#still. city scary. full of women I won’t be able to stare in the eyes. I’m easily affected.

[a-very-fond-farewell]

ok the vibe is: I’m just a silly little guy in a dreadful little world. time to go back to my roots (*eats croutons straight from the bag*)

[pigeonp0st]

Kara Danvers x Reader #8

Words: 2,333

Summary: reader trades half her life for Kara’s

Warnings: Death, Depression

Notes:

I just wanted to nerd about philosophy and ponder about psychological egoism and it turned into this...sorry about spelling mistakes.

———

Psychological egoism; the theory that no one can truly be selfless. The theory that, even when we’re helping others, deep down we’re acting in our own self-interest.

When you came across the theory a couple of months ago you thought it was ridiculous. It was something you couldn’t believe, not when your girlfriend seemed like the paragon of selflessness.

Kara.

Kara who risks her life everyday for the people of National City, Kara who risks her life for the world. Kara who has lost, and Kara who keeps on fighting anyways. Kara who cares, who cares so much.

Kara gives, and she gives, and she gives, and she’s dying because of it now, so she isn’t a bad person. She isn’t a bad person, but now you’re starting to think that selfishness doesn’t necessarily need to mean bad. When selfishness brings you to help others, it isn’t a bad thing. It can’t be.

You don’t want to be a bad person. You have to believe that the decision you made an hour ago was the right one, because when the disfigured voice spoke to you with it’s compelling offer of; half of your life for Kara’s survival/revival...you couldn’t say no.

———

When Kara wakes up from her coma a day later, not even the mystery voice saying: “it’s done” in it’s weird enchanting voice keeps you from your relief and joy.

If your decision was ‘selfishy good’ in nature, if it was just selfless, or even if it was just plain selfish...well, you can’t really bring yourself to care right now because Kara is smiling and hugging you and...and fuck everything else.

This is worth it. Even if you hit the halfway point of your life tomorrow and die...this is worth it. It’s Kara. Kara who sacrifices a lot, but Kara whose worth sacrifices too. So yeah. ‘It’s done’... and it’s okay.

———

It’s not okay.

It’s not okay because when you get into a near death experience a year after Kara looks at you like she just experienced another world dying.

She holds you when you wake up in the hospital bed like you’re made of glass. She holds you like you’re the most precious thing on earth.

It’s not okay because it’s unfair, because it hurts how much you’re going to hurt her, because even while the decision you made a year ago isn’t something you’d change, you hate it anyways.

It’s not okay because Kara proposes to you. She proposes to you right there, with you in the hospital bed. She proposes to you and makes a beautiful speech talking about forever, talking about happinesses. She paints a beautiful picture of the future with her words, because she’s Kara Danvers the Pulitzer Prize winner, and you want.

You want. Desperately.

You can’t have.

Kara says, with her beautiful tear streaked cheek, with her embarrassed eye shifting, “I can’t imagine my life without you,” and suddenly ‘want’ turns into hatred. Not hatred…

It turns into rage. Rage, and helplessness, so much helplessness, and pain. All consuming pain. Pain that floods your eyes with tears until your choking on sobs, until your body is shaking. Pain.

Pain that Kara doesn’t understand—can’t understand because you’ve never been able to tell her about the sacrifice you made a year ago.

She gets her own type of pain though, when you force out a trembling, and raspy; “No—no Kara. No.”

“What?” Kara asks, with a look that’s somehow disbelieving, and unsurprised. Like a part of her always expects to not be enough.

You shut your eyes against the look on her face—against the deathly silent—and you wish for different. You wish to be in another timeline where things don’t hurt as much, you wish for a timeline where the offer of forever with the women you love isn’t just waking up everyday for as long as you have left wondering if it’s the day your forever is cut short too soon.

It doesn’t work.

The pain, the helplessness, the rage, it leads to you doing something selfish, but this time there’s no question about whether or not it’s the ‘good selfish’. It’s just selfish. It’s selfish but you’re tired, so you tell Kara about that day a year ago where she shouldn’t have woken up from her coma.

You weren’t going to tell her because you know Kara, you know that she’ll try to change your fate if it’s the last thing she does, and you know that when it eventually fails it’ll crush her completely, because being brave enough to hope then having it squashed...it’s awful.

——-

When you’re done with your retelling you say, “I don’t want to be alone anymore,” with a look on your face that Kara never wanted to see, a look that can only be described as...heavy. Unbearably heavy.

Kara’s own face is full of darkness. There’s a hauntedness about her as she sits silently in her seat, staring at you, and it’s scary because Kara isn’t here anymore. Not mentally.

——-

It takes nearly half an hour for Kara to come back, and when she does she doesn’t react the way you expect her to. You expect sobs and pleas, and hope, and anger.

What you get instead is her arm pulling you into a hug, and her face pressed against your neck, and silent tears wetting the collar of your hospital gown.

What you get is fear. Her fear that sits over you like a blanket.

And an hour later, what you get is a whispered, “Why does it feel like nothing in life will ever go right?”

“I’m sorry, Kara,” you say, though you aren’t. “Saving you was practically saving the world...you’re a hero.” You know Kara doesn’t think she’s worth it as is. Appealing to her hero is the only way you can think to make her understand.

“I know you’re tired of hurting—”

“Please,” Kara cuts in. You feel her jaw clench. “I never asked you to defend yourself. What’s done is done, I just want to lay here.”

Lay here and pretend her world hasn’t been shattered. Lay here and not think about the future, or the past.

“I just…” you pause, pulling away to examine Kara’s face. “I feel like i’ve just really hurt you in a big way.”

“I don’t want to think about it,” Kara says, and it sounds like a plea. “I don’t want to— Fuck.”

And now she’s sobbing, and you’re pulling her back into the hug while she shakes her head over and over again, while she squeezes her eyes shut.

These were the sobs you were expecting. These sobs that only someone who has lost as much as Kara can manage. They’re loud and full of heartbreak, she’s shouting broken questions that aren’t for you all the while, and this was what you were expecting but it’s...it’s unfair.

——-

Her emotions change quickly during her processing period but none of it is anger...it’s all just sort of defeat manifested in different ways.

Kara feels defeated. She feels helpless...and this isn’t what you wanted.

——-

It’s two weeks after the incident in the hospital that Kara decides it’s time to actually talk about ‘it’ with you. You know she’s been going to Alex and her friends for advice, you’re glad she’s finally going to you.

“I feel like I'm mourning you while you’re still alive, and I hate it,” Kara admits, eyes downcast. “I hate that I feel like I can’t talk to you, because I know you didn’t want to tell me for a year because you didn’t want to make me sad and-”

“And that’s exactly what you are,” you finish for her, laughing in a way that’s not at all humorous.

Kara closes her eyes, and whispers, brokenly, “I'm so sad,” in her agreement. “I’m sad, I'm lost, I'm angry, I'm desperate...I don’t know how to feel yet I feel so much—I just—Rao Y/N, I just want you to be okay,” Kara says, and you know. You know. Have known since last year, watching Alex brokenly try to tell you that Kara might not make it this time. You know how it hurts.

It hurts hearing that the person you love is going to die. It hurts in an all encompassing way that makes the future seem so terrifying.

But there’s nothing that can save you now.

“Lena is- she’s trying to find a way.”

That doesn’t really surprise you. You used to believe that there was nothing Lena couldn’t do if she really wanted it...but this...well it has to be impossible. How are you supposed to change the fate granted to you by a higher being…?

“Alex is trying too,” Kara says, “she and Brainy are contacting everyone they can think of to help you.”

The thought of your friends fighting so hard for you makes your eyes water and your chest hurt. The Superfriend always land on top when they work together, they always win...

“How?” You ask, your voice trembling on the word. “Kara, how?”

Kara glances up from where she was glaring holes into the edge of the couch to look at you. She hesitates for a moment before saying; “they believe that if they can somehow grant you immortality they can save you…”

No.

“Kara,” you whisper, feeling a large amount of guilt, “I don’t want to live forever.”

And Kara knows. She knows but— “but then you won’t even have a full life,Y/N.”

She sounds so terrified again, when she says that, that you can’t even say anything in response but shake your head.

“If you’re supposed to die,” Kara pauses, studying your face, “am i supposed to- do you just want me to just let you?”

She sounds repulsed by the idea...but…

“Yes, Kara. Yes. You’re supposed to let me.”

The, ‘I don’t believe you can change this and I don’t want this to hurt you more than it should’, goes unsaid by you.

———

Kara doesn’t listen. She tries, and she tries, and she tries, for months, and only months because you die 5 months after your initial accident.

The doctors have no clue why...you just pass peacefully in your sleep one day and leave Kara to wake up next to you trying to shake you awake and pleading for you to just “wake up, please, please.”

Kara is devastated.

More devastated than any of her friends expects, more devastated than Alex expects. They’re trying to help her but they lost you too and everything is just harder because of it.

Kara tries for revival. She asks John Constantine and everyone she can think of but everything doesn’t work and eventually Alex has to force her to stop.

After is what Kelly calls Kara’s second phase of grief. Her first stage, denial, went longer than Kelly expected so she expects the second phase to last a long time too.

It doesn’t. Kara’s anger seeps out of her quickly.

Stage three doesn’t last long either. The “what if’s” and “if only’s” just feel pointless to Kara.

She settles into stage four though. She settles into it and stays. Depression fills all the empty spaces in her apartment where you used to be, and it tries to fill the place in her heart that used to be for you. Depression stays.

Kara avoids going home because it isn’t home anymore. It’s the place you died. It’s the place where your things are scattered around everywhere like they belong, but they don’t belong anymore, because you aren’t there. You aren’t there, so the stupid mug on the nightstand shouldn’t be there anymore but it is.

You aren’t there so your clothes shouldn’t still be in her closet, and your toothbrush should be in the trash, and everything should just be gone. Everything should just be gone because you aren’t- you aren’t there.

You aren’t there and Kara hurts, because you’re supposed to be home. You’re supposed to be home with her. You're supposed to be her home.

You can’t be anymore.

Kara grows to hate the word “forever” because it’s just a whole bunch of lies, she grows to hate the word “sorry” because it’s all anyone ever says to her anymore, she grows to hate people saying “you’ll be okay” because she won’t be.

She grows to hate the word “hope.”

Hope people say, as if hope isn’t just denial trying to look pretty. Hope as if doing so isn’t just deluding yourself so things feel worth it.

Lena tells her one day that there needs to be hope, because there needs to be light. Without it you’re just lost in the darkness.

Lena tells her that but she looks uncertain, like she believes the ‘light’ is just a myth or a trick of the eye meant to just keep you moving.

So Kara hates hope, and she hates lies, but she loves love.

She loves the love, and support, and all of the things her friends give each other to make everything better for a while.

Kara hates hope but she still believes in trying anyways, so she begins to try after a while. She tries to get more sleep, she tries to spend more time with her friends, she tries to talk about feelings, and she tries to make fighting feel worth it.

She tries but she still misses. She misses desperately, but she eventually hits the final stage of acceptance.

Acceptance doesn’t feel like the final stage because Kara still hurts, and she still wants things she can never have, but she never even imagined she’d get here a year ago when you were lifeless in her bed—so this is fine.

This is fine. Kara finally places the mug on your nightstand in the sink and sobs while she washes it, but this is fine.

This is fine.

Kara wanted more than fine. She wanted you.

[black-dragon1998]

Ghost Capatain Chapter 1

Summary: After years of abuse from Hydra reader and the twins escape to New York City and try to survive in the only way they know. Becoming the new top dogs in the American criminal underworld is just a bonus that helps them help people in need. The Avengers, however, aren't that pleased when they by a rough bach of Vibranium and bust into their Club and arrest the reader.This set a whole rollercoaster of events in motion, that not only racked up old memories for the reader but also Bucky and Natasha.

I suck at summaries sorry.

This is a non-canon and just a figment of my imagination that I couldn't get out of my head. at the moment I have a pretty good idea where this fic is going but that could always change. Don’t like don’t read.

Warning: non at the moment but will most likly be added in further chapters.

Ghost Captain Masterlist

You were leaning against the bannister of the private second floor overlooking the club. Your men around you were preparing everything for the deal going down tonight. All were nervous for it, for you, it was just another day at the office.

Your interest at the moment lay with the green-eyed brunette wearing red at the bar. The two of you were having a silent stare down that nobody was paying attention to. You had found her easily enough, even in this sea of people you were drawn to her and it had nothing to do with her psychic powers.

It had taken her a long time accepting her powers, but when she finally did she was a real powerhouse. People always thought you were the scary one, well than they hadn’t ever seen Wanda angry. Even Pietro didn’t trifle with her when she was and he pissed off everybody all the time.

When she was having a bad day because of the burden of her powers put on her or just because of you and Pietro were there for her. The three of you were family and you would die for each other. More importantly, she was your moon, the reason you were still sane after everything Hydra put you through. When the three of you were finally able to escape Hydra you had fled to America and done what you did best. Survived.

After a couple of years in America, the three of you had made a name for yourselves. Now nobody trifled with you anymore. The business you had set up both legally and illegally were run by the three of you in the shadows. Parts of the money you earned was invested back into companies and projects you had running in Sakovia. Never having lost the connection with your home country.

Taking a sip of your drink your eyes drifted back to Wanda. The glass nearly broke form the tension you suddenly put on it. Their next to Wanda was a  sniffling little bitch that had the audacity to put his hands on her. He would quickly learn nobody touched your girl and got away with it.

Wanda was sitting at the bar enjoying her drink. She for one liked being on the ground floor, unlike you who mostly stayed on the second floor overlooking the club. Being surrounded by so many people in a controlled environment gave her a certain feeling of normality.

At the moment though she was regretting not being on the second floor with you. The guy to her right was getting closer and closer. The way he was looking at her made her want to throw up. She tried ignoring him and found you looking at her from the bannister.

You looked so dame hot with your burgundy three-piece suit. Just enough buttons of your shirt were undone to be sinful and it sends her mind spiralling. Wanda could also see the numerous women around her trying to get your attention but you had only eyes for her.

Everybody thought you were this big bad mobster with no heart. Well, you were a big bad mobster but Wanda knew you would die for the people you called family. Only they got to see that side of you. Wanda even called you her teddy bear behind closed doors.

“well aren’t you particularly beautiful, sweetheart?” Wanda’s attention was called back to the guy to her right. Now he was leaning against the bar far closer than Wanda would have liked. She decided to not give him any attention, that usually ended with the guy on the floor bleeding.

“you know I have never seen you here before. Us meeting must have been fate.” Wanda could smell the alcohol on his breath. Instead of acknowledging him she turned away and took a sip from her drink. If he kept bothering her for much longer she would call the bouncers to throw him out, before you could deal with him.

Then he made the fatal mistake of putting his hands on her.

“Not to brag or anything but I may know the owner of this joint. If I put in a good word we could go somewhere private.” This made Wanda laugh before she pulled her arm away. She felled your anger burning as she felled you nearing. This time she did face him.

“I don’t believe you know anybody in this club, let alone the owner. You don’t seem to be made from the same material as they are.” Her statement seemed to anger him. He roughly took her by the shoulder this time. His hand, however, was quickly removed by a furious you.

You had a fire in your eyes when you looked at the asshole who dared to put his hands on Wanda. He seemed to link back at your anger trying to pull his hands back.

“you think it’s okay to grab a lady just like that?” it wasn’t a question but he still seemed to want to stammer out a response. He was quickly shut up by you.

“I don’t want to hear your sorry ass excuse. I heard the last part of the conversation you had. I have to say to make such a bold statement you either have to be incredibly tough or incredibly stupid. So tell me what is it. Because believe me I have never seen you before.” His eye became comically wide.

“More importantly I would like to know  where you would have gone to be ‘private’ in my club with my girl.” The full realisation hit him and all colour drained from his face. He started blabbering incoherent words together with apologies when one of your waiters showed up. A young woman in her mid-twenties. A good worker never had any problems with her.

“I am so sorry Captain. He is my brother and I let him in. I told him to behave, didn’t know he would go after Wanda.” The girl sounded distressed. You looked her over with a critical eye and she shrunk back into herself.

“Please don’t fire me. I really need this job. I promise I won’t happen again.” The girl stood with her hand hanging down, not meeting your eye. You felled Wanda nudge your mind.

“you can’t fire her. It’s the only job she has and has to provide for her idiot brother and sick mother.” Leave it to Wanda to play on your emotional side. Turning to the sibling Infront of you, sighting internally.

“I don’t want to see his face here again if I do you won’t like the outcome.” Your voice is cold, leaving no room for arguing. Not that they would try anyway. Soon after the bouncers arrived and took him away.

The girls turn to you with watery eyes.

“thank you. I wouldn’t know what I would have done if I lost my job.” You clapped the girl's shoulder to ground her.

“We can’t be held accountable for what our family does.” Your voice is hard but caring, something Wanda is going to tease you about later. Finally, she met your eyes and gave you a small smile. That is when your eyes caught something, a small bruise around her eye.

You felled the girl stiffen again, trying to get out your grasp.

“I fell this morning.” her lie wasn’t convincing at all but you didn’t correct her. Instead, you took a card out of your back pocket and put it in her hand.

“When you are ready go to this address. Tell them I send you and everything will be sorted out for you.” She put the card in her pocket and went back to work. You only hoped she wouldn’t wait until it was too late.

The attention that was on you quickly faded when the song changed and people went back to drinking and dancing. Turning around you were met with Wanda smiling at you.

“you are getting soft in your old age my captain.” She smirked at you. Quickly snacking an arm around her waist and pulling her closer.

“Who are you calling old baby. If I recall correctly I’m only two years older than you my little witch.” You whisper in her ear, not denying her statement. Wanda knew you were soft for her. You did nip her ear as small reprimanding. She only giggled and hugged you close.

“I love you, my Captain.” She told you kissing you deeply.

“love you too my little witch.” after a long passionate moment your break apart and remind her that you have a meeting in half an hour and that you should prepare for that.

Normally you and Pietro make the deals with when they are done in the clubs, Wanda being in the back pretending to be eye candy. In reality, she was scanning everybody for trouble but Pietro was with Zrinka at the moment. So you would do the deal on your own, with Wanda as a back-up.

For today's deal, you were glad she would be staying on the background. Ulysses Klaue was a pig and you despised having to work with him and after the shit that went down with Ultron, he wasn’t happy to work with you either. But he wanted to do business in the city so he had to go through you to do it.

“would you look at this, the street rat made it big.” Klaue laughed when he was let into the room and saw you sitting at the desk. Your facial expression didn’t waver. You had long ago learned to never let verbal assault get to you.

“I would say it’s nice to see you again Klaue but we both know that would be a lie. So why don’t you tell me what you came here with and we can both go on with our life’s.” his smirk quickly disappeared and was replaced with a scowl.

“watch who you are talking too. I have an appointment with the leader of this joint.” Now it was your turn to laugh.

“I know. You are talking to them.” You see him want to make a smart-ass comment but cut him off.

“I would watch the tone you take on with me. Everything that is said here will determine if the big boss wants to do further business with you. So I would watch your words.” He grumbles under his breath but sat down.

It quickly became clear he wanted to get rid of his last batch of Vibranium. Apparently, the Avengers were closing in on him and he hopped getting rid of it would get them off his case. You thought that was highly unlikely but weren’t about to tell him that. T’challa had asked you and the twins to look out for rogue Vibranium and get it back to Wakanda.

“so if I’m understanding this correctly you want to sell me your last batch of Vibranium.” You slumped a little in your seat and intertwined your fingers.

“why would you do that?” you knew why but wanted to be sure and hear it from him.

“I think you know why. The Avengers are hunting me for months and there are only so many places one can run to before being sick of it.” He spat out, already angry enough he had to deal with you. He was also apprehensive cause last he checked the Avengers were just breathing down his neck.

Feeling you had desperate enough for negotiation you put your poker face back on.

“Alright, we might be interested in buying it from you. You saw hope flicker behind his eyes, even though he further showed no emotions.

“at the right price of course.” You smirked.

“1 million dollars.” He started. You razed an unimpressed eyebrow at him.

“750 000” you countered.

“900 000”

“I thought you wanted to get rid of it to get the Avengers of your ass.” You questioned.

“850 000” he tried again.

“800 000, with the promise wrap this up tonight. That is my final offer.” You reached your hand out to close the deal. He seemed to contemplate for a moment but finally shook your hand. After that things were finalized quickly. Seemed he wanted to get rid of it. Within the hour the crate with Vibranium stood in your office and you were eight hundred thousand dollars lighter but it was worth it.

Klaue didn’t waste any time to leave with his eight hundred thousand dollars and put as much distance between him and the treat as he could.

When you were sure he had left you called Wanda to join you in the office. Completely slumping into your chair suit jacket open, happy that that deal was over. Wanda sauntered into the office with a massive grin on her face.

“look at you my big scary mob boss handling things so smoothly.” She pulls you out of your chair and into a big messy kiss. When you eventually part for air you stroke the side of her face.

“come on gorgeous let’s go home so I can show you what a real badass I am.” She giggled. If other people would see you like this they wouldn’t believe her but luckily you were already hers.

“yes, lets so I can spoil you for a job well done.” She giggled when a little blush appeared on your face.

Leading her toward the back garage, not feeling like waiting for your driver. Beside you liked to drive once in a while. Picking the keys to the Lykan sportscar. Having let the Vibranium being placed in before. You lead Wanda to the passenger door when alarms began going off.

You quickly turn around and look at the monitors placed in the garage. What you see makes you curse, the Avengers were busting down the door of your club. Subtlety apparently wasn’t something they did.

“I thought some of them were ex-assassins.” Wanda had to chuckle at your comment. Turning toward her you give her the keys. She looked at you confused.

“go now. I will cover you with my powers.” Disbelieve filled her eyes.

“(Y/N)! no, I am not leaving you behind.” At moments you find her stubbornness adorable, not right now.

“Wanda we don’t have time for this. They are after the leader of this club. That is me, so that means you can get away.” The ‘you can get me out later’ going unsaid.

“promise me you will be careful?” you gave her a reassuring kiss while opening the driver’s door.

“I promise. Now go may we meet in Sint-Pietersburg.” You saw her understanding before she got into the car, setting up a mental link with you. As she drives out the garage you reflect the lights around the car so it seemed to be invisible. When you know she is out of reach you start thinking about your own escape.

The moment you think about slipping into the shadows you are hit in the back with an electric shock that made your knees buckle and fall to the ground. Twisting with aftershock you see pair of black combat boots come closer. Looking up you see a woman with red hair wearing a SHIELD tactical suit.

“shit!” you mutter before she hits you with another round of electrical shock before you pass out.

Chapter 2

Want to support me Buy me a Ko-fi

[lauwrite1225]

Somebody to die for.

Finan x OC; The Old Guard inspired Alternative Universe

Summary : Victoria’s life is rather simple until she has a car accident from which she ends up miraculously unscathed. A series of weird events animates her daily life, everything seemingly bringing her to a strange man. Until this very man knocks at her door.

Spotify Playlist • Masterlist

A/N : On ao3 I've got a comment telling me the slow burn was killing them, well... I hope this is killing yall too lmaooo

Warnings : fluff ;)

Chapter 8 : And I'm ready to suffer, and I'm ready to hope

Victoria has never found a more peaceful place than Osferth’s house before, it’s so far from London’s constant noise. Here the night is silent, occasionally interrupted by sounds of animals, which she sometimes finds scary enough to wake up Finan who’s sleeping on the mattress next to her bed in the living room. He usually answers her what wild animal is howling, enhanced with Irish curses as he tries to fall back to sleep. 

“Ya’re goin’ to know the sound of all the animals of this forest soon.” He comments one morning when she sits in front of him at the kitchen table.

She chuckles quite uncomfortably, guessing he’s starting to be annoyed of being woken up in the middle of the night. “I’m a city girl.” She shrugs innocently and Finan shakes his head.

Even if he’s grieving his friend’s loss, Finan keeps a rather good mood, which she supposes is due to Osferth. She regularly finds them laughing together, undoubtedly remembering old memories, which warms Victoria’s heart. She also gets to learn a lot about the monk who reveals to in fact be King Alfred the Great’s bastard son.

“So you’re royalty!” She exclaims, her fork falling back into her plate. 

“Not really.” He answers, looking down as he is ashamed of who he is while Finan is chuckling at her shock. 

“But, if you were a monk and a King’s son, how did you end up fighting for Uhtred?” She asked, the same curiosity she used to have for Finan growing for him. 

“My uncle used to fight alongside Uhtred.” He explains, his forks forming circles in the air. “I wanted to become a warrior like him.”

“And let me tell ya, that was a hard row to hoe.” He jokes at Vicky’s attention, pointing at Osferth who’s now pouting. “I've never imagined t'was so hard to hold a sword.” He giggles before taking a mouth full of vegetables while the monk blushes. “But we finally succeeded to make a good warrior of him after all.”

This time, the two men look at each other with pride, a small knowing smile gracing their faces. 

“I'd like to learn.” Vicky interrupts them suddenly. 

“What? To use a sword?” Finan frowns at her. “It's a little useless nowadays.” 

She rolls her eyes which only makes him smirk as he eats. “I'd like to learn whatever could help me to defend myself.” She explains with such determination that even Finan stops smirking to stare at her intently. “I don't want to be as useless as in London if something happens to us.”

She straightens her shoulder while holding Finan’s gaze, feeling the need to show him that she can be stronger than she looks. She thought of it a few times during the night, not dying is one thing but it still isn’t preventing her to be taken, Finan wouldn’t have been here that night, she’s sure she wouldn’t be standing here right now. And she even less wants to be a liability to the two men if anything has to happen.

She notices the flicker of hesitance on Finan’s face at the way the corner of his mouth tilts. “Please, Finan.” She insists and he finally sighs, lifting his head to the ceiling. 

“Alright I’ll teach ya.” He accepts, starting to eat again and only staring at her broad smile from the corner of his eyes. “But don’t imagine I’ll be easy on ya.” He warns her but she’s too happy to take in the warning and doesn’t even notice Osferth’s grimace at it. 

However, she soon learns that she should have taken it seriously. Vicky had a lot of sport teachers during school, more or less rigorous, but undoubtedly, none were matching Finan. He is very patient, able to show her movement a hundred times without getting annoyed, though, the lesson won’t end until she does it perfectly. He teaches her how to punch and kick correctly for a whole afternoon, her legs and arms aching at the end. She’s so exhausted that she doesn’t even wake up during the night because of animals and Finan is more than happy to finally have his sleep undisturbed. 

The next morning, after her training, Sophie comes to Osferth's place and gives a worried look to Vicky as she finds her sprawled, arms crossed and forehead resting on it. “Are you alright?” She asks, putting her hand on her back and then grimacing when she realizes she’s all sweaty. 

“Finan killed me.” She grumbles, her voice muffled by the caged formed by her arms. She finally straightens, stretching to try to make the discomfort of her painful muscles disappear. “I asked him to teach me how to fight, and I’m starting to regret it.”

Sophie laughs, sitting on the chair next to hers. “Osferth told me he was a ruthless teacher.” She explains to her and Vicky sighs in despair. 

Since they are here, Sophie comes everyday, and even stays some nights, erasing any of Victoria’s doubts about their relationship. She doesn't know the French well, but she does appreciate her already, another woman's ear always likeable. 

“I found something that could interest you.” Sophie says, taking her phone out of her pocket and opening an application before handing it to her. 

Vicky grabs it carefully and lets out a short breath at the newspaper article she's showing her. She reads the text surrounding the picture of her explaining where the police stand regarding her disappearance. She can't tell if it relieves her or not that they are clueless about it. Which for sure disappoints her is that they are as clueledd as them when it comes to the men who attacked them. She doesn't raise her eyes when she hears the front door opening nor when footsteps approach. She only looks away when she feels Finan's breath near her ear making her shiver as he leans over her shoulder, his hands clenched around the chair's back.

“What's that?” He asks, meeting her eyes briefly before staring at the screen.

She swallows and hands him the phone so he can read. “A record on what happened in London.” She explains as he straightens. “They don't know more than us.”

“Good.” He says, scrolling down the article and when he looks up from the phone, he is facing Vicky’s confused frown.

“But we could have learned more about their intentions.”

Finan shakes his head, giving her phone back to Sophie. “And by this, they’d get interest in us and it is the last thin’ we need.”

Vicky leans back in her chair. “Alright, but how do we get to know who they are and what they really want? Even if we hide, we are exposed because we don’t know our enemies.” She voices a relevant fact that even Osferth agrees with as he walks into the room, stopping to rest a hand on Sophie’s shoulder. “We need to do research about them.” 

“With what?” The Irishman huffs. “All we have is a piece of paper and a revolver.”

Feeling the tension rising between Victoria and Finan, the French clears her throat. “Maybe, there was something that could be…” She searches a word, gesturing in the void. “Particular. An accent maybe?”

“They didn’t talk a lot but they were sounding English.” She answers leaving Finan’s eyes to give all her attention to Sophie. 

Finan does the same, crossing his arms. “They were fine trained men, if there’s more, it must be the case for them too.” He exchanges a serious gaze with Osferth, a silent conversation working between the two men. “We should arm ourselves, just in case.”

This time, it’s the two women who exchange an anxious glance. “I still have guns in the basement, a little old and in need of a good cleaning, but it’s better than nothing.”

On those words, the two old friends decide to spend the afternoon on restoring Osferth’s weapons. Victoria stares with wide eyes at the amount of them resting on the kitchen table, dusty revolvers and rifles. Sophie left earlier with a list of materiel to clean them and Victoria supposes they won’t have finished until nightfall at least. Her eyes instinctevely search for Finan, which she has realised doing more and more often, in the room and finally turns to the monk when she understands he isn’t here. He answers her that he is still in the basement, so she decides to join him, though she’s also curious to see what there is in it. She climbs down the ladder and jumps on the stoned floor. There isn’t much light, a simple old oil lamp allowing her to see Finan who’s staring intently at a sword he is holding. Vicky approaches him and can’t help but let out a sound of amazement as she admires the weapon, the flicker of the flame making the blade shine and a piece of amber ornamenting the hilt. 

“It’s a beautiful sword.” She says looking up to the Irishman whose eyes are glittering under the light. “Finan?” She calls him softly, her hands finding his arm. 

He blinks a few times and the tears have disappeared to let him smile. “It’s Uhtred’s sword, Serpent-Breath. I’ve never seen a better sword.” He explains with admiration.

He hands her the sword and she takes it carefully, surprised by the heaviness of it, wondering how it was possible to fight with this. But she must admit that it really is the result of a fine work, the blade, old and not as sharp as it must have been, but nonetheless impressive. 

“You have a sword too?” She turns to him again.

“Aye, but I’ve lost it a long time ago.” He shrugs sadly. 

She gives him back the weapon and lets him hang it on the wall. “What did you call it?”

He chuckles lightly before smiling broadly. “Soul-stealer.” He answers with a threatening tone but it only makes her raise her eyebrows as if she isn’t impressed at all.

“Terrifying.” She breaths, pretending to be scared. 

“Ya know, men used to call me Finan the Agile because I was a really good swordsman.” He explains, heading back to the ladder.

“Oh? And what about women?” She asks him with a teasing tone that definitely should have been thought about twice. She can’t help the rise of blush to increase as he just winks at her with a mischievous smirk before climbing up.

She curses herself for the sudden warmth in her belly as she wonders what his gesture implied. She shakes her head to make it vanish. When Sophie is finally back, they start restoring the guns, Osferth showing her how to clean a barrel correctly. She can’t help but wonder how many people have been killed with this gun as she holds one. It seems so easy to pull the trigger, in a second one is ripped of its life. She thinks back to the fight in her flat, at how Finan cold bloodedly killed the three men. Will she become like this as well if she learns how to use one? The question remains stuck in her mind until the night when Finan asks her what is troubling her. They are just the two of them in the living room as he sits next to her on the bed to remove his shoes.

She shifts uncomfortably, twisting her fingers. “What do you feel when you kill someone?”

Finan freezes at her question, still bent to unlace his shoes. “I feel bad.” He answers finally as he straightens. 

“Each time?” She asks him with an inch of surprise that makes her tone higher. “Even when they are bad people?” 

“No, it's not like that.” He turns his head to her and even in the dark she is fascinated by the intensity of his gaze. “The first man I killed was a Dane. I was still in Ireland, hunting with my father. He came out of a bush and I acted without thinkin'.” He scratches his beard before his hand slides down to grip what she supposes is the pendant hanging at his necklace. “No matter how many times I've heard people call them heathens or demons, when I saw his frightened eyes as life was leaving his body, I realised he was just a man. And I wondered who I was to take a man's life so easily.” His grip tightens, fisting his shirt as he sighs.

His hand drops on his thigh and he is close enough so his elbow brushes slightly against her arm. He looks down as if he is suddenly ashamed or scared of what she'll think of him and it makes her heart squeeze. In a little time, they both have reached a level of confidence with each other that Victoria didn't expect. Despite his lie, she finds herself unable to judge him. And it reassures her to know that after all he isn’t as insensitive as she thought. Her hand slides on his forearm until it reaches his wrist, her fingers tracing the swollen skin of a scar slashing his palm. Their proximity makes her face warm and she's glad that the darkness can hide it, so she leans to the side until her head rests on his shoulder. 

“Why did you ask?” He whispers, his breath brushing her forehead. 

She feels her heartbeat getting stronger and faster as she thinks of the right words.”When you fought that night, you did it without any hesitation. You just acted when I just stayed away utterly afraid. Now that I don’t want to be so useless anymore, I wonder if I’ll be able to act like you did, without thinking.”

“Ya don’t have to be like me.” He replies immediately, making her look up to him. “In fact, I’d prefer that ya weren’t.” He admits. 

“But one day I will. One day I’ll have lost all the people I care for and I’ll have suffered as much as you did.” She says and the way her heart aches at the simple idea makes her throat tighter. 

Finan shifts to better face her, his hands cupping her face and his thumb caressing her cheek even if there’s no tears to wet them. His eyes are staring at her with such softness despite how deep and dark they are, she feels like she could melt now and then. 

“I’ll keep ya away from that.”

Her heart misses a beat and her breath runs short. She can’t argue with him about the foolishness of such a promise, destabilized by how close his face is to hers, and because deep down she wishes he could be able to protect her from the pain. Him and no one else. His hot breath caresses her lips, making her whole body feel warm and for a brief second, she wonders how it would feel to have his mouth pressed against hers, how his beard would scratch her flushed skin. 

But before she can have an answer Finan moves away, breathing heavily. “I think we should sleep.” 

She barely has time to breathe a small ‘yes’ that he is lying in his own bed. She does the same, her hand pressed against her chest as her heart finds a steady rhythm again. She stares at the ceiling for long minutes, feeling suddenly so empty and cold. 

Tag :​ @for-bebbanburg @osferth @maggiescarborough ​ @finansarms ​ @dumbledoreisnotmyhubby @solinarimoon

[spicykoreantatertots]

Sleep Alone - Part One

Pairing: Namjoon x Female Reader (ft. Hoseok and Seokjin)

Word Count: 3.9k

Rating: PG-13

Genres: SFW, Soulmate AU, Angst (Future Fluff)

Summary:  The timer on your wrist is ticking away until the moment you get to meet your soulmate. You often spend time daydreaming about your him. The time remaining on the timer has fluctuated throughout your life. Each big decision you or your soulmate makes can have an affect on the timer. A week before you finally get to meet, the timer gets extended by an additional forty years.

Warnings: Mentions of drugs, drug dealing, drug lording, meth labs, death, murder, blood, scary guys being scary dudes, someone gets arrested, but there is not smut lmao. 

A/N: Proud to be part of Bangtan Scenery’s April Showers Bring May Flowers Collab! This is the first part of this fic. Part two will be coming in May! I may also do a NSFW one shot later this year. I’m excited to continue working on my soulmate series (one for each member). They are all based on songs by Waterparks, check out Sleep Alone. 

Big shout out to @megahwn and @ho-baebae​ for beta reading and thank you to @lovely-literati​ for always being supportive. Love y’all! 💜

~~~~~~~

The street is deserted, only one parked car about a few feet away. He sneaks around the corner into the alleyway. Careful not to step on any debris or in any puddles, he slinks past the dumpster overflowing with garbage. He can barely make it out in the dark, but he’s found the door with the marking. 

He reaches into his back pocket for his lock picking kit, but when he begins to work on the door he finds it unlocked. He pauses, unsure if he should continue inside, but the overwhelming metallic scent of blood floods his nostrils.

He rushes into the building. The first room is large and dim. But he can see boxes, buckets, beakers, tubing, and trash everywhere. It’s a meth lab. The smell of ammonia starts to overtake the smell of the blood. Until he sees two bodies in the next room and one big puddle of blood between them. 

As he approaches cautiously he begins to recognize one of the people. Dae-hyun. He falls to his knees. The one person he was trying to protect from all this. Before the grief strikes him, there’s a crash from the other room. And footsteps. And then his chest is on the ground, the breath knocked out of him, a knee in his back. A booming voice.

“Kim Namjoon, you are under arrest for the murders of Jung Dae-hyun and Yoo Young-jae. You have the right to remain silent...” 

~~~~~~~

It’s the same dream you always have. Following the path of rose petals up the hill. The sun is setting and at the top you can see him: your soulmate. You’ve never been able to see his face. You always wake up just before you reach him. This time as you approach the hill, he’s nowhere to be seen.

The gentle thunder from the approaching storm wakes you from your sleep. An early morning thunderstorm, one of your favorite types of weather. The gray sky and light drizzle almost lull you back to sleep. But just as you’re dozing off you see it. Your timer. 

44y:67d:54h:23m

You have to do a double take. Forty-four years? Just last night your soulmate timer was counting down from four years. It’s not uncommon for it to change. 

Each decision you make could potentially affect the timer. You changed your mind about college three times before you settled on the one that only added two years to the timer. One day, your timer went from 5 years to 3 minutes, but then quickly returned to 5 years. You had just been watching TV, so you often wondered what decision your soulmate made that brought you so close together and why he would have changed his mind. 

But you couldn’t have done anything in your sleep last night to cause this... what did he do?

~~~~~~~

It’s the story of the year. Of all the exciting cities across the world, it has to be breaking in your hometown. The sexy new drug lord, Kim Namjoon, finally caught. It’s sick, but it makes for good news. Or whatever Buzzfeed is. They’re taking it as far as possible with their quizzes and bullshit articles. 

Are you compatible with Kim Namjoon?

10 reasons why Kim Namjoon is the sexiest drug lord of the century. 

Which paradise should you and Kim Namjoon escape to?

22 things to know about Kim Namjoon’s life before drugs. 

Kim Namjoon as exoctic birds.

It’s not something you would normally be interested in, but during your morning social media scroll, one article catches your eye. 

Could Kim Namjoon be your soulmate? Click here to see his timer. 

There’s something growing in the pit of your stomach. It really really couldn’t be. The fact that the story broke the same day your timer had 40 years added means nothing... Right?

You check the comments, refusing to give into click bait. 

Kim Min-seo

President Namjoon 2020

Steven Borden

Why do we care about this? He’s a murderer and drug dealer. 

Karen Smith

prayers for the family

Jae Lee

He can murder me any day of the week. 

Julie Ann

Can’t imagine having a half empty bed for 44 years. Thank god I got my mans already.

The feeling in your stomach radiates throughout your body. It can’t be. You give in and click on the article. A picture of Kim Namjoon. A close up of his wrist. It’s not exactly the same as yours, but it was taken two days ago. At 3pm. You do the math in your head. Then you do it again on a piece of paper. Then you plug it into Google, just to be sure. 

It’s him. 

So if any of you ladies or fellas out there have the matching timer, you can find him at the 48th Police Precinct before he’s transferred to a maximum security prison upstate. Click here to stay up to date on all things Kim Namjoon. 

A gif of Namjoon being escorted into the police station plays on a loop at the end of the article. He is beautiful isn’t he? He could be a murderer, a full on drug lord. But as it begins to fully sink in, you know there has to be more to the story. Your soulmate couldn’t really be a killer. 

~~~~~~~

There was no air conditioning on the bus to the police station. The warmth of late spring is making you sweat. You might think it was just your nerves, but the overwhelming smell of body odor confirms that everyone else is sweating too. 

Looking around the bus at the other passengers, it’s hard to imagine where they might be coming from or where they’re going. Most people are probably doing normal things, shopping, going to work, visiting friends. Is anyone else on their way to face their soulmate?

Some chattering from the front of the bus pulls you out of your head for a moment. Everyone on the bus begins looking out the windows on the opposite side. You crane your neck to try to see what everyone else is looking at. It’s a crowd of people, but that’s about all you can make out. 

“Stop #27: West 12th Street!” The bus driver announces over the intercom. The bus slows to a stop, your stop, right in front of the police station. 

Fiddling with the strap from your bag, you exit the bus slowly. Soon you’re able to get a good look at the crowd. It’s mostly young women, all crowded near the entrance of the police station. They’re holding signs, it must be a protest of some kind. 

As you get closer you can read some of the signs. 

HUGS AND DRUGS

LEGALIZE

FREE KIM NAMJOON

END THE WAR ON DRUGS

PRESIDENT NAMJOON 2020

The protest signs seem... inappropriate? Especially considering he was arrested for murder and not his alleged drug lord-ing. 

“Free Namjoon!” Shouts the girl wielding the “President Namjoon 2020” sign. 

“He’s too hot for prison!” The girl next to her screams.

“Ji-woo shut up! You’re invalidating the cause.” You don’t stay to hear Ji-woo’s rebuttal, instead opting to duck inside the police station before they engage you. 

It’s a bustling place. Lots of people in the waiting room. A woman with two small children is ahead of you in line trying to reason with the woman behind the counter. She’s trying to convince her that the $10,000 bond for her husband’s DUI is unreasonable. 

“Ma’am, the judge sets the bail amount. There are bail bonds services down the street. Next!” She motions for you to step up to the counter.

“How can I help you?” She asks, not making eye contact, but instead clacking away at her keyboard.

“I’m here... to see Kim Namjoon?” It comes out as a question, without looking up she responds.

“You can go join the group of your friends waiting outside. No one can see him. Next!” There is a grunt from the man behind you in line when you don’t move immediately. 

“I think...” You start quietly. “I’m his soulmate.” The woman stops typing to look up at you. You reluctantly pull back your sleeve and show her your timer, still ticking away. 

“I see.” She stands and disappears down a hall and out of sight. You fight the urge to look around the room, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone who might have heard you. The forty years on your timer don’t change and you’re not sure what this means. Maybe they still won’t let you see him, soulmate or not. 

After several minutes of awkwardly standing and waiting, she returns with a police officer. 

“Ma’am please come with me.” The officer motions toward a door that leads out of the waiting room and the woman returns to her keyboard. The officer meets you on the other side of the door. It’s quieter than you expected. A bulletin board of wanted flyers stares back at you. 

“He doesn’t want to see you, but he was willing to add you to his phone call list.” Your stomach drops. How could he not want to see you? He’s the one who’s been arrested, it’s you that shouldn’t be willing to see him.

The officer continues down the hall to a small conference room. There are two other people in it, another police officer and a man. The officer guides you in and then leaves. 

“Hi please have a seat and fill out this form.” It’s a fairly simple form. Name, address, phone, relationship to detainee....

“Who are you?” The man next to you asks. He’s looking at you trying to fill out the form. You don’t respond to him at first, because who is he? He looks like any other guy off the street. Well maybe not quite. He’s dressed in basic dark jeans and a graphic t-shirt, but he is very handsome.

“I’ve never seen you before, why are you here to see Namjoon?” He prompts you again. He must know Namjoon. But if he’s friends with Namjoon... Namjoon the potential drug lord and murderer... can he be trusted?

“I’m his soulmate.” The words still feel awkward falling out of your mouth. But you don’t have much choice but to trust him. He’s your only line into the life of Namjoon. The man tenses up, drops his head into his hands. He says nothing, the lights in the room flicker slightly.

After too much awkward silence, you push your completed form toward the officer across the table. He tells you that you may receive calls from the station or prison when Namjoon is able to call, but the only way for you to reach out to him is to send letters to the prison. You thank him for the information and pause, waiting to see if Namjoon’s friend will say anything. He doesn’t, so you get up and leave the room. 

You manage to get out of the police station and through the crowd of weird fan girls before the tears start flowing. What are you supposed to do now? Just wait around and hope he calls? 

“Hey! Hey!” You turn and see the man from the conference room running toward you. You quickly wipe the tears away and straighten your posture. He slows a bit before approaching you cautiously. 

“I’m really sorry. I don’t know... God. I don’t really know what’s going on to be honest. I just know that what they’re saying... what they’ve accused him of. It isn’t true.” Even though he’s a stranger. Even though you have no reason to trust him. You feel relieved. 

“Who are you?” You finally ask him. He smiles a little and stretches out his hand.

“I’m Jung Hoseok.”

~~~~~~~

Namjoon’s friend, Hoseok, walks with you down the street to a cafe. He buys you a drink and tells you about Namjoon, the English, Government, and Philosophy triple major. The boy set to start law school in the fall. His best friend for years now, the friend who helped him finally find his own soulmate connection. 

And now here you are. Namjoon’s soulmate, sitting across from Hoseok at a coffee shop. 

“So, you clearly don’t think he could have done this,” you mumble across the table, “so what do you think is going on?” Hoseok is quiet for a long moment. He’s looking down at the cup of coffee, stirring mindlessly.

“I think he’s being framed.” The air between you is heavy, the weight of the situation settling onto your shoulders. 

“Namjoon has- had this friend from his childhood,” Hoseok starts again, “he got mixed up into some bad things.”

“Dae-hyun?” You ask before taking another sip of your drink. Hoseok nods.

“I know Namjoon was trying to help him. He asked me to follow Dae-hyun a few times because he wouldn’t have recognized me.” Hoseok shakes his head a bit, as if he’s wiping away some memories.

“You followed him? That was so dangerous, why would you do that?” You question. 

“I owed him one.” A faint smile crosses Hoseok’s lips. 

“Well.... Did you learn anything?” Eager to hear more, eager to figure out how to fix this problem.

“Dae-hyun was dealing something, I’m not sure what. I guess meth, they found Joon in a meth lab didn’t they?” Hoseok takes a drink before continuing. “Dae-hyun was in a relationship with the other guy that was killed, Young-jae. I wasn’t sure, but Namjoon thought they were together. He said Dae-hyun would never do drugs much less sell them, so he assumed Dae-hyun must have been trying to help Young-jae get off drugs, get out of the drug ring.”

“Why did Namjoon do all this, why not go to the police?” You ask, your head beginning to hurt. Trying to connect the dots is taking its toll. 

“If he had reported it to the police they would have busted Dae-hyun and Young-jae.” Hoseok pauses. “I think Namjoon was trying to take down the whole drug ring.”

“By himself?” You laughed to yourself. The stupidity... the guts... your soulmate is something else, isn’t he?

“Namjoon is a genius, but even more than that he’s compassionate and caring. And he must have been close, because they framed him for murder, framed him for running the drug ring himself.” Hoseok was right. The real leader of the drug ring must have felt Namjoon was getting too close to exposing them. 

“Hoseok?” You tilt your head to the side, an idea brewing in your mind. “Do you think Namjoon may have left any evidence or clues for someone to find?”

“What are you thinking?” Hoseok raised his eyebrows. 

~~~~~~~

It wasn’t difficult for you to convince Hoseok to take you to Namjoon’s apartment. It’s proving to be much more difficult to convince him to cross the crime scene tape. 

“Hoseok this isn’t even where the alleged crime took place!” You shout, tugging your hands, trying to break Hoseok’s grip on you. 

“We have to be careful about this. If we get incriminated too there won’t be anyone left to help Namjoon.” You don’t want to admit it, but he’s right. 

“This is the closest I can be to him Hoseok, please let me go in.” Your shoulders droop and you stop fighting him. He doesn’t let you go though. He’s about to speak, but before he does, both of you hear footsteps running down the hallway. 

A tall man wearing a baby pink sweatshirt is running toward the two of you. Hoseok drops your wrists and puts his hands on his hips with a huff.

“Jin what are you doing here?” Hoseok greets his friend with a hand slap and a bro hug. 

“I don’t know exactly. My fiance sent me here to see if I could find anything helpful. She’s headed to Namjoon’s hometown to be with his family. They were close growing up.”

“Oh yeah... does that mean she was friends with Dae-hyun too?” Hoseok questions.

“Yeah she’s really upset about it.” Jin turns to you finally. “So who are you?” 

“She’s Joon’s soulmate.” Hoseok says before you can answer. 

“Bad timing, huh?” You laugh a bit to stave off the uncomfortable feeling. 

“Yeah, well. I know a thing or two about bad soulmate timing. I’m Seokjin.” You shake his hand. He laughs a bit, not bothering to tell you about his soulmate story. The focus is back on entering Namjoon’s apartment. 

Hoseok stands in front of the door, still wanting to weigh the options. Without hesitation Seokjin begins furiously tickling Hoseok’s underarms. Hoseok doubles over in laughter and then dead weights himself, sending both of them toppling to the ground. While both of them are laughing, you decide to reach for the door. 

The door is unlocked, so you swing it open. You step through the tape, trying not to break it. Silence breaks over the three of you. The boys scurry to their feet and enter the apartment behind you.

“Don’t leave your finger prints on anything.” Hoseok whispers. It takes a moment for it to set it in, but the more you look around the room it’s easier to see. 

Someone has been here. The place has been completely trashed. Drawers are open, couch cushions thrown about, pictures and decorations knocked down and smashed. You reach down and pick up a framed picture of Namjoon and his family. The glass falls out, so you remove the picture and slip it into your pocket. 

Before anyone can say anything, there’s a sound from the back of the apartment where the bedroom must be. It sounds like a drawer slamming and then someone curses. Someone else is in the apartment. 

The hair on the back of your neck stands up and you look back at Hoseok and Seokjin. They’re both frozen. Footsteps are coming from the hallway and a figure comes out of the shadows. Hoseok grabs your arm and pushes you back behind him. 

It’s a man, yet another person you don’t recognize. He’s wearing all black and a leather jacket. Hoseok seems to tense further upon seeing the man’s face. 

“What the hell are you doing here Min-jae?” Hoseok demands. The man stills upon seeing the three of you standing there. He puts his hands up and slowly continues walking toward you. 

“Probably the same thing you are. I just need some answers man.” Min-jae stops about ten feet away and puts his arms down. Hoseok turns to you. 

“Young-jae’s brother.” Hoseok mouths this information to you, trying to hide what he knows.

“I need to know what happened! Why would this guy kill my brother?” Min-jae shouts. He kicks a chair over in the kitchen while tears begin to fall down his face. 

“Listen, we came here to figure something out too.” Hoseok continues, cautiously approaching the man. “Namjoon didn’t do this. He loved Dae-hyun, he was trying to help them. Dae-hyun was on drugs, your brother was probably trying to help too, but just got caught up in the mess.” 

Hoseok was intentionally sharing the wrong information. He must have a reason to not trust Min-jae. Seokjin looks over at you and you shake your head once, so slightly as to not let Min-jae see. 

“Well good luck because I haven’t found anything.” Min-jae let out an exasperated sigh. 

“You’ve never been here before, so maybe we should give it a once over. We’ve all seen this place before.” Hoseok says, again, not the truth. You’ve never been here. You play along with Hoseok’s ruse. 

The four of you search the house for anything that might be helpful. It’s more difficult than you thought because you don’t know what you’re looking for. But you are learning about Namjoon. 

In the kitchen you learned that he seems to eat a lot of take away and instant ramen. In the bathroom you learned that he has a full skin care routine and that he uses cinnamon toothpaste. In the bedroom you learn that he probably misses the hamper when he’s in a hurry, and based on the polaroids taped to the wall, he enjoys traveling. Back in the living room, you learn that Namjoon is an avid reader. You’ve parked yourself in front of his book shelf, scanning each title carefully. 

“He’s always got a book with him.” Seokjin says as he comes out of the kitchen. He reaches past you to grab a book from the shelf. It’s leather-bound and has his name printed across the cover. 

Seokjin opens it and the two of you stand there, silently looking through the notes scrawled throughout the pages. Except, they aren’t notes. They’re song lyrics. 

Your phone begins loudly ringing in your pocket, causing both you and Seokjin to jump. You excuse yourself into the hallway. It’s an unknown number, your heart skips a beat. 

“Hello?” You answer quietly. 

“A detainee at the 48th Police Precinct is attempting to contact you, do you accept?” An automated voice is on the other line. This is it. Namjoon is calling. 

“Yes.”

“I’m so sorry.” Kim Namjoon on the other end of the call, it sounds like he’s crying. “I never meant for any of this to happen.”

“Oh I know sweetheart.” You coo into the phone, it feels strangely natural to comfort him.

“Where are you?” He sniffles.

“I’m with Hoseok at your place.” You continue speaking in a hushed tone.

“Okay that’s good. Stay with him until this is over. You can’t trust anyone else.” The words send a chill down your spine, reiterating the seriousness of the situation. 

“Seokjin is here too.” Your voice is trembling now, your hands shaking. 

“Jin is safe.”

“A guy named Min-jae was here when we got here.”

“Son of a bitch.” Hoseok seemed to be suspicious of him and Namjoon’s reaction confirms that he is bad news. “Listen to me. Listen carefully.” Namjoon takes a deep breath.

“I can’t say much, I don’t know who is listening. There is a small flash drive taped to the back of the painting above my couch. Jin will know who to take it to. Get away from Min-jae as soon as you can, don’t let him see the flash drive.”

“Namjoon I-”

“You don’t have to do any of this, you can leave now and I won’t blame you-”

“No!” You almost shout it, probably getting the attention of the boys back inside the apartment. “No, I’m in this now. We’re in this together.” Namjoon takes a deep breath.

“Thank you. Please get yourself out of there.”

“I’ll see you soon, Namjoon.” You say firmly. It’s not an option. You will get him out. 

“See you soon.” He chuckles lightly before hanging up the phone. 

You take a moment, pressing your back against the wall. You try to catch your breath, but instead you cry. The tears silently roll down your face.

Back in the apartment, the three boys seem to be in the back of the apartment continuing their search. You tiptoe toward the couch and reach for the painting. It comes off the wall easily and you set it down silently on the couch cushion. 

It takes a minute to spot it. It is actually very small and painted to be the same color as the back of the painting. You carefully remove it and stick it in your front pocket. You put the painting back up and turn to go find Hoseok and get the hell out. 

Min-jae is there behind you, staring at you. 

“Find anything interesting?”

~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading! Part Two coming soon! Check out my Not Warriors Soulmate Series Masterlist! 

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[willow-salix]

Isolation Update

Day 77 of Isolation on Tracy Island and Alan wanted hotdogs. Not so crazy a thing you might say, but apparently the hotdogs came with a request for beach time, bonfire and spooky story telling before camping on the beach for the night. I was unaware of this little ritual, I had simply wandered along with them in the quest for food. 

I like beach time, being a city girl as I am, I’m used to going to the seaside being a strictly once or twice a year event, a day out, a big deal, so to just be able to walk out of the house and down some stairs and find yourself on the beach is pretty magical. 

Hearing the constant sound of waves took some getting used to, they kept me awake at first, but now it’s just part of the normal ambiance of the island. Quiet evenings curled up on the couch with a book or some other hobby and soft music courtesy of one of the boys, usually Virgil but sometimes Scott or Gordon, were the norm now. Or a movie night where we all piled on the couches together. Everything we did was accompanied by the sound of the sea. Of all the things I’d had to get used to in regards to living on the island, that was by far one of the easiest and most pleasant. 

Blankets and pillows were dragged down to the sand, logs and kindling was taken from storage, hotdogs and buns were collected along with long metal toasting forks on which we’d spear the sausages and toast them over the flames, apparently we were going full on rustic. 

Someone had brought along beers and flasks full of cocoa for those of us who weren't in the mood for a drink and tents had been pitched on the sand, although Jeff and Grandma were refusing to camp out. I debated doing the same because I am not a dude and I do not possess the same equipment that they had which allowed them to not need to sit down to use the bathroom, but I was beaten down and made to promise I’d last the entire night.

“OK, I’ll camp, but there had better not be any crabs that will invade the tent in the middle of the night and if I need to pee one of you has to come with me. Promise you’ll come to protect me from creepy crawlies and things that might attack me.”

“We promise we’ll come with you to the bathroom,” Scott assured me.

“And you promise that the toilet in the hangar still has toilet paper?”

“Yes, there is toilet paper,” Virgil promised.

“And you promise that we’ll be camped far enough away from the water that we won't get washed out to sea?”

“Seriously? You actually think we’d let that happen?” Gordon asked.

“Well, I don’t know, you might be sick of me by now,” I shrugged. 

They all looked at me.

 “Well don’t all deny it at once,” I grumbled. “I might start to think that you like me!”

“We didn’t answer because we weren’t prepared to dignify your blatant need for validation and attention with an answer,” John informed me. 

“And frankly we’re slightly insulted that you’d even say it,” Scott sniffed.

“Good try,” Alan hugged me, “but you’re sleeping on the beach with us tonight.”

“Joy,” I muttered. “A night on hard, cold, damp sand when I could be in a soft bed, however will I contain my excitement?”

                                                      ***

Alan choked on his hotdog, his eyes wide as Jeff finished up his spooky story about the ghost of a cowboy who haunted the back roads of Kansas who had a habit of stealing horses and running them until they collapsed and he could keep them for himself. 

Jeff lowered the torch from under his chin and held it out handle first, slowly revolving it around the circle until someone claimed it.

John nudged me. “Go on, you’re good at telling stories.”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so, ghost stories don’t really scare me, humans do.”

“Then tell us a scary story about a human then,” Gordon pushed.

“Fiiiiine,” I groaned, “but don’t blame me if it’s pants.”

I took the torch and flipped it around, almost blinding myself in the process.

“Emily squinted through what little the windscreen wipers managed to clear, peering at the road ahead. Her headlights barely made a dent in the oppressive blackness that was all around her. No light from the moon spilled through the trees that surrounded the road on both sides, no streetlights to ease the darkness. Just herself, her car and the radio playing quietly in the background. She had always hated travelling alone at night, hated that she was forced to drive from one town to the next, never knowing when it would all end,” I began.

“Is this a boring chick story?” Gordon groaned. I smacked him lightly with the torch.

 “Shut up, I’m talking here, do you want a story or not?”

“Continue,” Jeff insisted, “I apologise in advance for my rude children.” I nodded and carried on telling the story.

“She just wanted to get home, having been away for far too long. Circumstances were always getting in the way and preventing her from completing her return journey. But this time she would make it, this time she was determined to get home, no hick-ups, no disasters, nothing. At least, not if she had her way.”

Scott snorted. “That never happens, the second you think that all the disasters are over another one comes along to wreck your plans.” The others nodded sagely.

“Peering through the arches in the rain splattered windscreen she tried to look ahead to the bend in the road, checking for oncoming traffic. There shouldn’t be anything at this hour, she glanced at the clock on the dashboard, at almost eleven on a quiet Sunday night. Flicking her eyes back at the road she screamed in shock as a figure emerged from the darkness and stepped out in front of her car. Slamming her foot on the brakes, knuckles white on the steering wheel, she wrenched it this way and that in a total panic trying to swerve away from the figure.”

“That’s how she dies,” Kayo commented. “Her complete lack of ability to drive.” I ignored her and continued.

“With a squeal of rubber on the wet, slick road she came to a stop no more than a foot away from the figure, her heart pounding in her ears, breath coming out in sharp pants as she struggled to regain her composure.”

“She’d never be good during a real situation,” John muttered.

“Guys, I’m trying to set a scene here,” I sighed.

“Sorry,” they all chorused. 

“Needing something to focus on she looked ahead at the figure, her windscreen wipers still battling the heavy rain. All she could make out was that the person was tall, he, she guessed it was a he, was wearing a rain soaked parker, the hood pulled up obscuring his face with a beaten up rucksack over one shoulder.

She closed her eyes as her breathing finally began to return to a semi-normal state only to jump out of her skin, giving a little yelp of shock when there was a rap on the passenger side window. She dived for the door lock but her reaction was too slow. The man opened the door and climbed straight into the car, dumping his bag in the foot well.”

“Oh, hell no!” Kayo huffed. “Kick his butt out, don’t stand for that! You’re a woman, you are powerful!”

" 'What the hell do you think you are doing?' Emily gasped.

The man shook off his hood and ran his fingers through his wet hair.

'You almost ran me over, I figured the least you could do was give me a ride into the nearest town. I’ve been trying to get a lift for three hours and not one person stopped. People these days never stop to help someone in need anymore' 

Spluttering with indignation, Emily managed to choke out.

‘Well you won’t be getting a lift from me. Get out. I don’t pick up strange men at the side of the road.’

The man shook his head splattering rain drops in her direction and turned to look at her, his deep brown eyes boring into hers, making her shiver slightly.

 ‘Not gonna happen, I’m not moving. You almost killed me out there, it’s not safe’ He turned in his seat and brazenly pulled the safety belt over his upper body and clicked it into place.”

“How dare he?” Alan gasped. “That’s not how you ask for a ride.”

"Yeah, he wasn't very polite." 

I lowered the torch and leveled a glare at them all. They shut up.

“She stared at him, dumbfounded. He just grinned back at her. Almost egging her on, daring her to argue or just drive. Never one to show her fear she growled under her breath, gnashing her teeth, before turning the keys in the ignition and starting the car, jamming it into gear and peeling away down the road. 

Refusing to make the journey a pleasant one she barked out. ‘Just to the nearest town.’  Not wanting to have to make conversation or invite him to start one, she turned up the radio, refusing to talk anymore. ‘Don’t worry Emily,’ she told herself. ‘Just get to the next town and you can drop him off, no big. Then you will be home before you know it.’ Feeling a little calmer after her inner pep talk she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, studying him.

He was handsome enough in that rough and ready kind of way. His hair was a little too long and his nose a little big for her tastes but he was pleasant enough to look at, not that she would be doing much of that, she wasn’t that kind of a girl. An air of danger seemed to roll off of him as he casually leaned back in the seat, his gaze travelling up her body, taking in her legs, up to her chest and finally coming to rest on her face.”

“She shouldn’t trust him,” Gordon said wisely. “I wouldn’t trust him.”

"Don't tell me she fancies him," Kayo groaned. 

“He’s a creep,” Virgil agreed.

“Women always go for the bad boys,” Scott nodded. “They like a man with a wild streak.”

“Emily tried to ignore his scrutiny, blocking out how uncomfortable it made her feel, like a prized piece of meat in the butchers shop window. She tried to concentrate on her driving, focusing on the music coming from the radio, singing along softly to the song that was playing.

The music ended and she heard the familiar jingle of the station’s news program start to play. Always one for keeping up with current affairs she turned the volume up a notch more and listened intently, one never knew what might come up in conversation and she liked to be prepared, especially if she did make it home tonight, as was her plan.

She listened through the usual football results, political scandals and celebrity breakups and was just reaching out to change the channel when the next bulletin, this time national news, stopped her short.

‘The back roads killer has struck again, leaving another mutilated body to be found abandoned on the side of the road, this time in the county of Essex. Police are urging all road users to be aware of the potential danger of driving alone at this …’

The man reached over and flicked the radio off plunging them into silence. His hand was large, yet his fingers were surprisingly slim, it was a strong looking hand. ‘I hate the news, it always depresses me. I would much rather talk to you.’ He swiveled sideways in the seat to look at her again.”

“Noooo,” Gordon yelled. “He’s going to kill her!”

“Get out of the car, get out of the car!” Virgil yelped.

“I’d kick his butt,” Grandma proclaimed, folding her arms.

“Emily barely heard him, paying his words no attention, her mind was racing, going over and over the news report, they had found another body, drivers had been warned, she felt a wave of panic wash over her. She was jolted out of her thoughts by his hand landing on her thigh and squeezing.

‘How about you and me go for a little drink when we get to town humm?’ She slapped at his hand and spun round to face him.

“Don’t get a drink with him!” Grandma ordered, like it would do any good. 

“Get off! What the hell do you think you are doing? How dare you. You have no right to put your hands on me.” For the second time that night she slammed the breaks on and skidded to a halt, stopped again on the deserted country road.

‘Oh come now, you know you want it. You keep looking at me with that look in your eye. I bet you pick up all kinds of men for a quick romp in the back seat.’

“Boy, he’s a nasty one,” Jeff commented. “She’s not done anything wrong, she was just driving home.”

“Emily glared at him, seeing red. Here was yet another man who thought the worst of her, who thought that all they had to do was cock an eyebrow at her and she would come running, putty in their arms. Well he could think again.

Reaching down the side of her seat, her hand closed around the handle. Giving him no indication as to her intentions she lunged at him. She had taken him completely by surprise, he never had a chance to react, to defend himself.

Slashing at him in a blind rage, she stabbed him twice in the stomach before he doubled over in pain and shock, her blade cutting his hands as he lifted them to protect his face.”

“Oh, snap!” Kayo yelped.

“She un-clipped her belt and slipped out of her seat, climbing astride his lap, she entwined her fingers in his hair and wrenched his head back, slicing his throat in one swift move. Panting, she shifted back into her own seat and looked at him. His eyes were glassy, staring at nothing. Blood was beginning to pool in the foot well, soaking into his bag, running down to stain the seat covers.

‘Well crap,’ Emily started the car again and drove on a little further, talking to him the whole time.

‘Just had to do it didn’t you? You were just like the others. Couldn’t just let me get home like I wanted to. Oh no, you had to try it on. You took one look at me and just saw nothing but an attractive body. You didn’t care about my feelings, my brain,’ she sighed deeply. ‘And now I have to steal yet another car and find somewhere to leave you. Bloody fantastic, I’ll never get home at this rate.’ She leaned over and playfully smacked his cheek. Pulling over to the side of the road she stopped the car.

‘You my friend should have left the radio on,’ She pocketed her trusty knife and began to walk. One day, she was sure, things would go right, things would go her way, she would find her way home.”

I sat up straighter, clicking off the torch, looking round at the shocked faces staring back at me.

“So she was the killer?”

“No way!”

“She’s the one that was going around murdering people and dumping them on the side of the road?”

“Never underestimate a woman,” I shrugged, accepting the high five that first Kayo then Grandma offered up.

“That wasn’t scary at all,” Alan huffed. I stuck my tongue out at him.

“I think that’s enough for me tonight,” Jeff declared, getting to his feet. “I’m going to bed, don’t you kids stay up too late.”

“I’m going to head back too,” Grandma added, getting up to follow after Jeff.

We all broke out more beers and hot chocolate and told a few more stories before bed, each trying to outdo the other in the scary stakes until we gave up and called it a night, Gordon and Alan declaring that they hadn't been scared at all and that we had all failed.

As predicted, I’d only been asleep about an hour before I was woken by my protesting bladder. I extracted myself from the mass of sleeping bag, blankets and long Tracy limbs in the form of John who is not the most compact of sleepers and crawled out of the tent.

I had taken the torch with me to bed, knowing I’d need it. Soft snores rang out from the ring of tents, everyone was asleep. I wouldn't bother waking anyone, I could be brave. The moon was glowing quite brightly and the fire hadn’t completely died out so there was enough light to see by. The hangar was just there, not a three minute walk, I could do this. Its not like anyone or anything could get onto the island without anyone knowing and any creepy crawlies would be more scared of me than I should be of them. That's what I told myself anyway but I still felt uncomfortable. 

Determined to do this alone, my need growing quite desperate, I pointed my torch beam at the ground, looking out for crabs that might be lying in wait to nip at my toes as I made my way across the sand.

Everything was quiet, the only sound was that of the sea and the insects in the greenery around us. It was actually quite eerie, I wasn't used to such silence, almost always surrounded by Tracys that came in two volumes, noisy or deafening. John was the only quiet one of the bunch and that was debatable when he got annoyed by them.

I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself. It had actually grown quite chilly, especially since I’d just left the warmth of the tent. I was definitely wishing I’d dragged a blanket with me to use as a shawl.

I made it to the hangar and did my business and was soon on my way back.

I quickened my pace, wanting to hurry and get back to bed to warm up and  I didn't hear the noise at first. Not until a shadow separated itself from the darkness and stepped out in front of me.

“Gahhh,”I screamed, immediately dropping into the defensive pose that Kayo had drummed into me.

“Well, at least you learnt something,” she muttered.

“You crazy moo! What are you doing out here creeping around in the dark? You almost gave me a heart attack!” I hissed, beyond annoyed.

“What was that?” I heard Alan yelp in the distance.

“Ghost?” Gordon answered. “Do you think the island is actually haunted?”

“No, maybe some prehistoric monster is roaming the caves?”

Kayo slapped her hand over my mouth when I went to call out to tell them it was OK, an evil glint in her eyes.

“I thought they weren’t scared?” she whispered. “Maybe we could have a little fun?”

Oooh, fun sounded good. I nodded. They had pranked me enough times that I was more than ready to turn the tables on them.

Diving into the undergrowth we dragged out some ferns, branches and big palm leaves that had fallen and, with much suppressed giggling, managed a rough and ready monster costume each.

We crept up to their tent, seeing a light on inside and the two boys sitting up in their blankets.

She took one side, I took the other and using a branch we scratched lightly on the canvas. They froze. A light shined out at us. I moved closer so they could see the outline of my disguise.

Kayo did the same on the other side. She looked at me and nodded, holding up three fingers, she slowly counted down. When she got to one we both screamed at the top of our lungs and drummed our hands on the tent. 

The boys screamed too and scrambled. We ducked down behind the tent as they burst through the flap and took off like a rocket towards the house.

Scott stuck his head out of his tent just in time to witness us popping back up and our high five. He grinned, gave us a thumbs up and vanished back inside.

We stripped off our adornments and hid them back in the undergrowth, kicking sand over our footprints before we retired for the night.

I crawled back inside my tent, still giggling to be met by John’s best 'I'm judging you' face.

“What did you do?”

“Nothing,” I answered innocently, dropping down beside him.

He reached out, plucking a leaf from my hair.

“Evidence begs to differ.”

“I blame Kayo.”

“Unfortunately that’s so believable that I can’t think of a valid argument right now,” he yawned, flopping back down. “I knew you’d be nothing but trouble.”

I shrugged and got back under the blankets. “Admit it, without me life would be so much more boring.”

“I admit nothing,” he grumbled, but I could hear the smile in his voice. “Shut up and go back to sleep.”

[godofevrerything]

Hell Rising Chapter Four: Rin

I hated close knit neighborhoods. They were the most dangerous places to be in. Everyone knew everyone, and a stranger, especially a colored stranger, could be picked out in a second.

I looked around, feeling sick. The air smelled like exhaust and tar. Nothing like the clean air and spice from India.

The cargo ship had been suffocating. I had been running all around the ship for a week, in a constant state of panic.

It was a damn miracle that nobody tossed me overboard for trespassing.

I walked down the sidewalk as quickly as I could. The sooner I was out the the neighborhood, the better.

"You're not from around here, kid. What do you think you're doing?"

I jumped, fear pumping through me. But the question wasn't directed at me.

The security guard glared at the brunette boy in front of him. I ducked into the alley, and peaked out at the scene.

The boy was shaking. "I was j-just passing through, s-sir! I mean no h-harm, I swear!"

I felt a surge of empathy for the boy. He was taller than me, and several years older, maybe 17.

His blue gray eyes darted around in a panic. They swept to the alley and met mine, silently pleading me to help him.

I was conflicted. If I stepped out to help him, I'd get the brunt of the punishment. If the security was this gruff to a light haired, white boy, who knows what they would do to me.

But at the same time, if I helped him, he'd be in my debt. I could use him as my shield to get anywhere.

I drew in a breath.

Allah protect me.

I stepped out of the alley and plastered a relieved look on my face.

"Master, there you are!" I gasped. "Come along, the Madame will be furious if you aren't home for dinner!"

The guards head snapped to me, scowling darkly. "Are you this boys maid?"

I dropped into a low curtsy. "Sir, I am so sorry that the Master went astray. But we must go."

The guard took a step towards me, his eyes flashing. "What kind of damn brainless fool are you to lose your master? A stupid islander like you should know to keep close to their superior."

I bit back a yell. I shoved my hands into my pockets. I could feel the sparks crawling up to my wrist. No. I couldn't kill the guard. That would be the opposite of escaping quietly.

"Once again, I sincerely ap-"

"A cheap sorry, especially an apology from an islander doesn't change the fact that you superior has trespassed." he spat.

"Sir, do not speak to my maid that way."

We turned. The boy had drawn himself up to his full height. He was actually as tall as the security guard, if not, he was taller. But the scary thing was his cold eyes. All the nervousness was gone, replaced by a icy sense of confidence and superiority.

The security guard frowned. "It's a maid. She's not worth much."

"It doesn't matter." the boy scoffed. "She is my maid, and I do not tolerate anyone speaking to my staff that way."

Oh god. Didn't this kid know that people didn't think much about their staff? He was going to get us locked up for being decent.

"Also, if it's anyone who can speak to my staff that way, it's me. God knows how many times she screws up. And if her esteem goes too low, she won't be able to work as well." the boy added.

Well. Never mind.

For a long moment, the guard stared at us, his eyes narrowed.

Then he shook his head. "Go on then. Just remember to not loiter. And make sure to keep your staff in check." the guard addressed the boy.

The boy nodded. "Of course." he tossed a glare at me. "Now hurry up. If I'm late, you won't get any dinner tonight."

I gritted my teeth. Christ, he didn't have to be such an ass.

"Of course, Sir." I muttered.

We walked away from the guard as quickly as we could. I kept my head down, my heart in my throat. The boy was silent.

We made it a few blocks outside of the neighborhood when he spoke up.

"Um, thank you."

I glanced at him, raising my eyebrow.

He shifted, looking at anywhere but me. "For what you did back there. You, uh, saved me."

I scoffed. "Yeah, I know. And are you thanking the tree, or me?"

He looked at me, startled. "Huh? I'm thanking you?"

I smirked up at him. "Sounds like a question. And typically, you look at the person when you're thanking them."

He flushed. "Oh. Sorry."

I waved my hand. "Forget it. I don't need a thank you."

He frowned. "Then why were you making a big deal about it?"

I shrugged.

The boy swallowed. "So, I'm guessing that you need my help."

I chuckled. "Glad you brought that up. I'm going to need to travel with you."

He blinked. "Why can't you travel on your own?"

I sighed. "I could, but that would be extremely hard. I've traveled on my own for about a decade, and I can tell you; it's no picnic. You know that guard that you just talked to?"

He nodded.

"Well, imagine that you have to deal with that a hundred times a day, the harshness is ten times worse, and you don't ever have anyone like me to pop out and save you." I speared him with a look. "Now imagine dealing with that for every day, for a decade. Not pleasant, right?"

He shuddered. "No. But, if you've dealt with that for a decade, then why can't you deal with it for a bit longer?"

I groaned. "I can, but I don't want to. I mean, nobody would want to. And not to mention that if I slip up once, I'll be thrown in jail for life."

His mouth opened. "They're that harsh? Please tell me you're kidding!"

I smiled grimly. "Nope. Thats my life. I mean, the guard was awful to you, and you're white. I'm Indian, and not to mention, a girl."

He drew in a breath. "Alright. I'll help you. I have two tickets to Missouri. The train leaves at noon."

I grinned. "Great, lets go."

His eyes widened. "What? But you don't even know my name!"

I snorted. "So? Names don't matter to me. People come and go. No use trying to remember them. It's not like they're remember me."

He stared at me.

I sighed. "Look, are you coming or not?"

The boy held his hand out to me.

I frowned. "What are you doing?"

"It's a handshake." he said.

I glared at him. "I know that. But theres no point. It doesn't matter."

He shook his head. "It matters to me. Come on, it'll only take a minute."

I stared at his hand and sighed. I shook it quickly. "There, happy?"

He sighed. "That wasn't a proper handshake."

"It doesn't matter. You'll forget me anyways." I sneered.

He shook his head. "No, I won't."

I sighed. "Liar."

He frowned at me. "Are you always this cynical?"

I chuckled. "It's called being realistic. And since I don't think you'll stop asking, my name is Saundrine. But call me Rin."

He smiled. "I'm Ivan."

I glanced back at Ivan. He was just as innocent now as he was five years ago. He had become more confident, I supposed, but he still had the optimistic innocence.

I kept telling him that the world wasn't good. People died every day and the ones who lived came and went. Few stuck around, and most hurt you. If he had went around without me, I had no doubt that he'd be locked up in a lab by now. He'd probably blatantly flirt with some man, and the officials would drag him away.

He wore his heart on his sleeve. And never held his tongue.

I sighed. He was going to get killed someday if he didn't watch himself.

Rana squeezed my hand. "What are you thinking about, Sunshine?"

I drew in a breath. "When I first met Ivan. He's just as oblivious to the world as he was back then."

Rana smiled. "Cute. I'm just glad that you two didn't meet like Darcy and I met. Wouldn't want you to have nightmares like me."

I sighed. "That makes the two of us."

Kai tugged on my hand. "Amma?"

I looked at him. "Yes?"

"My feet are tired. Can you carry me, please?" he asked.

I chuckled. "Sure."

I put Kai on my shoulders. He yawned and lay his head on top of mine. I glanced at Rana. Sabrina was curled in her arms, fast asleep. I couldn't imagine the toll it took on them to escape the hotel. No wonder why they were exhausted.

We walked through the city, keeping our heads down. Ivan and Darcy were walking behind Rana and I, something they never did. They always walked in front of us, to sort of shield us from any officials. But now I supposed the roles became switched.

"-Johnson and Ivan Stravinsky. The two young adults not only destroyed their hotel room and grievously injured our police force, but have also been helping two convicts to flee from the law."

My head snapped up. There, on a TV screen in a shop window, were Darcy and Ivan's faces. Right on the news.

"That's right, Dan." the reporter continued. "Johnson and Stravinsky are reported to have helped the escaped convict Namarana Ishimi and a young woman. Ishimi is also reported to have two young children with her, and has been dragging them all around the country. It is unclear if the young women is Ishimi's accomplice or captive. Now, let's hear from David Ricker, the head of the police force."

"Ricker." Rana snarled.

Ricker appeared on the screen, wearing an oily smile. "Thank you Lindsay. I believe that Ms.Johnson and Mr.Stravinsky were simply brainwashed by Ishimi. They were two good young people who Ishimi manipulated into helping her. Nevertheless, they did cause considerable property damage, and not to mention the damage done to our fine police force."

"Well what were we supposed to do, you sick bastard?" Rana growled. "Let them kill us?"

"Rana, quiet." I hissed.

She exhaled angrily, her eyes trained on the screen.

I glanced back at Darcy and Ivan. They were stock still, their faces white. To my horror, there was a small crowd surrounding us, listening to the news.

"I truly believe that Johnson and Stravinsky can become sane again if they simply turn themselves in." Ricker sighed. "We have plenty of outstanding psychologists and medics who can help them through the trauma that Ishimi put them through. And once she is taken care of, I truly believe that the city will be safe again. For she is the reason of the unrest in the city."

"You sick son of a-" Rana hissed.

I stomped on her foot, cutting her off. She glared at me, and I glared back.

"Is there anything that you'd like to say to Ishimi, sir?" the reporter asked.

"Absolutely."Ricker chuckled. "Ishimi, I suggest that you turn yourself in. You've terrorized the country enough, and even manipulated innocent people into helping you. Turn yourself in, or we will be forced to drag you into government custody."

"Forced, my ass." Rana mumbled.

Luckily, nobody seemed to hear her.

"Come on." I muttered. "We've heard enough, let's go."

I grabbed Rana and Kai's hand, pulling them out of the crowd. Darcy and Ivan followed us, silent.

We made it two blocks before Darcy spoke, her voice shaky.

"You know, I always wanted to be on TV when I was little. But this is not what I meant."

Ivan shook his head. "None of us did."

Kai spoke up. "Haha, why were they saying all that stuff about you?"

Rana didn't answer, choosing to stare down at Sabrina in her arms.

"Haha doesn't want to talk right now, Kai. But don't mind what that man on TV said. He was lying." I whispered.

"But why was he lying?" Kai asked.

I shook my head. "Because he is evil. That what evil people do. They lie all the time to make themselves look like heroes. And they paint the real heroes as villains."

"That's awful." Kai whispered. "Can I kick him?"

"Yeah, I'll join you." Rana muttered.

"No, Kai. Kicking him won't solve anything." I sighed.

"But it would make me feel a hell of a lot better." Rana scoffed.

"It still won't change anything." I sighed. "If it would, trust me, I would have beat him black and blue already."

Rana let out a weak laugh.

We walked into a bookstore, ducking into the back isles.

I turned to Darcy. "In the cab, you said that you had a friend who would help us. You said she'd meet us here."

Darcy blinked. "Oh. Yeah."

"Yeah?" I asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hi guys. Glad you made it out."

We turned. A girl approached us, smiling faintly. She was a bit younger than Rana, with short pastel pink hair.

Rana stared at her, frowning. The girls eyes were silver, and they flashed slightly when she looked at Rana.

"Something on my face?" she asked.

Rana blinked. "What? Oh no."

"Great." she sighed.

"Guys, this is my friend, Jae." Darcy said. "Rana, you've already met her when she took care of the kids. And Ivan knows her. Rin, Jae. Jae, Rin."

I nodded. "Hello."

"Hiya." Jae chuckled.

She turned to Darcy. "So are we going or not?"

"Going?" Rana asked. She held Sabrina a bit tighter, her eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, to the safe place." Jae snorted.

"Safe place?" I repeated.

"Well, one of them."

Darcy frowned. "Jae, you've never mentioned safe places."

Jae laughed lightly. "Ah, well. I've only known you for what, nine months? I couldn't trust you yet. Y'know how people turn your trust against you."

"I can relate." Rana muttered.

They shared a grim smile.

I frowned. "You said that there were multiple safe places. Why haven't we heard of any of them?"

Jae sighed. "Practically nobody knows about them. We have to be extremely careful about letting people know about the safe places. They're all connected, so if one wrong person hears about them, the government will be able to connect and destroy all of the safe places in a whole state. And then the ones out of the state."

"That's dumb." I muttered.

Jae glared at me. "Excuse me?"

"That all of the safe places are connected. I mean, every safe place shouldn't be shut down just because one is discovered. Really, at the most it should be all the safe places in a city connected. Not all in the state. And even if they're just connected in the city, it's idiotic." I scoffed.

Jae sneered at me. "Well, you aren't in charge of the safe places. So could you please shut your mouth and listen to me. Like you said, you didn't even know that they existed."

"Do not talk to Rin like that." Rana snapped. "You might know more about the safe places, but that only proves that you don't have as many street smarts."

Jae's mouth opened slightly. She stared at Rana in shock. Rana glared at her.

"Ummm... So, what about the safe place?" Darcy squeaked.

Jae looked her, lips pursed. "It's hidden. Follow me."

"Oh, so we're just supposed to trust you without any evidence that you're telling the truth?" Rana asked.

Jae paused. "I am telling the truth. I would never lie to you."

"We only met you today." I sighed. "We don't trust you."

Her eyes flashed. "You don't trust me. Darcy and Ivan trusts me."

Ivan raised his eyebrow.

"Is there a problem here?"

We all whirled around. There was young man standing a few feet from us.

"What?" Rana whispered.

"I asked if there is problem." the young man said. "You all are quite loud and rude. Also,"

He paused and frowned at Kai and Sabrina. "Children aren't allowed in the library."

"What are you talking about?" Darcy asked. "Libraries are for everyone."

He scoffed. "Well, they are not for people who aren't mature enough to take their private matters outside."

"Oh, and they are for people who stick their noses into other peoples private matters?" I scoffed.

The young man sputtered indignantly.

Rana shot me a glare and gave the man a sweet smile. "I'm terribly sorry for the disturbance, sir. We didn't mean to be this loud."

He sniffed. "Well, you have been."

Jae smiled. "We meant for it to be a small discussion, but it got," she paused, searching for a phrase that wouldn't have the man be suspicious.

"out of hand." Rana finished. "Truly, we apologize for the disturbance. And we'll be right out of your hair."

The man frowned at us. "Hold on, have I seen met you?" he asked.

He asked Darcy.

She froze. "What? N-no. Why?!"

Rana laughed quietly. "We've never seen you in our lives. Now if you'd excuse us,"

He shook his head. "No, I know I've seen you two."

He pointed at Darcy and Ivan.

They froze.

"Well, my two friends are stunt doubles!" Jae chirped. "You probably recognize them for a show."

"Yeah, they've had to stand in for some actors as well." Rana chuckled. "I'm so proud of them."

She gave Ivan and Darcy a bright smile.

The man frowned uncertainly. "No, I've seen them somewhere-"

He winced suddenly, grabbing his head in pain.

Rana frowned. "Are you alright?"

"Headache." he mumbled.

"Ah, well we'll just get out of your hair then." Jae chuckled.

She grabbed Darcy and Ivan's hands, slipping out of the mans view.

"Yes, we'll get going now." Rana said brightly. "After all, dealing with strangers might worsen your headache. And I know how bad headaches can get."

She grabbed Kai and my hand, rushing out of the bookstore before he could answer.

We met Jae, Ivan and Darcy a few blocks down.

"That was close." Jae croaked. "We have to get you to the safe place now."

"Then let's get going." Rana snapped.

They started walking down the sidewalk. All of them, without a single question or complaint.

I rushed after Rana and grabbed her arm. She jumped, glaring at me. I didn't care. I took Sabrina from her arms and gave the baby to Darcy. I told Kai to go walk with Ivan. He listened, and I went back to Rana.

"Rin, what the hell?" Rana demanded.

"Keep your voice down." I hissed.

She glared at me furiously.

"Why are you trusting Jae?" I whispered. "You don't know anything about her! For all you know, she could be leading us right to the Admin!"

"Jae is Darcy's friend." Rana whispered. "I trust Darcy's judgement."

"Darcy's judgement is what got us wasted in a dumpster and covered in hot sauce in Houston!" I snapped.

"Don't bring that up." Rana scowled. "I don't ever want to think about Houston. And I trust her judgement with people, not alcohol."

"Are you kidding me? Darcy is the type of person to trust a serial killer in the middle of the woods!"

"That's Ivan." Rana corrected.

"And," she hesitated. "I trust Jae. There is something about her that makes me trust her."

"What?!" I yelped.

"Look, if you can't trust Jae, then trust my judgement. You can do that, right Rin?" she asked.

I frowned. "Of course I trust you, but-"

"Great." she interrupted. "Now let's get going before the Admins men come back and try to kill us again."

"I second that." Jae called out.

"Were you eavesdropping?" I snapped.

"Nah, just heard the end bit." Jae chuckled. "Now hurry up."

We went down the street and ducked into an alley. I held onto Rana's hand tightly, frowning at Jae's back.

She yanked the manhole up and grinned at us. "Come on."

Jae dropped into the hole.

"No! Hell no. I am not climbing down into a sewer!" Darcy yelped.

Rana pulled her hand from mine and scooted into the hole. "Then enjoy getting pumped full off drugs and endless interrogation."

She disappeared from view.

Ivan hesitated and then went after her.

"Kai, sweetheart, come on down! I'll catch you!" Rana called up.

"Kai, no." I hissed.

He hesitated.

"Come on Kai, we got to move!"

"Come on, Amma." Kai said. "Haha will catch us."

"Kai?!" Darcy yelped.

He climbed down in the damn hole.

Darcy leaned over the hole. "Um, can I drop Sabrina down?"

I stormed over to Darcy. "Absolutely not. Drop her down that hole and I'll push you in."

"Don't listen to Rin!" Rana yelled. "Drop Sabrina. She won't push you in here, don't worry."

"Darcy." I hissed.

She dropped Sabrina.

And climbed down instantly.

I dropped to my knees and looked down the hole, my heart nearly beating out of my chest. What if Rana didn't catch Sabrina? What if Kai didn't get down alright? Why didn't I hear him? Why didn't I hear Ivan? Were they de-

"Got you, Sabi!"

I heard Sabrina squeal in delight, and Rana laughed. I heard Kai talking to Sabrina, and Ivan helping Darcy down.

Thank you Allah.

"Rin, come on!" Rana called. "We have to go. Hurry up!"

I swallowed. If Jae was leading us into a trap, well....

She was going to regret it.

I swung my body into the hole and yanked the cover closed. I climbed down the ladder as quickly as I could.

Rana grinned and gave me a quick peck. "There you are! Thought you weren't coming, Sunshine!"

I shook my head. "As if I would let my family walk around with a stranger."

Jae groaned. "We get it, you hate me. Now let's get going."

"Hate you? I don't-" I started.

But she was already walking away.

Rana grabbed my hand. "Come on, Sunshine. You can fry her if it's a trap, don't worry."

"How can I not worry?" I sighed.

We went down the sewer, holding hands in the dim light. Eventually, Jae stopped in front of a wall. She kicked the bottom of it.

"What are you-" Rana started.

A panel appeared on the wall. Jae leaned in and spoke quietly.

"It's Jae. I have some newbies with me. Darcy Johnson, Ivan Stravinsky, Namarana Ishimi, and-"

She glanced at me.

"Saundrine Iago." I said.

"- Saundrine Iago." she finished.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then there was a rumble. And the wall opened.

We stepped inside.

My mouth dropped open.

It was a huge pavilion, with hundreds of tent and booths. Everything was colorful. Voices filled the air.

Happy voices.

Jae grinned.

"Welcome to the Haven."

[perfectcreaturerarelyseen]

To Fall for the Fae | 08 (M)

Pairing: Andrew Hozier-Byrne/OriginalFemale Character

Genre: Fantasy, Modern, Romance, Smut, Fluff, Angst

Words: Chapter 8: 1,953

Summary: Andrew Hozier-Byrne unknowingly searches for the woman that pulled him from the bog 3,000 years ago. Unknown to either of them that in this modern world their souls are still intertwined from the life they shared long ago. She is unavailable, he’s not giving up. Will the woman that inspires his music be wooed by his songs or will he lose his chance? That’s Wasteland, Baby!

Note: A/N: This is a story requested by my best friend to be written about her favorite musician. I have been inspiried by his songs and specific lines. Any reference to his music is used in the name of inspiration and creating art. I do not own any of his music. Any reference to Hozier in this story is fictional and used by the author in the name of crafting art. I want to thank all who read it. I have fallen in love with writing this story and would love to hear from you. It will be written in installments. The finished story will be at the very least over 50,000 words. Enjoy.

***Adult Language This is Rated M for a Reason***

To Fall for the Fae: Chapter 8

She hadn’t said it. She’d held the words in. It had killed her but the part of that clung to the traditions of her people wouldn’t let her.

He may be the Forest Father, that didn’t mean he had a clan.

She was daughter of the Elder. She was high born. He was of the outcasts. To love him was to throw herself from her mother and her clan. It meant turning her back on everything she ever knew. It meant becoming a traitor.

Did she love him enough to do that?

The answer was a resounding yes. Without a doubt.

Her bravery, however, faltered.

There was a breath between them. His lips were next to her ear, the long fine strands of her hair swaying slightly as his hot breath tickled her ear and sent shockwaves up and down her body. Everything was on fire with electricity. Her clit throbbed, she felt herself clench with the need to be filled by him.

He waited for her to say something. It seemed like the longest moment in his long life. His heart jerked with the pain of feeling her rejection. Still he waited desperately. The Forest Father waited for nothing; this time he did. The Willow Woman, Madison, had that much control over the fae who previously couldn’t be controlled.

When she said nothing, he pulled back from her. It was the deepest cut he’d ever experienced. Worst than any bite that had torn into his skin and ripped him open.

This was a cut that couldn’t be carefully sewn shut with turquoise thread. It was a cut to the soul that would not heal.

He drew himself back and stood to his full length. Tall like a tree. Then he turned and made his way to leave.

“Wait,” her voice was quiet. Like the whisper of the wind through a willow branch. He paused ever so slightly. His legs wanted to keep moving but he jerked them to a stop. He didn’t want to hear what she had to say. He knew it wouldn’t be what he wanted to hear. Still he listened.

“I...am not ready to say that. You know, I know you know, what will happen to me if I do. I need...time.” Madison stood and came to him. She let her fingers trace up his uninjured arm.

His body was alight at her touch. His lips parted in a contented sigh at her touch. He needed her. Craved her body. His cock twitched ever so slightly and he could not, though he tried, pull his body back from hers. His hands trailed up her arms. To her neck. He touched the hollow of her throat and let his fingers draw a line down her body, dissecting it in two until his finger rested over her heart.

“We can kiss and touch, lass, as much as we want. We can be with each other’s bodies. Baby, mine calls to you like it has called to no other. Love, until you can say the words, we will never be together as our souls call to each other. That is all I have to say...Madison.” Her name was like a prayer on his lips. It was on the very verge of being a beg. He righted himself and pulled away from her. It was like ripping off a piece of flesh to wrench himself away from her grasp.

He tried desperately to ignore the tears in her eyes as she watched him back away. They fell soft like petals from a cherry tree.

“Damn it, lass. Why? Why must you do this to me?” His voice rose for the first time with her but it was with frustration, not anger. He couldn’t help it. He came to her and she fell into his arms. They melded together. He kissed her cheeks, tasting the salt and kissing away her tears.

“How can I show you? How can I show you that I care for you?” She begged, the words falling like her tears.

“I don’t know. Fucking kiss me, for a start.” His voice was lilting and light. Lyrical, like when he sat on his back porch and serenaded the trees. It was a joke. She laughed.

Then she crashed her lips to his.

OoOo

She stood feeling awkward a few feet from where the meet and greet was happening. She picked at the hem of her full skirted dress with the teal color and small white flowers over orange, similar to calico blankets.

Her mind drifted to those nights. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he drove into her. He could make sheer force feel gentle as they made love and fucked and owned each other’s bodies in the night.

The sheets always got wrapped around his legs, long like a bird’s. He’d growl and tear them away so that he could be free to move again. She lost quite a few sets of sheets in those days.

Andrew always stared deep into her eyes every time their bodies were intertwined. His deep hazel eyes gazed deeply into her emerald pools. It was intense and oh so deep. In those moments she felt connected to him soul to soul.

His mouth was tender. Soft. Yet, the things he did with it were anything but soft. He devoured her. Left love marks on her neck, her breast, her thighs.

He was wild.

She fucking loved it.

She fucking loved him.

Her chest ached and it felt like the air was knocked out of her as she looked at him standing there. Towering over the women who lined up to meet the Forest Father. Who had fallen under his spell just as she had.

She hated waiting there. She should leave. She couldn’t.

Why did she have to be plagued with the memories? Why could she not be like him? Happily oblivious to all they had shared 3,000 years ago.

It was bullshit.

She fumed.

Then as the last fan wandered away, the feeling of a hug still warming her heart, he turned his million watt smile on her and she melted.

Fuck.

“You wanna get out of here? I don’t know this city but...” He started to say, coming over to her. He was wrapped in a black hoodie and he stuffed his hands into the pockets as he made his way over to her. He looked sweet, a little dorky, and utterly adorable. She was right back where she didn’t want to be. That dreaded L word hung on her lips. It rattled in her mouth. It twisted her tongue. It wanted to be let out. She cut him off.

“Do you like fish and chips?” Madison managed to get the words out without spitting the word love in the middle of the sentence.

“Love them. Is there a decent place around here to get some?” He brushed his hair back behind his ear and she wanted to run her fingers through that tangled mass of curls that was full of tangles.

“More than decent. Come on, I’ll treat you right, baby.” She made the last sentence a joke, still he lit up at the word.

She turned and began to walk away from him, but with his long legs, he was easily able to catch up.

They sauntered together down the street, both of them with their hands stuffed into their pockets, trying desperately to keep those treasonous hands from reaching out to touch the other person.

OoOo

He was lost in thought staring at her. She kept her eyes averted from him and it made him curious. Why was she so willing to spend time with him, yet seemed so icy towards him when they were alone? Oh to be alone with her. There were people in the restaurant. They might take offense if he threw her down on the table and took her there.

A piece of fish hit him squarely in the face. He pulled himself from the daydream, confused.

“You’re staring,” she pointed out, tossing another piece of fish at him.

This time he caught it and stuffed it into his mouth.

“I always stare when there’s a beautiful woman sitting across the table at me.” The charm came easy but wasn’t false. He meant it. He also wanted to see how she would react. She said nothing and turned back to her food.

He picked up a French fry and tossed it at her. A smile grew on her lips as the fry hit her in the cheek.

“I will hit you you know,” she said with mock venom. He laughed and so did she. The feeling of distance between them grew a little shorter.

“If you do, I won’t take you on the second date to the catacombs then.” He shrugged sitting back and tossed a fry into his mouth.

“That would be a tragedy. I would be an utter delight in the catacombs.” Everything she said had a laugh to it and it warmed his heart.

“Say the word and I'll have us on a flight in an hour.” He gauged her reaction. He was joking, kind of. If she said yes he’d pull his phone out and whisk her away to Paris in an instant.

“I don’t think you’re joking.”

“Does that scare you?”

“Nothing about you scares me, dahling.” She drawled the last part and he laughed. Andrew noted that she had not denied that they were on a date when he had joked about the second one. Everything he said was a test. He was trying to figure out this enigma of a woman. The only way he knew how to do that was to talk.

“I have some very scary qualities,” he replied, reaching for the darkness that was deep within him. With her there, it was like someone had turned on a nightlight in the dark room deep within him.

“I’ve seen the darkest part of your soul, baby doll. There is no part of you that scares me.” She said it deadpan and there was no joking in it. It chilled him to the bone to hear her say that. It rang true, though how she could know the deepest parts of him, he didn’t know.

“Do you wanna get out of here?” Madison asked, pushing her food away. It was mostly untouched other than the parts she had thrown at him. She felt perfectly comfortable with him but the idea of Bates knowing where and what she was doing made her stomach twist. He perked up at her words.

“I’d follow you anywhere, babe.” She knew it was true. That’s what made it so dangerous.

They both rose from the table and he directed her from the building with a hand on the small of her back. They both tingled at the mild touch.

Neither of them said anything about the familiarity, the easy use of pet names, any of it.

They were too scared to burst this small bubble of happiness, wafer thin, just waiting to be popped.

“Forest Father.” She whispered under breath as they hit the air outside. Thick with the fumes of the city. So different from the clean air they’d once breathed.

“Willow Woman.” He answered in like though he didn’t know why he said it.

They didn’t hear each other.

However, their souls did.

OoOo

Like calls to like.

Forest Father was oblivious.

Or was he?

Did that magic of the fae awaken in him once again?

Willow Woman was twisting in torment.

She could not bear the weight of her knowledge.

They were in agony.

Neither would admit it.

Such was the fate of the fae.

[lyatttrash]

New Chapter Alert!

As Fate Would Have It Chapter 2

I’m going to try and keep up with these but we’ll see. 

FF.net/AO3

“Wyatt I am not putting him in that seat it’s disgusting!” Lucy argued at the entrance of Target. She tightened her grip on Henry as Wyatt moved to take him.

“Lucy it’s fine! A little dirt will do him some good.” He huffed.

“Wyatt he’s ten months old he’s not even big enough for that seat.” Wyatt stood his ground, giving her a stare that he reserved for when he meant business, hoping it would cause her to surrender. No surprise that it didn’t. Lucy is the only person brave enough to constantly go toe to toe with Wyatt, and frankly she’s the only person he’ll allow to do so. Lucy straightened her spine and met his stare with the same intensity, years of being a college professor have perfected her ‘no nonsense’ glare. Henry obliviously giggling between them, completely unaware of the silent power grab going on above his head.

Wyatt gripped the cart tighter before muttering, “fine.”

Lucy smiled and whispered to Henry, “See? He can never say no to me.” Henry babbled in response. An older couple walked past and just smiled and shook their head at the pair. To everyone else they looked like a young couple running errands as a little family. She’d never admit it but it was fun to pretend that’s what they were… even if it was only for a few hours.

As they strolled through the aisles, everyone they passed seemed to smile at them. Lucy huffed when one too many women made eyes at Wyatt. He shot her a quizzical look and she pretended she was just blowing hair out of her mouth. They nearly crossed everything off the list Lucy made a crib, a car seat, a stroller, some bottles, diapers, a few toys and now they were standing in the food and formula aisle. Wyatt was just about to comment on how easy Henry had been through the store when he decided he’d had enough. His little face turned red and scrunched up, Wyatt was sure his screams could be heard in the parking lot.

“Damn little mans got pipes. You sure he’s not your kid?” Wyatt joked. Lucy involuntarily blushed at his indirect compliment. She just laughed and rolled her eyes. Lucy began soothing Henry, shushing him while holding him close to her chest, bouncing him up and down. Lucy’s heart broke for the child. This morning he woke up in his own bed with his mom there to take care of him then suddenly he was thrown into a new environment, surrounded by people he doesn’t know. Poor thing is confused as all hell, looking for anything familiar, most likely his mom. Lucy wanted to cry along with him.

“I know little guy. Shhh, I know, I know. It’s scary but I’ve got you.” Lucy cooed softly to the boy. Lucy met Wyatt’s eyes and the way he was looking at her took her breath away. She hadn’t seen such a genuine smile from him in such a long time.

“You’re a natural, you know” Wyatt said softly. His compliments and the way he was looking at her was too much to handle. Lucy had to remind herself not to get sucked in. Things were finally back to normal, well as normal as two people who have gone through what they did could be. They were Lucy and Wyatt no doubt about it, but not quite Logan and Preston. It was a weird limbo they were in, neither knowing where they stand with the other. Had the moment for them passed? Are they destined to just stay friends? These are the questions that keep Lucy up at night, it also doesn’t help that she’s currently holding his baby, a baby she has to keep reminding herself isn’t hers. She was just going to end up getting hurt if she kept pretending they were a family. Wyatt and Henry were a family, Lucy assumes she’s just going to be called in from time to time to baby sit, probably be referred to as ‘aunt Lucy’.

“I adored Amy as a baby, my parents had to remind me all the time that I was just her sister not her mom.” She joked, desperately trying to deflect from the situation. Wyatt chuckled and turned his attention back to the wall of baby food. He stood with two containers of formula in his hands, intensely checking the nutrition and ingredients. Lucy’s heart warmed at how much he already cared for this little guy that he has only known for a few hours. Lucy looked around she spotted something that she knew would help Wyatt immensely. She silently walked over and placed a large box in the cart.

“Lucy what is that?”

“It’s like a Keurig, but for babies” Lucy replied hoisting Henry higher on her hip.

“Absolutely not, we don’t need that.” Lucy tried not to get too excited over the word ‘we’ but it made her smile nonetheless.

“Trust me I saw this on Oprah you want it!” she challenged.

“Since when do you have time to watch Oprah?” he teased.

“I do have a life outside of our training sessions, you know.” She scoffed lightly. Even though the threat of Rittenhouse is gone Wyatt still makes her train with him three times a week. He claims you can never be too careful, especially living in the city, but Lucy doesn’t mind. She likes all the extra time she gets to spend with him, having a reason to be physically close with him even if it is only for a few hours a week.

He took a step closer, his flirtatious tone having an even greater effect at his proximity, “well then sounds like I’m not working you hard enough since you have time to watch Oprah.” She sucked in a breath, he hadn’t flirted this openly with her in a long time, possibly ever.

Standing her ground, she knew she couldn’t let him win. Lucy took a step closer so she could whisper in his ear, being a full head shorter than he is she had to stand on her toes which forced her body to be pressed against his, “I think you won’t do a damn thing considering I’m standing in the baby section of Target at 9:30 on a Saturday.” He didn’t have a response but he swallowed hard and Lucy knew she won their little flirting match.  

                                                        ---

Lucy eventually dragged a reluctant Wyatt over to the clothing section, a place he had been dreading since they stepped into the store. He smiled and rolled his eyes as Lucy pilled outfit after outfit into the cart.

“I think that’s enough Luce, he probably has more clothes than you do at this point.” He teased. Lucy tried not to outwardly show how affected she was by the nickname. She ducked behind a rack of clothes to hide her blush.

“Daddy doesn’t know what he’s talking about, you can never have too many outfits. Right little guy?” she cooed at the baby. She honestly doesn’t know why she referred to Wyatt as daddy, it just slipped out but somehow it felt natural. She laughed at his stunned expression at her bold teasing. He cocked his head to the side. Lucy knew that look, he was about to dish it right back out, he was about to speak when an older lady placed a hand on his arm.

“Your family is absolutely precious, how long have you and your wife been married?” Lucy turned her head,

“Oh uh…” she fumbled unsure of what to say. A deep blush appeared on her cheeks at being called Wyatt’s wife. The name secretly sent a thrill through her. She was about to politely correct the lady when Wyatt cleared his throat next to her.

“Um… almost four and a half years.” His answer took her completely by surprise. She hadn’t expected him to just go with it. If her cheeks were pink before she probably looked like a tomato now. He smiled and glanced at Lucy. Her heart fluttered at the memory and she wondered if he remembered as well.

           “Well stop the presses here I am going on and on how’d he do it with you?”

           “Do what?”

           “Propose silly I mean look at that rang!”

           The smile and small wink told her he did.

“He is just the cutest little thing on God’s green earth!” the lady gushed at Henry, “what’s the little angel’s name?”

“Henry” Wyatt and Lucy said in unison. They made eye contact with each other, his lips turned up into his signature smirk and she felt her face heat up again. Get it together Lucy! He walked over so he could stand next to Lucy. He put his arm around her to he could rub Henry’s back. They’ve been closer in the last 20 minutes than they had been in a long time. The smell of his cologne all around her was intoxicating. Her mind fogged with the memories of their time in 1941, being able to completely give themselves over to each other. They let themselves fall hard, knowing the other would be there to catch them. Lucy missed being this close to him, the whole time he was with Jessica she ached for his touch. Seeing the way their future selves were with each other gave her hope but it’s still been a long journey back to him. Not one Lucy minds taking if it means she’ll end up in his arms. Feeling bold she leaned her head back against his shoulder. She felt him freeze for half a second but then instantly relaxed and moved his hand to her lower back, falling into a comfortable familiarity that she’s missed so much.

“You don’t let anything happen to them!” the lady warned.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Wyatt said softly while pressing a kiss to the top of Lucy’s head, her breath caught in her throat as she fought back tears. The gesture was so small yet so intimate, her mind was swimming with all the things his action could mean. Was this all just a show for the nice old lady? Were they finally at a place to cross over into something more? Seems like kind of an odd place to make that jump, the infant clothing section of a Target…lost in her thoughts she didn’t even notice the woman walk away, Wyatt awkwardly cleared his throat and stepped away from Lucy, both refusing to make eye contact.

“We should probably get the little nugget home.” Lucy whispered glancing down at a sleeping Henry.

“He’s certainly had an eventful day.” He agreed. They made their way to the check out in silence and carried all their items out to Wyatt’s jeep. The mood lightened as Lucy laughed at Wyatt fighting to install the car seat, she kept telling him he was doing it wrong and he just grumbled in protest. Mumbling something about a ‘bossy-know-it-all’. Climbing in on either side of the car they both turned towards the back seat. They sat in silence for a moment watching Henry sleep. Lucy traced his face with her eyes, the soft fullness of his cheeks, his large eyes, long eyelashes, cute little button nose, lopsided grin that she would know anywhere, the grin she fell in love with all those years ago in the waiting room at Mason Industries. Lucy looked to her left and saw Wyatt staring at her with admiration but quickly turned away when she caught him staring. Blushing slightly, she turned her gaze back to Henry, wishing so bad he was hers.

[katymacsupernatural]

Stories to Awaken Terror Part 8: The Lottery

Dean Winchester x Reader

2600 Words

Story Summary: As a couple of kids read a scary book, Sam, Dean and Y/N live those scary tales. Will they be able to figure out what’s causing the hunts before it’s too late?

Catch Up Here: Masterpost

Sitting in the back next to Cas, you were almost giddy with excitement. Sure, you had just gone through a horrible time with that creepy baby, but you had finally received some good news. The torment was almost over, and soon you would be free of those kids and that evil book. Free to finally have a relationship with Dean.

“You seem happy,” Cas spoke up finally, smiling over at you.

“That’s because this is almost over! You found the kids, and we’ll get rid of the book, and we can go back to our normal lives.”

“Y/N, I don’t think it will be that simple,” Cas answered. “That book is very powerful, and why would it be warded against Angels? I think the worst is yet to come.”

“Dude, Cas!” Dean exclaimed. “A little positive outlook, okay?”

“I was just telling the truth. We all want this to be done, but it’s going to be hard.”

“It’s alright Cas, I know that. I’m just excited that we finally have a lead,” you mumbled, even though your good mood had vanished. “I’m just ready for the day this book isn’t hanging over our heads anymore!”

“We’re about an hour outside of…,” Dean started. “Wait, where are we? This isn’t the road we were just on.”

“What do you mean?” You asked as Sam woke up.

“You weren’t paying attention, were you? We were on a four-lane road back there. This is only two! And it’s heading right into a creepy looking forest!”

“The book must have realized we were close. Trapping us in another story, trying to keep us off of its trail,” Sam said in the middle of his yawn. “I wonder what we’re facing this time.”

“At least all four of us are together,” you piped up. “And with an Angel maybe it won’t be as bad. I mean, anything can’t be as freaky as that baby.”

“I have to agree with Y/N. That baby was freaking,” Dean said, just as a small town came into view. With huge forests surround it, the town seemed secluded and antique. The buildings were all old fashioned, and Dean’s Impala had to be one of the newest cars on the street.

“What is this place?” You asked, staring at the women wearing sundresses, while the men were dressed in suits.

“It’s called Burkesville,” Sam read the sign as Dean slowed the Impala down. Coasting down main street, you could see the banners and sashes proclaiming the Annual Lottery Festival.

“A Lottery Festival? I wonder what that is?” You asked as Dean came to the end of the street. Nothing but trees in front of you.

“I really don’t want to find out,” Dean grumbled, turning the Impala around, heading back the way you had come. “Let’s get out of here, and find that highway again.

But as you came to the only way out of town, big wooden barricades were placed on the road, stopping anyone from entering, or anyone from leaving.

A man in his thirties, wearing a grey tweed suit and a black hat came walking over, leaning down to talk to Dean. “I don’t think we’ve seen you around here before.”

“We’re lost,” Dean spoke quickly. “We need to get back on the road as quick as we can. We have people waiting for us to arrive. Tonight.”

“I’m sorry, but nobody’s going anywhere tonight. It’s Festival time! The whole city shuts down. It’s a pretty big affair.”

“Where’s a hotel?” Dean grumbled, even though you could see him trying to figure out a way around the barricades. But he didn’t want to cause a scene.”

“We have a nice little homey place right there. Tell them Paul sent ya,” he told Dean, pointing to the right of him. “Get settled in, and then come to Main Street. And it isn’t really an invitation, it’s a must. If you don’t show, the Sheriff will be more than willing to guide you there himself.”

“Oh, we’ll be there alright,” Dean assured the man before pulling away. Driving the short distance to the hotel, he turned to face you.

“I don’t like this place,” he said what you were all thinking. “Cas, can you move those barricades?”

“I can try. I’ll need to get close though.”

Vanishing from the car, you watched as he reappeared next to the barricades. His face full of concentration, seconds ticked by, but nothing happened. Before you knew it he was back beside you. “They are warded. Powerfully so. No one is leaving until those are removed.”

“What is going on with this place? And what’s so important about that Festival?” Sam asked as you all climbed out of the car.

“Let’s get ourselves a room, and see what we can pull up on the internet,” Dean suggested.

It was only moments later that the four of you were crammed into a small room, the only one the place had left. With a pull out couch and two doubles, it was more than enough room. You just hoped that you wouldn’t have to stay there very long.

Sam pulled out his laptop, frowning when he attempted to connect to the internet. “There’s no internet here. Nothing.”

Checking your phone, you could feel your heart beat growing faster. “No cell reception either. I’m really not liking this!”

Just then an alarm sounded through the town, much like an air raid from the wars. “I guess it’s time,” Cas said, peering out the window. “I’ve never been to a festival before. I wonder what it’s going to be like.”

“Well, if the blocked road and the siren are any indications, I don’t think it’s going to be very good,” Dean said, tucking his gun into his jeans as Sam followed suit.

Once all of you were as full of weapons as you could be, you began the trek up to Main Street. Joining the throngs of people dressed fancier than you, excited mumbling feeling the air.

At the beginning of the street were tables where people were being searched. Items like cell phones and pocket knives were being left behind, and you turned quickly to Dean. “Dean, we’re going to get caught!”

“What the hell is going on?” He asked.

“Let’s hide them here, that way they’re closer than the Impala,” Sam suggested, nodding to a couple of old boxes forgotten in the alley.

“I don’t like this,” Dean muttered, leaving behind his special gun before you once again joined the crowds. After the quick pat down, you were given a white slip of paper, forced to write down your name before it was dropped into an old metal bowl.

Once clear of the entry area, you saw that it really looked like a festival. Booths were set up on both sides of the street, filled with food and items for sale. Dancing was held at the far end, along with tables and a microphone.

“What do we do now?” You asked as Dean wrapped his arm around you.

“We join in and keep an eye out for anything strange.”

Sam and Cas stayed off to one side of the street, their eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. You stayed with Dean, chuckling when he bought both of you a pie on a stick. “This has to be the best invention ever!” He exclaimed before taking a huge bite.

“You amaze me,” you told him. “How you can be so excited about something like pie on a stick while we’re facing another stupid hunt.”

“You got to enjoy the little things,” he answered. “Like having a pie on a stick, and you by my side.”

Smiling up at him, you were distracted by a bell ringing by the dance floor. “Gather around!” A pepper haired man exclaimed into the microphone. People complied, and soon a huge gathering crowded the dance floor, some still sitting at tables.

“Tonight we honor the tradition past down for hundreds of years!” He started as the crowds grew quieter and more sullen. It was weird, how suddenly everyone seemed so nervous, and you glanced up at Dean in alarm. “We honor this tradition with this Festival. Because in times of sadness, there need to be thoughts of better times as well.”

People stayed quiet, and you could see Mother’s pulling their kids tight to them, husband’s holding their wives close. Looks of horror and trepidation filling ever face.

“As you, all know, or most of you. We have a tradition. This village stays safe. Stays out of harm’s way, year after year. Because we appease the Gods who gave it to us!”

“Oh shit,” Dean muttered as Cas and Sam pushed their way to stand behind you.

“Every year we put all of our names into this bowl. It doesn’t matter how influential you are. If you’re new in town, or if you’re a Mother or a Father. We’re all the same in this bowl, a name. A sacrifice to appease the Gods.”

“Dean, what are we going to do?” Sam asked, whispering between the two of you.

“I have no idea,” Dean answered as the Mayor reached in, pulling out a little white piece of paper.

“I don’t know whose name I’ve pulled out. But whoever it might belong to, know this. That you are doing this for the good of all the people that you see here. That you will be moving on to bigger, better things!”

Your heart beating furiously, you watched as he slowly opened the folded white paper, almost coming to a stop as he read the name. “Dean Winchester!” He called out, all of you freezing in horror. “Dean, don’t be shy!! I think you’re one of our visitors, but you’ll be revered just as much as anyone else!”

Before Dean could even move, a couple of big burly men came racing through, grasping his arms and pulling him to the front of the crowd. “The Gods will definitely be happy with this strong specimen!” The Mayor called out as the rest of the crowd breathed a sigh of relief.

You stood there, frozen by fear as they tied Dean to a post. Other men began passing out rocks to the crowd. Huge, heavy rocks that were meant to be thrown at Dean. Turning quickly, you saw that Cas was gone. “Sam, what are we going to do?”

“Cas went to get our guns,” Sam whispered. “We’ll get Dean off of there, and try to figure a way out of this town!”

Just then you could hear the trees rustling loudly behind Dean, the crowd taking a step back. ��Cas needs to hurry,” you muttered, as a couple of huge, dark dogs came growling out of the trees, their eyes glowing red.

“Oh ancient ones, we have your sacrifice!” The Mayor called out, and the crowds pulled their arms back, ready to throw the rocks at Dean.

“Zach, what are you doing?” Sophia asked, waking up to see her brother standing next to her bed, the evil book in his hands. His eyes almost glowed in the dark, his smile creepy.

“I’ve been reading, but the book says it needs you too,” he spoke up, turning on her bedside light.

“Zach, it’s just a book! It can’t talk to you!” She tried to tell him, but he reached out, grasping her neck and squeezing tight.

“Don’t you dare say that! This isn’t just a book and you know that. This book is magical, and if we finish it, it promises to take care of us for the rest of our life!”

He released her then, and she took deep gulping breaths. Zach began reading, about an old town, hellhounds and a lottery that picked someone to be a sacrifice. It all sounded scary to her, but nothing was as scary as the life she was currently living.

“I’ve got the guns, but they won’t work on those hellhounds,” Cas said, appearing right behind you as the Mayor began the countdown, the hounds growling low.

“Hellhounds? But we can’t see hellhounds without our special glasses!” Sam argued.

“That’s what they are! Now, how are we going to stop this?” Cas asked, handing you a gun as the Mayor got dangerously close to one.

“The only way I can think of,” you told him. Aiming the gun, you pulled the trigger, hitting your target easily. The mayor stopped counting, glancing down at his chest in shock. You had just knicked him on the shoulder, enough to hurt, but not enough to kill. But it had done its job, stopping the counting, and Dean was free, for a moment at least.

“No!” The crowd cried, a couple of men throwing their stones anyways, and you watched in horror as they collided with Dean, hitting him in the chest, one brushing across his temple.

“No!” You screamed, trying to push your way through, trying to get to Dean before they did any more damage.

“You must stop this!” Cas screamed, standing in front of Dean, his hands out, turning all the rocks to ash. “These aren’t Gods! They are the pets of Demons. You have been tricked all this time!”

“But it’s the only thing we’ve ever known,” the Mayor answered. “Every year we give a sacrifice. Every year that means they won’t kill us. But if we don’t give them this man, what will happen to us?”

By this time you had reached Dean, and you quickly untied him, wincing at the bruises already covering him. “Cas, go get the special knives from the Impala while we stall!”

Cas vanished, much to the crowd's amazement. “That is an Angel. Would an Angel steer you wrong?” You asked, ignoring the sarcastic laugh Dean let out as Sam came to stand beside you, letting Dean lean against him. “Those are evil, and they have been controlling you for too long! It needs to stop!”

Just then the hell hounds came snarling up to you, snapping their jaws, drooling a foul, sulferish scent. Cas reappeared, tossing you a knife, keeping one for himself. With Sam keeping Dean behind you, you faced off with the hellhound as Cas did the same.

It jumped you, knocking you off your feet, but giving you an advantage as you drove the knife deep into its belly. Screaming loudly, it fell limp on top of you as Cas fought off the other one, killing it instantly. “You’re free!” You exclaimed. “Free to live, to leave. Whatever you choose! But don’t get sucked into something like this again!”

With those parting words, you led the way as Sam pulled Dean with him, back to the Impala. Cas went in, grabbing your belongings while Sam laid Dean in the back seat. “I would heal him, but the frequent trips have drained me,” Cas explained.

“I think he’ll be okay. Sore, but okay,” you answered, taking out the first aid kit, washing away the blood on his face. Dean had passed out as soon as he was in the car, and you knew that was a good thing. It gave you a chance to clean him up, and a chance for Sam to get you as far away from this place as possible. Hopefully towards where the book was before you had to go through another crazy situation.

Dean/Jensen Tags:@acreativelydifferentlove @a-girl-who-loves-disney @akshi8278 @anokhi07 @aubreystilinski @bebravekeeponfighting @bobasheebaby @brindz30 @colette2537 @crusadedean @darthshreydar @dean-winchesters-bacon @deanwinchesters-impala67 @haelyn @horsegirly99 @ikeneasul11 @imascio08 @its-not-a-tulpa @just-another-winchester @lady-phoenix-of-tardis @librarygeekery @mlovesstories @msimpala67 @love-charmer-sketch @michirutenshi @pisces-cutie @ria132love @ruprecht0420 @shadowhunter7 @sizzlingbearpolice @sleep-silent-angel @sortaathief @superseejay721517 @thegrungequeer @thewinchestergirl1208 @torn-and-frayed @wonderfulworldofwinchester 

STAT Tags: @joseyrw @suckystoryteller @salt-n-burn-em-all @wingedcatninja @waywardbaby97 @waywardnerd67 @horsegirly99 @profoundly-bitchy-collection @jae-sch @sociopathtime @depressed-moose-78 @sophiebobzz @oreosatmidnight @librarygeekery @winchesterxtwo @asirammm @itsmerighthere @squirrelnotsam @karmamariejoy @linki-locks11 @xthelittlethings @incredibly-sarcastic-url @alwayskeepfightingkaz-2y5 @imascio08 @deansbabygirl01 @deansgirl215 @sasquatch5 @kay18115 @gh0stgurl @quackerstheduck663057 @photos-by-16 @idk-wtf-is-happening @pheonyxstorm @fandom-queen-of-wonderland @bunnybaby121115 @thegrungequeer @monkeymcpoopoo

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[thetimeistwoam]

Red Eye

2D and Noodle come across something creepy in the park at night.

2D stared at himself in the horribly unflattering fluorescent light of the bathroom mirror. Outsiders looking in supposedly were smitten by the towering lanky frame, thick hunks of dark blue locks, sharp yet boyish features. He trailed a finger down the length of his pointed nose, felt over a day or so's worth of roughness on his chin, and blinked his bottomless black eyes at his reflection wearily. Did girls these days really still like the bruised, shadowy-eyed drug addict look? He sighed to himself, flicking off the bathroom light as he went back out to his room. The other three had gone out not too long ago, a glance at the clock telling him it was almost midnight. He'd heard Noodle's yell outside his door, but had feigned sleep, not much desiring the smoke, sweat, and spinning head ordeal tonight. He guessed he should've gone, but it was hard when you're feeling as blue as your hair. He gave another sigh as he looked around his room, eyes landing on a crumpled pack of cigarettes next to his typewriter. Sure, that'll do. He was sitting on the floor next to his bed, head in one hand and cigarette in another, when the desire for better ambiance had him decidedly trudging up through the old house to the attic, finally emerging through the small window that let out onto the roof. He was just pulling the last of his long legs through, when- "Oh, hey 2D." "Fucking- whoa!" 2D would've rolled right off and fallen three stories had Noodle not lunged forward and grabbed onto his jeans, the lack of shirt making it hard to grab anything else. She pulled him back with a grunt, sitting them both onto the ridge of the roof, and holding her hand out until she was sure he was steady on the incline. 2D had his head in his hands and was leaning forwards on his knees, his pale, bruised back heaving as he tried to catch his breath. "Noodle, blud, if you want to sing in Gorillaz, you won't have a problem with me. But Murdoc would-," "What?" Noodle interrupted with a laugh, 2D turning to stare at her accusingly. "Well you bloody tryna kill me again? First last night, then-," "Last night?" "You stalking into me room at dawn! Dawn of the dead, more like!" "That was like two days ago," Noodle laughed, ruffling 2D's hair so it became even more spiky than usual; he began smoothing it back down in grumbles. "Maybe if you came out of your room every now and again you'd have a better idea of what was going on." "M'working." "Working on getting high." 2D opened his mouth to respond, but eventually just shrugged his wide shoulders, going quiet and finally staring out at the ambiance he'd been on a quest for. The roof provided. The house was so tall, and they were far enough out from the city that they had a good view of all the lights in the distance while still having stars overhead as well. He felt like seeing stars, and slid down off the ridge of the roof so he could lie down on the incline, Noodle mimicking the position. The red and green lights of a plane blinked far overhead in the mass of twinkling silver, and in the cold winter air drifted the warm smoke of someone burning a wood fire. 2D breathed in deep, shutting his eyes briefly, feeling like he and Noodle were the only two awake in the world right then. "Aren't you cold?" Noodle suddenly asked, her eyes doubting that one patch of chest hair was enough to keep him warm. 2D shrugged; yeah, he was definitely cold, but he didn't feel like going back in and getting a jacket. "You'll get a cold, if you don't watch it," Noodle warned, and when he continued to lie there, she was squeezing back through the window herself. 2D enjoyed the isolation, after all, he'd been expecting it; the loneliness gave him inspiration, let his imagination run wild in the dark and cold winter. Noodle returned fairly soon however; he opened his eyes again when he felt something soft drop onto his chest, holding up a white, fluffy sweater with a heart in the middle. Deciding not to comment, 2D slipped it over his head. Being Noodle's it was extremely tight fitting, but warm, nevertheless, and he grinned at her thankfully. "Thank you, marm." "Mmm," Noodle laid back down next to him, producing a cigarette from somewhere and lighting it, thereafter lighting 2D's after he'd fumbled around for his crumpled pack. "You didn't go with Murdoc 'n' Russ?" 2D asked through an exhale of smoke; Noodle shrugged next to him. "It was orginally going to be just me and Russ; Murdoc got wind and that turned me off of the whole thing." "Why?" Noodle looked at him; no, he was indeed asking that as a serious question. "Dunno," She supplied; 2D didn't inquire further, truthfully having forgotten what she'd said anyway. "Y'know," He held his palm up the sky, pointing at some stars, "There was a lot of shit about it, but Plastic Beach had the best view of the stars you ever viewed," He let his hand drop, exhaling smoke in a sigh; he continued before Noodle could respond. "You ever miss the shit? Like, the 'bad times' or whatever the fuck? You ever miss it?" 2D craned his head backwards, then to the side to find Noodle. She was staring at the stars now as well, and nodded vaguely at 2D's question. "I think you always miss something when it's over, no matter what it is," Noodle said, flicking her ash; 2D could see the night's sky reflecting in her eyes, his own going wide at her words. "Blimey Noodle, that's really true innit? Where'd you hear that?" He stared at her, impressed, to which Noodle just stared back. "I made it up," She finally said, adding a bit of a mystical tone to her voice; 2D's eyes went even wider, and he shook his head slightly. "Crazy," He muttered, looking back up at the stars. Noodle continued to stare at him for a moment longer, her eyes taking in the hollowed, high cheekbones and perfectly arched mouth before she shook her head slightly herself. He was lucky he was good looking, that's all she could say. Though, even then, she couldn't fathom being able to put up with him on a day to day basis, like so many women apparently sought to do. Yeah, 2D was a cutie, but if you can't talk to someone... She scoffed slightly to herself; the people who drooled after him were most likely dumber than he, talking wouldn't be a problem. She found herself glaring a bit. "Wanna go down to the park?" 2D suddenly asked; he was standing before Noodle had even replied, swaying a little precariously on the incline. "C'mon," He held out an overly large hand, Noodle taking it with a bit of a grin. A few blocks down was a park that'd been abandoned for so long no one went there anymore, not even the prowling hobos of the night. The rumors of haunt was what kept them all out, mainly, rumors that had actually been started by Murdoc's howls, as he occasionally chose the cement play tunnels to lament over his life in the dead of night. Leafless trees were all that grew up from the dead grass, their finger like shadows waving at 2D and Noodle in the orange glow from the streetlamps. 2D followed at a slow walk when Noodle bounded over to the swing sets, leaning against the metal bars and watching her for a bit. He would've liked to have joined in, but stuff like swings gave him terrible headaches. He settled for looking cool smoking and keeping a look out for any stray ghouls, though it was a bit hard to maintain with Noodle's fluffy white sweater riding well over his belly. His eyes followed Noodle's wide arc when she leaped from the peak of her momentum, the small frame hitting the pebbly ground in a roll. "You really think this place is haunted?" Noodle approached 2D, her cheeks pink from the cold and an excited air about her after her swing set jump. "Nah." The two began a slow walk through the park, following the concrete path away from the light of the streetlamps. "And why not?" "Dunno," 2D shrugged, flicking his cigarette butt into a nearby ashtray. "Ghosts 'n' things like people, don' they? Del 'n' the rest hung out in Russel, didn't mess around haunting parks 'n' shit." Noodle couldn't help but blink a little in surprise that such a sensible statement came from 2D. Then again, he wasn't all dumb, and then again maybe it wasn’t that sensible. Despite his words however, she still felt a growing unease as they continued deeper into the park, shadowy jungle gyms and chain link fences looming in the growing darkness, the chains of swing sets creaking eerily. "Everyone says though," Noodle continued, her voice lowering despite herself, "that they can hear, things, here at night..." She trailed off, moving closer to 2D so that their arms were brushing. It wasn't like her to be afraid of anything, but the thing was, you couldn't hit a ghost. All her training and technique was useless against something paranormal. Even still, it had never been her vice, but the atmosphere was doing its best to remedy that. The wind seemed to be blowing more heavily, the gnarled trees reaching out towards them and odd howls emanating from the cement tunnels being gusted through. It reminded Noodle of the Goosebumps books she used to read when first learning English, and not in a good way. Particularly in a Dead House way, the only scary Goosebumps book out there. "2D," She was holding onto his arm now, 2D himself grinning at her in surprise. "Blimey Noodle, not usually like this," He put his arm around her shoulders; she had stopped them walking, and was staring ahead with widening eyes. "2D," She said again, tugging his arm. "What-?" He finally followed her stare, blinking at what, a ways off in the distance, appeared to be two glowing red orbs. Slowly, as the wind howled and the trees creaked and the full moon shone overhead, 2D's other arm went around Noodle, hugging her tightly in as much fear as her returning grip held. "What-," "Is-," "That?" They both spoke for each other, when suddenly, accompanied by another massive gust of wind, a terrible howling and creaking rent the night. The red orbs suddenly vanished, leaving 2D and Noodle to run for their lives back up the concrete path. Neither could hear the other's screams over their own, and neither stopped running until the park was far behind. They'd reached the end of the street, both heaving underneath the flickering yellow light of a streetlamp, hands on their knees. "I, I think-," 2D was slapping his hand about Noodle's shoulder, trying to communicate. "Shut, shut up," Noodle breathed, pushing him away and massassging out a stitch in her side. The cold air hurt to breathe in, though eventually both Gorillaz had caught enough breath to be able to stand up fairly straight, 2D falling into Noodle shortly after doing so. "I, told, you," Noodle breathed, hiding her face in her sweater on 2D's chest, "I said, I said we better be careful-," "M'sorry, sorry," 2D was hugging Noodle tightly; he stood back with his hands still on her shoulders. "We'll listen to you next time, never going back there," He pointed in the direction of the park, before falling back into the hug. They stood that way for a bit, finding security in the contact and warmth of someone else as the tingles of fear faded. "What was it?" Noodle asked, staring blankly at nothing as she recollected the glowing red dots; the two were now leaning side by side on an iron fence behind them. "Looked like the fucking boogieman," 2D muttered, biting at one of his nails. "You wanna like, get back to the house?" Noodle asked, once again starting to feel unease as the wind picked up once more. "Yeah, yeah let's go..." Some time later and the two were sat on the couch in front of the TV, a blanket wrapped around them both and hot chocolate steaming in their hands. 2D had actually suggested watching Dawn of the Dead, to which Noodle had vehemently protested against, instead popping in The Iron Giant. 2D liked The Iron Giant, but it didn't leave him riveted, and it wasn't long before the sleepy man was nodding off, his head lolling awkwardly on his shoulders before Noodle forced him to just give it up and lay down. He was asleep by the time she did the same, the couch being big enough and 2D being thin enough for her to lie very snug against his side. In his sleep he constricted his arms around her, muttering something indistinguishable but leaving them ever closer when his hold slackened somewhat. Noodle was fine with it. He still smelled like delicious butterscotch, and the familiarity of it coupled with one of her favorite movies sounding the background all but completely drove the scary park occurrence from her mind. She tucked the blanket more snugly around them both, shutting her eyes and listening to 2D's heart while her head rose and fell on his chest with his breathing. It was probably just a cat or something anyway.

[miraculoussideblog]

Operation Lovebirds Chapter 1

For @insanitysbloomings‘ (Aka @insanitysscribblings) birthday, I wrote a DJWifi centric fake dating fic. It’s going to be about five chapters long, so here is the first chapter. Hopefully I’ll get the rest out over the next couple weeks. Enjoy!

Summary: Fed up with her friends refusing to confess their feeling for each other, Alya enlist the help of Nino to bring them together. The plan? Fake a relationship. What could possibly go wrong? (hint: everything)    

[AO3]

Chapter 1: The Plan

Alya sat with her arm crossed over her chest glaring at her shocked friend as coffee dribbled down his chin. She expected some sort of reaction to her statement, just not one so messy. She’d called Nino to a coffee shop early this Sunday morning to discuss a potential plan to bring their best friends together. Her plan was simple, but very detailed. The last element she needed was a willing participant.  

“You’re insane,” Nino said, wiping chin clean.

“Listen, it’s been three years and they’re still pining over each other. All they need is a little push in the right direction.”

“But a fake relationship? Isn’t that a little extreme.”

“Go big or go home baby,” she smirked.

Alya stayed up all night concocting this plan to get her best friend Marinette together with her long time crush Adrien. For three year, Alya’s behind the scenes work brought her friends closer together, but it wasn’t enough. Marinette was now able to speak in coherent sentences around the boy, but just couldn’t express her feelings. Adrien was no better, he finally got to know the sweet, kind, brave Marinette everyone loves, but had no idea she was in love with him.

This had to end.

“It will be easy,” she said. “All we need to do is invite them to double date with us because we’re too nervous to go on a date alone. I fake an emergency, you take me back and we’ll leave to two lovebird alone in a romantic setting. Something’s bound to happen then.”

“I think you’re overestimating the intelligence of our friends.” He sipped his coffee. “Worst case scenario, they don’t confess their feelings after one date. What then?”

“We’ll keep at it. Maybe if we’re in a relationship, they’ll be inclined to spend more time with each other. Please Nino, they belong together, you know that.”

Nino sighed. “All right, I’ll do it.”

“Yes,” she threw her hands up in excitement. “Now we need to layout some ground rules.”

“Ground rules?”

“You know, so you won’t fall for me again.”

“Alya we went out twice, three years ago. I thought we both decided we were better off as friends.”

True, when Ladybug pushed them in a cage together during an akuma attack, they found out they had a lot in common and went out. But after date number two, she realized he still had feelings for Marinette, she knew it wouldn’t work out in the end. Sure, now he’s finally over her and is a full fledged Adrienette shipper, but a lot can change in three years.

Since then Nino’s voice dropped, he’d gotten much taller, grew out his hair a bit. He shed so much baby fat in his face over the summer, that Alya hardly recognized him when he came back from vacation.

Puberty hit him hard. All the girls in the class were all over him like he was Adrien on the first day back. It was kind of annoying. She knew Nino, as much as he talks about being a ladies man, he knew next to nothing about women. If anything, he could learn a thing or two about romance during their fake dates. What were friends for?

“I know, but we have to be careful that none of us catch feelings during this plan. I can’t have us losing sight of this goal. It’s for Marinette and Adrien.”

“Fine,” he sat back in his chair. “What are the rules.”

“No kissing.”

“That’s a given.” He nodded, lifting his coffee to his lips. “We never even kissed when we dated.”

“Right,” she looked back down at her phone to read her notes. “Limit touching to hand holding and the occasional arm around the shoulder. All of this is for the benefit of Marinette and Adrien so no touching when they’re not around.”

“Works for me,” he shrugged. “Anything else?”

“We’ll play it by ear. If we find something the other person does to be uncomfortable, we have to say so. Honestly is the best policy.”

“You want my honest opinion?”

“Sure.”

“This isn’t going to work.”

Nino had his fair share of adventures over the past three years. Since Hawkmoth arrived and Ladybug and Chat Noir began protecting the city. He’s found himself in the middle of far too many akuma attacks than he could count (even becoming an akuma himself). But nothing could prepare him for the adventure he was about to embark on with Alya Cesaire.     

Nino glanced down at his phone as he stood outside of school.

Alya: Operation Lovebirds is a go.

He couldn’t help but smile as he read the text over again. This plan was ridiculous. Alya spent an hour briefing him with every detail to make this thing as realistic as possible. She was dedicated he gave her that much.

Her plan was all kinds of crazy, but he just couldn’t say no to her, or at least he never dreamed of trying. Alya was the type of girl to back down easy. End the end she always get what she wants. She’s spent years trying to get their two friends together, and since it was their final year of lycée, Lord knows what she will do if they don’t confess their feelings before graduation.

Adrein’s limo pulled up in front of the school and his friend stepped out of the car. “Hey Nino,” he waved.  Nino grinned, becoming friends with Adrien had been one of the best decisions that he made. At first he was a little apprehensive since he was friends with Chloe. After he realized how lonely he actually was because of the connection he offered to be his first new friend. Adrien and Nino have been inseparable ever since.

Adrien bumped Nino’s fist. “How was your weekend?”

Nino shrugged, “Same old same old. You?” Alya would be here any second to enact phase one. He couldn’t play his cards too soon.

“Just you know, photoshoots and…stuff.” Adrien’s eyes shifted from side to side. As much as he tried to hide it, Adrien was a bad liar. Nino trusted his friend enough to know not to press. After all, he had his own secret to keep from his friend.

As if on cue, Alya whizzed past him, bumping his shoulder. His notebook and phone fell from his hand on to the concrete. Thank God he had a sturdy phone case. Nino dropped to his knees to pick up his belongings. Alya, as planned followed suit.

“I am so sorry,” she reached for his phone.

Nino placed his hand on top of hers. She looked up slowly, her hazel eyes locking with his. Usually when they shared eye contact, she glared at him, sending shivers down his spine. This time however, her gaze was soft and warm, it had taken him aback he forgot his lines.

“Nino?” Alya’s brows furrowed, snapping him out of his trance. “You all right.”

“I’m f-fine,” he managed to stuttered.

What the hell? They’d rehearsed this interaction over and over again the night before. Something about this was more genuine. She was a scary good actress.

“Here,” Alya handed him his phone. “See you in class.” She stood up, wiped her knees and turned to left. He didn’t even notice Marinette until she appeared beside her.

Nino kept staring as Alya and Marinette walked to the building. Without missing a beat, Alya glanced over her shoulder and smiled before disappearing into the building.

“What was that dude? You crushing on Alya again?” Adrien punched his shoulder playfully.

“I don’t think I ever stopped,” he muttered.

“Why did you break up?”

“It was a long time ago man,” he shrugged. “We work better as friends.”

They barely lasted a week and honestly he had no idea what went wrong. He liked her, and he thought she was into him, but right after their second date she declared that they were better off as friends and left him at her doorstep confused. She apologized the next day, of course, and he just decided to go with the flow. Whatever feelings he had for her were buried deep within him and he had no intention of letting those out.

“A lot can change in three years,” Adrien said. “Maybe things will work out different this time.”

“Maybe.”

“Whatever you decide, you have my full support.”

Days passed since they launched phase one of Operation Lovebirds. Alya found it easy enough to fake showing interest in Nino. A smile here and there, a loving glance in his direction; the progression of their fake relationship had to be natural or Marinette and Adrien will know it’s a scheme.

“So what’s going on?” Marinette said as she sat down next to Alya on Thursday morning.

“Hmm,” Alya didn’t look up at her.

“With Nino. You were all smiley and blushing after talking with him. Did something happen?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Alya said nonchalantly. Phase one had been a success despite Nino’s poor performance on day one. Marinette was now interested in whatever was happening between her and Nino.

“Alya, you are so invested in my own nonexistent love life, that I need to return the favor. What happened with Nino?”

“Nothing, really. Please change the subject.”

“Don’t think I haven’t notice you looking at Nino since he came from vacation this summer.” She winked.

“Wait what?” No she hadn’t, had she? Sure she glanced at his face once or twice when he wasn’t looking. But to be fair, she still wasn’t used to it. She knew he was the same old Nino. She had to use this observation to her advantage. “I mean, maybe a little.”

“I knew it. You’ve been getting annoyed with his new flock of fangirls for weeks. I was wondering if something was up. You totally like him again don’t you!” Marinette squealed. “You have to tell him.”

“Says the pot calling the kettle black,” she raised an eyebrow. “Forget it. We decided we’re better off as friends.”

“Alya, that was years ago. People change.”  

“Ugh,” Alya put her head in her hands. “I know and I’ve been thinking more and more about why we broke up. I mean, yes, it was my idea to remain friends, but he didn’t fight me on it after I apologized. He just said “cool, no prob dude” and moved on.”

“Alya, I’ve known Nino for longer than you have. Nino will do anything to make others happy, even sacrifice his own happiness.”

Alya didn’t respond. Shit. Nino would do anything for his friend, she’s known that for years. But No she couldn’t think about that now. They had a plan, she needed to stick to the plan.  

“Nino is a good guy,” Marinette continued. “You both deserve happiness.”

The bell rang and Marinette turned her attention to the teacher. Alya pulled out her phone and sent a text to Nino.

Alya: After school. We commence phase two.

Nino: This soon?

Alya: Marinette took the bait, it’s time. Prep Adrien.

Nino: Okay, cool.

The rest of the day went by fast. She and Nino barely talked other than a quick hello between classes. She tried to push Marinette’s comment away, but it kept away eating at her. Nino was so chill, he rarely got angry or showed negative emotions. Their breakup didn’t even phase him, but was that all a front?

No, she couldn’t be thinking about this now of all times. She had to focus on the plan. Getting Marinette and Adrien together had to be her number one priority.

The final bell rang and Alya and Marinette made their way to the door.

“Alya, wait,” Nino took hold of her hand. She turned around. Nino reached back and scratched behind his head, a gesture he always did when he was nervous. “Hey, umm, I was wondering…if you’d like too…uh.”

As anticipated, Adrien stepped forward. “Nino was wondering if you’d like to go on a picnic on this weekend.”

“A picnic?” Alya acted surprised.

“Yeah, it’s nice outside. So I thought why not,” Nino said, nervously. “I mean we never really

“Sounds great, I’m in,” Alya wrapped her arm around Marinette’s shoulder.

“Great we’ll text you the deets.” Adrien smiled as he dragged Nino out of the classroom.

Marinette could not contain her excitement as the boys exited. “Alya, you have a date.” She jumped up and down, dancing around her friend. “You do deserve happiness, I mean it.” Marinette began something rambling about her and Nino getting married and having a double wedding with her and Adrien. Alya felt a buzz in her pocket, she pulled out her phone to check her messages.

Nino: Phase two complete.   

[peace-and-disquiet]

Ignore this

First One Hello Second Purgatory and all the shit Third one Why are movies so like under like a man thing is it because they like to look at things more? Women edits the film Bisexuality- several definitions Bisexuality-negative stereotypes NOPE bisexuslity-what it actually is I like being sick because it's a physical representation of what is going on in my brain. People can finally see that there is something wrong. They cant just take my word for it and they won't be able to see the inner workings of my brain. I like being sick because I know there's something wrong and at least it's on the outside now. Intelligent fools I'm high on devotion "Be happy please" -Roman I'm so ironic A girl with commitment issues that wants tattoos You want me to be as flat as Texas but I am like the rolling hills of California Nothing more mostly yes You taught me how to love and lose myself I don't know who I am or where I belong you took that away so just find a place for me to stay La La Land Short film from kid perspective only see legs moving and audio While taking off from LAX I was looking out the window and it hit me. I flew over the place that I've lived my whole life in. The place that will be hard to escape. It was almost tear dropping. But then I remembered, I remembered everything. This place looked so beautiful from above with the lights shining and it being so untouchable, but it's terrifyingly devastating how horrible it is once you land. Once you leave the airport and go back to your life. And it made me realize that it is like that everywhere, no matter where I go it will be like that. There really is no happy place anywhere. Then I looked again and I remembered the places where I had the greatest memories and met the greatest people. Despite the extensive amount of bad in the world these places still shown through. It made me love these memories twice as more. Look again. sockhead: Two people on couch one gets up to grab water and walks over to box and empties it out and puts it on head then walks back to couch sits looks at other person gets up paces walks funny turns around does a spin and walks to other person and says "would you like a dance" "Look at this post Your battery percentage is the age you lose your virginity What's yours at *pulls out phone* lmao it's at 16 and I'm 16 Exactly" And you can tell what happens next First scene is someone people watching and them getting stuck on one person and they go to their friend and is like "I was people watching but I got stuck on this one person *describes*" "Who is my someone in the crowd?..hmmm... WHERE IS MY SOMEONE IN THE CROWD HUH WHERE ARE THEY *cries*" Idk that's usually what I say when I want the world to fuck off Future short film: Foggy (silent) Trust goes both ways -rogue one Let's tell him how much we love him Falling in love with some is loving a person so rapidly, you just figure out the person automatically basically. Falling in love with someone gradually is the best feeling because you never know what is coming or what you feel. Once you know what it is you either regret it or embrace it. Nothing can ever be that perfect. That's what makes it beautiful Your voice is like a lullaby Scene or picture: All kinds of couples kissing in front of the Hollywood sign All cute and poop and then boom It's a misconception of a heart... I don't like misconceptions. I no longer fear death because I know that when I die it means that I am being taken out of this world because I have fulfilled my sole purpose so there is no point in me being here anymore. So Roman you and Irene are hanging out at some place together and you guys are left alone cuz Roman had to go somewhere but Irene looks at you all mad but as she pounces on you, you start making out... Irene only dated Roman to get to izzy Most underrated scene: when someone is going through something and they kick something and more stuff comes down Well shit Google translate to I Love You Use human nature in short film with ending like bad things (one person turns around) or in any love short film Covers: Secrets What a wonderful world Fly me to the moon Breaking Free w/ Roman Something New w/ Roman Creep Walt Disney is evil "The hardest part is the fact that I would do it all again" Oh you don't know me until you've seen cry about a boy cuz there's hurt in the world oh you don't know me No matter how much you wanna forget how much you loved someone because it hurts you would still do it all again "I mean when I love I love hard ya know" "It excites me that one day I will just leave" "The idea of running away intrigues me" I was too scared to love her If I lived in the places where my parents are from I would have the almost ideal body type but no I live in Cali where it's filled with impossible goals but hey even over there the goals are still impossible but society loves telling women all over the world that they have to look a certain way to be beautiful or to have people be attracted to them but hey we can't really do shit about it cuz it already affected our generation but we can help stop it for our kids or grandkids cuz it's fuckin unbearable Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one improvising Lets say all the things we never said I'm under my bed the scary man is in my head I love you Alex I love you and I fuckingn hate you -OITNB Sock head:can it go in notes? Song for girl You're a cool hat because you go over people's head Mom:I better not get a grandchild anytime soon Me:well that ain't gonna happen cuz one of us is gay and the other one sucks at getting into relationships "Ask no questions and you'll be told no lies" -Charles Dickens The city Sock head *kissing* *pulls away just a bit* what are we doing? Idk Okay *continues* You kick it up but it comes back down with more crap I have to go see about a girl -Good Will Hunting My whole life I was told to just slap a smile on and don't feel only be happy and normal but as I got older I realized that the beauty and meaning in life is feeling. The smile was still there but only when I meant it so it became more special. For once I was truly happy and had real friends. It's insane the things we're taught as kids because they really hold us back from life. Unreasonably obsessed You've made it-engaged-reality-join-idealize Love-laughter-talk They say the best way to move on is to let go as if letting go is the easiest part To house cats their home is their earth Seventeen Laying down staring up camera in front first scene rest shows how the person should change but last scene is same thing Walking out of house furious walking swamp scene Last first kiss Ten Commandments of film Prince Charming would never settle for you-bo burnham Beatify=violent Some Future stranger I got my mom a mug on her birthday she got a mugshot on mine It was something...a great story...just not a novel (it's not a poem) Life really does teach you how to live it if you live long enough Gentlemen you can't fight in here this is the war room -Dr Strange Love CURRENT Perspective What is it exactly that you see in this (July 7th) TATTOOS Music passage on rib cage (Creep) 28, 3, 10, 4, 7, 8 on forearm like it would show up on fortune cookie Equal sign behind ear Music not thumb Lame on middle finger w/Amanda Let life be A-live Aliento Love only Simplicity Not enough to time for time outs (tattoo and idea) Perspective tattoo Three spiral tattoo Pulse tattoo Viking symbol tattoo Roman Numerals (18) (17) Passion Now Ellipses Semi colon Vegvisir compass Hakuna Matata symbol Arrows Music note Bicycle Faceless cat tattoo or cat tattoo Moon tattoo Tree tattoo ™ tattoo Equality (two lines) & City outline tattoo Silhouette Parentheses FILM TITLES In the eventual reality It's not the first time someone has walked away from something beautiful It's Not a Poem (film idea sammy) Person thinks that they're in love but the other one is like "hey reality" etc. People who fear death die everyday people who don't die only on one day-Julius Ceaser The light at the end of the tunnel is behind us It's still real (film idea) Because The Movie Ends (film idea)NAH What's your mentality Do you need the past to have a future Do you need a future to have a past Right answer:You need the now to have anything SONGS We're falling apart together Le-e-E-t meeee lovvvee youuuu Sock head We're just PG-13 (idea) Lost stars One piano hit City Oauahhhhhohhhh Stars Music Headphones Pearls=lights Let me be afraid Light bulb lantern sleep eat Connected Flowin rivers Whimsical Running through the flowers falling for the hours oh time goes on no mercy for the broken Caannnn iiiii SEEE tonight Ohhhh dreeeaammsw tooo faarrrr rreeaacchh dying slowly aging with faces taking the lights breaking it down Falling towards nothing but it feels like something Candle Julius Ceaser Kissing on a grave yard Wrinkled hearts fading spades Numerology Crumbs I feel so bad I broke a plastic man SCENES Camera on girl calm face then she winces and starts screaming FIGHT BACK *pause* FIGHHT BACK *pause* then the camera goes to the side girl is looking in mirror *full mirror shot* as girl screams (score is like insane and then is white noise as she screams then like a gust of wind as the scene cuts) Car crash two people in car siblings scene goes Car flipping silence car flipping silence car flipping silence car flipping silence for slightly longer then one of the siblings waking up like the car hit the floor and looks at dead siblings wide eyes swallows crawls out of window looks at car wide eyed turns around looks at people getting out of their car wide eyed then walks limping and dripping blood maybe possibly when far away from camera just dropping dead (either ending or beginning) RANDOM IDEAS 818-fuc koff Kissing on a graveyard I can feel myself falling as I lay on the floor Death is the hour of life You're in a cage-what cage?-life You can't come to terms with reality reality comes to terms with you I'm addicted to addiction I wanna try acid you? I wanna try cigarettes well that's boring Doing drugs in front of chuck e cheese The extra that no one notices If I wanted somebody to die I would've killed them myself Meaningful regrets You know when people jump off a bridge to commit suicide well when they fall into the water they slowly float past the other uncared for yet loved souls This guy fucks a manikin and then he dates this girl and she's like a manikin She graduated from being raped to being murdered Why should I die? I'm not the asshole The Public:They like you they dislike you they hate they want to kill you they love you You know me in your marrow The fact is that it The unlikely couple Emails what a bunch of load of shit Is it that I people care for a little bit or is it that they just don't care How long do we have to deal with this? Till we don't "There's no such thing as the past when you haven't had a future" I've realized that there is nothing telling me yes but you Ankh Fuck shit you Life Death Truth Lies Don't you wish that there was a way to know you were in the good ol days before you left them I wish there was cuz I would go back Love just is Lost in a world full of love There is no light There is no everything without death Every mask rips My hand are like mini earth quakes My stomach has a heart beat "Do you want him to be your English teacher" "I know how to speak English" "He was drunk" We only die on one day It can either be a child or a penis (kid) I have a lot of pictures of my plants Texting your sexuality We were forever Scared to Come out to a parent who works at a place called pride A man named John Prays calls crash die Uh sorry my email isn't working right now Candle I go to grammar I know synononomns my wardrobe is mostly flannels because I took a flannel from every person that I loved It took forever to get out of my moms manipulation growing up and then I was thrown into his and I got out of it and then I get out of that and I'm trying not to get into anything else like that Growing up my mom would always make me do things or make me feel things and the actual me would only pop out occasionally and during that I would just live in fear and its like that again and I really hate it because now it's not just her I just want to leave cali But that's gonna be really hard and even my family says that I won't leave because I care too much and even though my mom does so much crap to me I can't leave her alone because she doesn't know how to be and she'll go crazy Because my brother will be here but he's not good at this I've had to do it my whole life because he was non existent I've been taking all of it from both parents and all of my family my whole life And I still get compared to my brother and my family says I'm copying him just because I like some of the things he does and I told him about things that he really likes now but no I'm copying him She's always made me do things and never let me be my own person because I'm so god damn afraid of her And I ant escape it and it freakin sucks even more now because I'm aware of it but I don't want to be oblivious again because I never had good experiences then Now I do occasionally like I feel now and I have actual friends but now it's just stale and it sucks because for some stupid ass reason I close myself off Because I'm scared that everyone is gonna be like what I grew up with Or that I'm gonna have to leave them So I screw up good crap or I don't let stuff be great just good I can't help it because at the time where I could've defined myself a little bit it was mostly what my mom told me to be and fear and now I'm kind of just everywhere still afraid And I'm scared of the future because I feel like I'm gonna get into a relationship or have friendships where I'm controlled Of be stuck doing something I hate Just slap a smile on and walk away At this point the smile is kind of necessary for other people that I love so I have to do it so people can not like explode so it's fine it's kind of normal now My brother and I just wrote music for a song and like idk it's weird cuz we were kind of just improvising and then this kind of thing rose from it and like we were playing together and we ended it and we both looked at each other and he was like "woah that hit me really hard" and I was like "I almost started crying" and he was like "me too" and so like idk I guess the notes and Rhythms hit a soft spot All cute and poo and then boom

[gethealthy18-blog]

139 “I Miss You” Quotes

New Post has been published on https://healingawerness.com/getting-healthy/getting-healthy-women/139-i-miss-you-quotes/

139 “I Miss You” Quotes

139 “I Miss You” Quotes Harini Natarajan Hyderabd040-395603080 October 22, 2019

Missing someone is the strongest feeling that can hit you right after you fall in love with someone. It often helps you realize that you care for them and makes you yearn for them in their absence. The aching in your heart and the void that their absence creates is the glue that can make your bond grow stronger. You often miss someone when you are in a long-distance relationship, and you may want to express that feeling in the most creative and heart-touching way possible. Here are 139 amazing quotes that can help you express yourself better and feel connected to your loved one, no matter how far they are. Ranging from hilariously inane to sugary sweet, these quotes will definitely let your significant other know that you miss them.

139 I Miss You Quotes

I miss you so much that my heart aches to be near you.

A day spent without you is a day in vain.

“My world is a million shattered pieces put together, glued by my tears, where each piece is nothing but a reflection of YOU.” – Sanhita Baruah

My eyes search for you in the most crowded of places.

I am drowning because missing you always come in waves.

I am either missing you, or kissing you right on your forehead.

I could spend an entire day with you and still miss you the moment you walk out the door.

If I had a penny for every time I missed you, I would be a millionaire by the end of the year.

I just planned on loving you. Missing you came free with it.

I am so happy we created a million memories with each other that make me smile when I am alone.

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Missing you makes me realize how much I love you.

Loving you is the coolest thing I have done, and missing you is the toughest.

No words can express how much I miss your presence.

Pictures of you are my best friend when I miss you.

Missing you while you are away and caring for you when you are beside me are my favorite hobbies.

I can see you when I close my eyes, and I start missing you when I open them.

You are the only person who can make me weak by going away from me.

I will always be missing you until you hold my hand again.

The answer to how much I miss you is always infinity.

When I miss you, I see a new part of my awakening.

I wait for the day I will see you again and be with you.

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You make me complete in every way when you are with me.

I miss you more and more with every passing second.

You are the missing piece of my life that I had been looking for all my life.

I can’t think of anything else but you when I am lonely.

The only things I do all day are miss you and think of you.

I miss you more than my favorite chocolate cake.

I have decided to love you until the end of time to spare myself from missing you so much.

Sometimes, I miss you so much, I feel like I see you in other people.

The scary thing about missing you is worrying that you will forget me.

Maybe I am hallucinating when I see you in lonely places, but I have fallen madly in love with you.

Missing you has becomes a part of my daily routine the moment you step away.

Missing you makes me realize how deeply I am in love with you.

I am good at everything except not missing you.

No matter how far we are, just look at the stars and know that we are under the same sky.

I have started missing you so much that you come in my dreams every night.

Roses are red, violets are blue, we fell in love, and I miss you.

Even when I keep myself busy, I can’t help but miss you.

When I miss you, I read all our text conversations a million times, and now, they are my favorite thing to read and smile.

I miss the cutest person on earth.

I miss the way you make me smile to my core.

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It is difficult for me to accept that I can’t go a single day without thinking about you.

Even if you are not by my side, you will always be in my mind.

I could stare at the phone all day just to see if you called me.

I have spent an endless amount of time counting petals, wondering if you love me or you love me not.

I can’t get you out of my mind. Maybe you live there.

You can touch my heart and know that it beats for you.

I feel lonely in a room full of people if you are not there.

They say you are lucky to have someone who misses and loves you. You are the luckiest guy in the world.

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Sometimes, I get angry with you on purpose so you come to make it up to me.

I dropped a tear in the ocean. The day you find it is the day I’ll stop missing you.

You know you love someone when you have everything and still feel like there is something missing in your life.

There is no better feeling than sitting next to you, holding your hand.

You are the only person who touched my heart from miles away, and I miss you so much.

You will probably freak out if you knew you are always on my mind.

You know you love someone when every romantic song reminds you of them.

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You might be out of sight but never out of my mind.

Every piece of me has a memory of you.

Some people are getting really jealous of how much I miss you.

If you ask me what I miss about you, I would say everything.

Just your presence makes everything perfect.

“Can miles truly separate you from friends? If you want to be with someone you love, aren’t you already there?” – Richard Bach

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“When you are missing someone, time seems to move slower, and when I’m falling in love with someone, time seems to be moving faster.” – Taylor Swift

I am in that state of mind where I start picturing the next moment we will be together as soon as we separate.

I miss the times we spent together, making memories that haunt me when we are apart.

If I write “I miss you” on a stone and throw it on your face, you will probably understand how much it hurts to miss you every moment.

Thinking of you every second, minute, hour, and day is the cure to missing you.

Missing you makes it easier because with each day that passes by, I am a day closer to meeting you.

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Distance is nothing when I have someone like you in my life.

Sunsets remind me of the wonderful times we spent together.

Missing someone hurts, but what hurts more is knowing that you are the reason they left.

Out of all the important things we did, I remember missing you the most.

My soul counts you as the best stimulus to happiness.

Every part of my body craves your company.

I may pretend like I don’t really care, but I miss you so much.

My heart knew no loneliness until you came into my life.

Life is so short that being away from you for even a minute seems absurd to me.

I wish I were kissing and snuggling with you instead of crying over you.

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Missing you makes me value all the times we were together for real.

When I text you, it means I’m MISSING you. When I don’t, it means I’m WAITING for you to miss me.

“Love is missing someone whenever you’re apart, but somehow feeling warm inside because you’re close in heart.” – Kay Knudsen

I miss you a lot even if I am unable to express it in the right way.

Sometimes, the sun forgets to shine in your absence.

I can only hope that you miss me as much as I miss you.

“What is the opposite of two? A lonely me, a lonely you.” – Richard Wilbur

I’m just waiting for the days I don’t miss you anymore.

“Sometimes, when one person is missing, the whole world seems depopulated.” – Lamartine

I know a million tears won’t bring you back. But I just hope you know how much I miss you.

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Even though we are a world apart, you are a part of me.

Distance means nothing when you are such an important part of my life.

Sometimes, I love you, and other times, I feel like punching you. But not a single moment goes by when I don’t miss you.

I planned on saying a lot but, in the end, it all comes down to I miss you.

A small part of me lives within you.

Sometimes, I feel sad about not being with you, but then I feel good about being your girl.

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Even if we are not together, you should know that my heart beats for you.

You left a mark on my life that will never wash away.

You gave me so many reasons to smile, but your leaving made all good memories bitter.

You left me swimming in a pool of loneliness.

I can picture spending the rest of my life with you because I miss you the moment you leave.

I keep myself really busy to avoid missing you.

I miss you the way the mountains miss the sky.

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Not a single day is complete without missing your presence.

I miss you only when I am breathing.

I can wait for you forever.

You are like the puzzle piece in my life that went missing, and now I am incomplete.

People say time heals everything, but I don’t want to heal from your memories.

The sun does not shine when you are not here.

Time seems to be moving slower when you are not there.

I can still remember the touch of your skin and the smell of my hair.

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Missing you makes me feel stronger, just like the waves hit the shore.

You taught me everything, except how to live without you.

Pain is missing you and not being able to do anything about it.

I wonder if there has been a moment where we have thought about each other the same way.

Hours pass like minutes when we are together and don’t pass at all when we are away.

I never felt loneliness until you came into my life.

Missing you, being unable to see and hold you, is the worst feeling in the world.

I miss you a little too frequently and a little more every day.

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Every ounce of my being misses you when you are away.

They say that time heals all wounds, but all it has done so far is give me more time to think about how much I miss you.

“The silence isn’t so bad, till I look at my hands and feel sad. Because the spaces between my fingers are right where yours fit perfectly.” – Owl City

“I miss you like the sun misses the flowers, like the sun misses the flowers in the depths of winter, instead of beauty to direct its light to, the heart hardens like the frozen world which your absence has banished me to.” – William Thatcher

I keep fighting the urge to text or call you, even though missing you is killing me.

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“Forever is a long time, but I wouldn’t mind spending it by your side.” He Is We

When I tell you that I’ll miss you, it doesn’t mean I’ll never get over you. It just means I wish I didn’t have to.

“I miss you a little, I guess you could say, a little too much, a little too often and a little more each day.” – John Michael Montgomery

I’m sorry if I am too clingy. It’s just because I miss you.

“I don’t know when I lost my mind, maybe when I made you mine, I don’t know when I lost my mind, and maybe it was every time that you said “I miss you.”” – Ed Sheeran

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I miss you, but I’m trying not to care. Because what can I do when you are not even mine?

Missing someone is a part of loving them. If you were never apart, you would never know how strong your bond is.

“Love is missing someone whenever you’re apart, but somehow feeling warm inside because you’re close in heart.” – Kay Knudsen

I can’t go another second without seeing you. Please come back soon. I miss you.

You are my sun, my moon, and all my stars. I miss you.

I miss you whenever anything big happens in my life because you are the one I want to share it with.

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If there was any way you could put your hand on my heart, you would know how broken it is from missing you.

“A key to keeping your husband is getting him to miss you. That keeps a marriage fresh.” – Tori Amos

“The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected.” – Nicholas Sparks

“I miss those kisses and the way I used to sleep in your warm hug. I miss the way you made me eat breakfasts and I miss the way you made me laugh. I miss you.” – Himmilicious

“Rise up, wise up, say it loud. Soul, I will not lie to you. I’m all alone. I’m still missing you, missing you, missing you.” – Tegan Quin

I miss you with every breath I take.

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Hope these quotes help you express how much you miss your partner. If you miss someone, let them know. It will only strengthen your relationship. Remember that everyone expresses themselves differently, and everyone loves being told that they are missed. So, text your SO right away!

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Harini Natarajan

Harini has over 12 years of experience in content writing and editing for online media. She specializes in the areas of business, health and wellness, and lifestyle and is proficient in Medical Sciences (Biology, Human Anatomy and Physiology, and Biochemistry). As the Chief Editor, Harini ensures that her team delivers interesting, engaging, and authentic content. Her background in Biomedical Engineering helps her decode and interpret the finer nuances of scientific research for her team. Harini is a certified bibliophile and a closet poet. She also loves dancing and traveling to offbeat destinations.

Source: https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/i-miss-you-quotes/

[what-is-sibling-test]

from 'RittenhouseTL' for all things Timeless https://ift.tt/2zvlpdi via Istudy world

New Chapter Alert!

As Fate Would Have It Chapter 2

I’m going to try and keep up with these but we’ll see. 

FF.net/AO3

“Wyatt I am not putting him in that seat it’s disgusting!” Lucy argued at the entrance of Target. She tightened her grip on Henry as Wyatt moved to take him.

“Lucy it’s fine! A little dirt will do him some good.” He huffed.

“Wyatt he’s ten months old he’s not even big enough for that seat.” Wyatt stood his ground, giving her a stare that he reserved for when he meant business, hoping it would cause her to surrender. No surprise that it didn’t. Lucy is the only person brave enough to constantly go toe to toe with Wyatt, and frankly she’s the only person he’ll allow to do so. Lucy straightened her spine and met his stare with the same intensity, years of being a college professor have perfected her ‘no nonsense’ glare. Henry obliviously giggling between them, completely unaware of the silent power grab going on above his head.

Wyatt gripped the cart tighter before muttering, “fine.”

Lucy smiled and whispered to Henry, “See? He can never say no to me.” Henry babbled in response. An older couple walked past and just smiled and shook their head at the pair. To everyone else they looked like a young couple running errands as a little family. She’d never admit it but it was fun to pretend that’s what they were… even if it was only for a few hours.

As they strolled through the aisles, everyone they passed seemed to smile at them. Lucy huffed when one too many women made eyes at Wyatt. He shot her a quizzical look and she pretended she was just blowing hair out of her mouth. They nearly crossed everything off the list Lucy made a crib, a car seat, a stroller, some bottles, diapers, a few toys and now they were standing in the food and formula aisle. Wyatt was just about to comment on how easy Henry had been through the store when he decided he’d had enough. His little face turned red and scrunched up, Wyatt was sure his screams could be heard in the parking lot.

“Damn little mans got pipes. You sure he’s not your kid?” Wyatt joked. Lucy involuntarily blushed at his indirect compliment. She just laughed and rolled her eyes. Lucy began soothing Henry, shushing him while holding him close to her chest, bouncing him up and down. Lucy’s heart broke for the child. This morning he woke up in his own bed with his mom there to take care of him then suddenly he was thrown into a new environment, surrounded by people he doesn’t know. Poor thing is confused as all hell, looking for anything familiar, most likely his mom. Lucy wanted to cry along with him.

“I know little guy. Shhh, I know, I know. It’s scary but I’ve got you.” Lucy cooed softly to the boy. Lucy met Wyatt’s eyes and the way he was looking at her took her breath away. She hadn’t seen such a genuine smile from him in such a long time.

“You’re a natural, you know” Wyatt said softly. His compliments and the way he was looking at her was too much to handle. Lucy had to remind herself not to get sucked in. Things were finally back to normal, well as normal as two people who have gone through what they did could be. They were Lucy and Wyatt no doubt about it, but not quite Logan and Preston. It was a weird limbo they were in, neither knowing where they stand with the other. Had the moment for them passed? Are they destined to just stay friends? These are the questions that keep Lucy up at night, it also doesn’t help that she’s currently holding his baby, a baby she has to keep reminding herself isn’t hers. She was just going to end up getting hurt if she kept pretending they were a family. Wyatt and Henry were a family, Lucy assumes she’s just going to be called in from time to time to baby sit, probably be referred to as ‘aunt Lucy’.

“I adored Amy as a baby, my parents had to remind me all the time that I was just her sister not her mom.” She joked, desperately trying to deflect from the situation. Wyatt chuckled and turned his attention back to the wall of baby food. He stood with two containers of formula in his hands, intensely checking the nutrition and ingredients. Lucy’s heart warmed at how much he already cared for this little guy that he has only known for a few hours. Lucy looked around she spotted something that she knew would help Wyatt immensely. She silently walked over and placed a large box in the cart.

“Lucy what is that?”

“It’s like a Keurig, but for babies” Lucy replied hoisting Henry higher on her hip.

“Absolutely not, we don’t need that.” Lucy tried not to get too excited over the word ‘we’ but it made her smile nonetheless.

“Trust me I saw this on Oprah you want it!” she challenged.

“Since when do you have time to watch Oprah?” he teased.

“I do have a life outside of our training sessions, you know.” She scoffed lightly. Even though the threat of Rittenhouse is gone Wyatt still makes her train with him three times a week. He claims you can never be too careful, especially living in the city, but Lucy doesn’t mind. She likes all the extra time she gets to spend with him, having a reason to be physically close with him even if it is only for a few hours a week.

He took a step closer, his flirtatious tone having an even greater effect at his proximity, “well then sounds like I’m not working you hard enough since you have time to watch Oprah.” She sucked in a breath, he hadn’t flirted this openly with her in a long time, possibly ever.

Standing her ground, she knew she couldn’t let him win. Lucy took a step closer so she could whisper in his ear, being a full head shorter than he is she had to stand on her toes which forced her body to be pressed against his, “I think you won’t do a damn thing considering I’m standing in the baby section of Target at 9:30 on a Saturday.” He didn’t have a response but he swallowed hard and Lucy knew she won their little flirting match.  

                                                        —

Lucy eventually dragged a reluctant Wyatt over to the clothing section, a place he had been dreading since they stepped into the store. He smiled and rolled his eyes as Lucy pilled outfit after outfit into the cart.

“I think that’s enough Luce, he probably has more clothes than you do at this point.” He teased. Lucy tried not to outwardly show how affected she was by the nickname. She ducked behind a rack of clothes to hide her blush.

“Daddy doesn’t know what he’s talking about, you can never have too many outfits. Right little guy?” she cooed at the baby. She honestly doesn’t know why she referred to Wyatt as daddy, it just slipped out but somehow it felt natural. She laughed at his stunned expression at her bold teasing. He cocked his head to the side. Lucy knew that look, he was about to dish it right back out, he was about to speak when an older lady placed a hand on his arm.

“Your family is absolutely precious, how long have you and your wife been married?” Lucy turned her head,

“Oh uh…” she fumbled unsure of what to say. A deep blush appeared on her cheeks at being called Wyatt’s wife. The name secretly sent a thrill through her. She was about to politely correct the lady when Wyatt cleared his throat next to her.

“Um… almost four and a half years.” His answer took her completely by surprise. She hadn’t expected him to just go with it. If her cheeks were pink before she probably looked like a tomato now. He smiled and glanced at Lucy. Her heart fluttered at the memory and she wondered if he remembered as well.

           “Well stop the presses here I am going on and on how’d he do it with you?”

           “Do what?”

           “Propose silly I mean look at that rang!”

           The smile and small wink told her he did.

“He is just the cutest little thing on God’s green earth!” the lady gushed at Henry, “what’s the little angel’s name?”

“Henry” Wyatt and Lucy said in unison. They made eye contact with each other, his lips turned up into his signature smirk and she felt her face heat up again. Get it together Lucy! He walked over so he could stand next to Lucy. He put his arm around her to he could rub Henry’s back. They’ve been closer in the last 20 minutes than they had been in a long time. The smell of his cologne all around her was intoxicating. Her mind fogged with the memories of their time in 1941, being able to completely give themselves over to each other. They let themselves fall hard, knowing the other would be there to catch them. Lucy missed being this close to him, the whole time he was with Jessica she ached for his touch. Seeing the way their future selves were with each other gave her hope but it’s still been a long journey back to him. Not one Lucy minds taking if it means she’ll end up in his arms. Feeling bold she leaned her head back against his shoulder. She felt him freeze for half a second but then instantly relaxed and moved his hand to her lower back, falling into a comfortable familiarity that she’s missed so much.

“You don’t let anything happen to them!” the lady warned.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Wyatt said softly while pressing a kiss to the top of Lucy’s head, her breath caught in her throat as she fought back tears. The gesture was so small yet so intimate, her mind was swimming with all the things his action could mean. Was this all just a show for the nice old lady? Were they finally at a place to cross over into something more? Seems like kind of an odd place to make that jump, the infant clothing section of a Target…lost in her thoughts she didn’t even notice the woman walk away, Wyatt awkwardly cleared his throat and stepped away from Lucy, both refusing to make eye contact.

“We should probably get the little nugget home.” Lucy whispered glancing down at a sleeping Henry.

“He’s certainly had an eventful day.” He agreed. They made their way to the check out in silence and carried all their items out to Wyatt’s jeep. The mood lightened as Lucy laughed at Wyatt fighting to install the car seat, she kept telling him he was doing it wrong and he just grumbled in protest. Mumbling something about a ‘bossy-know-it-all’. Climbing in on either side of the car they both turned towards the back seat. They sat in silence for a moment watching Henry sleep. Lucy traced his face with her eyes, the soft fullness of his cheeks, his large eyes, long eyelashes, cute little button nose, lopsided grin that she would know anywhere, the grin she fell in love with all those years ago in the waiting room at Mason Industries. Lucy looked to her left and saw Wyatt staring at her with admiration but quickly turned away when she caught him staring. Blushing slightly, she turned her gaze back to Henry, wishing so bad he was hers.