#this chapter is really testing my patience | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

scmg11 · 6 months

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KATE BISHOP x READER

TUTORING

A/N: HELLO HELLO HELLO! I know, I disappeared for a long time after promising I had one new chapter ready, but college is really testing my patience and strength, but here I am! How are you guys?

I hope you enjoy this new concept that came into my mind and let me know if I should continue this.

Sending you love ❤️

Summary: Kate is failing two classes and to avoid getting kicked out of the school's team, one of her professors asked Y/N to help her.

Warnings: none.

Word count: 18382 words.

The bell rang loudly throughout the hallways and the classroom signaling the end of the current class and the beginning of the next one, all the students gathering their belongings and saying goodbye to their teacher as they walked out of the classroom and sauntered into the hallways.

"Ugh I hate Mr. Thompson. He likes to make my life a living hell."

"Well Cass, if it makes you feel any better he hates me too." Y/N joked with a small snort as she placed her Calculus book back into her locker and grabbed her literature one, snickering a bit when she head the blonde groan beside her before slamming her head on her her still closed locker door.

"I don’t know why he pushes me to know how to throw a punch. I’m gonna be an engineer. We use math and physics to create things, not punches."

"Well you could, when something doesn’t works you could always use a bit of violence." Y/N kept joking with a wide smirk that only broadened when Cassie slapped her shoulder gently as she opened her locker to grab her literature book too, happy that she was going to share a class with her best friend.

"Ha-ha. Very funny." Cassie faked laughing, closing her locker and leaning her back on it as she watched students walk up and down the hallway, "it’s not like you’re any better at physical stuff. You suck at any sport."

"That’s not true." Y/N snorted as she also closed her locker and leaned on her right shoulder to stared at Cassie, who was sporting an unamused expression. "I like all kind of sports, I just don’t like being part of them."

"Ha! That’s just a nice way to say you suck at sports."

"Whatever." Y/N rolled her eyes with a small grin tugging at the corner of her lips as she gently pushed on Cassie’s shoulder to urge her to walk towards their class. "C’mon or we will be late."

"Make me." Cassie stayed frozen in her spot and snickered loudly when Y/N struggled to push her and make her start walking, causing her to loose her balance for a second and collide harshly with another student’s body.

"Oh no, I’m so so sorry!" Y/N looked up from her gaze on the floor after she regained her balance from the harsh collision and almost fainted when she was met with the most beautiful pair of blue eyes she had ever seen, "I-I’m- sorry."

"It’s okay, don’t worry. I was actually in a hurry and I wasn’t watching where I was going." Y/N smiled politely at the black haired girl and watched from the corner of her eyes Cassie sporting a small, cheeky smirk as she watched her best friend interact with the blue eyed girl, and made a mental note to hit her hard as soon as she was finished talking to the blue eyed girl. She watched as she black haired girl nodded softly at her before walking away, Y/N watching her go for a few moments before turning around and hitting Cassie hard with her book.

"Ow!"

"That’s what you deserve for being an ass. You made me embarrass myself and crash into one of the most popular girls in school."

"Oh honey, you do all the job of embarrassing yourself. I didn’t do anything at all." Cassie teased Y/N as they started their journey to their literature class, snorting loudly when Y/N merely grunted at her.

"I hate you."

"No you don’t." Cassie sing-sang as she entered the classroom and took her usual seat, watching Y/N take her place in front of her before turning slightly around to face her and keep their conversation, that shifted to another topic, going since their teacher hasn’t arrived yet.

"I’m telling you the truth!"

"There’s no way. My dad would never."

"I swear, I saw him eat at least 3 cookies around 3 a.m. when we had our sleepover."

"Fuck! He promised me he wouldn’t eat them! Those were for his clients!"

"Well 3 clients didn’t have their cookie." Y/N joked with a small chuckle as she watched their teacher enter the classroom before turning herself back around and waited for the class to start.

"Oh Miss Bishop! How nice of you to join us!"

"I’m sorry!" About 5 minutes later, the blue eyed girl entered the classroom out of breath and a bit disheveled after running towards her class, taking the last seat in the room, right beside Y/N, smiling politely at her and nodding in her way, doing the same with Cassie, then focusing her attention to the teacher as she kept on with her class.

"Okay class, do not forget to read to page 328 to page 341. We will discuss everything in class next week." Miss Peyton finished speaking just in time, because as soon as she was done, the bell rang and all the students gathered all their things to go to the cafeteria to have their lunch, "oh Miss Bishop, Miss Y/L/N can I please have a word with you?"

Cassie stared at Y/N with furrowed eyebrows as they both stopped their walk towards the door, but Y/N merely shrugged, clueless about why their teacher wanted to talk to her and to Kate after class. "I’ll see you in a bit, can you grab lunch for me too?"

"Yes of course, I’ll see you later."

As soon as all the students left the classroom, Miss Payton saying goodbye to the last teenager with a big smile, she turned her gaze towards Y/N and Kate still waiting in their seats and slightly confused. The teacher’s face the turned serious as she dropped her smile and assessed her students, "okay girls, I wanted you to wait for everyone else to walk out because I need to talk about something really important. I will be quick you can have your lunch."

"Okay, what is it, Miss Peyton?" Y/N asked politely with a calm voice. She wasn’t nervous, she was the top of the class, she was polite to everyone, she was always on time to class, she stayed out of trouble, she was just confused as to why Miss Payton wanted to talk to her with Kate.

"I- Kate that you are failing my class and Mr. Craig’s class." Miss Peyton announced to the black haired girl quickly, sighing out sadly, making Kate stare at her in concern, "you need to improve your grades or, as your coach informed me, you will be out of the team."

"What?! No! Why? I’m trying to study as much as I can to get better!"

"I know, I can see it. But it’s not enough for Coach Miller. I want to help you. That’s why Y/N is here." Y/N perked up at that as she stayed silent to listen to what Miss Payton was telling Kate. "She will tutor you in literature and math. You will have all the semester to improve your grades. I talked to Coach Miller and he will not kick you out of the team if you will pass your final tests."

"Great!" Kate huffed out in frustration as she collapsed ungracefully on the chair, slammed her hands on the desk before starting playing with her fingers angrily.

"It would be a pleasure to help you." Y/N spoke up with a polite smile and tone, hoping to help Kate to calm her nerves down. To be honest she didn’t want to deal with Kate Bishop at all. She was the most popular girl in school, the star of the school’s soccer team, a great archer that collected trophies after trophies, medals after medals and also one of the most wanted girl in school. She had never interacted with her before today. She was the nerd of the school, she was closed-off, she avoided all kind of school gatherings unless they were mandatory. But she needed to please every teacher’s request to reach her goal and enter Harvard with Cassie like they had always dreamed. So she was willing to make an effort for the sake of her future.

"I don’t have a say in this, do I?" Kate completely ignored Y/N’s sentence and stared at Miss Payton in annoyance. Y/N scoffed under her breath at Kate’s rudeness, before focusing on their teacher’s answer to Kate’s rhetorical question.

"I’m afraid you don’t. It will help you, trust me. Y/N one of the school’s best students. I know you two will get along pretty well and you will improve your grades quickly!" They both nodded as they said goodbye to their teacher after discussing a few things about Y/N tutoring Kate before the two girls walked out of the classroom and took different paths without saying a word to the other.

"What the hell did Miss Payton want from you?"

"She just asked me-." Y/N trailed off for good measure, smirking inwardly when Cassie was literally hanging from her chair impatiently, but Y/N took her time to place her bag beside her feet before pulling the chair back and sitting down slowly, but Cassie grabbed her shoulders and slammed her onto the chair to urge her on, causing a small laugh to leave the Y/E/C girl’s lips, "eager to know, are we?"

"Yes. Now keep going."

"She asked me to tutor Kate." Y/N told her best friend nonchalantly before grabbing her salad, taking a forkful and eating it.

"What?!" Cassie screamed incredulous, her small shriek caused a few heads to turn towards them, but she paid them no mind, "why are you saying this like it’s no big deal?!"

"Because it’s not?!" Y/N said rhetorically using the same tone Cassie used to ask her question, causing a small scoff to leave the blonde’s lips as she rolled her eyes at her best friend.

"Are you being serious right now?"

"Yes! I’ve tutored plenty of our classmates and a lot of other students here. It’s really no big deal."

"But we’re talking about Kate Bishop now!" Cassie stressed her words out with a look between desperation and frustration at her best friend nonchalance. She was smart, but she could be truly dense sometimes.

"She is just another student Cass, relax."

"No, she is THE student. The star of the school’s soccer team, the most wanted girl in our school, the heartbreaker, the world’s greatest archer as anyone puts it, not to mention really fucking hot." Cassie finished her speech pointing her fork full of pasta towards Y/N before eating her bite and chewing on it happily. She then rolled her eyes when Y/N rolled her own with a loud sigh.

"I’m not interested in her Cass. We’ve never talked before and after our tutoring sessions it will be back like that with us ignoring each other. Hell I don’t even know if she will show up at our tutoring sessions. We didn’t exactly speak, like at all, after talking with Miss Payton. We just walked away, without even saying goodbye."

"Well maybe she needed a moment to think about it. I don’t think she won’t show up. I mean, these tutoring sessions has to be mandatory for her, am I right?"

"Yeah, apparently if she doesn’t improve her grades in Miss Payton’s and Mr. Craig’s classes, Coach Miller will kick her out of the team." Y/N finished off as she took the last bite of her salad and drank a sip of water from her water bottle.

"Oh shit, that’s bad. She’s definitely showing up to your tutoring session, I’m 100% sure."

The two best friends changed topic and started talking about Cassie’s father, Scott, and his girlfriend Hope, taking Cassie to an amusement park the prior weekend, "no way! Shit Hope is strong."

"Yeah! She formed a crowd all around the punching bag machine and-." Cassie stopped her retelling abruptly when she recognized the approaching figure walking towards their table and swallowed loudly when she met their eyes with her slightly widened ones and smiled awkwardly up at them.

"What?" Y/N turned herself around to look herself at what Cassie was staring at behind her back and almost fainted and fell off the chair when, for the second time that day, she was met with the most intense ocean blue eyes she had ever had the pleasure to meet with her own Y/E/C eyes.

"Hi." Kate said in a small tone and a tiny smile, before staring at Cassie and grinned at her too, "hi." She repeated to the blonde before moving her eyes back onto Y/N.

"Hello." Y/N didn’t exactly intended to answer that coldly, it was just that Kate’s eyes were really distracting.

"Hi." Cassie replied to Kate’s greeting ten times more politely than Y/N, with a bright grin on her lips and a small wave, something that made Kate smile gently.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

Y/N had a small problem formulating words as she tried to kickstart her brain, to no avail of course, but Cassie came to her rescue and kicked her shin hard under the table, trying to conceal her gesture as much as she could, and almost laughed when Y/N squealed quietly under her breath and jumped a bit on her chair. Cassie smiled in apology at Y/N when she stared at her with a mix of anger, wrath and pain before regarding Kate with the softest expression she could muster despite the excruciating pain in her leg, "sure."

"Thank you." Kate smiled gently at Y/N before regarding Cassie with an apologizing grin, "sorry, it won’t take long, I promise."

"Don’t worry, you can even get rid of her for me. She is annoying." Cassie cracked a joke with a wave of her hand, triggering a soft chuckle from Kate while Y/N flipped her off with her middle finger, but Cassie merely smiled sweetly at her.

Y/N sat up, wincing a bit from her still a bit aching and painful leg, and walked towards the exit of the cafeteria, stopping a few feet out of the door, that effectively muffled the student’s loud chatter, "so, what do you need?"

"First thing first, I’m Kate."

Y/N stared at the hand stretched over in front of her for a few moments, before grabbing it and shaking it gently, "I know. I think pretty much the whole school knows who you are. I’m Y/N."

Kate chuckled gently under her breath and shook her head at Y/N’s joke, "I won’t take too much of your time of your lunch, I just needed to ask you if we can start as soon as we can with our tutoring sessions. I really need to not be kicked out of the team."

"Sure, we can start this afternoon after our classes." Y/N conceded with a small shrug, not failing to notice how beautiful Kate’s wide grin she had just triggered with her words was. But she discarded those thoughts immediately.

"Great! How about around 3 p.m. in the school’s library?"

"Hm, I’m afraid it’s closed." Kate stared at Y/N in confusion and the Y/H/C girl had to discard again thoughts about how cute Kate looked with her confused frown to instead Y/N was clarify to Kate’s silent question, "it’s Friday. Library always closes after classes."

"Oh right. Sorry, I usually study at home."

"It’s okay."

"Okay, so, we can study at my house. My mom is working late and my dad is on a business trip. We won’t be disturbed."

"Okay, yeah." Y/N nodded politely as she smiled gently at the black haired girl, noticing how happy she looked after she agreed to start their tutoring sessions right away.

"Okay, I’ll meet you at your locker at 3 p.m. okay?"

"Yeah. I’ll see you later."

"See you later." Kate winked towards her as she started her walk opposite the cafeteria and Y/N had to admit she swooned a little at the charming gesture as she turned around and opened the cafeteria’s door and walked back towards Cassie, before stopping in her tracks as a thought made its way to the forefront of her mind.

"Wait, how does she know which one is my locker?"

"And she looked so good! You should’ve seen her!"

"I did Cass, I was right beside you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you were too busy drooling for her to notice my presence." Y/N snickered when Cassie pushed on her shoulder hard, making her loose her balance for just a second as she grabbed her things from her locker, "I still don’t get why you don’t ask her out."

"Are you out of your mind?! I will never ask her out!" Cassie spoke to Y/N with her eyes widened in shock as if Y/N told her the most unbelievable thing in history. "She doesn’t like me. She doesn’t even know who I am."

"She likes you Cass, she looks at you like a lovesick puppy!"

"You’re just speaking nonsense now. She doesn’t like me and I’m pretty sure she is dating that jackass. What’s his name? Carl?"

"Cory. And I don’t think they’re dating." Y/N laughed when her best friend got their classmate’s name wrong, bumping their shoulders together amusedly, "I will prove to you she likes you. You just need a great wingwoman to help you out." Y/N puffed her chest out proudly and lifted her chin in an authoritative way, all the while Cassie stared at her blankly before turning her expression into a surprised but curious one.

"Oh do you I know her? Can you please introduce her to me?" Y/N deflated at that with a roll of her eyes and punched Cassie’s shoulder gently as she laughed her ass off at her own joke, "okay, on a serious note, I don’t think I will ever find the courage to ask her out. I’m way too out of her league."

"Are you being serious right now? Cass, she is the one out of your league. You are smart, beautiful, funny. She would be a fool to reject you. And if she will ever reject you, it’s her loss." Y/N placed her left hand on Cassie’s right shoulder before squeezing it in a comforting manner and smiled softly at her, the blonde mirroring her right away with a bright, thankful grin.

Just as when Cassie was about to open her mouth to reply to Y/N’s encouraging words and to thank her for boosting her mood up, Kate approached them shyly and smiled at the two best friends cordially with a small wave, "hey guys."

"Hi." Y/N said quickly as she pulled her hand away from Cassie’s shoulder, turned around and finished retrieving her things from her locker, while Cassie, who already finished pushing everything in her backpack, smiled brightly at Kate and waved back at her.

"Hi Kate. Just a little warning, she can be a lot sometimes when she talks about literature, so if she ever starts talking too much, the button to shut her up is right here." Cassie pointed to the back of Y/N’s head, getting Kate’s complete attention, who watched her with a small smile adorning her lips, "you just push this button here and she will shut up automatically. Like this- look." And then Cassie slapped the back of Y/N’s head, right on her nape not hard to hurt Y/N, but not exactly gently, making Y/N almost drop her backpack on the ground.

"Cassie Lang!" Y/N turned her head towards Cassie with a withering look as she massaged the back of her head with her right hand while her left one gripped her backpack hard.

"What?! I was just helping Kate by giving her tips about surviving studying with you."

Y/N turned to look at the black haired girl, who was trying to prevent her laugh to come out of her mouth by biting on her bottom lip hard, but it was becoming a really difficult task with the bickering still going on in front of her, before regarding Cassie with an unamused expression, "I hate you."

"No you don’t! I’ll see you tomorrow." Cassie quickly kissed Y/N’s right cheek, before waving at Kate happily, "bye Kate, good luck with her."

"Thank you. Bye!" Kate waved enthusiastically at Cassie and watched her run towards the school’s exit before focusing her attention back on the Y/H/C girl when she heard a locker close beside her. "Ready to go?"

"Yes! Let’s go."

"How were classes?" Kate asked to fill in the silence wrapping around them as they walked towards the exit, the school’e hallways already empty since it was Friday.

"Good. Yours?"

"Pretty good."

"Great." Y/N sighed as she felt as awkward as ever with Kate. She didn’t know her and she wasn’t exactly good with people she didn’t know, especially when she met them for the first time a few hours prior. "Did you have soccer practice today?"

"Yeah, this morning." Kate answered earnestly as she opened the school’s exit door and held it open for Y/N to walk out first, the Y/H/C girl thanking the blue eyed athlete with a polite smile, "I came here around 7 a.m."

"Thank you." Y/N’s grin fell off her face when she heard what Kate said and widened her Y/E/C eyes in shock, "wait- what?! Why so early?"

"We have a game this Wednesday. It became a daily routine coming to school earlier than everyone else a week prior our game to train alone. I like practicing on my own sometimes."

"Wow, you have a lot of pressure on you." Y/N pointed out as she noticed a stressed frown form on Kate’s forehead and felt bad for her, she knew how it feels to have a lot on your shoulders.

"Yeah, when you are the, and I quote, ‘the most promising striker of the league’, you tend to have a lot of pressure and attention on you. I try my best to give what everyone wants." Kate shrugged as they walked into the school’s parking lot, Y/N pretty much following Kate since she didn’t know where they were going, but as she listened to Kate’s words, Y/N couldn’t help but hear a bit of tiredness and sadness in her tone, making it look like Kate resigned herself to do what everyone wanted from her and wasn’t happy to do just that. She felt bad for her, so bad that she couldn’t control the words that left her mouth in form of a question.

"And what do you want?" Y/N noticed Kate trying to mask the shock and bewilderment, clearly not expecting Y/N to ask that question, but Y/N pretended she didn’t notice and gave her time to answer her.

"Hm- I like doing sports. I do that since I was little. I won a lot of medals and trophies for them but- I feel like soccer will be nothing but another sport I’m good at."

"Hm- you didn’t answer my question completely though." Y/N teased Kate to lift up the heavy air suddenly surrounding them and felt relieved when the black haired girl snorted under her breath with a small, amused smile and a soft shake of her head.

"I will. One day."

"Hm, cryptic and mysterious. I like it." Y/N nodded and fell silent, letting her mind dwell on how easily they were getting along and how comforting Kate’s presence was for a few seconds, a shocking realization to Y/N since they literally met properly that morning, a few hours prior, but it was short lived when Kate’s voice pulled her out of her head.

"Okay, that is our lift home." Kate pointed to a grey Mercedes C Class parked in the school’s parking lot as they approached the expensive vehicle. Y/N was surprised, to say the least, when the blue eyed girl opened the left rear door and signaled her to slip in, "I haven’t got my driver’s license yet. Nick is driving me around wherever I want, whenever I want until I do, so I try to take advantage of that." Kate explained, winking at Y/N jokingly at the last part, making Y/N nod in understanding.

"Oh wow, cool." Y/N looked around the car curiously as soon as she got in and waved awkwardly at Nick when he waved at her from the rearview mirror before focusing on Kate entering the car and closing the door.

"Yeah." Kate sighed contentedly as she sat comfortably on the comfy seats and closed her eyes for just a moment to relax her whole body and mind, she was still a bit exhausted from her practice that morning, and Y/N let her be since she didn’t know what else to say to Kate.

They didn’t talk a lot during their car ride towards Kate’s house as Kate took a moment to rest a bit before studying with Y/N for their tutoring sessions while Y/N took advantage of the silence and the moment to herself to look outside her window and admire the view running fast out of the car. "We’re here Miss Bishop."

"Thank you Nick."

"Thank you. Have a nice day Nick."

"You too Miss-." The driver stopped mid-sentence since he didn’t know Y/N’s name, making the Y/H/C girl smile at him shyly as she watched Kate open the car door to exit the vehicle.

"Y/L/N. Y/N Y/L/N."

"Right, have a nice day Miss Y/L/N."

"Goodbye Nick!" Kate smiled warmly at Nick and waved at him before closing the door after Y/N walked out of the car and guided her into her parents’ building, "c’mon, this way."

"Wow, this building is huge and so classy." Y/N exclaimed as she stared all around herself in awe, trying to look at all the details the front of the amazingly looking building had to offer to her eyes, "oh wow, that’s great!"

Kate laughed softly under her breath when Y/N looked at John, her building’s doorman, opening the door for them, "hi John, I missed you." Kate chuckled some more as she tried to make Y/N move from her frozen spot beside John on the door’s threshold, as she stared at the tall, old man in complete awe. "C’mon Y/N, you’re scaring him."

"Hello Miss Bishop, I missed you too. It’s been far too long since we’ve seen each other." Kate laughed heartily at their usual internal joke as they joked about them missing each other and saying it passed a lot of time since they’ve last seen each other every afternoon after school when in fact they had seen each other that same morning. "I see you have company today."

"Yeah, she is Y/N, she is my classmate."

"Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Y/N." The Y/H/C girl shook the doorman’s hand gently after she finally pulled herself out of her stupid awed daze by softly shaking her head.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Y/N. I’m John." The two girls said goodbye to John and took the elevator to go up to the penthouse, Kate laughing in anticipation as she tried to imagine Y/N’s expression when she will see her house.

"What?" Y/N heard Kate stifle a small snort and looked at her in amusement with a small smile tugging the corners of her lips as her eyes shined happily under the elevator’s lights.

"Nothing." Kate snorted loudly this time as she collected her thoughts and tried to explain them to her friend? Classmate? "I was just thinking about your reactions on seeing my parents’ building’s front and having a doorman."

"Well I couldn’t help it, this building is beautiful and a doorman? Really? That’s so cool!"

"Well that’s not why I was laughing."

"Then why?" Y/N asked confused as she watched Kate snort again after her words, not clearly following her train of thoughts.

"Because I can’t wait to see your reaction when you will see my house."

"What? What possibly- oh my god!"

Kate chuckled under her breath when Y/N stopped herself mid-sentence as soon as the elevator’s doors opened and revealed Kate’s elegant and huge penthouse. "See? I told you. That’s why I was laughing, I imagined that would be your reaction." Kate pointed to Y/N shocked face and giggled some more, not understanding how she could be so comfortable with someone she only started talking to that morning.

"Well excuse me, but this house is huge and so beautiful, and- I- I’m speechless."

"I’m glad you like it." Kate smiled warmly at the still stunned Y/H/C girl as she took her coat off and hung it on the coat rack, "can I take your coat?"

"What? Oh yeah sure." Y/N had to blink a few times to get herself back on earth as her mind wrapped itself around Kate’s question, before taking off her coat and handing it to Kate with a grateful smile, "thank you." Y/N sent Kate another small, grateful grin but her Y/E/C eyes couldn’t help but sweep some more around to take the black haired girl’s beautiful house in.

"You’re welcome. Do you want something to drink before we start studying?"

"Just water please."

"So? How was it?!" Cassie appeared right beside Y/N as she placed her books for her school day in her locker, making the Y/H/C girl roll her eyes fondly at the girl’s eagerness.

"Hello to you too Cassie. Oh I’m good thanks! I spent a great weekend, how was yours?"

Cassie rolled her eyes at her best friend’s antics but before playing along, she decided to tease her some more, knowing Y/N was stalling to answer her question, "drama queen." Y/N stared at Cassie unamused and the girl finally relented, "okay, fine. Hi Y/N/N, how are you? Great! Okay now, how was it?" Cassie talked quickly to try to get Y/N to talk about her tutoring session with Kate on Friday, since she had been in San Francisco with her dad for a small vacation and she hadn’t time to call her.

"Eager are we?" Y/N teased Cassie some more to take some more time to answer to her question just for a bit of personal entertainment, she loved watching Cassie getting impatient on things she wanted to know, "how was your trip with your dad?"

"Yeah, yeah, it was cool. Now answer me!" Cassie urged Y/N on with slapping her repeatedly on her left shoulder, making her best friend laugh heartily at her for her need to know how was her tutoring session with Kate, something that amused the Y/E/C girl to no end.

"Okay fine, I don’t know why you want to know how it went. It was a normal tutoring session. We studied a few things from our literature class. Nothing much."

"That’s it? Ugh you are so boring Y/N/N." Cassie exclaimed, a bit disappointed in her best friend at knowing nothing much happened during her tutoring session with Kate Bishop.

"What? Why are you saying that?"

"Because you two just studied! That’s boring!"

"What were we supposed? Save the world?" Y/N asked sarcastically, snorting at her own joke and shook her head.

"Things."

"Wait- what do you think would’ve happened?!" Y/N asked with widened eyes as she looked at her best friend like she was crazy, not exactly understanding why Cassie was behaving like that, especially with that dangerous grin on her face and with her eyebrows wiggling mischievously.

"I don’t know! Maybe you two getting along, trying to get to know each other, becoming besties, stuff like that." Cassie listed with an exasperated tone, feeling the need to slap Y/N at how dense she was being in that moment.

"Cass, I love you but you watch too many movies. She is trying to not get kicked out of the team she clearly cares about. I’m just doing my job in helping her by tutoring her."

"Yeah, but you are tutoring one of the most popular girl in our school. Everyone talks about watching you two get into a car together." Cassie explained excitedly as she tried to make Y/N understand why she was so excited and eager to know about her tutoring session with Kate, she was starting to get popular by just being seen with the most popular girl in school.

"Like I said, you watch too many movies Cass." Y/N chuckled as she closed her locker and leaned on it with her right shoulder, Cassie mirroring her by laying on the locker next to Y/N’s one with her left shoulder and facing her best friend, "I am a nobody here. No one acknowledges us except when they ask us to help them with homework or during tests or when that douchebag pick on us. I am not getting popular like you're thinking. I’m just Kate’s tutor. That’s it."

"We don’t need any of them Y/N/N. We are going to Harvard while all these idiots are probably gonna stay here regretting being assholes that bullied us instead of studying and getting a life." Cassie spoke as she moved away from her locker, puffing out her chest and lifting her chin up in pride, before making Y/N move away from her locked too by pushing on her right shoulder leaned on the locker before circling her shoulders with her right arm and pulled her closer to side hug her.

"That’s why I love you, you know exactly what to say to calm my nerves down." Y/N smiled appreciatively at the blonde, who merely waved her off with a scoff, before widening her eyes in fake shock as she realized what Y/N just told her.

"Did I hear you right? Did you just say you love me?" Cassie had a million dollar smile on her face as she looked at Y/N with mirth swimming into her blue eyes, something that made Y/N roll her eyes feigning annoyance.

"Nope, I didn’t. You must’ve made that up." Cassie laughed heartily when Y/N tried to escape her best friend’s embrace but Cassie used her other arm to lock Y/N into her arms, her left side flushed on Cassie’s front, making the Y/H/C girl groan in frustration, "this is kidnapping. Please someone help-." Y/N pretended to ask for help from Cassie’s attack, closing her eyes as she pretended to suffer from the embrace Cassie trapped her in and making the blond laugh heartily at her in the process, but in their giddy state neither of them noticed the approaching figure until they came into their line of sight and made Y/N stop mid-sentence.

"Hm, hi?"

The two best friends stopped their childish banter right away at the small, shy voice coming from their left, Cassie releasing Y/N from her strong lock and let her go before both turned fully towards Kate, grinning softly at them, "hi Kate." Cassie was the one to speak first, sending the soccer player a genuine smile before side-eyeing Y/N that stayed quiet beside her and smirking inwardly when she found her staring at Kate with an awestruck glint in her Y/E/C irises as she tried to keep a poker face on. But Cassie had known her since they were little and she knew exactly when Y/N was trying to not gay panic in front of a pretty girl. Hm, this is very, very interesting. The blonde thought as she deftly hit Y/N’s left ribs without being seen or being too obvious she was trying to get her best friend back on earth from ‘Gay Planet’ and broadened her inward smirk when Y/N blinked a few times before finally finding her voice.

"Hi." Y/N tried and hoped the grin she sent to Kate wasn’t an awkward grimace, but a genuine smile as she felt an odd happiness swirl around her stomach at her presence, "how are you?"

"I’m good, thanks. How are you guys?" Kate asked with her smile widening a bit as she felt more and more comfortable with the two best friends each passing second, "I saw you two bicker from afar, is that what you two always do? Because I seem to always find you two doing that." Kate chuckled under her breath and as Y/N was still patting herself on her right shoulder for acting cool in front of Kate and asking a question to make casual conversation with her instead of just lamely saying ‘hi’ to her and keeping staring at her like an idiot - Cassie would have added ‘in love’ or would have used ‘like a lovesick puppy’ to express and describe how Y/N was staring up at Kate - her mood quickly crumbled into embarrassed shame as she cursed under her breath for looking like an idiot in front of Kate. She totally discarded the question ‘why are you concerned about Kate discovering your childish behavior with your best friend?’ her mind came up with, crumbled it and pushed it to the farthest end of her brain to not think about it anymore, hopefully.

"Oh we are good. And yeah, we do that all the time. It’s always the same script. Y/N feigning having a cold heart that isn’t capable of loving, while I try to make her admit she loves me. I always win."

"No you don’t."

"See? She’s heartless." Kate chuckled amusedly as she eyed the two best friends for a few seconds with mirth and some kind of nostalgic feeling swirling into the pit of her stomach before focusing on why she approached the two girls.

"I won’t take up any more of your bickering, even though I would love to witness you two do that all day, Y/N, I just needed to know if we can study today. I need to get as much studying done as I can before our match that will be in two weeks. Coach Miller just told me this morning that if I pass at least one of the two exams he asked Miss Payton and Mr Craig to let me take to start improving my grades, he will let me play."

"Yeah, of course. I would love to help you."

"Great! Thank you!" Kate thanked Y/N with a million dollar smile and restrained herself from hugging the girl since they had known each other for just a couple of days and weren’t exactly friends, "we can meet here at 3 p.m. and go to my house."

"Sounds good."

"Okay I need to go now or I’ll be late, I’ll see you in class later! Bye!"

"Bye Kate." Cassie yelled when the black haired girl waved at them hastily and run away to go to her first class, Y/N doing the same with a big smile on her lips.

"Bye Kate." Y/N watched the black haired girl turn the corner and sighed wistfully before adjusting her backpack on her shoulder, "what?" Y/N asked when turned her head around and found Cassie staring at her with a smug, knowing grin and her right eyebrow lifted up teasingly.

"Oh nothing, I was just watching you two interact."

"So what?"

Cassie smiled with mischief swirling into her blue eyes at Y/N urging her on with annoyance written all over her face at her beating around the bush to tease her, "what did you say right here on Friday? Oh yeah, now I remember, ‘I’m not interested in her’." Cassie did her best at imitating Y/N’s voice with a serious face before erupting in a loud laugh when the girl rolled her eyes at her annoying best friend.

"Very funny." Y/N pushed on Cassie’s shoulder when she kept laughing and urged them to walk towards their first class, "why don’t you become a comedian instead of an engineer?"

"Because then you would make my life a living hell for having you as the center of all my shows. No thank you." Cassie kept making fun of Y/N as she delighted on Y/N’s annoyed and unamused expression on her face, before schooling her expression and giving Y/N some mercy, "but anyway, on a serious note, I saw how you look at her."

"No don’t start."

"Why? Y/N/N you literally froze when she came up to us. If I didn’t hit you, you would still be there staring at her like a lovesick puppy."

"Okay, I like her eyes. It’s not a crime admiring someone’s eyes."

"How cute." Cassie commented sweetly, before focusing back on her thoughts, "but I would like to say you not only looked at her eyes, but I interrupted you before you could eye fuck her-OHW!"

Cassie caressed her sore shoulder right where Y/N had hit it and massaged it gently to try to subdue the pain, "remind me why I still hang out with you?"

"Because you love me and because I’m fucking awesome."

"Hm, these are really debatable statements." Y/N countered back nonchalantly as she shrugged her shoulders, making Cassie gasp in fake shock as she laid an hand on her chest.

"You bitch!" Cassie exclaimed with a fake shocked face, a small smile cracking her façade when she noticed the tiny grin adorning Y/N’s lips and hit her gently on her shoulder before smacking her bicep again when Y/N started chuckling under her breath. "Deny it all you want, I know you love me!" Cassie exclaimed as she entered the classroom and sat right behind Y/N before slapping the back of her shoulder again.

"Ohw! Stop hitting me!"

"Not until you admit you love me." Then Cassie pointed her statement by slapping repeatedly Y/N’s left shoulder with her hand and laughed heartedly when the girl shrieked cutely as she tried to shield herself away from Cassie’s attack, but to no avail due to the proximity of their chairs, "admit it."

"Okay fine, I love you."

"That’s better."

"No wait, you have to put 5 there."

"Ugh, I knew I got it wrong!" Kate exclaimed exasperated, leaning her head between her hands to calm down herself down.

"Hey no, you are doing great. Don’t put yourself down." Y/N lifted her hand up to try to comfort the black haired girl that slammed her head on the table and groaned in frustration but in the end retracted it and placed it back on her lap, deciding to try to comfort the girl with only her words since they had met just a week prior and they couldn’t even consider themselves friends. "You just need some practice like with sports and I can assure you, you will do great in the test. Trust me."

"But I can’t understand it."

"You are very close to understand it. I had troubles with this too." Y/N admitted, making Kate lift her head up to stare at her curiously.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I was angry at myself for not understanding some things, but then I just closed my books and opened them after taking a break. I almost slapped myself when I noticed it was very much simple." Y/N shrugged with a small smile on her lips as she recognized a lot of her emotions when she dealt with this math problem when she studied it in Kate’s frustration and anger as she now studied it.

"So you’re just suggesting to take a break?"

"Yeah, close that book and don’t think about it for a bit. Just relax and release all the stress. I can go if you want. We can continue this tomorrow." Y/N spoke with an insecure and shy tone as she bounced her eyes on and off everything around her in Kate’s fancy looking living room to avoid at all costs Kate’s mesmerizing blue irises staring at her gratefully, fearing she would make a fool out of herself if she got lost in them like she does every time she looked into those eyes.

"Are you kidding? Now it’s like a personal challenge! We can chill for a bit and then continue studying, if you don’t have to go home yet." Kate proposed as she closed her book and notebook.

"No, I can stay a bit more, it’s okay."

Kate smiled at Y/N’s words and nodded resolutely, happy she could spend some more time with the Y/H/C girl, "okay, then. Now tell me about yourself."

"What?" Y/N asked in mere panic as she widened her eyes and looked at Kate like she was crazy, she wasn’t prepared for that question asked out of nowhere.

"We know very few things about the other- well technically you know a lot more about me compared to me that I only know you are one of the best students in school. So since we have a bit of spare time, why don’t we use it with getting to know each other?"

"Oh, uhm, okay." Y/N nodded gingerly with a shy tone, feeling her stomach flipping over itself at the thought of the black haired girl wanting to get to know her.

"Only if it’s okay with you." Kate said with uncertainty and shyness swirling in her ocean blue eyes as she stared at Y/N softly, something that warmed Y/N’s heart to no end and instantly eased up her nerves.

"Yeah, of course. I’m just not really used to- y’know interact with people other than Cassie."

"Why? I mean you seem like a really cool person, you are one of the best students in our school, you are a great tutor and you are funny. I don’t get why you only hang out with Cassie." Kate delivered all those compliments to Y/N and meant them with all her heart, something that made Y/N almost pass out as she tried to calm herself down, and asked that question just out of pure curiosity since she couldn’t understand why Y/N was so socially awkward.

"Thank you. I just- I don’t know. People think that just because you have good grades and don’t do any sport you are automatically considered a geek that you have to avoid at all costs. Plus not being attractive like the head cheerleader and her minions makes you more avoidable." Y/N shrugged nonchalantly, speaking up her mind about something she had always discussed with Cassie but she shockingly wasn’t uncomfortable doing with Kate too. It was surprisingly comforting talking to the athlete about a few of her insecurities.

Meanwhile Kate couldn’t believe what was coming out of Y/N’s mouth. She knew Y/N and Cassie were, among a few other students in their high school, harassed by a few jocks and popular douchebags but she never had the occasion to witness those moments to stop them from happening and she sometimes hated herself for that. She hated when things like that happened. "What? Are you serious right now?" When Y/N stared at Kate like a deer in headlights, not knowing what she referred to, Kate sighed out dejectedly. She couldn’t believe Y/N was so used on bringing herself down and belittling herself so much and so easily, she needed to make her believe it was exactly the opposite of what she thought of herself, "okay, I don’t know if you need to hear it or not, but Y/N stop treating yourself like that. You are beautiful, inside and out. I’m so sorry you are going through all of this. No one should. Everyone needs to experience high school like a normal teenager and not avoiding making new friends because they pretend you don’t exist just because you are smarter than them or fearing crossing paths with jocks that are complete assholes because they would make fun of you. It’s bullshit."

"I wish that was all."

"What do you mean?" Kate asked alarmed as she sat straighter on her chair while looking at Y/N nervously, fearing her answer and hoping Y/N wasn’t going to confirm what she was thinking.

"We get slammed into lockers or pushed in the hallways all the time. We get called like ‘nerds’ or ‘teacher’s pet’."

"What?"

"It’s not that bad, we try to find entertainment in it. Like- last week Trevor called Cassie ‘dyke’ and when she told him to be more creative he slammed her again into the locker and stammered ‘pussy licker’. We gave him a 7 for trying."

When Kate noticed Y/N using a solemn tone and shrugged at the end of her sentence, her heart fell right into her stomach, "why are you saying this like you are okay with that?"

"Because I have to be. I can’t change things. It is what it is since our freshman year. I didn’t change their mind then, I can’t do that now in my sophomore year and I will not do that in my senior year. I- we just accepted it and we try to take the fun out of it."

"Y/N." Kate started with a worried tone, feeling bad for how poorly the two best friends had been treated since their freshman year. She met them just a week prior and know nearly nothing about them, but they seem really cool people to hang out with and these hierarchical positions and social constructs about jocks bullying people that has good grades and does not enjoy sports like they do really makes her blood boil.

"It’s okay Kate. You don’t have to feel bad. I try- we try to not to get it to our heads and we try to stay focused to get out of that hellhole of place." Y/N reassured Kate with a smile that Kate immediately saw through and noticed it didn’t reach her eyes, but she decided to not comment on it and moved their conversation onto something else, putting aside this topic for now.

"Shall we start again?" About 15 minutes later Kate jumped up from her chair and exulted loudly with a fist up in the air when she finally got the math problem she couldn’t understand not too long prior, before engulfing Y/N in an awkward hug since the Y/H/C girl was still seated in her chair but Y/N tried to reciprocate the gesture as she tried to will her body to stop melting from just an hug with the black haired girl.

"See? I told you you could do it!"

"I’m so fucking worried Y/N."

"Relax Kate, you are gonna do amazing. We studied a lot and you are now doing better in math. Take a deep breath, it will help you calm down." Y/N reassured the black haired girl as she grabbed her book for her third period from her locker before sending a reassuring and calming smile towards the worried, black haired girl that was wringing her hands nervously while staring into space into the hallway full of students.

"I am afraid that if I do that I will faint."

Y/N chuckled at Kate’s statement as she closed her locker with a shake of her head, before looking at Kate fully, "okay, let’s not do that. Hey." Y/N tried to get the black haired girl’s attention and the Y/H/C girl almost fainted when Kate’s ocean blue eyes met her Y/E/C irises right away, but the Y/H/C girl got a grip on herself and tried to reassure the athlete. "You are gonna do great. Trust me."

"Hm." Kate emitted in a strangled, not so convinced whimper while keeping wringing her fingers some more but never taking her eyes off Y/N’s ones.

"Okay, let’s think about a deal, so you will be more encouraged to pass your exam. Think about anything you want." Y/N suggested, hoping this would help the girl relax her nerves down and she succeeded when she noticed Kate’s eyes losing their worried glint as they filled with resolution. Kate thought about something for a few moments before grinning widely, a sign that told Y/N, the black haired girl found something for their deal.

"Okay, if I pass my math exam you will come to the game tomorrow night. If I don’t pass my exam you are authorized to hit me with your math book. Repeatedly."

"Hm, a very interesting offer." Y/N hummed in thought, speaking up right away, "deal." Y/N immediately accepted, making Kate believe she was doing so just because she wanted to hit Kate with her math book, when in fact she was sure she was gonna pass her math exam. Although she wasn’t completely sure about going to Kate’s game, it was the least she could do for her to make her feel better. "I can’t wait to create a Kate head-shaped dent on my math book, my Cassie one is feeling lonely. It will be amazing to show around."

"Shut up." Kate pushed on Y/N’s shoulder gently with a small smile adorning her lips as she watched - with butterflies flying around her stomach that she totally ignored - Y/N laugh heartily at her expression, before shaking her hand to seal their deal - and ignoring again her butterflies in her stomach at the softness of Y/N’s hand and at the spark that their touch created-.

"Ugh, I’m starving. Y/N hurry up or I will bite your leg to dwell my hunger."

"Let’s not re-enact our fight in fourth grade. I got stitches for two weeks. C’mon, let’s go before you eat my books." Y/N had the time to close her locker before she got slammed into it when a body collided on her back a second later, "what the-."

"I PASSED IT!" A familiar voice yelled in her right ear, making her almost going deaf, but as soon as she registered those words she couldn’t care less about anything else in the world as a shit eating grin appeared on her features and reciprocated Kate’s hug as she could, "I PASSED IT!"

"Kate! Oh my god! I’m so happy for you but please I’m becoming one with my locker." Y/N said in a muffled murmur due to her squished face on the uncertainly cleaned and extremely cold surface of her locker, making Kate realize she was almost hurting Y/N and released her a second later.

"Oh sorry." Kate admitted with a grimace and got off of Y/N right away, helping her pull away from her locker and smiling at her sheepishly before her grin broadened widely as she thought again about why she jumped on Y/N, "I passed my math exam."

"Yeah I heard you the first time you yelled it in my ear." Y/N admitted sarcastically as she waved at her right ear to mock Kate some more before smiling at her softly, "see? I told you!"

"Thank you. So so much." Kate looked at Y/N with gratitude, her chest filling up with happiness.

"Congratulations Kate and welcome back in our school’s team, they would have sucked tomorrow without you." Cassie spoke up to break the sudden tension that rose when the two girls grew quiet as they looked into each other’s eyes like the other put stars in the sky, inwardly freaking out for Y/N for maybe finding someone that really liked her for who she was, and smiled at the black haired girl softly.

"Thanks! You are coming tomorrow night too, right?"

"What?" Cassie asked confused as she looked at Kate quizzically, not understanding what she was asking.

"We had a deal this morning. If I pass my math exam, she will come to the game tomorrow night. And I did, so she has to come now. And you are coming too, right?"

"Oh yeah, absolutely!" Cassie nodded enthusiastically as she already planned a few questions to ask to Y/N about this interesting deal she made with Kate. "I can’t wait."

"Me too! I need to go, Coach Miller wants to see me. I’ll see you guys tomorrow."

"Bye Kate!" Cassie waved enthusiastically at the blue eyed girl before focusing quickly her attention as Y/N did the same.

"Bye Kate, I’ll see you tomorrow." Cassie swallowed the snort that was ready to come out when she watched Y/N staring lovingly at Kate as she walked away, the blonde ready to play Cupid if Y/N wasn’t going to make a move tomorrow night.

"Wow, it took you only one week to be completely whipped." Cassie mocked Y/N as she made whipping sounds, reveling in Y/N’s blush that immediately fell on her cheeks as she tried to cover it up with a roll of her eyes and pushing her towards the cafeteria.

"Let’s go jerk. No more talking or I’m making you starve to death today."

"Close your mouth, idiot. You’re drooling." Cassie taunted Y/N in a casual tone, never taking her eyes off their classmates running around the field to warm up before the game and smirked mischievously when Y/N choked on the small sip of water she was drinking from her bottle, before closing it and hitting Cassie with it. "Hey!"

"That’s what you deserve for being an ass! Stop making fun of me!"

"I’m sorry! But it’s just so funny, but also cute. You have a crush on Kate."

"I don’t have a crush on her." Y/N murmured while crossing her arms stubbornly, deep inside already knowing Cassie was right.

"If it makes you sleep at night." Cassie spoke with a knowing tone as she bumped her right shoulder on Y/N’s left one and smiled softly at her, "but seriously, you don’t need to deny it with me Y/N/N. It’s cute and honestly I’m happy she likes you too."

"Woah, woah, slow down. No one said anything about Kate liking me back."

Cassie smiled at Y/N unconsciously admitting she liked Kate, watching as she noticed it too and sighed out loud, not saying anything since it was pointless denying it now that she inadvertently admitted it to Cassie, "I can see it in the way she watches you, or from the smiles she reserves just for you. And let’s admit it, she invited you to watch her game. She only needs to dedicate a goal to you and she is literally pushing her vagina in your face."

"Cass!" Y/N chastised Cassie as she turned around to make sure no one was listening to them, sighing out in relief when everybody around them was fully focused on the field.

"What?!" Y/N blushed furiously under Cassie’s knowing look but shook her head at her best friend’s antics a few moments later as she pondered on what she just said. Does Kate really likes her back?

"Hey! You came!" In her pensive state she didn’t notice Kate approaching them from the field and shook her head to get rid of her troubled thoughts as she focused on the blue eyed girl now in her soccer uniform with her hair high up in a ponytail. Y/N thought about how she had never seen someone being that effortlessly beautiful in every way and almost slapped herself when she realized she was staring without saying something for a moment.

"Yeah, well, we couldn’t miss our Captain bringing our team to the win." Y/N admitted casually as she tried not to focus on Kate’s biceps standing out from under her uniform’s t-shirt’s sleeves as she leaned her forearms on the railing in front of her, focusing instead on the beautiful smile Kate sent her way at her words.

"I hope so. Just so y’know, if I score tonight it will be all for you. Because if I am here tonight it’s just thanks to you." Kate smiled softly at Y/N and the Y/H/C girl pretty much imploded right then and there, thanking God Kate got called by her teammate since the game was about to start, leaving her to combusting in her spot with a small blush adorning her cheeks. "I’ll see you guys later!"

Cassie waited a few seconds as she watched Kate running towards the field before commenting on what she just witnessed, "like I said, she is smashing her pussy in your face." Y/N’s blush deepened as she tried to calm her own core down and making it stop from pulsating at Cassie’s words, the blond having the decency to whisper it in her ear this time instead of yelling it, "I find it so cute."

Like promised Kate scored 3 goals that night and every time she pulled away from her teammates’ hug she met Y/N’s eyes and smiled widely at her before winking at her every single time, something that warmed Y/N’s heart among some other parts. "Congrats for the win Cap!"

"Thanks Cassie!" Kate thanked the blonde before focusing on Y/N, eager to hear what the girl had to say as she tried to calm her heart down from beating so fast - she knew it wasn’t from the exertion but from Y/N’s extreme beauty and her dangerous close proximity - hoping she was doing a good job in looking cool.

"I don’t know Cass, she is pretty bad at soccer. I mean she never scored and never even touched the ball at all tonight!" Y/N taunted Kate with a serious, disapproving tone, looking at Kate like she was scrutinizing her before a smile rolled on her lips when Kate laughed heartily at her joke.

"Yeah, I ask myself why ever playing soccer when I am always on the sidelines." Kate continued on with Y/N’s joke before shaking her head as they shared a laugh, "hey, hm- Kelly is throwing a party for our win at her house, are you guys in?"

Cassie smiled widely at Kate’s words and was ready to answer when Y/N spoke up with an uncertain tone before she could talk, "hm- I don’t-."

"We’re in!" Y/N turned to look at Cassie for just a moment before reveling in the small squeal Kate emitted at Cassie’s answer for their assured attendance at the party.

"Great! I need to shower first, then I’ll go there. Do you guys know how to go to Kelly’s house?"

"Hm, actually no. My dad drove us here." Cassie replied shyly as both girls scratched the back of their heads in embarrassment as they blushed furiously. They both didn’t know why they were acting so embarrassed all of a sudden, they were only 15 years old after all and since they had yet to be 16 years old they both haven’t yet had the chance to get their driver’s license. "I was just about to text him to come and get us. Okay nevermind, he is here!" Cassie placed her hand on her forehead when she noticed her father Scott waving at her from not too far from them with a baseball hat before watching him approach them with a bright smile on his lips.

"Hey girls! What a nice game! Oh hey, you are the Captain of the team! Hi big fan!" Kate chuckled in amusement at the man word vomiting his excitement on her, noticing how similar Cassie was to her father and her heart swelled at the cute duo hugging as Scott circled his arm around Cassie’s shoulders and side-hugged her.

"Always nice to meet a fan!" Kate nodded at the man with a wide smile and watched him do the same, looking like a kid in a candy store at her gesture.

"Dad can you take us to a party?"

"Oh yeah sure! But I’m afraid I can’t come get you back girls, I have an important meeting with the boys for an important possible investor and I won’t be available for a while."

"It’s no problem sir, I can take them back home. Actually you don’t have to drive them either, they can come with me."

"There’s no need Kate, we don’t want to bother you too much." Y/N tried to reason with Kate as she tried to calm her own heart down from beating so loudly, fearing Kate could hear it. To be honest she didn’t know when her crush for Kate started, but in hindsight she knew it would’ve been inevitable. The black haired beauty was funny and witty, but also a little bit goofy and clumsy, and let’s not forget smart. Even if she needed to tutor her for math and literature, Kate was extremely good in other scientific subjects, like biology and physics. She had really good grades except for literature and math but during their tutoring in this last month she proved to be an extremely fast learner. She was also so pure of heart and very kind, something that astonished Y/N just a bit, since she had always pictured Kate to be like every other athlete in their high school or to be like the athlete stereotype that you always watch in movies or tv shows. Dumb, full of herself, an heartbreaker and a total asshole. Kate was far from being that and as soon as Y/N realized it, she started crushing on her. She hated when Cassie was right.

"It’s no problem, truly!"

"Okay then, it’s my clue to leave- oh can we take a selfie? You are a great!" Cassie slapped her forehead with her hand at her father’s antics while Y/N and Kate chuckled heartily at his excitement and for being a total goofy in front of her daughter and not caring about that one bit. Y/N, Kate and Cassie, despite her embarrassment, could say he was truly excited about wanting to take a selfie with Kate.

"Sure! But on one condition." Kate smiled brightly before putting a serious face on, watching as Scott, after retrieving his phone from his pocket and opening the camera app, stopped in his tracks as he made his way towards Kate with his phone in his hands, looking a bit concerned, "you have to send it to Cassie so she can send it to me."

This put a million dollar smile on Scott’s face as he resumed its small walk towards Kate and took a few selfies with her. Meanwhile Y/N was dealing with trying to calm her heart down after bursting out at Kate’s eager and truthful words, fearing the black haired beauty could hear it from where she was standing a few feet from her, "she is a good catch. Don’t let her go away Y/N/N."

Cassie’s words whispered in her left ear struck Y/N hard, making her head spiral out of control as she kept watching Kate and Scott hug briefly after taking those selfies. She didn’t know why Cassie’s words hit her that hard, but they did. She already admitted to herself she was crushing on Kate, but actually acting on that said crush? It never even occurred to her Kate could ever like her back. She was way out of her league. But with Cassie’s comments pointing out a few actions Kate did that same night and her genuine behavior was instilling a small seed in her mind that was sprouting fast and she felt she couldn’t control it. The question that she couldn’t seem to answer was: was she really ready to make the first move? And as that question echoed around her head, another one made its presence know in her mind: if Kate liked her back, would she ever make a move or just ignore it since they were worlds apart?

"Y/N?"

"Hm?" Y/N got pulled out of her mind by the center of her thoughts, making her blink a few times and shake her head to come back on earth.

"I said, is it okay if you wait for just 15 minutes? I need to shower then we’re ready to go."

"Of course, go on. We’ll wait on the bleachers."

The three girls got their separate ways after saying goodbye to Scott, the two best friends walking towards the bleachers while Kate run towards the locker room to go have a shower and change as quickly as she can to go to the party with Y/N and Cassie. "So? Are you gonna do your move tonight?"

"I don’t know Cass. I’m too awkward with these things. And we still don’t know if she likes me back. No-." Y/N lifted a hand up to stop Cassie from talking when she opened her mouth to interject, "we can’t be sure with just a few things like ‘she dedicated each goals to me’ or like ‘she looks at you like you put the stars in the sky’. Remember that I still have to tutor her for the rest of the semester and I can’t ruin things by making them awkward with me declaring my crush for her, especially if I don’t know if she feels the same. I don’t want to be rejected."

"I know Y/N/N, I would never allow anyone to hurt you. You know that. But I wouldn’t push you to make a move if I wasn’t sure she liked you back. I would also never push you to do anything, I am just suggesting it."

"Why are you so sure, though? Did you hear Kate talk about me or something?" Y/N asked with a sarcastic scoff as she rolled her eyes good-naturedly, before moving them towards her best friend when she didn’t answer to her question right away and found her avoiding her gaze at all costs by flipping her blue irises from one place to another while she biting on her bottom lip nervously and wringing her fingers slightly in embarrassment. "Cass? You didn’t hear Kate talk about me, did you?"

"No! Of course not!" Y/N sighed out loud at Cassie’s quick answer, but she instantly chocked on her saliva on what Cassie added right after, "I just heard about a few girls gossiping in the bathroom about Kate rejecting a girl at a party a week ago."

"What? Really?" Y/N asked flabbergasted as she widened her eyes comically. It wasn’t a secret that Kate liked to have some fun with their school’s girl and with girl’s not from their school. She had dated a few of them but she mostly liked to hook up with them or just have some fun with kissing them at parties. So it was really uncommon hearing about Kate turning a girl down. It only happened when she was in a relationship and since everyone knew about her being in a relationship, the girls would stop throwing themselves at her to respect her relationship - even if they did throw themselves at her, Kate would’ve have never cheated on her girlfriend, she wasn’t like that. She, in fact, hated people like that. She turned down a lot of girls that were in a relationship and tried to hook up with her. It wasn’t a good behavior. - . "Wait, are you sure she isn’t dating someone and she just said no to that girl?" Y/N reasoned with Cassie, as much as this new piece of information made her heart beat fast in her ribcage, almost as if it was ready to come out of her chest, she needed to be realistic and not let herself hope for Kate to like her back when there wasn’t hope for Kate to like her back at all.

"Yup. When that girl laughed at her, stating, and I quote-." Cassie lifted her arms up to make quotation marks with her pointer and middle fingers of both hands, curling and uncurling them repeatedly in the air, "‘stop being so funny. You are not really rejecting me.’" Y/N snorted at Cassie using an high-pitched voice to imitate the girl’s voice, but let her continue, "Kate stated that she was in fact serious and when the girl tried to reason with her, she asked if she was in a relationship and she said no before leaving her there." Y/N sighed out loudly at her best friend’s story, not wanting to get her hopes up again, she didn’t want her heart to break if Kate didn’t like her back.

"It doesn’t mean anything Cass. Especially it doesn’t mean she likes me."

"Well okay, it may not mean she likes you, but it could." Cassie reasoned with Y/N as she caressed her shoulder softly, watching the troubled expression on Y/N’s face. She knew it was starting to become difficult for Y/N to be around Kate, especially because she didn’t want to make a move to avoid ruining their friendship. She was going through the same thing with her own crush and Y/N was doing the exact same thing Cassie was doing with Y/N right now, pushing her to make a move but she was too much of a coward to do just that. So they were both suffering in silence as they stared longingly from a distance theirs crushes. Two idiots in love.

Y/N was ready to open her mouth and counter back when Kate got into vision right as she sauntered towards them, making Y/N’s mouth instantly dry up as she took in Kate dressed in tight, black, ripped jeans, an old, white Rolling Stones t-shirt, a black leather jacket, her hair flowing down her shoulder in perfect waves and light makeup to highlight enough her ocean blue eyes. "Oh shit."

"Close your mouth Y/N/N or you will catch flies." Cassie mocked Y/N in a sing-song tone, taking a look at Kate herself and she had to admit the black haired girl was looking really good, before watching Y/N stare and ogle at Kate in awe with her mouth slightly parted. Y/N instantly shook her head to look at least slightly smart instead of an idiot and tried to look cool, disinterested and uncaring as Kate walked the last few steps towards them.

"Hey girls, ready to go?"

The party was already going when they arrived after about an hour, teenagers dancing all over the living room, an improvised and really heated beer pong match going in the kitchen, loud music blasting from every speaker present in Kelly’s house and just everyone having a good time drinking with friends. Kate, as Y/N expected, got pulled away from the two best friends almost immediately, her teammates making a toast to their win in the living room as everyone else circled around them and cheered them on. What surprised Y/N was that Cassie got pulled away from her not too much later from none other than her crush Ava, that asked if she wanted to be her partner for a new beer pong match. Cassie immediately looked at Y/N for help with widened eyes and was ready to decline Ava’s request, but Y/N immediately pushed her towards her with a smile, "go have fun and please do not come back here if you lose. I don’t wanna be friends with a loser." Y/N joked, eliciting a fond roll of her eyes from Cassie, before smirking when a second later a fire got ignited into Cassie’s blue eyes. Cassie, ever the competitive, nodded and walked away and that was how Y/N found herself leaning on a wall in a far end of the living room observing her ‘friends’ drinking, dancing and having an overall good time. Y/N’s Y/E/C irises fell on Kate’s happy face as she danced care-freely with her friends and instantly mirrored her million dollar smile as she laughed at something her friend must have told her and couldn’t stop the butterflies in her stomach to fly around like crazy at the view. She lost sight of Kate after a few minutes when a new EDM song made the whole crowd erupt in loud whistles before everyone joined the dance floor to dance to the EDM song, so she sighed loudly and grabbed her phone to scroll mindlessly on her Instagram feed to kill time now that she couldn’t ogle Kate from afar. After about 3 minutes she almost threw her iPhone up in the air when she jumped up in fright at the voice that whispered into her ear.

"Not a party fan, hm?"

"Holy sh- Kate! You scared me!"

"Sorry!" Kate chuckled under her breath at the girl’s reaction before smiling softly down at her, "so, not a party fan?"

"Not really. To be completely honest it’s my first time being here. I’ve never been invited to these parties. Not that I would’ve showed up if they really and actually invited me."

"But you came here tonight after I invited you." Kate pointed out with the cutest furrow of eyebrows Y/N had ever seen and for a moment she contemplated her answer. She could find a witty remark or a joke to pull but as she got lost into those ocean blue eyes for a few seconds, she made up her mind and in the end decided to be honest with the black haired beauty. She had been a bit straight forward tonight, if she was really trying to show Y/N she actually was into her. So as soon as Cassie’s words echoed around her mind, she decided to answer to the blue eyed girl as earnestly as she ever was.

"Because you asked me to come Kate."

"Really?" Kate asked like she couldn’t believe what she just heard and widened her eyes just bit as she leaned her head back a slight bit, as if she wanted to take a better look at Y/N to be sure she heard her right.

"Yeah, to be honest I would be in my room watching a movie or a tv show right now if it wasn’t for you." Y/N answered honestly, shrugging her shoulders softly with a small smile on her lips, something that Kate found extremely cute to witness as a small smile appearing on her lips.

"Well-." Kate started to say but got stopped right after by someone yelling right beside her and making both girls jump up in fright. "Do you wanna go to a quieter place upstairs?"

"Hm-." Y/N hesitated a few moments and swept her eyes all over the living room from her position at the far end on the left side of the room, leaned on her side with her left shoulder, before focusing her eyes back on Kate as she leaned on the door’s frame, situated on Y/N’s left, with her right shoulder, making them almost face each other, and almost forgot how to talk when she met her ocean blue eyes with their dangerous proximity.

Watching Y/N’s hesitation at her question, Kate was quick to add something that she was sure would ease the Y/E/C girl’s nerves, "I swear if someone else will scream in my ear, I will punch them as a reflex."

Kate’s joke immediately put a smile on Y/N’s lips before a small laugh left her mouth, immediately calming her nerves down. "We definitely don’t need that to happen." Y/N giggled some more and she swiftly lifted one hand up to cover up her mouth embarrassed at the sound, overwhelming Kate with urge to grasp the girl’s wrist and push her hand down to admire Y/N’s smile, but she stayed frozen in her spot as her mind turned into mush at the muffled but adorable sounds coming out of Y/N’s mouth.

"Why not? It could be fun."

"It would be, yeah. But then it would most likely transform in a fight and I don’t want to patch you up after." Y/N joked giddily before chocking on her snort when Kate rolled her eyes at her and grabbed her hand right after - a bold move that was totally impulsive but Kate patted herself on the shoulder for that -, pulling her up the stairs to one of the guest rooms, knowing this house like the back of her hand.

"Just so y’know I’m a black belt. I would knock anyone out twice my weight and height in probably 5 second- nope wrong room." Kate grimaced when she opened one of the guest room’s door and found a couple making out without shirts on the bed, the Y/H/C girl wearing the same grimace as Kate at the sight they stumbled into, slammed the door shut quickly and pulled Y/N towards the next one. Both sighed out of relief when they found it empty. Kate walked over the bed and sat down gently before patting the mattress softly to signal Y/N to do the same. Y/N stared at Kate’s hand on the comforter for a few seconds before switching her eyes on the couch not too far from her, debating in her mind if she should sit as far away as she could from Kate so she could act like a normal human being, or if she could just listen to her heart and sit beside Kate even if it meant probably acting like a fool in front of her crush. In the end, after staring into the black haired girl’s intoxicating ocean blue eyes and finding hope and anticipation in them, she decided she could not face the disappointment and hurt she would put into those amazing blue irises if she decided to sit far away from Kate on the couch and walked towards her to sit beside her. The smile Kate gave and the happiness clear in her eyes made her brain short-circuit immediately.

"So you’re a black belt, hm?"

"Yes, I earned my black belt when I was 12."

"Wait, are you serious?" Y/N asked incredulous at Kate’s answer, a mix of pride and shock filling her chest, "you were 12 years old when you got your black belt?"

"Yup! And I’m proud of it!"

"I’m sure of it. I mean, you were only 12! Jeez, remind me to not get in an argument that leads into a fight with you." Y/N stated with widened eyes, eliciting an adorable laugh from the girl as she shook her head amusedly.

"You better!" Kate joked with a warning tone, pointing a finger towards Y/N with serious eyes, before letting her façade down and giggling softly when the girl lifted her arms up and put a frightened look on her features. "No but seriously, I would never hit you even if we were in a fight. Not only because you can use those skills only when it’s strictly necessary, but also because it’s you. I would never hit you, not even unconsciously."

The butterflies in Y/N’s stomach exploded at that admission and the girl had to stop herself from kissing Kate right then and there as a sudden urge overtook her. She just lifted her eyebrow up menacingly and pointed at Kate in warning, "hm, you better Bishop. I will fight back, just so you know."

Kate giggled gently under her breath and shook her head softly at the girl’s goofiness before changing topic of their conversation and starting talking about her game as Y/N was genuinely interested in her thoughts about it. They then moved on light topics, talking about everything and anything at the same time, hobbies, favorite tv show, favorite book, and before they realized it 2 hours passed by with them talking. Y/N noticed it was nearing midnight only when a yawn made herself stop talking mid-sentence and forced herself to move her eyes away from Kate’s ocean blue ones to grab her iPhone from her pocket and look at the time, widening her eyes comically when she read it was 12:07 A.M. and it made Kate chuckle softly under her breath, "what?"

"Holy shit, it’s 12:07 A.M.!"

"Wow, time flies by when I’m with you. It’s amazing." Kate stated and let her million dollar smile unfold on her lips like she just didn’t drop a bomb on Y/N that made her heart beat so fast she was sure the black haired girl could hear it from beside her, staring intently into Y/N’s eyes and making Y/N literally melt under her gaze as she got lost into those big ocean blue eyes she had loved since the first time she looked into them.

"Yeah." Y/N nodded in agreement as she smiled back at Kate, "luckily I told my parents I am going to spend the night at Cassie’s after the party or they would’ve grounded me for a month for being this late."

"My mom and my dad are out of town, so I’m covered. Besides, they know about these parties and they let me crush at my teammates’ house when it gets too late." Kate admitted with a shrug and shivered wildly when she turned her head towards Y/N and noticed how close their faces were, her body getting invaded by the urge to kiss her by the second.

"That’s so cool. My parents are not that strict but they would get worried. Well now that I think about it, they would probably throw a party to celebrate me acting like a real teen and going to parties and staying there late for once." Y/N joked but Kate could see behind her eyes a melancholic glint that made Kate’s heart clench, filling her up with the urge to hug her as hard as she could, not to mention making the need to kiss her grow copiously.

"Is it really your first party?" When Y/N nodded Kate sighed out loudly, "oh Y/N/N, I’m sorry. I should’ve invited you sooner."

"Kate it’s not your fault. I’m used to being the lone kid. The looser that no one wants around. The annoying student that everyone avoids and consider ugly. It had been like this since middle school and it never changed. Honestly it got worse. At least I wasn’t bullied then like I am now." Y/N discarded the butterflies that erupted in her stomach at Kate calling her with her nickname and smiled sadly up at her instead when a frown settled on Kate’s - in Y/N’s opinion - flawless features.

Kate felt sadness invade her whole body as she heard Y/N belittle herself that much as anger boiled under her skin and run fast in her blood, invading her whole body in a second, as she heard again about Y/N being bullied in their school. "Stop Y/N/N please. I can’t let you talk about yourself like that. You’re not a lone kid, or annoying or ugly. You are so beautiful, smart and funny. Anyone would be lucky to call you their friend, their girlfriend. I would feel the luckiest girl on earth to call you mine. You are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid my eyes on. Don’t ever believe otherwise." Kate decided to wear the heart on her sleeve and offer it to Y/N in hope she would at least feel the same about her and she almost fainted when she noticed Y/N’s eyes fall on her lips, both feeling their heads gravitate towards one another, so close their breaths mingled together and their noses almost brushed together, all the while never breaking their staring on each other’s lips. Kate was sure a small whine left her throat at the hungry look Y/N had in her eyes when she licked her own lips greedily, making Y/N mirror her while they both moved closer slowly.

"Kate I-."

"Shh, don’t talk." Kate interrupted Y/N as she got closer and closer, happy to know Y/N did the same, both their hearts beating fast into their ribcages while their stomaches flipped over themselves. Kate’s eyes fell on Y/N’s lips for one last time before she closed that small gap that was between them, butterflies erupting in both their stomaches in anticipation but before they could feel the other’s lips on their own, they jumped apart in fright when the door opened quickly and a couple of drunk teens entered the room.

"Oh sorry!" The girl apologized before giggling when the boy behind her kissed her neck hungrily and hugged her from behind to pull her into his body.

"No don’t worry, we were leaving anyway." Y/N stated as she sat up quickly and pretty much run out of the room while Kate found herself sat still with her eyes open wide and her heart beating fast in her chest before sitting up fast and running after Y/N a few seconds later when she realized the girl wasn’t sitting beside her anymore.

"Y/N wait!" But it was too late. Y/N as soon as she run down the stairs and found herself in the living room, found Cassie, apologized to Ava and pulled her out of the house, making them walk a few blocks away to prevent Kate to find them as they waited for Cassie’s father to pick them up. Kate sighed out loud sadly when she exited the house and the girls were nowhere to be found, then returned to her teammate’s house, grabbed her things and left the party dejected.

"Y/N, you had been avoiding this conversation since Friday night. Can you tell me what the hell happened between you and Kate? We run so fast out of that house. I thought you were having a good time spending time with Kate."

"I’m sorry for pulling you away from the party but I had to get away."

"You had been saying this since Friday night. You didn’t make me kiss Ava goodbye. You owe me an explanation." Cassie countered back with an hard expression on her face as her eyebrows furrowed together and her lips curled in annoyance at Y/N’s elusive behavior, but her features instantly softened when she watched Y/N sigh out loudly.

"I’m sorry for ruining your night with Ava. Congratulations for finally asking her out by the way. I just-." Y/N got interrupted when Trevor bumped her shoulder hard with his own purposefully and made her slam her back on the lockers behind them while his friend Brad laughed his ass off.

"Look where you are going idiot." Trevor yelled at her before resuming his walk, but Y/N wasn’t having it that day, she was still mad at herself for running away from Kate and ignoring her texts and calls and having to deal with Trevor wasn’t in her plans that day, not like finding Kate and apologize to her and hopefully kissing her this time was.

"I wasn’t walking, you jerk. You should use that last brain cell that you have left to at least try to walk straight and not bump into things or people, but I know it may be a very difficult task." Y/N bit back with anger as she eyed Trevor with fury burning behind her Y/E/C eyes, noticing as a small crowd already formed around them and it made her roll her eyes at this childish behavior. Meanwhile Cassie stared at Y/N with wide eyes like she just went mad, but didn’t open her mouth, too much shocked to talk.

"What did you just call me?"

"Oh I’m sorry, you are too stupid to know that word? Do you want me to spell it?" The few people around them laughed at her joke and she did it too inwardly as Trevor looked at her dumbfounded, Cassie still starting at her in shock. She never went against Trevor that way, she just leaned her head down and walked away. But not that day.

"Okay, that’s it. I’m gonna fucking beat you up Y/L/N." He stated as he charged towards Y/N but she wasn’t scared at all, she deserved a good beating up for her shitty behavior with Kate Friday night.

"Oh, wow! You know how to put more than 3 words in a phrase. I’m impressed!" Y/N got slammed on the lockers as Trevor finally got to her and was now towering over her with his fist lifted up, ready to hit her face, when he got suddenly hit in his side and fell down on the floor.

"Don’t fucking touch her, Trevor." Y/N lifted her eyes from the boy on the floor when she heard a familiar voice and her heartbeat instantly increased.

"Bishop, stay out of this."

"I don’t think so. Hitting girls? Really Trevor?"

"Okay, since you so adamantly want to protect her, I’ll beat you up t-." But Trevor didn’t finish his sentence, he got stopped mid-way while he lifted his fist again to hit Kate this time by Kate grabbing his wrist, pushing his body forward and punched him right on his nose.

"I hope this will be enough to teach you to stay away Y/N and Cassie. You and those idiots you call friends."

"WHAT IS HAPPENING THERE?!" All the students started to clear their way as a teacher’s voice sounded throughout the other end of the hallway, but Y/N stood still as she watched Kate stare at Trevor, now laying again on the floor with blood running down his nose, with an angry - and completely hot, in Y/N’s opinion - look in her beautiful ocean blue irises and her face scrunched up in wrath.

"Kate- fuck! Let’s go or Coach Miller will kick us out of the team." Kelly pulled Kate towards her and rushed them away from Trevor, but Y/N couldn’t find herself the force to move as she stood frozen beside Trevor.

"Y/N/N let’s go!" Cassie screamed as she run away from the teacher approaching but it was too late. She was glad that Cassie got away before the teacher could reach them so she couldn’t get in trouble, but she felt anger at herself for not doing the same as soon as the teacher took herself and Trevor to the principal’s office.

"Hey, I had been looking for you for the entire day. Are you okay?" Kate tried to regain her normal breath after running around the entire school to find Y/N, finally finding her in Miss Locke’s office in the school gym as she cleaned her trophies during lunch break. She furrowed her eyebrows together when Y/N didn’t even move her eyes from the trophy she was cleaning and ignored her. "Y/N/N, what’s wrong?"

Kate watched as Y/N sighed out loudly and slammed a little bit forcefully on the shelf the trophy before turning to look at Kate with slightly puffy eyes and anger burning behind them, "what’s wrong?! I got fucking detention for two months! Yeah I told Trevor he was an idiot and a jerk but I never hit him and I got punished for it."

"It’s okay, I will go to the principal and I will tell h-."

"You don’t understand Kate! I’m not rich like you! I can’t afford going to a good college without a fucking scholarship. Do you know if any student ever got a scholarship after getting detention for hitting someone? I’ll answer for you, no! Do you know how much it costed me to be the teachers’ pet for 3 years and getting hated or laughed at from my classmates for it? Or how much it costed me to never miss school even when I was feeling shitty? Just to keep that fucking scholarship? It costed me a lot. It costed me everything, Kate. And now it’s all ruined. I doubt Harvard will accept me after this. So if you will excuse me, I need to clean all of this as a part of my detention. I probably will practice for a future job. Now, leave me alone. As soon as I am finished here I will tell Miss Peyton to ask for someone else to tutor you. We’re done."

Kate wanted to counter back and tell Y/N she will fix this but a small look into Y/N’s hurt eyes and she slammed her mouth shut. She screw up big time. She needed to fix this. Y/N and her were not done. She was going to be pretty fucking sure of that.

"I’ll call you later Cass. I need to go to the library to sort out and put away books for my detention."

"I can’t believe Kate tried to kiss you Friday night and then does this to you. Yeah okay, she saved you from that punch, but she got away while you got detention. It’s not fair." Cassie grunted in anger as she stopped at the school’s exit and turned around to look at Y/N angrily.

"It’s okay. It is what it is." Y/N shrugged and hugged Cassie hard, "now go have your date. I want to know everything when you get home." Y/N winked at Cassie, who blushed hard at her best friend’s words before she nodded gently, then walking towards Ava waiting outside, in the school’s parking lot. Ava waved at Y/N, who waved back before the two of them walked hand in hand towards the street and out of the school’s parking lot. Y/N turned around and sighed contentedly that the school was completely empty so she could finish her detention for the day without being disturbed from others.

"You should be home by now."

Y/N jumped up in fright when after 10 minutes of sorting books out, a familiar voice echoed around the room, very close to her.

"Kate shit! You scared me!" Y/N turned to her left and found Kate leaning with her arms crossed on a bookshelf not too far from her, who chuckled under her breath for Y/N jumping up adorably in fright.

"Sorry."

"What are you doing here? If I remember correctly, I told you to leave me alone this morning."

"Right, but I didn’t listen to you." Kate lifted herself off from the wooden bookshelf and walked towards Y/N, stopping very closer to her, hoping to grab her attention, but the girl didn’t look up at her as still sorted books out to put away on their shelves, "can you please stop?" Kate asked quietly as she grabbed the book Y/N had in her hands, this time succeeding on grabbing Y/N’s attention.

"No, I still need to sort all these books out and I want to be home around 6 p.m. to do my homework." Y/N snatched the book from Kate’s hand and put it on the table beside her on its stack she created before sighing out in frustration when Kate stopped her from grabbing another book by leaning her hand over hers. She chastised herself for feeling her stomach do somersaults at the touch for leaning into the touch for a few seconds but then she regained her resolution and pulled her hand away from under Kate’s one letting out another breath of frustration.

"You don’t have to do it."

"Yeah, I’m sure I will totally get away if I don’t do my detention duties." Y/N scoffed in a sarcastic tone before walking away from Kate to try to finish her work without Kate disturbing her, but the black haired girl stopped her by grabbing her arm and pulling her back in front of her.

"You don’t have to do it because you don’t have detention anymore. I do."

"What?"

"I tried to talk to the principal to tell him it was me that hit Trevor but he didn’t believe me. I honestly don’t know why since you never did something like that. So that made me think and I realized that that ass dragged you down with him, so I went searching for Trevor, took him to the principal with me and got him to confess everything. You don’t have detention anymore and since you didn’t anything wrong. This won’t compromise your scholarship to Harvard."

"I-I." Y/N was astounded to say the least as she wrapped her head around what Kate just did for her, staring at her dumbfounded as Kate stared at Y/N with a sweet smile, "wow. Thank you."

"Don’t mention it." Kate winked at her and looked down at her wringing hands, her nerves getting the best of her after everything that happened between them.

"Wait, you didn’t get kicked out of the team, did you?"

"I almost got kicked out for good but after I explained why I did what I did, Coach Miller understood, he is a romantic after all. One week out of the team. I will workout alone again in the meantime." Kate explained as she looked back up at Y/N and smiled at her sweetly, shrugging her shoulders like it was no big deal for her.

"What does it mean he is a romantic?" Y/N asked in a strained voice, not thinking clearly as she tried to understand everything what Kate was telling her, her heartbeat increasing wildly and the butterflies going crazy in her stomach. She can’t possibly mean what she is implying, right? Y/N asked herself as she watched Kate take a step forward towards her, her eyes wide and her body stiff.

"Because I couldn’t let Trevor hit the girl I like."

"Yea-wait, what?" Y/N asked when she realized what Kate actually said and turned her head around, pulling her eyes away from the books in front of her to stare into those intoxicating ocean blue eyes that held so much affection and tenderness that she almost felt overwhelmed by them. "Y-you l-like m-me?"

"Yeah Y/N/N. I thought trying to kiss you Friday night was pretty obvious. And I almost lost all my hopes when you run away."

"I’m sorry." Y/N looked down at her feet when she couldn’t look into Kate’s ocean blue eyes anymore, too much guilt and anger at herself rising in the pitch of her stomach to keep looking into Kate’s eyes without starting crying and apologizing to Kate over and over again and falling on her knees to ask her- to beg her to forgive her and her shitty behavior towards her.

"Don’t apologize Y/N/N. I admit I was a little bit sad and heartbroken when you run away, but then I thought about that moment over and over the entire weekend. I watched you lean over to me too and I’m pretty sure that if we hadn’t been interrupted by that drunk couple, we would’ve kissed. I’m sure of that."

"I- I was scared." Y/N admitted in a stutter, her eyes dancing between the books, her pointer finger skidding over a book cover and Kate’s eyes, still not finding enough courage to stare into them for longer than a few seconds, not after Kate’s admission that almost melted her onto the ground.

"Why were you scared Y/N/N?" Kate asked as she walked even more closer to Y/N by taking a step forward and closing some more the small gap between them, making Y/N’s body set aflame in anticipation as it buzzed from the close proximity with Kate’s body.

"I was scared that you weren’t really into me like I am into you. I like you a lot and since I’ve only had one small and really brief relationship, I’m not good at reading signs. Cassie assured me that you were trying to show me you liked me, like inviting me at your game and dedicating your goals to me. She even said something inappropriate that I will not repeat- actually I don’t even know why I told you that. It was better if you didn’t know what she said. Maybe I should stop talking, yeah-."

"Y/N/N." Kate chuckled cutely at Y/N’s adorable ramblings and placed her hands on her shoulders and shook her gently to try to ground her and help her get back to earth, to regain some needed breath from talking too fast. "Fuck, I would’ve loved to stop your cute ramblings with a kiss like you see in movies, but I want your consent on me kissing you first." Kate admitted as she chewed on her bottom lip softly, staring intently onto Y/N’s lips a few seconds before focusing her gaze back on Y/N’s Y/E/C irises and speaking up again, "we will discuss about Cassie’s inappropriate comment later, because now I definitely want to know. But- just clarify any misunderstanding, I like you. A lot. And I’ve been crushing on you for a week now. I pretty much started crushing on you when I bumped into you the first day about over two weeks ago. You are so amazingly perfect Y/N/N. How could I not like you? I admit at first I didn’t know if it was better asking you out right away or sending you a few signs that I liked you, but I was scared too, about maybe sounding too forward and scaring you off, so I decided to send you a few signs. I wasn’t exactly planning on kissing you that night but there was a magnetic pull, an electric force that pulled us closer and closer. And I know you felt that force too. Just like right now. I feel like we are two magnets that attract each other."

"I feel this magnetic pull too." Y/N admitted shyly as she smiled gently at Kate, who brushed a strand of hair that fell in front of her left eye behind her ear before settling the palm of her right hand on Y/N’s left cheek and started caressing her skin softly, making Y/N melt under her gesture and lean into her hand, "hm, this is nice."

"Yeah. But do you know what would be nicer?"

"W-what?" Y/N asked in an embarrassing stutter, chastising herself for being so awkward in this moment when Kate is clearly asking something both had been dreaming about a lot during this past week.

"Us kissing."

"Oh." Y/N let out in a whisper, her head spinning out of control but she tried to look cool on the outside. Is she going to make the first move? I hope so because I’m totally freaking out right now. Say something that will make her believe you want this too, you idiot! "Cool."

As Y/N slapped her forehead inwardly at her awkwardness, Kate chuckled cutely at her and took one last step forward, their bodies almost flushed as she brushed their noses sweetly together while her left hand joined the right one and settled on Y/N’s right cheek, now both caressing Y/N’s face softly. "Can I kiss you?"

Y/N simply nodded at Kate’s question, not trusting herself on forming coherent words, not with the black haired girl standing so close to her, so with a small chuckle Kate leaned closer and closed the very small gap between them to join their lips together in a slow, delicate and sweet kiss. Their lips danced together in a beautiful dance, savoring the other’s taste and getting immediately addicted to it, their stomaches flipping over themselves as goosebumps formed on their skin at the meaningful and earth-shattering kiss and their bodies burning from all the passion the stacked inside this past week. "Wow."

"I couldn’t have said it better." Kate admitted with a sweet, but brighter-than-the-sun smile, as she caressed their noses together some more while breathing Y/N’s jasmine and lavender perfume in for a few moments before laying a soft peck on her plump and soft lips, whose were quickly becoming addicting to Kate.

"It wasn’t bad, was it? It has been a while since I kissed someone." Y/N admitted with insecurity clear in her eyes, but Kate didn’t answer her, she just kept staring at her with a dumb grin on her kiss-swollen lips, "it was probably bad. You don’t need to lie to me saying it was good, don-."

Kate shut Y/N up with a languid kiss, keeping it chaste but hard enough to make their heads spin out of control, pushing more and more into Y/N’s mouth as need to be as close as possible to Y/N invaded her body, "I didn’t know how to shut you up and make you believe you are a good kisser, so I kissed you again."

"O-okay." Y/N smiled shyly at the black haired girl and closed her eyes when Kate leaned over and pecked her lips once again, "and for the record, you are an amazing kisser."

"Thank you." Kate replied with a wide grin and skidded her hands down Y/N’s body gently, before settling on her waist and sneaking her arms on her back to hugged her closer, causing their noses to brush together as their lips hovered over teasingly, while Y/N’s arms linked behind her neck, "can I kiss you again?"

Y/N smiled at Kate’s charming side and bit down on her bottom lip in thought, deciding to tease Kate a little bit now that she gained some of her brain functions back, "don’t you have detention today? You shouldn’t waste too much time, I head that detention duties are tough."

Kate chuckled at Y/N’s joke, liking Y/N’s funny and witty teasing side, "you’re right. I shouldn’t waste too much time. But one more kiss one hurt."

"I guess it will give you the motivation to finish as soon as you can, so maybe we can kiss again." Y/N murmured on Kate’s lips, humming right after finishing speaking as she felt Kate’s soft lips pushing more on her own and then did the first move and pecked her lips sweetly, pulling away a few seconds later with a loud, playful smack.

"Hm, I guess one more it will help." Kate hummed and leaned their lips back together, hugging Y/N impossibly closer as she flushed their bodies together, and setting them aflame with a powerful kiss that made them both dizzy and reduced them into a puddle of mushy feelings into the other’s hands.

"Did it help?" Y/N murmured on Kate’s plump, kiss-swollen, red lips and felt the butterflies in her stomach going crazy when Kate hugged her and nuzzled her nose in her neck, breathing her perfume in.

"A lot. But I don’t want you to go."

"Well, I don’t need to." Y/N was trying to calm her butterflies down but after Kate’s admission and Kate still hugging her it was almost impossible to tame them.

"So, are you staying?"

"Yes, I can help you so you will be done sooner."

"Great! I just need to ask you something before we start."

"Shoot. I’m all ears." Y/N replied to Kate’s words with a big grin adorning her features, her cheeks still a bit red from their kisses and the blue eyed girl’s close proximity and her mind still swirling in a daze as it tried to wrap itself over everything that happened in this short amount of time.

"After finishing my detention, do you want to go on a date with me?"

"I-I- m-me?" Y/N stammered her words as her stupid mind couldn’t find a reason behind Kate asking her out, not really believing yet Kate truly liked her back, not even after them sharing a few kisses.

"Yes, Y/N/N. You." Kate smiled sweetly at her as she caressed her back gently, "I want to take you out on a date. I want to do things properly."

Y/N blushed furiously as she smiled widely at the black haired beauty, "yes." This put a big grin on Kate’s lips as they both leaned over to kiss softly once again, before starting back up on organizing books for detention as soon as they could so that as soon as they finish, they will get out of the school to start on their date.

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valerie-is-in-the-cupboard · 2 months

Text

Out of Darkness - Chapter Three: There's Peace in War Too - Alastor x human!fem!reader

Chapter One | Chapter two

TW: noneWords: 2468

Several days had passed since Alastor's return to the human world. Though his strength was slowly returning, he was still just a shadow of his former self. Each passing day among mortals gnawed at his patience, testing his limits. The past days were worse than Hell for him and he barely held back from killing any unfortunate human being that showed up in front of him. All he’s been doing were trips from one place to another, sorting documents for an invented person that didn’t in fact exist or had any real relevance to him. He also had to find a shitty minimum wage job; yet another stressful thing that made him almost rip a rando’s head just because he stared “a bit too much” at him. It was truly a pain in the ass, but he had to hold back his violent urges, at least for now. He knew that once he became strong again, he could return to Hell, leaving this place forever.

But today, he finally got to do absolutely nothing and just enjoy (as much as one in his situation could) his time in this world. He lounged on the worn-out couch in his temporary studio apartment, a far cry from the opulence he once knew. It wasn’t luxurious, but it was a necessary facade for now. The hum of soft jazz music and the smooth burn of whisky in his throat provided a rare moment of solace. He didn’t really have the luxury to do this very often in Hell, so he didn’t complain too much.

While taking a sip of whisky, he admired the sight in front of him – (y/n) promised a venison dinner if he improved his situation, which may or may not have boosted his motivation to continue this charade. The truth was, he missed venison. Hell had the most horrible meat ever and even if he got used to it, he still missed some real food.

Alastor's eyes followed (y/n) as she moved around the kitchen. David and his wife being the busy persons that they are, she was fresh from a parent-teacher meeting for her niece, Anne, dressed in a form-fitting black dress that accentuated her figure, her hair pinned up in a hasty yet elegant bun. Her elegance caught him off guard; he couldn’t help but appreciate the sight.

The atmosphere surrounding them was undeniably intimate, with (y/n) insisting on keeping the lighting soft—just candles and a lamp. Her reason was that she was “too tired for bright lights,” but the dim light only made her presence even more enchanting.

She rambled on about one of her friends going through a break-up. At first, Alastor genuinely tried to listen, but then Brenda would come in, then Nancy, then Samantha, and soon she was back to Nancy’s friend, “Oh wait, no they’re not friends anymore,” and so on. He lay back, a sinister smile playing on his lips as her voice blended with the jazz music. His mind wandered to darker thoughts, imagining the chaos he could unleash if he chose to. For now, he relished the calm before the inevitable storm.

“And you know what’s outrageous?” (y/n) asked while moving around the kitchen.

“What, darling?” Alastor asked, feigning interest while his mind wandered. He had lost track of the convoluted drama involving her friends.

“They’re back together!” she said, turning to face him, waiting for his reaction.

“No way, dear. That’s scandalous!” he said, pretending to be shocked. She raised an eyebrow at him.

“You didn’t even listen to me.”

Alastor chuckled, caught red-handed. He gave her an innocent shrug, a sly smile playing on his lips. "Guilty as charged, darling." She rolled her eyes and turned back to her cooking.

“If you are so bored by my rambling, then you talk.”

Alastor let out a low chuckle, enjoying her irritation a bit too much.

"Oh, I could never get tired of your charming chatter, darling," he said, his voice a mix of mockery and sincere amusement. He took another sip of his whisky, his gaze still fixed on her. "What would you like me to talk about?"

“I don’t know… How’s the new job?”

Alastor let out a dramatic sigh. "Oh, you know, the usual, darling. Soul-crushing, mind-numbing, downright horrific." He sighed and continued, a hint of a mocking tone in his voice. "Minimum wage is truly a joke. And the coworkers? Let's just say I've met more interesting people in a line at a public bathroom in New Orleans."

(y/n) laughed at his statement. His heart skipped a beat at the sound of her laughing, a bit of pride filling him. He hadn't made many people laugh like that in a long time.

“Yeah, well, maybe it will be better.” She said and looked at him. “Maybe not all of them are like that.”

He raised an eyebrow, a slight smirk on his lips. "Oh? Are you trying to console me, darling?" he said, his tone now a bit more playful.

“I say that maybe… you know…” she started, looking away from his direction. “You’ll find a particular coworker you like…”

A devilish smirk tugged at the corners of Alastor's lips. He could sense an underlying hint in her words, a hint that he found rather intriguing. "Is that so?" he said, his tone slightly teasing, his eyes glimmering mischievously. "And what if I already have?"

“Oh… you did?” (y/n) said, still her back on him, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

Alastor chuckled heartily, savouring the subtle disappointment in his voice. As he rose from the couch, a glint of mischief in his eyes, let his mind wander to the thrill of this little game. His steps towards the kitchen were soft but purposeful, each one a reminder of the control he relished. He leaned against the countertop, his gaze fixed on her, his smile widening. "Do I detect a note of disappointment, dear?"

The light of the lamp on the counter fell on her face, Alastor noticing her cheeks blushing harder when she felt his presence so close to her. “No… I just… I was hoping you were fitting in, that’s all. In fact, I am quite happy.” She said, facing him after the last statement.

Alastor couldn’t help but step towards her, the rosy hue spreading across her skin. He found it amusing how easily she was flustered by his presence.

He leaned in slightly closer, his head tilting to the side as he observed her. "Oh, is that so?" he said, slightly mocking. "You seem a tad flustered, darling."

“It’s hot in here.” She said, getting the venison out of the oven.

Alastor chuckled, a low, dark sound. “Oh, is it now?” he said, his voice dripping with feigned sympathy, a glint of amusement in his eyes. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned closer to her ear, almost whispering. “Perhaps I should open a window for you?”

She turned to him, their gaze meeting. “Perhaps you should set the table.” Alastor held her gaze for a moment before sighing dramatically.

"Oh, I suppose I could do that for you, darling," he said, a slight hint of mock reluctance in his voice. He walked away getting everything needed to set the table.

"You know, this would be much faster with some magic," he mumbled under his breath just loud enough for her to hear, missing his shadows for a moment.

“Well, unless you’re a wizard, I can’t help you with that. You’ll have to do what us, mortals, do – work for it.”

Alastor faked a look of offence, a dramatic hand clutching his chest. “Oh, you wound me, my dear,” he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. He put the cutlery on the table, then turned back to face her, an eyebrow raised. “But I suppose I shall suffer through this manual labour for your sake.”

“Yeah, I wonder how many other poor souls are forced to set the table in order to be served venison.” She said and placed two plates on the table.

Alastor's eyes widened at the sight of the venison, his mouth watering slightly. It had been far too long since he had enjoyed a proper meal, and this one looked rather well-made. He sat down at the table, his eyes still fixed on the plate in front of him. "Oh, you have no idea how much some poor souls would sacrifice to be in my position right now…”

“Good. Next time, you cook.” (y/n) said and poured some wine into their glasses.

He couldn't help but smile, as he's actually very proud of his own culinary skills. "Well, you're in for a treat, dearest," he bragged, a sly smirk on his lips. "I am quite the master chef, I'll have you know."

She smiled at his statement. “Well, then… tomorrow I expect some spaghetti and a glass of wine after I come back from work.” She took a sip of wine, looking away. “Unless your 'work girlfriend' has a problem with this.”

Alastor's smirk widened at her request. He found it amusing how she was trying to act indifferent when he could clearly sense a hint of jealousy in her words. He dramatically sighed as if he was thinking about her proposal. "Oh, dear. I can imagine what her reaction will be," he pretended to be worried. "But it's for a good cause, isn't it?"

(y/n) raised an eyebrow, a part of her still worried he might not be lying. “And what is she like?”

Alastor leaned back in his chair, his expression turning almost devilish. He knew exactly what she was fishing for, and he was enjoying every second of it. "Oh, she's... lovely," he explained, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Very kind, very attractive... the complete package, really."

He watched her closely, a smirk on his lips, waiting for her reaction. (y/n) started tapping her leg on the floor, her eyes not leaving his, hunting for more proof that he was in fact lying.

Her tapping leg betrayed her anxiety. “Well, why are you here and not with her? Or are you just using me for free venison?”

Alastor couldn't help but notice how the soft candlelight illuminated her face, charmingly accentuating her features. He found himself unable to look away, his gaze fixed on her with a mixture of fascination and admiration.

"You know, my dear," he started, his voice a little softer than usual. "You look absolutely stunning in this lighting."

“You’re changing the subject.” She said, looking down at the food on her plate, hoping her blush was not visible in this light.

Alastor chuckled lightly, enjoying this little game they were playing. He tilted his head slightly, a sly smile on his lips.

"Oh, I assure you, my dear, I'm not changing the subject. I was simply making an observation," he said innocently.

“If I were your girlfriend, I’d be mad to know you’re complimenting other girls.”

Alastor chuckled at her comment, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "Ah, but you’re not my girlfriend, are you, darling?" He took a sip of his wine, a sly smile still on his lips. “Although it’s endearing to hear you sound at least a little jealous.”

(y/n) sighed, a bit hurt by his words. He was right, she’s not his girlfriend. She started to catch feelings for him and thought that maybe she could have a chance. Her eyes watered a bit, feeling embarrassed for even thinking such things.

Alastor noticed the hurt expression on her face and the slight watering of her eyes, and a pang of guilt filled him. He could sense that his words had wounded her, and it bothered him more than he cared to admit.

He leaned back in his chair, his smile fading slightly. "Darling, I was just kidding..." he said, his tone just above a whisper.

“No, you’re right.” She got up, collecting the empty plates, her voice trembling with regret. “I am not your girlfriend. I’m sorry! I got… carried away.”

Alastor's stomach churned hearing her voice tinged with regret. He reached out, gently grasping her wrist. “Wait,” he said softly. “You misunderstood my words. Please, my dear, sit down for a bit.”

She let go of the plates and sat down, unsure of what to expect. Alastor let go of her wrist, but he didn't move his hand away. He instead gently placed it on top of hers, his thumb caressing her knuckles, the interaction sending shivers down his spine.

“I was only teasing, darling. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. You didn't get carried away, alright?" He gently moved her hand towards him, softly kissing her wrist, her floral perfume delighting him. Not for a moment did his eyes left hers, making her face burn from the sudden interaction. He could feel her hand trembling in his grasp, her pulse racing under her skin.

"You’re quite the sensitive little thing, aren't you, my dear?" he teased, his voice a sultry murmur. She softly smiled, looking down, but quickly looked back up at him, a feeling of shame washing over her as she slowly pulled her hand back.

“Alastor, I…” she hesitated, her voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t want you to think I came here tonight for sex.” Her eyes flickered down, fingers nervously tracing the rim of her glass.

Alastor's eyes widened slightly at her words, a hint of surprise flashing across his face. He hadn't exactly expected her to be that bold.

He chuckled softly, his hand still holding onto hers. "Oh, my dear, the thought never crossed my mind," he said, his tone a bit playful. "Although it's a bit relieving to know that's not your intention." He confessed. “I, myself, don’t really like to… jump in so fast.”

“So… what do we do?”

Alastor looked at her. Back when he was alive, rejecting girls was a routine. Tonight, however, was different. He found himself lingering on her every word. If he dismissed this feelings now, he risked pushing her away – a thought that unsettled him more than he wished to admit. But accepting them would mean accepting a side of him that he wanted to forget… a vulnerable one, a weak one. He had never been in a position like this before.

He glanced at her, noting the vulnerability in her expectant eyes. For a moment, Alastor felt a pang of something unfamiliar – was it empathy? Her trust in him, despite his nature, was both amusing and troubling. He sighed, the weight of his conflicting emotions pressing down on him.

"Well, my dear," he spoke up, his voice laced with honesty. "I suppose… we figure it out as we go."

(y/n) softly smiled, a mix of relief and lingering uncertainty evident in her eyes. The fact that it wasn’t a straight-up no gave her a glimmer of hope, but her feelings for Alastor left her heart racing. She wondered if she was foolish for even entertaining the idea of a relationship with someone like him.

“Yeah… We can do that…”

Alastor returned her soft smile, a hint of guilt in his eyes. He knew deep down that whatever this was, it would end in heartbreak. But he found himself unable to pull away.

He took a deep breath. "Just know that whatever... this is between us, I will do my best not to hurt you," he promised, his voice low and sincere.

“Thank you.” She answered smiling, not entirely understanding what he meant that night, not knowing that inside that charming man was a cold-blooded demon. She was just a human. And humans aspire to be happy. No, they need to be happy. Alastor knew that. In the end… he was once one too

Tags: @sirens-and-moonflowers, @ratsematary

Go to: Next Chapter

#hazbin hotel #hazbin alastor #alastor #alastor the radio demon #alastor hazbin hotel #alastor x reader #hazbin hotel alastor #alastor fanfiction #alastor x you #human reader #fem reader #female reader #x reader #x female reader #fanfic #alastor x reader fluff #out of darkness

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lanaslovelyletters · 8 months

Text

𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 ²

𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐕𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧...

Anakin x Princess!Reader

Part 2

Previous chapter: Part 1

Overall series warning: 18+ content (smut), mature themes, swearing

Warnings: none

Last chapter recap: “Then what is it you want?” Your confused little doll's face made him want to laugh. It was cute just how clueless and pathetic you were in this situation. You were a princess, were you not? With power in the back of her hand? A slight smirk smeared across his face before he leaned closer. His breath hit your ear and your neck as he spoke, “I want you.” The tone fell octaves deep, cold, and dull. Who the hell was this man?

Summary: You were thrown into a foreign room with nothing to do but wait for the inevitable… the Sith Lord with that smooth voice.

Word Count: 1.3K+

Author’s note: Thank you all so much for the support so far, I didn’t think this would latch on so quickly. I’m so grateful to all of you<3

Taglist: @blackthorngirl @formula1mount @bby-imasociopath @anakinsbaee @darthgloris

Your lips parted in slight shock. This cold and heartless monster of a man… wanted you? Was being a Sith Lord not enough for him? Your body was frozen, but your mind was racing as if it was in a pod race. The same ones you used to attend on Tatooine when you were younger.

“You mean to tell me you want… me?” You tried not to sound scared and weak, though you knew you weren't really in any position to act all high and mighty. He didn’t reply. He simply pulled away, but as he was about to walk out of the cell, you grabbed him. It was a split-second, possibly dangerously dumb idea, but it happened.

“You’re brave, princess.” He turned around with a scowl smeared across his face.

“I want answers.” You crossed your hands across your chest. It was easy to figure out by now, that he wouldn’t necessarily kill you under any circumstances. Not if he needed you. He could be inclined to hurt you, but that was a different deal entirely.

“—and I want you to remember me, but we can’t all have what we want.” His eyes were fixated on you. They peered deep into your own. It was as if he was searching for something in that little soul of yours.

“Seems we’ve gotten ourselves stuck in a paradox.” You said and had your lips form a straight line before speaking again,

“You see, I won’t remember you until you give me answers, but you refuse to give me any, so how am I supposed to know who you really are… besides a ruthless Sith Lord, whose only purpose in life is slaving around for the dark side.” You retorted with a scoff. It was bold. Too bold, it seemed, as he immediately grabbed you by your throat and pinned you against the cold and unforgiving wall.

“You test my patience, your highness.” He whispered close to your face, his breath; hot on your skin.

“You realize you have zero control here, right? You are completely at my mercy.” He stared you down with flared nostrils and heavy breathing before pulling away and walking out the door. Shortly after, two troopers locked their arms around the set of yours and dragged you.

“Let go of me.” You spat and struggled against their grasp,

“I can walk for myself!”

“You can also escape, your highness.” Said one of them. His voice was gruff and it felt like a snake was coiling up your spine.

They managed to drag you all the way to a plush room with a proper bed and even a desk with a small lamp. It was a simple layout, far inferior to your own bedroom, but it was better than having your back give out prematurely from a rock-hard block.

“Lord Vader will be back soon.” They threw you on the floor with no regard for your safety, waltzed out, and locked the door. You got up with a groan and dusted off your dress.

The dark side was clearly not messing around. Even with a royal status, nobody cared. Not that they had any reason to, anyway. They served the galactic empire. Bowing down to royalty wasn’t exactly on their bingo card.

You’d been left alone to wither and gather dust. Was this their shtick? Leaving their captives to sit and stare into a blank wall for hours on end? It took several before you finally heard the sounds of footsteps approaching the door to the room. You quickly collected and readied for what was to come.

The door clicked and in he walked. His stride was fierce and confident, and every bit cold. Maker, he was mesmerizing. It wasn’t just the face of a fallen angel, it was the face of something so familiar. It drove you insane to not recognize it.

“You will stay in this room and you will not leave, understood?” His brows were furrowed and his lips were pursed.

“If I leave?” You raised an eyebrow, challenging him. That clearly set him off. You watched as his eyes turned a bright yellow for a second, before going back to their usual velvety blue.

“You are frankly starting to test my patience, princess.” He grabbed your forearm roughly and pulled you close to him. Something within you clenched. It was your heart. The fear engulfed it like a vice, squeezing every beat into a suffocating silence.

“You won’t kill me.” Your voice was hushed and shaky, but you tried not to make the dread apparent.

“I can certainly hurt you. It is my vocation.” You were supposed to be intimidated by him, but my, his voice was to die for. You refreshed your mind with a quick reality check. He was handsome. But not handsome enough to sway your mind. You wanted answers.

“Why do you need me anyway?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“Well, I certainly do if I’m required to remember your face.” You scrunched your nose at him and pulled away. He squinted his eyes in frustration as he let out an exasperated sigh.

He seemed conflicted. As if he wanted to tell you, but couldn’t bring himself to do so.

“Just… don’t even try to escape. You’re stranded on this space station either way. You have no means of doing so.” He stepped back and walked to the desk in the corner of the room.

“Can’t you just tell me the truth? You’re the reason we keep going in circles. If you just—“ He didn’t turn around, he just interrupted you abruptly,

“Ever attended a pod race?” Pod race… memories of your father screaming at the big screens and having bets with Jabba doused your mind. You used to hang around a boy back then. Every year. Without fail. He was a sweet boy. Anakin was his name. Anakin Skywalker. He always stood by your side, as your father would push you off to the side to mingle amongst the elites.

“I have… quite a few, actually…. Why?” Your head was tilted to the side as you slowly made your way towards him. When you got close enough, he turned around to face you,

“Just out of curiosity, sweetheart.” You frowned at the nickname.

“I stopped going after a while. My father still went every year though. As king, he’s got a lot of connections… so…”

“Yeah, I remember your father. Arrogant fellow.” He scoffed and carefully tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. You’d be lying if you said your heart didn’t keel over at the gesture, but it still felt repulsive. He was a Sith Lord. Stone-cold and ruthless.

“You know my father personally?” You slapped his hand away from your face and took a step back. He squeezed his eyes shut and sighed deeply,

“I killed him. He’s dead.” Threateningly, he moved towards you with heavy steps. Your eyes darted up and down his form, as he backed you up against the wall behind you.

His hands trapped you, touching down on the wall on either side of your head. His jaw was clenched and his eyes had turned that same yellow it had earlier. He was… frightening.

“It’s been my personal goal to wipe out your family for a while now, Princess. Now that it’s finally done, I would like it if you didn’t ask so many questions.” His breaths were hot and heavy, but it smelled amazing. Mint fresh. No, it didn’t. It was disgusting. He was a Sith.

“My handmaidens… what became of them?” You finally succumbed to your ancestors' conditioning to recognize dangerous situations and fear them. Your body trembled as your voice tried its best to sound solid.

The dark lord completely ignored your question, letting himself calm down before backing off and walking towards the door. Before he left, he got a final word in,

“We’re to wed in a week. You’ll stay here until then.” What..?

To be continued…

Next part here

Please DM, comment, or ask to be added on the taglist<3

Here’s the masterlist<3

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storm-angel989 · 12 days

Note

Hello!!

I was wondering if you could do a Val x daughter teen reader.

- She’s super duper sleep deprived (yawning every other 5 minutes and it’s so obvious she’s fighting to stay awake), and relies on a crap ton of energy drinks to keep her up and going. How would Val, Vel, and Vox react to finding out about this?

Hi Friend,

Thank you so much for your patience <3

As all three of the Vee’s very well know, sleep is so important. They want to see Reader succeed, but not at the expense of her own health. So take a peek at what happens!

Enjoy!

<3 Mandy

My official bedtime is eleven. I crawl into bed at two.

My day started at 4:30.

Get up. Drag myself to the gym. Lately, I’ve been listening to my textbooks on audiobook while I run because I, for the life of me, can’t get my brain to retain any of the information. My first sip of an energy drink is paired with water as I frantically scramble to scrub my hair and get dressed in my uniform before I need to leave for school.

Seven thirty. Skip breakfast in favor of the second energy drink of the day. Slide into my homeroom seat exactly six minutes before the bell rings. I can’t be late, or else I risk getting kicked off the water polo team.

School ends at three. I lose track of how many energy drinks I buy, how many cups of coffee I consume. All I know is it’s easier to study and drink coffee than it is to study and eat. And midterms start tomorrow.

Practice starts at three thirty and by the time I get in the water, my week and a half worth of cramming for midterms is starting to catch up to me. It’s all I can do to stay awake, and unlike the other girls, I’m grateful for the freezing cold water.

This routine had been mine for the past two weeks, and I was exhausted. Cramming for exams always sucked, but this time around felt harder than most.

“I just need to review one more chapter,” I promised myself as I climbed into the limo. The ache in my head matched the heaviness of my eyelids and I let out another yawn. “One more chapter, and then…”

Out of habit, I pulled out my exam schedule. I felt my heart drop and jolted awake as I read through the test list for the next day. Fuck. Science was tomorrow. Not history. I hadn’t even started to review science. I opened up another energy drink as I stared into the eyes of what would be another all nighter. As the last drop of liquid entered my body, I could feel my heart beat- an uncomfortable buzz. I tried to ignore it as I exited the limo and trudged upstairs. My mind blurred as I went through the motions without remembering exactly what I was doing.

“Ah, princessa, I’m glad you’re home,” my father’s voice floated across the room. “Your Uncle Vox just finished making dinner. Come sit.”

“I can’t, Daddy, midterms start tomorrow,” I replied through a yawn. “I have to study, I mixed up…”

“You can’t study on an empty tummy. Your body needs fuel,” my Aunt Velvette replied.

Her tone told me I wasn’t getting out of it. I dropped my backpack and hazily made my way across the living room. I stumbled but caught myself on the table. I could feel all three sets of eyes on me as I righted myself and slowly sank into my chair.

“Babygirl, are you feeling okay?” Vox asked as he pressed his hand to my forehead. “You don’t look good.”

“No, no you don’t,” my father added. “Did you eat before practice?”

I tried to remember but the memories of the day wouldn’t come. I shrugged in response.

“Have you been drinking?” Velvette demanded after a moment of silence. She crossed her arms. “You’re stumbling, you’re pale, you’re slurring your words, something is wrong.”

“No! I’m just, I’m really tired,” I protested as I tried to bite back a yawn. “Midterms, they're tomorrow and I..I need to study. I can have another energy drink, maybe that will help.”

I went to push myself up from the table and felt the heaviness of Vox’s hands on my shoulder hold me in place. His other hand reached over and clicked on my VoxTech watch.

“When did you go to bed last night?” My father asked gently.

“More importantly, how many energy drinks did you have today?” Vox asked.

Unable to hold back, I yawned. “It's midterm week, I dunno. Guys, I have to study, I…”

I watched all three of them exchange glances. Vox hit a button on my watch and they both looked at their phones. Alarm spread over each of their faces.

“No. You’re not going anywhere except to bed,” my father said firmly as he stood up.

“Dad, no, I’m…I’m fine..” I started to protest as he lifted me into his arms. “Daddy, I’m sixteen, lemme go…” I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes as I tried to push myself away from him.

“Mhm, yeah, you’re right, you are sixteen,” he replied softly.

The next thing I knew, he laid me down in my bed and pulled the covers over me. I felt the weight of his body on the bed as he sat down next to me.

“Close your eyes, ninita,” he said softly. “You need to rest.”

Under the warmth of the covers, snuggled in the comfort of my bed, exhaustion swept over me. Unable to fight, I sank into a deep, dreamless sleep.

It could have been days, or hours later. As I slowly came to, the red digits of my alarm clock flashed. Eleven thirty am. Panic rushed through me. Late! I was so late! I sat straight up, but before I could swing myself out of bed, Vox’s hand pushed me down.

“Hey, hey kid. Calm down. Relax, you’re fine,” he said soothingly.

“No, Uncle Vox I have my history midterm today, I have to go, I’m so late!” I babbled as I tried to push against him.

“You’ll make them up, deep breath,” he replied evenly. “It’s okay, I promise. I’m going to let your Dad and Vel know you’re awake. If I let you go, will you please stay down?”

Slowly, I nodded as the panic began to subside. He released me and sat down on the bed next to me. A few moments later, the door opened and they both walked into the room.

“How are you feeling?” my father asked.

“Better? Dad, my midterms, practice, I have homework,” I began.

He held up his hand. “Stop. Take a breath. Uncle Vox called the school. Your midterms are rescheduled for two weeks from now. Lots of time to study without you running yourself down to nothing.”

“As for homework and practice, you don’t have to worry about that until Monday, which is when you’re allowed to go back to school,” Velvette added.

“Allowed back to school? What the fuck does that mean?” I asked.

“It means you’ve been asleep for almost a day and a half. It’s Thursday, sweetheart,” Vox said gently.

Panic washed over me. A day and a half? I slept for a day and a half?

“See, the problem with sleep deprivation is that it catches up to you. No amount of energy drinks or coffee can fix the issue. The only way to feel better is to sleep,” he continued. “And it appears that you, little girl, pushed yourself to your max.”

“And could have done some serious damage to your body in the process,” my father added. “So this is how the rest of this weekend goes. You’re going to the doctors to get checked over…”

“Why? I was just overtired,” I protested.

“No, you were exhausted. And you consumed so much caffeine your heart rate and your blood pressure were sky high,” Vox answered.

“Your Aunt Velvette, Uncle Vox and I have been taking turns sitting with you just to make sure you were okay,” my father added. “So no. A checkup is not negotiable. We’re also going to have a discussion with the doctor on the importance of sleep and the negative effects caffeine can have on the body. Anyway, after you get the all clear, you are going to spend the weekend resting. You can watch movies, study for a few hours, I don’t care. But when your body is tired, you need to sleep. Otherwise, you’re not going to recover from this.”

I felt myself deflate. “Am I grounded too?”

“Call it grounding if you want, but you’re staying home all weekend,” my father replied calmly.

A thousand protests raced through my mind. I had an away game this week. I needed to keep in shape. I had projects to do and laps to swim. But as I studied the concerned expression on my fathers face, I realized that nothing I could say would make them change their minds. The creeping feeling of exhaustion swept over me and I yawned as I settled back against the pillows.

I felt lips press to my forehead and I snuggled back under the covers. Maybe a bit more sleep wouldn't hurt.

#hazbin hotel #the vees #hazbin fluff #the vees x reader #valentino x reader #valentino #valentino x you #valentino hazbin hotel #vox x reader #hazbin hotel valentino #vox hazbin hotel #hazbin vox #vox the tv demon #vox #hazbin hotel vox #hazbin velvette #hazbin hotel velvette

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genshin-side-piece · 9 months

Text

The Hawk and The Sparrow

*Blows the dust bunnies off of this one* This one has been sitting for a minute and by a minute, I mean like the beginning of the Sumeru chapter. It's amazing what a week off of work does for the creative mind.

Characters: Alhaitham, Kaveh, GN reader (no pronouns or descriptions used for reader)

Warnings: Minors DNI, 18+, Yandere themes, Yandere Behavior, Power Imbalance, Master/apprentice dynamic, Abuse of power, Kidnapping, Non-Consensual Touching, Dark themes, not smut (sorry), angst My bad writing, Anything Else I Missed

“There you are, sparrow.” It took you a few seconds to react, but when you did, your entire body froze. While the intrusion of Alhaitham’s voice wasn’t a terrible surprise, you hadn’t expected it this soon. He had been away on business, with no word on when he might return. It had been your hope that when he returned he would be so exhausted from his weeks away that he would simply go home. As you had left the city this morning, your mind had conjured images of him standing at the city gates, impatiently tapping his foot as he waited for you to return or even him patrolling the border as you leered at it from a distance. You should have considered that he wouldn’t be satisfied with simply waiting. It was a foregone conclusion that upon his return to the city, one of the first people he would want to see would be you. If you weren’t where he expected you to be, then he was more than capable of finding you. “Thank you for making me spend most of my final day off searching half of Sumeru for you.” On instinct, you focused on the drawing in your lap. You knew better than to give him your full attention right away. Alhaitham’s acuity when it came to mind games was second to none. It was a talent few knew he possessed. For those that did, they were, well you were wary to enter into such a battle with him. It was easier to act coy or feign stupidity. At least then you would only have to endure a lecture versus accepting what Alhaitham felt were the full consequences of your actions. “A tad dramatic, don’t you think? Don’t tell me Kaveh is starting to rub off on you.” His low growl echoed across the small clearing, causing you to smirk. “Tell me, was your intention to press your luck today or are you merely interested in testing my lack of patience the instant I return?” Your smirk widened at the hint of irritation in his normally smooth voice. “Would you believe me if I said neither?” You briefly looked up from your sketch, glancing over your shoulder at him. “Since your return was open ended, I had no clue when I would see you again. I am merely enjoying the day.” Behind you, the soles of his ornate shoes brushed across the grass as he stepped further into the clearing. “Really?” There was a chuckle. “Does your enjoyment necessitate the need for no escort, no Akasha terminal, and no word to Kaveh as to your whereabouts?” He clicked his tongue in disappointment. “Do you have an explanation for me or shall I just add it to the list of infractions that occurred in my absence?” You swallowed, your smirk softly falling. In your world, Alhaitham’s absence had been a blessing. Kaveh was far less observant when it came to what you did and who you spoke to. You had more than taken advantage of the lack of supervision when it came to getting a few things done. It was improbable that Alhaitham had found them all in such a short amount of time, but it wasn’t entirely impossible either. You had long suspected Alhaitham had put a second set of eyes on you before he left, just to ensure you were behaving as you should.

Since Alhaitham’s departure, there had been one too many instances of the same group of eremites being near you for it not to be the case. You briefly wondered exactly how many so-called infractions of his ridiculous rules had gotten back to him. Had there been daily reports or would that be too much? The trip to Port Ormos wasn’t too bad, but you doubted he was willing to pay someone or a set of someones to go back and forth everyday. Maybe every few days? It was hard for you to say. Still, a small worry began to creep its way up your spine. What did he know? What had he been told? As he said, there was a list. Your mind slowly began to spin at how long it could actually be. “The akasha shouldn’t be a terrible surprise. You know that silly thing hurts my ear if I wear it for too long. It does me no good outside of the city, so I left it behind.” The slight quiver in your voice nearly gave you away. You could see it in how his body shifted, his hips turning so he could block your only exit from view. “It’s a requirement of the Akademiya that you wear one.” You scoffed, trying to hide the unease that was washing over you. “Since when are you concerned about upholding the Akademiya’s mandates? I wonder how they would feel about your latest excursion.” You lazily drug the graphite across the page, acting like you still cared about your landscape. “My latest excursion was at their request.” Unlike yours, which was not. “I thought we discussed your little sketching trips the last time you tried this.” The discussion being that after you had successfully vanished from his sight for an entire day, Alhaitham informed you that you were not allowed to leave the city alone again. “I’m not a child, Haitham. I resent being treated like one.” You added a little bite to your tone in the vain hope that he might pick up on your displeasure. “I needed reference material for a project. Since I was refused a kamera, I decided the only way to get it was to make a few sketches.” You made the conscious choice to not elaborate beyond what you had already said. It was easier to let him admonish you for what he did know, versus adding to your troubles by telling him something he hadn’t discovered yet, which you doubted was very little. His thoroughness when it came to you knew no bounds. That’s why your efforts to keep your secrets hidden was an exhausting affair. “The distance is trivial, it shouldn’t require an escort. Even if it did, all your favorites have gotten outrageous with their fees. I can use a stick and get equal protection.” You heard him scoff at the suggestion. “As for Kaveh, he was nowhere to be found. I wasn’t interested in searching the entire city just to tell him I was going a stone’s throw away. Though if he really is that worried, he could have asked the forest rangers. I passed their lookout on my way here and told them where I was.” “I’m aware.” There was a long pause. You could feel his eyes on you; searching, scanning, and assessing your figure for anything he might find out of the ordinary. Much too what you imagined was his disappointment, there wasn’t anything egregious. Outside of your missing akasha terminal, you were as he preferred you. The only thing he could fuss about was the amount of sun your exposed neck, shoulders, and back had seen. Then again, he might also take it as a blessing. There was little doubt that Alhaitham would probably jump at the chance to rub aloe into your irritated flesh. “Your location is inconsequential. You’ve been found.” He grated that out in what you guessed was an effort to hide his apparent relief.

Alhaitham had been anxious about you using his extended trip as an excuse to vanish from Sumeru. There had been the less than ideal suggestion of you going with him, but he had rejected it at the last minute. Having you with him was a liability he couldn’t afford. Hence his need for curfews, boundaries, and you being left under Kaveh’s less than observant eye. The last thing Alhaitham wanted was to lose his precious control over your life and more importantly, you without having a say in the matter. You had already tried to leave his mastery and pursue other opportunities outside of Sumeru on more than one occasion. Each attempt had been met with a strict punishment and an ever tightening grip on your finances.

Because you were apprenticed to him, he had the right to take everything you made for himself. Much to your chagrin, it was a right he exercised often. There was always a long winded speech about your lack of responsibility or your foolish ways before he took your hard earned money from you. Anything he returned to you was the result of his so-called generosity. As your master, he was expected to provide for you. But your definition of being provided for was far different than his. He viewed your needs as requiring the basic essentials and nothing more. Anything extra had to be requested and in some cases begged for. If he granted your wish, then the item would be purchased for you rather than him giving you the money. He was well aware of the danger that came with handing you a bag of Mora and letting you galavant around with it. The one and only time he had done that, he had barely caught you at the docks before the ship had sailed.

“Though since you refuse to wear your Akasha Terminal as you’ve been asked to.” You flinched at how he drew out the word asked. “I may employ Kaveh’s suggestion of sewing little bells into your clothes or maybe I’ll just hang a large one around your neck.” Like he would a pet. The ridiculousness of that made you want to throw your sketch pad at him. You reviled that he kept tabs on you. His incessant need to hover over you was suffocating. Not wearing your accursed Akasha Terminal was one of the few ways you could insure some level of privacy from him, even if it was short lived.

“I think some would find that terribly disruptive. Most professors demand silence during the lectures. I doubt they would be welcoming of such a distraction, even if it came from the grand oiseau himself.” You heard an annoyed huff come from behind you. “Since I’m outside the city and the Akademiya, I doubt Kaveh’s precious bells would have proved useful.” Alhaitham grunted in response. “If anything, wouldn’t they draw danger to me?” “He also made mention of locking you in my study should I decide to go away again. He was quite vocal about how difficult you’ve been in my absence.” It was laughable to think you had been the difficult one. Despite your best effort to keep up appearances while going behind Alhaitham’s back, Kaveh made it especially challenging to do so. Visual contact had, at least in terms of him laying eyes on you, been impossible. If you could find him, he had been face down on Lambad’s bar or passed out on Alhaitham’s couch in a fit of exhaustion. In your desperation to not alert Alhaitham that something was amiss, you had been reduced to leaving notes in Kaveh’s hand as proof of your daily check-ins. The last thing you needed or wanted was for your keeper to come back early because he believed you had fled his ever present eye before you had actually done it. “Not that I feel it’s a reasonable solution, but why save that particular joy for your infrequent trips outside the city? You already watch me morning, noon, and night when I’m at the Akademiya. I’m surprised you haven’t insisted I enjoy that delight so you can observe me as I sleep.” Your sarcasm wasn’t lost on him. Nor did it do much to improve his mood. You could feel his eyes burning a hole in your back.

“If I thought it plausible, I might.” His voice had a tone you didn’t like. His normally condescending manner had degraded into a quiet outrage that sent a small shiver all over your body. The last time you had heard that tone, he had shown you exactly how much power he had over your life. It wasn’t an experience you wanted to repeat. “Regrettably, I lack a cage large enough to keep you confined for any real length of time.” He had moved closer, his cape swirling the air between you. “Kaveh is as tired of your shenanigans as I am. It seems whatever sympathy he had for you has run out. He mentioned that he was all too eager to design you something before I came searching for you. Maybe I’ll take him up on it.” A heavy silence fell between you. Your mind silently debated whether he was serious or not. Alhaitham wasn’t one to jest about punishment. His one insistence was the expectation of his rules being followed. But the notion that he would bring himself to completely confine you as a means of controlling you was a step too far, even for him. Allowing you your liberty, more importantly allowing you the chance to shine was a positive reflection on him and the Akademiya as a whole. Even if his reputation wasn’t entirely important to him, you doubted he wanted that to change, unless he had discovered your largest transgression before you had the chance to do anything about it.

A glance over your shoulder told you all you needed to know. His clenched jaw and stormy eyes were an indication of exactly how livid he was. His fury went beyond his previously listed reasons for being here. While not wearing your Akasha terminal, having no escort and the most egregious of all, failing to inform Kaveh of your whereabouts were simple infractions. They weren’t anything you hadn’t done before. They were behaviors that Alhaitham found at worst, annoying. He had tried to curb them, but generally speaking they brought little more than being restricted to spending your free time in his office for a few days. This was different. This was a level you hadn’t pushed him too before. This meant only one thing.

Silently, Alhaitham reached into a pocket that was concealed by his cloak, pulling out a wax sealed piece of parchment. Your eyes fixated on it, your entire body going cold when he held it in front of you. “Interestingly, this was waiting for me when I returned.” You felt your mouth go dry as you continued to stare at it, your heart sinking like a stone as he ran his fingers over the broken seal. “Kaveh told me it was delivered to the house this morning.” Of course it was. You closed your eyes, grinding your jaw for a moment. Word had reached you that it was being sent. You had thought that the Akademiya might be kind enough to send it to Alhaitham’s office. Then you would have had a chance to retrieve it before he ever got word of it, but fate had not been kind to you. Instead, it had been sent directly to Alhaitham’s home, likely because that would be the first place he would go once he returned. The confirmation that Kaveh had received it meant that Alhaitham had been alerted to it almost instantly. It was probably what triggered Alhaitham’s unexpected return and his confrontation with you now. “Here I thought we had buried the concept for good. Yet-” He let out a breathy chuckle. “You are always full of surprises, aren’t you?” You slowly opened your eyes at the sound of him shifting his weight. The light clinking of ornate embellishments of his outfit broke the silence between you filling the void. “Do you have any kind of defense?” Not that it would save you. He already had more than enough cause to punish you. The letter in his hand was just the icing on the proverbial cake.

You impassively shook your head while you continued to focus on the piece of paper in his hand. He had you. There wasn't a lie in the world that could save you from him. You knew what you had done. More so, you knew the lengths you had gone to get it. The document in question was the proverbial carrot that Alhaitham had dangled in front of you ever since he had taken you under his wing. Your freedom relied on it, your sanity depended on it. Your eyes focused on the stamped seal of approval from the Akademiya. They traced every bump, every dip of the wax. Even the break where it had been opened burned its way into your memory. How could it not? It wasn’t everyday one received a graduation letter from the Akademiya. It was even less likely for you, since your master and benefactor had denied you of it ever since you had come under his tutelage.

It hadn’t taken you long to figure out that your main roadblock to your future was Alhaitham himself. He had found you on one of your trips through Sumeru. You had set up a small stall in the streets of Port Ormos, peddling sketches and caricatures to tourists while you made a study of the port. You remembered it and him at first because he had spent nearly an hour looking over the pieces you had on offer. He had been especially engrossed with a study of the ruins near Ay-Khanoum. After three additional visits that same day, he deemed you worthy enough to speak to. His curiosity was mainly about how you had reached the ruins, but he also asked other questions; where had you learned, who you were apprenticed under, and the most damning of all, were you traveling with anyone? His reaction when you had answered no to his final question was something you should have been wary of. From that time until you were ready to leave Port Ormos, he had lingered close to your stall. Even after you had moved it to a more crowded area, he still found you. Patrons taking an interest in you wasn’t anything new. You’d had many offers to stay in the different villages and towns that you had visited. Alhaitham was not the first person to offer to keep you in comfort so you wouldn’t have to endure the life of a wandering artist. Even if that life was entirely your choice. To him, someone of your talent deserved to have their skill honed to the highest level. It was a privilege to study at the Akademiya. You should consider yourself fortunate that such a distinguished and respected figure within the Akademiya was willing to personally sponsor the next step in your education. Nevermind that it was a privilege that you had never wanted or asked for. It was enough that Alhaitham wanted it for you and whatever he wanted, he got. The mind games he so expertly played made sure of that.

Under the guidance of your darshan, your skill had grown exponentially. Some had even gone so far as to say your skill exceeded Alhaitham’s at his current age, nevermind his younger self. The man himself was pleased with your progression. At least, you thought he was pleased. Your overall academic progress never seemed to matter to him. He instead insisted on you following his ever increasing, ever suffocating list of rules. You had thought to leave when it all started. When he first began to tighten his hold on you. In the beginning, Alhaitham had been largely content to simply observe you. It hadn’t mattered if you were in the public spaces of the Akademiya or in the privacy of one of the many art studios, those of eyes of his seemed to follow you wherever you went. You had diverged on many occasions, trying your best to shake the oppressive presence of your sponsor. The result had been Alhaitham leaving his proverbial perch to track you down. Once back in his field of vision, he tightened his hold on you, slowly and steadily trapping you in his firm grip. By the time you realized what was going on, it was far too late to do anything about it. Instead your escape attempts were thwarted, your departure from the Akademiya refused.

It was hard to remember when his attention had changed from observational to physical. He wasn’t terribly affectionate, yet he always managed to let his fingers linger on yours whenever he would take the graphite from you to show you something. That escalated into those same fingers toying with the sensitive skin of your neck while he hovered over you in the evening. You had tried to minimize the unwanted contact by moving your studio time to earlier in the day. Your hope was to be back in your apartment before he finished work, but luck was not on your side. Like everything else in your life, Alhaitham held a specific level of control over both you and your schedule. Your class times had been optimized to fit with his schedule. The moment you had tried to adjust anything to suit yourself, it was mysteriously shifted back. When questioned why, the registrar merely shrugged. The only excuse that was offered was that the studios were a distracting place during the day. A student of your advanced capability deserved peace and quiet to work. That was why everyone was seemingly insistent that you take an evening slot. Nevermind that it gave Alhaitham all the privacy he could ever want when it came to you. In those moments, the main focus of his attention was your neck and shoulders. Delicate fingers would run along your nape and collar bones while he watched you sketch. A heavy hand often laid upon your shoulder while you practiced your writing. In the very late hours, when it was assured you were alone, his lips would find themselves behind your ear, softly pressing into your sensitive skin. You had tried to stop it, first by asking him, then by telling him, but he had refused. Instead, he got bolder. He exercised his authority over you, by commanding that you keep his favorite spots exposed for his pleasure. When you defied him by hiding them with scarves and other items, he retaliated. Your wardrobe was changed overnight. It was the first of many humiliations to come.

“I want to leave Haitham.” Your eyes didn’t falter from their fixation on the letter. Your voice didn’t even so much as tremble. Not when your freedom was in the palm of his hand. His continued control of your life had only cemented your resolve to be rid of him once and for all. The letter meant that upon your official graduation, you would be released from your apprenticeship to Alhaitham. According to the laws of the Akademiya it meant that in some aspects, namely the financial ones, he would have to yield his control of you. Once that happened, you would be able to trigger the final part of your plan. “I’m tired of this place.” You were tired of his demands. You were tired of being a possession. You were tired of him. “I want to travel again.” You wanted to put as much distance between you and him as was humanly possible. Even if it meant living on a boat in the middle of the ocean for the rest of your life, you were prepared to do so. Just to be rid of him. “And you believe I’ll allow any of that.” His tone was like acid, burning you word after word as he disregarded your reasons for wanting to get away. It wasn’t like he was blind to them. Alhaitham was all too aware of them. This wasn’t a new conversation for either of you. There had been numerous occasions where you had demanded he let you leave, only to be thwarted by the very piece of paper that was now in his hand. As long as you didn’t have it, he could keep you. “It doesn’t matter if you do or you don’t.” You finally tore your eyes away from the letter, craning your neck upward so you could stare into his malicious gaze. “That piece of paper severs your hold over me.” According to the Akademiya, you were free.

The news of that went over as well as you expected it too. Losing was not something Alhaitham was accustomed to, especially when the source of his defeat was someone he viewed as inferior. He had gone to great lengths to insure that you would never graduate. The fury that raged in his eyes when he realized you had gotten around all of them was akin to a hurricane. Menacing and swirling and desperate. He was dangerous when he was like this. You knew that, yet you stood firm in both your reasons and your actions. Any punishments incurred from here on out would fall under the purview of the law. You could bring his actions up to the Matra and they would be obligated to investigate. It was one of the many benefits your graduation had brought you. More so, he wouldn’t be able to prevent it. The letter meant everything had become official. Your graduation and your subsequent release from his care had been registered in the official records. If Alhaitham tried to deny you had graduated, all the matra needed to do to confirm it was check the lists. “No.” His hand tightened around the letter, crushing the piece of paper with almost no effort. “Have I not told you countless times that you are not ready to move forward, yet you are insistent on disobeying me.”

“If not now, when?” You stood up releasing some of the anger that had been pent up inside of you. “I know you think me stupid. I know you view me as blind.” You matched his harsh tone, spitting every word at him in the hope that they would hurt him as much as you wanted them too. “But I won’t be ensnared in your trap any longer.” You took a shallow breath, mentally steadying yourself. “I want my life back. I was fine before you tricked me into joining the Akademiya. I’ve been miserable since. I’ve had my fill of it. I don’t want anything more to do with it or you!” His lips curled into a sneer.

“Is that so?” He took a step forward, his grip tightening even further around the letter. “Did you ask for my blessing before you did this? Did I grant you my permission to do such a thing?” He reached for you and on instinct you leaned back, tossing the only weapon you had at him in the hope it would stop him.

“I have an offer.” It worked.

Alhaitham stopped where he stood, his eyes growing wide at that statement. His face shifted from anger to disbelief to something you didn’t recognize in a matter of seconds. He almost looked as if he hadn’t heard you correctly. But he had. You knew he had. The anger that practically radiated off his frame told you he had.

“I beg your pardon.” The tone of the statement cut right through your confidence. Admitting you had a way out had been a mistake. It had been your intention to never reveal it, at least not until you were well and truly away from him. The letter explaining your escape route, along with your packed bags were back at your apartment. Your intention was to leave the second you had your graduation letter, but that plan had been obviously foiled. Now you had realized Alhaitham’s worst fear for him, in the hope that it would deter him from pressing you any further. It was a foolish move on your part. One you would later come to regret. “I- have an- offer.” You tried to swallow the lump that had formed in your throat, but it was as persistent as his scowl. “The- the court of Fontaine. They wrote again-” The Palais Mermonia was in desperate need of a courtroom sketch artist. They had written months ago after one of your old sketches had ended up in the Palais. Alhaitham had insisted you turn it down, because he needed you here. Now they had written again, this time more urgently. They had even offered you an advance, just to tempt you with the concept of acceptance. “They increased their offer from before.” You couldn’t refuse. Not when the position and the money were your ticket out of Sumeru. “I want out, Haitham.” You said that with every ounce of force in your body, hoping to get your point across.

An extended silence passed between you two, one that was filled by the sound of the wind as it whipped around you.

“Fine.” That answer confounded you. Fine? After years of refusals and torments he finally agrees? It didn’t seem right. It didn’t feel right. Alhaitham wasn’t one to give up, nor did he readily accept defeat. Especially when he had been caught off guard. That meant one thing; there was a catch, somewhere. You knew Alhaitham well enough to know that if there was one plan, then there were at least seven back ups. The man didn’t breathe without a contingency in place. That’s why his sudden acquiescence, especially when he was still seething from your previous conversation, seemed out of sorts. Because it was. There was a trick up his nonexistent sleeve. “I’m sorry, what?” You furrowed your eyebrows at him, hesitant to show him the confusion that was radiating through your body. “You want out of the Akademiya? Fine.” His words were clipped and sharp, lacking any real sincerity. “I’ll grant that to you. You’re out. It saves me the trouble of purging the records once we return to the city.” You gently shook your head. “I want out of Sumeru, Haitham. I want my own life.” An odd, almost all knowing smirk crossed his lips. “I’ll give you that as well.” You blinked at him, your eyes as wide as saucers. For a brief moment you actually thought your brain had broken and your ears deceived you. He agreed? “If you do one thing for me.” There it was. You wanted to laugh at how predictable he could be sometimes. “From now, until you leave Sumeru, you will wear your Akasha terminal.” He reached around behind him, pulling the accursed thing from his pocket. He offered it to you, expectantly waiting for you to take it. You would not deny that it felt too good to be true. After everything had put you through, you could not shake the feeling that you were being deceived once again.

“That’s it?” Your eyes kept moving between his face and the terminal in his hand. “All I have to do is wear this until I leave and I’m free?” The smirk grew larger and with it, so did your hesitation. You didn’t want to trust it or him really. All you had to do was wear your akasha terminal until you left Sumeru and he would let you go free? The offer was too easy. Too simple. Two things Alhaitham never was. There was also the complete lack of a second option to consider. If you refused, what would happen? Would he drag you back to the city kicking and screaming? Would he purge your graduation as a means of keeping you? It was hard to say, hard to know. But that was the point. You were gambling on two unknowns; could you really trust him to do as he said or could you stand whatever punishment he deemed most appropriate? It didn’t matter. You were damned either way. “You’ll truly let me go?”

“Do as I ask and I will happily grant you the new life you seek.”

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You should’ve listened to your instincts. You should’ve run as fast as you could. You should’ve removed the akasha terminal before going to bed that night. If you had, you wouldn’t have had to face the horrific reality that greeted you when next woke.

A new life. That’s what he had said. Do as he asked and he would grant you a new life. You had been foolish enough to believe that Alhaitham would do the right thing and allow you the new life you had made for yourself. You weren’t to know that when he had sent you home that night, that the Akademiya would be running an experiment. That everyone wearing an Akasha terminal within a specific radius would be pulled into a deep slumber for an undetermined amount of time. Alhaitham though, through his privileged position at the Akademiya, had. It was why the deal he had offered had been so ungodly simple. All he needed was for you to be wearing the terminal while you slept. Once in the experiment’s hold, he could do as he liked to you, for as long as the experiment lasted. Which was what led you here.

It had been an odd sensation to wake up in the room or rather the cell you would be forced to call home. At the start, you couldn’t quite place it. The ornate woodwork that ran along the ceiling and the cushions beneath you were both entirely unfamiliar. Your apartment and your bed, both of which you firmly remembered falling asleep in, were much simpler. Alhaitham had refused the idea of allowing you anything remotely grand. If you wanted splendor, you could find it in his home. So you had long settled for the simplicity of your surroundings. That’s why the silks and the satins, the ornate carvings, and the gilded bars felt entirely out of place; because they weren’t yours. This was not your apartment. You thought them to be part of another dream. A bizarre image created by your mind due the stress of the last few days. Alhaitham had said he would let you go. He had promised it. Yet as the terror of reality slowly began creeping its way into your bones, you tried to lie and tell yourself this wasn’t real. He hadn’t. He couldn’t. No, you were leaving for Fontaine in the morning. Alhaitham was going to let you go. You kept telling yourself that, right up until you turned your head, finding the man himself staring back at you through the bars of your new gilded cage.

He didn’t speak to you. Not initially. He just stared, as he liked to do in the quieter moments. He allowed you the privilege of assessing your present circumstances on your own. Of letting you reach your own conclusion when it came to what they meant. He granted you the rare right to the blinding rage that filled you to the brim after the reality of your situation finally sunk in. He had lied to you. He had tricked you. He had trapped you. There would be no escape. He had finally acted on the overarching threat that had hung over your head like a blade waiting to strike. Alhaitham had made you his. “Haitham?” Your voice quivered as your barely maintained control of it. Gods above how you just wanted to scream at him. Even if it would be deemed unnecessary at this stage, you still wanted to. If nothing else than to release the emotions that were threatening to suffocate you. “You must have still been tired from all your exertions while I was away.” The flat calm of his voice incensed you further. The sheer audacity of the man to be unaffected by the looming consequences of his actions sent you to another level where your fury was concerned. Even if there was nothing you could physically do to him, Alhaitham could have had the good manners to sound somewhat remorseful for the fact that he had tricked you. “I took your akasha terminal off hours ago.” You tried to take a deep breath to calm yourself, knowing full well it would do nothing to help. The deep, stuttering quality of the release of it matched the wrath that was vibrating through your body. “Did you sleep well?” An absurd question all things considered. “What’s going on?” You sat up fully, using the cold metal bars as a means of support when you could finally manage to stand. “What have you done?”

He rose from his place on the sofa opposite the cage, taking one last moment to look you over before he closed the distance between you. It wasn’t a large gap, in fact, he closed in what felt like a second. To you though, it felt like an eternity. He was savoring his victory. The look of utter satisfaction he gave you when he stopped in front of you nearly made you take his face off. The only thing that stopped you was that it was well out of your reach. “I cannot admire you to my own satisfaction if you are in Fontaine, sparrow.” He confidently reached out, the pads of his fingers running down the column of your neck, daring to pause long enough at the base so he could brush his thumb over your exposed collarbone. “I shudder to think what could have happened to you had you slipped away.” You would be free. That’s what would have happened. You would be in Fontaine and completely free of him. “This is a much better arrangement, don’t you think?”

“How is this better?!” Hot tears began to stream down your face, burning your skin more with each drop that rolled across your cheeks. “I’m behind bars because of you!” The idea that he acted on his threat to confine you to this degree was not the worst part of this, but it was the most horrifying. Alhaitham always held himself to such a high standard of logic and reason. It was impossible to believe that he would go to such a barbaric level just to maintain his control over you. “I did warn you about the cage. What a pity that you didn’t listen.” Your fingers tightened around the bars. “All you had to do was behave and I would have left you at liberty.” He chuckled. “Such a shame you couldn’t even manage that.” Behave. He meant stay. The price of your liberty was staying in Sumeru until one of you died. Had you just done that, you would have woken up in your bed or at worst his. Instead, you had pressed the offer from Fontaine. You had demanded he let you go. You actually tried to leave. Now in his mind, you had to pay the price for your folly.

“HAITHAM” Your fingers released the bars long enough for you to slap them in pure frustration. “This isn’t fair- this isn’t legal!” He didn’t fight you on either point, he didn’t need to. You were correct on both counts, you knew you were. Confining you was not an ideal solution for him, but your disobedience had forced his hand. You had turned his worst fear into a reality and that was something Alhaitham wasn’t about to allow. “Let me out!” You hit the cage again, more for effect than anything else. “Or?” He retracted his hand from you, folding his arms in amusement, almost challenging you to threaten him. “You’ll scream?” He shrugged. “Go ahead, no one will hear you.” You swallowed, not liking the dangerous glint in his eyes.

“We’re in the middle of the city.” Your complete lack of confidence in that statement was all too apparent. The truth was, you didn’t know that for sure. It was an assumption that he had taken the route of least resistance and brought you to his home. But you had been unconscious when he had done so. The sobering reality was, you could be anywhere. Sumeru was rife with caves and ruins alike. There were any number of places where one could hide a person or themselves if they needed to. Places that the matra didn’t know of or places they didn’t care to go. Places that Alhaitham was prepared to take advantage of, should he need to. “Are we?” There was a small smirk. “Are you sure about that?” Your only response was to look away from him. Having to stare at his smug expression was making you sick. “Would you like a hint?”

“How is this even possible?” You turned back, fixing him with a glare, blatantly ignoring his question. “The last time we spoke, you told me you didn’t have this. The threat to lock me away was an idle one at best.”

“Didn’t I? Interesting that you know what may or may not be in my possession at any given time.” You shook your head in complete denial. He had only just forced you back from the woods yesterday. There was no way he could have gotten this in the span of a night. Either you had been asleep for a lot longer than you thought or something else was going on. “If you’re good, I’ll consider letting you out later to stretch your legs for a bit.” If not, he would keep you locked away for days, even weeks before he would consider letting you out again. Even with your exceptional capability to refuse him at nearly every turn, you could not deny that Alhaitham held all the cards. If you would not offer your compliance freely, then he could demand it in other ways. He could force it if it was absolutely necessary, but he would wear you down long before he ever got to that point. The burden of being held captive wasn’t resting on him. Alhaitham was free. He could do as he pleased and you knew it pleased him just to have you. Your presence was enough to satiate any desire he might have. He could easily lose himself in a book and be fine with forcing you to wait to the point that you were willing to beg him for a scrap of attention. Meanwhile, all you could do was stare at the door of your cell and pray that you didn’t descend into madness from the sheer boredom of it all. “I know it’s a foreign concept for you to behave yourself where I’m concerned, but perhaps you could practice it while I’m otherwise engaged today. It’s not like you have anything else to do.” The incredulous nature of his statement caused you to only be able to gape at him in horror.

Alhaitham’s expectation of you being good, was for you to be utterly compliant to his whims. He expected your gratitude and your adoration in equal measure. Your inability to express either frustrated him to no end. You supposed he felt your current situation would fix that. To achieve an ounce of freedom, you had to do what he wanted. You had to obey. There were no more second chances or mild infractions. Alhaitham’s intentions were all too clear. You become what he wanted you to be. Period. “Kaveh will be in to check on you once he gets back from his errands. Considering he’s as irritated as I am with you, I’m sure a little obedience would go a long way mending the proverbial fence with him.”

“Fuck off.” You spat that at him the hope that it would have some effect on him. It did, but only from the standpoint that it made Alhaitham angrier. You could see it in his eyes when they grew harder, glossing over with the cold apathy that he had mastered. “Language.” You went to say it again, this time louder, hopefully loud enough that someone would hear, but he cut you off. “Don’t doubt me when I tell you I have all that I need to correct your mistakes. Your language is one of them.” There was a brief pause. “I’ll give you a pass on that little outburst because you’re upset. Perhaps rightfully so. But don’t make the same mistake with your language again. If you choose to continue to scream obscenities at me, then you’ll do so from behind a gag until you know better. Am I clear?” You let out a slow breath, flaring your nostrils at him as you did. God you wanted to try him. You wanted to dare him to act on his threat, just to see if he would follow through on it. You half considered it, until you looked over the bars again. He had gone so far as to build you a cage. A gag or anything else he had squirreled away would be nothing in comparison. “Sparrow. Answer me, courteously.” “I hate you.” You weren’t about to give him the acquiescence he desired. Not today at any rate. “This isn’t even remotely close to fair.” Your hands came around the bars, gripping them with all you had. “It isn’t fair that you were going to sneak away either. Yet you still tried. Consider this your punishment.” He indicated the cage. “When you learn to stay as you should, then I might be persuaded to let you out for an extended period of time, with supervision.” Stay as you should, like a dog. Gods help you. Your previous fury, which hadn’t been subdued by his motives finally succeeded in escaping, launching itself at him with every ounce of strength you had in your body. The bars of the cage rattled in unison with your screams as you pounded against the door to your cell. Much like Alhaitham, it didn’t move. It held firm, keeping you exactly where he wanted you as he took in your tantrum. He watched you fail and cry and scream until you were reduced to a crumpled puddle at his feet, quietly sobbing out what was left of your rage. There was nothing more to do, there was nothing more to say. To your own horror you had to accept the truth, that despite all your careful planning, Alhaitham had still managed to find a way to win.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some time later, that was how Kaveh found you; crumpled against the cage in a broken heap. Enrant tears still fell as you couldn’t quite bring your emotions into check, but your sobbing had long ceased. The only reason it had, was because you had no more energy to do so. Whatever means Alhaitham and Kaveh had been using to keep you alive while you slept weren’t being employed now that you were awake. That meant you were reliant on them to supply you with what you needed to survive. Something you were sure would depend on your behavior and how obedient you choose to be. Knowing Alhaitham, the more you humiliated yourself for his benefit, the better. If you refused, he could starve the defiance right out of you.

“Paradisah?” You flinched at the sound of Kaveh’s voice. He had slipped in a while ago. Like Alhaitham, Kaveh was keen to observe as well. It was an annoying trait they both shared. You wished though, that like Alhaitham, Kaveh had remained silent. You weren’t ready for him. Your anger at Alhaitham, at least the first incarnation of it, had only just subsided. Kaveh didn’t necessarily deserve the tail end of it, simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Had you the energy for it, you would have given him the fresh anger he had earned all on his own. Instead you limply sat there, ignoring him. It was the only defense you could muster. “Darling-” He quickly moved closer, the metal details of his outfit clinking and clanking with every swift step. “Darling, are you alright?” Out of all the statements and questions you had heard today, that took the cake on being the stupidest. Were you alright? You had been abducted and told you would stay locked in some form of a cage for the rest of your life. Of course you weren’t alright. Why would he ask that? “I only just got here. Alhaitham left a note saying to check on you. He mentioned that you might be upset.” Might be. Might be.

You turned, your head tilting up in utter disbelief as your tired, red rimmed eyes found Kaveh’s. Might be upset. Things that might upset you were things like the coffee shop being out of your favorite blend or being denied art supplies that you needed for a project. Suggesting that you might be upset at your present circumstances was perhaps the understatement of the millenia. There was no might be about it. You had gone well past the point of upset and gone nuclear. The only thing that seemed to contain it was your own mental exhaustion. “Paradi, please don’t be like that. It’s-” He let out an exasperated sigh. “It’s not that bad. Truly it’s not.” For the first time, you were thankful for the bars that separated you from Kaveh. Had they not been there, then there was a very real chance you might have killed him where he stood. “Are you mad?” You didn’t bother to soften your tone for his benefit, not when he was acting like this was the most normal thing in the world. “I’m locked in a cage, Kaveh. A cage.” The anger you thought you didn’t have for him sparked, rapidly reigniting the ashes of the inferno that had been burning inside of you. “Why?” The question had been a rhetorical one, but the blonde scoffed, deciding it needed to be answered. “Because you gave him no other choice!” You watched as Kaveh planted his hands on his narrow hips. “Not to take his side in this, but you did it first! You-” He weakly gestured to you, letting his one hand fall back to his side. “You went behind his back! You went behind my back! By the way, Fontaine? Really?” Kaveh fixed you with a look of utter contempt. “And for so little too.” He shook his head in disgust. “You should at least get what you’re worth if you’re going to try something this stupid.” Like he was one to talk. Kaveh was Sumeru’s reigning king of foolish endeavors and stupid mistakes. The reason for his personal troubles were because he lacked the common sense he was born with. “I wanted my life back. I already live on a pittance, what’s the difference if I do it here or in Fontaine?” The difference was that Alhaitham and Kaveh wouldn’t be with you. While he tried to disguise it as pity or even empathy, Kaveh was every bit as bad as Alhaitham when it came to controlling your life. He didn’t use money or even his position to keep you where he wanted you. Instead, Kaveh’s violent mood swings often played a large role in getting you to do what he wanted. It was easier to comply with his poor pitiful me act than to deal with the outbursts that would follow should you refuse. “I didn’t think you would be one to lecture me about wanting to get away.” You fixed him with a hard look. “Aren’t you always going on about paying off your debts and getting away from him once and for all? Why am I any different? Why do I have to be the one that’s locked in the cage?” “Because you won’t listen!” The force in Kaveh’s voice temporarily silenced you. He stomped so hard his entire outfit rang in your ears. “All we want is to take care of you!” He took a deep breath, his adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed. “Are you that ungrateful? You were sleeping in ruins and shady inns before you came here.” He let out an exasperated sigh. “We’ve offered you a life, a home. Sure Alhaitham is wretched and the whole mora thing is annoying, but does that alone constitute betrayal?” The word be slammed into you like a sack of bricks.

“Betrayal?” You could hardly voice the word. Did Kaveh really believe that? “Yes!” He pointed at you. “Betrayal. You have done nothing but lie to me for the last few weeks. Outside of one or two incidents, I thought we were getting along splendidly. I was ready to give him a glowing report so that he might cut you a little slack. Instead you betrayed me. You went behind my back multiple times to make arrangements for your new life in Fontaine. Then you scared the living daylights out of me when you took your little sketching trip into the woods. They delivered your graduation letter that morning and when I went to find you so we could talk about it, you were gone! I thought you had tried to run. I spent my day combing Sumeru City trying to find you!” You wanted to feel guilty about that, but you couldn’t quite manage it. Kaveh’s willing participation in this whole fiasco seemed to kill any remorse you tried to have. “Do you think so little of me that you would do that to me? After everything we’ve been through, you would just leave me behind to deal with his fury?” That you did feel slightly sorry about. You had from the beginning.

Kaveh was as much of a victim of Alhaitham as you were. While you had to deal with Alhaitham’s wandering hands and his incessant control, Kaveh had to endure endless rounds of verbal abuse that were hurled at him on a minute by minute basis when he and Alhaitham were together. Even if it was mostly brought on by Kaveh’s general attitude, Alhaitham almost always went for the jugular where Kaveh was concerned. There had been plenty of instances where Kaveh had limped away from a fight with Alhaitham, only to lick his wounds in the tavern. The difference between you and Kaveh though was Kaveh’s continued participation in Alhaitham’s scheme to keep you in Sumeru. That’s why you only felt slightly bad about your failed escape. Kaveh deserved many things, but the one thing he didn’t deserve was to face the brunt of Alhaitham’s anger when the truth of your escape finally came to light. That didn’t mean you hadn’t been prepared to force him to suffer for the sake of your freedom. If the consequences of you leaving forced Kaveh to realize his own hypocrisy at the hands of Alhaitham, then it was a price you were willing to pay. That at least would be some justice for what had happened to you. Now, there would be none.

“Right, because you’re the victim in this.” Kaveh managed to look a little wounded by that. “Do you think so little of your own ideals that you would cast them aside to imprison me?” The look he gave you was akin to being sucker punched. You could see the wheels spinning in his head. You watched the guilt work its way across his face as he finally took in your situation. “I- I didn’t want you to wake up in there.” Was that supposed to make you feel better? Were you supposed to thank him for his thoughtfulness despite the fact he willingly participated in your abduction? “Even with your betrayal, I advocated that you would be more comfortable out here.” Kaveh briefly gestured at the couch that sat along the wall closest to him. “We could always lock you in later, but I felt it would be better for you not to wake up behind bars. Alhaitham- he disagreed with me. He insisted that things had to remain as normal for us as possible. Nothing could look or feel amiss. I told him I would stay with you, but-” Kaveh shook his head. Obviously that suggestion hadn’t gone much further than that. “In the end, he’s right. We had to consider all that you had done, all you could do. You could hurt yourself, or something else could happen.” Like alert the matra and try to get away. “We both felt that this was better. Safer for everyone.” Safer. You wanted to laugh. You wanted to scream. Safer for who exactly? Them? You? “I know you’re upset.” He tried to sound gentle about it. Despite screaming at you only a few minutes prior, Kaveh was trying his best to be the good cop to Alhaitham’s bad cop. He was trying so desperately to add a silver lining to an abysmal situation. You wouldn’t accept it though. No amount of honeyed words would ever fool you again. “If you listen to him then it won’t be for long. He told me he might even let you out for a while later.” Fresh tears stung your eyes as you gripped the bars with all you had. “You’d like that right? To be out, to walk around? You were under for so long. I’m sure it would feel great just to stretch your legs. Oh! Just think, we could all have meals together, just like we used too.” Like some bastardized version of a family. Despite being famished, you nearly wretched at the thought. “Wouldn’t that be grand?” Kaveh offered you a genuine smile in an effort to disguise the fact that what he had just said was completely revolting. We could all have meals together, just like we used too. As if you hadn’t been forced to eat with them the first time. As if anything would ever be like it used too ever again. How could this meal or any others make up for the fact that your life had been stolen from you? Years of work, years of training, years of studying all made useless by the cold bars that held you in place. You had been reduced to no better than their pet. Something they were preparing to mold and train into a mindless thing. “Why don’t I make you some Pani Puri? You like that don’t you? I think we-” God you couldn’t stand him anymore. You couldn’t stand his incessant need to ignore the obvious. You hated him. You hated Alhaitham. You would rather be left to rot in the prison they had built for you before you would tolerate being in their presence for one more second. “Leave.” It took him a second to process what you said. Initially you thought he hadn’t heard you or that you had only said it in your mind based on the confusion that was written across his face. His expression changed a moment later, resembling that of a kicked puppy. “Darling, I -” He took a step towards you.

“I said-” You turned away from him, not wanting to see his face again. “Leave.” You tried to add some force to that, but it didn’t really work. The word came out as some weak, warbling thing that was barely discernible. Still though, he understood. You heard him take a breath, as if to say one last thing to you, but he refrained. Needless platitudes of encouragement or pleas for you to reconsider wouldn’t do him any good. You had already refused to hear them. Instead, the only sound you wanted to hear was the gentle clanking of Kaveh’s outfit as he slowly moved away. After what you guessed were a few minutes, he granted you that. Leaving you to the fate that Alhaitham had decided for you.

#yandere genshin #yandere genshin impact #yandere genshin x you #yandere genshin x reader #yandere alhaitham #yandere kaveh #yandere!genshin #yan genshin x reader #genshin alhaitham #genshin kaveh #kaveh genshin impact #genshin impact alhaitham #alhaitham genshin #alhaitham x reader x kaveh

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junowritings · 10 months

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Hello ☺️💚

I hope I can request something, if they are closed please feel free to delete this 🌺🌺

I absolutely I adored your NRC amnesiac MC story with the dorms and would love to see more. It just hit all the tropes I love so much and adore.

Maybe with the rest of the dorms? As scenarios?? Or imagines?? (Honestly I’m a confused when it comes to those terms, so whichever is easier for you)

With pomefiore, ignihyde, and diasomnia? I feel like Vil is going to take one look at mc and go “okay, time to take care of another potato” but lovingly, ignihyde is going ortho is “I have another sibling” and gosh diasomnia is practically family and lilia is going “time to adopt another one 👏👏”

I just found the idea so so cute, but feel free to do whatever you want ☺️🌺

Right so first off I'M SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG I'M SO HAPPY YOU LIKED THE ORIGINAL ONE!!! Also thank you so much for all the kind comments that you leave on my post I see every single one and it still makes my day to re-read them!

But also GOD I love this idea too and I got way too carried away with this. There's a lot of TWST I gotta catch up on (haven't been able to start chapter 7 yet) so I had to work with what I've got in terms of knowledge of Diasomnia.

I hope this was well worth the wait~! (OG scenario here btw)

Pomefiore

♡ Time passes at Night Raven College, and life continues to move on, as it always has. It’s been months without a single shred of your memories resurfacing, and with no sign of anything returning anytime soon the attention has turned from your past, to your present. Your memory loss has become a simple fact of life at this point, a reality that you had to put on the back burner with everything else that had happened since your arrival and during the winter holidays. You’re thankful that the needless prodding seems to have died down by the time that students start returning back to the school and classes resume. Things return to the only sense of normalcy you’ve ever known, and you think you can get used to this without another incident.

♡ Until VDC happens.

♡ Ramshackle is the only place you have to call home, but even you can admit that it needs a lot of work. It’s a poor excuse for a building, considering the state that it had been left in far before anyone called it home. It at least had running water, and electricity, but compared to the other dorms and their meticulous upkeep by both students and staff, Ramshackle is most certainly the odd dorm out with only two members and a handful of ghosts to its name. And yet it’s the place that the headmaster deems an acceptable place to host the VDC group during their month ‘training camp’.

♡ It makes it easier knowing that you’re good friends with the majority of the group, having been through plenty before the training camp even started. In some weird way it’s kind of like a month-long sleepover with your friends and classmates, not unlike the times Kalim’s dragged you over to Scarabia for the night in the name of making fond memories. Still, you can’t help but feel cautious around the Pomfiore members you now have living under your roof, and how little you actually know about them.

♡ By this point, the fact that you’ve got no memories prior to ending up in Twisted Wonderland is pretty much common knowledge amongst the people who bother to keep tabs on you. And considering how Pomefiore’s got the likes of Rook, a skilled hunter who has a penchant for people watching anyone who catches his eye, you’ve got no doubts that they’re well aware of your circumstances.

♡That, and Crowley’s a loudmouth when it comes to his generosity about your ‘unfortunate situation’. That headmaster is really starting to test your patience…

♡ While Vil is strict, he’s by no means cruel, and is at least polite when you first allow them all into your home. He thankfully doesn’t pity you like you worried he would - you’ve had enough of the pitying looks some people give you when they think you’re not looking. Your lack of a past isn’t something you want to dwell on, Vil can see that clearly with how thoroughly you throw yourself into the training camp alongside your friends and new acquaintances. Not to mention that you act as a surprisingly good buffer between the members whenever tensions start to arise with the upcoming deadline.

♡ It’s admirable really - a single minded little spudling if he’s ever seen one. You’ve got promise, if you keep up that resilient attitude, so Vil offers you no quarter in getting you just as involved in this little training excursion as the others are, if only to help you flourish with enough memories of this upcoming event to last you for a lifetime.

♡ With that being said your thirst for knowledge isn’t to be underestimated, and once you find out that Vil’s pretty much a celebrity and acting prodigy you’re intrigued. Vil’s walking past the living room after the group’s come back from another day training at the ballroom and freezes once he hears his own voice coming through the door. Sure enough you’re lounging over the couch watching one of the more obscure movie titles Vil’s acted in on the phone Crowley ‘gifted’ you before winter break. There’s a blunt honesty when you praise his work once you notice you’ve got an audience. Sure, it’s praise he’s heard from adoring fans and critics more times than he could ever hope to recall, but it’s not something you’re saying just to try and get in his good books. When you offhandedly mention that he looks a little happier in the roles where he’s not the villain, noting that they suit him and that whatever world you’re from he’d probably be a big hit, you swear that he gets a bit smug, apparently pleased by whatever you’d said. You may not know all the ins and outs of this world yet, but Vil’s at least sure you’ve got taste. Which is why he turns a convenient blind eye at the treats you smuggle up to Grim and your room after he’s sure you swore to Ace and Deuce to follow along with their no-sweet regime.

♡ Rook is observant, and it’s hard for people not to feel like he’s prying a bit too much into their personal lives when they happen to gain the huntsman’s attention. Perhaps it’s because you’ve got a relatively blank slate, or that you’re so focused on forging ahead to whatever comes next that you’ll get involved at a moment’s notice. Whatever the quality it has piqued his interest, and from the moment that the camp starts he’s committing every little detail about you to memory.

♡ You may not see it, but there’s so many details in the actions that you do and your daily routines that tell the story of who you are to whoever is diligent enough to listen. It’s in your mannerisms and the way you engage with everything around you, all easily missed to the untrained eye. It’s beautiful in its own way, and Rook is nothing if not an appreciator of that beauty.

♡ Your homestead at Ramshackle is but another shining example of who you are as well. Having nothing but the clothes on your back and a basic understanding of how to function when you first arrived, it’s clear that you’ve made a concentrated effort to at least make the place liveable for you and Grim; not just as a shelter, but as a home. Because of course this is the only place you can call home, and Rook is sure to treat it with the respect such an important place deserves.

♡ Epel doesn’t really know what to make of you at first. You’re from a different world entirely, for one thing, and not having any kind of past beyond school makes him feel a bit awkward about interacting with you. According to Vil, Epel’s still rather rough around the edges, and when his emotions get the better of him he’s been known to put his foot in it and say something that comes off blunt and snappy. Plus, surely there was only so much the two of you could talk about that wasn’t VDC or school related, right?

♡ He’s proven wrong when that huge batch of apple juice from his nana back home is delivered to Ramshackle’s doorstep. All it takes is him mentioning to Kalim that his hometown is known for its apples, and before he can even elaborate your voice chimes in with a helpful “Oh,the village of Harvest, right?” that has Epel’s attention snapping over to you so quickly you think you’ve done something wrong.

♡How did you even know that? His hometown’s barely on the map to begin with, so it genuinely makes him freeze when you recognize it so quickly. The question bugs him until he’s able to ask you about it later, where he finds out just how much you’ve thrown yourself into learning about this world you’ve ended up in. You’re excited that someone’s finally asking you about stuff that you do know, and you pretty much end up talking poor Epel’s ear off for the rest of the evening, telling him all kinds of facts you’ve read up on regarding his hometown’s history and culture. Hell, you spout off a few facts that even he didn’t know about, and he doesn’t miss the proud grin on your face once you learn that.

♡Surprisingly, you want to hear more from Epel too. About the place he grew up, the people he grew up with - his family especially. You’ve had some time to process your own grief around your potential family and your life back home, and though there’s still a twinge of jealousy that sparks up on the bad days you don’t want it to hinder the people that you care about right now. And so you sit, and you listen, prodding him for as much information as he’s willing to give. He practically has to send a message to his nana there and then thanking her on your behalf for all the juice when you learn that she was the one kind enough to send them all over. It’s the only way to get you off of his back about it, but there’s no denying that it’s actually kind of nice having someone who’s genuinely curious about his upbringing, instead of snooping or looking down on it.

♡Even after VDC you’re surprised to find that Pomefiore’s promptly nestled itself into your life. With everything that took place before and after the group's performance it only made sense that they’ve bonded to their newest potato, just be prepared for what exactly that entails. Expect plenty of gifts in the form of the latest cosmetic brands and accessories to be delivered to Ramshackle (much to Grim’s disappointment because it’s not food.) You’ve even had yourself called all the way over to Pomefiore’s dorm only to come back with entire outfits just because you let slip once that Crowley’s budget for your dorm doesn’t cover enough to justify buying anything more than your uniform.

♡ Those aren’t the only gifts you receive too. Often when you’re hanging out with the first year group Epel’s got one thing or another that his family back home has practically strong-armed him into giving to you. He’s talked about you to his folks a few times thanks to the whole apple incident, and Marja herself has made Epel remind you more than a couple times that you’re always welcome at the village of Harvest when the next school breaks come up. Did that embarrass Epel? Yes. Did it make him panic when you immediately teared up because of how touching it was? Also yes.

♡ Pomefiore’s final gifts are small, but mean just as much. They also confuse the hell out of you because when did they even show up??? They’re specific things - things related to your hobbies like new books, CD’s, Movies of your favorite genre for you to enjoy (in case Crowley ever caves and gets you that TV on sale at Sam’s store that he’s been promising you for weeks now goddammit-). All placed somewhere that you’re sure to find them. These gifts are well thought out and honestly mean a lot once you realize who they’re from. Not to mention that there’s a folder with a beautiful decorated cover amongst these little surprises, a clear label reading ‘Memory book’ in very familiar handwriting. Thank god the mystery is solved once you find out Grim’s being bribed with tuna by a certain bob-cut huntsman to drop all these things off at Ramshackle (Grim was supposed to give them to you in hand, but he always gets too bored to do so before you get back from school.) So long as you come to terms with the fact that you’ve been pseudo-adopted into Pomfiore’s ranks by the end of it, it’s honestly kind of nice.

♡Just maybe don’t tell Vil that you may have accidentally made friends with his biggest rival on the day of the event because you ran into him backstage. Rook is certainly happy about it - Vil not so much.

Ignihyde

♡ Your friendship with the housewarden of Ignihyde can be rather prickly in light of everything that’s happened, especially after the events with S.T.Y.X. Before that your only real contact with the Shroud brothers was through Ortho, during your first run in at the audition waiting room. You didn’t hide your excitement once you learned that Idia had made the vocal synthesizer that Ortho was using for the VDC auditions, marveling about how cool it was and asking question after question about how he did it. Ortho is more than happy to answer each and every question you have and then some - especially once you learned Technomancy was a thing and just about lit up like a lightbulb. In fact Ace and Deuce basically have to strong arm you away from the conversation in the end because you’re gonna end up making them late for the damn audition.

♡ You at least have the chance to call out to Ortho to tell his brother that he sounds awesome and his stuff is cool before the ballroom door shuts behind you. And that’s exactly what he tells Idia as soon as he’s back from the auditions. Idia thinks that you’re just pulling his leg and don’t actually mean any of the nice things that you say, and it takes Ortho insisting on playing it to him on his memory bank multiple times to prove just how genuinely nice and excited you sounded.

♡ Idia doesn’t really expect to hear anything from you after that, but hoo boy is he mistaken because once you’ve gotten in one of the Shroud boys’ good books the other one (reluctantly) follows. Not that he has much of a choice, because not even a couple of days after the auditions Idia’s getting added to a group chat with him, Ortho and you. It’s supposedly because you’d wanted to ask him a few more questions about his tech, and after Ortho had mentioned his brother probably wouldn’t like the face to face grilling, a group chat with the younger Shroud as the middleman was born. Grim sometimes forces his way into the conversation, but that usually involves him demanding you to write down the texts for him or slapping the nearest meme on your phone into the chat completely out of context.

♡Ortho has a lot of fun chatting with you because he shares your passion for learning things, and the two of you become thick as thieves over it before and after he officially becomes a student. He’s basically got the internet at his fingertips at all times, alongside a variety of other tools that basically make the younger Shroud brother a walking hub of information. You, for one, are absolutely living your best life because whatever odd subject has caught your attention, no matter the question you can always ask Ortho and he is more than happy to provide you whatever fun fact you’re looking for within a matter of moments. You get a bit quiet once he mentions the memories he was given during his creation, but that’s to be expected given the circumstances that you’re working with.

♡ At first, getting Idia to even pop up in the chat is like pulling on a gacha - you’ve got a good 2% chance of him actually interacting, though he does check in a lot more than you’d expect. With time however, and more than a little persistence on your part, you’ll find cracks in Idia’s defenses. He finds it easier to talk to people behind the safety of a screen, and it's not like you’re forcing him to interact with you so that at least gets you some brownie points. Granted, expect him to prod juuuuust a little bit if the topic of your memories come up in chat. He’s sure he hasn’t got enough of a bond rank with you yet

♡Things go up in the air when S.T.Y.X breaks into NRC.

♡ It was one thing having all of these people who you’d come to call friends suddenly stolen away, but losing Grim? The one who’s been your rock since you first showed up who’s been a part of every single memory you’ve made? If Rook wasn’t already planning to sneak out to find them you would have tore through their headquarters with your bare hands to get that damn tuna loving weird rock eating fluff ball back. Once you found out what S.T.Y.X actually had their hands in, especially considering the Lethe River system you were pissed. If you didn’t know for a fact that you were from another world entirely, and that the system operated to a very specific set of procedures for rewriting and erasing set memories, you would have thought that it had something to do with your own memory erasure. If that was the case you probably would have throttled the poor older Shroud; but because you know the truth, and the system itself is down for the next few centuries you settle for being absolutely livid about it.

♡ It’s a sore spot, hitting a little too close to home knowing that there’s people out there who have had memories taken away from them or altered to protect S.T.Y.X’s existence. It’s nothing like your own situation, but you can’t help feeling angry for them. And on top of that, seeing all of those phantoms and knowing that they could have been your friends if you hadn’t been able to bring them back from their overblots? You may try to think of every memory being worth it, but you learn that some bad memories keep you up at night for days after you’re all finally home.

♡ Your friendship with the brothers is tentatively built back up after this, but it takes a bit of work. Idia’s convinced that you’re never going to want anything to do with either of them again after all that’s happened. So convinced that he nearly has a heart attack when you reach out into the group chat once you’ve had time to process things and recover.

♡ Gonna be honest, the wonderlink he gets for you and Grim becomes a huge olive branch once you’re settled back at Ramshackle. Your determination to make memories alongside not having a clue how the gaming system works leads to you either calling Idia over the phone or actually wrangling him into coming over to play with you. Whether by accident or purpose most of the games you purchased on the system he gave you are multiplayer and you insist that there’s absolutely no way just the two of you can place and that you need a gaming expert. Of course Idia sees through your poorly veiled attempts to get him to socialize, but you must have pulled some cheat code because you somehow manage to get him over to play with you two. Just be ready to have more than a few memories of losing - he’s a gaming pro for a reason, after all.

Diasomnia

♡ You’ve firmly wormed your way into the Diasomnia circle from the moment that you first encountered Malleus, whether you realize it at first or not.

♡ Mallues may not be the most intimately involved in the school's affairs or gossip, but even he’s heard talk of the prefect from another world with neither magic nor memories to their name. The lack of magical aptitude wasn’t anything to bat an eye at, though it was unfortunate given your current enrollment at one of the top arcane colleges in the world. But to have no recollections of your life prior to enrolling? In a place where no one can recognize you or give you the answers that you’re looking for? Truly, an unfortunate set of circumstances you’ve been dealt.

♡ He did not expect to cross paths with this infamous prefect on Ramshackle’s grounds not long after word of them popped up. The old bones of the place were a comfort to Malleus on many nightly walks; when he finds out that it’s no longer as abandoned as he first thought he’s sour at the knowledge that he’ll have to find another place to pass his time in peace. The last thing that Malleus expects is you being bold enough not only to approach him, but to greet him so casually as you none too subtly try to pry into what he’s doing walking around your dorm grounds.

♡ Perhaps you’ve lost more than just your memories, as there’s not even a shred of trepidation or cautiousness as you so boldly interact with the fae. Not only that but you listen, looking up at him not with the nervousness or even fear that he’s seen in the faces of most of NRC’s students, but with curiosity. You’re a stranger to this world, so you don’t yet know the name Malleus Draconia, nor the face the name is tied to. For once your lack of knowledge works to someone’s benefit, and an unusual bond is formed.

♡ Your friendship with Malleus is an interesting exchange - you provide him company and idle conversation whenever he spirits away to Ramshackle; and he provides you company in turn, as well as a willing ear for you to confide in. Sure, your friends have told you that you can talk to them about your problems, but for some reason you’re able to open up easily to Mal. Maybe it’s because of just how little you know about him, right down to his very name - he’s just as much of a blank slate to you as yourself. So you find yourself sharing your worries about where you came from, or the life you lived before this, or the general distress of not knowing the first thing to do about getting your memory back.

♡ Even after all these months it still weighs heavily on you, Malleus can see it in the tired expression that wears on your face when you recall all the things you’ve done to bring back even a shred of your old identity until your head’s pounding and your eyes ache. He hates seeing you troubling yourself over it, and more than once he’s found himself flickering through old books and tomes that haven’t been touched in centuries back home with the small hope to relieve some of that burden from your mind.

♡ On a happier note, Malleus will quite happily fill you in on subjects that peak your interest. He may have lived a fairly isolated life up until his enrollment here, but even what he does know about NRC and the world outside of it he’ll share with you, if only to see the way your expression lights up in wonder hearing everything he has to share.

♡ This dynamic changes very little, aside from the fact that now that you know his true identity these interactions are no longer purely one sided in the sense that you don’t have to wait around for him to just magically appear like you have been for months. Now he’s the one being surprised by your presence when you come knocking on Diasomnia’s doors looking to hang out. Surprising, but it honestly makes the young Draconia’s day having you march through his dorm’s halls wanting to spend time with him, encouraging him to talk about his day and asking how Roaring Drago is doing as you do so.

♡ It’s an unusual feeling, having someone’s undivided attention simply because they enjoy your company, and that you leave such an impressionable impact on their memory. Your memory is a precious commodity considering your unique circumstances, and Malleus realizes that he wants to be in as many fond memories as you’ll allow him to.

♡ Though he has to admit, Malleus can’t shake the conflict that dwells in his chest whenever the topic of your home world comes up. Perhaps it’s just in your nature to yearn for something you’ve never known, but he wonders if you’re thinking about it because your worried about your ties to this world. He hopes that once you realize the life that you’re building here, and the memories that you’re making with him and your friends will be enough to convince you to stay. But that day is far away, and so he pushes it to the back of his mind in favor of enjoying the time spent with his closest friend, for however long it lasts…

♡Lilia, catches onto the friendship you’ve got with Malleus quickly, because of course there’s no hiding how much happier Malleus has become. You’re an interesting case yourself, being able to tackle most of the problems that Ramshackle has to offer you and come out the other side as unscathed as you can be. That coupled with the increased amount of time you begin spending around Daisomnia and its students is more than enough reason to catch this guy’s attention. He learns about your memory loss early on, especially considering that it’s pretty much the talk of the school once the information drops. He won’t prod you about it like some of the younger students might, however; he’s been on this earth long enough to recognize a sore subject when he sees one.

♡ And so he sets about learning things about you in the present rather than the past. Your likes, dislikes, favorite foods, how easily shocked you get when he tries one of his infamous surprise appearances. Lilia’s very easygoing so it’s rather easy to get along with him, not to mention being a dad he’s got the comforting parental presence down pat when he wants to use it. He’s an easy person to let your guard down around, and admit things you usually wouldn’t. Maybe that’s why you end up talking to him about the what-if’s of your previous life.

♡ It’s a moment of weakness, you let one of your idle thoughts about your family back home slip, asking aloud if there’s anyone there to actually miss you. Lilia doesn’t miss the somber chuckle as you admit that you’re a little jealous - Sebek has his parents, and Silver has Lilia. You want a family like that. You try to lighten the mood by jokingly asking why someone can’t whisk you away into their family already, thinking about that time Kalim very nearly got you adopted into his family once he learned of your memory loss. You don’t expect an answer, much less for the moment to suddenly be broken as the fae pats your head ruffling your hair. No doubt he’s made your hair a mess by the action, but you’re more focused on the grin Lilia gives you when he mentions always wanting a big family - he’s sure Silver wouldn’t mind having a new sibling!

♡Unrelated but Lilia loves sharing old stories with you. Some of the things he shares you vaguely recall reading about in some history books at the library; some of those books were so old you have to wrack your brain trying to do the mental gymnastics to figure out exactly how old he is. He is thoroughly entertained seeing the mild existential crisis inducing cogs turning in your head as he continues his tales, waiting for you to inevitably jump into the story to prod him for more information. Just wait until Malleus shows you that one textbook that’s got Lilia’s portrait in; Lilia doesn’t hear the end of it when you come flying into his room mid game with the textbook in hand demanding to know how the hell he looks the same in a portrait taken centuries ago and waiting like a stubborn child next to his chair as he finishes the raid he’s working through with Gloomurai.

♡ Maybe if you weren’t so desperate for answers, you would have noticed that his friend’s gamer tag looks kinda familiar…

♡ Offered to cook you your favorite dish once. You thought it was a nice gesture, until Sebek and Silver made a joint effort to wrangle you away from the scene, basically pleading with Lilia to please not step foot into the kitchen. That’s probably one thing you’re better off not learning about…

♡ When Sebek first runs into you at NRC, he almost fools himself into thinking that you’re playing up the amnesia for some unforeseen gain. He’s not the first student to have had their doubts, and honestly you can’t entirely blame him for just how weird ‘complete memory loss aside from remembering basic functions and muscle memory’ sounds even without the whole context of this being a world governed by magic. However, what makes Sebek different is that he approaches the subject about as delicately as a falling brick. You’re only half listening as he’s demanding answers for things you don’t even know yourself, already fed up with the whole rigmarole of people throwing questions about your amnesia at you.

♡There’s only so much you can hear about memories this, hiding that before you snap back, hissing out that you’d give just about anything for it to be a lie rather than spending every night guessing where you’ve come from and who you’ve left behind while he’s got the luxury of knowing the kind of life he’s lived before this damn school. That shuts him up faster than you’ve ever seen, jaw snapping closed so hard you swear you hear his teeth click together as you turn heel and generate as much distance between the two of you as possible.

♡ He feels guilty afterwards; Sebek may be a bit of a livewire but even he knows when he’s taken things a bit too far, and it’s clear to see his prying has left you feeling more than a little bitter towards him. Thankfully team dad Lilia is right there to offer advice on smoothing things over in a way that doesn’t result in things looping back around to the original argument. It takes a little while to come to terms with the fact that Sebek genuinely didn’t mean any malice in his prodding; with him on a determined path to become a knight worthy to protect Malleus he wants to know that he can trust you before allowing any kind of potential friendship to form. The way that he went about it however was blunt and came off way ruder than intended; that’s something you can both agree on when he bellows out an apology in the middle of the damn hallway when you cross paths the next day.

♡ He comes to respect how diligently you work despite your initial setbacks coming to Twisted Wonderland with such limited knowledge. What he once thought was an attempt to pry into things for malicious gain he finds is actually just a desire to understand the world around you and the people who inhabit it. Sebek has relayed his respect to you before, in his own way, and thankfully you’ve spent enough time around him to know that he genuinely means every word of it.

♡ Will actively spur on your thirst for knowledge. The first time he lent you a book because he thought the material would give you something to think about, he fully expected it to be weeks before you’d finished. Cut to the next night and you’re unceremoniously dropping that same book onto his bedroom desk, sitting down next to him as you exclaim how cool the book was and your favorite highlights.

♡ Of course Sebek quizzes you about it, but when it’s clear you’ve actually taken an interest in the book he’s given you expect to be walking home that night with a new pile of them to pour over to your heart's content. He’s got his own passion for books, and the pair of you bond over this shared activity a lot more than people realize. Lilia almost can’t believe his eyes how quickly Sebek’s hot-blooded attitude simmers down into something more tempered whenever you come over to gush about the latest book he’s recommended to you.

♡You made a joke once about being adopted by Sebek’s parents while he was on call back home, if only to get a laugh out of the smoldering glare he shot you from the other side of the couch. That laugh however breaks out into a full on cackle hearing his parents actually agreeing with you as you shuffle across the couch and pluck the phone from Sebek’s hands while he’s frozen in shock. His mom is thrilled; Sebek, decidedly, is not, as a pillow from the couch goes sailing across the room as you flee from the scene, disappearing into Daisomnia’s halls with Sebek’s phone to tell your second adopted family all about how he’s been making them proud at NRC.

♡ Silver doesn’t miss the signs that you’ve essentially been pseudo-adopted by his father and the other Diasomnia members, though he doesn’t know that you haven’t clocked onto it yet. Considering how Malleus considers you a close confidant, Lilia is basically treating you like another one of his children, and Sebek seems to actually enjoy having you around it’s easy to think that you’ve noticed just how much everyone cares for you. And of course you care for them in return; more than once you’ve stopped by during Silver and Sebek’s training with something from the cafeteria, or you’ve brought the oddest little things you’ve found at Sam’s shop to show off how cool they are (all of which he’s pretty sure he’s seen scattered around Malleus’ room whenever you bring a new item to the dorm.)

♡ You’re quickly becoming such an integral part of Diasomnia’s life that it’s getting harder to imagine a time without you here, and these guys have become all you’ve ever known in the same way. So it’s shocking to Silver when one of the other students mentions that you’ve basically been adopted into the dorm - you’re there so much you’re practically family anyway - and he sees your reaction. You freeze, jaw slack as you process what you’ve just heard. You hardly even notice Grim swiping the sandwich Silver brought you for lunch in your shock, instead glancing up at the Diasomnia boy as if to confirm what you just heard

♡ When he gives you a confused look in return and asks why you’re so shocked since they’re right he practically watches you go through several stages of emotions, right before you’re grabbing him by the lapel of his uniform and guide him to follow you as you bolt over to Crowley’s office. The poor headmaster doesn’t hear the end of your demanding for Grim and yourself to be made honorary Diasomnia members after this. If they’re adopting you, then by the seven you’re getting it in writing from the bird man himself.

♡ Silver mentions once that he wouldn’t mind if you really were adopted into the family. It’s right as he’s on the cusp of another one of his naps, leaning up against your shoulder when he lets slip that he’d be proud to have a sibling like you without thinking anything of it - because of course it’s true, it's just a thought he hasn’t voiced out loud before. Cut to Lilia coming in a minute or two later to check in only to find his son conked out on your shoulder while you’re a blubbering mess over the fact that someone genuinely wants you as part of their family. Lilia feels only marginally bad when he reaffirms the sentiment, him casually throwing out that he already sees you as Silver’s little sibling resulting in you crying harder.

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themusingsofacurlyhairednerd · 5 months

Text

Datura Pt 10

Summary: Stuck between a rock and a hard place, you realize what you have to do to ensure you and Rhys survive the Mountain.

Content Warnings: Character Death (not MC), blood and gore, canon typical violence.

Author's Notes: Sorry ya'll I got sick twice and then got hit with a massive case of writer's block. I think I rewrote this twice and stared at a blank Google Doc for like three days before I managed to get it to make sense. Thank you all for your patience! <3

Previous Chapter , Masterlist

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Every step back into the dark, the torches fewer and farther between, is both a relief and a pressing weight on your shoulders. Relief because you’re away from Amarantha’s cruel gaze, away from the leering stares of the crowd and your cousins; a relief because there’s a High Lord waiting for you to come back. You’d never admit it to him, but his presence is soothing, grounding--something you desperately need after the mess in the Throne Room.

The guards are in no hurry, unlike your initial removal from your cell; all four of them move in sync, having done this thousands of times. It must be a lot of work, tending to every person that Amarantha deems unworthy of her court--it has to be a lot, if the amount of locked cells you pass are any indication.

You keep your head to your chest as best you can around the collar, eyes pinched to avoid the constant change in lighting. They’ll adjust soon.

It’s because you’re focused on not tripping that you don’t see the guards ahead of you stop until you slam into the back of one of them. You reel backwards, expecting to be shoved or punished for the stumble, but the guards don’t react at all. They remain frozen, staring straight ahead.

A glance at the ones behind you to confirm they look the same; it’s as if time has come to a halt.

“Um, hello?” You risk waving a hand in front of one of their faces, fully expecting them to grab your wrist and throw you, but they still remain unmoving. Creeping a little closer, you can see the glazed look in their eyes, like they’re suddenly not seeing. One of them has drool running down the side of his face.

“They can’t answer you.”

You jump with a shout of surprise.

A female’s laugh echoes off the walls, footsteps approaching, though it’s still too dark to see where it’s coming from.

“Did you really think we’d leave you here with Amarantha?” Dagdan sneers as he comes to stand between the first two guards. He leans an elbow against one of their unflinching shoulders.

You can feel more than see Brannagh take up the spot between the other two guards at your back.

“You left with Tamlin,” you say. Maybe they really did get in your head and this is some terrible dream they’ve orchestrated to get into your memories. Despite the pain still throbbing in your skull from earlier, you check to make sure your shields are in place.

“The Throne Room sure,” Brannagh replies. “But the bitch is too busy having a temper tantrum to notice that her toy is even gone. By the time she figures it out, you’ll be gone.”

“Why? What do you want?” You ask, head spinning. They’d planned this. They’d riled Amarantha up on purpose to distract her from seeing them move you. They’d probably been in the guards’ heads from the beginning.

“As we told her,” Dagdan says, pushing off his perch to step closer to you.

You take a step back and bump right into Brannagh’s chest. Her bony fingers wrap around your arms and hold fast, her nails biting into your skin.

“Hybern wants you tested and ready, and I don’t believe for a second that you’re her submissive little pet.”

You focus on your breathing as pain prickles in your fingertips, your jaw, your powers itching to come out and protect you. One breath, and then another. You are in control here; you can do this, just like you practiced.

“Amarantha took my powers,” you say.

“And yet, you still reek of them,” Brannagh hisses in your ear.

“I think that’s sweat,” you retort.

Dagdan grabs the chain still hooked around your throat and yanks, cutting off your air supply as it jerks your head upward. “You think you’re really funny, don’t you?”

You gasp for breath as the metal digs into your skin. “I don’t have any powers!”

In the time it takes to blink, they’ve winnowed you away from the guards, out the tunnels, and to the lip of one of the Mountain’s cave entrances, where Tamlin remains waiting. The light is so blinding you throw your hands over your eyes with a scream that makes the twins chuckle in amusement.

“We’ll be the judge of that,” Dagdan says.

Sunlight might as well be flames against your skin, the burning making tears stream down your cheeks, even through the protection of your hands. Amarantha would have been better off blinding you in one fell swoop, it would have been less painful than this.

Indifferent to your pain, or perhaps relishing it, Dagdan yanks your chain and drags you out into the sunlight for the first time in months. Brannagh drags Tamlin in a similar manner, the High Lord still silently following along. You’d imagined this moment a thousand different times, in hundreds of different ways; the feeling of sunlight, of the wind against your skin was foreign, none of your dreams could do it justice. And the crispness of the air, the lack of dirt and decay in your lungs, it was enough to make you fall on your knees and sob--you would have, if you weren’t still being dragged.

“We’ll get to the wall and Tamlin will show us the gaps,” Dagdan explains, though the High Lord of Spring gives no confirmation that he hears him. “Once we find a weak spot, we’ll put you to good use.”

You can’t let that happen. If they find out the truth, they will use it against you, and then Rhys is dead, but there’s no chance for you to make a break for it yet. Trying to keep up with the pace they set so you’re not being dragged is useless, it’s like trying to run and after being caged for so long, your body can’t keep up. The exertion and the heat makes sweat drip off your forehead, the collar around your neck slick with it as it scrapes back and forth against your skin. You’ve got no choice but to follow them until they get to the Wall, and maybe then you can find a way to get free of them.

The Mountain exit has deposited you somewhere in the heart of Spring, though you don’t recognize the blooming forest at all. It must be on the other side of the High Lord’s estate, where you’d never had reason to be. If Tamlin recognizes his woods, his lands, he gives no indication of it, his emerald eyes still glassy and unfocused as Brannagh drags him like a dog on a leash behind her. You’ll have to find a way to get him free of her before you break away from them, there’s no way you can leave him alone with her like that. Amarantha has already done enough to him, you can’t abandon him to Brannagh too.

They walk for a long time, following deer paths through the woods. Though they carry no map, it’s clear they’ve studied one before coming with the way they pick their way around. Brannagh complains about the mud the deeper you all go, but you savor every splash of it against your skin, relish every brush of bushes and vines and the faint song from birds somewhere overhead. It might as well have been a lifetime ago since you’d last touched any of these things, your world shifted to nothing but stone and rock. You’d savor this, stressful as it was, when you eventually have to go back into the dark.

Because you will have to go back.

Even if you find a way to get Tamlin somewhere safe, you have to go back to fulfill your bargain. If you run away now the magic of the bargain could very well kill you.

Dagdan slows as the path ahead splits in two directions and you lean against a large tree to catch your breath, the bark rough against your skin. The noise of your company makes a squirrel jump from its roost and run for cover a few yards away and you watch it with the fascination of someone seeing the world for the first time. How are you supposed to go back into the dark when all this sunlight and fresh air exits? How can you go back into the cramped space of that tiny cell, with nothing but the cold to greet you when there is this kind of warmth in the world? It’s not fair!

“It’s right, you idiot!” Brannagh snarls when her brother hesitates.

“No it’s not,” he counters. “The map said left.”

“It’s right,” Tamlin says, his voice lifeless and slurred.

The twins turn to stare at him for a moment, before Dagdan huffs, “You better not be wrong.”

Tamlin goes back to staring into the sky like he hadn’t heard the threat and you push yourself off the tree to get a better look at him. It’s impossible to tell if he really is just high and delusional or faking it at this point, but if it’s the latter, maybe giving the twins the slip won’t be so difficult. You try to shift closer to him, but Dagdan yanks you away before you get more than a step.

They’re separating you intentionally, it would seem, with Brannagh staying a few feet behind you.

You check your shields as you walk, then the glamor, just to make sure they hadn’t heard any of the plans in your head.

The sun is high by the time the four of you make it out of the woods and into a set of grassy plains that stretch for half a mile before it meets a shimmering wall of magic. At the right angle it's almost invisible, save for a faint pink hue. The closer you get, however, the more your hair rises on end, the more the air smells sickly sweet from the magic used to hold the barrier in place. You’ve never been this close to the Human Lands before, and even though the Wall veils it from sight, you know it's just beyond.

“Ugh,” Brannagh says, crinkling her nose as you all pass through the waist high grass. “I can practically smell those human pests from here.”

Dagdan runs his tongue over his thin lips. “I’ve missed the fun we used to have with our pets, don’t you?”

You shiver under the implication in his tone. You’ve never met a human before, but they sound awfully fragile from the stories and you doubt they’d hold up under anything your cousins could throw at them.

“How close is the nearest hole?” Brannagh demands.

Tamlin slowly turns his head from side to side, golden hair flowing across his temples as he searches for the right spot. “About a mile,” he says finally, gesturing with his chin to the left of you.

The Wall doesn’t look any different from where you stand, but you don’t know enough about the magic used to build it to dispute his claims. Neither do the twins, as they don’t question it, and drag the two of you along the path indicated until you reach the spot. It’s of no help though, because the hole in question is about the size of a fist, just big enough for you to crouch and peer into the forest beyond the magic barrier. It smells different from this side of the Wall, newer yet dead somehow, like there’s no magic at all beyond the barrier.

“I should have figured you’d be stupid,” Dagdan snarls. Turning to his sister he adds, “I told you he was too pretty for his own good.”

You bite back a laugh despite yourself.

Brannagh yanks on Tamlin’s chain like one would a misbehaving dog. “I didn’t think I needed to tell you that we needed to be able to fit through it!”

“Oh,” Tamlin says with a shrug. “Then it’s the other way.”

And so, you go back the way you’d come, and further, to the next spot, larger than the last, but still not big enough for any of you to fit through, to which the High Lord insists there are more if you keep going further. It’s very much the same answer at each spot you find, making you walk back and forth until the path back starts to blur in your mind and the sun begins to set. It’s too dark to go back, especially with the growls of things from the edge of the woods rising to meet you, so they tether you and the High Lord to a large tree while they collect firewood to make camp.

You sink down into the damp earth with a grunt, legs sore beyond belief. It’s been too long since you’ve been able to properly stretch your legs.

Tamlin slowly lowers himself to sit next to you. “There’s a lot of boggie in this area,” he says, not looking at you. He keeps his gaze in the other direction, focusing on some bright flower bushes in the distance. There is no slurring in his speech anymore.

“So this was on purpose?”

He grins, pleased with himself. “I’m not totally useless.”

“It’d be a shame if we accidentally caught its attention,” you muse. There is a fog starting to creep in, stealing the warmth of the day, hiding whatever monsters lurk in the depths of the woods.

“They’re not armed enough,” he adds. “It’d be quick.”

Too quick, but what can you do about it in the end? “Can you get us unchained?”

“I think," he replies with a wince. “You still got claws you can use, just in case?”

“Me?” You say with feigned ignorance.

He risks a glance to where the twins are bickering about something in the tree line. “You don’t think I believe Rhysand wants something to do with you out of the goodness of his black heart, do you?”

You bristle at the words, fangs threatening to slip out. How dare him!

“He clearly means to use you for something, and after that fight with the chimera, I think it’s pretty obvious that he wants to wield you like Hybern did your mother.”

“It’s not like that,” you snarl. Rhys is nothing like Hybern!

“Isn’t it?” He hisses. “Let me guess, he tried to befriend you, acted all concerned about your powers being untested and untrained? He offered to help you get a handle on them, makes sure to run you through all the steps because he’s concerned about your well being?”

He doesn’t let you get a word in before he adds, “He did the exact same to me.”

You run a hand absently over the bargain mark. Rhys was many things but he'd never stoop so low as to use someone like that. It's unthinkable.

“And when I realized how he’d manipulated me, when I stopped giving him exactly what he wanted, do you know what he did?”

You watch the twins continue their argument into the darker parts of the edge of the woods to avoid looking at him.

“He killed my parents, my brothers. I am the only one left.”

That couldn’t possibly be true!

“Rhys gets what he wants, or he makes your life a living hell for it,” Tamlin snarls. “He’s just as bad as she is, he’s just better at hiding it.”

You've managed to reign in your temper until that point. “That’s not true!” You snarl. “He’s nothing like her!”

Tamlin huffs a laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “He’s really got you wrapped around his finger, doesn’t he? I bet the second you get out of here and away from them you’d run right back to him.”

You stiffen, not because it’s not true, but because all day the only thing you’ve been thinking about is how you don’t want to go back. Selfishly, greedily, all you could think about was how unfair it was to have to go back, you hadn’t once thought about him.

“He’d do the same for me,” you whisper, hand pressed tight to the bargain mark because you know he would. Without a thought for how long he’d been underground, without a thought for how unfair it was that he couldn’t keep his freedom, he’d come back for you, fight for you. How could you be so selfish and abandon him, bargain or not?

“You can’t be serious,” Tamlin replies. “Why would he come back for you?”

The ink is warm on your skin, a living, breathing thing that doesn’t just mark you, it’s part of you. Part of him. It’s a living tether that flows between your souls, ties you together. It’s him, but it’s you, it’s…

The realization slams into you like a brick. You’d known it too, that morning when Amarantha had taken your powers, something had shifted into place and you hadn’t been able to place it. “Because,” you stammer as you brush a mental hand against that tether, the one that had linked your minds together from the start, that had allowed him to reach for you on Calanmai all those years ago. It had been so easy for him to find you, not because of his powers, but because of what was already there. “Because he’s my mate.”

Mate. Rhys was your mate. It was as if all your questions had clicked into place, why you were always so eager to be near him, and him you, why he’d been so back and forth in the beginning. He was your mate.

Tamlin rolls his eyes. “Yeah, ‘cause those are titles that mean anything.”

Shit. Your eyes go to Amarantha’s mark on his chest. “I’m sorry for everything she’s done to you.”

He growls, eyes flashing. “Bonds mean nothing. They’re just a way to make us animals that need to breed. They don’t guarantee protection or affection, it might as well be another collar.”

You glance over to where you’d last seen the twins. “So when they’re gone, will you fight her?”

“No,” he says. “I mean to disappear into the Human Lands and not look back.”

“But you can help stop her!” You persist.

“No one can, she’s too strong,” he returns, eyes now flicking to some noise his keen ears hear in the woods beyond you. “And if you’re smart, you’ll go too.”

You’d left your mate with Amarantha. “I can’t do that.”

He shifts so he can get a solid grip on your chains. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

There’s little time in between the moment he starts yanking on the chains, the branch they’re tied to groaning in protest, and the point when Brannagh starts screaming as whatever monster Tamlin had heard approaching finally makes itself known. You know the stories of the monsters Amarantha had unleashed on the courts, but you’ve never seen them for yourself, you have no idea what to anticipate. And truth be told, you’d rather not stick around to learn the truth. You help Tamlin grab the chains and pull until the tree starts to bow and bend under the strain. The chain is rough against your skin, tearing at your palms, but you grit your teeth and plant yourself firmly into the ground as you tug. Between the two of you, it doesn’t take long for the branch to snap off, the tree swinging wildly back and forth as the broken piece of wood goes flying through the air. Your chain slips free, flapping in the wind like a scarf as Brannagh continues to scream.

Tamlin doesn’t stick around to see if they’re being eaten or not, as soon as he’s untangled from the branch, he takes off in a sprint back towards the Wall, to whatever hole is big enough for him to escape through and into the Human Lands. You want to be mad at him for being a coward, but truth be told, you can’t. After all Amarantha has put him through, you hope he can find peace.

You hear Dagdan draw his sword behind you, hear the metal clang against something with claws, but the woods are shrouded in the fog now. Brannagh's armed as well, maybe they’re strong enough soldiers to make it out alive. You’re not going to stick around long enough to find out.

You’re used to the dark, it’s comforting to have nothing but the stars overhead. It had felt like a disadvantage before, but now, now it feels like home. You take off in a full sprint, holding the length of your chain in your hand to keep it from rattling too hard and attracting attention. Tree branches and vines slap at your arms, face and legs as you run, not daring a glance back, and it doesn’t feel all that different from the dream that brought you out on Calanmai, though a few flowers leading the way would have been appreciated this time. You’re moving on instinct more than anything, back the way that feels right.

Soon you stop hearing Brannagh’s screams, though you’re not sure if that means they’re dead, or if they’ve won. You push yourself as fast as you can go, lungs and legs burning in earnest now. You’ve got to make it back, you can’t get caught out here.

The Spring Court is a blur as you find the fork in the road you’d come to earlier and tear down the deer path that should lead you back to the Mountain. Distantly, over the sound of your own ragged breathing, you can hear something moving overhead, a distant flapping sound that’s far too heavy to be a bird. Nothing ever comes into view though, so you do your best to stay in the shadow of the bigger trees as you push through the underbrush.

Cauldron you’re out of shape! You can’t help but stop, hands on your knees, gasping for breath. Sweat drips off the ends of your hair as you bend over, struggling to get your breath back. When this is all over, you’ll take up running, you vow to the Mother.

Time's a ticking thing in your head and you force yourself to keep moving, even if you have to walk until you can breathe evenly again. A couple of steps is still movement in the right direction, still keeps some distance between yourself and whatever threats remain behind you. There’s a clearing up a head that you’ll need to be quick to get through unseen by whatever is flying around above you, you take care to get your breathing under control by the time you make it to the edge of it, and then sprint as fast as your legs can carry you.

It’s not fast enough. Something rock solid and incredibly fast slams into you from behind, sending you flying into the muddy earth with a breath stealing thud. Something with claws drags you up by the back of the neck, laughing, the sound a horrible wheeze of breath that makes your blood run cold. The Attor.

“Look what we have here,” it leers.

Your legs dangle off the ground, body limp in its clawed grip. “Let go of me!”

Darkness ripples in front of you, twisting like a vortex as it spits out the Evil Queen, fire wreathing her claw tipped hands.

Shit shit shit.

She sharpens the flames into points, like twin swords in her hands and she stalks towards you, snarling.

“Wait! Wait!” You plead.

“SILENCE!” She booms. “I’ve had enough out of you, you stupid little brat!”

You twist desperately to get out of the Attor’s grip, but it remains unmoving. If you can’t fight your way out, you have to be smart about this. “My Queen please, let me explain!” You can do this. You can make sure you get back to your mate in one piece, and maybe buy Tamlin the time he needs to escape. You all deserve to be free, there are no exceptions.

The playcatting makes her pause at least, so in a rush you say, “My cousins did something to my guards on the way back to my cell and they winnowed me out before I could even yell for help. I swear I wasn’t trying to escape.”

“Liar!” She snarls, but she doesn’t move any closer.

The Attor’s grip on your neck is bruising, makes your collar bite into your skin hard enough to draw blood. “They led us right into a bunch of boggies and I came back looking for help. Please, you have to save them, I think Tamlin is hurt!”

Invoking her mate makes all her reservations fly out the window. “Where is he?”

“I can take you there,” you say.

Maybe you’ll fulfill your bargain right here and now and let her own monsters finish her off, or maybe there will be such a mess you can convince her that Tamlin’s dead and it’s no use looking for him. One way or the other, you’re buying yourself time, so you take them back the way you’ve come.

Cauldron it feels like your legs are made of bricks by the time you stumble back into the woods. It’s a mess of gore and blood by the time you get back, Dagdan’s broken sword clutched in a hand detached from the rest of his mangled body. You vomit into the bushes when you see what’s left, what you and Tamlin have left them to.

Amarantha goes through the gore, kicking over the corpses of the monsters, searching for any sign of Tamlin among the bodies. You know there’s none, but there’s barely enough of Brannagh to identify, so you say, “Mother’s tits he was right here with them!”

The Queen remains rooted in a pool of blood for a long time before she throws her head back and roars so loud leaves fall off the trees. “My mate!” She wails. “My mate!”

You turn away like you can’t bear to look any more and truth be told, you can’t. Is this what you’ve become? You let them walk right into this trap without remorse, without a second thought, and they were dead. Horrifically, irreversibly dead. Their bodies as mangled as the chimeras you’d killed in the Pit, as mangled as if you had done it with your own claws. This was what you had been worried about in the beginning, this lack of hesitation, this easy decline into the monstrous death goddess your father wanted you to be.

And you’d do it again. It was not a question, you feel the surety of it in your soul. For your mate’s freedom, to fulfill this bargain and to be free, you’d do it again with no hesitation. You would play the monster over and over again.

“I do not smell him here, My Queen,” the Attor says as he sniffs around the bodies.

If his nose is that good he’ll be able to scent his tracks right through the gaps in the Wall. If she finds out he ran from her she’ll never let him have a moment of peace again.

“If he got away, where would he go?” You ask, pretending to look around for tracks. How long would it take for his scent to fade? How much time can you buy him with the Attor sniffing around like a bloodhound?

“He would come back to me,” Amarantha snarls. “My mate would come back to me, he would know better than to go anywhere else!”

“But if he was injured, maybe he’d go to his manor first, for aid?”

Amarantha’s eyes are wild as she nods, panic clouding her judgment. Good, you can use that. “We should head that way, see if he collapsed on the way maybe?”

Her eyes narrow. “Yes, yes I should. You, little mouse, are going right back to your cell.”

Back to Rhys. It’s an effort not to run your hand over the bargain mark, as if touching it might open the bridge in your minds so you could at least feel him at the other end of it. It’s the Attor’s sniffing that keeps you from acting on your impulses. Could bonds smell? You think they might. You have to be careful, have to play up the roll you’ve stepped into to ensure that no one is looking too closely at your motives. You’ve already gotten two people killed tonight, have already been stripped of all your dignity and agency, what is a little more? You throw yourself onto your knees, trying not to think about the blood and gore seeping into your skirts, feigning panic. “Please, please, My Queen, don’t lock me back up again. Please! I want to be useful, I want to make up for my mistakes. Please!”

“You’re wasting my time!” She growls.

The Attor grabs you by the neck again as she motions for him to follow, your skirts dragging through the gore as they set off in the direction of the manor. Despite her threats, she lets you be dragged along as she scours the ground for any signs of Tamlin. There’s none of course, but by an extreme stroke of luck, there is a wounded boggie crawling its way up the hill ahead of you, its blood trail hiding Tamlin’s lack of footprints. By the time it’s dispatched and she arrives back at the manor, the sky is starting to change colors, and you’re trying not to nod off.

Amarantha rips the doors off the manor when she finds it empty. “He can’t be dead! I’d feel it!” She insists to no one in particular.

The stone steps leading into the house look comfortable enough to curl up on and sleep. You give yourself a little shake to clear the thought away as the Attor says, “I’ll try and get a view from above, My Queen.”

Good, he won’t be able to scent Tamlin from the sky and he won’t be able to see him through the wards on the Wall. You’ve bought him a couple hours, you can do nothing but hope that it’s enough.

“Don’t return to me until you’ve found him,” Amarantha orders.

You’re swaying on her feet when she grabs your arm and snarls, “If I find out you delayed my search in any way I will make you wish you were never born.”

You nod, “We’ll find him, my Queen.”

She winnows you both, the empty swirling vortex flying past you before it deposits you back outside the mouth of one of the many caves. Dozens of guards are waiting, more chains in hand. Your hands shake at your sides at the sight of them.

You draw a breath, forcing yourself to not look at them as they approach. You were never really free anyway, none of you would be until she was dead and this Mountain was rubble. “What will you tell my father?”

One guard grabs the end of your chain, the other clamps a pair of binders on your wrist. But Amarantha grins as she says, “I’ll tell him they foolishly crossed you.”

“But I didn’t do anything!”

“Then it’ll be our little secret, won’t it, pet?”

----------------------------

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angellesword · 2 months

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BAGGAGE | SPECIAL CHAPTER

Summary: In television dramas, the male lead's mother bribes the female lead with money to get her to leave her son. But Jeon Jungkook is different. He isn't a mother to begin with. He's just...rich.

"₩33,354,771,840.," Jungkook says, voice impassive as he stares at you. "A Lexus LC and a house near your sister's home. I'll give you everything you want if you stay with me."

Or alternatively,

Filthy-rich Jungkook doesn't know how to propose to you, so he simply bribes you.

Will you say yes?

Word Count: 3.6k

Genre & Content Warnings: established relationship, fluff, friends to lovers, kissing

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader (Set in Baggage universe) {{Read end notes for clarity}}

****

As Jungkook’s best friend and girlfriend, it isn’t weird that he clings to you. He’s like a cat, clipping his claws and bringing you presents—this is evident by the random (but hella expensive) gifts piling up in your room.

Jungkook loves you (it's a simple fact everyone around you knows), although there are times Jungkook isn't sure how to show his affection to you the 'normal' way.

Take, for instance, now:

"Jungkook." Your voice on the other line lacks energy, immediately causing Jungkook's stomach to drop. He has a bad feeling he won't like whatever you will say.

"I'm gonna be late tonight. You shout eat first. Don't wait for me." And Jungkook is right. His brows furrow, lips protruding into a sulky pout because he hates what you just said.

"How late." But Jungkook doesn't give up. It's your anniversary, after all. How can you act so nonchalantly as if your relationship is for naught?

Don’t you love him anymore? The thought leaves a bitter taste in Jungkook's mouth.

"Really late, Kook." You sigh, but a hint of softness can be traced to your voice. You sound sorry. Jungkook's heart clenches. "We've lots of things going on lately, especially now that my final exam is scheduled soon.”

You are a twenty-five-year-old student taking up your doctorate degree. You don’t want to give up studying as you want to be an educator in the future. It's fun—your studies. You get to research and develop strategies to gain more knowledge and inspire your future students, especially those full of dreams. Studying also lets you catch up with many students who have become your friends. You recently flew to France as an exchange student. You are so busy with school that you no longer have time for Jungkook.

Jungkook has yet to discuss this dilemma with you. He can't because he doesn't want to appear like a needy asshole, but he also can't because although you’re back in Korea, you are still jetlagged and caged to your classroom. Jungkook hasn't seen you in months, and now you’re telling him you’ll be late for your anniversary celebration.

Jungkook has had enough.

"I'll wait for you." He forces down the lump in his throat, contemplating grabbing an antacid tablet to wash the bitterness staining his lips.

"But—"

"I will wait for you." Jungkook cuts you off.

It's non-negotiable. Jungkook is not like any normal boyfriend. He'll pretend everything is okay even though it's killing him inside. He refuses to act like Jimin—this friend of his likes bossing Taehyung, his boyfriend, around. But he wouldn't act tough if Taehyung got busy with his modeling career. Jimin won't hesitate to show affection to Taehyung, acting like a clingy dog until Taehyung spends time with him.

Unfortunately, Jungkook is not a dog. He's a feisty kitten, and cats don't beg their mommy to canoodle them—they'll simply stay calm while planning how to let their owners willingly do their bidding.

*****

You swear you love your school. You really do, but on God, was it testing your patience.

"Shit." You cuss under your breath when you trip down the stairs. It's no one's fault but yours. Running while climbing the stairs isn't ideal, yet you cannot not do it.

You can't wait for the elevator; you want to reach Jungkook's home as quickly as possible. Your boyfriend's apartment is at the penthouse, so it took you a shit ton of running before you found yourself banging on Jungkook's door.

You’re tired. You’re so fucking tired you want to cry. School monopolizes your time so much that you fall asleep inside the train and miss your stop. You woke up slouching on the train seat, head hanging close to the pole as countless people bumped into you. You jolt awake with a stiff neck and judgmental stares from other people. Drool stains the side of your mouth. You can't help but bow your head and scurry from their funny eyes. Your embarrassment doesn't last long as you have more important issues to deal with.

July 21.

Today is July twenty-one, your fifth anniversary with Jungkook as lovers. You are clueless about it. You’d probably go on with your day hadn't it been for your alarm. Your phone notifies you that you have yet to log your yearly date experience with Jungkook for your anniversary. You are drowning with paperwork, and the event you’re looking forward to the most is forgotten.

You feel horrible. In the past years, you used to pester Jungkook to have a sweet bone on his body and indulge you during your anniversary. It's a special day, after all. You will never forget how you got together:

It was the year you graduated high school and started college. You chose a university near your hometown so you could still live close to home and visit your loved ones during breaks. For you, nothing much has changed. You got busier with school, but you’re still very much close with Jungkook. You hang out in each other's room, spending half the day doing whatever.

Contrary to what people think, Jungkook, although an asshole who likes teasing you, is fun to be with. He's a good listener, too, and is willing to try things as long as he doesn't have to go outside and exert too much energy. He's just a lazy bum who is highly attached to his bed.

--And apparently, attached to you too.

You noticed that your best friend acted differently a few months after starting college. Jungkook is weirdly quiet and seems to develop the habit of pursing his lips into a thin line whenever you tell him stories about the university. If asked if something was up, Jungkook would shake his head and shoo you away.

You tried to understand your enigmatic best friend for some time. You are very patient with Jungkook, acting like a mature adult who needs to look after a lost kitten and ensure the kitten gets his milk and plays with his toys.

Jungkook has lived a happy and healthy (although tiring) life, so imagine how upset you are when you find out your best friend got sick. Jungkook said he’ll help Jimin’s business and defer for one year to think about what he feels about college, but soon, he'll definitely get into a good university, too. You don’t understand why he's abandoning his health.

"I can't believe you, Jungkook." You click your tongue. You are currently inside his room. Jungkook is running a fever, curled into a ball, and shivering. He didn't even drink his medicine. "You stayed up all night playing video games with random strangers, didn't you? Will it kill you to go out of your room and eat? Just look at your face. You're so pale!"

You are trying to change your habit of screaming, but your voice raises slightly as you take in Jungkook's poor state. He looks like a stray animal seeking shelter.

Jungkook snorts and grips his blanket tightly. "Will you shut up?"

"I—what." You are at a loss. Here you are, pouring your care for Jungkook, and this is all you get?

You clench your jaw, heart going wild.

"I won't shut up, Jungkook. You're being unreasonable. Jimin had to call me because you only leave your room if he tells you I'm home. What's up with you? Didn't you already beat the big boss in the game? You reached the final level, Jungkook—"

"Ugh." Jungkook kicks the blanket around his body as he sits on the bed. You are beside him, startled by his sudden movement.

"Jungkook—"

"So noisy." Jungkook glares at you. "Didn't I tell you to shut up?"

"But you're ruining yourself for a game—"

"Who said I was playing games!?" The last time Jungkook was this angry was when he fought those who bullied you during elementary. Jungkook never liked confronting people, as it takes too much energy. He's too lazy for it, but now he can't help but scream in your face. His pale face turns a bright shade of red because of mixed emotions:

"I wasn't playing games. I am up all night studying." Shame. Frustration. "Can't you understand? I need to study harder to get into the same university as you. I want to be with you." Longing.

You are startled, your lips parting wide as this is the first time you see how honest and vulnerable Jungkook is.

"Jungkook."

"I know, okay?" Jungkook wipes at his cheeks aggressively. Your eyes dilate. Fuck. Jungkook is crying. "You're a college student now. You're busy. You have other friends—friends who don't make things hard for you. Friends who don't make you cook crab spring rolls, but I can't." His voice breaks, choking back a sob. "I miss you every day. I miss you at school. I miss you nudging me to eat breakfast. I miss you encouraging me to run another lap. I miss you hiding me behind your back when things get overwhelming. It's just that..."

Love. Hurt. Comfort.

"I miss you."

It can't be said that this is all too sudden. Jungkook has been feeling like shit for months. He hasn't been himself ever since you started college. You painted his life since he was young. How is Jungkook supposed to function when he is a canvas and you hold the brush?

You might be the brush, but your feelings for Jungkook are the paint colors. Jungkook bottled up his emotions for a long time, and so did you.

No one's to be blamed now that the colors spluttered like torrential rain.

You can't help it. You grab Jungkook's cheeks with both hands and kiss him hard. But your heart is in your throat, and your eyes are tightly clamped shut as you’re afraid Jungkook would find the kiss appalling.

Jungkook doesn't. He melts against your lips. It takes him a few seconds before purring and kissing you back.

Your lips are soft. Jungkook is a breathy kisser, as if he wants to suck the air out of your mouth, making it seem like you are his oxygen. In truth, you really are.

"I miss you too." You stop kissing Jungkook to whisper this, but he chases after your lips, so fussy that you dare to stop.

You laugh and press your lips against Jungkook's. But you stop again. You are not done with your speech yet.

"And I love you, Jungkook. You've no idea how much crazy I am for you." You nearly lose your mind when attending university and can't see him. You hate seeing unfamiliar people despite your friendly and airy nature.

You miss doing your homework with him. You miss packing extra lunch to ensure Jungkook is eating well. You miss him. You miss Jungkook so badly that you run toward Jungkook's house every Friday right after your last class.

You miss Jungkook, so you can't help but kiss him more. You lick his tears away, too. Jungkook is hot—he's so, so hot.

Literally.

"Tsk." There's a warning tinging Jungkook's tone when he calls your name as you stop kissing him. Jungkook thinks you are toying with him, but you will never do that.

"I know. I'm sorry." You settle a kiss on Jungkook's forehead before brushing his hair with your fingers. "But you're still sick. You need to eat and rest."

Jungkook whines, his hands clenching into fists. He wants to kiss you more.

"But it's Sunday." That is all Jungkook can say. His words imply: If I sleep now, you'll leave, and I won't see you until Friday. I wanna spend more time with you.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Don't worry. You need to ask me out properly tomorrow."

"Huh?" Jungkook blinks innocently at you. He doesn't know how you end up straddling his lap.

"Don't huh me." You click your tongue. "I've already told you I love you. Don't forget you kissed me back. You like me too, right?"

Heat flares up Jungkook's cheek. He nods slowly before looking at your eyes.

You chuckle. "Then it's settled. We're together now, but you will ask me properly tomorrow."

"We're together?" Jungkook asks dumbly—as if he didn't hear the same thing from you.

You are tempted to flick his forehead. But you simply look at your smartwatch and laugh.

"July twenty-one. Yes, Jungkook. We're dating already. Is that okay with you?"

Of course, it is. Jungkook has been in love with you since he was young. He only raises his eyebrows for acceptance, though.

You smile. "Good. That's good. You're officially my headache.”

For years, things have stayed the same. You indulge Jungkook in whatever way possible, but it gets progressively hectic this year, and you can't even see your boyfriend.

And now, you’re a minute away from missing your fifth anniversary.

"Jungkook. Answer the door." You are out of your mind, forgetting that you know your boyfriend's door password. It takes you a couple of knocks before realizing that, but when you do, Jungkook is already opening the door.

"Jungkook!" Your eyes are blown wide. You hurriedly look at your smartwatch, your heart dropping when you see the time.

12 am.

It's July 22 now. You miss your anniversary.

"Fuck." Your shoulders sag. You gather your boyfriend into your arms. "Fuck, Jungkook. I'm so sorry."

You are not a crybaby. You didn’t cry after what the people in the club did to you. But this is different. This isn't the club. This is Jungkook.

Tears well up in your eyes. Your distress is apparent. Jungkook has never seen you like this. It makes his heart ache.

"Hey," Jungkook calls softly. He wraps his arms around your waist. Jungkook's lips are dry. "Let's get you inside first."

You don’t fight him. You enter Jungkook's home, and you settle on the couch. It's late, but Jungkook is still wearing a suit. He hates suits as he prefers hiding his figure over an oversized hoodie while his shoulder-length hair is tied into a messy bun.

The Jungkook you’re facing now has cleaned up so nicely. And oh God...

"Your hair." You stutter a breath. Jungkook ties his hair into a bun, which isn't messy like how he usually styles it. "I heard you need to look presentable when planning a proposal," Jungkook explains why he changed his hairstyle.

Your brows knit. Your mind can't still catch up to the present moment. You are stuck looking at Jungkook. Your boyfriend is so, so handsome. And goddamnit, his lips look soft—as if begging to be sucked.

You forced yourself to look away and pay attention to your boyfriend's words. "Proposal." You say as you lick your lower lip, still high from looking at Jungkook, climbing many stairs, and missing your anniversary. "What happened? Are you planning to woo some new investors?”

You gulp.

"Please tell me it's not Professor Verlaine." Verlaine is among the smartest businessmen out there, but you can't forget how you ran after him yesterday at 4am to get his insights about your paper.

Verlaine follows a strict routine, especially now the semester is about to end. He doesn't have time for you, so you sneak up to him for a few words. The only reason he doesn't call security on you is because he respects your diligence.

You shake your head at the memory. You swear you don’t want to take the spotlight from Jungkook, but you are exhausted and can't help but groan.

"I hate the education system so much, Jungkook. The bastard made me run three kilometers with little to no breaks." You rest your head on your boyfriend's heaving chest. You want to apologize properly to Jungkook and listen to his milestones, but you want to yap more than ever and fall asleep. You’ve been studying for more than twenty-four hours straight.

Jungkook's stomach knots with worry ang guilt; he beats himself up for thinking you don't love him. You clearly do. But life is getting in the way of your relationship. This isn't ideal at all.

Jungkook is a good boyfriend. He rubs the back of your head, encouraging you to voice out your grievances. You smell of commute and smoke. You probably dealt with your chain-smoker professors earlier. Jungkook doesn't mind, though. If anything, it makes him realize how much he loves you. He can kiss you all day, even in this state.

"This used to excite me, you know? But I'm tired of unrealistic expectations in school. How can I write a whole dissertation in a few weeks? I’ve had oral examinations and business projects, too.”

Sometimes, you are not free to learn as you are bound to follow what is written in the book and set by the education sector.

You long to express your idea and not be barred by endless examinations to test your intelligence. You want to explore learning habits and see how students can express their knowledge, not just through exams. But more than ever, you want a slow morning without skipping breakfast to run to the train station to get to your 7 am class. You want to laze around your home, water your dying plants, prepare meals for you and Jungkook, and host barbeque parties with your other friends.

Your school hinders you from doing what you want. But you can't quit if you want to achieve your dream.

"My love," Jungkook calls when he thinks you have fallen asleep while ranting. You are very much awake, though. You’re busy daydreaming about a life you don’t have.

"Sorry." You feel defeated. "I rambled, didn't I?" You kiss Jungkook's cheeks. "And I took the spotlight away from you. Can you tell me about your proposal later? I just need to get some shut-eye." You need to go to school in a few hours. Jungkook doesn't mind that you are sleeping around him.

But not this time.

"No." He holds your face. "I have to tell you about the proposal now."

"Huh? Ah." You force yourself to stay awake. You really don’t want to upset Jungkook. Besides...your boyfriend sounds serious. "I guess I can spare some time."

You have gotten nervous about Jungkook's tone. You can even go as far as to say that your drowsiness fades a little.

Thankfully, Jungkook goes straight to the point.

"I don't want to be your boyfriend anymore."

"Huh?" Now, you are wide awake. Your heart trembles violently against your chest.

"Jungkook." You call, voice strained. "Are you serious? You don't want to be my boyfriend anymore?"

Please say no. Please.

"Yes."

Fuck.

You feel your heart drop. Heat crawls to your face as your lips part. No words come out, though. You don’t know what to do or say.

Jungkook is breaking up with you. Jungkook doesn't want you anymore.

"I don't want to be your boyfriend anymore because I have a new proposal about our relationship."

What do you mean? You want to ask, but you’re still too stunned to speak. Luckily, Jungkook explains.

Jungkook takes your stone-cold hands. You don’t feel anything. You don't realize that Jungkook's hands are shaking. More importantly, you don't feel it when Jungkook hovers a ring on your finger.

You only realize what's happening when Jungkook forces a nervous smile; his tone is delicately soft when he asks, "Will you do the honor of marrying me?"

You let out a strangled gasp.

"Jungkook." You call.

Jungkook panics. He swears he can already feel the rejection in your mouth. He can't.

"Hear me out first." Jungkook schools his expression to be neutral. It's okay. He tells himself. He has prepared for this moment.

"You have no reason to say no." He doesn't mean to be aggressive, but he sounds like one. Jungkook can't take back what he started.

He pushes through.

"₩33,354,771,840." Jungkook tightens his hold on the ring and your hand. "I computed your average yearly salary as a future professor until retirement."

Silence permeates the room. You are just staring at Jungkook.

Jungkook clears his throat, “And then I multiplied it by ten—that’s how I came up with the amount.”

You have no idea what Jungkook is saying.

“You said you wanted a Lexus LC, so I brought you one. I bought a bare house near your Jisoo-unnie’s home because you said you want to live closer to her. It’s up to you how you want to design it.”

Jungkook is proud when he adds, “Everything will be yours if you agree to marry me. You can quit now if you’re not happy with school. You can work as my full-time wife or build your own school. I can help you with the capital. I will be your number one investor.”

“Are you bribing me, Kookie?” You ask when you recover from the initial shock. You can’t help the playful smirk creeping up your face.

Jungkook snorts. “No. They’re merely your perks. You will marry me because you love me.” Confidence is not something Jungkook focuses on. He only says things he has analyzed—just like his tactics in business. Based on his calculations, you will say yes after hearing his proposal. Jungkook got nervous and afraid earlier because he had yet to say his piece. But now that he did…

“My assets are hundreds of times higher compared to what you’ll make in the future. I want you happy, my love. I can give you what you want.”

It pains Jungkook to see you looking tired with bloodshot eyes. He wants you to freely experience what it’s like to be happy—this is mainly why Jungkook works hard to earn money. He longs for you to have a comfortable lifestyle.

“Jungkook.”

Jungkook ignores your defeated look. “So, what do you say, will you marry me?”

Silence engulfs you. Jungkook mentally recomputes his chance as his heart beats erratically. He says his chance is 98/100.

Perhaps he needs to convince you more—

Jungkook’s train of thought halts when you lead his hands into inserting the ring into your finger.

“It’s a yes, then,” you say after the ring slides to your finger. You smirk at Jungkook. “I’ll let you marry me so I can officially be your wife. What do you say, Kookie?”

Jungkook nods. He grabs your face and kisses you hard. “Mn.” He hums as he licks the seams of your lips. “Let’s get you a collar for here too.” Jungkook’s lips paint bruises on your neck. “That way, you’ll be mine in all aspects.”

You laugh.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s send out our wedding invitation soon, too.”

Jungkook nods. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Kookie.”

- End -

*****

A/N: I originally posted this as a Haikyu!! fic, but I figure, why not share it as a JJK fic to people here on Tumblr and give you guys a break from the original baggage plot? I wrote this all day, heavily inspired by what I want to happen in my life. Seriously, I need my Jungkook too. My corporate job has been stressing me lately, so my brain daydreams of things I know will not happen to me in real life.

Sighs. I want to eat and just write fics all day.

Note: THIS IS IN NO WAY RELATED/ CONNECTED WITH THE ORIGINAL PLOT OF BAGGAGE. (This doesn't contain spoilers on what's gonna happen in chapter 12 onwards. This is merely an alternate universe where Jungkook didn't fuck up and isn't a coward about expressing his emotions to OC. There's no Soobin here, though.)

See you soon!! What do you guys think about this?

#jungkook fluff #jungkook x reader #ficswithluv #jungkook x you #fic: baggage #jungkook x y/n #jungkook x oc #kissing

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