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originalgenshinscenarios · 2 years

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Like I said I wanted to write some monsters so I'm writing monsters ^^

Zhongli, Kokomi, Hu Tao and Baizhu monster scenarios with human reader

Reader here is gender neutral

Cw: manipulation, mentions of violence (Zhongli), mentions of death (Hu Tao), mentions of blood (Baizhu)

Zhongli- Demon

There is a lot of regrets he has yet to get over. Although as a very high rank demon such feelings aren't expected of him.

It's impossible to tell him from human, he used to use it to his advantage but now he's done with causing all of the chaos.

But some of the old habits die hard so he's still obsessed with contracts... Only now he doesn't harvest souls from them.

He just likes having everything on paper since his old mindset often plays pranks on him whenever interacting with humans. He can't seem to trust them is all.

He always knew that law would back him up if he had everything written down. So should any human mess with him he'd use their own system... Should the system fail he'd handle it on his own. Because his violent tendencies haven't exactly died down. As long as he has a good reason he had no problem settling things with violence.

Despite all that he was good at fooling people about being human, but he never felt like one. You helped him change that.

Number one thing that confused him was unconditional kindness. And that's exactly what you displayed.

He never understood how you were always so nice without ever expecting anything of him in return.

It took him a while but he suddenly found himself wanting to do the same for you.

He already was going against his nature for some time by now... Maybe it was three thousand years by now? But he never felt that way about anyone.

You were of course not aware of his true identity, which caused him to worry a lot.

In Liyue he met a lot of exorcists (who to him were laughable) so he knew that humans don't like demons and other evil spirits much.

It was safe to say that he had no idea how he should go about it. He could lie and he wouldn't exactly feel bad about it... What he does care about is losing you should his cover be blown.

To put it simply: He's greedy, and you're what he desires. So losing you will greatly inconvenience him.

Especially since if his identity goes public he'd have to leave the nation and go into hiding for around a hundred years so it all dies down. He'd also have to shift his appearance too... That'd be a hassle.

Wait why is he thinking about losing on the spot? There's no way he'd fail.

He spent most of his life fooling and toying with humans so this should be business as always.

But it wasn't. Due to his feelings he started slipping some information here and there. His save was calling it his attempts at jokes.

One time he almost shifted out of his disguise when you were with him. He actually forgot at the time why he was hiding when he was at home. But he remembered it quickly the moment he heard your voice as he was drifting away with his imagination.

But in the end he managed to pull himself together. He settled all those human emotions and accepted them. Thanks to that he stopped making all of those stupid mistakes. So he came back to deceiving you without a problem.

Kokomi- Siren

She had her territory, where she lived with plenty fish and other sirens. She was their leader in a way but she never ruled them- rather she took care of them.

Boats often caused anxiety to many. No matter if those were actual fishing boats or not they still associated them with losing someone.

She only ever spooked all sailors away from her territory. She never really drowns them.

She'd attack the boats when they got close but was careful to never truly damage them. With her tactics it always worked.

She didn't have to do it often, since most sailors learned to stay away. Not many cared about that "dead" part of the sea anyways.

Even though she should move from that waters, not a lot of things grew there and it was hard to live there- it had sentimental value to her and the others.

Her determination lead her to a point where she found a way to turn herself into a human temporarily.

She'd often visit human lands and read books that could help her make a change. But there wasn't many books on marine biology she could find.

During such trips she met you. It was unexpected but she ended up really liking your company.

She didn't hide the fact that she was a siren. Since relationships are built on trust, so if you won't trust her due to her not being human- then any further form of engagement with you would be meaningless.

Not only that it'd save you some shock. Perhaps if she didn't tell you right away you'd get mad at her for hiding something this important for long.

Fortunately for her you didn't think of it as bad, actually you were fascinated by her.

She found it flattering and eventually the two of you became close. It was also a great opportunity for both of you to learn about your respective worlds.

She didn't ask for your help with her problem, and she didn't expect it of you either. Your relationship was completely outside of it.

Although she was usually the one who visits you, she wasn't against you getting into the boat and swimming over to her, she'd warn her friends and everything would be alright. Or you could meet on the Watatsumi island which she now considered her second home.

She's far more comfortable in her siren self though, so whenever possible she'd just stay in the water.

She didn't sing often, but it wasn't that she wasn't willing to do it for you. She just knew that no matter what her singing voice would hypnotize you and she doesn't want that.

I mean you were already captivated by her so I don't think she needs to sing in order to make you blindly follow her.

Jokes aside she's really happy that she had met you. You help her worry less about all those hardships she has to constantly prepare for. I mean she got so far already, so surely she can power through just about anything.

Hu Tao- Grim Reaper

You could say that she was sort of a sheppard, helping and guiding souls who've passed on.

She helps them feel less afraid as they move on. Usually her words aren't too comforting but they are a good slap from reality many needed more than they thought.

But sometimes she let's them wander around if they have some unfinished business or want to just see someone or even do a little prank.

Everything has it's limits though and when one ghost decided to haunt you for no reason and for too long she had to step in.

Usually when death comes knocking at your door it's easy to lose your cool... But as she explained what she's here for, you were glad that ghost would leave you alone.

You knew she was just doing her job, but you still wanted to show your appreciation.

And that's how it started. You honestly couldn't believe you were flirting with death of all things. But hey, someone would do it sooner or later when death is such a cutie.

Her visiting you so often made things a little exciting. I mean who knows if she won't go to harvest your soul next?

Not that you were looking forward to dying... You just wondered if she'd be blunt about it.

Now that you think about it she definitely would. She'd probably greet you as always and say that it's your time now.

She didn't mind you asking questions about her job. For one she wasn't the only grim reaper. She doesn't have to wear her cloak all the time and she doesn't use or need the scythe. It's just for the effect.

But any questions about dying itself is off limits for her. You can't ask when you die or what exactly happens next. Since who knows if being a ghost isn't just a first phase of a long process?

Although she visited you plenty she also was very busy with working. So to her you were sort of a break from it all.

It's a bit tiring but also satisfying. Like when she calms down a mortal who is cussing her out and helps them understand the purpose of it all. At first it's annoying but in the end things get better.

Still hanging around someone alive was a nice change. Definitely one she welcomed even if she knew it was temporary.

That's why she cherished her moments with you even more. Once you die... I can't tell what happens! Like Hu Tao I won't tell you the end, you'll have to think about it yourself. Will this be THE end or just the beginning?

Baizhu- Gorgon

He was not by any means strong. And I mean both his physical strength and his magic.

At first he had a tough time adjusting to living with humans, but he had his reasons to stay.

Even though not many trusted him he was working at a pharmacy. He was still good at his job and at least plenty of his frequent patients appreciated him. Somehow usually the elderly were the quickest to warm up to him.

Having venomous snakes around was actually very helpful. It usually served purpose for making medicine/antidotes.

Not to mention his blood, for the blood from gorgon's right side can cure anything. Luckily for his profession this part of his gorgon powers weren't much weakened. But he only ever used it when someone had a life threatening disease.

Still only desperate people were willing to take his medicine especially his blood because that's just plain gross by default- no matter what kind. It's not only because not many trust him... Even the ones who do just can't stand the taste of his medicine. He still has a long way to do something fitting for humans not only on strictly health beneficial ways.

As to his problem with his gaze... It's not really a problem. I'll remind you that most of his powers are extremely weak and mere glasses are ale to block his magic. Even if he wasn't wearing them you'd really have to get lost in his beautiful eyes for long in order to be in actual danger.

You were actually caught stating at him once. The only snake that wasn't connected to him- who you later found out was named Changsheng- noticed you and called you out without hesitation.

To your defense at that moment he looked like some form of god. His skin looked like it was glowing but as you got closer it turns out that the effect was caused by his scales.

You went there to pick up medicine for one of your sick friends but when you saw that beautiful man it was easy to forget what you were supposed to say. Not like you could even read the prescription so there wasn't a lot that could save you.

Other than the fact that Baizhu was able to read it so he assisted you without a problem. In the meantime you engaged in smalltalk and he definitely could tell that you were interested in him, fortunately the feeling was mutual.

Even with his friend snake snapping at you every once in a while you still had a pleasant time. So afterwards you talked to each other more frequently.

You usually spent time on a small walks that ended with you just sitting somewhere and talking for hours. That is until he had to go back to work.

The snakes on his head were weirdly calm. I say weirdly because you've noticed that he has plenty of bite marks which means that he might not always exactly get along with them all the time.

But with you things just were different... Besides Changsheng who was a bit sassy with you two. Still she didn't accompany you to most of your dates. It's just that when she did see you with Baizhu she'd not go easy on you.

It was odd but you could feel both sense of routine and chaos when spending time with him. Due to his weakness you had some limitations as to what you could do together... Kinda funny to think that the immortal being is holding the mortal down and not the other way around.

Regardless, my point was that there is always something for one date to stick out more than another even if you were doing almost always the same thing.

One day for example he forgot his glasses and he had to be blindfolded for the entire date. He just insisted on waiting for you at the spot only to realize a bit too late about his lack of glasses.

Even though it didn't pose that much of a threat neither you or him can promise each other not to risk it and stare into each other's eyes for too long.

But I suppose that no matter what would happen to you, he'd do anything possible in order to help you. Especially if it would be his fault.

~Mod Lisa

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real-time-twilight · 2 years

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Twilight vs Life and Death #2

🍏Life and Death🍏

In the Olympic Peninsula of Northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds. It rains on this insignificant town more than any other place in the United States of America. It was from this town and its gloomy, omnipresent shade that my mother escaped with me when I was only a few months old. It was in this town that I'd been compelled to spend a month every summer until I was fourteen. That was the year I finally started making ultimatums; these past three summers, my dad, Charlie, vacationed with me in California for two weeks instead.

Yet, somehow, I now found myself exiled to Forks for the rest of my high school education. A year and a half. Eighteen months. It felt like a prison sentence. Eighteen months, hard time. When I slammed the car door behind me, it made a sound like the clang of iron bars locking into place.

Okay, just a tad melodramatic there. I have an overactive imagination, as my mom was fond of telling me. And, of course, this was my choice. Self-imposed exile.

Didn't make it any easier.

🍎Twilight🍎

In the Olympic Peninsula of Northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds. It rains on this inconsequential town more than any other place in the United States of America. It was from this town and its gloomy, omnipresent shade that my mother escaped with me when I was only a few months old. It was in this town that I'd been compelled to spend a month every summer until I was fourteen. That was the year I finally put my foot down; these past three summers, my dad, Charlie, vacationed with me in California for two weeks instead.

It was to Forks I now exiled myself--an action that I took with great horror. I detested Forks.

Ok first things first we have "inconsequential" changed to "insignificant". This is one of those changes that is annoyingly difficult to determine whether Smeyer decided to use a less fancy word because Beau is a Boy or because it was a clunky word she'd been wanting to change for ten years. To be honest I think it's a bit of both.

Then, where Bella "put her foot down", Beau "started making ultimatums". This is a dumb change and i hate it. Smeyer made a point of saying that Beau is less dramatic than Bella, and generally he comes off as more friendly but it's very inconsistent-- this will come up repeatedly throughout the book. I'm going to put this one down as Catch-All because it makes zero sense to me.

So here we have, not just entirely different paragraphs, but Beau has a lot more to say about his exile to Forks, and this further drives home that Beau is just as dramatic (if not more so) than Bella, he's just more self-aware of the fact, which I think actually makes it worse. Part of me feels that Beau really doesn't need to say this much, but I also understand how she wants to make it clear that Beau has some differnce in personality to his female counterpart. This definitely falls under the Beau's personality developed differently sub-section of the Beau is a Boy category.

#twilight saga #twilight renaissance #twilight 🍎#life and death🍏#beau swan #bella swan

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athalantan · 1 day

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Part of me is focused on cleaning up Aylin; the rest can't stop thinking about El. Right now I'm thinking about that crystal coffer in their Safehold with 3 items: a locket, a pair of earrings, and a lock of hair. The earrings belonged to an apprentice they had to put down. The lock of hair belonged to a lover they were forbidden to resurrect. The locket is never explained.

As I've said before, I think all these items are linked to El's greatest regrets, the ones still unresolved in their heart. I was going to weave some grand story for the locket, but I think an answer can be found in other canon materials. Because I can think of one event they would always regret, that would always make them question, and that they'd never forgive themselves for: the abduction of Storm.

See Storm was the most willful of the three daughters El raised. It's hard enough raising three girls on your own, but on top of that, they had work to attend across the planes. I have thoughts about El balancing all of this, but the relevant point is Storm canonically ran away multiple times. The last time, she was captured by a mage who bespelled her to look like a slave he'd killed but not paid for. She was sold south and spent years in bonds. She finally managed to steal a flying carpet and return home. Just turned up on El's doorstep demanding they remove the spell on her appearance and take her back in. Of course, El did.

So I think the locket is something El gave her after her first few runaways. As usual, it has a picture on each side when opened: one of Dove and one of Laeral. El sat Storm down and said Storm didn't have to take them for family. They've no desire to force themself into a role she doesn't willingly open to them. Furthermore, they understand every other adult in her life, kin included, have either failed or been taken from her. But, she still has some kin left. Two sisters who love her and worry for her, who have suffered exactly what she has and whose hearts break each time she disappears. She shouldn't stay because El tells her to, and clearly she won't stay for her own good. But, she should stay for those two sisters of hers; she should stay so as not to cause them more grief. Then he placed the locket around her neck so she'd have the portraits as a reminder of what she was leaving behind each time she ran.

Unbeknownst to her, it was enchanted with a tracking spell so if she did run again, they could more easily find her. Maybe underhanded but you have to understand she was a child. We don't have a canonical age for when she was enslaved, but based on the information we're given, I'd have to assume she was barely a teen, if that. If she was old enough to make her own way, El would let her; they weren't interested in controlling her, only keeping her safe. So they didn't check the enchantment 24/7; they weren't spying. It was merely a failsafe in case something should happen.

Except something did happen, and the locket didn't help. Either Storm didn't wear it the day she was taken or the clasp was broken in the struggle. And with Storm being magically whisked away, El failed to find her. No matter how tirelessly they searched, how fervently they prayed, no clue came as to her whereabouts. I imagine My.st.ra was silent on the matter because she considered it valuable life experience for her daughter. Maybe she even interfered with El's search on that basis. Whatever the case, El has never forgiven themself for failing Storm, especially when she opened up eventually about what she'd been through.

#ehhh fuck it not polished but it goes in #META / HC: PRIMARY.#slavery tw #kidnapping tw #child abuse tw #ask to tag

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producedbyhanjisung · 6 months

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⎯ IN MY HEAD. felix yongbok lee

🎧 : felix lee x female reader

TROPE. zombie apocalypse au, friends to lovers, eventual smut, minors dni

WORD COUNT. 6.2k

WARNINGS. mentions of suicide, death

SYNOPSIS. after her grandfather's death, y/n is once again alone in the world. that is, until she meets larry - and shortly after, three boys that quickly become more like family to her than any blood related bonds she'd ever had. among these boys, one stands out to her: a certain deep-voiced australian with blue hair.

SMUT WARNINGS. unprotected sex, bicep biting (is that a warning), dom(ish)!felix, sub!reader, hickeys, use of pet names (darling, love, pretty, etc.), oral sex (female receiving), fingering

In art, there are so many things that can go wrong, but they never truly go wrong. Putting the wrong color somewhere, or making a stroke where it shouldn't be - that's a form of artistic genius. A slash of red cutting through a barren white landscape is a symbolism, not something ugly and never the work of a poor artist. No, it is beauty, life and nature in its truest forms.

Sadly, my life and art are two very different things. Because everything that could go wrong in my life has gone wrong. And my life is absolute shit.

It started off when I was eleven, when my dad shot himself right in front of me. Then again when I was fifteen, and my mom took my brother and left in the middle of the night, leaving me in the care of my not-so-caring grandparents. Barely four years later, and now I'm here. In the middle of the desert with one of those not-so-caring grandparents, watching as he slowly dies.

My grandmother croaked a long time ago - she had lung problems anyways. My grandfather has put up a good fight. But, sadly, when you're ninety-seven years old, the apocalypse is hard to survive.

I wanted to cry, but I couldn't bring myself to. I had wasted too many tears already over my fallen family members, and I couldn't afford to with him. Not when he had spent so many years tormenting me, starving me, banning me from the outside world. Which is why I should have died months ago.

I had no experience whatsoever in survival. I'd never gone camping, never even spent a night out of my house before. So, when I found myself able to make a campfire within a half hour of beginning to try, I realized that I had more luck than I could imagine, when I had thought myself unlucky my entire life.

I pondered this, whirling the knife I had found in a random army surplus store between my fingers as I watched my last surviving family member taking his last breaths before me.

He didn't want to speak to me, and I knew he wouldn't. So it surprised me when my grandfather whispered my name. His voice was dry and cracked, and he weakly lifted his hand to point at the pistol laying with my bag a few feet away from him.

He wants to kill himself, I realized. He wants to just end it here, and leave me alone. Not that I was complaining. He was slowing me down anyways.

I stood, and tossed him the gun. "Wait till I'm a ways away. I'm leaving."

I didn't say goodbye. He said nothing either as I gathered my few belongings together and kicked the fire that had been going, getting its last few flames to die down and fade into the night.

"Please understand," was the last thing my grandfather said to me as I began my walk away.

I didn't turn around. I couldn't. Because I knew that if I did, I would already be looking at a fresh corpse.

Two weeks and four days after my grandfather's death, I am still alone.

Well, not entirely alone. Somewhere into the first week without him, I stumbled across a stray dog. Its ribs were poking into its skin, and it was too weak to even stand. I was going to shoot it, to put it out of its misery. But I just couldn't bring myself to.

I ended up staying with the dog for hours, feeding him what little food I had left in my bag and talking to him, then carrying him to somewhere we could shelter for the night when it began to get to dark. Miraculously, the dog had survived. I named him Larry.

Larry hardly leaves my side now. He hunts with me, attacks zombies (he's a fearless little dude), and barks when he senses something's wrong.

Which is what he's doing right now.

I look around, fully alert for what might come barreling out of the darkness surrounding us at any moment. My bow (that army surplus store was crazy loaded) sat on the ground next to me, and I picked it up, knocking an arrow.

"Shh, Larry." I gently touch the dog's nose, and he stops barking, instead keeping his hackles raised and baring his teeth into the night.

Instead of zombies - what I was expecting to emerge - three boys trudge into the light, leaning on each other for support. The one in the middle is heavily wounded. Just by glancing at him I can see blood seeping through an open wound on his stomach, which is bare of clothing. In fact, all three boys are shirtless. It would be a welcome sight if not for the fact that they all looked like they were about to pass out from exhaustion.

Nonetheless, I raise my bow, drawing the arrow back and pointing it at each of the boys in turn.

"Please," the one on the left says. "We need help. Please."

"Were you bitten?" I demand, keeping the corner of my eye on Larry, who looks like he's about to go feral at any moment.

"No. Look- we need some fucking help," the boy on the left snaps. His face then softens. "Please. He's dying." He motions his head slightly at the boy in the middle, who, as if on cue, collapses into him.

I don't know what it was, but something about me trusted these boys. Which is ridiculous, I know, seeing as this is an apocalypse and they literally just walked out of the abyss, but I want to know who they are.

Plus, I'm sick of being alone.

"I don't have many supplies," I say.

The left boy, who seems to be the spokesperson for the other two, takes this as my sign to come sit, and he and the boy on the right drag their other friend towards where I stand.

"Anything to stop the bleeding," the boy on the right says softly.

"What's his name?" I ask neither of them in particular, but they both answer the same thing. Seungmin.

I nod, reaching into my bag. That damn army surplus store had everything, because I'm able to pull out a roll of gauze and my bottle of water out of my bag, along with a salt shaker that I picked up somewhere. I dump most of the salt into my water bottle, and lean over Seungmin so that he can see my face.

"Hi, Seungmin. My name's Y/N. I'm gonna help you, okay?"

Seungmin nods slightly, sucking in sharply at the movement.

Gently, I pour the saline solution over the wound on Seungmin's stomach. He hisses in pain, and the boy who had been on the right wrings his hands together. "Do you know what you're doing?"

"I know enough," I say.

"That's really fucking reassuring," Seungmin grunts from below me.

I now press the gauze down on the wound, earning a curse from the wounded boy, and turn to the other two. "Do either of you have a cloth or something I could wrap around this?"

Both of the other boys scrambled to open their bags.

"Here." The boy on the right says, tossing a maroon T-shirt at me. It was damp, but not fully wet, so it would be fine over the gauze. "We both used our shirts to stop the bleeding before," the boy then continues to explain.

Ah. That explains why they're shirtless.

I wrap the shirt tightly around Seungmin's abdomen, and he winces in pain as I do so.

"That's the best I can do until I have better supplies. I can look when it's light out. He'll be okay for now, though," I tell his friends, who both let out breaths of relief.

"Thank you." The boy on the right says, and I can now get a better look at all them.

The boy who just spoke is the tallest. His hair is sweaty, but a dark brown color, and he has pretty features.

The right boy, however, is the most beautiful man I've ever seen. He has freckles dancing across his cheeks, and dyed blue hair that falls nicely around his face. As I drag my eyes up and down his body, I note his toned muscles and nice physique. And, even in the apocalypse, he has earrings in.

I peel my eyes back towards the fire, realizing I've been staring.

The three of us sit in silence for a while, looking at the fire between us. Larry has calmed down now - presently, he's lying next to Seungmin, with his head resting on the injured boy's thighs. Seungmin himself is asleep, covered by a combination of my jacket and a bundle of newspapers that one of the other boys found in his pack, for whatever reason.

It takes me a while to talk to either of them just sitting there, watching the flames arabesque into the air and die moments after.

"What's your name?" I finally ask to neither of them in particular. The boy on the left was the one who answered, as expected.

"Minho," he says. "Lee Minho is my name. This is Lee Felix."

"Brothers?"

Minho shook his head. "Close enough to be though."

"How'd you guys meet?" I couldn't help but be curious about the three of them - and why they had stumbled across me of all people.

Minho sighed. "Chan."

"Who?"

"Chan. He brought us all together."

"We started with eight," Felix tells me, and I notice his Australian accent. I must have missed it before. "Now it's just us." He looks down at the ground.

"Five of you are-" I start, but Minho cuts me off.

"Dead, yeah. Hyunjin died first, then Changbin. Chan died around two weeks ago, and Jeongin right after him. We tried to save Jisung . . ."

"He died yesterday," Felix says softly. "Same attack Seungmin got hurt in." His jaw is tense as he speaks, and I can tell it's a touchy subject for both of them. "What about you?" His face softens a little as he looks up at me, and I shrug.

"My grandparents. My dad died when I was a kid, and my mom left me, so they're who I was living with when this whole thing happened. My grandmother died a few days in. My grandfather died almost three weeks ago."

"I'm sorry," Felix says, and I suddenly feel bad for not saying I was sorry about his friends.

"Don't be. They starved me, hit me. You know, fun stuff."

"I'm sorry," Felix repeats, softly this time.

"Tell me about them."

Minho and Felix both look at me. Minho's eyes are red, like he's holding back tears, but not doing a good job of hiding it.

"Your friends, I mean. Unless you don't want to-"

"No, yeah." Felix glances over at Minho, who just looks around a little, as if indicating he didn't want to talk. "Chan, the guy who brought us all together, he was an Aussie. Like me." He smiles a little, but it fades just as soon as it begins. He has a pretty smile. "He liked music. A lot. Had two little siblings before. Then, uh, Changbin. He was really fucking short. He got up to work out every morning too. God, he was so annoying about working out."

I find myself smiling a little, and laughing quietly along with Felix as he tells me about his old friends. Minho looks a little better, even looking up when Felix started talking about Jisung.

"He and Minho were really close," Felix finishes with, eyes flitting over to Minho, who smiles sadly.

Sensing that the topic was over, Felix then turns and scratches Larry behind his ear. "How'd you find him?"

I tell them the story of Larry. They laugh at his name. I smile. This cycle continues for most of the night, sharing stories and laughter that gets increasingly louder into the early hours of the morning, before Minho announces that we should get at least a few hours of sleep before traveling the next day. It was as if an unspoken agreement had passed between us - we would travel together from now on.

"Are you cold?" Felix asks me, glancing down at my jacket over Seungmin. I didn't mind giving it to him, but it did leave me in only a tank top and a pair of shorts. Nonetheless, I shook my head.

"The fire's still going, I'm fine."

Felix shakes his head. "Come here, we can all keep each other warm."

"Really, I'm fine." As inviting as his tanned chest is for me to curl up against, I insist on staying on the opposite side of the fire.

"Y/N."

"He's really fucking stubborn," Minho says as he lies down. "Just do it."

"Are you sure? I don't wanna make you uncomf-"

Felix rolls his eyes. "I can promise you, I'm not and I won't be. Come here."

"What if you guys are fucking psycho, and you kill me in the middle of the night or something?"

"I could kill you just as easily next to me as I could two feet away from you," Felix says. "You're actually less likely to die if you come over here. Cause like, you could freeze."

Finally, I give in, and make my way over to Felix, who smiles at me as I lie next to him.

"Are you gonna punch me if I put my arms around you?"

"Maybe."

"I'll take those odds."

I feel his arms wrap around my waist, and the front of his body presses against the back of mine, molding me against him. He's right - I'm a lot warmer with him. His face rests against the back of my neck, and I move my hair so that it's not in his face.

"You can keep it there if you'd like," he says quietly.

"Lix, why aren't you cuddling me?" I hear Minho complain from the other side of him.

"Cause you have a full fucking jacket with you, Minho. I'm not cuddling her, we're staying warm." Felix doesn't speak loudly, his low voice tickling against my bare shoulder blade. "Are you comfortable?" He then asks me, shifting his grip around my waist.

"Yeah, it's fine," I tell him, not wanting to admit that I never want to leave his embrace.

The next morning, Felix and I get up to go find more in-depth medical supplies for Seungmin, while Minho waits with Seungmin at the campsite. Larry waits with them, having found a newfound love for the latter of the two, who he now refuses to leave the side of. So much for loyalty, but I don't really mind.

As we searched, Felix and I got to know each other better. He was nineteen years old, and I was eighteen. He had been a hip-hop dancer, and I had been a volleyball player. His lifelong dream had been to open a cafe in Seoul, where he could visit Chan, who was to become a producer for JYP Entertainment there, every day.

I felt bad for him. Within the span of a couple months, Felix had lost everyone in his life - his parents, his two sisters, five of his best friends, along with any shot he had at achieving that dream of his.

"I like baking," he had explained to me when talking about the cafe. Then, letting out a breathy laugh, he said, "I'll make you some of my world-famous brownies when we get somewhere safe. They're so good, zombies would probably try to eat them instead of us."

I shook my head at that, but smiled to myself anyways.

We kept at that for a few hours, until we were sure we had found enough supplies to take care of him. We went back to the camp, and treated him.

In fact, this is how the next few months looked. Taking turns finding supplies, getting to know each other better, Seungmin healing, and building more of a home than a camp in that abandoned warehouse that I had first expected to only stay a night in.

The warehouse, we figured out, had been used to make candy before, so there were tons of boxes of candy that had been stacked against one wall and abandoned. Other than that, the warehouse and the room overlooking it were empty.

All four of us (plus Larry) had created a makeshift shared bedroom in the overlooking room. Since the first night, I slept with Felix's chest pressed against my back and his arms looped around my waist almost every night, so there were only three beds - really only mattresses with random blankets on them - in the room.

Felix and I have also gotten much closer lately. In fact, all of us have. Seungmin, who is now fully recovered, Minho, Felix, (Larry), and I have become sort of a group, I guess you could call it.

Which is why I was surprised when I heard Minho and Felix talking one day, coming back from looking for supplies with Seungmin. I started to say something to him as I walked up the stairs, but he grabbed my shoulder, covering my mouth with his hand quickly. He let go of my shoulder, making a listen motion by tapping his ear.

"You should just say something," Minho was saying.

"And what, fuck up everything here? Things are great. We haven't been attacked in three days, she sleeps in bed with me every night, and-"

"It doesn't matter. If you have feelings, you shouldn't just keep them inside. Especially if you're sleeping in bed with her every night. That's actually fucked up if you don't tell her. She has no idea that someone who thinks about her - sexually - is sleeping with a dick next to her every night."

"That doesn't even make sense. Plus, I think she knows I have a dick."

"Maybe I chopped it off."

Seungmin rolled his eyes, and I choked back a giggle.

"Can you not?"

"I'm just saying. I just caught you jerking off and saying-" Minho is cut off by Larry, who runs over to the door and pushes it open at that very moment.

Seungmin quickly drops his hand from my mouth, and I straighten my back, as though we had just come up the stairs.

"You're back," Felix says.

Seungmin tosses our bag of supplies on the ground. "Matches, canned food, band-aids, and a few other things."

Minho nods, picking up a few of the supplies and starting to put them away.

"I'm gonna take a walk," I declare after a moment.

Minho looks up. "Do you want one of us to come with you?"

I shake my head. "I'm alright by myself. I won't be gone for long."

That's what I said. Little did I know, I would be gone for three hours. Then six.

It was almost dark out by the time Seungmin and Larry found me. I was lying in the middle of the road, a huge gash drawn diagonally across my abdomen.

I was out cold when he laid me down on mine and Felix's bed, and I didn't wake up until three days later.

When I did, Felix was beside me. He was sitting at the edge of the bed, wringing his hands together. My shirt was pushed up so that my stomach was exposed. When I looked down, it was wrapped in a white bandage.

"Felix?" I say, my voice deep and raspy. I move to sit up and groan, my stomach throbbing.

He looks up, his face pinched, and sighs, his entire body visibly relaxing. "You're up. How do you feel?"

I throw my head back against my pillow, groaning. "Horrible. What happened?"

"Seungmin found you," he says. "There was so much blood, Y/N . . . We thought you might have been dead."

"I can't remember anything that happened. Was I bitten?"

"Not that we could find. Seungmin thought someone might have jumped you, or you just got hurt some other way."

"How long was I out?"

"Three days. You needed the rest."

"How long have you been there?"

"Also three days."

I close my eyes. "Seungmin? Minho?"

"They're getting supplies. They sit with you whenever they're here. They just left though, it'll be a few hours before they're back. How bad does it hurt?"

I shake my head. "Too much. I can move though. I'll be okay."

We were both quiet for a little while.

Then, with a sudden surge of confidence, I say, "I heard you and Minho talking."

"What?"

"Before I went on the walk. Before Seungmin and I walked in."

"What did you hear us talking about?"

I stay quiet. Do I really want to let Felix know that I heard him and Minho talking about him jerking off?

"Oh." Felix sighs, and I finally open my eyes to look at him. His hair is held in a half-up, half-down that suits him well. He looks hot. "That's what you heard."

I nod. "Felix, do you really think about me? When you . . . you know."

"Touch myself?"

I swallow hard. "Yeah."

"I think about you all the time," he says, dark eyes boring into my face. "I'm obsessed with you."

"But you think about me like that?"

"Like what? Like I wanna fuck you?"

"Well, yeah."

"Obviously. I wouldn't be moaning your name while I came if I didn't."

"Jesus, Lix, can you not be so blunt?"

"You were the one who asked." He shrugs. "You already heard me talking about it anyways."

"And Minho knows?"

He nods.

"Seungmin?"

Felix nods again.

"Do you want to fuck me now?"

"What happened to not being so blunt?" He laughs.

"Answer."

"Yeah, I do."

I stare at him for a moment. "You really do?"

He's shy all of a sudden. "Yeah."

"Fuck me then."

"You're hurt."

"I feel fine."

"You just said you felt horrible."

"Felix." I reach out, grabbing his hand. "I feel great. I just want you to touch me."

"Yeah?" The shyness fades, and I can see his eyes glint. "You really want me to?"

I nod.

Felix stands so that he's hovering next to me. "You're so pretty," he says quietly, leaning in towards me. He pauses, lips just inches away from mine. "But you're hurt."

"Felix," I say, reaching for his lips, but he pushes me gently back down against the mattress.

"I know, love. Soon."

I roll my eyes at him. "What happened to being obsessed with me?"

"I am." His thumb is tracing across my lower lip, applying the slightest bit of pressure so that it moves a little as he does. "I also don't want you to get even more hurt."

I sigh. "You're probably right."

"I am."

"Why are you so fucking cocky?"

He shrugs. "Do you want anything to eat? I bet you're hungry."

I nod. "I can get it. Can you help me up?"

"Of course," he says. "What do you want me to do?"

"Just stand there so I can hold onto you." I carefully stand, gripping Felix's left bicep as I do so, keeping myself from tipping over.

"You lost a lot of blood," Felix tells me. "That's why you're so dizzy."

"Oh," is all I respond with, too concentrated to really care.

I stumble a little, and Felix's arm shoots out to catch me, looping around my waist.

"I got it. Get off me."

"I think you should lie back down," he says gently. "Just rest a little longer. I'll get you something." He helps me back down on the makeshift bed, and crosses the room to get an apple for me.

He holds it out to me, but I'm already asleep again by the time he's back.

It has now been six months since my injury. I'm fully healed, and back in action. The boys still don't like me going outside by myself, so one of them comes with me everywhere I go.

It's annoying sometimes, but sometimes it's also endearing. The four of us have become a sort of makeshift family, relying on Minho as the mom, Seungmin like a little brother, and Felix . . .

I still want him to rail me into oblivion.

Since that first day that I woke up, neither of us have said anything about that conversation. His hair is different now after growing out some, still vibrant blue, just the roots are now black. It's a good look on him.

Presently, it's early in the morning. Minho and I are sitting at the door to the warehouse, waiting for any sign that Felix, Seungmin, and Larry are back.

Minho holds a baseball bat at his side, nails driven through one end so spikes stick out from all sides. I turn a knife over in my hand nervously, waiting.

"It's three a.m.," Minho states, looking at his watch. "They've officially been gone for twelve hours."

"They're not dead," I say forcefully. "They probably just found a horde or something and had to go the long way."

"The long way doesn't take twelve hours to go around."

"Can you not be so fucking negative?" I turn to Minho, glaring at him.

"Y/N." He says my name calmly, like an adult would to a little kid. "Do you want to go rest? I can wake you up when they're back."

I shake my head. "Do you want to rest? You look like shit, Min."

He shakes his head too. "I'll sleep when they're back."

It's another hour before we finally hear something at the door. Minho has been drifting asleep, but shoots awake when he hears.

Seungmin is yelling outside, banging on the door. "LET US THE FUCK IN YOU MOTHER FUCKERS."

I jump up, holding up my knife, and Minho opens the door quickly. Felix, Seungmin, and Larry all burst through the door. Seungmin catapults to the ground, where he sits breathing heavily. Felix launches into my arms, throwing himself around me and knocking both of us to the ground.

"Fuck," I mumble, rubbing the back of my neck. Felix's hand covered the back of my head when we fell, so the damage is minimal, but it still hurts a little.

As they do this, Minho slams the door shut again. "How many fucking zombies did you guys attract?"

Neither boy answers for a minute. Seungmin lies on the ground, eyes closed, and Felix keeps himself practically attached to me, face buried in the crook of my neck. Finally, he pries himself off me onto the ground next to me and says, "We went a little further out of the city than we expected. Got caught in a freak storm and went the wrong way for a couple hours. Then we turned around, and attracted half the zombies within a ten-mile radius right here."

Minho looks like he wants to hit him. "You what?"

"We had nothing else to do," Seungmin says. "We tried losing them. We tried killing them. Felix is exaggerating, there's probably only twenty or thirty of them out there."

"Twenty or thirty zombies is enough to kill us easy," I point out.

"You're so helpful, thank you Y/N."

"So what do we do now?" Felix asks.

"We have to wait it out." Minho sighs, rubbing his eyes. "Until they leave, or something distracts them."

I groan. "That could take days."

"Then we wait for days. I would rather sit in here and be bored than be out there and get eaten alive."

"We should take watches," Seungmin tells us. "Two at a time. We can keep each other awake."

"Seungmin, Lix, you guys should go sleep first." I look over at the two of them. "You've been out and about for a while."

"I'm fine," Seungmin says. "Felix stayed awake while I rested during the storm when we took shelter. I'll stay down here. Which of you guys wants to rest?"

"You go," I tell Minho.

He rolls his eyes. "I drank so much coffee earlier, I wouldn't be able to sleep if I tried."

We argued back and forth for a minute, but finally, I gave in, and followed Felix up the stairs to the bedroom.

"Let me fix your cuts first." I hold out the first aid kit to Felix, who takes it from me and sets it on the floor.

I set to work on his body first, having him take his shirt off so that I can clean and bandage the wounds on his back and stomach.

"Hey, Y/N," he says as I'm covering one of his shoulder blades with a bandage. "Where'd all of your scars come from?"

"What?"

"A while ago, when you were injured. I, uh, I took off your shirt, to check for bite marks. Your back had so many scars."

"They're all from different things."

"Like what?"

"My family."

He's quiet for a minute, so I break the silence.

"Where'd you get this?" I trace one of my fingers over a scar that reaches from the back of his neck to the middle of his back. It was faint, and you could have missed it if you weren't looking carefully.

He shivers a little as my hand follows the scar, and I relish in the motion. "Don't know the guy who gave it to me," he says after a minute. "Jumped me in an alleyway when I was nine. Killed my sister, and did that to me."

"I'm so sorry, Lix."

He turns, catching my hands in his as I try to apologize further. "Don't be. It was a long time ago. It's okay. Plus, it looks cool right? I'm a total badass."

I laugh. "A total badass who's scared of cockroaches."

"They're fucking creepy." Felix makes eye contact with me, tilting his head a little. "Can I kiss you?"

"What, are cockroaches turning you on?"

"Shut up, Y/N," he mumbles, lips connecting with mine.

His body molds against mine almost perfectly. He pushes me backwards, sitting up so that he's kneeling over me while I sit up on my elbows, lips staying together the entire time.

It doesn't take long for him to break the kiss, scrambling to pull of his shirt. I grab his wrist as he does so, stopping him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm gonna fuck you."

I pause. "You're hurt."

He tongues the inside of his cheek, looking down at me through half-lidded eyes. "I'm definitely not hurt as bad as you were."

"Yeah, well-"

He cuts me off, covering my mouth with his hand. His fingers grip my chin a little as he does so, and he finishes pulling off his shirt with the other hand. He then pauses himself. "Can I fuck you?"

"Since you asked so nicely . . ."

Felix wastes no time in kissing me again. I reach up, feeling up his abs and outlining them with my fingers.

He shivers, and I relish in the fact that it's me who's making him feel like this.

Felix moves to my neck, sucking hickeys into my skin, and I moan out loud. He covers my mouth with his hand, pausing his ministrations to make eye contact with me. "We need to be quiet."

I pause. "What if they hear?"

"They won't. We'll just be quiet." He moves his hand, leaning down to kiss me again, one hand fumbling with getting my shorts down.

I help him slide them off, gasping when he uses his thumb to wipe a stripe up my lower lips.

Felix hums, moving his face away from mine to watch my expression change. "I keep imagining the pretty sounds you make, but I had no idea it'd be like that."

"You like it?" I manage out, holding onto the arm thats gently touching me.

"I don't think I could ever get tired of hearing you." Suddenly his finger is inside me. His. Finger. Is. Inside. Me.

"Oh fuck," I say softly, jolting forward and holding his arm harder. "Fuck, Felix."

"I haven'y even started yet, love, and you're already a mess."

I look up at him. He's watching me with lidded eyes, taking in every contortion of my face, every breathy moan that slips through my lips.

I find my hips grinding against his hand, searching for anything other than his stilled finger. Slowly, he pushes in further, continuing to scan my face for my reaction. When he's finally knuckle-deep, he curls his finger, scraping against the walls of my core. I gasp again at the sensation, leaning my head back. "Felix," I choke out.

"Hmm?"

"Please fucking do something."

He smiles, his finger leaving me and shooting back in. I groan, lips parted as I watch his own face. He finger fucks me, leaning down so that he's close to my cunt, watching his finger move in and out.

"Can I taste you?" he mumbles, kissing lightly along the inside of my thigh.

"Yes, please, fuck," you mutter incoherently. I feel his lips close around my clit, sucking lightly as he continues to move his finger in and out, adding another one. His tongue darts out, circling my clit and pressing lightly on it.

He hums against me. "So sweet. Never wanna stop."

You breathe shakily in response, feeling your imminent high incoming. "I'm-I'm gonna-" I don't even get out the rest of the words before I'm spasming around his fingers, throwing my head back and moaning. His fingers leave my core, one hand flattening my hips back against the mattress and the other reaching up to cover my mouth. His own lips still don't leave my clit, sucking and licking.

"One more, love," he says. "Give me one more."

Maybe three minutes later, I'm cumming again, just as hard as before.

After the second orgasm caused by his tongue, I push Felix's head away, groaning as he leaves little kisses along my legs, then moves back up to my lips. I can taste myself on him - he's right. I do taste sweet.

Felix looks like he's painfully hard, cock straining against his cargo pants. Felix finally rids me of my top, which is followed by the removal of his own pair of pants. We're now fully exposed to each other, and we pause, taking a moment to admire the other's beautiful body.

"Fuck me," I mutter softly.

"You look fucked out, love. Want me to stop here?"

"If you stop right now I'll feed you to the zombies outside."

He laughs, a rumbling chuckle. "Suit yourself, darling." Before I can even respond, he's pushing into me, all the way to the base, where his pelvis meets mine.

We both moan out, and he buries his face into my neck, kissing it gently. "You feel so good. Addictive."

I need my mouth around something - anything. I think I might actually die if I don't get something in my mouth. Before I can even think straight, my teeth are closing over Felix's toned bicep, biting down hard.

He groans, and I can't tell if it's from pain or pleasure. Either way, he's moving now, thrusting lightly into me, as if afraid I might break. Then, suddenly, he's switching it up, going hard and fast. My arms reach around him and I let my hands trail down his back, fingernails digging into his skin. It's not long before he begins to falter, and his grip on my hips tighten. He groans into my neck, murmuring something nonsensical about cumming.

"Do it inside," I say, breathing hard. "Inside, inside."

"Y/N-"

"Felix, I'm gonna cum again." My hips shoot up against his, and I throw my head back. Suddenly I'm orgasming hard, as though a freight train has slammed headfirst into me. My walls are fluttering around Felix, and I hear him muttering something before I feel him cum too, his seed spilling out inside of me.

Felix collapses on top of me, holding me close. We stay like that for a moment, breathing deeply and trying to slow our heart rates before he pulls out of me and rolls off to lie next to me.

Felix smiles, fingers playing with my hair. I turn onto my side, wincing as my pelvis presses into the mattress. I glance down, and notice two purple-shaded hand prints pressed into my skin.

"Sorry," he mumbles against my cheek, arms tightening around me.

"I like them. They're pretty."

"You think so?"

I hum yes, eyes closed.

"Maybe I should leave them more often. It's not like you didn't mark me up plenty."

I open my eyes to find that he's sat up, turning around. His back is covered in scratches from what I can only assume are my fingernails, and when he turns to show me his bicep, I can see cuts where my teeth broke the skin.

"I'm sorry," you say quietly, feeling bad.

He shakes his head, repeating the words you said earlier. "I like them. They're pretty."

"Maybe I should leave them more often," you say, repeating his response.

"I'm so obsessed with you, Y/N."

"Yeah?"

"You're constantly in my head. I can't get you out." Felix turns to look at me. "But I don't know if I'd ever want to."

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wlwmarvelenthusiast · 3 years

Text

Babysitting Duty

Summary: while Scott and Clint are away on a mission, you and Wanda are stuck with babysitting duty

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Warnings: some harsh language

Word Count: 5,117

"Your asses had better not leave the yard, got it?"

"Please don't swear at the kids."

"They're being little shits!" You insisted.

Wanda glared at you from where she was sat on the couch, cradling two-year-old Nathaniel, who had fallen asleep in her arms a few minutes ago. You scowled back at her as you moved to the other seat, closer to the open window, so that you could see and hear Lila and Cassie running around in the backyard. Lila ducked into the shed for a moment, re-emerging with a soccer ball. She kicked it toward Cassie.

Clint and Scott had taken up an offer to go on a mission with Natasha across the country. You didn't pry as to why she needed them specifically. Laura was in Los Angeles visiting some family, meanwhile Maggie and Jim were taking a vacation in the tropics. That had left Scott and Clint in need of a babysitter, and you'd been volunteered for the job. Now, you and Wanda were stuck at Clint's farmhouse for a few days until Laura got back. You were only in charge of Cassie, Lila, and Nathaniel, with Cooper having gone to stay with a friend while his parents were out of town.

"Why don't you go put him down?" You suggested to Wanda, the scowl on your face replaced by a soft smile.

Wanda shook her head. She didn't even bother to stand, instead simply laying him down on the couch they were sitting on. He whined a little as he left her arms, but after she'd stroked his head a couple times, he settled as soundly as he had been. She stood and crossed the room, sitting down next to you. Your arm moved around her waist and she leaned against you, legs curling up to her chest. You kissed the side of her head as you glanced out the window quickly to check up on the girls.

"What do you think about what Tony said?" She asked quietly.

You turned to stare at her. Her light green eyes flickered up to meet your gaze. It put a smile on her face. Her hand reached for yours, taking it and intertwining your fingers. You played with her hand.

"One day."

After getting the babysitting gig, you hadn't exactly been ecstatic. You were an Avenger, not a babysitter. Anytime Clint and Scott weren't around to hear, you'd repeat those words to whoever was close enough to listen. Most of them got that. They thought the same. It's why everyone had tried so hard to avoid the two men for those few days. When you'd gotten stuck with it, Natasha had even gone so far as to laugh at you.

You were good at avoiding. You'd practiced it all your anti-social life. So, it wasn't your fault that you'd be assigned babysitter. It was Wanda's. Clint had managed to corner her one day. Their relationship was a strange one. He'd cared for Pietro, and Pietro had cared enough for Clint to give up his life for him. Now, the surviving Maximoff and the archer had some sort of bond. That bond had made it impossible for her to say no to babysitting the toddler that was named after her brother.

Stuck with two kids anyway, you figured you might as well take care of Cassie at this point. Once you'd been nominated babysitter, though, Tony had taken it upon yourself to never leave you alone. It seemed, for those few days after you'd agreed to take care of the kids, Tony was around every single corner. You wouldn't have been surprised to learn he had been using the security cameras to keep track of you, because no matter how hard you tried to hide from him, he was there.

He was teasing you relentlessly about your having to babysit. Unlike the rest of them, Tony wasn't teasing you because you, an Avenger, were stuck with a 16-year-old high schooler's job. He was teasing you because you were stuck at a nice little home in the country with three kids and your girlfriend. He insisted, every time he saw you, that this was going to be good practice for your future. Wanda had blushed furiously the first time he'd said it. You'd shooed him away.

As much as you hated dealing with the billionaire and his stupid smirk when he'd approach you to tease you about practicing for your own kids, you would deal with it. Wanda would always turn away with a tomato-red blush burning on her cheeks, and so you would always find a way to give her an escape to stick around and take Tony's taunting yourself. Mostly you just ignored him, but he was persistent if nothing else.

Tony had driven you absolutely mad with his stupid suggestive tone and heckling comments. That was undeniable. Sometimes, you even wanted to take him down to the ring just for a reason to drive your fist into his gut. But after a long day of work and having to hear him go on and on, you'd climb into your bed, or sometimes Wanda's, fall asleep for the night, and dream up the pictures that he'd painted into your head.

There were two or three kids. One of them was always a boy. You were just getting home from somewhere, and Wanda was in the backyard of your house, watching the children play. The boy would be with one of the other kids, but when you approached Wanda and slid an arm around her waist, he'd run up to you. You'd ruffle a hand in his hair, and he'd giggle, light green eyes casting up to look at you. He had Wanda's eyes. You'd reach down and pick him up, kissing his cheek as he continued to laugh.

"Hi, Momma," he'd say.

"Hello, Pietro," you would reply every time. "Were you good for your mom today?"

Then he would nod and squirm a little, desperate to get back to his brothers or sisters. You'd set him down on his feet and he'd dash back to the others. You would lean into Wanda, then, kissing her softly. She would kiss you back, just as gently and lovingly as she did in your waking life. No words would be exchanged as you guided her to the bench swing, pulling her close and smiling as you both turned to watch your children laugh and play together.

It was just a dream, and it was entirely Tony's fault, you were sure. He'd put the idea of a family into your head and now you couldn't get it out. You'd always known you wanted kids and, even though you might not have known her all too long, you knew it was Wanda you wanted them with. She was your everything and you wouldn't want anything without her. Your future didn't exist without Wanda Maximoff.

"I've seen those dreams you've been having."

That honestly didn't surprise you too much. She'd seen your dreams on occasion. You'd learned that when you'd woken up absolutely drenched in sweat one night after a particularly inappropriate dream involving a particular witch. She'd watched your eyes open and immediately straddled your waist, promising to make your dream come true. You hadn't gone back to sleep that night, and it was clear as day that she had seen every single detail of that dream.

She was a mind reader. It wasn't hard for her to see just what was going on in your head; conscious or not. So, as you slept, she was able to see those images of you and she with your cozy little house and little Pietro smiling up at the both of you. It didn't surprise you, but it did make you a little nervous to know she'd seen them. You didn't want to seem like you were rushing into things at a pace that she wasn't ready for. You would wait forever for her.

You'd talked about it with her before. It was nothing too serious. It had been a simple conversation, the two of you discussing where you thought you might be five or ten years down the road. When you'd talked about it, the two of you hadn't been dating yet. You'd just been friends, both wanting to be more. It had been a quiet night, and you'd wanted to take her mind off Pietro, who had died only four months earlier.

Wanda pictured her future as a quieter life. She wanted a nice home on a quaint little street where she wanted a family, someone to love and maybe a couple of kids down the road. She'd told you she wasn't sure yet, if she wanted to continue being an Avenger. She hadn't always been fond of the sort of action you guys saw, but she knew she had the power to help people. Her heart was good. She couldn't just ignore that fact.

Your vision had been a little different. You were absolutely sure that you wanted to continue being an Avenger. You were a hero through and through. You couldn't imagine a life where you weren't doing what you did now: keeping people safe. You wanted to stay in New York, but maybe moving out into the suburbs in the outskirts of the city. You, too, wanted to start a family someday. Avenging could be a day job, you'd assured.

Then you'd gotten together. You'd admitted your feelings, you'd gone on some dates, and quickly, you'd fallen deeply in love with her. That dream of a future was still one you had: An Avenger by day and a wife and mother by night. At some point, though, that woman you saw yourself having that family with had become Wanda. Suddenly, you couldn't see it any other way. For a long time, you'd kept that from her. Now, though, she knew, and you were glad she did.

"What do you think of it? The dream," you asked carefully.

Wanda didn't answer right away. Her eyes had cast out the window to watch Cassie and Lila run through the yard, passing the ball between each other before Cassie turned and kicked it into the net. They both cheered loudly, raising their arms in the air, smiling widely, and high fiving. Their excitement made Wanda smile too. Her gaze turned back away from the yard and back to you, searching your face carefully. You let her study every detail of your eyes.

"I think it's beautiful."

Any life with her would have been beautiful. Anything with her was beautiful. You were absolutely sure Wanda Maximoff was the most beautiful thing in the world and there was nothing that could have changed your mind. The Avengers teased you sometimes. Natasha had teased one day, that you looked at your girlfriend as if she were the most exquisite piece in an art museum. You'd only assured her that no piece of art ever held a candle to the Sokovian.

"Would you..." You trailed off and took a breath, trying to figure out just what you were asking. "Would you consider it one day?"

Wanda didn't hesitate a millisecond. "I don't have to consider it. One day, Sweetheart."

That warmed you to your very soul. You put your hands on your cheeks and turned her face toward yours. You pressed your lips together, the feeling never failing to make your eyes flutter shut. You savoured the so familiar taste of her against your lips as you let your hands slide; one moved to the back of her neck to hold her close, and the other came to rest on her thigh. It wasn't a long kiss. It didn't need to be. It only took a few seconds to convey to her something words never could.

"How many?" She asked.

You laughed. "Two or three? What do you think, Baby?"

"Three," she hummed softly.

You couldn't believe that Tony was fucking right. Here you were with the woman you loved so dearly, babysitting your coworkers’ kids, and imagining having ones of your own someday. You had to admit, you did like it. They were a bit of a handful, that much was for sure, but you loved it. You loved watching their smiles, watching them play and laugh, and joining them in their fun and games. You loved seeing how Wanda would sit with them, cradle Nathaniel close, and read the girls bedtime stories. The thought of having this with her made your heart swell.

"Alright, where would we live?" You asked with a soft laugh.

"We'll stay near New York," she assured. "My big strong Avenger."

You laughed when she teasingly squeezed one of your biceps. You flexed a little, pressing the muscles against her hand. At this, the touches to your arm weren't so teasing. Her fingers traced the lines of the defined muscles that lay beneath your skin. You breathed out a quiet laugh, grabbing her hand and gently kissing against her knuckles. Her hand hesitated at your mouth as she ran the pad of her thumb across your bottom lip.

"Port Washington?" You offered. "Maybe a little way outside the city or in northern Jersey? I know you want to raise a family in a small town and New York City isn't exactly that."

She pressed her lips against your neck for a moment. "I love you."

You breathed out. "I love you, too."

She pulled away, moving to touch your knee instead. You put a hand over top of hers, turning to check on Cassie and Lila again. They'd taken to sitting in the grass, leaning against a tree trunk, and talking quietly. You weren't sure what about, but you were just glad that they seemed to still be having a good time. You slid Wanda's hand off your knee so that you could stand up.

"I'm just going to grab a snack for the girls," you kissed her cheek. "When I'm back, you can let me know if you've got any more ideas for this life of ours, huh?"

Wanda nodded.

You moved into the kitchen, opening up the pantry and putting together a couple of PB and Js, cutting them in half and setting them on the counter. You then mixed a few glasses of lemonade, put everything on a tray, and headed briefly back to the living room to hand one glass to Wanda, before heading out the back door. You whistled merrily, catching the girls' attention. They both smiled at your approach, and you settled into the grass beside them.

"For you."

They thanked you repeatedly, taking a plate and a glass each. You took your own glass, sitting back and sipping it as the cool breeze blew through your hair. You crossed your legs, watching their girls bite into their sandwiches. You tried to think back to what you'd been talking about at their age. You'd been in grade school and had often been in the schoolyard with your friends talking about boys. Well... they'd talk about boys and you would hesitate and make something up because you didn't know who the hell you liked.

"So, what are we talking about today, girls?"

"Lila was just telling me about a boy named Sam."

"Cassie!"

"What?" Cassie defended. "She's not gonna tell!"

You nodded. "Cassie is right, kid. I'm the best secret keeper probably ever."

Lila seemed to ponder this for a moment. It was a blatant lie, though. Every secret that was told to you was also told to Wanda, but it didn't go past there. You couldn't keep things from her. It was like she could pull anything from you with just a simple gaze from those light eyes. Even if you didn't tell her, she was a mind reader. Either she'd hear it from your lips, or she'd hear it running through your brain at one point or another.

Lila seemed to be contemplating this. "Okay. Well, there's this boy in my class. His name is Sam. I really like him."

"Oh, yeah?" You asked, sipping your lemonade. "So why don't you tell him that?"

"No! I can't tell him."

"Why not?" You scoffed. "What's the worst that could happen, Li? He either likes you back or he doesn't."

You'd always had trouble with your own advice. If you admitted your feelings to someone and they told you they didn't feel that same way, you felt awkward for months after that. But you were an adult. Lila was eleven. Even if kids these days were growing up way faster than you did, you knew that things were a lot more complex when you were a little more grown up. In a year or two, then she'd start realizing that.

"What about you, Cas? Any boys in your class you've got an eye on?" You winked.

Cassie didn't seem to find this very amusing though. Suddenly, it seemed, her sandwich wasn't very appetizing, and the lemonade had lost its sweetness. Her gaze moved to somewhere no one could meet it, locking to the ground as her fingers began playing absentmindedly with the grass. You tilted your head to the side curiously. You glanced over at Lila, but she didn't seem to know the reason for this either.

"Lila, could you give us a minute?" You asked the older of the girls. "Why don't you go see what Wanda is up to?"

Lila nodded and scampered off. She ran to the house and in the back door, and you watched in the window as she appeared beside Wanda. You saw her explaining something to the Sokovian, likely just trying to express that her friend was upset. You turned your focus to Cassie, who was busying herself by pulling a few blades of grass out of the ground. You didn't try to stop her, the fidgeting obviously calming her anxiety.

"What if..." She took a deep breath as she trailed off. "What if I think I like like a girl?"

Cassie Lang was ten years old. That's around the same age you started wondering what the other girls saw in boys. You hadn't realized as young as she did that you'd liked girls, but you knew something about you was different. At that age, you'd thought maybe something was wrong with you. It had taken you a few years to realize you weren't broken, just different. It had taken you even longer to realize that was okay.

You knew Cassie probably felt more comfortable asking one of her babysitters this question than anyone else. She trusted her parents and her stepdad, and she loved them, that much was clear. With them, though, she watched a man love a woman. With you, she watched you love Wanda the same way Scott loved Hope. She watched you do something she was feeling in herself. It made everything seem a little more normal and a little more okay. You knew that much from experience.

"Cas, look at me, Sweetheart," you said gently. Cassie looked up at you. "You can like whoever you want to like, and you can be whoever you want to be."

"But at school, all the girls like boys and I don't. Why don't I? I just want to be the same."

"Because not everyone is the same, and that's okay. You don't think there's anything wrong with me, do you?"

"No."

"No. And I love a girl. Isn't that okay?"

"Yeah."

Maybe it was a bit of a guilt trip, but it got Cassie to look up. You watched as her eyes travelled from you, to Wanda, and back. There was no longer any trace of nerves or anxiety on the young girl. It had instead been replaced by curiosity. It seemed your little pep talk had actually worked. She seemed more at ease after assurance that she didn't need to be normal. You knew that wasn't it for those nerves, you even got them yourself once in a while, but you were glad to have put her at ease for a while.

"Kiddo, are you going to talk to your mom or dad about this?"

As honoured as you were that you'd felt to be a safe person to come out to, you weren't really the person that she should be going to for support. Her mother and father would give her that. You didn't know Maggie well, but you knew Scott. He would be unconditionally supportive and wouldn't hesitate to reassure her if she ever felt like this again and if there were someone who didn't, he'd make sure to immediately remove that person from their life.

"I think I'm gonna talk to my dad when he gets home. Can you talk to him for me?"

"I can give him a little heads up, but you're going to have to be the one to actually talk to him."

She took a deep breath but nodded. "Okay."

You smiled proudly.

You sat with Cassie for a little while longer in that spot. Following your conversation, she seemed to be feeling better. She was eating and drinking again as she told you a little about this girl she was sweet on. You didn't comment too much, smiling and nodding along as she told you stories about the schoolyard. Soon enough you were once again trading places with Lila. The two girls resumed their gossiping in the grass, and you moved back to sit with your girlfriend once more.

When you sat down next to Wanda, glancing at a still sleeping Nathaniel as you moved, you immediately turned to the window. The two preteens had already regained that same calm expression they had been sporting earlier. Satisfied that they were both alright, now, you turned back to Wanda. She was watching you carefully, eyes flickering down to peek at the smile on your lips. You beckoned her to come back against you like she had been before you left.

"You and Cassie seemed to have quite the heart-to-heart," she hummed quietly as she leaned back against your side and your arm snaked around her.

"She confessed she might have a crush on a girl."

Wanda raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Well, I see why you were a safe person to confess that to."

You chuckled and kissed the side of her head. "Yeah, I do, too. I gave her a little bit of reassurance before telling her she should really talk to Scott or Maggie."

Wanda nodded in agreement. She reached out to the table to grab the glass of lemonade you'd made for her, sipping it quietly. The cool glass pressed against your arm when she lowered it, sending a shiver throughout your body. She seemed to notice this, as she laughed, moving the cold cup up to your cheek. The condensation that coated it transferred onto your skin and you frowned, pushing her hand away. She laughed a little harder.

"So, what did you come up with?" You asked her. "I seem to remember asking you to come up with some more details."

"You did. So, I wondered what Pietro's siblings' names might be?"

You froze. That was from your dream. You knew she'd been seeing it, but you still got a little curious when she brought up the more minor details. You turned to look at her, curiosity burning in your chest. Pietro was her brother, not yours. You wondered briefly if she even wanted to name any children she might have in the future after the brother she'd lost.

"Pietro," you repeated softly. "Is that okay?"

"Fuck, Honey."

Wanda rarely swore, so when she did, you knew she was feeling something strong. You were assured it was a good feeling, though, when she grabbed you and pulled you toward herself roughly. Your lips connected and you felt the intensity in her kiss. You didn't dare be the one to pull away from this, letting her show you how she was feeling through the intimate touch. When she finally did, her hands were immediately in yours.

"Thank you. He meant the world to me and you mean so, so much to me, too and... thank you, Honey."

"You don't have to thank me, Baby. He deserves it," you assured, a hand on her cheek. "But did you have other ideas too?"

She nodded. "I did. We'll obviously discuss more when the occasion arises, right?"

"Right," you agreed with a laugh. "So?"

"I like the name Tommy. It's cute, don't you think?"

"I do think so," you hummed.

You don't know what it was, but something had you so drawn to her in this moment. You wanted to pull her close and never let her go. Granted, you wanted that most of the time. Right now, though, the thought of releasing her from where you had her flush against your side, her head resting so softly on your shoulder, made your heart feel a little weaker. As if she could feed that absolute need radiating off of you, she kissed your shoulder and put her hand into yours, squeezing tight.

"Any girls' names you like?"

Wanda stopped to ponder. "Violet."

"That's cute too," you smiled at the thought of your family. "You're pretty good at this, my dear," you paused for a moment. "So, Pietro, Tommy, and Violet Maximoff?"

She hesitated at hearing that. Her head moved off your shoulder, and you immediately missed the lack of pressure. You had to suppress a quiet whine as you glanced over at the curious eyes that were peering at you. You cocked your head to the side, in the movement, willing her to tell you what was going on inside her head. You felt as though her eyes could see into your very soul with the way she was watching you.

"Maximoff," she finally said.

"Yeah. I like it," you told her. "And doesn't my name sound so good with your last?"

You didn't even have to say the name aloud. Just hearing it in her own mind had a shiver running through her body- something you felt it against your own. She didn't have to say aloud, either, that she loved the idea. You knew she did. You both did. It was something that made you entirely hers. You were entirely hers. You belonged to Wanda Maximoff and her last name attached to your first would prove that to anyone.

"One day," Wanda said, repeating the words you'd spoken earlier. "One day you'll be my Mrs. Maximoff."

It was your turn to hesitate at those words. You were both talking about this as if it were inevitable. As far as you were concerned, it was. You couldn't even picture a life that didn't have Wanda in it. You didn't want to. You wanted to be her wife and live in a small house in the suburbs and raise children with her. You wanted all of it so bad you could hardly fathom it. You turned to her, making sure to catch her eyes.

"Did we just get engaged?" You teased.

You hadn't, but you had. All engagement was, was a promise to be each other's and to get married. There was no time limit on that. In the last little while, you'd promised that to each other. You had both promised each other this entire life that you could see laid out before you. Neither of you had been discussing it as if it were a possibility, but more as an inevitability. That sure sounded like a promise to you.

"I don't know," Wanda admitted. "We agreed we'd get married one day."

"Yeah," you agreed. "We definitely did."

Then you decided to make it less of a question as to what had or had not happened. You slid away from her and stood up off the couch. You took a knee on the floor, bringing her hand into yours. Your heart was thumping so loud in your chest that you had to wonder whether or not she could hear it from where she sat. Judging by the way her eyes widened, though, you thought that maybe her own heartbeat was drowning it out.

You didn't think this was how you'd do this. Sure, you'd many times thought about how you'd one day propose to Wanda. In none of those scenarios was she sitting on the couch in Clint's living room whilst Nathaniel slept ten feet away with Lila and Cassie's giggles floating in through the window. They were usually a lot more romantic than this. You couldn't find it in yourself to care. This was the moment. You could feel it.

"So let me clear up the confusion," you offered, eyes not leaving hers. "Wanda Maximoff, I cannot picture my life without this little suburban house and these sweet little kids and you, my love. I will walk to the ends of the Earth and back for you. I'd give you my heart and my soul in an instant if you wanted me to. Will you marry me?"

Wanda didn't seem to be able to find her voice. Her expression was one of shock. Her jaw had dropped a little, and her eyes were wide, watering a little. You wanted more than anything to reach out and wipe those tears away and to kiss her cheeks, even if they weren't tears of sorrow. But your knee was glued to the floor until she gave you an answer. She seemed to collect herself, then. Her hands wiped at her eyes, her lips curled into a smile, and then, finally, she nodded.

"Yes. Of course, yes."

She pulled you back onto the couch. It might have been a little far, with your knees on either side of her waist. The two girls could have walked in at any moment. But you were so completely happy that there was absolutely nothing that would have stopped you from resting your arms on her shoulders, linking your hands behind her neck, and kissing her like you needed her more than you needed oxygen in your lungs. You supposed you might have. She finally pushed you away.

"I love you."

"I love you, too, beautiful fiancée of mine," you teased. "I guess Tony was right then, huh? The babysitting gig was good for us."

She laughed and then buried herself in your embrace. You held her there, not a single care in the world, knowing she was yours and you were hers. One day you would have a life a little like this one. You and she together with a family of your own and so much love around you.

It was all thanks to the stupid, stupid babysitting gig.

#wanda maximoff #scarlet witch #wanda maximoff x reader #marvel #mcu #wlw #lesbian

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sorryimananti-romantic · 3 years

Text

Mist | Choi San | Chapter 3

Pairing: Choi San x OC (Seohyun)

Genre: supernatural (ghost), romance, high school

Trigger Warnings: paranormal, death mentions, violence

Words: 9.9k

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except my original character and the story. I do not own any gifs or pictures used.

Full story on Wattpad (don’t spoil here if you read there too)

chapter directory

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"But I want to sleep..." Seohyun complained.

"Is sleep more important to you than us?" Wooyoung asked.

"Of course it is. Is that even a question?" Seohyun raised her brow and Wooyoung gaped at her.

"We've been friends for long now, Wooyoung, I thought you knew better not to ask questions like these," Yeosang said, laughing.

It had been more than a month now since that incident with San. Seohyun looked at each of them slowly, smiling. Despite herself, she had gotten quite used to the company of these boys. And they were EIGHT. It was hard to not be alone. Even if some of them were busy, the rest would always fool around after school as well.

Seohyun had gotten to know them well now too. She knew that Hongjoong, the oldest, also acted like one. He had a thing for fashion, and had reformed her navy blue cap that she always wore, embroidering a cat on it.

Seonghwa was the mom of this group for sure. He was always keeping them in check, always stopping them from doing something stupid (which was most of the times) and always helping them with homework. He was very caring, and he couldn't hide that part of himself.

Yunho was the clown of the group, and surprisingly, she was getting along with him and Yeosang quite well. Yeosang and her had the savageness in common, which mixed well with Yunho's humor. Since the three sat next to each other, they would always pass a joke or two to her even during class, and she had to beg them to stop one too many times.

Wooyoung and Mingi were quite funny too. There was just something contagious about their smiles. Seohyun found herself smiling a lot in their company. It didn't help that Wooyoung laughed like a hyena; even when she had no reason to laugh, she'd burst out laughing when she heard Wooyoung laugh.

She was getting along well with Jongho too, especially because they were paired for a project. She hadn't had the chance to talk to him much but once she did, she found that he was actually quite witty despite his dad jokes, and that he loved singing and... breaking apples. Which was weird but it was fun to see how strong he was.

"All you do is sleep, Seohyun. You have to come with us now," San insisted.

Seohyun stared at San. She was glad they were out of danger -for now. The old ghost had finally moved on after realizing that killing Seohyun was not worth it (thanks to Jiwoo). San had gotten close to Jiwoo as well. When she was not hanging out with the boys, she was with San. He liked being in her company because apparently 'he didn't want to look stupid alone staring at the distance'. He could see all sorts of ghosts now and Seohyun was helping him practice differentiating between the living and the dead.

"All right, but if I see something stupid, I leave. Okay?" Seohyun locked eyes with him and he nodded assuredly, smiling and showing off his dimples.

Hongjoong had been insisting that she finally come to their 'second home'. Apparently it was a warehouse that Hongjoong's father owned but had no use for so Hongjoong turned it into a place for him and the boys to hang out. She had no idea what they did there, and they finally wanted to show her the place because they all 'approved of her now and accepted her as one of them'.

The warehouse wasn't far from school so they decided to walk there. The black cat was walking with them now. San bent to pick her up, patting her head.

"Still didn't come up with a name?" Seohyun asked.

"You rejected Shiber. I don't want any other name," San pouted.

"I told you you could call it Shiber, I'll just... call it whatever I call her... hey what do I even call her?" Seohyun wondered.

"You never actually call her, do you?" San laughed a little, caressing the cat's neck, "She sticks to you, and you didn't even give her a name. I'm disappointed in you."

"I couldn't find the right name," Seohyun mumbled, frowning.

"Still, she's been your friend for what, like a year now-"

"FINE. Shiber. That sounds like a male name though."

"It's my plushie's name, but she reminds me of it," San admitted.

"You're naming my cat after a plushie? SAN!" Seohyun punched San's arm, making him laugh out loud. Wooyoung joined them, grinning.

"San's had that plushie since he was a kid," Wooyoung said. "I'm not surprised that he couldn't come up with any other name."

"You should've told me before, I would have never allowed him to name the cat then..." Seohyun shook her head but grinned.

"We're here!" Hongjoong announced, and Seohyun took off her sunglasses as she looked at the large warehouse, the sun reflecting harshly back at her, making her eyes water.

They went inside, Seohyun stepping in last and she blinked as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Mingi turned the light on, and she ran her eyes around.

"Woah," she breathed. It really did feel like a 'home'. The place had everything they could think of; sofas, couches, tables, a fridge for snacks, a basket for basketball, and so many musical instruments and equipment. "Are you guys secretly famous musicians or what?"

"Nothing like that," Seonghwa laughed, "We just really like music. Hongjoong is always making songs though. We fool around."

"I wouldn't call this 'fooling around'," Seohyun said, walking towards the equipment, stopping mid-way. "Can I?"

"Of course," several of them replied, nodding. She smiled as she ran her fingers across the piano, looking at the speakers and the mics. She saw some pages, probably lyrics scribbled on them, lying on the table near.

"So you guys... make music? Do you want to be idols or something?"

"For now, we're just exploring," Jongho replied, "Who knows? Maybe some of us might want to go into the musical side."

"So you all sing?"

"I'm the rapper," Mingi said, "Hongjoong raps too."

Seohyun made an impressed face. She pressed some of the piano keys, and something clicked at her mind. She looked up at Hongjoong as a grin spread across her face. "So that's why your fingers are always tapping at the desk. You make music!"

"Oh? I'm surprised you noticed," Hongjoong admitted.

"It's hard to not notice when you're sitting in my vision with fingers tapping nonstop while I'm trying to focus in class. You were doing something like this today, weren't you?" Seohyun said and played the keys that had unintentionally been printed in her memory.

"Woah, I'm more surprised that you remembered it!" Hongjoong clapped in disbelief and then narrowed his eyes at her. "Do you... know how to play?"

"The piano? Not much. But I have a drum set at home," Seohyun said and she saw as the boys looked at each other, applauding her.

"What?" Seohyun asked.

"We knew there was something about you," Wooyoung went on dramatically, waving his hands as he said "who knew we had a shared passion for music?"

"I wouldn't call it 'passion' per se, it's more of a... hobby. A stress-reliever, if you will. And stop ogling at me like you guys won a jackpot. I know what's going through your heads, and I say no."

"But you can play!" Mingi wailed, "We need more people to play the instruments! These guys-" he pointed at the boys one by one, "-they never learn!"

"Hey, hey, hey, look who's saying! Didn't you want to learn drums? What happened to that?"

"I don't have a drum-set!"

"I can play too!" Jongho and Yeosang complained.

Seohyun watched as the boys started arguing among themselves, and she shook her head. She had never imagined they like making music this much. If she had known, she might not have told them about her drums, much less her room full of instruments at a time like this.

"If you don't shut up, I'll never bring any instrument here."

"You mean you will if we shut up?" San asked, followed by Seonghwa who said, "You have more than one instrument?"

Seohyun sighed. "This is overwhelming, okay? Like I respect what you do, but I'm still new to being friends with you all, and it would take me some time to open up to you guys about the instruments. It's just... I have some memories- I don't really want to go back there."

"Oh..." San raised his brow and she bit her lip. She hadn't lied. She had some memories attached to those instruments that she would rather forget. It had been about two years since she'd played. She wanted to shut out that part of herself. She wanted to throw those instruments, but she hadn't been able to.

"Can you just... tell me which instruments you have, other than the drums?" Hongjoong asked cautiously.

Seohyun rolled her eyes. "Drums, bass, electric-"

"WOW!" Wooyoung gasped out very loud.

"-and violin. And I can play piano and guitar too. But it's been like two years since I last played so I'm probably very rough now..."

"Is one of your parent a musician or what?" Yunho asked.

"No, the drums were my mom's. The rest, I bought them when I was going through a phase."

"A phase. Wow," Yeosang snickered, earning daggers from Seohyun.

"Alright, we won't pressure you or anything. But you're free to play the piano if you want to," Yunho suggested, "and you're free to do whatever you want."

"Thanks for understanding," Seohyun muttered, smiling at him.

"But I wanted to learn the drums..." Mingi wailed.

"Who knows? Maybe I'll be the one to teach you," Seohyun said nonchalantly, making him smile his famous gummy smile.

"So anyways, what's with those mirrors?" Seohyun asked.

"Oh, that? We like to dance too," Jongho said.

"Oh my god. You guys should stop watching all those idol videos..."

"But we're good at it!" Wooyoung laughed, "And anyways, even if we don't go down that route, we love doing it anyway. It's our way of releasing stress."

"Sure," Seohyun nodded.

"Don't tell me you can dance too," Seonghwa narrowed his eyes at her.

"Oh no. I don't think I can," Seohyun admitted. Unless you could count those random 3 am sad twerks as dancing. The boys watched as she suspiciously tried to avoid their gaze, looking around.

"So now that we've told you so much about ourselves, how about you tell us something that we don't know?" Jongho suggested.

"I don't know what's there to tell," Seohyun said, her eyes unintentionally falling on San who lightly shook his head.

"Anything. Something. It's just that we'd like to know you more," Seonghwa smiled warmly at her.

"How about you just ask me and I'll answer? Because it feels like I'll never be able to start myself..."

"Or how about," Yeosang started, a devilish smile spreading across his face, "we play truth or dare?"

"Oh no..."

----------------

Yeosang made everyone sit in a circle, and though very reluctant at first, Seohyun had to sit down too (after being dragged by Wooyoung). They discussed the rules; they could choose between truth or dare, and if a person didn't want to answer a question they should just say so instead of lying, which would earn them a penalty.

Hongjoong spun the bottle, and Seohyun prayed it would never land on her. At least not today. She wasn't feeling it. She still thought that the eight of them were well knit as they were, they didn't need her between them.

The bottle landed on Yunho, and he laughed nervously. Jongho asked truth or dare, and he replied with dare. Not fair, Seohyun thought. She wasn't sure she would ever choose dare. She had no idea what sort of dares they were gonna give.

"Alright, show us your golden retriever! You haven't done that in a long time!"

"Golden retriever?" Seohyun asked. She had heard them talk about it once or twice, but she had no idea what it was about.

"Ah, I'm getting nervous~" Yunho laughed awkwardly. She supposed it was because he was gonna do it in front of her for the first time.

"Come on, don't be shy," Wooyoung teased and he nodded, taking in a deep breath. He turned his head back, then looked forward, his eyes a bit wide as he made a paw out of his hand and flicked it, barking in the cutest way possible.

Seohyun was silent for a moment before she burst out laughing. She was howling at this point, making the rest of them laugh too.

"At least I made her laugh!" Yunho said proudly.

Seohyun wiped tears from the corner of her eyes. "That was hilarious. You really do look like a puppy, Yunho."

"Thanks?" Yunho said and laughed.

"Alright, next!" Jongho said, spinning the bottle, and to Seohyun's relief, it stopped at Hongjoong who was right next to her. He wailed.

"I choose... dare."

"You all are gonna end up choosing dare. I'll be the only one choosing truth it seems," Seohyun groaned.

"You know what to do," Yeosang said, locking eyes with Wooyoung who nodded. "Michael Jackson impression."

"NO! I CHOOSE TRUTH!"

"It's too late to turn back now!" San said.

"It's embarrassing enough to do it even in front of one of you, and now there's EIGHT of you. Alright. Here goes nothing." Hongjoong got up and straightened his clothes. He took a few steps back so everyone could see. He made the famous pose and sang Billie Jeans, attempting to mimic Michel Jackson's style. It would have been okay if everyone hadn't burst out laughing, making Seohyun laugh a little too.

"How did you even come up with this?" Seohyun asked in disbelief.

"I don't even remember now..." Hongjoong pouted. He spun the bottle, and it landed on Wooyoung.

"Truth," he smiled rather proudly, folding his arms.

"Who do you love more, Hongjoong or Seonghwa?" Yeosang asked. The rest of them laughed as Wooyoung's eyes went wide in panic.

"That's like you're asking if I like mom or dad more! Isn't this unfair?"

"Who did you like more though?" Jongho asked.

"Mom-"

"You like Seonghwa more. Alright, next!" Hongjoong concluded, leaving Wooyoung attempting to explain that it was not like that anymore and he liked both of them equally, but everyone was ignoring him. Seohyun thought it must be an inside joke too.

"Your turn," San smirked at her. Seohyun, who had been distracted and hadn't seen the bottle spin, eyed them suspiciously.

"I move my eyes off the bottle for a second and it lands on me. Are you sure you didn't cheat?"

"We did NO SUCH THING," Wooyoung huffed.

Seohyun locked eyes with each of them. "Fine. Truth."

She watched as the boys looked at each other, suggesting questions while Seohyun tried to calm the rumbling storm of nervousness in her stomach. Should she have gone with dare?

"Can we ask... anything?" Mingi looked at her and Seohyun shrugged.

"I mean, we're friends now, right? So go ahead. If I think it's too personal, I'll say so." Seohyun nodded and the boys looked at each other before finally turning to her.

"What's the real reason you don't have friends?"

Seohyun's eyes unintentionally went to San's, and the boys noticed, looking between the two of them. San shrugged, as if saying 'I tried.'

"Does... San know something?" Seonghwa asked cautiously.

"You don't have to answer, you know that right?" Yeosang added.

Seohyun sighed deeply, nodding. She looked at San again, who nodded back, pointing behind her and mouthing Jiwoo. Seohyun sighed in relief now. She might as well give it a try.

"Since you guys shared something today, I will too. But it's kind of... weird. Unbelievable. You might think I'm lying. You might think worse things. Whatever you think, do tell me, because I can prove it."

"Don't tell me you're some sort of a secret agent," Yeosang said, earning a slap from Hongjoong who shushed him.

"Alright, we'll hear you out," he said.

"I... can see ghosts. The dead."

There was a moment of silence before Jongho raised his eyebrow. "What? You mind saying that again?"

"I said I can see the dead. I can see ghosts. I can touch them. I help them move on."

While the boys exchanged looks, still in disbelief, San smiled at her and Seohyun nervously laughed. She had finally said it out loud.

"So you can... see ghosts? Like in the movies?" Mingi asked.

"Yep. They're just like us. Unless they're old."

"How do we believe you? I mean, you could be joking," Yunho asked.

"Well, San knows," Seohyun said, and everyone looked at San, who nodded, then looked back at her.

"How does he know?" Wooyoung asked.

"Long story. He got caught up in something, which led him to discover my secret and eventually led him to seeing ghosts too."

"You both are mad." Wooyoung laughed nervously.

"You want proof?" Seohyun challenged.

"Sure. I can do with that," Wooyoung folded his arms, anticipating.

"Alright folks, you're in for a surprise," Seohyun heard Jiwoo say. Jiwoo rubbed her hands and went near Seohyun, picking her hair and making it look like it was flying in the air.

The boys... shouted.

"MEDUSA!" She heard someone shout amidst them. San tried to calm them down but it was no use. They all were... freaking out, to put it simply. Half of them were gasping while the other half was laughing in disbelief.

Jiwoo dropped her hair down and they watched as she pulled the sunglasses off her shirt and the glasses magically disappeared.

"Where did the glasses go?" Wooyoung asked.

"Ji- the ghost. Her name is Jiwoo. She's a friend of mine. So when she takes something of mine, it would disappear once I'm not holding it anymore. But-" Jiwoo handed her the glasses back and they watched it appear out of thin air, "when she gives them back, here they are."

"Is this... magic or really a ghost?" Jongho asked.

"It's a ghost, believe me," San finally said.

"So you can see ghosts now too? How?"

"Let me explain," Seohyun said, and narrated the events, giving a little backstory about how she was born with this, and that she actually helped ghosts move on.

"That's kind of cool though," Yunho commented.

"Wouldn't call it cool," Seohyun muttered and Seonghwa noticed.

"It must not be easy to live like this..." he said, and she hesitantly nodded.

"Is that why you changed schools so often?" Hongjoong asked and she nodded. The boys looked at each other, trying to figure out what to say.

"Well, you won't have to worry about that again," Yeosang said, "We'll help you. You won't have to move again if something happens."

"It's not that easy, Yeosang. If something unexplainable happens, I won't be able to hide it."

"Oh don't worry about that," Mingi laughed, "unexplainable things always happen to me. We'll cover for you, trust me."

Seohyun was, for the first time, touched by how earnest they sounded. They really were a weird group of friends.

"I'm kind of jealous that San can see ghosts now too," Hongjoong sulked. "Can't we see too?"

Before Seohyun could answer, everyone else burst into complains too about how they wanted to see too. "Hey hey," Seohyun began, "first of all, it's too risky. I almost died and then San was able to see."

"WHAT!"

"You forgot to tell them that part," San muttered.

"Ah, right. So when I had to teleport San, we ended up in the other dimension, right? So I had to teleport again, and I had a massive nosebleed plus headache. I passed out too."

"Oh..."

"Even if it was easy, I would never do that to you. And I wish I could take it away from San. I wish it would fade," Seohyun said, and San looked at her, shocked. He had not expected this.

"It's not about it being cool, San," she locked eyes with him, "Being able to see ghosts mean you're attracting danger every second. Thank god you can't touch them. That means they're not able to touch you, not directly. I want you all to be safe, that's why I won't ever do that to the rest of you."

There was a moment of heavy silence, then Seonghwa broke the ice. "I understand. It's okay, you don't have to do that. We want you to be safe too, so if you're ever in some sort of danger, don't hesitate to ask for help."

"Thanks Seonghwa, I really appreciate it." Seohyun smiled.

"It's really unbelievable though. What does this ghost look like?" Wooyoung asked, eyes brimming with curiosity.

Seohyun grinned a little. "Well, she's a girl. Jiwoo. She's about my height, has long black hair with red streaks. Has a mole on her cheek. Also, she's weird-"

Jiwoo kicked Seohyun's back lightly, but she just continued. "She died in a car accident. A ghost with amnesia. Unbelievable is the right word, Wooyoung."

"Woah. She sounds familiar though..." Wooyoung looked towards Hongjoong who shook his head. Seohyun noticed but didn't comment on it.

"So you're waiting for her to remember so she can move on?" Hongjoong asked.

"Yeah. She's been sticking with me for months now, and I got used to her."

"Ah... that's understandable," Hongjoong looked at his wristwatch, "Anyways, we should go home now. it's late."

"I thought we were playing truth or dare. This turned into a horror show. How will I sleep at night!" Mingi wailed dramatically, making them laugh. Wooyoung called him 'scaredy cat' and San said, "Like you're one to say."

Seohyun smiled at Jiwoo. This had been an unexpected night, and she had never expected them to believe her and not make fun of her. She looked at the boys, bickering, and smiled at them.

She felt comfortable.

-----------------

The next few days at school had been... annoying, to put it simply.

The boys were very excited at the new discovery about their friend they had made. They simply couldn't contain themselves- save for San, and Seohyun found her patience wearing off day by day.

It wasn't that she was ungrateful for how things had turned out. She simply hadn't expected this sort of a behaviour. Secondly, she did not know how to deal with 7 excited boys who couldn't stop asking her the most stupid of questions.

She had to admit some of the questions did make sense. Like Yeosang asking if a ghost's touch and human's touch was any different. Seohyun shook her head as she thought of how the question had shook her.

"What do you mean?" Seohyun asked.

"Do you feel different when a ghost touches you? Like, Jiwoo. Does her touch feel different than a regular human's?"

Seohyun inhaled sharply as she was reminded of the time she had spent in her music room, laughing, with him, holding his hand, touching-

"I'm sorry, was it a wrong question?" Yeosang finally asked and Seohyun realized she had been staring at him too long.

"Uh, no. I'm sorry I zoned out. I suppose it is- it is a bit different. I don't know how to explain it. It's not... warm."

Seohyun shook her head as she waved off the memory. Another memory made its way....

"This friend of yours, Jiwoo," Hongjoong asked, "is she here right now?"

"She may not find the idea of dying twice appealing," Seohyun muttered.

"What?" Hongjoong furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Now why would a ghost attend school? Surely she doesn't wish to die of boredom. AGAIN."

Hongjoong laughed. "So she's not here? Do you know her full name?"

"Ahn Jiwoo, I think," Seohyun replied. She noticed Hongjoong's eyes gleam as his mind worked.

"How old do you think she is? And can you describe how she looks like?"

"Playing detective, are you?" Seohyun raised her brow.

"Just answer. I may have something."

"Well, she looks our age, maybe a year older, she has an average face, honestly I haven't noticed much. She does have red hair."

Hongjoong nodded slowly, and Seohyun asked when he was going to let her in.

"I'll just check something. If it's true, I'll tell you."

Seohyun shook her head again. She should really be focusing on class. But her mind went back to think of the stupid questions. Yunho had asked if 'ghosts could eat' and when she had replied no, he said he was just wondering if they did eat, did they excrete as well. And if so, was the ghost realm full of-

Shit, she thought as she heard Yunho giggling. "You keep shaking your head. What's wrong?"

"Believe it or not, I was actually thinking about you," Seohyun admitted.

"Oh?" Yunho turned a bit towards her, smirking. "And what scandalous thoughts made you shake your head so much?"

"How in the world could your brain wonder if the ghost realm was full of ghost shit?" Seohyun almost shouted, but clearly she hadn't been quite as well. She earned a warning glance from her teacher and sunk in her chair as Yunho shook with silent laughter.

After the class was over, Hongjoong made his way to Seohyun.

"Is Jiwoo here?" He asked.

"Again, no. Why are you so interested in her?" Seohyun folded her arms and Hongjoong snatched Seonghwa's seat from his spot, sitting near her and placing a book on her desk.

"This is last year's yearbook. We have some photos from an event, and I want you to tell me if you spot Jiwoo."

Seohyun raised her eyebrows. Jiwoo- she could have been a student here?

She supposed it was possible. San turned too, muttering how he can recognize her too, and they flipped the pages, checking each one carefully until finally San pointed at a person and looked at Seohyun, who had paled.

"That's... Jiwoo. How did you know, Hongjoong?"

"I guessed when you told me her name. San told me how she had died of an accident and had amnesia, and I could remember hearing something about a senior here who had died in a car crash. So I put 2 and 2 together and here we are."

"But, this doesn't help much, right? We only know that she was a student here. What's this got to do with how she died, and why she is still here?"

"There were rumours circulating her death," Hongjoong sat back, "Her father was a prisoner falsely accused of some crimes, and she was trying to get justice. I talked to some of my senior friends, who had been her classmates, and they told me that she had started receiving some threats."

"And they must have given all this information to the police too?"

"Yes," Hongjoong nodded, "Now you know her identity. You can talk to her friends, go to her home, and finally help her move on."

San felt his heart sink as he looked at Seohyun. They both were thinking the same thing. Seohyun had grown very attached to her and she did not want to do this. She gulped, and nodded slowly.

"Of course. I guess I should thank you..." As the words left Seohyun's mouth, Hongjoong heard something bitter in her tone.

"Did I do something wrong?" Hongjoong asked, and Seohyun didn't reply, only shook her head no, and San shushed Hongjoong, mouthing that he'd explain later. Seohyun got up abruptly, her bag falling off from the chair. But she didn't hear it. She couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything.

"I need some air," she muttered and rushed out of the classroom, leaving the boys staring.

"Shit," San clicked his tongue, "You did the right thing, Hongjoong, but you have to understand. Jiwoo is her friend. A sister to her. If she moves on... I should go after her."

"Are you sure I did the right thing?" Hongjoong asked him as he gave him space to move. San nodded and went after Seohyun.

"It looks like there's more to the story than she lets on," Yeosang commented. Hongjoong only looked at the door. It did seem like it.

San ran around the 1st floor where their class was, then went downstairs, hoping she was somewhere here. After checking the empty rooms, he went outside, towards the lawn, and found a figure sitting near a tree, staring in the space. He narrowed his eyes, then spotted the cat wandering around her, and his shoulders sank in relief.

He wasn't sure if he was the right person to be there. Surely Seonghwa could comfort her better. Or Yunho. But he was the only one other than Seohyun who would miss Jiwoo. He could relate to her, somewhat. So he decided to sit down beside her.

As he did so, he realized she was shaking. San looked at her worried. "Seohyun? Are you alright?"

Seohyun couldn't breathe. She was having some sort of an attack, like the ones she had about two years ago. She heard San alright, but she was afraid if she spoke, she'd cry.

"Here, have some water," San uncapped the bottle and closed her hand around it, and she managed a sip then handed it back to San.

"This is about Jiwoo, right? She's your friend, and you don't want to let go of her. I understand, Seohyun."

Seohyun sighed, fisting her hands. It wasn't just about her. It was the flood of memories that had come crashing without a warning when she thought of Jiwoo disappearing.

San put his hand on hers, caressing it, hoping it would give her some sort of comfort. He looked at her. All her walls, her strong walls she put around her were breaking down. Her lips were parted and wobbling. She looked like she might cry any second.

"You want to talk about it?" he whispered, and she sighed, nodding, taking deep breaths. She wouldn't cry. Not right now.

"You know it. I have grown attached to Jiwoo. Hell, she practically lives with me. I shouldn't have allowed this in the first place. I knew she was going to move on someday, yet I grew emotionally attached to her. I'm so weak."

"You're strong because you helped her too. She had no memories. How do you think she would have felt if not for you? She couldn't even go to her family or friends. You became that for her."

"I know," Seohyun bit her lip. "It's not just that. It's... I- I had someone. Like her. He and I... We were close. And one day, he was gone-" She bit her lip again, taking a deep breath.

"It's okay. You had no one then, right? You have us now. You have more friends than you could have ever thought of. You're so brave, Seohyun," San said, putting an arm around her shoulder, rubbing her back as he smiled. "You're one of the strongest people I know. We're both going to miss Jiwoo, but we have to help her move on. You don't want her to stay here too long now, do you?

Seohyun shook her head. San smiled again as she looked at him, making her smile a bit too. "There. We'll send her off with a celebration, okay? No more sadness. Okay?"

"Okay," Seohyun smiled. She could do that.

"Let's get back to class," San said, getting up first then helping her up. She dusted off her clothes and they walked in comfortable silence back, though San had to admit he felt weird. His heart... wasn't acting right.

Hongjoong casted a cautious glance at Seohyun as she entered, but she passed a little smile as she settled. Yeosang looked curiously at her, and she made a face.

"Is something bothering you?" Yeosang finally asked. He watched as Seohyun sighed. Sometimes it felt to him like she was carrying the weight of the whole world on her shoulders. Like she would bend under the pressure.

But she was strong too. She passed a little smile and said, "Yes. I'll talk about it later."

Yeosang just nodded, watching her curiously as she stared at her notebook. And then she sat back in her seat, staring at San.

---------------

"You're telling me that I was a student here? That this is a big, big 'coincidence' that you had to transfer, of all the schools in the city, right here?"

"For the hundredth time, Jiwoo, yes. I know you think I transferred here on purpose, that I somehow found about your life and didn't tell you, but believe me, this is a big, big coincidence." Seohyun replied, looking at San for help.

San shrugged, saying, "The way you're always hanging around Seohyun, when do you think she even had the time to plot this?"

Seohyun clapped her hand, smiling approvingly at San. "See? I told you he isn't that dumb. That is a great point, San." She watched as San shook his head, the faintest trace of smile on his lips.

The three of them- with the cat, of course, had this meeting in the same park that Seohyun and San had once teleported in. It had took a few days for Seohyun to finally settle with the fact that yes, Jiwoo was going to move on. But it won't be like before.

Seohyun found herself thinking of that time. The piano. His slender fingers gracefully playing music. His hands guiding hers across the keys. His contagious laugh. His deep eyes, covered by dark tendrils of hair-

"Earth to Seohyun?" Jiwoo was clapping in front of Seohyun now and she blinked. She cast a quick glance at San, who was watching her more confused than curious.

"Yeah. I'm back. What are you planning?"

"I suggested we show her the photo. She might recognize some people from the photo." San said.

"Also, I walked around the school building a few times, and it did feel familiar. I thought it was just because it was a school and schools are, you know, pretty much built the same. But I would have the strongest of headaches when I walked there," Jiwoo admitted.

"A ghost having headaches? Here's something to tell Yunho," Seohyun thought out aloud, "Though one might think that death would relieve you of all worldly headaches..."

"It's probably because of my amnesia. But yeah, San's right. I'll have a look at the photo. I'll come to school tomorrow."

----------

"Wow, that's me," Jiwoo gasped.

"Of course it's you," Seohyun muttered. Jiwoo ignored her and continued to stare at her picture. Seohyun cast a look at the boys. They were watching the book flip pages on its own, their mouths slightly open in surprise.

"She can hear us, right?" Wooyoung asked Seohyun, who wanted to make fun of Wooyoung but wasn't quite in the mood. She was more busy thinking if Jiwoo would indeed remember something.

"Come closer, Jongho. We're still in class, no one should see the book moving on its own," Mingi motioned with his hand.

"No one is looking unless you start acting weird," Yeosang commented.

"I'm having the worst headache right now. Is this normal?" Jiwoo asked.

"You're a ghost, unnie. Nothing's normal about you."

Jiwoo tsk-ed at her and then looked at Hongjoong. "He should know something about where exactly I died. If it was an accident, I might be able to remember something."

"Not sure if that would work," Seohyun's mood was very gloomy. San shook his head at her, and she sighed before asking Hongjoong if he knew something about where she had died.

Hongjoong, to Seohyun's dismay, said he'd find out in a minute. It looked like he texted one of his friends, and while they were waiting for an answer, San told the boys what was happening just so they would stop asking after each second.

Seohyun caught Hongjoong glancing at her, as if trying to convey a message. Seohyun understood and casually checked her phone, indeed finding a text from Hongjoong, which read:

There's a possibility that her death might not have been an accident

Seohyun frowned. Was she murdered? Or did she commit suicide? She felt as if it would hurt Jiwoo no matter the answer.

What do you mean?

Hongjoong replied:

I'll tell you later.

With that, Hongjoong told Seohyun out loud that his friend would have to ask around for the address, and that settled it. Jiwoo announced that she was gonna roam around the school again, and maybe that would make her remember something too. She asked San to remind Hongjoong to find out her home address too. That would certainly spark a bulb, if nothing else.

As soon as Jiwoo walked out of their classroom, Hongjoong brought everyone closer. "My friend gave me the address. It's near a restaurant here."

"Why didn't you tell Jiwoo?" San asked.

"When Jiwoo passed away, her friends were told that it was an accident. But according to my sources, they say she was out with some of her friends. They had somehow gotten in an argument, causing her to flee and accidentally crash with a car."

"So it is an accident, right?" Seonghwa asked.

"That's the thing. Some people say that one of them pushed her in front of the traffic, and that they are all covering it up. We have got to find out what happened. Before we tell Jiwoo."

Seohyun pursed her lips. This is not how she thought it would have turned out. Sure, most of the ghosts she dealt with had usually been murdered. But that didn't make hearing any of this easier.

"Alright, we will find out. We need to distract Jiwoo. San, you'll help me out, right?"

"Of course," San said, sitting straighter. Seohyun laid out their plan; they were gonna divide into two. San, Wooyoung, Yeosang and Jongho would lead Jiwoo to a false address, somewhere far from where the rest of them were going to go and actually investigate what really happened. If she had died in a car crash, however that happened, the people around would remember and would be able to recall the incident.

After school, they told Jiwoo that she would go with San to check if that was the right place, since Hongjoong's source could be 'unreliable'. Meanwhile the rest of them were going to find out her home address by asking around. Jiwoo didn't suspect them thankfully, and gladly went along with them.

"I have the home address too," Hongjoong said, "It's on the way to the restaurant. We should pass by there too."

"Yeah," Seohyun muttered. "Do you think I should talk to her family too?"

"I think you should, but after we visit the restaurant. That would certainly give us more information. because all you have now is nothing about the real Jiwoo."

"Point." Seohyun thought it was kind of ironic. She knew nothing about how Jiwoo would have been when alive. The thought of it made her heart twist with pain.

As they walked to the site, Seohyun was so lost in thought that she didn't see the rest of them exchange nervous glances. They all realized that Jiwoo had been her only friend for a good while. And they could definitely see how difficult it was for Seohyun to let her go.

"Can I ask you something?" Seonghwa finally said.

"Whenever someone asks me if they can ask me something, it's usually going to be something about my personal life. Go ahead, shoot."

Seonghwa shook his head. "How many ghosts friends did you have to let go of?"

Seohyun stopped in her tracks. It took her a second before she started walking again. "That is a very good question, Seonghwa."

Mingi and Yunho exchanged looks. They knew she always made remarks like these when trying to avoid something. "Jiwoo has been your friend for a few months. It must be hard for you."

"It is, actually," Seohyun admitted. "And most of my friends, sadly, have been ghosts. They're a better company. I sharpen my dark humor on them. I make a lot of dead jokes, if you haven't noticed that already."

"I did," Mingi raised his hand, smiling sheepishly. "Knowing you can actually see ghosts makes them more funnier."

"I know," Seohyun smiled back.

They finally reached the restaurant. It was a traditional one, with tables set outside as well as inside. Potted plants made for most of the décor, a stark contrast to the mauve and white theme, and the scent of spices filled the air.

Seohyun's eyes traced what could have been a possible path; Jiwoo walking out of the door, a car speeding forward-

"How do you suppose we're gonna find some information? We can't just go and ask them to show us the CCTV footage or something," Yunho said, looking pointedly at the camera.

"We won't have to," Hongjoong said, "We just have to make up a good story. Come on, we're eating something from here."

"Really, Hongjoong? Do you think we have the time?" Seohyun asked.

"Trust me. Come on," Hongjoong said, not waiting for them and walking inside. They seated themselves in the corner, and a waiter came to take their order. After ordering some barbeque, Hongjoong told them that he was going to ask for water while they would be in the middle of eating, and they would start talking about the incident. When the waiter comes, he would hear them talk about it, and provide his comments on the topic without asking.

"If I was the waiter, I'd kick you out," Seohyun said, sitting back and folding her arms, making the rest of them snicker.

"This works every time," Hongjoong said, his eyes glinting with challenge, as he mirrored Seohyun's pose.

"And what if he doesn't talk?" Seohyun asked.

"In that case, I have a backup plan. I don't come unprepared." Hongjoong said, and Seohyun rolled her eyes, looking at Yunho who was sitting beside her.

"Is he always this confident about himself?" She asked.

"When he's sure, yes," Yunho nodded.

"Don't tell me he's a secret investigator or detective or something," Seohyun muttered.

"I could make some similar assumptions about you," Hongjoong muttered back.

"Shut up, blueberry."

"You should, you old-"

"Just because I have grey hair doesn't mean I'm old-"

"Stop it, you both," Seonghwa laughed. Hongjoong pouted. "But do you dye your hair?"

"Yeah. Some years ago I went blonde. Now I prefer the more... dead tones, if you will," Seohyun said, and Mingi grinned. "How's the drum learning going, Mingi?"

"Ah," Mingi sighed, "I still make do with boxes and plates. I think I could do a good freestyle if I had an actual drum set."

"I used to air drum all the time. You should drum along to some songs you like. Really helps."

"I'll try that," he smiled.

"When do you think you're showing us your music room?" Hongjoong asked.

"Not anytime soon," Seohyun said. Before Hongjoong could ask something, they saw the waiter come with their food. Hongjoong muttered ''play along' and started speaking.

"I've been wanting to try this place for a while now. But I heard there was some sort of accident here, so I couldn't come." Hongjoong widened his eyes in signal and Yunho began, "Oh I've tried, and I'll tell you, it's really good."

The waiter set their food, and Seohyun watched Hongjoong and Yunho go on about the restaurant, slightly amused. As soon as the waiter went, Hongjoong frowned at them.

"The three of you could have said something."

"This seemed more natural," Seohyun said. "Two guys raving about food. Nothing suspicious about that."

After a few bites of the amazingly juicy barbeque beef, Mingi asked for water. Hongjoong cleared his throat.

"I heard a girl died somewhere around here. They're saying it could be murder. People these days!"

"I'll tell you, sir," the waiter, a middle aged man with wrinkles around his eyes began, surprising Seohyun, "it was an accident. A bunch of students. The usual crowd. Had an argument and the girl went out in a rush- nobody followed. A few seconds later, we heard a horrible sound and screams. The people out there witnessed it."

"But why would people say she was pushed?" Seonghwa asked.

"People make all sorts of stories, girl," the man said, shaking his head in disapproval. "I was inside. I know none of the friends went after her. The crowd outside was too absorbed with their food. Nobody saw anything until the crash happened."

"Ah.. I see. So I guess since this was an accident, the matter cleared up quickly? With the police and all?"

"Of course," the man said, "they saw the footage. Nobody pushed her. A pity that people had to spread rumors like that. Didn't help us. Nobody came here for days."

"I'm sorry that happened," Yunho said, and Seohyun felt that he actually meant it. "I hope more people are coming here now, for the food."

"Oh we're getting back now. Enjoy," the man smiled at them and went away. They all looked at each other.

"So it's an accident. But this doesn't make sense," Seohyun said, "if she died because of her own mistake, why is she still hanging around?"

"Unfinished business?" Mingi suggested.

"Usually happens when someone is killed, but yeah. She must have made it to the hospital and lost her memories during treatment. That must mean she's holding a grudge, or actually has something so important to do that despite her memories being lost, somehow she stuck to this world."

"That makes sense," Yunho said.

They finished the food lost in thoughts, and decided that is that was the case, it was wiser to not talk to her family. She could be holding a grudge against them too.

Though they now knew how Jiwoo had died, and they were one step closer to sorting this all out, Seohyun felt dread creeping upon her.

-------------

"I can't believe you sent me to the wrong address!" Jiwoo exclaimed.

"It wasn't on purpose! Hongjoong's friend confused you with someone else. It seems like he deals with this kind of stuff often," Seohyun was nodding her head along, as if that could convince Jiwoo. "And anyway, at least it wasn't all a waste. We're going to the place where you died, are you sure you're ready?"

"Born ready," Jiwoo said, pumping her fist in the air.

"Born ready but-"

"Don't, Seohyun, just don't" San cut her off, shaking his head. Jiwoo laughed. Seohyun pouted but stopped.

The three of them were going to the place where Jiwoo had her accident. It was only yesterday that Seohyun had come with Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho and Mingi, and had falsely led Jiwoo to someplace else with the rest of the boys. Now, upon constant insistence of Jiwoo, the two of them decided they'd better take her.

It wasn't because Jiwoo threatened to summon a bunch of revengeful ghosts. Nope. It certainly hadn't been that.

"We're close now," San said, pointing ahead, "It's right across the road. You should start looking on your own now. Without distractions."

"Don't look at me, San," Seohyun muttered.

"You're right. You both can... wait for me here. I'll see if it rocks a memory," Jiwoo said, and went ahead, leaving the two of them watching her go.

"Do you think we should be there for her?" Seohyun finally asked, "The memories might be painful."

"I think she should just walk down memory lane. We'd only distract her. Going on her own is sure to bring back some memories."

"I still wonder what made her stay," Seohyun said, and San looked at her. It was one of those moments when she was not wearing a filter. San felt like he was intruding- it was rare to see her so... present. There.

"Have you dealt with many murder cases? Or suicide ones?" San finally asked.

"You think it's one of the two?" She asked.

"I think it could be something simple. I know if I died today, the only reason I'd hang here would be to say a final goodbye. That is, if I die suddenly."

"Believe it or not, those are the hardest," Seohyun turned towards San, "With other cases, it's usually finding justice, or personal satisfaction. But goodbyes are difficult. I wouldn't want that for anyone. It's harder for those who are living."

San narrowed his eyes at her for the briefest moment. It felt like sometimes she meant more with what she spoke. Like there was a backstory he did not know.

"It looks like you've had some experience with that," San asked cautiously. Seohyun bit her lip and he saw the slightest of tremble in her hand before she closed them in a fist. She was suddenly reminded of San's hand on hers comforting her.

"You're right, actually," Seohyun finally said, surprising San, "I'll tell you. I need to move on too."

"You don't have to," San assured, but she shook her head.

"His name was Joon Hyuk. It was two years ago. He and I used to go to the same music academy. We were only friends then, not close, until he passed away suddenly. He had a heart problem."

"I'm sorry to hear that," San said. He truly was. He couldn't imagine how he'd cope if one of his friends met the same fate.

"I was shook, but that wasn't the end of the story. He was hanging on because he wanted to say goodbye to his family. It took him a few days, and I helped him come to terms with his death. That's when we grew close. I used to be home alone, and we'd just sit in the music room and talk all night. He told me all about his life. I told him about mine. He taught me to play the piano." Seohyun shivered a bit but continued. "He said his goodbye, but he still didn't move on."

"Does that usually happen?" San asked.

"No. It was because he found something to stay for. Me."

The breeze made San shiver too as it settled in. His heart twisted with emotions he couldn't recognize. He wanted to comfort Seohyun somehow, but he stood frozen.

"Ironic, isn't it? He found something to live for when he had already died." Seohyun's lips quivered. She stared at the light bulb near her, hoping it would force back her incoming tears. This wasn't the time to cry. She looked at San and smiled, "I knew it was wrong. But I was so alone. I craved friendship. I craved love. And I got it for a while. It was short. He started to change. You remember the old man?"

San nodded. The man because of whom he could now see ghosts too.

"It's like the process sped up. He started to become bitter. It would come and go. When he was sane, I finally told him to move on before he became- that, before I had to force myself to send him away. And he did. Without a goodbye this time. I guess that was the only way he could manage it."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Seohyun. I-"

San wanted to say so much but they heard a scream which was unmistakably Jiwoo's, and with a look at each other, they rushed to the source of the sound. They found Jiwoo clutching at her head, down on the ground

Seohyun rushed to her, sitting down and hugging her, muttering comforting stuff that San couldn't make out. He just stood and provided cover, hoping no one would notice Seohyun hugging the air.

It took a few seconds for Jiwoo to calm down, and when she did, she sighed loudly, looking at the sun.

"It's coming back," she announced. "I remember how I died. My own fault. How dumb is that?" She laughed.

"Glad to see you're back in your spirits," San scoffed.

"You, boy, have been making unintentional puns," Jiwoo scoffed back, making Seohyun grin.

"So how much do you remember?"

"It's coming back. You guys should go your own way. I'll just wait for it to come back. I think I know where to go too. I remember my home. I think- I think I know why I'm here too."

Seohyun and San shared a look. "You wanna tell us?"

"I gotta check something first," Jiwoo said, getting up and helping Seohyun up too. "Off you go."

"Weirdo," Seohyun muttered and Jiwoo just waved at her before she started walking. Seohyun was resting her hands on her hips, tapping her jeans, watching her go with a frown.

"IF YOU MOVE ON WITHOUT SAYING GOODBYE I'LL HUNT YOU EVEN IN THE AFTERLIFE OR WHEREVER IS IT THAT YOU GHOSTS GO!" Seohyun shouted at Jiwoo, startling San and the couple walking past.

"YOU BETTER HOLD A FREAKING FAREWELL PARTY THEN!" Jiwoo shouted back. Before Seohyun could retort, San took her by the arm and dragged her in the opposite direction, laughing and telling her she should stop before the whole neighbourhood comes out.

"I'll walk you home," San said. He wasn't sure if now was the time to leave Seohyun alone.

"If you insist," Seohyun said, and they walked in silence. San wanted to say something about how she had been wise to send Joon Hyuk off, something to comfort her, but he couldn't find the words. He was sure Seohyun would be too busy thinking about Jiwoo. He decided he'd walk in silence and let her sort her thoughts.

When they finally reached her home, Seohyun looked at San. "You wanna stop for some coffee? Maybe a snack?"

"Oh no, don't bother," San waved her off.

"I have chocolate chip cookies," Seohyun wiggled her eyebrows.

"That's not fair. Lead the way," he said, and Seohyun smiled in victory, letting him in.

Though the house looked plain from the outside, it wasn't such inside. It was well decorated, the brown and white reflecting the walls and the floor, and had an overall homey feel. Plus, it was quite spacious. No wonder she had a music room here.

San sat on the table in the kitchen, looking around while Seohyun made two cups of coffee. The refrigerator had fruit magnets with various lists sticking. Grocery, things to do. Doodles. San smiled. It really did look like Seohyun lived here. His eyes fell on her figure as she rocked back and forth, mixing the coffee. Her hair created quite a contrast with her navy blue shirt. The soft grey hair looked fluffy.

Seohyun turned around, catching San staring at her, and he shifted in his seat as Seohyun set the two cups and the cookies. San took one and bit into it.

"Oomph, that's delicious."

"Thank you. I made them."

"No way!" San was genuinely surprised. "I didn't know you liked baking."

"I like making food," Seohyun admitted, sipping the coffee.

"That sounds so mundane now," San laughed.

"What do you think I did at home? Made talismans?" Seohyun scoffed and San almost choked on his coffee.

"You surprise me everyday, Seohyun. We must look quite boring to you," San said.

"Well," Seohyun munched on the cookie, "You aren't boring. None of you are, actually. Why don't you tell me something I don't know about you then?"

"Well," San imitated Seohyun now, "I collect plushies. And I know taekwondo."

"That's... interesting. Taekwondo and plushies. Wow," Seohyun laughed. "Poor Shiber, I guess."

"HEY!" San frowned. "Your turn."

"I didn't realize we were taking turns?" Seohyun raised her brow but thought about it. "My favourite colour is blue."

"Mine's purple," San said. "I hate vegetables."

"Hard not to notice," Seohyun commented, biting into the cookie and thinking. "I want to be a musician."

"Cool. You can compose for us," San smiled and Seohyun smiled back mockingly.

A thought struck her. "Wanna see the music room?"

San raised his brows. "Can I?"

"If you want to?" Seohyun shrugged. "It's okay. That room needs air anyway."

"Alright then," San finished his coffee. Seohyun got up, her heart thumping. She was right. It was about time she opened that room for someone else. About time she let go too.

"Here we are," she said and fished out keys from her pocket (San thought she must carry them everywhere) and opened the room, turning on the light

It was gorgeous, San thought. A piano in the corner, a drum set in the other, couches as they entered, three different guitars hanging by the wall, a violin case resting on the table. The dim white lights made everything seem a bit eerie, but it smelled like roses, and indeed San noticed a scented candle on the table. It felt like a room full of memories.

"I do come in every now and then, but I don't really play anymore." Seohyun looked around.

"Can I see them?" San asked, and Seohyun nodded.

Seohyun watched as San examined the guitars then walked to the piano, running his fingers on the keys and making some sounds, then off to the drum set.

"I'd pay to see you play," he grinned.

"Oh you won't have to. I'll do that for free one day," Seohyun smiled.

"So you don't play anything anymore?"

"Just the violin sometimes. Or drums when I'm angry."

"Can I hear the violin?" San asked and Seohyun looked at him.

"Pretty please?" He made puppy eyes and Seohyun scoffed. "Now how do I reject that?"

Seohyun opened the violin case, saying something about how it's gonna be short. While she tested the strings and the bow, San sat on the piano stool nearby. Seohyun flipped her hair back and inhaled.

And then she played a tune so melodic, a tune so haunting that San wasn't sure if seconds had passed or minutes. He only saw her face, etched with the most emotions he'd seen on a single person. It was as if she was telling him a secret, baring her soul to him, and he just couldn't decipher it.

When she did stop, San felt short of breath. He just stared at her in awe and she came closer, already having put the violin back. "How was it?"

"That was... breathtakingly beautiful. You were amazing," San said and immediately felt like he should have said something more.

But she seemed to understand. "Thank you," she said. She was leaning against the piano. San got up and came closer.

"Thank you, Seohyun," he said, touching the tendrils of hair that fell on her shoulder, "For everything."

"I- I've done nothing," she almost whispered. San locked eyes with her, still playing with her hair, now his thumb caressing the soft skin of her cheek.

Seohyun stared back at the dark orbs, his gaze so sharp that a part of her wanted to run away but the other part wanted to never look away. San blinked once, then slowly, painfully slowly brought his face closer and kissed her cheek lightly, leaving her out of breath.

Thank you for playing for me," San said, "I'll never forget it."

And then he drew back, and Seohyun came out of the trance.

"If you sugar coat it so much I'll never bring you here again," Seohyun was smiling.

"Nah. Now I'll wait for the day you're angry," San winked, pointing at the drums. "I should give pointers to Mingi."

"HEY!"

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nolansnose · 3 years

Text

To my moots: I did A THING. Wrote a lil something. A Nolpat imagine *gasps*

This is unfinished and I will only be updating this everytime Patty gets a point or better yet, score a goal!

Edited and rb'd because this has been updated!

(With added steam 🙈)

Summary: Surprise!

Nolan Patrick x whoever you wanna pair him with in your head

UNTITLED

They hadn't exchanged any kind of communication in three weeks. That kind of radio silence from both their ends wasn't normal. It has been a month since they saw each other last, they were both busy --- she with the endless demands and responsibilities of being the new executive assistant to the director of medical services while Nolan was training in preparation for the incoming season.

It amazes her how they were able to give each other attention in the past year and how they haven't given up on each other. It wasn't easy, it's daunting at times, at least for her.

For someone with such a demanding job and schedule, she truly couldn't figure out how she was able to give time to Nolan.

She didn't understand how someone like her was able to pique his interest or that he continued to give her attention, well, not until these past few weeks. She may be busy but during moments that she wasn't thinking about work, Nolan makes sudden, sometimes unwelcome appearances in her thoughts.

Unwelcome because she shouldn't be thinking about him. They're not... Argh! She sighed and put down the book she's trying so hard to understand in her lap. She's in an old cottage by the beach, alone for this long weekend, her first non work related trip after a long while since being appointed and she's alone. She should be relaxing, resting, eating sumptuous meals and reading this... Shit it was Nolan who gave her this book. Why did she pick this one to bring? She sighed again and tried for the nth time to relax in the couch she was perched on. She put her feet up in the arm rest and reached for the tea in the side table to drink but grimaced as its already cold.

As cold as the weather that wasnt apt for the place she was in. Beaches are made for warm, summery weather, not rain and cold drafts. She looked out the window and shook her head because it was still raining. The rain peltering the roof was loud and... what was that?

She heard something beside the raindrops. Footsteps. Rustling. Knocking? Was someone knocking?

But she wasn't expecting anyone.

Still, she stood up and headed for the kitchen which was near the parking area of the resort she was in. She clutched her chest when she saw another shadow beside the plants outside. Shit! A thief? But this was an exclusive resort!

She grabbed the fruit bowl in the counter and headed for the kitchen door. There was that sound again. Footsteps. And knocking.

She took a deep breath and raised the bowl above her head, ready to whack whoever was on the other side of that door. She unfastened the locks and opened the door.

"Fuck!", the 'intruder' called out and caught the bowl before it made contact with his face.

"Nolan?", she blinked.

The newcomer put down the bowl and raised the hood of his jacket. "Hi,"

"I thought you were a thief!"

Nolan looked at her with amusement. " I knocked but there was no answer."

"When was that? I didn't hear anything."

"Uh, five minutes ago?", he asked as he grabbed a clean towel out of the basket on the washing machine near the door. "May I?"

She exhaled loudly while moving away from the door so Nolan could dry his shoes in the mat and removed his jacket which was also wet.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. How did he even know she was here? Oh. Right. She remembered telling him about this weekend trip the last time they were together.

"I missed you," he said. "You didn't text or call."

"You never did, too," she pointed out.

"Hey, I called," he said with a bit of pain in his voice.

"When did you call?"

"Are you going to let me come in or do I have to defend myself by your kitchen door?"

"What's that for?", she asked having glanced at his backpack.

"Change of clothes. I've been in town for a few days, actually ", he replied honestly.

She gave him another quick look before going back to retrieve the cup of tea in the living room and brought it up in the kitchen to heat in the microwave. She felt his eyes on her while she set the timer.

"Chamomile?", Nolan asked just as he put down his already opened backpack in the kitchen counter and took out a clean pair of socks.

She didn't know whether to be irritated or happy that he remembered her preference. Normally, she'd appreciate it but now she felt cornered. Vulnerable. She came here to unwind, rest and think, -- to escape from all that's troubling her -- that included Nolan.

Yep, trouble. That's Nolan, alright. What else would you call the man who chose to entangle himself with someone like her? Even for a weekend, she wanted a break. She wanted him out of her head, her body and her bed.

"You still haven't answered why you're here," she took the mug out of the oven and set it on the counter. She caught the smirk on his face. "What?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Nolan took a step towards her and tenderly caressed her arm."Didn't you miss me?"

She looked up into his eyes to see a worry there she didn't normally see.

They've talked about their situation a handful of times before, where they're headed eventually. Together they've decided that its better if no one else knew whatever kind of relationship they were to have.

She can't remember exactly how that topic came about, but they wound up in bed together before defined lines were ever set.

This, whatever this was, has gone on for a year, a short time compared to others. She knew she shouldn't keep her hopes or expectations up, but sometimes, she gets tired of her feelings being hurt from a misunderstanding because nothing was solid or made public. Sometimes the feelings were his. Sometimes he acted jealous or frustrated because she behaved in a way that made him question the exclusivity they had agreed on a year ago.

"Not at all?" His low, lazy voice pulled her back from her thoughts.

She shook her head. "No."

He leaned into her some more, their closeness made her feel like she's drowning. "Liar."

Then his mouth met hers and she instinctively opened her mouth to allow his tongue to enter. He tasted sweet and salty like caramel popcorn. He satisfied every urge and each craving.

A whimper escaped her throat and he had her pushed against the counter with one hand in her hair as the other lifted her leg and grabbed her ass. He knew how to completely envelop her into a whirlwind of sex. It started out with a kiss as it always did.

And this kiss grew more fervent and she felt a familiar hardness push against her in just the right place. He made her feel sexy and desirable in a way that she revelled in. His kisses were addictive.

Its hard to reclaim her sanity everytime they ended up like this, like he drained whatever courage she had left. But before she could totally gave in, she held Nolan's arm firmly and pushed him away from her. He moaned a little as a protest but moved away and let her right herself.

The desire for her was evident in his eyes, in his jeans and she tried not to look but his scent, his kiss lingered. She was still dazed and her heart was beating wildly.

"What?" He asked as he touched the edge of his mouth.

"We can't continue this, Nolan", she insisted.

He shook his head. "We're not doing anything we haven't done bef----"

"No", she cut him off before he could finish his sentence. "This as in hiding. We thought it wont get this complicated given our work and who we are, we thought it'd be easy. None of this is easy, Nolan."

"Thank you for saying we, instead of you," he nodded as he answered. "Seriously. We both said this unofficial exclusive thing would be easy and a breeze and I'm glad you didn't pile the blame for your feelings just on me."

She looked at him carefully. Sometimes, his prankness still startled and overwhelmed her. She hoped and tried hard for its effect to not register on her face.

"Whoa," he said with one eyebrow raised when her gaze turned squinty. "Why are you looking at me like I just told you I'm getting married or something?"

"Let's end this, Nolan," she said in a faint voice, then grabbed the mug of tea again.

She felt him observing her eventhough her attention was on the tea she's drinking.

"You already said that four months ago."

"This time I meant it." She said in a voice lacking of conviction.

#nolan please shoot the pucks more #nolan patrick #nolan patrick fic #nolan patrick imagine #nhl imagine #this fic is a one time thingy

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veryjanewatson · 2 years

Text

c o n t i n u e d : [ x ]

Barnes wasn't entirely wrong saying that she didn't seem like the sort of girl to get mixed up with that sort of thing. Unfortunately 'that sort of thing' was somehow exactly the thing that road sidelong in her life. Mary Jane had very little interest in shit-streaks like Caesar Cicero, infamous for being one of Silvermane's Maggia Thugs of Choice; Cicero was also a local vape enthusiast and, most notably, a fucking asshole. However Circero's interests toward MJ had, in point of fact, very little to do with her at all and more focused on her aggressive and sleuth-like curiosity surrounding the events involving the recent arrest of police chief; George Stacy.

[ And even more specifically the external hard drive that an informant whose identity was known only to Matt Murdock agreed to meet her late that night to hand over the hard drive. She was so certain no one followed her. ]

If it was the very last thing on earth that she and Peter did, it was going to be clearing Gwen's father. Peter always inclined to feel he owed everyone more than anyone expected, and because they loved Gwen more than most people gave them credit for, because even if MJ and Peter didn't love each other in a way that could romantically bind them, they were and still are family. Gwen would always be apart of that family. So no, the old soldier wasn't wrong thinking she was the type to avoid Maggia thugs so caked in vape smoke they smelled like a goddamn pancake breakfast from a hundred yards away, but for Gwen Stacy, even a Gwen Stacy cold in her grave - Mary Jane would be and do anything. With all that said - what Mary Jane would have been, if not for the very immediate actions of James Barnes, is very dead. The Silvermane Maggia always did snipe behind Caesar's back what a complete shit-show he was when it came to small firearms and close quarter fighting; getting so enraged his aim was all over.

The bullet went through the side of her arm, nothing to pull out, but leaving a fairly meaty gash that would absolutely require some suturing. Conversely, MJ had been vehement against going to the hospital. Too much attention, she was too noticeable, either through people's familiarity with her very bad and b-budget movies (and probably not her quite good and vastly better funded theater and Broadway work) or (what was more likely) the public's awareness of her association to Spider-Man; an association that's almost cost the girl her life more times than she, and even more so Peter, would care to think about. Mary Jane compromised with Bucky, warmed more than she could realize in the adrenaline of the moment over his blind compassion, because what she found she loved most of all is that she was entirely unrecognizeable to him. It was the first time such a thing had happened to her in, well- years. Admittedly, on her end, she didn't feel it was all that big of a compromise, because while he didn't know her, Mary Jane very well knew him. Never would MJ have agreed to go off with a strange man from an alley she met off of Canal Street had she not known him, but the reality was she'd known him most of her life. Most who attended elementary school in America would as they all grew up to know Sergeant James “Bucky” Barnes as the closest comrade and friend to Captain America. [ And very much unrelated to anything at all was that on a four grade history test she got the question wrong asking what Sergeant Barnes' nickname was; Mary Jane, after three very lazy seconds of thought, scribbled in the 'Bucket'. ]

A part of her imagines for a moment of floating backward in time to tell her ten year old self that one day Bucket Barnes was going to have to stitch her upper arm meat, because of a scenario of 'fuck around and find out' gone chaotic, and adding for irrelevance’s sake that he's a lot gentler than his broody black and whites in her textbook would suggest. That same kid spoke out through the years when she hissed in pain and swallowed a whimper, “--we sure are, since you're gonna' be Jesus and take the wheel of this situation.” She pushed out air meant to sound like a laugh, but due in part to how breathless she felt from the adrenaline crash it was the best attempt MJ had to signal she was trying very poorly at humor. Subsequently, her plummeting adrenaline was causing her to have small body shakes; nothing severe and more likely a hit to her pride as MJ never felt like she could quite escape her distressed damsel scenarios. Such was a life of the physically powerless human running adjacent to the city's heroes and their criminal counterparts. In truth, this situation didn't leave her embittered to being thrust into danger as a tool of leverage, but rather something she did of her own choosing. Even her savior had done so, not for who she was or who she knew, but because he saw her at risk and so he acted. Very, very rarely was she able to just enjoy heroism for exactly what it was. It was good to be reminded.

“No, that's not usually how I spend my Saturday nights, but I guess that's on me for not picking better company? Or at least knowing the company my company is keeping.” Her little nose scrunched at the wording, not really intending to sound so Seussical.

The gleam of that metal hand drew her eye like a cat's to errant movements; she heard Peter reference it with fascination in their idle conversations about various super powered individuals and their abilities. Unclear on the right social pleasantries with cybernetic appendages, MJ threw her wild and vividly green eyes to anywhere else in his incredibly minimalist (sparsely furnished?) apartment. “Jane,” unsure of why she was so quick to hand him a name that she never gave over to anyone else. Initial reasoning said she did it because she's trying to be incognito, but deeper logic undoes initial reasoning by informing her that it's moot since it'll only be a statistically short amount of time before media or people familiar in Bucky's life alert him to otherwise. MJ's actual truth was that so much did she love the uniqueness in this moment, she felt an impulse to make herself unique inside of it. [ And universal truth muttered at the farthest back of her mind; “--he do be very handsome up close, though.” ] “People call me Jane,” she said like a fucking liar.

@soviet-ghost-story

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justice4harwin · 3 years

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Light’s Corruption- Chapter VIII

Summary: With few friends at the Little Palace, Alina must work to win the favour of her fellow grisha and their commander, who makes her feel light headed every time she sees him.

After training in Os Alta for two years, the king grows tired of waiting and demands the Sun Summoner joins a western post near the Fjerdan border along with the rest of The Second Army to test her abilities.

Something happens. Suddenly, Alina wants blood to run down the rivers and those who stand in her and The Darkling’s way will be blinded by her light and swallowed by his shadows.

It won’t be pretty.

Pairing: The DarklingxAlina

Rating: 18+

Do I have a playlist for this story? Yeah

Do I also have a separate bff playlist for Genya and Alina? Duh

Click here for chapter 7 in case you missed it.

Chapter 8: Alina the Baker

Grisha at the Little Palace had a day of the week off every other week, which meant that Alina could catch up on some precious sleep in the confines of her soft, warm bed filled with softer pillows. Even with the weak winter sun shining down on her, Alina could've slept all day and well into the night. In fact, it was even better, for she'd be warmer. There was no such thing as 'too much warmth' for her. The hotter, the better.

Curled up like a cat over the luxurious bed, the Sun Summoner intended to sleep all day and night.

Then there was a knock on her door.

She didn't hear it and rolled over in a most unnatural way.

The knocking got louder.

She began to stir.

"Get up, Starkov!" Genya yelled from the other side.

"Maybe if I don't make any sounds she'll leave." Alina thought, clutching her eyes tightly shut.

"You know I can go get the keys, but that'll only give me time to get angrier!"

Groaning, Alina threw herself onto the floor and made for the wretched door.

The redhead swung in with her usual grace, her kit in hand as she hummed a melody strange to Alina's ears.

Slowly, Alina followed her.

"Wash your face and come sit here." she instructed, pointing at the vanity.

After doing so, the Tailor began to work on her hair.

"Do I have somewhere to be?" Alina asked, yawning.

"No, but with the Winter Fete so close, I wanted to try some different styles for your hair and make-up, so we won't waste so much time on the actual day." she explained. "Besides, the Duke is still here, so the queen's daily naps have become longer, which only makes it harder for the Duke to talk whatever it is he wants to discuss with the king."

Alina made an odd face through the mirror; Genya smiled at her ingenuity.

"They've been fucking like ra-"

"Ah, ta-ta-ta, I get it." the Summoner closed her eyes and waved her hands, not wanting to picture any of it. "Does the king know?"

Genya snorted, joining two braids into one.

"Please, he's a dumb child."

Alina yawned again, loudly.

"Look, I don't think my hair matters too much for the Fete, so how about we take a nap?"

"Lazy."

"It's early."

"So?" a red, perfectly trimmed eyebrow rose softly. "Who would imagine the Sun Summoner herself wouldn't want to raise with the sun?"

"Technically, the sun is always out."

"I'm also using you as an excuse to get out of the Grand Palace."

"Can we do something else, then?"

"No!" she yanked Alina's hair once more and tied it. Leaning over her friend, she arranged the three mirrors which sat atop the vanity so the other woman could get a good look at it. "What do you think?"

Alina stared at her reflection. Two braids started at the top of her head and joined as one at the base of her neck.

"I like it."

Genya placed a slender finger to her lips.

"Too simple." With a flourish of her hand, Alina's hair was freed once more, falling in dark waves down her shoulders. "Turn."

When she did, her friend leaned over and took her face gently.

"I thought you were sleeping better." she mumbled as she ran her fingers underneath her eyes, ridding it of bags.

"I am, I think."

"Have you been summoning?"

"Yes, but, …"

"But?"

Genya leaned against the vanity, waiting patiently.

"I don't know." Alina said, looking down at her hands. "I know Baghra is horrible, and she still hasn't called back for me-"

"Then you go to her."

"I don't want to." Alina confessed, even though she probably should. Who else would teach her? The Darkling? He was always on and off the Little Palace grounds. "What if I mess up too bad and no-one's there to stop me?"

"So you haven't been summoning." Genya concluded.

"I have!" she fought back. "Just a little."

To prove her point, she closed her hand into a fist, opened up, and let a small orb of light fly up to Genya's face, not too close to make her uncomfortable. The Tailor watched the light with a small smile, and slowly reached out.

"I thought it might burn me."

"I think it would if I wanted to hurt you, or if I put more effort into it."

"But you love me too much."

"I tolerate you." she joked, moving the orb up and above her friend's head. "Now you look like a saint." she said, trying to turn the orb into a halo. It flickered and didn't exactly do as she commanded, only shone brighter over Genya's features.

The redhead shook her hand.

"Move. With this light, I can probably mask my age a bit more."

"Oh yeah," Alina said as she stood up, a playful smile on her face. "Because you're soooo old."

Alina didn't actually know how old Genya was, but she was sure they were about the same age.

"Tomorrow I will be a year closer to grey hair so," Genya's fingers went over her face, getting rid of imperfections Alina couldn't see. "One can never start too early."

"Tomorrow's your birthday?" Alina asked, starting to smile.

Genya didn't seem so excited. She merely shrugged.

"Yes."

"What are you planning on doing? Are you having a party? How many people will be there? Are presents mandatory? Cause I don't have permission to go to the city to get you one, and it doesn't really matter because I have no money and I don't have time enough to do something myself. What sort of ca-?

"Alina!" Genya had to raise her voice a little to get her overly excited friend to stop. "We don't celebrate birthdays here. It's just another day."

The Sun Summoner frowned.

"So, not even a cake? Or the day off?"

The Tailor huffed, amused.

"What for?"

"To celebrate." Alina was no longer bouncing on her heels.

"Trust me, the last thing anyone in these palaces would think of is to celebrate my silly birthday." she said as if it meant nothing.

Alina sat on the carpeted floor; legs crossed.

"That's depressing."

"If you say so." she remained indifferent.

She peered up at her friend and got an idea.

"Should we have some tea?"

"After I test how to work your face."

Later that night, standing outside the kitchens of the Little Palace, Alina ran her hands over her kefta and stood as straight as she could, putting on her best scowl. She hoped she had picked up a thing or two from Ana Kuya and Baghra

She entered the place like she owned it. At first, nobody took notice, too busy with their tasks. She cleared her throat.

Nothing.

She clapped her hands twice, like Genya did to call upon the attention of her miserable shrews -not that Alina considered the kitchen staff to fall into that category- and everyone in the kitchen turned to her, adopting various expressions at the sight of her.

No-one seemed to know what to do or what to say.

Trying to seem somewhat commanding, Alina cleared her throat once more.

"I need ingredients to make a cake." she stated.

One of the cooks swallowed hard before she began to speak.

"If you'd like a cake, Miss, I can make-"

"I want to do it myself, actually." she said, placing both hands behind her back and praying to all the saints she could remember -there weren't many- that they took her seriously.

Still, nobody moved.

Alina guessed that it wasn't every day that a Grisha showed up and demanded to cook something by themselves.

Not wanting the kitchen staff to feel offended, she spoke again:

"It's for a friend, you see, so I'd like to give her something I made with my own hands."

Slowly, the same woman who had spoken nodded, and then smiled tentatively.

"There's fresh eggs over there, Miss."

As it turned out, Alina did need some help after all. She knew how to make a basic cake, but as soon as she said it was a birthday cake, a middle-aged man jumped on her, offended on behalf of Genya.

"You can't just give your friend something so bland." he had said, his face red as he gestured widely at the cake, like it was a disgusting piece of work. One might have thought Alina had insulted his family. "You need to fill it with something, decorate it, give it life and flavour!"

Yes. That, she had no idea how to do.

He pushed her aside hastily.

"Saint can summon light but can't make a decent birthday cake." he muttered.

Alina's mouth hung open, offended, but she said nothing.

She hurried up the steps with a big cake held as if it were a precious new-born child when she heard him:

"Miss Starkov?"

"Holy Saints!"

She came to such a sudden halt, the cake moved precariously on its base.

"Yes, sir?" she called, tense, not daring to turn back.

"I am glad I came upon you;" The Darkling said, and she could hear him approaching.

It was so great to have him back, but why did he have to arrive at that time? Couldn't he have waited a few more minutes?

"Was there something you needed?" she asked.

"I can't believe myself, but please say 'no'"

"No, no, I just wanted to inform you that you shall start training with me tomorrow. I will see you at the entrance just before dawn."

"I thought you had no time for personal training." she was reminded of their conversation one season prior. "And that you didn't want to show favouritism."

It was probably stupid of her to say those things, to make him look like he couldn't make up his mind, but she find it hard to filter her thoughts when he was in the vicinity.

"I remember our conversation very well, Alina." he said, and she could hear his voice closer. It was so deep and smooth. Alina took a deep breath and tried to steady her heartbeat. "But some circumstances have changed, and I decided to make an exception."

Any other day, she would've melted at his feet at the way he spoke, as if it were almost a dirty, scandalous secret only meant for them.

But she had Genya's cake in her hands. It was big, and heavy, and he couldn't see it.

"That's great!" she said, and she meant it. "Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to go. Moi Soverennyi." she bowed, and then clutched her eyes shut, cursing herself silently. Nothing showed more respect for one's General than showing them their behind.

"Are you hiding something, Alina?" he asked, sounding far too amused to her liking.

"Nope."

"Right. And I am the Black Heretic." he almost snorted. Alina frowned; he sounded so…normal when he did that. She wanted to hear it more often, she realized.

She craned her neck so she could get a glimpse at him. His eyes shone with mirth; the corner of his mouth was tilted up. She wanted to freeze him like that forever.

"It's nothing bad or illegal."

He chuckled, and his nose crunched up a little. Alina found it adorable, and she wanted to kiss him again, cuddle next to a fire by him, and make him laugh until his sides hurt.

"Alright, then. I shall let you be on your way." he took a step back, and Alina took a few steps forward before stopping at the end of the stairs.

"It's good to have you back."

She climbed up the stairs so quickly one might've thought a Squaller was pushing her up, and didn't give him opportunity to say anything back.

Alina moved her tea table to the centre of her room, where she placed the cake and a few flowers she had stolen from the various vases around the Little Palace to give it more life.

Smiling like an idiot, she closed her eyes and called her light just as there was a knock on the door.

Her light answered and her hand shot up, leaving a thin layer of golden dust hovering near the ceiling, giving the space a lovely ambience.

Hastily, she made sure everything was in order. The tea was hot, and there was plenty of kvas and wine for at least ten people. The kitchen staff had been more than happy to provide for her when they found out who Alina wanted to celebrate. Apparently, Genya was well liked among the otkazat'sya who worked on the Little Palace.

She hurried to open the door.

Genya waited on the other side, standing straight, an eyebrow arched up.

"You called for me? Is it urgent?"

"Yes!" The Sun Summoner answered, taking her friend's hand and dragging her across the expansive room.

She turned abruptly and placed her hands on Genya's eyes, blocking her view.

"For all the Saints, Ali, I don't have time to play around." she complained as she was dragged some more. "Just because the queen is spending another afternoon with the Duke of Balakirev doesn't mean I don't have other things to do and-"

Alina uncovered her eyes.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" she squealed, taking a step to the side and extending her arms to showcase the cake.

It was rectangular, decorated with red, blue and yellow flowers all over it. No white. Nothing about that cake was white.

The Tailor stared at it.

'Happy Birthday, Genya!' it read, in black, messy letters. While the middle-aged man from the kitchen had done most of the decorating of the cake, Alina had insisted on writing the words herself.

Still, The Tailor stared at it, mouth agape.

Slowly, Alina's smiled dropped, and looking at her friend in the eyes, she was horrified to find them wet.

A tear fell down Genya's pale face, and Alina rushed over to remove it.

"Gen?" she asked, extremely concerned. "What is it?"

But Genya couldn't say anything. Her mouth opened, then it closed, and it opened again as a small cry left its confines, the tears falling freely now, like a turbulent river.

Alina hugged her, rubbing her stiff back in circles.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." she said over and over again. "I just thought you might like it. I'm so sorry. Do you want me to throw it away?"

She felt how her friend shook her head, clinging to her with a vice like grip.

Alina was the one who wanted to cry now, seeing her closest friend in such a state made her eyes tear, and, oh damn, she was crying now as well.

They stood like that for a few moments, weeping like idiots, the hug a bit awkward since Genya seemed to hover over smaller Alina.

Slowly, the Tailor disentangled herself from the Summoner, and her friend let her go.

Genya delicately passed a finger underneath her eyes and adverted her gaze, although Alina could see the red in her eyes.

"Thank you, Ali. Truly." she said, her voice slightly hoarse.

Alina was at a loss of words.

"It's just a cake, Gen." she shrugged. "I just thought, we could celebrate together, if you wanted. We can invite anyone you want." she suggested.

Smiling just a little, Genya looked down at her hands and played with her fingers.

"No, it's just…"she took a deep breath and let it out. Alina waited patiently. "No one ever really did this for me before." she said, raising her arm towards her cake.

"A birthday cake?" Alina asked slowly, her voice tremulous and trying not to sound sad. "Well, it's not a big deal!" she tried to shake it off, waving a hand with a forced smile. "Back in Keramzin there was only one plain cake per month for all the children so-"

"No, "Genya interrupted, her voice a mere whisper that cut through Alina's heart like a sharp blade. "I mean, celebrated. No one's ever done this much." her eyes were like crystal again. "Thank you."

Alina felt uncomfortable. She really did feel sad for her friend? Had no one ever truly celebrated her birthday? She knew she had been given to the queen at a young age, but even before that, had her parents ever made something for her? Or at least said anything on the day?

Alina didn't remember much of her parents, but she did remember once a year, her father coming up to her with a small, strawberry tart. He and mamma would hug her more than usual and kiss her cheeks and play with her all day until the sun went down and her eyes dropped closed of exhaustion.

"Chasing the waters." she thought, absentmindedly.

Even before the Little Palace, had Genya never had any of that?

"I'm just, sorry I couldn't do anything grander on such short notice." Alina tried to smile. "I have a present for you" she was now grinning, although so very nervous on the inside. She walked over to her desk and took the envelope. "I didn't have time to make something so… it was very last minute. She came back to stand before her friend and extended the envelope, which Genya took with a look in her eyes that resembled disbelief and wonder. Alina's cheek reddened. "It's nothing. Really. Open it."

Genya did as she was asked, and Alina bit her bottom lip, trembling as she recalled, word by word, what she had put down on the paper with her finest ink.

"I have a friend,

with bright, red hair.

She has a loudmouth,

and a brusque, yet marvellous touch.

She and I have known each other,

for only a couple of months,

But I know that in my soul,

She's well settled for long.

Some will say she's pretty

Others will say she's pricky,

and while those all ring through,

I know the person behind those needle-like replies.

I have a friend,

with bright, red hair.

She's always there for me,

as I'll always be there for her."

It seemed as if an eternity had passed before the Tailor looked up, fresh tears in her eyes.

"Did you write this?" she asked, voice cracked. Alina nodded sheepishly, and Genya said: "This is the shittiest piece of poetry I have ever read."

The Summoner tried to not let her hurt show on her face, but a moment later she was being engulfed into another bear hug.

"I love it." Genya whispered almost fervently, clutching her tighter. "Thank you."

They spent the afternoon drinking tea, eating cake, talking and laughing. Genya had admired the piece for a long moment, as if trying to burn it into her memory, before she cut into the first two portions.

After a while, when there was no more tea and they grew tired of cutting, they sat themselves down on the carpeted floor, cake and all, and dug in directly from the base as they helped it pass through with kvas and wine.

"What do you mean?" Alina asked as they both laid on top of the soft, fur carpet of the floor, facing up, unable to move.

"Another rule of the General to keep his Grisha humble: no birthday parties." Genya answered, her speech slurred and the last part with a deeper tone, like she wanted to imitate Kirigan.

"That sucks!" Alina spat, just as drunk as her friend.

"Yeah!"

"Parties are…cool." she stated, raising her index finger as if to make a point. "There's cake,"

"Ugh." Genya's hand flew down to her stomach. "I can't move."

Alina ignored her.

"There's presents, if you're not an orphan." she giggled at her own misery. "There's more cake, and there's people."

"There's always p-people at the Tiny Palace." Genya reminded her, kicking off her boots.

Alina did the same, her hands blindly reaching up to the couch for the small pillows.

"Yeah;" one of the pillows hit Genya in the face, and the Tailor whined about it as she placed it underneath her head. "But there's no birthday cake, thanks to General Handsomest. And no birthday parties." She counted to three in her head, shot up, grabbed the blanket at the back of the couch, and let herself fall again on top of the rug.

Saints, how had she and Genya managed to eat that entire monstrosity?

She threw the blanket over her body and kicked until it covered her feet. Genya clumsily pulled at it so it'd cover her as well.

Alina frowned.

"There's people at parties."

"Yes, Alina." Genya closed her eyes.

Alina's frown deepened, some of the blurriness in her mind clearing.

"People talk at parties."

Genya opened one eye.

"Are you going to get us in trouble?"

Alina, who could barely put the dots together as she thought of how full of cake she was and how funny everything looked from where she was laying on the ground, and how handsome the General was, and how she wanted to kiss him again and slap him for leaving her like that, turned her face towards her friend.

"Only if General Handsome caught us." she said.

Genya sighed.

"Fine. But turn your head to the other side. I don't want your puke in my face."

Giggling at the disgusting image, Alina did as she was told.

Their hands found each other underneath the blanket in a soft hold.

"Happy birthday, Gen." Alina mumbled, the lack of sleep due to her preparations for the afternoon and all the alcohol catching up to her.

"Thank you, Ali."

A/N: Hope you liked it! This is probably the last sweet chapter before things gradually start to get darker *evil laugh*

Click here for chapter IX

#shadow and bone #shadow and bone fanfic #alina starkov #aleksander morozova #shadow & bone trilogy #alina x darkling #alina x aleksander #The darklingxAlina #Genya Safin #its a birthday party my dudes and dudettes #fanfic

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neptunetheplanet7 · 3 years

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𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 - 𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬

DM ME IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE PUT ON THE TAGLIST!!

;mikasa ackerman x fem!lesbian!reader

;modern au, band au

word count: 2.0k

warnings: swearing, fluff if you squint, deep talk with jean

listen to the music masterlist

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Hitch dropped you off at home with a loud "Au revoir!" and sped off in her black car while you waved silently.

You couldn't shake the nervous feeling Hitch had left you with. It was reasonable to feel uneasy after a strange encounter like that, but nevertheless, you plastered on a fake smile when you walked inside and saw Eren sprawled on the couch.

He lifted his head from his phone when he noticed your presence. "Y/n, you're back. What did Hitch want?"

Admittedly, you felt bad about never telling your best friend, but it was too late now.

"Nothing much, she just wanted to catch up. Haven't seen her since college," You lied easily as you plopped down in the chair next to the couch. "What's new with you?"

Eren shrugged and looked at his phone. "Just trying to pass the time. Jean's headed to the airport at eight tonight. Hope you're ready to see your girlfriend." He tilted his head back while laughing.

You smacked his forehead and he recoiled in pain. "Ah! What's your problem?" Eren rubbed his forehead with a hard glare aimed at you.

"I don't have a problem, you're just being freakish."

Eren gawked. "No, I'm not! You're the real freak, being you and whatever."

"Oh, good one." You snorted. "Hey, speaking of, where is Jean, anyways?" You furrowed your eyebrows as you glanced around the house.

"You tell me." Eren repeatedly clicked his tongue while turning his attention back on his phone.

"I'll go find him then," you decided. Eren just grunted in response, too immersed with the JAEGER BOMB fan pages he was scrolling through.

You got up from the comfy chair and starting looking around the house for Jean. After your talk with Hitch, you were feeling even more nervous about Mikasa coming home. You desperately needed to talk to someone, even if it wasn't about Hitch. You just needed a good distraction from tonight.

Jean was nowhere to be found on the first floor, so you trudged upstairs in hopes of finding him. You rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, passing Mikasa's dark room, stopping when you heard a quiet string of curses from the hallway bathroom.

"Jean?" You called out hesitantly. Lightly knocking on the bathroom door, you pressed your ear to the wood in hopes of figuring out what the issue was.

"Come in," came Jean's strained voice from the small room. You peeked your head in the doorframe and took note of his frustrated figure.

"What's going on?"

"Who decided it would be a good idea to grow my hair out?" He made furious hand motions at his head.

You let out a chuckle as he angrily tried to comb his hair back. "You did."

He rolled his eyes. "Right. I think I might have to go back in time and slap myself for that one."

Shrugging, you sat on the counter next to the agitated male and crossed your arms. "Just cut it then."

"It's not as simple as that," he sighed. "I like the way it looks long, Marco likes it too. And the fans, you know. Besides, I can't cut it in a fit of rage. I'll end up like you." He snorted after his snide comment.

"That was one time! Besides, that was high school. We all did stupid things back then." You grimaced at the memory.

"Yeah, you were the stupidest. You chopped off all your hair because of something that aggravated you." He pointed his comb at you in a teasing manner.

"A little thing called feelings were aggravating me. At least I can control myself more now." You pushed the comb back at him and poked his shoulder.

"Speaking of which, I'm surprised you didn't lose your shit when I told you guys Mikasa was coming home." He went back to working on his hair.

"Seriously? I made you all clean the whole house. I could barely get through her room yesterday. Wasn't that enough of a reaction?" Your head fell onto the mirror against your back while you laughed bitterly.

"Yeah, I guess it was. I don't know what I expected honestly. I assume you aren't over her?"

"Definitely not." You sighed. "Because it's been two years since I last had any contact with her, you'd honestly think I would've moved on by now."

Jean set his comb at the side of the counter and faced you. "Did you want to move on?"

You fidgeted and looked away from his hard gaze. "It would be best if I did. I had my chance and I never took it. There was always a part of me that knew she'd come back. I had always hoped that she would, I never got to tell her how I felt, but now that it's actually happening it feels almost unreal." You met Jean's eyes and the corners of his mouth twitched up.

"Are you going to confess when she's back?" he inquired.

Your thoughts circled back to Hitch. Her threats were powerful. She knew what she was doing. Maybe you could confess to Mikasa in secret and she would never know. However, she somehow knew about Mikasa's future arrival, so you should play it safe. Plus, you hadn't seen the Mikasa you knew in two years.

"No, I don't think I will. There's so much to know about her now. She could be a completely different person." You pulled your knees to your chest.

Jean put his hands on your shoulders which made you look back up at him. "Y/n, you've been putting this off far too long. She's proven to us that she's not always going to be here. If there's ever a time to tell her, it would be now."

You stared at each other for a few moments before you pursed your lips and looked away. Jean was right. The perfect chance was right in front of you but just out of your reach. There was always an unspoken obstacle when it came to your feelings for Mikasa. Whether it was another person or yourself blocking the way. "I just need some time to think."

Jean took his hands off your shoulders and shook his head. "You, my friend, are what people call hopeless." He picked up the comb again, about to run it through his hair once more, but sighed and placed it in a drawer. "Fuck it, ponytail it is." You found it funny how often he would end up tying his hair in a low ponytail. His hair was long, but it wasn't close to the length Eren's was. Whenever Jean did his hair like that little tufts would stick out at the top of his neck and loose strands would curl around his ears.

"How long are you growing it?" You asked as you let your legs dangle over the countertop.

"I'll grow it until it becomes seriously unmanageable. It's already getting unruly." Jean softly kicked open the door and gestured to the hallway. "After you."

You hopped off the counter and gladly took his offer, sliding your arm along the balcony railing before folding your arms over the wood and resting your head on them. The hallway was only lit up by the orange light from the sunset beyond the large living room windows above the glass doors.

Jean passed by you swiftly, making cool air hit your neck. He loudly trudged down the wooden stairs and you saw him walk into the living room from your view.

Armin was sitting cross legged in the cushy rocking chair and Eren was still taking up the space of the long couch. Their eyes were trained on an ocean documentary, Armin occasionally commenting on the sea life while Eren nodded at him.

Jean sat on the loveseat under the balcony, now hidden from your view. Armin noticed your content gaze and beckoned for you to join them.

You followed Jean's path to the living room and put your hands on the back of the couch he was sitting on.

"What do you guys want for dinner? It's nearly seven o'clock." You asked the seated boys.

"Can we just get Burger King or something again?" Eren tore his eyes away from the screen to look at you pleadingly.

"Eren, we had that yesterday. I don't want it two nights in a row. That's just gross." Armin frowned at his request.

Jean placed his hands behind his head and on top of your hands. "Eat whatever you like. I have to drive to the airport soon." He patted your hands and stood from the couch.

Once Jean left the room you continued your survey. "We could have spaghetti?" You offered.

"That sounds good. I'll help you." Armin started toward the kitchen with you before tugging on Eren's sleeve. "You come too. You've been sitting on that couch all day, you lazy bum."

Eren groaned like a child being asked to do the dishes. "Fine, if I have to."

The three of you started preparing the meal in the kitchen with Armin getting the noodles out and making the meatballs, you making the sauce, and Eren filling the pot with water then leaving the rest to you and Armin.

Eren sat on a kitchen stool and pulled his phone out. You and Armin both gave him an eye roll before continuing your cooking.

It was around seven-thirty when the food was done. There were a few mishaps along the way since Jean wasn't around to help and neither you or Armin were very skilled in culinary practices. But the final product looked edible and that's all that matters.

Eren and Armin got their servings and sat down on the kitchen island stools while you went to close the curtains in living room and the dining area. You then pulled out a stool next to Armin.

The three of you ate in silence for a while before you spoke up. "Jean should be back soon."

Eren perked his head up. "Really? He said he'd get her at eight. He left an hour ago but we all know he likes to be early so who knows," He said.

"I'd give it maybe twenty minutes. Why? You nervous?" Armin twirled the pasta around their fork.

"Incredibly," you exhaled.

Eren snorted. "As expected from you. But if you're nervous, imagine how Jean feels right now. That should perk you right up." he laughed to himself while imagining Jean waiting for Mikasa, a nervous wreck.

"Are you not nervous?" You asked timidly.

Armin shrugged. "I guess I am. We've known her forever. It'll be just like seeing an old college friend. It'll be refreshing to see her after all this time. I'm more worried about how ready the house is," they explained while folding their arms.

"I'm a little nervous. You think she'll like my hair?" Eren gestured to his bun.

"No, you're ugly." Armin commented. You laughed so hard at Eren's shocked face that you didn't hear the door unlocking behind you.

Armin stopped laughing with you and stared at the door. "Mikasa," He whispered.

"Mikasa?" You questioned and looked back at the door. "Mikasa."

Sure enough, Mikasa was at the door with Jean lurking behind her.

She was wearing a black hoodie and sweatpants with dark green sneakers. Her hair was cut much shorter now. It was slightly fluffed up and messy from the plane ride. She had a few rings decorating her fingers and a small tattoo on her middle finger on her right hand. In that hand, she carried a navy blue suitcase. In the other, gripped the same scarf Eren gave her years before. She held a tired expression but you thought she looked beautiful as ever.

Your eyes widened and you parted your lips to say something but nothing would come out. Instead, you opted for a hug. You wrapped your arms around her waist, your head just peeking over her shoulder, earning a surprised noise from her. Her arms made their way around your frame as she held you close.

"Mikasa," you could only manage to squeak out her name.

posted: 8/27/21

no reposts, edits, or modification to my work by anyone other than me.

#aot fanfiction #band au #mikasa ackerman #mikasa x reader #mikasa x you #modern au #snk fanfiction #attack on titan

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starrynite7114 · 4 years

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silence is golden (angel reyes)

A/N: Thank you for the tag @vicmackeybullshxt! Sorry this took so long, but here is my entry! :D

Masterlist

tagged list: @justahopelessssromantic : @whyisgmora : @ifoundmyhappythought : @carlaangel86 : @gemini0410 : @marvelmaree : @iambabyharry : @woahitslucyylu : @scuzmunkie : @trulysuccubus : @enamoured-x : @encounterthepast : @1-800-imagines : @elcococruz : @samcrobae : @summertimesadnesswithadashofsass : @thickemadame : @sadeyesgf : @claytoncardenasbabymama : @sesamepancakes : @cherry-icetea : @jadert15 : @cind-in-real-life : @briana-mishell24 : @bribri-82 : @briannab1234 : @agirllovespasta : @chibsytelford : @twistnet : @sheeshgivemeabreak : @lady-pswrld : @blackmissfrizzle : @xserenax-13 : @robbosugdens : @courtrae89

Angel watched as your dickwad boyfriend was happily chatting up this woman on his lap. They frequented the same bars and every time he was alone, your boyfriend always had a woman on his lap. And he would just throw Angel a smirk, as if he was taunting him, mocking him that he would never tell you the truth, too afraid of what it would do to you.

“You’re just her baby fucking daddy, she doesn’t want you. If she did, why would she leave you when you two had a child together?” He would mockingly question Angel.

He didn’t know what you saw in the guy, but from what his son told him, he treated you well enough, even though your son has never met the guy.

But Angel has had enough.

‘How many times will she fall for his lines’

Watching this motherfucker cheat on you for the last three months was taking a toll on him.

“You really gonna let this motherfucker continue to disrespect your baby’s mom like that?” Gilly had enough of this bullshit. If Angel wasn’t going to tell you, he would. This guy thought he was god’s gift to women. He caught him getting a blowjob at the back of the bar, he proceeded to tell Angel and he had to drag his brother out to assure he wouldn’t beat him.

Truth be told, Gilly wasn’t exactly sure what made you fall for this prick. He didn’t seem to be your type and every time you two interacted, you looked incredibly bored. It was like you were keeping him around to keep your bed warm. If you wanted a bed warmer, Gilly could fucking get you one, hell, he knew his brother wouldn’t mind keep your bed warm.

Your break up with Angel was a mystery to everyone. There were no third parties. No arguments. No nothing. Angel just walked in one day with all of his shit and brought it to his room at the clubhouse.

That was a year and a half ago.

You and Angel had been together for ten years and had a five year old son. Regardless of the situation, you and Angel co-parented well. You met this motherfucker four months ago and you seemed to like him well enough. Angel really didn’t understand your relationship. He didn’t even try cause even after what happened, Angel had hoped you two would still be together. When you two broke up, it was so sudden, it caught him off guard. And the joke of it all, he didn’t even fight for you. He let you push him out because he fucked up. Even though he could argue that this was what you signed up for, he was almost certain you didn’t sign up for getting kidnapped and beat to the point you lost your unborn child.

You and Angel didn’t know.

You found out when you were being checked at the hospital.

It was fucking devastating and it took a toll on your relationship. No matter how hard Angel tried to reach out to you, you weren’t responding.

He thought, silence was golden. Thinking that’s what you needed, to figure it out on your own, but he should know you. Know how your thoughts become rooted and how it branches out to further poison your way of thinking. You never blamed him for the miscarriage, but your parting words made him stay away.

“I signed up to be with you because I love you and I always will. But I didn’t sign up to be a target in a means to hurt you. What if it was our son that was taken? I can’t live with that Angel. I’m done.”

And you were.

Angel grabbed his shit and left. Looking back at it now, he should have fought you then. Yeah, shit happened and he was fucking sorry for not being able to protect you, but it won’t happen again. He buried those motherfuckers for taking not only your unborn child away from him, but they took you away too.

“I’m gonna head out, I’m gonna talk to her.”

‘Should I tell her or should I be cool?’

‘And if I tried I know she'd say I lied’

It was a debate that Angel always had internally after seeing your dipshit of a boyfriend, or whatever the fuck he was. He didn’t want to look like that jealous asshole ex even though that was him. It killed him to see you with another person, but his thoughts got the better of him, saying this was for the best.

But you know what, this wasn’t.

You were both miserable. Even though you two co-parented well for the sake of your son, it wasn’t enough for Angel. He wanted his family back. He should have fought you months ago, but no better time than the present.

Parking his bike at your driveway, he hung his helmet on his bar, thinking of how to approach you about this. He just expected a fight so he was preparing for one.

Once he made it to your front door, he took a deep breath and unlocked the door with his key. It was nearing midnight so he was certain that Christian, your son, was already asleep. Locking the door behind him, he found the lights at the dining table and the kitchen open. He was almost certain you were there. Making his way over, he found you with your head on your arms as they laid on the table, peacefully sleeping.

This was his favorite sight to come home too. You were a hard worker and most often than not, he would find you just like how you were now, after a long day of work and taking care of Christian. Your strength always marveled Angel, even after a long day, you would smile when he would wake you up and fix him dinner, massage his back, whatever he needed you gave to him. It broke him to see you so defeated and broken after that incident.

“Baby,” he softly shook you, not wanting to startle you as he done plenty of times before to fuck with you.

You stirred before turning away from him to continue sleeping. Angel chuckled. He picked you up in his arms and brought you to your bed. He placed you on the bed and made his rounds as he usually did when he came home before. Checking all the locks and windows, turning off the lights, but leaving the porch lights on. He checked on Christian who was knocked out. Making his way back to your room, you were in the same position he left you in. Closing the door behind him, he pulled down the comforter gently and placed it on top of you. He debated if he should sleep on the bed with you, but he didn’t want to push his luck.

The doorbell rang.

He knew who it was. This motherfucker had some nerve to come here at this time of night. To top it off the fucker knew he wasn’t allowed in the premises when your son was at home with you. The only time that douche was allowed here was when Christian was staying with Angel.

This was done tonight. This motherfucker was never coming here again.

Angel looked at you one more time before making his way to the front door. The fucker began to ring the doorbell numerous times. Christian came out of his room and was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“Daddy, what’s going on?” He looked up at Angel, half asleep.

“I got it, just go back to sleep.” Angel kissed the top of his head and waited till Christian was in bed. He closed his door and made his way down to the front door.

“Open up Y/N.” He heard the douche call out.

Angel opened the door, startling the man. He took a step back and his eyes narrowed when his eyes landed on Angel. Before he could even utter a word to insult or belittle Angel, his gun was against his mouth, the man’s eyes widening.

“I’m going to keep it short and sweet, you’re going to stay away from my girl. If I even hear that you’re contacting her or breathing the same air as her, I’m gonna put a bullet in your head.” Angel’s finger ghosted over the trigger as the man watched his finger, praying to whatever deity he believed in. “I’m not just her baby daddy, I won’t hesitate to fucking kill you, do you understand me?”

The man nodded his head.

“Forget her, forget her address and her number. I’ve been patient with you, so don’t push me bitch.”

The man backed away slowly, Angel’s gun still pointed at him. He ran to his vehicle, hightailing it out of there.

“Stupid ass motherfucker.” Angel closed the door, locking it behind him. He checked on Christian again, who was thankfully sound asleep. Making your way to your room, he found you awake and looking down at your phone. “Hey amor, they rang the wrong house.”

You looked up at him, a smirk on your face. “Did they?”

“Yeah, nothing too crazy.” Angel stood by the door, not knowing if you wanted him to come any closer. Your relationship has been on the mend. You two were back to joking around again and he was incredibly thankful for that. He could tell you still tried to put distance between you two, which was fine, but he was going to close that gap soon.

“You know I have a camera at the front door right?” After the kidnapping, Angel installed security cameras all over the property. It was for you and for him, to make sure that you and Christian were safe, especially since he was living at Felipe’s.

This was always going to be temporary. Angel always had high hopes that you would wake up from your stupor and ask him to come home. It was just taking a little longer than he would like.

“Look, that motherfucker was a prick. We go to the same damn bar, and he fucking knows it, and he always has a girl on his fucking lap.”

“Really?”

Angel sighed. He closed the door and made his way over to you, hating that he had to tell you that your boyfriend was cheating on him. Your relationship was so complicated, Angel was just trying to go with your flow.

“Yes, look, he’s not fucking worth your time. You deserve someone who is going to love and cherish you, someone who is going to protect you.” Angel was talking about himself cause you had him fucked up if you think you were dating anyone else. “That motherfucker has been cheating on you since your relationship started. You don’t deserve that.”

“I really hope you’re talking about you because I made a big mistake.” Angel looked up at you and there it was, your smile, it was back. That teasing smile you always had when you were messing with him. Fuck. He missed that smile. “He wasn’t my boyfriend. I literally slept with him once.”

“What? What the fuck you mean you only slept with him once?” Angel was confused. This motherfucker boasted like he was your boyfriend.

You bit your lip. “He’s a co-worker of mine. We went out for some drinks, slept together and that was that. The times he would come over, we were working on a project together. I would kick him out right after.”

“Wait, what?” Angel stood up, hands on his hips. “So you two were never together?”

“Angel, how could you even think that I would be with someone so soon after we broke up?” You sighed. “I may have led you to believe that we were together because I just wanted a reaction from you. I know I pushed you away and it was childish to make you jealous, but I couldn’t help it.” Prior to the kidnapping, you felt that you and Angel had become stagnant. He was still sweet, but you just felt like he no longer felt as strongly for you. It was awful and then the kidnapping happened, and you lashed out. So many times you tried to speak to Angel, but he looked at you differently, like you were damaged goods. That you fucked up and lost the baby.

“Y/N, what’s going on?” Angel was still lost. That asshole carried himself with such confidence. The fact that he wasn’t even your boyfriend and had the audacity to show up at your home at this time of night? Angel had to fuck him up now. It was for the principle of the matter.

“Before the kidnapping,” you sighed. “I just feel like you’ve reached your limit with our relationship. The sex was still great, you were still so sweet, but I feel like there was something between us.” Hearing yourself aloud, it sounded more ridiculous and you wished you didn’t even start saying anything. “You know what, never mind.”

“No, babe, talk to me.” Angel knew this was around the time he was helping with the rebels, trying to help fund their mission and getting closer to Adelita. The attraction was there, but he never did anything because he was madly in love with you. Hearing you say that there was a wall in between you two before the kidnapping, it broke his heart.

“I love you Angel, you’ve been my world since I was twenty years old. We’ve been together before all the success we both found. I just,” you paused, closing your eyes as your fingers fidgeted. “All I want is for you to be happy and if you weren’t happy with me anymore, that was okay, I think. But then the kidnapping happened and you just looked at me like I was damaged goods. You looked at me with such pity at times, it hurt.”

Angel frowned. He sat next to you, taking your fidgeting hands into his. Kissing the back of your hand, he pulled you against him, your head resting on his chest.

“You’re my world, I’m sorry if I made you feel that way, I just didn’t know how to talk to you. Half the time, I was blaming myself for what happened and the other half, I was fighting my own demons. I love you so much and Christian as well. You two are my world.” Angel felt the tears coming down from his eyes as well.

A long overdue conversation was finally happening, and he was thankful.

“I love you too.”

“You know I’m still going to have to beat his ass, right?”

You pulled away from Angel, eyebrows furrowing at his words. “Who?”

“Your co-worker. That motherfucker disrespected me, most of all you. He has to pay.” Angel always discussed violence so nonchalantly. You couldn’t lie and say it didn’t turn you on, especially when you watched him threaten your co-worker.

“Just don’t go overboard.” You began to undress, not wanting to sleep in your leggings and shirt.

Angel chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t even bother wearing clothes, you’re not going to need them.”

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