#spent the last 10 minutes figuring out the best way to get to the library without a car in less than an hour

[koiketto]

reconnecting with nature but you're actually just broke and also in the states

[aestheticaltcow]

Married Life

Steve Harrington x Reader (technically self-insert but like barely lol)

Just a little fluff starring my favorite Hawkins resident.

Meeting you in college was the best accident Steve had ever made. He’d gotten lost in the main building while looking for his actual class. You sat in the front row of the lecture hall, nose in a book, waiting for class to start. You hadn’t noticed Steve until he sat beside you; you shot him a grin and returned to your book. He casually glanced in your direction throughout the specialized sociology elective. He was enthralled and knew you’d be the next Mrs. Harrington from the moment he saw you.

Your relationship started like any classmate dynamic; he’d asked to borrow a pen or if you knew the time. He’d ask to copy your notes or borrow a piece of paper. By mid-terms, he’d worked up the courage to talk to you about anything other than sociology. “Hey, Y/N, do you wanna study together sometime?” Steve suppressed his overwhelming urge to squeal when you'd agreed to it. 

The two of you sat in the library, reviewing notes for approximately 10 minutes before diving into more interesting topics. He took mental notes of everything you’d said you enjoyed; he’d causally start bringing you coffee or snacks. There was something about Steve you found intriguing and after months of friendship and a string of bad dates on your end. Steve gathered the courage to ask you on a real date. You agreed Steve was a nice guy and wasn’t ugly- or weird. It was a simple first date; the two of you went to the movie theater on campus, and then he walked you back to your dorm. After that, you were hooked.

The two of you seemed to do everything together. He’d walk you to class and drop you off at work. He was always willing to spend time with you even if it was 'inconvenient' for him.

He challenged your point of view, and you challenged him as well. He didn’t understand why you’d chosen to major in sociology but loved how you lit up when you spoke about it. 

Going to Hawkins for the first time was interesting. You hadn’t known about Steve’s high school reputation but were thoroughly amused at Robin’s retelling of embarrassing story after embarrassing story. His parents adored you fresh out of the gate; you saw his Dad pull him aside on your last night. While you hadn’t heard what he told the young man, you noticed how his face had lit up. As you were getting ready to return to school the next day, you had to find out, “He told me to marry you because a woman like you is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.”

After graduation, you and Steve finally rented a small apartment together. You had both landed jobs you loved, and everything was perfect except for one thing. Your last name…

Steve wanted to plan the perfect proposal. He spent months looking for the perfect ring and asked every woman in his life for their opinion. After buying what he hoped would be your engagement ring, he had to figure out how to ask you. A romantic weekend away? A simple but elegant dinner date? At the beach? Or at a park? He thought he had a perfect plan, but one day, you two were walking through a parking structure trying to find his car, and it was the moment. Steve stopped and fished the ring box out of his jacket pocket. You turned around when you realized Steve wasn’t beside you anymore. 

“So this wasn’t what I planned on doing, but, Y/N, will you marry me? I know we're in the middle of a fuckin’ parking lot, but this is what I want. I want to be with you forever; this may be the least romantic or special way to propose to the woman of your dreams, but it feels right.” you laughed at first, but as he got down on one knee, you realized he was serious. “Yes, Steve, I would love to be your wife.”

[spookyscarydemonbabe]

What’s That Van Halen Song?…

Summary- An opportunity for some extra college credit lands you tutoring a few students from Hawkins High, and it seems like one of them has a little more trouble than the rest.

Genre- Fluff

Warnings- None :)

Tag List- @thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles @munsonology @esme-viridian @gvf23

(Tag list is always open, let me know if you’d like to be added 🖤)

Word Count- 2.9k

You sighed sitting at your usual table in the library, waiting for the next student. Ever since you graduated and started your classes at the community college, you’ve found a little extra time to help out the other students at Hawkins High. It was always nice when you had the college tutors help you out with your classes and you figured it was best to keep up with the tradition. After all, with their help you were able to graduate.

You opened up one of your notebooks and started scribbling away, wanting to try and kill some time as you waited and waited. Usually you never had to wait this long for someone to show up. It was always maybe a 5, 10 minutes maximum wait, but there was only one student you knew always showed up late.

“Hey! Sorry I’m-“ Eddie said to you as he approached your table, not before being cut off by the librarian shushing him to keep his voice down, “Sorry i’m late.” He said quietly.

He pulled out the chair next to you and set a few notebooks and folders onto the table.

“It’s alright,” You gave him a smile, “were you able to get that last test back?”

Eddie nodded quickly and opened up the folder in front of him, flipping through the various papers that were stuffed into it. You watched as his fingers moved through the scattered quizzes and exercise sheets, and you even noticed a few doodles on them, little dragons and demons and swords. For someone the same age as you, it really seemed like he never grew out of the same things you saw from the freshmen you helped tutor. Still scribbling little doodles on his papers, still getting sidetracked and distracted when you were trying to teach him, he was just a big kid. As cute as it was, you knew something had to change if he wanted to graduate on time.

“Um… Alright, here it is-“ He finally found the test he had been searching for in his jam packed folder, “-and here’s a quiz we took beforehand.” He placed the two pieces of paper onto the table and you moved them closer to you to compare his work.

“Alright, so you got a 73% on the quiz, which is a lot better than last time! But you only got a 70% on this test Eds, did you look over it and figure out some things you did wrong?”

“Yeah,” He nodded and moved a bit closer to you, pulling the test towards him to show you his work, “I think for number 3 i just forgot to carry the 2? And for this one, number 7, i forgot which equation is used for this type of graph so i kind of just winged it…”

“Eddie…” You said to him in the same disappointed voice you’d heard nearly a million times beforehand from your own parents, “we spent the last few sessions studying for this test! I know you’re smarter than just a 70%. Did you ask if you can do anything to bring the grade up?”

“Yes! Mr. Jackson said that if i came back tomorrow with a full corrections sheet on the problems i missed then he’ll give me back half points for all of them.”

“That’s great! See, even he knows you’re smarter than a 70%.”

Eddie smiled to you. He hasn’t really gotten this kind of treatment from someone like you before. You were the same age and he didn’t feel any differently towards you than he did the other people his age. But you were different. You were someone who encouraged him to do his best, even when his best isn’t perfect. He had to admit he had a slight little schoolboy crush on you, but with you being so sweet to him how could he not?

You were smart, independent, someone who knew exactly what you wanted and that’s what he strived for. He wanted to be able to live his life the way you lived yours. Carefree.

The two of you had plenty of conversations that didn’t surround his classes, and from the few things he knew about you he knew you would be a pretty cool person. Hell, if you went to Hawkins with him he could’ve sworn he’d have done better just to be able to go off to college with you and not have to leave your friendship behind.

He liked you. And he was certain that if he knew a little more about you he may even love you.

“Eddie?” You asked him with a giggle, pulling him out of his trance.

“Hm? What?”

“I asked you to show me all the ones you got wrong so we can work on them.” You giggled again.

Situations like this weren’t uncommon with Eddie. Every time he lost his train of thought or get sidetracked you always figured he just had a difficult time paying attention, which is what led to his grades being how they were. But every time you caught him losing track of whatever it was you were saying he had the littlest twinkle in his eye when he was looking at you.

He moved his chair closer to you and flipped through the packet of papers to show you each question he had missed, and thankfully it was only a few.

“Alright, so i know that we’ve gone over a this stuff right before you took this test, i have a couple of things to look through from the other kids i tutor, do you think you can try to do your corrections without my help first?”

“I think i’ll be able to.”

“I think you will too,” You said to him with a smile, “do it yourself first, and when you’re finished i’ll look over it with you to see if you’re still struggling.”

Eddie nodded with a smile and took his papers back, opening up his notebook and turning to a blank page to start on his corrections. You opened up one of your folders and took out a few papers to look over as Eddie started fixing his work. Every now and then you’d glance over at Eddie to check on how things were going and he’d quickly adjust himself in his chair, turning his eyes back onto his paper and working on whatever problem he was stuck on.

You’d give him a little smile each time you looked up, and it was quite cute to see him get a bit flustered. For someone who looked like he did, it was a pleasant surprise for him to act this way.

When you first started tutoring him, you had to admit it was a little nerve wracking. He was older than any other high school student you’ve known, and thought it felt a little strange to be tutoring someone your own age, those feelings soon faded once you really sat and got to know him.

He was kind, passionate, he was someone who had been a lot nicer to you than some of your own peers at school. And you could see from helping him through his classes that he was smart. He had an amazing imagination and he excelled when it came to story building, and it showed in a few of his DnD campaigns he had told you about.

It was just math that he really struggled with.

When you glanced back over at him after looking through and editing another essay from one of the other students, you could see him staring off at the paper in front of him, making little doodles in the corner. He always had the worst attention span. You focused in on the little doodles he was doing in the corners of his paper and it seemed like the strangest thing for him to be drawing.

Hearts. Hearts of all different shapes and sizes, a few with arrows in them, a few big hearts filled with little ones. All of them surrounding one bigger heart, with something scribbled right there in the middle, but before you could get a good look at whatever he has scribbled in the center you went right back into tutor mode,

“Eddie.” You said to him in a stern tone, wii joy getting his attention as he looked over to you, his hand covering up his little doodles in the corner, “I thought you were doing your corrections?”

“I am! I’m just… taking a break.”

You looked over to his notes and saw that he had already worked through three of the questions he missed,

“Tell you what, you get five of those finished and we’ll take a break, ok? Just please try and focus on your work.”

“I will! I’m focusing, see,” He turned the page of his notebook and began working on another problem, “focused.”

You chuckled and went back to your work, looking over the other students papers as Eddie did his best to finish up the last two problems before your break. However, just as you put away one paper to grab the next, you could hear the eraser of Eddie’s pencil tapping onto the paper of his notebook.

You glanced over to him and saw him gently bobbing his head, his lips mouthing out a few words as his curls bounced back and forth, following the rhythm of the eraser against the paper. He had only one more problem to do, but his attention span was really affecting his work.

“Eddie.” You said to him again, stopping his motions as he looked to you once again, “We really have to fix that attention span of yours.” You said with a giggle, reaching over to grab his notebook to check his work, but he quickly snatched it back.

“Wait! I’m not finished yet, one more to go right?”

“Yeah, but if you’re gonna get distracted i can at least check what you have done so far. I’m sure you’re doing fine! Just let me look-“

“No.” He gripped it tightly in his hand.

“What do you mean no? I’m sure you did fine, just let me see.”

You reached your hand out for him to give you the notebook and he reluctantly handed it off to you, crossing his arms over his chest and staring down at the desk as you flipped through the pages. You finally found the page with his corrections, the little hearts in the corner were a dead giveaway. It was when you saw what was scribbled in the middle of that big heart that you understood why Eddie was so reluctant to give you the notebook.

There, right in the middle of the heart in his notebook, were your initials. EM + (f/i)(l/i).

You looked over at him in his seat, not giving away any indication that you had spotted the initials, and saw the bright blush on his cheeks.

It was finally starting to click.

The way he had acted around you in the past, the way that he would hang on to every word you said as it left your lips. He had paid attention to every single thing you told him at every tutoring session, and even though he knew this stuff like the back of his hand, he was back every week. With you.

You smiled a bit and giggled to yourself, Eddie glanced over at you with a scared look in his eye. He was hoping it wasn’t him you were laughing at,

“What?”

You slowly closed the notebook and placed it onto the table between you, looking over to him with a smile on your lips,

“You never needed my help with your classes, did you?”

He got silent, his cheeks a bright red, knowing you had him all figured out. He gently shook his head as he looked back down at the table, too embarrassed to look up at you.

A little smile formed on your lips as you thought over all the past tutoring sessions you’d had with him. Each and every time you’d notice his little glances, the way he would pay such close attention to your voice and still have a hard time with his work, and no matter how long you had worked together to bring his grade up he always brought in something new he was struggling with. It all made so much sense, and you felt like an idiot for not being able to notice it before.

He had a crush on you.

He had a crush on his tutor.

You giggled, placing your hand over your lips to try and stifle it, not wanting to embarrass him any more than he already had been,

“I’m sorry, i don’t mean to laugh, i just…” Your mind kept wandering back to all the times you had heard Eddie humming and tapping along on his notebook, each and every time you had heard it, it was all the same melody. The same song. You knew exactly what it was, you just couldn’t put your finger on it,

“What’s that Van Halen song?”

He finally looked up to you, the corners of his lips curling into a gentle smile,

“Which one?”

“You know the one. The one you’ve been humming every time you come to see me?”

“Oh, yeah,” You finally got a laugh out of him, “Hot For Teacher?”

“Yes! That’s it, that’s the one!”

The librarian at the front desk looked over to the two of you and put her finger over her lips, signaling for you both to quiet down. You gave her a nod and a quick and quiet ‘Sorry’ before going back to Eddie,

“You must really like that song, hm?”

“Well…” Now he was getting bashful, “It’s not a favorite, but i always think of it whenever i come to see you.”

You smiled with one another, though Eddie was still unsure of your feelings towards him. You knew he liked you, and though it felt very strange to have one of your students have a crush on you, you knew it was innocent. Hell, if he wasn’t a student you’d go out with him in a heartbeat, but not now. Not like this.

“I think that’s sweet. But you didn’t have to have your grades suffer just to spend time with me, we could’ve always just hung out if you asked.”

He was taken back, eyes widening,

“Really? All i had to do was ask?”

You nod and giggle as he leans back in his chair,

“Well shit, if i knew that i wouldn’t have fucked my algebra grade up this bad.”

“How bad is it?” You asked him, though he gave you no answer, only looking back down at the table, “Eddie.” You said more sternly.

“…63% in the class.”

“Eddie!”

The librarian looked over at you two once more, this time her eyebrows furrowed in frustration. She didn’t even have to say a word for you to quiet down.

“Eddie,” You whispered to him, “you’re so close to graduating, why would you mess your grade up that bad?”

“I don’t know, i just like being able to spend time with you.”

You sighed and smiled to him. Though it was always nice to be able to see him and spend time with him after school in the library, you knew he was so much smarter than this.

“I’ll tell you what, because i know you’re smart enough to get at least an 80% by yourself wirh these corrections and the next few assignments, how about we make a deal?”

He looked to you strangely,

“What kind of a deal?”

You smiled and tore a little piece out of his notebook, grabbing your pen and scribbling down your phone number on it,

“When you graduate, if you get higher than an 80% in this class, i’ll take you out on a date. Sound good?”

He perked up immediately, not expecting you to be so upfront. He nodded quickly, still not being able to say much. He was still a little embarrassed.

“Good. Here,” You handed him the little slip of paper, “if you actually need help with something, go ahead and call me. And make sure you let me know when you graduate ok?” You smiled to him as you saw the pink on his cheeks, he mouthed the number in his hand to himself as you stood up and started collecting your things.

“Wait, are you going?” He asked you as you placed your few notebooks and folders into your bag.

“Eddie, you and i both know you’re smart enough to get all those corrections done on your own.” You stood up from your chair and pushed it in as you slug your bag over your shoulder, “And remember, if you do need help, you have my number.”

He nodded again and straightened himself in his seat, opening up his notebook to the next blank page and starting his corrections once more. All he really needed was a push in the right direction, and he was glad you were the one to help him get there.

You gave each other a smile and a quiet wave as you made your walk out of the library, only to quickly turn back. You approached Eddie once more, pushing his bangs back and giving him a kiss onto his temple,

“You’re gonna do great. This is your year, remember?”

He looked up to you and you could see just how much that meant to him.

After all this time, after everything you’ve heard about him, after all the times you’ve had to get him back on track after getting distracted or showing him the same problem solving methods nearly a hundred times, you still didn’t give up on him. You made him want to work his hardest.

He wanted to finish this year, finally, all for you.

[scarlett-vixen]

hey, contrats for the 200 followers !! how are u ? uhm is it possible for a mammon fluff with S ??

I’m doing well! Better once I get these last few prompts finished😌 I’d write anything for Mammon so of course!

Prompt: S- Stars

Pairing: Mammon x Gn!Reader

Genre: Fluff

You had been feeling a little homesick recently, missing your favorite restaurants, stores and places to hang out back in the human world, and the change in your mood had not gone unnoticed by the brothers. They could tell something was off, you had become more reserved and less excited about things you normally loved to do, your happiness has always been their top priority.

Lucifer had found you in the library reading by yourself, he informed you that Lord Diavolo was granting you a three day trip back home, he also mentioned that Diavolo was allowing you to take one of the brothers along. You knew instantly which one you wanted to take, the two of you had talked about it a million times, you started planning the perfect trip.

You had tried to keep a secret but the minute you saw him in the hall you had spilled the beans. Mammon looked like you’d just offered him 2 million grimm, after the initial shock dispersed he immediately started asking questions, he wanted to know everything you had planned.

Lord Diavolo had been generous enough to reserve a room for the two of you at a local hotel, though you didn’t spend much time there, all three days had been spent running around and exploring.

You took Mammon to all your favorite places, had him try all your favorite foods, and at night while the two of you were sprawled out on the bed trying to recuperate you showed him all your favorite late night tv shows.

Mammon enjoyed every second of the trip, although he had lied when you asked what his favorite thing so far was because the truth was too embarrassing, the thing he enjoyed above all else during your visit was seeing how happy you looked.

You took the time to explain everything new to him, you were so full of passion as you did, you were finally out of that funk you had been in for so long and it hurt him a little bit if he was honest.

He always thought you were happy in the Devildom with him and his brothers, but seeing you now? He knew this was you being truly happy. He did his best to suppress the thought of you wanting to stay here and not go back, he tried instead to just focus on the newest activity you had roped him into.

The end of your third day arrived and you were overjoyed with how much you had been able to see and do during your trip. You felt so much better after spending some time back home but there was still one more thing you wanted to do with Mammon while you were here.

“Here, catch!”

Mammon flinched but caught the object you threw at him, he stared down at it in confusion.

“Car keys? What are these for?”

“You can drive right?” You were beaming from ear to ear, barely able to contain your excitement.

“Yeah….why? What’s your game?” He asked cautiously.

“No game! I just want to go do one last thing tonight and I need you to drive us there! I promise it’ll be worth it!” Mammon saw the joy in your eyes and he wanted to tell you no, afraid that this last activity would be the thing that made you want to stay here without him, but damn you made it hard to say no.

10 o’clock rolled around and the two of you hopped in the rental car and took off for your final spot, you been so secretive about where the two of you were headed, Mammon couldn’t help but wonder where exactly you were making him go.

You played all your favorite songs for him on the way, after about thirty minutes of driving you told him to stop, he parked the car and still couldn’t figure out what was so special.

“I don’t get it. Ya had me drive us out into the middle of nowhere, it’s just an empty field with some trees, what could possibly be fun about this?”

“You’ll see!” You grinned and jumped out of the car “Hurry up!” You commanded before shutting the passenger side door.

Mammon sighed and got out of the car, you were already seated on the hood and rapidly patting the spot next to you, you’d be the death of him one day with how cute you looked all the time. He took his spot next to you

“Okay…now what oh wise human, when does the fun start” He teased.

“Look up.” Your eyes were locked on him, a smile still glued to your face, waiting for him to do so.

The Avatar of Greed looked up into the night sky and for the first time in centuries was at a loss for words. Above the two of you, in the inky black sky, hung the most beautiful crescent moon he had seen and scattered around it for miles on end were thousands of bright shining stars.

“I always loved looking at the stars before I went to the Devildom, I figured you might enjoy this too!.” You had hoped Mammon would be excited to lay out under the stars with you, instead he seemed rather glum.

“What’s wrong?” You tilted your head a little to get a better view of his face. “Don’t wanna go back to your brothers tomorrow?” You joked.

“Nah, ‘s not that.” Mammon flashed a tiny smile before looking down at his lap “It’s just…ya been so happy the last few days, and I get why, the Devildom doesn’t have any of these things…I mean, the stars alone are enough to make someone wanna stay here.”

He was always terrible at expressing his true feelings but you had learned how to read between the lines with him. You chuckled and placed your hand on top of his, causing the greedy demon to jump.

“Mams, do you know why I’ve been so happy here? It’s not because I want to stay or that I’m happier up here. It’s because I finally got to do some of the things I missed and I got to do them with you!” Even under the night sky Mammon couldn’t hide his blush, he avoided looking at you but hooked one of your fingers with his own.

“Course ya had more fun with me around, but ain’t ya gonna miss how pretty the sky looks like this? Stars don’t exist in the Devildom.”

“Maybe not,” you kissed his cheek gently, interlocked your fingers in his entirely, and rested your head on his shoulder. “But the Devildom has you…and you’re the only star I need.”

[wishesunderthestars]

Eunoia // Ch. 14

eunoia (noun): beautiful thinking, the possession of a well-balanced mind, which exhibits goodwill and kindness

Pairings: Hybrid! BTS x reader

Summary: You are a world famous director and you have dedicated your life to your job.You have everything you could ever dream of; wealth, recognition, talent, your friends and family. But loneliness ins’t cured by success. So what happens when you somehow rescue seven hybrids? Can they fill the void?

Genre: Angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, eventual smut

Word Count: 15k+

Warnings: Abuse and violence, past sexual abuse, derogetory language, sexual harassment

Masterlist

Chapter 1, Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13

It has been a long time, I know. Thanks for being patient with me. This was supposed to be the last chapter of Yoongi and Hoseok’s part but I just couldn’t fit everything that needed to happen inside or it would turn into a 30k chapter and be even more late, so I divided it into two.

The taglist is now closed.

Four days felt like a much smaller amount of time than when you had first been informed of your break.  When you heard the alarm the morning you had to go back to work, you were tempted to ignore it and cover your head with the sheets. This was strange for two reasons. You always woke up before your alarm and it was impossible for you to fall asleep again after waking up, even when you were exhausted. But your eyes were heavy and sleep was clinging to your bones.

You reached for your phone and turned off the alarm. The hybrids were waiting for you in the kitchen, breakfast already served. You thanked Seokjin, who looked the most awake. Jimin and Jungkook were leaning against each other with their eyes half closed, small yawns escaping them every few minutes. It was a little earlier than the time you usually left but you had to do some work in the company building before you could go to the studios. Hoseok's injuries were much better, you didn't need to check on them twice a day anymore so you avoided going to their room and waking them up.

The fox hybrid had been opening up more and he looked more at ease with his surroundings. After eating dinner with you on the first night of your break, he had timidly asked if they could join you again. His whole face lit up when you told him they would always be welcome. Dinners had turned into lunches too, claiming that way you didn't have to carry the trays to their room every day.

You weren't surprised at how well he got along with Jimin. His heart-shaped smile had even charmed Namjoon. He was fascinated with every little thing and you made use of your break to show him around the house. It could be a little overwhelming, so you stuck to the basics at first. The kitchen, the upstairs living room, the library (where at least one of you could be found most times) and the cinema room. He looked at everything in wonder, his red tail wagging behind him. Yoongi trailed after you, the bored expression on his face slipping at how happy and excited Hoseok was.

The second day of your break Jimin announced that you would all be watching a movie. He would accept no complaints, not that there were any. You made enough popcorn for a whole movie theater while Seokjin and Jungkook made pizza. You strictly forbade them from putting on one of your movies. You were so deeply involved and connected with them you had trouble watching them without overthinking every scene, line and camera angle. Jimin pouted, joined by Jungkook and a more subtle Hoseok. But you didn’t budge. Jimin huffed and selected a comedy with an actor Seokjin liked.

It was the third day of your break and Jimin had dragged you with him to the guest suite, saying he needed his daily cuddles. You were laying together in his bed as you played with his blond strands. His hair was growing longer and he was complaining that it was falling in his eyes but you loved running your hands through it, your fingers getting lost inside. Jimin snuggled into your side, his tail wrapped around your waist.

“You are very affectionate today,” you said. Jimin let out an unsatisfied noise when you stopped massaging his scalp, so you moved your hand upwards, scratching behind his cat ears, eliciting a small moan from him.

“I am always affectionate,” he said, nuzzling against your collarbones. “You’re just not here and you’re tired when you come back.”

You placed a kiss on the crown of his head. “Sorry.” It was your job. You shouldn’t feel guilty. And yet…

Jimin raised his head, your hand falling from his hair to rest on his cheek. “Don’t be. I just wish you were here more. With us. But your job is important.”

“I guess,” you said caressing his cheek, the cat hybrid leaning into your touch. “I’ll try to get some more time off when I go back to work.” It would be difficult but not impossible. There were often breaks for a couple of days in the filming schedule but you usually spent those revising scripts or reviewing the work of the various departments or attending meetings. Many of those things weren’t actually your responsibilities, they weren’t in your contract, you did them because you wanted everything to be perfect. You could take a step back for once and make up for it later.

Jimin leaned against you, purring happily at the prospect of spending more time with you. He had been clinging to you in the past days after your week-long absence. The first night after making up with Jungkook he had slept with him in their room and you’d thought he would sleep there from now on. But the next night you had come out of the shower to find him laying in your bed.

A talk show was playing on the TV, filling the comfortable silence of the room. Jimin whispering your name had you looking away from the screen. “Hoseok is doing better, right?”

“He is. He’s recovering fast. Why are you asking?” you asked, worried that he had noticed something you hadn’t. Hybrids had much more developed senses than humans that could have detected something you had missed.

“He’s nice,” he said, playing with the fake buttons of your shirt. “He looks so happy all the time and he’s so energetic.”

“He is. See? He’s really getting better.” That didn’t seem to satisfy Jimin.

“What if they want to leave now that he’s better?”

You cooed at him, pulling him closer. “Is that what’s brought this on? If they want to leave we can’t stop them. The door is always open if they don’t want to be here anymore. They only came here because Hoseok was injured and he couldn’t go to the hospital.”

“But can they stay?” His eyes were shining as he looked up at you. “Please.”

“They can stay for as long as they want. But I can’t force them to stay.”

Jimin didn’t say anything more, hiding into your side. Last night at dinner, Jimin had been quiet and withdrawn, glancing at Yoongi every few minutes. There was history between them, one that ran deep and cut just as hard. From little clues and pieces and what Jimin himself had told you, you had pieced together an image of Jimin’s past but you had trouble finding where exactly Yoongi fit.

You hadn’t forgotten Jimin’s words in your office the day you had invited the two hybrids in your house. Yoongi once belonged to the same man Jimin did. They had done something to him and Jimin had been left to the adoption center he had escaped from. Yoongi had been left somewhere else, you guessed a less savory place. But you couldn’t figure out what they could have done to be kicked out. Something Jimin still felt guilty about. Betrayal was a strong and sticky word and it was hard to associate it with sweet Jimin, even when that man deserved that and more.

Yoongi was a mystery surrounded by several brick walls. Only a wrecking ball could break them down. You were the kind of person to knock on a wall and wait for it to crumble by itself when it came to people. At work, if the only way to get through an obstacle was a wrecking ball, you would bring a wrecking ball.

Surprises weren’t uncommon for you (see: Virginia earthquake), you had learnt to face them head on and control the consequences. But that hadn’t prepared you for the string of surprises during your break and the days after that.

The first surprise came with how well Hoseok was getting along with the other hybrids. His endearing excitement about anything and everything didn’t fail to amuse them. He would curl up on the grass, bathing in sunlight, often joined by Jimin who had developed the same habit when spring first arrived. He was curious about everything, asking question after question with his red fluffy tail wagging behind him like an overexcited puppy. All of you couldn’t help but humor him and try to answer his questions to the best of your abilities.

The second surprise shocked you more than the first. It was the third night the two hybrids were eating dinner with you in the backyard. Yoongi usually didn’t talk, opting to focus on his food while observing the progression of the meal. Thus when he spoke, everyone fell silent. He didn’t say much, it only took him a couple of seconds to compliment Jin’s cooking then become quiet again. Jin stuttered through his thanks, flustered at the unexpected compliment. The panther hybrid didn’t talk again for the rest of the meal.

The third surprise was seeing Yoongi and Jimin sitting next to each other, sometimes in silence and sometimes talking. Being pulled to each other like a moth to the flame. It made Hoseok all too happy to spend time with both of them.

The fourth surprise came in the form of a text from a contact you hadn’t interacted with since Christmas. You laid back on your bed, staring at the paragraphs-long text and forgetting about anything else. You stared and stared as if the letters would rearrange themselves, or better yet disappear if you stared long enough.

You didn’t notice how much time you had spent there unmoving until there was a knock on the door.

“Open,” you called.

The door was pushed open and Namjoon walked into the room, his gray hair falling in his face. In the mornings he looked younger. “Breakfast is ready.”

“Yeah,” you said, not moving. They never had to call you for breakfast. Your schedules had become so in sync you arrived for breakfast the moment it was ready or a few minutes early.

“What happened?” Namjoon asked. He approached, sitting down next to you on the bed.

“Nothing happened, I guess. It’s an invitation.” The text had been sent late last night but you had missed it, leaving your phone to charge upon coming back home and not looking at it again. “It’s from my parents. For a gala.”

“Your parents?” The surprise was evident in his face. You didn’t talk much about your parents, those were conversations you didn’t tend to enjoy. Your parents were a topic you weren’t well-versed in and your lack of confidence was irritating.

You looked at the text again, black letters surrounded by gray. “They invited me to a fashion gala. They would really appreciate it if I could attend.” Reading the text again, you wondered if your mother had asked someone else to write it before deeming it persuasive enough to send. “It’s held in Beverly Hills.”

“When?” Namjoon asked.

“Saturday. In less than a week.” It was Tuesday.

Namjoon glanced at your phone. “Do you want to go?”

The answer was more complicated than you would have liked. You didn’t feel like buying a new gown (god forbid if you wore a dress you had worn before at such an event), having your makeup and hair done and plastering a smile on your face while exchanging pleasantries with people you didn’t know for the whole night. But it wasn’t that easy. You hadn’t attended the Christmas event your mother had organized, using work as an excuse, not feeling like showing up at an event in the mindset you had fallen into. Although she didn’t show it, your mother had been offended.

You couldn’t skip another event.

You threw an arm over your eyes, groaning. “I can’t not go. My mother organized the gala, it will look bad if I’m not there.”

“I could come with you,” Namjoon offered.

It would be nice having someone there with you. Namjoon had a way of calming you down and settling your worries but actually remembering those galas made you change your mind. The rich and mighty loved showing off their wealth and power and hybrids were part of that allure. You wouldn’t subject Namjoon to that. You weren’t sure how he would react. You didn’t want to subject him to your parents’ scrutiny either.

“It would be better if I went alone,” you said. Namjoon threaded his fingers with yours in understanding. He pulled on your hand until you were sitting up on the bed, facing him.

“If you don’t want to go, you shouldn’t.”

Only that it wasn’t so simple. Or it was just your human nature making this overcomplicated.

“My mother will be really disappointed if I don’t go. I didn’t go to her last event, either. It will look bad if I don’t go to this one too.” Namjoon squeezed your hand, urging you to continue. “I’m just tired of them. Galas, events, they are all the same and not in a good way. Sure, there are some people worth talking too. I’ve had some great conversations there, but those are far and few in between. Most people are just trying to outshine the one next to them. And my mother only wants me there to complete the picture.”

The powerful and influential couple with their successful daughter. It was an image that haunted you. Most times you tried to ignore it because it wasn’t fair of you to judge your parents like that. They never made you attend those events, they didn’t get angry when you couldn’t make it. But it left a sour taste in your mouth when those events were the only times you saw them anymore.

“You don’t have to be alone there.” Namjoon brought your hand to his lips, placing a soft kiss in the middle of your palm. “I’m always here if you change your mind. It would feel better if you weren’t alone.”

“It isn’t that I don’t want you there. I do,” you said. “But that isn’t a world you want to be a part of, it isn’t really my world either. There, hybrids are just expensive accessories and I don’t want people to look at you like that. Like you are something to be had.”

Namjoon’s eyes were soft on you as he cupped your cheek with the hand that wasn’t holding yours. “That’s how most people look at us. It isn’t something new. You don’t have to worry about me, I’m used to it.”

“But it isn’t right.” You sounded like a five-year-old complaining that the world wasn’t fair because her parents didn’t buy her ice cream but you couldn’t help it. “And it isn’t just the other people, the guests. I’m not sure about my parents either. They don’t know I’ve adopted you. Actually, they don’t know about anything that has happened in my life this year.”

“I understand if you don’t want them to know about us.”

“It isn’t that,” you said. “Not exactly. I don’t want them involved in my business and judging my choices. They- They are my parents and I guess they care about me in their own way but I won’t be able to stay calm if they look at you like they are estimating your price tag.”

Namjoon leaned closer, bringing your foreheads together. You closed your eyes, surrounded by his warmth. “All I care about is for you to feel comfortable and if my presence there will make things worse then I won’t come with you. But if you change your mind, I’ll be right here. Whatever you want, I’m here.”

You tilted your head, waiting for his lips to touch yours. You shared a sweet kiss before there was another knock at the door.

“Namjoon! Did you wake her up?” Seokjin shouted from the other side of the door. “The breakfast is getting cold! I woke up at the crack of dawn to make it!”

You giggled as you separated.

“Let’s go before he decides we don’t deserve food,” Namjoon said.

♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩

 You had to readjust your schedule for the gala. There were many things you had to do in the five days leading up to it. Your mother was so pleased you accepted the invitation she called you the very next day to tell you how happy she was you would be attending. She hadn’t organized a fashion gala in years and it meant a lot that you would be there to support her. The gala was all about the importance of fashion and the unique interpretations of old and new big names in the industry. It would be one of the grandest events of the year, even if your mother was as clueless about fashion as she was about your life. She enjoyed watching the glorious parts and giving compliments, but rarely got more involved than that.

She had arranged for you to meet with one of the designers featured at the event. You could choose a dress from his collection that would be showcased at the gala. Your mother reassured you that they would do everything so your dress would be fitted to your exact measurements and ready for you to wear on time. You didn’t complain. It would be otherwise impossible to find a dress of the caliber your mother expected in such a short time.

The designer came to your house himself with his assistants. He was a nice young man with a tilted accent revealing that he wasn’t originally from the United States. You made small talk about the different kinds of art characterizing your jobs. They took your measurements and presented you with a few options the designer had selected for you. Some were more eccentric than others but all of them were beautiful.

After discussing with him and listening to his opinions, you selected a piece with gold and red embroidery and a flowy skirt. He was very pleased with your choice, going on and on about how good it would look on you. You felt fluttered at how excited he was for you to wear his design.

You had to meet him again a few days later for the first fitting. He offered to come to your house again but it would be easier for the alterations to be at his studio, where all of his tools were.

Jimin had seen the opportunity to spend more time with you and put on his most convincing puppy eyes asking you to take him with you to the fashion studio. You had no reason to refuse, you wanted to spend more time with him too. Somehow Jimin roped Seokjin into coming with you as well. They waited for you outside until the alterations were done. You couldn’t resist spoiling them while you were out so you took them for waffles. From Seokjin’s stuffed face it was safe to say he enjoyed them.

You had to go back to work after the fitting but Jimin was clinging to you not letting you go, which was how you ended up with the two of them at the final table-reading for the first episode of the Raven Cycle. They both quietly watched the actors delivering their lines. Jimin leaned forward in his seat as he got more and more invested in the scenes, snapping out of it whenever one scene ended and you discussed corrections and suggestions.

The atmosphere was light and friendly. You were professionals and you believed in maintaining a healthy environment of communication and mutual respect that left space for jokes and friendships to develop. The chemistry between the actors was important and you found that when they were friends and had a bond in real life too, it showed.

“Okay, that was great. I liked Ronan’s extra lines, we should keep that in.” The writer next to you wrote it down. “It’s getting late so let’s take a small break for a few minutes and move on to scene fifteen and sixteen and we’re completely done with episode one.” Everyone agreed with you and soon chatter was filling the room. You stretched your arms behind you, your body was complaining after sitting for too many hours.

The snacks and refreshments on the table against the wall were dwindling as the table-reading went on. All the important people in the project were there; the executive producers, the writers, the heads of the various departments and of course all the main actors of the first episode. The room with the large table and the many couches and chairs was large enough for everyone.

Three more days of table reading, which was mainly for revisions, and you would be done, leaving around a week before filming was scheduled to start. Just on time. Despite unfortunate surprises and earthquakes, you were on time. Next week you would be back in the studios standing behind the cameras watching years of work and planning coming to life. The first moments of filming in every movie or TV show whispered to you in silver and gold lines that you couldn’t describe as anything else than magic.

You picked up a bottle of water and a sandwich from the snack table, getting caught up in a short conversation with one of the producers. Your scalp was beginning to hurt from the tight ponytail your hair was trapped in. With a pat on your shoulder, the producer left to find the head of the costume department.

Jimin and Jin were sitting on the smallest couch, away from the table in the middle of the room. Jimin’s ears twitched as you settled on the armrest. You handed him the sandwich.

“For me?”

“You have been looking at it as much as you have been looking at the actors.”

Jimin still didn’t take a bite. “I already ate two.”

“And now you will eat one more.” You nudged the sandwich closer to his face. “They are quite small. I think Will has eaten seven since we started.” You glanced at your assistant, he was talking with two of the actors.

Jimin smiled at you like you were sharing a secret before diving into his sandwich. You opened your water bottle and gulped down half of it in seconds.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go? It’s past eight and it will take at least one more hour to finish the last two scenes and wrap everything up.” You had asked them if they wanted to leave three times since you’d arrived and the answer had been the same each time.

“It’s eight?” Jin asked, pulling out his phone from his pocket. You leaned over Jimin to peek at the screen seeing a few texts from Namjoon and Jungkook and notifications from the various apps Jin used. You had texted Namjoon earlier so he wouldn’t worry that Jin and Jimin hadn’t returned home.

“And it will be at least nine by the time I’m done,” you said.

“We’ve been here for three hours. We can wait for you one more.” Jin opened the messages app reading the texts, a smile appearing on his face.

Jimin had eaten more than half of the sandwich, crumbs sticking at the sides of his mouth. “I want to see what happens at the end. Pretty please?”

“We will wait for you,” Jin said. “We don’t have anything better to do,” he added, to which Jimin agreed enthusiastically. You scratched the cat hybrid's ears while he devoured the rest of the sandwich.

What you hadn’t considered before taking them with you was that the table reading would give away many spoilers for the show. Spoilers were the bane of your existence. Not everyone minded them but you disliked them with passion. You had almost strangled Zayn when he had told you a spoiler he had seen on Twitter for the ending of Avengers: Infinity War,  minutes before the movie started. Zayn had been very lucky the lights hadn’t gone out yet. The suspense was one of your favorite parts and that was ruined for you when you knew what would happen.

At least it was the first episode but there was a lot of discussion on how certain parts or pieces of dialogue would connect with later episodes. The fact that it was an adaptation also changed things. You had been adamant about staying true to the original story and keeping in as many scenes from the book as you could. Your additions revolved around character development, the relationships between the characters, and some conflicts that hadn’t been in the book but you had discussed in length with Maggie. In this case, you didn’t know exactly how to define spoilers.

As expected, you finished the table reading twenty minutes past nine. Gathering all your folders from the table, the scripts, and various notes from the writers and producers, you hid them all away in your backpack. Henrietta and the magical forest were coming to life from their voices alone. You could already imagine how captivating it would be on screen.

Jimin was laying his head on Jin’s shoulder with his arm wrapped around the older’s waist. It had taken some time for them to relax in the room full of strangers, some of who hadn’t been subtle about staring. One look from you and their gazes had darted away. It still wasn’t common to have a hybrid, much less three, but you didn’t care how curious they were if they were making Jimin and Jin uncomfortable.

During the first break, early at the table reading, you had been roped into a debate about a possible change in one of the scenes. The two hybrids had kept to themselves, staying quiet and watching. The actress playing Blue had walked up to them with a wide smile and introduced herself. The remaining tension in them was released when she struck up a conversation with them.

“Time to get going,” you said. Jimin looked up at you, blinking drowsily. “Should I tell John to carry you to the car?”

“We’re leaving?” he asked, rubbing at his eyes.

“Thankfully yes so you need to get up.” You had wrapped everything up, saying goodbye to everyone and you were ready to go.

Jin kissed Jimin’s blond curls. “Let’s go and get you into an actual bed.” He got up and pulled Jimin with him, the younger hybrid was clinging to his back like a koala from the hallway where you met up with John to the parking lot.

In the car, you looked at them through the rear-view mirror. Jimin’s eyes were closed, laying his head on Jin’s shoulder.

“Hard day?” John asked, moving the gear shift to the left and then up.

“I’m a little afraid that my scenario might be a little boring,” you said glancing behind you. “It’s too early for him to be falling asleep.”

The car started moving, leaving the dimly lit parking lot behind. “He’s not used to being out for that long,” Jin said smoothing down Jimin’s hair with care. Jin cared for you with everything he had, you tried to do the same but it was close to impossible with how busy you were.

“If it’s my scenario though, I need to rewrite that thing from beginning to end.”

John chuckled. “Good luck telling that to the writers and the producers. They’ll love it.”

They’d love it as much as cats loved swimming.

 ♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩

 You took the day of the gala off. If you went to the gala tired after work, you wouldn’t be able to put a smile on your face and keep it there. It wasn’t so much that the galas were awful but that you felt out of place in them. Your mother had many connections and she would invite the “best” of her world. Some faces had become familiar, a steady fixture in your mother’s guest lists. Some faces you should be able to recognize but you didn’t, resulting in interactions based on pretending.

At the after-parties of award shows and premieres, you were more at ease. The designer dresses and suits were the same, worn by rich and influential people, but it was people you knew and respected. Your skin wasn’t prickling at the tension, lost somewhere between remembering a name or a company and ignoring the jabs at other guests or the rumors spreading like vines.

The last event you had attended was in New York last September, it had been the event of the year according to your mother. Jacob had accompanied you, hugging your mother and shaking hands with your father. He had stayed next to you from the moment you stepped into the place to the moment you got into the car to leave. You had to somewhat agree with your mother. A lot of interesting people were in attendance, famous writers and journalists, and you succeeded in ignoring the less favorable situations.

Your parents had changed a lot, or maybe it was just the circumstances that had changed and the different perspective you had as an adult. You used to cast them as the absentee parents, an overused trope you didn't find much merit in. It was too simple, too straightforward. They didn't disappear from one day to the next, cutting all contact with you. It was more like the times they were there grew fewer and fewer until they had moved permanently to New York by the time you were eight. Your father had been offered a position he couldn't refuse and your mother loved him too much to leave him alone there. She tried, she tried to stay for you but she had been trying to find a reason to leave your hometown since she was a teenager. The penthouses and neat offices fit her far better than the beaches and town squares ever did.

It started as a few weeks at first. Your father would be staying in the city for some meetings and your mother wanted to join him. His job involved a lot of traveling and in most of your memories, he was holding a suitcase. A few weeks turned into a month the next time, then into a few months you had to stay with your aunt and your cousins. After you turned eight, they were coming back only for a few weeks every year.

When you were ten you stopped answering their calls and refused to talk to them. Your mother still tried, even traveled back to be with you. Instead of staying at your house with her, you stayed with your aunt. Your mother left defeated. It took a year for you to speak to them again. Childish, but you couldn't blame your past self. The cracks in your relationship with your parents were still there. As an attempt to prevent them from widening and growing, you at least tried to attend the events your mother invited you to.

Another one to add to the list.

"Does the duck look ready to you?" you asked Jin. Roasted duck wasn't a dish you had experience with but that wasn't the only reason you called for Jin. Being home for the day you had offered to help Jin cook lunch. Cooking helped take your mind off, focusing on the recipe and chatting with Jin.

Jin left the lettuce he was washing in the bowl and dried his hands in a towel. His steps were careful and measured, one of his hands holding on the counter.

"It looks good," he said. "You can take it out."

You opened the oven, pulling back last minute so the heat wouldn't burn your face. "It smells incredible! I think I got ten times hungrier just smelling this."

Jin chuckled but it was strained. "I'm too good at this." He was still holding onto the counter.

"You won't catch me complaining."

He went back to the lettuce in the sink, his bangs falling into his face and covering his eyes. You wrapped the chicken breasts in foil and let them rest for a few minutes. The figs were caramelized and the potatoes fried until golden. That was about it for the main dish.

Jin was cutting the lettuce so you occupied yourself with making the salad dressing. You worked in silence. It wasn't for the lack of anything to say but a flinch from Jin earlier, while you had been talking, had you lowering your voice and then closing your mouth when you were finished with that sentence. It was only for a moment before he turned away, but it was enough for you to notice. You had asked him if he was alright twice and both times the answer had been the same. After that, it was clear he wouldn't tell you anything else regardless of how many times you asked.

A thud echoed in the room followed, not a second after, by the sound of metal clattering on wood. The spoon you used to mix the ingredients of the salad dressing stilled in your hand. Jin had fallen to his knees on the floor, holding the counted with one hand and his head with the other. The knife laid abandoned on the cutting board next to the lettuce.

For a moment your surroundings blurred from the surprise before coming into crystal clear focus. You rushed to Jin's side, who was trying to pull himself back up to his feet.

"I'm alright. I slipped," he said.

"You slipped? Seriously?" You had one arm around his waist and it stayed there as he leaned back against the counter. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just a little dizzy," Jin muttered. That close to him, only a breath away, you could see how pale he was, the dark circles under his eyes standing out against the white of his skin.

"You haven't been alright since we started cooking. You aren't just a little dizzy, that's not how someone is when they're a little dizzy."

Jin turned his head to the side, avoiding your gaze. "Let it go, please. Only the salad is left. I'll rest after we eat."

"Jin, that's not..." Clueless about how to continue, you pressed your palm to his forehead. In winter your hands were always freezing cold, it didn't matter if the temperature wasn't that low they would turn into popsicles mere seconds after going outside. Only that it wasn’t winter but spring and your hands were as warm as they could be, that’s why it was that much more concerning that his forehead was warmer than it should be under your touch. “You’re burning up. How are you still standing?”

“It isn’t that bad,” Jin said. He wasn’t looking at you.

“It isn’t that bad?” you repeated in disbelief. “Forget about the salad, I’m taking you to your room.”

You were about to turn around when Jin gripped your elbow weakly. “You don’t need to, really, I can finish up here, it isn’t the first time. I can do it.” The sweat that was gathering on his forehead and his tired eyes told a different story.

“You have been cooking while feeling sick?” you asked. Being out of the house almost all day it wouldn’t have been hard to miss and when you came back at night you weren’t that aware of your surroundings, but the other hybrids would have been able to see past Jin’s pretenses.

“Not here,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

That’s something you should have expected. You had never met his previous owners but you couldn’t stop yourself from hating them for what they had done to him. Hate was too strong of a word but you didn’t have any other name for the burning in your chest whenever you witnessed how insecure and self-conscious Jin had become of them.

You cupped his cheek in your palm turning his head to face you and you rested your forehead against his, your noses bumping. At the touch his shoulders slumped, his back muscles unraveling under your hand. Jin joked that it was weird that his scent glands weren’t in the same places as other hybrids’ but in strange places like his forehead. You couldn’t agree with him because standing there with your foreheads touching it was just as intimate.

The walk to his room was silent. You opened the door for him and watched him hide under the covers, between the countless pillows and stuffed animals. Before leaving, you placed a kiss on his forehead your lips warming up because of his fever. You wanted to stay there with him and with the way he was holding your hand he wanted the same but the lettuce was waiting for you back in the kitchen and there were five hybrids you had to feed.

Finishing up the meal was a matter of minutes. The dressing for the salad had been made and you only had to finish cutting the lettuce and a few fresh tomatoes before mixing everything in a large bowl. You unwrapped the foil from around the duck breasts and arranged them in plates, adding the figs with the pan juices and the fried potatoes. It looked like something you would order at a five-star restaurant, most of Jin’s cooking did.

The mouth-watering aroma must have drifted downstairs because as you were putting the last touches on the plates two sets of feet were running up the staircase. Jimin looked like he had been lured into the kitchen by some magical force, transfixed on the plates on the counter. He sniffed, making tiny happy noises.

“This smells so good. I’m hungry!” he whined.

Jungkook followed behind, taking a look at the plates and turning to you with pleading eyes. “When are we eating?”

You shook your head at their antics. “I just finished up, you can take them down if you want so stop looking at me like that.”

Jimin pouted, his shoulders raising. “Looking at you like what?”

“Stop that, I know what you’re doing.”

Jimin continued on, batting his eyelashes at you. “What am I doing? Am I not doing good?”

You pinched his cheek, making him giggle. “I thought you were hungry but apparently you aren’t hungry enough if you’re still here instead of taking the food down.” At that Jungkook was quick to take out the large trays and fill them with the plates and bowls.

Jimin went to help before pausing. “Where is Jinnie?”

Jin was always in the kitchen before meals, helping the two youngest carry the trays to the backyard. You didn’t want to worry Jimin, he was very sensitive to how others were feeling. His emotional walls were so thin that your blues and grays bled into his yellow. “He’s in his room resting, he’s feeling a little under the weather today.”

“But…How didn’t we notice anything?” Jimin asked.

You patted his shoulder. “I didn’t either until we were cooking lunch. He just needs to rest and he will be better in no time.” Jimin gazed at the food like it could give him the answers he was looking for, you continued. “The duck is his recipe, he only went to his room after the food was ready.” You didn’t mention how he had collapsed while cutting the lettuce, a knife in his hand and way too many grievous possibilities.

Jungkook picked up the nicest plate, you had made it last and having used the previous six ones as practice it had come out looking the best. “Can I take it to him?” It was well-known that he had a soft spot for Jin, sneaking into his room the nights he was running away chased by guilt. Jin had been the only one he had let in then. But again, they all had a soft spot for each other, it may translate differently into actions but it was the same at the core.

You pulled out a smaller bowl from the cupboard. Let me put some salad in this first.” This was one of the only salads everyone liked, even Jimin who was firmly against eating most greens (Namjoon didn’t like them much either but at least he was trying). You filled a glass with water as well and placed it on the smaller tray Jungkook had prepared. “Don’t wake him up if he’s sleeping, he looked really tired.”

“I’ll be quiet,” Jungkook promised picking up the tray and leaving for Jin’s room.

Jimin went back to arranging the plates on the trays. “He’ll be alright soon, right?”

“Of course he will,” you reassured him. “In no time he will be shouting at Jungkook for eating his ingredients and having fights with any insects that find their way to the garden. Now, let’s take these down because having the food right in front of me and not eating it is killing me.”

♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩

 Jin had a terrible headache, that’s where everything had started. He had woken up and instantly wanted to roll to his other side and fall asleep again covering his head with the blanket. His eyes refused to stay open and everything around him was like he was in a fog. His body wasn’t his own, it was like watching someone else execute each move he commanded, like he had lost parts of his senses. Everything was duller.

Powering through, he got up and made his bed, throwing the blankets over it with less precision than usual and arranging his stuffed animals against the pillows. It was your day off because of the gala and he had to make breakfast for you and the other hybrids.

It was enough that he got a few more hours of sleep as a result of the lack of your morning schedule. He could deal with the world being a little blurry at the edges and his body not cooperating every few minutes.

He made an easy breakfast for the day, which was a little disappointing when you were able to sit and enjoy it for once, but he was physically unable to do anything more. Sitting down would help. After breakfast, he would lay down on the couch and he would be better in no time.

Breakfast came and went and in a few hours, he had to start making lunch. Your offer to help was a godsend with his feet feeling like jelly. He thought he had it under control, that he could get through lunch then go to his room and hide under the covers where no one could see him. Until his legs gave up on him.

The knife slipped out of his hand and he watched its slow descent to the cutting board. In a blink he was on his knees, he blinked again and you were next to him helping him up. Hybrids weren’t supposed to get sick, scientists had engineered their whole being down to the color of their hair and eyes, they could strengthen their immune system as well. His past owners used to say that it was in his head because he was living with humans, that if he got sick the center must have given them a problematic hybrid and that couldn’t be true. He had paid a lot for Jin.

The door opened just enough for you to poke your head in. “Jin?” you whispered, quiet enough to not wake him up if he had been sleeping but loud enough for his hearing to pick up while awake. He lowered the blankets from his face. “Hey, did you finish with your food?”

“Yeah, it’s…” He pointed to the tray on the nightstand, he didn’t have enough strength to take it to the desk. You didn’t comment on the food that was left on the plates.

“Are you feeling any better?” you asked. His head still hurt and the heaviness of his body didn’t subside, but it was much better than when he had been standing so he nodded. “Do you need anything else? I brought some medicine if you want, I read that it’s alright for hybrids to take.” Despite the pain and the weariness of his body, he smiled at you and your research. The way you cared about them was endearing. You pulled out a packet from your back pocket.

“I think I’ll take one.” The constant drumming behind his temples and the back of his head was getting too much. It was so bad it wouldn’t let him sleep.

“I’ll go get some water for you.” You left the packet on the nightstand and picked up the tray with the leftovers.

Jin rolled to his back staring at the ceiling. He didn’t get sick often and he hated how his body was betraying him. You returned with a glass filled with water in one hand and a jug in the other.

“There you go,” you said handing him the glass. You opened the medicine packet and pressed a white tablet out. It was light in his palm, almost as if it wasn’t there. He put it in his mouth and washed it down with water. “You’ll feel better in no time.” You stroked his hair and he had to hold himself back from purring. Being sick he craved affection more than ever before.

“Don’t come too close, you’ll get sick too.”

You didn’t pull back. “Then I’ll have a reason to stay at home. It doesn’t sound so bad.” You tugged at the blanket. “Fancy some company?” Jin scooted to the side, letting you slip in next to him. Something inside him rejoiced at having you in his nest with him. It was ridiculous, having the need to nest was ridiculous, but he couldn’t suppress it. You turned around to face him, your head on a light blue pillow you had picked up from the pile. “Do you mind if I stay here for a bit?”

In the absence of words, he nodded his head. You took a deep breath and closed your eyes. You weren’t wearing makeup today in anticipation of the heavy makeup you would have to wear for the gala. The shadows under your eyes, concealed any other day, were threatening to spill over the rest of your face. The late nights had been many in the past few days, making up for the breaks you were taking. More and more he came to realize that work was your life and you were like a fish escaping water pushing it back.

You didn’t speak, basking in the silent company of each other. Jin let his worries go and, thanks to the medicine, his headache got duller until he couldn’t feel it. He didn’t notice when he fell asleep, waking up to voices.

“…feeling better, the medicine must have kicked in. His temperature has gone back to normal too,” you whispered.

“Okay, that’s good. Our Jinnie is strong,” the other voice said and heat traveled up to the top of Jin’s ears. The voice was unmistakably Namjoon’s and it was so warm Jin wanted to wrap it around himself and never let go. “I think we woke him up.”

“Oh no,” you complained, still whispering. “Jin?”

He opened his eyes, abandoning the comfort of the familiar darkness. You leaning on your forearm peering at him. His heart was beating faster.

“We woke you up, didn’t we?” you asked, looking guilty.

“It’s alright.” He could hear how rough his voice was from sleep. “What time is it?”

“Five,” you said.

He had been sleeping for more than three hours.

Namjoon took a step forward from the door. “I brought you some tea and biscuits,” he said, placing the tray on the now-empty nightstand.

Jin sat up on the bed with his back against the headboard. “Thank you. Can you…?” You picked up the steaming mug and handed it to him, holding it carefully so he wouldn’t burn himself. The plate of biscuits was placed on his lap over the blankets. It was a warm day but the air-conditioning was on in Jin’s room, the weight of the blankets over him promised safety and he didn’t want to be sweating from the heat.

“I’ll be going then,” Namjoon said with a small smile, the two of you exchanging a look.

“Wait.” Namjoon stopped in his tracks. Jin blamed his impulsiveness on the part of him that was controlled by the sugar-glider’s nature. Namjoon shouldn’t be leaving. Namjoon was pack and he should be with him when he wasn’t well, he should be taking care of Jin. One followed the other and it didn’t listen to logic. But he was tired and although the headache was gone, his head was still hazy, so he gave in. “Can you stay?”

The soft smile on Namjoon’s face was enough to wipe away any of his lingering doubts. “Of course I can.” Jin pulled up the blankets inviting him in. Namjoon pulled him closer bringing his forehead to his. The mug shook in Jin’s hold, you covered his hand with yours steading it. Jin realized it wasn’t only his hands shaking as Namjoon scented him tenderly. He felt so weak between the two of you.

 ♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩

  The makeup artist asked you to close your eyes again to finish your eyeliner. Your makeup had to compliment your dress, like you were a model on the runway and your purpose was to sell the design. You had to admit that it looked beautiful so far, the gold eyeshadow and the dramatic eyeliner. She completed the look with a matte red lipstick while the hairstylist was releasing the last loose curl from the curling wand. You looked like someone out of a movie and tonight you would have to own that.

They helped you put on the dress like you were incapable of doing it on your own. In these cases, everything had to be perfect, including the most mundane of things. The jewelry was modest as not to take the attention away from the dress but enhance the look. A golden necklace with a ruby surrounded by tiny diamonds to decorate the skin the plunging neckline left bare, small diamond earrings, and golden bracelets.

Half an hour left before the gala and you were ready. The charm was arriving a little late so you had to wait before leaving. The stylists took their leave but you stayed at the fitting room/styling section of the closet, which was right under the actual master closet.

The dress fit you like a glove, bringing attention to all the right areas and burying any imperfections. It was the kind of Cinderella transformation the protagonists in older movies used to go through before getting the guy, but it happened all the time to you. A spy in an action movie, a confident heroine knowing how to use her looks, a girl going to a party to have fun and get drunk, that’s more along the lines of the characters you liked to imagine yourself as. You were far from being any of those characters but it was fun to daydream sometimes.

One last look in the mirror and you climbed up the spiral staircase to your closet, turning off the lights behind you. The designer you had met had been pleasant and your conversations hadn’t been awkward. If the rest of the guests, or at least the majority, were like him then the night could be fun.

The hybrids were all in the living room, even Hoseok and Yoongi. Yoongi wasn’t sitting far from them, in a separate sphere, but next to Jimin who was pointing at something in a book. They all looked at you when you came in, the back of the dress sweeping the floor behind you.

“How does it look?” you asked, doing a twirl. The response was delayed by a few moments.

Namjoon snapped out of it first, coming closer to you and taking your hand. “You look beautiful.” He leaned in for your neck before his face scrunched up in displeasure.

“What?” you asked.

He sniffed at the air. “You…”

“Oh, oh,” you said in realization. “It’s the perfume, it’s quite strong, isn’t it? It’s a Christmas gift from my mother, she said she really liked it so I thought I would wear it for her.”

Namjoon tamed his expression but the frown didn’t disappear. “It’s a little overwhelming. It overpowers everything else.” The perfume was too much for you too, it wasn’t surprising that it was too much for the keen noses of the hybrids. The perfume you wore day to day in spring was a lot lighter and you didn’t put on a lot. You had never stopped to think about how perfumes would affect the hybrids.

“I’ll be sure to not wear it again then,” you said, giving his hand a squeeze.

“That isn’t what I meant.” Namjoon scratched the back of his neck. “You can wear it if you like it. It’s just a little much.”

“Well,” you looked at him and the other hybrids conspiratorially, “it isn’t my favorite, either, and if it affects you like that why would I keep wearing it?” Namjoon’s face smoothed out and you noticed Hoseok looking at you with amazement.

You opened the leather clutch and put in your phone and your keys. Your lipstick and powder were already inside along with a pack of tissues. It didn’t fit any more things.

“I’ll be going now. I’m fashionably late enough.” Before going, Jungkook and Jimin kissed you on each cheek careful not to ruin your makeup. Jin had fallen asleep again and none of you were willing to wake him up.

The night could become difficult so you ignored Yoongi’s eyes on you. You didn’t need any more people judging you.

A limousine was waiting for you outside, limousines were practically part of the dress code in these events. John wasn’t with you this time, you had given him the night off. These kinds of events starred in his nightmares, standing in the corner all night not saying a word. That’s how they kept up the illusion. Regardless of how many times you told him you didn’t care about it, he would follow what was expected of him.

The bright lights blinded you when you arrived. Everyone seemed to want to take a look at you. Your heels sunk into the red carpet at the entrance hall, large paintings in golden frames hanging from the walls. You were led up a grand staircase to the hall the gala was taking place. And so the night began…

You listened through speeches about fashion and the vision of the fashion industry and each individual designer. A few parts were quite interesting, but most of them failed to do anything more than repeat the same old ideas again and again. However, the champagne did make everything a little more tolerable. Your mother had been very happy to see you there and she had told you at least three times how beautiful you were. Your father smiled at you, a smile that looked way too political to be for his daughter, the same smile he would put on when greeting the president.

After the speeches were finished, your mother linked your elbows. It was time for the introductions. You put on your camera smile and shook more hands than you ever did at work. The compliments on your work were many, which ones were genuine was a mystery. But it did feel good when the daughter of one of your father’s associates told you how much she loved the finale of season 4 of Paper Hearts and asked you about Six of Crows.

You said goodbye to an older couple and your mother led you to the buffet. A sculpture of a man pinning fabrics on a mannequin stood proudly in the middle, surrounded by plates of food so perfect that it looked more fake than the decorative food pieces you used on set.

Your mother took another flute of champagne from a waiter. “Mr. Jones will be retiring soon but his son doesn’t want to take over the company. It causes a lot of family drama. I heard they only exchange a few words when they meet but Mr. Jones isn’t backing down.” You had no idea what company they had or who their son was but you nodded. “Ah, I wanted to ask you. You didn’t say anything about adopting hybrids.”

Your hand stilled before you could taste the hors d' oeuvres that looked like a sandwich but was too fancy to call it that. “Hybrids?” you repeated.

“I didn’t know you were interested in them,” your mother continued, unaware of how tense you had become. “Certainly not interested enough to adopt four. Are you making a collection?” She laughed at her joke but you only felt ill.

“No, I wouldn’t say that.” You took a bite of the food, trying to swallow it down. You had lost your appetite.

Your mother sipped on her champagne. “That would be a unique one, it could be showcased.” The churning in your stomach got worse. You left the piece that looked like a sandwich aside.

“How did you learn of it?”

“Don’t you read any magazines? It was front-page news.” You had expected that the information would be published sooner or later, you hadn’t been exactly hiding it, but sooner or later was in the future not now. “You should have told me, I would have looked for some high-quality places to buy them from. There are some very beautiful exotic pieces I have seen. Mrs. Anderson, do you remember her? She couldn’t make it this time but she was at the charity event last September.” You didn’t remember her but you nodded again. “She has such a cute chinchilla hybrid and he’s so well-trained too. I hope yours were trained well, I heard it’s difficult to train them yourself. Where did you adopt them from?”

You swallowed down the lump in your throat. “An adoption center in Los Angeles,” you lied easily. Spending hours and hours every day with actors, instructing them about how each scene would seem more natural, you had picked up a few tricks. “I just really liked them and they were already a pack, I didn’t want to break them up.”

Your mother arched a single perfectly-drawn eyebrow, a skill you had sadly not inherited. “A pack? Does that actually exist? Dear, the center must have been trying to give you four hybrids instead of one. Pack,” she tried out the word and she didn’t particularly like the results. “That certainly sounds like some kind of con. What are they? Are all of them wolves?”

“No, they aren’t all wolves. And it was three hybrids, I adopted the other one later from Tennessee with Taylor.”

Taylor’s name brought a spark to your mother. “Oh, how is Taylor? Such a sweet girl, I should have invited her. I will next time.” Your mother had met Taylor exactly once during one of the few of your movie premieres she had actually attended. “Which one did you adopt from there?”

You gritted your teeth, debating how much information was wise to give your mother. “Jin, he’s a sugar glider hybrid.”

That seemed to please her. “Sugar glider? That sounds fancy. I would like to see him up close.” Like you would ever allow that to happen. “He must be a rare breed.”

“He is.”

“Of course, I should have expected that my daughter would decide on a rare breed,” she said as if she was congratulating herself. “I insist you bring him to the next event. I was never that interested in hybrids, too much work, but one would look good in photos.”

“Yeah, I guess he would.” You took a deep breath, it wasn’t the time to throw a tantrum like you were five years old again or puke all over your expensive dress and shoes.

The expression on your mother’s face grew somber. “But four hybrids are a lot, I don’t think I know anyone who owns that many.” She twirled the flute in her hand, waves of the golden liquor hitting the glass and bubbles rising to the surface. “After what happened with Jacob I understand you have been feeling lonely, but hybrids aren’t good substitutes for human company, dear. You can’t rely on them as you relied on him or another man.”

A waiter offered you a glass of champagne from a golden tray. You couldn’t drink too much and risk your tongue loosening but you could allow yourself one more glass to get through this. “I’m not trying to replace him. They aren’t some kind of rebound.”

By her pinched expression, she didn’t believe you. “It’s alright to look for company somewhere else when you feel lonely. I don’t want you to think I’m judging your choices, you are an adult and free to make your own decisions but I’m your mother and I’m worried. You and Jacob were together for so long, we were sure he was the one for you. He was so nice and he took care of you. Your father and I were so happy for you.”

“Not all good relationships last. People change, they grow apart.”

“That’s true. It’s difficult getting out of a relationship after being together for so many years and getting back to your feet. That’s why I understand. I understand that you don’t want to be alone right now but don’t put all of your energy into hybrids. It just isn’t the same. Whatever some people like to say, hybrids are hybrids. They are different from us, they are on a different level. You can’t have the same connection with someone you own.”

Her words continued ringing in your mind for the rest of the night. Your father soon called you to introduce you to one of his colleagues, a successful businessman and politician you had never heard of. The glass of champagne was replaced by another one. You promised yourself it was the last. The owner of a luxurious brand talked with your mother about his plan to expand to more countries and the rehearsed and repeated vision to connect the world through fashion.

You peered at the other guests, all mingling, talking, and laughing. A man only a few feet away from you slapped a girl’s ass. You couldn’t believe your eyes, stuff like that didn’t happen at an event like this. You expected a scene, shouting and screaming and everything in between. Nothing happened. The man that had his arm around her waist only laughed. That’s when you noticed the black fluffy ears on top of her head, they were the same color as her hair and easy to miss. She didn’t have a tail. A silver collar with blue stones the same shade as her dress was secured around her neck. Her shoulders were tense and her head lowered.

In any other situation, any other time, you would have done something. You would have walked up to them and said something, anything you could think of on the spot, even talked to her, made a few minutes more tolerable. You did none of those things. Your parents were there and you had avoided embarrassing them all your life.

The guilt was eating you up, wrapping around all your organs and squeezing, hissing, and calling for your attention, not letting you forget. You had done nothing. If someone had touched your hybrids like that you would have cut their hands off. But that hadn’t been your hybrid, it hadn’t been your place. It hadn’t been your place like it hadn’t been your place to adopt Jin and go against his owner, like it hadn’t been your place to get involved with Namjoon’s pack or Yoongi and Hoseok for that matter. Maybe you had been tricking yourself all along, hiding your selfishness and fear behind the pretense of “not my place”.

Your mother was wrong, you hadn’t been looking for company when you and Jacob broke up. On the contrary, you disregarded everything except work, distancing yourself from all of your friends. It was easy with how busy you were at the time. You would have continued hiding in the Castle and spent your break alone if you hadn’t asked John to stop the car that night. They were what you didn’t know you needed. You had to stop being alone first to realize how lonely you had been.

You couldn’t go back to living like that, waking up and returning to an empty house, having no warm meal and warmer hugs waiting for you. That’s what your life had been like for the longest time and you wondered how you used to live like that. The hybrids were so tangled up in your life you couldn’t find where each thread ended or started. They merged and divided, connecting you all in ways you couldn’t describe.

Taylor had asked you about any crushes when you had been in Virginia, everyone was expecting you to find a new boyfriend after six months or at least start dating but you couldn’t bring yourself to do that. No one had piqued your interest and it wasn’t for lack of meeting new people. It would feel wrong going on a date with someone when the hybrids were waiting for you back home. And that’s where the problem was; it shouldn’t feel wrong. Many people who had hybrids went on dates, couples adopted hybrids together and it should be like that for you. But it wasn’t.

Overthinking was one of your talents and you had avoided like you were being chased by wild dogs. You weren’t one to simply go with the flow but Namjoon’s lips on your own had changed your mind. You were too afraid of losing that that you hadn’t allowed yourself to analyze what you were doing, what that meant for you. Namjoon was your hybrid, you may not act like it or think of him like that but you were his owner in the papers. And it wasn’t only Namjoon, the way you cared about the hybrids was different from the way you felt about anyone else. It was all-consuming and too bright. You felt more for them than you had ever felt about Jacob and that was dangerous.

You excused yourself from the event as soon as it was proper for you to do so. Tomorrow morning you had to wake up early for work and you couldn’t stay late into the night. It was true but not the reason you left. Your mother hugged you and thanked you for coming, inviting you once again to their house in New York. She had been inviting you every time you met and you hadn’t once been to their house.

The window of the limousine was cold against your cheek, your foundation staining the glass. Maybe your mother wasn’t that wrong. You didn’t dare put a name to your feelings but you couldn’t deny that they were there. Were you really that lonely that your mind was playing tricks on you? Groaning, you knocked your head against the glass, hard enough to hear a small thud. You shouldn’t be thinking of them like that, it was wrong, so wrong.

Was it the way the world viewed hybrids messing with you, bleeding into your subconscious? They were presented as the answer to any and all desires, transformed into wet dreams. The media had the power to influence behaviors and thoughts little by little without the person noticing. You had thought you were too clever to fall victim to their molded reality. You knocked your head against the glass again, the driver must have been thinking you were crazy.

The limousine parked in front of the Castle. On other nights the lights would have been turned off by now but tonight they were all shinning, welcoming you home. You fished your keys out of your bag and unlocked the door. The lights were on in the living room in the lowest setting.

“Welcome.” You jumped, almost tumbling to the floor at being startled while taking off your heels.

“Every. Single. Time.” Namjoon laughed quietly. “How do you do this every single time?”

“I was already here, I couldn’t make any more noise.” He got up from the couch, extending a hand to you. You took it and he guided you to the couch. “Did you have a good time?”

The dress wrinkled as you pulled one foot under you but you couldn’t care less. “It was… bearable. I didn’t-” You let your head fall on the back of the couch. Seeing Namjoon up close after the night you had, looking at you with soft eyes like you held the sky in the palm of your hand, everything was coming back. What were you doing here? Your heart shouldn’t be racing like that when you were thinking about the wolf hybrid, your hands shouldn’t be itching to touch him.

“You’re here now, you can relax,” he said trailing his hand from your arm to your shoulder and up your neck. Goosebumps raised on your bare skin. “You’re home.” His breath tickled your face, his lips were so close and you wanted, you wanted… You pushed him back.

“I should go take off my makeup. I’m exhausted.”

Namjoon frowned but he didn’t question you. “Okay,” he said softly. “Your bed must be calling your name.”

“It is,” you said slipping away from him. The absence of his touch left a void inside you. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

You went to your room with a heavy heart, leaving Namjoon alone in the living room.

♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩ ♩♪♩♬♬♩♪♩

 You found the offending magazine in a store close to the studios. Copies of it filled a whole stand. The cover was a photo of you with Jin and Jimin in front of the waffle place the day you had taken them with you to the table-reading. It really was front-page news.

In A Stunning Display of Power And Wealth Y/N Y/L/N Adopts Four Hybrids

Straight to the point, every word chosen precisely to attract attention. A display of power and wealth. Of course, that’s what sold copies. That’s what people wanted to read; how one of the richest and most famous directors of your generation was showing off their wealth and power. Hybrids continued to be a sign of money. To adopt four hybrids meant you were crazy rich, but people already knew that when similar headlines had swept all tabloids just a year ago, brought on by the outrageous purchase of the Castle.

Four pages were dedicated to you and your hybrids, completed with more photos of the same day and quotes from “insider sources”. You closed the magazine and went to the counter. The cashier scanned it without glancing at your face, which saved you some trouble. You almost thought you would have to re-enact the comedic scene of the cashier looking at the magazine, then at you, then back at the magazine, then back at you like a robot that had stopped working. You shoved the magazine in your bag, self-conscious of anyone seeing it on you, and went back to the studios.

Filming would begin very soon, which meant you were swamped with work. Everything had to be perfect because that’s the kind of director you were. A perfectionist. If it also gave you an excuse not to think about the hybrids and all of the implications of the flutter of your heart when you were with them, you weren’t complaining. And if you were a little more distant, that could easily be attributed to your work too.

Sleepless nights became too common, your head was too loud and Jimin laying next to you only made it louder.

Filming started and your schedule changed. Most days you still woke up early and returned late at night, but because each scene required a specific time of the day there were nights you came back hours after midnight. You had promised the hybrids you would take them with you on set but every morning you got in the car alone.

Fourth day of filming and unexpected rain forced you to cancel the outside shooting. You only had outside filming that day. You rushed to make adjustments and switch to scenes that could be filmed inside the studios. The crew would need time to prepare everything for the filming so you had been left with the morning off.

You unlocked the door, hiding inside the house from the rain. It hadn’t rained like that in a long time. The heavens had opened up and the rain refused to stop coming down like it was determined to turn Los Angeles into a gigantic lake. Your shoes left puddles wherever you stepped, you would have to mop the floors later. You took them off and placed them by the door. They had suffered the most, the rest of yourself was relatively dry with the exception of the lower part of your pants.

No one was attacking you with hugs as you closed the umbrella someone from the staff had handed you, the hybrids mustn’t have heard you coming in. If they had heard you, you would have had an armful of Jimin and Jungkook by now.

“Oh, hey Yoongi,” you greeted the panther hybrid coming out of the kitchen. Your tactic with Yoongi was to act like you were talking to someone who didn’t strongly dislike you. The scowls and the sneers had decreased turning into a plastic sort of indifference and that’s what made you pause. His scowl could cut you like a knife. “Are you alright?”

Yoongi stalked past you. “What are doing back?” he asked harshly.

You were taken aback for a moment. He hadn’t spoken like that to you since before you had left for Virginia. “I have the morning off because of the rain. Did something happen here?”

“Why do you care?” Yoongi stood by the staircase, his black tail unmoving behind him.

“Why would I not care?” you shot back. The rain had already ruined your plans for the day and caused you enough stress to last you for a few more, you didn’t have enough energy to deal with Yoongi. “Seriously, what happened? Is Hoseok alright?”

A low growl vibrated through the room, you almost took a step back at the threatening sound. “Don’t you speak his name. Was caring for him another way to make you feel powerful? Is this some kind of sick way for you to gain power over someone?”

You were too tired to handle this delicately as you should, you recognized that and proceeded to ignore it. “What the hell is this about? I just came back from work.”

Yoongi scoffed, it was an ugly sound. “Because you have brainwashed everyone else, don’t think I don’t see you for who you are. Have you sold our story yet? About how you saved Hoseok and nursed him back to health? I am sure that will sell many magazines. Show them all how all-powerful you are.”

Through the haze of the day, the words started to click. “You found the magazine.”

“You didn’t try to hide it.” You couldn’t remember where you had left it, it had probably ended up in the stack of magazines under the living room table. “I knew no one would take four hybrids in out of the goodness of their hearts. Did it work? Was it worth it or are you already getting bored? Maybe you should adopt a couple more. Make more headlines.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” you gritted out.

“That’s what you’d like to think,” Yoongi sneered. “All of you are the same. Hiding in your mansions and looking for the next chance to brandish your name. It’s a constant chase of power and standing, isn’t it? And you’ll use anyone you’ll find in your way to climb higher. I know how it is. You can’t fool me. I’ve been dealing with people like you for years!”

Your pants and your wet socks were sticking uncomfortably to your skin. Your head was buzzing. It hurt because that’s everything you had been trying to avoid. Everything you had promised yourself not to become. Everything you had criticized your parents and their circle for. You weren’t like them. You had never been like them.

“You don’t know me, don’t pretend you do,” you said forcefully. “Do you really think that’s how magazines work? I just call them and tell them I want them to write about me? Put me on the front cover? That’s not it. Even if it was, why would I do that? I couldn’t care less about the power-plays you’re talking about. I’m a director and my work speaks for itself. I don’t need magazines to brandish my name because my movies and my shows are more than enough. The paparazzi saw the chance and they took it. Their goal is to sell and their headlines showcase exactly that; what people would buy. I never hid the fact that I adopted hybrids but I wasn’t flaunting it to the media either.”

“Why should I believe you?” Yoongi growled.

You sighed, a sound full of frustration. “Frankly, I don’t see what else I could do to make you believe me! I tended to Hoseok. I didn’t ask any questions. I tried hard not to cross any boundaries and to make you feel welcome. What more do you want me to do?”

“Nothing,” Yoongi said simply. “Nothing you do can change my mind.”

It was like a stone dropped in the pit of your stomach. You shouldn’t have expected anything else. Yoongi had been through a lot, that much was clear, but it was unfair that he was taking out everything on you. You were paying for the scars other humans had inflicted on him.

“I’m not who you think I am.”

“You don’t know what I think.”

“It’s pretty clear,” you muttered. “Alright, I can’t change your mind, I won’t even try. I know how to pick my battles. But if you really despise me so much then why bother? Nothing you say will change anything. Are you trying to uncover some hidden truth about me and how evil I am? Then what?”

The fur on Yoongi’s tail and ears stood on end. “I don’t care. I don’t care about you, about what you have done and what you will do as long as we’re gone from here. I don’t care for your charity or your pity. Did it ever occur to you that I never wanted to be here in the first place?”

You swallowed, willing your heart rate to calm down. “Then tell Hoseok and Jimin yourself. The keys are by the door.”

You didn’t wait for Yoongi to say anything else, turning around and locking yourself in your room. You laid down on your bed, your hands gripping your hair. The exhaustion this time was beyond physical, beyond mental. Your hands retreated from your hair, sliding down your cheeks. Your fingers were wet.

Later when Jimin and Jungkook knocked on the door, you had to open the door or risk worrying them. They jumped on the bed and snuggled close to you. You held your phone waiting for the call to go to the studios.

You didn’t face any new problems with filming. The actors were all incredible, seemingly one with their characters. You did a lot of filming at 300 Fox Way, the psychic’s house with its mystic aura and weirdly compelling assortment of objects. You instructed the actors, talked with the crew, and analyzed the script down to each comma. Focusing on anything other than Yoongi’s words and your hybrids had turned into an art form.

The sleepless nights didn’t cease, you and the moonlight had become good friends. Jimin’s visits to your room thinned out. He had noticed you pulling away. You didn’t hug him anymore or kissed his forehead before falling asleep, you couldn’t come to terms with doing that after everything that had happened. You had thought that maybe you would sleep better alone but that had been proved false soon after.

You got out of bed for the fourth night in a row. Every position was uncomfortable. Keeping your steps light you left the room. The large house was eerie at night, the living room area with its glass walls looked endless, combining the actual living room, the dining room, and what the real estate agents had called the family room that was really just another living room.

You couldn’t stay in your room on nights like these, it was too contained. The night air on your skin sent shivers down your frame as you walked out on the balcony. It was two days before the full moon and its glow illuminated the world.

What had you gotten yourself into? You wished you could go back to that morning and decline your mother’s invitation to the gala. Maybe, just maybe, then you would be able to sleep, your head wouldn’t be fighting you at every turn, at every chance.

Little pieces of moonlight shimmered and danced on the lake. The calmness of the world was a stark contrast to the mess in your head. You remembered how Jungkook had looked at the lake in awe that very first night, you had noticed then that he looked at Jimin the same way. You wondered how you looked at them and if anyone had noticed.

The moon had no answers for you.

Two golden eyes were looking up at you from the garden, they shone like the fires that had been extinguished earlier. Namjoon tilted his head, inviting you down. A weird sense of deja vu took over. You had lived something very similar before, a night that had changed so much.

You shouldn’t go. You should stay where you were, alone and safe, away from fluttering heartbeats and dangerous warmth. But the night had its way of calling out the risky nature of people. The thrill was so much more enticing when darkness ruled.

Climbing down the stairs, you kept your steps quiet. You never knew which sound would wake up the hybrids. Namjoon was standing by the flower bushes close to the curtain of vines that lead into the forest. He was wearing a dark blue pair of pajama pants and a simple black T-shirt.

“What are you doing awake so late?” you whispered, like everything around you had ears.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

You shook your head. “I have trouble sleeping, remember?”

Namjoon had caught you a few times wandering the house at night, he was the only one who knew that a lot of nights sleep didn’t come to you willingly. His own nightly adventures were more complicated.

“Why are you awake?” you asked him again. “Please don’t tell me you smelled distress or something again or I’ll freak.”

Namjoon chuckled, you had missed it. Keeping your distance meant you only saw them for barely two hours every day. They all tried to not make too much noise with you in the constant mood of ‘tired and gloomy’.

“No, that’s not it.” He looked up, over the trees. “It’s the full moon.”

“You have to be kidding me. Do you turn into a wolf too?”

Namjoon raised his hands in surrender, his dimples on full display. “I’m joking, I’m joking. I couldn’t sleep either and I like being outside at night like this. It’s peaceful.”

You couldn’t disagree with that. There was something alluring about the quiet of the night. You would describe yourself more as a morning person than a night owl but both of them were true, waking up early for work then staying up late for it too.

“Are you alright?” The smile had fallen from his lips.

You squirmed under the intensity of his gaze. “I’m just tired, that’s all. Filming takes a lot out of me.”

Namjoon sighed. “Are you sure that’s all there is? You have been acting differently, did you think we wouldn’t notice?”

You knew they would notice but you had hoped they would think it was because of your work. Work did take a lot out of you but it also used to be the reason you were so much happier returning home.

“It has been going on for too long. You don’t spend any time outside your room or your office if it isn’t to eat. You are avoiding us. Jimin and Jungkook stopped scenting you because they think they’re making you uncomfortable.”

“It isn’t- They aren’t making me uncomfortable. I’m just tired from work and I don’t-” you tried to deny it but you fell short of excuses.

“You were working before too, but it wasn’t like this,” he pointed out. “You were tired then too. Some nights you came back and I could smell the exhaustion around you like a disease. But you smiled when Jimin and Jungkook ran up to you and didn’t let you go, you laughed at Jin laughing at his own jokes. You came to me when it got too loud here.” He pointed to your head.

“We weren’t filming then.” It was a weak attempt but you had to make it.

Namjoon regarded you carefully. Beams of moonlight got tangled in his gray hair turning it silver. He looked at home right there at that moment, close to the trees with the moon shining on him. He was every bit of magic you had ever witnessed.

“This started before filming did. I knew there was something wrong when you came back from the gala. Something happened there,” Namjoon concluded. “I should have come with you.”

You shook your head vigorously. Imagining him next to you while your mother spoke about hybrids like that was torture. “No, you shouldn’t. You shouldn’t have been with me.” You paused to compose yourself. “It wasn’t good, it was really bad actually. It wasn’t the gala itself, there some interesting people and… My mother…” You took a deep breath. “I don’t think I like my parents very much,” you admitted.

It was hard to say after years of half-hearted attempts at mending your relationship with them. All those years apart you had become very different people. You had trouble remembering what they were like before they left you in your aunt’s care. You couldn’t see any traces of them in yourself, you didn’t enjoy what they enjoyed, your interests and priorities, the way you viewed the world were very different.

In the past few days, you had grown to hate your mother’s voice in your head but you had a feeling that it had been much longer than that. The only difference was that before, you had been able to ignore it.

Namjoon came closer, his hand touching your palm waiting for you to make the first move. You took his hand in yours, laying your head on his chest. “That’s alright. You don’t have to like them, no one is forcing you to.”

“But they are my parents.”

He stroked your back gently. “It doesn’t matter, that isn’t enough of a reason.”

“They aren’t bad people.”

“They don’t need to be bad people for you to dislike them.”

You stayed like that for a few moments, taking in his presence. You had missed being in his arms so much, like an ache that couldn’t go away.

He stopped stroking your back, cupping your cheek and pulling back so you were facing each other. “I’m always here for you. I don’t care about anything else but seeing you happy. I’m here.”

“I missed you,” you admitted like it was a secret.

Namjoon smiled softly. “I missed you too.” His thumb caressed your lower lip. There was a tingling sensation all over your skin. “Can I?” he asked just like the very first time.

You let out a shuddering breath. “Should we be doing this?”

“Do you want to?” he asked carefully.

You bit your lip before nodding. He leaned down connecting your lips. It was soft and careful, all the longing and hurt of the past days poured into the kiss. You pulled him closer and he came willingly. You could hear your heartbeat in your ears.

An awful laugh cut through the night. You pulled away from Namjoon like you had been burnt. Yoongi was one with the night, dark like a shadow.

“So this is it? Is this why you adopted them all? So you can have your pick when you’re in the mood?” The expression on his face was cruel, twisted up in disgust.

Namjoon growled, his sharp canines shinning in the moonlight. In that moment, Namjoon looked more dangerous than ever before. “Shut your mouth.”

“I see she has turned you into her dog. How long did it take to tame you?”

You held Namjoon back before he could lunge at the panther. You were afraid that if you let him go, there would blood on their clothes. “Don’t.”

Yoongi took a tense step forward. “That’s right, listen to your owner. Is that what she has turned all of you into? Her toys? Just for a roof over your head and food?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Namjoon growled. “Don’t you dare talk about her like that. You have no fucking idea what you’re talking about.”

Yoongi clenched his fists. There was anger and something else you couldn’t see in the night amidst your panic. “I knew it. I knew no one did what you did without any kind of agenda. Seems like the magazine was right, at least in part. You can’t fool me, even if you managed to fool everyone else.”

With that he was gone, like he was never there.

You couldn’t breathe. Your hand was still wrapped around Namjoon’s wrist and you couldn’t breathe. You counted in your head. One, two, three…

When Namjoon tried to touch your shoulder, you pulled away. “I’m going back to my room,” you said. Your voice sounded shaky to your own ears. Namjoon called out to you but you didn’t stop. He didn’t try to touch you again.

Please comment and reblog it motivates me to keep writing

[lolita-lollipop]

Caun you do platonic yandere Haruka and Juri Kuran with unwilling human reader where she will do anything to get away from them even if they have to call vampire hunter to do it? Thank you

I’m sorry it took me a while to answer, I had to rewatch the show because I haven’t watched it in like a year.

I think you made another request that I saw and went to do, but when I clicked on it tumble said there was nothing there. Sorry about that.

And I think I got the characters right, juri and Haruka are yuki and kanames mom and dad right?

YANDERE JURI KURAN X READER X HARUKA KURAN

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You dont want to be here, you absolutely don’t want to be here. No matter how much they tell you that you can’t leave, taht foenst make you wnat to do it any less. No matter how far you ran, Or how hard you tried to hide , they always found you, and took you back to this godforsaken place. It was huge mansion, usually could be considered lavish and nice, but you’d grown to hate it.

You’d tried everything, shattering windows, throwing yourself off of roofs, stabbing them, outright drowning yourself, none of it worked, nothing at all. The woman, whom had named herself “mother”, or even “mama”, would just pick you up, give you a bath, scold you, then put you to bed, a soft nothing happened in the first place. You hated it, you hated it so much. They treated you as if you couldn’t think for yourself, like you would just die without them, they wouldn’t listen to your protests, and would act like it was just the babbling of a small child.

“Darling, you know we can’t be running out at nighttime, we have rules for a reason. Let’s get you in bed now, You’re gonna sleep with me and papa tonight alright?

They always cared about you, if you’re hurting, but they also don’t seem to care about you’re opinion, like they’ve fooled themselves into thinking you really are some precious little girl who needs mama and papa’s protection.you don’t though, you truly, honestly, hate them with all your heart. They don’t ever try to consider your own opinion, seeing you as a little child who has an immature and irrational opinion, you. Hate. It.

You didn’t want them to die necessarily, just be away from you, forever. But you also weren’t all that keen on them staying alive, you barely knew anything about how they lived, you had run into them sucking the life out of a corpse, you had your suspicions about wether they were even human or not, taht just proved it to you. This was just a last resort, a heavily needed last resort.and you were desperate, very, very desperate.

And so, you used your “playtime” in which they left you alone for 30 minutes to an hour in the guardens, to figure out how to kill these people, and who would do it for you. When you found the “cursed twins” whom hunt these vampires. You were determined to come in contact with them. You had to wait though, as you’d spent almost all of your playtime on the library, and you didn’t have the ability to leave and find them yet.

The next time when you could find them, you snuck out as early as you could, running through the rose bushes and the wall of vines taht leas to a small opening, the servants used to use this, to your convience, they abandoned it after it was infested with millions of moths and butterfly’s. It was your best way out for a moment. Of course you couldn’t stay out for too long, or they would realize and drag you back. So you set a mental timer for 30 minutes, than went on a search. Asking around town if they knew these particular hunters, eventually, you were lead to a small bar, wheee a tall man with a large scar wa sitting, you tapped him on the shoulder.

The two of you talked for about 10 minutes, your old him your story and what was hapoening, he told you who he was and what he did, and it was an agreement that he would help you. The plan was simple, very simple, you run away during the middle of the night, intentionally waking them up and causing them to follow, and you run to a select area where he’ll have traps set, he will not kill them unless it’s necessary, just keep them tied up long enough for you to hop on a train and be rid of them. And that was it, you had 5 minutes to get back, the plan would be carried out tommorow.

When you arrived back into the garden, it was to the same thing you left, a bunch of butterflies and flowers. Another ten minutes past of you just sitting around, and then your mother came out to get you so she could help you take a bath. You were just so jittery and excited to be out, and you thought you wer of fielding it as best as you could, apparently that wasn’t good enough though, as she took immediate note of your change in tone.she suspiciously looked at you, you did smell different… like other humans.

The idea was brushed off as she saw the set up from earlier that you had laid out, a blanket bundled up to look like a makeshift pillow, along with a few little butterflies just fluttering around the area. So you had taken a nap! That makes sense why they hadn’t heard you, because you were sleeping.

“Oh honey, if you were sleepy you could’ve just told me, we can go take another nap if you want?”

“No mama, I’m okay”

———

You were getting ready now, this was probably a really terrible idea, like a really, really terrible idea. But you don’t have much to lose except your life, and even then it’s not worth much, so why not? You couldn’t open your window, so you were gonna have to jump through the hallway one, and jump you did, intentionally nocking a few things down in the process to alert others of your movement.

You ran as fast as you could, making your way through the butterfly’s and rosebushes, and jumping over the multitude of tree trunks that stuck out of the ground. You were nearing your destination when you heard swift footsteps behind you, and the appearance fo both your father and your mother sorrounded you at once. This has happened before believe it or not, you just have to keep running and try not to get caught.

“Darling? We do this every week, just make this easy for all of us and let’s go back to bed.” The male voice echoed form beside you, you ignored it, continuing on, they were being nice to you today apparently, letting you run on for a longer time than usual, for the most part they just grab you and drag you back. Then both disapeared, with a small rustle in the dead leaves they were gone, leaving you confused , and scared. Were they hiding? Or did they just give up? No, they don’t give up, you know that best.

You made it to the destination, a small nook in the woods where the trees were cleared out, waiting to find the hunter whom you’d talked to earlier, and disappointed from find no traps, no people; no nothing, just an empty field. When you made a move to step over it, a hand grasped your arm, pulling you back.

“Do not step over there, no one but me can see it, you would be bundled in ropes if you took another step forward. “ the same gravely voice spoke, setting you firmly down on your feet, about a meter away from the clearing. You held your breath in as you heard the same footsteps circling the area, then in a flash, a figure was caught in one of these invisible traps. Each of their limbs was held off with a thick iron roping.

Then another

And than you realized that they couldn’t do anything anymore, both your mother and your father were kind of helpless right now, not as if you’d hurt them, but they couldn’t do anything to you. A female voice screamed, you could tell it was your “mama” as she wanted stop to say. The other stayed silent.

“Y/N! SWEETIE! LET ME DOWN FROM HERE! WE JUST WANT TO KEEP YOU SAFE! PLEASE JUST LET ME DOWN!” She screamed, flailing, you heard a silent hiss of burning flesh. Those ropes must be hurting them… you feel bad, they werent all that and to deserve this right? You started to regret this, second guessing yourself as you watched them struggle.

“Y/n, of you help us down now we won’t be mad, this man has gotten into your head, this is why we have to protect you, you understand that right? Right?”

“What are you doing, GO!” The hunter yelled, shoving you off towards the roaring of the trains, breaking you from your little trance, you spent another second deciding, then booked it towards the noises. Your breaths were heavy, and your feet were freezing, but you felt a sense of satisfaction at finally being free.

You heard a earpaining snap, and then another female scream. A voice yelled above it, screaming the word “RUN”, signaling you that something went wrong. You were so close, just so close to finally being free, faster footsteps approached you, a huff of wind passed your face, whooshing your hair into your face, you were only a few meters from the train at this point, and you had no idea if you would even make it.

“You cannot leave us, you just cant. They’ll hurt you, you don’t belong out there, we’re keeping you safe, you’re not safe out there honey! Why can’t you just see that? Mommy’s just trying to keep you safe!” Your mother screamed, trying to grab at you. Her eyes were wide, you’d never seen her so panicked. Was your plan actually…working? She eyed the train, picking up her pace to try and block you at off, her husband was fighting with a. Hunter, he could handle himself though, it was you she was worried about.

You hooked your arm around one of the railings of the last train car, you barely made it, as it was almost gone, you made it right on time. The woman tried to catch up, and was successful for a few moments, but was overpowered soon by the power of modern technology. She had a grasp on your sleeve, and she tried to tug you back on the ground, in her arms, where you’d be safe. But no, she just ripped it clean off, she broke down in a fit of sobs as she watched you quickly move away from her. She clutched the fabric close to her chest, before screaming

“WE WILL FIND YOU! I PROMISE!”

And so you disappeared in the darkness of the night, aboard the shadows of the train cars, two vampires screaming your name form the forest.

Who knows what happens to you now.

———————————————————————————————————

*unedited

Thanks for requesting, it was fun to write!

Have a great day anon!

[bush-viper-cutie]

Chapter One: The New House

Pairing: Snape x OC

Word Count: 2,472

Rating: E

Plot:  Severus, forced to live with his parents once again, moves into a new house with them… except the house itself isn’t new. Its old, very old indeed.

Warnings: none

A/N: Snapetober! I will be posting chapters often to this slice-of-life gothic slow-burn romance I have in my head :D Not following any prompts but I hope the general atmosphere of these chapters are spooky? Mixed with some gothic… maybe some supernatural elements ahead ;) Enjoy :D

Posted: 10/1/21

Chapter List

Next Chapter –>

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~*~*~ = time skip

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Severus Snape hated his life. His parents were awful, his family had no money, no support from anyone, and everyone he'd ever known hated him. The majority of his 20 years of life had been like that, except for a small bit of it where it wasn't, where it had been alright. For a few quick years, he had one friend who understood him, although it was now as he sat in the backseat of his father's car, looking up at the clouds, that he wondered if she ever did.

The clouds coated the sky, covering every sliver of sunshine with thick grey. No light broke through and as a result, everything looked as miserable as his life felt. The droning of the car engine and tires on concrete grated his ears as he tried for peace of mind.

His father's suitcase - sandwiched above Severus' trunk and his mother's large bag - dug into his side, poking at him deeper with every turn the car took. They'd been driving for almost an hour but he knew they weren't even close to their destination; they were still inside the city, still inside its limits. He didn't need to know where they were going, even if he'd like to, he knew his father couldn't afford to move to any city nor any country home close by.

His mother sat quietly in the passenger seat, watching classy houses with nice, white picket fences and short little rose hedges pass by as they drove. She looked away from the window when they stopped at lights or when his father needed to look at the map for directions; Severus suspected she didn't want to know if any of the four-member families out on their daily evening walk around their block looked in to see who owned the beat-up little pile of scrap metal driving by their house.

He didn't care though. He hardly cared about anything lately. The last time he could remember caring was the scroll parchment he'd received for graduating Hogwarts. That was all he'd wanted for two years. After he'd lost his only friend - his only best friend - he focused on school and school alone. He thought everything about his life would change the second he got hold of that certificate. For a few long days it had felt like a first-place trophy, but it wasn't. It was what it was: A certificate, of completion, of participation. Nothing more.

Maybe he could have been something. If he'd gotten a job, saved up while living with his parents, and finally moved out, leaving them behind forever... But he didn't do that. He spent two years wasting time meddling in a bigoted cult working, selling potions for scrap. Hardly making enough to stay off the streets pretending like it was better than living at home just because the new sinking ship he'd found himself in was with his friends. Maybe eventually he could have made it work if it hadn't been for the Aurors who busted their small section of Death Eaters dedicated to making money selling illegal potions.

He supposed they threw themselves a party, thinking themselves big-shots, catching a handful of young adults making money out the back of a shady pub. He remembered the headline in the Daily Prophet: "Fourteen Death Eaters caught and awaiting sentencing". He supposed his mother thought herself a saint now too, bailing him out, saving him from days of "possible abuse" as if it were any worse than the prison he'd lived in all his life.

At first, he couldn't figure why - not for the life of him - she'd even care what happened to him. He wasn't a child and he wasn't her problem anymore. He knew she derived some sick pleasure knowing he not only owed his existence to her but now his freedom as well... and then it all came out. They bought a new house and it wasn't built to be kept up by two people, hell not even three but he was sure his extra pair of hands would come very handy to them.

They didn't even need to pay him. Not only was he their child, but that bail money was something he couldn't even attempt at paying back, and not because it had been a lot. She'd paid it in wizarding money left over from her witch days and she knew his wand had been broken as part of his sentencing. He'd have to beg some stuck-up department deep in the government for a wand permit which cost money. Then he'd have to buy himself a new wand, then work to pay her back all while "bumming" it at home while his father yelled about getting a "real job", one that didn't involve "devil magic" in the "devil society" that was the wizarding world. And he was sure he wouldn't be able to show up for work with a bruised eye or swollen jaw, even if by some miracle his employer could look past his new criminal record.

He held in a wince as the car turned again and the top luggage fell onto his head. He was back to old habits trying to pretend he didn't exist.

"Hey," Tobias said, glancing at him in the rearview mirror. "Fix that."

Without a word, Severus shoved the luggage back onto the pile behind the driver's seat and sat back. They were on the outskirts of society now. The scenery had turned to country, and the smog of the city had cleared, though the skies were still dark.

His father stopped for a few moments and refolded the map on his lap. His mother carried on watching the world outside, unresponsive to either of them or the happenings inside the car.

"What's that say," Tobias handed Severus the map and lit a cigarette while he waited, not bothering to open the window.

Severus brought the map up to his eyes and squinted. His eyesight was poor and worsened by the approaching dark. "S-starts with 'c'..."

"S'got a double 't' or 'h'?"

"'H'." Severus handed it back and Tobias started driving again.  He took several turns and headed onto a rougher road.

Within minutes the tame country became wild and morphed into a long stretch of woods. For the first few minutes, he hadn't even noticed despite being completely focused on the environment that passed them, like his mother still was. The first few trees seemed to go on, and just when he thought they'd clear them and continue driving past open fields, the trees persisted until he realized they were deep inside a forest now.

A few more minutes passed and they finally did exit the forest into a wide field of dead chopped trees cleared to the side on either edge of the steep hill the car was climbing. Severus sat up finally, hearing his spine crack and snap into place after being hunched over for the better part of the day. He liked the colorful mushrooms and bright green moss growing on the black logs of the discarded trees.

"Here," Tobias grumbled, rolling down the window. He flicked his cigarette butt and rolled it back up.

Severus sat forward and looked out the windshield up at the house they were approaching. It was large and clearly abandoned, probably for a good decade. The shingles were covered in dead leaves, the paint was chipping, the windows were gray and smeared with dirt likely blown during wind storms. The porch was missing a step and the columns holding up the covering were slanted. It was more yellow at the top and browner at the bottom - rot on the foundation most likely.

He slumped back in his seat. At least, if it turned out horrible, if it came down the second they stepped inside, or the walls melted from mold before their eyes, their old home was still waiting for them, the cursed thing. Almost all houses back home on Spinners End were abandoned. No one to sell to, no one to buy decrepit eyesores in the shadow of rundown factories. But at least he still had the option if it all went wrong.

~*~*~

Severus stuffed his suitcase into the closet, kicked it in, and shut the door. Unpacking could wait. He turned around and looked at his room as a whole. It was small, located up the stairs in a corner. It had a slanted roof which was odd, considering there was a third floor above him. It would do though, it was on the opposite side of the house as his parent's room, so it would certainly do quite nicely.

He moved to the window and looked out to watch the mist settle below. His father was gone to town to purchase things they'd need: a lighter apparently for the fireplaces since this house was built before furnaces and never renovated. He felt like a poor house servant to a rich Lord, but it was better than feeling like a roach in his old home. They needed coal too, or maybe wood, whatever old metal kitchen stoves and ovens used.

Severus walked out of his room to look down the hall again. It was a larger house than he was used to - it practically felt like a palace - and was sure it would take a few days to memorize how to find the correct corridor places.  It wasn't Like Hogwarts, which typically took several years to memorize the right paths.

He walked down the opposite way he came and observed the way the dust clung to the walls giving the blue wallpaper a very muted look. The original owners liked their colors, practically every room had a different color to it. Corridors were blue, bedrooms green, dining room orange, library red, kitchen white, bathrooms pink... At least none of the colors were very offensive to the eyes, even without the dust they were all very muted and earthy.

He had explored the bottom floor, the second floor had all the bedrooms, and the third-floor stairs must be around somewhere, hidden. As he walked a new corridor he noticed there were spaces on the wall which had, at one time or another, held frames or mirrors but they were long gone. He turned the corner to a long hallway with very tall windows on one side. He could see the mist again and possibly behind it was more to the forest surrounding the house. He mentally noted which turn brought him to the back wall of the house. He walked on and at the center were the stairs to the third floor tucked into a gap in the wall opposite the windows.

The handrails were covered in dust and between the wood pillars were cobwebs that swayed as he crept up. There was an open floor filled with ghostly sheet-covered furniture. A chandelier holding half-used candles lay on the floor with a long chain still connected to the ceiling. Its crystals refracted light from the large windows on either side of the room.

He sat on a couch - not bothering with the cloth - and sighed. Eventually, they'd put him up to getting all this old stuff down so that his father could sell it, although, they'd already been inside once before and said they couldn't find the stairs to this floor - or large room.

He got up and walked back down the stairs peering into the small crevice between the handrail and wall. When he reached the bottom step he noticed the indent on the edge of the left-hand wall and pulled on it. A little ring popped out and when he pulled on that, the wall rolled out. No, it was a door. He pulled it further and closed it behind him. He stepped back against the windows. The wallpaper blended seamlessly and would have been hard for him to tell that it was a door at all. He pressed the blue-colored ring back against the wall and walked back to his room.

~*~*~

Severus heard a car door slam and sat up in bed. His father was finally back with the supplies to hopefully get dinner started. His nap must have been a few hours because the sun had already dipped below the tree lines.

"Severus," his father called out to him, his echoes from one side of the house bounced off every wall to reach Severus' ears. "Now."

He swung his legs over the bed and left his room, stumbling down the dark hallway towards the front of the house. He stopped at the foot of the stairs looking down. His father was smoking again and had dropped several grocery bags on the floor. He blew the smoke out of his mouth and looked up at Severus, then motioned for the bags and pointed in the general direction of the kitchen.

Severus obeyed and carried them in, placing them on the counter - which had been dusted - and started taking out the contents. The only modern appliance in the house was the fridge, tall silver and brand new; it must have been the real major cost of the house.

His father had bought a large head of cabbage and a pack of sausages. There were matches but no coal which means they might be having cold soup for dinner again. He put everything away and came back to stand at the door.

He stepped aside as Tobias entered the house again. Severus thought about stepping out and walking around for a bit, not wanting to be in the same house as his parents, but felt the distance between his room and theirs was enough for today.

He turned to the stairs and saw his mother holding the banister looking down at him.

"Tomorrow there'll be a list of chores for you in the kitchen," she said. Her stiff voice echoed throughout the house and she kept her eyes on him waiting for a response.

He gave none and she left, unbothered. It was the way of their relationship. She'd ignore everything he said, and he'd do the same. He walked up the stairs, hearing how they creaked and groaned under his weight, echoing off walls and resonating down the hall. He headed to his room and closed the door. It was only around nine, fully dark, but he was done with the day. Dinner wasn't worth facing them and staying awake any longer wasn't worth the boredom and loneliness.

He took his pillow out of his trunk and fell onto the bed, almost disappointed it didn't break and send any amount of adrenaline or chemical of any kind to his brain. He moved his pillow, slid his arm under it, and closed his eyes.

~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~ * ~~~

Chapter List

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[fortisfiliae]

Promised Part 12 - Tom Riddle x reader

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Masterpost | Masterlist

Summary: In this story, Tom didn’t grow up as an orphan, but with his grandfather and uncle. Reader’s sister got very sick and the Gaunts offer their help. But not without asking for something in return.

Disclaimer: Please be aware that I don’t condone any of this in real life. (GIF is not mine)

Warnings: Arranged marriage; it gets a bit sexy, but nothing explicit

Word count: 2.7k

Part 12 - Pillow Talk and Butterbeer

After you had gotten the Foxgloves in Diagon Alley, the only thing you could do for the antidote was to wait. Wait for Nagini to shed and wait for the end of March to arrive, so you could go to the Gaunt manor and look for a flask of Banshee tears. Meanwhile, the cauldron simmered safely in the Come and Go Room. You had to stir it frequently and skim off the foam that built up, so it required a good portion of your time, which was quite worrisome. How would you be able to keep that up when school would start again and you were occupied attending classes? Of course, Tom and you could alternate in doing those tasks, but you didn’t want to bother him with all that constantly. He had to attend to his duties as head boy on top of everything, after all. Well, there had to be a way. It would be manageable somehow. 

Even though Hogwarts was almost empty and there weren’t many people around, you hadn’t felt lonely. Not even a bit. Tom and you had gotten closer over the week. Even closer than before and he still showed no signs of annoyance towards you. Which surprised you. You would have thought that he liked to keep to himself a lot, and wouldn’t want to spend a lot of time with someone else, regardless of who it was. But that suspicion turned out to be untrue. Tom had followed you to tend to the potion every single time you had gone there, even if you hadn’t asked him to. He stuck to you like a magnet, which was strange at first, but once you had figured out that he just seemed to thoroughly enjoy your company, you let him.

When the two of you weren’t in the Come and Go Room, or studied for the upcoming semester, you spent your time in bed a lot. The meaning of ‘enjoying the holidays’ suddenly had a different ring to it. You still had not gotten used to his touch, his scent, his faint whisper in your ear. But if you were honest, you didn’t want to ever get used to it. It was too exciting to get that rush, the way your heart started racing, every time his fingers brushed across your skin. Every time your name fell from his lips and when his eyes lingered on your figure when you lay beneath him. Those smiles, rare and subtle, he graced you with between the sheets. No, you would never get used to that.

And Tom had started to talk more. Granted, still not as much as any other person you knew, but it was certainly a step in the right direction. One rainy day, he even opened up and talked about his family.  You held hands beneath the blanket, one of your legs was sprawled over him and you had just put your head into a comfortable position between Tom’s shoulder and the cushion, when he just began, out of nowhere.

“Do you remember when you asked me about my parents?” he said. “In your room, at Christmas.”

Your head propped up again so that you could look at him. “I do. Why?”

“Well,” he paused and looked back into your eyes, his voice low and plain. “Do you want to know what happened?”

“Of course. Tell me.”

He laid his head onto the pillow and looked up towards the ceiling while he bit the inside of his cheek. 

“My Mother,” he began. “She fell in love with him, Tom Riddle, when she was seventeen. He was a muggle. Filthy and worthless, even though his family was rich. Merlin knows what she saw in him.”

The thought that him being a muggle didn’t define his Father’s worth came to your mind, but it wasn’t your time to speak now. 

“He didn’t love her back,” Tom went on. “At least not as much as she wanted him to, apparently. Morfin, her brother, had just finished his schooling for Potion’s mastery, so she snuck into his chambers one night and stole one of his love potions.”

This story wasn’t going to end well. Most love potions, the ones that weren’t sold in joke shops, which were diluted and only meant to last for a few minutes, were illegal. You had learned about the most dangerous ones during Slughorn’s class in sixth year, so that you were able to detect them. One of them, the most powerful one, had attracted everyone’s attention back then. The potion alone was infatuating, even if one had not consumed it yet. Its scent had drawn in every person in the classroom, as it smelled different to everyone, based on what the person liked. You still remembered that striking feeling of needing to take the potion yourself. Obsession was the best way to describe it. All rationality had left you once Slughorn had lifted the cauldron’s cover. No one seemed in their right mind anymore. The mere thought of being at someone’s mercy, without even knowing it, was frightening.

“Amortentia?” you asked.

Tom nodded and you could feel one of his legs bouncing up and down. His voice still was indifferent, as if he was telling you just another irrelevant story.

“She drugged him with it and didn’t tell her family. They wouldn’t have tolerated a muggle as her husband of course. But they secretly got married and when she was pregnant, she broke the charm, thinking he would love her anyway.”

“And?” you asked, hoping that the answer would be different from what you anticipated.

“He didn’t love her obviously. And he ran from her. Left her. Can’t even blame him.”

“He left her when she was pregnant?”

Tom nodded and your heart sank for him. Even though his father’s actions were understandable to an extent, you couldn’t imagine what it must feel like being so unwanted by one of your parents that they would have left before you were even born.

“What happened to her then?” you asked.

“She died while giving birth to me. At least that’s what Marvolo told me.”

“You don’t think she’s dead?”

“Oh, yes I do. I don’t think she died from giving birth.”

“Do you think he… That Marvolo… Killed her?”

Tom shrugged, still looking up at the ceiling. “Possibly. I could see why he would have done it.”

Everyone who knew Marvolo could probably see him do that. That man was evil, to say the least, and seemed to enjoy it when others suffered. But killing his own daughter was something you hadn’t thought anyone, not even the worst person on earth, was able to do without hesitation. 

Silence had fallen over the room. You could hear Tom breathing, still collected and slow, contrary to yourself. 

“I’m sorry,” you whispered for lack of a better word and held his hand tighter.

“It’s alright,” he answered, his voice sounding like he was the one consoling you when it should have been the other way around. “I have no memory of them. It’s not like I miss her.”

Could you miss someone you never really met? Probably not, you thought. But it was definitely possible to know you missed out. 

“And your father?” you asked. “Do you know where he is now?”

Tom let out a sharp breath through his nose as if he was suppressing a laugh. “I don’t think he’s alive either. They never told me, but I assume Marvolo took care of him as well.”

You sighed at his response, turned to lie on your side and rested your head on Tom’s shoulder, your hand leaving his, to hold on to his upper arm. 

There had been so much harm, so much betrayal in his life, even before he could have done something to prevent it. No wonder he behaved the way he did. There had never been hope. He never stood a chance.

“I don’t even know what to say,” you mumbled. “Do you wish it could have been different? If you had gotten to know them.”

“You and your wishful thinking,” he said and you could hear the smile in his tone. “I never thought about it. It wouldn’t change reality. It would just make me mad.”

You nodded as a silent way of approval, your fingertips tracing patterns on the curve of his shoulder.

“I do wonder, however,” Tom said and lifted your chin with his hand, so he could look into your eyes. “What my father felt when she put him under her spell with Amortentia.”

His gaze darted back and forth between your eyes and your lips, his fingers still holding up your chin when you blinked.

“The closest thing to love, I assume,” you answered, a breath stuck in your throat. “The replica of it at least, as hollow as it may be.”

Tom still looked at you with a glare as sharp as a butcher knife. He sucked in a breath, pondering, and parted his lips, about to say something. Before he could though, he leaned closer, pinned you down to the mattress and kissed you, his hand wandering from your chin to your neck.

An owl from Camille arrived on one of the last days of the break. Her letter made you smile as you walked across Tom’s room and read it.

“Camille wants to meet up on Sunday, when she’ll be back,” you told Tom, still skimming across her lines. “They are official now, Ben and her.”

“Alright then,” Tom said absentmindedly, his nose in one of the books from the library.

“She asked for you to come too.”

His head rose in confusion. “Me? Why?”

“I think she wants us to go on a double date,” you chuckled. “To the Three Broomsticks. Sunday at five.”

No matter how sure you were of how much Tom enjoyed your presence, he absolutely wasn’t entertaining the idea of spending time with Ben Hilt. And about that, he was very clear. He had asked you a couple of times if you were sure that Camille meant for him to come and had tried many ways of escaping that date, but alas, you dragged him there.

“Four Butterbeers,” Ben ordered after you had sat down at a table together.

Ben sat opposite to Tom, who was more than obviously annoyed by the fact he even had to be there. You patted his thigh, ordering him to behave, to which Tom eyed you seriously. Camille and you both bit back the smirks on your faces, while Ben tried his best to be friendly.

“So,” he said, looking at Tom and you. “How were the holidays?”

“Mind your own business,” Tom murmured, which luckily no one but you had heard.

“Good,” you spoke over him and pushed your elbow against Tom’s side. “Quiet. Not many people around.”

“Oh, you stayed in school, didn’t you?” Ben asked. “You both?”

Tom didn’t answer and looked back at Ben without a hint of emotion on his face. You nodded and smiled.

“How about you?“ you asked.  „What have you done? Have you met up?” 

“Oh, yes we did,” Camille said. “Ben introduced himself to my parents and then took me to the cinema.”

“Cinema?” Tom and you asked simultaneously. 

You had heard of cinemas before of course. But you had never been. Movies were a muggle invention, and even though it sounded tempting, you had never had a chance to go.

“Yes,” Camille confirmed. “We watched ‘Dead of Night’. That’s what it’s called, right?”

Ben nodded as he swung his arm around Camille’s shoulder. “Horror movies. My favourite.”

“Why would you do that?” Tom asked and took his cup from the server, who had come up with your order. “Go to the cinema. That’s such a muggle thing to do.”

“Oh, you’ve never been, huh?” Ben asked. “None of you have, have you?”

“You should have seen his face when I told him,” Camille laughed. She had, similar to you, grown up in a pureblood family as well.

“And you should’ve seen mine when I went to her house,” Ben added. “I’m still not used to wizard’s homes, you know. They’re so different. I like them.”

Tom stiffened next to you. 

“You’re muggleborn?” he asked, his mouth agape.

“Indeed mate. Didn’t you know?”

“You’re a mu-… muggleborn,” Tom stammered and looked over to Camille. “But you, you’re a pureblood, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Camille said, a baffled smile on her face.

Tom still had a hard time believing what he had just heard. “And you… You two. Even though…”

“Tom,” you whispered, trying to escape both Camille and Ben’s amused looks, and patted him on the thigh again.

“Excuse me,” he cleared his throat and motioned with his hand. “I just. I didn’t know.”

“Well now you do,” Ben shrugged before taking a big sip of his butterbeer. “Best of both worlds, am I right?”

“Right,” you said when Tom didn’t answer.

Changing the subject seemed necessary, but you couldn’t think of anything worth talking about. The only thing you had been doing was tending to the potion, and that was something you would rather keep a secret. 

“The worst thing is that none of you folks have phones at home,” Ben went on.

“Phones?” Tom asked.

“Telephones. You can call other people and talk to them.”

“I wish I had one,” said Camille. “I told my father about it and he thinks it’s a great idea. Maybe we’ll get one of those ‘phones’.”

That was interesting. To talk to someone directly, even if they weren’t there? No apparating, no Floo Network. Muggles might have been weak, but they sure knew how to handle their handicaps.

“Why would you need to do that?” Tom asked. “Talk to someone on the phone.”

“Well, it spares a lot of time. No need for owls or letters. You just pick it up from the hook and speak.”

Tom seemed to think about it for a moment. Then he shook his head. “But owls do the job just fine.”

“Not as quickly,” Ben grinned.

“Well, then I’ll send an urgent owl if I need my message to arrive sooner.”

Ben stifled a laugh and took another drink. “I mean, of course, mate.”

“I think it’s interesting,” you said. “And you only hear the voice of the other person? You can’t see them, right?”

“Exactly.”

“Fascinating,” you mumbled. “What other things do you have that we don’t?”

Ben looked into his cup for a moment and hummed. “Well, muggles invented the train, which we all use to go to school.”

“Oh,” Camille gasped. “Wait until he tells Tom about cars.”

Tom clicked his tongue. “Of course I know about cars.”

“Have you driven one?” Ben asked.

“No. Obviously not.”

“You should one day,” Ben gushed. “My father got a 1943 Bentley recently. Technically I’m not allowed to drive it, because I don’t have a license. But I’ve seen Father drive a lot. So I borrowed the car one night and it was life-changing.”

Tom took a drink and raised one brow. “I’d rather just apparate.”

“Yes, that’s great too. But it doesn’t have the same feeling. It’s really liberating. And much more comfortable than brooms. I could take you all on a ride someday in summer. The car fits four people.” 

“Why?” Tom asked before you could agree.

Ben raised his eyebrows again, a smile still plastered on his face. “For fun?”

“For fun,” Tom repeated and looked at you as if to ask you what Ben was trying to tell him.

“You should do more things just for fun, mate,” Ben chuckled. “Might help against that constant frown.”

Camille and you laughed quietly, both turning your faces away from the boys and you bit your tongue. Tom straightened his posture, his eyes darting across the table, apparently thinking hard.

“We’ll see about that,” he said and raised his glass. “Mate.”  

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Masterpost | Masterlist

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[seungminotes]

Broken Noses and Potted Plants (pt.1)

w.c. ~2k

warnings. some cursing I believe, gender neutral (please notify me if anything suggests otherwise!)

desc. high school au, love triangle w/ student body president! seungmin and reckless and lazy! jisung

a.n. hello! I am getting back into writing! this will be part of a series updated weekly, for now please enjoy part 1 and tell me if you're liking it? any and all feedback appreciated.

For someone as lonesome and timid as you, Kim Seungmin was what you'd call your savior.

Him being Class President and the longest standing place holder of the first rank of your grade, you would think he was the solitary and studious type of person. No one would think such a straightforward and driven student was so popular and well-liked as he was.

You being only second to him, knew it was difficult enough to balance academics with a few simple extracurriculars, imagine having a social life on top of that, it made your head spin.

And yet, somehow Seungmin managed to do it all. He was class president, captain of the baseball team, and on the officer committees of at least five clubs and honor societies. On top of all that, he was one of the most popular and well-known students in your year.

Sure, Seungmin had lots of friends and acquaintances, but some he would consider a lot closer than others. You weren't really one of those, let’s face it. You knew that much.

In fact, you and Seungmin were mostly just "friends" for the academic benefit of it all. You'd sat near him all year long, were his vice class president, and were also in numerous of the same honor societies. It just made sense that you'd be at least academically close, a lot more would get done that way.

For instance, you two would often study together at the school’s library after classes, specifically on Fridays, when no extracurriculars were occurring to keep you busy. Lunch time was strictly student government briefing for you two. And in the time between lessons, you’d regularly check each other’s classwork and homework for each other, catching any errors either of you made before it was time to submit, not that Seungmin made many errors anyway. To say that you two spent a lot of time together would be a bit of an understatement.

Despite all this time though, you could hardly say you really knew Seungmin, at least not on a personal level. You knew he always preferred chicken at lunch, and how math was undoubtedly his best subject, whereas he struggles a bit more with language. You knew he was an amazing leader and how his decisions were always very well rounded and well-received amongst the student body. You knew he was an exceptional baseball player.

But that was about it really. Yet you somehow still managed to develop some huge crush on this guy. This boy who would never feel the same towards you surely, because you two were merely classmates with similar goals and no intentions of building upon this acquaintance-like friendship.

Knowing this, you still sometimes tried to get closer to Seungmin, you really did, out of the sheer possibility that one day he may notice and you’d have an implicit agreement of friendship at the very least.

-

One of these attempts was made with the founding of the club you’ve always wanted the school to have, but were sure hardly anyone would join unless prompted to do so.

The morning you had asked Seungmin to take into consideration a new club proposal, he had initially rejected it quite harshly.

“Who would join this?” he smiled. To be quite honest he had found the idea of a gardening club maintaining potted flowers and vegetables on the school’s old rundown rooftop greenhouse to be pretty wholesome, but did not think it held quite the right formality to be taken as seriously as other clubs if presented to the rest of the student government. Everyone was way too stressed and busy with exams to waste time playing with dirt.

He eyed the proposal form meticulously, looking for the student’s name, but to no avail.

“Who submitted this?” he asked, looking up from the table for the first time since lunch began.

“I just thought it’d be a nice stress reliever for everyone,” you replied, now feeling a lot less confident than when you had slid the piece of paper in front of him.

Your shy look told Seungmin he had probably hurt your pride just now, something that he would never mean to do on purpose of course, and now he felt the remorse creeping up on him. Perhaps the club wouldn’t be such a bad thing, he thought over. Maybe tweaking the name just a bit would make it sound more worthwhile to students.

He sighed.

“Put your name on it and change the name to an Environmental Awareness Club, something along those lines at least. We can present the idea at today's meeting.”

Headstrong and confident as always, Seungmin brought a smile to your face as you reached over into your bag to fish out a pen and correct the form.

Seungmin had always been this closed off and serious, never speaking informally to you, and never wasting his words, he was the most concise and careful speaker you had ever met. And for some reason this only drew you in. His big brain energy was just that attractive.

On the other side of the table, Seungmin took notice of your surge in mood and smiled to himself, relieved to have boosted your spirit.

-

The board hardly agreed to the proposal until Seungmin cut in and beautifully explained the benefits of gardening and plants on stress relief and the ideologies of being environmentally conscious at your age.

After that everyone was pretty much sold on the idea with just one condition. Miroh High’s new Environmental Awareness Club would have to be established in time for the annual club fair in two weeks. Meaning, recruitment of leading members, supplies and set up on the rooftop would have to be set by at least next week to be considered for the school’s extensive list of beneficial extracurricular activities for students.

The condition was enough to falter even Seungmin’s confidence. He was unsure if you’d manage to do all that on your own in just a week, especially with your rather quiet tendencies, he doubted you could recruit many students in such a small amount of time.

He looked over at you, almost as if asking for your approval, to which he caught your lingering gaze on him, a look he had never seen coming from you. You slightly nodded your head once in agreement to the ruling and Seungmin politely shook his head towards the rest of the government board members, bowing as he took his seat once again.

Seungmin had made your dream gardening club a hopeful reality, you just needed more people now, that was the only problem. Still, you imagined having Seungmin join and coming along to your gardening club, gently taking care of a flower. No, a vegetable, you decided. Seungmin would prefer a vegetable, it’d be more practical of him.

-

The day following your ‘environmental awareness club” approval was a Friday. Your designated study session with Seungmin was as always to take place in the library after classes had ended, only today he had opted to stay behind a bit and insisted you meet there in thirty minutes instead.

“I’m helping Han with cleaning duty today, so I’ll meet you there,” he explained, before he stood up from his seat making way for the desk behind you.

Behind you, a certain Han Jisung had sat for the last 3 years of school in which somehow you two were always assigned the same classroom and the same seating order, you in front, him right behind you.

Today Jisung was dead asleep, as he usually was after a math lesson. The sight made you smile, Seungmin lightly shaking his friend awake as a very disoriented Jisung began to stretch and groan from his interruption.

Jisung was actually a very close friend of Seungmin’s. Very unexpected given their contrasting qualities. Sometimes opposites just attract huh. Seungmin could never sleep in class, for instance, while Jisung might as well have brought a pillow on the daily.

You knew Jisung wasn’t exactly the most driven student either, but his rank had miraculously never sunk below 10, he was just naturally smart that way. He also never bothered with extracurriculars much, claiming music was all he cared enough for to ever sign up for. Overall, Jisung was an unexpectedly exceptional student with lazy tendencies and not much academic ambition, a striking polar to Seungmin.

After watching the scene unfold, you stood up yourself and made your way towards the vending machine to pass the time waiting for Seungmin before heading to the library. You decided on a small bag of chips and two cookies. You also decided to save one for Seungmin, even though you weren’t supposed to eat in the library, you figured he could save it for afterwards or something.

Unbeknownst to you, Seungmin would later take this small offering in a different light.

Because you see, Seungmin had experienced a fair amount of admirers in his time and had been used to the small gifts given to him by more brazen ones before. In combination with the lingering gazes he felt you giving him both yesterday and now today, he was worried the same was occurring once again. Only this time he didn’t know to go about it. Usually he would simply refuse their gestures with a polite apology and it’d be enough to kindly reject them. But he was unsure this time. Not because he felt anything of the sort towards you, no, Seungmin was much too busy for romantic gestures and feelings to eat up his time, but rather because you were simply so close to him. Not in the personal sense, but in the academic proximity sense of closeness. If he were to “kindly reject you”, would you avoid him like his other past admirers often decide to do? That would make a lot of student government stuff difficult. He suddenly wondered if he could have led you on at all, had he been too kind towards you lately? His racing thoughts spiralling into a mess of ‘what ifs’ were fortunately cut short.

“Are you alright Seungmin? You haven’t finished the problem set yet.” you inquired. Seungmin was usually the one to finish long before you, especially if it was math.

He’d looked over at the fully scribbled page of your workbook, realizing his distraction.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“No problem,” you replied, glancing towards our watch briefly. It was just nearing the time the school’s library closed and you had planned to leave a bit earlier to make a quick trip to the plant nursery just a few minutes off your route home, you had thought your study session would have ended by now.

“Do you need to go,” Seungmin voiced, noticing a slight impatience in the bounce of your knee.

You thanked Seungmin’s impeccable attention, you couldn’t find it in you to excuse yourself when he still hadn’t finished.

“I’m heading to the nursery today for some supplies for the club,” you unconsciously checked the time once again.

“We can look over the answers Monday if you like? I got a little distracted today…” Seungmin trailed off.

It was unusual for Seungmin to trail off his sentences and get distracted and for a second you worried for him and wanted to ask if anything was bothering him.

Only, you stopped yourself. You didn’t know Seungmin like that. It would be inappropriate and insensitive to ask him something like that, right? You decided it was best to let it go, everyone has off days after all. Even the amazing Seungmin isn’t immune to them.

“I’ll leave first then,” you offered, bidding him a polite bow of the head before slinging your bag over our shoulder and making your way out of the library.

Seungmin watched you walk towards the door, unconsciously biting his inner cheek, he felt... worried, that was the best fitting word, he would say, only he wasn’t completely sure that was what the heavy weight in the pit of his stomach really was.

When you had disappeared down the hall, Seungmin slumped his head down onto the table heaving a deep sigh.

[her-world-on-fire]

"Did you just kiss me?" {Draco Malfoy x Reader}

MASTERLIST

REQUEST HERE

Word Count: 3,583

A/N: Vaisey will be reader's ex-boyfriend.

Prompts: 12a. "it was open and i read it."  10f. "Did you just kiss me?"

hii! if u are taking requests, could i get angst #12 from the 150 prompt list with draco x pureblood!reader? where she broke up w her boyfriend bc he cheated but she's forced by her parents to attend his party on Christmas (all pureblood families were invited). draco is there and comforts her but her ex approaches them and fluff #10 occurs? sorry if it's too specific🥺

"You're going and that's final."

I looked over the protective cover staring back at me. I ran my hands through my hair and groaned in frustration. This was the last place I wanted to be. He was going to be there without a doubt. My parents were forcing me to attend a Christmas party, all the pure-blood Slytherin’s were to be in attendance. No exceptions. For weeks I tried to reason with her, but she would not have it.

All it took was one look from him and I was right back where I started. I spent weeks avoiding him as best as I could. Almost every corner I turned, he was there. We shared the same classes and walked the same hallways. Even harder were all the whispers that followed.

"Poor thing."

"What happened?"

"I heard he cheated with Pansy Parkinson!"

I was just leaving the library. I had intended to study for a couple more hours but as I stared at the pages, nothing made sense anymore. The lines on the page didn't look like words anymore. I returned the books before putting my book bag over my shoulder. I sighed as I got up from my chair, trying to adjust after sitting for so long.

As I reached for the door I ran into Terrence Higgs. He almost blocked the door, preventing me from getting out. He was Vaisey's best friend, the two of them grew close being on the qudditch team. "Fancy meeting you here." I spent every Wednesday in the library, and I had not seen him once. He laughed almost nervously, "Where are you off to?"

Immediately I knew something was going on. Terrence almost never made conversation with me. I had overheard that he wasn't overly fond of me. He only spoke to me if he had to, or if I asked him a direct question. I moved to the door once more, "I was just about to head back to my dorm." He stepped in front of the door, "You know I was hoping you could actually help me."

I narrowed my eyes, "You want me to help you?" He nodded unconvincingly. "With what?" I watched as he looked around and stuttered, "With um," He pointed to the book under my arm. "Potions."

"Right." I stepped away from him and left the library. I made my way to the dorms. I planned to go to mine but I figured I would ask Vaisey if there was something wrong with Terrence. As I walked up the steps to his dormitory, I heard a familiar giggle. Pansy Parkinson's laugh was coming from his room. I tried to come up with possible reasons. Maybe they were studying. Pansy Parkinson was in a relationship with Draco Malfoy. There was nothing to worry about.

I reached for the door, and the giggles stopped. I opened the door and found her under Vaisey. He looked up, his head moved away from her neck. His shirt was unbuttoned, I didn't say anything. I closed the door and made my way down the stairs. I heard the door slam behind me. "Y/N." I kept walking, there was nothing he could say that could possibly justify what I saw. "Wait!"

I stopped, and turned to look at him. He has hastily tried to button his shirt. He had missed a button, making it uneven. I shut my eyes, trying to keep the tears in. "How long?"

"It's not-"

I didn't want to argue, and he wasn't going to give me answers. He reached for my arm, but I pulled away. I kept walking. No one else was in the common room, but somehow in a matter of hours, everyone knew.

I was dreading the party. For the first time in two years, I was going without him. I didn't tell my parents what happened, but they pieced together that we weren't together anymore. I looked back at the protective covering, and unzipped it slowly. Velvet. Jade green.

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

I arrived to the party a few hours late. I didn't want to be there any longer than I had to. I approached my mother. She was speaking to the host. I greeted them both and then went to the kitchen. Most were gathered in the living room beside the fire. I had forgotten how lonely these functions were. I looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of anyone I knew.  No luck. I poured myself a drink to pass the time. I looked at the clock. 9 pm, another 2 hours and I was clear to leave.

I heard the clink of glasses, the host was going to make an announcement. I rounded the corner and stood by the living room. Everyone gathered in the living room. I started to feel uneasy, he was here. I tried to keep my eyes fixated on the floor. I gently stirred the drink in my hand, keeping my eyes on the liquid inside.

"No. I am not going to tell you again Draco."

I heard harsh whispers beside me. He scoffed, and his mother joined the group in the living room. He stayed by the kitchen, leaning against the marble countertops. I acted like I didn't hear the exchange. Draco's body language said everything. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his face had a scowl on it. Odds were he was forced to be here too. 

It was the perfect opportunity to get the younger generation together in hopes of preserving the pure-blood line. That's what all these gatherings were for. It also gave the hosts a chance to show off their elegant mansions. The rich loved to boast, they loved the competition.

We had attended the same gatherings for as long as we could remember. We shared the same classes, and were even in the same friend group. Draco was the seeker for the qudditch team. We were well acquainted. We just hadn’t spent much time together since we were both preoccupied.

The host was making the traditional announcements. Thank you for being here, and so on.  I sighed and looked at the clock again. It had only been 5 minutes since I last checked. Draco chuckled to himself, "I know the feeling." He looked over, "You mind?" I shook my head and he came and stood beside me. He was dressed in an all black suit. He had gold cuff links and black dress shoes. His fingers had several expensive rings wrapped around them. "These are terribly dull." I remarked, and he nodded in understanding.

Even though neither of us mentioned it, we were sharing the same thought. I'm sorry this happened to you. I looked up, the host was still going on with her announcements. I couldn't help myself, my eyes scanned the room. I inhaled deeply as my eyes caught him. Draco followed my gaze. I quickly looked down and took another sip of my drink. I heard him shuffle beside me. He pulled out a small silver flask. His eyes invited me in. I smiled and brought my cup forward. I watched as he poured from the flask. "Thank you." I said gratefully, I couldn't imagine how I was going to get through the rest of the night.

I took another sip. "Would you like some company for the night?" I asked, normally I wouldn't be so forward. It didn't hurt to ask. He chuckled, as he slipped the silver flask back into his suit pocket. "I wouldn't mind it."

Soon the host dispersed the group and they all moved back to their groups. Draco and I settled in the kitchen. We sat on the chairs by the counters. We talked for the rest of the night, helping the time pass much faster.

"Crabbe didn't say much after that." He said pleased with himself. We both laughed, even gaining some attention from those passing by. Soon after Draco looked down at his watch, "If you'll excuse me for a moment." He got up and disappeared into the living room. Spending time with him made me feel normal again.

I had other friends but they had been walking on eggshells. They weren't sure how to approach me. They treated me like I was fragile, and granted I was. But it was nice to just forget about everything, even of it was for just an hour or two. It was almost midnight by now and the party was still humming vibrantly. I heard footsteps approach, I was expecting to see Draco.

Instead, it was Vaisey. I got up from my chair, I was having a good night. I was not going to let him ruin it. "Just wait." He held out his left arm in front of him. "I'm not going to try anything I just wanted to give you this."

"No. No more gifts no more letters, please. I just want to move on."

"This one is different. Just take it, and I won't bother you anymore. You can decide if you want to talk to me, on your own terms. Just please." He stepped forward slowly and brought a gift forward. It had a silver wrapping paper, and a sterling green bow. I took it and he backed away slowly. "I'll give you some time to think." He retreated back into the living room. I sighed and placed the gift on the table.

I stared at it, the smart part of me said to just throw it away. Don't open it, just get rid of it. But part of me wanted to know. Why was this so special he had to hand deliver it? Curiosity got the best of me. I carefully pulled back the green bow, and the silver box came undone. It fell in cascades. It was a collection of small boxes. I opened each one, and they came with part of a letter. The flaps of each box had photos of us collected over the two year period we were together. My eyes brimmed with tears, I looked back at the frozen pockets of time. We were so happy, so in love. Or at least I had thought.

Pictures of us at games together, me wearing his jersey, his name painted on my cheek. I exhaled as the tears flowed steadily. My heart ached. I wanted this, I wanted to be happy again. I wanted to be in love again. But it just wasn't possible, not with him. I pieced the letter together.

I can't express how truly sorry I am. There was nothing that you did wrong. I was selfish and impulsive. I should've never agreed to meet with her. But you deserve to know. You deserve to know it all. So I'm going to tell you the complete truth. It started when you went to the library to study for O.W.Ls. After our game I went to celebrate with friends. One thing lead to another and I got drunk. Pansy came on to me and I didn't stop her. That was the first time we slept together. It continued until you caught us. In total, we were together for 6 months.

The letter kept going but I couldn't keep reading it. So many different things were running through my head. 

“The first time we slept together...”

“For 6 months...”

I left the letter and the gift on the table. I walked outside of the mansion. Once I got outside I moved to the back of the property. My legs gave out and I finally felt it all. I had been trying so hard to keep it together but this was the last straw. I couldn't do it anymore. I let out a sob and felt the tears stream down my face.

He said it wasn't my fault but his actions said otherwise. I wasn't there and he decided I wasn't enough. I continued to sob. The gravel was digging in, but I couldn't bring myself to move. The cold wind showed no mercy. The air ambushed me, making me feel cold. I heard the door to the mansion close. I kept quiet for a moment, not wanting to draw attention to myself. I heard the footsteps against the gravel. They got closer and closer.

I looked up and found Draco looking back at me.

"It was open and I read it." Draco held up the gift, and the accompanying letter. I couldn't even be upset. He was going through the same thing I was. I sighed and wiped my tears. "I'm so sorry." He dropped down and put the letter and gift on the floor. "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for."  I couldn't help myself. I cried even harder.

He pulled me into him and wrapped his arms around me. "It's going to be okay." He held me as I continued to cry softly. After a few minutes it died down. He pulled back and pulled out a few tissues. He had anticipated what happened when he got back and grabbed a few. I took them and cleaned myself up. "I'm sorry, I'm not usually like this."

"It's okay, really. I understand." And he did. As he read the letter, it was clear for him too. He took off his jacket and placed it over my shoulders. I went to protest but he shook his head and reassured me he was fine.

"Let's get you out of here."

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

I decided I needed to thank Draco in person. It was the least I could do. I decided the walk would help clear my head. It wasn’t very far, only about 10 minutes. When I arrived at the manor, the gates opened before me. I kept walking to the manor. Once I reached the front door I was greeted by Narcissa. She had always been fairly kind to me. I can only imagine it was due to my lineage. “To what do we owe the pleasure dear?”

I laughed a little, “I just wanted to talk to Draco for a moment, if that’s okay.” She nodded and opened the front door. “He had to go and fetch something in town, but he should be back soon.” I should’ve written him to see if he was going to be busy. It had slipped my mind. I hesitated walking in. “I can just come back another time-”

Narcissa put her hand on my shoulder. “Oh nonsense! You’re welcome wait here.” I didn’t want to seem rude. I hadn’t really spoken to her last night, it seemed only fair. She lead me inside into the kitchen. “I’ll get you a cup of tea.” She gestured for me to sit, so I did. She took a cup from a cabinet. “I can’t help but have overheard what happened.”

I tensed up, this was the last thing I wanted to talk about. Of course she knew, it was her son’s girlfriend after all. “Draco was so torn up about it. You both seemed better last night. I’m glad he has someone like you.” She placed the cup of tea in front of me. “Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy.”

She asked me a few questions about my parents, but nothing to invasive. I was beginning to regret staying when the front door opened. Narcissa called to him, and he made his way to the kitchen. He looked a bit surprised. “I just wanted to talk to you for a moment.” He nodded, and I stood. I thanked his mother again. He motioned for me to follow him. We walked to the stairs, “Sorry, for just showing up. I should’ve written to you first.” He shook his head, “It’s not a problem.”

He opened the door to his room. I walked in and he shut the door behind us. “I don't know how to thank you." He sat down on his bed. "I'm sure I'll think of something later." He chuckled. We talked for a couple of hours, continuing some of our previous conversations.We were going to be returning to Hogwarts in 3 days. “Perhaps we can catch the trolley together.”

Draco had been left in an unfortunate situation. Most of the friends he had were shared with Pansy. In the ride back home he was stuck with Blaise and Pansy. Neither of them had spoken a word. He didn’t want to have to relive that.

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

Draco had kept to his word. We started spending a lot of time together. His presence became comforting. Of course whispers began to follow us again. I tried my best to ignore them. Pansy glared at me in the hallways, as if I was the reason their relationship fell apart. I found it amusing. Her and Vaisley truly deserved each other.

Draco and I were sitting in the astronomy tower. We were studying for a test, but I noticed he was awfully quiet. He was just staring at the wall, a blank expression on his face. “Draco?”

“I think I’ve finally figured out how you can repay me.” Draco stated, making me sit up. Curious, I closed my book and leaned forward. I did say that he could ask for a favor. I almost thought he had forgotten about it. “I’m all ears Malfoy.” He laughed, "Let's have a proper first date." I blinked in shock. I had thought of Draco romantically. But I didn’t anticipate anything to come from it. We had both just gotten our hearts broken, and here we were testing fate. I bit my lip, as I thought over the consequences. Draco tried reading my expression.

“You know I would love to.” 

He decided to keep the location a secret. I tried getting information out of him, but he wouldn’t budge. “But I don’t even know what I’m supposed to wear.” He thought for a moment. “Something warm.” It wasn’t much, but it was something. We arrived at the common room and he walked me to my dorm. “I’ve got some things to attend to, I’ll send an owl soon.” He placed a kiss on my forehead before going back down the stairs. I opened my door and sighed. I looked at my closet and pulled some warm clothes. It was still snowing pretty heavily, but spring was almost upon us.

I got ready and kept an eye out for any owls. A few hours later I heard soft taps on my window. I opened it to find Draco’s owl. I gave him a treat before he left again. I opened the letter.

I had more to do then I intended. I sent a car for you.

Draco

I folded the letter back up and left it on my dresser. I made my way to the gates and sure enough, there was a car. My mind was drawing a blank. As I looked out the window, I watched the snow fall.  It was mesmerizing. The ride wasn’t long, only 15 minutes. Once the car came to I stop I thanked the driver. Once I opened the door, I looked in awe. It was a small cabin. It was decorated beautifully. Warm yellow lights wrapped around it, the walls were covered in a thin layer of snow. Draco was standing at the door, he came and met me in the snow. “It’s beautiful.”

“I’m glad you like it.” He opened the door and we were greeted by warmth. He closed the door and hung his coat by the door. He took mine as well. “Thank you.” He lead me to the kitchen. There was an array of sweets and hot chocolate. I looked at him in shock, “You did all this?” He nodded. “I wasn’t sure what you were in the mood for so I got an array.”

No one had ever done something so kind for me. I looked at him in awe. “And I got these too.” He showed me an array of movies. “This is perfect.”

We settled on a movie and moved to the couch. It was right by the fire place. He put in the movie then came and joined me. He took a blanket and placed it over us both. I moved closer to him and he smiled. He moved his arm and invited me closer. Once I did he put his arm around me.

After the movie was over he revealed another surprise. Gingerbread houses. It was something I always wanted to do. I remember mentioning it at the Christmas party. “I know its a little late but-”

“I love it.” I was so happy he remembered such a small detail. Shortly after we got started, his house fell apart. I couldn’t help but laugh, he had managed to set all of this up but the gingerbread house was what got him. “What are you going on about?”

“How did you manage that Draco?” He walked over ad smeared the wall of my gingerbread house. He licked his finger and smirked, feeling proud of himself. “Just like that.” I stared at him for a moment and watched as his eyes trailed to my lips.

He moved closer, the tension between us grew. I thought about how happy he made me feel. I thought about how he had been there for me. In an impulse I leaned forward and closed the space between us. Draco responded to the kiss almost immediately. We broke away and he smiled, "Did you just kiss me?" I laughed and rolled my eyes, going to pull away. He responded by pulling me in once more.

MASTERLIST

REQUEST HERE

[noctis-noctua]

Iron Resolve and Refreshing Gales | Overworked Jean x Reader

Relationship: Jean/Reader

Genre: Fluff

Premise: Jean has been pushing herself to the max lately and refuses to acknowledge the detrimental consequences of it no matter who tells her… except for the one person who has her wholehearted devotion.

1754 words.

Here you go! Sorry if it’s a bit subpar - this is my first time writing for Jean, but no complaints here. She’s awesome and I am a total simp for her lmao. 

    Jean has a destructive tendency to attend to the needs of everyone but herself. It doesn’t matter if the issue is as trivial as finding a lost cat or filing papers - Jean carries out each and every request from the citizens of Mondstadt. These days have been busier than usual. Ludi Harpastum is a few days away and that means that preparations are being carried out religiously. In other words, Jean has people knocking on her door non-stop. Can you help decorate Town Square? Hilichurls are blocking the path that my goods are traded on, could you please clear them out? She hasn’t felt the doting embrace of sleep in two days, nor has she consumed more than a couple of light meals. ‘There’s no time for them,’ she often explains to the other Knights. ‘I’m satisfied with anything I can get.’ 

    Lisa is an early riser. She enjoys taking time to brew a pot of Sumerian tea and read new material as the sun floods across Mondstadt, and to do so she must awaken ahead of schedule. It’s because of this that Lisa arrives at the office before anyone else; 5:00 am to be exact, leaving much time to prepare for the day’s labor. She strides to the library doors before coming to a sudden stop, observing the sounds of a frenzied pen in the room across from hers. Jean’s room. Lisa does not hesitate to open the door, exposing a fatigued blonde reading and marking up a stack of documents.

    “Jean, have you been here all night?” Jean’s eyes are dull, leaden bags hanging from beneath them. On the right side of her desk is an almost-spent candle, the dwindling remains of its wax no more than 2 inches. 

    “Oh, good morning Lisa. Unfortunately, I have. That’s alright, though. The sooner I finish them the sooner I can move on to patrolling.” Her tone is desolate despite Jean’s attempts to liven it. The blaring headache ricocheting in her brain is practically begging her to rest, but Barbatos knows that’s not an option. She still has so much to do, and even after she completes this there are mor-

    “[Y/N] hasn’t seen you in days. Not taking a break strains her, too.” Lisa remarks, eyes dancing over the bookshelf. She catches sight of the full series of The Fox in the Dandelion Sea. Mondstadt’s famous romance novels, and one of Jean’s favorites. It’s almost ironic, how such a neglectful Knight came to be a sappy romantic. 

    “...[Y/N] is strong and independent, Lisa. She has no need for me, and although I’d enjoy seeing her, I know that she is perfectly capable of looking after herself. If I have to push my relationship to the side momentarily to sate the people of Mondstadt, then it has to be done.” Jean responds as she pushes another paper to the side. By now there must be 40 finished pages. It pains Lisa to look at them, much less read them. Making peace with defeat, she suggests that Jean purchases a full meal and exits the stuffy quarters. The Dandelion Knight can do nothing but sigh for the 40th time, doing the best she can to ignore the subtle shaking of her limbs, the thrashing pain in her head, and the gradual blur of her sight. 

    She’s fortunate enough to finish up faster than expected and spends the spare time making a beeline for Good Hunter. Suddenly, the hunger in her stomach is 10x more noticeable, and nothing else is on her mind but eating some Fisherman Toast. That is until she bumps into a sobbing blob of red, blubbering much as a fish does.

    “Klee! Did something happen? Did you blow something up?” Jean interrogates, crossing her arms. The small Knight makes a tentative nod and bursts into another fit of tears. I was really hungry… It’s fine, I can always eat later. Jean comforted herself as she held Klee’s tiny palm, preparing for the damage inflicted. 

-

    It’s 11:00 pm. Jean’s ponytail has been ruffled to a point of no return, convincing her to take it down and let the locks of hair flood down her shoulders. New civil letters sit on the mahogany table. Jean prepares another candlestick for the long night ahead, resisting the culling of sleep. It’s much harder to focus than it was last night and nothing but a handful of 10-minute naps and a mushroom skewer are stopping her from dropping dead. Finish fast and I can go home and get a 3-hour nap… Jean’s mind is so adrift and preoccupied that she ignores Kaeya’s presence entirely. 

   “Busy as always, Acting Grand Master. I heard it’s your 3rd day at the office. I thought I’d take the time to invite you to Angel’s Share.” The Cavalry Captain’s voice is sultry, filling the dusty silence. Jean takes one look at his flamboyant figure and turns back to the envelope in her hand, squinting at the printed symbols.

    “Sorry, Sir Kaeya, but I have some stuff to do. I can’t possibly drink - it may impact my performance. Thank you, though.” Kaeya chuckles at that. Stalking over to the paned glass, he observes the joyous city below. Upon closer inspection, Jean looks like absolute shit. Her hair is mussed and her skin is a cumbersome shade, a slight green tone atop her normal paleness. 

    “Same old excuse. Take some time off. You need some fun, Acting Grand Master. It must be boring to be so serious all the time.” His words are not valuable enough to be met with more than a hum. “Fine, fine, be that way. But know that if you ever want to come down, everything is on me. It’s not every day that you come out. Plus… pushing yourself so much can’t be good for your health, Jean.” The drop of formalities is Kaeya’s last attempt to pull his superior away from the bureau, and then he takes his leave. Jean doesn’t fail to notice the painkillers he slipped onto the papers. That snarky Captain… as crass as he tries to be, Jean knows that his actions come from a genuine concern for her health. Thanking him in silence, she tosses the two pills into the back of her throat. 

    The evening descended into twilight, then to the darkest hours of the morning, and Jean has not moved from her chair. The herbal pills had dissipated an hour ago, and the pounding of her headache is almost enough to send Jean reeling. She doesn’t stop, obviously; she’s felt much harsher pains. 4:00 am tranquility serves to be helpful for such aches, but now that her entire body is in pain, it’s much harder to soothe. Her head jolts in intervals as she fights the intense drowsiness. Iron as her resolve may be, Jean is human. Her back hunches as her arms catch a drifting head that now lolls on her reports. The flutter of her eyelashes is peaceful in its own right. Slow exhales leave Jean’s body as she sleeps, her body relishing in such a rare moment. 

    Jean opens her eyes to the scene of a stubby candle that has burnt out. She opens her intricate timepiece in a hurry. 5:00 am. How could she have slept for an entire hour? Dread floods her system as she thinks of how much she has delayed her already bustling schedule. In the midst of her panic, the door opens. It must be Lisa. No one else is mindlessly occupying the building at this ti-

    “Hi, Jean. I brought some tea and cookies for you. I’m sure you must be exhausted… it’s been three days since I’ve seen you, after all.” Jean’s stare softens at the sight of her beloved holding a steaming teacup and a tray of shortbread. She caresses the hand that passes the teacup. The comfort of skin is something she longs for, and something she has deprived herself of these past few days.

    “[Y/N]... I’m sorry. I’ve just been so busy lately, and…” Her lips become still as you tread your fingers through her hair and press a chaste kiss to her forehead. “...and I’ve missed you.” She revels in the smile that tugs from you. That beautiful smile… Archons, how much she’s missed it.

    “Jean, come home. If not for your livelihood, for mine. The bed has been cold.” The desperation in your voice breaks Jean’s heart in two. If Jean is a Dandelion Knight, you are the passionate gales of Barbatos plucking her apart, seed by seed. There is no plausible way for her to stay composed around you. Jean leans into the hand against her cheek, a cat yearning for human contact.

    “I suppose I can… do these in the morning.” That earns a swift glare from you. Jean huffs, taking a singular bite of the shortbread. She’s had to explain her Knightly duties to you in many instances, but it always went through one ear and out the other without fail. 

    “No, absolutely not Jean. Give it to your subordinates. Tomorrow, you are staying with me, no questions asked. I’m sure they’ll allow it - your face looks 5 seconds away from death. Now come.” Jean grimaces at the list of tasks she’s stuck on the table’s edge, biting her lip in a debate against herself. Surrendering herself to the feeble begging of her lover, she mutters a small agreement. The tug on her arm convinces Jean to stand, leaning into your shoulder. She finds solace in the warmth you radiate as both of you exit the Knight’s Quarters arm-in-arm, attached at the hip like lovesick puppies. 

    The sun has begun to ascend again, accompanied by a saccharine breeze. It smells of sweet flowers and calla lilies. It smells of the fresh fields of Windrise, tangling Jean’s hair. 

    “Look, even Barbatos is happy that you’re taking a break!” You tease, and Jean cannot help but giggle. She will always laugh at your jokes, and she will always give in to your demands for touch because Jean is a hopeless, pining fool. On the elevated platforms on the Cathedral stairs, Lisa’s plump lips curve as she sees the Dandelion Knight and her precious adventurer roaming the empty streets of Mondstadt. It’s days like this that Lisa is grateful for waking early, so she can experience the morning wind, the rising sun, a delectable dish of tea, and a picturesque scene of a dandelion being burst by the adamant winds.

[wishesunderthestars]

Ocean Waves // Ch. 1

Pairings: Wizard!Namjoon x Witch!reader

Summary: Wizards were arrogant and self-entitled, they looked down on witches when they were the ones who desperately tried to control magic, to become like them. Better than them. You had your own troubles, struggling to make enough money to escape the judgement of your community and the past mistakes haunting you. Getting involved with a wizard was the last thing you needed. But you had never been lucky.

Genre: Angst, fluff, hurt/comfort

Word Count: 12.2k

Warnings: none 

Talking books were a pain in the ass. They could talk miles around the same subject and never stop. The worst part? They were impossible to close if they didn't want to. Which witch had thought it would be a good idea to give voice to a know-it-all?

You had made the mistake of opening one and now it wouldn't shut up.

It was going on and on about all the different kinds of seaweed, their uses and complaining about people confusing them. It was causing you a headache. If someone associated books with ancient deep voices they were sadly mistaken. This one had the most high pitched voice you had ever heard and it was so loud the whole ocean would be able to hear it.

You couldn't care less about seaweed types at the moment. Why had you made the mistake of opening it? It depicted various ingredients for potions but it had become obvious it was most fond of seaweed. Titled "Guide to Underwater Plants and their Contribution to Magic", the writer had described thousands of plants in its pages and then he had made the mistake of animating it. You vowed to yourself that if you ever reached that lever of magic you would never repeat that. Too many speaking books had been made, way more than the world needed in the first place. Zero, that's exactly how many it needed.

"Chlorophyta, also called Prasinophyra, is a taxon of green algae. Depending on the author the name is used in two very different senses. In older classification systems, it refers to a highly paraphyletic group of all the green algae within the green plants, which includes more than seven thousand species. "

You put a book back in its place on the bookshelf carved into the cave wall. "Yeah, yeah."

"Contrary to popular belief not all species live in freshwater but about 90% of them do, 10% can be found in seawater in secluded regions."

"Amazing." You picked up another book. You were extra careful not to open another book that would make your headache worse. "You sound like a Wikipedia article."

A moment of silence. You read the first few pages of the book in your hands then put it back. Nothing interesting there. Rustling of paper that could only be described as aggressive came from the book on the stone table in the middle of the library.

"Did you just compare me to a Wikipedia article?" You clenched your eyes as the pitch of the voice got higher, it should have been impossible, but you had never been lucky. "The blasphemy, the insult! How do you wound me so? Are you so ungrateful to my services? Then I shall service you no more." The book closed with a bang echoing through the library.

You rushed to the table to pick it up and shove it in one of the shelves. You added the seaweed book to the list of people and now things you had managed to offend. At least it had stopped talking. Books were too sensitive these days.

The library hadn't been much help this time. You had been coming for so long taking comfort in the dim lights under the water and the lanterns with the silver flames. You found solace in the cave above the water where the books were kept safe from being soaked and destroyed.

The lower levels were underwater, much larger in size. They were like huge museums of things old and new, anything that would interest the sea creatures that gathered them. Some were displayed in glass cases and others on carved stone. Forgotten relics centuries old and statues of a different age. Beautiful jewelry worth a fortune was preserved by the librarians.

It was an underwater wonderland.

You collected your notes, divided them by kind and hid them away in your waterproof bag. You hadn't made many new ones. You would have to figure out the rest of the details for the potion yourself. You didn't look forward to that.

With one last look at the dry section of the library and the blue sky that was visible through a hole in the cave's ceiling, you dove back in the sea.

The water was soothing against your skin. You closed your eyes at the feeling of freedom.

"Did you find what you needed?" the selkie polishing one of the statues asked you. She was the head librarian and always had a smile on her face.

"I came close," you said. You had perfected the art of speaking and hearing underwater. It had taken many hours of practice and nearly drowning twice but it had been worth it. Your mother wouldn't have let you drown anyway. She had been the one to teach you. "Nothing too specific."

"I could help you look next time, not that I would be much help if you didn't find anything." The selkie ran a hot pink pad over the curls of the statue. The attention to detail of the sculptor was incredible, the man looked alive. He reminded you of the ancient statues in the western human civilizations and their beauty. You could recognize it didn’t originate there though, it wasn't that old, but the untrained eye could mistake them.

"I can try to do the rest on my own. I'll experiment a little, try it a few different ways until it works," you said.

Snickers followed your statement. "Oh no, we all have to hide. Y/N is doing magic again. On her own." More snickers. "Everyone in twenty miles from her house is in danger."

A group of mermaids emerged from one of the pathways. The mermaid's words were accompanied by the giggles of her two friends. They were swimming gracefully in the water, their hair floating around them like halos. Their words were much less angelic than their appearance.

You gritted your teeth. "Too bad for you. You better start hiding then." You kept yourself back from saying anything worse.

The mermaid who had spoken before giggled. "Maybe you should be the one to start hiding. There are much bigger fish in the ocean and they will swallow you whole."

Their giggles echoed in the chamber as they left.

The selkie looked at you with sympathy. "They are all talk, nothing else."

You gave her a weak smile. "Don't worry. Don't I know?" You tightened your grip on your bag, adjusting it over your shoulder. "Take care. I'll see you."

"See you around, little sea witch," the selkie said fondly.

You disappeared deeper into the library, passing through different rooms and narrow paths. The library was difficult to navigate at first but it grew on you. The longer you spent there you gradually unraveled its secrets and understood the structure, the way it was made. There was a method to its madness.

Out of the series of caves, the sun was but a faint vision above. A couple of fish followed you as you swam to the surface. They were drawn to you like moths to the flame, your magic drawing them in. Anna would joke about it, say that if you ever went hungry you could catch the fish surrounding you to feed your belly.

You went higher and higher, closer to the light.

Most water creatures didn't spare you a second glance. A group of kelpies were heading north, their manes swirling around them, and a mermaid was arguing with a water nymph about the pros and cons of sea shells as hair accessories.

You emerged by the rocks on the forgotten trail to the sea. The sharp points of the stones dug into your palms as you pulled yourself up. The water had smoothed parts of them and left others sharp enough to cut through skin with one wrong move, you had to be careful which ones you held onto. You stood up barefoot on steady feet. The underwater library was a twenty minute swim away from the shore at best. By all means your limbs should have been sore from going and coming back but you were used to it.

With a flick of your hand and a few muttered words under your breath the water clinging on your ripped jeans, crop top and hair slipped away like it was being pulled by some kind of magnet. It left your hair in a not so favorable condition but it was nothing some combing with your fingers couldn't fix. That way you at least looked a little presentable. Not that you had a mirror to look at but you had enough years of experience to have a general image in your head of what you looked like.

You pushed your hair back as best as you could to get it out of your face and started your way up. The rocky trail wasn't easy to navigate but you had a lot of practice. Under a larger stone, one the water couldn't touch,  you found your sandals. You had left them there before diving into the sea. Shoes restricted your movements underwater making you slower.

You slipped them on, happy to avoid the pain of the sharp rock edges poking the soles of your feet. You were used to it but it was nice to avoid it whenever you could.

Moss was growing between the stones, it wrapped around them creating patches of green amidst the black and dark brown landscape. You were careful not to step on them, they were slippery and the rocky terrain could be dangerous. If you slipped and fell your, head and body wouldn't stay intact.

You climbed up the familiar way with ease. Your bag was securely wrapped around your shoulders, the spell work cast on it still working wonders. As you went up, the rocks gave way to a dirt road.

A few trees surrounded the road. Pine trees and lemon trees provided shade from the sun during the day. You patted one of the older trees in the area and felt its life force thrum underneath your fingertips. A spark of warmth greeted you.

You didn't have to walk long to your house. It peaked on the horizon as you walked down the hillside. More trees were growing around the area and grass and different kinds of wild flowers were everywhere you looked.

The house was perched on the plain near to where the woods ended and on the other side the hill gave way and gazed over the sea. Vibrant red flowers, like small roses, bloomed on the vines climbing up the stone walls. They had been there as long as you could remember and they bloomed all year long. Thin lines of smoke were coming out of the chimney. The windows were open letting the early spring breeze inside, the gossamer curtains billowing in its pass.

As you came closer warm tingles ran through your body, the protective charms around the house were welcoming you. Your wards were very powerful, they could detect someone with unsavory intentions from miles away. The white stones littered around the grounds were only a small part of them.

You were the most proud of your garden. It took up a wide ring around the house. It was your mother's garden and you had learnt how to care of it early on. You planted all the kinds of herbs you would need for potions, salves and spells and some of your mother's favorite flowers. Lemon and apple trees had been around the path to the door since you had been little and moonflowers, that would open at night and release their sweet aroma, littered the window sills. They were your favorites.

By the door the charmed dreamcatcher danced with the wind. The white strings were made by kelpie hair and it was decorated with Phoenix feathers for added effect (both gifted voluntarily). Tokens like that were all over the house, inside and outside. You had picked up the habit and created charms and amulets of all kinds. It was easy and some of your best work.

You opened the door making the small bells ring softly.

As expected, Anna was sprawled on the couch, phone in hand, scrolling through Instagram. Her long black hair was pulled up in a ponytail and her nails, painted black, made a clinking sound whenever they touched the screen.

"Did you find everything?" she asked, too engrossed to look up.

"I wouldn't go that far. I would say I found at least some things I can work with." You pulled off your bag and placed it on the kitchen table. The kitchen doubled as your "witchy laboratory" as your brother like to call it and its usual state was a mess. "I'm closer than I was yesterday. I count that as a win. Where are the boys?"

"John, upstairs. Nathaniel is out." Anna's syrupy voice carried to the kitchen.

Out of the bag you pulled out your spellbook. You liked to call it a spellbook but it was the combination of many notes and observations you had compiled over the years. Pretty much everything was inside.

"Where did Nathaniel go?" you asked.

"No idea, I didn't ask. Just be glad he won't be messing with anything you are working," Anna said. "Any explosives yet?"

"I don't use explosives, I'm not a miner." You flipped through the pages, pausing at a drawing of a vial next to a staghorn coral, like its name suggested it resembled the horns of a deer. "Should I start working now? If any of you have any plans that are going to distract me, please let me know."

"Nah, I don't think we do. I doubt John will be coming down until our shift starts."

That was good enough for now.

Your housemates could be loud to an extreme. Even their silence was loud. They filled the kitchen with noise, threw things around by accident or not, messed with your work and generally made a mess. They were the biggest obstacle to your work and you couldn't wait for the time you would have your own space. No more spilled potions, lion cubs Nathaniel was supposed to be babysitting running between your feet, torn or lost books, destroyed charms and constant talking and fighting. The last was the worst.

You were close to forgetting a time before all of them had entered your life. The time before Nathaniel was like a dream. Scattered memories of swinging high in the garden, pushed by a faceless father, picking flowers and swimming without an extra voice accompanying you and no over excited boy running behind you. Anna and John came later so your memories without them were clearer but still too far away.

Nathaniel was your mother’s best friend only son. You had grown up together but you didn't spend half as much time with each other as you did after his parents died. It had been a heavy blow to your mother, only a few months after your father had disappeared. In the same year she had lost two of the people most dear to her. After your father's disappearance, she was strong, she continued like nothing had happened. She read her books, attended on her customers, tended to her garden. When her best friend was killed at the hands of hunters everything stopped, the facade fell.

Hunting supernatural beings was illegal. It had been outlawed decades ago, yet some people just refused to give up. There weren't that many but enough to cause worry and fear. They were enough to make you double check if someone was following you and never lose your focus in case you needed to cast a spell to escape when you were outside the supernatural communities. The risk was much greater outside.

You didn't see the bodies but your mother came back with her voice so hoarse from screaming she couldn't speak for days. It was only natural that Nathaniel would stay with you, no questions were raised about it and no one complained. And so the werewolf became a part of your little family.

John and Anna's story was different, the reasons similar.

"What are you making?" Anna was leaning on the doorframe between the kitchen and the living room. Her phone was in her hand, hanging by her side.

You stopped measuring the white liquid in the vial you were holding. "I thought you wouldn't distract me."

"I don't have any plans that will distract you. I'm bored," she whined. "What are you making?"

"I told you about this yesterday. It's for a customer."

"Oh right, the memory potion." She grimaced. "I don't understand how that's supposed to work. If his memories are gone, they won't be coming back with a potion. What if someone stole them? You can't grow them back."

"Memories aren't trees, of course I'm not growing them back. The potion isn't going to make the memories suddenly appear," you tried to explain as you opened the cupboards looking for the ingredients you needed. "Some memories are suppressed, living deep in the subconscious. That can happen because of trauma or simply because the brain deemed them not important enough. They haven't truly disappeared. This is one of the mildest potions, it is supposed to bring the missing memories to the front slowly, one by one."

"Interesting." Anna stepped away from the wall and came closer. "Are you going to crush that?"

You had an orange coral in one hand. "It's going to melt in the potion. If I do this right, it won't need crushing. Careful!"

Thanks to Anna's fast reflexes the vial was saved from crashing to the floor. However, you didn't feel that thankful when she was the one who had knocked it over in the first place. Vampires were supposed to be graceful and elegant, it was just your luck you had ended up with the only two clumsy ones ever made.

You continued working on the potion. Anna got bored of you and your monotonous answers and returned to the living room with her phone. Instagram was far more interesting than potions, apparently.

Thumping was coming from upstairs. It could be nothing else but John jumping up and down like maniac, listening to heavy metal or rock ‘n’ roll or any other kind of music with a loud beat that had drawn his attention. You needed to cast the silencing spell between the rooms again for all of your benefits and your own peace of mind. It wore off too quickly and with four people living in the house, you couldn't do without it.

The last ingredient was the most important. It was one you hadn't found exactly the correct technique for, but based on most of the potions it was used in you had to add it with precision and slowly. Not a drop more. You kept your hands steady, holding your breath. One, two, th-

"Y/N!"

Surprised, you squeezed the dropper harder than you should have, a copious amount falling into the mix. The potion turned green instead of royal blue. An epic failure.

You growled, throwing the dropper to the side. What had you asked for? A few hours to let you work in peace. Why couldn't they do that? You didn't go and sabotage their jobs. Now the potion was destroyed and you should start all over again. In two days the potion had to be ready for the client and you were miles away from that, it seemed. You had to test the method, let it brew overnight and make sure it was effective. But in this house, you doubted you would be able to do that.

"What the heck do you want?" you shouted back.

Nathaniel appeared in the kitchen, chocolate brown hair tussled. "Have you seen my favorite top? The dark blue sleeveless one? The one I wear with the black choker?"

You gripped the sides of the table, your long nails digging into the wood. "That's it? That's what you wanted to ask me? You ruined my potion!"

Nathaniel sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Technically, you-"

"Don't finish that thought if you want your body to stay intact," you growled.

"Not finishing that thought." He lingered by the door as you picked up the ruined potion, and after casting an easy spell on it so it wouldn't be dangerous to any creatures or nature, you disposed of it by throwing it outside the window. The earth shallowing up the liquid rapidly. Nathaniel shifted on his feet. "Did you see the shirt?"  

You narrowed your eyes. "No, I didn't see the damn shirt. It's either in your room or the laundry basket. Choose and take. Unless it sprouted wings, then good luck finding it," you said forcefully.  

You could feel Nathaniel's eyes on your back as you cleaned the vials you had used one by one. "Okay," he dragged the vowels as he spoke. "I'll look there."  

"Geez, what's up with her?" You heard John's voice from the living room. The silencing spells definitely needed to be recast.  

By nightfall, you had come close to melting a cauldron and ruined another two potions. You were close to perfecting it, though. Your three housemates had left for the club shortly after dusk. Anna and John worked at a supernatural club as bartenders, clubs needed charming bartenders and vampires were nothing if not charming. Nathaniel worked there too as a bouncer. His height, wide shoulders and muscles made him perfect for the job.

Having the house to yourself was a blessing. By all means, you should take advantage of the nights they were gone but you were a morning person and it was more difficult working at night, it didn't help that a lot of spells needed daylight to be cast properly.

In a drawer, there was a talisman for protection you had put together a few days ago. The small pouch was a deep purple, on the front a rune was sewn in it. It was in the old language of the people of the sea, so old only few words survived the trial of time. One of them was adorning the talisman, meaning "protection". A white stone, with a thin blue line like a crack running through it, was inside along with a few anemone petals and a couple seashells.

You made metal talismans too, like rings and charms for necklaces, but the process was more difficult. Carving the rune into the metal was a struggle and the spells could be too time consuming.

The forest was very close to your house and it was mostly quiet at night. Many supernatural creatures lived in its embrace or around it. It wasn't dangerous usually but you were cautious as you treaded the path to a small clearing. You liked working under the moon, away from the house, the memories and the responsibilities.

You pulled out the talisman from your bag and continued working on it.

You were twirling the white thread in your fingers when you heard the footsteps. They were approaching.

You leveled your breath, keeping it to its normal pace. You recited every spell you could use in your head. Speed, power and counterattacks. Which spell would be best for each supernatural creature?

The steps were coming closer. Whoever it was, they were taking their sweet time. If it was a predator, a wild werewolf for example, they would have smelt you from miles away. They could be playing with their pray, playing cat and mouse. Or it could be someone else simply out for a walk at night.

You didn't move, didn't make a sound.

A tall shadow emerged from the trees. Taking a better look at him, he wasn't a shadow anymore. His silver hair was shining under the moon, like beams of its light had landed and stayed there. He was wearing a long tan coat, like a cloak, and he was carrying four books in his arms.

Familiar tingles went up your arms, like when you were doing magic. Hia aura spoke to you.  

Magic.

"Oh." His eyes widened as they landed on you. You hadn't moved, waiting for his move. "I didn't expect to find anyone here."  

You raised your eyebrows, placing the pouch in your lap. "Clearly I didn't either."

His magic crawled up your arms, leaving the ghost of its touch behind. If you focused on it, you could see deeper into his energy. Potions might not be your strongest suit, but since a baby you had been very sensitive to magic, you could sense it in the air, you could feel the different kinds of magic, but you hadn't been exposed to it much and you couldn't recognize them. The man's magic was different to what you were used to, subtle and refined. It wasn't free and earthy.

You narrowed your eyes. A wizard.

What was a wizard doing here? Wizards stayed in their libraries and grand universities. They didn't just take strolls in the woods unless they were looking for something, they preferred to act mighty and knowledgeable in luxurious rooms with the most prestigious of companies. They bragged as if magic was their own creation just because they had managed to master a part of it. Magic wasn't in their blood like it was for witches, maybe they had an inkling, but it was nothing like the way magic flowed through witches connecting them with nature.

Yet they viewed witches as inferior when they were the ones who forced magic and as much as they studied the most powerful wizard couldn't hold a candle to the power a witch could achieve.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I was just looking for a quiet place," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"The whole forest is quiet."

Instead of being annoyed at your sharp tone, the wizard smiled sheepishly at you. Twin dimples appeared on his cheeks. You had an urge to scowl. "That's right I guess. I was walking around and stumbled upon the clearing. I didn't mean to interrupt." You scoffed looking down at the talisman, you hoped that if you didn't say anything, he would eventually leave. Tough luck. "Are you making a talisman?"

You rolled your eyes. "No, I'm sewing a pouch for fun. What do you think?"

His cheeks were tinted in pink but that might have been a trick of the moonlight. Moonlight was well-known for fooling your senses. "You're a witch, aren't you? Protective talismans are a challenge, it's tough to get them right."  

It had taken him long enough to realize. You were about to come up with another sarcastic retort but that would only keep him here longer. It wasn't that difficult to see you didn't want company, yet he insisted on staying. "I get them right just fine."

The wizard's eyes widened for a moment. "Do you live around here? One of our customers told us about a witch who made a few protection charms for her, she said they were the strongest and most efficient she had ever used, they stopped two goblins from sneaking into her garden on two different occasions."  

You remembered that customer, she had come to you a few weeks ago, looking for a way to ward off unwanted visitors who ravaged her garden. She was a nice woman, long auburn hair and flowy dress. She must have been some kind of nymph but you couldn't be sure. He had said their customer. You had never heard of wizards working before, they usually lived on the money of the rich, who funded their Universities. A wizard selling any kind of magic sounded more ridiculous to you than the already ridiculous meeting with a wizard in the forest.

One of the druids had mentioned something about a new magic shop. You had overheard him while you were gathering herbs for a potion, but he hadn't mentioned anything about a wizard. Witches were the ones who owned magic shops. Wizards made fun of said magic shops.  

A magic shop in the area wouldn't be good for businesses. Luckily they were selling things out of your expertise, like healing potions and some rare ingredients. Potions weren't your strong suit but you could make some money out of them. The ones related to the sea were the closest to your comfort zone, but it was a long process. You were already struggling as it was, not many people trusted you for important work and it cost you.

"Protection charms are routine work," you said curtly.

The wizard shrugged. "I'm awful at making them, I tried a few times but they would barely work. Jin is a little better than me but his aren't that strong either. Ah, I forgot, sorry. My name is Namjoon. We moved here a few weeks ago and opened a shop."

"I have heard," you muttered, glancing at his extended hands. You might be pissed at being interrupted and at the stranger's insistence on not getting lost, but you had some manners. Begrudgingly, you shook his hand and told him your name.

"You're a sea witch, right? I've never met a sea witch before." You came close to rolling your eyes again. Of course he hadn't met a sea witch before. Pure elemental magic was rare in witches and the witches who had it wouldn't hang out in the places wizards did.

You cut the white thread in a sharp move and balled the unused part in your fist. It was clear Namjoon wouldn't leave you alone to your work. You got up, dusting off your clothes. "Excuse me, but I have to go. It's late."

Taken aback, Namjoon looked up at the sky, like the moon could tell him the time. Didn't wizards have phones? "Oh, yeah. It was nice meeting you." The dimples popped out again, you averted your gaze.

"You, too," you said before disappearing in the trees. Great, you didn't have any other place to go. The trek to the sea was long and dangerous at night and you weren't in the mood for a midnight swim. A couple mischievous hobgoblins frequented the rocky grounds and you didn't feel like becoming their next target.

There goes your night.

~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~

You were woken up bright and early when your housemates made their appearance. The door banged once against the wall and one more time as it closed. Nathaniel really needed to control his strength when he was tired. The door couldn't take much more before it flew away from the hinges at best or shattered into splinters at worst. When Nathaniel's werewolf strength and senses had started manifesting when he was sixteen as his first shift was coming closer, everything and everyone around him had suffered. He had broken your favorite couldron, three of your vials, the door to his room, a broom and the most memorable; the toilet, to this day you still didn't know how that had happened. He had also come very close to squeezing you to death hugging you.

He had cut off your airflow for approximately three minutes.

John was singing off-key to an EDM track that wasn't meant to be sung without some form of autotune. It was a rare John ability, but he somehow made it sound like a failed heavy metal track.

The house was in desperate need of recasting the silencing spells between the rooms. They were wearing off far too quickly. But what did you expect when some of the loudest people did everything to overload them?

You rubbed the sleep from your eyes and sat up in your bed. Light was streaming in from the window, the rays stopping at the foot of the bed. The thin curtains didn't do much to stop it. It was nice waking up to a partly illuminated room, without having the sun shining straight to your eyes and blinding you.

Feet were climbing up the stairs. Nathaniel was heading to bed, after being awake all night at the club. John and Anna were at an advantage, as vampires they didn't have to sleep. They still got tired though and spent the mornings bitching about the rude clients or fawning over the attractive ones or gradually getting over an alcohol-blood hungover. Vampires couldn't get drunk the conventional way but they had found a hack. If they drank blood from someone drunk, they would get drunk too. Of course, they had managed to create a drink for that.

You changed into a pair of black jeans. They had faded from all the times they had been washed, diving in the sea wearing them also caused some damage. You picked out a simple white blouse that would allow you to move comfortably. You had given up on wearing nice clothes because a potion or a new spell could easily backfire. Climbing down the stairs, you caught sight of John and Anna sprawled on the couch, and partly on each other, watching a morning show on TV and making fun of the hosts. You couldn't blame them, the dress the woman was wearing made her look like a colorful lamp. But who were you to judge?

"Good morning." Their keen hearing hadn't missed you moving around. The weak silencing spells didn't help.

"Morning," you greeted them, going straight to the kitchen. You hadn't eaten a large dinner last night and you were ravenous. It was a pity that eating too much was bad for swimming.

You pulled out a carton of milk from the fridge, careful of the vials you were storing inside, and a box of cereal from one of the cupboards. A tentacle slithered around your wrist but you tapped it with a spoon and it retreated. That octopus-like creature had been staying in your cupboard for a few years now. Really, it was harmless but it could scare some customers away. There was a spell you could use to banish it but it was nice enough and didn't bother you. It actually bothered you less than your housemates did. Occasionally, it would open the cupboard and pass you the ingredients you needed. Also, it had an appetite for mice and cockroaches, which you didn't mind at all and firmly encouraged.

One of your books was open in the table on a page about weather-related spells. You had been doing some late night studying and had left it like that before stumbling up the stairs way later than you should have. Weather spells weren't very popular and there were many different kinds that required different levels of magical abilities. As an elemental witch, you should have been able to execute most of them with ease. Should, but you hadn’t tried your hand at them in a long time. Well, it didn’t hurt to do some research, you thought, as you flipped through the pages as you ate your breakfast.

You didn't have many customers, so most of your days were dedicated to doing your own studying and perfecting easy spells and potions or learning new ones that might be useful in the future. The sound of the TV accompanied you as you poured a few vials together and watched them change colors into a pastel yellow. You stayed still for a few minutes and when no foul-smelling cloud followed, you counted the potion as a success and transferred it into an oval-shaped bottle.

"Hey, did you hear of the new magic shop in the area?" Anna was leaning against the doorframe, her long black hair clipped back with a claw clip carelessly. Even that looked good on her. She was still wearing the short red dress that hugged her curves just right. The nightclub didn't have a dress code for their employees and Anna used that in her favor.

You stored the bottle with the rest of the successful potions in an enchanted cupboard your three roommates weren't allowed to touch. "I heard. Where did you hear?" It was obvious but you still asked. Word got around fast in the club.

"There was this guy, really cute, " she said. "Really cute and really hot. He pulled off both so well I'm jealous. A fairy. You should have seen the way he danced. His friend was also rather handsome but I didn't get a good look at him." Her lips formed a pout, red lipstick immaculate like she had just applied it. "I hadn't seen them in the club before so I asked. They moved here a few days ago from somewhere in the North, I forget the name of the region now. It started with R... Rio- Or was it N? Anyway, that's not the point. They are new and two of his friends own the shop. I think we should pay them a visit."

You thought back to the night in the forest and the tall wizard, who whenever he smiled dimples appeared on his cheeks. There was no chance you were going to his shop. The last thing you wanted was getting involved with arrogant wizards. Your magic was already belittled and ridiculed by the people in your community, the last thing you needed was wizards calling your magic inferior.

"Why on earth would we go to the new magic shop?" you asked, trying to hide the disdain in your voice. One perfectly drawn eyebrow lifted. You hadn't succeeded.

"Why wouldn't we go to the new magic shop?" Anna came closer, sitting on one of the mismatched chairs around the table. "Are you afraid they'll steal your clients? They don't just do spells and potions. They sell ingredients too, they might have something you need."

"I don't need anything, I can get my ingredients myself. I have everything I need here." You motioned to the cupboards, the baskets of herbs and the random boxes you had stored some of the most odd supplies. "And why would I be afraid of losing my clients? It isn't like I have many, anyway."

Anna's expression softened. "You have just enough clients and you're getting more. They are loyal, they know no one can cast water related spells the way you do. Ms Rogers wouldn't go to anyone else to clean the water in her stream and Mr Klutze will always come to you for talismans. I just think the new shop is worth checking out. Maybe you could exchange some tips, magic user to magic user."  

As if. You scoffed. A wizard and a witch exchanging magic tips, that sounded like a bad joke.

"I'm fine where I am. I'm busy, anyway," you said.

"You aren't busy," Anna stated. "You don't have any orders. Your time will be spent more constructively if you come with me to check out the new magic shop."

"Anna, I really don't want to go," you pleaded.

It didn't change anything. "That's why you have to go. You need to socialize more. Who knows? Maybe you'll make some new friends."

You very much doubted that. You might not have that many friends but you weren't that desperate to turn to wizards. And if those wizards ever learnt what you had done, you would become a laughing stock for them and their friends. At best. At worst, they would demand you stop practicing magic, something that would only happen over your dead body. Not a nice path to go down in the morning.

"Why are you so intrigued anyway?" You raised your eyebrows at Anna who seemed to be counting your potion bottles. "Does it have anything to do with how good-looking the owners' friend is."

She didn't deny it, thankfully taking her perfectly manicured nails away from your bottles. "They were both good-looking. Who knows? Maybe they have more cute friends."

You closed the spellbook on the table, afraid her meddling would ruin something and your spellbook was too valuable to become her victim. "You can find handsome men everywhere. It's like a weird vampire ability. I don't want to get involved in your romantic escapades."

"You’re my best friend, of course you will be involved in my romantic escapades. If you don't come with me to the magic shop, I will go by myself. I'll get every random ingredient I can find and tell them you were too shy to come yourself so you sent me." She grinned, her fangs peeking through.

Your heart stopped. You could swear it did. "You wouldn't!"

"Oh, but I would," she said, her words tilting in a playful melody.

You groaned. Anna knew you so well she could be your worst nightmare. "Okay, fine. I'll come. Are you going to go like this?"  

She looked down at her dress. "What? Don't I look marvelous in it?" She laughed at the look you sent her. "I'll change, I'll change. Be ready in a few." She stopped herself before leaving, saying over her shoulder, "Don't even think about running away. You need to get out of the funk you have buried yourself in."

Funk. You scoffed. You hadn't buried yourself in a funk or whatever Anna claimed you had done. You were perfectly fine and as social as you needed to be. You had your job and your clients and the selkie you talked to at the library. And you had the three of them who wouldn't get out of your hair. That's all you needed. For now.

The remnants of a protection charm John had destroyed by spilling a glass of water on it was left on the counter. The water interfered with the magic and rendered it useless. You had to cleanse it and throw it out before the remaining magic seeped into something it shouldn't.

Your roommates somehow never failed to sabotage something you were working on at least once a week. The kitchen was small, not leaving much space for the four of you to move around but it was the only place you could use. You didn't have your own magic shop like your mother used to and you had learnt from her to never practice complex spells or brew  potions in your bedroom. You didn't make a lot of money, not nearly as much as your mother did. But your mother was a trusted witch in your community, everyone came to her with any problems they had. She could do everything. And you... You were trying.

In a small jar, hidden deep in the cupboard that didn't house any tentacle creatures, with a pastel blue ribbon wrapped around it, a small metal book-like charm *filled* with positive energy dangling from it, you had stored your savings. Money to open your own shop and finally move from this community that had done nothing but laugh at you. You would go north at the Great Waterfalls, where you knew no one and no one knew about your mistakes. Or maybe you would settle in one of the human cities, one by the sea, they were many more than the supernatural communities.

The supernatural world's relationships with humans had been getting better and better and at this point it was completely normal to see fairy run coffee shops in human cities or gargoyles employed as guardians for libraries or museums. Supernatural beings mingled with humans, became friends and co-workers. Because of that a lot of half-blood children were born. Children of forest nymphs and humans who had a magic touch with plants, ones who had inherited alluring voices from sirens but the magic wasn't strong enough to control the listener's mind. But a few of them had more supernatural than human blood. Genetics were hard to guess and as society developed and old boundaries were broken down, questions they hadn't bothered with before surfaced.

You sighed, cleaning the table and hiding away anything that could potentially harm your roommates. Your magic wasn't particularly dangerous, the ingredients you used were mostly natural, like corals, seashells, herbs and crystals, but there were a couple you would rather not have Nathaniel messing with.  

On your way to store some herbs in the cupboard, you stopped in front of the mirror hanging on the wall. The oval-shaped mirror with the gold lining snaking around the edges had been there all your life, above the counter and close to the window. The kitchen wasn't the place someone would expect to find a mirror but it fit in a weird way. You combed your fingers through your tousled hair and winced a little when you met a few tangles. You hadn't put on any makeup thinking you wouldn't be going anywhere. Did you have enough time to go upstairs and apply some? Anna liked to take her time getting ready.  

No, you were fine. You looked fine. You didn't need to get dressed up or look like a movie star. It was just a visit to a shop and you had no one to impress.  

Anna swirled into the living room wearing an elegant black jumpsuit, complete with a wide belt and golden jewelry. If there was one thing Anna was amazing at, that was fashion. She dressed herself like she was going to a photoshoot for the cover of Vogue. You looked severely underdressed next to her.

With a wide smile she opened the door and motioned for you to follow her. It was a nice day and Anna lowered her sunglasses a little to take in the vibrant colors. Contrary to popular belief sunlight didn't hurt or kill vampires, although they did tend to dislike it. Because they were pale, they were prone to sunburns therefore they avoided it. Anna attempted to solve the problem by layering a ton of sunscreen on her skin. She had been through a phase as a young vampire in which she had taken to carrying a parasol around, but had eventually given up on it because it didn't fit her style. And she was tired of carrying it. Although you could never forget the time she had smacked a more-than-shady man with it when he had grabbed her waist.

You took the path through the forest, Anna told you it was faster that way. You had no idea where the shop was located so you followed. Anna had her way of gathering information so you weren't the least bit surprised she knew where the shop was. Maybe the fairy boy had told her.

The forest was full of life in the morning. Small animals running around the ground, squirrels jumping from tree to tree. A nymph was scolding a small rabbit for something, stopping when she saw you and shouting a greeting. The trees rustled with it. Anna winked at her. She had helped her approach the boy she liked a couple of years ago and they had been together ever since. Anna was a quite friendly vampire, connected with every kind of creature.

The trees were getting further with larger spaces between them, the path leading up to a more modern building than what you would have expected to find in the middle of the forest. Climbing roses creeped up to the second floor wrapping around the roof. The lovely white blooms must have been magicked to reach that high. The walls were painted a soft peach. The balcony, surrounded by a white railing, was filled with colorful pots. Various kinds of plants were growing in them, many spilling over the balcony. In the middle of all the plants, there was a small table and two chairs.

Anna skipped ahead, motioning for you to follow her. You took a deep breath and straightened your back. You could deal with this, you had dealt with much worse than going to a magic shop of two wizards.

She pushed the half-opened cherry wood door. The open sign was written in careful calligraphy. Fairy bells jingled as you walked inside, their melody sweet and welcoming. The shop was moderately large with many selves lined with crystals, herbs and vials. The world of magic contained in one room. Waiting.

A man with black hair was standing behind the counter flipping through a book. Whispers of autumn brushed your skin every time he turned the yellowed and torn at places pages. It was spring.

Upon hearing the bells, he looked up at you with a wide smile. You were the only ones inside. You reckoned it was pretty early for a stroll to the magic shop.

"Welcome," he greeted you, his bangs falling into his eyes. "Can I help you?"

Anna strolled to the counter, her eyes flitting over the artifacts. "We heard you came here recently and my friend here would like to take a look around. She'll probably know what to get better than me." She turned to you with a smirk. You held yourself back from cursing her into a bat. You had been considering it for years. "I'm Anna," she introduced herself. "I met your friend Jimin last night. Or this morning, if you'd like."

She roped him into a conversation with ease while you hid between the shelves. The aura of the shop was pulling you in, tucking you into its depth. This feeling wasn't something you would use to describe a warlock's magic. It flowed through you, seeping into your bones and warming you inside. You looked between the crystal balls at the handsome stranger.

He wasn't a warlock. He was a witch.

You frowned. What was a witch doing here?

A yellow crystal slipped from your fingers when Anna called your name. You caught it last minute, placing it back with a relieved sigh.  

Anna had made herself home, standing against the counter with one hand in the pocket of her jumpsuit. "This is Y/N, she's the one you heard about. She's a sea witch." You hadn't wanted to strangle Anna as much since she had got into a fight with a siren who had been badmouthing you. She had landed a killer punch, though.

The man turned his blinding smile to you. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Seokjin. Our customers have told us about you. We didn't expect to meet an elemental witch here."

If there were multiple customers who had told them about you, all of it couldn't be good. Most of it wouldn't be good. There were many who preferred to travel all the way to the communities on the other side of the forest to find a witch than come to you. One mistake and it had cost you your credibility. The worst part was that you couldn't blame them. You should have never agreed to do the job.  

"You have a lot of things here," you said, trying to steer the conversation away from yourself. "I think I saw a snow crystal from the White Peaks."

"Oh, yeah," Seokjin chuckled. "That has been with us for years. Someone gave it to Namjoon, I think, as payment for a spell. Namjoon manages the shop with me, it was his idea. We have managed to stack up on a lot of stuff over the years. Knowing the right people helps a lot. I'm not a fancy witch like you, I'm a plain old green witch but I'm very handy with potions."

Green witches were the most common. They utilized herbs and traditional forms of magic. There were many types of witches, each specializing in different branches of magic. But the basics were the same for every type, like potions and herbs. You could have done without the potions.

The bells sounded again as the door opened. Someone walked inside, his upper body hidden by the boxes he was carrying.

"Hyung, the delivery from Fornwick arrived today. Where is Namjoon hyung? He was supposed to help me." One of the top boxes trembled and Seokjin rushed to take it. "I could carry that."

"You could drop that and it's expensive," Seokjin chided him. "We'll be just a moment," he said to you.

He took some of the boxes but not enough to reveal the other's face and they carried them to the backroom. Anna turned to you with one of her arms resting on the counter.

"Did you see him? I told you they would have more have more handsome friends." Anna didn't toss out compliments at random. When she said someone was handsome, they were handsome. She was a sweet-talker but an honest one.

You couldn't deny that Seokjin was handsome but you were more focused on the fact that he was a witch owning a magic shop with a wizard. Witches and wizards had a long-standing rivalry. A centuries old rivalry. Your mother was a strong believer that no wizard would ever do anything other than look down on witches. Your mother's words were what you lived by and yet...

"Are you looking for a date?" you asked.

Anna pursed her lips. They were the same shade of red as her nails. "Maybe. Maybe not. I just like meeting people. And looking at pretty things. Look how lucky I am."

You couldn't argue with that. Seokjin came back soon after, a boy younger than him trailing behind him. He had chestnut brown hair and wide doe eyes.

"This is Jungkook, he's staying with us and helping with the shop," Seokjin said. Anna looked at you, raising her eyebrows. You had become a master at reading her eyebrow-talk. Another handsome one. Seokjin introduced you and the younger boy nodded, staying behind him. He asked if he could help with anything before Seokjin dismissed him.

Anna was in her element, picking up the talk with Seokjin who seemed to be enjoying himself. You inched away, getting lost between the shelves and the magical items calling to you. A pink crystal for positive energy. Dried wisteria, it could be used in so many spells. Sunflower powder, add a pinch of it in your tea and you would feel happier.

You reached for a small pouch of dried goblin daisies (they were very hard to grow and even harder to pick, they tended to bite) when you collided with someone coming out of the backroom. The shock combined with the push made you lose your balance, sending you back and flat on your butt. You winced at the pain blooming on your behind.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry!" The voice was familiar. It was just your luck. Namjoon was standing over you, one hand extended as if he had tried to catch you but hadn't been fast enough. He rushed to help you to your feet and pick up a few pouches you had knocked over when you fell.  "I wasn't looking where I was going and then you were there. It was too early so I thought we wouldn't have many customers..."

"Joon!" Jin was suddenly next to you, delivering a slap on the back of Namjoon's neck. "Yah, you knocked the poor girl over with your clumsiness! Didn't I tell you to be more careful? No one ever listens to me. Are you okay?" he asked you.

"Yeah, I'm fine," you said, dusting yourself off to hide your embarrassment.

Anna held up two fingers. "How many is that?"

"I didn't hit my head. You do that when someone hits their head."

She looked down on her fingers. "Do you ? Still, how many is it? I wish I'd seen you fall. I just heard the thud."

You rubbed your backside. It still hurt, it had been a hard fall. "Thanks for that. I'll remember it."

"Did she look funny?" she asked Namjoon. The wizard looked like he didn't know what to say and you wanted to hide in a cave underwater and never surface again. You should have never agreed to come with Anna in the first place. Nothing good could come out of this visit.  

If they had heard about you, the unsavory things wouldn't have escaped their notice. You were unreliable. Your magic was out of control. You were putting people in danger. You had heard it all. What were you doing here? They were the ones who would replace you. Your customers were already few and far between, no one came to you for important things. With a new magic shop in the community it wouldn't be long until those few customers preferred this place. You couldn't blame them. Who would choose you with your history, doing spellwork in a kitchen, over this?

You bit the inside of your cheek. "Yes, Anna, it was really funny." The vampire's grin faltered. You grabbed the pouch with the goblin daisies a little harder than was needed. "I'll get this. I need to go, I have work to do. How much is it?"

Seokjin gazed at you and the pouch. "Just take it. Consider it a welcoming gift."

You clutched the pouch in your hand, ready to protest but Anna beat you to it, "Shouldn't we be giving you a welcoming gift? You're the ones who moved here."  

"We wouldn't be opposed to any gifts," he said. "But please accept this one. You can come here whenever you need anything."  

You said your goodbyes and left the entracing shop behind. The pouch warmed up your hand, your fingers caressing the cotton material. Anna didn't say much on your way back. Her back straight and eyes looking ahead. You hadn't expected much from the visit but it was obvious she had.

The pain had ceased, leaving behind a dull throb. Your fall replayed again and again in your mind like an endless current. The force pushing you back, grabbing at the shelves, at anything to keep you upright, your hand knocking against the pouches and dragging them down with you and that wizard and his stupid silver hair standing over you with his mouth forming an o. Your first time at their shop and you had embarrassed yourself beyond belief. They wouldn't need more than that as confirmation for what was being said about you. Not that there was any chance they wouldn't listen to all the gossip surrounding you. You just hoped you hadn't ruined any of the pouches.  

John wasn't in the house and Nathaniel was still sleeping. At least he had remembered to lock the door before leaving. The times you had returned to the house to find the door unlocked were many. Although the protection spells around the house were strong and you reapplied them often, that didn't mean it was alright to be careless. You placed the pouch in the cupboard with the rest of magical herbs. Herbs' prices depended on how rare they were. Goblin daisies only grew in very specific parts of the world and few people dared to pick them up. As useful as they were, they were hard to find. And Seokjin had gifted them to you. Probably as an apology for his friend crashing into you.

You heard the kettle being turned on. Anna had followed you into the kitchen and she was pulling your your favorite mug out of the cupboard. A cup of your favorite tea was left on the table. Anna had a silent way of apologizing.

Sipping on the tea, you started your research on goblin daisies. You knew a lot of potions and spells they were used for but you had never used them before. That meant looking up the quantity you should use. Using too much would make any potion or spell too aggressive and no one wanted their potion fighting them.

~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~

 Nathaniel was babysitting again. And whenever Nathaniel was babysitting, you were all babysitting. Anna had conveniently made herself scarce, off to visit a centaur friend of hers (or that's what she told you), leaving you and the two men of the household chasing after three lion cubs and a baby panther. Nathaniel really needed to find a different day job. For the sake of your house. And your sanity.

"Tom, don't climb on the couch! Your nails-" You had to pull off the little lion, maneuvering him so he wouldn't rip the back of the couch. The couch was saved but his nails sunk into your shirt and he refused to leave your arms.

They were still young and they couldn't control the shift well. Shapshifters were complicated creatures. When they shifted shapes something inside them shifted too, not enough to forget who they were or lose control of themselves, but their instincts were different and they were much more likely to follow them in their other form. It was easier for young Shapshifters to give into their animal side a little more.

Tom had your shirt caught in his claws and his hind legs around your waist. You would have found it cute if they weren't digging into your skin, most likely leaving marks behind. He was wrapped around you like a baby ten times harder to get off.

All had been well at first. Their parents had dropped them off early in the morning for a small trip to the nearest city, promising to come back by nightfall. The four children had been entertained by Nathaniel for the first two hours. Watching TV, playing games, Playstation, Nathaniel had tried every trick in the book in the past year. You had been brewing a potion, forgetting one minor detail. It erupted into a small explosion when it was ready. An explosion that had scared all four of the boys, who shapshifted the moment the boom sounded.

The three lion cubs were the sons of your mother's close friends, the couple were both lion shapeshifters. The small panther was their adoptive son and he was the youngest of the four. He used to be the most shy, staying quiet while the other three created a ruckus. Now, he had grown closer to you and he was just as bad as the rest.

John was sitting on the floor in the kitchen, Nathaniel running after a lion cub in circles around him. One tentacle had sneaked out from the cupboard and it was holding another cub upside down from its foot while it writhed around, playfully trying to bite it. John was throwing something at the cupboard.

"John, stop throwing milk chocolate at it, I think it's lactose intolerant," you called, Tom still holding onto your shirt. John pouted. Noah stumbled on John, Nathaniel didn't have to stop running and the three of them ended up in a John-Nathaniel-lion pile on the floor. The tentacle let the lion cub fall and it landed on them. Seeing the pile, the Panther who had been occupying itself with a cat toy, ran to them.

It took some more time before you kicked them all out of the kitchen. You had a charm for clean water to make. Ignoring the cubs' whining, you shut the door. You would spend some time with them later. The charm was relatively simple, a shirt incantation and a few supplies, all tied into…  

A deep sea crystal. And you were out of them. You groaned, rummaging through the cupboards and the shelves, only to come up empty. Expected. You had completely forgotten you had used the last one. Those crystals were hard to find and you didn't have enough time to go looking in the ocean. That would take you the whole day. There was one thing you could do.

Crap.

"I'm going out," you shouted to the boys. The replies came in various forms of protests. You didn't stay long enough to let them pull you back.

You remembered the way you had followed with Anna and the magic thrumming in the path wouldn't let you go astray. You missed the presence next to you as you walked alone. Anna was good at talking and diverting the attention away from you. Alone, you were too exposed. You didn't know what to do with yourself.

The house peeked from between the trees, flowers blooming all around it, the trees leaning close to it as if pulled by the magic inside. You climbed over a root sticking over the ground and landed on your feet, you had been doing this as long as you remembered. Taking a deep breath, you pushed open the door hearing the sweet melody of the bells.

The shop welcomed you, drawing you in. Sunlight spilled through the windows, showering the room in a golden glow, the crystals shining and casting rainbows on the walls. This time it wasn't Seokjin behind the counter. It was Namjoon.  

There we go.

Namjoon was writing something in a notebook but he put the pen down when he saw you. "Oh, hey. I mean, welcome." He cringed at his awkwardness. It seemed like you weren't the only one in this state. "Can I help you with something?"

You swallowed down anything you could say to embarrass yourself. "Yeah, I'm looking for a Deep Sea crystal."

Namjoon strode to the shelves in the middle of the shop and you followed him, that's where most of the crystals were. "I'm sure we have a few here. What do you need it for?" His hand hovering over an oval hot pink crystal paused. "If you want to tell me, of course. It's alright if you don't."  

You glanced around for anything to catch your attention but you came up empty. You could tell him, it wasn't a complicated spell. Very difficult to backfire. "It's a spell for clean water. They are having some problems in the western part of the forest. The water is so dirty they can't drink it."

"Taehyung told me of that, he said it was affecting some of the creatures. They were looking for a solution." Namjoon crouched down to look through the lower shelf. "Uhmmm, I also wanted to say sorry. About last time." He pulled at his collar, revealing a glimpse of his collarbones. You turned back to the shelves. "Jin hyung was always saying that I would hurt someone else with my clumsiness, not only myself."

You shrugged. He had already apologized, you hadn't expected he would again. "It's alright." It hadn't felt alright at the time but a few days' distance and you could admit to yourself that you had overreacted. You had been embarrassed and felt horribly cornered and it had brought out the worst of you. "Are you working alone today?"  

"Not exactly. Jin hyung will be out with Hoseok until later tonight, so I'm taking care of the shop for now." Hoseok. He must be another friend. Namjoon stopped and took a crystal in his hand. A royal blue so dense it would look like a stone, not a crystal, in the absence of the morning light. "Here we are. A Deep Sea crystal purified and ready for use."

Taking the crystal, you weighted it in your palm. It was indeed purified and cleansed of any traces of magic other than its own raw form. "This is perfect. I'll take it."

You followed him to the counter and gave him the money he asked for. It was a smaller amount than what you had expected to pay. You wondered if Namjoon still felt guilty for knocking you over and instead of gifting you things like Jin, something you wouldn't accept for the second time, he was reducing the price of what you bought. You hoped it wasn't that and the crystal was simply cheap. Your pockets cheered that they wouldn't have to part with much.

"Do you want anything else?" Namjoon asked.

You looked down at the crystal in your hand. "No, that's all."  

He opened his mouth but it seemed like he couldn't find anything to say. He closed it and opened it again. "Have you been staying here for long?"

“I haven’t stayed anywhere else.” The magical community nestled in the forest, the sea and the surrounding area had always been your home. Your mother’s warnings about hunters had prevented you from venturing far and soon you had stopped asking her to take you with her to trips outside the communities.

Supernatural creatures had been living peacefully among humans for decades but the laws didn’t stop those so intensely afraid of difference. Hunters were diminishing in number year by the year but sometimes you wondered if there would really be a time no supernatural creature lost their life because of fear. Witches had it the easiest in recent years. You looked like humans and your services were useful to them. Humans chased your power and made their own kind. Wizards. They couldn’t hunt you for something they were striving to become.

“It’s nice here,” Namjoon said. “Calm. It’s very different from the city.”

It was only expected that Namjoon was coming from a big city. Humans had built grand Universities in their largest cities, the ones the world marveled at and was attracted to them like moths to light. There, they taught how to channel magic, force it in an unnatural way. Magic wasn’t meant to be controlled, it was meant to flow. You didn’t control magic, you guided the stream.

But humans didn’t understand and they didn’t want to.

“I’ll be going now.” You nodded at Namjoon, turning to leave.

“We’re here for whatever you need,” he said a little hurriedly, like he had panicked and decided on saying the first thing on his mind instead of staying silent.

You looked at him over your shoulder, standing behind the counter in a shop he co-owned with a witch, wearing a denim jacket over a white shirt. The only thing standing out about him was his silver hair. Another thing way too different from the image of wizards you had in your head.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” you said.

~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~°°×°°~

 You were incredibly stupid. The amount of stupidity required to end up in your position was astronomical. Earlier in the day you had visited the underwater library to find some information for a potion. Everything had been like any other day and you hadn’t stumbled upon any mishaps, finding the book you needed rather quickly. The weather had been getting progressively worse, you could see it in the way the clouds gathered and the waves lashed the rocks.

In a hurry, you had run to your house, failing to notice the protective charm falling from your pocket. Thunder was striking when you remembered to look for it. The storm would hit full force soon, trees trembling dangerously, the sky lighting up every few moments followed by deep rambles. But you needed the charm. The client would be coming to get you tomorrow and you had neither the materials nor the time to make another one.

“Where are you going?” John shouted over the whistles of the wind. It was whipping at the door and you struggled to keep it open.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” you shouted back and you only heard half of his next shout having closed the door behind you. It was something following the lines of “Are you crazy?”.

You were lucky your house was built so close to the shore. Your mother had found the spot and deemed it perfect, near the sea and the forest. She used to tell you it was everything she needed, if she didn’t feel the magic of the sea an emptiness grew inside her. Spending all your life next to the sea, you had never experienced that and you wondered if your connection to the ocean run deep enough to ever do.

The force of the wind made you lose your footing a couple of times but you powered on. That charm was hard to make and the longer it stayed there the more chances the waves had to claim it. You scanned the floor as you stumbled forward. The way you took to the shore was always the same and you could tread it in the wind. You found yourself wishing for lightning. You didn’t dare to take your phone with you in this weather and the clouds had turned the afternoon into night.

That’s exactly what I needed, you thought as a raindrop landed on your cheek and before you could take another step, thunder struck and the rain descended on you. You started running. There was no way you wouldn’t get back home drenched to the bone. In the distance you could see the rocks and the sight gave you more strength.

You halted. There were people there. Two of them. They were leaving, trying to escape the rain when one of them slipped. You watched as he fell behind, the wind carrying him, and landed face first into the water.

He disappeared.

It was enough to set you into motion.

“Stop! Don’t jump in!!! You’ll both drown!” you shouted, hoping his companion heard you over the wind.

“I have to do something!!!” You could now see his transparent wings and bubblegum pink hair and how he stumbled under the force of the weather. He was a fairy and a tiny one at that, shorter than you and probably as light as a feather.

You reached the edge of the rocks, tearing your eyes away from him. You didn’t say another word before jumping in.

Please reblog and comment, it motivates me and keeps me writing.

A/N: This has been in my drafts for a very long time and in my desperation to get away from studying but also do something productive I found myself returning to this project. It will probably be some time until I can write anything else but I have another chapter of this work completed so I thought it would be as good of a time to post this as any.

P.S.: For those who have read Eunoia, the John in this story is a completely different character from the John in Eunoia. This John is a very old character of mine and I had completely forgotten the two of them ended up with the same names.

[nerdythebard]

#13: Doctor Strange [Marvel]

By the Eternal Vishanti, I welcome you back!

Today we're making the Sorcerer Supreme of the Marvel Universe-616, Doctor Strange. This spell-slinging master of the mystic arts has been my favourite superhero for quite some time now, and I'm always excited whenever we get something related to him. Now, just a quick note – this build is going to be based on the comic book version of Strange, not the MCU one. We're having real spells and incantations, not some thinly-veiled Clarke's Third Law. #LetMagicBeMagic.

Next Time: The Gods call for us again. The Dragon King blesses us with his presence.

Now then, let's examine what we need to become the mightiest mystic of the Multiverse:

Arcane Artillery: Doctor Strange holds enough mystic knowledge to give Mind Flayers an indigestion. What he doesn't know, he can look up in his Sanctum Sanctorum's library. We need to be prepared to have a spell for almost any situation.

Mystic Fists of Fury: Before opening his Third Eye fully, Strange spent some time in Kamar-Taj under the tutelage of the Ancient One, practising his combat skills in case he was ever in a situation where magic would fail him.

The Old Favourites: Whatever incarnation of the character we encounter, Doctor Strange is almost always certain to have the following items on him: the Eye of Agamotto, the Cloak of Levitation, and occasionally the Book of the Vishanti. After the Last Days of Magic event, Strange found a likeness for weapons like shortswords, staffs, and axes.

---

Stephen Strange was an ordinary human, but due to the years of exposure to otherworldly mystic forces, his biology changed to not accept regular human food anymore. This sounds like a good excuse to make him Variant Human. We get a +1 to two abilities of our choice (Intelligence and Constitution), we know how to speak Common and one other language of our choice, we get to pick one skill to be proficient in (Investigation), and we get to pick a feat. The Medic feat gives us a +1 to Wisdom, proficiency with the Medicine skill, and the ability to tend to our party members' wounds on short rests (Medicine check [DC 15], if successful - the player can use the maximum value of their Hit Dice to regain Hit Points).

Although he started as a simple physician, the turning point of Strange's life was his training in Kamar-Taj. He gained skills and knowledge, vast enough to call himself a Sage. From this background, we gain proficiency in Arcana and History, we learn two more languages, and we gain the Researcher feature; when we're to recall a piece of lore, and we don't know it, we usually can figure out where to find the information (be it a library, a temple, or somebody's private collection).

ABILITY SCORES

Intelligence is our primary stat, serving as our casting ability and our pride. Next is Constitution, all casters need to keep it high. We follow that up with Wisdom, lessons of the Ancient One granted us both humility and broadened our horizons.

Dexterity is a little low, but we'll take care of that later. Charisma is next, even after his training was complete Stephen can be a bit of a jerk and refusing to hear anyone but himself. Finally, we'll dump Strength.

CLASS

Assigning a D&D class to Doctor Strange was a very (and I mean very) difficult task. Starting off, I had to disregard his Sorcerer Supreme title, because in D&D sorcerers are born with the ability to wield magic. Strange had to study and practice to get his powers, so that makes him a Wizard. Kamar-Taj is also dedicated to studying the teachings of the Vishanti, a trinity of god-like beings who give the Sorcerer Supreme their powers, so that would make Strange a Cleric. Finally, he also draws powers from deals he made with otherworldly entities (such as Cyttorak, the Faltine, Munnopor, Watoomb, sometimes even Dormammu himself), which screams 'Warlock', except there's no way to incorporate multiple patrons without homebrewing. It wasn't easy, but I am satisfied with what I've created. Hopefully, you'll be, too.

Level 1 - Monk: We start just as Strange started, by honing our body first. Monks get the d8 Hit Dice, [8 + Constitution modifier] initial Hit Points, proficiencies with simple weapons and shortswords, and proficiency in one set of artisan's tools or a musical instrument (I'd go with alchemist's supplies). Our saving throws are Strength and Dexterity, and we get to pick two class skills (Insight and Religion).

Monks start with Unarmoured Defence. When we're not wearing armour, or holding a shield, our AC equals [10 + our Dexterity modifier + our Wisdom modifier]. We also get Martial Arts, which gives our unarmed strikes some more power. We can now use Dexterity instead of Strength for our unarmed strikes attack and damage rolls, we replace our Strength modifier with a d4 for damage of our unarmed strikes, and if we use the unarmed strike (or a monk weapon) on our turn as an Attack, we can use a bonus action to make an extra unarmed strike.

Level 2 - Monk: We get more mobile with Unarmoured Movement. Our ground speed increases by 10 feet if we're not wearing armour or holding a shield.

We also get access to the Monk's signature feature, the Ki energy. We start with 2 Ki Points, which we can spend on the following abilities:

Flurry of Blows: Spending 1 Ki Point after making an attack, lets us make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action;

Patient Defence: Spending 1 Ki Point lets us take a Dodge action as a bonus action on our turn;

Step of the Wind: Spending 1 Ki Point doubles our jump distance for the turn, and we can take the Dash or Disengage actions as a bonus action.

Level 3 - Wizard: We finally begin our study of spells and arcane arts.

Unfortunately, multiclassing into Wizard does not give us any additional benefits. We do, however, get Arcane Recovery. Once per day, during a short rest, we can choose a number of expended spell slots and refill them. The number must be equal to half of our Wizard level (rounded up), and the recovered spell slots cannot be 6th-level or higher.

Wizards also start with Spellcasting at their 1st level, and they know both cantrips and ritual spells. Our spellcasting ability is Intelligence, but unlike many other casting classes we do not get a full access to our spell list. Instead, we start with six spells in our spellbook and get two more each time we level up. Then, we can only prepare and use [Our Intelligence modifier + our Wizard level] spells at once. Describing all of those spells we pick would make this post over a mile long, and I've made that mistake with Sypha. To not make this a chore for you guys, I decided that from now on whenever I make a Wizard (or, a build where Wizard is a majority), I will simply list the spells we pick without descriptions. Let's be honest, if not here, you'll certainly find those in a different build. Alright, let's begin! First, we get to pick three cantrips:

Fire Bolt

Mage Hand

Minor Illusion

When it comes to our starting spells, let's take these six. Remember, we can only prepare a certain number, and we start with only two 1st-level spell slots.

Alarm

Detect Magic

Fog Cloud (to represent the Mists of Munnopor from the comics)

Shield (of the Seraphim)

Magic Missile (as a stand-in for the Daggers of Daveroth)

Sleep

Level 4 - Wizard: We get to pick our subclass, our Arcane Tradition. For Strange, who can be any combination of Wizard, Cleric, and Warlock, the best choice is to pick Theurgy from 2017 Unearthed Arcana. Theurgists are religious magic-users, who focus more on the arcane research rather than prayer and worship.

With Divine Inspiration, we get to select a Cleric Domain and a deity we wish to follow. Ask your DM if it's possible for you to worship three gods as a collective, a magical triumvirate. For your own Vishanti I suggest Mystra, Mother of All Magic, Azuth, the Lord of Spells, and Savras, the All-Seeing. For a Wizard, I'd say there's no better choice than Knowledge Domain.

We also get Arcane Initiate, which lets us replace spells we learn as we level up with the cleric spells of our chosen domain. What's cool about that feature is, other wizards cannot copy those spells from our spellbook. If we get all of our chosen domain's spells, we can keep replacing spells we learn with spells from the Cleric spell list.

Finally, we gain the Cleric's unique skill - Channel Divinity - except in our case it becomes Channel Arcana. We start with two effects: Divine Arcana and the effect granted by the chosen domain. Unlike Clerics, we can use the Channel Arcana once per short or long rest.

Divine Arcana lets us use a bonus action to control the flow of magic in the area. The next spell we cast gets a +2 to its attack roll or saving throw DC.

Knowledge of the Ages grants us quick insight into a skill we're not familiar with. For the next 10 minutes, we're proficient with one tool set of our choice or proficient in one skill we choose.

We gain one more 1st-level spell slot, and for this level's two spells let's get Feather Fall, and Command from the domain list.

Level 5 - Wizard: At this level we unlock 2nd-level spell slots, and we can access 2nd-level spells. Let's get Hold Person (for Strange's famous Crimson Bands of Cyttorak) and Icingdeath's Frost from 2021 Unearthed Arcana: Draconic Options (for the Icy Tendrils of Ikthalon).

Level 6 - Wizard: Time for our first Ability Score Improvement! As is the rule of thumb with all Wizards, boosting our Intelligence is a priority. That's what we shall put the 2 points into.

For this level's spells, we get another cantrip (Light), and let's take Locate Object and Mirror Image (to represent the Images of Ikonn).

Level 7 - Wizard: We unlock 3rd-level spell slots. Let's get Dispel Magic, and we can get Fly to finally get a representation for our Cloak of Levitation.

Level 8 - Wizard: We get our first subclass upgrade. Arcane Acolyte grants us the 1st-level benefits of our chosen domain. For Knowledge domain, it's Blessings of Knowledge; we learn two languages of our choice and get proficiency in two skills... which we pretty much are proficient in already. To not waste a feature, ask your DM if you can double your proficiency bonus for those two skills instead. If you get a 'yes', pick Arcana and Insight.

For this level's spells, let's get Counterspell and Magic Circle.

Level 9 - Wizard: From here, we get access to 4th-level spell slots. Banishment and Dimension Door seems like exactly what we need to keep enemies at bay and have fun with portals.

Level 10 - Wizard: Halfway through the build, and we get an ASI. Let's cap our Intelligence at 20, with those two points.

For this level's spells, let's grab Arcane Eye and turn back a little and get Speak with Dead from our domain list, as it is one of few spells not available to Wizards.

Level 11 - Wizard: We get access to 5th-level spells. With Contact Other Plane and Legend Lore, we become an even bigger magical know-it-all to aid our party.

Level 12 - Wizard: For our subclass upgrade, we get Arcane Priest, which grants us the Knowledge Domain's 6th-level benefit - Channel Divinity: Read Thoughts. One creature within 60 feet of us must make a Wisdom saving throw, or grant us access to its surface thoughts (emotions and active thoughts, no deep secrets or hidden motives) for 1 minute. During that time, we can also use our action to cast the Suggestion spell on the target; they fail their saving throw automatically.

We also get our final cantrip for this build (Sword Burst), and we get two more 5th-level spells: Planar Binding and Wall of Force.

Level 13 - Wizard: We unlock 6th-level spells. With Globe of Invulnerability and True Seeing, we upgrade our Shield of the Seraphim and give our Eye of Agamotto even more mystic abilities (as it should have had!)

Level 14 - Wizard: Time for another ASI! Let's put one point into Constitution for better HP chance, and one into Dexterity.

Arcane Gate finally gives us a proper yellow sparkly portal thingy, and let's get Chain Lightning for some much needed offensive capabilities.

Level 15 - Wizard: We're getting into 7th-level spells at this level. Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion allows us to recreate our very own Sanctum Sanctorum, and with Project Image we can get Strange's Astral Projection.

Level 16 - Wizard: At this level, we get our final subclass upgrade (and we cross the 100 HP mark, yay!). Arcane High Priest grants us the Knowledge Domain's 17th-level benefits. Visions of the Past lets us spend at least 1 minute of meditation to receive information about a specific object we're holding, or our immediate surroundings:

Object Reading - we learn of the object's previous owner. We know how the person came into contact with the object, how they lost it, and a significant even in their life tied to the object.

Area Reading - we see the events that transpired in the specific location (up to 50-foot cube), going back a number of days equal to our Wisdom modifier.

For this level's spells, let's get Plane Shift and Teleport to double-down on Strange's interdimensional travels.

Level 17 - Wizard: Time for 8th-level spells.

Illusory Dragon is a nice nod to the great "Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme" series (go check it out, it's awesome!), and Maze is another good banishment-type spell to have. Just don't use it on minotaurs.

Level 18 - Wizard: For our final ASI, let's put two points into Dexterity, leaving us unfortunately with an odd number (hopefully, you'll manage to find some ability-increasing item or benefit in your adventure).

For this level's spells, let's grab Power Word: Stun and Demiplane is a good combo to immobilize a foe and send it to the Shadow Realm Mirror Dimension.

Level 19 - Wizard: We unlock the pinnacle of D&D arcane, the 9th-level spells... that is, unless your DM introduces High Magic, which is... whew, a league of its own.

Time Stop and Foresight give us those Time Stone abilities (for all you MCU degenerates. Yes, I know what I said, but Strange was given the Time Stone in his new run, so I did not lie!)

Level 20 - Wizard: Our capstone is Wizard 18, which gives us the Spell Mastery feature. We get to choose one 1st-level spell and one 2nd-level spell from our spellbook and make them our signature moves; we can now cast them at will, without expending a spell slot. Shield and Hold Person seems like a good choice here.

For our final spells of this build, we cannot go without Astral Projection, and let's get Imprisonment a chance.

---

And there we go! Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts. Let's see what we've created:

First of all, we're the epitome of Wizard, we're a great utility caster and a pretty good support, with Internet-like capability of finding information. We're don't have a lot of damage-dealing abilities, like Sypha did, but remember - Wizards also get spell by finding them in the world and copying them in their spellbook. This here is only what we get automatically. Go and roam the world in search for that Fireball!

We have AC of 14, but with Shield (and later making it pretty much permanent) it can get up to 19, and we have 130 Hit Points on average. Our speed is also a little better, with 40 feet of movement (plus flying thanks to the Fly spell).

Unfortunately, our Charisma and Wisdom are not great, so those saving throws might be difficult. Our Strength is also not the greatest, so we're pretty much forced to fight with magic.

---

And that is it! Next time, we return to SMITE for a few builds, as I absorbs information about Fire Emblem: Three Heroes. Also, the game devs just released a teaser for Morgana le Fay, and my first reaction was 'Hexblade Warlock'. Do you agree?

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it and your day is going great. I'll see you next time!

- Nerdy out!

[fandom-obessesive]

I never told you pt 2

—

A/n: here’s part 2! if you enjoy this and would like to be tagged for part 3(which will be posted tmr 7/8/20) just leave a little👋 emoji.I hope you guys enjoy and have a great day

Part 1 Part 3 Part 4

Word count: 1160

Warning: Ends on a cliff hanger😢

—

The rest of the day you had been haunted by the look he gave you, the intensity sending shivers down your spine. You stayed after a bit to get caught up on anything else you had missed along with a promise to Chase about etching out the details for Saturday after you got home, it wasn’t long before you practically threw yourself onto your bed. Maybe it would have just been better if you had stayed home today. Instead of berating yourself any longer on decisions that could not be changed, you instead allowed your eyes to flutter shut, and let sleep take you somewhere less stressful.

Bzzt bzzt…..bzzt bzzt….....bzzt bzzt…………..bzzt bzzt

‘what the fuck’ you thought, irritated at being woken up. Flailing around in your sheets a bit before hearing a thud, you snatched your phone from the floor.

Today 6:43 pm

Heyyyyyy, you make it home okay?

Today 6:46 pm

Its Chase, from lunch by the way

Today 6:51 pm

Sorry that probably sounded a little weird,

a random number texting you to see if you

got home safe

Today 6:58 pm

Anyway, just checking to see if we’re still

on for Saturday haha

Today 7:01 pm

Yeah sorry, ended up taking a nap,

how does 11 sound? We could order

some pizza, maybe study a bit?

Today 7:03 pm

Sounds perfect!!! See you then:)

You smiled at his eagerness, finding it endearing. It felt nice being wanted after these past 2 weeks.

‘Welp, time to torture myself some more’ you thought throwing one of Paul’s sweatshirts on. You loved to steal them, especially since he was a big dude to begin with but always insisted on buying oversized ones. The material seemed to swallow you whole when you wore them. Bringing the fabric up to your face and inhaling, it still reeked of his cologne, pine, and salt.

‘I remember that day’

You and him had gone to the beach, him insisting it was going to rain and you just brushing it off saying it was always cloudy in La Push. He ended up being right and never took it back after seeing you shivering when you got inside his car.

“Don't leave me here, Paul!” You yelled as he got up and started sprinting to his Jeep as it started to pour.

“Wait” you could barely get the word out through your laughter as you got up to start running as well.

“Why are you so slow? You. Would. Be. Useless, if this was the zombie apocalypse” he yelled back jokingly running back towards you, opting to just throw you over his shoulder.

Rushing to the car, your laughter seemed to get louder as he made unintelligible noises trying to simultaneously unlock the car, open the door, and quickly seat you down. As he ducked in, looking over to you he put on as serious of a face as he could manage.

“When the time comes, I’m sorry to say, but you must be sacrificed” he said solemnly, slowly dragging his finger down his cheek.

“Dude if you don’t shut up, I’m gonna pee myself” you wheezed holding your stomach. He soon broke into laughter too, starting the car up. Without a word, he pulled the sweatshirt he had been wearing off before draping it over your head and began the 10 minute ride back to your house.

‘Still nice and warm‘ you thought, pressing your face into it. You pulled it on and smiled at him. The rest of the day had been spent eating junk food and watching The Witcher, with Paul commenting about Geralt's hair and what type of conditioner he uses, Ciri being the new Eleven, and mimicking Jaskiers songs, making his own up for the rest of the day.

That was one of your favorite memories with him, and unfortunately what seemed to now be one of your last. A frown tugged at your lips after the realization. You wondered if there was any way to capture the smell, maybe turn it into a spray so you wouldn’t have to forget.

Not for right now at least.

Running to the kitchen and grabbing some food, you quickly ate wanting to go back to bed so you could have a break from these type of thoughts that seemed to cloud your mind, and once again sleep was your only giver of peace.

----

Friday morning you spent almost a half hour just laying there debating if it was worth it to even go to school and risk a part 2 of yesterday.

‘I’ll just say I’m having a bad day and ask to do my work in the library’ you decided, almost forgetting to change out of his sweatshirt. Throwing on some sweatpants and one of your own sweatshirts, you got in your car and sped to school.

The day passed uneventfully, and just as suspected, you were able to hang out in the library for most of the day, haven been given a pass due to it being Friday.

As day became night, thoughts of Paul filled your mind, and you found yourself growing worried about tomorrow. You just didn’t know if you could afford anything else happening tomorrow.

‘Please let tomorrow go okay, that’s all I’m asking’ with those silent prayers in mind, you went to bed.

—-

11 rolled around sooner than you would have liked and Chase had arrived on the dot. You had to stifle a laugh when you first realized, also trying not to think about if he got here early so he could be on time. True to your word, you guys ordered some pizzas and studied most of the day, but you were also able to learn a lot more about Chase. It was actually kinda nice once he relaxed. He ended up leaving around 7 with an awkward hug and a promise to text you later and you were once again left alone.

‘Fuck this’ running upstairs, you grabbed Paul’s sweatshirt and headed out the back door.

Living near the woods definitely has its perks, like a trail behind your house to a clearing on the cliffs. You had discovered it when wondering around one summer and quickly made it a secret hideout for you and Paul. Paul was even able to bring over a bench that you and him painted. That summer had been one of the best, so carefree and filled with memories.

Making your way up the trail, you seem to have spotted the hunched over figure sitting in your bench a second too late. A little gasp left your mouth before you could stop it. You tried quietly leaving but before you could, he spoke up.

“I was wondering how long it would take him to leave” he said, standing up turning to face you.

———————————————————————

A/n: AHHHH IM SORRY, tmr tmr tmr tmr i promise!😂anyways I hope you enjoyed and don’t forget, if you’d like to be on the taglist simply leave a 👋 down below, thank you for reading, and have a great day😊❤️

Taglist: @chloe-skywalker @chiefjacob @fangirlanotherjust @jelly-fishy-babie @dillybuggg @Britty443 @ineedmorefanfics @lahoete

[ivarthebadbitch]

Strange things can happen

Chapter 13 summary: Aldreda breaks the news to Ivar, and Ecbert gives Ivar “the talk.”

Canon divergent, everybody lives, arranged marriage AU after 4x14. Read this chapter on Ao3.

Previous chapters: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

On Ao3: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

Pairings: Ivar x OC, Ivar vs. basically everyone

Warnings: Semi-explicit discussion about sex (blame @volvaaslaug for this one)

Word count: 2386

Tagged: @youbloodymadgenius @heavenly1927 @nukyster-blog @bae-roman @adhdnightmare @danisnotsosecret (let me know if you would like to be tagged)

CHAPTER 13: Misunderstandings and miscommunications

It was late in the afternoon by the time Aldreda was alerted to the return of her father and her husband. She had spent the better part of the day pacing around in her room after speaking with Judith and her grandfather, trying to figure out the best way to break the news to Ivar. It would hurt his feelings to some degree; of that she was certain. But in time, he would see the sense in her decision. And even if he didn’t...well, he would just have to get used to the idea.

She tried once again to gather up her courage as she waited for Ivar to arrive. There was really nothing to be nervous about, she told herself. She had Judith on her side, her father surely would understand too, and between them, they could convince her grandfather it was the right thing to do. Yet somehow her hands were cold and clammy, and her heart was thumping in her chest.

She jumped when she heard the knock on the door. To her surprise, when she got up to answer it, she found that it wasn’t just Ivar being held up by some guards as usual. Her father carried him in on his back, and they both looked tired but exuberant. 

Aethelwulf dropped Ivar on the bed with a groan and then pulled her into a tight hug. “All is well,” he murmured in her ear before turning to Ivar. “Show her?”

Ivar grinned and pulled her mother’s necklace out of his pocket with a flourish. It was stained reddish purple and smeared with dirt, but she was so happy to see it in his hands that she let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you,” she said, and meant it.

“Ivar was the one who found it,” her father said, beaming with pride. 

“With a little help from your father,” Ivar added, which felt like a major concession coming from him. He handed over the necklace with a slightly apologetic look on his face. “...it was in a puddle of wine. Sorry about that.”

That did not quite explain things, but she supposed there would be time for that later. Her mother’s necklace was sticky and stank of stale alcohol but it at least appeared to be intact. “And Father Wilfred?”

Ivar glanced at Aethelwulf. “The priest was already gone.”

“I see.”

An awkward silence settled over the room, with none of them entirely sure what to do next. At last, her father cleared his throat and held out his hand. “I will see to it that the necklace is cleaned properly,” he said, and she handed it back to him with a nod of thanks. “You should both rest. It has been a long day for us all.”

That was certainly true, and the day was about to become even longer. She let out a small sigh of relief as her father kissed her on the forehead and took his leave. Judith would break the news to him, but Ivar was her responsibility.

Once the door was closed, she turned to Ivar, still sitting on the bed with a broad grin on his face. “I have asked my grandfather for an annulment,” she said. No reason to dance around the subject, she had decided. Better to get this over with as quickly as possible.

She had expected him to be angry. She hadn’t forgotten their first night together, and the grip of his hand around her wrist. Or if he wasn’t angry, then she thought he would be sullen and resentful, like he had been in those first weeks of marriage when he had barely even acknowledged her existence. She was prepared for all of that.

She wasn’t prepared for him to look so hurt.

“What?” he asked, blinking in confusion. “Why?”

“You said you never wanted to marry me,” she explained. “I understand. I didn’t want to marry you, either. But we have a chance to fix this now, before it’s too late. You’ll be able to go home to your family.”

He stared at her, mouth hanging open. “You...you told them?” 

“I did.”

He looked utterly bewildered. “But I don’t want to go back to Kattegat. I want to stay here.”

She frowned. “You just tried to run away two nights ago!”

“I changed my mind. Today.”

Now it was her turn to be confused. She sat down on the bed beside him. “What are you talking about?”

“I like you,” he blurted out. “I want to stay married.”

“You...you decided this today?”

He nodded. After a moment of hesitation, he reached for her hand, but she moved away. His expression turned sour. “I don’t want this annulment. I won’t allow it. You shouldn’t have said anything. You had no right to do that.”

She crossed her arms. “Well, it’s not up to you to decide; it’s my grandfather’s choice. And it’s mine.”

Now he glared at her. “I got your necklace back for you!”

“And I said thank you!” She could feel her voice getting higher and the words spilling out of her faster and faster. “I asked you what you wanted before and if you wanted to stay married, and you didn’t know. But you never asked me what I wanted! It never even crossed your mind! So maybe I decided to make a choice for myself and do what I wanted for once. Maybe I’m tired of pretending. Did you ever think about that?”

“Shut up,” he snarled. Now that the initial shock had passed, his expression grew darker. “You told them.”

“I did,” she said coolly. She wasn’t about to back down. He could bully servant girls, but she was a princess of Wessex and the granddaughter of the king. If he put his hands on her, he would pay dearly for it.

However angry he was, he knew it too. He opened and closed his fists a couple times without taking his eyes off her. Then, all at once, he seemed to crumple. He buried his face in his hands and let out a low sob.

She suddenly felt like the worst person in the world. She hadn’t meant to make him cry; no more, she supposed, than he had meant to make her cry the night after he had tried to escape. But the damage was done and there was no going back for either of them. They just needed to get this whole ordeal over with, and the sooner, the better.

“My grandfather wishes to speak to you,” she said tiredly, after a few minutes of listening to him sob. “I suppose he will ask you some questions about our marriage so he can decide whether the annulment will proceed.”

Ivar wiped his nose. “I don’t want to speak to him. Or you. Or anybody else.”

“I understand,” she sighed.

He looked at her sharply. His eyes were red and swollen. “You don’t understand anything.” 

After that, he turned away and refused to talk to her. He stayed seated on the bed and sulked while she moved to her desk on the other side of the room and retrieved her embroidery. If he wanted to ignore her, that was fine: she was perfectly capable of doing the same. She threaded the needle and went to work putting the final touches on the cat she had started with Alfred. For a few minutes, the room was blissfully silent.

Of course, this was Ivar, so the silence didn’t last very long. “Oh, so you’re just going to ignore me now?” he demanded indignantly after several minutes, shifting himself around to face her direction.

She looked up from her embroidery. “I thought you didn’t want to talk to me anymore.”

“I don’t. I have nothing to say to you.”

“Well, you started this conversation, not me.”

He glared at her, but it wasn’t like he could argue with that. They lapsed once again into a tense silence, with Aldreda stabbing away furiously at her embroidery and Ivar glowering at her from across the room, until at last, there was a knock on the door and the guards came to take Ivar to speak to Ecbert.

Once he was gone and the door was shut behind him, Aldreda set aside her embroidery and took a deep breath. The thing she was quickly discovering about making her own choices—the thing she hadn’t realized would be so hard—was having to live with the consequences of those choices. Some part of her was filled with misgiving and dread. Already, she could feel events moving beyond her control at an alarming speed.

Had she made a terrible mistake?

                                                             **

Ecbert had taken a liking to Ivar from early on, and not just because he was Ragnar’s son. He found the boy to be clever and observant, albeit rather stubborn and impulsive at times, but those were not necessarily sins. And besides, Ivar had inadvertently given him considerable insight into the political dynamics and weaknesses of the Northmen—information that was sure to be useful at some point or another. 

So it had come as a considerable disappointment to him to learn that, after assuming no small amount of risk, the match between Ivar and Aldreda had evidently been unfruitful thus far. It was an untenable situation: calling off the marriage would be a massive embarrassment and a blow to the new alliance with Kattegat, but it was hardly reasonable for his granddaughter to continue a marriage that could not be consummated when there were other suitors who would be eager for her hand. Beyond that, it remained to be seen whether or not Ragnar had been aware of his son’s unfortunate issue, and whether it was something that could be fixed.

He summoned Ivar to his library late in the day, just as the sun was sinking below the horizon. The light filtered in gently through the windows, casting the entire room in a warm red glow. Ivar did not seem particularly appreciative of the aesthetic, however: after being given his seat at the table across from Ecbert, he gave him a sullen glare and then quickly looked away. 

Ecbert cleared his throat. “I heard that you and my son successfully retrieved Aldreda’s necklace, and for that I am most grateful,” he began. “It is unfortunate that Father Wilfred escaped justice, but it is not the most urgent matter at hand. I am sure that by now, Aldreda has told you that she has requested an annulment.”

He paused to give the boy a chance to respond. Ivar was staring at the table in front of him and picking intently at a splinter in the wood. 

“Between a man and a woman, there can be misunderstandings and miscommunications of all kinds,” Ecbert continued after a few seconds of silence. “Not because of any ill intent or desire to deceive, but because of language, or age and experience, or simply the nature of the situation. So before I make any decision on the matter of your marriage, I must clarify some things with you, even though they may cause discomfort on your part. Is that understood?”

The boy gave him a sulky look and then lowered his gaze once again. “I understand, King Ecbert.”

“Wonderful,” Ecbert said blandly. “First, Aldreda told me that the two of you have not had marital relations, nor has any attempt been made. Is that true?”

Ivar’s jaw twitched. “Yes.”

“I was further informed that you told her that you were incapable of having such relations. That the problem was not that you lacked knowledge or will, but the ability. Is that correct?”

There was a very long pause. When Ivar spoke, his voice was barely more than a whisper. “Yes.”

Ecbert regarded him for a moment. The boy’s face was filled with shame. “Was your father aware of this?”

Ivar quickly shook his head. “I didn’t tell him. I couldn’t—I couldn’t.”

When it was clear Ivar was not going to say anything more, Ecbert sighed. “I explained to Aldreda that the consequences of having this marriage undone were immense and likely unforeseeable,” he continued. “The impact goes well beyond just the two of you. Our trade agreement with Kattegat in no small part depends upon your marriage—and, to be blunt—on your ability to consummate it. However, I am hesitant to give permission for the annulment to proceed, unless and until some new arrangement can be reached with your father. So in the meantime, I must ask you to try.”

Ivar looked up at him in dismay. “But—”

“I am not insensitive to the challenges involved,” Ecbert interrupted, holding up a hand. “Many young and inexperienced men find themselves daunted by the prospect of pleasing a woman—well, I never was daunted myself, but I know that is sometimes the case. Perhaps you are self-conscious and fear judgment, and that has affected your performance. But I am prepared to coach you through this myself, starting today.”

Ivar’s eyes grew even wider and his cheeks turned bright red. “That—that won’t be necessary,” he sputtered.

“Oh, I disagree; if it was unnecessary, we would not be sitting here, would we?” Ecbert folded his hands in front of him and cleared his throat. “But we must begin with the basics, so there is no question in your mind as to how a man gives a woman a child.”

Ivar’s face turned even redder. “I know how,” he mumbled.

Ecbert ignored him. “In order for a man to give a woman a child, he must penetrate her first,” he began. “The usual method is for the man to lie on top of her, but there are many other ways this can be achieved. She may lie on him instead, for example. It is largely a matter of comfort and preference, but I must say that personally, I find that second way to be the most pleasurable. Regardless of the method, after successful penetration, the man must ejaculate—”

There was a sharp knock at the door. Ecbert looked up in irritation as a guard poked his head inside. “I am speaking to my grandson-in-law. I said I was not to be disturbed for any reason.”

“Apologies, my lord king,” the guard said breathlessly. “Ragnar Lothbrok and his son Ubbe have just arrived from Kattegat unannounced. They are waiting for you at the gate.”

[serenasoutherlyns]

Full of Surprises, Chapter 4

Maybe, Casey found herself thinking (and she had most days since it happened), the suspension was doing her more good than harm. Maybe it was Liz Donnelly trying to make her calm the hell down.

For three years.

AO3

A/N: Hi! Sorry this one is a bit short, I wrote it mostly in a car and on vacation, and I felt like I'd neglected these ladies too long. Working on three long fics and my novel at once, why do I do this to myself? I hope you all like this one!

Casey showered as fast as she possibly could, having realized that despite their apartments’ proximity to one another, 30 minutes was definitely too little time. Oh well. That’s always been Casey’s way, doing things too quickly, in a rush, not on time.

Maybe, Casey found herself thinking (and she had most days since it happened), the suspension was doing her more good than harm. Maybe it was Liz Donnelly (and Lena Petrovsky, though, Lena never cared about her like Liz did) trying to make her calm the hell down.

For three years.

Oh well.

Casey felt good, felt great even. She was not only excited to go out to breakfast with this beautiful, newly brunette (Casey thought brunette was sexy, not that it applied to her friendships, but it was a truth), new friend of hers, well, not new as in new acquaintance, but this Alex was new and this Casey was new and it was all the newest she’d felt since, of course, since.

No, breakfast, while exciting and delicious and required after that run, was not the only thing that had Casey feeling good. As she was leaving her place, dressed in a pair of bootcut jeans fraying at the bottoms (how, she wondered, with her height) and a cozy wool sweater (another plus for suspension: choosing her own wardrobe), she read over the email again:

Dear Ms. Novak,

Congratulations! We are so excited to let you know that we would like to accept the three poems you submitted for publication in the Fall issue of Arch and Arrow. We feel they are...

Casey didn’t read further, because she didn’t need to (already had, already filled out the paperwork!), for probably the thousandth time since she received the notification last night. Published! She would be published, in a real literary magazine, her first since, oh, maybe the summer before her first year of law school. Even then, she’d only ever entered undergraduate publications, never real things like this. Well. She thought, the monthly readership of Arch and Arrow would likely be no more than in the triple digits, but, oh who cares! Everything in Casey wanted to skip down the few blocks to Alex’s (how convenient, she’d thought when she realized, should she ever need a cup of sugar) but she did resist, public embarrassment being quite the strong motivator. When she rounded the corner to Alex’s place, she noticed she had a waiting text.

Alex: Buzz when you get here? I’m still getting ready.

She buzzed, and Alex let her in. It was funny, she thought, surprising that Alex wasn’t more punctual than her.

Casey had not yet spent much time at Alex’s place. They usually went out, for coffee or drinks, returning to that little library bar more than once; trading favorite places. Good morning, Casey thought, and it was: beautiful weather, a great run, the best news in a while, and of course, a beautiful woman--

Well, she would put a pin in that last thing.

“Come in,” was the reply from inside when Casey knocked twice, so she did. As soon as she got the door open, two balls of fluff came careening into her calves.

“Hello! Hi! Oh you’re just the most fluffiest perfect little,” Casey said before devolving into only noises, holding both cats at once. “Alex,” she said, setting the kitties down, “Have I mentioned how much I love your cats?”

“Yes,” Alex said, much closer to Casey than she anticipated as she stood up. “Every time you see them. Hey, Case.”

Casey’s breath caught in her throat at the proximity. Then her breath caught again when she noticed that her breath had caught. “Hey. Where to?”

“You asked?” Alex said.

“Oh, um, I did, didn’t I. Let’s go to that little diner,” Casey said, referencing where they’d gone together last weekend. “It’s 6:30 in the morning,” she said, omitting where she would usually include a “goddamn,” bringing things off topic as she saw the clock on Alex’s wall.

“And we’re both wide awake!” Alex said, tilting her head upwards. Casey saw her hair hit her jaw just under her ears. “I want diner coffee, as weird as that is.”

Alex led the way out of her apartment, after giving Casey some cat time so she could put a few barrettes in her hair. As they walked together to the restaurant, Alex saw something extra bubbly in her friend. It was cute, Alex thought, how Casey pointed out birds and fun-shaped clouds.

Casey couldn’t hold her exciting news back for very long once they were all settled. Two coffees-- scrambled eggs and hashbrowns for Casey and fried eggs and toast for Alex. The other patrons of the place this early were all kinds, industrial workers, moms meeting friends with their kids, hungover students, fellow athletes and insomniacs. Yet, she still needed some prompting.

“OK, what has you so energetic this morning?” Alex said. She was still rubbing the tiredness from her eyes.

The was all the encouragement Casey needed. “I got an email last night,” she put some hot sauce on her potatoes, “From Arch and Arrow Magazine,” no signs of recognition in Alex, figures, “saying they want to publish three of my poems.” She ended raising her pitch, smiling that dimpled smile that gave Alex butterflies.

Alex dropped her fork and coffee mug, made some excited noises that didn’t quite form words. “Casey, that’s, oh that’s so exciting! I can’t believe I get to be friends with Casey Novak: published author. I can already imagine it being Casey Novak: award winning poet. Wow, Case, that’s so,”

Casey couldn’t stand the praise anymore, her cheeks were heating up and she tried to hide the blush behind a napkin.

“Are you blushing? Casey, you can’t get embarrassed by your own accomplishments.”

Casey blushed even harder. “Evidently, I can and I will.”

Alex flicked a half and half across the table in spite, and Casey caught it before it fell. “Also, when is it coming out so I can buy 10 copies.”

“You’re ridiculous. Also, it’s not 100% finalized so I’m not going to get too excited until it’s actually in print.”

“Stop being humble, Case, this is a big deal.”

Casey shrugged happily, the dimples seemed permanent for the morning.

“It is a big deal. I’m really happy.”

“Does this mean I get to read your work finally?”

This time it was Casey’s turn to wage milk product war.

Alex insisted she would pay the bill, after a few more conversations. Alex insisted they go back to her apartment, wouldn’t tell Casey why. Casey’s heart jumped when Alex opened the door, brushed her back with her hand as she closed it.

“You go sit on the couch,” Alex ordered (Casey found Alex’s demanding nature very adorable). Casey did, and when Alex returned from the kitchen, her jaw dropped. A bottle of expensive champagne were in one hand, two flutes in the other.

“Alex!” Casey exclaimed, “That’s way too nice. And it’s,” she checked the clock, “8 AM.”

“Special occasion,” Alex said, shrugging and smiling. “I think you deserve to be celebrated.”

They enjoyed the, making new conversations and snuggling the cats. Casey felt warm, comfortable, content. Calm.

“By the way,” Alex said, “I’m sending your poems to Liz Donnelly when they come out. Show her what brilliance she’s missing out on.”

Casey threw her scarf at the brunette this time, with no little milk containers to use. Alex just laughed, did not back down.

“I’m really glad I ran into you today.”

“Me too.”