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jcwriting · 3 years

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Written in the Stars

summary ↬ being soulmates with a werewolf? pretty easy. being jungkook’s soulmate? the easiest thing in the world. there’s only one teensy tiny problem. he doesn’t want to fuck you.

pairing ↬ werewolf!jungkook x reader

genre ↬ soulmate!au, abo verse, fluff, angst, hurt/comfort (this is so fucking dramatic and for what)

word count ↬ 10.4k my hand slipped

warnings ↬ swearing, angst (but with a happy ending bc im a sappy bitch), jk is stupid in love (emphasis on stupid), mentions of violence (very brief and i don’t go into too much detail but just to warn yall), slight nsfw (sex is a big topic for like half of this but not sex is had...i know im shocked too), half of this is background info/setting up the story the other half is finally addressing the summary lolol, jk is kind of an asshole but he has reasons!!!!!

authors note ↬ hello lovelies! here’s a small little thing for you all (laughs in 10k word count). this has been sitting in my drafts for fucking ever and i just needed to get it out there and out of my hands. im thinking about writing a part two where the actual ~*/sex/*~ is had but im still on the fence about that. please let me know what you think! i literally crave your interactions so pls dont be shy,,,,,okay love you bye :)

(ps i was so close to naming this Rewrite the Stars but since this has absolutely nothing to do with The Greatest Showman i didn’t. but i was close,,,,so fucking close)

You always knew Jeon Jungkook was destined for great things.

It was written in the stars, your mother had told you after he had first stepped foot into your family-owned grocery store. Your mother didn’t have any special powers, she just had a thing for astrology. While you normally shrugged off her random proclamations about divine intervention and planetary alignments, you found that Jungkook was something you couldn’t ignore or chalk up as your mother’s latest tea leaf reading.

From the moment you set eyes on him you knew he was different. While your family held zero claim to any sort of mystical or magical inclinations, you were well aware of those who did. It was no secret that non-humans roamed the Earth in plain sight, even though it had taken humans eons to realize this. After years of savage wars and civil unrest, agreements had come into place and governing bodies were adjusted to accept the changes that had finally been made. But, this was all before your time. You were the generation that was born into the period of peace, the first children to not experience bloodshed before they could walk. The world you knew now was almost a complete one-eighty of what it had been.

Where before those who were not of human blood had to do everything they could to blend in, now could be free of the shadows. Your classrooms had both humans and non-humans in their rosters. Some of your teachers were hybrids. Curriculum expanded to teach humans about a world that had once been entirely unknown to them. One of your favorite teachers was a witch who regaled your tenth grade class with stories of goblin wars, wizard duels, and vampire covens. All tales that you had once thought were nothing but fiction were now anything but.

Which is why, the second Jeon Jungkook entered the grocery store that your parents owned and that you had worked at since you were old enough to speak in full sentences, you knew who he was. You didn’t even question it.

He was a werewolf. A powerful one. You could see it in the way he carried himself. The purposeful strides he took down the narrow aisles, the confidence in his broad shoulders. Humans weren’t nearly as sensitive as their hybrid counterparts but you also paid attention in your classes. Or, perhaps you were more aware than other humans. Never in your life did you have the issues other faced when meeting a non-human for the first time. You always knew who they were without them having to tell you. You just knew.

So, when Jeon Jungkook stepped up to your register with a bottle of water and some raw beef, you didn’t flinch. Didn’t bend under his dark gaze or shuffle your feet in an awkward attempt to break the silence. Instead, you flashed him your customer service smile and rang up his items. He didn’t say a word as he paid, barely sparing you a second glance as he strode out of the store.

“He’s going to be a great and powerful man,” your mother said in that feathery light voice of hers. “It was written in the stars.”

You couldn’t help but agree.

Jeon Jungkook came into your store everyday for the next month. He bought the same thing every time. A bottle of water and a package of raw beef. The only time he spared you any words was to say thank you or the occasional hello if the sun was shining. Usually, he was alone. Sometimes, he came with a few members of his pack. You liked those days. He smiled a little brighter and talked a little louder when they were around. Especially around Taehyung.

Then, after a month, he didn’t come in. Not for an entire week. From Monday to Sunday, you hadn’t seen a hide nor hair of him. A part of you was worried, so worried that you almost stopped Taehyung in the middle of the street to ask of Jungkook’s whereabouts before realizing how insane that made you look, the other part was chastising yourself for caring. Jeon Jungkook was a customer. Nothing more, nothing less.

The following Monday had come and you had finally stopped glancing at the sliding doors every five minutes. You no longer expected his commanding presence to rock your little world. Instead, you continued your day as if it had been any other. That was, until, Jeon Jungkook stepped through the entrance looking as if he was walking on air. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why.

“Did you have a good heat?” You asked when he stepped up to your register. Jungkook fumbled the water bottle he had been setting onto the conveyer belt before turning to stare at you.

“What did you just say?”

You didn’t shrink under his intense glare. “I was asking if you enjoyed your heat. Seems like you did.”

“How do you know I was in my rut?”

“Oh, is rut the correct terminology? Sorry, they always interchanged them in class, I was never sure what was appropriate.” You shrugged and rang up his items. “It was kind of obvious, though. You seemed pretty agitated about a week-and-a-half ago, then you disappear for a week, and now you’re back looking happier than ever. If it wasn’t your rut then I want to know where you went on vacation because that’s where I’m heading to next.”

Jungkook laughed. That almost made you jump out of your skin. You had never heard him laugh before. It was throaty, it was deep, and it was wonderful. “I’ll be sure to send you the link to the Airbnb.”

“And how do you plan on doing that?”

He smirked. “I’m here every day, aren’t I?”

You tilted your head as you accepted the cash he handed to you. “Clearly, you’re not that reliable.”

Jungkook laughed again. It was becoming your new favorite sound. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to appear flaky.”

“You’re forgiven,” you decided as you handed him the plastic bag of his purchases. Teasingly, you added, “just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

He flashed you a smile that showed off his sharpened canines. “Don’t worry, darling. I never make the same mistake twice.”

Jeon Jungkook kept his promise. He showed up everyday, like clockwork. Bought the same thing. Arrived at the same time. The only thing that changed was how he treated you. It wasn’t that he treated you badly before, he had always been polite. But now, he talked to you. He asked you questions and answered yours. More often than not, he laughed.

(It had become your favorite sound.)

For three months, this continued. The two of you had settled into a comfortable routine, something you relied on and expected. Until, he changed that.

Until, Jeon Jungkook asked you out on a date.

“What did you just say?”

“Are you free? Tonight?” You glanced around, almost expecting to see some sort of supermodel posing behind you to explain the absolute absurdity of the situation. “What are you doing?”

“Looking for the hidden cameras. I think I’m getting Punk’d.”

Jungkook sighed and placed both hands on the counter that separated the two of you. “Look at me.” You did. Slowly and warily, but you did. “Does it look like I’m lying to you?”

Narrowing your eyes, you regarded him carefully. He seemed serious. But, then again, do you ever really know someone? “I don’t know. I’ve never actually seen you lie before so I wouldn’t know the difference.”

“Fine. Ask me what color my shirt is.”

“What color is your shirt?”

“White,” he deadpanned. You glanced down at his chest. His shirt was black.

“Jungkook!”

He threw his head back and released a full bellied laugh. Even in your exasperation you couldn’t help but soften a little. “I’m sorry, darling. I couldn’t help myself.” Annoyed, you huffed and spun to face the cash register. Stabbing your finger onto the touchscreen, you ignored Jungkook’s obvious presence on the opposite side of the counter. Until his hand reached around the card reader and grasped a hold of your chin. The warmth of his fingers forced your head to turn to meet his.

“Come to dinner with me.” His voice was nothing but a rumble in his chest, his eyes so black and all-consuming you couldn’t do anything but agree with him. He seemed pleased by your response as his fingers tightened against your skin and a grateful smile flicked past his lips. His gaze darted down to your mouth and your breath froze in your chest.

“Are you going to kiss me?”

Jungkook raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to?”

“No.” You tried to shake your head but his grip didn’t allow you much movement. He was taken aback by your answer, a small frown tugging at his mouth. You quickly backtracked to fix the situation. “I don’t want our first kiss to be in a grocery store. That’s a new low that I refuse to reach.”

Jungkook chuckled and tapped your chin gently. “Alright, darling. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

Again, he kept his promise to you. He showed up at your parents house exactly at seven, wearing a button-down shirt and slacks. The tulips he had gotten for you was thrust into your hands the moment you opened the door. Flashing him a genuine smile, you hurried into the kitchen to set them in water while your mother grilled him on his birth time. You were quick to drag him away, practically throwing him towards the car as you waved goodbye.

“Sorry,” you sighed as Jungkook opened the passenger door for you. “She has a…thing for astrology. She’s probably creating your star map or whatever right now.”

“It’s okay,” he responded once he got into the drivers seat. “It’s sweet of her to care.”

You snorted. “She’s delusional is what she is.”

“So, you’re saying you don’t believe in astrology?”

“Do you?”

Jungkook shrugged as he pulled out of your dirt driveway. He looked so damn attractive behind the wheel it was honestly unfair. “Not really saying I do or don’t. All I know is that there are a lot of things out there that are out of our control. If believing in the stars and planets helps you gain some of that control back, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”

“God, don’t talk like that in front of my mother. She’ll want to start dating you.”

He grinned and placed a hand on your knee. “Tell her I’m already taken.”

You didn’t get a chance to respond to that. Not that he didn’t give you one, it was just that you literally had nothing to say. With just one sentence he opened the floodgates of your brain and the amount of thoughts that were flying through your conscious was painful. Anxiety fluttered in your stomach and you pressed your lips together to keep you from word vomiting onto him. No, it was better to keep your mouth shut and let the moment pass.

By the time you reached the restaurant you were a trembling mess of nerves. Were you guys dating? You thought this was just a ‘testing the waters’ date, not a ‘you’re my girlfriend now’ date. Did you have to make it Facebook official? You hated that shit.

Jungkook didn’t comment on your obvious distress, though. He merely placed a hand on the small of your back, ignoring how you jerked in surprise, and led you into the quiet bistro. Nodding politely to the hostess who was practically panting at the sight of him (you honestly couldn’t blame her) and pulled out your chair for you. When he sat down, he started talking. Idle chat at first. Commenting on one of the dishes, asking about the college classes you were taking at your local university. Before you realized it, wine was in your glass and your shoulders were loose. Previous nerves forgotten, you lost yourself in Jungkook. You drank, you ate, you laughed, and genuinely enjoyed his company. Honestly, it was the best date you’d ever been on.

“I have to be honest with you,” Jungkook spoke after he finished his raw steak. “I have an ulterior motive for asking you here tonight.”

“Oh,” you mumbled around the shrimp you had just tossed in your mouth. “So…this isn’t a date?”

“No, it is,” Jungkook clarified quickly around a dry chuckle. He seemed…nervous. It put you on edge immediately. “This is definitely a date. And, also, more.”

“More? What, is this a proposal too?” You were joking. A 100% joking. But Jungkook was staring at you so seriously it made you panic. “Jungkook, if you get down on one knee here I swear-”

“I’m not proposing,” he assured you. “This is something more than that.”

“More?” You parroted. Jungkook sighed.

“Do you know what a true mate is?”

Right there, in that quaint little bistro, on a date with quite possibly the most untouchable man you’d ever met, he explained how you were irrevocably his. His true mate, his soulmate.

Jungkook explained everything in great detail, which you appreciated, because honestly, you had no words. He explained how when he was born, the witch who cared for him told his father that his future glared brightly ahead of him, but only when he met his other half. True mates were rare. Mating was common, the wolves in his pack could have multiple mates or a lifelong one, but true mates were destiny. Someone or something out there had forged the two of you together. You were essentially each others other half. He was made for you and you were made for him.

“But…aren’t true mates only for wolves? I thought it’s impossible for a human to be a true mate,” you asked in a shaky voice once Jungkook took a breath.

“It was supposed to be impossible. Until, I met you.” Jungkook stared at you with a sort of reverence that made your entire body blush. “I have no idea how you are. I’ve spent hours researching. I’ve consulted with members of my pack and others. No one knows why.”

“Are you sure, though? I mean…what if you’re wrong?”

“I’m not.” Jungkook shook his head. “I visited the witch right after I met you. She took one look at me and told me that I had finally found my true mate. She said she’d never seen a future so bright before.”

You had no words for that. For the first time in your life, you were speechless. Jungkook seemed to understand. He let you sit in silence as he paid for the bill and walked you out to the car. The drive back to your parents house was the same. You couldn’t speak. The shock rendered you stupid.

By the time Jungkook pulled into the driveway you still hadn’t spoken a word to each other. You stepped out of the car before he could open the door for you. Walking up to the porch steps in a trance, you didn’t hear him follow you until he clasped your wrist in his hand. Turning to face him, you were surprised to see his brown eyes so big. They practically sparkled in the moonlight and he looked so soft and sweet you nearly melted into the wood beneath your feet.

“Please,” he whispered. “Can you…just - are you okay? You’ve been so quiet. I’m worried I’ve scared you off or something.”

With that voice, it was impossible to deny him. So, you said the first thing that popped in your head. “Do we have to make it Facebook official?”

Jungkook stared at you before bursting into laughter. “Really? That’s all you have to say?”

You blushed and glanced down. “I’m just worried, that’s all. I can’t remember my Facebook password so even if you wanted to change it I don’t think it’ll work.”

“So that’s why you never accepted my friend request,” Jungkook teased. Before you could squeak out a response, he wrapped his arms around your waist and tugged you forward. You kept your arms crossed across your chest but let yourself fall against him.

“Don’t make fun of me,” you whined as you buried your face into his shoulder. He smelled so good, a mixture of pine and spice. “My brain hasn’t worked since you told me I’m yours, so bear with me.”

Jungkook chuckled and gently swayed you from side to side. “Does that mean you’re okay with this? All of this?”

Sighing, you lifted your head up and stepped away from him. Jungkook was not impressed and pulled you back to him. Your heart swelled in your chest and you wrapped your arms around his neck in consolation. “Honestly? I haven’t really processed anything. You’ve had your whole life to come to terms with this. I just found out thirty minutes ago that I’m someone’s soulmate. It’s a lot to take in.”

Jungkook nodded as he tapped his fingers against your hips. “I know. It’s a lot…I’m a lot. I just want you to know that you don’t have to do this. You don’t have to be with me. I won’t-”

Now it was your turn to burst into laughter. You couldn’t believe those words had left his mouth. It was easily the most absurd thing you’d ever heard. “Jungkook, I want to make something very clear. I have no problem being your true mate. That’s not the issue here. Well, there really isn’t an issue. It’s just…hard to believe, I guess. I have to process that this is my new reality.”

“Really?” Jungkook perked up and looked so fucking cute you couldn’t help but cup his cheeks. His skin was so warm despite the cold autumn air that surrounded you both. “You want to do this? Be with me? Be mine?” All you could do was nod. You were so overwhelmed with emotions. The shock was evident, but a piece of you was so happy. You felt whole.

Jungkook’s face split into a wide smile that caused his nose to scrunch up. He wrapped his arms around your waist and spun you around. Squealing, you slung your legs around his hips and held on. Normally, you’d rather die than show this much affection to someone. But, this was Jungkook. Your soulmate.

“So…what do we do now?” You asked once Jungkook set you down. “Is there, like, a ceremony or something?”

“I have no idea,” he admitted as he stared down at you. He had a hand against your jaw and was rubbing your cheek tenderly. “I really didn’t think I’d get this far.”

You scoffed at his ridiculousness. While recognizing you were Jungkook’s true mate was going to take some time, believing that he thought you’d deny him was utter nonsense. “What if…what if we date, first?” You suggested timidly. “I know that sounds kind of weird considering we’re supposed to be the loves of each others lives. But, I don’t really know you all that well. And, I think this is going to take sometime for me to get used to. Maybe we should date, get to know each other, and just learn how to be with one another.”

“Whatever you want,” Jungkook agreed. “We can do whatever you want. Just as long as I have you, I’m happy.”

Two years passed.

Two blissful, wonderful years. Two years of dating, two years of loving, two years of being Jeon Jungkook’s. It was everything you could’ve asked for and more. You had never felt so loved and cherished in your entire life. He respected you, he took care of you, and most importantly, he was there for you in every sense. Since the moment you met him, you hadn’t been alone. He hadn’t let you. Jungkook knew you better than you knew yourself.

And, it was the same for him. You were there for him when he transitioned into the leader of his pack. You were there when he took over the CEO position from his father and encouraged and supported him every step of the way. You let yourself be loved and in return he let you love him. It was wonderful.

Except, for one tiny thing.

While the emotional aspect of your relationship flourished and bloomed into something beautiful, the physical side remained stagnant. Make out sessions and heavy petting were a norm in your relationship. At first, it didn’t bother you. In fact, you loved that Jungkook was taking things so slow and so seriously. But, eventually, your needs began to grow. You found yourself wanting him in more ways than one, wants that only he could satisfy. Jungkook refused. Every time.

It wasn’t like he refused your every need. No, Jungkook was extremely attentive. When it came to himself, that’s when things got dicy. He had no problem spending hours between your legs, worshipping you until you were crying from the overstimulation. Yet, he wouldn’t let you anywhere near him. Not without lack of trying on your part. The minute your hands went down to his waistband, he pushed you away. Every time you tried to dip your mouth to the obvious bulge in his pants, he lifted you up and kissed you breathless until you forgot your name. It wasn’t until after a year of dating that he finally let you grind on his clothed cock. Even then, he held off until you finished and then walked out with quite possibly the worst case of blue balls. You hated that he did this to himself. The worst part was, you couldn’t understand why.

The one time you had brought it up to him it had resulted in the worst fight the two of you had ever gotten into. It was the only argument that was never really resolved. After the yelling and the tears, all you got out of Jungkook was that mating with a wolf was not pretty. It was extremely dangerous and he refused to put you in that kind of danger. End of discussion. No matter how hard you tried to persuade him or broach the subject, he shut it down. Hard. Eventually, you gave up.

He even spent his ruts away from you. Every three months, he left you for a week. You knew he had a place somewhere up in the mountains and you assumed that’s where he went. You had no idea. There was no point even asking to come along. You loved your boyfriend and didn’t want to purposely give him a heart attack. You hated it when he left. As much as you tried to hide it and convince him that you were just fine, he wasn’t stupid. Being away from him was tough. A piece of you was missing whenever he was gone. And you were only whole again when he returned.

This past week had been one of those weeks. He had left on Sunday for the mountains. He was agitated and clingy, how he normally was pre-rut. Jungkook wouldn’t let you leave his side and you spent most of the weekend on his lap or wrapped in his arms. Not that you minded. When he left your parents house on Sunday night, you’d had to coax him out of the door. Promising him that you’d be okay and that you’d see him next week. It wasn’t until several kisses later did Jungkook finally leave.

While you’d been doing this for two years, it never got easier. More manageable? Sure. But definitely not easier. All you could do was go through the motions. You went to work at the local bakery, came home and helped your mom with dinner, watched TV with your dad before going to bed. Taehyung and Jimin would visit often, threatened by Jungkook to keep you company. While you assured them it wasn’t necessary, you secretly didn’t mind. They made you laugh and made you temporarily forget your boyfriend was miles away from you. Sometimes, if you were lucky, he’d call you to tell you goodnight. But those times were rare. Normally, you didn’t hear from him until Friday or Saturday when he was finally coming out of his rut and returning to the world.

By the time Sunday rolled around, you were a jittery ball of nerves. Not in a bad sense. You were just excited. The anticipation killed you and it took all of your willpower to sit and wait for his text to tell you to come over. Your parents always left you alone on these Sundays, unable to deal with your hyperactiveness and constant fidgeting.

This Sunday was no different. You puttered around your room for the better part of the day. You spent the other part in the kitchen, baking like your life depended on it. Jungkook loved your cookies and you always made sure to come over with at least three batches after his ruts. He always said that was his second favorite part about coming home, after seeing you, of course.

You had just finished packaging the final batch in a glass cookie jar when your phone dinged. You didn’t have to read the message, you knew exactly what it said. Pure joy rushed through your system as you threw on your coat and shouted a hasty goodbye to your parents. Juggling the cookies and car keys, you sprinted to your car. The drive to Jungkook’s was thankfully not long. About ten minutes, as long as you didn’t hit any traffic on the main road. Luck was on your side, though, and you showed up at Jungkook’s house in eight minutes.

Taehyung’s car was in the driveway when you pulled up, which wasn’t odd. Although Jungkook owned the house, the members of his pack were almost always around. While most preferred to travel in their wolf forms, you knew Taehyung and Namjoon preferred cars. Something about being able to listen to their own music without comments from the peanut gallery. You didn’t really understand and didn’t really need to. You had just chalked it up as one of their many quirks.

Carrying the trays of cookies in both hands, you shut your car door with your foot before speed-walking up the stone walkway to Jungkook’s home. The screen door was shut, but the wooden door was swung wide open. You had just reached for the metal handle when you heard it.

A deep, threatening growl ripped through the peaceful quiet and froze you in place. You knew it was Jungkook. While you had only heard it once, you’d never forgotten it. It was when the two of you had attended a party and an alpha from a neighboring pack had cornered you in the hallway. Jungkook had found you cowered against the wall as the other alpha had caged you in. The sound that had left his chest had given you equal parts comfort and fear. Comfort, because he was there and you knew you were safe. Fear, because you could see in the way he bared his teeth and how his muscles vibrated, he had been furious and bloodthirsty.

That’s what you felt now, fear.

Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

From your vantage point in front of the screen door, you could see directly into the kitchen. Taehyung was leaning against the granite countertop and Jungkook was seated at the island. The tension was so thick you practically choked on it.

“Enough, Taehyung.”

“No,” Taehyung snapped, seeming just as angry as Jungkook. “I’m not dropping it. Not this time.”

“Yes, you will,” Jungkook snarled. “I’m not having this conversation with you.”

“Too fucking bad.” While Taehyung was also an alpha, he acted so much like a beta you never really noticed. Until now. “I’m not going to sit by and watch you do this to yourself anymore. Not spending your ruts correctly is only causing you more harm than good.”

“I’m doing things the way I want to, and it’s working-”

“The hell it is!” Jungkook growled at the interruption but Taehyung ignored him. “It’s not working, and you know it. Anyone with two fucking eyes knows it. It’s getting so bad that the pack is noticing, too. Even Namjoon has realized something is wrong, and he’s as oblivious as they come.”

“If they have a problem with me they can take it up with me.”

“No, they can’t. Because you won’t listen. Your head is so far up your ass you can’t even hear yourself anymore. What you’re doing right now is not working. Something needs to change.”

“Like what?” Jungkook spat.

“You know what,” Taehyung bit back. Jungkook was practically vibrating from rage. You knew you needed to go get someone, someone from the pack to calm the two of them down. Things were only escalating, but you couldn’t move. Your brain screamed at you to run but your legs were rooted in place. “That’s is what’s so frustrating, Jungkook. This, all of this, could be solved. She’s right there-”

“Don’t.” Jungkook stood up so fast the chair he sat on flew backwards and hit the wall with a resounding crack.

“Why?” Taehyung threw his arms up in the air. “Why not? I don’t get it-”

“Because I don’t want her!” Jungkook yelled, the force of it rang throughout the house. You had no idea who the she was that they were referring to. You assumed it was someone from the pack. It was well-known that wolves with human mates sometimes turned to other she-wolves to help with their ruts. You figured that’s what Jungkook did whenever he went away for a week. It had bothered you at first, but you knew he had his needs and that they were at a biological level. You refused to make him feel guilty or ashamed for taking care of himself.

“You don’t want her?” Taehyung was enraged. You could tell by the way he straightened his spine and unfurled himself to his full height. Jungkook bristled in response and the muscles in his back strained against the thin material of his shirt.

“No, I don’t!” Jungkook exploded. “What don’t you understand about that? I don’t want her around me. I don’t need her, I’m fine on my own. The thought of having her there when…God - it makes me physically ill.”

“She’s your girlfriend. Above all of that, your true mate. You’re seriously going to deny yourself of her, for what? Just because you don’t like having her around?”

Oh.

That’s when it hit you. They weren’t talking about some random she-wolf. They were talking about you. You were the one Jungkook didn’t want. You were the one Jungkook didn’t need. You were the one he didn’t like having around. As the weight of the words sunk into your mind, you felt your chest becoming tighter and tighter.

Then, you’re heart broke right in half. You dropped the container of cookies and didn’t flinch when it shattered against the wooden slats. The sound unstuck your feet from their position on the porch and your fight or flight system took over. Without a second thought, you turned on your heel and ran.

You didn’t know if anyone was behind you, you didn’t turn around to check. Hands fumbled for the car door as you threw yourself into the drivers side. Pain ricocheted throughout your chest cavity and you struggled to breathe. Your brain was blank, the only thing your mind did was move your body to get you somewhere safe. You had to leave and you had to leave now.

Miraculously, your fingers found your keys and inserted them into the ignition on the second try. A flutter of movement occurred to the left of you but your eyes didn’t let you look that way. Instead, they focused on the rearview mirror as you reversed out of the driveway. Your right hand found the gearshift and moved it to drive. Soon, you were tearing down the street as your ears refused to register the agonized howls that echoed behind as you kept staring forward. Adrenaline pumped through your system and your body shivered in response, the splash of hormones had created a blanket of fake calm over you. The emotions, the pain, the thoughts were swirling inside of you, ready to break free and drown you, but your brain wouldn’t allow it.

It wasn’t until you reached the end of your long driveway that you felt the original spike of adrenaline fade away. Your mother was in the front, tending to the flowers, and looked up when she saw your car fly into its usual spot. She stood up and her face twisted into a frown when you got out of your seat.

“Honey, your aura…it’s concerning.” The blanket was yanked away and the pain crashed over you.

You couldn’t say a word, all you could do was collapse in your mother's arms and cry, cry, cry.

It took you two days to calm down. The tears had stopped rolling and your shoulders no longer shook from trying to hold your sobs behind your teeth. Your mother hadn’t left your side, leaving your father to answer the door whenever someone knocked. The only person who did was Taehyung and Jimin. Jungkook never showed up.

Well, that was a lie.

Jungkook did show up every morning and night, without fail. But he never came to your doorstep. Instead, he was in the woods behind your house, patrolling, not daring to leave the protection of the forest. A part of you wondered if he was respecting your obvious need for space or if your mother had paid a witch to set up boundary lines that didn’t allow him to cross. Either way, you were grateful that you couldn’t see him. There was an incessant tugging in your heart to be near him but you staunchly ignored it, which would’ve been impossible if you saw his achingly beautiful face.

I don’t want her. I don’t need her. Having her there makes me physically ill. Those three sentences played in a constant loop in your head, like a horror movie you couldn’t escape from. You were the protagonist who couldn’t escape the maze, but the villain wasn’t kind enough to kill you off. No matter what you did, your brain wouldn’t stop repeating those three sentences. Your mother burned sage, she pressed crystals into your palms, she muttered ritual after ritual, but nothing worked.

You hated how affected you were. You had always told yourself that you would never be the girl who’d get so wrapped up in someone else they didn’t know who they were anymore. Independence was something you prided yourself on, but you seemed to be at a complete loss now. You couldn’t stop the waves of sadness and self-hatred at your depressed state. It was amazing how empty you felt yet so full of pain at the same time. Your mind and heart couldn’t seem to decide which hurt worse; your heart for having your soulmate so obviously reject you, or your brain for trying to make sense of the situation. When did this happen? How did this happen? How had you been so blind as to not see it?

“I don’t think we’re soulmates,” you rasped to your mom on the third morning. It had been the first words you had spoken to her since you had fell into her arms. She looked up from the bundle of herbs she was smoking.

“Why do you say that?”

You stared at your hands that had curled in on themselves. “I don’t make him happy. I-I never realized how uncomfortable I made him. I wish I had known. How did I miss it?”

Your mother tutted gently and gathered you in her arms. She smelled of lavender and wax. “This is good. I’m glad you’re letting yourself have this moment. Let’s sit in this and allow yourself to be embedded here.” But you didn’t want to have this moment. You didn’t want to have any moment and you’ve felt enough to last a lifetime. Instead, you rolled over, let sleep overtake you and tried to ignore the distant howling that rattled your window pane.

By nightfall of the fourth day, you were forced out of bed. Partly by choice, partly by force. Your parents had dipped out to run to the grocery store, despite your mother’s insistence that she could stay. You and your father managed to convince her to leave and you had gotten up to wave them goodbye. Sure, your heart was broken, but the least you could do was kiss them on the cheek before they left. You had turned around to shuffle into the kitchen to try and shovel something down your dry throat when a loud knock sounded at the front door. Hesitating, you carefully peeked through the kitchen window and saw Jimin on your front doorstep, dressed in all black.

Sighing, you stumbled over and pulled the door open. You figured you couldn’t avoid them for much longer. “Hey, Jimin.”

“Christ, you look like shit.”

You huffed out a laugh as Jimin stared at you in horror, not having the energy to be offended. You also knew, in a weird way, that this was Jimin’s way of caring for you. “Yeah. My mother’s covered all the mirrors in the house.”

Jimin nodded as he glanced at you from head to toe. “I want to ask if you’re okay but…” He gestured to your gaunt frame swaddled in a heavy sweatshirt and sweatpants. For the first time in two years, they were your own clothes, not Jungkook’s.

“I’m fine, Jimin,” you heaved a heavy sigh and leaned against the doorframe. “Do you want to come in? I think my mom boiled some tea not too long ago.”

Jimin shook his head. “Can’t. Jungkook would have a fit if I got that close to you right now. I’m already pushing my luck just by showing up.” He doesn’t care, you thought bitterly, and almost said it out loud but you caught yourself at the last second. Jimin wasn’t stupid, though. He knew what you were thinking. “Hey,” he murmured, eyes going soft, “are you ready to talk about it?”

“No.” You shook your head. A wave of sadness washed over you but the telltale prick of tears didn’t come.

Jimin understood. He tucked his hands into his pockets as he rocked back onto his heels. “Are you going to talk to him?”

Letting out a heavy breath, you crossed your arms over your chest. “I know I have to. I just…I just need time.”

“Take however long you need.”

It was another 48-hours before you finally snapped. While you had spent the majority of the two days that had passed to make yourself resemble a human being, you couldn’t focus. You couldn’t move on. Why?

Because Jungkook wouldn’t leave you alone.

His presence was constant. He circled your house every hour of ever day, the large shadow of him in wolf form darkened the trees behind your house. The howling had stopped but the pacing hadn’t. You hoped he was at least sleeping, but then you got annoyed at yourself for caring. You didn’t know why he was out there, it made no sense. Jungkook’s words were so different from his actions it made your head spin.

But, you needed to move on with your life. You had to. The only way it was going to happen was if Jungkook did too. It hurt. God, did it hurt. Yet, as sad and utterly pathetic as it sounded, you were used to the pain at this point, had resigned yourself to it. A part of you worried you wouldn’t know what to do without it.

Shaking off that depressing thought, you tugged on your rain boots and stepped outside for the first time in a week. The air was heavy with the promise of rain, the clouds low and gray. You tugged the hood up on your sweater to prevent your hair from completely frizzing out before you walked to down the back deck steps.

The backyard of your parents house was expansive. The home you had grown up in sat on top of a sloping hill that your mother had turned into her personal greenhouse. You stepped past rows of raised garden beds and pruned plants until you reached the line where the neatly mowed grass met the twisted ferns of the forest floor. As you had suspected, the ground was scorched with the evidence of past rituals. While your mother hadn’t out right admitted, you had figured someone had come and created a boundary line. It was obviously specific to Jungkook since Jimin and Taehyung were still able to visit. While your mother’s methods were extreme, you understood. As difficult as it was to move on with your life with Jungkook sequestered to the forest, you couldn’t imagine what it would’ve been like if he was within a few feet of you.

With a deep inhale, you sat down on the damp grass and waited. After a few minutes, you could hear the faint sounds of paws hitting the wet earth. The galloping got louder and louder until there was a momentary stretch of silence before it changed to footsteps.

When Jungkook emerged from the trees, you weren’t prepared. Although you knew you wouldn’t be, you still weren’t expecting it to hurt this bad. Your chest squeezed painfully at the first look of his broad form. Technically, it had been two weeks since you two had truly seen each other, the longest you’d ever gone. What hurt the most was how badly you longed for him. You wanted nothing more than to run straight into his arms, bury your face into his chest, and forget everything. Just forgive and give your heart what it wanted. But you remained firmly in place.

Jungkook looked as if he had seen a ghost. Which, to be fair, was probably true since you hadn’t seen the sun in seven days. His normally golden skin was pale and even from where you sat you could see the dark circles bruising under his eyes. Clearly, he hadn’t been sleeping. You hated that you noticed. You hated that you cared. He was dressed in all black and his chest strained against the material of his sweater. His hands were balled into tight fists at his side and the sight reminded you of why you were here.

“Hi.” Probably wasn’t the best start but it was the best you could do. Jungkook didn’t respond so you soldiered on. “I-I know you don’t want to be here, so I’ll make this quick. I just…wanted to apologize. I had no idea I made you so uncomfortable. I’m not sure how long you’ve felt this way about me, not that it really matters, but I wish you had told me sooner. Maybe things would’ve been easier for you, who knows.” You released a heavy sigh and tried to shove down the stone in your throat as you forced the next words out of your mouth. “But, all of that doesn’t matter anymore. I think I understand what you need, now. I know you loved me at one point, but I’m obviously not what you need anymore. And…t-that’s okay - I swear it is. All I want is for you to be happy, Jungkook. And I think, in order for that to happen, I need to move on. We both need to move on-”

“Stop it,” Jungkook broke in with a harsh voice that cut your sentence in half. “Stop talking.”

It felt like he had slapped you in the face. A wave of humiliation washed over you and you visibly flinched. Staggering to your feet, you locked your gaze onto your boots in an attempt to hide the tears that dripped down your nose. “I’m sorry,” you whispered, not expecting it to change anything. You began to turn away but Jungkook stopped you in your tracks, again.

“Wait, no - stop. Stop. Please…don’t go,” he pleaded. When you turned around, his eyes were frantic. Jungkook’s hand was raised from his side as if he thought about reaching out to you but something stopped him. His words were at war with one another and you were caught in the middle, at a loss for what he was trying so desperately to convey to you.

“Jungkook, I’m so confused.”

“I know. I’m sorry. God, I’m sorry.” Jungkook tucked his head into his hands before dropping down into a squat. “This is all wrong. This is all so wrong.”

You knew you should walk away. You had said your piece, it was time to move on, just as you had said. Yet, you couldn’t. It was as if your heart was tethered to him and your body couldn’t handle the pain of walking away. “Listen-”

“I don’t know what to do.” He cut you off but the bubbles of anger that had risen from being interrupted popped once you saw how lost he looked. His tattooed fingers threaded through his hair, allowing you to see the pure anguish that twisted his features. “Whenever I feel like this, I come to you. Because you always know what to do. Any situation, no matter what, you can handle it. It’s something I’ve always admired about you.”

The way he spoke to you now, so reverently and so full of awe, made your head spin. Nothing made sense. It was such a blatant contrast to the brutality that he had spat out a week ago. As much as you wanted to believe what he said now, those stupid words could not get out of your head. It was a constant reminder that never shut up.

“I don’t know what to do either,” you admitted in a quiet voice.

“Tell me,” Jungkook begged, as if he couldn’t and refused to comprehend what you had just told him. “Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it. Whatever you want from me, I’ll give you.”

You were shaking your head before he could finish. “There’s nothing you can do, Jungkook. Nothing.”

“Don’t say that.” He stared at you, horrified. “Don’t say that to me. Please, there has to be something.”

“What could there be?” You cried. Tears streamed down your cheeks now. “You said it yourself, being near me makes you sick. Why would I stay? Why would you want me to? I refuse to make you uncomfortable anymore - so that’s that.”

“It isn’t,” Jungkook argued back. “It can’t be. I-I can’t lose you, I can’t. I need to make this right, please just let me. Please.”

But, you were tired. You were so fucking tired. You were exhausted of the emotional rollercoaster that you were on that you just wanted to crawl away and hide. All the fight seeped out of you as your shoulders slumped forward. Jungkook saw this and the blood drained from his face. You were giving up, he could see it, and it scared the shit out of him.

“Jungkook, I need to go, okay? I-I can’t do this.”

“No!” Jungkook shouted and shot up to his feet. The pure panic that choked his voice brought on a fresh set of tears that you struggled to hold back. “Just let me explain, okay? I swear to God, after you hear what I have to say, if you still want me to, I’ll let you go. I won’t fight you on it. But, please let me tell you the truth. Give me a chance to make this right. You deserve that.”

You hesitated for a moment. Deep down, you knew you should let him talk. Not because you necessarily thought he deserved to, but because he was right. You did deserve the truth, no matter how much it broke your heart. With a heavy sigh and a quick swipe of your cheeks, you nodded. Once Jungkook was sure you weren’t going to leave, he began pacing. Looking every bit like the wild animal you knew him to be but never got to see.

“Mating with a werewolf is…brutal. It’s intense, it’s painful and it isn’t pretty. It’s essentially a breeding session where I use you as a vessel to fulfill my innate biological needs. It’s not romantic, it’s not gentle. Even for she-wolves it can be too much. The thought of subjecting you to something like that - that type of pain…I couldn’t fathom it. I don’t think you understand just how precious you are to me. The image of you being battered and bruised because of me, something I did…it tormented me, day and night.” He paused for a moment, the pained look in his eyes made you shiver. You hated that he had gone through all of this turmoil on his own, and you especially hated how you never made more of an effort to try and relieve him of it.

“I couldn’t do it. That’s partially the reason I waited so long to tell you that you were my true mate. I knew ruts were something I would never expose you to even though it’s such a huge part of my life, a wolf’s life.” Jungkook looked you straight in the eye, the intensity of his dark gaze took your breath away. “I know the practices other wolves partake in when their own heats or ruts arrive. I know you know them too. But, I need you to understand something. The moment you allowed me to be yours and vice versa, I haven’t had anyone else since. I swear on my life, I’ve spent every single one of my ruts alone. I wouldn’t and I won’t do that to you.”

“Isn’t that painful, though?” Your voice cracked but neither one of you acknowledged it. While your knowledge on ruts were expansive, having done plenty of research since being with Jungkook, you had obviously never experienced one.

“It’s manageable. It’s way more painful for a she-wolf to go through her heat alone than it is for a male.” Jungkook clenched and unclenched his fists as he resumed his pacing. “The worst part is being away from you. I’ve been going through ruts since puberty, I can handle them. But not being able to be with you for a whole week…I hated it. Still do. I dread that three month mark. And as time went on, I became more and more miserable. Being apart from you was almost unbearable but the other option…I never even allowed myself to consider it.

“It came to the point where the pack was noticing. I wasn’t getting the proper pheromonal release from my ruts and it was beginning to affect those around me. Taehyung has been on my ass for months now to get over myself and take you with me during my next rut. Each time I’d give him some excuse, but it was getting harder and harder to justify what I was doing. At first, I was convinced it was because I was protecting you. But you’ve been so understanding and so patient with me and my life, those excuses were becoming useless. Eventually, I think it was because I was protecting myself. I was - am - so scared. I’m terrified that I could hurt you when I’m like that. That I wouldn’t be able to notice or worse, ignored, if something happened to you. Living with that type of fear became debilitating. So, I just kept my mouth shut and kept you away from that part of me.”

Jungkook shook his head and chuckled humorlessly. “Now I know that was the worst possible thing I could do. That I was just hurting you more. What you walked into last Sunday was a culmination of my frustrations that I was refusing to deal with. While it’s not a valid reason, I’m well aware of that, I need you to know that what you heard was not the truth. It couldn’t be further from it. Because the truth is that I’m hopelessly in love with you and the thought of being without you hurts worse than I ever thought was possible.”

It wasn’t the first nor would it be the last time that Jungkook left you speechless. It took you a full minute to process what he had said. Jungkook granted you the silence although he became increasingly more agitated as time passed. His boots scuffed the dead leaves that littered the ground and his pacing led him closer to the ashes that lay before your feet. Then, he’d suddenly stalk off with a growl as he was forced to keep away.

“I-” you cleared your throat around the lump that had found a home there. “I had no idea. This whole time…I thought it was because you didn’t want me.”

“God, no.” Jungkook swore heavily as his muscles bunched and coiled beneath his clothes. “The - the fact that…you - fuck. I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. That’s not it, that’s not it at all. You’re my dream girl, you’re the love of my life, and I want you every second of every day.”

Maybe it’s because you were emotionally drained and had no mental strength left. Maybe, you needed to hear those words from Jungkook more than you realized. Whatever the reason was, it wasn’t worth trying to figure out an explanation as you sunk to the ground and burst into tears.

Jungkook lost it across from you. Broken whines stained the air as he carded through his hair anxiously. He kept trying to get to you, to try to soothe you. But the boundary was unfortunately doing its job and each attempt was met with failure. Curses were spat out until eventually, he got as close as the boundary would let him and fell to his knees. He began spewing whatever came to mind first, unsure of what to do. All he knew was that you were crying because of him and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He thought hearing you cry from your bedroom window was torture, but nothing could compare to hearing you break down in front of him. Nothing. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. I’m sorry…please, I’m so sorry. I - don’t cry, darling. Please don’t. I’m so sorry I hurt you, I didn’t mean to, I swear.”

It wasn’t tears of heartbreak that leaked from your eyes. Instead, it was tears of relief. While your heart had wholly accepted his words as the truth, the logical part of you reminded yourself that the two of you had way more talking to do. This was far from over, but the relief of knowing that he loved you and he was yours…it was indescribable.

You finally lifted your head up and were shocked to find Jungkook’s cheeks glistening with moisture. Your only thought was to comfort him as you scrambled forward to do just that. Instead of feeling his smooth skin against the palm of your hand, you were blocked by what felt like a wall although nothing stood in your way. Frowning, you realized with a start that the boundary worked both ways. Jungkook let out a frustrated growl as he glared at the ashes that was stopping both of you from getting what you wanted. It was silent for a few moments until an idea popped into your head.

“Wait here,” you announced before jumping up and taking off for the house. Ignoring Jungkook’s distressed cry, you ran inside. You yanked your car keys off from their designated hook and quickly typed out a text to your parents to let them know where you were going before spinning around and sprinting back outside. Jungkook was where you left him, although he stumbled to his feet when he saw you reappear.

“I’m going to your house,” you announced, breathless. “No witch is stupid enough to go that far into werewolf territory. If you want to talk to me there, then follow me.”

Jungkook stared at you for a heartbeat until the words you spoke clicked. “Y-yeah. Yes. Okay. I’ll be there.”

With a curt nod, you ran to your car. For the first time in a week, a faint sprout of hope bloomed in your chest.

It was the longest and shortest ten minutes of your life. The drive to Jungkook’s seemed to last a lifetime but also was over within a blink of an eye. The tears had stopped flowing by the time you pulled your car into his driveway, but you felt the telltale prick in your eyes when you saw him burst from the trees. Your heart ached as his long legs ate up the distance between you two as you wrestled with your seatbelt and threw the car into park. By the time you freed yourself, he was at the hood of your car.

The two of you stared at each other for a few breathless moments. You weren’t sure who moved first, but it didn’t matter as you crashed into each other’s arms. The moment his searing warmth enveloped you, you dissolved into another puddle of sobs. The feeling of his thick arms banded across your back, his torso molded to yours, and his hair tickling your ear, felt so right. Another wave of crippling relief washed over you and you practically melted against Jungkook. But he held you up, just like he always had.

He leaned against the front bumper while his hands were everywhere. Cradling your head into his neck, smoothing over your hips, or running circles over your shoulders. He was crying, you could feel the tears dampening your hair. But you were soaking his shirt so no one was in any position to complain.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered.

“Don’t,” Jungkook hissed fiercely as he squeezed you tighter. “Don’t apologize. This isn’t your fault, not in the slightest.”

“Kook,” you sighed and pulled your head back to get a good look at him. “It takes two to tango.”

“Not this time,” he argued. “You’ve put up with so much. You’re everything I could’ve asked for and more. It was my own fears that got in the way and created this mess. And I’m so sorry for that, darling. I’m so fucking sorry.”

You shushed him gently, running your thumbs over his cheeks to swipe at the dried tears. “I know you’re sorry. I believe you.”

Jungkook dipped his head further into your touch with a pleased rumble vibrating through his chest. He kissed your palm gently, sniffing at your wrist. It made you giggle. “Missed that,” Jungkook mumbled as he stared at you with stars in his eyes. “Missed you. Missed you so much.”

A fresh wave of tears cascaded down your cheeks. You were positive that you looked like a mess, hair in a knotted bun, face red and puffy and you kept sniffling every two seconds. But Jungkook looked at you as if you held the world in your hands. “Missed you too,” you murmured in return. “Please, next time, just talk to me. I may not have the answers you’re looking for all the time, but I’ll always be here to listen.”

“I know,” Jungkook whispered. “There won’t be a next time, promise. If I happen to be stupid enough to put us in this position again, I give you full permission to punch me in the face.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” You lifted yourself onto your toes to brush your lips against his, dropping back down to your feet when his head chased after yours. “Or maybe I just won’t kiss you for a week.”

Jungkook’s eyes widened comically and he actually looked terrified. “I’d rather you just punched me in the face.” You tilted your head back and laughed. Jungkook tugged you closer and nosed your throat before peppering gentle kisses along the exposed skin. Sighing happily, you tilted your head to allow him better access and rested your cheek on his shoulder.

“I love you,” you said quietly. Jungkook froze for a split second before he sank against you. Squeaking in shock, you scrambled to brace yourself against the sudden weight pressing you towards the house.

“Say it again,” Jungkook pleaded. You couldn’t deny him. Dusting feather light kisses to the shell of his ear, you repeated those three words again, and again, and again. Each time you did, Jungkook held you a little tighter and cried a little harder.

Eventually, you’re murmured promises became softer and softer until the two of you just enjoyed each others presence. “C’mon,” you finally whispered as you started to lift yourself off of him. Jungkook growled and refused to let you move an inch farther. “Kook, come on. Let’s go inside. Your ass must be numb by now.”

“Don’t care,” he grumbled but he at least shuffled forward a bit more so that your combined weight wasn’t squashing his ass against your car.

“You might say that now, but you won’t be saying that later.”

Jungkook grunted at your logic but he at least raised his head and looked at you with the sweetest eyes. “Please tell me you’re staying.”

Giggling, you asked, “do you want me to?”

“Obviously,” he scoffed. “I want you here forever.” Jungkook tilted his head thoughtfully. “Actually, you should just move in with me.”

Christ, this boy was going to give you whiplash. You couldn’t help but laugh. “Jungkook, we just made up. The whole reason we were in this mess is because of poor communication. Don’t you think we should work on that first before anything else?”

“But…we could work on communication all the time if we’re together 24/7.” Despite his pout, you knew he wasn’t totally serious. Although you were sure it was going to come up again.

“Alright, you maniac,” you said fondly. “Take me to bed.” Jungkook’s chest rumbled happily as he lifted you up and wrapped your legs around his trim waist.

It wasn’t a long walk to his bedroom, but the exhaustion of the past week caught up to you and the gentle rocking of his steps lulled you into a serene state. Not quite asleep, but not quite awake either. You were aware when Jungkook placed you on his bed, practically engulfed in his scent. The last thing you remember before falling asleep was the words Jungkook pressed into your hair has he slid in behind you.

“Love you forever, my darling girl.”

©jcwritings Do not repost, translate, or use my stories without my permission.

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astromaki · 3 years

Text

part 3 of second choice ; ceo!shoto todoroki x gn!reader (x ceo!katsuki bakugo) (1617 words)

part 1. part 2. (previous) part 4.

tw ; angst, arranged marriage, toxic relationship, degradation, divorce, mention of alcohol, bad language, slightly suggestive ?

EXTRA INFOS ;; all the characters are aged up obviously (they are 30 here), the point of view of this third part is from shoto todoroki !

confrontation. [7 : 16 pm]

a week has passed since he came home that night drunk. that he had begged momo to stay with him. that he had accidentally seen those divorce papers crumpled by your hands.

momo had seen them too that night, and yet she and shoto had not commented on them. good, he wasn't in the mood anyway.

it had become almost official, even the media had it on their front pages. "one of japan's richest couples on the verge of divorce?", "billionaire todoroki single again?" "y/n, will the heir.ess of their father's company return to being a lawyer?"

he would have liked to say that he cared what you thought about it. if you cried, screamed, were you hurt ? but that would be lying, you were the least of his worries.

and then, wasn't it what he wanted from the beginning ?

that you would end up hating him so much that you would leave him. that he could finally be free of the weight that you represented every day.

and yet his signature was still missing.

"you can't even love your partner properly, and now i hear through the media that a divorce is on the way ? you're pathetic son. i knew i should have married them to touya. " enji's heart-attack voice echoed terribly through the phone, which made shoto sigh. he was even pretty sure he could hear it from across town.

"calm down." shoto said in an annoyed tone. "your marriage isn't a success either, so keep your remarks to yourself. bye. "

"you idiot, don't you dare hanging up on me. i don't care if you can't satisfy your s/o, i don't care if they feel bad about this arranged marriage either. but y/n y/l/n comes from a very famous lawyer's family, so get a divorce and the amount of money you have to give will be huge. "

"i manage them, it will not be a problem. i have to go now. "

the young man finally returned to your room, looking exhausted, his tie loosened and ready to down a few glasses of whiskey.

however, he was surprised to see you. dressed in a beautiful versace dress/suit, you were glowing. well no, he meant that you looked... good.

though, it was the first time he took the time to look at you. to admire you.

the young man finally met your indifferent gaze through the mirror you were standing in front of. that gaze that was so joyful and sparkling at the beginning of your marriage, full of hope to transform this purely financial union into a love marriage.

but that look, devoid of emotion, almost made shoto, Japan's most ambitious ceo, doubt himself. almost.

"i'm surprised you're still using my card to splurge. how much is this one? $1000 ? $2000 ?"

he was tired, exhausted. nut the truth is he was in the mood to be a pain in the ass tonight.

"$ 8,330. plus the $800 pair. " you replied coldly.

your answer was like a slap in the face to your husband. not because of the price, he didn't give a fuck about this.

but this tone right there. it wasn't like you. you were normally so gentle, patient even with the worst of the crap he put you through. that naive kindness that made him want to vomit was completely gone. he didn't expect such a turn of events.

"so you decide to divorce me, but first you want to empty my bank account? you're exactly as I imagined." his look that used to reflect nothing but fatigue was now full of contempt for you.

you finally faced him. shit, he couldn't help but find you beautiful.

"here todoroki, let's talk about the divorce. " you began, quietly walking over to the cabinet and pulling out a stack of documents. "i've signed it, sign it, and i'll take it to my lawyers first thing in the morning.

he snatched them out of your hand and threw them across the room. you didn't even flinch, you even held his gaze. poker face.

a loud silence fell between you. a long silence, uncomfortable and comfortable at the same time. heavy and light. sensible and meaningless.

"what's all this about ? who put you up to this ?"

a wry laugh escaped your lips. your new behavior puzzled shoto. he loved and hated what he had in front of him. a challenge.

"you think i need someone to make me realize that i deserve better than an asshole like you ? fuck, let me laugh. "

your hand went to retrieve a piece of paper from your purse. and it was slammed hard against his chest. bakugou’s business card.

he found your face inches from his, your warm breath gently caressing his cheeks. a scent of whiskey filled his nostrils. you were not sober.

"how many drinks are you on? " he asked quietly.

"so now do you care if i downed a whole bottle or not ? oh please shut up. because now that you mention it, your friend bakugou katsuki may have hired me. to be his company's business lawyer. isn't that funny? "

you turned your back on him, unaware of the state you'd put him in. but damn, it was like he'd just been slapped in the face. nausea took over his whole body, his legs became heavy and weak in few seconds only. and he knew damn well it wasn't fatigue.

so you were leaving him, but on top of that you were going to work for his number one competitor ?

he didn't know what hurt more, the knowledge that bakugo had won one of the most competent lawyers in the field or that you were leaving him for him ? was he jealous ? surely not, it was another feeling that repulsed him. he didn't even know.

"have you lost your tongue todoroki ?"

todoroki ? since when did you call him by his last name ? where are the darlings or my heart that used to annoy him so much ?

you finish getting ready, now wearing your long jacket. he had lost his tongue indeed, he didn't know what to say to you. what to do.

y/n y/l/n, you had succeeded in putting your husband to the wall.

but it was only for a moment. he quickly, too quickly, pulled himself together. his usual irritated expression returned.

"you don't see that he's using you to get ahead of me ? i thought you were smarter than that. "

he took a step forward, slowly but surely. like a predator approaching its prey.

"he doesn't care about you. just like no one has ever cared about you, not me, not him and not your bourgeois family. that's why they put you in a loveless marriage so easily. "

a mirthless laugh escaped from his lips.

"y/n, this bastard doesn't give a damn about you. "

you tried to move towards him, ready to slap him, but the alcohol made you capsize and stumble on your carpet. he arrived just in time to support you with his muscular arms. an annoyed sigh resounded in the large room when your sob reached his ears.

nevertheless, a petty smile stretched his lips. there you were again, the fragile and unassertive y/n finally in his arms.

that bakugo had managed to turn your brain inside out. yet shoto knew you better than anyone else. he knew you. better than you knew yourself. you were that puzzle he had managed to decipher long ago.

"that's not true. kacchan wouldn't do that...", you whisper.

"you know i'm right, sweetheart. you know i'm the only one who's honest with you. my love for you is all you need. "

his muscular hand gradually, peacefully, came to caress your back to take off the buttons of your dress. his lips came to meet yours, to draw you into a long, languid, unsentimental kiss. your lips asked for more, your whole soul asked for more of shoto. more of this man for whom your heart never stopped beating. even if his was vibrating for another woman.

you wanted to feel his lips making love to you sensually, sincerely.

you just wanted him to love you for one night. one fucking night.

shoto was ecstatic. he could already see himself opening a bottle of champagne with his father, to celebrate the divorce that would never happen. tonight, shoto had brought out his best acting skills. millions were at stake. he had brought out his best kiss. he had never touched you like that. so gently, so carefully.

he had never called you by any affectionate nickname.

he has done too much to keep you around.

and you were drunk, not stupid.

you finally stood up, moving away from him, reluctantly. nothing he said was true. from his love for you, to his accusations against katsuki.

awkwardly, you put your dress/suit back on properly.

"i have a meeting with my future employer mr. bakugou tonight. i'll be late. don't wait for me, i'll sleep at the hotel tonight, with your card. "

a red color came to his cheeks. anger ? sadness ? jealousy ?

he had never seen you so determined, so proud. and that attracted him. he was going to lose millions, no matter what. but it was you who was going to escape him. for that bastard bakugou katsuki.

the nice little y/n was no longer shoto todoroki's.

AHHH omg sorry sorry i told you i can't do a fluffy end!! >< (comments and reblogs are appreciated <3)

🔖 tag list ; @nveusii @angelofthorr @missmolliemoo @jazzylove @loki-an-idiot @deepestranchgoopdeputy @mhasimp666 @shotorozu @chscklvr @devilsbooksworld @marshmallow12345 (ones in bold cannot be tagged)

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lost-in-the-80s · 3 years

Text

The Wedding

Pairing: Izzy Stradlin x fem!reader

Words: 2.321k

Summary: Your brother's wedding has arrived, without having a boyfriend, you invite Izzy, your best friend, to be your date. (smut)

A/N: When I started listening to gnr, it didn’t take much time before Izzy got a place in my heart, so this is for his birthday

Song rec for the fic: Woman by John Lennon

Sitting on an airplane for over an hour now, Izzy observed your asleep figure beside him, your head laying on his shoulder, like you had done so many times before, unaware of the warmth it caused on the brunette’s heart.

He questioned himself for a thousandth time that week. Why in the hell did I agree with this?

The idea didn’t sound like a big deal at first, accompanying you to your brother’s wedding wouldn’t cause any harm. But as the days started to go by, his mind traced every aspect of a wedding, the music, the romantic atmosphere, the dancing, and he soon started to regret having said yes so easily.

The truth is that Izzy has always loved you, ever since the day the two of you met. It all happened so naturally that he didn’t notice he was in love until you went on a date with another guy.

At first, he loved your voice, he’d call you just to hear you talking for hours about the most random things. Then it was your eyes, he found himself entranced by their color, the way they rolled when you got annoyed, and how they seemed to invade his deepest thoughts and memories every time you looked at his eyes.

The last thing was your attitude, your bluntness and forward behavior shocking him sometimes, and being his main entertainment in others. He found a true interest in watching you, it didn’t matter what you were doing, you would always be in his sight.

And even though years passed, that feeling seemed to just grow more and more, and every time he saw you going out with another guy, his heart broke into smaller and smaller pieces.

Little did he know the reason behind your maneater habits.

The truth is that, just like him, you had fallen for him since day one, you loved his nonchalant attitude and his style, the shape of his hands and fingers, and how dry his voice was after his third cigarette.

Just like him, you would secretly observe him, the two of you being too good on your game to ever get caught by each other.

But you didn’t want to risk your friendship over admitting your feelings, especially when you didn’t know if Izzy felt the same way. So you went on multiple dates, meeting guys with the most different appearances and personalities, all in hopes that one day, you’d meet someone capable of making you stop thinking about the guy from Indiana. That, obviously, never happened.

A little turbulence on the plane woke you up, you immediately looked up, meeting his brownish eyes.

“It’s just turbulence. Go back to sleep.”

You nodded slowly, before laying your head on his shoulder again, inhaling his scent of cigarettes and cologne and immediately feeling your body calm down.

---

You looked at yourself in the mirror of the hotel room, rolling your eyes at Niki's choice of color and design for the bridesmaids' dresses.

A soft knock on the door caught your attention and there stood him, a black blazer matching his black jeans.

He looked you up and down.

"You're gonna steal the bride's attention like that."

"It's grey, the most boring color ever! I wouldn't steal her attention, even if I wanted to."

He chuckled softly.

Well, you stole my attention. He thought to himself.

Picking up your purse and gift you exited the room, locking your arm with his for support, as you got on the elevator and then walked towards the hotel's saloon.

---

During the entire ceremony, Izzy found his attention caught by you, the way you stood out amongst the other bridesmaids and how impatient you seemed to grow with how long the ceremony was taking.

Your grey dress looked like pure silver, reflecting the lights. You looked so beautiful that he wished he had brought a camera to take a picture of you.

Your eyes caught his for once, and you blinked in his direction, smiling when you saw his lips turn into a small smile.

After what felt like forever the ceremony ended and he found himself sitting at a table with “Y/N and boyfriend” written down on a card.

“I think someone gave them the wrong info.” He showed you the card when you plopped down on the chair beside him.

You rolled your eyes. “Classic coming from my family.”

You lifted the tablecloth, making him look down to see what was happening.

“These heels are killing me.” You complained, removing your silver sandals and quickly massaging your feet.

“I bet they are.” He took two champagne glasses from a waiter passing by.

He knew you weren’t used to heels. Being almost his height, you never felt the need to wear them that often.

“Thanks.” You took your glass towards your nude lips.

“How much did you pay for that gift?” He pointed towards the biggest package on a pile, knowing it was yours.

“300 bucks.”

His eyes widened for a second.

You didn’t wait for him to say anything, knowing exactly what was crossing his mind.

“He’s my only brother. I might not like Niki that much, but he’s happy with her, and I’m happy for that.”

“Fair enough.” He drank from his champagne again. "Those ice statutes are quite tempting for a man who wants to take a piss,"

He chuckled to himself, but soon realized that your attention was focused on the main door.

“See that girl over there?” You pointed at the door.

“What’s with her?”

“That’s Braeden,” the name made him realize she was your sister. “She’s the only woman taller than me here….”

He looked back at you, and so you lowered your voice, keeping eye contact with him.

“When the bouquet time comes, you’re gonna block her.” You gestured aggressively with your hands, making a smile start to form on his lips.

“Why?”

“There’s no way my younger sister is gonna get married before me.”

He chuckled. “I didn’t know you aspired to marriage Y/N.”

Your eyes softened with his sentence and a small pain formed in your heart. If only he knew what crossed your mind when you looked at him during the ceremony.

---

The night seemed to go by faster than he expected and soon he found himself at the drinks table, observing as you talked to some relatives of yours on the other side of the saloon.

You sensed his eyes and looked towards him, giving him a look that said “Help me.”

He chuckled softly, but before he could do anything a woman’s voice caught his attention.

“You must be Izzy.”

He looked to his side, seeing a woman that looked just like Joey, your brother.

“Yes, and you are….” He extended his hand for her to shake.

“I’m Martha, Y/N’s mother.”

“Pleasure to meet you.”

“I didn’t know the two of you were dating.”

He choked on his drink.

“We aren’t, we’re just friends.” He looked down for a second.

She nodded slowly, before locking her eyes on your side.

“I know my daughter very well,"

Her voice made him look back at her.

“She has had many boyfriends in her life, but I’ve never seen her look at them in the way she looks at you.”

He opened his mouth, but your presence made him stop.

“Hey, mom!” You smiled, kissing her cheek.

“Hello, darling.” She touched your hair, adjusting some locks. “I promised I'd dance this one with your father.”

You nodded in understanding as she smiled before walking away.

“So… wanna dance with me?” You nudged him from the side, before taking a sip from his drink.

“With this song?” He asked, taking notice that Woman by John Lennon was playing.

“Why not?” You shrugged.

“Okay.” He placed his now empty glass on the table before taking your hand and guiding you towards the other people there dancing.

One of his hands held you delicately by your waist as you slowly swung to the song. Your eyes locked on each other as the other people around you seemed to disappear.

Your mother’s words mixed with the lyrics hitting his head like bells as he finally noticed the glow that formed in your eyes as you looked at him, making his heart race faster than ever.

You just realized another song was playing when someone bumped into you, making a disco song hit your ears.

You both looked so distracted and for a second you thought you’d sit down for the rest of the night, not being able to feel his cold fingers brush on your skin through your dress.

But those thoughts washed away when he let go of your waist just to grab both of your hands and guide you throughout the song, just like he did for the rest of the night.

That was the happiest night you have had in your life, and when your hotel room number became noticeable at the end of the corridor, you wished you could turn back time and do it all again.

“Happy with your bouquet?”

“More than happy.” You giggled, smelling the flowers one more time.

It was comic the way Izzy put himself in front of your sister, pretending not to be aware of what was happening.

“Thanks for that.”

“If that makes you happy, I can do that at the next weddings too.”

Next weddings. The thought made butterflies erupt in your stomach.

“So…” he started, stopping in front of your room as you opened the door.

“So…”

“Tonight was fun.”

“Yes, it really was!” You said looking down. “Thanks for coming with me, Iz.” You leaned towards him, kissing his cheek gently.

“Anytime.” He replied so lowly that you weren’t sure if he had actually said that.

You entered your room and closed the door, resting your forehead against it as you sighed.

Rushed knocks against the wood made you regain your posture and quickly open the door.

Izzy looked deep inside your eyes, his brown orbs saying everything his mouth wanted to.

Not a second after that and you wrapped your arms around his neck, your lips colliding against his.

No kiss ever had felt like that. It was warm like fire and exciting, you felt your heart start racing faster and your mind went numb.

He wrapped his arms around your waist, bringing you as close as he could while entering your room and kicking the door shut behind him.

Soon you found yourself in your bed, your legs wrapped around his hips as your tongues fought for dominance, making small moans and grunts leave your mouths. One of his hands started traveling underneath your dress's fabric, exploring every inch of your legs, making you shiver with his cold fingers.

Your lips found his neck, kissing and biting at his flesh with desire, delighted by his irregular breathing and the small moans he tried to hold.

A certain hardness was pressed against your core among what seemed like a thousand layers of clothing. The sensation making you wet as you bit harsher on his neck, loving the smirk that formed on his lips.

He pushed himself off of you, standing up and ripping his shirt open, the sound of buttons hitting the floor filling the room.

“I need your help with the dress.”

You sat on the bed, your back facing him as he found the zipper, opening it quickly while he applied wet kisses on the extension of your back, biting your flesh just like you had done with him, making a small moan leave your lips.

“So beautiful.” He whispered against your ear, making another shiver possess your body.

You stripped off of the dress as you watched him undo his pants and remove his underwear with it.

He made his way back to the bed, his calloused fingers removed your blue lace panties slowly and delicately. One of his fingers traveled in between your folds, his eyes closing for a second when he noticed your wetness for him.

Izzy cupped your face with one of his hands, kissing you tenderly before asking.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

You felt the tip of his member entering you, making you close your eyes, focusing on the sensation it caused. You felt him slowly expanding your walls until it was all the way in, making a soft and small moan leave your lips.

Izzy looked at you for confirmation and after seeing you nod, he started moving.

In the beginning, it was slow and passionate, he made it the most intimate he could, touching every inch of your skin, whispering sweet nothings on your ear, as you traced his back and arms with the tip of your fingers, allowing your nails to softly touch his skin.

After some minutes, sweat started to form on both your bodies, your moans coming out in unison filled the room as you felt your walls start to clench around him.

That’s when he sped up his pace, the tip of his member now hitting your g-spot with no mercy, he massaged one of your breasts with his hand, while the other rested on the bed for support.

“Izzy,” His name left your lips in a loud moan and you saw a proud expression consume his features.

“I know, princess, I know.”

You closed your eyes and moaned again, feeling as you and he both came at the same time. A groan leaving his throat matching your whimpers as you felt a wave of pure pleasure wash over your body. Your legs started to shake and you scratched his back, while he bit harsh enough to leave a mark on your neck.

Both sweating and trying to gain your breath again, you laid in bed, your head resting on his chest as he softly caressed your body.

“Izzy?”

“Hum?”

“This is not a one-time thing, right?”

“No, Y/N, it is not.”

Thanks for reading <3

Tag list: @born-to-lose @slashscowboyboots @ginny-rose-sixx @dynamitebabe @tuffduff @almosthonest @gamsbeans @stars-kiss-the-sky @gnrfandom-music3 @ladieswttda @teasid @littlemisscare-all @rumoured-whispers @1800endmeplease @izzys-nose-ring @motley-cruer @angxlxc @oihanasstuff @apovanity87 @julessworldd @anaavibes @mudkicker @dazeduchess @izzysjujuhounds @claire-xox @makemeyourwife-loveofmylife @pinkpatiencecreepers @polka-dot-duff @stradlin-cold-heartbreaker @nathaniel-hornblower @alcoholandarson @stevenizzynslashsbabe @gabyisaclassicrocker

add yourself to my tag list :)

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nim-lock · 3 years

Text

Art Career Tips, 2021 Edition

Here’s an edited version of my 2019 answered ask, because... this feels relevant.

It is a problem of capitalism that folks equate their income as a judgement of their value as people; and let me preface. You are worth so much. You have inherent value in this world. Your income is not a judgement on who you are (plenty of billionaires are actively making the world worse). LARPing self-confidence will go a long way to helping you get paid more for your work, because clients will believe that you know what you are doing, and are a professional.

& real quick—my own background is that I’ve been living off my art since 2018. I went to art school (Pratt Institute). I work in a publishing/educational materials sphere, and a quarter of my income is my shop. Not all of this information may apply to you, so it is up to you to look through everything with a critical eye, and spot pick what is relevant.

So there are multiple ways of getting income as an artist;

Working freelance or full-time on projects

Selling your stuff on a shop

Licensing (charging other companies to use your designs)

This post primarily covers the freelance part; if you’re interested in the other bits there is absolutely info out there on the internet.

IF you are just starting (skip to next section if not applicable) dream big, draw often (practice helps you get better/more efficient), do your best to take "a bad piece” lightly. You’re gonna RNG this shit. At some point your rate of “good” works will get higher. Watch tutorial videos & read books. A base understanding of “the rules”; anatomy, perspective, composition, color helps you know what the rules are to break them. This adds sophistication to your work. One way you can learn this stuff is by doing “studies”—you’re picking apart things from life, or things other people have done, to see what works, and how it works.

Trying to turn your interests into a viable career means that you are now a SMALL BUSINESS; it really helps to learn some basic marketing, graphic design, figure out how to write polite customer service emails; etc. You can learn some of this by looking it up, or taking skillshare (not sponsored) classes by qualified folks. Eventually some people may get agents to take care of this for them—however, I do recommend y’all get a basic understanding of what it takes to do it on your own, just so you can know if your agent is doing a good job.

Making sure your portfolio fits the work you want to get

Here is a beginner portfolio post.

Research the field you’d like to get into. The amount people work, the time commitment, the process of making the thing, the companies & people who work for them.

Create work that could fit in to the industry you’re breaking into. For example, if you want to do book cover illustration, you draw a bunch of mockup book covers, that can either be stuff you make up, or redesigns of existing books. If you’re not 100% sure what sort of work is needed for the industry, loop back into the portfolios of artists in a similar line of work as whatever you’re interested in, and analyze the things they have in common. If something looks to be a common project (like a sequence of action images for storyboard artists), then it’s probably something useful for the job.

CLIENTS HIRE BASED ON HOW WELL THEY THINK YOUR WORK FITS WHAT THEY WANT. If they’re hiring for picture books, they’re gonna want to see picture book art in your portfolio, otherwise they may not want to risk hiring you. Doesn’t have to be 100% the project, but stuff similar enough. If you aren’t hired, it doesn’t mean your work is bad, it just wasn’t the right fit for that specific client.

If you have many interests, make a different section of your portfolio for each!

Making sure you’re relevant

Have a social media that’s a little more public-facing, and follow people in the career field you’re interested in. Fellow artists, art directors, editors, social media managers; whoever. Post on your own schedule.

Interact with their posts every so often, in a non-creepy way.

If you’ve made any contacts, great! Email these artists, art directors, editors, former professors, etc occasional updates on your work to stay in touch AND make sure that they think about you every so often.

Show up to general art events every once in a while! If you keep showing up to ones in your area (when... not dying from a sneeze is a thing), folks will eventually start to remember you.

Industry events & conferences can be pricey, so attend/save up for what makes sense for you. Industry meetups are important for networking in person! In addition to meeting people with hiring power, you also connect with your peers in the community. Always bring a portfolio & hand out business cards like candy.

Active job hunting

Apply to job postings online.

If interested in working with specific people at specific companies, you could send an email “I’d love to work with you, here’s my portfolio/relevant experience”, even if they aren’t actively looking for new hires. Be concise, and include a link to your work AND attached images so the person reading the email can get a quick preview before clicking for more.

Twitter job postings can be pretty underpaid! Get a copy of the Graphic Artists’ Guild Handbook Pricing & Ethical Guidelines to know your rate. I once had a twitter post job listing email me back saying that other illustrators were charging less, and I quote, “primarily because they’re less experienced and looking for their first commission”. This was not okay! For reference, this was a 64-illustration book. The industry rate of a children’s book (~36 pages) is $10k+, and this company’s budget was apparently $1k. For all of it.

Congrats you got a job! Now what?

Ask for like, 10% more than they initially offer and see if they say yes. If they do, great! If not, and the price is still OK, great! Often company budgets are slightly higher than they first tell you, and if you get this extra secret money, all the better for you.

Make sure you sign a contract and the terms aren’t terrible (re: GO GET THE Graphic Artists’ Guild Handbook Pricing & Ethical Guidelines)

Be pleasant and easy to work with (Think ‘do no harm but take no shit’)

Communicate with them as much as needed! If something’s going to be late, tell them as soon as you know so they aren’t left wondering or worse, reaching out to ask what’s up.

And if all goes well, they’ll contact you about more jobs down the line, or refer you to other folks who may need an artist, etc.

Quick note about online shops/licensing and why they’re so good

It’s work that you do once, that you continuously make money off of. Different products do well in different situations (conventions vs. online, and then further, based on how you market/the specific groups you are marketing to), so products that may not do well initially may get a surge later on.

Start with things that have low minimum order quantity and are relatively cheap to produce, like prints and stickers.

If you are not breaking even, go back to some of the earlier portions of this and think about how you could tweak things as a small business. Ease of access is also very important with this; for example, if you only take orders through direct messages, that immediately shuts off all customers who don’t like talking to strangers.

Quick resource that you could look through; it’s the spreadsheet of project organizing that I made a while back

Licensing is when people pay you for the right to use your work on stuff they need to make, like textbooks or greeting cards. This is generally work you’ve already made that they are paying the right to use for a specified time or limited run of products. This is great because you’ve already done the work. I am not the expert on this. Go find someone else’s info.

“I am not physically capable of working much”/ “I need to pay the bills”

Guess who got a hand injury Sept 2020 that messed me up that entire month! I had a couple jobs going at the time that I was terrified of losing, but they were quite understanding when I told them I needed to heal. So: Express your needs as early as you know you need them. Also do lots of stretches and rest your hands whenever you feel anything off; this will save your health later. Like, the potential of a couple months of no income was preferable over losing use of my hands for the rest of my life.

This continues to apply if you have any other life situation. Ask for extra time. Ask for clarification. If you tell people ahead of time, folks are often quite understanding. Know how much you are capable of working and do your best not to overdo it. (I am.. bad at this)

Do what MAKES SENSE for your situation. If doing art currently earns you less money than organizing spreadsheets, then do that for now, and whenever you have the energy, break down some of the tips above into actionable tiny chunks, and slowly work at em.

The original ask I got in 2019 mentioned ‘knowing you’re not good enough yet’. Most artists experience imposter syndrome & self-doubt—the important thing is to do your best, and if anything, attempt to channel the confidence of a mediocre white man. If he can apply to this job/charge hella money for Not Much, then so can you!

Check out this Art Director tumblr for more advice!

Danichuatico’s Literary Agent guide

Kikidoodle’s Shop Shipping Tutorial

Best of luck!

–

Once again disclaimer this post is just the ramblings of a man procrastinating on other things that need to be done. I’ve Long Posted my own post so that it turns into mush in my brain if I try to read it, but I wrote this so I should know this content. If you got down here, congrats. Here’s a shrimp drawing.

Yee Ha.

My reference post tag My tip jar

#reference #artist information #UHHHHH I don't know man

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jaekaicx · 3 years

Text

so ive had this idea for an amphibia fangame for a lil while now-

(LONG post)

its based around the idea that sometime after anne got sent back to earth, she decides to sneak out one night to visit sasha and marcys bedrooms and poke through their stuff. this causes a bunch of memories to come back to anne through flashbacks while she tries to process everything thats happened and her feelings abt their friendship.

i was thinking itd be mostly a visual novel type thing. maybe with a few small choices, but the story would be mostly linear. thered be around 3 main story beats: a prologue bit w/ anne sneaking out of her house, marcys bedroom, and sashas bedroom. also one of the main mechanics would be looking at one of their bedrooms and clicking on random objects of importance and triggering a flashback sequence.

it came from the idea that anne will probably try to just shove all her emotions down and try to ignore her feelings abt true colors and everything that went down then. especially with what we saw in the sneak peek, anne will probably try to hide her emotions and bottle them up, which is obviously not healthy. so eventually shes gonna have to work through her emptional baggage and try to process everything.

i havent thought through EVERYTHING just yet, just some more major plot points and maybe one or two ideas for flashbacks. nothing too solid yet. but heres a bit more detailed runthrough of the plot

summary - prologue

so it would start off with anne at home. she and her mom are talking outside annes room. her moms concerned abt how annes been handling everything that happened in amphibia but anne keeps brushing everything off. her mom tries to get her to open up, but she keeps dismissing her and eventually shuts herself in her room. after taking a bit to cool off and think anne decides that shes gonna take the night to just ride off her emotions and stop repressing them for once. she also makes an impulsive decision to sneak out and check out marcy and sashas rooms.

anne goes to gather her stuff in her room, and just as shes about to climb out the window, sprig walks in to check on her. hes still rly concerned abt his big sis but he knows he cant stop her. he tries to go with anne, but she tells him she needs to do this on her own. so, sprig lets her go and tries to cover for her while shes gone.

so at this point i’ll probably give the player the choice of whose house to visit first. it doesnt rly impact the story or whatever, but i guess it might have a small emotional impact depending on whose house u choose to go to first??

(quick note: after this bit, there arent too many specific details for the plot and stuff like that. its largely just an overall idea of how the plot is gonna go. and even then, there isnt much to it. i didnt think that far ahead yet, which is why there isnt as much refinement yet. so far i just have general ideas for how annes gonna get to the bedrooms, with a couple of vague flashback ideas. just keep that in mind; this whole thing is still being thought over and planned as im typing this out)

summary - sasha

with sasha, annes still rly conflicted abt how she feels abt her. of course shes still rly hurt by being backstabbed by her twice and swordfighting her as many times. but as much as she hates sasha she cant bring herself to fully give up on sash. she hates her guts but deep down shes still willing to give sash another chance.

there may or may not be a small sequence where anne has to sneak into sashas house, but eventually she works her way into sashas room. im not entirely sure abt the details of sashas house n her family yet. im probably gonna wait for info from s3 until i solidify anything, but for now i do know that sashas family has a big house n theyre probably rich.

so anne goes into sashas room and its been left pretty much untouched ever since annes birthday, save for the few times someone came in to dust things off. again, dont rly have all the details for sashas room, but it kind of has a vibe of controlled chaos, with organized clutter and a bit of a touch of a rebellious teen girl. one detail i do want to have is a calendar opened up to the month the trio disappeared, with annes birthday circled and highlighted so much that its impossible to miss.

the calendar itself might include a flashback. im thinking of also having a varsity jacket and some old stuffed animal be different “artifacts” that trigger their own memories. there’ll be a bunch more, but those are the only ideas i have so far fjsbndnd

summary - marcy

ok so i want to be rly mean about marcys segment: this is going off the theory that marcys parents moved away while the trio was in amphibia.

anne doesnt know this yet tho, so shes in for quite a surprise when she turns onto marcys street to find a realtor sign on the front lawn. the clues are all there: an empty driveway, sign on the lawn, an overall empty vibe coming from the house. but it doesnt completely register at first. its not til anne actually comes up close does she notice the sign.

anne tries to deny it, and decides to prove to herself that “no marcys parents wouldnt do this. theyre not that cruel. im just gonna check marcys room myself.” the front doors locked, so she just goes over to marcys window and climbs in.

but its completely empty.

ok not totally empty, but a lot of marcys furniture and stuff is gone, except for a few stray toys and other “junk.” the home guys (idk what theyre called????) are still kind of in the process of cleaning everything out, so theres still some stuff left here and there around the house. but its still way too empty. and its yet another gut punch for anne.

anne searches the rest of the house a bit more, hoping that shes just hallucinating. but no, marcys parents are really gone. she tried to deny it before, but now she has more of an idea of how shitty the wu parents are. so anne decides to just mope around in marcys old room, checking out the stuff their parents left behind.

maybe she finds an old blanket marcy liked when he was rly young. or an old rubiks cube from marcys vast collection. a cnc figurine, some cards, a pride flag, and old diary? a couple of other old toys, an old report card or two, or maybe even some stray clothes. whatever anne finds, its all thats left of marcy, at least in LA.

it really doesnt leave anne in that much of a better emotional position. she already felt conflicted enough about what happened in true colors and what she found out abt marcy. but seeing even a small glimpse of what marcy was dealing with, it just makes her more confused. marcy was such a sweet kid! theres no way they couldve done anything wrong. yet here anne was, betrayed by both of her childhood friends.

only now is anne really taking the time to process the fact that marcy essentially kidnapped her and sasha with the calamity box. he didnt mean to do it, and theres no way they couldve known the box would actually work, but it doesnt completely excuse marcy. his actions still hurt anne and sash, and while they meant the best of intentions, it didnt rly come through that way.

and now marcy was dead. stabbed in the back by the newt king.

and now annes curled up in an empty bedroom, wrapped up in one of marcys old blankets, trying to wrap her head around her feelings about marcy while reminiscing in the past.

summary - extras/epilogue??

i kind of like the idea that anne ends up drifting off in which ever bedroom ended up being the second one she visited. she slowly comes back to consciousness, with her surroundings feeling somewhat familiar, only to wake up in horror bc “OH SHIT I FORGOT TO GO BACK HOME” im not completely sold on the idea tho bc it feels a bit abrupt and like too much of a tone shift?? idk it doesnt feel exactly right

but anyways, im also playing around with the idea of a small epilogue scene with the calamity trio hanging out in annes room, a good amount of time after amphibia ended. dont know what theyre doing in there, but theyre just chilling and feeling a bit nostalgic i guess.

but uh yeah thats pretty much what ive got for the overall idea. it doesnt feel too out of reach, but somethjng like this would definitely be ambitious. i could mayyyybe handle writing out the vn and drawing the character sprites, but i have no idea how to code a vn or draw detailed backgrounds, both of which would be pretty important to this fangame fjsndj. so i might consider having help with this.

THIS ISNT ANY SORT OF PROMISE OR WHATEVER. id rly love to follow through and make this fangame a thing, but im not making any guarantees. i have no idea if i’ll actually follow through, but i would definitely love to.

who knows. maybe in like a couple years this might actually become a thing. but for now i have no idea

36 notes · View notes

yeenybeanies · 3 years

Text

INTRO: Clayton Hess

just some quick info to clear things up: this is a world wherein humans & human-sized things exist, but also centaurs exist, & centaurs are huge. this is normal. well... semi-normal. humans and giantfolk don't tend to interact much. but!! this is my first piece with my big centaur boy clay posting here as promised! one day late smh you can find this piece and others on my patreon!

OCS | clayton hess

5,671 words

no warnings

thanks for reading!

Before the sun had even risen, there was much activity on the floor of the towering megaforest. People scrambled about at the mouth of the path leading further in, calling out to each other, distributing supplies, reigning in their horses, calming their dogs. Everyone moved with an urgent, anxious energy.

“O’Rourke! All teams are ready to depart.”

The old man, O’Rourke, lifted his eyes first to the horizon, and then to the one addressing him. His fluffy, grey eyebrows stayed fixed, knitted in a stern, stony frown. “Good. Stay ready, ladies and gentlemen. As soon as that sun rises, we’re going in.”

“You said that we had one more joining us?” The same person, a woman named Sanouk, looked to the teams of people assembled around her. “Who are they going with?”

“Yeah, he said he’d be here.” O’Rourke continued to watch the sky, noting the changing colors. The pinks and purples were gradually bleeding into oranges and yellows. Dawn was almost over. “Don’t worry about placing him. He’s gonna be going on his own.”

Sanouk eyed him skeptically. “Why? We already have one missing girl to find in this megaforest; we don’t need to lose anyone else. He could go with Team Fou––. . ..” Her words trailed off, her attention suddenly occupied with something else. First she felt it in the ground: a low rumbling, almost like a faint earthquake; then she heard it as a steadily-growing thunder.

O’Rourke shook his head and waved off her concerns. “I don’t think he’ll be getting lost. He knows these woods like the back of his hand.”

“But––but that’s–-” Sanouk tried to speak, but her rising concern over the thundering and the quaking kept cutting her off. O’Rourke could see the worry on her face, and on the faces of everyone else present, but he chose not to address it. All questions would be answered momentarily.

The disturbance sounded like a landslide. It had not only the people nervous, but the dogs and horses as well. A few high-strung beasts reared up and hollered their concern, while others fidgeted anxiously. The noise crescendoed, then abruptly quieted to a slower, rhythmic thumping. Concern in the gathering turned to confusion. Still, O’Rourke looked unbothered.

All attention snapped to a rustling in the dense foliage lining the path’s mouth. Alarmed gasps and yelps rang out as the source of the disturbance––the rustling, the rumbling, the quaking––pushed his way through the trees and stepped into view. Dogs barked, horses whinnied, and a good many people retreated several feet away from the newcomer.

The two most notable things about this newcomer were his enormous size, and his four very equine legs––and equine body from the waist down. He was a centaur. From under the wide brim of his hat, he surveyed the crowd, noting the fear in many a human and beast.

“Mr. Hess!” O’Rourke removed his hat and waved it, drawing the newcomer’s attention. “Good morning! Glad you could join us.” The old man strode forward, through the still nervous crowd.

“Morning,” the centaur said, his voice unexpectedly, and intentionally soft. He remained where he was, neither wanting to scare the crowd more, nor risk getting any of them underhoof.

O’Rourke stopped a few yards away from the centaur and turned around to face the crowd. He waved an arm up. “Everyone, this is Clayton Hess. As you can see, he’s a centaur, so be sure to keep out of his way. He’ll be helping us in searching for that little girl. Sanouk––” He beckoned the woman to step forward, which she did after some hesitation, “––if you’ll please give him a quick rundown of the plan, then we can be on our way.”

Sanouk stared up at Clay, her mouth agape. Clay paid it no mind, being quite used to the range of emotions humans felt whenever they first saw him. He took a couple of steps backwards and slowly lowered himself onto the ground, legs tucked neatly under him, out of the way. From there, he leaned forward, arms folded behind his back.

“Morning, Miss,” he said with a polite dip of his head. “I hope I can be of some help in finding––”

“Mani Sanouk,” she interrupted, her hand extended out to him. She moved stiffly, clearly uneasy.

Clay blinked, one brow raised. This wasn’t the first time a human had offered to “shake his hand,” but it was still an unusual gesture. Not wanting to be rude, however, he brought around one hand and, moving deliberately slow, offered his pinky to meet her. “Just ‘Clay’ is fine. Pleasure to meet you.”

Sanouk went rigid at his hand’s approach, so much so that Clay could feel her tension when they made contact. She was a tough woman, though; she held onto her nerve through their “handshake,” and didn’t flinch at his retreat.

“You as well. Here’s a map that shows . . . er . . ..” As she pulled said map from her satchel, Sanouk frowned. It was a rather large map in her hands, but, to a truly behemoth being like Clay, it was no bigger than a business card. “Erm, right. Teams One and Two will be covering these sections,” she said, pointing to the marked areas. “Three and four will be covering these sections.”

Clay squinted at the map. He couldn’t quite make out all of the writing, but the marked sections were clear enough. “Understood. I’ll cover those four sections to the East.”

“Four of them?” Sanouk’s head snapped up to meet his eyes. “That is a lot of ground. Are you sure you’re going to be able to––” she paused mid-sentence, reconsidering her question and the being she was talking to. Clay allowed himself some amusement and a faint smile.

“I might be able to cover more, depending on when and where we’re rendezvousing.”

“Right . . .. Right. Okay.” She looked back down to the map and pointed to a river bend. “We will all meet back at this bend in Joyelette’s River at noon. That will give each team about five hours to search their sections. Do you know who we are looking for?”

“I do,” the centaur said with a nod. “O’Rourke printed me a picture and gave me all the information I needed.”

Sanouk returned the nod and stowed her map once more. “Then we are good to start.”

Clay gave the woman a moment to step back, then pushed himself off of the ground and rose to his full, towering height. “I’ll head out first. Best of luck to all of you. Let’s find this girl.” He tipped his hat to the crowd, then turned and started off on the trail into the giant forest. Once he was several yards away, he could hear the other groups slowly filtering in behind him. Their horses and dogs still made nervous noises, but he figured they’d calm once he was out of sight.

It was always interesting to see how humans and animals that had never encountered a centaur before reacted to him.

– – –

By ten o’clock, the forest had changed dramatically. The sun hung high in the sky, beating down on the landscape below. It was hot and humid, almost muggy. Birds swooped around Clay’s head, snatching up insects from the tiny swarm that he’d accumulated. While most of the insects were too small to actually bother him, there were still the occasional few that managed to make a nuisance of themselves. They had his ears flicking, his tail swishing. He lamented silently to himself for not bringing some sort of repellant.

“Pauline!” he called, his voice echoing amongst the trees. He tempered his yell, not wanting to scare the girl, but wanting to be heard, should she be around. “Pauline Kelly! Are you there?”

Silence. Clay sighed, his ears drooping momentarily. This wasn’t his first rescue mission, nor would it be his last; he was familiar with the monotony and the frustrating silence after every call.

Sometimes the missing person was found. Sometimes they weren’t.

He hoped, for this little girl’s sake, she would be found. It wasn’t just exposure that could kill out here. Megaforests were not meant for humans, let alone for human children. Like the massive trees and the greenery, the fauna in here were gargantuan in their own right. Most of the larger creatures wouldn’t pay mind to a human; it was the smaller ones––relatively speaking––that worried Clay more.

Clay stopped in his tracks, stiff, ears pricked. A scream. A scream broke the silence.

“Pauline? Pauline!” The centaur called out. “Pauline, can you hear me?”

“Help!”

There! Clay’s head snapped in the direction of the scream. Turning quick on his hooves, he leapt into a gallop. “Pauline! I’m coming!” From the sounds of things, she couldn’t be too far away. He raced through the foliage, running so fast that he might as well have been flying. The girl screamed again, making the centaur skid to a halt and reassess his direction. He looked around desperately, feeling his anxiety rising.

There!

Atop a fallen log, a bear-sized, reptilian creature dug at the rotting wood with its claws. Another scream rang out, a little muffled. Clay gritted his teeth and rushed the lizard. Upon spotting him, it puffed up and hissed, but its threats were no match for his own. He halted before the log and reared up on his hind legs, forehooves kicking, promising something far deadlier than anything it could offer in return. Fighting a full-grown centaur was not worth whatever meal it could have made of the girl. It quickly deflated and skittered away, nearly losing its footing in its haste to avoid Clay’s punishment. Only once it disappeared into the underbrush and vanished from all his senses did Clay turn his eyes to the log, his expression softening.

“Pauline?” Carefully he approached the log, ears angled towards it. Quiet sniffles and whimpers came from within. Clay rested a hand atop the log and peered in through the hole the lizard was digging at. There, backed into a little nook, sat the girl from the picture––the girl they were all looking for. Dirt caked her skin, and her clothes looked torn. He couldn’t see much else of her physical state, but she was alive. Relief overcame the centaur.

Unfortunately, that relief was short-lived. The girl, upon looking up and seeing Clay’s massive face staring down at her, let out an ear-splitting shriek. Clay flinched, ears swiveling backwards to try and dampen the noise. His hands shot up in a placating gesture, though it only made the girl scream again.

“Miss Pauline––please! I’m here to help you. If you could just come out––awh––!”

The girl scrambled out of view. Clay bit back a frustrated groan and tried to catch sight of her again. From the sounds of things, she was crawling deeper into the log.

By the skies, it would have been better if one of the human groups had found her. She was, understandably, terrified of him. It was going to be a challenge to get her out of the log. He could tear it open, but that would just scare the little one even more, and could potentially harm her. He’d save that as a last resort.

Clay sighed. He rubbed his temples, digging under his hat. With a heavy thud, the centaur sat down on his haunches. He figured he might be here for a while.

“I know you’re scared, dearheart. You’ve been in this forest for two days, probably seen some frightening critters like that lizard. Probably hungry n’ thirsty. Tired too.” He opted not to say as much, but Clay figured that the girl would not have survived another night in the megaforest. She was lucky to have made it this long.

“My name’s Clay,” he continued. He kept his voice soft, hoping that he might be able to soothe her. “I know I’m big, and I’m kinda scary-looking, like everything else in these woods. But your Ma and Pa––Mr. Marty and Mrs. Lana Kelly––they’re both real’ worried about you. They sent me and a bunch of other people out here to look for you.”

The sniffling was softer now. Clay had to strain his hearing to catch it. He wasn’t sure if it was a good sign or a bad sign. He listened, silently willing the girl to give him something––any sort of sign that he was getting somewhere with her.

“Y-you… know my mom and dad?” came the small voice after a long silence. Clay’s ears flicked up. Oh, in this moment, her voice was the sweetest thing he’d ever heard.

“Er––yes. I know them.” Or rather, he knew of them. It didn’t matter right now. “They’ve got a whole lot of us combing these woods for you, Miss Pauline. They miss you bunches, want you to come home.”

The girl went silent again, much to Clay’s alarm. He stood up again and tried to spot her within the log. He hadn’t been able to get a good look at her the first time; he could only guess her condition. Was she injured? Had he been too late in chasing off that lizard? He couldn’t smell any blood, but maybe–––

Wait. The girl was on the move again, picking her way through the log’s hollow interior. Clay followed the sound with ears and eyes as she climbed down towards the lower end. Though he was tempted to meet her down there, he decided that it was best to remain still and let her come to him.

Hopefully she wouldn’t run when she saw him.

Once she reached the opening at the bottom––likely the same opening she’d entered the log through––Pauline timidly peeked around the jagged wood. Wide eyes first found the centaur’s giant hooves, then followed up his forelegs, his torso, and way, way up to his face, where he stared right back down at her. She shrank away upon meeting his gaze, but didn’t break eye contact. Clay felt a pang in his hearts.

“That’s it, dearheart,” he said, his voice as soft as he could manage without outright whispering. “You’re so brave. Can you come a little closer so I can see you better?”

Pauline shook her head quickly. It didn’t surprise Clay.

“Okay… that’s fine. I’m gonna sit down, alright? Don’t go nowhere.” He waited a moment for a response, and continued on when he got none. Slowly, and keeping his hands where the girl could see them, Clay got down onto his foreknees, and then dropped his hocks. The girl flinched, but didn’t run.

“Alright now. I know you’re scared, little one. I understand. But I promise, I ain’t gonna hurt you.” Pauline just continued to stare up at him. Sitting down did cut nearly a third of his height, but Clay still towered a good sixty feet over the girl. He did his best not to loom, impossible as it was.

He told her more about himself, about how he’d come into these woods many times to find lost humans, about how he liked to grow fruits and raise bees. He asked her some questions, too––some of which she even answered. Some of them, he already knew the answers too. Pauline Kelly was seven years old, an older sister, and she’d just had a birthday when she went missing. What he learned was that her favorite color was blue––like the color of his shirt, she liked to fingerpaint, and she thought his hair was pretty. That last point, wholly unprompted, caught the centaur off-guard.

“You like my hair?”

Pauline nodded. “Mhm.” She looked a little less scared now, and stood where Clay could better see her. Thankfully, save for some minor scrapes and bruises, she looked unharmed.

Clay pushed his hat backwards off his head, letting it fall and catch on the string around his neck. Black and grey locks spiked out at odd angles, only partially tamed with a swipe of his hand.

“You wanna touch it?”

His offer had the girl pause. She regarded him nervously, looking between his face, his hair, his hands, and… down at his tail. Clay followed her gaze. That could be a good first step. She could reach his tail on her own. He swished it around so the long hair, the same black and grey as was on his head, was closer, and more in his view.

“Go on ahead. I won’t move none,” he encouraged. Pauline hesitated, clearly debating with herself. Eventually, her curiosity won the debate. Though she remained wary of Clay, glancing up at him every other second, she shuffled out from the log’s shelter. She gave him a wide berth as she circled over to his tail. Even when she stood a mere foot from him, she paused. An approving nod from Clay granted her the last bit of encouragement she needed to sit down on her knees and run her hands over the dark locks.

Clay’s tail was kempt, for a farmer. He combed it and kept it neatly trimmed without sacrificing its purpose. Even still, the hair was coarse and wiry, as was the case with all centaur tails and manes. That didn’t seem to bother Pauline, though. She rubbed chunks of hair between her hands, combed her fingers through it, and even twisted a few locks into tiny braids. Then she stood up and moved closer to his hind hoof––the white-socked one. Clay watched her carefully, but remained still, wanting neither to spook her nor hurt her. She knocked her little fists against the tough, cream nail, and then the metal shoe underneath.

“Did this hurt?” She asked. For the moment, there was more wonder in her eyes than fear.

“Hm? The shoe? Naw, that didn’t hurt none. Barely felt it when I had them put in.”

Pauline moved on from the hoof and dared to step even closer, right up to his side. Clay leaned over to better keep an eye on her. She dusted her hands––what a polite girl––and raised them to feel the short, tan fur along his flank. It too was pretty coarse, though it was a bit softer than his tail.

“It’s a lot softer up here,” Clay offered, startling the girl. Her head whipped up to meet his gaze. She looked a little bewildered, as though she’d forgotten that he was alive and present. He pointed to his head of hair. “Softest you’ll find on a centaur. And I take real’ good care of mine.” He gave what he hoped was an encouraging smile.

Immediately, the girl’s nervousness returned. “Um…”

Clay twisted his upper body to better face her. He brought one hand down to the ground a few feet away from her, palm up, fingers flat. “Promise I won’t hurt you, Miss Pauline.”

She stared at his hand, once again debating with herself. Clay waited patiently, watching her, willing to accept if she didn’t want to come to him immediately. They still had another hour or so before the rendezvous at the river. So long as no danger came along, he would use that time to gain her trust. It’d make things easier for the both of them. The girl deserved to feel safe after two days of being lost in a megaforest.

With an understandable amount of hesitancy, Pauline drew nearer to Clay’s hand. Like she had his tail and his hoof, she first inspected it. Next to him, the girl was miniscule. From fingertip to wrist, his hand was longer than most humans were tall. With her, his pinky finger exceeded her in height. She gave the pad of his index finger an experimental prod, and flinched when it twitched in response. Clay offered a quick apology. It seemed to reassure her, if only a little. She put her hands to his finger again, feeling over the whorls and the callouses. Clays hands, though gentle, were not soft. They were the hands of a working man, rough and weathered..

It took the girl a few more minutes of touching and feeling, and a little bit more encouragement from Clay, before she felt confident enough to step up onto his hand. She took a few unsteady steps over his fingers, finding it a little unusual and difficult to walk on such a squishy surface. Where his fingers met his palm, she lost her balance and fell onto her knees with a yelp. Clay fought back the urge to cup his hand around her.

“You’re okay, dearheart. Why don’t you sit down in the middle right there, hunh? Get yourself comfortable.”

Pauline, finding that to be a good idea, did as told and sat herself cross-legged in the center of his palm. She planted her hands to either side of her for balance. Smart girl. Once she settled, his fingers curled in around her, not enough to enclose her, but to make a barrier to keep her from falling. She sat in nervous silence, glancing at her surroundings. Slowly, carefully, Clay lifted his hand from the ground. The girl tensed, but made no sound as he brought her up to eye level. It was even more obvious now how small she was compared to him.

Up close, Clay could get a better look at her. Her clothes were dirty and torn in places, she had a layer of dirt and mud caking her skin, and her arms and legs had a good many abrasions. Overall, though, she looked fine. Stressed and ready to get home to her parents, but fine.

Her sniffling snapped Clay out of his silent observation. He blinked twice and regarded the girl inquisitively. She’d begun shaking in his hand, and little tears pooled in her eyes.

“Now now, Miss Pauline. You’ve gotten this far. You can be brave for a bit longer.” A warm smile spread across his lips. She was a cute little girl. Tough, too. If she weren’t so terrified, the centaur might have given her a little nuzzle. Instead, though, he’d give her what she was promised for her bravery. Clay brought the girl closer and tipped his head forward, letting his forelocks hang closer to her. He closed his eyes, hoping that it might make the girl more comfortable. Once all stopped moving, Pauline stood up, still a bit shaky. She reached out to the long strands, taking a handful and filtering it through her fingers. Clay had not been lying; the hair on his head was much softer than that on his tail or his fur. Pauline was immediately enraptured. She ran her hands through it, rubbed a lock to her cheek, fluffed it and smoothed it again. She took a chunk and loosely braided it, giggling softly. Clay was content to let her do as she pleased. He was surprised, though, when she moved closer and ran a hand over his eyebrow. Said eyebrow twitched, then joined its counterpart in a furrow.

“What are you doing, little one?” He spoke not with any accusation, but rather kind amusement.

“You’re missing hair on this one,” she said, touching his right brow. Clay opened his eyes, but she was too close for him to focus on. His eyelashes brushed her arms, drawing another giggle from her.

“Yep. Got a cut a long, long time ago, and the hair never grew back.” His smile widened. A child’s wonder was a marvelous thing to see. To be the object of that wonder was, in a way, flattering. After everything this girl had been through over the past couple of days, she deserved some happiness.

“Could I please touch your beard?” she asked. Wordlessly, Clay obliged. He tipped his head back, lifting his chin so she could reach it. With far less hesitation than before, the girl pushed her hands into the shorter hair. It wasn’t as soft as the hair on his head, but still softer than his tail. It tickled her palms as she rubbed along his chin and jaw.

Clay glanced up at the sky, noting the sun’s position. There was still time, but noon was approaching.

“Dearheart,” he said, gently pulling his head back so he could better regard her. “I’d love to let you braid my hair all day, but I think it’s time I got you back to your parents.”

The girl’s eyes lit up, as if she’d suddenly remembered why Clay was here at all. She nodded eagerly.

Warmth filled Clay’s chest. He reached with his middle finger to give her a gentle pat to the head. “Sit down now, just like before. I’ll take you to them.” Obediently, she did as told and returned to her previous spot. Clay pulled his hat back onto his head, then cupped his free hand next to his occupied one for extra security. “Hold on, now. This might be a bit bumpy.”

That was putting it lightly. A centaur standing up was a rocky ride. He lurched as his hooves found footing under him, making the girl yelp and grab onto his pinky. She squeezed her eyes shut and gripped harder when she was suddenly lifted even higher into the air.

“It’s alright, Miss Pauline,” Clay said. “You ready to go?”

She nodded, though she kept her eyes closed.

Standing up was the rough part. Clay, like most centaurs, could keep his upper body steady through a full gallop. While walking, the worst Pauline had to endure was a little bit of easy swaying. He periodically glanced down at her as he picked his way through the forest, happy to see that most of her fear was gone. She looked around at the giant trees and bushes with a new sense of awe. From up here, things didn’t look quite so daunting. The fact that no predators could reach her provided a great deal of comfort too.

With comfort came confidence. The girl started asking questions about the forest, about Clay, about centaurs and other large creatures. Clay indulged her curiosity as best he could. Having lived with these woods his whole life, he was something of an expert. Were they not on a bit of a time constraint, he would have been happy to stop and show her some of the things he talked about, like the bright mushrooms or the abandoned bird nests.

Clay could smell the river before he could see it. He could hear it, too, as they drew closer. Over the sound of its flowing, he could hear some voices, too––human voices. Dogs barking greeted him first as the animals sensed his approach. He paid them no mind, nor the startled noises of the humans as he pushed through the trees and into the path that ran perpendicular to the river.

“Mr. Hess!” said a familiar voice. Sanouk waved to him, and he nodded in return.

“Afternoon, Miss Sanouk.” The centaur stopped a few yards away from the group of humans, both for courtesy and safety’s sake. He curled his fingers again to keep his charge secure as he once more lowered himself down to the ground. “I believe I’ve found who we were looking for.”

Sanouk eyed him curiously, then looked to his cupped hands. Her expression morphed from confused to elated. “You found her?” The rest of the group perked up at the news too.

Clay nodded and turned his attention to the girl in his hands. “Miss Pauline, these people were out here looking for you too. They’re real’ nice. I’m sure they’ve got some snacks and water they’d be happy to share with you.”

Pauline looked uncertain, but the mention of food and water brightened her mood. Clay brought his hands down to the ground and flattened his fingers. A few of the other humans cheered and whooped their joy. Sanouk looked ready to cry. She took a knee and held her arms out to the girl.

“Come here, child. Come get something to eat and drink. Your parents will be here soon.” She beckoned with her hands.

Pauline looked back to Clay, who gave her an encouraging nod, then she scampered out of his hands and ran into Sanouk’s arms. The woman embraced her tightly. She mouthed a word of thanks to Clay, then lifted the girl up and carried her to the crowd, many of whom already had water and food to offer. Clay straightened and crossed his arms, satisfied that the girl was now safe.

A few humans broke from the group to thank Clay for finding the girl. He humbly shrugged off their thanks, saying that they were all out here looking for her. Any one of them would have brought her back if they’d found her. He was just the lucky one. Still, it was nice to see that at least some of the humans were warming up to him.

Over the next half hour, the other groups filtered in. The Kellys were part of the last group to arrive. Pauline spotted her mother before either parent could receive the news. “Mama!” she yelled, startling the whole group. Both parents looked up, bewildered, to see their daughter sprinting towards them. Their knees hit the ground, arms outstretched, and cocooned the girl in a long-overdue embrace. A chorus of sniffles and relieved sighs echoed throughout the whole group. Clay looked away, not wanting to intrude on a personal moment. He was just happy to see the Kellys reunited.

After a few minutes, approaching footsteps drew the centaur’s attention back. Ears pricked, he turned his head to see O’Rourke walking his way. The old man wore a grin as wide as his face.

“I’m told you’re the one that found her.”

Clay dipped his head once. “Out in section six. Got to her just in time, too. Found her in a log with a lizard trying to get at her, the poor thing.”

O’Rourke raised a fuzzy brow. “Have any trouble catching her?”

“No, not really. I let her come to me. Figured she’d been through enough; she didn’t need me grabbing for her and scaring her more.” He lifted his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. His pinky caught on one of the braids the girl had left there. It brought a fond smile to his lips. “She okay? Didn’t look too banged up to me, but I’m no doctor. Certainly not no human doctor.”

“She’s fine,” O’Rourke said with a wave. “Better now that she’s back with her family. Thank you, Clay, for coming out today. We wouldn’t have found her without you.”

“I don’t know about that,” Clay said.

“I do. Don’t be so modest. You saved that girl’s life today,” the old man insisted.

Clay was ready to retort, feeling a little indignant with his modesty being challenged, but he paused when he spotted others approaching. O’Rourke followed his gaze to the Kellys, Marty and Lana, heading over. Pauline was held in her mother’s arms, clutching a snack bar that she eagerly munched on. They stopped next to O’Rourke, who gave the father a firm pat on the shoulder before he departed.

The father spoke first. “Mr. Hess…?”

“Clay,” he corrected.

“Clay…” he repeated, clearly uneasy. “I––we wanted to thank you for finding our daughter. We knew that if we didn’t find her today, she might…” he trailed off as his voice started to shake, and swallowed thickly.

Clay shrugged humbly. “No need to thank me, Mr. Kelly. I’m just happy I could help. Happy to see her safe.”

“You saved her life,” the mother said. She looked less afraid than her spouse, like her strength and courage returned with her child. “You’ve done us a great service. How could we ever repay you?”

Clay frowned. These humans didn’t listen, did they? It must be their tiny ears. He shook his head. “I don’t need repayment. A child was lost, and I helped find her. I just did what any decent man would do.”

“But––”

He waved a hand, cutting off any rebuttal. “You wanna repay me? You take that girl home, get her cleaned up and healthy again. You take care of her and raise her well. That’s plenty reward for me.”

The parents stared up at him, clearly feeling contrary. Before they could say anything, though, Pauline started to squirm and protest the hold she was in. Once mother reluctantly set her down, the girl ran towards Clay. She beamed up at him, arms held over her head. The centaur went still, going so far as to halt his breathing.

“Clay!” the girl called, waving her hands. There was no trace of her previous fear.

Clay allowed himself a breath and a smile. “Yes, dearheart?” She pointed to his hands. Now it was his turn to be hesitant, but he did still oblige the child. He lowered a hand for her, offering her his forefinger. She latched onto it, hugging as tightly as she could. The gesture filled his hearts with a warmth he didn’t often experience.

“Now now, don’t go getting all sappy on me,” he chided gently. He couldn’t return the hug, but he could allow her to hold on for as long as she wanted. Her parents followed behind, both resting a hand on his knuckles.

“Thank you, Clay,” the father repeated.

The centaur shook his head. “It was my pleasure.”

Pauline held on for another minute before her mother coaxed her away. Clay pulled his hand back, still aware of the little warm spot where she’d held him. He gave the family a wave as they retreated back to the crowd, no doubt ready to head home and tend to their daughter.

Clay didn’t stick around much longer. There was nothing left for him to do here. The girl was safe. The family was whole. He was happy. With all humans a safe distance away, the centaur gathered himself up to his feet, tipped his hat farewell to the crowd, and turned to the forest to head home.

He could celebrate the day on his own with a bottle of his homemade cider.

#g/t #g/t writing #g/t fiction #hyena writes #hyena ocs #clayton hess #centaurs #i like this one a lot & i love my honse man

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taeyohonic · 3 years

Text

stolen dances | chap. VI

summary: sometimes supporting the person you love is the hardest challenge you’ll ever face.

pairing: jeon jungkook x fem!reader

rating: m

warning: two swearwords

additional tags: f2l, ceo!jungkook, bestfriend!jungkook, shrink!yoongi, my best friend’s wedding meets 27 dresses (if the boss/secretary couple had happened), angst-y

words: 2000

links: prev. | next [masterlist]

note: lower case letters intended

chapter summary: there are too many zeros for namjoon to decline

“yoongi warned me about this”, namjoon says while drawing lines across his coffee mug. you roll your eyes, clearly annoyed by your therapist. of course, he connected the dots as soon as you asked for his friend’s number.

“he warned you of getting a hefty tip? maybe even playing your own mixtapes in front of the music elite? in front of the kim seokjin?”, you answer with a sarcastic bite in your voice.

now namjoon is staring at you, calculating silently in his head. after a second to think, he responds.

“no, he warned me about dj-ing at your crush’s wedding while you’re coping with your shrink on the dancefloor… slowly moving your arms in chicken wing motions.”

you laugh at his description, surprised by the accuracy.

“don’t laugh… he had a whole diorama about this.”

your laughter is growing in volume as you try to imagine how yoongi glued wings onto a paper version of you.

“so… these few zeros won’t change your mind?”, you say and slide one of jungkook’s business cards across the table. your new barista friend takes the high-quality paper with caution. but then his eyes widen at the five numbers scribbled across your best friend’s name.

“no way”, he breathes, “this could finance my whole audition tape.”

you smirk at him, glad that taehyung didn’t lie to you when you asked him about the needed budget to audition. there is some pride in your posture, pleased at your wit.

“so, i can set up a meeting?”, you wonder out loud. the mocha in front of you is getting cold and your time is running away from you by the minute.

namjoon keeps staring at his payment, not fully grasping the reality of your offer.

“turn it around, joon”, you whisper. it’s the final blow as the barista sees the phone number on the other side. seokjin’s name is scribbled underneath with a winking smiley.

you’ve got yourself a wedding dj.

“i don’t know why we have to get another dj. what’s wrong with jae?”, jungkook mutters as he helps you out of your jacket. the candlelight inside this restaurant is warming your skin, a much-needed warmth because of the missing sleeves of your black dress.

you can hear your best friend sucking in a deep breath, his eyes burning holes into your bare shoulders. but when you turn around to catch his eyes, jungkook is looking at the tip of your nose.

“you look beautiful, _____”, he says in a distant tone. there is no emphasis in his words, but still jungkook doesn’t lie. maybe he forgets stuff, maybe he hides some information. but jungkook never lies. he didn’t say he baked the muffins – you just… assumed.

“really, ____”, your best friend repeats and hands your jacket to the waiter next to you. you smile at him in thanks.

“right back at you, handsome”, you say cheekily and pat his suit jacket. the dark green velvet looks painted on his toned arms and you can’t help the blush coloring your face.

there is a beat of silence before a cleared throat makes you flinch.

“your second party is already here, mr. jeon.” your waiter looks at you apologetic and you try to send him a reassuring smile in return.

“lead the way, then.” jungkook’s hand rests on your lower back as he pushes you in the dining room. his fingers press against your spine and you catch yourself leaning into his touch. it’s a maddening feeling, really. you try to collect your thoughts before spotting namjoon across the room.

“because taehyung slept with them", you whisper. jungkook snorts at your confession.

“who do you mean with them?”, he asks.

“both jae and the two follow-up candidates. he just… slept through the whole list of djs”, you explain. there is the tiniest part of you that is proud of taehyung for silently sneaking behind your back.

“why would he do that?”, jungkook whines into your ear and you snort at his pained expression.

“it was some kind of test. he listened to their playlists… one thing lead to another… it wasn’t pretty.”

“how ugly was it?”, he asks.

“you don’t wanne know… one of them cried on my voice mail two nights ago. like…ugly cried.”

“i should have been more help in the last months, _____. i’m sorry.”, jungkook confesses, recognizing what you had to deal with in the last months.

you squeeze his biceps, feeling the soft velvet under your fingertips.

“nah, you’ve got a company to run, jungkook. and you’re here now.”

“_______”, namjoon greats you warmly as you stop in front of the table. the barista looks so different not surrounded by the hefty smell of coffee. his green apron is gone – now he’s dressed in a beige colored cashmere sweater and some black pants. his hair his combed neatly and the dimples flashing you are making you smile softly at him. without missing a step, you hug him. the sweater smells faintly of vanilla and you feel yourself sniffing against his chest.

“glad you could make it, namjoon.” the musician and part time barista smirks down at you. why are all men around you that much taller? you need more yoongis in your life.

“yeah… kind of afraid to get another powerpoint in my inbox.” you snort. nobody values your powerpoint skills enough.

“i adore her slides a lot”, your best friend offers from behind you. you flinch at his cold tone, not surprised to see his face matching his voice. jungkook always wears his emotions on his sleeves.

still, to see him this tense when meeting a new person worries you. taking a step away from namjoon you move closer to your past idol. jungkook takes your elbow and pushes you against his side instantly.

“why don’t you introduce us, _____?”, he orders while looking at your barista with distrust.

“of course”, you start and try to escape namjoon’s raised eyebrow at jungkook’s hands on you.

“jeon jungkook, meet kim namjoon, your newest wedding dj", you say with faked enthusiasm. only your recent therapy helps you suppress the jazz fingers you want to make as an ice breaker.

both men stare at each other in silence. you feel some curious glances at your back while your group just stands in the middle of an overpriced restaurant.

“nice to meet you, mr. jeon. congrats on your engagement”, namjoon says and bows to your friend. jungkook takes a second too long to respond, just letting the man bow in front of him. it’s a power move you don’t care for, so you use your elbow to poke him.

“ouch, ____”, he whines lowly, but bows as soon as he sees your hostile eyes.

“thank you, mr. kim.”

again, there is a tensed silence you do not understand. soon, the waiter saves the moment.

“why don’t we get you seated and then i can bring you a bottle of your favorite chardonnay on the house?”

you could kiss him right now, because both men sit down instantly as the waiter moves your seat for you.

“thank you”, you whisper and feel him smile at you reassuringly. then he is rushing away to get enough alcohol for this table.

“i didn’t know you two know each other”, jungkook says. there is accusation behind his words and you feel yourself shift on your seat. did you have plenty of times to tell him in the last two days that the newest candidate is a friend of yours? sure. did you take the easy way out and just… emailed him the info? maybe.

“it was in the folder i sent you yesterday”, you mutter. namjoon watches the two of you with interest just as jungkook nudges your shoulder.

“would have been nice for you to tell me in person, ____”, he says softly, no longer mad at you. he sees how tensed your shoulders are. jungkook doesn’t want you to feel uncomfortable. this joined wedding planning should be fun.

“how did you two meet?”, he asks, directed at the other male across from you.

“she went to one of my gigs”, namjoon explains and smiles at jungkook. you silently applaud his professionalism. first, he congratulated jungkook on his engagement, then the second comment leads straight to his musical work. and not a word about your shared friend, yoongi.

“you do music?”, jungkook asks, now more interested.

“remember the playlist from last weekend?”, you say and smile at the waiter filling your wine glass.

“the one during our movie night?”, jungkook asks and takes two ice cubes from the wine cooler to wordlessly mix them into your glass. he knows how much you like your white wine iced and watered. for the first few months of your friendship, you felt so out of place in jungkook’s world that you didn’t voice your preferences. then, during an outing with jimin at a grungy bar downtown, you shyly asked for extra ice. he still smiles at the memory.

“don’t call it a movie night. i haven’t seen us watch one movie in the last year”, you snort. most of the times seokjin makes a mean meal and your friends stuff themselves full of carbs. then you are all talking with rounded bellies, maybe someone demands a rematch on jungkook’s playstation.

“so, you played some of his songs last saturday?”, jungkook asks.

you nod at the memory. “yeah, it was the one where seokjin slutdropped in front of me.”

namjoon snorts at your words. “kim seokjin slutdropped to one of my songs? can i get that framed?”

now even jungkook smiles kindly at your barista. “i don’t think you need to. you’ll be able to see it with your own eyes at the wedding.”

after that the dinner is more enjoyable. you are gobbling at a hot cheese string of your lasagna when it happens:

jungkook is talking to namjoon, eyes gleaming as he tells him about the first dance.

“i really want it to be a remixed version of spring day”, he explains. “it was the first song i co-wrote for my group.” namjoon nods and scribbles a few words on his ipad.

“the remix from your third album?”, the dj asks. you are impressed by namjoon’s knowledge of bangtan. there is a fangirling part of you still feeling very protective of your favorite idols.

jungkook shakes his head. “nah man, it’s way too outdated. it was like… seven years ago. why don’t you play a bit with the sound?”

you have never seen a kid in your class as excited as namjoon right now. the barista looks like jungkook just gave him a disney all exclusive ticket. and maybe it is on the same level when a highly awarded idol lets you remix one of their song.

“you’d trust me with that?”, namjoon whispers. you munch on your cheesy treat as jungkook nods.

“obviously i’d check it out beforehand… but, your mixture sounds cool. it’s fresh. maybe you can even add some rap parts yourself?”

you push another spoonful of lasagna in your mouth while namjoon stutters in front of you. it’s like cinema without the popcorn.

“you want me to… add to your award-winning record?”, he whispers in awe at the former idol.

“why not? just try your best; if it’s not working out, we can just switch to an acoustic performance from the other members. maybe jimin can cover my high notes”, jungkook muses and looks at your full cheeks with a smile. you grin back at him, clearly happy with his trust in your friend.

“may i have yoongi help me with that?”, namjoon asks in excitement. your greasy smile drops from your lips as jungkook’s head moves back to namjoon, not noticing the dread in your face.

“huh?”

“you know, most of the times the two of us work on music together. yoongi is really, really good with lyrics.”

it’s like seeing an accident happening in slow motion. there is nothing you can do other than chew as fast as you can.

“yoongi?”, jungkook asks and the hot tomato sauce burns your throat as you swallow your food.

“yoongi, you know? _______'s plus one?”

______

ahhh! i wanted to do some more barista joon as well as give you some more… jk x reader action! i hope you all enjoyed this update! let me know what you think… it really helps with my motivation. thanks to everyone who supports me with a like, reblog, comment, message… it’s really instant serotonin. on another note: the horse has to leave the hospital!! all the best! stay safe, happy and hopeful! love, dana

taglist: @livewittykid @thequeen-kat @kagami-s-void @goldenclosethobi @youwannabelostandnotbefound @jinsalpaca @bishuthot @laabellaavitaa21 @baekstans @jalexad @kimluvwoo

#btswriterscollective #jungkook x reader #jungkook x you #jungkook scenarios #jungkook fanfic #jungkook angst #idol!jungkook #ceo!jungkook #bts angst #bts scenarios #barista!joon #jeon jungkook #best friend junkook

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cryptidofthekeys · 3 years

Text

The Beginnings of Obsession

@tiny-yan-anon You said you’d like to be tagged in the Jek n Hyde story so there ya go, this was fun to write but gosh d a m n was it long as hell- Uh TWs would probs be for like Drugging, Violence (Someone gets beat with a cane to be specific), Blood is mentioned but there’s nothing graphically gory, Obsessive Behavior, and Yandere-Ish themes

You were out for a walk in the park, it was evening time so it was nice and cool outside, you didn’t have to worry so much about overheating at this stage of the day, it was nice and peaceful out as well… Nothing and nobody could bother you… You could relax on the bench and watch the sunset, you had hoped you weren’t too late to catch the view you always loved so dearly, you took your seat on the bench and sighed, you could see the sun perfectly from here, nothing obstructing it at all as it slowly began its descent, and then it was letting the moon have its turn up in the sky. You watched as the moon slowly began rising and sighed in bliss, this was so nice… It was so nice whenever you got the chance to come to the park, this place had always calmed your nerves. The moon was just as peaceful as the sun, granted, it was dangerous around these parts at night which is why you couldn’t stay for too long, after the moon ascended further you got up and quickly made your way out of the park, glancing off at it as you continued walking, the stars shone brightly in the sky, and not a cloud in sight tonight… And as you continued your walk you bumped into someone and fell backwards, you winced a little in pain before quickly apologizing, the person held a hand out and you could get a good look at him now.

He was a man around five foot seven, wearing a blue turtleneck underneath a white lab coat, blue pants and even shoes that matched his outfit, he also wore circle glasses as well, he had a well groomed beard and sideburns, his hair was dark brown with some gray on the sides and it was a bit of a messy curly undercut, aside from all that those eyes were the most striking thing about him, they were a baby blue color and his face held such a friendliness to it, he held his hand out to you “No no, it’s quite alright, here, let me help you up” You nodded and slowly reached out for the extended hand, he quickly tugged you up to your feet and helped you dust yourself off a bit “There we go… Are you alright? I hope I didn’t startle you!” His tone was very polite and you smiled albeit a bit awkwardly “Not really… I just, wasn’t paying attention to where I was going was all” The stranger nodded “Ah, I see… I do not want to lecture you but you should know, it can be awfully dangerous at night time here, you never know what kind of depraved individuals you’ll run into at these hours…” You nodded “Of course, I’ll keep that in mind…” The stranger smiled before he realized “Oh, where are my manners? I haven’t even introduced myself yet…! My name is Henry! Henry Jekyll” You took a moment before you then had a realization.

“Oh! You’re that Doctor I’ve heard so much about aren’t you?” Henry nodded, chuckling a little “My reputation exceeds me I suppose… Yes, I am the local Doctor everyone talks about so dearly” He looked a little embarrassed but nonetheless you smiled and extended your hand “My name is (Y/N), it’s nice to meet you Doctor Jekyll” The man laughed a little, accepting the handshake “Please, you may just call me Henry… Would you like me to escort you back home? After all, wandering these streets alone at night as I’ve said, can be quite dangerous, and it would be a shame if something bad happened” You shook your head “Oh no, I don’t want to trouble you or put you outta your way…” Jekyll only smiled “Nonsense, I can assure you… It’s quite alright, I wasn’t too busy for tonight anyways” You sighed but smiled nonetheless “If you insist, then I guess it’s alright…” Jekyll let go of your hand, realizing it was awkward that he was still holding onto it and then you and him were on your way, you told him your address so he could actually lead you back there.

“So, what were you doing out here anyways? Er, if you don’t mind me asking that is” Henry asked to which you quickly responded “I just… I really love watching the sunset when I get the chance, and seeing the moon and stars… It’s all a very pretty sight when you can find time of course…” Jekyll nodded “Hm, I do suppose the sunset can be quite charming… And there are no clouds obstructing the views tonight either, a perfect evening for a stroll, I rarely go out anymore, I suppose I have gotten all wrapped up in my work as of recently” You nodded “So, your a doctor, what is it you do exactly?” Jekyll cleared his throat before speaking “Well, I used to have an ongoing experiment but uh…” And then he sighed “I would rather not go into details of that old experiment... After all, it uh, it is in the past… I will say my field is mostly in scientific studies, alchemy to be more specific, I spend quite a lot of time in my lab back at my mansion, if you’re ever interesting in learning about such things then I would be more than happy to teach you” You nodded “I’ll keep that in mind” And there was a pause before he spoke up “What is it that you do exactly?” You shrugged “Eh, I just do little things here and there… Nothing much, just… Enough to keep food on the table and pay the bills I guess…” Jekyll nodded “I see…” And there was another pause, this one a bit longer than before.

“Well, er… I know we just met but if you ever need any help with any of that, then please, don’t be afraid to contact me, after all I do love helping others out in times of need” And then he pulled out a little card with his info and number on it, you took it but then shook your head “I appreciate that offer immensely, but, I’d never wanna trouble you like that…” Jekyll merely smiled “Oh but it isn’t any trouble at all, like I said, my job is to help the people around! And even if that means paying for their bills or buying them something to eat or drink then so be it” You smiled at that “...You’re very kind… Not a lot of folks, especially not the richer ones would offer something like that” Henry nodded and sighed “Oh believe me, I know how you feel on that matter… Even if I am rich, I have always refused to act so snobby and selfish, being selfish and snobby gets you nowhere in life…!” ...Well, maybe he lied a little on the selfish part … But they didn’t need to know such details, the two of you continued your conversation, getting to know each other before finally he had led you back to the address you told him “There we are…! I’m surprised we didn’t run into any sorts of hooligans… I suppose it’s our lucky night, huh?” You nodded “Yeah… Oh uh, thanks by the way… I appreciate you taking the time to walk me home”

Henry had a bright smile on his face “It wasn’t a problem!” The people around here really didn’t tell a single lie about Henry Jekyll, he was as friendly as could be, so sweet and polite as could be, especially to offer such things to a person he barely even knew, as you were heading inside you turned back to him for a moment “I uh, I’m sure I’ll see you around some time, yeah?” Henry then shrugged and adjusted his glasses a little “Perhaps! I DO spend most of my time in the lab but, if you ever want you are free to stop by my home! My address is on the card I gave you” And then you nodded and he waved goodbye to you as he headed back to his own home, you got inside and closed the door behind yourself, you looked down at the card in your hand and read it more properly now ...Maybe, maybe you would pay him a visit one day, for now though you wanted to get some sleep, you walked over and placed the card down on the counter and headed off to the bathroom to brush your teeth, as you were getting ready for bed.

You couldn’t help but keep thinking of the doctor, you were a bit curious about him you wouldn’t deny, and it seemed he was curious of you too given all he had said, offered, and asked.

M e a n w h i l e. . .

Jekyll had returned to his home and sighed deeply, he greeted Poole first since he was standing right there, must’ve been waiting actually… As he began walking toward his lab he greeted the maids as he walked past, they offered him some tea or something to eat to which he refused, he wasn’t feeling too hungry or thirsty right now, besides, he had some things to think about as he made it to the door, he quickly shut it behind himself and locked it, he then walked over and sat down in his chair and ran his hands through his hair, the entire walk home he had only thought of the person he had met earlier, he had only thought of you the entire time… It was so strange, the moment he first saw you he started feeling… Something, he thought about it some more, and it seemed like… Love? There was no way! Love at first sight was only ever in those fantasy stories, he had never really believed in love at first sight, it wasn’t the way he was wired, sure if some believed in that, who was he to judge then? But for him to feel such a strange feeling so suddenly… He heard a voice laughing at him and of course, right on cue to be a bother… Jekyll sighed “What do you want, Hyde?” He sounded a little snappy but then again, who could blame him? He watched as the exact being he didn’t want to see manifested right in front of him.

Hyde gave him a smirk as he paraded around the other “Someone’s got a crush~!” He kept exclaiming, cackling as Jekyll blushed and tried to defend himself “I do not! There is no way I can have a crush on someone I just met! I don’t even believe in love at first sight!” Hyde only grinned, displaying those sharp unpleasant teeth, somehow, even after all the years Jekyll’s spent with him, that display still managed to unnerve him “Oh come on! It’s SO clear~! You looove them~ But tell me something, do you even know if they have a significant other? Do you even think they’d like you back? I mean, who’d ever wanna get with a pathetic weakling such as yourself?” Hyde seemed to take notice of Jekyll tensing, and that look in the other’s eyes… Now, Hyde has seen many expressions on the other’s face before but this one looked… Different, he couldn’t quite place his finger on it just yet but it piqued his curiosity nonetheless. “Ugh, why don’t you just disappear for a while, hm? Just leave me alone for once” He was avoiding those questions which Hyde quickly caught onto, he walked over and got uncomfortably close to Jekyll, studying his expression carefully “...Hmm… You wish for me to leave you be?” There was a pause before he grinned, even though he was just like a ghost practically, those teeth being this close unnerved Jekyll immensely more than before.

“Fine then, I shall leave you be ...For now~” And just like that Hyde vanished which surprised Jekyll entirely, there was no way the other just up and left like that… It was up to something, he was planning something and Jekyll didn’t like that one bit, he knew asking would be pointless, Hyde would never admit to anything anyways… He sighed and ran his hands through his hair again, great, now he’d have to worry about whatever the other was up to…

...This was going to be a long week… After a day had passed you decided you’d visit Jekyll, you were curious about his work and maybe you could get to know him a little better in the process, it wasn’t too hard a place to find too which was good, you knocked on the door and a Butler answered the door “Ah you must be (Y/N)... The Master has told me about you, please do come in” You nodded at this. You then made your way inside and wow… It sure was fancy, a lot fancier than you were used to for sure, then again, what else were you even expecting with such a famous doctor? The Butler cleared his throat “My name is Poole... The Master is in his Laboratory right now, if you will wait here a moment I will go and fetch him” You nodded and waited as he entered through the door, you took this moment to properly look around the place, it was huge and had a lot of fancy decorations, lots of fancy pictures, overall it was just… Super fancy, of course, even though you didn’t know much of this man, there was one thing for sure, all of this house definitely seemed fitting for him, after a few more moments of waiting you heard the door open and turned to see a smiling Henry “Ah! (Y/N), I didn’t, um, actually expect you to visit so soon…! There isn’t anything wrong, is there?”

You shook your head and smiled “No, just thought I’d come by and see you, this... Isn’t a bad time is it?” Henry quickly shook his head “No no! Not at all! Would you like something to drink while you are here?” You nodded “Some tea would be nice…” Henry nodded and told Poole to fetch him and you some tea, he nodded and got straight to work, meanwhile the doctor led you to the couch and you both sat down “So, how have you been doing today?” You shrugged “The day’s been alright so far, I had some free time today hence why I got to drop by here… How about you?”

Henry smiled “Yes, it’s been… Good so far, I have just been working around in the Laboratory for the time being as per usual” You nodded “Made any new discoveries yet, orrr anything interesting in particular happen?” Henry then shook his head “Not quite yet… I am still working on a few things here and there but those are just simply works in progress for now… Alchemy can be so fascinating and interesting once you get involved in it!” You nodded “I see… I dunno if I could ever understand honestly” There was a pause before he spoke up “If you would like, I can show you some of my works in progress” You looked at him in a surprised manner, and even he looked surprised, he was never usually the type to let many if ANYONE down there in his Laboratory… And then Poole was delivering the tea to the both of you, Jekyll thanking him quickly and then Poole promptly left out of the room to give you two more privacy, after that you looked at the doctor “I mean… If you wanna show me, then I wouldn’t mind…” You gave him a smile which honestly made his heart flutter every time he saw that bright smile of yours, granted he knew it shouldn’t, this was far too soon for any nonsense like that.

It was strange even because the more Henry looked into your eyes the more he felt his heart rate spike, those eyes held something he couldn’t describe, and whenever those eyes landed on him he swore he could almost feel a blush threatening to appear, he needed to stop being so ridiculous, he needed to get a hold of himself! He quickly grabbed his cup of tea and began drinking, you did the same and for a few moments it was silent until you spoke up “Your house is very beautiful” You honestly didn’t know of anything to really say but something was better than nothing, this made the other smile “Ah thank you” ...Jeez, okay, you needed… To just, relax, you didn’t know why you were being so uptight with him, and honestly he seemed a little nervous as well.

You took a deep breath after taking a sip of tea and then you sat it down on the table “So uh, if you want… You can, go ahead and show me the projects you're working on…” Jekyll seemed to notice you finally relaxed and he was relieved of that, he almost felt himself relax a little as well “Oh, of course…!” He stood up after sitting his tea down “Come on, follow me!” He exclaimed, he was excited in all honesty to show someone his work, especially you.

...Ahem- (I’ll be honest, writing peeps first meeting n getting to know each other is not my strong suit but just bear with me) You followed him down to the stairs and you gasped upon seeing his Laboratory, the room was huge and it was filled with, okay, well you didn’t know what all it was exactly but from what you could see there were lots of bottles and beakers filled with various substances, there were also lots of notes here and there, files, and honestly a lot of stuff cluttered around “I uh, have been meaning to organize things a bit better in here but I got caught up in my work…” He could hear a voice in the back of his mind that said liar, you just got lazy… But he merely shooed that away, he prayed that Hyde wouldn’t bother him right now… You looked around the Lab in awe “It looks so cool…! If you uh, want I can help you clean up the papers” Jekyll shook his head “I appreciate your offer but I will clean it up myself, later on…” You then noticed some weird ingredients in some jars on the table, you walked over and knelt down to get a better look at them “What’s this…?” Jekyll looked over to the jars and smiled brightly “Ah! Those were two ingredients I had been planning to mix together recently, I got sidetracked with other things however…”

He then walked over and pointed to the jar that held some green looking leaves “This would be Scented Bay Leaves…!” He grabbed the jar and carefully opened it, holding it up to your face, you sniffed at it and the leaves definitely had a strong floral scent to them, he then closed them back up and sat them down, he grabbed the other jar and the material inside looked… Well, very strange if you were going to be honest with yourself… “And this is, well it’s some of one of my own formulas I have made before” The liquid inside the jar was a bit cloudy and gray looking and it looked gross, he then opened the jar and sat it back down on the table, he grabbed the bay leaves jar and opened it back up, he grabbed a pair of tweezers and set them down near the jars and then he grabbed a beaker, he also put some thick looking gloves on (be safe when your fucking experimenting and toiling in gods domain sometimes ok?) He told you stand back just a bit and you did so, you could still what he was doing as he picked up the tweezers and grabbed one of the scented bay leaves with it, he hovered it over to the jar with the weird liquid inside and after a few moments he lowered it and dropped the leaf into the substance.

After a few moments of nothing happening, the substance began to bubble up, it was foaming and okay… It was overflowing a little onto a tray he had quickly set it into, luckily it didn’t seem like it was going to overflow out of the tray, you looked on in awe as you watched the liquid bubble and foam and then slowly begin turning into a Dark Purple color and you were amazed but Jekyll seemed a little… Disappointed “Ah… ...T-That was… Supposed to turn Black… N-Not a Dark Purple like this” He saw Hyde manifest in the corner of the room and he could see the other laughing at him, laughing at his failure, he tried to just ignore the other which was always easier said than done, he took the gloves off and cast them to the side and sighed, you walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder which he did flinch a little at, but he quickly relaxed upon seeing a smile upon your face “Well… I uh, I don’t know how it went wrong or what exactly went wrong… But that… That was still cool…!” Henry looked surprised, he expected you to laugh at him as well, he expected you to comment about his failure and give him a bit of scrutiny even, this definitely caused a blush to appear on his face and Hyde was even stunned by this, jeez… You REALLY weren’t like the others, they would have laughed directly in his face!

This quieted the ghostly being in the corner down immediately, he watched Jekyll’s facial expressions carefully, given how long Hyde had been with Jekyll, he knew the man inside and out, literally… He could hear those thoughts, those thoughts the other kept trying to bury deep down, trying not to think like that, this was… Definitely interesting, he wanted to see just how this little story played out… Henry quickly cleared his throat and there was a smile on his face “...Thank you… I… I appreciate that…” You nodded

“Yeah… I’m sure you’ll get it next time…! Just uh, be careful… I dunno much about Alchemy but I don’t want you getting hurt” Jekyll nodded “But of course… I always try my best to be careful…” You looked up at the clock and it was getting late “Oh jeez…! I should really get going, thank you for the tea and for showing me your lab, this was cool! I had a lotta fun!” Henry suppressed a sigh, he hated that you had to go so soon, he wished you could stay here, with him… Forever… ...What was he thinking?!? He quickly spoke up “Oh of course, sorry to have kept you so long haha… Do you want me to walk you home tonight?” You shook your head “I appreciate that offer again but I’ll be fine…! I gotta hurry, I’ve got a lot to do tomorrow but the next day I’ll be free, seeya then?” Jekyll took a moment before nodding “If you want, remember you are free to stop by anytime you would like!”

You nodded and waved him goodbye, he waved goodbye to you as well and watched as you walked back up the stairs. He quickly took a seat in his chair and sighed in bliss, you were so wonderful… You didn’t judge him once or think his fascination and love for Alchemy was nonsense or ridiculous, you didn’t even give him any scrutiny for his little experiment failing in such a way… Which okay, he was still a little embarrassed about, next time he’d need to make sure things wouldn’t fail, he wanted to properly impress you… He wanted you to stay with him forever… His eyes widened a little at that thought, that thought had been creeping in a lot, jeez, he needed to get a grip on himself, that was not the type of thought to be thinking, especially not since you two were still getting to know each other...

He then glanced over to Hyde who was still standing in the corner, the two locking eyes and then Hyde was approaching without a word, this worried the doctor for a moment “...H-Hyde?” The ghostly figure never once breaking his gaze with the doctor as he stopped right in front of him, his expression was neutral as he studied Henry’s nervous one… After a few moments he suddenly smirked “You really a r e in love already… You want them, you want them s o badly… You are willing to do a n y t h i n g and e v e r y t h i n g to have them by your side…”

Jekyll was about to object to that statement but Hyde held up a clawed hand “I’m N O T finished yet… Jekyll, I can r e a d your thoughts, even the ones you’ve been so desperately hiding, the one you’ve been burying ever since you first laid eyes on them… I’d say this goes f a r beyond just love… It’s…” Hyde grinned before continuing “O b s e s s i o n…” He rasped out, this made Jekyll shake his head and he shot up out of his seat “I- No, that is not-” He felt himself get pushed back into his seat.

He was surprised at that, but Hyde got f a r too close for comfort, he could practically feel the other grab at his shirt collar “Henny… Don’t you d a r e lie to me…! I k n o w you from the inside and o u t… You can’t hide anything from me~ You are obsessed with them…! I never thought you would ever be obsessed over anything b u t your little experiments but here we are…~” He chuckled, stepping back a little as the doctor shook his head “...I… I don’t know what you are referring to, Hyde, now kindly leave me alone…” The figure laughed at Henry “Oh but you d o… Henny… C’mon~ If you’ll allow me, I can take care of this~! I can go get them for you!” Jekyll immediately stood and Hyde was surprised at the glare in the other’s eyes “Don’t you DARE! I will NOT let you hurt them! I will-” Hyde cut him off immediately “I don’t mean to hurt them, dumbass… What I mean is… I can fetch them for you! You want to keep them, you want them by your side…! I can go fetch (Y/N) for you! All you must do is give me the chance! I’ll deliver your precious (Y/N) unto you~” Henry shook his head “No way Hyde, there is no way I am going to let you out to do anything of the sort! I am NOT obsessed like you seem to think I am…! You are just trying to trick me like you always here, so I will let you have some inkling of control but I am NOT going to do that!” Hyde scoffed and crossed his arms “...Think about it, Jekyll… I’ll give you some time” And just like that, Hyde was gone.

Henry huffed in pure frustration, taking his glasses off to momentarily clean them before putting them back on his face, he sat back and slumped down in the chair, running his hands through his hair “...I am NOT obsessed with them… I just think they are quite charming and nice and I… I just… Want to get to k-know them a little better, that’s all…” Jekyll tried not to think of Hyde’s words, tried not to think of any of that but during the night, even as he tried to sleep… He could not take his mind off of you, even into the next day, ever since he first met you he had been thinking about you non-stop, he had been thinking about you being by his side, you being his in general… His beloved… The further into the day it got the more those thoughts intensified, at first he had thought maybe Hyde was somehow influencing this but that wouldn’t be right, Hyde wouldn’t care for such a thing surely… Jekyll never knew Hyde to express attraction or any kind of love to anyone before, as much as he could try, blaming it on Hyde wouldn’t work this time… Because this wasn’t that monster’s doing, this wasn’t his mentality, it was all of Jekyll’s own accord, all his own thoughts… He sighed, he tried to work on his experiments throughout this day since you wouldn’t be coming over, and he wanted to try taking his mind away from you.

Try as he might, nothing seemed to work, usually working with his experiments took his mind off of anything else, but not you… You were still in his head, you were still his primary thought, he tried to read, write some stuff down even, but no matter what happened, no matter what he did, he kept thinking of you… This day finally passed and yet another night of him dreaming of you, dreaming of you standing by his side, dreaming of you two holding hands together, the two of you even sharing a kiss one day perhaps… The next day you had come by just as you said you would, you greeted the doctor happily and even gave him a little hug, he froze at this at first but then he had the brightest and warmest smile on his face as he placed one arm around you, he… Wasn’t used to being hugged but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy one from you… So soft, so warm… Like the day you first visited him, the two of you sat down and had some tea together and got to know each other a good bit better, asking each other various questions and the more you talked about yourself, the things you liked, just…

Anything and everything about yourself made Jekyll’s heart swoon, you were so passionate about your hobbies and the things that interested you, he even felt like you matched his own passion for things of that sort… It only made him adore you all the more… He listened to you go on and on and let you talk mostly, usually he loved to talk about his accomplishments and he’d lead conversations but he was more than happy to let you have the stage here… Eventually it was evening and time for you to leave again, he was sad to see you go but he knew you’d be back the next day, and it continued like that for the next FEW days actually, you kept coming to visit him, the two of you would talk about how your days have went, any new discoveries Jekyll had, etc- Like always by the evenings, you’d have to leave and get back home, this would leave Henry to think about you during the evening and the rest of the nights, slowly but surely he realized, he couldn’t fight this feeling off much longer, he still was not obsessed no matter what Hyde had tried to tell him, it was probably just another tactic of his to gain control or to upset him or something… Another day had come by, you knocked on the door and were greeted once more by Poole who looked delighted to see you “Ah, (Y/N), please do come in, The Master is waiting for you…”

Now, unbeknownst to Jekyll, during those few days, Poole had pulled you aside along with the other maids and told you about Henry seeming so much more happier since you came along, Poole mentioned how the doctor seemed to like you a lot actually, any time you said you were coming over he’d practically beam and the more Poole told you, you… Really needed to tell the doctor something this day, he knew it was something important from what you had said over the phone before coming here, he was sitting on the couch and smiling like usual, he waved you over “Ah, hello (Y/N)!” You smiled back albeit much more nervously “H-Hi Henry…” You came over and sat down, at first Jekyll had asked for some tea for the both of you but you quickly spoke up “Um, I-I don’t want any tea right now, I’m not… Thirsty…” Jekyll seemed to take notice of your nervousness “...(Y/N)? I...Is there something wrong? You did say you had something important to discuss with me before coming over here… You aren’t sick or anything are you?” Jekyll simply motioned for Poole to leave for now which he quickly did, you then shook your head “No no… I-I uh, I’m not sick… I have… I have something to ask you…” Henry raised a brow “And what would that be? If you need money for something, I can gladly-” You cut him off “N-No, nothing like that…!”

You took a deep breath, already you were beginning to tremble… “...I… I… Jekyll… Do… Do you…” And then you paused, you were sweating a little, jeez… This was going to be harder than you first thought… He waited patiently however as you tried to steel yourself, you took some deep breaths and after a few moments you finally blurted out “...Do you like me?” Henry blinked in surprise as he looked into your eyes, he then quickly looked away, a blush forming on his cheeks “...I… Erm… W-Well… I uh…” There was a pause from him, he kept his gaze down to the floor as he spoke “...Well, to be quite honest with you (Y/N)... Yes, yes I do…” ...And that’s what you were afraid of… Oh boy… Jekyll studied your expression, one of sadness… He was confused, but he waited since it looked as if you were about to speak, you stood up as you did so “...While that is… Flattering… I-I… I’m sorry… I… I al-I al...alre…” You felt a lump in your throat, you were so worried he was going to be angry or react poorly “...I...I already have a partner…”

There was a long pause, it was awkward and so silent you could hear a pin drop in this very room… You slowly looked toward Henry who seemed to be processing this for a moment, he then stood which worried you but then you saw a smile on his face. It wasn’t a bright or happy one but still “I understand, (Y/N)... I want to ease your mind, I am not going to overreact, I am not going to get angry or upset over it… That would be so childish of me” You looked surprised, even though he was clearly a little hurt, you stood yourself “...Th-Thanks for understanding… We can still be f-friends if you want though…! I-I mean unless y-you think poorly of me now… O-Or if t-this made it too awkward…”

Henry shook his head “No no, not at all… I am not going to think poorly of you, I should apologize though, I hope I did not make you feel uncomfortable in all this either… If you don’t mind or find it too awkward, I would love to still be friends with you” He held out a hand, offering a handshake which you smiled and took “Of course… Th-Thank you… Thank you s-so… So much for understanding… I-I’m sorry if I l-” After shaking hands he then held his up “No no, none of that now… I promise you, it’s fine, you do not have to apologize” You nodded “Alright… I-I’ll still come and visit you… If you’ll allow me” Jekyll nodded “You are welcome here anytime, you and your partner both if they wish to come along!” You nodded and gave him a hug which he hugged back, and then you were on your way, waving goodbye to him and he did the same to you.

Once you were out the door and out of sight, he let his hand fall to his side, and then it balled into a fist, he glared daggers at the door, he heard Poole enter the room and he spoke up “...Poole, I am going to be in my Laboratory for awhile… I want NO disturbances from ANYONE, is that understood?” Poole quickly nodded as he heard his Master’s tone “Yes sir… Of course…” Jekyll then stormed over to his lab door, slamming it shut and locking it behind himself, Poole looked at the front door, he had overheard a bit of the conversation from the other room, he did not intend on eavesdropping but still, he sighed “...I hope he will be alright…” He then rushed off to go tell the maids and others not to bother the doctor any tonight, to let him cool off…

Meanwhile Henry had stormed down to his lab, right over to the table and he placed his hands upon it, for a moment he simply stood there, before he shoved everything right off the table and into the floor, the crashing and smashing of jars echoing off the wall, he then pounded his fist directly into the table, he screamed out in frustration as he punched the table over and over to the point where his knuckles were red… The thoughts going through his head right now weren’t pleasant, after all this time, all the days they spent talking together, after him trying to gain confidence to ask you out, it turned out you already had a significant other!

The thought of anyone else besides him holding you close made him want to wretch, it made him sick to his stomach to think that someone out there had stolen his love away, they stole Y/N from him… They stole them away, that wretched disgusting excuse of a living creature had stolen his precious Y/N away from him! He felt so many things… He felt anger first and foremost, then he felt sorrow and heartache, and then he felt sick to the point where he was almost sure he would vomit… Every time he thought of your partner, every time he thought of them kissing you, holding you close, saying those three little words that HE should be saying, NOT them… HE should be the one holding you close, HE should be the one kissing you, HE should be the one you love! NOT them! Not ANYONE else! HE was the ONLY one you should have ever fallen for!

And yet here some dirty filthy scumbag had gotten to you before he could? ...No… No NO NO! He was NOT going to simply stand by and allow this! After all the days and nights he spent thinking of you, after all he had secretly written down about you, the love letters he had even written but was too afraid to send, oh no… He was NOT going to let you go that easily… No, you WERE going to be his, you WILL be his…! He stood there, fists clenching in anger, a darkness in his gaze for once, something he usually only saw in Hyde… And then it hit him… He had denied this for so long, he denied having feelings for you in the first place, denied so many things…

...He was done denying, even if he had to admit this was an obsession… Then so be it, he was done holding back, he was far too desperate… Far too desperate to have you here, with him, by his side, he was so desperate to hear you say you loved him instead of that disgrace of a human being, the more he thought about them… He felt pure disgust wash over him, there was no way they were fitting for someone as perfect as you, no way they were fit to have such a lovely being as yourself standing by their side, no one so lowly deserved you… You were his… You… You would be his… And then he slowly raised his head up, he noticed he had been crying a little as well in the process of this.

He wiped his tears away and then slowly he turned his head to the bottle on one of his tables, it was a dark brown bottle… “...Tr-Tri… Trichloromethane…” He muttered to himself, that bottle of sweet smelling liquid… Usually called Chloroform… He stared at the brown bottle before looking back down to the table, his hands grasped at the table and he continued to stare for a moment before he took a deep breath and then spoke aloud… “...Hyde…?” Right on cue, the being manifested right behind him, even though Hyde hadn’t manifested into his ghostly form before, he heard and saw the entire thing unfold… He had a smug smirk on his face “Yes, J e k y l l…?” There was a long moment of silence as the doctor slowly stood upright, he walked over to the other table, the monster following right behind him, Jekyll’s hands balled into fists at first before he grabbed a beaker of green liquid, there was a long pause, a tense aura filling the room before Henry finally spoke up “...Go fetch them for me… ...Please…” The desperation in the doctor’s voice was almost too intoxicating for the monster that stood behind him, there was a moment of silence before he grinned, displaying razor sharp teeth “...But of course, d o c t o r~” Another pause before he chuckled “...Do you want me to dispose of their partner as well…?”

“...Do what you wish, just do not hurt (Y/N) no matter what, quite frankly I do not care what happens to their partner, whether they live ...Or they die…” Hyde’s grin widened immensely at that “Ooh~” His voice getting a bit raspier, he was getting more excited by the second… Henry quickly consumed the substance from the beaker and he clutched at himself, it had been so long since he let himself drink this vile thing… Since he had let Hyde take control, but that was the least of his worries, he didn’t care about Hyde having control right now, he just wanted Y/N… That’s the only thing in his mind right now, that’s all he wanted… He did let out a loud cry of pain as he slowly began transforming into the very monster he had been fighting for so long to keep restrained, even if Hyde got out sometimes on occasion, Jekyll was still mostly in control… He could feel his body morphing and changing, first was his height, he grew to be about six foot six at least, then those razor sharp teeth were poking through, pointed ears and claws growing into place, and those multiple tongues lashed out into the air as he let out a heavy breath.

After a few moments of his body morphing and changing and making so many god awful noises, this was it… Hyde was FINALLY in control again! He looked down at his large clawed hands as he moved his fingers individually, he let out a very raspy and shaky breath, he had pure ecstasy coursing through his veins right now “...O h… To be f r e e a g a i n…” He quickly looked up and walked over toward the mirror, looking over himself “Ahh…” He breathed out, this was REALLY happening, he was FINALLY in control! (for personal reasons, Hyde takes control and the fuckin outfit comes with him fdjkslrjfgdks its also funny as fuck to imagine just Hen transforming and Hyde comes out along with his clothing) “Oh my d e a r… You have n o clue what you’ve just done…” Hyde laughed, his laugh raspy and horrible just as it always was, he turned his attention to the bottle of chloroform and walked over, grabbing it and a rag “This should come in handy…” Hyde glanced over as he saw Jekyll manifest into ghost form “Hyde, do you have an actual plan?” The monster cackled at that question “What do you take me for, some kinda idiot?” “...Yes actually” And there was a snarl from Hyde, he looked angry at that and he stopped dead in his tracks.

“Hmph… I guess you really don’t want (Y/N) as bad as I thought…” Henry quickly spoke up “No! NO! Hyde, please…” There was a pause, even with the ghostly form Jekyll took, Hyde could see the pure desperation in the other’s eyes “I apologize… Just, please, I want them… I n e e d them by my side…” The monster smiled wide, “That’s more like it… Mm, don’t you worry… By the end of the night, they’ll be by your side alright… You know, I’m q u i t e interested in meeting them myself, for such a being to exist to cause t h i s sort of reaction from you… For it to go as far as you finally letting me have control, WILLINGLY at that, I need to know m o r e…” And then he set off, he of course took the back entrance, not wanting Poole nor any of the others to see him, he crept off into the night, it was wonderfully dark out, even with the nightlights on, the moon was covered in clouds, oh this was so incredibly perfect… He could easily track the both of you down and go undetected! This was perfection! And it felt so good to have the breeze brush through his hair, to smell the disgusting air of the city, it was revolting and yet he loved it so! He ran through the darker parts of the street, only running into and knocking over a few people which he didn’t stop for in the slightest, he only chuckled as he darted past, he had a mission to do!

He paused for a moment to sniff at the air before quickly running again (fuckin- animalistic predator lookin ass) after a bit he arrived near your home, he hid in the shadows as quickly as he could as he watched you and your partner walking up to the door, hand in hand, he sneered at this display, they wouldn’t be holding hands for too much longer, while Hyde didn’t see anything in particular about you, he knew there was something special about you, he even heard and definitely felt Jekyll’s heartbeat pick up, the doctor manifesting himself beside Hyde, he watched as you conversed with your partner, and then they gave you a quick peck on the lips, that made Henry ball his hands into fists “...So they are the one who stole my (Y/N) away from me… I… I…” There was a pause as Hyde turned to look at Jekyll, he saw a look he had never seen before in the weak and usually timid doctor, he was so shy usually but the look he saw, and the words the other spoke… “I h a t e them…” He hissed before continuing “I want them OUT of the picture…! (Y/N) is mine and mine alone…!” Hyde snickered “With all the time I’ve spent with you, I have n e v e r seen t h i s from you before…”

“You are usually such a righteous man, the thoughts you're thinking right now… Such violence…~ Are you going to blame that on me this time, or will you finally accept that you're not as righteous as you claim?” Jekyll sighed “...I… I… Hyde, please just, focus… I am fed up with waiting… I need them, I want to hold them close in my embrace… I want to give them the proper love that they need” The monstrous figure rolled his eyes “Yeah yeah, I get it… You want them, you looove them… Blegh… I don’t see it…” And then Jekyll vanished, leaving Hyde to watch you enter your home with your partner, he’d strike but not yet… He wanted to wait just a bit longer, given the time of night that it was, you two would surely be going to bed very soon… Even though love wasn’t something Hyde particularly cared about, he was still curious about you himself, he could feel it deep down himself, perhaps being a part of Jekyll, if he gains an obsession over someone, perhaps it affects him as well then… ...He’d find out soon enough, he was sure of it, he waited for a bit and then he saw the lights all turn off and he grinned “Oh… Sweetness… You’ll be ours soon enough, it’s fate…” He waited a few moments longer before slowly creeping from the shadows, it was time…

Meanwhile… You had fallen asleep cuddled up right next to your partner, it had been a long night out, they took you out to get some ice cream so you wouldn’t feel as bad as you did for earlier, you knew it had hurt Jekyll and even with him reacting as well as he did, you still couldn’t help but feel guilty, so your partner decided to take you out tonight and take your mind off it, and it did help a lot, going out and enjoying the night… It felt good, boy were you exhausted when you had arrived home however, it had felt good to get into bed, you fell asleep fairly quickly along with them after you two had gotten ready and then turned the lights off… You were sound asleep, snoring softly, blissfully unaware of the danger that was slowly creeping in through an open window in your home, it was prowling around in your kitchen at first, eating some of the food you owned which Jekyll scolded it for, the monstrous figure only rolled his eyes at the ghostly manifestation, shooing him away with a clawed hand, Hyde might have been on a mission currently but there was no way it was going to pass up an opportunity to cause a little mischief here and there, he looked around the place and it was rather basic, far too boring of a place for his standards.

He wandered around, trying not to knock anything over, although being silent for a being as wide and large as him was easier said than done, he crept through the house, looking for the bedroom in particular, after he found it and saw you sleeping so soundly, he grinned, he almost couldn’t contain himself as he crept to the foot of your bed, he stared at you for a moment, how could such a being drive Jekyll to this point… He was so curious of you, not many things nowadays caught Hyde’s attention but you? You definitely piqued his interest… Maybe not in the way you did with Jekyll but he still held a certain interest in you… He stood at the foot of your bed, staring at you and then his attention turned to your partner who slept just as soundly, he grinned at them, so this was the one keeping you away and driving Jekyll to the point of pure anger, driving him to let this monstrous beast take control? ...Hm, this would be much simpler than Hyde thought, and then he saw you stir, his attention immediately snapping back to you as you raised up, rubbing your eyes slightly and looking around the room, you then laid back down for a few moments before…

You immediately shot back up and glanced toward Hyde, your eyes as wide as could be as you stared at the tall figure, he was covered in the shadows but you could see those eyes staring back at you, those glowing red eyes, and then you could see a wicked grin, full of too many teeth in the dark, you looked toward your partner and began shaking them to wake them up, it took a few moments before they grumbled “Wh-What is it, hun…?” You quickly spoke “T-Th-The...There’s a person…! THERE’S A PERSON STARING AT US!” You quickly shrieked, this made your partner shoot right up to look in front of them, however when you looked back toward the spot, that figure was gone… Your partner had turned on the lamp to illuminate the room a little and there was definitely nobody there now “B-But… I-I KNOW I saw someone…! It… It had red glowing eyes and… And… T-Those teeth…” Your partner looked at you, they were definitely a bit skeptical of that but... “Do you want me to check it out, (Y/N)?” You bit your lip and nodded, they got out of bed, and grabbed a flashlight from the drawer “You wanna come with me?” You shook your head “I-I think I’ll just stay r-right here…” Your partner nodded “If someone tries anything, whack ‘em with the lamp, there’s plenty of shit in here to use…!” You nodded at that and watched as they first shined the flashlight toward the shadow-y spot.

They then checked the entire bedroom before leaving to go check the rest of the house, you heard them fumbling around in the other rooms as you took a look around the bedroom, not really getting out of the bed since the room was illuminated enough and they had checked it out beforehand, you had no idea what you saw but you knew it was something or someone staring back at you from the darkness… You knew that wasn’t just a dream or hallucination surely, there was no way… You were awake right now as well! After a bit you realized you couldn’t hear your partner anymore, no noises indicating them searching things “A-Are you okay?” You called out loud enough so they’d be able to hear and no response…

You tried calling out their name and nothing and that’s when you immediately got out of bed and walked toward the bedroom door, you peered out and saw nobody so you called out again, still no response, you were starting to get worried now… You made your way down the hall and right as you got to the bathroom you let out a scream as something jumped in front of you, after you had stumbled back only then had you recognized it was your partner who was laughing, you immediately stood and glared at them “T-That wasn’t funny! What the HELL is wrong with you?!” You gave them a punch in the shoulder, nothing too hard of course, it was merely a playful punch even if you were actually a little angry with them.

They laughed and rubbed at their shoulder “Oh man! You shoulda seen the look on your face (Y/N)! Holy shit, that got you w a y more than I expected!” They continued to laugh as you huffed and crossed your arms “That wasn’t funny at all… I thought something bad happened to you…!” Finally their laughter died down a little “I’m sorry, c’mon… It was just a lil joke…” You let out a hmph “It wasn’t a very good or funny one…!” They bit their lip to refrain from any more laughter “Alright, alright… (Y/N), c’mon… I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist, ya know it was too good an opportunity to pass up!” They wrapped their arms around you in a hug “Coommeee oonnn… Honey, please don’t be mad…!” They were beginning to look like a hurt puppy “I’m sorry, I won’t do it again!” You laughed at that “Yeah right…! You’d absolutely do it again if you got the chance!” And then they snickered “...Well yeah maybe~” You huffed but proceeded to hug them back “You’re very mean…” They chuckled “I know~” They then pulled back and held your hand.

“In all seriousness though, we should get back to bed, I checked everywhere in the house, no signs of anyone or anything, no signs of someone breaking in, nothing…” You sighed, a bit relieved, maybe it was a mere hallucination “...M-Maybe I was just seeing things…” Your partner nodded “I think we’re both still exhausted… It’s been a long day, come on dear, let’s get back to bed and rest… And tomorrow we’ll… w-we’ll…” Your partner began trailing off and you could feel their hand beginning to tremble, you looked toward them and saw their eyes were wide “H-Honey…? [Partner’s Name]? ...W-What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost…! Tch, are you seriously trying to scare me again?!” (I’ll let y’all name your own partner, it's a useless thing but ya know have some fun)

They didn’t respond, they were frozen for a moment before they pulled their hand away from yours and shakily pointed behind you, you huffed “I swear… If this is another one of your scare tactics, you’ll be sleeping on the couch tonight…!” You turned around and then your eyes widened just like theirs… “...H-Holy shit…” You muttered, you were staring up at a large figure, he was dressed from head to toe in a black and red, his eyes were also red, and then you noticed his grin, those were ra… Razor sharp teeth… T-This was the thing that had been staring at you in the bedroom!

“Ah…” He rasped out, his breath ghosting over you and okay… His breath reeked, it almost made both you and your partner gag right there “Good evening you two…~” His voice was bone-chilling and as raspy as one could get, you were staring into his eyes for a moment, frozen with fear before your partner had grasped onto your arm and immediately pulled you back “Run!” They shouted, quickly tugging you along with them, you sprinted alongside them and the figure only snarled as it charged forward “You cannot escape me, my love!” It called out, he seemed surprised he uttered that in particular, ah… Perhaps fascination would soon turn into obsession, either way he wasn’t going to focus on that right now, he had a job to do…! As you both almost made it to the front door, the figure had pulled out a cane and whacked your partner in the back of the head, they collapsed to the ground as you screamed out, you could see some blood running down and onto the floor, you knelt down beside them and your hands were trembling, you had almost forgot about the massive being standing just over them for a second before he lifted his cane up again, you quickly shoved him back away and stood in front of them.

“I won’t let you hurt them again! If you wanna kill them you gotta go through me!” The figure only snarled and lowered his cane “You are a defiant little one, aren’t you?” He then paused before chuckling “I couldn’t care less about them! It’s y o u who I’m after my dear…~ Since I’m in an oh so generous mood tonight… I’ll give you a choice, you can make this much easier for yourself if you’ll come along quietly with me or you can choose the hard way and run and well… You won’t like what happens then~ And don’t forget, if you run now, I’ll have an opportunity to swing at your precious little partner~ And if they aren’t dead already, then they will be with this next hit!” You bit your lip, he was right… If you tried to run he could easily swing again and if they weren’t dead already, there’s no way they could take another hit… Before you answered him you looked down at your partner, they weren’t moving, you had hoped they were only unconscious, not much blood had come out, not enough to cause death surely… Then again you didn’t know but either way, you couldn’t risk them getting hit again, you wouldn’t risk it… You looked toward the figure and nodded “F-Fi...Fine… I-I’ll go with you…”

The figure grinned widely “Excellent choice my dear…” And then it grabbed your arm, a bit too harshly and was dragging you out the door, you took one look back at your partner, they still weren’t moving but you could only hope they would be alright, after all, had you tried anything he’d surely go back for them, and that was the last thing you wanted… You didn’t want them to die, maybe… Maybe someone would even call for help, the figure tugged you closely to his side and snarled “Keep up…! You might as well forget they ever existed, because you’re never going to see ‘em again…!” You glared up at the figure “Wh-Who even are you anyways…?” There was a pause before he grumbled “...You may call me Edward Hyde…” So it did have a name… “Wh-Where are yo-you even taking me…?” He rolled his eyes “Tch, so noisy… You’ll see when we get there my dear~” This was FAR easier than Hyde had expected, he didn’t even have to use the chloroform he had grabbed earlier! He kept dragging you down the street and as much as you did try to resist, the man had a v i c e grip on your arm practically, you continued walking with him until you got way farther from your home before you suddenly held a leg out in front of him, sure this winded up tripping both him and you up but you were faster than he would be.

You quickly got up before he did and as he tried to grab your ankle you quickly kicked him in the face and dashed away as he yelled out your name, you were not going back to your home, no way were you going to endanger your partner like that, and there was no way he was going to go all the way back to your house just to finish them off either, he wouldn’t go out of his way like that surely, you dashed down a different street, you had no idea where it led but you didn’t care as long as you got away from that thing… You kept running into the night, it was very late and there wasn’t a soul in sight, everyone was most likely in bed by this hour, this street had a bunch of large homes, mansions in fact… This must’ve been a place where very rich people lived, and you didn’t figure they’d help someone like you out, you looked around, not knowing where to go next, and then it hit you…

Maybe you could go back to Jekyll’s place! If he’s there he’d surely protect you! You looked at one of the street signs as you were coming up to it, Jekyll’s home was a street over from this one! Luckily there seemed to be access from the street you were currently on, you made a mad dash for that street in particular, you hadn’t heard Hyde in awhile, you hadn’t seen him either, you hoped maybe he had just given up entirely, maybe it got bored of the chase, either way, you wouldn’t stop running until you got to Jekyll’s home.

Eventually, you had managed to get there, your legs had almost given out on you during the run, you were breathing heavily, chest heaving with heavy ragged breaths as you rung the doorbell, after a few moments nothing happened, but you rang the doorbell again and then a light came on, you waited for a few moments and then you were greeted by Poole who looked surprised “(Y/N)? What on earth are you doing here at this hour? And… ...Oh my… Is everything alright? You look frightened…!” You took a moment to breathe in and out before explaining to Poole the entire situation, from the monster attacking your partner, to trying to take you, to you tripping him up and then finally to you running here for some safety… Poole quickly stepped aside and let you come in, knowing that his Master would be q u i t e upset with him if he were to refuse that, and even then, he didn’t necessarily want to see you hurt either, after you dashed inside, he quickly closed the door and locked it before looking back at you “Would you like for me to call the Police?” You thought about it before you realized, while the police could probably help you out, you remembered your partner, laying there on the floor…

“Not f-for me… Please… He… That thing attacked my partner… I-I want the police to go there, and… Get an ambulance f-for them…” Poole nodded, you told him your address really quickly and then he called the Police, he explained a bit of the situation to them, that a terrible incident had occurred and they needed to send some help over to your home, somebody was hurt or potentially worse, after all was explained and done, he hung up the phone “The Police will arrive at your home as soon as they possibly can… If you would like, and I do believe it… IS for the best… You should stay the night, after all… The Master would give me s u c h a scolding if I let you get injured or worse…” You nodded “Y-Yeah… I… I wanna… s-stay here…” After all this, you had almost been on the verge of tears, from thinking of your partner being potentially already dead, to just this insane situation in general, your hands were as shaky as could be… “Wh...Where is… Jekyll a-an...anyways…?” Poole pointed toward the Lab door “The Master has been in his Laboratory all night… I am, admittedly, a bit worried about him… I doubt he would mind it if you went in and checked on him, and besides… You should be the one to inform him of your situation” You nodded, you walked toward the Lab door and carefully turned the knob, to your surprise and especially Poole’s surprise, the door slowly opened, that’s odd… Poole could have s w o r n the doctor locked that door earlier… ...Oh well, either way, he watched you enter the Lab and shut the door behind yourself.

You carefully walked down the steps until you finally reached the Lab itself, you called out so you wouldn’t hopefully frighten the doctor “H-Hey…? Henry…? Are… Are you down here?” You didn’t see him yet but just in case he was in here, you had started to talk about your situation, the danger you could be in and your partner, and that’s what had you on the verge of tears again, you quickly tried to wipe them away, however when you got no response to that… You looked confused “...J-Jekyll…? Poole s-said… You’ve been in here all night… ...A-Are you alright?” Again, nothing but silence and now you were walking around the Lab, it was a fairly big one… But even then you didn’t see him at all, you tried calling out to him again and you were growing more worried by the second, you searched around but saw no sign of him, maybe he had gone out for the night? But then… Oh no… What if he was in danger as well?! You needed to go tell Poole, you turned back around and ran right into something… Something large… You stumbled a little bit but then you looked at the thing you had run into and your heart sank… Your eyes widened as you looked up into the other’s… Those red eyes were all too familiar, and then the figure grinned “My my… It seems I found you again, my love~” He purred, and stepped forward, and then you stepped back, it repeated like this until your back hit a wall which you softly gasped at.

Hyde leaned forward, he was far too close to your face and you could see those sharp teeth that could easily rip you apart if it so desired, his breath ghosted over your skin, it made goosebumps form across your skin and the hairs on your arms stand up, his breathing was purposefully heavy, you could hear rasping and some growls even as he opened his mouth further, a set of tongues lolling out of his mouth, you stared at them, eyes wide with terror as the tongues reached up, caressing your face in a sickeningly gentle manner, you whimpered, tears cascading down your face as you shivered in pure disgust, after that he pulled away and chuckled at you “You really… A r e something special… Aren’t you~?” You glared at him “...What did you do with Doctor Jekyll, you sick fuck…?” Hyde took a moment before…

He burst out with laughter, that laugh sending chills down your spine as it echoed off of the Laboratory walls, after that he looked back at you, a smug smile on his face “Oh… Don’t worry about Doctor Jekyll… He’s perfectly fine my love…~” You looked around for some kind of opening to try and run, it was going to be tough, extremely tough given how large Hyde was, but it wasn’t completely impossible by any means… Hyde wouldn’t deny this either, he was starting to feel… Something himself, maybe it was just as he said earlier, maybe this little obsession was getting to him as well, when he looked into your eyes he felt something… The only thing different being, Jekyll didn't like seeing the tears on your face or seeing you so scared and distraught. Meanwhile Hyde seemed to enjoy it f a r too much to the point where Jekyll had even spoken up “H-Hyde… That’s… That’s enough, don’t scare them anymore than you already have…!” However Hyde merely ignored Jekyll this time around, almost like he didn’t even hear the other in the first place, he brought a clawed hand up and gripped at your chin, forcing you to look him in the eyes, he took his other hand and wiped your tears away, his claw getting dangerously close to nicking you in the eye.

“Shh~ Now now, there’s no need for the waterworks, my dear…~” You tried pulling away from him but his grip was still vice-like and okay, it was beginning to hurt your chin a little bit, you reached up and grasped at his arm “J-Just… What do y-you even w-want from me anyways…?” Hyde chuckled, his grip loosening from your chin finally, you brought your hand up to rub at the spot, that was going to be sore later… “Mm… What I want is v e r y simple… I have told you already or perhaps you’ve forgotten it?” You looked at him, confused, this was your only chance to run because you saw him reaching behind himself into a pocket “...I want…” He rasped out, his hand slowly pulling out a brown bottle, shit… You had a feeling you knew what that brown bottle was “...Y O U!” And with that you slipped past the opening you had seen earlier, it was a tight squeeze to slip past him but you managed to do so, you made a beeline for the stairs, you heard Hyde snarl and okay now he sounded really pissed… As you reached the top step, Hyde jumped up onto something and then over the railing, slamming down on the ground below, it's a good thing this staircase wasn’t made out of wood otherwise Hyde would have had the entire thing come crashing down, he instantly grabbed you and hooked an arm tightly around your waist.

“NOT… This time my love…” He growled out, clear anger in his tone, you still tried to struggle away from him, trying to call out for help in hopes that maybe Poole would hear or someone, as you did this however, his grip only tightened even more to the point where you wheezed, jeez if he tightened his grip anymore he would probably crack a rib, even though this was an awkward kind of position, he managed to open the chloroform, he then threw you to the ground rather harshly and stood over you, he grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and poured some of the substance onto it, trying not to stain himself nor his clothing, he then tossed the bottle to the far side, meanwhile you were trying desperately to crawl away from him, he crouched down and sat atop you, pressing the handkerchief over your mouth and nose rather harshly, your hands shot up and you tried to fight him off, not that it really did much good, this thing was far stronger than you could ever hope to be, either way you still weren’t going to go down without a fight! You screams were muffled by the rag but you prayed that someone upstairs would hear you, even before when you had screamed, you had hoped someone up there heard those!

You didn’t hear anyone approaching the door or any sounds of someone talking however, and after a few moments and him keeping the rag pushed directly onto your face, your struggles began to slow, and you could feel yourself fading, your vision starting to blur here and there… Even then you struggled until your body wouldn’t allow you to anymore, the last thing you saw was that smug bastard grinning at you before your vision faded and the darkness overcame you… Eventually you shot up out of a bed with a gasp, you were still a bit disoriented from what had happened earlier, you tried to immediately get up out of the bed only to stumble here and there and when someone put their hand on your shoulder you screamed and swatted it away “(Y/N)...! C-Calm down, it’s only me…!” You blinked in surprise, your vision still blurring a bit but you could at least make out who it was, even by voice alone “H-Henry…?” You rubbed at your eyes and that helped your vision a bit, it was enough to see the figure standing in front of you… “Yes, that’s right… It’s me, it’s Henry…” You looked around the Laboratory for any signs of that monster from last night “Wh-Where is… Hyde…?” Jekyll sighed and shook his head “No need to worry yourself with that man, my dear friend… I am assuming you mean the man I saw hovering over you last night of course… Ahem... Let me explain a bit further, if you’ll allow?” You nodded and as you almost stumbled over, Jekyll helped you back onto the bed.

“You see… It must have been after you passed out, because as I walked in the door, I saw h i m… That monster of a being standing over you… You say his name was, erm… Hyde, yes?” You nodded at this and so he continued “I quickly grabbed my cane and ran him off and out of the lab, I… I just… (Y/N)... What was that man even after in the first place? Did he hurt you at all?” You had to take a few moments, you rubbed your face a little and then looked up at Henry “I-I… I don’t know… I don’t… H-He said… He said something about… Me? Wanting… Me…? I don’t understand… I just… He attacked me and my partner… O-Oh god… [Partner’s Name]...” Tears welled up in your eyes and you pulled Jekyll into a hug, he carefully wrapped his arms around you “...I’m sorry (Y/N)... I’m so sorry you had to go through all that… I heard from Poole actually, a bit about that… He said he had called the police for your significant other… I myself, do not know of their condition… But, I heard they got sent to Doctor Lanyon’s Hospital… He is a fine doctor and a friend of mine! If anyone can help your partner, it would be him…” While you couldn’t see his face, Jekyll was smiling, almost smirking even as the hug went on, oh it was so lovely to get to hold you close like this… You felt so warm to him… Sure, one side of him did feel a bit bad for lying to you and for what Hyde had put you through but you were here now and that was all that mattered, he would have to… Thank Hyde for that later, somehow anyways.

Because even despite causing trouble here and there he DID deliver you to the doctor as promised, he did exactly what he said he would do… And even after he was finished, Jekyll could see Hyde over in the corner, just staring at the two of them, his gaze flickering back to you in the end, there was no denying it from the both of them at this point, love and obsession had stricken the both of them, and it was pretty safe to say with one glance, the two of them were definitely in agreement on this one, they would never be letting you go… “...Jekyll? Did you hear what I said?” The doctor blinked before looking back at you “O-Oh…! My apologies, what did you say?” You repeated yourself again “I said… Thank you… For saving me, i-in the end at least… I don’t wanna think about what else… That thing would have done…” Henry nodded and smiled “I… I do wish I could have been here a lot sooner, before he got to you in the first place”

“But… At the very least, I still managed to get to you before he dragged you off to God knows where… And I am just… Glad you're safe…” And then the both of you realized, you were still hugging each other, you pulled away first and chuckled awkwardly, wiping some of the excess tears off your face “Yeah… I’m grateful… For that…” And then Henry looked around the Lab “You know, since such a dangerous man is at large… Perhaps it would be best if you stayed here, with me, Poole, and the others for a while? I, of course, will not force you… But, I would rather you stay with someone at the very least and not risk being alone…” You thought about it for a moment and shuddered “...Y-Yeah… After… What happened… I-I really don’t… Wanna be alone…” And then Jekyll was smiling brightly “Wonderful, you may stay here for as long as you’d like my dear… ...Friend!” He needed to be careful with his wording for now… After all, this was only the beginning, he didn’t want to rush things and risk any suspicion, in due time… You would fall for him, you would fall for the both of them, and even though he is normally a patient man, he can barely w a i t for that day to come, to think of hugging you, kissing you, dancing with you, it filled him with a euphoric sense but for now…

This was only The Beginning…

(Thats the ending, Im making it sound like a chapter thing but I s w e a r its not, I mean unless people would really wanna see it develop n shit go down or whatever but for now, very VERY subtle Yandere undertones from the good righteous man himself, keep in mind btw, these are MY versions of the lads, not- from anything else,, so ye- This was fun and exhausting to write but I’m EXTREMELY proud of this one, sometimes subtly in yandere stories can be fun to write

This literally started off with o n e concept of Jekyll falling for the reader and then it turning into basically an obsession/yandere deal and getting DESPERATE enough to let Hyde take control and go after them and that was it, that one thing spawned this entire story- I didn’t intend for it to be this long either but I figured I might as well see it through to the end otherwise I wouldn’t have been proud, anyways- im just rambling now, I hope y’all enjoyed this <3)

#jekyll and hyde #dr jekyll and mr hyde #tw yandere behavior #tw obsessive behavior #tw obsessive thoughts #tw violence #tw drugging

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lancearcherinrippedjeans · 3 years

Text

Eternity - Chapter 6

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And we are BACK folks! Did you guys miss us?

Shoutout to @adriii-omega cause she wrote MOST of this chapter while Parker, (me, lancearcherinrippedjeans) has school and was sick!

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Starring - The MAGNIFICENT OC’s, Kenny Omega, Ricky Starks, The Best Friends, Private Party, Excalibur, Taz, Brian Cage, The Young Bucks and Tony Khan

Word Count - 6,792

Category - Fluff, tiniest bits of angst, comedy

6/?

Summary - The tournament is finally starting, how will it go with Nova on commentary?

Warning - Cussing, drinking, slight possesivness

Other author’s notes - Private Party are the STARS of this chapter, and this might look a little weird cause it was posted on mobile, also, follow @adriii-omega

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“First you leave me out of the tournament, and now you want me to go out on TV and play commentator?” Nova huffed, as she tried her best not to upset her boss; Tony Khan. “I know you’re not happy about being excluded , but I promise we have plans for you to do big things here in AEW,” he stood in front of her to block her path, “Plus, it’s only Youtube.” Nova let out a long sigh, “For how long?”

“Just until you become a fan favorite, you know like…” Tony stopped mid-sentence, trying to rethink his words. “Like Sawyer and Veronica?” Nova asked, already annoyed. “The fans are going to love you, I promise,” Tony grabbed the cream-colored folder off his desk and handed it to Nova, “This is the match card for tonight. Excalibur should have more info on all of the competitors, but you should know most of them.”

“You could just say Sawyer, Veronica, and Ricky. I promise you won’t hurt my feelings,” Nova joked, heading for the door, “Thank you Tony, but I hope this isn’t a waste of my time.” She shut the door, opening up the folder, and looking over the card for tonight.

She smiled to herself, looking at her friend’s names for the first round of the tournament. A long shadow caught her eye, causing her to look up and seeing Team Taz walking right her way. She gave a small wave to Ricky, making him turn all his attention that was on Taz onto her.

Ricky jogged over, “What weird stuff do they got you doing this week?”

Nova smirked, looking at Taz who was already annoyed they had to stop, “Well, I’m gonna be on commentary tonight!” She announced, plastering on a smile she definitely didn’t have in Tony’s office. “Does that mean you’ll be out there for my match?” his brows perked up in anticipation, “I’ll have the best seat in the house.” she laughed. Brian smiled as Ricky planted a kiss onto Nova’s cheek. Taz cleared his throat loudly, “Well if you guys are done making goo-goo eyes at each other, we gotta get going.” he pointed at his watch symbolizing the time.

“What are you talking about? The show doesn’t start for another two hours?” Cage spoke up from behind them. Nova and Ricky let out a small chuckle at Taz’s new expression. He stood with his mouth agape, darting his eyes at the FTW champion, “Thanks, Brian for correcting me,” he said through gritted teeth. “Is there anyone else that would like to make me look like a complete idiot?” He said through a fake smile. Nova raised her hand, “If it makes you feel better…I’m not on the card tonight,” Taz gave her an obvious expression. “Why would you be-”

“Instead I’ll be sitting next to you on commentary!” She gave him a bright smile, as his smirk disappeared. “The-the whole show…?”

“All twenty-four matches!”

“Oh HELL NO!! AYO TONY!?” Taz angrily marched down the hallway leaving Cage, Starks, and Nova in a laughing fit. “I can’t believe you,” Ricky said through laughs. “I don’t think I've ever seen him that mad.” Cage jokes, “Or run that fast.” He added, causing them to continue their laughter. “Poor Tony.” Ricky pointed, as an annoyed Tony Khan tried to reason with a loud mouth Taz. “I’m going to make sure he doesn’t get fired, I’ll catch up with you guys later.” He said while jogging down the hall. Ricky finally caught his breath and held his hand out. “Come on, I want to spend time together before you and Taz kill each other.” he smiled, making her giggle. “I’m looking forward to it, maybe I can get him to… hate me less?” Ricky chuckled before placing a kiss on her forehead, “You’re lucky Excalibur will be out there.”

“And making her way to commentary… The SuperNova Jay!” Justin Roberts introduced, as the small audience of professional wrestlers cheered. “It’s a pleasure to be able to sit next to you,” Excalibur started, “You haven’t even said anything and you’re already better than Taz!”

“Shut up Excalibur,” Taz grunted.

Nova smoothed out her dress before taking her seat. “I’m so happy to be here.” She gave a smile as the camera was on her. “It’s been such an amazing few weeks for you already here in AEW, first you officially signed with All Elite Wrestling, and now two of your closest friends; Veronica and Sawyer are competing tonight for a chance to challenge Hikaru Shida for the AEW women’s championship.” Nova nodded, as Excalibur opened his mouth to ask a question, but was cut off, “I have a question for you Nova,” Taz joined in, “How does it feel that your own BEST FRIENDS are worthy enough of participating in this tournament, and you are…out sitting on the sidelines?” Taz smirked, as he saw Nova bite the inside of her cheek. Excalibur looked between them trying his best to move forward. Luckily Sawyer’s theme music began to play causing the tension to be lifted.

It was towards the middle of the match when Sawyer and Madi were tied up in the corner. “I’m going to try an arm drag-” Sawyer whispered, so only she could hear it. “No, you aren’t. I am not letting you look stronger than me,” Madi attempted to kick Sawyer in the stomach, but failed, as she lost her balance. Taz face planted himself, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more unfocused wrestler than Wrenkowski.” He complained as they slightly laughed, “Thank god Sawyer is one of the most professional women wrestlers there is,” Nova started, “You see I’ve known both of these females for quite a long time and this rivalry trails way further back than you would think.”

“Is that so…please tell us more,” Excalibur asked with interest. Nova began to speak but instead looked over and saw Taz staring at her with a half-smile. “Well, for starters Madi had ALWAYS been jealous of Sawyer. Though unfortunately, she was the champion at the time, Sawyer always got all of the attention, and that’s something Madi always wants.” They both nodded understanding, shortly later hearing the bell ring.

“Here is your winner: Sawyer Holden!” Justin’s voice echoed throughout the arena. She slowly stood up, allowing her hand to be raised by Aubrey Edwards. Nova sent an evil grin to Madi Wrenkowski as she clenched her neck from the Canadian Destroyer that was given to her. She rolled her eyes before stomping off through the tunnel. Veronica sat with the Young Bucks at the monitor watching everything go down. Nick let out a sigh, as Madi walked past them knocking over a few trash cans in frustration. “God, she’s so annoying,” he commented, making Veronica laugh. “Good thing you don’t have to go against her,” Matt chimed in, “I wouldn’t be able to take it.” They nodded in agreement just as Sawyer made her way back. She sent a small smile their way earning a thumbs up from Matt. “Are you guys still upset with each other?” he nudged Veronica, as she looked over and saw Sawyer in deep conversation with a group of wrestlers. “No, we’re cool.” She half lied. The brothers gave each a look, knowing something was off.

“Hey have you guys seen Kenny?” she spoke up, trying to get the conversation changed from her and Sawyer. Nick sighed, “He’s getting ready for his match with Sonny tonight since Janela was taken out.” She mouthed an “O” before grabbing her phone and opening the messaging app.

Is everything alright? Nick just told me Joey is out.

The next match had started, and Penelope Ford was going against Allie. Shortly later her phone buzzed.

Kenny: Everything is fine. Where are you at??

Sitting next to the Bucks, my match is coming up soon.

Kenny: I'm on my way over there, see you in a bit.

A smile crept up onto Veronica’s face as she began to watch the match. On the other side of the hall, Sawyer stood next to her friend: Chuck Taylor.

“I don’t know man,” she whined, “I don’t think she even wants to look at me.” Chuck rolled his eyes before placing both hands on her shoulders. “SAWYER. GO. ASK. HER.” He gave her a push before leaning against the wall. Everything was headed smoothly, as she made her way next to where Veronica was sitting…

“Hey V!” she piped, causing The Young Bucks to give her a hard stare. Veronica smiled as she leaned back into her chair, “I was wondering after the show tonight we could go to our favorite restaurant. Just us three - like old times.”

A voice cleared their throat from behind making Sawyer turn around. A perplexed Kenny Omega looked over at the group. “Don’t mind me. I just came to see my GIRLFRIEND.” He shot a look at Sawyer, before walking behind Veronica’s chair, “You were saying?” he smirked. Sawyer’s face grew with anger before she turned on her heels, “Just forget about it.” she mumbled. Chuck watched in disgust as Kenny began to laugh. Veronica bit her tongue until she heard the bell ring meaning her match was soon. “Sawyer, wait,” she called out, causing everyone to look at her. “I’ll be there. Meet me in the parking lot at 9?” she suggested. Sawyer held back her stun expression before nodding and walking off with Chuck as he made an “L” gesture with his finger and pointed at Omega.

The Bucks looked between the two, “We’re going to head back to the locker room now, we’ll see you guys later.” Nick scratched the back of his neck, as Matt gave them both a tight lip smile and followed his brother. Penelope Ford came back with enthusiasm since she would be advancing to the semi-finals against Sawyer. She gave a quick hug to Veronica, congratulated her, and went to celebrate with her fiancé. Veronica began to walk towards the tunnels as she noticed her opponent, Serena Deeb, was warming up.

“Are we going to talk about it?” Kenny spoke up, making her stop in her tracks.

“Is there really anything to talk about? I'm going to get dinner. That’s it.”

“But seriously? With…HER?” he scoffed, “When will you finally see she is no good?” Veronica turned around walking slowly towards her boyfriend, “Babe, you don’t understand how Sawyer and I’s friendship works…we’re fine.”

“I don’t buy it. I am trying to protect you. I am trying to protect US.” he ran his hands through his hair, “Kenny….” “She doesn’t like me, Veronica! She’s trying to break us up because she thinks you deserve better,” He stopped his rant, before giving a sly laugh, “But honestly…it doesn’t get better than me.” He clicked his tongue, before lifting her chin, and planting a soft kiss on her lips. “I love you, don’t ever forget that.”

Back out at the commentary table, Excalibur and Nova went over some of the other matches, while Taz stayed rather quiet compared to how he usually is. “And the main event for this evening, Veronica Rodriguez vs Serena Deeb in a semi-final qualifying match for the AEW Women’s championship tournament,” Nova announced happily, looking between the monitor and the stage for what was coming next.

Ricky Starks’ theme came blasting out the sound system of Daily’s Place, and both Nova and Taz snapped their heads towards the tunnel. Ricky walked out, playing air guitar and looking over at commentary. “Ricky Starks is one of the most charismatic and talented wrestlers there is now,” Taz started, hyping up his client, “Just look! Look at the physique!”

Nova shook her head, “I couldn’t agree more, Taz.” She stumbled, too busy watching Ricky to even get her words out.

Ricky looked towards the commentary table, Taz yelled some stuff at him, before Ricky looked directly at Nova. He winked, then blew her a kiss, looking back at the ring and climbing in to start his match.

“AYO STARKS!” Taz yelled, even though Ricky didn’t look over, “THAT WAS UNPROFESSIONAL!” Nova giggled to herself, looking down at the monitor to watch her man wrestle. Excalibur looked at Taz, who was still frustrated, before looking back at Nova, “Hey Nova you look a little red there? Everything alright?”

Nova smiled, Taz glared, “Shut up Excalibur!” They both shouted in unison, in two completely different tones.

Nova knew she couldn’t be like this the whole match. If she couldn’t wrestle, this was one of the ways to showcase herself, she couldn’t mess it up.

Taz and Excalibur went on about the match and each opponent, when she spoke up, “I think everyone can agree that something changed once Ricky stepped into AEW. I mean there isn’t a star like him. He moves quickly, he’s entertaining, his theme is so catchy, honestly Taz, I think you hit the jackpot with this one,” Nova smiled at him, he opened his mouth to speak when she continued, “I mean, between Ricky and Cage, they’re on fire. Just imagine them without you.”

Excalibur tried to hold in his laughter, Taz snapped his head over at Nova, “Now hold on just a second-” The bell rang, interrupting Taz. “Here is your winner: Ricky Starks!”

Nova smiled proudly at Ricky, as he made his way back to the tunnel. He gave her one last wink, before turning around, barely even looking at Taz. “While that match was very entertaining, let’s move onto our next matchup of the night, Nyla Rose vs Abadon!” Excalibur announced, straightening his suit.

The match went quickly, Nyla Rose would face whoever wins against Veronica and Serena. The camera was shot at the commentary table, and the three looked up. Nova smiled at the camera, listening to Excalibur announce the rest of the week’s matches. “And tomorrow night, make sure to catch Wardlow and Hangman in the semi-finals for an opportunity at the AEW World Championship.” Nova looked away from Excalibur and to the camera, clearing her voice, “And make sure you don’t miss Being The Elite on Monday, the best Youtube comedy show,” Nova paused, “But how about our main event tonight? I don’t know about you guys but I am bouncing off the walls excited.”

Excalibur smiled, “I’ve been waiting for this match before the night even started.” Veronica’s theme music played, she walked out, looking around the small crowd of people before looking over to Nova. “Hey girl! That’s my best friend! Kick some ass!” Veronica smiled, even more hyped up after the words from Nova.

“Now unlike Sawyer, no offense bestie, Veronica has held so many championships. She beat both of us in a title match a few years ago.” Nova mentioned, as Veronica set her shades down.

“Now Nova I have to ask, how do you think this match will end,” Excalibur looked over to her, “While Veronica is very strong and could make anyone tap...Serena Deeb is also-” “Yeah yeah she’s a yoga instructor, look at her record. Veronica is one of the best there is now. I don’t think we should underestimate her, Excalibur,” Taz interrupted, looking at the monitor to watch the match. “Took the words right out of my mouth.” Nova mumbled, focusing on the action in the ring.

Veronica finally got the upperhand, pulling Serena into a submission move. Deeb tapped on the mat, and Veronica stood, not able to hold back the smile on her face. She let Bryce Remsburg raise her hand, winking into the main camera.

“That main event was off the charts. I can’t wait for next week.” Nova said. “Yes, but first you have to catch AEW Dynamite tomorrow night on TNT,” Excalibur announced, looking to Nova to take it away, “Of course, one of the best parts of the week, I can’t wait to be back next week for commentary everyone, goodnight!”

The crew called out that the cameras were off, and Nova let go of a giant breath. “That was outstanding for your first time,” Excalibur complimented, “Can’t wait for next week.” He shook her hand before leaving the table, Nova being only with Taz. She looked over at him nervously, before he stood up, holding out his hand, “Not bad, kid. You��ll do just fine these next few weeks.” Nova shook his hand, smiling out of disbelief as he walked away.

Time Skip

The girls all laughed as they took a seat at their table. “You made Madi look like she could wrestle,” Nova insulted as Veronica nodded. “I think it may have been her best match yet.” The waiter placed a basket of rolls on the table mentioning he would be back shortly to take their orders. Sawyer reached in and took a bite. “Your match with Serena was really exciting , a couple of the wrestlers gathered around to watch. It was great.” Veronica smiled, “Thank you, it means a lot…but let's talk about Ricky blowing that kiss to Nova. You guys must be serious.” She wooed, as Nova rolled her eyes. “Taz was totally cock blocking though,” Sawyer added, making them burst out in laughter. Veronica’s phone started going off on the table making her sigh. She set the phone on silent and placed it in her purse.

“What does he want now?” Nova groaned. “Probably wanting to know her exact location this time,” Sawyer mumbled as she placed another roll in her hands. Veronica let out a small chuckle, having it fade quickly as she began to play with her fingers. “He’s just worried about me,” she started. “I can’t blame him. It can be a bit much at times, but he loves-”

“Eck, don’t use that word. I can’t believe you almost said that word.” Sawyer rambled. “You ain’t use it for anyone else, don’t start now.” Veronica opened her mouth to argue but was cut off as the waiter arrived putting the conversation aside for the moment. Once the waiter left, Nova snapped her head over to Sawyer, “But I must ask you, Sawyer, what’s going on with you and Mr. Chuck Taylor?”

Sawyer almost spit out the very expensive champagne, “What?”

“Oh c’mon. If you and Wardlow aren’t together, there has to be something between you and Chuck,” Veronica hinted, Sawyer just shook her head, “No way. No way! He and I are just best friends. And he would’ve tried already.”

Veronica and Nova exchanged a sly look, they knew Sawyer was oblivious, but for now, they planned to focus on the appetizer.

For the most part - the dinner went great. There were no more topics about Kenny (who seemed to be the main problem), and they all ate until they were stuffed, not having to worry about the bill at the end.

“Well if it isn’t the three most beautiful ladies in AEW.” A voice shouted through the hotel lobby. Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen danced their way over with their million-dollar smiles glowing. “What y'all been up to?” Veronica grinned. Marq placed his arm around Nova causing her to flick it off.

“Just came back from training with Matt, nothing too exciting.” Isiah crossed his arms, leaning on the nearest wall. “You started freaking out didn’t you?” Sawyer questioned.

“Just a little bit.” Kassidy giggled as he started cheering. “It was Matt HARDY. Can you blame me?” He began to do the famous Hardy Boy dance before remembering he was in public and cleared his throat. “Anyways, we came to see if you guys wanted to do something tonight. We barely had the chance to hang out yet.”

“Sure why not? We have nothing better else to do.” Nova shrugged. “I’m cool with it, as long as Veronica is too,” Sawyer adds. The thought of having a good night with some of her friends fogged her memory, as she spoke before she got the chance to think, “Come over in about thirty minutes.”

Nova had walked to the nearest grocery store to gather a couple of items before Marq and Isiah would be coming over. “I feel like this night could go incredibly wrong if we’re not careful.” Sawyer brought it up. “How so?” Veronica laughed. “Just imagine, all of us? DRUNK? That sets up for disaster already.” Her attention was taken off of Sawyer when her phone began to ring again. She almost answered, before looking at the caller ID. She stared at it for a bit, before a pillow was flung at her.

“Veronica? Are you even listening to me?”

“No, sorry. Kenny was calling-” She looked back at Sawyer who sat with a blank expression. “Don’t look at me like that! I didn’t even answer.”

“But did you want to?” Sawyer crossed her arms. “Maybe...I just haven’t talked to him since the show, it’s killing me.”

Sawyer bit back her words, as her friend’s facial expression read it was affecting her. “And I know you guys aren’t fond of each other, but I supported you and Wardlow.” she stopped as she let out a breath, “He’s different Sawyer.”

“Wardlow and I are back together.” She blurted, but quickly covered her mouth as Veronica’s neck snapped. “YOU GUYS ARE WHAT?” she yelped. Sawyer secretly thanked herself for blabbing, to avoid another argument. “Shush! It’s not that big of a deal,” she laughed. “We just didn’t want to tell anyone yet.” Veronica nodded understandingly, “So, now I’m just ‘someone’? That’s cool.”

“Oh no , I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I’m kidding, I’m not one to talk about keeping secrets. I’m happy for you.” She smiled, as the door flew open. “Your favorite party people are here!” Marq exclaimed as Isiah followed in after with BOTTLES of alcohol. A couple seconds later a panting Nova stood in the doorway. “You guys saw me struggling. WHY DID YOU NOT HELP ME?!” She dropped the bags and flopped on the couch.

“I was holding my children.” Kassidy gasped as he raised his beverage in the air. “That was payback for flicking my arm,” Marq moved next to her and placed his hand on her knee. “But how about I make it up to you?” he sent her a wink as Veronica and Sawyer hid back their laughs.

“THAT'S MY BOY!” Kassidy yelped as he poured his first shot. Nova groaned in response, getting up from her seat and popping a cork on a wine bottle, “It’s going to be a long night.”

The Next Morning

A loud siren blasted through the room, Veronica shifted around in her sleep noticing her bed has been replaced with something way more uncomfortable. A snore caused her to jump, instantly regretting it as the effects of last night began to hit. She felt around, finding she was passed out in a bathtub. Veronica’s face flashed with confusion and was about to call out until she saw a slumped Isiah Kassidy on the toilet. “Zay?” she squinted as he began to stir. “Wake up!” she grabbed the nearest thing next to her, a bar of soap, and flung it at him. “AGH-” He shouted, waking up from his slumber. “What the hell…WHERE ARE MY PANTS?” he looked down in fear until a grin popped up. “Are you… fully clothed?” he peeked in the tub and sighed as, unlike him, was still in her nightclothes. “Damn, I thought I got some.” he snapped his fingers in disbelief. “How are you thinking of sex right now?

“Because I could have pounded that ass, but you wanted to be loyal, and have no fun. Mama ain’t raise no snitch.” He raised his hands in defense, “Plus this is normal. I party every night, and all night. Is this your first time drinking?” He asked in a mocking tone. He held his hand out to help lift her, accepting that she groaned as the room started spinning. Her arm rested around him, as he made her way to her bed. “Did you want me to grab your phone, I’m pretty sure I saw it somewhere in the living room-”

“NO.” she yelled startling them, “It’s fine where it is.” The events of last night began to become less of a blur. Multiple shots, loud ass music, and even more calling and texts from Kenny. At one point, she couldn’t take it anymore and used her phone as target practice as she lunged it anywhere she could. They reached the room and saw Nova spread out on both beds that had been pushed together, and Sawyer hanging upside down on the armchair. “Ah that’s right, Marq did a 450 splash off the dresser. It’s all coming back now.” They both nodded and exited the room. “Here, you sit here, I'll get you something.” He searched through the cabinets, sighing when nothing was found. Sawyer soon stumbled in and found her way next to Veronica on the couch. “I am never drinking with them again.” She leaned her head on her friend’s shoulder. “They’re too advanced for us.”

“We’re on a different level.” A voice boasted behind the couch making the two jump. “MARQ? WHY ARE YOU BEHIND THE COUCH?” Sawyer shrieked. He shrugged as he began to rub his head. “So, you guys have absolutely nothing- AHH MARQ?!” Isiah threw the cup of water and held his chest. “You damn near killed me.” he breathed out. Sawyer groaned, “You just spilled water on our floor!”

“Could you guys be any louder-” Nova started, but wasn’t able to finish as she glided down the hall. Isiah raised his hand to his mouth to stop the laughter from slipping out. “Please tell me this is water…”

“This Ain’t Water.” They said in unison, before bursting out in laughter. Veronica went to gather her friend, after for a fact, reassuring her it actually was just water. “As I was saying, before Marq scared some of the skin color off of me, you guys don’t own shit. If y'all planned to get wasted you should have packed some aspirins.” He suggested, earning an ear thump from Sawyer. “We didn’t plan to end up like this. You guys got us drunk.” Marq nodded, “She’s not wrong.”

“Is there anyone that could go pick something up?” Nova suggested, before feeling more effects as she rushed to the nearest bathroom. “I’m sure Kenny could-”

“Nope, I got Trent and Chuck on the way. We don’t need anyone else.” Sawyer blurted out, quickly sending a text to the Best Friends. Veronica's lips straightened, as she slowly backed out of the living room, and into the kitchen. A sigh escaped her lips, as she realized having to explain to her boyfriend why she had been so distant wasn’t going to be anything she was looking forward to.

The door opened, and Trent and Chuck both rushed to Sawyer’s side. “We came as soon as we could, I hope you like sushi.” They shoved the bag of food onto her lap, before taking out their drug store bag filled with a couple of pills. “Oh, you didn’t have to bring us food-”

“Speak for yourself,” Kassidy and Quen snatched the box out of her grasp, and began to pick at it. She threw her hands up in annoyance before Chuck placed his hand on her forehead. “Have you thrown up yet?” He questioned. “Not yet,” she answered, as she stared at him carefully. “Oh you will.” he sent her a smile, and for a moment she felt warmth until he stopped.

“Hey are the guys here with the aspirins…oh hey.” She stopped herself, as she made contact with them. “I’m Veronica, it’s nice to finally be able to meet you.” Slowly walking over, she reached for the bag from Chuck who pulled his hand back.

“So, you’re the famous Veronica Rodriguez....” Trent started, “I got to say Kenny chose well.” Chuck smirked, as Trent walked up to her. “I guess you’re too far up his ass, to realize you’re in for a load of trouble though.” She was taken aback until Trent began again. “I don’t see you around backstage a lot, Sawyer claims it’s because you’re always hanging out with the EVP’s. I bet if you suck them off hard enough, you could get lucky and get a title shot.”

Her fist clenched, but they held each other's stare until a cough from Kassidy broke them up. “Well, this is getting exciting. We got a bed in the back if ya’ll want to settle your differences there.” Sawyer face-planted herself, before grabbing the bag from Chuck and walking to the kitchen. Trent shortly followed shoulder bumping her, and letting out a small laugh. “It was nice meeting you.” Chuck spat at her, before making his way where his other friends were.

Veronica sat next to Private Party with an unfazed expression, “Of course they would hate me.” She thought of the multiple times Sawyer had run to them in the past couple of weeks, ever since she got with Kenny. Marq offered her the container of food, where she sunk into the couch and began to pick at the bits that were left.

“I’m going to head out for a little bit,” Veronica said, handing the food back. “Are you sure that’s such a good idea?” Isiah questioned. “No, it’s not - but it’s not like I’ll find anything here that will help me.” She grabbed her sweatshirt and made her way to the door. “Have Nova help you guys clean this mess up, I’ll be back soon.” With a sigh, she closed the door and didn’t know where she would end up.

Sawyer slid down the patio door with a groan. “I bet you learned your lesson.” James, better known as Orange Cassidy, laughed over the phone. He had called Chuck wanting to get a daily update on the situation. “Hang up on him, or I’m going to toss your phone off the balcony.” Sawyer threatened making Chuck hold his phone to his chest. “Alright man, I got to go.” They said their goodbyes when Trent opened the sliding door. “Here’s your aspirin, and a bottle of water.” She took the items and took them almost immediately. Chuck let his eyes wander as he stared at her current state. Trent nudged him in the side causing him to snap back to reality. His eyes widened a bit as he smirked, and pointed in between them. Sawyer tossed the bottle to the side and closed her eyes. “You guys seemed heated in there,” She mentioned. “Towards V, was that necessary?” she laughed.

“Oh it was more than necessary,” Trent admitted. “She had the nerve to reach for the bag, after everything she’s done to you.” Sawyer held her tongue, knowing that it wasn’t all Veronica’s fault, they both were acting childish. “He’s right, she’s never looked in our direction either, her ego is only going to get worse around The Elite.” he took a seat next to her, relaxing his hand against hers. “I know you see it. I know you see her becoming something she’s not.” A calming silence rang through them. Sawyer thought over his words that seemed to hit her right in the face. Everything was starting to make sense.

At 9 in the morning, Veronica sat in the hotel lobby. Waving to some of the people that crossed by before beginning to hear her stomach growl. She looked for the nearest breakfast bar until she saw the people she was trying to avoid. Kenny sat at a table with The Young Bucks and seemed to be in a deep conversation, she slowly backed out and into the room next to her. It was mostly empty, except for a familiar guy in the corner… with a beer bottle and cowboy boots.

“We got to stop meeting like this,” she made her way over onto the stool next to him. He finished his glass, before taking a glance at her. “Rough night?” he asked. Veronica sighed before starting, “Is it that obvious?” she groaned. He put his glass down, looking her up and down, and bit the bottom of his lip. “Yea. You look terrible.” He lied. Hangman liked how the ‘Morning After’ look appeared on her, but she didn’t need to know that.

“Gee, thanks. I’ll make sure to let Private Party know.” His brows rose in surprise, “You drank with them? How are you still alive?” He cracked a smile at her dead expression. “How are you when you’re drunk? The daredevil type maybe?.” It was his turn to have a dead expression, as she laughed. “I’m the complete opposite actually, from what my friend’s told me… I can get handsy if I’m with someone. Other than that, I keep to myself in my small corner.” He raised his glass to her, and sipped it. “You’re drunk right now…aren’t you?” He let her look him over closely and started to feel himself get hot, “No, but I’m getting there.” Veronica took the glass from him, and drank the rest of it down. “You don’t need to be alone anymore, Page.” She placed an arm around him, “You’re safe with me now.”

“I'll hit you with this damn mop, if you don’t put her phone back!” Nova chased Kassidy around the living room, as he snapped another selfie of him. “Come on! Are you not curious at all to read one of these 400 text messages from Kenny?” He attempted to unlock her phone, before it was snatched out of his hand by Nova. “Hey!” he whined.

“Go get more paper towels.” She said while fully shutting the phone down, and onto the counter. “Ouu, so demanding. Kinky. I like that.” He flirted with Nova groaning. Marq came from the bathroom, and looked around. “Damn where did everybody go?” he scratched his head, as Kassidy made his way back into the living room. “Sawyer is on the patio, and I don’t know where Veronica went-” a knock interrupted them making his head perk up. “Must be her now.” Isiah went to the door, but let out a groan. “Ugh. It’s just Ricky.”

“Ricky?” Nova questioned as she made her way to the door. There he stood with a small bag, and a dumb found expression. “Oh I didn’t know you were here.” He looked between them with a hurt expression. “What? Oh no it’s not like tha-” Nova began to explain as Marq peeked his head out as well. “Why are you talking to my girl?” he squinted. Ricky’s eyes widened, as Nova slapped the back of his neck. “Go inside.” They stuck their tongue out, and closed the door leaving them alone.

“Just to be clear… there is nothing going on between you and them? Right?” Nova laughed, “Nah they just came over last night, and still haven’t left.” He let out a sigh of relief, before turning his full attention onto Nova. “Well, what did you need? I still gotta clean this place or they’ll destroy everything.”

“So you know our first date, when I told you I knew the artist from the bowling alley?” Nova nodded, remembering the date, “Yeah, have you told him I think he's talented, and about a possible merch design?” Ricky chuckled, “Yeah, about that…” He reached and grabbed the bag that he brought with him, pulling out a t- shirt, “I wanted to surprise you, since he knows what he’s doing, I got this designed for you.”

Nova grabbed it from his hands, her jaw dropped, “Oh my God…” “What’s wrong? Do you not like it?” Ricky asked, worried.

“I love it. This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.” Nova gushed, admiring the pink design. “Well, the reason I did this is because I had to ask you something.” Ricky smiled, waiting for Nova to look at him. “Well, what is it?”

Ricky took a deep breath, “When I first laid my eyes on you, I was mesmerized. And after our first date, I knew you were someone special. And the dates and calls after just continued to prove my point.” Nova smiled, Ricky said a bunch of stuff like this before, but this time felt...different.

“You are the most amazing person I have ever met, and I know I gotta ask before I don’t get the chance,” He grabbed her hands, “Nova Jay, will you please be my girlfriend?” Nova smiled so big, “I’d thought you would never ask.”

Ricky pulled Nova in, and let his hands rest on her backside as they shared a kiss. He lightly pushed her onto the wall, without breaking contact and let her rub against him a bit. A groan almost escaped his lips until the door swung open.

“Nova, I accidentally clogged the toilet- OH MY GOD.” Marq screamed, causing them to jump. His hands covered his mouth, as he quickly shut the door. “What’s wrong with you? You seem like you just saw a ghost.” Kassidy said while he flipped through the channels on the TV. “I just walked in on Nova and Ricky doing mouth to mouth, I’ve never been more devastated in my life.” Kassidy dropped the remote, and let his eyes close. “He’s out there kissing OUR GIRL?”

“How could she do this to us?”

Sawyer then came into the room with Chuck and Trent, “Have you guys seen Nova?” She made her way to the door, but was pulled back by Marq. “Don’t go out there! It’s dangerous and could lead to serious trauma!” Isiah cried. Chuck and Trent looked at each other with odd expressions, “What? Let me look.” Sawyer took a peep through the peephole and started screaming as she saw Nova and Ricky making out. “FINALLY. GET IT NOVA!” She cheered, making sure they could hear on the other side. Marq whipped a fake tear from his cheek, before leaning against Kassidy for support. “At the start, we had three girls…now we only got one.” Isiah glanced at Sawyer, making her cringe. “Now is not the time.” she reminded herself, as she and Wardlow wanted to keep their relationship private.

Chuck tensed, as Kassidy put his arm around Sawyer. “Have I ever told you, you were my favorite?” He smiled, but was met with an elbow to the ribs. “Too late, I got my eye on someone already.” she said, as she shot a look at Chuck who began to blush. Trent began to speak up until the door opened, and a giggling Veronica walked in with a tipsy Hangman Adam Page.

“Did you guys see Ricky and Nova outside? I first thought it was some random dude, but when I got closer,” she leaned onto Hangman “I noticed his big forehead, and instantly knew it was him.” She laughed.

“Well if it isn’t Hangman Pussypants Page.” Isiah rolled his eyes, at the sight of Veronica against him. “Did you get her even more drunk than she already was?” he asked with concern. “SHE drank my glass of whiskey, I had nothing to do with it.” “So, you couldn’t have taken it from her?” Trent interrupted, making Veronica lunge at him. Hangman picked her up, and tossed her over his shoulders. “Calm down.” he ordered as he set her on the couch, Hangman sat next to her letting his arm rest against her thigh. “I don’t know what happened before I got here, but it ends now. Veronica and I are both going to sober up a bit, and we need pills. Do yall got any here?”

Sawyer shoved Chuck, making him groan, he handed the bag over and Trent rolled his eyes. Nova then came in with Ricky, and they starred at the group. “Well isn’t this something,” Ricky started. “I thought you guys we’re going to suffocate out there.” Sawyer jokes, as she went to hug her friends. “You have gotta tell me the details.” Sawyer mumbled to Nova who nodded. “How about we put on a movie to ignore the sound of my heart shattering?” Isiah mentioned as Nova groaned, “Get over it!” “NEVER.” He cried. “A movie is fine with me,” Ricky shrugged as he took a seat on one of the chairs. “First we should take a picture, it’s crazy to see all this talent in one room.” She chirped.

“All this talent… and Veronica.” Trent laughed, making Veronica turn her head to face him. “I’m going to hurt him,” she started to get up until Hangman grabbed her hand. She took a deep breath before giving his hand a squeeze. Nova smiled as they took the perfect photo and posted it onto her instagram. It was only then till Hangman released Veronica’s hand, and took her face in his hands and kissed her.

#aew fanfiction #aew x reader #aew #all elite wrestling #aew fanfic #kenny omega #kenny omega x reader #chuck taylor x oc #kenny omega x oc #ricky starks imagine #ricky starks x oc #ricky starks #best friends aew #the young bucks #hangman page x oc #hangman page

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bubblesthemonsterartist · 3 years

Text

(don’t) wake me up

Hold Me Close (and never let me go) Masterlist

Shirayuki never did wake easily.

That’s what her grandparents always told her, voices fond and smiles baffled as she bounced off walls and stumbled her way to her bowl of froot loops in the hours before nine. Earlier bedtimes did not mean earlier risers, the film of sleep lingering until she was loaded down with her books and binders and bundled onboard her school bus. Not even the allure of a perfect attendance sticker was enough to pry her to full consciousness until after the morning school announcements were done and everyone had taken their seats.

College had been a blessing, any classes scheduled before 10am something everyone mourned. Sleep dazed students piling into their lecture halls wearing a unicorn onesie after lunch didn’t even cause her professors to bat an eye. “Everyone is tired,” Yuuha scoffed, bent over his laptop while downing an espresso with a redbull chaser.

This was fine, she thought. It was the ROTC crowd that were the odd ones; Mitsuhide showering off the sweat of morning PT and downing a plate full of protein before her first alarm of the day had even sounded.

It wasn’t until she was in medical school memorizing the symptoms of sleep disorders that she realized maybe her mornings were not… neurologically normal. But no graduate advisor was going to sign off for the time off needed for a sleep study and she had lived long enough like this, why not hold off a few years more?

Part of her wishes that she had done the tests back then; sacrificed a few perfect grades for the possibility of a well rested morning.

But considering her current predicament, perhaps she saved herself both time and money by not.

“Miss.”

A soft laugh and gentle pressure on her shoulder stops her cold. Blinking blearily, she stares at the whirls of gold paint dancing up a purple wall, the crinkled blue fabric covering the window beside it.

“Ah,” she breathes, rubbing at her crusty eyes. “I thought you weren’t supposed to do that.”

Another laugh, not unkind, filters through the haze. “Do what?”

Shirayuki turns where she stands - Oh, it’s a hallway. They’re in a hallway now. When did they do that? - and says, “Touch me without asking first.”

In the dim of the establishment's lighting, she can barely make out the color of his eyes, but she remembers. Gold. His eyes were… somehow gold.

No, that couldn’t be right.

“There are exceptions to every rule, Miss,” Obi says quietly, but his hands fall through the air, landing harmlessly at his side, and through the soft fuzz wrapping her brain, Shirayuki feels a paign of regret.

“Are you going to be alright?” he asks, his voice just as soft as they had been when the both of them had been wrapped in fresh, clean smelling sheets. “Do I need to call you a Lyft?”

It’s like turning over a flooded engine. She’s cranking the gas, keys turning in the ignition, the starter screaming-- “Oh!” Shirayuki shakes her head, scrubbing at her face again. God, she can’t remember the last time a conversation was this hard. It’s almost as if- as if she just woke up. Or something. “Oh, no. I came with a friend. She’s taking me home.”

In the dim half lighting, his eyes spark with humor and- and she thinks his eyes really are gold. Somehow. Either that or sleep deprivation has caused her to start processing the color yellow inappropriately, in which case, she really should schedule an appointment with a neurolo--

“Good to know, Miss,” he says, gesturing towards the door to the reception area. “I’m sure she’s waiting for you. We went a little over time.”

Shirayuki could not say this with complete certainty, but she was pretty sure she’d never been late to anything in her life. “Huh? Why?”

Obi glances up at the ceiling, scratching at the non-existent stubble at his chin. “You were… rather insistent that you wanted to stay in bed.”

Mortification floods her face with heat and she can only hope that the lighting is dim enough to hide it. She must have- she must have actually slep--

“I’m so sorry,” she blurts. Her grandparents had recorded it one time to show her; grandpa snickering behind their new camcorder as grandma wrangled Shirayuki’s floppy limbs out of bed and to standing. She had flopped right back onto the mattress, spooling the covers around her before grandma could catch her. Twice. To her knowledge, she had never outgrown it. “I’ve never woken up easily.”

His shoulders shake. “It was flattering, Miss, truly. Never have I seen a more satisfied customer.”

Now she wants to ask. But she might melt right through the floorboards first out of sheer embarrassment first. “I can’t believe I just made you lay there for an hour while I slept.”

“Professional hazard,” he quips with a wink. “You wouldn’t be the first lady to fall asleep on me.”

“That somehow doesn’t feel like something you should be bragging about,” she claps back, only to slap her hands over her mouth. Inside thoughts, Shirayuki. Inside thoughts.

“Well.” His hand lands on the door handle, huffing out a sound halfway to a laugh. “It depends on who you are talking to.”

All things considered, she may firmly be in the satisfied customers camp, so it really wasn’t fair of her to tease. Actually, now that she’s thinking about it, if she actually did sleep-- “Can I take you home with me?”

Fingers blanch on the door handle and- oh yes, those eyes were definitely, definitely, gold. “Uhm.”

“I mean!” Shirayuki’s hands slap against her cheeks this time. That- that didn’t come out right at all. “Do you have a business card? Or something?”

Obi just stares at her, and it may be her imagination, what with the lighting and all, but his cheeks seemed a little… darker than before.

“It’s just-” Oh, if only she had been blessed with even an ounce of tact. “I slept so well.”

Rubbing awkwardly at his neck, Obi huffs, “It was just a nap, Miss.” But he reaches behind her, plucking a card off of a wall rack covered in adverts from massage therapists and yoga instructors and, goodness, Shirayuki may have visited half of these establishments. “But any time you feel like drooling on my arm again, feel free to give me a call.”

She wants to tell him that it was more than a nap. It was the first time in months that there hadn’t been dreams. “Thank you.”

“I, ah-” Obi coughs into his fist, staring at the door. “I do have overnight rates.”

It’s Shirayuki’s turn to be speechless.

He tilts his chin towards the bit of cardstock in her hand. “Info on the back.”

Her tongue twists in her mouth, staring up at him, but he pulls on the handle and--

“Oh there you are!”

In the reception area, Yuzuri bounds to her feet, ushering her out of Obi’s shadow and into her arms. She already has her phone out. “I was beginning to wonder if you left or something. C’mon, let’s go get lunch at that little crepe place before things start getting busy.”

Shirayuki casts a wide eye look behind her, only catching the profile of Obi’s face as the door is pulled shut behind him.

“Okay!” Yuzuri bubbles, holding her phone between them as she leads them outside. She is not prepared for the cold blast of early spring air, but she’s even less prepared for the woman smiling up at her from Yuzuri’s phone. Pixelated leafs that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the Geocities era flutter across a soft focus headshot, the tinkle of piano keys emerging from underneath the sounds of passing cars. “So this is the reiki lady Kazaha swears by. She’s booked out for months, but he said he was able to get us a slot-”

“Yuzuri-” Shirayuki tries softly.

“-and, yes, I know how you feel about energy work, but her yelp reviews are really good and-”

“Yuzuri, I slept.”

Carefully swept up curls, freshly tied back into a high ponytail stop swinging, and Shirayuki almost bumps into her. Someone does bump into Shirayuki, though, then swears as Shirayuki collapses into Yuzuri’s back.

“Sorry-” Shirayuki begins, glancing behind her, but all that gets her is a dirty look as an old man swings around her, grumbling something about not stopping in the middle of the sidewalk-

Yuzuri takes hold of her arm, shuffling them to a display window. “Did you say,” she begins slowly, staring at her with wide eyes. “That you slept?”

Shirayuki nods, still unable to believe it herself. “And no dreams.”

Yuzuri takes a breath. Then another one. “Do you think… you could seep… some more?”

Any time Shirayuki closes her eyes, they burn, but she does it again and this time, her body goes momentarily weightless with the promise of unconsciousness. “Yea.”

“Okay, okay,” Yuzuri breathes, taking Shirayuki’s arm in hers once more. “Okay, yea, let’s- let’s get you home, then.”

~ ~ ~

“If I had known that this is what you needed, I would have done it ages ago.”

Shirayuki stares at the far wall. It was so much easier back there on the street, still sleep warm and a little bleary, to say that she would sleep. To say that she could. “Mm.”

Yuzuri’s arm wraps tighter about her waist, cold nose brushing against her neck. “Not that I haven’t enjoyed our little outings,” she continues. “I’ve always wanted to try that stuff.”

While Shirayuki doesn’t precisely agree, she’s not going to pretend that it hasn’t been an, ah, experience. “Mm.”

“I wonder why the professional cuddler worked but not the massage therapist?” Yuzuri hums. “If it was physical contact you needed, I would’ve thought--”

Shirayuki sighs, loud enough that Yuzuri stops talking. “It’s not coming.”

Propping herself up on her elbow, Yuzuri pulls at her shoulder, rolling Shirayuki until she’s flat on her back. Brain as heavy as a sack of beans, she watches Yuzuri frown at her still open eyes, confirming that Shirayuki was, indeed, not asleep, and then sighs.

With a plop, Yuzuri collapses back onto the mattress next to her once more, arm wrapping about her middle. It’s nice. Warm. She misses warm.

“Well, we just laid down, maybe you need some more time,” Yuzuri mumbles into her hair, and maybe- maybe she’s right. This is the closest she’s felt to sleep in her own bed in a long time. At least without heavy medication. “And maybe I should stop talking.”

That’s an idea. But it never used to bother her. Grandma could be on the phone right next to her for hours while she napped on the couch, and grandpa’s poker buddies could caw until the wee morning hours outside her bedroom window and Shirayuki would never stir. Even Zen, with his countless 2am business calls with Hong Kong, didn’t bother her--

“What sort of music were you listening to?” Yuzuri asks, flopping onto her back and digging out her phone. “We had some pretty windchimes.”

“Whales.” Shirayuki murmurs, without thinking. “We were listening to whales.”

She hadn’t liked them - they had sounded like drowning puppies - but maybe there was something to the experience that had made her relax enough. She remembers reading about it in a journal once. The researcher had said something about frequencies and brain waves and music therapists having moderate success with the method, but it’s buried under the mounds of more… established papers that she had given more time to.

Yuzuri props her phone up on the nightstand, soft cetacean whines filling the room. Settling back down next to her, Shirayuki’s eyes flutter shut at the sensation of fingers gently winding through her hair. It’s nice. Comforting, even. But not-

“It is working?” Yuzuri whispers.

“Mm.” Shirayuki doesn’t dare move. Not when she’s so close to the edge like this. “A little bit.”

“Maybe the smell is wrong,” she muses, thumb brushing against Shirayuki’s temple in soothing strokes. “Sorry, my hair product can be a little strong.”

Honestly, Shirayuki hadn’t even noticed. “It’s okay.”

“I’ll get you some tea tree oil tomorrow,” she says absently. “I think that’s what they had in their diffusers. I’ve seen the good stuff for sale at the organic grocer down the street from me.”

One by one, her muscles unwind, the pressure on her brain easing. She can’t find the energy to respond, her thoughts winking out one by one--

Buzz buzz buzzzzzzzzzzzz

Shirayuki’s eyes spring open.

“First mistake,” Yuzuri groans. “Leaving your phone in the bedroom.”

Shirayuki just might cry. With a whine, she shifts onto her side, moving to grab for her purse dumped at the side of her bed-

A firm hand stops her midroll, Yuzuri staring down at her with her mouth pressed into a thin line. “Second mistake,” she frowns. “Checking it.”

She’s very likely right, but- “It might be the hospital,” she counters.

“Then it’s low priority,” Yuzuri claps back. “You have a pager for a reason.”

“I don’t like making people wait.” Shirayuki squirms out of Yuzuri’s hold, fishing her phone out of her purse. “If it’s small, then it’ll just be a minute.”

“When you’re done, I’m taking that from you and putting it in the kitchen,” Yuzuri grumps. “And putting it on silent.”

“Deal.” Shirayuki smiles, swiping her thumb over the blank screen. Blue swirls fill the screen, a single message notification block blaring across the center that says,

IZANA WISTERIA

“Whelp.” Yuzuri’s chin digs into Shirayuki’s shoulder. “You’re never going back to sleep now.”

With a wince and a familiar churn of the gut, Shirayuki carefully rearranges her face before even attempting to cast her friend an apologetic smile.

“Sorry,” she sighs. “You might as well go home. I know Suzu must be missing you.”

“That telephone pole was probably looking forward to a night without me starfishing all over the bed,” Yuzuri grumps, pushing herself up. “But you’re right. I don’t want to be dragged into whatever overtime horror project Wisteria is pulling you in on.”

Shirayuki frowns, watching Yuzuri sweeping up the mess of her hair. “It’s not like that.”

That earns her the rise of an eyebrow. “Then what, pray tell, is it like?” Yuzuri challenges back, pinning her bun into place.

Shirayuki doesn’t know how to answer that question. Doesn’t know how to explain that things are complicated, and not in a Bumble sort of way. That the incident created a strange world where only her and Izana lived, and well…

Well she doesn’t think that Izana would appreciate her talking to anyone about it, even if that someone was her best friend. To be frank, she doesn’t even know how to begin describing the odd dynamic between the two of them.

She struggles for a response for too long and Yuzuri sighs, grabbing her phone off the nightstand and stuffing it in her coat pocket. “Call me if you need anything,” she says, like she always does. “I’ll be over with tea tree-everything in the morning.”

From the comfort of her blankets, Shirayuki smiles. “Thanks, Yuzuri.”

“Mm.” With a lazy wave over her shoulder, she calls. “Don’t stay up too late!”

From down the hall, Shirayuki hears the front door latch shut, her apartment once again falling into stillness. Unnatural silence. And even under her down feather duvet, Shirayuki feels a chill. Maybe she should have asked Yuzuri to turn up the thermostat before she left. Or maybe she should just take the plunge and get herself a cat. They’re warm.

Taking a deep breath, the smell of her single, empty apartment filling her lungs, Shirayuki looks back at her phone. And, with a resigned sigh, clicks Read.

#bubbleswrites #akagami no shirayukihime #snow white with the red hair #obiyuki #professional cuddler au #TAG JEN YOU'RE IT

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thewayshedreamed · 4 years

Text

Secrets Don’t Make Friends— Feysand AU

Prompt submission by Nonnie— Reverse fake dating au where everyone thinks you’re dating and you’re keeping it a secret, but you’re not.

Thank you to whoever sent this one in! I had an idea for Nessian, so I may post that one as well if y’all are interested!

——————————————————————————

It was another beautiful day in Velaris, and Feyre couldn't seem to focus on her newest project assignment for anything. She found herself gazing out of the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the Sidra's soothing flow and mentally mixing her various paints to capture the unique color.

Unfortunately, her firm's newest client didn't care much for river paintings since they were paying for a full digital marketing overhaul. Truth be told, she didn’t hate her job as a creative director for the largest marketing firm in Velaris. It allowed her a steady income, let her flex her creativity to some capacity, and definitely kept her on her toes. She had started as a design team member with the firm several years ago upon graduating from Prythian U, and after several largely successful projects, she started to gain more responsibilities within the team. Once her team’s creative director, Amarantha, had moved on to another firm, Feyre had been promoted to her position.

She turned back to her computer screen, willing the motivation to hit her. Any moment now.

This was a typical pattern for her. Initiating a new project was always the hardest part, but once she got started, she tumbled down the proverbial rabbit hole. She just had to... start.

“Ughh,” Feyre lamented. “I wish I was halfway through this proposal already. I’m way better at that point in the project.”

”You are pretty worthless right now,” Lucien joked. Feyre offered a vulgar gesture in return, earning a hearty laugh from her friend.

Lucien left the marketing side of the firm about a year ago, itching for a different opportunity that would allow him to express himself more freely. He felt stifled by the business side of things; the numbers, the politics, the marketing director he worked under. Tamlin hadn’t been the absolute worst to him, but his leadership style didn’t align well with Lucien for the long-term. He had ended up as a member of Feyre’s team and seemed to fill a void they weren’t aware they had.

“I can’t be that mad at you, to be honest. You’re not wrong,” she replied. “Maybe I need caffeine to get out of the post-lunch slump.”

”Someone say caffeine?”

Rhysand Vila approached, perching on the corner of Feyre’s desk. He was wearing dark khaki slacks with a black button down, rolled up to the elbows. At some point, he had ditched his tie in favor of an open neckline, likely free of meetings for the rest of the day. His casual appearance didn’t readily identify him as one of the firm’s most successful marketing directors, but his authenticity was one of the things that extended his influence the most.

Rhysand’s marketing team often collaborated with Feyre’s creative one, and they managed to create some of the most well-balanced projects within the firm. They worked so flawlessly together that they were starting to become almost exclusively paired, much to the chagrin of some of the other teams. Not only were their proposals solid, their presentations were engaging and convincing. Their perspectives on the projects, combined with their mutual respect of the other’s contributions, presented a solid, united front that built trust with their clients.

Through long work hours and multiple business trips across Prythian, Rhysand had become one of Feyre’s dear friends. When they’d originally started working together, his cockiness had grated her nerves to the nth degree, but she realized over time that it was mostly in jest. In truth, Rhysand was kind-hearted, cared deeply for the people in his life, and an incredibly supportive partner on client projects.

They’d fallen into a comfortable kind of friendship, and they’d only gotten closer with time. He’d confided in her about the toxic relationship he and Amarantha had foolishly found themselves in, and he’d listened to her never-ending rants about her brief coupling with Tamlin, nothing but understanding all over his face.

“I think a coffee run is a necessity,” Feyre said, playfulness dancing across her features.

“I left my wallet in my desk. I’ll go grab it. Meet you at the elevator?” Rhysand asked as he walked backward toward his office.

“Sounds good!” she replied. She turned to Lucien. “You coming?”

He had an odd look on his face, smirk included. She gave him a questioning look, and he let out a low chuckle. “Nah. But if I give you my card, will you grab something for me?”

”Why wouldn’t you just come? I’m not your coffee bitch, Vanserra.” That earned a full laugh.

”And I would never assume you to be. If I’m going to take a break, I don’t feel like being third wheel, is all.” The confused look returned to her face, and he continued. “Feyre, stop. It’s not my company either of you want on this little coffee date. You and Rhysand can go about your charade with anyone else, but you’re not getting that shit by me. It’s fine— you two are great together. I just can’t figure out why you insist on the secret.”

Feyre’s expression morphed into a stunned one, and it took her a few seconds to decide on a response. She and Rhysand had never crossed any lines beyond platonic, so all of this was news to her.

”Luce, I’m not sure who your source was for that little nugget of info, but don’t trust them with anything incredibly important in the future. They’re way off,” she assured him. “Text me your coffee order.”

She made her way to the elevator, finding Rhysand propped against the wall on his shoulder. He was scrolling through his phone, stray black hair falling across his brow, looking as if he couldn’t be bothered by the work day. Once the elevator made it to their floor, they stepped inside and found themselves sharing with Morrigan Reina. She was head of Human Resources, absolutely stunning, and Rhysand’s cousin. She had to admit, their genetic pool was quite impressive, all things considered. She was his opposite in every way with her brown eyes and blonde hair, but they shared immaculate bone structure and a certain elegance. Objectively speaking.

“Well, hi! This elevator ride just got way more fun. How’s is going, Rhysie? Fey?” Her dark eyes sparkled, dancing over Rhysand’s face. She raised her eyebrows at him slightly, silently communicating with him in that way only family can.

”Oh, come off it, Mor. We’re on a coffee run. Care to join?” Something in his tone seemed oddly like a challenge. She realized she hadn’t yet answered Morrigan but felt like a response of “Doing well” would seem out of context, since Rhys had already transitioned away from greetings. She deciding on standing there awkwardly, pretending not to feel incredibly intimidated by this woman in the elevator.

“So sweet of you, but I’ll have to take a rain check. This is my floor actually. Unfortunately, I have a termination meeting to attend. Have some for me!” She brushed her cheek against his in a mock kiss. “Good seeing you, Feyre!” She disappeared so quickly that Feyre started to doubt if she was ever there in the first place.

“Awfully prickly with your dear cousin this afternoon, Rhysie,” she teased.

”Well, dearest Mor can be quite the busy body and likes to think she knows all of my secrets.” He gave a small eye roll, but the smirk on his face gave his affection away.

“You have my attention. I think it’s only fair that I’m let in on this little secret.”

She swore the tops of his bronze ears turned slightly pink. “I assure you I’m not that interesting, Feyre Darling.”

As if on cue, the elevator chimed, and they were walking into their building’s lobby. The coffee shop was right next door, so they made their way there quickly. Within 10 minutes, they had their coffees in hand and were sharing an elevator with a small crowd on their way back to work. Feyre regretted that she wasn’t able to press Rhys for his secrets anymore but supposed it was for the best.

He took the long way to his office in order to drop her off at her desk. She set Lucien’s coffee down on his desk with just enough force to startle him out of his work, earning a laugh from Rhys. Lucien simply glared at her before mumbling his thanks and taking a long pull of coffee.

“Well, Feyre Darling, this is where I leave you.”

Lucien eyed her over his coffee lid, lowering it slowly as he paid full attention to their exchange.

Feyre chuckled, ignoring Lucien altogether. “Thanks for returning me safely. I fully intend on pulling at least one secret from you on the next trip, though. You’ve been warned.”

His violet eyes bore into hers, amusement all over his face. “Do your worst,” he replied, winking at her as he sipped his coffee and walked away.

——————————————————————————

Coffee seemed to be just the inspiration Feyre needed to hit her creative stride for the afternoon. She finally managed to land on a prospective theme for the new account, and she was busy making some rough sketches on her drawing tablet. A booming voice called out to her from down the hall, and she recognized it immediately as Tamlin. Of course he would recruit her attention once she was finally feeling productive.

“Feyre, could you come down as soon as you’re free? I’d like you to do a consult with Ianthe.”

She forced herself to refrain from rolling her eyes, trying her best to be diplomatic.

“Sure, Tamlin. Be there in a bit.”

He hesitated at his office door, poorly masking his impatience when she didn’t immediately jump out of her chair. Typical.

She was already annoyed at his loud declaration across the office that he was asking her to give feedback on another creative director’s work. She didn’t feel particularly protective over Ianthe. It was just poor form, and it set the tone for resentment with no true reason.

Finally, she stood and made her way to his office. He was in his office chair, Ianthe pointing to various items of interest on a flat screen mounted to the wall. She greeted Feyre politely, but it didn’t seem like she was all to keen on getting her feedback.

“What can I help with?” Feyre offered.

“I wanted to see what you thought about the account we’re working on. Considering that you’ve been monopolized by Vila for months, I thought I could at least get a brief consult,” he explained.

Feyre decided to mentally count how many underhanded comments she’d endure over the course of this meeting.

One.

”Sure. What’s up?”

Ianthe launched into the cliff notes of her project, Tamlin contributing nothing the entire time.

“I’m sure you’re probably swamped with whatever you’re working on Feyre, so I appreciate you taking time to look at what I’ve put together.” Ianthe seemed genuine enough. She wasn’t sure if she trusted her, but she felt bad for her all the same.

Before she could respond, Tamlin inserted himself. “Oh, she’s definitely seems busy. Just not sure how much of it is work-related.” Her head snapped toward him, eyes blazing. She steadied herself and turned her attention back to Ianthe to try and keep this meeting on track.

Two.

”Honestly, Ianthe, I think you have a great proposal overall. My only suggestion is that you consider a different color focus. Your primary color for the logo is red, and that happens to be the main color of their largest competitor’s logo as well,” she stated, ignoring Tamlin entirely.

He started to say something about her input, but she quickly interrupted him.

“How unfortunate that the person responsible for doing the relevant market research into any competitors didn’t think that to be relevant intel to bring to the project,” she finished, eyes gravitating back to Tamlin’s face.

”Good catch,” Ianthe said simply.

“It’s happened to me before, too. Don’t create too much additional work for yourself. Maybe see about pulling one of your coordinating colors forward instead, and see how that plays out. No need to reinvent the wheel.”

”I’m not sure how you’ve managed to convince Vila to do all that extra legwork on your behalf, but it sounds like you’re awfully convincing,” Tamlin seethed. He couldn’t help himself, it seemed.

Three.

It was quiet for several uncomfortable seconds. As if on cue, her savior himself appeared in Tamlin’s doorway, a friendly smile on his face just for her. He knocked with his knuckle as he glanced around the room.

“Sorry for interrupting. Feyre, could you stop by my office before you head out today? Nothing big. Our last account sent an email asking for some minor changes, and I wanted to get your input before I tell them anything,” he said.

“Of course, Rhys. I’ll be there in a second,” she replied. He gave her one of his dazzling smiles, that rogue strand of hair kissing his brow yet again. When he walked away, she immediately felt compelled to follow him, as if he took the light straight out of the room when he left.

“You may go, Ianthe,” Tamlin stated dryly. She quickly excused herself, repeating her thanks to Feyre on the way out.

“You realize you two are partners— she doesn’t work for you.”

“Our dynamic is hardly your business, Feyre.” He wasn’t exactly wrong, but she hated the way he spoke to people who worked with him. It had always bothered her.

“Says the guy who all but insinuated that I’m putting out to get Rhys to be a good partner on projects. You’re unbelievable.”

“All of the speculation that circulates around this office regarding you and Rhysand, and you’re caught on what I’ve said? Feyre, sweetie. I thought we were past this.”

”It seems as though the lot of you aren’t busy enough if you have all this time to discuss whether Rhys and I have some secret affair happening under your noses. Maybe if you put half that effort into your job duties, you’d be an almost decent partner to Ianthe,” she snapped.

“You shouldn’t concern yourself with me and Ianthe. We’ll work together in whatever way works for us. Plus, you basically belong to Rhys now, so you won’t have to worry over having to work with the likes of me.” The way he mockingly said Rhys’ name made her want to punch him in the throat.

She turned on her heel to leave, so angry that she didn’t trust herself to respond professionally. Once she got to the doorway, she found the words rolling off her tongue without a conscious thought.

“I ‘belong’ to no one. Your problem is that you see people as assets rather than building relationships. You should consider incorporating a little humanity into your leadership. You may find yourself a little less miserable to work for or be around. From now on, Ianthe can address me directly if she needs me. You, sir, can fuck off.”

——————————————————————————

Feyre made her way directly to Rhysand’s office, still fuming. She probably needed a quick break on the roof to clear her head, but it was already 4:30. She didn’t want to make Rhys stay late so that she could pout properly. Although, he’d probably do that for her if she asked.

She approached his door, knocking lightly when she saw he was on the phone. He waved her in as he finished his call. He let out a polite chuckle at whomever was on the line, and she wondered how even his contrived laughter sounded almost musical.

“Absolutely. I’ll see you for lunch tomorrow. Bye.” He placed the receiver of his office phone into the cradle and faced her fully.

“Hey there, Feyre Darling. Thanks for saving some time for me today. I hope I didn’t overstep, but I wasn’t sure when if I’d be able to catch you later.” He leaned back in his chair, propped his elbow on the arm rest, and cupped his large hand to run it over his face. So he was tired, too.

Feyre let out a low chuckle. “You’re my hero, basically. Your timing was absolutely perfect. Never hesitate to interrupt if Tamlin is the person I’m talking to.”

His bright, violet eyes seemed to linger on her face. “I wouldn’t mind hearing you laugh again,” he mused. “It’s become one of my favorite sounds, I think.”

She couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face, and she found one mirrored on his own. She cleared her throat, unsure how to tame the butterflies she was experiencing at his words.

“Shall we?” She motioned to his computer, and he nodded. She pulled her chair to his desk so that she could see, but he forced her to switch with him, insisting she take control of moving through the project.

She wasn’t sure if she was reading way too much into the weird comments she had heard today about her and Rhys, but she was acutely aware of his thigh so close to hers. It was far enough that they weren’t flush, but she could feel the heat radiating off of him in the most distracting way.

He already had the project pulled up on the screen and asked her to move through the document to the place of the proposed changes. He reached across her slightly to point at something, and she was instantly immersed in his scent. She found it oddly comforting, if she was honest with herself.

“So what do you think? Is it a simple fix? Or would this be something beyond the originally contracted rate? If it’s going to take you some time, I think it’s appropriate that we negotiate an additional fee, especially considering we’ve just initiated another large account.”

”Mmm. It’s been a while. Mind if I play with it for a minute?” she asked.

”Yeah, for sure. Take your time,” he said, leaning back in his chair as she worked.

Several minutes passed in excruciating silence, causing Feyre to break out in nervous laughter.

“You can talk to me, you know. It’s eerily quiet in here,” she joked.

He huffed a laugh. ”Hmm, okay. Anything particularly interesting around the office today?”

She thought immediately of her conversations with Lucien and Tamlin, and she couldn’t help but include their interaction with Mor in the elevator on the list. It really was such a weird day.

She worked for a couple of seconds before she replied. “It was quite the day, to say the least. I learned a lot about myself via the grapevine.”

”You mean to tell me there’s gossip in this office?”

”This very one,” she replied through a laugh.

“This is the part where you tell me what’s been said about you, Darling.”

She big her bottom lip, nervous of how he would react. “Well, it’s not exclusive to me. It has to do with you, too.” Her eyes never left the computer screen as she spoke.

“I like how that looks,” he said in regard to her edits, jumping straight back into their original conversation. “Now you have to tell me, especially if I’m involved.”

He offered a small poke to her ribs, laughing at her jerking away from him and the glare it earned. “Spill, Archeron.”

Before she could chicken out, she described her interaction with Lucien prior to their coffee run. He went entirely still as she spoke, eyes trained on the screen. When she finished, he said, “I see. I bet Lucien thinks he’s quite clever, then... Oh wait, I like that better.” He pointed to a small change she made.

He seemed so indifferent, and despite her attempts to the contrary, it bothered her that he was acting so cavalier. She had to check herself, remembering how ridiculous she had found the comments only a handful of hours ago. It was certainly unfair to have expectations of him being that she had barely finished processing this afternoon’s events.

“Yeah, I guess he’s pretty proud of himself. I don’t know how much he believed me when I told him he was off-base, but time will tell, I guess.” She immediately launched into her interaction with Tamlin, outlining the full interaction for him.

His jaw was tense throughout the story, and she could see his shoulders tighten when she would share a particularly tasteless thing Tamlin said. They tended to stay out of each others’ ways, so sometimes it was easy to forget how much animosity existed between the two of them. She finished the entire story, and decided to wrap up everything in a brief summary.

”So yeah, according to Lucien and Tamlin, you and I are hiding a super secret little office affair. But apparently we’re really bad at it, because everyone knows.” She let out a long breath she wasn’t aware she had been holding. His response was swift.

“Well, that’s fucking ridiculous.” He stated, so matter of fact. “Go back to that one really quick— if you don’t mind.” His eyes never left the screen. All business, all of a sudden.

Okay. Now, his indifference stung. She thought she knew Rhysand well enough that he would cushion the blow better than this if he were totally shooting her down. She didn’t like how detached he was, and come to think of it, it’s not like she had offered herself to him anyway. For all he knew, she could find the idea of them dating totally repulsive.

“You could do a lot worse for yourself, you know,” she said, anger bubbling to the service. She saw his head snap toward her, but she refused to look at him.

”What?”

”I know you could walk out of this office and take your pick, but you could do worse for yourself than me. It can’t be that ‘fucking ridiculous’.” She clenched her jaw to force herself to stop talking and breathe.

He sat there looking at her, his attention to the project entirely derailed.

“Feyre...” he started.

”It’s late. I’ll finish looking at this tomorrow. Could you save the changes and upload to the cloud? I think I can make quick work of it.”

”Would you look at me, please?”

She let go of the computer mouse and covered her face with both hands. She rubbed her face roughly as she spoke.

“I’m just tired, Rhysand. I didn’t mean to snap at you. Just forget I said anything. Really, I’m okay.” She didn’t want to see the pity in his face or listen to any explanations. She just needed to get out of there.

She felt one of his hands grip softly around the wrist closest to him as he turned the chair to get her to face him. She kept her face covered, leaning forward, and he had the nerve to laugh softly at her.

“You are such a stubborn, difficult woman sometimes, Feyre Darling.” He gripped her other wrist with his free hand and pulled her hands away from her face. She was too tired to fight him on it, so she let him. She fixed her gaze on his thighs, not entirely prepared for what his expression would show.

“Please look at me,” he whispered. She melted at the tone of his voice, imploring her to make eye contact, and raised her eyes to meet his.

He rubbed slow circles on the sensitive underside of her wrists as he spoke. “In no way, is the idea of me being with you ridiculous. What is so ridiculous to me, Darling, is the idea that I could ever be with you and delude myself into thinking I could keep it a secret,” he murmured, the sincerity in his expression overwhelming her. She saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed, readying himself to finish. “Cauldron, Feyre. If you ever let me love you... I wouldn’t have it in me to contain it.”

She was frozen in her chair, in total disbelief. Once she finally regained control of herself, she reached her hand up to smooth his hair back into place. His eyes fluttered shut at the contact.

“That piece of hair has been driving me insane all day long,” she whispered. She was closer now, so much closer to him than she had ever been. She dropped her hand back to her lap to find his again.

His eyes popped open, traveling across her face and landing on her full lips. She watched his tongue dart out of his mouth slightly to wet his own before she regained eye contact. She leaned forward a little more, his hand coming up to brush her hair behind her ear. He cupped her face, running his thumb across her cheek.

“Feyre?” It was barely a whisper, but it was everything.

She subtly nodded her head, and his lips were on hers. He was slow, near reverent as he kissed her, and she leaned in to him, craving more contact. He slid his hand a little farther back so that his fingers could find their home in her hair, just behind her ear. She braced her hand on his forearm, and he pulled her face into his, only slightly, to deepen the kiss.

She let out a quiet whimper as Rhys angled himself to better capture her mouth, and just like that, she was gone. She no longer registered that they were in Rhys’ office or that his door was still open from when she arrived. As far as she was concerned, the world began and ended with them.

They both missed the quick footsteps as Lucien passed by on his way back to his desk from a meeting. They were entirely unaware of his halt as he realized what he’d witnessed and his prompt back peddling. It was when they heard his quiet rasp that they startled, breaking apart only millimeters.

”I fucking knew it!” he whisper-screamed, obviously pleased with himself.

True to Rhysand’s nature, he seemed totally unfazed by Lucien’s discovering them. He brushed his nose over Feyre’s, a grin spreading across his beautiful face.

”Fuck off, Lucien,” he crooned playfully.

His mouth was on hers yet again, neither of them noticing the soft click of the door as Lucien backed out of the office.

——————————————————————————

Just a bit of Feysand fluff for y’all! Feel free to keep the prompts coming, and let me know if you have a particular pairing or mood in mind ☺️

If you’d like to be added to my tag list, you can comment, shoot me an ask, or reblog! I’ll be happy to add you!

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#feysand #feysand au #feysand fluff #acotar #acowar #acomaf #sjm #feysand fanfic

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