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freckled-words · 3 years

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Modern Day Cleric - I Pledge Allegiance To A God?

Summary: What if Darcy was Loki's cleric? AKA This is a love letter to D&D, particularly Jester and The Traveller from 'Critical Role' C2. This series will be a re-imagining of the movies with Darcy being able to use magic granted to her by Loki.

A/N: Consider this the prologue. Also do note that I am in no way bashing on Catholicism, I am merely using what I have personal experience with (Catholic school) as a grounds of exposition. THIRD NOTE: This has not been edited. Expect errors.

If not for World Religion Studies, Darcy thought she might just rip her hair out and claim insanity to avoid coming to school.

She hated the uniform (grey shirt, black pants or black and silver pleated skirt.)

She hated that she was required to take, what was essentially, Bible Class at least once per each academic year.

She hated that there was more Catholic iconography on the walls than anything else. (How many pictures of Jesus hanging bloody on a cross does a single hallway need?!)

In a nutshell, she hated that she was being forced to attend a private Catholic high school. It was her parents' final requirement if they were going to pay for her college education.

If Darcy didn't so desperately want to attend Culver, she would have told them to shove it and let her attend public school with the rest of her friends.

Other than her lunch periods, World Religion Studies was the only redeemable part of the school.

Their cafeteria was top notch, with top tier lunch options, and vending machines with a ton more options than what you would find on the street.

World Religion Studies was, for lack of a better word, fascinating. Just like science classes, they acknowledged that there was more established in the world than just "God went BOOM, and then there was a man and he used his ribs to make a woman."

With the semester nearing the halfway point, they'd already covered Hebrew and Islam. Now they were branching over to historical religion, and touching on the gods that were now considered mythological. Greek, Rome, Egypt, Mayan and Norse Gods. There were multiple chapters in their textbooks about all of them, and Darcy had found them really engrossing.

"I'm going to come around with this viking helmet, and I want you to pick a name out. That name will be your God assignment. I want you to learn everything about them, build them a shrine, and on Oct 31st, I want you to sell me your god. Tell me everything about them, and make me a believer, a worshipper!" Mr. Hank was working himself into an excited fervor as he stepped up to the front row of desks with his viking helmet.

The class picked up on the excitement, and began whispering amongst each other about which god they wanted. Darcy heard some of the boys talk about getting Ares, or Apollo. A couple of the girls that sat in front of Darcy giggled about getting Aphrodite, and praying to the goddess for their crushes to notice them.

Darcy didn't care which god she got, because all the options would be equally fun to explore.

Since she'd taken possession of the desk in the back left hand corner, she wasn't surprised when Mr. Hank got to her last. Rather than have her reach inside the helmet for the last piece of paper, he pulled it out and offered it to her. She couldn't be sure, but the glimmer in Mr. Hank's eyes gave her a sense of something being slightly off-kilter. Not in the sense that he needed medication, but more like he knew a secret and really wanted to tell her.

She plucked the paper from him, and read the name aloud, "Loki?...Didn't he have sex with a horse?"

Mr. Hank guffawed, and the girls in front of her looked mortified.

"The myth states he gave birth to Sleipner, the fastest horse in all the realms, which Odin rides upon. But I'm sure you'll find more details about that as you do your research." Mr. Hank left it at that, and went back to the front of the class, to expand on the assignment.

Darcy tuned him out, and opened her textbook to the section dedicated to Loki.

There was a painting on the first page, showing a red haired, wickedly grinning man with a wolf at his feet and a falcon perched on his shoulder. The chapter title read "Loki: Norse God of Trickery and Lies."

Running her finger over his red hair Darcy muttered to the printed image, "Trickery and Lies huh? You sir, sound like my kind of God."

~~~~~~

Darcy decided to take the literal route with the assignment, and make an honest to goodness shrine to her assigned God.

It was a slow and expensive process, but thanks to her 'school purposes only' credit card, she was able to get what she needed. Which turned out to be mistletoe (it was early October, so it was harder to find,) lavender (she went a bit nuts and bought in bulk) cinnamon heart candy (again, wrong time of year, but this one kid in her school had hoards of it and was convinced to sell.) Her favorite shopping she did was for the toy boats. Loki had a thing for boats, and since she wasn't going to spend her entire time slot making a single model boat, she went to the toy store and bought as many toy boats as possible. He also had a symbolism thing with spiders, so she picked up some rubber ones.

In the end her shrine was a pyramid of toy boats built around a large lavender candle. She'd broken the mistletoe into pieces and glued them around the outside of the candle's jar. All the boats had the candy hearts, dried lavender, and spiders sprinkled or glued to their decks.

The only reason her parents weren't throwing a fit about her doing "devil worship" in their house, was that this looked so ridiculous, they couldn't believe it was for actual worship. (Darcy had also requested a write up of the assignment from Mr. Hank to give to her parents.)

Sitting back on her bed, Darcy admired her handiwork, "If I were a god, and someone made me a shrine like this, I'd be hella happy."

She recalled her classmates giggling about sending prayers to Aphrodite.

She'd always gone through the motions of praying when her family, and the school demanded it of her, but she'd never meant it. Why put your heart into something you didn't believe in?

But with her shrine, and all the things she'd learned about Loki in her mind, she didn't see any harm in it. She snorted to herself, "Nothing ever bad happened from reading a book...I need to watch that movie again."

Refocusing, she looked over to her bedside clock. Her shrine crafting had taken her to 11:30pm. Her parents would be asleep, and unless they'd planted a recording device in her room, she felt pretty secure in giving it a whirl.

She lit the lavender candle and let it burn just long enough to melt some wax, putting out the aroma of lavender and smoke from the extinguished candle wick. Closing her eyes and breathing it in, she did as she normally did, and spoke the first thing that came to mind, "I dedicate this piece of beautiful shrine work to you Loki. I hope you enjoy the boats, and the spiders. I've never been on a boat, and spiders have learned to leave me the fuck alone. Regardless if you can hear me or not, I'll try and keep this shrine in one piece for you as long as possible....Ok that's all."

'A little rough, and far too loud, but I do commend you mortal.'

Darcy sprang to her feet, whacking her knee on the edge of her desk and sending her nearly sprawling to the floor. She had to grab onto her desk to keep balanced. Her knee stung bad enough that her eyes began to water.

She blinked hard against the moisture blurring her vision and tried to scan the expanse of her room, "Who's there?"

'You're the one that invited me, surely you do not need me to name myself.'

Whoever was talking to her, they were male, and rather...posh.

Without looking, she grabbed hold of the first thing her hand came into contact with on her desk. Holding it in front of her (and internally groaning at seeing it was her ruler) Darcy shuffled towards the nearest wall and put it to her back.

There was no one in the room, no shadows she couldn’t explain, and her windows were are all locked down.

‘Please tell me your species has evolved to the point where you can put two and two together.’

The amount of impatience and exasperation in the voice made Darcy want to slap the owner.

She had a guess as to who was speaking, but she was uncertain if she wanted it to be the correct guess, “First off: Rude. Secondly, last time I checked, Loki was a MYTHICAL god!”

‘Given that we’ve pulled away from Midgard for so long, I’m not surprised that we’ve fallen into that category. But lucky little you, I always keep an ear out for worship.’

Dary wasn’t 100% convinced she was talking to a legit god. Shuffling over to her bed, she used the ruler to lift the edge of her comforter so she could peer under the bed. She noted some dust bunnies, some socks, and her shoebox of old photos. There was no hidden speaker, or other type of whacky audio device that she could spot.

She didn’t know what Midgard was, maybe their term for the mortal realm? “Yea, lucky me, I get to have a nervous breakdown and hear voices in my head. I’m either going to be sent to the psych ward, or my parents will call in a priest to perform an exorcism.”

‘I can assure you, you are not losing your sanity. Here, a token of proof.’

Something akin to a wave of golden, green ripple appeared on the top boat on her shrine. When it faded, she could see the edge of something gold was left behind. She inched closer and craned her neck to get a better look.

It looked to be a necklace of some sort. The gold she’d seen was part of the necklace’s main piece. The side profile of a snake baring its fangs, as the rest of its body was coiled around an emerald the size of Darcy’s thumbnail.

Darcy didn’t know anything about jewelry, gold, or precious gems, but she had a sinking feeling that she was looking at real gold and a legit emerald.

She reached with the ruler, and to her growing concern, felt it connect with the necklace.

It was real. The real gold, real emerald necklace, was real real. As in, it had just been teleported magically into the toy boat, into her room.

Darcy dropped the ruler and sat down hard on the side of her bed, “I’m gonna need a minute.”

‘Don’t make me wait too long. I’m rather bored at the moment, and you’ve provided me with the perfect distraction.’

Darcy took off her glasses and rubbed at her face. She put her glasses back on, and...yup. Gold snake necklace was still there.

Well, she’d summoned him (somehow?!), she may as well make the most of it, “Okay...You’re real, I’ll roll with that. Hard to argue with a piece of bling like that. I’m not sure how much distraction I’m going to be for you though. I really just did that little prayer out of curiosity.”

‘I had assumed as much given your reaction. And I can reassure you, you are far more entertaining than my current company.’

Darcy got up from the bed and went to the shrine. Hesitantly, she reached out and touched the gold snake. Worry and curiosity had a brief battle in her head when she felt a gentle warmth against her fingertips.

“Your current company is probably more gods right? Thor, Sif, Odin, the whole Brady Bunch of Norse mythology?”

‘You’re going to have to accept that we are not myths. Annoying as they presently are, they are just as real as myself.’

Curiosity winning out, she picked up the snake and noticed the snake’s eye was a hole which had a length of soft, brown cord pulled through. Darcy estimated the length would allow the snake to hang low enough to let the snake land on, or in between, her boobs.

“So if I put together a shrine for Thor, and did a little prayer, he’d hear me too?”

‘I don’t recommend doing such a thing. Other than wasting your money, you’ll also be wasting your time. My brother has become so full of himself, he sees no point in allowing the connections.’

At the word ‘connections’ Darcy swore she saw the emerald in the snake glow in its center. If she weren’t so absorbed in rubbing her thumb over the snake’s scale pattern, and enjoying the soft warmth in her hands, she might have dropped it.

She definitely didn’t miss the familiar tinge of spite to the god’s words when saying ‘brother.’ She didn’t have any siblings of her own, but a couple of her friends had sisters that brought out the same level of bitterness.

“Well you’re in luck. I was assigned to do my class project on you, not him. And building this shrine has already got my parents’ Catholic hackles raised as it is.” She went back to her bed and laid down, her eyes glued to the snake in her hands.

‘You’re doing an academic paper on me? It warms the heart to know my name has spread, despite my absence.’

She snorted a laugh, “Dude, you’re considered a myth now, remember? Myths and legends get passed around a lot more these days. And as much as I’d love to just use an interview with you as my paper, I have to do it based on all the information in my textbook, plus the shrine. Which my teacher might keep.”

Darcy thought she felt the snake grow a bit colder in her hands, then suddenly much warmer. ‘Is this thing connected to him?’

‘I loathe to think of the lies and twisted truths your text contains. Well, regardless if your instructor keeps my shrine, so long as you have that token, you’re welcome to continue worshipping me.’

She rolled her eyes, just picturing a red haired man preening out of sight of the others in his vicinity.

“As cool as talking to a god is, I can’t be doing this too often. I wasn’t kidding when I said my parents would perform an exorcism. Even in this day and age, someone talking to a voice in their head is not seen as a good thing.” It was the thought of her parents that tore her attention free of the snake.

Putting it down on the bed next to her she checked the time, “Shiiiiit, how is it this late?” Late was an understatement. Her clock read 2am, which was practically morning!

‘So you’re saying the blessing of my attention is not worth the risk?’

His voice was light and teasing, which somehow eased Darcy’s panic, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m living for this. If you’d been my parents’ God, I would sign myself into the psych ward. The fact that you’re a Norse god, which my parents would consider to be Satanic worship, means I get to hold the ultimate middle finger over their heads.”

She didn’t know if he was able to see her while he was talking to her, and didn’t feel inclined to flash her growing goods around. Rather than change out of her clothes and into her PJs, she got under the covers, and resigned herself to sleeping in jeans.

‘Ah, a kindred spirit of rebellion…’

Darcy rolled onto her side and touched her finger to the emerald. It didn’t hold any warmth, but at her touch, she saw that same flicker of a glow. ‘There’s definitely magic in this.’

‘I’ve had a fun thought. One you don’t need to agree to right away. Does your realm still employ clerics?’

Darcy frowned, trying to remember what a cleric was. “Do you mean priests?”

‘Yes and no. They’re the same in their main purpose, but Clerics get to have far more fun.’

“Sorry dude, no clerics here that I can think of. Only priests...I’m not fond of priests.” She tapped the emerald, trying to get it to glow again.

‘Good. Because I don’t want you to be a priest, I want you to be a cleric. MY cleric.’

Her finger froze over the emerald, and slowly withdrew, “Uhhhhh…”

‘Calm yourself, I did say you could think about it. As previously stated, I’m often bored...or annoyed, with my present and persistent company. Speaking with you has been...refreshing, to say the least. It would be a shame to lose this connection so quickly.’

“I don’t know if you’re able to see me, with this whole, mortal-prays-to-god connection, but I’m a teenager. A teenager that has no intention of joining a convent or some shit.” It was bad enough having her parents shoving their religious propaganda down her throat, she wasn’t going to take it from a god that hasn’t been worshipped in centuries.

Somehow she felt Loki roll his eyes before he spoke, ‘I am aware of your youth. I can’t see you in earnest, but I have a vague sense of you. I am not asking you to swear into a life of celibacy or such nonsense. As my cleric you will have only three responsibilities. One: Commit the occasional prank in my name, I do so love to see some creativity. Two: Marks your conquests in my name. Since you’re no longer in an era of savage wars, I’ll leave it to your imagination on the term of ‘conquest.’ I’m flexible that way. Three: I expect you to learn a means of self defense.’

Darcy didn’t see anything wrong with the first two conditions, they made plenty of sense given everything she’d learned about him. That last one though, “Why do I need to learn how to fight?”

‘All proper clerics learn self-defense, as they would travel the world to spread the name of their god and were expected to protect themselves. I’ve no expectation of you to do the same, but I will not have my first cleric in centuries be killed by any idiot with a dull blade.’

Darcy already had a story to tell her parents to sell them on the idea, then she caught herself. She was already planning things as if she’d accepted this deal.

That’s what this was, a deal. Deals were meant to benefit both sides, and so far all she’d heard was what she would be doing for him.

“And what exactly do I get out of being a cleric for the god of trickery and lies?” She squinted up at her ceiling, since that seemed to make the most sense.

She heard him laugh, ‘Good girl. I would have cut this connection if you hadn’t caught that. If you agree to be my cleric, then I’ll be able to grant you a fraction of my power and abilities. In your ancient times, clerics would use such gifts to save villages from monsters and raiders.’

Darcy’s pulse skipped. Power? As in magic? (She also made a mental note that MONSTERS WERE APPARENTLY ALSO A THING?!)

She’d been like most other kids and had dreamed of having magic abilities. Flying, smashing through walls, laser beam eyes. All the works that her superheroes in the comics had.

Biting her bottom lip, she asked, “How do I know you’re not trying to trick me? Where I agree to this, and do everything you want, and you turn around and say ‘I never said WHEN I would grant you magic, mwahahha!’ “

He scoffed, ‘The day I do such a ridiculous laugh, I will put my own head under Thor’s hammer. And you need not worry about being deceived on this. Yggdrasil enforces these contracts. Should I attempt to withhold my power, it would sever the connection and render me powerless all together.’

She could hear the respect and slight fear he held for the world tree (she did her Norse research, thank you very much.) She took that as evidence of truth to what he was saying. It also meant she needed to add Yggdrasil to her growing list of research topics.

‘Pranks in his name, conquests in his name, and self defense. I guess he’s not really asking for too much.’

She picked up the amulet and held it over her face by the cord. The emerald had a little glowing ball flickering at its center. 100%, definitely magic.

“One quick question, and then I’ll give you my answer. And no the answer doesn’t determine my decision.”

‘Ask your question.’

“Do you really have red hair?”

He laughed again, ‘That portrait is still around I take it? No mortal girl, I do not have red hair. That is in fact, an image of Thor after my handiwork. The depiction was such a contrast to my brother’s usual appearance, that I couldn’t resist telling the artist it was me. I will show who I am one day, should you choose to serve me.’

She found herself smiling, cause that sounded like a legendary level prank.

Darcy ran her thumb over the snake’s scales, “Alright. I’ll do it. You’ve got yourself a cleric.”

She didn’t hear a response, which she found more concerning than if he’d made a big jovial announcement.

The flickering glow in the emerald became steady, then brighter, and brighter. When it shone as strong as a flashlight Darcy dropped it, and covered her eyes.

The lingering smell of lavender in the air became thicker, and a brisk breeze flowed down her spine.

In the darkness behind her eyelids she could almost see him. Lithe, dressed in emerald green armour with gold and coal black accents. His face was shadowed, save for his pleased smile.

He snapped his fingers, and his image was gone. Sleep fell onto her heavy and sudden, forcing her down into bed and into dreams of a new voyage upon a Viking ship.

#What if Darcy...?#Darcy Lewis #Loki #Marvel #AU #fanfiction #dungeons and dragons #Critical Role #Jester #The Traveller

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slutsofren · 4 years

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Danger Days Chapter 4: The Ghost of You

summary: Somehow Tommy and you managed to convince Joel to stay in Jackson for the night, opting to leave the next morning. Things get just ever so slightly awkward between you and that gruff bastard, but it’s fine, totally fine. You’re really not that flustered already.

warnings: none, maybe a little naked Joel nothing nsfw, maybe a tiny bit of eye-fuckin’ but whose to say, not me!

word count: 3,178

Read on AO3 here

The last twelve or so hours were probably the most eventful of your tenure at Jackson, especially since becoming Maria’s right hand gal. The walls of the small community towered in front of you as the four of you approached. Tommy and yourself taking point in the front while the two strangers to Jackson were quiet behind you, either in awe or unease.

Because the sun was still setting, it was difficult to make out who replied but you think you recognized Marcus’ voice telling the others to open the gate. You looked over your shoulder to talk to Joel and Ellie, “We’ll go to the stables first, drop these boys off then take you to one of the houses. You two can get cleaned up there and we’ll bring you food and supplies.”

“Okay!” Ellie looks excitedly at you and Tommy. Beside her, Joel continues to be wary and alert. He surely trusts his younger brother, but you’re waiting for him to start something with you.

It didn’t take much for the whispering and gossip to start in Jackson. No matter how late in the night there was always a lurker, always somebody looking to stir shit, so when you started seeing more and more of the townsfolk peeping out of windows to look at the two new strangers riding alongside two of their leaders, you sent a silent thank-you to the stars that you didn’t have to linger for the whispering to swirl you.

Just the thought sent a shiver down your spine.

Tommy, who rode in front, began to point out to his brother and the girl various landmarks for the small city. The saloon, the community center, the medical building. Making a not-so-subtle attempt to let his brother know he could stay after you’d all return, live a semi-normal life in Jackson during the apocalypse.

Eventually, you fell behind Joel and Ellie making sure nobody pulled any kind of stunt from the back so you got to watch as the gruff brute shifted on his horse, looking only mildly uncomfortable that he couldn’t keep an eye on you. You wondered how his life was on the outside, how much horror plagued his nights, as it did you and everybody else who had to suffer in similar circumstances. Ellie, on the other hand, looked enthusiastic and much as an ordinary child did, despite the glaring obvious.

Approaching the stable, you pulled yourself out of those lingering thoughts, spotting Cherry and Charlie. Cherry ran up to your small group, excitedly cooing at her babies, grateful for their safe return.

Everybody jumped off their horse, handing the reins to a stablehand nearby and Ellie approached the young woman, “I’m sorry I stole your horse. I won’t do it again.”

Cherry held the horses’ bit in her hand, giving Ellie a stern look which you nearly reprimanded the woman for before she burst into a hearty laughter. “I’d never seen Tommy run so goodman fast in my life,” she howls, “I do forgive you for taking dear Lux but please, don’t do that again.”

Ellie looked down at her feet, giving a bashful promise which elicited another bout of relieved laughter from everyone watching. “Okay, yes, I’m not as young as I used to be, don’t mean I can’t run anymore Cherry,” Tommy smiles. “Anyways, let’s get outta here.”

Once again, your small group fell into silence only to be broken by the occasional point-and-see Tommy was doing as he walked beside you, telling his brother and the girl about Jackson, the little traditions the small community developed such as the movie night that fell on this evening, hoping to entice Ellie into persuading Joel to come back. As he would go on to describe the town and the various jobs everyone pulled, you’d sneak back a look over your shoulder to glance at the man every so often.

Only to catch him staring at you. Damn near every time.

The four of you pulled up to a two story house at the end of a road, just around the corner from the Jackson cemetery. “Why don’t you two take this house for the night,” Tommy said. “It’s got hot water, firewood, pretty much everything you’d need.”

Ellie groans happily coming up beside you as you kneel to the ground and unzip your backpack. “Here,” you dig out some clothes and hand them to Ellie, “Take a shower first. The clothes might be a little big but something’s better than nothin’.”

Tommy nudges his brother, “We’ll bring you some clothes and some warm food. I think Seth has turkey burgers on the menu tonight.”

“Son of a bitch that sounds good,” you say lightly. It was true, Seth’s turkey burgers were one of the best damned things in Jackson. Even if the old man irritated the daylights out of you most days.

“I’ll go get the food, you go get them clothes and supplies. Be back here in 30,” Tommy tells you. You gave your friend a mock salute and turned away, walking to the community center.

You chance a glance back behind you, Tommy engrossed in conversation with his brother, Ellie already running up the porch to that tempting fresh shower. As for Joel, as soon as you looked at him, it was almost as if he instinctively knew when your eyes would gaze over him for as soon as you did, his brown eyes met you.

The moment took you by surprise and you tumble slightly, catching yourself after tripping on your own damned two feet. Calm down, can’t you keep your shit together, you chide yourself.

You tried to keep your mind occupied, tried to keep various small tasks in the forefront of your head; it wasn’t really easy considering a gruff man with a husky voice danced behind those thoughts. You barely stopped to say a quick hello to people as you passed, not wanting to give them an opportunity to ask you questions about Joel and Ellie. You saw the community center and pretty much ran the last few feet, wanting to get in and out as soon as possible.

Although you knew the pair for less than a day, it wasn’t hard to pick out a couple spare shirts and tanks for them, hoping they’d fit. Joel was easy, he looked like a man who knew his flannels whereas Ellie was more akin to graphic tees and long sleeve undershirts.Tossing the clothes into a bag, you made your way to the exit.

You shot a thanks of appreciation to Max, the man who practically ran the center, and headed out, making a quick stop to your flat. You tossed out all the dirty clothing from your pack into the laundry basket that laid haphazardly at the foot of your bed and switched it out for fresher and cleaner clothes, restocked on ammunition for your dual guns as well, lastly packing some soon-to-be expired food to eat on the road. A rapid mental check and you figured you were good to head out and left your dear little flat for the foreseeable future.

Feet thumping against the porch, you pounded at the door, calling out. “Tommy?”

When nobody answered you knocked again, “Joel? Ellie?”

Only for silence to respond.

You check the knob and it gives under your hand and you let yourself in, heading up the stairs to check if anybody was actually here or if Joel skipped town without you. Each room you checked was empty, only pushing your worry to be an accurate assumption when you finally peered into the master bedroom. The door opened with a small creak and you were confronted with the naked and wet image of Joel fuckin’ Miller, clad in nothing but a grey towel around his waist as he sat on the bed.

He looks up at you, watching you watching him. Your breath is stolen away, much like your brain has suddenly malfunctioned. A quick furrow of your brow and you remembered where you were, tossing the bag of clothing at the man and turning to leave, slamming the door shut behind you. Storming down the stairs and aiming for the living room, it wasn’t until you hit the final step that you realized you were holding a breath.

How old am I, you whine. As if I’ve never seen a naked man before.

You plopped down on the sofa groaning, mentally reviewing the sight of Joel sitting on the bed looking frustrated- wet hair and tan skin in all his unfortunate glory. Shaking your head in your hands you sighed, waiting for somebody to come rid you of the ever so obvious embarrassment that loomed over your mind like a cloud when the front door opened to the sounds of Tommy and Ellie talking animatedly about using the rifle to protect Joel some time ago.

Bolting from the seat you took not even a few minutes prior, you met your friend and Ellie, quickly taking the bags from them to do something with your hands rather than ringing your neck out. The two continue talking as they follow you into the kitchen, Ellie going on still on how she’s saved Joel’s life from hunters once upon a time.

Together with Tommy, the two of you set out placemats on the table and served the burgers and fries on plates, letting Ellie finish her story. Thankfully being quiet was usually a quality of yours that served you well as Tommy didn’t pick up anything odd from your demeanor.

As the last plate was set, Joel came down the stairs wearing one of the new flannels you had picked for him. A green number, much like his old one but much less ratty and dirty. You refused to look him in the eye as the food was doled out onto everybody's plates, making sure to give him and Ellie extra fries.

Sitting down at the table with everybody as the four of you dug into the food, Ellie and Joel were quiet as they consumed everything they could which elicited a knowing smile between you and Tommy. It was pretty damned clear they hadn’t eaten anything of substance in quite some time. You were only half done with your own as you got Ellie’s attention, “Hey, kid. Want to finish mine off?”

She looked at you and then to the burger in your hand that you leaned towards her. “You wouldn’t mind?”

“Nah, a growing kid like you needs to eat. Take it. I’ll start cleaning up.”

“Ellie,” Joel’s voice hinted at a scold.

You looked at him, “She can eat it. There’s more if either of you want any.” You pushed your plate to the girl and stood, beginning your usual post-meal routine of cleaning up.

“Now you two better not kill each other out there, you hear me,” Tommy started, “Especially you.” He pointed to his brother. You caught out of the corner of your eye Joel tense up, about to argue back.

“Don’t you try to tell me what to do, baby brother,” he emphasizes the ‘baby’.

Tommy put his hands in the air, “I know how you can be, but I also know how she can be.”

This made you cock an eyebrow at him. “Do tell me Tommy Miller, how can I be?”

He stammered for a moment before shrugging, “Hell if I know anymore, you and Maria are gonna be the death of me.”

“Damn right,” you say. You smile and walk over to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t you ever forget that.”

As you walk away, you faintly hear Tommy lean over the table and say something to his brother like, “Goddamn Californian girls.” Which made you throw a rag at his head. He had it comin’.

The trio finished up while you cleaned the kitchen giving your mind some time to go on autopilot, enjoying the opportunity to stay clear of Joel for a moment. You couldn’t figure out what it was, maybe it was that he was one of the first new strangers to come to Jackson. Maybe it was the fact he was the elusive and mysterious older brother to Tommy. Maybe it was just the fact you were fuckin’ horny. Whatever it was was beginning to get on your last nerve and you needed to focus on the task at hand- getting the duo to the University for whatever reason.

Unfortunately you finished sooner than you’d hoped then trotted to the living room and settled on the couch next to Ellie, watching Tommy get the fire going in the fireplace. She shifted in the seat, eager to ask, “So, you’re from California?”

You nodded your head, “Born and raised in the Bay Area.”

“How old were you when the virus hit,” Ellie asked excitedly. “Joel doesn’t like talking about it but it all seems so surreal.”

You shifted in your seat just a bit, feeling all the eyes on you. “I was a little older than you are now, not by much. I was still very much a kid at the time.”

“So what did you do?”

You’re taken back for a moment at the girl's questions. You could tell she meant no harm but you weren’t sure how much you could reveal about yourself to complete strangers, so you compromised with half-truths. At the very least Tommy knew what kind of person you were and you had shit all to prove to Joel.

“Well, after the breakout, I volunteered as a field medic for FEDRA for a few years. I couldn’t take it for much longer so I left. Then, I found the Fireflies, met Tommy there too,” you nodded towards the man.

“And she found her family there,” Tommy interjected. The double innuendo was clear for the two of you.

“He’s right,” you smiled faintly. “Not only did I meet the man who’d become a brother to me,” you jerked your chin towards Tommy and noticed how Joel was trying to pretend he wasn’t listening to you. You continued, “but I found my own brother there along with my uncle.”

Subtlety wasn’t your strong suit but what harm could it do to show that you knew what the hell you were talking about when it came to the militia group.

You sighed heavily recalling some of the darkest moments of your lift. “When the breakout happened, I lost everybody on that first day. The only person who I couldn’t account for was my brother, Regan. Turns out he was able to escape then he joined the Fireflies when they formed.”

“Woah, that’s incredible,” Ellie’s eyes were wide listening to your story. “Was he friends with Marlene?”

“You could say that. Without him, she would have killed me when I approached her in Boston but he vouched for me. His opinion mattered to her.”

“Why,” she asked.

“Hell if I know, hell if I could even guess. Regan was always persuasive, could get anybody to do anything if he wanted,” you said lowly, staring into the fireplace. Your memory swirled with thoughts and worries again, wondering if he was still the same brother you knew or if this world changed him like it did everybody eventually. Sure as shit changed you.

Before any of you knew it, the conversation began to idle down as if they collectively sensed your unease. Soon, Ellie’s head drooped along with her eyelids, coming to lay in your lap as if it was the most normal thing in the world. The silence didn’t stay long until Joel looked at his brother then to you, gesturing between the two of you, “What was that thing you did with your hand? When we were fighting with the hunters?”

“It’s a system we adopted here in Jackson. A bit inspired by the military, a bit from sign language. We developed it to be able to communicate if we needed total silence and it works pretty well, only those of us in Jackson can understand it,” Tommy says proudly.

“I can teach you and Ellie,” you offer. “I’d be good to know if we run into any trouble out there.” You looked down at Ellie, watching as she slept, running your fingers through her hair. She looked peaceful and part of you didn’t want to move, just so she’d get one good night’s sleep but the other argued she’d sleep better in an actual bed.

“Yeah,” Joel mumbled, “Be nice.”

You looked away from the girl in your lap and looked between the two brothers. “I’ll take this one up to bed, you get some rest too,” you told Joel. “See you in the morning, Tommy.”

Rousing the teenager awake, you walked with her to one of the bedrooms and she fell back asleep rather quickly. Seemed to barely be phased by the new scenery. You kicked off your shoes and went down the hall, claiming the last of the spare bedrooms. By the rise of the next morning, the three of you will be headed out to the one place you didn’t think you’d ever see again.

These are the thoughts that plague you until sleep catches up to you only to toss over and see sunlight peeking through the blinds into the room. You let out a small groan, hoping that you didn’t oversleep although what it really felt like was that you didn’t sleep at all and exited the room only to find your new companions talking with Tommy and Maria in the living room.

Maria spotted you as you descended the stairs and she grabbed your hand, pulling you outside. “You sure about this?”

“More than anything.”

She wants to protest, you know she does. Instead she leaves you on the porch to walk down to Cherry who was keeping two horses occupied.

You went back inside, seeing Ellie double checking her backpack, yours beside hers. You grabbed your toothbrush and some paste, trying to make yourself feel clean with running water one last time for a while only to return to Joel speaking softly to his brother.

“You take care of that wife of yours.”

“There’s a place for you here, you know,” Tommy tries to convince his brother to return.

He hesitates a moment, scratching his beard. His Spanish accent comes through the southern twang as he says, “Adios, hermanito.”

Joel looks at you, following you out of the house before mounting onto his horse, Ellie jumping on behind him. Ellie gives Tommy and Maria a small wave before Joel turns the horse around.

Maria gives you a tight hug before you are able to get on your horse and she whispers, “You better come back or so help me.”

You pull back and give her a parting kiss on her cheek, “Kill Tommy first.” She laughs sadly at the idle threat and you mount up, giving a parting nod to your friends and then to Cherry and pull up next to Joel and Ellie, ready to tackle this next adventure.

#joel miller x reader #joel tlou #pedro pascal #pedro!joel #the last of us #joel (the last of us)#joel miller #joel the last of us #joel tlou x reader insert #joel tlou x reader #joel miller / reader #joel miller x you #pedro pascal fanfiction #asher's writing #danger days fic

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p-artsypants · 4 years

Text

I’ll Handle This (8)

I’ve always wanted to write a sleepover/truth or dare fic, but I never could come up with a plot. This is my wish fulfillment.

Ao3 | FF.net

—

In Which Nino is Sus

“So what does one do at the beginning of a sleepover?” Asked Plagg. “Is it like it is in the movies?”

“Some things are similar,” Alya provided, digging through her duffel. “First, one must change into their pajamas.” She held up an oversized t-shirt and red flannel pants.

“Oh! I get it!” Plagg undid his button.

“What are you doing?” Asked Nino, looking meaningfully to the girls in the room.

“Changing?” And Plagg dropped his pants in one fluid motion.

Alya saw it coming and turned away with a laugh.

But Marinette caught an eyeful (as much as Adrien in boxer briefs could be considered an eyeful) before she too turned away with an ‘eep!’

“I change in front of people all the time,” Plagg explained. “As a model that is. Not my fault you’re all shy. I’ve got underwear on.”

“Well if Sunshine isn’t ashamed, then I’m not going to make a big deal out of it.” Alya stopped shielding her face, though she didn’t look directly at him.

Plagg peeled his shirts off next, eliciting another squeal from Marinette.

“I, for one, will be changing in the bathroom,” said Alya, PJs in hand.

Plagg bent over and ruffled through his bag, derrière within smacking distance to Marinette.

“I-I-I’ll join you,” said Marinette, scrambling to get her PJs.

Alya was already halfway out the door. “Wait your turn, M.”

And Marinette was forced to wait as Adrien stepped those long, beautifully toned legs into a pair of...oh, Ladybug spot patterned pants. Then he slipped on a shirt covering those perfect, sculpted abs.

The shirt was red, and had words sharpied onto it, but it wasn’t until he got it on and smoothed it out that she could read what it said.

“Ladybug’s sexiest fan.”

She laughed. Not a laugh of, ‘oh, that’s funny’ but a laugh of ‘why me God?’

“Your turn, M!” Alya sang, coming into the room. Her eyes landed on Adrien. “Where did you get that shirt?? I need one!”

Plagg puffed out his chest. “Sorry Alya, this is a one of a kind piece! I made it myself!”

“It’s really good for being hand drawn!”

“Thanks!” He beamed.

From his bag, Adrien had to wonder when Plagg had the time to make such a thing.

Marinette excused herself to change, and immediately Alya and Nino whirled on him. “What was that??”

“What was what?”

“That strip tease! What the heck?!”

“Oh that? Well, when you have a bod like mine, you gotta flaunt it on occasion.”

“Sure Dude,” Nino raised a brow. “But like, we just talked last week about how you were having self confidence issues. Why the change?”

Plagg had forgotten about that conversation. Granted, he had tried not to listen to it, since it wasn’t a conversation for him...

“Well, you know how it is when you’re around people you trust.”

“You’ve got the hots for Marinette!” Alya blurted.

Plagg played bashful. “Well...maybe a little...”

She squealed in excitement, clapping her hands together. “Oh em gee! I’ve been waiting for this day for forever! You have to ask her out! She’ll say yes, I promise!”

“Oh, I know about her crush.” Plagg explained, “I just wanted to...encourage her to confess herself.”

Alya and Nino both went wide-eyed. “You knew? Since when?”

“And you didn’t tell me?” Nino asked, slightly hurt. “I thought I was your wingman.”

“It’s a recent thing.” At least for Adrien it was. “I haven’t really had to think things through. I’m just...having fun and flirting.” He quirked a smile. “I am flirting, right? I’m not coming off like a creep, right?”

“Oh no no,” Alya insisted. “You’re a natural! How did you find out?”

Plagg twirled a lock of hair close to his scalp. “I have my ways.”

Nino narrowed his eyes, the action going unnoticed by Plagg.

Marinette returned, wearing pink shorts and an oversized sweatshirt.

From Adrien’s point of view, she looked adorable, and he wished he could just pull her into a hug and snuggle up with her...maybe press a kiss to her temple.

“There you are, Princess. We missed you!” Plagg chirped.

Marinette blushed. “I was gone for like a minute.”

“Oh but it felt so much longer! Nino and Alya were making out the whole time! It was torture!”

“We did not!” Alya barked. “Don’t you lie to my girl!”

“Don’t listen to her,” Plagg insisted. “She was sucking the soul out of him.”

Alya gasped in mock horror. “You keep your vulgar rebellion away from my innocent baby!”

Plagg wrapped his arms around Marinette, pulling her towards him. “On the contrary, I think I’ll pull Marinette with me into the depths of my depravity!”

“Nooo!” Alya cried. “What horrors do you plan to subject her to?”

“Well, I know I can’t convince her to dress like me.”

“Over my dead body,” Marinette agreed, her face red hot.

“But perhaps she will sneak out of her house like me?” He leaned in closer to her ear and purred. “We can stay out all night doing who knows what?”

Marinette gave a full body shiver, wriggling away from him. “Uh, you don’t—I’m not very good at—surely they’ll notice—“

Plagg smiled to himself. God it was so funny seeing her so flustered.

“Alright,” said Alya, pulling him away. “Give her a break before she combusts.”

Nino watched with narrowed eyes, but they softened before Plagg could notice.

“So? What’s next on the agenda?” Asked Plagg, still in great spirits.

“Since this is a first sleepover for Adrien,” began Alya, with bravado, “I have an assemblage of traditional sleepover games. Including,” she slammed down a box. “Truth or dare.”

Nino and Marinette both moaned.

Plagg sat a little straighter at the reaction. “Oh, a game that causes suffering. Do tell!”

“You’ve never heard of truth or dare?” Asked Nino.

Plagg shook his head. “Never been to a sleepover, remember?”

“Yeah, but you’ve at least had to hear about it in movies or books, right?”

Plagg shrugged. “Maybe I just don’t remember. What are the rules?”

“Simple,” explained Alya. “On your turn, you get to pick between truth or dare. Dare is an action you must do, and truth is a confession you have to make. Once you do it, you get to come up with the next person’s truth or dare.”

“Oh yes, this sounds familiar now. What is the box for?”

“Suggestions.” She opened the lid to reveal two sets of cards. “I’m sure we can all come up with two or three really good truths or dares, but these are in case we run out.”

“Passes?” Asked Marinette.

“Everyone gets one pass.”

Plagg had to keep that in mind. While this game could be really fun and he could lie his way through most of it, he had the potential of ruining his master plan.

But these kids wouldn’t try to oust Adrien’s brand new crush on the same night they learned about it.

Right?

Alya set a bottle sideways on the floor.

“What’s that?” Plagg asked.

“Since we can’t play ‘Spin the Bottle’, we’ll use it as a player picker.”

“What’s ‘Spin the Bottle’?”

“A kissing game.” Marinette provided. “You spin the bottle, and whoever it lands on, you kiss.”

“Sounds spicy, but not a good game for just the four of us if you two are dating...” Plagg gestured between Alya and Nino.

“Now you get it!”

“So who goes first?”

“I’ll go, because I suggested the game.” Alya sang, spinning the bottle.

Plagg glanced at Marinette, who had her fingers crossed. Obviously hoping that she wouldn’t face Alya’s wrath.

The bottle slowed to a stop pointing at Nino.

“Narts…”

“Alright babe, Truth…or Dare?”

“Dare I guess.”

“Perfect! I dare you to shave your legs.”

“What!” Nino cried.

Plagg barked out a laugh. “Oh she got you good!”

“I’m not going to shave my legs!”

“You have to, it’s a dare.” Alya protested.

“Fine, I’ll do it later.”

“Nope. Right now, Mister. Hop to it!”

Nino groaned in defeat before rising to his feet. “Fine, I’m going.”

“Do you need help?”

“I know how to shave!” And Nino stormed off to the bathroom.

“That was a pretty extreme dare for our first round.” Said Marinette. “How are we going to beat it?”

“Oh the hair will grow back, and he never wears shorts. I could have dared him to shave his head. I’m sure there will be more amazing opportunities!” Alya sang.

“So, are we waiting for him before we keep going?” Asked Plagg.

“Might as well, don’t want him to feel left out.”

“So these dares...how extreme is extreme?” Plagg asked, curling his legs up underneath him.

Alya and Marinette shared a look, entertained on Alya’s end, and fear on Marinette’s.

“Well, we all have one pass...” mused Alya.

“Nothing physically detrimental or permanent!” Marinette objected. “Like a tattoo or piercing or something!”

“Pft, that leaves a whole lot of open space.”

“And nothing traumatic or emotionally detrimental.”

Plagg flapped his lips like a horse. “Now you’re being a party pooper.”

“Oh!” Said Alya with a snap. “Lila said you guys had a photoshoot yesterday, but she didn’t tell me anything else. She usually tells me all about it! What happened?”

Plagg chuckled. “Oh nothing in particular. I was just telling her about Magic.”

Alya groaned. “Oh don’t even get started on it. Ever since Nath introduced it to you guys, Nino won’t shut up about it! It’s ‘Blue Black’ this, and ‘tarmogoyf’ that. I’m glad you guys are all bonding, I am, I’m just so lost!”

“So you talked to Lila about that card game?” Marinette probed.

“Yeah, basically the whole time.” He sent her a wink on the sly. “I can’t imagine that would have given her a bad experience. I thought she was my friend...” he played sad.

Thankfully, Alya bought it. “Aww, Sunshine, maybe something else happened when you weren’t there. Don’t take it too harshly.”

“NINO MICHELE LAHIFFE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY RAZOR!?”

“IT'S FOR A DARE MOM! I’LL CLEAN UP AFTERWARDS!”

“THERE IS BLOOD ALL OVER THE TUB! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”

“I’M SHAVING MY LEGS! I HAVE HAIRY ANKLES!”

“GIVE ME THAT! I’LL SHOW YOU HOW TO DO IT!”

“MOOOOM I KNOW HOW TO SHAVE!!”

The three teens in the room sprawled on the floor, gasping for air and desperate not to laugh too loud.

Alya had tears in her eyes. “Oh my god he’s going to kill me.”

“We’ll plan a beautiful funeral for you.” Marinette teased.

Eventually, Nino rejoined the group, hiking his pants up so his legs were visible. “Ba-BAM!”

Alya dragged a hand up his calf. “Damn babe, you clean up nice!”

“Don’t get used to it.”

“Now you know my struggle.” She sassed back.

“Al, I never gave you a hard time about unshaved legs. If you can put up with mine, I can certainly put up with yours.”

Plagg turned to Marinette. “It’s certainly fascinating what couples will argue about, Hmm?”

“Uh, y-yeah. It’s funny...”

“Alright Nino, your turn to spin the bottle.” Alya gestured.

Nino cracked his knuckles. “Don’t mind if I do!” And he gave it a whirl.

It landed on Marinette.

“Truth or Dare?”

“Umm...truth?”

Nino smiled fiendishly, a smile that was uncharacteristic for him. “Okay. What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve done to get your crush to notice you?”

Marinette gasped in horror. “NINO!”

“You could pass.”

“And then for the rest of the game I live in terror that I’m going to get something worse? No.”

Plagg leaned in closer, head in his hands, trying and failing not to look extremely curious. “Soo?”

“So what?”

“What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve done to get your crush to notice you?”

Her face colored brightly, all the way up to the tips of her ears.

“We’re all friends here, M.” Assured Alya. “And you don’t have to say who it is.”

Finally, Marinette exhaled slowly and admitted, “there’s been a lot. And I’m not sure if I can pick just one above the others...but the least incriminating would be the voicemail.”

Alya chuckled. “Ah, the voicemail.”

Marinette covered her eyes with both hands, but continued. “It was normal at first. I rambled a little bit through it, stammered it out…just asked him if he wanted to go to the movies, and then…instead of hanging up like a normal, sane person. I threw my phone, while it was still recording. I then proceeded to say a bunch of stuff to Alya, like ‘I couldn’t have just said ‘blah blah blah’ and the phone recorded the whole thing.”

“And he didn’t say anything about it?” Asked Nino.

“It gets better,” Alya smirked.

“No…because he never heard it…I stole his phone and deleted it.”

“YOU STOLE HIS PHONE?!” Plagg shouted. He was 1) Shocked that such an occurrence happened around him. He was pretty diligent around Adrien’s belongings. God knows the amount of times Lila had tried to rifle through his bag. And 2) Shocked and delighted that Marinette had the guts to do something so radical. “That’s amazing, Marinette!”

“It’s not amazing!” Marinette lamented. “I’m a phone thief!”

“She stole mine too,” smiled Alya. “She’s a scoundrel.”

“I am! I am a scoundrel!”

“So what did the voicemail say?” Asked Plagg, much too invested in this story.

Marinette blushed even brighter, pulling her shoulders up to her ears. “You can’t ask that! You have to wait your turn!”

“Oh clever. I see. Well then, I’ll hold on to that for now.” He chuckled. “It’s your turn to spin the bottle.”

Marinette relaxed slightly, thrilled that she had made it through the question with minor embarrassment (and her secret crush unaware, as far as she knew.) She spun the bottle with gusto.

It landed on Plagg.

“Oh boy.” Plagg winced.

“Ha! Truth or dare?”

“Hmm…I’ll do a dare.”

“I dare you to call Principle Damocles, pretending to be your father.”

“Oh my god yes!” Cheered Alya. “Anyone have his number?”

“I do, for student council purposes. Best not use my phone then.”

Plagg took out Adrien’s phone, unlocking it, and handed it over to Marinette.

She dialed the number. “All you have to do is start the call.”

“What should I say?”

“Don’t get anyone in trouble.” Marinette warned.

“Oh, and don’t give him a reason to call back and follow up.”

“Okay…I got an idea.” He hit the call button.

After a few heart pounding seconds, he answered. “Hello, Principle Damocles here!”

“Yes, quite, this is Gabriel Agreste.” Plagg said, in his perfectly flawless impersonation.

The other three in the room had to hold their breath to avoid laughing out loud.

“Ah, Mr. Agreste! To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I assure you, monsieur, this conversation will not be a pleasure. Do you think you’re a good administrator?”

“I uh…”

“No stammering, I hate stammering!”

“Yes! I think I’m very accomplished!”

“My son came home with a cold today.” Plagg narrowed his eyes, putting anger in his voice.

“Oh well…I’m very sorry to hear that, sir. But after all, this is a school with many children, they’re bound to pass colds along.”

“How is your sanitation? Do you regularly clean tables and desks?”

“I-well, not usually the desks. The floors, yes, and the bathrooms…”

“And the air system? Do you keep good air flow?”

“The courtyard is open air, so yes, there should be—“

“Is your heater running?”

“It should be! It’s March after all!”

“Well then, you better go catch it.” And he hung up.

As soon as he pulled the phone away, all three of his friends were on the floor, crying with laughter.

“OH MY GOD! THAT WAS THE BEST!”

“Flawless setup, flawless execution.” Alya giggled.

Marinette rubbed the tears from her cheeks. “Man, your impersonation of your dad is spot on.”

“I have a lot of practice.” Plagg shrugged. Plagg’s impression in his own body was pretty good, but combined with Adrien’s vocal chords, it was just too good. Almost too much power.

The game continued onward. With the dares becoming even more crazy. Nino ingested a random concoction of sauces Alya had brewed in the kitchen, while Alya displayed her acting prowess in pretending to be a baby being born. The truths were pretty good, as Nino had confessed to having a secret Gumby fetish, and Marinette had to admit that she had accidentally peed her pants at a water park last summer.

Then Alya spun the bottle, only for it to land on Plagg.

“Dare.”

Alya grinned manically, and Marinette felt a chill creep down her spine. Alya had a tendency to go too far, and this would be one of those times where she tried to help Marinette out.

“Adrien Agreste…I dare you…to kiss…Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Plagg had seen it coming a mile away. It was so predictable. And yet he had been considering what to do. He still had a pass. Kissing humans, while he was human or not, was not up there on his list of things he enjoyed.

Oh, what the hell. It wasn’t his body!

Marinette’s mouth dropped open in shock. “You can’t make him do that! Adrien, you can pass! I won’t be offend—“

Then she was laying on her back, with Adrien’s wonderful, perfect frame pressing her against the floor. His lips were on hers, full, and absent of any hesitation.

Someone wolf-whistled.

Before she could even think of how to respond, he clamored off of her, and sat up. “That good enough for you?”

“Damn, I wish you had warned me so I could have got a picture!”

“No way! What happens at Nino’s stays at Nino’s!”

“You good down there, girl?”

Marinette let out a string of consonants.

“You broke her,” Nino mused.

“Worth it.” He slyly gazed back to his overnight bag, where Adrien was hiding for the evening. Only his eyes, glowing green slits, full of anger were visible.

Plagg just smirked, and then winked.

—

Marinette and Alya left at 9. Marinette because she had to ‘wake up early’ and Alya because she wanted to ‘get homework done’. Plagg saw it for what it really was. They were going to gossip about his little stunt for a while.

“Wanna play UMS?” Nino asked, once the girls had left.

“You know it!”

Nino gestured him forward, letting him lead the way to Nino’s bedroom.

But upon entering the bedroom, Plagg heard the door close, heard a bang, felt an extreme pain in his head, and then blacked out.

—

When he awoke, the room was dark.

He was sitting in a chair, Nino’s computer chair, with his hands and feet bound with duct tape.

The pain in his head swelled again, as a bright light was flashed in his face.

“Uh, what the hell?” He grouched.

“Are you okay dude?” Nino asked, with sympathy.

“Besides the concussion? Just peachy.”

Nino sighed in relief. “Oh good.” Then his voice took on an edge he had never heard before. “Now, who are you, and what have you done with the real Adrien?”

Plagg blinked once, twice. “Pardon?”

“You heard me. Where is my best friend?”

“I...don’t know what you mean? I’m just me, Nino?”

“Oh no no no,” anger creeped into his voice. “You may have everyone fooled, but I know better! Marinette thinks you’re having a crisis, Alya says the fame and fortune have gone to your head, but I know Adrien! And I know that you aren’t him!”

Still slightly shocked, Plagg had to ask, “what makes you say that?”

“Evidence A: you’ve been wearing sunglasses to hide your weird cat-pupils. And I know they aren’t colored contacts, because Adrien lamented to me that he couldn’t wear colored contacts with his astigmatism!”

Plagg blinked again. “Shit dude, got me there.”

“Evidence B: at dinner, Marinette offered an array of macrons, and instead of your hard and true first choice of passion fruit, you went with pumpkin spice! You never went for the passion fruit!”

“I just...wanted to be adventurous?”

“Evidence C: the kiss.”

“Of course.”

“Even if Adrien was head over heels madly in love with Marinette, he is far too meek to kiss her like you did tonight.”

“Facts.”

“So, I’ll ask you one more time. Who are you, and where’s the real Adrien?”

Plagg considered this for a moment, but only a moment before answering. “Yeah, you got me. I’m not Adrien.”

Nino pumped his fist in victory. “I knew it! I told the girls but they didn’t believe me!”

“Adrien’s in my overnight bag.”

Before Nino could check himself, Adrien came spiraling out to reprimand him. “Plagg! You can’t just give away our situation like that! What happened to secrecy? Secret identities?!”

Plagg shrugged. “He obviously had me figured out. Mortals are particularly stubborn when they know a truth.”

Adrien didn’t argue anymore as he was scooped out of the air and crushed to Nino’s chest. “Dude! I’ve been so worried!”

“I’m okay. A little traumatized, but okay.” Adrien squeaked out.

Nino held him in his hands. “What happened? Why are you—hey, you’re a Kwami!”

“The Black Cat Kwami,” Plagg clarified.

“So that means...you’re Chat Noir!”

“Yep. And now you’re the only other human that knows.”

“I figured Carapace could keep the secret.” Plagg hummed. “Wayzz certainly trusts him enough.”

“But Hawkmoth knows who Carapace is...or was...”

“And he hasn’t bothered me since,” Nino offered. “I don’t think he cares?”

“See? Everything is copacetic. Now unbind me mortal, or face the consequences.”

“What consequences?” Asked Adrien with a laugh. “You’re in my body. You can’t do anything!”

“I can still cast my lip chapping spell.”

There was a brief knock at the door before Mrs. Lahiffe entered. It was enough time for Nino to hide Adrien in his hands.

“Alright boys, dad has to wake up early tomorrow, so make sure to keep it down!”

“MOOOOM! I’m in the middle of an interrogation!”

“Well, interrogate quietly, honey.” And she closed the door.

“Okay, one of you, explain what the heck is going on?”

Adrien held his tail. “It’s my fault. I pissed Plagg off and he punished me.”

“Sounds an awful lot like his fault, dude.”

Plagg scoffed. “Fine, I’ll take responsibility for this amazing master plan! Adrien was complaining about his unrequited love life, his poor relationship with his father, and Lila’s constant sexual harassment. So I told him that could fix it all if he agreed to it.”

“And the solution was to...swap bodies?”

“I didn’t know!” Adrien defended. “I thought...well I don’t know what I thought. He just said he would fix it. I guess I didn’t imagine it would be this...”

“In my defense...” started Plagg, “it is really fun to mess with Adrien.”

Nino mostly ignored him. “So what has to happen to get you to switch back?”

“Well, we have to get Marinette to confess to me, making our crushes mutual.”

“Ah, I see.” Nino said sagely. “That makes sense. What else?”

“I have to get Lila to leave me alone. Like, permanently.”

“I guess I didn’t realize she was that much of a problem. I know you mentioned that she was harassing you...”

“That’s not even the half of it. Marinette told me, Chat Noir me, that Lila has been actively threatening her.”

Nino frowned. “Threatening her with what?”

“Taking all of her friends and me away from her. I got Lila to lay off by allowing her to model with me, but since Plagg and I swapped bodies, she’s threatened to go back on our deal. If Plagg can get her to drop the whole thing, that would be ideal. But to fulfill the contract, he has to get her to leave me alone.”

“And she’s been falling for it, hook, line, and sinker.” Said Plagg, with pride.

“What did you do?”

“I just explained Magic: The Gathering to her.”

“...and? I mean, I know it’s a game that’s pretty hard to visualize in your head.”

“I explained it badly, and gave her no chance to talk. For about four hours.”

“Oh! So you’re annoying her?”

“He’s annoying everyone.” Adrien clarified.

“That’s how I got to school today. Gabriel put the house on lockdown and I serenaded him until he let me out.”

“You were serious about that?” Nino chuckled.

“Naturally!”

“Wait, so the last thing is your dad?”

“Yeah, Plagg has to fix our relationship.”

“WOOF! That’s a tall order! Well, I better get used to having a Kwami as a best friend.”

“Oh come on, Nino!” Plagg groaned, “have some faith in me, dude.”

“Dude, I have all the faith in you. But I also know Adrien’s tyrant of a father. Unless you do brain surgery, you aren’t changing his mind.”

Plagg seemed to consider this. “Hmm, brain surgery...”

“No, NO!” Adrien reprimanded.

“I’m just kidding. I know it’s going to be tough, but I know a thing or two about manipulation and lust for control. Gabriel is cracking. It’s more and more evident every time I push him. And once he cracks, he’ll listen.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Asked Nino.

“Yes, but not right now. I have a great use for you soon, Nino Lahiffe.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Adrien reprimanded. “It’s freaky.”

“Oooo someone’s still bitter about not getting to kiss his crush~!”

“I’M NOT BITTER!” Adrien yowled.

“Bitter like an old grapefruit! I got to kiss pigtails and you’re grumpy!”

“SHUT UP!”

“Are you guys always like this?” Nino asked.

“Sometimes, when Plagg is being annoying.”

“Which is often. I am a creature of mischief and chaos.”

“Which explains a lot…” Nino murmured.

“Hey, are you going to teach me to play UMS or not?!”

#miraculous #ml #miraculous ladybug #plagg #adrien #adrien agreste #adrienette #marinette dupain cheng #body swap #fanfiction #I'll handle this

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lombredanslaeu · 4 years

Text

someone that loves you | lee taeyong

▸ taeyong x antagonist! reader

▸ summary: everyone always gushes about the protagonist - the goody two shoes, i-deserve-all-the-happiness girl. you never had a problem with people getting their happy endings, anyway. but lee taeyong won’t be the rescuing you in a shiny, white horse; you are also not his damsel-in-distress. you are the protagonist in their love story.; word count 4,352

▸ angst, fluff.

this isn’t proofread so i apologize for any mistakes! enjoy <3

You’ve known Lee Taeyong all your life; from being lunchbox friends in elementary school to being party buddies in college. You weren’t the best of friends but you did share the same closest circle of friends in college. You both watched each other grow up, but you weren’t the type of friends to gush about their love life with. In fact, the two of you could only hold a proper conversation if it’s in one of Jaehyun’s parties. Nevertheless, you always found him attractive. He was the hot, cool junior who is currently majoring in music. He has girls trailing behind him; one of those heartthrob male protagonist in a movie or a book. You had the advantage of being in his inner circle - which means you are one step further than the girls chasing after him. You aren’t so bad yourself - you’re quite popular, your hair was always in check, you liked girly clothing. Everyone in your department kisses your ass, if you’re being honest, and you could have anyone wrapped around your finger. Everyone except Taeyong.

“What lipstick should I wear for today?” Your friend, Yeri, asked you while holding two lipstick tubes near her lips.

“This one looks great with the university atmosphere,” you replied, poiting to the one on her left. “The other one would look great on parties and dates.”

“Ugh, you are so great at choosing lip colors.” She complimented. “Speaking of parties, you’re still up for Friday night at Jaehyun’s?”

“Of course!” You exclaimed. “He always hosts the greatest parties.”

“Right?” Joy spoke in agreement. “Besides, that might be the night you finally get it with Taeyong.”

“Oh please,” Yeri interjected. “You know Y/N doesn’t hook up on the first night.”

“I’m the complete opposite of what those bitches at the online forum say about me!” You added.

“You don’t have to listen to those forums, Y/N,” Joy said. You sighed and got back to eating your lunch. Joy and Yeri are two of your closest friends. You met during the first day of your freshman year. You only knew Taeyong as you both came from the same high school, but he looked like he already had friends; that led you to no choice but to talk with the girl beside you during chemistry. It wasn’t long until you started to hang out with Taeyong’s circle of friends. The night of Jaehyun’s party came. It was the same, old thing with Lucas being extra loud than his normal self, and it was either Johnny or Xiaojun in charge of the music. Except today, two unfamiliar faces came through the door.

“Who are they?” You asked Mark beside you.

“That’s Daeun and Euna.” Mark responded. “Apparently, Taeyong and Kun invited them since they’re new in campus.”

You felt a surge of jealousy rage over you. You know you don’t have any reason to feel that at all. It’s not like Taeyong would suddenly want to date you after all the gifts and letters you gave him on his birthday for the past years.

“Do I sense some kind of tension here?” Mark commented. He must have felt the shift in your body at the mention of Taeyong’s name.

“No?” You defended. “Why would I feel some tension?”

You got back to sipping your drink and watch as one of the girls converse with Taeyong and Yuta. She looks nice. She looks innocent and cute. You weren’t one to judge other girls at all. Even if you hated all your competitors, you never resorted to sending bashful comments to them. You walked away from the scene to find Doyoung and get him to get you drunk.

Your professor called in sick for the day, leaving you with no more lectures for the rest of the week. You silently thanked your department for having its finals week earlier than the other departments. You were scrolling through your social media apps to kill time and decided to watch a view stories on instagram. The first story was from Taeyong; it showed a picture of Daeun seated across from him in the library. You were used to seeing Taeyong hang out with other girls before. You would have let it slide like the other girls, except that you notice Taeyong has been hanging out with Daeun more ever since Jaehyun’s party. You skipped over to the next story to distract yourself. As you got invested on your phone, you felt a tap on your shoulder. You looked up to see distressed Taeyong.

“Hey Y/N, are you busy?” He asked.

“Not at all.” You responded, setting down your phone on the table.

“Listen, I am terribly failing Professor Kang’s class,” He started. “He told me you’re his greatest student. So, can you coach me? We have a class debate and I need to win.”

“Okay, remember,” You said to Taeyong. You were explaining to him strategies on how to win a debate. “Analyze every argument your opponent has to say. Don’t miss out on anything.”

Taeyong wrote down on his notebook all the tips you’re giving him. Today was the fourth day you’re coaching him. You got to spend time with Taeyong even if all you did was stay in the library for two hours. During your breaks, you talked about your favorites - movies, songs, food, etc.

“If you win this debate,” You said to him. “I’ll treat you to a HONNE show on the 16th.”

“Woah, Y/N, that’s a deal,” He replied with amusement evident on his face. “I’m gonna destroy that Mingyu.”

You rushed through the hall to catch Taeyong’s debate on time. It was open for anyone to watch. You ditched the remaining hour of your psychology lecture to greet him with a huge bouquet of flowers and your promised ticket to HONNE if he wins. You saw the swarm of people exit the function hall, which means the debate was done. You wiggled yourself through the crowd in search for the boy. You spotted him near the exit with Jungwoo, Yuta, and Daeun.

“Taeyong!” You exclaimed, catching his attention. He walked towards you, smiling at the things on your hands. You noticed that your bouquet of flowers outshine the ones that Daeun gave to him. You mentally smiled at yourself for that.

“I won, Y/N! I won!” He exclaimed before slinging an arm over your shoulders for a brief hug. It may seem like a short, friendly hug to anyone but for you, it was like your skin suddenly felt what it was like to be appreciated.

“You have me as your coach, of course you would win,” You replied. “I’m sure you did amazing. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to catch it. As promised, see you at HONNE.”

He received the bouquet and ticket from your hands and gave you a smile that could light up the darkest parts of you.

“Oh Y/N, I forgot that Daeun and I had plans to catch this movie on the 16th.” Taeyong said. You felt your blood boil slightly. “It’s shows for the last time on the 16th. You can give the ticket to Johnny. He also likes HONNE.”

Taeyong’s rain check bothered you for the entire week. You really wanted to see HONNE with him; you even rejected Joy so that Taeyong could have the extra ticket.

“I thought it was Taeyong you’re supposed to go with?” Johnny said. You asked him to go with you for the concert.

“Yeah but, he has plans with that Daeun girl.” You said, rolling your eyes. Johnny chuckled at your response.

“Wow! The campus’ crush got rejected by Lee Taeyong?” He said with great amusement. “This is breaking news!”

You couldn’t believe it either. Any other guy would be begging to be the one you have a concert date with; the fact that Taeyong rain checked on you bothered you to the core.

“Hey, cheer up, Y/N.” Johnny said, his tone becoming concerned.

You sighed and force a small smile. “It’s fine, John.”

“Hey,” He spoke, facing you. “Do you really want Taeyong to be free on the 16th?”

His menacing eyes made you skeptical about whatever plan he has in mind. Johnny was always the deceitful one. He gets away with everything and anyone. For the past year of being friends with him, you’re guaranteed that Johnny’s plans never fail. The next thing you know, you’re sneaking into the university’s clinic. Your university clinic arranges a mandatory annual check up that each student must attend to. You only get one appointment every year and if you fail to do so, you’re not allowed to enter any contests/competitions for the rest of the year. Daeun was part of the archery team and they have a competition coming next month. As part of the debate varsity, you know that every team member takes the check up seriously; so does Daeun.

“Y/N, hurry up, the nurses’ lunch ends in 15.” Haechan whispered. He volunteered to be your look out. He was Johnny’s partner in crime so, you know that he’ll help you execute this perfectly. You found the schedules for the check ups for this and wrote Daeun’s name on the 16th.

You were walking back from a long meeting with your college organization. It was nearing midnight since you and your team needed to stay back and fix some stuff. The walk from your school to your dorm wasn’t very far and although it was really late, the street was illuminated with street lights. As you approached a bus stop near the exit of your school, you noticed a familiar figure.

“Taeyong?” You asked the person, who seems to be clutching his side because of pain. He lifted his face to you, causing you to see the few scratches and cuts lined with blood. “What the fuck happened to you?”

“It’s nothing, just came across some bad blood.” He replied, wincing as the cut on the corner of lips hindered him from speaking comfortably.

“This isn’t nothing, Taeyong.” You said with utmost concern. “Come with me to my dorm. I’ll help you clean that up before you catch a bus.”

You walked with him to your dorm. You couldn’t let Taeyong go inside a filthy bus with his exposed wounds. He sat down on your couch as you get the first-aid kit that the landlord placed in every unit.

“Care to tell me what really happened?” You inquired. You dabbed a piece of cotton on the cuts near his lips. Taeyong was always beautiful but he was too ethereal to be scarred with such wounds.

“I got into a fight with Daeun’s ex.” He sighed. “I overheard them arguing during lunch earlier. He threatened to hurt her if she doesn’t get back together with him so, I wait for him to finish his community service and went for it.”

Your heart winced at the fact that Taeyong got hurt for Daeun. It wasn’t the right time to compare but whenever people would comment hurtful prejudice to you, it was always the others guys who would come to your defense. Taeyong only knew Daeun for a short amount of time but he’s starting to act like her knight in shining armor. You couldn’t deny that Daeun was a sweet girl; she helped you with a physics problem once and told you that you could always ask for help. Your pride got the most of you and ignore her. Taeyong probably likes the sweet ones and you were too bitter for your own good.

“Thank you for your help, Y/N.” Taeyong said as you announced that you were done cleaning up his wounds.

“No problem.” You replied. “Just promise me you’ll get your ribs checked tomorrow.”

He smiled at you; and for the first time in quite some time, you felt like the good girl in this story.

Today was the day of the HONNE concert. You didn’t expect Taeyong to approach you since he knew Johnny will be the one you’re going with, but here he is - standing in front of you.

“Listen, I just found out that Johnny had a stomach flu and wouldn’t be able to go to the concert.” He said. You didn’t know Johnny had the stomach flu so this surprised you. “I didn’t want you to come alone so, I was hoping that his spot hasn’t been taking yet.”

You tilted your head to the side. “Don’t you have a movie to catch with Daeun?”

“Yeah but she was scheduled to have the annual check up today.” He replied.

“Great, see you at the concert.” You said, smiling at him before walking away.

“That was so fun!” Taeyong exclaimed as you both exit the concert venue. You decided to grab a drink in a bar nearby.

“Right?” You agreed, reciprocating the wide smile he has on his face. “’Location Unknown’ definitely moved me to the core.”

You settled in a booth in the bar. This bar was a great spot for concert-goers so you weren’t expecting to stay for a long time.

“Can I tell you something?” He said, playing with the bottle in his hands. You lifted your eyebrow to signal that you were willing to listen. “Daeun just said she loves me.”

You swallowed the lump forming in your throat. “And what did you say?”

“Well, she didn’t say it to my face. Taeil overheard her and Euna talking.” He replied.

“Do you love her back?” You asked. You hoped to the stars that he’ll say no.

“I don’t know.” You relaxed at his response. “But, I do like her.”

You felt like you lost your chance. Is Daeun prettier? Is she really kinder than you? Are you unlovable?

“Wait,” You held your palms up. “Why are you telling me this? We’re not that close.”

He shrugged at you. “I don’t know. After our debate tutoring, I realized that you’re actually cool to hang with. Besides, you’re not friends with Daeun or Euna, so I bet you won’t tell them what I have to say.”

“Are all of your friends close with them?” You asked.

“Yeah, almost everyone.” He replied.

Oh, so everyone likes them? You couldn’t deny that you may seem bitchy to other people. Yuta and Jaemin seems like they never liked you since the beginning, despite not doing anything to them. The fact that they like Daeun and Euna doesn’t sit right with you.

As the weeks go by, you witness first-hand how Taeyong and Daeun got closer. She was always present on Jaehyun’s parties and it seems like Daeun’s instagram stories are just becoming endless candid photos of Taeyong. You scrolled past her instgaram stories. Christmas time is coming up. You usually never give presents to everyone but this time, you were determined to be selfless. You carefully wrapped everyone’s presents. Butterflies flew in your stomach as you wrapped Yuta’s present. You knew he was never fond of your presence. He once called you “Regina George” because according to him, you fit that category. You never understood why he would label you as such. All you did was beat him during debate and spoke nothing but the truth about his shortcomings as a speaker. Jaemin, on the other hand, used to be your vice president in the debate varsity. You two got along together before; that was until someone showed you a screenshot of a tweet on his private twitter account saying that you were a bad president.

“I can’t believe you are this low.” You said to Jaemin.

“Well, you should believe that you are a bad president because you never listen to anyone but yourself!” His tone was more hostile. You were trying your best to stay calm but the comment he just gave blew whatever cool you had in you.

“Okay, you can keep talking but just now,” Your voice lowered as you say the last phrase. “I’m never gonna listen to whatever bullshit you have to stay.”

You remembered having half of the debate varsity turn their backs against you. But, it was the same old thing. You were always the villain in everything. You wanted to make amends with Yuta and Jaemin and gave them their presents.

Yuta scoffed at the gesture. “Oh please, trying to play nice since the comments about you on the online forum are starting to get into your head?”

“I’m just trying to be nice.” You said. “I know things aren’t cool between us, so I’m here to make amends.”

“Stop trying to be nice.” Jaemin spoke. “Stop proving that you’re not the bad guy when you know to yourself that you are.”

He got up and threw the present in the nearest garbage bin. You held back the tears that were threatening to form in your eyes. You’re Y/N. You never cry in front of people. You sighed in defeat and left the lecture hall.

“That wasn’t very nice, you guys.” Taeyong scolded the younger boys. He was the only one inside the hall aside from you, Yuta, and Jaemin. He excused himself from the two as he followed you into the hallway. He saw your sniffling figure near a storage room. He placed a hand on your shoulder which caused you to frantically wipe your tears.

“It’s okay, Yong.” You said.

“I’m sorry for what they said.” He started.

“You don’t have to apologize for their actions.” You replied, sighing. “Besides, apologizing for them won’t fix anything between us.”

“You’re a good person, Y/N.” He said, staring into your eyes. “I’m sorry it took me a while to realize that.”

Your heart was booming against your chest. He leaned forward and you felt his lips brush against yours. The next thing you know, your lips are moving in sync with his. You felt the universe sparkle with magic at the feeling. The boy of your dreams is kissing you. For the first time in your life, something felt ethereal. Your internal rejoice was cut short as you see the figure of Daeun from Taeyong’s shoulders. You were about to pull away but she already ran.

“You shouldn’t have done that, Taeyong.” You said, breathing heavily at the guilt.

“Why? Johnny told me you liked me?” He said. Your eyes widened at the statement.

“Yeah, Taeyong.” You replied. “I’m in love with you. For all the years we’ve spent together, I thought one day, you would like me too. But Daeun loves you, and I know you like her. You shouldn’t have kissed me just because you knew I’m in love with you. That’s not fair.”

Taeyong furrowed his eyebrows. “Did she see us?” His voice was low but you could hear it.

“Yes.” You replied. “I’m sorry. I want you for myself that’s why I didn’t pull away immediately.”

“What if I said I want you too?”

“I am the bad guy.” You spoke as you stared in the nothing. Yeri and Joy decided to take you out after what happened. “I knew Daeun loves Taeyong and yet, I let him kiss me.” ”It’s not your fault Taeyong found you kissable that time, Y/N.” Yeri replied.

You rolled your eyes at her response and before you could say anything, Joy interjected. “It’s true, Y/N. You know in yourself that you wouldn’t kiss Taeyong since he said he likes Daeun.”

You groaned as you put your head in your hands. Your phone lights up and you saw that you got a new text.

Lee Taeyong [10:57 pm]: can we talk tomorrow? pls…

You [10:59 pm]: ok.

You waited for Taeyong on the bleachers near the soccer field. There weren’t a lot of people since students started going home to their hometowns but Taeyong’s friends were there.

“Oh, you’re here to steal Taeyong again, Y/N?” Jaemin asked mockingly.

You rolled your eyes as Mark said, “He’ll be here any moment, Y/N.” and gave you a smile.

You stared at the sunset and wondered what the rest of the day has in store for you. You spotted Taeyong chasing after Daeun during third period earlier. The guilt consumed you. You were typically the type to be selfish about things. You thought you were doing something great by giving out presents but based on Yuta and Jaemin’s reactions, you felt like you can never be kind to anyone. You spotted Taeyong walking towards you. You swallowed the butterflies that tried to escape your throat.

“Hey.” He said quitely. He sat down beside you. “About what I said the other day-”

His sentence was cut short by Euna running towards you.

“Taeyong!” She exclaimed as she was approaching. “Taeyong-”

“Euna, calm down,” He tried to help her catch your breathe.

“Daeun-” Euna began. There was a small pinch of worry inside you. You were worried that something might have happened to her because of what she saw. “I don’t know what you two are talking but- Daeun is on her way to transfer to another college. If you really like her, Taeyong, please stop her.”

Taeyong looked down, conflict evident in his demeanor. He stayed silent for a while as Euna went away. Your hands turned cold. He hasn’t said anything but you knew what his decision was.

“I’m sorry, Y/N.” He whispered before bolting off towards Euna’s direction.

You didn’t realize that you were crying until you felt a tear drop on your legs. You thought you had him. The moment he said that he wants you too, made you feel like you’re up on cloud nine. But clouds disappear and the moment they do, you’ll be falling from the sky and down to the ground. You stood up and saw the look on everyone’s eyes. For the first time in forever, you saw pity on Yuta’s eyes.

News spread fast as they often do. The announcement of Daeun and Taeyong’s relationship went through your ear for the nth time today. With the guidance of chocolates and countless bottles of alcohol, you tried yourself to forget about Taeyong. As you were drunkenly singing “Truth Hurts” by Lizzo, you remembered who you are. You are Y/N. And you don’t cry for anyone.

“You’re prettier, Y/N.” Joy attempts at cheering you up. Yeri smiled at you and held your hand as a sign of comfort. You three chatted for a while until it was time for them to catch their flights home. It was the end of the semester but you were too bummed to go back to your hometown. The quietness of your town wouldn’t be a good combination with your thoughts. You figured that the city would be the best place for now. You mentally thanked Taeyong for making you believe that you could be a good person. You thanked him for the butterflies and the greatest kiss that you’ve had so far.

As you stood up, you saw Yuta standing in your direction.

“You’re a good person, Y/N.” He said all of a sudden. You tilted your head in confusion. He just smiled and walked away.

Before his figure became blurry, you noticed that he was swearing the shirt you got him for Christmas.

a/n: ya know in retrospect, this seems like ur typical cheesy teenage movie. might delete this soon hehehe anyway, feedback are always welcome!!

#lee taeyong #lee taeyong imagines #lee taeyong x reader #taeyong imagines #taeyong x you #taeyong x reader #taeyong fluff #taeyong angst #taeyong smut #nct 127 #nct angst #nct imagines #nct drabbles

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willow-tree-writes · 4 years

Text

❀Chocolate❀

Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader

Summary: You and Steve have a sort of thing. But that’s all it is. That is until at one fateful party, liquid confidence and a little push of emotions take you over.

Request: N/A

Author’s Note: This is the first fic I’m posting, so I hope you like it! And please feel free to send me requests. (I hope it isn’t too bad)

Word Count: 1.9k

Warnings: Fluff, Cursing, Underage Drinking, Blood, Angst

!I don’t own this gif!

You, Y/N Henderson, didn’t go to parties. You much rather sit at home, watching geeky sci-fi movies with your little brother.

This Friday night wasn’t supposed to be any different. That is until your best friend decided for you to change up your plans.

Your arms were crossed as Olivia opened the passenger’s side door. Music from the house blared out over the whole area. It wouldn’t surprise you if someone called the police with a noise complaint.

“Come on, Y/N. You’re not going to sit in my car all night.” She tried to reason, but nothing stuck.

“If I have anything to say in the matter, then yes, I will.” You mumbled, shifting as if you were trying to become one with the seat.

Olivia simply rolled her eyes. “You know he’ll be here, right?”

You seemed to sink into the seat deeper. “That’s the main reason I shouldn’t be here…”

There was no doubt that something was going on between you and a certain Golden boy with great hair. But no one knew what it was that was going on. No one, including you. Steve, in your eyes, always seemed to have things planned out, while you sat there wondering what you were going to do minute to minute.

After some more coaxing, you finally get out of the car and are immediately pulled into a den of drunk and high teenagers.

Olivia pulls you through a crowd of dancing drunks in the living room to a crowd of tipsy girls in the kitchen. You didn’t notice it when she grabbed you a cup and filled it with some liquid as your eyes had been scanning semi-familiar faces. You were looking for a certain familiar face.

You didn’t know how long you were looking, but it was long enough for Olivia to disappear from your side.

You sighed to yourself and started to maneuver your way through the crowd. You didn’t really give what could be in your cup any thought. You knew Olivia probably would be drinking and that you were the one that would have to drive her home. Yay for you.

This was the only real thought that swarmed around your head when you spotted a certain tuft of hair. Then, all thoughts went to him.

He looked good. He always looked good. He wore a simple dark blue polo with a pair of jeans. His hair was slightly a mess, probably from partying. He wore the perfect smile, which infected you with a stupid, bashful smile.

He looked exactly like he does now when this whole ‘thing’ between them started.

“Y/N! Popcorn!” Dustin called out from the living room. He wouldn’t dare get up and get it himself.

“Hold your horses!” You called back out, grumbling something to yourself. Steve’s kitchen was big and impossible for you to navigate alone.

The Party was having their weekly movie night at the teenager’s house and Dustin had invited you for the first time. You thought it would be to spend some more time together. Nope. He just wanted you as a snack server.

You didn’t know why, but even Steve wasn’t helping. And this was his damn house.

You found the popcorn and started to get it ready. You waited for it with crossed arms. A minute or so later it was done and you started now looking for a big enough bowl. Just your luck, the perfect bowl was in a cabinet above the fridge, behind a glass bowl.

You pulled over a bar stool that sat at the island in front of the fridge. You were determined to do this yourself. Too determined.

Standing on the wobbly stool, you reached back and grabbed the bowl, carefully pulling it out. Turns out, you weren’t careful enough.

The glass bowl that was in front was hit lightly once, but that was enough to send it out of the cabinet and onto the floor with a loud crash.

“Shit shit shit.” You mumbled, quickly getting down off the stool.

You could hear some of the Party talking from the other room, wondering what the hell you were doing. Steve came rushing into the kitchen, looking around to try and find out what happened.

There you were, on your hands and knees, cleaning up the pieces of broken glass. “I’m so sorry Steve.” You seemed to sense his presence.

He shook his head, but you didn’t see him. “Uh, no, it’s alright.” He grabbed a trash can and came over to start helping you clean up. “It was probably just some cheap, expensive bowl that my mom got from Europe or something.”

You almost snorted, a small smile tracing your lips as you shake your head. “Yeah, no big deal at all.”

That smile was quickly wiped away and replaced with a look of pain. “Fuck…!” You mumbled, pulling your hand away from the glass and inspecting the cut you just got.

“Hey, you okay?” He asked, noticing immediately that your demeanor changed.

You quickly stood up, rushing over to the sink to make sure you didn't bleed all over his floor. "Um, I think so, but I'm not completely sure, to be honest." Your tone of voice was on the edge of blinding pain and crippling embarrassment.

You didn’t hear him get up or move closer to you, but you could suddenly feel a presence right behind you.

You turned to say you were fine but were hit with a wave of dizziness and started to stumble and lose balance.

Steve was quick to catch your arms, helping you steady yourself. “Woah there. Come on, let’s clean that up before you bleed out.”

He held onto you tightly as he led out of the kitchen and to the bathroom next to his bedroom. You were seated on the toilet as he grabbed a first aid kit and squatted down in front of you. This was obviously all a blur to you, only remembering the sound of his voice and the pain coursing through your hand.

Before you knew it, your hand was fully wrapped and you were feeling a little better.

“Thank you…” You said quietly, meeting a pair of chocolate eyes.

His smile made your eyes flicker from his eyes to his lips. “She speaks. Thought I lost you there for a moment.” He jokes, bringing a slight smile to you. But that wasn’t on your mind for long.

You didn’t notice you both slowly leaned in until your lips met.

The kiss was rushed, yet calm and sweet. He tasted like chocolate, no doubt from the candy Dustin had brought. Chocolate. He tasted just as his eyes looked. Was that a coincidence? It had to be.

Any thoughts about chocolate fled your mind as a chocolate haired girl rested her hands on Steve’s chest, his hands finding her swaying hips.

Now, normally you weren’t the drinking type. You never had a reason to. It seemed pointless. But at this moment, it felt like the only option. Why watch the guy you like and thought liked you back dance with a different girl when you could get shit-faced and forget about him?

Within seconds, the red solo cup that was in your hand was completely empty. You downed whatever liquid was in it. It wasn’t the best tasting, but the only thing you cared about was the buzz you were starting to feel.

You listened and nodded your head to the music, ignoring the ringing in the back of your head and the thumping of your heart.

You let your eyes wander, trying to find where Olivia could be. She was the one who dragged you here, she was going to be the one to deal with your drunk ass.

She’s standing behind a couch, cheeks a rosy red as she laughs with some meathead from your English class.

You make your way over to her, stumbling due to your tipsy state. A familiar hand lands on your shoulder, stopping you in your tracks.

“Didn’t know you left that fortress of yours for parties like these.” Steve’s voice almost completely sobered you up.

“Believe me when I say I’m never coming to one of these again…” You mumbled, reluctantly letting yourself face him.

He was holding an identical red solo cup, but he didn’t seem as fazed by the contents as you were. He knew how to hold his liquor. “Then let’s make your first and last party as enjoyable as possible.”

He was standing in front of you, talking to you as if he wasn’t just dancing with someone else. “Actually, I was just about to head home.” That was a lie. Olivia was your ride home, and she wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

You wormed yourself out of his hold, not sticking around to listen to his response as you bolted it out the front door and out to the street. You’d rather walk home then act like everything was okay.

It didn’t process that tears were streaming down your face until someone calling out your name broke through the quiet of the night. Why did he have to follow you?

You frantically wiped your tears as he appeared beside you. You tried speeding up, but he was faster and caught your arm in his hand.

“Y/N, did something happen?” He asked, as if he didn’t know that he was the cause of every feeling of pain and love in your mind.

You ripped your arm out of his hold. “Don’t fuck with me like that, Steve.” You didn’t know why, but you were suddenly angry instead of sad. “Don’t act like you don’t know anything.”

He was shocked, and for obvious reasons. “I don’t-”

“Oh, sorry. I forgot you were King Steve. You just kiss whoever the fuck you want and then ignore them. Kiss and tell. Kiss and then go dance with other girls.” You never talked like this. But he had this kind of effect on you.

Everything looked like it was connecting in his head. “Y/N…” He reached out to take your hand.

“Don’t touch me.” You pulled your hand back as fast as you could.

He put his hands up in a defensive way. “You know that’s not like me, Y/N. Me and that girl in there, there’s nothing. Hell, I don’t even know her name.”

You shook your head. “It sure as hell didn’t look like that.”

He sighs in frustration, running a hand through his hair. “Dammit, Y/N. What do I have to do to get you to believe me?”

You stayed quiet. You just wanted the truth. “How do you feel about me…?” You asked quietly after a long moment.

It was Steve’s turn to be silent. “Fuck, Y/N.” He mumbled after a moment. “You wanna know the truth? I can’t get you out of my head. Even before that damn kiss. I was ignoring you because I didn’t know how to feel. You don’t get how many times I’ve been hurt. I don’t think I could take it if you rejected me too.”

Your anger sizzled as quickly as it came. Now, you just felt bad. Not completely bad, but partly bad. “Steve, why didn’t you tell me?”

He sighed in a bit of frustration. “I just told you why.”

You bit your lip a little. Good point. “You should have come to me…” You said quietly, looking down. “Cause I can’t get you out of my mind either.”

Steve’s footsteps shifted as you felt a hand on your waist and a hand on your cheek, making you look up at him. “I guess I’ve come to you now.”

You crack a small smile, rolling your eyes. “You’re a piece of work Harrington.”

He chuckled and smashed his lips to mine. He tasted like alcohol, which wasn’t the best taste on him. I definitely preferred chocolate over cheap booze.

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secretlynestaarcheron · 4 years

Text

Chapter Thirteen + Fourteen

The Selection AU - ACOTAR

Tagged: @justgiu12 @blxckbeaks @justabunchoffandoms @swagbookmaster @my-fan-side @heyitsrhysand @acourtofmarauders

Happy Reading! :)

Chapter Thirteen: Nesta

While Nesta got changed and Beatrice did a beautiful braided crown in her hair, Hanna sat on Nesta’s bed reading through the fairytale books. “You sound wonderful, like a natural,” Beatrice comments after Hanna finishes reading a story about three little pigs and a big bad wolf. “A lot better than me.”

Nesta glances at Beatrice in the mirror, “Oh Beatrice, I didn’t even think to ask if you needed help. I know I am not the best teacher, but I can try and get some books for you too or you can take the ones I already have,” Nesta says quickly once Beatrice has placed the last pin in her hair.

She turns to look at Beatrice who shakes her head. “I am beyond that, I am fine here, I know Hanna dreams of more,” she replies, smiling at Nesta, comfortingly, Beatrice wasn’t even thirty yet but was so content with her life.

After finishing one more story with Hanna, Nesta made her way to the women’s room to join the rest of the selected. It felt weird that so many of them were already sent home, she glanced around the room and realized that five of them weren’t there anymore. She didn’t really know their names, one of them was Demetria who was a three and barely said anything to anyone.

Sage, a four, was sitting across from her and clears her throat. “I have a confession,” she says loud enough that all the girls around the room came rushing over but the Queen and Ianthe couldn’t hear her form across the room. “So, you were all there yesterday when Rhysand came and asked me to go on a horse ride with him.”

The girls nod excitedly and Nesta feels bad, she hadn’t been there, these girls were spending time together and she was hiding out in her room every chance she got.

“Well, we went on this beautiful trail that leads to a waterfall, and-,” she pauses, and Nesta notices how all the girls lean forward holding onto her next words. “I was the first kiss. I wasn’t sure I should tell you guys, I didn’t want to appear as if I was bragging but I wanted to be honest.”

If it had come from any other girl here, Nesta would have assumed that they were just trying to show off how far they had gone but the little she knew of Sage she knew that Sage wasn’t the type to brag. She was a kind hearted girl.

The girls gasped, some congratulating her while others turned to their friends and whispered jealousy. Nesta glances around the room for Rita but doesn’t spot her, was she one of the ones sent home yesterday?

“I was beginning to think he wasn’t going to kiss anyone,” Penny says, she was seated next to Sage and had a sour look on her face. “I went off with my flirting on our movie date, I thought he just didn’t get the hint.”

“He probably didn’t want to kiss two girls in one day, he is a prince after all,” Caroline replies sympathetically, reaching forward to squeeze Penny’s hand comfortingly.

As the girls chat Nesta realizes that she had forgotten this was a competition, that she should be jealous that he kissed someone other than her or that other girls were progressing faster than she and him were. She was glad for their already set boundaries; she couldn’t imagine how the girls who hadn’t been asked on a date or hadn’t held his hand or been kissed felt in this moment.

The door opens slightly and Nesta glances over to see Rita walking in. Nesta smiles, relief flooding through her as she lifts a hand to wave at her but Rita doesn’t see her as she moves to the outside of the circle and sits by the window.

There’s a knock on the door and then the King’s voice booms, “Can we have permission to enter?”

The Queen glances around the room at the girls who were eagerly waiting to hear the news the King brought. She turns to give Ianthe a nod, who immediately rushed to the door to open it for Rhysand and the King. The King looks at the girls, his eyes lingering on Nesta, it was short enough that no one would have noticed but it felt like an eternity for her. She felt his judgement from across the room.

She remembered the anger on his face when he walked in on them the day before, perhaps he didn’t like her because of her status or maybe she was somewhere she wasn’t supposed to be. Maybe he heard what she had said about Rhysand being a people’s king, if he had she probably would be on her way back home already.

She shakes her shoulder as if to shake away the thoughts. All the girls were silent as they watched them enter and walk up the few steps towards where the Queen sat. It was quiet enough that you could hear a pin drop. He reaches for the Queen’s hand, giving it a squeeze before letting in drop back into her lap as he turns towards the girls.

Nesta brow furrow, she remembered how her father was with her mother before she had passed, he acted like she was the sun. Nesta would catch them dancing in the kitchen while cooking dinner or curled up on the couch next to one another reading with only a candle next to them when Nesta would sneak down for extra dessert.

She remembers noticing the small smiles between one another or the hushed whispers and faint laughter. She wondered if the King and Queen were like that, if they were ever like that, just truly in love with one another? She didn’t know if she should wish that they had because that would have meant something happened to make them lose it but it felt wrong for someone to spend the rest of their lives with someone who wouldn’t look at them like they were the sun.

The King gestures for all of them to sit and Nesta hadn’t even realized she stood with the rest of the girls, her mind lingering elsewhere. Once the girls were seated again the King began his announcement. “As most of you should know the prince’s birthday is in a few days.”

Rhysand gives a small bashful smile to the girls as the King continues, “He will be turning twenty-three, which was the age I was when I became King. I hope to pass the title down to my son as soon as he has a supportive princess by his side,” he pauses allowing the girls to swoon at the thought. “You will all be excited to know that we will be holding a ball for this monumental occasion.”

While excited whispers filled the room as the girls began to discuss dress designs and accessories to match, Nesta can’t help but remember the Feyre’s eighteenth birthday was tomorrow. She couldn’t believe that she had let the days blend together to the point she would have forgotten. She wondered what they had planned.

The King held up his hand to shush the chatter and bring Nesta’s attention back to the subject at hand. “This will be an important moment for all of you, this will be the first time the world will see you as proper ladies through the television and in person, many influential people will be invited. I expect you to behave properly.” His eyes find Nesta’s once again and she wonders why he singles her out, she hadn’t caused a scene yet. He was judging her by her caste alone.

Ianthe was beaming with excitment, probably thinking of a million ways to torture them. “You will be working closely with Ianthe to sharpen your manners and etiquette as well as dancing,” the King announces.

Nesta wants to groan, the one dancing class Ianthe had already put them through was tortuous, she couldn’t imagine being broadcasted, she would be deemed as the worst dancer in the selection as she stumbled through the movements. She would have to pretend to sprain an ankle, they wouldn’t make her dance with an injury would they?

“And with that, I will leave you all to enjoy the rest of your day,” The King says as he swiftly leaves while Rhysand trails behind him. She thought back to Rhysand’s excitement yesterday talking about change but seeing him now, he looked suppressed.

She wasn’t sure how she could enjoy the rest of her day now that Ianthe was rushing around pulling out magazines and rambling wildly about all the work she has to do to prepare us all. She mutters something about gathering a group of guards for an impromptu dance lesson because “only stars know that these girls need help.”

Nesta knows it’s mostly directed at her, she stepped on her own hem and her partners feet more than anyone else, she barely had time to look how the others were doing but Ianthe was hard to please and she only heard a few compliments called out.

Nesta glances over at Ianthe chatting with the Queen as Nesta moves to the window where Rita ahd curled up staring out the window. Nesta looks out as well, leaning against the windowsill, a few gardeners were working on the rose bushes and next to it Tamlin was entertaining a few maids and guards with a story, his hands moving wildly.

“How are you?” Nesta asks, looking over at Rita who barely looks at her. She looks stressed, perhaps this competition was getting to her more than she let on.

She shrugs letting out a long sigh. “Of course,” Rita says and Nesta can hear a lot of emotion in her voice. Nesta realized that there was a lot to Rita that she didn’t know, they had only talked a few times and Nesta had begun to think of her as a close friend but she hardly knew anything about her. She was a six, she knew as much heartache as Nesta did, she carried her own damage.

“I am here if you ever need me,” Nesta says hoping the small gesture was enough. She doesn’t have time to say more because Ianthe claps her hand to get everyone’s attention.

“We have decided to have lunch here with proper etiquette, it will be a test to see how much you already know. After that, I will ask some off-duty guards and maids to join us to make this a makeshift ball. From there I will determine what we need to focus on. I expect your best behavior.”

“Here we go again,” Rita says with an eye roll and Nesta hears the spunk she heard the first night back in her voice.

~*~

Nesta was full of cucumber finger sandwiches and macaroons, she couldn’t imagine dancing. She hopes the Ianthe forgets or has mercy on them, letting them sleep off the good food, but sure enough as soon as the tea is finished a band walks through the room followed by some guards and maids.

They looked different out of their uniforms, she realized how young some of them actually were, some of the girls looked younger than her sister Feyre. “Here are your partners for the night, it’ll be good to fill up the space so you know what it will be like to have multiple people around you. You wouldn’t want to run into the Queen of Italy!” Ianthe laughs loudly at her joke but the girls just look at each other. “What are you waiting for, pair up!”

The girls all line up on one side while the guards line up on the other. Nesta glances at her partner, he was a little taller than her with black hair and grey eyes, but he barely looked at her. She wondered if that was due to her being selected or him hearing rumors about her being the worst dancer out of the bunch.

Nesta hadn’t even noticed the Prince and his personal guard, Cassian, waltz in until they joined the line. “Are we too late to join?” the prince asks more enthusiastically than Cassian looks. Rhysand squeezes in so he’s with Penny, who beams with joy, he glances back at Cassian. “Come on, you can’t let me dance alone, Nesta’s a great dancer.”

Nesta makes a face at that, even though he had to know that she was horrible, he’s the one that tried to teach her. Cassian looks at the prince suspiciously before stepping in front of her causing her original partner to shift down.

She opens her mouth to greet him, but nothing comes out, she didn’t know what to say to him. The last time they spoke he was abrasive and then the last time she saw him she spilled his secret. After talking with Rhysand and seeing Cassian’s reaction it was easy to piece together that he really sent her the books.

“Alright, let’s see if you all remember anything,” Ianthe says and the music begins to play.

Cassian steps forward and grabs her hand, placing his other on her waist, he pulls her close as he begins the basic box step. “I apologize in advance for any toe crushing I do, I still haven’t gotten this down,” she says as she looks down, watching the placement of her feet.

He chuckles as he begins to speed up the pace with the beat of the music. “I don’t think the cameras will want to film the top of your head,” he says.

She glances up briefly, but quickly puts her attention back on their feet. “I don’t think I want anyone to see my face if I am tripping on my hem,” Nesta replies, gripping his shoulder as she almost trips, she looks up and gives him a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”

He stops and she glances around the room as the rest of the couples keep going. “Was I that bad?” she asks, but she can’t help the heat that burns her cheeks.

“No,” he says quickly to reassure her, “You just lack faith, we will take it slow.”

He begins again, taking the steps slow, she can tell that the other girls are looking at her. She looks back down at her feet, his hand moving from her waist to her chin in a second, he gently pushes her chin forward so she’s looking up at him again.

“Stop watching your feet, you’re overthinking,” Cassian says. There’s a pause and she tries really hard not to look at her feet. “How did you maid, Hanna, enjoy the books?”

Nesta beams, “Oh she loves them, just finished the fairytale one this morning! She’s a quick learner, I am sure if she continues she will be able to read all those brainiac scholar textbooks in old english covered in dust,” she says proudly.

“I am glad,” he says.

“I hope I didn’t get you in trouble, the note was right next to the box, Beatrice thought it fell off so I just assumed. I hope me saying something didn’t cause anything,” she replies, thinking about what they had told her the first night. She didn’t want to get him caught up in treason when it was just a nice thing he was doing for her and her maid.

He shakes his head with an easy smile that makes her want to smile back. “You didn’t, Rhysand didn’t mind at all especially when I told him that you were teaching your maid to read. You just keep earning yourself brownie points.”

She rolls her eyes and says, “I doubt that, I am just waiting until he realizes I am not anyone and sends me home.” He looks like he wants to ask more but the door slams open and a guard rushes in followed by the King. The music halts and everyone watches as the King whispers something to Ianthe.

She pales slightly glancing around the room until her eyes find Nesta’s when she does her facial expression softens. She turns to the King nodding her head before he makes his exit. “Nesta, would you mind following me outside?” Ianthe says.

There's a hush whispers as she follows Ianthe out into the hallway, Cassian and Rhysand trailing behind her. Ianthe closes the door turning to face Nesta, she gives her a tight smile, “Your sisters called.”

Nesta brow furrow, why would he sisters call? They hadn’t said anything weird in their last letters. “It's your father,” Ianthe says biting her lip as her eyes glance behind Nesta to where Rhysand and Cassian stood. “He passed away in his sleep right now.”

He passed away. He passed away. Angry tears threatened to fall, she was furious with her father, he didn’t die in his sleep he probably overdosed or suffered from liver failure due to the alcohol pumping through him. He had abandoned her sisters when they needed him most, how was she going to protect them now? Elain with nineteen and Feyre was barely eighteen.

“We will make preparations for you right away,” Rhysand says and she can only nod numbly. She would have to give this all up just when she was beginning to think she could make a change. It's just fate telling her this wasn’t for her.

TW: mentions past abuse, mental and physical.

Chapter Fourteen: Cassian

Cassian moved in the seat, uncomfortable with the cramped plane seating and the silence, he had volunteered to leave with Nesta as soon as possible. Rhysand would leave the next morning to pay his respects, unfortunately he had to finish some business with his father first.

“I am sorry,” he finally says and Nesta glances up at him. “It must be hard on you. I know you already lost one parent.”

She scoffs and he’s a little taken back. “After my mother died he gambled all our money away, he’s lucky they only made us sevens. After the move he turned to drinking, leaving me to work three jobs to put food on the table for my sisters, in the beginning it was worse. After my sisters fell asleep, he became abusive, would throw bottles at me or call me worthless.”

Cassian swallowed the lump in his throat, she was so much stronger than he had originally thought. “I am not sad to see him go, he was no longer the man I called my father, just someone that lived in my house and drank the day away. I am angry more than anything, he was so selfish,” she retorts almost a whisper. She looks away from him and back out the window.

“That’s why you were so worried about being here, away from your family,” Cassian concludes aloud.

She nods, pulling her hair back into a low bun at the base of her neck and turning back towards him. “I am more heartbroken that my sisters won’t know the love my parents had once, they won’t get to have those good memories of him. Only the ones of shouting and locking himself away,”

Silences fall between them again, Cassian wasn’t sure what to say. His father wasn’t in the picture and his mother died when he was young. He only had a few memories of her and he didn’t have any siblings to consider.

“Sorry, you don’t need to hear all of this,” Nesta says and Cassian notices how exhausted she looks. It was probably a vacation to be at the palace without having the constant worry of providing for her family. She rubs her eyes, before propping her head on her elbow, she stares out the window. “I just don’t think I’ll be able to come back.”

“You get a stipend for being here, and your sisters will most likely be moved to caste three now that you are considered their guardian. You’ll still be able to compete-,” he pauses, and adds softly, “If you want, of course.”

He watches her eyebrows knit as he loses her to her thoughts. “Its food for thought, but I think you would make an excellent teacher,” he adds, “I heard that Hanna was teaching some of the kitchen aids how to read on their break.”

He’s glad when he sees her smile and looks at him with those bright ideas, as if she could change the world just by helping one person. “Really?” she asks, and he nods, “Good. Thank you for telling me.”

A voice on the intercom announces that they would be landing shortly and to buckle up. As soon as they pull into the airport, there can be screams heard from inside, she looks at him wide eyed. “Are those people here for us?” she asks.

He laughs, “Not us, you. They are your supporters,” he replies, glancing out the window towards the group of people. “They already have security, they shouldn’t bother you if you don’t want to talk to them.”

She stiffens as she gives him a short nod, he opens the door and the crowd yells loudly in excitement. He’s surprised how quick she puts on a smile, another good quality to have in a queen. She talks to a few people along the way, mostly young girls, but as soon as she’s away from the crowd her smile falls.

The car ride was silent, her leg bouncing as she bites her nails, he understood her nerves especially with the new knowledge of her upbringing. He glances around to the houses that were mismatched, they tried to fix them up as best they could,

The car jerked as it hit the gravel road, he had been in the palace for so long he forgot the hardship. He feels her straighten and he glances out the window to see two girls standing in a yard waving wildly at the car. Before the car had fully stopped she was out and running towards them.

“Tell us everything,” one of them says excitedly, pulling her into the house. Cassian waves the driver away and follows them in feeling as if he was intruding on a personal moment but her safety came first. “Elain wasn’t sure if they would let you come. I can’t believe you’ve made it to the final fifteen.”

“That’s still a lot, Feyre,” Nesta says with an eye roll. “How has everything been here?”

Feyre disappears into another room while Elain sits down next to Nesta. “How has everything been here?”

“Do you remember Liz? Her parents have been helping a lot, especially with the burial yesterday. They thought it would be best to bury him as fast as possible.” Elain explains. Cassian looks around the room as they discuss, not wanting to intrude anymore than he already was. The front door led to a small sitting area, the TV that was mandatory in all houses sat in the corner, there was a small entryway that must lead to the kitch and two doors.

Feyre comes back through the entryway with a pie in her hand, “We made it to celebrate you coming home, it’s probably not as good as the food in the palace. Is the food in the palace good?” Feyre asks, kneeling on the floor in front of her sisters.

“Actually, speaking of food from the palace-,” she turns to look for her bag that Cassian had set by the front door. “Oh! This is Cassian, he is Captain of the guard!”

“What’d you do to make the Captain of the guard assigned to you?” Feyre asks suspicious eyeing Nesta. “I knew you would get into trouble, what’d you do? Start a rebellion?”

Nesta rolls her eyes at ther sisters. “That’s Feyre and this is Elain,” she points to the sisters as she moves towards her bag.

“So since she won’t answer, how is the food?” Feyre asks, eyeing Cassian stubbornly.

He chuckles when he sees the resemblance between her and Nesta. “I have no complaints,” he replies, glancing down at Nesta who was grabbing a box from her suitcase. She shuts her suitcase again before turning towards her sisters and opening the box.

“My maid, Beatrice, had it packed up for me. She knew you guys would want to try it. We have macaroons, every cookie you could imagine, and so many pastries,” Nesta says, setting down the box, Feyre immediately reaches forward and grabs a strawberry pastry while Elain takes her time determining which one she wants.

“So what's with the prince? Is he as snobby as he comes across on the television?” Feyre asks, glancing up at Cassian apologetically, “No offense.”

Cassian shrugs, he knew how his friend had to be in the public especially in front of his father, he looks over at Nesta wondering why he cared so much about what she was going to say. “He’s not as snobby,” she replies, pausing as if she had to think about her next words carefully. “He’s been surprising.”

Cassian glances away from her, what did that mean? He’s been surprising? It could be a good surprising or a bad surprising. He shook it off, he shouldn’t care so much about how she thought about the prince. That was their business.

“You’ll meet him tomorrow, he was hoping to come out to pay respect,” Nesta says.

“He’s coming here?” Elain says hurriedly glancing around the room as if she could somehow make it more presentable. “I wish we had more notice. I would have put some flowers around to brighten the place up.”

Nesta waves her hand, “He’s a prince, I doubt he will stay long. He probably won’t even stay long enough to notice,” she replies with a yawn.

“Oh, you’re probably tired from your travels, we have a long day tomorrow. You should get some rest,” Elain says, grabbing Nesta's hand and pulling her towards the door to the right. He glances over to the left door, that must have been their father’s bedroom.

“We cleaned out his room if you would like to stay there or you can sleep out here. You can also help yourself to anything in the kitchen,” Feyre says, standing up and looking around. “Do you need anything? Sorry, I don’t think we’ve ever had any guests.”

He noticed how she wasn’t embarrassed as Nesta sometimes came across, perhaps it was because she was the youngest and this is all she knew or maybe she didn’t feel the need to impress him or the prince, another quality she shared with Nesta.

“I'll be alright out here, thank you,” Cassian replies, “My job is to keep you guys protected so I won’t be sleeping much.”

“Protected, is there a chance someone will attack us?” Feyre asks curiously leaning against the doorframe to the kitchen. “I heard about the rebel attacks, would they come here to hurt Nes?”

He notices how she doesn’t seem scared, but more curious than anything. “It’s unlikely but always possible. We just want to be on the safe side,” he replies.

She nods, “Well, I am going to bed, there’s coffee under the sink if you need some. Nesta hoards the stuff, it's the only pleasure she gives herself besides all her books,” she says, going to the same door her sisters disappeared into minutes before.

~*~

During his morning jog he ran into a farmers market where he picked up some produce for breakfast. He walked into the kitchen, the girls either still in their room or still asleep. He moved around the kitchen, glancing in the pantry and refrigerator, it was practically bare.

He understood why Nesta felt guilty, just thinking about her and her neighbors kitchens looking like this when he could ring a bell and have whatever he wanted prepared for him. He began cooking what he hoped would feel like a palace breakfast for them.

Bacon, sausage, eggs, and even his signature french toast. He even put a pot of water on the stove for coffee. “You really didn’t have to do this,” he turns to see Nesta standing in the doorframe looking around the kitchen. “It all smells amazing, I am sure once the others are awake they’ll be in here devouring it, especially Feyre.”

“She’s a character for sure,” Cassian says, finishing the eggs and putting them on a plate turning to see her sitting down on a stool in front of the island. “She reminds me of you.”

“Oh really?” Nesta hums, still half asleep as he leans on her elbow. “She’s definitely spunky, she’ll change the world if it’ll let her. She’s worried I’ll start a rebellion? I am surprised she hasn’t.”

It was weird for Cassian to see her in this element, without the added stress of the competition, she was just a girl and he was just a guy. He shakes his head turning away from her. He really couldn’t let these thoughts get the best of him.

“Are you okay?” she asks concern laced in her voice as he glances over at her.

“Of course,” he replies, and she doesn’t look like she believes him but her sisters walk in seconds later.

Feyre moves towards the counter, “I am moving to the palace if I get a feast like this every morning,” she exclaims reaching forward to grab a piece of bacon with her hands.

Nesta rolls her eyes and chuckles as she says, “Don’t mind my heathen of a sister, apparently she forgot what silverware is in my absence.” Feyre moves to grab another piece and Nesta pushes her hand away. Feyre puts up her hands in surrender and moves towards the cabinets holding the plates.

There’s a knock on the door and Cassian can feel the anxiousness fill the room from each of her sisters. “He could have at least called, I am still in my pajamas,” Feyre retorts with a mouth full of french toast. Elain shoves her sister lightly in the side, “I think the pajamas are the least of his concern, he’ll be more focused on the food coming out of your mouth as you speak,” Elain retorts, scolding her sister.

“This is going to be such a disaster,” Nesta announces standing up from her spot and towards the door.

#does anyone notice how i can only write nesta #acotar #nesta archeron #acotar fanfiction #sjmaas #feysand #rhysand #feyre archeron

21 notes · View notes

palindrome17 · 5 years

Text

A Beautiful Nightmare ☾ Bang Chan

Genre: non idol!au, slice of life, angst, fluff

Pairing: Chan x Reader (w/ bestfriend!Changbin)

Word Count: 12.2k

Warnings: mental health issues (implied), swearing/cursing, alcohol use, smoking, physical fighting, blood

Synopsis: They say that when you find true love that it’ll last forever. Though, you never knew that forever would come to an end so soon. Your relationship with Chan was at its last breath when you finally decide what to do.

Disclaimer: I do not endorse the use of alcohol or smoking. The use of either is a serious issue if used in excessive amounts. If you or someone you know is going through this issue, please reach out to someone. I did not put these topics in the story to try and glorify the use of them. These are put in to show the negative effects it can cause not just the user, but also the people around them.

➵

Fairy tales about knights and horses, princes and princesses, love and hate seemed like a hazy, distant memory to you. Those days seemed numbered as you grew up. Stories were replaced with facts, fantasy with reality, and pleasant memories with harsh moments. They say that time never stops, it never waits for anyone, it is merciless, and it does not care about your feelings. It didn’t take you long to realize that when your father left you and your mother when you were young. That was the day that you shut down the feeling of love and what it stood for. Your heart grew cold and empty. As the years pressed on, there wasn’t too many people who were able to break you from your aloof demeaner. Though, there was only one person who showed you what love really is, and how to feel it again. How to fall in love with love.

His name, was Bang Chan.

You met him through your childhood best friend, Changbin. Really, you should be thanking him for everything. You fit in well with the friend group as you started to open up as a person again. You felt like they accepted you and took you into their group with open arms. Being around them made you feel happier and you thought that nothing could change the moments you had with them. To you, they were your everything. Although, you never imagined that one of the members would ask you out. Chan was what every girl would want their boyfriend to be. He was attractive, funny, insanely talented, kind, and so many more things that made him almost seem like a perfect guy. You didn’t understand why he would want to go out with someone like you. Someone who was so broken and unlovable, certainly nobody would want to love you. Chan, however, was perfect and lovely and everything that you weren’t.

➵

The sun’s rays poured into your bedroom, giving everything a yellow hue. You held onto your warm cup of your favorite drink as the heat warmed your hands. A large comfortable blanket was placed on your lap as you watched your favorite movie for the thousandth time. The chill of autumn knocked on your window, the trees rustling with the cold air. You took a deep breath as you took in the moment of the perfect autumn feeling. Your phone rang beside you as you looked to see that it was a text from Chan.

Chan: Hey baby. Do you want to go on a date today? It’s a perfect day for one.

You smiled to yourself as you replied, thinking, he’s too cute.

You: Sure! What do you want to do?

Your brain started to think of ideas of what you two could do, but frankly, anything you do with him made you happy.

Chan: How about going for a walk outside? I know a beautiful place where we can go. I can pick you up in 15minutes if that’s okay.

You: That sounds like fun! I’ll be ready in time, I promise :)

You let out a small laugh, remembering the last time you went on a date. You were very late to the meeting place because you accidently fell asleep and forgot to put on the reminder on your phone.

Chan: You better be on time, or else I’ll just leave you this time :)

You: I swear, Channie, you leave me and it’s all over :P

Chan: I promise I won’t ever leave you, baby. Don’t worry. I’ll see you soon <3

You quickly turned off the movie and started to get ready. You put on your favorite autumn outfit and looked at yourself in the mirror, straightening everything that looks out of place. You stared at yourself, wondering how lucky you were to find someone who loved you no matter what. Chan was the best thing to happen to you for a long time, and you were so grateful for it. You told him every day how much he meant to you, how he made you feel happy, how he made you feel loved again, how he was simply perfect for you. You soon felt a smile grip at your lips at the thought of him. It was soon interrupted by the sound of a knock on your front door. You quickly grabbed your phone from your bed and turned off the lights in your bedroom and rushed to the front door. You opened it and were presented with a casual looking Chan. You smiled as you rushed to hug him. Your figure engulfed by his bear hug around you. You could hear a laugh from him as he just stood there and hugged you.

“Nice to see you too, baby.” He said teasingly.

You looked at him with a pout, “What? Can’t I be excited to see my boyfriend?”

He let go of you and placed his hands on his hips, “No. Absolutely no affection. No excitement.” He said sarcastically.

“Oh, says the one who hugged me.” You accusingly said as you pushed him in the arm.

“Hey, I was just making sure you didn’t fall!” Chan laughed as he motioned for your hand, “Lets go, or we’ll be late.”

You turned to close and lock your door, then looked to him and placed your hand in his, “So, where is this place that you said you’re taking me?” you asked curiously.

Chan turned around and pulled you along, “Don’t worry about it. You’ll figure it out.” He casually stated with a slight shrug.

You gave out an audible sigh. You enjoyed a nice surprise, but you also wanted to know where he was taking you.

The feeling of autumn reverberated throughout the air as the colors of autumn were placed upon the city. The crisp air blending with the feeling of being invincible. The surrounding buildings flying past you as the car drove on. Your heart started to beat faster with the beat of the music playing on the radio, being completely lost in the moment of bliss. A smile pulled at your face as you glanced to see Chan peeking over towards you.

You let out a soft laugh, “What’re you looking at? Pay attention to the road.” You pointed at the road.

Chan simply flashed a smile at you as his eyes looked back toward the road without a word.

You soon drove out of the city as the scenery changed. An abundance of trees soon filled the entire land. Red, yellow, orange, and brown shades were decorating the earth. You let down the window, the wind playing with the wisps of your hair. The sound of your phone buzzing made your heart jump. The moment ruined, you looked down to see who it was.

Changbin: hey, I heard that you and Chan are going on a date.

You gave a quiet scoff as you replied.

You: Uh, yeah. Why’re you texting me if you know I’m going on a date?

Changbin: Just to make sure that you’re ok! You’re my best friend. I want to make sure you’re doing good.

You gave a small scowl, thinking, you fucking idiot.

You: Yeah, I’m fine. Next time I see you, I’m going to punch you. You’re such a brat Binnie.

You paused, then smiled a little as you sent another text.

You: But thanks for checking up on me. Even if you’re a piece of shit <3

You placed your phone back on your lap as you laid your head against the door again. Closing your eyes to try and get back into the mood.

“Who texted you?” you heard Chan ask softly.

“It was just Changbin. Wanted to check up on me.” You replied, eyes still closed.

You heard his sweet laugh against the radios soft music, “I told them to not bother us while we were out. Guess I’ll have to talk to them when we get back.”

“It’s fine, Channie. Changbin always wants to make sure I’m alright. Don’t take it personal.” You reassured him.

“Okay, okay. I understand~ I’m just teasing you.” You felt his hand rest on your thigh.

You opened your eyes and placed your hand on his, “I love you, Chan.” You spoke gently, eyes on the road ahead.

“I love you, too.” Chan replied as you could feel him smiling at you.

You soon arrived at the place Chan was talking about. You read the sign that said High Trails. You looked at him with a huge smile, you love to go on walks. The car soon came to a stop as Chan parked the car. You immediately jumped out of the car and giggled with excitement. You looked around to see a large building and several trails leading into the forest. A car door slam caught your attention as you motioned for Chan to hurry up.

“C’mon Channie! Let’s go!” you enthusiastically burst out as you grabbed his hand.

Chan simply rolled his eyes, “I knew you’d like it.”

You dragged him to the trail map and looked at all the various trails. You decided to go on the one that seemed to be the most scenic.

“Does that one look good to you?” you asked before leading the way down the trail.

Chan didn’t answer, which caught you off guard as you turned to him with confusion, “Chan? Is something wrong?”

He gave you a beautiful smile, “Nothing is wrong, y/n. You’re just too gorgeous to say anything.” He confessed, slightly bashful.

You felt your face start to grow hot, “Shut up. You’re embarrassing!” you grabbed his hand and lead him down the path without another word.

The path was freshly cut as the dead leaves laid on the ground. The trees becoming frozen and bare. You heard the crisp crunch at the bottom of your feet as you walked deeper into the forest. The quietness of the atmosphere was calming, in contrast to the rambunctious city. You smiled to yourself as you held onto Chan’s soft hands, thinking how perfect this moment is with him. You heard his low, soft voice of a tune that seemed to be stuck in his head. God you could listen to his voice forever if you could. You glanced over to see a downhill slope. An idea forming in your head.

“Wanna roll down the hill?” you asked excitedly to Chan, not breaking eye contact with the hill.

“What are you, five?” he laughed, but then paused, “only if you want to, cause that honestly sounds really fun.”

You looked him dead in the eye, “Of course I’m five.” You observed back to the hill, “Ready to rock and roll?”

“I was practically born ready.” Chan replied as he let go of your hand and turned towards the hill.

You smiled widely, counting down from three. You fell forward and crumpled into a somersault, feeling the cold hard ground mixed with the sound of leaves flying out from under you. You let out a small scream down the hill, slowly getting quieter once you landed at the bottom of the hill. You sat up and looked over at Chan who was equally as happy. His sun kissed hair complemented the colored leaves. Chan’s eyes were closed as he laughed, arms stretched out with hands opened wide. You smiled at the scene you were witnessing. He soon opened his eyes slowly as you locked eyes with him. The birds chirping echoed through the woods as he propped himself up by his elbows.

“Wow, that was so much fun. It feels like forever since I’ve done something like that.” Chan gave a toothy grin at you.

You nodded your head, “Yeah, me too.” You spoke softly.

You laid down beside him on the ground as you looked up at the blue blanket of sky, tree branches hovering above you. You heard Chan lay back down with the crunch of leaves. The sounds of nature submerging you into a trance as you laid there with him. You let out a sigh, getting lost in your thoughts.

“Hey, Chan?” you questioned.

“Yeah, baby?” he replied.

You took a pause, “What do you envision when you think of the future?”

“Well,” he started, taking your hand is his, “I imagine you being by my side. I imagine living in a nice house. I imagine our friends being as close as we are right now. I imagine a life where everything is good.”

You gently rubbed your fingers against his knuckles as you processed his words, “I do too, Channie. Though, I do have another question for you.” You stopped and looked towards him.

“Go on.” He assured you.

You looked back towards the sky, “Why have you been so kind to me? When I was at my lowest, you somehow showed me how to love again.”

There was a long pause after you spoke. The silence almost deafening.

“The day I first met you,” Chan finally said, “I thought to myself, how can I make this girl mine? You were so beautiful, lovely, charming, just… so many things and I just fell for you.”

You felt a small drop in your stomach, “But I wasn’t what you needed. I was so messed up and broken. I felt like I was nothing.” You slowly added, “I’m not good for you at all, Chan.”

You heard Chan sit up and look at you in a serious manner, “Don’t say that. Don’t you dare ever say that, y/n. You’re the best thing to happen to me, you’ve taught me so many things... you make me happy. Don’t ever think that you’re not enough.” He slowly leaned down towards you, “I love you so much.”

He closed the gap between you two, his soft lips sweet and passionate. You leaned into the kiss, reciprocating the feelings. You felt his hand cup your cheek in a loving embrace. You soon broke the kiss, letting in a small breath of air. You opened your eyes to see Chan gazing at you with starry eyes.

“I love you, Chan.” You replied with a wide smile.

Though, that moment seemed like a distant memory to you now.

➵

You slowly opened your eyes to be greeted by the brightness penetrating through your blinds. You squinted your eyes to try and read your alarm clock, hoping that you haven’t slept for too long.

14:28

You let out an audible groan as you rolled over to your other side. Fuck… I don��t even want to get up. You pulled your warm covers up over you again as you tried to avoid the sunlight like the plague. An obnoxious loud ringing suddenly emitted from your phone. You let out a loud curse word as you sat up and looked to see who was calling. It was Changbin. You felt a small scowl forming as you picked up the phone.

“Hey Binnie. What do you want?” you asked, almost stumbling over your words.

“Did you just get up, y/n? It’s the afternoon, you should’ve been up already.” He questioned, sounding concerned.

You paused, trying to think of an answer, “No, no. I’ve been up, I promise. I was just up late last night, and I couldn’t fall asleep, that’s all.”

“Y/n you’ve been doing this to me for a while now. This seems like it’s becoming a regular occurrence now.” Changbin stated, almost in a scolding way, “I’m coming over. We need to talk.”

The call ended with that and left you with a pit at the bottom of your stomach. Shit, what does he wanna talk about? I don’t want to talk to him right now. What’s he gonna say to me? Dammit, why do I feel so scared? You quickly got out of your bed and got dressed in some lazy clothes. You opened your blinds to see the soft petals of spring falling gracefully to the ground outside. You quickly ran out of your room and grabbed the pack of cigarettes off the kitchen table. Your hands scraping the edges of the box, finding the opening and taking a cigarette out. Your hand then glided across the table to pick up the lighter as you walked out onto your tiny back deck. You slowly lit your cigarette between your lips, and you puffed out the toxic smoke. You set down the lighter on the small table outside as you looked out into the city. You took a deep breath as you tried to slow down your heart. A buzz from your phone alarmed you as you jumped a little. It was a text from Changbin.

Changbin: Please come open your apartment door. I look like a weird stalker standing here.

You took a drag as you read the text message. You didn’t like smoking in the apartment because the scent would linger inside. Honestly, you didn’t really remember when you even started smoking in the first place, but you hate that you’re doing it. You glanced down at your cigarette gently placed between your two fingers, then behind you as you tried to decide what to do. You gritted your teeth as you opened your backdoor with cigarette in hand and walked inside. The slight creek in the floorboards echoed your lingering footsteps. You grabbed the doorknob, taking a drag before opening the door. You tried to give a smile to Changbin, but you had trouble doing so. Changbin only stood there and looked at you, running his fingers through his pitch-black hair.

“Hey. What do you want me to talk about?” you asked as you stepped aside, letting him walk inside.

He walked in and took a seat at your little kitchen table, “Why don’t you sit down, then I’ll start to talk.” He gave you an odd expression, one you haven’t seen before.

You closed the door and went to sit across from him, “Why’d you come and see me?” you questioned, almost feeling intimidated by his concentration on you.

He took a sigh, “Well,” he glanced down at the pack of smokes on the table, “we haven’t seen you for a few days, maybe it’s been a week now, but we all were wondering where you’ve been. Why do you seem to be hiding from us?”

You placed your lips around the cigarette, then took it out as smoke exuded from your lips.

“Sorry about that,” You muttered, sounding almost insincere. “but no one is perfect. Why would you ask me that anyway? You know I’m going through some things right now.” you added with bitterness in your voice.

Changbin crossed his arms and placed them on the table, “I’m aware of what’s been happening, y/n, and I’m sorry that you’re going through this.” He leaned forward and grabbed the pack of cigarettes off the table, “But this? This isn’t who you are. You know these are bad for you, right?”

You gave him a tired expression as you frowned slightly, “I’m aware its bad for me, but it’s too fucking early for this.” You got up and extinguished your cigarette in the ash tray, then walked away towards your bedroom.

You could hear Changbin angerly follow as his footsteps pounded on the ground. You sat down on your floor and looked up at Changbin who gave you a disappointed look. He sat down across from you, crossing his legs like a child would.

“I care about you. I hope you know that.” Changbin said seriously, “I’ve known you for a long time, ever since we were young kids. And I hate to see you this way. You’re my best friend, and I don’t want to see you go down a path that you may regret in the future.”

You stayed silent, thinking of what to say, “I don’t think I can make it.” You finally said, “Things seem to be going downhill for me. Chan and I are taking a break right now, so that’s fun. I miss him so fucking much it hurts. Whatever, I don’t even care anymore. Fuck everything, am I right?”

Changbin could only look at you with a saddened expression, “Where is the old you? The one who persevered through tough situations? The one who loves to go out exploring into dangerous territories? The one who would smile and laugh and love living life? Where is the y/n I grew up with?” he grabbed your hand and held it in his.

You stared at your hands placed in his, “I don’t remember who I use to be. Things have been so fucked up lately. I can’t take it anymore. I don’t know what to do now.” You tried to pull away from Changbin’s grip, but you couldn’t, “What are you doing, Binnie?”

“You’re not going anywhere, y/n. You need to seriously talk with me, and don’t give me that bullshit of not wanting to burden me with your problems. I hate when you do that because it makes me feel incapable as a friend.” Changbin said as nicely as he could, “The other boys feel that way too lately. Like whatever we try to do, you just seem to keep pushing us away.”

You felt your heart break as he spoke those words, like a million pieces of glass shattered into your heart. You felt pain and guilt wash over you like a wave in the ocean. You looked down from his gaze at you as you felt ashamed of even being near him. Tears started to form as your thoughts echoed through your head.

Why don’t you just tell him?

Why can’t you tell him anything?

Why don’t you be honest?

Why’re you so scared?

He’s trying to help.

Why can’t you see that?

He is putting in so much effort and you’re giving him nothing.

You’re a horrible friend.

Why can’t you do anything?

You felt tears start to fall down your cheeks like a slow and steady rain. Your face getting red from shame. You couldn’t hold it back anymore. You felt your voice hitch as you started crying in front of him. Your mind completely blank but running wildly. You slowly leaned into Changbin’s chest as you felt his strong arms around you for comfort. You let out a cry as he stayed silent, rubbing his hands against your arms. The pale light of the day quietly shined through your window. The floating dust catching the light and drifting along the space of the room.

“What’s wrong with me?” you muttered with a tear stained face, looking up to see Changbin’s comforting expression.

“Nothing is wrong with you…” Changbin said softly with a smile, “You just need a little push is all.” he lightly laughed as he shook your body by the shoulders.

You let out a small laugh, “Thanks Binnie. For everything.” You gave a tired look but managed to show a tiny grin.

“Here, let’s sit on the couch and watch movies together, huh? We can watch whatever you want. I’m not going to leave you today.” He stood up and dragged you out of your bedroom and into your living room.

You sat down on the couch as you watched him do all the work. Your mind seemed to be foggy from crying, so you weren’t up to much talking too much.

He was searching through your DVD drawer to find any movies that you may enjoy, but then looked at you, “What movie do you want to watch?”

A memory suddenly occurred to you, almost in a flashback kind of sense. You looked at Changbin as you remembered a time where you two were much younger and spent every waking moment together. You and him always watched movies at your house, wasting entire days, but having fun, nevertheless. You felt a small pain in your chest as the memory soon began to fade away. A longingness pulled at your heart almost made you cry again.

Changbin gave you a confused look, “You okay, y/n? You just kinda spaced out.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m okay. I just… remembered something from a long time ago, that’s all.” you confessed with a droopy smile, “but any movie will do.” you gave a shrug, pulling up a blanket over you.

“Alright.” He replied, lingering his stare at you before pulling out your favorite comedy movie, “How about having a good laugh?”

He put in the movie and hopped beside you on the couch. He pouted to you, but you just rolled your eyes and invited him to get under the blanket with you. You always knew what he wanted, even by just the way he looks at you. You suppose it was just because you know him so well. He made himself seem small as he curled up beside you, leaning his head on your shoulder. You smiled to yourself, thinking that you don’t deserve someone as caring as Changbin. You watched the movie with him, knowing almost all the lines due to watching it so many times. Laughing made you almost forget about how much shit is going on in your life.

You fell quiet during the movie, “Hey, Binnie?”

He leaned up from you as he looked towards you, “Yeah?”

“My father finally decided to reach out to me and try to talk to me, but I keep declining his offer. I don’t ever remember what he fucking looks like.” You stated, tucking your legs closer to your chest.

“Your father? How did he even find you?” Changbin gave a strange look.

You shrugged, “Probably my mother. He used to send holiday cards to me when I still lived with my mother. Though, the letters eventually stopped, and I didn’t know why.” You glanced at him, “He wants me to go out of the country to meet him at his new home.”

Changbin tilted his head slightly, “I know you weren’t close with your father, but have you considered going to see him?” he said slowly.

“At first I thought about going, but then I was reminded how much of an asshole he was for leaving me and my mother.” You replied in spite.

He nodded his head, “That’s understandable. But he seems to be trying to make up for it now.”

You stayed silent, “I don’t care, Binnie. He hurt me and my mother, so, I don’t care to see him right now.” You looked back at the movie, “Forget I even brought it up. I want to try and have at least a half good day today.”

Changbin didn’t say a word as he leaned back onto you, focusing on the movie again. You gave out a sigh as you watched the rest of the movie. The soft outside sunlight glistened in the room, hovering midair as it illuminated. A black screen appeared on the tv screen as the credits started to roll. Changbin got up from his position of tiny person beside you as he walked over to the tv to take the DVD out of the DVD player. He placed the disc back into the DVD case and in the drawer. You tossed the blanket aside as you watched him look at you with a goofy smile. You looked at him and gave a laugh.

“What’re you smiling about?” you asked.

“It’s just… we haven’t hung out like this for a while. But it was really nice to be with you again.” He replied, not giving up the goofy smile on his face.

You felt a joyful smile pull at your lips, but a sad feeling pulls at your heart, “Yeah, it feels nice to be with you again like old times.” You paused but then added, “Maybe next time you should invite the rest of the boys here so we can have a movie night.”

Changbin nodded vigorously at your suggestion, “Yes! That sounds like a great idea.” He got up and tackled you on the couch, laughing, “How’re you so smart?”

You laughed as you felt a heavy weight topple over you, “I was just born smart!” you teased him, trying to fight back, but knowing damn well you would lose to him.

He simply laid on top of you to make you stop resisting, “I’m happy to see you smiling again, y/n. Even if you are a brat.” You felt his arms embrace you in a gentle hug.

You slowly placed your arms around him, “Yeah. I could agree.”

➵

The sound of the loud city cried out against the dead of night. You never noticed how beautiful Seoul was until now. The lights illuminating the surrounding area, giving off so much light it was almost blinding. You sat on a chair on your back deck, taking a smoke break. You put the cigarette to your lips as you saw the small red fire at the end of it. The thought of nothing and everything started racing in your head as you simply sat there. Everything seemed to be in rapid slow motion to you. The feeling of loneliness started to creep in your mind as emptiness started to fill your heart. You looked at your phone to see the group chat with the boys were flooding your notifications. A small smile started to take shape as you read through the long line of messages. You loved to see them talk about whatever. You went to go and type something, but you quickly deleted the message. Shit, what do I even say to them? ‘Hi, what’s up? You haven’t seen me for weeks but I’m doing perfectly fine. Don’t come and try to talk to me because I’ll just end up hurting you, cause that seems like the only thing I can do. Hahaha I’m so very funny. Well, goodnight.’ Yeah cause that’ll go over nicely. Stupid piece of shit. You lifted your cigarette to your lips again. You gazed down into the burning fire at the end of it, hating every part of the cigarette. You extinguished the rolled-up cancer in the ash tray placed on the table. There was about a half dozen in the tray. You frowned, why am I like this? All I do is self-sabotage myself. The ringing of your phone snapped you out of the trance, you saw it was an old friend of yours.

“Hey, Jihyun! What’s going on with you? It feels like I haven’t seen you in a while.” You asked happily.

“Oh, nothing much, really. Hey, so… I know you’re not big into parties, but I’m hosting one at my house tonight. I was wondering if you’d like to stop over?” she said loudly, trying to be louder than the background music.

You thought for a moment, “It sounds like the party already started.” You yelled back, “But I’m free right now to stop by and spend a few hours there.”

“Oh yes!” Jihyun yelled excitedly, “Alright, I’ll see you soon then?”

“Yeah. I’ll be over soon.” You replied as you hung up.

Fuck. Why’d I say I’d go to the party? I don’t really want to go. Maybe I’ll have a few drinks to help me. Knowing her she’ll definitely have alcohol. You got up from your chair and headed back inside. You walked back into your room to change outfits. The closet was filled with various types of clothes, but you weren’t too sure what to wear. You decided on a casual but fancy look as you grabbed your phone and keys and walked out your door. Once you got outside your apartment building, you called for a taxi to come and drive you. You laid your head back on the head rest as you closed your eyes, feeling a sense of tiredness before you even entered the party. You opened your eyes to see that you arrived at her house, you kindly payed the taxi driver and got out. You stood at the entrance of the mansion-like house. You remembered her house to be large, but you didn’t remember it being this big. The loud thumping of the base pounded against the walls, almost completely audible from outside. Thank god she lives away from everyone else, or she would be getting a lot of calls right now. You knocked on the door a few times, waiting for someone to answer it. It soon dawned on you that the people inside probably couldn’t hear the knock.

“Idiot.” you said out loud to yourself.

You took your phone out and called Jihyun to come and open the door for you. The quiet waiting was getting annoying as you stood there for what seemed like forever until the door finally opened. You were greeted by the blasting of music coming through the door and your friend with a glass of something in her hand.

“Oh my god, y/n!” she hugged you tightly, “It’s been forever since I’ve seen you! How have you been?” she yelled against the pounding music.

You smiled, “I’ve been doing pretty good!” you walked into the mansion, “But have you thought about turning down the music so I can hear you?” you questioned.

“I guess it is a little loud,” she agreed, “here come follow me. I want to catch up with you!” she walked away, presumably to turn down the music.

You followed in her footsteps, answering her questions when she asked them. You glanced around at the seemingly hundreds of people inside, all dancing and talking to each other. The decorations around the house gave it almost like a ‘classic teen romance party movie’ vibe. The entire mansion had a deep aroma of alcohol. You could tell there was a dimness to all the rooms you passed, because you could barely make out the faces on people. The loud music almost made it to where you could barely hear conversations as you continued to follow Jihyun. You finally reached a small room down the corridor of hallways, probably where the music was being played from throughout the house. You saw her turn down the music slightly to where it was still loud enough to hear, but able to concentrate on a conversation. Jihyun turned out of the room and back into the hallway, she looked towards you.

“Wow, it’s so nice to see you again, y/n.” she smiled widely.

You laughed a little in agreement, “Yeah, it’s nice to come to a party once in a while.”

“Here, let me get you a drink.” She offered, “What do you like?” she started to walk away towards the kitchen where the beverages are being served.

“Oh, it doesn’t really matter. I’m not picky.” You assured her.

The kitchen was large and full of people. Glass and fancy décor were strewn all about the kitchen. The scent of alcohol was overwhelming, but for obvious reasons. The bar area was particularly crowded as you weaved your way through. You placed your hands on the counter as you looked at the bar tender, ordering your go to drink for parties. The glass hit the table, making a noticeable clank. You quickly took it and tried to get away from the crowd.

“Let’s go sit down somewhere.” She suggested, leading you like always.

You nodded, “Yeah, that seems nice.”

She easily snaked through the ocean of people, occasionally asking how the party was to the people you passed. Frankly, you didn’t know anyone there, which made you feel like the odd one out. You took a deep breath and drank some of your drink, hoping it would make you feel a little better. You entered to what seemed like a “VIP” area. The dark luxurious expensive looking couches and daunting glass table was intimidating to you. The large window behind everything gave a distant view of the city’s lights. The room felt huge, but there weren’t as many people in here as other areas in the house. Jihyun found a cozy spot on one of the couches next to her other friends, leaving you in the doorway. Your eyes scanned the room, finding a place to sit. Suddenly your heart stopped mid-beat as you locked eyes with him.

His name was Park Hajoon and he was the last person you ever wanted to lay eyes on.

You felt frozen in place as he looked at you with a smile, seemingly forgetting everything he has done to you. Hajoon was surrounded with people but he didn’t dare look away from you. His styled jet-black hair and strong facial features ostensibly haven’t changed since high school. Though, you knew his personality probably hasn’t changed much either. Your knees felt weak and a heavy drop in your stomach. Shit. Oh, fuck why is he here!? God, I wish I never saw him. Damn it all. Fucking shit! Just leave. Right now. Your hand started to slightly shake as your feet were bolted to the ground. Your throat felt dry as you saw him finally get up from his seat and walk towards you.

“Y/n? Is that you?” he questioned, looking at you with a slightly tilted head, “Wow, I haven’t seen you since graduation. How have you been?” he gave you a hug, which you tried not to freak out.

You reciprocated the hug, trying to calm down your beating heart, “Yeah. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’ve been doing fine, though. Nothing much.” You tried to keep it calm and casual.

“Here, why don’t you sit down with me.” He offered as he walked to sit back down where he was originally.

Your feet felt like they became rocks as you dragged them across the hard wood floor. You felt your vision blur and then come back into focus as you sat down beside Hajoon. You tried to become small and unnoticeable as you took a big gulp of your drink, trying to not freak out. Conversations were floating around the room, ranging from various topics. You felt a nudge on your arm, and you looked over.

“Why so tense? Don’t you trust me?” he questioned, giving you a reassuring smile, “Here, I’ll get you another drink and then we can catch up.” Hajoon took your empty glass and walked out.

You quickly got up out of your seat and marched over to Jihyun and looked at her in the eyes.

“Jihyun! You didn’t tell me Hajoon was here!” you scolded, “I haven’t seen him since high school.”

She looked at you surprised, “I’m sorry, y/n. I honestly didn’t know he was here either. I thought you would’ve gotten over the fact that he was your bully.”

You frowned, a knot in your stomach forming, “No, Jihyun. I haven’t seen him to even try and make up.” You paused, getting more anxious, “It’s just that now he is here, and every time I see him, I get scared. I get all the memories of all the bad things he’s done to me. I remember every insult and action he did to me.”

“Well,” she started, “why don’t you try and make up now? While he’s here so you can move on?” she suggested with a small smile.

You slowly nodded your head, “I’ll try. Thanks.”

“Just remember, if you need backup or help, just look at me. I’ll understand right away and kick him out.” Jihyun said confidently.

Not a moment passed once you sat down that Hajoon came back into the room. He sat down and gave you a new drink that you’ve never seen before.

“Here. It’s one of my personal favorites.” He laughed.

You took the odd liquid and smelled it, it was a very strong drink, “Oh, thanks.” You took a rather large sip and almost coughed, “What the hell? Its foul, Hajoon!”

He shook his head, “Probably should’ve gotten you something else, huh? It’s more of an acquired taste.” He peered into the dark liquid in your glass, “So, what have you been doing since high school?”

“Nothing too major. I’m just doing some temporary work until I can find the job I want to do.” you casually responded, “What about you?” you placed the glass down on the table.

“Well,” he ran his hand through his hair slowly, “I recently became one of the CEO’s of POSCO.” He leaned closely to your ear, “My father knew a guy to help me get the job. So, it’s not like I should take all the credit.” He whispered with a small smirk.

You felt spite burn in your soul, “Why’d you tell me that?” you questioned with a hint of attitude.

“Just being friendly is all.” he shrugged, “We were classmates after all. Besides, sharing secrets is what’s beautiful about life.” He took his drink from the table and took a swig.

“So, is that why you knew so many things about everyone in the school?” you frowned, hate flowing through your veins.

He laughed, “Sometimes it’s who you know, not what you know.” His fingers tracing the design of the glass, “It really is survival of the fittest in this world, wouldn’t you agree?”

You felt a slight headache forming, perhaps from the alcohol, “How come you’re such an asshole, even now?” you spat angerly.

“What the hell, y/n?!” he gave you a serious look, “I’m just trying to be a better person than who I was before! Why’re you bringing up the past?”

“Hajoon, do you not remember what you did to me? How you made my life a living hell every day for three years straight?!” you got up quickly, maybe a little too quickly, “Maybe you need a reminder. Do you remember when you and your friends dumped dirty cleaning water on me during lunch? Or maybe when you decided to spread rumors about me and how I was a slut and a whore? That I was sleeping around with all the guys in our school?” you felt the room start to spin when you talked, you always hated drinking too much.

Hajoon stood up in front of you, you almost forgot how tall he was, “What the fuck, y/n?! You wanna play the victim here!? Go ahead.” His hands formed into fist and he had an angry look to him, “I will admit that I was a bully, and what I did was wrong. Don’t you think for a moment that I was let off the hook for it. My parents were disappointed in me every day for the things I did.”

“Oh bullshit, Hajoon! Your parents adored you, and you knew it.” You felt a fire burning inside, “You could get away with anything and just pay off the people to let you off the hook. You had everything you ever wanted, so it gave you a free pass to be a complete asshole jerk!”

You felt the room slowly get quiet from the scene you were making. The music still blasting throughout. You looked towards Jihyun for assistance, but you knew she would be no help. This was a fight you had to go through.

Hajoon smirked ever so slightly, “Yeah, at least my parents loved me, unlike yours.” He seemingly towered over you, making you feel small, “You were the one who picked this fight with me, but let’s just drop it, darling.”

You felt sick to your stomach. You knew he got you pegged. His stupid face said it all. You felt your heart start to race as if it was going to explode, your brain pounding against your skull. You felt the room start spinning out of control, your vision starting to blur. You rushed out of the room in a hurry, searching for the nearest bathroom to puke. The loud music rang through your ears, disrupting your panicked thoughts. Fuck this. Fuck this so hard. Dammit it. Dammit it all. I hate him. I hate myself. I hate- you finally found a bathroom and fell into it. There were ambient lights strung up around the room, giving off enough light to barely see everything. You closed and locked the door and knelt to the toilet. You placed your head right at the entrance of the seat, hands on the sides, ready to throw up everything. You felt your stomach pulse up through your body. You felt something come up, finally. It felt like a long time before you finally got everything out. You felt physically tired afterwards. You flushed the toilet and washed your hands. Your eyes gazed up to the mirror and you saw your reflection. You never realized how tired you looked around the eyes. You touched your cheek and that’s when you felt something snap in your head. Tears started to fall down your face. You tried hard to muffle your screams against the music banging against the walls. You slowly slid down one of the empty walls and place your hands over your mouth. You felt so tired. Everything was going wrong in your life. You felt like nothing anymore.

Why is everything so shit for me now? Why can I not feel better anymore? Why did Chan and I split? Why is my life not going right anymore? Why can’t I become better? Why do I feel like shit? Why can’t I do anything right? I’m done. I can’t anymore. I feel too tired anymore. I hate myself.

The tears started to stop as you took a few shaky breaths, trying to calm down. You felt physically and emotionally exhausted. Your brain felt fried as you sat on the bathroom floor. You didn’t feel like going back out to the party. It would be too depressing. The music felt distant to you, like you were underwater listening to it. Everything felt null and void.

“Fuck this shit. Life sucks, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” You muttered to yourself out loud, hoping it would make you feel less alone.

You slowly got up from the floor and noticed the lavished white bathtub. You climbed into it carefully and sat there for a moment with your thoughts. You took out your phone to call Changbin.

After a few rings, there was an answer, “Hey, y/n. Is everything alright?” he questioned.

You took a deep breath, “Honestly, no. Nothing is okay right now. Can you come and pick me up from my friend’s house?”

“Of course, I’ll come over. What happened?” he sounded concerned.

“I uh…” you stopped, trying to think of a way to explain the events that happened, “I just met Park Hajoon. You remember him from high school, right? Well, he’s at this party and I just fled to the bathroom. So, that’s where I’m at. It’s just depressing here now, that’s all.”

“Wait, you saw Park Hajoon at this party? Shit… did he do anything to you?” you could hear a little aggravation in Changbin’s voice.

“No, nothing happened. But he was just trying to be friendly towards me, that’s all. Though, I snapped on him and uh… he didn’t take it too well.” You explained, “I’ll just tell you more when you get here.”

You heard a car door being slammed in the background, “Alright, I just got in my car, and I’m on my way to get you. I’ll just use your locations to get to the house, so just sit tight. Maybe we can get something to eat.” He suggested, trying to make you feel better.

You felt a hint of a smile start to form, “Yeah, maybe.” You said, almost at a whisper.

“Alright. I’ll see you soon. Just hang tight, y/n.” Changbin said and hung up.

You placed your phone back and leaned your head back, trying to relax from everything. You soon heard a knock on the door after what seemed like forever. You got out of the bathtub and unlocked the door and opened it to be greeted by a familiar face.

“You wouldn’t believe how many bathrooms I had to search to find you.” Changbin said as he tried to give you a smile.

You were in no mood to smile, all you wanted was to go home, “Really? I’m sorry.” You apologized.

Changbin suddenly wrapped his arms around you in a comforting hug, “It’s okay. Don’t apologize.” He let go and grabbed your hand, “Here, let’s go.”

You could only nod as you were being dragged throughout the house. The noise almost deafening to your ears. Your vision could only look towards the ground; you didn’t want to speak to anyone, nor did you want to see anyone but Changbin. Your grip tightened as you almost felt yourself on the verge of crying again. You almost ran into Changbin as he suddenly stopped. You looked at him as you snapped out of your daze. You followed his gaze as you saw Hajoon walk towards you. You felt yourself wanting to disappear more and more with each step he took. Changbin stepped in front of you and glared at Hajoon, trying to be more menacing despite the difference in height.

“Y/n! Your leaving so soon?” Hajoon asked, ignoring Changbin in front of him.

“Shut up, Hajoon. She’s not going to speak to you.” Changbin spat, getting increasingly agitated.

Hajoon only gave a small pout, “What? Can’t I say goodbye to y/n?” he spoke, almost teasingly.

“No. We’re leaving now. I hope you’re happy knowing how much of a piece of shit you are.” Changbin walked away, pulling you along to the front door.

Before you could exit, you heard Hajoon make one last snark remark, “I bet you fuck that entire group, y/n. Or maybe you suck all their dicks and that’s the only reason why they let you hang out with them.”

You felt your heart sink from his words, though, in a matter of seconds it was replaced with deep hatred. Fuck Hajoon. Those are my best friends he’s talking about. Dammit, I’m going to kill him. I don’t care anymore. You turned around and walked over to him.

“The fuck you say to me, Hajoon?” you gritted your teeth, your last straw almost to the breaking point.

Hajoon only gave you a proud smirk, “Oh, you heard me, y/n. You definitely heard me.”

You soon felt yourself swing a punch to wipe the proud smirk off his face. Your hand felt slight pain as you made contacted with his face. You saw him stagger back and looked at you with surprise. Without a moment’s hesitation, you leaped towards him as you two landed with a loud thud to the ground. Your heart rate pulsing out of your chest. Punching whatever you could of him, the pain soon increasing but it wasn’t much of a bother. You felt too much hate to care about the pain. Hajoon retaliated and used his stronger body build to throw you off him. You felt pain in your back as you were now the one on the ground. You could faintly hear the crowd in a ruckus from the fighting. A heavy weight was crushing you as you tried to get him away from you. Your vision was blurry, but your senses could tell that with every punch he gave you, it felt like fire being burned on your face. Soon, you felt the weight being lifted off you as you were dragged back up on your feet. You saw Hajoon struggling with two other guys holding him back. You looked over to see Changbin holding you up right. Your gaze shifted back to Hajoon; you noticed the damage you made on him. His lip was swollen, and you could notice where a bruise on his pretty face will form later tonight. You wanted to see him bloodier, though, he looked fucked up from what you saw. You felt proud of yourself as you were being dragged out of the house and to Changbin’s car. Still, you couldn’t look away from the screaming Hajoon, still being held back by the two guys. The door soon closed as you turned your attention to a worried Changbin.

“Honestly, y/n, do you even think about what you do?” he asked, almost angry as he helped you into his car.

You kept quiet until he got into the car and stared the engine, “For as long as you’ve known me, Binnie, when have I ever thought about what I was doing?” you scoffed.

Changbin drove off with his wheels spinning away from the nightmare of a house, “You could’ve gotten seriously hurt. I’m not happy that you chose to fight him, but,” he glanced at you with a small smile, “you did get a good number of punches on him.”

You couldn’t help but laugh, “Yeah, I guess I did.”

While you were calming down from the rush of fighting, you felt something flow down your nose. You lifted your hand away from your nose and saw fresh blood on your hand.

“Shit. I didn’t even realize my nose my bleeding.” You said aloud, pulling down the car’s sun visor and looking in the mirror.

Your nose didn’t appear broken, but it hurt like a bitch. Your face looked relatively okay, but you knew you would feel it in the morning.

“Yeah, but you still look fine. I gotta say though, I’m a little surprised that you still managed to look good.” He said with a shrug.

You flipped the sun visor back up, “I suppose so. But it’ll hurt tomorrow. Can you stay at my apartment for a little and help me look less fucked up?”

“I guess I could spare you a few hours. I was supposed to hang out with Seungmin, but I guess he can wait.” Changbin complained like a child.

“Yeah, I think I’m a little more important than them right now.” You teased, trying to wipe the blood off your face.

He didn’t respond immediately, “Why did you fight Hajoon? I know he said some things about our group, but that wasn’t worth fighting about. I can take an insult.”

“I couldn’t handle the hateful and wrong remarks he made about you or the other guys. I couldn’t take it from him. He was fucking wrong anyway, which made me so upset that I just, couldn’t hold it in anymore.” You slowly spoke, “I guess I just got too tired of him being an asshole that I wanted him to shut up.”

“Thank you, y/n.” he said quietly, “For sticking up for us. You know we all still love you, right? We all wish you can come back to us. So, when you’re ready, we’ll be waiting for you, alright?”

You felt hurt from his words, in your heart you longed to go back to them, though, you didn’t know if you could. You felt a painful smile start to creep on your face.

“Does Chan still love me? After the big fight and everything that happened afterwards, do you think he still loves me?” you asked, almost not wanting to know the answer.

Changbin paused, “I’ve never seen Chan love someone more than you, y/n. And that’s the truth.” He responded, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new end.”

You knew he was right, but it still hurt. You took out your phone and called Chan. You never spoke to him since the fight, but you never wanted to talk to him more than at this one moment. The ringing continued, but it soon went to his voicemail.

Hello! This is Chan. I’m sorry I couldn’t answer your call right now, but I’ll be sure to get back to you as soon as possible.

The beep rang clear in your ear, ready to take your message. You looked outside of the car’s window, seeing the city lights shine bright.

You stuttered, “H-hey. This is y/n, but you probably already know that by the sound of my voice. I know this must be weird to hear from me after so long but… I just wanted to say hello. How’re you? I hope you’re doing well. I hope you’re eating good and resting a lot.” You spoke, almost in a wistful sadness, “I just wanted to say… I miss you. I miss the days we use to laugh together. I miss the way you smiled at the dumbest things. I miss the way we made each other better. I know you don’t feel the same way about me. But I just needed to tell you, just in case.” You hung up and almost felt the need to cry.

“I think your message reached him, y/n.” Changbin spoke after the quietness.

Your heart broke as the sound of his words as you let it out. Your face becoming tear stained as your voice became numb and raw. You never knew you would miss someone as bad as him. You didn’t even realize that you were at your apartment when Changbin opened the car door. He led you through all the way to your bathroom. He said nothing, but you knew he was comforting you. You cleaned yourself up from the dried blood, looking at the mess you are in the mirror. You simply walked away and went straight to your bed, covering yourself in the warm sheets.

“Y/n. I’m staying here for the night. Just in case you need me for anything, please wake me up. I’ll just be on the couch. I’ll tell Seungmin that I can’t make it tonight.” Changbin petted your head with a faint smile.

“Okay. Thank you.” You managed to say as he left.

A wave of tiredness flowed through you as you felt your eyes slowly close. Your vision becoming cloudy. You wanted nothing more than to sleep away the night.

➵

You felt your body start to wake up, though, the pain in your body said differently. A curse word flew from your mouth as you felt pain course through your face and hands. You sat up and walked out of your bedroom to get a drink to help the feeling of being shitty. As you walked out of your bedroom, you saw a tuft of blonde hair sticking up from your couch. You slowly walked towards your living room and looked at your couch. You were speechless to see that it was Chan on your couch. He looked almost peaceful resting, though, it’s been a while since you’ve seen him.

“Chan?” you lightly pushed him to try and wake him up.

He slowly lifted his head and looked up at you, “Y/n!” he suddenly leaned up, “I know this must be weird to see me here. I heard your voicemail last night, and I got a text from Changbin telling me what happened, so I came down to your apartment right away. I told him that I could take over for him, and uh… that’s why I’m here.” Chan spoke quickly.

You rubbed your head, “Okay, okay. Whatever. It’s early and I don’t know what you said.” You walked away, going to get a drink from the kitchen, “I don’t even remember the voicemail.”

You heard Chan get up and follow you to the kitchen. The sound of the chair being pulled squeaked across the floor. You got a glass of water and sat down across from Chan. You noticed that he looked more tired than usual, like he wasn’t getting enough sleep.

“I-I didn’t know you smoked, y/n.” Chan looked down at the pack of cigarettes on the table.

You took a sip of water, “Yeah, I do now. But I don’t want to anymore. I hate that I started though.” You regretfully said.

There was silence growing between you with each second that passed. You didn’t want to ask, but you knew that you should.

“Chan, what did I say to you over the voicemail?” you questioned, “I was too emotional to know what I was doing or saying.”

Without a word, Chan opened his phone and played the voicemail. Your voice from last night speaking in the quite room. It soon stopped and he put his phone down on the table. You stayed quiet, trying to come up with something to say to him.

“Chan, I-” you started to speak, but were cut off.

“No, let me tell you something, y/n. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since our fight. A lot of self-reflection.” Chan gave you a small smile, “Y/n, I want to make this work. You’ve always known how to show me love and happiness. Being with you, I feel like I can do anything. Please tell me you feel the same way.”

Seeing his smile made you smile back, “Chan, I want this to work, I really do. It’s just that… I don’t know if I can. Things have been so fucking messed up for me. First it was our breakup, then my work was piling up on me, my mother nagging me constantly, and my father trying to get me to see him out of the country in his new home.” You took another drink, glancing away from his gaze.

“Wait, your father contacted you?” Chan asked with a surprised tone, “I thought you said you would never want to see him, even if he contacted you.”

“Yeah, he contacted me recently.” You nodded your head, “But, I think I do want to go see him. I think it would be good for me to change the scenery. Get out of the country for a month or so. Try and figure out some things for myself.”

Chan looked at you in surprise from your response. His eyes filled with emotion. You got out of your seat and placed the cup in the sink. Chan got up as well and you could tell he wanted you to say something. Though, you had no clue what he wanted. His face carried so much emotion that it was almost unbearable to even look at.

“Y/n, please give me an answer to what you want. I’m so tired of trying to give you space that I don’t want you to find someone new. Y/n, I’m scared every day that you will leave me or the guys. I’m scared that you might end up in a place you don’t want to because of your bad habits. Y/n, can’t you see that I care for you?” You could hear in Chan’s voice all the pent-up fear and sadness, his desperate cries out to you almost made you look away, “I’m losing sleep over you. I can’t eat as much because I never know what you’re doing. I can’t do anything! Y/n, I love you so much it hurts. Can’t you see that?”

Hearing his words echo in your head made you dig up all the emotions you tried to bury. You saw that Chan went through so much after the breakup. You knew he could only take so much until he fell apart. Your feet took you to Chan as you slowly wrapped your arms around him. His touch made you remember all the times you spent in his arms. His scent made you remember all the times you stole his sweatshirts. His heartbeat reminded you of the times you fell asleep in his arms. Everything felt more painful in his arms, but it felt so nice to be hugged by him again.

“Channie,” you whispered in the silence.

“Yeah?” he responded, not ever wanting to let you go.

You knew saying these words would hurt you, but you knew it would hurt Chan a lot more.

“I want this to work out, you know that. But I don’t think right now is a good time.” You hugged him tighter, knowing what was to come.

➵

You found yourself sitting in the Incheon International Airport as you noticed a plane fly out of the airport. A crowd of people walking in every which direction. The noise filled airport wasn’t something you were too fond of, though, you found it interesting to look at all the different people crossing your path. You clung onto your phone a bit tighter as you patiently waited for your flight to be boarding soon. The aroma of food from the food court filled the surrounding gates. You finally hear that your flight is now boarding, you got up and waited in line to board the plane. Suddenly, you heard a loud voice call your name amongst the large crowd. You turned around to see who it was; however, you already knew who it was by the sound of their voice. A heavy pit in your stomach started to form. Palms started to get clammy. Your heart started to race as you met him face to face.

“Channie, what the hell are you doing here?” you asked in a confused manner.

“Y/n, I just wanted to tell you goodbye before you left.” Chan said with a small smile, “And I just wanted to see your face again one last time.”

You chuckled slightly, continuing to follow the line to enter the plane, “Well, here is your chance to say goodbye.” You replied, almost too bluntly.

Chan took you by the shoulders and dragged you out of the line, “Please don’t give me that attitude when I’m trying to say goodbye.” He paused and let his grip go, “Sorry, I just… can’t believe you’re actually leaving.”

“Yeah, I can’t believe it either.” You gave a small smile, “Thank you for coming to say goodbye. I mean it.” You looked him in the eyes with a soft expression.

Chan gave you almost a hurt look to you in return, “All I wanted was for you to be happy.” Chan spoke in a broken tone, placing his hands on your arms.

“Chan, don’t-” You tried to interject, but he continued.

He looked you in the eyes, “Y/n, you make every day worth living. Please, I need you here. You believe me, don’t you?” he gave you a pleading appearance.

You glanced back to see the line becoming shorter, then looked back at him, “Chan, I’m tired of living a life where I’ll never be happy.” You confessed, your emotions spilling over, “I’m not happy here. I’m not happy with who I am. I’m not happy with who I’ve become. Channie, I have to leave to try and fix myself before I try to be in a relationship again. Please, can’t you understand that?” you tried to plead with him.

“Please don’t forget me and the things we did.” Chan spoke softly, almost woefully.

“I promise.” You nodded.

The line was gone as the woman at the desk was waiting for you. You got out of his grasp as handed the woman your flight ticket at the entrance of the gate. You couldn’t stand to see him. It made you too sad to see him like this. But you knew it would hurt him when you would leave. You started to through the tunnel when you heard him call your name again. You stopped and turned around again. You turned to see a crying Chan. His eyes red and puffy. His sobs echoing through your head. His perfect lips now stained of sadness. You felt your heart break with every tear that fell from his eyes.

“Y/n.” Chan spoke shakily, trying to walk towards you.

You met him halfway, “Channie.” Speaking softly, your hands brushing through his soft blonde hair comfortingly.

“I love you, y/n.” He wrapped his arms around you tightly, you felt his emotions cover you like a blanket.

You hugged back lightly, knowing how it’ll hurt to let him go. You stayed in the moment, trying to remember the way he hugged you. You soon let him go, knowing it hurt him when you ripped apart from him. You turned and walked down the tunnel. Chan’s sobbing started again, watching his only love walk away from him. You turned to see him at the entrance of the tunnel. You gave him your best smile.

“I know you do.” you spoke gently, your heart breaking with every breath you took.

Once you knew you were out of sight of Chan, you let yourself be completely destroyed by your emotions. You started to feel a stream of tears run down your face. You tried to keep your cries at a minimum as you attempted to find your seat in the plane. Faces of people looking at you. You felt embarrassed, wanting to become invisible. Finally, you climbed to your window seat and sat down. You looked out of the window as you wiped your eyes. You hated crying in public. You felt a light tap on your shoulder as you looked over to see an elderly woman.

“Why’re you crying, dear?” she asked politely.

You stayed silent, trying to figure out how to say it, “I just walked away from the best thing in my life.”

The elderly woman gave you a smile, “There’s always light, in dark situations.” Her words were simple, but it hurt you to hear it, “Sometimes it’s good to start over.”

“Why’re you so kind to me?” you felt a tear slip down your face.

She leaned forward slightly, you saw her eyes were filled with the stars, “We all need someone to kiss us goodbye.” Her words felt like they came from experience.

The plane started to take off the ground. The view from down below started to become fainter with the rise in elevation. You always loved the city view, but this became almost too depressing to look at.

It’s been a few months since your departure. You finally got to see your father. He didn’t seem to change that much from what you could faintly remember. Though, it was a little strange to see him again, in all honesty. However, he showed you that he has changed since. You decided to go outside to the park just to relax. You saw that the sun was soon going to set, so you decided that you should make it quick. The walk down was peaceful, there wasn’t many people out, so it was almost perfect. You eventually got to the park and sat down on the bench. The green grass soon changed the tips of the blades to an orange to match the setting sun. You felt your phone buzz and checked to see who it was.

“Changbin! Oh wow, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? What’s going on?” you asked, completely surprised from his call.

There was a moment of silence, “Y/n. I have to tell you something.” He seemed off to you, “Chan- airplane-”

His words seemed to drift away like a boat out into the ocean. Your heart sank to the bottom of the vast sea as you listened to the muffled voice coming from your phone. Your mind drew a blank. You couldn’t come up with any thoughts. A loud ringing in your head started to reverberate in your skull. Your vision became cloudy. Everything was wrong. Nothing could fix this. You felt like time stopped dead and everything hovered motionless.

➵

You opened your eyes to see a bird chirping in the nearby tree. The crisp autumn leaves covered the ground in fire. The wind blew a cold breeze across the land. The sound of dancing leaves soothed your body as you swayed with them. The tall trees orchestrated the wind to tell it which way to go. You breathed out a loud sigh.

Everything seemed like a hazy distant dream to you, even if it happened two years ago.

“It’s been a while, huh?” you asked aloud, “I hope you’re doing alright. Eating well and resting a lot.” no response.

You looked down and kicked the leaves, “Y’know, the stars would be so proud to know their atoms created someone like you.” you felt a smile pull.

You turned around to see a lonely gray gravestone. The words written on it almost were unbearable to read.

In Loving Memory

Christopher Bang

A loving son and best friend

May you rest in peace knowing how you impacted those around you

You felt overwhelmed, even now to see him. You got on your knees and stared at the stone slab, wishing it was never there.

You tried to give your best smile, “I’m glad we met, Channie. I really do.”

You longed to see him again, but not like this. Even after two years, it still hurts. You reached out and touched the stone, the cold feeling rushed up your arm. A tear slipped down your face without you noticing. You heard footsteps approaching, but you didn’t even care.

“Let’s go, y/n.” a familiar voice called to you.

You looked up to see Changbin stretch his hand out towards you. You took it slowly and got up, keeping eye contact with the stone.

Changbin noticed, “C’mon. Chan would be sad to see you like this. Let’s try and be happy.” He gave you a reassuring smile.

You nodded, “Yeah, I suppose.” You smiled at the grave, “I love you.”

The surrounding gravestones seemed to try and speak to you as you were leaving. As if to say to not leave them. You never knew how sad a graveyard could be. Changbin led you away as the other boys were waiting outside of their cars. You felt at home being with them again. You loved them with all your heart. But it never quite felt the same without him.

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kamino-ink · 6 years

Text

Wounds | Lee Minho

✧ Genre: Soulmate!au, floof, lowkey suggestive, uhh lemme get some anGst

✧ Summary: You’ve always been aware that Lee Minho was your soulmate, ever since you were kids - but you were too naïve about the world and figured waiting to tell him would be a better idea. Everything starts to go downhill when he says he thinks the system is utter bullshit.

✧ Word Count: 3.7k

✧ Want to read other parts of this series? Check out my masterlist!

✧

The whole entire soulmate system was complete and utter bullshit. What kind of world were people to live in where you couldn’t choose who to love, rather the universe meticulously wrote it down in fine ink since the way you were born - nobody got a real choice. Obnoxious soulmate bonds tended to become true nuisances to most in their day to day lives, leaving little room for them to think about anything else, really. Why wait for that one person who could literally be anywhere on the fucking planet when you could find someone who you choose to fall in love with and cherish till the end of your days?

Those were the exact words that poured out between Lee Minho’s pink lips, effectively sucking the life out of you the second he started to curse the very existence of soulmates yet again.

“Dude, who put a stick up your ass this morning?” Changbin snorted from across the living room, bringing his glass of coke up to his lips and taking a long, drawn out sip with a quirked eyebrow.

You felt your world - no, your entire universe start to crumble around your very being, sat upon the couch just inches away from brushing against the resilient man’s arms that he’d sourly crossed over his chest.

“Come on Changbin, not everyone is as lucky as the rest of you fucks. For all I know my soulmate could be halfway across the world in another country. The possibility of us actually running into each other is zero to none.”

“That makes it all the more exhilarating. Imagine finally meeting the person you are literally destined to be with on like, a vacation in Paris or some shit. Now that is some quality young adult romance material.”

“Vacationing in Paris - yeah, with what fucking money?” Minho retorts sharply, dramatically waving his arms around to gesture all around his small studio apartment.

“You’re so pessimistic, Lee. Any man or woman would be attracted to a nurse-”

“Oh sure, because my paycheck is so good that I have to live in a fuckass apartment at my age - how dreamy.”

Sure, Minho liked to talk shit about his studio apartment, and you couldn’t really blame him half of the time since his home was super small compared to his friends’ places; not to mention he lived right beside an apartment housing a couple that never stopped going at it. Whatever noise complaints he had were dismissed with a lazy shrug, meaning the poor guy had to stuff his ears in the dead of night just to get some decent sleep.

But then again, he had turned the small living space into something quite nice and, obviously, livable. The walls were painted a plain white, but Minho has spiced up the place by sticking some brick wallpaper onto a couple of the walls, as well as hanging up cute little houseplants here and there, scattered about the apartment. He also had two cats who got their fur everywhere.

Not that you were complaining.

“Y/N agrees with me, right?” Minho snaps at Changbin, quickly turning all of his attention just onto you within seconds. “I mean you don’t even know what your connection to your soulmate is.”

“N-nope, still don’t know for sure. Could be anything for all I know.” You replied, your voice shaking slightly out of sheer nervousness and hurt. Minho hadn’t meant to intentionally hurt your feelings, and especially not in such a crude manner, but you couldn’t help the tugging at your heartstrings with his blunt statements.

“See? That’s my girl, always got my back.” The man coos playfully as he leans into your side, slinging an arm loosely over your shoulders from behind to pull your closer to him. “We don’t need that stupid soulmate shit, yeah? I’ll find a great man or woman to marry and you’ll do the same. We can do some cheesy stuff and go on double dates!”

You find yourself falling into a daze while weakly nodding in fake agreement with your friend, shifting your gaze so you wouldn’t have to feel the pain of making eye contact with him. While Changbin quickly snaps back at the brunette, initiating yet another argument between them with you quite literally stuck in the middle of it all, you take a moment to look down at the sleeve of your hoodie on your left arm. The material has ridden up just enough for someone to possibly spot the gauze lining your skin, but you discretely slide the sleeve down your arm again before either of the two arguing men can notice.

Minho, on the other hand, lets his bandaged wound be seen by the whole world, still donning his short-sleeved pajamas from the night before. It is in the exact same spot your wound was, decorating the skin of your left arm just under your marginally scraped elbow.

The other day you’d been mindlessly wandering around the heart of the city after meeting up with Minho for a diner date - well it technically wasn’t labeled as a date, but it still felt like one; and that was real enough for you to accept, at least. In the midst of your otherwise peaceful walk back home, two younger girls had skated by on the already narrow sidewalk, one of them accidently shoving you to the ground in an attempt to catch up to her friend who’d managed to speed ahead of her. The worst of the impact had been on your elbow and left arm, since you’d immediately tried to lessen the pain of the fall by landing on that spot - course you underestimated the roughness of the cement, leaving you with an ugly spot of missing skin and a bloodied elbow.

And of course Minho had to go through the same exact pain as you, since that was essentially your connection - or, lack for a better term, your soulmate bond. Whenever one of you injured yourself, whether it be a teensy papercut or a scrape on your leg, the other person got the same exact injury on their body in the very same place.

“- but you still know what your soulmate connection is, dumbass! Your other half is out there somewhere, fuck they’re probably wondering where the hell you are by now!”

“Well fuck them, alright!” The man beside you boomed loudly, having clearly lost any and all patience with your other friend across the room. “I get to choose who I fall in love with, and they’ll just have to suck it up and deal with it. In fact, I have a date on Thursday with a person who is not my soulmate, and she is a fantastic girl who also thinks this whole system is a bunch of horse-shit!”

That was the last straw.

You abruptly stand up from the plush gray couch, tossing Minho’s arm off of your shoulders and onto the comfy material in a rush of mixed emotions. Their voices that had been so relentless in their harsh jabs at one another suddenly converged into one stunning harmony, calling out to you in worry; one more so with confusion, the other oddly knowing. Bearing no other utterance of a goodbye, you slip on your shoes sat by the front door and hurry out of the cozy home, quietly shutting the door behind your still retreating figure.

“W-why did Y/N run out like that? Did... did I say something?”

Changbin sighed softly to himself, staring sympathetically at the empty spot on the couch next to the concerned nurse.

“She really has faith in this stuff, Minho, you should know that by now. Out of all of us, I’m pretty sure she’s the one most looking forward to being with her soulmate one day.”

“Jisung for the last time, I do not want to go to the fucking party.”

“Aww come on, Y/N! It’ll be fun, I promise!”

“No.”

“... fine, but that means you’re letting me spend the night and picking out movies to watch.”

See, that was why you liked Han Jisung so much; while the kid liked to go out and party until the sun rose above the hillside, he never tried to force you into attending one with him - he respected how you preferred to stay home on Saturdays, taking the day off to simply relax in the mindless comfort of your own home.

“Tell you what, we’ll go to the damn party-”

“Yes!”

“- but afterwards you’re paying for pizza and friend chicken. Deal?”

You also knew how much Jisung liked for you two to actually be together and hang out like the best friends you were. He often abandoned his plans just for you, so you figured doing the same for him couldn’t hurt too much.

“Deal!”

Needless to say, you had been incredibly wrong, straying so far from the truth that when it finally hit you like a ton of bricks, you quite nearly puked on the spot.

The party Jisung had managed to drag you to was a simple high school one, which meant there were underaged teenagers drinking their night away and making out with upperclassmen that would graduate in just a few months time, promptly leaving the hopeful boys and girls in their trail of dust. You weren’t at all similar to them when you were their age, instead choosing to pine after one of your male best friends that just so happened to be your soulmate - the person fate destined you to be with for the rest of your life.

Said soulmate was in the middle of shoving his sinful tongue down another woman’s throat, husky noises bubbling from between his plump, slightly bruised lips when you and the blonde senior had stumbled into a vacant bedroom to, you know, raid the shelves of video games and duke it out while the other teens fucked around downstairs.

“Minho?” His name slips past your parted lips, though it doesn’t even come close to catching his attention, nor the woman’s. Only moments ago you’d been a giggling mess, stumbling up the wooden stairs with a bubbly Jisung in excitement since he had overheard that the host let one of the guest rooms upstairs be open for anyone who felt uncomfortable or wanted to just hang out during the mess that was most certainly a stereotypical high school bash.

But now... now you can feel your already frail heart starting to shatter like glass inside your chest. Because you fucking blew it. You chose not to tell the man that you were his soulmate, and that he was yours - that you were in love with him.

Because he always spewed nonsense about disliking the entire system since you were kids, you were inclined not to speak of your bond with him at the tender ages you were at back then - besides, you were still mere children that screamed cooties when someone of the opposite gender was even affectionate towards another. Surely his opinions would diverge in the future.

Except, they never did; in anything he became even more upfront with his thoughts on the ideals of fate as time flew by, cursing and challenging the universe with every other breath he took. While his blunt words had always left a lingering sense of regret in the back of your mind, nothing could have possibly prepared you for the condemning feeling of heartbreak that rolled over your frozen figure in the doorway of the guest room.

“Dude, what the fuck?”

You can just barely make out Jisung’s snort of disapproval and disgust at the sight before the both of you, and for a fleeting moment you watch as the two moaning adults hurriedly pull back from one another’s bodies as if the other was burning like a candlestick.

“A-ah shit - um, guys, this is Ginny. She’s the girl I went out with on Thursday.” The breathless man explains, offering an awkward smile that compliments his even more embarrassed, flushing cheeks while his brown gaze darts between his two friends and his date. There’s a bit of a tent in his pants and there’s crimson lipstick smeared across his lips and neck. If you two hadn’t accidently walked in, then they would’ve taken another step further.

The mere thought of Minho, the man you had so helplessly fallen in love with, having sex with another person crushed your soul. He was his own person, yes, but you felt the selfish urge to claim him as your own because fate wrote it so. Fate destined you two to join in a loving union, and you had fallen into its deadly trap - perhaps that was why it hurt so much more than it would have, had you not fallen in love with your best friend.

So like any logical person who happened to be foolishly in love with their best friend and also happened to coincidently walk in on said best friend having a rather heated make out session with another wonderful human being, you turned tail and shot down the stairs of the house, ignoring Jisung’s call of confusion and Minho’s stunned shout for you to come back.

Yeah, as if any logical person would walk right back into the very room their best friend was so about to have sex in - what was he thinking?

“Y-Y/N, wait up!”

What was he thinking?

“Come on baby, slow down!”

What were you thinking?

“What do you want, Minho?”

Why had you chosen to fall in love with the one man that didn’t believe in soulmates?

“I - fuck, I’m sorry you had to see... that.” He goes to apologize breathlessly, as if he hadn’t just tore your heart out of your chest and stomped on it repeatedly.

“So am I.” Is all you can say in response, too afraid that any other words you might utter would seal your fate and his own; one of likely rejection or awkward silences between two people - one of which was in love with the other, the second friend only seeing the other as just that, a friend.

His bruised lips part to speak again, but you decide that you really need to split before he can unknowingly cause a mental breakdown in your head. With a swift turn on the heels of your feet, you face the other direction and begin to walk through the semi-crowded kitchen, the tips of your fingers gliding across the countertops to help steer you away from the center of the drunk crowd of teenagers.

Without warning a sharp, searing pain runs up your veins all the way to the nerves of your hand grazing the gray countertops - it takes all of your self control not to let out a yelp of pain, although a weak, befuddled whimper does escape your lips in the heat of the moment.

“Ow - what the fuck?” Minho hissed in unison with your whimper of utter pain, having started to follow close behind you in the sea of teens hovering in the already cramped kitchen area. “The fuck just cut my fingers-? Wait, are you bleeding?”

You’d been in the middle of raising your bloodied fingers to your eyes to investigate the new wounds, little cuts from a stray knife carelessly splayed on the countertop stretching across three of your five fingers when Minho directed his attention towards you downcast gaze and red fingertips.

He glanced to your wounds, and then his own.

He hadn’t been using the countertop as a guide like you had been, as his arms had been pressed firmly against his sides to prevent himself from brushing against the other partygoers.

“Is - is this your connection, Y/N?”

“Do you mean our connection, Minho? Or should I go ask the pretty redhead in the bedroom if her bond is where she can suddenly have injuries appear on her body because her clumsy soulmate never stops getting hurt?” You’re not quite sure why you’re so furious with the man, and you know that by tomorrow morning you’ll be sending him various messages of apologizes for your rash, hurtful jabs. You knew it wasn’t right, blaming him of all people - but it hurt.

“Our... connection?” He fumbles on his words, his eyes now searching yours for undying consolation - and he finds it, flashing across your now teary eyes as you stare at him.

You can recall when and where you figured out Lee Minho was your soulmate. The both of you lived in a rural town not too far from the heart of the bustling city, growing up around cattle and barrels of yellow hay rather than flashing lights and nights of blaring music in the clubs across the streets. Naturally the two of you had grown close, labelling each other as the other’s “super-duper-bestest-friend” by the ripe age of six.

Neither of you knew too much about soulmates and all that mumbo-jumbo the older kids and adults talked about pretty much 24/7, choosing to block their sweet confessions of love and endearment to one another by running around the park closest to your houses or going for a dip in the pond behind your fence.

That particular day, though, Minho had dragged you to the quaint pond filled with cute orange fish the size of your pinkies and green frogs that croaked well into the late hours of the night. He wanted to try out “fishing” by catching the orange fish with his bare hands, that of course being the first mistake that day.

You chose to simply watch the adorable black haired boy splashing away in the chilly water of the lone pond, your bottom sat upon a rounded stone a couple feet away; perhaps half an hour had passed when suddenly you felt an odd stinging sensation on the palm of your right hand, and at the same exact time you recalled hearing Minho let out a shriek of pain as he slipped his right hand out of the pond to cradle it into his chest.

But even after finding out that it was your special bond with Minho, your soulmate, you kept your connection secret all the way until now by simply stating that you weren’t sure what your bond was. You wanted to see if you could convince Minho to see that fate was written for a reason, though you never forced your ideals upon him no matter how much it stung to hear him scrutinize the deep bond between the two of you - not that he had known, obviously.

“Baby - I didn’t know, I’m so sorry.”

You cut off his apologies with a shake of your head, backing away while you now cradle your bloodied hand into your chest. “Nothing would have changed, Minho. I should have realized that so much sooner.”

And then you walk away, leaving behind your soulmate to collect his thoughts.

Sunday mornings were usually a state of calm serenity for you, since you didn’t have any classes or shifts at work. They were days that resembled healing in your eyes, especially since you really needed some good time alone after the events of the night before.

You wanted to scream and cry into a pillow all day long, in all honesty.

You’re still lying alone in bed, tucked underneath the warm layer of a fuzzy brown blanket you’d been gifted last Christmas wrapped around your body like a sushi roll when you hear the unmistakable sound of your doorbell ringing. You know damn well who it is and why they’re at your doorstep - but you didn't feel ready to face them and own up to your mistakes and critical words.

Somehow you get yourself to roll out of bed, not bothering to look all too presentable as you slowly saunter all the way to the front door where he is certain to be waiting anxiously.

I can do this, I can do this, I can-

“-Before you shut the door on me, please hear me out,” Minho pleads out to you in a rush of breath, his hands behind his back as he takes your silence into consideration, “okay I think that’s the go-ahead... Y/N, I still think people should be given the chance to fall in love with whoever they choose to,”

Did he really need to remind you?

“but I also think I like you - scratch that, I know I like you more than as a friend. I never tried to make a move on you because our views differed so greatly, and I know it was wrong of me to try and make you see my point of view in the middle of an argument. You always seemed so excited about the prospect of being with your soulmate, which I guess is technically me from what I understand, so I backed off.” He admits, occasionally having to force himself to slow down and say each word carefully so he wouldn’t be too overbearing.

“Minho - you don’t need to apologize, I do. I should have told you sooner that I knew.” You breathe out softly, your eyebrows furrowing in confusion when he vehemently shakes his head in disagreement.

“Lets just stop right there, because we could keep apologizing to each other for days and I don’t think these poor things will live that long without fresh water.”

“What-?”

“Ta-da! Flowers for the lovely light of my life,” he hums cheerfully, bringing out a small but beautiful bouquet of flowers from behind his back to told them out in front of his face, peeking out form behind them with red cheeks and a nervous smile, “I um, I hope this isn’t too cheesy. I’m kinda hoping that you might give me a chance and go on a date with me-”

“Of course I will, cheesehead - here, let me put these in a vase and we can discuss where we’ll be going on our date.”

✧

#skzwriters #stray kids #stray kids au #stray kids soulmate au #stray kids drabbles #stray kids imagine #stray kids scenario #lee minho #Minho soulmate au #Minho imagine #Minho scenario #stray kids fluff #stray kids angst

934 notes · View notes

blackroseaki38 · 6 years

Text

MirrorWorldTangledAU

This is basically something I wrote a week ago for a Tangled Discord challenge. The challenge was to turn someone of Royalty from the show into a commoner or turn a commoner into Royalty. Of course, I don’t do anything easy or simple. So, I made some changes to the characters and the show itself. I will be a basic explanation for the characters below. Also, MirrorWorld represents this world is like a mirror to the original Tangled movie. My world is just a backwards version of reflection, so just think of this idea as being the opposite of Tangled.

Queen Gothel - Queen of Corona; Second wife to Quirin.

King Quirin - Father of Varian

Rapunzel - Made to believe she is a princess, but really not. But, she does not realize this.

Eugene - Wandering Knight; Is is paid to protect his BFF Lance.

Rapunzel’s Parents - Carpenter’s build things, so basically her parents helped build Corona.

Lance - Adopted son of the noble lady, “Oldie.”

The Captain - Retired Captain of the Guard

Maximus - Eugene’s horse from the start.

The Stabbington Brothers - Robin hood like; Helped Rapunzel escape, but got lost from her.

Cassandra - Raised by Captain of Guards.

“I am the Carpenters' lost daughter.”

Queen Gothel looked up from her paperwork scattered across her desk. She stood up to approach her daughter, pulling her lace bordered gloves on her delicate hands once more. She brushed away the non-existent dirt from her blood red dress as she looked up at her daughter.

“Oh, please speak up Rapunzel! You know how I hate the mumbling,” the Queen snapped impatiently, looking in the standing mirror fixing her string of pearls and crown were perfect.

“I am the Carpenters' lost daughter! Aren’t I? Did I mumble, Mother? Or should I even call you that anymore?”

The Queen looked up, shocked to hear her even say these words. She never thought this day would ever come. She never thought Rapunzel would ever find out the truth . . . and believe it. She should be trusting her and not the big world she rescued her from. She had to make sure she nipped these rebellious thoughts out of her head.

“Oh Rapunzel, do you even hear yourself? Why would you ask such ridiculous questions!”

The Queen approached her daughter up on the stairs, trying to console her.

“Rapunzel, my dear. You know Mummy wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”

“It was you! You stole me away from my parents! You made me believe I was a princess and needed to stay locked up this tower for my own protection. But, I was never a princess. Because if I was really a princess, all those people in town would know about the ‘princess’ of Corona. I might have found out who I really was a long time ago and my parents wouldn’t have needed to suffer 16 years with their daughter! You took me away from your family just for my stupid hair!”

Gothel eyes narrowed as she looked at Rapunzel with distaste and scorn. Her gloved hand tightened on Rapunzel’s arm, making the girl wince as the grip on her arm became suffocating.

“Everything I ever did was all to protect . . . you.”

Rapunzel looked at her . . . ‘Mother’ and pushed her away to descend down the stairs. She couldn’t believe her whole life has been one big lie! She had actually loved this woman for taking the time out of her busy life as the Queen to love and protect her, but she was just acting this whole time? She briefly wondered if Varian was acting this whole times as well, but ignored that thought.

‘Varian will always be my little brother. That woman may not be either of our mothers, but he will always be my family. He would never fake the love and time he put into our relationship,’ the young woman reassured herself.

“I’ve spent my entire life hiding in this cold, lifeless tower, from people who would use me for my power…” she ranted as she walked down the large stairway, ignoring Gothel’s calls for her to come back.

“. . . but I should have been hiding . . . from you!” she finally spat out, as she turned to glare at the dark-haired women at the bottom of the stairs.

“Where will you go? He won’t be there for you,” the Queen declared. That man might have been a knight, but he was no knight of hers. Though his friend, the nobleman, is trying to defend him and support his claim of being a knight, it would be too late at that point. It was child’s play for her to blaming a fake crime of trying to steal from her on that worthless little knight. It is quite ironic that the only thing that was stolen from her recently was her daughter and now that man will die for stealing my most valuable ‘gem’ of all. This doesn’t mean she won’t have the guards stop looking for those troublesome twins either. After all, every dog will have its day.

“What did you do to him?” Rapunzel asked worriedly, wringing her hands together in anticipation. She might have only known Eugene for one day, but she felt like she has known him forever. If anything ever happened to him . . . she would never stop blaming herself for not realizing the truth sooner.

“Your too naive, my dear Rapunzel. That man was no knight. He was a thief that stole under the disguise of savior. As the Queen of Corona, it was only my duty to punish him. That criminal is to be hanged for his crimes,” Gothel heartlessly explained. She felt no need to sugar coat the consequences at all. After all, this wasn’t the first execution she had ordered.

Rapunzel gasped and softly whispered, “No,” as she realized what those words meant. She didn’t know what ‘being hanged’ entailed, but she had read a book that mentioned it before. She only knew that in those books, that being “hanged” meant death.

“Now, now. It’s all right. Listen to me. Everything is as it should be,” Gothel tried to reassure the girl, reaching out to brush her hand across her golden locks of hair. But, before her hand could even touch her, Rapunzel grabbed her wrist to stop her.

“No! You were wrong about the world. And you were wrong about me. And I will never let you use my hair again!”

The Queen was so surprised at the grip on her wrist was strong enough to hold her. When had that tiny little girl grew up into a . . . strong woman. She never thought the darling child would ever try to break out of her place, but now she had. When she finally broke out of her grip, she let out a growl as she fell back against her ornate mirror. As her favorite mirror shattered into pieces, her perfect world shattered as well. This child was not her daughter, not anymore at least. It was time she realized that . . . and treat her like she treats everyone else.

“You want me to be the bad guy? Fine. Now I’m the bad guy…”

The Queen stood up tall as she whispered those words ominously. She knew what she had to do to pick up the pieces of her glass world.

Eugene never thought he would admit it, but he was downright scared. He did not even do anything to deserve being arrested, let alone steal the Queen’s crown. He didn’t mean to do anything that would be considered wrong. In fact, he didn’t think he did anything wrong in the first place. He was only helping a lost girl explore and see some floating lanterns on her birthday. He never expected to find out she was actually the Queen’s secret daughter, who wasn’t allowed out of her tower.

He also never expected to fall in with her. He knew it might be too soon to say it was true love, but he knew that he would regret not trying to start some kind of relationship with her. He knew he was a bit older than her, but he hoped it would make no difference once he told her what his heart was telling him. But, before he could declare his love to her, he saw his friend Lance waving at him from the shore . . . or so he thought. He was expecting to quickly belate his friend for interrupting his before going back to Rapunzel. Instead, he was bashed on the head and the world went dark like a flame being extinguished. When he finally woke up a few minutes later, his sparse amount of armor, his sword, and his Knight’s medallion were all missing. Also, he was tied to the mast of a ship with a heavy crown on his head. Before he could escape his bounds, the guards saw him.

“Look! The Queen’s Crown!”

“Rapunzel! Rapunzel!”

“Get him!”

“No, no, no, no, wait, wait, wait, guys, guys!”

Eugene was so distraught with worry for the long-haired girl, that he didn’t even notice his horse Maximus on the other side of the lake.

“–Rapunzel!”

As a Knight, he has never even thought this situation would ever happen. Sure, he didn’t dress like a knight every day. At least he kept his armor nearby, in his saddlebags, since it was too heavy to wear constantly. But, he almost always has his pauldron on his right shoulder, his crimson red cape pinned down by his Knight’s medallion, and his simple sword in his scabbard right by his side. Without them, Eugene felt vulnerable and weak inside the dirty little cell he was tossed in to. None of the guards believed his cries of being a knight, even when he tried to tell them to contact all the other kingdoms he’s helped out in. Eugene wasn’t sure why all the guards were ignoring him till . . . he saw him.

When he first started out as a knight, he and Lance stopped a group of bandits from robbing a small caravan when Eugene first saw him. It was a weasley looking man betraying his team by taking all the goods for himself and getting away. Eugene tried pursuing the men, letting Lance stay behind to help out the family. He tried his best, pushing Max to his limits to get the treacherous man, but he lost the other man in the endless forest. The only words he was able to hear before he disappeared were, “Baron’s orders.”

Eugene didn’t know who he was talking about, but he knew that man was probably part of some bigger plot than just a small-time bandit. As Eugene trudged back towards the path, he saw something glinting in the snow. When he picked the small item up, it was a cheap little ring with a painted sun in the middle. At the time he was so happy to at least have one thing to return to the victims of the robbery, but his excitement only lasted till he found Lance, all alone. Apparently, the family was safe and was thankful for being saved. But, they needed to get going just in case more bandits show up. Lance was kind enough to donate them some money since he had plenty to spare. He was Arnwaldo L. Schnitz, son of the generous noble lady nicknamed ‘Oldie.’ Eugene wished he knew which way they had gone so he could have return the ring. Since he couldn’t go around Corona looking for the mysterious family, he kept the ring safely hidden in his saddlebags, with the hope he would one day return it safely. He never saw that Weasel of a man, till now.

In front of him, in the golden armor of the guards was that same man he chased so long ago. The shining helmet’s red plume told Eugene he was standing in front of the Captain of the Guards. Though his eyes showed him that he was standing in front of a lying weasel.

“It’s been a long time since I last saw you, Flynn Rider.”

The man’s smug voice broke the knight out of his thoughts.

“Finn Rider? The names Eugene Fitzherbert! Now let me go, you dirty weasel you!”

Captain Anthony sighed and turned to talk to the other guards like he was trying to ignore Eugene even existed.

“See boys? I told you he would try to pull one right over our eyes. Acting like he doesn’t even know his own name. Trying to impersonate a well-known knight is almost as bad trying to steal the Queen’s prized crown.”

“I didn’t steal anything! And I am a knight. Just hear me out?!”

The man sighed, but Eugene saw him trying to cover up his dark smile under his hand. The devious man unlocked the cell’s door and opened it.

“Enough lying, you thieving criminal. Let’s get this over with, Rider.”

“Get what over with? Wait?! Where are we going?”

As Captain Anthony continued to lead the way, he only looked back once to give Eugene one last look.

“I think you should already know that answer to that question.”

With those words, Eugene’s heart sank. Everyone knew the Queen did not believe in second chances. Anyone who crossed her personally always faced their end . . . at the end of a rope. Eugene touched his neck in disbelief as he realized how little time he had left. How he would never get to tell Rapunzel how much he . . . loved her.

“Oh . . .”

Cassandra never thought her day would end up like this. For as long as she could remember, it had been just her and her father in a little tower in the forest. She didn't know why her father insisted on living so far away from civilization, but she assumed it was because of his dislike of the Queen.

But, she was thankful her father loved her enough to take her into his home and his heart. Her father never tried to hide her origins. He told her the truth the moment she was old enough to understand.

“Honey, I found you all alone wandering through the forest on my way back to Corona. You were only five years old and you didn’t remember anything, but your name,” her father had said

He always told her that he had found her alone and with only a tiny locket on her neck. She didn't have any key to open the locket and see what is inside. But, she always had high hopes that one day she would be able to find her family. Her other family. As for now, all she considered her family is her father and their horses.

Cassandra loved her father, but she was getting tired and sick of all his overprotectiveness. She wasn't even allowed to go into town alone or during busy festivals. All she wanted was a way to prove to her father she can be trusted to be herself and to be free.

'I know Dad loves me and wants to make sure I am never lost\again. But, he needs to let me grow up and be my own person,’ she thought to herself one day.

That's when her opportunity to prove herself came to her. She was wandering the forests, the only place her father was okay with letting her explore. It was then she saw dozens of soldiers pass by on their horses. She brought Fidella to a stop and tried to listen to their words.

"Sir, we still can’t find them!"

"Well, find those thieving twins before they get away! Or else the Queen will have all of our heads instead of theirs! We can’t let some no good scum get away with her things! Now, I need to get back to the Castle for execution and I better get some going."

As the soldiers scrambled off to look for the thieves, Cassandra got an amazing idea. Her father used to the Captain of the Royal Guard. Though he would be worried once he finds out she put herself in danger, but he would still be somewhat impressed by her is she was able to catch those two troublemakers before any of those amateurs could.

So, Cassandra set to look for those rascals, with the hope she might be able to impress the current Captain of the Royal Guards and her father as well. 'Maybe, if I am good enough, they might let me join! I do have all the skills of a soldier, but I never thought of trying to be one. But, maybe I might be good at being a royal guard!' she thought to herself before she headed off towards the stream.

Like she had guessed, she had found the stream and some tracks as well. She followed the two sets of tracks till they finally stopped at the doorway of a certain establishment her father always warned her not to go near. 'The Snuggly Duckling. Well, Dad's not here to stop me and who would I went in there in the first place.'

Cassandra slowly made her way her into the crowded pub. She was able to easily blend in with her dark clothes. She wasn't sure how the two criminals she was after looked like, but not everyone in this pub would have a twin. And just like she had thought, she saw a pair of twins sitting at the counter, both nursing their mugs of ale. She slowly approached them from behind, trying to hear their conversation. She was slightly intimidated by the large man behind the counter, but she was able to get over her fear as soon as she saw the tray of cupcakes in his mitten gloved hands. "Patches, I know we failed saving that girl. But, there is still a possibility that she was able to get away from the Queen." The twin with the eyepatch shook his head and made some hand gestures with his hands.

"Okay, okay! Your right, Sideburns. I know the chances of how likely an innocent girl like that escape the Queen and her guards." This conversation made Cassandra realize that these two might not be the experienced criminals she thought she would be after. If they were trying to help a girl escape someone, then she shouldn't try to turn them in. Though their accusation of calling the Queen this girl's kidnapper, that was a little bit startling to hear. But, her fathers always told that he retired early on because he didn't trust the Queen. 'If Dad never trusted her, then maybe she might have something to do with this. If I can figure out these two's angle, I can help them,' she reassured herself before she took a seat by the pair. The two looked at her cautiously as she waved over the baker. "Hey, big guy! I'll take a cupcake!" "The names Attila," the man announced as he handed her over a pink frosted cupcake, taking the coin she handed to him in return. "My name's Cassandra." Attila froze as he heard her name, along with most of the pub. Those closest to the counter whispered her name till everyone in the building knew who she was. "You wouldn't happen to be the same Cassandra as in the Captain's daughter?" a deep voice asked from behind as he stepped forward. The balding man was large and had a hook for a hand. "Ex-captain," Cassandra replied, trying to stay calm.

“We know who he is and he will always be the Captain to us. Now, your father doesn’t want you here. You need to leave otherwise we’ll have to tell him you were here,” the man informed Cassandra, trying to intimidate her by raising his hooked hand in warning.

The girl ignored the man as she peeled back her cupcake’s liner. The men in the room started to get uncomfortable with the long silence while Cassandra took a bite of her frosted sweet.

“Well,” the hooked man prompted.

Thankfully, Cassandra finally looked up and locked her icy glare on the man.

“I can leave, but I don’t have too. I am 18 years old and that means I am allowed to enter this establishment . . .”

Attila raised his hand to say something, but Cassandra interrupted him.

“. . . as long as I do not consume alcohol. So, legally, you can not kick me out of this establishment unless I break that rule or any other. And you can talk to my dad all you want, but the moment I tell him my version of how the ‘big scary hooked man’ threatened me with his hook, he’ll surely believe me over you.”

Cassandra crossed her arms and smirked. She knew how to get people to let her do what she wants.

“Alright, you can stay. You’re a pretty sharp lady. No wonder your father didn’t want us to meet you. The names Hookhand,” the man held out his non-hooked hand. Cassandra shook his hand briefly.

“My name is Big Nose. Might I ask you what are you doing here?” A large nosed man asked the girl.

Cassandra thought about the situation and decided it would be best to be upfront about this now that all the attention was on her.

“I was planning on trying to turn these two thieves in,” she pointed to the twins, who looked ready to run. “But, when I overheard their conversation about some missing girl and the Queen, I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and hear their side of the story before I do anything else.”

Everyone turned their heads towards the two young men. Cassandra knew there was no way for them to escape, especially now that she was able to get the thugs interested.

“Well, boys. Might as well talk,” Tor encouraged from where he was rearranging some plants around.

The two men sighed before the man with the eye patch started to make hand motions and gestures. His brother clearly understood him and a few seconds later, turned to talk to them all.

“You can call me Sideburns and this is Patches. He can’t speak, but I can understand him. You might know us for being . . . the Stabbington brothers.”

All the men tensed up and started to reach for their weapons.

“And before you attack us, Stabbington is just our family name. The guards have told crazy stories about us just to make us look bad. In reality, we only steal things to give to the poor.”

Cassandra had never heard of thieves stealing things to give to the people who need help, but it sounded like a generous deed to do.

"We broke into the eastern tower of the castle, which was supposed to be abandoned. We were hoping to score some forgotten valuables to pawn off, but we found someone more valuable instead. We were able to figure out that the Queen's been keeping a young girl, around your age actually, captive in there. The poor girl actually thinks she is a princess and that the Queen is her mother. We were able to convince her to leave, mostly so she can see something she's never seen before. But, as we were leaving . . . the Queen caught us. She sent the guards after us and the girl, Rapunzel, didn't realize what was going on. She thought it was some game, so we convinced her to hide until we come back. By the time we were able to get back, she wasn't there anymore." "She might have . . . wandered off," Bruiser offered, his knitting put aside. "Yeah, who's to say she's back with the Queen, anyway?" Killer tried to convince them, but even he knew that would be unlikely. Sideburns turned to his brother when his flailing arms caught his attention. *Tell them about the knight!* Patched signed to his brother. "Patches wants me to let you guys know that there has been some talk about a weird girl and a knight visiting the town. We couldn't go check that rumor out because the guards have been posting our faces all over town." Cassandra knew she had to make her decision. Her dad would most likely be upset with how she would be siding with this so-called 'bad' guys over the law, but she knew he would get over it. These criminals were people as well and she learned they were much nicer than how people see them. She wanted to be a person her father was proud of and that person would protect others. "Well, boys? What are we waiting for? Let's go check out these rumors and rescue this girl!" "HORRAH!!!!!" cheered the men, as she got ready to set out when suddenly someone had an important thought. "Wait just one itty bitty moment!" the drowsy voice called out. All eyes turned to the short bearded man falling over himself. "I'm not quite sure what's going on, but . . . where are we going to find a knight? I mean the sun’s up in the sky, so it won’t be nighttime till . . . tonight," he drawled out before falling out cold. Cassandra knew that was an important point. She can't go into town with a bunch of armed men to ask around for some knight guy and the mysterious girl he's with. Before she could ponder on this thought any longer, the door slammed open. A smartly dressed man walked in and sat down at a table, ignoring all the dangerous looking thugs around him. He looked tired and his clothes were all mussed up. His tired brown eyes looked up and raised his hand. "Bartender, give me the strongest ale you got," his voice crooked out. "You sure about that, buddy. You don't look like you are in any condition to be drinking," Hookfang asked. "What’d ya mean?! I’m fine! Maybe you’re the one that’s not fine!” he defended himself, hugging himself as if it would help him calm down.

“Woah, woah! Calm down, man! I know we all have bad days, but you don’t have to take it out on strangers!” Big Nose tried to calm the stranger down before a fight broke out.

“You don't know anything about what I am going through right now. My best friend got arrested, his girlfriend is missing, and none of the guards are even telling me what's going on!" he cried out before breaking down in sobs. Vladimir tried comforting him by patting him on the shoulder and offering him his ceramic unicorn. "There, there. No more tears." The man took the delicate figurine in his hand, but continued to wail loudly.

“For the first time in forever, I can’t even do anything to help him. All the money I have, but not one piece of it can do a single thing to save my best friend. Mama doesn’t even know what’s going on since she’s all the way in Vardaros! And Eugene didn’t even do anything! He was just trying to help a girl see her dream come true! He was just too good-hearted of a knight!”

Cassandra and the other thugs all realized who he was talking about.

“Wait! What knight are you talking about?!” the girl questioned, but the man was too distraught to listen to her. So, she grabbed him by his shoulders and shook him vigorously.

“Quit your blubbering! We need to know what you’re talking about if you want us to help you out!”

The other man finally calmed down enough to explain.

“My name is Lance. My friend, Eugene, is a knight. My mom hired him so he could protect me on my travels. We had barely arrived in Corona when we met this girl, Rapunzel. For some crazy reason, she was hiding in a tree. She kept claiming that she was the Queen’s daughter, but I never heard of a princess of Corona. Well, at least one that is still alive.”

Cassandra wondered what he meant by that comment. She didn’t know much about the royal family of Corona since her father only taught her the necessities of education, like history, math, and sword fighting.

“But, we ignored her more . . . outlandish ideas. She wanted to go see the lanterns light up the sky because that was her dream or something since she never stepped out of her home till then. Eugene was falling in love with her, so I gave the two some privacy. But, then . . .”

Hookhand put his hand on his shoulder, silently trying to help Lance get the courage to continue.

“ . . . then this morning, I find out that Eugene’s been arrested for stealing the Queen’s crown. I tried talking to the guards, but they just keep saying that ‘Flynn Rider’ is not a knight. All I could get from the Captain was that as his only known acquaintance, I would be allowed to . . . collect his b-body soon.”

Before Lance could break out into more tears, Sideburns quickly distracted him.

“And the girl! What did she look like? And where is she?”

Lance sniffled and wiped his eyes, trying to answer the question as clearly as he could.

“S-he had really long hair and green eyes. And I couldn’t find her at the lake where I last saw her and Eugene together.”

Cassandra never ventured too far out of the forests because of her father. But, now she had a reason too and it was much more important than her own safety. She knew her purpose in life now. Cassandra, adopted daughter of the previous Captain of the Royal Guards, was born to help others in need.

“Alright, men. We have to do something to stop the Queen.”

“But, what can we do? We’re just of group of scary creeps. People are scared of us! How can we stand up to the Queen?” Hookhand questioned.

Cassandra closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, she knew it in her heart it was time for her to be a leader.

“Now it's time to rise up. Or it's time to stand down. And the answer is easy to see. And I swear by the sword. If you're in, get on board. Are you ready?” she sang with vigor. She raised her sword, hoping to the others would join in.

Lance whispered, “I'm ready.” Hook Hand looked at the girl with shock, before a big smile appeared on his face as he raised his hooked hand into the air.

“We’re ready!”

The rest of the pub thugs voices roared through the building, their weapons held high above their heads.

“WE’RE READY!!!” Cassandra lowered her sword, looking at her reflection in her blade. She thought of her father and how mad he would be when he finds out what she’s been up to. But, she didn’t care. She had a feeling he would also be very proud of her.

“Ready as I'll ever be . . .”

Eugene never thought he would be afraid of death. Lance always claimed that he was playing some kind of game with how often he puts his life on the line for others. But, he never thought he would die like this. Like . . . a criminal. When he became a knight, he knew he might die and he believed it would be worth dying if he was able to save others doing so. But, in this case, he hated the fact that he would die and . . . Rapunzel would never be saved from her endless prison.

“Thinking about your girl?” a soft whisper by his ear caught Eugene’s attention. He turned his head to look at the so-called ‘Captain’ as he was lead down the hallway.

“Well, don’t you worry about her. She’s in safe hands,” he murmured.

Eugene gritted his teeth together. ‘Of course, he knows about Rapunzel! He’s probably was the one who framed me! But, wait! He knows where she is? He knows who she is with?!”

“How did you know about her? Tell me, now!” Eugene tried to stay calm as he spat out those words at the other man.

“Of course I know about her. Her mother hired me to keep her safe, but putting away the likes of you,” Anthony grinned viciously.

The other guards, behind and ahead of the two held Eugene back when he tried to attack the Captain.

“Her mother . . . agh! Wait! No! Wait! You don’t understand, she’s in trouble! Wait!”

Eugene’s cries echoed down the dungeons, but there was no one else to hear them. Because Corona has not had any prisoners every since Queen Gothel came into power.

Varian always knew his sister, Rapunzel, was a secret. He didn’t remember exactly when, but sometime after his father and his other sister died at sea, his step-mother introduced him to Rapunzel. She explained that Rapunzel is adopted and her hair is much too special to reveal to the world. So, he had to keep his sister a secret.

He hated the fact that he had to lie to her every day. Especially about being a real princess, since no one but their family knew. But, he tried to be happy and appreciative for the fact that he had at least someone in his life who cares about him.

Varian doesn’t remember much of his real mother, but he hoped that she would have been much more loving than his current mother was. It wasn’t that she didn’t love him. His step-mother was just too busy being a Queen to a mother.

“It’s okay, Rudiger. I’m probably going to be really busy when I become King as well.”

“Chrrep, kreee, sceak!”

“Okay, okay! I’ll always make time for you, little buddy!”

Rudiger and Rapunzel. They were his two best friends and the best family as well. He didn’t know why they would love him so much, but they did. Even when his projects explode or he kept skipped his royal etiquette classes, there would be someone to hold and comfort him. He didn’t need a mother, not while he has those two.

Varian was worried about Rapunzel since he wasn’t allowed to see her for the last day or so. His step-mother told him that she was too sick to visit, so Varian tried to reassure himself that nothing was wrong. Eventually, he decided it wouldn’t hurt to sneak a quick visit to her . . . when Varian saw it. He saw the study’s door was open.

The royal study has always been a place to wonder about for the young prince. He had been told explicitly to never enter that room at all. But, Varian just knew there had to be something really amazing that it had to be hidden in that room. And this was his only chance since he never seen the door left unlocked like this before.

“Come on, Rudiger! Let’s check out the study while mom’s not here!”

As Varian entered the room, he noticed it was much larger than he thought it would be. It was almost like a never-ending cavern full of treasures. There was all sort of trinkets and antiques scattered through the room. He even saw some of his chemical compounds that were taken away, so he quickly pocketed those ones.

As he explored the room, he accidentally pressed a button that opened up a strange door. He approached the door and cautiously opened it. He discovers a small library that looked untouched for years. The old strange item in the room was a huge . . . thing? It was covered in by a large blanket.

Varian came closer and reached out to see what is underneath the sheet. He was only planning on lifting it a bit to see the item, but Rudiger jumped off his shoulder. That startled Varian enough that his hand slipped and the whole cloth came off.

A man, encased in amber like liquid, was before him. The fiery orange did not hide who he was looking at all.

“D-dad!” the teen cried as he fell down to his knees. Rudiger tried to comfort his human, but Varian was frozen in shock to notice.

Varian didn’t know how long he sat there. It seemed like forever when really, he was only there for an hour or so. At one point, he even heard glass breaking and yelling, but he ignored it all. His mind was still trying to process everything until . . . finally, he was able to make a distinct connection.

‘Mom said Dad and Sis died on their trip. But, if Dad’s here . . . in that thing, that must mean . . . Mom did this? Is she even my mom anymore?’

Varian didn’t know what to think anymore. But, all he knew was that his so-called ‘mother’ was not at all who she seemed to be. The boy finally got up from the floor and was about to go confront his moth- no - Gothel when he heard yelling from behind a door near him. He recognized Rapunzel’s voice and barged into the chaos head-on.

Eugene did not want to die, but he had no choice in the matter as he stepped closer to his doom. He was trying to stay calm and collected, but he wasn’t quite there yet. Then something caught his eye as they turned into another hallway. A tiny little unicorn was on a small window sill.

Before he could mull over that thought, all the doors around them slammed shut.

“What’s this? Open up!” Anthony growled as he slammed his hand on the wooden door.

Shorty popped into the small window of the door.

“What’s the password?” he questioned before disappeared out of sight.

“What?”

“Nope,” the short man responded, leaving once more. “Open this door!” Anthony was starting to lose his patience at this imbecile hiding behind the door. “Not even close!” “You have three seconds,” Captain Anthony finally gave his last choice for the drunk jokester. “One!”

Eugene’s eyes widened in surprise as one guard was whisked away by a hook.

“Two . . . “

The knight’s eyes went towards his others side as the other guard was taken away through a side door. Eugene’s gasp caught the Captain’s attention, making him turn around just as he got to the number three.

“Three . . .”

Before Anthony could react, his head was smacked from behind with a heavy piece of metal.

Eugene looked at the helmeted man and the cast iron frying pan in his hand.

“Woah! Frying pans?! Who knew?”

In a rush of events, which included a rushed meeting of all his saviors in question. He was rushed off by a dark-haired girl and two twins towards a wheelbarrow in the middle of the courtyard. He wasn’t even sure how it was possible, but he was catapulted into the air and landed exactly on Max’s back!

With a quick reunion with his steed, the two rushed off towards the part of the castle the brothers pointed him to. He saw a tower, disconnected from the rest of the castle and stood down at the bottom of it. He called out her name anxiously.

“Rapunzel? Rapunzel, let down your hair!”

Eugene tried to climb up on his own when suddenly a long mane of golden hair rushed down to meet him. He climbed up the hair till he reached the window at the top. He climbed inside in a rush. “Rapunzel, I thought I’d never see you again. Huh?”

“Mm-mm, mm-m!” the girl tried to warn him.

Eugene’s reaction at seeing Rapunzel, chained and gagged, was too slow. He was stabbed in the side and was on the ground before he could do anything. “Mm-mm! Mm,” the girl pulled on her chains, but it was no use. She wasn’t getting any closer to the fallen man. “Now look what you’ve done, Rapunzel,” the Queen scolded the girl as she wiped the blood off her knife with a handkerchief before putting it away.

“Mm…” “Oh, don’t worry, dear. Our secret will die with him,” she tried to reassure the girl. Eugene struggled on the ground, wincing in pain. “Mm-mm, mm…” “And as for us, hmm! You and your brother are going to join me on a small little vacation while this part of the castle gets . . . renovated. We’ll make sure no one will ever find you again! “Mm-mm!” Rapunzel tried to protest, but it was to no use as the other woman picked her chains to drag her away.

Pascal tried to stop the Queen, but he was quickly shaken off.

“Rapunzel really! Enough already! Stop fighting me!”

The girl’s gag came loose, allowing her to speak once more.

“No! I won’t stop. For every minute of the rest of my life, I will fight! I will never stop trying to get away from you!” she cried out breathlessly. “But, if you let me save him, I will go with you,” she compromised, knowing it would be worth it for him. “No! No, Rapunzel!” Eugene tried stopping her, but the unbearable pain stopped him from continuing. The little chameleon awoke from his unintended nap and watched this scene sadly.

“I’ll never run, I’ll never try to escape. Just let me heal him, and you and I will be together. Forever, just like you want. Everything will be the way it was. I promise. Just like you want. Just let me heal him,” the girl begged desperately.

“Alright, but that is it then! The knight will be shipped off to some other Kingdom to deal with and you will be coming with me.” The Queen unchained Rapunzel and chained Eugene instead, making sure that would stop him from following them once they left. “In case you get any ideas about following us.” “Eu–Eugene!” Eugene coughed softly as the bleeding on his side continued. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Everything is gonna be okay–” she tried to reassure the injured knight. “No, Rapunzel–” “I promise you. You have to trust me–” “No–” “Come on. Just breathe–” “I can’t let you do this.” “But I can’t let you die.” Eugene coughed once more, but he did not let that stop him.

“But if you do this, …” “Shh, shh, shh…” the girl tried to comfort him gently. “… then you…” “… shh, shh…” “… will die,” Eugene finished his sentence. “Hey. It’s gonna be alright,” Rapunzel responded.

Eugene gave her a small smile before interrupting Rapunzel once last time. “Rapunzel, wait…” Eugene brushed his hand against the side of her hair before leaning forward to slice off her hair with a broken shard of glass, before falling back on the wooden floor, the jagged piece of glass falling out of his hand.

Rapunzel's fallen hair gripped in her hands, started to turn brown all the way to the ends of the long length.

“Eugene, what-” “No!” the Queen’s yell interrupted Rapunzel’s question. She tried to cover herself with the hair as the color changed, but it did not change anything. She rushed to the broken mirror lying on the ground and screamed in despair as she saw her reflection age before her eyes.

“No, no, no . . . ! I didn’t kill that lovesick King for everything to fall apart!” the woman cried as she slowly started to grow older and older.

“What?” Varian’s voice was heard from across the room. He stared into the room, his face pale white and his eyes wide with tears. He walked closer to Gothel, his steps slow and consistent.

“W-what did you say?” he asked with a small stutter.

“Varian, you must help me!” the woman reached out towards him, but the boy stopped her with his arms.

“No! I just heard you admit that you . . . killed my dad. You killed my father! I would never help you!” the teen pushed the crazy woman away from him, running back into the room where his father was. A small vile from his pocket fell out and Rudiger caught it. He shared a look with Pascal before running up to the crazed lady and dropping it by her feet. Steaming purple air burst out of the vile, surprising Gothel and causing her to fall back.

“No! You ungrateful brats will pay for this! You hear!” she yelled out as she fell back. Pascal tripped her, letting her fall out the window.

“Arghhh!!!”

Rapunzel reached out as if she could save her, but it was no use.

By time Gothel and her heavy dress hit the ground, she was no more than mere dust on the wind.

“No, no, no, no, no, Eugene,” Rapunzel cried out as she saw the love of her life slip through her fingers. “Oh. Look at me, look at me. I’m right here, don’t go, stay with me. Eugene–flower gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine–” the teen tried to make the incantation work once more, but nothing was happening. “–Rapunzel.” “What?” she asked, turning her full attention to him now. “You were my new dream,” he whispered. “And you were mine,” she responded, trying to hold back her tears.

Eugene takes his last breath and his body fell still. Tears welled up in Rapunzel’s eyes as she sang her song one last time.

“Heal what has been hurt. Change the fate’s design. Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine. What once was mine.”

Rapunzel fell down, leaning over Eugene’s body, sobbing. A stray tear slid down her face and fell on to Eugene’s. Suddenly, the room filled up with light, brushed over Eugene till he absorbed it all.

“Rapunzel.”

Rapunzel gasped as she looked down on Eugene, alive. “Eugene.” “Did I ever tell you I’ve got a thing for brunettes?” “Eugene!” Rapunzel embraced Eugene before they shared a kiss.

After they calmed Varian down, the trio left the tower and met up with the others. In the main courtyard, they found some of the guards unconscious and others happily talking with a man standing near Cassandra.

“Patches! Sideburns! You guys are okay!” Rapunzel cried out as she saw the two men who helped her escape the first time.

“Thanks for the concern, Rapunzel. We’re just relieved to know your okay.”

Cassandra led the new man over to them.

“Hey, guys. I know in the rush, we didn’t have time for a proper introduction. My name is Cassandra and this is my father. He used to be the Captain of the Guards before that other jerk, so once he found out I was involved in a fight, he came over and was able to calm most of the soldiers down before someone was seriously hurt.”

“Nice to meet you all. Now, what happened to the Queen?” he asked.

“We’ll tell you all the full story later, once we figure out some things. But, she basically fell off the tower and died. I tried to catch her . . .” Rapunzel trialed off, starting to feel guilty for the fact that she could not save Gothel.

“Rapunzel, it was not your fault. She was too far away from us and she was hysterically enough to fall out of a tower, so her death is her own fault,” Eugene reassured his love.

“So, what should we do now? Don’t we need a new leader?” Hookhand asked.

“Why don’t you two become our King and Queen?” Big Nose asked the couple.

The two quickly shook their head.

“No way! I’m just a knight! I help kingdoms, not rule them!”

“I just spent my whole life in a castle and I will not be doing that again! Besides, Varian should be the rightful ruler.”

Varian looked at Rapunzel with tears in his eyes.

“H-how can I be King? If I never realized how evil that woman was, how can I realize what I am doing is right at all? If my other sister was still alive, she could have been a way better queen than me. My dad’s frozen body is in that tower over there and my sister was probably killed by that witch! And all I have to remember her is this stupid key,” Varian spoke, pulling out a necklace from underneath his shirt, holding up the tiny little key hanging on it.

Cassandra looked at the small golden key and made the connection. Suddenly, everything made sense. Lance’s words about the Princess of Corona suddenly came back to her. She could see small flashes of memories come to her mind. Drinking tea with her mother. Watching her father talk to the townsfolk. Holding Varian for the first time. She remembered who she used . . . who she is supposed to be.

“Wait!” she pulled out her own locket from her neck and leaned down towards Varian.

“Try opening this, please.”

Varian looked at her in surprise before listening to her. The tiny key unlocked the locket with a small ‘click.’ Inside, there was a tiny picture of a little girl holding a small baby.

“T-that’s me! I have that same picture. That means . . . you’re my sister!”

Cassandra and Varian held each other in a tight clasp. Two siblings lost from one another were finally reunited. Things were finally falling into place.

Which Cassandra and Varian tried to reunite while also trying to bring some kind of structure back to the castle, Eugene led Rapunzel through the town. She recognized some people and waved to them, promising to tell them about her . . . the recent change in hair soon.

“You remember when we were dancing in town and how everyone kept mentioning you look a lot like the Carpenter’s wife, right?” Eugene asked as they got closer to their destination.

“Yeah. You bought me that little wooden trinket while I was painting that mural. It is actually the reason why I was able to remember who I really was,” Rapunzel explained.

“Well, I didn’t get a chance to tell you this. But, those people were right. You do look exactly like your mother.”

“Do you think we’re right? I mean, I just remembered this information out of nowhere. We don’t know for sure! We can turn back right now!”

“No, we’re going to meet your parents. You don’t want to miss this chance while you still have it.”

Eventually, they reached a modest looking home. Rapunzel took a huge breath before approaching the door with Eugene. She knocked on the door and waited. She kept waiting and waiting, till she was worried that no one was home when the door opened.

A green-eyed brunette stared back at Rapunzel’s face. Her eyes got all glossy as she realized who she was standing in front of. A taller man approached her from behind, opening his mouth to ask her what was wrong when he realized who she was as well. The three embraced each other, falling to their knees. Rapunzel’s mother looked up and shared a smile with Eugene, giving him her hand. Once his hand was in hers, she pulled him into the large hug. Another family was reunited after eighteen long years of separation.

Soon after that day, it was decided Varian would the next king as soon as he was of age. In the meanwhile, Cassandra would be the Queen Regent. That means she would be Queen in Varian’s place until he was of age to accept the position. She wasn’t planning on being the Queen forever, but knew she would okay with being the Queen of Corona as long as he needs her to be.

Varian was happy he did not have to be King right away. He still wanted some time to adjust to all these new people in his life, but he was happy with his newly found sister, her father, his adopted sister, her boyfriend, Rudiger, and all their friends.

Lance had finally decided to settle down . . . to open his own orphanage. His adopted mother, Oldie, was quite happy to hear that, especially when he adopted his own pair of kids. Red and Angry were quite handful, but Lance loved them nevertheless.

Eugene was still a knight, but now he was a Stay-In-Corona kind of Knight. Though he and Rapunzel were planning on a trip, to find an antidote for King Quirin, outside of Corona. But for the next few months, they were content with getting to know Rapunzel’s parents. She and Eugene were warmly welcomed into their home. Eugene was also so happy to find out the family he saved from Antony so many years ago was Rapunzel’s family. He was able to return the key and he felt more relaxed with that off his chest. Everyone was happy now that Queen Gothel was no longer in control of the kingdom.

Everything was right in Corona . . . or was it?

The End.

#varian #variantt #ttsvarian #varianfan #VarianFanClub #vardaros #Oldie #red rangled #angry tangled #tangled eugene #tangled rapunzel #stabbington brothers #cassandra #tts cassandra #cassandra tts #stan the guard #Pete the Guard #OppositeTangledAU #MirrorWordTangledAU

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myvalzpival · 5 years

Text

“Elfs and Friends” Masterpost

“Elfs and Friends” from the LotR LCG game, as described by me and @1pen1knife:

LEGOLAS: here to fuck you up. doesn’t have many friends, but doesn’t care, he’s an independent woman goddamnit. suddenly turned emo for some reason. but you only act as if the black hair bothered you. you love it. is stuck in a group with two dwarves. the suffering is real.

CELEBORN: everything you know about the movie Legolas. he watches and he knows. sneaky bitch. always negative because he likes being positively surprised. has 6 younger brothers who ruin his life but he loves them. cannot sing or dance. falls from every horse he tries to mount.

OROPHIN: name sounds like a drug. will end your suffering with one well-aimed kick in the head. voice way too low for his appearance. his greasy hair still looks better than yours. can sing beautifully, but only my chemical romance. “it’s not a phase, mom! i’ve been like this for the past 1000 years, ugh why can’t you understand!!!!”. throws himself first into every battle to finally die, always comes back victorious and disappointed.

ERESTOR: can speak any language you can think of except for French. knows a lot of things, but his rhetoric abilities are - 58. knows a lot of swearwords and screams them out during battle just to confuse everybody. can crush a can on his head, but nobody believes him.

HALDIR: a true fren. always there when you need him. seriously, he just suddenly emerges behind you and you are creeped out. thinks he has no friends, but everyone loves him. looks like he might cry any second, but will bash your skull in with no mercy. wishes a good morning to his horse the first thing in the morning.

ZELDA: the one straight friend who’s just trying to fit in. not the strongest, but trying his best. a good friend at any times. doesn’t understand why he can’t pet a balrog when he sees one. always learning and appreciative of advice. constantly muttering “so dumb! why are you so dumb!” to himself when he messes up. great at starting fires.

GALDOR: the concerned mom. has a strong will but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t get fucked up every time. does not drink and brings all his drunk friends to their homes on his own back. great storyteller, especially for children. always has at least one useful advice for you. is always right, but you realize that when it’s too late.

GILDOR: has anyone said ‘sexual tension’??? probably Galdor’s bratty younger brother idk. will pin you down just for the lolz. puffy sleeves for l i f e. probably better with a sword than with a bow, he likes to get close and personal if you know what i mean. fabulous dancer. has read one (1) book in his life and it was a comic book.

IMLADRIS: *william osman’s voice* CARETAKEEEEEER! definitely drawn by a different author, but everyone pretends they don’t see it. takes care of frickin’ everyone all the time because McHenamarth keeps starting motherfucking fires. taken for granted by everyone, hardly ever hears a thank you. has an emotional support afghan hound.

GLORFINDEL: goldielocks in an armor. will smite your grandma if he gets the order to do so. pretty much a god, his attack should be anywhere between 7 and 500. young and ‘straight’ yeah right. changes from a puppy to a beast in 0,2 seconds. has his lucky socks that he wore when defeating the balrog.

ELROND: the good twin. not exactly h o t, but could be your dad so you don’t mind. wise and a good dad. also incredibly stupid and the worst dad ever. there’s no in between. likes long walks on the beach. sung in a choir as a child but never had the chance to fine-tune his talent.

ERESTOR: “what the fuck, Karen?” has zero fighting skills, but goes into battle anways because he looks scary and can scream very loud. doesn’t like telling people what to do, but everyone else is a fucking idiot so he has to. loves his wife more than anything, she’s super supportive. also his wife would probably choke a bear with bare hands, as opposed to him. likes soups.

ELROHIR: has kind of a blank look on his face, but that’s just because “I will survive” is playig in his head at all times. always wears armor. overequipped. if you need a knife, he’s your man. ran with scissors as a child. hair gets tangled very easily. sings only in the shower.

TIME FOR THE FRIENDS!

NORTHERN TRACKER: probably called Francis. not gay, but a good ally. rarely talks, but when he does, it’s pure gold. knows a lot of secrets and won’t hesitate to use them against you. has a small daughter with whom he plays dress up all the time. would die for his friends. touched a dragon once. always knows where you’re going.

LÓRIEN GUIDE: hates social interacion, lives in the woods. apparently walks so much his feet disappeared. looks a little ratty, but in a good way. the one person hobbits never hear comming. best friends with Francis, they met in jail. pretty much invisible, but when he arrives to a town and gets washed and fixed, every man and woman falls for him. he doesn’t get the clues tho. freezes upon seeing a beautigul man.

BERAVOR: the lesbian queen we don’t deserve. will crush your skull, either with her hands or her thighs. “pretty good for a girl” is the last thing you’ll ever say. sings like an angel, talks like a miner. can speak with birds. Sauron would let her peg him.

#lord of the rings #lotr lcg #tobes back at it again #legolas #elrond #and a lot of fucking friends

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alitheamateur · 5 years

Text

The Grind- Chapter 4

Warnings: Language. Angst.

Just shy of 3 months had swiftly come & gone. We spent most of our days together, and the easy casualty, and effortless chemistry between us still stood firm. The whirling wind of our relationship only just picking up, and I was intently reading the blatant, yet blindly mysterious novel that was Colton Ritter. He was romantic in the brawniest of ways, always keeping a solid arm around my waist, or his wide fingers locked around my bony hands when we explored the crowded sidewalks on our outings. Or on the rare occasions he decided to sleep over, he’d never settle to sleep in any position other than nestled into my back, his warm steady breaths exhaling into my hair, & limbs locked around me. There was a period when I had to reassure myself that he did indeed know my proper name, and wasn’t just calling me ‘his girl’ every time he addressed me to cover his flighty memory.

The fight was just shy of two weeks away, give or take. Two painfully anxious, grueling weeks away. Rightfully so, Colton delicately began to isolate himself a bit, applying his metaphorical “game face” makeup, if you will. However, tonight he had promised to skip out his usual third training session of the day & let me have him to myself. I tidied the throw pillows on the sunken leather couch on my way to answer his knock, and fluffed some fingers through my hair.

“Hey, babydoll.”

He crossed the entryway with a wet peck to my lips & dropped himself to be seated on the center cushion of my couch, kicking off the heels of his gray trainers with a grunt. How on earth a man could make a sweat stained, beat-up hoodie look like a 3-piece suit, was an enigma I’d yet to solve.

“How’s my girl?” he smiled, using two fingers to playfully seduce me to fill the empty spot next to him. I made a pit stop grabbing the remote control so I could ready the DVD I had rented for us, then plopped beside his now relaxed frame. The ‘right at home’ manner he felt at my place, made the tiny space feel all the more cozy.

“Perfect now,” I answered with smiling satisfaction, nuzzling into the warm crook under his arm. As a woman, I never like to think of myself as weak or fragile, small even. But the way his full, sizeable arm made me feel almost like a helpless child protected in the safe space of their own little hiding spot was an exception.

We’d barely made it 10 minutes into the movie before the tongue I’d been biting to keep quiet, broke free. “How’s the training coming? Is your hand still giving you trouble?”

Earlier in the week, I’d met him at Mac’s per his request, & found him wincing as the trainer pressured his obviously swollen, irritated mitt. He brushed off my evident concern, saying he had probably just “over did it a bit,” but the trainer shot me a clandestine glance, indicating that it indeed was something I should maybe be concerned with.

“It’s all good, babe. Nothin’ to worry yourself about, honest. Relax, huh?” He held up the wounded hand, wiggling his fingers as if to prove to me he was as healthy as a horse, and pressed a kiss to my temple.

I nodded my head at the obvious lie, resisting the urge to push the issue of my growing regard for him. My silky legs tucked under me, I lifted from the couch to retrieve some popcorn from the kitchen, strategizing the best way to mind my own business would be to excuse myself from the room for a brief moment or two.

I couldn’t have made it 3 small strides in exit before I was wrangled like a farm animal from behind.

“Hey 2-1, think fast!” He declared referring to the peeling vinyl number on the back of one of my dated team sweatshirts from high school.

Not allowed a moment to resist, he pounced from his seat, captured my limber body, & heaved me over his stony shoulder, adding a saucy pat to my rump for good measure. I squealed with pleasure as he whisked me off in the direction of my bedroom, shouting giggly words of objection mixed with powerless slaps to his widespread back along the way. We entered the bedroom threshold where he chucked me atop the plush white duvet of my full-size bed, my hair bouncing and scattering across my face. My arms outstretched slackly, he situated himself above me, dangling studiously rubbing nose-to-nose with me. I closed my eyes lazily with desire, anticipating the puffy lips I knew were approaching me.

“Highlight of my day about to be what’s between those soft legs of yours, Livvy,” he purred, causing me to shiver involuntarily as his gifted hands slid toward a southern destination. The airy hairs across my bloomed skin raised on end, the grips of his fingers leaving white scraps of pressure along the way.

The moment couldn’t have been more laced with passion, and elevated craving, and yet the wandering mind of mine I often coursed for overthinking, wouldn’t slow down.

“Colt, are you sure your hand’s okay? I just wanna make sure you’re in perfect condition for Mendez. I can’t have you going into this thing if you’re not 100%, babe.”

I knew right off I had made a hasty, unsuitable move. His sculpted jaw clenched, nostrils flaring with outrage. I searched his face for the man I’d grown to know, the one who held me in such high regard, always so playful & gentle. But this was Jekyll. His pupils almost rattled with offense, and I heard his neck crack from the fuming build inside him.

“Really? I told you I’m fine, Liv. Damn it!” He scoffed, and pushed himself off me, heavy feet stomping promptly down the hall, his sock feet ruffling over the area rug. I tossed myself over the foot of the bed after him, regretfully chastising myself for the poor timing.

“You write articles about sports. You’re not a trainer for God sakes. I said not to worry about me, & I meant it, ‘ight. Just back off!”

I barely managed to hear the muffled last three words he’d growled at me from behind the door he’d nearly breached from hinges on his way out. I wasn’t oblivious to the fact that he held some tendencies of fuming anger, and maybe the occasional tendency for a tantrum. There had to be a dark hole of hostility buried in his psyche, let’s be honest. The guy made a career of bashing in the face of his fellow man. But never, did I expect to see those flashes of dander thrust upon me.

I spent two days following his outburst lost in a thick fog of muddled questioning. The independent, headstrong woman in one corner was brushing off the barefaced disrespect and hissy fit he’d thrown, advising that I didn’t deserve such, and to run away with my head held high. However, the lovesick girl in the opposing corner who just felt the desire to be valued by a good man, told me to forgive my sometimes darkly pensive partner. He was under an extensive amount of pressure to make weight, and make sure he was properly armed on every level to defeat Mendez. So, I called a draw between my battling emotions like any indecisive twenty-something woman would do. I decided there was no way I’d go groveling for some answers since I was clearly the innocent party in the episode. But, offering to hear him out when he did show his face, seemed rational.

Arriving home from work that rainy Tuesday, spitting curses to myself when someone had swiped my front row parking spot, there he stood. I picked the dry skin from my lip, organizing my plan of attack. I couldn’t go too easy on him and run childishly right into his arms. No, I was too unwaveringly thick headed for that. Earning my forgiveness wasn’t a simple task, but it wasn’t an impossible one either. As I ascended the concrete steps closer to the looming figure pacing near my door, I noticed he was drenched. His heather gray sweatshirt, now shaded to charcoal, and his teeth gently chattered behind blotched lips.

“It’s freezing out here, crazy! God, Colton! Come inside.”

I left him standing on the doormat to retrieve a set of clothes he’d left one morning after a jog that had led him here. A tingle eased up my legs remembering the shower fiasco that had resulted from his impromptu visit.

“Here, put these on before you catch freaking pneumonia.”

He emerged from the bathroom, his dripping hair standing in all directions messily just how I liked it. “What were you doing out in the rain, Colton? Are you out of your mind?” I knew deep down realistically there probably was a part of him that indeed was, but that was beside the point.

“I ran from my place to Mac’s this mornin’, before the rain. Except I couldn’t focus on my damn session for thinkin’ about you.” He snapped in my direction, tossing his arms up in a seeming surrender.

Was he blaming me for the fact that he couldn’t train? Trying to fault me for his lack of focus?

“Look, Liv. I ain’t the type a guy who gets into much of the feelings bullshit. But, I do know that I owe you an apology for runnin’ out on you the other night… and the yellin’. I’m sorry for that, too. My pop didn’t raise me as the type ‘a man who speaks to any woman like that. I need ya’ to know that I can promise, you’ll never see that side of me again, outside of the cage. Understand?”

He hadn’t looked to me until that moment. It was almost like the little speech he had just given, was partially aimed as a smack on the wrist for himself, too. I could tell he was sincerely ashamed of his erratic behavior, and who was I to deny the forgiveness his now child-like eyes desired.

“I get it. I shouldn’t have nagged you about the hand. That part of your life is none of my business, and I swear to stay out of it.”

The last words had barely escaped me before he swooped my nervous hands into his.

“Woah woah, hold it, babe. The fighting IS your business. Sometimes, you’re prolly gonna wish it wasn’t, truthfully. That’s not at all what I meant. You’re my girl now Livvy, so anything in my life, I want you a part of. The problem is, the other night when you kept askin’ about the injury, it wasn’t that I was mad that you were concerned. It’s just, I was tryin’ my hardest to pretend it wasn’t a problem. I didn’t wanna have to face that something could’ve really been wrong with my hand, or that the fight may not happen at all because I lost my damn temper during a spar. This fight is all I got right now, ya’ know? It could be make or break for me. I thought maybe pretendin’ it wasn’t hurt, would make it go away, I guess.”

How could I not forgive him? In that intimate moment between the two of us, only the pattering of raindrops on the concrete to hear, he’d revealed himself to me. A part of himself that I had the strong inclination most people didn’t get the pleasure of knowing. I was ready to dive completely in, head first, to whatever was slowly igniting between the two of us.

My small hand embraced his now stubble lined face. “Thank you. For welcoming me into your world, and for the apology.”

He slept over that night, my last conscious memory for the evening being tucked neatly into the deep pit of his arm and dozing off into sleepy oblivion to the light strokes of his hands to my hair. Heat waves rising from his naked chest, to my own creating a pocket of comfort amid the cracks of thunder.

I awoke at daylight with an intense stretch to be a messy, pink penned note folded in the now empty spot where he had slept, his indention left heavy next to me.

Liv,

Didn’t wanna wake you. Headed to Mac’s to have doc take a look at the hand. Good luck today. Give that shit head Mendez hell for me.

Colt

TAGS: @eap1935 @torialeysha

#Tom Hardy #tomhardyfanfic #tomhardy #tom hardy fanfiction #elizabeth olsen #tommy conlon #tommy conlon fanfic #thegrind #tomhardyfan #tomhardyfanfiction

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toonstarterz · 6 years

Text

BECAUSE I’M NOT POPULAR, I’LL READ WATAMOTE: CHAPTER #141

The first half of Golden Week is over, and Tomoko has found herself the object of “platonic" affection for four different suitors. And as our intrepid heroine muses over the which of them to pursue, out of nowhere comes the dark horse. Once thought to be missing in action, this little girl, having been there since the very beginning, threatens to overtake the competition in one psychotic swoop.

Chapter 141: Because I’m Not Popular, I’ll Go to School with Kii-chan

The things that Stuffed Yuu-chan and Pals have seen...

Ah, the classic Introvert Burnout. I had a feeling Tomoko would be drained after having what may have been the most socially stressful time of her life. Not simply for being social, but for how much she had to navigate as a fish out of water. Each “date” involved a new experience for Tomoko to address, and that much effort at once can be really exhausting for a layabout like her.

That my friend is what we in the TvTropes community call, “Tempting Fate”.

Heeeeeere’s Kii-chan!

Can’t even begin to tell you how much I love this entrance. We all know who Kii-chan is. But even those outside of the loop would get a feel for who she is. Adorable and sweet-natured, but disturbing due to an apparent lack of negative emotions (even when appropriate). Ah, Kii-chan, it’s been far too long.

Nothing to say here, really. Just think it’s a particularly lovely picture of Tomoko.

Because the popularity of a manga series is largely dependent on real-time reception, it’s very common for mangakas to add new, “popular” characters, or give the spotlight to characters who’ve been out of focus. Watamote is no exception. It may seem contrived to bring Kii-chan back after being gone for a while, but it works here because it relies on Kii-chan’s character to it, instead of a series of implausible plot developments. Kii-chan is just considerate of her cousin’s schedule–that’s all we need.

The first hint of Tomoko’s reawakening as the role model onee-chan.

One of the perks of being a sporadically-appearing character is that you can really see just much the art style has evolved since the character’s last appearance. For Kii-chan, she hasn’t really changed much design-wise other than being a little taller. But even then, the linework is much cleaner and consistent this time around, which compliments the more “everyday slice-of-life” approach Watamote’s been embracing.

If only she could grow a nose.

The best thing about this type of censorship is that you don’t necessarily have to understand what's being censored. All you really need is a bit of context to put the pieces together. The outlines are detailed enough that we can see the characters as some kind of humanoids with animal features. And given what we know about Kii-chan, it makes perfect sense.

Y-Yeah, I...I’ve totally heard of that show.

Other than the whole Ucchi situation (which is slowly becoming an unintentional blessing), this is the last of the misunderstandings that still needs resolving. It’ll be hard, though, since this particular issue isn’t that troublesome. For now...

Look at that platonic sibling bonding.

Perhaps I’ve been conditioned by manga/anime, but I find it refreshing how Watamote has managed to develop the Kuroki siblings’ relationship while avoiding any incestual subtext. Lots of series oversell the sibling relationship by having them be overly affectionate and clingy. With Watamote, their bond feels organic because they don’t have to be touchy-feely. An unspoken quality time is all there is to it.

It’s hard to get a read on Tomoko’s emotions here, but at the very least, she seems troubled. It could very well be that Tomoko just realized that she’s changing in regards to the media she consumes. The former her would’ve probably jumped on the Kemono Friends bandwagon, but the reality is, Tomoko’s otaku interests are being compromised by the mainstream, at least as mainstream as rap battles get.

But the kicker is...she realizes this change isn’t all that bad.

Of course, nothing beats watching anime with your psychotic cousin.

The whole “pet-sitting” relationship they have here is a tricky one since each side is trying to accommodate the other based on “flaws” that don’t exist (or no longer exist). This usually results in an endless cycle of misunderstandings that lead to nowhere, but this confusion has transcended that cycle to develop into a progression of sorts. Similar to the Ucchi situation, the absurdity became so frequent that it just became reality. One that each side has been influenced greatly from.

With her constantly adorable face, you forget that Kii-chan is a middle-schooler and is therefore old enough to know about things like sex and perversion. Like Yuu-chan, she may look innocent, and while she was aware of such things as a kid, she didn’t really get it until they approached high-school age.

You know, I read this really good manga called Kaguya-sama: Love is War (shameless plug, I know), and they actually had a chapter about a rap battle a while back. Given that both series tend to be up-to-date on contemporary trends, it makes me wonder...has rap suddenly become a hot thing in Japan? Or has it always had its niche audience?

I’m sure many fans knew that this was going to be an inevitable development whenever Kii-chan showed up again. Unlike Tomoko’s school friends, Kii-chan wasn’t there to see the slow, gradual growth of Tomoko’s character, so it must have hit her like a ton of bricks to see her precious onee-chan go from helpless loner to mature teen in the blink of an eye.

Sometimes I wonder just how pitiful Kii-chan thought Tomoko really was...

Why would you censor Disneyland now of all times?

Those of us who were clamoring to get close-ups of the photos taken in the Disneyland arc finally get their wish.

The Kowarith photo is my favorite, even though two-thirds of the people in it are faking their asses off. While that may be my personal bias towards the Tomoko-Yoshida-Yuri trio, I think it reflects a better sense of kinship between the girls. The effort is there, phony as it is, to support each other in an awkward situation, which is fundamentally what the series is all about.

The assumedly Fireworks photo is also pleasing, make no mistake. You can definitely feel more genuine emotions (or lack thereof) being expressed than in the other photo. But this focuses more on the individual than how they work as a collective group, despite there being more people. The girls ultimately look like six different colored Skittles–part of the same package, but each unique.

Could this be the start of Kii-chan revitalizing her perception of Tomoko as a super popular girl? I sure hope so.

How ironic. Kii-chan’s perspective of Tomoko is starting to grow ever so gradually on the upside, whereas Tomoko’s perspective of Kii-chan grows more and more negative.

Hang on, is that supposed to be some fake Dragonite shirt? Neat.

At this point, people assuming that Yoshida as some kind of punk based on her looks is a dead horse of an issue. Some stereotypes exist for a reason, I suppose.

I see your game, Nico Tanigawa, using a deliberately vague line about “two girls” to make your readers overanalyze a single panel. All I have to say to that is that I am completely and utterly guilty.

One of the girls is probably Yuri, if only because she’s the only girl to appear in both photos. As for the second girl, your guess is as good as mine. I’m inclined to say Ucchi because if Kii-chan only has their appearances to go on, then Ucchi and her emoji-face make quite the impression.

I’m getting Yuu-chan vibes here with the way Kii-chan phrases half-insults with a friendly demeanor.

+ 1 TO THE HAREM.

Kii-chan is definitely that relative you leave a self-imposed boundary on. Fine in small doses, like at parties and family gatherings, but long-term exposure is unhealthy for the brain. This isn’t even a wholly exaggerated fantasy on Tomoko’s part. Okay, the eating bit is a little much, but given that Kii-chan allegedly dreams about treating Tomoko like a pet, the latter is right to be a little concerned.

There needs to be an AU one-shot of Tomoko, Tomoki, and Kii all going to the same school at the same time. Right. Now.

I do appreciate that despite Kii-chan’s deteriorating sanity, Tomoko doesn’t view her as a lost cause and even tries to put a positive spin on it. Reconciliation Arc is a-go!

Did Kii-chan really have that big of a growth spurt, or has Tomoko just reached her peak in height? Not sure how far the genetics will go, but Kii-chan becoming taller than Tomoko is only going to make her even more intimidating.

This little scheme of hers is definitely reflective of the “old” Tomoko, but there’s a nice reversal going on here. Instead of Tomoko trying to make things sound cooler than they actually are, she’s trying to make things seem worse. Of course, Murphy’s Tomoko’s Law states that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Especially if Tomoko wants it to go right.

Ah, Ogino. The only character whose relationship with Tomoko has remained relatively unchanged despite indirectly having the most impact on Tomoko’s life.

Better update her Wiki page now.

It’s pretty telling how it’s these two who cause Tomoko the most grief. It’s not the delinquent who routinely bashes her face in, not the pervert(s) lusting after her little brother, and not the otaku who passive-aggressively teases her. As for why, I think it boils down to the fact that Ogino and Kii-chan challenge her comfort zone the most. It also doesn’t help that Tomoko doesn’t interact with them as often as the others, so she hasn’t really had the time to get desensitized by them.

This freakin’ teacher, man.

The second worst part of Ogino’s “help” is that she never actually lies. Sure, she exaggerates to hell and back, but it’s always loosely based in reality, like some cheap movie adaptation of a best-selling novel.

But the worst part of it is...you can’t hate Ogino for it. Her personal assessment may be founded on largely suspect reasons, but it’s still an honest assessment. I have no doubts that Ogino really is proud of Tomoko, and that’s exactly why she’s the best worst teacher.

That’s true. If Ogino gave that spiel to people like Hijirisawa or Hatsushiba–y’know, people who don’t know her as well–they might actually buy that crap. But people who know Tomoko like Yuri or Nemo, people like us, can tell that Ogino’s sugarcoating the whole thing. Kii-chan, with her terrifying skill for knowing too much, is no exception.

Ah, I see. This is one of those put-all-the-secondary-characters-who-we-haven’t-seen-in-a-while-into-one-chapter chapters.

Can’t complain, though. I like Itou.

“Or something” can also be translated as “lust after Tomoki”.

We don’t really have much to go on for how Itou views Tomoko, but I think it’s reasonable to think that she may not see her in that good of a light. Not only did Tomoko give off a weird impression when she played off the whole fist bump thing, but Itou’s “powers of perception” probably made her aware of Tomoko and Komiyama’s frenemy-ship, hence her “warning” that Komiyama was around.

The Inherent Awkwardness of Second-hand Relationships: The Life of Tomoko.

Betcha’ no one saw this interaction coming. Whether it’ll lead to anything more remains to be seen. Itou’s still got the whole “friendship potential” going on with Futaki, but given that she has the tolerance to BFF Komiyama, I see no reason why she can’t befriend a psycho like Kii-chan.

That desire to “loudly blow” is Kii-chan’s inner demons screeching out in desperation for release. I pity the fool who unleashes the beast.

That does sound like your typical amateur definition of a psychopath, doesn’t it?

For the record, I don’t actually believe Kii-chan is a psychopath, despite the jokes I made. There are way too many moments that discredit such a claim. Now, if you were to accuse Kii-chan as being some sort of deviant (sexual or otherwise) I might see that. But ultimately, I think Kii-chan was just a victim of having her innocence shattered too fast and too soon, which made her more, uh, crafty than Tomoko could handle.

Man, it’s been a long time while since we last saw Dicky-chan, hasn’t it? Hope we get to see more of her (and Sayaka, for that matter) after this chapter.

I love how even when she’s collecting masturbation material, Komiyama has to hold her camera phone all lady-like. If the term “purevert” ever needed a concrete definition, this girl would be it.

Main Character privileges, that’s why.

Get. The. FUCK. Out. Of. Here.

With each subsequent appearance, Komiyama’s standard for what constitutes a bitch primed to steal away her Tomoki-kun falls hilariously lower. It’s not enough that a girl in their class makes two seconds of eye contact with him, nosiree. Any girl with an inkling of a relationship with Tomoko is not immune, even if it’s his own damn cousin. Granted, I don’t think Komiyama would be so pathetically scummy as to confront Kii-chan about it like she did to Yoshida.

...I hope.

“Best friends” may be stretching it now that we’ve gotten this far in the series. However, there is one aspect of Tomoko and Komiyama’s relationship that triumphs over all the others:

Absolute candidness. Even now, the only one who gets to see the complete, raw package that is Tomoko Kuroki is Komi-something. While Tomoko has made substantial friendships with the likes of Yuri, Nemo, and Katou, Tomoko still restrains herself just a tad lest she pushes them away. It’s only with Komi that Tomoko bears her full ugliness, which I think has developed into some freakish level of respect/understanding that none of the others can claim.

Damn, even the bishounen dude gets to make an appearance. All we need know is Lethal Chef Girl to make a cameo and I’m set.

Nope. Any game is an away game when your “harem” shows up to cheer you on.

A few people have expressed discontent with how the chapter seems to end so abruptly, and it’s a fair criticism. It may be the lack of a “Next time...” tagline throwing people off, but while this chapter indeed ends at an odd point, it’s not that unprecedented. Some of the previous chapters ended this way, like that time Komi was all “Oi!” at Yoshida at the cafeteria, which indicates that this chapter is likely one of those series-of-vignettes that also doubles as a build-up chapter.

On a positive note, while the chapter does feel prematurely ended, how the next chapter plays out if it is connected to this one is sure to be a surprise.

#watamote #watamote review #chapter 141 #no matter how i look at it it's you guys' fault i'm not popular!#tomoko kuroki #kiko satozaki #ogino #itou #kotomi komiyama #akari iguchi #tomoki kuroki #that one bishounen dude #review

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