#to cover up the fact that all my photos were taken with a cell phone camera and obviously very little of this was filled digitally

[outeremissary]

I may be late but I never forget. Two months ago @dmagedgoods tagged me to fill this template out and at last I finally have. I’m... not much of a digital artist, so I’ve tried to compensate how I could. Unfortunately, resolution issues may undermine my efforts. I did my best though!

Due to having been tagged on this two and a half months ago I will not even be making an attempt to send this anywhere.

[cherryatiny]

𝐃𝐚𝐝! 𝐀𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐳: 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞

𝑊𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔: 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠, 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑑𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑖𝑒𝑠, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑤𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑑𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑 <333

𝐺𝐼𝐹𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒, 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑡 𝑔𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑤𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑠

⩥ 𝐊𝐢𝐦 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐣𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐠

Letting the last droplets of water fall on your exposed shoulders, you turned the water off, putting the showerhead to its previous place after showering the bubbles of your body. Drying your body with a soft towel you prepared beforehand, you slipped into your underwear, opening the bathroom door and going to the bedroom, being met with the sight of your husband Hongjoong, who was currently laying on your shared bed, watching some things on his phone with headphones plugged in.

His eyes peeked on your exposed figure and as they landed on your stomach, they immediately widened, you could see how he swiftly jumped from his place, falling on the ground from the unsuccessful jump. Collecting himself, he got on his knees in front of you. „What the fuck are you doing Joongie?” Hongjoong was switching between looking at your belly and looking up at your face.

„Oh my, you grew a baby bump, oh my god, that's my baby inside you.” His hands cupped the bottom of your belly, poking it with amazement in his eyes, trying to find out if it's really a baby growing inside of you. „Waah, neither of these feel real, whether the fact that there's a tiny clump of cells growing inside of you, that will eventually turn into a human being or the fact that you're so fucking cute with this cute little bump. Literally, how did a deserve you?“ letting out a small chuckle at his words full of amazement, you kneeled to be on his eye level, looking deep into his sparkling dark eyes and pecking the tip of his nose, putting your hands on top of his. „I have the same question, Kim Hongjoong.“

⩥ 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐒𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐰𝐚

Stirring the veggie mix in the wok, you rummaged through the cabinets, looking for soy sauce to add to the vegetables. Humming to a random song you heard on a radio a few days ago, swinging your hips to the rhythm. „What are you cooking, darling?“ Almost jumping from your spot as your husband Seonghwa unexpectedly wrapped his arms around your waist, you tried to calm your breath still shocked from the unanticipated touch.

„Hwa, baby, you should work on this awful habit of yours, I felt like my heart was about to jump out of my chest. Please let me know beforehand before you talk or hug me from behind. Stirred veggies with rice and tofu.“ Nuzzling his face into your neck like a hurt puppy, he apologized for scaring you in a tiny barely hearable voice.

Embracing you in a tight hug that kept you close to him as you cooked. „Hm, wait, what is it?“ Turning your head around to look at his confused face. „What do you mean?“ His hands started to caress your lower stomach, poking and pressing on it. „What are you doing Hwa? It tickles!“ Not stopping his actions you slipped out of his embrace, turning your body around to face him.

„Wait, let me touch it again, I swear it changed,... like the structure of your stomach, it's different.“ Kneeling in front of you he lifted your t-shirt, looking at it and resuming his previous actions. Squirming from the tickling touch of his fingers, you let out soft squeals. „Oh my god, Y/N, it really changed. Could it be the baby? Oh my, right, it must be the baby, your lower belly is rounding.“

„You weirdo, examining the changes in the structure of my stomach.“

⩥ 𝐉𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐨

As you finished cutting some fruit for the boys, you placed the bowls on the coffee table in their living room. Your husband Yunho sitting on the couch watching as you took care of his friends, his hand wrapping around you and pulling you back to his lap, your back falling onto his chest. „Rest baby, you don't need to take care of them, they're adults, even though they sometimes don't act that way.” nodding and smiling at his playful advice. „But I want to, you know I have to train these motherly skills for our baby.” whispering into his ear for only him to hear, you turned around to face the boys who were half-arguing about who's the best character in a show they're watching.

„Eat up, I cut those fruits for you, you need vitamins.” before you even finished your sentence, Yeosang was already stuffing his mouth with watermelon, making you all burst out laughing. „No worries Y/N, you should rest, also can I ask you something?” nodding to Hongjoong's hesitant words, he asked you the question he was referring to.

„I don't want to come off rude or anything, so please don't take it that way, but isn't your baby bump showing already?” the man underneath you quickly straightened up, bending down to look at your stomach because of his hyung's words. „Oh my god, Y/N, why didn't you tell me your baby bump is showing.” turning around to face Yunho's surprised face. „I thought you noticed..?”

Wooyoung and San let out loud laughter at how flushed Yunho was. „Yunho you should've seen how you looked right now, you really didn't notice Y/N's baby bump? I can't with you. Try to use your eyes sometimes. But to be honest, who would've thought that your sperm would grow to this size, impressive.” Those two couldn't stop laughing, Yunho only put on his expression of a hurt puppy as you pecked his nose with reassuring words. „Don't worry Yuyu, it might work out next time.”

⩥ 𝐊𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐞𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐠

When Yeosang found out that you're pregnant, he couldn't hide the happiness. He was so excited but so scared at the same time. Buying a lot of educational books and attending workshops, to know how to become the best dad. At the same time, he wanted your pregnancy to be memorable so you two can have lovely reminiscences to remember in a few years. Apart from the basic medical record, you two built up a habit of taking pictures every week, to see how your body changed as the weeks of your pregnancy passed.

„Okay okay, go there Y/N, keep still as every week.” Snapping the picture of your figure standing in front of the white wall from side and front. You sat down on Yeosang's lap, arms wrapping around his neck as you looked at the screen of the camera in his hands, switching between today and last week's photos. „Wah, Y/N look! Your baby bump got visible since the last week. Aww, our baby is growing well inside you.” smiling at his adorable attitude. „Aww Yeosangie, are you crying?” Amazed at how quick you noticed it, he swiftly wiped the tears off his eyes. „No I'm not crying, it was just dirt in my eye.”

„One day, when our baby will be older, I will tell it a story about how its father teared up when it was growing in my womb.“ Giving you a death glare, Yeosang turned off the camera with the photos he took. „Try to embarrass me in front of my child and I'm going to sublime into another galaxy.“ Chuckling at his sarcastic remark you hugged his muscular frame. „Please don't, I'd have no one to tease then, Sangie.“

⩥ 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢 𝐒𝐚𝐧

Looking at yourself in the body-length mirror, you examined your body, hugging your frame and trying to cover the parts you didn't like. Especially the gained pregnancy fat on the lower stomach. Turning around, trying to find the angle you looked the best in. Not aware of your husband San observing your movements, while leaning on the door frame. His voice scaring the heck out of you, as he spoke. „What are you doing, darling?“ Turning around you looked at him, your hands wrapped around your body to cover as much as possible. „I- Don't you think I gained weight, Sannie? Especially some fat on my stomach and I'm not even that far in my pregnancy. What am I going to do? I feel so bad.“ San put on his pout at your negative remarks, approaching you, he stood behind you, looking at you in the mirror.

„Baby, I can't explain how much it hurts me to hear you thinking this way of yourself. You're absolutely gorgeous Y/N, darling, it's not any belly fat, and even if it was, it doesn't matter, it's your cute little baby bump. That's our baby that's showing and you shouldn't talk so negative about it.“ Kissing your temple and shoulders, he dropped on his knees, hands falling onto your bump, caressing it and letting his lips brush against your skin, giving it small pecks full of love. „Please Y/N, I'll do anything I can if it helps you overcome your insecurities. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever laid my eyes on. You're also the woman that carries my child, and you have my full respect for that. And this cute little baby bump makes you even prettier honey. Now, should I make you some snacks? You need to eat meals with a lot of nutrients so you and our baby can be healthy.“ Smiling at his heart-warming words, you took his hand that tugged you out of the room, taken aback by how did you deserve a man like this.

⩥ 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢

„Mhm Y/N... I'm so exhausted“ your husband Mingi whined, coming out of the shower after working out. „Do you wanna watch a movie? Come on, lay yourself on me and relax, Mingi. There won't be as many opportunities to do this from now on, so lay down.“ Nodding the tall figure of your husband approached you, sitting down on the couch, you spread your legs to create a space for him to lay in, before turning on the TV with your favourite series playing. As Mingi was about to lay his head on your lower belly, he noticed the slight change in its size. Lifting your t-shirt he saw how your lower belly rounded.

„Oh my god- Y/N! Why didn't you tell me your baby bump was showing omo! Y/N Y/N, that's my baby!“ chuckling at his excitement over your belly rounding, you agreed to his words. „Yes, Mingi, that's your baby. Now lay down please, so we can watch the series.“ Brushing your fingers through his brown locks, you tried to softly push his head to lay in your lap. „I don't want to Y/N. You lay in my lap, I don't want to lay on your belly, what if I hurt the baby? Oh my, that would be horrible, I'm sure that since the baby is growing already, it would feel suffocated by my head laying on your baby bump.“ Raising your eyebrows at his gibberish, trying to hold back the laughter at his cute dumbness. „Mingi, please, respectfully shut the fuck up and lay on my lap, you don't want to anger a pregnant woman by not agreeing with her. You won't hurt the baby, so lay down.“ Putting on his 'scared puppy' expression, he listened to you, laying carefully on your belly, your fingers playing with his soft hair, making ponytails and braiding them as you two watched the series.

⩥ 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠

Clipping your fancy earrings and necklace set, you finished adorning your look with accessories. Looking at your figure in the tight-fitting velvet dress, that perfectly fitted the occasion of Wooyoung's business gala. Your eyes dropping at the baby bump that was getting more visible as the weeks of your pregnancy went on, especially in this dreses. But maybe it was just your detailed eye since no one appeared to notice, not even your husband.

Walking down the stairs to the living room where your husband Wooyoung was, already dressed in a well-fitting tuxedo. Playing some games on his phone while waiting for you to finish dressing and stuff. „Woo, I'm done.“ He turned around to look at you, his eyes widening at the ethereal beauty. „Waau, baby, that dress is breath-taking, absolutely worth the money. You're gorgeous, you look like an absolute goddess. Can you turn around?“ Turning around on your heels, showing off yourself in all angles for him to see, his cheerful clapping, like he was your number-one fan, let you gain confidence in yourself. „I don't remember marrying a model, but you for sure look like one.“ coming closer to you his arms wrapped around your frame, one hand falling onto your lower stomach. Leaning closer to you, Wooyoung whispered into your ear: „Especially with that baby bump, you look so cute, it adds to your beauty.“

„I didn't know you noticed...“ Wooyoung pouted at your words because he didn't know that was what you thought of him. „Of course I noticed, what do you take me for?... I just didn't want to mention it, because I didn't know how you felt about that and didn't want to make you insecure by mentioning your baby bump growing, but I just couldn't help myself, it looks too cute on you.“

⩥ 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐨

Work tired the heck out of you and Jongho couldn't watch your soulless state full of stress anymore. So his surprising gift for you in a form of a wellness trip was very appreciated. Having a week to spend to focus on yourself, your husband and the little bundle of joy in your womb, was the best thing he could give you. So as you two packed your belongings, and Jongho drove you two to the wellness hotel you could finally breathe out.

„Come on Y/N, let's take our luggage to the hotel room and then dive straight into a hot tub, I feel like my muscles are as stiff as rock.“ taking the luggage out of your hand, Jongho took them to your hotel room, your body fell on the soft mattress of your king-sized bed. „Get up, princess, we gotta go swimming and then we can go to a hot tub. Light exercise is important for a pregnant woman and her baby.“ groaning, you took the swimsuit Jongho threw at you and went to the bathroom to change, putting some dress onto it so you're not bare when you walk through the hotel.

Taking a deep breath after the hour of swimming, you thought you'd collapse from how exhausting it was. „Jongho I'm gonna kill you, you told me that we were gonna rest the whole week.“

„But exercising is resting as well. Okay then, if you're so exhausted, you can be glad that you have such a caring and strong husband, who has no problem with carrying you to the hot tub.“ Glaring at him, you could sense that he was just teasing you with his words. You yelped as he suddenly picked you up, carrying you bridal style, before getting into the hot tub with you still in his hands.

As he sat down with you still in his hands, you wrapped your arms around his neck, nuzzling yourself into his chest. Not aware of his eyes glaring and examining your stomach. „Baby.“ raising your eyebrows at him, thinking he wanted to tell you something, since baby was one of the many nicknames he had for you. „Baby. There's a baby in you. I can see it, oh my- Can I touch it?“

i couldn't find Mingi's gif from this set, i'm gonna cry

[p-antomime]

my girl, my muse.

— minors don’t interact

— wc: 4,3K.

content + warnings: 18+, including: switch!kageyama, worship, squirting, oral (female), a bit of overstimulation, pet names + nicknames, creampie, unprotected sex.

pairings: painter; aged up!kageyama tobio x fem!reader

— haikyuu masterlist.

— Can you lift your head a little more? — The photographer asked, and you quickly responded to the demand, disguised as a request, although you kept the same serious and emotionless countenance of almost all your editorial work. — Good, now sideways. — He gestured to the right, and you leaned your body in that direction without letting your head get too straight or too far down, there was no middle ground when it came to perfection in the kind of work you were prone to do during your photo shoots or fashion shows. — Correct your back.

— Sorry. — Y/N replied trying to find out exactly if the photographer wanted her back more tilted to the right or more turned to the left diagonal, which was the opposite direction of the first option. — Right? — The man nodded and so it was done.

The entire editing, lighting, clothing, and make-up team present there was watching you carefully, as if their eyes were measuring tapes capable of analyzing and measuring your mistakes, no matter how small they might seem or in fact be. You are a model. Models don't leave spce for imperfections, because you are the perfection. And it is because of this that when Y/N fails, she continues to act like the best. To become the best, you need to act like you already are, reality gets less salty that way.

There were still a few more pictures to be taken, but honestly, her feet were starting to hurt from standing on that low heel that provided no support for the bottom of the soles of her feet. You wanted to huff in frustration and then feel your back crunch from standing on one foot, but you couldn't, since there were several pairs of eyes watching you intently - and you couldn't look like you were downplaying your chance to be in Vogue, since your advisory team had fought for four long months to get you on the cover and inside the magazine.

Wearing Chanel, Y/N looked like a doll. And so the photographer was treating her like one.

And anyway, the photo shoot was over and you changed as quickly as your tired arms would allow, putting back your clothes that were much more comfortable and less tight than that Chanel set.

— They look great! — Akaashi commented, analyzing the camera's viewfinder where his finger was clicking on the button to play the photos, and smiled proudly. — As always. You are so professional. — You wanted to answer that you knew that. — Do you want help getting home today? — Your hands reached for the bag you had brought with you to the photo shoot and you reached for your cell phone to check the messages from your group of friends before you looked again at the man responsible for almost every marketing move in your career. — It's after 5 pm and... — You interrupted him.

— Actually, I'm meeting some friends of mine today, maybe another day, ‘kay, Akaashi? — Y/N smiled cordially before reopening the conversation with his friends and typing a message to them that he was about to leave the place where the pictures were taken and finalized. — Anyway, I'm leaving, if you have any kind of problem that needs to be spoken to me, well... you have my number, don't you? — Akaashi muttered a restrained "Yes", as if you had somehow offended him by refusing his implicit suggestion. — So, there is nothing that is important enough not to be said by message, right? See you ... next week, I guess? — Y/N now smiled without showing hers teeth, said goodbye to everyone in the room, including the photographer and the lighting crew who were a bit busy and therefore did not return the goodbye wave, and headed for the elevator of the building that housed the photo studio.

This was not the first time that Akaashi Keiji had implied that he wanted something other than professionalism with Y/N, and each time, you politely declined. You already had someone residing in your heart and filling your head with thoughts. Kageyama Tobio, specifically. But, it wasn't like there was anything official between you because your contract didn't allow dating during the first three years of modeling just to leverage your career and make you seem available to any kind of celebrity who was interested in you. And yet, neither of you cared to date anyone who was not included in your bilateral relationship.

Kageyama was a somewhat underground artist, to say the least. He wanted to be on the walls of the big art galleries in Tokyo with his paintings and also decorating the corners of contemporary art museums, but he didn't want the responsibility of it, even though you had made it clear numerous times that you would try to help him in the matter of promotion as soon as bigger jobs were given to you, like this photo shoot for Vogue. It was a big step for you, and Tobio still seemed to want to crawl in short steps towards his goal, because he always said that "his art hasn't reached the highest possible peak yet”. And nothing fairer than to let a proper artist decide when is the best time to expose his art to the rest of the continents.

Of course he would be on his outing with his friends today, because his friends were almost all the same as yours, since the group had been surviving since High School and ironically continued together during the university period, with the exception of Nishinoya, who was currently too busy traveling in various countries and outside Japan, and Asahi, who was working in Taiwan as a clothing designer. Someday perhaps Asahi would be responsible for the design of some clothes that you would wear on a catwalk.

— Hi, everybody! — You answered cheerfully as you approached the table where the eight people, including Tobio, were sitting, and automatically you missed Tanaka, but before you could comment on his absence, Shimizu was quicker to respond.

— He is busy at work.

— Oh, I see. — As you nodded, your eyes noticed Kageyama covertly push Hinata further to the side and one of his hands lightly pat the seat next to him now free and a light chuckle escaped your lips as you stood between the two friends.

Tobio's hand was soon on your knee with a gentle squeeze as if to say it was good to see you in his simple way of showing affection to you, and Yachi and Sugawara began to serve you some snacks, figuring you were hungry — and, indeed, they were not wrong. After chatting for a few minutes with Shimizu and Kei, with occasional enthusiastic comments from Hinata or Daichi, about how the photo shoot had gone, Y/N turned her attention to Kageyama's hand still on her knee and noticed that their fingers looked more callused than usual from the rampant handling of brushes and paints.

— Are your hands all right? — You asked him in whispers so as not to vocally overlap the heated conversation between Hinata, Yachi, Tadashi and Sugawara. — They look a little... bruised.

— Everything is fine. — Kageyama replied, taking a long swig of the soda he had ordered with the others and offering you his glass, in a silent question if you didn't want to drink some of the drink in it, to which you calmly denied. — I just... you know, I'm having a hard time finishing my paintings, but it's no big deal. It's just a temporary blockage. — Your eyebrows gave away your accusing look as they furrowed.

Tobio was the kind of person who charged himself, and this was not unknown to you or to anyone who was even slightly intimate with him. He went straight to the first place of perfectionism when it came to finishing or starting some new work, so much so that a few times last year you woke up in the middle of the night with a noise in your apartment after having stayed the night with Kageyama and found him in his studio too small for his immense creativity painting tirelessly, frantically. On those days it was impossible to get him to sleep before the painting was finished, he refused to do this claiming that his head would not let him sleep knowing he had left something half finished behind. Kageyama Tobio was the King of Art. And also the King of Obsession with Art.

— Did you sleep? — It was a simple question, but Kageyama's hesitation to answer and the absence of his playful tone gave him away. — What can I do for you? I want to help you solve this. Do you need more brushes? Canvas? Paint? — You cupped your face in one hand, looking at him intently and taking a brief sip from the glass placed on the table for you by Yachi.

— No, I just need time. To finish everything. — Tobio shrugged and sinking his back into the back of your seat, you put your hand over his that was still on your knee and took a deep breath.

— May I ask what exactly you are having a creative block on? We could, I don't know ... walk around some places in Tokyo to see if something might give you an idea to paint. — You shrugged. — Or watch a lot of movies or cartoons to see if it has any effect.

— I tried that before, but it didn't work. — Kageyama replied, and his suddenly impatient tone indicated that further conversation would be quite unproductive, as yours words would enter his ears, but not be reasoned out by his brain.

Yes, Kageyama Tobio was a big stubborn guy, but you knew that even before you started dating him. Sometimes it hurt to know that he wasn't as open with you as he wanted to be, but it had become routine, and just like the other times before that, you knew that letting him feel comfortable enough to open up was the right thing to do. As always. Even if it was tiring.

And then the rest of the early evening passed too quickly, soon there would only be the two of you, Sugawara and Shimizu left behind. As soon as everyone had decided to split the restaurant bill, Hinata decided to hitchhike home with Yachi, Tadashi and Daichi, while Tsukki claimed he still had to finish some things regarding his work at the end of the day and left in the opposite direction of the other four. Sugawara offers to take Shimizu to her house to ensure the girl's safety, and also because her house was in fact halfway to his.

— So... — Y/N cleared her throat with two light rehearsed coughs, those same coughs she give when she’s trying to make yourself comfortable in an unfavorable situation. — Do you want to walk home? I think it would be good for us to spend more time together. — Kageyama gave you a sidelong glance, but slowly opened a reassuring smile and his shoulders slowly relaxed.

— Yes, let's do that, princess. — He said, interlacing the fingers of one of his hands with yours, and walked out of the warm interior of the restaurant into the icy outside of Tokyo. — How did your photo session go today? I forgot to ask about it, I admit.

— Oh, it was great. — You cracked a wide smile. Asking about your day was Kageyama's way of showing that he cared about you, that he loved you, even if he couldn't translate that into words of affirmation. — The team I was assigned today was much better than the old one, the one from that Taiwanese magazine. Also, the clothes were a little more comfortable, but the shoes... were terrible. — Y/N shrugged, walking side by side with her boyfriend, who was listening attentively.

It was great to walk calmly through the city until you arrived at your house whose purchase price was still being paid, since the decision to move in together was a bit sudden, considering that he didn't want to continue living in a rented apartment in Shibuya and you needed to feel independent enough not to give up chasing your dream of being a model on your own legs, since your parents were too busy with their own lives. And when you both arrived home, the first thing you did was to watch Kageyama silently walk towards the hallway where there were two parallel doors, one to his studio; the other to the bathroom on the lower floor of the house.

— You can stop there. — Y/N grumbled, almost running towards Tobio and grabbing his shirt from behind to stop him from walking. — Where do you think you are going, huh? I'm not going to let you spend the night whining in your studio with a creative block. — He looked over one shoulder at you and frowned.

— I wasn't going to do anything.

— Liar. — You retorted, pulling him into your body and leaning against his back before resting your chin on one of his shoulders. — I told you I wanted to try to help you with your problem with painting your artwork, did you think I was kidding? Or worse: lying? — One of his hands went to his hair, and Kageyama nervously ran his fingers through the dark blue strands.

— It's not like I want to occupy you with my problem, I'm not going to die because of a simple creative block.

— It's not a "simple" creative block, Kageyama. You haven't slept properly for a long time, and you will develop some kind of serious health problem if you continue like this. Help me to help you, tell me what I have to do to be able to help you with this. — Tobio ran his tongue over his lips nervously before turning to face you and gliding his gaze down your body from head to toe and back again.

— So why don't you be my muse for just one day? — His hands landed on your shoulders, squeezed them lovingly, and then slid down your neck and jaw.

— Just for one day? I thought I had been your muse for much longer. — An amused smile appeared on his lips, but Kageyama's serious countenance indicated that he was not joking. — Wait, are you serious? — He raised and lowered his eyebrows suggestively. — I don't think... — Tobio interrupted you.

— You're a model, you certainly know how to behave with other people watching you, don't you? — Kageyama slid his hands down your back and clasped them around your waist. — I'm just asking you to be... my model, literally. My muse, my inspiration, you name it. — A sideways smile decorated his lips and you felt your cheeks gradually warm up.

— What should I do? — Tobio stepped aside to open the door to his studio and called you inside with one hand before he began to remove all the various tubes and pots of paint, rulers and brushes from the large sofa in one corner of the room, which he used more for sleeping and supporting his work instruments than for sitting down to relax while he painted.

— Do what you do best. — One of yours eyebrows arched, not knowing exactly what he was asking of you. — Model. But choose a pose to stay in longer, so I can get a basic idea of how to put your measurements on my canvas. — Kageyama pointed to the sofa, indicating for you to sit down, and you did, after which he went to set up one of his easels to put a crisp, white, well cared for canvas on that support before going to get two different cases from one of the three large cabinets in the room.

To be honest, you didn't know exactly what he wanted you to do. Posing for cameras was one thing, which you were quite used to, but to naked eyes, and specifically your boyfriend's, was something completely different. You felt naked, even though you had layers of clothes covering your skin.

A few minutes went by, and while you were still sitting on the couch with your back stiffened somewhat uncomfortably, Kageyama seemed busy with a paintbrush stuck between his lips and teeth while his nimble hands were busy sketching and tracing lines with chalk and pencil on the canvas that you couldn't see because your boyfriend and the easel, and thus the canvas, were facing away from you. But then he looked at you with a half confused and half irritated look on his face, as if silently asking what the fuck you were doing without being in a good pose for him.

— What are you waiting for? — Tobio asked after taking the brush from his lips to put it on the nearest table and drumming his fingers nervously against one of the sides of the easel.

— I... don't understand exactly what you need me to do. — Your eyes shifted to a random point in the room other than Kageyama's, who looked you up and down.

— Are you nervous? — He asked, setting the easel aside, wiping his hands on his clothes and walking toward you.

— It's just that posing for a photo shoot is different and... well... — You shrugged, leaving the rest of the sentence to your boyfriend's imagination to complete.

— I can help you be less tense, you know. — Tobio knelt down in front of her and his hands rested on her thighs, giving each a gentle squeeze. — I think you deserve to relax after a hard day's work.

— I was supposed to help you today, not the other way around.

— But I'm here to make my girl feel good. — Faced with her lack of resistance, Tobio began to unbutton her comfortable pants and take them off by pulling her body up.

His eyes slid up her upper body and soon reached her pussy and pelvis covered by the thin fabric of her panties. It was a blue color that almost matched his hair, and he smiled slightly thinking about it. Spreading his hand over your crotch, Tobio used his thumb to press on your clit without too much force and more gently before earning a light moan from you, watching you spread your legs wider, and then begin to build a rhythm of circles over that heap of sensitive nerves.

Your head fell back and rested against the couch below your body. Kageyama could easily make you cum just with the dominant aura he almost always exerted in a suffocating way over you or by using few words of command, he knew your body very well; it was almost scary. And every time you two had sex it felt like the first, even though he wasn't the one who took your virginity.

The fingers of his other hand pulled your panties aside and it was impossible for you not to feel your cheeks heat up at the sight of his tongue running across your lips, as if Tobio had not tasted you for a long time and wanted to remember the taste desperately. Your pussy pulsing around nothing seemed to get wetter as your boyfriend removed your panties to let them fall to the floor and brushed the tip of his tongue against your clit as he lifted his gaze to face you. Truth be told, Tobio didn't just enjoy making you feel pleasure, he enjoyed seeing the graphic and visual result of it.

— Why don't you let me hear those beautiful sounds of yours, hm? — After speaking his tongue licked your pussy from the bottom to the top with a slowness that bordered on torture. — Maybe I should try a little harder to get them out of you? — Opening your folds using his thumbs, Kageyama definitely buried his mouth in your cunt and began to do his job of licking, sucking, and making zigzagging and circular motions inside you.

In response, you gave him your moans that were almost like a beautiful symphony and an added stimulus to your devoted boyfriend; your hands tangled in his dark hair both in an attempt to try to process some of the pleasure that was coursing through your veins in that situation and as a way to indicate that you needed more of this. More of him, more of his touch. Kageyama put one hand on your groin again to keep you still against the couch, and moved his face into your intimacy in accordance with the erratic movements of your hips that went forcefully up and against his tongue.

And seconds before you eventually ended cumming your body tried desperately to pull away from Tobio just because you were not prepared to deal with an orgasm that would leave your mind blank, literally. Your feathers quivering and your thighs almost suffocating your boyfriend, he loved that feeling. The feeling of you being insanely delivered to whatever he wanted to do to you. It didn't take long for your previously tense shoulders to relax, your eyes to roll up and your whole body to twitch as your whole body gave in to a mind-blowing orgasm.

Breathtaking enough to give you the feeling that it would take several minutes for you to get the feeling of firmness back in your legs. And rapturous enough to make you squirt against your boyfriend's mouth and cheeks.

A satisfied and mischievous smile appeared on Kageyama's lips, and he took the liberty of lightly kissing your clit after licking the remnants of your orgasm's fluids that ran down your folds and thighs.

— My princess is so lovely, so beautiful. — Tobio lifted your body to remove the shirt and bra you had been wearing until then and also got busy removing his own clothes. — Do you think you can handle one more, baby? — One of his hands cupped your chin and made you look him straight in the eye.

— Y-Yes, please. — You answered, trying to regain control of your own breathing. — I need it so bad.

— Of course you do. — Kageyama leaned over to place a tender kiss on your lips before pulling your body up and laying you face down on the sofa with your waist resting against the arm of the furniture, meaning that while your upper body was comfortable with the softness below, your lower body was set outside the confines of the sofa. — I always know what you need, don't I? — Tobio left a trail of kisses over her exposed spine.

— Always, Tobio. — Y/N propped her elbows on the sofa and looked over one shoulder at her boyfriend. — And I love you for it.

— Really? — Kageyama raised one of his eyebrows, spreading yours legs further apart and brushing the tip of his cock against your folds. — How much do you love me, hm? — And without any kind of warning he thrust inside you quickly, suddenly widening you and making your crotch arch painfully.

Repeated curses and groans escaped your lips, and Tobio couldn't help but open a perverted smile. Yeah, this was the sight he had most wanted to see for the rest of his life: you squirming all over him. How cute, he thought.

— Fuck, Tobio... — You gasped, trying to balance your body by resting your hands on the couch, but it was impossible to focus on giving an answer to his previous question while feeling his dick pulsing inside you, you could feel every vein of Kageyama's length. — I love you so bad, and I love you even more when you're fucking me rough.

He slid one hand down her body to reach her neck and closed his hand around it, pulling her body back in the process and leaving her back against his chest. His fingers were sure to leave light red marks there. Tobio pulled his entire cock out of you only to fill you again in one strong movement.

— Like this? — Tobio asked and you desperately nodded, not trusting your vocal cords to reproduce any phrase or sound other than several moans in a row.

And then Kageyama began to thrust his hips against yours harder and harder. He wanted to go as deep into you as possible. It seemed harder and harder to breathe with his effort matching his hand around your neck choking you. And, shit, you couldn't be more satisfied and aroused, your sensitive pussy was literally dripping and making a mess on yours thighs and his cock.

— Fuck, so tight. — Tobio whispered in your ear, feeling his own climax rapidly approaching each time he buried himself inside you. — You're perfect for me, sweetheart. — He sank his teeth into your shoulder as a way to ease the tension from his increasingly sweaty body.

His other hand that wasn't busy on your neck slid up to meet your clit and was the last action to give you cum and squeeze his cock hard enough to draw Kageyama's own ejaculate. And, well... he definitely wasn't used to cumming inside you and hadn't done it before, but maybe he discovered a new kink there, at that moment his cock was painting your walls white and filling your pussy with cum. A rusky grunt escaped from the back of Tobio's throat as he pulled out of Y/N and watched a white fillet connect the tip of his dick to his girlfriend's pulsating entrance.

Leaning on the back of the couch, the dark haired man concentrated on catching his breath slowly just as you were doing lying face down on that furniture. Only after a few minutes you felt your hips ache and looked at Tobio with innocent eyes:

— Maybe you need to bathe me and put me to sleep today, take the consequences of your actions on me, baby.

— Just as I always do with you, princess. — Kageyama replied, embracing your body and gesturing for you to try to gain momentum to wrap your legs around his waist and thus lead you to the bathroom for a good aftercare session. — I'll take good care of you, angel.

[thesunshinebunny]

Hello! I've seen two asks with the first reaction of a Fem!Reader dancing in an erotic/sexy way. (One with the dorm heads and one with the vice dorm heads-)

So I thought I could ask the same thing, but with Cater, Jack, Floyd, Epel, Sebek and Silver. It's okay if it's breaking the rules or you're not comfortable with writing it! But thanks in advance anyways! Stay peachy!! ^^

I never thought I'd end up making a whole series of requests for this style, and to think that the dorm heads was my first order for Twst, what a great start.

Dorm Leaders reaction

Vice Dorm Leaders reaction

As always, all characters are +18 Enjoyyyyyy

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Cater

Montero – Lil Nas X

I imagine Cater as a person who follows trends and is aware of the new music that comes out every single day, so I don't think it is weird to find him listening to the new of Lil Nas x (hiding it from Riddle obviously, knowing him that kind of songs would be strictly prohibited in the halls of Heartslabyul)

But as smart as Cater could get with social media and internet fashions, he didn't notice how you had gotten into music so much that you were mentally creating a choreography.

One specifically for him.

So, when you asked him to spend some private time in the comfort of his bedroom, he didn't expect at all that you would sit him in the middle of his bed just passing the threshold.

For a moment he thought you were going to give him a massage or a handjob, but when you told him to wait patiently, that you were going to change, his impure thoughts were dispelled, thinking that you were going to get more comfortable to snuggle with him.

How wrong he was. It was seeing you come out of the bathroom with a hoodie (that warm and purposeful had nothing), which barely covered your sports bra and shorts, half covering your butt, when all unseemly thoughts returned to his mind.

He stretched out his hands to pull you to him, but you stayed in place, saying you had another surprise.

Cater automatically took out his cell phone to record and take some occasionals photos.

Watching you dance so freely, doing a private show and personally for him made his heart race to a thousand an hour. Even his pants were starting to tighten.

It was seeing your ass and automatically biting his lips. In his mind he was wanting to place each palm on each of your cheeks and squeeze them as he held you against him, preventing you from moving, and his cock buried well deep inside you.

"Are you happy to see me?" your question brought him out of his reverie, realizing that your choreography was over.

He put the cell phone aside and pounced on you, wrapping his arms around you, capturing your lips and throwing you on the bed. Perhaps, among all the ruffle, he put his phone in recording mode and captured ... the entire subsequent session.

Don't worry, Cater would never divulge a video like that and if you want it delete it, he will do it immediately. If not, he will keep it in a folder with a password.

Jack

Solo – Demi Lovato

Jack tried multiple times to convince you to go train with him around the Savannaclaw arena, but each time you refused, stating that you liked being more in the comfort of the bed, covered up to your head, rather than get up at five in the morning to run.

He didn’t take it the wrong way, the way he trained was not for everyone, but he did advise you not to stay still and fall into a sedentary lifestyle, claiming that it would be harmful to your health.

Therefore, you decided to start training on your own, with your own time and doing a little of what you liked most; because remember: to be able to dance like divine goddesses, you need to train ... and a lot.

While he went out for a run, you stayed asleep, when classes ended it was your turn to train.

One day classes ended quite early in your case, allowing you to go to Jack's room to rest and wait for him; But the minutes grew long and what seemed like an hour of waiting turned into two.

So… loud music, more comfortable clothes and practice.

And what does Jack like more than training? See you give your best while doing what you like.

Finding you in his room dancing in sportswear was an image that he would like to print and keep in his mind.

He didn’t care that you were sweating or that the clothes weren’t the tightest to mark your figure, just seeing you move your hips was what he needed to have a smile from ear to ear.

Finish your dance calmly, that your gray wolf will be waiting for you at the door, smiling at you and with open arms to give you a big hug for the effort.

He would eat you with kisses and bites to show you how happy he was to see you happy. If this leads to more… spicy things, that's up to you.

What if I recommend you not to dance this same choreography in the training field in broad daylight, where everyone can see you. The results could be a bit possessive.

But, if you're brave enough, don't complain later if you end up with bites and marks all over your body.

Floyd

My oh My – Camilla Cabello

You walked into the gym expecting to find the basketball team training as usual, but there was no one in their place. Absolute silence.

You took the opportunity to place your backpack next to the roadways, change into comfortable sportswear and put on some music to improve the atmosphere.

When this song started to play, you elatedly stood in the middle of the gym, a sly smile on your face, completely ignoring the sound of rumbling footsteps and slowly approaching the gym.

You were in the middle of the choreography when you felt two arms gripping you tightly, leaving you gasping for air. You screeched as Floyd began to squeeze you more and more, making it impossible for you to move.

"My my, nobody taught you to pay attention to your surroundings when you're alone, koebi-chan?" that sceared the shit out of you.

"Can I dance with you?"

He pulled you closer to him, pressing your back against his torso and your hips against his, lifting you off the floor, and began to spin and sway to the rhythm of the music.

The situation made you laugh until you felt his hand pass over your chest and touch your breast. He settled you against the wall, now your pussy positioned on his erect dick, grinding it thanks to his arms that held you in the air.

At no point did either of you stop the music, letting the playlist roll on and cover the sweet moans coming out of your mouth.

Some freshman ventured into the gym when they heard faint groans creep through the large metal doors.

They got the scare of their lives when they saw Floyd pounding from behind you, staring straight at the entrance and throwing death threats with just his eyes.

Epel

Do it like a dude – Jessie J

Listen to me... you can't tell the only woman at NRC that she can't participate in a dance competition because "it's only for guys"

Uhhhhhhhhh, if I was in that situation how would break their teeth.

Buuuut, you were able to defend yourself in a better way… going to the middle of the training ground where the competition (led by Professor Vargas) was taking place.

I have to say that you left all the participants with icy skin? Other than making them feel like they have a small dick. Straight to the ego.

And Epel was no different. He wasn’t embarrassed by the fact that a girl had beaten him in steps that were recognized later is another matter not ashamed at all, not at all.

Which did bring his ego to the ground and his self-esteem was to see you give your all to overthrow sexism, while he could barely stand in the same line as those of Savannaclaw.

Either way, he enjoyed watching you dance, you seemed re-empowered and that gave you an aura of a strong and powerful woman.

If those who refused to let you participate didn’t give you the prize, rest assured that Epel will leave them in their place, perhaps with the help of Deuce.

He asked you how you could have so much confidence in yourself and that may have caused a butterfly effect ... he wanted to know, well you will teach him in bed.

Two or three tricks may have taken effect and in the next competition (or anything) Epel will give his best, even if he has you as an opponent.

Victory sex for whoever wins? Victory sex.

Sebek

Play with Fire – Sam Tinnesz

You were calm in the comfort of your bedroom, going over some class assignments, some background music, Grimm sleeping next to the bed. A normal day.

But quite boring.

You decided to go down to do a little stretching, so much time hunched over in bed looking at the notes it makes your back very bad. You took your cell phone and left the little cat sleeping comfortably.

Between those stretches you got the idea of ​​practicing a little choreography, nothing too complicated or time consuming; maybe half an hour, forty minutes and that's it.

Well, it ended up being a two hour workout, doing one choreography more complicated than the other. Night had fallen and you were supposed to have a little "date" with Sebek right in your bedroom.

There were knocks on the door, but with the volume of the music you couldn't hear them, nor did you hear the creak of the door opening and closing.

Sebek found you in the middle of the living room, moving your arms around your body. He’s not stupid, he knew you were doing a choreography and he would have enough patience to let you finish it and show up.

What he didn’t expect was to see your figure fall to the floor and move in those ... eccentric movements

Indecent thoughts get out of this mind.

You finished dancing and Sebek was still standing in the middle of the hall, not knowing what to do, where to look, and if he was allowed to speak.

"Sebek are you ok? When did you came in?"

Completely taken out of his reverie, ready to continue the evening as if nothing had happened.

Inwardly he was dying of excitement.

Without telling you anything, with the "date" half finished, having a good and sweet dinner, he just ... slamed you against the wall and took you right there and there.

You both ended up scaring poor Grimm. He just wanted to come down to eat his tuna.

Silver

Maria - 화사 (Hwasa)  

It wasn’t unusual to hear multiple and different songs in the corridors of Diasomnia, especially with Lilia as a member of the light music club; it was normal to hear all kinds of rhythms, even different languages.

Therefore, Silver didn’t find it unusual to hear Korean lyrics as he walked through the lounge of his dorm.

What he did think was strange was hearing footsteps and blows, which had a very peculiar resemblance to the rhythm of music.

In a corridor somewhat away from the common area, which led to a small meeting room and greater tranquility, you were there with the music blasting and dancing as if you were the owner of the place.

Don't get me wrong, Silver was 1000% okay with you dancing in his dorm, even if you wanted to do it on a table in the middle of the lounge room… be his guest.

What he couldn’t allow was his roommates seeing you so… free, sure of yourself, indisputably if you were wearing sports clothes or little clothes, leaving nothing to the imagination.

And if Malleus was among those people… ufff, a big no from our silver boy.

He would go to where you were and lift you by the legs, placing you on his shoulder and commenting that you could continue your dance in a more private place.

That place was his room.

"The way you dance is ... intoxicating"

If at any time the brilliant idea of ​​approaching Silver occurs to you while you dance, take it for granted that he will grab you in his arms and throw you on the bed.

Nope, he's not going to let you finish the choreography. He has another type of choreography in mind.

Lilia put up a do not disturb sign on the other side of the door, proud to see his son a grown-up… apart from the fact that he would have a little “chat” with him immediately after the deed it doesn't matter if you’re still naked and pathetically covered with sheet, he would just *pufff*

[amymel86]

Hello! Do you have any bits of your awesome writing to share for WIP wednesday?😍

I just saw this anon!

And thank you for asking <3

This is a bit more of this as yet untitled 'post-apocalyptic/fertility/modern arranged relationship???' fic. The first bit I posted on tumblr is here and as before, some things are not yet decided (like town names) and things may change...

“Are you sure this is what you want to do, darling?” Her mother’s voice on the telephone was a balm to her soul.

Sansa’s finger brushed the soft vivid petals of the small potted iris she’d bought at the store today. The iris symbolises hope, wisdom and courage among other things and she prays that the pretty purple and yellow bloom will lend her some of those. “I’ve got to try something, Mum,” she says, turning her attention to the two separate bundles of paper in front of her. Two men, two candidates, two different futures. Sansa had filled out all the matching service’s extensive questionnaires and scrutinised all the information she could find on the program. It seemed simple enough – you’re rewarded for helping to repopulate. In turn, the authorities help to pair you with someone who should be a good match dependant on all the information they have about you. The aim is that this new generation of children are raised in the traditional family unit. That had appealed to Sansa. “I can’t seem to find the right guy all on my own anyway,” she said into her phone.

“How do you know it will be safe, though?”

“It says here that my situation will be monitored by my own caseworker. I can call them any time I want. They’re not just going to drop me at the guy’s house and just leave us get on with it.”

“Hmmm... tell me about them? These men that they’ve narrowed down for you.”

“One’s called Waymar, he’s a financial advisor here in the Vale,” Sasna pauses, looking at the man’s photograph on his paperwork before fishing out the other. “And the other is called Jon, he owns a farm in the Reach.”

“None in the north then?” Her mother has been itching to get her back home. “I just wish there was a way to know that either of them were good men, Sansa. That’s all I want for you.”

Sansa put the two photos together. Two possible fathers for her child.

“That’s what I want too.”

***

“Shit! Holy fucking shit!” Jon says to himself, hanging up from his phone-call. “Mance!” he yells, bursting out of his trailer to find the old man. “Mance! It worked! It fucking worked!”

He’d relented. When Mance first put it to him that he should sign up for that weird government breeding program or whatever the fuck it was, he thought the old man’s last brain-cell must’ve fried up in the sun. But if they were going to make it easier for them and it meant Mance could keep the farm (and Jon could carry on living there rent free), then it was worth a shot. So he had relented. He’d filled out what seemed to be a gazillion and one questions about himself, his politics, his views on family and finances and education and fucking... art and shit. These damned government people wanted to know everything about him down to whether he scrunched or folded his toilet paper it seemed. He’d even had to lie. He didn’t like doing it, but there was no way that a fertile was going to pick him if he didn’t. So, he fished out an old photograph – one taken before the bar brawl that lost him his sight in one eye, and he’d also lied his asscheeks off by claiming he had ownership of the farm. He knew – he knew – that these lies are just more things that were going to trip him up one of these days but with Mance urging him on, he’d signed that damn form and offered himself up for the program.

And now a fertile had chosen him.

Him.

Fuck, he might throw up.

This can go one of two ways. Either completely up Shit Creek without a paddle – with his lies and reality crashing down on top of one another, leaving them exposed... or, his fertile somehow looks past his deceits and sticks with him and they-... well, shit, he could actually become a father. No-one becomes parents these days, especially not ‘round here. Fertiles flock to the big cities, to men with bigger pockets, or they work for couples who can afford to pay them off in exchange for a kid or two.

“It worked?” Mance asks, rolling out from under an old Ford pickup that needed a new exhaust. “They sendin’ us a peach?”

Jon shook his head. “They’re not sendin’ you anyone, old man. An’ don’t call her that – they’re-“ Fuck, what did the council call them on all that paperwork? “Reproductively abled.” He’ll have to remember that if he doesn’t want to offend her.

“Well, shit,” Mance grins. “What did I tell ya? Knew your pretty face was good for somethin’!”

Jon frowns. “Ain’t so pretty no more though.” He might have to go get himself a patch to cover his milky, sightless eye. It’s fine most of the time since Mance is the only one he sees unless he’s going to drink at Hobb’s, but he certainly doesn’t want to put off his ferti- reproductively abled friend who’ll be arriving in three weeks.

“She got a name? Your new peach?” Mance asked, earning him a glare.

“Sansa. Sansa Stark.”

Mance grunts and nods. “Sounds fancy.”

Yeah... It did sound kinda fancy he supposes. Jon’s first reaction had been that it was a mighty beautiful name, but now he thinks of it...

“Shame we can’t look her up – see if she’s a beauty or not.”

Jon can’t remember a time when that was an option. He was barely 11 at the highest point of the virus’s hold. Government officials had deemed certain channels on the internet were causing more harm than good by spreading false rumours, incorrect statistics and completely counterintuitive medical advice. The whole thing was shut down, now deemed illegal, only to be reconnected again three years later apparently looking like a foreign landscape from the one before. The internet was no longer a platform to socialise, only government approved informative sites remained. Mance says it’s better this way – that all people used to do was post vain images of themselves for attention anyway.

Jon wouldn’t mind seeing a vain image of Sansa Stark right about now though.

Not that it mattered terribly. As long as they get along and she decides to stick around she could be as ugly as sin. In fact, she probably will be, won’t she? Most pretty ferti- reproductively abled women stick to the cities and its high-fliers.

It doesn’t matter, he told himself. You just gotta keep her happy here and-

“Mance?” he asks, an issue coming to mind. The man grunts in acknowledgement. “Where the fuck is she gonna sleep? She’s not gonna want to stay in my trailer.”

The man grins in response. “I’m glad you asked, boy. I’m glad you asked.”

***

Her caseworker was meant to meet her at the train station. It was quite a drive to the farm and he was meant to pick her up, make sure she’s safe and happy and introduce her to Jon.

That hasn’t happened.

“Please accept my apologies, my dear,” Mr Baelish said down the other end of the phone. “There’s been a mix up with my schedule. We can set you up for the night at a local motel or ask your match to come and get you. Which would you prefer?”

Sansa eyes the dirty looking motel across the street from the train station. Everything here at [[INSERT TOWN NAME]] seems a little on the... rundown side. Maybe the sooner she gets to the farm, the better. Plus, her tummy is all a flutter with anticipation to actually meet Jon. She’d wound up swaying towards Jon as a match due to a few reasons; 1 – he does not live in, around, or anywhere near Harry or his crazy mother. 2 – he owns a farm, and that had conjured up hazy daydreams of idyllic country life. Sansa may enjoy big nights out in the city, drinking her dirty margaritas and feeling her bones vibrate against the base beat in a nightclub, but she knows that’s not what she wants to raise a child around. A child will want to run barefoot through wheat fields and chase chickens and milk cows and –

Let’s just say Sansa has a few ideas and that they all helped to sway her away from city pleasures and towards farmhouse life. And Jon

And last, but not least, reason number 3 – Jon himself. Put side-by-side, his and Waymar’s photographs looked rather similar if truth be told, but Jon won out on something that Sansa just couldn’t describe. Looking at his photograph gave her goosepimples along her forearms because it was like he was looking right back at her. There was something in the depths of his eyes – a kindness? A wit? A strength? She’s not sure, but she couldn’t find the same qualities when she stared at Waymar’s likeness. And his answers too. His questionnaire was full of how he’d like to teach a kid how to walk and ride a bike and fix a... a tractor for heaven’s sake! And so her head was flooded once more of this idyllic life where they got up to watch the dawn stretch over the farmland and they’d grow their own vegetables and she’d bake a pie every day and it would just be perfect.

Perfect, perfect, perfect.

Sansa glances around the near abandoned train station.

This doesn’t look so perfect right now.

“Could you please arrange for Jon to come and get me, Mr Baelish?”

***

It’s been an hour and fifty-six minutes precisely since Sansa last spoke to Mr Baelish to arrange her match coming to get her. An hour and fifty-six minutes of sitting on the curb, waiting, surrounded by her three suitcases. She’d started off by sitting at the nearby bus stop, purely because it was somewhere to sit and she had a clear view of the road, but after the rude bus driver insisted that if she’s sat there, she must be wanting to hop on his bus, Sansa decided to park her butt on the dusty, sun-baked curb instead. Her legs were beginning to numb and she was starting to get a headache from the sun beaming down on her head. The curls she’d styled into her copper locks have likely lost their hold by now. What a waste. Opposite, on the other side of the street, beside the dirty little motel, there was a tiny bar that advertised the fact that it hosted exotic dancers at the weekends with a blinking neon sign. Next to it was a hunting and fishing ‘emporium’ and beside that was a vacant store with an old dirty sign that read ‘Blouses & More!’. Presumably, the ‘& more’ still wasn’t enough to keep that fine establishment in business in this funny little town. At the end of the block was ‘Tarly’s Drugstore’ and Sansa had been debating with herself whether or not she should haul her suitcases over to go buy a drink and a magazine for about the last hour and fifty-five minutes.

But she hadn’t wanted to miss Jon Snow’s arrival.

Jon Snow, who seemed to be pulling up outside Tarly’s Drugstore in a dusty Ford pickup truck right about now. Sansa stood, expecting him to come right on over considering how long she’d been waiting for him, but she found herself wondering if she’d got it all wrong when she hadn’t caught a good enough look at him before he darted straight into the store.

Sansa is done with waiting. She grabs her smallest case and places it on top of her larger one, trying her darnedest to roll all her luggage across the road in a lady-like fashion. She could feel the eyes of several passers-by on her while her stiletto heels clip across the street. In turn, her own gaze fell to Jon’s cream-coloured truck. Its front bumper looked a little rusty and wonky too. There was a big gash in the leather of the bench seating on the passenger side. On the truck bed, there were a number of items, including a rocking chair that seems to have a couple of spindles on the chair-back missing, and a new double bed mattress wrapped in clear plastic. Sansa was almost done frowning at the state of the vehicle when the over-door bell of the drugstore tinkles.

“Holy shit,” he curses. And yes, it definitely was Jon standing right in front of her. Only... well... his hair was tied into a knot at the back of his head and.... and... he was wearing a black eye patch? “Uh,” he stood there, arms laden with bottles from the store as the gaze from his one good eye quickly darted down her frame and back up again. “You’re her, right? You’re Sansa Stark?”

Sansa found she could only nod, looking him up and down, like he was with her. He was in jeans with oil smears, some tough, heavy looking boots, a somehow pristine white vest and flannel shirt with the arms ripped off.

Speaking of arms...

Gods-damn! Sansa’s focus was momentarily derailed...

“Sorry, I-“ Jon starts before his grey eye drops to the floor and then returns to her, looking a little bashful. “I didn’t expect you to be so pretty.”

Oh boy. He may be wearing an eye patch right now but this man could win over a thousand girls with that smile, Sansa’s sure of it. She resists the urge to giggle like a schoolgirl. She’s here to find out if they’re well suited enough to start a family together – she needs to keep her head and think rationally, not allow herself to be swayed by his rugged country boy charm. It was Harry’s looks that enticed her in the first place – and look how well that turned out for her?

“Thank you,” Sansa says, blinking back at him before his words truly hit home. “Didn’t they give you my photograph?”

Jon shook his head. “No, ma’am.”

Huh.

“Did they show you mine?”

Sansa bites her lip and gives a nod.

Jon grimaces. “So I guess you weren’t expecting this?” He points to his patch.

Sansa shakes her head. “No... did you... did you do something to injure it?”

Jerking his head, Jon begins rubbing at the back of his neck with his free hand. “It’s a long story... but... it ain’t gonna get any better, if that’s what you’re askin’.”

“Oh.”

They stood, staring at one another for a heartbeat or five before Jon sucks in a breath over his teeth and glances down to the bottles he clutched to his chest with one arm. “I tried to get you some things to help you feel at home,” he says, “these are the nicest smellin’ soaps ‘n’ stuff from Tarly’s.”

“Thank you,” Sansa replies, knowing full well that she brought her Highgarden Floral Scents bathroom range with her.

Jon chews on his lip as he eyes her suitcases. “Lemme get those for you,” he offers before dumping the bottles in his arms into the truck bed and reaching for her luggage. Sansa’s heeled shoes seem welded to the spot. Jon notices. Scrubbing both hands down his face in resignation, he takes a step closer to her and Sansa realises for the first time, that he had dirt beneath his fingernails. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. “It was a shitty thing for me to do,” he offers, his words low and husky. Sansa feels the timbre of his voice set off a trickle of gooseflesh down her spine. “I’m sorry.”

She blinks at him, momentarily confused.

“About this,” he explains, brows high on his head as he points to his patch. “I shouldn’t have sent that old photo of before this happened, but – fuck – even my ex-girl won’t acknowledge I exist anymore with this and I knew I shoulda been honest about it but-“

“This ex-girl...” Sansa suddenly found herself left with a sour taste in her mouth. “... does she still mean something to you?”

Jon licks at his lips, his eye falling briefly to her own. “No, ma’am,” he shakes his head.

[nerdywriter36]

To Help the Helpless

AO3

FFN

erik sees himself in all the sick, injured, and abandoned pets he sees in animal shelters and is determined to give them the love and comfort that they deserve in their time of need when he wasn't granted the same as a human being. christine and their friends could not be happier to help.

this concept was born out of a discussion about erik and his pets with @ofserien, so thank you to her for helping to bring this idea to life :) it's been so long so I've posted on here because of my hiatus, but the first oneshot I've written since officially returning to tumblr. i really hope you all enjoy it! likes and reblogs are always appreciated <3

~

"You brought in another one, Erik? Isn't your house full enough already?"

Erik simply rolled his eyes and turned to look back at Nadir, who was glancing at the variety of dogs and cats residing in their crates throughout his living room. "There is never too many rescues, Nadir, especially not when I'm taking them away from people who will put them down simply because they aren't getting adopted," he replied.

"And what's wrong with this one?" Nadir queried, gesturing to the puppy that his friend was carrying rather like a football - tucked against his side and laying along his forearm. "It looks fine to me."

"He had an old injury that was never fixed before he was turned in, so he doesn't look as perfect as people want," Erik said as he held the puppy up so Nadir could see his bowed front leg. "Otherwise, he is completely happy, energetic, and healthy, but people don't care. Looks are everything in this world."

His voice broke a bit, he noticed, and he knew that Nadir had heard it too. Every day was a different story when it came to how emotional he would get when it came to explaining why the animals had been abandoned and why their little lives were at risk. He hated that it still happened; he had been rescuing shelter animals for the better part of two years, not to mention the fact that most of his own struggles because of his appearance were behind him, but some days were simply harder than others.

He really was fortunate for all that he had to make his life as "normal" as possible, even with his physical differences. A prosthetic nose saved him far more grief than he believed people could understand and the mask he wore was so realistic and close to his skin tone, as remarkably pale as it may have been, that he hardly got rude stares anymore when he was out and about. It made quite the difference in his professional life as well; no one at the Paris Opera House wanted to accept compositions from a deformed freak, no matter their talent. His heterochromatic eyes were enough to put people off sometimes.

"I know, Erik, I'm sorry," Nadir piped up as he shot him a sympathetic smile. "I think what you're doing is great, you know that, I just worry about your stress levels. Not having to worry about you financially, but you're a composer making consistent contributions to the Paris Opera, you run an animal rescue, and now you have a girlfriend. That's a lot for one person!"

"Nadir, I'm fine," Erik replied, passing the puppy he held to his friend and smirking as it eagerly started to wiggle and lick at Nadir's neck and chin. "I'm managing it all, and having a girlfriend doesn't change much."

"Right, you say that now." Nadir turned his head away from the eager puppy, wiping his chin on his shoulder. "What is this thing anyway?"

"Australian shepherd, hence the energy." Making his way around the room, Erik checked the status of every food and water dish, but a buzz from his cell phone made him pause. As he pulled it out of his pocket, he couldn't help but smile when he saw a message from the new light in his life: Christine.

He still wasn’t exactly sure how he had gotten so fortunate as to have Christine in his life. After all, their first introduction had been at the Paris Opera House when he had nearly run her right over in his eager rush to leave the very same building. As intricate and realistic as his mask may have looked, he never enjoyed being out in public, and he knew that everything about him was under harsh scrutiny when it came to the committee of men taking his submissions and suggestions for the music at the Opera. He wouldn’t have become a successful composer, having his music played at one of the most prestigious opera houses in the world, without them, but with the way they stared at him whenever he walked in, it certainly wasn’t easy to face them.

“Is that the new light of your life?” Nadir asked with a smirk, watching the lovesick smile growing on his friend’s face. “What did she say?”

“Just ‘hi’,” Erik replied, his unmasked cheek already flushed pink as he replied to the message.

Nadir scoffed and set the puppy down in a small pen filled with blankets off to the side. “You are in deep, my friend. How long have you been dating, three months? And just ‘hi’ still manages to make you blush? Does she not make more flirtatious comments than just that?”

“Oh, like you were any different when you and Kheya first got together,” Erik retorted.

“Hey, now, that...that is not a fair comparison.”

It was his friend’s turn to blush and Erik laughed at the sight. Mockery aside, though, he genuinely was happy for Nadir; he had been through a rough patch before meeting Rookheeya one year before, his father's death hanging the heaviest over him and stealing so much of the joy that Erik knew was in him. Once he met her though, everything seemed to fall into place; Erik still remembered the moment Nadir practically choked on his drink when he first noticed her from across the room at a small gathering at the Garnier. She was a beautiful young woman who shared his faith, many of his interests and balanced out his almost painfully realistic views with the necessary imagination and optimism that he needed. A match made in heaven, if Erik were to pair a phrase to their relationship.

“Sure it is,” Erik replied, smirking when he caught a glimpse of Nadir’s lock screen as he pulled out his phone: a photo of the happy couple themselves, both smiling wide. “You’ve practically wanted to marry her since the moment you met, you’re lovesick.”

“Okay, I love my girlfriend, so sue me,” Nadir retorted. “And I will have you know that I plan on proposing in the next few days.”

“Well, it’s about time!” Erik said with a laugh, patting him on the back as the pair walked into the kitchen. “Congrats, Nadir, that’s amazing.”

“Thank you,” Nadir chuckled, crouching down to scratch the elderly golden retriever lounging under the kitchen table. “You and Christine have to catch up now.”

“No, no, this is no race. We are taking our time, I refuse to mess this up.”

“You aren’t going to mess it up, Erik.”

“I could. You remember how things ended with Lucy,” Erik said in a soft voice as he leaned over his countertop and scribbled on a notepad.

“That wasn’t your fault,” Nadir sighed. “She was a toxic mess, the end of your relationship was no fault of yours.”

Erik shrugged ever so slightly. “She ran off with some other guy and slept with him when we hadn’t even taken that step. I clearly did something wrong or she wouldn’t have left.” That breakup had hung over him like a dark, heavy cloud for weeks and still did at times. That said, the very same bout of depression and dejection had pushed him into the world of animal rescue that he still found himself in two years later, so for that he was thankful. Now, though, Luciana hardly ever crossed his mind; he had found someone to get him out and keep him out of that world of darkness.

“You didn’t, but anyhow, it doesn’t matter anymore. You have a girl that you love and who loves you, an amazing career, and an animal shelter in your living room. You’re doing alright for yourself,” Nadir pointed out. “Speaking of that, has Christie been over here yet? To meet the pack and all?”

“No, not yet. Believe me, it is on the list of things to do,” Erik replied, still scribbling away on his notepad as they spoke.

“That along with two hydrotherapy sessions, settling the new puppy in, getting groceries, working on your new composition, and going to see if you can pick up two tuxedo kittens. When do you have time to breathe, Erik?”

“In between everything. I manage just fine and I will slot Christine meeting everyone in. It’s a delicate process with some of these guys, you know that.”

Nadir scoffed. “Yes, I remember how slow it all was when you first introduced me,” he said, putting a hand up when his friend opened his mouth. “I know why it was slow, but that doesn't make it more enjoyable.”

“Right, well, unlike you, Christine is very patient, so it’ll be fine,” Erik replied. “She’s coming with me tomorrow to pick up those kittens, so I’ll probably ask her over after and try to introduce me.”

“Let’s hope it goes well. We wouldn't want you to have to choose between your lady friend and your pets. I don't know if you’d survive that.”

"Thank you for helping me today, Christine," Erik said, smiling over at his sweetheart, who sat beside him in the front seat of his car with two tuxedo kittens on her towel-covered lap (she had insisted on the towel, even though his car was covered with fur on practically a daily basis). "These two seem like a very sweet little pair. I doubt I'll have trouble finding them homes."

"Why weren't they getting adopted just at the shelter?" Christine inquired, an inquisitive frown on her face as she turned to him for an answer.

Which he did not really have, so he simply shrugged. "They don't let enough time pass to give people a chance, frankly. Not to mention that this would mean adopting two kittens at once, what with how closely bonded they are, and not everyone is willing to take on that kind of commitment."

"It doesn't seem like too much trouble." Christine looked back down at the kittens, her sweet giggle escaping her as one of them mewed and set its paws on her chest to get closer to her, almost inspecting her. "Hello there. You're not trouble, are you? You're just a sweet little baby."

Erik couldn't help but chuckle when he heard the voice she put on to talk to the animal - a light tone, using grammatically incorrect sentences, almost as if she were speaking to a baby. Which she was, in a sense.

"You'll have to help me name them. I name so many animals that I end up running out of options after a while."

"One of them - the boy, that is - should be...Sylvester. Like from Looney Tunes! He looks just like him, it's too good to pass it up!"

"A very good choice, I think," Erik nodded as he began the drive towards his home. "I'm not sure about the girl yet. Perhaps I'll call her Christine."

His girlfriend scoffed and glanced over at him. "Erik, you can't suggest naming any and every female animal you bring into your house after me."

"Why not? I like your name."

"I know you do, but once you get to Christine the Eighth or whatnot, there's a problem."

He couldn't help but laugh; her sense of humour and mild sarcasm had been part of what had endeared her to him in the first place. "I suppose there might be. I do like your name, though, I wouldn't mind it too much."

"Yes, I know that, and if we ever had a daughter, she would be Christine Junior, I know how much you like my name." She giggled again, and he noticed her look over at him in his periphery; he was just glad that he had his mask on so she wouldn't notice him blushing at the thought of sharing a child with her. "You need some new options."

He tried to shrug nonchalantly. "I...I just think it's a nice name. A beautiful name for a beautiful woman," he said softly.

The comment must have been the right one, as he was rewarded with a quick peck on the cheek. "You're very sweet," Christine replied as she turned back to the kittens and stroked their backs as they cuddled together on the towel. "So once we drop these little ones off, I suppose you'll just take me home? I'm sure you'll have lots to do."

There it was - his opportunity to make the offer to her to finally come over so he could truly introduce her to his life in its entirety rather than trying to hide parts of it. A glance over at her was enough to tell him that she was disappointed at the idea of having to go home, as she so often was, and he hated to upset her, so he would do his best to fix it as best he could at that moment.

"Actually, I was thinking...would you like to come in today?" he asked, looking at her briefly again and smiling a bit when she looked back at him, wide-eyed and shocked at the question. "I'll have to settle these two in, but I would love to-"

"Yes," she replied, cutting him off rather abruptly. "Yes, I would love to. Do I have to do anything? Not do anything? Can I help with anything, wh-what can I do?"

"Just be yourself," Erik said, unable to stop a quiet laugh from escaping him at seeing how enthusiastic she was. "Your sweet, gentle, caring self, my dear. That is all that I can ask of you when it comes to meeting the little pack that I have at home."

"That much I can do," Christine said with a firm nod, clearly very dedicated to her mission. "Thank you, Erik."

He frowned. "What for?"

"For trusting me with this, with meeting them. I know that their health and security means a lot to you, so knowing that you trust me to come in and make myself a new part of that arrangement that you have really means a lot to me."

"Of course I trust you, my darling. I...I love you." The phrase still felt foreign in his mouth after not using it for so long after losing Lucy, but he was making an effort to use it as often as he possibly could with Christine; she meant more to him than anyone ever had before and she deserved to hear that from him.

"I love you too," Christine said with a warm smile on her face. "Come on, then, drive! I have puppies to meet!"

~

"Are you ready, Christine?" Erik asked from where he stood at the end of the hallway, having just collected a young bulldog puppy from her kennel and was presently walking towards the bedroom, of all places, where his sweetheart was waiting. An unconventional setting, yes, but there was a purpose to it.

"Of course I'm ready!" he heard her call back, her excitement practically dripping from her voice. "There's a puppy involved, how could I not be ready?"

"Alright, alright," he said with a quiet laugh as he stepped into the room, the puppy starting to squirm in his arms at the sight of the new person and the sound of Christine's giddy squeal. "This is Lily."

Christine gasped, a hand to her chest. "Lily, oh, how precious," she said with a giggle. "Can I hold her? Or would you prefer that I didn't?"

"No, you can hold her. She's generally good with people," Erik nodded, sitting next to his girlfriend beside his bed and setting the puppy on her lap. "Just watch her back legs."

"What's wrong with her?" Christine asked softly, looking at the puppy's legs that splayed out behind her rather than tucking beneath her to hold her body up.

"It's called swimmer's syndrome. They can't really say what causes it; some people think it's hereditary, others think it's because their environment as newborns kept them from getting around a lot, even others say it was because of defects before they were born, so I'm not entirely sure," Erik explained. "Still, as bad as it looks, it's treatable, which is why we are here in my room."

Scooping the puppy up again, he stood and walked a few steps away to a sling apparatus set up against the wall and slipped the puppy into it so she hung with her paws just above the ground. "She'll sit in the sling for about 20 minutes every day, and I'll just massage her legs and try to mimic walking motions with her. I do this a few times a day."

He carefully began to act on the same procedure he had just described, smiling as Christine stepped over to join him while he carefully rubbed the puppy's legs and helped her to move them the way she would if she were walking as she should. He knew that there was always a risk that the therapy he tried to do for the animals that were struggling wouldn't work, but he was going to try his best. Very few people had ever tried to help him throughout his life, so he thought he would allow the animals to have that, whether they knew they had it or not.

"How many others do you do this kind of thing for?" Christine softly asked a few minutes into the therapy session.

"A few. Whether it's for little ones like this who have defects of some sort or for older animals who struggle with arthritis and different things like that, therapy does a lot. I do this kind of thing, as well as hydrotherapy, which entails me getting very wet," Erik replied with a chuckle. "But it's worth it when I see the results. True, it doesn't always happen, and they end up turning into hospice cases more than anything, but if I can try and get them back on their feet, as happy and healthy as can be so they can go to a good home, then I'll do what I have to do to make that happen." He turned towards her and smiled just as she cupped his face in her hands and drew him into a gentle kiss, distracting him from his therapy session momentarily. "You are one of the most kind-hearted people I know. You know that, right?"

"You tell me that enough, so I suppose it carries some truth. It's never occurred to me much otherwise, though."

"Well, you had better believe it because it could not be more true," Christine said with a grin.

Erik couldn't help but chuckle as he gave her another quick peck on the lips. "If you are trying to earn yourself brownie points or extra kisses or something, I admire your effort, it just might work out in your favour," he replied, returning his attention to the puppy.

"Fantastic," she giggled, leaning her head on his shoulder and watching while he worked. "Did you have any other plans for the day for us? Dinner, perhaps?"

"Yes, I was hoping you would help me with dinner," Erik nodded, letting the offer hang for a moment before he added, "For the dogs and cats, that is."

"Ah yes, how romantic, exactly what I had in mind," Christine said with a laugh. "Filling food bowls. I can't wait."

Ever since Erik had given her the go-ahead to come over and spend time with himself and his little pack of rescue animals, Christine had taken full advantage of it. Whenever she could manage it, she was at his house, helping him with feeding and bathing all of the little pets in his care, keeping him company while he was cleaning, and even learning how to do hydrotherapy on a few of the dogs that happened to need it. A couple of months had already passed since that day, unbelievably, but she had cherished every second that she had gotten to spend with both Erik and all the animals in his care. She found herself getting close to every single one of them, and she could see how happy it made her sweetheart; Erik smiled even wider than he normally did when she was around, a photo of the two of them with one of his eldest dogs - a golden retriever named Buddy - had become the photo on the lock screen of his phone while others had been printed and framed on his wall. She knew that he had had little joy in his life, but if she could contribute to that happiness along with allowing him to pursue one of his passions, then she would happily support it.

Getting to play with cute puppies and kittens while she was at his house was a nice perk too.

A short while into the arrangement - about a month after Christine herself had been introduced, - she had convinced Erik to let Meg have a gentle introduction of her own to all the animals he cared for. Her roommate had just about lost her mind when she had found out that she had finally gotten to meet all of her boyfriend's pets and hadn't stopped begging her to get Erik's permission for her to meet them until she had finally agreed to give it a shot.

Erik had been hesitant at first, that much was for certain, but she promised him that Meg knew how to keep calm and quiet when she had to be. Eventually, with a slightly skeptical expression on his face, he had agreed to allow her over to meet some of the animals, much to Meg's delight.

As Christine had predicted, the introductions had gone perfectly fine and Meg was quickly scooped up into the little pack Erik seemed to be steadily building. Their visits brought them closer to the animals, to Erik, as well as to Nadir and Rookheya, Erik's best friend and his fiancée. There was something endearing about seeing her sweetheart interacting with someone other than just herself; she knew that he did it for work and all, but watching him so at ease and laughing with his closest friend warmed her heart, even if Nadir didn't seem completely at ease around the animals in the house. For a while, their little group was complete and happy, enjoying every moment they had.

But not every joyful moment could last, unfortunately.

It was the middle of the night when she got the first phone call. Her ringer was quiet, true, but it lulled Christine out of her sleep, though she didn't bother to look at the screen to see who was calling. 'Whatever scam caller it is can just leave a message for me to delete,' she thought to herself as she rolled over onto her side and buried her face in her pillow to attempt to fall back to sleep.

Her phone fell silent for just a moment, but within moments, it had started ringing again.

With a huff, Christine sat up and grabbed her phone, squinting at the brightness of the screen, and saw her boyfriend's name and picture on her screen, which made her frown. It was just past two in the morning, why would he be calling her? Her heart was already racing a bit as she pressed the green 'Answer' button and held her phone to her ear.

"Hello? Erik, what's going on?"

Hiccuping breaths were what she heard first, which only serve to worry her more. "C-Christine, come over," Erik finally managed to say, his voice choked with tears. "Buddy is...something's wrong, please come over."

"Okay, it's okay. I'll be right there and I'll bring Meg with me," she replied, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible despite her own worry about the dog that she'd become so close with. "Have you called Nadir?"

"He's here already. Rookheya too," Erik said, sniffling quietly. "Just please come over, Christine, please."

"Okay, okay, I'm coming. I'll be there as soon as I can. I love you."

Not hearing a response from Erik told her how distracted and worried he was - he always returned her affections, and she wasn't even offended by the lack of reciprocation; she was only worried.

Christine quickly climbed out of bed, deciding not to bother changing out of her pyjamas given how warm it was outside and only grabbing a pair of socks to quickly slip on. Throwing open her bedroom door, she hurried next door to Meg's room, walked inside and over to her bed to shake her gently. "Meg. Meg, get up, come on."

She rolled her eyes when her friend simply moaned sleepily and pulled her covers over her head. "Meg, please get up. Erik just called me, something's wrong, we have to go over there."

That was enough to make Meg's eyes open rather quickly and she moved the blankets to look up at her friend. "What's happening?" she asked.

"I don't know, all I know is that it's Buddy and Erik is crying, so it's bad," Christine replied with a sigh. "Please get up so we can go."

"Okay, I'm up. Go get your shoes on, I'll be down in a sec," Meg said, clambering out of bed and shuffling past her friend to get dressed.

Within minutes, the two of them were in Christine's car driving towards Erik's house, the open roads with that time at night helping their travel immensely. Not knowing what was wrong was driving Christine half-mad, though she was drawing some unfortunate conclusions, considering the animal that was involved. If she was right, it made sense why Erik had sounded so upset; she knew how much he loved that dog.

"Nadir just texted you," Meg said softly, looking at her friend's phone while she couldn't do so herself. "Asking if we're going to be there soon."

"Just tell him that we will be. That I'm driving as fast as I can without risking getting arrested in the process," Christine said, managing a quiet laugh.

She saw her friend nod as she typed away, the clicking of the keys the only sound in the car. A moment later: "He says, 'As long as you hurry. Get here before'..." Meg trailed off at that, making Christine turn to look at her.

"Before what? What did he say?"

"'Before we lose him.'"

Christine's heart seemed to leap into her throat and, without a word, pushed her foot down ever so slightly harder on the gas pedal, just praying they'd arrive in time.

~

The two young women burst through the house's front door as soon as they arrived, Christine making use of her spare key. She didn't even need to wonder where everyone else would be; she knew that Erik kept that golden retriever by his bedside every night so that he could monitor him. Nothing had ever happened before that had warranted any action, but something had obviously changed that night. Drastically.

Bolting up the stairs with Meg right behind her, she quickly arrived at her boyfriend's room, which was completely dark save for his bedside lamp, and her heart sank when she saw him in the middle of the floor holding Buddy in his arms, Nadir and Rookheya close by.

"Erik, I'm here," she whispered as she moved to sit beside him and wrapped an arm around his waist. "I came as fast as I could, what's happening?"

"I don't know," Erik replied with a sniffle, stroking the dog's fur as he spoke. "They said he had more time. Not much, but more than this, I don't understand."

His words were drowned out by his tears as he leaned forward and buried his face in the retriever's fur, so Christine simply hushed him and rubbed his back. "I know, I'm sorry," she said with a quiet sigh. "You've done so much for him and for all the animals you take care of, Erik, you have to remember that. Whatever happens tonight is not a result of what you've done, you have done everything possible for him."

"Not enough, though. This wouldn't be happening if I had done enough," Erik managed to say through his tears, a sob slipping out of him.

Christine's own throat tightened up hearing the heartbreak spilling over through his words, so she was fortunate that Nadir shuffled over, set a hand on his friend's back and took on the role of the comforter from her; she couldn't trust herself not to cry, so she simply focused on trying to give the elderly dog as much love as she could possibly convey.

"Erik, you know it isn't your fault," Nadir said softly. "He's ill and I know that you've known that for a while now; you always knew he was going to be a hospice case from the beginning. You have to keep that in mind because if you don't, I know that you will blame it on yourself and you can't do that. He's had a wonderful life with you."

"He's right, Erik, you've given him so much," Christine said, finding it in her to dry a few stray tears and contribute to the conversation again. "He's had a beautiful life here with you, he knows that you love him."

Erik's only response was a nod as he lifted his head enough to gently kiss the top of the dog's head. "I love you, Buddy. We all do," he whispered, trying to force a smile as the dog turned his head to glance up at him, and Christine noticed Erik move his hand to rest over the dog's chest, clearly to feel for his heartbeat and wait for when it inevitably ceased. Not knowing exactly what else to say, she simply set her hand over her sweetheart's resting her head on his shoulder as everyone simply waited for the inevitable.

It didn't take long, in the end, and Erik didn't say a word; the way he muffled a sob and leaned over the dog to hold him to his chest told everyone what they needed to know. Christine hadn't quite expected to get as emotional as she did. She knew that she was attached to all of Erik's animals and that even the thought of her love in pain made her heart ache, but there had been something different this time. Erik had loved Buddy probably more than any of his other rescues, and she had a strong feeling that that love had been mutual.

It turned out that she wasn't the only one getting emotional; she had expected to see a few tears from Meg, and there they were, but looking over at Erik's other friends, she found Rookheya with her face tucked in the crook of Nadir's neck, the slight shake of her shoulders the only clue that she was emotional, while even Nadir - Nadir 'I don't like pets much' Khan - had tears in his eyes. Whether it was Buddy's death or Erik's reaction that had made him cry, she couldn't tell, but the show of empathy for what his friend was going through was something that she appreciated and knew that Erik would too.

Quickly drying her cheeks, she leaned over and gently kissed Erik's cheek. "I'm so sorry," she whispered as she reached up and gently wiped his tears away. "But you gave him such a beautiful life, just like you're doing for all the others you're caring for. They needed someone and you were there to rescue them. I'm so proud of you for that, and Buddy was proud too."

Erik managed a weak smile as he turned to look at her, leaning forward just enough to press his forehead to hers. "Do you think so?" he croaked.

"I know so, my darling. I have no doubt of it."

[astrodances]

**SLIGHT SPOILERS for “The Fight for Castle McDuck!” ahead!**

Because writing Goldie and Louie texting is so much fun.

*****

Yet Another Secret of Clan McDuck!

Goldie both loves and hates room service.

She loves the anticipation of knowing that a nice, hot meal that she didn’t have to make herself can and will arrive at any minute, ready for her to dig into after a long day of going after her next mark. But at the same time...she hates the actual waiting.

Still, it gives her time to freshen up, relax a bit. Maybe get a movie started on the TV, or text a certain green...nephew.

Only a week ago now, Goldie found out from her sources (while heading down to the Underworld to get a certain fallen wreath) that Louie had been at The Spice-A-Torium in Instanbull the week before that, facing off against Rockerduck himself, with the help of yet another kid to add to the family list (how many did that make now?). Of course, Goldie had texted him right after hearing that to see how he fared (she knew things could get spicy at those dealings), but what she didn’t tell him is that her source had said that Louie had used her as a reference in a couple of side deals, calling her “Aunt Goldie,” and that now, people were identifying him as “O’Gilt’s nephew.”

She really should’ve reminded him not to throw out ties that casually, that people could use it against him, or even her, but...they both have reputations that protect them (and if not, well, they’d be messing with the wrong aunt then). And, if she’s being honest with herself...she likes the way “O’Gilt’s nephew” sounds.

Not that she’s going to tell him that anytime soon.

Goldie sinks into her room’s couch, her phone already out and opened to her texts, and wills her heart to ignore that increasingly-familiar familial warmth bubbling up once again. Scrooge and the kids are staying in Dismal Downs for a couple of days, and it’s bad enough that she’s planning on sneaking into McDuck Manor before they get back not to steal something, but to surprise Scrooge and Louie when they get there.

But that doesn’t mean her heart has to make a big deal out of it.

Goldie: How’s the castle, kid?

It’s getting close to midnight in Scotland, so Goldie won’t be surprised if she doesn’t hear from Louie until tomorrow on the half-chance he’s already asleep. She drops her phone to her side and picks up her water bottle from the end table, taking sip after sip.

After a minute, her phone buzzes with a message, then another, making her smile more than she has any right to.

Sharpie: Cold as ever. And y’know, we found some magical bagpipes, saved them from some bad guys, and had some statues of our ancestors come to life. Typical day. 😝

Sharpie: Also we met our Aunt Matilda.

Goldie smiles again, this time though over Scrooge’s sister. She’s met her exactly twice, both times by circumstance (her past self would never have let her get close enough to Scrooge to willingly want to meet his family), but each time ended up being a riot as Matilda would tease Scrooge for having a girlfriend, thus helping her give him hell (yet another trait of her past self). Looking back between those meetings and the first night she met the triplets, Goldie now knows exactly where the boys get their teasing gene from.

Goldie: I like her. Give her my regards.

Goldie looks up and finally takes stock of what’s on TV. Whatever channel she put it on has delved into a new movie, some comedy from the forties. She can live with it, so she turns her attention to the time on her phone just as a new message comes in.

Any minute now. Food.

But for now, she’s looking at a selfie of Louie with Matilda leaning over his shoulder, waving at the camera. They’re surrounded by bits of concrete and other debris, with their sleeves rolled up and their clothes covered in dust, and Goldie can just make out the back of Scrooge’s broadcloth coat in the background as he lifts something onto a pedestal of some sort.

Sharpie: She’s right here. She says hi!

Goldie grins and nods silently at her phone, happy to see both of them looking well, but surprised at how...awake everyone seems to be in the castle at their hour.

Goldie: Hi Matilda!

Goldie: Also: did a twister take a wrong turn in Glasgow?

Sharpie: Right. The statues? They kinda made a mess of things, so we have to fix them. There was...a lot of fighting here tonight.

She doesn’t press it, not now. She’s about to eat, and everyone there seems to be happy for now. Luckily for her, Louie saves her from having to think of something to say in response.

Sharpie: Wait, oh man, hang on.

Goldie does as told, watching with renewed interest as a few seconds pass before those three little typing bubbles pop up. Briefly, she considers that the statues have come back to life.

After more than a minute of on-again/off-again bubbles, she finds herself getting interested in the movie and drinking her water again. Just as she takes a long sip, a new text chimes in.

Sharpie: Aunt Matilda wants me to ask you, how are things in Goldieburg?

Goldie does a spit take, her water spraying out into the room and all over her phone screen. Whatever brain cells she has left are used to automatically wipe her screen across her sleeve to dry it, because she’s otherwise occupied with her face heating up and Louie’s last word echoing through her head.

Goldieburg???

Matilda’s teasing. It must be her teasing, though...Goldieburg...is definitely a new one. One she can’t even begin to imagine the origins of, though she suspects that Scrooge’s face is probably just as red as hers right now. She also suspects that another fight is starting up, and judging by the fact that Louie was able to send his last text, she’d wager that Matilda is winning.

A knock on her door draws Goldie’s attention away from her phone, but does little to calm the growing turmoil within her. Of course her food would arrive at this moment. She spares a final gawk at her phone before getting up and throwing it to the couch cushions.

It takes all remaining ounces of her self-control for Goldie to ignore the bellboy’s questioning stares at her frenzied appearance as he pushes her room service table into the room, pops open the wine for her, and tells her that she can call the front desk at anytime for them to come get the table when she’s done. She doesn’t know how much she actually tips him, but judging by the wide, bubbly grin that replaces his stare as he rushes out, her mind was far from her wallet when she opened it.

Food. Also far from her mind, for now.

Goldie snatches up her phone as soon as the door is locked again, hoping that there’ll be some explanation waiting for her.

It’s not that she’s embarrassed by the teasing - heaven knows that she’ll be the first to tease Scrooge, for any number of reasons - but this one seems so...personal. So specific. She supposed she should be flattered to affect Scrooge so much that he came up with this, whatever the circumstances. And perhaps that’s it - maybe it’s not the shock of the...uniqueness of “Goldieburg,” but rather it’s that stupid schoolgirl-crush-like warmth creeping through her veins at the idea of Scrooge getting flustered about her around his family, of him telling them about her - however involuntarily or distractedly, it seems - in a way other than a cautionary warning.

That, and Louie knows about it. Somehow, she has the feeling that this is going to be so much worse than him - any of the kids, really - calling her “aunt.”

There are notifications for seven new texts and a photo.

Sharpie: Uncle Scrooge says for you to totally read that last text and to definitely bring it up next time you see him

Sharpie: And that Goldieburg is his favorite place in the whole wide world

Sharpie: and that I should stop texting if I wanna stay in the will

Sharpie: wait what??

Goldie notices a time jump between the last text and the next.

Sharpie: Good news, I’m still in the will, thanks to Aunt Matilda.

A picture follows, of Matilda holding Scrooge back with one arm looped under his shoulder and the other holding him in a headlock. There’s a dead-seriousness in Matilda’s eyes but otherwise she looks like she just won the sibling battle to end all sibling battles. Scrooge, meanwhile, is redder than his coat, missing his hat, and looks ready to break Louie’s phone, even though there’s no way in hell he’s getting out of his current predicament, especially considering that an emu is holding one of his legs in its beak. Still, the photo seems to have been taken from a safe distance away.

(Goldie will have to ask about the emu later, when things aren’t so....chaotic.)

Sharpie: Sooooo...does this make you the mayor of Goldieburg? Or is Scrooge the mayor and you’re the leading citizen? 😂

Sharpie: Oh! Apparently there’s a Goldiesota, too!

Goldie is now very certain that she is on fire, especially with that penultimate text. It seems that she and Scrooge are both definite victims of teasing here now. She buries her head into her free hand and rubs it down her face, pausing to type out the only response she can manage right now.

Goldie: I no longer like Matilda.

Louie’s response is immediate.

Sharpie: Awww

Sharpie: But she likes you! In fact, she says she would *love* to live in Goldieburg.

Sharpie: I would, too! I can just imagine it - cons and schemes widespread, with no laws getting in the way. Infinite gold that holds its value. It’d be paradise!

Sharpie: Though I’m sure Uncle Scrooge has something different in mind.

Sharpie: Wait ew. No. Nevermind.

Sharpie: But you know what I mean.

Sharpie: 💛💛💛💛💛

Goldie rolls her eyes, and takes a deep breath. Suddenly her appetite is back, and the movie seems very captivating. She needs a distraction right now, anything to quell the butterflies. She may be warming up to the idea of family, but right now, she feels like she’s being pulled straight into the heart of the castle across the ocean, and that’s a little too much.

So she throws her phone on silent and wanders over to the room service table, taking a swig of wine straight from the bottle before lifting the tray cover on the center plate to see the juiciest-looking steak one could ever hope for, still steaming.

Culinary bliss.

By the time she finishes eating, Goldie is certain that all of Castle McDuck is asleep, or that they should be. She saw enough debris in those pictures, they’ll need the rest to finish cleaning up tomorrow. So she dares to turn her phone face-up again and take it off silent mode.

Handfuls of texts from multiple people, and several missed calls.

She delves into those from Scrooge first. As much as she doesn’t want to talk to him yet about all this - and she’s sure he feels the same way - if he tried to reach out to her, then she knows he’s going to at least provide the basic facts, without any teasing. An anchor point for her to refer to in her other texts.

Sourdough: Don’t listen to any of them, the hellions! I swear it’s not what you think. Whatever it is you’re thinking.

Sourdough: We can talk this over if you want, dear. Whenever you want.

Sourdough: Or not talk it over. I personally would like to forget Matilda ever opened her big dumb mouth.

Sourdough: Correction. Matilda does “not have a big dumb mouth and tell her that I am the best sister you could ever hope for, or I’ll serve Emu-tilda her breakfast in your hat.”

That text earns a particularly amused snicker from Goldie. She can just imagine the giant bird she saw in the picture earlier staring Scrooge down as he typed that.

Sourdough: Look, can I call you?

Goldie surmises the missed calls from Scrooge happened here.

Sourdough: Never mind. We’ll catch up after this trip. When I’m *not* surrounded by these...troublemakers. Good night, love.

The butterflies have moved from Goldie’s stomach to her heart, and an entirely new anticipation fills her with excitement. If she was a schoolgirl in this situation, she imagines this would be like having to wait over the weekend to talk to her crush on the playground on Monday. Never mind the fact that she’s not even trying to figure out how to get out of this, at least not yet, she realizes belatedly.

There’s one more text from Scrooge, sent after a time jump.

Sourdough: Do NOT believe anything you hear about Clan McScrooge!

Goldie has to stifle a laugh at that, and guesses that she’ll definitely be seeing more of “Clan McScrooge” in her other text messages. But first...

Goldie: Good night, Scroogey. 😘

She’s so tempted to send “Scroogey McScroogey,” but between that and “Goldieburg,” she really shouldn’t tempt fate when they’re all each other has in a boat surrounded by teasing family.

It takes all of five seconds for Scrooge to send back a response, one that’s so simple but enough to tune out the night’s noise for a few moments.

Sourdough: ❤️

She imagines him fumbling to put his phone back on his nightstand next to some big ornate medieval-style bed, his mind already luring him back to a deep sleep. Never mind the whole “Goldieburg” thing, it sounds like he already had an exhausting night between the fighting and the statues and the bagpipes. And the emu.

As she swipes back to see her conversations, Goldie immediately notices an unknown number with a few texts waiting for her. After reading the first one, she makes a contact for it.

Emu-tilda: Goldie! This is Matilda, Scrooge’s favorite sister.

Emu-tilda: Louie gave me your phone number to help make sure you’re okay.

Okay? Goldie pauses, a wave of uninvited guilt washing over her, and she fights every instinct to immediately switch to Louie’s texts. Instead, she wills herself to read through Matilda’s, if at a faster speed.

Emu-tilda: I’m sorry about Goldieburg and all. When I saw that it was you that Louie was talking to, I wanted to get under Scroogey’s skin a bit, so I told the bairns a tale from ages ago.

Emu-tilda: I’m sure Scrooge will fill you in, and if not, I’ll be more than happy to.

Goldie makes a mental note of the offer, and of the ensuing picture of a smiling, somewhat frazzled-looking Matilda with her arm wrapped around her emu, posing for the camera. She’ll respond to her texts later, but for now, she switches to her conversation with Louie, having to scroll back up to where he left off.

Sharpie: An update: Uncle Scrooge got out of the headlock, and is now chasing Aunt Matilda on her emu around the room.

Sharpie: Matilda’s on the emu, that is. Scrooge can’t catch his breath.

Sharpie: Oh! Now they’re in the hallways!

Sharpie: And Scrooge has a sword from the wall.

Sharpie: He’s totally defending your honor.

A blurry picture follows of Scrooge from behind, wielding a sword as he runs after his sister, a scowl clear on the visible side of his face. Goldie saves the photo - she can definitely use this later.

Sharpie: Wait no, now the emu has the sword!

Another picture, this one much more stable, follows again. Indeed, the emu has  somehow gotten ahold of Scrooge’s sword and is now chasing him through some sort of dining hall. Matilda herself even looks surprised and worried as she clutches at the feathers on the bird’s back.

Another keeper for the camera roll, if only for the sheer hilarity of it all.

Sharpie: Ok, Great-Grandma Downy is awesome. She totally just yanked the sword right out of the emu’s mouth while she was still running. Emu’s confined to Matilda’s room for the rest of the night. We’re all having some hot chocolate around a fire.

Sharpie: So, all’s well that end’s well.

There’s another time jump before the last batch of texts.

Sharpie: Right...?

Sharpie: Aunt Goldie?

Sharpie: You’re not mad about all this, are you? We’re all sorry for teasing you and Uncle Scrooge, and I know he didn’t mean anything bad by Goldieburg.

Sharpie: Are you ok?

Judging from the next few texts, Goldie guesses that this is when the missed calls from Louie came in.

Sharpie: I’m guessing you’re busy. At least, I hope so.

Sharpie: Again, it was all just some family teasing. Y’know how it is.

Sharpie: If it makes you feel any better, you can bring up Clan McScrooge the next time you talk to him.

Sharpie: Goldie?

Goldie blinks up from her phone, overwhelmed by the growing panic radiating from the texts and the guilt rekindled in herself. The idea of Louie, let alone anyone in Scrooge’s family, being this worried about her, even if there’s no actual cause for it, makes it hard to swallow and she finds herself quickly reaching for her water, chugging down the last third of it.

Y’know how it is.

She can’t say that she does. Her own family was never this close, never bounced back this easily after fights. They never...cared like this.

Maybe her heart’s right in making a big deal out of this.

After a few deep breaths, Goldie finally answers Louie.

Goldie: I’m ok, Sharpie. Was just eating dinner, had my phone on silent. Didn’t mean to scare you.

She’s very much surprised and totally-not-touched when he immediately texts back. He should definitely be asleep at this point.

Sharpie: Oh good. So, you’re not mad?

Goldie: Mad? No. Curious about the emu? Most definitely.

Sharpie: 😂😂 Understandable.

Goldie: You should be in bed though.

Sharpie: Oh I am! Couldn’t sleep yet though.

Goldie: Uh-huh. Love you too. Now go to sleep.

Sharpie: 🥰😴💛

Goldie: 💚

Not even half an hour ago, Goldie would have sworn off her impending trip to McDuck Manor in the name of not wanting to face Scrooge after the revelation of Goldieburg. But now the trip is back on, and she can’t deny to herself that she’s eager to see the ones she cares about.

That, and pay a visit to Scrooge McScrooge, mayor of Goldieburg.

[chandelier-s-notebook]

Chapter 8

Let me know if you wanna get tagged when I post new chapters in “These Streets Are Made For Walking”. @sleepysnails.

Ao3 Link

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It’s the next Wednesday when the Foster Bitch climbed the stairs up to Techno’s room. Knocking on the doorframe twice, she entered without waiting for an answer.

“Tommy hasn’t been to school all week, and the school called about unexcused absences.” She frowned at him. “You share a room with him, and don’t you drive him to school? Where is he?”

Techno threw his earbuds on his bedside table. “No idea Ma’am. I haven’t seen him since you sent him to pick me up from the station last Thursday. He woke up early and took the bus. I figured he was mad at me and at Tubbo’s. Dream’s been suspended for the incident, so I couldn’t exactly ask him.”

“Don’t you have his number?” she asked in an accusatory tone.

“Yes. But you confiscated his phone two weeks ago.”

“Oh.” She seemed to be taken aback for a second. “Shouldn’t you have Dream’s?”

“That’s for work. Like I said, I thought Tommy was at Tubbo’s. I didn’t think anything was wrong.”

“Mr. Richmon is in the kitchen.”

Ranboo’s dad. “Oh fuck.” Techno rolled out of his bed. He honestly would rather stay on his phone, but she was clearly offloading this on him, and Techno was going to make sure Tommy still had friends. Going to Ranboo’s was the best dinner Tommy ever gets. He doesn’t eat that much when he’s over, because he’ll just vomit it up, but the leftovers he takes back last the two of them a good week. Tommy may not want to be a bother and use up their resources, but Techno knows that he thinks of those leftovers as paying Techno back for everything he does.

Techno rushed down the stairs, jumping two at a time. The old stairs creaked as his feet hit their tops, the planks bending under his weight. In a moment of hesitation Techno stopped suddenly, sliding a little on his socks. He took a moment to collect himself, before making his way into the kitchen.

“Mr. Richmon,” greeted the Foster Bitch appearing next to him. “This is Techno, he’s probably the closest person to your son as Tommy hasn’t been around lately.”

“We’ve crossed paths,” Techno said, straightening his tee-shirt collar.

“Parent teacher interviews, was it?” Mr. Richmon asked, sending a little glare to the Foster Bitch and offering Techno his hand.

His grip was firm, but Techno’s was comparable. “What brings you here?”

“I haven’t seen my son since Friday.”

“Oh.”

“I’ve been calling him in absent for a prolonged family issue, but I am well aware of the company he keeps.” Mr. Richmon kept his tone light, but the accusation is heard loud and clear as he pulls out a chair for himself.

Techno tips his head in understanding. “His friends aren’t that bad,” he defends. “But I understand your concern with Tubbo and Purpled’s brothers.”

Mr. Richmon gestures to Techno, “And Tommy’s.”

“I’m not Tommy’s brother. This is a group home. We aren’t related,” he dismissed immediately. “The other guys are blood though.”

Both the Foster Bitch and Mr. Richmon gave him weird looks at his comment.

Techno took them in stride. So what? He knows he’s lying to himself more than he’s trying to convince them. “I can ask Dream and Punz if they know anything,” Techno suggested. “I assume you don’t want to be seen with them?”

Mr. Richmon nodded. “Of course not. This place is dingy enough.”

The Foster Bitch looks affronted, but Techno shushed her with a look. “I’ll try to find your son, but might I recommend going to the police.”

“The less the police know the better,” Mr. Richmon said like it was a mantra of his.

Techno nodded, already trying to figure out how he was going to deal with this. He was the getaway driver who did his homework. Sure he knew a few things, but he didn’t have any street skills. He remembered the purple hoodie at the gas station; he might have wanted to stay oblivious, but he knew who he saw.

Techno and Mr. Richmon left the house at the same time. They got into their respective cars and they drove in opposite directions. Techno headed to Punz’s place--might as well check if they were there. Techno honestly doesn’t know why he had Punz’s key on his lanyard, but due to it he didn’t bother needing to knock.

“Techno’s here!” he shouted; can’t ever be too careful at the mercenary’s house. He doesn’t hear anything back, and since anyone who could possibly be here would shout back in greeting, he assumed that the place was empty. But it doesn’t hurt to check around.

The thing about Punz and his profession is that he had to keep tabs on his targets, and the way he practiced and kept his skills sharp was by keeping tabs on his close associates. Therefore, he normally knows when people plan to stop by.

Techno walked into the living room and found a sticky note on the family computer. “Initiation collateral. Alive,” he reads.

Techno moved the mouse and the screen opened up to an article on one of the dark web sites. “New Las Nevadas Member: Merc. Punz’s Baby Bro.” He quickly scrolled down to the cover photo: open white van doors with Purpled and Tommy grappling on the ground, Ranboo and Tubbo nowhere to be seen. “Shit.”

As he skims the article he pulls out his phone and calls Dream.

He picked up on the second ring. “Hello?”

“Tommy’s for sure not sleeping at your place is he?” he asked, concern evident in his voice.

“For sure? Is everything okay?”

“No. Is Tommy there?” Techno pressed.

“No, and Tubbo hasn’t checked in with me for a while.”

“Shit. Shit. Shit.” Techno lifted his shoulder, trapping the phone there so that both of his hands were free. He scrolled back up to see the picture again, confirmation that it was, in fact, real. He let out an unsteady breath, and shook out his hands.

“Why? What happened?” Dream’s voice picked up anxiously. “Did you hear something?”

“Yeah. So did Punz.” Techno took a deep breath. “Did he tell you anything?”

“I haven’t spoken to Punz in about a month,” Dream said.

“Mr. Richmon came by the home asking for his son.”

“The kids aren’t at Ranboo’s?” Dream asked, concern hardening his tone.

“Nope. Purpled’s on the news. The way that you’re on the news.”

The line was silent. “Fuck.” The sound of something breaking echoed down the line. “That’s. Bad.”

“Hope its ransom.”

There was a rustle on Dream’s end of the line, as if he was moving something. “Fuck. I’ll look into it. What did Purp get into?”

“Las Nevadas.”

“Fuck. Purpled. Why? What did Mr. Richmon say?”

“That Ranboo was missing and that he came to me because you and Punz live in too much of a shithole for him to visit.”

“I don’t live in a shithole!”

“This place is dingy enough, were his exact words.”

“Ouch.”

It’s been a week. Tubbo, Ranboo, and Tommy were thrown into the same room. It’s objectively a nice room, but a prison is still a prison no matter how lavish the cell. The beds were really comfortable, but it was barren besides them.

They don’t see Purpled again, instead Fundy Soot is the one to bring them their three meals a day. You’d think that one could never get sick of pizza, but eventually--especially with the mood so sour--there comes a breaking point.

“Did someone order a meat-lovers?” The door opens and Fundy is inside the room with three cardboard plates, two slices on each. “Your dinner is here.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Tommy said digging into his slices.

“No, I don’t think I will.” Fundy smiles vindictively. Sue him, he hates babysitting duty. “Who’s gonna shut me up? Your brother?” he asks, looking at Tubbo. “That little amateur couldn’t do anything. Petty thieving is the highest form of sin you know?” Fundy said like he was reciting something.

“Shut the fuck up,” Tommy repeated, noticing how Tubbo froze.

“You too? What’s your brother going to do? He’s just the fucking getaway driver. He can’t help you. Big Brother Techno Blade isn’t as strong as you think he is, little Tommy.”

“Shut the fuck up!” Tommy shouted. “Techno may be friends with Dream, but he’s not doing that shit.”

“Didn’t you pick him up from the station? You’re lying to yourself. You know that Techno is in with Dream.”

“No he’s not! And don’t you have something better to do with your time? College or some shit?”

Fundy chuckled humourlessly. “The faster you eat, the faster I’m out of your room.”

Tommy glared and shoved a whole slice into his mouth.

“No one’s coming to save you,” he taunted.

“Shut up.”

“Don’t speak with your mouth full. We sent the ransom video,” he said moving onwards. “Instead Mr. Richmon hired Techno and Dream for free. Seems Daddy doesn’t care about his son enough to save you immediately.”

That’s the point that Tubbo broke. Tubbo could take a verbal bashing; Tommy would be pissed if he attacked on his behalf; but Ranboo? Ranboo was the most innocent here and didn’t need familial jabs.

Tubbo lurched from his bed and swung at Fundy Soot, sending him down to the floor. “Where the fuck is your big brother? He fucking failed you if you had to get dragged in the life style to survive.” Tubbo punched Fundy again after he was down. “Where is he huh? At least my brother managed to keep me out of this shit.”

Tommy rushes over to pull Tubbo back. “Shh. Shh. We can’t afford this. He's top dog here.”

Fundy laid on the floor, arms out and protecting his face.

“We’re done eating,” Tommy growls. “Get out.”

Ranboo, thoroughly shaken, picks up the plates and puts them in Fundy’s hands, standing in between the two groups so Fundy couldn’t retaliate. If any of them needed to come out of this looking pretty it’s him: the rich boy.

[stressed-sunshine]

Hey could I please get a five x reader fix with the prompts 7 and 16 please 👉🥺👈

You, Me, and this city

Fandom: The Umbrella Academy

Characters: Five Hargreeves x male reader

Theme song: j’ai cherché by amir

Words: 1433 words

Warnings: panic attacks due to ombrophobia (fear of rain)

Author’s note: I’m actually ombrophobic and I included coping mechanisms that I use on a daily basis. So, please be open to that when reading.

Prompts: 7. “What? Does that feel good?” 16. “You’re trembling.”

Summary: Y/N meets with his favourite barista at the Starbucks next to his laundromat every week, but one day, he’s off for their usual rendez-vous and the two disappear together to a city thousands of miles away to “hangout”. 

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writing request link

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Y/N has been living in New York City for a few years since he started university. He walked a few blocks to do laundry every week. His apartment building had one, but it was too creepy for his liking. He’d often go to the Starbucks next door whilst they were in the washing machine. It was just too weird to sit there on his phone the whole time and pretend the laundry attendant wasn’t staring at him the whole time. 

He preferred to just order a tall drink and sit there instead. The baristas there were very nice to him and he couldn’t pretend that it wasn’t totally because of that. There was never a time where he didn’t come in and have his order taken by this one really cute barista. The boy was about his age with dark hair and green eyes. The two often would talk when he had a break in his shift or when the barista would buy him his drink. 

The best part to him was when he’d order a tea and the boy would low-key drag his taste in beverages. The duo had a tendency to do that to each other and as offended as both would be, they secretly loved the running joke. It was something they had that others would only see the superficial part of it. Y/N loved it when he would say something like that to him and another customer would stand up for them simply because he enjoyed the look on their faces when he told them.

That’s how it was for a while until one break on a rainy Wednesday afternoon. Y/N had come in at his usual time and the boy wasn’t there. He looked around for him with no luck. He asked the other barista and felt a tap on his shoulder. 

“Dude! I was worried.” He hugged Five and he returned the favour. 

“I took the day off. Plan was to go out for lunch, but I didn’t account for the weather.” 

“We could still go.” He chimed in, ignoring the fact that Five hadn’t asked him beforehand. “It’s just water, right?”

Five didn’t look comfortable with that. He looked away.

“Are you okay?” Five didn’t respond. “Is something wrong?”

He was quiet for a minute, “I don’t like the rain.”

“What?” He tilted his head, looking at his friend.

“I’m…” he shrugged his shoulder, licking his lip. “You know.”

“Oh… Oh! We don’t have to go somewhere else. We can eat here.”

“Actually,” he linked eyes with his friend. “I’m vegan.”

Y/N just opened his mouth wide and nodded. He was surprised that he didn’t know that by now, but when he thought about it, he couldn’t pin a time that he could’ve. Five was the type of person to drink black coffee almost all the time. 

“Why not, like, ‘blink’ us to another city where it’s dry?” 

Five looked at him with a smile and whispered, “The holder of the one brain cell.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Let’s do it! Anywhere in particular?”

“San Francisco?” he shrugged.

“San Francisco it is.” 

With a cheeky smile, he grabbed his friend by the hip. A second later, they were on the corner of Laguna and Waller Street. His eyes were filled with excitement in the warm California air. It was drastically different than back home and it was welcomed. A free escape with someone he cared about. It was perfect.

His eyes returned to his friend and a warmth built in his face with the lack of space between them. Each pulled away and chuckled in the awkwardness.

“So-” their eyes met again. “Where are we?”

His companion pointed to a street sign nearby. 

“Laguna and Waller. I thought it’d be nice to walk. You know, for the tourist experience.” He smiled widely gesturing for no reason.

“Sounds baller. Low-key, I’ve always wanted to come here. Well, like not right here, but you knew-that.” he chuckled. “It’ll be really cool to be here.”

“Do you think we could check out more stuff whilst we’re here?”

“Why not? What’s the point of travelling just to do nothing?” 

Y/N had never travelled with him before, but he liked how things were going so far. The sun dug through his windbreaker, but he didn’t care. It was better than rainy New York days. 

“I feel that. Lead the way, oh smart one.”

He chuckled and did so. Y/N loved that about him. His knowledge only went to their coffee hangouts, but he wanted to imagine that his companion was someone who liked seeing new things. His mind wandered into daydreams of what he would be like in different situations until he walked into something. 

He rubbed his forehead, “What the fuck?”

“It’s a crosswalk?” Five sounded confused. 

With a look forward, he felt like the dumbest person ever. 

“Yeah. I knew that” his voice got quiet. 

An arm wrapped around his shoulder, “Don’t worry about it, ‘dude’.” 

His companion smiled at him, ‘oh my god, he’s using my lingo.’

The duo made it to the restaurant and got a table outside. Cackles and spilled coffee were the highlights of their experience, but that didn’t matter. It built character in their evening. Even after that, the two spent hours there much to the dismay of the waiters there. They weren’t kicked out, but the looks they were getting said otherwise. The two didn’t want to overstay their welcome so they left for the ferry station.

The sun had set by this time and the outside lights were all keeping them alight. They got aboard the ferry waiting for them and set off for Alameda. No plans between them. Only the night breeze keeping them awake on the boat. Y/N’s phone kept their corner bright enough for two. He opened his camera and snapped a photo of them. Five smiled cheekily and put up a peace sign with the doggy filter over them both. Y/N liked this soft side of him even if it was the only side he’d seen. His point still stood. 

Five never really opened up about his past before they met. His fear was the most open he’d been about himself. Other than that, it was his favourite and least favourite things. Very superficial. None of that bothered him though. He knew that some people didn’t want to talk about things and that was respectable and ok. Five’s voice broke the silence. 

“I love this one. Send that to me.” 

“Yeah. Of course!” and he did.

He totally didn’t notice Five setting it as his wallpaper. In all honest, he was flattered. It meant that they were close just how he wanted it to be. These feelings are totally not homosexual in any capacity. The rest of the ferry ride was a dream because they’d fallen asleep afterwards. The two huddled under a jacket too small for them both, but they didn’t care. Their warmth was all that mattered. That is… until the rain started.

His sleep ended with the shivers from beside him and the drops on his face. He lifted up the edge of the jacket revealing Five curled up underneath on his lap. His hands were over his ears. The shivers were small and sparse, but y/n was always a light sleeper.

“Five? You’re trembling.”

“I’m fin-fine.” 

“Five…” his hand hovered over his shoulder. “May I-”

He didn’t even finish when he felt Five nodding. His hand rested on his shoulder, rubbing his thumb. A coping mechanism he used himself. Y/N didn’t know how to help him. Everyone responded differently when they were like this. He didn’t want to overstep, but he had to help somehow. The only way he could think of.

He began to hum, hum louder than the rain. Hum to block out all the noises. If he couldn’t hear them, then they didn’t exist. It felt like if he wasn’t thinking of it, then it had no power over him. If he didn’t give it power, it couldn’t control him. Maybe not now, but building that would help him if he was alone.

“You’re in control,” he whispered. “You’re here with me.”

He repeated again and again until he had placed his headphones over the other’s ears. Block it out, he thought. It’s not real. He hadn’t stopped running his thumb over his shoulder. A warmth covered his fingers and a smile built on Five’s face.

“What? Does that feel good?”

“Thank you for this.” 

“Of course, Chive.”

Five ignored it, “Thank you.”

[danineverwenttoazkaban]

SE Appreciation Week - Fic 1 (Karol route)

@sweeteliteweek Very late but I just barely ended this not so short fic.

This is Karol’s route imagining some moments like the airport goodbye and days later while they’re at home so Papa Scholar is also featuring. I couldn’t help but add a bit of Tegan too and I tried to put several ideas I had together on the same story. Hopefully the back and forth between present and past is not too confusing. I didn’t know how to name it so I just took a song I was listening to by Wilco that is really sweet if anyone wants to listen to it.

Jesus, Etc.

The familiar vibrant and noisy city was something Scholar hadn’t think she would miss during those months at Arlington’s. Especially not the noises from the neighbor from the floor above as she rowed with her husband for the third time tonight, the people pacing up and down the stairs, the kids playing, the pizza delivery guys and Misses Jones with her 5 dogs. She smirked thinking what Karolina would say if she heard all this noise and reminisced to when they met, smiling at the thought. She would be rich by now if she was given a dollar for each time she thought of Karolina since she got on the plane home.

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

“That’s my plane, people! Enjoy the journey home!”, announced Tyler as he picked up his heavy luggage. He hadn’t explained what the heck he was carrying on his bags but Scholar assumed it was something artistic.

“Hey Tyler, don’t forget about tomorrow’s match! There will be a 30% buff bonus”, said Tegan.

“Oh man, I told you I have that thing with my parents. I’ll make it up to you later, promise”, replied Tyler.

“… ok”, said Tegan as he gave him a weak smile, clearly disappointed.

“Cheers!”, shouted Tyler as he ran towards gate A27.

Only Scholar, Tegan and Karolina remained in the departure lounge. Neither Tegan or Karolina seemed particularly happy of going home, in fact Tegan was staring at the floor as if he had just been told Christmas had been cancelled this year.

“Hey, maybe I could join? I am not very good at videogames to be honest but you can teach me”, said Scholar putting a hand on Tegan’s shoulder.

Tegan looked up and smiled blushing.

“S-sure, I think you’d make a great cleric”, Scholar had no idea what that meant but she hated the sad aspect Tegan had.

She noticed Karolina was staring at her direction, a curious look on her face. In that moment, she heard her flight being called.

“Well, I guess I have to go now”, she said to both of them.

Tegan nodded.

“I’ll call you tomorrow to set your PC ready for the match”.

“Sounds like a plan!”, she answered before giving him a quick hug.

As she let go of Tegan, she looked at Karolina, unsure on how to approach her. Scholar took a step in her direction, asking for permission, they had barely talked since the night of the basement

“… I-I… goodbye, Karolina. Enjoy the holidays”, she said with slight nervousness, waiting for an answer.

Karolina was biting her lip and seemed uneasy, as if she was making up her mind about something. She leaped forward and put her arms around Scholar. The girl let go of the breath she had unknowingly kept as she felt Karolina’s warm embrace.

“Let me know when you arrive home”, Scholar heard Karolina whisper close to her ear, her breath sending shivers down her spine. She then felt something touching her cheek, she froze when she realized it was Karolina’s lips. The touch was so soft, so slight that it could had just been Scholar’s imagination. They let go of the embrace and Scholar felt her heart sink at the idea of being apart from her so many days.

“I will, you too, please”, she answered. Both Karolina and Tegan nodded and Scholar took her luggage before parting…

 The following day, Scholar had to excuse to her father early because Tegan had opened an account for her in the game they were supposed to play, in fact he had even customized her character based on a number of questions he had asked, many of which Scholar wasn’t sure how to answer. As she started her PC and positioned on her seat, she could not help but feel excited, seeing Tegan through the webcam meant also, perhaps, seeing her as well. Tegan’s face as he logged in had a mixture of sadness, exhaustion and defeat, he didn’t have Karolina’s ability of putting on a straight face, Scholar didn’t want to push an answer out so she didn’t ask. They spent a couple of hours playing, Scholar died way too many times in pure noob style but Tegan didn’t mind, in fact he laughed each time as she panicked when the other players surrounded her with attacks.

“Thank you, Scholar. You made my day”, Tegan told her after the match was over.

“I’m glad, I had a great time even though I clearly suck for this…”, she answered giggling. Tegan laughed as well, he covered his mouth whenever he laughed and Scholar thought it was cute but sad at the same time how insecure he could be at times, even among his friends.

“… She’s busy talking to mom and dad, by the way”, Tegan added after a while, “in case you were wondering.”

“Oh… it’s ok. Is everything alright?”, Scholar asked concerned, to be honest their parents didn’t exactly sound like the kind that understood and supported their children.

“They didn’t take well all that happened in FAXION, I almost didn’t login for the game but she wanted me to let her handle it on her own”, answered Tegan, “she didn’t want me blowing up and them… “, he paused, “… doesn’t matter, I will take care of her now.”

“She’s a tough girl, she worries about you too”, said Scholar, “let me know if you need anything”

“Of course, thanks again. I will tell her you say ‘hi’ ”, said Tegan before closing the session.

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

Scholar sighed as she wondered how things had gone back at the twins’ house, hoping they were ok. The days that had followed to gaming night not much had happened. Tyler spammed them with funny selfies from the Red Carpet of God knows which movie his parents had taken him to, Tadashi and Alistair sent photos with the Drews, especially the dogs at Axel’s request, and Claire and Neha exchanged recipes for Christmas season. But barely anything from Karolina, still the fact Tegan kept sending memes mocking how bad she was at gaming was oddly comforting.

“Honey, I’m home, can you give me a hand with the bags?”, called Papa Scholar’s voice.

“Sure, dad, coming!”, answered Scholar and she walked towards the kitchen.

The bags were full of materials for her father’s famous pasta recipe but this time with a twist: he had agreed on incorporating one of Claire's many recipes. Both of them prepared everything for their movie night. Afterwards, they settled in the living room as they picked a title. They decided on one of the old movies that Scholar’s father loved “Pride and Prejudice”. Scholar had tried to get his father to watch the newer adaptation of the story but it had been pointless, the 1995 version was the one her mother loved and in a way for him watching the movie again meant reliving the joyful moments they passed together. Scholar had seen it too a handful of times yet this time it felt different, she felt connected not only because it had been her mom’s favorite movie but because the situation was now all too familiar. The pride and prejudice dance.

“You keep looking at your cell phone, expecting someone’s message?”, Papa Scholar asked as he arched an eyebrow.

“N-no, just checking the hour”, Scholar tried to reply, unconvincingly.

“Hmm, don’t forget I was your age once and fell in love at your age too”, the kind man answered giving her a warm smile.

But before Scholar could reply, they heard the alert of a new message coming in. Scholar jumped at the sound and widened her eyes at the name that appeared on the screen: “Karolina”. She quickly unlocked the cell phone, almost dropping it due to the urgency. Not paying attention to her father’s laugh at her clumsy movements, she opened the message:

Karolina: Are you awake?

Scholar: Yes, hi…

Karolina: Can I call you?

Scholar’s heart drop at her message. Almost three days without a message from her and now here she was asking for a call. She really did take that “best way to win someone is to surprise them” to the bone.

“Sorry, dad. Could we drop it here? A friend from Arlington wants to talk to me”

“Don’t worry, girl. Go call your friend”, she really did have the best dad.

 Scholar practically ran towards her room and texted her back.

Scholar: Sure.

Immediately her phone was vibrating and ringing. She answered almost as a reflex.

“Karolina?”, started Scholar, trying not to sound too excited.

“… Did I interrupt you?”, asked Karolina. Her voice on the phone was something Scholar couldn’t had foreseen would make her feel weak on the knees.

“No, uhm, I was just finishing watching a movie with my dad”

“Was it one of those cheesy old movies your dad likes?”, Karolina asked on a mocking tone. Wow, she had really paid attention…

“Ha, yeah. Pride and Prejudice… because you know how much I’m into the hate to love trope”, she blurted out surprising herself. Was it too bold to hint at ‘them’ like that? What was it about Karolina that it made her go rogue often.

Silence.

“… yes, I know”, Karolina answered. Scholar wondered, hoped, if Karolina was blushing.

“And what are you doing?”

“Our parents threw a party”

“Wow, sounds like fun.”

“It’s just the usual winter party they throw every year ”

“I’ve never been into a party like that”

“Of course not”, Karolina blurted out, “… I didn’t mean it to sound like that, I-I don’t think you’re missing anything”

“Karolina, not that I mind but why are you talking to me instead of enjoying yourself out there?”

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

Karolina was standing in front of the wall mirror of her bedroom. Her new pine green dress matched perfectly the emerald earrings her father had bought her last year as well as the red lipstick. Everything fit together

“Miss, they are waiting for you downstairs”, the maid called after softly knocking the door.

Karolina took her purse and proceeded towards the lobby, across the dining room and into the garden. The surrounding people dressed in etiquette, the tables and the exquisite centerpieces seemed all surreal. She felt disconnected to this usual display of frivolity and superfluous social interactions, greeting people with a fake smile and pretending to care about the chit-chat. These people who if given the chance would rather see them in ruins.

At dinner, she sat with a couple of acquaintances, girls she had known since her childhood, the type her parents considered ‘appropriate’ but could never truly be friends. Her mind drifted elsewhere, back to the chalet, the sensation of safety, of being seen for the first time through the façade of her strong petty attitude, the possibility of being just ‘Karol’. She excused herself as the girls looked at her questioningly, stood up and walked behind a couple of bushes seeking some privacy.

“I heard she is going down her mother’s route”, she heard a voice say from behind the bushes.

“Her scandal at FAXION was disastrous, everyone has been talking about it”, followed another voice.

“Honestly, does it surprise anyone? It was a wonder she got this far”, said a third voice.

Karolina felt the anger and hurt built inside her, she was about to turn around and face whoever felt they had the right to talk behind her back in her own house when her cellphone vibrated. She took out her cellphone and noticed Scholar had sent a message to the group thanking Claire for the last recipe attaching also a photo of Scholar and her father cooking. She smiled at how happy they seemed and got lost in the sparkle of her eyes. She bit her lip debating on whether or not to message her… Screw it.

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

 “… Hmm, Karolina, is everything ok? Can you still hear me”, Scholar asked.

“Yes, I-I just … “, Karolina answered.

“You know you can tell me anything”, Scholar said, “how is everything with your parents?”

She heard Karolina sighed.

“Not good but I’d rather not talk about it”

“I’m sorry about that but it’s fine, what do you want to talk about then?”

“Nothing really, I was just bored, this party is obnoxious”, Scholar’s heart skipped a beat at her words, does she just miss me?

“I see…”, Scholar said. With her heart palpitating like crazy and the excitement of talking to Karolina she couldn’t hold back her emotions and she added, “… I miss you too.”

“I never said… you’re right, I do”, Scholar smirked. Karolina admitting her feelings was so refreshing; Scholar would need one of Neha’s teas to calm down the butterflies in her stomach.

“So dull party, huh? Should I be thankful I didn’t get invited?”, followed Scholar.

“I don’t find this type of parties endearing anymore”

“What? Hanging out with me is harming your social standards”

“Haha, you wished. I’ve never liked these parties but it was a good opportunity to meet important people”

“Oh, did you meet anyone interesting this time?”

“No, I found out that people are still talking about my FAXION fiasco”, Scholar felt her blood boil at that.

“They did? I wished I could beat some sense into that people”,

Karolina chuckled.

“Hey, I don’t mind. It’s better if they talk about me, free publicity. Besides we technically won.”

“That you did, you two were amazing, seriously no one could rival Neha’s designs. Also, you looked so beautiful and classy… even though you weren’t feeling well, you pulled that off despite everything. I can only imagine the big things you’ll do in the near future”

“You’re sweet. But remember I could steal your third place in the Gold Tier if you’re not careful”

“Oh Miss Novakova, we’ll see about that, we could bet to me beating you up in the finals”, were they flirting for real this time?, Scholar thought.

“You’re not taking me to the cafeteria again, are you?”, oh they definitely were.

“Hmm how about taking you to the gardens? Like a picnic?”, oh god, was she asking her on a date?!

“Hmmm… ok, deal”, Scholar heard Karolina answer. She did just ask Karolina on a date and she said yes!

“Deal”, wow. But this time she wouldn’t let Karolina say it wasn’t a date.

She heard Karolina laugh on the other end and it made her grin like an idiot, she wondered if Karolina was blushing furiously like she was.

“Thank you, by the way”, Karolina said after a brief silence.

“For what?”

“Helping my brother stay calm. You didn’t have to do that”

“I’m glad to help, he’s a dear friend and it killed me to see him so sad”

“He has been happier considering…”, Scholar assumed she meant with whatever was going on in their house. She wished she could do more.

“And you? Feeling better?”, Scholar asked.

“Much better”,

“I’m glad. I’m here for you, always”

“I know, I’m here for you too”, her voice sounded soft, to think about how much had happened for them to get to this point.

“I have to hang up now, we’ll talk soon”, Karolina added.

“Oh ok, of course, go back to the party”, she didn’t know what to say, she could had kept talking to her all holidays if she could.

“Good night… Oh, and watch out your door tomorrow”, Karolina said with a curious tone in her voice, almost nervous.

“Tomorrow? What happens tomorrow?”, Scholar asked confused.

“J-just pay attention, ugh. I have to go now.”

“Ok, ok, I will do. Good night, Karolina”, and with that she was left with the usual cellphone tone.

 The following day was Christmas’ Eve. To say she had spent the morning ecstatic was an understatement. She kept circling around the call she had with Karolina, the fact she had asked her out on a date and whatever she meant by watching out for her door. Her dad was surprised that out of all the friends she had made at Arlington it was actually Karolina whom she had a crush on (she had to tell him since she couldn’t hide her joy).

“My first guess was that girl Claire who kindly gave us the recipes for Christmas dinner”, Papa Scholar said as he found out about the source of her daughter’s disturbance.

“Funny you guessed Claire, dad”, sighed Scholar remembering the fatal mistletoe incident.

“Why funny?”

“Oh dad, it’s just… a long story”, Scholar said.

“Well, I have to say that Karolina girl is drop dead gorgeous and if you say she is nicer to you, I believe you. When can you invite her here?”

“Dad! We’re not even… I mean, we almost … kissed b-but …”

They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

“I’ll get it”, said Papa Scholar.

“Actually dad, can you let me check who it is?”, jumped Scholar as she headed to the door.

She peaked from the door peephole. On the other side there was a guy looking like a delivery man.

“H-hello? Who is it?”, Scholar asked.

“Good afternoon, I have a delivery for a person named Scholar”, the guy answered from the other side.

Scholar opened the door, the man was carrying a golden plastic bag with a red bow on the outside.

“Hi, I’m Scholar”

“Oh great, I’m supposed to deliver this”, he handed her the bag, “please sign here… and here”

Scholar did as he requested and looked at the bag, it looked very elegant for a plastic bag.

“Thank you, merry Christmas, ma’am”

“Thank you too, merry Christmas!”

Scholar walked towards the living room holding the odd bag on her right hand. She took a seat on the couch and placed the bag on top of the table, slowly opening it. There was a card and a small black box on the inside. She took out the small box and opened it being startled by its content. It was an astonishing silver necklace with a sapphire pendant on the center, tiny diamonds seemed to surround the almost heart-shaped figure of the pendant. Papa Scholar couldn’t believe his eyes either, he got the card out and gasped.

“Honey, you need to read the card, look”, Papa Scholar said as he handed it out for her.

Scholar took the card in her shaky hands and opened it carefully:

“Hopefully this starts your way into the better fashion sense you desperately need… Merry Christmas, Karolina”

Scholar lost no time and rushed to get her cellphone. Please answer, please answer, she thought as she heard the dialing tone.

“Hi”, she heard Karolina’s voice answer.

“I-I-… Oh god, I-I can’t even… It’s so beautiful!”, Scholar tried to say forgetting how to speak.

“I am glad you like it.”

“I just… wow… thank you! How did you know where I live?”

“Uh-oh, guess who, Scholar”, she heard Tegan’s voice say.

“Y-you! From the time we played together… should had figured. “, Scholar said laughing.

“You got me, hehe. I’ll give Karol back her cell phone. Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas, Tegan!”

“I am sorry I had to ask him”

“Don’t be sorry, I love it”, Scholar said, almost as much as I love you, she thought, “I didn’t get you anything for Christmas, I feel awful, you went through all this and I-“

“I don’t need you to get me anything, just everything you’ve done for me and … how much I … I can’t tell you on the phone, ok?”, Karolina said.

“… s-sure. Thank you so much, Karol”, was it the first time she called her Karol out loud?

“Besides I already feel like I have my Christmas gift… Anyway, our father is calling us. Merry Christmas, Scholar”

“Merry Christmas, Karol”, Scholar replied and added, “I… you know I do too, for a while now if I’m honest.”

“I kind of knew but didn’t want to see it… Enjoy your night”

“Y-you too. Bye”.

 This was definitely the best Christmas she could had ever imagined, she only wished she could had thanked her in person but soon, very soon they will be able to figure it out.

END

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

Hope you guys like it! The ending was rushed because it’s super late here so sorry for that.

[wendystales]

Memories - lrh (Chapter Four)

Memories (also on Wattpad)

Chapter Three ※※※※※ Chapter Five

I absorbed and enjoyed the silence that was hovering around my house. I grabbed a glass of juice and sat down on the couch on the balcony. My mom left early for work, and Leah even tried to take me along for a photo shoot she was going to do in Venice. But, honestly, I'm not in the mood for dragging plaster casts around under the sun.

Not to mention that it is good to have moments alone to get my head straight. I know that in a little while it will be even harder to escape from these outings, I mean, I know I have to get back to my routine, but as long as I can avoid it, I will.

I put the juice on the table and pick up my diary. Unlike yesterday, I open it to the first page, like a book, and start reading. I go through a few pages about my feelings, about what I planned about my future, about my parents' divorce.

"I know it was inevitable. Anyone could tell how distant they were, I just didn't want it to be like that, that she suffered the same way I did. And I didn't want to feel that anger from him. But deep down, I know it's for the best.".

A few more pages telling about the scout who had seen me at the mall, the first photo shoot, the first runway show for a small clothing brand. Then arriving at the day I met Ashton.

"That one nobody expected/imagined/sought for. Ashton Irwin is my yoga partner!!! Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Oh my gosh, I never would have imagined that. I was dying of nervousness about being the new student, then he comes and offers to be my duo and oh gosh, he's amazing. Super fun and nice. AND HE CALLED ME UP FOR COFFEE ON SUNDAY.

" Ashton and I sat at a table on the sidewalk. Under the table, I snapped my fingers in nervousness as I read the menu.

- Do you already know what you are going to order? - he asks. I pout and nod my head in denial.

- All I know is that I don't want espresso. - I comment.

- Can I recommend one? I think you'll like it, it's whipped with cream and chocolate, very sweet. - He points to the menu after I accept his suggestion.

- It amazes me how good you are at coffee. - I joke, making him laugh.

- I like coffee. I once took a tour of a coffee farm in the countryside right here in California.

Coffee becomes our first topic. Because he knows and understands coffee, Ashton convinces me to do a tasting at a promising coffee shop in Brentwood the next morning. It was not the kind of program I am used to doing, but everything is different now, my life has changed and so have my types of programs.

- You are lost being my friend, I will call you all morning for breakfast together. - Ashton comments as we drive along the sidewalks of Los Angeles.

My body shakes when it hears the word "friend". I still wasn't sure if I could consider Ash a friend, but now, I'm happy to know that I can and that he considers me too. "

The memory warms and cheers me up, giving me more desire to read and remember.

I don't realize how much I was smiling until my cheeks start to hurt. After that day, his name becomes very frequent, until it joins Leah's.

"I don't know how to explain this girl. She came in so confident and nose to nose, I was sure she would be insufferable, then she opened her mouth and all I could think was 'where has she been all my life? ' And I don't want to get my hopes up or be a pain in the ass, but she's also a model and she talked about me going to her father's agency and if that works out? it's one of the biggest agencies in the world, I'm going to take off. God, if this is your will...".

I laugh at the following narrations that already involve Ashton, Noah and Leah. I can't remember what is written, but my imagination gives me a warm, happy feeling in my body. And if the reality has been as fun and nice as what I imagined, then it was very good.

I feel my body shiver and a chill take over my stomach when I see Luke's name for the first time. I cut the pace of my reading, preparing myself for what was to come. I reach for another glass of juice, buying time and even courage to read the rest.

"I had already noticed him looking at me, I just didn't want to believe he was looking at me, and it was perfect like that, until Ashton brought him in. It's one thing to know who Luke is, it's another to talk to him. In the end it wasn't so bad. I guess. I just stared for the first hour at anything but him, but I guess he must have missed it. Now I'm in the dilemma of if he liked me, I mean, we spent four hours talking and nothing, no kiss, no phone exchange. NOTHING."

I laugh at myself. I can perfectly see myself being embarrassed by him and not being able to look him in the eye.. If I could go back in time, I would tell this Marnie that Luke really liked her, even though I only had a basis in videos and pictures.

I pick up my cell phone and open insta, going to the date that marked my diary. 07/06/18. It was Ashton's birthday party. I flip to the side and see a picture taken in Hawaii, with the caption "The one where we got lost". I turn the page and find that trip.

"I know I am committing one of the biggest follies of my life and deep down, I don't even know why. That's a lie, I do, but that's not the point. In fact, it is, but that's not what I'm going to talk about. Again, it is. The point is: I can't believe that at the last minute I agreed to go on a trip to Hawaii with a bunch of people I barely know. Except Ash, Noah and Leah. And P.S. Monday is his birthday. It only gets better.”

Apparently things between Luke and me went pretty quickly. I read a few more pages seeing that on his birthday, we had our first kiss and from then on everything happened too fast and messy.

I write about many fights and reconciliations. Both he and I, didn't want anything serious, but both he and I, couldn't stay away from each other and there was my reason.

"There is a good big part of all this blocking that I believe is because of what happened and because of me trying to pretend it didn't happen. Dr. Prescott says that if I don't put it out there and don't talk about it, it will consume me. 'Talking about our fears, worries and problems makes them smaller and easier to defeat.'

Besides my parents, no one else knows about that day."

I run my eyes quickly down the page, seeing that that one was about Stephen's cheating.

I close the journal in fear. I don't know what is coming, and I don't know if I have the courage to read it. It is one thing to hear about it from others, from their view and opinion, even if it is not on purpose. It's another to hear about it from my view, from what I've been through.

I have no doubt that there are things in these next pages that maybe even my parents don't know. Things and feelings that I have kept solely and exclusively to myself and I don't know if I am ready to face this, again.

I put down the diary and go in search of something else. Luckily for me, my guardian angel, aka Leah, calls me.

“Are you busy? I thought we could have lunch together. What do you think?” she bombards me, not letting me say hello.

“Hi to you too. No, I'm not busy, just reading my diary.” I run my hand over the cover, keeping in the back of my mind what awaits me. “ I'll take lunch.”

Before Leah can answer, I hear a muffled argument on the phone and wait for the fight to end.

“Sorry, but Noah is asking if he can come along.” she asks, without patience.

“Of course he can.” I hold my laughter, imagining the two of them fighting on the other end of the line.

“Okay, in a few minutes we'll be there. Kisses.”

I say goodbye to her and decide not to read the diary again. The doctor himself told me not to force myself into anything. I set the table and wait for the two of them to arrive.

After forty minutes, the doorbell rings. I make way for my friend and analyze the tall, muscular man behind her. Unlike my memory, the Noah of today has his hair well shaved and brunette, like his sister's. His green eyes fill with tears when he sees me crack a smile, and like his twin, he doesn't wait for permission and hugs me.

“Don't ever do that again, young lady. What a shitty world this would be without you!” he squeezes me before showering me with kisses, all over my face.

Leah turns and pulls him away from me, making me laugh. I follow them both into the kitchen and look at the bags they brought, excited.

“We made sure to stop by The Palm and pick up your favorite dish.” I didn't even know that I had a favorite dish at The Palm. But when Leah opens a box and I feel my mouth water when I see that noodle with shrimp, I realize how little I know myself.

“Have I ever told you that I love you?” I ask softly, with a smile.

We start lunch and today my attention was on Noah, after all he was the new thing. I listen to him tell about the day we met, when he began to advise my career with his sister, and how things have been going since the accident.

“You don't have to give any interviews if you don't want to.” he assures me once again.

I still don't know how to deal with this "public figure" business, but deep down I feel a need to give a "satisfaction" to everyone who knows me. Noah has already sent some notes about my condition, but I know that I will have to appear on some channel in the future.

We changed the subject and started talking about my amnesia. Noah was not very happy that my first memory was his hair fiasco. I commented that I was reading my diary and asked about some events.

“Are we really lost in Hawaii?” they both started to laugh and agree.

“That day I wanted to hit Mark. I was getting very angry that he could not accept that he was reading the wrong map. Not to mention the car dying and us pushing," Noah comments.

“Mark was never good with maps. He says himself that he was a lousy Boy Scout.” Leah says before drying her third glass of water.

“Who is Mark?” I question.

“Mark is an ex-lover of mine. At the time we were chatting and he had the house in Hawaii. One thing led to another and in the end he went along.” Leah ends with a frown.

“And why did we let him drive then?” I ask, full of curiosity. They look at me as if I know the answer. Or, as if I should, but I just raise my eyebrows, saying nothing.

“Because it's Mark.” Noah shrugs. “He likes to be in control of everything.”

“The one who was definitely happy with us there was that guy who owns the coconut stand.” Leah says.

So there it is, the little wooden stand, with a pile of coconuts in front of it. A short man, probably about 50 years old, laughing at our misfortune while selling the fruit to us. Images begin to form in my mind.

" “- Look there.” Kyleen and I focus on the little man laughing as he takes the money from Michael's hand. “He sure is very happy with us standing here.” Leah says.

“Of course he is. We already bought twelve coconuts from him. Bad little man.” I make a face.

“We're not lost. It's just a shortcut.” we cut off eye contact with the stand and focus on Mark arguing with Noah and Ashton.

Leah looked at her lover in total disbelief at what she had gotten herself into. If regret could kill. The next moment Mark stomps his foot on the floor, like a child with a temper tantrum. At that moment, Calum looks at me with wide eyes.

I look away so that he doesn't see me laughing. Kiki, who was behind me, slaps me to stop, but this only makes me want to laugh more. I hide my face in her arm and in the end, my laughter gets out of hand. Both she and Calum start laughing with me, causing the boys to look at us curiously.

It takes no more than five minutes for Mike to join in the laughter with us and soon everyone else was laughing except Mark. Even the little bad man was laughing. It was the worst thing about us being lost, but that's what was happening and it couldn't be anything but comical, even though it was sad too. ”

“Of course he was happy. He sold about fifteen coconuts for us.” I don't even try to control my smile. Once again I remembered, and this is more than great.

The twin couple in front of me crack a big smile too, and soon they are clapping their hands and stamping their feet on the floor, making noise. I clap my hands with them in celebration.

“She is coming back.” Noah comes around the table, hugging me from behind and again showering me with kisses.

I was never one to have many friends. Usually it was just Bethany and Stephen, and a girl in my music class, but I don't know if I can consider her that, after all, we only talked during class and it was all very unrelated.

The point is that I have always envied those people who managed to have a large number of friends, and friends really, not just colleagues. Friends who call you for everything, who are always by your side, who enjoy your company, and who consider you family.

In this moment, with just Noah and Leah, I can see that I finally have these friends that I have wanted so much and without having to pretend to be something that I am not, without having to buy their attention, as I felt I needed it with Bethany. And if I'm happy like this with just the two of them, I can't wait to see the others.

“So, you said you were reading your diary, did you remember anything else?” Leah asks excitedly.

All the happiness and euphoria that had surrounded my body disappears. The bloody page with the bloody day comes back into my mind. They both notice my mood drop.

“I remembered a day when I went to have coffee with Ash, but…” I play with the edge of my cup, trying not to get too much into that energy. “I found a day where I tell about what happened.” I look at them, who are serious and attentive.

“Do you want us to read it with you?” Leah holds my hand across the table, gently patting it.

I shake my head positively and point to the notebook on the coffee table in the living room. I watch her return with the notebook and hand it to me. I open it to the marked page and stare at my handwriting again.

"I haven't had the courage to tell either Ashton, Leah, or much less Luke. I can't tell if I'm ashamed of it or just afraid of it happening again. The problem is that it's really starting to get to me, to the point where I get irritated when I see Luke and Leah talking and it shouldn't be like that. So I need to get it all out so that I can start over.

It was our anniversary. I snuck out of my work to see Stephen at his house. I wanted to deliver his gift soon. Two streets before his house I ran into Noelle, his mother, and told her I wanted to surprise him, so she told me to get the key under the third vase and go in.

Maybe it would have been better just to ring the doorbell and not have to see it. I was very quiet so as not to be discovered, and in the end, I was the one who discovered something."

My racing heart hurts from beating so hard. I can't keep my breathing normal, holding it at various times. I feel like it's a suspense book where no one wants to find out what's behind the door of the abandoned house, but needs to, in order to continue the story.

I notice in some letters and words the ink smudged and I know it was from my tears and it only hurts me more.

"There is no word to describe the disgust, pain, and anger of seeing him and her in bed naked. My until then boyfriend, and my until then best friend.

And what only made it worse was that she didn't even try to explain herself, didn't show an ounce of regret, even if it was a pretense. Nothing. While he tried to say it was nothing like that, Bethany still says it had been going on for a long time."

I close the journal angrily and throw it away, stopping on the other side of the long table. The lump in my throat gets bigger, but I don't want to cry, not for this and not again.

Deep down, I have always had a flea behind my ear with the two of them. The countless rides Stephen insisted on giving her. The way she always motivated me to fight with him, for reasons I thought were small and insignificant. But it was my first serious relationship, what did I know about dating, right? Bethany, on the other hand, had dated seriously twice.

It had always been there, I just didn't want to see it.

“I always suspected it and never, never wanted to believe it. After all, he was my boyfriend and she was my best friend. They wouldn't be able to.” I let out a humorless laugh.

The twins look at me fearfully, as if I were a mother scolding them.

“But you know what the worst part is? I believed him. He looked me in the face and said that nothing happened. That Luke was to blame for our breakup! How stupid of me!” I shout, picking up the diary and throwing it further away, as if it would hurt Stephen.

“Wait, what?” Leah speaks loudly.

I look at her startled and realize what I said. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I didn't want anyone to know about the meeting.

“You met with Stephen? When?” she turns the table around, coming closer. I swallow dryly.

“Yesterday morning," I begin softly, but it was enough for Leah to cover her eyes with her hands and snort. Noah laid his head on his arms, sighing as well. “I was confused and needed to hear and see him.” I start to defend myself.

“After everything your mother told you about him?” Leah asks.

“And you think I would believe her? Would you? With amnesia on account?” I retort. Leah takes a deep breath and denies it with her head, giving me reason.

“But you could have told, or asked, I don't know.” Noah ponders.

“Nobody would have let me, I know nobody likes him and rightly so.” I give in.

“That explains a lot.” Leah comments softly, but loud enough for me to hear.

“Explains what?” I ask confused.

She looks at Noah, who nods, giving her the green light. Like me, she swallows dryly before she begins.

“Explain why Luke is so grouchy and weird. Not wanting to come see you.” he answers, poking at the seam of the chair.

NO! No! No! No! No! Please, no. He can't have seen.

“You have to take me to his house.” I ask, heading for the hall.

“What?” the two shout following me.

“I need to talk to him. Now!” I shout the last part, putting on a jacket with some difficulty.

“But why?” Noah helps me.

“Because I think he saw something that wasn't supposed to happen and got it wrong.” I open the door, going to call the elevator.

“Oh, no!” they understand and soon follow me.

Things between Luke and me may be messed up, but the last thing I want him to think is that I cheated on him.

[lunarmessenger]

vulgar. - chapter five.

The warmth of the sunlight was the first thing she felt as sleep left her, a soft groan escaping her lips as she tried to open her eyes. It took her a few seconds to recognize where she was at, relief washing over her body as the familiarity of Jaehee's guest bedroom came back to her. She grimaced at the fact that she was still wearing her outfit from last night, her clothes stiff from sleeping in them. She stripped off her jeans and sat up in just her underwear, not really caring if Jaehee saw her or not; they were both women after all. She slowly got up, her head pounding as she grabbed for her watch to see what time it was. Her eyes bulged out of her head as she realized it was the afternoon, annoyance and a hint of guilt flooding in as she put on her slippers to go to the kitchen.

She didn't even want to know what Jaehee was going to say to her, anticipation and nerves clouding her already messy mind as she ran a hand through her tousled hair.

"Jae?" No response. She furrowed her brows as she walked into the kitchen, a small envelope with her name on it catching her attention. A sticky note was attached, a small smile coming to her face as she read the familiar handwriting.

Breakfast is in the oven to keep it warm. Open the envelope and read it. We'll talk when I get home from work.

Well now she didn't even want to open the envelope. Y/N huffed as she opened the oven to reveal a tinfoil covered plate, her stomach rumbling as she carefully took it out. Unwrapping it revealed omurice with a side of soft potatoes, her mouth already salivating as she hunted for some chopsticks then dug in. As she ate she nervously looked at the envelope, reaching her nimble fingers out and grabbing it.

They shook as they ripped through the sealed flap, Y/N's brows furrowing before her eyes gaped open as she read the words that were revealed across the headline.

Heiress of the Walker Family Confirmed Missing After Extensive Search

She hurriedly flipped through the long article, her heart sinking further and further into her stomach as the details unfolded. Photos of her before she'd changed her look were plastered on each printed page, Y/N grateful that she was smart enough to dye her hair and start wearing her glasses again. Anxiety mixed with anger as the media portrayed it as recklessness on her end, that she was just a rebellious young adult that was refusing to accept her responsibilities.

"What a load of bullshit!" She yelled, throwing it across the room and watching it slap against the wall and hit the floor with a thud. She wasn't so hungry anymore, deciding to save the food for later as she wrapped it back up and put it in the fridge. Y/N felt horrible; she'd wanted Jaehee to find out from her, not from some stupid tabloids that had made National News. She knew exactly who was behind the release, her blood boiling as she was tempted to call from her cell phone and immediately demand it to be taken down.

But she couldn't.

Calling them meant that they would know exactly where she was at, and it was hard enough to leave the country without any of them knowing. She instead jogged back to the room for her phone, opening her text messages between herself and Jaehee.

Jae, I read what was in the envelope

Please let me explain

Why is it that I had to find out you were on the run from your family from my boss, and not you??

Y/N grimaced; Jerkmin Han was the one who told her? What the hell was he doing looking her up? She shook her head; the article was under the national news category. Him being such a bigwig must mean that he keeps up on all the national affairs. She didn't even realize she'd had a slight blush at the idea of him looking up her information, the woman slapping her cheeks to get those thoughts out of her head.

I wanted to tell you last night, really I did! I just overdid it with the alcohol.

Jaehee didn't respond, Y/N feeling more and more guilty with every passing second. It was never her intention to get wasted; hell she could barely remember anything from last night. The bars, Jaehee finding her and picking her up; and then nothing. Her gut told her that something happened last night, hesitant to try and recall what she did as she had a feeling that she wouldn't like it.

You have embarrassed me in front of one of the worlds biggest multi-billion dollar company's CEO; my boss! In his own home too, Y/N! There are no excuses for what you did, you should be happy that your dumb ass didn't get me fired!

What? In his own home? They'd gone to Jumin's home? She felt dizzy at the sudden memories that came crashing into her brain. A cute white cat, Jumin in a casual t-shirt and glaring daggers at her. Jaehee profusely apologizing while handling his paperwork. It was still blurry but it was there, the need to throw up strong as she collapsed on the bed.

Oh my god.

I have a meeting to attend. I will talk to you later. Y/N swallowed as she placed her head in her hands, shame and embarrassment weighing heavy in her heart as she took a deep breath. For all she knew, that Jerkmin could be working Jaehee double time, as punishment for bringing her friend around when she wasn't supposed to. She didn't give a damn what that pompous CEO thought of her; it was her best friend that she was worried about.

"Damn it," She sighed, deciding to take a shower to rinse off the remnants of last night. An idea crossed her mind and she groaned, thumping her head against the shower wall as the hot water ran down her back.

"Fuck it."

+

He sat inside the meeting room with the executive leaders of each department, each one proposing some growth ideas and expenses needed. His eyes flickered between the person speaking and Jaehee taking notes; he couldn't help it really. His mind drifted back to that night where her friend had entered his building, a soft smile coming to his face as he ran his fingers over his lips. She was unlike any woman he'd ever met; instead of asking him what he would like her to do, she challenged that ideal. She glared at him and gave him attitude, yet treated Jaehee and Elizabeth with such gentle kindness. It was intriguing, and he hated to admit it but she was all he could think about.

"...Mr. Han?" Jaehee gently tapped his shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts as he cleared his throat.

"I apologize; what was that last proposal?" Before he knew it the meeting was over, everybody gathering their files to go back their respective departments. He sat with Jaehee to discuss where the funding should be placed, until he couldn't hold in his curiosity anymore. While he was reading the paper on his desktop, an article had flashed about the famous Walker family back in America. He'd done business with them before, their personalities cold and business-like through every deal they'd made. He respected their finesse and hard work to build up their marketing company, but had no idea that they had a daughter.

It was more surprising to find out that it was Y/N, the photos provided on the article completely different from the person he'd met. She was more refined and poised, her hair shorter and a completely different color than it was now. Her mother's hand was gripping her shoulder tightly in the family portrait, while her father seemed disinterested and disconnected. The fire that he'd seen in her eyes was merely just embers in the photos, almost lifeless as she posed with her family. It was actually rather sad, and he'd meant to ask Jaehee about it. He didn't mean to throw Y/N under the bus; it was actually scary to see Jaehee so upset with her.

"So, why is she on the run?" Jaehee sputtered, her brows furrowing as she locked eyes with Jumin. He was dead serious, waiting for her answer as she shrugged.

"I don't know. The only reason I now know she's on the run is because of you. She said she was going to tell me last night; but she had too much to drink." She had a small flush across her cheeks from embarrassment, amusement brewing in Jumin's mind as he kept his face straight.

"Please do not linger on the events that happened last night, Assistant Kang. I already told you that you will not be losing your job."

"I greatly appreciate that Mr. Han, it's just..." Jaehee trailed off, not sure how to finish her sentence. Never in her life did she think she would confide in her boss; that's what Zen was usually for. Jumin waited patiently, tapping his foot with an eagerness that he tried to conceal. He wanted to know so badly; but it was beneath him to show it.

"I'm worried." Before she could elaborate, the two of them were interrupted by one of the security guards.

"Ms. Kang? Someone is here to see you." Jumin furrowed his brows while Jaehee seemed puzzled, nonetheless picking up her files and heading towards the door to the hallway. Jumin stayed seated for a bit, running his hands over his face as he sighed. How strange that he was still thinking of a stranger that he hadn't even known for very long; and who had insulted him, on top of that. Yet he couldn't help his curiosity.

"Jerkmin Han...ha..." He couldn't help but chuckle in disbelief. Never in his life had he met someone that was brash with him from the start. Sure, Zen constantly showed his displeasure for Jumin, but that was before the two of them go to know each other. This woman had barely laid eyes on him and was already hurling insults at him; and part of him wonders if it was only because she was drunk.

"It must be." He mumbled, finally standing and adjusting his sleeves before walking back towards the hallway. He pushed open the door and headed back towards his office, only pausing when he heard Jaehee speaking sharply with somebody. He raised a brow as he turned around, eyes wide when he realized who she was speaking to.

"Get out of here Y/N; I will not risk losing my job again after that fiasco that occurred last night!" She hissed, brows furrowed from irritation. Y/N was standing in the hallway, carrying two hand held boxes with her as she profusely apologized.

"I know, I know that's why I'm here to make up for that." Jumin immediately hid the smirk that was making its way to his face, replacing it with his usual business expression as he walked up to them. He could tell just from what he'd heard that Y/N had come to apologize for her actions; but something seemed rather off. Like she was doing this because she felt she had to, not because she wanted to.

"Hello. I didn't expect to see you here." Without realizing it he'd already made his way to the two women, looking Y/N up and down with his gray eyes. Jaehee was once again filled with anxiety as she turned to face Jumin. She looked completely different than what she wore last night; instead of her rough leather jacket and ripped jeans she was in a nice sundress, the pastel blue complimentary to her long hair. The way she stood and smiled was rather obvious to Jumin; she had clearly come from a very wealthy background.

So why did she run?

She had a smile, but Jumin could see that his tone had caused a fire behind her eyes, brow twitching before she had managed to reign in whatever she had wanted to say. This only fueled his raging curiosity, his face showing that he was waiting to hear what she had to say.

"I was actually hoping to see you." Her sweet tone made him tilt his head in surprise, a small smile coming to his face as he asked. I'll bite, he thought, the tension thick as he crossed his arms.

"Oh?"

"This is for you." She handed him one of the boxes she was carrying, Jumin raising his brows as he uncrossed his arms and gently took it from her.

"I'm sorry that I was such an ass—inappropriate. It was unacceptable for me to enter your home like that, and even worse, insult you. Please accept this gift." She gave a deep bow, Jaehee letting out a sigh of relief while Jumin quickly hid the surprise from his face. Oh yeah, definitely from a formal background.

"Well, thank you. But I will not open it here; Assistant Kang, please have this delivered to my home as soon as possible. I shall open it tonight." Again he watched in amusement as Y/N's eyebrow seemed to twitch at his response, grumbling under her breath before replacing her displeasure with a smile.

"Thank you for accepting my gift. Now if you'll excuse me, I should let you two get back to work. Here you go, Jae. Please don't work too hard today." She sent a sneaky glare back at Jumin, going completely unnoticed by Jaehee as she took the gift. There it is, that attitude that she'd been hiding underneath her formal presence. He wanted to see more of it, an idea crossing his mind as he immediately put it into action.

"Thank you, Y/N. Now would you please go back to the apartment; I'll chat with you later." She tried to rush her out of the office as she maintained eye contact with Jumin, the man simply giving a nod while he gave off the most pompous smirk he could muster up. The response he was looking for did not disappoint, this, Y/N frowning at him before she flipped him off with the bird while being shoved into the elevator by Jaehee.

"...There! I said it!"

"Y/N please! I will no longer be friends with you if you keep this up; stop it!" Jaehee yelled back just as the doors closed to the elevator. She came back looking extremely tired, her hand pressing against her forehead while Jumin tilted his head.

"What exactly did she say, Assistant Kang? I didn't quite catch the first part." She gave a sigh, shaking her head before she looked up at her boss.

"Please don't fire me." She mumbled, Jumin even more interested as he crossed his arms.

"Well?"

"I quote, 'You are an uncultured swine! There, I said it!' Mr. Han, please don't take what she says seriously I—"

"Assistant Kang." Jaehee gulped, squeezing her eyes shut to prepare for the worst. But instead she was met with Jumin softly laughing, covering his mouth as he looked off to the side.

"I would like a report on your friend, when you get the chance. I want to know everything about her. She, is, well...interesting to say the least." Her jaw dropped open in surprise but she quickly shut it, giving a brief nod before responding.

"Yes Mr. Han." She briskly walked away, files pressed tight against her sides as she hurried to her office. Jumin could only bite his lip as he made his way back to his office. That interaction right there proved it; Y/N didn't say those things because she was drunk; that's just truly how she felt about him.

"How interesting." He muttered, ignoring the way his heart started to beat faster in his chest.

[five-miles-over]

Blackout (Willie Gutierrez x Reader)

(image source: pinterest.com)

Summary: The reader is Willie Gutierrez’s new neighbor, and the two of them accidentally meet during a power outage when the reader wants to borrow a lighter for some candles

Word Count: 1,588

Warnings: mentions of weapons and murder, as well as references to the plot of ‘The Yards’

They'd only been apart for a week and already he had a new lover hanging off his arm.

For most people living in the run-down apartment complex, situated in the darkest, grittiest section of The Bronx, tonight was just like any other Friday night. After another day at their miserable 9-to-5, minimum-wage jobs, they’d saunter on home and either drink away a large portion of their paycheck or fall asleep in front of their television with a frozen dinner.

But for Willie Gutierrez, it was a night for celebration…a celebration of survival. This Friday marked his first week since he’d been released after 5-year-long sentence that he swore permanently took a part of his sanity. Even though there would be a parole officer visiting him twice a week, Willie was finally free to get his life back and live in society. As soon as the rays of the setting sun caught his eye, Willie cracked open a Miller beer and began scrolling through his cell phone.

I guess he finally got over his thing for Erica, Willie grunted as he looked at the photo. In an effort to be courteous, Leo Handler - Willie’s friend from grade school - sent a picture of himself with his arm around a blonde girl wearing a slip dress and Doc Marten shoes. He really had no need to try maintaining their relationship, visiting Willie in prison and calling him every week, especially not after all the trouble Willie had gotten him into. Maybe it was Leo’s mother who encouraged her son to let the past remain in the past.

Though for Willie, following that advice would be a task much easier said that done.

On the night he killed Erica, Willie remembered hearing a story from Leo’s step-uncle about Leo and Erica being in love despite their relationship as cousins., and how those two were caught having sex once. Even though it had been a while since that fateful night, it still made Willie cringe to think of them doing it. He wouldn’t have felt as bad if he’d found out one of his friends was Erica’s ex, but the fact that it was her cousin and his best friend - who’d taken jail time for their gang - made Willie want to vomit even now.

“Fuck.”

The lightbulb fizzled out like a dying fly, and the heating suddenly stopped, leaving his entire apartment completely dark and cold.

As he took in the view from the twentieth floor, the lights seemed to go out all over the city. Swearing under his breath, Willie slumped onto the couch and tried his best to take another swig of beer. He didn’t exactly have the wildest plans for tonight, but it’s not like he wanted to be stuck in a blackbox with no means of any entertainment.

A few moments later, Willie perked up when he heard a knock followed by an unfamiliar voice.

“Hello, is anyone home?”

Willie remained silent, wishing that his gun were here right now in case the voice belonged to a robber. Unfortunately, concealed carry for  had a bit too much red tape for Willie’s liking. Not even getting in touch with Frank, his ex-boss, would help him get a gun for self-defense. Frank probably wanted nothing to do with Willie at this point, even if he was released for good behavior.

“I’m not a telemarketer, or anything. I’m your neighbor.” The voice added. "And I'm not armed."

"What do you want?" Willie muttered under his breath.

"A lighter would be nice," You replied. "Or some matches - could you open the door please? I swear I'm not here to hurt you."

Covering his eyes, he was blinded temporarily by the flashlight you held up so he wouldn't bump into you "Geez, you don't have to point that fucking thing at me!"

"Sorry…just wanted to make sure that you knew what I looked like." Sheepishly, you introduced yourself to him, telling him your name and how recently you'd moved into the building.

"I'm Willie, yeah…I'm new too. Why did you need lighters?"

You gestured to your other hand, which held a few candles. A flashlight probably wasn't going to last you all night, and even though your apartment was a literal shoebox, some candlesticks would provide enough brightness until the power came back on.

"Oh."

"So…may I borrow your lighter, please?"

"I would, but this is my only one."

"…And you don't trust me because you think I won't return it to you?"

After a moment of silence between the two of you, you invited Willie over to your apartment just so that he could take the lighter when you were done with it. And you secretly were hoping that Willie would turn out to be good company.

He internally debated for a few moments before accepting your proposition. On one hand, you seemed like a decent person…a decent person who probably just ended up in this place because you couldn't afford a nicer building, not because you had just gotten out of prison. On the other hand, you probably didn't know that he was a criminal and a murderer - how could he completely trust you, let alone accept an invitation into your home? He didn't even want to tell you his last name, just in case you'd seen it in the newspapers. Then again, it wasn't like he knew anybody else here except for his parole officer, and taking a chance might just be the thing he needed to get back to his old extroverted, adventurous self.

"So, what floor do you live on?"

"The same one as yours, Willie. The twentieth," You answered with a chuckle, leading him inside your home. "Can I get you something to drink - water, beer, or something?"

"Beer sounds fine."

You lit the candles in your apartment before heading to the fridge and handing him a bottle of hopefully-still-cold beer. Gladly accepting the drink, Willie sneakily tried to get a better look at you while you poured yourself another round of your favorite alcohol.

Amongst the candles, you actually looked quite pretty, maybe someone he wouldn't mind seeing more often. He'd most likely never seen you before because he rarely left the apartment over the past week, let alone his room.

On Monday, he could barely get out of bed because of how overwhelming it all felt - starting over from scratch with no friends, no family members, and no former acquaintances. He kept thinking about where to begin, and whom to ask for help. Tuesday and Wednesday, with a little help from his parole officer and prison therapist, he was able to enroll himself in some economics classes from a local college, and a part-time thing as a cashier at a drugstore. Thursday was spent mostly in bed again; it was a 'relapse', as Willie called it. And on Friday, he went out grocery shopping for the first time. Even though most of the stuff he picked out was instant, ready-to-eat food that required little to no preparation, it was still a good start.

"Power outages suck," you muttered, taking a sip.

"Yeah, tell me about it. I remember getting them sometimes when I lived in Queens."

"You lived in Queens?" "My whole life, yeah."

For almost three hours, the two of you continued to make some small talk. You eventually told him that you had recently graduated, and now working somewhere in the Bronx. It wasn't the greatest job in the world, but at least it got you a place to live and paid the bills. You told him a little about your home town, along with a silly thing or two about your childhood.

Willie felt himself relax a little more, hearing you talk about your life. He wished that maybe someday, he'd be able to talk about his past with the same ease that you seemed to have. In addition, you had a really great voice that was nice to listen to, though he wouldn't say that out loud. He didn't want to seem like he was coming onto you too suddenly. Plus, he didn't know if you were even looking for a relationship, or if you were already taken.

Just when you were almost finished telling a story, the lights buzzed back on with a crackle. "Look at that." You sighed, a part of yourself wishing that the power would not return for a while just so that Willie could be over for a bit longer.

"Yeah…power's back. I should probably head back. Besides, it's really late."

"Don't forget your lighter," you joked, reminding him why you originally invited him over to your place. Willie thanked you for your company and laughed a little, his jade-green eyes bearing a slight twinkle.

You walked him over to his place, a mere few steps away from yours, and the two of you discussed the possibility of maybe having dinner together sometime. It wasn't meant to be a date or anything, but just an opportunity for you to hang out as neighbors. You were both alone in a new city, and agreed that it would be great to have at least one familiar face to depend on.

"Good night…neighbor." He disappeared behind his door with a smug wink, proud of himself for taking a chance with you. Just like a poker player with a royal flush, he'd undoubtedly won this round.

"Good night, Willie."

[btsslowburnfic]

Born to be Yours Ch. 10

Story Summary: For Namjoon, the moment he set his sights on being the #1 rapper, he pushed the symbol to the side and hated it. Love should be chosen, not forced on you. He didn’t believe in fate and this mark on his wrist was a big “fuck you” to all that.

Chapter summary: Life after you and RM part ways goes back to normal until an accident changes everything

Previous chapters found here: Chapter 9

You are surprised that life does in fact go back to normal. You and Xavier make up and get back to working with smaller local groups after the awards season ends. Things with you and Ben get back to normal; you become a master of using heavy foundation on your soulmark when you’re at home. The summer tour is amazing. You and Xavier traveled to 32 states in 4 months. You find yourself following Twitter and Weverse to see what RM is up to. And you sometimes found yourself thinking about that night the two of you spent together. You mostly try to push it out of your mind though. Even though you told Xavier and he randomly brings it up.

“Right here? On this desk!?!” he asks, running his hands over the surface.

“Yes. And don’t do that, it’s weird and gross.”

“How was it? Describe it to me again.”

You chuckle a bit and roll your eyes, ��No. I told you once so I could get it out of my system.”

“Ughhh you’re so boring.” he whines playfully.

“Shouldn’t you be reprimanding me about being a terrible cheating slut?” you raise an eyebrow.

“No. I ship that shit.” he responds, sipping on a smoothie. “Have you eaten yet?” he asks

You laugh and look through your phone. “No, I had a zoom meeting with Gina at noon and then I covered spinning class.” You press some buttons on your screen. “There. I just ordered. I’ll see you in a while.” You stand up and put your flip flops back on.

“Sounds good. I’ll see you in pilates tonight.”

You toss your bag over your shoulder and put your sunglasses on as you step out the door. You look both ways and start to cross the street as you hear a screeching sound. The next thing you hear and feel is the sickening crunch of bone hitting glass. Tires screeching away and then everything is black.

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

Namjoon occasionally finds himself thinking about you. Mostly when he accidentally slams his body into a door frame or cuts his finger. He always says he’s sorry and then kind of feels like an idiot for apologizing to no one. He also thinks about the night the two of you shared together quite often and had made Jhope send him those photos he took.

He’s happy to be working and on tour again. It’s been a fun summer. They wrapped up the Asia portion of their journey and were well into Europe now. As usual, the filming crew was in the green room as they were preparing for their second night at Wembley. The first night had been amazing. He couldn’t think of anything that made him happier than being in front of ARMY, especially when they were singing along to the songs he wrote. He smiled as he scrolled through his phone while he had his makeup touched up. 

“10 minutes, 10 minutes.” Management called out.

“Alright guys, let’s get it.” he yells through the green room.

They gather around and do their chant. The minute they step out of the green room they can hear the fans roaring and cheering along to the pre-show videos. They each go to their respective starting positions and wait to hear the signal. 

They open quick and fast with “On” and the crowd is absolutely pumped. They begin their second song and will then introduce themselves. The music for “Dionysus” begins to play and the elaborate set pieces are added throughout the song. They are almost to the end of Dionysus when RM goes down hard. He falls off the table. People are gasping, Jin runs over and signals to the staff on the side of the stage that something is very wrong. ARMY and BTS are freaking out. The visual director quickly puts a message onto the big screens to please wait a moment. The medical staff immediately takes the lift up to the main backstage area. The obvious damage is a cut on his arm that took the brunt of the fall from the table, but that gash can’t account for the fact that he’s unconscious and breathing shallowly. There is a rush of oxygen masks and people yelling. Jimin and JK start crying, the other guys are freaked out about the show and what to do next. Jin rises to the occasion by asking if they should go ahead and skip to his and Suga’s solos until there is more information. A decision is quickly made to begin the solo portions. The two of them quickly change costumes and prepare to go out. An ambulance ends up needing to be called. The guys decide that Namjoon would want the show to go on and so they do. It’s ugly and weird and they are unfocused but they manage through it. ARMY is crying for RM because they know it’s bad when he doesn’t come back on stage. They skip the ments and encore and  the guys are immediately loaded into vans and transported to the private health facility that he’s been taken to. 

The staff escorts the six of them to a room where they wait for a doctor to come and speak to them. A translator is located and brought in as well.

“What happened? Did anybody see what happened before he fell?” Hoseok asks.

“He was fine. I didn’t notice anything strange.” Tae responds. 

“They took video and showed the doctor,”Yoongi adds, having overheard the staff on the way there.

After a few minutes a doctor comes in. “Hello Gentleman. Your friend is in good hands here, and is stable.” she reassures them. 

There is a collective sigh from the group as they hear this news.

“However, we aren’t sure what’s causing this condition. There is no evidence of an aneurysm on the CT scan and the video doesn't show any seizure-like activity prior to the fall. His heart is in excellent shape as well as his lungs. At this point we are running more tests but we do need to ask you all some questions here. Please answer honestly. Does your friend use any drugs? Even maybe extra prescription medication?”

It takes a few seconds for the translator to relay the message and the guys’ reactions range from anger to disbelief. Jin is up on his feet shouting about how they should be focusing on fixing Namjoon rather than gossiping, Jimin is crying more. It’s a mess.

“Calm down guys, it’s a standard question,” Yoongi says stoically. “She’s not trying to be rude.”

“No. He drinks beer and wine sometimes. But no. He’s not on any drugs.  That’s ridiculous.” Jungkook summarizes.

“I’m sorry, it’s something I do have to ask. Is there anything else you guys could think of that might be pertinent? An old injury? Something he did earlier today or ate that he doesn’t usually?”

The guys all sat there for a minute. It was Jin who made the connection first: “His soulmate. She lives in LA.”

Tae’s hand flew to his phone to make a phone call.. The next few things happened over the course of a few hours: a phone call to Hitman Bang to get Gina’s contact information. Several phone calls to Gina. Calls from Gina to you. No answer. Phone calls to Xavier. No answer. Xavier calling Gina back hysterically sobbing that you were in a coma with a skull fracture and blood loss, Gina crying, Gina having someone else call Hitman Bang because she couldn’t stop sobbing, Hitman Bang calling Tae back.

The doctor was updated on the situation. “Ah...well that would explain it. Were the two of them very close?” she asks delicately.

It’s highly inappropriate but Yoongi just laughs, “No. They met one time .”

The doctor raised her eyebrows, “Oh. Well that’s unusual.”

“If she dies, will he die too?” Jimin asks quietly with tears in his eyes.

“No. And especially not if they weren’t close. I need to consult with some colleagues on this before we proceed. If you all want to go get some rest I think he’s going to be like this for a while. We can call you if anything changes.” the doctor informs them.

They are uneasy about leaving Namjoon there so they split up into groups of two to take turns. Jin and JK take the first shift at the care facility.

 ----------------

The doctor reaches out to several colleagues who are familiar with more case studies of soul mate injuries and what to do when there is a mirrored trauma response. She gets permission from RM’s parents (who have flown to London as well at this point) to try a reverse cryogenic procedure to restart his systems. Basically, they will bring his body down to an almost hypothermic point and slowly reheat him, encouraging cell regeneration and movement. It has been successful in similar cases, but it is a slow procedure that needs to be carefully monitored. 

Meanwhile, social media is having a field day about what could have happened. BigHit put out that story that RM has developed a severe allergic reaction to shellfish and went into anaphylaxis on the stage; he was administered an epi-pen and hospitalized but is now resting and recovering. The rest of the guys give interviews to back up this story as well. 48 hours after the incident began, RM is slowly regaining consciousness. 

“What happened? I feel like someone is opening up my skull with a pair of pliers.” he asks the doctor.

“I’m sorry but your soulmate was in a very bad car accident. She’s in a coma and you suffered a mirrored trauma response. I’m going to go let your friends and family know you’re awake.” 

“Shit.” RM says, really taking in everything that was just said to him. 

Jin is the first one in the room. “Hey. You’re finally awake. We were so worried.”

“How long have I been out for?”

“2 days.”

“Shit. What happened with the concert? Is everything ok? Oh God. What did they tell people?”

“One thing at a time.” Yoongi said as he entered the room. “We finished the show. The tour is postponed for at least a few weeks. We told people you had an allergic reaction.”

RM visibly relaxed but was still upset about the show. “Those fans have to be so disappointed.”

“Yeah, but they want you to be well. There’s thousands of flowers and cards being left at Wembley and so many messages on Weverse. We’ll make the dates up when you’re better. ARMY understands. It’s not your fault.”

“No, it’s [Y/N]’s fault.” he says briskly. 

“I mean. She got flattened by a car. So, not really.” Tae added.”She’s in an actual coma. They can;'t just reheat her.” he was surprised by how cold RM sounded talking about his soulmate.

“You’re right. I’m just...it’s a lot. My head still hurts and I guess I just want someone to blame.”

“Blame the asshole who hit her,” Yoongi adds.

“Yeah. I will. I’m so tired.”

“Here, we’ll leave so you can talk to your parents for a minute before you rest.”

“My parents flew in?” he says surprised.

“We thought you were going to die,” Jimin says seriously. “Your sister is on her way here too.”

Rm laid his head back against his pillow. This is exactly the kind of soulmate bullshit he’s been trying to avoid. And you were in a coma. He stopped for a minute and thought about how scary it must be for you but he won’t allow himself to dwell on it. He’s getting his soul mark obliterated as soon as you wake up from your coma and sign off on it. If you wake up from it. Shit. 

----

24 hours later he is discharged from the hospital and decides to book a flight to LA to see what your doctors are doing about rectifying this situation. He can’t shake the massive headache and leg pain that he’s still experiencing constantly. He cannot perform like this. Also he’s looked into the legal status of soulmark obliteration if one party is a permanently vegetative state and what counts as legal consent. Because of course he has. The guys all talk and decide that Tae will go along with him for support. Really it’s to be the voice of reason because they can’t believe that rather than going to see how you’re doing, he is going to ask you to remove your mark. 

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

RM knows what hospital you are at because his doctor consulted with yours in order to determine the best course of treatment. You doctor was hoping that once RM woke up, you would show signs of improvement. So far though, there wasn’t a lot on your end.

Ben and Xavier dutifully took shifts staying with you in the hospital. On this particular night, Ben is taking the night shift, walking back from the vending machines. He stops when he sees two dudes who look like models standing outside your door.

“Hey. Are you guys friends with [Y/N]? You must be from the studio. I don’t think we’ve met before. I'm Ben” Ben is tired but tries to be friendly.

Tae and Namjoon turn and look to him. Ben. Ben must be her boyfriend. 

“Actually we’re from one of the bands she worked with. I’m Namjoon and this is Taehyung. You must be her boyfriend?”

“Fiance actually,” Ben politely corrects. “Just a few weeks ago actually,” he awkwardly laughs. “But then this all happened. You know the asshole didn’t even stop?” 

Tae feels extremely awkward. He can understand a small bit of what’s going on, but he knows that what’s coming will be very difficult for everyone.

“That’s awful. How is she doing?”

“Bad. Stable. But, bad. She lost a lot of blood and hit her head pretty hard. They’re surprised she didn’t have any broken bones other than her skull fracture. She dislocated her shoulder when it hit the hood. The guy was definitely speeding.” Ben runs a hand through his hair. “Sorry if you were hoping to visit.”

RM awkwardly runs his hands up and down his jeans. There is not an easy way to say this.

“So. You know that [Y/N] has a soulmark on her wrist?”

Ben stiffens ever so slightly, “I do. But it’s ok. We don’t really care about that whole destiny thing. It’s unconventional but you know…” he trails off.

RM takes a deep breath and rolls up his sleeve. “I have the matching soulmark. I was in a coma for 2 days. I need to speak to her doctor immediately.” NEXT CHAPTER

[partnersatfazbear]

Analysis of The Real Jake (SPOILERS)

I can't decide whether to make this post a stream-of-consciousness style or group it into evidence for x... but since it's easier, I'll just write my thoughts as I go. Although a lot of this is factual ties to, say, FNAF 4, things like relating Margie to Henry are just my own headcanon and you can do with that what you will AKA don't take this all too seriously, but have fun with it. There’s also specific notes about Michael Afton, for those that just want to know what was said regarding him (presumably).

Before I start, please note I've had three hours of sleep in the last... 28 hours? IDK I can't math, especially not on this little sleep. So, there may be errors. I tried to make a note on things I was unsure about, too. 

Note: I wrote this before the Evan=CC theory was all but confirmed. Although I believe this theory from the logbook, I think a lot of these notes are still valid.

Read my notes under the cut:

Margie shares similar physical appearance to Henry: Pg 84 “The window fan blew a lock of her shoulder-length brown hair across her upper lip so it looked like she had a mustache.”

“Mrs. Afton” stand in is mentioned: Pg 86 “...it had been four years since his Mom had died...” (Jake is 9 in the story)

I notice when Scott mentions plaid. Pg 87 “...a green-and-blue plaid plush chair...” I mostly wanted to note this since canonically, Henry had a green plaid shirt.

“William” stand in is mentioned. Pg 89 “And you know he thinks about you [Jake] all the time?” “So, he has to concentrate on what he's doing... ...I don't want him thinking about me and end up shooting himself in the foot or something.” Pg 102 “Yeah, I did. [I spilled some chocolate ice cream] Right on my shirt!” Pg 122 “I did that today! [While playing a DDR like game, breaking a shoelace.]” (Admittedly, I only counted these because I headcanon William is much more of a bumbling fool than he appears. It comes up very often as you can see... although you could write it off as Evan just trying to relate to his kid.)

“William” stand in is mentioned. Pg 92 “...Margie was pretty sure Evan couldn't afford to replace a washer and dryer” and “...Evan, at his rank, could barely afford her” Pg 110 “Gillian's house shared stlying with Evan's, but hers was probably four times bigger.” (Again, I headcanon William and his family is on the low end of middle class, if not lower, in terms of income. Particularly, the house is cramped.)

“Mrs. Afton” stand in is mentioned. Pg 93 “First, Jake's Mom was killed.” Pg 139 “The mom's dead.” (You could infer that she died via something akin to a car crash in the context of the story, however if you reflect it to the games given the commonalities, I like to think of this as confirmation that William murdered her, given the word 'killed' is used.)

Margie records herself on her cell phone. Pg 93 (and on other pages) (Again referencing my headcanon for Henry, in which he records ideas/diaries often. At minimum, Henry is referred to as “Cassette Man” in PizzaSim so... I just thought it could make for an interesting comparison.)

Jake mentions his “friends”. Pg 99 “Patty and Davey... Vic... and the twins... Ellie and Evie... Kyle, Clay, and Garrett” (Also, he isn't mentioned until later, but there's his best friend Brandon, too. I noted these in reference to CC talking about his 'friends', either IRL or the plushies. I assume his IRL friends are the MCI victims. The number doesn't add up though. I really, really wanted to make a connection about the twins, considering Charlie and Sammy are twins, but there wasn't enough evidence to write it off as anything other than a coincidence. Also... Clay, really? We need another double name in this series? Ugh.)

What's your favorite flavor? Chocolate Pg. 102 “What flavor did you get?” “Chocolate. Duh.” (This is a stretch, but it did remind me of Help Wanted's final level in the main game, where you're asked to choose your favorite cake flavor. Although, they're discussing ice cream here.)

Maybe some insight into William's personality? Pg. 103 “You ever do that, Evan?” “What?” “Let off steam.” “Me? No. Steam is pretty much what keeps me going.” (Just more evidence that William is obsessed with his work. You could imply “steam” implies he runs like a machine, but that's stretching a bit.)

Pg. 113 -118 (Jake climbs out of his window to run off to play at the arcade with his friend. Obvious parallel to the child in Midnight Motorist, although it's daytime and no animatronics/fursuits luring him.) There is this, on Pg 121 also. Jake says, “We played all the racing games. I love racing games.”

PURPLE Pg 121 “...did you get a slushie at the arcade? I got one. I got grape. It turned my tongue purple.” “My tongue's purple, too!” “Purple power!” (Uh, do I really need to explain this? I should note that Evan is the one mentioning “grape”. I guess William likes grape flavor and purple.)

'Michael' is mentioned. Sort of a stand in for Michael Afton, but it should be noted that Michael and Evan are brothers in this universe. Pg 126, 127 “Michael...lived in Europe for a few years...” “Michael's a serious dude. He's, well, a little different. He's intense about making money...the way he is about it... can make him seem like he's not human.” “So, he's like a cyborg with bad programming?” Michael has some dialogue: “You must excersize caution. You could get chocolate on my suit, and that would be bad. Very, very bad.” (The very very bad thing is a running joke in the family, which is why this comes up. I don't have a lot to say about it, though. I think Michael [Afton] being obsessed with money seems a bit counter intuitive to how we know him, but who knows? I also want to note that Evan doesn't seem antagonistic towards Michael; in fact, he “hate[s] to ask him for favors”.)

Also, Pg 141 “His [Michael's] flat, gruff voice was unmistakable.” Michael is also the first one to hear his father is dead and informs Margie about it. “I have been notified that Evan's dead.” Pg 142 “She had only met Michael the one time, and she knew the way he processed the world was very different from what was “normal”” Michael also states to Margie: “I've got Evan's will... you're Jake's guardian and he left you the house and some savings. I'm the executor.” Margie also says: “He[Michael]'s a numbers genius, manages money for the wealthy people and has made a killing doing it.” “He's not a bad guy. He just doesn't know how to connect. He doesn't feel the way we do.” (Just more Michael characterization.)

Direct FNAF 4 easter egg references: Pg 128 “...the IV stand lurking in the corner of the room” Pg 129 “...and the line of perscription medication bottles marching across the top of the chest of drawers”

Margie is more than a nanny and possibly in love with Evan: Pg. 139 “She'd come to love Evan, too... like a brother.” Pg 140 “...she was included in the outings, movie nights, game nights, and storytelling time...” Pg 149 “...she wanted Evan to be more than just a boss, and being in his room when he was gone made her feel like a lovelorn stalker.” “Love him like a brother... She snorted. Boy, had she been lying to herself.” Pg 158 “What she was feeling called for a screaming fit or a total mental breakdown.” (Yeah, this is just me reading too much into this for Willry content, haha... But still. I am determined that Margie is a Henry stand-in.)

'I will put you back together' Pg 140 “I'm trying to bring you home whole.” (Evan is discussing “no man left behind” with his son, Jake. I think this is obvious.)

William's home office? Pg. 149 “When he was home, she'd go in and vacuum or put away laundry... ...when he was gone...coming in here felt like an invasion of privacy.” “Evan's room would be her room.” “...I'd feel like I was sleeping in your bed, she thought.” “...the room felt discretely masculine.” “The walls were covered in family photos.” “The shelves were stuffed with fiction... mysteries to classics, nonfiction... how-to books...from rebuilding a car engine to planting a garden.”

FNAF 4 reference. Pg 152 “Outside, a dog barked.” (You can hear a dog barking as ambient noise during nights when playing FNAF 4.)

Other notes:

It happens a lot, but one of the main things in the book is the doll Simon and how Jake talks to it. This is very blatantly a reference to the Golden Freddy Plush (“Psychic Friend Fredbear”). The story confirms it's Jake's father, Evan, talking through it. Although it makes the one scene in FNAF 4 a little wonky (the only scene where we see Purple Guy), I think it's pretty much confirmed that it's William talking to CC now. Obviously, we already suspected this due to Sister Location's “Secret Room”. In this story, Evan says he did it because he wanted to give Jake some hope he would live. Combined with both the IV/medicine bottle easter eggs (in the story and FNAF 4) I think it's plausible to assume that CC was taken home after the Bite of '83 for a period of time before he passed away. I will admit, also, that Evan definetly comes off as a very caring father (in comparison to how we presume William is based on what we've seen of him as a person; although I argued this before on this blog, I don't think William hates his kids. I think he's neglectful, moreso as the story goes on. I think he resents Michael for many reasons but I won't go into that here. I just don't think he's the abusive monster the fanbase interprets him to be—at least not early on.)

The cabinet reminds me a lot of the closets in the novel series. A built in shelf with a doll in it. A doll that represents a child. Considering Margie tends to this doll (see Pg. 130-135), I have to draw more parallels between her and Henry.

The fan is mentioned A LOT. I don't really know why, but I guess we can't help but think of every single FNAF office when it's brought up. Specifically, on Pg. 106, Margie mentions the fan in her room is as loud as a jet engine and the sound made her nervous. Once again, I'm reminded of PizzaSim. Seriously, screw you fan.

The heat is mentioned a lot, too. I know the story takes place in summer, but this did remind me of Pizza Sim.

Pg. 93 “Margie sat down in the faded blue webbed lawn chair that was set up, for reasons she never understood, in front of the shelves by the stairs.” (I noted this because it's specifically called out and I don't know why.)

Margie talks about why she's working for Evan: Pg. 95 “I didn't get the internship I applied for.” I like to think her and Mia (from 1280) were after the same internship. (I may be misremembering, but I'm pretty sure Mia mentioned an internship at the hospital.)

Jake is mentioned to have brown hair, green eyes. His favorite color is green. He also wears green often. I couldn't find anything really interesting about it. It would make more sense as a Puppet reference, tbh (because of the green bracelet (and eyes? I may be remembering wrong) I guess it's also worth noting that Elizabeth has green eyes.

Pg 135 “Are you afraid people will think you're murdering me?” “...I could end you so quickly you'd never make a sound.” (Just an odd conversation between Jake and Margie. Margie is joking here, obviously.) Also, Pg. 136 “I just figured your [Jake's] wires got crossed or your circuits were frying.” (Admittedly, I don't know what to make of this. Could be a reference to Robot-CC, if you believe that or MikeBot [I don't], but more likely just ironic dialogue. It could also reference Jake's future in the Stichwraith?)

Pg 139 “Sometimes, Margie wished she was like one of the robots Jake liked so much.” (Although I can't really compare this to Henry, I did write William with this mindset and thought it was worth mentioning.)

Pg 141+ So, Evan dies overseas (he's a soldier). (I think this could be hinting that William has been springlocked around the time CC passes away. Jake has been home for some time after his diagnosis so we can infer based on that and the easter eggs that CC was brought home to die in peace. At the very least, William's probably very absent during this time. Possibly brought in for questioning but not arrested. I don't know. I feel like there's something to this.)

Pg 154 “Dave's at work.” (Why? Can we not use established names? Aghhh)

Pg 155 “The ambulance arrived at 11:32.” (I don't know why this is stated so outright. I couldn't find a reason, except that a few paragraphs earlier they say it will arrive by noon. I don't know why it's so specific, but I felt like noting it anyway.)

Pg 159 “Five people. Five sets of eyes. And none of them noticed...” (Yeah. We all know how important 5 is in FNAF.)

Three medical personel are mentioned. One at the end is named Nancy [No Last Name Given], but I like to think its a reference to Man in 1280 and we're dealing with Heracles Hospital once more, although it's never said in this story. Speaking of, the only thing that really stood out to me in 1280's story was that a billionare funded the restoration of the hospital. I like to headcanon that was Henry's doing—I imagine him obscessing over overcompensating for his mistakes by giving back in every way possible, even if it isn't directly related to him.

So, this post only took two hours of my life. I hope someone gets some use out of it, be it for my intended Willry purposes or maybe those Michael fans that are curious about it. If you enjoyed this post, let me know. I'd love to write up more of these if I have the time.

I have other write-ups on this blog, too. Just search fnaf theories on my blog page!

[zoawrites]

A Walk in the Park

Thanks for the prompt @severeearthquakebanana!

The result is absolute, teeth-rotting fluff and sweetness and I really enjoyed writing it!  🥰

Original Prompt: Rey and Ben are on a walk in a park and find something interesting (said thing can be any noun; person, place, or object)

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The evening was aglow with the soft, amber light of the sun as it sank beneath the horizon. In Rey’s opinion this was the perfect time to walk during spring. Not too warm yet but everything was blooming. Cherry trees blossomed along the sidewalk, as well as daffodils, tulips, and a rainbow of wildflowers. Grass greener than an Irish hill filled out the spaces between; it looked soft enough to wrap oneself in like a blanket. Oaks and maples spread out in the lawns beyond; scattered between the trees were benches and a play area for children which was emptying now as their parents guided them home for the night.

A cool breeze fluttered through the trees, lifting the stray hairs at the nape of her neck, and Rey tucked herself closer into the solid body walking at her side. Ben - who was very likely the love of her life - put his arm around her shoulders.

“Cold?” His deep voice reverberated pleasantly through Rey’s body. “I wish you’d worn a heavier jacket…”

“I don’t need one with you around,” she countered with a grin. “You’re all the warmth I need.”

“Funny from the girl who thought I was colder than a block of ice less than a year ago,” he retorted fondly.

“Time changes us all… Ben.” Rey stopped walking abruptly, gaze fixed on a furry ink blot trotting toward them. “Is that dog by itself?”

“Uh, yeah, looks like it. Rey, no…”

But Rey’s only thought was ‘Rey, yes,’ as she knelt down and called the dog to her in the sweetest, most unthreatening tone she could muster. The dog paused, head tilting one way, then the other, before cautiously moving forward. A cold, wet nose touched Rey’s outstretched fingers.

“That’s a good dog,” she crooned and was gratified to see the creature’s long, slightly curled tail start to wag and it stepped closer. “Oh, who’s a pretty doggie? She doesn’t have a collar.” Rey reported, glancing up at her grimacing boyfriend.

“How can you tell under all that fur?”

Indeed, the dog had a hot mess for a fur coat; tight, black curls which were matted in too many places to count. The fur on her head was smoother - more wavy than bouncy (the same as her tail) - but covered her eyes, which were revealed to be a gentle brown when Rey pushed aside the dark curtain over them. The dog blinked at her, batting the longest eyelashes Rey had ever seen on an animal and charming her completely.

“Ben…”

“We’re not taking it home.”

Rey turned her head up and glared at him. He gave a long-suffering sigh and Rey knew she’d won.

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The next day was spent first at the vet, where Rey had the poor dog checked out - she was fine; surprisingly healthy except for a few cuts that would heal easily with the help of some antibiotics and being thin from malnutrition - and a local groomer. No way was Rey going to leave the dog to suffer from the mats that tugged at her skin. She also splurged on a black and red leather collar… and a few toys…

And a dog bed.

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“Sweetheart, why’d you get a dog bed? We’re not keeping her.”

“She needs a comfortable place to sleep, Ben, since you won’t let her on our bed.”

“She was dirty!”

“Why can’t we keep her?” Rey bounced back to the original statement, scowling at him from her place on the couch. Beside her was the dog, lounging happily against Rey’s thigh with a rope toy in her mouth. Her new haircut made her look like a fluffy black teddy bear and Rey couldn’t have been more in love.

Ben waved an arm aimlessly. “Somebody might be looking for her. What about a chip?”

“The vet checked. She doesn’t have one. I think they left her, Ben,” Rey murmured sadly, stroking the dog’s long nose. “They just… left her.”

Suddenly Ben was on the couch at Rey’s free side and pressed his lips to her temple. “You don’t know that for sure,” he said gently.

Rey did know, she knew it in her bones. Because she’d been left, too.

“Let’s put up some flyers around the park,” Ben suggested. “If we don’t hear anything after a couple of weeks…”

“She’s mine.”

A soft laugh brought Rey’s attention back to Ben. He was smiling at her in a way that brought butterflies to her stomach. “Yeah,” he nodded. “She’s yours.”

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Rey counted the days after putting the first flyers up with a picture of the dog as they’d found her. Ben’s idea; he reasoned her owners might not recognize her with one of the five thousand new photos Rey had taken since the dog had gotten groomed.

So Rey waited, anxiously jumping if either her or Ben’s cell phone rang.

But two weeks passed and no one called to claim the poor dog, who Rey had deciphered was a poodle mix. Smart and clever, but friendlier than any other dog Rey had the pleasure to meet.

On the fifteenth day, Rey officially attached the dog’s new tag on the leather collar. Magpie. Because she was dark as a raven, but insisted on stealing Ben’s socks and hoarding them under the bed.

Or pooping them out, much to his dismay.

As sixteen, then twenty, then thirty days passed by, Rey forgot what life was like before Magpie’s appearance in it. Ben didn’t seem as enthusiastic about having a dog, but he didn’t make anymore arguments against keeping her, most likely knowing full well Rey would battle fiercely for her. And so the dog became a fixture in Rey and Ben’s life, despite Ben’s initial reluctance.

So much so, in fact, that she was a partner in a very special event Ben planned.

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Rey called for Magpie but for longest while the dog didn’t respond. Growing concerned, Rey sought her out, checking the kitchen, the bedroom, the living room, the kitchen again and finally back to the living room. On her third round about the house she heard the tell-tale soft padding of Magpie’s paws and turned with a relieved grin.

“Where have you been, silly girl?” she chastised gently. “I was starting to get worried.” Rey knelt to give the dog a scratch behind the ear, but her fingers brushed against something tied to her collar. Frowning, Rey tugged at the thing, which came loose easily, to find it was a small, black velvet box.

A soft noise behind her startled Rey so that she whipped around and gasped.

Ben was on one knee, a sheepish, nervous smile on his handsome face.

Eyes darting between the box and him, Rey understood suddenly what was happening.

Moments later, Magpie danced around the embracing couple, barking merrily as she tried to catch the light reflecting off Rey’s sparkling ring.

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Author’s Note: 

Magpie is inspired by my beloved goldendoodle, Maggie, who crossed the rainbow bridge a little over a year ago. I’ve been meaning to write her into a story and she decided to appear in this one. I hope y’all enjoyed it! ❤️