahdmadhi?”

Phoenix watched them, a small smile on his face. He would once have been anxious about his old friend’s interactions with children, but Edgeworth had softened and mellowed out considerably over the years, though he was loath to admit it. He had pleasant, if quite formal, exchanges with Trucy, and even had had his own young investigative assistant for a while.

Edgeworth’s mouth quirked into what was really almost a friendly, if somewhat strained, smile. It still had trace amounts of his old arrogant smirk, but it was a lot softer. “Hap’piraki – Mr Ur’gaid, was it? Yes, I am indeed also a prosecutor. I have met Prosecutor Nahyuta Sahdmadhi on various occasions and I have found him to be very thorough and serious about his job, values that I can certainly appreciate. He is a fine prosecutor.”

Ahlbi’s eyes gleamed with patriotic pride, his little fists clenched in his enthusiasm. “Y-Yes, sir! And he’s from right here in Khura’in! We have many talented people here!”

“I’m quite sure that you do, Mr Ur’gaid. I wouldn’t doubt it for a second. The Kingdom of Khura’in is a wonderful nation.” Edgeworth, ever a dog lover, looked down with fondness at Shah’do, who was diligently chasing his stubby little tail in circles.

Ahlbi looked mildly distressed, clasping his small hands. “P-Please, Mr Edgeworth, please call me Ahlbi! As your tour guide, good customer service means you feel c-comfortable in my presence! D-Do you, Mr Edgeworth?”

Edgeworth laughed good-naturedly at Ahlbi’s earnest, worried little face. “Of course I do, Ahlbi. I’m sorry, I have simply become quite used to addressing people formally, in my line of work.”

“Oh, phew! Thank the Holy Mother!” Ahlbi’s cheerful grin was back in full force. “Oh! Mr Wright, Mr Edgeworth. I have something for you!”

“Oh yeah, Ahlbi? What’s that?” Phoenix re-entered the conversation, yawning a little.

Edgeworth raised a slim eyebrow, silently inquiring.

Ahlbi was rummaging furiously in his satchel. A couple of stray Khura’inese tourism brochures escaped from it, fluttering to the ground, but Ahlbi eventually produced two warm, steamed buns, in the shape of teardrops.

“Ahlbi, you’re a livesaver,” Phoenix exclaimed gratefully, taking it from him and inhaling its sweet scent. “The plane food was kind of disgusting.”

Edgeworth rolled his eyes, gingerly taking his own suspiciously. “Wright, I offered for you to join me in business class. You declined. The food served there was adequate.”

“Yeah, because I’m not letting you pay for my plane tickets anymore. You did that enough in…those years,” Phoenix retorted, mouth full of the sweet, doughy bun.

“What is this, Ahlbi?” Edgeworth inquired, pointedly turning away from Phoenix, sighing through his nose and wrinkling it slightly at Phoenix’s less-than-refined eating habits. This was an argument that they had had on and off for several years now.

“A-Allow me to explain!” Ahlbi’s eyes lit up. “That is a magatah’man or soul bun! It’s a popular traditional sweet bun here, in the Kingdom of Khura’in, and it’s shaped in the shape of a magatama. It’s very famous and very yummy!” He grinned endearingly up at Edgeworth. “It’s so yummy, it’ll send your soul straight to the twilight realm!”

Edgeworth looked bemused and a little fearful that he might be poisoned, but he couldn’t in good conscience say no to that cheerful smile. He took a tentative, reserved bite, and then, upon finding the taste somewhat agreeable, consumed the bun, slowly, instead of wolfing it rapidly down as Phoenix had.

“How much is that, Ahlbi?” Phoenix asked, digging around for his wallet.

“Forty dharmas,” he replied cheekily, linking his little fingers behind his head and swaying from side to side.

“Ahlbi! We talked about this! You’re selling them each for five dharmas more than the stands right here in the bazaar!”

“But that includes a service charge, Mr Wright,” Ahlbi shot back, still smiling his adorable gap-toothed smile.

Edgeworth chuckled, and pushed his glasses up his nose, reaching for his own wallet. “The boy’s an astute businessman, Wright. Give him that, at least.” He handed the money, plus five extra dharmas, over to Ahlbi, who looked at the extra as if he’d won the world’s largest lottery.

“T-Thank you very much for your patronage, Mr Edgeworth, sir!”

Phoenix rolled his eyes. “Ahlbi, it’s been really nice to chat but…” he indicated his crumpled attire, paired with hooded, tired blue eyes, and rubbed at the faint stubble on his chin. “I’d really appreciate it if you could show us to where we’ll be staying so that we can freshen up.”

Ahlbi looked horrified. “Mr Wright, you should have said something! A tour guide’s top priority is the comfort of his guests! Please, follow me. I’ll take you to your hotel right away!” He began weaving his way through the gradually thinning crowd, as the sun sunk slightly in the pale sky, the grey day yielding to a scarlet-skied evening.

Edgeworth and Phoenix shared a glance.

Phoenix smiled a little, and Edgeworth smirked, before both men grabbed their suitcase handles and began to follow the boy, manoeuvring through the throng of people, watching for the bouncing of his colossal satchel at his hip and the trotting of his faithful dog at his heels.

The white-tipped mountains blushed pink as the sky faded gently to crimson, and the lanterns studded the cobbled streets of Khura’in as evening’s velvet touch caressed the Kingdom, the sorrowful sound of a lone, dedicated flautist diligently playing his instrument, filling the air, the silvery sounds easing the city into the night.

[alexenglish]

P!atd nonny :) omg dude, I just saw Brendon's tweet! That's the best thing I've seen so far.. "where are the other dudes" *cries* I had no idea they all have alliterative names! That's literally how I write, alliteration 24\7. May I say your mom is a fucking amazing, no joke? Cause to have your parents talk to you about gender and sexuality at that time when you're most confused is so crucial. I'll still debating my sexuality, but I'll leaning towards demisexuality? Who knows *cries more* (1/2)

(2/2) also can my soul ascend with yours? I swear, if I ever hear that dunno Halsey threw a party and Tyler and Brendon just happened to talk and trade Twitter handles and oh look, there's pictures of them hanging out, I'll go full tinhat, crazy obsessed. *cries more* normally I'm more articulated but Brendon... I look at him and I just wanna hit him with my face xD I want one of him. I don't know him for real, but what I've seen makes me wanna xD off to ao3!

PHEW sorry this took me a bit to get to. Brendon’s honestly adorable. and yeah, my mom is really really really really rad about that stuff. she’s always been super understanding and kind of navigating queerness herself, so it’s easy to relate to her, y’know. and agreed w all that, I’d die. I’d just like to see Posey in any context besides BTS photos tbh, I know the break from social media was probably much needed but I miss him a lot a lot. have fun finding fic!