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hollandorks · 1 year

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haven

battinson! bruce wayne x f! reader

chapter two

Summary: After the sudden deaths of your mother and grandmother, you’re forced to return home to Gotham…and to the man who broke your heart three years ago. Back in Bruce Wayne’s inescapable orbit, you vow to get to the bottom of your former best friend’s new cold personality. But Bruce’s secrets aren’t what you’re expecting. a

a/n: I have like six chapters written and a rough (mental) outline of the next four or so, so I'm going to keep posting pretty frequently! I mostly want to get these first few posted to get a nice foundation going...and also because I'm greedy for the attention. Enjoy!

Series Masterlist

word count: 2.5k

Her childhood bedroom was exactly as she had left it three years ago, free of dust, the linens on the bed so fresh she could still smell the detergent.

She threw herself onto the bed and finally let herself cry.

The funerals were a small, somber affair two days later.

Y/n’s mother’s only guests were her sponsor, a distant cousin she had been close with, and a neighbor. Dory’s guests included Bruce and Alfred, along with a few friends, her sister, and her niece and her family. Though the number of guests were few, y/n knew her grandmother was well loved.

As the sermon commenced, y/n found herself aching for just one more hug, one more story, one more smile.

And her mother…the grief for her was unexpected and sharp. She had been a bad mother, yes, but in recent years she’d made an effort. She got help for her addictions. Apologized. Sent the occasional card or letter. Took her own mother to appointments when y/n was too much of a coward to face Bruce.

She couldn’t stop the tears, but she hung on every word said over them in goodbye. She wanted to speak for them, to say her own goodbye, but she couldn’t bring herself to. It was too hard. The hardest thing she’d ever done.

And when Alfred stepped up to the podium, his kind words made her choke on emotion, her muffled sob echoing in the space despite her best efforts to smother it.

She half expected Bruce to comfort her, to try to make her laugh like he had when they were young. But he made sure Alfred sat between them, the space yawning wide like a chasm instead of the length of a single chair. When she glanced over at him, his eyes were on her, his hands bunched into tight fists on top of his knees.

Were those…bruises across his knuckles? She frowned even as he continued to watch her. Well, he had gone through a street racing phase when they were in high school. Maybe he was into boxing now. She had no way of knowing.

She met his eyes once more and her already broken heart broke a little more when he turned away without a word.

She ached for one more smile, one more hug, from Bruce as much as from her grandmother. It was another type of grief, but worse because she could get those things, if only their relationship was still alive. He was there, he was alive, but he was just as far away as the two people in the coffins before her were.

After the funerals and the reception at her grandmother’s church, y/n followed Alfred and Bruce out of the elevator at Wayne Tower. It felt as if she had aged ten years in the span of three days. Her steps were heavy as she trudged towards her room. Tomorrow, she thought tiredly, she would have to go through her grandmother’s things. Alfred told her that she didn’t have to, that everything could stay as it was–but she knew that she had infringed upon Bruce Wayne’s generosity for too long already.

In her own room again, she tried to go to sleep. It wasn’t late, but she was exhausted, and she wanted her brain to turn off for a little while. She didn’t want to think, to remember, to go over every single thing she would never get to do again with her grandmother. She didn’t want to think about Bruce’s gaze on her at the funeral, his hands in fists, his lips pressed tightly together.

She had lost everyone who loved her, except for Alfred.

The loneliness and the grief were sharp in her chest.

Hours later, she was still awake.

With a groan, she rolled over, defeated. It was nearly midnight.

She stood and changed into something more comfortable.

She needed to get out. Out of the place of so many memories, good and bad. Every moment in Wayne Tower was like being chased by ghosts. One moment, she saw herself and Bruce at eight years old, chasing each other up and down the stairs. In the next, she saw her grandmother teaching her how to properly carry a tray of tea to Mr. and Mrs. Wayne. In the next, she heard Bruce’s angry words echo off of the vaulted ceiling as he broke her heart.

Y/n shuddered as she walked towards the elevator that would take her down and out.

“Where are you going?” a gruff voice asked, nearly making her scream.

She whirled around. Bruce was half-hidden in the shadows.

“Out,” she said, feeling oddly like a teenager again. Dory and Alfred had caught her sneaking out many a night. Somehow, they’d never caught Bruce, but always caught her. She had that same guilty feeling now, spreading sticky fingers through her like a flush of heat.

Bruce stepped into the weak light from the lamp on the entry table. “Out where?”

“God, what are you, my father?” she asked with a roll of her eyes. “Just out, Bruce.”

“In Gotham?” he asked, incredulity coloring his tone. His dark eyebrows disappeared into the lengths of his hair. “It’s too dangerous.”

“Never stopped me before,” she said with a shrug. She missed him so much she relished each word he gave her, even if they were a reprimand. She needed to leave before she got stuck in an argument with him–or worse, cried. “See you later.”

She hit the button for the elevator and startled all over again when Bruce grabbed her wrist. She hadn’t heard him close the distance between them. How could someone so tall and broad move so silently, she wondered. And then she realized that he was touching her bare skin, and electricity crackled up her arm.

She wanted to lean into him. God, she missed him.

But then he ruined the moment. “No. It’s too dangerous, y/n.”

Anger rose within her, wild and unstoppable and full of thorns. She bristled at it. “I don’t care.” She yanked her arm away and stepped into the now-open elevator. Even three years away couldn’t tamper the hurt she still felt. It was as fresh at it had been the day he’d ripped out her heart. “I can’t stand to be in this place another second.”

He took a step forward too, blue eyes blazing. “Let me at least–”

“You’ve done enough,” she snapped. The words seemed to stun him into stillness. Which worked for her, because then the doors slid closed, and she was whisked down and away, just like she wanted.

She slumped against the far wall of the elevator, suddenly tired again. She wondered if Bruce was watching her on the security camera she knew was in the upper left corner. She knew he was trying to look out for her–he always had, even as kids when he was much smaller and scrawnier than her–and she had thrown it back in his face. But she was so damn tired. Tired of pretending like she wasn’t hurting. Of pretending like she could look him in the eyes without remembering how much she loved him. Of pretending like things might ever be able to go back to the way they used to be. Of pretending like she wasn’t fucking lonely.

Cold air assaulted her as she stepped outside of the tower. The security guard had barely given her a second glance. She was an adult now and not technically sneaking out, so he didn’t care what she did.

It smelled like it had rained recently or would rain again soon.

She inhaled deeply. Something in her settled. Gotham might stink like any other city but it was a familiar kind of stink. Almost comforting. And the damp smell underneath it was another comfort, one Bludhaven didn’t have to offer with its drier climate.

Y/n turned and walked off with no direction in mind. Maybe she’d stop by the diner on the corner three blocks away. She and Bruce had eaten many a late night meal there. She hadn’t had dinner, either, and was suddenly ravenous. Had she eaten lunch? She couldn’t remember eating anything before leaving for the funerals.

She made sure to keep aware of her surroundings because, as much as she hated to admit it, Bruce was right. Gotham was dangerous. It always had been. It didn’t matter that there was some freak in a bat costume running around, either. He could only do so much. And it didn’t matter that a lot of the corruption had been rooted out by that serial killer, Edward Nashton, the man called the Riddler. Gotham had a way of turning even the best of people into something rotten. It was only a matter of time before another guy in a costume showed up or another mayor turned bad.

Y/n’s mind turned to the bat guy as she scanned the shadows around her. Maybe she’d get lucky, catch a glimpse. She had read a lot of op-ed articles over the past three years while he’d been active. She wasn’t sure what to make of him. She had to admit, he was doing good for the city. One article in particular came to mind–an interview with Lieutenant James Gordon at the GCPD. He apparently worked with the Batman often and they had caught the Riddler together.

One line in particular stood out to her. Those days, in a city where I wasn’t sure who to trust on my own team, I trusted him.

And somehow, this Lieutenant Gordon had avoided being a target of the Riddler, which had to count for something. Because as psycho as he was, Nashton had targeted the corrupt. Well, except for Bruce Wayne. She still couldn’t forgive him for trying to blow up Bruce and almost succeeding with Alfred.

She slipped into the diner, busy despite the late hour, her mind still swirling with thoughts of serial killers and vigilantes and cops.

She took the last free booth in the corner, the cold night air following her inside. An old jazz song hummed in the background and the air smelled like bacon and burnt toast. Her stomach announced its emptiness again, loudly.

She was still thinking of the vigilante as she placed her order with an older waitress with hair the color of wine.

What was to stop the Batman from becoming like the Riddler? They both had taken justice into their own hands and only one was in prison. The Batman hadn’t killed anyone….that they knew of. So why did the city laud him and crucify the other?

Although, she thought as she dug into her stack of chocolate chip pancakes, there had been protests and riots in regards to the Riddler. Enough people had believed in him that a group of them had tried to shoot up Gotham Square Garden in the floods.

Her head was pounding now. The part of her brain that made her a good reporter was latching on to the idea of vigilantes and the line between good and bad. She wanted to write an op-ed article herself, but her thoughts on the matter weren’t original in the slightest.

Maybe, while she was in the city, she’d run into the vigilante and ask for an interview. In a city of criminals like Gotham, the chances were relatively high of seeing the vigilante at least once.

She snorted quietly to herself. That was an unoriginal thought if there ever was one. She would bet money that any reporter worth their salt had tried and failed to interview the Batman. Which probably had involved at least a few getting into trouble on purpose. And still, nothing on his identity. Hell, even his friend Lieutenant Gordon was pretty tight lipped about him, despite telling the world how much he trusted the vigilante.

“Hey,” she asked her waitress as she brought the receipt over. The cracked vinyl seat creaked as she leaned forward. “Ever seen that Batman guy? I’m from out of town, so…” She shrugged, gave a coy smile.

It was technically the truth. She’d been gone for three years, and in that short amount of time, Gotham had birthed all kinds of crazies, including the Batman and the Riddler. It was a running joke in Bludhaven, who only had “normal” criminals.

The waitress shrugged. “I haven’t ever seen him, no. But it makes me feel better working so late, knowing he’s out there.” She inserted y/n’s card into a handheld credit card machine.

Y/n nodded and chewed her lip. “How do you know he’s on your side, though? That Riddler guy last year did alright, up until the flooding and the shooting.”

The waitress’s expression soured. “Batman’s never killed anyone, good or bad. Ever since he became…you know, a vigilante…he never killed anyone. Ask around and you’ll eventually find someone he saved from a mugging or an armed robbery. Or, more likely, someone he helped when all the higher ups left us to fend for ourselves in the floodwaters.”

“Wow,” y/n said after a moment. The waitress had…fierce opinions about the vigilante. “I didn’t realize he was so…loved.”

The woman shrugged again. She handed the card and receipt over. “I’m just saying, he looks out for the little guy.”

Y/n absently tapped her bank card on the table. “Well, that’s good to know. Maybe I’ll see him out there, yeah?” She laughed lightly.

“Probably better than you don’t, because then that means he’s saving you from something.” The waitress winked and went to another of her tables.

Y/n was really itching to write an article now. Wouldn't it be great if she were the one to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding the Batman? Maybe her editor would loan her out to the Gotham Tribune or another newspaper for a special assignment.

She scoffed quietly as she got up to leave. They would simply tell her the truth–there wasn’t anything special enough about her to be the one to succeed where so many others had failed. The only special thing about her was that she had been raised alongside a billionaire. A billionaire who didn’t even want to be her friend anymore.

As she stepped out of the diner, she turned left instead of right. Right would have led her to Wayne Tower, and she definitely wasn’t ready to go back. Talking to the waitress about the vigilante had lit an all too familiar fire within her. The kind of fire that usually burned her, but always led to a hell of a good story by the end.

The kind of fire that made her do stupid things, like stop when she heard a muffled sound from the end of an alley.

The kind of fire that made her sneak forward, into the shadows, to see several men huddled over two other figures.

The two on the ground were both hooded and bound with hands behind their backs. But one was slumped over while one was still on their knees.

And that same fire gave y/n her first burn as she took out her phone and started recording.

There was another muffled sound and she finally placed exactly what it was as the second hooded figure slumped against the first. It was a gun–a gun with a silencer. When she realized, she made her next mistake.

She gasped.

And every head–four of them, all men–turned to look at her.

Next Chapter

taglist:

@ktficworld @grunge-n-roses5 @anon-cat-posts @projectdreamwalker @slovakshadow

#the batman x reader #battinson x reader #bruce wayne x reader #batman x reader #the batman 2022 #the batman #battinson #bruce wayne #bruce wayne x y/n #battinson x y/n

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rottenpumpkin13 · 4 months

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How are the apartments set up at Shinra HQ? Who’s apartment is next to who’s? Is there any drama between neighbors? Is anyone’s far away, hoping they won’t be bothered?

I'm going to use this post as a reference dump for the headcanons I have, because I think about this a lot lol.

• There are two SOLDIER residence floors within the 49th level accessed by a private elevator that you need an access card to ride in.

• The Third Class apartments are shared between three people, the Second Class apartments are shared between two people, and all the Firsts have their own apartments. *There was a time period right before the war ended where all three Firsts had to share one Third Class apartment because the First Class apartments were still under construction.

• Zack is a Second but he currently doesn't have a roommate, so he takes this opportunity to have Cloud over all the time.

• Zack and Sephiroth are on the top floor, with Sephiroth's apartment being the last door at the end of the looong, large hallway. Genesis and Angeal are on the bottom floor at opposite ends of the hallway. *Due to Angeal's house plant collection, bugs oftentimes proliferate on their floor and get into Genesis' apartment, which he hates.

• The First Class apartments are the more luxurious and spacious ones, complete with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a panoramic view of the city skyline, combo bathrooms, and more space than they know what to do with.

• They usually congregate in either Angeal's or Sephiroth's apartments—Angeal's being the coziest, and Sephiroth having the biggest living room.

• Occasionally someone will set off the smoke detector and cause everyone on their floor to stand in the hallway at 2AM while maintenance deals with it. Zack has a tendency to wake up in the middle of the night, inspired to cook, and has been the culprit a total of 5 times. By the 5th time Angeal threatened to take away his stove. Genesis wakes up from nightmares shooting firaga, and has been the culprit 7 times. Sephiroth's oil diffuser caught fire one time and he thought the best course of action to take was to burn the diffuser into nothing. This didn't work. The two floors had to evacuate because it set off everyone's detectors. They all stood in the 49th floor reception as the fire was dealt with. They all knew it came from Sephiroth's apartment. Sephiroth didn't know this, so he spent a good portion of the night talking to people going "who could've done this?"

• All three Firsts have the keys to each other's apartments, not because they love and trust each other, but because one time they couldn't get ahold of Genesis for half a day, so they broke into his apartment and found out he was stuck in his own bathtub because he thought it was a good idea to submerge himself in essencial oils. He drained the tub but was completely unable to get out without slipping back into it.

• Sephiroth and Genesis regularly have to help Angeal drag up garage sale/flea market steals up the stairwell so nobody sees them. Sephiroth's last straw was when he had to go up and down 49 flights of stairs a total of 32 times bringing up boxes of antique kitchenware. By the 18th time he was having to step over Genesis' presumed dead body on the 38th floor landing.

• Sephiroth loves to meditate, but he is unable to because his apartment is right on top of Genesis', who loves to listen to his music uncomfortably loud.

• Genesis claims he's the one who suffers living under Sephiroth. One time he was woken up at 3AM to the violent sound of a gong being hit. Genesis blew a hole through his roof with firaga, which then shot a hole through Sephiroth's floor.

Visuals be upon ye

#ff7 #ffvii #final fantasy 7 #sephiroth #final fantasy vii #ffvii crisis core #genesis rhapsodos #ff7 crisis core #angeal hewley #zack fair #headcanons

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fulgurbugs · 4 months

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another doll post!

they cut me from work early, so i had time to stop by my walmart and see if catty was in. she was! i picked her up with some birthday money for 24.99.

forgot to get a pic of her in the box. here she is unboxed tho! she has saran with microbraids around her hairline (be careful, these come undone easily.)

initial thoughts: while her outfit is cute… it’s missing a littleeee bit of flair. some shoe paint, or maybe a jacket, like in her concept art? these little shoulder things are kind of horrendous. (and they kept coming unvelcroed under her pits.) might look into making her something.

now, there’s a reason i i got excited about catty when i was previously unenthused about her. and that’s her new body sculpt! let’s cut to the chase, that’s what we want to see.

here she is! she is now the biggest MH sculpt, by quite a significant amount. luckily she can still fit on this stand, but it has to grab her right at the underboob at her thinnest point.

it doesn’t photograph well, but she has a pink-tinged iridescence to her body, that could read like shiny fur. it looks great, and makes her look very glittery and dimensional.

wide and back views. i love that she actually has a bit of a tummy, and she also has a much thicker tail than toralei. (i wasn’t able to yank the tail out, tho i think it’s supposed to come off.)

here’s some comparisons with some of the other ghouls. she’s a medium height girl, and i’d say she’s slightly thicker in the body and thighs than abbey, though the way she’s proportioned give her a fatter body type compared to her.

it’s more evident when they’re turned to the side. draculaura only has larger thighs, so if we specially compare to abbey, you can see cattys even larger thighs and her stomach compared to abbeys flat one.

she has smaller feet (same as draculaura’s size.) her hands are also standard size.

back to the doll with her clothes on. here’s her boots, as is mh doll tradition

cool sculpt, definitely need paint. probably a pretty simple project to do, but all those buckles and chains are just begging for a layer of silver. only a teeeeny bit got silver paint, which i think is a shame. allegedly most of the budget for catty went into developing her sculpt, so her outfit definitely is a little lacking….

face card. i adore ADORE her makeup, the little stars…. the side glance… augh. my favorite part is her lip paint, though. the gradient looks absolutely lovely.

the accessories. since this is catty’s core doll, she comes with some of the core staples: her phone, a backpack, her pet cat amulette, and some sunglasses. in addition, she has a mic, a broken hand mirror, a water bottle, and some sheet music

here’s inside the backpack and her sheet music open. (the sheet music is literally just a little piece of paper lol.)

here’s her with some of her accessories! i decided to restyle her hair a little bit as well, i saw a cute restyle that took her micro braids and made a little side bang with them, and that was simple to replicate, so i did that too. i also made her ponytail higher, which i think looks a lot cuter. i think i wanna give her a little ponytail accessory or something tho… maybe in black? dunno. i also think she looks cute with her glasses on her forehead, so i’m leaving them.

obligatory .5 shot.

and that’s catty noir! (lagoona foot jumpscare). i think she’s a lovely addition to the g3 lineup, and i really, really can’t wait to see what they do with her in another line. her reception (at least in the spaces i lurk) has been so overwhelmingly positive that i think when we see her next, they can really go all out and give her a gorgeous outfit and a fun theme (maybe a skulltimate secrets doll?) it felt appropriate to put her with my monster fest girlies, so she got center stage (sorry cleo and frankie) thanks for reading this far!

#dux doll tag #dux doll review #monster high #long post

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mymoonagedaydream · 2 years

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Summary: After the incident things were looking pretty bleak, but the one thing you thought would make everything worse ended up saving you.

Pairing: Bodyguard!Bucky x y/n

Word Count: 7.8k

Warnings: Language, mentions of suicide and self harm, mentions of guns and gun violence

Author’s Note: So I wrote a one shot because I cannot, for the life of me, stick to a consistent writing schedule. Enjoy!

---

You never expected anyone to feel sorry for you. That had been a pretty consistent theme throughout your life, why would anyone feel sorry for the kid who got everything they asked for? Granted, the only things in your past that might have sparked an ounce of pity were trivial, like a broken ankle or a bad break up, but even after this mess you never expected much.

It'd been a few months now since it happened, either two or three, you weren't sure exactly- enough time for seemingly everyone you'd ever met to show up and implore you to tell the story over and over again. One or two of them did appear genuinely concerned but you couldn't shake the feeling that most of them just wanted the gossip, desperate for anything to make them the most interesting person in the room at their next garden party or champagne brunch or ambassador's reception. Every single painful, repetitive, disingenuous conversation you had to sit through served as a further reminder of why you’d left this life behind as soon as you had the chance. Now you were stuck back here for god knows how much longer, and everything just felt bleak.

A soft knock rapped against your bedroom door. You didn't bother answering, they'd just let themselves in, they always did. The knob turned and the door creaked open, your father's timid face peering in.

“Are you busy?” It was nice of him to ask, but it was also unnecessary, because you hadn’t left your couch to do anything other than pee in weeks. “Your aunt Carol is here. She brought you some gifts, I thought it might make you feel better.”

Both of you knew very well that it would have the opposite effect, the only thing you'd ever resented your mother for was bringing that vapid bitch into your life. Well, that and accidentally letting slip that the tooth fairy wasn’t real on your third birthday.

Carol careered round the door and past your father in her typical pantomime dame dress and makeup. You smirked, thinking to yourself that, in dimmer light and with some sinister music, it would've made an excellent scene for a horror film. Ever since your mother passed she’d been sniffing around the house more and more, you were convinced she was trying to seduce your dad to get his money but you couldn't prove it. Thankfully, he had enough sense to stay the hell away from her.

“Oh, look at you, you poor thing. You look awful.” She clunked the wrapped box and card she was holding down on the table and joined you on the couch, her offensive perfume making your nose begin to itch. “Come on, auntie Carol is here for you now, tell me everything darling.”

You gave your father, who was standing by the door looking very apologetic, a harsh glare.

“There's not much to tell. Dad was mid-speech when some guy in the audience stood up, next thing I knew he was getting tackled and there was a loud bang. I look down and I'm bleeding.”

“Oh my, who was he?”

“Just some crazy, nationalist, militia guy targeting politicians, apparently. They have no idea if he was alone or with a group so it’s safer for me to stay here for now. My apartment is too much of a risk.”

“Bless you. It's so difficult being in the public eye, but you are so brave.” She pointed down to your stomach, “and don't worry, I've got some magic serum that'll clear up any unsightly scars ready for bikini season. I'll send you my diet plan, too.”

You turned the dial up on the daggers you were shooting your father every time she looked away, and he finally took the hint.

“Okay, Carol. We should let her rest now.”

“Alright, love you so much baby. Look after yourself, okay? Maybe run a comb through your hair or something. Very frizzy.”

You rolled your eyes at her back as she left and reached over to grab the card. There was a sad puppy on the front, sitting beneath the words sorry you’re having a hard time. You figured that Hallmark probably didn't stock a sorry you got shot by a psychopath card.

Your father was lingering. He never lingered.

“Everything okay, dad?”

“Yes. Although, there is something I need to tell you.”

“Go on.”

“I've hired someone.”

“Right.”

“For you,” he noted your confusion, “to protect you.”

“A bodyguard?”

“No, he's not a bodyguard.” You raised an eyebrow. “He's not just a bodyguard.”

“The hell does that mean?”

He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Wiping the sweat from his palms onto his trousers, he strode over and took a seat beside you, preparing himself with a deep breath. This was serious.

“The last time you saw Dr Burke she recommended that we… don't leave you on your own too much. So, he's going to be looking out for your welfare, going to be spending time with you.”

“Ah, I see. Suicide watch. Great.”

“I’m worried about you. You barely eat, you don't move from that spot, you haven’t showered for weeks. I know you miss being in your own place but,” he put his hand on top of yours, “I’ve already lost your mother, I can’t lose you too.”

Well, that hit you like a punch in the gut.

“Okay, dad. If you think it’ll help.”

“I do.” He stood up, giving you a light kiss on the top of your head before turning to leave. “He’ll be here in a few hours.”

---

You were woken from a light sleep by another knock on the door. The only thing you hadn’t been struggling with recently was sleep, it was the only way you could make your days pass quicker.

Again, the door creaked open before you answered. Your dad stepped in followed by a man you assumed to be your new long-term babysitter. You’d expected someone more stern looking, someone dressed like an extra from Men in Black, but he just looked like a normal guy. He had a strong face, broad shoulders and deep brown hair. If you’d been in a different state of mind you might even have considered him attractive, but you were far too tired for anything like that.

“Sweetheart, this is-” Your father looked blankly over to his companion, obviously already having forgotten his name.

“James. Nice to meet you.”

You mustered a faint smile. There was a brief, awkward silence as your father’s eyes flicked from you back to the composed looking guest, whose huge arms were folded over his chest.

“Well, uh- I have a call in a few minutes. I suppose I’ll leave you two to get to know each other,” he clapped a hand on James’ back, “just let me know if you need anything.”

Then, just like that, you were alone with a complete stranger. Your eyes stayed firmly fixed to the movie you’d slept through half of but were suddenly incredibly interested in. You heard James shuffle forwards, his broad frame eventually scooching into the edge of your vision.

“Look, I get it. You’re a grown-ass adult, I wouldn’t like having some stranger keeping an eye on me all the time either. If you want, I can just stick to the corner, stay out of your way. You won’t even know I’m here.”

That actually sounded like a pretty sweet deal, but you’d feel incredibly guilty having him perched on the other side of the room like a piece of furniture. The least you could do was be a little friendly.

“That’s alright, you can have the comfy seat,” you faintly motioned your head towards the nearby armchair, “but I’ll be shitty company.”

He happily settled himself in. “Makes no odds to me, I’m getting paid to be here.”

A short breathy chuckle escaped your lips, taking you by surprise. It’d been a long while since someone had made you laugh, all the conversations you’d had in the past few weeks had been unbelievably morbid and condescending, most of them with people you had no interest in talking to in the first place.

A couple of silent hours passed. You‘d gotten so used to being alone that you kept forgetting he was there, the odd cough or movement making you jump out of your skin. Eventually, Elaine pounded on the door and announced that she’d brought dinner up for both of you, so James jumped up and helped her with the cart.

Elaine was your father’s housekeeper and the only thing that had prevented him dying of starvation or exposure since your mom died. She was kind and patient, you liked her alot. Her food was always incredible, you felt awful for barely eating it over the last few weeks but the pain from your stomach wound combined with zero expenditure of energy had just killed your appetite.

James looked from his plate over to yours, his knife and fork poised. “You not eating?”

“I’m not hungry.”

“When’s the last time you ate anything?”

Someone had been talking to dad.

You shrugged. “This morning, I think.”

“Bullshit.” Your eyes snapped in his direction. “You know you’re not gonna get any better if you don’t eat, right? You’ll just have to put up with me bugging you for even longer.”

“Thought you were gonna stay out my way?”

“Mostly.” His mouth curled into a faint smile. “How about this, you eat a couple bites, I’ll eat the rest and we’ll tell your dad you ate the whole thing.”

You considered for a second. Not a bad offer, getting your dad off your back for a while would be pretty great. You knew what game he was playing but you were more than willing to play too just as long as the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.

“Deal.”

You expended a tremendous amount of effort leaning yourself forward and grabbing the plate, feeling James’ gaze tunnelling into the side of your face as the two of you began to eat. You had to admit, you enjoyed the food much more than you’d expected, half the plate had gone before you felt full. James looked pretty smug while finishing off the rest of it.

The sky outside slowly turned dark and you could feel yourself getting sleepy, so you settled deeper into the couch for your third sleep of the day.

“Hey,” James leant forward in his seat, “you need help getting to your bed or anything?”

“Oh, no, I’m good. I usually just sleep here.”

He gave you a puzzled look. “There? Is that comfortable? Can’t be good for your back.”

“Probably isn’t, but I don’t have the energy to move.”

“You don’t need the energy,” he sprung up from his seat, “you’ve got me.”

Before you could comprehend what was happening, James had an arm anchored around your upper back and was inching you upwards, away from the safety of your sad-zone and onto your feet. A few mild pangs of pain shot through your stomach but it wasn’t enough to make you fight back, so you just gave in, relaxed into his grip and let him walk you across the room.

Your mattress was unbelievably comfortable and you felt knot after knot untying in your back as you stretched out flat, but you didn’t need to tell him that. Who was this magical asshole, anyway, showing up and suddenly knowing what would help you better than you did?

“I’m just gonna crash on that armchair, if that’s all good with you.”

“There?” You carefully rolled onto your side so you were facing away from him. “Can’t be good for your back.”

A deep chuckle came from behind you. “Smartass. Shout me if you need to go to the bathroom or anything.”

You just grunted, already half asleep. It was only another minute or so before you drifted off peacefully and got the best night of rest you’d had in weeks.

Maybe this babysitting thing wouldn’t be so bad after all.

---

You woke to the sound of soft snoring on the other side of the room. Light was bleeding in around the curtains and you could hear footsteps in the corridor, probably your father heading downstairs for his coffee and newspaper. Coming to your senses, you rolled over and suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to pee. You propped yourself up on your elbows and looked over to see James’ limp hand hanging over the edge of the armchair.

You didn’t need him, you could do this.

Swinging your legs over the edge of the bed and hoisting yourself up was easier than expected but that, unfortunately, made you a little overconfident for the rest of the journey. After a couple of steps the pain started. You felt pathetic but that amount of effort had actually winded you, all you could do was lower yourself to the ground to catch your breath.

“What the hell are you doing?”

You didn’t even realise he’d woken up, you were too busy wheezing.

“Gotta pee.” You managed to push your words out between gulped in breaths.

“What did I say last night, huh? You should’a yelled.” He lowered himself beside you, placing one arm around your back and one under your knees. “Alright, brace yourself.”

“Wait, what are you-”

You choked on your words when he lifted you clean off the floor, a feat that not many had accomplished in the past. He offered to take you as far as the toilet itself but you adamantly refused, determined to cling onto your last shred of dignity while just about managing to shuffle over there, supporting yourself on the sink.

You washed your hands and intentionally avoided looking in the mirror, moving straight over to the door and finding your minder stood directly outside.

He folded his arms. “While you’re here, why not take a quick shower?”

“I’m not supposed to get my dressings wet.”

“Again, nice try, but you really gotta do better than that to bullshit me.”

You let out a heavy sigh. “Can’t you just let me rot away in peace?”

“I mean, I could, but I’m pretty sure your dad would refuse to pay me.”

“I’ll pay you to leave me alone.”

“You can’t afford me, honey.” He smirked and slipped past you. “I’ll get the water going.”

James turned the shower on and put some folded towels by the sink before heading back into your room and gathering some clean pyjamas. You just stayed where you were, leaning against the counter, as he buzzed around like an overexcited child.

“You’re all set. I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

“Thank you, supernanny.”

He flipped you the bird. You laughed and locked the door.

Slowly, carefully, you got undressed, removed your bandages and placed them in the bin. You then had to perch yourself down on the closed toilet seat for a brief break before climbing into the shower. Standing under the water, you looked down at your wound for the first time in weeks, finding yourself amazed at how quickly it had healed. You ran your fingers over it. Never in a million years did you think you’d have a healed gunshot wound anywhere on your body. You thought back to what your aunt said, maybe it was unsightly, it certainly looked weird from this ang-

“You alright?”

James’ overbearing voice snapped you out of your train of thought.

“Yes.”

You turned off the shower and stepped out, lifting a towel to your face and savouring the feeling of finally being clean again. You couldn’t imagine how bad you must’ve smelled before. You pulled on the fresh pyjamas before taking a deep breath and wiping down the mirror, getting a nasty shock when you saw yourself. It looked like all the life had been drained out of you. Your face looked pallid, red eyes sitting above deep, dark bags while skin flaked from your chapped lips. Your hair was still dripping wet but you could tell that weeks of neglect had taken a toll on it.

It seemed like James might’ve come along just in time, any longer sitting in that misery pit and these changes might’ve become irreversible.

“Still all good?”

You rolled your eyes. “Yeah, just trying to remember the most efficient way to cut wrists. Is it horizontal or vertical?”

Throwing your towel in the laundry basket, you opened the door to see a very unamused looking man.

“Real funny.”

He didn’t get a chance to properly scold you before Elaine knocked on the door with breakfast, a smug grin settling on your face as it dawned on him that he probably shouldn’t cuss you out in front of your father’s closest confidante.

The two of you settled into your designated spots. James immediately started digging into the plate that had been piled high for him but you held off, it had been a while since you stood up for that long and you needed to recover. Sharp pangs of stomach pain weren’t exactly the perfect accompaniment to a hearty appetite.

James placed his fork down on the table and leaned back in his chair, mouth full of food. “We gotta do this again, buttercup?”

“I just need a minute.”

“I thought we had a deal.”

“We did,” a bolt of inspiration struck as you realised it was your turn to get a little something interesting out of this relationship, “but I want to change it up a bit.”

“Alright, go on.”

“I’ll eat if you tell me the most insane thing that’s happened to you while bodyguarding.”

“I really shouldn’t talk about that.”

“Shame,” you dramatically pushed your plate away with a flourish, “I was actually feeling pretty hungry.”

He considered, glaring at you from beneath an arched eyebrow and rhythmically tapping his fingers against the arm of the chair. “Fine, but you gotta finish the whole plate.”

“The whole plate.”

“Alright.”

He leant forward again and carried on eating so you followed suit, forcing down one small bite at a time and just hoping that his story would be worth the pain.

“So, one time some rich dude hired me ‘cause his daughter was worried she had a stalker. Apparently she kept seeing someone in a black hoodie following her around, she even saw ‘em standing on their lawn a few times. Thing is, no-one else had ever seen it. I think half the reason I was hired was to figure out if she was just going crazy.”

“Was she?”

“Be patient, pumpkin. You’ll find out.” Your cheeks flushed a little when he called you that. “A couple weeks passed and I hadn’t seen anything. Then, middle of the night, everyone else was asleep and I was doing my rounds. I looked out the window to the yard and there was someone standing underneath her window in a black hoodie.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, shit. So, obviously, I sprinted down there, but they spotted me and started running. They vaulted the fence and I would’a lost ‘em in the trees but they got snagged on the other side. I grabbed ‘em, pulled down the hood and-” He eyed the huge fork-full of food you were hovering by your mouth, “you wanna eat that?”

You rolled your eyes, shoved it all in your face and let out a muffled plea. “And?”

“It was her, the daughter.”

“Fuck off.”

“Dead serious. Turns out one of her friends had a stalker and was getting a load of sympathy and attention because of it, so she got jealous and made up one of her own. She figured if I saw it just once everyone would believe her.”

“That’s so fucked. Is that even legal?”

“No idea, not my job. I got my paycheck and left the next morning.”

“Nice to know you really care about your clients.”

He laughed. “Most of my clients are spoiled assholes who never even bother to learn my name.”

“Really? Can’t be hard to learn a name as simple as Justin.” You received your second unamused scowl of the day. “Anyway, we spoiled brats have enough on our plate without having to learn the name of the person willing to take a bullet for us.”

“Nah, you’re not spoiled.”

“You think?”

“Trust me, I’ve seen spoiled. You’re not spoiled. I think you’re the only client I’ve actually enjoyed talking to.”

Interesting. Probably shouldn’t delve into that statement too deeply.

“I’d take that as a compliment but it sounds like there isn’t much competition.”

He smirked, staying silent for a few seconds before speaking again. “My friends call me Bucky, by the way. I prefer it to James. And I really prefer it to Justin.”

“If you insist,” you shrugged, “but I still think you’d make a good Timberlake.”

---

You managed to stomach a good amount of food that day and you even had a good stab at breakfast when the next day rolled around, so you hoped that Bucky might leave you to your own devices for a while now he’d got his own way.

He did not.

As soon as you’d swallowed the last mouthful of toast he announced that he was going to take you on a walk around the garden.

You looked from him to your stomach, then back at him. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah. We’ll take it slow, one step at a time, and it’ll make you feel better. I promise.”

“Can’t we just open a window?”

“Nope.” He slapped his hands down on the arms of the chair and jumped to his feet. “C’mon sweetheart, you know I’m just gonna annoy the hell out of you until you agree.”

“Is threatening me allowed in your contract?”

“It’s not a threat. It’s persuasion with consequences.”

You eventually relented. He was super keen to get going but it soon became clear that he’d overestimated how far along the healing process you were, it took the two of you almost an hour just to get out of your bedroom and down the stairs with all the constant stopping for breath. Bucky went ahead and pulled open the sliding glass door, your mood instantly lifting when the first breeze of fresh air washed over you. You were starting to hate how often he was right.

He offered you his arm and set a bench on the other side of the lawn as your goal. The neatly mowed grass felt soft between your toes, the faint sounds of birds and planes overhead helping you relax a great deal more than the constant background noise from the TV you’d kept switched on for weeks now. When you reached your goal, Bucky helped you lower yourself onto the seat and carefully squeezed himself beside you once you were settled. Sitting this close to him felt strange, you were used to him being confined to his armchair, and the bench was a pretty small one. His thigh was pressed up against yours. You tried not to think about it.

Deeply inhaling the smell of grass and flowers into your lungs made you feel like a new person but it was also making you a little drowsy, the journey down had zapped all your energy and the warmth from the morning sun was cosy and soothing.

The next thing you remembered was your head being gently nudged, prompting your eyes to flicker open.

“Sorry, princess. I’d let you sleep for hours but I really need to pee.”

You came to your senses and felt the crook of Bucky’s neck against the top of your head. His arm was around you, hand gently resting on your shoulder.

“Shit, sorry.” In your embarrassment you sat up a little too quickly, wincing at the pain that shot through your stomach.

“You alright?”

“Oh, yeah. Just, y’know, the ol’ bullet would.” You laughed off his concern and waved him away. “Go pee.”

“Alright, I’ll just be a minute, don’t move.”

“Couldn’t if I wanted to.”

He was already sprinting across the lawn when he shouted back. “That’s the spirit, sunshine.”

You shot a giddy grin at the back of his head. It still felt like morning but you had no idea how long you’d been knocked out for, you just knew you could very easily spend every night resting in Bucky’s neck like that.

---

Your shadow had been with you for about a week now and, contrary to all initial expectations, you’d actually been enjoying his company. He could be annoying as hell with his constant demands pushing you further and further when all you wanted to do was melt into the couch, but you could see that he was good for you. You supposed that being forced to spend every second of every day with someone gave you no choice but to recognize their good qualities. Thankfully, he seemed to have a lot of those.

Elaine had just collected the dishes from lunch and Bucky had somehow stolen the remote from you. He flicked on some appallingly trashy reality show, your concentration faded in and out but every time you forced yourself to pay attention someone was either screaming or necking.

You’d barely even registered the knock at your bedroom door when he jumped up and launched himself towards it like the diligent little soldier he was. You listened intently, your stomach turning when you heard Carol’s voice interspersed with his. Hopefully he’d assess her as a security threat and slam the door in her stupid face.

To your great disappointment, he did not.

“Oh my,” she looked a little more like a painted old hag than a pantomime dame today, “who is that and where can I get one?”

“That’s James, dad hired him to keep an eye on me.”

“Do you know which agency he’s with?”

You raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t uncle Frank leave you the house and the security guard in his will?”

“Ugh, yes but he could’ve been a bit more thoughtful. I’d rather not have to look at that beer belly every time I drive through the front gate.”

“I see.”

You tried to plead for help from Bucky with your eyes but he was too busy giving a confused look to the back of her embroidered jacket, the one that you were convinced had been made from old curtains and lampshade tassels. She placed herself down in his seat, leaving him bewildered, turning on the spot like a glitched out video game NPC. He eventually just sat beside you.

“So,” she crossed her veiny old legs, “did you like the present I brought you before?”

You did not like the present she brought you before. It was a self help book whose blurb encouraged you to 'break free from your own mental cage' and 'start being the best version of you'. That mindset is incredibly toxic, Carol. Therapists and antidepressants exist for a reason, Carol. Not everyone can make themselves feel better by getting sloppy wine drunk on their dead husband's money every evening, Carol.

“Yeah, it was great. Thanks.”

“I knew you'd love it, so I brought you something else.” She scurried around in her comically oversized purse for a while before pulling out a small white tub. “It's that miracle balm I told you about, for the scar.”

She noiselessly mouthed the word scar and covered the side of her mouth so Bucky couldn't see, like it was a dirty word, like she couldn't bear to think of the handsome man in the room knowing about such an ugly thing.

“Oh right, thanks but I'm not really supposed to put anything on it while it's still healing. Could get infected.”

“No honey, if you let that thing heal on its own you'll regret it, trust me.”

“Well, the doctor said-”

“Baby, look at me.” The legs became uncrossed as she leaned in. “I'm going to be honest now because I love you. Your body is a five out of ten, maybe a six if you did a cleanse.”

“Right…”

“Now, with this hideous thing sitting on your stomach, you're down to a three. I don't want that for you, do you?”

You were speechless for a second. The words fuck off were just beginning to form in your mouth when she cut you off, turning her attention to the equally pissed looking Bucky.

“How about a man's perspective, hmm? You wouldn't want a partner with something so ghastly on them, would you?”

The calmness with which he answered her was pretty impressive.

“Well, to be honest, I couldn't give a fuck, cause I tend to rate personality higher. Like you, for example, are two out of ten but with a few lessons in grace and courtesy, I could see you moving up to a solid five.”

Your mouth fell open. The breath hitched in your lungs as your eyes flicked between the two of them, one looking outraged, the other looking very fucking pleased with himself. The silence was tense.

After a few seconds she leapt up and stormed out of the room, her heels rapidly clicking against the floor while she screeched your father's name.

Bucky just shrugged at you. “Guess her own medicine didn’t taste too sweet.”

“That was amazing.”

“I'm used to dealing with assholes like that,” he followed her lead, standing up and heading for the door, “but, unlucky for her, I'm in charge of who gets access to this room.”

“You can ban her?”

“If I think she's causing you harm I can do whatever I want.”

“You’re my new favourite person.”

“Can I get that in writing?”

He’d been gone for a while when some muffled shouting started downstairs. Too invested in the situation not to investigate, you decided to slide yourself off the couch and press your ear to the floor in an effort to make out the words. It didn’t work, obviously, and you soon realised there was no way in hell you’d be able to hoist yourself back up again. You just had to wait on the ground while your dignity slowly drained away piece by piece.

Bucky eventually returned, predictably freaking out when he spotted you.

“Shit, what happened? Did you fall?”

“No I kinda… slid.” He gave you a puzzled look while lifting you back onto the couch. “Sorry, I was trying to hear the argument. What happened?”

“She won't be bothering you again.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“Can I keep you forever?” You rested your head against the couch cushions. “I’ll let you watch as much trash TV as you want.”

“Don't threaten me with a good time.”

---

A week passed and then another, and with each day you were achieving more and more. Bucky had you showering every day, eating three square meals and taking increasingly lengthy walks around the garden- when your painkillers were doing their job. He’d even spoken to your father about making sure everyone in the house waited for a response after knocking on your door. It sounded like an insignificant thing but you really valued every ounce of privacy you could get your hands on, and it did wonders for improving your mood.

Another thing that was helping in that regard was spending most of your downtime just talking with him. On more than a few occasions you’d actually forgotten he was being paid to stick around, it felt more like you were hanging out with an old friend.

Sometimes it felt like you were hanging out with more than a friend but, every time those feelings started to surface, you quickly pushed them back down into the dark depths in your mind. Acknowledging them would just set you up for inevitable disappointment.

Today, you’d agreed to leave your father’s property for the first time since the incident. Bucky had offered to take you out for a coffee as a soft reintroduction back into the normal world. He drove you out in his ridiculously oversized SUV, passing plenty of perfectly good coffee shops so he could show you his favourite one. It didn’t look like anything special but you trusted him.

He helped you to one of the outside tables, took your order and shuffled inside, giving you a wink over the top of his sunglasses. You rested your hands on the table and glanced around. The street was busy with people and cars and most of the other tables were full, it was midday so you figured most of them were working people taking their lunch breaks.

Then, just for a second, out of the corner of your eye you saw someone in the street stop. Looking over, you made brief eye contact with them before they checked their watch and continued walking. Why were they looking at you? Your eyes darted around the other faces passing by, your panic starting to rise when another of them looked your way.

You grabbed onto the edge of the table, your palms prickling with sweat. The quickening pace of your heart made it harder and harder to pull breath into your lungs, all the muscles in your legs started to tense and your vision blurred at the edges.

“You okay?”

Two takeout cups were hastily abandoned on the table in front of you and a soothing hand landed on your back, Bucky’s face trying to make its way into your line of sight.

“Mhmm.”

“I told you not to bullshit me. What happened?”

“Nothing, really. I just-” You pulled in a stuttering breath. “Need to adjust.”

“Pretty hard to do that when you’re mid panic attack, no? C’mere.”

He turned you round to face him and took you through some breathing exercises, helping you get back in control. The worst of the storm eventually passed but you were pretty shaken up, and he could tell.

“Maybe this was too soon.”

“No, this is good. It probably would’ve happened even if we'd waited longer. Better to get it out of the way.”

“And what if the coffee had taken another ten minutes? You would’a just passed out while I was waiting for fucking milk to foam.”

He seemed angry, but not at you.

“It’s okay, Buck. Really. I could’ve been hit by a truck on the walk over from the car but wasn’t, so why worry about it.”

“Still, we should get you somewhere less crowded,” he took you by the hand, which was unusual, cause he usually just guided you with a flat palm on the back, “probably should’ve started with that.”

You headed back to the car, Bucky somehow juggling you along with two hot drinks, and drove a few miles out of the city. He said he knew of a short, flat hiking trail out in the woods that was only ever busy on weekends. It wasn’t exactly the reintroduction into society that the two of you had planned but, at the very least, it was a step above walks around the yard.

He calmed down once you began walking, the jolly, laid back, Bucky that you were used to quickly resurfacing. It was a huge relief, him being on edge made you on edge and that wasn’t exactly the optimum mood for avoiding another panic attack.

He kept a firm arm around you most of the way, anchoring you to him and protecting you against potential falls. You were pretty sure they were the only reasons.

“I must look fucking dreadful,” you chuckled, “if we bump into anyone they’ll probably think you just found me in the woods.”

“Shut up, you look great.”

“For a three-week-old corpse.”

“A corpse wouldn’t argue back so much.”

“I’m just keeping you on your toes.”

“Damn right you are.”

You smiled to yourself, hearing the warmth in his voice, and decided now was a good time to finally ask him a question you’d been thinking about for a while.

“So, you’ve really never had another client you’ve enjoyed talking to? Not even one?”

“Not that I can remember.” He shrugged slightly. “Why are you so surprised, anyway? We both know how many assholes there are out there.”

“True. I just think you’re easy to talk to, I guess. I’m surprised no-one else made the effort.”

“That’s sweet of you doll, but you should know that just letting me sit by you was completely new for me. I usually don’t even get a chair, never mind a conversation.”

“Brutal. I’m glad the shelter rehomed you with us.”

“Me too.”

You laughed for a second before realising that all this talking had used up your pitiful lung capacity. You came to a stop, Bucky quickly moving to stand in front of you.

“Something wrong?”

“No, I could just use a break.”

“Take as long as you need,” he placed his hands on your upper arms, “we can sit for a while if you want.”

“I’m good.”

Without thinking, you placed both hands on his chest to steady yourself, immediately realising that it was kind of a weird thing to do. Your eyes shot up to his but he was just smiling softly, seemingly unbothered.

The two of you held that position for what felt like an age.

Then, slowly, cautiously, his hands moved down to rest on your lower back, just above your hips. He stepped in closer and your hands tensed, grabbing two fistfuls of his shirt. He lowered his head, your eyes fluttering closed as his lips met yours. You eagerly reciprocated, curling a hand around the back of his neck in a feeble attempt to keep him there as long as you could. It fell, however, when he abruptly pulled away, your arms going limp at your sides.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“It’s okay, I-”

“It’s not. Jesus, I’m supposed to be looking after you.” He rubbed his eyes. “We should get back.”

“Can you just wait for a second? I’m not-”

“No.” He was stern, he’d never talked to you like that before. “We’re going back to the car, now.”

You were too shocked to argue. The walk back was tense and the drive home was the same, you looked over at him a few times but his stony expression encouraged you to keep quiet. You knew you hadn’t done anything wrong, and neither had he in your eyes, but you really had to keep reminding yourself of that. It felt like you’d committed a crime.

Once home, you headed up to your room but he didn’t follow, which was unusual. When your father knocked on your door later and told you that Bucky had removed himself from duty, you weren’t surprised. He claimed that a big job had come up out of nowhere.

He never even said goodbye.

---

You hadn’t so much as heard from Bucky since he left over a month ago. You’d maintained all his rituals and kept your healing process on track, adapting your daily walks so you could do them alone, sticking nearby walls and railings. It was a real struggle, emotionally and physically, but you were determined not to let him abandoning you knock you off course. You didn’t even let yourself cry when he left. You were just angry.

So, naturally, when a chance for you to prove to yourself how far you’d progressed without him came around, you jumped at it. A friend of your father’s was throwing a birthday party for his daughter, you’d never been able to stand her but you hadn’t had a proper drink since the incident- and the booze there would be insanely expensive stuff. Plus, you’d been pining for any excuse to wear something other than pyjamas.

You strolled into the party, arm in arm with your father, and you felt good. You felt ready to be there. That was, until you saw who was working security detail. You barely recognised him in the full black bodyguard suit, you were so used to a t-shirt and jeans, but it was definitely him. Your evening was instantly ruined as you started mentally plotting the best way to avoid him.

You decided a good first step was to head straight to the bathroom to compose yourself, giving yourself the same pep talk in the mirror that you’d given the day after he left. You’d come too far to let him fuck up your first big outing. You dabbed the nervous sweat from your upper lip, adjusted your outfit and gave yourself a nod. You could do this. You just needed to stay away.

Wandering back into the party, you looked around for your father, the only person in the room you had any interest in talking to. You heard your name being called over the music and turned towards it. There he was, standing beside Bucky, beckoning you over.

So your plan was fucked, then.

Your stomach tightened. You grabbed a drink from a nearby table and moved over reluctantly.

“There you are. Listen, James was just telling me about the big job he was called to, it sounds incredibly interesting.”

“Oh, really?”

You took a big gulp of champagne, wondering if Bucky’s fictitious story was as good as the real one he’d told you over breakfast that time. Or maybe that one was all made up, too. You glanced over and accidentally caught his eye for a second, but he quickly broke away and looked back at your father.

“I probably shouldn’t go into any more detail.”

“Of course not, I wouldn't want you getting in trouble.” You involuntarily scoffed at your father’s words but managed to play it off as a cough. “It’s such a shame, though. You two seemed to really be getting on well together.”

Your father looked back and forth between the two of you like he was watching a tennis match, unaware of how painfully awkward the lingering silence was. You finished off your champagne and grabbed a fresh glass from a passing waiter, looking around the room for any excuse to leave this conversation. Unfortunately, your father found one first.

“Ah, there’s the birthday girl, I’d better go pass on some well wishes. I’ll leave you two to catch up.”

You cringed as he walked away. Quickly deciding that it was better to not even attempt conversation, you just silently nodded at Bucky and turned to leave. You didn’t get far, however, as he grabbed hold of your arm and stepped towards you.

“Can we talk?”

You were incredibly shocked but tried to play it off. “I guess."

“In private?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” you glared down at his hand, “but I would like it if you let go of my arm.”

“Sorry.”

He released his grip and you took a small step away, putting a safe distance between your faces. You were still pissed off at him, that much was for sure, but you weren’t ready to trust yourself being in such close proximity to him again. Anything could happen.

“I get why you’re pissed at me, I would be too. I just need to explain.”

“I know why you did what you did, Buck. You don’t need-”

“Please. Someone’s taking over my shift in ten minutes, will you meet me upstairs?”

“Upstairs? Like, past the rope with the big no guests allowed sign?”

“I’m sure you’ll be able to sneak past,” he smirked slightly, “I heard the security here sucks.”

He was right, too. You got up there with absolutely no trouble whatsoever.

All of the doors off the hallway were closed apart from one, at the very end. You took a gamble and slowly approached, peeking your head round to see Bucky perched on the edge of a huge bed. He shot up when he spotted you in the doorway.

“Sorry, I know this is kinda weird, it's the only room that wasn’t locked or, y’know… occupied.”

“Lovely.”

He nodded and gave you a smile. “You look great. Amazing, actually. How are you feeling?”

“Better,” his smile melted you a little, “mostly thanks to you.”

“Ah, you would’a been fine, I just annoyed you into being fine a bit sooner.”

You nervously rubbed the back of your head, in disbelief at how quickly he’d broken through your thick wall of resentment. You scrambled around trying to gather up some of the bricks and rebuild but being in the presence of that slick motherfucker was making it really difficult.

You gathered your thoughts, took a breath and spoke.

“Buck, like I said downstairs, you don’t need to explain. Obviously making out with your clients is a fireable offence, I get that, so you had to leave. Everyone makes mistakes.”

“You think I left ‘cause of that? You think some shitty job is more important to me than you?”

“I mean, yeah, kinda.”

“Jesus, I really am an asshole.” You gave him a confused frown as he reached out and took both of your hands in his. “Look, I couldn’t give a shit about this job, there’s bodyguarding positions everywhere and most of them don’t involve babysitting rich assholes. I left ‘cause I felt like I’d taken advantage of you. I couldn’t stand it.”

“Huh?”

“You were in a bad place. You were vulnerable and I was supposed to be looking after you, not- y’know...”

“Sucking face?”

He chuckled. “Yeah.”

“Right, but you do remember that I’m not a child, yeah? Just because I’m feeling shitty doesn’t mean I can’t make decisions for myself.”

“But it does mean your judgement is at least a little impaired.”

“Fine, whatever, but it isn’t anymore.” You squeezed his hands. “And I’m telling you now as a fully sane, rational adult that you didn’t do anything wrong. Alright?”

A relieved smile spread across his face. “Alright.”

“Good, cause I made a decision and I’m sticking to it.

“Might be a bad decision.”

“Sometimes bad decisions are more fun.”

“You can say that again.”

Your second kiss with Bucky was, somehow, even better. He was more sure of himself this time, less cautious, he moved in quicker. You did the same, wrapping both arms around his neck and letting him take some of your weight. You felt him smile against you as a hand dived into the back of your hair.

Now this was a kiss worth being fired for.

He pulled away, resting his forehead against yours. “For the record, the first time wasn’t a mistake. It was a… happy accident.”

“Whatever you say,” you chuckled, “I’m just glad we bumped into each other again.”

“Oh, we didn’t. I took this job after checking the guestlist.”

“You sneaky fucker.”

“You know it.”

---

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oh-saints · 7 months

Text

sweetest devotion (p.8)

they did start this whole circus with a marriage of conveniences. little did mason and serena know was how convenient they had become during this marriage…

playboy!mason mount x princess!OC wc: 3.5k tw: only as warned under masterlist but none for this chapter, except for a long read ahead! note: I am deeply apologetic for delaying this for far too long, but a virus came into me and almost paralysed me. but an excuse is an excuse, and a promise is a promise so here you go! the long-awaited chapter for our favourite star-crossed couple and I hope this made up for all the times you miss mason x serena. but as usual, I happen to have inspirations whenever dawn is approaching so this is not proof-read yet! tags: @pingyu-in-wonderland @808heartz @ironmaiden1313 @myreveriie @kathb59 (let me know if you want to be added!) < part 7 here - part 9 TBA (hopefully within the next 2 weeks) sweetest devotion masterlist

if, when mason decided to step on the throttle and married serena earlier this year, any of you shot mason in the head with the fact that mason would get along very well with serena on the last trimester of her pregnancy, mason would spit in your face. without a doubt, without hesitation.

“i need your help,”

such simplistic sentence was not supposed to do any harm to mason’s body, but it did—it always does, without his consent—and the footballer had to regulate his breathing to conceal the devastating effect serena effortlessly brought upon him.

being amicable with serena was never in his bingo cards. let alone this.

mason mount was only supposed to partake his share of responsibility towards his own child. the fact that he might be able to save serena from an impending death sentence, should she be discovered with a child out of wedlock, was a bonus.

naturally, with that in mind and a divorce at the end of the deal, he didn’t expect to be more than co-parenting partners at best.

“what is it?”

but now, he could only count his blessing amongst the stars, for no one had shot him with such incredulous prediction of his future, so mason didn’t have to apologize to anyone for having spat on their face. because mason and serena was co-habitating even better than expected, way much better than even the both of them would like to admit.

“i can’t reach for the pan.”

mason laughed a genuine one, the warmth replacing the initial electric shock. serena frowned a deeper pout, adding more heat all over mason’s body despite firing up the furnace earlier, resulting mason to plaster a wide smile still on his face as he did what he was instructed. “there you go, princess.”

they weren’t supposed to fall into this—whatever “this” might be. the sense of familiarity, comfort… all mixed up in one unknown territory they didn’t want to explore but know well enough that they had plunged themselves in.

as much as they denied themselves from the reality, though, they had indeed deviated from their own terms of being amicable. they had certainly gotten themselves more comfortable around each other than intended; it was as if they had found the rhythm on their feet and had fallen together into a song to dance together. serena cooks, mason grocery-shops. mason drives everywhere, serena massages him before they retreat to their respective bedroom. mason plays a home game, serena watches from the family box. serena has a foot aching or swollen, mason is ready with a warm-water footbath. serena catches an occasional or residual morning sickness, mason knows where the ginger crackers are. mason talks, serena listens.

what a contrary to the so-called first dance they displayed for the rest of the world to believe. back then, serena was lucky to not have stepped on mason’s tom ford shoes, and mason was saved from critics highlighting his luckster steps ripping off the train of serena’s reception gown. that night, serena decided it might actually be better to have god save the princess instead as an alternate title to eldorran national anthem.

but despite the level of this newfound friendliness established between the two of them, there was still an enormous elephant in the room.

where are they in this relationship?

that is, if there was ever a sufficient word to describe their relationship. yes, they were married but are they a couple? if not, were they friends or were they just roommates?

mason would like to think the first one—for him, roommates were simply acquittances that could care less about other person’s whereabouts, and surely with the extent they had gone through together wasn’t merely hi, how are you? basis—but more often than not, serena did make him feel the reality was that mason was indeed still walking around the eggshells.

there were times when serena made him feel he was one step forward, two steps backwards. for example; while mason was more than happy to be labelled the yapping boyfriend per today’s standard of couple compatibility, serena was, in nature, a reserved person who speaks only when deemed necessary, so to have her sharing bits of her life while he was away for work could be seen as making a wide stride of progress. but in comparison to the earlier times when their communication was rather limited to texts—or rather, mason had limited their interaction—serena was far more welcoming then, in a sense that she was willing to inform him where she was going and whatnot when they were still practically strangers.

case two was, unfortunately, the most ironic of all.

mason and serena had made a habit to retreat to the living room after dinner, for whatever reason. be it simply watching the latest movie they didn’t have the chance to catch up, be it mason gaming while serena continued her journaling, be it serena accompanying mason while he was up to review the approach of an upcoming game, be it to have a light discussion about nursery, the upcoming doctor’s visit.

bottom line, the living room had turned into a shared premise for them, yet serena had never once invited mason over to her mini piano recital.

you might wonder why was mason upset over such a small—meaningless even for some—matter. but when your housemate bid you farewell for the night, only to sneak up the owner of the house later into the night to use the grand piano by the stairs—courtesy to his interior designer, who decided it’d be a nice sentimental touch to contrast the masculine theme of his house—it posed so many questions. not to mention, serena was annihilating the keys, madly punching the notes like she was screaming, very much unfit to the elegant divinire by Ludovico Einaudi.

mason had to give it to serena, though, for choosing this road. because others—most of the population, really—would only think she’s blessed with a musical talent, playing the black-and-white keys as if glue was stuck on the pads of her fingers, when in reality she was anything but destroying the classical piece.

layered with complexity, exactly like serena in person.

the next morning, mason woke up with a full determination to confront serena about it. only to be greeted by a sight of her mildly swollen eyes—mason might not be the brightest kid at school but her sisters made sure he was the top of class in the subject of “women 101”—so he’d forego whatever words about to be spilled on the tip of his tongue.

but later, mason realised, he was glad he never made it known that he’d overheard her stellar performance. another night she’d sit down on the giant musical instrument and played a beautiful piece mason recognized from the black swan, yet it was mesmerizing for all the wrong reason. he remembered she’d gotten a call earlier from a palace, and her face expression had become sombre a bit, probably due to whatever the palace was saying.

he concluded that it had moulded into a pattern of habit whenever she was having a bad day—a way to let out her frustration. so mason stayed put, afraid he’d only distract serena. or worse, destroying her concentration flow. she worked hard to conceptualize this whole recital anyway, why should he ruin it?

other times when this happened, he’d sat on top of the stairs, hidden behind the nearest wall, as the princess took over the grandiose piano. and he had never recalled any other time when he failed to show up whenever she played her version of rendition to a modern classic piece because he knew it was serena’s only outlet to be herself. full of hidden angers and oppressed opinions, unable to express the way she truly feels because of all the royal restriction. in a way, he wanted to be there for her—good days, bad days, every day.

what a regal way to do so, whilst mason was the type to punch away the sandbag at the gym.

still, if her outmost genuine concern was not to disturb mason, and thus the midnight choice of time, she was certainly wrong. if serena thought mason would miss the elegant tunes flowing as the production result of her dainty fingers dancing on those black-and-white keys, she was certainly over-confident. mason might not be the mozart prodigy but he knows when one is supposed to depict sadness and anything alike.

but why would she conceal something as beautiful as that?

on another take, if she indeed didn’t want mason to know her habit: why? or was that why the notes she’d play was always heart-wrenchingly beautiful? because she didn’t want mason to hear anything whatever she had to say without words? because she didn’t want mason to know her deepest, most hidden secret that she was never happy here in the first place, no matter how hard mason had been trying to provide everything in this earthly realm in order to make her happier and healthier?

why didn’t she say anything, about anything at all really? in whatever relationship is—friendship, kinship—it always takes two to tango. and right now, serena was an even worse dance partner than their reception night.

just until when were they going to tango around the room, spinning endlessly?

“that was one hell of a performance.”

serena visibly jumped on her seat behind the piano, her eyes immediately looked for the source of sound. “mason,” she remained still, as she watched mason coming nearing her position. “do i wake you up?”

“no, i was only falling asleep when you started,”

“oh, no, i apologize—”

“no, no, no, i always like it whenever you play,” realising the slip of tongue that this was not the first time he’d heard her, mason might as well let out the remaining of the truth. “i like how you look when you play. free—of pressure, of opinions, of judgement… of the world, really. nothing else but you.”

there was a flash of surprise and fear. an equivalence of deer in the headlight in royal etiquette, mason presumed, before she turned away her head. “sounds like a selfish person to me.”

“if you’re a selfish person then you would’ve aborted our son the first moment you found out about him,” the speed of mason’s retaliation took serena by surprise. “but you didn’t. and that’s what i like about you, too.”

the amount of the word like coming out of mason’s mouth was seriously concerning serena. they were not supposed to like each other—amicable was what they agreed upon in the first place, given the situation and condition.

“can’t sleep?”

serena shook her head in response to mason’s question while her fingers reached for the cover of the piano, wanting to shut the lid and took her leave.

her intention had to be cancelled as mason took his spot beside her. “how are you feeling about tomorrow?”

ah, yes. the day she had been dreading.

tomorrow was the day serena had to fly back to eldorra, for her oldest brother’s wedding and her father’s abdication. the festivities wasn’t supposed to kick off until 5 days later, but serena had decided to fly in earlier because she thought she needed time to adjust back to the nitty-gritties of royal etiquettes, protocol and other royal affairs. it was a reasonable justification, both in the eyes of the palace and mason, considering she’d been away from the princess lifestyle for rather a while now, technically alone in London and bereft of any relatives but mason, both from his side of the family and especially hers.

in all honesty, serena was content with her life here, away from the spotlight and the pressure of a royal member. it was rather a life she’d been wishing to have since she was teenager. contrary to her image and popular belief that she was the friendliest member of the eldorran royal family, she wasn’t as good at mingling with any figure connected with power, politics and whatnot as she was mingling with her people.

an entire sequence of traditions was coming her way—for a wedding, abdication and coronation—so the level of social anxiety was guaranteed skyrocketing. this would mean mingling, meaningless chitchats, keeping two-faces intact, answering intruding questions, addressing false allegations, greeting and faking smiles to gold-digger spouses and so-called socialites FOR DAYS. good lord in heavens, please give me enough strengths to truck the atrocious days alone.

“are you sure you are not coming, mason?”

ah, yes. the breaking news, so shocking it headlined the eldorran gossip channels and tv programs for a week straight.

mason’s professional commitments required him to fly with his football club for an important match for several days, which coincidentally happened to fall during the series of pre-events leading to the wedding day of her brother. his attendance on the wedding day itself, the abdication and the coronation remained hanging for the public to guess—but they knew better.

the king, serena’s father, still harboured an ill feeling towards his only son-in-law. … mason didn’t even protest on that, given it was the prerogative of the king anyway, but her father made it well-known from their very first meeting in chelsea’s training ground that they’d never have a particular in-laws normalcy. mason remembered it very well, for he’d never been in the presence of a great power and authority flowing throughout the room that he’d wavered a little behind the mask he displayed.

mason flashed serena a bitter smile. “you know the answer to that, princess.”

“there is an answer to that, too, mason,” serena said, offering mason a slight grasp over his hand. “we can always use this special card of ours.”

the sight of serena looking down at her protruding belly, now unable to be hidden under various designs and styling, as her free hand stroking the ball of sunshine, never failed to warm mason’s entire body and soul. he would always feel warm and giddy, and proud and glad serena and their son was doing well each and every day, despite the rocky start.

“i’ll miss that when you’re away. you, playing the piano,” while another hand stroked gently over serena’s stomach, mason turned his occupied palm around to grip hers tightly, interlacing their fingers for the first time in forever. “i’ll miss this, too.”

“well—”

“i’ll miss you.”

what they had was orthodoxically special, indeed.

＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊

the house feels empty

serena didn’t know the exact time and place where this all had begun, the random texts. the timeline had become blurry since they had progressed into a friendlier terms, coming from a chain of texts that was similar to the ones shared between the owner of a house and its renter. but it had indeed become something she looked forward to during the day, a glimpse of how his day went so far—ben snores so much it hurts my ears; azpi’s so irritating in training today; or such. it filled a small space in her heart, longing for a dear friend.

but since the i’ll miss you happened, serena would be lying if she didn’t think that mason’s words were laced with something else. something beyond friendship, something she was afraid to find out, something she’d like to think non-existent so they could continue their beneficial partnership until their son was born.

in case you forget, your sound system is top notch.

act calm as usual, the head of royal etiquette always reminded her in cases where she faced a micro crisis. thus, her reply just now. she’d slip in a banter or two whenever mason sent her any text of grumbles, complaints, grunts on a usual basis.

as calm as she was, serena had to place a hand over her chest, exactly on top of her beating heart that was running rather irregularly now, while her other hand was busy slipping her phone discreetly back to her meticulously customised purse and her attention back to the ongoing discussion between two young heirs in front of her.

but of course, when she felt her phone vibrated again not long after sending her reply, serena couldn’t help but to succumb to temptation. she retreated to the corner of the room and hands were immediately reaching for the electronic device.

it’s still not the same you’re not here

for a full ten seconds, serena remained a statue. the only sign she was alive was the wide grin plastered across her face that the princess herself didn’t realise was there to begin with.

ah, shame we’re miles apart then.

it didn’t take a minute before another bubble popped up.

what if I tell you we’re no longer apart?

serena’s heart jumped from its long hibernation—she’d successfully managed to sedate them into a peaceful sleep during her time training again her old motoric as a royal princess—but she tried very hard to mask the stallion pace it was giving.

because in all honesty, serena would be lying if she didn’t wish mason was here by her side. the last state banquet she attended with mason a while back was enough of a proof that having an ally was better than no one at all. even when they weren’t exactly in the best term back then, and apart from the fact that he was only there to fulfil his end of deal.

should she mention the immense assurance she felt whenever mason’s hands were on her back, placed strategically to guide her through the maze of people wanting to formally greet her, or whenever mason’s hands were extended to reach her waist protectively while one or two people were ready to step on her feet?

alas, hope is a very powerful weapon and she’d wish not to yield it. not towards mason, at least. but before she could type out her reply to his text, her phone beeped once more and another blue bubble had popped up on her screen.

look around.

despite the early internal battle, serena did as she was told. and there he was, mason mount, looking dapper as ever with a complete, tailored suit like every other man in this ballroom—which should mean by fellow aristocrats, socialites, political figures amongst others. maybe mason was even more dashing than the rest of them because good god, his smiles as he greeted every one he met along the way down to reach serena…

it was polite but full of implied sneer, it was handsomely irritating somehow. it was captivatingly powerful too on the other hand, enough to put all the gossip and rumours spread by the palace down. it was a plain challenge to the king’s authority that didn’t allow him to be here in the first place without giving away too much insider information away.

“hello, there,” the multimillion-watt smile wasn’t wavering anytime soon, serena inferred, as he finally stopped his steps in front of her. now that he stood so close to her, she could see a thousand layers of emotion unravelling, but one thing struck more than other: he was very happy, with a bit of relief, that he was here. and that was enough of a reason for serena to reciprocate his—somehow, unbeknowingly—wider grin because she, in fact, shared the same sentiment.

for the first time in her life, despite being trained to stand up for herself diplomatically so, serena thermapolis was beyond elated to have found a true ally in this room full of fake courtesies, and that ally was her husband, no less. her stunning husband, fawned by several ladies in the background, whom she had grown more than fond of, with or without her acknowledgement, was here and that was all that mattered.

and the awful part was mason didn’t know what he did just obliterated her poor heart and rendered her speechless.

“you look like you could use a company. may i join you this evening?”

#oh-saints writes #mason mount #mason mount fics #mason mount fanfic #mason mount fic #mason mount fanfics #mason mount series #mason mount fluff #mason mount angst #mason mount x oc #mason mount imagine #mason mount imagines #footie fics #footie fic #footballer x oc #football fanfic #football fic

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muddy-water-1997 · 4 months

Text

𝖠𝗀𝖾𝗇𝖼𝗒 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖡𝖾𝗇𝖾𝖿𝗂𝗍𝗌

𝖳𝖶: 𝖧𝗈𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗍𝗅𝗒 𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝖺 𝗅𝗂𝗍𝗍𝗅𝖾 𝖻𝗂𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝖺𝗇𝗑𝗂𝖾𝗍𝗒 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝖿𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗍𝗋𝗎𝗅𝗒 𝗐𝗁𝗈 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝖻𝗅𝖺𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋 𝖠𝖳𝖯

Chapter 5 - The Fallout

The day after the previous night's events, you wake up with a throbbing headache that reminds you of the embarrassing episode in front of Felix. You cringe at the thought of Changbin's rudeness, Bangchan's insistence on getting you NDAs to sign, and the cryptic conversation between Han and Lee Know. You take a deep breath and try to shake off the unpleasant memories. You tell yourself that yesterday was yesterday, and today is a new day. Convincing yourself that you only went to a concert, had a drink with your friend, and then retired to your hotel room to sleep. Nothing else happened. You glance over to your friend's bed, but she's not there. Instead, you find a note on her pillow.

"Gone to get coffee - water in the fridge - xoxo."

You feel lucky that your friend is still around after the embarrassment you caused her last night. You savour the silence in your room and reach for your phone, only to find it in pieces. Reluctantly, you leave bed and head to the mini-fridge to get the water your friend left for you. She's leaving today to return to her hometown, but you're fortunate enough to live only half an hour away since you moved here for work.

"Hey, I'm back!" your friend announces as she enters the room, interrupting your train of thought. You wave at her while sipping water, hoping to start the day afresh. "There was a package for you at the reception. Did you order something this morning?" she asks, handing you the box.

"Oh, it's probably the gloves I ordered for my outfit last night." you say, shaking the box gently, which feels heavier than expected.

"If it's new laces for your shoes, they might have saved you from the debacle last night," she jokes, and you grimace but ignore it.

You open the package, wondering why gloves weigh so much. However, when you pull back the tissue paper inside, you stop short, stunned. "It's a phone?"

"A phone?" your friend echoes incredulously.

"A phone," you confirm, still in disbelief, as you slowly extract the device from the box.

To your surprise, there's a note attached to it.

"I'm sorry for how we all acted yesterday. Consider this an apology - BC."

You stare at the note in confusion. BC? Bangchan? Apologising? You need help understanding how he tracked you down at your hotel. Did the receptionist give away your information? You can't help but feel uneasy about the potential breach of confidentiality. But then again, he is Bangchan, so anything is possible.

You pass the note to your friend, hoping she can understand it. "I think he's apologising," she says uncertainly. You can feel the weight of her gaze on you as she waits for your response.

"Wasn't I the asshole yesterday?" you ask in sincerity.

She shakes her head. "You were drunk, not an asshole. If anyone was being an asshole, it was Bin and Chan. There was no need for them to be so rude to us." Your friend places the note on the bed and watches as you power on your phone, hoping to distract yourself from the situation.

You grab the SIM card from your old, shattered phone and slot it into the new one. The phone lights up, and you breathe a sigh of relief. At least one thing is going right today.

As you said goodbye to your friend outside the hotel, you couldn't help but envy her. She had a long drive ahead, but at least she was heading home. On the other hand, you were returning to your new apartment on the outskirts of town - a lonely half-hour taxi ride away from the hustle and bustle of the central city.

As you settled into the backseat of the taxi, your mind began to wander. You thought back to the previous night when you had been driven out of the city for at least half an hour to get to the Hilton. You were still getting used to your new surroundings, and it felt strange to be so far away from everything you knew.

Your thoughts were interrupted by a familiar chime from your phone. It was your business partner, Claire. She apologised for the short notice but explained that she had fallen ill and couldn't attend a client lunch. She asked if you could fill in for her, and you reluctantly agreed.

You arrived back at your apartment just long enough to change into your emergency work meeting outfit before jumping into another car sent by Claire. As you rode to the lunch, you couldn't help but feel grateful for your job - it had its challenges, but it also afforded you many opportunities to meet interesting people and explore new places. And, of course, there was always the promise of overtime pay to sweeten the deal.

As you embark on the journey to an unknown location, you put on makeup to look your best. You carefully applied mascara on your lashes, put some red lipstick on your freshly exfoliated lips, and wore your favourite black lacquer heels that perfectly complemented your outfit. You always referred to it as the 'Deal Closer' look, as it had a charm irresistible to the right clientele. Though you had no clue who you would meet, you were confident you would make a great impression.

As you gazed out the window, the scenery seemed oddly familiar, and you couldn't shake the feeling of deja vu. The trees and the paths looked identical to some you had seen before. Your phone beeped as you were lost in thought, indicating a new message. It was Claire, and she had finally sent you the client file, but not without a touch of her flirtatious humour. Knowing her, you could bet that the client was a man. She had a habit of treating business meetings like dating sites.

You opened the message, and your heart sank as you read the location of the meeting - The Hilton.

Shit.

As you tentatively enter the familiar gold and cream foyer, you realise that the flowers have changed. You approach the front desk and are surprised to see one of the women from the previous night. You couldn't help but wonder if she should still be at work at this hour. You hoped the eight men you had met the previous night had gone out and wouldn't be in the building. You can't afford any distractions when trying to close a business deal.

The woman at the front desk greets you loudly, calling out your name, and you quickly hush her, hoping to avoid any unwanted attention. You introduce yourself and let her know you're here for a business lunch on Claire's behalf. The woman nods and checks her system, confirming that your client is already waiting for you in the meeting room. She offers drinks, and you eagerly nod, feeling like you could murder a coffee.

You quickly grab your phone to let Claire know you have arrived and you'll be getting things underway shortly. However, before you can even text, you feel someone's gaze fixated on you from the top of the stairs. You count down from three before looking up, and as you expected, it's Bangchan. He shoots you a look, a mix of confusion, friendliness, and something you couldn't reasonably interpret. He winks once in your direction and walks away across the top of the stairs and into one of the corridors.

You take a moment to look around, trying to find who Bangchan had just winked at, wondering if it was you. You feel a tinge of curiosity and confusion but quickly shake it off, reminding yourself to focus on the task.

As you try to maintain your composure and confidence, you approach the glass meeting room adjacent to the hotel foyer. Upon entering, you greet the older gentleman and introduce yourself before offering him a drink, which he refuses. You sense he's using it as a power move, but you remain focused on presenting hard facts and sealing the business deal.

However, your phone starts buzzing less than five minutes into your presentation. Assuming it's just Claire checking in, you ignore it and continue. But the buzzing persists, interrupting your flow, and the gentleman asks if you need to attend to the matter. You apologise and quickly excuse yourself to check your phone.

New text: ‘I know you saw me- BC’

New text:‘Y/N: I think Chris is looking for you- LF.’

New text:‘You can’t just move your phone and ignore me- BC.’

New text:‘The meeting room is made of glass, y/n- BC.’

New text:‘Who’s number is this, and why is it on my phone? - KS.’

You stare at your phone in disbelief. What the hell was happening?

NEXT CHAPTER

𝖶𝖺𝗇𝗍 𝗆𝗈𝗋𝖾? 𝖳𝖾𝗅𝗅 𝗆𝖾! 𝖬𝗒 𝗂𝗇𝖻𝗈𝗑 𝗂𝗌 𝖺𝗅𝗐𝖺𝗒𝗌 𝗈𝗉𝖾𝗇, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖨 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾 𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗀𝗎𝗒𝗌!

𝖶𝖺𝗇𝗍 𝗍𝗈 𝗃𝗈𝗂𝗇 𝗆𝗒 𝗍𝖺𝗀 𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗍? 𝖣𝗋𝗈𝗉 𝗆𝖾 𝖺 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝗈𝗋 𝖣𝖬!

#bang chan #fanfic #kpop #stray kids #writers on tumblr #ot8 x you #skz ot8 #stray kids ot8 #ot8 x reader #lee felix #changbin #lee know #han jisung

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junkpile-of-eterna · 5 months

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Some Aventurine Pulling Rituals!

For the record, I don't "believe" in pulling rituals, but they're very fun and make the pulling experience more interactive and interesting. So, with my best boy coming soon, I've been thinking of all kinds of little things to do for him! These range from very simple to a bit complex. Feel free to maybe add some of your own, and I'd be really interested to see which was "the one" for you when the time comes!

1.) Take the Trailblazer to the reception desk in the Reverie (reality) where we first met him, and pull

2.) Take the Trailblazer to their room in the Reverie (reality), and pull

3.) Take Dr. Ratio into the model Golden Hour and pull

4.) Take Dr. Ratio to the balcony where we got close to his giant self, and pull

5.) Walk through the curtain at the theme park and then pull

6.) Take a picture at the Hanu standee in the theme park, then pull

7.) Play the capsule machine one time, then pull

8.) Take Dr. Ratio to Aideen Park and keep using his technique until you get the heart-hands statue, then pull

9.) If you have Acheron (I don't), take her to the stage and use her slash technique, then pull

10.) If you have Topaz (I don't), take her to the Jarilo-VI snow plains near the bear cub where we heard his voice for the first time, and pull

11.) Take a deck of standard playing cards, shuffle them, then keep flipping them until you find the ace of spades, then pull

12.) If you just so happen to have a real aventurine stone (I don't think I do? But I should look through that box of crystals a friend gave me once, lol), hold it in one hand while you pull

13.) On the warp screen, hold your left hand to the screen (probably not possible on a phone or a touch-screen monitor), recite the blessing of Gaiathra Triclops, and then pull (this is going to be my last resort, because I might start crying, lol)

#honkai star rail #aventurine #hsr aventurine #pulling rituals #it's starrail #aven my beloved #some of these are a little shippy sorry about that

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eleni-cherie · 2 months

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a thief's origin✨ || bts • kth - chapter 1.1

"you're afraid I won't wait." "I'm afraid you will."

a criminal and a doctor should be as different as the sun and the moon - but unexpected things happened every day. like him finding his safe haven in her.

»»»

masterlist: here

— genre: thief au, gangster comedy, adventure, romcom, humour, angst, fluff, sexual tensiON, slowburn, mutual pining, strangers to friends to lovers s2f2l

ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE. CHARACTERS NOT NECESSARILY LIKE THE REAL PERSONS. ALSO VERY UNREALISTIC PLOT LOL - JUST PRETEND READING A MANGA/COMIC OR WATCHING A FILM, REALLY.

SUGGESTIVE THEMES. MENTIONS OF VIOLENCE & BLOOD (BUT NOTHING TOO GRAPHIC, IT'S STILL A COMEDY!)

»»»

14th February

Barcelona, Spain

Cassandra never had a reason to pay attention to any holidays or celebrations which didn't concern her. Valentine's Day being one of them. She was so used not to pay attention to it or not think too deeply about all the commercials, that when she spotted a package at her return from work, her first thought was that it was for her next door neighbour. Mistakenly placed at her doormat instead. Only when reading her name in a familiar messy handwriting, she realised it was for her. Excitement filling every fibre of her as she carried it to her living room.

Inside, the package contained a blue rose along with a velvet box and a card.

"For my favourite sweet tooth :)

Wished I could be there.

- Love, T"

Giggling softly, she opened her locket. Eyes lingering on his photo smiling back at her. She made a mental note to text him later, letting him know it'd arrived before proceeding with opening the box. Finding it filled to the brim with different kinds of chocolate. Her eyes instantly lit up and she tried one. And another. And another. Happily humming and smiling to herself while losing count of how many pieces she ate that evening.

For the first time, she cared about this day.

»»»

28 // 4th year - assistant physician

13th June

interpol branch office Madrid, Spain

"So Miss -"

"Cassandra is enough."

The interpol agent arched a brow at her before laughing under his breath.

"Sure, Cassandra then," he nodded with a bright grin, "I'm agent Kim Seokjin. These are agents Kim Namjoon and Jeon Jungkook." He gestured to his colleagues.

"Should I get a lawyer?" she asked. Her tone flat and nonchalant.

"Do you need one?" the other Kim shot with a curious brow to which she straightened again. Her inner tension returning.

"I haven't done anything illegal, if that's what you imply."

The tall man gave her a dimpled smile at that, holding some kind of irony which only hightened her suspicion. "Good. You know why we wanted to talk to you then?"

With a quick shrug of her shoulders, she sat back in her uncomfortable chair. "I can think of a reason or two.."

"Or three?" Namjoon countered, making her fold her lips.

"Or three."

"Very well then," Seokjin nodded, taking the lead back in the questioning, "Makes it easier for us, right, JK?"

Her eyes followed his gaze that was directed to the young colleague who had remained quiet all this time, currently busy browsing through a file. Hearing his nickname, however, he stirred and looked up like a deer caught in headlights. "Huh? Uh, yeah, yes." His round eyes found hers and she mimicked them.

Her tense shoulders relaxed at their subtle but warm demeanor. Frankly, she couldn't imagine those three in intimidating situations despite their profession. Perhaps that was their secrete though, lulling suspects into comfort to get them spilling all their secrets. So Cassandra stayed on guard, not falling for their friendly eyes. Even if many years had passed, she did recognise Seokjin and Namjoon from that night back in Cologne after all. Despite not catching any glimpse of their faces, she was certain from their tall statures and voices that it'd been them at the reception the night she'd met Taehyung and the guys.

"So-" agent Jeon - or otherwise known as 'JK' - cleared his throat, "You know you're here for your connections to Park Jimin and his gang."

The young physician sighed, gathering an attitude of calm. "Yeah, wasn't hard to guess since my only other illegal activity would be downloading mp3's as a teenager. And I doubt interpol cares about that."

At this Seokjin bursted out laughing, being genuinely amused by her put-on confidence. He could tell she was nervous, of course she was. Everyone who wasn't used to getting interrogated by police let alone interpol, would be - whether innocent or guilty. However, he definitely had to give her credit for not only acting confident, like many others did as well, but also being comedic while doing so.

"You're right, we don't," he grinned then, folding his hands in front of him on the cold table top, "We'd much rather want to know what exactly is going on between you and the guys."

Her brows rose. "What do you mean?"

Namjoon flashed her a sarcastic grin. "I think you know what he means."

"No, please enlighten me," she retorted instead with her most innocent smile.

Seokjin scoffed, nudging Jungkook then. "Yah, we got a sneaky one here."

The younger agent only hummed with a light scowl, visibly less entertained by Cassandra acting dumb than his older colleagues.

The file in front of him contained photos collected from around the world over the years. While majority were grainy and shot from further away with less quality, taken by some cheap security cameras of neighbouring buildings or traffic cameras, one was clearly showing Cassandra and Taehyung together. And considering the gunman and / or his accomplices had been identified on majority of the others, it wasn't unreasonable to assume the photos with the shorter feminine figure that wasn't Arabella Valentine, was her. Perhaps not in all situations, but at some at least.

"You and Kim Taehyung.. He spends an awful lot time with you," Seokjin pointed out then. But Cassandra remained unimpressed.

"Oh really, is that so?"

Jungkook frowned beside him. "You're together, aren't you?"

The two older agents shot him a surprised glance at his unexpected conclusion.

"And if so?" she deadpanned, feeling their eyes shifting to her now. It felt like watching a tennis match.

"You know he's a criminal."

"His friend is a thief and he helps him."

"That still makes him a criminal though."

Cassandra, however, remained quite unfazed by that, much to Jungkook's lasting irritation.

"I'm not willing to discuss my personal or love life with you," she countered then. A bit of an edge in her voice and Seokjin felt the need to quickly step in before they upset her and she closed off completely.

"That's understandable and we don't want that either," he assured her with a cheery smile, "We're just here to do our job, you know? Our job is to catch these guys and to do so, we also need to gather information and follow every clue. And, unfortunately, that involves having to talk to you as a person so close them."

Folding her lips, she nodded. She knew she had to remain calm and collected in order not to mess anything up and get her boyfriend in any trouble. So she swallowed down her ego.

"I understand," she slowly said.

"Look," Namjoon spoke up then, trying a more diplomatic stance, "We get it. They're not crude jackasses like other offenders. We know that ourselves. And certainly, they're not as bad as drug dealers or commit atrocious crimes. But, they're armed criminals, nonetheless. The number of crimes go from robbery on a grand scale, to identity theft, to unauthorised hacking, to-" His listing of criminal records was abruptly interrupted by the pen he was holding, slipping from his fingers due to his animated hand gestures. Flying across the table to which Cassandra flinched in fright, causing her knee to hit the table. And she winced in pain.

"Oh, no - Sorry, I'm sorry," he was fast to reach out with an apologetic look, only to hit his elbow against the table and wince as well. Both sitting there groaning in unison. She surely hadn't expected to meet someone as clumsy as her there.

"It's alright. Co-continue," she assured eventually, the short pain having subdued by now.

And Namjoon cleared his throat with burning cheeks, pretending as nothing had happened and continued. "Like.. like I said, they've committed numerous crimes all over the world. As well-behaved and genteel they might be to you, they need to face consequences for their actions."

Jungkook stared at him in complete awe and Cassandra was certain they all agreed with him. Catching Seokjin also adding a quick nod.

She was the only unimpressed one.

"I genuinely don't believe I could be of much help though," she simply countered, seeing them perk up and facing the person of interest in front of them again. "See, Tae would never tell me any details of their heists or any plans. Purposely so for, I guess, situations like this one right now. He -" She abruptly paused, realising that mentioning her not even knowing when he'd visit her next would be too much information. They might not even know that he kept visiting her regularly. "He really doesn't tell me anything," she finished instead, not to raise any suspicion of her cut off sentence, "So if you hoped for any insider info, I must disappoint you."

Three pairs of bewildered eyes stared back at her and she purposely held their gazes to ensure they would believe her. She wasn't lying after all, it was facts but she couldn't risk her nervousness making her look like a storyteller. Because in a sense, she was guilty after all.

And if she wasn't guilty of committing a crime, she was guilty of loving a criminal at least.

"So you don't know where exactly they're located right now or what their next coup is," Jungkook confirmed, even more taken aback when seeing her shake her head. His lips shaping a small 'o' when mumbling something inaudible and taking notes before raising another suspecting brow at her. "And you're not lying?" he pressed, just to be sure.

"Nope," she confidently said, "You can search my apartment or wire me to a polygraph or whatever. I don't know anything about what they're up to."

"That's fine," Seokjin ensured, looking way more perky than Jungkook or Namjoon. Latter hiding his pensiveness behind his folded hands. "Never had Taehyung for a big secrets-spiller anyway. Although.. quite disappointing that he won't even tell you, his girlfriend, where in the world he is right now. Isn't it?" He paused for dramatic effects, eyebrows furrowing in fake empathy. "Must be.. sad, I imagine. Are you never worried?"

Her jaw clenched unintentionally. She instantly knew what the lead agent was trying to do and she wouldn't let him succeed. "N-no." Dammit, she stuttered. She swallowed, her voice becoming firmer. "No. It's okay, he only does it to keep me safe."

He nodded and his lips pressed into a straight line, pondering. "Is he though?"

Taken aback by his rhetorical question, she blinked. Unsure of what he was implying. "What do you mean?"

"Oh nothing, nothing. Forget it," he only waved her off and Cassandra felt validating in her gut-feeling of not underestimating their friendly nature because right now, she could feel their interrogative glares piercing through her soul.

After a dragged out moment of silence, Seokjin averted his eyes from hers to take out a note and Cassandra unintentionally exhaled in relief. "Could you perhaps do us a favour then?" He eyed her briefly before scribbling down on the note with a shiny pen.

"If you want me to rat them out, no."

"Hmpf, please," he said dismissingly with an offended huff, "I'd never try such cheap tricks." He held the piece of paper out for her then, a wide smile returning to his attractive features, "I just want you to hand this to Taehyung the next time you see him. That's all."

Her eyes narrowed at his request, eyeing the note for a second before accepting it and shoving it into her bag.

"You're free to go."

After hesitating for a moment, she eventually stood up. Bidding goodbye to the three agents and walked out.

A tired sigh left Seokjin's lips then when facing Namjoon. "I believe her, she doesn't know. None of them is the type to drag an innocent person into it by letting them know too much."

Namjoon hummed. He might've been eyeing the position for department manager of special victims, but after spending years chasing after those thieves alongside Seokjin and Jungkook's predecessor, Hoseok, it had become a personal matter in some sense.

"Perhaps, but he already got her more involved than he should have."

"Mh, let's hope we'll be the only ones she'll meet from this part of his life."

"Aish," Jungkook exclaimed then when abruptly snapping the file shut, catching their attention, "But we know she must've been involved more, don't we? Even if we can't proof anything besides that she knows Taehyung."

"Yah, Jungkookie, don't be mad." Seokjin nudged his younger colleague who was pulling a harried face. "Just keep an eye on her from now on. Okay?"

To this, Jungkook's face instantly found its colour back. Giving his supervisor a confident nod. "Will do."

»»»

Cassandra wasn't naive, she always knew there was a risk when being around people like Taehyung. Even if he tried his best to shield her from his world, she knew something like that interrogation would inevitably happen sooner or later. Still, she wanted to believe she'd managed going through with it quite gracefully. As gracefully as she was able to for an unexperienced person.

Leaving the airconditioned interpol offices and entering the afternoon heat, she made her way towards the bus stop. Ensuring to walk down the street as casual and nonchalant as possible, while occasionally looking behing her in case someone was following. She couldn't let her guard down just because she left.

The bus ride didn't last long before she got off and took a look around again. The streets were empty except for two teenagers sitting at a kerbside outside of a convenience store. The sun standing high, the concrete burning. When deaming the coast clear, she walked straight to the car with the tinted windows parked away under an oak three. Sliding into the passenger's seat, she dragged out a breath when feeling the soothing coolness inside. A smirk spreading onto her lips then at the sight of the mop of honey-coloured waves beside her.

"This long hair suits you." Her delicate fingers lightly tugged at the strands at the back of his neck then and leaned in, pecking Taehyung's cheek. She'd only seen him with blond hair once, years back, but it was a different shade back then - cool ash-blond, if she remembered correctly. Quite different from the warm brown-blond that adored his head now. "Makes you look quite dangerous and wild."

His lips parted with an amused scoff. "Am I not dangerous and wild enough for being a criminal?" And the way his almond eyes went round made her stifle a laugh.

"Mh, maybe a little," she smiled and planted another peck on his cheek before sitting back. Recalling the piece of paper Seokjin gave her then, he observed her rummaging it out of her handbag.

"What's this?" Arching a brow when she held it out for him, he took it from her grip and began reading it carefully. His fingers unintentionally crumbling its edges. He didn't even notice how his jaw briefly clenched, before loosening again as he mused over the handwriting with a hum.

It was a riddle clearly meant for Jimin.

With a sigh, he folded the note and stoved it into his pocket. He sat there in silence then, causing Cassandra to wonder why he wouldn't drive off. She could tell by the way his bottom lip was slightly pulled out and his brows set in a mild frown that something was occupying his mind. And she was about to inquire when his lips eventually parted.

"Cas, what are we doing?"

His voice was unusually hoarse. His throat felt dry.

"What do you mean?" she asked confused.

Heaving a sigh, he locked gazes with her. "You just came back from an interpol interrogation. Because of me," he began, shaking his head. And she started to understand what he meant. "Tae-"

"I should've known you'd get on their radar sooner or later," he interrupted her, his palm hitting the steering wheel in sudden frustration, "I should've known.. No matter how hard I try to keep you away from it all, it'd never be enough."

The last sentence breaking by his cracking voice and Cassandra couldn't help but swallow. She hated how he blamed himself. Always blaming himself. She touched the heart-shaped pendant around her neck, a habit she'd picked up over the months, before her hand embraced his. And she intervined their fingers, squeezing it.

"I'm not naive," she quietly began, her voice gaining confidence then,"I knew what I was getting myself into when letting you into my life. And I don't regret it."

The ghost of a smile crossed his lips when he glanced at her fierce eyes, only to shake his head. "Not yet," he breathed then with a sad smile.

However, Cassandra only scoffed. "Why would I? And as long as I don't do anything illegal myself, they can't do anything anyway. Because as far as I know, it's not against the law to be in love with a thief."

The corner of his lip twisted into a cheeky smirk. "In love, huh?"

Her eyes widened for a moment before laughing. "Don't act like you didn't know."

"I just like hearing you say it." His fingers squeezed her hand back and he placed them both in his lap. Looking at them quietly while deliberating before speaking up again. "But you forget you helped us. Helping a criminal is against the law just as much as breaking it yourself is."

Cassandra contemplated his words. It was true, she hadn't thought about her assistance in some cases. And Jungkook had implied something like that. She sat up straighter. "But if they could prove that, they'd have said or done something by now, right? And if it comes to the worst, I could still say you coerced me and I didn't have a choice. They can't prove me otherwise."

She was grinning smugly and Taehyung laughed under his breath, stunned by her unshakable and almost cocky faith and confidence. It seemed like her guilty plessure of being a fan of the crime genre was paying off, she'd picked up a thing or two. Still, he wasn't convinced it was indeed so easily. He decided to know better and not argue with her about it though. At least not now.

"You know I love you, Cas. That's why I'm worried and regretting getting you in this situation."

"I know," she eventually sighed, "But you need to accept that it was also my decision. You didn't force me to be with you. I'm here because I want to."

"And I don't get why, " he mumbled. Brown irises wandering out at the sunlit buildings. He knew he didn't deserve someone like Cassandra in any way, she was way too good for his sorry self. And he knew bubbles were meant to burst sooner or later.

An annoyed groan left her lips and she frowned at him. "I told you to stop that. I'm not a saint. And you're not a demon."

He smiled. "You're an angel to me, though."

She huffed and looked away, masking her blushing cheeks. "S-still," she mumbled bashfully.

"But even if my profession wasn't the problem, I'm not a great boyfriend anyway.."

At this she shot him a puzzled glare. "How so?"

"I mean.." he swallowed. "I'm never there when you need me, am I? I'm all around the globe. You could've someone better, someone who can always be there for you. You'd deserve that."

He felt her fingers clutching more around his hand, nails digging harshly into his skin before unclenching. "You are there for me though, despite travelling the word you're always there for me." Her hand let go and she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "And I don't want anyone else but you. So why do you make everything we have sound bad and meaningless now?"

Her sudden change of tone startled him and he looked at her with wide eyes. "Cas-"

"No, I won't just sit here and let you talk about yourself or our relationship like this." She was clearly upset now. "It hurts me hearing you say all this, don't you get it? It sounds like you're questioning my judgement. Like I was a naive kid."

"You're the smartest person I know, you know that," he said calmly, "I just fear.. your love for me might blind you."

She pressed her jaw together. Cassandra was too agitated to even form any more coherent sentences in her mind. Seconds passed before she calmed herself enough not to snap at him. "Look," she began slowly, "If you're willing to just throw everything between us away because of a simple questioning - then fine. Go ahead. But stop saying you'd be doing it for my sake. I can make my own decisions."

Silence settled between them once again. Taehyung was unsure what to counter to her words.

Part of him, the rational one, warned him not to become the one blinded by love and reminded him that he was just endangering her. That interpol might not be a threat right now, but they could turn into one later, along with other things. The part which always kept telling him that a criminal and a doctor could simply never work out on the long run, got louder. They were both just deluding themselves.

However, the other part in him, the selfish part, agreed with her. Of course he'd never want to lose her. He was too madly in love with her to imagine a life without her. And he knew if Seokjin had anything against her, they wouldn't have waited for so long and already arrested her. No, they didn't need to be concerned about interpol. For now at least. Maybe she was right, maybe he was just looking for excuses because he was scared. Even though, if he was scared, it was for her.

He knew, though, that she was stubborn. More than anything else. No one could force her into doing something she didn't want to. She always stood her ground, which was one of the things he loved about her. She'd always call him out, whether it was him being a coward or him patronising her.

"You're right," he eventually said then and leaned towards her. Gently capturing her chin between his thumb and index finger, urging her to look at him. "You're more than capable of making decisions yourself. And I trust your decisions, I always do. So if.. if you're certain -"

"I am," she said. And Taehyung nodded when seeing the determination and certainty in her lovely brown eyes.

He wanted to believe her. He needed to believe her. He wasn't ready yet. His selfish side wasn't ready to give up on her or their relationship. She was the only good thing in his life besides his friends and he wanted to cling to her as much as he could.

"If you are, then so am I."

»»»

next chapter: 1.2 here

Don't forget to like, comment & leave feedback!♡ It motivates me to keep writing :)

taglist: @lilanyxta @naoolammao345 @memna234 @tetehion @myblacklilame

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zilabee · 1 year

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Derek Burrell-Davis - memo to BBC (May 67): “I had a satisfactory two-hour meeting with all four members of the Beatles Group this evening…..I don’t think it is over-stating it to say that they are enthusiastic about their participation in the ‘Our World’ programme and fully aware of the responsibilities they carry. Their approach is extremely professional and they are in complete agreement with the basic idea, which is that they are undertaking a recording session in the Number One Studio at E.M.I., Abbey Road. They cannot yet forecast what they will be doing in any great detail, but they propose writing a new number. Since this number will be heard in 30 countries, they are going to write the lyric in basic English. They suggest that they should use such words as “Hello, love, you, me, us, them, together, we”. They are wondering if it might be possible to use some of those words in different languages and are receptive to the idea that words such as “love”, “together”, etc. might be shown on large cards at appropriate moments in several languages”.

The BBC/broadcasters briefing meeting on 4 June 1967 to co-ordinate the international co-operation for the Our World Broadcast

The lyrics sheet given to the cameramen before broadcast. They were not impressed. On being told the Beatles wrote the music, they only asked "did they write the words as well?"

“...the day before, the doors were thrown open for a free-for-all picture session, at which I managed to have a quick word with — PAUL: Someone’s just asked if I’m leaving the group. And there seems to be another rumour I’m moving. Both are very wrong. I’ve just finished my house and like it a lot. No, I haven’t bought a kilt yet. GEORGE: We will do a TV show before we do a film. Nothing new to tell you about the film project. No script yet. RINGO: My garden is looking great now. Got some of my building men to help the gardening contractor and everything’s okay. JOHN: This song will be our next single. This TV show will give it a nice send-off.

Indeed, with some 6,500 TV workers and 1,000,000 miles of telephone wire working for the disc, it couldn’t be bad!” - - Andy Gray, NME

“When the musicians and TV crew took a meal break the Beatles tried out the musical instruments left lying around [...] Ringo and George try the trumpets, whilst Paul has a go at the trombone and John plays Jack Emblow’s accordion. In the background, in the left side far corner, the large weight box on the back of the Mole Crane is visible, with one of the white painted Murphy TV monitors on its trolley over on the right of the picture.” - - David Taylor, Postfade

“The BBC want a live trail”, Derek told me suddenly over my intercom. No one knew this had been planned, in fact to this day few people seem to know that such a promotion ever took place. [...]

“I had a few words with each of them in turn. What was the song called? Whose idea had it been? (“His”, they said, pointing to each other). And then I put the question to John that was intriguing me. Ninety-five percent of all popular music is in 4-time, but there was more than a hint of unfamiliar 7-time in “All You Need ls Love“.

“Did you know your song was in 7-time?” I asked. I still remember the cool, serious look he gave me as he replied, “Yes, I know”. Then he indicated Paul, adding “- but blame him”.

“Paul himself, alert as ever, noticed how, against my own instincts, I was trying to inject some breezy gaiety into the proceedings. He spoke encouragingly in my ear. “Yock it up, Steve ! ” he said. He knew that it was my preference to be in the narrator’s box doing a technical job, rather than “yocking it up”. I duly yocked.”

“This was the biggest group in the world, but when they went to the canteen, it was just four guys having a cup of tea. Underneath it all, these were ordinary guys who were in a band.” - - David Magnus (photographer)

“There was a real party atmosphere, similar to what we had witnessed during previous real ‘happenings’, but Richard and I were struck by how visibly nervous John was, which was quite unusual for him: we’d never seen him wound up so tightly.” - - Geoff Emerick

“I did sense that John in particular felt rather apprehensive the nearer to transmission we got. However George seemed to be enjoying the moment, while Ringo and Paul showed no apprehension whatsoever.” - - David Magnus

______________________________

Almost this entire post is stolen from postfade.co.uk, written by David Taylor. It's a wonderful write up because it's only actually interested in the cameras used and the technical setup, but it's so interested in those that it covers every moment in glorious detail and pulls together lots of quotes. If you're interested in the ins and outs of outside broadcasting, oh my. There's a cut out diagram of the OB scanner van, and they've taken the video of the entire broadcast and marked up up to show the different camera shots and cuts and equipment used. There's a bit where they read in a book that some of the broadcast wasn't live, and so the author tracks down who wrote that and he says he copied it from Mark Lewisohn, so they track down ML and ask him why he wrote that and ML can't remember but says 'I wouldn't have written it down if there wasn't evidence for it', which they think is a bit weak, so they decide not to believe it. It's nice to see them belittling ML's lifework because they want to believe in the magic of live outside broadcasting, the same way we do when we want to believe in love.

#long post #sorry I guess #beatles day #all you need is love #love love #I love how much the cameramen were given that lyric sheet #and were just like what the fuck even is this????#<333333 #the beatles #john lennon #[]

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beomgyuslilracha · 2 years

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you don't go to parties ☆.* 4

⊹ pairing: choi yeonjun x f! reader

⊹ genre: exes to ... complicated

⊹ warnings: none?

⊹ wc: 4k

summary: back in your college days, you were living at the prime of your life alongside your boyfriend, yeonjun. you couldn't remember most of it, though, considering it was a blur consisting of mostly parties and many drunken nights. eventually, you reached your limit, and you and yeonjun no longer saw eye-to-eye. after many fights and endless tears, you disappeared for good and left that life and your boyfriend behind. but, five years later, yeonjun was still waiting for you at every party.

when the following day came and went with nothing to show for it, you presumed it safe to assume that the secret admirer fiasco was nothing but a complete misunderstanding.

not that you were even remotely surprised. with no card attached or even a clue as to who the silver-haired mystery person was, it only made sense that it all ended up being one big mistake.

that wasn't to say that it wasn't a little disheartening anyway when the next day came along with no delivery at reception.

or the next day.

or the next...

your gaze from the computer monitor traveled over to land on the floral arrangement, which now resided beautifully in a vase atop of your desk. a small sigh escaped your lips as you caressed one of the blooming petals, feeling slightly ridiculous for partially hoping to be surprised with another gift again.

not that it was through any fault of your own! you couldn't remember the last time anyone had gone out of their way to cutely buy you any gifts, so you couldn't help being a little greedy for another.

"do you want me to get you something, y/nie?" kai had asked you that afternoon, having spotted you staring longingly at the reception desk as you walked by — secretly hoping for miss mina to call for you. "i can get you more flowers!"

your frown had quickly perked into an appreciative smile as you looked back over at your adorable friend. "that's so sweet, but you don't need to do that, kai," you assured him, though you felt your heart flip a little at the thought.

"you're right, i should've just done it without telling you." kai's brows furrowed together as if he were truly upset with himself.

this made you laugh as you two entered the elevators, and it was the most beautiful sound kai had ever heard. he loved it even more knowing that he was the reason behind the melody, and he would give anything to do it again and again.

as he silently pondered over what kind of gift he wanted to surprise you with, you made sure to pull out your phone and remind beomgyu to meet you both in their usual practice room.

you and kai had just returned from the KBS broadcasting hall, where kai would be special hosting on music bank this week and beomgyu would be there to determine his place on the k-charts for his most recent EP release.

with work ahead of the three of you for the remainder of the day, you were able to distract your mind from being disappointed about the nonexistence of your 'secret admirer'. even though you pretended you weren't bothered by it, it would still silently sit at the back of your mind as a small 'what if' every time you walked through the lobby.

it was for the better, of course - allowing you to finally focus on more important things and forget all about it.

and you almost did!

up until the next day, when you were strolling into the office to visit kai for a last minute fitting for music bank tomorrow, that your attention was suddenly called for in the lobby.

"miss y/nnn~" mina's sing-song voice called for you from behind reception, her pursed lips finding it difficult to suppress the grin desperately trying to break through.

"yess?" you monotonously mimicked her singing, a little wary of her good mood as you strolled over to the front desk.

it took her no less than a second to reveal a heart-shaped box of chocolates from behind her back. "look who came to deliver another gift for you!" she announced giddily, handing over the sweets into your hesitant hands.

you were more than ready to deny the gift, assuming it to be a mistake yet again, but that's when you noticed the cursive font of your name printed atop of the attached card.

A CARD??

you could feel the pounding of your heart in your eardrums as you stared down at it.

"did- did you happen to recognize who it was that dropped it off?" you found yourself asking, having to pull your eyes away from the card that was practically screaming your name.

"no, i'm sorry, honey," mina apologized. "he was wearing a hat and a mask, but i'm pretty sure it was the same gentleman from last time."

with a slow nod, you smiled politely and quickly bid mina a goodbye, making your way to the elevators in order to read the note without having to react publicly.

what if he left a name?

or maybe a clue to who they were??

before the elevator doors could close, another staff member had raced inside to join you on the way, thus preventing you from being able to read the card in private.

although, it did give you a chance to calm down and think rationally to keep you from getting your hopes up. as you watched the numbered floors slowly increase, you were reminded of the day before when kai had briefly mentioned about getting you a gift himself.

you figured it made far more sense for the gift in your hands to be from kai, considering it conveniently arrived the immediate day after he had suggested such an idea. in which case, you found no harm in peeking at the card's contents with that thought in mind.

with one deep breath, you flipped open the card ... only for your heart to drop in disappointment.

whatever it said before, it was entirely illegible underneath the frustrated scribbles. you couldn't even make out a single character to read anything, leaving only a tiny heart by itself in the only corner that the scribbled mess hadn't reached.

would kai really have written this?

no, of course he wouldn't. you knew kai, and he would have written something adorably cute to make you smile. there was nothing he could possibly say that would permit him to scribble it out so harshly.

was it ... was it really a secret admirer?

you were chewing harshly on your bottom lip as you first rushed to the floor of your office, wanting to drop off the cryptic gift before heading to the fitting rooms.

once you arrived, you were almost instantaneously greeted by the brightest smile and a cheerful exclamation of your arrival.

"y/n!! you're here!"

you blew kai a quick kiss as your own form of greeting, earning a deep red flush that covered the entirety of his face. not wanting to disturb any of the stylists hard at work, you stood off to the side and patiently waited for a spare moment to talk to him.

although you were more than confident that kai was not the culprit behind the gift, it still didn't hurt for you to ask anyway to be entirely sure. maybe he had written something embarrassing and gave it second thoughts?

"hey, huening, quick question," you came up to his side the second he was dressed back in his normal clothing.

"sure, what's up?"

you began to fidget nervously with your fingers, suddenly embarrassed at the idea of having to ask him. "did you- did you happen to get me a gift today?"

your face was growing drastically warmer.

kai's smile seemed to fall slightly. "oh, no, i'm sorry. did you really want me to? i can go get you something now! it's not a problem at all, i can get you the prettiest-"

"no! no, no, kai, it's fine!" you were quick to stop him, your embarrassment having doubled by this point. "i was just asking 'cause i got one today and the message was ... well, it was weird."

kai tilted his head curiously, though his brows furrowed in confusion. "it was weird, so you thought it was from me?"

"no, that's not what i meant!" you shook your head. you were beginning to wish you had thought this conversation through before initiating it. "i just remembered you saying something yesterday about it, so i thought it was from you."

by that point, you figured it was best to show him for yourself - so once he was cleared for the day, you both headed out together to your office.

surprisingly, beomgyu was already waiting for you both inside - standing by the window and adjusting the note in every angle of the light to try and decipher something from it.

"wow, you really can't read a word this says," he commented suddenly, as if continuing the conversation that you had been having from the start.

not even questioning his presence, nor the reason why he snooped through your things to begin with, you sighed and agreed.

kai had attempted to examine the chocolate box itself, wondering if there were any hidden notes inside that you might have missed. of course, seeing as he had snuck a few pieces to eat for himself, you wondered if that was his real intention.

"miss mina didn't tell you if she recognized the person at all?" beomgyu questioned, now trailing back over and tossing the scribbled note onto the table before reaching for a chocolate as well.

you shook your head, resting your chin atop of your hand as you released another sigh. "no, she said that he covered everything this time."

"well, if nothing else, we at least know that he doesn't work here," kai shrugged, though it didn't exactly make the situation any better.

instead of responding sarcastically, as you had originally wanted to, you instead opted for sending a half-hearted smile in the sweet boy's direction. you knew he was merely trying to find a positive light to the situation, but it only made it worse to imagine the ocean of suspects out there.

you didn't like having to wait around for whoever this admirer was to gain the courage to approach you. you just wished you could thank them personally for their sweet gestures.

"well, in other news, do you want to see the dance practice for my performance on music bank?" beomgyu asked you, pulling out his phone in hopes of changing the subject in order to lift your spirits again.

luckily for him, he chose the best topic.

your head perked up eagerly from your resting position, an excited smile now happily replacing the defeated pout from before. "you recorded it?"

"yeah! you didn't get to make it last time, so i wanted to be able to show you."

the second beomgyu managed to achieve a smile on your face, the dilemma from before almost instantaneously got pushed to the back of your mind.

after watching and praising beomgyu's practice video, kai then begged for you to help him practice his mc lines for tomorrow - which ended up being a lot more messing around than any actual rehearsal.

thanks to your two friends, you were able to forget all about the discarded note.

at least, up until kai had tried to throw it away with the empty chocolate box on the way home.

"you actually want to keep it?" he questioned you, genuinely confused on why you'd want to keep a bunch of meaningless scribbles.

you shrugged, truly unsure as to why you'd want to keep it for yourself. you stared down at the lone heart in the corner, bringing a tiny smile to your lips.

if nothing else, you still found it endearing.

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

"do you know how hard i worked on that?!"

yeonjun was pacing back and forth in his studio, scolding his younger friend after he had returned and admitted what he had done to the note that yeonjun claimed to work so hard on.

"i don't think copying song lyrics counts as hard work," taehyun scoffed, rolling his eyes. "and it wasn't even your song, it was mine!"

yeonjun crossed his arms and huffed, his eyes averting away from his friend to stare down at the notebook filled with other discarded lyrics from taehyun's songs. "you should be flattered i even liked your music to begin with."

taehyun shook his head, annoyed.

he ultimately came to regret ever befriending yeonjun all those years ago in the first place. lately, it seemed that any time he came over to visit the idiot, he was then somehow dragged into following along with his ridiculous behavior.

this time around, taehyun ended up succumbing into his own pity for his pathetic friend and now found himself becoming yeonjun's personal delivery boy.

"if you were going to copy my lyrics, then at least choose a line that makes sense next time," taehyun told him, his expression now bored.

yeonjun appeared baffled, genuinely taken aback by taehyun's words. "what part of 'just put your heart in my hands, i promise it won't get broken' doesn't make sense?!"

"i don't know, try .. all of it." taehyun was a minute away from pulling his hair out. "for one, you already did break her heart. and for two, this is supposed to be an apology, not a high school confession."

"why can't it be both?"

taehyun could only curse at himself in his own head, wondering why he still continued to entertain yeonjun this much.

"other than the fact that you're in your mid-twenties?" taehyun asked rhetorically, smirking mischievously from taking a jab at yeonjun's age. "because you still have yet to actually say the words 'i'm sorry' to her."

yeonjun opened his mouth to retort, but one glare from taehyun warned him not to.

man, he hated when he was right.

yeonjun defeatedly threw himself down into his studio chair, spinning around in slow circles as he pondered over what to do next. if there was one thing he did know, it was that you deserved more than just a tiny note with a half-assed apology written inside to fill the small space.

the only problem was, yeonjun had absolutely no clue as to how he would ever get the chance to see you again.

the one golden opportunity he had, where you were practically served on a silver platter right in his very home, he absolutely blew it. instead of listening to the tiny voice of reason in his head, he chose to be his arrogant self instead and ruin his chance with you for the second time.

taehyun sighed, once again unable to watch from the side as yeonjun wallowed in his own despair. as much as he liked to act like everything he did annoyed him to no end, he still hated to see yeonjun in such a sorry state.

he couldn't believe he actually missed his obnoxious personality from before.

"alright, clearly you can't think of anything for yourself," taehyun sighed, rubbing his hands across his face in frustration. for as long as he remained friends with yeonjun, he was never going to learn his lesson. "so this time, i'll help you think of something."

at this, yeonjun's mood seemed to perk up. he couldn't be sure if it was from the offer itself or simply knowing he wouldn't have to struggle thinking for himself anymore.

seeing as he now had yeonjun sat and silently waiting, taehyun figured now would be a better time than any to admit an idea that had occurred to him earlier in the day.

"you have music bank tomorrow, right?"

yeonjun nodded, though he didn't appear at all excited at the thought. it would be the last week of his two-week promotion period for his latest EP, so he was already exhausted to no end and couldn't wait for it to be over.

"do you know anything about who's going to be there?" taehyun questioned, hoping to slowly lead yeonjun along to realize the rest for himself.

"does it look like i care about who's going to be there?" yeonjun deadpanned, eyes rolling in annoyance.

deep breaths, taehyun, deep breaths.

trying to calm himself down enough to keep from smacking the idiot, taehyun continued. "you will when you find out that a certain two people that a certain someone is friends with are going to be there."

thankfully, it took only a matter of seconds for yeonjun to piece the words together. his bored eyes suddenly widened, and his heart started pounding a little too hard against his ribcage.

you were going to be there?!

"shit, what should i do?" yeonjun suddenly started to panic, standing up from his chair to continue his earlier pacing across the small room. "do i go up to her? do i- do i ask her to meet me?"

he looked over at taehyun expectantly, waiting for him to begin spewing his usual words of wisdom any minute now.

"i'm not going to hold your hand; you can figure out the rest yourself," taehyun smirked, standing up from where he was sat. "but keep in mind that she's probably going to have one or two bodyguards with her at all times."

seeing yeonjun's eyes almost bulge out of his head, taehyun figured the least he could do was clarify one or two friends, rather than actual bodyguards.

then before he knew it, yeonjun was left alone in the studio room. the silence was deafeningly loud, and even his thoughts appeared to have gone entirely blank.

what the hell was he supposed to do now?!

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

later that evening, as per usual, both you and kai were to be found lounging around in your apartment once again. this time, kai insisted on referring to it as a celebratory sleepover for his special mc position the following day.

in reality, he merely just wanted any excuse to spend an evening alone with you - otherwise he would've suggested inviting beomgyu over for the same reason.

overall, it was a very cozy and domestic night. you had ordered a large pizza for you both to share and even started a series to binge watch together on netflix.

although, much to your own surprise, you both somehow ended up settled beside each other in your bedroom – doing your own things, of course.

kai was playing animal crossing on your nintendo switch while you did last minute work on your laptop.

every time that kai had come over before, the two of you would normally reside in the living room for the entirety of the night. glancing over at him now, you suddenly couldn't remember how it came to be that the boy was now laying comfortably beside you under the covers.

"look, y/nie! look who our new islander is!" kai interrupted your thoughts, turning the switch screen over to reveal the adorable character for you.

"you got dom!!" you cheered excitedly, leaning forward to see just how precious the little sheep was up close.

kai's smile widened, though a bit shyly as a small blush crept up to his cheeks at your sudden proximity.

when you first bought the game, you had told kai that your main goal was to obtain dom for your island. after about two months of playing, you gave up on your search and put the game to rest.

in which case, kai created his own profile to move into your island and pick up where you left off. now here he was, almost a year later, with your dream character moved in right next door to your home.

"you're the best, i can't believe you found him!" you pouted happily, admiring the adorable garden home that dom belonged to.

meanwhile, kai's gaze was more focused on you. he just found you so cute, and it made him all the more giddy to know that he was able to put that smile on your face. every bit of effort he put into the game was now worth it to make you happy.

"here, you should see how i decorated the island too," kai quickly suggested before you could hand the game back, scooting ever closer to you in the bed.

his head was leaned over your shoulder as he guided you around the island, pointing out cute little things that he had decorated for you — most especially the small garden with a heart pond right in the middle.

as you cooed and awwed at everything he made, along with visiting all the islanders you didn't recognize, kai had subtly rested his head against yours. for some reason, the simple action had his heart racing and he was very unsure as to why.

it wasn't like the two of you haven't been close before?

after you had seen everything there was on your shared island, you suddenly let out a much louder yawn than you had originally expected. it was so strong that even kai found himself reciprocating a second after.

"we should get some sleep," you told him, rubbing at your now tired eyes. "i can set up the mat for you if-"

"actually," kai stopped you, his hand reaching out to lightly grasp your wrist and prevent you from standing up. "is it okay if we just ... stay here?"

you blinked. "stay ... here?" you pointed down at the bed, wondering if you were truly understanding him correctly.

unknowingly to the other, both your hearts suddenly began to pick up speed at a similar pace.

kai nodded. "i don't want to sleep alone on the floor," he pouted now, his eyes resembling that of a puppy.

how could you possibly say no?

your stunned expression quickly shifted into a playful smile. "okay, but i better not find out you kick in your sleep."

"no, of course not! i'm more of a slapper," kai joked, making you giggle that beautiful melody that he adored.

after you both washed up and settled back in to your designated sides of the bed, you bid each other a cute goodnight and sweet dreams before shutting off the bedside lamps.

unfortunately, it was not as easy to fall asleep as you had hoped.

with the foreign presence laying just a mere foot away from you, you couldn't help but be all too aware of every breath and rustle of movement.

you weren't uncomfortable, no, you just found it ... weird.

the last person you ever shared a bed with was yeonjun, and, even after five years, it never occurred to you that there would be anyone else.

if it weren't for the fact that you knew kai was trying to sleep beside you, you probably would've groaned out loud in frustration for allowing yourself to think of yeonjun again. you hated every time he crossed your mind because you would then find yourself helplessly reminiscing over the past.

even now, as you pictured the way his arms used to wrap around you so perfectly, you had to press your hands against your face in order to suppress your thoughts. tossing over to your side, away from kai, you squeezed your eyes shut and prayed to think of absolutely anything else to fall asleep.

meanwhile, kai was too caught up in his own thoughts to sense your exasperation. he was more focused on wondering why his heart was pounding as erratically as it was this late at night.

he couldn't be sure as to when exactly it started, but he did notice it occurred much more frequently as of recently.

as he was rested on his back, kai tilted his head over slightly to see the faint outline of your figure laying beside him.

did his heart rate pick up just now?

but why? why would it do that?

kai couldn't have been more confused. the two of you have been friends for three years now, so why does it feel different all of a sudden?

a heavy exhale escaped his lips without him meaning to, and he quickly glanced over to see if it disturbed you at all. when you didn't move or make a sound, kai realized that he should follow your lead and focus on trying to sleep before he drove himself crazy.

it was his suggestion to sleep here in the first place, so he couldn't understand why he was suddenly feeling so nervous about it after the fact.

you were so calm and unbothered, yet here he lay completely restless and his mind overthinking.

you two were friends - you were close - so this was more than okay. in fact, it was normal.

so then why did he want to be closer?

previous | masterlist | next

a/n:

okay LISTEN- i know it's very hyuka x y/n focused, but i SWEAR i have a plan in mind and i'm NOT just succumbing to the bias wrecking brainrot... and even if i was, can you blame me?

anywayyyyyy pls pls pls pls let me know if you enjoyed this part ?? it took me over a week to write out the first draft, and then i scrapped everything .... so i hope this second draft does well <;/3

series taglist:

@cookiehaos @hafsa-hoofsa-heefs @junzwrld @gyuuluvrs @goldennika @nobodyshallenter @lubtou @soobsfairy444 @2ynjns @cherriruto @baekberrie @youraggedybitch @eundiarys @jwicore @bokk-minnie @cha-raena @sparkswhoz @wo-ai-ni-yong @strvlveera @ghostfacefricker6969 @blondsoobinenthusiast @whippedforbeomgyu @l0stindigo @angelbythewindow @hkplushier @aloverga @ineedsomezzz @themiddlefingerinthesky @idkhoomanmaybe

permanent taglist:

@human-misery @dongmeiii @softcabur @marekmybeloved @aishidaishi @taekwondoes @wccycc @jjhmk @mjlasagna @eclecticeggknightpsychic @yjusei @beachbabe4ever

both taglists open !!

#tomorrow x together #tomorrow x together imagines #tomorrow x together imagine #txt #txt imagine #txt imagines #choi yeonjun #choi yeonjun x reader #yeonjun #yeonjun x reader #yeonjun imagines #choi yeonjun imagines

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maseyfilms · 2 years

Text

BE MY VALENTINE — M.M19

summary. you and mason are used to share valentine's gifts every year, but as friends, what will happen if mason don't wanna do it as friends anymore?

pairing. mason mount x female!reader

w.count. 1.6k+

warning. fluff, kinda cliché, still cute, !bad english!

a/n. tbh i kinda like this, still cheesy but i don't hate it, hope u like it

masterlist

You and Mason were best friends since you were kids. Your parents being friends since high school and living in the same neighborhood is definitely what made this happen. As teenagers, you were together all the time, eventually he started to pursue a football career and you went to college, but your friendship was not affected.

You guys had this thing about every February 14th: sharing a cute heart-shaped box of chocolates while watching a cheesy movie and just talking about life. The two of you obviously had partners to spend Valentine's Day with, but it was kind of a ritual that the two of you always did, regardless of whether you were dating someone or not - and maybe that was the reason none of you could stay in a relationship for more than four months.

It all started when you were seventeen and your ex boyfriend sent you a box of chocolates on Valentine's Day with a card asking for "apologies" for the way he treated you, but it turned into a joke between you and Mason and you just shared your chocolates while laughing and joking about stupid exes. It has become an annual thing.

When you got out of the elevator to talk to one of your co-workers you were surprised when you saw a giant bouquet of red and pink roses with several boxes of chocolate together on top of the reception desk. At first glance you were sure it wasn't for you, because the only person who sent you gifts on Valentine's Day was Mason, but he only gave you a box or two of chocolates and you didn't expect anything like that at this time of the afternoon . So you just walked towards your friend's office, but you were interrupted by the office receptionist's voice:

"Hey! Miss Y/L/N!!" Susan stoped you. "Someone left this here for you just now, they didn't say the name, but I think there must be a card saying so." She said trying to look for a card among the flowers.

"Mmm, Susan are you sure this is for me?" You walked towards the desk, a confused look on your face.

"Yes ma'am, I'm pretty sure is for you" She teased. "Do you want me to ask someone to send it to your office?" She asked and you nodded, needing to talk to your friend Wendy first.

"No way!" Wendy smiled, getting up from her chair. "You'll finally have a real Valentine's date!!" Her smile suddenly droped when she saw that your face was not as amused as it should've be. "Why are you looking like that? You should be happy, huh?"

"I can't go to a date today, Wendy" You explained, looking at her like it was obvious. She rolled her eyes.

"Don't tell me you won't go on a date just because of that friend of yours Matt?"

"It's Mason." You corrected, and she rolled her eyes again.

"Whatever Y/N, I know he's a great guy but ya shouldn't skip a opportunity like this just 'cause you guys do this thing every year!" She complained, holding both of your shoulders. You looked away.

"I don't even know if there's a card or something, or who sent me that, so i can't presume nothing" You raised your eyebrows. "Maybe that's not even a date invitation, y'know"

"That's what we're going to find out!" She took your hand and led you out of her office, straight to yours.

Opening your office door you saw all those bouquets and sweets, some almost falling off your desk.

"Wow!" She chuckled. "Whoever this person who sent you this is, definitely want to go out with you"

You went to the table and started looking for anything that might reveal the person who sent you all those gifts, looking for an answer. "Oh, I found something!" you said, taking a small pink card with hearts on the front and opening it.

'dear Y/N

I know you'll probably find all these things strange and weird but i wanted some attention from you.

I don't even know how to write this and i feel so awkward doing this, but i can't keep it to myself anymore.

I love you. Not in a friend way or something, I really fancy you. I think i have felt this since we were ten or something, and i really wanted to tell you since but i was afraid to ruin our friendship, i'm still afraid tho.

You're the nicest, smartest and prettiest woman i've ever had the chance to meet and i'm so happy to be your friend. I can't stop thinking about you and i feel so silly about this.

I kinda don't care if you don't feel the same, i just wanna get all this out even if the feeling is not mutual. By the time you read this i'll probably be at training, if you want to talk you can meet me at the bridge or something.

Happy valentine's Y/N/N, I love you

Mase'

Your eyes were burning as much as your cheeks. You had just read the person you've loved for years saying they like you too. You really didn't know how to react, but you felt tears streaming down your face as soon as you finished reading and Wendy, who didn't know anything that was going on, got worried.

"Hey, why are you crying?" She said, getting closer for a hug. "what's on that card?"

"Mason, he..." You sobbed and looked at your fingers while fidgeting them. "He said that he likes me." You finally look at her face and a slight smile apears at your lips, leaving your friend confused.

"And that's bad? I don't know, I always thought you had a crush on eachother" You nodded and she holds your cheeks, wiping the tears with her thumb. "So why are you crying, love?"

"I, I don't know" You confessed then furrowed your eyebrows together. "I have to tell him i like him back."

"Yes, I'm sure you do, you could say it tonight at dinner and-" She calmly said but was interrupted.

"No, no, i have to tell him now." You said, freeing yourself from her grip and grabbing your purse on you desk.

"Uh, what are you doing?" She chuckled.

"I'm going to tell him that i fancy him too...?"

"You don't even know where he is!" You explained to her that he was at training and you ran down stairs for the parking lot, grabbing the keys for your car. Wendy was running after you but you didn't notice.

"What are you doing here?" You said when you got to your car and opened the door. Wendy let out a dry laugh.

"Did you really think i would pass up this opportunity to leave work early? by the way I have to see you finally unraveling, it's a miracle" She chuckled and entered the car, you rolled your eyes.

The way to the Stamford bridge was a hell. Traffic seemed to slow down just to annoy you, the noise of the city seemed to be louder and you kept tapping the steering wheel with your fingertips.

"Bloody hell, Y/N, calm down!" Wendy complained when the noise of your fingers started to annoy her too. "he's not gonna change his mind or something, if you keep like this you'll explode. And stop fucking tapping your fingers, jesus"

When you arrived at the bridge car park, you literally jumped out of the car and ran to the entrance, leaving the door to the driver's seat for your friend to close.

On the field, Mason was anything but calm as well. Ben couldn't take it anymore every time Mason went to the benches to check if he had any messages from you or when he kept mumbling every 5 minutes.

"Mate, stop" Ben said when mason let out a whimper as he kicked the ball. "It's fine! maybe she didn't read it yet, or she's busy with work, calm down!"

"I know, i'm just worried. What if she read it but she doesn't like me back and then she'll stop talking to me?" He wondered, running fingers through his hair. "I'm such an idiot, i shouldn't have done all this shit"

"Hey mase!" Reece called him and when Mason looked at him, he gestured his head towards the tunnel.

When Mason looked at the tunnel entryway, there you are. A confused look on your face while you're scanning the field, looking for, probably or obviously, Mason.

When you laid eyes on him you ran towards him, a shy smile soon appearing on his face.

You buried your face on the crook of his neck and greeted him with a hug soon as you reached him, slightly panting for the short run. "Hey, bet you received my gift" He grinned nervously and you nodded.

"I love you too mase." You whispered out of the blue, your voice was muffled by his shirt but he could hear you saying it. You pulled back to look at his face and he was smiling wide, cheeks burning, knitted brows and arms around your waist while he processed the information, then he closed his eyes and leaned to join your lips together.

Suddenly everything around seems to disappear. You put your hands on the sides of his face, deepening the kiss. Both of you never gotten so lost in a kiss before, breath taken away and never wanting to get rid of eachothers arms. It all felt so right, and you guys just couldn't believe you had waited for so long.

The air began to be necessary and you both pulled away, still hugging and huge smiles printed on your faces.

"Hi" he said, blood still rushing into his cheeks, and pulling you closer by the waist. you chuckled. "Hi"

"Guess I should take you on a real Valentine's date now, what do you think?" He asks and you lean again, pecking his lips a few times.

"I think this works as an answer."

#football fanfic #football fanfiction #imagine #one shot #mason mount #mason mount fanfic #mason mount fluff #maseyfilms works

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