#that being said. i wish all simmers a very pleasant morning/afternoon/evening

[theloneliestshipper]

Would anyone like a tiny little distraction today? @pontmercyingtilthecowscomehome got me thinking about Leia as Darcy in a Pride & Prejudice AU and so I wrote this shmoopy little take on the proposal scene and I’ll probably add it to the Random AUs collection. Enjoy!

Leia couldn’t recall ever feeling so at ease. Between the responsibility of caring for the Organa estate and her duties at court there wasn’t time in her life for a great deal of relaxation. As much as she treasured her time out of doors she seldom took the time to recline in the shade of a great birch tree as she was now. 

A gentle breeze stirred through the leaves above her head as she stretched out her limbs before letting them fall back into repose. If she inhaled deeply enough she could fill her senses with both the earthy scent of the woods and the traces of sweat and leather clinging to the rough woolen greatcoat beneath her. 

Her gaze dropped to the person partially responsible for her state of rest as he idly tucked his clothing back in place. This was how it always ended. She would return to her duties and Boba Fett would saunter back down the hill to his father’s house of trade and the two of them would resume a distant public acquaintance save for the occasional assembly.

People said she was a modern idealist for attending such lowbrow country dances, but the truth was that Leia found all dances nearly intolerable and the village assemblies were full of dull conversation shouted loudly over stomping feet. There was but one reason for her attendance, and it was for the opportunity it gave her to trifle with Boba Fett under the noses of their clueless acquaintances. 

He looked back at her now, a smile pulling at his usually sober mouth, and his self-congratulation over her state made her want to pull him down by his shirt collar. His smug manner was not so involitile when he lay beside her. 

But this could not continue. She had made up her mind to tell him so this morning, and then upon seeing him was distracted by their amorous activities.  She sighed and drew herself up to sit. “Boba, I have something to say.” 

He turned to face her, his head tilted to one side inquisitively. 

“I beg you to let me say it without interruption.”

At once his stance shifted, as if he were readying for a fight. Not an uncommon occurrence in his world. But even more than that, he withdrew all expression, as if anticipating some dreadful news. 

“Don’t look at me like that.” She patted the space beside her in invitation.

“You have something to say,” he said without moving. “Say it.”

“Very well.” She drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. “I have tried in vain to deny it, but it cannot be avoided now. I must tell you that I love you, and I think we should be wed.” This was clearly not the news he was expecting to receive, and yet he appeared more confused than elated. 

Leia forged onward, trusting that his nimble mind would catch up. “I fully recognize the ridiculousness of the notion. I have reasoned with myself as I would reason with any friend about to make such a disastrous choice. I have reminded myself that your family’s profession, your father’s traitorous past and your complete lack of social connections make this match undesirable in every way...and yet my desire will not be quieted.” Rising up on her knees she extended her hand. “If you would care to make your proposal now I am prepared to accept it.”

Still, he didn’t move. He looked down at her hand, and then away. “So that I may continue satisfying your desire in a more convenient manner?”

Leia’s hand dropped to her side. “I said nothing so crass.”

“No.” His jaw was tight, dark eyes simmering with an emotion she couldn’t give name to. “You merely stated that there was no other reason to marry me.”

Her brows lifted at that. “If you heard me say that your ardor is your only charm, let me relieve you of the burden of belief. You have many admirable qualities, but I must be rational. If we are betrothed my family and friends will not hold back their opinions.”

“I’ve never sought their opinions,” he said, bending towards her. “And I have never cared about yours. This was a pleasant diversion and now it seems to be at an end.” He grasped the edge of his coat as he spoke and yanked it out from beneath her knees, brushing the grass and dirt from it with unnecessary vigor. 

“You expect me to believe that you never saw our trysts as an advantage? That you never saw my companionship as the means to redeem the reputation of your father?”

“I can assure you that I was not thinking of my father while between your legs.”

“You might think of yourself. As my husband you would manage my estate. You would never have to labor for anyone else.”

“I might otherwise have the misfortune of working for someone who thinks I am inferior.”

“I have never said so!”

“Not to my face. And not until now.”

Leia drew back, indignant. “I am not prone to flights of fancy about how we are judged in this world. But I see now that I should have flattered you and appealed to your masculinity.” She straightened her arms and pulled her shoulders back, fully aware of the effect on her bosom. “You would not care to come to my bed every night?”

“I have nothing more to say to you,” he said without so much as a look in her direction. “If you can compose yourself, I will walk you back to the village.”

It would not do to traipse back alone like a milkmaid. Leia furiously set about straightening her long skirt and feeling about her neckline for any undesirable displacement of her chemise and stays. She retrieved her gloves and hat last and set off, her chin held high. The absolute nerve of Boba Fett, to imply that she was the one who was somehow deficient in character, with everything she was prepared to offer him. With everything she was prepared to sacrifice on his behalf!

She was hardly two paces down the slope when she heard her own thoughts with different ears, perhaps ones more similar to the man who walked silently a half step ahead. He was right, of course, there was nothing inferior about working in trade. His father might have once been branded a traitor but he also was granted a full pardon and gave every indication of being reformed. Leia was a firm believer in the equality of all, even though the society she was born into held different opinions.

Perhaps she cared more for their opinions than she thought. 

When they reached the alley between the stable and the leather shop, Boba surveyed the exit into the street, just as he always did. “I see none of our acquaintances,” he said shortly when he returned to her side. “Good day.”

“Boba, wait-” she put a hand on his arm, and he raised an eyebrow. 

“Someone might see.”

“Let them.” She dropped her hand, however. She couldn’t bear to touch him and see such coldness in his eyes. “I am in the wrong, and I am ashamed of myself. I can only hope that you’ll forgive me in time, when I’ve shown myself to be corrected.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“No, I beg yours. It was ungracious of me to assume that you would propose on command. If you never sought my affection then I have no right to expect yours but...I spoke truthfully, if badly.” It was even harder to look into his eyes now, knowing that she might well be rejected. “I would marry you, if you asked. Without condition or expectation. Simply for your good company and in the hopes that I might one day have your love.”

He looked down at her, his mouth parted just a little. His eyes were not cold but held the motion of a thousand thoughts flying through them. 

“If that is not your wish, then I hope-”

“You have it.” He said abruptly. He took her hand and held it both of his. “You have my love, Leia. You spoke truthfully, and I did not. So we are both at fault.”

Her heart lept as the warmth returned to his gaze. “I am far more at fault.”

“But also more likely to admit it.” He raised her hand and kissed it, and she could feel the achingly familiar press of his lips through her glove. 

“Mr. Fett. Were you not just concerned about what people might see?”

“There is nothing to see apart from a man kissing his betrothed.”

Until that moment she never thought it was possible to feel the peace of the trees and the breeze inside herself. “Is that truly what you want?”

“If it were up to me we would go to the priest at once and then to bed for the rest of the afternoon.” He lowered her hand but didn’t release it. “But that would only lead to speculation, so we have to do things properly, I suppose.”

“Yes. With all the announcements and all the arrangements.” Her fingers squeezed his. “But we shall at least have more excuses to be in one another’s company. And after the wedding...there will be nothing to keep us apart.” 

[peacharchivedtm]

a one night stand is suppose to be just that , shuuzou thinks , as he’s sitting here , awkwardly eating pancakes at the table. the setting is this, kagami, his room-mate who is absolutely enjoying this chaos, across from him ; tatsuya, the man he is absolutely head over heels in love with but not together with, to his left ; and his one night stand , sora , to his right. sora is currently in nijimura’s clothes , which isn’t any better than what they were when tatsuya walked in and he was clad only in nijimura’s pj’s bottoms and nijimura himself is shirtless , in loose shorts with bruises and scratchmarks against his back.   mom , dad , god , whoever is up there , how did he get here again and what did he do to deserve this ?  

he knows that look on tatsuya’s face. it’s one of calm anger that simmers just beneath the surface and he tries to break the tension , “ --- can someone pass me the honey ? ”  tatsuya slams it in front of him. “ so , i didn’t catch your name , ” he says , directing attention to sora, whose name he had definitely heard, but he’s pissed and annoyed at the situation so he thinks it’s the very least that he could do.  “ uh - sora-- ” sora wonders if he slept with this guys boyfriend , why else would this stranger , ( who sora has to admit is so pretty. what is up with this apartment and having nothing but attractive men in it ? ) be so cold towards him ? tatsuya , he chides himself mentally. he remembers hearing kagami and nijimura say it.  “ sora, ” tatsuya repeats , rolling the name around on his tongue , “ so - tell me how you met nijimura ? ”  the man in question winces , as he directs his attention towards kagami , asking for some kind of relief. he doesn’t get it , in fact what he does get is the other finishing his plate and leaving. the bastard ! leaving him in this predicament ! it’s rare for tatsuya to call him by some other name other than shuu , which means he absolutely is livid at the moment.  “ uh --tatsuya ? we met last night -- is nijimura your boyfriend ? ”  nijimura coughs , choking on his pancake.  boyfriend ? he wishes that he was dating tatsuya. although , with the ice coming from the shooter , he’s not sure that’s going to be an option in the future. ( he wonders briefly why tatsuya is mad ? it’s not like they were together after all. nijimura can hook up with whomever he wants to and whenever he wants too. ) “ no, ” tatsuya says after a pause , blinking at the use of his first name, “ no he’s not. he’s free to do whoever he wants too. ” it’s said in such a chilling tone that nijimura knows that he is definitely no longer free to do whoever he wanted too. “ also please call me himuro. after all , we are in japan , it’s only fair , correct ? you don’t know me that well. ” sora flushes in embarrassment , and goes to speak.  “ so , sora , ” nijimura cuts him off and tries to change the subject, “ where do you go to school ? ”  “ wow , nijimura , sleep with the man and don’t even know what school he goes to. ”  “ shut up tatsuya. ” “ i’m just saying, shouldn’t you know who you sleep with before you sleep with them ? ”  a glare is given to the shooter , and a kick is received on his ankle. bitch , that hurt ! nijimura is sure there will be a bruise there by the afternoon, blooming in all sorts of greens , purples , and yellows. he doesn’t say anything about it , in fact he , at the very least deserves it.  sora definitely thinks something at the very least is going on between the two. ugh , this is the problem with pretty boys , usually , there’s someone else that they’re into. “ ah -- i’m a student at touou. ” he says finally , after glancing at tatsuya and nijimura.  nijimura nods. “ i have a couple of friends that go there too. ”  tatsuya snorts.  sora , cleaning his plate , grimaces , before standing , “ well , this was lovely, ” it was not , “ but i need to leave immediately. ” he’s not even concerned with getting his clothes , but he immediately tries to get out of this very awkward situation.  “ goodbye , sora. ” tatsuya says , cold as ice , with his ever-pleasant smile on his face. nijimura stuffs a pancake into his face as he waves. whatever gets rid of this tension in the kitchen faster. it’s now just the two of them , and nijimura almost wishes he had left instead.  “ so - ” he tries to change the subject. “ so , does that happen often ? ”  “ does what happen often ? ” tatsuya sends him a glare , and quirks a brow as he tilts his head into the now shut door that sora had all but fled out of without a second word. shuuzou lets out a sigh. “ does it matter ? ” another kick against his shin , and nijimura scowls towards tatsuya. “ stop that. ”  “ answer the question ” tatsuya replies.  nijimura purses his lips and debates on not answering it but as always , he will give tatsuya whatever he wants so after a pause , he averts his gaze. “ sometimes. it’s rare that they stick and make breakfast though, usually kagami just throws them out. ” tatsuya nods. good taiga. he should get him something special he thinks. get rid of all of them. “ i see, ” he says eventually.  pushing the plate away , he leans back , “ so. ” nijimura begins , “ what’s your deal ? why are you so icy ? ”  “ i’m not icy. this is just how i am. ”  “ a load of bullshit. try the truth. ”  flipping shuuzou the bird , tatsuya shifts. “ i just didn’t expect to see anyone else here so early in the morning and it caught me off guard i guess. ” also a load of bullshit but tatsuya is not good with commitments and he doesn’t know what to say or how to say that he’s jealous that the person he’s in love with is hooking up with other people. why not him ? “ why do you do it ? ” nijimura swallows , they’re going into dangerous , almost confession territory , “ its just letting off steam you know -- ” a devilish smile crosses tatsyua’s face , and shuuzou swallows. oh he’s in trouble.  tatsuya leans forward , dropping his gaze to shuu’s lips. “ so would just anyone work then ? ” the other flushes , bright red.  “ what do you mean ? ”  eyes narrow , “ you know , ” he takes hand and runs it up the other’s arm , “ what about me , would i work for you ? to let off steam , as you say ? ” he’s jealous , and he wants to test something. he doesn’t know what he’s doing , he must be out of his mind.  nijimura shifts , ears lightening up in red as eyes widen. “ ta- tatsuya ---- what are you saying ? ” it’s kinda cute tatsuya thinks , how shuu is trying to play innocent now , when he obviously wasn’t so innocent last night. not with the scratch marks that he had seen on the other’s back.  “ would you sleep with me ? ” he decides to ask out-right. oh man , aomine is going to have an entire field day if taiga doesn’t tell him about the awkward situation first. he knows the two of them had a meet up today. “ after all , i came over today to keep you from being lonely. i knew daiki and taiga were hanging out , i could make it worth your while. ” it’s all but purred out and shuuzou is trying to get away but the chair is against the wall and he can’t go any further.  “ no. ” shuuzou finally says and tatsuya’s guts twist. he knew it. he knew the other didn’t think of him like that. “ you’re not them. they’re nobodies , but you’re someone. ”  “ i see. ” tatsuya says backing away , face straightening out.  shuuzou licks at his lips , “ i couldn’t -- i wouldn’t , i can’t , just sleep with you and have it not mean anything. ” he says finally , voice quiet. “ they mean nothing and that’s fine with me. but you -- ” a breath as he looks away from tatsuya , “ you would mean something. ”  tatsuya pauses. shuuzou was never good about talking about his feelings , well , neither was he. “ so they’re a stop along the way then ? ” he says , staring at the other , willing shuuzou to just look at him. to see that tatsuya is irrevocably in love with him , would do anything for him. he’s pleased to know that nijimura thinks that it would mean something if they slept together. it secures his position against all of those other boys that shuu had brought home. they meant nothing , and he meant something.  this is dangerous , tatsuya and shuuzou both know. confessions could happen here if they weren’t careful about what was said.  nijimura shifts , “ you could say that but the last stop --- ” a sigh as he shakes his head , “ well , ” the last stop is tatsuya or no one. shuuzou knows this but he can’t say this right now. tatsuya is a hot wire waiting to explode , he can’t just confess right now. “ well , who knows when the last stop is. ” 

[pleom]

i. hunger

A sound awoke you. It shouldn’t have—it was much too distant and far too quiet for you to have picked up on it. But the tension in the air left you hyperaware of every move and shuffle, too high-strung to fully give yourself to sleep. You lacked the energy to open your eyes and relied on your other senses to give you a clue. The sound slowly grew in clarity—plastic crinkles and the smacks of a dry mouth.

It was Jisung, sat against a wall with an empty bag of chips dangled over his tongue. He panted desperately, and licked at the pitiful amount of crumbs that dropped into his mouth. All around him were containers of already finished food. The last meal ate was a can of green beans, and it was Minho who shoved the last bits into his mouth while everyone slept. The room never smelled of rotten food, though, as everyone made sure to pick each package and cartridge clean. No one would dare leave behind a speck in their wake. Not while the whole room starved. 

“Jisung,” Mina warned. 

“Sorry,” and the plastic bag crumpled back down to the floor. Jisung groaned with his chest, arms twitching over his stomach. “I’m just so hungry; how long do we gotta wait?”

It seemed like everyone was awake, now. More feet dragged across the concrete, and every wrinkle seemed to have its own reverb. Life sprung back into being inside this cellar bunker of yours.

You felt it, too. An emptiness none too gentle. It rocked you in violent waves that left you heaving, but even so, you had to keep a steel grip. The rest of the cabin moaned with the same predicament. And deep inside all of them, even with the knowledge they beared, they wondered the same thing.

“Long enough,” Mina said, easily irked. She kicked a can to its side and nestled deeper into the wall. “We’ll survive, I promise. But only if you guys keep it down, alright? Ever heard of meditating?”

“Meditating is supposed to be done under ideal conditions,” Jisung fired.

“Not true,”

“Very true, what—”

The screeching of metal broke the beginnings of another argument before it began, signaling either the return of someone important or the arrival of someone disastrous. Heavy boots plodded down the concrete stairs leading to your bunker, a single bated breath shared among all its dwellers.

“Guys,” a familiar, somber voice echoed through the chamber, “it’s safe.”

It’s Chan. And he came back bloodier than before. But the stains on his clothings registered later than his words—

—“Really?!” You jumped from your seat, and immediately tumbled back down to your knees. The hunger sucked the energy out of your muscles, and left you with limbs that defied your every wish. 

Chan was by your side immediately, wrapping his hand around your rail-thin arm. “Yeah, and I brought food, so you all can relax.”

The room broke down in relief, sighs and cries falling from left and right. The grumbles from their stomach sounded louder than ever. 

Chan slunk a shredded sack from over his shoulder, opening it up to reveal piles of delicate products—peaches, Hawaiian rolls, jerky. Instantaneously, the whole room charged forward on their fragile hands and feet to grab a serving.

When everyone had their piece, they laid back against the wall with renewed vigor, sated and lively. The smell of copper, sugar, and meat wafted through the air. Chan downed a bottle of water and tossed it to the side.

“Now, we just need to wait for the sun to come up, and bear till the afternoon.”

ii. dew

Exiting the bunker cellar brought forth both revelatory and crushing realizations. A new smell met your nose, rancid, and it wasn’t from the thick mush of coagulated blood and torn flesh strewn across the lawn. It was the aftermath left stuck on the grass.

“Usually, after nights like that, the smell of the morning is supposed to be, you know, pleasant,” droned Jisung. “It feels like we woke up in hell.”

“Isn’t it?” Changbin quipped. “But, yeah, this isn’t how it was last time we were out.”

“Feels like climate change gave us its worst,” Sana took large steps to maneuver out of the way of the grass. When everyone gathered to the middle of the street, away from the festering puddles, it was time to consider your odds.

“At least we picked on a pattern,” you said, eyes following the ruptured cords from power-line to power-line. They had stopped sparking with life. “But are we sure this isn’t happening elsewhere? I mean, it’s acid rain. Pretty sure that isn’t location-locked.”

“Before the electricity cut off, I searched for news from everywhere. If psychotic raindrops were falling in anywhere major, it would be an epidemic. Hell, if it even rained in the next town over we’d know. The con of living in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, besides the obvious, is that we are truly out of sight and out of mind.”

The group shivered with the truth of Chan’s words. Everyone bore a face of both hopefulness and cynicism as they toyed with the future of the town. 

“Think the cars still work?” Jisung mulled, “Or did the rain kill those, too?”

“Only one way to find out.”

iii. forewarning

“Got a little caught in the rain?” You mused. Hyunjin dashed into the restaurant, soaked down to the bone. A group dinner to celebrate your promotion at work was planned since the announcement, although now very hastily carried out due to the sudden weather. 

A waiter came moments before, and at numerous times, each to which were turned away in consideration for those who hadn’t made it yet. It started looking bleak—and understandably so, until Hyunjin finally pulled through at the door. The rest of the group chuckled lightheartedly; Chan pulled back a chair for him to seat. 

A fist smashed it to its side. 

“Hyunjin?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he muttered, just barely loud enough for you to catch. He pulled the seat back up, and threw his coat over it with abandon. Your friends’ liveliness diminished considerably, with every head turning towards the other. A cautious concernment battled the air, with Seungmin being the first to confront it. 

He rested a hand over Hyunjin’s fist, whom now sat with a face full of red and eyes casted down at his lap. 

“You alright there?” Seungmin started, pausing to look over the group, then tried again. “Did you miss the bus? Are you angry you’re late? It’s fine, you know. You can talk—”

Hyunjin erupted from his seat, staring down at Seungmin with irrational indignation. He clenched his lips, then slowly, quietly began to speak. “Don’t push me. I am not in the mood for this.”

You could tell he was holding something/himself back, but the curtness of his words startled you all the same. The rest of the group—Mina, Changbin, Jisung, Minho, Sana, and Chan—all gaped. Seungmin pulled his hands back and held up his arms, sweat building at his temple. You watched his features morph with his thoughts, and just when Hyunjin’s anger seemingly simmered, he braved his next words.

“Forgive me—”

Hyunjin swung. 

You heard it before you saw it. The sound of bone cracking against bone, the wet splats of blood upon tableware, it all made your stomach churn, and you dry heaved at the sight of Hyunjin aiming again. Your friends gasped, screamed, and scrambled away from the table as Chan raced for Hyunjin, but it was too late. Hyunjin’s fists met with Seungmin stronger than before with the buildup of his rage. Their faces almost held the same shade of red, but the color covered just as much ground. 

The entire restaurant followed your steps, spreading chaos where they looked on in shock. 

Chan stopped Hyunjin from placing another blow, but Seungmin already laid unconscious between the crimson rows of chairs. “Hey! Hey! Come on, man! What are you doing?”

“Shut up!” Hyunjin shoved Chan off and turned around to face him. This wasn’t Hyunjin, it couldn’t be. He looked and behaved all too unfamiliar, and within the depths of his eyes, he saw the same. He stared at Chan as though he were a stranger, a nobody, and in a split-second, an enemy. 

He thrusted at Chan and narrowly missed. 

“Chan!” you screamed and nearly bounded for him, tripping over the dozens of disorder limbs in your way. Hyunjin snapped his head and you saw the shift in his focus. He took a step towards you, unrestrained, before your boyfriend’s arms wrapped around his waist and threw him down to the floor. 

The restaurant’s workers decided to pull their weight—aiding Chan in confining a thrashing Hyunjin to the ground. A server grappled for Hyunjin’s waist. In that moment, Chan let go, for a second’s reprieve, to find a stronger grasp, or to spit some sense into Hyunjin’s face—you weren’t sure which; everything happened in a blur—Chan being shoved off, Hyunjin flying for the waiter, his fists connecting to his face, blood, shrieking, Chan burrowing you in his chest, tears full of fear running down your cheeks. 

“What’s going on?!” you cried, “He’s beating his face in!”

Chan’s ragged breaths met your ears, and his arms squeezed you in a deathly grip. You backed both of you into a corner along with the others, the sound of rain drumming harder with a sense of mayhem. All this confusion, the uproar inside your brain, you screamed for an answer, his, God’s, anyone who knew the truth. Chan’s tears fell alongside yours, and thwarted, he conceded. 

“I don’t know!” 

His hands balled in your hair, his eyes buried over the crown of your head. And the storm raged on, thunder clapping to the beat of Hyunjin’s fists.

iv. outrage

“Run.”

Shrieks echoed between every nook and cranny of the abandoned school building as you bounded down the halls. You were forced to break with your group, lest you fall victim to one who was in the group.

The sight of the school was first a sign of hope, a shaky breath of air, as you all barely escaped the downfall of the rain. And barely, indeed, since not all of you were lucky. Jisung sludged slowly behind the group, and when the first sound of thunder rang throughout the woods, he struggled kicking his feet quicker. For when it rained, it downpoured; and when the canopy could no longer protect him, he was doused with the sparkings of rage. 

He reached for Changbin, also soaked with the sky-fallen petrol, and strangled him. 

The rest of the group safely arrived at the building and collapsed, not in exhaustion or thirst or hunger, but with a chest-aching hopelessness. This wasn’t what was supposed to happen. And you all swore that you had enough time to make it—instead, Jisung made it at the steps before anyone could react.

“Close the door!” 

Minho’s screams sounded from somewhere behind you, but you stayed put behind Chan’s back as he clearly tussled with the thought of blocking off another despair-stricken friend. His fingers clenched and unclenched around the door’s handle, and Jisung stomped closer and closer to your team. By then, you could already predict Chan’s next action, as a man with too much faith in his heart and fists too soft to land blows, he welcomed him in.

“Run!”

Fortunately, Chan’s legs were much too fast for Jisung to catch, but that just left the rest of you. 

Now, you all raced between rooms all familiar and yet alien, as the rain from the past week seemed to have already eroded its walls. It’s decrepit and menacing, and all around not a place you’d like to see Judgment Day in.

You avoided every footfall, chased every moonlight, and studied the rainstorm. You’d assume that with enough trained practice, this night should end without any more blood spilled. With enough luck and mercy on your side, you’ll all regroup, away from the terror of Jisung hunt for broken flesh. Maybe, all you guys needed was time and patience and separation. Maybe, the rain, the cursed rain, would drown out Jisung’s prowling footsteps and the shuffling of yours.

Your steps. 

His steps.

Chan’s steps.

Whose…? 

The steps—they wouldn’t stop coming in all directions. They grew louder with every step backward you took, and grew quiet when you stood still. Every now and again screams could be heard, and they repeated as the moon sailed through the night sky, blissfully unaware—a luxury that you could not be afforded. You prayed for the hiding to end, for Jisung’s rampage to quiet, for your friends and partner to escape to safety. But as each star grew brighter, as though mocking your situation, its reality settled heavy on your shoulders. 

You were never going to see your friends again.

v. new find

A male figure laid with only skin and bones. His arms crossed over his stomach as though he died hanging onto what little remained in it. You didn’t approach, too disheartened by the reality of your situation to take a closer look. Chan clearly felt differently, because he stepped closer to kneel over the body. You sighed.

“Another person starved,” you bemoaned, “That could’ve been us.”

Chan kept his silence, opting instead to rearrange the figure despite your protests. Wincing, you turn your flashlight towards something less gruesome. 

“He didn’t starve,” Chan whispered. 

“Huh?”

“He definitely did not starve,” Chan repeated, rising to full-height. He took a step back, knocking against a wall, a jittery finger pointed at the body. He struggled to spit out his words. “He ate. His lips, his clothes, his hands—full of blood.”

Confusion swirled in your mind. You flashed your light back at the body, but remained in your spot—the thought of seeing further detail made your stomach twist in knots. But the light reflected just enough for you to see; viscera were loosely wrapped around his limbs, yet you couldn’t spot a single open wound or injury on him. 

“W-what do you think this means?” you didn’t want to think deeper on this topic. You wished you could turn your brain off instead. “Surely it could have been an animal, right? Rats must be everywhere.”

“All animals had died since the very first time it rained,” Chan said grimly. You could feel him turn to look at you, but you refused to lift your gaze from the ground. “You know what this means. You’ve seen it.”

You gulped. The truth was there. 

“I have.”

vi. is it rage?

A drop of rain fell onto your hand. 

It soaked there, for just a second. The fear in your stomach almost vanquished, replaced instead with a false sense of relief, pride, and wisdom. You had almost cheered—it isn’t the rain that’s changing people! But then it absorbed.

You felt it in your chest first—thrumming violently near your heart. It made your heart feel like a muscle, a real muscle that grew tougher and stiffer with every pump. It made your blood prod against your veins, seeking exit in holes that didn’t exist. But in the end, it made its own and tinted your vision with red splotches, boiling out the skin of your face one pour at a time.

It grew maddening, terrible, and seared through your stomach in bouts of bile, venom and spite. Your lover’s face flashed inside your mind, and in the next bruised, burnt, and pummeled. Each image ticked with a new injury, a new mutilation and somehow it was the only thing that calmed the fire underneath your ribcage. You gurgled with the little space left inside your lungs.

Your limbs twitched. Your ears pulsed. 

A drop of rain fell onto your hand. 

Blood followed next.

— An All-Consuming Rage

[andromedahawking]

NaNoWriMo Day 5

8,333 words! And the website refuses to make my daily progress bars green because fuck you, apparently. Here’s today’s stuff! (Italics mark yesterday’s work)

“What?! Dude, run! Run, run! Get going!” Maria exclaimed. “You’re not gonna make it if you don’t book it!”

“I know that already!” he said, already breaking into a jog. He sprinted across the courtyard, then vanished into the sprawl of buildings. Typical. He casually tosses out this information, as if he has more time to cross the campus than he actually does, and then he starts running. Honestly, if she were him, she wouldn’t even bother sticking around to chat, she would just start running at full tilt for the science building. But then, that wouldn’t be very much like Adrien. The dork. She smirked, turning away, and started walking towards English.

—

That evening, when she got home from work (and holy shit, work was a story and a half today, she would need at least a couple of strong drinks to simmer down from that before she went to bed tonight), she was greeted with an unexpected notification in her messages.

16:38 Tatie: Hey, can I ask you something?

What was Tatie doing texting her? Like, not the group project chat, but her specifically?

18:12 Maria: Sorry for the late reply, just got home. What’s up?

Tatie: Oh, no worries! I wasn’t expecting an immediate response. Anyway, I wanted to ask you: I know we haven’t really interacted too much yet, but would you be willing to meet up on Friday night for drinks?

What? Drinks? On a Friday night?

Okay, this was going to be an interesting conversation. Tatie was asking to go out for drinks? First of all, huh? Second of all, why?

Maria: Um, I don’t see why not… But I am a bit thrown, to be honest.

Tatie: Yeah, I kinda figured. I just thought it might be nice to get to know each other since we’re working on the History project together. Y’know, instead of just having each other filed away as ‘the chick who’s doing the thing with me’ in our heads.

Okay, valid point. They hadn’t really done much besides say hi to each other when they passed in the halls, and it was a tiny bit awkward to be working with her without a little more social interaction to make things go smoothly.

Maria: Okay, I can get behind that. Where were you thinking of meeting up?

Tatie: Do you know Lac de la Lune?

Maria: Yeah, I go there sometimes when I’ve got spare cash. That works.

Tatie: Good! Shall we meet there at, say, 19?

Maria: Sure! If I get there first, booth or table?

Tatie: Booth! I love the booths there.

Maria: We’re gonna be fast friends, Tatie.

Tatie: I hope so~

Okay, yeah, this was going to be fun. This was a good decision.

—

For the uninitiated, Lac de la Lune was a place that was a little more high-class than just a place Maria went “when she had spare cash.” Lac de la Lune was a special occasion place, reserved for things like birthdays or days that went exceedingly well. She went maybe once every two months, because that was all she could really afford.

That told her one thing about Tatie: if she was suggesting Lac de la Lune as a place to just get together for a few drinks, she had more cash to play with than Maria did. Not that that was a problem or anything, it was just something that she might keep in mind for later. That wasn’t weird.

Friday was also a good day to get together, because it was the one day when she didn’t have anything to do. No work, no school, no nothing. She could plan whatever she wanted without consequence. She had been thinking about maybe getting together with someone in the afternoon to hang out, so this was really a timely arrangement. After a couple of stiff drinks, she went to bed with a tiny smile tugging at her lips. She was actually kinda looking forward to tomorrow…

—

The sun woke her up nice and late at quarter to 9, and she spent another half hour enjoying the warmth of her bed before getting up to get breakfast. To her pleasant surprise, Thalia had already left for school of her own accord. Good, that girl needed to start relying less on her big sis to get her up and going, she was 15 years old already.

Feeling like indulging, she made herself scrambled eggs for breakfast, with two slices of buttered toast, and some coffee with a lot of cream and a pinch of sugar, just the way it was meant to be for a morning like this. She took her time eating, sipping her coffee slowly, looking out the window at the morning clouds, watching the cars on the road glide by with an almost lazy energy. The clouds were nice and puffy today, and there were some lovely cirrus ones way up high above the thicker packs. She checked the weather, and the forecast said it was supposed to be pleasantly cool, with a high of 20° Celsius hitting around 16, then a low of 12° late at night. She could get behind that. That sounded like a nice day to her.

After she finished eating, she decided to go out into the town for a little while. She ended up drifting down to the bookstore, where she bought two new books, and spent a couple of hours at a café reading the first one. Then, around 14, she went into Pleasant Hill and caught a movie that she’d been wanting to see for a little while now. The popcorn was delicious, and the movie was pretty great. By the time the sun was starting to sink in the sky, she was feeling just as good as she had been when she woke up.

She killed her remaining time window shopping in the malls near the bookstore, making preliminary notes for what to get Thalia and her friends for Christmas presents. She had been good with saving this year, so she could probably afford to get everybody something on the nicer side, which would be great to see.

Finally, it was half an hour ’til 19. She made her way down to Lac de la Lune, and as she’d expected, she arrived first. Typical of her, just socially anxious enough to arrive early every single time out of some unfounded fear of being late. But hey, that meant she secured a booth before the dinner rush had a chance to steal it away, so really, who was the winner in this scenario and who were the losers?

Tatie showed up at ten ’til 19. Maria looked at her, and instantly felt underdressed. Tatie had gone to the trouble of putting on nice makeup, curled her hair a little, and was wearing a nice sparkly shirt and a cute skirt. Meanwhile, here she was, in her usual button-up shirt and blue jeans. Very classy. Very.

“Hey there!” Tatie said, sliding into the booth. “How are you today?”

“I was better before I saw how nice you look,” Maria confessed. “Now I feel like I should’ve dolled myself up a little before coming here.”

“Oh, don’t worry, you look lovely,” Tatie said. “I take these sorts of things a little more seriously than most people anyway, you’re not the only one who’s told me that before.”

“Okay, that makes me feel a bit better,” Maria said. “How are you doing today?”

“I’m doing pretty good!” Tatie said, smiling brightly. “It was such a gorgeous day outside, I felt bad that I spent most of it at school instead of going out or something.”

“That’s exactly what I did,” Maria said with a small laugh. “I spent all day just out on the town, got a couple books, saw a movie. It was really nice.”

“Oh, that’s great!” Tatie handed her a menu. “So, tell me, what drinks do you usually go for here?”

“I’m generally a White Russian kind of gal.”

Tatie smiled crookedly. “I like it. I usually go for the brightly coloured cocktails, myself.”

“Those are pretty good too. I don't really branch out too often with my drinks, though, I have a few that are tried and true already.”

“Understandable.”

They ordered their drinks, as well as food to go with it.

“I need to come here more often,” Tatie said after they ordered. “I really like the atmosphere.”

“I wish I could come here more than I do," Maria said. “It’s just a tiny bit on the expensive side for me, so I have to plan accordingly for that.”

“Oh, does your job not give you too much money to play with yet?” Tatie asked.

“Pretty much. I have enough to have decent spending money after bills and everything, but not quite enough to make this somewhere I can go without a good reason.”

“Aw, that kinda sucks.”

“One day I’ll have a better salary, then I can go here whenever I want.”

Tatie laughed at that. “I like it! Maybe then we could make this a frequented spot.”

“I wouldn’t mind that,” Maria said, smiling. “But now I’m curious—if I’m the one who can’t afford to come here the most often, where do you get your money from that lets you come more?”

“My parents, mainly,” Tatie said. “I try to self-sustain, but unfortunately, there’s not much in the way of entry-level jobs that would give me enough cash to come out here. And technically, I’m already out here on their dime, so…”

“Where do your parents live?”

“We live in Raleigh. I’m living in our summer home in Moraga right now.”

“Okay, first of all, jealous. You have a summer home? All the way out here in California? When you live in North Carolina?”

Tatie laughed. “I’m sorry! My parents really liked it out here, but they settled in Raleigh before I was even born!”

“Okay, so what do your parents do that let them afford a summer home out here?”

“Well, Daddy’s an architect, and Mom’s a college professor. She teaches German.”

“Ah, I see now,” Maria said. “So I’m guessing your dad makes a lot of money?”

“Compared to Mom, yeah.”