#sorry i saw something about them breaking up which *grumble* but like you cant act like she wouldn't also lose her closest friend

[jonathanbyersphd]

Some people really don't realize Jonathan is Nancy's best friend and it makes me so sad

[medichamcham]

thinking of some fucked up interaction between rose and gio where a 3rd party threatens rose's life and giovanni saves him and rose makes a comment like "I must be more useful than youve let on" and giovanni says No. there are plenty more useful idiots around if anything happened to you. and rose is like ":/ ok so what am I to you then?" and gio is like . . . [takes way too fucking long to answer if at all because he cant admit he cares about him]

What would one call divine intervention, if the divine were not so?

Rose is at the edge of the bathtub, first-aid kit in hand, watching Giovanni patch himself up near the sink.

…Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, the breathing embodiment of evil, as wicked and calculating as they come.

He's cleaning up his wounds, hissing when he wipes his bleeding skin with alcohol. He requests more bandages.

…Giovanni, the thief who stole Rose from death’s cold hands.

Rose picks out a small box, containing a roll of bandages, handing it over to him.

“...Any way I can help?” He asks. “It's the least I can do.”

“No need,” Giovanni replies absently, eyes concentrating on wrapping the bandages over his knuckles. “In fact, I don't see the purpose of you sitting here and staring at me.”

Giovanni breaks character, and he cracks a cheeky smirk, glancing back towards Rose.

Rose laughs somewhat sheepishly, not realising his gawking. He reaches up to twirl his curl of hair around a finger.

“Well, I’m sorry for being attentive to your needs,” he quips, tipping his head to the side, brow raised. “Should I return to the living room and take your act of kindness for granted?”

Giovanni can't help but snort, ears perking when he hears a word most unfamiliar.

Kindness.

“You have a knack for the hyperbolic,” he huffs, although his grin shows his jest. “It’d hardly do us any favours if those fools slashed your throat and left you for dead.”

Rose remembers the few hours before. Found by masked strangers whilst wandering home, brandishing knives and baseball bats, crudely embellished with nails.

At the wrong place, at the wrong time, to put it simply. An uglier side of Galar, which Rose feels no pride for.

With nowhere to go, his trusty Pokémon recovering from a sparring match, and physically outnumbered… What could he have possibly done on his own?

Rose’s heart sinks at the thought, pulling him back to the present, and his fingers reach up to trace across his throat.

If it weren't for him, his story would surely have ended right there and then, gruesomely so.

“Giovanni, you must be misunderstanding me,” Rose tells him in a less joking manner. “I saw you fighting those men alone; I saw you getting hurt when all I could do was stand by and watch, because I’m obviously not cut out for such work! And when one of them pulled a bloody pistol on me…”

He trails off, his heartbeat quickening when he recalls the sheer terror enveloping him at that very moment.

“You saved my life, you know,” Rose adds, quietly. “And there's no hyperbole to that statement. So, I insist.”

Giovanni slows his movements to a halt whilst hearing Rose speak, halfway in wrapping up his scarred hands.

The warmth, the gratitude, the honesty. It's not often he’d be on the receiving end of such genuine admiration… aside from his own organisation, of course.

It makes something stir within the decrepit void where his heart is supposed to be.

…Well, nearly.

Rose's words sink in. And Giovanni comments with a sarcastic huff.

“A most inspiring speech, Mr. President,” Giovanni muses, returning to covering up his wounds. “Ever considered politics?”

Rose rolls his eyes, grumbling to himself.

“Arsehole…”

He supposes that two can play at that game, and he crosses his arms with a smug twinkle in his eye.

“Alright, then why did you even bother going through all that trouble in the first place?” He argues. “To me, it sounds like I must be more useful than you’ve let on so far.”

Giovanni barks a laugh, his wide smile making him appear nearly deranged for a split moment. A sardonic part of him takes great joy out of Rose's innocence.

“Hah!” He grins. “What makes you think you're indispensable? Simply because I didn't let those idiots beat you to death?”

Rose's shoulders sag, flipping from prideful to bemused. He doesn't answer straight away, the brief silence pressing under the weight of apprehension.

“Maybe so,” Rose chuckles, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. “I mean… you're always up to something. You're not the type to do things unprompted.”

His teeth sink into his lip, tentatively, for another moment. While he talks, his leg unconsciously starts bouncing as a way to ease his nerves.

“If I’m so useless to you,” Rose says, slowly, thinking his words through. “What’s my purpose, then?”

Giovanni doesn't respond, not sparing a glance, his concentration on his wounds creating a sense of distance between the two.

Rose won't make him walk away, however.

“Am I wasting your time?”

The last thing Rose wants is to have no meaning to his presence. They're busy men, something the both of them understand. Time is a limited resource.

Giovanni falters for a moment, grimacing when his mind draws a blank. A rare occurrence.

Rose is a decent business partner, sure. But he's right in saying he didn't need to stick his head out for him, especially considering the risk he poses to exposing himself. It's something he didn't expect to do at that moment, either.

“No,” He sighs, frank in his tone. “You don't waste my time, Rose. That's not what I’m saying.”

He’s nothing like him. He's idealistic, naïve, aimless. Downright pisses him off, on occasion. 

Yet his charm has come to smooth out those edges. Rose is considerate to a fault and, unlike countless others, he understands his business practices. Tries his best to see him for who he is, rather than the monolith of Team Rocket.

And perhaps that makes Giovanni want to look out for him. He's a selfish bastard, sure, but he’s been taught to appreciate what he's given. 

It's common sense that, should you want to keep receiving the goods … you better keep the distributor happy.

…Or safe, at least.

But Giovanni doesn't feel like letting him know. Not yet. Partially because he's getting rather annoyed by Rose’s badgering now.

Simultaneously, he both enjoys and loathes his relentless persistence.

“So what are you saying, then?” Rose presses. “Am I not allowed some clarity?”

Giovanni groans and lowers his bandages, unable to focus.

“Okay, next time you're hanging off a cliff, should I just let you fall?”

“Ah? No, no!" Rose blurts. "Of course not! But—”

Giovanni raises his hand in a beckoning gesture, snarky in his disposition.

“Then quit overthinking it,” he orders him with a toothy smirk. He comes closer to Rose by a few steps, standing over and peers down, maintaining an air of authority by keeping his head lifted.

“If you're so concerned over being useful, then hand me the medical tape, Mr. President.”

Rose opens his mouth again to talk back, but ultimately relents. He begrudgingly does what he asks of him, sitting back and basking in his dissatisfaction.

[words-for-holland]

Quarantine Series: Secret Cuts & Kisses

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Summary: Y/N gets hurt...again but this time she tries to keep it on the down low from Tom.

A/N: The Songs in Our Life Part 1 comes out tomorrow. If you want to be in a taglist for TSOL or Quarantine Series send an ask or message!

Check the Rest : Burnt Out | A New Look | Secret Cuts & Kisses | Breaking Friendships |The Birthday Week | Movie Night | Silence is Golden?|

Read TSOL -> (X)

There are three types of people in this world. People that are clumsy, people that are accident prone, and then there’s Y/N, who happens to be all of the above and more.

“Man, Im starving.” Y/N stated out loud as she made her way down the kitchen. She had just finished up an hour long meeting for work, when her stomach decided it was time for a break. Harry was also sitting down at the kitchen, reviewing the script he and Tom were working so hard on creating. He looked up to see Y/N grab an avocado, onions, tomatoes, and limes. It was then that he knew exactly what she was making, and could only ask the most appropiate question.

“Can you make me some guac too?” Harry asked with a sheepish smile.

Y/N laughed out loud as she went to grab more in order to make enough for the both of them. “Why did I have a feeling you were gonna ask that?”, she questioned herself, shaking her head.

“Hey, its not my fault! You make the best kind. Better than Sam’s and that says a lot.” Harry defended.

“Whatever you say Harry.” She smiled as she focused on cutting the onions and tomatoes. Y/N then opened up and deseeded the first avocado with no problem. Sadly, the same couldnt have been said for second one. She had cupped the avocado half firmly in her hand , positioning the knife to make sure it hit the seed when she whacked it. Unfortunately, Y/N didnt realize how slippery the fruit was, when she whacked it. The blade went thru a part of the seed but slipped on to her hand. She could feel and see the cut forming on the palm of her hand and side of her thumb.

Y/N and Harry’s eyes widened at the trauma. Dont freak out! Dont freak out! Dont freak out! Y/N repeated over and over again as she worked quickly to run her injured hand under cold water. “I’ll go get Tom!” Harry yelled, as he was about to run after his older brother for help.”Tom! To—”

Y/N used her non-injured hand to grab Harry and stop him from panicking and calling Tom. “Shhh! Its fine! Im gonna be fine! Tom does not need to know about this.” She whispered yelled to him.

“Y/N! You just butchered your hand like it was a scene from Scream! You have to tell him!” Harry tried to convince you, but he forgot what she was like in situations like this.

“C’mon Harry. Think about it for a second. You know how Tom gets when I get hurt. He gets moody and pissed, like a mama bear. Its two cuts theyll heal.” Y/N hated telling anyone if she was hurt or sick. Seeing her family and friends worry about her, hurt her more than when she gets injured herself. Her motto was that she can always fix it and pretend like it didnt happen at all. “Just please please please dont say anything to him. Look they dont even need stiches.” She showed Harry her injured hand which still continued to drip blood down slowly.

Harry hated keeping secrets, but Y/N always had a way of persuading people. “Fine.” He grumbled. “But if Tom finds out he’s going to lose it with the both of us, me especially.”

“Who’s gonna lose what now?” Tom asked coming in with the most impeccable timing. Y/N and Harry froze as she slowly tried to throw away all the bloody paper towels she used

“Nothing!” The two yelled out.

Tom was indeed confused looking at the both of them, something was up and he was going to get to the bottom of it. “Nothing? Are you two sure about that?” He saw Y/N leaning over the sink when he saw paper towels with a red hue on them. It a moment to click until he put two and two together. His eyes widen at the realization, and rushed towards the sink, seeing his assumptions were correct.

“Damn it Y/N, what the bloody hell did you do to yourself!” Tom yelled, worry written all over his face. He picked up her injured hand carefully as he inspected the wounds.

“Relax Tom, it was an accident. The cuts are not that deep.” She stated, rolling her eyes.

“Everything with you is an accident.” He muttered. “I cant believe both of you were about to hide this from me.” Tom pointed at Harry, who now shows signs of fear as he raised his hands up in defeat. “And you, I’ll deal with you later.”

“Listen man, she was the one asking me to not say anything and I told her it was a bad idea.” Harry defended himself as he quickly left the room.

“Come here, let’s see if we can bandage them up.” Tom grabbed Y/N’s non-injured hand as he led her to their shared bedroom. He quickly grabbed the first aid kit from the bathroom and started to clean up her wounds. “I hope you know Im still mad at you for keeping this away from me.” He said to her, eyes focusing on her cuts.

“Tom, Im sorry but this was what I was trying to avoid. Anytime I get hurt, you act like this. I just didnt want to see you upset or worry over nothing.” She winced as Tom rubbed her wounds with an alcohol pad.

“Sorry.” He muttered. “Of course Im gonna worry. It’s my job to worry about you. I want to be the person to take care of you when youre sick or injured, but I cant do that if you wont tell me. God, if anything happens to you...I —” Tom shook his head to get rid of the terrible thought.

“Hey” Y/N whispered. Tom looked up into her eyes, as she held his face with her uninjured hand. “Im okay. Im always going to be okay. No matter how many times I fall, bruise, bleed, whatever. You’re not the only tough guy around here.” She leaned in kiss his cheek, as Tom went back to fixing up her cuts.

“Does it hurt?” He asked rubbing small cricled on the back of her hand, after bandaging her hand.

Y/N shook her head. “Not really, just a little bit.” Tom picked up her hand, leaving a long soft and gently kiss on each band-aid covered cut.

“How about now?” He looked up, smiling.

“Better. Thank you for taking care of me.”

“Of course thats what superhero boyfriends are for right?” Tom chuckled as he stood up to kiss the top of Y/N’s head. He was about to put the first aid kit away until she stopped him, pulling the back of his shirt.

“Actually...I think my face is hurting a bit. Can you help me, Spiderman?” She smirked.

“Oh? Is it now? What happend to being a tough girl that can take care of herself?” He challenges, kneeling back down to her.

“Well this happens to be something only a hero can fix.”

“Where on the face does it hurt, pretty girl?” Tom question as the two continued to lean towards each other.

“The forehead.” She stated. “Think it might need another kiss.”

Tom smiled as he placed a soft kiss to where she pointed. “Better?” He asked.

“Kinda. The nose is hurting a bit now.” She pointed to the tip of her nose, where Tom place another soft kiss. He didnt waste any other minute, and kissed her the place where he wanted to kiss her the most. Tom pressed his lips against Y/N’s as her hand instinctly wrapped around his neck. She returned the kiss with the same amount of passion, and they stayed in this moment for what seemed like forever, only breaking the kiss when they needed to breathe.

“I dont know Tom, with the way things are going...I might have to get hurt more often.” Y/N joked, as she tried to catch her breath.

“How about...you try to stay out of trouble and Ill give you an even better time than this?” Tom compromised, laughing as his hands slipped under her shirt and gently caressed her sides. He looked her up and down, showing off that smoulder that always made Y/N weak in the knees.

“Better put me in a human bubble then.”

[neocityarchive]

blind love | l.m.k.

— in which mark lee is so much more than just your best friend but you were too blind to realize it.

word count: 7.2k | warnings: light swearing | blind love - lola young |

a/n: i didnt mean for it to be this long but i hope you enjoy!!!

“Just friends,” Mark said, his voice still steady even in the growing tension of the moment. “That’s all you said we are, right?”

Your head dropped down to look at your hands, not knowing what to say. The overbearing guilt of rejecting his sudden confession was crushing your chest that it became painful to breathe.

“I’m sorry, Mark,” was all you could say. You forced yourself to meet his gaze through your already glassy eyes, wanting to let him know the sincerity of your words.

He smiled kindly, shaking his head. There was sadness in his eyes. And in all the years you two have known each other, you could tell how hard he was trying to hide it. “It’s okay. That’s all we’ll be.”

You bumped your head repeatedly against your study table in an attempt to rid yourself of the memory that’s constantly been playing in your head. 

It was a Sunday which meant there were no classes, which meant the university was closed, which meant that you couldn’t even make an excuse to see your best friend Mark who somehow, after almost three years of friendship, suddenly decided that it was a good idea to tell you he loves you more than a friend should love a friend.

You couldn’t say it happened out of nowhere. He’s been saying he has something important to tell you for almost two weeks before the incident but every time you confront him about it, he always makes up some lame excuse to dodge. It took a lot of self-hate for yourself and a nice amount of his protective instinct to finally make him spit it out. 

He came to your apartment that night, finding you barefaced, wearing a pair of sweats and one of his hoodies that you stole some time ago. From that he already knew you weren’t okay. You like wearing his stuff to seek some sort of comfort. Somehow, the smell of his clothes helps calm you down.

You were supposed to help him finish a report but you couldn’t concentrate after getting a below satisfactory grade on a major exam. College has done nothing but give you a shitload of insecurities lately and this just pushed you off the edge. The only thing that has been keeping you sane was the knowledge that you had someone who you can run to at the end of the day. Someone who is willing to listen to your rants and would do almost anything to cheer you up.

That day, however, none of Mark’s usual encouragement worked on you. He was getting frustrated hearing you downplay yourself because of a single exam. You started going on about how stupid you felt, how staying up all night to study did nothing but make you ugly. Mark countered every insult you threw at yourself, throwing in a few jokes here and there, all of which you ignored. But when you went on about how all of this made you unworthy of anything, how no one could possibly love you in this state, he just couldn’t take it anymore.

“I love you,” he snapped, cutting you off from your long self-deprecating speech. 

“You’re my best friend. You’re supposed to say that,” you whined, clearly missing the point.

Mark, on the other hand, was barely holding it all inside. He ran his hands through his hair and sighed. “No, idiot. I love you. Stop saying no one could love you, because I do. And not just because you’re my best friend.”

It wasn’t until you noticed his hands were quivering that you realized what he really meant. Looking back on it, you couldn’t help but hate yourself. You were sure it took a lot of his courage (and frustration) to come clean to you like that, and you couldn’t even take him seriously at first.

“Mark, no,” you remember telling him.

“I do. I hate that I do, but I do.” He looked away. “I love you and I know you’re feeling burdened right now, but you don’t have to say it back.”

A part of you broke that day. You hated rejecting people after having gone through several rejections yourself. It’s the worst feeling. You always wished there was a way you could always return people’s feelings just so no one would get hurt, but the universe just doesn’t work that way.

You muttered about a hundred sorries to which Mark replied a hundred ‘it’s okay’s. Maybe it was meant to make you feel better, but it just felt like your heart was getting ripped off your chest.

Mark didn’t stay long after that. You didn’t even get to help him with his report. He said sorry for suddenly dropping the L-word and you said sorry for not being able to say it back. He smiled sadly and it took your everything not to cry. He asked if he could hug you and you didn’t even answer. You just went straight into his arms, burying your head in his chest like you’ve done so many times before, breathing heavily to keep yourself from breaking down. And when the two of you pulled away, he insisted on being alone for a while. You said okay followed by another sorry.

You didn’t know “being alone for a while” meant ignoring you for god knows how long. You see him at uni but he wouldn’t even meet your eye. Even when you share the same class, he would choose to sit as far from you as possible. Once, he entered a cafe you were in and upon seeing you inside, he immediately turned around and walked away.

He’s ignoring you and he isn’t even being subtle about it. Mark Lee could never be subtle about anything, not even his feelings. You really were just too blind to realize anything.

Even other people saw how he felt. People used to come up to you all the time and ask about your “boyfriend” Mark. Sure, you would blush, shy that people thought you’re in a relationship with your best friend. When you explain that you weren’t actually dating, you would get the same shocked reaction every time. One of your friends even said you acted more like a couple than most people in a relationship do. You always thought it was just because you and Mark were such good friends.

“Friends don’t hold hands in public,” you remember Renjun saying.

“We don’t hold hands. He just grabs me and drags me to places,” you said defensively.

“And they don’t hug each other and stare at each other’s eyes while talking about pizza,” Jaemin scoffed.

You just rolled your eyes at them. It never crossed your mind that maybe they were right. You and Mark have never acted like how friends should. Maybe it’s the reason why you’re in this mess after all.

You sighed to yourself. You miss him. You can’t even pretend that you don’t. He’s become such a huge part of your everyday life that you couldn’t just ignore the sudden empty space he left when he said he wanted to be alone. You know he needed time to be by himself. But a part of you keeps holding on to his promise that even after his confession, you two would still be friends. And friends text each other, right? So all your attempts at communication depended on just that.

Thursday, 5:31 PM

You: wanna go watch a movie? i’ll buy the tickets.

Mark: cant. i have an exam tomorrow. sorry :/ maybe next time?

You: oh. okay. goodluck on your exam :)

Friday, 2:21 AM

You: [photo] this is possibly the cutest cat photo i’ve seen in awhile

Mark: that’s cute but dogs are still cuter

You: … okay?

Mark: go to sleep, y/n

Friday, 12:03 PM

You: i know you dont have class rn. have lunch w me?

Mark: oh i already ate with jaemin. sorry!!

You: it’s okayyyy :>> i’ll see u later? it’s friday night sooo we can hang out.

Mark: idk the boys already asked me to go out tonight

You: oh okay have fun!

Saturday, 6:54 PM

You: maaaark

Mark: y/nnn

You: [types] i miss you kajdhfhdksjdh [deletes]

You: nothing haha wanna grab some coffee?

Saturday, 7:01 PM

You: nvm haha have a nice nighhhttt

Sunday, 10:21 PM

You: hey can we talk

Mark: ???

You: please?

Mark: ye what about?

You: you said we’d still be friends

Mark: lol aren’t we?

You: this isn’t how friends talk to each other. i miss having an actual conversation with you.

You: we dont even see each other anymore.

Mark: i literally reply more to u than i do to jaem wdym haha

You: wow fine okay

Mark: ?????

You: i guess i deserve that haha

Mark: im tired y/n. night.

You: :( nighttt

You checked your messages for the nth time, reading everything as if something was gonna miraculously change with the cold conversation thread. Your fingers have been hovering over the keypad, typing and deleting ‘i miss you’ and ‘talk to me’ for about a hundred times already.

You don’t get why you can’t just say it. What’s so wrong with telling your best friend you miss him? Why is it so hard to press send? Why are you suddenly so afraid of how he would reply or if he would even reply at all?

It was only 10:30 in the evening. You know for sure Mark is only lying about going to sleep. He never sleeps this early unless he really is tired. He does nothing on Sundays so he can’t possibly be tired. Sundays are usually just the two of you hanging out in his apartment or yours, just to watch movies or study together. So what did he do today?

“Stop thinking about him,” you grumbled to yourself. “It’s just Mark. He’s a big boy, he can handle himself.”

But that’s not the point, a voice inside your head said. Just tell him you miss him.

You typed it again, ‘I miss you,’ but deleted it as soon as it was finished. Again. 

You’ve spent everyday with Mark that it suddenly hurts to think he’s enjoying the time you usually spend together alone. It’s crazy how you can’t stop thinking about how his day went or if he’s okay or whether he’s eaten or not. You know how stubborn he can be. Sometimes, he’d get so engulfed in whatever he’s doing that he would accidentally skip meals unless you remind him otherwise. 

“Fuck this,” you muttered to yourself. You figured you won’t ever be left at peace if you don’t do anything about whatever you’re feeling, so you decided to text Jaemin.

Sunday, 10:52 PM

You: jaeeem hi :)

Jaemin: y/n!!!!! hello :>

You: sorry for bothering you but have you talked to mark lately?

Jaemin: im talking to him rn haha why? you want me to ask him something?

You: not really hahaha how is he?

Jaemin: haha why not ask him yourself

You: he doesnt wanna talk to me lol pls just answer

Jaemin: he’s stubborn as always. he wont listen to me.

You: why, what’s he doing?

Jaemin: idk but it’s definitely not talking to you ksjdjkd

You: … very funny

Jaemin: sorry lmaooo he’s running on an hour or two of sleep everyday

You: jaemin!! why won’t you scold him?

Jaemin: we do! he just doesn’t listen. u know he only listens to you.

Jaemin: idk why you guys still arent together lmao bunch of idiots tbh

You: we’re just friends

Jaemin: rlly? oh btw mark hyung is looking for his save the bees shirt. did u see it anywhere?

You: yeah he left it here like two weeks ago when he slept over

Jaemin: LMAOOO DOESNT SOUND LIKE FRIENDS TO ME CHIEF

You: i fckingskjfhfn hate you

Jaemin: HJSJSHHDJD ok but seriously tho mark hyung is fine. just give him time, he’ll come around.

Jaemin: he misses you but u didnt hear it from me

Jaemin: ok bye he’s getting suspicious now lol

You: idk how you’re both an angel and the devil at the same time

You: anw thanks jaem. dont tell him i asked about him lol byeee

You sighed, putting your phone down in surrender. Your mind was more of a mess now than it was before you talked to Jaemin. You hate that he makes sense especially about the weird, more-than-friendly dynamics of your relationship with Mark. But more importantly, your head was beginning to be overfilled with worry.

Mark runs on barely two hours of sleep everyday. No wonder he always looks so out of it whenever you see him in the hallway. You wanted to call him, to tell him that he should sleep already, to remind him that he shouldn’t overwork himself, that doing just enough is okay. But you know he doesn’t want to talk to you. The cold replies and the ‘????’ were more than enough to tell you that.

Still, you figured it was worth a try sending him a little reminder. So you grabbed your phone once again and typed a message, revealing a little more of your emotions than you intended to. And before you could even think twice about it, you hit send.

Sunday, 11:04 PM

You: hey i know you’re still not asleep. dont worry, you dont have to reply to me. i just wanna tell you that you should take care of yourself. i know you. you’re stubborn and sometimes you won’t sleep or eat unless someone reminds you to so,, this is me reminding you haha. stop overworking yourself mark, please? you cant be sick cause i cant take care of you since you wont talk to me… lol jk. but seriously, get more rest (and talk to me,, hahah jk again unless u wanna ;)) please go to sleep now. goodnight. see you around i guess.

You stopped texting Mark after that. You wondered if he would find the initiative to talk to you first if you didn’t start the conversation. Now, two days have passed and your sleep reminder remains to be the last message on your conversation thread. You couldn’t say it didn’t hurt. You were hoping for at least a small thanks but didn’t get anything at all.

You were starting to get more and more frustrated as the days went by. It’s so unfair that you are slowly losing your best friend because of this. It’s unfair that you can’t even be mad at him because you just broke his heart. You wished there was any way you could have changed what happened, but the past remains to be written.

That afternoon, you passed by one of the cafes you and Mark always go to. You went inside, suddenly craving their special banana muffin which he introduced to you some months ago. The owner recognized you right away as you came up to the cashier.

“You’re not with your boyfriend today?” she asked.

You felt your heart skip a beat and not in a good way. It hurt. You figured there was no use in explaining since she probably won’t believe that Mark is not your boyfriend so you just smiled sadly and answered, “No.”

The lady somehow talked you into buying two muffins so you can bring one to your “boyfriend.” After handing her your payment, you realized maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea. Mark always brings you stuff whenever you’re mad or upset. He knows exactly what you’re craving for even before you knew you were craving for it. Why not try if it works on him?

As soon as you headed out the cafe, you whipped your phone out to text Jaemin, asking if he knew where Mark was. It’s Tuesday, his most free day of the week so he could be anywhere. Jaemin replied not after five minutes.

Jaemin: not sure but he mentioned something about the library??

You: okay thank you!

From that, you knew exactly where Mark is. There was a small patio-like spot beside the library that he likes going to. Not a lot of people utilize the place since the tables and chairs are almost always filled with dried fallen leaves from the surrounding trees but Mark likes the thought of being close to nature.

That day though, there were more people around the area than usual. It was lunchtime so most people were out of the classrooms. Still, it wasn’t hard spotting Mark. It has never been much of a challenge finding him in a crowd of people. You saw him as soon as he came into view, sitting by the table on the corner under one of the ginkgo trees. He had his laptop open and a box of food beside it. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration one moment and then he was laughing the next. 

You were about to make your way towards him but immediately stopped in your tracks when you realized he wasn’t alone.

You didn’t know who the girl was. You’ve seen her a lot of times in class and in the hallway. You even have a vague memory of Mark talking to her one time. But you never really bothered to learn her name. She had that soft, innocent look that goes so well with her shy smile. She had her hair tucked in her ears to show just enough of her pretty face. She was beautiful. Unconventionally but undeniably. But none of that mattered.

When she said something with a smirk and Mark let out his trademark laugh, nose scrunching, hand repeatedly hitting the table, shoulders shaking and all, it felt like something punched you in the stomach. He uttered something in reply and now both of them are clutching their sides for laughing too hard. 

He looks happy, you thought, I should be, too.

But you aren’t. You continued watching their exchange, him showing her something on his laptop and both of them laughing once again. Your chest felt heavy, like something was sitting on it and now it hurts to breathe. You didn’t realize you’ve been clutching the plastic bag containing the muffin too hard until you felt the sting of nails digging on your palms. You knew you should look away but you couldn’t. You wanted to run towards him. You wanted to tell the girl to scooch over so you can sit beside Mark and give him his muffin.

This is pathetic. I should be happy for him, you said to yourself. But why am I not?

You wanted to be angry, to scream and say that it should be you he’s laughing like that with. To say that it’s you he should be spending his time with. You wanted to ask if he still feels the way he said he does about you. And if he does, then why this? But you remained glued to the ground.

You hated how you were being selfish. You rejected him, remember? So why do you expect him to follow your tails like an intoxicated mad dog? Why can’t you be happy at the possibility that he found someone that feels the same way he does? Why does it… hurt? It’s not supposed to. If you really are friends, then him being happy with someone after your rejection should make you happy as well. If you really are friends, then you shouldn’t be standing here looking stupid, watching them from afar, wishing he’s with you instead.

“What are you looking at?”

You jumped at the sudden disruption, almost dropping your muffins. “What the hell, Jaemin?!” you whined, finally looking away from Mark.

“Mark hyung and Mina?” he snorted.

So that’s her name. “No,” you lied, forcing yourself to take a step away, then another, then another.

“Are you jealous?” Jaemin teased. “Have you finally realized you’re also whipped for our hyung?”

“No,” you grumbled.

“Then why are you almost crying?” 

You blinked. You didn’t even realize the tears pooling in your eyes. Why are you being like this? “Shut up. I’m not.”

Jaemin only shrugged. “Fine. Torture yourself, then.” He smirked. “By the way, Jeno and I are inviting people to our place this Friday after exams. Just some drinks and maybe karaoke, I don’t know. We all deserve a break from hell. Wanna come?”

You didn’t reply. Your mind was too preoccupied with other things.

“Mark hyung is coming,” he said. “Maybe Mina too.”

“I don’t wanna go,” you said immediately, suddenly coming up with a decision.

The boy laughed. “You are jealous! God, I love it when you prove yourself wrong. You shouldn’t be though. You already know he likes you.”

“I’m not jealous! Stop it,” you whined, really wanting to cry this time. Everything is so frustrating and Jaemin is not being of any help. You wanted to go home and just wrap yourself in your blanket and maybe one of Mark’s hoodies.

“Then come to our place this Friday. It’s gonna be fun.” He grinned.

“Fine. Whatever. Just get away from me, you little shit,” you said, kicking him lightly in the butt.

You didn’t know if it was a lie or not but if Mark really is seeing someone now, you just didn’t like the idea of seeing them flirt with each other in front of your eyes. Even the thought of it makes you want to pull all your hair out. Is that considered jealousy? If so, why are you feeling it for someone who’s supposed to be just a friend?

Thursday came and you found yourself crying after realizing the shirt you’ve been wearing the whole day was Mark’s. No wonder he looked surprised seeing you in the hallway. He looked away immediately though, acting as if you weren’t there. It didn’t even cross your mind since you use this shirt quite a lot.

After calming yourself down, you put your playlist on shuffle and cried some more after Friends by Ed Sheeran started playing. You didn’t even realize how fitting the song was for your situation until now. Mark probably did.

You remembered him singing that song once. The two of you were just lounging in his apartment. He was playing his guitar while you pretended to study when in reality you were just looking at him. You watched as his fingers plucked and strummed the guitar strings while he softly mumbled lyrics, head bobbing to the tune. He’s good. Unsurprisingly, since he’s good at everything.

When he realized you were staring at him, he turned his head slightly to meet your eyes, one side of his lips curling up into a smirk. “No, my friends won’t love me like you do,” he sang. 

You looked away, your cheeks heating up almost immediately. It was hard to focus on your readings when he’s sitting right in front of you looking like that, singing like that. You sighed. He truly was never being subtle about how he felt.

After finishing the song, Mark put his guitar down and laid his head on your lap, not even bothering to ask if it’s okay. That’s how comfortable you were with each other.

“What are you doing?” You remember whining.

“Wake me up after 15 minutes,” he said, already closing his eyes. You took a photo of him that night. He’s cute when he’s asleep. Even cuter when you look at him up close. 

Of course, you just had to search your camera roll to find the photo. When you did, it felt as if a storm was raging on your stomach and a gorilla was pounding on your chest. It never dawned to you just how much it hurts that he suddenly left you alone until that moment.

“Goddamn, I miss you so much,” you muttered, looking at his peaceful expression in the photo.

And then you cried some more. You feel lost.

All you wanted to do was curl up in his arms and inhale his scent and listen to how his day went (and maybe accidentally fall asleep together). It sucks because you really had no one else to turn to. The single person who has always been your safe place doesn’t want to talk to you and even if he did, you really wouldn’t know what to say. Perhaps friends really aren’t like that. The thought of everyone being right when they said that maybe you and Mark were never really just friends has never been stronger than it was tonight.

Still, you couldn’t be bothered to sort your feelings out.

He feels like home, you thought. It was the best way to explain the sense of comfort and safety and the feeling of being more than enough that he provides you. It’s the only thing you can think of when your mind drifts to how he is always the constant person that you run to at the end of the day. But friends can feel like home, too, right?

Not to this extent. Not really.

Friday. You found yourself aimlessly roaming around the neighborhood after your classes in the hopes of distracting yourself from your feelings or whatever the hell they’re supposed to be called. You wouldn’t have remembered Jaemin’s party if you didn’t happen to pass by their apartment building.

You stood in front of it for two solid minutes, contemplating whether to go or not.

Mark might be there, you thought. With everything that’s going on in your head and with all the mess happening in your chest, would it really be a good idea to see him? You thought maybe all these things you’re feeling are just a result of missing him. All these sadness and confusion might just be because you miss your best friend.

So you entered the building. You told yourself that you’ll try talking to him again this time, no matter how stubborn he’s going to be. And if it still doesn’t change anything, then you will take it as a sign to let him go. If not forever, then at least for now.

You reached the door to Jaemin and Jeno’s apartment. Even from the outside, the sound of the bass can already be heard. You wondered how long before the neighbors would file a complaint against them, but knowing Jaemin and Jeno, their neighbors are probably inside, partying with them right now.

Before entering, you looked down on your chest just to make sure you were wearing your own shirt and not Mark’s. It didn’t feel right wearing his stuff anymore. God, it really felt like you just broke up. Why is it like this?

You took a deep breath and opened the door. There were already a lot of people inside even if it was just 8 in the evening. Most of them, you know the faces of. You smiled to greet some and muttered a hi to others.

Renjun spotted you as soon as you came into the living room. “Y/N!” He grinned, handing you a cup of god knows what. “Jaemin said he invited you but we were all pretty sure you were gonna ghost us. But you didn’t!”

You laughed hesitantly. “Thanks, I guess?”

“Drink up. It’s a cocktail I made myself,” he said proudly, almost forcing the cup into your mouth.

You took a sip, figuring it won’t do any harm but you spat the liquid back to the cup as soon as it touched your tongue. “What the hell did you put in this?”

He shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. I just mixed in everything I could find. Thanks for trying it out though. I’ve been looking for a volunteer for five minutes already.”

You frowned. There were a lot of things you were unsure of at the moment but there is one thing that’s certain: you have weird friends. You were about to complain to Renjun when he plucked the cup from your grip and went on to find another victim, not even bothering to listen when you said you literally spat on the cup.

Mark didn’t seem to be anywhere. The apartment wasn’t that big so if he was here, it would be easy to spot him. Maybe he decided not to show up after knowing you were coming. And honestly, part of you was relieved. As much as you wanted to talk to him, you still didn’t know what to say. 

I’m sorry I broke your heart, but I miss you so much and I did a lot of thinking and maybe we really shouldn’t be labeled as just friends but I don’t know if I love you, is that okay? That’s just stupid. This whole thing is stupid.

You wanted to leave. Parties have never really been your thing. You usually just go because Mark asked you to since he loves interacting with people. But you figured you needed some alcohol in your system, mainly as a distraction, but also to give you a boost of courage just in case. So you made your way to the kitchen, avoiding eye contact with anyone as much as possible.

You stopped in your tracks as you came to the kitchen. The sound of that laugh was all too familiar.

Great, you thought. Mark was there. And Mina was too. But so were Jeno and Jaemin who exchanged looks as soon as their eyes landed on you. They were all laughing about something before you came.

“You’re here!” Jaemin said a little too enthusiastically in a poor attempt to address the sudden increase of tension in the room.

“Hi,” you said, smiling sheepishly, purposefully avoiding Mark’s gaze which you could feel boring into you. “Just gonna get a drink.”

“Help yourself,” Jeno said. Jaemin smirked beside him. 

The refrigerator was just beside Mark. Just great, you thought again. You walked towards it, desperately trying to ignore the four pairs of eyes following your every move.

“Excuse me,” you muttered, still not looking at your best friend.

Mark took a step sideways before opening the fridge for you. You muttered a quick thanks before grabbing the first bottle your hands landed on, not even bothering to check what it was. You really just wanted to get out of there. Maybe the talking to Mark plan was flawed from the beginning because you clearly can’t find the courage in you to face him now.

Beside you, Mark clicked his tongue. He was so close that you could smell his perfume mixed with a bit of alcohol. It made your knees weak. 

He took the bottle from your hand and put it back before grabbing a different one and handing it to you. “The other one had vodka. Vodkas give you a headache, remember?” he said in a slightly annoyed tone.

“Oh.” Your voice sounded small even to your own ears. Not gonna lie, you wanted to cry at that moment. “Thanks.”

You could hear Jaemin snickering behind you but you couldn’t bring it in yourself to care. You turned to everyone and said a quick goodbye before dashing out of the kitchen.

Your heart was beating hard and rapidly and not because you moved too fast. You didn’t know why but it hurt seeing Mark like that, like he was okay, like nothing changed with the two of you. It hurt knowing that even after everything, he still knows you the best.

You wanted to run. You wanted to disappear. But you couldn’t leave without passing by the kitchen. Somehow, you know someone in there would stop you. If not Mark, then definitely Jaemin. But you really wanted to be alone. So you resorted to the next best thing. You whipped your phone out and sent Jaemin a text.

You: thanks for inviting me to this party. now i feel like shit :D

Jaemin: IM SORRY BUT DONT LEAVE YET TF

You:  i need to be alone and i cant leave without passing by the kitchen and seeing mark. so pls let me use your room for a while.

You: i wont do anything i promise. i just need to calm down.

Jaemin: fine but dont lock the door

You: okay thanks

The door to Jaemin’s room was at the other end of the apartment. You made your way through the noisy crowd, slipping from Renjun’s weird gimmicks when he tried to make you a victim once again, before finally reaching the quiet confines of Jaemin’s room.

The thin walls barely blocked the noise but at least there was no one else here. You sat at the edge of the bed and placed the beer bottle on the floor. You forgot you didn’t even manage to open it. So you just stared at your feet, trying to catch your breath even if you didn’t do anything. That heavy feeling on your chest was back again. It was now associated with being in Mark’s presence.

You started counting to ten to calm yourself down before burying your face on your palms, breaking down into sobs as soon as your forehead came in contact with your fingers. “God, why can’t I just…” you cried, “... admit it to myself already?”

You wanted to thrash around in the bed in frustration but you thought Jaemin didn’t deserve such a mess so you settled with getting up and lightly banging your head against the door. It’s a bad habit you do when you feel annoyed or frustrated. Mark has always been reminding you to stop before you hurt yourself.

Mark. Again. You groaned, hitting your head a little harder this time.

Someone knocked on the door making you stop. You took a step back, thinking you just imagined it. But there it was again.

“Someone’s here,” you said, trying to hide the sound of your voice breaking.

“I know. Can I come in?” It was Mark. There was no question. 

Your heart started pounding on your chest once again. You wanted to tell him to go away but you couldn’t find it in yourself to do so. 

He took your silence as a yes. He swung the door slightly and poked his head through the small opening. Your hands immediately flew to your face to hide the fact that you’ve been crying.

“You know, I came in here because I didn’t wanna see you when I pass by the kitchen if I leave then you come here making me look like a clown,” you said, your voice muffled by your hands.

Mark chuckled softly. “Why didn’t you wanna see me?”

You didn’t reply. Your face felt hot, not just because of the tears that just won’t stop falling but also because all the blood has come rushing to your cheeks.

Mark grabbed both your wrists and gently lowered your hands down, trying to see your face, but your head bent down as soon as it wasn’t covered. “Y/N, look at me,” he said, hands still on your wrists.

“No.”

“Are you crying?” The idiot crouched down to have a glimpse of your face making you whine and cover your face again. “Last I checked, I should be the one looking brokenhearted around here.”

“God I hate you,” you mumbled. “You ignored me for nearly four weeks and you come in here just to make fun of me.”

He let out an empty laugh. “Well, you did break my heart so…”

At that, you removed your hands from your face to look at him. You were going to say sorry but Mark had that smug look on his face that made you want to punch him. It was almost convincing if you weren’t so good at reading the real emotions in his eyes. His expression softened upon finally seeing you properly.

He looked away, not being able to hold your gaze either. That just confirmed how hard he was trying to keep up with the exterior he was showing everyone.

“I’m sorry,” you said, voice breaking.

He sighed.  “I told you. It’s okay.”

“But it’s not,” you cried. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I didn’t realize how easy it was to misread what we had because let’s face it, we don’t act like ‘just friends.’ I’m sorry because I was too blind to see how you felt even when you weren’t really trying to hide it. I’m sorry because even though I rejected you, I was so selfish that I still wanted to keep you for myself without realizing that you probably needed to be away from me to move on. I’m sorry because…” you swallowed.

Mark was just looking at you, eyebrows slightly raised in anticipation of what you were going to say next. You missed him. You missed that cute face of his. You missed being in his presence. You missed his voice and his laugh and how he loves teasing you even if he probably feels like shit inside. You missed everything. Four weeks have been too long without each other. Four weeks is too long without your best friend. Four weeks is too long without your home. And that’s when you realized…

“... I can’t let you go. And I might be too late, but I’m sorry that I only just realized why.”

“Why?” he asked. 

It was a simple question. Why? Yet it managed to carve out every single feeling you’ve ever felt for this boy. Every little moment he made you laugh. Every small heartbreak you get when he fails to keep his tiny promises. Every single night you ‘accidentally’ fell asleep next to each other. Every ounce of fulfillment you get when you finally convince him to sleep after a long day. Every goodnight. Every good morning. Everything.

“I love you,” you said. It sounded almost like an exhale.

For a moment, Mark didn’t reply. Your head immediately started swarming with unwelcomed thoughts. Maybe you were too late. You almost forgot about Mina who he seems to be having an excellent time with. Maybe he managed to move on within those four weeks. It’s possible, right? You had your chance and you missed it. 

Finally, Mark let out a laugh, his head falling down to look at the floor. “I told you you didn’t have to say it back,” he said, voice soft.

You shook your head. “I’m not saying it because you said it first,” you said. “I realize this might be the worst timing but I just thought you should know you weren’t the only one being stupid enough to fall for their best friend. I was just too dumb to realize that that’s what it was.”

“Why would it be the worst timing?” He frowned.

You felt like crying again. You really wish you had some alcohol in your system right now. Why is this whole confession thing taking so long? “‘Cause you’re dating Mina? Or trying to. I don’t know. I tried not keeping tabs on you because our friends are assholes who wouldn’t stop teasing me. She’s pretty, by the way. You two look good together.”

Mark laughed again. It was raw and real this time, and god, the way your chest tightened in endearment at the sound was so pure. “You thought me and Mina are dating?”

“Aren’t you? I’ve seen you guys together a lot.” Well, once. But you tend to overestimate things.

“No!” He snorted. “Jaemin and I are trying to get her and Jeno together. If anything, she made me realize that we definitely aren’t just friends.”

“Really?” Now you just feel stupid. But what else is new? It’s all you’ve been feeling lately. Come to think of it, Mark and Mina didn’t even come close to how you two act with each other.

“Really,” he said. “Friends don’t stay at each other’s place and cuddle with each other just to fall asleep, Y/N. Besides, I said I love you, didn’t I? Did you really think that’s just gonna go away that quickly?”

“Mark, I can’t even sort my feelings out. How am I supposed to figure out how yours work?” You sighed.

“Fine. Just to be clear, I still love you. Even if you don’t, I love you,” he said, taking both your hands and placing it on his shoulder before putting his on your waist.

“But I do.”

“Say it then.”

“I love you. Even if you’re the dorkiest person I know, I love you.” Your fingers tangled themselves in his hair. You’ve run your hands through his hair so many times before. You wondered why it never crossed your mind that you liked doing it not because his hair is soft but because you were sucker for the domestic feeling of it.

Mark couldn’t stop himself from smiling that he had to bury his face at the crook of your neck. “I’m not used to this, sorry.”

“Me neither,” you laughed.

When he finally composed himself, he pulled away just enough to look at you. All those times you’ve stood this close before does not even compare to how it’s like right now. This is the perfect mix of feeling new but familiar.

“You have no idea how many mornings I fought the urge to kiss you whenever we wake up next to each other,” he said in a soft voice.

“Well, nothing’s stopping you know, is there?” you muttered, eyes fluttering to his lips.

You pulled Mark down by the neck as he pulled you closer to him, your lips finally connecting. The idea of kissing him isn’t new to you. There were so many times before that you’ve found yourself inches away from his face and slamming your lips together wouldn’t have been such a bad idea. But this is the first you actually kissed him yet he felt so familiar that you were almost sure you’ve done this a million times before. His lips were soft against yours that it made you weak in the knees. If he weren’t holding onto you like he was, you probably would’ve crumpled already.

The two of you pulled away, breathless.

“Wow,” he breathed. “That didn’t even come close to how I imagined it would feel like.”

You laughed. “This whole night didn’t come close to how I imagined it would be like. I thought you were gonna keep on ignoring me. And honestly, I wouldn’t know how to cope anymore because I really, really miss you already. So thanks for saving me.”

“Stop making me blush. I don’t know how I can possibly love you more than this.”

You rolled your eyes but you couldn’t stop yourself from smiling. This was only one of the very few times that the reality went better than your expectations. But then again, maybe you and Mark have always been meant to happen. It was happening even before you realized it was. And now that you finally managed to sort how you both felt, there was no more wasting chances.

“Do I still have to ask you to be my girlfriend?” he asked.

“We’ve literally slept in the same bed so many times. I’d be more surprised if we’re not dating already,” you joked.

Mark grinned. “You’re literally the only one who didn’t realize that until today, but it’s okay, I still love you.”

You laughed. “Wanna go outside and pretend we didn’t make up? I’m 100% sure Jaemin betted on us.”

“I worry how your mind works sometimes, Y/N,” Mark said with a frown before kissing you on the forehead. “But let’s do it.”

You smiled. You’ve said it a lot but you really missed this proximity. You missed being able to hug him whenever you want, and now you can kiss him whenever you want too. You wanted to say you could get used to this, but the thing is… you already are.

[cassyapper]

ive sputtered about this on twitter before that’s gone now so i get to do it again anyway jotaro and kakyoin featuring proposal. just bear with me here this got kinda long

post-part-6-but-happy-ending-au kakyoin wakes up in hospital after the fight and he wasnt injured too badly all things considered. by that i mean he manages to shuffle his way to wherever jotaro is cause he just needs the assurance he’s alive cause th last thing he saw before blacking out earlier was jotaro’s face almost getting cleaved in half. once he sees nd hears the heart monitor and jotaro’s chest rising and falling he kinda slumps into the chair next 2 the bed and goes to bed. obviously he gets scolded by doctors when a nurse comes by doing rounds and finds kak in jotaro’s room but kak refuses to budge from the room so the docs are like “FINE” and they both get moved to a double room

kak just kinda fades in and out of consciousness while he waits for jotaro to wake up. while he’s waiting tho jolyne and emporio come visit. jolyne confirms everyone’s okay and hermes is getting fitted for arm prosthetics and kakyoin brings up avdol cause he had a similar procedure done. basically he’s reassuring jolyne it’ll go well. she appreciates it. then they both just kinda stare at jotaro for a sec. jolyne asks kakyoin if he thinks he’ll be okay and kakyoin is like hmm. probably. just cant let him out of our sight anymore. jolyne laughs but it’s tired. kakyoin tells her to go rest so she heads out w emporio

a couple hours after jolyne leaves kakyoin wakes up to jotaro’s heart monitor picking up. kakyoin only just gets his bearings when jotaro shoots forward gasping “jolyne”

kak immediately gets up and sits next to jotaro and helps him calm down. he takes his hand while doing this. basically “jolyne’s okay” “kakyoin?” “im here” jotaro blinks at kak w his only visible eye (the other’s buried under bandages) before his heart monitor starts 2 slow again and he slumps a bit

kak asks how he is and jotaro just grimaces which kak laughs a little at like “that’s understandable” jotaro grumbles that’s he’s getting old and kak is like “rather u old than dead” jotaro hums thoughtfully and neither speak for a second

anyway kak is Also getting old and he’s tired of beating around the bush and frankly with all he and jotaro have gone through there’s no way unrequited feelings will get inbetween them so he’s like “jotaro i am in love w u” with no warning

jotaro’s like “HUH?” and kak kinda elaborates cause why Not lay his heart bare the world almost ended

jotaro’s like stammering for a good minute before he’s like “u. i. u. me too” “what” “you. i. .” jotaro sighs but he’s always been more a man of action than a man of word so he takes kak’s hand which is still holding his and kisses it. kak is like “oh” and he cant bite back his smile

so basically they confess finally after (does the math) 23 years. god. then after they both get discharged from the hospital they go to a beach cause jotaro and kakyoin’s nerves are FRAYED and what else is more calming for old ppl than just sitting outside together. so they do that at a beach

anyway it’s nice and theyre there all day. jotaro pokes fun at the sunburn kak has on his nose and kak just throws sand at his face (star plat blocks it). when it’s dusk jotaro’s talking abt how some fish creep up the water column at night to hunt and kak is just smiling so softly at him before “marry me” just drops from his lips. completely unthinkingly but like it’s sincere

both freak out for a bit like “HUH” “HUH? I. I DONT KNOW WHY I SAID THAT. SORRY THAT WAS KINDA INTENSE” “I MENA. I MEAN. I MEAN” “WHAT???” “I. I!!!! GOD. KAKYOIN” “STOP WHAT DO YOU MEAN” “I MEAN!!!!!!!”

and jotaro just shakes his head before kissing kak. they break apart and kak is like “uHh” all dazed and jotaro just rolls his eyes good naturedly like “ur acting like an excited teenager” “shut the HELL UP kujo” “kujo-kakyoin to you” “SO DID YOU- DO YOU REALLY??? WANNA?? MARRY ME???”

and jotaro is like “iiII I MEAN LIKE WHY NOT WE’RE??? WE’RE CLEARLY IN THIS FOR THE LONG HAUL IF OUR ENTIRE HISTORY IS SOMETHING TO GO BY. WE’VE ALREADY GONE THROUGH THINGS TOGETHER MOST MARRIED COUPLES DONT AND WE STILL STUCK TOGETHER” “I. YEAH GUESS”

so there’s that. kakyoin doesnt have a ring to give jotaro cause even he didnt know he was gonna do this that night but it’s ok cause then they go ring shopping the next day and they both take the other out on cute little dates wherein they give each other their rings (like jotaro takes kak on a museum date and gives him his ring there, and kak takes jotaro on a boat for a couple of days wherein he gives HIM his ring)

uh yeah.

[selenecrawford]

Selene Crawford: The Lady, The Villain and The Contrarian

Warning: None for the moment.

The trip back to the office was done in silence. A tense silence that neither Masamune nor Selene dared to break. At some point Masamune took Selene's hand and never let it go unless it was necessary. For her the nightmare was becoming real. They will go after them now. What she can do, how could she protect them now? Should she...

“Selene? Selene?! Answer me, are you ok?”

Selene failed to noticed that they were on the parking lot of the building. She was so adsorbed on her thoughts that failed to see when they arrived. Masamune's was frowning very worried at her.

Taking a look at Selene he knew something was wrong. It got worse when he touched her hand which felt cold like a block of ice. Not risking getting attack on their way to the office he took her hand trying to giving her some warmth meanwhile she was unresponsive. She was looking directly to road oblivious to the rest of the world. He took her on his arms and hugged her until the color returned to her face.

“Where are we?” Selene felt disoriented, cold.

“We arrived safely. Kitten why are you so cold?” Masamune kept warming Selene's hands until they got warm.

“Sorry I guess I space out didn't I?” Selene gave Masamune a weak smile.

“Come on let's go we need to let the others know what is happening.” said Masamune confused at Selene state.

Both walked holding their hands and arrived to the office. Selene automatically went to her desk and started to work. Masamune decided to went to Nobunaga's office and do a report. Upon entering the office he found Nobunaga talking over the phone.

“Yes, he is here right now, do you want to speak with him? It's Detective Katakura.” Nobunaga passed the phone to Masamune.

“Date here.”

“Are you ok? We got a call to the mountains and found your house blown up. What is going on?” Kojuro sounded puzzled.

“Yeah, we managed to escape on time.” Masamune hold the bridge of his nose trying to ease some tension.

“We? As in more than one person? Is there is something I need to know?” Kojuro's questions were done in a rapid fire motion. Knowing Masamune there must be someone he had done and might have a woman involved.

“Look, our receptionist is the one being targeted.”

“You mean Oda's mistress?”

“What you mean Oda's mistress?”

“It's all over the news and the press. Don't you read the newspaper?” Kojuro's information was a new development.

Masamune took a look to Nobunaga only to confirmed that it wasn't a joke made by Kojuro.

“No, I haven't been informed I have to go.”

“Don’t hang up Masamune, we need you at the station for a statement. When you can come?” Kojuro's question was more an order than a simple question.

“Tell me when and I'll be there. Now I really have to go.”

“Alright, I'll send you a message. Just be careful OK?” Kojuro's concern was well funded.

“ Got it.” with this Masamune hang up and turned to Oda.

“So, I gather you already know the situation?” Masamune was the first one to talk.

“I read the newspaper and saw the news, what about it?” Nobunaga knew where this go, so he started to carefully think what he should say. Knowing Masamune he will explode at any time. He noticed he was troubled.

“This might complicate things. Selene looks like is struggling with the situation. And...they found out about my house on the mountains and send a missile we barely escaped” Masamune took a seat and bury his face on his hands.

“Things are escalating. What about you? How are you doing with all this?” it was Nobunaga's turn to ask.

“It's like dealing with myself, and...I'm terrified. I don't want to loose her.” the sincerity on Masamune's voice surprised Nobunaga.

“You won't, we are here for you, for her.” Nobunaga put a hand on Masamune's shoulder.

Shingen arrived to find Selene working on automatic mode. She might fool the untrained eye but she was terrified and occupying herself in order to regain a bit of control. Smiling softly he approach and gave a warm salute.

“Oh Good Morning, my precious angel. I believe this is the entrance to heaven isn't it?” taking Selene's hand.

Selene stood there while looking at him without reacting to his words.. Shingen frown this is not the reaction he was hope for.

“Princess are you...?”

“Oh, sorry I've been absent minded lately. Too much work Mr. Takeda, are you here for an appointment with Mr. Oda?” Selene tried to regain her normal self but she was struggling. She needed time to think, but then she remembered her promised to Masamune.

“This situation have me a little rattled up that's all. Forgive me, will you like some tea,sweets anything for Mr. Sanada, Sarutobi or Mr. Uesugi?” she gave a look to the rest of the group.

“Tea will be good for all since we are on working hours right Kenshin?” Sasuke gave a look to Kenshin who was sited pretending to read a magazine.

“Whatever, I'm here because there is no other remedy.” Kenshin didn't bother to look up.

“OK, just pass to the conference room I will be bringing the refreshments there I will let know Mr. Oda you had arrived.” by now Selene was acting professional and normal.

Selene guided them to the conference room once she made sure everyone was comfortable she let know Nobunaga. At the same time went to the little kitchen to make some tea and sandwiches. When she arrived Masamune was cooking, apparently she wasn't the only one with anxiety. The kitchen although not as big as the one on his home had all the commodities a normal house needed including an oven, Microwave and a full refrigerator. When Selene began to work she noticed the place was all ways completely stacked with food. Taking mental note she always made sure it was ready for use. Masamune either was there or working on a case. Since this time she was the case he was cooking. Selene observed him from the door smiling. He was wearing a black apron, while moving in his element.

“Like what you see kitten?” Masamune turned to give her a wink.

“Yes, I do. Although I'm not used yet to see you with an apron.” Selene approached and try to get some of the essence of what he was cooking. “ You ok?” his smile didn't reached like always do. His eye was trying to hide the conflict inside of him.  

“You scared me this morning when we arrived.” he was chopping some vegetables. He wasn't recriminating her for it , but he sounded defensive.

“I'm sorry, I guess I just went into a defensive mechanism. You know not everyday I begin my mornings with an incoming missile and destroys my...” both look at the same time looking for the elusive word that was escaping them.

“It's there a term for us at this stage?” she ventured to ask.

“If it is, no one sent me the memo. All  I know kitten, is that whatever it is I hope to soon change that to a more official term.” he gave her a rapid kiss on the lips while continuing his task.

Selene felt her cheeks getting hotter, deciding not to add anymore, she prepared the tea and some sandwiches, on her way out she added.

“BTW, Shingen and his group are here, it seems they will stay for a while.”

“OK, I will add more portions. Let me know if something changes.”

“Thanks.” giving him a flushed smile Selene took the tray to the conference room.

Upon arriving the room everyone was verifying all the clues they had gathered about the case. Copies of the letters were obtained thanks to Kincaid, while Detective Katakura called again to let Masamune know that the missile was robbed from a facility on Russia. Which meant it was acquired on the black market ending the trace on that part. The investigation kept going for the next days.

“We just hit another dead end.” said Mitsurani to Sasuke both were working the network and any digital media.

The threats didn't match any Modus Operandi of any case on the police data base. Neither any case worked by Shingen's group or Nobunaga's. Comparing also the cases of Masamune and Mitsuhide gave nothing making the situation frustrating for everyone. After the second attempt things calmed down. Even the threats stopped being delivered. But an envelop left one morning in front of the building gave a reminder to the group that their predator was still at large. The envelop has a group of photographs where Selene appeared with any of them. Sometimes in group others with Masamune or with Nobunaga. Since the shooting incident the press started to report on Selene often making her prey of some unlawful rumors. With the photographs was a note also in Blood.

“Give me what I want and I will go away.”

“Ha?, what is that suppose to mean? I beat I need a break” Yuki was so upset that went out of the room to clear his mind.

Everyone was at their limit, it was then that Selene seemed to remember something.

“There was an horror book that I read once, what really called me out was that phrase. “Give me what I want and I will go away.” The book was about a group of people each with their own dark secrets. At the center was this girl who was innocent and yet caught on with them. Since she never agreed to their bidding they made her life a living hell. I need to make a call.” Selene went to her desk to make the call when Kenshin called her out.

“So how the book ended?”

Selene looked at Kenshin and said in a solemn tone. “She killed them all.” and left.

“I know, I know, yes you can come tomorrow to visit. Bring all of them if you want. Just make sure he also comes alright?” Ian hung up. Turning around he faces the man if everything goes according to plan after tomorrow what belong to us by birthright will come back to us.

The man dressing all in black and red converse shoes smiles while adjusting is Fedora.

“Good, I cant wait to see you once again my love.”

Nobunaga parked his car, it has been 6 years since they spoke. He swear he will never come back again. But right now Selene might need him if something didn't work out on their meeting of tomorrow. Entering by the backdoor he knocked the door and a grumble resembling “Come in” was heard. A cocky smile drawn on Nobunaga’s features.

“I guess some things never change uh Yasu?”

Notes: For some reason I struggle a lot with this chapter. Any comment or feedback is welcome. I hope you guys like it.

@elievalentine @datemasamunemaiwaifu @colivara @unstoppablelinda @yeshasays @masa-little-kitten @kimi00twin @jennacat84 @xathia-89 @notsafefortum-blr @sengokuotaku82 @serenity-writes @la-piperina @louveau @epicdragonlady @mikamiw

[that-terrible-writer]

Everybody Knows

Back again after a long break. I will be getting more into writing as the creative juices are flowing slowly but more and more. I’m sorry to the others that it’s another update on this story. I just get more ideas with this one. You can help me by voting here and I will try and focus more on those stories that you want!

https://linkto.run/p/C5R9E76Q

I have been editing this one for almost 2 weeks. I’m hoping I’m not out of touch or that it is lackluster and is the weakest chapter. Look, it’s been a while and that’s a hit on me. This part is also shy of 70 words to make it 5k, so be in for the long run.

Also, thank you so much for all your sweet messages. They mean everything to me.

Ray Palmer x Reader

Part 6

Part 1 2 3 4 5

“This is so good 😍”

“please continue this.. omg I love it ❤❤❤”

“Just discovered your blog along with the "Everybody knows" story and I LOVED it! Really this is genuinely one of the best fic I’ve ever read so well written and so much angst!”

“I just love how this story is written and uhg, I cant 😍😭❤👌🏼”

Warning: Poor Ray.

Team Flash surrounded their control room, having been in a predicament with their latest problem: Savitar. Barry shook his head, growing more annoyed each second knowing that Savitar was still out still knowing that he wasn't able to beat him. Barry turned his head to look at his best friend, hoping for good news, "Any luck with creating a weapon against him?" Barry asked.

Cisco sighed, shaking his head, "We're down an engineer, so brainstorming has returned to the same old arguing I have with Wells." The team looked over to see Harry sitting, biting his thumb while he looked at the hallway entrance, "Dude, chill out. She's going to come back." Harry huffed, a sarcastic smirk tugging on the inner corner of his lip.

"Please, Ramon, I don't need your pity," Harry grumbled. He placed down his hand to push himself off the seat to join his team. "She's with her ex―whatever you want to call it―but whatever you call it, it's something to worry about." Harry was someone to avoid while you went with the Legends. His mood swings took a toll on Cisco, making it unbearable to work with while the others were out looking for possible clues. Being difficult solving equations with, throwing tools against the wall as he found some of your things lying around the lab; Harry's emotions were out of line, and he felt hopeless not being able to control himself.

He was on edge just thinking about you being alone with Palmer. His imagination went wild: you holding hands with Ray, changing it to a simple kiss but then it would finally lead Harry thinking you were doing more than the simple act of hand-holding.

The alarms were triggered, having the monitor light up with the Legends appearing on the screen proceeding down the long hallway of STAR Labs. Iris went to the computer to shut off the alarms, informing Barry and the others, "It's the Legends." Iris said with a breath of relief. Harry's ears perked up when hearing it was them. Knowing that you returned would set his mind at some ease, "Odd, Y/N isn't with them." Before Team Flash could see what Iris was looking at, they were greeted by the Legends, who stood in the entrance of the control room.

"Hey, we were just talking about you guys―" Barry's exchange of words were cut short by Ray's fist meeting his cheek. Barry stumbled a few steps back, hand to his cheek, looking surprised at the sudden action coming from Ray. Ray wasn't a man of violence. He was never one to initiate a fight, only to defend. Barry, quick with his speed, moved away from another punch by Ray, heading to the back of the room; a couple of yards away from the Atom.

"Whoa, Ray coming in with the punches," Cisco mocked. Cisco immediately regretted his comment when the other members of the Legends gave him servals glares. Cisco raised his hands in defeat, trying to lighten the mood with another remark, "Relaxed, it's not like anyone died or anything."

"You should shut up now," Rory grumbled, puffing out his chest while his hand regripped his gun on his holster. Cisco backed away to stand in the background while Ray continued to stare down at the beloved hero.

"Ray, what's your problem?" Barry asked. Barry noticed something in Palmer's hand, looking back at Ray, "Where's Y/N?"

"She's in med bay with Gideon," Sara clarified for Ray, "She's currently in a coma, and we don't know if she'll wake up or not." Harry bolted out the door hearing the news, racing over to join you. Ray took in a deep breath, shutting his eyes to calm himself down. Harry had a right to be there next to you. He was your boyfriend, not him―not in this timeline. Shutting his eyes just made him picture your face, moments that made him smile, moments that made his heart ached for you; he had to open them for if he continued to imagine your face, Ray wouldn't know if he would be able to hold back his tears.

Ray threw the pregnancy test in Barry's direction, having him take a look for himself. Barry's heart sank, instantly knowing what Ray was feeling. Barry's eyes shot straight back to Ray's, "Ray―I don't," Barry fumbled over his words. Nothing he would say would make this right. Iris, Wally, Cisco, and Caitlyn came over to see what Barry had in his hands, once they saw the test, they turned away. Their hearts ached for the Atom.

"You didn't think at all," Ray spat, his hands balling into a fist once more, "You only cared about what you wanted. You wanted your parents alive. You saw nothing wrong with changing the timeline, not once thinking about others and how it would affect on them!" Ray's voice shook the room, his team trying their best to stay strong for him but their feelings were coming up; they lost a teammate, a close friend, having no idea how to fix it.

"I went back though! I made sure everything was exactly how it went―" Barry tried to explain his actions; Ray Palmer wasn't having any of it.

"As a protector of time, you cannot touch what has already done! It's the simple butterfly effect, Allen! Everything may have been exact for you on that day you decided to change anything back; it's as little as Iris taking an extra step that day to change everything! You don't mess with time!"

Caitlyn made the mistake of trying to intervene the argument, "Ray if you calm down and let me have a look at Y/N; we can figure out how to wake her up."

Jackson couldn't help but laugh at Caitlyn's suggesting. He crossed his arms, switching his weight to his other leg, "Please, don't tell my man to calm down." Jackson's sharp tone towards Caitlyn took her by surprise. "You think you're the only scientist in this room? We have a ship from the damn future that doesn't even know how to wake her up. What makes you think you can?"

"Ray has every right to be angry," Nate defended his best friend, "He lost the love of his life and just learned he also lost his child too. There's nothing you can do to make it better, nothing you can say to make it right."

"Ms. Y/L/N's body is having an internal battle with itself. Trying to figure out which timeline is correct, which memories are the original; who the real Y/N is. If she ever wakes up is completely up to her, Gideon is trying her best with Ms. Y/L/N's current state, but until we get an update, there is not one thing any of us can do for her." Dr. Stein explained to Dr. Snow.

Ray's rage was reaching to another boiling point, the type of wrath where he didn't even want to exchange looks with Allen. He turned on his heel, pushing back his teammates to move past them, leaving the room to have some time to cool down. He wandered down the hallway, entering the defense room; seeing all the gadgets laid out, a board filled with failed ideas and tools untouched. A blue book on one of the tables caught Ray's attention, picking it up, seeing the lightly yellow-colored cat was a book he knew all too well.

"That's Y/N," Ray heard, turning to see Cisco entering the room. He pointed at the book which was in Ray's hand, "She was learning about it, hoping to have a better understanding so she could apply it towards any future weapons we had to create."

The Waverider was quiet for once. The Legends had just defeated Savage and were able to find a little time to relax before Rip found another mission. Ray was strolling through the hall, passing the engine room to hear you cursing to yourself. He took a few steps back, watching you stare up to a panel far out of your line of reach, "Fucking spaceship from the future. Doesn't have a goddamn ladder." You muttered.

"Everything ok, Y/N?" Ray called out, startling you. You turned to see the tall man walking into the room to look up to see cut wires hanging out of the wall. You became flustered, trying to compose yourself and not say anything dumb in front of Ray. You admired Ray's intelligence, wanting to have an actual conversation with him but you always felt intimidated. You looked back at your current situation.

"I have to solders those wires up there, but it's too high for me." You complained, wiping your forehead from the sweat you were building. Ray looked down at you, looking off to the side before he suggested, "I can hold you up while you worked on them."

Your eyebrows rose, having a smile appear across your face, "You serious? That would help me so much, Palmer!" You exclaimed. You went to clutch your soldering iron and googles. Ray watched you as you placed the goggles over your head to fit perfectly around your eyes. He noticed how much he was studying you: your lashes, the way your eyes moved, your smile, even the little creases that appeared around the corners of your mouth. When you turned to look at Ray, he had to shake himself out of thought, to not make it clear that he felt something for you.

Ray bent down, going between your legs to have your weight supported by his shoulders. He stood straight, hearing you laugh a little by his action; he had to regrip his hands on your calves to control his argue to tell you the five words he wanted to say. You began to solder the wires, paying close attention to your craft. While you worked quietly, Ray's attention went over to the bench to see a blue book resting, "Whose 'Introduction to Quantum Mechanics' is that?" Ray carelessly asked.

Your eyes widen at his question; your body jumped slightly causing you to miss the correct wire and created a spark. You wiggled, losing your balance, Ray tried to keep his balance with you and not having you fall or get injured by your hot iron. He let you down, allowing you to place down your dangerous tool. Ray watched you, finally figured it out, "That's your book?"

You took off your gloves, lifting your goggles, avoiding eye contact with Ray, "Uh―y-yeah," Your voice went high, showing your nerves, "Don't be too impressed, it's like reading it in Latin; I understand nothing."

"Why are you reading it then?" Ray pressed.

"To talk to you?" You honestly answered. Ray could feel the butterflies forming after you said that. Your eyes were finally looking at him, embarrassed on the whole encounter, Ray seeing a hint of pink on your cheeks; Ray tried his best to hide his excitement. "I feel guilty when we talk. I have this feeling you have to talk dumb to me because I don't understand what you're saying most of the time."

"I'm not talking dumb to you!" Ray quickly corrected you, a little too fast. You pressed your eyebrows together, shocked at his response. You were fiddling with your gloves to calm your nerves. You felt hesitant to admit to Ray what you felt. He got along with everyone on the team, everyone but you. He was able to carry conversations of science with Dr. Stein; he was able to even converse with Rip about time and space and to even talking to Rory about improving his weapon. When it came to you, you talked about the small things: books, music, dreams, right down to food. Ray would even try and talk about sports with you. You didn't know if it was because you two came from entirely different backgrounds. It made you question your brains, and you wanted to put some effort into the friendship.

"You're not?" Your voice went monotone, sticking out your hand in response as you didn't believe him.

"No," He swore to you, "I don't want to talk about science all the time. I like our talks." You noticed a trace of color rising to his cheeks. His body language had changed drastically; his hands were behind his back, his eye contact moved to his feet where he watched his heel move some side to side. "We talk about anything; it's a nice break. I feel like I can talk to you about everything."

You had to turn around, pretending to be wiping your goggles with your shirt. Ray's words had an effect on you that you weren't expecting. Your face felt warm, your fingers couldn't stop fidgeting, and you felt your heart in the back of your throat. Ray looked up to see your back towards him. He looked at the book once more, gripping on it tighter to build up the courage he needed, "I can make it easier for you to understand." Ray offered. You turned on your heels, cocking your head to the side, laughing a little.

"Ray, it's like teaching a fish how to jump. It's pointless." You brushed off. You walked past him to pick up your soldering iron to check if you had damaged it.

"It's not," Ray disputed, shaking the book lightly to grab your attention once more. His voice was still soft towards you, not raising it even though he differed with you. Your eyes flicked up to stare at him, "If you want to understand  this book, I can help you."

"Ray," You groaned, placing down your tool to rest your hands on your hip. You shrugged your shoulders while being baffled by his counter-argument, "Let's face it, I'm not the smartest person in the world. I barely graduated high school and what was my first job with that education? I became a mechanic because it was the only thing that would take my dumbass. You're sweet to offer, but it would be a waste of your time."

"How can you talk about yourself like that?" Ray responded. His tone shocked you. He was offended. When you stared at him, you could see the disappointment in his eyes while he stared at you, "I never thought of you as dumb. I honestly think you could learn this and apply it to the Waverider. You may not see it, Y/N, but you adapt well. You understand things quickly, and you utilize what you learn from Rip."

There was quietness between the two of you. You grew bashful, also embarrassed, turning away from Ray once more. Ray thought he had insulted you. He didn't like that you weren't acting like yourself. "It's not wrong of you to want to learn," Ray said softly. You bit your bottom lips, taking in a deep breath, spinning on your heel to look back at him.

"If I say yes, will you shut up?" You proposed. Ray pressed his lips together, turning into a smile as you finally admitted his help. You playfully pushed Ray, pulling down your goggles to your eyes, "Alright then, now that you confessed your eternal love of learning; you could be helpful and get me back up there to finish the repairs."

Ray snapped out of his memory, hearing Nate's voice calling out to him, "Ray, what up?" Nate questioned. Ray turned to Nate, displaying the book before him.

"Y/N was reading this in our timeline," Ray informed him. Cisco peeped over to Nate while Ray explained, "Y/N was trying to find a way to talk to me when we first joined the Legends. I offered to help her understand it."

"Wait," Cisco interrupted, shaking his hand towards Ray, "You're saying that your Y/N and Team Flash's Y/N had something in common?" Ray grew dumbfounded, pressing his eyebrows together to try and understand where Cisco was piecing together. Cisco attention switched from Ray to Nate then back to Ray, "You don't see it? If Y/N had something in common with her original self, then there may be other things in common with both timelines. That subconsciously she's was the same person even though her timeline changed."

Ray regripped the writing, his breath picked up, staring at Cisco more intensely, "How can we figure out what else she may have in common?" Ray pressed, taking a step closer to Cisco.

"Yeah, is her locker filled with photos? Books? Her diary?" Nate submitted. Cisco grew irritated by Heywood's suggestions, shaking them off.

"No. Y/N gave me a key to her place a while ago to take care of things whenever she went on vacation. We can go and have Ray take a look and see if there's anything else that Y/N had in common with her original self." Cisco explained.

"Let's go," Ray was quick to move forward with Cisco's plan. He was expecting Nate to interject. He turned to look at his best friend, who placed his hand on his shoulder.

"If it helps Y/N, let's go," Nate chimed.

The three arrived at your apartment, not alerting the others. Cisco didn't want one of them to talk them out of going: mostly Harry. Ray began to ruffle through your things, making sure he wasn't careless, he put the item back neatly.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Nate whined, picking up a vase to examine it.

"Anything." Cisco flatly said, "If something as simple as a book has a connection, anything can be one: movies, music, even a dish." Nate narrowed his eyes towards Cisco, "Yes, even a dish." Cisco insisted once more. Ray dug through your bookshelf, to see if you had any more books based on science; books that he went through with you.

"Hey, didn't you take Y/N on a date to go watch Beethoven play?" Nate questioned Ray. Ray directed his attention to Nate, who stood by your records collection, pulling out 'Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata' record. Ray walked over to Nate, Cisco trailing behind, to examine the piece of music. Ray took it in hands; his breath hitched in the back of his throat.

"Y/N always had weird taste in music. She will listen to anything. She would always give it a shot; when she works in the lab, she has to have classical music playing in the background preferably Beethoven." Cisco revealed.

"He's her favorite composer," Ray confessed, "She said that his music calmed her and helped her concentrate."

When Ray officially asked you out on a date, he knew where to take you and more importantly: when. You couldn't help but smile and laugh, having Ray's hands cover your eyes. "Ray, this isn't normal!" You giggled, "Just tell me where we're going already!" Ray bent down to get close to your ear, causing your heart to jump. You felt your heart beat against your chest, biting your lower lip to control your emotions, you listened to Ray carefully.

For your first date, Ray gifted you with a beautiful dress to fit perfectly in the 1800's. The dress hugged around under the bust, flowy and comfortable to move in. You were quite pleased that Ray didn't choose an era and area where corsets weren't fashionable.

"Just a little further," He whispered, his warm breath tickling your ear. You stopped moving, finally having the light return to your eyes while Ray removed his hands from your face. You stood in front of a theatre, having people around you excited to go in and there was a name that caught your attention that was on everyone's lips around you.

You spun around, your eyes lighting up, grabbing ahold of Ray's tux, "Beethoven?" You beamed, "You're taking me to see Beethoven play?" Ray nodded, he enjoyed watching your reaction; the reaction he hoped to get from you. He would walk by wherever you were working on the ship and would always hear classical music playing. After getting help from Gideon to figure out who it was that you regularly played; that's when he had the perfect date brew.

Ray bent his arm, leaning down a little to have you wrap your hands around it while the two of you went in to enjoy a night of soothing music.

That entire night, Ray didn't pay attention to the beloved composer. Ray's eyes were glued onto you, watching your excitement throughout the night. When Beethoven's fingers picked up the pace during the Moonlight Sonata, he felt you squeeze his arm in excitement. Your smile never left your face. You beamed at Ray, clutching his arm a little bit more. He knew you perfectly. He did his research and wanted to make the night perfect. You deserved a night dedicated to you, and your heart felt full.

When you were getting ready for the date, you felt uneasy. Still not buying in with Ray's whole soulmates ordeal. When you stared into his eyes that night, your heart filled with love for him at that moment. It must have been what Ray felt for you when he first knew you were the one and it was.

After the concert, you were walking back to the ship still amped on the music, "Did you watch his fingers on Moonlight? It was unbelievable!" You shouted, spinning in the alley. Your smile increased when your eyes landed back onto Ray, "I don't know how any first date is going to beat yours." You complimented him.

Ray's heart sank. You were already thinking about future first dates. With other people that weren't him. Did he do something wrong? Was he reading everything wrong? You couldn't help but chuckle. You saw how Ray was calculating the night and your exchange of words. You watched him overthink and worrying, finding it amusing. You grabbed his hand, stopping in the middle of the street. You pulled your body close to his, chest to chest while staring up at him, "You should see the look on your face right now." You quipped. Your smile was growing wider.

"What?" Ray gulped, confused. You looked down at his hands, both in your, interlacing your fingers with his.

"I don't want any more first dates." You confessed, pressing your lips closed, "I want to give this a shot, Palmer. Your whole theory on soulmates, I want to see if you're right on this. If you're not, I mean this discredits you as a scientist. I'll make sure they take all your PhDs―"

Ray let go of your hands, only to place both of his on your cheeks to lay a kiss on your lips. The kisses became passionate each ending with a smile. One after another, each one had that spark. Ray pulled away, resting his forehead on yours, finally returning a smile to you, "Good. I don't want anyone else." He declared, returning his lips to yours.

Cisco was slapping Ray's chest, due to his excitement about his hypothesis, "This is awesome! There must be other things that have a connection to both timelines!" Cisco was more than pumped to go through your things. Ray placed the record near the door while continuing to go through your apartment.

"What are you getting out of this, Cisco?" Nate asked. Cisco stopped rifling through the drawers to bring his attention to the steel man, "If Y/N comes back to the Legends, you lose an engineer."

Cisco glanced over at Ray, who didn't even bother to turn his attention to the two talking, "Because if I were in Ray's shoes, I would do anything to bring back the one that I love." Cisco confessed, continuing his search for clues. "Now, we need to bring that record with us because sometimes coma patients hear a familiar sound can help bring them out of that state. Which version of Y/N we get out of that, it's a gamble."

Ray saw a binder on the lower shelf, pulling it out, the cover decorated with a picture of Team Flash. On the cover had a photo of everyone gathered by the controls: Joe, Cisco, Caitlyn, Barry, Iris, Harry and you. Your arms around Harry's waist, smiling brightly into the camera while Harry's hand pulled you close by gripping your shoulder. Ray's thumb brushed over your image before he placed the binder back into the shelf. It wasn't as soft as Ray imagined. The binder hit the back of the bookcase, making a loud noise that alerted the two.

"Found something, Ray?" Nate questioned. Ray remained silent, pushing on his legs to stand himself upright. Ray walked away from his discovery to look somewhere else in your apartment. Nate observed Ray entering another room before digging at the bookcase. Nate pulled out the same binder to see the image that upset Palmer. Nate took the time to flip through the binder, finding out it was a scrapbook; with newspaper clippings about the Flash, inventions that you worked on with Cisco, candid photos of everyone working.

"Y/N was into scrapbooking," Cisco informed the Legend. "She wanted to document everything that would happen with us. Telling us it's for the future, to look back at all the fun times we had."

Ray eavesdropped in on Cisco's and Nate's conversation while he was in your bedroom, shutting his eyes to fight the tears that wanted to fall.

"You finished another book?" Ray asked you, amazed, watching you work on your new scrapbook in bed. You glued a photo into the book, pressing down for it to hug the paper while trying to figure out which stickers would work best for it.

"When you travel to so many places of time, it takes up a lot of books," You smiled, looking up at Ray. You sat in bed with him, leaning onto his arm while he was working on some equations to upgrade the Atom suit. "I want to remember everything. Even though we're fighting evil most of the time, I seriously feel like it's always Darhk, I want to remember one good thing from the mission at least."

"They're mostly photos of us in our outfits," Ray caught, a smile spreading on his lips.

"That's my one good thing," You declared. You got red-faced, turning back to your side project. You felt your chin pulled, having your attention return back to Ray's. Ray gave you a loving kiss, lowering you entirely on the bed. He picked up your book to place it on the nightstand while his notes fell off the bed. Making sure you knew that he felt the same way.

Ray snapped out of it, having Heywood yelling at him. "Ray!" Nate shouted, slapping Ray on the arm once more. Ray looked over his shoulder to make contact, "We're heading back. Get the record." Nate reported. Ray was walking out of the room until Nate grabbed his arm. "I saw the photo."

"And?" Ray weakly let out. Nate took in a deep breath, his grip relaxing on Ray.

"Either outcome that happens, I need to know you're going to be ok." Nate concernedly said.

"What if I said that I wouldn't be." Ray honestly answered, "What if she goes back to Team Flash, back to Wells, what if I'm not so certain that I'll be alright?"

"Because she's happy," Nate brutally stated. Ray shook his arm away, leaving the bedroom but Nate was quick to follow. Ray shook his head, not wanting to hear those words, "Either way, Y/N is happy. She was happy being a Legend, but it seems like she's happy being on Team Flash. Ray, I'm sorry. I know this isn't what you want to hear―"

"Then why say it?" Ray shouted, turning to look at Nate. Ray's face was red in anger but what shocked Nate was finally seeing the tears fall. "If you knew this isn't what I wanted to hear, then why say it?"

"Because you need to be ready if she goes back to Team Flash!" Nate yelled, "We all want her back, not just you! She was our friend, our teammate! I see how happy she is with Team Flash! If she wasn't then yeah, by all means, let's talk her into joining us but she's happy, and I'm glad that she is." Ray rubbed his tears away, forcefully pulling the record off the couch to head over to Cisco.

Cisco didn't bother to speak. He breached back to the med bay, having the Legends walk in before him. Both teams filled the med bay. Ray gazed over to see Harry by your side, his hand in yours while you slept. "Where have you been?" Sara sought, crossing her arms while she looked at her teammates. Ray waved the recorded in her face.

"We found something Y/N has in common with both timelines." Ray flatly said.

"That's wonderful!" Martin celebrated, "Playing something familiar to both sides of Y/N can give us a better chance of waking her up." Ray shoved the record on to Dr. Stein's chest, shoving his way out of the room.

"Don't," Nate directed his team, shaking his head. Everyone's eyes laid on him and Cisco, Nate reaffirmed, "Just don't." The room fell in silence until Dr. Stein placed the needle on the record to play 'Moonlight Sonata'. The music filled the room, trailing into the halls of the Waverider softly; Ray sat on the cold floors of the ship, his back pressed to the wall, finally letting his pain out. He feared about you, not only about your health but feeling you slipping through his fingers and his future.

Tagged: @mad-doctor-mew @lilmissperfectlyimperfect @inspiredbynewt @writing-multifandom @thecraziestcrayon @x-goddess-of-nature-x  @saysay125 @writing-multifandom @treblebeth @sczxn @barry-singer  @mangasia @supernatural-is-fun @kenzie-cold-greenkale @spunky-89 @thehakunamatara @cassiopeia-barrow @xxxeatyourh3artoutxxx @book-loving--anime-chick @kenzie-cold-greenkale

[larryshorcrux]

Fake It Til You Make It

JILY CHALLENGE | @ginevrashorcrux vs @lilypcttr  social media!AU + “After a misunderstanding with his fans, james begs lily to be his fake girlfriend until this all blows over. which includes posting cute instagrams together and doing all the couple challenges.”

(nothing like waiting till the last second! I’m so sorry this took forever but its up!)

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

James' fans were some of his favorite people in the world. But sometimes, he really wanted to punch them in the face. This is one of those times.

 It all started with one, stupid youtube video from one, stupid Sirius Black. At the time it seemed like a good idea. Do a 'boyfriend tag' video with your best friend, who is like a brother to you, as a joke.  And it was a good idea because both boy's view count and subscriber count went up by the hundreds.

 It wasn't a good idea, however, when everyone thought that it was true and thought Sirius Black and James Potter are actually dating.

 "Sirius, this is not funny! How am I ever going to get a hot girlfriend if everyone thinks we're shagging?" James asked his best friend. Sirius just kept laughing, infuriating James to the point that he stormed out of their shared flat.

 James needed to do something and he needed to do it fast. He started brainstorming ideas on his walk to the park when a buzzing from his pocket startled him from his thoughts. He took out his phone and saw it was a text from Lily Evans as well as a picture from her of a photoshopped James and Sirius in a very compromising position.

 From Lily Evans

why didn't u tell me u guys wer dating??? and why didn’t u tell me ur sextape leaked too?!?

 To Lily Evans

ha ha

 To Lily Evans

very funny. nothing is going on i swear. that vid was supposed 2 be a joke and its gotten way out of control

 From Lily Evans

well have fun tryin 2 fix this mess  good luck, ur going 2 need it :*

 James rolled his eyes as he sat down on a park bench. He scrolled through twitter only to be bombarded with tweets about his a Sirius' relationship. And, much to his annoyance, a tweet from Sirius Black himself confirming it.

 @padfootproductions:we r sorry that we hid this so long. we just cant hide our dying love for one another, it was really taking a toll on our relationship :////// ly baby @jamespotter_official

 @jamespotter_official:@padfootproductions fuck off m8

 James needed to do something fast. Sirius' tweet only added fuel to the fire. As he was thinking of ways to fix this problem (and to kill Sirius for creating this whole problem), a man and woman jogged past him, giggling and shooting lovesick glances at one another.

 'That's it,' James thought. 'I just need a fake girlfriend! And I know exactly who can help.'

 "I will absolutley not help you, James," said a very mad Lily Evans. "Why not?" James pouted. He needed this. There's only so many photoshopped pictures of himself and Sirius and only so many fanfictions he can read before going insane. It needed to be stopped.

 "Because, I will not be dragged into this mess that has nothing to do with me," She said. As an after thought, she added, "Also, it's kind of a funny situation to witness."

 James groaned and smacked his head on the table. "Lily, please! I'll do anything. I just need you to be my fake girlfriend for like three months, pretend we've been dating for five already, take some cute pictures, film some cute videos, then we can 'break up' and we can go our separate ways. Please, I'm begging you."

 "What's in it for me?" Lily asked. "You get to say you're dating me," James said cockily. Lily reached over the table and smacked him in the head. "Ow," he muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "Fine, I'll bring you coffee for a month, on me."

 "I want you to edit my videos," Lily smiled. "What?! You post three times a week! I'll never have time to edit my own!" James exclaimed.

 Lily gathered her things and stood up. "Good luck, James." The man groaned and quickly stood up. "I'll edit your videos for a month."

 "Four months."

 "Two months."

 "Fine, but I'm still expecting that coffee, too." Lily sat back down and James smiled in relief. "You're a saint, Lily Evans, did you know that?"

 "I try," she smirked.

"This better work, Potter," Lily grumbled as she hit 'post' on Instagram. "It will, I promise!"

 Within seconds there were hundreds of comments under her picture, all along the lines of "OMG I CANT BREATH" or "I SHIP IT HJBDUJ".

"I can't believe it, they're actually buying this," the redhead murmured in astonishment. "Quick take a snapchat with me," James told her.

  "Lady love, James? Really?" Lily asked, not looking at all amused. "What? I have to make it believable," James said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Fine, whatever," Lily said rolling her eyes.

In the weeks that followed James and Lily's 'relationship' being made public, all thoughts of James and Sirius actually dating seemed to die down, thankfully. The young 'couple' would make it a point to take really cute pictures or to hold hands anytime they were out in public together.

Also in the weeks that followed, James and Lily seemed to get too close for two people who were just friends. Suddenly, Lily missed when she was not with James and suddenly, James found he was longing to hold Lily's hand when he couldn't. There was tension between them, and both knew it was obvious. Remus, Sirius, and Peter would never admit it, but they have been placing bets on when the two would finally realize that they were more than just friends. Unbeknownst to them, James and Lily were also placing bets in their own heads as to which of the two would crack first.

"You know," James mused one day. "We haven't filmed a video together yet in our three months of dating."

"James, we are not actually dating. Must I keep reminding you?" "You're just so beautiful, my Lily flower. I can't resist your charm," James smirked. Lily rolled her eyes, but James swore he saw a hint of a blush blooming on her cheeks.

"Fine," Lily said, going to gather her camera from her bag. "You tweet asking people to send us questions," she called over her shoulder as she set up her equipment.

@jamespotter_official: Shooting a q&a with the one and only @evanslily send us some questions !!! Use #jilyquestiontime

 Within seconds, James' feed was bombarded with questions. Lily sat back down and began the intro to her video.

"Hello, beautiful people! Today I am joined with my lovely boyfriend, Mr. James Potter," Lily said, adding a little gesture towards James at the end. James smiled and waved at the camera, waiting for Lily to continue. "We asked you guys to tweet us some questions so let's dive straight in!" Lily leaned in closer to James to have a look at his phone screen. Not knowing what came over him, he placed a hand on her thigh. She jumped a little bit, not expecting that at all, and asked what he was doing. "Just playing it up for the cameras," he shrugged. Lily covered her face with her hair and looked back at his phone screen, not liking what his touch was doing to her body.

 "So we have a question from @youtube_lovin_1234. It asks, 'When did you two meet?' Ah that had to be vidcon. I want to say 2015?" James asked, looking for Lily for confirmation. "2016," Lily corrected. "Close enough," James said.

 "This one," Lily continued. "Is from @padfoots_paws. Interesting name. It reads, 'who is stronger? (asking this as an excuse to see James' biceps. #sorrynotsorry)."

 "Well, if you insist," James smirked, flexing his bicep and smiling into the camera. Wanting to get him back for the hand on the thigh incident, Lily reached out a hand and began feeling James' muscles. "Don't we all want to make excuses just to see James' biceps?" Lily asked. She turned back to James so she could look for more questions and noticed he was blushing. THE James Potter was blushing because of her. She smirked and let him choose another question.

 "This next question comes from @little_lindsey. 'Who is the better kisser? Prove it.'"

Both youtubers looked at each other and gulped. "James, we don't have to-" Lily started. "No we really don't," James interrupted.

"But maybe we should-"

"I mean we haven't kissed at all for the viewers-"

"You're right I think we should-"

The two quickly became flustered and looked away from each other. "Ok, let's go back to acting really flirty and I'll edit all of this out," James suggested. Lily nodded and faced the camera. Suddenly, James and Lily were acting cool and confident, as if that whole exchange never happened.

"James likes to think he is, but I am clearly better," Lily said very matter-of-factly. James rolled his eyes and responded with, "Keep telling yourself that, love."

"Well, let's let the viewers decide. Let us know in the comments who you think is better," Lily said.

James and Lily found themselves face to face, more nervous than ever. Both have wanted to do this for the past three months and now they finally had the chance. So why is it so hard?

"Ok, here we go for the totally fake kiss," James gulped.

"That means absolutely nothing," Lily confirmed.

Not knowing what came over him, James put one hand on Lily's face and the other in her hair, wasting no time in kissing her. Lily gasped a little, but placed her hands on his chest, kissing back with just as much vigor. Deciding to take control of the situation, Lily licked James' lips, begging for the permission she already knew she had

When their tongues met, Lily couldn't help but fist James' hair, causing the latter to let out a loud moan. This seemed to snap the two back to reality. They quickly pulled away, trying to fix their disheveled appearances.

"I've wanted to do that for so long," Lily confessed. James only nodded, eyes wide. "I think this video can be finished later," he said, grabbing Lily's hand and leading her to his room. 

That day, their relationship actually became official. Actually, it became official about 5 times that night.

[cajunroe]

tbh i cant pick so i give you songbird for our world war lt dease/steele? :D

song: don’t take the money - bleachers

au!: “one of us dares the other to see a fortune teller and they tell us that we are ‘destined lovers’ - and that we will soon be brought together by the powers of fate. and though we both secretly want it to be true we laugh it off and don’t believe it but it’s been three weeks and all of this weird stuff keeps happening and i stg if we’re locked in ANOTHER small closet together i’m going to lose it and tell you everything” au

read below the cut or on AO3

send me ‘songbird’ and i’ll put my music on shuffle make an au and ficlet (optional: to send pairing/fandom)

somebody broke me once...love was a currency...a shimmering balance act...i think that i laughed at that

as they walked in another circle around the shop stalls set up in the renaissance fair, maurice couldn’t help but feel like he was floating. fred had finally come back from his three week long business trip and it was a gorgeous sunny day and the smell of jasmine permeating the air in a thick wave.

and as maurice watched his best friend admire the shimmering crystal jewelry glistening in the sun, he couldn’t help but sigh in adoration. fred was smile brightly and talking to the artisan about her technique. maurice always found it so endearing that fred could strike up conversation with anyone about anything. he’s had his fair share of jealousy trips watching fred talk animatedly with people other than him. 

“oh,” he heard the young girl called, “sorry, does your boyfriend want to take a look as well?”

fred spits his water out and onto some of the jewelry while maurice laughs and explains that they aren’t together.

the girl narrows her eyes in confusion and tells them that it isn’t funny to lie to people.

and the real kicker is that both men wanted it to be nothing more than true.

before either man can get another word in, she walks behind her curtain and is replaced by her gruff brother demanding that they visit bedisa before they leave.

the two just look at him in confusion before he points to a small tent on the other side of the shops with two words painted on a small sign, ‘fortune teller.’

normally, they wouldn’t bother, wouldn’t even take stock in being told what to do by strangers. but something about that day, perhaps the warmth of the sun or the odd lightness felt by both men, or the comfort of one another’s presence, has them blindly walking towards the tent.

before they enter, fred pulls maurice back gently by his wrist. and maurice really is too far gone on his best friend because the contact is enough to make his cheeks flush and heart race.

“which one of us should get it done?” fred is so close that maurice nearly goes cross-eyed trying to look up at him.

“doesn’t matter to me, neither of us believe in it.” maurice shrugs and pats himself on the back for how steady his voice is. god, three weeks away from fred and he’s on edge the moment he even thinks about his best friend

absence really does make the heart grow fonder. 

“rock, paper, scissors?”

maurice smiles wide and sees a flicker of something he doesn’t recognize flash through fred’s eyes, “after all this time, you still think you can win?”

fred smiles back, “anything is possible, my dear maurice.”

maurice swallows harshly at the endearment and places his hands on one another.

four seconds later and he walks triumphantly into the tent with a grumbling fred behind him.

when they walk in they see a short, middle-aged woman with slightly long acrylic nails and bright red hair.

they look at one another in surprise while the woman types away at her phone.

“have a seat please, couples are thirty-five dollars.”

they start laughing, but both men sit down gently in front of her.

“we’re not a couple,” fred said firmly and maurice can’t be blamed if the tone makes him want to curl up and cry. 

“not yet at least,” she replies just as firmly and finally looks up at the two of them.

before they could question her, she asks, “so who goes first?”

maurice smiles, shaking off the pain in his heart, and points to fred. “just him.”

she smiles back at him and he sees something in her eyes that cuts him to his cores, like she knows the hurt and suffering he’s experienced at the cards he’s been dealt. he looks away quickly while she grabs fred’s hands quickly.

she moves them around and follows the lines and curves of fred’s hands and maurice bites back the jealousy once again, a professional at it by now, and watches. 

she laughs loudly after seven or so minutes of studying, “oh my, you two have been ignoring fate for too long. she’s pissed.”

fred leans forwards and maurice follows suit.

“what's that mean?” fred asks, joking tone evident in his question.

she looks between them, mischievous smile etched on her mouth, “it mean, dear, that you two are what we call ‘destined lovers,’ and have been for a very long time.”

maurice swallowed harshly, ignoring the fact that he knew fred was looking intensely at him as he started to sweat in the small tent.

bedisa continues, ignoring the heart attack maurice is having, “true loves in all lives: past, present, and future. a delicate balancing act of friendship and romance all within one relationship.”

maurice laughed harshly, trying to make it sound genuine in his amusement, but failing. 

bedisa ignores him holds on tightly to fred’s hand, “as i said, fate is pissed because you two have been taking too long and soon the powers that be will bring you two together. do not fight it or it will only make things worse.”

maurice can feel fred next to him, every inch of his body connect with the other man from where they sit practically on top of one another in the small tent. he can feel the beat of the other man’s heart sync with his own. he can feel the easy breaths and watches as fred smiles in disbelief. 

“given what you two will experience soon, i’ll wave my fee.” bedisa smiled warmly at the two of them and walked away to the back of the tent laughing loudly. 

it’s a long while before either of them moves or speaks.

“well that was complete and utter bullshit.” fred jokes, clapping maurice on the back and slamming him out from his thoughts.

he laughs weakly and nods his head.

fred claps his hands together and stands up while maurice tries to remind himself that fred doesn’t and won’t ever feel the same way he does.

“come on then dease, i hear an elephant ear call our names.”

fred leaves the tent and maurice spends a moment once again burying his feelings before bracing himself to go back into the world.

and i saw your face and hands...colored in sun and then...i think i understand...will i understand?

fred can still remember the day he knew he was in love with maurice.

nineteen years old and watching across the table as maurice awkwardly tried to talk to christine mclaren, while janice klein sat beside him. 

they were having a double date at the restaurant on the pier after spending the day swimming.

they were all sun-drunk and relaxed and though janice klein was the dream girl of everyone in their class, fred had been watching maurice, and maurice-only, all day. there was something about his best friend, today of all days, that had made fred stare relentlessly.

he would turn his head back and forth, watching as the sun hit maurice’s slightly tanned body at different angles.

mostly he watched maurice’s hands as they lay by the side of his head, napping in the bright afternoon sun. 

the girls had went to get ice cream down the shoreline so it was just the two of them.

and fred had come to terms with his sexuality a long while before that day, but something about it being maurice that he fancied made him feel like he was sixteen all over again.

still staring at the sun-kissed skin of best friend, fred goes over every memory he has of maurice since fred moved to town five years prior. and every memory is now laced with a sweet satisfaction in knowing that fred has loved maurice in one way or another since they met.

and fred knew he had do something, say something, there was no way he could live without maurice knowing, or being able to hold maurice’s face in his hands at least once before he died.

he leans forward, hands working of his own accord, and when his hands reach maurice’s warm chest and just barely connect with the skin, he’s electrified. every nerve ending alight with a bright warmth that consumes him.

he notices maurice’s breathing hitch, knows he’s awake and just as he thinks he sees maurice’s hand reaching for his own, the girls crash down on them and hand them their ice cream.

after that, the spell breaks and fred gets too inside his own head and makes a vow that unless maurice does something, fred isn’t going to ruin their friendship. not for anything short of divine intervention. 

so years go by and fred realizes that he made the right choice. even though it hurts sometimes to see maurice go on dates or flirt with someone else, he would rather have maurice in his life and watch him with someone else, than no have him at all.

which is why when the fortune teller says what she does, fred tries his hardest to play it all off as a joke and not look at maurice at all because if he doesn’t, everything else could come back to the surface, stronger than before, and ruin the only thing, the only person, that matters to him. 

and once he’s out of the tent and into that same sun that had shone so brightly on maurice that day at the beach, he feels like he can breathe again.

maurice joins him a few minutes later and is happily pulling fred towards the food stands.

and as they share a large elephant ear in the shape of a heart - the worker had said ‘the dough shapes itself’- , fred thinks that it’s enough, that he could happily live out his years so long as maurice was a part of his life.

will we fight, stay up late?...in my dreams i’m to blame...different sides of the bed...roll your eyes, shave my head

two weeks later and maurice thinks that maybe there was actually something to what bedisa told them. 

for example, they’ve been consistently mistaken as a couple and, while not necessarily new, it been increasing in frequency. fred somehow caught the bouquet at their friends wedding and since the two of them showed up together people assumed they were together. maurice started taking shots and fred disappeared after that. they were cutting through the park to get to a movie and street band pulled them both on stage and sang two love song to them before fred ran off stage. the movie theater was packed and the two of them were forced to sit closer than normal because the people beside them demanded more space than necessary. maurice couldn’t tell anyone what the movie was about because the only thing he remembers of that night is the smell and feel of fred plastered to his side. he only wished it happened of their own accord. then, two nights later,  their favorite pub had a random karaoke night and all anyone wanted to sing were love songs. after the second rendition of stand by your man, maurice was ready to crawl out of his skin. 

so now, two weeks after the fair and the fortune teller, maurice was starting to lose his mind.

fred just rolls his eyes and says that he thinks that is some sort of psychological play because anyone can tell that they’re close friends and people like to play jokes. he always shrugs like it’s nothing. like he doesn’t see what everyone else sees.

maurice wishes fred would stop doing that because it breaks him more and more every time. 

he was hoping that maybe, even if the whole fate thing was a joke, this was a sign, an opening, to be able to tell fred what he couldn’t tell him that day on the beach. tell him that he knew, he knows, has known since before that day that he loves fred more than anyone else in the world. and that he can’t ever love anyone else like he does his best friend. fred is it.

but fred keeps laughing and saying that it’s all coincidence, but seeing as how they’ve never been locked in an elevator together every before, maurice thinks bedisa’s word might hold some weight. and for the first time, in a long time, he hopes. hopes that he’s right and that this will eventually lead to them being together. hopes that fred loves him in the same way he loves fred. hopes that this won’t destroy them. 

but his mother always told him that getting your hopes up was never good because that meant they always had somewhere to fall. and he should’ve listened because two days after the elevator comes “the fight.”

the beginning of the end. 

now we’re stuck in the storm...we were born to ignore...and all i got is a chance to just sit...(i’m in love and you’ve got me, runaway)

it had been a long day of work and maurice hadn’t talked to fred all day and was hoping for a moment of reprieve, but as fate would have it, and damn it if he didn’t hate that phrase, he remembered they had a concert to go to tonight.

he would’ve passed, faking a migraine and trying to spend the night taming his emotions, but they bought the tickets months in advance. and fred sounded so excited when he called to remind him that maurice would’ve never have had the heart to turn him away.

though he wishes he would. as he sits on stage and is serenaded by the lead singer of one of their favorite bands, maurice wishes he would’ve stayed home.

he smiles as the singer continues on touching and pulling and carressing him in a playful manner, almost laughing at the absurdity of the situation and look to fred for confirmation in the way their lives have been lately. only when he locks eyes with fred, he doesn’t see mirth or joy, he sees anger and resentment and, he dares to say, jealousy. and maurice knew he had gotten his hopes up for nothing.

he knew how much this band meant to fred and for him to be pulled up instead and serenaded by the lead singer that fred practically idolized, it was enough to wipe the smile off maurice’s face because if fred wanted this then he didn’t want maurice. and if he didn’t want maurice then bedisa was wrong and everything that’s happened was coincidence. and as maurice slowly climbed off stage he felt his world come crashing down. he walks to the back where the bar is, noticing that fred doesn’t follow, and sits down heavily.

he orders a beer, for lack of anything better to do and because the bartender won’t leave him alone, and watches fred through the rest of the show. he just sits and watches his best friend and the man his loves more than anything grind against the others around him.

he leaves when he can’t stand it anymore. running up the stairs and out into the cold night air. lungs begging for oxygen as the tears start to form. 

god he was so fucking stupid to think that, after all these years, anything would happen. 

“so fucking stupid,” he murmurs against the brick wall.

he jumps when the door beside him slams open. and there pops fred, unwanted, back into his vision.

“hey why’d you leave?”

and maurice was so tired. so fucking tired of it all. of fortune tellers and fate. of this night and the past weeks. of loving someone who will never love him back. most of all, he was tired of fred steele, his best friend, being absolute fucking clueless to the living hell that maurice has been in. 

“because i couldn’t...” maurice trails off unsure as to whether or not he’s prepared for this. and then he steels himself, and tries not laugh at the connection, because maurice knows he can’t continue on like this. if he loses fred to this, then it’s worth. it’s killing maurice faster having to hide it all than if he were to lose fred. and if he does lose him, then fred isn’t the man maurice thinks he is. and it’ll all be better in the end.

at least that what he tells himself.

and fred, fuck, fred looks so worried and earnest that it break maurice’s heart a little more to have to do this, but he’s so far beyond breaking point that he’s surprised he’s even functioning. 

“you couldn’t what? maurice?” 

and at his name maurice looks up, tears flowing freely by now, and when his eyes meet fred’s, he breaks.

“i couldn’t watch you with those people anymore. i couldn’t watch as they kissed your neck because i wanted to. i couldn’t watch as you held them close because i’ve spent so many night longing to be held in your arms. i couldn’t watch to you flirt with them the way you never do with me. i just can’t do it anymore, fred.” 

fred is staring him, not moving, not saying anything. just staring, the same way he did that day on the beach. and god dammit if maurice can’t feel fred’s hand warm on his chest again, reaching for fred...always reaching. 

maurice wipes the tears staining his face harshly and clicks his tongue, cursing everything that has ruined this moment and forced him to reveal his deepest secret to the one man he could never tell. 

he looks back into fred’s eyes and states plainly, “i’m in love with you, steele. have been pretty much since the day i met you. and i know you don’t feel the same way. i know that this will pretty much ruin our friendship because there’s no way i can live a life where i’m not the one you fall asleep and wake up next to. but i can’t continue on like this. it’s been killing me all these years and i’m so tired.”

he drops his hands heavily at his sides and shrugs, “you’ve got me, fred. in every possible way, i’m yours.”

maurice sighs, feeling simultaneously relieved and worried that he’s just made the biggest mistake of his life. but he can’t take it back and he just watches as fred stares at him. watches as his best friend’s eye flashes with emotions so fast that he can’t keep up.

he can’t keep looking and the fact that fred has done nothing, said nothing, make maurice cave in on himself and walk away.

so it’s over. god maurice wishes he could feel anything other than the numbness consuming he body at the loss of the only thing he held dear in his life.

he’s halfway down the block when he hears footsteps rushing towards him.

he’s about to tell fred not to even bother when his suddening stop causes fred, who was running, to crash into him.

they’re both on the ground before they can realize what happened.

and when maurice feels a droplet of water hit his face, he opens his eyes slowly.

above him, fred is crying and the brightest smile is plastered on his face.

“sorry mate, but i was hoping to one day sweep you off your feet. seems i already have.”

and maurice, cursing at the pain in his pain from the fall and fred’s ability to make him laugh no matter what, burst into a laughing smile.

then the words catch up to him, “you mean...” he exclaims in shock,

fred nods and places his hand gently on either side of maurice’s face, finally fulfilling that promise he made to himself all those years ago.

“since that day at the beach.”

after a long moment of just looking at one another in the brand new light of love, mutual and undying love, they both move.

and when their lips meet in the middle, it’s a unhurried and gentle first kiss.

the first of so many throughout the rest of their lives.

you steal the air out of my lungs, you make me feel it...i pray for everything we lost, buy back the secrets...your hand forever’s all i want

                                                   six months later

“do you wish this would’ve happened sooner?” maurice asks, head against fred’s naked chest, in the soft morning light of another lazy sunday in their apartment.

he feels fred shake his head, “i think it happened when it was supposed to happen, but i do think of everything we might’ve lost to time.”

maurice sighs, a little melancholy at the wasted time, but then shrugs, “can’t very well miss what never happened though, right? can’t want what you don’t don’t know you want, that it?”

fred pulls maurice to him and kisses him gently. he looks to maurice, serious and nervous. 

he places his hands gently on either side of maurice’ face, the same way he did six months ago.

“i want nothing more than to hold you hand for the rest of my life.”

maurice gasps, “the rest of...are you saying what i think you’re saying?”

fred smiles, “i think we’ve wasted enough time beating around the proverbial bush, maurice. it’s you. it’s always been you and it will always be you. past, present, future.”

maurice smiles and rubs against the embrace in fred’s hands, “past, present, future.”

[valeeneyredux-blog]

GyJo week, Day 3: Birthdays 

I was really excited the birthday theme was on my actual birthday, so I wrote a fic. Its NSFW, so be warned. You can read it on Ao3 with the link or just keep reading here :^0

If there was one thing Johnny expected out of his racing partner, it would be that the man was full of surprises. However, being woken up from a nap during one of their seldom taken breaks to experience another one of the Italian’s sudden bomb-shells was not on his list of favorite things. In fact, when he heard Gyro’s rather excited calls to get him up, the young jockey grumbled and turned the other way, pulling his star spangled hat down further to cover his ears. “Johnny, come on! I have to show you something!” Gyro shook his shoulder, making damn sure he wouldn’t be falling asleep with the constant rocking. “Can’t it wait till sunrise…?” Johnny grumbled. “No, it’s gotta be tonight!” The blonde sighed, knowing that when his partner got in this determined, there’d be no refusing. It was either get it done now, or stay up even later trying to ignore it. So, he used his elbows to lift himself up, slowly crawling out of the warmth of his bed roll. He shivered at the bristling air, missing the warmth of his blanket. He just hoped whatever joke or idea he knew Gyro was going to lay on him wouldn’t take too long. “Alright, you’ve got my attention. What’s up?” The Italian grinned, putting a finger to his oddly groomed facial hair. “Nyo ho, don’t sound to excited Johnny boy.” Johnny then realized he was hiding something behind his back with his other arm. He wasn’t concealing it that well either, in his excitement to show it off, Johnny could see part of a box reveal itself. “What is that.” The Joestar looked unamused, still wiping the sleep out of his eyes. If Gyro had just woken him up to show that he finally bought a damn toothbrush from the catalogue, he would’ve been pissed. Would have, if the other man didn’t suddenly reveal the box to Johnny, arms outstretched, and give a big, grill exposing smile. “Happy Birthday Johnny!” At first, the Kentucky boy was just confused. “I never told you my birthday.” He responded almost immediately. “Well, yes, but its been a month or two since we’ve been riding, and I figured it’s gotta come eventually.” “This race is supposed to take 60-80 days. My birthday could be way out of that range.” Gyro huffed, refusing to give up. “Well is it?” It was at that point Johnny must’ve finally home to his senses, that or the sleepiness finally got out of his system, because he finally really thought about his birth date. How long had it been since he stopped celebrating it? Definitely since before the accident. When he considered it closely, he came to the realization it was around when his brother… “So…? When is it?” Johnny looked up, forgetting his partner was even there. If he didn’t think to hard about it, he would’ve thought the Italian looked a bit concerned. That couldn’t be it though. “Uh… I… Don’t remember.” The blonde quietly responded, lowering his body back to the ground. “What? You don't remember? Johnny, I know you Americans are different, but you cant expect me to believe you don’t celebrate birthdays!” Gyro let out a little bit of a snort, which only made Johnny curl into himself more, turning away from his friend. “Yeah, maybe I’m just weird.” It didn’t take much to sense the discomfort in the jockey’s voice, and Gyro felt a little bad for teasing him this time. He put the box aside, the mood quite unsettled now, and made his was over to his friend. “What’s wrong Johnny?” The Italian put a hand on his shoulder, but this time it was gentle, cupping him lightly. “It’s nothing, really.” His partner could already tell in the tone of his voice that it most certainly was not nothing. Johnny was doing a fair job at concealing it, turning his head away and all, but the light coming from their campfire had given away the tears dampening his cheeks. Guilt washed over Gyro then, absolutely not expecting to open up this can of worms with a simple present. Sighing quietly, the older man decided just stroking Johnny’s shoulder wasn’t going to be enough to console his upset friend, so he took a moment to hook his arms under the smaller man’s arm pits, lifting him up so he was face to face with Gyro. “Gyro what the hell do you think y-you’re-“ Johnny was unable to continue his sentence, coming to the realization that Gyro would be able to see his tear stained face clear as day now. He tried to conceal his embarrassment by scrubbing the wetness away with his star speckled arm band, but it was too late. The Italian’s suspicions were all but absolute. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” His voice was unusually collected, hand taking refuge where Johnny’s were previously to touch the younger man’s cheek. “It wasn’t your fault.” “Then…?” “I haven’t celebrated my birthday since my brother died.” He looked down, letting out a grim laugh. “Actually, It’s been so long I kinda forgot when it was really.” “Oh Johnny…” Gyro looked at him with sincere eyes, and it was then the young jockey felt uncomfortable, like he was being pitied. “Listen, it’s not important. Let’s just go back to sleep.” Johnny tried to get himself out of Gyro’s grasp, just forget about this whole thing and act like he didn’t just cry in front of his goddamned mentor, but the Italians grip was firm. Firm… but comforting. Johnny looked up. Maybe he was just tired, or maybe the tears were still making his eyes a bit blurry, but he thought he saw something in Gyro’s eyes. For a second, he felt as if what he was seeing wasn’t pity, but… concern. Before he could register the feeling further, Gyro leaned down and kissed him. It wasn’t like they hadn’t done it once before, but Johnny was pretty sure that time was just spurred on by the alcohol they had in their system. This, no, this was different. The way Gyro pulled him in further, dragging him out of the warmth of his bed roll and onto the Italian’s lap, the way he sank deeper into the kiss, entering Johnny’s mouth with his hot tongue, it all felt different. It felt real. It felt exhilarating. But still, Johnny couldn’t help the nagging feeling that maybe he should pull away, so he did. Rather reluctantly. “W-wait Gyro. Why are you doing this?” The blonde struggled to keep his composure. He was trembling slightly, and he wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or the feeling of being touched like that after so long. The Italian gave another snort, pulling Johnny with his arms that were now wrapped against the smaller man’s back. “Shouldn’t that be obvious? I wouldn’t get you a birthday present if I didn’t already like you, Johnny boy.” Feeling a blush spreading across his cheeks, the younger man squirmed on his partners lap, suddenly self conscious. “If you’re just doing this to make me feel better, I’ll punch you.” “Oh I know.” Gyro laughed, getting closer to the other with a widening grin. “And don’t worry. I wanna make you feel good, but in a different way than you’re thinking.” Johnny didn’t feel the need to protest too much after that, especially when Gyro’s lips pressed against his a second time. Gyro pulled him in closer, practically having the jockey straddle him. Not that he noticed, he couldn’t feel it after all. What Johnny did feel, however, was nearly overwhelming. The way the Italians scent lingered near his nose every time he got in closer, keeping him embraced, when he pulled off the jockey’s hat and slid a hand under his shirt, coasting over the small of his back, it was intoxicating. Suddenly, Gyro made a noise, one unusual enough for Johnny to break away for a second, panting. “What’s happened?” “Ah, it’s nothing. Well, okay, not nothing. You’re kind of grinding against my…” Both of them looked down, and it was then Johnny noticed the visible tent in Gyro’s pants. Not only that, the jockey was also pressing against him quite harshly while they were occupied. “Oh, sorry.” The blonde replied, moving himself back a little. “Don’t worry.” Gyro laughed, examining his partner as well. “From the looks of it, you’re no better than me.” Johnny looked down at himself and realized he had gotten hard as well, not that he felt it. He hadn’t gotten into a sexual encounter with another person since his accident, but he could still get the occasional boner. It always came at awkward times though. Still, he felt the slightest tinge of embarrassment, and instead of acknowledging it, he turned his attention to his partner. “Give me a second.” The Joestar said, starting to move himself off the Italian’s lap with some resistance. It wasn’t easy to do when your legs didn’t work, after all. “Woah Johnny, what’re you-“ Gyro started to speak, but he didn’t finish his sentence when the Kentucky boy unbuckled his signature belt. Getting the zipper undone proved to be just as easy, and soon enough Johnny was pulling down Gyro’s pants. He palmed the Italian’s clothed erection, feeling a bit cocky when he heard the man above him illicit a moan. Johnny made extra sure to be slow, applying the gentle pressure of his tongue to the growing wet spot on Gyro’s undergarments. He could taste the saltiness of the other’s precum through the material, and he pushed harder, sucking around him. It was not long before Gyro pulled Johnny’s mouth away, panting. “Slow down there. I said I was going to make you feel good. It defeat’s the purpose if I get off first.” Johnny smiled, raising a brow. “You’d come just from that?” The other man slanted his eyes, lips pursing. “If you could’ve felt how I did, I doubt you’d last any longer.” He put a hand to Johnny’s chest and pushed him slightly, commanding him to reposition. It took a while, but Johnny was now sitting on his back, facing up the man above him, who was currently pulling the blonde’s shirt up, exposing his nipples to the chill air. Goosebumps rose on his skin, but they quickly subsided when Gyro took his mouth to one of Johnny exposed buds. The blonde regretted teasing him so much, because now it seemed he was getting his due. The older man made circles around his partner’s chest, giving a tooth grin at the boy when he saw the nub begin to stiffen. It seemed that Johnny’s hard on, which had subsided for the time being, was now at full mast again, poking at the other’s thighs. Gyro sucked harder on him, biting slightly. Johnny tried to keep his voice as quiet as possible, but he found little moans escaping him still. Gyro definitely heard them, with the smug look spreading across his face. Turning his attention away from the abused nipple, the Italian drifted downwards, trailing his tongue further until it reached the brim of Johnny’s waistband. Again, it took sometime, but Gyro was able to fully removed the Jousters starry pants. Johnny had noticed his underwear going along with it, but said nothing, a sudden nervousness settling deep in his core. Gyro marveled at the body below him, but when he turned his attention to his partner’s face, he could again see that slight discomfort in it. “Did I get too carried away?” He asked, scratching the back of his scalp awkwardly. “No, no, it’s not that. It’s just… I don’t feel anything down there. I’ve tried.” Even though the blonde sounded defeated, Gyro seemed to perk up, like he knew something Johnny didn’t, “Nyo ho, so you’ve fingered yourself before?” “W-what of it?!” Johnny said flustered. “Don’t worry Johnny,” Gyro laughed, enjoying the expression his partner was now making. “Just because you’ve tried it doesn't mean it’s hopeless. You probably just didn’t hit your prostate.” “My what?” Johnny quickly decided not to probe further. He forgot Gyro was a doctor, so he probably knew what he was talking about. Getting comfortable, he lied back down on the ground, trying not to focus on the act Gyro was about to preform, but rather on the sky above him. The older man took a quick second to retrieve something from his bag, presumably some kind of oil, though Johnny couldn’t really tell with the fire starting to go out. “Now, tell me when I hit something.” Gyro said, slicking his fingers up. Johnny wouldn’t feel the discomfort of being entered, but he still wanted to make sure he didn’t put too much pressure on the younger boy. Slowly, he entered one finger in, and when Gyro heard no response, just an embarrassed cough coming from the other man, he decided to go further, keeping his reach and curling his fingers. A second finger quickly followed, and the Italian used his other free hand to make sure Johnny was still erect. At this point the jockey was ready to give up and  go back to pleasing Gyro, so he broke the silence. “Gyro you can stop, I don't think I’m gonna feel anythi- ah!” It seemed at that moment, Gyro hit something that sent a shock through Johnny’s body. It was sudden, but the blonde was sure he could feel it for a second. “Ho! So that was it huh?” The jockey put a hand to his mouth, still bewildered by the sound that came out of him, and nodded. “Well, all I have to do is make sure I get it again!” The Italian let out another one of his distinct laughs, lowering his pants down more till they were around his ankles. His cock fully out now, Johnny took precautions not to stare to much at the other man. But he couldn’t help himself, especially when he saw his partner slick himself with some more oil. “I’m going to enter you, is that alright, Johnny?” “Y-yeah.” The blonde responded. Inside, he was practically itching at the bit to get that feeling again. Slowly, Gyro settled himself into the younger man. Again, Johnny didn’t say anything, so the Italian started thrusting, trying to reach the same spot he did before. “Hey Johnny, give me your arm, I wanna try a different position.” Johnny obliged, feeling nothing, but definitely hearing the slick sounds coming from the contact. He ignored his own embarrassment at the noise as he was pulled once again into Gyro’s lap. Immediately , the position proved to be fruitful, for it took one well placed thrust for Johnny to see stars again. “Oh Gyro! Right there!” The older man exposed his grills in a smile, hitting the same spot again. “You’re so tight.” He admired, listening to Johnny’s increasingly loud moans. He examined the younger man closely, looking at the way the fire glinted in his blue eyes, tinting his skin a different shade. It took him a while to realize his feeling had become much more than that of a mentor, and for once he was glad his risk paid off when he kissed the boy. Gyro pressed his lips to the corner of Johnny’s watering eyes, tasting the salt there. “I love you.” Johnny didn’t respond, but that was probably due to the fact Gyro made another firm jab at his prostate. Still, he felt a sudden warmth bloom in his chest. It was the first time someone had said that since he was a kid, and it honestly made him a little dizzy. “Gyro I’m-“ The blonde squeaked out a response that was cut off by the sudden orgasim racking through his body. For a second he thought he could even feel himself ejaculate, but he must’ve been coming off the high of Gyro saying he loved him. The Italian took a few thrusts but soon enough he met his own climax, spilling deep inside his partner. Both of them clearly spent, It took a bit of fumbling to clean themselves off and get clothed again, but once they did, they were able to relax, cuddling close to one another on Johnny’s bed roll. “Did you really mean it?” Johnny finally asked wen the fire went out, shrouding them both in darkness. “That I love you? Yeah.” Gyro snickered, burying himself in the crook of the smaller man’s neck. Though he promised himself he wouldn’t cry again tonight, Johnny could feel a tear or two escaping him this time. “Thanks. I… I love you too.” He laughed, wiping away the wet pool on his cheek as his partner held him closer. For once, he felt a sense of calm. Like maybe, he didn’t have to worry about his past anymore. He could hold onto it, but he would know what the future had in store would bring an even better tomorrow. And maybe, he could celebrate again. “That reminds me, when’s your Birthday Gyro?” Johnny asked, breaking himself out of his train of thought. It was faint, but he could see Gyro’s outline. His eyes were closed, almost like he was sleeping, but he flashed a smile at Johnny’s inquiry. “Heh, It’s a secret.” “Are you serious.” Johnny raised a brow, asking why now of all times his partner had to be cheeky. His thoughts quickly dashed when Gyro looked up at him. Through the darkness he could see the determination in his eyes. “Stay with me after this race is all over, and maybe you’ll find out.” Johnny blushed, and after some consideration, nodded. He decided he might as well get some rest then. It had been a good birthday after all.

[masterlistcrawford]

Selene Crawford: The Lady, The Villain and The Contrarian

Warning: None for the moment.

The trip back to the office was done in silence. A tense silence that neither Masamune nor Selene dared to break. At some point Masamune took Selene’s hand and never let it go unless it was necessary. For her the nightmare was becoming real. They will go after them now. What she can do, how could she protect them now? Should she…

“Selene? Selene?! Answer me, are you ok?”

Selene failed to noticed that they were on the parking lot of the building. She was so adsorbed on her thoughts that failed to see when they arrived. Masamune’s was frowning very worried at her.

Taking a look at Selene he knew something was wrong. It got worse when he touched her hand which felt cold like a block of ice. Not risking getting attack on their way to the office he took her hand trying to giving her some warmth meanwhile she was unresponsive. She was looking directly to road oblivious to the rest of the world. He took her on his arms and hugged her until the color returned to her face.

“Where are we?” Selene felt disoriented, cold.

“We arrived safely. Kitten why are you so cold?” Masamune kept warming Selene’s hands until they got warm.

“Sorry I guess I space out didn’t I?” Selene gave Masamune a weak smile.

“Come on let’s go we need to let the others know what is happening.” said Masamune confused at Selene state.

Both walked holding their hands and arrived to the office. Selene automatically went to her desk and started to work. Masamune decided to went to Nobunaga’s office and do a report. Upon entering the office he found Nobunaga talking over the phone.

“Yes, he is here right now, do you want to speak with him? It’s Detective Katakura.” Nobunaga passed the phone to Masamune.

“Date here.”

“Are you ok? We got a call to the mountains and found your house blown up. What is going on?” Kojuro sounded puzzled.

“Yeah, we managed to escape on time.” Masamune hold the bridge of his nose trying to ease some tension.

“We? As in more than one person? Is there is something I need to know?” Kojuro’s questions were done in a rapid fire motion. Knowing Masamune there must be someone he had done and might have a woman involved.

“Look, our receptionist is the one being targeted.”

“You mean Oda’s mistress?”

“What you mean Oda’s mistress?”

“It’s all over the news and the press. Don’t you read the newspaper?” Kojuro’s information was a new development.

Masamune took a look to Nobunaga only to confirmed that it wasn’t a joke made by Kojuro.

“No, I haven’t been informed I have to go.”

“Don’t hang up Masamune, we need you at the station for a statement. When you can come?” Kojuro’s question was more an order than a simple question.

“Tell me when and I’ll be there. Now I really have to go.”

“Alright, I’ll send you a message. Just be careful OK?” Kojuro’s concern was well funded.

“ Got it.” with this Masamune hang up and turned to Oda.

“So, I gather you already know the situation?” Masamune was the first one to talk.

“I read the newspaper and saw the news, what about it?” Nobunaga knew where this go, so he started to carefully think what he should say. Knowing Masamune he will explode at any time. He noticed he was troubled.

“This might complicate things. Selene looks like is struggling with the situation. And…they found out about my house on the mountains and send a missile we barely escaped” Masamune took a seat and bury his face on his hands.

“Things are escalating. What about you? How are you doing with all this?” it was Nobunaga’s turn to ask.

“It’s like dealing with myself, and…I’m terrified. I don’t want to loose her.” the sincerity on Masamune’s voice surprised Nobunaga.

“You won’t, we are here for you, for her.” Nobunaga put a hand on Masamune’s shoulder.

Shingen arrived to find Selene working on automatic mode. She might fool the untrained eye but she was terrified and occupying herself in order to regain a bit of control. Smiling softly he approach and gave a warm salute.

“Oh Good Morning, my precious angel. I believe this is the entrance to heaven isn’t it?” taking Selene’s hand.

Selene stood there while looking at him without reacting to his words.. Shingen frown this is not the reaction he was hope for.

“Princess are you…?”

“Oh, sorry I’ve been absent minded lately. Too much work Mr. Takeda, are you here for an appointment with Mr. Oda?” Selene tried to regain her normal self but she was struggling. She needed time to think, but then she remembered her promised to Masamune.

“This situation have me a little rattled up that’s all. Forgive me, will you like some tea,sweets anything for Mr. Sanada, Sarutobi or Mr. Uesugi?” she gave a look to the rest of the group.

“Tea will be good for all since we are on working hours right Kenshin?” Sasuke gave a look to Kenshin who was sited pretending to read a magazine.

“Whatever, I’m here because there is no other remedy.” Kenshin didn’t bother to look up.

“OK, just pass to the conference room I will be bringing the refreshments there I will let know Mr. Oda you had arrived.” by now Selene was acting professional and normal.

Selene guided them to the conference room once she made sure everyone was comfortable she let know Nobunaga. At the same time went to the little kitchen to make some tea and sandwiches. When she arrived Masamune was cooking, apparently she wasn’t the only one with anxiety. The kitchen although not as big as the one on his home had all the commodities a normal house needed including an oven, Microwave and a full refrigerator. When Selene began to work she noticed the place was all ways completely stacked with food. Taking mental note she always made sure it was ready for use. Masamune either was there or working on a case. Since this time she was the case he was cooking. Selene observed him from the door smiling. He was wearing a black apron, while moving in his element.

“Like what you see kitten?” Masamune turned to give her a wink.

“Yes, I do. Although I’m not used yet to see you with an apron.” Selene approached and try to get some of the essence of what he was cooking. “ You ok?” his smile didn’t reached like always do. His eye was trying to hide the conflict inside of him.  

“You scared me this morning when we arrived.” he was chopping some vegetables. He wasn’t recriminating her for it , but he sounded defensive.

“I’m sorry, I guess I just went into a defensive mechanism. You know not everyday I begin my mornings with an incoming missile and destroys my…” both look at the same time looking for the elusive word that was escaping them.

“It’s there a term for us at this stage?” she ventured to ask.

“If it is, no one sent me the memo. All  I know kitten, is that whatever it is I hope to soon change that to a more official term.” he gave her a rapid kiss on the lips while continuing his task.

Selene felt her cheeks getting hotter, deciding not to add anymore, she prepared the tea and some sandwiches, on her way out she added.

“BTW, Shingen and his group are here, it seems they will stay for a while.”

“OK, I will add more portions. Let me know if something changes.”

“Thanks.” giving him a flushed smile Selene took the tray to the conference room.

Upon arriving the room everyone was verifying all the clues they had gathered about the case. Copies of the letters were obtained thanks to Kincaid, while Detective Katakura called again to let Masamune know that the missile was robbed from a facility on Russia. Which meant it was acquired on the black market ending the trace on that part. The investigation kept going for the next days.

“We just hit another dead end.” said Mitsurani to Sasuke both were working the network and any digital media.

The threats didn’t match any Modus Operandi of any case on the police data base. Neither any case worked by Shingen’s group or Nobunaga’s. Comparing also the cases of Masamune and Mitsuhide gave nothing making the situation frustrating for everyone. After the second attempt things calmed down. Even the threats stopped being delivered. But an envelop left one morning in front of the building gave a reminder to the group that their predator was still at large. The envelop has a group of photographs where Selene appeared with any of them. Sometimes in group others with Masamune or with Nobunaga. Since the shooting incident the press started to report on Selene often making her prey of some unlawful rumors. With the photographs was a note also in Blood.

“Give me what I want and I will go away.”

“Ha?, what is that suppose to mean? I beat I need a break” Yuki was so upset that went out of the room to clear his mind.

Everyone was at their limit, it was then that Selene seemed to remember something.

“There was an horror book that I read once, what really called me out was that phrase. “Give me what I want and I will go away.” The book was about a group of people each with their own dark secrets. At the center was this girl who was innocent and yet caught on with them. Since she never agreed to their bidding they made her life a living hell. I need to make a call.” Selene went to her desk to make the call when Kenshin called her out.

“So how the book ended?”

Selene looked at Kenshin and said in a solemn tone. “She killed them all.” and left.

“I know, I know, yes you can come tomorrow to visit. Bring all of them if you want. Just make sure he also comes alright?” Ian hung up. Turning around he faces the man if everything goes according to plan after tomorrow what belong to us by birthright will come back to us.

The man dressing all in black and red converse shoes smiles while adjusting is Fedora.

“Good, I cant wait to see you once again my love.”

Nobunaga parked his car, it has been 6 years since they spoke. He swear he will never come back again. But right now Selene might need him if something didn’t work out on their meeting of tomorrow. Entering by the backdoor he knocked the door and a grumble resembling “Come in” was heard. A cocky smile drawn on Nobunaga’s features.

“I guess some things never change uh Yasu?”

Notes: For some reason I struggle a lot with this chapter. Any comment or feedback is welcome. I hope you guys like it.