#they worked. and I accepted that I just wasn't going to be able to explain what I wanted enough to make it perfect.

[idkwhatimdoinghere1655]

(2) A Change in Proceedings - Charles Leclerc

<word count - 4176> |the full series|

warnings: blood, a small amount of murder

"Have you got everything?" Charles asked, standing by the front door as his driver, and most trusted man, Francisco, took the bag that you had borrowed which contained your dress and heels and put it in the car. He wanted you to say that you'd forgotten something, just so that he could keep you there for a little longer.

He hoped that this wasn't the last time he'd see you, because he felt that the two of you had grown quite a strong bond over the day or two that you had been living in his house. He enjoyed having someone else there that wasn't hired help or someone that was there for business.

It was nice to be able to take care of someone, have someone to talk to after a long day, and someone to spoil to some degree. He had never had time to have someone around, but your situation just so happened to work out for him. And hopefully for you.

"Yeah, I think so. I can always just come and pick anything up if I have forgotten something," you nodded, checking through your purse for the essential things you needed. You appeared to have all of your belongings.

"OK then, after you," he softly smiled to conceal his sadness, opening the front door for you before rushing ahead to open the car door for you as well.

"Thanks," you smiled back, sitting into the plush seats of the car. Charles hopped in beside you as the car started rolling away from the house. The outside was just as beautiful as the inside, and you couldn't help but stare in awe.

It was like a stately English home, but somewhere in Monaco. It had the same essence of grandeur and class, and you had never seen anything quite as stunning in person. The gates opened as you pulled out of the driveway, and you couldn't help but miss the place already.

The car ride back to your house was silent, neither you nor Charles wanting to say something to ruin the peace. You eventually pulled up outside of your place after watching the countryside of Monaco rolling by through the windows.

However, as the car ground to a halt, Charles suddenly felt a strange sense of discomfort. His gut feeling was something of unease, and his senses went onto high alert. "Stay there," he instructed you, getting out of the car, along with Francisco who was going to get your bag from the boot.

Not giving you a chance to respond, he had the door locked as the boot closed. You shuffled closer to the window, very confused as to what was going on. All you could do was watch them through the glass. "Something's up," Charles said, Francisco looking at him like he was crazy.

But, he knew Charles better than that. The man had instincts that were beyond anything, and he always knew when something was out of place. He had never been wrong, and he sure as hell wasn’t taking a gamble with it now. "Up how?" he asked, wanting to know the extent of what they were probably dealing with.

"That house. There's something not right with it," Charles explained, getting a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He didn't want to accept that his mind was trying to tell him that you were in danger.

"Not right in what way?"

"Not right in the way that I don't want her going in there without surveying the scene first," Charles said, trying to pinpoint what he actually thought was wrong with your house.

He got back in the car and sat down next to you. "Is everything OK?" you asked, curious yet concerned about whatever was going on.

"Does anything look different about the house? Does anything stand out?" he asked, without explaining anything. You stared intently at your home, looking for anything odd or out of place. Then, you saw it.

"The living room window is open. I never opened that one," you said, and Charles' face looked like it fell.

"Can I have your key for the front door?" he asked quietly, trying not to alarm you, but his demeanour was unsettling.

"Yeah..." you sceptically nodded, producing it out of your purse and handing it to him.

"Thank you, stay here," he instructed once again, getting out of the car again and marching up to the front door with Francisco. You were yet again locked in the car as Charles opened your front door and closed it behind him.

You could see the figures of the two men through the windows at the front, but you couldn't make out what they were doing apart from walking around, appearing as if they were looking for something.

"If there's not someone or something in this place, I will be thoroughly surprised," Charles quietly deadpanned to Francisco once they had gotten into the living room where the suspiciously open window was.

The men stood there, listening. Listening for a sign of movement, life, change. Charles heard what sounded like the faint squeak of the floorboards coming from another room. Without saying anything, Charles nodded over to the door where the sound had come from.

The pair silently approached the door to the room that Charles had heard the noise from, again pausing to listen out for any other sounds. They were met with silence as Charles braced his hand on the door handle, ready for a swift entrance.

Francisco nodded, gun in hand as he waited for Charles to open the door. In one quick movement, Charles opened the door and the pair darted through. Just as expected, there was a man, standing there, as if he were waiting for something.

"Leclerc, wasn't expecting you," he smirked, even while having two guns pointed at his body. "The girl waiting in the car? Where she's safe?" he continued, almost mockingly when he described your position.

"Let me guess, one of Christian's?" Charles huffed, feeling the anger bubble up inside of him. First, he had tried to kidnap you. Now, he had sent a man to your house.

"Mr Dubois feels he has... missed out on his time with the lady. You interfered, Mr Leclerc, and you know my boss doesn't take very kindly to that," he explained, and Charles' brain thought that something wasn't connecting. There had been a slight miscommunication.

"I think you'll find that that order didn't come from your boss. I'm guessing you didn't get to see the box I sent him back in?" Charles asked, recalling what he'd done to the man who had tried to kidnap you and his biggest rival.

He had made sure you were safe at his house before he conducted his few hour long, gruelling session with the man whom he hated more than anything. He had been trying to take him out for a while, even against the advice of everyone on his side of the decades long conflict.

Charles had resisted for as long as he could, but what he tried to do to you was the final straw for him. All of the self-control that had kept holding him back had completely dissipated, and he wasn't regretting a single second of it.

"I didn't quite mean Christian, Mr Leclerc. Victor wasn't best impressed when he heard of the passing of his son. He was back in Monaco within a few hours. I'll preface by saying he's not very happy with you. But, I'm sure if you let me take the girl, his anger may slightly subside," the man explained, and Charles' face remained stoic, but he was horrified on the inside.

Now he'd really screwed up.

You were in danger, and it was his fault. He had let his temper get the better of him, and his mission of trying to protect you from this world had wholeheartedly backfired on him. "Not happening," he hissed through gritted teeth, trying not to go absolutely ballistic as Francisco was prepared for whatever fight it was that Charles was going to start.

"Don't get hot headed, you're a smart man, think about this. Give me the girl, or watch the world around you burn at Mr Dubois' mercy," he cockily bartered, as if he had any power in this situation.

"Fuck off," Charles spat, smoothly firing a bullet through the man's chest as his body went limp. Charles and Francisco watched as he fell into a crumpled heap on the floor, glistening red splatters left up the walls of your bedroom as his blood pooled on the hardwood of your floor.

Some spattered on the pristine white of your sheets, and Charles couldn't help but feel guilty about it. Not about the man, no, he was more than happy about that. But now there were traces of what his occupation in your house, and he most certainly wasn't letting you stay there.

Even if he stayed in the house with you, even if he brought the guards with him, even if he spent every waking minute by your side, he wouldn't feel confident that you'd be OK. His house had every security measure possible, and then he'd know you were safe, even when he wasn't there.

"You're digging your own grave, Charles," Francisco said, looking at the lifeless, paling body on the floor. He knew his boss had a short temper, but the wild look in his eyes was even scaring him slightly, even after knowing him for so long.

He was letting his emotions get in the way of the business and in the way of common sense, and that would not be a smart move. Especially from a man as powerful and as sought after as Charles. 

"Bastards should learn their place. Get someone to clean this up, I need to get her home," Charles ordered, and Francisco just nodded as he watched his boss hand him your keys and walked out of the house.

Francisco started to make some calls as Charles approached the car, unlocking it as he threw his blazer into the boot, then got in beside you. "Charles, what happened? I heard a really loud bang..." you said, and the morsels of fear in your eyes killed him.

"Nothing, it's fine, I've taken care of it." he said, running a hand through his hair, ruffling the soft, chocolate strands.

"You can't keep doing that. What the hell happened in there?" you asked, your tone firm and demanding. Charles wasn't used to other people demanding things of him, since it was usually the other way around, but he felt you had every right to know.

"You're not safe here, you need to stay with me for a bit," he loosely explained.

"Why?" you pressed.

"The man who tried to kidnap you isn't very happy with me, and he still wants you. There was a man in your house, but now Francisco is sorting out the issue." he told you, skirting around the issue that Christian Dubois was actually dead and decapitated, and now one of his henchmen was bleeding out in your bedroom. 

The pure fear that flashed in your eyes nearly broke him, as you shuffled away from him so that you were pressed against the door on the other side of the car. "Hey, can you look at me?" he mumbled as your eyes were glued to the window.

"Please?" he asked again, still keeping his tone soft. He didn't want to be firm with you, since he knew that was the last thing you needed. Your leg was bouncing nervously up and down, since you knew that something had happened in your house, and the thought of that made you feel sick.

Charles hadn't felt this guilty in a long while, and he just wanted to reassure you that you were OK, and that you were safe with him. "Please, look at me," he said, a hint of desperation in his voice.

Apprehensively, you turned your head to look at him, your gaze barely meeting his. "I promise, I'm going to fix this, you can go back to your normal life, and I'll make sure you're safe. I'm not going to let you get hurt," he said, but you were still nervous.

You didn't say anything, you just nodded as you turned to look back out of the window. Francisco returned as a black SUV rolled up to your house as well. You didn't even want to know what they were going to do, so you just looked at the environment around you. 

The world went by in a blur as you were taken back to Charles' house. You didn't even wait for him as you got out of the car, walked up to the front door and let yourself in. The men on the door were confused to see you, but you ignored their confused looks as you darted straight up the stairs.

Annette caught a glimpse of you, a worried look on her face as Charles was still contemplating whether he wanted to follow you, or just leave you be. "She's scared," he said, and Annette could instantly tell that something had happened. You had come back, Charles hadn't looked that dishevelled in a long time, even Francisco looked worried.

"Scared of what?"

"Me..." he mumbled, running his hands through his hair again.

"OK, OK. I'll go talk to her," Annette said, picking up the small bag of your things as she ascended the stairs.

"I'll go and inform the others of our predicament," Francisco said, leaving Charles in the foyer. He needed a minute to think, so he went upstairs and to his office. Only sitting two doors away from you when he knew you needed comfort was excruciating.

Annette knocked on the door to your room. "Not now Charles, I want to be by myself," you called out.

"It's not Charles, miel," Annette softly said as you opened the door for her. She came in, seeing how tired you looked. You had clearly had an emotional day, and she felt awful for you. "What happened?" she asked, taking your hand and sitting next to you on the bed.

"There was a man in my house, and I'm pretty sure Charles killed him or something, and apparently there's people after me now, and I don't even know what's really going on," you rambled, your voice cracking. "What does Charles even do?" you mumbled through your tears.

"Charles' job is... far from normal. I doubt he would have done it if he wasn't born into it, and it's a lot to handle," she gently explained, wrapping her arms around you in a comforting hug. "But I don't think you need to think about that right now. How about I run you a nice bath, I'll have whatever you want for dinner ready for when you get out?" she said.

"That sounds nice," you agreed, staying on the bed as Annette went to run your bath. It wasn't long before the tub in your ensuite bathroom was filled with hot water and bubbles. "If you need me, just shout, I'll stay nearby. There's a towel on the back of the door," she told you, leaving you to it.

She had lit candles for you all around, and you really appreciated how attentive she was. You took your clothes off, before lowering yourself down into the warm water. It didn't wash away the thoughts and fears from the day, but it sure as hell did subdue them momentarily as you focused on the feeling of the bubbles on your skin.

In the meantime, Annette barged through the door of Charles' office. She was the only one who had permission and who dared to do such a thing when he was there. "What were you thinking?" she angrily said, and he had never seen her so annoyed.

"I had to kill him, Annette. I couldn't just let him go free and risk him going back to Victor," Charles explained, leaning back in his chair with a sigh.

"Victor? I thought Victor was gone? Where's Christian?" she asked, and the look on his face told her everything she needed to know. He looked at her like a naughty child who knew he was about to be told off. "Charles... please tell me you didn't..." she said, now realising the gravity of the situation.

"He was the one who tried to kidnap her. Don't worry, I did it in the warehouse, sent his body back home, there's no proof it was me," he explained, and Annette simply looked horrified. Charles was normally clever. This was far from clever.

"So now you've terrified the poor girl, and you've got the entire Dubois family plus all their other desperate helpers wanting you and her dead. Great idea Charles, very clever indeed," she ranted. Just like barging into his office, Annette was the only one allowed to criticise his actions in such a manner. And this time, he knew she was right. 

"She's safe here," he said, avoiding eye contact with her as he propped his feet up on the leather top of his large, wooden desk.

"You can't keep her here, Charles, that's not fair. She had a perfectly normal life before the other night, and you can't expect her to just sit here and rot away while you try and fix your stupid mistakes," she scolded.

"What else am I supposed to do? Let her go and practically watch her get kidnapped then probably hurt and defamed in front of me? It's like signing her death warrant!" he countered, unsure of what other options he had.

"You signed it the second you placed a hand on Christian!"

"He placed his hands on her! I couldn't just let an innocent woman go to that absolute animal of a motherfucker!" he exclaimed, truly feeling that he didn't have many other options and that he had done what he could have given the scenario.

"But was killing him necessary?" Francisco piped up from his spot as he leant in the doorway.  Neither of the two had noticed him sneak his way in there, but he was there now. When given a small nod from Charles, Francisco entered the office and stood beside Annette.

"He was going to hurt her," Charles reiterated, getting slightly frustrated by the fact that they couldn't see the desperate position he had been in.

"But by killing him, you're also hurting her. They think by hurting her, they'll hurt you. That's what they want," Francisco countered, curious to see how Charles would react. He just shook his head, looking down at his lap as he thought.

Yes, Francisco was right, and very much so. Now that Charles had kept you in his home and killed for you, the Dubois' had every right to assume that your pain would result in Charles' pain. Your sadness and his. Your demise and his. Your life and his.

"Then that's not what they're getting. I don't give a shit whether I have to keep her in this goddamn house until the day I drop dead. I got her into this mess, now I'm going to get her out of it. You two can either keep complaining at me, or you can help me give her the best life I can under the circumstances." he said, the other two staying silent.

"I'll take her back home when the mess is cleaned up, she can pick up what she wants,"  Francisco said, not wanting to push Charles too far. He had already seen his temper get the better of him today, and he didn't want to be on the receiving end of anything from him.

"Do you want her staying where she is or do you want her moving to a different room?" Annette asked, wanting to make your stay there as comfortable as she could given the circumstances.

"No, no, she's settled in there. And she's close enough to me at all times that way," he started with a small nod, thinking that this would be the best decision for you. You knew the room, you knew the layout, and you seemed happy in there. "Even if she's scared of me..." he mumbled.

He was so used to liking people being scared of him, because that meant they wouldn't mess with him and they'd do what he said. But in this scenario, he absolutely hated it. The fear in your eyes after he'd come out of your house was haunting him, like the ghost of the image followed him around.

It was a given that you'd be scared, obviously, but he wished you weren't. He didn't want to make you any more scared than you probably already were, since you had woken up in a stranger's house, and now you had likely clocked that there was a dead body or something unsavory in your house.

"I think it's best if you stay away from her for the evening, Charles. I'll make sure she's alright," Annette reassured, and Charles just stayed quiet. He wanted to protest, but he knew it wasn't going to get him anywhere.

He wanted to apologise, to comfort you, to make sure you knew that he would protect you with his last dying breath. But you didn't want to hear it. Not yet, anyway. The guilt was eating him up inside. By letting his temper get out of control, it felt like he was holding the gun to your head himself.

Now, he had to set about putting plans in place to make sure you'd be happy. He needed to figure out everything about you. Yet he refused to. He had screwed up enough, and the last thing he wanted to do was use his sources of intelligence to stalk your entire life story.

He wanted to hear it from you, not from someone else. He assumed you'd have mentioned if you had a job you had to be at, unless you were on vacation or something. Did you have any significant others who would look for you? Any family who would need to know where you were? All of them were vital details. 

But desperate times called for desperate measures, so all he could do was start digging. Booting up his computer, he shot emails to his trusted informants and private investigators, ready to find out every last scrap about your life. 

They responded in good time, since Charles was their one client who offered the most business and who paid the most for their services. They knew better than to cross him, so all they could do was provide the very best of what they had to offer. 

Despite the fact that his requests were sent at the time they’d usually be clocking out for the day, the least they could do for their number one customer was give him some sort of information. 

Scouring through their databases, they found a bit on you. You were normal, to say the least. Not a particularly remarkable person. Regular, middle-class family who all had regular jobs. You had gone through the education system like everyone had, straight through the university pipeline to a job you never wanted in the first place. 

The only part of interest about you was that you weren’t originally from Monaco, but Charles guessed that pretty quickly. French clearly wasn’t your first language, and you had a different accent whenever you spoke English. 

You worked at the bank, mainly just doing menial jobs like depositing cash, cashing cheques and all of the boring things a bank clerk would have to do. He could only assume that you wanted to become something bigger within the financial system, and probably something a lot more exciting. 

Charles’ informants also found it very easy to get any social media account that you had ever logged into right to him, and he was able to have a little stalk through. He basically had your entire life laid out in front of him in pictures and captions. 

Most of the accounts were private, but they had an easy workaround to get into them. You didn’t post often, and if you did, it was only when you were spending time with friends and people close to you. After scrolling through for a minute or two, he stumbled upon pictures from a holiday to Spain that you had taken the year prior. 

He’d be a fool if he didn’t admit that the sight of you with bronzed skin, covered only in a miniscule bikini wasn’t something he wanted to see more of. Your curves were on full show, your face being lit up by the sun. 

Unfortunately for him, Charles could feel the blood rushing south and he had to quickly click off the page to subdue himself somewhat. He wasn’t going down that rabbit hole, not today. He had already gotten himself into a mess as it was, and he didn’t want to make it worse. Figuratively and literally.

A/N - Hello lovely people! For any of you Wattpad users, I do have my own little account that I am thinking of posting on... I'd be reposting some of these as well as some exclusives if you would like to see those.

If you wanna be added to the tag list, drop me a comment. I'm going to post my upload schedule soon so that you guys know when things are coming out! A reblog on this would be greatly appreciated, love y'all 💖

tag list: @fangirlmusicbiashoe

|masterlist|the full series|

[kittlyns]

My best friend's birthday is in 5 days and I just got her present in the mail and it sucks. So I'm killing myself.

[erwinsvow]

we need more moment where shy!reader was studying and practicing new things to show rafe!! ik that girl is so kinky and it’s always the shy girls <33

YESS omg i srsly love that drabble when i reread it im like she was cookin.. i feel like shes the type to try to prep herself with a dildo bc she can never take all of rafe but imagine he found it n was like ?!!?

really—your boyfriend was too big. it was excessive, and though you could never find the words to tell him to stop or slow down—mostly because you didn't want him to—he always did anyways.

no matter how much you insisted that you could take all of him, rafe didn't like to listen. so you were stuck in a conundrum, and your choices were either lying to your boyfriend that it didn't hurt or accepting the fact that he'll never be as rough with you as you want.

you were willing to sit down and accept a lot of things without a fight—but this was not one of them.

one discreetly wrapped delivery later, you had yourself your very own rafe-sized dildo—a pretty pink color and of such a size that it had your insides churning with anticipation. about half an hour later with the use of some lube and lots of work, you were successfully able to fit about three-fourths. it wasn't perfect, yet, but it was a work in progress.

you didn't want to overdo it and end up insanely sore either, and you were beginning to realize even half was enough to have you cumming over and over again. so much so that you almost forgot about the date you had planned with rafe for that night—scrambling to get up and get ready.

that night, after a nice date and way too much ice cream, you realized you were too fucked out from your afternoon activity to go for another round for rafe. it was no big deal—except it happened the next day. then the day after that. and the one after that.

you had mastered the rafe-sized dildo, and you could take the entire thing after week of practice. but it also meant that it had been a full week without your boyfriend fucking you—something that hadn't happened since you had lost your virginity to him.

a little too clueless around rafe like always, you hadn't realized anything was wrong. rafe was on edge—pent up and unable to keep taking out his frustration on the golf course after almost breaking one of his clubs—but you didn't really notice.

you were waiting for tonight, after another date to show him your new-found skills, but of course, he didn't know that.

getting ready in your bathroom, blasting music and doing your makeup, you don't even hear the door open to your bedroom. rafe came to get you early, knowing you would need more time but way too antsy to wait alone in his car.

he sits on your bed, listening to the muffled music from behind the closed door. he's not impatient with you and hardly ever like this, but the current situation had left him more desperate to see you than usual.

leaning against your headboard, he feels something under your pillow. lifting it to move whatever it was—knowing you, the book you had been reading last night—his jaw clenches when he sees it. a dildo. not just any dildo—a huge dildo. under your pillow like you'd just been using it or something.

the pillow stays in his hand but he has an overwhelming urge to chuck it across the room. was this the reason the two of you hadn't had sex in a week? were you finding pleasure from some stupid toy instead of him?

"rafe?" you ask, stepping out of the bathroom and staring at the scene in front of you with big eyes. you're distractingly pretty everyday but even more so today with a short skirt and done-up face for the date he's not sure if he'll be taking you on.

your face burns with humiliation—stupidly realizing you hadn't put the damn thing away after last night. rafe is looking at you and then looking back at your bed, his fist tight around your pillow.

"um, i-"

"do you wanna explain? i'll give you five fuckin' seconds to explain-"

"no, it's not what it looks like-"

"really, kid? what it looks like is you're fuckin' this stupid thing instead of me. y'know, i'll just fuck off and you can have fun-"

rafe stands, not really angry but still sounding like he is. it's more pent-up frustration bubbling up, but you rush over to him anyways, looking so panicked he feels bad the second he said anything. he can't stay mad at you for longer than a minute.

"it's not what it looks like, i swear-"

"what is it then, huh?"

"i was just practicing! i was just trying to get better for you. see, it's yours." you motion to the toy still on the bed.

"huh?" rafe asks, looking between you and the bed.

"it's you. see. it's like... your size. um-" you get flustered again, shutting up in the fear that you've just said something to rafe that you should have kept to yourself. "i'm.. sorry?"

"no you're not."

"no, but i feel bad. are your feelings hurt? i'm sorry."

when rafe glances back at you, tearing his gaze away from the bright pink that's beginning to hurt his eyes, he realizes how sad you look, thinking you've done something to upset him.

"no, m'fine. just.. tell me next time. it was a jump scare."

"okay.." you stay still infront of him, awkwardly playing with your hands waiting for him to say something. you're a little concerned rafe's still upset, but he doesn't seem to look it, rather looking at you expectedly.

"what?" you question immediately, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"what? get on the bed. you've had enough practice. time for the real thing."

[itsblubun]

Talking about Nathaniel and the homophobia allegory / artist themes in The Ruler because I am not sane (very unorganized thoughts ahead)

First of, oh my god the homophobia allegory. I have so many sporadic thoughts that I'll try my best to explain.

Homophobia is such a taboo topic, especially in children's cartoons, that it's incredibly refreshing to see miraculous of all shows tackle it with such forwardness. There's really not all that much sugarcoating, it's the story of a queer kid growing up in a homophobic household, having heteronormativity indoctrinated onto him, having to deal with close-minded family who refuse to support you, because they fully believe you're on the wrong path, making decisions that will "ruin your life", claiming your passions as "just a phase", and being threatened to live in isolation from your peers, the people you are most close with in the world due to being "a bad influence" on you.

They push their ideologies so hard on Nath that he actually goes through with what they say. He destroys his art, literally shreds the story he's worked so hard on because of his mother. She says so many times how she's going to "set him straight", saying that he needs to be "converted" to be successful or for the world to accept you. That his art is meaningless and immature and he needs to make "real art".

His father also adds onto it by saying the comic book knights should fall in love with the literal villain because "that's what people want to see". Like the relationship between the knights wasn't sentimental, like it was meaningless, like it wasn't love.

Marc's parents also show up for the first time, and they're the complete opposite. They're incredibly supportive, accepting, kind, and they absolutely love the script for their comic, saying that it clearly came from the heart. They let Marc express himself, they let Marc love who he wants to love. It's honestly a bit jarring to compare Marc's parents to Nathaniel's. (Nath always looks so sad with them oh my heart 😭)

But despite everything I just said, the ending is a really beautiful conclusion.

The comic knights get to be together, and Nathaniel finally gets the acceptance of his family. His mom finally accepts him for who he is, and supports the art he makes. Because it's so clear now, that it's from the heart. And that's the most beautiful thing art can be.

A lot of artists have dealt with invalidation, wether from uneducated people or other artists, for "not being professional" or "not what's expected to make in in the industry". Because these artists choose to make the art they want to, choose to express themselves and be bold.

Nathaniel's mom being an architect really sells the themes of art in the episode. She's strict, unbending, and she clearly has very closed minded views on what art should or shouldn't be made. In her standards, if it's not in a museum, it's not art. But that's just simply not true.

Art is a beautiful thing, in whatever form it is. It's pure, it's passionate, it's what makes us human.

While its incredibly refreshing to see such a bold queer allegory in a kids show, it's also beautiful to see the story of an artist like Nathaniel be put front and center and tackle the many sides and points of view that someone can have on your art.

Because, while his mom sees it as immature, his friends and boyfriend absolutely LOVE it. They adore the story they're telling and literally flock in a circle to be able to see it.

And then the fact that the episode ends with Marc and Nathaniel revealing their identities to each other, the same way the comic knights revealed theirs... Ties the allegory with a beautiful bow and ships it over straight to my heart.

I love this episode so much, and I seriously can't wait to see more. Miraculous team, you cooked.

[drdemonprince]

in the past year i've pushed myself through increasingly physically extreme acts, kink wise, and that's introduced me to a few sides of me i wasn't conscious of before.

like the bratty me. im not a brat. i dont like being difficult in a scene. i like being a good obedient blanks submissive. but if the Dom is too casual in the dynamic or I doubt his judgement in some way, bratting comes out of me almost involuntarily, as if to fill the space. Either I make little snide comments and jokes (which can establish a rapport and be fun, sometimes), or I push back pretty willfully (but subtly) against what the Dom is doing, which can cause them to either regroup or go off balance.

There's a whole spectrum of sarcastic, snide, flirtatious energy I dispense depending on just how untrusting I feel, and I do so on instinct, so sometimes it goes way too far or emerges at the wrong time and isn't at all what the Dom wanted to see. But I can tell I developed this side to protect me. The bratty me knows how to de-escalate and disempower a powerful person and I've been her(?) throughout my life, anytime that a man has seemed more self-assured than he deserved to be around me, and I felt let down by him. The bratty me knows how to neg and get the upper hand even if the rest of me doesn't want to, basically. Sadly, the first person I had to develop this persona on was my dad. And in a way I'm still trotting out the exact personality that used to get him riled up and allowed me to feel like I was in control of our relationship, spiky and seductive at the same time.

Bratty me exists to prevent emotional pain. It lets me backpedal at giving away power, cast the whole thing as a joke, and reassert myself as the person of superior competence without having to take on the responsibility of leading the show. I have been let down by a lot of Dominant figures in my life over the years and now I find it hard to fully give in to someone the way I was once able to. It gets irritating when bratty me crawls out of my mouth and throws insults at a time where I am safe and I do want to get closer to somebody, but now I can take that as a sign that she (the brat) can feel the risk level mounting and wants to make sure I'm okay. I need to do more intentional IFS type of work on myself and her to let her know we're okay.

There's another side of me that comes out when I'm in actual physical distress during a scene, and that's a feral, fight-or-flight mode self. With emphasis on the fight. I didn't expect this to come out of me during kink, for me to start shoving and spitting and pushing back, but I honestly should have, because every time that I've been groped or followed down the street in real life my instinct has been to become violent. I am filled with barely suppressed anger and always am thrilled to have the excuse to unleash it on somebody. It is so rare to have an acceptable target.

But recently, during a couple of kinky scenes, I've gotten electrocuted too much in the wrong spot or had too big of a toy forcibly inserted far too fast and I've turned into a kicking, screaming, pushing, aggressive mess even when I haven't wanted to. It's the same thing as being unable to relax enough to open your hole up, or breathe through a strike, but it sure looks a lot meaner. I tend to emotionally regress right after being this person, go a bit mute and infantile and be unable to look at anybody for a long while afterward and I usually can't explain what I need.

But again, I'm proud of this side of me for existing. Feral fight mode me is also trying to assert control and protect me, even if he overdoes it. These explosive characters show how much I've had to live through, and all the skills I developed to do so. It's been rewarding to get to know them, even if they can be a real pain to deal with during a scene. I know that these two sides of me are powerful and I can see how much I deploy them (in smaller ways) in my regular interpersonal relationships to prevent intimacy, and I need to work on making these sides of me feel safe so that doesn't happen so much. And that starts with appreciating them for all that they do.

[sungiescheotluv]

can i call you tonight? ⭑.ᐟ park jisung

pairing: park jisung x gender neutral reader

word count: 1.5k

tags/warnings: fluff, friends to lovers, hidden feelings, incoherent writing of me being soft of jisung 🥹

summary: they say absence makes the heart grow fonder. in your case, your night-time calls with your long-time friend, jisung, reveal a lot more than the darkness of the sky.

notes: wow, wow, another post! wasn't expecting to post so soon, but i was writing for another project i'm working on and saw this post and said what the heck, let's give this a go! ☝🏾🤓again, this may be incoherent because i don't proofread this until later on (sorry for any errors) and because my feelings are a bit all over the place lmao. anyways, hope you enjoy and hope to see you soon! much luv <3

A lethargic film coats your eyes, the familiar sting of exhaustion winding your eyes shut. You should go to sleep. Quit this charade and call it a night. And yet, in the darkness of your bedroom, you pat against the soft expanse of your sheets, feeling around for a phone so bright you squint when brought to eye level.

No new notifications.

You huff into your pillow, definitely not pouting. Your long-time friend, Jisung, is away, chasing his dreams with his closest friends, NCT Dream, who are currently on tour. A busy year filled to the brim with schedules make it hard to keep in touch, much less meetup, but Jisung makes the effort. Whether it's at the crack of dawn or late into night, you can always rely on a call from him, explaining his day's events and asking about yours. You work odd hours, sleep odd hours too, so in a way, despite the distance between you, things still work like they had all those years ago.

From what he last texted you, he’d be able to call you in three hours - after the concert. It's a battery in your back, lighting up from a long day at work. It’d be late for you, but it didn’t matter. You wanted to hear from him -  his muffled chuckles at your lame jokes, his endless interest in what you were up to (even if it was never as interesting) and have his deep voice lull you to sleep. It was like he was right there with you, shrouded in the lowlights of your room, holding you close and never letting go. Not oceans away, not out of your grasp and out of your mind.

Just as you’d given up on his call, your phone buzzes against your pillow, the lowtone reserved for Jisung. With a tired groan, you press Accept.

“Did I wake you?”

It’s amazing what years spent together did to you two, no need for words to convey any and all thoughts. Well, some of them anyways.

“No, I was just dozing off,” you mumble. “How was the concert?”

“Good. The energy was threw the roof, the guys and I really enjoyed ourselves,” Jisung falls into his routine, back supported by a heaped blanket with his phone against his chest. “How was your day?”

“Same old, same old,” you huff. “Any interesting signs?”

“None if you don’t tell how your day went,” he argues, and you roll your eyes.

Classical Jisung. Always attentive, always seeing right through you.

You relay your day to him, pinpointing how gorgeous the sky looked on your way back and how he would’ve loved the view.

“The picture I sent you doesn’t do it justice,” you explain.

“Getting to see it through your eyes is good enough.”

You cough, momentarily caught off guard by how much that made your heart flutter. “Anyways, the signs. We were talking about signs.”

Jisung lags a bit, an unconvinced hum coming through before he speaks. “Not any I haven’t told you about,” he hums, the drum of his fingers thumping through your phone speaker. “There was one that asked me to put my ring on their finger.”

“If you gave away that wrapped nail ring, I swear-”

“I didn’t even give it to them, I just took it off my finger and had it in the air,” he chuckles, stirring something warm in your chest. “What are you talking about?”

A wave of sheepishness washes over you, face buried into your pillow as you mumble. “It’s just…a nice ring, is all.”

“You think so? I would’ve thought you’d prefer the Chrome Hearts one.”

“It’s nice, but the nail one's better”

“Oh, I see,” he teases, all-knowing and you hope he’s none the wiser. Hiding things from each other is not your norm, but when they involved feelings that could fundamentally change the fabric of your relationship, you tried to embrace change. Maybe some hope too. That maybe he wasn’t calling you at late hours because you were available, but because he wanted to be with you as much as you did. “That’ll be the first place I visit when I get back.”

“What place?’

“The jewelry store where I got the ring,” he explains, dull fingernails tapping against the surface of his phone. It’s one of the things he does when he doesn’t know what to do with his hands, a habit you’re sure he’s totally unaware of. Regardless, it soothes the elevation in your heart rate, tingles running down your back like hot water. “Well, first stop is your place, then the store.”

“Matching rings is a bit..”

“What?” he asks, in that low tone that makes you putty in his large hands. “We’ve got matching shoes, hoodies that I had to restock because you keep stealing mine and matching necklaces. I don’t think rings are much of a stretch.”

You couldn’t argue there. Especially since you curled up in your bed in your latest steal - a simple black hoodie that is oversized and still smelt like him. You couldn’t bring yourself to acknowledge how the faint scent of citrus, jasmine and him didn’t force you to count sheep. You also couldn’t bring yourself to admit the eruption of goosebumps over your skin when Jisung clasped the necklace on you, his fingers grazing your exposed skin in the process. It took everything in you not for your knees to give out right then and there.

“You’re only convincing me because I’m half asleep.”

“I see how it is. I’ll take it anyways,” he hums, a closed mouth giggle vibrating off his chest. It’s oddly intimate, being so close yet far away from him. “I wish you were here.”

Something ceases in your chest. Your heart? Your lungs? You’re unsure, but whatever it is has your eyes shooting open, a vague thump of your heart echoing through your weightless limbs. Usually, you’d be able to tread this line carefully, a tight-rope you’ve perfected to a science, but something about the darkness, the late hour makes you more vulnerable. More forthcoming.

You don’t deflect in a joke, or find some way to turn this back on him. You simply answer back. “Me too,”

You hesitate. “I missed hearing your voice.”

“Wow, I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me in the last five years.”

“I’m hanging up now.”

“No, no - don’t go,” he chuckles, but there’s something in his voice that’s pleading. That makes you stay. “I guess, I just…that was sweet of you. Thank you.”

You turn your head, as if scorched by his loaded gaze. “Don’t mention it.”

A quietness falls between the two of you, one that doesn’t call upon ideal conversation but allows you to gather your cloud-like thoughts, to drift further into your dreamstate where in one reality, you’re able to confess your feelings and get your happy ending.

“If I fall asleep, just hang up,” you mumble, like the words escape you. “No need for an earful of my snoring.”

“It’s not that bad,” Jisung argues, and if you could, you’d roll your eyes. “It’s like white noise.”

“Are you seriously comparing my snores to white noise right now?”

“It helps me sleep, so I’d say so,” and then silence. Almost a deafening one, as if he’d realised the weight of his words and wasn’t sure what to say next. You gulped. “You know,”

“What?”

“You’re the only one I’ll talk to this late, right?’

You shift, suddenly hyperaware of every sensation inside and outside your body. “No.”

He hums, as if to say Huh. “I thought I was a bit more…obvious about things.”

That has your attention, your hand clawing just beside your lit-up phone. “Obvious about what?’

Silence again. And in all the years of your friendship - days spent indulging in sugary ice cream on sunny days playing hopscotch, running through your high school hallways to get lunch first, the prideful smile he had on your university graduation day - no silence has felt this way. Something other than comfortable, like the moment you teetered on the edge of your seat and held your breath for.

“You’re really gonna make me say it?’

And there he is, so sweet and bashful. Probably hiding his beautiful face behind his pretty hands, a downturned smile and flush against his soft skin. Oh, what you’d do to kiss the beauty mark against his cheek.

“Considering I don’t know what it is, then yes. I am.”

You have an inkling, because you’ve spent the better part of your life with him, but you’re not one for assumptions. You’d rather hear it from him.

“When I come back,” he starts, cautious yet earnest. “I’d like to take you on a…real date.”

“Platonically or?’

“There’s nothing platonic about the way I feel about you,” and you can hear it, the smile in his voice. And now, you’re the bashful one, again burying your face against bundled feathers as your cheeks burn like the sun. “What do you say?”

“That I’m glad I didn’t miss your call,” you chuckle, the leaps your heart fluttering against your chest that tickled with delight. “Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Yes,” you smile. “Hurry back soon.”

“I’ll be home before you know it.”

And before you know it, he's at your door, smile sheepish and ring in hand. His hands tremor ever so slightly and it melts your heart, your hands folding over his as you lead him inside, a new chapter of your lives together unfolding.

[kykyonthemoon]

Rain On The Way Home

Zayne takes you home after an argument between the two of you.

ಇ. Zayne x Reader/MC

ಇ. Tags & warnings: since there's a bit spicy at the end I shall put 16+, MDNI here, fluff, short and sweet, kiss and make up, making out, argument, hurt/comfort, established relationship, character might be a bit ooc idk.

ಇ. Word count: ~1k9

ಇ. Based on a request by YNhi.

ಇ. Masterlist ♡ Request a fic

Your lips were pursed tightly. Hands placed on your thighs were clenched so tightly that you could feel the nails digging into your skin. You did your hardest to keep back the tears that threatened to fall, but failed. Warm drops dripped on the back of your hands, and you brushed them away as soon as you noticed a familiar figure approaching from afar.

Zayne opened the car door and sat in the driver's seat. He did not glance at you or say anything. You turned entirely to face the window, observing the soft drizzle fall outside. All you wanted to do was kick the car door open, run out into the rain and scream your lungs out.

The atmosphere between the two of you had never been this stuffy. You could have left alone, but because your body was injured and your emotions were all over the place, you lacked the strength to oppose Zayne's decision. So you let him do anything he wanted. Perhaps that was best for both.

Just a second ago, you fought to reject him and ended up sitting here with bitterness in your heart, allowing him to take you home, allowing him to control you like a puppet again.

The third time you had been hospitalized in one short month, you had also reached Zayne's limit.

People at the hospital claimed that when Dr. Zayne was upset, he became quite frightening. They thought he would explode and anyone unlucky enough to get in his way would suffer. On the contrary, Zayne's rage was like a blizzard on the horizon. You might believe it would not find you, but when it did, no matter where you hid, you would never be secure. 

And that day, for the first time ever, Doctor Zayne was seen losing his usual composure.

His lengthy and fast steps resembled racing through long and busy corridors. The hospital room door opened in such a way that it was about to come off its hinges. Zayne's face solidified. Without a word, he confiscated your medical documents and commanded everyone to go, in such a frightening manner that the nurse caring for you had to shiver from the cold after leaving.

Zayne looked at the documents and then at the wound on your shoulder. It was treated in time but remained painful. The injury had left you quite weak, but after nearly a day of medical care, what distressed you the most was Zayne's attitude.

Before he could say anything, you spoke up and explained:

“It was just an incident… It wasn't like I took the initiative to accept this mission. It's just that there were no other Hunters closer to the attack area than I was…”

“That's why, despite the fact that you hadn't completely recovered and were resting, you hurried to the scene, dismissing your prior injuries. Dismissing your doctor's orders?"

One corner of the file in Zayne's hand was so tight that it became wrinkled when he let go and threw it hard on the nearby table. He turned his back on you and looked out the window. One hand on his hip, the other hand to bury his face. He acted as if he was trying his best to retain the last bit of composure. 

"I'm fine." You said. "I honestly felt no discomfort. I have been able to move properly for a week now. Staying at home constantly is boring. I needed to stretch a little so I could get back to work quickly."

Zayne slowly turned around to look at you. He was still standing in the corner of the room, and you noticed the window glass behind him starting to freeze. 

“You were bored? If you feel bored, call your friends. If you feel bored, go shopping or hang out where you like to go. You were bored so you decided to jump right into a group of Wanderers?"

“Zayne…” You grimaced. “I don't like you this way… You… are acting so strange…”

“Do you think I'd like to see you lying here? Do you think I'd like to see you being carried to the hospital?"

"I'm sorry…" You murmured. You knew it was you to blame for not listening to him and instead running to the scene of the attack. But you were conscious of your own strength and wanted to fulfill the commitment you made when you decided to become a Hunter.

"You've said sorry for the third time this month." Zayne responded. His face was rigid, yet his fists were clasped firmly. "I've heard enough."

"Oh, just quit it!" You abruptly raised your voice. "I told you I didn't like you acting this way. As a Hunter, it's normal for me to get hurt!"

Zayne opened his eyes wide. He was astonished by your response. He stayed silent so you could pour out your feelings.

“I am capable of taking care of myself! I don't like being told what to eat or drink. I don't like being told what time I must  go to bed. Or being compelled to stay at home even though I have completely recovered and ready to battle! I'm not a child for you to order around, or tell me to do this and that!”

“You're saying, I'm too controlling over you?”

“I…” You halted. It seemed that was true. Even while you knew Zayne had good intentions and genuinely cared for you, you were unable to avoid feeling as if he was in charge of every part of your life, controlling every meal and sleep. 

"Understood."

Silence permeated the hospital room for a long moment. Zayne gazed at you as if he was considering something, then he started to pack up your clothes and belongings that remained in the room.

“What are you doing?” 

Zayne responded: “I don't want to be the one who controls you. You will be discharged from the hospital and free to do as you please.”

“What do you mean by that?” Free? It sounded like he did not care about you anymore. It sounded like he was going to give you your freedom back by not getting involved in anything related to you anymore.

“I will not force you to stay here. No one can do that. In roughly ten minutes, someone will come and take you to my car. I only ask you to do this for me once more.”

Having said that, Zayne turned and left. The door closed behind his broad back and you swore you were about to cry right from that moment.

The nurse came to inform you that Dr. Zayne had directly requested your discharge from the hospital. They let you go since your situation was not too serious and they believed Zayne would care for you discreetly at home. Zayne waited for you in the parking lot. He unlocked the door for you to enter first and returned to fetch a few more medical supplies before driving you home.  

All along the way, you kept wondering if you had made a big mistake. You were exceptionally disrespectful and became frustrated with Zayne for no reason. However, he did not give in to you as he always did. Confused, you simply wanted to lie down on your pleasant mattress at home and weep loudly. However, as the car came to a halt in front of your flat, Zayne refused to let you get out.

You turned to look at him. He looked exhausted and miserable. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, then your eyes met for a moment. You were the first to break that connection.

"I'm home now. Can I leave yet? Or do I still have to wait for your permission?"

"Just stay a little more." Zayne's deep voice rang out. He was considerably more relaxed now than he had been previously. "I'm sorry…"

That was the first time you had heard an apology from him. How strange! Usually, you were the one making trouble, and Zayne was the one who looked after you. You were the one who said sorry. Hearing those words coming out of his mouth made you feel so odd.

“I'm sorry if I become too controlling and that makes you feel uncomfortable.”

You were astonished for a second. You still wanted to weep, but your emotions had settled down considerably.

Zayne slipped his hand down from the steering wheel to seize yours and turned it over. He said:

“When I saw you almost unconscious from the poison, being carried into the hospital room, my heart seemed to stop beating. That is not something I want to see at all.”

Zayne's eyes were quite sorrowful. You subconsciously imagined that if you switched roles and the injured person was him, you definitely would not be able to remain calm in such a situation.

“I know you can take care of yourself,” Zayne continued. “But I still want to help you do that and protect you. In my own way.”

After he finished speaking, there was a moment of calmness. The street lights were illuminated, and the rain stopped pouring. You softly clutched his hand.

“I'm sorry too, because what I said was not true… I didn't mean to call you a dictator who controls this relationship…”

You smiled at him. The corners of Zayne's lips also loosened somewhat. He took your hand and tenderly pressed a kiss on.

“I'm really okay.” You added. “The doctor also said that the poison from the Wanderers had been purified. I don't feel too much pain anymore."

Zayne gave a slight nod. He understood this from the moment he read your record. That was why he boldly asked for you to be discharged from the hospital. Even though he was upset, your safety would come first in any case.

"You said you were fine?" Zayne inquired out of the blue. "How do you prove it then?"

You exhaled. After all, he still had reservations about your ability to care for yourself. You leaned in to offer him a passionate kiss. The resentment in your heart melted away in his warmth.

As your lips withdrew from Zayne's, he whispered:

"Good enough. However, in the future, if there is an issue between us, or if you are dissatisfied with something I do,... can I trust you to talk to me directly about it?"

You gave a modest nod. Zayne kissed you, deep. He caressed you but only so gently, as if afraid that you would melt into rain bubbles if he became too greedy. A while later, perhaps since your head was hazy from the injury, you had no clue how you ended up sitting on top of Zayne in the driver's seat, your lips locked with him while your hands constantly touching his flesh underneath the shirt. His delicate but searing kisses fell on your shoulder, around the bandaged area that had just been revealed to his sight as he pulled your shirt down. He kissed your wounds, new and old. He asked softly, would you feel pain if he touched them? And you replied that there was only pain if he did not do so.

Rain began pouring again; it might last all night long. How convenient, since he did not intend to let you get out of the car in such a condition.

[bethanydelleman]

idk if you are familiar with little women but your most recent post about the treatment of women throughout history reminded me of the beef I have with 2019 little women.

by that point we're in the victorian era and things are slowly getting better for women.

in the book jo manages to become a very successful writer and amy considers becoming an art teacher *if* she doesn't reach fame as an artist.

also by the very end of the entire saga (set around the very end of the 19th century) there are two female characters who want to become a doctor and an actress, and they are fully supported by everyone! there's also a conversation between a bunch of young characters where the male characters are totally pro women's rights and defend the girls'rights.

meanwhile the 2019 movie has jo not being taken seriously as a writer because of her gender while the whole conflict was about money and fame in the novel.

same for amy who has a whole speech about marriage being an economic proposition and women essentially not being able to do anything else to support themselves (when she had a back up job plan in the book.)

like that wouldn't be true anymore, the fact that two of the main characters can write & make art is proof of that.

all this to say how anachronistic this kind of view is, and how making such blank statements about a topic as broad and various as this one is never going to end up well.

like yes women did struggle! we already made that point, but how can you analyze that specific struggle if you don't understand the context behind it? because a woman in the victorian era would not have the same struggle as a regency woman, and let alone a 17/15th century woman.

also people always forget that class plays a huge role in this, because the gentry wasn't expected to work regardless of gender, and working class women had all the disadvantages of being a woman without the luxuries that nobility offered.

I used lw as an example because I know the saga by heart and those scenes always left a sour taste in my mouth, but I'm sure there are other examples, and I just wanted to add my own opinion and back you by explaining why you're right.

This question is in response to this post.

I am not super familiar with Little Women personally (I've read it but a long time ago) and I haven't watched any adaptations, so I'm not sure about these scenes. I know @thatscarletflycatcher has a beef with this movie so maybe she shares your frustrations. I agree with the frustrations as you have presented them here.

Things were looking up in the Victorian era, and women in the lower classes had less of an imperative to marry, but the Brontë sisters still published under male pseudonyms (though that was in the UK), so I'm not sure it was entirely normal or accepted for women to write. Just looked it up, even Louisa May Alcott herself used a pen name for her "sensational" works.

If anyone is more familiar with the novel series and 2019 adaptation, please chime in!

[lovejongseob]

How the other P1H members find out your relationship

Jongseob probably wouldn't be able to hide it for long, for a number of reasons. First of all, P1Harmony is his family. They live together, work together, have spent many years together, and so much more. Very rarely were they unaware of what everyone is up to. And, of course, you just made him so happy, it manifested in new habits the group would obviously pick up on.

Rather than staring intensely at his phone, like he's about to burn through it with his eyes, he's been smiling fondly and giggling louder. He takes pictures of just about everything and seems to be taking way more selfies than they need to post. It's like a new interest has taken over his mind, and his friends just keep noticing more.

Soul would get suspicious when he notices Jongseob playing more multiplayer games, but isn't inviting him as much. He keeps speaking to him, talking in multiple languages, including alien, but his headphones are too loud. Usually he gets a little startled at sudden noises, but maybe he was just too focused on his game ?

Intak is confused, "Jongseob, didn't you leave with a jacket ?" Thankfully, none of the others were there to keep connecting the dots, but Jongseob was definitely frozen for a second. He did leave with a hoodie, but if he explained why he didn't come back with it, he'd definitely get teased. It wasn't hard to convince Intak that he'd confused his attire with last night's, since he's been going out more often.

There's been a recent trend with one of the members, and Jiung is the first to pick up on it. In his personal time, Jongseob has been wearing less and less baggy clothes, opting for tighter shirts. He's more comfortable wearing crop tops, and skirts if he likes. He still adores his comfier and bigger clothes, but Jiung sees him putting extra effort into his appearance when it's not necessarily needed.

Jongseob knows he's on thin ice, and that it's risky to ask such things, but he really needs to know. He trusts Theo a lot, so he confides in him about personal questions and worries. He doesn't say anything about having a romantic partner, but Theo assumes at the very least he's interested in someone because hes nervously asking things like, "How do you be romantic while being so shy ?", "Did you have any relationships while you weren't an Idol ?", and, "How do you make them feel as hopeless as you ?"

So when Keeho slips into Jongseob's room to retrieve something he forgot way earlier, he isn't surprised to see his youngest friend has fallen asleep with his phone next to him, still in his hand. However, when he sees one of the prettiest people he thinks ever on the other side of a FaceTime call, his jaw doesn't even drop.

The moral of the story, is, Jongseob is never wrong. Maybe he could've avoided some of the teasing by just being upfront about it, but he's sure there still would've been a few jokes to be made. He wakes up to the P1H group chat's profile picture as both of your sleeping faces. There are 46+ messages, half of them from Theo, none of which he is responding to.

considered doing one or two paragraphs for each member, but decided to just make it multiple for jongseob. i have a lot of ideas for full group fics already so ill write those when i write those. "he'd" to "he's" cannot be right but in my head it sounds acceptable. always spell and grammar checking but what about checking the switch between present tense and past tense ? (im genuinely HORRIBLE with this) god i hate writing. i finished proof reading but i actually feel like i just fucked it up more

[li-lilyvi]

hiiiiii, absolutely love your work. Could you do a seungcheol x idol!reader. seungcheol is going through his injury recovery and reader took time off to take care of him but he’s easily agitated because of how much his injury has affected him.

(idk if you get what but i just randomly thought of the time seungcheol tore his acl😔😔)

thank you!!

omgg thank you sooo much for your support e for your request!!! 😭😭 you LITERALLY read my mind. i've wanted to write something like this for a while ago and i totally get what what you'r talking about! well, i hope you like it and keep asking for requests!!!

Always by your side

paring: idol!cheol × idol!reader

counting words: 689

genre: angst, fluff (comforting)

warning: you might cry...

Seungcheol was never the type of guy to accept being taken care of by other people, even if that person was you.

He's always been in control of everything, he's always taken care of everything, including you, but he didn't expect that one day that would change so quickly.

Nothing had prepared him for this injury and the surgery. The upcoming Nana tour, which would take them to Italy, happened without Seungcheol present.

Despite everything, having you by his side made things a little easier. 

You, a famous idol from a mixed group - something not so common in Korea - with a busy schedule and an album soon to be released, put everything aside to pay attention to your soon-to-be husband.

Everyone in your group understood the situation and made themselves available to help in any way they could. Of course, it wasn't easy to explain to the fans why you were leaving the group so suddenly and going on hiatus with no end in view, especially so close to a world tour, but they respected your decision and gave you the space to do it.

Away from the cameras, the stage and the fans, you and Seungcheol lived in a house in a quiet neighborhood in Seoul. The house emanated comfort and love, as it was a home for the two of you, where you could find protection and warmth in each other's arms at the end of the day.

After the surgery, of course, it was no different. The atmosphere in the house, although a little lower than normal, was still full of love.

–Babe... - Seungcheol called out. 

–Yes? - you replied from the kitchen, finishing preparing a snack so that the two of you could enjoy the rest of the afternoon watching movies.

–Are you coming back? - he asked in a sensitive voice.

–Yes, babe. I'm coming.

As soon as you arrived in the living room with the food, you noticed that Cheol was different from normal. Something was wrong, but you - and he - couldn't tell what it was.

—Cheol? - you called out and he hummed in response. "Is something bothering you?" 

–I... It's so annoying to be like this... I can't do anything at all, while I'd like to be doing everything. It's not even the travel, you know? But I'd like to be making the best of the time we have together. I wanted to be able to go out with you, go to dinner, walk the streets, even if we didn't have anywhere to actually go, but... - he sighed heavily and continued with a trembling voice - I don't even know if I'll be able to go back to work with what I love and... I hate being like this and thinking about the future. It's suffocating me.

–Babe… - you started, a sad smile on your face as you listened to your boyfriend. You understand his sadness, you would feel the same if this were happening to you - It's ok being frustrated and sad about this.You're scared I know, but I'm here and I'll be here for the rest of our lives and I'll help you with everything you may need, ok? - you sat down on the sofa by his side and continued - You can lean on me, we're going through this together, remember? You're not alone, my love.

At that time, both you and Seungcheol were crying. 

–There’s no way I deserve you… - Cheol said, gently rubbing your cheek.

–Stop… Of course you deserve me, Cheol. - the two of you stayed like that for a while until you stood up and called him over to do something - Ok, so what do you want to do?

–I'm sorry? - he asked, looking up at you.

–What do you want to do? Like… We can't go out right now, but we have a few possibilities in here, so take your pick. I'll do whatever you want to.

And so, for a few hours, before you went to bed, you tried to distract Seungcheol from the agony of not knowing his future, but you showed him that, whatever happened, it would still be you and him forever.

a/n: ok, first things first: I'M REALLY SORRY FOR POSTING **NOTHING**. i really don't know what happened and why it happened, buuut here we are... and i hope you like it and it was what you expected (you can tell me if it's not, ok? lol). i loved your request, so do it more often, plsss 🙏❤️ (i'm truly sorry if there's any grammatical or orthographic errors, english is NOT my 1st language)

[bewitched-hours]

Good Morning/ Evening! I hope that you're doing well when reading this ^_^

So when I was just surfing for some inspirations to write, I saw some request from the other users for you and ngl, I like your writing :D

Nothing important, really. But I hope that you won't feel bothered if I request a Two Time x Reader x Azure oneshot? Like in the modern Forsaken [again], Two Time and Azure is a scientist instead of a cultist; The reader is their co-worker. The Reader once helped them with their researchs so thats how they became friend :3

[Azure is still a botanist, though].

[Sooo umm is not valentine but let just pretend it is- Pls don't hit me] During valentine, both Azure and Two Time had gifted the Reader some chocolates a a small note [Its actually an implied confess if the reader become their partner]. Well the Reader haven't realized it until the next morning, reader re-read it and understand, but pretend like they [Azure and 2 Time] didn't mean that.

One day, to anniversary their friendship, the Reader made them bouquets full of Nightshade and flower headbands- And when we go stargazing as planned, they confessed to the Reader andd umm the Reader accepted ^o^

Well umm kinda long request huh [I'm so sorry this is the first time I request smth].

Don't stress yourself, stay healthy and hope you have a great day <3

- Phalpelisk

omg I've been noticed- (/silly) But seriously, hearing that means a lot and I'd love to work on this! Hopefully I understood this correctly lmao (Also don't sweat the date, I love writing for holidays even when the holiday isn't even near lol)

Reader shall be known by She/They!

You might've been an amazing scientist...

But love really never was a language you understood-

Your workplace hired scientists of most professions because the building was pretty large. It also doubled as a hospital after some recent renovations which opened up a lot of new job opportunities.

Of course, you were happy to see so many new faces and so many younglings you can potentially take under your wing. You were known to be a "Mother Hen" among your co-workers.

It actually started as a nickname two of your co-workers gave you.

Azure, the Botanist who worked mostly in the large garden that doubled as a space for you and your co-workers to take breaks in. Although, he also took care of the flora around the building and in the halls and rooms. He seemed to have a real passion for plant life and his enthusiasm helped you during your early days to stay motivated.

And Two Time, a chemist alongside you who would sometimes help out the hospital staff with explaining things to patients. You had both joined at the same time and kinda bonded over not knowing what to do most of the time.

Overall, Azure was usually the one to take care of you both and was more of a "Mother Hen" than you but they decided to give you the nickname because you specifically only acted like it towards new hires like a hen taking care of freshly hatched chicks.

You were a stable trio. Working with Two Time for most of the day and spending breaks together with Azure along with days where you'd all meet up after your shifts to just hang out.

They were both aware of how oblivious you could be when it came to love.

But they wanted to try and confess to you on valentines.

They even had it planned out and everything.

So you got to your shift early, excited because everyone was getting half their usual shift to be able to spend the time with loved ones and still make money.

By first break, you were surprised with heart-shaped boxed of chocolates from Azure and Two Time. You had already given them their chocolate boxes at the start of your shift as to not forget so you figured they were just being nice and you were happy to just eat some chocolate, reading the notes they left inside with visible confusion which they could've honestly expected at this point...

It wasn't until the next morning that the gears in your head started turning and you tried to delude yourself into thinking it wasn't in a romantic context.

Ultimately, you settled on platonic but made a mental note for the anniversary of when you all became the inseparable trio.

And... Well.. That was today.

You've prepared bouquets of Nightshade flowers and flower headbands as you nervously fidgeted with your sleeves and hid the gifts as best as you could. Why were you so nervous? Was your subconscious telling you to stop deluding yourself and accept their confession?

Either way, the day went on like normal for a while. All safe and friendly until the end of your shifts when you all got yourselves ready and met up in the parking lot. You were excited to gift them their bouquets and subtly watched them blush as they went to store them in their own cars.

Considering it was already evening, you all agreed to go to a local restaurant to have dinner and went on to go stargazing in a field outside of the city.

It was quiet. Nothing but your occasional chatter and the buzzing of insects to disturb the peace as you felt your chest warming.

Something about being alone with them both... Out in the open...

It made you all fuzzy inside.

But you grew confused when they both began whispering amongst each other and looking at you a little nervously. It even made you worry a bit.

"Is something wrong..?" You asked anxiously, only to be presented with a bouquet of flowers for yourself by them both. Your face got as red as a tomato when you held it and watched them grin a little.

That's when Azure decided to speak up. "We've been planning to confess to you properly since you misunderstood our attempt on valentines... We want to ask you if you'd like to be in a polycule with us."

You paused, whining a little as you covered your face with the bouquet.

"No fair~! I should've been the one confessing!" You huffed, blaming your own delusions for not bringing this up earlier.

Azure could barely contain his laughter while Two Time practically broke out in laughter. "Hey, you're our princess..." Two Time eventually teased, referencing a day where you called yourself a princess for the whole shift because they offered you 100 bucks to do so.

Although laughing along, you playfully punched Two Time for the reminder and hugged the bouquet in joy.

Maybe love wasn't so difficult to understand after all...

Anything you'd like to request/ask? Check out my pinned post first and I'll be happy to write up whatever you want!

[thequietkid-moonie]

Secretly dating someone from another gang

[ HEADCANONS ] [ Caesar, Burnice ]

[ Zenless Zone Zero ]

IM SO IN LOVE WITH THE SONS OF CALYDON!!! I just love them so much 😭😭 their story, their desing, their gameplay, I just love them!!!

aaaaanyways, I enjoyed writing this a lot and I hope you enjoy it too 🩷🩷

Caesar King

Caesar is optimistic and reliable and being the leader of the Sons of Calydon just reflects that side of her, although her most romantic side, that part of her that makes her heart beat faster at the idea of having a cheesy romance is only know by those who are closer to her

Caesar doesn't even remember too well how it is that you two end up together and, in all honestly, she prefers to don't remember the details because it make her way too flustered and blushy, what she knows is that she is in love and that love is corresponded!

Caesar doesn't have much troubles with keeping your relationship as a secret, she didn't liked much the idea at first but she knows too well why it has to be done, specially when the Tour inferno is close, she doesn't anyone making up a rumor that can affect any of you, and, in the other side, having a secret relasionship is pretty exciting for her

Caesar is incredibly sweet and pretty hopless romantic so having to do things like sneaking out of the others to be able to see you and planning secret dates make her feel so flustered and excited that she doesn't even know how she is able to keep your relationship as a secret at this point (but she is trying her best)

Being from diferent gangs doesn’t mean you two have to be mean to each other, thats how things are on the Outer Ring and she end up taking advantage of that, using the excuse of the fact that she will be competing to become the overlord to get close to your gang as if trying to find out what it should be done when she takes the lidership

Caesar can be pretty silly and exaggerated when trying to act like you two aren't together in from of others just because she want so bad to go to your side and hold your hand or even just hug you! But if you point it out she will be too embarrassed and will even complain

As well, she has a hard time trying to hide what she feels whenever she gets to heard that you are injured or that your gang got into troubles and, surprisingly, she manage to stays serious enough to go as the leader of the Sons of Calydon to offer help if posible, but thats in public because the moment is just the two of you she is already over you asking you if you are alright with teary eyes

Caesar have promise over and over again that when she became the Overlord she will make public your relationship, always with a prideful smile, but when the moment finally came and she became the Overlord she find troubles to do so because now she has to face the troubles of the leadership and all that happened in the Tour inferno, even so she haven't forgotten her promise, she just ask to wait a little longer for her (she even assure you that she haven't forgotten and still plans on doing it public soon, and her frustration for failing in her promise is evident in her expression), maybe, for now, you two can start by telling the rest of the Sons of Calydon

Burnice White

Burnice has a personality that stands out, between her entusiasm and energetic self and her great work with the flamethrowers she is well know, adding to the fact that she is part of the Sons of Calydon, so getting to know each other it isn't that dificult

Deciding to keep your relationship as a secret wasn't Burnice idea, and she even compalined about it but doesn't take much to accept it as you explain that it would be better because of the circumstances, still it will take a while to Burnice to get used to have to don't get over excited and affectionate whenever you two are in public, it took a lot of willpower since she is incredibly affectionate and clingy but at the end she managed to do it! (however, she will make you make it up for her later)

Despite everything Burnice is surprisingly good at keeping your relationship as a a secret, she keeps distance and just talk to you in a friendly way, like with any other person, for the rest of the world it just seems like if you two were simply slowly becoming friends while in private Burnice never leaves you, her hands are always on you by either holding you, hugging you close and sometimes even climbing on you

Burnice takes advantage of the fact that as long as people don't know you two are actually together as partner to spend as much time as posible st your side, always making it seems as a coincidence or that simply happened that you two are at the bar or Cheestopia at the same time and choose to drink something together out of cortesy, or how whenever you two end up running into each other while riding across the road was simply coincidence

Secret dates in public becomes so common that it just becomes a game for Burnice, constantly thinking on how to do it next time, sometimes even going to the city to run some errands to have a secret date out of the Outer Ring (and being able to be extra clingy since no one will see you two there)

At the end no matter how much efforts you two do to keep it as a secret people will start to gossip about you, not exactly because they have find out but because the chemistry that you two have, how you two seem so comfortable and easy going at the side of the other, how well you two seem to work together or even that friendly rivality you two have build to try to cover up your secret dates just end up making some poeple think that you two could be good together, even the Sons of Calydon end up showing support and try to give advices and hints to her about the posibility of you two becoming a couple (wich Burnice finds incredibly hilarious)

At the end she won't say that you two are already together right away but will definetly tell you all that have happened, how everyone seem so supportive between giggles before asking you what you think, wanting to know your opinion after their reaction, hoping you will accept to make your relationship public so she can finally kiss you all day without having to wait until you two are alone

[junebugsarchive]

𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 . jake kim

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 '𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐈 𝐂𝐀𝐍'𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 / 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐌𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐌𝐘 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 . . . ♡

summary: you and jake used to be as thick as thieves back in middle school, even when he became part of the notorious gang big deal. that is, until a miscommunication and jake's stubbornness leads to a heart-breaking fall out, and you never saw or heard of him until a few years later. now jake wants you back in his life, but are you ready to accept him so willingly again?

pairing: jake kim / kim gimyung x reader

details: slight mentions of harassment . cursing & violence . really, really long (wc 11.9k words, sorry everyone ) . all dividers used are from @cafekitsune, pictures from pinterest !

a/n: first ever work wowow >< this fanfic is mostly just to give u guys a taste of my writing style hehe <3 this has been in my drafts for a long time already... finally got the courage to post! hope u guys love, mwah mwah ♡

                Jake Kim will never forget the day he met you. He was fifteen, in his second year at Gangseo Middle School, sleeping soundly at his desk while the teacher at the front droned on about something - he was too lazy to care anyways.

                "Hey!" Someone suddenly slammed both hands onto his table, making him blink blearily, fuzzily looking up in annoyance at the culprit, ready to give them the beating of their life.

                A girl grinned back down at him, her prim and neat uniform a stark contrast to the dirt and grime on the rest of the students, and the blood and cracks coating the walls of their classroom. Jake blinked at her as he straightened his back, opening his mouth to yawn. He had no idea there was a girl in this school.

                "I transferred here a week ago," The girl chirped, as if sensing Jake's thoughts. "My name's [Name] [Last name], nice to meet you!"

                "What do you want?" Jake asked brusquely, ignoring her introduction as he dug in his pocket for a snack, groaning inwardly when he realized that he had eaten them all already. "Go away, kid. This school isn't a place for a girl like you."

                She frowned as she watched him, putting one hand on her hip as she pouted slightly. "I'm not a kid, I'm just a year younger than you!" She replied defiantly. "Besides, this was the only school my aunt could afford."

                Jake raised his eyebrow at this. This girl... was intriguing, at the least. More so annoying, but Jake decided to pardon her overly-zealous attitude. "What do you want?" He repeated in annoyance, nevertheless. "If you don't want anything, go away. I'm trying to sleep here."

                "Protect me."

                Jake paused, just as he was about to close his eyes again, and raised his head, narrowing his eyes at the girl, who was still smiling in a carefree manner. "Excuse me?" He asked, unsure whether to be offended or weirded out by this demand.

                The girl shrugged. "I'm a girl," She explained. "Well, the only girl in this school at least. My auntie couldn't afford anything else, so I had to lie to her and tell her I have a nice friend here that could protect me. Which, obviously isn't true." The girl paused here, looking straight into Jake Kim's eyes without a hint of fear or hesitance. "I can do stuff for you. Your homework, quizzes, tests, whatever. Just please protect me while I'm in this school, until my auntie can get me to transfer, then I'll be out of your hair."

                Jake nearly laughed at this. This girl had the audacity to ask him to help her beat up any guy that essentially looked at her wrong, because she wasn't able to do so herself? She should've just chosen to be home-schooled, or just worked her ass off to make money at a young age instead. "No," He replied bluntly, settling himself back down onto his table, ready to doze off until the end of the day. "Bold of you to assume I want to do well in my studies, anyways. Now go away, kid. I want to sleep."

                You frowned in disappointment. Sure, you weren't a hundred percent certain that the school's most notorious fighter would actually help you, but your optimistic side was really hoping that he'd agree to your crazy demands. "Ok," You relented, rummaging through the plastic bag you'd brought along with you, before bringing out a little Kuromi lunchbox and gently placing it beside the boy's head. "I brought some food, by the way. If you don't wanna eat it it's fine." You wait for a few seconds, but it had become apparent that either Jake was ignoring you, or he was already asleep. "Well, bye Jake." You left, making sure to gently close the door behind you.

                You should have tried harder to convince Jake. You really should have. Because right now, you were in a super uncomfortable situation you wish you could have avoided one way or another. Found blackmail on Jake Kim to make him protect you? Nah, he'd kill you in an instant. Whine and whine and beg for his protection? Still kill you anyways. Fuck, nothing you could have done would make Jake relent.

                Your eye twitched slightly as you heard the boy sat next to you call you 'sweet cheeks' for probably the hundredth time in the past few hours, then proceed to claim that you were his 'girlfriend'. Yeah, right! He was so ugly even mirrors would shatter if they saw him. Another vulgar comment about your ass made you feel like breaking your pencil. Screw being polite to potentially dangerous boys, you were ready to break this guy's arm. You cringed when the guy stupidly decided to make a move and loop an arm around your shoulder, making kissy faces as he slowly drew closer to you. You shivered in horror - this pervert was about to try and kiss you!

                "Hell no." You groaned, gingerly pushing his face away from yours as you stood up, ready to get out of this hellhole. No way this guy actually thought he had a chance with you. Not with his personality.

                "The fuck did you just say, bitch?" The same guy growled, slowly standing up to tower above you, the rest of the class following in suit. It was clear that he was the king in this class, and even the teacher at the front was shivering in his seat, too afraid to say anything.

                "I said, hell no." You repeated, throwing all caution to the wind. "I'm not your girlfriend, so please stop acting like I gave you permission to touch me all you want."

                The guy's goons began to menacingly crack their knuckles and bring out bats from god-knows-where, you were starting to regret making a scene.

                "Disrespectful bitch." The leader spat out, slowly advancing on you. "And disrespectful bitches get taught a lesson." This must have been a sort of cue, because the goons began to jump over desks and chairs to run at you, fully prepared to beat the shit out of you.

                "Oh fuck," You mumbled, before darting out of the class - thank god your seat was the closest to the door - speeding through the hallways while the boys behind you screamed bloody murder.

                You really should have exercised more, because in a matter of minutes, you were already starting to feel stitches coming in, and wheezing pathetically as you began to slow down, giving one of the more athletic goons the chance to grab your hair, making you shout in pain as your scalp burned, bringing tears to your eyes as you struggled in his grasp, kicking and flailing like a wild animal.

                "Yo, boss! I got her!" The goon shouted excitedly, grunting slightly as he kept you under his iron grip. "Stay still you bitch-!"

                A loud bam made you flinch, instinctively reaching up to cover your ears. Did someone blow up a part of the school? You blink, realising the goon wasn't restraining you, before slowly looking to the wall beside you, seeing a human's head smushed into the cement, acutely aware of a person standing behind you. Slowly you look up, your face breaking out into a happy smile upon seeing Jake Kim, one hand holding the goon's head into the wall, the other holding up your Kuromi lunchbox to you.

                "The food was okay," Jake said blankly, though the twitch at the corner of lips said otherwise. Letting you gladly receive the empty lunchbox from his grasp, he slowly surveyed the frozen goons, their leader at the front, before looking at the heads peeking out from the classrooms, his eyes darting towards your slightly trembling form. His eyes softened, peeling his jacket off his form to drape over you, giving your head a small pat before walking in front of you.

                "I have a deal for you," You perk up upon hearing his voice, his form still relaxed as the goons in front of him shifted into battle stances, fully believing they could take him down. "You make me those lunches everyday, and I'll protect you." Without even waiting for a response (you would have said yes anyways), he immediately lunged forward, meeting the boys in front of him with a flurry of fists and legs.

                The fight ended just as quickly as it had started. Jake Kim was standing tall among the unconscious bodies, his uniform bloodied but still intact. You gingerly stepped over the bodies, meeting the boy in the middle as you eyed his dirty form judgmentally, snuggling deeper into the warm jacket. "Ew," You hum. "I should wash your clothes too."

                "Whatever," He replies blankly, slouching down again, his tall and prideful aura when fighting nowhere to be seen now. "Let's go. I wanna sleep." You brighten again, humming a cheerful tune as you trot after him, a skip in your step.

                "Hey, what do you wanna eat tomorrow? Bibimbap? Bulgogi?" A grunt was your only response.

                A year has passed since you met Jake Kim. Since Jake was being held back a year (you scolded him for this, though you were pretty sure he wasn't even listening), you were now in the same class as him, which relieved you, since you no longer had to walk past judgemental eyes from every class to deliver his daily lunchbox.

                Humming a happy little tune, you halted outside your class, classroom 2-1, skidding to a halt as you nearly bumped into two tall freshmen exiting the classroom at the same time.

                "Sorry," The shorter one says absentmindedly as they brush past you, the taller one's dreadlocks nearly smacking you in the face. Scrunching your nose, you poke out your tongue at them, before entering the classroom.

                Jake was awake when you entered, staring silently at two packs of orange gum resting neatly on his table.

                "Who's that from?" You asked curiously, watching as he slowly unwrapped one, popping the gum into his mouth, and began chewing obnoxiously. "Ooh, Jake's got admirers?"

                "Just some freshmen that wanted to be head," Jake replied nonchalantly, offering one to you, which you took and popped into your mouth. "And is it that surprising I'm awesome enough to have admirers?"

                "Stop being so egoistical," You grumbled, noticing the faraway look in your friend's eyes. "What, thinking about how old you are now for freshmen to be having the guts to challenge you?" Jake's gracious reply is a side-eye in your direction.

                "Be right back," He suddenly hums, standing up from his seat to his full height, effectively towering over you. "Don't move, alright?" He ruffles your hair like some puppy, momentarily making you freeze up, before leaving the classroom. You sigh, shutting your eyes tightly as you plopped into your seat, which was right beside his, banging your head onto the table and covering it with your arms to hide the growing red on your cheeks. Stupid Jake Kim, you think to yourself in annoyance. Making me have a crush on him... Stupid...

                Another few months rolled by in a flash. There were two new members of the Jake's Followers Squad, namely Jason Yoon and Brad Lee, who were more than happy to beat anyone up that simply looked at you or Jake wrong, eagerly accepting any and all lunchboxes you gave to them. You swear, you could give them a lunchbox with rat poison inside and they'd gobble it up in a matter of seconds.

                Morning assembly in the courtyard was always boring. The principal would always ramble about how the students should be grateful for all the teachers and the equipment in the school, while the students down below slowly fell asleep one by one.

                "Everyone listen up!" A teacher shouted, clearly trying to suck up to the principal. "The principal has an announcement to make!"

                You groan as an old man in an expensive suit - clearly out of his salary - walked up to the podium and began his daily speech. "I wanna sleep..." You whine under your breath, as Brad and Jason nod in agreement behind you.

                "Prestige, my ass." Jason yawns.

                "What bullshit." Brad follows in suit.

                In front of them, Jake stays quiet, shutting his eyes as he effortlessly falls asleep standing upright, making you groan as you fan yourself. Fuck this weather, honestly.

                A loud creak by the entrance made the four of you turn towards it, curious to see what the commotion is about.

                "What's going on?" The principal shouts in panic through the microphone. "What are you guys doing by the gate?!" His question goes unanswered as the students slowly pull the gate open. "Hey, shut the gate at once!"

                Jake's eyes narrow at the sleek black limousine that rumbles through the now-open gate, and the students that bow ninety-degrees towards the vehicle. You blink; that was some surprisingly high level of standard and discipline the once-rowdy boys of this school had.

                "Welcome sir!" The students shout. "It's an honour!"

                The limousine's engine vroomed loudly, before it suddenly sped towards the crowd of students, who shouted in panic and quickly backed out of the car's way, only for it to skid to a halt - right in front of Jake Kim. The boy simply raises an eyebrow at the vehicle, his tall shoulders blocking your view of whoever stepped out of the car.

                "Damn..." The man hummed as he stepped out of his car, circle-shaped sunglasses perched neatly on his nose as he leaned on his car, hands placed in his pockets. "It sure is hard to drive in the school zone." His eyes wander to Jake - not that anyone could tell with his tinted sunglasses.

                "Good to see you," The man, Sinu Han, greets amicably. "Head of Gangseo Middle School; Jake Kim." His lips suddenly stretch into a wide grin. "Join Big Deal."

                "No," Was Jake's immediate response. "I'm not going to join Big Deal."

                "Whoa... so assertive!" Sinu continues smiling, unaffected by Jake's harsh rejection. "Why not?"

                "I don't do thugs." He answers sharply.

                "I'm not a thug."

                "Bullshit." Jake was quick to reply. "Everything about you screams 'thug'."

                "Damn, you got me." Sinu shrugs uncaringly, which slightly infuriated the boy.

                "Stop messing with me and go." He takes a gum out of his pocket, popping it into his mouth as he chewed, blowing a small bubble. "I'm sick of dealing with you thugs." And as he brushes past the man, Sinu observes quietly as you, Brad and Jason follow quietly after him, the son of Gapryoung Kim slowing down a little to subtly look back at you, raising an eyebrow almost inquisitively, silently asking if you were okay.

                Sinu Han watches in amusement as you nod your head brightly, and only then does Jake turn back and disappear into the school. "Ah, young love." He muses quietly as he turns around and heads back to his car. "Kinda reminds me of the romance of Big Deal."

                To be honest, you weren't all that surprised when Jake joined Big Deal. Sure, it was a little dangerous to hang out on a street full of gangsters with the possibility of getting attacked any second, but you understood that your three friends could protect themselves.

                Somehow, you found yourself wrapped up in the gang's shenanigans too. You were sort of an unofficial official member now, finding yourself managing Big Deal's finances and spending, even going as far as to help the gang put aside some money to invest in stocks. Due to your connection with Jake and Sinu, you were placed pretty high up in the ranks, as the sixth-in-command. It wasn't really high, like Jake, who was second-in-command, but everyone in Big Deal still genuinely respected you for your kindness - and home-cooked food, of course.

                "WELCOME, SIR!" Everyone bowed immediately, in one swift motion, their bodies bent a perfect ninety degrees as Big Deal's Number 3; Samuel Seo smoothly brushed past in his neatly ironed Big Deal coat, a cigarette between his lips. One of members of Big Deal caught his eye, making him pause directly in front of him.

                "Where's your coat?" He asked.

                "I was in a rush and forgot to wear it, sir!" The member replied loudly, scratching his head nervously, knowing he was fucked.

                "Is that so?" Samuel asked softly. A loud smack rang through the street as the member's face was snapped to the side, having been slapped by Samuel. "Does that mean you're not a member of Big Deal anymore?" The other members winced as they watched Samuel scold the boy that forgot his coat, said boy nodding nervously as he held his swollen cheek.

                "Samuel, don't be so harsh." You frowned a little, chastising the third-in-command as you stepped between the boy and Samuel, your Big Deal coat swooshing behind you as the boy looked at you like an angel that had just descended from heaven. "It was just one time. He won't forget again, right?" You smile kindly at the boy, who nodded fervently with a grateful smile on his face. 

                "Yes Ma'am!" He practically shouts, bowing profusely as you nod and wave him away, before speeding off, probably to go tell his friends about his encounter with you.

                "You're too soft," Samuel grumbles lowly as the two of you watch a bunch of Big Deal members crowd around him, exclaiming about how lucky he was to interact with the so-called 'Angelic Number 6' of Big Deal. "Gangs like Big Deal are all about discipline and respect. If you let him off so easily, he's going to take advantage of it."

                "You're just too harsh," You repeat your words from before, rolling your eyes. "You need to chill, Samuel. It's the first time he forgot his coat, right? You didn't need to slap him so hard, I could already see the bruise forming."

                "It's the third." Samuel mumbles petulantly, but even he knows better than to argue with you. For all he knew, the next meal you gave him could include a few worms for noodles. 

                He watches you leave, smiling and waving at every Big Deal member you come across, all of which smile stupidly and wave enthusiastically, or jaw drops and bows lower than they should, the same fervent look in all of their eyes.

                Stupid girl, Samuel thinks to himself as he watches you, walking freely with the Big Deal coat hanging off your shoulders, practically unaware of the weight of your role. Walking so freely, without a single care in the world. He wishes he could be like you.

                Big Deal was in its golden era for months. Ever since you, Jake and Samuel joined, profits have been soaring higher than anyone has ever seen, and no gang has decided to mess with Big Deal - except for the stupid ones.

                Nevertheless, life was looking great. You had an amazing group of friends that you laughed with and ate with, your aunt was starting to earn more money, so you could afford better ingredients for the food you cooked for Big Deal.

                You and Samuel, surprisingly, got along like a house on fire, something Jake wasn't too happy with, but never spoke up about. Just like you, Samuel loved money almost as much as he loved fighting, and the two of you would have in depth discussions about the best way to earn a lot of money for Big Deal while budgeting for about a hundred or so members. Despite your earlier grudges about him kicking a cute little boy named Johan out, he was quite friendly, underneath his tough exterior.

                Jake, on the other hand, got along like a house on fire with Sinu, which wasn't very surprising. Sinu had a very blatant favouritism towards the boy, and wasn't shy in showing it either. You didn't appreciate the leader of Big Deal proudly favouring Jake, but you never spoke up about it either.

                Admittedly, you still had that stupid little crush on Jake. Surprise, surprise, after months of being with Jake in gang, and seeing all of his sides - from the positive ones to the negative ones, you still found him handsome, deep down to the core.

                Samuel didn't appreciate you fawning over Jake in front of him - and yes, he knew because you told him. He'd roll his eyes, sigh and scoff whenever you brought the name up, knowing he was up for another session of 'Oh-my-gosh-did-you-see-how-Jake-took-those-guys-down' or 'Jake-looks-even-better-today'. But he never complained, which was something you appreciated. It was easy talking to the stoic and monotonous Samuel (arguably), since talking to anyone else essentially meant they would snitch to Jake, even Yeonhui and Sinu. Samuel didn't care enough to tell Jake, but at least he cared enough to listen while you talked his ears off.

                However, over the past few days, you noticed that Samuel became more prickly whenever you brought up Jake. He'd scoff - genuinely scoff, not the kind where he'd scoff but still listen, and make up some excuse to avoid you talking about Jake. Occasionally, when he'd lie that he had a phone call or he needed to check on the shops, you'd nod quietly, but stare questioningly as he walked away. You wondered what had happened between the two.

                One day, your aunt called. You were strolling around Big Deal street with Samuel, the two of you noting which parts of the street needed to be cleaned or repaired, when your phone rang in your coat pocket. Pausing, you dug your phone out, clicking on the 'answer' button when you saw the caller address.

                "Hi auntie, what's up?" You hum cheerfully, as Samuel pauses to patiently wait for you as well, lighting up a cigarette in the mean time.

                "[Name]!" Your aunt speaks cheerfully, her happy tone making you tilt your head. She'd never sounded so happy in the years you had lived with her. "I've gotten a huge promotion. It can earn me a lot of money for both of us!" Your face breaks out into a happy grin when you hear the news.

                "Auntie, that's great!" You beam, though she couldn't see it. "Should we eat KFC tonight?" Your aunt laughs, but it trails off a bit at the end. "What's wrong, auntie?"

                "My new job is in another part of Seoul, so we're going to have to move away."

                Your face went slack, eyes only widening slightly in shock. Samuel looked up questioningly upon your silence, inwardly noting the look of shock on your face.

                "[Name]?" Your aunt asks quietly, upon hearing nothing from you. "Are you okay with it? I know how close you are to your friends here... If not it's fine, I can reject the offer-"

                "No!" You say quickly, clearing your throat, before quickly regaining your composure. "It's fine, aunty. I can't wait. When do we leave?"

                "This coming Friday." Your aunt replies, her tone careful to gauge your reaction. "Are you sure you're okay with it?"

                "I'm fine," You say, trying your best to sound cheerful. Today was Tuesday. You only had two days, not counting today, to say your farewells. "Congratulations on that promotion, auntie! You deserve it."

                "Thank you, dear." You could practically hear her fond smile from the other line. "I'll hang up now, but I'll tell you the details at home. Love you, bye!"

                "Bye, auntie." You say, but the line had already gone dead. You suck in a deep breath, staring at the 'call ended' on your screen. It was dead silent for a while as Samuel observed your face.

                "So," He finally says, breaking the silence. "When are you telling Big Deal?"

                "Soon," You say resolutely, sighing as you ruffle your hair, suddenly feeling exhausted. "Keep it a secret from them until then, please?"

                Samuel raises his eyebrow at your plea, scoffing as he puffs out smoke. "Why should I?" He asks, smirking infuriatingly. You sigh at his reaction - clearly you expected too much of him.

                "I just don't want them to be sad." You finally say, a look of fondness in your eyes as you take in the street before you, a street you were proud to take part in building up to its glory. Your dearest pride and joy, Big Deal. "Jake's got a lot on his plate too, y'know? Sinu oppa's thinking of stepping down, and I heard there were talks of a guy messing up the other gangs around this area. They've got enough to worry about, they can't worry about me. They can't." You repeat the last sentence, eyes glazing over as Samuel watches you from the corner of his eye.

                "It's always Jake." Samuel mutters, barely catching himself in time to glimpse you curiously looking over him.

                "What?" You ask, making him quickly clear his throat and look away.

                "I'll keep your little secret." He grumbles, watching your expression light up as you give him a happy smile.

                "Really? Thank you, Samuel!" You rush forward, giving him a hug before gasping, checking your phone. "Oh, my auntie will be back soon! I gotta buy KFC, see you Samuel!" Without waiting for his reply, you dash away, breathlessly shouting a greeting to every Big Deal member you crossed.

                Samuel Seo watches you go with a sinking heart, his expression relaxing as he sighs and scratches the back of his head, trying hard to ignore the warmth in his chest. After all this time, it's always been Jake.

                You didn't show up the next day. Samuel pretends like your absence isn't a big deal, and carries on with his daily routine of supervising the members and scolding those who didn't wear their jackets. Who cares, anyways. You were probably just busy packing with your auntie to go somewhere else. It's not like he couldn't find out where you were going and visit you. He shakes the thought away, schooling his expression to one of blankness as he marks down another renovation needed to be made, strolling down the street.

                Inwardly, he felt somewhat triumphant that he knew something about you that Jake didn't. Watching him go around like a lost child, asking if anyone had seen you today was quite amusing, especially more so because he, Samuel Seo, knew before Jake did.

                He wouldn't miss you, Samuel reminded himself. Just another Big Deal member needing to move away. No big deal.

                On Thursday, Goo Kim came. Samuel watched on as Sinu was defeated, by a teen barely older than him, with bleached blonde hair and a joker attitude. He and Jake watched over Sinu as he rested, one man's mind in a turmoil and the other a calm sea.

                "Samuel," He clenched his teeth, hating how he automatically looked up at the boy.

                "What?" Samuel shoots back with gritted teeth, looking back down towards Sinu.

                "Where's [Name]?" Jake asks quietly, staring down at the floor with a blank expression, dark eyes a brewing storm.

                Samuel looks at him for a moment, his mind in a turmoil. He wanted to rile Jake up, just a little bit. And yet... his mind flashes to your face, knowing you'd be so upset if he caused a rift between you and your best friend. Best. Friend. Samuel clenches his jaw, and makes his mind up. "Took the day off." He's careful to keep his tone neutral and casual, as if he was oblivious to how Jake was slowly getting angrier and angrier. "Said she had more important stuff to take care of."

                The second-in-command nods silently, before getting up and saying he's going outside to get some fresh air. Samuel nods, and when the door closes, he lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding in, and stares down at Sinu. He thinks he feels guilty, but maybe not after all.

                Outside, Jake Kim is having a mental breakdown. More important things my ass, He thinks furiously, closing his eyes to take a deep breath to calm himself down. What's more important than Big Deal that she couldn't tell me herself?

                He sighs, smoothing back his hair. Tomorrow, He tells himself. Tomorrow, I'll deal with her.

                Tomorrow never came.

                Friday rolled past in a blur for you. Your auntie was so busy with paperwork and events, you had to help pack everything in your tiny little apartment, which had shockingly a lot of things. This took two days to pack by yourself, and on Friday, you found yourself whirled away by your aunt early in the morning to go to the train station, with no chance of saying your goodbyes. Inwardly, you scolded yourself for procrastinating your farewells, but brushed it aside as you admired the greenery that rolled past your window. You could easily text them, no problem.

                When you arrived at your new apartment, it was already late at night. Overwhelmed by exhaustion, you crashed onto your new bed, not even bothering to unpack or shower, and slept soundly till Saturday noontime.

                Once you woke up, you were determined to say your proper goodbyes. Grabbing your phone off the nightstand, you switched it on, clicking on Jake's chatbox before typing out your message.

[name] 🧚

hey, so sorry i didn't show up the past few days! was

super busy with stuff, i'll lyk thru call, just text me

when u have time, k? x

Seen

                Jake's reply came almost instantaneously, and your brows furrowed the more you read.

jakey (gyat) 🍑

I can't believe you. What 'stuff' were you even busy with?

Why weren't you here when we needed you? I'm starting to

think you don't even care about Big Deal. And you can't even

tell me face to face? I really can't believe you, [Name]. Don't

text or call me until you can tell me straight to my face what

exactly was so important you couldn't be here with us.

Seen

This person has blocked your contact.

You can no longer text or call this person

                Your brows furrowed, feeling hurt as you reread Jake's message once, twice and three times. What had happened the two days you weren't there? Clicking out of Jake's chatbox, you were determined to clear up whatever misunderstanding happened between you and your friend.

                Scrolling through your contact list, you clicked on the groupchat you had made with Brad, Jason and Jerry, originally meant for when you wanted to plan Jake's birthday party last year, but ended up as a groupchat where you and the rest of Jake's loyal fanclub would discuss anything (positive, of course) related to their boss (like the memes the four of you had created regarding Jake, though you all swore never to tell anyone about them).

Boss Jake's Fanclub 🍑

president [name]

guys what happened while i was gone and why

is jake mad at me rn?

Seen by all

hello?

Seen by all

guys please tell me i really don't know what

happened

Seen by all

jason 👠

i'm kinda going against boss jake's orders

but

on thursday sinu got defeated by some guy called

goo kim and jake's mad that you didn't show up.

he told everyone in big deal to block your

number and not talk to you at all until you talk to

him face to face.

                Your eyes widened as you slowly sat up in your bed, heading spinning as you slowly read through Jason's message. Sinu? Defeated? And Jake was angry that you were absent?

president [name]

i had a good reason, i swear.

im sorry i never told you guys sooner but my auntie

got a job promotion so i had to help her pack and

i left yesterday morning.

i really wanted to tell you guys about it but everyone

looked so stressed and tired i just didn't want to make

it worse.

im sorry everyone, i'll get ready to leave tomorrow to

explain everything to jake.

Seen by all

baby kwon 💗

I think it is better if you don't, [Name].

Boss Jake is very stressed right now, and I don't

think he wants to talk to anybody right now. Goo

Kim and his accomplice, Gun Park, said that we

have to pay them 100 million won every month if

we want Big Deal to survive, so everyone's very

tense right now.

I don't mean to be rude, but if you come back, Boss

Jake will be even more stressed.

brad (nail artist <3)

sorry [name].

we all miss you though.

we'll have to delete this chat bc if boss jake sees

this he'd kill us all.

Seen by all

president [name]

it's okay.

thanks guys.

Seen by all

baby kwon 💗 has removed you from the chat

baby kwon 💗 has left the chat

jason 👠 has left the chat

brad (nail artist <3) has left the chat

                You switched off your phone, staring at the black screen blankly.

                That day, your auntie had to console you nonstop as you cried your heart out, all the way until you fell asleep from exhaustion, tears still dripping down your eyes as your head hit the pillow.

                A few months later, a sleek-looking Samuel Seo paid you a visit. Your aunt was out working and you were watching television while eating fried chicken when your doorbell rang.

                Upon opening your front door, you were greeted with an unbelievably taller Samuel in a neatly ironed white suit, with a bunch of men standing behind him.

                "Samuel!" Your face lit up as you smiled warmly at your sudden guest. "Oh wow, you've grown taller!"

                "Hi, [Name]." He nods at you, the corner of his lips curling into a half smirk. "Can I come in?"

                "Of course, of course!" You unlocked your door, ushering him inside as you threw a curious look towards the men still stationed outside your house. They looked strange, in well-ironed suits that didn't scream 'We believe in the romance of Big Deal'. "Do they want to come in, or...?"

                "They'll stay where they are." Samuel replies dismissively, barely giving the men a glance as he looked around your house. "Nice place you got here."

                "Sorry for the mess," You say apologetically as you hurriedly switch off the television and clear away your chicken. "I wasn't expecting anyone to visit. I'll get you some tea. Make yourself at home!"

                Samuel sat down on your couch, watching as you bustled around in the kitchen, inwardly knowing you wouldn't treat him so kindly if you knew what news he came bearing.

                "So," You plop down opposite him, pouring him a cup of tea before pouring one for yourself. "What's up? How's Big Deal?"

                "Ah..." Samuel slowly took a sip from his cup of tea, the warm liquid running down his throat. "I left Big Deal."

                You paused, looking up at him in shock as he set down his cup with a sharp 'clink'. "What?" You say disbelievingly, glancing down at the shiny badge on his collar, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "But... you love Big Deal."

                "Loved," he corrected, unfazed by your piercing stare. "After Sinu was defeated, I realized that frankly, Big Deal was still a mile away from what I wanted to achieve." He gave you a professional smile, smoothening his hair. "Absolute power."

                "So what," You scoff, head still spinning. "Big Deal was just another stepping stone to you?"

                "Precisely," He didn't even bother sugarcoating it. "And now, I'm inviting you to do the same. I know that you still think of yourself as a member of Big Deal, though Jake may not feel the same."

                Underneath the table, your fists clench.

                The tea in your cup has quickly gone cold.

                "Join Workers. We will give you all the power and money you could ever want. We won't turn our back on you just because you need to take a few days leave without prior notice. Don't you want your aunt to stop suffering? Don't you want to live a lavish lifestyle, to have anything you want at a snap of your finger?" He leaned closer to you, and you could practically smell dirty money oozing from him. "Join Workers, [Name]. You won't regret it."

                You were silent for a while, before lifting your head as you stared at Samuel, a fire burning in your eyes.

                "So you're saying all I need to do is turn my back on Big Deal and join you?"

                Samuel hums in affirmation, his eyes gleaming in victory. He celebrated too early.

                Lifting your arm, you stand up, grabbing your cup of tea and mercilessly splashing the liquid all over Samuel, glaring at him as he calmly wiped the liquid away from his face with a handkerchief.

                "Like hell I will," You grit out, eyes blazing as you set down the cup with a loud bang, before pointing towards your door, hand trembling slightly. "Get the fuck out of my house, Samuel. I'm not a fucking traitor, unlike you piece of shit."

                You were half expecting him to get angry and punch you, but instead he chuckled almost good-naturedly and got up to leave.

                "Alright," He says easily, brushing past you. "That's fine, [Name]. It's not like you have a gang to go back to even if you refuse my offer."

                You were left there standing alone as the door shuts with a loud bang, fists trembling as you stared at the table.

                A year had passed since you had unofficially been kicked out of Big Deal. You had learned to push down the nostalgia and tears that the gang had brought every time you thought about them, and buried yourself in studies. Your new school, J High, was admittedly elite and quite expensive, but thanks to the scholarship you had scored from a company called H Group, the school fees were much cheaper.

                Originally, you felt extremely insecure about your background and looks, since almost everybody in J High was either good looking or rich, or in some cases, both, but you quickly adapted to your new environment, comfortably securing yourself a spot as an almost invisible girl, not too invisible for people to forget your name, but not too unique to be popular.

                During your third year, your department had some interesting freshmen. The Architecture Department was known for being an all-boys department for years (until you arrived), since 1) they were mostly gang members and 2) the girls were too scared to join. But the new first years were... unique, to say the least.

                Originally, you had thought they were just another bunch of rowdy teenage boys picking fights and smoking at the back of the school, but you were pleasantly surprised to hear chatter of how they were more mellow (which spoke a lot) and a boy in the first year had formed some sort of gang that apparently 'punished bad guys', called Burn Knuckles.

                Your curiosity piquing, you decided to volunteer to be the Architecture Department's student guide for the first years.

                The leader of Burn Knuckles, Euntae Lee, was a very amusing boy. When the teacher first introduced you to the class, you had accidentally made eye contact with him. Having read through and memorised the class roster, you gave him a warm smile, making his face go stiff as red blossomed on his cheeks. You nearly laughed, but kept it together as you introduced yourself to the first years.

                You only grew closer to Burn Knuckles when you discovered that the right hand man, Jace Park, worked at the same coffee shop as you did, thus his other gang members were also frequent visitors of the cafe, once saving you from a old man that was harassing you.

                "You don't touch a girl without her permission," You clearly remember Euntae Lee saying, as he glared at the man, who had tried to lean over the counter to touch your arm, and kept an iron grip on his wrist. "You're a bad guy. And bad guys must be punished."

                You had thanked him profusely afterwards, making him blush and avert his eyes, mumbling for you to call him 'Vasco'. As a way to express your gratitude, you talked to the manager, and succeeded in getting chocolate milk added to the cafe's list of drinks, making Vasco's eyes sparkle when he walked in the next day, seeing the new addition to the menu. How cute.

                You got along well with Burn Knuckles. Perhaps it was from your past experience with Big Deal, but you knew perfectly how to get the rowdy bunch to quieten down and listen. Of course, they loved you for your kind and unbiased nature - but they also loved your food. You grew close enough for them to comfortably call you noona.

                You felt relieved when Vasco gained new friends. Of course, they were an enigmatic bunch, almost as comedic as Vasco was, but you were grateful nonetheless. At least he had friends outside Burn Knuckles - not like it was a bad thing.

                Rumors were starting to circle. An illegal betting ring was starting to gain popularity, especially among students. You knew because one of your coworkers, John, had tried to borrow some money from you, though you wisely declined when he explained it was for betting.

                One of Vasco's friends, unfortunately, got caught up in the betting ring. You felt pity, as you stared down at the scrawny boy in front of you, looking like he was one sentence away from weeping his heart out at his money lost.

                Daniel Park, one of Vasco's friends, had called upon you late at night, requesting for your presence at a nearby convenience store. Apparently, they had been trying to help the boy get back his money, though literally nobody there was good enough at consoling him. Biting back a sigh, you tell Daniel you'd be there in five minutes.

                You smile kindly down at the boy, Jiho, who looks at you like a deity descended from heaven as his tears dry up almost instantaneously. "Don't be sad, we'll help you get your money back." You say. "Did you meet the people who ran the site, though? It'll help a lot."

                Jiho nods his head vigorously, smiling gratefully up at you through his thick lenses. "I did!" He exclaims in affirmation. "I know their names, too. This guy named John introduced me to the leader." You suppressed a sigh. Of course John was the one that made Jiho this messed up.

                "I don't know the leader's name, but he presented me to another guy, Jake Kim." Your heart stilled. Staring at Jiho, your head swam as your breathing became uneven, the loud thumping of your heart in your ears drowning out whatever Jiho was saying. Jake Kim? There was no way he would involve himself in illegal betting rings.

                "Jiho?" The boy paused in his rambles to look up at you, a small chill running up his spine as he sees the scary expression on your face, a blank yet terrifying aura around you, extremely unlike the usual kind and warm one you present people with. "What did Jake Kim look like?"

                "A-ah..." He paused, recalling the brief interactions he had with the teen. "He was very tall... and he had a lot of hair gel."

                Without the given circumstances, you would have laughed out loud. Of course the best way to identify Jake Kim was by his overly-gelled hair.

                But Jiho watched in surprise as you trembled slightly, a wild torrent of emotions clouding your eyes as you clutch his shoulder tighter. "Noona... are you okay?"

                At this point, you were acutely aware of the number of eyes watching your reaction in concern, ready to step in and console you at any moment.

                "Ah..." You lift your head, any trace of your previous panic attack gone in the blink of an eye as you smile widely at everyone. "Sorry, guys. I used to know a Jake Kim, but it must be a different guy." You laugh falsely, the sound grating your eardrums. "I need to get going now, my aunt's probably worried not knowing where I am." You bid them a quick goodbye, speedwalking away from the convenience store.

                Daniel Park watches you leave with furrowed eyebrows, staring at  your hunched form in worry. 'Strange,' He thinks to himself. 'For a moment there... she looked hurt.'

                Jace watches in sheer horror and shock as Jake Kim mercilessly pummelled Vasco to the ground, the former boy's fists soaked in blood. "Whew..." Jake hums, wiping his chin with one bloodied knuckle, sounding like he barely even broke a sweat. "You're persistent. It's impressive you managed to hang in like that." Jace clenches his fist.

                "Hey, friend." Jake Kim averts his gaze to Jace, who was still standing there in shock, disbelieving. "Take him and leave."

                With a start, Jace shifted his stance, clenching his fist as he prepared himself to attack, though his legs trembled in fear.

                "Hm? You want to fight now?" Jake nearly laughed, teasing the big-eared boy in front of him. "Did you hold yourself back not to embarrass your boss?" Jace merely stays silent, though a word from Vasco made him pause.

                "It's okay, Jace." The boy strains out, slowly getting up from the ground, his arms trembling from the effort. "I... will win."

                "Y-you can't!" Jace sputters out, helping his friend up from the floor, allowing Vasco to painfully lean some of his weight on him. "Vasco..."

                "I promised [Name] I would defeat bad guys." Vasco reassured, keeping his gaze levelled on Jake. "I won't disappoint her."

                "[Name]?" Jake softly repeats, his fighting stance relaxing as he stared at the two boys in front of him with a faraway look in his eyes. Shit, he should've realized how familiar that determination in Tabasco's eyes were. "You guys know [Name] [Last Name]?"

                Vasco exchanges a look with Jace, before simultaneously glaring protectively at Jake. "What's it to you?" Jace was the first to reply with a guarded look.

                "She's someone I knew a while back." He shakes himself out of his stupor, a small, bitter smile on his face. "I should've just listened to her instead of being so stubborn."

                "Here's the 100 million won for the month." Yeonhui places the last box of cash right beside Jake, her tone brusque. "Counted all of it with the girls."

                "Wait, hold on." Jake checks his clipboard again, eyebrows furrowed. "We were definitely a few million won short just yesterday. Did I count wrongly?" He looks up at Yeonhui, who suddenly had a shifty look in her eyes, glancing towards the door. Dread piled in Jake's gut as he thought of the worse. "Yeonhui, what did you do?"

                The woman's eyes widen. "We didn't sell our bodies or anything, you dimwit!" She whacks the man over the head, ignoring the bump that was beginning to form. As Jake nurses his skull with a small pout, she hesitates a little, looking at the empty peg with a Hello Kitty sticker pasted above it hanging on the wall. Jake recognized whose peg it was almost immediately - you used to hang your Big Deal coat on the same peg.

                "We just had a little extra help." Yeonhui finally says, her tone absolute, with no room for arguments. She pauses, as if fighting herself mentally, before taking out a small piece of paper and tossing it to Jake. "Read it. I'm going to tell everyone not to come in for the next half hour, you're going to need the privacy."

                And before Jake can reply, the woman had already sped out the door, shutting it firmly behind her. With nothing better to do, the man shrugs, unfolding the paper carefully. His heart drops as he reads the first line, and he has to lower the letter and stare blankly at the boxes of cash surrounding him, take a deep breath, and continue reading.

                'Dear Jake', the letter read. 'I hope this letter finds you in good health. I told Yeonhui to give this to you once things have settled down, or when you find out you've magically had a few more million won than before. I know you hate me because I wasn't there for Big Deal when you guys needed me the most, and I understand if you never want to see me again. I've moved to another part of Seoul because my aunt found a better paying job, and a part of me has moved on from whatever happened between us. For all it is worth, I'm sorry I wasn't by your side to support you through this tough time. Gun and Goo sound like a pair of cruel bitches. I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect Sinu, or keep Samuel from leaving Big Deal. He came to me, a few months after I'd left, with an offer to join his new sponsor, Workers. Of course I declined; even if I'm gone, I still love and cherish Big Deal with all my heart. My coat still hangs proudly in my room, and I wash it every month!

                'I'm not angry at you for acting as you did, Jake. I know that what I did, from your point of view, was wrong. I'm truly sorry. I know there's no way I can make up for what I did, but I'm trying, a little at a time, to help you. It must be tough for you, this new role and responsibilities that come with it. I'm sorry I'm not there to make it easier for you. Yeonhui's still sending me the tracklist for the 100 million won per month, and I'm still helping her calculate profits and suggest methods to increase them. Auntie's making more money than before, so sometimes I can slip in a few million won to help. I'm sorry if it's too little, I can send more if you want.

                'How is everyone at Big Deal? Does Jerry still have that little pink bike of his? Has Jason bought new shoes yet? Those red ones were looking really torn the last time I saw them. Tell Brad I love the nail art designs he sends me. If Yeonhui's still crying at night because she misses Sinu, give her a hug for me. I'm happy now. Even if you choose to forgive me, don't look for me, please? We'll all be okay if we just stick to now, forever. I'm sorry Jake. I hope you can forgive me.

                Yours truly,

                [Name] [Last Name]'

                Jake's eyes begin to water as he reads the last line. Then he finds himself rereading it from the first line again, until the tears in his eyes blur his vision and drip down onto his pants in little droplets. He stays like this for the next hour, reading and rereading, until he burns each and every word written from your soul deep into his aching heart.

                Vasco and Jace shared a curious look. They've never heard their senior speak of this strange, overly-gelled up man before, but a loud laugh from nearby made their heads whip towards the noise.

                "Well, this is interesting." The voice hums, as a man wearing tinted sunglasses appears, a cruel smirk on his face. The blood drains from Jake's face, and his fists clench tighter than ever. "You," he grits out, eyes blazing.

                "It's been a long time, Jake. How have you been?" Gun Park asks, in an almost amicable tone.

                Another year passed, and you were now an official J High graduate, working full-time at the cafe instead of part-time. The pay was much better, and the manager, a middle-aged woman, was kind enough to give you a bonus every two months, since you were one of her best and most loyal workers, which you deeply appreciated.

                The illegal betting ring situation was still plaguing the back of your mind, since you had heard rumors that Big Deal's leader was now in juvenile detention, but you currently had more issues to deal with than to dwell on it forever, like how the stupid espresso machine wasn't working again.

                As you wrestle with the insides of the demonic espresso machine, your mind flutters back to a few days ago, when Daniel Park had paid you a visit.

                "Jake Kim" Small Daniel says as soon as he sits down in front of you. You pause in your work, turning your head towards the shorter boy to give him a close-eyed smile. But even he could see through your mask.

                "I don't know what you're talking about, Daniel." You say, clenching tightly on the cup in your grasp, your words an underlying threat.

                The boy's adam's apple bobs nervously, but he still stares straight into your eyes fearlessly. You falter, previously wide smile dropping as you sigh, and Daniel catches a glimpse of pure exhaustion on your face.

                Setting down the cup, you motion for another worker to take over as you disappear in the back, probably to ask for a break, appearing once more as you take a seat opposite Daniel.

                "You got me," You say, shrugging carelessly, though inside, your heart was thumping loudly. "What do you want?"

                "You..." Daniel Park hesitates. "You know what happened to Sinu Han, right?"

                You hum in affirmation. A few weeks after your disgraceful step-down, Jason had secretly paid you a visit, telling you everything you had missed, including how Sinu had sold Big Deal.

                "Sinu Han's in an affiliation called Workers now, in the Second Affiliate. It's one of the Four Major Crews." Daniel Park explains, not missing a beat. "I want you to help us take down the Second Affiliate, by meeting Sinu Han."

                He doesn't expect you to laugh loudly, leaning back on your chair with faux relaxation. "I'm assuming I'm not the only one you came to with this offer." You hum, and Daniel Park tenses.

                "No," He admits truthfully. "I was planning on telling Jake Kim, too."

                He watches as you sigh, turning your head to look out the window, a faraway look in your eyes. He follows your gaze. A group of high schoolers were outside, laughing and shoving each other playfully. The picture of adolescent innocence.

                "You can make up with him," He presses stubbornly. "I don't know what happened between the two of you, but I know you guys can fix it-!"

                You smile, and Daniel is taken aback. It isn't your usual carefree and heartwarming grin, more like a pained and tired one. "If only it was that easy," You mumble, mostly to yourself. "Once upon a time, I would have wanted to. But now...?" You give him a helpless shrug. "He made it clear he hates me. Why should I be the one making the effort in saving a relationship he clearly doesn't want to preserve?"

                Daniel Park stares at you, with tears glistening in your eyes, and it finally dawns on him. "You liked him." He whispers, and you smile sadly back at him, not saying a word.

                "I'll send you the location," He stands up abruptly, eyes still ablaze with determination. "Exactly one week from now, my friends and I will be taking down the Second Affiliate."

                "Good luck, then." You hum, also standing up. "Goodbye, Daniel."

                Now is exactly a week from when he paid you a visit.

                Staring down at the address he gave you, you bite back a sigh as your head spins. Fuck.

                "I'm leaving early," You call out to your manager as you toss your apron on the front desk. "I'll make up for it some other time."

                "Alright, dear." She replies, smiling gently at your silhouette as you practically race out of the door. "Go chase that boy," She hums.

                Sinu Han was happy.

                Rather, he felt more regretful than happy. But seeing the gang he worked so hard to shape bowing in front of him, shouting their heartfelt greeting, even after not seeing or remembering him for three years, made his heart swell and his body feel so positively full. Big Deal was complete. But...

                "Where's [Name]?" Jake freezes as he catches Sinu's mumble, as Jerry, Brad and Jason exchange nervous glances. "Where's [Name]?" Sinu repeats, louder this time, as his voice carries for miles.

                His heart thumping wildly, Jake slowly looks up to see Sinu wide-eyed, afraid for the worst outcome. Shit, he thinks. If he finds out, he might lose his mind-!

                "I'm here, I'm here." A melodic female voice rings out, as everyone's head darts towards the entrance of the room, wide-eyed. "Jeez, no need to get all worked up."

                Jake's breath got caught in his throat.

                There you were, standing at the entrance, your Big Deal coat hanging loosely off your shoulders. Hands in your pocket, head tilted as you cooly regarded your former gang.

                Jake should have been happy to see you, alive and healthy. And yet...

                You silently walked through the neat formation, coming to a stop in front of Sinu, not even acknowledging Jake, who was beside him. The air was tense.

                "Welcome back, Sinu-oppa." You say blandly, forcing a tight smile on your face. "It's been a long time." Sinu smiles down at you, not sensing your awkwardness as he pats your head, making you freeze up.

                "Thanks, everyone." He says, a single tear dropping from his eyes. "How's everyone doing-?"

                "Sinu..." Another feminine voice mumbles in Japanese. "What are you doing?" Everyone turns towards the source of the voice, a small, trembling Japanese woman sitting on the couch. "You're joking, right?" She chokes out. "Stop fooling around. I'm not in the mood for this. You better cut it out." Mitsuki Sohma raises her head, a downright creepy look on her face as she shrieks at Sinu. "YOU NEED TO FIGHT FOR ME!!"

                A resounding slap echoes through the room as everybody sucks in a breath.

                "Cut that shit out," You glare down at Mitsuki, your hand stinging from the force of smacking her. "Stop running after a man that'll never love you. Whatever delusions you keep feeding yourself, that one day Sinu's going to marry you or something, you better force them out of your brain and flush them down the toilet before I do it for you."

                Everyone around you hold their breath as they stare at you, who was still scowling at the Japanese girl, holding her cheek as she trembled violently, tears running down her face.

                A chill suddenly runs through the room, and the hairs at the back of your neck rise. You slowly turn around, watching as the fearless gang you once knew part like the Red Sea, making way for a blonde Japanese man in a white coat whose face was so blank it made your heart nearly stop in fear.

                Kuroda Ryuhei. You've heard of him before. The leader of an infamous biker gang in Japan, rumored to have come all the way to Korea in pursuit of a woman 'like no other'. The rumors were true, then, you think, as you silently watch him pick up Mitsuki, bridal style, carrying her over to a sofa nearby, before turning around with an unsettling smile on his face.

                "Oi," Kuroda Ryuhei finally speaks in Japanese, the smile still on his face. "Who made her cry?" Nobody dared to speak, and you could feel the man's temper rise. He turns back to Mitsuki, and you glimpse his eyes becoming tender. "Hey, cutie." He hums softly. "Tell me, was it them?" He angles his head towards Jake and Sinu. "Tell me what you want me to do." And a chill runs down your spine as you hear the next sentence that comes out of this psycho's mouth. "If you want me to kill them, I will."

                "I did," The words fly out of your mouth faster than you had expected. At the corner of your eye, you see Jake's eyes widen; he clearly didn't expect you to defend them like this. "I made your girl cry." Your heart thunders in your ears as Kuroda Ryuhei slowly turns to look at you, and he looks almost amused to see another girl, besides Mitsuki, in the room.

                "You?" He hums. "Listen here, princess. I don't usually hit girls, but if you really made Mitsuki cry, I'm going to beat you up."

                "Come at me, then." You challenge, stepping closer to the blonde as you glare straight at him. "Let's see what the great Kagiroi is made of."

                I didn't mean that! You want to scream, but it's too late, as the biker's grin widens, and he pulls back his fist, prepared to punch you. You brace yourself as your life flashes before your closed eyes, and you hear the thud of flesh against fist, and you feel yourself fly back a little, but the hit never lands on your body.

                The smell of gel hits you first, then the familiar warmth. And as you slowly open your eyes, you feel Jake Kim's big, strong arms wrapped around you as his bicep blocks the punch, the shape of Kuroda Ryuhei's fist still heavily dented in his coat. "Don't you dare touch her," The man downright growls, his eyes ablaze with protectiveness. You flush a little, feeling the eyes of hundreds of Big Deal members looking at the two of you in shock.

                Ryuhei quietly observes the two of you, watching as Jake slowly releases you from his grasp, and you mutter a quiet thanks, the atmosphere between the two of you tense and awkward.

                "Ah," He suddenly smiles, and the two of you look at him. "You're just like me and Mitsuki." You flush a little at the comparison, and glare at him more heatedly, as Jake looks between the two of you in confusion, having known nothing of what the blonde had said.

                "Well, no matter." Ryuhei's smile disappears, and his intimidating aura returns. "He is willing to fight for you, no? Then I'll just kill him instead, for making Mitsuki cry." He leaps at the members of Big Deal, just as dozens of hands grab you and pull you behind the thick horde of Big Deal members, as the men protect you from the biker's wrath.

                You are lost in a sea of red, black and white, the iron tang of blood burning heavily in your nostrils.

                Big Deal streets smelled like home. You found yourself sat on a small plastic stool, blankly staring at the long rows of tables, filled to the brim with Korean street food of every kind. The place was abuzz; the smell of tteokbokki, ramyun, stir-fry and soju mixed together with the loud shouts and laughter of the members around you.

                You shifted slightly in your seat, self conscious of the gazes trained on your body. It was no secret that you were apparently the 'Fallen Angel of Big Deal', infamous for abandoning them during their downfall. The rumors went wild, but after Jake had explained the situation after reading your letter, they grew extremely protective of keeping your namesake safe, rumored to be going around and beating anyone who dragged your name in the dirt.

                Yeonhui and the girls quietly welcomed you with open arms. It was silently agreed that everyone would keep the fact that you had left for a while out of their mouths, until Sinu became a bit more mentally stable. For now, you just had to act normal around everyone - especially Jake.

                Speaking of Jake... your face grows hot as you recall how he had protected you with his body from getting punched by Kuroda Ryuhei. You knew it had to hurt; his arm was slightly trembling as he checked on you, pretending like it wasn't painful to move it around.

                Which is how you found yourself outside the warehouse you knew Jake would be inside. You stare at the door, mentally berating yourself for standing there like an idiot, because every time you tried to knock, your feet would just carry you away, before you walked back to the warehouse, embarrassed. If anyone had seen you, they'd think you were mentally ill.

                Finally, you throw all caution to the wind and knock sharply. "Jerry, I told you not to disturb me." His familiar voice grumbles from inside. albeit slightly muffled, and you deadpan. "It's not Jerry." You say clearly, your lips twitching as you listen to the clatter of an object hitting the floor, followed by rushed scrambles of someone with worn shoes rushing for the door, and you swallow your smile as you come face to face with a disheveled, wild-eyed Jake, clearly not expecting you to visit him.

                The boy breathes your name out, his eyes wide as saucers, and you shuffle your feet a little, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "Hi," You mumble a little. "You, um... weren't at dinner."

                "I- yeah." Jake nods along awkwardly. "I wasn't really hungry."

                "Oh," You nod along, and the silence is defeaning.

                "Um... did you need anything?" Just as he speaks, panic flashes in his eyes as he struggles to explain his seemingly rude words. "I'm not trying to be rude or anything! Sorry, I-"

                "It's fine," You crack a small smile. "I brought some ointment. Those hits must've really hurt." You hold up the small plastic bag you'd brought along, and Jake nods a little, smiling awkwardly as he opens the door wider to let you in.

                The first thing you are hit with is how poor the room looks. You weren't kidding. The walls were peeling, the cabinets were rusty, the light was flickering on and off, and the rugs were so brown you never could have imagined that it used to be royal blue - unless you were the one that bought it.

                You clicked your tongue as you pulled out a char to sit beside Jake, digging through your bag of first aid supplies. "Do you not clean this place anymore? How irresponsible of you."

                Jake cracks a small smile as he watches you unscrew the lid of your ointment, scooping out some of its contents, fondness shining clearly in his eyes. "I can't seem to do anything without you by my side, I suppose." He says softly, shyly testing the waters.

                It works, he thinks, as he sees your movements falter and your ears burn red. "Don't test it." You warn, but Jake knows there's no real bite behind your words. His smile grows wider.

                The two of you fall into comfortable silence as you tend to his wounds, as Jake admires your soft face and beautiful features. Fuck, he was an idiot for letting you go. Maybe it was the post-fight haziness, but he felt like he was on cloud nine just with your touch.

                Feeling his gaze on you, you look up from beneath your eyelashes, and Jake nearly has a heart attack. "What?" You say shyly, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear.

                Jake thinks he wants to start over with you. He wants to start his life with you. And as he searches your eyes, looking for the confirmation he needs that, just maybe, you felt the same way too, he decides to pop the question.

                "Forgive me?" He whispers, and you gulp, acutely aware of how close his face suddenly was to yours. Your mind goes blank. Even after years, he still looks so good, he's able to make your heart flip and butterflies dance to Moonlight Sonata in your stomach.

                Who cares about the past, You think hazily, smiling a little as you remember one particular memory. "Yeonhui told me you cried for an hour after reading my letter." You whisper instead, shifting your face away as you close the lid of the ointment, bending down to place it back into the plastic bag as you bring out a roll of bandages.

                You enjoy watching as Jake's face falls from the corner of your eye, content with torturing him just a little bit more. "I told her not to tell anyone," He groans, running a palm down his face.

                "Mm, I don't think so." You dance around him with your words as you begin to wrap his scar-littered arms, acutely aware of the muscles flexing beneath your touch. "Practically the whole of Big Deal knows, even without Yeonhui saying anything. She may have only told me, but even a fool could guess."

                He watches you quietly, a tinge of playfulness in his voice as he replies. "Well, I guess I'm a fool for you." He replies, and you snort. Jake's face positively lights up, and you are immediately reminded of a puppy being told 'good boy'.

                He is silent until you finish wrapping the bandages, before whispering once more, "Forgive me?" You tie your plastic bag up, straightening your back to stare directly into Jake's hope-filled eyes.

                And finally, you crack a smile, and the charming grin on Jake's face spreads wider. "I thought it was obvious I've already forgiven you?" You murmur with a small smile.

                And when Jake Kim leans forward to kiss you, fireworks explode and swan perform mating dances in your brain.

[dragonshoardofworks]

Reincarnation Everlasting Trio Part 2 (DPxDC)

(The flu is kicking my ass, so I decided to fight back by publishing this! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧ ...At least I'm at home and not at work? Small victories... And please don't hate me...!)

Part 1 | Part 2 (you're here) | Part 3 | Part 4

Gotham's second third best kept secret after the locations (and their related secrets) of the BatCave and Danny's resting place is the Stolon.

In the most hidden crypt under the corpse of the oldest greenhouse ever built in the gothic city, there's a thick net of roots and vines that cover every inch of the marmored chamber. Like a protective shell or a vegetal Fort Knox, the crypt enshrines Undergrowth’s (the Ancient of the Flora) most precious gift to the Green (their living offspring): the Gynaeceum, a cocoon-like structure capable of generating either an offspring or an avatar for the Green to inhabit and walk on Earth.

But since Professor Pamela Isley is an excellent avatar for them already, the Green doesn’t feel the need for a body at the moment, buuuut… conveniently their Parent loaned them a soul to look after recently and Poison Ivy deserved a reward and, let’s say, an incentive to keep pursuing her beloved Harleen Quinzel…

So, why not incubate the loaned soul with the DNA of both Pamela and Harley in the Gynaeceum? It’d be a huge success for everyone!

The soul, however, wasn't agreeing very much with the idea (like the rebellious goth child that she still is) and had to be coaxed through the stages until proper development, let's say until puberty begins to kick in for a standard human body, so around 8-13 years old, so the body had to stay in the cocoon until that age.

So after a “natural” test tube pregnancy of 10 years, Antheia was born as a pre-teen, right before the newly wed Pam and Harley, who were called there by the Green.

The two Sirens were taken aback by (but not averse of) the gift after the shock settled and they got an explanation as to why and how all of this happened.

(The only reason they didn't go apeshit on the Green for basically doing the same thing Lex Luthor did with Superman to make Connor was that Pam knows that the Green doesn't have the same set of morality and values that humans do, plus they don't even think in the same way, so she understood even if at the beginning she was a bit miffed for not being asked. Harley, since she trusts her wife, suspended her judgement until Pam explained the Green's reasoning and way of thinking. If she also can't hate the child because she somewhat feels familiar, it's another thing that she doesn't voice to anyone… And… she's so disappointed for having missed so much of her new baby's life! They could have visited during the gestation and human contact could have made the soul more cooperative and so have it latch earlier on their new body and so get birthed earlier!)

Antheia was mentally on the level of a newborn, but catches on quickly and in just 2 years or so she’s already behaving like (and with the knowledge of) her physical age. 

Pam and Harley absolutely love her to pieces and don’t-call-me-by-my-full-name Thea shares the sentiment. Both women have different connections with their daughter, tho: Ivy through Green’s powers and shared beliefs on nature and Harley by being fiercely protective of what they consider their own, not accepting (anymore) abuse by anyone.

[After failing to “cure” the Joker and falling into his clutches/partial insanity in her origin story, Quinn did kill people, but only criminals, as inexplicably something always stopped her from harming civilians and innocents. And while the Joker did punish these lacks, he still considered her useful, so he used her only where she was able to act. When and why did Harley finally manage to renounce everything about him, then? During the nth escape from Arkham, on a whim she went and checked her mail kept in the asylum deposit during the years. An enthusiastic letter from a girl in Illinois struck so many chords in her that made Harley say to herself: “Wtf am I even doing with my life?? This isn’t what I wanted to be!” And so proceeded to go and beat the everliving shit out of the Joker as he was starting to do the same with the newest and second Robin in one of Gotham warehouses, where the latter had been lured to. Having called Bruce (since she had figured out his identity a while ago because of knowing each other in med school), he rushed Jason to the ICU (remember the kinder timeline I mentioned in the previous post?) and managed to save him in time and the Joker got back to Arkham for a while longer than usual…]

The attitude that Thea inherited from her mothers (once 12) leads her to at first trying to sneak out and follow them in their night time activities of “anti-heroes”, but thanks to the Green, she always gets caught. After one too many times of that, the Sirens cave in and decide that it will be better to teach her the ropes and make her their sidekick, since it’s safer than letting her go solo and they can’t really stop her (much like Bruce does with all his Robins, tbh. (≧∇≦) )

During one of these escapades/missions, it was inevitable that the latest (the fourth, since it's been a while since Harley saved Jason) Robin and Thea (codename: Blossom) meet… and pick on each other like cat and dog.

The rest of the BatFam places so many bets on them, with Steph and Dick comparing them to Bruce and Selina, but with violence as a love language. Jason and Tim just hope that they won't tear each other out (since they got the burnt of Damian's hostility back when he came at the Wayne Manor, but without the canonical murder attempts, since Jason is still in rehabilitation and Tim had openly stated from the beginning that he was subbing in for the Robin role until the former got better to get back on the street if he wanted).

(Tim, in this, prefers to be the tech guy much more, with only some brawl in the mix, like Oracle’s assistant that does what Babs cannot anymore. The timeline is still kinder, since, while Babs won't recover the 100% of her functionality, she can still walk with a cane.)

Then it all changes when Phantom, or better, Danny joins in the mix. He and Damian!Tucker have so much to catch up with that they're practically joined to the hip and that leads to not meeting Blossom while they’re on patrol since they take different routes than usual.

Hearing the rumor of a new meta vigilante and the sightings of him only with Robin, absolutely doesn’t stir any jealousy in Thea (note the sarcasm) and so to set things straight with her rival, Blossom calls a favor with her mom to arrange a meeting with Batman and Robin. Harley is super amused by the whole thing, so she accepts only on the condition of chaperoning the whole thing (plus B wouldn’t come “just for Blossom”, she has to be there as well!)

In order to keep things civil (as a contingency plan agreed by both B and Harley), they meet on the roof of a Batburger (the highest one where no one could overhear them and it’s away from the plants), only the four of them. (They get Alfred distract Danny by asking him to do chores with him since “he’s getting old” *cough*BS*cough* and our boi is so eager to help/people-please.)

Blossom and Harley are already there when the Bats arrive and the former is already glaring at the boy.

“So? Where did you leave your new pet?” Blossom demands, looking around.

“He’s not my pet!” Robin snaps, hackles raised.

“Then how come he’s following you around like a puppy, uh? Bet he’s at your beck and call” 

“Don’t talk about him like he’s a thing! His parents already did that enough back when they were alive, so don’t you dare, allochthonous species!�� Blossom gasps in outrage, since it’s an (ecology) insult he learned from her.

“So this is just a crusade to fix the new stray while forgetting your duty? Where were you when we busted that exotic animal smuggling ring? You abandoned us!” 

Hit hard by the guilt trip, Robin is quick to recover, though. “You managed just fine, didn’t you? I couldn’t leave him, as there’s no one other than me who’s able to deal with his breakdowns!” He snaps, then centers himself and frowns at her. “What’s your deal, by the way, dudette? You didn’t act like this when I collaborated lengthily with Superboy Jr.”

Getting the whiplash from the unfamiliar slang mixed with formal language, Blossom recoils, as a wave of vertigo hits her. Wtf was that?? She focuses back on the topic, steeling herself. “That ‘Supersons’ thing was nowhere near what’s happening here. You changed so much that I can barely recognize you. So don’t feed me this BS! What happened that made you leave me behind?”

Oh. That’s the crux of the matter, isn’t it? Before Danny’s return and the subsequent recovery of his memories as Tucker, Robin and Blossom had been vigilante partners whenever they teamed up, sometimes even more in sync than with Batman. But how to lay out gently that she’s partially right but he hasn’t meant to? It’s then that Tucker Foley’s famous nonexistent mouth-filter strikes, subverting anything Damian Wayne has ever learned about tact. “Hey, it’s not my fault! You would change too if the guy you like kissed you out of the blue!” He blurts.

(In the background Batman facepalms, hard, Harley gasps and the BatFam cackles in the comms, as Oracle is making them eavesdrop.)

“...So that’s how it is.” A pause, then rage. “You led me on!”

“Wha- Never!” The Tucker in him is still on the reins. “Circumstances changed and I swear I didn’t mean to stop thinking of you! It was a blast from the past, literally, that I had no idea it was available to me!”

“Oh so now it's because of your tragic backstory that you're dumping me? I thought we were partners in crime!”

“We still are, it doesn't have to be mutually exclusi-” Damian!Tucker begins, hotly, only to be interrupted by an alarm going off in the comms.

Everybody tenses as Oracle starts to interject. «Arkham just noticed that the Joker has escaped, they have a hole of two hours in the security tapes!»

«I’m tracking his goons as we speak, it seems that they gathered so much C4 that they could celebrate the Fourth of July!» Hiereus (priest in Greek, helper of the Oracle, new name I choose for Tim instead of Red Robin) informs them, sound of the keyboard being smashed in the background. 

“Where are the bombs?” B demands, tense, ready to grapple at a moment's notice, while the other three get ready too.

«Still searching, still searching… here! All the Batburgers’ roofs.» There's a pause of appropriate horror, before they all register the sentence. «B get out of ther-»

You know what they say about any kinder timeline?

The more you have to lose (the taller they stand)...

BOOOOOOM!

…The harder you (they) fall.

[randomcreator-09]

Small Heath's Songbird (Thomas Shelby x OCY/N!Reader)

(Gif not mine > @bonniebird)

I WANNA BE KISSED LIKE THIS TOO T^T

Part One - Part Two

✨Pure fluff, No Grace, no smut... for now 😏✨

🐧Aha~ hello people of this world... took me long to finish writing this aha busy playing adult, phew. Ok context, don't get me wrong, I love the original Grace but in this fic, she's nonexistent. OCY/N is an asian heh hope that ayt with yall. ALSO this will focus on season 3, where Tommy has his arrow house already. Although his single asf and relies on whores... Until hehehe yeah boi~ XD Also this is just a character intro sorta... but there would be some important factors here that you need to know to be able to fully understand part two, so READ IT >:D muhahahahaha🐧

Own character description but it's Y/N POV

3.4k words

REBLOG TO SPREAD ADDICTION and kudos are appreciated too thank you ^^

Enjoy reading ^^

Part One - Part Two

-----

Birmingham was unkind to those who were different from them. Although England wasn't perfect themselves they still held grudges to those they deemed 'peculiar'.

You were spot on in that criteria. Small in height, jet black wavy hair, slightly slanted almond eyes, and full lips. However your skin tone was the same as theirs, coming from your European side of the family, that didn't save you from the racial slurs you'd get when you moved to Birmingham. A lot of people weren't as happy as you were when you arrived, a few looks here and there, but your used to it even in your home country. You see, you had bright blue eyes (with a little tint of green). Very unique if you'd say, but people disagree on that, especially your people. They think your the devils daughter and for it they kicked you out too.

It's been a few months since you settled in Small Heath. A kind woman accepted you with open arms and let you stay for a while in her humble home till you found yourself a job. She was a whore yes, but that didn't bother you since you've seen a lot worse than being a whore. You respected her even, for it was hard to live by selling your body to people you don't love. She offered you a job once (to be a whore) but you quickly declined saying 'as much as I respect your field of work Missus, I'd like to keep my innocence to a man I love'.

Not that you were virgin, oh no, you've definitely had made love with a few men through your travels, but none of them really stuck with you or vice versa. They just didn't feel right.

Days went by and the landlady ran to you with the daily newspaper in hand. "Look!" she said pointing at an advertisement, "Personal assistant maid needed," as you took the newpaper from her hands and smiled with delight, 'this is it' you thought. The landlady stubbed her cigar dead on the newspaper "Fuck, it's the arrow house." she said as she took the newspaper from you shaking her head. "Wha- Missus but the pay is good?!" you retorted to which she glared at you at for, "The Arrow House is owned by a notorious gangster who'd either kill you or fuck your life up with his fukin fingers!" she explained crossing her arms facing you "you can't even become a prostitute here why bother going to a devils house and be his whore?" she continued.

Your brows furrowed in question. You didn't mind being with a devil sure but to be his whore... Now that may cross a line. "Personal Assistant maid, it doesn't say anythin about being a prostitute," you tried explaining, even though you knew what she meant by that. Most men thought any woman with no man in public is a whore. However the pay was good, it included your own room, free food, and a lot of free time too! With that thought in mind you could still go for that bar singer position every Saturday in the Garrison (to which you heard from the ladies who lived upstairs who tried the position and failed miserably).

The landlady shook her head and sighed, she can't stop you now for she knew, you have decided and when that happens nothing can ever change your mind. "Suit yourself," as she walked away.

-----

The day came and you got a call back from Frances (the head maid), looks like faith was on your side on this one. Hopefully, not as his whore...

You paused to admire the beautiful house as you walked down the gravel road (unsuccessful with pulling a cab because they'd just pass by you). Red bricks stacked upon each other and gorgeous grey pillars and intricate designs adorned it. Still can't believe he lives alone in this big mansion. You huffed air in your lungs as you stride to the main door, lifting your arms to knock.

Knock knock knock

As you puffed the door creaks open to a woman in black, "Ah, you must be Y/N, come in." as she gestured you in. You stared at awe at how spacious the place was. The stairs up was beautiful with portraits of horses and perhaps you thought the Shelby brothers. "We won't be doing much today. Mr. Shelby is out of town and so tomorrow is when you'll officially start. For now get comfortable and I'll roam you around," she spoke clear and concise as you answered by nodding and 'yes Miss Florence' following her to your room.

Your room was spacious as well. A queen size bed on the middle of the room with a window on the left side and a makeup desk on the right. The room was well lit with electric lamps on each side of the bed side and the ceiling was well sculptured with wooden structures, floor was wooden as well. Although the wall were concrete white walls. The room was on the second floor beside Miss Florence's room, away from Mr. Shelby's room, which was a relief on your side.

Miss Florence gave you an hour to get yourself acquainted with your room and said that you had to be out in the entrance where she would be waiting to tour you around. You nodded and she left.

-----

As you have arranged your things in your new room and got ready for the tour Miss Florence had in store for you, you looked at your reflection in the mirror to make sure you look alright for the day. With a nod and a smile you went out and to the entrance where Miss Florence would be.

Miss Florence, a composed and efficient figure, waited for you near the grand entrance of Arrow House, her expression warm yet formal. She nodded approvingly as you approached, and after a quick greeting, she began the tour.

“Arrow House has its own unique history,” Miss Florence explained as she led you through the main hall, with its high ceilings, elaborate chandeliers, and walls adorned with artwork of the family’s ancestors. “Mr. Shelby brought new life to it when he acquired it, though he values his privacy.”

She walked you through the elegant sitting rooms first, which, despite the muted tones and dark wood, held a sense of opulence. “These rooms are for Mr. Shelby’s meetings and guests. They don’t see much daily use,” she added, pausing by one of the grand fireplaces. The flickering light from the embers cast a warm glow, highlighting the fine detail in the antique furniture.

Next, she led you to the kitchen, which, unlike the other rooms, bustled with activity. The staff members here worked with impressive coordination, preparing meals and ensuring everything was ready at a moment’s notice. “The kitchen is where you’ll be helping from time to time,” Miss Florence informed you. “Mr. Shelby’s tastes are simple, but he expects high standards.”

She guided you through the dining hall, where a large mahogany table stood at the center, framed by polished silverware and neatly folded napkins. “It may look grand, but meals are usually straightforward affairs unless there are visitors,” she commented, giving a rare, light chuckle.

You followed her up the grand staircase, its carpeted steps soft beneath your feet. Miss Florence pointed out the various guest rooms, each one elegantly prepared, with tasteful decor, though they rarely saw visitors. “The family only uses these rooms on occasion,” she remarked, indicating the polished brass fixtures and thick curtains. “Mr. Shelby has specific guests, and they sometimes stay overnight. Best to keep everything ready.”

Finally, she took you down a corridor that led to Mr. Shelby’s private quarters. She paused outside the door of his room. “This is Mr. Shelby’s room. You’re not to enter unless asked.” She looked at you with a hint of seriousness before adding, “Privacy is highly regarded here.”

Finally, after guiding you through the upper floors, Miss Florence led you back downstairs. She stopped near a richly decorated doorway just off the main hall.

“And this,” she said, “is Mr. Shelby’s office. You’ll find him here often.” She looked at you pointedly, adding, “Best to knock and wait for a response before entering.”

Through the doorway, you could see the polished desk, papers stacked with military precision, and the faint scent of cigars lingering in the air. This room, located on the ground floor, clearly held an air of authority and was situated close to the entry—perfect for swift meetings or private business.

With the tour complete, Miss Florence gave a small nod. “Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the house,” she said, before leaving you alone in the dimly lit hallway, surrounded by Arrow House’s quiet opulence.

The sun was still out so you planned to walk around outside. The house had a small garden at the side and a horse stables on the back which was clearly Mr. Shelby's.

The house also had a porch, with a posh white table and two chairs seeing the lush green forest from afar. You sighed as you felt the breeze on your neck to your half-tied hair and crossed your arms around you feeling the cold wind trickling your skin through your clothes. The clothes you wore were expensive to say the least, your former landlady was so sad you were moving out that she gifted you a luxurious royal blue dress to wear going to the mansion.

Suddenly a warm feeling enveloped you as you flinched looking at your shoulders. A dark coat was over your body and a quick smoke flickered your eyes to see a man with a defined jaw and cheekbones. "You must be Y/N," he said as he kept his eyes on the greenery. "Shelby, but you can call me Thomas" as he offered his hands towards you.

As you raised your hands slowly to shake his you hesitated and dropped your hands back to your sides. You removed his dark coat around you and offered it back, "Thank you for the kind gesture Mr. Shelby, but I am your personal made not a visitor. I am here to work for you" you said as you continued to look down at his shoes, unable to look up his face.

"Hmm," a low grumble from the throat made you lift your head up, and there you saw his head tilted closer to yours with his piercing blue eyes straight to yours. "Well, you have beautiful eyes that I can assure ye'" as he puffed out the smoke in his lungs, standing up and taking the coat on your hands and swiftly placing them again on top of your shoulders.

You could smell the strong cologne he had on. Mixed with the scent of the cigar he was taking and blood? It was dangerously addicting.

"You'll start tomorrow anyways," as he started to walk away slowly. "Let me at least treat you as a visitor before you get all busy." as he started to walk towards the stables. You suddenly feel blood rushing to your cheeks reminiscing about his scent and how his face was close to yours.

"You following or not?" a shout from afar caught your attention and removed you from your thoughts. "Yes Mr. Shelby, following!" you shouted back as you ran towards him.

-----(Tommy's POV)

The ride back to Arrow House was a haze of smoke, blood, and lingering fury. Changretta’s betrayal was handled, his lifeless eyes now a grim reminder of the consequences of crossing Thomas Shelby. Yet as the gravel crunched beneath his vehicle and the grand silhouette of Arrow House emerged, a part of him yearned for something—anything—other than the chaos he’d left behind.

As he placed his feet unto the gravel road, the cool evening breeze carried hints of earth and lavender, a stark contrast to the suffocating smoke-filled rooms of Birmingham. He loosened his tie as he rounded the corner of the porch, lighting himself a cigar, his gaze falling on a figure in a striking royal blue dress.

She stood there, arms crossed against the chill, her posture straight but her gaze distant as if lost in thought. Her hair was tied back neatly, a few tendrils escaping to frame a delicate face. He stopped mid-stride, his breath catching for a moment. She turned slightly, and the setting sun caught her profile—soft, porcelain skin glowing against the backdrop of the lush green garden.

For a brief moment, Thomas thought she was a guest, someone important perhaps, yet there was no carriage, no announcement of arrival. It wasn’t until he noticed the plain black shoes and the way her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her dress that he realized—this was the new maid.

"Interesting."

He removed his dark coat and approached her, draping it over her shoulders in a practiced motion. She flinched slightly at the contact but didn’t pull away.

“You must be Y/N,” he said, keeping his tone low as he puffed his cigarette. He glanced past her at the garden, keeping his expression unreadable.

She hesitated, her fingers gripping the edges of the coat as if debating whether to keep it. “Shelby,” he introduced, his voice firm yet laced with intrigue, “but you can call me Thomas.” He extended a hand.

Her reaction amused him. She raised her hand but let it fall back to her side, averting her gaze. Then, she carefully removed the coat and held it out to him. “Thank you for the kind gesture, Mr. Shelby, but I am your personal maid, not a visitor. I am here to work for you.”

Thomas’s lips twitched into the faintest hint of a smirk. Her voice was polite yet firm, and her shyness intrigued him. “Hmm.” The soft growl from his throat made her finally look up.

Her eyes caught him off guard. Blue, with a hint of green—bright and unique, a startling contrast against her dark lashes and raven hair. He tilted his head slightly, letting the silence linger as he leaned closer, holding her gaze.

“Well,” he said, his voice softer but no less commanding, “you have beautiful eyes, that I can assure ye’.” He took the coat from her hands and deliberately placed it back over her shoulders, his fingers brushing lightly against the fabric of her dress. “You’ll start tomorrow anyways. Let me at least treat you as a visitor before you get all busy.”

Without waiting for a response, he turned and started walking toward the stables, the weight of her presence lingering in his mind.

“You following or not?” he called out without looking back.

“Yes, Mr. Shelby! Following!” Her voice was a touch breathless, and it brought an unexpected smile to his lips.

-----Your POV

As the gravel crunched beneath your feet, you quickened your pace to catch up with Mr. Shelby, who was already nearing the stables. The breeze carried the faint scent of hay and leather, mingling with the earthy aroma of the horses. You hesitated briefly before stepping into the barn, the dim light casting soft shadows across the wooden beams.

Thomas Shelby stood near one of the horses, his fingers brushing through its mane with an ease that spoke of familiarity. The soft nickering of the animal filled the air as he looked over his shoulder to see you standing awkwardly in the doorway.

“You don’t have to just stand there,” he remarked, his tone light but firm. “They don’t bite… much.”

A nervous chuckle escaped your lips as you stepped closer, the warmth of the stable wrapping around you like a comforting blanket. The horse he was grooming turned its head slightly, as if inspecting you. Its dark eyes held a quiet curiosity, much like its owner’s piercing gaze.

“Do you know much about horses?” he asked, handing you a brush without waiting for an answer.

You shook your head, gently taking the brush from his outstretched hand. “Not really, Mr. Shelby. I’ve always admired them, though.”

“Thomas,” he corrected, his voice steady. “If you’re working here, we may as well skip the formalities.”

You nodded, feeling a small wave of relief at his approachable tone. Moving to stand beside him, you watched as he demonstrated the technique, his hands methodical as he ran the brush down the horse’s side. You followed his lead, your movements careful and deliberate.

“This one’s name is Arrow,” he said, his voice softer now. “She’s got a temper, but if you’re patient, she’ll warm up to you.”

You couldn’t help but smile as Arrow leaned slightly into your touch, her warm breath puffing against your arm. “She’s beautiful,” you murmured, glancing at Thomas out of the corner of your eye.

“She knows it,” he replied, a smirk tugging at his lips.

For a moment, there was a comfortable silence, filled only by the rustling of hay and the rhythmic strokes of the brushes. You felt a strange sense of ease around him, despite the intimidating aura he carried.

“Why Birmingham?” he asked suddenly, his tone casual but curious.

The question caught you off guard, and you paused mid-stroke. “It wasn’t really a choice,” you admitted. “I needed somewhere to start over, and Birmingham… well, it’s not as unkind as some places.”

His gaze lingered on you for a moment, thoughtful. “People here can be… particular,” he said. “But they’ll get used to you.”

You didn’t miss the unspoken meaning behind his words—he understood what it was like to be judged, to carry something on your shoulders that others didn’t bother to understand.

“And you?” you asked tentatively, surprising yourself with the question. “Do you get used to people?”

Thomas paused, his hands stilling on the brush. A flicker of something unreadable passed over his face before he turned back to Arrow. “Only the ones worth knowing.”

His words hung in the air, heavy with an unspoken depth that made your heart flutter. Before you could respond, he straightened, dusting off his hands. “Come on,” he said, motioning toward the barn door. “It’s getting dark.”

-----

The kitchen was warm and inviting, far cozier than the grandeur of the dining hall you’d seen earlier. Thomas moved with an ease that surprised you, setting out simple plates and pouring glasses of water. The smell of fresh bread and stew filled the air, and you found yourself relaxing as you took a seat at the modest wooden table.

“Not what you were expecting, was it?” he asked, setting a bowl of stew in front of you.

You shook your head, smiling. “Not at all. It’s… nice. Feels more real.”

His lips quirked into a faint smile as he took a seat across from you. “Real’s not a word people usually associate with me.”

You tilted your head, studying him. “Maybe they’re not looking close enough.”

He looked at you then, really looked, and you felt the intensity of his gaze settle over you like a weight. The air between you shifted, charged with something you couldn’t quite name.

As the meal went on, the conversation flowed easily, each shared story peeling back another layer of the man who, only hours ago, had been a mysterious and intimidating figure. By the time the plates were empty and the kitchen quieted, the darkness outside had deepened, wrapping the house in a blanket of stillness.

Thomas leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed on you. “You’ll do fine here,” he said softly accentuating the end remark, almost to himself.

You felt a warmth rise in your chest at his words, but before you could thank him, he stood and walked as he leaned to your side. The sudden closeness made your breath catch, and when he reached down to tuck a stray strand of hair behind your ear, his fingers lingered for just a moment too long.

“Goodnight, Y/N,” he murmured, his voice low and filled with something that sent a shiver down your spine.

Without thinking, your hand brushed against his. He stopped, his eyes searching yours, and slowly in that moment, the space between you disappeared. His lips met yours in a kiss that was both gentle and unyielding, a moment that felt suspended in time.

When he pulled back, his expression was unreadable, but there was a softness in his eyes you hadn’t seen before. “See you tomorrow,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper, before he turned and left the kitchen.

You sat there, your heart racing, trying to piece together what had just happened. One thing was certain—life at Arrow House was going to be anything but ordinary.

----- End of part one (Part Two on December 24th [to be updated here])

Part One - Part Two

-----

🐧See what I did with the GIF and the ending huhhhhhhh ^w^ anyways hope ya'll can wait till 24th ehe🐧

Like this post to be tagged in Part Two ^^ (and to be added to my Taglist)

TAGS: (Tried doing it here instead to keep my comment section clean XD)

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Like this post to be tagged in Part Two ^^

[sweetbans29]

Should Have Been Me - CC

Pairing: Caitlin Clark x Reader

Summary: You and Caitlin are home for a weekend to celebrate her brother's birthday - one thing leads to another and nothing is the same.

Warnings: ANGST - PURE ANGST, read at your own will. I would apologize but that would be a lie...

Word Count: 6.3k

Sweetbans Masterlist

AN: Please don't ask why I did this, I needed the pain. Just let it be. But low-key this is probably one of my favorites that I’ve written. Okay great, thanks!

You and Caitlin are jamming out on the drive home to Des Moines. A few weeks back she mentioned how her younger brother's birthday was coming up and she was planning on making the trip home to be there. She didn't need to ask, knowing you would come.

The two of you grew up together, meeting on the first day of first grade. You two were inseparable. If you weren't at school together, you were at practice or at each other's homes. Your parents accepted when you were girls that they both had two daughters even though she was the only girl among her siblings and you were an only child. You were all essentially one big family.

It came as no surprise to either of them when Caitlin and you told them you were dating in high school. It was a little bit of a hard pill for her parents to swallow but ultimately were supportive of your relationship when they saw how happy you made Caitlin as more than a friend. It wasn't a hard decision when the Hawkeyes came around and scouted both of you out to play college basketball with them. It was both of your dreams, to play college basketball and ultimately make it to the NCAA championship. Eventually to play in the WNBA and that all was coming true right before your eyes. It was the cherry on top that you two were able to do that together on the same team. Not only is your chemistry incredible off the court, but on the court - it's unmatched.

This is your last little getaway before things pick up going into March Madness. Senior year baby and the two of you know you can the team all the way back to the final four.

You pull up to her house and grab your bag from the car. Even though your home was right down the street the two of you planned to spend the Friday night at her house and then head to yours for Saturday night. It works out well as her brother's birthday party is tonight.

Once you get inside, you see her mom going crazy trying to get everything in order before tonight You set your things down and immediately help out wherever she needs. Caitlin does the same but takes some time to catch up with her dad first. Once Cait and her dad jump in, it all comes together.

People begin to arrive and the party comes together. Their home comes to life with friends and family from all over.

Caitlin's mom comes running over to Caitlin and you in a slight panic.

"Caitlin, I need you to go grab Colin from his friends," she says looking at her phone.

"Doesn't he have his car? Why do I need to go grab him? I told Dad that I would help him get the lights up for the party before everyone got here and we are behind." She says getting a little flustered herself.

"His car isn't starting and his friend is out of a car so they have no way of getting here," Caitlin's mom explains.

"I can go get him," you say. "That way you both can stay and finish anything that is needed."

"Oh, you are an angel, sweetheart! Thank you, thank you, thank you," she says while giving you a hug.

"It is no problem, it's my pleasure," you respond and give her a smile. Caitlin gives you a look of gratitude.

Caitlin's mom sends you the address and you give Cait a peck before heading out to grab the boys.

Once you get in your car, you put on your favorite playlist and maps then head out. It was only about a 15-minute drive there. As you are driving, it is just starting to get dark. Your lights turn on automatically as you are driving. You are about 5 minutes out when you are stopped at a light. Once yours turns green, you begin to go and that is when time stops.

*Third person-ish POV*

Caitlin's mom walks over to her and her dad as they are setting up the lights. They are just about finished putting them up - it took a minute to do but they look really good.

"Have you see your little bother yet? I thought they would be back by now," her mom says looking at her phone.

"I am sure they are almost here, Mom," Caitlin says as her arms are holding up the last string of lights for her dad.

"I'm sure you're right," she says as she walks away and goes to tend to the food.

Once the lights are complete, Caitlin goes to look for you. She looks all over the place and can't seem to find you. After about 30 minutes of looking, she finds her mom.

"Hey mom, have you seen (y/n)," she asks, checking her phone to see if there were any messages that she missed.

"I have been trying to call her. Your bother called and asked when we would be there to pick him up," she says and Caitlin begins to get nervous. Looking at the clock, she realizes it has been about an hour since you had left to pick him up and it should have taken you 30 minutes.

Cait gives your phone a ring and it goes straight to voicemail. She begins to look around for your parents, knowing they were here to see if they could get a hold of you. When she finds them, they say they haven't seen her yet.

"Caitlin, can you go get your brother, please? It has been over an hour in and he is still waiting for (y/n)," her mom says, not looking up from her phone. Caitlin grabs her mom's keys and heads out.

As she is driving, she notices there are police detouring cars. Her heart rate begins to pick up. She has to tell herself that it's not you, it couldn't be you. There was no way, you had never been in an accident and you are the best driver she knows. She slows down and makes a slow turn following the detour when she sees it. She sees your car flipped on its side, completely crushed on the driver's side.

She pulls her car over immediately, gets out, and runs to the scene. There is caution tape around the whole area which she completely ignores and runs over to the first ambulance she can see. When she looks inside, she sees a man with a cut on his forehead and arm in a sling. Before she can continue looking, there is a police officer approaching her.

"Ma'am, you can't be over here," he begins to say as he tries to usher you out of the caution-taped area.

"That's my girlfriend's car! I need to find her!" She says as she is in full-blown panic now.

The officer's mannerisms change completely when he hears that the girl in front of him knows who was in the car that was hit.

"Come this way, ma'am," he says in a gentler tone this time.

"No, I need to find (y/n). That is her car, she is here and I need to find her," Caitlin says not seeing the officer's demeanor changing. He grabs her arm and tries to get her to look at him. When she looks at him, he speaks again.

"You should come this way and we can talk," he says slowly, not wanting to spook you. Caitlin goes into a haze. She stops trying to fight the officer and lets him lead her to an easy-up tent that has been set up with lights. He offers her a chair and a bottle of water and sits next to her.

"Would you happen to have contacts for her parents? Someone else we can call to come down and be here with you?" The officer says, still not telling her what happened or where you are.

Caitlin pulls out her phone from her pocket and hands it over to him with your mom's phone number on the screen. Up to this point, no tears had fallen from Caitlin's eyes - if she was feeling anything it was anger. Why wasn't anyone telling her anything? She still had no idea what had happened. The officer passes her phone to another officer and they make the call.

"Can you please tell me what has happened and what's going on? I want to see her, is she okay?" Caitlin begins asking the officer again. She is doing everything in her power to not completely freak out. Her body is numb and she is confused as to where you could be.

"It would be best to wait for her family to be here," the officer begins but is cut off by Caitlin.

"I am her family." She says without hesitation. It was true. Not by blood and not legally, at least not legally yet but between growing up together and the relationship the two of you had been in for the last 6 years, it was only a matter of time before you were married. She had been your family since day one and everyone knew that.

The officer gives her a somber smile and a nod. Giving her a pat on the shoulder as another officer calls him over.

Caitlin sits there and waits, trying to look around at other ambulances to see if she can see you in any of them. If you were hurt, maybe they had already taken you to the hospital and didn't want her to drive in the state she was in.

A few moments pass and Caitlin sees both your parents and hers come running up to the scene. Caitlin stands and immediately hugs her mom. The tears begin to fall the second she is wrapped in safe arms. She still has no idea what is going on but at least now she is not alone.

The officer approaches asking your parents if they are they say they are. He takes them aside and begins explaining what happened. Caitlin breaks away from her mom to look over and see your mom sobbing with your dad trying to hold her as he sheds tears of his own.

"Mom, what happened? They haven't told me anything, I just want to see her," Caitlin says heart beating faster than a race car. Seeing your parents crumble before the officer has her feeling sick. She can't stand still as her foot is tapping and her hands keep playing with either themselves or the bottom of her shirt.

Caitlin's dad nods at her mom as he walks over to your parents and the officer. The officer and her dad both look over to Caitlin and her mom as they turn away. Caitlin sees her dad's shoulder slump and his hand come up to his face. He takes another moment before patting the officer on the shoulder and heading back to where his family is.

He doesn't say anything as he approaches, but rather takes Caitlin in his arms and just holds his daughter.

"Dad," Caitlin begins, hesitant in asking how. The last 45 minutes had felt like an eternity as she had been asking everyone under the sun what had happened. But the way her dad walked over and went to hold her, she no longer wants to know what has happened - she just wants to go back to earlier today when it was you and her against the world on the drive home. She can't seem to find what to ask anymore.

"Baby, I'm so sorry." Is all he says as he holds his baby girl. Something your parents are no longer able to do. Her mom rubs Caitlin's arm.

Caitlin's whole body goes numb, she still doesn't really know what happened but knows enough now to figure out nothing is going to be the same. When it begins to hit her, she feels suffocated by the arms holding her. Her first instinct is to run, to break away from here and run. And that is exactly what she does.

She pushes through her dad's arms and runs. She can hear her parents call for her but she doesn't look back.

She runs for hours finally slowing down when her lungs begin to burn so bad that she is gasping for air. Not that she wanted it - if you weren't with her, what was the point? You had been by her side her whole life and now she was alone. Cait lets out the most primal scream and falls to the ground. She curls up into a ball as the tears begin to fall.

Her mind begins to think of you, to the last moment before you left when you offered to pick up her brother. All she gave you was a little peck - no hug, no I love you. She should have held you and told her she loved you. It is then that it dawns on her, she was the one that was supposed to go. It was Caitlin who was first asked to pick up her brother but she didn't want to leave her dad so you volunteered. It should have been her picking up her brother. Maybe if it was her, things would have turned out differently and you would have still been here. As she is curled up on the side of the street - she feels her body beginning to shut down...

It was the summer before junior year of high school and you and Caitlin were heading home from practice for your club team, Attack. She was driving the two of you back to your house when you mentioned you wanted to stop to get milkshakes. She happily pulled over at your favorite local spot. Once the two of you had gotten your sweet treat, you sat in her car drinking milkshakes and talking about all the possibilities for playing college ball.

"Cait?" You ask as she is finishing her milkshake. She looks up at you. "I love you," you say. Up to this point, the two of you had both told each other you liked each other more than friends and started to explore what that looked like. You would say the two of you had been dating for the past couple of months - keeping it really low-key as you didn't know how the people around you would take it. But there was something about this moment, something about being together and just doing life together that helped you realize she is your everything.

She looks at you slightly shocked.

"You don't need to say it back!" You say, not wanting to pressure her. You just didn't want to go another day without telling her. "I just needed to tell you because, well, I do. I love you, Caitlin Clark."

A goofy little smile makes its way to her face and she pulls you in for a hug. It isn't the most comfortable considering you sitting in a car and have some piece of the center console pushing into your rib cage but you didn't mind.

"I love you," she whispers in your ear as she hugs you.

"Caitlin, sweetie," someone is shaking her arm. "Cait, wake up," they continue to shake her, waking her up.

She looks up, eyes foggy and body in pain. It takes her a few seconds to see it is completely dark and that she is on the side of the road. As she looks around, she realizes she is across the street from your favorite milkshake place. It had closed down a few years back but it was often a place the two of you would go to just sit and talk.

As she sits up, she doesn't remember stopping here. She just remembers running and running until she literally couldn't.

"Caitlin, sweetie," she hears again and looks up. It is your dad who has woken her up, she looks around and it is just him. "We have been looking for you for a while now sweetie."

She just nods. Everything rushed back to her. No one has actually said it to her yet, but she knows. You were gone. Her eyes begin to water again as it is all too much for her to wrap her mind around.

Your dad sits next to her, not ready to make his way back to reality. Sitting there with Cait, has him feeling like you are still here. That you are going to walk up and take them both home and tell them that this was all a dream.

“I don’t know if you remember, but I took you and (y/n) here after your very first basketball practice in elementary school. You both wanted something sweet and I didn’t want to go out of the way on the drive home that I pulled over here in hopes they had something that would satisfy you both. We walked in and they had milkshakes,” he says with a little laugh and sniffle. “(Y/n) had never had a milkshake before but you were so excited and told her it was the best thing in the world. Of course, she believed you, she trusted you with her whole heart and soul and you didn’t disappoint her. That afternoon you two shared a chocolate shake, finished every last drop.”

Caitlin is hugging her legs as tears stream down her face. She doesn’t remember that but it makes it that much more special that this place was your spot.

“Caitlin, has anyone explained what has happened?” He asks hesitantly. He doesn’t want to talk about it but he knows that she deserves to know.

She takes a minute, deciding if she really wants someone to say it. Even though she knows you are gone, for some reason having someone explain what actually happened makes everything that much more real. She finally shakes her head no, not daring to make eye contact. She feels like she would physically fall apart if someone looked into her eyes with any drop of sympathy.

“They said it was fast, that she didn’t feel any pain,” he began, hoping that would provide any ounce of peace to her. “When she was going through the intersection, a drunk driver came and blew through their red light. They impacted the driver's side and she…” he is choked up at this point. It’s not right that a father has to say this about his daughter. “She died upon impact.” He finishes, not sugarcoating it knowing Caitlin also preferred the direct approach.

Caitlin at this point is shaking with pain and anger. Her world has completely flipped due to an idiot making bad decisions. She wants to find the man and bring him all the pain she is feeling but knows that will never bring you back. That’s all she really wants, is you back.

Your dad doesn’t rush Caitlin, he lets her feel everything she needs. If he is honest, he also needs this time. He’s been caring for your mom then went on the hunt with the rest of the family to find Caitlin. He hasn’t had the time to just sit. Not that he really wanted to because that allows the feelings to come in and disrupt peace. How does a dad wrap his mind around losing his baby girl? His only little one.

“I don’t know life without her,” Caitlin speaks for the first time. Her voice is unsteady and broken, desperate. “She’s always been there, I don’t know how to be here without her,” she says as she lets out a cry. She bites her arm to avoid completely losing it. Your dad's hand comes to rub her back and bring her into a hug.

"I know she was your person and you were hers. She will always be a part of you," your dad says trying to calm the broken girl you left behind. "But I also know that she took a part of you and that it is going to take time for you to process and heal."

The two of them sit, not saying much after that. After some time, your dad helps Caitlin into the car, driving her back to her home. On the car ride back, your dad calls Caitlin's dad letting her know that she is with him and they can all head back to their house.

When they arrive, Cait's parents come running out and embrace her in a hug. Her whole body was still numb, her cheeks stained with dried tears. She doesn't have the energy to hug them back, rather just stands there. No thoughts going through her head, she doesn't quite know what to do. How does someone continue living when they are no longer whole?

*One week later*

Caitlin is sitting on her bed, dressed in a simple black dress. Her hair is straightened and her nails are black. They are usually painted white but that just didn’t fit her in the moment. She is mentally preparing to face the crowd of people who are waiting just down the road.

She takes a shaky breath and stands from her bed. She walks up to her dresser and puts on a necklace and bracelet - both were gifts from you. She looks at herself one more time in the mirror. As she is looking at herself, she pictures when the two of you were standing there dressed for a friend’s wedding. It’s almost as if she can see you standing next to her.

She hears a faint knock on her door. She doesn’t respond but the door opens and her mom peaks through.

“Hey baby, are you ready” She asks in a gentle motherly tone. Caitlin just nods. Never in a million years would she picture herself being in this boat.

Cait's dad had already driven over to the church with her brothers. It was going to be Cait and her mom driving there just in case she needed some space to be alone.

As they arrive, there is already a huge crowd of people, all of whom are entering the building. Caitlin's heart rate begins to pick up and she begins to fiddle with the bottom of her dress. Her mom grabs her hand, attempting to calm her. Nothing and no one will ever calm her like you did.

She walks in. There have been countless times Caitlin has imagined walking down this aisle with you but under much different circumstances. Her heart aches at the thought of what could have been.

She takes her seat in the front row between her mom and her dad. As she sits, she makes the mistake of glancing over at your parents. She can tell they are doing everything in their power to keep their composure but she knows they are faking.

The funeral service begins and your dad is the first to go up and speak. Caitlin's mind wanders elsewhere...

It was freshman year of college and the two of you are heading into your Intro to Psych class. The two of you head to the seats you have sat in since day one. In the middle of class, Caitlin feels a weight on her shoulder. When she looks over she sees you - fast sleep on her.

It had been a busy few weeks between double practices and all the homework you two had. Cait knew you had been bending over backwards adjusting and keeping up with all the university required of you.

She leans down and kisses you on the head. You would always say you are an ugly sleeper - granted you had never seen yourself but you could feel it. Caitlin on the other hand would disagree and say you are the cutest when you sleep. She would always say you looked so peaceful, childlike.

Caitlin also knows that you would be pissed if she let you sleep through the lecture. You were the better note-taker and when it would come time to study for the final - Cait wouldn't hear the end of letting you sleep through the review. But on the other hand, your girl knows how little sleep you have been getting, always working on school work or reviewing plays and making sure you were on top of everything.

You let out a little sigh and lean a little further into her - fast asleep. Caitlin lets out a little groan, knowing she would much rather watch you sleep on her than wake you. She slowly begins to move her shoulder, trying to get you to wake up without being startled.

When you don't budge, she leans down and says your name in your ear. You still don't budge.

Finally, she turns a little, trying not to draw attention to the two of you, and moves her arm to squeeze your thigh.

"Babe, you need to wake up," she says, giving your thigh another squeeze.

"Mmmm, don't want to," you mumble and move to take hold of her arm, wrapping your arms around it like it was a pillow.

"Babe, we are still in class." She says with a little laugh - falling a little more in love with you.

This causes you to shoot up, fully alert by her words. You look around and your cheeks redden immediately. Sinking down in your chair - embarrassment filling every ounce of your body.

She hands you your pen back and leans over to kiss your head once again.

"Don't worry babe, you didn't miss much," she says reassuring you.

Caitlin is pulled back to the present - though she much rather stay in the past. The service was ending and there was going to be a time for people to pay their respects to your family. it was being held at your house, Caitlin hasn't been without you - not having the strength to go over to see your parents. Most of the last week was spent in bed, with the exception of when her mom encouraged her to shower.

When she walks into the house, it almost feels foreign. She grew up in this house with you and now it feels unknown. She walks up to your parents. Your mom engulfs her in a hug, mumbling something along the lines of how much she loves her. Cait then steps over to give your dad a hug. The last time she saw him was when he found her on the side of the road. He hugs Caitlin without saying anything until their embrace ends.

"When you are ready, I have something to show you," he says. Caitlin just nods. She isn't ready yet but keeps that in mind.

As Cait makes her way further into the house, her team is standing there. This is the first time seeing anyone outside of your family since that night.

Kate is the first one to come up to Caitlin and pull her into a hug. Kate is crying as she hugs her. When Caitlin is in public settings - she doesn't tend to cry, she does everything in her willpower not to because someone had to stay composed and when you were around, it wasn't you. She hugs Kate back and rubs her back.

All the girls give their condolences and talk about their favorite memories with you. Kate is holding Caitlin's hand, grounding her.

Caitlin stands there, trying to be polite and listen to how much they all loved you and adored you but she was crawling in her skin. None of this still feels right. Somewhere in Caitlin's mind and heart, she is waiting for you to walk through the front door and tell everybody that there is no one to mourn and that she is okay. But that was all just a dream.

Caitlin excuses herself and decides she wants to be alone. She begins walking and before she knows it, she is standing at the door to your room. The door is closed and she doesn't remember this being the destination she was looking for.

Her breath begins to unease itself as her hand comes to the doorknob. She twists it and opens the door, not yet daring to take a step inside. She stands looking around - the all too familiar space feeling empty. A pain builds in her chest as she walks through and makes her way to your dresser.

She looks at all that it holds. Little trinkets that the two of you saw value in, old jewelry, and many pictures of the two of you. Photos of you growing up and in high school. Her fingers run along your face on all of them - tears finally making an appearance on her own.

She then makes her way to your closet - bringing an old high school basketball sweatshirt into her chest. She inhales the scent of it, dampening it with her tears. She puts it on and hugs her arms around her body. She makes her way over to your bed and runs her hands over it, remembering all the times she had spent the night here with you. She lays down and curls up into a ball.

Looking over, she sees an old teddy bear that the two of you had made at Build-a-Bear for one of your anniversaries. She takes hold of the bear and snuggles into it - finally allowing her sobs to release.

Every time she begins to feel better, she gets hit by another truck. This one being the second biggest only to the night it all happened.

After some time, she finally begins to settle down. She sees your dad pass by. Caitlin gets up and runs to the doorway, calling for him.

"Caitlin," he begins, as he slightly peers into your room. "We haven't been in (Y/n's) room since it happened, we haven't had the strength to..." He continues.

"You said you had something you wanted to show me?" She asks, not really sure if she is ready but wants to know.

"Oh yes, wait here, let me grab it," he says and goes to get something from your parent's room. He comes back holding something in his hand.

He passes it to Caitlin. It is a small velvet box. Caitlin's hands begin to shake.

"When you are ready, you can open it. It doesn't have to be now, but I know it belongs to you." He says as there is some confusion written on Caitlin's face. He explains. "This was my mother's, she passed it down to Y/n when she mentioned the two of you started dating. We have been holding onto it but like I said, it's yours." He chokes out the last part and excuses himself.

Caitlin goes to sit on your bed and just stares at the box in her hands.

She slowly opens the box to see the most beautiful diamond ring sitting in it. Tears begin to fall again as she removes it from the box and places it on her finger.

It's your grandmother's wedding ring. Your grandmother had given you her wedding ring for when you were ready to ask Caitlin to marry you. Caitlin looks at the ring on her finger and clutches her hand to her chest - you were going to ask her to be your wife.

As Cait was going to close the box, a little piece of paper caught her eye. She pulls it out and opens the folded piece. She whispers the words on the page.

"Dear Y/n, It is clear to me how much you love Caitlin. I could see it before the two of you started dating, it was only a matter of time. She is your person like your grandfather was to me. I am giving you this ring for when the time is right and you are ready to build a life with her. May you love each other more and more each day, as your grandfather and I did. I love you, sweet girl. - Grams"

Caitlin struggled through the letter but was glad she did. She realized you had been holding on to this ring for the past 5 years.

*Two months later*

Caitlin was back at school and back at practice with the girls. Each girl on the team took turns watching over Caitlin. It was never said but she knew, at no point was she ever alone except to sleep.

Tonight was her first game back and it has been a love-hate relationship getting back on the court. Basketball has always been her love but it was off-putting being on the court without you. The two of you had played together for so long, neither of you had to think when it came to making things happen. Coming back to practice it was like learning a whole new sport.

As the team was in the locker room before the game - they were getting a talk from Coach Bluder before taking the court for the first game of March Madness.

"We are going to go out there and give our everything. There is nothing we are not ready for - each and every one of you has put in the blood, sweat, and tears and we are going to show the world that this is our time." She says getting the team fired up. Her final words bring silence among the group. "As we go out there, we are going out there incomplete. We are missing someone who has changed this team for the better and when we step foot onto that court, we are walking out there in her honor. Y/n will always be a part of this team and as she carried this team as captain before - she still does today."

Caitlin fiddles with the ring that would have wed the two of you and safety pins it to the left side of her sports bra. There was no way she was walking out there without you with her.

The team lines up in silence - ready to go out and honor you. And that is exactly what they did.

Iowa went 91-65, absolutely crushing the first round of March Madness. Your team fought its way back to the Final Four and Caitlin dedicated every game to you.

The night of the Final Four was a battle - UConn put up an amazing fight, but the Hawkeyes came out on top. After the game - it was decided that Caitlin would step into the post-game press conference. Her first one since your passing.

As she sits down, the crowd takes a second to settle, surprised seeing her out there considering she hadn't been in any of the previous ones despite being an all-star in each of them.

The press starts asking questions about the game and how the team was able to pull the win off. Everything was going smoothly until one reporter asked about you.

"Caitlin, there was a loss on your team right earlier in the season - how has that affected the team dynamic?" The reporter asks.

She was expecting someone to ask but even anticipating the question, it took her some time to gather her thoughts. Just as she was about to speak - Kate stepped up and responded for her. Caitlin was extremely thankful and when Kate was done she finally found the words she wanted to say.

"No one on this team has felt the loss of Y/n more than I have. She was my #1 on and off the court," she says beginning to get choked up. "Her absence is felt deeper than anyone can imagine and this team will never be the same without her."

'I will never be the same without her' is what Caitlin wanted to say but couldn't between the tears that began to fall. Kate passed her a towel, which she gladly accepted. She tried so hard to keep it together but it was all still so fresh.

That night, Kate and some of the other girls spent the night at Caitlin's so she wouldn't have to be alone. It had only been a few months but Caitlin was afraid she would never truly heal from you.

*One year later*

Caitlin was living out the dream the two of you talked about so often. She was in the WNBA and was playing for the Indiana Fever. She had an incredible rookie year and was currently at an awards night where she was going to receive the Rookie of the Year award.

The night was going well and it was time for the award presentation. When they announce Caitlin as rookie of the year, she ascends the stage and accepts the award, giving the commissioner a hug before taking her place to make her speech.

"First off, I want to say a huge thank you to my team - if it wasn't for them taking me in like they did, I wouldn't be standing here today. I want to thank my Iowa team who grew me and shaped me. Thank you to my parents and brothers for always pushing me and believing in me and my ability." She looks down at the award and at her hand that wears her ring. "The last thank you I want to give is to Y/n, my wife." She says it knowing the weight it holds but it comes out so naturally.

"I owe my everything to her. She was my supporter from day one and every day after that she wouldn't settle for anything less than my best. Even when I would say I was giving her my all - she would push me past that, strengthening me and showing me who I truly had the potential to become. I stand before you all today because of her love of this sport, and her love of me." Caitlin makes the slightest adjustment to look up, to anyone in the audience it looks like she is looking up at the balcony but all those who knew you, know that she is looking up to you. "Baby, we did it," she says as a single tear rolls down her cheek. "We are living out our dream."

AN: DON'T ASK ME TO APOLOGIZE BECAUSE I WON'T. Please let me know what you think! And as always, thank you for your love and support 🤍