#the assignments are pretty easy thankfully just really really boring to get through

[motherforthefamicom]

Draw Airy (HFJONE)

got kind of carried away w this im so sorry. i dont know what i was going for tbh

[closedafterdark]

Beginning

Kwon Eunbi x Male Reader

9703 words

categories: smut, oral, mommy kink

Read on AFF

The first week of classes was always a struggle. 

You weren’t much of a morning person, preferring to sleep in until early afternoon. But life doesn’t always work the way you want it to. So, you had no choice but to get out of bed at the asscrack of dawn and drag yourself on campus.

You tapped your pencil to the rhythm of your foot as you looked around the classroom. A lot of bright, young faces. Mixed in with them were people you could align yourself with. Seasoned veterans, those who knew to cheat the system by doing the minimum amount of work possible in order to pass. You sat in the very back of the lecture hall, making sure your seat was as close to the doors as possible. Since most people chose to sit in the front, you had the entire row to yourself in the back. Your backpack was plopped on the seat next to you.

Sitting in the back meant you had a great view of the entire lecture hall. You were able to see most people’s laptop and phone screens. Many were focused on the current class or one of their others, while others were texting friends or browsing random videos. Since you have finished almost all of the classes required for your major, this was just to meet a graduation requirement.

“One last quarter, let’s get this over with.” you muttered to yourself as you closed your eyes.

“Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?” a soft voice called out.

You tilted your head up, opening your eyes. You were a bit annoyed, having almost fallen fully asleep. Looking up at the beautiful face smiling at you, your facial expression quickly changed. Her long, black hair flowed neatly down her shoulders. Her large, dark brown eyes could be seen even through her heartwarming eye smile. Her face was extremely symmetrical, milky in color and complemented by full, pink lips. You’ve never met someone so easy on the eyes.  But what really got your attention was her large chest, her bra outlined by a skintight white shirt that showed off her toned tummy. She completed the look with a pair of light blue jeans that highlighted every curve on her body. Wide full hips, powerful looking thighs, and a cute round butt that was begging to be spanked.

“Is anyone sitting next to you?” she repeated, pointing at where your backpack was.

“Oh… n-no.” you replied, taking your backpack and putting it behind you.

“Thank you.”

The beautiful woman takes off her bag and sits next to you. As you watch her take out her laptop and notebook, you can’t help yourself from smiling. She truly was attractive. At the same time, you looked down the row and the one across your left side. Both were completely empty, save for the two of you.

“I don’t mind but why did this beautiful woman sit next to me, of all places? Every other seat here is unoccupied.”

The woman sees your face deep in thought and smiles shyly.

“I sit in this area every time I have a class here, had at least one in the past three years. In this particular lecture hall, it’s my favorite spot. Don’t worry, I don’t have a crush on you or will follow you around campus like a lost puppy.” she teased, having seemingly read your mind.

“This is my favorite spot too. And I wasn’t trying to say you were-”

“Unless…”

“I uh-”

“I’m just kidding. Hi, my name is Kwon Eunbi.” her big, bright eyes shined as she extended her hand out to you. You take it in kind, introducing yourself as well.

“So, what’s your major?” Eunbi asked you.

“Biomedical Engineering, how about you?”

“Wow, you’re so smart! I’m in Broadcasting and Entertainment.” she replied.

You smiled. You just met her and she already made you feel comfortable. Talking to strangers was never your strong suit. Before you could ask her more questions, the professor entered the lecture hall.

“Welcome, all. This is Physics 136, Particle Physics. I’m your instructor for this course. Those of you who expect an easy A or are taking this class as a graduate requirement, I encourage you to leave now.”

The moment the professor stopped speaking, several students got up from their seats and began to exit the lecture hall. You and Eunbi looked at each other, both feeling uneasy.

“I take it you’re not a physics kind of girl?” you whispered to Eunbi.

“I’m not even a math kind of girl. I barely passed Calculus with a C-.” she whispered back. “But you’re good at physics, right?”

“Regular physics and a little bit of quantum for conversational purposes. I have no idea about particle physics” you replied.

You saw Eunbi’s momentarily shocked face before she smiled.

The only reason you took this extra class was because your academic adviser told you you needed a few more units in order to graduate. As it was only a few weeks before the quarter began, most classes were already full. You looked up all available options with open vacancies and ended up choosing this course. You learned Eunbi did the same thing.

The next few weeks came and went rather quickly. Particle physics was the only course you had to try in, all the others were general ed courses that you could have slept in and still passed. You and Eunbi continued to sit in your unofficial assigned seats in the back of the lecture hall. Sometimes she would switch it up and sit in your corner seat. Whoever arrived early would have a snack or drink ready for the other. Her warm smile was something you always looked forward to seeing in class. While you two kept your talking during lecture to a minimum, walks after class were fun as you two complained about the lesson or talked about what was going on in other classes. On a random Friday after class, Eunbi asked for your phone and inputted her number. You then received a text from an unknown number, seeing a simple smiley face. She smiles as she reminds you to save her number. The two of you got to know each other even better through texting. She was extremely witty and fun to talk to, often sending you multiple short messages at once. Most were about how boring her classes were or a photo of what she was currently eating.

The quarter has now entered the halfway point and as such, you no longer dreaded your morning class. Starting your day off seeing Eunbi’s pretty smile and her beautiful face were a great beginning to the school week. Experimental particle physics and the Large Hadron Collider didn’t even deserve to be mentioned in the same breath of air as Eunbi’s weekend beach trips with her friends or the new poses she learned in Pilates class.

You found yourself waking up at the usual time for the morning class, but leaving your apartment earlier so you could be the first one to the lecture hall. You wanted to talk to her a bit more, even if it was just a few minutes. You and Eunbi would meet up after class as well. Study sessions in the library or grabbing a quick bite to eat in the campus dining area. The more you two spent time together, Eunbi began to open up. You learned her mother was hesitant about her major since she wanted Eunbi to choose marketing instead. She worked several part time jobs every summer before a new school year in order to have some money saved up. During this time Eunbi became more physically affectionate, choosing to link arms with you often or finding excuses to softly hit you.

“I’m telling you, there’s no way you’re older than me!” Eunbi whined as you two were sitting under a tree at the on campus park.

“I told you, your brother is only a year older than me!” you said, laughing.

“Prove it.”

You handed her your campus ID. Eunbi smiled, seeing your photo.

“Nice picture..”

“Hey! My friend was with me. He made funny faces which caused the photo to look like that.” you replied.

She looked at your ID and gasped.

“Y-You’re… older…”

“You make it sound like it’s a bad thing. Plus, we’re only a year apart.”

Eunbi puffed her cheeks and pouted. She was convinced she was older, making you call her noona and being a tsundere when doing nice things for you.

“Awh, is my little Eunbi mad?” you said, pinching her cheeks.

She pushed your hand away. You laughed, Eunbi was always so cute when she sulked.

“I’m sorry, I thought you knew.” you said, looking at her sincerely.

“It’s just… it was nice being called noona for a change.” she said quietly.

“I can still call you that, you know. Nothing has to be different between us. Noona”

Eunbi looked into your eyes. You smiled, causing her to do the same. What you didn’t expect was for Eunbi to raise your hands and eat the remaining bite of your sandwich.

“What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is noona’s.”

You weren’t willing to admit it out loud, but you began to have feelings for Eunbi.

At long last, finals season arrived. The campus libraries and study centers were filled with students who looked like zombies, not caring about their appearance as the tables in front of them were littered with textbooks and other course materials. One person in particular dozed off with a coffee cup still in hand. You used to be one of these people, feeling like you had eyebags that made you look like a raccoon. You thought of the caffeine fueled all nighters that were pulled, cramming notes and binders full of work that ended up being more of memorization than actually studying the material. Those days are thankfully long gone. Now you only have the physics finals left to take, all you have to do is pass with a C. It’s safe to say, you were hardly under any stress.

Your professor scheduled a comprehensive review session the day before the final. Most finals weren’t for another week, but the entire class powered through the material which benefited both the students and the instructor. You decided to go, figuring you might actually learn something instead of coasting by like you have the entire quarter. Assuming your regular seat in the lecture hall, you look at your phone. It was only a few minutes until class began. You looked around, trying to find any sign of Eunbi. Thirty minutes into the review and she still hasn’t shown up. Never one to be late, you thought of all the possible scenarios for why she wasn’t currently next to you. Did she oversleep? Maybe she decided to just study at home. Is she sick? Maybe you should bring her some food. Or is she on a date? All these thoughts played out like a large film strip. You unlocked your phone and decided to text her.

“Everything okay? The final review is going on right now.”

“Ahh, yes I’m almost there! I’ll see you in a bit!”

As if on cue the moment you locked your phone and put it down, the lecture hall doors swung open and the woman you have been waiting for entered. Eunbi looked different today from her usual outfits. You knew her as someone who would wear tight fitting crop top tees and jeans, showing off her cute midriff and the tiniest bit of love handles. This time she wore a tan cardigan top with a black undershirt, one you were hoping was a spaghetti strap. She complimented the look with a gold bracelet, and rosy red colored nails that matched her tint of lipstick. The outfit was finished with a gray short pleated skirt and black thigh highs with sneakers. But what really caught your eye was her new bobbed haircut. Having grown used to Eunbi having long, beautiful hair, this was a pleasant surprise for you. It gave her even more of a mature and elegant vibe. You also could never get used to how beautiful she looked with and without makeup. Maybe she had an important date after class? You remember her talking about how one of the guys in the broadcasting club was extremely handsome. Jealousy welled inside you, you hated the thought of Eunbi being interested in someone else.

“Sorry I’m so late, slept past four alarms.” she whispered to you as she put her bag on the empty chair next to her and pulled out her notes.

“You’re dressed even nicer than usual, got a big date today?”

Eunbi looked at you and laughed softly before hitting your shoulder. “No, silly. The weather is nice today so I thought it was the perfect time to wear a cute outfit. Haven’t worn any of these since I bought them over the summer.”

A part of you wished you didn’t text Eunbi at all. The review that doubled as a final lecture had everyone’s attention but yours. Most of your time was spent stealing glances at your beautiful seatmate. You eyed the way her powerful thighs looked under a relatively short skirt and how the black thigh highs she wore were your weakness. But what you were really looking at was Eunbi’s large protruding breasts, especially when she removed the cardigan. Most of the time she wore tight fitting crop top tees or long sleeves, only showing the outline of her boobs. But now you are finally given a wonderful view of her cleavage and milky colored skin. You began to fantasize about burying your face with her breasts, or even how your penis would look sandwiched in between her soft flesh. Your eyes remained on her body like a high powered laser, scanning every inch of her body as possible. She’d probably be burned from how intensely you were eyeing her.

Thankfully, the class was finally over. You were happy you didn’t have an erection that had to be covered. You and Eunbi both sighed the moment you exited the class, both of you stretching your arms and bodies. You pulled Eunbi in for a hug, surprising her temporarily before she smiled and reciprocated. Letting go, you pinched her cheeks and waved at her. As you turned to leave, she called out your name.

“Are you doing anything after this?”

“Uh, probably going to the library and studying a bit. How about you?”

“I was too… but noona has a better idea.” she said, skipping towards you as she takes her arm in yours. “Why don’t we study at my place? I know you live on campus but my apartment is only ten minutes away by bus. It’s much quieter and I could really use my best friend to help me out.”

You looked unsure, you liked Eunbi and hanging out with her is always fun. But you wanted to actually do well on tomorrow’s exam. Eunbi tugged on the sleeve of your jacket, causing you to look down. Her bright beautiful eyes were watery as she pouted her lips and gave you the cutest sad expression you’ve ever seen.

“You can’t keep giving me those sad eyes every time.” you teased, pinching her cheeks.

“Please… I’ll even buy you dinner! Please. Oppa.”

Your eyes widened hearing her call you oppa, knowing she only reserves that word for when she really needs to. You were whipped for Eunbi, even if she was just your best friend. The truth was, you weren’t going to study at all. You were going to grab a meal and maybe a few drinks with friends before you went home and browsed through tv shows until it was time for bed.

“Fine. But I expect a really fancy dinner.” you teased, squishing her cheeks together as Eunbi pouted.

Eunbi squealed, happy you could never say no to her. Her stomach had other plans, making loud noises. She placed her hand on it, as you both looked at each other and laughed.

“Why don’t we eat something first?” you said.

“C’mon let’s go, noona knows a wonderful cafe we can hangout at for a bit.” she said as she held onto your hand and dragged you along. As Eunbi hummed and talked about how happy she was the quarter was about to end, you couldn’t help but notice how short her skirt really was. Every step she took showed off her well sculpted thighs and the tiniest bit of her round butt cheeks from where her shorts ended. You felt like they were teasing you, asking to be spanked.

The two of you reached the cafe. It was very modern, a minimalist approach to the interior and shiny countertops and machines scattered throughout. Eunbi’s arm was linked with yours as you two found a cozy table and sat down.

Eunbi pouted at you the moment you two sat down.

“What’s wrong?” you asked.

Eunbi remained silent, watching you intently. You looked down and saw her holding her phone.

“Does noona want me to take her photo?”

She nodded, smiling brightly at you.

“I really should be asking payment for being your photographer.” you said, laughing. You decided to take several photos of her, ensuring that she would like at least one. As the two of you scroll through the photos, you hear someone approaching your table.

“Welcome to our cafe, here are your menus. You two look like a lovely couple-” The slightly deep voice of the waitress caused you to look up.

“Oh, oppa!”

“Ting…”

Eunbi looked at the waitress and then you, slightly confused.

“Ahh, this is Chong Tingyan. She’s an old friend from when I took cooking classes a few years ago. We got really close after and her name amongst our friend group is Elkie. Ting, say hi. This is an unnie from oppa’s university.”

“Really? Hello, my name is Ting. Or Elkie as oppa likes to call me.” Elkie says with a laugh. Her husky, deeper sounding voice was a pleasant juxtaposition to her beautiful face and model-like body.

“Ah, yes. Hello.” Eunbi said timidly. She tucked several loose strands behind her ear. You could have sworn you saw the slightest hint of jealousy in Eunbi’s face, but decided not to say anything about it.

“How have you been, oppa? We never see you anymore! The girls always talk about you… and I miss you.” Elkie said, the last part in as quiet of a voice as possible.

“What was that?” you asked, a bit confused on what you just heard.

“I meant… Yeeun misses you! You know how she always hung around you whenever we all met up after class.”

“I miss you guys too. Ask the girls know when they are free, we need to catch up like old times.” you said, laughing softly.

“I will.” Elkie said, laughing as well. “What would you guys like to drink?”

“I’ll take a mocha frappuccino. What about you-”

“Your favorite drink still hasn’t changed, oppa.”

“With everything else changing, it’s nice to have something constant.” you replied.

“I’ll take an iced americano.” Eunbi simply interjected.

“Sure. I’m usually the barista but since one of the girls called out, I’m doing both today. I’ll be right back with your drinks.” Elkie said as she gave you a fist bump and walked away.

“Iced americano? You don’t normally drink coff-” Turning to Eunbi, you saw her nostrils flaring as there was a glint of anger in her eyes.

“Oppa. We’re going home after this.”

The two of you drank your caffeine filled beverages in relative silence before you went to the counter and thanked Elkie. This was quickly cut off, as Eunbi dragged you away. The walk to and wait for the bus was filled with more silence. You weren’t sure why she was so jealous of Elkie, deciding you would ask her about it when you were at her apartment.

“The bus is here.” Was all she said as she finally broke the hour long silent treatment. Eunbi boarded without a second glance at you. You sighed, tapping your phone at the digital farebox at the front. Since it was the middle of the afternoon on a weekday, there were no empty seats available. The ride from the cafe to where she said her apartment was wouldn’t take too long. But with each stop, more people got on than those who would get off.

The ride to her apartment was extremely bumpy, filled with steep hills and pothole laced asphalt. As fate would have it, you had an unexpected erection that would unintentionally rub against Eunbi’s butt through the fabric of both of your clothes. Internally cursing yourself for wearing joggers, you looked down and let out a silent scream as you saw a visibly noticeable bulge. Trying to move your hips sideways and not draw even more attention, you were temporarily successful until the bus running over a giant pothole caused the person behind you to push you onto Eunbi once more.

You were extremely nervous, the tip of your cock repeatedly pressed against Eunbi’s ass through her skirt as the bus continued to toss people around unforgivingly.

“Oppa…” Eunbi whimpered, nervously. “Oppa, I think someone’s poking my butt with their thing.”

As she reached behind to try and find out if it really was a pervert molesting her in public transportation, she swiftly turned around once she gripped onto something. Looking up, she found you extremely embarrassed, your face a beet-colored shade of red. Eunbi was right about someone poking her butt with their penis, but not that it was you accidentally doing so thanks to the rough bus ride. It took her a few seconds to register what was going on, before she released her tight grip on your penis and quickly turned around. Eunbi’s face reflected the same shade of red as yours when you both made eye contact.

Coughing slightly, Eunbi turned around and remained silent for the duration of the bus ride. Both of your faces felt warm as neither of you could do anything about your cock rubbing against Eunbi’s ass. While you were slightly turned on, you were mostly embarrassed of the entire situation.

Fortunately, this only lasted several more minutes as the automated recording message announced Eunbi’s stop. You thought about exiting several times, but worried about leaving Eunbi by herself. How were you supposed to face her now?

“Oppa, it’s our stop.” she said to you.

As the both of you got off, you wore your backpack in front while carrying her bag. Normally, Eunbi would have put her arm in yours by now. But after what happened at the cafe and bus, you weren’t surprised she just walked next to you. Eunbi knew what you were trying to do, but remained silent in order to save you from further embarrassment.

“Is our class the only final you have left?”

You looked over and were surprised, yet thankful she took the initiative and started a conversation after the incident on the bus.

“It is. I already finished my other two a few days ago. What about you?”

“Ours will be my first.”

The two of you smiled, happy to put the awkward situation behind you. Eunbi hit your shoulder softly as she returned to linking arms with you. You ended up laughing the entire walk over until you reached the outside of her apartment door. With one simple press of her passcode that you found out was her birthday, you entered Eunbi’s apartment.

It wasn’t much, but for a young single woman like Eunbi, a cozy one bedroom apartment felt like a house for a university student who relied on part time jobs and a bit of allowance from her parents.

“Make yourself at home, oppa.” She said to you, placing her bag on the couch and went inside her bedroom to change.

This was a foreign experience to you, having never been in any woman’s apartment or dorm room before. You admired the simplicity of her home, the bright colors and minimalist art pieces were a reflection of her personality.

“Let’s get started.” You heard her say from behind. Looking up, you mentally cursed yourself. Eunbi returned to wearing a tight fitting top, showing off her toned tummy as you noticed the words “Unknown Heroes” printed on the shirt that you desperately wanted to rip off. She changed into jean shorts, which still gave you a good view of the bottom part of Eunbi’s buttcheeks.

Her hips swayed with each step before she finally sat on the cool wooden floor. Patting the adjacent empty space, Eunbi invited you to accompany her. You took your laptop out of her bag and placed it on the low table in front of you both.

“Why don’t we study by ourselves for half an hour? And then ask each other questions afterwards.”

“Oh, sure. Sounds good.”

The truth was, you have already been studying throughout the week. You used it as an excuse to spend more time with Eunbi outside of class. Unfortunately, your plans for a wonderful day with her were ruined from the awkward meeting with Elkie and the dreaded dry humping that was still fresh in your mind. Slowly, you began fantasizing about Eunbi and her wonderful body, which caused your penis to become erect once more.

“What, why is this so hard! Oh my god!” you heard Eunbi scream, causing you to stop daydreaming.

“W-What happened…”

“This question is so hard! Can you show noona why she can’t solve this problem to completion?”

You sighed, thinking another incident was going to happen even though you were both sitting next to each other side by side. Eunbi handed you her notebook to review the homework question.

Reviewing what she had written down, you felt Eunbi leaning closer to see. Unfortunately, you felt her large, soft breasts firmly pressed against your arm. She placed her left arm on your upper thigh, rubbing it unconsciously. You were afraid she was going to touch your erection again. Eunbi’s body was so close to yours, you could smell the intoxicating scent radiating from her body. It was a beautiful floral fragrance, one you thought to be cherry blossoms which were a nice compliment to her natural body scent. Your heartbeat began to increase rapidly as you felt a lump start to form in your throat.

“So how do I complete it?” She asked, rubbing your thigh once more.

“To solve the question, you first… uh… get rid of the m on the r-right side and then divide by… uhh… uhm… V.”

“Really? That’s so easy! Thanks, oppa.” Eunbi said with a cheerful smile, returning to her side of the table.

You finally were able to catch your breath again, thankful she didn’t place her hand on your crotch once more.

Eunbi really wasn’t lying when she told you she wasn’t a Physics kind of girl at the beginning of the semester. She had no problem hosting the university’s radio program or talking to strangers, but finding the force at which an object drops was not her thing. She had many more questions for you as the two of you continued studying, and each time she placed her hand on your thigh and rubbed her pillowy soft tits on your arm.

After the first few times, you weren’t sure if Eunbi was doing it on purpose or not. You constantly questioned if this was her way of flirting with you. It was already a bit strange how she liked being physically affectionate with you, but you wondered if she placed her hands on thighs and rubbed her breasts on the arms of other guys before. You wanted to confess to Eunbi, but all the worst case scenarios played through your mind. How would she react to it? Would she think you were getting close only to get in her pants? Trying to decipher every word she was saying and her actions were doing you no good, it gave you more stress than the actual final at this point.

“Oppa, are you okay?” she asked.

“Huh? Oh y-yeah, I’m fine.”

“Why don’t we take a break? I’m tired of studying.” she said, leaning in close to you. Her soft voice tickled your inner ear as you felt the familiar sensations of her hand on your thigh and her breasts rubbing against your arm.

“That sounds great!” you replied, quickly going to the kitchen and opening the refrigerator. The sudden cold rush of air felt wonderful on your hot face and body.

There was no denying it at this point. All of Eunbi’s hints and innuendos pointed to one thing. And although you have fantasized and touched yourself at the thought of fucking Eunbi, you constantly told yourself someone like her was way out of your league. The worst part was, you’ve never been intimate with a woman before. Spending almost all of your time in college cooped up in the library or going straight to work after classes gave you little time for meeting girls at all. You enjoyed fantasizing about her, since it was the only way you could feel like you wouldn’t disappoint her in bed.

“Want anything to drink?”

“I’ll take another iced americano. Thanks, oppa!” She called from the desk, not bothering to look at you. Foraging around her refrigerator filled with various half eaten meals, you managed to find some and create drinks for the both of you.

“Hopefully this is strong enough for you.” You said to her as you handed her the drink.

The short coffee break was enough to re-energize you two to finish studying. Another half hour later, you did just that.

“Thank God, I’m so done with physics. I don’t want to look at another formula again after tomorrow.” Eunbi said, stretching her body as she leaned onto the couch.

The two of you began studying in the middle of the afternoon, looking outside the window to see it is now nighttime.

“Oh man, we studied for that long? Guess we should get some dinner.” you said.

“How about chicken and some beer? I know a place that delivers really quickly. I’m basically on their speed dial.”

“Sure, whatever you’d like.”

Eunbi took out her phone and began scrolling through, asking for your input to make sure she ordered the right flavors.

“Food should be here in about 15 minutes.”

The doorbell rang, indicating Eunbi’s order had arrived.

“Oppa, here’s my wallet.”

“Don’t worry, it shouldn’t be too expensive.”

Thanking the delivery driver, you grabbed the two plastic bags and placed them onto the study desk that Eunbi had cleared out.

Eunbi turned on the television and explained to you how she watched the program being aired every week, not wanting to miss a single episode. This was the first time the two of you shared a meal together. You tried your best to eat quickly while being clean, not wanting to show her how fast you could finish your meal. Eunbi on the other hand had other ideas, aggressively biting the chicken drumsticks and not bothering to wipe her lips.

“Ahh, that isn’t ladylike.” You said, wiping her lower lip with your thumb. Eunbi replied with a mischievous smile, telling you she was at home and as such, didn’t need to worry about others seeing her eat this way. Her cheeks were stretched as she stuffed copious amounts of food into her mouth. Her beautiful smile was pleasant to look at, it always made you smile back in response.

Just then, both of your phones dinged and your lockscreens were brought to life. Both of you had preview messages hidden, the only thing displayed was a new email notification. Eunbi leaned in closer to you, her breasts pressed against your shoulder. You sighed, trying to wipe your fingers clean before opening the message.

Dear Physics 136 students,

Apologies for this email reaching you all so late. It seems I have accidentally reserved the exam hall for this week, and not tomorrow like originally planned. As such, the exam will take place in exactly one week from tomorrow. I’m sorry once again and will look forward to seeing you all.

“I guess we have one more week to study then, huh.” she said.

“It seems so… why don’t we have more beer since we don’t have class tomorrow.”

Eunbi looked at you in pretend shock. “What happened to the oppa who only wanted to focus on studying?” she teased before swaying her hips and going to the kitchen. She returned with two ice cold cans of beer.

“I have a lot more so you don’t have to worry about drinking them quickly.”

As the two of you popped the tabs open, you raised the cans into the air.

“To particle physics!” you proudly stated.

“To particle physics.” Eunbi replied, giggling.

The two of you clinked cans and each took a sip. The cold alcoholic beverage mellowed your tense nerves. Dinner continued on as you both took bites of chicken and alternated pieces of pickled radish in between. The two of you shared stories from when you both first started university. The night was filled with embarrassing moments and fun filled laughter. Eventually, all of the things she ordered were consumed; many empty styrofoam packages were sprawled all over the desk.

“Thank you so much for dinner, noona. I really should be heading home though before the last bus arrives.”

“Awh, don’t leave. The night is still young! And you haven’t finished telling me the story about your roommate. One more beer. Just one more. Please… oppa.” She pleaded, using her giant, sad filled eyes to convince you to stay. You looked at the clock.

“I guess one more can wouldn’t hurt.”

Eunbi squealed in excitement, grabbing two more cans of beer as she listened intently about how your roommate got locked out of your old apartment when you went home one weekend to visit family. She managed to squeeze the truth about the beer only being one can, as the one can soon turns into two and then three.

“Eunbi, I really should get going.” You finally said, slightly slurring your words.

“Hmm… I don’t think you can, oppa. Look.” She said, holding out her phone and showing you the last bus just departed for the night.

“Don’t worry though! You can spend the night here!”

“A-Are you sure?” you asked. The both of you have consumed so many cans of beer, it was starting to affect your decision making.

“This couch is pretty comfortable. I’ve fallen asleep here many times when watching shows late at night.”

Besides being slightly intoxicated, you thought sleeping on the couch would be the best thing for both of you since it meant nothing you both would regret the next day would happen.

“Oppa, let’s have one more can!”

You sighed, before sitting back down and chugging the fermented beverage.

Crushing another can in your hand, the drinking moved onto the sofa as the two of you were feeling uncomfortable sitting on the floor. The alcohol certainly helped you feel more relaxed around Eunbi. The two of you changed topics and suddenly began telling each other secrets.

Leaning her head onto her fist, she turned to you slightly.

“So, oppa. How many girls have you fucked?”

You coughed, almost spitting out your beer. Her tone was a mix of joking and serious. You couldn’t take her seriously as she slurred her words and her cheeks were a deep shade of red.

“I think you should say how many guys you’ve fucked before.”

“That’s not fair! I asked the question first!” she whined.

“And I told you I failed my permit test the first time I took it! No one knows that.”

“Fine.” she said, rolling her eyes before sighing. “I’ve slept with four guys. And one girl, but that doesn’t really count since we just did oral stuff. Now it’s your turn to tell me.”

“I’ve slept with so many girls, I can’t remember off the top of my head.” you said arrogantly, laced with a hint of uncertainty.

Eunbi sensed this in your vocal tone.

“You’re lying!” she said, waving her can of beer in the air.

“It’s true! I can’t remember how many women I’ve bedded. I’d say close to a few hundred!”

She laughed, clapping her hands as her face turned even redder. “You? Sleeping with hundreds of women? There’s no way.”

“But it’s true.”

She suddenly gasped, her facial expression changing from laughter to genuine shock.

“Oh my god… Oppa. Are you still a virgin?”

“N-No! Psh, of course not!”

“Oh my god… my oppa is a virgin! Oppa is a virgin!” she teased, laughing rather loudly at this newfound knowledge.

“Fine, okay! I’m still a virgin! Is that what you wanted to hear? I’ve never fucked a woman before.” you yelled out in anger, annoyed at her teasing.

Eunbi was caught by surprise as you turned away from her and sulked. She felt bad for teasing you so much.

“Awh baby, I’m sorry. I took things too far.” she said, turning you around as her hand rubbed your upper thigh.

“Why don’t we change that tonight?” she whispered in your ear seductively, rubbing your cheek before leaning closer. Your lips pressed against each other as you felt her straddle your lap. She playfully bites your lower lip, giggling when you return the action. Her tongue slipped through her parted lips and into yours, forcefully exploring your cavern past your teeth. She eventually retreated, allowing you to reciprocate. The two of you enjoyed giving each other passionate kisses as Eunbi started to move her hips, grinding against your crotch as you bit on her tongue gently. The both of you could feel your cock becoming erect.

Eunbi continues kissing you lovingly, her hand trailing down your neck, past your chest before finding its way down to your tip and crotch area once more. As she slowly forms a claw with her hand on it, you grab her wrist with enough pressure so that it wouldn’t hurt and release her hold on your lips.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” she asked.

“Look, Eunbi. I’m really scared. I don’t want to disappoint you. I really like you and I’m just scared that if we do this, you won’t ever want to see me again after tonight.”

She laughed softly, her rosy red cheeks prominent.

“Baby if I didn’t like you, why would I invite you to my apartment? I really like you too and no, it’s not the alcohol talking. I tried to make it so obvious. I even put on a girly outfit because I planned on today being our first date. But then I ruined it by being jealous of the barista at the cafe. You won’t disappoint me. I think it’s sweet you’re still a virgin. Mommy has a few tricks up her sleeve.”

“Mommy?” you questioned as she pressed her lips against yours once more. She deepened the kiss while simultaneously playing with the tip of your erect cock through your pants, tracing her finger around it.

“Take off your shirt, baby.” she said after breaking the kiss. You quickly do so, tossing it near the kitchen. You helped her remove hers, revealing her black laced bra. Her breasts were even larger than you imagined, a pleasant view which complimented her extremely fit body. Eunbi held onto the waistband of your joggers as she pulled them down to your ankles before removing them fully and tossing them into the void of the living room. Your cock stuck out through your cotton boxers, wanting to be freed from its fabric imprisonment. Eunbi giggled, biting on your tip gently as she noticed a dark stain soaking through.

“Someone seems to be horny.”

“Who wouldn’t be when the woman they like titty fucks their arm during studying.”

Eunbi giggled as she grabbed onto the waistband of your boxers and roughly pulled them down. She is met with a slap to the face of your cock as it sprang free. You were completely exposed in front of her. Eunbi eyed your naked body like a predator who has its sights on its prey. She looked at your cock with hunger, dying for a taste.

Her mouth inched forward, getting closer to your cock. You mentally prepared yourself for her to take you in her mouth, only for her to smirk mischievously as she deviated course and went for your balls. Eunbi’s warm hand gripped onto your shaft as she sucked on each of your full balls. Her strokes were agonizingly slow, trying to draw as much precum out of you as possible. She painted long stripes of saliva from base to tip, swirling her tongue in a counterclockwise motion. Eunbi took her time, wanting to torture you by occasionally stopping and restarting from your base, never fully taking you in her mouth. You tilted your head back on the couch, trying your best to endure the pleasure.

“That’s what you get for not asking me out first.”

Precum continued dribbling out of your tip as she made her way up one final time. As she parted her puckered lips from your shaft, you noticed her lining them up in front of your tip. Giving it a deep kiss, she began taking your cock inside her mouth slowly. You felt her soft, red velvety lips wrapped around your head as she plunged lower and lower onto your shaft. The warmth of her wet mouth and the strength of her suction sent waves of pleasure flowing through your body. She sucked your cock slowly, bobbing up and down at a snail’s pace. Eunbi was testing your limits, never breaking eye contact as she intently watched your facial expressions.

Once the two of you got more comfortable, Eunbi picked up the pace. Her lips started descending lower and lower with each bob of her head. Although your eyes were closed, you felt Eunbi reach for your hands and place them on either side of her head. You followed along to the rhythm she was using to suck your cock. You let out a loud moan as you felt your tip reach the back of her throat. Her eyes started to water as you began pushing her head deeper and deeper. You forced your eyes open, watching as the girl you liked was on her knees and giving you a blowjob. You mentally punched yourself for not having the courage to ask her out.

Eunbi released your cock with a loud pop, traces of her saliva connected to your cock and her mouth. More flowed down her chin and onto the floor below. She smiled, proud of the work she has done. You whimpered, wanting to feel your cock in her mouth even more.

“Don’t worry, baby. This is your reward for being my friend… and soon to be boyfriend by the end of this night.”

Eunbi reached behind and loosened her bra, her soft tits jiggling with each movement. Even though they were covered, you wouldn’t mind staring at them for the rest of your life. She moved slightly towards you. Creating an opening between her bra and tits, Eunbi captured your cock. Both of you moaned as you felt her pillowy soft flesh sandwich your cock in between them.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

She slowly grinds her chest against your lower body, your shaft that was covered in her saliva provided easy access in and out between her breasts. You watched as your head and upper half of your cock appeared and disappeared repeatedly from between the mounds of warm, soft flesh.

You were in awe by the sheer amount of pleasure this brought, all of your desires about Eunbi slowly being fulfilled. She tries to lick your head each time it appears from between her breasts, but is unsuccessful as only her tongue is temporarily able to make contact. This doesn’t bother you at all, as it sends waves of pleasure coursing through your body. You sat on the couch, completely under Eunbi’s spell as she continued to take your hard cock in between her warm, now wet breasts. Her hands squeeze her bra and flesh tightly around your cock. As she continues to try and suck your cock, the both of you alternate between tilting your head back and making eye contact as she looks at you with heavy, seductive eyes.

“Fuck… mommy, that feels so amazing.”

“It does, doesn’t it baby?” she replied, so absorbed at having your cock between her breasts she can’t focus on anything else.

“Oh fuck… mommy is going to make me cum.”

“Cum for mommy, baby.” she said, her full attention still on your cock but now also on the pleasure she is giving you. She increased the pace, squeezing her breasts even tighter around your shaft as it appears and retreats between her soft mounds of flesh. Eunbi pumps her chest faster and faster, smirking in satisfaction as she sees you about to reach your breaking point.

“Mommy… I’m cumming!”

“Cum, baby. Cum for mommy. Shower mommy’s face and tits with your hot, sticky cum. Cum for mommy!”

Your orgasm causes you to groan loudly, as you feel every single semen from your balls erupt from your shaft. The first shot releases while your head is still covered by Eunbi’s large breasts. It sent hot, thick semen into her cleavage and lubricated her breasts with each consecutive thrust. Eunbi tilts her face down as you feel the rest of your semen paint her chin and face, drawing streaks across her cute and innocent features. Some even managed to get in her hair.

You were a bit sad your first ejaculation wasn’t inside her mouth or pussy, but the pleasure she gave you could not be described with enough words. You were awestruck, staring at Eunbi’s cum stained face as the last few thrusts of your cock between her tits released leftover amounts of semen on her upper chest and neck. She grinded her chest on your cock as your orgasm slowly winded down.

Eunbi regretfully releases your cock from her warm, wet cleavage. She returns to her knees, running her tongue on the underside of your base until she reaches your tip. This causes your body to shiver as she pleasures your cock post-orgasm. As she sucks the last few dribbles of your cum, she stretches her body and lets you fully see your artwork on her body. Your semen was sprayed all over her breasts, the soft milky colored skin the perfect canvas for your sin. Her giant, beautiful eyes smiled sweetly at you which contrasted you defiling her face. She smiled, rubbing your cum into her skin, giving it a shiny appearance from the light coming from above.

“Good, you’ll be able to last longer when you fuck me.” Eunbi said, licking her lips as she traced your cum on her face with her fingers before consuming it.

Holding onto you by your cock, she led you to the bedroom. Removing her bra, you were finally blessed with her massive breasts in all of their glory.

“Take off mommy’s shorts, baby.”

One swift unbutton and unzip later, you were met with a matching black thong. She had a noticeable wet spot like you did earlier.

“Someone seems to be horny.” you teased, repeating her words from earlier.

“What girl wouldn’t be when the guy she likes dry humped her on the bus. Now enough, take this useless piece of cloth off mommy.”

You chuckled, the vulgarity of her words a pleasant yet welcomed juxtaposition to her sweet and innocent face. As you slid the poor excuse of fabric off her creamy, wide hips as you were presented with her bright pink pussy. You couldn’t help but stare at how beautiful she was.

“Baby… why are you staring? Aren’t you going to taste mommy?” A hint of neediness in her voice as her juices began to flow out of her cavern.

You rubbed her thighs gently, massaging her before spreading them apart. As all of this is a new experience for you, the only frame of reference you had for performing oral sex on a woman was from watching porn. All the male, and sometimes female, performers would like the receiving woman’s pussy like it was freshly scooped ice cream. Using that mental image, you sank your head into her wet pussy and stuck out your tongue. Parting her lips, you licked her slit from bottom to top, gradually increasing the pace. You looked like a dog that had been dehydrated for weeks. Expecting to hear moans, you were surprised that Eunbi giggled from you attempting to pleasure her pussy.

“Awh, baby. You really are a virgin, aren’t you?” she joked, still giggling. “My pussy isn’t a popsicle or ice cream. Why don’t you try this. Try drawing the letters of the alphabet with your tongue. Try to guess when to change the speed and pressure as you go along.”

Wanting to pleasure her the same way she did to you, you started off slow. Your tongue went between and all around her warm and wet folds. You even managed to kiss the inner creases of her thighs. As you began drawing the alphabet with your tongue, Eunbi giggled as you recited each letter. A-G was Eunbi still laughing but the further down you went, those giggles turned into moans, especially when you drew the letter V. Her skin started to dampen as you heard her breathing become heavier.

“Baby… oh my god. Baby…!”

Her right hand squeezed her tits, massaging them as she pinched her erect nipples. While her left hand pressed against the back of your head, pushing you deeper as you tasted the juices escaping her dripping wet pussy. Eunbi’s moans evolved into soft screams as you felt her back arch and her toes curl from the heightened pleasure you were giving her. Feeling her orgasm was fast approaching, she pulled on your hair to withdraw your head from her pussy.

“I want you inside me…” she moaned when you gave her a confused expression.

Your cock recovered from your intense orgasm earlier and the act of performing oral on her as well as Eunbi constantly yelling out your name caused it to become erect once more.

You rubbed your cock against her outer pussy lips, feeling her juices stick onto your tip.

“No foreplay, please baby. Just stick your cock inside me.”

Eunbi moaned as you spread her legs and pushed yourself inside her slippery cavern. The sheer warmth and tightness of her pussy felt a thousand times better than using your hand to stroke yourself. Her pussy lips wrapped around your shaft as you slowly thrusted inside her. Eunbi was painfully tight, as the nerve endings on your tip light up in delight from the new sensation.

Eunbi played with her nipples, as her left hand stimulated her clit. You massaged the breast that she wasn’t currently fondling as you thrusted deep inside her. Her tits jiggled from the motion as her body moved up and down. Eunbi was moaning out your name, but her facial expressions weren’t giving the impression that she was enjoying it. Noticing this, you slowed down your thrusts.

“Are you okay, mommy?” you asked.

“I’m really glad you gave me your virginity and I’m happy we’re finally having sex.”

“But?”

“But it doesn’t feel as good as I want it to be.” she panted, trying to catch her breath as you continued slowly fucking her. “Maybe we should try a different position. What do you think?”

“Why don’t you lay down on your tummy?”

Eunbi giggled, giving you a kiss as her back was now facing you. Her elbows and knees were on the bed as she pressed one side of her face onto a pillow. Arching her back high, she gave you a clear view of her perfectly round ass and strong back muscles. As you slide your cock inside her once more, this newfound position allowed you to enter her even deeper. Starting off slow before gradually increasing in rhythm, Eunbi’s moans became louder and more intense.

“Oh fuck, baby… this feels so good.”

You rammed your cock as hard and deep as her tight lips would allow, making sure to cover every inch of your cock with her warm and wet cavern. You joined her, moaning from the pleasure as she panted, trying to catch her breath as her ass smacked against your body repeatedly.

“B-Baby… slow down. There’s a-another position I want to try.”

Removing herself from your cock, Eunbi gently pushed you down onto the bed. You anticipated her next move. Watching Eunbi straddle your legs, she knelt over your cock before using her hand as a guide to slowly lower herself onto your cock. A loud, satisfied moan escaped her lips as your tip once again parted her warm, tight pussy lips. She firmly planted her hands on your chest for support as she began riding your cock.

In this position, Eunbi had all of the control. Not that it made any difference from the rest of the night. Eunbi got more confident the longer she rode you, increasing her pace and going faster than you did. You watched as her large tits bounced up and down along with her, hypnotizing you in all of their fleshy glory. Her moans became louder and louder as your cock disappeared into her slit.

“Mommy, that feels so good.” you managed to moan out when you feel her unconsciously tighten her muscles around your cock, providing you with a euphoric feeling.

“Oh fuck…” you exhaled. “Do that again, mommy.”

Eunbi listened to you, clenching her vaginal muscles hard. She is rewarded with your cries of pleasure.

“Baby, mommy’s going to-” Eunbi is unable to finish her sentence as her orgasm takes over her body. She tilted her head back as the waves of pleasure coursed through her body and into her core. She squeezes your thighs tightly as her toes curled from the ecstasy she was feeling. Eunbi’s body violently shakes as her pussy juices flood your cock. She continues bouncing on your cock as she rides her orgasm down.

“B-Baby, that was amazing. Now it’s your turn to cum. Can you do that? Can you please cum for mommy?”

This time, all her attention and energy was focused on you. She continued riding your cock, looking you straight in the eyes as you noticed a seductive and lust filled gaze as well as a naughty smile. Every bounce of her body on your cock provided you a tingling sensation as you felt your shaft entering and exiting her tight, wet walls. It didn’t take very long for your own orgasm to arrive.

“Mommy, I’m going to c-cum.” you panted.

“You can cum in my pussy later. Right now, I want you in my mouth.”

Eunbi dismounted you, causing you to whine at the loss of her pussy. She made you stand up on the edge of the bed as she got on her knees. Taking your throbbing cock and slapping her tongue with it several times, she alternated between sucking your tip and stroking your shaft in order to get you to cum.

“Baby… cum for mommy. Give mommy all of your hot cum.”

As you grabbed onto Eunbi’s head and forced her to take your cock all the way to its base, you repeatedly bobbed her head up and down as she eagerly awaited your hot load. Unable to hold out any longer, you let out a loud groan as you felt your cock exploding inside her mouth. Your body shakes with each spurt you release, your orgasm filling Eunbi’s wet mouth. You opened your eyes and looked down, seeing the pure enjoyment in her face that she was able to make you cum so much. Eunbi hadn’t swallowed any of your load yet, opening her mouth to show you the abundance of the creamy white present you graciously gifted her. She playfully gargles your cum in her mouth before tilting her head up and swallowing it all, letting you see it travel down her throat and into her stomach. She smacks her lips together and lets out a loud satisfied hum as you collapse back onto the bed. Your entire body was exhausted after Eunbi gave you one of the most intense orgasms you have ever had.

“You taste so good, baby.” Eunbi hums as she wipes the remaining traces of cum and saliva from her chin and mouth. You gather the last remaining bit of energy and raise your head, watching her clean her hands and fingers as her gaze returns to you. As you struggle to catch your breath, Eunbi climbed back onto her bed and rested her head on your chest.

“H-How did I do, mommy?” you asked.

“Well…” she said, cutely pouting as she placed a finger on her temple. “You definitely made mommy feel good. But since it was your first time, you were still lacking in certain areas. I’ll give you a C+.”

“Awh, a C+? I wanted an A.” you pouted, pretending to be hurt.

Eunbi smacks your chest softly, asking for a kiss.

“It’s okay, baby. You know what they say, practice makes perfect.”

Eunbi plants kisses on your chest before swinging her legs on your lap, leaning down to give you passionate kisses once more. The newfound relationship that blossomed between you two was made official on this night. And as Eunbi guided her pussy back onto your cock once more, the two of you moaned as she planted her hands on your chest and began slowly riding you. 

It’s a good thing the final was next week, you were certain the two of you wouldn’t be able to make it to class the following morning.

[k-comfyspace]

Comfortable

Idol: Choi Yena (Izone)

Request: Yes

Love: Could I ask if you could bring Yena back to school? And reader is the cold quiet person but when Yena came she changed reader then a certain event happens where reader realizes that Yena already made her soft and allowed Themself to be comfortable around Yena? Thanks a lot!

A/n: I can’t believe this is the first time I’m writing this kind of story line, I’m ashamed of myself. Pouring all my feelings....2

Warning: Small amount of violence.

You tapped on the straps of your bag, music playing in your ears as you walked through the halls. Ignoring the other students as you made your way through the maze of people. It was like any normal day where you did the same, go to school, go home, then sleep. It was a routine for you, happening at the same time right when it should be.

It was one of the reasons that gave you an excuse for your behavior being so cold and quiet. Because the things you experienced everyday were boring and repetitive.

You arrived in front of your class, moving to your usual seat and looking outside the window. Sighing as you were about to begin another day of school but your routine didn’t seem to go the same way today.

Your teacher was 15 minutes late, some students would’ve loved it, but unfortunately for you it was your favorite period. Sighing, you rested your chin on your palm, humming to yourself as the rest of the class spoke with each other, leaving you to be inside your own world like usual.

They knew you wouldn’t speak with them, after the first few weeks you had a lot of people approach you, wanting to be friends and inviting you to their groups but you merely glanced at them and walked the other way, not speaking nor turning back to give any sort of comment or response.

After that day nobody came to you, leaving you by yourself, and honestly you were okay with that, you never wanted to associate with anyone else anyway.

When the class door opened you all stood to pay respects to your teacher, noticing a few girls trailing behind her as she apologized for being late and greeted everyone in the class. When everyone was seated you observed the girls who stood in front and only one thought came into your mind.

They were really pretty.

“Please, everyone, meet our new transferee’s,” the teacher said and allowed each girl to introduce themselves. One by one saying their names while the boys at the back kept flirting and calling them playfully.

“Hello! Choi Yena, Nice to meet you all,” the last girl waved around the class before her eyes locked with you, her smile seemingly brightening when she stopped at you before moving back with the others.

“Alright, again from the left we have, Chaewon, Hyewon, Yena, and Yuri, let’s all give them a warm welcome for choosing our school.”

The four girls chose their own seats, each having one around the room before your teacher started with the lesson, making sure to call out to them if they needed any help. While you continued to listen and write down in your notebook.

An hour later the bell finally rang, your teacher giving a few reminders before she dismissed the class. You packed your things, making sure you didn’t leave anything before leaving the class, as you made your way outside your teacher suddenly called for you, making you turn to the front where she was with the four transferees.

You walked back to the front looking at your teacher before she spoke to the girls, “Y/n, I was hoping to ask for a favor,” She said and you already had a vague idea of what she was going to ask you. You nodded telling her that it was alright before she gestured to the girls.

“Since the girls are new here I was hoping you could look after them around for a while until they get accustomed to the grounds and locations, if it’s alright with you.”

It wasn’t a secret that you did well in school, you may have been lacking in social skills and communication but you were blessed when it came to studying and working. Some students looked up to you and the teachers loved you, you were the student that every teacher dreamed of having.

So you nodded, agreeing since you couldn’t say no to your teacher anyway. She was nice and treated you well so you accepted the offer willingly, nothing bad could come out from teaching the new girls around.

—-

“Yah, Y/n, when would you ever talk? Just once!,”

You rolled your eyes, staying quietly while you read the book in front of you. While the girl beside you shook your arm, pestering you again and again.

“Just a simple yes or no? Come on, I’ve been here for nearly 5 months and you still can’t speak to me that isn’t related to school?” She complained and before she could speak again the teacher came, thankfully stopping Yena before she could do more damage on your ears.

When you decided that helping out the four girls would be easy, you wanted to travel back and tell yourself how stupid that decision was. Because only the following weeks after was the time where you noticed how much that decision changed your life.

You went from having everyone ignore you, to suddenly having the whole student body crowding the path you walked, just because the five girls that were assigned to you, became your friends. Not that it was a bad thing, having Hyewon, Chaewon, Yena, and Yuri as your friends were great. They were lovely people and honestly who wouldn’t want four gorgeous girls as their friend.

But sometimes it could get a little out of hand, especially given the energetic state from Yena which blossomed when she grew closer to you. Though you constantly pushed her away and ignored her every day, she still kept talking to you, in a way you were both stubborn, you kept ignoring her and she would also ignore you.

It was ironic really, you kept ignoring her, telling her to go away, yet when you arrive at your house, you already are missing the energetic duck. Maybe it was because the air got silent and you were used to the noisy environment when you were at school or it could be because you were already fond of the girl without even realizing it.

Your actions have become more affectionate, at every class you keep glancing at Yena, making sure she understood the lesson. When you walk in the busy hallways you always keep close just to make sure she isn't getting lost.

While the other students always complain why they would hang out with you instead of them, Yena was always the first to speak up and defend you earning a look of admiration for the girl as she defended you while almost everyone glared at you.

Granted, the other girls were also nice, but there was just something about Yena that made her stand out than the others and it wasn’t just the fact that she was louder compared to the other three.

—

At times Yena knew she had a crowd following her, practically everywhere she was she had a crowd of students tailing her. She’s never had this much attention, that she didn’t know how much the other girls despised her.

So one afternoon, Yena was walking outside, classes just ended and you were called by your teacher to help with something. You told her that you would only be a minute, but Yena was easily bored so she left and decided to roam around.

When she found herself in the locker rooms she suddenly felt a sudden force push her to the side, colliding her with the lockers.

She groaned looking up to see three girls glaring at her. Yena furrowed her eyebrows, looking at the three with confusion before she felt a sting on her cheek followed by her head snapping to the side.

She gasped, her hand flying to her cheek, “I’ve always wanted to do that?”

A yelp came from her when the girl grabbed her by the hair and lifted her head, “What? Who are you?” Yena muttered and the girl laughed before glaring at her.

“We were the girls that you took the spotlight from, we were doing great before all of you came, you think you can just come here and take that from us?”

The girl scoffed before she glared at Yena, “I never wanted to take your light, you wanted it back then you can have it,” Yena said trying to avoid any more problems but the girl chuckled before tightening her grip on Yena’s hair.

“You think it’s all about that? All I wanted is Y/n and you came here and took them!” She yelled before sighing and looking at Yena who suddenly grew confused.

“Y/n?” She asked which made the three girls cackle before they stared at Yena with disappointment. “You really are an oblivious one are you?”

“Can’t you see it, you’re the only one who made Y/n soft. The person they allow to be near them and talk with them. I tried for months to get them to notice me but when you came they willingly let you talk to them. What makes you so special?”

“Because she’s not like you,”

The girl snapped her head to the side, her eyes widening when she saw you, your hands clenched by your side as you watched the scene in front of you. All four of them froze in their place as you walked to Yena, the girl backing away allowing you to help Yena as you brushed her clothes.

“I told you to wait for me,” you muttered before turning around to see the three girls’ eyes filled with annoyance and fear.

“I’m reporting this to the principal, so get ready,” you said blankly before leaving, a small smirk crossing on your lips when you saw their panicked looks, wrapping your arm around Yena as you guided her away from the school.

Once you were out the gate Yena didn’t waste a second to wrap her arms around you and pull you into a hug. Catching you off guard as your eyes widened, your arms staying stiff by your sides while Yena hugged you.

A few moments later Yena realized what she was doing and pulled back, her face burning as she awkwardly apologized for putting you in an awkward situation. You nodded at her assuring her that it was fine before an awkward silence lingered. Both of you wanted it to end but neither seemed to want to part from each other.

That is until Yena cleared her throat, “I-uh should get going,” she said and you nodded at her thinking if you should say something but settled with a nod.

Yena waited for a while before she turned, walking away from you and you watched thinking if you should do something before she finally left your vision.

You decided not to but your mind had an idea of its own and called out to her, Yena stopping in her tracks and turning to look at you with a certain glint of happiness in her eyes. “You wanna take a detour?” Was all you said before Yena came back to you with a smile on her face.

—

“...everyone never spoke to me, they knew that I wouldn’t respond anyway, they all ignored me. But that doesn’t mean that they would let me pass that easily, some got offended, started calling me names, the cool kids picking on me, girls gossiping, throwing out lies just to make fun of me. But eventually it passed and they considered me as that kid who didn’t have anyone,”

You finished with a sigh, your eyes set on the sunset as you swung your feet against the side of the edge.

You brought Yena to the top of the cliff you usually would hang around during the weekends. It was a place you considered peaceful since there was nobody around to nag you or be a nuisance. It was a relaxing place to release all the stress that you’ve been holding and keeping inside.

Now another person knew about it and it didn’t bother you one bit.

Yena stared at your side profile for a while, her mind processing the given information as she thought about what she would say, but she thought about nothing.

So she let the silence sit for a while, choosing to stare at the sunset before she sighed, contemplating if she should talk or not but when she opened her mouth you already beat her to it.

“How do you do it?” You asked and Yena looked at you, confused at where the question came from or why.

“How do I do what?”

“How do you affect me so much?” Your sudden honesty made Yena double take, looking at you with wide eyes while you continued to smile at the view.

“This is the first time I felt something this weird, you’re the only one who actually made me care.” You said choosing to just be honest since it was also confusing you on what was happening to you.

“I smile more, I think more, and I often found myself missing someone that I don’t even know,” you turned your head to look at Yena who this time was the one looking at the view with a small smile on her lips.

“I just know what I want,” she said quietly but enough for you to hear it as a sudden ticklish feeling spread around your chest.

“W-what,” you stuttered your face suddenly feeling hot making you cover your cheeks as you turned away from Yena,

“What are you saying,” you muttered before hearing a giggle come from the girl beside you, followed by a tingling sensation in your stomach. “You know what I meant silly,”

A squeak came from your mouth when Yena suddenly moved beside you and rested her head against your shoulder closing her eyes as she relished the warmth that spread throughout her whole body, inhaling your scent before she sighed, seemingly comfortable in her position while you sat stiffly and both of you sat there for a while, your body slowly relaxing on its own.

“You know I’m a little hard to get along with,” you said after a while causing Yena to hum before she shrugged her shoulders. “I got this far, why stop now?” She said softly before you finally relaxed your body adjusting to the position and the presence of another person.

Then you glanced down, for the first time noticing that Yena wasn’t just pretty, she was beautiful the way the sun lights up her features, her hair flowing down perfectly and how she looked peaceful.

You sighed, leaning your head down to rest on Yena’s before it suddenly clicked, the reason why you would be soft for Yena, why she stood out not just from the four of girls but every person in the student body.

She made you feel…

“....comfortable.”

[poutyhannie]

word count: +4k 

warnings: fluff, angst, smut, college!fem reader, college!felix, romantic fantasy

** **

You gaze down at the materializing letters stretching across your palm till your elbow. It was a mixture of Korean and English. The Korean characters were few and far in between but were delicate and even while the English letters were long, messy, and leaned to the right.

I’ll need to turn in Prof Behl’s assignment when I go to class and then explain why I can’t go to the museum research trip.

Did I use all my meal swipes? Chris said he wanted to workout at 3…

These notes would often appear on your right arm, sometimes remaining like a tattoo for weeks or fading before you could even read it fully. These were the thoughts of a person whose soul matched your own. He was a college student who is majoring in English with focus on things like creative writing and poetry and you’ve gathered that ‘Chris’ was his roommate.

For as flowery his major was, the boy’s thoughts were surprisingly plain and boring. However, you were thankful for it. Your friend often had dark circles under her eyes. Her connection with her soul partner was being awake at the same time and you were sure her soul’s partner lived on the other side of the world with the opposite time zone. To be honest, you gleaned almost nothing from the notes. The boy probably didn’t know that his thoughts were being recorded on your arm, which you always kept covered with a sleeve. Neither did you know what connection he had with you. Did he feel the emotions you did? Were his dreams your memories? You’ve laid to waste these meaningless thoughts to focus on your life more, not his. There was little reason to go searching him out; if you truly were tied together by souls, fate could do the heavy lifting for you two.

Leaning back at your desk, you shake out your cramping hands. The graphic design project requires that you draw out the story board by hand rather than digitally and you never wished more to curse for it. The reason was, according to your Professor, head of the project you and your classmates are fighting to be a part of use physical copies in the preliminary section. Because you had started in traditional art, relatively it was easy to get back in the swing of things. Didn’t mean that your hand didn’t hurt like a bitch, though. You had everything riding you getting to participate in this project, you’d planned everything out with your counselor and had little attractive options if you didn’t get it, so you return to your drawing.

Your roommate swings open the door, causing you to jump and tug your sleeve on quickly. She throws her bag on her bed with no regards to the loud thump it emits. Her blonde hair rests on your paper when she leans over to look at your drawing. As always, she gushes at your talents and as always, you remind her that her microbiology major is much more impressive.

The night is a lot hotter than comfortable, especially with the tight sleeve you always relegate yourself to, even while sleeping. Ever since you caught your dad reading the thoughts on your arm when you slept, you sometimes go so far as to sleep on your stomach, with your right arm tucked under you. It was uncomfortable reading his thoughts, much less having someone else read them. Yeah, they weren’t always too juicy or detailed, but it still felt wrong to share something like this with anyone else.

“Even family?” You remember your dad asking to your rage. 

“Even family.” You hissed.

With a groan, you rise out of bed, your roommate looking up from her five inch thick textbook, illuminated by a soft, yellow dest lamp. Her watery eyes gaze up at you from behind her round glasses. “I’m going out. Can’t sleep.” You tell her.

The night breeze whispers through your hair as you sit on an empty bench in an empty courtyard near your dorms. It’s in time like these that you feel peace. When not a soul is around you and you can finally just sit with yourself. Slowly, you unwind the sleeve and are met with chaotic swirl of words. This happens when he dreams.

Worth, friends, others, internships, classes, empty, running, nothing, darkness.

Your heart pangs. He’s having nightmares again. Instinctively, you begin to wrap your arm up again, not wishing to invade him at his weakest point.

Though you don a mask of indifference towards the scrawl on your arm and effectively the boy around others, you can’t help but hurt for him. He seems swamped with so much to do and feels helpless. When you look down, the chilling sentence on your arm burns in your mind and heart.

I don’t think there’s anyone for me. All I see is black. Am I alone?

Two weeks later, they stay. No matter how many times you unwrap and rewrap your arm, those three sentences never leave. Others come and go, but from that night until now, they stay.  And the guilt of not pursuing this boy is eating you alive.

You always assumed he had a connection that allowed him to know of your existence. When you realize that he doesn’t, your passivity almost seems like a sin. How lonely it must be to be alone in a world where everyone has someone. Since then, you’ve been paying close attention to the scrawl on your arm, careful to gather as much info on him as you can decipher. Right now though, in class, you can’t.

Your Professor is announcing the chosen students of the project and you can’t really think about him now. 

“And the last student is Y/n.”

You heave out a sign of relief, making a note to thank you Professor. You’re sure she had a few good words to put in for you. “The students I just called will be working with other student in screenwriting. You guys need to pick five scripts you want to animate and the screenwriting students will choose their preferred artist.”

Walking into the classroom with another female peer by your side, you absentmindedly fidget with your sleeve. She walks boldly up to a male student, who’s dark blonde falls onto his freckled cheeks, sticking her hand out. “I’m Madeline,” you hear her say. His eyes snap up towards yours but he immediately looks back to Madeline as they exchange pleasantries.

Madeline is paired up with the freckled boy and you with a quiet, thoughtful boy named Seungmin. He tells you that he is friends with Felix, the freckled boy, so you combine tables and group up. Because this is a project done in your own time, you all choose to work together to bounce ideas off with each other though with how bubbly Madeline is, you wonder how much you guys will get done.

When the topic of soul partners comes up, you and Felix shift uncomfortably. Seungmin gets visions through the eyes of his partner and has seen her face, he tells you guys casually. 

How wonderful it must be to know who your soul is tied to, you think bitterly, a twinge of jealousy coursing through you.

Madeline’s green eyes shine as she starts, “I don’t know who they are, but I see colors that has to be tied to them.” She’s a romantic, giddy with excitement at the prospect. It’s so easy to live with just seeing colors; it’s pretty and inconsequential, much a contrast to the invasive cryptics on your arm.

When all your eyes turn to Felix, he purses his lips softly, only able to look down at the table. “I actually don’t know what my connection is. Maybe its unconsciousness because I can never fall asleep at nights,” he jokes, attempting to push the attention off of that topic.

A glossy nail taps Madeline’s pink lips as her dark lashes flutter, “I don’t think so. Insomnia isn’t usually paired with unconsciousness connection.”

Feigning disinterest, Felix shrugs, focusing back to the sketches, “Maybe it has something to do with my color blindness, I’m not sure. Doesn’t really matter,” he mutters, his voice deep and throaty. Madeline gasps, lightly slapping Felix’s arm. He raises an eyebrow at her. 

“Of course that has to be it!” She exclaims, “It’ll be a subcategory color connection, just like me! Maybe you’ll see colors when you see your partner or when some other unveiling instance occurs.”

She goes into depth about connections, her shoulders bouncing in excitement. Thankfully, this distracts them from asking you about your connection. As her movements and words quicken, the stale bitterness in your mouth consumes you. It’s immature, your distaste for anything about these connections. Just because you have a subjectively unfortunate connection definitely doesn’t mean you should shit on Madeline’s obvious interest in the subject. In fact, Felix and Seungmin seem to enjoy talking with her about it as she has extended knowledge about connections. 

However, while Seungmin’s tone that he asks his with questions are amused, his interest piqued, Felix is leaned forward in his chair, his eyes barely concealing desperation. Your heart pangs for him; he’s probably so lost. 

Seungmin and Madeline walk in front of you and Felix on the sidewalk, returning to the dorms. They’re in deep conversation about Seungmin’s connection and with Madeline’s knowledge and Seungmin’s intellect, they quickly and thankfully exclude you and Felix.

“I don’t wanna talk about connections,” you declare to him. A small smile spreads across Felix’s face and he nods knowingly. “What made you want to get into animation?” He asks, a pleasant and refreshing topic.

“I haven’t always been the best at art,” you admit with a shrug. “No way!” Felix exclaims, his eyebrows raised, “Your work is so cool, though.” 

You laugh at the compliment, “Yeah, well it took me a while to get here and I didn’t want to throw away that work, so here I am. What about you? Why did you want to get into script writing?” 

Felix’s eyes soften and he stares off past the line of buildings, into the horizon. “I feel like I can see different things with words. Does that make sense?” He pauses, gathering his thoughts, “They open up worlds and ideas that I can’t experience and it makes me feel closer to normal. It makes me feel alive.” 

“Like, you can imagine how colors feel or look through words?”

He nods, looking back at you with a playful look, “That’s another reason why I like your work so much. The values are clear and I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything by not seeing color.” 

The genuine, heartfelt comment makes your heart warm and a smile spread across your face, “Yeah, I focus a lot on just greyscale because composition is the most important aspect to my art. Stuff like color theory, while important, it basically inconsequential if you can’t even tell what’s going on in the picture.” 

Felix’s voice quiets as he shoots a look up at Madeline’s back, “Yeah, I didn’t want to choose Madeline’s for that reason, but she really thought that the color use in my script would work in perfect tandem with her style and I really couldn’t tell whether she’s right or not,” he shrugs, his lips pulling into a line.

“Oh, totally,” you say quickly, not wishing to have Felix question his choice, “It makes total sense and in some instances color can tell more of a story than composition and values can. It was wise to team with her.” Maybe your intentions of reassuring Felix was too obvious because his eyes crinkle deeply when he gives you a big, knowing smile.

A week into your work and the very basic shapes for the animation is finished. Working with Seungmin is wonderful as he has a clear direction and even pictures he’s taken to show you what he envisions. Concentration pinches Felix’s eyebrows together and he and Madeline converse as you watch them from the other end of the table.

An hour or two pass and you stand up to stretch, announcing that you’re gonna take a bathroom break to which they agree is a wonderful idea. Coming out of the bathroom, you wrap up your sleeve, peeking to see what the ink says this time. The three words that you’re familiar with; that have been etched into your sink for weeks don’t make your heart stop, but the ones under it. 

Am I alone? She needs to add more clear composition so I can actually tell what’s going on. 

Your eyes snap up to the blond haired boy. That’s exactly what Felix told you a day ago.  Its him?

To your confusion, he now stares, awestruck at Madeline. There’s a sinking in your stomach but you can’t tell why. Gasping, his eyes widen as he takes her hands. “Madeline…I think,” he stumbles over his words, clearly flabbergasted. “I-I’m seeing color now, I think.” 

She squeals, squeezing his hands tightly, “When? Just now? What happened?” His dark eyes look dazes and he steps back. His eyes wander from the ground her hers and he whispers, “When I saw you.” Turning your back on them, you leave quickly, not wishing to intrude on Felix’s revelation. 

You resume your seat next to Seungmin, heaving a sigh. “What’s wrong?” His lips form a slight pout and his head tilts to the side. You shake your head, waving a hand, “Felix and Madeline are soul partners. He just found out.” From your peripheral, you see Seungmin smile widely.  You laugh to yourself, an embarrassed blush rising on your cheeks at your previous hasty conclusion.  You really are desperate for the person who matches your soul.  

“That’s great,” he taps your arm with his hand, hidden by his sweater’s sleeve, “Why do you look so bummed, though?” 

You purse your lips, “It just sucks to be a late bloomer. I don’t know who my partner is,” you tell him as the bitterness fills your mouth again. Seungmin nods firmly, his fingers tapping your arm again, “At least you know that you have one, though. Felix didn’t even know whether he was alone or not.” 

“Yeah,” you shrug, trying to ignore the gnawing guilt of your selfishness, “it just sucks.” 

“Of course but just give it time,” Seungmin advises, patting your shoulder softly.

You and Seungmin gaze blankly at Felix and Madeline as they both gush over each other. You can’t help but feel a pang of jealousy in your chest when Felix gingerly strokes her cheek.

Clapping, Seungmin returns to the story board, pointing at a slide, “I like the idea with this one, but if you’ll look here,” he pulls out a picture he took of a deep, dark green forest that just seems to dissolve into black, “I want the composition to be more dangerous. Like, the characters are being drawn into darkness and they won’t have any way to escape.” Nodding quickly, you add rough shading and lines to your preexisting work to cater to Seungmin’s request.

“Perfect,” he beams his toothy smile at you.

By the time the project is all but done, Felix and Madeline are attached at the hip or the hand or the face. You try not to watch them, jealousy foaming in your throat. Felix’s eyelashes flutter against his freckles and his lips are glossy as Madeline gently strokes his cheek, smiling softly. Such a romantic—it would make sense that her seeing colors would be paired with his past complete colorblindness. He gushes over her work and her use of color, his voice giddy with excitement at finally seeing color, finally being normal.

While your initial bitterness at their fortune has washed away into passivity, you can’t bring yourself to look at your arm like you used to. In a way, you’re foolishly upset at you partner for not giving you anymore clues that would lead you to him. It’s foolish because he doesn’t know you can read what’s on his mind.

You pick up your artist’s hand brace from your dorm bed and begin unwrapping your arm to put it on, barely sparing the black scrawl a glance.

Its not all black anymore. I can see it. I can see her.

Dread clenches your gut as your eyes travel down to the next single word.

Madeline.

There’s a buzzing white in your head as you fumble to get your shoes on, tripping out into the hallway, breaking into a sprint towards Madeline’s dorm, on the other side of the campus. Whirling confusing overcomes your mimd and you feel like you’re suffocating, the only goal is to find an answer. You don’t know when hints of this conclusion plagued your mind. Maybe it was that day, months ago at the bathroom. Maybe it was a deeper jealousy at seeing Felix kissing Madeline. It didn’t matter anymore, you frantically knocked at her door, out of breath and gasping.

Her green eyes are wide and her pink lips are swollen, she’s almost as out of breath as you are. She makes no move to hide Felix, who’s pulling on a shirt behind her shoulder. Nervousness pangs in your throat but you shove past her and shed your arm to Felix.

“Wh-what’s this, Y/n?” He asks, eyes bouncing off your arm to your face, uncomfortable with looking at something you’ve explained to him is so precious and private to you.

“Read it,” you beg, eyes flicking from his face to Madeline’s. She furrows her shapely eyebrows, gingerly taking your cold arm into her soft hands. At Madeline’s brazenness, Felix finds it in himself to look down at your arm.

Her grip is firm but you could rip away from it at any moment.

Madeline’s eyes are wild and horror fills them as she looks up at Felix. You try desperately to explain, “I-I don’t know what this means either, but that day that you first saw color, Felix, there were your exact words to me about your project on my arm.” 

He laughs to deflect how uncomfortable he feels, it comes out too harsh and grates against your neck, raising heat into your face. “Y/n I know you really wanna find your partner, but this is crazy. Don’t try to suggest stuff like this. Madeline and I are partners, everything has been perfect since that day for us.” 

He looks over to Madeline for reassurance, but she doesn’t meet his eyes. A soft, vulnerable look plagues her eyes as she looks up at you. Felix stutters, confused why she wouldn’t immediately agree with him. “Lix,” she inhales deeply, “for my connection, you know how I see colors? Those are actually s-supposed to go away when I meet my partner.” You realize the vulnerable look in her eyes was actually guilt.

“What?” His voice is a breath, like he’s been struck in the chest and is left gasping for air. “I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to meet them because I don’t want to loose my color—it’d be like dying for me and I’m really happy with you. Aren’t you happy with me too?” Felix’s lips hang open and his face is frowning in confusion, “So you’ve been using me when you knew I wasn’t yours?” Madeline’s eyes fill with guilty tears and she nods. As much as you can understand why she did what she did, anger and bitterness towards her, towards loosing so much time with Felix consumes you.

“Then you never deserved him,” you hiss, possessively retracting your arm into your body, hiding the words against your bosom.

You and Felix sit wordless on a bench in a park in a part of town you were unfamiliar with. 

“So it was you this entire time?” 

“I’m so sorry, Felix,” your voice cracks and you bite your lip to prevent it from trembling, “I really didn’t know for sure and I doubted what I knew because you just seemed so happy with her.” 

He scoffs loudly, running a hand through his silver hair, “Yeah and look what that amounted to.” 

Quietly, you respond, “It amounted to us realizing. That means something.” 

Felix exhales slowly, turning to face you, his eyes tired and sad, “Yeah, at least we realized now—” he stops abruptly, pausing to collect himself, “God, I was so stupid, just because I started seeing color one random day because she was in front of me?” He scoffs again, slouching into the bench. 

“It made sense though, you were both eager to get your partners and—” 

“But to leave you alone?” His voice is raw and soft, “I left you alone when you were right there.” Slowly, as if he were a hologram or mirage you couldn’t quite reach, you extend your hand to rest your hand on his warm cheek, almost shocked that he’s there. Unintentionally, he leans into your hand, closing his eyes gently. “We can begin now. Rather a late start than never. We have the rest of our lives to get it right.”

Felix buries his face into the crook of your shoulder, pressing firm, confident kisses and hot, stinging hickies into your neck. You run your hands up the bare expanse of his back and up to his hair. Flush spreads across your cheeks as he lifts himself up to gaze down at your bare chest but you don’t cover yourself up. You have nothing to hide. “Have you ever done this before?” You whisper to him. He shakes his head softly, leaning down to trail kisses from the base of your neck through the valley between your breasts. Lower, his kisses get wetter as he gets closer to your aching hotness. As if you’re made of paper, Felix gingerly spreads your legs. The cold air hitting your core causes you to flinch, but Felix’s warm palm presses slowly against you, calming the sensation into pleasure.

“May I?” 

You whine out a ‘yes’, groaning when his sinks a finger into your core. It sucks his finger in and Felix barely contains a moan at the sensation, imagining how you’d feel around him. Slowly, he begins to pump his single finger into you before adding another and scissoring deep. Curling his fingers, he brushes your sweet spot, causing you to gasp and arch your back. 

Smiling to himself, he continues to work at that spot until you’re gasping and moaning incessantly. He pulls out and you whine immediately but he positions himself above you, gazing down at you with adoration even while his impossibly hard dick pokes against you. “Hurry, Lixie, please do it,” you whine and he hushes you with a kiss, slowly sliding in and caressing his tongue against yours when you gasp. Your face is scrunched up at the unfamiliar stretch but Felix can’t help but smile down at you, endeared. His eyes are dark at the sensation of him dragging against your walls. When you begin to relax around him, you start whining again and he giggles, slowly beginning to thrust up into you. There’s nothing desperate or wanton about his movements against you. He’s being gentle, letting you feel him as his drags along your walls though it takes all his self control to not increase the pace. It’s deep and rhythmic, his hips against yours. He fills you up and groans as you seem to suck him up, your juices mixing with his precum.

“Baby, you’re so warm and so—mhg—tight,” he gasps against you, “Can I go faster?” 

“Yeah,” you’re breathless and rake your fingers across his back when he starts to do just that. He positions his hip in a way that has himself dragging across your sweet spot and you screaming with every thrust. He reaches down to rub your clit, stars and lights sparking across your vision as a burning coil begins wind in your gut. The groans and moans he lets out when you unintentionally clench around him paired with the way his movements quicken as he becomes desperate push you closer. “Y/n, I’m g-gonna cum,” he whispers, his eyelashes fluttering against your skin. “Me too, Lixie,” you gasp, running your hands over his body. 

“I love you.” Your high crashes over you, white pleasure electrifying you through your body as you feel Felix shoot into you. The burning pleasure overcomes your senses as he collapses next to you, his hair sticking to his forehead as he pants into your neck, smiling deeply in pure bliss. Euphoric, you tug him closer, pressing a kiss to the freckle on the tip of his nose, onto both his cheeks, and finally onto his warm, glossy lips.

“I love you too, Lixie.” He is yours and you are his. That’s how it was predestined and you both have fulfilled destiny.

[babycracker]

Fire Meet Gasoline: Chapter 6

chapter rating: teen & up story rating: explicit pairing: morgan/m!oc (tanner drake) & farah/f!oc (sadie kennedy) word count: ~2.7k chapter warnings: none story warnings: eventual smut, canon-typical violence, au - canon divergent a/n: as you can see, pairings have changed and i've added some warnings for the future bc this entire story has taken an unexpected turn and it's going to be much bigger than manner now. please don't hesitate to let me know if you wanna be taken off of the tags!

read it on ao3 here

--

Sadie was sure that she'd have more time than this. Six months isn't long, after all. Well, technically four months. She's been basically on the run for the last two.

She'd had four months to enjoy being twenty-one before the Agency had contacted her about signing the treaty, and for the two months since not so politely telling them to shove it she'd been dodging the bounty hunter that she'd evidently been assigned to.

He was an idiot. A troll, she was sure of it. Big and imposing and clumsy and menacing… but stupid. She hasn't seen him in a few weeks though, and she's starting to relax, fairly sure that she's lost him.

So, for the first time in the week and a half that she's been in this city she's daring to leave her room at the hostel and check out some of what could well be her new home. She pulls her hoodie on, reluctantly pulling the hood over her head and eyeing the bland grey of the fabric with disdain for a moment. Dreadfully boring, and dreadfully cliché - a banshee roaming around donning a grey hood - but she still needs to keep a low profile. Just for a little bit longer.

Everyone's heard about the supernatural bar in the city, such things are not exactly common, though no one seems to know where it is. It would seem the only way to find out is by word of mouth, and unfortunately she doesn't know anyone here, and she can't exactly go up to random people and ask them where the local supernaturals hang.

It would really be preferable; at just over 4'3 she doesn't exactly fit in with humans, but she supposes she'll just have to make do as she heads down the street. She sticks cautiously close to the buildings, avoiding the laughing groups of people and curiously looking around at the bright and colourful nightlife.

She could get used to this.

But for now, she resigns herself to something less flashy, a not quite as cheerful and slightly shabby bar with a bright green neon sign shining from its façade reading Shakers.

Looks good enough for now, so she steps inside, a grin spreading across her face as she takes in the atmosphere. God she's missed being around humans, and this place is packed with some of the rowdiest ones she's ever seen. Her favourite kind.

There's no dancing space as far as she can see (disappointing) but the bar is huge and there are booths lining every wall, the space in the middle filled with several pool tables.

She weaves her way through the crowd, thankfully remaining largely unnoticed, and slips up onto a stool at the bar, breathing out a sigh of relief now that her height is less obvious. She spins around on her seat, leaning one elbow on the bar and watching a group of guys at the closest pool table, trying (unsuccessfully) to gather some kind of hint at how to play the game, when a voice from behind distracts her.

"What are you drinking, pretty?"

She turns, expecting to find a bartender but instead there's a man on her side of the bar and uncomfortably close, a charming and yet slightly unsettling smile on his face. She forces one to her own to keep her frown away, the eerie sense of this guy being bad news creeping through her mind and making her thoughts slightly foggy.

“I’m really not much of a drinker, thanks anyway.”

He’s good looking enough, blonde hair, bright blue eyes and dimples in both cheeks on proud display as he grins at her. But her advanced senses are ringing every bell inside of her, warning her not to trust him.

“C’mon darl, no one comes to a bar unless they want a drink,” he presses, reaching out and letting his fingertips brush against the sliver of bare wrist peeking out from the sleeve of her hoodie.

She gasps and recoils too fast to be able to reign it in, her face twisting into a frown as she pulls her sleeves down and clutches them in her fists to cover her hands entirely. She really should've worn her gloves.

Demon.

He lifts both hands in front of him, a kind of peace offering, and takes a slight step back. “Woah, take it easy. I didn’t mean to overstep.”

“It’s fine,” she clears her throat, hoping it’ll take the obvious rasp out of her voice as she struggles to get any words out at all. He grins and slides onto the stool next to her.

“If I promise not to touch you again, will you come and join us?”

She eyes him carefully for a moment before letting out a resigned sigh and giving a small nod. He seems nice enough, respectful enough. And she’s never been given any kind of guarantee that her perception is always one hundred percent accurate. Maybe she gets it wrong sometimes. Maybe she’s been disregarding people her entire life based on what she sees of them on the inside, and some of them didn’t deserve disregarding.

She’s been on her own since she ran away from home after her parents’ relentless persistence that she signed the Agency’s treaty became too much, she could do with some friends. Maybe now she can’t afford to turn down every single person that gives her a slight dishonest vibe. Who is completely honest these days anyway?

He grins again and gets to his feet, nodding towards one of the pool tables as a gesture for her to follow him. “I’m Axle.”

“Sadie,” she replies, reluctantly slipping off her seat and noticing the way he immediately arches an eyebrow at her height. He’s a demon, a supernatural, he’s probably already worked out that she’s not human and she just about winces as she waits for the inevitable questions.

They don’t come, however. He’s either much more polite than she’d expected, naïve and just thinks that she’s short, or he’s already worked out what she is and is choosing to stay quiet about it in this public space.

She follows him over to the pool table where a group of five other men are standing around playing a game, and a brief wave of panic surges through her when she realises that they’re probably all demons. They usually hang out with their own kind, and it would mean that she’s heavily outnumbered by a group of supernaturals far more dangerous and powerful than she is.

They barely spare her a glance though as she comes to stand at Axle’s side, and he barely offers an introduction in turn, instead waving his arm around the group and simply referring to them as “the guys”.

It’s probably for the best. She can handle one demon, should the need arise, she can slink away from him unnoticed, but once she has the attention of an entire group of them she’s not exactly sure how she’d get away if she needed to.

--

For someone that doesn’t talk a whole lot, Morgan sure spends a lot of time on the phone. Tanner hadn’t expected her to be so… clingy. She seems to really miss the rest of Unit Bravo now that she’s stuck away from them, which seems strange to him given that he’d assumed she wasn’t so different from him and would enjoy the break and getting to do her own thing (apart from having to work with him, of course) for a while.

But she’s on the phone again. Granted, she’s talking to Adam about their mission, but still. The number of questions she’d had about what they were supposed to do had been alarming to Tanner until he’d realised that she was most likely just coming up with the need for so much clarification as an excuse to speak to someone from her team.

Whatever her reasons though, he’s bored. He gets bored quite often with her, he realises, and he finds himself watching her on the other side of the room from where he’s kicked back on the couch, obviously and shamelessly checking her out as she paces and speaks in a hushed voice into the phone. Maybe it’d be different if he worked with her a little more; in regard to both her flirtation and their current job. At first, it’d been fun to irk her and get on her nerves but it’s already starting to get old - even for him - and he decides that maybe he should make more of an effort to be agreeable if they’re going to be stuck together for now. Or he could at least sleep with her. That might relieve some of her tension and get her to stop being such a hardass, at least.

She runs a hand through her hair and turns to face him, scowling when she notices his attention and lifting her middle finger at him before turning away.

He grins and sits up straight when she finally ends the call and turns to face him again.

“They want us to go to that bar tonight,” she tells him before he has a chance to say anything, and he groans dramatically and slides down to a slouching position, throwing his head back against the back of the couch and closing his eyes.

“It’s all work with you,” he complains, opening his eyes again when he hears her moving and watching her cross the room and start to pull her jacket on.

“We are on a job at the moment, so yeah, it’s all work.”

“You know this place isn’t gonna be like Mickey’s, right?”

She pulls a face, only small and only for the briefest second but he catches it anyway and for the first time sees how uncertain she is about having to be in that kind of environment.

“You gonna be good?” he adds, trying to sound at least a little sympathetic.

It actually surprises him how much he cares about how much this is going to affect her, and not just for the job. It’s going to be a pain in the ass, definitely. Having to keep an eye on her and make sure she’s not overwhelmed while trying to do his job at the same time, but more than that, whenever he thinks about how painful this is going to be for Morgan his stomach twists slightly, churning uncomfortably and making him feel… he doesn’t even know. Worried? Is this what worry for somebody else is?

Probably not. He’s probably just dreading having to babysit her.

--

He can already practically hear her teeth grinding by the time they get to the door of Shakers, let alone inside. They can hear (to be fair, godawful) rock music as well as the noise of what sounds like a pretty big crowd through the door, and he casts a glance in her direction. Her jaw’s clenched, brow furrowed, and eyes narrowed as she stares at the door before turning to the side and meeting his gaze.

“What? We going in or not?” she snaps, and he shrugs and waves a hand at her, gesturing to her general demeanour.

“I dunno, are we?”

She rolls her eyes and steps away from him, but he sees her shoulders rise and fall as she takes a deep breath before pushing the door open.

It’s loud. Really loud. Not too bright at least, but even he immediately catches the faint scent of alcohol, cigarettes and weed in the air. He can only imagine how strong it is to her.

His concerns for her are quickly overshadowed though when it takes less than a minute for his eyes to land on a group of men playing pool near the back of the room. He recognises them straight away, which means that they’re going to recognise him straight away and they’ll be gone before he and Morgan have gotten anywhere near them.

“Shit,” he mutters, ducking his head and turning to face Morgan more so as to turn himself away from them.

“What?” she snaps, glaring at him and not seeming to realise that something’s gone wrong, too caught up in trying to distract herself from the sensations bombarding her.

“I know them,” he answers distractedly, looking her up and down for a moment before casting a quick glance around the room in search of somewhere quieter. Something that doesn’t seem to exist in this bar.

He grabs her hand and pulls her over to the bar, nudging her to sit up on one of the stools and standing beside her, draping an arm over her shoulders and leaning in close to her. The close contact seemed to work the previous day when she was starting to become overwhelmed on the street outside, there’s no reason to think that it won’t work again in here.

“What do you mean you know them?” she asks, her voice a little less impatient as she leans back against him slightly, and he doesn’t miss the soft sigh of relief she lets out as he feels her body start to relax a little.

He doesn’t know why physical contact with him, of all people, seems to help her out but he’s going to count it as a bonus when it means that he’s able to set her at ease enough for her to function in these situations.

He glances back towards the pool table, but looks away again just as quickly, leaning down closer to Morgan to hide his face when he sees that the group are starting towards the door.

“They know you?” Morgan finally seems to click on, looking quickly towards the group and then back at him, and he only just realises how close he’s gotten to her when her nose just about brushes against his when she does it.

“Mhm,” he distractedly hums in reply, and she studies him for a moment before a small smirk crosses her face.

“I’ve been trying to get this close to you since we met, and now you’re telling me all it would’ve taken was a few demons to scare you?”

This bitch. He frowns at her, his arm dropping away from her shoulders as he straightens up again and moves away from her, temporarily forgetting that he’s trying to hide himself.

“I am not scared.” He spits indignantly.

Of all the things for her to say. Scared.

“You sure, sweetheart?”

Condescension drips from every word and his frown deepens into a glare. “Fuck you.”

“They’re going to see you,” she ignores his insult and nods behind him, and his eyes dart towards the group that have thankfully already moved past him when he remembers that whatever she thinks about him, them seeing him would be a disaster and if they knew that he was after them they’d be looking for them for weeks.

He subtly watches them go, waiting until the last two people are through the door, a blonde guy and a freakishly short girl, and then grabs Morgan’s hand and pulls her off of the stool. “Come on.”

He practically drags her out onto the street, making sure to keep a fair distance away from the group without losing sight of them through the crowd until he realises where they’re going.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Morgan mutters from beside him, obviously realising the same thing at the same time, and he stops and watches them step through the doors of the same motel that they’re staying in.

He grins and looks over at her, letting go of her hand. “Our job just got a whole lot easier.”

“You think?”

He doesn’t bother answering, just heads towards the motel once he’s sure that they’ve had a chance to get to their room and he’s not about to run into them in the lobby.

He’s stayed here countless times, he knows pretty much the entire reception staff, it shouldn’t be too hard for him to find out what room they’re staying in and pay them a visit when they’re not expecting it. Then all he needs to do is convince Morgan that he doesn’t need her help with his next job, they can go their separate ways, and everyone will be happy.

--

tags (let me know if you want to be added or removed): @admdmrtn @masonsfangs @homeformyheart @mmerengue @agentsunshine @bravomckenzie @freckles-spangledvampire @mistyeyedbi @kelseaaa @fhauvilles @amlovelies @forestcreatures @maraudern05 @kat-tia801 @alyssalauren @agentnolastname @utterlyinevitable @masonscig

[tarithenurse]

Nightingale - 22

Fandom: Naruto Pairing: Hatake Kakashi &/x Fem!OC Contents: More good stuff. And some serious. A/N: Sorta got the job! As in: not the steady contract but they arranged a 1year temp so I can get more experience (that was the only reason I didn’t get the full). Anyhoodles, might explain more in a separate post when I get home from my grandma’s funeral. As usual, ASK or REBLOG for tag!

Ch. 22

Darkness has fallen over Konoha, but this time the early night walk leads Kakashi and his mystery woman ambling down the streets towards the housing reserved for the jōnin and higher-ups who haven’t got their own real estate.

Apparently, Uguisu has been more or less ordered to live in an apartment there and her own reasoning is, as she’s explaining, that it’ll be easier to keep an eye on her. “That way...there’s no need to have anyone assigned to follow me 24/7, like Mitarashi...”

Makes sense – both the arrangement and the fact it’s Anko keeping an eye on things right now. “Is she’s gonna be your warden?”

“I dunno...” They’ve reached the complex on the Academy grounds and she takes the lead up the stairs towards her new home. “I suppose I’ll find out tomorrow if it hasn’t decided already...”

Leaving the staircase and coming to a halt, Kakashi realizes it’s an apartment wedged in between the homes of fellow jōnin. That’s not a coincidence. Handing the stack of books over to free her hands, Uguisu procures a key, unlocks and opens the door, but then holds out her arms for the borrowed goods in a clear but polite hint that he’s not invited inside. Can’t blame you. It gnaws inside him nonetheless, even if the jōnin doesn’t show the concern – he would much have preferred to make sure everything was as it should be indoors before leaving her alone.

“Well,” he nods resolutely, “if you need anything...”

She looks small and sickly in the unnatural light of the outdoor lamp. Dark bags under her eyes are suddenly prominent, the less than completely sincere smile unable of pushing away the grim demeanour. Still...there’s also an air of something calm about the woman. She’s hopeful, and that warms Kakashi’s heart.

“Thank you,” she hums.

He waits til she has closed the door. No footsteps? Perhaps she remains standing just on the other side of that barrier, perhaps it’s just the hopeless imagination of a man in trouble, either way he has to force his legs into action or he would have stayed there the entire night.

...

Among the shinobi comrades, Kakashi is often equalled with tardiness. He knows this. It's never his intention to be late and he always gets up and gets ready in time, but there's one stop he has to make at some point during the day and once there...old friends are hard to say goodbye to. All that remains of them is a memorial build in their (and many others') honour and visiting the site somehow detaches the living from time while granting them a brief respite surrounded by memories. Sometimes the faces of old are smiling. Often, though, the emptiness they've left behind is tainted by bitterness at the evil that stole these people away too soon.

Today was different. This morning, the white-haired jōnin lingered for no more than five minutes before hurrying off to see to his students because he was adamant, the day's training must be finished before the Recruits' classes ended. Needless to say, Team 7 greeted him with stunned silence as they arrived later than their sensei and none of them opposed the day's curriculum either.

"Who is she? Really?"

Kakashi glances over at the black-haired boy who's sitting in the grass with the lunchbox open. "You mean Uguisu."

The two other (yes, even Naruto) stop eating, favouring instead to listen and hopefully have their curiosity satisfied. There's no doubt they will take matters into their own hands and dig around if the many questions aren't answered soon, but...it's not my place to tell anyone and they have no reason to know. Turning the page of his favourite Icha Icha volume, the senior considers his options which could be better because, truth be told, even if Kakashi technically knows more than them, what he can tell will only lead to more speculation. He had hoped for news this morning only to be disappointed at the slow decision making. And the woman at the centre of the uncertainty? She'd left early for class.

"As I said yesterday," he mutters, "she's a friend from far away. She'll be staying here in Konoha and...maybe become one of our shinobi."

Oh yes, the kids are itching to find out more.

"Why does she have to do Academy classes?"

Sasuke is the one to answer the girl. "The Hidden Villages' schools don't teach the same things. If she's from somewhere with a very different choice of subjects then she might not have learned the things we take for granted. Right?" The last part is addressed to Kakashi who merely nods in agreement.

"What was her name?" Naruto has never had a great memory – a trait generally vital to ninjas.

"Minami Uguisu." And it fits her too. "Well! Better get back to work. How's it looking?"

They've been testing out a variety of knots and other rope-works. Some with better results than others.

...

Soon, the open area in front of the Academy will be swarming with kids as they flee from the last lesson of the day either to play or return home, but right now the only sign of life is Hayase about 20 meters up in the tree with his legs dangling lazily.

"Bird watching?" Kakashi calls out to him.

The chunin nods. "And revisiting the boring days from when I was little." He does look like someone who was half asleep only a moment ago – or at least wishing he had been.

"Gonna take her off your hands the rest of the day." Already walking through the front doors, whatever the assigned shadow says remains unheard.

Some of the little students acknowledge Kakashi as they rush past him on their way to freedom once more bu thankfully it isn’t long before the path is clear and the jōnin can enter the classroom without fear of toppling anyone over. Only two people are left: Iruka who’s gathering a wad of papers that probably are assignments, and the blue-haired girl that’s been haunting him regardless of being asleep or awake.

“Ah, I see they got a hold of you,” Iruka smiles at his friend who doesn’t admit he hasn’t been contacted, “that’s good! It seems my work with Uguisu’s gonna be fairly easy.”

The woman in question has joined the two men at the teacher’s dais, her arms laden with the borrowed books and a few pencils. Today, she’s tucked her hair into a messy bun which allows a peek at the curve of her neck. Pretty. It’s hard for Kakashi to focus, but he fights his attention back to the words flowing from the teacher.

“There are...some areas we need to cover, but none connected to the theoretical works of a shinobi.”

“What he means,” Uguisu smiles, “is that I’m a disaster when it comes to math or history, for example.”

Oh? Watching a blush grow and fade rapidly on Iruka’s face, some corner of the white-haired jōnin's guts tighten in protest before the brain catches up with excuses or explanations – all of which are necessary as he hasn’t been able to ignore the distance the woman keeps between her and anyone else. Including him. Less than 48 hours ago, he’d been kissing her, feeling her reciprocate and making his heart sing...then the dream ended and a nightmare unfolded, and now she’s pulled away.

“Well, that’s quickly fixed,” Iruka promises, “however!” He turns to fully to Kakashi at this, slapping a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “As her warden, I hope you’ll remind her to hand in the written assignments regardless of their simplicity and ensure she’s capable of applying theory to the practical training you’ll be overseeing.”

I’m her...? YES! None would have known how happy the revelation makes Kakashi just like they would be ignorant of the fact that he, until this moment, had had no clue of his role in the relation to Uguisu’s potential as a Leaf Shinobi going forward.

“Hai, I’ll keep her busy with studying,” the warden nods.

[hazbinextgeneration]

Into The Casino Ch16

(WARNING: Fight scenes including hair pulling and a death is contained within this chapter as well as past abuse mentioned. If this makes you uncomfortable please don't read. You have been warned.) What happened on the way home was..Well...Interesting to say the least. The strange warm feeling in his chest still hadn't gone away even after they were leaving. The gal feeling exhausted enough to fall asleep against his shoulder and ONLY because he was a gentleman, he wrapped an arm around her and allowed her to lean against him on the way home. Cyber was a little confused on his silence and the face he made as he glanced out the window on the way back, but she chalked it up to him calculating about the new possible deals he could make or perhaps maybe he was thinking about how to con someone over again. He had that hard thinking face over him and it was best to let him think at times. So she didn't argue when the limo finally stopped in front of their home, and he lightly shook the sleeping beauty awake. Her purple eyes blinking and she yawned tiredly, and he told Cyber to go take her back and make sure she got some rest. Thankfully Leaving Minight in charge with Disease following her orders was a grand idea. No harm was done to the place while they were gone. ....Sleep didn't come easy to him that night surprisingly but he managed. The next day was like it didn't even happen. In fact it was very normal. He got up, gave the usually orders to everyone who would get their assignments from him and told her the small list of personal things he needed her to be done that day. Which included cleaning out his office, but he made sure that all the valuable souls were very well secured and locked away where only he or Cyber could retrieve them. She smiled brightly and agreed as usually before trotting on her merry way...but this time that small warm feeling returned...he shrugged it off and continued onto the floor with Cyber. Business as usually.

Except the day after that the small feeling happened again. And again. And Again. And again. AND AGAIN!! Before he knew it nearly a month had passed with that strange small warm feeling in his chest was still there whenever he spoke to her, but he simply ignored it as he had better things to get done. Until one day he had a knock at the office door. He looked to the door for a moment before looking back down to the papers in his hands.

"Come in. Door's open." Well the door did open and in stepped the timid creature. He was a bit surprised she of all people would come in at this time of day, but he gave that famous smile none the less. "Aw, Pet.~ Hello, my dear. What can I do for you today? Is Disease bothering you again?"

She didn't answer straight away, but still gave a small smile. "N-No. I actually wanted to ask you something.''

"Ask away my dear! Im always happy to hear from you." Her question wasn't really something he would be expecting.

As she sheepishly rubbed her arm and looked everywhere but him. "A-Actually, I-I was wondering if you'd ever want to go dancing with me again s-sometime. I-It was really fun and I-" She looked back to him with a small smile. "I think..I want t-to get to know you better."

Well...that certainly was unexpected, but that just meant more progress! So he happily grinned politely as her sweet offer to him. "Darling. Of course! I would be delighted to spend time with you." His red eyes glanced to the grandfather on the otherside of the office before glancing back to her. "Tell you what. Why don't you join me for tea in an hour? We'll have plenty of time to talk then."

Her ears perked up with a bigger smile. "R-Really? S-Sure. I'd really like that."

He chuckled. "Very well then. In the meantime, do be a dear and fetch me another cup of coffee, will you? This business deal won't straighten itself out."

She happily agreed and he was eventually rewarded with a new steaming mug of coffee and he was happily looking through the papers he held within his hands as the clock clicked away on the wall across from them. Instead of leaving as soon as she gave him the mug, she stayed and looked curiously to the papers he held with innocent naivity. Oh it made him chuckle.

"What are you dealing with this time?" An innocent enough question.

"The owner of the winery next door has offered to sell it to me, but getting a hold of him is as easy as putting a fire out with gas." Which meant it wasn't easy at all. What could the fool possibly be doing that was so much more important than selling him the dam place if he offered in the first place?!

She made an 'oh' and blinked back to him. "Well I think it'd be a great addition to the casino."

"Is that right?"

She nodded. "Absolutely! With your business managing skills I bet you could connect the two easily. Maybe even open up a second larger bar inside it. Those are pretty popular as I've heard." Her brows furrowed in thought. "But maybe not make it so smoke ridden or blast that ridiculous excuse for music around, not a lot of people like those places. By the looks of all your friends at the party I'd say a few of them would pay a pretty penny to have one place around here that wasn't so....exotic like Rita's." She didn't even notice Lou had stopped midway through a sip and looked up at her. "With Midnight's potion making, you could probably even make your own brand and sell it too! Plus if you expanded the winery to double the size and enhanced the magical power of turning grapes into wine, I bet you'd get a lot more customers. A lot of people would like real authentic wine made from real grapes like on the surface instead of..how did Disease put it? 'Cheap gunk water'? And since you'd be able to grow your own grapes and own the brewery, you'd be able to make yourself some as well with no cost at all." She turned to him with a smile but paused seeing his face. "Oh..I-Im sorry. W-Was I talking too much?"

"..No. No actually. All those sounds like marvelous ideas!" He smiled before sipping that bitter tasting drink.

"Really?!"

He chuckled again. "But of course. But I am curious. Where did you learn all your business know how anyhow? I know you explained your father was a prominent business man, probably not as successful as yours truly, but by what you told me about him and your past, he didn't seem too keen on letting a lady such as you keep on the family business. No offense."

Her eyes glanced down for a moment. "He-...He often dragged me along to..c-certain business meetings if he knew someone had a son. I heard a lot at those places."

He glanced up at her for a moment. "....And I am to assume he only brought you along to use you as some kind of token in case he saw an opportunity to use you to get information from said sons? Or am I assuming something too large?"

"No. You're p-pretty spot on. He didn't see me for anything else."

"What of your mother?" If she was spilling information, he might as well get as much as he could get from her. Never know when it might come in handy.

She shrugged. "I don't know. My parents got divorced when I was a baby and she...s-she left me with him. N-Never met her."

"Oh, I see....Well I am sorry for your situation." He went back to his papers with another sip.

"Thank you..." She looked at him. "What was your family like?"

He paused...before blinking and looking back up to her. "My family?" She nodded and he went silent for a moment. ".....They were...terrible people let's say. A gambling man and his not so wonderful wife is what resulted in myself."

"Is that why you're so good at running a casino?"

He chuckled. Oh if only she really knew the many nights he was forced from a young age to stand watch as his father and his 'friends' gambled any and all money away, drinking away their sorrows. Of course he never did, instead he was much more interested in what the men did with the cards. And eventually he swiped a deck himself and began practicing when he was bored, which lead to him developing his own tricks. His own destiny carved out by himself. And the name he made back on the surface. He sometimes wondered if his name was still up there somewhere besides obviously on a tombstone. Were there any records of himself from his bloody gang wars? Probably not because then he was still nothing but a small fish in a big pond, but you could imagine his surprise when he woke up to him tumbling down and hitting the sidewalk hard when he first got here. Confused as all hell but quickly able to recover. He had to claw his way up the ranks and fought tooth and nail to get there, but it all paid off now didn't it. Hard work always paid off in the end in his experience. Sometimes he wondered what his poor parents faces would be if they could see him now? An overlord of hell and richer than they would ever dream! That's the difference between him and them. He was smart with his money and knew how to play the game.

"You could say so. But I like to believe it's more thanks to my natural ability to spot the obvious good things in life before they slip away.~"

"Oh. Well I'd say you have a wonderful ability!"

He chuckled more at her politeness. "Thank you. But now I believe I promised that tea."

Things were FINALLY starting to look more progressive with Midnight's assignment as over the next few days she was finally able to restore them to their (almost) original state and they looked a lot cleaner than when he first got them. He was pleased none the less, but she told him they'd need to test them which was a small problem. Obviously he couldn't let anyone know he had them for confidential reasons, so it'd be a bit tricky. But he would figure it out later. He was making great progress bout everywhere it seemed. The pretty pet wanted to spend more time with him and he was happily to oblige, sometimes for tea, other times for that promised dancing he promised. He was surprised to find out she knew the jitterbug and charleton, though it was quite obvious she was still rusty. He was happy to escort her through the small steps and be close to her-..Uh! I mean to get her to easily go with what he said of course. It had nothing to do with her giggles or the surprise squeaks she'd make when he surprised her, or the fact she basically enjoyed the same things he did. It was just because he enjoyed dancing and it was nice to have someone compliment his singing and dancing skills. But it certainly stroked his ego as Midnight would oh so lovely put it. She wasn't...bad to have around. Compliments and politeness aside, she was very down to earth and ..surprisingly passionate. Actually dimallishing Rita's bar when he asked her what could be better about it. He laughed and honestly wondered what Rita would think if she knew someone as weak as her thought her place was a 'smelly bin of smoke and sweat that needed a few windows and MORE than just a few scented candles'.

Well after that little laugh he knew just the position to promote her to. So when he called her up to come to his office, she was pretty surprised when he explained why.

She blinked. "Personal asisntant?"

He hummed and nodded. "That's right, Dear! I feel as if merely being a secretary was ..undermining your abilities. You'd still have your duties AS my secretary but with more duties added on. But I promise the extra work would be worth the effort."

"What exactly are they?"

"You'd be entrusted with taking care of my more personal property. For example you're now in charge of making sure my space her is always in order and things are where I can find them, you'd be in charge of making sure my meals are delivered, and of course as my right hand asistant you'd be accompying me on business if it calls for it. But if it sounds too much too soon for you, I'll gladly just not give the promotion."

And wouldn't you know it. Hook. Line. And sinker. He made it seemed like something much better than it was and of course she agreed right away it would be a fantastic idea. And the next day she got too it. If there was another thing he could say about her it was that it was she was a hard worker, and she worked her tail off to prove she earned that little spot. Or maybe it was because some part of her still felt scared or intimidated by him. Didn't matter for now. Progress was being made throughout. She would still flinch lightly when he wrapped an arm around her or patted her back, but it was MUCH better than before. Couldn't say the same thing about everyone else or big crowds. She still was timid around those and that was just fine with him. The less interaction beyond his little crew the better. He gets to spend more time with her and vise versa! Everyone wins. Especially him. Though there was still a matter of that small warm feeling that wasn't really that small anymore, and he had a sneaking feeling as to what it could've possibly been, but he still pushed the unimportant thing aside for now. Right now he had FINALLY gotten a hold of the man who wanted to sell him the place and it was certainly about time. He should have the documents on his next business run. Which would happen to be his little pet's first one with him to be exact. Not anywhere special, just the casino floor. Laughing, cheers, and music filled the air within the casino as demons of all kinds gambled their money away or drank themselves drunk. A usual day for the casino staff....Well, almost everyone. The clicking of hooves made their way down the hallway towards the more noisier side of the whole casino. The woman flipped through the many papers piled within her arms. She finally pulled one from the back, scanning her eyes over it before looking up at the person walking next to her smiling nervously. "T-The deed to the winery next door has successfully been obtained like you wanted." The taller male smiled down at her. "Excellent!" He snatched the document from her and smirked down at it. "With this we'll no longer have to rely on cheap black market booze. How much have we left in stock, Pet?" Her ears went back at the nickname, but answered, "I....don't know. I haven't looked yet." He hummed and gave her a look. "Go ask Rouge, that beer bug ought to give you the answer, then get back to me."

Her eyes blinked confused up at him and she rose a brow. "Rouge?"

A sudden realization came over him and he sighed. "Oh, yes! You two haven't properly been introduced yet! Silly me!" From where they were standing he pointed a hand across the giant room where she could barely make out the bar. "Rouge is one of my floor managers but she mostly just handles the many bars and kitchen areas I have around here. You can't miss her really. She really bugs you persay." He chuckled..but sighed again at her still confused face. "She's a bug demon. Green hair, wings- You can't miss her."

"Oh. I see."

"Yes, now be a dear and ask her how much stock we have so I can calculate how soon we can easily use my newly obtained purchase.~" A red claw was extended to pull back a stray gold hair from her face. She visibly flinched at the touch and stopped an her purple eyes darted at him. He only chuckled and leaned forward a little. "You can do that. Can't you, Pet?~" She gulped and managed to not stutter despite the heat in her face. "Of course I can." His hand patter her cheek before retracting back and chuckling. "I thought so.~ Now-" He began walking again with her quickly following behind. "-I must go speak with a very important client. No go find Rouge. She'll give you what you need." "Yes, Sir." He often used nicknames with her and very flirty gestures, but after working for him for a couple months she got used to it....Kinda. He seemed to get a chuckle out of seeing her squirm and those god forbidden squeak sounds she made. Though putting up with his antics was better than fighting for survival on the streets. Even if it meant her hand. They came to the end of the hallway where the loud sounds of music and voices were. Without so much but a side smile at her, he turned to the left and quickly disappeared among the crowd of other demons. She watched after him for a moment, but soon went the opposite way. It wasn't comfortable being around so many possibly dangerous demons, but most were too busy with their games to pay attention to her. The ones that DID she knew stared at her body(or more specifically her exposed leg or horn). She made the mistake of looking into the face of one of her 'admirers' as she walked past. The grimy man visibly smirked at her and licked his fangs.....which made her cringe, duck her head, and pick up her pace. The bar couldn't be far now, right? ....Right! The bar wasn't as crowded as he thought it'd be, but it was still pretty packed. In the middle of it all was the flutter of green wings as the insect demon passed out drinks fast with ease. Years of experience right there. And she blinked. That must've been the Rouge Lou was telling her about. She didn't notice her at first, but (when she got close enough) Rouge smiled in her direction and placed her hands on the counter as she sat down. "Hey there, Fuzzy. You here for a drink?" She gestured to the wide shelves behind her. "We got lots of choices to choose from, so pick your poison." She smiled and took a seat. "N-No. Lou wanted to know how much alcohol was left in stock." Rouge rose a brow in confusion and she remembered that they hadn't been introduced yet. So not one for being rude, she stuck a hand out. "I-I-Im Amalfia. Your coworker? Im sure we hadn't met." She still looked confused before she gave a knowing smile and grabbing her hand. "Oh yeah! I recognize your name from Disease telling me all about you and the big guy spending some time together." She smiled before looking down at the paperwork she held then back to her. "Someone's been busy." She brought her arms up to rest them and the papers on the bar and gave a smile. "It's not that bad. It's certainly better than doing laundry o-or sweeping the floors, b-but Im just here because he wants to know how much stock you all have left." She snorted. "With all the chores he makes ya do, I'm surprised he doesn't dress you up in a mad outfit." Instead of getting the suggestive joke, the unicorn cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Why would he have me do that? I'm pretty sure he already has cleaning staff." "...Never mind." She waved a hand dismissively before leaning off the counter. "You said you wanted to know the booze level. Alright. It'll take me a couple minutes though." "I can wait." "Alright. HEY!" Her head snapped to the right as she shouted. Another demon glared at her from the other side of the bar. "Cover me for a bit. I need something from the back." Rouge left without another word, disappearing through a door between the two shelves of alcohol as the other bartender kept serving the demons that came. Leaving her surrounding by patrons grumbling for their drinks or passed out drunk on the bar. It was fine though. She was usually left alone if she just kept her eyes down and didn't engage with anyone. This wasn't the case though. As she busied herself by flipping through the small stack of papers in her hands, she barely noticed someone sit n the stool next to her, which really wasn't a big deal. It was a free bar after all. What she did notice however was the sudden ever so light feeling of someone touching her leg- "DON'T TOUCH ME!!" Her body reacted far faster than her mouth did. Whipping around towards the danger, her body on high alert from the unwanted invasion of her personal space. Sitting there was the very same demon she'd made the mistake of seeing. Her shout had seemed to catch the attention of some others around her though. The demon smiled and stared down at her like she was a prime steak. Unintentionally, she swallowed and leaned away. She probably looked more scared than she would've liked. "I-I....I don't like strangers touching m-me. Please g-go away." At this, he chuckled and leaned down eye level. "I remember you-" Her eyes visibly widened at this, and her nose wrinkled up. His breath smelt like an unwashed dumpster. He pointed a finger before saying, "Don't you remember me?..It took me a while to figure out where you were after running into me at that d*mmed club. But seeing you on the arm of that rich boy, it didn't take too long after that." She sat there frozen. "I-I...I'm really s-s-sorry, Sir, if you think that. B-But Im sorry."

He leaned his head back in laughter before hissing and leaning closer to her. "You REALLY don't recognize me, do you? I would've thought an empty headed gal like you would've made it somewhere more innocent for that pretty little head of yours. Guess not. Suits me just fine. Wouldn't you say?...Dorothy?"

She absolutely froze. Ice was traveling through her veins and his smile got wider at her absolutely terrified face. "...no." Was all she was able to force out of her terrified form at the rush of her realization and old name hit her harder than a freight train- A sudden shriek cut from her throat as something had grabbed a large fistful of her poor blonde and white hair and pulled her head back. Her hand immediately flew up to the giant hand and began to claw at it to no avail. He somehow got closer to her face. "Y'know...It's been a long time since I last saw you. Thought you still seen the last of me huh?" Her body coursed with pain as her brain screamed for his unwanted touch to go away. To not let it happen again. "Let go of me! Put me down!" Her body thrashed against the iron grip of her captor which made him raise his hand higher, dragging her from her seat. She screamed and started kicking her legs out. The commotion caught the attention of a whole lot of others, but most seemed more entertained by the fight than concerned for her. By this point she thought her head would pop off with how much it hurt. Her kicking had already sent her papers all over the ground below them. "I wonder how much a second owned horse would go for-" Another hand pressed her cheek. "A pure little thing like you would be worth a lo-AAAAHHH!!" The squirming flesh in her mouth tasted horrible, but something told her to keep her teeth clamped down. The demon cursed and pulled against her. Pushing her head back further.

"What THE F*CK are you doing?!" The female voice and the demanding tone behind it was enough to make the male demon stop and look down. By some miracle, Rouge had returned, probably hearing their screams, and was glaring at him with enough bite to put a cobra to shame. Her eyes flashed to her crying, squirming body held up by him for one split second. "....Okay, you burnt cherry lookin' mothaf*cker. You have one second to put Fuzzy down before I shove a bottle up your a$$." "Mind your own f*cking business!" Her jaw's grip had loosened in the few seconds after Rouge's return, so it was easy to finally slip his hand free to point at the much smaller demon and start yelling at her. Which gave her only a few moments to react. It was obvious this guy was physically stronger and wasn't planning on letting her go anytime soon. She sure as h*ll wasn't going back to being his to boss around. Not after so many years of FINALLY getting away. Not having to look over her shoulder, finally enjoying herself for once in her entire existance. She wouldn't go back to that enclosed prison again. So, in her panicked state, there was one very obvious solution- "LOU!!," she shrieked at the top of her lungs. Drowning out any other sound from her brain, "LOU, HELP!!" The tears dulled her vision somewhat so the next moments were a bit blurry, but no one could miss the obvious chair that came flying out of nowhere and collided with him full force. Sending them both to the floor. The sudden release from her hair was a relief compared to the smack to the floor....but it was better than being held in mid air. Her head tingled with dulled pain still, but there was no time to linger on that when a demonic cry and gagging sounds came next to her. Once again her body reacted before her conscious brain did and she sat up and away....and her eyes widened. The demon was the one making the gagging noises and flailing about like a fish out of water. The clawing at his neck directed her to the green rope like appendage firmly wrapped around it. Small red spikes dotted along it's sides. Before another shot out of no where above her making her whimper and duck as another red spiked green rope wrapped around the struggling demon's hand, and another grabbing his other hand. His red snout which didn't look good from the chair colliding with him, was held firmly shut as the green things wrapped him more than a mummy until he could barely move and was dropped to the floor in front of her. Another screech got her attention as well as some others. Her purple eyes widened at who was screeching. "Lou?" The plant demon was transfixed on the still choking demon. A fixture of rage and something she couldn't quite place on his face. He seemed to also be struggling as Cyber was death gripping his waist to hold back the snarling beast. "Lou, STOP! That's enough!" He didn't stop. "LOU!!" He froze. Everything seemed to freeze for those few agonizing moments...before his body slowly began to relax back and he blinked. "......Lou?" His head snapped to the unicorn looking up at him from the ground with a confused gaze....then around at all the patrons still watching- He quickly straightened up, reaching to fix his bowtie and hat, as if it never happened, before snapping his fingers. The vine around the guy's neck loosened and slunk away leaving him hacking and coughing. She let out a loud squeak as more vines wrapped around her suddenly and hoisted her up and over towards the two. There, she was firmly placed next to him and she gladly went behind the plant demon. He rose a brow at the fightened shaking lady as she death dripped his shirt and those purple eyes stared in absolute fear at the man gasping for breath on the floor before he hissed up at them.

"You little b*tch! Hiding behind that stupid fatcat like he's some shield for your petty little behind! You never could be stronger than me could you!? You were always too weak to do anything!!"

Now, he had made a gave mistake. He was willing to just beat him to a pulp and leave him on the streets, after all no one made a sceen in his casino without consequences and he was already in such a foul, but what had just come out of his mouth seemed to make a difference. A hiccup escaped from behind him and he slowly turned his raised brow to the woman now pressing her face to his back, not daring to look up. "Is he...?"

Her whimper was and what he had just said confirmed on just who this man was. Well, well. This day had just gotten interesting, now didn't it? What a stupid, stupid move for this poor soul to make. Lou slowly turned his gaze back to the struggling form of the cursing man in front of him. Oh he knew EXACTLY what to do with him.

"Cyber. Take this lowlife trash to Midnight, and keep him there until I come up." He turned back to the terrorfied female behind him before reaching an arm behind him and pulling her from behind him to his side. "You are coming with me." Cyber gave him an overly confused look with a," Uh. Sure, Boss." She watched silently as Lou led the horrified gal away from the cussing man and watching crowd and without so much as another word, she blankly looked down to the guy trapped in vines and rose a brow as he uselessly dug his grave by cussing her out. With ease she grabbed the vine cocooned man and threw him over her shoulder. Rolling her eyes as he cussed and screamed his way through the crowed. Leaving Rouge there extremely confused to the events that just played out. ".....Da f*ck just happened?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It took a while for him to calm her down from her very obvious panic attack which left her clinging and crying into him for the longest time as he shushed her and attempted to sooth her over like how Midnight would sooth Disease in one of his moments. Eventually she was able to get a hold of herself and just sat there in his grip hiccupping and wiping at her face for a while. When he thought she was able to be steady by herself he finally let go and she didn't make any protests when he did. Just try to pull herself together from the ordeal. Which left him to sigh and finally to go and sit in his chair for a while- He groaned and reached up to rub at his temples. The soft office chair hugged his slumped over body as he racked his brain. A small thump from the desk made him open his eyes and noticed the small white cup that was placed in front of him. The smell of coffee and weed killer filled the air, and on top of it all was the smiling face of the unicorn. "Thank you." He grabbed it before chugging it down half way. She gave him a bigger smile. "I thought you'd want that after the fight back there." He dryly chuckled. Oh, yes. The fight. He honestly didn't know what to think of it all. One moment he was casually talking up one of his more richer clients, alomost sealed the deal too, when the first screams rang out. At first, he didn't pay much attention to it, if there was a fight then the bouncers would take care of it. That's what they were paid for. What he DID pay attention to was the screaming of his name- "LOU!! LOU, HELP!!" You could say he snapped around faster than a bullet. Completely confused to who could've been shouting for him- Until he saw it. The struggling form of Amalfia struggling against a sickly cherry red demon with his hand gripping her hair. What happened next was something he couldn't quite explain. It was almost like someone flipped a switch and red clouded his vision. Though throwing a chair and making a scene in front of his customers was a blur, he would've never done that otherwise. Something his head couldn't wrap around he supposed. The only logical thing he could come to was that he became overly angry at having his pretty little weapon in danger of being taken from him and his power hungry instincts took over for a little bit. What else could it have been? "Yes. Well-" He sat back up bringing the cup with him. "I don't tolerate strangers placing their hands on the woman I intend on marrying. I would advise against going back there anytime soon." "But, my papers-" "I'll send Cyber to retrieve them." He gave the cup a look before glancing back at her. ".....This coffee tastes a bit old. Why don't you go make a new pot?" "Alright. I get the hint. But, Lou-" A Soft hand reached out to gently squeeze his free hand. "I mean it. Thank you." She slowly removed herself from by the desk and made her way over to the doorway. He sat there frozen for what seemed like forever before slowly clenching his free hand. What the h*ll was wrong with him today?! He gave a frustrated growl before reaching up to remove his hat and run those red digits through his blonde locks of his, whatever. He would feel like himself soon again anyways. But he had other business to attend to that he certainly was not going to overlook or leave as a threat to any of his plans.

***********************************************************************************

He had to wait for her to go to sleep which took a little longer than usually thanks to the mongeral's scare from earlier, but it's nothing some reassurance and warm drink couldn't help. He didn't know why but-...under that calm smile of his anger resurfaced and he gave off a frustrated growl as soon as he left the room and started making his way towards Midnight's lab, which was just a little ways from his dance room. And with his fast pace fueled by the anger in his veins it didn't take long for him to get there. But what first graced his ears was loud muffled mumbles coming from the inside of said lab and his anger started to turn in that direction. The door was pushed open maybe a little more forcefully than he'd like but that didn't matter to him in the moment and he just stood there in the doorway. Rasing a brow at what he was met with. The table Midnight used for....'things' was currently occupied by the struggling red skinned demon, the vines removed for favor of the clamps on the table, Cyber was standing right next to the table looking at him and shrugged. And a little ways from her was a grumpy as ever looking Midnight and a frowning snake flicking his tongue out at the guy...and he just now noticed the mongral had a black eye to match the rope around his mouth.

"..Did I miss something?"

"Eh...The guy got some colorful language and decided to use it on Midnight," she jabbed a thumb behind her at the grumpy looking which. "Disease wasn't too happy let's just say.''

He hummed as he walked into the room, hands behind his back and gave him a calm half lidded look without the smile. Rage burning behind those lidded red eyes of his. The guy glaring at him with absolute hatred behind that gag of his. "...Remove the gag."

Cyber did as she was told without question and with one pull the rope fell from the douchbag's snout. He coughed a few times before glaring up at him. "YOU F*CKING SON OF A B*TCH!! I'LL PLUCK YOUR PETALS AND SNAP YOUR F*CKING STEM YOU TWAT!!"

Lou's face didn't change and instead rolled his eyes. "Simpleton. You all always resort to petty curses and empty threats when you're about to meet your end. Midnight." The witch looked up from..whatever she was currently mixing together and with a sinister smile plastoring itself onto his face, he pointed to the strapped down man. "We found the new volunteer for your projects. Let's hope they prove useful research eh?"

The guy's eyes widened and snapped to the witch who all of a sudden didn't look so grumpy and was staring dead at him with...calculating eyes, before struggling against the table's restraints and glaring back him. "YOU F*CKING B*ST*RD!! LET ME OUT!!"

he hummed and tapped in his in mock thought. "Um...No. You see, you could've scared off one of my plan's assets and I simply cannot have that. So as punishment you get to help Midnight test out some of our other assets for this the small takeover I hope to achieve.~ Isn't that wonderful? Too bad you won't live to see it."

"WHY YOU FU-" The guy's snout was slammed shut by Cyber after Lou nodded to her. With incredible strength, she held his red jaws shut with one hand while looping the rope back around it with the other. Midnight already looked a little better, digging through one of the draws of her desk and pulling out a few potions and things she was eager to use. As for him?...He deserved a good night's sleep after today. He felt oddly satisfied and wanted to leave them to it. Turning on his heel he took a few steps before stopping in the doorway.

"Oh..By the way.'' He looked over his shoulder. Smile and red eyes glowing in the dark. "You missed out on having a remarkible lady by your side. I guess in a way I should really be thanking you. In a sense you pushed her to me and I couldn't be happier.~" Cyber rose a brow again at him happy tone. "But we both know I won't do any of that."

The doors closed behind him and muffled cries cursed him from behind.

All characters except Amalfia belongs to @palettepainter

[sasuhinasno1fan]

White Day confession

@searleine hi, I’m your Secret Santa for @voltronsecretsanta! I’ll be honest and did plan on writting a different fic, but I got really busy so I still hope you enjoy this. I got the idea from the DNAngel episode when we find out Disake’s parents. Happy Holidays and enjoy!

Lance squeezed past the gate right before the security guard closed it, dashing to the shoe lockers. He opened his, barely paying attention to the notes that came falling out. He quickly changed his shoes and scooped up the letters, running off to his class. He barely made it through the door before the bell rang. Mr. Shirogane, shook his head, waving him off to his seat. There were a few gifts on his desk that he shoved inside where his books were along with the notes.

“Alright everyone. We have a few announcements before classes start, but first, happy White’s Day.”

White’s Day, March 13, the companion holiday to Valentine’s Day. In their town, the took the white part seriously, giving people white items as presents. Of course, usually the girls would get gifts on White’s Day, but Lance seemed to be special. Maybe it was because he misunderstood the holidays when he first moved down to Japan. He thought he was supposed to give stuff on Valentines and then receive on White’s Day. Even as he went to different schools, the trend still followed, Lance McClain was gifted a white item from his admires on White Day. Usually he’d smile through it, getting very used to his large fan club. He was a foreign guy who looked nice, part of the swim team and genuine a nice guy. Girls liked that and crowding around him. After a while of pretty shallow crushes, he started to get bored. He liked the idea of White Day, a day where you could tell a person how you feel and all the pressure wasn’t forced on Valentine’s. Plus…last year he received the best present.

It was such a simple one. The main reason it caught his attention was because of how simple it was compared to the rest of the gifts he received. A handmade white and blue bracelet. There was no name, no flowery letter, no immediate cry to be noticed. It was a simple gift that he was meant to enjoy and he did. He wore it since the day he got it. He hoped by the end of the day, he might receive another, or even better, meet the person who just wanted to give him a gift. A really selfish part of him hoped it was that guy from the train. Since he started high school, there was a guy on the same train as him. He attended the private high schools, based on the uniform. He looked like he didn’t belong though. He had long hair, a mullet. It was usually pulled back into a ponytail, allowing the many earrings on his ears to be seen. In the warmer months where he was in his summer uniform, he had a very visible tattoo on his arm, an odd-looking symbol. He’d seen the older train riders turn their noses up at it, but something about it – who was he kidding, everything about him drew Lance’s attention. He wanted to talk to him but he was always so nervous. He might look like a rebel but he could easily be snobby and rude and Lance only had so much self confidence to deal with people like that. Maybe be could finally pluck up the courage to do it today.

He let out a yawn, feeling too slow to cover his mouth. Assuming he didn’t fall asleep on the train. He had stayed back at school late for practise and there was a good chance of that happening again. He was hoping that the captain having a girlfriend would keep him too busy to call for practise. He also had a headache. All these late nights were starting to catch up to him. It was fine though, all he had to do was get through today.

                                                   ____________

“Wow.” Rachel said as she watched Hunk help Lance bring in his White Day gifts. She also noticed her brother was pouting, but she knew it couldn’t be because of the gifts. He had gotten used to the large amount received on Valentine’s and White Day years ago. They would usually be regifted to family members. “is it bigger this year?”

“Does it matter?” Lance sulked, dropping the items in the living room and stomping off to his room.

Rachel raised an eyebrow at Hunk, who tugged at the orange ribbon tied around his wrist. At first, she was confused. He used the ribbon to push his bangs back if need be. Then she understood. It wasn’t the ribbon, but it being around his wrist, like the unnamed bracelet around Lance’s. if he was sulking, then…no unnamed gift came.

While her mother came in, greeting Hunk and offering him food, while marvelling over the gifts, she went up to Lance’s room. He’s unpacking his bag, putting books for homework in the middle and making sure he pulled out his swim stuff to get washed. She noticed he kept rubbing at his wrist. The bracelet is missing.

“So, where is it?”

“My bag. I didn’t get to put it back on after practise.” He pulled it out from the bottom of his bag and sets it on the desk. “Not that it matters. There was nothing new from them.”

“Can’t be the only reason.” He seemed even more upset for no gift giver to not show up.

“Remember that guy I talked to you about? The guy from the private school on the train? Guess what I was hoping to do today, if he was actually there?”

“He wasn’t there?” Rachel had heard more than enough about this guy, Lance talked enough about him, about the small things he noticed and how cute he looked. She was hoping to one day here he got up the courage to go talk to him but of course things couldn’t be that easy.

“And if that’s not enough, I’ve got a huge paper to finish, because our English teacher is horrible.”

“Hey, at least you can speak the language. I guess you also forgot about babysitting duty tonight?” any other time, she would have taken over for her younger brother, but she had a date with the guy from her college she’d been crushing on for weeks. She wasn’t about to give that up.

Lance groaned. “I’m going back downstairs. I saw macaroons, and I’m not letting Hunk eat them.”

“Hey, I know this sucks now, but think about it this way. If the person who gave you gift doesn’t think you’re worth it, that’s on them. and as for the guy on the train, if he’s really a rebel, he’ll realise how amazing you are, even if you take a bit more time to go talk to him.”

“Yeah, here’s hoping.”

                                                _______________

Lance was drained. The kids thankfully only had an hour of going insane before they calmed down and he was able to get them to bed, but with how tired he was, Japanese, Spanish and English were all messing around in his head. It took twice as long to finish his assignment, not to mention the text from the captain about practise in the morning. Lance didn’t love taking the train early, cause it was always packed. His usual time wasn’t as bad, but being chained off for a while so the platform wasn’t packed with people like it was the last train, was something he could do without. He yawned, ready to take a nap, even if it took 30 minutes to get to school, but it was either sleep on the train, or stay home and sleep and deal with annoyed and anger swim captain.

“Alright, this way please.” The barricade was moved and the station staff waved the group of people up the stairs, to take their places in the correct areas. Lance was able to get a spot near the front under his area. Usually he’d people watch, take note of the different groups, but his eyes kept slipping shut. And his sight was doubling and moving? Or was that him?

“Look out!” something grabbed his arm and yanked him, just as the sound of the train registered. He landed on a firm chest, that took him as he felt his legs give out. He blinked, to realise the train was pulling into the station and station staff were quickly approaching him. Had he been so tired he almost…? “Are you ok?”

He looked behind him and there he was. The private school student, the one he shared the train rides with. He noticed his eyes were dark, kinda like gems.

“Sir? Are you alright?” a staff member asked

“yeah. Yeah, sorry. I felt dizzy.”

He was helped up and the staff directed them to the station office. Lance felt his legs tingling, like he’d walked too much after being lazy for a while.

“Do you still feel dizzy?” the private school guy asked.

“A bit.”

He watched him stand up and dig into his pants pocket, pulling out a wallet. And something else.

“I can go get you some water.” But Lance wasn’t paying attention to that. He pulled the white and blue bracelet from the guy’s hand.

“This is…”

Like a light switch, the guys face went red and he looked embarrassed. He was kept from saying anything as another staff member came in with cups of water and a sugary snack for Lance. They wanted him to stay until he didn’t feel dizzy before letting them call his school to let them know what happened.

They were left alone and Lance sat waiting. The guy could have run off the moment he had a chance, but he sat there, sitting still.

“My name’s Keith. I’ve seen you on the train for almost 2 years now and I’ve wanted to talk to you. you’ve got quite a name for yourself. Even people in my school have heard of you. last year, I had a gift get taken to your school and when I saw you wearing it the next day, I almost went over and told you it was me, but I chickened out. So I said this year, I’d do like a big gesture to give it to you.”

“except you messed that up by pulling it out with your wallet.” Lance pointed out, laughing. Keith’s face got redder and he pouted. “So why a bracelet?”

“Well, you got so much stuff from what I understood and I don’t know. Something small and simple seemed to fit you. I mean, I can tell that bag is old. The mascot you have on it really faded, so you’ve had it for a long time.” He said, nodding to the dolphin plush he had on his bag. “the sleeves on the hoodie you wear in the winter months have frayed edges, but it’s not like you can’t afford to get a new one, you just wearing to death. I wanted to give you something you’d have for a long time. So, yeah.”

Lance felt happy to know that Keith seemed to notice things about him, like he’d done to Keith.

“Can you help me put it on?” Lance handed Keith the bracelet back and gave him his wrist, ready and waiting. His chest felt fluttery as Keith tied the bracelet around his wrist, right on top of the old one. “So, I might just end up walking home and sleeping for the next couple hours, but we have half day tomorrow for that national teacher training thing. What about you?”

“No school.”

“So, if you’re up for it, why don’t you come pick me up from school and we can go hang out? Maybe as a date?”

“Yeah, that sounds good to me. I’ll make sure to catch you again if you end up fainting.”

“Who knows, cute guy, great day? It might be in the cards.”

[gore-maballer]

alright here goes big personal post time

i did wanna make this yesterday but i had to do a couple of things and i got kinda tired

this is definitely gonna get  heavy but i do want to end on a good note

I think i need to get this out straight away, i have Asperger’s Syndrome, i’m very high functioning but i do have it. I like to think it doesn’t affect me that much but i’ve lived with the diagnosis long enough to know it’s just not true.

Loud noises cause me no end of distress. Focusing on particular subjects can be almost impossible sometimes. Naturally this impacted me at school, which is what i think caused the bulk of my mental health issues.

Officially i only have 9th grade completed, i haven’t even finished high school. Like, i know i’m not stupid, but imagine what that does to someone’s self-esteem.

That isn’t to say i didn’t try to finish high school. I tried harder than anyone i know, i’ve taken practically every course available to me, even across multiple schools. I’ve taken science, art, multimedia, health and safety, culinary school,  you name it.

but like i said, for people like me, studying is practically impossible sometimes.

whatever information i needed, i had to get it first try during class. That’s not easy when you share a room full of people always chattering and making distractions. And that’s even if you like your schoolmates somewhat, most of the classes i was in i couldn’t stand the people around me.

Don’t get me wrong, i didn’t hate everyone i met, i even made some dear friends, which kinda hurts now because i’ve lost contact with so many of them, and the ones i can contact still, i don’t really want to because i feel like they’ve moved on and i don’t want to bother them. So that was my school life, lonely, overwhelmingly stressful and underwhelmingly rewarding.

All the while i felt like a burden to my parents. Like, here’s this fuckin deadbeat leeching off his parents way past any reasonable amount of time to finish high school. i should have finished high school by the time i was seventeen. I’m 26 now. In retrospect, it’s not exactly a bad thing, none of the courses i took felt right to me. Like that health and safety one. I HATED that course, i took it because it was the only one i could at the time. I had no interest in the subjects, my classmates were insufferable, we shared rooms with ANOTHER class that was somehow even worse than the one i was in because our courses shared subjects and it was a small school, and some of the teachers were downright bad at their job sorry not sorry. So something happened, the stress got too much and i had an outburst. And people noticed. My parents noticed.

I started going to a psychiatrist, i got diagnosed with depression. Not anxiety but i feel like those go hand in hand anyway. Fuckin three hit combo right here, autism, depression, and the anxiety that goes with it. Fuck me up fam. Still, it did get me the help i needed and i started getting medication. And things started getting better.

Back to school. Starting over, three more years.

I really enjoyed culinary school, i found i have a knack for making some mean arroz con leche and i feel like i do really well with pastries and sweets in general. So school was nice for a while, i was enjoying my studies even if i wasn’t doing well in ALL of them, (sorry to my french teacher she was cool, but fuck that entire language), my classmates were pretty okay for the most part, the fact that it was a professional course meant that when i finished, not only would i have a highschool diploma, i’d be immediately certified to start working.

But on my second year, my father got diagnosed with cancer. And it all went to shit. I felt pressured to start helping my family anyway i could, after all, i’d taken so much and given so little. I started taking driving lessons and i got my license which was a big help in general. And good thing i did, because my dad’s health deteriorated quick. It was caught too late. I was miserable because when he was sick, at one point we had a heart to heart and i realized how much he loved me and didn’t think i was a burden like i thought he did, and though sometimes he really made me upset, i felt like i never showed how much i appreciated and loved him. He didn’t make it. Not a month later my grandmother died and a little under a year later my grandfather. This might seem cold, my grandparents were riddled with dementia, they barely recognized me so i wasn’t too upset when they died. But my mom, these people have been with her in the most important moments of her life and she lost them all in the span of a year. She was devastated, and seeing her like that wrecked me.

So my depression got worse, and my grades tanked, and i failed school again, and again i felt like a burden. I start thinking about things. I should run away, live on the street, anything so i wouldn’t burden my mother anymore. What’s the worst that could happen? I die? So what? Death felt welcome, even deserved. But could i do that to my mom? I’m glad i didn’t.

Things started getting better. Pushing through it all, i started another course, auxilliary health technician, and this one is right for me, i’m certain. I’m great at it, i get to help people and i love it. It’s just the right level of responsibilty, we basically assist nurses and help take care of the patients among other things.

It’s too bad the damn pandemic hit, we got stuck with telework, suddenly every subject and every class shifts to theory, and we’re spending hours upon hours everyday on our computers doing boring research and just completing assignment after boring assignment. So i started getting headaches, cool. My brain’s finally taken all it can take.

Anyway, i start my third and final internship before i finish the course, and i make it through my first week. And one night the seizure happens. I find out i have a brain tumor and it’s been growing for a while. Thankfully it’s not cancer, i really didn’t want to put my mom through that shit again.

Most of the mass was removed, i didn’t have any complications, i’m feeling great doing RT to remove what they couldn’t take out through surgery, plus i’m almost done with it, and further on i’ll do chemo, which i’m a bit more nervous about, but i’m sure it’ll go well too. And i got plenty of time to organize my thoughts. I really start thinking about life, about everyone who helped me get where i am now and i realize. People care about me, and i care about them. And i don’t want to hurt them, and i think they don’t want to me get hurt either.

So i’m not gonna. I’m not gonna hurt anyone, least of all myself anymore.

Needless to say this whole situation kinda grinded my studies to a halt. But I found out i’ll be able to kick off where i stopped later on this year.

Hopefully the state of things will be better by then, and i’m feeling the best I’ve ever felt, all things considering. I’m gonna see this damn thing through. I’m taking control of my life.

I finally feel like a person.

I got nowhere to go but forward.

If you read through all of this, thank you. It meant a lot and i love you.

I think i’ll go have a healthy cry now.

[animescenarios]

Headcannons about the Kirisaki boys and their girlfriend, who is a smart, dreamy, talented artist.

Hanamiya:

- assuming that they probably met at school

- he would first become attracted to her intelligence and find himself listening attentively to whatever she was saying in class

- they’re both pretty smart so it wouldn’t take long for their relationship to click and soon after they’re already a couple

- he’d sometimes bring up her dreamy nature and tease for having her head in the clouds most of the time

- but in reality it doesn’t matter to him

- whichever type of art she’s into, Hanamiya doesn’t often show support openly, but is always there to help or give his opinions

- sometimes they’re a bit blunt and may seem rude, but he’s genuinely trying

Hara:

- I feel like it’d take him a while to actually realize she’s an artist

- he never really paid much attention to her scribbles so one day he just stumbles across her notebook and sees a pretty detailed and accurate sketch

- to say he’s impressed is an understatement

- wouldn’t leave her alone for the next few days, bugging her to draw him sometime

- he’s also very proud of his girlfriend’s intelligence and shows her off to no end

- someone from his team has trouble with homework? “Hey, you know my girlfriend’s pretty smart, ask her maybe?”

- but also makes sure other people don’t take advantage of her and don’t pester her too much, don’t worry

Furuhashi:

- headcanon that those two didn’t hit it off for a while

- they found the other one boring at first and competed with each other

- but one time they got assigned a project and thus were forced to spend a significant amount of time together

- this way they grew much closer

- when they started dating, it was a completely different story than before

- they treat each other not only as a couple but also best friends

- he picks up on her artistic nature quite early but doesn’t make a big deal out of it

- admires her passion and silently supports any new works

- snaps her out of dreams throughout the day so that she doesn’t get in trouble

Seto:

- he appreciates her intelligence from the start

- doesn’t make a move until she does and it’s probably related to school

- it takes a while for them to actually start talking about something more than that

- but when time comes, they find each other discussing about the most random things two hours later, with no idea how the situation progressed

- he enjoys listening to her dreamy thoughts and art plans for the future and feels relaxed hearing her being passionate about it

- what if she’s a musician? he attends any show and cheers on her from his seat

- likes watching her write lyrics and always reads them if she needs opinions

- he may not be the best at actually helping but he’s doing his best

Yamazaki:

- they meet each other through her art

- he probably found a notebook and saw some sketches/notes

- thankfully she signed it so it was easy to return

- he addressed the small art and asked her lots of questions about it

- that’s how they got to know each other and soon became very close

- Yamazaki is off the boat with making art so he’s genuinely fascinated and even tries it himself a few times (probably fails and gets discouraged, a mood)

- finds her dreaminess cute and doesn’t mind letting her be most of the time

- sometimes gets asked random questions and gets really confused

- he thinks she’s so cool and when he catches onto her intelligence? This boy’s in love

[antiquechampagne]

Antique Champagne - CH37 - Third Wheel

Hancock made good on his word a few days later. It took about that long to collect enough booze and chems to throw a nice-sized party with Nate and Kent as the special guests of honor, highlighting the work they both did in helping secure Goodneighbor.

Even before he made it down the stairs at The Third Rail, Hancock was on the lookout. Payne had been around him long enough to notice when her boss was on the prowl; holding curious glances longer, pulling in for longer embraces and pouring on his legendary saucy one-liners. It wasn’t long before people were dancing and carousing raucously. As the hours crept into the single digits many of the partygoers started to staggering home. Hancock, on the other hand, had used his time to narrow down the likely candidates for some private fun to a beefy caravan guard who seemed open to getting his own private late night ‘tour’.

By the time Hancock was hanging off the lug’s thick arms and plopping his hat over the man’s mess of ashy blond hair, Payne knew it would only be a matter of time before the pair made their way upstairs. At least she hoped they would wait until they got that far… Hancock wasn’t particularly picky about privacy when he got like this. She didn’t fancy having to ignore Ham’s icy glare if they ducked into the Rail’s ratty bathrooms. Luckily, with a little nudging, they made it up to Hancock’s bedroom. Payne confiscated any weapons and then Hancock closed the door behind them, playfully goosing the guard along the way.

Payne pulled up a chair in the foyer of the spiral staircase, propped her feet up on the railing and pulled out the latest edition of Publick Occurrences. She was close enough to the door to respond if called, but strategically out of the way. Normally, Payne found night like these to be extremely boring, but compared to the being shot at, an easy night’s work. Reading normally helped to keep her entertained but awake while Hancock amused himself in the other room. Tonight though, it seemed a different story. Payne found herself constantly distracted, keyed into every laugh, half-muted word and creak of furniture coming from the other side of the door. Stories of crooked politicians and paranoid rants about sinister Institute infiltrators paled in comparison to the lurid fiction her head dreamed up as her mind connected the dots between the sounds.

Unconsciously, Payne lowered the paper, her eyes staring through the space it had been, her focus nailed to the chorus coming from inside the bedroom. Slowly, she could hear the pace of things pick up, groans mixing in with slaps on top of other rude noises. Hot blood rushed around her body as her heart rate involuntarily quickened, even though she sat frozen in place. The part of her mind not mesmerized by the show puzzled over her body’s response. How many other times had she been in this same exact position? She had never reacted this way, becoming a nervous transfixed semi-voyeur. The logical part screamed at her primal reaction, at war with itself and confused… all while she sat; eyes forward, body taught, her body tightly tying itself in knots.

Finally, after a few loud bangs, the sounds quieted, leaving Payne anxious and unsettled, perched precariously in her rickety wooden chair. She tried a few deep breaths to calm herself, which backfired as soon as the door cracked open.

“Hey, Payne?” Hancock’s scared bald head poked out from the darkness. The slice of light from the foyer crossed his naked chest, the rest of him disappearing into the darkness of the bedroom. “Can you get us a coupla’ cans of water and some Day Tripper? You know where it is, right?” Payne nodded her head. “Oh, and some smokes? Just leave’em by the door.” Again, Payne nodded, trying not to stare while her eyes traced down Hancock’s torso and into the shadows beyond the door. Mercifully, Hancock gave his own nod and retreated into the room, closing the door behind him.

Getting up, Payne passed by a bank of tall windows. A cool breeze crept in from assorted cracked panes, shocking her warm skin. Giving up on her assigned quest, she pushed open the window, bathing herself in the chilled night air. Below her, the street was empty and silent, apart from the occasional Watchman on patrol, their steps echoing off the buildings. Payne waited the chill to quench her heat when she heard footsteps padding the wooden floor behind her. Turning, she came face to face with barely a dressed ghoul.

“Hey,” Hancock leaned casually against the railing across from her. Payne couldn’t help but notice how the only thing he was wearing, an unbutton pair of light linen pants, barely clung curves of his narrow hips. Payne stammered something, quickly looking at the floor.

“You okay? You’re looking a little…” his fingers motioned to his eyes, “hungry, maybe?”

Payne’s pulse jumped. SHIT! “Yeah. Sorry, boss,” she muttered, embarrassed by her obvious unprofessionalism. Her distraction must have been written all over her face.

“Well, there are a few blood packs in the office. Once you grab my stuff, take it easy. This guy’s about outta steam, so don’t worry about us.” He cracked an easy smile. It did absolutely fuck all to calm her nerves but, after she nodded an acknowledgement, he thankfully headed back to the bedroom.

After collecting the water, chems and cigarettes, Payne returned to the darkened office, scavenging for every blood bag she could find. She ended up with four piled on the coffee table after a quick search. Staring at the stack, Payne tried desperately to convince herself of…well… something. She wasn’t even sure what that something was.

Four empty bags later, very little had changed in her disposition, only now she was stuffed to the gills with blood. Pulling her legs up on the soft red sofa, she soon found herself drifting to sleep, a food coma dragging her consciousness slowly under.

Soon she found herself lost in a dream. The vacant backstreets of Goodneighbor rose out of the vapors around her, gloomy and seemingly endless. Hearing her name being called, she followed the sound around a corner. Down the fictional alley, Hancock casually stood against a wall, his vibrant coat a beacon against the drab bricks. As she approached, a crouching humanoid figure coalesced out of the haze. Trepidation swept over Payne, slowing her pace to a crawl as she tried to anticipate the creature’s intent. Hancock, on the other hand, showed little interest, smiling while puffing away calmly on a cigarette.

When she was within a few yards of Hancock, the figure turned aggressively towards her and hissed. Payne recoiled. Its skin was as dark crimson, its features a twisted reflection of Payne herself. The most unnerving aspect of the creature was the deep black voids were eyes should have been. Advancing another step, both the phantom and Hancock disappeared as a bank of dense fog drifted across the alley.

Racing forward, searching for any sign of the Mayor, Payne soon found herself out of breath. She constantly ducked down alleyways and chased tantalizing shadows, trying to uncover any sign of Hancock or the creature. After collapsing on the pavement, exhausted, she heard Hancock’s raspy voice in the distance laughing.

Cautiously rounding another corner, she could see him sitting on a dirty crate, the creature skulking around between them, pacing from shadow to shadow. Summoning her remaining stamina, Payne sprinted forward. The creature reacted instantaneously, placing itself inhumanly fast between herself and Hancock, halting her advance.

Hancock chuckled. “You get too worked up about these things, sister. You really gotta learn to relax!”

Something about the way he spoke made her take a mental step back. Nothing about the way he looked or sounded read anxious or upset. He wasn’t asking for anything. He didn’t need her help… but the creature… the creature was purposefully inserting its body between the two of them, carefully watching her and matching her every movement. It wasn’t acting aggressive towards Hancock. It was defending him… from her!

The shock shook her out of her dream, bolting upright and fully awake.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I know this chapter is a bit on the short side, but the next bit is going to probably be pretty long. One of easiest places to break it up into digestible chunks is here.

[theshatteredrose]

Relic Keepers: Awakening of the Red Lily (Chapter 7) - Original Novel

AN: So proud at myself for being able to maintain my weekly updates so far, in spite of the headaches I’ve been experiencing. Hope I can continue to maintain it :’D Anyway, hope you enjoy reading!

Ao3 | Wattpad | Inkitt | FictionPress

~

Chapter 7:

As Eishirou checked his tablet of their possible location, Zayne kept an ever-vigilant eye on their new surroundings. The sunlight had dimmed considerably the last few minutes, indicating that the sun was soon to set completely.

They needed to find their way back to the others as quickly as possible. He didn’t want to experience flailing about in the dark, in the middle of an unmapped forest no less.

While he recognised the greenery around them to be that of the forest of which they had entered, he didn’t recognise their surroundings. To be fair, the entire forest was just so dense, it was difficult to see through the foliage more than a couple of feet. They could be a few feet away from the expedition site without even knowing.

The loud buzzing of his communicator caused Eishirou to jump slightly. He immediately plunged his hand into his bag to pull out the hand-held device.

Jacob’s concerned face flickered into view. “Eishirou!”

“I’m fine!” Eishirou immediately responded with, knowing that it wouldn’t calm the worried Jacob completely, but should at least ease his concerns. “Zayne is with me. We’re both fine.”

That did get a small sigh of relief from him. “So, Zayne is with you. I got your previous message but was unable to reply.”

“We were underground at the time. Reception was spotty at best.”

“Where are you?”

Good question.

“Jacob, listen; under the clearing where that stone tablet was discovered is a series of mine shafts. That’s where we fell when that ShadowDweller attacked. And they’re connected to an ancient tunnel system. And that’s connected to a large underground chamber holding a mosaic and an altar. So, you need to be careful in that clearing. The ground could give way in other places.”

Jacob listened to him prattle off the information and was silent for a moment as he took it all. “We’ll talk more on that later,” he finally said. “Are you still underground?”

Eishirou shook his head. “No, we’re above ground and back in the forest. But I don’t recognise where. I think we ended up in another part of the forest. A deeper part.”

Jacob turned away from the screen for a moment to speak with someone else. Maybe that of Ernesta. “I’ll send you the map from my tablet,” he stated as he turned back to the screen. “Overlay it with yours and you should be able to pinpoint out location.”

Yes, that should work!

“Right. I’ll send mine, too.” Eishirou reached into his bag to pick up his tablet and was about to excuse himself on the communicator because, honestly, he needed two hands. But instead, Zayne was the one to take it from him. He moved to stand right next to him and he held onto the tablet for him, allowing for him to use both at the same time.

He sent the Elite a graceful smile before he turned his attention back to the task at hand.

“Any ShadowDwellers where you are?”

“Not currently.” Jacob appeared to have someone else holding his tablet for him also. “Team 3 has split into two groups. I’m still at the clearing with Ernesta and Tatsu. The others are escorting the rest of the expedition team. Sunset is about an hour away. We need to get out of this forest pronto.”

Honestly, he didn’t need to say that; Eishirou heard the urgency in his voice.

Just as Eishirou sent his portion of the map, his tablet beeped at him to alert an incoming message.

“Did you get the map?”

“I did,” Eishirou confirmed as he tapped the screen and opened the new message. “Did you?”

Jacob was seen nodding as his gazed to his right. “Yes. From what it tells me is that you’re far deeper than I had anticipated.”

That sounded about right. But thanks to Jacob’s map, Eishirou at least had a direction to head off in. They were way east of the expedition site. A good twenty-minute walk if they were lucky and the path was straight.

But it was likely that the sun would set before they were able to re-join with the others.

Zayne suddenly placed his hand on Eishirou’s shoulder in an attempt to gain his attention. “Tell them to remain where they are; we’ll come to them.”

Eishirou nodded. “Prof, stay there with the others. It’ll be easy if we find our way to you.”

Jacob turned back to his communicator sharply. It was obvious that he wanted to argue that. However, he didn’t. He knew he was right.

“Alright, but send updates of your map every five minutes.”

Sounded reasonable.

After offering the Jacob his reassurances, Eishirou closed down his communicator. He then retrieved the tablet from Zayne and took a moment to study.

“We need to head west,” he said, thankful that his tablet also had a compass.

“Alright, you take the lead. But don’t get too far in front of me,” Zayne requested firmly.

“Roger that.”

With his tablet in hand, Eishirou turned to face west and chose the nearest path, hoping that it would continue to take them in the direction they needed to be.

Despite knowing that ShadowDwellers did inhabit the area, the atmosphere of the forest felt tranquil and peaceful. Not to mention the fresh air and the gentle breeze was comforting. It wasn’t much of a surprise after being stuck underground for a while.

Even so, he hoped they didn’t have to camp for the night. He had been camping a couple of times before, when he was younger. Never in the middle of a ShadowDweller infested forest at night, though. And he didn’t fancy trying it tonight. Especially without previsions.

“This is quite the first assignment,” Zayne commented surprisingly casually. “And you said bodyguard missions were boring.”

Eishirou shot the Elite an apologetic smile. “Well, this is the first time something like this has ever happened to me.”

Zayne tilted his head to the side in a sign of curiosity. “Really? You were pretty calm throughout.”

Really? Oh, good. That meant Zayne hadn’t seen him blush fiercely or his heart race in his chest just by being in very close proximity with him.

Gah, why did he have to remember that?

“W-well, so were you,” Eishirou quickly directed the conversation toward Zayne himself. “Hard to believe this is your first mission.”

Zayne nonchalantly ran a hand through his hair. “Really? Meh, guess I’m just a natural at it.”

He sounded somewhat dismissive, so Eishirou chose not to press him. He didn’t have the right to poke and prod, anyway. Even if he was curious about the Elite. He was quite the enigma.

They both fell silent as they continued to head in a westly direction. They path had a few twists and turns, but thankfully it kept them moving west. And edging close to the expedition site.

They had better hurry, though.

“It’s getting dark,” Eishirou commented as he glanced at their surroundings with a sense of worry.

The lush green foliage with wild flowers of vivid reds and yellows was charming during the light of day. Peaceful even. But as the light began to fade, the tall trees took on towering shadowy figures. Figures that leaned imposingly over them.

“I’m reluctant to use my wings here,” Zayne muttered. “Might draw unwanted attention.”

That was true. The bright blue lights of his mana wings were sure to be quite the beacon, though. “Yeah. But we need to see, too.”

Zayne uttered a sigh. “True. Ok, wait a sec.”

Eishirou immediately stopped walking and turned toward Zayne. The Elite closed his eyes only for his brow to wrinkle and he opened them again. He pivoted his head to either side of him, seemingly looking for something.

Before Eishirou would ask him what was wrong with a worried tone, Zayne spoke;

“I can hear something.”

Eishirou blinked. He couldn’t necessarily hear anything. Well, Elites were said to have heightened senses. “Voices or something else?”

Zayne didn’t answer immediately. He kept his gaze at their darkening surroundings. He suddenly bristled protectively and his wings burst into formation. He quickly spun around to face down the path they had travelled. “It’s that damn centipede ShadowDweller!”

Eishirou felt his heart drop into his stomach. He was about to ask him if he was sure but the loud sound of the splitting of trees and wild rustling of branches gave him all the answers he needed.

A loud beep from his tablet startled him. He immediately looked down to see a menacing red dot on the outer edges of the screen. And that red dot was moving in their direction at an unbelievable pace.

How did…?

It must have when they had that near encounter with the ShadowDweller in the mines. The tablet must have recorded its presence. A built-in warning system?

Ah, it didn’t matter at the moment!

“It’s coming straight for us!”

“Ah shit,” Zayne spat as the sound of splintering wood grew louder with each passing second. “I just hope we can get to that clearing before it catches up. Otherwise, I’ll fight it myself.”

Eishirou skittishly looked at their surroundings. They were in a narrow path, surrounded with tall trees and impenetrable shrubbery. Not the ideal battlefield.

Instead of pulling out his mana holsters to prepare for battle, Zayne spun around to face Eishirou and darted toward him. And suddenly swept him into his arms and held him against his chest. “Hold tight to your tablet.”

“H-huh…?” Eishirou uttered, his features sporting another blush. Even though the situation was beyond serious and this was no place to start getting all embarrassed!

“This way is faster. Hold onto my neck.” With his tablet clutched in his left hand, Eishirou meekly slipped his right arm around Zayne’s neck and shoulders. “Let’s go.”

Eishirou had to resist the urge to utter a sound of surprise when Zayne suddenly sprung into the air and spread his mana wings. He wasn’t able to gain much altitude due to the thick canopy of the forest, so he concentrated his mana to propel them forward as fast as he could.

But even with the sound of wind rushing past his ears, Eishirou could hear the sound of trees and the earth shaking. He glanced over Zayne’s shoulder, but because of the shadows of the setting sun, he couldn’t see very far.

Thankfully, his tablet was able to see what he couldn’t.

“It’s catching up.”

“Where is it?”

“Right behind us!”

“Damn it,” Zayne cursed as he tightened his arms around Eishirou. “Hold on, I’m taking a sharp corner.”

Eishirou unconsciously curled closer to Zayne, pressing his cheek against his shoulder as Zayne pulled to an abrupt stop. Somehow overcoming forward motion, he planted his feet onto the ground and lurched to the side, down a forking path. His mana wings worked quickly to ensure that he didn’t send them both crashing to the ground, but he did have to use his legs to cushion the sudden change in direction.

He skidded across the ground, leaving gouges in the soil as evidence. He turned them both around in time to see a black blur with a magnitude of scurrying legs trundle past. Speeding down the path in a straight line, taking out everything and anything in its way.

Just like when they encountered it underground, as quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared from view. Though, they may not be able to visibly see it, they could hear it.

And they certainly heard the high-pitched insect screech of frustration.

It…was after them, wasn’t it?

“You all right?” Zayne asked him, slightly breathless.

“Y-yeah,” Eishirou answered as he stayed curled close to him. “It’s incredibly fast.”

“Yeah. Too fast and big to turn corners,” Zayne muttered with a half smirk of satisfaction. “Where are we?”

Eishirou glanced down at his tablet. “Ah, a few yards away from the expedition site!”

Better yet, the ShadowDweller had moved away from the site, too.

“That means they’ve heard all the commotion as well,” Zayne commented as he stood up straight, keeping a firm hold on Eishirou in his arms. “Point the way.”

“Head straight up this path we’re on now.”

“Got it.”

Without another word, Zayne turned and took to the air once more. They were drawing close to the expedition site now. Only a few more yards.

A loud ping from his tablet caused Eishirou to look down at in with trepidation. It couldn’t take sharp corners, but it could move in a circle rather easily. “It’s coming again.”

Zayne tightened his jaw and his eyes hardened. “You can see the expedition site?”

“Yeah.”

Zayne’s gaze was firm, serious, and stoic as he stared forward, ignoring all that noise of destruction behind them. “…Good. If it all turns to shit, I want you to run and don’t look back.”

Eishirou snapped his head up to stared wide-eyed at the Elite. An unfamiliar feeling of fear appeared in the centre of his chest, momentarily leaving him breathless.

He…he was serious.

No, he couldn’t let him…

“Zayne!”

That was Ernesta’s voice!

Zayne immediately recognised it, too. There was a flicker of relief in his gaze before he pressed his lips tightly together. “Hold on.”

Much like he had done just moments ago, Zayne made a sharp turn and darted into an opening with the greenery. As they burst forth through the shrubbery, they found themselves in the middle of a clearing that was lit by a hastily built high-powered lamp. And by the mana wings of two members of Elite Team 3.

Eishirou had never felt such relief.

“Get ready!” Zayne yelled at them. “It’s a big bastard!”

Ernesta and Tatsu darted forward, allowing for Zayne to shoot past them. “Where is it?”

Zayne skidded across the ground in order to stop, his grip around Eishirou never faltering for even a second. “Right behind us.”

Ernesta abruptly revealed her mana holster and readied it in a defensive stance. Her posture was ridged, but ready. Back straight, head high. No fear. Completely ready for whatever was to come.

“Get Eishirou to safety,” Ernesta ordered coolly. “Tatsu, draw it into the clearing.”

“No need,” Tatsu was equally calm and unfaltering. “It’s coming on its own accord.”

“So, it’s after Zayne and Eishirou, then?”

“More likely than not.”

Why was it after them, though? Was it because they intruded into its territory? Or was it because of something else?

“Eishirou!”

As Jacob rushed over to them, Zayne finally placed Eishirou back onto his feet. Though he soon grabbed him by the upper arms and pulled him toward him. “Now, go hide. And remember what I said.”

B-but…how could he turn his back on him and run? Just leave him like that?

Before Eishirou could form a response, Zayne released his hold on him and Jacob snatched him up into his arms to hug him desperately. He numbly replied to Jacob’s questions, watching from the corner of his eye as Zayne walked over to join Ernesta and Tatsu.

“This ShadowDweller?” Ernesta asked.

“Encountered it in the underground mine,” Zayne replied calmly. “It’s incredibly fast; on a straight protectory. It can’t handle sharp corners.”

“Hm. You’ll have to tell us everything that occurred when we return to the academy,” Ernesta commented in a surprisingly easy-going manner.

Zayne didn’t have a chance to respond. From the dark and dense forest, the ShadowDweller appeared. It burst forth in a shower of tree limbs and a flurry of leaves. It thundered into the clearing, though following the outer edges.

It circled its entire body around the clearing. Circling them. Penning them in.

With the canopy above them, the ShadowDweller raised only a fraction of its upper body up of the ground. Four pincers framed a circular mouth that was lined with sharp, surprisingly white teeth. Teeth that seemed to glint somehow, despite the dimming light.

“We’re surrounded,” Tatsu informed everyone in an all too nonchalant manner.

“That’s fine,” Ernesta unexpectedly replied. “We just need to take off its head.”

“Finally,” Zayne muttered as he readied his own weapons. “Time to beat the crap out of this guy.”

There was nothing for Eishirou to do, but allow Jacob to wrap his arms around protectively as they hunkered down within the clearing.

And…wait to see what would happen.

[honeymoonjin]

A/N - IMPORTANT NOTICE::: for all fans of LiT, this series is going to have seasons, and each season is ten chapters. This is because there is a lot of story to tell, and while I don’t want to rush it, I also want to have time to work on other things in between chunks of story. So next chapter will be the season finale!

LOST IN TRANSLATION

↳What do you do when you have no qualifications but want to see the world? You help teach English in a Korean primary school, apparently. ↳Principal!Jin, math teacher!Yoongi, PE teacher!Hoseok, English teacher!Namjoon, school nurse!Jimin, art teacher!Taehyung, and science teacher!Jungkook.

CHAPTER NINE ↳The news that the school might shut down is putting a lot of pressure on the staff, and with parent teacher interviews coming up, it seems to be taking its toll.

“Have fun?”

You jump at the sudden voice, sending a small dribble of tea sloshing out of the mug and down your sleeve. “Hm?”

It’s Coach Jung, collapsing noisily onto the couch next to you. The two of you are in the staffroom, him arriving a little later since he had to return the sports gear first. Apparently, on mornings where he had early practice, Principal Kim would give the coach the first period off to chill for a bit, and as temporary assistant to Hoseok, you were extended that same courtesy.

As it was, you had barely spoken ten words since leaving the house. Hoseok let you sit in the passenger seat in silence the whole way to the school, and since you were mostly helping out with equipment and getting used to the way Hoseok ran these sessions this morning, you didn’t have to say all that much to the kids either. He gives you a bright smile now, propping his arm up over the back of the couch so that he can turn and face you head-on. “I asked if you had fun. Did you?”

“Oh.” You pause to actually consider that. “Yeah, I did. I haven’t done soccer for many times.”

Like usual, your mistakes don’t ruffle him at all. “It’s been a while, huh? Well, if it makes you feel better, you were pretty great out there today. Looked like a real professional.”

You can’t help but snort. “Oh, really? That’s right. I am professional of sitting orange cones in straight line and blowing whistle.”

He grins and shakes his head fondly. “You’re trouble, you know that? But I think you’re just what this school needs right now.” He turns somewhat somber, and his voice flattens out in a way you hate hearing from the normally sunny guy. “I can’t stop thinking about it. What if we don’t make nationals? If my team fails, I’ll be responsible for the whole school shutting down. I-” he breaks off with a bitter laugh, “Seokjin and I, the principal, that is, we haven’t been sleeping so well. Not that I think any of the staff here are, but… We’ll stay up until the break of dawn texting each other, trying to imagine a scenario in which all of this isn’t taken away from us. If there’s an easy solution out there, we can’t think of it.”

You take a sip of your tea as you let his words sink in. It’s gone cold. “Maybe if parents of children know, they can help. They want their kids being happy. And the kids… they are so happy here. This afterno- ah, no, this morning, this morning Jae-ah has told me morning is the best time of her week always.”

Hoseok’s eyes crinkle a little at the thought of that pig-tailed girl with ruddy cheeks. “Jae-ah said that? She always seems so shy during the games, I thought maybe her parents were just making her do sports as an extra-curricular.”

You shake your head adamantly. “No, she loves it. She is telling me, Y/n, every night time I put my clothes on bed for tomorrow because I am so excited. I say wow. I think children here is happier than other schools’ children.”

He hums in thought, then brings his hand down to ruffle playfully at your hair with a warm smile. “Your Korean is getting better, you know that?”

Your cheeks heat a little, but you just shrug. “I make many mistakes still.”

He shrugs back in return. “So what? You seem much more confident, and your pronunciation sounds very native! The teachers and Seokjin have all noticed how much effort you’re making. Not just with Korean, but you know… We appreciate it. We appreciate you.”

You give him a small pleased grin and slip out of his hold, getting up to dump the lukewarm tea in the sink and put your mug away in the dishwasher. “I appreciate you all too. A few days ago, I searched on internet how many schools in South Korea. I am not so good with saying big numbers, but it is very many. I think, wow! How lucky I am that, uh, so many…” you trail off, realizing you have no idea to finish your sentence.

Thankfully, Hoseok, who still lounges on the staffroom couch in his grass-stained basketball shorts and polo shirt, helps you out. “So many schools out there, and you managed to get this one?” You nod happily, mentally taking note of the grammar structure in case you want to say the same thing again. “It wasn’t luck, Y/n. It’s all thanks to Principal Kim.”

You turn around as he speaks, those words seemingly strangely familiar to you.

“out of all the applicants we were sent, I’m glad Principal Kim picked you.” Jimin had said that to you this morning, although it already felt like the distant past. You were told, way back last year when applying, that applicants were randomly assigned to schools, but somehow at least two staff members were under the impression that you had been hand-picked. What had made the principal specifically ask for you? You could barely even remember what you had put on your application.

Before you can ponder it further, a whiny ring sounds through the staffroom and Hoseok sighs, pushing off on the couch to heave himself up. “Well, then, break’s over. Let’s see how good seven-year-olds are at dodgeball.”

--

After a couple of hours of helping Namjoon out, interspersed with a lunch of beef stew and rice, you find yourself in Principal Kim’s office. However, instead of being there to ask him about your application, you’re surrounded by the rest of the staff as the bespectacled principal hands out some information booklets to each of you.

“Parent-teacher interviews,” he announces dramatically, quirking his wrist as he pushes his glasses back up his nose. “As most of you know, tonight we have three hours in the evening for parents to come and speak with you about their children’s development. Like normal, there are a few things I want you to keep in mind. Number one: no matter how poorly or well their child is performing, give at least one compliment and at least one area for growth. Number two: please try and stick to the schedules I’ve given you; we want to make sure everyone gets seen. And finally, please don’t mention the private matters of the school. If the parents find out about this whole shutting-down situation, it’ll make its way to the kids, and stressed kids perform worse. That’s something we can’t afford right now. Questions?”

Glancing around to make sure nobody else is going to speak up, you raise your hand awkwardly, waiting for him to give you an inciting nod. “Uh, Principal Kim, am I going to this event? I didn’t know.”

His eyebrows crease and his bottom lip sticks out slightly. “Of course you’re going. Namjoon, I told you to tell her the other day!”

The teacher in question ducks his head in a short bow, fiddling with the buttons on his shirt. “I’m sorry, principal, I forgot. Won’t happen again.”

Kim sighs and glances towards the ceiling in thinly veiled frustration. “I… I need you, that goes for all of you, to make a real effort to be organized, okay? Life is stressful enough for us right now, so just try your best to stay on top of things.”

The mood falls somber, before the science teacher shuffles forward cheekily. “I know what would cheer the mood up, sir. We haven’t had a good, old-fashioned challenge in a while. We could put Jimin in the sexy nurse dress again.” Jimin reaches forward and smacks Jungkook upside the head but doesn’t otherwise protest the suggestion.

The eldest pinches the bridge of his nose. “We don’t have the money for a raise for anyone right now. But… I was given some vouchers for that Chinese restaurant down the road for my birthday and I haven’t used them yet. How about that? Winner gets the voucher.”

After a resounding cheer of agreement from at least three of the teachers, one of those remaining silent speaks up. “All of your challenges are either public humiliation or things that benefit you personally, Kim. Can we for once have a challenge that requires actual skills?”

You smile at the math teacher, who is trying to use his complaints as a way to hide the fact that he seriously wants that food voucher, eyes bright with determination under a scrunched-up brow.

“Fine, then,” the principal allows, wrinkling his nose in thought, “I’ll come up with something and tell you all later. You’re dismissed for the day.”

As the teachers clear out, shuffling their feet in disappointment, you pause at the mumbling of your name and turn around. Principal Kim’s waving for you to come over, where he has the art teacher by the back of the neck. You haven’t spoken to Taehyung since the incident, and for a moment a bolt of shock runs through you, that feeling you get when you think you’re in trouble. But Taehyung seems to be completely bored and unbothered by the hold on his shirt collar, so you let yourself relax and wander over, the door falling shut behind you.

“Y/n,” the principal repeats, “I lied. I said I’d come up with something later so that they weren’t suspicious, but the real mission is now. I want one of you two to win the voucher, so I’ll give you a secret challenge to complete if you’re up for it. Y/n, you’ve been so amazing this past week, especially with everything that’s going on. I admire your work ethic and your willingness to help, and so this is my chance to reward you for your efforts. Art Kim-” the principal breaks off with a sigh. “Art Kim, you were standing closest to me when I reached out for somebody. So, it’s between you two. It’s going to be legendary. Your mission, should you choose to accept it,” Taehyung scoffs at the dramatic tone, but Principal Kim ignores him, “is to get one Min Yoongi to give you a hug. If you manage to prove that our resident grouch has a heart, you win a one hundred thousand won voucher to the Green Dragon restaurant. Are you in?”

You glance at the art teacher. Sure, he’s sweet, and he can put on the disposition of a kicked puppy when he needs to, but there’s no way he’ll get a hug quicker than you. “Yes, I’m in,” you state confidently.

Taehyung sighs slowly, and for a moment you think he’s going to give in and give you the voucher by default, but then he turns to you and gives you a mischievous grin. “I’m in.”

--

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[v-thinks-on]

Generations - Part 3

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There was no reason to delay. Kirk didn’t even have a career to sacrifice. He would rather not steal a starship, but having recently returned from the dead, he didn’t have many options.

“Computer, put me through to Admiral Brackett-” Kirk began.

The beep of his communicator cut him off.

“Wait on that,” Kirk ordered and tapped on his communicator.

It was Picard. “Jim, we’ve received a transmission from Ambassador Spock.”

Kirk’s heart leaped. “I’m on my way.” He turned off the communicator, cancelled the call to the admiral and nearly ran down to Picard’s quarters.

“What did Spock say?” Kirk demanded as the doors slid open to let him inside.

Picard was at his desk, working on the computer terminal. He turned it off when Kirk entered and answered with a smile, “He’s on his way. We’ll meet him between here and the Neutral Zone.”

It took Kirk a few moments to truly register what Picard had said. Spock was on his way. There was no need to go to Romulus. He would see Spock soon, in a matter of days. He remembered seeing Spock off like it was just a month ago, but it had been eighty years since Spock had last seen him, since their minds had touched - a whole lifetime. Kirk couldn’t imagine how much had changed in his absence.

A jittery rush of nerves and excitement spread through his veins. He couldn’t hold back a grin.

“Good,” Kirk said, “great.”

“I imagine he’ll be pleased to see you.”

“I hope so,” Kirk said, though he couldn’t really bring himself to doubt it. “Is there anything I can do around here in the meantime?” With nothing left to plan, he could easily go crazy just waiting around.

Picard shook his head. “The Farragut is over staffed as is. I’ve just been doing my best to stay out of the way.”

Kirk couldn’t help but sympathize with the captain stuck on another’s ship. “I don’t envy your position.”

“It gives me some time to catch up on my reading.” Picard gestured toward the book on his desk.

“You collect antique books too?”

“I find it makes for a richer experience.”

Kirk nodded in agreement. He glanced at the novel and exclaimed in surprise, “The Tale of Two Cities?”

“Are you familiar with it?”

Kirk grinned. “It’s a favorite of mine.”

“I didn’t realize you were interested in history.”

“I am, but that one was a gift.”

“I was curious about its portrayal of the French revolution, but it’s clearly written from an English perspective.” Picard frowned at the thought.

“You’re actually French?”

“Yes, I was raised on an old-fashioned vineyard near the border with Switzerland.”

“With your accent, it’s easy to forget,” Kirk said with a wry smile. “I have a similar interest in American history.”

“I know less French history than maybe I should,” Picard admitted. “Usually I prefer archeology; studying lost alien civilizations.”

“Sounds exciting. You’re in the right place to do it, though I was usually preoccupied with the civilizations we found.”

“That’s often the case,” Picard said with a touch of disappointment, “But occasionally I have the chance to uncover something no one has seen in millennia.”

“There’s so much out here, we can barely even brush the surface,” Kirk marveled, leaning back in his chair.

“I’m certain the admiral’s offer stands.”

Kirk waved it off. “I’m retired.” After a moment’s thought he asked, “She said something happened to the fleet?”

Picard nodded. “The Borg. They’re part organic and part machine. They assimilate sentient species into their empire - for lack of a better word. They’re adaptable and relentless, just one of their ships destroyed most of the fleet. They would be centuries away, but a powerful alien we’ve encountered a few times decided to introduce us to them as a sort of practical joke.”

“And there’s no reasoning with them?”

“No, at least not until they see us as a real threat.”

Kirk glanced away, his mind already racing far ahead of him, trying to figure out how to beat such an opponent.

“I’m sorry, I’ve brought you into a dangerous time,” Picard said, jolting Kirk back to reality. “Thankfully, we think most of their fleet is still years away, so we should have some time to improve our defenses before we have to face them again.”

“Every age has its challenges.”

Picard nodded. “I wouldn’t have wanted to get in a fight with the Klingons.”

“We didn’t fight them face to face much. It was mostly just competing over allies and resources, but they did play dirty.”

“The Klingons? They can be ruthless, but they have their honor - for the most part. The Romulans on the other hand…”

“Maybe things have changed in eighty years. We only encountered the Romulans a few times, but they seemed to be honorable in their way.”

“I’ve just read about your times, but it seemed like the galaxy was a very different place.”

“I have a lot of catching up to do,” Kirk said with a smile.

“If you want any lighter reading, you’re welcome to borrow a book,” Picard offered. “My quarters were mostly undamaged in the crash.”

“What do you have?”

Picard led him over to a small cabinet in the corner, full of books. Some were a little charred around the edges and others had been banged up pretty badly, but they all looked readable. Kirk bent over to peruse the titles. There was Shakespere, some Klingon poetry, a few books in French, and other classics from all over the galaxy, even some Vulcan philosophy.

Kirk was considering the Vulcan philosophy when something else caught his eye - “The Campaigns of Alexander, it’s been years since I last read that!”

“You’re welcome to it.”

“Thank you.” Kirk carefully drew the old book out of the cabinet and flipped through the pages, scanning for familiar names and places - in all honesty, he was mostly looking for Alexander’s loyal companion, Hephaestion.

Picard hesitated. “If you get tired of reading, I’ve been meaning to go fencing when I have the time, you could join me,” he suggested a little awkwardly.

“I’ve never fenced before, but I could give it a try.”

“I can teach you the basics.”

“Sure. Just tell me when and I’ll meet you in the gym - this ship does have one?”

“Yes.”

“It has about everything else.” More seriously, Kirk said, “Thank you.”

“Not at all.”

Kirk took the book and returned to his quarters, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to focus on reading - maybe later in the evening it could distract him from tossing and turning in bed. Instead, he left The Campaigns of Alexander on the table and made his way up to the ship’s bar. It was still bustling, but he recognized a few familiar faces in the crowd. Guinan waved to him from the bar and he spotted Riker and Worf at a table, not far from where they had been sitting when he ran into them the day before.

Kirk greeted Guinan with a nod and headed over to the table staked out by the senior officers.

“Captain Kirk,” Riker exclaimed, “I see you’re as bored as the rest of us.”

Kirk shrugged. “I’m helping by staying out of the way.”

“Those are the captain’s orders,” Worf grumbled.

Riker stood and insisted, “Have a seat.”

After much rearranging and polite apologies, Kirk ended up in a chair that had been hastily vacated by a timid ensign, who would not reclaim it despite all his protests, and promptly fled to the far corner of the room.

“Rank has its privileges,” Riker said wryly.

Kirk just shook his head. 

“So, Ambassador Spock is on his way,” Riker remarked once Kirk was settled.

Kirk grinned. “News travels fast.”

“I heard you married him to keep him from being assigned to another ship when he was your first officer,” Riker said, though he was careful to neither endorse nor deny the assertion.

“No, it was for the joint shore leaves once Spock had a ship of his own,” Kirk countered.

Worf glanced between them, as though he couldn’t decide if it was worse if they were lying or telling the truth. “I thought Vulcans were supposed to be logical,” he said at last.

“But when a man is in love…” Riker trailed off.

Worf looked dubious.

“I’m surprised you decided to get married at all, or do the history books have you pegged all wrong?” Riker asked.

“Vulcans have a different idea of marriage than humans,” Kirk said, though he couldn’t say much more.

“I see,” Riker said with a grin. “And it sounds like he was one hell of a first officer too.”

“I couldn’t ask for any better. Does Mr. Data have much command experience?”

“Putting together a command team already?”

“No” - Kirk waved off the suggestion - “I was just wondering what the crew makes of him.”

“He took a little getting used to,” Riker admitted. “But I don’t think there’s anyone who’s gotten to know him that doesn’t like him.”

Worf nodded in agreement.

“What about you?” Kirk asked. “Do you have your eyes set on a first officer?”

Riker shook his head. “I’ll probably get a command one day, but I’m happy here for now.”

“Really? I was probably promoted too young, but I’m surprised you’re not ready to get out of here.”

“So am I, But I’m happier as first officer on the Enterprise than I’ve been anywhere else, and I think that’s more important than a promotion.”

“Who am I to argue with that? I accepted a promotion to admiral and where did it get me?”

“Was it really that bad?”

“For someone else, maybe not, but I don’t belong on Earth commanding a console. There’s nowhere better than the bridge of the Enterprise.”

“I’d toast to that.” Riker raised his glass and tipped it back.

“Hear!” Worf exclaimed and followed suit.

“She was a good ship. I hope the Enterprise-E will live up to the name, but I don’t know if it’ll ever be quite the same.”

“It isn’t,” Kirk said. “You were in command when she was destroyed?”

Riker nodded.

“I sacrificed the first Enterprise for a lot less. It was still worth it, but the Enterprise-A never felt like home in the same way.”

Riker finished the dregs of his drink. “Speaking of, I should probably get back to approving those transfers for when we do get the Enterprise-E. It was good talking to you, Worf, Captain.” With that, he stood and took his leave.

Another officer promptly stole the vacated chair to take it to another table, and Kirk found himself alone with the Klingon. They seemed to size each other up, neither quite ready to make the first move.

To Kirk’s surprise, Worf spoke up, “At Starfleet Academy, I read about your battles with the Klingons.”

Kirk nodded. He would have been lying to say he regretted them.

“You were a true warrior,” Worf concluded.

“I admit, I was sometimes lacking in diplomacy, but our mission was peaceful exploration,” Kirk attempted.

“But you fought well,” Worf protested.

It sounded like it was intended as a compliment, but Kirk wasn’t quite ready to take it. Instead, he asked as casually as he could, “Are you the only Klingon in Starfleet?”

“Yes,” Worf said.

“Why? The Klingons must still have their own fleet.”

“After my family was killed in the Khitomer massacre, I was raised by humans,” Worf explained, but with the way he said it, he might as well have been talking about someone else’s family.

Still, Kirk’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, I didn’t realize. That can’t have been easy.”

“I faced some challenges,” Worf acknowledged stoically.

“You almost sound more like a Vulcan than a Klingon,” Kirk suggested with a smile.

“Vulcans are pacifists” - Worf said the word “pacifist” with some disdain.

“That’s usually the logical course of action,” Kirk argued, “But there’s no one I’d rather have on my side in a fight.”

Worf gave him a look of disbelief.

Wryly, Kirk asked, “You’re set on being a Klingon?”

“That is what I am,” Worf insisted.

“You’re right,” Kirk said. It had been unfair of him to suggest otherwise. “How is it, serving on a ship full of humans?”

“They are not warriors, but they are good colleagues” - Worf hesitated - “And friends.”

“Good. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d been assigned a Klingon officer,” Kirk admitted. “I can only hope I would have followed your Captain Picard’s example.”

“Many Klingons still have a difficult time accepting the Federation as our allies. Most humans would not fare well on a Klingon ship - they do not understand the glory of war.”

“Some do, but they usually end up as the villains.”

“Yes, I do not understand why humans place so much value in reluctance.”

“Maybe we’re just indecisive,” Kirk suggested with a wry smile.

“That is not how I would describe my human colleagues.”

Kirk tried again - “Isn’t it better to go to war for a good cause than a bad one?”

“Perhaps,” Worf acknowledged, “But humans seem to place no value in the glory of battle.”

“No, I suppose we don’t. We’re not so fond of death and destruction.”

“You fear it,” Worf charged.

“With good reason.”

“Why fear the inevitable? At least a warrior can die well.”

“Is anything really inevitable?”

“All things die.”

“I don’t know, I’ve managed to cheat death well enough myself.”

“Your case is a unique one,” Worf admitted, “But eventually you will die.”

“Maybe, but I don’t believe in no-win scenarios. Even if everything supposedly dies, there’s no reason to surrender and let it happen.”

“You would consider charging into battle, prepared to die, a surrender?” Worf demanded.

“Isn’t it better to live to fight another day?”

“Not if all your days are spent fleeing in fear of death.”

“Maybe you’re right, but if there’s a way…” Kirk trailed off, his eyes gazed out the windows that made up the far wall.

For a moment Worf drank in silence. Abruptly, he remarked, “I don’t understand how you humans can spend days on end doing nothing but waiting.”

Kirk looked back at the Klingon with a smile. “We don’t like it any more than you do. We just try to distract ourselves.”

Worf seemed to consider the suggestion. “Maybe I will go see if the Farragut’s holodeck has a suitable calisthenics program. You are welcome to join me.”

Kirk was curious, but shook his head. “Maybe another time.”

“Very well.” Worf finished his drink and took his leave.

Kirk was in his quarters reading when Counselor Troi dropped by. She joined him at the desk, no doubt ready with another barrage of questions.

“Good afternoon, Counselor,” he said, putting the book aside. “What can I help you with?”

To his surprise, she asked, “What are you reading?”

He smiled. “The Campaigns of Alexander. I borrowed it from your Captain Picard.”

“Alexander the Great?” she clarified.

He nodded.

“May I ask why that book in particular?”

“It’s a classic.”

Troi could tell there was another reason, but she didn’t press him on it. Instead she said, “The captain told me that Ambassador Spock is on his way.”

Kirk grinned. “Yes, I know.”

“How do you feel about seeing him after so long?” Troi attempted.

“It’ll be good to see him again,” Kirk said with half a shrug, as though there wasn’t anything else to be said, but the counselor could sense a deeper turmoil of nerves and uncertainty.

She decided it was time to take another approach. Starting on more solid ground, she asked, “When did you last see your husband?”

Kirk glanced away in recollection. “It was a little over a month before the launch of the Enterprise-B - Spock could tell you exactly how long. He was on Earth for just a few days between meetings with the Klingons. He wasn’t an ambassador yet, but he was well on his way.” Troi could feel some bitterness amidst his pride.

“Did you have many chances to talk to him while he was away?” she asked.

Kirk gave her a wry smile. “A few.” Troi could tell that it was intended as a joke, but she didn’t know why.

“You spoke with him frequently?” she clarified.

“You could say that,” Kirk said with that same private bemusement.

“Is there anything you wish you could have told him before you fell into the Nexus?”

He shook his head. “If I knew I wasn’t going to be in there forever, it would have been nice to let him know, but there weren’t any secrets between us.”

Kirk was carefully keeping something out of the conversation, Troi could feel it, but she didn’t know what. Unless… She hesitated. “When I first met you, in sickbay, I sensed that you were attempting to contact someone telepathically. I am aware that Vulcans have significant telepathic abilities, did you and Ambassador Spock have a telepathic connection?”

Kirk grinned and she could feel that she was correct. “Vulcans are a very private people, Counselor.”

“I see…” she said. Delicately, she continued, “I take it you and Ambassador Spock have not been in contact since you left the Nexus?”

He shook his head. “Not a word.”

“I’m sorry. To go from constant communication to nothing must be very unsettling.”

Kirk grimaced. “We were ‘out of contact’ for a few years after Spock’s death. It was a lot worse then, but it is still unsettling.”

“How do you think your husband is feeling right now, on his way to see you?”

“He is a Vulcan,” Kirk said with a wry smile.

She just gave him a look.

Again, Kirk glanced away, out the window, in thought. “I don’t know,” Kirk admitted at last. “I know I miss him, but it’s been so long… Eighty years… It’s longer than I’ve been alive. I can’t imagine… Maybe he’s just coming here to prevent me from going to Romulus.”

“Do you actually believe that?”

“No. But it might be easier for him if I hadn’t come back.”

“Why?”

“I’ve given him a lot to worry about.”

“You seem to worry a lot about him,” she pointed out.

“While I was in the Nexus, at least I was safe. I can’t say as much about him.”

“If your connection really was severed” - Kirk winced at the thought - “He may not have known you were safe,” Troi remarked.

“I don’t know…” Kirk trailed off. He hoped the bond hadn’t been broken. Even if it hadn’t, it was probably silent on Spock’s end, but he was a proper telepath, maybe he could sense something that Kirk couldn’t.

“How do you think he feels?” Troi prompted again.

“I hope he hasn’t been too worried. Jean Luc said Spock still feels guilty for the time I spent on Rura Penthe, but I don’t even think an illogical human could spend eighty years worrying.” He gazed out the window, lost in thought. “I wonder how much he’s changed…”

“En garde!” Picard called out.

Kirk raised his sword for another attack - it was surprisingly heavy between his fingers. The stiff uniform was stifling, the helmet like a cage over his head. He peered at Picard through the mesh - not that he could see his opponent’s face - his sword bouncing in his hand.

Kirk let Picard come to him - they had barely bothered with footwork. Their swords met. He could tell Picard was going easy on him, maneuvering his blade this way and that in small neat motions that Kirk was sure left him wide open for an attack that Picard was kind enough not to take. Kirk circled Picard’s blade with his own in an attempt to replicate them, but it didn’t get him anywhere.

Finally, he threw caution to the wind and took a wild stab.

The alarm went off - the tip of Picard’s blade had caught on Kirk’s glove, winning him the match.

Picard raised his blade in a salute and Kirk only belatedly remembered to follow suit before pulling off his helmet. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of fresh air.

“Good bout,” Picard said.

Kirk opened his eyes and accepted Picard’s gloved hand with a wry smile.

“It’s a lot harder than it looks,” Kirk remarked as he tried to shrug off the thick jacket.

“It just takes practice,” Picard said, though he looked a little smug. “Not up for another?”

Kirk shook his head. “I think I’ll stick to wrestling.”

Kirk accepted a towel from Picard, grabbed a glass of water from the replicator and let himself fall onto the bench by the wall to catch his breath. Picard soon joined him.

They sat in silence, catching their breath. Abruptly, Picard asked, “You’re married - I don’t suppose you ever had children?”

A grimace flitted across Kirk’s face. “I had a son, but I barely knew him.” More lightly, he asked, “Do you have kids?”

“No,” Picard said. “The closest thing I had to a son was my nephew, René, but he and my brother were killed in a fire recently.”

“I’m sorry. David died a few years ago - give or take a few decades - but I never really mourned him.”

“I never liked children,” Picard continued, “But René was the exception. Now, I wonder if I made a mistake not settling down and having children of my own.”

“I don’t know. I didn’t settle down either. David wasn’t really mine. I was his father, but his mother and I weren’t together; she didn’t want him taking after me and running off across the galaxy, so I stayed away. I didn’t think twice.”

“Do you regret it?” Picard asked.

“Of course I regret not being there when I should have, but I wasn’t ready then and I don’t know if I’ve ever been ready. Spock certainly didn't want kids," he added a little less seriously - though he didn’t know what Spock wanted now.

"I didn’t think I did either, but now I’m not so sure.” Picard hesitated. “That’s what the Nexus showed me - a whole family in a stately old home. I thought that was what my brother wanted, that I’d moved beyond it somehow, but maybe we were more similar after all.”

“Maybe,” Kirk said, “But it would be hard to captain the Enterprise from the family homestead.”

“True. Perhaps the Nexus merely shows us a path not taken rather than our hearts’ desires.”

“I would rather be on a bridge than that old cabin any day,” Kirk said with a smile.

“Why did you retire?”

Kirk’s smile quickly faded. “I gave up too much. Spock died because of me. He came back, but I couldn’t risk it happening again.”

“Surely it was dangerous before,” Picard attempted.

“We always made it out alive somehow.”

Picard hesitated. “I didn’t die, but I was assimilated by the Borg to be their representative to humanity. I lost my identity - part of myself. I considered leaving Starfleet, that it wasn’t worth the risk, but with more than a little help I learned to live with it.”

“You’re a braver man than I am, Captain.”

“I don’t know. Perhaps I just have less to lose.”

[vexedtonightmares]

La Fin Des Temps - Chapter 1

Mercredi 12:47

Started writing an elu Hogwarts au because I couldn’t help myself 😶 hope you like it 🦁🦅

(This will be cross posted on ao3 when I have time ❤️❤️)

Normally Lucas paid attention during potions, as it was his favorite class, but that day he kept getting distracted by a new student in the class. They were in sixth year, taking NEWT level classes, surely there shouldn’t be new students? Yet there he was, edges of his robes trimmed in blue, indicating that he was a Ravenclaw.

In years past he’d only ever had potions with his fellow Gryffindors and the Slytherins, but he’d had other classes with Ravenclaws and surely would have noticed this boy before then. He was half convinced the new kid was a figment of his imagination when Imane, his partner, nudged his side.

“Lucas? You in there? Come on, we need to focus. If you make us get anything less than full marks, I will hex you into next year. Got it?” Imane was intense sometimes, but she was the best potions partner he’d had. Yann, his best friend and fellow Gryffindor, had opted out of potions this year, as he wouldn’t need them for whatever career he was hoping to pursue after school. Yann was great at most everything, but the two of them somehow always managed to make a mess of their potions assignments.

“Yeah, sorry,” he apologized, looking down at his book for the instructions on what to do next. They were working on concocting the Draught of Living Death, an insanely complex potion. He didn’t think they should have been doing something so difficult after only a month of NEWT level classes. Thankfully for him, Imane had executed the potion so far to near perfection.

He risked another glance towards the mysterious boy as he went to add another ingredient, spilling it all when he realized the boy was looking back at him.

“Lucas! Fuck!” Imane hissed, clearing away the mess with a flick of her wand. They had only barely begun to work on nonverbal spells and yet it seemed Imane had mastered those as well.

“I’m sorry,” he tried, but she just waved a hand in his face.

“I’ll finish on my own. I don’t know where your head is at today, but you owe me,” she sighed. He smiled softly. As much as Imane complained, he could tell she enjoyed his company as much as he enjoyed hers.

The rest of the period flew by too fast, especially since Lucas had done nothing but sneak stares at the new boy for the last part of the lesson. As soon as the professor cleared them to leave, Lucas caught up with one of his other good friends, Arthur, who had been paired with Imane’s friend Alexia during the class.

“How’d your potion turn out? Ours was shit. Might’ve turned out ok if Alexia hadn’t been ogling that new kid the whole time,” Arthur said, falling into step beside Lucas.

“You don’t know who he is either?” Lucas asked, confused. Arthur was a Ravenclaw as well, so it seemed fitting that he would know who he was.

Arthur shook his head. “I’ve never seen him before today. All I know is that I have a new roommate. Moved in his things this morning, but left before I had a chance to introduce myself.”

None of that made sense. How could there be a new sixth year student? He was pretty sure Hogwarts was very thorough in their admissions, so there was no way they could have forgotten about this boy for over five years. He mulled over these thoughts while Arthur continued to ramble on about his and Alexia’s failed potion on their way to the Great Hall for lunch.

They met Yann at the entryway and Arthur left them with a mock salute to take a seat at the Ravenclaw table. “This is where we part. See you in Transfiguration.”

Yann and Lucas sat beside one another on the bench at the Gryffindor table, the former digging into his food immediately. “Dude,” Lucas laughed, “Take it easy.”

Yann shrugged, mouth full of food, “I have to leave lunch early, got that essay to finish for Muggle Studies.”

“I still can’t believe that, of all classes to take at a NEWT level, you chose Muggle Studies,” Lucas said incredulously. Yann scoffed, “What do you have against muggles?”

“Nothing, nothing, it’s just one of the most boring subjects, right up there with History of Magic,” Lucas explained.

“Maybe you just don’t have good taste.” Another voice joined them and Lucas turned his head to see Manon, his adoptive sister, sliding into the seat beside him. “I find History of Magic and Muggle Studies very fascinating.”

“Thank you,” Yann emphasized, raising his eyebrows at Lucas. “All right, I’m off, meet you, Basile, and Arthur before Transfiguration, yeah?”

Lucas nodded as Yann slipped away, robes trailing behind him as he booked it up the steps and out of sight. Manon leaned in to whisper to him as soon as Yann was gone. “Have you heard about the new kid?”

“Yeah, he’s in my potions class,” Lucas said, “Why, do you know anything about him?”

Manon shook her head. “Not really. Emma heard from someone that he transferred here from Beauxbatons.”

That made sense, Lucas thought. Much more sense than just appearing out of nowhere. “But why?” he asked, not entirely expecting an answer. Manon shrugged, looking just as lost as he did. The two of them continued to eat their food in comfortable silence, making idle conversation about their classes so far every now and then. Someone sat beside Lucas and cleared their throat, causing Lucas to startle, looking over at whoever it was. He nearly choked on his food when his eyes met those of the new kid, bright blue gray and lit up in excitement.

“Hey,” was all the boy said, as if he sat beside Lucas every day. Manon shot Lucas a confused glance. Lucas returned it with a widening of his eyes and a shrug.

“Hey?” he responded at last, trying not to notice the way the boy’s eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled in response.

“I didn’t know anyone, but I recognized you from my potions class,” the boy said by way of explanation, “I’m Eliott by the way. Eliott Demaury.”

He had a slight Parisian accent, much like Lucas and Manon, who had lived in the city before choosing to attend Hogwarts over Beauxbatons. It sounded like home, and Lucas had to fight the warmth spreading through his body.

“Lucas. Lallement,” Lucas greeted, “And this is my sister Manon Demissy.”

Eliott’s brows creased slightly, but he gave Manon a smile of greeting. Lucas explained, “We’re both adopted, but we were adopted together by the same family. Technically, we’re Lucas and Manon Roux, but our parents let us keep the last names we’d had before we were adopted.”

Eliott nodded in understanding. “Crazy that you both ended up being wizards.”

“Yeah,” Lucas agreed, looking at Manon, “It is a bit weird.”

She smiled and rolled her eyes before standing abruptly. “I’ll see you later Lulu, I just remembered I told Charles I’d meet him before my next class.”

“Oh, Charles, how could I forget. More important than eating lunch with your brother, huh?” he teased. She didn’t take the bait, leaning down to give him a kiss on either cheek.

“Yes, Charles. Don’t worry, I’m leaving you in good company. It was nice to meet you, Eliott,” she said over her shoulder, blowing another kiss as she left to meet her boyfriend.

Eliott’s eyes followed Manon as she left, something that made Lucas prickle unintentionally. “She seems nice,” Eliott said finally, turning his attention back to Lucas.

“Yeah, she’s the best. But Charles is her boyfriend, so I don’t think you’ll have much luck there,” Lucas said. Eliott’s eyes narrowed in confusion, then realization. He laughed, “Oh-- I’m not-- she really does seem nice. I’m not trying to date your sister, don’t worry.”

“Oh,” Lucas said, warming considerably. He looked back down at Eliott’s blue trimmed robes and turned his gaze to the rest of the Great Hall, where many people were staring at the two of them in shock and interest. It wasn’t very common to sit at a different house table, even if you were dating someone from a different house. Not that he and Eliott were dating, or ever going to date. He felt his cheeks reddening and sensed Eliott’s gaze on him.

“You alright?” Eliott asked.

“Yeah, it’s just, people are looking at us. Well, at you. People don’t normally sit at the wrong house table,” he explained, “It’s kind of weird, I guess.”

“That’s weird too?” Eliott said with a grin. “I’m sorry, then. At my old school we just sat wherever we wanted. I’m still getting used to these houses and everything. I can leave if you want.”

“No!” Lucas said a little to quickly. He tried to regain his composure. “No need now, lunch is almost over. Where did you go to school before?”

“Beauxbatons.” It seemed Manon and Emma’s information had been fairly accurate, then. It also explained the accent.

Lucas nodded in acknowledgement. “Why did you come here?” He tried not to sound too curious, but he was. What turn of events had brought Eliott Demaury into Lucas’ universe?

Eliott cast his eyes downward, face darkening slightly. “I was expelled.”

“Oh,” Lucas said, not quite sure how to respond. He really wanted to push for more details, but the look on Eliott’s face told him that maybe wasn’t a very good idea. In an instant, that look was gone, and Eliott’s face was bright once again.

“Let me guess,” he said, “You find that weird too?”

The slight tension that had filled the air released. Lucas breathed out a short laugh. “A little weird,” he agreed.

“I must be weird too, then,” Eliott shrugged. Lucas brought his eyes back up to meet Eliott’s. He backtracked, “That’s not what I meant.”

Eliott laughed, humor dancing in his eyes. “It’s ok, we’re all a little weird. Are you weird?”

“Oh, off the charts.” Lucas laughed along with Eliott, finding that he never wanted this conversation to end.

“I like weird, I think,” Eliott said, face more serious than it had been a moment before. Lucas was caught in his gaze, but didn’t want to leave it anytime soon. He liked weird too, he thought.

Eliott stood up quickly, causing Lucas to jump at the abruptness. “I should head out, this place is a maze. I’ll never find my next class if I don’t leave now.”

Lucas blinked away his disappointment. “Yeah, sure is.”

Eliott still hesitated beside him, looking like he was trying to find words. Lucas raised his eyebrows.

“I’ll see you later then,” Eliott said at last, walking away backwards, keeping his gaze trained on Lucas. Lucas waved in response, trying not to feel too let down. “Weirdo,” Eliott mouthed as he reached the doors to the Great Hall, finally turning away.

Lucas felt a blush rise to his cheeks and smiled. He didn’t totally know where Eliott Demaury had come from, but found that he didn’t really care as long as Eliott existed in the same place he did.

[visionsofus]

MIT, Time Travel and oh mY GOD IT’S PETER PARKER!

This is the beginning of the sequel, start with the first story here or read on AO3 here (1) and here (2)

|CHAPTER 1| 

If you would like to be tagged in updates please let me know! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Things are definitely looking up for Peter Parker. Months have passed since the Snap and his life is finally beginning to get back on track. He has an amazing job at Stark Industries, he's almost finished his first semester at MIT with Ned, he gets to swing around New York on the weekends and things are looking like they might actually be going somewhere with MJ.

It’s almost like Peter is starting to get part of his normal life back. It's a naive concept. Peter knows what he has committed his life to, what expectations everyone has for the hero they know as Spider-Man.

Things quickly begin to heat up and Peter feels the growing pressure of his secret identity beginning to weigh on his decisions, not to mention the mysterious ‘Project Chronos’ which is weighing on him physically and has catastrophic effects on his mental state.

Peter's survived the impossible - death - but could more deadly things be yet to come?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tap, tap… tap

2…1

Peter tried not to grow frustrated as his eyes darted from his worn, silver wristwatch to the front of the lecture hall where the professor was finally beginning to wrap his presentation up. Said professor seemed to have sensed the weariness of his students and was rushing through his final slides.

Tap, tap, tap, tap…. Tap, tap, tap

Peter’s pen tapped distractedly against the black keys of his laptop, which he had been taking notes on until the lecture had taken an unfortunate turn, becoming even more boring than this subject normally was. Unfortunately, that turn had taken place only twenty minutes into the lecture so for the last 30 Peter had been itching to leave the hall.

4…. 3

Peter counted the numbers off in his head as he continued tapping, each tap taking him one second closer to when he could jump up from the cramped seat, slide out from behind the small desk and beeline for the door.

2…4     5…1     4….1

"Excuse me." Someone said quietly from two seats to Peter's right. Peter turned to see a lanky blond boy looking in amusement at Peter’s hand which was still tapping absentmindedly against the keys. "As boring as this subject is, could you please not tap like that?"

"Oh sorry," Peter said his hand stilling before he could begin the sequence of taps again. The boy turned his attention back to the front of the lecture and Peter followed his gaze.

2,1  4,3  2,4  5,1  4,1

When tapped out in Binary Tap Code it spelled b.o.r.e.d, MJ had taught it to him over the Summer and like Morse code and other tap codes Peter had taken a liking to it, as he so often did with such things. He shouldn't have been surprised that someone else in the lecture hall would pick up on such a common code. There were any number of geniuses in this very room, and any number of them might be familiar with the tap code. That was just something he would have to get used to, now that he was at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"Alright, I’m beginning to see a few too many glazed eyes out there and I know how excited all of you are to have a few days off this week, so I'll wrap it up here." Said the middle-aged man at the front, shutting his presentation down. Peter shifted in the cramped chair, closing his laptop and reaching slowly for the satchel by his feet.

"Happy Thanksgiving." The lecturer said excusing the students who all made a grab for their things in a hurry to leave. Peter practically launched himself out of his seat, wincing as knocked his knee painfully on the top of the desk. Despite that, he was still one of the first to duck out of the lecture hall, eager to begin the four-day weekend that students had been given for Thanksgiving break.

Peter walked swiftly down the hall and out of the building. In his hurry to get away he was still carrying his computer science and coding textbook and busied himself with trying to shove it into his satchel. He found it slightly ironic that MIT still used physical textbooks where they could, but nevertheless enjoyed the bulky presence of it. If anything, it made him feel like he was actually doing something in the course instead of throwing money at a unit he technically should have been able to bypass.

Peter felt confident in what he had chosen to study, particularly considering the hours of deliberation that had gone into making that choice. He knew that he wanted to study computing and knew that such knowledge would be incredibly useful if he wished to progress in the temporary position at Stark Industries that he had taken up in June. Electrical engineering and computer science had been a sensible choice considering what Peter wanted to do and what he was interested in. Chemical engineering and civil and environmental engineering had also caught his eye and Peter hoped he might get to take on a few subjects from those areas if he got the chance. For now, he was more than happy with the subjects he had selected…all except one.

Peter really enjoyed coding, but the Introduction to Computer Science subject, the lecture of which he had just hastily departed, was a foundation subject for beginnersand used Python programming which Peter had been using for years.

Back when he had been taken on as a sort of technical intern/ superhero intern at Stark Industries under the guidance of Tony Stark, Peter had been introduced to Python and a multitude of other programming languages. He still had a lot to learn for sure, but this class was designed for novices and so Peter found himself growing more and more frustrated with the compulsory subject. It didn't help that the course was structured to move at snail’s pace despite the fact that there were likely numerous students in the class, like Peter, who had previous coding experience.

For now, Peter just had to grit his teeth and get on with things. He still did all the work but couldn’t help cutting corners here and there where he already knew what to do. It was just immensely frustrating having to sit through the lectures and classes when there were a million and one other things that he had to take care of.

(This is quite a long chapter, if you would prefer to read on AO3 click here )

 Peter pushed open the door and exited the lecture hall's building, walking as quickly as he could without running, in the direction of his dorm. He darted in and out of crowds of students heading to or from lectures and within minutes he had reached his building. He swiped his key card and ducked inside, eager to get out of the chill that had set in across campus, winter was definitely approaching.

Peter paused at the small mail room on the ground floor of his building to check and see if anything had arrived for him. Sure enough, a package was sitting in the P section of the pigeon holes, it was small, and he knew the part inside of it was even smaller. Peter snatched it and quickly checked its address to ensure that it was the one intended for him.

His name was printed on the top in the neat writing of none other than Happy Hogan. The package was wrapped in a ring of red confidential tape just in case whoever was delivering it hadn't garnered that information from the confidential sticker on one of the box's corners. Being head of security at SI, Happy always got a little paranoid about sending Peter such expensive and (potentially) dangerous parts. Peter assured Happy that the postal system was reliable and promised to only ask for parts when he was desperate and needed them sooner than whenever his next trip to New York might be. Peter was honestly surprised that Happy didn't deliver the package himself, or at least send an SI drone to do so for him.  

Peter left the mail room and, walking past the elevator, took the stairs two at a time until he had reached the fourth floor.

Scanning his student key card again Peter walked into the 6-bedroom west wing of floor 4, outfitted with a small kitchen, two bathrooms and a reasonably sized common space. It was quiet inside the flat and Peter suspected it was empty, he couldn't hear anything beyond the closed doors he walked past and assumed that everyone who wasn't in class had already gone home for Thanksgiving weekend.

Peter's room itself was small, split down the middle with a bed, desk and wardrobe on either side. He shared it with a guy from Boston called Nic Spencer. He was short with a mop of dark hair and a walk that made most people avoid him, but in the short two months they had been living together Peter had discovered that Nic was actually a huge softie and loved rom coms and Ed Sheeran. He was an easy enough guy to get along with and had the perfect boy next door personality, even if his appearance didn't quite match up with it. Thankfully, Nic was good at knowing when to respect Peter's space. Living together definitely made you more intuitive to the other persons needs and Peter knew when to stay out of Nic's way when he was in a funk, whether that be over college work or a malfunction in the small but fully operational hydroponic system that he had set up on their windowsill.

At present, their room was empty and quiet, save for the goldfish sat on Nic's desk and the quiet whir of the pump for the hydroponic. Peter's side of the room was unusually organised as he had done a quick clean that morning, not wanting to leave it in a state that he'd have to deal with once he came back next Tuesday. Normally, his side tended to get a little bit messy, particularly when his Stark Industries work or his Avengers work or even just plain college work started getting a little too much. The last few weeks had Peter stretched thin, trying to balance endless responsibilities while ensuring that each of his assignments was handed in on time, naturally his room had gotten pretty bad pretty quickly as he started getting home from the library later and later, pausing only to change and leave his clothes on the ground before getting to bed. For the most part, Nic didn’t seem to mind and often times his side of the room was no better.

Peter dropped his satchel onto his desk chair and rolled his shoulder. May had insisted on buying it for him before he left New York, saying that a backpack made him look even more like a high schooler. Not exactly what Peter had needed to hear before moving states to a completely new life, with new friends and new experiences.

It wasn't completely new though. Peter received his scholarship at MIT pretty late (he suspected that taking up his position at Stark Industries had some part to play) but his best friend Ned Leeds had known about his place for weeks before Peter had even been accepted, let alone awarded the scholarship. They'd both been incredibly excited to move together and had applied to the same preference of residential halls only to find they were placed in completely different dorms, likely due to the College's stressing of making ‘new connections’. Nevertheless, Peter was grateful to have Ned there and even if they didn't live in the same halls of residence, they still saw each other every day and texted when they didn't.

Swapping out his satchel for his trusty backpack Peter added his phone, wallet and newly acquired package to the bag and zipped it up tightly. Happy would literally kill Peter if that part got lost.

Doing a quick scan to ensure that he hadn't left anything behind, as Peter was always careful to do following an unfortunate incident at the beginning of the semester when he had left out his Stark Industries tablet on his bed before going to class. Nic's eyes had been full of questions when Peter had returned to their room later that day. Peter could have sworn that the tablet was in a slightly different position to where it had been when he left and though he was certain that Karen would have alerted him if anyone besides him was using the tablet, it still made Peter antsy. After that he was even more sure that he had made the right decision in choosing not to keep anyof his Spidey tech, including the suit, in his room. It was too much of a risk. So was not having his suit with him 24/7, a thought which had kept Peter awake endlessly for the first few weeks until he had finally decided on keeping a pair of web shooters with him at all times.

Deciding that everything was in its right place, Peter shut the door firmly behind him and headed straight back down the corridor he had been in moments earlier. Now there was the faint trilling of music coming from Sam and Lily's room. Peter considered knocking on the slightly ajar door to say goodbye before the short Thanksgiving break but decided he was too awkward and ducked out the front door of their flat.

Even before moving, Peter knew that he was going to need a place to work outside of his room.   After receiving his work contract from Stark Industries' CEO in May and after many discussions with his aunt and a few amendments to the conditions, he had started working in June. Peter had loved that summer break spent at Stark Industries and for the first time since the Snap he had found himself feeling like he had before disappearing along with half of the population five years earlier. The job had given him the instant gratification of putting his brain to work after so many weeks of hardcore studying for finals. In the few months he spent working part time at SI before moving away from New York Peter felt like his brain shifted and it had been strange to begin studying again, regardless of how useful the knowledge he was gaining was to his part time work.

Before moving at the very end of August Peter had done a quick property search for the cheapest places nearby to rent some sort of workspace. Pepper had offered to help him with the money given that Peter would be doing work for SI there, but peter had insisted on covering it himself.

Peter had reached the ground floor of his building again and burst out the doors, darting around the corner and unlocking his bike from where it was chained with a dozen or so others. Swinging a leg haphazardly over the seat Peter kicked off and started peddling hard past the other residential halls and out into the suburban streets.

He had happened upon the warehouse by surprise and at first it had seemed ludicrous to rent such a large space. All Peter really needed was a secure place to keep his suits and tech while he was working on them. Most of his equipment was remaining at his private SI lab, or the 'Spidey Cave' as May so often called it.

Once Peter had seen the photos of the space’s open plan, the exposed brick wall that bordered one side and the towering windows of the second floor of the old factory warehouse he felt like the decision had been made automatically. It was priced decently, and the deposit wasn’t too crippling, plus the electrical advantages of it being located so close to a power grid was undeniable. Within the day Peter had placed an offer and within a few days the paperwork was signed, and the deposit money gone from his account. Thankfully he had been working at SI otherwise there was no way he could have even dreamed of having a space like the warehouse.

The one disadvantage was that it was a twenty-minute bike ride away from where he lived. Compared to the exertion Peter was used to, it wasn’t much of a hassle and if anything, it was actually a good opportunity to get some exercise now that Peter wasn’t swinging around the city every night. He tried to go out as often as he could but being seen as Spider-Man near MIT and not in New York made him uncomfortable, surely the people he knew could put two and two together if they heard about it? Not to mention the press, who were getting more and more antsy about his identity, he had already been photographed twice while out at night in Massachusetts, resulting in the Avengers releasing a statement that claimed the blurry photos were of copycats and the real Spider-Man was still residing in New York. Luckily, Peter went back home every other weekend which made the tale as believable as it needed to be.  

Peter rounded the last corner and pulled up to the warehouse, breaking as he arrived at the front door and pulling out his keys. He slotted the small key, one of the few physical keys he actually owned given that so many things were key card operated at the college and Stark Industries and turned it. The door opened stiffly outwards and Peter walked down the entry way past the windows that looked into the space of one of the other tenants. Peter had never seen or heard from whoever occupied the ground floor space, but the pealing sign stuck to one of the frosted glass windows read Simple Phone Plans Call Centre which was pretty self-explanatory. Peter walked his bike past the glass and to the stairs leading to the second floor. He took them slowly as he navigated the awkward frame of his bike up and round the flight of dank stairs.

The whole bottom half of the warehouse and the entrance made it a rather unappealing place. Whatever paint was left on the walls was peeling and stained and the air in the stairwell had the uncomfortably pungent tang of urine and sulphur.

The warehouse's grimy interior (and indeed, exterior) had deterred Peter initially and he had worried that his work at Stark Industries and the first-class facilities he was used to had made him snobby. That still didn't make up for the state that the warehouse was in… but it was cheap and relatively close, and his floor was actually quite pleasant compared to the rest of the building… plus who would expect such a place to house information worth thousands of dollars?

Peter reached the top of the stairwell and set his bike on the two hooks he had installed on the wall, suspending it next to the door. Once they felt the weight the mechanised black hooks locked the bike frame in place. The door was another one of Peter's alteration. Even if no one would think to rob the warehouse, Peter wasn't about to leave expensive equipment unguarded. As a result, he had ordered one of the special scanners that was used throughout SI and programmed it to accept his clearance card that he used at his lab back in New York.

Peter pulled out a little black box from his backpack, something he had made right after he'd had the distinct suspicion that Nic had looked through some of his things. Holding the thin device up to his face Peter stopped blinking and allowed the machine to take a scan of his eye.

"Retina scan complete." A small voice said, and the black box emitted a soft click as it released its bottom panel. Peter slid it open further and retrieved his SI clearance card, embossed on both sides with the Spider-Man and Avengers logos.

At first, he had wondered whether it was a better idea to just keep his Avengers/Spider-Man clearance card back in New York but after the first week of waking up at 4 in the morning and getting nervous about it being stolen, he had decided to bring it to college with him. The black box had been a natural addition to security and if anyone except Peter's eye was scanned it was programmed to self-destruct, card and all. What Peter might do if that ever happened and how he would get into his lab was a sort of ‘cross that bridge when we come to’ it kinda thing.

Removing the SI card fully Peter pressed it up to the scanner on the door and heard several clicks as the door recognised him and unlocked, disabling the numerous alarms Peter had set on the doors and windows and roof…. And pretty much any other entrance into the top floor of the warehouse.

Peter sometimes wondered if he was paranoid.

As the door swung open Peter took a relieved look out at his work space. The floors creaked as he stepped forward, swinging the door firmly closed behind him. Back when Peter had first leased the top floor he had been concerned about the structure of the building and the parts of the floor that felt far too weak for comfort. A quick trip down to Simple Phone Plans and a few swings around the rafters reinforcing their ceiling with translucent webs had set his mind to rest.

Peter dumped his backpack on the workbench, taking out the small package and tore the side off to get at the bubble wrapped part beneath. He unwrapped it fully and set it on top of his holo-table, one of the few pieces of equipment that he had brought with him from SI.

"Karen, Happy sent me that part, can you make sure everything is in order?"

"Sure thing, Peter." Karen said back to him from the cheap speakers Peter had placed in each corner of the room.

Peter was sure that everything was in order with the part but there wasn't really much he could do until next week. The part had been scheduled to arrive on Monday after he’d asked Happy to send it out on Sunday for next day delivery. Peter had been working feverishly all weekend on his current project and had been desperate for the part to accelerate his experimentation and get one step closer to-- Well regardless, it hadn’t arrived in time so there wasn’t much point doing anything about it now.

Peter walked over to his mini fridge in the corner of the room and retrieved a soda, popping the cap off and ditching it into the bin in the opposite side of the lab, listening to the satisfying sound of it hitting tin.

The lab was open plan, just as Peter liked it, allowing for plenty of space for him to move around (and swing from the rafters when testing out his webs - or just for fun). A long mismatched combination of tables of different heights and shapes made up a long work top, scattered with tech and tools that Peter had left out the night before. Peter thought it was endearing in its unevenness even if most of it was from second hand shops or dumpsters. In fact, he had grown so proud of the finished product and the fact that most of the tables were pretty sturdy that he had sent a photo to Happy. Naturally, Happy had shown Pepper the photo who was apparently mildly horrified and had asked Peter if she could share the lease or at least buy him a proper workspace. Peter had declined, he liked the responsibility. Pepper had let it go… but not before she had an incredibly comfortable couch delivered to the lab. He had almost returned it, but it proved so useful for nights when Peter didn't feel like going back to his halls of residence and could just collapse on the couch instead that he had agreed to keep it.

The couch was currently pressed up against the exposed brick wall that bordered one side of the workspace. Down from the couch was a lone glass case with his Spidey suit standing upright and ready for Peter to wear, not that he really had the chance these days. Between his college work, Stark Industries and his own personal projects Peter was flat out… and that wasn't taking into consideration the obligations he had back in New York as Spider-Man and to the Avengers.

"Peter, just a reminder than Happy will be picking you up in an hour." A voice crackled over Peter's makeshift speakers.

"Thanks George." Peter said sipping at his soda as he walked back over to his worktop. George was his new AI. Peter had always wanted to develop his own artificial intelligence and as such had spent most of his spare time over the Summer developing George. He was a simple piece of organising software that was programmed to basically run Peter's life and take care of the smaller things that Peter felt a little bad giving to such a high line computer like Karen. Though he used George as a sort of daily planner and time manager at the moment, his abilities could be developed to manage organisations as big as Stark Industries. George's framework had been buried deep in one of the files that Tony had left on the hard drive for Peter. Back then the AI had been incomplete with only a basic scaffold and it had taken Peter weeks to get the hang of the programming and design.

"If you get the 12:14 bus you should arrive just in time to meet him." George replied.

"Sure thing!" Peter said setting his can down on the bench and walking over to the window to look outside.

Despite the convenience of the lab’s proximity to a power grid and his college, and its run-down appearance that made it a wolf in sheep's clothing, what had really won Peter over had been the windows.

Just like the Lab back at SI, one side of the warehouse was made up of floor to ceiling windows - an odd feature Peter thought, though he didn't really know what the space was used for before it was put out to let. The windows meant that during the day Peter didn't even bother turning the lights on, allowing him to redirect the remaining power to his other tech and significantly decreasing the risk of migraines and sensory overload. It was incredibly freeing to have such an open space compared with his shared room and the cramped lecture halls at MIT. Naturally, since moving away from home the new lab had become a sort of escape for Peter.

"The new addition to project Chronos has cleared all my checks but will take a while to assemble with the current model." Karen said. "Shall we store it securely until you get back from your trip?"

"Yeah we might as well." Peter said in dismay turning away from the window and sighing. It had become frustrating with all of the equipment he needed back at his SI lab and only the bare minimum here at his Massachusetts lab. He tried to work on his SI projects as much as he could, but a lot of the physical things had to be done in person, hence part of his reasons for returning to New York every other week. He had tried putting robots to work to assemble some of his projects but always relished the satisfaction of putting the prototypes together himself when he had the time.

"Your bus will arrive in approximately eight minutes sir; shall I purchase a pass for you?" George asked as Peter started locking the place up.

"That'd be great thank you George." Peter replied, walking past the windows and checking the scanner at the base of each which was constantly on, ready to detect any intruder and alert Peter and Karen immediately.

"Also, sir, a reminder that you have three unread messages from MJ, an Instagram message from Ned and as requested, I have compiled today’s news according to anything you may find interesting as well as any articles mentioning Spider-Man."

"That’s awesome!" Peter said beaming, he'd only managed to get George to run expansive media searches recently and even then, he usually malfunctioned because something in Peter's coding wasn't correct. "Great job George!"

"I try my best, sir."

"I've told you before, you don't need to call me sir, at least not until I'm like 25 or something." Peter said smiling still as he strode over to the Spidey suit stored securely in its case. Spider-Man hadn't been in New York for two weeks and the press would start getting suspicious if he didn't show up soon.

"Of course, sir." George said before hastily correcting himself "I mean, of course."

Peter hummed tunelessly as the lock on the suit scanned his eye and recognised him. The glass hissed slightly as it slowly slid back to reveal his suit in all its glory.

To tell the truth, Peter felt kind of deprived of it when he wasn't using it. Compared to months ago when he couldn't get in the suit without crippling panic attacks, he now relished his time wearing it, as rare as it was becoming these days.

Peter picked the suit up by the shoulders and felt it being released by the stand that held it upright within the case. Peter held it before him to admire it. He had created a third suit since working at Stark Industries, one that was personal to him and had his own design and embellishments, it was an excellent suit. That didn't stop Peter from coming back to his original suit every time. It may not have been strong or intuitive as the Iron Spider suit or have as many capabilities as his new Spider-Man suit, but it was still important to him. Tony Stark had given Peter many things, a place of work where he could actually do something with his brain, incredible tech to experiment with, a hard drive containing terabytes of knowledge that most of the world would kill for, among other things. But the most important thing that Tony had given Peter was the ability to be a real Super Hero, he had taken Peter under his wing and brought him into the world of the Avengers where Peter felt he could really make a difference. So, Peter held onto the Mark 1.

Heading over to the grey blue couch that Pepper had bought him, Peter carefully folded the suit up and put it in the duffle bag he was taking back to New York for Thanksgiving.

College had been crazy recently and it would be nice to get away from all his school work, even if that just meant turning to his work at Stark Industries or Spider-Man or the number of other commitments he had to the Avengers. Peter's brain seemed to strain and throb just thinking about the number of things he had to get done. He took a deep breath in through his nose and held for a moment, focusing on his heartbeat and then expanding his senses to the space around him, the fly buzzing up near the top of one of the windows, the soft thrumming of the electricity that powered his security system from the surprisingly unassuming box fixed to the far wall, to the feeling of his fingers brushing against the fibres of his duffle bag. He breathed out slowly.

"Your bus is due in four minutes, Peter." George said over the speakers and Peter darted his head up to glance at the clock sitting on one end of his workbench.

"Right." Peter said nodding and zipping up the duffle bag and slinging it over a shoulder. "Karen?"

"All systems locked down for your departure, Peter." Karen said as Peter grabbed his keys, phone and the black notebook with most of his Stark Industries research notes.

"Alright then." Peter turned, hefting his duffle bag and giving his lab a once over, walking backwards a few paces before deciding that everything was as it should be and heading for the door. "You're in charge while we are away George, anything happens you let me know."

"Yes sir." George crackled over the speakers as Peter shut the door behind him and waited patiently as it locked behind him. Unlike Karen, George's system was still so new and at times unstable, that Peter didn't really want to mobilise the AI quite yet, as useful as that might be. Peter had to admit that leaving a set of eyes… or rather a computer brain capable of keeping an 'eye' on things, made him feel a good deal more comfortable about leaving his equipment in the warehouse lab. Karen on the other hand, accompanied Peter everywhere these days, whether it was in his SI tablet, his SI earpieces, the Spidey suit or occasionally his phone

Peter dashed down the stairs, taking them two at a time and jumping from the fourth stair to the ground floor once he reached the end. A quick glance at his watch told him that four minutes had become two and that if he didn't hurry, he wouldn't make it to the bus.  

After a quick glance to make sure no one was watching, Peter jumped up onto the rooftop of the small block of apartments next to the warehouse and began hopping his way from building to building. Peter reached the bus stop with thirty seconds to spare, his research notebook clasped tightly to his chest and his head full of thoughts of home. This weekend was hopefully going to be an escape from his work and responsibilities, hopefully he'd get to spend some time with MJ and his family and come back to college rested and rejuvenated. It was a naïve thought, Peter knew it, but despite that he still had hope that this weekend would serve more than four days of more work. Little did he know, fate had other plans.