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mihidecet · 4 years

Text

Sbi D&D AU: Tommy (3)

AKA: Tibi’s MCYT WritingTober, day 12.

I’m back with more d&d! I jumped on today’s “Fanmade AU” prompt from @the-only-gamer-gost ‘s list IMMEDIATELY, because after all most of you started following me due to that ahah

I hope you’ll enjoy it! <3 Maybe leave a comment if you do? I always love to hear your feedback, and maybe ideas on what you’d like to see? In any case, thank you for reading!

That is how, about four hours later, Tommy finds himself sitting on his bed, legs crossed and fingers tangling in the threads he's trying to weave together.

It's a mix of light blues, pinks and reds that Techno called "a weird choice, but whatever floats your boat", which had sent his patron into hysterical laughter. Tommy had hoped he'd been sarcastic, as he'd colour-picked from Techno's own outfit.

But one could never be too sure with the Blade: he was a cryptic man, with a cryptic past and an unwavering unwillingness to share anything about what he thought about, anytime, about anything.

Which was fine. Tommy liked guessing, and he considered himself smart enough to be able to start picking up clues. Most of the time.

He was no Phil, who was apparently able to understand everyone, everywhere, at any time. Even animals, too, which had been a concerning discovery. Not the fact that he could understand and be understood by animals, that was perfectly fine once considering he had horns due to making a literal deal with a demon, and Techno was half pig. It was just that Tommy had found out Phil could speak with animals by finding the elf in deep conversation with a passing squirrel - who had apparently been extremely rude and stolen some of the nuts Phil had been gathering. The disagreement had been resolved by splitting the nuts evenly, as the squirrel had had a family to feed.

The thing was, Tommy had had a chance to talk about the infamous friendship bracelets with the other two as they'd walked back to the tavern, and by now he knew that all three of them owned one. But what Phil hadn't neglected to comment on was that - to his knowledge - Techno didn't own one. Which made sense, on a certain level. He was the one making them, and he seemed to own the strings to make them. Phil had been meaning to buy one to gift him, but he's said he knew it wouldn't have been the same. And he couldn't ask Techno where he could find the materials needed and keep it as a surprise. Not to mention that he didn't know how to replicate the intricate weaves and knots of the bracelets; he could try, but he knew he wouldn't be able to easily succeed.

Which left Tommy with the perfect chance.

The plan was simple.

Techno had offered to help him rebuild his bracelet, but he’d never explicitly said if Tommy was going to weave his own or if Techno was going to make him a second one.

So, once they were all fed and satisfyingly comfortable, Techno would take out his threads and start working on it. Then, with his usual enthusiasm, Tommy would ask if he could also help. Maybe by learning how to weave together bracelets himself.

Techno would humm, but probably give in after a bit of insistence. He never really enjoyed verbal conflict, and Tommy was counting on that.

Then everything would be set! Tommy would choose the colours for Techno’s bracelet, make it with his help, and everything would be good!

As of right now, most of the steps in his plan have gone off without a hitch.

The only thing not working perfectly well is his own skills at weaving - maybe once he used to have an artisan’s hands, but now they’re clumsy, less sensible. The effects of not being used to his newly found powers at first had been to constantly - and accidentally - set his own hands on fire. With permanent scars up to his elbows and a handful of points where the burns charred away his sensibility, he’s not much one for delicate and precise work.

But Tommy is nothing if not determination personified, so he grabs each strand with too shaky hands and does his damned best.

Techno is sitting across from him, also on the bed, mirroring his posture and slowly explaining each braiding step. His voice is lower than usual, a side effect of being extremely tired, but he’s not snappish or strict. He’s unexpectedly calm and mellow: Tommy wonders if it’s the exhaustion or just how Techno behaves when they’re not in life-or-death related situations.

All things considered, once he understands what he has to do, the slow, repetitive movement becomes extremely soothing. He can see Techno doing this to relax in the few moments of downtime their lives allow them.

They're not alone in the room.

Phil is meditating on one of the other two beds in the room. He’d been drained after the fight, looking after them all and taking care of the few civilians that got injured due to the attack.

After they’d gotten back into the room, he’d disappeared for a moment in order to go bathe, then returned, given them all a final look and then promptly passed out on the bed with a smile on his face.

Wilbur had made sure to fix the covers around him.

The tiefling was currently also sleeping, but he was stationed on the same bed Techno and Tommy were sitting on. It made for a bit of a cramped situation, but Techno had stated that he wasn’t going to move anymore if it wasn’t to go to sleep, and Wilbur had said that he always took the bed closer to the window.

So there he was: curled up between them, one leg on Tommy’s lap and his back pressed against Techno’s side.

If Tommy had been any less observant and in the mood for a discussion, he would have mentioned how Techno could have easily moved half a meter away in order to be extremely more comfortable, or how Wilbur usually just chose any random available bed.

But he was tired and he had other objectives - he was already planning on bothering Techno, getting him annoyed would only be counter-productive. And Tommy was also quite observant: he still remembered how Techno had jumped into a blow aimed at Wil’s throat just a couple of hours earlier, saving his life and efficiently dispatching of the brute trying to kill him.

Everyone was still feeling a bit messed up after all those close calls, there was no need to state the obvious. Especially when saying nothing meant Tommy could feel the warmth of Will’s still very much alive body against him.

It doesn’t take much time; they’re bracelets after all, you can only make them so long.

Tommy stares at the one in his hands, and is suddenly filled with so many contrasting feelings.

Joy is the first, of course. He’s been able to achieve so much since he left his hometown, and everything he’s achieved has been due to his own determination and intelligence. He might not be the smartest person ever - he can name at least one, even though that doesn’t necessarily mean he will - but even he can’t deny how well he’s been able to play the cards he’s been dealt.

Then there’s shock, at the realisation that he has actually become friends with the legend he used to hear people talk about in hushed whispers while he was still living in his hometown.

Melancholy is another: a part of him longs for what - who - he left behind.

Then he feels like he needs to get better at making bracelets, and maybe sleep for a couple of days. His back is hurting and the scabs on his arms are already itching up a storm and it is "bored patron with too much free time" levels of annoying.

As Tommy stomps down the protests of his patron inside his own head, he hears Techno hum lightly to catch his attention.

"You're done? I finished yours. Unless you prefer to keep the one you made yourself." Techno comments, offering the bracelet he's just completed. Wilbur shifts slightly as he's lightly jostled when Techno reaches towards Tommy, but he goes right back to sleeping.

Tommy gives him an honest smile and a heartfelt "thank you", then wastes no time in grabbing his new friendship bracelet: a stunning thing in black, red and orange that looks as fierce as he is powerful.

"And here, this is yours." Tommy says, after a moment of unabashedly admiring the stunning handiwork he now owned. It wasn't like his old one, but it still felt the same - the meaning of it was intact, and the shape and colours were similar. One could even say that now it meant more: after all, they'd made it together, in what nobody could deny had been a true bonding moment.

Tommy's hand, holding the bracelet he made, stretches out towards Techno.

There's a distinct pause as Techno's hands hovers in the air and his eyes widen in what looks like pure shock - Tommy has *never* seen anything like it, Technoblade is never surprised. And yet.

"Uh?"

Tommy decides it is getting a bit too warm in the room, as doubts and worries start filling his mind: what if he doesn't like it, it looks so bad compared to the ones Techno made, after all it's his first try, he should have asked for more string to practice and made him a really good one. The young man pushes the bracelet into Techno's hand hastily - the sooner this is over with, the better.

"We figured you didn't make one for yourself, so I made you one. Consider it as from all of us. Now you're *our* friend, Techno, and there's nothing you can do about it!" He concludes with a proud grin, hoping it masks his internal worry. Thankfully, he's still fearless enough to keep eye contact, because that allows him to see Techno's face simply melt as his fingers wrap around the bracelet once, then open up to allow him to study it closely - Tommy would call it reverently, but then his patron would laugh again.

"... Thank you." Techno murmurs a few moments later, and with that all of Tommy's fears and doubts are smashed like fragile glass, scattering into the nothingness. A bright smile opens up on his face and he's unable to stop himself from beaming as he lightly punches his friend's shoulder.

"No problem, big guy. ... Now, where do I put this so that nobody accidentally breaks it again?" He asks, tone light and humorous in hope of exiting quickly the sweet moment they'd entered, which was turning into awkwards at the speed of light.

"Well, if you have like a necklace, you could tie it there and keep it hidden under all your shirts." Techno drawls out, sounding more and more tired as he goes on.

Tommy decides it's as good a time as any to finally hit the hay, so he stands up and stretches his back - reveling in the satisfying pops that follow.

"That is a smart idea, big guy. Have you been sitting on it for a while?" Tommy jokes, starting to fix his bed.

"Well, it was actually Phil that did it first. He tied it to the same necklace he keeps his engagement ring on."

Tommy chuckles, Phil always knows best- his arm freezes in the air, one hand still holding his pack because he'd been meaning to look for something he could use as a necklace but now his brain is just static.

He turns back towards Techno, who is staring back with a mix of sheepishness and confusion.

"What- what do you mean engagement?" Tommy asks in a feeble voice and Techno just rubs the back of his neck shrugging.

"He's supposed to get married when he goes back, apparently."

Tommy starts gesticulating wildly, pointing first at Phil, then at Techno, then at the world around them as he loudly mumbles his way into about twenty different beginnings of sentences before his shoulders drop and he shuts his mouth.

A beat passes.

And to be honest, Tommy is too tired to be thinking about this, but-

"What do you mean go back? Is he gonna leave us?" He asks, and Techno looks extremely uncomfortable on the other side of the room. Instead of an answer coming from him, the voice that speaks first comes from behind Tommy.

"I'm not gonna leave you, Tommy. If anything, I plan on bringing you all for the ceremony." Phil mumbles, scratching his stubble as he sits up on the bed. Damned elves and their need for just a handful of hours of sleep, now Tommy has to feel awkward for nothing.

Phil stands up with a groan, then stretches; taking a couple of steps forward, he nods at Techno as he claps a hand on Tommy's shoulder.

"Help me push the beds together?"

"Only if Wilbur gets up, I'm not moving the bed with him on it." Techno deadpans, moving to the bed Phil's closest to in order to help him lift it - they're not getting thrown out of the tavern for being too loud at three in the morning.

A deep chuckle comes from the ball that is Wilbur's not-so-sleeping body, and his performance is betrayed even more by how his tail starts swishing left and right.

"But what if I asked please?" Wilbur says, one eye peeking from his crossed arms.

"Then you're staying there with that bed." Techno replies instantly and a moment later the bed between him and Phil is lifted.

Wilbur huff, rolls out of bed, waltzes towards Tommy - messes up his hair just because he's in a good mood - and quips back:

"You're no fun, Technoblade."

A couple of minutes later, once they've all found their places on the bed, Tommy is resting with his head against Phil's chest and his tail wrapped around Techno's leg - a mirror to Wilbur's which is tied around the arm slung over his side.

It's comforting, and warm, and Phil's carding his hand through his hair.

Techno's new friendship bracelet is an unfamiliar feeling pressed against his chest, but he knows he'll get used to it.

Stifling a yawn, Tommy whispers:

"Congrats on your marriage, big guy."

Just so that Phil's wheeze is the last thing he hears before he falls asleep.

#mcyt writingtober #sbi dnd au #dnd au #sbi au #technoblade #tommyinnit #wilbur soot #philza #ph1lza

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jungcity · 4 years

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bane of the devil. | ii

genre: vampire!jaehyun

pairings: jaehyun x female reader

important note: the au’s i write for nct members do not, in any way, reflect them in real life. they are only my muses for my writing and an addition to enliven my fictions! ♡

“father, i must confess

i tasted the devil,

orison in my lips

with blood on his teeth,

how could he taste like

honeysuckle,

the bitter tang of revulsion,

and the carnage of war?

father, i kissed the devil

even if i should not

will you punish me

now that i see burnish gold

in his hands

instead of blood?”

— bane of the devil // ii

A nervous chuckle broke free out of your mouth by the mention of the word ‘vampire’. Agitation filled your whole body; your fingers started to shake, your heart beating in frenetic patterns inside your chest. Jaehyun laid still, all bloodied and nearly unconscious on the sofa.

“Are you crazy?” You managed to croak, the tightness in your throat making it hard for you to speak.

Perhaps the pain of his laceration made him delusional. Perhaps Johnny told him about the death of your parents. Perhaps he knows about your obsession towards vampires. Perhaps, perhaps—

“A little bit out of my mind, yes.” His chest and shoulders vibrated by the toneless chuckle his mouth released. “Crazy? No.” Jaehyun’s eyes were still closed, but a playful smile was displayed on his lips. You have no idea how could he smile despite of his situation. He must be really deranged.

“You must be in so much pain,” you sympathized. A single paper cut hurts like hell, what more when it’s a long gash in your stomach? The mere thought was enough to make you recoil in your seat. So, you tried not to dwell in Jaehyun’s pain as you continued to sew his skin back together.

“I don’t feel anything at all.” Then he sat up from the sofa and brought his forefinger to the wound. He pressed his finger down on the incision, causing his blood to gush down his jeans.

You slapped his hand away, while he chuckles as if he enjoys seeing his blood. “What the hell?!”

“See?” he sighed before leaning back on the sofa. Sinister as it was, you have decided to just ignore his remarks and focus on the needle and thread instead. But Jaehyun seemed to be having the time of his life as he pushed on yet another statement, “How I wish I could drink my own blood.”

Bony faces, sunken cheeks, withered bodies— those were what was left of your parents’ once healthy features when you saw them lying on the metal beds in the morgue, their eyes lifeless. The same image went crashing back in your mind as you heard Jaehyun’s utterance. As much as you wanted to lash out on him for being insensitive, you could not bring yourself to now that you weren’t sure whether Johnny really told him about your mother and father’s demise.

“I don’t mean to offend, but…” your teeth twiddled with your bottom lip, Jaehyun silent beside you, “Are you… mentally ill or something?”

It’s impolite to pry. But if you would sleep in a roof with a man who nonchalantly brushes off his injuries like it was just a small scratch and not a long gash, you’ve guessed you needed to know how to walk the attenuated thread that seems to bind his sanity together. You trust you brother— despite him selling your apartment without having a word with you— you’ve met some of his friends before, and you still believe that Jaehyun is not a bad person. And that you hadn’t been wrong to allow him inside the house.

“I am not,” he finally answered after minutes of being lost for words.

“Then why did you tell me that you’re a vampire?”

“Because I am.”

There was a certain rise of intonation in his words that you have a difficulty distinguishing if it was a question or a statement.

“Did Johnny order you to do this? To scare me by standing bloodied in my doorway, and to frighten me more by saying you are a vampire? Because it’s not funny.” You slammed the lid of the sewing kit shut, breathing heavily while looking at Jaehyun. Your fingers imprinted the lid with blood.

His infamous smirk was plastered on his face in a blink, displaying his dimples. He gripped the arm of the sofa then sat up, his eyes boring into yours. “First, no one orders me around. Secondly, I don’t know shit about what you’ve just said. And yes, I think you really need to be frightened because I really am a blood-sucking bastard.”

Jaehyun bared his teeth, his two fangs elongating— Before. Your. Very. Eyes. The ravaging of your heart inside your chest was unbearable. The widening of your eyes would have been enough to let your eyeballs roll off your eye sockets.

Are you going to die now? Are you going to die just like your mother and father; lifeless eyes, wasted body? Mom and Dad. They died in such a terrible way. A cruel death for two loving souls. And they were killed by a vampire— like the monster in front of you. You grabbed the sewing kit— it’s stupid, it’s hopeless but you need to stay alive— and slammed it into Jaehyun’s face.

His face turned sideways by the impact. If a different person would put his shoes on yours right now, the person would surely collapse because of fear. But you’ve anticipated this all your life— this is your purpose. To meet a vampire, to kill a vampire. However, you are still just a person; petrified of the undead.

Breathing ragged with your heart nearly collapsing, you ran for the kitchen and rummage through the drawers to find a vinegar. Before you could sprint away from him, you need to at least injure him first. The rosary standing near the altar behind the television waved at you, you grabbed it until the cross dug in your palm.

With a vinegar in one hand, and a rosary in the other, you dashed back to the living room. Where Jaehyun sat as if he was on a vacation. His arms were laying stretched out on the head of the sofa, his eyes observing you with deviltry in them.

“Begone! You monster!” You opened the lid and threw him the vinegar, the liquid splashing on his body, on the floors and some on your own shoes. The smell of it whiffing your nose, making it itch. It would scorch Jaehyun, that’s for certain.

With the rosary raised by your hand, you shut your eyes and started chanting prayers. “Our Father, Who art in heaven, Holy be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on Earth—”

Then a howl. You opened your eyes and saw Jaehyun lying on the floor, he was in a fetal position while screaming. You did it! Without waiting for him to recover, you grabbed your phone and ran for the door. As you gripped the doorknob, the howl of pain echoing around the room was replaced by howls of laughters.

Jaehyun is laughing.

You turned around with narrowed brows. He was kneeling on the floors now, clutching his stomach while laughing. His shoulders continued to vibrate, his laughs enveloping the whole space.

“Why—? How?” was your breathless question.

“Damn, that was hilarious.” Then he slowly got up on his feet, a low laugh escaping from his lips even now. He took a step towards you, while you backed away from him.

His hands was raised in shoulder length in an instant, “Whoa. I’m not going to bite you,” he chuckled, then he raised a brow, “not unless you want me to.”

Every young adult romance books who has a cocky man as their main character had that line in one of their pages at least. It was enough to make you cringe just reading it in a book, but to be told the same thing in real life was like a dirt you could not wash off your body.

“Why… why aren’t you scathed?” You observe his body from head to toe, not a trace of scorched skin could be seen in his pale features. “Are you just fucking around?” An infinitesimal dismay bubbled up in your heart by the realization. You could have killed him, you could have taken vengeance for the death of your parents. Could you, truly? If you weren’t even sure about your theories, if you do not even have any idea about the face of their murderer?

“I am a vampire, babygirl.” He continued to advance to you, until your back was against the plain walls of your house, with Jaehyun’s one hand pressed to the walls beside your head. “So you better pack and move out tomorrow before I suck all the blood from your body.”

This close, you could see his lashes fanning his cheeks. They haven’t mistaken when they wrote vampires as terrifying yet beautiful creatures. Jaehyun is stunning. All the papers plastered on your blackboard slowly came to life through him. You have primed yourself for this day, yet the weak side of being human ate you up as you stood unmoving, eyes focused on Jaehyun and Jaehyun’s face only. They were right when they said vampires were mesmerizing.

You could not move a muscle to defend yourself. With a heavy heart, you braced yourself for your end.

“Hatred. So much hatred.” Jaehyun sniffed at you, you blinked. What is he doing? “Your blood would taste bitter on my tongue,” he stated, breath fanning your face. It smelled like cigarette, cigarette and mint. “You are so full of hate. Why?”

Then he took a step back, before running his hand through his hair. “Go.” His playful façade was back when he looked at you as if he’s going to pounce on you anytime sooner. “Lock your doors and don’t leave. Johnny told me to keep you safe, so don’t try to run. Because I will know.”

You should bolt out of the house and away from him, it’s preposterous if you won’t. Staying and sleeping in your bed should be out of the choices.

Where else would you go, though? Haechan’s? The little devil would surely squeeze the reasons out of you if ever you decide to stay the night in his house. Mark’s? He’s living with his own. He’d surely feel flustered by the thought of you sleeping in the same roof as him.

Jaehyun made it clear he would know if you do something as to try to leave the house, you do not doubt him one bit. On the other side of things, this is your chance to put your life out of misery: the misery that was inflicted by the murder of your parents.

Sometimes, we have to be a little bit crazy to accomplish something right? We have to be out of our minds to push our boundaries and ignite the bravery in our hearts.

Tonight, you’ve decided to be insane.

Tonight, you will stay.

—

A single dagger lay quietly on your bed. You sat, your legs crossed with each other as you stare at it with pure concentration. The blade reflecting your face in a blurred image. You bought it online years ago, and was hidden underneath your dresser ever since it has arrived. The design was remarkably artistic; a snake head as its pommel and hilt, and instead of a silver blade, it was onyx black.

Grief. It was the reason why you bought it in the first place. Of course, it was Johnny’s name you wrote in the information so you could buy the dagger. The grief and the yearning to find a vampire was what fueled your determined little spirit, resulting in you, breaking the rules.

Jaehyun’s elongated fangs flashed in your sight as you stare at the dagger. Is he really a vampire? But the vinegar had no effect to his skin, not even the rosary or the prayers. Yet the fangs. How could he make those fangs longer? Perhaps he couldn’t. Perhaps it’s your disconcertment playing tricks on you.

You let your body fall into the mattress. It was like a hearkened prayer. A vampire showing in your doorstep when you least expect it. Was it why he does not appeared to be breathing? Or hurt by his wound and the sewing you’ve done to his skin? Perhaps he’s high, intoxicated, you have no idea. But you believed that even drugs would not obliterate the painful effect of your stomach being slashed open.

If he’s truly a vampire, why didn’t he use his powers to heal himself? Being undead, and the blood they consumes from humans or animals makes it easier for them to recover from any wound. A gash like that in Jaehyun’s stomach would only compare to a small knife cut or to nothing at all.

There’s only one way to know. No, there are many ways to know the truth, you realized as you glanced at the full body mirror resting near your closet. Vampires can not cast shadows nor reflections. Especially when the mirror is backed with silver.

You pulled the chair, drafting table, and your little drawer away from behind the door. It was a horrendous idea to lock your door with your furnitures, only to pull them back again. Safety first, though.

What if he’s truly a vampire? The question drew you in a sudden halt, your hand frozen onto the doorknob. Then you realized that you have not prepared yourself to meet a real vampire after all. Concocting everything in your mind was easier because it hasn’t occurred to you— not even in your wildest imaginations— that you’d see a vampire today. In the modern world and years after the death of your parents.

As the saying goes, it’s now or never. So you turned the doorknob, and stepped outside your bedroom— your hand holding the dagger behind you.

Jaehyun sits on the sofa while he dries his hair with a towel. He was wearing Johnny’s clothes. The scent of your own shampoo lingers in the air, a proof that he had used it. You swallowed the irritation and sauntered up towards him instead. There’s a mirror hanged on the wall above the piano, you took a quick glance at it while planning ways on how to make Jaehyun stand in front of it.

“I told you to stay in your room,” he impassively voiced out, eyes not looking up at yours. When he did look up to you, your breath was snatched away. He looked fresh, and clean. His face was free of blood now, revealing his pale yet soft features and the redness of his lips. The beauty he possesses locked you up on your position.

“By the way, I’m charging money towards the person who looks at me like that,” Jaehyun stated before standing up.

You blinked, washing away your embarrassment by clearing your throat and slightly shaking your head. “I have to ask you about a few things.” Before he could answer, you’ve already spoken, “Where did you meet Johnny?”

“Casino,” was his bored response before reaching for the remote and tuning on the television.

“Casino? Why would you meet him in a casino?”

“Your brother owes me a large sum of money after gambling all of his in baccarat,” he explained. The various colors from the television illuminating his face.

“Baccarat?”

“Casino game, one you would not understand as a college girl.” He glanced at you then. “Do you have any beer stored here?”

You ignored his remarks and shook your head instead, “We don’t. I do not allow it.”

“Well, thank fuck that this is my house now.” He leaned and propped his arms on his legs, “Why don’t you buy me a bottle as a welcome gift?”

“Don’t you have a penny?” This time, you’re the one whose voice was laced with boredom.

“I won’t ask you if I have a dollar.”

“Your audacity, it’s impeccable,” was your sarcastic response. “Why did Johnny vend you the house? Our house?” You put an emphasis to the last words, trying to veer the conversation to your advantage.

Jaehyun merely looked at you from the television, “Didn’t I just answer your question? He lost all his money, he borrowed mine, and as payment, he sold me your house. Business.”

“I couldn’t believed Johnny would sell you this house without consulting me,” you exhaled. Realization was dashing against your mind. He really sold the house, the one thing your parents built with their blood and sweat.

“Yup. Me too,” he smiled impishly, “I couldn’t believe you would have enough audacity to hide a dagger behind you.” He stood up, walking towards you in a languid manner, “Baby, is that for me?” He asked, his mouth dripping sensuality; sweet as honeysuckle. “Because I would tell you now it won’t do anything.”

You concealed your shock by straightening your back and stepping backwards, the mirror inviting your line of sight. All you have to do is step back until Jaehyun’s façade is on its surface.

“Really? What about I stab you with it through your heart?”

The urge to bury the dagger in Jaehyun’s chest was like a magnet, pulling you with a force that made your hand reveal the dagger. Fascination flickered in his eyes as he took in the length of the blade.

“You’ve got good taste.”

The dagger was raised, so is his finger. In a blink, his finger was pressed on the very edge, his blood cascading down the blade. One step, one step is all it would take for the mirror to reflect his body. One step and—

And then his mouth was on yours. Unmindful of the dagger between the both of you, Jaehyun pressed on, his kiss going ferocious in every second. Your body went rigid, the slick flicker of his tongue on your lower lip electrocuting you in the most pleasurable way.

Vampires are sinisterly sensual creatures. They could lure you with their beauty, fascinate you with their eyes. It was another thing to read about it, and another to feel it yourself. A millennium old gens never lied about vampires’ ability to romance a mortal.

The mirror. You opened your eyes, the mirror on your peripheral. It was difficult to get a better view, especially when Jaehyun was still kissing you. Your body refused to pull away, so you pulled Jaehyun closer instead. In a very unobtrusive way, you slightly turned your head sideways, so you would be able to see the mirror.

Trying your hardest not to completely fall into the desire, you grabbed Jaehyun’s hair with your other hand, then turned your body. Verity slapped you right in the guts as you see Jaehyun’s back reflecting on the mirror. You pulled away, catching your breath and gripping the dagger tightly with your hand. He reflected on the mirror, he wasn’t scorched when you splashed vinegar onto his body, he repelled the prayers and the rosary. Is he the insane one? Or is it you?

Jaehyun’s lips were swollen, and you do not doubt yours looks like that too. You stared at each other for seconds, Jaehyun stupefied in front of you. He looked shocked, like he had just came out of water, and was struggling to stabilize his breath. Before anyone could utter a word, you sprinted back to your room and locked it behind you.

—

That night, you lay awake on the mattress. Sleep feels like miles away. You could not simply close your eyes and pretend that there wasn’t a potential vampire under your roof. And you’ve kissed that vampire. It feels like betrayal, a bittersweet kind of one. However, you’ve nailed it on your mind not to repeat the same stupidity again. Not if you want to take retribution for the death of your parents.

A Roland for an Oliver. Always.

One person needs to know your wrath tonight, though. That is your brother. So you dialed Johnny’s number repeatedly until he answered.

“Why did you sell the house without consulting me?” was your greeting. The ire that you’ve been keeping inside you for hours after knowing the imbecilic decision of your brother rose up in your throat, begging to be unleashed as a scream.

“Well, good evening my dear little sister,” Johnny’s smug reply. You could almost see his sarcastic face in your mind. Before you could speak and bring hell to him, he inhaled and spoke himself, “I didn’t sell the house— well, sort of. But not really. It’s a fifty-fifty negotiation.”

You stood up, your hand on your waist. “I couldn’t believe you, Johnny! Casino? What in the heck were you thinking?”

Johnny cursed from the other line, “So the dick really told you about it?” Then a deep sigh, “Whatever he told you, it’s true. I’ve lost all my money in a game of baccarat. Don’t ask about it, you would not understand,” he uttered, so fast you almost didn’t catch it. Why is everyone thinks you won’t understand that game?

“What about Mom and Dad’s fund? Did you—”

“No! I did not,” Johnny sighed, deeper than the last time. “Well, almost half of it.”

“What?!” The scream that was threatening to come out from your mouth was unleashed, at last. You were afraid the neighbors heard it. “You—! Why did you do that?” You muttered, exasperated. Your knees felt like they would give up any second now, so you grabbed the chair and sat on it while trying to soothe your raging nerves. “That’s for us, Johnny. For our future.”

“I know. It was bad luck, Y/N. I promise, I’m working hard as much as I can to earn the money we’ve lost—”

“You’ve lost,” you repeated.

“Yeah. I’ve lost. Just, let Jaehyun stay for a while. He’s got no one and nothing.”

“What do you mean no one? And nothing?”

“He’s got no family. And no money. He’d lost it at the casino.”

You raised a brow like Johnny would see it, “Johnny, do you know that—” I saw him standing on our doorway, his stomach open and gushing out blood? Sighing, you have decided not to tell Johnny about the bloodied Jaehyun you’ve seen on your doorstep. He would only worry about you, and that’s the least thing you wanted now that your brother is miles away. “Do you know that he showed me a contract saying you sold him the house as payment for the money you owed him?”

Johnny once again cursed, “He’s fucking around with you. I’ll show you the real contract, hang on.”

Then you pulled your phone away from your ear the same time Johnny sent you a message. It was a picture of the real contract. And it was stated in the paper that Jaehyun could stay as long as he wanted in your house until Johnny earned the money he owed him. You knew it. Johnny didn’t sell the house. There is just no way he would do that.

“I knew it. I know you wouldn’t sell our house without discussing it with me.”

Johnny took seconds to speak, “I’d never sell the house, Y/N. No matter what. It’s ours.”

You rolled your lip with your teeth, “Where are you now, though? Are you eating well? Are you alright?”

Your brother chuckled, “I am. Don’t worry about your big brother. Just study and keep your self healthy.”

A pensive sigh was what you answered him. You wished your parents’ funds was enough for the both of you. So, Johnny wouldn’t have to work his butt off working here and there to provide for you.

“Just… take care. Don’t do anything illegal.”

“I won’t. Anyway, I have to go now. I have tons of work to do tomorrow. Call you tomorrow night, ‘kay? Take care, you little devil.”

“Alright. You too. Bye, Johnny.”

Then the line was cut off. You plugged-in your phone’s charger and set up the alarm. Staying up late was a bad idea, especially when you didn’t even have an ounce of sleep yesterday. It was a miracle that you’ve reached midnight without falling on your feet and sleeping on the floors. Dinner also went in the back of your mind, your appetite vanishing because of the adventure you’ve gone through for the past hours.

Going out of the room was out of the choices too. Jaehyun could be sucking an animal or a person’s neck in Johnny’s room for all you know. You frustratedly sighed, your imaginations would be the ones that would kill you, not the potential vampire inside the other room.

To get your mind off things, you checked on your group chat for any messages. Mark and Haechan, as usual, was bickering. Haechan sent a picture of his middle finger above his plates. While Mark sent a picture of the blackest coffee you’ve ever seen in your whole life with a caption, ‘palpitate? I don’t know him’ which elicited a chuckle from you.

As you glanced at your own plates, discarded at the corner near the original position of your drafting table, envy for Haechan and Mark enveloped you. You could have been on the third or fourth floor plan for the five-storey residential if not for Jaehyun.

You turned off your phone and decided to take a quick shower. You badly needed one. Jaehyun’s warning could not even stop you from washing the dried blood on your hands, wrists, over and under your fingernails.

Silence welcomed you as you peek through the door, the television was turned off, which only means that Jaehyun’s already in Johnny’s room. You finally stepped out, towel and robe in your hands.

Inside the bathroom, your shampoo bottle lay discarded on the shower floors, a sign that Jaehyun has emptied the container. You groaned, and threw the container to the trashcan with a loud thump.

As the water cascaded to your hair down your body, you felt the kiss you shared with Jaehyun, jolting your eyes open. What was that? You touched your lips. So many years of indulging yourself about vampires and how to kill them, one kiss and you are slipping off your principles already. What feebleness, you mumbled while slightly slapping your cheek.

After your quick shower, you felt cleaner than ever. No trace of blood could be seen on your hands. You wrapped yourself up with the robe, then your hair with the towel.

As you stepped out of the bathroom, you saw Jaehyun drinking a glass of water. You wrapped yourself tighter as you walked past him. He raised a brow but did not say anything. You’ve guessed the discussion about his stay could be accomplish tomorrow. Since you already had been exhausted to the bones, sleep was all you wanted and not another argument.

“Hey.” Jaehyun called out.

You froze for a few seconds before turning around to face him. What is it he wants this time?

“What?”

“What’s your name?” He asked, arms crossed with his body leaning on the counter.

Oh, yes. He hadn’t inquired about your name yet.

“Y/N,” you declared.

Jaehyun stood straight then, pocketing his hands on the pockets of his sweatpants. “The kiss. It means nothing. No need to fret about it.”

You blinked. “I’m not fretting about it.”

“Yeah? Keep telling that to yourself while touching your lips as if you could still feel mine against it.”

All the blood rushed up to your cheeks, you do not doubt you looked like a tomato with eyes right now. “What are you talking about?” Did he peer through some hole while you shower? Did he use his vampire instincts to watch you bathe?

“I didn’t watch you bathe. As I’ve said, you’re not my type. Girls willingly peels off their clothes for me, I don’t need to peek at some hole to see tits and a pussy.”

An unbelievably loud gasp resonated from your mouth, your cheeks heating up again by his bold statement. How did he know your thoughts? “What do you think of yourself? A god?”

A smirk, “Yes.”

“You’re really unbelievable,” you muttered while shaking your head. Then you turned your back on him, not turning around even after hearing his salacious laugh behind you.

—

Heat continued to wrap your body until you kicked the blanket off of you. You slowly opened your eyes, the blinding rays of the sunlight jolting you awake. You needed not glance at your phone to know that you didn’t wake up on time.

Running a hand through your hair, you unplugged the charger from your phone. Several texts from Haechan and Mark were displayed on the screen.

[Already submitted your plate. :)]

[You bugbear, where are you?]

You typed in your reply for Mark, thanking him for submitting your plate for visual techniques. It was the right decision to leave it on his drafting tube. Then you sent a wacky picture to Haechan.

After not getting a reply from the two boys, you stood up and put on your slippers. The chaos of your room was an eyesore. You reminded yourself to clean and get back on planning later.

Jaehyun was nowhere in sight, he wasn’t in the living room nor at the kitchen. Perhaps he’s still sleeping. Or maybe he’s afraid of the sunlight. As you walked straight to the kitchen, you remembered the call you had with Johnny. Someone needs to explain himself today.

A lot of things whirled in your mind as you mix the coffee in your mug. First, you need to confirm whether Jaehyun is a vampire or not. What would you do if he is? Would you kill him? No, he would definitely kill you first if you ever did something as to think about assaulting him. Or maybe… maybe he could help you— on finding the vampire who killed your parents.

Your eyes widened by your realization, the spoon falling to the sink, making a loud clanking noise. Why had you not thought about it earlier? You muttered a curse before sitting. Yes, that would be it. Once you successfully vindicated his vampire nature, you could ask him to collaborate with you in finding the monster who killed your parents. However, Jaehyun looks like he’s going to be a huge pain in the ass. Men like him do not do things without gaining something from it.

“Yes, that’s right.”

You jerked in your seat as you heard Jaehyun. He entered the kitchen like it’s his own, walking straight towards the refrigerator and slamming it shut when he didn’t find what he was searching for.

“Can you not read my mind?” Your annoyed reiteration.

Jaehyun continued his rummaging through the drawers. “I don’t. Your thoughts are just all over the place. Too loud.”

You ignored his comment and focused on your goal instead. All while remembering the things you have learned about vampire’s ability to infiltrate minds and how to block them out of it. “You told me you’re a vampire.”

Jaehyun merely glanced at you, “Did I?” Then he continued his ransacking.

“Yes. Last night.”

He attempted to leave the kitchen, “Don’t know what you’re talking about.” Then he stood still, facing you. “Aren’t you supposed to leave my house now?”

“Oh, speaking of that, I called Johnny last night. You lied to me.” You walked straight to one of the chairs and sat on it, your spoon pointing at Jaehyun’s way. “He didn’t sell you the house. You’re supposed to live here ‘til Johnny earned back the money he owed you.” A wicked smile was displayed on your lips now.

“Whatever. I better not see you again today.”

“This is my house!” You stood up from your seat, the coffee spilling as your hips collided with the table.

“Not anymore. Get out.”

“No.”

“Get out.”

You straightened your back, “What would you do, then?” Knowing that you are walking through a thin thread, still, you pushed on. “Bite my neck and suck my blood?”

Jaehyun huff out a breath, “You’re delusional.”

“You’re in denial.”

It took him two strides to face you, “Shut up.”

“Why? Did it surprise you that you revealed your true nature to a mortal? Mere minutes after meeting her?” You gathered all your willpower to smirk.

“I did not reveal you anything.” He said through gritted teeth.

You have never felt so powerful until you saw Jaehyun’s face right now. “You did. You told me—”

He turned his back towards you and left the kitchen. But your spirit has risen up, your being refractory oozing out of you. You followed Jaehyun to the living room, your hand grabbing his shirt.

Jaehyun jerked your arm away, his face ruddy from irritation when he faced you. “I didn’t tell you shit.”

“If you really didn’t, show me your wound then.” You waved your hand to where his wound was located in his stomach. “The wound that I’ve stitched up last night.”

He seemed appalled, but he quickly recovered, tuning in his smug face at the stroke. “Sorry, but my abs isn’t available at the moment. Try again next time, sweet.”

“Why don’t you just show me?” You voiced out, irritated. Jaehyun sighed and turned his back on you for the second time, but you didn’t budge as you pulled his shirt again. He tried to jerk your hand off of him but you held on.

“Let go!” He continued to wrench his shirt from your grip, the force of his hand pulling you towards the living room with him.

“Show me!”

“Damn it, Y/N! Let go!”

Jaehyun, for the last time, tugged his shirt from your hands, the force pulling you on your knees. Now you knelt face to face with his crotch, but you ignored your awkward position as you held his shirt again, then you caught a glimpse of the wound. It was a wound no more, but a faint scar instead—

“I knew it—!”

“Good mornin—! Oh shit! Oh my God! Y/N!”

You froze as you heard Mark’s shoutings, followed by Haechan’s remarks.

“Hotdog for breakfast, really, Y/N?”

You struggled on your feet, nearly tumbling again as your toe hit the foot of the coffee table. Swallowing the pulsating pain, you fixed yourself and faced your friends.

“It’s not what you think it is—”

“I told her to wait but she’s a spunky little thing, even begging and crawling for it.”

You’ve witnessed as Mark’s mouth formed a big ‘o’, his eyes nearly falling off their sockets. Haechan, beside Mark, only looked at you as if he was already tucking the information at the very back of his mind to blackmail you in the future.

“Don’t listen to him. He’s crazy.” You tried to smile despite the embarrassment. “Johnny asked me to take care of him for awhile.”

“Yeah, sure.” Haechan snickered.

You widened your eyes at him then turned it towards Jaehyun, a forced friendly smile painted on your lips. “Just… I know this is hard for you. But stay in your room, okay? I’ll give you milk later. Be a good boy, hmm?”

You saw the irritation in his face, causing you to swallow the chuckle that was threatening to come out off you. For the last time, Jaehyun looked at you with daggers in his eyes before sauntering up to Johnny’s room.

“What was that?” Mark asked, his eyes watching Jaehyun disappear to the other room.

“Johnny’s friend. He’s been on a traumatic past, made him childlike. It’s a pity, really—”

Haechan cut your sentence off by screaming, “Y/N, what the fuck is this?! Blood?!”

Both you and Mark followed Haechan’s sight. Sweat automatically formed in your forehead as you saw Jaehyun’s blood on the sofa, almost black in color because of its dryness.

“Oh! It’s— That’s— ignore that! That’s from Jaehyun’s wound. He cut himself last night— and yes, have you had your coffee yet? Come, let’s have breakfast!” A nervous chortle was elicited from you, then.

Haechan and Mark exchanged glances before sitting on the ottomans.

“No, it’s okay Y/N. We really just came by to check up on you,” Mark declared, his palms on his knees.

Haechan, on the other side, glanced at the blood before looking at you. “Are you alright?”

A spontaneous nod, “Of course. I am!”

“He’s not giving you any troubles, is he?” Mark dug in. You shook your head. Lies. Trouble has been the first thing Jaehyun led on your doors the moment you invited him in. “Since when did he arrive?”

“Last week,” was your terse reply. “Anyways, highways, why are you here?”

Haechan kept looking at the blood, so you rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a clean rug to cover it. Only when it was covered did he answer you.

“We had a notion that maybe you’re sick,” Haechan stated. “And you told us last week Johnny’s away. Besides we don’t have any more classes so we decided to visit,” he added.

“Thank you. But I am not sick. Just woke up really late.”

After talking about your plates, and the reminders two of your professors discussed, Haechan and Mark already bid their goodbyes, no doubt to play computer games. They did not ask about Jaehyun nor the blood on the sofa any further. Instead, they’d asked you numerous times whether you were really okay before making their way out. You answered them both with a slight pat on their backs, reassuring them that all is well even if you weren’t sure of it yourself.

Jaehyun was already sitting on the sofa when you got back inside, his eyes unfathomable as he took in your presence. Suddenly, you remembered his wound, and the scar that was left of it in a span of hours.

“Shall we go back to business?” He raised his brow, an impish smile imprinted on his luscious lips. At your confused look, he attempted to untie the string of his sweatpants, resulting in you, grabbing the pillow and throwing it his way.

“Gross!” You grunted.

“C’mon. Acting all shy now? Where’s the energy from earlier? I like that version of you better.” Then a wink.

You felt the veins of your temple tick. “You’re disgusting.”

“Disgustingly hot?”

“Go to hell, Jaehyun.”

“Working on it.”

Inhale, exhale, was your continuous chant in your mind as you tried to calm your nerves. After a minute of closing your eyes and breathing heavily, you finally had enough sanity to talk to the mad man sitting on your sofa.

“You’re really a vampire.”

Jaehyun let his head fall back, his eyes closed. “I am not,” was his worn out reply.

“How would you explain your wound, then? That’s completely healed not even twenty-four hours after I’ve put it back together?”

“Y/N, don’t you know that I’m God’s favorite? That’s why I heal easily.”

“Will you stop fucking around and confirm it to me instead?” you exhaled. “You’ve already revealed yourself, Jaehyun. And if you don’t want to wake up with the whole world salivating to put a stake through your heart tomorrow, you will listen to me.”

Jaehyun looked affronted, as he furrowed his brows before opening an eye. “Was that supposed to make me shit my pants?”

You sighed, deeper than a well. One minute of talking to Jaehyun and you felt yourself going insane already. “Listen, Jaehyun—”

“Why are you so eager to know whether I am truly a vampire? A normal person would’ve knelt and begged for mercy in front of me if they’d so much as see my fangs.” He sat up straight then, regarding you with interest.

“I am not afraid of your kind.”

Jaehyun chortled, “Says the girl who literally poured vinegar on me while chanting prayers.”

“Speaking of that, how did you repel those? Those are the bane of every vampire’s existence.” You, no doubt, believe your eyes looks like they are twinkling right now.

“You don’t know enough about vampires, then.”

Your years of determined study about the lore of vampires denied Jaehyun’s insult like an instinct. “Or maybe, you are a peculiar vampire,” you reiterated.

“Didn’t admit I was a vampire, did I?”

The conversation was getting exhausting now. You feel as if running and chasing Jaehyun in an endless path that leads to nothing. Vulnerability had a hard time reflecting itself to you, but you feel like you could only reach for the answers to the questions that were circulating your parents’ deaths for years if you showed it to Jaehyun.

“Our parents died years ago.” You tried your hardest not to look at Jaehyun as you started speaking. “They said… it’s a hopeless case. The police, the detectives, and even Johnny already gave up on it. But I refused to do the same.” You cleared your throat. “My parents had two bites on each of their necks. Yes, it could’ve passed as a snake’s bite. But the two of them? A snake bite on their necks? And since when did snakes leave their victim’s body looking withered as a dead plant?” With that, you looked up to Jaehyun.

His eyes were fixed on you, devoid of any emotions. “When did it happen?”

A slight hope ignited in your heart by his question that you answered right after the words tumbled out of his lips. “Ten years ago.”

He sighed before standing up on his feet. “When they said it was a hopeless case, it really was Y/N.”

Boulders on your shoulders, that was what his words felt like. The earth and the heavens felt like closing in on you.

Jaehyun started to walk away. Ice seems to envelope all your hopes. The impact of it was different, as it came from a vampire itself. You looked up to stop the tears that were threatening to roll down your cheeks, but a traitorous tear slid down the side of your one eye, your lips shaking. You wiped it off, as harshly as you could before standing up and sprinting to your own room, the frames rattling by how forceful you shut the door closed.

—

For hours, you sat on your bed, your mind drifting off to nowhere. You refused to cry, it wouldn’t make any difference. The blackboard who has all the articles from newspapers, books, internet news magnetized your line of sight. You stood up, and walked towards it.

As you ran your hands through the crumpled papers, the image of your parents flashed in your mind. You shut your eyes closed, then the tears finally slid down.

“Mom, Dad, I’m sorry.” Your body shook, your shoulders continued to vibrate as you cried. It’s been a while since you let yourself fall. Forcing you to think that the pain of your parents’ deaths has already left. But no, it does not. Time only made it worse.

A scream resonated from your mouth as you let the pain coaxed you. You gripped the papers attached to the blackboard, and wrenched them with enough force to graze your knuckles on the hard surface, the thumbtacks scratching your fingers. Slowly, your body fell to the floors, the coldness of it biting your soles. You hugged your knees as tears continued to come out of your eyes.

Then you heard a knock.

You slowly got up on your feet. Bloodshot eyes greeted you when you looked at your reflection on the mirror. You hastily wiped your cheeks and fixed your hair before sauntering up to the door.

Jaehyun’s façade loomed over the other side.

“What?” You never meant to make the words come out vexed. But Jaehyun displayed a look of hesitation, making you uncomfortable. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“I might have a solution to your problem.”

Your gripped on the doorknob tightened, your chest constricting. “What… what do you mean?

“I meant… I might’ve a solution to the death of your parents.”

“Really?!” You held his shoulders and shook him.

“Yeah. But before anything else, I need a beer.”

After Jaehyun’s revelation, you fixed yourself and dashed for the nearest convenience store, grabbing his preferred brand of beer and filling your cart with it. You needed to be tight on your expenses after you saw the receipt, but you have no time to care one bit now that you feel elevated more than ever.

When you arrived home, Jaehyun quickly opened the bottle with his hands, while you refrigerate the others. You dashed for the living room after putting all the bottles inside.

“So, what now?” You asked like a little puppy while Jaehyun chugged down his beer.

“I’ll help you in one condition.”

Of course, there’s a condition. Thankfully, you’ve anticipated Jaehyun to be the kind of man that it didn’t surprise you anymore.

“Anything.”

“I’ll live here as long as I want. My clothes, cigs, beers— that’s all on you.” He pointed his finger at you, while holding the bottle in the same hand.

“Don’t you have any cash with you?” You tried to look kind as much as you can. Yet Jaehyun still raised a brow as a no.

“Blame the casino,” he added.

As you reckon his conditions, you grimaced privately. What would you tell Johnny if you started spending your funds? Or when you started asking for money all of a sudden?

“Alright. All your expenses, on me.” You smiled, teeth flashing while pointing at your self.

“I want my own room.”

“I will clean the storage—”

“Your parents’ room.”

With that, you stopped speaking, stopped breathing. “No.”

Jaehyun’s lips turned sideways, “Then the deal is off.” He turned to leave but you grabbed his wrist.

“Wait, alright. Alright. You could sleep there tonight. I will talk to Johnny.”

Jaehyun sat up again, a triumphant smile plastered on his lips. “Nice.”

“How did you know it was my parents’?”

The room was always locked, not when you clean it every once a week. You need not ponder how Jaehyun knew it was your parents, his vampire instincts surely told him. The room was bigger than any of the rooms inside the house, with big curtains making it cozy. There’s no doubt Jaehyun wanted it to be his just by that feature.

“Do I need to answer that?”

You shook your head. “So, how do we find my parents’ murderer?”

Jaehyun took a swig off his bottle before speaking, “Are you certain it’s a vampire?”

You didn’t answer. Instead dashed back to your own room to delve the box tucked underneath your dresser along with the dagger. In it was the picture of your parents in their withered state, the camera captured a shot of their neck, revealing the two bites each of them had. You hurriedly went back to the living room and revealed Jaehyun the pictures.

He took it with oddity, his mouth formed in a tight line. “Vampires. No doubt.”

After all these years, it was confirmed at last. You wanted to shout, but that isn’t pleasant for a time such as this. “I knew it,” you breathily stated.

Jaehyun shuffled the picture in his hands, “Some vampires has a peculiar way of killing their preys. However, the way your parents’ were murdered was no special. This is how the majority of the vampires kills.”

You leaned closer to see the picture yourself, but in a spur of moment felt embarrassed as you remember the kiss you shared, so you shifted away from him. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Yes. This gave us no clue as to who might be behind this.”

You feel your hopes shattering again. Jaehyun’s next words smashing it to smithereens.

“Vampires are all around Europe, and I do not doubt this town have several vampire clans too.” He continued, “But I know someone who could possibly identify the vampire behind this.” He waved the pictures in front of you, his mouth putting an emphasis to the word ‘possibly’. Your hope rose up in your chest again, despite the reluctance to his statement.

“What are we waiting for, then? Let’s go!” You stood up, ready to go at any given moment.

“Don’t be so excited, Y/N. He’s not a pleasant view to look at.” Then Jaehyun took one last swig on his bottle before laying it on the table with a thud.

“Anything, anyone, Jaehyun. For my parents.”

Jaehyun shrugged, “Tonight, then.”

“Where do we go?”

“Cemetery.”

—

The sky was pitch black that night, no trace of twinkling white lights could be seen in the heavens. You held your jacket tighter to your body, the howling winds with heavy mists slapping on your face, hazing your skin with little droplets of water.

The cemetery’s entrance loomed over you, the letters in the metal bars embossed with an eerily looking font. You gulped, it’s sinister façade making the hairs on your neck prickle.

“Can’t we go back tomorrow morning?” You pursed your lips after asking. Jaehyun’s eyes was fixed on the name of the cemetery above you. Eternal Rest Cemetery.

“We won’t be able to meet Hubert in daylight,” he explained.

On the way to the cemetery, Jaehyun had given you little informations about the person you would meet tonight. His name is Hubert, Eternal Rest Cemetery’s gravedigger. He didn’t tell you how had he met him, or what does he looked like other than ‘creepy’.

“Why? Isn’t daylight more fitting for meetings such as this one?” You continued to babble as you entered the vicinity. Trying your hardest not to grip Jaehyun’s arms, you unobtrusively walked closer to him instead.

“I told you, we couldn’t meet him in daylight. And I am not bestfriends with the sun, Y/N.” Jaehyun is clothed with a black shirt, paired with one of Johnny’s sweatpants again, since you haven’t bought him his own yet.

“Why? Aren’t you immune?” You glanced at the several tombstone, waiting for some ghost to show up and grabbed you with them underground. If this scene was accompanied by a smoke, and sinisterly white lights, it could pass as a horror movie already.

The wet tombstone was glinting against the moonlight, muds covering the green grass, leaving it mixed up with brown and green colors.

“How could you keep too many questions in that pretty mouth of yours?” Jaehyun asked, snapping his head at you.

You drew into a sudden halt, flustered by his question. Against the night, Jaehyun looked ashen if not for the redness of his lips, his face was giving off a chalky visage. He looked more vampiric now ever since you saw him.

When you didn’t answer, Jaehyun started to walk again, with you trailing behind him, mindful of the tombstones watching as you passed by.

In front of the rustic metal bars, Jaehyun halted. You stood behind him, observing the size of the space where the gravedigger must have been staying. Jaehyun rattled the bars again, the rust cascading down the grass.

You start as you saw someone penetrated the metal bars. Jaehyun shifted on his position, giving you a better view at the person— or an entity— in front of him. In an instant, you were reminded by the ghosts in Lord of the Rings. Hubert looks like a green smoke, but his whole façade is intact, no missing flesh nor eyes. He is tall, clad in suit like it came from Victorian era. Now you understand why Jaehyun insisted to meet him in night time. A ghosts could not be seen in daylight.

“Hubert! My friend, do you remember me? Of course, you do! Even ghosts wouldn’t forget this face.”

Hubert brushed him off with a stare before nodding his head your way.

Jaehyun waved his hand towards you, “This is Y/N. My friend. She needs something from you.”

Hubert looked at Jaehyun meaningfully, it was like a code you have no chance to decipher. After that, Jaehyun whispered something to him, but the ghosts shook his head.

Jaehyun glanced your way, his face abstruse. Then he held your shoulder, guiding you away from Hubert who remained standing on his spot.

“I forgot to tell you something.” Jaehyun released a curse. “Hubert, he has no tongue.”

You couldn’t help but to release a curse yourself, “What?!”

“If the crime happened in a cemetery, he would surely know the vampire who killed your parents.” Jaehyun took a quick glance at Hubert, “Usually, he would write it down on a paper. But something befell him, with the involvement of dark magic. I could smell it from him, Y/N. He is enchanted.”

This time, it’s you who peeked at Hubert’s tall frame. “I… I don’t know where my parents really died.”

“A higher chance that they were killed here, then.” Jaehyun licked his lips, “Trust me. Vampires around this town usually slays their prey in cemeteries.”

It was a gnawing suspicion at you, the real location where your parents had died. The policemen said it was likely that they were dumped into the crime scene, since their body hadn’t made a pattern on the earth yet. It was distinctly possible that they were killed in a cemetery.

“How could we make him talk?” You bit on your lower lip.

Jaehyun’s eyes lingered on your lips for a few seconds before he answered. “He wants you to offer him your own tongue.”

You were thrown off balance by his statement, your words coming out as a loud baffled gasp, you were afraid you would wake up the whole cemetery. “My what?!”

“So he could talk,” Jaehyun explained like he was talking about the strands of your hair instead of your tongue.

You felt your tongue before speaking, “Is there any other way?”

If cutting your tongue out of your mouth was the only way to identify your parents’ murderer, you’d gladly do it. But you at least need to try for different alternatives, since your tongue is a crucial part for your mission.

“Yes,” Jaehyun answered, he held his finger to quiet you down when you attempted to speak. “We would need to hunt for a witch to enchant him. But I’m telling you now it’s gonna be a lot of work. Witches has already learned how to be cunning and inconspicuous ever since Salem.”

The Salem Witch Trials. You’ve encountered it when you first started reading about vampires. It was a series of prosecutions for people suspected of witchcraft between February 1692 to May 1693 in Massachusetts. Thirty were found guilty, nineteen of them had met the infamous Gallow Hills to die by hanging.

“How did you know all this?”

“It was my on the job training before I completely transformed into a vampire.” Jaehyun declared. You would have nodded since you didn’t know that information when he started to laugh. “Just kidding.”

“Then… do you know any witch that might be in this town?” Your voice was calm and toned down now, not sure if it’s because of your location or the lingering feeling that Jaehyun might think of you as a coward for refusing to lacerate your tongue.

He wiped the sides of his mouth with his fingers, “Yes. I know one. But I don’t think she’s going to see me.”

“Then I’ll talk to her.”

Jaehyun took in your expression and the determination in your face before nodding, “Alright.” Then he turned his head back to Hubert, who has disappeared to his small space behind the metal bars. Jaehyun tried to call for him, but the ghost did not appear again.

“He could be really annoying sometimes.” Jaehyun shrugged.

—

The following days, you tried to get back on your normal life by starting off your plates and pretending as if you hadn’t just met a vampire in your doorstep, and that you didn’t make a deal with that vampire to find your parents’ murderer, and that you hadn’t gone into a cemetery in the middle of the night to talk to some tongueless ghost that might be holding the key to your life’s biggest mystery.

Exhausting, yes. But fulfilling nonetheless. Johnny had no idea about your endeavors, and you do not plan to tell him anytime sooner. You’ve also warned Jaehyun not to mention anything to your brother, which was only answered with a deadpanned expression and ‘I don’t have a phone’ statement.

Jaehyun had his own adventures at night, only returning before the dawn breaks. You did not ask about his business, but you’ve been seeing droplets of blood on his shirt every now and then. The humane part of you wanted to banish him, for threatening the life of other people, but you also didn’t want to offend him. You could not afford him bailing out of your deal.

One night, though, you had no chance to stop yourself when you noticed blood on his shirt.

“Do you kill people, Jaehyun?”

The answer could be no, since there were no news about people being murdered the same way your parents had been.

“Why do you care?” He sounded irritated that you shut your mouth for a moment before pressing on.

“How does their blood tastes like?”

He snapped his head at you, baring his fangs. “Care to offer me your neck so I could answer your question?” With that, he slammed the refrigerator door shut, and stormed out of the kitchen with beer in hand.

You watched as his back disappeared from your sight, his statement leaving puzzles in your mind.

Then you remember a fact about vampires from your books. Yes, they need human blood to sustain themselves. But that does not prohibit them from drinking the blood of other living creatures. Doing so would satisfy their thirst, but it won’t provide them the same power as human blood. Jaehyun’s wound didn’t heal according to his ability to cure himself faster than any being because a continuous doze of animal blood would render their powers weaker.

Which only means that Jaehyun does not drink human blood. A swell of pride bloomed in your heart by the realization. Perhaps he is a vampire, but he isn’t monstrous.

“Here.”

You looked up to Jaehyun, who slammed a paper on your drafting table.

You ignored it. “Can you please knock before barging in my room?”

“Look at what I’ve got.” He ignored your annoyance and motioned his hand on the paper. Only then you took a glance at it. It was an invitation. “Invitation for Madame Juana’s party.”

You stood up from your seat, eyes twinkling. “Isn’t she the witch?!”

The golden print of the invitation was exquisitely inviting that you grabbed and ran your fingers through it. You could not believe Jaehyun got the invitations.

“Yes. It is a formal party, Y/N. We need clothes, especially me.”

“What are you waiting for? Get dressed! We’re going shopping!” You giggled before pressing the invitation between your planning and design’s book.

Two hours before the malls starts to close. You quickly changed and met Jaehyun outside the house. This time, he was wearing a white shirt paired with cargo pants, one you bought him. His dog tag making him hotter than he already is.

You tried not to focus on him as you got on the bus. Jaehyun sat beside you, while you sat near the window. Then the memory of the bus you rode in weeks ago suddenly drawing to a halt went crashing back in your mind.

“Jaehyun… weeks ago. Did you… cross the streets all of a sudden?” You decided to ask. It doesn’t change anything, you were just curious since there’s a high chance he was the one who crossed the street that night, fast as a lightning.

“Yes,” was his uninterested reply. You nodded and didn’t press any further. But when you shifted to look at the view outside the vehicle, Jaehyun spoke. “Were you hurt?”

He didn’t ask how did you know. It was obvious that you were inside that bus. Slightly perplexed by his question, you shook your head. “No.”

“Did I hurt anyone?” His eyes were fixed forward, not bothering to glimpse at you.

“No. You did not.”

“We’re here,” he announced before the bus halted in front of the mall.

—

“Jaehyun, could you please slow down?” You hissed while tugging your too-tight dress further down you knees.

Jaehyun was walking ahead of you as if he was being chased by a wild cat. The painful feeling of your heels against your soles flaming your agitation. Madame Juana’s party was a formal one. And it’s not as if you could not walk with heels, you could perfectly do that even if you put a book on the top of your head. But Jaehyun’s strides makes it harder for you to do so.

The stygian corridors of Madame Juana’s mansion makes it harder for you to navigate with your too-tight dress and dangerously thin red bottoms. What literally came into her mind to decide not to put lightbulbs in her corridor? Your question was answered when you saw the light from the hall infiltrating through the open curtains at the end of the corridor. A touch of anticipation.

Jaehyun held up his hand at you when you’ve finally reached him.

“Hurry! It’s starting!” His breath fanned your cheeks as you entered the party, making you blush all of a sudden. He was clad in a simple black suit, which took a huge amount from your allowance. Despite that, he towered most of the men in the hall once you entered.

Jaehyun is simply ravishing.

Eyes from both women and men bore into his façade as you walked through the throngs of guests. Some whispering about his vampire nature, and some giggling by how good he looks like. It made you realized that this party wasn’t meant for mortals.

The orchestra was playing a forlorn music from the other side of the made platform, unfitting for a party such as this one.

“Madame Juana’s mortal husband died.” Jaehyun whispered all of a sudden, an explanation for the question you’ve asked only to yourself.

“Why is she throwing a party then?”

“Because she’s happy. She’s collected a number of rich husbands in the span of her life, Y/N.” He leaned closer, his minty breath whiffing your nose again.

You cleared your throat, trying to make your voice little. “How old is she?”

A waitress passed by, offering you a margarita. You gladly took one with a nod of thanks.

“Five hundred years old.”

You almost spat your drinks, eyes widening. “Five hundred years old?”

Jaehyun only nodded. The music halted, magnetizing your focus on the woman at the top of the stairs. She was clad in the finest silk, her skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood. If you didn’t know that she was a witch, you would think of her as a vampire.

“Don’t say that to her face later,” Jaehyun warned before clapping his hands.

You ignored his enraging ways to read your mind and started to clap your hands together. Madame Juana started to descend the stairs, her silk gown moving like ocean waves. She does not look like a five-hundred year old witch. Rather, she only looked like a few years older than you.

One of the waitresses handed her a mic, you were mesmerized by how her lips moved as she welcomed everyone who has attended his late husband’s first month death anniversary.

After her warm reception, the forlorn music became jovial. The guests started to chatter in loud voices, while Madame Juana greeted each of her visitor.

Jaehyun stood still beside you, watching the Madame like a predator… or a prey. And as if Madame Juana felt Jaehyun staring at her, her eyes suddenly shifted towards the both of you. You start in your position, feeling as if your muscles are strained. The Madame raised her hand, which is holding a glass of red wine, towards you. Jaehyun imitated her actions, and you have no other choice but to join them as they toss their glasses to the air.

You sipped on your drinks, the same time the music shuffled and then all you could hear was the Waltz of the Flower by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Most of the guests gathered between the hall, and they started to dance. You know the piece yourself. Your mother loved it so much, teaching you how to slow dance with it when you were little.

Awestruck by the pairs of dancing bodies on the dance floor, you did not notice Jaehyun stretching out his hand to you until you blinked out of oblivion and saw him watching you with a small smile painted on his lips.

“Will you give me the pleasure to dance with you, milady?”

A hearty chuckle resonated from your throat before taking Jaehyun’s hand. He guided you towards the dance floor, securing you with his hands.

“I am not good at dancing,” you warned him with a chuckle.

Jaehyun laughed, “Let’s fall together then.”

Eyes locked with Jaehyun, you let yourself leave your worries behind for a while. You stepped on Jaehyun’s feet every now and then, but he only brushed it off with a chuckle. After a few minutes on the dance floor, you regained your footing along with the memories of the steps your mother taught you. Jaehyun spun you around with an ease of a professional.

The chandeliers painted Jaehyun’s face with a light that wasn’t meant for a creature such as him; it made him more human, more real. His dashing aura blinding you, together with his smile. All of a sudden, you forgot the bloodied man in your front porch weeks ago, replaced by a new Jaehyun. It felt like it was the first time you were seeing him.

You chuckled. Both of your laughters mixing with the music, pulling you into bliss. You hadn’t noticed when most of the guests drew into a halt, leaving a few pairs together with you and Jaehyun on the dance floor.

The both of you were catching your breaths when the music stopped, the claps of the visitors making you smile.

“Kiss! Kiss!”

Your smile was easily replaced by a flustered expression when the visitors started to chant. Jaehyun mischievously glanced at you, deepening the redness of your cheeks.

“Kiss! Kiss!”

All the chants were muffled as Jaehyun grabbed the back of your head. Your eyes widened, muscles frozen. You closed your eyes and waited for his lips to touch yours, but nothing came.

Someone cleared her throat. You opened your eyes and saw Madame Juana walking towards you. She smiled, pearlescent white teeth flashing.

“Nice to see you here, Y/N.” Then she gave you a peck on the cheek before turning her eyes to Jaehyun. Her smile quickly dropped to a frown as she took in his aura. “And you. Jung Jaehyun.”

Her smile returned when she looked at you again, “Come. Let’s talk about your parents.”

Madame Juana led you through a corridor across the entrance you walked in earlier. Unlike the other one, the corridor was flashing with lights, almost blinding you. She opened the door at the end of it. Stacks of books and bookshelves filled your sight as you blinked and refocused your eyes.

“As you can see, I have too many visitors to entertain tonight. Talk.” She waved her fingers languidly as Jaehyun closed the door behind him.

“We need your help to enchant a tongueless gravedigger,” you started.

Madame Juana sat, her eyes looking straight at yours. “I’ll help you.”

Your happiness swelled up as you didn’t expect her to easily cooperate.

“In one condition.” She propped her chin onto her palm.

“Anything!” You took a step towards her, laying your palms on the top of her table. Jaehyun followed and stood beside you.

“Kill Alena for me.”

Jaehyun tensed, his mouth formed in a thin line. “You are insane.”

You widened your eyes at him in warning and turned your head towards Madame Juana instead. “Who is this Alena?”

When she attempted to speak, Jaehyun cut her off, providing you the answers himself. “She’s the head of the Detritius clan of vampires.”

You shot Juana a look. “What makes you think I could kill her?” Even if driven by madness, you still could not. Right now, you doubt your skills— you doubt even your determination.

“That’s it, pretty girl.” She raised her finger towards Jaehyun to shut him up. “I’ve cursed Alena to die in the hands of a mortal. Your goal to make the gravedigger speak is fitting to my intentions. It’s a win-win situation, don’t you think? Not unless you’re ready to slash your own tongue out of your mouth.” She smiled her alluring smile.

You took a glimpse at Jaehyun. He was shaking his head at you, but this is your chance. It’s preposterous, but it is the only way. You shut your eyes for a moment and took deep breaths before facing Juana again.

Then you nodded.

“Perfect!” She clasped her hands. “Visit me again tomorrow, so we could talk about it in details. Don’t worry, I’m not sending you to war without weapons, darling.” She stood up and brought her hand to your cheek, caressing it. “Now get out. Both of you.”

You did as you were told, your heart hammering against your chest. Jaehyun did not speak to you until you’ve reached the outside of the mansion and until you grabbed his arm.

“Jaehyun—”

He sighed, “Y/N, I’m not sure about this one.”

You released a breath, “Why? Jaehyun, you can’t bail—”

“Alena… I am bound to her.” He ran his hand through his hair, his eyes suddenly seeing the ground more interesting than you.

You took a step back. His words blowing you out of proportion. “I don’t understand.”

Only then he looked up to you, his eyes reflecting something you could not decipher. “Y/N, Alena is my fiancée.”

#jung jaehyun au #jung jaehyun imagines #jung jaehyun scenarios #jaehyun au #jaehyun imagines #jaehyun scenarios #nct au #nct imagines #nct scenarios #nct 127 au #nct 127 imagines #nct 127 scenarios

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Text

Chapter 37: Pack

Grace let the warm water rush over her face as she braced herself against the shower wall. Only a couple of hours ago she had been bestowed with knowledge that Jacob Black was her soulmate. She had held onto him so tight as every fiber of her being pulled her to him. All she could remember from that first embrace was relief. Her entire body had ached for so long and she had just gotten used to the pain of it, until finally it was wiped clear in one moment and the realization that her life had been missing this integral part washed through her.

She turned the heat up in the shower and let it pelt her back. Everything happened so fast that she didn’t know if it was even real anymore. Grace turned the water off, not sure of how long she’d been in the shower. She wrapped herself in a towel and walked into her quiet bedroom, the sun was setting outside now and the cool light pooled in pockets around her room. She let the towel fall so she could shake the excess water from her hair. Her body felt incredibly warm.

She pulled on some fitted joggers and a grey tank top before throwing her red cropped hoodie on. She shook a hand through her hair and let out a huff of breath before turning toward her door and walking slowly down the stairs.

She rounded the corner to face the kitchen and came to a stop. Jacob was standing in her kitchen pulling together a meal, She held onto the stair banister and paused for just a moment before he looked over his shoulder at her.

Grace’s breath caught in her throat again. He gave her a small smile and said softly, “I just threw a bunch of leftovers together, you didn’t have much.”

He carried two plates out and set them on the kitchen table. Grace stayed by the stairs, her heart pounding in her chest. Her entire body felt electrified with anticipation, and her eyes kept darting to his hands. The same hands that had held her so tightly in the forest as she nearly wept in his arms just a few hours earlier.

“Hungry?” he said, raising his eyebrow at her. Grace’s entire body screamed to be near him and she nodded gently, trying to walk at a normal speed toward him. She plopped down in the chair closest to him. “You okay?”

How could he ask that?! Was she okay?! She was over the moon. She was elated. She was incredibly, overwhelming, irrevocably in love with this feeling. Her entire body buzzed with so much excitement that she thought she’d fly apart at any moment. Her senses were dialed to eleven anytime he opened his mouth, moved his hand, brushed his arm against hers.

“Oh, yeah,” she answered nonchalantly, picking up her fork and putting mashed potato in her mouth. “Totally.” she nodded. Jacob looked at her for a second and then his face broke into a wide grin that squeezed her heart. He started to laugh and so did she. They were gasping for air, laughing at one another and Grace thought it was the most incredible sound. After a few moments, they settled and she shook her head at him.

“This is wild,” he sighed and Grace nodded carefully. As they finished their food Grace took a chance to speak,

“What do we do now?”

As if on cue, Leah and Seth came through the door panting. Grace was on her feet, Jacob in front with an arm extended in front of her.

“What the hell are you two doing here?” Jacob asked. Leah put her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath and when she stood straight to look at them she did a double take.

“No FUCKING WAY! I knew it!” she yelled. Seth was grinning like a mad man as Leah raised a finger now accusingly. “I knew shit was weird between you two for too long! I knew it!”

“Take it easy Leah,” Jacob rolled his eyes.

“Why the fuck did you only imprint now?!” She was looking from Grace to Jake.

“He became alpha. I guess that’s what Ti’Hal had kept saying this whole time about ‘be yourself blah blah blah’,” Grace said crossing her arms. “She kept saying we were fighting too hard against who we were and only when we became who we were meant to be would the suffering end.”

“Dark,” Leah said positively thrilled.

“Okay, anyway, what are you two doing here?” Jake asked again. Seth started walking toward the kitchen now.

“We left Sam’s pack.” He said simply.

“You WHAT?!” both Grace and Jake shouted in unison.

“You need to go back right now, Seth. You too Leah,” Jake said.

“Is that an order?” Seth responded jokingly. Jake glowered, clenching his fists.

“That’s not what I said,” Jacob said evenly. Leah plopped down on the couch and threw her arm over the back of it.

“Seth bring me some leftovers. I’m beat,” Leah said.

“This isn’t funny you two, you shouldn’t be here. I didn’t start my own pack,” Jake said. He looked to Grace for help but she shrugged.

“You’re technically an alpha which means you are your own pack,” Grace said in a small voice.

“Exactly. When you went quiet and left, it was like a door was left open. Seth and I chose to go through the door. Once we decided, everyone went quiet. It was amazing,” Leah said as Seth handed her a tupperware container full of lasagna.

“Oh god,” Grace put a hand to her forehead. “Sam’s probably pissed.”

“Who cares? He deserves it after what he did to you. He was way out of line,” Leah said.

“That’s not the point. I don’t know what I’m doing right now,” Jake retorted, a hand automatically resting on Grace’s arm.

“Oh, we know,” Seth said, “But you made a choice, and so did we. If you want us to go back to Sam’s pack you’re going to have to do it with an alpha order.”

“When did you get all this confidence?” Jacob said, surprised. Seth smirked and dug into the pizza leftovers. Grace had ordered a few days back. Jacob let out a groan and turned to wrap his arms around Grace’s shoulders. She threaded her hands underneath his arms and around his back and echoed his groan.

“I can’t believe you imprinted,” Seth said, shaking his head. Jacob didn’t respond, but rather he laid his cheek on the top of Grace’s head, letting the relief wash over them.

“Are you really though? Look at them, they were like this before. All the pieces were there, they were just being stubborn,” Leah said. “Ti’Hal said so,” she teased in a sing-song voice.

“Okay, I’m going to go take a shower, please don’t eat Grace out of house and home,” Jacob kissed the top of Grace’s head and let her go to move up the stairs.

“Okay, but I’m sleeping in her bed tonight, alpha,” Leah said. Jacob scoffed at this as he disappeared into Grace’s room. Grace jumped over the back of the couch and sat next to Leah, pulling her head under her arm to give her a noogie.

“You’re no longer a part of the Sam pack and suddenly, you’ve got so much sass.” Grace teased.

“I’ve always been like this.” Leah stated shaking free of Grace’s grip.

“She really has been,” Seth said, flicking through the channels on the TV.

“How do you feel?” Leah asked in a lower tone. Grace’s eyes were alight, eager, she hadn’t felt this good in months. Still, she squirmed a little under Leah’s stare, everything still new.

“I don’t know. I feel...really really good. We haven’t really gotten to talk about any of it yet but he seems...happy about it?” Grace glanced up the stairs and back to Leah. “It’s not like we’re suddenly going to press on the gas though, right?”

“I dunno, ever since he came back you’ve been on his mind. He even mentioned this call and return thing that kept happening while he was out on his own. Which honestly sounds like it was a dormant imprint thing. I don’t think he’s going to want to take it too slow.” Leah responded.

Seth looked over his shoulder at them, “Are you guys together now?”

“Seth,” Leah hissed.

“What?!”

“We literally imprinted like four hours ago,” Grace bemoaned.

“Yeah, but you’ve felt it since the first time you laid eyes on him, don’t lie.” Leah waggled her eyebrows suggestively at her and Grace pushed her shoulder.

“You better watch it or you won’t be sleeping in my bed tonight,” Grace warned. She got up then and went to the kitchen to clean up. Grace semi-hoped that another pack member didn’t decide to leave Sam’s pack and come to her house right away. She was sorely lacking on the food front considering she’d been at the Cullen’s for the majority of the last 5 months. As she finished the dishes in the sink and was wiping down the counters, Jake came up behind her.

“Need anything?” he asked awkwardly. She turned to look at him and gave him a small smile.

“No, I’m good,” Grace said. His eyes connected with hers and she felt that familiar pull in her belly. The one that begged her to move closer, but she stayed in place, still unsure of where they were headed. However, in this connective moment, Jake must have felt the same thing because he reached out to her and Grace took the two steps forward to close the gap between him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into him and then pressed his lips to her shoulder. She brought her hands up to rub on the back of his neck and he let out a soft, almost inaudible sigh of pleasure. Grace closed her eyes at the sound and couldn’t help but feel a ripple of pleasure whip through her as well.

“Is this too much?” Jake said quietly into her shoulder. Grace shook her head and whispered back,

“No. It feels good, right?”

“That’s an understatement,” he said chuckling. She smiled brighter at that as she moved her hand in soft circles on the back of his neck. “Does Leah really get to sleep in bed with you tonight?”

At this Grace let out a loud laugh as Jacob tightened his hold on her.

“You guys are kind of gross,” Leah said distractedly on the couch watching a show with Seth.

Grace woke up the next morning with an arm draped across her body. Groggily, she rubbed at her eyes and looked to her left at the sleeping form of Leah. Did yesterday really happen? She wondered. Jacob had imprinted on her, become alpha in her defense, and split the pack up. None of it felt real.

Despite Jacob’s new alpha status, Grace still had a line into Sam’s pack. She was void of pack specific allegiance and was keeping an ear to the ground of if they were going to volley an attack against the Cullen’s. Before she fell asleep late last night, nothing of note had come up. Sam’s pack was in disarray and they had unphased to regroup.

Grace picked Leah’s arm up off her body and rolled out of bed. She slowly padded down the stairs and went to start some coffee. Jacob was strewn across the couch, his broad body taking up the majority of the space. Seth was in the back office, still asleep. Grace checked her phone for any new messages from Carlisle or Edward, but her inbox was empty. She took her coffee and softly made her way to the front door to enjoy it out on the patio.

She listened to the sounds of the comforting waves and felt a moment of calm wash over her. Jacob had made it clear last night that he was interested in picking up where they left off. They still needed to discuss everything but Grace knew that would come in time. Whether it was the imprint or the familiar pull they had always felt toward each other, fate was beckoning them. Grace wasn’t going to fight it anymore—she couldn’t.

As she sipped the warm liquid under the rising sun, Grace couldn’t help but be both excited and terrified of what was to come. Sure, the rift between Sam and her was going to take time to fix, but she wouldn’t let this implicate the pack members. Two packs could exist together, two alphas meant more coverage to manage duties, the new recruits, everything.

This can work.

A sound to her left made her eyes snap wide, the calm she felt moments earlier dissipated. From the left of the treeline at the mouth of the cove, Embry stumbled into the clearing in front of Grace’s home.

“Embry?” she said aloud, confusion coloring her voice. And then, she saw it. Bright blood gushed from his shoulder, painting the right side of his body red and staining his shorts. She ran forward, colliding with him just outside of the path to her front door and he collapsed on top of her. The wound was incredibly deep, fresh, and Embry’s eyes were rolling back in his head.

“JACOB!” Grace screamed as she kneeled on the sand, Embry’s immense frame sliding face first into her lap. Grace pulled her hand away at the sticky, warm blood and then immediately pressed her hand back. His shoulder and part of his neck were shredded, the muscle ragged and exposed. Jacob was on her in a second, crouching next to her and pulling Embry’s body into his arms. Leah and Seth were standing on the porch bewildered.

“Bring him inside,” Grace said hurriedly. “Leah, get towels. Jacob, take him to the back.”

“We need to patrol,” Leah said shocked. Jacob gave her one short look and nodded his head as he went past.

“Go with Seth after you fetch the towels. I’ll be with you soon,” Jacob confirmed. He laid Embry’s lifeless body on the mattress and Grace kneeled beside him pressing her hand to his neck and shoulder.

“Is he—” Seth said, lingering in the doorway to the room.

“Seth, go phase now.” Jacob said. Leah was in the room with towels and was shaking them out. Seth backed out of the doorway and sprinted toward the cove.

“Where do you want them?” she asked Grace.

“Under his head, here give me one.” They worked quickly, sopping up the excess blood and clearing the wound so Grace could see the extent of the wound. With Jacob’s help, she sat herself at the head of the bed, her back against the wall. Jacob laid Embry’s head and shoulders in her lap and she pressed both hands to his wound trying to cover as much surface area as possible.

“I’m gonna kill him! He’s lost his mind,” Leah seethed moving from the room after Seth. Jacob was preoccupied with Embry, his eyes focused but his face etched with worry.

“Go,” Grace pleaded to Jake, “I’ve got him. He’s breathing. You need to keep anyone else away from here, but don’t fight them, Jacob. We don’t know what happened.” Jacob grimaced at this and took off after Leah and Seth. “Oh Em,” Grace said, tears springing to her eyes.

She had to focus now so she settled in and closed her eyes, feeling the warm spring of blood pulse under her palms as she willed Embry back to life.

At some point, Grace had fallen asleep, exhaustion settling over her as she healed Embry. When she woke up, the sun was high in the sky. She pulled the towel back that was covering her hand and inspected the wound. It was puckered and closing, and Grace let out a sigh of relief. Embry’s breathing was even, but his forehead pooled with sweat. Grace ran a hand through his hair and felt it’s damp. She readjusted her body under him and reached for her phone that Jacob had left on the nightstand.

SMS Text—12:32 p.m.: Jacob

We’re on the outer perimeter of your place.

No sign of Sam.

The Cullen’s place is quiet.

How’s Embry?

Grace quickly returned the text: He’s healing, but it’s slow. I’m calling Dr. Cullen, I think he has a fever.

Grace navigated to Carlisle’s number and hit call. It rang twice before he answered.

“Grace. Everything alright?”

“Fine. Can you come to my place? One of ours is hurt and I think he has a fever. He’s not healing fast enough.”

“I’m on my way.” Then silence.

Grace leaned her head against the wall and let out a huff. As she waited for Carlisle, Grace tried to understand what happened. Could Sam really do something like this? The thought made her cringe thinking of Embry crushed between Sam’s jaws, ripping and thrashing him around. The wound was so pronounced that she thought Embry must have phased back to his human form halfway through. She’d get to the bottom of this.

She heard Carlisle’s car and before she knew it he was next to her, kneeling and inspecting Embry’s wound.

“Probably infection. Do you know how he got this?” Carlisle set to work setting up an IV and pressing it gingerly into Embry’s elbow crease.

“Not sure, but possibly Sam. Jacob became Alpha and a few members of the pack left Sam and joined Jacob’s ranks. It’s caused...some tension,” Grace said tiredly.

“I’m sure. He should be okay. The antibiotics should help clear the infection and he’ll improve with your help. The wound is almost closed and I’ve cleaned what I can see. But for now, it will just take time.” Carlisle said softly.

“Okay,” Grace said, “Can you help me up, I’m covered in blood and need some fresh air.”

Carlisle obliged and helped gently lift Embry up so she could slide out from under him. They laid him back down carefully, clearing away the blood soaked towels.

Carlisle followed her out into the living room.

“Thank you for coming. I really appreciate the added help,” Grace said. “How’s Bella?” Carlisle smiled sadly.

“She’s….” he paused for just a little too long and Grace’s heart fluttered, “She’s fine but she’s taken a turn. We’re not sure just yet how to keep her on track but it seems like the fetus is starting to take too much from her. She can’t eat anything and…” Carlisle rubbed his forehead.

“She’s dying?” Grace said softly.

“Not yet, we’ll figure something out. You have enough to worry about here. Do you know if Sam has a plan to—”

“No, no. He’s lost four members of his pack, there’s no way he’d launch an attack outnumbered. You’re under our protection and once we get Embry back, we’ll go from there. I’ll try to come by tonight, see what we can do,” Grace said. Carlisle gently touched her shoulder and headed for his car. As he pulled away, Grace felt herself start to shake.

She walked carefully to the kitchen and turned on the hot water, washing her blood stained hands and watching the currant colored blood swirl around in her sink. A sob involuntarily escaped her lips and she gripped the side of the counter. She couldn’t lose Embry and she wouldn’t lose Bella.

Grace felt her body weaken slightly at the weight of the day’s events, and as she took deep breaths to try and clear her head, she felt warm hands circle around her. A deep gasp of relief sounded in her throat as she leaned back into the body behind her. She turned and circled her hands around his neck, her body filling with warmth. He held her for just a moment and then scooped her up under her knees and carried her upstairs.

He set her down gently and held one arm around her waist while reaching around to turn on the shower. Diligently, slowly, he pulled her shirt up off her body. He slid the pajama shorts she had been wearing down around her feet, his fingertips grazing the sides of her body as he stood up. She stepped out of her shorts, taking in labored breaths. He quickly discarded his jean shorts and stepped into the open shower, tugging her hand to follow him.

Grace stepped under the warm water and let it wash over her face. Jacob took a shower sponge and gently washed her arms, legs, stomach, and back, carefully cleaning the blood off of her that had soaked through her clothes. She watched him, her brain cloudy, her movements slow and let him softly touch every part of her. For a while, he just held her as she leaned against his chest taking deep breaths. Once done, he wrapped a towel around his midsection and draped a towel around her, drying her. He led her to her room and tugged a clean black, oversized t-shirt over her head and pulled on a pair of shorts for himself. Grace was revelling at the feeling of being tugged and touched—each time his hand connected with her skin, it sent a shock wave of warmth through her body. He guided her to bed and pulled her to him under the lightweight sheet. She nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck and let herself be enveloped by his heat.

She marvelled at their unspoken time together, feeling everything that words couldn’t seem to cover. What Grace felt above all else was love, warm, crashing, contented love radiating from the man that held her. She pressed a kiss to his neck and let herself drift to sleep.

#twilight fanfiction #Twilight FanFic #twilightfanfic #twilightfanfiction #twilight #new moon #eclipse #breaking dawn #smeyer #edward cullen #jacob black #jacobblackxoc #jacobxoc #jacobblack #bella swan #the pack #the cullens #chapter 37 #a monster lives here

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thirtysomethingloser92 · 4 years

Text

Prologue.

Masterlist/Warnings

Your fingers numbly picked at the thread that had come away from your mustard colored blouse moments earlier, you could see the red chipped nail polish on your fingernails, dried dirt settling beneath them. The smell of artificial clean linen and expensive perfume flooded your nostrils. You didn't want to be here, sitting across from the blonde woman with the soft smile and the notepad sitting neatly in her lap. Her suit seemed expensive, from a distance, but you could tell that she had probably gotten it from a department store in the clearance section.

You tired your hardest to avoid the soft smile and the reassurance behind the woman's deep brown eyes as you continued to look down at the gray carpet, your shoes brushing against it. You could feel the tiredness behind your eyes from the lack of sleep, you knew that when you looked in the mirror you would see the dark rings below your eyes. Sleep was a rare and difficult thing to acquire these days, no matter how hard you tried, no matter how many prescription drugs you were given, you were always awaken to the smell of death and the feeling of the air leaving your lungs.

"It wasn't your fault".

God how many times had you heard that sentence repeated over the past few weeks? It was almost losing it's meaning. It was just words in your ears, sympathy from people who weren't there, who didn't know what really occurred in that room. "Did you read the brief?" You asked, voice quiet and dry as if you hadn't drank water in weeks.

"I did".

You let out a small sigh, your eyes finally looking up to see the the psychologist's sympathetic glance, her head slightly tilted to try and show that she was listening to you, "Then you know that it isn't true. I was reckless. I-I was stupid," You gave a small, but sarcastic, smile, "I've been in this job for over 3 years, I should have known better,"

You watched as the psychologist wrote something in her notepad before looking back up at you, her hands resting neatly back in her lap, "Everyone makes mistakes-"

Roughly, you shook your head, "I got them girls killed. I had a choice and I made the wrong one," You bit out. You could feel the sting behind your eyes as your chest clenched, you swore that you weren't about to cry, you felt like you didn't deserve to cry over the mistake that cost the lives of three girls.

"You didn't know what he was going to do. You had a choice and you made the one best for your survival. If you didn't make that choice you would have died with them."

You scoffed and shook your head, "Sometimes I think that would have been better you know? Better then living with this guilt on my chest every waking moment," You looked down at your wrists, you could still see the scars where the shackles had bit tightly into your skin for days before you were found. You felt the tips of your fingers trace them lightly before looking up, "I could have finished it. Finished him. But he said-" You shook your head and swallowed the lump in your throat, two silent tears dropping on to your jean legs, "He said her name and I just froze. It was like I was that kid again you know?"

The psychologist nodded gently, making it known that she understood, but you knew that she didn't. How on Earth could she understand what it was like to be in the presence of someone you had spent your entire adult life looking for, only for them to taunt you with the one thing they held over you? Silence overcame the room, leaving you to resume picking at the thread that was still barely hanging on to your blouse.

"How's you interactions with the team been since the incident?"

You gave a slight shrug. Everything was the same. Well, almost everything. You didn't miss the sympathetic glances, the gentleness when people touched you, the way the team seemed to tip toe around you. The only person who didn't was your Unit Chief. He seemed to understand better then anyone at your need not to be coddled. You needed normalcy again, you needed to feel some resemblance of yourself.

"I think they're scared to talk about it to be honest. It's like, they're worried that if they mention it around me I'll break into a thousand pieces or something,"

"And will you?"

"What?" You asked, confused.

"Break into a thousand pieces".

You shook your head. You had thought about the incident so much that you had almost become numb to it, you found yourself at night going over the case files repeatedly to see if there was anything you could do to change the outcome but each and every time you did, the answer was always staring you in the face. And you chose the wrong one every time. "No," You replied simply.

A small sigh escaped her lips as she closed her notebook and looked at the digital clock on the side table. Her eyes met yours and she leaned forward, "I can't clear you for active duty until I'm positive that you're not going to do yourself or anyone else harm,"

"I'm not going to go postal if that's what you're wondering," You joked, reaching down beside you to pick up your brown satchel bag. You knew this conversation was coming, it had been weeks since you had started seeing the FBI psychologist and after each and every session she would tell you that she wasn't clearing you for duty. It was disappointing, another thing that you added to your growing list of things going wrong in your life.

"It's not. I just don't want you in a dangerous situation and have you freeze. I don't want a phone call saying that something bad has happened to you knowing that you weren't ready for the field yet," She stood up, waiting for you to follow suit, before slowly walking over to the door, "You're doing good though agent. You just need to work through that guilt,"

"And the PTSS," You stated with a small smile.

The psychologist opened the door, "I'll see you next week same time?"

You nodded, "Yeah. Thank you," You slipped through and heard the door click closed behind you. You gripped the strap of your bag with two hands and made your way down the blank carpeted hallway, your mind feeling millions of miles away compared to where it should have been. You felt yourself dragging your feet behind you, begging your mind to catch up to where you were. Instead you found yourself thrown back into that dark and dirty cellar, the rusted shackles so tight around your wrist that they sliced through the thin skin.

Your mind replayed the screams coming from the the girls in front of you, them begging someone to find them; their accusing stares when you told them that the people who where there to help them didn't know where they are. The lump in your throat grew as you tried to blink away the tears, shaking your head as you pushed open the glass doors and made your way into the Spring sun. Taking a deep breath in, you tried to remind yourself to breathe, that you weren't there anymore, you weren't under your captors hold anymore. You were free, and he was dead.

Footsteps beside you made you look up and open your eyes, a small smile crossing your face as you saw your boss' concerned brown eyes looking back at you; "I'm fine Hotch," You tried to smile reassuringly at your Unit Chief, his gaze didn't falter. He knew you were lying and he knew that you knew.

"Did you want me to take you home?" He asked lowly, watching as another agent exited the dull grey building behind you.

All you wanted was sleep.

Was to sleep and forget for one night about what had happened, to not wake up in the middle of the night feeling like something was sitting on your chest When you woke up you felt like you could never breathe, you were always tired, always feeling like you were being swallowed hole by the feelings of guilt and sadness that filled your head day after day.

"I'm okay," You replied gently, "Just a long session is all. A walk might clear it up," You swallowed the dry lump in your throat and walked slowly towards the footpath, away from the black suv.

SSA Aaron Hotchner turned to face you, "You know you can talk to any of us as well? We stand by you and your actions that day 100%"

You felt your chest tighten, "I know. And I appreciate it. I really do. But this, this is something I need to do on my own," You felt the tears welling up in your eyes once again but you quickly blinked them away. You licked your lips and gave your boss a small smile, "I'll be okay," You tried again, but you weren't sure if it was him or you you were trying to convince.

"You will be. But just remember that there are people who love and care about you. What you did was for survival," He tried again to make you see the situation from his point of view, "The Director thinks so, I think so, the team think so,"

"Yeah well there's three different families who would beg to differ Hotch," You snapped back, looking down almost immediately as if you were ashamed of your reaction.

Aaron didn't even flinch at your outburst, it wasn't the first and he was positive that it wouldn't be the last. He stayed silent.

"Sorry, I guess I'm just tired," You rectified, taking a small step backwards.

"You know you can call me. Anytime day or night," He reassured, almost forcing the point across that he was there, no matter what, to help you.

You nodded, "Thanks Hotch," You turned on your heel and walked towards the busy street. You could feel Hotch's eyes on you as you ran across the four lane street and down the sidewalk. It was piercing, as if he could see through your very demeanor. From the beginning he was the one who found you, who held you as you cried in his arms; dirty and bleeding. He waited by your hospital bed until you were ready to talk, he was the one who pushed you to see the department psychologist.

He was the one constant in your life that kept you grounded, who kept reminding you that what you did wasn't the wrong thing, that you weren't to blame for the deaths. You wanted him around every night to hold you tight when the nightmares swallowed you whole, when you couldn't breathe and your head was spinning. You needed him now more then ever. A part of you was envious of his wife, his oh so beautiful wife who had no idea what kind of husband she had in Aaron Hotchner.

But that wasn't your business.

Two stray tears fell down your cheeks as you pushed through the gathering of people walking past, your head down to hide away from the world. The scars on your wrist once again reminding you of the raging war inside your head. Reminding you that although your broken ribs had healed and your wounds had turned to scars, there were some things that couldn't heal.

Tags: thatonebishsstuff toasteddragoness fics-ilike unusualtingz

#aaron hotchner x reader #haley hotchner x aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner imagine #aaron hotchner x oc #aaron hotchner #Criminal Minds

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shabre-legacy · 4 years

Text

Chase to the Capitol -Stolen Home chapter 8

The last part of the trip to Coruscant passed quietly. Everyone was rather differential and even the crew and security didn’t really bother her. All her drinks were free, and her and Corso found that they got invited to games of Sabbac and whatever else was being played, or to go dancing or whatever anytime they appeared. She’d even gotten a message from some senator thanking her for saving the ambassador who’d put them in that situation to begin with.

The passengers were nervous around them though. Corso brought it up when they once again took their drinks back to the room. Too many men approaching her ‘to dance’ practically drooling on the floor because they never stepped outside their tiny little circles and thought the criminal hero would be easy. Too many women approaching Corso. They made him uncomfortable, the man just wasn’t used to the attention and the socialites weren’t used to having a man who knew how to use his strength. The poor girls were both scared of them and very interested and that combination led to uncomfortable situations and overly pushy behavior. Between the two groups, both of them just wanted away from the situation.

The ‘guests’ were grateful for being saved, and trying to show that, but her and Corso, they scared the passengers. They’d done what trained soldiers hadn’t been able to do, somehow word had gotten out that she’d killed that damn Sith, and without the uniform to suggest some kind of rule that she was bound to, her success made her a bit scary to the pampered socialites on this ship. They didn’t know her, they didn’t know what she wanted and they didn’t know exactly what she was planning or what she was really capable of and it frightened them. Noch’h ria nus’a, as Nuri would have said; amazement and interest and fear and curiosity, it was so very obnoxious.

Finally though, they made it to the Coruscant spaceport and everyone went their own ways. At last, she could breathe without someone looking over her shoulder, or at least she’d be able to once she got through customs. Unfortunately, an T series security droid approached as soon as they stepped into the arrivals terminal. She stepped over to the customs terminal, hoping the droid wouldn’t notice. A few ill-planned smuggling runs had landed her on certain watch lists with the Republic and that meant every spaceport she entered under her own name ended up with a delay as she was searched and interrogated and there was never enough time to put up with that shit. Lucky for her, or unlucky for customs, she had a cover.

She glanced at Corso as the droid rolled up and greeted her. Like a team that had been together longer than they had, he smoothly moved between her and the droid and started chatting with the it. She used the moment to slice the terminal. The droid accepted the input from the terminal and wandered off. As they moved towards the elevators, Corso leaned down and quietly whispered, with a hint of a laugh, “Admiral Numinn? Interesting choice.”

She giggled and gently elbowed him, “nobody messes with an admiral, plus ya know, circumstance. Long story, better not told here.” Giggling, seriously, how long had it been since she’d done that. This was really getting out of hand, the sooner she could get him his blaster and drop him off again the better. Plus Tika would hate having another person aboard, perfect excuse.

He smiled down at her, raising his hands in mock surrender. “Point taken.” They reached the elevator and caught sight of the scenery out the massive viewports. “Everything in Coruscant is huge. You see those city towers as we flew in? How many people you figure live in those? Millions?”

Sometimes, she could forget how much of a farmboy he was, the mercenary took center stage. Other times, it was so damn obvious. It was a bit sad though, the state of Coruscant, almost ten years and some things still hadn’t been rebuilt. “Looks like some of those city towers are still short a few levels, thought they’d have fixed that since I was last here.”

“You been here before, Captain?”

again with the Captain. He wasn’t gonna stop anytime soon, kinda liked it though. She shook her head, “another time”

He shrugged and moved on, he seemed good at that, another question Leikael had about him. “...Even knocked the Jedi Temple off its pedestal.”

And there it was, the comment always made about Coruscant and the war. “I know, my brother died there.”

That got a real pause from him. “That’s… That’s rough. I’m sorry for bringing it up Captain.”

Taking a moment to breathe, she quickly waved him off. “I hadn’t seen him in like 7 years anyway. Let’s talk about something else like that banthashit who took my ship and my fracking Cat.”

Corso stared for a moment, “alright Captain, if you say so.” He took a breath, and she could see him shrugging aside the memories of his own loss. Her ability to read people had saved her life a few times, but now it was just obnoxious. “Wanna find Skavak before we’re too old to shoot straight? We’re gonna need local help.”

Help? She’d gotten help and it hadn’t worked. “We’ll just rattle some skulls until Skavak falls out.” Scumbag like that, he’d leave a big ass trail through the underworld. And that was a population she could work with, mostly, well, sometimes.

“I know a faster way.” That sigh was one of resignation. Almost like his idea exhausted him. “There’s a gambler named Darmas Pollaran who keeps tabs on everything worth knowing about Coruscant. Friend of Viidu’s, good man. You’ll like him.”

Information broker. She’d worked with a few, not a bad resource if you could afford it. “Worth a visit, I guess. Where do I find this Darmas?” Let Corso run off and do whatever, she had no expectations of men anymore.

“Well, Viidu always said if you look for a Sabbac table surrounded by beautiful women, you’ll find Darmas. But I can narrow that down. I still have Viidu’s holofrequency contacts. Give me a minute…” He pulled out a comm and started tapping at it.

“Viidu had you keep his contacts?”

He shrugged, “head of security and bodyguard. Traveled with the old man pretty much everywhere, had to keep the secure frequencies list in case his comm went down. Part of the job.”

He held up the comm between them and it flickered to life, showing a slim middle aged man. “Corso, is that you? It’s been too long, you rascal.” His tone implied familiarity, must have had more than a few conversations in the past.

“A friend and I are on Coruscant and in a real bind. Is there a place we could meet you?”

This Darmas had one of those smooth voices, a slow soft drawl that made it sound like he was trying to charm everyone who could hear him. “Of course, come to my private cantina booth.” something about the game he was playing. Kael was really only half paying attention, she was mostly watching the customs agents standing aways off. She slipped closer to Corso, into the view of the Comm, hoping to look as though they were simply arranging a pickup. “Hope you don’t mind the occasional blaster fire; the cantina’s in a rowdy part of Coruscant.”

“Sounds like my kind of place.” She could see the moment he saw her. If the holo were more detailed, he’d probably be glancing between her and Corso trying to figure them out. She’d keep him on his toes until she knew more about him. Or at least she’d try to.

“I hope that’s only the first of many affinities we share.” Of course he was a flirt. She’d expected as much, but he was smooth. Could be fun.

Corso interrupted before she could respond. “Keep your comm link open. I’ve got some bad news about Viidu.” He tucked the comm away and turned to look down at her. “I’ll bring Darmas up to speed while we travel. He’ll have the cantina coordinates sent by the time we find a Taxi, or shuttle rental or whatever they got for transport here.”

The customs agents were talking to that damn droid and looking at her. “Keep an eye out for that scum-sucker that stole my ship.” She quickly pulled Corso into the elevator and sent it to the main floor. She glanced over as it dropped a few levels and spoke low and careful. “Customs sniffing around, follow my lead.” She didn’t miss the slight shiver when she spoke.

“You got it, Captain.” she didn’t even have a ship and he still called her captain. It was quickly becoming something she could get very used to.

As they stepped out of the elevator, Leikael leaned into him a bit, threading her arm through his. It was fine. She’d shared a bed with the man and he hadn’t done anything. It was fine and she could handle this. She kept her pace to a mid speed saunter and started chattering about all the random facts about Coruscant. Trying to appear like a couple of tourists here for a holiday. Each customs agent, each soldier, each guard who passed by without stopping her was one closer to the entrance and making a clean getaway.

As they finally reached the front of the spaceport and stepped out into the artificial sunlight of Corsucant, Corso stopped, just staring. Up ahead, the galactic senate building loomed tall over everything. All around them, filling in the horizon were hundreds of towers. It was an impressive sight, especially so on your first visit. Leikael grinned and dropped his arm, walking forward a bit. She let a bit of a skip into her step as she moved several steps in front of him. Spinning dramatically, she lifted her arms creating a frame for the view behind her. “Welcome to Coruscant, farmboy. The heart of the republic where half your dreams might come true.” She spun around and made her way across the walkway towards the building in the middle, still a bit more bounce in her pace than normal. If her memory was correct, there was a public taxi running out of there. They were finally on track to catch the bastard. Now all she had to do was keep enough momentum and Skavak’s head would be hers.

#swtor #fanfiction #my writing #stolen home #leikael shabre #corso riggs #my ocs

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peteywillproceed · 5 years

Text

Photobooths

Author’s Note: Hi guys! Thank you so so much for all the support on Kiss Me! That was my first post on here and I was so nervous :) I’ve had this idea stuck in my head since Youth by Troye Sivan came out, but I never actually finished it (yay for drafts!) Still don’t really know what it is, but anyway, as always, I hope you enjoy it x

Summary: “When the lights start flashing like a photobooth, and the stars exploding, we’ll be fireproof” - You and Tom have been friends for years, even if you have been keeping your feelings a secret. Sometimes all it takes is being drunk off your ass to finally get the answers you didn’t know you needed...

Word Count: 3,150

The camera clicked and you were blinded, the silly moustache Tom had stuck on your upper lip falling half-way across your mouth as the heat from the lights made you sweat. It was cramped in there, the faded black seat cracked and peeling and the touch screen photo selector taking ages to register your choice. You hadn’t been in a photobooth in years, too smelly, too dirty, too boring. But the alcohol coursing through your body had made short work of any reservations you may have had, too intoxicated by the boy tugging you towards it to care.

“I want the beer goggles too, Y/n,” Tom whined beside you, reaching up to tug them from your eyes. You glanced sideways, swaying in your seat and steadying yourself against his shoulder.

“Take ‘em them,” you mumbled, smiling as he practically snatched them from your head and shoved them over his eyes.

“Best. Birthday. Ever.”

You giggled, too drunk on alcohol and his presence to care. “It’s your party, dipshit.”

You’d known Tom since year 10, and you’d lived with him whilst you were at Uni, grateful for the rent-free place whilst you were broke. You didn’t know when your feelings for Tom had changed, all you knew was you’d woken up one day and wandered into the kitchen, following the smell of pancakes and bacon. And bam, there he was, shirtless over the oven, towel flipped over his shoulder and sending you a slow grin like he’d planned it all. You were pretty sure that was the day everything had changed, but honestly it could’ve been years ago.

You giggled as the screen slowly counted backwards from three, feeling like you were floating far up in the sky. Tom might have asked you to pull a stupid face, but you were so concentrated on the way his lips were moving that you barely registered it. His hands slid into your hair, threading through the strands and made a peace sign behind the back of your head. You scrunched your nose up and dragged the bright pink feather boa over your mouth, pouting in a drunken attempt to look sexy.

“What are you doing?” Tom laughed as the camera clicked and you were dazzled by the lights again.

“Lookin’ sexayyyyyy,” you threw your hands in the air, frowning at the screen “We only have one more picture left!”

Tom licked his lips, trying to meet your eyes. “Guess we’d better make it special one, then.”

If you’d been sober enough to catch the double meaning, maybe you would have been prepared for what came next. But as the camera started counting down for its final shot, Tom grabbed your chin and turned you towards him, pressing his lips gently against yours just as the click rang in your ears.

For a second, you thought about nothing but the way his lips were moving on yours, the sheer fire that snapped you out of your drunkenness and spread over your skin. You shivered as he cupped your cheek, sure the photo had been taken, but the noise of the party outside had faded and it was just the two of you, your lips moving in time to whatever music was blaring through the speakers.

A strange sensation came over you, the photobooth and Tom’s face beginning to spin, and you jerked backwards at the feeling.

“I’m…I’m sorry, I um…I don’t know where that came from,” Tom stammered, wiping his palms against his jeans.

You wanted to tell him it wasn’t him, but blackness was appearing at the corner of your eyes, begging you to fall into the void that awaited. You could see Tom’s mouth moving, desperation crawling into his face, and you tried so hard to make your own form the words you wanted to say. But the tiredness was overwhelming, and soon you were falling into nothing, barely noticing when your head hit the floor of the booth, and Tom crouched over you in panic.

***

The next morning, your eyes opened to a dim room and the scent of caffeine wafting up your nose. Groaning, you tried to sit up, grabbing your head as it began to throb. Dribble ran down one side of your cheek and your hair stood on ends, but as you rubbed your eyes and allowed them to focus, the steaming mug of coffee and two advil tablets placed carefully on the side table drew a smile from you.

You leaned over and choked back the tablets, taking a gulp of the black liquid and savouring it on your tongue. You tried to think back through the mist and fog of last night, remembering basically everything up until you’d gone in that stupid photobooth with Tom. God, you didn’t know why you’d done that, but he’d seemed so excited and it was a chance for you two to be alone, something you hadn’t had in months. You’d have been lying if you’d said you didn’t enjoy the proximity.

“Morning sleepy head,” a familiar, velvety voice whispered.

Looking up, your eyes found Tom’s, and you groaned at the noise. “What time is it?”

“One in the afternoon,” he looked over his shoulder and laughed as he strode towards the curtains and threw them open. “Time to get up.”

“Ugh, Satan,” you mumbled, crashing back into the soft duvet.

“Y’know, I took the day off to keep an eye on you, the least you could do is not compare me to the King of Hell.”

“Sorry, your majesty.”

“Better.”

“Wait you took the day off today?” You frowned, running your fingers through your hair.

“Yeah? Why wouldn’t I? You were drunk off your arse and I didn’t want you to choke on your own vomit.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Anytime,” he grinned, scratching the back of his head. Bizarrely, he kept shifting from foot to foot, like he was trying to decide whether or not to sit down.

“The bed’s not made of lava, y’know,” you blinked, patting the space next to you “you can sit down.”

He nodded, still not moving, rubbing the side of his face as your confusion grew. “Y/n, I think we should talk about last night.”

“Last night? I don’t remember most of it,” you brought the coffee cup to your lips and took another gulp, eyes never leaving Tom’s. “Why? Did something happen?”

Tom’s eyes widened as he moved to sit next to you, a frown appearing on his face. “You really don’t remember anything?”

“Nope, sorry,” you shook your head and shrugged your shoulders as you ran a fingertip around the rim of the mug. “Is there something I should remember?”

You started racking your brain, wondering if he’d told you something you should have remembered or pointed someone out to you. If you were being honest, the most you remembered of the night was drowning in his eyes and paying no attention to any of the songs the rather terrible DJ was playing. You tried not to think about how he’d looked in that suit, the top few buttons of his shirt undone, and the burgundy jacket that showed off his arms. Right now, he was in his pyjamas, slung loosely at the hips and barely concealing what you knew was there – you couldn’t decide which look you preferred.

Tom looked at you for a long moment, something that looked like pain dancing behind his eyes. You bit your lip and cocked your head, wondering whether someone had said something to him and you’d forgotten. “Shit, Tom, was something said?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” he blurted, sighing audibly. “It doesn’t matter, just forget it.”

“Are you sure?” You raised an eyebrow, convinced you were missing something. “Something’s not right.”

“Nah, I’m cool, don’t worry about it,” Tom shrugged, and started to walk towards the door.

“Do you wanna get dressed and go catch a movie? You never have a day off, you shouldn’t have to spend it looking after me.” Maybe you were trying too hard, but the little pinch at the top of his brow made your heart hurt, and all you wanted to do was reach out and smooth it over. And preferably punch whoever had been there in the first place.

He shook his head. “No, I think I’m just gonna go to work.”

“But you took the day off!”

“There’s always something to do,” he laughed, the sound hollow and sad.

“Okay…” you nodded, the coffee cup shaking in your hand. “If you’re…if you’re sure.”

With a final nod, he turned and disappeared from your room, leaving you staring after his retreating back. Whatever had happened there, you wished you could have made it better. Maybe if you could remember what he meant, you’d be able to put the pieces back together and stitch up his clearly broken heart. Seeing Tom upset was like losing a piece of yourself, and until he was fixed you’d be constantly searching for a way to cheer him up.

Half an hour later, you heard the front door slam and the distant sound of his feet ringing on the steps as he left. For some reason, you felt empty, like when he left he took a piece of you with him. All you wanted to do was curl back up in the bed and fall asleep, but it was no use staying cooped up here if there was nothing to do. Sighing, you got to your feet and grabbed your hairbrush, shrieking when you saw the state it was in.

No wonder Tom had practically run away, you had a bird’s nest on your head.

***

Three Months Later

“Tom?” you called out, kicking the front door shut with your foot. “Can you help me?” Grocery bags were piled high in your hands, oranges spilling on the floor as you struggled into the kitchen.

“Here love, let me,” he swept in and gathered the three heaviest ones into his arms. “Harry’s here by the way.”

“Hi Harry,” you yelled “are you the one eating all my chocolate digestives?”

“nrgrnej,” Harry mumbled, stepping into the kitchen with half a biscuit hanging out of his mouth.

“Typical!”

“Can’t help it they’re so delicious,” he shrugged, looking at you with his hands raised.

Laughing, you shook your head and waved your hand in the direction of the bags. “As payment, you can pack those away.”

“Yes, sir!”

You walked into the living room, expecting the bomb that followed Harry everywhere to have crash landed in there too. Sure enough, pillows and blankets were strewn everywhere, the telly was blaring and biscuit crumbs were scattered everywhere, crunching beneath your feet as you stepped into the room.

You couldn’t help the eyeroll that followed, starting the clean up job that would otherwise have taken hours later on. Every so often, you’d come across one of Tom’s socks or a pen he had chewed on whilst making notes on a script, and you smiled at how tidy he was. As you started to finish up and the boys packed away the final can of peas, you noticed Tom’s script thrown on the floor, the bookmark he’d been using turned face up against the grey carpet.

Gingerly, you picked the script up and tucked your finger in the page he’d been reading, then flipped the bookmark over. You smiled as you realised these were the pictures you’d taken in that photobooth all those months ago, probably too drunk to remember to pick them up. But Tom had remembered, like he always did, and a slow grin crept across your face as your eyes trailed across the photos, tracing memories you didn’t know you had.

Until the last one.

The last one you couldn’t remember, but it was clearly there, in black and white, staring you in the face. Your lips on Tom’s. Tom’s lips on yours. And suddenly everything he’d said the morning after, how he’d wanted to talk to you and the hurt look on his face when you said you couldn’t remember anything, came shooting back all at once. You took in a deep breath, hearing noises at the door, and looked up with tears in your eyes.

“Y/n?” Tom said, panic lacing his voice “What’s wrong?”

He ran his eyes over you, freezing as he finally saw what you were holding. You held it out in a trembling hand, lips shaking as you asked him what it was.

“I think I better go,” Harry mumbled, turning for the door. “I’ll call you later mate.”

Tom didn’t reply, still not breaking your gaze and for the first time in the entire time you’d known him, you didn’t have a fucking clue what was going through his mind.

“I didn’t mean for you to see that,” he stammered.

“Why not?” Your voice was barely a whisper, the image of what you had wanted so desperately for years still seared into your mind. How could you have forgotten something like that? Something so cataclysmic and beautiful? You’d kissed Tom – and you had forgotten.

“You said you couldn’t remember…I figured you didn’t like it.”

“I was drunk, you idiot!” You hissed, waving the piece of paper in his face “I definitely wanted to know this happened.”

“But why?” he asked, and you stared at him like he was insane until he clarified. “You didn’t remember it, and you passed out before we could talk about what it meant. And in the morning, when you couldn’t remember, I figured maybe you’d just supressed it, and you didn’t want to think about it.”

Your mouth dropped open, thinking about how all this time the man you were in love with had thought you didn’t want to remember your kiss. “You’re insane.”

“Maybe.”

“You really thought I wanted to forget that?”

“Didn’t you?”

“NO! Oh my God, you are blind!” you groaned, dropping the strip of photos. It fluttered to the floor between you, the chasm of space feeling miles across yet only centimetres deep. “I’m freaking in love with you Tom, I’ve been in love with you for years, I didn’t want to forget that!”

His eyes were wide with shock, and his mouth kept moving like he wanted to say something. But you were done with wondering whether he felt the same; you’d kissed and now you felt like you could finally let it all out, what you’d bottled up since that day with the pancakes. What only his mum had heard when she’d found you crying on the kitchen floor the day Tom announced he was seeing someone new. What you’d scribbled about ferociously in diary upon diary, convinced you were stupid and he would never see you the same way.

You were done with the pretending, had been for years, and now was your chance to finally say what you’d only thought about in your dreams.

“I fall asleep at night and I think about you, I wake up and you’re the first person I want to see. When you go away filming I sneak into your room and fall asleep there because it’s the only place that smells like you. I’ve spent hours crying over you, sounding pathetic because I was too scared to tell you how I felt. And then this happens, and you don’t tell me about the one thing that could have changed everything! I had to find out through some stupid photo that you didn’t even mean for me to see!”

By the time you were finished, tears were streaming down your cheeks and you were panting with exhaustion, relief washing over you as you finally let go of the deepest secret you’d ever had. Tom said nothing, his mouth parted in shock, and you closed your eyes and tilted your head back, wishing you could just fall through the floor and never come back.

Suddenly, his arms wrapped around you, gently pulling you into a hug so tight you could hardly breathe. His breathing stuttered against you, and you pulled away so that you were looking him in the eye, your faces only inches from touching. Exactly like that night in the photobooth, only now you could remember every part of this. And you would for years to come.

“I didn’t know that,” Tom’s voice cracked, and your heart broke at the desperation slipping through his lips. “I didn’t know you felt like I did.”

“Like you did?” Your breathing stopped, and you didn’t dare believe you’d heard him right.

Taking a deep breath, Tom gripped your shoulders and looked you dead in the eye, all the bravado stripped back until he was just Tom. Your Tom. “Y/n L/n, I have loved you since the day I met you. Since the day you walked into that classroom, and I haven’t looked back. I never thought you felt the same, and I kept it bottled up for years. For a while, I thought I was over you, but my mum reminded me that love isn’t something that can fade just because you have a replacement.”

“If I could have anyone, I’d still choose you. I’d still choose your stinky morning breath and bed head, the way you can’t cook and the way you can’t stand tomatoes on your sandwich but you love ketchup. I’d choose your body and your mind, you heart and your soul, because you have meant everything to me since the day you first sat next to me in class, and I haven’t seen anything as beautiful since.”

You blinked, barely able to absorb the words let alone process them. You’d dreamed of him saying these words for years, and yet now that you were finally hearing them, it felt less romantic than it was sad.

“You’ve loved me too? All this time?” you choked, letting the realisation wash over you.

“All this time, and more too,” Tom replied, his voice low and thick with emotion.

“And that night in the photobooth?”

You held your breath, not sure if you wanted to hear the answer. For once, your future was out of your hands, and it lay in the balance of a boy you had loved in private for years. You were quite literally on a knife’s edge, and whichever way you fell you had to hope there was someone to catch you.

“That night in the photobooth was the greatest decision I ever made,” Tom replied. “You’re the greatest decision I ever made.”

Maybe you would’ve heard what he was going to say next, but you no longer cared as you flung yourself towards him and let your lips collide. As electricity sparked against your skin, you found yourself slipping once more into the dark abyss, but this time you were ready. This time the only thing you were drunk on was the scent of Tom – and this time, you were never letting go.

#tom holland fanfiction #tom holland #tom holland smut #peter parker #peter parker fanfiction #peter parker smut #fluff #angst #tom holland angst #tom holland fluff #tom holland fanfic #peter parker fanfic #marvel #marvel fanfiction

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eskewcity · 4 years

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Cornfield

I listened to Dreamland by Glass Animals on repeat while writing this.

(minor CW for alcoholism and drug addiction)

submitted by @bird-in-tennis-shoes

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Statement of Herbert Pope, regarding a visit to his parent’s farm.

I don’t know what’s happened to me. I don’t know what I’ve become. I don’t know when this will stop. I can only hope that whatever madness controls me will one day have had its fill. One day I will be allowed to sleep. Whenever I even try to comprehend what I’ve seen and done; just the magnitude of it makes me want to shut down. Or throw up. Or lock myself in the house and spread all of my belongings out on the floor so I can see and differentiate every part of the room. I tried to resist it at first, but there’s only so long you can go without sleeping. There’s only so long you can go without the temptation of another human being in your proximity.

I wasn’t always like this. You’ve got to understand I didn’t choose any of this. But before I get into what happened to begin with, I want to make it absolutely clear that I was sober when all of this took place. I don’t want this written off as drunken ramblings or a bad trip. I’m done with that. I’ve got myself a bit of a reputation, I know. But I’ve been sober for three years, and it was a hell of a journey to get that far. I’m not about to have my experience dismissed out of hand because your institute dug up some of the many bad decisions I made when I was younger. I was sober before I visited my parents last summer, I was sober the entire time I was there, and I’ve been sober since.

That’s always been a point of contention between us, actually. I’ve never had the greatest relationship with my parents. They were quite strict growing up, and when I got to uni I just wanted to be free. I guess that’s why I got really into the local party scene my first year there. By the time I was starting my second term, I was already addicted to just about everything I had access to. I even ended up dropping out. Naturally, this wasn’t something my parents were exactly thrilled about, and after a few bad arguments over the phone, I just stopped calling.

I know this isn’t really related. But I just want you to understand how I’ve turned my life around since. After a few months of sleeping on my friend’s couch and going to support groups, I was able to get a job and an apartment. It was several years after that before I felt like I could try to reconnect with my parents. They were happy to hear from me, and especially happy to hear that I had my life together again. I was definitely shocked to hear that they were moving out of the country, to America.

It had always been my mother’s dream to start a farm. We had a small garden when I was a kid, but that was never really enough. They’re both getting up in the years, and had decided that if they were going to do it, they might as well do it before they got too old to do the work of planting and harvesting. They’ve always been do-it-yourself types. I think the hustle and bustle of modern life was getting to them a bit. They’d been doing some research online, even joined a few forum pages to meet people. They’d been planning this for quite some time. Apparently my father has land in Gambier, Ohio that I never knew about. I don’t know all the details, but I think a friend of his, Samuel Fairchild, gave him some property with a farmhouse on it. It was quite a strange situation, from what I can gather. Sam only lived in the house for a few years before just giving it away. I never met the man, but my father once told me that he suspected Sam was in a cult. I don’t hazard a guess as to how they met.

Regardless, it was a nice house in a secluded spot. My father has been paying upkeep costs ever since he got the place, but never did anything with it. Might as well put it to use, I suppose. I made plans to visit them as soon as they got settled and I could take some time off work. When summer rolled around, I made arrangements and booked a flight to Columbus.

The house was about an hour’s drive from the airport, and once I really got out into the countryside, it struck me just how big everything was. Everything’s a lot more compact in the UK. Less space. Here, fields of corn and soybeans stretched out for acres. I would drive for a kilometer and never see a mailbox. Farm houses were tiny pinpricks in the distance. Sometimes barely visible behind a hill. Some farms seemed pristine and well taken care of. Others seemed to be only dilapidated, ramshackle piles of rusted machinery and half burnt out barns. I passed through a town on the way. Well, I say town, but it was little more than a few convenience stores and a post office with peeling paint. The few houses I passed were just as crumbly. Half finished renovations and wrap around porches that looked to be in danger of collapse. Termite eaten posts held up a gazebo roof, like Atlas’ arms folding under the weight of the earth.

The house my parents had moved into was a bit better. It looked homey enough, although the lines of the support beams curved and slanted in strange ways. It looked stable, but almost… impossible. I assumed it was either my imagination or a stylistic choice and didn’t give it another thought. The land surrounding the house was vast and impressive. The only way in and out was a little dirt road leading up to the garage. I noticed the fenced in corn fields and realized that they must have already started planting. In fact, it looked like it was nearly ready to be harvested. I parked in the driveway and went up to knock on the door. It swung inward immediately, and I was met with a massive hug. My mother smelled like cinnamon sugar, just as I remembered her. That evening was fairly uneventful. I told them about what I’d been doing for work, and they told me about the farm and how Sam had left them everything they needed to get started. There was even a chicken coop and a stable in case they ever wanted to get animals. My mother cooked dinner, and before I knew it, it was getting late and my parents were going off to bed. I got settled in the guest bedroom and tried to sleep.

An hour later, and I still couldn’t sleep. I kept tossing and turning. Everything felt sort of… wrong. The moonlight seeping through the curtains gave the place a strange feeling. The room felt different, somehow. Like I was suddenly in a completely different house that was identical to the one I entered last night. I decided I should go take a walk outside. To sort of reset my brain, you know? Maybe I’d be okay if I got some fresh air. There was no way I was going to be able to sleep anytime soon.

Outside, it felt even stranger. I don’t know how, but it didn’t even feel like I was on the same plane of existence anymore. I know for certain I had only stepped off the porch, but when I glanced behind me, the house was now barely visible in the distance. There was no way I had walked that far in an instant. I glanced up at the sky and nearly fell over. It was… bigger somehow. Now, I know the night sky is obviously endless, but it doesn’t usually feel that way. It’s usually more like a thin blanket of black, stretched over the world. The stars are just moth holes and missing threads. It didn’t look like that now. I don’t know how to describe it, but it was like a gaping hole in the fabric had opened over me, and when I looked up, I could see every atom of the infinite universe at once. Like I had put on 3D goggles, and suddenly the pictures on the movie screen popped out and moved around me. The moon suddenly seemed so close in comparison to the stars. Like it was in danger of smashing into the earth.

It was… unsettling to say the least. My head was spinning, and I felt unstable on my feet. The sheer mass of the space around me loomed, like it was threatening to consume me. I had somehow ended up in the middle of the cornfield, the house nowhere to be seen. The world swayed, catching me up in whatever it was. I felt huge and tiny at the same time, the air around me threatening to crush inward, my foot poised, threatening to crush it first.

And then it stopped. Whatever force was manipulating my perceptions was gone. The ground felt sturdy again, and my head was suddenly clearer. It was dead quiet. The moon was still close, illuminating every inch of the surrounding field. I could see infinitely in every direction, and there was nothing but corn. Even the curvature of the earth seemed to have gone; millions of kilometers rolled flat to form this endless plane I had found myself in. When I looked up, I noticed the stars had disappeared as well. The entire universe stretched out before me and there was nothing in it.

The only movement was my own feet as I began to walk. The sound of crunching dirt reverberated through every corner of the cosmos. I must have walked for hours, but nothing changed. It was just corn, corn, dirt, corn, empty black sky, and that awful, bulbous moon. My hands felt… wrong. My entire body felt wrong. I was big enough to hold all of existence in the palm of my hand and still have enough room left over for another universe. But the second I concentrated on any one thing, the feeling slipped away like sand through my fingers, and I felt tiny enough to be crushed by the molecules of air around me. Like I was shrinking forever. Like all of this empty world was expanding around me and I was in the exact center, the edges pressing in on me as it got bigger.

I started running. My feet snapping corn stalks in half, Punching them with my fists as I went. I grabbed a handful of leaves and pulled, ripping several out by the roots and dragging them. Causing as much destruction as I could. If this world was going to go on forever and never change, then by god I was going to change it myself. I ran as far as I could, leaving a path of destruction behind me. I ran until I got so tired that I nearly fell over, but nothing changed. It was still the same corn, the same moon. The whole world was just an endless sheet of repeating wallpaper. I ripped holes in the ground like a crazed gopher until my fingers were raw. Eventually, I sat down among the debris and started crying. I’m not ashamed to admit it; I was hopeless and trapped. There was nothing I could do, because there wasn’t anything at all.

I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I awoke to sunlight and the distant sound of my parents calling my name. I was still in the field, but not a single one of the corn stalks around me had been knocked down. My limbs were wound around the plants like string, not disturbing any. I knocked down a few trying to get up, but I was still too disoriented to care.

I took the first flight I could back to London. My parents were disappointed and understandably quite worried about me, but there was no way I was going to stay there another day. I’ve become a more cautious person as I’ve gotten older, and I was not going to take any chances with… whatever that was. Still, after a few weeks I had written it off as an especially strange dream. I had taken a walk at night and fallen asleep suddenly. That was it. It’s funny how our brains rationalize these things.

As I found out soon, that really wasn’t it. Because I had that dream again. And again. And again. First, it was only a few times a month. Then once a week. Then I began waking up every night in a cold sweat after running in that endless cornfield for eight hours straight. I was terrified to go to sleep, knowing exactly where I’d end up. Every night I would count and categorize everything I could see. My hat on the chair in the corner of the room; my coat hanging up on the wall. I could see the edges where the rug began and ended. The room was not endless. The room had walls and a ceiling. But as soon as I let my guard drop just a bit, or my vision blur slightly with fatigue, everything stretched and distorted and changed, and there wasn’t a thing I could do to stop it. I would suddenly be standing, running, the world silent and impossibly large. I couldn’t rest, because every hour I spent sleeping was an hour I spent awake somewhere else.

I fell asleep at work nearly every day. And even then, I was not free. That damn cornfield, with its horrific sky and endless wasteland of leering barbed javelins haunted me. I was so tired I thought I would die. I started hallucinating while I was awake. Every time my eyes closed I was there, the looming sky and bloated moon mocking me as I ran. I stopped going in to work. I was too tired even to write an email to my boss. The only energy I ever had was when I was running. My friends must have been worried about me, but I didn’t have the energy to talk to any of them. How could I explain what was happening?

Everything reached a crescendo about a week into this, while I was walking to the corner store. I was holed up in my house, tormented by visions of an infinite hellscape, but I still needed to eat. The ground felt more uneven than usual, most likely due to fatigue, but I felt constantly on the verge of tripping. I concentrated hard on the ground in front of me. It was difficult to keep from falling into the cornfield. Part of me was always there, waiting, constantly running.

My concentration slipped for only a second, and I went sprawling directly into the stranger walking in front of me. He shouted at me, but I was already asleep before I hit the ground. In that single lapse I had slipped into the hungry other world. I was vaguely aware of the events happening around me, but I was somewhere else, running. I… Something happened then, when the man bent down to wake me.

I don’t know what I did. I reached out somehow, manipulated the air around me. Manipulated the hungry other world and directed its endless appetite towards this man. I’m not sure. There’s really no possible way to describe what I did. Whatever explanation I can give won’t do the action justice. There’s no excusing it either. I did it because it felt right. I can’t even muster the consciousness to regret it. That man is gone now. Or, not gone, somewhere else. Running. The cornfield was satiated for a while after that. I was rested. I was allowed to sleep.

I don’t know who I am anymore. I don’t even know what I am. That man was only the first of many. It’s the only way I can rest. It’s the only way the cornfield will leave me alone, at least for a little while. I always make sure it’s someone I don’t know, not that it matters to the cornfield. They’re all just souls for it to hold as they run about like rats in a never ending maze. They’re all in there together, but they will never meet. There is an infinity between every molecule of dirt in that place. Maybe someday everyone will be in that cornfield. I wonder if it would finally let me have peace then.

#THIS FUCKS AHHH i read this twice it was so good #the last paragraph especially was so good ahhh ty you for sending this 💖💖#also i hope it’s okay i added your name at the top to make sure you get credit!#submission

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thatmultifandomhoe · 5 years

Text

Strawberry Cream and BBQ - 20

Pairing: Hybrid Hoseok and Human Reader

Overview: Your best friend knows she can count on you for anything, so when she asks you to watch her hybrid while she’s gone for a study abroad trip for four months, you can’t say no. But when these four months are over, things have changed in a way no one expected.

Word Count: 1.8k

Genre: Hybrid AU, Fluff, Future smut, Angst, Best friends to Lovers

Warning: Feeling a smudge of angst today

Master List

Sneak Peak - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21 - Part 22 - Part 23 - Part 24 - Part 25 (Final) - Move in Day: A SC&BBQ Drabble

©thatmultifandomhoe Do not repost, translate, or use my stories without permission.

Sitting at the high counter, your coffee was cradled to your chest, cell phone sitting in your free hand. By some miracle this morning, you were actually able to get out of bed when your alarm went off at then. Maybe it was the sleep that you caught back up on, or the fact that the weather was warming up to decent temperatures lately, but there had been a bounce in your step as you made your coffee. It felt fantastic to not have to rush around for once. For a few minutes, you were starting to think that getting up on time wasn’t a terrible thing and that today was going to be a good day.

Then the sound of wind chimes filled the apartment.

In that instant, the light-hearted mood you were in disappeared. Your body going rigid as you held the mug against your lips, the coffee aroma intoxicating and begging you to take a sip first. To put off checking the text for just a little while. If you looked at before drinking your coffee, your entire day was ruined.

With one last shred of hope, you picked up the phone while setting down the coffee. Maybe…maybe it was good news for once. As the text finally loaded on to the screen, the black letters worming their way into a message that made sense, you swore that the world was crashing around you.

“No,” you whispered. As your mind rushed to find a reason for this, your heart raced. You weren’t ready for this. Not yet. Running a hand through your hair, you took a deep breath to try and calm yourself. Maybe it would be better if your just skipped classes today and call it a mental health day.

You were in such a state that you never heard the footsteps hurrying towards your door, the jingling of keys going completely over your head.

“I’m taking you out on a date tonight.”

At the sound of Hoseok’s voice you jumped, eyes widening as you pressed your hand against your heart, the phone clattering onto the counter. It was beating so fast that you couldn’t believe it hadn’t jumped out of your chest yet. His sudden appearance had you doing a double take between him and the time on the microwave.

He was in a rush though, hurrying past you and into the bedroom, not even noticing that it was his shirt that you were wearing when he walked right by you.

“Wha…huh?” You asked. Setting your coffee and turning the phone face down, you turned towards him, trying to comprehend what was happening while blindly trying to reign in your emotions. In your defense, it was the best you were capable of saying for only being awake for ten minutes.

There was the clashing of metal and a few seconds later he was back in the living room, a pair of keys attached to a red lanyard bouncing in his hand. He redirected his path so it led to you, easily slipping his arms around your waist to pull you against him.

“I said,” he repeated, kissing the side of your neck where the mark was. A tingling sensation ran the length of your body when he did that, a sudden warmth that you always associated with Hoseok vanquishing the cold away. “That I’m taking you on a date. Tonight. Technically it’ll be our first date being together, but in my mind, it’s date number three.”

Raising an eyebrow, you tried to recount the others. “Remind me, what was one and two?”

Mischief lightened up Hoseok’s eyes as he grinned. “Chinese dinner at the Dance Studio.” Without missing a beat, he kissed the small wrinkle the appeared in the middle of your eyebrows. You weren’t even sure if that counted as a date. “Then, our movie night with Korean BBQ. And now, tonight. Date number three.”

You hummed in response, leaning the side of your head against his bicep. “You’re not counting the three days of your heat?” You teased. “I’m shocked.”

Hoseok rolled his eyes. For his own amusement, he flexed his arm that you were resting on, smiling as you gleefully giggled. “I thought about it. But I’m not some kind of fuckboy who counts sex as a date. I’m this old-fashioned thing that people once called a gentleman.”

There was no arguing with him. He was without a doubt, a true gentleman. With a slight shake of your head, you curled closer to him, feeling his arms tighten just the slightest around your body. The text was still running through your mind despite your attempts to focus on Hoseok. Once again, your heart and mind were competing against each other.

His chest rumbled with a soft growl as he leaned down to nuzzle the side of your face, gently kissing your cheek a few times. Whether he suspected your true emotions or not, he didn’t mention it. But you had a feeling that he did, or that he had some idea of what you were doing. It wasn’t just because he was hybrid – although that probably didn’t hurt – but because he always knew when you were even the slightest bit upset.

“Where are we going?”

Raising his head so he could look at you, his heart shaped smile melted your heart. “It’s a surprise.”

You pouted your lips, but Hoseok only retaliated by kissing them, making you giggle in amusement. He swore that he’d never tire of hearing you make that sound. Sighing, he pressed his forehead against yours, not wanting to leave your arms even though he had to. “You’ll love it,” he promised. “Not super fancy, but it’s fancy in its own special way.”

“Okay,” you softly whispered. Tugging on the grey Dance Studio shirt he wore, you regretfully leaned back. He obviously had only come back to pick up those keys. “What time tonight?”

“Be ready for seven.” He informed you. He had begun to pull away when he sensed it. Technically, he knew the entire time, but he didn’t want to bring it up just yet. Sometimes the simple gesture of holding you made it go away. It was a perk of being a hybrid, being able to sense emotions and whether or not that person wanted to talk about it.

When he first walked through the door, it was relatively small, something he passed off as you wishing you were back in bed. Or maybe you had to do some public speaking in a class that you were nervous about. But the longer you were in his arms, the stronger it became. You were anxious, there was no doubt about it, but it went deeper than that. If he focused long and hard enough, he was able to sense that you were scared.

He didn’t plan on telling you this, but he was scared too.

There hadn’t been any contact from Sue in the last day or so, and with the strange encounter with Beth the other day, it had become an unspoken agreement that no communication from Sue should be considered a good thing.

It was terrible that things had resulted to this, but there didn’t appear to be any other way around it. You didn’t want to lose your best friend and he didn’t want to see either of you hurting, he just wasn’t Superman. He couldn’t travel across the world to figure out how to help Sue while being there for you. If he were being honest, he already made his choice.

Sighing, you leaned back, stealing a glance at the microwave. It was ten fifteen. Plenty of time. “Okay. Seven it is. Now you need to get back to work. What did you forget anyway?”

“Keys to the supply closet,” Hoseok breathed out, kissing the top of your head. “I had to get something from there last time I used it and forgot to put the keys back.”

You hummed, shifting so your head was on his chest. There was a stirring in your heart each time Hoseok was close, and when you were like this, it felt almost impossible to step out of his arms. And with that message waiting for you on your phone, it only made the urge to drag him to bed and waste the day away in his arms that much more irresistible.

Seeming to understand your dilemma, Hoseok chuckled as he peppered your mark with kisses before finally planting one on your lips. “I gotta head back. I’ll see you tonight Strawberry.” Since you didn’t seem to be letting him go anytime soon, he figured a distraction was in perfect order. With a quirk of his eyebrow, he slapped your ass. Not enough to make it hurt, but enough to make you jump in surprise and allow him to sneak out of your arms. Even though he was in complete agreement with your thoughts.

“Hobi!” You squealed.

He just laughed. Double checking that he had the keys, he blew you a kiss from the door. “Remember. Seven tonight baby.”

“It’s a date.” You said, retrieving your coffee.

As the door softly closed behind Hoseok, you sighed in relief. The promise of a date made you feel like you were on cloud nine, but with a glance in the direction of your phone, you were carefully lowered back down to Earth. It didn’t ring since you set it down upon his sudden arrival, which partially made you happy. At least it was giving you more time to figure out a way to tell Hoseok. To come up with some plan and explanation for everything that’s happened, and will happen.

A month ago, while you would have been confused with Sue’s decision – especially since she had been so excited to go to Hong Kong – you would have been happy to have your best friend back. Now the mere idea of her being in the same town made you want to take Hoseok away from here and go somewhere far away, that way the two of you could have your happy ending without the risk of it being ruined.

Knocking back a mouthful of coffee, you reopened the conversation thread you had with Sue. She hadn’t sent anything else, but you still chewed on your bottom lip. There’s no knowing with her anymore. All you knew, was that the two of you were running out of time.

I’ve decided that I’m coming home early. I told the professor in charge that there was a serious issue back home involving my hybrid that’s requiring me to be there by next month or so. I’m not sure when, but I’ll be back sometime in April instead of May. If I’m lucky, maybe even sooner. I’ll let you know if there’s a change.

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ladybub · 5 years

Text

Thanks for the 6,000 followers!!

As promised, I said I’d write a fic for the Overboard AU.

Here’s the first chapter!

Overboard (2424 words) by Ladybub Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe

Characters: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Sabine Cheng, Tom Dupain, Chloé Bourgeois, Alya Césaire, Nino Lahiffe, Lila Rossi, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, Nathalie Sancoeur

Additional Tags: Overboard AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Miraculous, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst, Fluff, Fake Marriage, I have literally got nothing planned, i am winging this, most likely smut

Summary:

Overboard AU. Marinette Dupain-Cheng hasn’t had the best of luck in her life, not only has her husband Luka passed away tragically three years ago, she’s one failed test away from losing her scholarship, and also already lost her job at the cafe. With three children to take care of, she doesn’t have the time to dawdle and needs to find another job, or a miracle, stat! Meanwhile, on his own personal yacht, Adrien Agreste - the heir to the Gabriel fashion line - hasn’t a care in the world and women on his arms at all times. He’s living the life of a Bachelor with no problems whatsoever, other than the hangovers he gets the morning after. However both their luck changes after a chance meeting, and when the son of the rich designer has an accident which causes him to lose his memory…

Marinette was a bit down on her luck lately.

She had just lost her job at the café just across the road from her University. It was perfect and convenient but unfortunately it seems she dropped one too many cups of coffee, and the boss couldn't ignore it any more. She couldn't really hold it against them; they didn't end on bad terms, and whilst her boss was very apologetic about letting her go, they had no other choice.

Every now and again she found some commission work by making dresses, and helping out the bakery, but those jobs were so far and few in-between. She also couldn't impose on them by moving out of her apartment and back home, not with Hugo, Emma and Louis - her parent's home wasn't big enough for all of them. No, she'd have to simply find another job. Fast.

Another job that could work around her University schedule and give her time to drop off/pick up the kids from school.

God, this was going to be impossible.

Suddenly, Marinette was dragged out of her thoughts when her phone started ringing. She quickly fished it off the counter and balanced it on her ear, "Hey maman." Oh, please have good news...She thought. "What's up?"

"Hi honey," Her mother's voice came out, "We just got in a last minute catering order, and was wondering if you were free on tomorrow night to help out as one of our servers, and also to bring back the equipment the morning after. Of course, we'd be more than happy to have the kids over for the night."

Marinette felt a small relief, she'd take any little bit she could take. "Yes, that'd be great maman, thank you. You have no idea how much I needed it," She took a deep breath, "I might have... lost the job at the café."

"Oh, Marinette..." Sabine murmured sympathetically, "How are you going for rent? You know if you need to borrow any money-"

"No, no, no! It's fine! I have some money saved that will get us through the month and I'm sure I'll find a new job in no time!" Marinette lied, she didn't actually have any money saved up, but she couldn't let her mother know; she'd already borrowed hundreds off her parents already, she didn't want to ask for a cent more. She plastered a too-big grin on her face - and since her mother couldn't see her, it was mostly to convince herself.

Sabine sighed on the other side of the line, "Alright, but you let your father and I know if you need anything, and we'll be sure to call you when catering events come up."

"Thank you, maman."

"You're welcome anytime, of course, dear. Tell the kids goodnight for me."

"Will do, goodnight!"

"Goodnight, sweetie."

Marinette shuffled the phone down from her shoulder and onto the counter, continuing on the soup she was cooking. She dipped a spoon in and tasted, happy with the flavours. "Hugo, Emma, Louis! Dinner is ready!" She quickly prepped the table, moving around the mess that sat on top so that there was room for all four of the bowls.

The patter of children running into the dining room was broken only by the collective moans they made when they saw what was put onto the table. "Dumpling soup again?" The eldest boy, Hugo, cried out. "But we've had it for the last two nights!"

"And now, we'll have it again just one more night." Marinette said, and began serving the soup into the bowls. "I promise tomorrow we'll have something else but for now, Maman needs to study extra hard tonight since tomorrow she'll be serving for your Grandma and Grandpa, and you know what that means..." She reached over the kids to grab some of the textbooks that lay in the pile of other things she pushed aside on the table.

"Sleepover at Nan and Pop's!" Louis shouted excitedly, accidentally flinging a dumpling on the floor. Marinette quickly scooped it up and gave him one of the dumplings from her dinner, all without taking her eyes off her textbooks.

"Mhmmm, that's right." Marinette hummed, taking a sip of her soup and highlighting some areas that she felt she'd need to remember. She looked up and booped Emma on the nose, and then pointedly looked at all of them, "Now, promise you'll behave or I'll let Grandma know that you'd love dumpling soup again tomorrow."

"We promise!" They all shouted in unison, their mouths filled with food.

The morning after, on a bed of thousand thread sheets and down pillows, a blonde groaned and scratched his head, further mussing up the glistening hair but somehow, not ruining it at all. It was way too early, but slowly as the blinds on his windows automatically rolled up, it wasn't long before the sun was shining right in his face. He grumbled as he lifted his head, squinting as he glowered outside to the stunning skyline along the Seine river. What happened last night? Last he remembered was having a line of shots out on the back of his new yacht, a surprisingly generous birthday present from his father.

"Nathalie!" The blonde's husky voice called out, before clearing his throat and following with a much clearer and louder; "Nathalie! Please, I'm dying here."

Heels clicked on the polished wooden floor before stopping at the entranceway to the young man's room. "Yes, Adrien, I have already brought you some aspirin and water, it's right next to your bed." She sighed and looked away as Adrien shifted, the sheets no longer hiding his tan and muscular frame, as he reached for the glass.

"Thank you, Nathalie, but right now what I really need," he dropped the pill in the glass, waiting as it began to fizz before taking a large gulp, "is a Vodka Sunrise right now. Oh wait, no, make that two, could you get them for me?" He gave her a droopy toast with the glass with a smug smile on his face.

Nathalie took a deep breath, bringing out her phone and tapping on it a few times, "Today, your father wants you to get dressed by eleven, he has a few investors coming in to discuss some important last minute details for the Spring Gala in April, and you are to to join them for lunch which is scheduled at twelve."

Two more sets of heels came in behind Nathalie, showing two beautiful girls in their bikinis, only a sheer shawl covering their shoulders. They completely ignored Nathalie as they walked up to Adrien's bed.

"Adrikiiiins!" The blonde cooed at him, and wrapping her long tanned arms around his neck, "Come and join us in the jacuzzi, Felix found a lovely bottle of chardonnay that may or may not have come from his father's personal collection." She tugged on his arms as the brunette next to her was rubbing his shoulders sensually.

"On second thought, Nathalie, no need to bring me anything, I've found a couple tall drinks all on my own..." He purred, letting the girls pull him up from his bed. He picked up a pair of swim trunks with a golden Gabriel logo emblazoned right across the ass. "Come on, Chloe, Lila, we should go now before Nathalie can get the Gorilla to drag me to a boring meeting with my father. After all," he slipped on the trunks with feline gracefulness, "I think we'd have a lot more fun emptying that jacuzzi and filling it with jelly, what do you think?"

Nathalie furrowed her brow, "Adrien, your father won't be happy if you skip another meeting, he has high expecta-"

Adrien's face turned sour, "I know, he always has 'high expectations' of me as his son, just like I had 'high expectations' of him as a father. Maybe when my expectations are met, then we can negotiate. In the meantime..." He wrapped his arms around Chloe and Lila, who took no time in draping themselves on him. "Tell him that I'm indisposed, if you have to, but either way," He squeezed the girls and gave Nathalie a cheeky smile, "I've got important things to do."

"Adrien..." Nathalie reached out for Adrien but he brushed her off and kept walking.

"I told you, I have important things to do."

As the three waltzed past Nathalie, she couldn't help but feel for Adrien. She would have never predicted the sweet boy she knew years ago would turn out like this. It seems that as the years went on, the distance between Adrien and Gabriel only grew further and further. When Adrien couldn't win his father's love with being the perfect son - graduating top of his class in lycée, being the star of the most prestigious fencing academy, along with becoming the face of the Gabriel fashion - he turned into getting his father's attention another way. He started partying more and shirking his duties with the company, spending his father's money on expensive and materialistic things that he used to have no interest in before.

But she knew there was nothing she could do to help, not unless Gabriel pulled his head out of his work to see that he's losing the only family he has left.

So she quickly wrote up a text to Gabriel, letting him know the situation, before leaving the Agreste estate.

"Hey girl!"

Marinette looked up from her coffee, to see her best friend waving at her from down the sidewalk, "Hey, Alya!" They both reached out, hugging each other tightly, and then kissed each other's cheeks, "Thank you for coming out with me, on such late notice, to go resume dropping of all things!"

Alya smacked her arm lately, "I'll take what I can get, outside of work, it's impossible to get your nose out of those book and fabrics." They looped their arms together as they made their way towards the first café, restaurant or shop Marinette wanted to stop at. "How's University treating you this semester? I know a big test and assignment is coming up soon, are you getting enough time to study?"

Marinette sighed, the sound exhausted, "The only good thing coming from losing my job has been the extra time to practice and work on my final project piece. But I can't afford that extra time, I need to get a new job or we'll get evicted - Emma had the flu last week which meant I already took time off to take care of her, I don't have the rent for this month, and I can't ask my parents; they've already leant me so much and I can't take any more from them." She straightened her back, "If all else fails, I'll just," her voice cracked a little, "I'll quit the course, find any job I can get regardless of what it is and just, pick University back up when I can afford the time off."

Alya's heart panged when she saw the tears beginning to spring into her friend's eyes, "No, honey, if you get evicted you and the kids can move in with me and Nino for a little while, at least until you can get another job and afford your own place again." When she saw Marinette open her mouth to protest, she squeezed her arm and gave her a warning look, then went on, "You'll get through this, trust me. You're Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you'll pass your exams with flying colours and you'll be amazing."

Marinette smiled at Alya, "What did I do to deserve you?"

Alya gave her a wicked grin, "I didn't say it'd be free, I want a chocolate éclair every Monday, freshly made from your parent's bakery - I'll accept no other kind!"

"I'm sure I can manage that." They both giggled together, Marinette feeling warm with gratitude.

After the laughs subsided, Alya looked at Marinette with a glint to her eye, "So anyway, you would never guess who Nino ran into the other day." Alya began, "Nathaniel! You know, from Collège?"

"Yeah, I remember..." Marinette had a sneaking suspicion on where this was leading.

"They ended up having a couple drinks that night and caught up a little, Nino said that he was staying in Paris for the forseeable future, and also that apparently Nath asked about you!" Alya grinned excitedly, nudging Marinette a few times in the side.

"Alya! Not this again."

Alya simply ignored her, "We both know he had the cutest crush on you in school before he moved away, and Nino said he absolutely kicked puberty in the face like, whoa!" She whistled, "Nino originally was thinking he'd make a good third, but I told him that we should let you two have a date or two first before passing out any invitations." She gave a wink, "but just think, if he's just as sweet as he was in High School, he'd be a real catch."

Marinette flushed a little at the idea, she couldn't lie that she felt lonely. But she shook those feelings away. "You know I don't have time right now for dating," Marinette pointed out, and went on. "Besides, I doubt anyone would want to. No one wants a widow with three kids." She felt her entire body sink, she accepted her reality a long time ago. Luka, her late husband, was her entire world. She just felt like she would never be able to love someone like she loved him, and she didn't want to be introducing man after man into her kids lives, right now they needed stability.

"Shut up, don't you dare talk about my friend that way." Alya's voice was firm, but full of love, "I told you already, you're an amazing, talented, smart, capable woman and a beautiful, loving mother. Any guy would be lucky to be in your good graces." She added with a soft voice, "Luka would want you to be happy, and to be able to move on and find love again."

Marinette nodded, a weak smile on her lips, "How do you just," She shrugged her shoulders helplessly, "know exactly what it is I need to hear all the time?"

"Because I love you." Alya stated, stopping to give her friend a hug. She held onto Marinette's shoulders, "Now. Less dallying, more resume dropping." She pointed to a quaint cafe just on the corner of the road, "Let's get you a new job before the day is over, hm?"

"If only I was that lucky." Marinette laughed.

Notes:

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter for my Overboard AU! I hope that it's not too boring, please please please let me know what you think? I haven't written a fic since I was 14 and that was a really cringey self-insert for Fruits Basket. (Don't ask, trust me.)

I have no clue how many chapters this is going to be, it could be 5, it could be 20, it'll probably be like, 3. I guess it depends on how much you guys like it, since I feel so nervous about posting.

#miraculous ladybug #marinette #adrien #adrienette #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #adrien agreste #my art #my fic #overboard au #i am so nervous #this is my first fic in ten years #this chapter is probably boring because its just the stage setter and i feel like my writing isn't fantastic #i hope its not terrible

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stusbunker · 5 years

Text

Twitterpated with a Side of Ex-Demon

A Through the Years OS

Featuring: Dean Winchester x Unnamed Female Character, Human!Crowley, Borrowed Grace!Castiel

A/N: This is part of a larger AU where Sam closed the gates of Hell and Crowley was cured. Dean met our mystery nurse while Sam was in the coma from the Trials. Nothing to warn you about, however there is smut-ish parts and regular Crowley attitude. xoxo Stu

*^*

Dean answered without looking at the caller ID, “Agent Neil.”

“Shit, must be a wrong number, I was looking for a Winchester.”

“I might be able to help you out, Miss?”

“It’s Nurse, actually.”

“Well, it seems to be my lucky day. Where you stuck this month?”

“Cedar Rapids, you?”

“I’m a couple days out. What’s your schedule like?”

“Twelve on, Twenty four off.”

“A whole day huh?”

“If you time it right, you may just get a day and a half, AGENT.”

“There are no speed limits for Feds.”

She chuckled back at him. “Sure, just get here in one piece.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Dean couldn’t keep the stupor of anticipated bliss off his features.

“You done flirting? We have a witness to interrogate!” Crowley’s posturing broke into Dean’s happy place.

Dean rolled his eyes at his temporary partner’s impatience, climbing out of the Impala five paces in front of the other man. “Question the witness. You interrogate the suspects.”

“Well, lots of times they’re one in the same, yeah?”

“How many cop shows have you been binging?”

“You do your research, I’ll do mine.”

“I’ll give you something to research.”

“Come again? Get your head out of the booty call and get to work, Agent.”

Dean knocked on the door, bemused to be falling into Crowley’s orders. It was a long case, generally because Crowley wasn’t used to putting in actual human effort and insisted on questioning Dean’s every move. It was fine, the cursed object was whisked away into a spelled box and everybody lived. Dean couldn’t wait to lose his shadow and make good on his promise.

As soon as Dean was heading for the door, barely a half hour after reaching the Bunker, Crowley started to stew. “Fine, just leave me here to rot.”

“You could do some work, find a case while I’m gone. Won’t be more than a couple of days.”

“Is that all I am to you? Your secretary?”

“Look, I’m giving you a place to lay low. A place to avoid all those big bads on your very HUMAN ass, man. Don’t go reading into things.”

“I suppose I should thank you.”

“You should, but you won’t.” Dean popped the Impala’s trunk, tossing his restocked duffel inside.

“You know me so well.”

“Yeah, well, don’t wait up.” Without looking back to see his reaction, Dean slipped into the driver’s seat.

*^*

Dean barely made it through the door before her hands were on him, her warm lips kissed the night air from his skin. It felt good to have somebody waiting for him, somebody who knew crazy hours and sacrifice. Somebody who got him. She had his jacket off before he could hang up his keys, his duffel laid forgotten at the door. She dragged him to the bedroom and gave him the welcome he never knew he needed, one he definitely didn’t deserve. Like always, he took what he could get with her and she more than reciprocated.

It was after midnight when Dean woke to an empty bed, the gentle closing of cabinets bumping down the hall from the kitchen. The whole loft was dark, her assigned flat, cavernous and bare. His gun was in the slightly open drawer on his bedside table, he stared at it for a solid five seconds before leaving it to find her stark naked and grinning over a spoon full of peanut butter.

“Well now I feel upstaged.” Dean’s face dipped, his eyes sultry beneath his heavy lashes as she continued to rake her tongue up and around the metal curve, challenging his stare. Her only reply was a hummed, unimpressed note, but the mischievous spark had ignited. Dean carefully leaned one wide palm on the countertop, trailing it behind him as he pointedly circled the island, rounding on her and that devilishly distracting snack.

She felt the delicious apprehension as he approached, the set of her spine and puckering of flesh tensing from his potential threat; such danger he possessed. Would he scoop her up and lay her out on the tile? Would he take his time and have a treat of his own? Her mind grew fuzzy as he lingered, taking in her every twitch and smirk.

“Uh, there is a dress code after midnight, Mister. Drop ‘em.”

Dean quickly dipped out of the offending boxer briefs, bunching them in his hand and tossing them over his back. “Should of known you were going to start nagging me.”

Her eyebrows shot up, the empty spoon hovering in midair. “Excuse me?”

“With all these sudden rules.” Dean slid behind her, brushing himself against the swell of her backside. His hands threading around her waist, leaning on the countertop. “And you don’t even share,” he teased. “A guy should really cut his loses.”

“Yeah,” she mock agreed, dropping her head back onto his shoulder as Dean lifted the jar of Skippy Natural up, noting the giant canyon she had left in the middle. “You’re really getting to the low parts of being in a relationship.”

She dipped the spoon back into the depths, holding it just out of the reach of his mouth. “I mean, what guy is gonna stand for being spoon fed by a naked chick at one A.M.?”

She spun and almost choked him with it; shoving the handle up, playfully through his mouth, smearing his lips with the sticky paste. “Thiff, thiffs whad ‘m talging aboud!”

They laughed, the easy comfortable kind that sits in the seams of eyes and lips, the kind that buries itself for memory sake. Eventually, she pushed her chest into his. Dean’s hands rubbing her arms as she licked him clean. Spoon forgotten somewhere between the floor and their embrace. Tongues met in a true kiss while the blood started to thrum between them once more. Once he got her on the counter, she knew they weren’t making it back to bed anytime soon.

His lips roamed without worry or rush. She used her healer’s hands to pull and prod his neck and back, working him in slow, deep drags down to his ass. Dean’s fingers dropped between them and just as he found an angle that worked, one she liked; his phone erupted in the other room.

“Ignore it,” Dean grunted, leaving a kiss on her neck as he tried to work her over once more.

“Dean?” She worried, another call following the last.

He sighed, pulling back and resting his hands on her spread thighs. His forehead rested on hers in defeat. “I could kill him?”

“I know you could, Babe. But he’s your friend and he probably found something.” Her whole face smiled at his repulsion to her choice of words.

“Something that is going to take me away from this, from you.” Dean groaned. As quickly as the third call broke through, Dean bent over, locking his arms around her waist and hips before throwing her over his shoulder and trotting her back to the bedroom.

Only once Dean found her suitably tucked into his side did he answer the unrelenting ring. “What?!” He barked, earning a giggle from her as his face broke from keeping up the front of anger.

“It’s Wings, Squirrel. He’s a mess and he isn’t exactly in the chatting mood.”

“What, is he hurt?”

“Define hurt?”

“Crowley!”

“He’s coughing like Patient 0 and could use a, make that several, washes.”

Dean heard Cas’s voice in the background, but couldn’t make out much from their end of the line. He weighed Crowley’s dramatics and Cas’s fortitude before giving himself a few hour respite. “Alright, sit tight. I’ll be there when I can.”

“Oh, don’t rush the reunion sex on our account.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Dean winked at her as she played with his free hand, fingers dancing in little patterns over his lifeline.

“Figures.”

“Yep.”

“You gonna hang up?”

“Are you?”

“ I call you, out of the goodness of my–” Dean rolled his eyes and ended the call before powering down his phone for the rest of the night.

*^*

She watched him walk back to the sleek black car, bowlegs in a perpetual strut. The predawn haze a dreamscape of goodbyes. He bit the lip of his take away coffee cup and settled the contents of his trunk. She was getting cold waiting on the patio, but she insisted to see him go, to have him for as long as possible. They were completely impractical, but somehow, it worked. A weekend here and a night there, states and battles apart. He stirred a part of her she almost let fade, a part full of purpose and most importantly: hope.

He gave her a two finger salute and a scruffy pout as he pulled out of the parking lot. It actually hurt to watch him go, like an organ being transplanted from a conscious patient. She understood what was happening, but she could do nothing but see what happened next. Dean was worth it, they were worth it. Besides, who doesn’t love a bad boy, especially one with a heart of gold and too many chips on his shoulder?

*^*

#dean winchester #dean drabble #through the years series #dean x unnamed female #dean x baby momma #before the babies

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tk-duveraun · 6 years

Text

Little Bitty Pretty One

Mathilda escapes the Ansburg Circle, part of a trade with @elalavella

Why aren’t you angry? If you had stayed in the Gallows, you would be free now, Rage whispered in Mathilda’s mind. Its words didn’t cause the slightest hesitation in her movements; her writing was as delicate and refined as always.

She looked back over her notes and nodded. Though no one was in the room, Mathilda said, “Yes, I do believe this is all I need out of the Creation school.” Though she left her grimoire open for the ink to dry, Mathilda closed the Creation text with a loud thwump. With one manicured finger, she drew a small Force magic rune in the air and the book flew off to settle onto the returns cart. The Ansburg Circle’s librarian would normally complain at the casual use of magic, but he was slumped over his desk, blood and spit foaming on his lips.

All of the little mage apprentices were locked up in their classes - a futile attempt to keep them from learning of the fall of the Gallows. Each lesson was taught by at least two Enchanters and no mage was left alone, lest they plot sedition. Mathilda had been assigned to watch over the librarian, a elf man who’d given a leg to a failed escape attempt in his youth. Not even the most suspicious Templars suspected sweet-faced Mathilda of wanting to escape. She’d petitioned to come to Ansburg, afterall.

Darling Mathilda, recommended for transfer by Knight Commander Meredith herself, would never ever want to leave the Circle. Why, outside the Circle she’d only experienced pain and betrayal, by her own father, no less! The horrors still brought tears to her meticulously-lined eyes. She was a mage, yes, but magic was the least of her problems. She lit candles and flash-cooked food, but really, her power wasn’t anything to fear. Mathilda just liked to read. Wasn’t Nevarra such a silly place with its Necromancy and Mortalitasi? No, Mathilda would read under her fancy magic flames and keep to herself and never do anything untoward.

Destroy these fools. Let them pay for how they underestimated you, Rage said.

Mathilda continued to ignore her demon. The ink in her grimoire still hadn’t dried, but didn’t let the frown crease her face. She wouldn’t court wrinkles anytime soon. A dismissive hand wave and burst of careful Fire magic finished the job. Mathilda flipped back through the pages, skimming over her collected knowledge. The idiot Enchanters they made teachers couldn’t teach a horse to shit, but she was more than capable of learning on her own. She hadn’t been able to practice overmuch - you could only frame so many people for blood magic in a single year before the rules changed. Idiot, lusty boys who had thought they could lay hands on her had been her favorite choices for the Brand, but Angelica had really been asking for it.

She was in truth a blood mage regardless, Rage said, trying to sap enjoyment out of the memory.

Do hold yourself with some decorum, Mathilda thought at it. The moment I’m done here you’ll be able to boil every Templar in their armor as I fetch my phylactery.

A wordless sulking feeling was her only response.

Where was she? Right, double-checking her grimoire. She’d long-since stolen every tome on Necromancy from the library and they were carefully hidden in the home of the farmer that supplied the Circle. She paused in her page flipping and pulled on the thread of Fade connected to her blood magic compulsion on the farmer. Hmm, yes it was still there, but fading. It was good that she was in the process of leaving. Her grimoire was far from complete, but it wouldn’t get any better in this… well, calling it a refuse heap was putting it all rather nicely, wasn’t it?

Destroy it.

Come now. You have a better vocabulary than that. Mathilda snapped her grimoire closed. She pricked her finger on the needle-point rivet and sealed it with magic and a drop of her blood. It belched out a delightful purple-black plume of smoke. She patted it like a particularly well-behaved dog before scooping it off the table and cradling it in her arms. Mathilda loosened her hold on Rage as she walked and by the time she left the library, her footsteps steamed.

An apprentice laid dead next to her bag. Mathilda clicked her tongue before kicking the corpse away. If his skin hadn’t been mottled and green from the curse on her things, it would have been bright red from the scorching heat of her boots. She pulled the strap over her shoulder and shifted until the weight hung comfortably against her hip. The floor sizzled with each of her steps as Rage’s magic burned the dust and detritus against the heavy, stone tiles.

Flames jumped out of their magic sconces to float in the air behind her, bobbing and weaving with every step. She was halfway up to the tower before any Templars appeared. The first didn’t get a single word out before fire burst through their armor and threw their helmet into the air. It clattered to the floor with the rest of the armor, making a terrible racket of clanks and crashes. Mathilda’s footprints were a trail of fire by the time other Templars came to investigate the sound.

“Mathilda! Look out! There’s a maleficar loose in the Circle!” One idiot had the lack of awareness to say.

She didn’t bother to turn around to look at her. She simply raised a hand and brushed it against the stone wall as she walked. The stone glowed and reluctantly caught fire as she passed. “You don’t say, Ser Clarice.”

A wall of fire erupted behind Mathilda, blocking off the Templars before they could muster their wits and wills enough to Silence her. The screams were rather distracting as she picked apart the spells on the storeroom door, but she persisted. It was the smell of burning hair that really bothered Mathilda, so she paused long enough to snap her fingers. The spell didn’t go off, so she snapped them again until the warm, comforting scent of smoking hickory filled her nose.

When the spells on the door gave way, it collapsed to the floor in a pile of ash. The storeroom had little to boast aside from a few forbidden texts - useless, she’d already read them - and the collected phylacteries of every mage in Ansburg. Mathilda pulled out a few vials at random and inspected the labels, trying to figure out how they were organized. Either the Tranquil that had labeled them had had a stroke or they were written in some kind of code. Mathilda dropped them to the floor, enjoying the sound of shattering glass as she put her hands on her hips. “Well, this simply won’t do.”

She stare at the racks for just a moment before holding out both hands and letting Rage channel through her. Not only did the phylacteries go up in a burst of purple fire and crackling blue magic, but the entire back wall gave out under the heat. “That was excessive, don’t you think?”

Rage didn’t answer.

Mathilda turned to leave, but was met by the Knight Commander himself. He brandished his sword and screamed commands at her, but his uncivilized, backwater Antivan accent made his words completely insensible. Either that or his feet boiling in his boots from the molten stone under him had yowling in agony like a particularly ugly mabari. “I never did like you, Knight Commander Estevan. You smell worse than the dung you have for brains.” Mathilda’s tone was light and sweet. She walked backwards through the storeroom with every airy word. “And your taste in wine is painfully plebeian. I really should kill you, but you simply do not deserve a second more of my time. Goodbye.”

With a jaunty wave, Mathilda jumped backwards out of the hole Rage burned in the wall.

That was a four-storey fall, Rage complained once Mathilda landed. I will take a year of your life for that maneuver.

You may try, Rage, dear, Mathilda replied as she looked around to get her bearings. She hadn’t seen the outside of the Circle with her own eyes since she’d arrived. It didn’t take her long to piece together memories of what she’d seen from the farmer and various workers she’d possessed with her magic over the years. With confident, still-smoking strides, Mathilda left the Ansburg Circle grounds.

She smiled when she heard the time-delayed explosion in her room go off. Who knew freedom smelled like fire and cinder?

#dragon age #blood magic #blood mages gonna blood mage #mathilda

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lubdubsworld · 7 years

Text

Give me some Sugar ( Daddy)

Park Jimin / OC

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2/ Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5

I woke up with my face smashed down into a velvet soft pillow, cheeks slightly damp from where I’d apparently drroled into the pretty fabric. Mortified, i wiped at my face with the back of my hand, blinking around groggily. The drapes across the huge bay windows had been pulled shut, and in the dimly dark room, it wnas impossible to tell how early or how late it was.

Still a little disoriented, I sat up slowly, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, the soft, downy mattress sinking down under my weight , the furry carpet tickling my bare foot as i stood up.

Jimin wasn’t there but he had clearly slept with me, the messed sheets a clear sign . I was wearing my own nightdress a calf length white cotton thing that was a negative 45 on the seductive scale. Grimacing a bit, I moved to the drapes, fumbling with the small remote that controlled the curtains.

I was unprepared for how high the sun was int he sky, snshine spilling into the room like a bucket of liquid gold, drenching me pleasantly.

I glanced at the small clock on the nightstand, only to get a heart attack when I saw what time it was.

1.45 PM.

I’d slept close to fifteen hours!

No wonder Jimin wasn’t there. I was surprised he hadn’t even bothered to wake me up. I was supposed to present in at least two of my classes today, turn in a paper and my sister had texted last night about having lunch which apparently i had slept through. i remembered how she had sounded yesterday, the slightly upset, slightly annoyed tone of a teenager who didn’t know how to express herself and i felt worse.

It didn’t matter what i got tangled in, i had to prioritize her.

Stunned, I stumbled, trying to get my head on straight as I moved to the living space. The smell of something delicious made me look up and then my mind froze completely when i saw my sister sitting on the counter-part, happily laughing while Jimin tossed noodles in a pan.

“... And that was the last time Yoongi hyung wore those pants int he dorm.” He finished and my sister laughed harder, turning around and brightening up at the sight of me.

“Unnie!! why didn’t you tell me you met Jimin oppa?!” She said with a wide grin and I tried to process what i was seeing.

“I was just telling how I had to pick you up to explain about her scholarship’s details.” He said smoothly, smiling as he stood there, flawless in a proper white button down and skinny black jeans. His hair was messed and slightly wet and I swallowed, turning to my siter in confusion.

“What... How did you even get here?” I said confused and mildly terrified and she laughed.

“i’ve been calling you all afternoon and then Jimin told me that he’d met up with you in the morning and that you weren’t well so he offered to let you rest here in his apartment... “ She turned to jimin...” Oppa you shouldn’t be so naive, inviting everyone to your apartment.”

I couldn’t bring myself to even look at Jimin.

“I’m sorry about that.. I just.. i guess i was more tired than i thought. I didn’t mean to over sleep...” I whispered and she shrugged.

“We’re still on for dinner though right? I want to take mom along too. She hasn’t been out of the house in ages and I think she’s almost forgotten what you look like...”

I smiled weakly and Jimin stayed quiet, humming a little as he tossed some vegetables into a wok, the fresh veggies spluttering against the oil and filling the house with a delicious smell.

“Uh... I’ll just.. I mean, I was planning on...” i stared rather desperately at Jimin kicking myself for not asking him the previous day. Did he have any plans for tonight? Did he want me to go out with him? Could I go out with my sister?

But Jimin wouldn’t even look at me and i turned back to my sister in a little bit of panic, trying to smile.

“What’s wrong? It’s after seven? Did you pick up an extra shift at the shelter?” She frowned .

grateful foir the out, I quickly latched on.

“Yes. I mean... I had earlier but i can talk to Mr. Chen and get it put off to later.” i said swiftly.

She smiled happily.

“okay, then we’ll talk tonight. I already had food by the way... Jimin oppa treated me to jjajang-myeon at the restaurant where we were supposed to meet.’ She said, shooting heart-eyes at him. Jimin grinned and gave her a hi-five, now busy plating the noodles.

“Your cab’s already here, Ji Soo.” He said brightly and my sister leapt off the counter giving me a quick hug before moving out.

“I’ll see you around, Jimin ssi..” She bowed politely before waving to me.

I waited for the door to close before turning to him quickly.

“I’m so sorry Jimin!! I swear, i didn’t mean to...”

He held his hands up .

“Did you brush your teeth?” He said swiftly and i stopped, blinking.

“Uh.. yes?”

“Good... Come here and take a seat. let’s get some food inside you first. You’re too skinny as it is, i don’t want you fainting away on my watch.” He grinned, pulling a chair out of the cozy two-seater dining table and I flushed, moving slowly to sit there. He had already set the table, a small cut-glass vase with a large purple amaryllis bloom in clear water.

I smiled as he placed a plate of noodles in front of me before pouring me a glass of water. i waited till he’d settled as well before holding a hand out. He linked his fingers with mine at once and I felt dangerously grounded, dangerously comforted by his touch. Dangerously dependant. Like my body had somehow come to rely on the little physical gestures of affection that he was so generous with.

“What’s wrong?” He said softly.

“I’m sorry for inconveniencing you like th-”

“Please. I don’t want you to ever apolo0gize to me ovber things like this. It’s my fault actually. I didn’t realize at ll, that I was keeping you from your family. I didn’t even ask you if it’s hard for you to be apart from them.”

I shook my head.

“It’s not that...my mother... she’s a bit forgetful and she needs a lot of care . she’s used to having me around and -”

“You’re still a student, though. Y/N.” He said gently. “ I know you’ve been dealt with difficult circumstances but... I’d rather help take off a bit of that load, than add to it.”

I didn’t respond at once, glancing down at my food.

“Did you suggest my sister moving to Busan?” I asked tentatively after we’d been eating for a few minutes.

He sighed deeply.

“It is my apartment.” He admitted softly. “ The caretaker is a distant cousin of mine. She’s a certified nurse by the way. She offered to stay with your mother and take care of her...”

“Offered?” i said bleakly.

He shrugged.

“In a way. I’m paying her of course but-”

“Jimin , I can’t... It’s too much. you’ve already done a lot for me and...”

and what’s going to happen when you leave? If I let you inside every single part of my life, what am I going to do when you walk out?

“Y/N, I can’t in good conscience just let your mother stay here alone. And ypou’re already repaying me, aren’t you...?”

“Am I?” I said nervously.

He frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just , you’re spending so much on me .... and in return, i don’t.. i’m not... Am I even worth that?” I said rather hysterically and he just stared at me.

“Baby....”

“It’s been three weeks?” I stuttered out nervously. “ We haven’t even... you haven’t even taken your shirt off and I...”

“I can take it off right now...” He grinned reaching for the button .

I shook my head.

“You know what i mean...” i said nervously.

Jimin smiled.

“i do. you’re afraid that I’m just going to give, give, give and not take anything from you in return? “ He shook his head.

“something like that...” I said weakly.

”Don’t worry. my intentions for you are not noble in any way, if that’s what’s scaring you. I’m definitely going to collect. “ He smiled pleasantly, reaching out and pouring me some more wine, tossing in a wink for good measure.

Momentarily stunned, i just stared at him.

“But like I said, i want it on my terms. I want a proper relationship Y/N. And in a proper relationship , i doubt that two dates mean we should start going at it like rabbits.” He said firmly and I sunk down.

He laughed.

“Don’t look so dejected. it’s merely a rain check. What’s wrong baby, are you just worried about me spoiling you or are you genuinely just in need of a good dicking?” He grinned.

I gasped, outraged at his choice of words.

“I’m not .... that’s not what I...!”

“there’s no shame in wanting sex, so don’t look so horrified.” He said mildly.

Certain that my ears were tomato red, I went back to my food.

“Also, you’re free to have a social life of your own... “ He said firmly, holding his chopsticks out, “ You don’t need my approval to go anywhere. So before you ask, you can go meet your mother anytime you want.”

I stared at him, somehow feeling more confused than ever about everything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Stop looking so nervous.” My sister said firmly as I tried to fix my hair a bit more. It looked okay, but when i turned, there was this single strand that tried to stick too much to my cheeks and I -

“You look perfect. Why are you so worried anyway? it’s not like you’re going on a date! Jimin ssi was kind enough to make a reservation for us and you won’t even let us be on time ” She whined.

i flushed.

“It’s an expensive hotel.” I said petulantly, remembering the one time Jimin had taken me there for our first dinner together. He had made me wear that expensive black dress and I remembered how posh the other patrons had looked

My sister looked nice in her printed white gown , hair threaded with cute ribbons, but she was young. My mother was wearing her best suit too and I’d just worn the dress that Seulgi had made for the event. it looked a little ridiculous with the draped shawl over it and i’d made the mistake of just cutting out the overlay.

Now, I was bare-shouldered with a deep neck and trying to cover all that skin with my hair.

“You look nice, unnie!! We’ll be late!! Come on!!” She bounced on her feet and i felt a sudden, outburst of love for my little sister. She was the greatest source of happiness in my life.

She looked grown up , in her big-girl gown and her muted make-up and i felt a pang of bittersweet emotions. She was growing older, growing out of her childhood. Soon she would have a life of her own and i would just be.... alone.

All my life , I’d had just one thought , For ji Soo...study well for jisoo....work hard for jisoo.... everything and anything for my baby sister.

“i love you, Ji Soo..” i said impulsively and she frowned.

“What?”

i shook my head.

“Just wanted to tell you that.”

She rolled her eyes in typical teenage fashion.

“now is not the time.... Come on, i told Jae Hwan i’ll tell him all about the dinner tonight and i don’t want to miss out on it!!”

i laughed and nodded, quickly grabbing my hand bag and following her out of the room.

once we climbed into the cab , she dropped her head onto my shoulder, lightly squeezing my knee.

“i love you more.” She whispered softly and I pretended not to notice the sparkle of wetness in her eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I think he really likes you by the way...” My sister said softly, licking her dessert spoon. i rolled my eyes.

“you think every guy i meet likes me.” i laughed.

“Well, they should. You’re beautiful. my beautiful babies.” My mother said fondly, going over the menu for the tenth time. i gave her a fond smile before turning back to my sister.

“Besides, you do realize who he is. He’s an idol. He’s the lead singer in BTS He’s not going to fall in love with a poor college student.” i said softly.

My sister made a noise of impatience.

“He has said a billion times on air that he would never marry a celebrity. He wants someone non-famous.” She smiled and I shook my head.

“did you go stalk him on youtube again?” I teased and she scoffed.

“Who wouldn’t? i still can’t believe he liked my dancing. It’s too bad that he’s like fifteen years older than me...” she giggled.

I gasped, affronted.

“He’s not...why would you even say that!! He’s twenty seven and two weeks old.!!”

My sister laughed some more.

“Who’s the stalker now?” She teased before glancing over at one of the side hallways. “ i need to use the rest room. is it that way?” She asked softly.

i nodded.

“you want me to come along?” I asked and she shook her head quickly.

“No... i’ll be back in five.”

i watched her leave, feeling fond and happy and my mother gripped my wrist.

“You’ve been so good to her. She’s so happy.” She whispered and I laughed.

“You’ll be able to see her happier, mum. She’s finally got that scholarship. “

“Ahh...has she?” My mother smiled wide and surprised.

“Yes. You’ll be moving to Busan with her. She’ll take good care of you and become a really successful dancer and-”

“And you. Who is this young man, Jimin?” She whispered .

i startled, staring at her.

“Mother...”

“did he really help ji Soo? And you too?” She smiled.

“Yes...” i said softly, trying not to think about the agreement I’d signed.

“It’s good. about time someone else took care of you...” She smiled some more.

i smiled and then glanced back at the rest room, feeling a little curious. it was a little past five minutes now.

Where was Ji Soo?

I waited another five minutes before feeling the first vestiges of worry.

“Mother...just stay here... i’ll be back alright...” I whispered softly before signalling for the waiter.

“This is my mom...she’s a little unwell, please just stay with her for a while...” i said urgently, my heart brginning to pound steadily. i walked swiftly down the corridor to the huge oak door that led to the ladies’ room.

I covered the last few steps in a run, wrenching the door open, my entire body shaking with worry.

it was empty.

“Ji Soo?” i called out horrified. A muffled groan from one of the stalls made my hackles rise and without thinking I banged on the door...

“unnie..help!!! .!” My sister’s distressed voice came from inside and i felt my heart jump into my throat in terror as her voice got cut off.

The door crashed open and i stumbled, ankle twisting on my heels as i tripped. pain shot up my leg and i stared in disbelief as two men stared down at me, one of them with his palm on her mouth, cutting off her choked cries while the other had his hands up her skirt.

Something primal reared inside me and i felt my vision blank out in sheer fury, adrenaline filling my veins as I screamed so loud my ears rang.

“GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!!!”

I lunged forward, pain forgotten as I wrapped my around the guys neck, hanging on till he began choking. But he was built like a wall and he moved away easily , whipping around and slapping me hard across my face.

But a second later, people were running in, having no doubt heard the commotion. I stood still for a second, my vision blurry and face burning , barely able to stay upright as my sister fell into my arms, sobbing.

“i wanna go home...let’s go home...” She was whimpering and I stroked her back, trying to soothe her.

“Ma’am ...we’re so sorry...please... If you’d like to contact the authorities...”

i shook my head.

“No... I please... just... “ i swallowed, still a little shaken. “ I need to get my sister home...”

Ji Soo wouldn’t stop shaking till late into the night and I felt awful.

i should have gone with her. she’s still a young girl... How could i have just let that happen to her? And what was I doing, sending her to Busan? What if something happened to her there.... and...

It was a long while before I could fall asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You didn’t pick my calls last night, is everything okay, sweetheart?” jimin sounded concerned as I spoke to him over the phone, standing in front of the mirror in my room.

I hadn’t noticed it the previous night but the man had hit me hard enough to leave a bruise on my cheek and a small split in my lip. I rubbed my thumb across the darkened blood there, wincing at the sting.

“Everything’s good... i just... I was hoping if I could take a rain-check on meeting your friends today?” I asked softly, grimacing at how the bruise had somehow turned darker over night.

“What’s wrong?” he said at once and I felt nervous, not sure how to deflect.

“Nothing.. i’m just a little tired and i have some essays to catch up on...”

“Where are you? i’m coming to pick you up...”

“No!! jimin listen, I just...”

“You can work on your assignments at home. I set up a study room for you last week , remember?”

I bit my lips .

“Jimin...”

“it’s alright if you don’t want to meet my friends. You’re certainly meeting me.”

“So I don’t have a choice anymore?” i retorted and he went quiet.

“Y/N.... I just want to see you. You seem off. something’s wrong and you’re hiding it from me and I don’t like it...” He hung up.

i stared at the phone for a second.

Was he that upset? Oh God, had I said something offensive?

My phone buzzed again and i jumped a bit as i stared at the screen.

A video call.

Flinching, I knew that there was no escaping. Maybe he wouldn’t notice?

“Hi...” I said weakly as his face came into focus.

He stared at me for a second, gaze fixing on my lips and then on the curve of my cheek.

“You’re hurt.” He said thoughtfully.

I swallowed.

“It’s nothing...but ... I think it may be a couple of days before it fades. I don’t want to ...show up like this...” i laughed a little.

“Who?”

“It was just an accident , I didn’t...”

“That’s not what i asked. Who did it?”

“I don’t know...”

“You don’t know..”

“it was some guy in the restaurant...last night...”

“Wait, in my restaurant...”

i felt my jaw drop.

“That’s your restaurant?”

He ignored my question .

“Did you report him?”

“No, I didn’t... Ji Soo was really distraught and i just wanted to get her home..”

“Ji Soo, what did she have to do with it?”

In the end i ended up telling him everything, because if it was his restaurant, he likely would learn it from his employees anyway.

Jimin stayed quiet for sometime and then hummed.

“okay. Take a few days to yourself, Y/N. I’ve arranged for a cab to drive you and your family down to Busan this weekend. Go help your mom and sis settle down and spend a few days with them. I’ll meet you again on Thursday next week once you get back, how does that sound?” He said kindly.

I hesitated.

“I’m sorry .” i said quietly.

“What did i tell you about apologizing? You should talk to your professors about taking a break.... “ his voice softened a bit. “ I’ll miss you angel.”

I smiled a little at that.

“if anyone here is being an angel, it certainly isn’t me.” i said honestly and he laughed.

“I’m a fairy.” He sang playfully.

Yes you are.

Jimin.

i lov-

The words just bloomed inside my heart without any warning and I momentarily lost my thought process.

Where on earth had that even come from?

After he hung up, I stared at myself, heart still pounding faintly.

Not love as in love.I told myself firmly. Love as in affection. Friendship. The way I loved Ji Soo or my friends.

Platonic love.

That was a thing right?

platonic love.

I touched the bruise again and this time the sting had faded. Jimin just made everything better.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoongi and Namjoon leaned against the couch, watching Jimin pace the room.

“I hate when he gets like this.” Taehyung commented mildly, from where he was on the floor, wrapped around the maknae like a python. After about seventeen shouts of , “stop being indecent in the common area” , Seokjin had given up on the pair, eyes merely twitching once in a while, when jung Kook’s fingers slipped down Taehyung’s jeans or Tae’s fingers fluttered over the other’s abs.

“Is she really that special? “ Jung Kook scoffed, eyes glued on his gaming console, but annoyance evident in his perfect features. “ So, some guy got frisky with her in a hotel... it happens even with Taehyung for fuck’s sake. Remeber in our last concert in Jeju do? Some men are douche canoes and there isn’t anything you can do about it. “

“Well, if i remember right, you broke that particular douche canoe’s fingers jung kook.” Hoseok muttered drily from where he was helping Seokjin with folding the laundry, and Taehyung grinned.

“My knight in shining armor.” He kissed the top of Jung Kook’s head.

“He bruised her.” Jimin whispered. “gave her a split lip.”

Yoongi grimaced.

“Fucker should be in jail.”

“He’s the third son of that pharma CEO we met last week. Him and his friend were the ones who did it. i’m just thinking of a way to break every single bone in his body without having it traced back to us.” Jimin whispered.

“Does your pretty princess know you’re so blood thirsty on the inside? Bet you’re a perfect gentle man around her. “ Namjoon teased.

Jimin rolled his eyes.

“I’m not blood thirsty. If the fucker thinks its okay to come into my place and beat up a girl, any girl.... he needs to be put in his place. it’s not about her. She’s just.... like anyone else.”

Seokjin groaned.

“You and your arrangements!” He rolled his eyes.” i still can’t believe that every six months you find a poor, naive soul to play along with your twisted ideas of a relationship. “

“i don’t know... i think jiminie may be onto something... girls these days...not worth the drama they come wrapped in, i tell you...” yoongi shook his head .

“What do you want to do, jiminie...” Tae finally pulled away from jung Kook, moving over to hug his best friend. Jimin smiled, indulging his clingy best friend but his mind was still elsewhere.

“I want to punch his fucking face in..” Jimin said mildly. “ But i doubt that’s going to make a difference. I’m thinking something else entirely. He’s got a few gaming debts with that gang down in gwacheon ... maybe I should send someone to collect. That boss down there’s a fan of Tae i remember.”

Jung kook looked up.

“Kepp my baby out of it...hyung..” He growled and Taehyung glared at him.

“pipe down , papa bear. i’ll talk to him if you want jimin.” He said kindly. “ Just stop looking so worried all the time.”

“He’s going to end up face down in the Han river and he probably wont even know why...” Namjoon said thoughtfully.

Jimin smiled.

“oh, he’ll know. He’ll know that the minute he decided to grope a sixteen year old kid, he lost all fucking rights to live.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mail Received.

Hello,

I viewed your profile on the site honeyt***hs.com I’ll be inetrested in contacting you over this. I’m the CEO of xxx**## Inc., and would like to discuss ...[ Read more]

Message Received

Seulgi : So, you’ve turned into a hooker now. Did you forget that i have access to your mail, Y/N? I think our professors will be really interested in what you’ve been up to. If you don’t want to get expelled, you better meet me tomorrow and tell me exactly what is going on between you and Park Jimin. After everything i’ve done for you, i can’t believe you would just...[ Read More].

#bts smut #jimin smut #park jimin #sugar daddy au #park jimin smut

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