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creativeashproductions · 4 years

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Proceed With Caution // Evan Buckley

IN WHICH: The reader doesn’t expect to become involved in a hostage situation with her fiance’s older sister, the older sister’s best friend and the best friend’s date from hell. With the addition of a SWAT member, how will the taking of dispatch change?

Warnings: Swearing, blood, threats, angst, guns, hostage/kidnapping

Words: 5.9k

A/N: Recently got into the tv show 9-1-1 and completely fell in love with Buck so here I am writing for him as well. This takes place during the season three episode ‘The Taking of Dispatch 9-1-1’. Reader and Buck are already in an established relationship.

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The apartment was quiet as the sound of your keys clattered in the bowl on the countertop. It was pretty early in the morning, so you had no doubts that Buck would be just waking up. On his days off, he would use the first day to catch up on sleep; based on prior times, he would be up in half an hour.

“Buck?” You called out from the kitchen. You heard a groan from the loft where Buck was in the process of waking up, “I forgot to drop off that book Maddie wants to borrow. When I get back, do you want to get breakfast?”

A grumble you somehow translated to approval was what you received in response. You jogged up the stairs to the loft to grab the book from your bookshelf. Buck’s bare leg stretched out from underneath the comforter on your side. The soft sighs Buck made in his sleepy state tugged at your heart; the sighs grew louder when you bent to kiss his head.

“See you in a bit.” You whispered to the sleepy soft male. He sleepily grinned in response before curling into your pillow.

The sound of your footsteps softened on the steps back to the main level of the apartment. Your keys snagged from the bowl before you gently closed the door behind you. The sun was gorgeous to be awake to see and had Buck not worked a long shift, you’d have adored watching it with him.

Your car pulled out of the parking spot in the Los Angeles Service Center’s direction that Maddie worked at. Your lips quirked as the radio spewed out the station that Christopher listened to in the car. You could even pick up the book in the backseat where he called his spot. The book could be found in Buck’s Jeep as well.

It had maybe three days since you’d seen the young Diaz, and damn did you miss the kid. Christopher has his enigmatic quality that demanded you love him for all that made him simply Christopher. The second you’d met him, you knew he would mean a lot to you.

You hummed in time with the song that was currently Christopher’s absolute favourite. Slowly you went from humming to singing along when the light turned green. A handful of songs came and went on the admittedly long drive due to traffic.

It was about forty minutes after leaving your apartment that you parked next to Maddie’s car in the parking lot. Lucy was sitting at the front office with a grin you matched. The woman buzzed you before she clocked out with her reprieve Jake.

“Hey, Sue!” You grinned at the older redhead. Sue had absolutely no problem seeing you, given that you were welcome in the building.

Sue’s first interaction was when you came to the centre to pick up Maddie when she came to work sick. Maddie had managed to keep it under wraps for an hour before Sue caught on. Ever since, Sue was fond of asking Maddie about her brother and you.

“Maddie’s not in just yet.” Sue spoke with a kind smile, “If you’ll excuse me, I have to meet with one of our sit alongs.”

You nodded towards her while beelining for the woman’s bathroom, hoping to catch Maddie after using it. You’d drank too much water on your run earlier this morning. Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate in the time you’d entered the bathroom, several things happened. Lucy ended her shift, Jake started his shift, and a group of strangers entered the building.

Your hand went to push open the door when through the crack, you saw two men you’d never seen before. Years of your job gave you enough feeling to know that something wasn’t right. That being said, you eased the door closed and attempted to find a hiding spot.

The garbage was too narrow and had no lid. The few seconds you had left, you glanced up. The ceiling hadn’t been renovated in many years. Rectangular sheets could be raised. Thankful of the rock climbing lessons you’d done with Maddie, you managed to crawl into the ceiling just as the two men entered.

“Nobody’s here.” The one-man with his head as pale and shiny as a cue ball. He gave off the most creepy vibe; the shorter Hispanic man wasn’t as violent looking, “Kinda hoping someone tries something. I’ve wanted to try out this.”

The man waved the large gun in his hand with a sick smile that twisted your stomach. That was the moment you’d realized something was very wrong. The second they left, you gently dropped back on the ground. Your first instinct was to send a message to Athena, but there was a fatal flaw. You’d expected to be in and out of the building quickly, so you’d left your phone in the car.

“Fuck.” You swore. One hand roughly running over your forehead as you contemplated figuring out a plan.

The building had many cameras throughout that you knew the blindspots for. The year after high school and during the summers, you’d worked in the building. Despite having worked here when you were younger, it was never during Sue’s shift. Over the years, you’d come to know the blind spots and a few cameras that were decoys. You even remembered Maddie and her friend Josh complaining about three cameras not fixed yet.

“Think.” You breathed, making a pattern of pacing, “They’ll need a lookout. They’ll take out the security guard first. The front doors are out. It’s a team, so they’ll also need eyes on the building. Terry is definitely a hostage.”

Of course, you’d end up in a volatile situation during the first half of your day before your shift started. The only comforting thing about the situation was the holstered gun on your hip and the badge on your belt. Maybe you should backtrack to why you had a gun and badge; you were an LAPD member, specifically SWAT.

“The changeroom.” You breathed, recalling it was down the hall with no camera. All you needed to do was pretend to be a dispatcher. The changeroom, now mostly a file room, had a few extra maroon and blue uniform shirts.

You timed it. The man holding Sue’s tablet was in the process of talking with his cohort, so you dashed to the room. You took no time in changing into a loose maroon shirt with your thick sweater overtop to hide the gun in the small of your back.

Your holster, badge and personal shirt tucked in the bottom of a box for safekeeping. As soon as you saw your entry, you sat with the group of hostages a hall over. A few looked surprised but let it go when you raised one finger to your lips.

“Y/N? What are you doing here?” Maddie hissed from the other side of a startled Josh. Both of them were surprised at seeing you here, “Oh my god. Buck is going to kill me.”

“I was dropping off your book before I get breakfast with Buck, but it appears my small bladder saved my life.” You snarked with your eyes scanning the room, “What’s going on?”

“That is my date from hell, Greg.” Josh inconspicuously pointed towards the man, clearly giving orders. The anger flared inside you, “You need to get out.”

“Josh, no offence, but I’m an officer with the LAPD. I work with SWAT. I’m your best bet of making it out alive.” You informed the dispatch duo, who went still as Cue Ball patrolled the hallway with a sadistic glint in his eyes.

“They took control of the building for a reason we don’t know about. We’re still working but under strict monitoring. They said it will be an hour, but we’ve seen their faces.”

“No witnesses.” You finished for Maddie with a deep sigh, “Unfortunately I left my phone in the car. Did they take yours-”

“They took Linda’s EpiPen. Of course, we don’t have phones.” Maddie sighed, leaning back to rest her head against the wall. Not even having a SWAT member by her side was comforting; your badge put a more significant target on you.

“We have to warn someone.” Josh mumbled to both Maddie and you, “You’re on shift Y/N?”

“Not for a few hours. I was supposed to drop off the book and get breakfast with Buck before my shift. This was supposed to be five minutes tops, so I left my phone in my car.”

“I already did.” Maddie spoke with a sad look on her face that overtook the fear, “I just hope he gets the message.”

Your hand reached out to squeeze the woman you’d had a hand in raising Buck more than their parents. Maddie had become family when you first started dating Buck. The in-law part of her familial relationship to you never crossed your minds; you were simply sisters to each other.

“Who?”

“Chim. I told him I loved him.” Maddie finished with a teary gaze. It made you sick seeing that look again after Doug.

You remembered seeing that haunted look when she stumbled out of the thicker woods covered in blood. You’d stayed by Athena’s side when Buck clutched her so tight and sobbed with her. It had been before you’d become serious with the man, but it was that frightening day that Buck fell for you. You’d just finished a taxing shift with your team when you heard about Maddie was missing, and Chim was in the hospital. You’d ignored the exhaustion to search high and low through your work contacts before narrowing the search area.

“Good thing Chimney obsesses over the little things.” You spoke, slouching down against the wall, “We’ll get throu-”

“Don’t do anything stupid.” Maddie warned you with her brows furrowed together, and you saw what she was doing. Despite your years of experience and the gun you had, she pushed her fear down behind the concern that a big sister shows her young siblings.

“I won’t.”

At 8am, Buck was just entering the apartment building from grabbing the mail addressed to both you and him when Chim had called.

“Yup, go for Buck.” Buck spoke, opening the door to the apartment he’d only temporarily left. His morning had been late after his long shift the night before. The most productive thing was dressing for his breakfast date with you and grabbing the mail.

“How come 9-1-1 doesn’t respond when I call?” Chimney questioned the younger, now confused male.

“Uh, is that some kind of riddle? Like who watches the watchmen?” Buck asked, closing the door behind him. His eyes scanned around for any indication you’d returned home, but the bowl was vacant of your keys.

“Neither of those things are riddles. Okay, I just tried calling 9-1-1, and I got the high call volume message. Did I miss an earthquake or something?”

“Nope, pretty chill morning.” Buck responded as he closed the fridge door with a bottle of water in hand. The entire conversation wasn’t concerning to him, given that Chimney was often like this.

“Where’s Y/N? She’s the police she’ll know-”

“She’s not home right now. Wait, why are you calling 9-1-1? Is everything okay?” Buck slowly asked with his brows coming together. The sigh of frustration from Chimney was answer enough.

“Your sister said that she loved me.”

“Yeah. Wasn’t that uh, the whole point in that big date you had last night?” Buck inquired on his way to the table. He had a feeling this was going to be a long conversation that would hopefully pass the time until you got home.

“You declare your love, and she declares hers? That’s how it went with Y/N and me.”

“Yeah, I know, okay, but she didn’t, all right? At least not last night. Look, she made this big deal saying that she couldn’t say those words, and then this morning, she blurts them out and hangs up on me.” Chimney speaks, pacing in his own apartment. The side by the side of Chimney and Buck’s separate apartments told different tales of their states.

“It’s still not quite sounding like an emergency.”

“’Cause I sound insane.” Chimney spoke, staring up at the ceiling with a battle in his mind. He wants Buck to talk him out of this, but he also wants Buck to agree with him, “She’s at the call centre. What could happen there? You know what, forget it, I’ll try Y/N again.”

“Again?” Buck questioned just as his co-worker ended the call. Buck tugged his phone away from his ear to stare at it confused.

You always answered the phone if you weren’t working at the moment, but given you still had hours, he found it unsettling. After seeing the news report with the ladder truck on top of him, calls weren’t ignored between you two. That feeling of concern grew when you didn’t answer his call either. Nor the second one.

“Nah, she’s probably talking with Maddie.” Buck spoke, but that second-guessing feeling didn’t dissipate.

In the call centre, you’d been marched to one of the stations with a deep hope that you’d remember everything. It had been years by then since you’d worked as a dispatcher. It didn’t help with the gunmen patrolling the room.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” You calmly questioned the caller.

“Hi, my cat is up the tree by my house. Could you send someone?”

“Can I get your name?” You went through the motions of getting her name and address before you informed the woman, “Okay, the LAFD and LAPD no longer respond to calls of cats in trees. The cat will make its way down on its own. If the tree is in your backyard, I’d use the time to garden or read a book on this beautiful day.”

“Oh, thank you. I’m sorry for taking up your time.”

“It’s no problem. Having a wonderful day Susan.”

In no time at all, you’d been rotated into the board room away from Josh and Maddie. It gave you time to inspect everyone you hadn’t made contact with yet. No one appeared harmed other than in distress with the situation.

“Downtown. They don’t want anyone downtown.” Linda whispered as Maddie was guided onto the floor by the elbow. You’d only gathered her name from her near-silent introduction to you when the hired guns had been far from your area.

“Let’s go.” Greg snapped, roughly pushing you towards the conference room. Something deep in your gut already predicted that someone was going to be stupid.

It was your sharp eyesight catching the minuscule agitation in Greg’s interactions with the Cue Ball guy. The slight tightening of his grip on the gun, the tension in the room growing stifling. And everyone knows that when emotions run high stupid things happen.

“Why do they keep moving us around like this?” The man beside Maddie questioned. He was definitely the most shaken of the group. He was basically shaking like a chihuahua.

“To disorient us.” Maddie spoke, staring at the group monitoring the dispatchers currently in play. Her eyes refused to leave them.

“So, we can’t make a plan.” You finished for your sister-in-law. Objectively out of everyone, Maddie, Sue and you were the most collected individuals for various reasons.

Maddie had lived in a volatile house with a man that could be unpredictable if a situation called for it in his mind. Sue had been working in the centre for years to navigate the emergency while you walked into dangerous situations.

“Jamal.” The shaking man spoke, holding his hand out towards you, “Are you new?”

“No.” You spoke as you shook his hand, “I’m Y/N. Maddie’s sister-in-law. I’m filling in as a favour for Sue.”

The lie slipped off your lips a little too quickly. You decided to come to this hostage situation as if you were undercover. It meant having to ignore that Maddie was in the situation with you.

“Worst day for a favour.” Jamal snorted with his eyes pinned on one of the armed men holding all your lives in their hands. You’d have spoken, but Jamal checked out mentally from the conversation waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The shoe dropped when the IT Specialist announced numbly, “Jake’s dead. They shot him.”

It didn’t matter how long you’d been working for the LAPD, any death, whether it was a civilian or a criminal, it was still was startling. Jake, the security guard that alternated shifts with Lucy, wasn’t someone you spoke with. He was on shift when you weren’t here or just missed the shift change.

“We need to get a message out.” Jamal spoke, glancing at the only people in the right state of mind, and those were Maddie, Josh and you. Terry had seen the violence these men had no issues with.

“I did.” Josh breathed, thinking of the arguably cute security guard he sometimes liked to stare at, “A woman called about onions in an omelette. I dispatched an officer.”

“To the restaurant?” Maddie inquired with her pinkie connected with yours for comfort. Both of you would prefer your SO’s hand instead.

“Not exactly.” Josh replied, staring at his best friend with a glimpse of hope in his brown eyes.

Hope may be the only way you could get out of this without hurting anyone in your admittedly surface level plan.

“Buck will think something is up.” You added

Buck had begun pacing the kitchen of the apartment with Chim adamantly telling his friend his plan to go to the centre. Buck had joined Chimney in the concerned department when you had failed to return to the apartment, return calls and to make matters worse, so was Maddie. His texts had gone unanswered as well, not even having the read receipt on.

“She’s not picking up either. I tried Y/N and Josh, but neither replied. When I tried Maddie and Josh, it went straight to voicemail.”

“Now, I’m definitely going.” Chimney announced, shoving his wallet into his pocket just as someone began knocking on his door.

“What if something is wrong? I know Y/N is a member of SWAT but radio silence? No text to let me know she was called in early?” Buck thought aloud with his finger dragging along his thigh, “Maybe we should call the police.”

“I...think someone already did.” Chimney informed Buck as he stared at the sudden appearance of Sergeant Athena Grant at his door.

“What? What do you mean?” Buck hastily questioned, leaning against the kitchen island. He could just faintly hear Athena speaking on Chimney’s end of the phone, “Chimney? What’s going on?”

“Athena was sent to my apartment. Hang on, Buck, I’m just gonna tell Athena what’s going on.”

Buck stepped away from the island to settle on the stairs to the loft, impatiently waiting for Chimney to finish speaking. That fear of losing pieces of his life expanded deep in his gut, just like the times Maddie left in his childhood. That fear of being left behind.

“What’s she’s saying now?”

“She’s making her case.” Chim whispered as he continued to eavesdrop on Athena’s call with her higher-ups, “Now she’s folding like a cheap suit.”

“All right, let me talk to Athena.” Buck demanded antsy to figure out the situation that clearly had something wrong. That fear he’d thought of early flared catching the tail end of Athena’s conversation, “No! No, no. We can’t just send in SWAT. If there is someone inside the call centre doing something, they’ll know we’re onto them.”

Unfortunately, Buck was correct in this thought process, all thanks to living with a SWAT member. He knew these things after the years he’d been with you.

“Maddie? I think I can sneak up to Terry’s computer. Maybe get eyes on the place-”

“No!” Terry nearly shouted, stiffening when Cue Ball hesitated in the doorway at his sudden shouts. You all held your breath for his reaction, but thankfully he was called away by one of the men, “They have-”

“Terry, I need you to calm down. I’m familiar with these types of situations. I’m SWAT. I need to get on top of this. Don’t be a hero.”

Maddie’s head began to shake when your arm was roughly grabbed by Greg, “Your turn.”

You were separated from Josh and Maddie, but instead of being pushed into one of the dispatcher seats, you were pulled to the original hallway.

“I don’t like how friendly you are with them.” Greg spat, shoving you to rest against the wall, “Don’t move.”

You catch the eyes of Maddie with an apologetic expression before you used the pacing routine to sneak away. You didn’t release your breath until you were attaching your holder to your hip in the change room. By now, your team would be aware that something was wrong, Hondo would be hell-bent on finding you.

Until you had help, you were on your own.

You used each blindspot of the cameras in the halls to the stairwell, and you used a broom to adjust the cameras. The cameras not kept you from view but not appearing suspicious. Once at the floor where Terry was practically always at you softly closed the door.

You’d only started to sit down when you heard the ding of the elevator, “Shit.”

You slipped into the closest containing extra parts if anything broke. Through the crack, you saw Terry being held at gunpoint. The gunman that had been holding the tablet on the floor, Ellis as you’d heard.

“You’re telling me every cop in the city has just disappeared?” Ellis demanded as Terry, and he disappeared around one of the corners. The tapping of a screen indicating Ellis was searching for something with Terry’s involuntary help.

“I’m telling you, I don’t know!” Terry snapped back, creating even more tension in the room, but Ellis didn’t move to grab his gun.

Ellis appeared to the only one reluctant to discharge your weapon, unlike Cue Ball, who just happened to join the party.

“Figure it out!” Ellis spat, turning on his heel at the sound of approaching footsteps. You could see him roll his eyes at his team member walking into the room.

“What’s going on here?” Cue ball questioned the duo in different kinds of distress, and you swore Cue Ball enjoyed the intimidation from his teammate and the IT specialist.

“That police car’s not the only one that’s gone dark.” Ellis nervously spoke, stiffening for the volatile reaction that one could expect from Foster.

“You think they know we’re here?”

“Foster, it could be a system glitch.” Ellis offered keeping one eye on Cue Ball while monitoring Terry’s work as well.

Cue Ball spoke a sentence that sent chills up your spine, “Time to cut our losses.”

As Foster and Ellis began going over their personal plans made out of Greg’s knowledge, you noticed Terry glance over. His eyes widened slightly before quickly looking away when you raised a finger across your lips.

“We can go down the back stairs. I have a car waiting around the corner, we split the art up between the five of us, and we go our separate ways.” Foster spoke, revealing his plan to double-cross Greg, which in all honesty made sense. Greg was ill-fitting to be in charge of their operation, unable to control his lackeys.

“I like that part of the deal.” Ellis breathed, skirting around the trigger happy criminal only to halt in his steps, “Wait, you’ve got a car parked down the street? You were always gonna double-cross Greg.”

“You weren’t?”

“If we’re gonna do this, you can’t just sell famous works of art on eBay.”

“You can’t sell them from prison either.”

At that moment, something almost shifted in the area, something that made you pull your gun from your holster. Your body telling you something was about to happen. It happened in a split second. Foster fled the room leaving only Ellis just outside. With Terry frantically shaking his head, you tiptoed to the unsuspecting criminal.

“LAPD!” You shouted, pointing your gun towards the shocked man, “Put the gun down and put your hands up.”

“Aren’t you a dispatcher?” Ellis questioned, blinking in surprise.

“Aren’t you supposed to be intelligent? Next time check the schedule I haven’t worked here in years.” You spat, keeping your gun pointed on him, “Do I say-”

The sound of two guns going off made Terry flinch and scream as he instinctively dropped to the ground. IT was supposed to be safe, but Terry had now heard three gunshots in under two hours. He really didn’t want to see the outcome of the shots.

A moan coaxed Terry to peek out through the privacy glass. Ellis was on the ground while you kept your gun on him. He didn’t see anything else when the power went out. He didn’t see you drop to your knees, but he heard you.

“Terry...get down. Lay on your stomach with your hands insight, and don’t move.” You informed the terrified IT just as the floor was swarmed.

“Put the gun down!” The sound of Tan’s voice was welcoming as you slowly placed the gun on the ground. “25-David I have Y/L/N. The suspect is down, need medical.”

You got back to your feet when Tan nodded his head, “Thank god. There’s a possible body in the IT room along with the It Specialist Terry.”

“You got your badge on you?” Tan questioned as he cuffed the moaning Ellis up, “Street can you escort her down?”

Street nodded from his position, watching Tan’s back before guiding you to the stairs with hawk eyes. Even off duty, you kept your head on a swivel.

“You caused quite the commotion.” Street spoke halfway down the stairs when you barely mumbled. He caught you as you went down like a sack of potatoes, “Y/N!”

“Adrenaline is crashing.” You moaned, looking at your shoulder where the maroon had grown darker, “I think he shot me.”

“26-David I’m in the stairway. Prepare a medic.” Street spoke into his radio before he strapped the gun away and swept you into his arms, “Think you can have my back?”

“When don’t I?” You wheezed, with the sweat starting to bead on your forehead. As you crashed from adrenaline, you barely noticed being placed on the ground at the main entrance.

A paramedic cutting your borrowed shirt to reveal the bullet hole in your shoulder courtesy of Ellis, the only member who’d thought wouldn’t shoot his gun. You could vaguely hear Maddie calling out your name as you were loaded onto a gurney.

“M-Maddie?” You spoke, tilting your head to see Chris holding Maddie back from, “Chris! That’s my sister in law.”

Chris only let Maddie go when Hondo gave the all-clear, and you were so thankful when Maddie’s hand encased yours.

“Don’t close your eyes.” Maddie pleaded sick with the amount of blood on your skin and soaking through the gauze, “Who’s gonna help me put up with my little brother?”

“Buck.” You breathed sluggishly, blinking as the artificial lights changed to natural with the gun shining through the glass front doors.

“You didn’t let me close mine in that ambulance, so I need you to do the same. Don’t close them. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.” Maddie cried as an officer pulled her aside as you were stopped. You wouldn’t remember it, but Maddie had to watch as you coded right in front of her.

Maddie had to watch them perform CPR on you and fight for a pulse. She had to think of how’d she’d tell her little brother she’d killed his fiance. The counting of the paramedics sounded as if underwater, and as they did, the world went quiet. Her mind checked out as the trauma settled in.

Maddie stumbled out of the building into a zoo of officers, medics, and news reporters almost robotically. She barely felt Chimney hug her, but she wrapped her arms around him and sobbed.

“It’s all my fault.” Maddie gasped, collapsing against him, “If I had-”

“Maddie?”

Chimney felt Maddie stiffen at the sound of Buck’s voice amidst the multiple voices milling around. Maddie raised her gaze to meet Buck’s blue eyes dripping in relief and question.

“Buck.”

“Maddie, where’s Y/N? Her car…” Buck trailed off, catching the utter heartbreak in his big sister’s eyes. A look he’d come to know in his line of work as a firefighter. The utter devastation that came with watching someone you love die, “No. No.”

“I got a pulse!” Came from the nearest ambulance, and Buck skirted around his sister and Chimney, “Ready to transport!”

Your eyes slowly blinked at the white ceiling of the ambulance with pain in your midsection courtesy of chest compressions. Breathing came painful, and the bullet wound throbbed, but it all faded when you saw blue eyes above you.

“Buck.” You sobbed, more like groaned, as he was urged to sit on the bench holding your hand, “Maddie?”

“She’s okay. Chim’s got her. Can you keep your eyes on me? I need to see those big beautiful e/c eyes.” Buck soothed, bringing your hand to his lips, “Did I ever tell you my favourite colour?”

Despite Buck’s best attempts, you continued fading in and out of consciousness but continued to be stable. He spoke about the funny video Eddie had shown him of Christopher at the end of their shift last night. He talked about everything and anything under the sun during the short ride to the hospital.

The last thing you saw was Buck being held back as the paramedics pushed the gurney into the ER. Everything turned black.

The beeping was the first thing you heard before your eyes fluttered open to a stark white room and that unmistakable hospital scent. You noticed the second thing as Buck holding your hand in both of his with his forehead pressed against them.

“Buck?” You moaned to the one person you had wished to see. The man whose eyes were bloodshot from crying, “What’s wrong?”

“Your heart stopped beating twice. I thought I was gonna lose you.” Buck cried with his lips pressed against your hand, “I was so worried.”

“Hey. I’m fine. I’m here.” You cooed, tugging one hand away to run through his messy hair with a soft smile. His blue eyes brighten at the familiar feeling of your digits in his hair, “I’m not going anywhere. This isn’t here for decoration.”

His eyes found the ring he’d gently placed back on your finger from when the nurses had removed it. It only left your finger when you were on duty, in which it was slung on a necklace hidden under your uniform.

“Better not be.”

“Does the hospital have a chapel?” You questioned out of the blue leading to Buck snorting as you giggled, “I’m serious. When I was bleeding in that building, all I could think about was you. If Maddie is anything like you, she’s waiting in the waiting room with Chimney.”

“You aren’t wrong. All the chairs are taken. Our family was waiting for you to wake up.” Buck breathed, leaning closer to press a sweet kiss to your lips, “Are you sure?”

“About marrying you?” You softly questioned the man who couldn’t help but believe this was a dream. How he’d somehow got the girl of his dreams to agree to marry his ass, “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. All I want to share is your last name for the rest of my life. You are it for me, Evan Buckley. All the flaws you see are beautiful to me.”

“Only you would want to get married after being shot mere hours ago.” Buck chuckled with a sigh pulled from his pink lips, “I’ll get the doctor for you and find out if we can be married here.”

While you were checked out, Buck left the room to go back to the waiting room where the 118 and your co-workers waited. Everyone perked up at his appearance, Christopher asleep on Eddie’s lap.

“Is she okay?” Bobby questioned as the tension in the room grew more and more. It shattered into relief when Buck grinned.

“She’s sore as expected. She’s gonna catch some sleep, but she’d like to see Maddie.” Buck replied, pinning his gaze on his big sister with her curled into Chimney’s body. Her cheeks flooded with tears of absolute relief, “C’mon.”

The waiting room started emptying with Buck’s promise to keep everyone updated, but before Bobby could step away, Buck asked for him.

“Do you need a few days off?” Bobby questioned just as Buck came closer to the seasoned firefighter.

“No. But could you spare an hour?” The expression on Buck’s face was enough for Bobby not to ask any further questions. He simply followed Buck back towards your hospital room, where Maddie and Chim waited.

“What’s going on?” Bobby inquired, with the addition of the hospital assigned Priest holding the standard bible. Chimney could only shrug in response to whatever was going on.

“I know there have been times we haven’t seen eye to eye, but Bobby, you’re like a father to me. You gave me chance after chance when anyone else would have given up. You guided me on how to be a man. Y/N and I would like it if you’d be here for this.”

“Wait, are you getting married? What about the wedding?” Maddie spluttered, flicking her gaze between her brother and you. Her question surprised her boyfriend and Bobby.

“We’ll still have it. But I want to marry her without the pressure of our parents. Just a private ceremony with some of the people that mean the most to us.” Buck answered for the two of you, “Would you stay?”

“Of course.” Maddie softly spoke with a slideshow of memories playing in her mind of watching Buck grow up.

Watching Evan go through all kinds of injuries, all in the name of attention but never getting it the way he deserved it. She remembered giving him advice for asking out Donna and holding him when he was rejected. The little toddler with the impish grin somehow turned into an idiot in the hospital.

Maddie saw the man her little brother had turned into with the help of the 118 and you.

Buck’s fingers made quick work of buttoning his short-sleeve uniform with the sudden appearance of his friend.

“That’s new.” Eddie spoke from his opened locker holding his uniform and a picture of his family on the door. It was a picture of Christopher, Buck, you and Eddie from the zoo a couple months back.

Buck looked over at his best friend, “Hm?”

“The ring.” Eddie snorted dramatically, looking at the ring that had been living on his finger since he married you five days ago, “Did my invite get lost in the mail?”

“Nah, we just got married in the hospital. We’re still planning the wedding to appease both sides of our family. And I promised Christopher he could be in the wedding. With Y/N on medical leave, the planning will be faster. She’s going stir crazy after five days.” Buck finished tucking in the shirt into his work-issued pants. Lastly, he slid his ring onto the metal chain he had bought recently.

Like you did, he would wear it around his neck when working for safety reasons.

“I’m happy for you, man.” Eddie told his friend just as the bell rang, “You’ll have to tell me how you’re liking the married life.”

“But first, we have a job to do.” Buck supplied all the while jogging to suit up in his turnout gear with Hen and Chimney.

#evan buckley imagines #evan buckley #evan buckley x reader #evan buckley x fem!reader #evan buckley oneshot #911 imagines #911 oneshots #oliver stark #evan buck buckley #evan buckley x y/n #evan buckley x you #caitsy and ash productions

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todoroki-waifu · 3 years

Text

Atsumu x F! Reader

Scenario: When you try to subtly confess to Atsumu.

Word Count: 1,970

Genre: Fluff and humor.

Warnings: Cursing, female reader, and some OOC-ness (maybe?). My first time writing for Atsumu and the rest of the Inarizaki team.

————

“I get that she’s the most beautiful here, but we are here to check out the art, too.” Atsumu jumps slightly at a voice and hand on his shoulder.

“‘Samu!"

"Could you be any more obvious?"

"I-I wasn’t doing anything!” Atsumu huffs, a blush attacking his face as he shakes off his brother’s hand.

“Why don’t you ask her out already before someone else does?"

"I’m working on it!"

"Hey, who’s that with __(y/n)?” Suna chimes into their conversation, nodding to where you had been standing and admiring a portrait. The two see a man conversing with you, both of you very engaged in whatever topic that was being discussed. He brought out a small electronic device, looking a bit nervous as he showed you the screen.

“He’s probably going to ask for her number.” Osamu replies indifferently, but did a quick glance at his sibling.

“What?!” Atsumu immediately leaves the group.

“Wait, but doesn’t that guy-” Aran questions, but Kita cuts him off while the others hold in their chuckles.

“Let him figure it out."

——-

"So if you put your-” While you were listening to the young man who approached you, a familiar face made himself known.

“Hey, buddy, is there a problem over here?” Atsumu suddenly inserts himself in between you and the stranger. He stands tall, looming over the shorter male.

“N-no, there is no problem.”

“Atsumu-kun, he was just-” You placed a hand on his arm and tried to explain the situation.

“Don’t worry, __(y/n)-chan. I got this.” Atsumu gently pushes you behind him to hide you.

“Was there something you needed from her?” He continues.

“No, si-sir. I-I was only trying to-”

“Well, if you ain’t got any business with her, I suggest you beat it.” The blonde twin glares at the male hiding behind his black device. He smirks victoriously, watching the scared stranger run away. He turns around to find you with your arms crossed and an incredulous look.

“Why were you so mean to him?”

“Mean? What do you mean? Wasn’t he trying to hit on you?”

“What? No! He works here! He’s a staff member."

"But didn’t he have his phone out to get your number?”

“Get my..-you mean his Ipad? He wasn’t trying to get my number, he was asking for my email so he could send a survey for us to fill out on how satisfied we were with the staff and the place."

Atsumu had no answer, processing what he did to the innocent and diligent worker and to you. You must think he’s a crazy idiot for sure.

"As funny and adorable that was, you’re coming with me to apologize.” You grabbed his hand, dragging Atsumu to find the man who he wrongly yelled at.

“Yes..” He pouts, but obeys. You’re zipping through the crowd until you finally spot your target.

“He’s with someone else, but we’re waiting until he’s finished and I’m not letting go until you do."

"I-I wasn’t gonna run away.” His cheeks heat up at your clasped hands, avoiding your gaze.

“Just in case.” You continued to look forward, __(e/c) eyes too shy to meet his brown ones.

“Thank you though,” You break the short pause, “I know it was a misunderstanding, but it’s nice to know that someone has my back.”

Atsumu directs his head to you, but is unable to see your face since it’s turned away with your finger busying itself with a strand of your hair.

“Of course. Always.” Your heart skips at his soft reply. You feel a gentle squeeze on your hand and respond similarly, fighting back the smile that was eager to present itself.

“Oh look! He’s done. Let’s go.” You gently pull him towards the staff worker once he has finished speaking to the other customers. You’re about to release his hand, but Atsumu keeps a tight grip. Probably he’s nervous about admitting to his mistake, you assume.

So you hold his hand just as tight, figuring he needs the support. You knew how much of a big baby he was.

But really, Atsumu was using this as an excuse to hold you just a bit longer. His fingers felt right in between yours.

——-

You managed to take some great pictures wherever it was allowed, but the artwork that forbade photos, you captured in your memory. After touring around the entire museum, you and the boys were starting to feel hungry, so everyone agreed to eat at the nearest restaurant.

You saw a few people scattered outside and you volunteered to ask the host how long the wait would be. Osamu steps behind his brother and lightly taps the back of his knees with his.

“Remember, that guy works here."

"Shut up, 'samu! I know that.” Atsumu huffs, red cheeks puffing out slightly as his friends laugh loudly. They stop as soon as you near them, telling the boys that there was a table open that could accommodate your party.

You sat in between the Miya twins which made you both nervous and happy. Your crush on Atsumu was getting worse every day yet you didn’t hate the feeling. You distracted yourself by looking through the menu, all of you deciding to share a couple appetizers before choosing your individual meals.

“What are you getting, __(y/n)-chan?” Atsumu asks, brown eyes looking at you as he lowers his menu.

“Hmmmm, I’m not sure yet. I’m caught between number 8 and 9.” You point to the items on the main course list.

“Oh! I was going to get the number 8. How about I get 8 and you get the 9 and we can just share? That way, we can get a taste of both. I’m curious about number 9 also.”

“Really? You wouldn’t mind?"

"Yea, of course I wouldn’t mind!” He grins, folding the menu before placing it on the table. You copy him and wait for the server to collect your orders.

You then bring out your phone, taking pictures of the boys and the restaurant’s interesting decor. Despite your school’s motto, you liked to keep the memories.

“Ne, Atsumu-kun, mind if I borrow your phone? Your camera is better than mine.” Your cell phone was a few years old, but Atsumu just replaced his and you were waiting to upgrade yours. Part of you was glad that you hadn't yet because you were going to use this opportunity to see how he feels about you.

“Sure. Here ya go.” He hands you his phone.

“Thanks!” You start taking pictures of yourself, really impressed with the photo quality.

“Take a selfie with me.” You change the camera view as you hold out your hand in front of you and Atsumu.

“You’re so far! Get close to me like you actually like me.” You say jokingly as you hear a few, muffled snickers around the table. Atsumu stutters a response, but you interrupt him when you start counting from three.

“Ready? Smile!” You take a few shots before looking at each one closely.

“Yeck, I’m deleting that one. I look gross in there.” You weren’t satisfied with how you smiled and your eyes looked like they were in mid blink.

“What? Don’t say that. You’re gorgeous!” Atsumu looks up at you after he watches you remove one of the many pictures. You blush at his statement, dodging his stare.

“Oh, ummm. ..t-thank you."

"You don’t gotta thank me. It’s the truth.” Atsumu murmurs, but it’s coherent enough where you could understand him.

“Get ready with your orders. The waiter is coming.” Kita sees the server walking towards your table. You went first and while everyone else was focused on the waiter, you quickly dragged your finger around on the phone screen. You immediately closed what you were doing and handed Atsumu back his phone.

Your heart was beating fast, but you kept a calm smile on your face as you casually made conversation with the volleyball team. None of the guys knew about your crush, afraid that they would make fun of you. Not that you believed they would, but you weren’t comfortable telling anyone yet.

Except for today.

You finally were going to tell one person about your crush and that person was Atsumu. You planned everything out for a while, thinking of every possible situation that could happen and how you would approach it. You were surprised at how smoothly your idea was going, but that made you even more uneasy.

But you already made your move and hoped that he would notice the little message in his phone.

———

Dinner was both fun yet stressful. Every time Atsumu would check his phone, your heart would jump at the thought of him seeing what you put. But he made no reaction so you assumed he had yet to see it.

And you were fine with that. You’d prefer if he read it at home instead of in a public place.

Everyone went their separate ways after the restaurant except you and the Miya twins. Your house wasn’t too far from theirs so they walked most of the way with you. Once you were close enough, you waved goodbye to the brothers.

“Bye! See you soon! And don’t forget to send me those pictures later, okay, Atsumu-kun?"

"Yeah, I will! Bye, __(y/n)-chan!” Atsumu waved back before turning away with Osamu.

——–

Unfortunately, he never sent those pictures. He must have forgotten, but with how many days has passed, you believed he probably felt awkward with the little note you put.

If he saw it. He never acted any differently when you saw him at school.

Maybe he never did see it? But you were too afraid to ask so you were just going to live quietly with your heartache.

——-

“Oh, shoot! I forgot to send those pics to __(y/n)-chan!” Atsumu says loudly while he and Osamu walk home from practice.

“You haven’t sent them yet? It’s been a week.” Osamu shakes his head.

“I forgot! I was too busy thinking of a way to tell her I like her. I gotta make sure it’s perfect.” The setter takes out his phone and taps on the photo album icon. As he selects and scrolls through the photos, his eyes become rounded at one particular image.

It was a selfie of you and him, sitting close, cheek to cheek as you both smile happily. What made him pause was the heart drawn over the two of you with the words ’yes or no?’ written at the bottom.

“Ahh! ’s-samu! Look, look!” He shows his phone to his brother. “I think __(y/n)-chan likes me back! She put this on our picture!”

As soon as Osamu sees what’s on the screen, his eyes also widen slightly then suddenly smacks his brother at the back of his head. “Dumbass! That photo has been sitting there for that long already?”

“I told you already, I forgot! And she never said anything! Other than to send the pictures after we ate- Oh my God, 'samu, I really am a dumbass!” Realization hit Atsumu harder than his brother’s slap.

“I knew that a long time ago. Now, why are you still here talking to me? Shouldn’t you be talking to __(y/n) instead?"

"You’re right! I gotta text her!” Atsumu’s hands were working fast in trying to find your text message conversation. Before Osamu could even make a snide comment, Atsumu becomes aware of a better alternative to communicate with you.

———

On your way home, you received multiple texts from Atsumu, all saying the same thing.

Yes!

Yes!!

Yes!

Yes!!!!

’The hell? Yes to what?’ Right when you were about to reply, you saw an incoming call from the setter who made your heart skip a beat daily.

“Hello?” You answer.

“Yes! __(y/n), yes! I want to be your boyfriend!”

#haikyuu!!#haikyū!!#haikyuu #hq #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu drabbles #one shot #haikyuu one shot #hq oneshots #atsumu fluff #atsumu x reader #atsumu miya x reader #atsumu reader insert #atsumu x you #atsumu drabble #atsumu oneshot #atsumu imagines #submission

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earthlyemily · 4 years

Text

I’m struggling so much financially and honestly just wanted to vent somewhere. I’ve always lived in poverty and I think in my whole life I’ve had maybe 2 years where I didn’t have to stress about money and not be able to buy groceries or pay rent or be put into collections for not being able to make payments etc and that was when I was in college. For at least the past 5 years I’ve been struggling but I never talk about it. I don’t even know where to start haha I don’t even know what it’s like to not stress financially and be in debt. I’ll just start with the first things that come to mind with what I’m owing maybe. So it’s Dec. 23 and rent was due yesterday because we moved into this small suite attached to someone’s house on Nov. 22. It’s $1200 which is so expensive, but also the average price for BC if not even cheaper for a one-bedroom with a yard, utilities included. and no first and last, no pet deposits, etc because this is just short them for 4 months until the end of March because i reached out and asked and they said yes.

After 1 month I already remember why we went into the trailer almost 2 years ago and it’s literally because we can’t afford any other lifestyle. I think that’s the difference between us and some people that live in trailers, vans, etc. like we lived in a mouse & mouse shit infested trailer for 6 months breathing in their feces and urine and having it all over all our belongings. i literally had to take my whole life to the dump and we officially have no food storage because they ruined it all. there were at least 50-60 mice because a few birth cycles happened in the ceiling. I could write a whole post about my experience of living with field mice, but now isn’t the time so for rent, i only had $600 yesterday so that’s what I gave them. thank goodness they were okay with me asking for a few more days to make the other half. but I don’t even know when that’s going to be :(

my etsy shop veganveins has been doing so bad lately for more than one reason, most of my orders are just postcards and stickers, and while I’m grateful for them, that $1-3 profit isn’t going to keep my business going. and it’s so hard for me to work lately. the wifi doesn’t work sometimes for hours and I always get distracted by shawn and the dogs working from home in a small space. I need to get better at my time management. I got up at 8:30 today which is actually early for me so I’m proud of myself. I’m chronically ill and I really need to go get a blood test and see what’s happening because I haven’t gotten one since being diagnosed with graves disease again 1.5 years ago. anyways. i switched to a print on demand method this year for veganveins for some shirts and sweaters because i couldn’t afford to keep ordering shirts in bulk, and it’s honestly been so, so expensive and i barely make any profit. I’m currently owing my t-shirt printer $999 on one invoice (it was originally $2196 so I’ve at least paid half of it) but that was 2 weeks ago and I still need to pay it. Mario, my t-shirt printer has been with me since I started veganveins and I’m so grateful he gives me extensions on paying the invoices. every other t-shirt printer I’ve ever asked has said no. in addition to the $999 there’s going to be another $2200 invoice I’ll be receiving this week for my last order. I think because of the holidays he’s going to give me some time to pay off that too, but the problem is when I have outstanding invoices he doesn’t print new orders for me. He’s closed now until Jan. 4 so I just need to somehow make that much before then.

btw I don’t have a credit card ($8500 all used on veganveins and it got put into collections last march) and I had a fully used $5000 line of credit but I got a debt consolidation loan for $16,000 1 month ago and my payment for that is $167 a month. it fully paid off and closed my credit card and line of credit + $3000 overdraft which is nice. but now I don’t have any extra money except for what comes in. my credit is only 640 which is really bad in canada so I won’t get approved for a new credit card or loan until I build that up, which is going to be a few months of regular payments. so for regular payments, the $167 for the loan is due on Dec. 27. Yesterday the trailer loan which is literally unliveable from what the mice did until we renovate it came out for $260, that’s how much I pay once a month for it on the 22nd. I didn’t have $260 in my account so it got rejected and I got charged a $48 NSF fee. omg if anyone is reading this long i’m shook. i’m genuinely just writing this for myself to process my feelings and in case anyone was curious about my financial situation here you go haha. maybe some of you can relate, maybe some can’t. anyways. so now I somehow have to get $260 in my account for that for when they try to take it out again in the next few days.

another payment that was supposed to come out yesterday but hasn’t, but I’m sure will come out today is our truck loan. they deferred it for 8 months because of covid which was so nice, but we started paying it again 2 months ago. for both those months I called and made my payment a later date and that helped, but there’s barely any service here so when I called 4 times yesterday to try and change the date the payment comes out, I was on hold for 20-30 mins then my phone would disconnect and hang up. so that’s $586 and it will come out today, I have $0.46 in my account right now so it will get rejected and I’ll get charged another $48 NSF fee. this is why being poor always costs more and the banks are always harsher on those who don’t have money. today I’ll try calling again to see if I can ask for it to come out on a different day like january 10 instead, so I can first have time to pay rent and the trailer and also our $190 truck insurance which got rejected from my account 3 days ago, which was another $48 NSF fee. oh and something else i’m so stressed about is CIBC is going to put me into collections on December 28 if I don’t pay $1000, $700 of which is purely their fees. I have a $300 overdraft which they said i have to cover by then and the $700 is literally their $48 fees added up over the past 3 months. I got a text from them today saying my account is over and it’s because an amnesty international $11 monthly donation came out and obvi there’s no money in there, so that’s another $48 they charged. they’ve already given me a month to pay it and don’t want to wait any longer :(

I owe everyone in my family money, my sister $1650, my mom $700 and my brother also lent me $700. none of my siblings have money either and my mom definitely doesn’t so I hate that i had to borrow that much, and it’s literally been months. thankfully they’re so patient but i can’t wait to not owe them that

omg and i can’t even think about the amount of money shawn’s grandma has lent us. she’s genuinely the only reason we haven’t been completely homeless. but it’s a lot. like i don’t even want to say the number on here. she let us use it from her line of credit over the years and we’ve been slowly paying her back, but she lets us go months at a time without making a payment which i honestly hate doing, but have no choice. i’ve felt a lot of shame and guilt about this, but I also know that she genuinely would rather help us than see us suffer.

so i’m gonna talk about a big reason I’m broke this month especially - saving a pig named buster. his rescue cost me $1850 out of pocket that I didn’t have. but otherwise he was going to be killed in 2 days, he was my baby and I loved him so I had to do it. I somehow made $1350 that went towards it but I’m still owing $500, which I just asked for an extension for today until the new year. i’m not really supposed to talk about it but everything I’ve ever posted here has stayed here, so that cost was literally just from me buying the pig off the farmer. myself along with everyone else ive talked to is disgusted that he charged that much, but he wasnt budging and if that’s what it was going to take, of course I’m going to do it. I wouldn’t think twice about doing it for my dogs and Buster was smarter and more affectionate than them. i love him and I’m so happy he was saved. a non-profit organization transported him to a sanctuary and it was my biggest wish come true and the happiest moment I’ve had all year. my eyes are literally tearing up haha i love him so much. i could write a whole post about his neglect but basically he hasn’t had fresh water in weeks, he was only being fed handfuls of mixed nuts, he was constantly dirty in a muddy enclosure with an electric fence that he was always getting shocked on. he never got true love or affection except for when I gave him it. i posted an instagram story about him and asked people to message me and that i needed help, 2 people donated $111 and $120 each, and 2 other people donated $15 and $12. Someone also e-transferred me $20. These 4 donations equaled almost $300 ($277) and I was so grateful for those people wanting to help me help buster. if anyone else wants to help me with the cost of his rescue i still do need help and would appreciate it so much. this feels really weird and vulnerable for me to do and i’m sorry if anyone is annoyed by this post, I just genuinely am struggling and figured if someone does have extra and wants to help, there isn’t harm in that. but i do feel guilty for asking because i know there are so many other people struggling out there that need even more help than i do :(

i haven’t talked about it publically but i guess I will now, this farmer that I bought buster off of is the owner of the organic vegetable farm i was living and working at this past spring and summer. we worked really hard all summer to be able to stay there and park for free in the winter, but this past fall he told us no one was allowed to stay at the farm anymore, including us, so we had to find a new place to bring our 14ft trailer in to live. so that was an unexpected bummer and if we had known we wouldn’t be allowed staying there anymore (despite doing the labour of $1200 a month for free harvesting organic kale, for an off-grid spot he told us was worth $350 a month to park) we wouldn’t have driven 8 hours with the trailer and we would have stayed in the snow in northern BC and sucked it up and lived on the land we got the opportunity to rent this fall. Donna, the woman who is renting the land to us has been the biggest blessing in my life this year. I love her so much. Basically, she’s letting us live on 170 acres for $600 a month. letting us do whatever we want on the land (building a cabin, setting up rainwater catchment systems, having a solar passive greenhouse and a huge garden) LIKE WHAT. we could even open a farm sanctuary if we had money, i wanted to so bad but obviously that dream didn’t even come close to being reality. opportunities like this literally don’t exist in canada, especially not in BC. i cant even process my gratitude, i cry everytime i think about it. when we go back in the spring it’s going to be the beginning of the rest of our life :) i want to rescue so many senior dogs. everything we’ve always wanted to do we’ll be able to do, assuming we have money haha. but i want to have an organic farm and grow veggies to donate to families in need, especially since we live on stolen indiginious land and I see how the goverment actively restricts their access to fresh healthy produce. but anyways by then it was too dangerous to drive 8 hours back hauling a trailer in the snow and it was just easier to stay in the okanagan until the spring. i know the farmer probably doesn’t realize this and he’s also probably struggling financially but not being able to stay at the farm for the winter months we worked for, and buying buster for that price is a big reason I’m in the financial stress I am now so I figured i’d talk about it.

anyways. i think this is long enough and i think anyone reading this gets the point, i’m drowning in debt, my small business is almost costing me more to run and i’m not making nearly enough profit to live, the past few months ive been living off grid (not by choice) and just focused literally on surviving and not freezing and getting water etc and not having service or internet has affected me negatively. there’s internet now in the suite I’m in, it works really good in the morning and not as well at night, like for example tumblr doesn’t work past 5 pm for me to post photos. but ive been in a bad sleep schedule since i got here that i need to change. im sick and i need to heal myself. tomorrow i’ll set my alarm for 7:30. hopefully i make some money today. i got a social media managing job and it will end up being $1000 a month once i do the 3+ hours a day of work which im already feeling like i barely have time for my own basic life tasks. but i can do this.

if anyone reading this wants to help me out a bit, my paypal email is [email protected] or http://www.paypal.com/paypalme/veganveins

and my e-transfer email is [email protected] i have auto deposit so you won’t have to ask a question :)

this is my first time in 7 years i’ve made a post like this or asked for help. i won’t do it again but figured i have nothing to lose. if you read up to here i love you a lot and thank you so much for being here <3

#personal #finances #broke #poor #vegan #small business owner #graves disease #saving animals #off grid #I wonder if anyone will even read this all #debt #life update lol #p

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daemour · 4 years

Text

Title: Find You

Genre: Angst, Fluff, a ‘lil Smut

Pairing: Jinyoung x Jaebeom, minor Jinyoung x Youngjae, for 5 seconds a side of Ten x Yugyeom

Summary: Jinyoung’s kinda a dumbass. Jaebeom’s even more of a dumbass, but he’s also kind of an asshole (in the best way possible.)

Warnings: Jinyoung suxxs a dick; the smut scene is just under 600 words out of 13k

Word count: 13482

CRIS CRIS CRIS @limjaeseven I LOVE YOU!! thanks for all the stuff you do for me; i hope this can somehow repay it!! :)))))) love you broskiiiiiii lets hope for many great times~! also heres ur dumb gays :)))) <3333

I struggled with this A L O T so i hope you guys like it owo~

When Jinyoung walked out of his room and saw Jaebeom in the kitchen, that wasn’t unusual. The older one did tend to use the spare key whenever he didn’t want to cook. What was unusual, however, was the fact that Jaebeom had no shirt on.

As much as Jinyoung would like to ogle Jaebeom’s fine ass, he had more questions than wishes. “Hyung? What are you doing?” Jaebeom spun around, a sheepish smile on his face, and Jinyoung repeated the mantra, don’t look at tiddies, don’t look at tiddies over and over to himself. It’s a hard battle, and Jinyoung lost it almost immediately. Jaebeom was amused.

“My eyes are up here, Nyoungie. Not on my nipples.” Jinyoung would like the floor to swallow him up, please. “Anyways; I left my keys at home when I went to work, but I found your keys in my car. I left them in there by accident,” Jaebeom explained, laughing. “I borrowed your couch if that’s fine.”

Yes, that’s so fine. Always fine. You could even use my bed. With me still in it, of course. “Yeah, go ahead. Next time, just text me. I have your spare set of keys, remember?” Jaebeom’s mouth opened, and Jinyoung could tell he forgot.

“Yeah.” Jaebeom drew out the diphthong and smiled. “Do you want breakfast?”

“God, yes please,” Jinyoung groans. “Thanks, man. You’re a lifesaver. God, you’re literally the perfect boyfriend.”

Jaebeom offers a sheepish smile, leaning across the counter and poking Jinyoung in the cheek affectionately. “Not perfect, but I made rice pudding and toast.” He slid a plate across to Jinyoung, who thanked him gratefully. “I’ll be out of your hair then.” He started to leave when Jinyoung frowned.

“Where’s your shirt?”

Jaebeom shrugged.

“I don’t know; I think some girl at the club stole it when I spilt a drink on myself and went to wipe it off.” The older left without another word, and Jinyoung could feel his heart hurt. He forgot Jaebeom was painfully straight, and that he was painfully gay. He was once again reminded that his crush was indeed one-sided. And yes, his crush did just walk out of his door with no shirt on.

When Jinyoung used to think he was straight, he remembered feeling romantic feelings towards Jaebeom and passing it off as wanting to be best friends forever. And now that he knew for sure he’s into boys, he found out the hard way that best friends just wasn’t what he wanted to be. But that couldn’t be helped. Jaebeom would never want to be with him, and Jinyoung would just have to suffer.

Alas, he couldn’t wallow in self-pity today. His brother, Yugyeom, was flying in with his best friend BamBam, and Jinyoung had to go pick them up. He pulled on some clothes he knew would only just barely match, grabbed his keys, and headed out the door. He’s going to be early, so he would stop in a coffee shop near the airport and pick up some drinks.

The coffee shop, Ars Coffee, was busy, but not too busy that Jinyoung would be late, so he stepped in and waited in line. As he looked around the cute shop decorated in pictures of puppies and kittens, he noticed a corner of the shop that reminded him of the first time he had met Jaebeom. The older had been frantically studying and Jinyoung was hustling to find an open seat, tripping over Jaebeom’s backpack and landing in the older’s lap. The older had delivered the line, “you’re not my type, but nice ass,” and the two ended up talking until the shop closed. They exchanged numbers, and the rest was history.

However, Jinyoung was brought back to the present with an ‘ahem’ coming from behind the counter. It’s his turn to order. “Ah- yes, sorry. I’ll take a vanilla latte, an iced choco, and an iced Americano.” The barista laughed, his smile too wide for his face, and marked down the order.

“I hope all that isn’t for you. That’s a lot of sugar, not to mention caffeine.”

Jinyoung smiled back. “Who knows? I could be a college student frantically studying for last-minute exams.”

The barista, Youngjae judging by the nametag, laughed again. “The second semester just ended; you’d be on break. So I’ll just assume you’re apologising to your three girlfriends since they just found out you’ve been double- no, triple-timing them.”

“Boyfriends,” Jinyoung corrects without thinking, and then his head snapped up, eyes wide. “What I mean is- I don’t- I-”

Youngjae offered a sympathetic smile. “It’s all right. I am too,” he reassured, adding that last bit in a lowered voice. “That will be 9,321 won. Which drink is yours?”

Jinyoung fished the bills out of his back pocket, offering it to Youngjae who returned the change.

“Mine is the vanilla latte,” Jinyoung answered, stepping to the side to let the next person come forward to order, and waited patiently. After a few people from ahead of him received their drinks, he saw Youngjae prepare his three drinks, and he felt a twinge of guilt when he realised Youngjae was the only employee at the store.

When he moved to pick up the drinks, he opened his mouth to offer apologies for ordering such a long list of drinks. However, Youngjae rushed off before he even could, just to tend to another customer. Jinyoung left, and when pulling out his drink, noticed a “call me, 2-747-5143 - Choi Youngjae” messily scrawled right under the drink’s label. Cute. He input the number into his phone and took off for the airport.

He’s running late; the coffee shop took longer than he thought, and Jinyoung rushed into the terminal Yugyeom had texted him. He saw his brother, slouching as always, with BamBam, just as skinny, standing up straight next to him. At least his friend had good posture; Jinyoung had been trying to fix his brother’s bad habit for years. “Yah, Kim Yugyeom, straighten up!”

Yugyeom’s head jerked up, and a smile spread across his face. “Hyung!” The tallest bounded over, BamBam following, and enveloped Jinyoung in a tight hug. “How are you?”

Jinyoung laughed. “You act like you haven’t lived with me for twenty-four years. I’m doing well. How are you, Yugyeom, BamBam?” Yugyeom, as expected, immediately launched into a monologue about how his time in Thailand with BamBam’s family was. The fact that he didn’t really like durian was the only bit that stuck in Jinyoung’s head. But he didn’t mind; as much as he would never admit it to anyone’s face, he did miss his younger sibling. Jaebeom just didn’t fill in the gaps Yugyeom had left.

“Hyung, hyung, hyung, did you hear?” Jinyoung snapped his head toward the younger. The younger was telling him something but as mentioned, Jinyoung wasn’t really listening.

“Sorry, Gyeom, what is it?”

“Jaebeom hyung’s roommate is coming as well, you know? Jackson Wang? From when Jaebeom hyung studied in Hong Kong.” Ah. Jinyoung remembered the loud kid he met when he visited Jaebeom during their summer break three years ago. The memory that stood out the most was Jackson immediately declared himself Jinyoung’s best friend. It would be nice to see him again, Jinyoung guessed, but it’s sad Jaebeom would be spending more time with Jackson and Jinyoung instead of just Jinyoung.

Wait, what the hell was he doing?

Has he really gotten so deep into his crush that he’s trying to break off Jaebeom’s friendships? Jinyoung tonks his head on the steering wheel.

“Hyung?”

“Nothing’s wrong, I just…forgot how to drive.” Jinyoung came up with the lamest excuse, and Yugyeom stared at him for a second.

“Are you drunk?”

Instead of gracing him with an answer, Jinyoung started the car and stepped on it (as much was deemed safe).

Yugyeom cackled in his ear, and the oldest of the three aimed a slap on Yugyeom’s chest.

“There are drinks in the back for you,” Jinyoung said, and Yugyeom went for the latte. Before Jinyoung could stop him, Yugyeom noticed the message. To Jinyoung’s relief, however, the younger didn’t mention it, only raising an eyebrow and glancing at Jinyoung’s side profile.

“Hyung, how’s Jaebeom hyung doing?” BamBam broke the silence.

“Jaebeom hyung? He’s doing fine. Same old same old. Doing whatever he pleases. He went to a club yesterday and ended up half-naked on my couch and left to go who knows where and I’m definitely not suffering from an unrequited crush on him. Can’t he just not be so blatantly straight? I’m literally dying because he can’t handle not being hot every second of the day.” With each word that came out of Jinyoung’s mouth, his pitch rose.

BamBam and Yugyeom were quiet for the rest of the ride, and Jinyoung refrained from jumping out of the car lest they would crash. They finally pulled up to the building, and BamBam left the tense atmosphere as quickly as he could. Yugyeom ready to leave, turned to Jinyoung, opened and closed his mouth as if deciding on what to say. “Hyung…maybe you should go on that date.” With that final sentence, Yugyeom exits as well, leaving Jinyoung in the car to ponder over when his life suddenly turned into such a mess.

After concluding his life became a mess once he was born, Jinyoung headed inside to find Yugyeom and BamBam had already made themselves at home and were currently trying to set up the ancient Wii.

“Have you two unpacked already? That was fast.” Jinyoung commented, unimpressed, and Yugyeom looked up at him.

“Yeah, we unpacked…”

“…the Wii.” BamBam finished Yugyeom’s answer and Jinyoung raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

“Go unpack and then play Wii. I don’t want to trip over any of your bags.” Yugyeom groaned but got up obediently and BamBam followed like a good friend. Once they disappeared from sight, Jinyoung headed into his own room, with the coffee cup from Ars.

Jinyoung plopped down on his bed and opened the contacts on his phone. He stares at the number on the cup. After a moment of deliberation, he inputs it into his phone, saving the contact as ‘Ars - Choi Youngjae” and stares at the empty profile before finally tapping on “message.” He waited again, then sighed, throwing his phone onto the bed and leaving to get something to eat. Youngjae was still probably working and Jinyoung didn’t want to bother him.

Once Yugyeom and BamBam finished unpacking, they, predictably, connected the Wii and coerced (read: threatened) Jinyoung to join them in a Mario Kart championship.

In the middle of Rainbow Road, the door unlocked, and Jinyoung forfeited Yoshi to answer the door. Jaebeom and Jackson stood behind the door, and Jinyoung paused for a minute before letting them in. “Jackson! It’s good to see you again. How have you been?”

Jackson grinned, slapping Jinyoung on the back.

“Hey, Park Gae!” God, Jinyoung forgot about the cute nickname Jackson gave him back in Hong Kong. Jackson waited expectantly, and Jinyoung sighed.

“Sorry. Wang Gae, it’s good to see you again. How have you been?” Jinyoung complied.

“I’m doing well; I’ve actually recently gotten a job here teaching fencing, so I’ll be seeing you guys more often!” Oh. Jinyoung didn’t think Jackson would be staying for that long.

“Hyungs!” Yugyeom finally got up from the couch, having beaten BamBam by a hair and Jinyoung by a mile. Jaebeom grinned endearingly as always, hooking an arm around Yugyeom’s neck and ruffling his hair. “Jaebeom hyung, don’t mess up my hair!”

“What, are you trying to impress the ladies?” Jaebeom teased, and Jinyoung stiffened slightly.

“Yugyeom, have you been trying to impress any ladies-“

Jinyoung started to narrow his eyes, and Yugyeom squawked, pulling himself out of Jaebeom’s grip.

“What- No!” Glancing at Jinyoung’s unwavering glare, Yugyeom immediately looked away and up.

“Kim Yugyeom.”

“Really! Seriously, hyung, no way! No girls.” Yugyeom whined. “I haven’t!” He emphasized the last word.

“No girls?” Jaebeom took this opportunity to tease him further. “What about guys? Any hot men in Thailand who caught your interest?”

Yugyeom glanced back at BamBam, and Jinyoung caught the sly movement.

“There are?” Jinyoung almost screamed, feeling like he might die. His baby brother? Having a crush? Unheard of. Yugyeom had always put dancing first, rejecting everyone. “Who? I must protect my baby brother from them!”

Jackson laughed. “Protect him from them? More like the other way around-“ Yugyeom smacked Jackson on the back.

“Hyung!” The fake tension was eased, and Jinyoung grinned at his brother, ready as always to tease.

“So? Who is it? Do I know him?”

“Well-“ Yugyeom started, and Jinyoung’s jaw dropped. “Not yet.”

“What do you mean not yet?” Jinyoung frowns.

“He’s coming to Korea next week to study dance like I am. You’ll meet him then! Ten hyung is a year older, and BamBam knows him.” The Thai friend nodded.

“He’s a year older? Yugyeom, you’re into older men?” Jaebeom gasped in mock shock, and Yugyeom cackled, shoving the older lightly.

“Hyung, what the hell? He’s only a year older, not like Jinyoung and his young barista love.” Eyes turned to Jinyoung, who immediately began to smack Yugyeom.

“Kim Yugyeom-“

“What’s this about your young barista love?” Jackson was immediately interested.

“He’s not- I’m- How do you know he’s young?” Jinyoung stammered out.

Yugyeom cackled. “Choi Youngjae from Ars Coffee Shop? He tutors me in piano. He’s two years younger than you.” Jinyoung’s mouth dropped open.

God, this was mortifying. Jaebeom’s laughter brought him out of his funk, however. The older man (only by six months, Jackson liked to stress) slapped Jinyoung on the back. “Good for you, Nyoung! You’re finally going for your mans!”

Jinyoung choked something akin to ‘God, I hate you all’ and Yugyeom cackled at his older brother’s misery. However, he noticed Jinyoung’s pained look, and Jaebeom’s hand on his brother’s back, and quieted. “Jaebeom hyung,” the youngest called, “can you play Mario Kart with me? Jinyoung hyung sucks, and I beat BamBam. I wanna play you since you’re basically a grandpa.”

Jaebeom fell for the bait, hook line and sinker, glowering and grabbing the remote BamBam handed him. “All right, brat. Let’s go.”

Jinyoung almost heaved a breath of release and moved to the kitchen to get some water. BamBam followed him, and Jackson sat to watch Yugyeom and Jaebeom compete.

“Hyung-“ BamBam hissed, and Jinyoung tried to ignore him. But BamBam was nothing but persistent. “Hyung, why do you do this to yourself? It’s only hurting you, and in the long run, hurting Jaebeom hyung. This can only end up in two ways. Either you draw away from hyung when it gets too much, and both you and Jaebeom hyung get hurt; you both lose a good friend. Or you don’t and Jaebeom hyung finds out on his own. He’s going to feel bad, Jinyoung hyung. Guilty; he’s going to hate himself. You need to stop this.”

“You think I don’t know?” Jinyoung almost yelled but restrained himself. “God, BamBam, I love him, yes, but he’s also my best friend. I don’t want to just tell him, ‘Hey, I have a crush on you, I need you to never talk to me’, that will just make him sad as well. My best bet is to go out with Youngjae and try to forget.”

BamBam frowned. “Hyung, if you don’t then Youngjae-ssi will get hurt too.” Jinyoung sighed, dropping his head onto the counter. “You don’t have to leave him forever.”

“I know. But it’s not something I want to do. Call me jealous-”

“Am I interrupting something?” Jinyoung turned his head to face Jackson, standing in the kitchen doorway awkwardly. BamBam looked at Jinyoung, who shrugged.

“Might as well tell him, Bam,” Jinyoung sighed. “It’s pointless to hide it.”

Jackson was still confused and Jinyoung was still moping, so BamBam took it upon himself to save them from their misery. Or at least, just explain. After doing so, Jackson’s mouth is agape. “Damn, are you living in a k-drama or something? That’s insane, man.”

Jinyoung almost rolled his eyes, but he’s too tired to do so. Instead, he just got up, drank a glass of water, and smiled tightly at Jackson. “Yeah. I think I’ll go to bed early. Eat whatever, or order something. Don’t let Yugyeom cook.”

As he trudged back into his room, Jaebeom, having just been defeated by Yugyeom, glanced up and saw his best friend leave. “Yugyeom, play against Jackson, okay? I need to ask Jinyoung something. Sounds good?” Yugyeom nodded, engrossed in the game, and Jackson came to play for Jaebeom.

“Jinyoungie, I’m coming in, all right?” Jaebeom knocked gently on his best friend’s door, and he can hear a muffled groan. Jaebeom opened the door and saw Jinyoung lying face down in the bed. “Jinyoungie, what’s wrong?”

“Nuthin’,” Jinyoung mumbled, turning his head off the pillow and away from the door.

“That doesn’t look like nothing, Jinyoung.” The older sighed, stepping forward and sitting in Jinyoung’s desk chair. “Is something the matter?”

Jinyoung didn’t respond, and just pulled a blanket over his head and rolled over some more, enough to wrap himself up like a mummy. Jaebeom sighed again, shifting the chair closer until he’s almost right next to the bed. Jinyoung didn’t move, so Jaebeom reached out and smoothed Jinyoung’s hair. “Hyung-”

Jaebeom’s heart leaps into his chest. He had never heard Jinyoung sound so pitiful ever since the younger had broken his knee cap in middle school. “Jinyoung? What’s wrong?”

“Hyung, I think maybe you should leave me alone.”

With those words, Jaebeom’s heart dropped. Never had he thought he would ever hear Jinyoung say that. Through thick and thin, the two had always stuck together. It was just two years ago Jaebeom found Jinyoung crying alone in his closet and seeing Jinyoung like this again made Jaebeom hurt. He ignores Jinyoung, moving to sit on the bed instead, and wraps an arm around Jinyoung. “Nyoung, I won’t make you talk to me, all right? But I don’t want to leave you alone, and I’ll sit and stay in here. I don’t want you to hurt alone.”

He lay beside Jinyoung, enveloping the younger in his arms, blanket burrito and all, and listened to Jinyoung’s breathing heightened…and then fell as the younger fell asleep.

As much as it hurt Jaebeom to see his best friend like this, he didn’t know what he did hurt Jinyoung more.

When Jinyoung woke, he knew Jaebeom was still there, feeling the older’s arms caressing his arms subconsciously. God, why is Jaebeom like this? Nice one minute and then the next running out the door to meet some girls.

He carefully slid out from between Jaebeom’s arms and adjusted the sheets to cover Jaebeom. As he tiptoed out of his room, he came face to face with Yugyeom, wringing his hands. “Gyeom?” he whispered, “What is it?”

“Hyung-“ Yugyeom was obviously distressed. Jinyoung reached up to brush his bangs out of hair. “ hyung, are you mad at me?”

“Mad? Why would I be mad, baby?”

“I’m gay.“ Jinyoung almost laughed, if not for the look on Yugyeom’s face.

“Baby, I’d never be mad. Look at me and my gayness. Why on Earth would I be mad?” Yugyeom shrugged, still obviously worried. “The only thing I’m unhappy about is the fact you didn’t tell me. But not at you, Gyeom-ah. I’m just worried I failed something as your brother.”

Yugyeom shook his head. “No, hyung. Of course not. You’re the best big brother I could wish for.”

Jinyoung laughed. “Maybe you should get upset more often. I could get used to hearing that.” Yugyeom finally smiled, shoving his brother lightly.

“Hyung, don’t be a dumbass. Come on, let’s eat.” Jinyoung’s mouth dropped open in fake annoyance.

“Yah, respect your elders. Brat.” Jinyoung patted his pockets, before realizing he accidentally left his phone inside the room. He almost groaned audibly, before turning around and opening the door as quietly as he could.

However, that was unnecessary as Jaebeom had already woken, and was seated on the bed and rubbing his eyes. “Hey, hyung,” Jinyoung greeted him almost casually but got the words out slightly too fast.

“Jinyoung, you know you can always talk to me, right?” God, Jinyoung did not want to get into this talk.

“Hyung, I know. I just don’t want to talk about it right now,” Jinyoung sighed. “Maybe one of these days I will, but not right now. Have you seen my phone?”

Jaebeom, knowing that the conversation was over, nodded. “Yeah, it’s on the bed. You were sleeping on top of it.” Jaebeom grabbed it, but before handing it to Jinyoung, smirked. “I texted Youngjae for you.”

“You what?” Jinyoung narrowed his eyes. “Hyung, come on. I was going to get to it.” Jaebeom frowned.

“Really? I distinctly remember multiple times you almost failed a class because you “going to get back to your superiors,” Jinyoung.”

“Hyung, seriously. Maybe school was something, but this is my own business. Stop poking your nose into it. I’ll text Youngjae if I want to, and if I forget, I forget.” Jinyoung rolled his eyes, and Jaebeom’s temper flared.

“Yah, respect your elders, Park Jinyoung. I just wanted you to get out and talk to people. All you do is stay in here all day or work.”

“I’ll respect you once you respect my personal affairs, Jaebeom. And are you saying I’m not exciting because I like to stay inside? Jaebeom, come on. Don’t be daft.”

“I’m just saying-” Jaebeom raised his hands in mock surrender “-going out is fun. It’s an experience.”

“Im Jaebeom, just because you sleep around like a whore-“ Jinyoung slapped his mouth closed, eyes widening, and Jaebeom got up. He was mad. “Hyung, I didn’t mean it.” Jaebeom ignored him, brushing past Jinyoung’s shoulder and leaving the room immediately. Jinyoung sank down onto the floor and almost curses.

He lay there for who knows how long, or at least until his stomach growled, and BamBam pokes his head in. “Jinyoung hyung, are you all right? Jaebeom left in a huff thirty minutes ago and Jackson followed him. What happened?”

“I called him a whore, BamBam. I’m so stupid.” Jinyoung whined, slapping himself. “God, I’m such a dumbass.”

BamBam sighed. “Hyung, what did Jaebeom do? You don’t usually get this angry.”

“It wasn’t his fault-“ Jinyoung tried to defend, but BamBam shook his head.

“It was your own fault you said that, but he must have provoked you.” Jinyoung just groaned, patting the space next to him and BamBam joined him as the older man explained.

Sometime in the middle, Yugyeom joined in and Jinyoung had to explain all over again, getting almost choked up. “Hyung, I think you both were in the wrong. Jaebeom should have let you do your own thing. He’s not that much older than you, and even if he was, you’re an adult,” Yugyeom said.

“When did you two get so wise?” Jinyoung laughed wetly.

BamBam cackled, loud and clear as day. “We’re only wise when it comes to someone else’s affairs. Ours? Not so much. You should’ve seen Yugyeom flail in front of Ten hyung.”

Jinyoung’s eyebrow rose sky-high. “That’s right. Yugyeom, what is this…Ten like?”

The tips of Yugyeom’s ears turned red. “Ten hyung? He’s great. He’s loud and friendly. He likes cats, and he doesn’t like fruit.”

“He doesn’t like what now?”

“Fruit. I don’t know why, but it’s cute,” Yugyeom grinned to himself and BamBam gagged, causing the youngest to reach across Jinyoung and smack his best friend. “But enough about Ten hyung, what did Jaebeom hyung say to Youngjae hyung?”

Jinyoung shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t really look.” Yugyeom leaned over and grabbed the phone.

“Well, let’s check.”

Jinyoung grabbed the phone after a moment of hesitation and unlocked it. (The password was Jaebeom’s birthday but no one needs to know that.) The text, glaringly bright, just said a simple ‘Hey, how r u’ and there’s a moment of silence before Yugyeom burst out laughing.

“Jaebeom hyung thinks he’s slick but he’s just as bad at texting as you,” Yugyeom teases.

“Nah, at least Jaebeom hyung uses slang. Jinyoung hyung sounds like he’s texting a business partner.” Jinyoung smacked both of them, eliciting a few more laughs when Yugyeom gasped.

“Hyung, he’s texting you back-” Jinyoung’s head snaps to the phone where lo, and behold, Youngjae had just responded with a ‘hey, im good, how r u?’

At the prodding of the two youngest, Jinyoung replied, and he and Youngjae ended up starting a conversation. Yugyeom and BamBam exchanged looks before quietly leaving Jinyoung with his new beau.

‘What are u up to?’

‘Not much, I’m just lying down. How about you?’

‘LOL ur so formal. And you asked that already. But Im doing the same haha’

‘Sounds fun. I’m sure we are very exciting.’

‘How’s life?’

‘Boring. How’s yours?’

God, Jinyonug could feel the awkwardness oozing from his texts, and he resisted the urge to smack himself. Before he could, his phone rang, Youngjae was calling him. Jinyoung almost dropped the phone, but answered it quickly, pressing the phone to his ear.

“I think it’d be less awkward if we talked on the phone, yeah?” Youngjae’s bright voice sounded, not dulling even through the phone.

“Yeah, that might be best,” Jinyoung laughed. “How was work? It wasn’t too busy, I hope.”

“No, not at all.” A moment of silence when- “Hey, are you busy today?”

Jinyoung’s heart picked up. “No, not at all. Are you?’

“No.”

More silence, when Youngjae burst out laughing, and by default, so did Jinyoung. Who could resist laughing after Youngjae does, after all? “God, we’re embarrassing,” Jinyoung choked out through giggles.

“No, I think it’s all you. You just enable my awkward ability,” Youngjae teased. “But seriously, do you want to hang out today? I’m done tutoring.”

Tutoring reminded Jinyoung. “Yeah, that sounds good! Speaking of tutoring, I’ve heard you tutor my younger brother, Kim Yugyeom?”

“Wait, seriously? Kim Yugyeom is your brother?” Youngjae sounded flabbergasted and Jinyoung laughed once more.

“Yeah. I took our father’s last name and Yugyeom took our mother’s.”

“That’s neat. Yugyeom is such a cute kid, and he learns well.”

“Yeah, but he’s a brat.” The two of them snicker, and Jinyoung can hear Yugyeom sneeze twice.

“But seriously, do you want to meet up?” Jinyoung nodded, but then realised he’s stupid.

“Ah, yeah. Sure! When and where?”

“Does lunch at Ars Coffee work? I have a worker’s discount...and I own the place so the discount is not needed.” Jinyoung snorted.

“Wow, successful and handsome. I sure hit the jackpot. That sounds good.”

“Oh, haha, very funny. I’ll see you at noon.” Youngjae hung up, and Jinyoung stared at his phone for a few minutes, a stupid grin on his face.

God, he’s excited. He’s probably a little too excited. God, he can’t wait to tell Jaebeom. Jinyoung is brought back down from his emotional high as fast as Yugyeom buying an ice choco. Should he text Jaebeom or let the older cool down? Why did he have to run his mouth? Jaebeom was just trying to help and Jinyoung ruined it.

Unfortunately, today is still not a good day to wallow, Jinyoung has to get ready for his date. Date? Is it a date? Dear LORD Jinyoung’s going on a date. Jaebeom be damned (and thanked), he was a bit overeager and ran straight into the doorframe. “Hyung?” Yugyeom poked his head around the hallway corner. “Everything all right?”

Jinyoung beams. “I have a date.” Yugyeom snickers at Jinyoung’s face.

“God, hyung, you look stupid. But congratulations.” Jinyoung suddenly wiped the smile off his face, straightening up and sending the fear of God into Yugyeom’s heart.

“Kim Yugyeom, I may be going on a date with undeniably the cutest man to exist. But I am still your older brother and will not hesitate to kill you.”

Yugyeom cackled and ran into his room with BamBam, locking the door, and Jinyoung rolled his eyes. When his beloved “Ten hyung” comes around, he’ll have to answer to Jinyoung if he ever hurts Yugyeom.

But look at the time; Jinyoung needed to eat and change if he wanted to be at Ars Coffee at noon. Cereal is the fastest option, but BamBam finished the last of that (damn his sweet tooth), so Jinyoung just got a piece of bread and toasted it. He’s excited about his first date, he’s allowed to rush. By the time he had to leave, he had already tried on five different outfits, deciding on a simple black turtleneck and jeans. “I’m heading out, you two. Don’t cause trouble.”

“Get that dick, hyung!” Jinyoung heard Yugyeom and BamBam chorus from in their room, making a mental note to kill them later. But for now, he had a date he needed to go on.

Due to his excitement, he ended up arriving thirty minutes early, and Jinyoung just ordered and waited. Youngjae came barrelling in twenty minutes later, all smiley and Jinyoung could feel his heart melt. “Jinyoung! Hi!” Youngjae slid in across from him. “I heard you arrived really early; the co-owner and my friend told me.”

Jinyoung laughed, trying to cover up his embarrassment. “Damn, if I ever need to commit some shady business, remind me not to do it here. Your co-workers will just snitch on me.” Youngjae guffawed, the sound echoing in the shop.

“Don’t worry, I’ll vouch for you.” Jinyoung laughs as well.

“Thanks, I’m glad I now have a confidant for all my misadventures,” Jinyoung says, poking Youngjae’s arm.

“How many misadventures have you been getting into?” Youngjae raises a brow. “Last time we met, you were three-timing your boyfriends.” Jinyoung snorts.

“Oh, you have no idea. I rob banks and kill my best friends all the time.” Youngjae laughs once more, and Jinyoung could hear it all day, every day.

"You sound like someone my mother would warn me against," Youngjae teases. "I should stay away from you if I want to keep my reputation up."

Jinyoung chuckles. "Well, what's the fun in that?" He leans across the table slightly. "I say damn your reputation, let's go murder someone."

"I don't think that would fly over very well with my friend Mark, but alright. Tomorrow at seven? Who should we start with?"

Jinyoung snorts, all the possibilities going through his head. "Jaebeom," he says without thinking, and almost takes it back. But Youngjae doesn't know the argument; so he'll live with it.

"Who's that?" Youngjae cocks his head and Jinyoung resists the urge to coo.

“He’s my best friend.” Thankfully Jinyoung’s voice didn’t waver. “Everyone has the moment where you want to kill your best friend, surely.”

“No, I am an angel, couldn’t you tell?” Youngjae teased, and Jinyoung refrained from saying ‘yes.’ He liked Youngjae already; they have a lot in common and Jinyoung forgot all about the ordeal with Jaebeom as he spends time with the younger.

However, his glee was soon cut short when he arrived home and he saw Jaebeom’s shoes kicked off to the side. “Yugyeom-ah, is Jaebeom hyung here?” he asked the younger on the couch. Yugyeom looked up, shock registered on his face.

“Hyung, you weren’t supposed to be home ’til later,” Yugyeom stammered, and Jinyoung furrowed his eyebrows, a frown tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Kim Yugyeom, what is going on?” Jinyoung dropped his book bag onto the floor. “I don’t like it when you lie to me, you know this-“

“Jinyoung, it’s not Yugyeom’s fault.” Jinyoung’s head whipped around, Jaebeom having spoken from around the corner of the kitchen.

“Hyung, what are you doing here?” Jinyoung left Yugyeom on the couch and entered the kitchen, seeing Jaebeom cooking…something. “Well, never mind that, hyung. I guess since you’re here, I should apologise for earlier this morning. What I said was out of line and-“

Jaebeom waved him off. “No, just forget it, Jinyoung. We were both at fault. Let’s just put it behind us, hm? We can’t not be best friends over such a petty fight, right?”

“Yeah, best friends,” Jinyoung chuckled almost lifelessly. Time to shove yet another problem under the carpet. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“What, can’t I visit my best friend?” After a moment of silence, Jaebeom sighed, giving in. “I need to learn how to cook Italian dishes. I invited this girl over for dinner next week, and I want to impress her.”

“Can’t you order Italian takeout?” Jaebeom snorted.

“Takeout can’t cut it.”

“Have you forgotten the Great Noodle Incident, hyung? I don’t think I want you cooking weird recipes in my kitchen.” Jaebeom looked up from the pot to glare at Jinyoung.

“Wasn’t that your idea, Nyoung?”

“Well, I think it’s time for me to go. I’m a little tired, you know?” Jinyoung tried to make his escape, but Jaebeom is nothing if not petty.

“No, no, Jinyoung, please refresh my memory. How did the Great Noodle Incident start?” Jinyoung opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again, before he was saved by the doorbell.

When he enters the living room to answer it, it appears Yugyeom had already opened the door to whoever it is standing outside. “Youngjae ah? What are you doing here?” Jinyoung blinked once, twice, thrice.

“Ah, you just forgot your phone at Ars.” Youngjae held up the device. “I texted Yugyeom for your address; I didn’t know he lives here too.”

“Oh, thanks.” Jinyoung smiled, walking over and taking his phone. “I appreciate it, Youngjae. Would you like to come in for a little? Jaebeom is here and you could meet him.”

Youngjae steps forward a bit. “I mean, I don’t want to intrude, but I would love to meet our murder victim once.” Jinyougn laughed out loud, covering his mouth again.

“That’s right. He’s in the kitchen, cooking who knows what. Maybe you could help him out; you work in the coffee shop so you’re bound to be a better cook.” Youngjae laughed.

“I only know how to make pastries, really, but I could try. What is he attempting?” Jinyoung shrugged.

“Some weird Italian recipe, and I don’t want the apartment burnt down.” Jinyoung led Youngjae to the kitchen, gesturing towards Jaebeom. ��Youngjae, Jaebeom. Jaebeom, Youngjae.”

Jaebeom turned around, beaming and bowing. “It’s nice to meet you, Youngjae. I’m glad Jinyoung finally got out of his shell and met someone. Lord knows how long I’ve been trying to get him to go on a date.”

Yeah, cus I want to date you. “Well, how does it feel to have Jinyoung ssi finally go on a date then?” Youngjae saved Jinyoung from his thoughts, and Jinyoung poked Youngjae in the side for the comment.

Jaebeom snorted, slapping Jinyoung on the back. “God, I’m so relieved. I definitely would have thought this kid would become an old miserly man who yells at kids.”

“You are only seven months older than me, hyung. Don’t call me kid,” Jinyoung snapped playfully.

Jaebeom gasped. “Now, where has this attitude come from? Don’t talk back to your elders…kid.” It’s Jinyoung’s turn to chuckle.

“God, you’re so annoying.” Jinyoung turned to Youngjae. “See why I chose him as my first murder victim?”

“I don’t know…I think I like him,” Youngjae teased, and Jinyoung pouted.

“I’m so hurt. I’ve been betrayed,” he cried out, “Yugyeom, you’re the only one I love.”

“Ew, hyung, go away,” called Yugyeom from the other room, and the apartment was filled with laughter. God, Jinyoung was beyond happy Youngjae and Jaebeom are getting along. The two seemed to enjoy each other’s company, Youngjae coming around the counter to read the recipe Jaebeom had left out.

Jinyoung left the kitchen for a little, coming to sit by Yugyeom, who was watching a drama on his phone. “Yugyeom, why weren’t you going to tell me Jaebeom was here?”

Yugyeom didn’t look up from his drama, answering with a, “I thought he would be gone by the time you came back. I didn’t want you two to argue again. You know, hyung is my friend too, but I don’t want to see you hurt.”

Jinyoung sighs. “I know. I’ll try not to argue with him too much.”

“I’m not talking about that, hyung,” Yugyeom said, finally pausing his drama to look at his older brother, only this time Jinyoung avoided Yugyeom’s eyes. “Hyung, come on.”

“Yugyeom, where’s BamBam?” Jinyoung tried to change the subject, but Yugyeom was having none of that.

“He’s getting picked up from work by Jackson. Don’t dodge the situation.” Jinyoung still avoided Yugyeom’s eyes.

“I know. But we have guests, and I don’t want to deal with this just yet.”

“Deal with what?” Youngjae had just come around the corner, having finished with Jaebeom.

“My friend is coming over next week, and Jinyoung hyung doesn’t want to meet him since he thinks I’m going to elope or something,” Yugyeom lied smoothly. Jinyoung resisted the urge to kick him for that comment in thankfulness.

“Ooh, your boyfriend?” Yugyeom choked at Youngjae’s comment.

“No! Ten hyung is just a friend.”

“For now-” Jinyougn snorted, and Yugyeom whined.

“Hyung, seriously. You’re so annoying.” Jinyoung laughed at that, ruffling the younger’s hair.

“I’m just kidding, Yugyeom,” he laughed, and turned to Youngjae. “Are you leaving already?” Youngjae nodded sheepishly.

“Yeah, I have to get back to Ars; Mark co-owns the place with me and his shift is almost over.” Youngjae paused briefly, eyes flicking down to Jinyoung’s lips. Jinyoung catches the sly movement and smiles.

“Here, I’ll walk you down to your car.” Youngjae agreed readily, and the two exited the apartment to the sound of Yugyeom gagging really loudly. Jinyoung swore he’s going to kill Yugyeom one of these days. But not right now.

Right now, Jinyoung was focusing on how he and Youngjae are alone in the elevator, and how the younger keeps glancing at his lips. “Hyung-” Youngjae started to speak, and Jinyoung snapped his head to look at him. “Er- I like Jaebeom and Yugyeom. They’re very nice.”

Jinyoung beamed. “I’m glad I know them. As much as they annoy me, they are good friends.”

The silence became deafening again, and lasted until Youngjae and Jinyoung were standing in front of the younger’s car. “Hyung, thanks for letting me hang out for a little,” Youngjae said, and before Jinyoung could react, leant forward and pressed a kiss to the older’s lips before getting in his car and waving.

Jinyoung barely had the mind to wave back before Youngjae started the car and left. He remained in his daze all the way back up to his apartment, where Yugyeom finally had the sense to leave Jinyoung alone and let his brother go into his room without a hitch. Jaebeom, however, isn’t as kind, leaving Yugyeom with instructions on when to take whatever food he’s made out of the oven.

“So, Jinyoungie-ya! How did your date go?” Jaebeom rested against the bedroom door frame, grinning wide like the Cheshire Cat. God, Jinyoung would kiss the smirk off Jaebeom’s face if he could. Unfortunately, for one, he’s on his bed and wrapped up in blankets. And second, Jaebeom might punch him.

Jinyoung frowned with no spite. “It was good, hyung. I really like Youngjae. I’m glad I met him.” Jaebeom nodded once, twice.

“That’s…good. I’m glad, Jinyoungie. You deserve someone in your life.” Jaebeom smiled, but Jinyoung can feel something off about it. He pushes the feeling to the side; Jaebeom was probably still a little upset about the argument earlier.

“Hyung, come here,” Jinyougn smiled lightly, lifting up the blankets, and Jaebeom laughed, walking forward and cuddling up with Jinyoung.

“I forgot you’re so clingy sometimes,” Jaebeom teased, and Jinyoung snoted, kicking Jaebeom lightly in the shin.

“Don’t be mean, hyung,” Jinyonug whined and Jaebeom laughed again, wrapping his arm around Jinyoung’s waist. The younger could feel his heartstrings tugging, but he ignored the feeling, as he’s done all those years. “Hyung?”

“Yes, Nyongie?” Jaebeom was sleepy, and Jinyonug couldn’t blame him. He spent all this time cooking, and paired with the argument this morning, Jinyoung could understand why he’s tired.

“I love you,” Jinyoung whispered, and Jaebeom just groaned, pressing his cheek into Jinyoung.

“Love you too, Nyoung,” he mumbled out a reply before cuddling even closer, and Jinyoung almost cried. Thankfully, he didn’t (how embarrassing would that be) and instead fell asleep against his friend for the second time that day.

They’re woken up an hour later by Jackson, who had returned with BamBam and three cartons of ice-cream and the promise of a movie night. Well, Jinyoung wasn’t going to protest, especially since he didn’t have to pay for either dinner or the ice-cream.

Unfortunately, Jackson chose the movie, and as expected, it was an Iron Man movie. Jinyoung doesn’t know which one; he’s given up on paying attention. Instead, he’s crowded in between Jackson and Jaebeom, the former’s hand slightly uncomfortably high up on Jinyoung’s thigh. Jaebeom looked at the hand on Jinyoung’s thigh unhappily, wrapping his arm around Jinyoung again.

God, it was almost domestic, and Jinyoung could feel the warmth of his crush rise again. Why did he do this? He liked Youngjae; why did Jaebeom have to do this to him?

Jinyoung was suffocating, he couldn't handle this contact. He stood up abruptly, Jaebeom looking up with his eyebrows furrowed and Jackson frowning slightly. Yugyeom stayed silent, as did BamBam.

“Jinyoung-ah, are you all right?” Jackson speaks first. Jinyoung looked at him, eyes wide like a deer caught in the headlights.

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “I don’t know.”

At that, Yugyeom stood up, guiding him away from the group. “Hyung, go get a glass of water and go lie down in your room, all right?” Jinyoung nodded blankly, leaving, and as Jaebeom made to stand up, Yugyeom stopped him. “Jaebeom hyung, I don’t think you should go with him. Just enjoy the movie with Jackson hyung, all right?”

Jaebeom glared, but Yugyeom stood firm, and Jaebeom didn’t want to go against the wishes of Jinyoung’s younger brother and so he relented.

Yugyeom found Jinyoung in his room, as he was told, sitting against the bed on the floor and clutching the water in both hands. Yugyeom sighed at his brother’s obviously distressed state. “Hyung, drink the water. Holding it isn’t going to help,” he tried to joke, but it fell flat.

Jinyoung lifted the cup to his lips, taking small sips and Yugyeom sat next to him. “Yugyeom, why did this have to happen to me?” Jinyoung asked solemnly, and the brothers sighed in unison.

“Hyung, I think maybe you should take time off from seeing Jaebeom hyung. It’s doing nothing but hurting you.” Jinyoung finished his cup of water, and Yugyeom took it, putting it on the desk.

“Yugyeomie, I can’t.” Jinyoung’s plea almost broke Yugyeom’s heart. “He’s first and foremost my best friend.” Yugyeom tentatively wrapped his arms around Jinyoung, pulling his older brother into a tight hug, and Jinyoung choked out a sob.

“Hyung, I’ll handle it with Jaebeom, all right? I’m sure he just wants you to be happy.” Jinyoung didn’t respond, crying silently into Yugyeom’s chest.

Sooner or later, Jinyougn was too exhausted, and fell asleep in Yugyeom’s arms, the third time today. Yugyeom didn’t move, too worried to wake up the older, and Jaebeom quietly opened the door and poked his head in.

“Is he doing all right?” Jaebeom walked in further, leaning down and brushing a piece of hair out of Jinyoung’s mouth.

Yugyeom sighed, looking up at Jaebeom. “Hyung, I don’t think he can see you and Jackson any more.” Jaebeom’s eyes widened.

“What do you mean?”

“Hyung, it’s not like that,” Yugyeom added hastily. “I just think that he’s been overstressed with work and making sure you and Jackson don’t notice. I’m forcing him to take a few days off. BamBam has to stay since he doesn’t have a place to stay, but I want Jinyoung to indulge in what he wants. Haven’t you noticed he started rejecting you subconsciously?”

Jaebeom’s frown deepened, but he made no comment. Of course he’s noticed the way Jinyoung flinches when Jaebeom initiates physical contact, the way he avoids Jaebeom’s eyes. “I just don’t want Jinyoung by himself.”

“He won’t be alone, hyung. I promise. I’ll keep an eye on him, and so will BamBam.” Yugyeom reassured, and Jaebeom backed off. Yugyeom knows what he’s doing, Jaebeom reminds himself.

“All right. Jackson and I will be going then. Make sure Jinyoung feels better soon, all right? Can’t have my best friend die on me.” Yugyeom nodded and Jaebeom finally left.

Yugyeom stayed in Jinyoung’s room for the rest of the night, lifting Jinyoung into his bed and curling up next to him. At some point, BamBam had joined the cuddle party, and when Jinyoung awakened, he didn’t want to leave. He didn’t for a long while, but the cuddle party overheated him, so he wriggled his way out of Yugyeom’s arms carefully.

As he made his way into the kitchen, his phone buzzed, and looking at it, Jinyoung noticed Youngjae had texted him, asking him if he wanted to come over today. ‘Mark is at a friend’s for the whole day so we could hang out and watch movies or something’ the text read, and Jinyoung’s heart leapt into his throat.

He responded quickly, agreeing readily, and asked for a time. Youngjae responded just as fast, offering five in the evening, and Jinyoung accepted. He poked his head into his room to see Yugyeom and BamBam still asleep, curled around each other.

He didn’t want to wake them up; it must have been the jet lag getting to them, so Jinyoung let them sleep in. They looked so peaceful anyway; Jinyoung would’ve felt bad if he woke them. But when he tried to exit the room, the buzz of his phone alerting him to a new text alerted BamBam as well. “Hyung?” the Thai man groggily opened his eyes. “Good morning.”

Jinyoung threw him a smile. “Morning, Bam,” he responded, keeping his voice low. “Did you have a good night?”

BamBam sat up, Yugyeom’s head on his chest falling to his lap. “Yeah. Hyung, are you doing all right?” Jinyoung shrugged.

“As good as I can do now. Don’t wake up Yugyeom, all right?” BamBam nodded, looking down at the youngest in his lap. “I’ll be going out later on this evening to see Youngjae.”

BamBam wriggled his eyebrows, and Jinyoung restrained himself from hitting his brother’s friend. “Get that ass, Jinyoung.”

“If anything, Youngjae will get this ass,” Jinyoung stated smoothly, and before BamBam could recover from his shock, exited the room smoothly.

As he glanced down at his phone, three missed calls from an unknown number were there, and Jinyougn frowned, swiping the notifications away. It was probably a telemarketer; Jinyoung had been getting a lot of those calls recently. No big deal, Jinyoung just blocked the number without a hitch.

Breakfast is more important than weird phone calls, anyway. He can’t cook to save his life, but Jinyoung does know Jaebeom kept leftovers from yesterday in the fridge. He’s still unsure whether he likes the ziti, or whatever Jaebeom made, but it’s food.

He popped a plate of ziti into the microwave, keeping an eye on the timer to stop it before it beeped and woke up Yugyeom. But he didn’t need to; Yugyeom had awoken and was coming around the corner. “Hyung, why didn’t you wake me up?”

Jinyoung shrugged. “You looked so peaceful. I didn’t want to wake you up.” This was apparently the wrong thing to say, Yugyeom smirked.

“Aw, is my big bro being soft for his favorite brother?” Jinyoung swiped at Yugyeom, who dodged easily.

“Brat.”

Yugyeom cackled at his older brother’s misery, a regular occurence in this household. Jinyoung did his best to ignore him, instead sending a few cat pictures to Jaebeom. Surprisingly, the older didn’t respond right away, but Jinyoung shrugged it off, pinning it down to Jaebeom probably forgetting to charge his phone again.

BamBam needed yet another ride to work, so Jinyoung offered to take him to get his mind off the upcoming date. Yugyeom wanted to tag along, and Jinyoung knew if that happened, they’d be making two different stops to get food. But Yugyeom shot him with the puppy eyes, and Jinyoung could feel himself give in. Damn him and his soft heart. Thank god Jackson would pick them up instead of him.

And, as expected, Jinyoung waited outside a convenience store as Yugyeom and BamBam bought ramen. As he waited, someone came up to him. The man looked vaguely attractive; his features fit each other perfectly and gave him a gorgeous aura. “Excuse me?” Jinyoung pinched himself discreetly to get him out of his funk.

“How may I help you?” The stranger offered a slight smile, and Jinyoung had to focus really hard on his eyes instead of his lips.

“I’m a little lost; I just arrived and I was wondering if you knew where Seoul National University is.” Jinyoung ‘ah’ed in understanding.

“Yeah, it’s a little far from here. Which airport did you come from?” The person ran a hand through his hair sheepishly.

“Gimpo Airport.”

Jinyoung snorted. “Apologies,” he said quickly, covering his mouth with his hand, “you went in the opposite direction.”

The stranger’s mouth opened, but he had nothing to say except a crass phrase, and Jinyoung snorted again. “Sorry- God, I’m an idiot.”

“No, it’s not a big deal. You can take the bus to University; there’s a bus that stops a few miles away. Or, you could take a taxi.” Jinyoung offered, and the man nodded.

“Yeah, thank you. Where’s the bus stop?” Jinyoung pointed out the way and the bus he had to take. “Thank you again, I appreciate it.” The man flashed a smile and Jinyoung could feel his knees shaking, but stood firm.

“No problem. Good luck.” As soon as the man turned the corner, Yugyeom ran up with the instant noodles in his hands.

“Hyung! We got the noodles.”

“Yah, what took you so long, brat?” Jinyoung pinched Yugyeom’s ear. “It’s cold.”

Yugyeom whined, and BamBam laughed at his friend’s misfortune before Jinyoung grabbed his ear too. “Hyung-“ the two youngest groaned, and Jinyoung huffed.

“Eat your noodles, or else you’ll be late, BamBam.” Jinyoung rolled his eyes, and BamBam cackled.

Yugyeom had kindly gotten him a packet of juice from the store, and as BamBam and Yugyeom made fun of each other, Jinyoung sipped on the juice like a mom watching their kids play in the pool. They arrived at BamBam’s work, a dance studio, and as BamBam stepped out, so did Yugyeom. Jinyoung threw him a questioning look, and Yugyeom smiled.

“I’m going to apply to work here,” Yugyeom explained, and Jinyoung nodded in understanding. “Don’t be too loud, Hyung. Youngjae’s neighbors might call the police.”

Jinyoung’s face hardened, and Yugyeom and BamBam ran into the building cackling like the little devils they are. “Yah, Kim Yugyeom,” he muttered under his breath, well aware the taller man couldn't hear him.

But now was not the time to sulk around at his younger brother’s (loving) disrespect, he needed to get home and change for his date. On the way home, he passed by the bus stop he directed the stranger from earlier to, and saw the man sitting on the bench. Jinyoung laughed quietly, the situation was kind of funny once you thought about it.

Jinyoung remembered when he and Yugyeom had first moved to Seoul from Jinhae-gu. The younger had gotten lost so many times, and Jinyoung had gotten lost even more times trying to find Yugyeom. He hoped the stranger would be able to find his way around. Though, with that pretty face, Jinyoung didn’t think he would have any trouble getting help.

The stranger reminded Jinyoung a little of Jaebeom. When the older had first gone to Jinhae-gu to meet Jinyoung’s family, Jaebeom was lost at almost all times of the day. It was adorable, and honestly, Jinyonug felt a sense of satisfaction from feeling helpful to Jaebeom. Hopefully, I can be the same for Youngjae, Jinyoung thought as he pulled into the parking area of his apartment building.

He had about ten minutes to change before he had to leave again, and Jinyoung was too lazy to dress a little nicer, so he just threw on some jeans and an orange sweater that BamBam had tried (keyword: tried) to convince Jinyoug to get rid of. It was a comfy sweater, though, and Jinyoung liked it. Fuck BamBam.

Jinyoung remained proud of his sweater all the way up to when he texted Youngjae, letting him know he’s there. But as soon as Youngjae opened the door and looked at his shirt, Jinyoung could feel his ears turn red. “Hey,” Youngjae laughed. “I like your sweater.”

Jinyoung scrunched his nose, ears turning slightly red. “Thanks. I like it too.”

“No, seriously,” Youngjae patted Jinyoung on the back. “It’s not something that would look good on anyone, but you pull it off.”

“The more you talk about it the more self-conscious I get, you know?” Youngjae didn't respond, just laughed, and led Jinyoung up three flights of stairs. Youngjae’s apartment was comfortable, small enough for two people, with a lot of plants everywhere. The couch was a beige, matching the white rug, which Jinyoung wondered how it was so clean.

If he had a rug like that, Yugyeom would have spilt chocolate on it six times, BamBam would have dropped lipstick just as much, and Jaebeom’s cats would have ripped it to shreds whenever the older brought them over. “Do you like it?” Jinyoung looked up at Youngjae, and nodded.

“It’s very neat. Where did you get your barstools?” Youngjae snorted.

“Yardsale. Mark just repainted them.” Jinyoung chuckled, but Youngjae motioned him toward the couch and made him sit down. “Let me get some water and then we can look for something to watch, sound good?”

Jinyoung nodded again, it seemed like the only thing he could do right now. Youngjae walked behind the counter, and Jinyoung dug his feet into the rug, appreciating the softness of it. “How is this rug so clean?” he wondered aloud, and Youngjae sighed.

“It wasn’t. But I banned Mark from being on the rug with snacks after I got it professionally cleaned.” Jinyoung laughed.

“Is he that messy?”

“Not on purpose, no, but he likes to eat chips a lot, and the crumbs get all over the rug. I wouldn’t have minded if he ate gummies,” Youngjae gripes, returning with two glasses of water. “I brought you a glass too just in case.”

Jinyoung thanked Youngjae, bringing the glass to his lips and taking a sip, not noticing how Youngjae’s eyes moved to his eyes. “What movie do you want to watch?” Jinyoung asked, and Youngjae smirked, eyes moving back up to Jinyoung’s eyes.

“Aren’t I supposed to ask that?” Jinyoung hummed.

“Well, I like most movies. Romance, comedy, and horror are some of my favorite genres. Do with that as you will.” Jinyoung winked at Youngjae, and Youngjae laughed breathily.

“I like romance and comedy as well, but I don't sit well with horror.” Youngjae turned on the TV, scrolling through Netflix’s menus, before the two of them finally settled on some obscure comedy neither had ever heard of.

To be frank, Jinyoung was the only one paying attention to the movie. Youngjae couldn’t keep his eyes off Jinyoung’s profile, especially when the older one laughed loudly. Sooner or later, Youngjae found himself leaning in and Jinyoung turned his head and smiled flusteredly. “Hyung,” Youngjae starts breathily, “may I kiss you?”

Jinyoung whined out a yes, and Youngjae pressed his lips against Jinyoung’s tentatively, both men closing their eyes. Youngjae’s lips were chapped while Jinyoung’s were soft, and the difference was felt almost immediately. Youngjae attempted to lick his lips while still kissing Jinyoung, and as expected, Jinyoung parted his lips slightly. Youngjae jolted slightly, surprised, but got back into the groove of things.

He pressed further, Jinyoung’s back pushed into the arm of the couch. It wasn’t quite that comfortable, but Jinyoung ignored the feeling, instead opening his mouth a little wider. Youngjae took this opportunity and ran his tongue along the seam of Jinyoung’s teeth.

The whimper that came out of Jinyoung’s mouth surprised both of them, and Jinyoung quickly tried to explain himself. He started with a, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to-”, but was quickly cut off by Youngjae leaning forward and kissing him again.

The two kissed for what seemed like hours, but it was only about five minutes before Jinyoung broke away and whined out, “Can I suck you off, please?” The plea goes straight to Youngjae’s dick who nodded quickly and shifted backwards on his butt to let Jinyoung lean forward.

Jinyoung reached for Youngjae’s sweatpants, pulling it down as quickly as he could. However, before he removed Youngjae’s boxers, Jinyoung slid off the couch onto his knees and adjusted Youngjae to sit with his legs on either side of Jinyoung’s body. He then leans in.

“Fuck.” The obscenity spouted out of Youngjae’s mouth as soon as Jinyoung pressed his lips against Youngjae’s covered crotch. “Fuck, hyung.”

Jinyoung laughed breathily, the feeling making Youngjae moan, and Jinyoung pulled down his boxers at last, freeing Youngjae’s cock. “Youngjae-yah,” is all Jinyoung whined before leaning forward and licking a stripe up the younger one’s cock.

Before Youngjae could react, Jinyoung sucked the dick into his mouth and dipped his tongue into the slit. “Hyung-” Jinyoung looked up through his eyelashes at Youngjae and Youngjae almost creamed his pants. “Hyung, if you keep going I might cum right now,” Youngjae breathed.

Jinyoung popped off Youngjae’s cock with an obscene sound, and smirked, his full lips bitten to shame. “Good.” Youngjae swore he saw heaven and hell at the same time when Jinyoung sucks his cock down until his lips wrap around the base.

Youngjae’s hips twitched, and Jinyoung moaned, moaned, and swallowed around Youngjae’s dick. “Fuck, Jae-yah. Fuck my mouth,” Jinyoung rasped, popping off Youngjae’s cock and licking up the beading pre-cum. As soon as Jinyoung slid Youngjae’s cock back into his mouth, Youngjae gave him a questioning look, and Jinyoung nodded to reassure the younger.

Youngjae gave a few testing thrusts, and when all Jinyoung did was relax and open his jaw even wider, his thrusts built up until Jinyoung was drooling all down his chin and crying. It was when Jinyoung brushed his tongue alongside the bottom of Youngjae’s cock when the imaginary band around Youngjae’s cock snapped.

Youngjae cummed. His ears burned; he hadn’t meant to cum like a teenage boy watching porn for the first time, but a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.

“God, Jinyoung,” Youngjae wheezed. “How on Earth are you so good at this?” Jinyoung chuckles, the sound throaty and rough.

“Practice from college...and my three girlfriends,” he joked as an afterthought.

“Do you need any help?” Youngjae offered, but Jinyoung glanced at the TV and then the clock. The movie was over, and Jinyoung would have to pick something up for dinner.

“No, maybe next time,” Jinyoug sighed, throwing Youngjae a wink and a smile. “I have to feed the kiddos.”

Youngjae laughed, bright and loud as always. “Can’t let them starve. Drive safe back.” He leaned forward, planting a much more sweet and much less sensual kiss on Jinyoung’s lips. Something that Jaebeom would do. Jinyoung’s ears burned; he just sucked off Youngjae, why is he thinking about Jaebeom. “Jinyoung?”

Youngjae’s voice brought Jinyoung back to his senses, and he smiled.

“Will do.”

On the way home, Jinyoung couldn’t stop thinking about why Jaebeom suddenly popped into his head. Fuck it.

Jinyoung steered to the side of the road, parking in front of a convenience store, and called Youngjae. “Jinyoung?”

“Hey, Youngjae,” Jinyoung said, voice thick. “Um, I don’t think this will work out. I’m really sorry, I did like you in that way. But I also have feelings for someone else and I don’t want to lead you on. It’s nothing against you, I just-”

Youngjae cut him off. “No, it’s okay, Jinyoung. It’s Jaebeom, isn’t it?” Jinyoung paused.

“How’d you know?”

“I saw how you looked at him, and how he looked at you.” Jinyoung snorted.

“Oh, he’s not gay. But I just don’t think I could date you if I had major feelings for him as well,” Jinyoung laughed shortly.

He could hear Youngjae sigh in the background. “Well, whatever you say. But hey, if you ever want to, my door is open. After all, I am a lonely old man,” Youngjae ended with a joke, and Jinyoung scoffed.

“If you’re old, what am I?”

“An ancient and wise sage. Bye, hyung,” Youngjae snarked before hanging up, and Jinyoung stuck his middle finger up at the phone screen even though he knew it would do nothing. Glancing to the side, Jinyoung decided to pop into the store before heading to Jaebeom’s apartment.

He picked up a few bottles of soju and some packets of snacks before paying and leaving. Before he started driving, though, he texted Yugyeom to let him know he would be late in getting home. For some reason, Jinyoung didn’t tell the younger he was going to Jaebeom’s place, chalking it up to the fact Yugyeom would probably berate him.

He arrived at Jaebeom’s floor, letting himself in with the key given to him when the apartment was leased, and saw something he hadn’t meant to.

Jinyoung was going to confess.

Really.

He was.

But Jaebeom was shirtless, and there was a naked man. Yes, man. Standing next to him. And when Jinyoung says naked, he means naked. The man had nothing but a pair of lace underwear on, and one of Jaebeom’s tank tops. Something he did not want to see. And definitely not next to Jaebeom.

Jinyoung dropped the bag of food and just as Jaebeom opened his mouth in disbelief, booked it out of the apartment. Jinyoung forwent the elevator, just thundering down the stairs and into his car before driving just past the speed limit to reach his home.

When he burst into his door, Yugyeom looked up, shocked at his brother’s face. Before Yugyeom could even say anything, Jinyoung choked out a, “Don’t,” before practically running into his room and slamming the door.

A reasonable reaction.

What wasn’t a reasonable reaction, however, was the fact that Jinyoung stayed holed up in his room for a week. Yugyeom tried picking the lock, but Jinyoung had moved his desk in front of the door. He only took the food left in front of the door once it was cold, and answered no calls.

Worried was an understatement when it came to how his friends and family were feeling. His mother called multiple times at the prodding of Yugyeom, and hell, even Youngjae came over to try to coax him out of his room.

Jinyoung wouldn’t budge, however. He refused to even open the door. It just hurt. Jinyoung didn’t know the exact reason.

Was it the fact Jaebeom never told him he was gay? Jinyoung knew it could have been a one time thing or the older had just found out, but it still hurt. Maybe it was because Jinyoung had finally picked up the courage to tell Jaebeom how he felt, but then...that situation happened.

Jinyoung doesn’t even want to think about it, but he couldn’t. He tried opening his laptop to work, but his mind inevitably wandered to Jaebeom and the stranger’s look of surprise. He tried reading his English dictionary, but he saw the notes Jaebeom doodles in them in secondary school, and his heart wrenched.

He knew he was wallowing, he knew it was insanely and exceedingly unhealthy. But staying in his room and crying just seemed so much safer than going out into the world.

But Yugyeom was not having any of that. He was not ready to watch his older brother decay, and so, forced the door open and pushed the desk forward just enough to get through and into Jinyoung’s room, closing and locking the door behind him.

“Hyung, talk to me,” Yugyeom pleaded when he sat on the bed next to Jinyoung’s bundled up body.

Hearing his baby brother on the verge of tears and begging, Jinyoung finally released the dam, head buried in the younger one’s lap. He sobbed for hours, Yugyeom just petting his hair. He didn’t know how long he cried, but he did know at some point, he had fallen back asleep. Crying takes a lot of energy, you know.

When he wakes up, Yugyeom is still there, still holding him. “Hyung, do you want to talk about it,” Yugyeom tried to coax Jinyoung to speak, and Jinyoung sighed. He really couldn’t wallow all week about this; this was just sad.

Jinyoung swallowed once, twice, then started to explain. The entire time, Yugyeom kept a neutral face, but Jinyoung could see the pity in his eyes. “So...in conclusion, I’m an idiot,” Jinyoung laughed, voice rasped and tired.

Yugyeom clucked his tongue, sighing. “No, hyung, you’re not. You were just shocked and hurt. We can’t help how we feel.” Jinyoung shrugged.

“I know, Gyeom-ah. I just don’t want it to hurt that much.” Yugyeom nodded and Jinyoung returned his head to his younger brother’s lap.

“Hyung, I’m going to take you out.” Jinyoung’s eyes snapped to Yugyeom’s face, and Yugyeom blanched. “Not like that, dumbass! I’ll take you around town tomorrow; we’ll just forget the past few days, all right? Ten hyung will be in the dance studio as well, and you can meet him.”

Jinyoung just grunted, worn out, and Yugyeom petted him back to sleep, slipping out of the room and into the kitchen where Jaebeom was waiting worriedly. “Is he doing all right?” was the first question out of Jaebeom’s mouth, and Yugyeom shrugged.

“He’s as good as he’ll be, hyung. He’s unhappy, maybe disappointed, but I don’t know when he will be out of his funk,” Yugyeom explained. “I’m taking him to meet Ten hyung tomorrow, hopefully that can get his mind off the fact you never told him you were bi. He must have felt so hurt seeing you.” Yugyeom wisely left out the part where Jinyoung also had a crush on him.

From the tone of his voice, Jaebeom could tell Yugyeom was mad at him. “Look, I didn’t...I didn’t think it was important.” Jaebeom wrung his hands. “Not that I didn’t want to tell him. I just-”

“Don’t give me excuses,” Yugyeom snapped. “You hurt my brother. Unintentional, or not, you withheld it for your own personal reasons. I can’t stay angry for long, but I advise you to get out of the apartment for now.” Jaebeom took a step back, pausing, but left soon after.

Yugyeom slumped over the counter, tired out. He hadn’t meant to snap at Jaebeom; who was he to be angry about Jaebeom hiding when he had done the same thing to Jinyoung? Well, the difference was that Jinyoung hyung doesn’t have a crush on me, he thought.

He really hoped meeting Ten hyung would bring Jinyoung out of his slump, but he doubts that it would happen. But maybe, just for a short while, it would distract Jinyoung.

So, when Yugyeom drove Jinyoung to the studio and Ten hyung was waiting outside, he really didn’t expect Jinyoung to laugh and say, “Oh, the lost guy! I didn’t know you were Yugyeomie’s ‘Ten hyung.’”

“Hyung, you know him?” Jinyoung nodded.

“Yeah, when I was driving BamBam to work, he asked me for directions.” Yugyeom’s mouth dropped open.

“No way,” he laughed. “Hyung, you literally know everyone.” Jinyoung snorted, pulling Yugyeom’s ear, and the three of them headed into the dance studio.

“Ten hyung, did you know Jinyoungie used to be a dancer as well?” Yugyeom began to say, and Jinyoung groaned, attempting to swat at Yugyeom.

“Kim Yugyeom, I swear-” Yugyeom dodged him, cackling. Ten watched, amused.

“Well. I’m sure you will be able to keep up with me and Yugyeom, then?” Jinyoung shook his head.

“Oh, no no, I’m not going to dance.” Yugyeom smirked, and Jinyoung rolled his eyes. “Seriously. You can’t make me.”

Jinyoung flopped on the ground, sweaty and tired. “Love you too, hyung,” Yugyeom teased, poking Jinyoung’s sweaty forehead. Jinyoung grabbed the younger’s hand, pulling him down to wrestle, and Ten laughed.

“Okay, you two kids, no more fooling around,” Ten jokingly reprimanded. “Jinyoung-ssi; I didn’t expect you to catch up to me and Yugyeom this easily.”

Jinyoung snorted, flicking his hair out of his face. “I’m not that old, you know. I’m only, what, two years older than you? It’s only been three years since I graduated, too.”

Ten’s head cocked. “Really? I didn’t know that. Somehow I thought you would be older.” His lips pulled into a sweet smile, and Jinyoung could see Yugyeom mirror the smile. He laughed internally at his brother’s obvious crush. It was wholesome, cute, and not like his own trash bin of a love life. He winced at the memory of Jaebeom’s face when he caught him at his apartment yesterday, and the motion didn’t go unnoticed by Yugyeom.

“Hyung, do you wanna get us something to eat? I want to ask Ten hyung something.” Jinyong nodded quickly, eager to get his thoughts out of the dumpster.

“Yeah, I’ll just pop over to the convenience store a block down, do you guys want anything specific?”

After Ten and Yuyeom threw their dozens of orders at him and Jinyoung forced them to write it down, he slipped out the door and studio, walking down the road in the brisk and cool weather. Unfortunately, Jinyoung had forgotten his jacket. The sun was out, though, so Jinyoung wasn’t too unhappy. It was just a quick walk and the store would probably be warmer than outside.

Inside the store, Jinyoung was in the middle of a purchase, when he heard his name being called. “Jinyoung-ssi!” Ten was waving to him from outside the store. Jinyoung finished up his purchase, taking the plastic bag and meeting Ten outside as the two of them began the way back.

“Hey, Ten. What’s up?”

“I wanted to return your jacket; it’s a bit windy.” A pause, and then Ten opened his mouth, “Jinyoung-ssi, does Yugyeom have a crush on me?”

Jinyoung choked on the juice pack he had opened on the walk. “You should ask him that yourself, Ten-ah.”

Ten ignored him, going on with his thoughts. “I like him, but not in that way. And I don’t want to let him down; he’s a good friend.”

Jinyoung sighed. “Ten, seriously. You need to ask Yugyeom yourself, and tell him yourself. He’s a good kid, and sensible. He won’t take it to heart.”

“I suppose so.” They’re quiet until they reach the building, where Yugyeom was waiting in the lobby.

“We’re not supposed to eat in the dance room, so we gotta eat here, hyungs,” Yugyeom said, taking the bag from Jinyoung and rifling through it for his tteokbokki chips. “Ah, hyung, you forgot my sweet potato snacks.”

Jinyoung rolled his eyes. “Yugyeom, you consume an unholy amount of those at the apartment, you can deal with me forgetting them this time.” At Ten’s look, he added, “I’m running to the bathroom. Don’t touch my snacks.”

While in the bathroom, Jinyoung debated listening in the hallway to hear what Ten and Yugyeom had to say, but he decided against it. Yugyeom was old enough to make decisions himself.

As he waited for a reasonable amount of time for Ten and Yugyeom to stop talking, his phone binged with a text from the unknown number from earlier. The text read, ‘This is Mark, Youngjae’s roommate,’ and Jinyoung paused.

He took a screenshot, sending it to Youngjae, but the younger didn’t respond. He’s probably busy at Ars. As he slipped his phone back into his pocket, he stepped into the hallway where Ten was waiting. “Hey, Jinyoung-ssi. So. Would you like good news or bad news first?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” Ten smiled awkwardly, “Yugyeom felt like he needed space to get over me, so he went home. The good news is he still wants to be friends as well. The bad news is that I take the bus and can’t give you a ride home.”

Jinyoung sighed, running a hand through his hair. Of course Yugyeom would do that. “It’s fine, I’ll just call a friend to take me home,” he bit out, not quite angry but not exactly happy either.

He called Jackson almost immediately. “Hey, Park Gae, what’s up?”

“Jackson, I need a ride home. Yugyeom left me at the dance studio.” Jinyoung ripped his phone away from his ear. Jackson had yelled into the phone with excitement.

“Dance? I didn’t know you danced, Jinyoungie-ah! I wanna see you sometime!”

“Yeah, no,” Jinyoung said almost immediately, “but I do need a ride home.”

Jackson laughed. “About that...sorry, no can do. I’m out of town for the weekend. I know you’re not on speaking terms with Jaebeom, but you could try to ask him. I don’t know what’s going on with you two. But I’m sure he’ll be fine with driving you.”

“...Yeah.” Jackson hung up, unaware of Jinyoung’s hesitation. Looks like he’s out of the option. Jinyoung rang up Youngjae next, but he didn’t answer again. Looks like Jinyoung needed to take the bus. As he pocketed his phone, that unknown number from earlier claiming they were Mark called, and Jinyoung, at his wit’s end, answered.

“Is this Park Jinyoung?” The voice on the other end was deep, especially through the phone, and Jinyoung felt like if he wasn’t so obsessed with Jaebeom, he might fall in love with this voice as well.

“Yes, why?” The voice laughed.

“I’m Youngjae’s roommate. Youngjae, say hi to your ex.” Jinyoung choked, and he could hear Youngjae in the background.

“Why are you calling Jinyoung? How’d you get his number?” Jinyoung couldn’t not laugh at the confusion laced in Youngjae’s voice.

“Anyways,” Mark, Jinyoung presumed, continued on, “I texted you because I have something I need to clear up with you. Can we meet up?”

Jinyoung frowned. “What do you need to clear up? I’ve never met you in my life.”

“You’ve met me once. At Jaebeom’s apartment.” Jinyoung’s heart raced.

“I’m not sure I would want to meet up with you, then. For one, you slept with my best friend when I didn’t even know my best friend liked men,” Jinyoung took a deep breath. “And for two, I saw your dick hanging out some lacy underwear. I don’t think I could look at you straight in the eye after that.”

Mark laughed loudly, and if he strained his ears, Jinyoung could hear Youngjae in the back laughing just as loudly. “Yeah, I’m really sorry about that. That...was not what was supposed to happen. Look, man, I promise I’m not evil. Ars is closed today; I’ll even bring Youngjae along. Is that fine with you?”

Jinyoung sighed. “Sure. I guess so. You’re going to have to pick me up though, Yugyeom left me at Easy Dance Studio.” Mark snorted.

“Is this your super secret plan to use me as a chauffeur?” Jinyoung finally laughed at that, agreeing between breaths. “I knew it. We’ll be there in ten minutes.”

They were five minutes late, but Jinyoung didn’t think about it. He was too busy trying to avoid Mark’s eyes as he slid into the backseat and fiddled with his fingers. “Hey, Jinyoung,” Youngjae leaned around the passenger seat, offering Jinyoung a soft smile. “How was your week?”

“Shitty-” Jinyoung said without thinking, and both Mark and Youngjae laughed.

“Sounds like it,” Mark said, and paused for a split second before words came tumbling out of his mouth. To be honest, half of it was in English and Jinyonug only understood the words ‘sorry,’ and ‘Jaebeom,’ and ‘never.’

“Hold up, Mark-ssi. Can you speak in Korean?” Jinyoung asked, furrowing his brows, and Mark laughed, albeit a bit more strained.

“Yeah. Sorry. I wasn’t sleeping with Jaebeom. That’s the first thing I should start out with. I had sex with Jackson, and I wasn’t aware Jackson had a roommate. But when I woke up, Jackson had left for out of town, which was kind of dumb. Who leaves a stranger in their apartment?”

Youngjae prodded Mark. “Hyung. Off topic.”

“Sorry, sorry. But Jaebeom was there, and he had lent me a tank top, though none of his pants stayed up. Apparently Jackson had thought Jaebeom would get rid of me if I tried anything. That was when you walked in. And you entered. Though correctly, you had assumed Jaebeom was not straight and hadn’t told you. But we never fucked.”

Jinyoung sat in the backseat in complete silence for the rest of the ride, and both Mark and Youngjae felt they shouldn’t say any more. But when they reached his apartment, before leaving, Jinyoung spoke. “Thank you for telling me, Mark. I’ll have to talk to Jaebeom soon. But I appreciate it, and if I could ever get the image of your penis out of my head, I’d love to be your friend.”

Mark chuckled. “That sounds great. Please do not think about my penis, even if I know it’s great.” Youngjae choked, slapping Mark on the back.

“Hyung! Don’t praise your dick in front of me and Jinyoungie hyung.”

Jinyoung rolled his eyes and smiled, getting out of the car and waving at the two friends as they drove off. Once they were out of sight, he stood in front of his apartment building for a few minutes before heading up.

Yugyeom was out, having left a note dictating he was hanging out with BamBam, so Jinyoung took this opportunity to text Jaebeom and asked him to come over. Jaebeom had replied almost instantaneously with confirmation, and Jinyoung waited in anticipation.

Jaebeom didn’t live too far, so he only had to wait fifteen minutes, though they felt like hours. The sound of the door unlocking caused Jinyoung to whip his head toward the kitchen entrance, locking eyes with Jaebeom as he rounded the corner.

“Hi.” Jinyoung broke the ice first, and Jaebeom immediately added a hyung to the end of that, as per habit, before he started crying. “Oh, hyung.” Jinyoung immediately came around the island, wrapping an arm around Jaebeom.

The two stayed like that in silence save the refrigerator humming. When Jaebeom finally got all his tears out, he whispered out an, “I’m so sorry,” and Jinyoung’s heart broke once again.

“Hyung, don’t be sorry.” Jaebeom shook his head, and Jinyoung quieted.

“No, Nyoungie, let me finish.” Jaebeom took a few deep breaths. “I’m sorry I never told you I was bisexual. It sounds stupid of me, but I was scared how you would react. I know you are for the LGBT+ community, but when I found out I was, I didn’t know. And then I just kept it a secret for so long; I never felt like it would ever be the right time to tell you. I’m sorry I hurt you and lied to you.”

Jinyoung laughed through his own tears. “Hyung, I haven’t been completely honest with you either.” Jaebeom quieted, and Jinyoung took the opportunity. His heart hurt from pounding so hard against his ribcage, but it was now or never. “I’ve been in love with you for years, since before college.”

Jaebeom says nothing for a minute, and Jinyoung can feel his heart drop. When Jaebeom shifted, Jinyoung kept his eyes trained forward until he felt Jaebeom’s breath on his jawline. The younger turned; confused, when Jaebeom leaned forward, pressing his lips against Jinyoung’s.

“Jaebeom hyung?” When their lips part, Jinyoung asks the only question on his mind.

“We’re both idiots, huh?” Jaebeom snorted, and even with the tears running down his face and the wet noise, Jinyoung had never seen someone more beautiful. “I love you too.”

Jinyoung’s mouth dropped open, and Jaebeom laughed again. “Hyung, please don’t joke around like that,” Jinyoung pleaded, but Jaebeom shook his head.

“No, Jinyoungie. I promise. I’m not. I know it may not have seemed that way, but I promise I do. I do. I love you.” Jinyoung cried again.

He’s never cried so much over the span of ten days, much less a year. But somehow, this seemed worth it.

20 notes · View notes

crowdedimagines · 5 years

Text

Babysitter - David Dobrik

an: babysitter!reader used to watch ester, sara, and toby she was a few years younger than david. okay y’all i’m sorry, but for this to work i kinda had to make them a bit younger than they actually are in real life… whatever lol it’s a story anyway

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Mrs. Dobrik asks.

“Not at all. Plus, it’ll be good to go out there and see Dave and Natalie. It’ll be great, I promise.”

Mrs. Dobrik is sending me along with the rest of them to visit David in Los Angeles and attend the Streamys. I haven’t watched the girls in years, but she was worried about them traveling alone. Ester practically lost it when she threatened to go with, I was the compromise.

“Ready?” I ask, turning to see Ester and Sara coming down the stairs, suitcases in hand.

“Yeah.” They smile, still on the quiet side. It’s been a few years since I watched them, but we’ve stayed in touch. I never had younger siblings, and these girls are definitely the closest thing I’ve ever had. It’s been a little while since I’ve been back here. It was a lot of tears from Ester and Sara when I graduated and left to go to college. David even came back home to see me graduate, which was surprising.

“Are you guys excited to get all dressed up?” I ask, we finally take our seats to board the plane. I am planted in the middle where both girls could be satisfied by sitting next to me.

“Yeah, mom let me get a new dress and everything!”

We talk for the first hour of the flight, catching up on the things that we didn’t on facetime. After that, we all put in headphones and try to catch up on some sleep, our flight is getting in late.

“Alright, I texted Natalie and they should be picking us up at our gate.” I look down at my phone reading over our messages.

“David!” Sara tears off once she sees the familiar Tesla with their brother standing outside. Ester walks with me at a normal pace, rolling her eyes at her younger sister. I nudge her shoulder with a smile.

“Wow, someone looks excited to be here.” David teases, pulling her in for a hug.

“She was talking the whole flight about how excited she was, now she needs to play it cool.” I laugh.

“Y/n.” She huffs, making us all laugh a little harder.

“Hi, Y/n.” David says, pulling me in for a hug.

“Thanks for flying me in.” I grin, I reach behind him to pull Natalie in for a hug too.

“Thanks for dealing with these two demons for a whole flight.” David reaches out to ruffle both of their hair.

The ride to David’s house is nice, the car filled with conversation catching us up on each other’s lives.

“How’s school going?” David asks, looking at me in his rearview mirror.

“Really good. One more semester to go.” I grin thinking about how I’ll finally have my degree and I’m free to be done with school.

“That’s crazy, I feel like we were just going to your high school graduation.” Natalie says.

“Shut up.” I roll my eyes, “I was only two years behind you guys.”

It’s always been this dynamic. They’ve always teased me for being younger than them. We make it to the house, the girls are sharing a room and I’m crashing with Natalie for the entire stay. We’re both excited though, it makes it like a sleepover again.

The house is unsurprisingly not empty when we get there, plenty of people hanging out in the living room and the kitchen.

“Hey!” They all cheer as we walk in the door.

“You guys have probably all met my sisters before.” David points to them.

“I didn’t know you had three.” A man comments, I’m pretty sure his name is Jeff.

“God no, Y/n isn’t a sister.” David shakes his head.

“She is to us.” Sara punches his shoulder making me smile. I send her a wink which makes her smile.

“I just mean she’s not related to our family. She’s their babysitter.”

“And our friend.” Natalie chimes in.

“Hi, I’m Y/n.” I wave looking over the group.

“Wait, so this is the Y/n you talk about from high school?” Jason asks.

David simply nods.

“I didn’t think you actually existed! After all of our trips to Chicago over the years we met everyone from David’s past.

“I was busy at school!” I smile, “Plus, if I’m not going to get a car, what’s the point in going anyway.”

The group laughs and it’s easy to blend in with them. They’re a good group of people and we talk for a while and it proves how great they are, I don’t even know how long we’ve been out here.

“We’re gonna go to bed.” Ester suddenly gets up, a sleepy Sara at her side.

“Okay.” I get up to follow them.

“They aren’t that little. They can tuck themselves in.” David laughs.

“You know it freaks out Sara when she’s sleeping somewhere that her mom isn’t. She always needs someone to stay awake with her until she falls asleep.”

No one comments after that they just move on to another topic. I go in and they’ve both changed and Ester is already under the covers trying to fall asleep.

“You can go back out there, Y/n.” Sara states, crossing her arms over her chest.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“I’m big enough to go to bed by myself.” She tucks herself in and turns her body to face away from me. I’m sure she feels embarrassed by what happened in front of everyone earlier.

“I’m not here for you! I’m going to bed too!” Before either girl gets a second to think, I jump on the bed laying between the two of them.

“What are you doing?” Ester turns to look at me.

“Getting comfortable.” I close my eyes and nuzzle in to get more comfortable.

“I’m serious, Y/n.” Sara mumbles into her pillow, still not bothering to look at me.

“I am too!” I start to fake snore and before I know it we’re all laughing. I pull them both in close for a hug. Sara, finally smiling again both girls are curled in towards me as we talk quietly and laugh.

“Hey, I just wanted to say goodnight.” David peeks his head in the door, “What’s going on?”

“We’re going to bed.” I grin.

“You’re not even under the covers.” He states.

“That’s beside the point.”

“We’re all cuddling.” Ester laughs.

“Oh, I just wanted to tell you guys night.” David starts to turn back out the door.

“Where are you going?” Sara asks, she gestures for him to join us.

“What?”

“Like Ester said, we’re all cuddling.”

David raises his brows and I shrug. Before giving is much thought, David climbs on top of the bed too, most of his weight uncomfortably directed on to me.

“You know, you’re heavier than you look Dobrik.” I groan.

“Whatever.” He doesn’t even bother lifting his head up from my neck.

We stay like that for a while, talking quietly, telling stories. My leg starts to go numb, but it’s warm and cozy enough I can ignore it. After we’re all quiet for a while I can hear Sara’s breathing change. Ester’s been out for a while, she’s unbothered by sleeping in a new environment.

“Dave.” I whisper.

“Hmm?”

“I need you to get up as softly as you can.”

It takes some time and some careful maneuvering, but David gets up without disturbing either of the girls. I pull my arms gently from under the girls heads, David gives me a hand to pull me off the bed.

I follow him out and turn off the lights behind me.

“Wow, where did everyone go?” I ask.

“I hinted that everyone should get going before I went in with you guys.” David answers, pausing to yawn.

“Oh, well then good night I guess.”

“Yeah, I know that Natalie is already out for sure.” David comments. “She was so tired earlier, she had a bad headache.”

“Shit, I still need to my stuff. There’s no way that I won’t wake her up if I go in there right now.” I look down at my jeans and tee shirt. Not exactly what I had been hoping to sleep in. Right about now, I’m wishing I hadn’t put my suitcase in her room.

“I have clothes you can borrow. I have too many clickbait sweatshirts.” He smiles.

“Yeah, that’d be great actually.”

I follow him to his room, he disappears into his closet. I look around the room that I’ve seen in video, but never in person.

“Here.” He hands me a stack of clothes, I turn to walk back to the living room muttering a thank you over my shoulder, “Can I be honest?”

His words catch me before I make it to the door, I turn back around to look at him.

“Always.”

“That couch is awful for sleeping on. It’s fluffy and nice, but it’ll kill your neck by the morning.”

“So what do you suggest I do?”

“You can sleep in here.” He gestures to the bed behind him. His bed.

“Dave-”

“It’s not weird, I promise. I just want to crash. I’m sure you’re tired, you had a long flight.”

I nod and debate back and forth in my head. Isn’t it weird though?

“Sure.” I nod, it seems more weird now to say no because that would mean I had a reason to say no.

“Okay, good.” He lets out a sigh, “I’m just going to get ready for bed.” He walks into his bathroom and shuts the door behind him.

As quickly as I can, I change into the sweatshirt and a pair of shorts. Just in time, David swings the door back open. He’s changed too now.

“I have a spare toothbrush on the counter if you want to-”

“Yes please!” I laugh, I brush my teeth and think this over in my head. There’s no way to get out of this now without it being weird. I put the toothbrush back before walking back out to the bedroom. David is settled on his side of the bed laying on his back, I walk over to the other half.

I set my phone on the nightstand and peel back the covers before sliding in. I face the wall, I can almost feel David’s eyes on me.

“Goodnight.”

“Night.” He calls back, a few seconds later the lights turn off. After that we both settle in a little more. It’s as if the lights are off and we feel ten times more comfortable. It shouldn’t be this weird, we just cuddled in a different bed for like an hour. Sharing a bed with inches between us shouldn’t be this hard.

It has to be the tension. There’s always been something I could never place, it’s just when we’re alone together. David’s cute, anyone can see that, but he’s always been so much more.

Several more minutes pass, still both of us wide awake. I was hoping he would be right and we would both just crash instantly. I flip to my other side, hoping it to be more comfortable, but it proves to be a big mistake when I become practically nose to nose with him.

I don’t know how, but being that much closer is a lot warmer. I can faintly feel his breath fanning across my cheek. Almost ask quick as I turned, I manage to crash.

The feeling of a heavy arm on my waist wakes me up hours later. I peel my eyes open, the sun is up in the corner of the window. I look around to see I’m tucked fully in David’s arms. I’m not sure if scooted on to his side of the bed, or if he pulled me there.

As gently as I can, I lift David’s arm and manage to slip out with grace. I walk to the kitchen to get a glass of water. It doesn’t seem like anyone else is up yet in the house, it’s almost nine. I take a seat at the tall table by the patio. The view from here has to be one of the best I’ve ever seen.

I hear the shuffling of feet and my head snaps in the direction.

“Did I wake you?” I ask, looking over my shoulder to him.

“I haven’t slept with anyone in my bed for a long time. I noticed you absent as soon as you left.”

His cheeks light up with a pink blush. He grabs himself a bottle of water and joins me at the table.

“When did you become their favorite?” David asks, dumbfounded, suddenly referring to the girls.

“I’ve always been.” I tease, “You’ve always been Toby’s favorite.”

“I knew there was a reason why he was my favorite sibling.” He continues, “You know so much about them.”

“I’ve just spent a lot of time with them. It’s nothing special.” I try to diminish the thought for him. He’s never admitted it, but I know that it hurts him that he’s not there to witness his siblings grow up as much anymore.

“You go to school away from them, you see them just as little as I do and yet you know so much. You’re so involved in their lives.”

“You could be too.” I remind.

“I know, I know.” He shakes his head, looking down.

“They love you so much.” I reach out my hand to place on top of his, “I know you think they’re distant, but they just take some warming up. You’re their big brother, you’re so important to them!”

“Y/n.” He suddenly looks up, his face inching closer and closer. I can feel myself leaning in as well. Tension building. Lips parting.

“I’m back!” Natalie cheers, she walks in the front door. She looks like she just came back from the gym, neither of us knew she even left.

“Hey.” We both yell back.

“I’m gonna go grab the girls for some breakfast.” I state, suddenly getting up from the table.

What was I just about to do?

“Y/n, wait-”

part two 😏

#david dobrik imagine #david dobrik x reader #vlog squad imagines #vlog squad imagine #vlog squad x reader #david dobrik imagines #david dobrik #vlog squad

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skylarmoon71 · 4 years

Text

Tadashi Hamada Fanfiction (Short Story) - Chapter 1

"I can't believe him! That big genius brain and he forgets his lunch." you held the paper bag with sandwiches, pulling the strap of your duffle bag back onto your shoulder. In your haste you failed to notice the male in front of you. At the very last second you took a sidestep, barely dodging him.

"I-I'm sorry!" you called still rushing. You didn't even turn to see if he was alright. It didn't make much of a difference, you would have probably just been too shy to say much.

When you got to the door you desired you knocked, a bit angrily. A teen opened the door, a smile stretching on his face. You just gave him a blank look. "(Y/N), don't give me that look." he ushered you into his lab.

"Luke I told you to stop leaving your food, next time I'm just going to ignore your messages. I nearly ran into a guy rushing over here." He whined, his dark hair swishing as he shook his head. "I promise I won't do it again." You knew it was a lie.You handed him the brown bag, which he took happily, digging into the contents of the bag. Whenever he got an idea for a new invention all other thoughts just completely left his mind. As the older sibling you thought he'd be more responsible.

Your eyes drifted over all the little knicks and projects he'd already completed. There were blueprints and countless sheets of papers scattered in various places of his lab. You sighed, putting down your bag as you started to pack the items in neat piles. You even picked up any wrappers or soda cans that you found along the way, tossing them into the bin.

"Fanks!!" he was stuffing his face, sitting on a chair watching as you cleaned. You shook your head with a smile. When you were done organizing you moved to get your phone. You dug in your pocket of your duffel, a bit confused why you couldn't find it. You unzipped the main area.

"Maybe I slipped it in here?" you searched for a while but still you couldn't find it.

"Luke can I borrow your phone for a second." He nodded, taking the device off the table, throwing it to you. You caught it, dialing your number. Your phone was ringing but you couldn't hear it. Someone answered and your brows knitted at the male voice on the other side.

"I'm sorry, I found this in the hallway, I'm assuming it belongs to you." you flushed, embarrassed. "Y-Yes thank you for picking it up." you could hear a slight laugh on the other side of the phone.

"No sweat, just tell me where you are and I'll bring it to you. You're still in the University's building right?"

"Yes I am." you gave him directions for your brother's lab, hanging up when he said he was on his way.

"Who was that?" Luke asked, cleaning his hands.

"Some guy, I dropped my phone speeding over here." You glared at him and Luke just scratched his head.

"Come on, were you really going to let your older brother starve?" he pouted his lips trying to look cute. You just laughed, smacking his chest. "Shut up, you're lucky I didn't just leave for practice." The knock on the door alerted you that the person who had your phone was there. You ran over to the door, pulling it open.

You weren't prepared for the very attractive teen on the other side. He was tall and slender. Fair skin and a hint of black hair that was partially hidden under his cap. His brown eyes were so warm.

He was wearing a white t-shirt with some sort of logo on it. All coherent thinking flew out your brain and you stood there with red cheeks.

He smiled down at you kindly. "This is yours." he held out the pink smartphone and you took it, mentally slapping yourself for just staring at the male.

"T-T-Thank you!" you shouted. You winced.

"It's no problem, you really should slow down though." you tilted your head. He seemed amused at your puzzled look.

"You don't remember me, we almost collided in the hallway." Your eyes widened.

"Oh! I-I'm so sorry!" he brushed it off. "No harm done, I just thought there was something important you needed to get to."

"Y-Yeah, well thank you again."

"Yes thank you." A deep voice said sharply. You jumped at your brother's sudden appearance at your side. He was about the other boy's height, maybe an inch taller. You could already see Luke sizing him up. Tadashi apparently didn't sense the hostility because he directed the smile at Luke. You guess his curiosity got the better of him because he peeked inside, eyes opening in wonder.

"Woah, wait, you're the one who helped design the medical necklace." you assumed he saw the blueprints of said invention stuck to Luke's wall. Luke stepped to the side, turning at the prototype on his desk.

"Um yeah I did. It's used to track illnesses, monitor heart conditions, spot diseases. It's to help people with chronic illnesses better maintain their problems, even when they don't have people near to help. It reads all the body's functions, depending on the illness, if a distress is detected, a signal goes out to the closest medical center to send assistance."

You knew it was your brother's proudest invention. Tadashi walked in, somewhat mesmerized.

"That's so awesome!" he exclaimed. You smiled when you saw the bashful look on Luke's face. He loved to boast about his inventions, but whenever someone else complimented him he'd get embarrassed.

"Y-Yeah I guess, It's nothing really." you poked Luke in his side laughing.

"I'm Tadashi by the way, Tadashi Hamada. My lab is actually not too far from here, if you ever want to stop by. I'm working on something as well. A nurse robot. "

"Luke's eyes lit up. "No way are you serious, heck yeah I'll stop by!" the enthusiastic response seemed to please Tadashi. "I'm Luke and this is my sister (Y/N)." you waved shyly.

"Nice to meet you Tadashi." His smile made you stomach churn in the weirdest way.

"Nice to meet you guys too."

That was how you met Tadashi.

After that first meeting he and Luke were sort of close. They'd exchange information on new inventions, mess around in the Nerd Lab.

You even got to meet some of Tadashi's very interesting friends. Even though you weren't an inventor there, you felt like one of them. They were so passionate about their work, especially Tadashi.

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pocket-luv101 · 4 years

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Ransom || Part 2

Fandom: Servamp Ship: KuroMahi Characters: Kuro, Mahiru

Summary: Mahiru is kidnapped by the mafia. He learns that Kuro is being forced to work with the mafia. He hoped he could convince him to help him escape. {KuroMahi, Mafia AU}

Part 1 || (Part 2) || Part 3

Kuro watched Cerberus dash across the room and chase a ball that Mahiru threw. The dog had been infamous for its temper and aggression yet it was nothing but docile now. It carried the ball back to Mahiru and nestled against his leg. Mahiru scratched its head and said, “Your leg has healed nicely. It’s a shame you can’t go outside and stretch your legs properly.”

While the guest room the mafia gave him was spacious and well furnished, it was still a prison for Mahiru. A week had passed since he was kidnapped and he was still trying to make sense of their motivation for taking him. One of the leaders claimed that his uncle was from a rival crime group. Mahiru refused to believe the man until he spoke with Toru.

He was given books to pass his time and they would help distract him for a moment. However, they could only keep him busy for a while. Mahiru thought of climbing down the balcony to try to escape but he knew he wouldn’t be able to run far. From the little he had seen of the headquarters, he knew there were men guarding the major exits. He could see the ocean from his balcony so they were no longer in his hometown, Tokyo. He wouldn’t know where to run if he managed to escape.

Mahiru gently tossed the ball in Kuro’s direction, hoping that he could start a conversation with him. Cerberus leapt after the ball and the dog almost crashed into Kuro in its eagerness. He managed to catch the large dog before either of them could be hurt and he handed the ball to it. “You still have a lot of energy. At least you’re not snapping at us anymore.”

“He only needed to be taught how to direct that energy. I’m a vet but I’ve trained a lot of dogs. Cerberus, fetch the ball.” Mahiru clapped his hands twice and Cerberus obediently returned to his side with the toy. He watched Kuro from the corner of his eyes and thought of how quiet he was. He tried to speak with him several times so they could know each other more and build trust between them.

The day he was kidnapped, he had overheard Kuro’s conversation with his little brother. Will they leave us alone, Kuro?

His question made Mahiru think that Kuro was being forced to work with the mafia group. Whether the mafia was threatening his family or blackmailing him, Kuro was being held in the mafia against his will. They were in similar situations. Mahiru hoped he could convince Kuro to escape with him. Unfortunately, it quickly became clear that Kuro was a private person. He understood why Kuro would be distant from him since he was a hostage. He didn’t want to give up though.

His thoughts were interrupted when the door opened and Mahiru knew that it was likely Tsurugi. He and Kuro had been assigned to guard him and they would take turns watching over him. Mahiru glanced at the clock and said, “You’re an hour early, Tsurugi. Are you trying to get more money with overtime? It’s not good to overwork yourself.”

Each member of the crime family had a name based on a Greek god to hide their identity. He befriended Apollo and learned that his name was actually Tsurugi. Mahiru considered asking him for help until he learned that he had been saved by the mafia. It was clear that Tsurugi saw the leader as a father and Mahiru couldn’t ask him to betray the man.

“Kuro is the one who has overtime today. Zeus and I are going out to… It’s a well paying job.” Tsurugi let out a hollow laugh and he looked away from him. The mafia family had a rule against involving normal civilians in their crimes. “Ares will be in charge until Zeus and I return tomorrow. You can ask Kuro for anything you need. I should get going since Zeus is waiting for me in the hall.”

“He’s here? I would like to speak with him.” Mahiru’s declaration shocked Kuro and Tsurugi. Most would be too afraid to face the leader of a mafia group yet he didn’t seem to be. He jumped off his chair and walked out of the room with Cerberus following close behind him. He spotted Touma smoking a few feet from his door and called to him.

Kuro quickly ran after Mahiru. He expected Touma to be angry that he would leave his room and he wanted to protect Mahiru from him. While Touma had given him a comfortable room and anything else he asked for, Kuro knew the man’s kindness had an ulterior motive. Mahiru’s uncle was a powerful man and Touma likely wanted to gain Toru’s trust through his nephew.

“Excuse me.” Mahiru stopped in front of the tall man. “I’ve wanted to talk with you about something.”

“If you want another book to read or a video game, you could’ve asked Hades or Apollo to purchase it for you. I told them to provide you anything that you need— within reason of course.” He added to warn him to think of his request carefully. Mahiru stood a little straighter and bit his lower lip. Touma towered over people and his height alone would intimidate most people.

“I want to take Cerberus on daily walks.” He did his best to keep his voice even to hide any fear he had. “The room is large and comfortable but it’s not good for him to stay inside all the time. He’ll become anxious. I only want to take him out to exercise. Of course, Kuro can walk Cerberus with me if you’re worried about me running away.”

Touma was silent and Mahiru was worried he would say no. Thinking simply, it would be too dangerous to allow him to walk through the building. He still wanted to try though. Mahiru didn’t know how long they would hold him hostage but he would go crazy if he was confined to the room the entire time.

“I don’t mind watching Mahiru while he walks Cerberus.” Kuro surprised Mahiru since he didn’t expect him to offer his help. He thought of the first day he woke in the prison. He secretly disobeyed a man’s order and didn’t handcuff him. “You said that we need to keep Mahiru happy so Toru doesn’t raid us in retaliation for taking him. We’ll stay within walls.”

“An hour. You can leave your room for an hour each day to walk the mutt.” Touma said after a moment. He took a long drag of his cigarette and then put it out. He addressed Kuro when he added: “Keep Mahiru away from the guard dogs though. He did threaten to use an army of animals against us. I expect a report when I get back too, Hades.”

“More work? Troublesome.” Kuro groaned and rubbed his neck.

“Thank you, Zeus. We’ll need a leash for Cerberus to make sure he doesn’t run off or attack anyone. He’s well behaved but I haven’t been able to fully train him. Can I borrow one?” Mahiru asked and Touma nodded. “May I also have my phone back so I can call my uncle? He must be worried about me. One of your men said that you sent him a message about my kidnapping. I want to talk to him.”

“You’re smart enough to know that I can’t say ‘yes’ to that.” He shook his head. Touma’s words were correct but Mahiru had hoped he could speak with his uncle again. He pushed away his disappointment and he focused on the small freedom he was given.

“Fresh air.” Mahiru took a deep breath once he was outside. The sun’s heat on his face was refreshing after staying inside for the past week. After Touma left, Kuro found a leash for Cerberus and they took him outside for a walk. “I was so excited about going out that I forgot to bring a ball for Cerberus to play with. Then again, he must be sick of playing catch all day.”

“You must be sick of playing catch too. You rarely ask for things. The only stuff you’ve asked for are for Cerberus.” Kuro couldn’t help but feel pity for Mahiru and his situation. He showed a brave face to others but he heard him cry during the night. “Even the books you have weren’t something you asked for. I brought them from home.”

“The books belonged to you? I really like the fantasy adventure series you gave me with the angel and the demon. They had a really cute romance. What do you think about the novel?” He asked. He bought books for Mahiru but he knew that they were only a temporary escape for him. Mahiru was a little surprised that he had something in common. He was happy that he found something they could discuss though.

“I prefer video games over books but my family could never afford to buy expense game consoles. My baby brother would ask me to read to him at night.” Kuro’s casual smile made Mahiru relax and they continued to walk down the path together.

Mahiru tilted his head back and watched the clouds above them. “Honestly, I was a little selfish when I asked Zeus if I could take Cerberus on walks. I didn’t know how much longer I could sit in that room. Thank you for what you said to Touma. You seem like the sloth type who doesn’t like to go on walks. Wait, that was rude to say. I’m sorry, Kuro.”

“I don’t mind. It’s true. My siblings always complain about how lazy I am.” Kuro said and he made a small chuckle. Then, he bit his tongue when he realized that he told him about his family. It was dangerous to tell Mahiru about his personal life but he accidentally slipped. “I’m sorry that I’m not much of a talker. This situation would be easier on you if you had someone normal to talk to.”

“I’m glad that you were the one assigned to guard me.” Mahiru stopped and looked up at him. “You were kind to me even before Zeus told everyone that they couldn’t hurt me.”

“I’m the least bad among a group of criminals. That’s not saying a lot.” Kuro chuckled at himself and there was a shadow of pain in his red eyes. Mahiru wondered why he joined the mafia family since it was clear he didn’t enjoy working with them. He could hear the regret in his voice but he didn’t know if he could ask him about it.

Ahead of them, Cerberus was barking at something in the bushes and Kuro placed a hand on the gun tucked into his belt. The dog had been calmer lately and it would only bark when a person approached Mahiru. He didn’t see anyone though. Kuro was worried that someone had broken into the mafia’s base and lightly grabbed Mahiru’s arm. “I’ll see what he’s barking at. Stay behind me.”

“Do you think it’s someone from a rival mafia group?” Mahiru asked in a worried voice.

Kuro didn’t answer him as he walked behind Cerberus with his gun. He didn’t see anyone hiding in the small bush and knelt next to the dog. He wanted to be cautious so he slowly pushed aside the branches. After a moment, Kuro’s shoulders relaxed and he holstered his gun. “We have the best security in the country but this little guy managed to slip in.”

“What is it?” Mahiru leaned over his shoulder to see a brown cat huddled among the leaves. He carefully slipped his hand under the cat and lifted it out of the bushes. Gently, he stroked his hand over its fur. Cerberus pushed its head against Mahiru’s chest and he wondered if it wanted attention. He patted its head. “You’re big and strong, Cerberus, so you should protect smaller animals like this cat.”

“Sometimes I wonder if you can truly talk to animals.” Kuro said when he saw the way Cerberus whined and laid its head on Mahiru’s lap. He had to admit that it looked comfortable. He turned his attention to Mahiru who was playing with the cat. Reaching forward, he petted the cat. “I can guess that you’ll want to take this little guy back to your room but Zeus won’t let us.”

“He said I can’t raise an army of dogs. He didn’t say anything about cats or other animals.” The corner of his lips lifted into a small grin. His brown eyes held a glimmer of mischief. “I can ask Zeus to buy me some video games to pass the time. Do you want to play them with me?”

“I didn’t think you were the type to use bribery. Can’t deal.” Despite the sarcastic tone Kuro used, Mahiru could hear a subtle warmth in his voice. “Touma lets you get away with a lot so I don’t think he’ll mind that you adopted another pet. I’ve overheard a little of Touma and Toru’s history but I don’t know much. Is your uncle that scary?”

“The only scary thing about my uncle is how bad his puns are. He raised me after my mother died and I’m so grateful for him…” Mahiru’s smile became sad as he went on. “Then again, I might not know him as well as I thought. He’s the leader of a crime family. I would’ve never guessed. He told me he was a pilot and that was the reason he was gone all the time.”

The past week had been stressful. Beyond being kidnapped, the image of his family was being shattered. The loneliness in his brown eyes tugged at Kuro’s heart and he wanted to reassure him. Without thinking, he placed his hand over Mahiru’s and squeezed it lightly. “He didn’t want you to know about that part of his life because he wanted to keep you safe. Your uncle cared about you— even if he kept secrets.”

“Thank you, Kuro.” Mahiru whispered to him and his smile returned. “What kind of video games should I request? I would like to buy a video game that we could play together.”

A new voice interrupted their conversation and sent a cold chill down Mahiru’s back. “Aren’t you getting too comfortable? What are you two doing outside?”

Mahiru hesitantly turned around to see Makabe behind them. The man was responsible for his kidnapping and it was apparent that he was ruthless. Cerberus must’ve sensed his fear since it started to growl at Makabe. Unconsciously, Mahiru shifted closer to Kuro since he made him feel safe. Kuro said, “Zeus gave us permission to go for a walk. You can call him for confirmation.”

“First Tsurugi and now you. I don’t know why Touma is choosing street rats over me. I’m his son, not you.” Makabe glared at Mahiru with resentment. “My plan would’ve worked if you stayed in that damn cell. Who do you think you are? I did my research on you and I know that you’re a bastard. You don’t have a father because your mother was a whore—”

“Cerberus, bad man.” Mahiru said the command in a low whisper and the dog vaulted forward to bite Makabe’s arm. Kuro placed his hand on his shoulder and he could feel him shake beneath his anger. He had seen different sides to him throughout their time together but this was the first time he became angry. He told him that his mother had died when he was young but it was clear that Mahiru cherished her.

“Get this thing off me!” He screamed.

“Enough, Cerberus, come back.” He relented but the tension in Mahiru’s body hadn’t left. The dog returned to his side and he hugged it. Mahiru closed his eyes and buried his face into its fur but he could feel a strong hand on his head. He knew that it was Kuro.

“Makabe, you should return to your work or Zeus will be angry with you. He’s already annoyed at your plan to kidnap Mahiru.” Kuro wrapped his arm around Mahiru’s waist and lightly urged him to stand. He wanted to take him away from the situation before Makabe could hurt him again. “Let’s go, Mahiru.”

“You’ll catch a cold if you stay out here, Mahiru.” Kuro stepped onto the balcony where Mahiru was gazing at the stars. He didn’t respond to him immediately but he did turn to face him when he stopped next to his chair. Looking into his eyes, he could see that he was tired yet he didn’t move out of his chair to return to the room. “Is what Makabe said still bothering you?”

“He already hated me and I just made it worse, didn’t I? He brought up my mom and I got so angry that I did something as stupid as attack him. I wanted to yell at him that my mother has nothing to do with this mess.” Mahiru started to rant. He curled into a ball and hugged his knees to his chest. “Then again, I can’t say that for certain. I was wrong about my uncle being a part of the mafia.”

Kuro knelt next to him and whispered, “You can ask him if I gave you my phone to call him.”

“You can’t do that without getting in trouble with Touma or Makabe.” Mahiru desperately wanted to speak with his uncle to answer his questions. At the same time, he didn’t want Kuro to risk his job after he had been so kind to him already. Kuro glanced around them and Mahiru didn’t know what he could be searching for. Then, he took his phone out of his pocket.

“Touma isn’t here and he won’t find out. This call can’t be long though. I can’t let your uncle track the number and risk the mafia’s safety. I already have a program on my phone to block a tracker but I want to be safe. I’m sorry that this is all I can give you, Mahiru.” He was taken by surprise when Mahiru leapt out of the chair and into his arms. He wrapped his arms around him and pressed his face into his neck.

“This is already so much. Thank you, Kuro.” He hugged him briefly and then leaned away from him. Kuro passed his phone to him and Mahru pressed his uncle’s number. As he waited for his answer, he leaned closer to Kuro and rested his forehead against his chest. He was able to smell the scent of roses in his hair. “If we sit close like this, people won’t see that I’m using your phone.”

#servamp #kuromahi #sloth pair #servamp kuro #mahiru shirota #fanfiction

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ketsuyuki-hibana-typed · 5 years

Text

Since it's already 29th November here in Asia...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY ANGRY WIND BOY, SHINAZUGAWA SANEMI

Like, HNNGGHHH, I wanted to celebrate it so here's a short hc I made in 30 minutes!

お誕生日おめでとう!!!

Shinazugawa Sanemi x Reader (ModernAU) (NSFWish WARNING)

'Message Thorough This Board'

Green Marker - Sanemi

White Marker - You

Out of flour

Okie dokie

Don't forget the stove

Got the paper you asked

Are you the one who change my desktop

Cute Genya with puppies are the best *two thumbs up

It's not (family name) (y/n), but Shinazugawa (y/n). You put your name on the package wrong again.

Well, we're not married yet, you know.

Meet me @ library, 2 p.m. Late and I'll leave you

Down for coffees, I'm @ Kamado Bakery until evening

Eggs, milk, red bean paste

Ohagi

Your bro came and asked if he could borrow your book. Text him.

If you need something, call me. Don't move around too much. I'm going for medicines.

Thank you for the porridge

Feed my beetles

Uh, bad news, they all are free now.

PICK UP MY CALL, DUMBASS, WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY 'FREE'

Love you

DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT WHERE ARE MY BEETLES, LOVE YOU TOO

For fuck sake, take care of yourself. I don't want to see that eyes bag

Just met your mom, let me adopt your siblings

Why adopt my siblings if you can make one that looked like me too

꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡

ಠ益ಠ

Condoms

Condoms Don't need it 😏

Don't test me, princess

I made new frame for your glasses, check it out on table.

Your Ohagi wasn't soft

You said that but you even didn't leave some for me

Hey, hey, look at me, look at me

The fuck do you mean by look at me

B I T C H

IF YOU ONCE AGAIN USE THAT MEME REFERENCE ON THIS BOARD, I'LL RIP YOU FR

Who is that woman? Never saw her

Sanemi, why do you suddenly leave?

Happy Birthday, Sanemi 💞 where are you? I'm trying to call you but your phone wasn't active...

GENYA JUST TOLD ME THAT THE WOMAN IS YOUR AUNT, I'M SO EMBARRASSED

If you really that embarrassed, come out dumbass. Pick my call.

I know it's too late but what do you want for your gift?

*attached marriage registration form* This, I want this. Quick, fill it

#kimetsu no yaiba sanemi #kimetsu no yaiba x reader #kny #kimetsu anime #kimetsu no yaiba #kimetsu no yaiba imagines #kny sanemi #kny x reader #kny imagines #shinazugawa sanemi x s/o #sanemi shinazugawa #sanemi shinazugawa x reader #shinazugawa sanemi x reader #shinazugawa sanemi

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thoughtfullyyoungduck · 4 years

Text

secret son

A/N: this was requested by anonymous, I hope you enjoy, let me know what you think. I might make a part two with Richie and Eddie’s son getting to know each other a bit better if anyone wants to read that? How’s everyone doing during this time?

Summary: Could you write a fic post it chapter 2 where months after the fight with Pennywise eddie shows up at richie's house with the ten year old son he didn't mention he had?

warning: some homophobia (like really really brief though)

Richie is nursing his third whiskey when a harsh knock on his door catches his attention. The scotch, a real one from Scotland with an earthy and smoky flavor that Richie only drinks when he’s feeling particularly sorry for himself, sways dangerously over the edge before stilling with only a drop off spillage when Richie hurries to steady the glass.

The reason his emotion threaten to bury him tonight more than usual, is the texts he has received from Bill. It wasn’t a bad text, but he asked if Richie had any idea why Eddie hadn’t answered his phone for a few days, and now Richie can’t stop his thoughts from spiraling. After reliving the same trauma twice, panic is the automated response when someone forgets to check in with them.

He’s being ridiculous, Richie tells himself, especially since he himself hasn’t texted Eddie in, well not since he left Derry. He packed his bags faster than Eddie had started walking again, choosing to run when he confessed the extent of his love for Eddie, and it was met with pure utter silence. His phone had started buzzing as soon as he crossed state lines, Eddie’s adult face pinched in annoyance gracing his cellphone screen, the photo he had taken during dinner the very first night after he won the game of arm wrestle, seemingly laughing at his expense. He didn’t pick up.

Of course he kept up with Eddie’s progress through the other losers, but he refrained from reaching out to Eddie on his own. Ever the coward, his traitorous mind provided with a hiss, the dark part of his mind growing a little everyday he wasn’t in contact with his best friend. Cause that was the place that Eddie still inhibited in his heart. He might have turned away from Richie’s feelings, but Richie still considered Eddie his closest friend, even if the opposite was true vise versa.

It’s his own fault anyway, if only he had some self-control, so he could stop the words from overflowing and his darkest secrets from tainting the perfect facade he had built around himself. When Bill texted that Eddie didn’t answer any calls or texts, Richie swallowed his pride and his embarrassment, sending a quick and short message Eddie’s way.

The white hotshame burned brighter than it had since Eddie turned Richie down when the former went radio silent. Richie supposes that he had that one coming, but that didn’t stop it from hurting. Another insistent knock caused the pounding in Richie’s brain that to intensify, by whoever is knocking gets what they want, Richie downing the rest of the scotch in on go, slamming the glass against the counter and getting up. He has no clue who it could be.

The last person to drop by his apartment was his manager, after Richie had neglected his duties as a comedian once more, to rouse him from an alcohol induced slumber and get him ready from him show. Today is Richie’s off day though, so he knows that it can’t be him. The only person that Richie can think off is his neighbor asking to borrow something, but that doesn’t appear to be likely. Whoever he was expecting to see, the man he left in a Derry hospital bed before said man was fit enough to leave was not it.

‘Eddie?’ Surprise crosses Richie’s face as soon as he makes eye contact with him, blinking dumbly behind his giant glasses who are sitting askew on his face. He looks good, a lot better than he did when Richie last saw him, white as a sheet and trembling from head to toe.

It hurts physically to see him up close again, while Richie wants nothing more than to reach forward and touch him, to hug him even in just a friendly way, but Richie figures that that is off limits. He can’t shake the look in Eddie’s eyes when he told him he loved him as more than friends, the look of pure and other fear, of him. Not Pennywise, but Richie, like not even being attacked by a killer clown was a terrifying as someone having a gay crush on you. He tries to focus on the now rather than reliving the moment that has haunted his dreams more than Pennywise.

‘What are you doing here Eds?’

Eddie’s face is doing that thing again where he can’t complete hide the fact that he is worried, but he’s trying his best to stay calm for someone else. It’s a sight that was thrown Richie’s way one too many times, often when he did something stupid and Eddie had to fix him up, but now Richie is unsure what could be the reason he’s sporting the look, until he lays on the little boy standing next to him.

With furrowed eyebrows, he stares at the kid who is clasping Eddie’s hand in his tightly. He can’t be more than six years old, his legs yattering with what Richie assumes is impatience, and he’s shamelessly staring at Richie. Kids don’t know any better he supposes.

The eyes strike recognition in a deep part Richie can’t name for himself, and suddenly, without any second guessing, he knows that the child is Eddie’s. A dead give away are the eyes, but also his general presence reminds him of a younger Eddie.

Something in his face must give him away, for when his gaze turn back to Eddie, all he does is nod. There are a thousand question Richie wants to ask him, for example why he never brought him up when they first reunited, or what they’re doing at his doorstep, but he notices how exhausted they look, and so he gestures with his head, giving them permission to enter the house.

‘Thanks Rich.’ At the sound of Eddie’s voice his body jolts, more aware than ever that a part of him went missing and he has no idea how to get it back or what to do about it.

Richie rushes back towards his kitchen, pushing past both Eddie and his kid, to hide the bottle of booze still out in the open. He’s not very subtle about it, and he can see on the judgment on Eddie’s face before it is carefully concealed.

‘So, what are you doing here Eds.’ Richie struggles to appear indifferent, but he is confused and dying to know why Eddie and his son where here, so he imagines that he’s not pulling it off very well.

Eddie glances at his son, still holding his hand and resisting the urge to pick him up. When he doesn’t respond straight away, Richie turns towards the boy, who is looking hesitantly up at him. His personality clearly mirrors Eddie’s, his wariness having transfer onto the next generation.

‘What’s your name bud?’ Ever since he was little, Richie has this gift when it comes to children, being able to communicate with them, and understand them when adults write their quirks off as annoyances.

He used to have a bond with Georgie back when he was still alive, and despite the usual horror stories off siblings, he got along great with his sister once she was born. He’s hoping that whatever charm helped him do that, will help him form a band here.

‘My name’s Matthew, but everyone calls me Matt.’ He seemed to be shy, toying with the hem of his shirt.

‘Are you my dad’s best friend?’ Richie blushed a bright red, since he not really knew what the answer was supposed to be. He assumes he still is, but he’s unclear about what Eddie might have told matt.

Thankfully, Eddie answers for him. ‘Yeah he is Matt.’ For a moment it’s quiet again, and the room fills with an awkward tension, neither Eddie nor Richie knowing where to go from here.

‘Is there somewhere Matt can explore?’ Eddie inquires eventually, the extra meaning behind his words crystal clear to him.

We need to talk, but not with my son in the room.

The apartment is not nearly big and all composing enough for a child to be able to go exploring, there’s only really 5 rooms in total, a kitchen, living room, the main bedroom and a guest bedroom and bathroom, none of which are necessarily child proof.

He does have a PlayStation attached to the tv in the guest bedroom however, even though he rarely uses it, and so he figures that’s the best place to direct Matt too.

‘You wanna go play a game buddy?’

Matt peers up at his dad, who nods reassuringly, giving him a gently push Richie’s way.

He waits for Matts affirmative nod before leading the way. It’s a miracle the thing works, as it’s been for three years completely unattended, but as soon as it starts Matthew jumps up and down excitedly when he sees the Mario kart logo pop up.

Richie leaves him with the door open just an inch, so that Eddie can still see him from the living room. ‘Do you want something to drink?’

‘No thank you I’m good.’

The awkwardness lays heavy on Richie. Things have never been uncomfortable with Eddie before, and he knows that it’s his fault that it is now. He wants to make a joke, or steer the conversation into safe waters with light topics to talk about, but he’s also aware that there has to be a reason why Eddie would show up to talk to him this late, without a phone call or any sort of notice. Because Richie’s brain is still muffled by the alcohol and he can’t think of a joke to make, he decides to ask the obvious first.

‘You didn’t text me back, Eds.’ It’s a stupid thing to stay, Richie knows considering he didn’t call Eddie back for months, but the question is out in the open and there’s no taking it back anymore.

‘My phone died on the way here.’

‘You fucking drove here? If you wanted to see me that bad you could have boarded a plane.’ Richie cringes when he hears himself speak. That was a quip he was used to making, but one that no doubt caused internal disgust in the other man.

‘I left Myra, and I need a place to crash.’ Eddie opts to say, despite it not being an answer to the question. For a moment Richie fears he might pass out, stumbling backwards but managing to keep upright thanks to the chair behind him. Out of all the possible explanations he was prepared for, this was not it.

‘Wh- why did you do that?’ Richie’s voice is shaking, his attempt to steady only being futile. He’s thrown for a loop so bad, that he forgets to conceal his shocked reaction. It’s out in the open, how Richie longs for him, but the least he could do was have the decency to cover it up.

‘Because,’ Eddie peeks past Richie to see Matt, who is fully focused and engaged in the game, before gaining enough courage to say what comes next.

‘Because I’m gay.’ He manages to spit out, his hands shaking by his side while he stares intently at Richie.

Richie has never been hit before. He’s been punched before and even kicked, yet never hit, but he imagines it feels somewhat like the words Eddie just breathed to life.

It’s strange since kid Richie would have done anything in the world to hear those words coming from Eddie, to the point where at night in his bed he would imagine scenarios in which he would utter them, but the situation at hand is very different than the one he fantasized about.

The fact of the matter is, that Eddie is not homophobic like Richie suspected him to be after his reaction, he just reacted disgusted because it was Richie, and that hurt even worse. He knows his not a catch. He woke up one day in college and saw himself for what he really was, a below average looking guy whose only talent was making jokes that would annoy others, with a ridiculous loud voice. And as he got older he only got worse, but he hadn’t expected that Eddie would use that against him.

He thought that Eddie might have let him down easier, but he guesses he just has that effect on people. His first instinct is to snap back in his hurt, to reply somewhat cruelly so that his feeling don’t show, but then he comes to the conclusion that he was just in Eddie shoes a few months ago, and he can recall exactly how scared and how disheartened he had been when he received negative comments, and he can’t do that to Eddie. Maybe to someone else, but not to Eddie.

Instead he replies with; ‘Oh well congrats for coming out. Welcome to the team Spagheds.’

Apparently, it’s not the reaction Eddie expected, for his face falls and his eyebrows furrow, confusion written all over his face.

‘Rich. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, it’s just that -.’ Richie interrupts him before he can say something else.

‘Hey, it’s fine. I get it. I wouldn’t tell the guy that made me uncomfortable either.’

Eddie blinks rapidly, opening his mouth but Richie intercepts, trying desperately to keep his feeling at bay.

‘Do you want to crash here for tonight? We can order pizza and watch a movie. Or whatever Matthew likes to eat is fine by me. I’ll get some extra sheets because I know you’d be disgusted if you found out what kind of action I’ve been getting. Not like I’m still hung up about a rejection, can you imagine?’ He laughs uneasily, scrambling to get together an extra sleeping kit, ignoring Eddie as best he can.

‘Rich’, he calls his attention, and despite being embarrassed, Richie would follow Eddie into anything, so he stops dead in his tracks and turns towards him.

‘I have a son.’

‘Yeah, I kind of figured that out Eds. I have eyes, he looks a lot like you.’

Eddie rolls his eyes in annoyance, huffing to convey how stupid Richie acts sometimes.

‘When you told me you liked me,’ Richie shrinks down, his shoulder turning in on themselves to make himself as small as possible, ‘I was worried you might feel different about me, because I am a dad.’

‘I could never, Eds. I just don’t understand why you didn’t mention him before.’

A sigh leaves Eddie’s lips, a sad smile gracing his lips. ‘I was worried IT might find out and use it against me. Besides, I didn’t even remember you guys all that well in the beginning. I was just scared.’

Richie gets it a little bit. When he was younger he was terrified IT might take his sister, and he would have done anything to prevent that. So he understands why Eddie wouldn’t say anything back in Derry, but why not after? Why didn’t he say anything when they left. Then again, it’s not like they talked a lot post clown fight two.

A thought suddenly downs on Richie then. ‘Wait, did Myra just like you take Matt with you?’

Eddie’s face turns bright red, a guilty look crossing over his features. Richie eyes turn wide as saucers.

‘Eddie, do not tell me you kidnapped your son’, Richie whispers screams, panic taking over as he thinks things through. It’s Myra, and from what he heard about her, she’s pretty much the same as Sonia, which means that she has no problem calling the police.

‘You could get arrested.’

‘Only if she calls the cops,’ Eddie hisses back, his body locked in anger, like he’s a bomb that is very dangerously close to exploding, quitting down when he sees Matt’s head peeking through the crack in the door. He waits until Matt is turned back towards his game to continue.

‘Look, I told her that I was gay, and she told me to get everything that’s mine out of her house immediately, anything that I had ‘infected with your homosexuality’. So I took me son with me. I wasn’t going to leave him there.’

All at once, the fight leaves him, and he crouches down on the couch, his head in his hands while he begins to sob. It produces back a memory, from a time where he had to go over to Richie’s house to tell him he was leaving Derry and not coming back, and Richie hurries to ban the thought out of his head before he joins in.

‘Two days ago, Matt fell of his bike in our backyard, and when he did he started practically screaming. I’m sure it hurt a little, but he was crying hysterically, and he begged me not to tell his mom, because she would freak out.’ Eddie’s eyes filled with tears focus on Richie’s, who is slowly making his way over to sit next to him. ‘Then he asked me if he would get really sick now because of the dirt on the ground that must have gotten into his wound.’

Eddie laughs humorlessly. ‘I though that by staying with Myra I would do him a favor. I was just trying to protect him. I can’t believe I was convinced staying with Myra would be good for him. She’s exactly like my mother Rich, and I didn’t protect him.’

Despite better judgment, Richie puts his arm around Eddie, shuffling closer so that their knees are touching, and Eddie gracefully accepts, leaning further into Richie so he’s practically a pillow, a sob wrenching from his throat.

‘You did protect him Eds, you moved with him right? He’s gonna know that his dad did that for him, because you loved him.’ Placing his chin on the top of Eddie’s head, Richie breathes in deeply, forcing himself to stop from being overly affectionate, even when he’s clearly failing.

‘When Myra told me she was pregnant, I freaked out. I love my son, I would do anything for him and I wouldn’t give him up for anything in this whole wide world, but when I saw the pregnancy tests, all I could think was ‘oh god please no’. I’m a terrible father.’

Richie shakes his head determinately. ‘Eds, look at me. That’s normal, we went through some tough shit when we were kids, even if we didn’t remember it. You love him, and you look after him, and trust me, none of those are attributes to being a bad parent like you claim you are.

Eddie sniffles, placing one of his hands against Richie’s cheek, who embarrassingly enough nuzzles against it like a wounded dog would to a loving touch.

‘I’m sorry Richie. I really am. I love you. I think I somehow always have, even when I forgot, but I was so fucking scared when you told me, that I turned you away. As soon as I did I regretted it though, but I didn’t want to scare you off, and I didn’t want to put Matt through that change. Can we start over? I just really want to try this again.’

Richie is almost scared to believe the words coming from Eddie, but hope blossoms in his chest anyway. The piece that had cracked when he was turned away seem to magically fix itself, making his heart feel whole again.

‘You want me to confess my love for you again? Jees demanding much? You know your mom was the exact same way, always needing reassurance that our night together felt as good to me as it did to her.’

‘I changed my mind. And to think I was about to thank you for being serious for the entire conversation.’

Despite the meaning of the words, Richie can’t help but laugh when he sees the face Eddie is pulling, cheeringly outwardly when Eddie breaks and laughs alongside him.

Matt comes out of the room to check out what the commotion is about, a childlike glee all over his face when he sees his dad happier then he had ever been. ‘Can we order Pizza please?’ He begs Eddie with the same puppy dog eyes Eddie used to own when they were young themselves.

Richie grins at the boy, and while Eddie is pretending to contain plate it Richie nods excitedly, causing him to giggle with glee.

‘Alright’, Eddie eventually pretends to give in, watching as Matt jumps up and down in pure joy. He looks like the kind of child that has an endless supply of energy, and Richie can’t wait to find out more about him. This is the son of the man he loves, and if Matthew is even half the person Eddie is, than Richie loves him already.

‘Hey Matt, we’re going to stay with Richie for a while longer okay? If you don’t have anything against that?’

Matt just shrugs, eager to get back to the game and get some eat some food. ‘Sure.’

‘oh, we can’t tell mom though, she’ll freak knowing I ate pizza.’

‘Shit’, Eddie curses as soon as Myra’s name comes back up. Matt glares at him, placing a finger on his lips as an indication to be silent, and Richie can’t help but titter.

‘We’ll figure it out Eds, we always do.’

And if Richie spend the next few weeks looking for a new house for them to move into, well then that is just them figuring it out.

#reddie #reddie imagine #eddie lives #eddie has a son #and he shows up at Richie's apartment with him #the loser club imagines #My writing #it chapter 2 #eddie kaspbrack #richie tozier imagine #Richie x Eddie #eddie as a dad

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your-rose-highness · 4 years

Text

Tell me what is Love (ch- 7)

Chapter 7

Note: Feat JB of GOT7

It was 5 am when the sound of the door opening startled her. She scurried out of bed, last night’s memories flooding her senses all of a sudden. Jaebeom spotted her near the bedroom and said a weak hello, “you can go back to sleep, I’m just here to pick up some clothes for Jae in.” He didn't seem to know where her clothes would be and hankered around the place for a bit when hye hee decided to help him.

“Her clothes are here. Would you like me to?”

“Ah! Yes, thank you.”, he said relieved.

Hye hee found a pair of Jane’s favorite boyfriend jeans that she often said were ‘better than boyfriends.’, the softest tee shirt, and some inner wear packed in a bag. Jaebeom seemed more than just thankful for it.

After he left, hye hee decided to shower and charge her phone which was dead since last night and she hadn't had time to look at it. Turning on the faucet, she stood still in the shower for a while, letting her warm water run its course. It relaxed her muscles and cleared her head. Warm showers always did wonders. Her relaxation time was cut short when her stomach grumbled and she was overcome with a terrible hunger pang. Getting out of the shower, she hastily borrowed the yellow pajamas that jane kept at home for her whenever she decided to stay over. Hye hee had jane dedicated pajamas at her place too. The familiar smell made her smile.

Quickly skimming through Jane’s fridge, she realized that the only thing that didn't look questionable was the box of kimchi jane’s mother always sent her- always two, for hye hee as well. She decided to make some kimchi stew for the three of them. She cooked rice expertly at this point and cleaned the kitchen.

“I should get Jane some groceries. The girl would starve herself.”, she thought to herself.

6.30 am. Jaebeom and jane should be back soon. She switched on her phone to call jane to find out when she saw.

Missed Calls- 22; Messages-36.

Baekhyun had been calling her since last night, last at 4.10 am.

Should she call him? Or ignore his calls altogether? Maybe he found out about the attack? Or did Suho show him the fan’s tweet?

Her thought was cut short when she heard ruffling outside. They were home.

Jane was okay. Complained occasionally of a throb on the head once in a while. They had breakfast and the two were more than thankful.

“I couldn't have swallowed that dirty water they called soup anymore.”, jane groaned.

“You had it ONE time.”, Jaebeom scowled at his sister.

“Oh! Look at him!! I’m a patient.” she dramatically said, at which Jaebeom rolled his eyes.

The siblings’ bickering was a welcome change for Hye Hee. After helping Jane into her bed, hye hee decided to go home.

Jaebeom rushed out, “I’ll drop you home.”

“Umm. it’s fine Jaebeom…”

“Look, you’ve done a lot for us and honestly I need to make sure you get indoor safe…”, he said, grabbing his keys, “I won't take no for an answer. Cmon.” he replied when Hye hee was about to counter.

The morning sun hit their faces and Jaebeom’s features were more clear than ever. The bags under his eyes were evidence of how tired he was.

His skin glistened like gold and his eyelashes were longer than hers. Why do men always have better skin?

Baekhyun’s pretty hands were always Hye Hee’s source of envy. The dork always showed off his hands in front of her and purposefully borrowed her hand cream in class.

They arrived soon and Jaebeom was kind enough to walk her to her door.

“Alright! All clear.”, he smiled.

“Please come in. I’ll get you a coffee quick.”

“Oh. I don't drink coffee.”

“Ah! I have a collection of teas!”

“Oh? Haha. maybe I’ll come in because I’m intrigued.”

She opened her tea cabinet and left him to hove and choose. She quickly went to her bedroom to drop her bag when she felt something weird. Her heart began pounding hard against her chest. Had those people who came earlier found their way in? She found herself coiled in fear as she quietly stepped back out. Her actions didn't go unnoticed, and Jaebeom asked in a voice, soft as a whisper, “what is it?”

“I think someone was here.”

“Was something taken?”

“No.”, Hye hee replied starkly.

“You’ll stay at Jae in’s. Let’s go.”, he said hurriedly, going back into the bedroom to get her bag.

He had barely opened it when on the other side of the door stood Baekhyun. His hair crumpled and eyes were still half shut.

Jaebeom’s lips parted in surprise and turned to look at hye hee.

“Baekhyun? What are on earth are you doing here?”

Baekhyun didn't answer, his eyes zeroing on Jaebeom, “Who is this?”

Jaebeom snapped out of his surprise and quickly bowed to greet him. “Hello, I’m Hye Hee’s friend.”

Baekhyun’s expression turned grave, as though betrayed. Sensing the tense air, Jaebeom excused himself.

“If Jae in needs something, please don't hesitate to call.”, she whispered to him as he left.

He nodded hurriedly, “Stay safe, Hye Hee.”

“She’s fucking safe. Don't act as if you know what kind of relationship we share.”, baekhyun yelled from across the room.

“Baekhyun, please! What is wrong with you? I’m so sorry Jaebeom. He must have been worried.”, hye hee apologized sheepishly before sending him off.

Hye hee and baekhyun faced each other and baekhyun marched to the couch.

“Get out.”

“Why didn't you answer my calls?”, baekhyun questioned.

“I don't have to answer your calls you know! I have my own life!”

“I know! I’ve never trespassed your life. I only wanted to know how the interview went. I called you the whole fucking day, Song Hye Hee! Are you telling me you didn't have a minute to just let me know? What kept you so busy, huh?”

“So that gives you the authority to break into my house?”

“I was worried about you. And who the hell was that? You always said you didn't allow men inside your apartment.”, baekhyun asked, at this point, his ears and face had gotten very red.

“I don't have to tell you anything.”, hye hee said in a low voice. She walked over to the kitchen and put the kettle on.

“What did you say? Are you dating him? Really hye hee?”, he had followed her into the kitchen. The proximity made her heartbeat crazy once again.

Calm the hell down, Song Hye Hee, she told herself.

“Why can't I? Did you expect me to stay alone all my life?”, she shot, turning to face him.

They stood inches away from each other. The air around them felt heavy and they found it hard to breathe. The effect that they had on the other was still intact.

Baekhyun felt his hand twitch, aching to just hold her hand, be able to pull her in his arms, or even better, kiss her like how he had done years ago to show her what he had felt. Hye hee could feel his piercing stare on her. She met his eyes for a drifting moment and it was there. Baekhyun was in pain. She saw it etched across his eyes. As their eyes found each other, it felt as though the air between them was sucked away and they found themselves lean into each other for a brief moment when the boiling kettle whistled.

Both of them turned away from each other, breathing, as though they had forgotten to.

She stirred Baekhyun’s matcha tea as she finally gathered the courage to say, “I’m not taking the SM job.”

“Why?”

“It’s dangerous. People might find out about us. It’ll create chaos for both. I don't need that.”, she said blankly. “Also, where were you hiding? I didn't you in the bedroom.”

“I was sleeping beside the bed… on the floor.”, he mumbled.

“Why? Now my bed doesn't match your international standards?”, she asked, disgusted.

“NO. I just thought you wouldn't want me to be on your bed.”

Hye hee rolled her eyes at him and proceeded to hand him his cup of matcha.

“I like that coffee you made me last time.”

“Well, drink this today.”

“Ugh. no. its too ugly.”

“Hey, you said you liked matcha tea when you went to Japan two months ago and were considering to shift!”

“But that was made by professionals…. This only looks like you are giving me something super toxic!”

Hye hee was now furious and stood up to snatch the cup from his hands.

“I’ll drink it, don't be so crazy. You don't even have the right to be mad. Coming home in the morning with your boyfriend..”, he scoffed softly against the cup.

“I don't think you should come here anymore.”

Baekhyun stared at hye hee, his face scrunched with surprise. “What, because of that dude? How long have you been dating him? Also, he didn't seem surprised to see me. Did you tell him about me?”

“Jaebeom has nothing to do with this. But it’s best if you and I keep a distance. Taeyeon wouldn't like this if she knew.”

“Why are you saying this? Is that guy possessive? Well, then you got to break up with him right away.”

Hye Hee was torn between wanting baekhyun to love her and also wanting him to stay out of trouble from the public eye. For the first time she wished he wasn't an idol, wishing he didn't ever meet Taeyeon, never had a baby with her; yes, she had to think about Sarang as well, would she steep that low and destroy a child’s life because of just her emotions and attachments with Baekhyun.

“You know how I feel.”, Baekhyun hesitated, taking a seat next to her.

“If I could, I’d do anything to be by your side right now. But, I really don't know how or what I should do.”, he continued, tugging at his hair in despair.

“Hye hee consoled him without a word. She placed her hand on his shoulder, patting, knowing very well that it wasn't easy on him either.

“I tried. I tried to make things better with Tae, but I don't know why it’s just not the same. There’s a distance I can't seem to overcome. At times I feel like this relationship is choking me. Every morning there’s a dread in my heart. Doing the same things, just out of love, and I’m pretty sure it’s the same for her. We hardly talk, only on matters concerning Sarang do we ever feel like we’re married. I want to quit, hye hee.” he sobbed unable to control the rush of emotions.

What hye hee was now sure of was, this was more than just her. Baekhyun was in a terrible state, not just because he wanted to stay with her, that was secondary. This was about him being growing tired of pretending. Byun Baekhyun, the sunshine of many all through his life was seeing no light at the end of the tunnel. He was lost and chained with responsibilities and that was killing the person he was.

“I come looking for you because I can breathe here. You're home to me. My old friend… my love.” he sniffled, his voice broke as he looked at her.

“It’s hard for me to carry on every day without seeing you. I came looking for you even when you didn't know. I knew about the cafe you went to and would sit there for hours waiting for you. I didn't know why then. I just had to.”

“Why did you continue living with her then?”, she queried.

“I was… I was afraid to lose another person. When you left me, I couldn't register what had happened and we had just debuted, that had me working 20 hrs a day. Its when I stopped running I realized the void you left behind and what a fool I had been for gambling something so pure.”

They sat silent for a while, registering what happened.

“Is that your boyfriend?”, he asked suddenly.

“No. that’s jane’s brother. Why?”

“If you want me to stay away, I will. I can't be a bother for you too.”

“Shut up and sit. Did you have breakfast? Of course, you didn't, you just woke up.”

“Can I have that peanut butter sandwich and that glass of hot chocolate, please?”, he spilled.

“What! Byun!”

“Please! Such a good combo.”

“Alright. Go wash your face, you look all red.” she avowed.

Pulling out the bread from the cabinet, she walked to the fridge when a booming voice made her jump.

“Ah!! What a relief to let all of that off my chest!!!”, Baekhyun screamed.

“Byun!! Keep your VOICE DOWN!”

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grouptalekindnesssoulstories · 4 years

Text

You can’t be my soulmate!

So, I kinda got a sugar rush when I was watching a tiktok compilation on youtube. And the idea of the first words but with multiple people popped in my head. So I decided to do a lil snippet. I may still have too much in my system but eehhhhhhh just makes my brain go zoom!

Warnings: Misgendering, manipulation, a mention of homophobia, mention of disownment

What are you laughing at hot topic? haunted each day that Virgil didn’t find his soulmate.

I love the new outfit caused Roman to switch up his attire everyday he could, but being a well-known actor made that a common sentence. Not a very common first sentence luckily.

Thanks, why wear those gloves? shamed Ethan every time they removed the aforementioned gloves.

___

I fiddled with my newest piercing, the third on my ears. I had gotten it less than two months ago, which had gotten dirty looks from my parents when i saw them. They had disowned me several years prior after learning I was gay, and trans. With a shit-eating grin, I flipped them a double bird. After they turned away in horror, I mounted my motorcycle and roared down the streets. I parked it behind the restaurant I worked at, locking it up on a special pole my brother had installed when I got hired.

“Reeem. Seen our parents lately?” I called as I shoved open the back door. He poked his head back, tilting his sunglasses down as I removed my patchwork hoodie.

“What parents. All you’ve got is me, babes. But, yes. I saw the people who birthed us a few days ago. I assume you ran across them and they disapproved?”

“Of what? My top surgery, new piercing? Answer to that one is all of it” I gave him a quick peck on the cheek and waved to one of his partners, Remus. I tapped my ear after tying on an apron. He pulled out his ear so I could see the blue pin in it. I shot a thumbs-up as I straightened my posture to wait on my first table. The first few hours passed in a blur of people I didn’t care to make note of.

“Excuse me, sir. I believe we have a reservation?” A weedy man flagged me down. I raised an eyebrow as I checked the schedule.

“Only one, and that’s for R. Roy. One sec-” I turned around and shouted over my shoulder “Re? What time was the reservation coming in?”

“That’s for m-”

“Uh, 3 o’clock or so” Remus surfaced, cutting off the man.

“I’m afraid I’m here on Mr. Roy’s beh-” The man tried again, this time I cut him off.

“That was twenty minutes ago. And where did Brit go? They were supposed to be doing this”

“EXCUSE ME. I AM HERE TO MAKE SURE MR. ROY’S TABLE IS READY” The man practically screamed, cutting off our conversation.

“Ah, I’m afraid he’ll have to come himself. We only answer to our customers” Re cut in, smiling wide.

“You and I both know that isn’t true you idiot” An almost-familiar voice accompanied the man himself.

“RoRo!” My sibling-in-law immediately brightened, scooping the smaller man into a hug. I chuckled behind one hand as the man made breathless protests. When he was at last released, my laughter got louder because it was the Roman Roy, and his appearance was all mused up now.

“I’m so sorry sir! I’ll go get your backup right now!” The assistant started to buzz nervously around the famous man, reminding me of a fly.

“No, no. I’ll be fine. This is a family place, so it’s not a big deal if I look a little messed up” He soothed, waving the man out the door. My laughter had not ceased by the time he had turned his attention to me.

“What are you laughing at hot topic?” I clasped my wrist as the words tattooed across it flared with heat. I shoved the discomfort down, offering my hand.

“Only your fly-like assistant. I’m Virgil Maelstrom. I’m the younger brother of that idiot’s partner. Or one of them at least” Mr Roy took my hand, shaking it briskly before following Remus to the table near the counter. I pulled down my sleeve to see a name written under my words. Roman. I was soulmates with ROMAN ROY the singer! How did I end up with him. Emile caught me staring numbly as new words appeared beneath the original ones.

“So. Finally met your soulmate?” They asked, a soft smile gracing their features. The smile that had caused my crush all those years ago. I had long grown out of it, but it still held power for their partners and me.

“One of them I guess. It’s Roman Roy” I whispered the last part, showing them my arm. They hummed thoughtfully, messaging their own wrist. Rem had told me about his own experiences all those years ago, but to actually experience it was insane.

“Well, why don’t you go tell him?”

“I...can’t. He didn’t react to me saying anything. It was like I was just another person, y’know?”

“Well, as your sibling-in-law, I say we’re gonna tell him. C’mon” They pulled me after them. I tried to make excuses, but the doctor was in full help mode. There would be no stopping them.

“Uh, what’s up honey?” Re asked, looking confused at the determined march.

“Roman. Good to see you. I found you a soulmate” They yanked me forward as they spoke, lighting up in pride.

“Look, I’m sorry. They’re just re-” I started babbling, reaching my exposed arm up, forgetting it was free for anyone to read.

“That’s my name” A soft voice interrupted me. Then a whoop from Re shattered the shock.

“Lil’ bro! Look at that, two siblings, two chance meetings in this restaurant!”

“What did you say your name was-ow!” He cried out as words burned into his arm. Only your fly-like assistant -Virgil appeared beneath another set of words.

“I- Virgil. I’m Virgil Maelstrom. And it looks like we have another soulmate” He scooted over, nodding for me to sit by him. I took it hesitatingly, watching as his hands started moving as Remus drew him back into a conversation. The shop was closed as Roman ate, and paid for the rest of us to join him. I buzzed nervously, playing my my earring once more. It wasn’t until we were cleaning up when Roman approached me.

“So. Uh. Virgil? Would you. Would you w-. Wouldyoubemyboyfriend?” He stammered, so at odds with how he was when in the public eye. I nodded mutely, and he swept me into a hug.

~Elsewhere, A few months later?~

My hands shook as I reached for the top shelf. I wobbled, leaning heavily on my cane. I snarled, planting my cane firmly and stretching for the stuff I had put up there.

“Sir, do you need help?” A woman approached me. I nodded, and she got it down easily.

“Thank you mx-”

“Oh, no. It’s Mrs. Smith. Have a good day sir!” She pranced off, ignoring my protest that I was not a ‘sir’. The fire that had scarred me burned away my gender too. I hoisted the bag onto my good shoulder and walked the opposite way. I did not look forward to returning to the place I was forced to call ‘home’.

“I’m home” I called, opening the door slowly. My girlfriend ran around the corner, beaming.

“Sweetie! I missed you so much! I was gonna be so sad if you hadn’t gotten back so soon!” She nearly yelled, her face dropping slightly at the thought.

“No, I wouldn’t. You know I try to be home as soon as I can” I offered a soothing smile. She took my cane and dragged me after her. She ignored my winces, her face screwed up so she couldn’t see. I kept as quiet as I could until the tv concert of Double R. I beamed as he sung, his current outfit looking so much better on him than the previous. When it had finished, my girlfriend was fast asleep on the opposite side of the couch. On a complete whim, I stood up and limped to the door. Taking my cane, I set out on a walk.

~~~~

“Ro, be careful. You’re easily recognizable” Virgil begged as I stepped outside.

“Don’t worry my storm cloud. I promise to not draw unnecessary attention-” He snorted so I revised my statement with a glare “-I promise not to draw any attention to myself. I’ll be back soon”

“Whatever. I’ll have my phone on me, so call if you get in trouble” He closed the door behind him. We had been dating for a few months, and they’d been the best (and safest, but don’t tell Virgil that) of my life. I couldn’t wait to meet the third member of our soulmate bond though. I drew the hood of my sweatshirt, borrowed from Virge, up over my head. I wandered aimlessly for a while before deciding to get some milkshakes before heading back. I bumped into someone as I was putting in my earbuds.

“Oh my gosh, are you ok?!” I asked them, and they waved me off.

“Yea whatever” They mumbled to the ground. I offered them a hand up. They took it and when meeting my eyes, just stared.

“I love the new outfit!” They finally blurted out. I let out a yelp as my arm suddenly got warm.

“Thanks! I uh, I think you should know that you may be my second soulmate?” I said, drawing back my sleeve to show them my first message. Just like when Virgil’s message had finally appeared on my arm, there was a name there now. Blocky letters spelled out: Ethan.

“I...yea. That’s my name. I’m Ethan! Ethan Snips. They/them please” they spoke hurriedly. I nodded, sweeping them up into a hug.

“C’mon! You’ve gotta meet your other soulmate now” I smiled as they stared in disbelief when my own first sentence to them appeared with my name.

___

I was soulmates with Roman. Roy! And there was a third person. I obviously needed to meet them as I had their message left. But I had two soulmates and one of them is famous!

“Wait I- nevermind. Please, just take me to meet them” I smiled, limping after him as quickly as possible. He bought three milkshakes, which he rudely refused to give me mine until we got back. We were near his trailer when I heard her.

“She doesn’t sound happy” Roman turned nervously towards the sound.

“No, she isn’t. Hurry, please” I nearly shoved him in my haste to get away.

“Bad?” He asked, meeting my eyes. I noticed he didn’t even seem to register my scars

“Very bad” I nodded, raising a hand up towards my blind eye as if it would keep her from coming.

“HELP! SECURITY!” He screamed at the top of his lungs before scooping me up and running. I yelped, clinging to my cane and the arm wrapped around my chest.

“Princey, you idiot, what did you do!” A dark haired man appeared, one hand already on his hip.

“Reeescued someone?” Roman smiled charmingly.

“You idiot. He’s pretty, so I can see why you wanted to be knight in shining armor”

“No, you’re prettier. Handsome! Like the moon” I mumbled dazed.

“Thanks, why wear those gloves?” I saw his frazzled gaze on my threadbare gloves. I clapped one hand to my arm where warmth radiated suddenly. I raised my cane in answer.

“This is Ethan! Our second soulmate! Uh, they/them. I need to explain to the head of security why I uh...just screamed. Have fun!” Roman dashed out the door.

“I’m Virgil. I’m assuming that was your mark suddenly warm, so my name should be under it” He sat a few feet away, playing with a small ball. I checked, and that was true. He didn’t move any closer or try to continue the conversation. It seemed like his question was more of a defense mechanism than him actually asking.

“Virgil?”

“Hm? What’s up?” He looked up.

“What’s your family like?” There was a small chuckle as he picked up the ball and started tossing it between his hands.

“Well, I’m assuming you don’t want to hear about my parents. They disowned me a few years back. My older brother Remy basically raised me anyways. He married Ro’s older sibling, and Dr. Picani. I work at the restaurant they own. I met Ro a few months back when he came in, and we started dating”

“Oh.” I traced the end of my shoe in thought.

“Here. A secret for a secret? I’ll you something most people don’t know about me for something about you?”

“Uh, sure. My middle name is Daniel”

“Ohhhh that’s kinda sweet! Well, I’m trans”

“Huh. And once again society has made equal exchange impossible”

“Ah! I see we have a philosopher” Roman came back in, kicking off his shoes and handing out replacement milkshakes.

“Yea. it happened aft-After a certain`”

“You don’t have to tell us if you’re not ready. We have time” Virgil interrupted me.

“No. No, I want it in the open. I was caught in a fire, which caused serious damage to most of my left side, and my hands” I pulled off my gloves, showing the scars that across them. Virgil reached over, offering a hand in invitation. I shook my head and he withdrew it without comment. I already felt safer with these two than I had with anyone else.

#sanders sides #sympathetic deceit #sympathetic roman #sympathetic virgil #manipulation #prinxieceit

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chwrpg · 4 years

Text

What's happenin', hot stuff? -- Duk Barnes

A NOTE FROM ADMIN R: Can I just say, you knocked this completely out of the park, Kayla !!! I am so, so, so, so ready to see what you’ll be doing with Duk given the groundwork you put down in this application. Not just that, but Duk was simply missed on this dash. I love, love, love him and thank you for taking him up once more.

OOC NAME/ALIAS, PREFERRED PRONOUNS, AGE & TIMEZONE:

Your fave Kayla, she/her, 26, EST

DESIRED CHARACTER:

Donald “Duk” Barnes

HOW ACTIVE WILL YOU BE?

Okay so like I am always trying to be better for you guys, so let’s be optimistic and say 6 out of 10.

SECONDARY CHOICE:

N/A

DESCRIBE THE CHARACTER:

One of the things I’ve always loved about Duk is his kind heart. Like, underneath that very attractive exterior, there’s really a heart of gold. When I have written him before, I’ve always enjoyed how much he loves his family. It’s something I connect to and part of what draws me to him. He especially loves and is close to his sister, Sage. He never has seen her as weird, she’s just Sage. His relationship with his two younger siblings is different, of course, but I know he loves them and would do anything for them. It’s the same principle that I see in him with his friends. He’s very much ride or die, as the kids say. He’s also respectful and so funny. I love him so much and I’m forever grateful to be part of giving more depth to a character that was originally just a stereotype.

SAMPLE WRITING:

Adjusting his AirPod in his ear, Duk Barnes reached for his phone, hitting play on his coming to America playlist he had curated specifically for this moment when the pilot announced they had reached America and would reach their destination shortly.

In a second, he heard the familiar strains of his first track begin just before: “I hopped off the plane at LAX / With a dream and my cardigan / Welcome to the land of fame excess / Whoa, am I gonna fit in?”

It was a surprisingly apt song for having been released over ten years ago in what felt like an entirely different world. He could remember Sage playing this song over and over until he broke her CD in a moment of anger. He smiled to himself, thinking about how she’d laugh about how he was willingly listening to it now.

It had been over two months since he’d seen her in person. Or anyone in his big, loud, crazy American family. He’d talked to them through instant messaging, Skype, FaceTime. But that was it. For he had done something crazy on his own.

He’d gone to Singapore. To meet his biological family for the first time.

The thing was when Duk had turned 18, his mom had sat him down and presented him with a rather thick packet tucked inside a time-worn Manila envelope.

“This,” She had said with a shaky breath “Is everything I have about your biological family. You’re an adult now and your dad and I think that it’s time for you to have it.”

At the time, he didn’t know what to say. He’d taken the big envelope without a word, just nodding.

“You don’t have to do anything with the information if you don’t want to, of course.” His mom said rather quickly, having taken his surprised silence for disinterest. “But it’s yours. You used to always want to know more about your… your roots. At the time, I didn’t think it was right for me to share. But in there,” She nodded then to the packet where Duk was touching the golden brad holding the envelope shut. “In there, I think you’ll find the answers.”

In truth, he hadn’t opened it until a year later, He’d found it stashed in a neglected high school science textbook he had forgotten to return while preparing his things to return to college. Sitting at his desk, he finally pried it open. And his mom had been right, the answers to each question he could have wanted to ask were there.

There was also a letter. In a perfect script, on a fine soft-feeling stationery, written in English. It was from his mother’s mother. She wrote about her disappointment that Duk was given up for adoption, how she wished to raise him herself in Singapore, and gave some background about their family, how they were proudly Chinese and Malaysian and had such history that could be traced back over centuries. She wrote about how his mother had come to Chicago to study and fell in love with a white man. They’d broken up before Duk was even born and it was clear that the man didn’t want to be involved in raising the child. But his mother gave him up because she wanted to focus on her career and how the whole family had prayed that this baby would find a good home and a good family to love him as much as they all did.

However, most importantly, it said that Duk was, no matter what, part of the family and welcome to come to Singapore and meet them.

Using some of the names mentioned in the letter, Duk cautiously typed them into Google. The results were mostly in Mandarin, which he knew very little of, so he used the translate function to see what could be made of the articles. It looked like his maternal grandfather was something of a mogul. He had created a hotel and resort empire that spanned not only Singapore, but other countries in Asia and, apparently, a few in development in Europe. It felt unreal, and sat heavy in his chest. So much so that he had abruptly shut his laptop so hard he thought he would break it.

But it all had stirred up something in Duk. A yearning for something he couldn’t quite name. So, he took up learning Mandarin. He wanted to be able to communicate with his newfound biological family, on the off-chance that maybe some of them wouldn’t speak English. First with Duolingo, then borrowing Rosetta Stone from the local library. He wasn’t fluent, might not ever be so, but as he kept working on it, he realized he took to it almost naturally. The words felt right in his mouth. He saved money in a Tupperware container that he hid in the back of his sock drawer. He had given the adoption agency his information in the hopes that he would hear from his family and the first person to email him was his maternal grandmother. She was who he practiced writing Mandarin to, then, slowly, spoke to on Facetime. She was an adorable lady, with a big smile that reminded Duk of his own and the same shared love of the chaos and beauty of life. She encouraged him to come to Singapore and offered to help financially, but he told her it was okay. He could do it. He’d get there, he’d just need a place to stay.

“Well,” she said, a determined but amused look on her face. “That much I can do.”

Singapore was… beyond words. He would never be able to put words to the beauty of the country of his biological family and the feeling that settled in his chest when he stepped off the plane for the first time. It took his breath away, looking out across the tarmac, toward the trees and then the city skyline just beyond. It looked like something out of a movie about the future. If he didn’t know better, he would have been anticipating to see flying cars in the sky. It was amazing - and insanely scary - to meet the family, some of whom were eagerly awaiting him as he walked out of customs. It was kind of freaky, too, to notice how he could see himself, for the first time in real life, in other people. Grandma had given him the biggest hug and kissed both his cheeks. He wouldn’t remember all their names and how they were connected to him at first, his head felt full with information and tired from long hours whiled away in the air. He was, however, mildly surprised to discover that his family all seemed to speak English better than he could and playfully teased him with smiles on their faces about his choppy Mandarin.

Looking at his phone now, he flipped past photos of himself with cousins and various friends of the family, past the TikToks and other videos he had made of his travels (he had been surprised when his video of himself dancing in various airports on his way to Singapore to Billy Idol’s “Dancing with Myself” had begun raking in the likes). It made him smile and he knew already he couldn’t wait to go back. Grandma had begun hinting, toward the end of his time there, that he could try for dual citizenship and had outright offered him a job with the family company, even though Duk wasn’t sure if his uncle - the current CEO of the business - was certain of him. He stops on a video of himself doing one of the many TikTok dances with his cousins outside of a nightclub. They’d been the ones to show him the country’s nightlife, showed him what was what and brought him up to speed on the culture. They’d even managed to get him onto Weibo, the Chinese social media site, and looped him into their WhatsApp groupchat.

They had encouraged him, too, to meet his mother. Which was… easier said than done, it would turn out. He didn’t meet her until his last few days in Singapore. They’d texted a little before that, mostly just to set up a time and place. And when he had seen her, sitting by the window at the tea shop, it was like looking in a mirror. They had the same eyes, same mouth. And she had smiled at him like he was an old friend. Their meeting had been a little awkward, with pockets of nervous silence on both sides. But when they said goodbye, they hugged and Duk held his composure until he was back in his room, where he broke down into tears. Not sad tears, but tears of relief, of joy. It was all so much more than anything he could have expected.

The plane makes its final descent into O’Hare and Duk closes his eyes, uncomfortable still with the way the plane downshifts toward the ground, even though he knows it’s safe. He gets his things together once the plane settles on the tarmac, steering toward the gate. Turns off his AirPods, checks his phone for messages. He smiles at the notifications already popping up on his screen; friend requests on Facebook, new followers on Instagram, new likes on TikTok. Most are family, but he doesn’t recognize several of the new likes on TikTok or followers on Instagram. There’s also a text from his sister that just came through: Why is there a video of you dancing on TikTok?????

He shrugs it off, blowing up on social media doesn’t mean much since he’s still on cloud nine about his trip and eager to just get the hell off this plane already. He’s tired, almost running on fumes, but he still has a bounce in his step that always seems to be with him.

Then, once he makes his way through disembarking and through hectic customs, there’s the Barneses. Crowded right up to the metal barrier. They’re there to greet him, his mom waving her hands in the air as if he can’t see her in the crowd. His father is saying something to Michael, who is hoisting a big sign up into the air. Sara is picking at Mike, as usual and Sage is just looking around as though she would almost rather be anywhere else. But their eyes meet and she smiles. And he knows she is glad to see him, too. Duk tilts his head to one side, studying the simplified Hanzi type lettering on Michael’s sign. “You do know that the sign says ‘fried rice here’ right?” He asks the group. He didn’t expect this to be his first words to his family upon his prodigal return, but then again, normal to the Barnes family is always entirely subjective. Immediately, his mom shot a look at Mike, who is covering his face to hold back a burst of roaring laughter. “Michael!” She hisses and the boy finally lets loose peals of laughter. Sarah punches his shoulder and he grimaces as Sage rolls her eyes, turning her attention to her phone instead. It was the best welcome home he could have ever received.

ANYTHING ELSE?

Nothing! I love you all!!

#accepted #submission

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twihardon · 4 years

Text

As Time Goes By

Author’s Note: This is chapter one of a very long series. It will not get updated often. If it does, that means a miracle has happened. It will not be very good. This is more of a story for me than other people. Warnings will be listed in the author’s note of each chapter. This chapter has some very minimal swearing. Like a singular f-bomb. This was recently edited because I hated it.

Chapter One: Dad’s on a Hunting Trip

“Whoa, easy, tiger.”

“Dean?” Sam asked, out of breath from the fight with his brother. “You scared the crap out of me.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re out of practice.” Dean teased. Sam easily flips Dean” over and pins him to the floor. “Or not,” he laughs. “Get off me.”

“Dean, what the hell are you doing here?” Sam asks as he helps Dean off the floor.

“I was looking for a beer.”

“Sam?” Jess calls out, turning on the light.

“Jess, hey,” Sam answers. “Dean, this is my girlfriend, Jessica.”

“Wait, your brother Dean?” The blonde asks in confusion.

The conversation is interrupted by three loud knocks on the door.

“Son of a bitch,” Dean grumbles.

“What?” Sam asks as he watches Dean walk to the door and open it.

“You know,” the young woman on the other side says, “Someone could’ve told me the elevator doesn’t work.

“Someone,” Dean glared at her, “was supposed to wait in the car.”

“Maggie?” Sam’s face softened as his sister walked into the room. “You’re walking?”

Maggie leans on her cane and shrugs, “I thought it’d be a nice surprise.” Sam wastes no time walking over and embracing her in a hug. “Whoa, okay, Sammy. Missed you too.”

Sam lets go of her and steps back, “What are you guys doing here?”

“Just some private family business,” Dean says then looks over at Jess, “You don’t mind us borrowing your boyfriend here for a minute do you?”

Before Jess can answer, Sam does, wrapping his arm around her waist, looking smug, “No, whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of her.”

“Umm, okay,” Maggie looked between her brothers, “Dad hasn’t been home in a few days.”

“So he’s working overtime on a “Miller Time” shift. He’ll stumble back in sooner or later.”

“Dad’s on a hunting trip,” Dean clarifies, “and he hasn’t been home in a few days.”

The smugness from his face fell, “Jess, excuse us,” Sam says, “We’ll be right outside.” He kissed her temple and grabbed his jacket.

“Hang on,” Maggie interrupted him as he put on some shoes, “I’m not going down those stairs again.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have gone up them in the first place,” Dean shot back.

“Maybe—“

“Stop!” Sam finished tying his shoe and stood up, “I’ll...give you a lift.”

“Really?” said Maggie, her face lighting up.

“Yeah just,” Sam sighed and turned around, “hop on.” Maggie squealed in delight and, with some difficulty, hopped onto Sam’s back.

Dean rolled his eyes “It was nice meeting you, Jess,” He nodded to the blonde and started the door.

“Yeah, nice meeting you, Jess! Tally ho, Samuel.”

Sam turned to his girlfriend, “I’ll be right back.”

Jess followed Sam and Maggie to the door and shut it behind them. She could faintly hear Maggie say something along the lines of “she’s so pretty” and Sam reply with “I know, stop choking me.”

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

“You know there’s EVP on that?” Sam said as he leaned over the open trunk of the impala. After setting Maggie down Dean started filling him in on their dad’s last case. A string of missing men over twenty years.

“Not bad, Sammy,” said Dean, “Kind of like riding a bike, isn't it?”

“Anyway,” Maggie stood up from where she was leaning against the car, “I slowed the message down and ran it through a Goldwave, took out the hiss, and this is what we got.”

Dean pressed play. The distorted noise from their dad’s last message now sounded like a woman saying, “I can never go home.”

“Never go home…” Sam pondered.

“Look, I know it’s been a while since we’ve all been together,” Maggie pleaded with Sam, “but Dean and I really think something’s wrong. I’m sorry we showed up like this—“

“—I’m not,” Dean cut her off and stared at his brother, “In almost two years, we’ve never bothered you, never asked you for a thing.”

Sam looked away and sighed, “...alright. I’ll go. I’ll help you guys find him, but I have to be back first thing Monday.”

“What’s first thing Monday?” Dean asked.

“I have an interview.”

“What, a job interview? Skip it.”

Sam huffed, “It’s a law school interview, and it’s my whole future on a plate.”

“Law school?” Maggie asked, impressed.

“Yeah,” Sam nodded, “So we got a deal or not?”

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

In hindsight, the stairs might have been a bad idea. Maggie hissed as she rubbed her right hip.

“Told you to stay in the car,” Dean reprimanded. He sat in the front seat, his leg bouncing up and down.

“I know,” Maggie agreed. He wasn’t wrong. “I missed him.”

“I know.”

Maggie knew Dean wasn’t really mad about not staying in the car. He was just as excited to see Sam as she was. Ever since the...incident, however, her dad and Dean had been a pair of overbearing, mother hens. Which explains why their dad taking off and going radio silent was so weird.

“God, he still takes forever to pack,” Dean grumbled, checking his watch.

“It hasn’t been that long,” Maggie slowly turned and lifted her leg to rest it across the backseat. “He’s probably saying goodbye to Jess. She seems nice.”

“Nice is...one word,” Dean said cheekily.

“Gross.”

“Dude, she is way out of his league.”

“And way out of yours too.”

“Hey!” Dean shouted. His pride was only a little hurt by his little sister’s teasing.

“Shut up, there he is.” Maggie pointed to the entrance to the building.

Sam walked over to the car and put his bag in the trunk. He climbed into the front seat and looked between his siblings, “Ready?”

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

“Watch out!”

BOOM.

BLACK.

Maggie jolted awake.

“You okay?” Sam asked from the front seat.

“Yeah,” Maggie nodded and tried to catch her breath, “Just a bad dream.”

“You want to talk about it?”

Maggie shook her head, “Not really.” She straightened up in her seat and looked around. “Where’s Dean?”

“Inside,” Sam said, then turned back to sort through the cassette tapes he found under the seat. “You know,” he said turning back towards her, “If you ever want to talk about it--”

“--I’m fine. Thanks, though. I appreciate it.” Maggie cut him off and gave him a small smile. He turned back around and she sighed.

Dean walked outside of the gas station they were parked at carrying a bag filled with junk food. “Hey!” He shouted at the twins, “You want breakfast?”

“No, thanks,” Sam replied.

Maggie nodded and reached out of the window to take the bag from Dean. She pulled out a coke and a bag of jerky.

“So how’d you pay for that stuff?” Sam asked, “You and Dad still running credit card scams?”

“Hunting doesn’t exactly pay, Sam,” Maggie opened up the jerky and held one over the seat, “Want one?”

“No.” Sam scoffed and shook his head. Dean finished up and climbed back into the driver’s seat. “I swear, man, you got to update your cassette tape collection.”

“Thank you!” Maggie exclaimed in agreement.

Dean looked between the twins, “Why.”

“Well, for one-- they’re cassette tapes, and two--” Sam pulls a few tapes out and reads them, “Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Metallica? It's the greatest hits of mullet rock.”

“House rules--driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole.”

“That’s why I invested in one of these babies,” Maggie pulls a CD-player out of her backpack and puts her headphones on, “Have fun, Sammy.”

“You know, Sammy is a chubby twelve-year-old. It’s Sam, okay?”

“Sorry, I can’t hear you, the music’s too loud,” Maggie shouts as she turns up her music.

Dean laughs and turns up his music as they drive off.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“Okay. Thank you.” Maggie said, hanging up her phone, “There’s no one matching Dad at the hospital or morgue.”

“That’s something, I guess,” said Sam.

“Check it out.” Dean nodded at the road. Ahead of them was a bridge with multiple police cars and officers. Dean pulled off to the side of the road. He reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a couple of fake ID cards. He hands one to Maggie and grins at Sam. “Let’s go.”

“Wait,” Sam said as he climbed out of the car. He turned to Maggie who was carefully stretching her leg, “What are you doing?”

Maggie shrugged and started following Dean toward the crime scene, “Working the case.”

The twins followed Dean up to the bridge where two officers were talking.

“You had another one like this last month, didn’t you?” Dean interrupted their conversation.

“And who are you?” said the first officer.

“Federal marshals,” stated Dean as he and Maggie flashed their badges.

“You three are a little young for marshals, aren’t you?”

Dean laughed, “Thanks, that’s awfully kind of you.” He walked over to the car, “You did have another one just like this, correct?”

“Yeah, that’s right, about a mile up the road. There have been others before that.”

“So, this victim,” Sam asks, “you knew him?”

The officer nods, “Town like this, everybody knows everybody.”

“Any connections between the victims, besides that they’re all men?” Maggie asks while getting a closer look at the car.

“No. Not so far as we can tell.”

Sam walked over to the car, joining his siblings, “So what’s the theory?”

“Honestly, we don’t know.” replied the cop, “Serial murderer, kidnapping ring?”

Dean nodded his head, “Well, that is exactly the kind of crack police work I’d expect out of you guys.”

Sam stared wide-eyed at his brother while Maggie stomped on his foot with her cane.

“Thank you for your time,” she gave an apologetic look to the officer while she ushered Sam forward.

Dean caught up to them and leaned down to Maggie’s ear, “Why did you crush my foot?”

“Why do you have to talk to the police like that?” Sam fired back for her.

“Come on,” Dean moved in front of the twins, forcing them to stop walking, “They don't really know what's going on. We're all alone on this. I mean, if we're going to find Dad we've got to get to the bottom of this thing ourselves.”

Maggie cleared her throat and looked over Dean’s shoulder. Dean turned to see both the Sheriff of the town and two very real FBI agents.

“Can I help you, kids?” The sheriff asked.

“No, sir, we’re just leaving,” Dean nodded at the agents as they walked past the group, “Agent Mulder. Agent Scully.”

The siblings walk past the sheriff back to the impala.

“Well,” Maggie says, as she carefully lowers herself into the backseat, “that could’ve gone worse.”

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“This is dumb,” Maggie mumbled to herself in the backseat.

The boys had decided to go talk to the victim’s girlfriend alone after Maggie maybe, definitely, had trouble getting out of the car. She had no one to blame but herself for the pain she was in. She refused to take one of her pills, walked up an ungodly amount of stairs, then sat in a car for hours.

Being alone, however, gave her time to think about what was going to happen after the case. It hadn’t been that long since Maggie heard from Sam. They talked at least once a month, but Sam and Dean? They’d barely spoken in almost two years. Would it go back to that after they dropped him off? Would they talk more? She hoped for the latter. Maggie missed Sam but she didn’t realize how much until she saw him.

No matter what, Maggie decided, after this case, she’s not letting things go back to how they were. Maybe she’d even get Sam and their dad back in contact. Whoa, okay, let’s not go crazy, she thought, baby steps.

“Finally,” Maggie said when she saw her brothers walking toward the car.

“Well?” she asked, “Anything?”

“Local legend,” said Sam, “Some woman got murdered on Centennial.”

“So, what do we do now?”

“Hit the books. Sam, you got a sixth sense for these things--where’s the local library?”

“Ha. Ha.”

At the library, Sam, Dean, and Maggie gathered around one of the computers. Dean, who was in the middle, searched “Female Murder Hitchhiker.” The three waited until the screen loaded, showing zero results.

“Let me try,” Sam urged.

He reached for the mouse only to have Dean pull it away, “I’ve got it.” Instead of asking again, Sam pushed Dean out of his chair. “Dude!”

“Hey,” Maggie whispered, “People are staring. Stop acting like children.”

Sam and Dean looked at each other and then mumbled a couple of weak apologies. Sam tried another variation of Dean’s previous search only to get the same results.

“Hang on,” Maggie stretched her bad leg out, “angry spirits are born out of violent death, right?”

“Yeah,” Dean agreed. Sam nodded his head.

“Well, maybe it’s not murder. Try suicide.” Sam types in “Female Suicide Centennial Highway” and hits ‘GO’. A few seconds later an article popped up. “That was in 1981.”

“Constance Welch, 24 years old, Jumps off Sylvania Bridge, drowns in the river,” Sam reads from the article.

“Does it say why she did it?” Dean asked, looking over his shoulder.

“Yeah,” Sam scrolls down on the screen, “An hour before they found her, she calls 911. Her two little kids are in the bathtub. She leaves them alone for a minute, and when she comes back, they aren't breathing. Both died.”

“Oh,” Maggie sighs sadly.

"'Our babies were gone, and Constance just couldn't bear it,' said husband Joseph Welch." Sam reads off.

Dean takes a closer look at the screen and points to the picture of the bridge where Constance committed suicide, “The bridge look familiar to you?”

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The siblings walked to the edge of the bridge. Dean braced his arms against the railing and looked down at the water rushing below, “So this is where Constance took the swan dive.”

“Apparently,” Maggie glanced around the crime scene. “Gotta say, this place gets a lot creepier at night.” The lack of movement from officers bustling around, the only light being that of the moon, the fact that someone was murdered there...calling it creepy would be an understatement.

“Do you think Dad would have been here?” Sam looked over at his older brother.

“Well, he’s chasing the same story, and we’re chasing him,” Dean answered and moved away from the ledge. He turned away and started walking towards the other side of the bridge.

“Okay, so what now?” Sam asked. Both he and Maggie followed Dean.

Now, we keep digging until we find him. Might take a while.”

Sam stops and sighs, “Dean, I told you, I've gotta get back by—”

“Monday,” Dean turns to look at Sam, “Right. The interview.”

Maggie took a step forward and caught Dean’s eye. She knew where this was going and she didn’t have a lot of time to diffuse the situation. “We did promise him we’d have him back in time.”

“Thank you,” Sam muttered quietly to his sister.

Dean looked between his younger siblings, “You're really serious about this, aren't you? You think you're just going to become some lawyer? Marry your girl?”

“Maybe,” Sam shrugged, “Why not?”

“Does Jessica know the truth about you? I mean, does she know about the things you've done?”

Sam stepped closer, anger seeping into his features, “No, and she’s not ever going to know.”

“Well, that’s healthy,” Dean nodded his head, “You can pretend all you want, Sammy. But sooner or later you're going to have to face up to who you really are.”

“And who’s that?” Sam asked as he followed Dean who had turned to walk away.

“You’re one of us,” Dean said, still walking forward.

Sam walked faster and cut Dean off, forcing him to stop, “No. I'm not like you. This is not going to be my life.”

“Guys—“ Maggie limped up to them, trying to get in between them.

“You have a responsibility to—“ Dean started.

“To Dad? And his crusade? If it weren't for pictures we wouldn't even know what Mom looks like. And what difference would it make? Even if we do find the thing that killed her, Mom's gone. And she isn't coming back.” Sam interrupted.

Dean grabbed Sam by the collar of his jacket and shoved him up against the railing of the bridge.

“Guys, please…” Maggie tugged on Dean’s sleeve. He looked at his sister. Her eyes were pleading with him to stop. He sighed and looked back at Sam.

“Don't talk about her like that,” Dean let go of Sam and stepped away. The brothers stared at each other before Maggie broke their concentration.

“Uh, we’ve got company,” Maggie pointed to the figure on the bridge. The figure was a woman in a white dress standing on the bridge’s railing. The woman walked forward and stepped off the bridge.

Sam and Dean bolted towards the edge while Maggie limped behind them. The boys learned over the ledge, finding that the woman had disappeared.

“Where did she go?” Dean asked, confusion on his face.

“I don’t know,” Sam answered.

Just then, the sound of an engine filled the air. The siblings looked at the impala just as the headlights turned on.

“Who’s driving your car?” Maggie asked and looked at Dean. Staring at the car, he pulled his keys out his pocket for her to see. The engine revved, the tires squealed, then the car barreled towards the siblings.

“Go, go, go!” Dean yelled before the three of them took off

Maggie was quickly falling behind her brothers until Sam grabbed her. She dropped her cane and held onto her brother as he practically dragged her forward. The three jumped over the railing just in time for the car to come to a stop.

“Are you okay?” Sam asked Maggie who was hanging from the bridge next to him.

“Yeah,” she grunted, “I don’t think I can pull myself up.”

“Okay, Okay. One second.” Sam pulled himself up and over the railing before leaning down to help his sister. “Where’s Dean?” He asked after pulling her up.

“Dean!” Maggie shouted over the bridge’s ledge.

“What?” An annoyed Dean shouted back. The twins looked over by the river’s shore to see a very muddy Dean pull himself out of the water.

“Are you alright?” Sam called out to him.

Dean gives a thumbs up, “Super.”

Sam laughs and moves away from the ledge. He looked over at Maggie who was supporting herself against the railing. “Where’d you drop your cane?”

“Um,” Maggie shook her head slowly while trying to catch her breath, “Somewhere over there?” She pointed to the general area they were before the car started.

Sam walked over there and found the cane. It was broken from being run over and held up some of the pieces to his sister. “Do you have a spare?” He asked her.

Maggie laughed, “That was the spare.”

“Are you kidding me?” The twins looked over to see Dean had finally joined them. “That’s like the fourth one you’ve broken,” he said annoyed.

“Okay, to be fair, I didn’t break it,” Maggie pointed at the impala, “your car did.”

“She didn’t do anything,” Dean walked over to the car and opened the hood. “She didn’t mean it, baby,” he muttered to the car. The twins looked at each other and shook their heads at their brother’s antics.

“Your car alright?” Sam asked, coming to stand beside Dean.

He closed the hood, “Yeah, whatever she did to it, seems all right now. That Constance chick, what a bitch!” Dean sits on the hood and Maggie walked over to settle next to him.

“Well, she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure.” Sam sat next to Dean, “So where's the job go from here, genius?”

Dean throws up his arms in frustration and flicks mud off his hands. “Ew!” Maggie exclaims and leans away from him, “You got some on me!” She wipes away at a splash of mud on her shoulder.

“Sorry.”

Sam sniffed the air and looked at Dean, “You smell like a toilet.”

Dean stands up and starts walking toward the driver side, “You know what? Everyone in the car.” The twins just looked at each other and tried not to laugh. “Now!” Dean yelled.

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Sam picked the lock to the motel door. He was always better than Maggie and Dean at that. The door opened and the siblings quickly rushed inside. Looking around, their dad had definitely been there. Maps, newspaper clippings, pictures, and notes littered the walls. Every surface was covered with books or evidence.

“Woah,” Maggie said as she flipped through a book on the desk.

Dean turned on a light and picks up a half-eaten hamburger, “I don’t think he’s been here for a couple of days at least.”

Sam bends down to run his fingers through a salt line on the floor, “Salt, cats-eye shells...he was worried, trying to keep something from coming in.”

“What are those?” Maggie asked Dean who was looking at papers on one of the walls.

“Centennial Highway victims,” he answers.

Maggie joins him over at the wall and reads over the missing posters for each victim. “I don't get it. I mean, different men, different jobs, ages, ethnicities. There’s always a connection, right? What do these guys have in common?”

Sam walks across the room to another wall covered in papers. “Dad figured it out.”

“What do you mean?” Dean asked, him and Maggie walking over to join Sam.

“He found the same article we did,” Sam points to the printed article, “Constance Welch. She’s a woman in white.”

“You sly dogs,” Dean smirked at the wall of victims. He laughs to himself then turns back to the twins, “All right, so if we're dealing with a woman in white, Dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it.”

“Maybe she has another weakness,” Maggie offers.

“Well, Dad would want to make sure,” Dean heads back over to the article, “He'd dig her up. Does it say where she's buried?”

“No, not that I can tell. If I were Dad, though,” Sam taps the picture of the man in the article, “I'd go ask her husband.”

“If he’s still alive,” Maggie crosses her arms.

“Yeah,” Sam agrees.

“All right. Why don't you two, uh, see if you can find an address, I'm gonna get cleaned up.” Dean says, looking away from the article. He starts to head into the bathroom when Sam stops him.

“Hey, Dean?” Dean stops and turns toward Sam, “What I said earlier, about Mom and Dad, I'm sorry.”

Dean raised his hand to stop Sam, “No chick-flick moments.”

Sam laughs and nods his head, “All right. Jerk.”

“Bitch.”

“You guys are morons,” Maggie shakes her head and eases down onto the bed. Sam laughs again and Dean disappears into the bathroom. Something catches Sam’s eye and he goes to check it out. Hanging from the mirror is a rosary and next to it, stuck in the frame is a picture of their family.

“Wow,” Sam smiles sadly as he picks up the picture.

Maggie tilts her head at her brother, “What?” Sam walks over to Maggie and sits next to her, holding the picture for her to see. “Wow is right.” Sam just nods. “I hope he’s okay,” Maggie states sadly.

“Me too,” Sam replies quietly. He hands the picture over to his sister. “How are you?” He looks at Maggie, “Like seriously?”

“I’m okay,” Maggie reaches into her bag and pulls out a book. “Nightmares every other night and I’m in near-constant pain,” She places the picture in between some pages for safekeeping, “But I’m doing better.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” Maggie looks at Sam, “If I was—,” he clarifies.

“No,” Maggie cuts him off immediately then looks down. “I made a bad call.” Sam nods. “I knew it was a bad call when I made it. And that’s on me, but hey,” Maggie, smiles up at her twin, “I got a cool cane out of it. And maybe if this hunting thing gets too much one day I can retire and become a fancy lawyer like you.”

“I cannot see you as a lawyer,” Sam laughs at her.

“Seriously?” Maggie asks then puts on her best serious face, “I object to that statement. You’re in contempt.”

“That’s what the judge says.”

“I am the judge,” she goes back to smiling, “Watch out.”

Sam stands, “Youre so weird.” He pulls out his phone and nods to the door, “I’m gonna go call Jess. I’ll be right back.”

“That’s ‘I’ll be right back, your Honor,’” Maggie shouts as Sam leaves the room, “Love-struck dork.” She mutters to herself while pulling out her CD player.

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“Hey, guys,” Dean came out of the bathroom, finally clean and shrugged on his jacket, “I’m starving. I’m gonna grab a little something to eat at that diner down the street. You want anything?”

“No,” Sam responded then went back to looking at his phone.

“Aframian’s buying,” Dean smiled. Sam shook his head.

Maggie paused the song she was listening to, “Can you bring me back a burger?”

“Sure,” Dean nodded and headed out the door. Across the parking lot, he spots the motel clerk talking to the police officers they spoke to at the bridge. The clerk pointed Dean out to the cops and Dean pulled out his cell phone and dialed Maggie’s number.

“What?” she answers.

“Five-oh, take off,” Dean says as the officers approach him.

Maggie sits up quickly and snaps her fingers at Sam. “Cops,” she whispers to him. “What about you?” She asks Dean as Sam helps her up and she grabs her bag.”

“Uh, they kind of spotted me. Go find Dad.” Dean hangs up the phone as the deputies approached him. “Problem, officers?” He turns and grins at them.

“Where are your partners?” The first asks.

“Partners?” Dean feigns confusion, “What, what partners?”

The first officer jerks his thumb towards the room Dean came out of and the second heads over to check it out. Sam sees the officer approaching through the window and urges Maggie to move.

“So, fake US Marshal. Fake credit cards. You got anything that's real?” The officer with Dean asks.

“My boobs,” Dean says after a beat, then flashes the officer a grin.

The officer nods then slam Dean over the hood of their cop car

“You have the right to remain silent,” the officer begins to read Dean his rights while Maggie and Sam make a quick escape.

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Dean stares straight ahead when the sheriff enters the interrogation room. He sets the box he carried in onto the across from Dean. “So you want to give us your real name?” He asks.

“I told you, it's Nugent. Ted Nugent,” Dean replies.

“I'm not sure you realize just how much trouble you're in here.”

“We talkin', like, misdemeanor kind of trouble or, uh, squeal like a pig trouble?

The sheriff leans on his box, “You got the faces of ten missing persons taped to your wall,” Dean looked away, “Along with a whole lot of satanic mumbo-jumbo. Boy, you are officially a suspect.”

“That makes sense,” Dean leaned against the arm of his chair, “Because when the first one went missing in '82 I was three.”

“I know you've got partners. One of 'em's an older guy. Maybe he started the whole thing,” the sheriff reached into the box, “So tell me. Dean…” He pulls out a leather-bound journal and throws it on the table in front of Dean, “This his?”

Dean stares at the journal and the sheriff moves to sit on the edge of the table. “I thought that might be your name,” he starts flipping through the journal, “See, I leafed through this. What little I could make out—I mean, it's nine kinds of crazy.” Dean leans forward to look through the pages. “But I found this, too.”

On the page is nothing but “DEAN 35-11” circled. “Now. You're stayin' right here till you tell me exactly what the hell that means.”

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“Are you sure this is the place?” Maggie looks at her brother as they walk up to the house.

“Yeas, I’m sure,” Sam responds and knocks on the door. A man opens the door and Sam quickly glances at Maggie, “Hi. Are you Joseph Welch?”

“Yeah,” Joseph replies.

“Do you think we could talk to you for a few minutes? We’d like to ask you some questions?”

Joseph agreed and closed the door. Maggie explained to them that they were looking for someone who might have stopped by recently. The three walked around the junkyard and Maggie pulled the picture out her bag to show him.

“Yeah, he was older, but that's him,” Joseph identifies John in the photo and hands it back to Maggie. “He came by three or four days ago. Said he was a reporter.”

“That’s right,” Sam nods his head, “We're working on a story together.”

“Well, I don't know what the hell kinda story you're working on. The questions he asked me?” Joseph shook his head.

“About your wife Constance?” Maggie asked.

Joseph nodded, “He asked me where she was buried.”

“And where is that again?”

“What, I gotta go through this twice?”

“It's fact-checking,” Sam said, “If you don't mind.”

“In a plot. Behind my old place over on Breckenridge.” Joseph answered.

Sam nodded, “And why did you move?”

Joseph shook his head, “I'm not gonna live in the house where my children died.”

Maggie stops walking and rubs at her hip, “Mr. Welch, did you ever marry again?”

The two men stopped walking. Joseph shakes his head, “No way. Constance, she was the love of my life, prettiest woman I ever known.”

“So you had a happy marriage?” Sam nods.

Joseph hesitates then nods his head, “Definitely.”

“Well, that should do it. Thanks for your time,” Sam starts leading Maggie back toward the impala. Joseph starts to walk away. Sam looks over at Maggie from across the top of the car. They give each other the same unsatisfied look and Sam turns back to Joseph. “Mr. Welch, you ever hear of a woman in white?”

Joseph turns around to look at the twins, “A what?”

“A woman in white,” Maggie answers, “Or sometimes a weeping woman?”

Sam continues for her, “It's a ghost story. Well, it's more of a phenomenon, really.” Sam walks towards Joseph and Maggie leans against the hood of the impala. “Um, they're spirits. They've been sighted for hundreds of years, dozens of places, in Hawaii, Mexico, lately in Arizona, Indiana. All these are different women,” Sam stops in front of Joseph, “You understand. But all share the same story.

“Boy, I don't care much for nonsense,” Joseph responds and starts walking away.

Sam follows after him, “See when they were alive, their husbands were unfaithful to them,” Joseph stops, “And these women, basically suffering from temporary insanity, murdered their children.” Joseph turns to look at Sam, “Then once they realized what they had done, they took their own lives. So now their spirits are cursed, walking back roads, waterways. And if they find an unfaithful man, they kill him. And that man is never seen again.”

“You think…” Joseph’s voice wavered, “you think that has something to do with...Constance? You smartass!”

“You tell us,” Sam stares at him.

“I mean, maybe...maybe I made some mistakes. But no matter what I did, Constance, she never would have killed her own children. Now, you get the hell out of here! And you don't come back!” Joseph is shaking by the time he stops talking. He stares at Sam while slowly turning away.

Sam sighs and looks back toward Maggie.

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“I don't know how many times I gotta tell you,” Dean sighs, “It's my high school locker combo.”

“We gonna do this all night long?” the sheriff asks Dean, still interrogating him.

A police officer leans into the room. “We just got a 911, shots fired over at Whiteford Road.”

The sheriff looks at Dean, “You have to go to the bathroom?”

“No,” he replies confused.

“Good,” the sheriff handcuffs Dean to the table and leaves. Dean sees a paper clip sticking out of the journal. He pulls it out and looks at it. He picked the lock and left the room. While the sheriff and the officer prepare to leave, Dean watches them through a window and makes a break for it when they leave.

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Sam and Maggie were in the impala when Maggie’s phone rang. “Hello?” She answered.

“I knew we kept you around for something. A fake 911 call, pretty smart, kiddo.” Dean’s voice came through on the other line.

“As much as I appreciate the praise, this one has to go to Sammy. Hang on,” Maggie put the phone on speaker, “You can compliment him now.”

“That was his idea? I don’t know, that’s pretty illegal.”

“You’re welcome,” Sam says into the phone.

“Listen, we gotta talk.”

“Tell me about it. So the husband was unfaithful. We are dealing with a woman in white. And she's buried behind her old house, so that should have been Dad's next stop.”

“Sammy, would you shut up for a second?”

“I just can't figure out why Dad hasn't destroyed the corpse yet,” Maggie looked at Sam, shaking her head.

“Well, that's what I'm trying to tell you. He's gone. Dad left Jericho.”

“What?” The twins asked at the same time. Then Sam asked, “How do you know?”

“I've got his journal.”

“Wait, he doesn't go anywhere without that thing,”

“Yeah, well, he did this time.”

“What's it say?”

“Ah, the same old ex-Marine crap, when he wants to let us know where he's going.”

“Coordinates?” Maggie asked, “Where to?”

“I'm not sure yet.”

“I don't understand. I mean, what could be so important that Dad would just skip out in the middle of a job? Dean, what the hell is going on?”

“Shit!” Sam exclaims as he slams on the brake.

Maggie braces herself against the dash as the car comes to a sudden stop. “What the fuck, Sam?”

“Sam? Maggie?” Dean asks over the phone.

“Take me home,” Constance appears in the back seat, startling Sam and Maggie. Sam and Maggie look at each other. “Take me home,” Constance demands.

“No,” Maggie states. The woman in white glares at the twins and the doors lock themselves. Sam and Maggie pull on the locks and struggle to get the doors open. The gas pedal presses down on itself and the car moves forward. “Hit the brakes!” Maggie yells at him.

“I’m trying!” He yells back.

The car drives itself to Constance's old house, where it kills the engine and lights.

“Don't do this,” Sam pleads.

“I can never go home,” the ghost comments with a sad voice.

“You're scared to go home,” Maggie says. She looks in the backseat but Constance is nowhere to be seen. She looks forward only to find Constance pinning Sam to the seat while he struggles.

“Hold me. I'm so cold,” Constance runs her hands along Sam’s chest.

Maggie tries to open the door, “Get off him, you crazy bitch!”

Constance looks over at Maggie and then disappears. The twins look around for a moment before Sam yells in pain. Forming on his shirt are burn marks matching Constance's fingers. As she reaches her hand into Sam’s chest a gun goes off, shattering the window and frightening the ghost.

There’s a short break before she returns and Dean has to fire the gun again. Maggie reaches over and starts the car while Sam puts it into drive and slams on the gas pedal. The car crashes through the fence and into the side of the house.

Dean chases after the car and rushes up to the passenger side. “Sam, Maggie! You guys okay?”

“I think,” Sam replies.

“Mags, hey,” Dean yanked open the car door, “Can you move?” She nods and he helps her out of the car and then leans over to give Sam a hand. “There you go,” he says as he helps Sam out of the car.

Constance picks up a photograph of her family and throws it down when Dean shuts the car door. She glares at the siblings and a cabinet slides across the floor to pin them to the car. The lights in the house flicker and water began pouring down the staircase. Constance looks around the room in fear and sees a young boy and girl at the top of the staircase. The children hold hands and speak, “You've come home to us, Mommy.”

The children appear behind Constance and hug her tightly and she screams. Energy flickers around them as Constance and the two children disappear into a puddle on the floor. The siblings push the cabinet away from them. Maggie rests against the car while the boys investigate the spot where the spirits had disappeared. “So this is where she drowned her kids,” Dean states, looking at the puddle.

“That's why she could never go home,” Sam nods, “She was too scared to face them.”

“You found her weak spot. Nice work, guys.” Dean slaps Sam on the chest where Constance had hurt him. Sam just laughs through the pain.

“What about you, dumbass?” Maggie laughs, holding onto her hip, “What the hell were you thinking shooting Casper in the face?”

“Hey, saved his ass,” Dean pointed at Sam. Dean walked over to Maggie and ruffled her hair. She pushed at his shoulder and he turned his attention to the impala. “I'll tell you another thing. If you two screwed up my car?” He looks between the twins, “I'll kill you.” They laugh it off.

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With the Woman in White gone, the three siblings headed back on the road. Dean in the driver’s seat, Sam riding shotgun, and Maggie in the back. With a flashlight tucked between her chin and shoulder and the coordinates in their dad’s journal, Maggie used a map to find the next clue to where John might be.

“Okay, I think I got it,” she interrupted their silence. Sam turns his head to listen better. “It's called Blackwater Ridge, Colorado.”

Dean nods, “Sounds charming. How far?”

“About six hundred miles,” Maggie answers.

“Hey, if we shag ass we could make it by morning.”

Sam looks at Dean hesitantly, “Dean, I, um…”

Dean glances at Sam and then back at the road, “You’re not going.”

“The interview's in like, ten hours. I gotta be there.”

Dean nods but is very clearly disappointed, “Yeah. Yeah, whatever.”

Maggie turns off the flashlight and looks between her brothers, “But, hey, maybe Dean and I head up to Colorado after we drop you off and keep you updated? Let you know if we find anything else about where Dad went?”

Sam looks back at his sister’s hopeful face and thinks about it. It wouldn’t hurt to hear from his siblings more, even if it was about hunting. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

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Dean pulls up in front of Sam’s apartment. Sam grabs his bag and gets out of the car, Maggie does the same. Sam looks between Dean and his twin, “You’ll keep me updated?” Maggie nods. “And maybe I can meet up with you guys later, huh?”

“Or maybe we can come here sometime?” Maggie says hopefully, “We can meet your girl properly.”

“I think that would be okay.” Sam nods. He opens the door for Maggie to get into the passenger seat and closes the door. He pats the door twice and turns away.

“Sam?” Dean calls out. Sam turns around. “You know, we made a hell of a team back there.”

“Yeah,” Sam nods.

Dean turns away and drives off. Maggie props her elbow on the door and rests her chin in her hand. “You think Dad’ll be in Colorado?” She asks.

“Maybe,” Dean replies, not looking at her.

Maggie leans back in her seat and rests her head against the door, “I’m tired.”

“Get some sleep. I’ll wake you up when it’s morning,” Dean tells her. He watches her get comfy out of the corner of his eye and then looks down at his watch. It’s not working. “Hang on,” he tells her, making a U-turn.

“What is it?” She asks, sitting up.

“Something’s off.” Dean drives back to Sam’s apartment building and parks out front, “Wait here.”

He goes into the building and runs up the stairs to Sam’s apartment and smells smoke. He kicks the door in and calls out to his brother, “Sam!”

“Jess!” He hears Sam yell.

Dean runs into the bedroom, “Sam!” Sam is screaming ‘No’ and staring up at the ceiling. Dean looks up and sees Jess burning. He grabs his younger brother off the bed and shoves him out of the apartment while Sam struggles against him.

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Maggie stood next to Sam as he loaded one of their shotguns. She had a hand rubbing his back while he refused to talk about what just happened. Dean, who was watching the firefighters put out the building, walked away to join the twins. Sam looked up at Dean when he came over and nodded to him. He throws the shotgun into the trunk and sighs.

“We got work to do,” Sam says and closes the trunk.

#my fanfiction #you're acting like a psycho #as time goes by #atgb #atgb chapter 1 #original character #margaret winchester #maggie winchester #winchester sister #dean x sister #sam x sister #sam x twin

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silver-lily-louise · 5 years

Text

What We Deserve – a Shadowhunters fanfic

Summary: ‘I’m afraid that one day, I’ll make one too many mistakes and you’ll realise that you deserve better. That you deserve someone who doesn’t leave you waiting for the next big fuck-up.’ Alec knows that he loves Magnus, but he isn’t so sure that he deserves Magnus. Thankfully, that doesn’t seem to be the popular opinion. Word count: ~3.3k Warnings: A bout of arguing, a bit of swearing, some strategic drinking, and a whole lotta feelings.

~oOo~

It was a stupid argument – if you could even call it that – and Alec knew it the moment he stormed out of the loft. But pacing around his office, waiting for his nine o’clock, he’s still too angry to care. Was it too much to ask – after the week from hell, dealing with condescending Clave officials – that when he left something on the side, it stayed there? By the time Magnus had found him upending the contents of his bedside table, he was running ten minutes late and was starting to realise that the smart move would have been to give up. But he was irritated, and stubborn, and it was the principle of the matter by that point.

And then Magnus had snapped his fingers, and the watch had appeared around Alec’s wrist. ‘I saw it on the side and put it in the jewellery box for safekeeping,’ he’d explained. But for some reason, Alec had just found himself more aggravated. ‘Alright, fine – next time I leave something out, don’t put it somewhere I can’t find it, okay? Not all of us can just wave our hands and summon whatever we want.’ Magnus had frowned at his tone, but spoken calmly. ‘You could have asked me earlier. I was just trying to help.’ ‘Well, you didn’t,’ Alec had snapped, using his last bit of common sense to leave before he could say something he’d regret.

By lunchtime, he’s starting to suspect that he overreacted. A couple of hours later, he’s starting to suspect that he’s the absolute worst husband ever. Magnus was only trying to help, his conscience scolds. He didn’t hide it on purpose, and he got it for you as soon as you asked.

He groans, letting his head fall to the desk. ‘One of those days, huh?’ He looks up to see Izzy in his doorway, her expression halfway between amused and concerned. ‘Yeah, you could say that.’ ‘Just came to drop this off,’ she says, laying a report on his desk. Instead of leaving, though, she settles into the chair opposite him. ‘Wanna talk about it?’

On an ordinary day, Alec would reassure her it was nothing and send her on her way. He’d resolve to apologise to Magnus, and get on with his work. But he really has had an awful week, and his regret piling on top of that has left him feeling low, maudlin. He sighs. ‘I yelled at Magnus this morning over something stupid, and now I’m feeling like an absolute tool.’ Izzy rolls her eyes, but still manages to look sympathetic. Alec wonders if that’s a talent that all younger siblings have, or if it’s just her and Max that can pull it off. ‘So go apologise,’ she says. ‘And stop looking so mopey – he’s over five hundred years old and he’s got the perspective to match it. He’s not gonna divorce you because you had a bad day and lost your temper.’ Alec laughs, but it comes out slightly bitter. ‘Yeah, you’re right. One day he’s gonna realise he deserves better, but it’s probably not today.’ Izzy doesn’t laugh. Actually, she looks a little worried. ‘Do you really think that? Alec-‘ ‘It’s fine,’ he says, waving her away. ‘I’m kidding. Go on, get out of here.’ ‘Okay,’ she says, reluctantly letting the matter drop. She leaves, pausing briefly at the door. ‘We’re pretty much done for the day. Go see your husband.’

Yeah, Alec thinks as she disappears around the corner. That’s probably a good idea.

***

When he gets home, Magnus is sprawled on the couch with a heavily worn leather-bound tome open on his lap. His eyes flick up to Alec, his expression staying carefully neutral. ‘Hi,’ he says, before his gaze immediately returns to the book.

‘Hey.’ As if Alec wasn’t feeling bad enough. This isn’t Magnus giving him a well-deserved cold shoulder – he’s just leaving Alec some space, in case he’s still pissed. Even though Alec had no right to be pissed in the first place. Alec remembers when apologising used to be difficult, when he had a tough time swallowing his pride. Now, he can barely cross the room fast enough, hating the situation and wanting to fix it without another moment’s delay. He plants himself in the couch space at Magnus’ feet, gently laying a hand on his shin. ‘Listen,’ he says, and Magnus’ eyes meet his again. ‘I’m sorry. About this morning. I was a jerk, and I shouldn’t have let the stress get the better of me – especially when you were only trying to help.’ Magnus’ face softens. ‘I forgive you.’ He leans forward, lightly squeezing Alec’s hand.

A moment later, he lights up in sudden excitement. ‘Ah! I have something to show you,’ he says, springing to his feet. ‘I found it whilst rearranging my grimoires today. Come on.’ He pulls Alec up from the couch, and Alec lets himself be led into the apothecary – half listening to Magnus, and half wondering how many times he can possibly get away with this.

***

Magnus has only just lifted his hand to knock when Simon opens the door. ‘Hi!’ ‘…Simon,’ he greets, raising an eyebrow. Simon grins. ‘Heard the portal,’ he explains. ‘I’m not the only one who can create portals,’ Magnus points out, as Simon closes the door behind him. ‘You might have been blithely opening the door to someone much less friendly.’ ‘You’re really overestimating the number of warlocks I know.’ He has a point, of course. ‘I’ll go get the books.’ He disappears from the room to fetch the books Magnus loaned him – historical texts on the rivalries between werewolves and vampires. He’d borrowed them in an attempt to better understand his ‘new cultural heritage’, as he put it.

Magnus’ phone buzzes, and he smiles when he looks down to see a message from Alexander.

Made a reservation for 8pm at Pagoda. See you there x

‘Everything okay?’ Simon asks, reappearing with his arms full of Magnus’ books, barely able to see over the top of them. Magnus waves a hand, banishing the texts back to his apothecary table. He would reshelve them too, but that’s a bit of a nightmare to do remotely, so he’ll wait until he gets home. ‘Never better. Alexander and I are having dinner at Pagoda tonight.’ ‘I thought he didn’t like that place?’ Simon’s right – Alexander has always found establishments like Pagoda ‘stuffy and intimidating’, to use his own words. Magnus puts on a long-suffering sigh. ‘Yes, well, I told him to pick somewhere we both liked, but you know Shadowhunters. So stubborn.’ ‘Pretty sure that might just be a Lightwood thing,’ Simon jokes. ‘Still, that’s nice of him. I told Izzy that that whole thing about him not deserving you was bullshit.’

Magnus frowns. ‘What?’ Simon’s eyes go wide, and if he were still human, he’d probably have turned scarlet by now. ‘Oh- I mean- because you guys worked things out, I assumed he’d told you...’ ‘Told me what?’ Magnus is starting to dislike the sound of this. Isabelle’s generally so supportive; why would she say something like that to Alec?

Simon sighs, apparently realising he’s painted himself into a conversational corner. ‘Okay. But you didn’t get this from me, alright? I don’t wanna end up as target practice.’ He waits for Magnus to nod before he continues. ‘Okay – the other day, Izzy said that you guys had some sort of… argument? And she was kind of worried, because Alec seemed really down about it. She said that he thinks he isn’t good enough for you, and he reckons that one day you’re going to… realise that. Which Izzy and I both think is crazy,’ he adds hurriedly. ‘I mean, it’s you guys, you’re kinda perfect together.’

Yes, but to his surprise, Magnus is apparently the only one of them who’s noticed that. Well, he thinks grimly. At least his instincts are still top-notch. Turns out he doesn’t like this at all.

***

When Magnus meets his husband outside Pagoda, he’s entranced for a good few seconds, just standing there and blinking. The blue of Alec’s linen jacket gives the illusion of gold in his hazel eyes, and the softness of the hue is matched in his heather-gray pants. His dress shoes shine under the streetlights, his crisp white shirt is just unbuttoned enough that Magnus can see the entirety of his deflect rune, and his hair has the fluffed look of being freshly washed and blow-dried. Magnus can only stand and stare, because he’s bowled over by the heart-stuttering feeling of seeing his Alexander – not the soldier he first met, or the warrior that now leads the New York Institute, but the beautiful, kind man underneath that Magnus fell in love with. The only person Magnus has ever vowed to love forever.

Alec’s mouth quirks in amusement, a slight flush coming to his cheeks at the attention. ‘Magnus,’ he says gently. Magnus shakes himself. ‘Okay, I’m back,’ he teases. He closes the distance between them, reaching up to pull Alec into a brief kiss – pleased to find that his hair is just as soft as it looks. ‘You look wonderful, darling.’ He doesn’t often call Alexander that, but seeing him like this, it slips out as easy as breathing. Alec, for his part, glows shyly at the compliment. ‘Thanks. So do you.’ He offers his arm. ‘Shall we?’ Magnus smiles, unable to contain his delight. Back when they started dating, he found Alec’s stumbling, slightly awkward ways when it came to romance exceedingly charming, and wondered if he’d miss them when Alec inevitably became more comfortable with this part of life. What a foolish thought, he muses. How could he have forgotten just how attractive confidence is on someone like his Alexander? He takes his arm, and together they enter the restaurant.

The moment they do, Magnus feels Alec tense almost imperceptibly – and he can’t have that, so he devises a plan. Firstly, he lets Alec give the reservation, because although he knows his husband lacks some confidence in the etiquette department – an unfounded fear, but growing up fairly sheltered in Clave Institutes will do that to a person – Magnus wants to show Alec that he trusts him to handle this. ‘Lightwood-Bane for eight o’clock?’ Alec says, and they’re shown to a table in the middle of the restaurant. From there, they’d have a view out of the windows on two sides, and it’s perfect in terms of comfortable lighting – bright enough to avoid eye strain, but dim enough to set the proper mood. But those factors aren’t Magnus’ priorities tonight, and he places a hand on the maître d'’s upper arm to briefly steal their attention. ‘I’m sorry,’ he says, putting on a slightly embarrassed expression, ‘but I’m afraid my back’s acting up a little. Perhaps we could take one of the booths over there instead?’ The maître d' smiles sympathetically, agreeing to his request without a second thought, and Magnus meets Alec’s questioning glance with a wink that says just trust me on this. Once they’re settled, Magnus can already see Alec relaxing. Their booth is at the corner of the restaurant, far from the door but providing Alec with a clear view of it as well as most of the other tables, solid walls on two sides of them. It’s the kind of position that his training will immediately recognise as easily defensible. Safe. Magnus had hoped it would help put his husband at ease, and from the descent of his shoulders and the small smile on his face, it seems to be working.

Finally, Magnus waves a hand, and a faintly shimmering wall – one that looks like no more than a heat mirage, even to those with the Sight – briefly flickers, before fading into complete invisibility. ‘Muffling glamour,’ Magnus explains. ‘Allows all sound in, but dampens that going out. After all, I wouldn’t want the whole restaurant eavesdropping later, when I tell you over dessert exactly how good that jacket looks on you.’ Alec ducks his head in embarrassment, but his smile widens, and satisfaction settles over Magnus’ thoughts. The real reason for the muffling glamour is that he knows a lot of Alec’s discomfort comes from the fear of being scrutinised, of not matching up to expectations – especially in environments he’s less familiar with. The glamour will provide them with a little privacy, spare them some of that scrutiny by making them less noticeable.

Alec seems to enjoy their second visit to Pagoda a lot more than their first, and thus, Magnus does too. He looks across the table at his Shadowhunter – this wonderful man, who was entirely willing to spend his evening uncomfortable and on alert, just so they could have dinner somewhere Magnus particularly enjoyed. My darling Alexander, he thinks, confused and a little saddened by what Simon told him earlier. How can you not see that I’m the luckiest man alive to call you mine?

***

The portal closes behind them, and Magnus turns to Alec with a smile. ‘Shall we have a nightcap to round off this lovely evening?’ ‘Why not? I’ll be back in a minute.’ Alec returns the smile, wandering towards the bedroom, and Magnus goes over to the drinks cabinet, trying to quell the flutter of anxiety in his gut. He’s realised that there’s no natural way to bring up what Simon told him, but perhaps alcohol will grease the wheels for a slightly heavier conversation than they’ve been enjoying thus far. Magnus carefully measures out the grenadine into each glass – Alec’s palate for cocktails has expanded exponentially in the time Magnus has known him, but his taste in drinks still runs quite sweet.

Drinks mixed, Magnus takes a seat on the couch facing the balcony, waving a hand to open the doors and let in some of the cool night air and gentle noise of the city. It really has been a lovely evening, and he almost hates to dampen the mood with a serious topic. But if there’s nothing going on, they can move past it quickly – and if there is, it’s in both their best interests to talk it through sooner rather than later.

Alec reappears, sans jacket and shoes, coming to join him on the couch. Magnus hands him one of the glasses – managing to only be momentarily distracted by the way Alec’s pushed his shirt sleeves up to his elbows, baring his toned forearms. ‘There’s something I wanted to talk to you about,’ he begins, instantly aware that just that sentence has earned him Alec’s complete attention. ‘I spoke to Isabelle recently, and she mentioned something that… concerned me a little. Something you said.’ He makes a mental note to warn Isabelle about this conversation later – he doesn’t actually think that Simon would end up with any arrows sticking out of him, but an agreement is an agreement. ‘Something about you not deserving all this. That you don’t think you’re good enough for me.’

Alec’s face is stony, his movements stiff as he puts his glass down on the table in front of them. ‘I told her it was nothing to worry about,’ he says, and his mouth sets in a hard line. It’s abundantly clear he’d rather be talking about anything else, but Magnus has centuries of practice pushing past the signs that tell him to drop something. ‘She didn’t realise she was betraying your confidence,’ he reassures. There’s no sense getting Isabelle in any more trouble than necessary. ‘She assumed you’d mentioned this to me when we reconciled.’ Magnus leans forward, placing himself back in Alec’s eyeline. ‘Look – I’m not trying to catch you out, here. I’m not entitled to every thought in your head, only the ones you want to share with me. But if something’s troubling you, I want to help. I want you to know that you can talk to me about it.’

Alec’s still for a few moments; but then he sighs, sinking back into the couch, the fight visibly draining from him. Magnus decides to risk shuffling a little closer – supporting, but not crowding. ‘It’s fine, Magnus. It’s my issue, and it wouldn’t be fair of me to put it on you. Not out of some – some childish need for validation.’ Magnus suppresses an exasperated smile. So concerned about burdening me, and you still think you’re undeserving? ‘Well, take this as your official permission to stop worrying about that. If you want to tell me, I want to hear it.’

It’s a while before he gets an answer, but Magnus waits patiently. The right words aren’t always easy to find, after all. ‘I keep screwing up,’ Alec says finally, his voice low, confessional. ‘With you, with us. I can’t seem to stop it, and – I guess I’m worried that eventually, you’ll get sick of having to give me second chances.’ ‘Everybody makes mistakes, Alec. I don’t expect you to be perfect.’ ‘Yeah, but I’m not just talking about things like the other day,’ he protests. ‘I’m not just talking about having a short fuse, or arguing over house stuff. I mean the big stuff – like how we’re only together now because even after I yelled at you, you crashed my wedding to Lydia. Or how I screwed up with the Soul Sword thing.’

It takes Magnus a moment to respond, a little stunned. ‘Alec, all that’s in the past now. I thought we’d moved on from it.’ ‘Yeah, we did – because every time I messed up, you forgave me. And I hate that that’s our pattern.’ He looks away from Magnus again, dragging a hand down his face. ‘And I’m afraid that one day, I’ll make one too many mistakes and you’ll realise that you deserve better. That you deserve someone who doesn’t leave you waiting for the next big fuck-up.’

Alec swallows hard, and when Magnus impulsively pulls him into a hug he goes willingly, burying his face in Magnus’ shoulder even though he doesn’t return the embrace.

Magnus takes a few deep breaths before he dares speak again, knowing he has to get this right. ‘Alexander. How many times have you stood by me when I tried to shut you out? Even when it made things difficult for you?’ ‘It’s not the same-‘ ‘It is the same thing,’ he says, interrupting the muffled contradiction. ‘It’s exactly the same, in all the ways that matter. Because this – what we have – only works if we’re each willing to believe that the other is doing his best, and if we’re willing to forgive each other.’ He pulls back a little, cupping Alec’s face in his hands. ‘I know you. You’re a good person. Rarely have I met anyone so determined to make the world a better place, and certainly none so willing to learn and to change their own ways to do so. Alec, every mistake I’ve ever known you to make was because you were trying to do the right thing.’ He laughs softly. ‘Do you know how rare a quality that is?’

Alec doesn’t respond, but he looks less sorrowful now, which Magnus will take as progress. ‘I love you. I married you, Alexander, because you make me… indescribably happy. And no matter what happens – no matter how any of your future choices turn out – I trust you to follow your conscience.’ He presses a short, sweet kiss to his husband’s lips, smiling as he closes his eyes and rests their foreheads together. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’

Alec’s breaths are still a little shaky, but he loops his arms around Magnus’ waist. Message received.

***

Alec still can’t quite understand how he got so lucky. But at least that small, scared part of him is quieting now. Beginning to accept that he did.

~oOo~

#shadowhunters #shadowhunters fanfic #malec #malec fanfic #shtv #alec lightwood-bane #magnus lightwood-bane #shs #mine #alcohol tw #food mention #this is the one I was talking about the other day #where i was trying to write about all the feelings #but ended up with an interlude of magnus going 'hot damn!!! look at this beautiful man i married!!!!'

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