#stay tuned for chapter seven!

[ravens-dagger]

An introduction to Tarnished Gold

Since I'll be posting the first chapter of my Elden Ring fic this week, I wanted to make an introductory post to talk a bit about the main character of the story and a very brief synopsis of what the story is about!

MC: Revna

So the main character I've created for this story is a Tarnished named Revna. She is a spellblade who utilizes a variety of sorceries alongside the Moonveil katana. As of chapter one, she has allied herself with Ranni and has gotten to the point of having the Dark Moon Ring in her possession and has explored the Moonlight Altar. Revna has also acquired the Great Runes of Godrick, Rennala, Rykard, Radahn and Morgott by the beginning of this story.

This is my girl! :D

She is nightfolk, and for the purposes of my story, nightfolk have a direct connection to the Nox and the Eternal Cities, therefore they have an extra layer of ostracization along with the treatment that comes with being Tarnished.

A brief synopsis:

Upon death after attempting to defeat Mohg, Lord of Blood, Revna awakens deep in the roots of the Haligtree. She doesn't get much time to question why she woke up here instead of back at the mausoleum entrance, as the mighty demigod Malenia is aware of her presence.

This story follows Revna as she becomes allied to the Blade of Miquella to help rescue the cocooned Empyrean from Mohg. She gains new allies and friends, not to mention a blossoming connection to yet another Empyrean. Ranni has offered her hand in marriage, but Revna is unable to shake the affection she feels growing for the famed cursed Valkyrie.

Chapter One will be posted within the next couple of days, and I hope that those who are interested in reading will enjoy my work! I'm not the fastest writer, so chapter updates may not be super fast, but I'm really proud of the work I've done on this little world of mine!

[loveshotzz]

All I Really Want Is You

older!neighbor!widower! steve x fem!reader chap seven/ten - a slow burn series of blurbs - updated every wednesday

Bad Idea

summary: After a week of avoiding, you find Steve at your front steps.

wc: 4.3k

warnings: 18+ series for future chapters. Steve and Reader have THE talk, we learn Steve & Emma’s story. There will be discussions of feelings about watching a loved one struggle with terminal illness and death in this chapter. There’s not a ton of details about her struggles but it is touched on. Angsty beginning and a very, very fluffy end 🧡

author’s note: it’s all up hill from here guys, just a little growing pains. i can’t believe there’s only three chapters left after this 🥺 thank you for reading and all of the sweet reblogs and messages through out this whole series. you have made this so special for me and it’s been such a comfort to write as I navigate my own life changes right now.

🌇 <- chapter six -> chapter eight

The Masterlist / The Playlist / The tune:

End of June -

It had been a week since Steve came back from his camping trip. A week of good morning texts left unanswered, of making sure not to look out your window when you knew he was home - even when you could hear him play with Bandit. He was doing that outside more than usual, a tactic to try and get you to come out and talk to him or hell, even just look at him. 

He doesn’t know that a few times it almost worked. 

Always & Forever

The words engraved into silver also stay carved deep and fresh in your mind, not letting you forget. You couldn’t, even if you tried. Especially not her beautiful eyes. Does she hate you? Part of you feels like you would hate you. The guilt threatens to punch the air out of your lungs.

The days go on like this with you doing everything in your power to avoid him while he did everything he could to run into you. The last ditch effort was after you caught him getting out of his car, your eyes meeting for a split second before you cut through the alley walking in through the back gate instead. Your resolve to stay away grows weaker when Steve’s good morning texts finally stop after that. 

So when Brad, the new server, gets the courage to ask you out, you say yes. It was a bad idea, anyone could’ve told you that, you didn’t really want him. He was just a distraction from facing the consequences of your own actions.  

He takes you to RPM Steakhouse in the heart of downtown and surprisingly he actually makes you laugh. He’s full of food industry horror stories he’s collected over the years. He’s not boring and he’s attentive when you talk, asking questions like he’s really interested. The butterflies that have built a home in your rib cage don’t flutter and fly for him though. The nerves that make your heart beat faster, the ones that feel like they vibrate from your fingertips, like your skin is on fire, are stagnant. 

He’s not Steve. 

You skip out on dessert when it’s offered to you, but you let him hug you before you get in your separate Uber’s home. It worked for a few hours at least. Looking out the window when your car hits the expressway, the skyline shines gleaming like the stars in the clear night sky.

It’s not very long until your phone fights for your attention, the screen illuminating the backseat. It pulls you back to reality, your breath catching when it’s not Brad’s name that flashes across your screen.

Steve

Can we please just talk? 

You aren’t expecting to see him at your front steps when the Uber drops you off at your gate. His hair sticks out wild at the ends, like he’s been pulling it all night, scratch that, all week and it makes more guilt settle deep in your gut. The scruff on his jaw is almost dark enough to be a beard now. His legs are covered in gray sweats and the white undershirt he wears fits tight over his shoulders. You hate how handsome he still is, even with his slides and socks.

He’s talking to himself, moving his hands like he’s trying to explain something, reciting a speech you can’t quite hear from as far as you are. The leftovers shift in your bag when you take your first step making the styrofoam squeak and plastic crinkle, his eyes shoot up instantly at the noise.

“Honey?”

Those wings start to stretch and flutter even after just one word. You wish you could be mad at how much power one word from him has, but all you feel is the weight of how much you missed him when his face softens.

“Hi Steve.” You catch the way his lips twitch at the sound of his name coming from your mouth when you open the gate. It had been too long for him, he’d become addicted to it without even knowing it.

He stands up, his eyes can’t help but roam your bare legs that sit exposed in your black cocktail dress, or the way the middle sinches into your waist, before fluttering out over the tops of your thighs. His own jealousy threatens to bubble over at the thought of you wearing this for someone else. He needs you to understand him.

“Is this a bad time?” He asks, scratching the back of his neck while he reads the restaurant name on your bag. He hopes whoever took you there isn’t coming back. “If it is sweetheart, I can give you more space. I just, I just wanted to see you.”

You stop in front of him, further away than normal but close enough to smell the cigar smoke that still clings to the cotton of his shirt. It mixes with the spice of his cologne from earlier this morning. His eyes find yours without hesitation, glazed over from the glass of whiskey you’re sure he nursed before finding himself on your front steps. They shimmer under the moon like emeralds and you just want to get lost in them.

The answer you want to give and the answer that you think will protect you are at each other’s throats, constricting yours from giving him anything right away. His face crumbles a little when his question is met with silence. You don’t want him to go.

“No, it’s not a bad time.” It comes out before you can fight it.

The smile that tugs at Steve’s lips warms your face like the summer sun, his hand reaching out for you before pulling back and finding a new home deep in his pocket instead. Baby steps. Your arm brushes against his when you walk past him, the smallest touch lighting the match.

“I just need to get out of this dress.” You can’t look at him when you pull at the fabric as if to show him how uncomfortable it is.

“Should I wait down here?” He clears his throat a little unsure of himself as he watches you dig through your purse. He didn’t think he’d get this far.

Cicadas buzz loud against the jingle of your keys in the beat of silence it takes you to unlock the front door. The stale air of the walkway hits you like an oven when you push it open, the heat making your skin stick more than it did outside.

“You can come up. I promise my dishes are done this time.” You flash him a smirk from over your shoulder watching the way your gesture makes him relax like you’d intended, secretly enjoying the blush you still can get to flush his cheeks so easily. 

Steve hadn’t been inside your apartment since the day he fixed your sink, and you don’t think you’ll ever get used to seeing him here. He’s handsome in a timeless way, still somehow put together even in his disheveled state. You watch the way he takes in his surroundings like he wants to commit it all to memory not knowing that he actually is, just in case this all blows up in his face and you never let him come back here again. 

The only noise that fills the room is the loud whirr of your A/C and it’s your turn to clear your throat.

“Umm, feel free to take a seat. I’ll be really quick.” You awkwardly gesture towards your green couch, grimacing when your mind goes back to the beautiful leather one at his place. 

He just nods, rubbing his palms against his thighs while taking one last look around before sitting. Your nose scrunches when you see how deep he sinks down, maybe a used couch wasn’t the best idea you’d ever had.

You wait till your door is shut to let out the long breath you feel like you’ve been holding this whole time. The familiar thumping in your chest returns ten fold. He’s in your living room.  

You try not to think too much about the yoga shorts and oversized shirt you change into, especially when your muscles relax, no longer strained by the tight nylon material dress. Allowing a single once over in your long mirror, you force yourself back out, the creak of your door alerting him of your return. His stare makes goosebumps dance across sticky skin in a battle with the air conditioning.

“Do you want some water?” You try to sound casual when you ask, keeping your back to him so he can’t see the way you’re still buying time.

“S- sure,” he stutters out, a cough following and you hear the way the cushions respond to his weight as he tries leaning forward. 

Now it's the whirr of your a/c and the grumbling of the ice machine that silences the unspoken feelings that are begging to come out. Scratching and clawing their way to the surface, the cracks in your facade start getting deeper the longer you stay quiet.

Steve breaks first.

“I think there’s a conversation we should have.” He pauses before starting over, “There’s a conversation I want to have.”

You freeze when the realization of where you left the watering can smacks you right in the face.

“Steve-“ you start, unable to meet his eyes and he’s quick to cut you off.

“Listen, I have some things I need to say and you should at least let me get it off my chest if you’re just going to pretend I don’t exist now.” His words make you realize the selfishness that hides under your insecurities of not being good enough for someone like him. 

He stands up when you turn around, both of you staying on opposite sides of the room. He takes a shaky breath before dragging his fingers through his hair.

“I didn’t think I’d ever feel these things again with anyone else, I was sure of it actually and then you showed up in your horribly packed moving truck.” He laughs a little like he’s still wrapping his head around all of it, and he knows if the situation was any different you’d roll your eyes at him for the teasing jab.

“You brought all of these things out of me that I thought I’d lost for good. Like, I can’t remember the last time I cared about what I was wearing when I left the house, but the past month I’ve been obsessed about it. Like what if she’s outside? What if she’s looking out her window? What if she wants to talk to me?” The veins in his neck show themselves as he gets more worked up but he’s not done yet.

“Then last week when you showed up at my front gate, looking even prettier than the last time I saw you, because you do that somehow, I couldn’t help myself around you anymore. The fact that you were actually going to kiss me back after I put the worst moves on you made me feel like I won the lottery or something.” His gaze meets yours to make sure he isn’t scaring you off before taking a deep breath.

“And then, and then you just - you just left without so much as a reason why. It was pretty clear though when I got home, and maybe that’s my fault because I feel like I’m doing this all backwards but you didn’t give us a chance to even talk about it.”

Steve looks like his world is falling apart, and the things he’s saying make you feel like anything but a second choice. You wish you could go back to that rainy day at his house and do things over again.

“I wasn’t given the shot at a fair fight the first time something special was taken from me, but I have one now and I’m not walking away unless you kick me out.” He straightens his shoulders a little before another anxious hand runs through his wild hair. His chest heaves as he finally gets out what’s been sitting just below the surface the whole time, his fears revealing themselves behind flushed cheeks and glassy eyes. 

The feeling like you’re slighting another woman who isn’t here is hard to navigate. It makes your own eyes sting but you don’t let the tears fall. Not when he’s handing his heart to you like he means it.

“I’d never kick you out,” your words come out quiet - soft, a stark contrast to the way his boomed loud with conviction, but he doesn’t miss them.

Hope starts to sprout deep in his chest for the first time in years.

“Never?” He breathes, relief relaxing the hard lines on his face while he looks at you from under his lashes.

His feet take him those few steps closer and when you make no moves to tell him to stop he keeps going. The sadness that plagues his handsome features slowly starts to fade and the bags under his eyes become more obvious. You want to kiss them.

Your hand extends, fingers reaching out for his. His eyes follow your movements, taking in what you’re offering and he doesn’t hesitate anymore, interlocking them like when he walked you to your front door. You watch the way his shoulders give the moment they touch and his eyes close as he relishes in the feel of it. Of you. 

Your back hits the edge of your kitchen sink when he crowds your space a little more, your fingers playing songs on imaginary strings together. Memorizing he dips between each one. His nose skims across your forehead making your own eyes close. How could you ever stay away from him?

“Never.” 

He hums at your confession, squeezing your hand gently before pulling back. He takes his time admiring your face from this close. He missed you so much, he actually thinks it’s kind of crazy. His other hand reaches up to cup your cheek, the pad of his thumb tracing the high bone. He loves the way you lean into it. You missed him too.

“Can we have that conversation now?” 

All you can do is nod, tears still threatening to spill out but now a different kind.

The two of you sit on your couch for hours, worn in cushions pushing you close together. Your head rests on his arm that’s draped along the back of it, your socked feet in his lap. He tells you how he met Emma through his high school sweetheart Nancy. The ex that turned him into a man as he put it, the one that made him really think about the kind of person he wanted to be. Even going as far to say Emma would have never given him the time of day if it wasn’t for her. Nancy was the Managing Editor of The Chicago Tribune and Emma was her Editor in Chief.

After being introduced by Nancy at a sports gala, Steve pursued her hard, especially because she said no the first three times he asked her out. It makes you giggle when he laughs about it. He said he knew he wanted to marry her after the first date and a year later he proposed to her on a group vacation with Eddie, Robin, Nancy and a few other friends in Mexico. The picture you saw was taken right after she said yes.

The wedding was small, just a few of their closest friends at The Chicago Botanical Gardens, and a dinner at Smith & Wollensky next to the river after. He told you how Eddie pretended to be mad the whole night becauseSteve made Robin his best man instead. They both moved into Steve’s apartment near Wrigley Field after a honeymoon in Italy. He said it was some of the best years of his life with her there, young and in love in one of the liveliest neighborhoods in the city. Then a few years passed and both their careers started taking off and they started wanting more as they got older. A family.

That’s when they started to invest in renovating this fixer upper of a house in a less nightlife oriented neighborhood. The house you live next door to. Between busy work schedules and dealing with contractors when the symptoms first started, they didn’t think anything of it. They chalked it up to exhaustion until she fainted in her office a few months later, then they finally saw a doctor. Another month later after multiple tests and hospital visits Emma was diagnosed with ALS.

“I’ve never seen something debilitate someone so fast, and Emma, god Emma was so strong. Seeing her like that at the end, it fucking broke me.” Steve’s voice cracks, a silent stream of tears falling down his cheeks now.

Your heart breaks for them, the tragedy of watching the person you love fall apart with nothing to do to stop it. An entire life you had planned ripped out from under you with zero warning or mercy. A cruel joke.

You reach up, using the back of your knuckles to wipe away his tears.  He leans in your touch, his gaze meeting yours with so many emotions inside of them, you think you might drown.

“We decided to stay in our apartment when she couldn’t walk anymore, with the rate it was moving she didn’t want me to live in this big new house meant for our new beginning and have her…have her die in it,” the last part comes out in just above a whisper, stopping to collect his thoughts. His brows furrow together and his fingers search for yours again. You give them to him without question. 

“We checked her into hospice a month after that, Eddie flew in the day she chose to get off assistance. She was surrounded by the people she loved the most those last days.” He takes another deep breath before he continues, it shakes just like his hands.

“That was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I don’t know how someone is supposed to go through that kind of pain and move on from it. Be a person again after it.” He takes another pause and he pulls you closer. His anchor.

“I don’t know if I’d still be here if it wasn’t for Eddie moving into the house with me those first three months, if I’m being totally honest with you.” He sniffs, his gaze falls to his lap to try and hide the shame at the thought, and you squeeze his hand a little bit harder.

“I’m so sorry Steve.” Your voice cracks at the weight of everything he’s been carrying around. The gravity of the way you left him tightens in your throat.

The tears you’d been holding back break free, making his eyes snap to yours. He lets your hand go to wipe your cheeks with gentle fingers like you did to his just moments before. He knows you're apologizing for more than just his bad luck.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m okay now,” he whispers, pressing his forehead to yours. The tips of your noses touch, tears mixing and dripping down the ends of them. You keep your eyes closed in hopes that if you focus hard enough, maybe you could take away some of his pain. Even if it’s just a little bit. “We’re okay now.”

You don’t know how long the two of you sit like this together, not speaking, letting wandering hands memorize faces and fingertips. Your breathing falls in time while your cheeks start to dry. Puffy red eyes stay closed while your muscles finally relax. His nose rubs small circles against yours that make smiles neither of you can see stretch across tear streaked faces.

When you finally open your eyes, he’s already looking at you, something brighter inside of his now like he just let go of a big secret. He doesn’t have to hide anymore.

It’s you that finally works up the strength to pull away enough to really see his whole face after depriving yourself of it for so long.

“I actually kinda feel like she sent you here, despite me,” he admits, laughing nervously, breaking the silence, “She made me promise her that I’d try and find love again when the time was right, I eventually said yes after she asked me at least a dozen times, but I never actually intended on it.” 

Steve stops for a second to brush some of your mascara that smudged, holding your eyes in the forest of his.

“Then five years later, this tough girl tries moving an entire apartment’s worth of stuff by herself next door. I mean, you practically did.” He smiles at how proud you look of yourself, “I knew I was screwed when Bandit sniffed you out.”

You giggle like you're just as love sick as him and he wishes he could play it on a loop whenever he’s sad. 

“She was probably laughing at how bad I was at trying to flirt with you.” His ears turn cherry red while he tries to hide his very real embarrassment.

“You did run away from me for like a solid week after we met the first time if you remember,” you tease, making his eyebrows raise in challenge. You weren’t supposed to roast him too.

“I guess we’re even then aren’t we?” He counters, smirking when you scoff, wrapping his arm around you so you can’t move away like you try to in fake protest.

Your legs end up draped over the tops of his thighs, fitting snug into his side. The warmth of his body makes your eyelids droopy. The cedar undertones he always carries calms all of your nerves.

“She was beautiful Steve,” you whisper, playing with the chain that dangles off his neck before looking up at him with a smile, “And maybe even a little too cool for you if I dare say.” It’s genuine when it comes out of your mouth, no hidden insecurities, an understanding that he wasn’t settling for you and it makes Steve want to kiss you even more. 

“She would have thought you were way too cool for me too.” He laughs, tracing the side of your face with his fingertips. You want to look away from the intensity of it all but you force yourself to hold his stare, keeping yourself open for him. It’s quiet for a few minutes, letting everything that was shared tonight really sink in. That stray you missed so much makes an appearance and you finally get to be the one that pushes it back, and his hair is just as soft as you imagined.

“What are you doing on the fourth, pretty girl?” The new nickname makes you shift in your seat, the hint of a smug smirk begs to break across his face when he catches it. Maybe he’s still got it.

“Nothing, I got the day off.” You hate that his question is enough to make you shy.

It’s too hard to hold his gaze this time, but he doesn’t let that slide. His fingers hook under your chin to tilt your eyes back up to his. Noses brushing, your lips just inches apart like this.

“Be my date to the block party?” He whispers, whiskey and tobacco still lingering on his breath. 

You smile, nudging your nose against his in a dare.

“I’d love to Steve.” His name comes out around strawberry chapstick lips, they brush with his feeling like velvet and it makes his nostrils flare.

He dips his head with a groan kissing the corner of mouth instead, before placing one on both your cheeks and another, a lingering one, against your forehead. 

“In honor of not doing things backwards, I’m going to wait until I’ve taken you out. The way it should happen. The way someone like you deserves.”

Steve wants to make you feel special too.

It's hard for you to feel rejected with his reasoning and seeing the clock on your stove read in bright red numbers - 2:46am. The fourth was only three days away now.

You play it off with a roll of your eyes and a dramatic “fine” that makes him really laugh for the first time all night, giving you another kiss on the cheek. This one a little wet. He can’t get enough of the way you can’t look at him after.

It’s another thirty minutes before he decides it’s time to go home when your yawn is too loud to hide and your head presses harder into his chest. He wishes he could stay, and one night he knows he will.

You both linger in the doorway with fingers wrapped up tight, neither one of you ready to let go. He just wants to stare at you, but he knows the alarm stuffed in his pocket is going to make his life miserable in three hours.

Instead, he gives you another kiss on the forehead telling you he’ll text in the morning, and he wishes he could have a picture of the smile you give him when you promise to text back.

beta’d by @superblysubpar

dividers by @newlips

older!steve edit by @eddiemunsons-missingnipple

🌇 -> chapter eight

[felassan]

EA Press Release. [source link]

"Unite a Team of Heroes to Defeat Rampaging Elven Gods in Dragon Age™: The Veilguard Arriving in Fall 2024 June 09, 2024 Meet the Most Captivating Companions in the Franchise with New Cinematic Trailer; Official Gameplay Reveal with More Game Details Coming Tuesday, June 11 REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) and BioWare premiered a new cinematic trailer showcasing a brand new cast of companions who will join players in their journey through Dragon Age: The Veilguard, an all-new single-player fantasy RPG experience coming to PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S and PC in Fall 2024. Dragon Age: The Veilguardbuilds upon the pillars the iconic series is best known for, delivering a bold and heroic adventure guided by rich storytelling, fluid and strategic combat, companions and fellowship, and choices that matter. Tune into the official gameplay reveal of Dragon Age: The Veilguard featuring more than 15 minutes of gameplay from the opening moments of the experience on Tuesday, June 11 at 8:00 a.m. PT at the Dragon Age YouTube channel. In this next chapter of the critically-acclaimed saga, players will step into Dragon Age’snewest fully-customizable hero, Rook, battling on the front lines alongside an extraordinary cast of heroes known as the Veilguard. Fellowship is central to the experience of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, with each companion entering the fray with their own storylines, motivations and skill trees. In this tale that will decide the fate of Thedas forever, Rook must rise up, rally a team and forge relationships to become the unexpected leader others believe in. “Dragon Age: The Veilguardfeatures some of the deepest companion storylines in Dragon Agehistory, navigating romance, tragic loss and complex choices that will affect relationships with players and the fate of The Veilguard,” said John Epler, Creative Director of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. “BioWare’s storytelling roots shine through every chapter of this adventure, and we are incredibly excited for Dragon Age fans as well as those new to the series to experience this crafted, character-driven narrative that is so intertwined with our studio’s DNA.” Each companion in Dragon Age: The Veilguard brings their own expertise to the field of battle, summoning the grit to stand together and face impossible odds. Throughout their adventures, players can mix and match different team combinations of two of the game’s seven total companions at a time, to adapt to certain challenges and link powerful combinations that can turn the tide of any battle. The game’s cast of companions includes: Bellara, a creative and romantic Veil Jumper obsessed with uncovering ancient secrets. Davrin,a bold and charming Grey Warden who has made a name for himself as a monster hunter. Emmrich, a necromancer of Nevarra's Mourn Watch who comes complete with a skeletal assistant, Manfred. Harding, the dwarven scout, returns to the fray as a companion with her big heart, a positive outlook, and a ready bow – as well as unexpected magical powers. Lucanis, a poised & pragmatic assassin who descends from the bloodline of the House of Crows, a criminal organization renowned throughout Thedas. Neve, a cynic fighting for a better future, both as a private detective and a member of Tevinter's rebellious Shadow Dragons. Taash, a dragon hunter allied with the Lords of Fortune who lives for adventure and doesn't mind taking risks. Fans can add Dragon Age: The Veilguardto their wishlists on PlayStation, Xbox and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. For additional information and to stay up to date on Dragon Age: The Veilguard, visit the official website, like Dragon Ageon Facebook, follow the franchise on Discord, TikTok, Tumblr, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), and subscribe to its YouTube channel."

[source link]

[dotster001]

For Tuna; Rook End

A/N: editing this is gonna suck, cause Tumblr is so glitchy today 😭 but as I'm sure no one is surprised...some of you have been waiting a long time for this specific ending, so I figured he deserved his own title . The next ending is a three way tie, so keep an eye out for a poll in the next couple days.

Chapters One Two Three Choose another End

“Rook Hunt, you have been chosen-”

“At last! The moment has come!”

Grim was immediately second guessing his decision. Y/N had told him all about how Rook's family had multiple villas, so he'd thought he'd be willing to put up with him the one day a year he'd have to. But the man was far too excited.

“Wonderful,” Grim said through gritted teeth. “So what we'll do is, tomorrow-”

“You're adorable, Monsieur Fuzzball. No need for that though!”

“Huh?”

“I don't need you. Au revoir!”

Rook practically skipped out of the room, singing a cheery tune to himself.

….

Grim was terrified. All day he'd been waiting for whatever Rook had planned. He'd stuck to your side all day, quivering in anxiety.

“Okay, Grim, what's wrong?” You asked, finally tired of ignoring it for the sake of his pride.

“N- nothing is wrong, human! You insult me.”

“Yeah, yeah,” you muttered. 

You closed the book you'd been reading during the break in the lesson, and turned to him.

“Okay, so what's not wrong, then?”

Grim mumbled under his breath. But you soon forgot all about it, as the lights in the classroom dimmed, followed by a shower of rose petals raining down on all of you.

“Who is responsible?” Trein bellowed, but he was soon forgotten as well, as Rook appeared at the front under a single spotlight, violin music playing to his entrance.

“Bon jour!”

“What the fuck?” You whispered, quickly realizing that Grim was no longer by your side. He must have taken the opportunity to flee classes. Little rat.

“I am here because I can no longer keep silent about my affections!” He pressed one hand to his heart, the other dramatically extending to the classroom. “I am deeply in love.”

You looked to see if Trein would stop him, but just watched him sigh. Even the teacher knew to just let Rook be Rook. 

“Mon Trickster! My heart beats so hard for you, it is apt to burst into a bloody mess of my adoration.”

There was now a second spotlight on you. You looked around to see where it was coming from, only to find there was no source of it.

A gust of wind picked up around Rook, making the rose petals that had fallen to the floor pick up, and swirl around him.

“Mon Tresor, say that you will allow me to forever kneel at your feet. Say that you will allow me to sing your adoration until my vocal cords tear. Say that I can write you poetry until my fingers fall off. Say-”

“God, Rook! I'd rather have you in one piece,” you cut him off with a laugh.

He stood upright with a light smile, swirling a finger in the air to turn the rose petals into a single rose. He gently kissed it, then tossed it to you across the classroom. You caught it, sniffing it and letting the aroma wash over you.

By the time you looked back up, he was standing right in front of you. You blinked, looking at the spot he was standing, then back at where he stood now. He smiled as though he was unperturbed by your confusion.

“If I stay in one piece, will you pledge your soul to me?” He asked sweetly.

“My soul? Not my heart?”

“For Seven’s sake, tell the boy whether you love him or not, so I can move on with the class,” Trein snapped.

“Okay! Rook, I like you too!” You said quickly.

“How exciting!” He snapped his fingers, and you heard the beginning of an orchestral intro. 

Rook inhaled heavily, and began to sing.

“Goodness, class dismissed!” Trein shouted over the aria, which was not going to stop anytime soon. You gave Trein a pleading look. While you liked Rook, and were totally happy to start seeing him, this song sounded like it would go on for a while. Trein gave you an apologetic look as he shut the door of the classroom, locking it behind him.

....

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[cryptidghostgirl]

Make You Wish Chapter Five -- The Conversation

Pairing: Alastor x Reader

Warnings: None that I can think of but please correct me if I am wrong.

Word Count: 1,324

Previous Part: Chapter Four -- Vox

Master Lists:

Master Lists 

Hazbin Hotel Master List 

Make You Wish Master List

A/N I promise I will get to the rest of the requests soon, I've just had a lot of people asking for part five of this series.

The shadows released Alastor and Y/n in his old studio. They melted into the ground around them as Y/n smiled brightly, her eyes traversing the familiar space.

"Happy to be back?" Alastor asked, watching her excitment fondly and Y/n nodded.

"I most certainly am. This is the most fun I've had in ages."

"More fun than murder?"

"Fucking with Vox like that? Definitely more fun than murder. That was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time."

"That's why you're lucky to have me around."

"Hey, you're the one who left, not me. You don't need to convince me I like spending time with you. Rather, you are in a need to be proving your care for me I should think."

"Am I, my dear?" Alastor crooned, leaning in slightly with his hands behind his back.

"Yes, you are."

He laughed.

"Well, I will have to get on that."

As Alastor approached the desk, his horns sprouting in shadows from his head, she made her way over to the corner of the space covered in of pillows and blankets. Hitting the pillows, they released a cloud of dust. Y/n shrugged slightly, waving the dust away from her nose before sitting down.

Alastor held his microphone to his mouth, recommencing his recording.

"Lets begin." Alastor announced as he sat down in his chair and began fiddling with the knobs on the table, "I'm gonna make you wish that I'd stayed gone, tune on in."

Y/n spotted her old crocheting project she'd started seven years before and smiled. Taking it in her hands, she began to continue her previous work.

"When I'm done, your status quo will know its race is run." Alastor continued, his demon form becoming even wilder and sharp at its edges.

"This will be fun." Y/n mused, watching him carefully.

Alastor turned to her, his smile sickeningly wide.

"Yes, it will be."

It was just like the old days. Alastor broadcasted his show while Y/n watched, working on whatever craft project was nearest to keep her hands busy. There was a deep seated comfort rising in her soul, a sense of belonging she hadn't felt in years.

Every once in a while over the course of his show, Alastor would turn his head back towards her. Y/n wasn't sure if he was checking in or making sure she hadn't left. Either way, she didn't care. After about three hours, Alastor at last signed off.

As soon as he hit the button that stopped his broadcast, Y/n placed her crocheting to the side. Getting to her feet, she walked over to him and took a seat on the desk, smiling brightly.

"What did you think, my dear?" Alastor asked, leaning back in his chair as he looked up at her.

"Amazing as always, Al. I swear, your voice was made for the air waves."

Alastor laughed lightly at this comment.

"I missed it. I missed you."

"I found myself missing you too, my dear. I had become so used to your constant presence, it was an odd thing to suddenly be alone."

"You like me!" Y/n teased in a singsong voice and Alastor smiled back at her, "Admit it!"

"Perchance. So, seven years." Alastor sighed.

"Seven years." Y/n confirmed.

"You work for an imp now? Seems an odd turn of events."

Y/n shrugged, turning her head to look out the window at the street far below.

"Blitzo is a friend. He helped me out a lot when you first left."

"So you joined his little team? How sinful, breaking the law and going to the living world to reap souls for paying customers."

Y/n turned back to him.

"I didn't realize you knew that much about what we did."

"I have my sources."

"Husk? Are your sources Husk? He's the only one that knows what it is I do now from the old crowd."

Alastor didn't reply.

"It's for sure Husk. How is he doing?"

"Y/n." Alastor warned, "Answer the question."

She sighed, kicking her legs slightly.

"I mean, nothing we do is technically legal." she admitted, "None of them have human disguises and our way to the human world is a book Blitzo stole from a fucking Goetia."

"You don't say." Alastor mused, "That would happen to have anything to do with this contract you're under."

Y/n's eyes locked with Alastor in silence. They glared sharply at one another in a battle of will. At last, Y/n relented.

"Yeah. It does."

"So, what is it? Why does a member of the Goetia family own your soul. Why is it that you have fallen so far."

"You really aren't gonna let this one go."

Alastor shook his head.

"Blitzo... well he was friends with the guy. Stolas, one of the Goetia princes in charge of the heavens or some shit. It's... Basically, I made a deal that if Stolas stays away from Blitzo and let us use the book, I would give him my soul."

"How altruistic. Though not unexpected from you, I suppose."

"It was only a few months after you left, Al. I couldn't take him on. Hell, you can't even take him on. He's a fucking Goetia. I did... I couldn't think of anything else. I did what I had to do to keep my friend safe."

"And why did he deserve your protection? He dug his grave and instead of lying in it, put you in."

"It's not his fault. Stolas got all weird with stuff and Blitzo was uncomfortable. There's this big threat of him tattling on us he hangs over our heads at all times. I... Blitzo did so much for me, Al. He helped me pick up the pieces of my life when it was clear you weren't coming back. I've become better now, stronger but back then, it was all I could do for him."

Alastor opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Y/n's phone buzzing.

"Sorry, gimme a second."

Alastor eyed the device in irritation as she pulled it from her pocket. Whatever was on the screen dampened her mood even further than their conversation had. She jumped down off the table, hurriedly typing something out on her phone.

"Shit, Al. I have to go, I'm sorry."

"Work?"

"Sorta."

"Ah. Your deal. Why does he not just pull you to him like a normal demon would."

"Well," Y/n began, sliding her phone back into the pocket of her dress, "first off, he's a hellborn not a demon. And second off he has this weird thing about being wanted? Well, not weird. Everyone wants to be wanted just like, he doesn't want to force me to come. At the same time, he knows if he asks for me, I have to. It's... he's complicated, Alastor. It's complicated."

"I could kill him for you. Make it a whole lot less complicated."

Y/n laughed.

"Thanks hun but I don't think even you could manage that one."

"You could make a deal with me, that would most likley cancel it out."

"And have you own my soul? No, I've seen how that pans out for people. I think I'll pass."

"Just a suggestion, my dear."

"Is it? You've been trying to make a deal with me since I first met you, Al. I feel like you shoulda caught the hint by now."

"It was worth a try." he shrugged.

"Uh-huh. Sure. Why is it you want my soul so badly anyways?"

"No reason. No reason at all."

"Yeah. I totally believe that."

Y/n's phone dinged again and she pulled it once more from her pocket. At the sight of the words on the screen she sighed, her brow furrowing in irritation.

"Pushy pushy." she hummed, "Look, I gotta go. I'll be back later."

And with those parting words, Y/n disappeared through the studio's door.

----

Next Part -> Chapter Six -- Stolas

[kkami-writes]

waiting for us — chapter nineteen. the gig cw. some slight anxiety + alcohol mentions ↝ wc. 1.5k + 2 SS

It was about thirty minutes before 3RACHA were scheduled to perform when you arrived at the bar. Thankfully it wasn’t too crowded but there was still a decent amount of people around, the place was nice and spacious so you were still very impressed. You were sitting directly at the bar, some fruity cocktail in front of you as you chatted with Ryujin and Yeji though the two girls were a little busy with each other. You didn’t mind at all, you found the two absolutely adorable. Besides you were a little distracted yourself, eyes fluttering across the growing crowd. 

On the left you could see the boy you had met just yesterday who was with Hyunjin and the pretty fairy boy. Ryujin had told you his name was Felix and he was famous on campus for his brownies. You had to admit, it was probably the best thing you’ve ever put in your mouth. The cat-like boy then looks over at you, your cheeks flushing as you quickly turn away, downing your whole drink in pure embarrassment. The alcohol burns down your throat but you could care less - you might need to be a little intoxicated if you were getting out of this evening alive. Soon enough the lights are dimming and three boys are walking onto the stage. You turn around in your seat, content staying all the way in the back to watch the performance. 

They each take a moment to introduce themselves, the one on the right was Bangchan and you noticed he had his own set of devastated dimples. The one on the left was Changbin, who was wearing a sleeveless shirt, showing off his muscled arms. Of course they were both perfect, all eight of your soulmates seemed to be almost inhumanly gorgeous. It didn’t make sense to you. How did you of all people end up with these men? Fate was either fucking with you or trying to make up for the fact that she had given you the worlds shittiest parents and brother. 

Either way you don’t have much time to contemplate what Fate had in store for you as they began their performance. You had heard most of these songs already, what with you having been playing their songs on repeat for a few days. You couldn’t be blamed, they made such good music. You bobbed your head to the beat, a smile on your face as you watched them on stage. It looked like they belonged there, moving and interacting with the crowd that screamed for them. Unknownst to you, seven eyes were watching you carefully as you enjoyed the songs.

They had even played their solo songs, your body sitting up as soon as you hear the familiar tune of Alien playing. Your eyes practically sparkle as Jisung sings your favorite song and it doesn’t help that he looks so good, a few strands of hair in his eyes and black nail polish. You were convinced that he was trying to kill you. Little did you know that Jisung had begged his other bandmates to put Alien on the setlist, he desperately wanted to perform your favorite song for you. 

The others that couldn’t take their eyes off on you found it extremely endearing as you lip synced with Jisung. The fact that you had memorized the lyrics had definitely pulled at their heartstrings. Especially with a song that meant a lot to Jisung. 

They play for about an hour before their time is up, thanking the crowd for coming and to look out for some more solo songs being released in the next coming weeks. Soon after there’s another group coming up but you’re not paying much attention anymore. You order another cocktail, bracing yourself for what was going to happen next. “They’re good huh?” Ryujin asks as she leans into you, a smile on her face. You nod your head, happily accepting the drink before downing it. “Woah- you good?” She questions with furrowed eyebrows, slightly concerned but slightly impressed on how fast you swallowed the liquid. 

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” You mumble, letting the alcohol infect your veins. 

Ryujin gives you another glance at you but doesn’t question it anymore. She had always been fairly good at reading you, knowing when not to push you. “If you say so. Me and Yeji are gonna dance for a bit ok? Come find us when you wanna go home,” She gives you another smile before she’s pulling Yeji by the arm, the latter giggling as she follows her soulmate into the crowd. 

You’re thankful to get the moment alone to try to ground yourself. Your heart is already pounding in your ribcage at the prospect of meeting your last soulmates. How much worse is the ache in your chest gonna be after finding all your soulmates? The unbearable pull you felt towards them, your heart angry at the weak strings that threatened to snap at any moment. All of this happening because you had yet to solidify the bond, something you weren’t sure you were ever gonna do. 

“Mio!!!” A voice cuts through your thoughts and you turn around to see Jisung, that adorable gummy smile as he walks over to you, his two other soulmates behind him. 

“Hi Sung” You reply back, trying to will yourself to calm down. He falters for just a second at the nickname before shaking out of it, pulling you into a hug. You’re terrified he can feel your heart pounding against his chest but you still reciprocate the brief embrace, thankful they probably can’t see your flustered cheeks in the dim bar. 

“Mio! This is Chan hyung and Changbin hyung. Hyungs, this is Mio!” 

“Hi, it’s nice to finally meet you,” Chan greets you first, holding out his hand. Once again you’re pretending you don’t feel that zap of electricity when you slide your palm into his. 

“Likewise,” 

“Nice to finally put a face to your name,” Changbin also holds out his hand and you repeat the process. You force a smile on your face as they make small talk, awkwardness seeping into your bones. Oh how badly you want to run away. 

“Hey! There you are!” You look over at the voice and you find Hyunjin who is throwing himself into Jisung’s embrace, giving him a quick kiss. “You did so good Hannie,” The latter is blushing. It’s rather interesting to watch the two interact - you hadn’t had the opportunity to really see how the other soulmates were with each other. It both makes you wanna coo at how cute they were and maybe slightly jealous. But you push it down, trying to convince yourself that you don’t care.

Soon enough the other soulmates are coming over, greeting their lovers and commenting on how they enjoyed the show. While it’s endearing to see all of them together, the sudden realization that all your soulmates were in front of you sends pure panic into your stomach. Some of them greet you and you do your best to wave back, hoping your smile doesn’t look as strained as it feels. 

It’s like they know though, reading your thoughts as they keep the convo light, not forcing you to talk if you don’t want to. But it’s all too much. It feels so overwhelming, the feeling that’s pulling in your chest and you don’t know if you want to scream or cry. Nor do you know if it’s in a good or a bad way. Suddenly you really regret the two cocktails you had downed, your head starting to pound and you thought that you might be sick. 

“Mio? Are you okay?” It’s Jeongin who asks, noticing your face getting pale even in dim lights. 

“I’m. I’m fine,” You manage to mutter out, pulling out your phone to pretend to look at the time. “Oh man, I need to get home,” 

“Oh! Do you have a ride? We could-” You cut Jisung off quickly. 

“I came with Ryujin and Yeji, it’s ok. Bye! It was nice to meet you again!” The words spill from your lips as fast as you possibly can and you all but jump out of your seat, running into the crowd. Desperately you look for Ryujin or Yeji, eyes already burning with tears and your chest aching with a need you’re not sure you could ever give it. 

When you find the girls you’re a little out of breath purely from the fact that you’re trying to not have a panic attack right now. Ryujin looks over at you with concern, lips pulled into a frown at how distressed you look. 

“Are you-” “I’m fine. I’m fine,” It sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself even though you didn’t believe it. “Can we go? Please,” You strain the last word in desperation and all Ryujin does is nod.

“Of course. Come on, let’s go,” She puts a reassuring hand on your lower back, helping you through the sea of people, exchanging a small look with Yeji.

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[teyums]

His Secret Admirer (Part Two) - Neteyam x fem na’vi reader

part one | part three | part four |bonus chapter

wc: 4.6k

a/n: I’m so sorry this took so long y’all, I had such bad writers block trying to figure out which direction I wanted to push this story in. This honeslty isn’t as good as I wanted to be but maybe I’m being too hard on myself. This is the first multiple part fanfic I’ve written in almost seven years. 😅

contains: angst, some language

“~~~” resembles a time skip or change of POV

Neteyam sat silently on the floor of his family’s tent, his elbows against his knees and his head held between his hands while he listened to his mother chastise him for what felt like the thousandth time today. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t tried to keep you out as long as possible, constantly bringing up new topics so the conversation wouldn’t fall off. He never meant for you to stay out past your curfew, but he got so wrapped up in spending time with you that he didn’t want it to end.

“Where were you?” Neytiri seethed, pushing his head to the side with two fingers while her son ignored her. “Do you know how many times we called for you? What is the point of having this if you do not listen?” She hissed, motioning to the necklace he wore that contained a small walkie-talkie.

He bit his lip to keep himself from saying anything out of anger, his arms now crossed in front of him while he tried his hardest to tune out her incessant interrogation. He vaguely remembered shutting it off, not wanting him or you to hear it and bring the two of you back to real life. “I was out, mother.” He mumbled.

She scoffed with antipathy, turning away from him and flicking her hand into the air with annoyance, seemingly tagging Jake into the conversation before she did something she would regret.

Jake sighed, looking down at his son with a puzzlement. “Out where? Can you at least tell us what you were doing? It isn’t like you to stay out this late, son.”

Neteyam had enough of being watched like a hawk for his entire life. When he would try to go out and have fun just like Lo’ak would do, it was an issue. He stood to his feet suddenly, his voice raised and laced with frustration. “I was with a girl, okay? Is that what the two of you want to hear? If I tell you this will you guys finally leave me alone about this whole mate thing?” He yelled, his shoulder brushing against his father’s as he stormed past him and into his room.

Jake noticed Neytiri’s eye twitch with aggravation, her mouth slightly ajar with stupefy as she watched this unusual display from her eldest son. She had never seen him act out in such away, let alone disrespect his father, this was unknown to them. When she stepped to follow him, Jake grabbed her arm and slowly shook his head, silently telling her to leave him be.

Neteyam felt no matter what he did, his parents would find an issue. For years Jake wouldn’t let him act on his feelings towards you, constantly telling him that girls were not his main priority but he would let Lo’ak run around and pursue whatever girl he pleased. And now, they’re pressuring him to find a mate at the same time multiple men have noticed and already expressed their interest towards you. He couldn’t blame them, you had developed into such an alluring woman. There was just something about you that he couldn’t shake. Your beauty stunned him, you had changed so much over the years that when he would see you prance around the village with Kiri he couldn’t even gather the courage to approach you. He had no chance competing with Ta’olu, he saw the way he looked at you, he heard the way he spoke about you during the hunting party meetings. All the years he had been gone from your life, it seemed like Ta’olu had conveniently stepped right in to take his place.

And if he were being honest, Neteyam resented his parents for putting him in this position. He didn’t want any of the other girls they were trying to set him up with, the mere thought of mating with someone he wasn’t truly in love with sent shivers through his spine and not the good kind. Not the kind you gave him, anyway.

But every time he tried to tell to them about you, about the girl he was actually in love with, he was shot down before he could even say your name. Something about “status” in the clan, and them knowing who would make the best Tsahik to stand beside him.

Bullshit.

“You got to choose who you wanted to mate with, why can I not do the same?” He would yell at his parents, but his words would constantly fall on deaf ears.

The eldest Sully boy barely knew what a crush was. He felt his entire existence boiled down to being the protector of his younger siblings and the future clan leader- what his parents wanted him to be. He hadn’t known what it felt like to be in love until the night he laid eyes on you. He passed it off as inviting you to be his friend, but deep down he knew it was more than that, Lo’ak and Kiri included. The day he was told he could no longer spend time with you split his heart into two. But all it took was two painfully short hours in your presence to mend it back together again.

~~~

Sleep had been the last thing on your mind the past two days. You spent both nights tossing and turning- all you could think about was him. A reoccurring image of Neteyam’s sweet smile flashed behind your eyelids every time they closed, the memory of his voice causing them to open despite your attempts to keep them glued shut. The brief time you two had spent together, and how special it felt after years of being reduced to rushed conversations and short glances. You groaned, sliding both your hands down your face and letting your fingers drag across your lips. You had no idea what you were going to do. But what you did know was that night was one of the best nights of your entire life and barely anything happened. You felt like a little girl again and your crush was returning with a vengance.

You thought about what your mom had said, that you should make your move and let him know how you feel. That following morning, you begged her to teach you all that she knew about being a healer and the two of you got started immediately. You figured if you wanted to be Neteyam’s mate, you had to possess skills that would serve useful to an olo’eyktan. Although, you wish you had gotten into this sooner, because now that you were older the lessons were long and grueling to make up for lost time. You had no idea mixing up a bunch of herbs with a stick required this much thinking.

“[Y/n]?” Your mother’s voice brought you back to Pandora and you turned your eyes to meet a disapproving stare.

“I’m sorry, Ma.” You sighed, shaking your head and sitting up straight now to give her your undivided attention. “I can focus, I promise.” You nodded reassuringly, in which she returned with an unconvinced grunt. You didn’t blame her.

God, this was going to be a long process.

You thanked the spirits when the lesson finally came to an end, standing up and dramatically cradling your back with your hands to stretch it.

“You will have to get used to this if you want to learn the ways of a healer.” Your mother said in response to your display, picking up the materials that laid spread out on the mat of your hut and tucking them away into their designated areas. When you had asked her to start teaching you all that she knew, she was more than overjoyed. She had actively been trying to get you to learn the medicinal ways of your clan, almost like she was playing matchmaker from the start.

Feeling bad for wanting to escape so soon, you instead decided to walk around the house readjusting the most random objects, feigning interest in the same rug that had been there for years. You stood with your hands held in front of you, rocking back and forth from the tips of your toes to the backs of your heels as you avoided her gaze with an awkward whistle.

“Yes, you may go now.”

A smile big enough to almost split your jaw worked its way onto your face and you gathered your things at the speed of light, trying your hardest not to look so excited when you made your way out of your home.

Now that the lesson was over, all you could focus on were the plans you had made with Kiri for the day.  The two of you were to venture into the forest in search for small materials that could be crafted into beads for bracelets or necklaces. While you had never really been very interested in healing work, you loved to make jewelry and were a damn good seamstress. You alone had sewn together many Na’vi’s hunting attire.

You loved hanging out with someone who felt connected to nature just as much as you did. Nobody had really figured out just how connected Kiri was to Eywa, but just from watching how she carried herself you knew it was much stronger than any of the others- maybe even stronger than Tsahik.

The village was bustling with na’vi and very lively today, the simple sight of it all warmed your heart. You watched as preparations began to unfold for the clan’s annual Festival of Lights, a celebration in thanks to the spirits for a bountiful hunting season. It was your favorite time of year and everyone seemed much happier the days leading up to it- especially Neteyam. This was one of the rare times of the year he could actually relax and enjoy himself, free from all duties and allowed to simply live his life the way he wanted for a few days.

Or so you thought.

You decided that you would craft a gorgeous necklace for Neteyam with the rare marbles you hoped you’d find near one of the fresh water springs, and what better time to give it to him than during the festival tomorrow? You knew you couldn’t express your feelings to him without an offering. If a Na’vi woman favors a Na’vi male for her mate but has not been suggested to him by his parents or the man himself, she must present her love with an offering in which he can accept or decline. The clan was very big on arranged courtship, which made admitting your feelings so much more of a big deal and ten times scarier.

As you paced through the path to the Sully’s quarters you greeted the elders that passed you and smiled at the small children who were busy entertaining themselves with a friendly game of tag.  Before you knew it, you were in front of the hut that housed a big chunk of your childhood memories. You pulled back one of the curtains with your hand, poking your head through as to not barge in and waving at Kiri who sat criss cross on the floor while dicing up some fruits.

“[Y/n]! Come in, come in!” A welcoming grin made its way onto her face as she waved you inside the home, quickly standing up to discard her task embrace you in a hug that rocked you back and forth. “It’s been too long.”

You hugged her back and laughed at her exaggeration, pulling back from the hug slightly to roll your eyes at her. “It’s been a week, Kiri.” You quipped.

She held onto your forearms with her five-fingered hands, an overly serious look taking over her expression. “Yes, a week too long my sister!”

“[Y/N]!” A squealing Tuk came running out from the other room, her short braids bouncing with almost as much energy as the little girl they belonged to. She squeezed herself between you and Kiri, hugging your legs with so much force you nearly stumbled and beaming up at you.

“Hi TukTuk.” You chuckled at her excitement, stroking her braids affectionately. “I swear, it’s like every time I come over here you’re so much bigger than last!”

Tuk was like the younger sibling you never had, and even though she annoyed the absolute hell out of her siblings you loved having her around you, her constant optimism was refreshing.

The little girl accepted your compliment with a toothy grin, piping up to change the subject. “Neteyam told me to tell you he said hello! Can you date my brother already so I can have two sisters?” She questioned eagerly, jumping up and down on her toes.

Your eyes almost popped out of your head hearing the words that came out of her mouth. You blushed profusely, not knowing what to say and instantly looking at Kiri for help who was already hunched over in a fit of laughter. “Kiri!” You whisper shouted, watching her straighten up instantly.

She wiped a potential tear from her eye, clearing her throat and gently pulling her little sister from your legs. “Alright Tuk. [Y/n] and I have some activities to do so why don’t you go down to the village and find Mama, hm?” Kiri suggested, resulting in the little girl shrugging her shoulders and skipping off with contentment as if she hadn’t tried to blow your life up right where you stood.

Kiri gave you a suspecting glance and a teasing smile, using her fingers to poke at your sides while you tried to get your face back to its usual shade of blue.

“Don’t you dare.” You held a hand up in her face before she could begin terrorizing you, turning on your heels and grabbing her wrist to lead her out of the hut.

~~~

“Kiri, stop taking all the pretty ones! The least you could do is save some for me, this was my idea you know.” You scoffed, watching her scoop up a handful of small, gorgeous multi-colored marbles you had finally found after almost an hour of looking and dump them into her satchel. She shook her head and snickered at you, taking half the amount she collected for herself and dropping them into your bag which contained other materials that could be crafted into beads.

“Thank you.” You smiled, laughing when she stuck her tongue out at you just like her younger sister.

“Yeah, yeah.” The snarky girl crouched down to continue her search, waving you off with a hand while she sifted through the soil beneath your feet to find more. “Why do you need these again? I haven’t seen you make jewelry in ages, last time I asked for a necklace you said you didn’t make them anymore.” She queried.

You tightly pressed your lips together and nervously rubbed your arm with your opposing hand, shrugging off her question as if it hadn’t caused your brain to try and come up with fifty different answers that were far from the truth. “No reason, just wanted to make some things for my mother. Her birthday is coming up, wanted to give her something really special.”

Kiri narrowed her eyes at you, rising up so the both of you were eye level. God, you knew her connection with Eywa was absolutely insane, but since when did she have the power to hear someone else’s thoughts too?

“You’re lying. Her birthday was almost three months ago.” She spoke, putting her hands on her hips and tilting her head at you with a smirk. “So, do you want to tell me the truth, or are we gonna sit here and act like you didn’t just forgot your own mother’s birthday?”

You let out a short huff, bringing your hand up to the bridge of your nose and pinching it. Of course she saw right through your excuse, you knew better than to lie to Pandora Jesus- at least that’s what Lo’ak used to call her. You would never say that to her face, though. Unless for some odd reason you were craving a mouthful of dirt for lunch. “Fine,” you started, looking away while you spoke and lowering your voice. “It’s for your brother.” You mumbled, the two of you deciding to start on your walk back to the village while the conversation proceeded.

“No way! Neteyam?!” She gasped dramatically, holding her hand up to her mouth as she attempted to look shocked. Your mouth fell open once realizing she was forging her surprised expression.

“Wait… you knew the whole time?” You gulped.

The look on your face made the slender girl titter with satisfaction. “No shit, both me and Lo’ak. Hell, you damn near drool every time you look at the man!” She sneered.

You groaned and threw your hands up in the air, more out of embarrassment than anything else. This was the first person you had told about your crush on Neteyam other than your mother, you truly thought no one else knew. To see her not even the least bit surprised made you wonder who else had caught on.

The two of you decided to start on your walk back to the village while your conversation proceeded. “Does he know?”

“Oh, of course not.” Kiri responded almost immediately, raising her arm to pluck a fruit from the tree above you. “You know my brother is oblivious to girls. He’s probably the most sought out in the village, yet he still finds it difficult to believe when someone likes him. He does talk about you quite a bit though.” She shrugged, taking a bite out of her newly acquired snack.

“Really?” Your ears perked up and the giddy smile on your face didn’t seem to help to hide the newfound hope brewing inside your chest. You ducked your head under low hanging branches, jogging a little to keep up with Kiri’s fast strides once you realized you were falling behind. “Well? What does he say?”

You could almost see the smile on her face from the back of her head, probably because you could hear it through her voice. “He said he misses hanging out with you, wants to do it more often. I believe that’s why he hasn’t chosen a mate, because once he does, the two of you won’t be able to spend time alone like that anymore.” The thought of your time being cut short for the second time right after the two of you had found each other again was enough to make you panic.

“I heard my parents talking last night. They’re wondering why he hasn’t picked yet.” She suddenly stopped walking and turned to face you, her hands grabbing yours with an encouraging smile. “So I may have put in a good word or two. After all, I think you’re a much better fit for him than any of the other girls.”

You finally felt as if everything was piecing itself together, your nerves began to melt away just like your heart did at Kiri’s words. Your gaze fell to the floor when you felt your face heat up like campfire and your tail began to swish with delight. “So, what I’m hearing is there’s still time?” You asked, sounding much more optimistic than you had intended.

Kiri’s eyes left your own and looked past your head, the corners of her mouth twitching into a mischevious grin when she seemingly spotted something you hadn’t. “I don’t know,” she started, grabbing your shoulders to turn you around. “Why don’t you find out for yourself?”

Before you could even process the words that came out of her mouth, you were pushed forward with so much force that you stumbled out of the trees and into Neteyam’s line of sight. By the time you whipped your head around to hiss at Kiri, she was already gone.

You nervously turned back around, laughing to yourself at the stoic expression he carried around everywhere he went. You couldn’t help but feel starstruck every time you saw him, it was like your mind pictured him moving in slow motion simply to taunt you. He looked incredibly different from the years prior and you definitely were not complaining. And even though he hadn’t wanted to talk about it, it was pretty obvious how truly extensive and challenging his training must be. His arms had developed broad, toned muscles and you wondered if his abs would sound hollow had you knocked on them. You quickly straightened up when the solemn look on his face replaced itself with a bright smile once he picked your face out from the others.

You cleared your throat and tried to regain your composure as much as possible while he approached you, giving him a sweet smile in return and meeting him halfway.

“Hi.” You mentally cringed as soon as you heard the greeting your brain decided to choose. But lucky for you, his smile only got bigger. You could speak complete gibberish and he would sit and listen like he understood.

“Hey… How are you doing? With, you know.” He motioned down to your foot.

You tilted your head at him in confusion and it took you a few seconds to realize what he was referring to. Once it finally clicked, your cheeks flushed a bright red, remembering the predicament your injury had gotten the two of you into. “Oh! This old thing? Pshh.” You babbled like an idiot, looking around to try and focus on anything other than the handsome face in front of you.

He laughed at your display, the air around the two of you settling while you both tried to think of the words to say next.

“So I-“ Two voices overlapped as you guys opened your mouths to speak at the exact same time, making the both of you burst into a fit of laughter. You covered your mouth to hide your grin, shaking your head at him rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

“You first.” He smiled.

You nodded your head and swallowed your pride, building up the courage for your request. “I really enjoyed flying with you on your Ikran the other night. And I was wondering if… maybe we could do it again sometime?” You questioned reluctantly, not entirely sure of what his answer would be. You figured spending some more time with Neteyam to prepare yourself for tomorrow would do your nerves some good.

“You’re not afraid anymore?” Much to your surprise he actually looked interested, his eyebrow raising along with the pitch of his voice. He couldn’t believe someone who had previously shown so much fear wanted to do the exact thing they were frightened of, again. Ikran rides were very exciting though, so really he was having a hard time believing you wanted to do it with him, again.

“No, I’m not.” You turned your head to the side a bit as you blushed. “But only because the mighty warrior helped me overcome my fear.” You teased.

Watching Neteyam trip and stumble over his words was like being able to come face to face with a Palulukan and not die. So in other words, extremely rare and not a common sight. He took your hand in his and looked down at you, hoping the loud beating of his heart would answer your question since his voice was having trouble staying steady in your presence. Your cheeks were sore now from how hard you were smiling.

“I would love-“

Just as he was about to agree to your proposal, an ear-bleeding voice made the both of you wince.

“Nete-yammm!” You watched as Eyiti waved her arm above her head like a madwoman and damn near sprinted in you and his direction. You cursed to yourself and rolled your eyes, which Neteyam did not happen to miss. Little did you know, he felt the exact same way about her as you did. Once she approached the two of you she batted her lashes at him and you swear you almost threw up in your mouth. Her eyes shot down to your intertwined fingers, the both of you begrudgingly releasing the other. You felt the urge to tighten your grip, but you knew it wasn’t a good look for the olo’eyktan’s son to be seen displaying public affection with a woman who had not yet been suggested to him.

She cleared her throat with satisfaction, completely disregarding your presence and continuing to eyefuck him. “Are you busy, ‘Teyam?”

The sound of her voice using the nickname you had reserved for him was enough to make your eye convulse as you felt irritation overwhelm your previously good mood. You dipped your head to the side a bit to catch her gaze, waving a hand in front of her face to break the trance she was in. “Uh, hello?” You spoke up, tilting your head to the side with a tight lipped smile once she glared at you. “Yeah, hi. It seems you’re missing a few letters there. You know, the ’N’ and the ‘E’.” Neteyam looked at you with an astounded expression, and even you were surprised at the fact that you managed to speak up. If you weren’t mistaken, you heard the slightest chuckle from him too.

“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes and you felt a hint of accomplishment from ruffling her feathers a bit, only for her to turn her attention back towards him. “You promised you’d finish organizing preparations with my parents to be my date for the festival, remember?” She spoke, her hand now finding its way to stroke his arm.

Hearing those words come from her of all people felt like a knife driving right through your chest. You looked to Neteyam with disbelief clouding your eyes, hoping for something, anything to let you know that what she had just said wasn’t true. He only shut his eyes for a brief moment, opening his mouth to speak but a deep exhale followed instead of words like you expected. Her mouth curved into a sinister grin only you could notice. After dealing with her for so many years, you knew she would hide her true intentions behind fraudulent innocence.

You felt betrayed and you hated yourself for it. The two of you weren’t even together, you hadn’t even been suggested to him. You scolded yourself for even thinking the few hours the two of you spent together after years apart meant anything more than a friendly catch up to him.

He shifted his gaze to you, the look on his face more than apologetic. “I’m sorry, [Y/n]. I can explain this…” His voice was filled with remorse but his heart yearned to say more. There was something more than an explanation dancing behind his eyes, but you were much too embarrassed to look at him and discover it. He desperately felt the need to rectify the situation but you simply shook your head and took a step back.

You crossed your arms over your chest, feeling exposed all of a sudden and not caring if you had failed to look unbothered. It was impossible to hide how you truly felt from him, your efforts would have been futile regardless of how hard you tried. “It’s fine, go.” You stopped your voice from cracking, daring not to look at him while you felt his stare only grow stronger.

You felt his fingers brush against your forearm as he reached for you, resulting in you raising your arms slightly to avoid his grasp. “I hope the two of you have fun.” You choked out, excusing yourself before you became subject to further humiliation. You heard his voice call out for you but there was no way you could turn back to face him, the tears you had made such an effort to keep unshed were now threatening to spill over.

You kept your head down as you walked, nearly falling back onto your bottom when your body came in contact with a ridiculously hard surface.

“I’m- I’m sorry. I should have been watching where I was going.” You blinked away your tears, looking up to see none other than Ta’olu staring down at you.

The tall male peered at you with a confident smile, amusement written all over his face, not at all minding that you had used him as an anchor to not fall over. “No worries, I was actually coming to find you.”

You cocked your head to the side with interest. You weren’t entirely sure why he would have been looking for you, seeing as the last time you had asked him to hang out he ditched you for some random girl he had met the day before. “Okay… what’s up?” You cleared your throat, trying to set aside what had just happened a minute ago.

His stance shifted slightly and he grabbed hold of your hand, the interaction not being nearly as enjoyable as it was with Neteyam. His hand on yours was enough to make you want to crawl into a hole and hibernate for the rest of the year. His gruff voice snapped you out of your thoughts, his question being exactly what you feared.

“Would you be my date for the festival tomorrow?”

a/n:Isn’t Eyiti just the worst? And who the hell is this Ta’olu dude? 🙈*mischievous laughter* I’m so sorry for leaving y’all on a cliff hanger but I had to end this chapter here! I wonder what’s gonna go down in part 3 🤔 I’m sorry if i missed your tag! I wrote them down but when I entered it in some of them wouldn’t pop up 💔

Please like + reblog if you can it’s much appreciated 💞

tag list ⬇️

@eringaitskill @bwormie @fanboyluvr @ssc7514 @meivap @afro-hispwriter @hello1kittyz @melsunshine @katsukiswrld @mcdonaldsplayground @itscheybaby @neenieweenie @babyvinnie @msjae @laylasbunbunny @epicy0n @dreamersbelieveinus @elegantzippercashshoe

[sunnybunnyy2]

Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right

Daryl Dixon x platonic!reader

Negan Smith x daughter!reader

WORD COUNT: 4.0k

TIME: season 7

Warnings: imprisonment, talk of rapists(briefly), talk of murder, mentions of Abe’s and Glenn’s deaths, arguments, mentions of saviours, mentions of what transpired in season six and seven, spoiler warning and bad writing.

CHAPTER 2 of the Dark Cell series

Series Masterlist Official Masterlist

This is long awaited! I'm sorry that this has taken so long but I have been making fanfics on Wattpad recently and if you are a fellow fanfic writer you understand how much unnecessary time it takes to come up with ideas and lines to make your character come to life. Thank you all for being so patient with me! Also, requests are open, and I will be redoing my master list, so look out for that. I have been influenced so yes, this is going to become a series so stay tuned! Now that I finished this part I have more motivation to actually write for this! I’d you want to be tagged in the series let me know! Thank you so much for reading<3

(if there is third person slip ups I’m sorry, I’m just so used to writing in third person :( )

The exchanges took place every night at around 1 a.m., and it had for the past seven days.

You would arrive carrying a plate or bowl of whatever leftover food you had managed to swipe from the kitchen or some dinner from the meals you would share with Negan. 

You had aimed to make the food before you went down so that it was still hot but it was risky as, there was a large chance that one of Negan's men would notice and alert your father, which would raise suspicion. 

The food consisted of Sandwiches, chicken, pasta, fish, soup and wraps. 

You wished you could do it more often, but you knew that it would largely increase the chances of you getting caught. 

You knew your punishment wouldn't be anywhere near how severe Daryl's would be. You also knew that as much as you pleaded your father would allow his pawns to have their fun in harming the long-haired man. You weren't quite sure why your father's men were so willing to starve and beat a man senseless to appear strong. Men and their egos you supposed. 

Your father could preach all he wanted about how he would do anything for his daughter, how he would move mountains to appease you. How he would kill anyone who dared to disrespect you (he had) but yet he couldn't try and be a better man. He couldn't put his rage and grieve the wicked world had caused him and help people instead of torturing broken people and turning people who wanted to survive into heartless killers. Turn them into him. 

You couldn't say you hated your father. You never could. But that certainly didn't mean you agreed with half the things he did. 

You could tell he cared what you thought of him. You were the last thing he had of your mother, but that didn't mean he listened to you when you expressed your opinion. 

You and your father were close before all of this happened, well before you found out about his affair. After that day you hated everything about him. Even when your mother got sick and he stood by her, did everything for her. You weren't sure if it was because of how guilty he felt for betraying her or because he loved her. 

Normally you would insist on it being the first but now she was at a loss. 

Since your mother's demise, your once childish but thoughtful father had turned into a power-hungry greedy man. At first you gave him the benefit of the doubt. He was grieving and was trying to find a way to cope with the loss of the woman he loved but it was as though he was forgetting that his daughter had lost her mother.

He wanted to make you happy, so he gifted you the biggest room in the sanctuary and allowed you to purchase whatever you desired without working, though you often helped with the growing crops in the back of the sanctuary. Your father never really liked the idea of her around the fence but he backed down after a heated argument between you. He did send some of his men to keep an eye on you, he tried to be discreet but his men were less than. 

You always made sure to bring a large glass of tap water from your room down to his cell, wanting to at least make sure he didn't die of dehydration. 

You knew that his physical health wasn't as bad as it was before but you knew that his mental health was still declining. He had been locked in the tiny cell for weeks on end, the only sound filling his ears was the constant lyrics of the song 'East Street'. 

The bags under his eyes were proof enough of the lack of sleep he had been receiving. The way his eyes could barely focus on one thing when you would bring him his meals was another important factor in your conclusion. 

Since your visits had become more frequent he had uttered his name quietly into the comfortable silence that had filled the cell as he hastily inhaled what was in front of him. It was so quiet that you had barely heard him, but once you realized that it wasn't your imagination you smiled softly to yourself before muttering your name as well. 

In your mind, you were friends. You knew his name, he knew yours, you would bring him food, he would be thankful and you were both the highlight of each other's day. 

Daryl- because he wasn't rapidly dropping weight as he had been before from his lack of food, which in turn kept his brain running so he could coax his thoughts into coming up with a plan to escape his captivity. Plus your company wasn't so bad he reckoned.

You- because you got to meet another survivor from a rivalling group, you had heard your father angrily ranting to his soldiers about how this mysterious group had taken out one of his many posts and killed everyone in it. 

You were shocked at how brutal this group could be but you knew that your father could be even more heartless and it was proven when a week later whispers were passed along through the sanctuary that your father had partaken in another one of his lineups and had bashed in two members of Daryl's groups heads in with Lucille. 

You knew that Daryl's group had killed countless people, saviours but at least their families and friends didn't have to see it, as apparently the people from the outpost were killed while they slept. It was a very cowardly way to kill but it was better in a way, they didn't see it coming. 

You clutched the tray of food which consisted of a slice of ham from a pig the saviours had recently slaughtered as a way to celebrate the new community they had under their control, standing with the other few that they had taken over. With a side of carrots that you had picked herself to give him some energy. 

Then finally a generous helping of mashed potatoes to fill him up, as you knew that a small sandwich was going to get him through the day. Well, you guessed it was two, as Dwight had made sure to feed him a dog food sandwich every other day to keep him going. A dark pork gravy from the brand Bisto (clubhouse is better but whatever) that was covering a large portion of the potatoes. Your father did always say that you made it taste even better when you made it.

Your eyes peeked around the sharp corner to make sure Arat was on her way to her break that she always made sure to hide, always quick on her feet to head to her room to get several strong minutes of shut-eye. 

Your eyes caught sight of Arat quietly creeping her way further and further away from Daryl's new home. You waited a couple of minutes until you were sure she was in her room, possibly already captivated by sleep. You placed one foot in front of the other as you too, crept down the hallway, the fear of getting caught burning fear into her veins.

You balanced the tray on one hand as you reached into your left pocket, to pull out the cell key that you had stolen from Laura, well it wasn't quite stealing, she had dropped it and hadn't even noticed. You could still remember her confused face when she caught you on the ground after catching you mid-grab. You smiled at her and played it off as if you were tying your shoe, which she bought as she shot you a smile and continued on with her ranting. 

You turned the key clockwise into the rusting metal, smiling in satisfaction when the lock clicked quietly as a sign that it was now unlocked.

The creak that was loudly pulled from the door as it was opened left you cringing as you quickly shuffled into the room, closing the door until there was only a fragment of it for a little bit of light but it wasn't large enough to draw suspicion towards your meetings. 

You could already see Daryl gazing up at you as you pulled the door closed, before lowering yourself to the floor, holding your hands out as a sign for him to take the plate which he did. He had loosened up a large amount since you had started being him food a week ago. 

He was still stand-offish and didn't like to talk about his group which you didn't blame him for, you were with the enemy, you were his daughter. You weren't sure if he knew of your status at the sanctuary but if he did, it didn't come from you. It had already taken a great amount of effort to gain his trust and you wouldn't want it broken just because of who your father was. 

If he brought it up, you would talk to him about it, but for now, you didn't want to risk losing one of the only people that didn't just suck up to you because they wanted more points or because they were scared to face your father's wrath if they hurt your feelings. 

"Hey, sorry I was late, Arat took longer than usual to hit the deck." You quickly explained as expected the food in a curious glint in his eyes. "It's ham. Sorry, I didn't know if you liked it but they just killed a pig and me and my-... I had some for dinner earlier, it was good... and there's potatoes obviously, there's some cheese in them too with carrots and gravy." His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at you in question just as he had been since you had almost slipped up. "Don't worry, it's not poisoned well... at least I hope it isn't because I ate the same thing but I guess we'll find out."

He let a harsh breath out of his nose that sounded similar to a laugh before he picked up the metal fork before shoving a large bite of potatoes in his mouth, a barely audible groan fell from his lips as he continued to inhale the food, not even bothering to use the knife that you had brought to cut the meat, opting to just pick it up with his hands. 

If it was anyone else you would find the wild eating disgusting, but you understood. He was being starved as a torture method to force him into submission. You had seen this countless times, but nearly all had caved within the first few days. It was shocking to you how strong he was. If it had been you... you weren't sure how long you could last if you were in the same position. 

From how wild he was eating you could only assume today wasn't the day he got fed from Dwight. 

You assumed you did well with the amount of food you had given him. 

You kept your eyes trained on the opened part of the door to make sure the coast was clear still. Normally this side of the sanctuary was almost always deserted, but since Daryl as been held here, you had noticed a lot of working people wanted to catch a glimpse of one of the Alexandrians who had killed numerous soldiers. You weren't sure if was from fear or awe. 

"Why are you doing this." He asked as he looked up from his half-eaten plate of food, to examine you while you spoke as if to see if you would lie to him. 

"I don't like how he's handing this. I mean... what your group did was wrong. Really wrong. But what he's doing to you isn't right. No one should have to deal with this. I mean other than rapists, pedophiles, or child killers. I mean murder is really bad but there are some ways to excuse it, like self-defence but I mean the worlds over. People kill each other every day to survive. Don't make it right but it makes sense. You did what you thought you had to, to 'save' your group." You ranted slightly as you looked down.

"So you're doing this because I deserve better?" Daryl asked with a quiet snort as though he couldn't fathom the thought of someone actually thinking he was a decent guy. 

"Everyone deserves better in some way. But no, some people just need a little help sometimes. You do, so I'm trying to help you." You said as watched him proceed with eating.

He looked up at you after he took yet another bite of his food. "I ain't need no help." He dismissed with a huff as he finished the last of his food.

"Obviously you do. Everybody does. You're no exception." You disagreed as he watched for any signs of Arat possibly returning earlier than usual.

"So why ya helping me? I'm sure the big man has more bitchs." He all but growled as he thought about your father causing your face to drop slightly as he kept your eyes away from him, in hopes of him not being able to see your full life story from just the shine in your eyes. Daryl looked like the type to be able to, you thought.

"He has some other... people in cells-" You were cut off by Daryl as he let out a dangerous scoff that should have had you scared. You were in a closed space with someone who wanted your father dead, I mean sure he didn't know that you and the man he hated most shared the same blood but it didn't matter. You were a Smith and that would never change. No matter how much you hoped and prayed that your father would suddenly turn a new leaf, it never seemed to happen. So at some point, you just saved your previously wasted breath. 

"Ya mean prisoners?" He spoke sharply, his words not a question but a statement, showcasing how enraged he truly was with her father. 

"Yeah...prisoners. There is some down here, yes. But they deserve it." You said while shaking your head as you thought about the awful people that were locked down here.

"Ain't nobody deserve this shit." He said with his whole chest as his eyes scanned your face with a mixture of hate and disgust at your words. You couldn't blame him though, he was locked in a cell and you had just said that the people locked in them deserved it. 

"They're awful people. Rapists, child killers, people who kill without reason-"

"I ain't no rapist and I ain't no child killers. Me and my people had every righ-"

"Nobody has a right to take someone's life. Who made us god? When did we get to choose who got to live and who got to die?" You argued as you furrowed your brows at the man's words.

"How bout' ya tell yer buddy that? He killed my friends." He raised his voice louder than necessary which earned him a dirty look from you as you peeked out of the sliver of the door that shined light into the cell and once you were sure no one was coming with guns raised you turned back to face him. 

"You killed dozens of his men while they were sleeping. You do realize that, right? I'm not saying what he did was right either, but you're lucky he didn't kill more of your people." You ranted slightly as you looked at him in confusion, he was so stuck in his own misery that he wasn't thinking about how other people were affected by his and his group's actions. 

"Lucky? He bashed my friend's heads in." He said angrily but it was quiet. As if trying to scare you into submission but you didn't back down.

"And I'm sorry for your friends. I really am. But you couldn't have thought that your group could get away with slaughtering- and it was a slaughtering,  his men and get away scot-free. You killed his soldiers. He takes that shit as a personal attack. So when I say I'm surprised he didn't kill more of you I mean it." 

"One of my friends' wives was pregnant' ya think she deserved ta see that? Now tha' kid's gonna grow up without a father."

"Of course not. That's awful and I'm so sorry...but some of the men and women you slaughtered had kids. Wives. Parents. They had people who loved them too. One of the men, Mike, had a pregnant wife at one of the other outposts. She was eight months and gave birth to her baby girl two days after he died. Alone. And a woman, Mel, just got married to the man she loved, they were trying for a baby... He killed himself last week. Hung himself in his room all alone." You paused for a moment to see if he was going to speak up but when he didn't, you continued.

"An-and a woman named Willow had a baby at another outpost. Now that baby has to grow up without a mother. Another man named Carlos was an only child and had to work for points to provide for his parents. They're old and can't do it themselves. Now they're barely eating and are so depressed that their health is deteriorating, we're not sure how long they have left. So I'm sorry that your friends lost people they cared about but you didn't just get your group hurt with your guy's actions. You guys ruined so many lives that night." 

You finished your rant as you shook your head, looking up at him only to see him looking down at his hands, his overgrown hair hung low to cover his eyes, masking his true reaction.

"I'm not trying to say that your friends' deaths don't matter but you can't just go around acting like you didn't kill people either. Like everyone else's pain doesn't matter to not feel guilty. But it does." You said quietly before deciding you had spent long enough in the stuffy cell. You reached over, grabbing the plate from in front of him before pulling yourself to your feet. You waited for him to speak again but he didn't bother and once you turned around he noticed that he hadn't moved from his place. 

"Good night." You shook your head before he pulled the creaky door open a little more so the gap was large enough to fit your body through, closing it until you felt the metal clank quietly against metal. 

You pulled out the key and shoved it into the lock, twisting it quickly before you heard quiet footsteps walking down the hallway from where Arat had left from. It seemed like you had left at the perfect time, you supposed.

You quietly but hastily quickened your pace until you were at the same corner you had looked over from around fifteen minutes prior. 

You watched as Arat ran a hand over her short black and bleached blonde hair as she let out a yawn, swaying on her feet slightly from the over-tiredness she was experiencing, which was probably in full swing by the shortness of her sleep. 

You let out a quiet sigh of relief before you quietly made your way in the direction of her room, the plate held tightly in your grasp as you walked past the mostly deserted sanctuary, sending a small smile to some of the saviours on watch duty. Most sent one back your way, while others seemed annoyed at the fact that they had duty at all, leaving them too aggravated to bother.

You were about to turn the handle of your door when you heard a voice stop you.

"Baby? What are you doin' up? It's late." Your father's voice stopped you in your tracks. A part of you wanted to run into your room and pretend that you had been sleepwalking but you knew your father knew you better than that and could almost always tell when you were fake sleeping. It was an odd talent if you were to be frank. So you turned around with a smile and spoke.

"I couldn't sleep. Decided to take a walk." You lied.

"With an empty plate of food?" He asked with raised eyebrows a sarcastic smirk on his face.

"...I got hungry on the way. Just heated up some leftovers from dinner. Didn't know that was a crime, Dad." You huffed in an attempt to sound believable.

"It's late. You could have woken me up. I would have walked with you." He said as he studied you. 

"Seriously, dad? Literal armed guards are crawling the place. I think I'm okay walking to the kitchen. Plus you barely sleep as it is." You rolled your eyes at his mindset.

"I always have time for you, hunny... so who's the boy? Or girl. I don't discriminate. Hell, ya could be in love with a goddamn pumpkin and I would still approve. Maybe a little weirded out but hey, we all have our kinks." He smirked but his nose scrunched up slightly as he realized he was talking to his daughter and not one of his henchmen. 

"Oh, wow, you figured it out. His name is Donteatmyseedsplease. I didn't want to keep it from you but I don't think you would approve. I'm so very glad I have your support, father dearest." You said in an overly happy voice even your eyes rolled with almost every word you spoke. You turned back to your door and turned ten knob, not going in as though to not give your father the opportunity to join you.

"You'll have to bring him over for dinner sometime we'll have squash." 

"That wasn't funny Dad." 

"Damn, you know how to wound a man's ego. Good girl, I taught you well." He said in a proud tone.

"I'm exhausted. Can we talk tomorrow? I wanted to talk to you about something actually..." You spoke as you pushed your door open even wider than it had been and started to make her way into your large room.

"That's never good." He groaned before he leaned over to land a kiss atop your head. "I'll see you tomorrow, baby. I'm busy but I always have time for you." He pulled away and sent a smile your way which you returned before closing the door and leaning against it. A sigh of relief left your lips as you realized you were in the clear.

TAG LIST: @cult-of-norman @book-place @ilovespiderpeople @kazunish @mysouleaten

(let me know if you would like to be added to the tag list for the future chapters!)

[mint-yooxgi]

{14} - Hotel California - Yandere!Demonic Entities!Ateez X Reader

Yandere AU & Demon AU - Based off of This ask and Hotel California by Eagles

Genre: Mature, Horror, Angst, Fluff, Slight Humor

Pairing: Ateez X Reader (Focus on San & Mingi)

Words: 9,450

Warnings: Subtle manipulative tendencies, dream/mental voyerism, threats with a bat. This is a Yandere story, it will contain themes such as stalking, violence, obsession, possessive natures, and just general overall creepiness and swearing. You have been warned.

A/n: Mingi Stans, come get y’all juice (can I say that even though it’s not smut yet? Oh well, I just did lmaoo). Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this next part, I know I did!! I’ve got a few things planned for the upcoming chapters, so stay tuned! As always, feedback is greatly appreciated! Enjoy~

Main Story - Part Two - Part Three - Part Four - Part Five - Part Six - Part Seven - Part Eight - Part Nine - Part Ten - Part Eleven - Part Twelve - Part Thirteen - Mini Masterlist

The first few days after your confession with Yeosang were interesting to say the least. Needless to say, you were mortified at the idea that the other seven overheard you having sex, and despite Yeosang reassuring you that he made sure to kick his brothers out of the house well before anything transpired between the both of you, you weren’t all that convinced.

Though, the more you thought about it, the more you realized that it was going to have to be something you all would have to get used to. You’ve just never been in a relationship like this before, so the thought of having someone overhear you having sex has always been a cause for embarrassment. Now though, you’re easing into the idea.

It’s going to happen again sooner or later, and you aren’t about to make it awkward. Besides, there’s nothing to be ashamed of.

That still didn’t prevent Yeosang from practically living at your side for the first three days after your confession. Oh, so badly did his brothers want to toss him out of the house like he did to them, but they couldn’t. At least, not yet. They did all agree to give each other privacy during each other’s first times with you, out of respect for both you and each other. The fact that he was so smug about it, though, is what really got on their nerves.

Yeosang was subtle. No, he would never boast, but the fact that he could now practically cling onto you whenever he wanted drove the others up the wall. The two of you were practically drenched in each other’s scents, and the fact that Yeosang wouldn’t let you go only made it last that much longer. A fact of which all of them wanted to share in with you for themselves, but Yeosang beat them to it.

At least some were better at hiding and maintaining their jealousy than the others. Mingi, Yunho, and Jongho all know it’s only a matter of time before you allow themselves the honour of having you in the same ways. The fact that you’ve already confessed to one of them so soon after everything means that you’ve only fallen for them much quicker than any of them could have hoped. Needless to say it delights all of them.

The fourth day after the events had transpired, both Seonghwa and Wooyoung had cornered Yeosang in the kitchen on their end of the house, San not so sneakily appearing a moment later.

“Yeosang,” the eldest’s voice was stern, shooting the younger male a pointed look.

“No.” Yeosang’s reply is immediate, quirking an eyebrow knowingly at the three males across from him.

“We haven’t even said anything, yet.” San pouts, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“I’m not telling you anything,” Yeosang shakes his head. “If you want to know, find out yourself. Better yet, ask her.”

“Come on, Sangie,” Wooyoung whines. “Won’t you at least tell us something? Just one tiny, little thing?”

Slowly, Yeosang tilts his head at his three brothers, blinking at them a few times as a soft smile tugs at his features. They just know he’s reminiscing about whatever transpired between you and him that one morning those few days ago. Though, at the way he gets lost in his own head, they know he’s not cracking.

A frustrated huff escapes the eldest’s lips as both San and Wooyoung pout, but they leave him be. For now.

At least by the fifth day, you no longer smell like him, his scent finally dissipating from your skin, much to their content. Though, Yeosang would beg to differ. He believes you should always be covered in each other, especially now.

What really drives them up the walls, though, is when you seemingly start to get lost in your thoughts around them more often than not. They just know you’re thinking back on the events that had transpired between you and Yeosang mere days ago, especially when that loving smile of yours stretches across your features.

Unluckily for them, you seem to always zone out like this while in the kitchen as you sit at the counter. A fact which has a pout usually tugging at any one of their lips, chests swirling with that all too familiar jealous beast that they’ve all become so used to. Why can’t you be thinking about them like that? Why can’t they be the one on your mind so much so that you cannot help but get bashful when you so much as hear their name?

They just want your everything, and each male is going crazy knowing that he could be so close to having you, yet you still feel so far away.

Perhaps you just don’t know what you’re missing, yet. Which is exactly why on that fifth evening, just as you settle down for bed, one of them makes a plan. One way or another, he’ll make you crave him. So much so, that you’ll come running to him as soon as you wake up, begging for him to touch you.

One thing you still haven’t quite managed to figure out is how to keep your void up when you sleep. Occasionally, if any one of the guys can sense you’re having a bit of an unpleasant dream, they will alter it, implementing the sweetest visions into your mind which immediately has you relaxing, and your mind calming. 

There have even been a few times where they have planted small seeds of desire in you, filling your dreams with sultry dialogue, and the occasional touch here and there. Usually when this happens, you manage to kick them out, which is why this plan of his is so risky.

You have always been able to lucid dream, being aware of what is real and what is fake. Lately, though, you seem to be allowing them free reign in your mindscape during these more recent nights instead of kicking them out right away. A fact which could not make them happier, or work in his favour tonight.

Which is why when he feels that familiar loosening of your void, sinking into the water until he’s fully submerged himself in that inky blackness, he smirks. Time for him to finally consume your every thought, just as you always consume his.

Tumbling into unconsciousness, you feel yourself sitting on top of an antique wooden desk, the polished lacquer shining beneath the light of the full moon. Turning your head to the side reveals a beautiful paned window, a row of bookcases lining either side of the entrance to the balcony that sits just to the right. 

You seem to be in a bedroom, waiting for someone to return. Though, why you seem to be eating from a bag of marshmallows is beyond you. Weird, but you’ll roll with it for now. It’s not the first time you’ve popped up in a gorgeous setting only to be either wearing, eating, or doing something completely out of the ordinary.

The sound of the door opening and closing draws your attention, and you turn your head to the left to see a figure enter the room. He’s dressed in all black, a wide rimmed hat resting on his head and blocking most of his features from your sight. Again, you cannot help but think of Wangyeo, your lovable (and favourite) fictional reaper, even if this man’s outfit is slightly different. Though, he doesn’t remove his hat right away like he usually does when you envision this scenario in your mind.

That should have been your first clue.

The man smirks. A notion of which you take notice of as his lips seem to be the only feature visible to you as he begins making his way over to the desk you’re sitting on top of.

“I’ve missed you, Baby,” his voice rumbles out, and you swear it sounds so familiar to you, but you just cannot place it for the moment.

A longing begins to ache in the centre of your chest for this man, of whom you believe to be Wangyeo for the moment. Not that you’re complaining. You’d gladly have any and all dreams you can about your favourite reaper any day of the week.

You place your bag of marshmallows on the desk beside you, extending your free hand out for him to take. He does, almost immediately, his fingers wrapping delicately around your own as his heart thunders in his chest. 

In the next moment, he steps in front of you, the rim of his hat still angled downwards as it covers most of his face. “Did you miss me, too?”

“More than anything, Baby,” you hear yourself reply, reaching out for him in the next second and pulling him flush into you. 

Naturally, he comes to stand between your parted legs as your hands run over his shoulders, then down his chest, until you wrap them around his back, leaning into him so that your head is resting right over his heart. The intensity you can hear pounding against his chest makes you smile.

You notice you’re clinging onto him for dear life, as if you’re afraid he might leave you again or disappear if you let him go. Though, the same desperation felt in your grip you can feel mirrored in his own as his hands find purchase on your back, holding you to his chest lovingly.

“Don’t ever leave me again,” you hear yourself whisper, a mere plea on your lips.

You feel his chest rumble with a chuckle, “I wouldn’t dream of it, My Queen,”

That should have been your second clue, but your mind is far too consumed by this vision in front of you right now. It’s almost exactly like the little fantasy you had the other week, so you’re not complaining. You’re just mildly surprised you’re dreaming of it now.

Guess you’re more horny than you thought.

Slowly, his hands begin to slide down your body until they find purchase on your thighs. An appreciative squeeze is all you receive as you pull the slightest bit away from him before his lips are on yours, successfully managing to steal your breath away.

The kiss is desperate, and so unbelievably needy, like you are the very air he needs to breathe. Exactly like how you pictured him being in your little fantasy the other week. Your hands splay themselves over his back, pulling him in closer as you deepen the kiss, a whine building in your throat as you feel his tongue brushing against yours in the most sinful of ways.

You start to unbutton his coat. 

Funny, you don’t remember it being this short as you go to push it off of his shoulders. The material feels different, too.

That should have been your third clue. Only, you don’t get to think about it for too long as the male pulls you in closer, a low groan escaping his throat as he feels your legs wrap themselves around his waist. He grinds into you then, and the gasp that he hears escaping your lips as you break from his heated kiss has a shiver of pleasure running up his spine, even if it’s a sound he’s hearing for him only in your dreams.

Immediately, his lips are back on yours and your hands move to tangle in his hair, causing his hat to tumble off of his head and fall to the floor in the next second. You think nothing of letting your own head tilt back as he begins to place open mouthed kisses along the side of your neck soon after, teeth nipping at the delicate skin. Your eyes remain closed for the moment, revelling in the feeling of his tongue laving over your pulse until you spare a glance at the male suckling at your neck.

A flash of pink catches your eyes.

In the next moment, you’ve shoved him off of you, mouth parted in disbelief as you see an all too familiar face staring back at you with a slight pout on his lips, chest heaving as he attempts to catch his breath.

“San?” You grip the edge of the desk for support. “What the fuck? Why the fuck are you in my dream?”

“You didn’t seem to have a problem with it a moment ago,” he mumbles, that all too familiar pout of his still tugging at his features.

“To be fucking fair, I thought this was something else entirely,” you say, motioning vaguely around the room.

Something in his eyes flash, recognition settling over his features until he’s letting out a huff. “I bet you wouldn’t have any problem with Yeosang being here right now.”

Your eyebrows raise considerably in disbelief. “You invaded my dream because you’re jealous.”

“I’m not jealous,” his reply is instantaneous, a frown pulling at his brow.

“Mmhmm,” you purse your lips. “Sure you aren’t. Which is exactly why you pretended to be Wangyeo and-“ your voice catches in your throat as if you’ve just realized something. A tight smile begins to pull at your features as you blink at him multiple times. “San,” the way you say his name has him swallowing quite nervously all of a sudden, “why did you decide to invade my dream and make me think you were Wangyeo?”

He quiet for a moment, tense as he stands before you.

“You wouldn’t have wanted me, otherwise. If I didn’t recreate that damn fantasy of yours-“ he catches himself, immediately cutting his words short as he sees your eyes flash.

“My what?” You smile tersely, eyes shining with hidden malice as you tilt your head slightly, hopping off of the desk you’ve been sitting on top of in the next moment.

He shakes his head, eyes wide as if he just admitted to something he shouldn’t have. Of which he knows will get him in trouble.

“Okay, first of all, shame on you for assuming what, or whom I would want. You can, and will never make that decision for me,” your words are pointed as you cross your arms in front of your chest, “but we can talk about that later. I want to know exactly what you mean by that ‘damn fantasy’ of mine.”

He remains quiet, a tight pull of his lips as a grimace rests on his features. However, you don’t even need to hear anything from him to be able to put two and two together. This scenario, his outfit, the way he was touching you and subsequently letting you touch him, letting you believe you were dreaming about your fantasy all add up.

You inhale sharply, a chill running down your spine as your eyes flash once more.

“Run.” Your voice is ominous, probably the darkest tone he’s ever heard from you directed towards him.

“Baby, please, I can explain-“ he attempts to reason with you, extending his hands out in a nonthreatening motion, but a baseball bat appearing in your hand has him blinking in shock at you in the next second. 

He’s in your domain now.

“You really want to attempt to explain your way out of this one?” You take a slow step towards him, grip tightening on the handle of the bat in your hand. “Let me do it for you, yeah?” You tilt your head slightly, that crazed look shining in your eyes that he hasn’t seen since you threw that mug at Wooyoung’s head. “You invaded my dream here because you’re jealous that I fell in love with and subsequently had sex with your brother before you. Then, deciding that I haven’t been giving you enough attention in the real world, you created my dream here using a fantasy I had made for myself after you overheard me getting off because you thought I wouldn’t want you any other way. Does that sound about right?”

Not to mention the fact that if he overheard you, then they all did.

“Uh,” San blinks, his whole body frozen to the spot for the moment as his gaze remains transfixed on the bat in your hand which you have moved to rest over your one shoulder. “Baby, why do you have a bat?”

“If you want to gain my affections, this is not the way to do it.” You seethe, completely ignoring his question. “I don’t need you and your voyeristic tendencies invading my mind, especially when I’m sleeping.”

Something within his eyes flash, and his entire demeanour is shifting. You can just tell from the way his hands lower, a sneer painting his features as he rolls his eyes that that all too familiar jealous beast is making a reappearance.

“But you’ll fall in love with the biggest voyer of us all, and sleep with him first,” he huffs, moving to cross his arms over his chest.

The silence that settles around the both of you is deadly, and the longer it lingers, the more San becomes uncomfortable by how still you’ve gone.

The tip of the bat touching the ground echoes through the room as you drop you hand back to your side, eyes flashing once more. “Run.”

Immediately, San is thrown from your dream, meaning you’ve returned to consciousness. He lets out a long sigh, running a hand through his hair before slumping back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest. Now, he’s stuck staring at the counter, a frown on his face as he glares at the bag of marshmallows in front of him. Not even his favourite treat can pull him out of his frustrations right now.

Well, that didn’t go as planned.

Meanwhile, as soon as you feel consciousness returning to you, you’re sitting up in bed and flinging the covers off of your body. Angrily, you shove your feet into your slippers, standing in the next moment. Your eyes blaze with an irritated fury unlike ever before as you stomp your way over to your door, flinging the piece of wood open in the next moment.

Jongho, who had been casually walking down the hallway and towards the cinema room, stops in his tracks as soon as he sees you. He blinks a few times, noting how you meet his gaze with bloodshot eyes, a fire burning behind your orbs from what he may or may not have just observed happen in your dream.

“Darling, are you-“

“Where is he?” Your voice is low, threatening as your words rumble out of you.

“Who?” He’ll play along for now. Besides, if he gets to watch you kick his brother’s ass, he will. Jongho will absolutely revel in it.

“Jongho, sweetie,” for a brief moment, a sickly sweet smile takes over your features as you relax your tense shoulders. “Could I please have a baseball bat?”

In the blink of an eye, said male makes the object appear in his hand, the wooden bat being handed seamlessly to you in an instant. You grin maniacally.

“Thank you, love,” you move to walk passed him, patting his arm affectionately as you do so.

“Don’t smash any of the vases, Hongjoong will be upset.” He informs you, a teasing lilt to his voice.

“Oh, believe me, this isn’t for any vases.” You turn to spare a glance at him from over your shoulder, that same unnerving smile pulling at your features. “Now, where is San?”

“He’s in our kitchen.” Jongho chuckles knowingly as he senses Wooyoung pop his head out from the dance studio down the hallway. “Why, Darling?”

“Because,” you shoot him a final tense smile from over your shoulder before turning around, dragging the tip of the bat along the floor behind you as you once more begin to walk down the hallway and towards their side of the house. “I’m going to break him.”

A pleasant shiver runs up both Wooyoung’s and Jongho’s spine as you say this, muttering something about smashing San’s kneecaps in as your figure retreats down the hallway. Of course, they know you won’t actually do anything to their brother. Sure, you may be mad, but this is a different kind of anger than they’ve felt from you before. Besides, it’s not like you could really hurt San physically with a bat, even if you tried. Unless he let you.

As soon as you round the corner to the entrance to their kitchen to see San sitting at the counter with his shoulders slumped, a crazed grin takes over your features once more.

“Oh, Sannie,” your voice is sickly sweet, and you immediately notice how his entire body tenses as it reaches his ears.

You’re no fool. You know he knew you were coming. You also know he knows you’re holding a bat in your hand right now, probably having overheard you ask Jongho for one from down the hall.

“I thought I told you to run.” 

Instantly, he’s on his feet, turning to face you with his hands outstretched in front of him in attempts to calm you down. Your eyes briefly dart to the bag of marshmallows on the counter, and you realize now why you probably had been eating some in your dream.

“A bat? Again?” Comes his first response, quirking a brow at you in curiosity. “Baby, you know you can’t hurt me with that.”

“I know,” you huff amusedly, “but I can try.”

Something in his eyes flash, and you notice how pained he seems to be in the next moment. “Are you that mad that you would hit me over it?”

“I might,” your eyes flash.

“You would beat me?” His question sounds as if his voice catches in his throat, eyes drooping as he looks at you.

Immediately, the bat is falling from your hand as your breath hitches in your throat.

“No! Oh my god, no!” You shake your head, eyes going wide. “San, I may be upset, but I would never beat you over it.”

“I know,” a cheeky grin stretches across his face as he casually leans against the counter using one hand for support. “You probably couldn’t, even if you tried. I just needed you to drop the bat.”

Sure enough, when you look down at the ground, the bat has disappeared from sight.

“Look,” you sigh, raising your one hand to rub at the side of your head, “I can handle you guys altering my dreams. I’ve known you’ve been doing so since I got here.” He quirks a brow at you. “However, what I don’t appreciate is you invading my mind because you’re fucking jealous over a stupid, petty reason, and using my own fantasies for your own gain.”

“So, if I did it if I wasn’t jealous for that reason, it’d be okay?” He smirks knowingly.

“No!” You reply exasperatedly. “Are you even listening to what I’m saying?”

“Of course I am, Baby,” he meets your gaze.

You take a deep breath to steady yourself, calming your frustrations for the moment.

“Then, do you understand why I’m so upset?” You cross your arms over your chest as you meet his gaze.

“Because I got jealous.”

“Oh, no, the jealousy I can handle.” Your response clearly catches him off guard. “I expect it from you guys, so that’s nothing new. It’s still a bit ridiculous, in my opinion, and I feel bad that you all feel that insecure about out relationships to cause such jealousy within you. You all cannot expect me to fall in love with you at the same rate, that’s just unrealistic.” You shake your head, waving your hand in the air as if dismissing the thought for the moment. “Anyways, that’s beside the point.”

You can tell he’s still stunned just from the way he blinks at you in response.

“No, I’m upset at the fact that you believed that I would only want you if you posed as someone else.” You continue, raising a finger pointedly in the air for emphasis. “First of all, that’s untrue. Second of all,” you slowly begin closing the distance between the both of you, and you notice how he backs himself against the wall until you’re standing right before him. Without thinking, you place a hand beside his shoulder to support yourself, practically holding him there as he watches you with hooded eyes. “The fact that you decided to make that choice for me, irritates me. You don’t know what I want. Hell, I don’t know what I want half the time, but I don’t appreciate you making that decision for me.”

“Also, you don’t think I haven’t come to terms with the fact that I know you’ve all seen me naked before with your little voyeristic tendencies?” You notice the way he swallows thickly, his Adam’s apple bobbing as his eyes briefly trail down the front of your body. “Believe me, that took some heavy mental talking through on my part to even be in the same room as you all after I figured that one out. Knowing Yeosang may or may not be the biggest voyer of you all changes nothing about what I feel for him now.”

A low growl emanates from his chest, and you have to suppress the way you want to roll your eyes. Only, you fail to notice the way his own dart to a spot beside your head, seemingly looking past you for the moment.

“What upsets me, is the fact that because of your jealousy, you would attempt to throw your own brother under the bus because of the way I feel about him.” You meet his gaze once more. “I know what you’re trying to do, and it’s not going to work.”

“Oh, yeah?” He quirks a brow, eyes briefly darting down to your lips for the moment before staring deeply into your own. His voice drops to a mere whisper. “Just what am I trying to do here, Baby?”

“You,” you shift your hand that had been supporting yourself against the wall in order to place a pointed finger on his chest, “are trying to get me not to like him more than you. Only, your little plan has now backfired on you tremendously.”

His chest rises and falls dramatically. The spot where your finger is pressed against his skin, even if separated by the material of his shirt, burns. A heat floods his veins as he attempts to control his breathing for the time being, but being this close to you, given the situation, San cannot help but become surrounded by everything you.

Again, he glances at your lips, eyes hooding over as he licks his own.

“Oh, you want to kiss me so badly right now,” he smirks. “Don’t you?”

Your brow quirks, and you mirror the smug look on his face with one of your own. Slowly, you trail your finger up, allowing your nail to graze over his chest as you come to cup the side of his jaw in the palm of your hand, thumb settling dangerously close to the corner of his mouth as you lean in. The ghost of your breath tickles the skin of his lips.

“San,” the way you whisper his name as you glance downwards has a pleasant shudder wracking his entire body, anticipation clawing at his chest. “You’re projecting.”

Patting the side of his cheek a few times, you go to pull away from him, much to his disappointment. The pout is back on his face in an instant, even deeper than before as he watches you slowly back away from him.

“Next time I catch any of you in my dreams like that, I won’t hesitate to kick your ass in my own domain.” You state, raising your finger to point threateningly at him. “Also, I’m stealing these.”

Swiping the bag of marshmallows off of the counter, you go to turn around. Only, you don’t expect to see Yeosang leaning against the entranceway when you do, a smug look pulling at his features.

“Oh, stop looking so smug, you’d be in the same boat if the roles were reversed.” You roll your eyes playfully at him, and you watch as he tilts his head in slight acknowledgement. Carefully, you lean back onto the counter, grabbing a marshmallow out of the bag and holding it in your hand. “So, which one of you is going to tell me who the voyer was that spied on me that first night in the bathtub?”

Yeosang nearly loses his balance against the doorframe, righting himself in the next moment as he and San share a look.

“You think I didn’t realize it was fucking one of you after that whole 'we can appear in mirrors’ bit?” You quirk a brow, popping the treat into your mouth before pulling another from the bag. Swallowing the sugar in your mouth, you then add, a little louder than before, “I include all of you in this, by the way.”

Immediately, you feel that pure white string humming with vibration. You open your void.

It wasn’t me, I swear, Gorgeous. Wooyoung’s voice echoes through your head, a bit desperate with how he pleads for you to believe him. I stole your panties, but that was it.

I believe you, Woo. The instant relief you can sense from him as you say this has you huffing in amusement before closing off your mind once more.

You shoot an expectant look towards Yeosang, brow raised in question as he practically sputters in his spot, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

“Well?” You tilt your head slightly at him. “Who was it?”

You hear San laugh from beside you, snatching the marshmallow still held in your hand before raising it to his lips. “You’re staring right at him, Baby. I wasn’t lying when I told you that he’s the biggest voyer of us all.”

You blank, blinking a few times as you watch Yeosang glare at his brother beside you who happily pops the sweet treat into his mouth in the next second. His expression says it all.

A loud sigh escapes your lips as you pull another marshmallow out of the bag, staring at it in contemplation as you rotate it slowly in your hand. Not even a moment later, you freeze, eyes darting up to meet Yeosang’s who stands there as still as a deer in headlights.

“You little shit,” you throw the marshmallow in your hand at him, running after him in the next second as he takes off sprinting down the hall. “Get back here!”

Even more marshmallows are tossed after him as you chase him around the first floor of the house, the soft ammunition bouncing harmlessly off of him each time they meet their target.

A laugh is in his voice as he apologizes, attempting to calm you down. The best part though, is that you both know you’re not really mad at him, just slightly exasperated for the moment. It’s quite amusing to watch, and overhear. At least, for the others.

Ten minutes later and you’ve given up trying to catch him as you’ve ran out of marshmallows to throw. You sternly tell him, and subsequently all of them, not to do something like that, or what San did earlier, again. Of which, they all immediately assure you that they haven’t since you came to them all those weeks ago, and they won’t do so now, anyways.

Well, there go your plans for sleeping early today seeing as you’re now wide awake.

Letting out a small breath through your nose, you make your way towards the cinema room, figuring you can probably watch something to take your mind off of things for now. Plus, it’ll probably make you tired enough to sleep again.

Entering the room a moment later, you notice both Mingi and Jongho sitting on opposite couches seemingly watching a movie. Kuroo appears to be curled up beside Mingi’s legs which are stretched out before him on the chaise portion of the sofa. A fact of which has your lips quirking slightly in the corners as you see the little black ball of fluff raise his head to watch you walk over to where Mingi is sitting in the next moment.

“Are your brothers always this frustrating?” You huff jokingly as you plop yourself onto the couch, laying down immediately so that your head is resting in Mingi’s lap, much to the male’s surprise.

Jongho spares a glance in your direction, a small pout tugging at his lips as he notices Mingi’s typical giddy grin stretching across his features as he looks down at you resting on his lap. That should be him.

“What was your first clue?” Mingi chuckles, finally over his initial shock of you coming right in only to lay yourself in his lap.

“Oh, there were many,” you nod, as if reminiscing the facts.

Not even a moment later, Kuroo stands from his spot, giving a big stretch before crawling over Mingi to settle himself on top of your chest once more. You think it’s starting to become one of his favourite spots.

“Well, hello there, Sir,” you chuckle, giving him a few scratches on his head as he curls into you. “Aren’t you a cutie?”

You continue to coo at the little kitten on your chest, unaware of how both males now gaze at you with such tender love and affection in their eyes. Their hearts swell knowing how comfortable you seem to be in this moment, and they absolutely revel in your presence. Though, none are as smug and happy as Mingi is right now. This is the first time you’ve sat with him, hell, with any of them like this, that he cannot help but to never want to move again. As long as you stay here with him like this, he doesn’t mind at all.

Briefly, the two males share a glance, Mingi shooting a pointed look at the younger male all the while.

Letting out a sigh through his nose, Jongho stands, muttering under his breath about having to go and do something or other. Only, you fail to notice his pout, or the way he pauses slightly in the entranceway, hoping that you’ll get him to stay. 

Unfortunately for him, you seem to be too caught up in petting the kitten for the moment. In fact, if Jongho didn’t know any better, he’d say you didn’t even notice him leave. His pout deepens, finally leaving the room and allowing his brother to spend some quality time alone with the one they love most.

“I thought you would have went back to bed,” Mingi’s voice manages to pull you out of your own thoughts as you mindlessly stroke a hand through Kuroo’s fur.

“Can’t sleep,” you shake your head slightly. “I’m awake now.”

“Ah,” Mingi hums, raising his one hand to begin petting Kuroo alongside your own. “I see.”

“Is this okay, by the way?” You look up at him with wide eyes, and Mingi has to strongly resist the urge to lean down and kiss you. “I sort of just invaded your personal space without asking.”

“Of course!” His answer is immediate, an eagerness to his tone. He clears his throat in the next second, composing himself a bit better. “You can lean on me whenever you want. You don’t even have to ask, I really don’t mind.”

“Good,” you grin cheekily, “cause I wasn’t planning on moving any time soon.”

A pleased rumble builds in his chest, fingers twitching as he resists the urge to touch you. All Mingi wants to do is run his fingers over your scalp, maybe massage your head a little bit, and share in that intimacy with you. Except, he doesn’t want to overstep, or push his luck for the moment. You’re already in his lap, and the last thing he wants to do is push you away. Literally.

“Thanks, Min,” you meet his gaze, a soft smile gracing your features as a gentle fondness shines in your eyes. A fondness Mingi has only ever dreamed of being on the receiving end of. “I really do appreciate it.”

“Of course, Starlight,” he returns your smile, heart racing in his chest as he cannot stop himself from brushing a hand over the top of your head affectionately. The way your eyelids flutter closed, a slight hitch in your breath following has a warmth blooming in his chest. “I am always happy to spend time with you, in any and every way I can.”

“I enjoy spending time with you, Mingi,” your eyelids fall closed once more as he continues to massage his fingers over your scalp, you practically humming in content. “You make me happy.”

“Starlight,” Mingi’s voice is but a whisper on his lips, his heart feeling as if it’s about to burst from his chest as nothing but pure love for you floods his veins.

“I’m serious, Min,” you take the time to place your hand over his which has paused momentarily over Kuroo’s body. “I know this might feel like it’s coming out of nowhere, but I really appreciate you and everything you do - everything that you’ve done - for me.”

He smiles softly, intertwining your fingers together on top of Kuroo’s fur. “I will always be here for you, whenever you may need me.”

Slowly, you bring his hand up, placing a gentle kiss onto the skin of his exposed wrist and feeling his whole body shudder beneath your touch. You allow your eyelids to flutter closed once more as you let your lips linger on his skin, feeling the way his fingers tighten their grip ever so slightly in your own.

“I care about you, Min,” you breathe out, the ghost of your breath tickling his skin as his pulse races beneath your touch. “Deeply. Probably more than I should.”

His breath hitches in his throat as he meets your eyes once more, and the tremendous amount of fondness he can see swirling within could not make him any happier than he is in this very moment.

“That’s not a bad thing, Starlight.” He whispers, eyes shining as he looks down at you resting comfortably against his thigh.

You smile faintly, “I never said it was.”

Giving his hand a small squeeze, you settle your interlocked fingers against your stomach, raising your opposite hand so that it rests on top of Mingi’s as well. In an instant, he goes back to gently running the fingers of his other hand over your scalp once more.

You turn your attention to the screen, clearing your throat lightly as a heat rushes to your cheeks. “What are we watching?”

“Oh, this?” Mingi’s lips twitch upwards slightly, noting the change in subject for the time being. “I just put it on for background noise. We can watch whatever you’d like, Starlight.”

“Oh, really, now?” You quirk a brow playfully at him. “And you’re not just saying that for me, are you? If you were watching this earlier, Min, I really don’t mind.”

“Of course not, Starlight,” he shakes his head lightly, eyes crinkling at the sides as he smiles down at you. “I want to watch whatever you want to watch.”

“Well, I want to watch whatever you want to watch, Min,” you stick your tongue out at him teasingly, throwing his own words back at him. “What’s your favourite movie?”

“Oh, no, I know what you’re trying to do here,” he chuckles, shaking his head.

“And just what am I trying to do, Min?” You quirk a brow, repeating the same words that had been spoken to you earlier that night.

“You’re trying to get my favourite movie out of me to put it on.” He replies, as if he’s caught you in your own act.

“Guilty,” you shrug. “Is it wrong to want to know more about My Moonlight?”

The way you can hear his breath hitch in his throat as you say this has a smile tugging at your features.

“Please, won’t you share your favourite movies with me, Min?” The way you’re looking up at him, innocent eyes wide and blinking, has his heart swelling in his chest.

He gives your hand a slight squeeze. “I would love to.”

Seeing your excited expression, lips stretching wide as your eyes crinkle at the sides, has a warmth unlike any other flooding his chest as he sets up his favourite movie on screen. Eagerly, you turn your head as the opening credits appear, settling deeper against his thigh as you make yourself more comfortable for the moment.

Recognition flashes across your features.

“So, you like Bond movies?” Your voice holds nothing but curiosity as you turn your attention back to him for the moment, a small quirk to your eyebrow.

“They’re some of my favourites,” he nods, a grin pulling at his features. Then, he adds with a shrug, “I just think he’s cool.”

“Sure, James Bond is cool as fuck,” you hum in agreement as you meet his eyes. “I still think you’re cooler, though.”

Mingi can hear his heart pounding in his ears as a vibrant blush creeps up his neck and onto his face, that all too familiar giddy smile taking over his features as he squeezes your hand lovingly. “Thank you, Starlight.”

“You’re probably a better spy than him, too,” you observe, eyes briefly meeting his own, “or should I say, assassin?”

A pleased rumble builds in his chest at your praise, sitting a little straighter in his seat for the moment. “You could say that.”

“Not gonna lie, Min,” you bite your bottom lip, almost teasingly. “That’s really hot.”

The growl that escapes him is nothing short of smug, his grip tightening on your hand as he pulls you slightly closer into him.

“I always aim to please,” his voice is low, words but a growl on his lips as his gaze stares transfixed with your own.

“As far as I’m concerned,” the corner of your lips twitches upwards in a smirk as your tongue darts out to wet them, “you haven’t missed yet.”

For a moment, only the sounds from the movie playing in the background can be heard as you both stare deeply into each other’s eyes. Mingi has to suppress the urge to pull you up and into his lap in this very moment, claiming your lips with his like he so often wants to do. Still, he cannot help the way his heart positively flutters at your confession.

The both of you are pulled out of your thoughts as you watch Kuroo stand on your chest, stretching briefly before jumping down and trotting out of the room. A pained noise leaves you as he does so, your free hand moving to grasp over your left breast.

“Kuroo, that hurt, you little shit!” You call after him, a pout pulling at your features.

Mingi cannot suppress the laugh that escapes him, even as you turn your overdramatic pout towards him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll survive.” You chuckle, rubbing at the skin of your chest lightly. “My boob will never be the same, though.”

“I could inspect it for you,” Mingi offers casually, his attention back onto the screen in front of you briefly before he quirks a brow playfully as he glances down at you once more. “You know, make sure everything’s still working properly, and stuff.”

“Mingi!” Your mouth parts in shock, moving to slap his arm playfully with your free hand. “You pervert!”

“Just doing my duty and expressing my concern for you, Starlight,” he chuckles, noticing how you avert your gaze in embarrassment in the next moment.

“Mmhmm,” you scoff, rolling your eyes teasingly. “Just say you want to touch my boobs and be done with it.”

“I mean,” he shoots you a hopeful look out of the corner of his eyes, “if you’re offering.”

“Mingi!” You sound so scandalized as your mouth falls open once more, laughter falling from your lips in disbelief. “Don’t make me bite you.”

“You say that as a threat, Starlight, but honestly, that just sounds like a good time to me,” his voice rumbles out, more chuckles falling from his lips as his eyes flash in amusement.

You open your mouth as if to say something else, before deciding against it. The cutest frustrated pout pulls at your features as you turn yourself onto your side, head still resting against his thigh as you tuck his arm underneath your own, grumbling under your breath about ‘damn horny demons and their damn perverted ways.’

Mingi cannot help but laugh once more, a pleased hum building in his chest as he feels you still laying against him. You even go so far as to settle deeper against his thigh, making yourself more comfortable in this new position as you watch the screen in front of you.

The best part? You still have his arm tucked up against you for the moment, even if you’ve let his hand go. Though, not for long as your opposite arm comes to wrap itself over the back of his own seeing as it’s more comfortable for you in this position.

Then, you do something that Mingi does not expect at all.

Slowly, you begin to move his hand upwards the slightest bit until his entire palm is resting over the skin of your one breast, directly over your heart.

Mingi freezes, the tips of his ears burning bright red as he attempts to control his breathing for the moment. So badly does he want to let his eyes shift, but he holds them off. For now. Especially when he sees you turn to look at him with a sharp gaze in the next moment.

“No funny business,” you warn him, a playfully stern look on your features before turning your attention back to the screen in front of you. “Your hand is warm, that’s all.”

Carefully, Mingi allows his hand to relax against your chest, loving how you keep yours curled securely around his own as his fingers come to settle against your skin. Even despite the barrier of clothing between his palm and your breast, he cannot help the tingles that erupt on the palm of his hand, travelling up his arm and settling comfortably in his chest as another content rumble builds within.

The comforting beat of your heart pulses beneath the skin of his palm, and he feels every breath you take. Each time your heart races, his fingers twitch, the tips subtly pressing firmer into your skin just to be able to feel your pulse better. 

Nothing could take this intimate moment away from him right now. The fact that you feel comfortable enough with him, that you trust him enough to hold his palm against your heart like this, practically cupping his hand against your one breast, could not bring him any greater joy than he feels in this moment with you.

For over an hour, the two of you rest like this together, simply basking in each other’s presence as the movie plays on before you. It gets even better when Mingi feels you curling in closer to him at one point, your breathing evening out and signifying that you’ve managed to fall asleep against him.

Mingi only hopes the sound of his own racing heart isn’t loud enough to pull you out of your slumber. Never does he want to wake you, let alone move you from this position with him, for this is everything he could have ever asked for, and so much more. The significance behind this moment surrounds him, flooding his veins at the fact that you are comfortable enough to not only curl up against his leg with his hand resting on your chest, but also fall asleep on him.

A soft smile tugs at his features as he gently runs his free hand over the top of you head once more, feeling you hum subconsciously as he does so. Fuck, if Mingi already wasn’t head over heels in love with you, this moment only proves just how deeply he is.

All too soon, the movie comes to an end, and Mingi almost contemplates putting on another one just so that the two of you can stay in this position for a little while longer. However, he knows he shouldn’t, and that it would be in his best interest to actually help you into bed. It is quite late, and you have been sleeping against him for the better part of an hour already. Besides, he doesn’t want you to strain your neck.

Dragging out his movements for as long as possible, Mingi slowly turns off the system around him. For a moment, he contemplates simply teleporting you to your room, but he figures you’d probably appreciate it more if he let you enter it yourself instead of just inviting himself in, even if it’s just to drop you off in your bed.

Carefully, Mingi begins brushing his hand over the top of your head, voice gentle as he pulls you from your slumber.

“Starlight,” he coos, thumb brushing against your forehead. “Starlight, come on, let’s get you to bed.”

A small groan is heard from you as you return to consciousness for the moment. You stretch lightly, lashes groggily fluttering open as you look up at Mingi through tired eyes. “Moonlight?”

“It’s just me,” he smiles down at you, helping you sit up in your sleep filled haze. “Come on, you’ll be more comfortable in your own bed.”

“Okay,” you mumble, standing to your feet in the next moment, only for your entire body to wobble slightly, practically falling into Mingi as he steps in to support you in the next moment.

Your head practically lulls onto his chest as he wraps an arm around your waist to help support you. He can tell you’re still half asleep, given the way he guides your body out of the cinema room after flipping off the lights, and down the hallway to your own bedroom in the next moment.

Stepping through the threshold, Mingi notices Kuroo already curled up in the centre of your bed, letting out a small chuckle as the kitten raises his head to observe the sudden intruders into your room. At seeing that it’s two familiar faces, Kuroo settles back down into his little ball, mewling softly as Mingi helps you sit on the edge of the bed.

Not even a minute later, Mingi has shifted Kuroo over enough to help you crawl beneath your covers, noting the way your eyes can barely stay open for the moment as you smile up at him from your pillow.

“Thank you, Min,” you mutter, a yawn escaping you in the next moment as you settle deeper into your bed.

“Of course, Starlight,” he smiles down at you, leaning in to place a lingering kiss onto your forehead. “Sleep well, Pretty One.”

Just as he goes to turn away, the feeling of your hand reaching out from beneath your covers and grasping onto his own has him pausing in his movements. Sparing a glance down at the way your hand grasps his own, Mingi can only blink at you with wide eyes, chest swirling with anticipation as his breath catches in his throat.

“Where-“ you inhale a deep breath, “going?” You seem to be fighting against every urge telling you to fall back into your deep slumber for the moment as you give a weak tug on his arm. “Want-“ you yawn once more, “stay.”

Mingi swears his heart is about to leap from his chest at the way it begins thundering beneath his skin. “You want me to stay?”

The vigorous nod you manage to make has a warmth unlike any other blooming within him.

“Alright, Starlight,” he smiles lovingly down at you, noticing how a relaxed, yet pleased all the same, smile stretches across your features. “I’ll stay. Just let me close the door.”

The second nod you give him is much more lax than the first, this one being a simple jerk of your chin as your eyes remain closed for the moment.

In no time at all, Mingi has softly closed the door to your room, moved Kuroo to the end of the bed, and crawled in beside you on the opposite side. Almost immediately after his head hits the pillow, you’re turning to face him, curling yourself into him with your head on his chest and your arms wrapped securely around his waist. Hell, even your one leg gets tossed over one of his own.

“S’okay?” You mumble into the skin of his chest, wiggling slightly closer as you feel him wrap his one arm around your back, the other coming up to gently cradle the side of your face.

“Always, Starlight.” He hums, and he just knows from the way you smile sleepily that you can hear how frantically his heart is racing beneath your head right now. “Are you okay? Are you comfortable?”

“Very.” You nod once more, words slightly more coherent for the moment as you tilt your head upwards to gaze at his face through heavily lidded eyes. “You’re very comfy, Min.” You hum, “and warm.”

The content rumble that reverberates against you has you chuckling faintly, another hum escaping you.

“Pretty Min,” you sigh, curling deeper into him as you rest your chin against his chest in order to continue staring into his eyes. Then, you’re lifting yourself slightly upwards, all the while moving closer into him. “Will you kiss me goodnight?”

Mingi swears that were he not already laying down, he would have collapsed right there on the spot. Instantly, his grip is tightening around your waist, the hand he has gently resting against your cheek gripping onto you a bit firmer as he guides your lips to his own, holding them there for a moment just incase you want to back out still. Once he knows you won’t, his hands begin to shake.

“Always, My Queen,” his voice is but a whisper against your lips before he’s pressing his own to yours gently.

The kiss is soft; tender. Neither of you expect more than what the other is willing to give for the moment, but it conveys all that you want it to. It portrays your feelings: the happiness you feel in this moment, and how comfortable he makes you. Most of all, though, even if it’s just a simple meeting of your lips and nothing more, you both can feel the love each other pours into such a brief moment in time shared with one another.

Pulling away, a soft smile rests on each of your faces. Mingi’s thumb gently strokes over the skin of your cheek as you come to settle against his chest once more.

“Goodnight, Min,” you hum, allowing your eyes to flutter shut once more as the sound of his beating heart begins to lull you back into the world of dreams.

“Goodnight, My Queen.” His voice is barely above a whisper, lips still tingling from the feeling of your own pressed against his mere seconds before.

A moment of silence passes between the both of you as you revel in each other’s arms. That is, until you’re breaking it once more.

“Hey Mingi?” Your soft voice calling his name catches his attention once more, him humming lowly in acknowledgement in the next second. A brief pause. “I love you.” You swallow the sudden dryness in your throat. “I am in love with you.”

Mingi blanks, his entire body feeling as if it’s come alive as your words settle over him. The way he knows you can hear his heart thundering in his chest, especially as you tighten your grip around him in the next moment has an ecstasy that he has not felt in centuries flooding through his veins.

He pulls you in closer, tears dotting the corners of his vision as he places a tender kiss against the top of your head, wanting to revel in this moment for just a little while longer as his emotions overwhelm him. He clears his throat, blinking away his tears and only causing once to slowly trail down the side of his face before it falls, his happiness being absorbed into the material of your pillows.

“My Queen,” his heart positively flutters in his chest as he says this, his emotions consuming him for the moment as he tightens his grip around you, pulling you impossibly closer into his chest. “I love you.”

[sunlightmurdock]

Blow by Blow | 0.4 | Bradley Bradshaw x Reader au

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Synopsis: Bradley’s washed up before his career has even really begun. He doesn’t want to fill his father’s shoes and he doesn’t want someone else to either. Stuck in limbo, living the same way he always has, the opportunity to step up wanders through the door of his gym in a mini dress and heels that are a size too big.

Warnings: unspecified age gap, violence, probs boxing inaccuracies somewhere along the line, blood and injuries throughout the fic but will be specified in the warnings of the chapter. Smut and other 18+ content, minors dni, no warnings in particular for this one

…

Bradley’s car pulls into the parking lot at seven, prompt — on time for once. The radio is playing loud, some seventies tune that he hums along to with little regard for the neighbors. Head tilted back, humming softly to your own music, the water pours over your face.

You scrub shampoo through your roots, swaying softly to your music. It’s a relatively calm track, you’re hoping for a relatively calm day. The plan is to take Tank for a walk through the park down by the marina, then come back and work on the website a bit — Nat’s going to train with you in the afternoon, then you’ve got the evening to yourself.

It’s a nice change, having this much freedom over your day. No asshole telling you what to wear, telling you that walking the dog takes too long, dragging you along to whatever he wants to do.

Bradley’s brows furrow. He pops open the glove box and riffles through it before patting down his jean pockets again. No keys. “Fuck.”

It’s the first time that he’s been on time in a week. If he has to call Jake to borrow some keys then he’s just going to get another lecture. He knows exactly where his keys for the gym are, somewhere on the floor of your apartment.

Sliding out of the driver’s side of his Ford Bronco, he slams the door with little regard for the neighbors again — he half does it just to let you know that he’s coming. Then, he jogs up the metal stairs that lead to the door to your apartment and knocks loudly on the glass panel in the door.

Immediately, he’s met with a big bark. Loud, deep and right by the door from the sounds of things. Yeah… Natasha had mentioned a dog. Bradley knocks the glass loudly again, unfazed by the barking.

He lifts his hand, ready to hit the glass hard when he hears you unlocking the door. The blue wood pulls back and opens just slightly. He has a split second where he can glance you up and down, get a good look at you, still wet and wrapped in a towel. Once his gaze lifts, he’s met with an unimpressed scowl.

Next, Tank lurches forwards, barking wildly as he aims himself at the stranger just outside the door. You put your knee against the doorframe and block Tank with your body.

“I need my keys, I dropped them here the other night.” Bradley ignores the dog and looks back to you without greeting you. He’s in kind of a hurry, Jake’s going to be here any minute and Bradley could do without being ridiculed today.

“Say please.”

It slips your mouth before you’ve even had time to think about it. It’s just the demanding tone and the way he looks at you. This is what would get you in trouble with Jett. You both seem equally surprised at what you just said. You swallow softly and step back.

“Sorry, I just — I’ll get them—“

“Can I have my keys, please?” Bradley asks softly. You take a deep breath and exhale through your nose, holding the towel against your body.

“Yeah, stay there.” You say quietly. You turn your back on him and nudge Tank back with you, catching hold of his collar and gently guiding him back towards the living room. Bradley’s keys are on the counter, approximately three steps from the back door — you had found them while cleaning last night and had been planning on returning them.

One step from the door, two, and then you let go of Tank’s collar. He seems calm enough now, you know him well enough to know that he’ll stay that way as long as Bradley stays outside.

Bradley slips his phone from the pocket of his gym shorts and checks the time. Jake’s going to be here any second. He steps inside, his strides are longer than yours and he’s close enough to you in one step. Too close, as Tank decides.

The dog growls sharply, then leaps up at him again, barking and snarling. The same puppy that had been curled up on the couch with you, wrapped in a cozy blanket and snoring, an hour ago.

You gasp, spinning around and catching the towel to keep it from falling. Bradley’s closer than you’re expecting, he can see the panic in your eyes when you turn. You catch hold of Tank’s collar and pull him back.

“I’m sorry, I was just going to—“

“I told you to wait outside.” You frown at him, brows furrowed, heart pounding in your chest. Maybe a braver person would yell at him now. You’d like to. Bradley glances down at your dog, still growling lowly, now standing between you and him with his heckles up.

This isn’t the first time that this dog has stood between you and a guy who has gotten too close.

Bradley takes a couple of steps back, bumping into the doorframe as he raises his palms in defense. You might forgive him, but Tank’s not so quick to recover. He continues to growl, deep and rumbling, warning the trainer to stay outside.

You swallow softly, fingers curling around his keys without looking back. You take them from the counter and toss them towards him. Bradley catches them in one hand.

“Thank you. Thanks. I’ll — I’ll see you later.” He nods, already half turning away, waving you off and heading down the steps. You step quickly forwards and close the door behind him, clicking the lock shut.

You crouch down and run your fingers over Tank’s fur, humming quietly. “So, you think he’s kind of an asshole too, huh?”

Bradley can’t fault your home security system. With your aim and nearby projectiles, and your new guard dog, he’s certain that if anyone tries to break in up there then they’ll be sorry about it.

He hears Jake’s truck pull up outside just as he’s finished opening up for the morning, the exhaust is fucked and it’s louder than it should be. Bradley walks back to the front desk and pulls his phone out, acting like he has been here and done with his work for a while.

“Wow, you’re here.” Jake quips, raising his eyebrows in amused surprise as he lets the door ring closed behind him. He’s wearing a black cap and matching gym wear today. With his experience and skills, he should probably be at a more upmarket place, but Jake’s got a soft spot for Bradshaw’s.

Sometimes, Bradley wishes he had the same choice.

“You look like you just saw a ghost, you alright?” Jake continues as he steps around the counter and slides the clipboard towards himself, flipping through the pages to find his schedule for the day.

“Yeah, that kid’s dog just lunged for me — don’t think either of them like me.” Bradley scoffs, shaking his head as he leans over Jake’s shoulder. Lots of empty spaces on the schedule, Mav isn’t going to be happy.

“Who, Tank?” Jake looks up, brows furrowing. Bradley nods his head. Jake scoffs, “Wow, you must’ve really pissed him off, he napped in Bob’s lap for like an hour last night. Curled up like a baby.”

As Jake finishes talking, you walk past the front of the gym. Tank’s wearing a harness and walking ahead of you on his leash, tail wagging contentedly. You’re wearing a pretty dress, it’s red, stops mid-way up your thigh and has little flowers on it.

Jake smiles as you turn your head towards the two of them. He lifts his hand and waves his fingers at you through the glass. Bradley stares as you wave chirpily back at the two of them.

It’s a sunny day, and you feel sunnier than you’ve felt in months. You pull your sweater from your bag and lay it out on the grass, then settle down. Tank readily settles with you, laying his head against your legs and wagging his tail.

Tank was an apology. For one of the first times things had gotten bad between you and Jett — an explosive argument that left behind an entire day’s worth of tears. You’d gone to sleep that night swearing that you were going to leave him. The next morning, you had woken up with a tan coloured cuddle bug who needed you to stay.

Before this, you haven’t spent much time on this side of San Diego — you had heard that this wasn’t the best area to hang out in. Maybe that’s why Jett liked to, maybe it made him feel tough. It isn’t like you had thought it would be. Down by the boats, sitting in the grass, it’s nice. There’s a view out over the bay and Tank likes to watch the birds in the trees above you.

“Heads up.” Bob nudges his elbow into Jake’s. Jake lifts his gaze and frowns. They’re standing by the front desk and trying to find stuff to keep them busy so that Mav doesn’t realise how dead it is today. They stare out of the front window together as the car door slams.

“Oh, what the fuck is that assho—“

Jake shoots a look at Natasha. She closes her mouth and breathes out hard, curling her knuckles around the counter as Jett walks towards the door. With guys like Jett, Jake knows what he’s looking for. It’s a fight, nothing more. A couple more of those, one more lawsuit and this place is getting shut down for good.

With everything that Maverick has lost already, Jake’s not going to let that happen.

The bell above the door rings. He’s barely got one foot inside, nostrils flared, dark circles under his eyes. There’s a grey sheen to his skin — maybe drinking too much, maybe something heavier. Jake’s not too sure.

“Where is she?”

Natasha opens her mouth. Bob elbows her softly.

“Where’s who?” Jake shrugs his shoulders calmly.

Jett seethes, surging forwards. Jake takes one step back and squares his shoulders.

“My girl.” Jett spits.

“Why would she be here?” Bob asks gently, leaning forwards on his palms. He adjusts his glasses.

“Cut the shit, I know she’s here! — My neighbour saw her with you.”

Phoenix glances across at Jake. Jake folds his arms over his chest. He’s two weight classes above Jett, and confident in the knowledge that Jett knows he won’t win this fight.

“Here to apologize?” Jake taunts.

“Here to talk her dumb ass down from whatever high horse she’s on. You don’t know her, man, she always freaks out like this.”

Bradley rounds the corner, leaning his head back, breathing hard. That session really took it out of him. He rolls his neck and opens his mouth, then closes it. He stops in his tracks.

He takes a moment to stare at Jett, and then take in what he had just said. Now it all makes sense.

“You want to talk to her?” Phoenix challenges, pushing herself up from her chair and rounding the desk. Behind her, is the internal door, behind that are the stairs to your apartment. “Try it.”

“Don’t think that just because you’re a girl, I won’t—“

That’s enough. They have heard enough. Bob moves to step between him and Phoenix, Jake steps towards Jett. Bradley throws his towel onto the ground and surpasses Jake.

He steps forwards and curls a fist into Jett’s t-shirt.

“Rooster, don’t.”

Rooster knows that there are only a couple more times that the police can get called to this place, and he knows that their insurance isn’t going to cover him starting another fight. Luckily, Jett’s smaller than he is.

His feet lift briefly off of the ground and stumble the rest of the way, scrambling for purchase, his arms swinging out to the sides. Rooster walks him backwards. The bell above the door rings loudly as the door swings open and then closed.

Jett’s shoes scrape along the concrete, not stopping long enough for him to get steady footing. His arms shove at Bradley, but it’s little use. Bradley worked as security for a while, there are a lot of bars downtown and he needed some time away from the gym. He’s used to throwing scrawny losers out onto the curb.

They walk back until Jett’s clear of the property boundary.

He tosses Jett backwards. Jett grunts as his back slams into the hood of his beat up, old car. He slinks down onto the floor. Bradley can tell that he’s going to try to get up before he does.

He leans down in front of your ex-boyfriend, eyes dark and serious, his broad frame blocking out the mid-day sun from behind him.

“You know me, right, Jett?” Bradley asks gently. He’s asking more than if Jett knows his name, which Jett does — he knows about Bradley’s career, and he knows why it’ll never extend past Bradshaw’s. Taking note of the clear recognition in Jett’s blue eyes, he nods his head. “That’s right. So you know that I have a hard time knowing when to stop. Right?”

Jett swallows softly.

Bradley nods his head again. “You come by here again, I’m not gonna stop.”

Tank walks ahead of you happily, his nose pointed up as he takes in his new surroundings. He seems to like it down here, all of the fresh smells, all of the birds. You’re four chapters into a book you��ve been meaning to start for months.

The bell above the door rings, Tank wanders in first and walks right on up to Bob. Your lips quirk slightly as he looks up expectantly at his new friend. You lift your gaze. The four of them are looking at you.

Smiling sweetly, you tilt your head a fraction to the side. “Everything okay?”

“Always is when you’re around, sunshine.” Jake shoots you a quick wink. Your cheeks are warm, and not because you just spent a couple of hours out in the sun. Bob and Natasha relax as you giggle sheepishly.

Bradley’s looking at you differently now. Maybe because Tank scared him this morning. You can’t quite place the look that he has on his face.

“Are Mickey and Javy here? — I had an idea for the website and I need to talk to all of you for it.” You continue on, well aware of those big brown eyes boring into your side as you pull your notebook from your bag and lean forwards onto the counter.

Phoenix shoots Bradley a look. He stares back at her. Everyone knew except him. She told everyone other than him about what had gone down between you and Jett. He didn’t realise that things had gotten that bad. Folding his arms over his chest, he wonders what else she has kept from him over the past few weeks.

…

[seungssky]

meet me at seven - k.mingyu & j.wonwoo smau

based off of the songs '7PM' by BooSeokSoon and Peder Elias and 'Bittersweet' by WONWOO, MINGYU, and LeeHi

pairing: ot13 x reader -> k. mingyu x fem!reader x j. wonwoo genre: comedy, drama, ot13 svt crack/sillyness, romance in later chapters ooo extra info: fem!reader -> language arts major, college au, olderbrother!seungcheol >:), social media au with some written parts, guest starring kim doyoung and some of nct127, guest starring bestfriend!huh yunjin and bestfriend!chaewon of le sserafim + way more theres too much to add to this LMFAOAOOA warnings: mild swearing, mature topics (drinking, controlling relationship, etc) -> will put a content disclaimer in each chapter title!

synopsis: y/n runs into two other english majors on campus during her shift at the campus library, and somehow strikes up a conversation with them. she then finds out those two boys and the rest of their friends live on the same floor of the apartment complex as her and her roommates. how did we end up in this situation?

started: 7/26/2023 ended: ---

updates every wednesday and saturday

meet me at seven official playlist

masterlist profiles one / profiles two

・❥・thinkin' about you

・❥・when i grow up

・❥・crush

・❥・let me hear you say

・❥・flower

・❥・simple

・❥・pretty u

・❥・adore u

・❥・do re mi

・❥・our dawn is hotter than day

・❥・thanks

・❥・trauma

・❥・i can't run away

・❥・i don't know

・❥・circles

・❥・i don't understand but i luv u

・❥・space

・❥・shadow

・❥・rock with you

・❥・home

・❥・ready to love

・❥・lean on me

・❥・to you

・❥・darl+ing

・❥・same dream, same mind, same night

・❥・happy ending (epilogue)

・❥・2 minus 1 (bonus chapter)

a note from seungssky: hello everybody! welcome to a new fic im working on, this will be a long one, so i hope you stay tuned for the ride! if you're wanting to be added to the tag list, reply to this masterlist post <3 ill upload as often as possible, so please be patient :) hope you enjoy whats to come.

reply to be added to a taglist!

[honeybeezgobzzzzz]

☠️ Something Dread, Something Red: Chapter Seven

Something Dread, Something Red: Stuck in a proposal to a Marine Commodore, you escape minutes before your wedding in one last ditch effort to avoid getting married to a tyrant. Barely making it to the port of your town, you stumble across a ship just starting to leave and beg for passage off the island. You fail to notice that the people you beg for help, are pirates.

Warnings: None.

To Note: “Red Haired” Shanks x FemReader

Word Count: ~3.2k

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Your eyes were everywhere and nowhere at the same time. With the sun slowly beginning to lower itself beneath the horizon, twinkling lights illuminated cobbled streets. You hadn’t seen much of the hustle and bustle of the day life of the town, but the night life was only just beginning. Street vendors selling popup stand food emerged and began their tune, calling for customers while food sizzled over flame. The firelight reflected within your sparkling eyes and your mouth began to water from the smells.

“My stomach is definitely hungry now,” You whispered, fingers unconsciously curling around Shanks’ white tunic. The older man laughed at you, more than happy to hear that even common street food was not below your standard.

“We can try some of it later, once I know that your stomach can handle it,” He told you, looking down into your face and trying his hardest to resist relenting to the pleading pout that had appeared. “I’m serious, Aria. Hongo said that your stomach is hardly used to our food, you could make yourself really ill if you dive into street food head first.”

“Oh I do hate it when you are right,” You huffed at him, lips pouting a little further. “But I haven’t gotten sick since that first week now have I? Surely a little bite won’t do any harm…” Shanks’ eyebrow rose at your words. You had a way with words and facial expressions he’d come to learn at the beginning of your stay on board the Red Force. Surely a byproduct of your upbringing. The ability to control ones emotions and face was a strict quality among nobles.

“Bat your eyelashes at me all you want, madam Aria,” Shanks replied to you, raising his hand and flicking your hat from its perch on your hair so he could fully see your beautiful face. The strings caught around your throat, keeping the hat resting between your shoulders. The man then gently knocked his knuckles beneath your chin. “No street food until Hongo says so.”

Curses.

Your gaze turned petulant and you let out a huff in complaint. All these wonderful smells and you couldn’t even have a single bite!

“That is very cruel of you, Captain,” You huffed demurely, looking around at the stalls with a more than necessary mournful gaze. “Well it’s not like you can keep me from buying my own food.” Oh? The noble lady was now using blackmail? Shanks chuckled, knowing that while you could indeed buy your own food against Shanks’ wishes, you were a stellar patient to Hongo and wouldn’t dare go against anything he had told you.

“Come, the men are waiting and refuse to begin drinking without you present.” Shanks said, turning your attention away from the tantalizing street food. His fingers ran down your forearm before finding your own and claiming them. “Best stick close, these nights can get a little rowdy at times when the drinks come out.”

Letting Shanks lead you through the crowd by hand, you forced your mind away from his hand clutching yours firmly and warmly to consider his words. The men are waiting and refuse to begin drinking without you present. Why would the men refuse to drink without you present? You’d never intentionally intruded on their drinking time and tended to stay on the fringes of their drinking nights, watching and observing rather than partaking. Hangovers looked painful.

“Why are they refusing to start drinking without me?” You finally asked after a minute or two of walking and contemplating in silence. Shanks glanced at you, a curve on his lips. You were a smart woman, clearly, you had gotten yourself out of a very bad situation all by yourself in such an extraordinary way… but you weren’t that observant when it came to what the crew thought of you. “Shanks?” You probed again. “I don’t even drink unless it’s wine.”

“Remind me to introduce you to Mihawk,” Shanks mused, thinking of how you and his old friend would have similar tastes in the refined alcohol. “They want to start the night off with you since this is  the first island you’ve been on besides your home. They want to celebrate.” Your forehead scrunched.

“They are going to get highly inebriated, aren’t they…?”

“In your honor, Aria,” Shanks laughed at your facial expression. “In your honor.” The rest of the way to the bar was spent in silence, your fingers holding onto Shanks warm ones as he lead you through increasingly busy streets. You had to admit to yourself that in your excitement, you hadn’t taken in to account of what it would be like to be surrounded by so many people. It was almost suffocating for you. Shanks, feeling your grip tighten up to a clench, glanced back at you. Your eyes were darting about and you were breathing at a heavier rate. You looked like a prey animal wanting to bolt. So he gave your vice grip a gentle squeeze, redirecting your attention away from the people and back to him. Your eyes met his once more.

“We’re almost through the thick of it, it’ll be quieter once we reach the outer harbor.” He promised you, how words assuring and soothing. It still amazed you that he could calm your fraying nerves with but a few words and a gentle reassurance. The anxiety attacks you had suffered from living under your mothers roof usually took a lot more than gentle words of affirmation to placate what your mind had locked itself in. Taking a deep breath and trying to remain calm beneath the street lights and racket of the night life, you nodded at him.

Just as Shanks had promised, when he led you down a little cobbled road that hung between two vendors selling leftovers from the morning bakes, you felt your nerves settle as noise and people faded to a distant rumble. Of course there were still people about, but not in the congested quantity you and Shanks had just vacated.

“Claustrophobic?” Shanks softly questioned, slowing down his pace now that he had you out of the midst of the night life. You loosened your grip on his hand before shaking your head.

“I— I don’t think so, I’ve just never been around that many people so close to me at once.” You spoke, placing your other hand over your beating heart. “It reminded me of how I felt in Bonn manor. It was—” You sighed and stared at the distant waters of the Blue. “It was suffocating to me, like I was trapped inside a marionette doll for my mother to puppeteer in front of guests.”

Shanks couldn’t imagine what it would be like to live as someone else’s puppet, but he could understand not having the freedom to do what you so wished. He couldn’t help but look closer at your body, checking all the places you had looked so sickly thin and boney in. Even with only a few weeks of good food in you had already rounded out some of the points on your body. In passing memory, Shanks wondered if the terrible bruising he’d seen on your back and torso had healed. He wanted to ask you about them. Desperately desired to know so in fact. But he didn’t want to overstep his boundary with you. It wasn’t like he could just ask you to remove your tunic so he could inspect your torso.

“You’ve cut your strings, Aria,” Shanks finally replied, glancing at the bar you and he were nearing. “And we’re going to make sure that no one can thread you again.” Looking into his serious face, you fully believed his words. Shanks was a man of his word. All the men on board the Red Force were. Pursing your lips, your eyelashes fluttered while you contemplated the very strings you had cut.

You could still feel them on your back, dragging along as you walked and leaving behind a trail that would no doubt lead your mother right to you should you make even one mistake. She was a tenacious mother whose child had disobeyed. You shuddered in thought of what you would face should you ever land yourself in her presence again. Your attention was diverted when Shanks let your hand go and took your chin in hand.

“Aria?” He questioned, seeing the storm of thoughts behind your lovely eyes. You had been thinking hard about something, something that bothered you. “What is it?” There was no way you were going to unleash all your worries and fears upon this man, not when he had already taken on so much burden because of you.

“I don’t know the first thing about bar etiquette,” You stated frankly, watching as Shanks’ eyebrows furrowed and laugh lines appeared. The pirate snorted at you.

“First rule of bar etiquette, there is no bar etiquette. Just be polite, which you always are, and mind yourself. Sometimes people go looking for a fight when they’ve had too much to drink.” Oh you knew that all too well, your mother had a perchance to indulge in an entire bottle of vino when you displeased her. She was somewhat of a violent drunk, both in fist and word, she also had a favorite crop she liked to use for ‘behavior’ correction. “—if anyone tries anything with you, come get me, okay?”

Staring into Shanks brown eyes you nodded before plastering a frank look on your face, pushing back your worries and fears.

“I’m not the sort to go looking for trouble, Shanks, that would be unbecoming of me and you know it.” Another chuckle and a twitch of his lips, and the man drew his thumb across his lips.

“Aye, but it’s not you I’m worried about…” He mused, knowing full well that at least one drunk would be stupid enough to try and siddle up to you to shoot their shot. You were an incredibly beautiful woman. “Just stay close to at least one of us while we’re here, I don’t want you getting drink on your new clothes.”

That only make you scowl in reminder that he’d paid for your clothes, and with a knowing grin the pirate directed you into the bar.

The amount of dirty looks you had sent Shanks was entirely unbecoming of you as a lady of good breeding but the man was being entirely ridiculous and you were at your whits end! It was hard for you to get over him paying for your clothes, you were more than capable of doing so! All you had to do was pawn off one of the expensive gems on your pendant. It was as simple as that. But no, you hadn’t been allowed to pay for your clothes, and apparently, your drinks too. Shanks had requested a glass of the bar’s best wine for you try out, because you had made it very clear that you did not drink booze, you drank wine, and then smugly left you fuming with glass in hand.

“And here I thought I was being petulant,” You softly murmured to yourself, eyeing the red haired man over your glass. He and the men were several drinks in and playing rounds of cards to determine who would be buying the next round of drinks. You thought it ridiculous but also found it somewhat amusing to watch them fight over who was sneaking looks and who was slipping cards into their sleeves. Of course, even though the men were very engrossed in their card game that didn’t stop Shanks from periodically lifting his gaze to check on you. Each time he did so you replied with a look that only made him grin and flash his dimples. “Entirely ridiculous,” You huffed to yourself, turning away to pick at the cheese and bread Hongo had approved of.

It wasn’t a glamorous meal by any means, but cheese, bread, and wine was delicious and it wasn’t kind that was found on the Red Force. You’d been told that both were locally made so at least you got to try some of what Ingles had to offer. Nibbling on a piece of cheese, you listed to the snail singer belting out a tune that apparently everyone but you, knew. More things you didn’t know. How frustrating.

“With the number of scowls you’ve sent the capt’n I’m beginning to wonder what he did,” Your gaze broke away from the signing snail.

“He knows what he did, Snake,” You simply replied, ripping off another chuck of bread and eating it as delicately as you could. Some habits you’d never get rid of. “Who’s winning?”

“Benn, pretty sure he snuck a look at Lime’s cards though,” Building Snake grunted, nodding at the barmaid after she had refilled his tankard. “Then again, they’re all playing dirty tonight.”

“Should I be surprised?” You questioned, pirates were pirates after all.

“Usually they play straight, no peeking or nothin’, but they’re going a little harder tonight since we’re celebratin’ your first island.” The pirate shrugged, scratching the back of his head.

“Sounds more of an excuse to just get inebriated, I do hope they can swim because I cannot and I will not be rescuing any of you if you fall overboard.”

“They can take care of themselves, little lady, you just enjoy yourself and don’t worry bout us.” Building Snake went back to join the table and you watched on as the game of cards continued. But even as the night continued, your enjoyment dwindled to be replaced by worries and fears. Three weeks of freedom on board the Red Force had nearly tricked your mind into believing that you were safe and stable. But it was a temporary solution was it not?

Lingering thoughts of safety troubled you, even after the men wrapped up their drinking and cards and herded you back to the Red Force in a protected circle of drunk men. You were rather in impressed at how well they could still move despite their state and only shook your head at the thought of what the morrow would bring: a hangover. You’d only had two glasses of wine, not nearly enough to cause you to lose inhibition. But you certainly felt its effects.

While everyone else had headed beneath the deck to get some much needed rest, you remained on the highest deck, sitting in a chair and gazing at the stars. You had thought that the alcohol would make you feel less worried about your situation and future, but if anything, it had loosened up the emotions you held so tightly in your chest. Fears and insecurity were biting at your heels like rabid dogs while your mother tightened your cut strings around your neck like a noose.

“All that effort to make you relax and I still find you thinking.” Shanks soft voice broke the quiet night, and twisting your head you saw him coming up the stairs from the main deck, bottle in hand. You eyed it. “Water, little one,” He reassured you, coming around to take the seat next to you with a sigh. “I’ve been drinking long enough to know that I’ll need it.”

Humming in reply, you gathered your legs to your chest and rested your chin on your knee, now looking at the calm waters. You never realized just how much you liked the sea until you had spent three weeks on a ship out of necessity. For a few moments quiet stretched out and the sounds of waves slapping the hull filled the deafening silence.

“You are worrying again,” How infuriatingly astute of him to notice. Was there nothing you could hide from the captain?

“It’s nothing you need to be concerned over, captain,” Shanks rolled his head to look at you with raised eyebrows. You refused to look at him, choosing to keep your gaze on the water. Back to being formal and reserved, Shanks found it frustrating and saddening. He sighed and leaned back in his seat.

“It was the Lord of the Coast,” He started, thinking back to the fateful day his life had changed. Lord of the Coast. You knew what that was, a Sea King. A vicious one too. Your history tutor had spent an entire week giving you lectures on the Sea Kings, so you knew a bit about them. What had Shanks done getting mixed up with such a dangerous beast? Your eyes flickered to the place where his left arm once resided. Oh. “I met a little boy, Luffy, on Dawn Island. He hung around the ship while we rested and got supplies. Loved the idea of becoming a pirate. Nearly took his eye out one day trying to prove himself.”

Now your attention was entirely on Shanks. Of course you had wondered how he had lost his arms but you certainly had the manners to not outright question him. But losing an arm to a Sea King? Losing only an arm to a Sea King? You knew that Shanks was smart, clever, but not just anyone could tangle with a beast and live to tell the tale. Seeing that you were finally looking at him, Shanks continued.

“Me and the crew had a run in with some… disgruntled pirates, they weren’t too happy we had already drank the only bar dry. Luffy got mixed up in the mess and the next thing I know the boy’s been taken out to sea by the disgruntled captain.” Your eye twitched a little, there was no need to drag an innocent little boy into a disagreement. What kind of pirate did that?

“At least he could swim, couldn’t he?” You softly questioned, hoping that the boy hadn’t just been dropped into the sea to die. A wry smile appeared on Shanks’ lips.

“Course he could,” He told you. “But he ate the devil fruit the men and I has in storage, and made a scene in front of the pirate.”

“Salt water…” You murmured, slowly realizing in horror that the pirate did drop a little boy in the sea knowing full well that he wouldn’t be able to swim. Your eyes burned, tears threatening to form. “Oh no, don’t tell me he drowned.”

“He didn’t, I got to him in time,” Shanks reassured you, taking a sip of his water as his shoulder ached in memory. “But by the time I got to him, the Sea King showed up and lunged.” He swing out his remaining arm like an axe. “I lost my left arm, but I saved Luffy and that, that was a sacrifice I was willing to make.”

“You wear your sword sheath on your right hip,” You pointed out, eyebrows furrowing as reality weighed heavily in the air. “You’re…”

“Left handed, indeed I am,” Shanks finished for you. “I’m not afraid to help those who need it, Aria, no matter what sacrifice.” A chill ran down your spine, for you knew that he meant those words. You could see it in his eyes. But you didn’t want him to sacrifice more of himself just for you.

“I can fight my own battles now,” You said, willing those words into your heart and mind. Shanks had no doubts of that.

“True,” He echoed with a nod. “But who says you have to fight those battles alone?”

Date Published: 1/16/24

Last Edit: 1/16/24

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[lullabyes22-blog]

Snippet - Blut - Forward but Never Forget/XOXO

And it only took Vi... *checks*... 32 chapters!

Forward but Never Forget/XOXO

Snippet:

Blut.

Vi's mind, struggling against the epiphany, bursts at the seams. Memories burst too: a red tide gone blue. She'd spent all this time fixated on him. The man who's ruined her sister, and her life, and all that was possible within it. The man whose accent—when it lapses from sterling correctness—bares the serrated edges of the Lanes. Whose voice—when it's not spouting high-minded affectation—becomes familiar as a bedtime story.  Whose eyes—red and blue—are a mirror reflecting more than her hatred back to her, but the uniformity of a safer palette.

("It's bedtime, Pet. You're dreaming.")

("Dreaming?" She nuzzled close. "You're a dream?")

("I am. A bad, bad dream.")

"You," Vi chokes. "I know you."

"What?"

Vi's breath sticks in her lungs. Gods, she'd been so stupid. She'd had the puzzle sitting right in front of her, and hadn't seen it. Because she couldn't accept what it meant.

The man who's taken everything from her, the man she's hated for seven long years, and the man she's determined to hate until her dying breath: they're the same.

She remembers him—Blut—tossing her toward the ceiling in time to her gleeful shrieks. Sitting, crosslegged, with a comic book open in his lap, and reciting the dialogue in funny voices. Scooping her into his arms and carrying her up the stairs of the Last Drop, humming a tune that's now embedded into her bones...

"Girl." Silco's knuckles rap on the table. "What's gotten into you?"

She wants to say, "Nothing."  Except her throat is glued. So are her eyes. 

This man. This murderer. This stranger... and who he once was.

A ghost in her brain.

"It's you," she whispers.

"Me?"

"Blut."  She points a quavering finger. "The one Vander always talked about. God, why didn't I—?"

Silco's expression morphs from surprise, to understanding, to the smallest iota of wariness. "What did he say about Blut?"

"He was Vander's childhood friend." Vi can barely squeeze the words out.  Her heart is racing a mile a minute. "He was—the smartest guy Vander knew. The bravest. The kindest. And he—he was my friend, too. When Mommy and I were staying at the Last Drop, and Dad was gone, Blut was there. He'd call me Pet, and tickle me, and make me laugh. In the evenings, we'd play in the cellar. Hide-and-seek. Sock puppets. Whack-a-mole. Sometimes, he'd read to me. The old comic books from the trunk—"

Very quietly, Silco says, "Mavis and Mutthead."

"He'd put on a show. Like a vaudeville act. He'd do the funniest voices." She tries, and fails, to replicate the squeaky tone. "'Hoy, Mavvy! What'd the ceiling say to the wall?' 'Dunno, Mutthead. What?' 'Hold me up, I'm plastered!'" The laugh is a painful paroxysm. She can't breathe, can't think, can't do anything but process the enormity of it. "Vander told me... he'd died on the Day of Ash. Killed during the blast on the Bridge. Nothing left but cinders."

Silco's jaw works, as if his tongue has burnt to cinders too. "Vander said that?"

"Every year." Her breath hitches. "I never forgot. But I never put it together. He—you—"

Silco's expression holds a shadowed emptiness. The shark-eye is a deadened black. The blue, eerily bright.

"It's a lie," he says, after a long silence.

[missywritesfor7]

❤️‍🩹Lifeline | MYG❤️‍🩹

Synopsis: It’s long been controversial for idols to date, but idols dating each other can be really beautiful or a complete nightmare. When Yoongi's relationship with another idol is discovered, he decides maybe it’s time to break the taboo and show people it’s ok for idols to date. Instead, they find themselves caught in the midst of one media frenzy after another and struggle to keep their relationship as strong as it had been the past 2 years. Yoongi finds a self destructive way to cope, and it causes even more problems than it solves. As they fight for their relationship and their careers, they discover that sometimes, the only way to truly be free is to let go.

Pairing: idol!Yoongi x idol!OC

Warnings: nsfw, alcoholism, cheating, depression, anxiety, Yoongi goes through a bisexy ho phase, Yoongi is also in his alcoholic phase, post-military BTS

Next chapter | Masterlist

In the spirit of the season I thought I’d give the first chapter of this new fic to you all 🤗 I haven’t fully worked out the specific day, but I’ll be posting a chapter a week after the new year so stay tuned! 💜

Ch. 1: Love

Time seems slow when you’re in the middle of it. Even slower when you’re looking forward to something. Yoongi spent 21 months away from his home, his members, Army, his family, and his girlfriend who he had only been dating 3 short months before he had to leave.

Yoongi and Hyeri had known each other before, both being under Hybe as artists. Na Hyeri, stage name: Rainbow, began her idol career with a short lived girl group called Two Piece under a much smaller company. The group disbanded after just two mini albums, and a lot of attention thanks to their company infamously mishandling everything from money to the artist’s safety and well-being. When the smoke died down, Hyeri signed with Hybe as a solo artist and has made a name for herself in the few years since her solo debut.

She first met Yoongi when he produced a song that she performed for a tourism campaign. The song made waves across social media and beyond and Hyeri found herself gaining a mass of new fans. The first time they ran into each other after the campaign took off, Hyeri jokingly thanked Yoongi for the new fans. That turned into an hour long conversation that was the beginning of a new relationship.

After endless texts, phone calls, and sneaking to see each other around the company building whenever they could, they became official. To themselves mostly and close family and friends. Yoongi told the rest of the members and Hyeri told her best friends and former bandmates, Haeun and Minji. To the rest of the world they’re just label mates who worked on a song together.

Being under the same company made things easy. Moving in together 2 months later made things even easier. Yoongi’s enlistment however, made things harder.

For 21 months Hyeri lived alone waiting for Yoongi with the rest of the world. His few vacation times never seemed long enough and his discharge date seemed like it was centuries away.

Then he was back. And just like that those 21 months didn’t seem so bad after all. Things were as they had been before with all seven of them back together again.

Hyeri had begun taking more and more acting jobs so she was fairly busy, but always left a note and a snack for Yoongi when she’d leave before him. Other times she would give him a soft kiss when she’d come home late and find him already asleep. Yoongi always sent her a meal if she were home and he wasn’t. The nights he spent in his studio instead of home he would make up for with more gifts than necessary. Jewelry, stuffed animals, posters of himself, and the occasional pair of shoes despite him telling her he wouldn’t buy her shoes since she already has so many.

Once the group’s big post-military comeback had concluded, Yoongi felt truly happy. He was back with his brothers making music and seeing Army again, and he had his girlfriend by his side who he’s deeply in love with. All felt right in the world.

Yoongi had begun working on new music for the group’s upcoming full length album. He’s been in his studio much more instead of home, but it’s not too bad. Hyeri finished shooting her small parts in a drama she was cast in and had begun working on a couple of songs for the soundtrack. When she was done recording for the day, she would come by Yoongi’s studio and spend as much time there as she could since she knows he may not come home that night.

This day is like any other. Hyeri finished her final recording session and dropped by Yoongi’s studio with a dinner of his favorite cheat meal, noodles. They both sit on his couch eating, chatting, and cuddling a bit once they’ve cleared their bowls.

“I think this may have been my last recording session,” Hyeri says with her legs rested across Yoongi’s lap.

“So you’re really going to do it?” Yoongi asks.

“Yeah,” she sighs. “I know it’s going to suck and you’re going to hate it, but I just…” she pauses and looks up at his face. He may be expressionless, but she knows that’s just him trying to hide his disappointment.

“Hybe is more of a music company, you know that,” she continues. “I just really think I’ll have much better acting opportunities with JJS since they’re such a successful acting agency.”

JJS is one of the top entertainment agencies in the acting world. They house some of the best entertainers in the industry, from romance movie heartthrobs, variety show comedians who have become household names, and even action movie baddies. Hyeri had been looking into switching companies so that she can embark on her new career as a full time actress. She’s gotten a number of roles through Hybe already. Mostly a few commercials and a couple of small cameos in tv shows. For her, switching to JJS could mean finally getting her breakout opportunity to send her acting career soaring.

“I know we won’t get to see each other like this anymore,” she says. “But we’ll still see each other at home. Don’t be mad,” she pouts.

“I’m not mad,” Yoongi says caressing her leg. “I told you before I would support you no matter what you decide.”

“But you still don’t like it.”

“It’s fine. We’ll see each other at home, right?”

“We never see each other at home,” she pouts more.

“You just said…” he chuckles shaking his head and pulls her closer to him. “We’ll make it work. I want you to follow your dreams. Don’t hold yourself back because of me.”

“Are you sure you’re ok with it? Do you think it will make things hard?”

“Not as hard as me being away for 21 months,” he chuckles. “Trust me.”She nods and he gives her a reassuring kiss.

Hyeri goes back and forth on whether she’s making the right decision. Yoongi constantly tells her she is but she’s struggling to believe it. She spends less time in the company building since she’s not working on anything and will be leaving soon. That means she’s been home alone a lot. It’s nothing new to her, but she’s starting to realize how hard it may actually be. Especially when she starts working again.

Yoongi is the perfect support for her. He keeps her sane and assures her that he’ll stand by her no matter what she does or where she goes. Sure it will come with challenges, but he knows they can make it work.

Things start off fine. News of Hyeri signing with JJS was met with lots of support from her fans. She immediately landed a small supporting role in a movie and Yoongi couldn’t be happier for her.

Shooting on the movie began and that became the true test of their relationship. They rarely saw each other. When one of them would leave or come home, the other would be asleep. Yoongi would even spend less time in his studio so he could be home on the off chance that she gets there early. She never did and he would spend another night falling asleep alone.

It’s frustrating for them both to be so close yet so far from each other. Yoongi has completed the majority of his work on the songs for their new album. Even with endless recording and dance practices, he still can’t seem to find enough to do to keep his mind off of the empty space in his bed that smells like Hyeri.

They text when they can but it’s never enough. They miss each other and start to feel like they were able to talk to each other more when he was in the military. No matter how hard they try or how bad they want it, they can never seem to get their schedules to line up.

One day that finally changes. A month into Hyeri’s shoot, and about a month before Yoongi embarks on another BTS comeback era, they find an overlap in free time in their schedules. Yoongi had a gap in his schedule that gave him a bit of free time. He typically would spend that time in his studio. However, Hyeri had a last minute cancellation that gave her the rest of the evening off.

Yoongi only has an hour to see Hyeri so he rushes out and tells her to meet him at a nearby restaurant for dinner. He would rather see her at home so they can be in private, but the further he has to go, the less time that will leave him with Hyeri. He’s so desperate that he doesn’t want to lose a second.

Since time is limited and privacy is important, Yoongi chose a small snack food place that he and the members had been going to for many years. They always have a table in the back away from the public eye for them. It’s private enough and a quick meal.

Yoongi arrives at the restaurant first. He doesn’t have to wait long before Hyeri arrives, though to him it felt like hours. She looks around a moment then runs to give Yoongi a long kiss filled with so much pent up longing.

“I feel like I haven’t seen you in years,” Hyeri says kissing him again.

“I missed you,” he says stealing one more kiss before she takes her seat across from him.

“I wish we had time but I’ll take this over nothing,” she says quickly scanning the menu. “There’s so much I want to tell you about the movie shoot! It’s been so much fun and everyone has been really cool. I really think I made the right choice. I just wish it didn’t keep me away from you so much.”

“I know, Bow,” he says, calling her by the shortened version of her stage name, Rainbow. “You’ll have more time once the shooting is done. Then even more time when you finish all the promos.”

“I know, baby, but aren’t you guys going on your world tour around the time I finish shooting? I know things haven’t been finalized yet, but we really wouldn’t have much time together before you’re off traveling the world.”

Yoongi knows she’s right and it breaks his heart to see the sadness in her eyes. Their server comes by to take their order before he can think of something to say to make her feel better.

After placing their order and sitting in silence a few moments, Yoongi reaches across the table and takes Hyeri’s small hands into his.

“I wish I could take you with me,” he says forcing a smile.

“I don’t know,” she chuckles trying to lighten the mood. “You might get sick of me then.”

“I won’t get sick of you,” he chuckles. “Even when you’re annoying, you’re still beautiful.”

“Are you trying to romance me, Mr. Min?” She jokes.

“I was only stating a fact,” he chuckles.

“Admit it, Yoon-gya, you like me,” she laughs calling him by the nickname that never fails to make him laugh.

When Hyeri first met Jin he was speaking so fast she could hardly understand him. When she heard him shout “Yoongi-ah” it sounded like “Yoon-gya” to her. After they began dating she asked Yoongi why Jin calls him “Yoon-gya”. Yoongi was confused at first, but once he realized what she was saying he never let it go. In return she calls him that whenever she’s messing with him.

“I love you,” he chuckles. “But still…you’ll wait for me, won’t you?”

“Of course I will, babe.” She shakes her head knowing he should know better. “I’m not going anywhere. It’s going to take more than an enlistment and a world tour to get rid of me.”

He gives her hands a light squeeze and flashes his gummy smile in happiness. Both of them are soaking up each other’s presence in this rare moment they have together. They continue talking about work and things they haven’t been able to tell through text. Their food arrives and they continue chatting as they eat.

That hour is much too short. It only felt like a few minutes to them, but they look and now it’s time for Yoongi to return to the office for his scheduled recording session. It’s hard for them to let each other go. They stand in front of the restaurant lingering a moment trying to find the courage to leave.

“I’ll try to stay up for you,” Hyeri says.

“Hopefully we can make it quick. I’ll come straight home once I’m done.” He reaches for her hand out of habit briefly forgetting that they’re out on the street. She doesn’t stop him though. She takes his hand for just a brief moment to feel his warmth a second longer, then let’s go.

“Don’t keep me waiting too long,” she smiles. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” he smiles.

They both head to their cars and go off their separate ways. They hate to leave after finally getting a moment of togetherness. That only gives Yoongi a much greater sense of urgency the rest of the evening.

When he returns to the studio it’s clear to everyone he’s trying to get things done quickly. He has no time for small talk or getting off track with mindless conversations. The sooner this is done the better.

“Hyung,” Jimin says exiting the recording booth. “Take it easy. Why are you in such a hurry?”

“She’s waiting for me,” Yoongi says with no further explanation.

“Ah,” Jimin nods. He knows exactly what Yoongi means. He knows what Hyeri means to Yoongi so he doesn’t need any further explanation. “Get in there and finish up then.”

Before Yoongi, Jimin is the last one to finish recording. Now that he’s done he switches places with Yoongi to help things move along faster. Jimin doesn’t mind staying a bit later so Yoongi can get home. It takes a little longer than Yoongi would like, but he finally finishes and rushes off to go home without giving Jimin a second look. Jimin follows him out and simply laughs to himself at how flustered his hyung is. He knows Yoongi is in deep.

Yoongi returns home at 1am hoping Hyeri is still awake. When he steps inside all of the lights are off and he fears he may be too late. That is, until he reaches the bedroom and he can hear the shower running.

Hyeri had just gotten in the shower after finishing a late meal. She was fighting her sleep in hopes that Yoongi would be home soon. She decided to hop in the shower in an attempt to stay awake just a little longer.

She leans her head back and closes her eyes as the water runs through her hair and down her back. The warm water is relaxing so she stands there not moving for a few moments. She takes a deep breath and just then she can feel a hand on her waist.

She opens her eyes to see Yoongi entering the shower and pulling her close to his bare body. She isn’t sure how he managed to get home and get undressed without her hearing a thing, but it doesn’t matter. She instantly wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him in for a kiss.

“I’m so glad you’re still awake,” Yoongi says in a low tone. “I feel like I haven’t gotten to hold you in way too long.”

“I know,” she says kissing him again. “I never knew I could miss you so much when we live together.”

He feels the same but rather than saying so, he pulls her in tighter for a heavier kiss. His hands trace every wet part of her body until he reaches between her legs and softly teases her clit. He lives for the breathy moan she lets out at the feeling of him. The sound he’s missed, the feel he’s missed, the taste he’s missed. It’s all too much and not enough at the same time.

He continues kissing her, slipping his tongue into her mouth and swallowing every sound of hers until he presses her back against the shower wall. His level of arousal is almost unbearable in this moment. So many missed connections and lonely nights are overflowing and poking her pelvis in the process.

“I love you so much, Bow,” he growls lifting her leg and wrapping it around his waist.

“I love you too, baby,” she whispers anticipating his entry that is much desired.

He presses her into the wall harder and takes his tongue on a tour of her neck and chest until he reaches her tits. He loves to see her like this. Melting in his arms and breathing heavily for what he’s about to give her.

He fills her up slowly sending waves of heat through her body until he can’t go any further. He pauses in place and stares her down. He could die in her big brown eyes that are staring up at him with lustful anticipation.

He starts slowly. Easing in and out of her delicately as if she were made of porcelain. In his mind she is. Right now, she’s his beautiful porcelain doll that he’ll never break.

“You feel so good,” he whispers taking her lips again.

She tightens her hold around his neck and arches her back pressing her chest into him more. It’s her silent way of telling him she wants it faster and harder. She wants his love to break her.

He takes the hint and picks up speed while pressing her harder against the shower wall. Her unsteady breaths fuel his powerful strokes more and more. Her moans sing a song that he’ll never get tired of. He can feel that overwhelming pressure within him getting closer to exploding out of every part of him.

The way her nails dig into the back of his neck lets him know she’s just about to lose it. He’s just about to lose it. Her pussy tightens around him sucking his oxygen out.

He growls at her, becoming more relentless and desperate with each stroke.

“I love you so fucking much,” she pants.

The rhythm of his hips sends her over the moon. Her nails dig deeper into his skin as she searches for some bit of stability. He lets out a deep purr when his muscles start to tense and his vision begins to fade.

“I love you,” she repeats kissing his neck. She continues to hang on to him until his hips slow to a stop and his purrs decrease to heavy breaths.

“I love you too, Hyeri,” he says once he has his voice back.

He slides out of her and kisses her softly. She lowers her leg from around his waist and smiles up at him.

“I don’t think I’ll have trouble falling asleep tonight,” she says.

“Good,” he says nipping at her bottom lip. “You only have about three hours before you have to leave.”

“Perfect,” she sarcastically huffs dreading her very early call time that she could have been well rested for had she not stayed up waiting for Yoongi. “I guess I should get to bed then.”

[analogwriting]

The Other Side of Paradise

Prologue: Youth

Killer x gn!reader word count: 1.1k next a/n: hey, hi, hello. I'm finally back with another long fic oh my god im sorry i took so long. i didn't really plan on being gone that long pls forgive. anyway, there's a long story of how this idea came to fruition but i don't think anyone wants to hear all that lmfao. it was born from the glass animals song 'the other side of paradise' hence the name. im probably just gonna make the chapter titles different song titles and shove in lyrics here n there like normal lmfao ill stop rambling lets gooooo

“We should form a rock band when we’re old enough.” Kid suddenly sat up from where he had been laying down, struck with a sudden and brilliant idea.

A group of kids from the neighborhood were currently laying in the grass at the park after a long day of playing - this included you.

“Oh yeah? What’s with the sudden idea?” Wire asked, also sitting up to look at Kid. He crossed his legs, tilting his head to the side. He lived across from you.

“Well, I think we’d be good at it. And it would be fun. And we could all hang out all the time!”

“We already do hang out all the time,” Heat said, sitting up as well to join in on the conversation. He also lived across from you, next to Wire.

“Yeah, but I mean when we’re adults. This will be a sure fire way to make sure we’re always together!” Kid rolled his eyes as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I’m in as long as I get to marry y/n.” Killer sat up now, pulling you with him. He lived next to you.

You smiled widely. Sure, you two might have only been eleven right now, but you’ve been convinced you were going to marry this boy since you met him when you were seven. Even moreso when the two of you were sitting in the classroom at the ripe age of ten, holding hands when he officially asked you out.

“Ugh. Gross. But as long as you join my band then fine!” 

“You’re literally seven, how do you know you’re still gonna wanna be a rockstar?” You looked over at Kid who narrowed his eyes at you. “Says the one who is literally eleven and convinced they already know who they’re gonna marry.”

You guffawed at him, pouting and folding your arms. “You don’t understand, you’re too little!”

“I’m seven! I understand plenty!” He shook his head, scoffing.

“Nuh uh!”

“Uh huh!”

You felt Killer put a hand on your thigh and you groaned, folding your arms and rolling your eyes. “Whatever. You’ll understand when you meet your special someone. When you’re older.”

“You’re literally eleven, Bigs,” he said again, rolling his eyes at you. Arguing with Kid like this was frequent. He was your cousin and lived with you, after all. He had moved in a couple of years ago when an unfortunate accident happened to his parents - your aunt and uncle. He was pretty much like a little brother to you at this point; he sure was annoying like one.

“Whatever.” You huff, rolling your eyes again and standing up. You dust yourself off, stretching.

“You guys have fun in your little rockband. I’ll support from the stands.”

“Nuh uh!” You look to Kid who was standing now, confused at his sudden change of tune. “You’re gonna be in the band with us!” Just like true sibling fashion, going from arguing to begging to hang out in two seconds.

You shook your head, making a face. You folded your arms across your chest. “No. I don’t like people.”

“You’re around us all the time.”

“That’s different.”

“Maybe y/n can be our manager,” Killer chimed, trying to prevent another argument between the two of you. He slowly stood up as well, slowly holding your hand and pulling you away from Kid. Just to be safe. Things didn’t really get physical between you two, but keeping distance helped arguments stay deescalated. 

“I don’t know about all that,” you mumbled, shaking your head. Sure, it was mostly the whole getting on stage thing that made you nervous. Maybe you could be their manager. Though, people still made you nervous. You didn’t know the first thing about managing anything. You were eleven.

“Well, you have plenty of time to think about it.” Killer smiled at you and you felt your heart flutter. Sure, you were a kid, but these feelings were real. You couldn’t imagine being with anyone else. You were sure you found the love of your life and he seemed to feel the same - always content at your side. 

Besides, he’s the one that asked you out, after all.

“You’re right. We have plenty of time to think about it.” You smiled back at Killer as he reached for your hand. You took his, squeezing it softly.

“Blegh!” Kid stuck out his tongue and shook his head, causing everyone to laugh.

You looked over to your cousin. “What would you even name your band?” He seemed to mull it over for a moment before deciding. “Victoria Punk!”

You blinked, tilting your head to the side. “Like that one girl you had a crush on?”

Kid nodded, grinning widely. You remembered him mentioning he had a crush on a girl named Victoria back in his old neighborhood. He also mentioned that she had also passed, but never gave any specifics and you weren’t one to pry with things like that.

“Well, I think you have to decide that with the others. You can’t just decide it yourself.”

Kid pouted, folding his arms. “I’m the leader! I get to make the decisions!”

“Who said you were leader?”

“I did!” He huffed, glaring at you.

You rolled your eyes, placing a hand on your hip. “You can’t decide that for yourself!”

Kid looked at the others. “What do you think?”

“I don’t particularly care,” Wire said with a shrug. Heat nodded in agreement. “Being in a band sounds fun, but I don’t want the responsibility of leader.”

Killer also shrugged. “I’m just along for the ride. You know what I want.” He looked at you from the corner of his eye and smiled, making your face warm up. He was so sweet!

“Who is gonna do what?” Wire asked, standing up now. Heat followed suit and now all of you were standing.

“Well, I have to be the lead singer since I’m the leader.” Kid nodded as if agreeing with himself. “Other than that…I don’t know.”

“You have plenty of time to figure it out,” you said, using Killer’s words from earlier. He grinned at you and you giggled.

Kid groaned loudly and rolled his eyes. “You two are the worst!” He stomped off, leaving you all in fits of laughter.

next

[ugotnojamzzz]

Rulers of Ruin

Chapter 5

Genre: Mafia!au , Slowburn, Angst, Hurt, eventual smut, TW (it is a mafia!AU, after all)

Pairing: Mafia!Jungkook x reader

Synopsis: There will come a day when I will sit down and write an alluring synopsis for this series. But that day hasn't come just yet lol. Stay tuned for more chapters to come.

Disclaimer: English isn’t my native language. Also, don’t come for me over the theme, people. It’s an Alternate Universe, which means the bangtan boys are essentially what I like to call meat puppets to serve the storyline. This is obviously not a projection of their actual real-life personas.

Wordcount: 2.9k

Masterlist

Chapter 4

--

As her initial days at the Kim estate unfolded, Y/N found herself not so much in captivity as in an odd limbo. Though technically a "guest," her freedom was limited by the subtle yet unmistakable presence of guards who followed her every move—to the visible annoyance of Taehyung, who seemed to bear the brunt of this duty.

Namjoon, the orchestrator of her current predicament, was conspicuously absent, his presence dwindling to nothing more than brief sightings at long corridors or fleeting shadows behind closed doors.

This absence gnawed at her, feeding a growing unease about what might be going on—was there some new development involving her brother? Was the standoff between their clans escalating in ways she couldn't see from her gilded cage?

The estate was too quiet. Here and there, people would appear—agents, staff, and other unidentified figures who seemed to have urgent purposes and places to be. Their steps were brisk, their conversations clipped and hushed, hinting at a larger narrative playing out just beyond Y/N's reach.

No one ever seemed to so much as glance in her direction. She was part of the scenery, a fixture within the ornate walls of the mansion, which allowed her a certain degree of observation she wouldn't have possessed otherwise.

Y/N quickly found herself attuned to the rhythms of the house. She began to memorize the patterns of the guards’ patrols, the shifts changes, and the locations of the surveillance cameras—each detail a potential piece in the puzzle of her eventual escape, should the opportunity arise.

Her days developed a routine that brought a semblance of stability. Mornings were spent in the vast, sunlit atrium where breakfast was served promptly at seven. The meals were quiet, the food exquisite yet eaten with the mechanical motions of someone whose thoughts were elsewhere. Afternoons allowed for time in the extensive library, where Y/N pored over books with titles ranging from political treatises to ancient warfare.

Walks in the garden were permitted in the late afternoons. These were her least confined moments, though still shadowed by Taehyung. It was during these walks that she carefully counted steps, noted blind spots, and committed the timing of guard shifts to memory, all under the pretense of leisurely strolls.

One quiet afternoon, Y/N was absorbed in a book, sipping tea in the plush setting of the drawing room, with Taehyung lounging beside her.

The picture of absolute boredom, he sprawled in his bergère chair, idly swiveling his head back and forth to the ticking of the clock when suddenly, the calm was shattered by the doors bursting open.

Two young men marched in with confident strides.

"Taehyung-ah, there you are! We’ve been looking for you," one of them called out, his voice echoing slightly in the spacious room.

"Come on, let's go," urged the other, his tone impatient.

"Can't," Taehyung sighed heavily, nodding in Y/N's direction as she sat immersed in her book.

"Aish, still on babysitting duty, I see," grumbled the first, and with that comment, Y/N's patience snapped. She closed her book with a definitive clap, her eyes lifting slowly to assess the source of her interruption. Her jaw clenched as her gaze fell on two faces that weren’t linked to particularly fond memories.

"YN, this is Jimin," Taehyung introduced, gesturing towards the platinum blonde who had escorted her from the depths of the basement upon her arrival. He sat down next to Taehyung.

"And that’s Yoongi," he continued, nodding towards the man with piercing eyes who had struck the hell out of her a few days prior.

"We’ve met," Y/N responded icily, her gaze fixed on Yoongi. She subtly ran her tongue over the small cut on her lip—a lingering souvenir from their last encounter.

"Yeah, sorry about that, by the way," Yoongi said with a nonchalant shrug as he picked up a tangerine from the table and began peeling it, "you know the drill, orders are orders."

Uninterested, YN turned her attention back to her book.

"So, they really have you following her around all day?" Jimin's question, laced with curiosity, sliced through the room's previous tension. Y/N couldn't help but feel a flicker of offence at their casual disregard for her presence.

Taehyung nodded, a hint of resignation in his voice. "And nights too," he added, rolling his tired eyes slightly. "Guess that's my punishment for the whole capture thing."

"Yeah,” Yoongi chuckled, “I heard that was quite a scene."

"Shut up," Taehyung shot back, not quite able to mask his irritation. Though the physical mark of his black eye had faded, the embarrassment of the botched operation lingered like a stubborn stain.

It had all been planned meticulously, expecting her to be passed out in the SUV almost the second she stepped off the plane. Everything was supposed to go smoothly. What could some frail boarding-school girl possibly do, anyway, right?

But she clearly hadn’t gone down without a fight.

"To be fair, everyone has their strengths," Y/N suddenly commented, her voice even and calm, eyes still fixed on the page of her book, not even granting them the courtesy of her gaze. She turned a page deliberately, then added, "It’s just a shame yours isn’t your job."

At her words, a stifled giggle escaped Jimin, who couldn't help but appreciate the sharp jab. His laughter, however, was short-lived. Without missing a beat, Yoongi delivered a swift slap to the back of his blonde head, a clear reprimand for his lack of decorum.

"Punk," Yoongi muttered under his breath, shooting a glare at the younger boy, who rubbed the back of his head, still smirking slightly despite the admonishment.

Jimin shifted his focus. "Hey, by the way, did you end up finding a proper room for her?" he asked, turning towards Y/N with a curious gaze.

Yoongi leaned forward slightly. "Right, where did they stash GI Jane?"

Taehyung raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh shit, you haven’t heard?" he said with a smirk, "Namjoon had her moved to the attic."

The boys exchanged a knowing look.

Yoongi whistled softly, "You’re joking."

“I wish,” Tae replied.

Then, with a sly grin, Jimin added, "Well, someone’s going to be happy about that."

The three of them chuckled together, sharing a moment of amusement that. Y/N didn’t quite understand what they could possibly mean, yet she felt little inclination to probe further.

“Alright,” Yoongi suddenly said, rising to his feet with a glance at his phone. “I’d love to stay and have tea with you ladies, but I’m afraid I got some business to attend to,” he added, a slight smirk playing on his lips. “You know the drill, ord—”

“Orders are orders?” Y/N interjected, her eyebrow arched in defiance.

Yoongi paused to look at her, a hint of respect flickering in his eyes. “I like her,” he stated to his friends, before heading towards the door.

« Wait, are you going to the vault ?” Taehyung asked, suddenly up on his feet like a puppy eager for a walk.

“I am,” Yoongi confirmed. “You’re not.”

“But Hyung—” Taehyung started to protest.

“You’ve got a job here; can’t leave the girl alone, can you?” Yoongi cut him off, nodding towards Y/N.

Taehyung paused for a moment, before quickly turning his attention to Jimin, who already knew what was coming. “Jimin-ssi,” he began tenderly.

"No.” Jimin cut him off,

“-Please, » Taehyung insisted, "I’ll be super quick.”

But Jimin didn’t look convinced. “It’s gonna take more than that,” he said, leaning back in his chair with a content smirk.

Exhaling in frustration, Taehyung negotiated, “I’ll take your training shifts for a month.”

“Four,” Jimin countered without missing a beat.

“Three?” Taehyung bargained.

“Deal,” Jimin agreed finally.

Grinning triumphantly, Taehyung leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on Jimin’s head before hurrying out the door. Y/N watched the scene from the corner of her eye, slightly taken aback by the easy camaraderie among the boys, a stark contrast to the rigid hierarchy and stern discipline that characterized her own clan.

The room settled into an uneasy silence after Taehyung’s departure, the echo of the door shutting marking a palpable shift in the atmosphere.

Y/N returned her attention to her book, the quiet only disrupted by the occasional rustle of pages turning. Jimin watched her for a moment before finally breaking the stillness.

“It’s a little on the nose, don’t you think?” he commented, a slight smirk playing on his lips as he nodded towards the cover of the book in her hands.

The Count of Monte Cristo.

“Subtlety isn’t my forte,” Y/N responded without looking up, her voice even and composed.

Jimin chuckled softly, the sound lightening the mood. "What a refined way to make a point," he mused, settling more comfortably into his chair.

“Everyone loves a good escape story,” she remarked, “Vengeance and all.”

“Is that what you’re doing?” Jimin frowned in amusement, “Picking up some tips?”

Y/N finally looked up to meet his gaze steadily, "Ravens don't need tips when it comes to revenge," she countered, her tone lightly mocking. "Besides, had it been the case, I would've opted for something a little- bloodier,” she added thoughtfully. “Some Greek tragedy, perhaps."

Jimin's eyes narrowed slightly as he considered her words, a flicker of intrigue passing over his features. The idea seemed to both alarm and amuse him.

"Now, if you don’t mind," Y/N concluded, turning her attention back to her book with a definitive air.

However, words from their previous encounter lingered in her mind, unresolved. Distracted, it seemed the words she was reading might as well have been in French. After a moment, she gave in, her eyes drifting from the page to meet Jimin's once again. Her gaze was intense, laden with unspoken questions.

"What is it?" Jimin asked, noticing the change in her demeanor.

She wondered whether she should bring it up. "You said something," she began slowly, recalling the unsettling moment before she’d been dragged to meet Namjoon. "Back in the basement."

"I remember," he acknowledged, his voice steady.

The memory was sharp in her mind: his grip firm on her, fingers pressing into her jaw uncomfortably. "You may not remember my face," he had said, "but I certainly haven't forgotten yours, little bird."

She drew a deep breath, maintaining her composure. "I might have been playing a part down there, but my answer was honest," she stated clearly. "I don’t remember ever meeting you before."

“I’m not surprised,” he replied, a slight smirk appearing as he crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

Y/N's eyes, sharp and ever observant, caught a glimpse of something on his forearm. The fabric of his slightly rolled-up sleeve had shifted just enough to reveal it—a mark all too familiar to her.

It was the raven scar, the very same that marked the completion of the rigorous initiation within the Park clan. It was unmistakable, a sign of trials endured and loyalties bound.

He noticed her stare and followed her gaze to his arm.

"Y-you—" Y/N began, her voice faltering.

"I’m not a spy," Jimin quickly interjected, reading the suspicion in her eyes. "If that’s what you’re thinking."

"But- that’s—" she managed to say.

"I know what it is. » Jimin paused casually, “I did have to do it myself, after all." He nodded towards her own arm, acknowledging the similar mark that she bore. "Just as you had to do yours," he added, locking eyes with her.

Y/N unconsciously ran her finger along her own scar, tracing the line that symbolized so much more than just membership. She stared at him, clearly confused.

“Listen," he continued, “if you need to know anything, it’s that, far as I’m concerned, this ,” he casually pulled aside his collar to reveal the tattoo of the Kim clan emblazoned on his skin “is the only true mark of allegiance I bear.”

"But you..." Y/N began cautiously, glancing around as though fearful of being overheard.

"You can say it out loud” Jimin said casually, “it’s common knowledge around here.”

"You used to be a raven, then?" she asked directly.

Jimin smirked, mischief coloring his expression. "Well, kind of,” he confessed. “I guess I never technically completed the induction."

YN's brow furrowed in confusion. It was unheard of for Raven pledges to back out. In fact, it- never happened. You either got in, or you died trying. Suddenly, a memory clicked into place.

"The farmer boy," she murmured aloud, her voice tinged with realization.

His eyes met hers, and he flashed a knowing smirk. "In the flesh."

She remembered now. She must have been twelve at the time. A pledge, no older than 15, had vanished on the night of his induction. The clan had sent a whole militia to search for him, but the boy had disappeared without leaving a single trace. They assumed he’d somehow gotten himself killed.

"You didn’t have blonde hair back then," she observed.

"Yeah, well, a fugitive does what he must to survive," Jimin replied, running a hand through his platinum locks. "But I reckon it suits me, don't you agree?"

YN, still contemplating, ignored his remark. “They never did figure out what happened to you," she noted.

"It’s simple, really. I just made a break for it—headed south- well, as far south as my busted shoes would take me,” Jimin explained, “Ended up in Seoul.”

His voice took on a reflective tone as he thought back to those early days. It had been a daily struggle, filled with petty thefts and back-alley skirmishes. Things were rough, but nothing compared to the grim fate that awaited him up North.

That was until a significant encounter had changed everything. He vividly recalled the moment a black-haired boy with a distinctive tattoo on his neck had noticed him during a street fight, knife in hand, moving as if it were merely an extension of his body. The boy, though slightly younger than Jimin, had watched him defend himself with a calculated interest, a smirk slowly forming on his lips.

Impressed, he had approached Jimin immediately after the scuffle, casually extending an unexpected offer for food and shelter against some- off the books labor.

“And just like that," Jimin snapped his fingers, his eyes lighting up with the recollection, "my new chapter began."

“So, you’re telling me the Kims just— took you in?” she scoffed in disbelief. “Do they even know you’re a northern traitor?”

“Are you kidding? It’s my edge," Jimin countered with a hint of amusement. "They don’t get trained fighters like me on every street corner, not to mention my knowledge of the Park clan can always come in handy, especially in times like these.”

YN's expression hardened slightly at his words.

“So, you're a snitch” she shot back sharply, her disdain clear. “Surprised you didn’t join the rats. »

 “Oh, come on, give me a break,” Jimin rolled his eyes at the insult. “Like you’re one to talk about loyalty? Didn’t you take off right after your fa—”

“I didn’t take off,” she snapped back, cutting him off sharply. Clearly, he had touched a sensitive nerve.

“What would you call it then?” Jimin pressed.

“I—” Y/N began, her voice faltering as she caught herself, the raw edge of her emotions nearly breaking through. She quickly regained her composure, straightening her posture as she held his gaze. “I don’t owe you any explanation,” she stated firmly, though Jimin noticed the white-knuckled grip she had on her book.

Jimin nonchalantly picked up his cup of tea, the steam curling lightly above it as he spoke. "Rumor has it you didn’t even make it to the funeral," he remarked, taking a casual sip. The observation was pointed, and he watched closely as Y/N's jaw clenched.

He had caught wind of it. After all, the news had echoed through the underworld back then, a tantalizing piece of gossip for those in the know. Park Sanghoon, the formidable leader of the Park clan and Y/N's father, had taken his last breath. Of course, his only son Jaebeom had been there to take over the operations; still, his daughter’s abrupt disappearance at such a critical juncture had been nothing short of an oddity.

The room fell into a heavy silence, the air thick with unspoken words. After a moment, Jimin set down his cup and met her eyes with a level gaze. "I would say I’m sorry,” he started, pausing deliberately, “about his passing, I mean."

YN's throat moved visibly as she swallowed, her face a mask of controlled emotions.

"But I’m really not," Jimin continued, his voice dropping slightly. "And I have a feeling you’re not that sorry either."

At his words, Y/N shot to her feet, her movements sharp and sudden, fists clenched at her sides. Her body radiated animosity, but a trace of something else flickered in her eyes.

"You don’t know shit," she spat before storming towards the door.

Jimin let out a heavy sigh. “You can’t just walk off on your own,” he called after her.

“Call the cops,” she snapped back, her voice echoing as she strode through the hall, her back stiff with defiance, "see what they have to say about it."

--

Hope you liked it. If some of you are intrigued or interested in finding out more, don't hesitate to interact and I'll start posting some more chapters! Also questions and remarks and feedback are welcome xxx

Some of you may be wondering when our second lead will appear... Well, fear not, for the smell of fresh kookies is coming from the kitchen I'm cooking in today.

Chapter 6

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