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restapesta · 3 years

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them playing truth or dare

Tami had been the one to suggest it.

Ian found it weird that everybody just went along, minds still sane and all, eager to comply and play as if they weren't all full-blown adults with marriages and children; but a few beers in—sans Lip who was sporting a Diet Coke—maybe it shouldn't have been that big of a surprise; the kids were otherwise occupied, Liam was at a sleepover, the Gallagher house was free for them, and them only.

Maybe Ian shouldn't have balked at his husband who had enthusiastically said yes! to playing truth or dare, as if they were all a bunch of teenage girls, begging for their crushes to be revealed. Ian watched Mickey from the corner of his eye as he took a shot of vodka that had been haphazardly lying on the table for communal use—great, Ian would be getting drunk Mick tonight. They'd probably have to crash at the house. Even Ian had a beer to drink and he got hammered pretty fucking quick.

"Okay," Tami said loudly, shushing the small crowd of people who were sitting all around the living room, speaking in a frenzy, voices mushing in together so it wasn't even conversation, just fucking loud and incoherent. Her hair was clinging wildly to her sweaty forehead, strands flying around as if electrocuted, and Ian realized this was the first time after her second pregnancy she was able to really get drunk. He applauded her for it, hoping she was having a great fucking time. Over a year of abstinence and he'd go fucking crazy, probably.

Ian couldn't help but guiltily look at his brother from the corner of his eye as if he'd been able to read his thoughts. He only looked away once Mickey elbowed him, whispering lowly how Ian should probably slow down with the drinks. Wouldn't want you to faint in ten fucking minutes and need me to drag you back home, said the man that was drunk off his ass.

Even inebriated he worried.

"Hey!" Tami shouted until all eyes went to her and the voices drowned out, dissipating into murmurs, one of them being Ian telling his husband that, it was so cute you're worrying about me, earning himself a middle finger in the face. She continued, seemingly pleased with herself for shutting a bunch of Gallaghers up, a feat not easily accomplished (what she didn't know was that everybody was still talking, just discreetly enough for her to not hear).

"Since I was the one who came up with the idea," She said proudly as if playing truth or dare was the smartest, coolest idea ever. "I think I should have the honors of starting."

Lip snorted beside her, a small smile playing on his lips. "You're drunk but okay." His head was shaved off completely, prompted by lice Fred had brought back home from day-care.

They were both sitting on two cushions on the floor, leaving Debbie on the sofa near the door, and Carl on the couch next to Ian and Mickey. His Coke can was so close to his leg, just begging to be spilled. Ian fought the urge to tell him to just move it to the side, but well, everybody else was practically drunk, so it didn't seem too fair. He was forced to endure a bunch of assholes while sober; the least they could do was offer him more Cokes and leave him to ruin his stomach in peace while they all ruined their livers.

"Shush!" Tami swatted at him, a concentrated look on her face. "We're playing."

Lip raised his hands in surrender just as Ian turned to whisper into Mickey's ear, "This is gonna be a shit show."

It was Mickey's turn to shush Ian, swatting him gently on the arm, focus solely on Tami and her upcoming question. He looked genuinely interested in what Tami had to ask—maybe he was looking forward to some juicy questions. Ian thought she'd be the one to ask the blandest ones.

"We're playing," Mickey said once Ian leaned in again to tell him just that, and Ian just shook his head lightly, biting his lip to stop from smiling.

Tami moved her eyes from her boyfriend all the way to Debbie who was fucking around on her phone, typing away slowly. Ian knew she was paying attention, but he also knew that her new girlfriend and their "relationship problems" probably exceeded the game right now.

"You ready, Debbie?" She asked, eyes dropping in sympathy. "This first one's for you. You said you needed to get your mind off of things."

Debbie lifted her eyes from her phone, eyebrows going up, biting her lip. She shut the screen off and crossed her legs, nodding to herself. "Shoot."

"Okay, so—"

"—What’s the most embarrassing thing that turns you on?"

Lip groaned along with Ian at the question. It didn't matter if they all knew everything and anything about each other's sex lives—Debbie talked about hers in a way that not even Ian and Mickey do. So Ian just squirmed in his seat, grimacing and then shooting a glare towards his husband who snickered at his facial expression, and they all sat and waited for their sister to start talking about sex as if they were begging to hear about it. Ian was mentally preparing for having his ears bleed.

"Hmm," She said. "Probably thighs."

They collectively blew out grateful breaths that she didn't feel the need to explain her answer. Ian still squirmed, because, well—why the fuck did he need to have that in common with his little sister?

"Carl," Debbie said, fiddling with her phone again. She probably got a new message she would need to send a ten-paragraph rant over. "What's the worst thing about sex, in your opinion?"

Ian eyed Carl beside him as he shrugged. "Not getting any."

It was Mickey who reached over Ian to clap him on the shoulder, grin wide on his face. He really was drunk. "Good answer, kid."

Ian turned to look at him, face scrunching in confusion. They literally had sex before they came over. "What are you talking about? You haven't spent a day in the past, like, four years not get any."

Mickey shrugged, sipping on his beer. "There were times I wasn't gettin' any."

Ian rolled his eyes. He knew Mickey inside, out—that man always got some, whether it be with Ian or without. So he asked, "When?"

Mickey looked at him, eyes clearer than before, still drunk but sober enough to answer Ian's question earnestly.

He cleared his throat, then sucked on his teeth when he saw Ian really was looking for an answer.

When the fuck did Mickey ever do celibacy shit?

"Look, man," He said. "sex," He annunciated the word. "isn't really the same when it's not with the person you want it to be with. It's weird and mechanical, and knowing what sex you could be having instead of the robotic fucking makes you hate it." He looked over at Carl. "I get what you mean by not getting any because I hadn't seen Ian for two fucking years before prison, and most of that time I just thought I'd have miserable, loveless sex for the rest of my life, so," He shrugged, again, settling back into the cushions. "Not getting any isn't just not having sex. It's not having sex with the only person you want to have sex with because you'll never see them again for the rest of your life."

"So," Lip started, a teasing air around his words. "Pointless fucking equals not getting any, and lovemaking with Ian here equals you bitches are soulmates?"

Mickey snorted. "Yeah, fuck you."

He then, probably noting how Ian was staring at him, completely flabbergasted, met Ian's eyes.

There was a second of them just staring at one another, Mickey's eyes quickly going up and down Ian's form in the most loving/sexual way, before he averted them to Carl again. "Come on, man, who's next?"

Carl grinned wickedly. "Ian,"

"Yeah?" He finally forced himself to stop staring at Mickey who was now placing his hand soothingly over his thigh, silently saying, You know what I meant. I know you know what I meant.

Carl's question was quick.

"Do you believe you and Mickey are soulmates?"

Ian's right eyebrow went up—he'd been practicing after a heated discussion with Mickey at three am on a Wednesday about who had better eyebrows. He was a sore loser.

"What kind of question is that?"

"Well," Carl said. "You've just broken up more number of times than I've had girlfriends—"

"We've always come back to each other," He interrupted, tone defensive; slightly frustrated. Mickey's hand squeezed, warm through the fabric of Ian's sweats.

"Yeah, but—"

"There's no question about it, Carl. If there's anybody in this world that's literally meant for me, it's Mickey. I've loved him since the very first day I met him, and I'll love him until the day I die." He meant it with every bone in his body and he just wished somebody would put it in question again, after all they had been through. Wasn't that proof fucking enough that if there's anybody in this world Ian loves more than Mickey, it's Mickey loving Ian back?

"That answer' your question?" He asked, chin jutting out.

His hands went up in surrender as he lowly whistled. "Got it, chief."

"Yeah, Ian," Tami said, eyes rolling animatedly. "We get it—you love each other most in the world, blah, blah, barf."

Mickey choked out a laugh. "Come on, Red," He said, looking again towards Ian, gaze soft. "Next question."

So they played on.

#gallavich #ian gallagher #mickey milkovich #shameless us #fan fic #*ficlet #this was supposed to be longer but i decided to cut it off here because i felt like adding to it would make it drag #first thing i've written in a month #had no school today so i just spent seven fucking hours studying #pleaseeee recommend some good fucking fics in my inbox. i need some shit to read tonight. tyyyyyyy #ficlet #emina answers

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collapse-and-comfort · 3 years

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Love your blog! Can I ask for a sick fic with some comfort? The whumpee ignoring symptoms and pushing on until they collapse. So the caretaker carries them to bed, and looks after the whumpee the next few days. The whumpee is weak and scared because they’ve never been that badly sick. But they don’t want to go to hospital (maybe bad experiences before).

🌡🤒🌡Thank you so much!!! Sorry this took so long. It just kind of kept going and ended up being a little over 4K words! I hope you enjoy! (I'm going to tag @lurkingwhump because I know you were interested in a story like this! I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention @i-write-whump because her prompts were constantly on my mind while I was writing this.) 🌡🤒🌡

Whumpee watched their interviewee’s retreating back. They’d been less a lead and more an aggravation. The beat of an eighties pop song made their headache (and their mood) worse and they closed their eyes and pinched the bridge of their nose.

“You good?”

“Yeah,” Whumpee said as they tapped a thumb on the table and tried to ignore the growing ache in their throat. “Let’s go.”

They walked back to Whumpee’s apartment to review information. It amounted to tirespinning and tail chasing. The longer the evening went, the more difficult it became for Whumpee to concentrate. They tossed a file onto their coffee table with the rest of the information they were pouring over. They leaned back on their couch and closed their eyes. No matter how they tried to will their headache away, it continued to compound itself. An ache and a chill were working their way into Whumpee’s body. They didn’t need to look at Caretaker to know they were watching them with questions on their tongue and concern in their eyes.

“Getting late,” Caretaker said.

“Late” was several hours ago.

“Mmhhm,” Whumpee said without opening their eyes. They weren’t taking the bait. “You’d better get going. We’ve got an early start tomorrow.”

“Right,” Caretaker said with a dubious quirk in their brow. They left, but they gave Whumpee ample time to reconsider, to tell them they needed a break, or help. Or something.

Whumpee sat on their couch in silence as the chill in their body intensified. They refused to believe they were getting sick. Allergies, exhaustion. Had to be. They couldn’t even remember the last time they were ill. Whumpee groaned as they heaved themself up. The room spun and they closed their eyes until the dizziness passed. A string of expletives played in their head as they found their way down the hall and into the restroom.

They dry swallowed some pills that had likely exceeded their expiration date and they avoided catching sight of the flushed, hollow-eyed specter they would see if they looked in the mirror.

They didn’t bother struggling out of their clothes before curling up beneath their covers and dropping into a fitful sleep.

Whumpee woke to someone banging - no, just insistent, undemanding knocking the way their partner always did - on their door. They pawed at their nightstand in search of their phone, but it was nowhere to be found. They peeled their eyes open and wondered how long Caretaker had been knocking. They disentangled themself from their covers and slowly rolled their way off the mattress.

Too hot, they thought as they willed themself, one foot after the other, to make the distance from their room to their door.

When they opened up, Caretaker stepped in with a coffee in each hand. Their affable expression faltered when they looked at Whumpee. If Caretaker noticed Whumpee was wearing the same clothes they’d been dressed in the previous evening - and of course they did - they didn’t mention it.

“Shit,” Caretaker said as they handed Whumpee a cup. “Guess I should have brought you tea instead, huh?”

“As long as it had sugar in it,” Whumpee said before clearing their throat and grimacing at the sensation and the way their voice rasped. “Just give me a minute.”

---

“We can pass this off,” Caretaker suggested by mid-morning. They could. They knew several of their teammates were dying to sink their teeth into this case and there was no harm in letting them.

They watched as Whumpee rested their head against the passenger side window. Whumpee didn’t respond, but Caretaker knew what they would say. They couldn’t put this on hold; they had to finish it. Besides, I’m fine.

“Right,” Caretaker said. They felt as though that one, marginally passive aggressive word, was becoming their personal mantra. They couldn’t make Whumpee do something they didn’t want to do, and while they’d never seen Whumpee with so much as a sniffle, they knew Whumpee would run themself into the ground regardless of whether or not they had a job to do.

God forbid you take care of yourself, Caretaker thought.

The day wore on like that. Caretaker doubted the small measures Whumpee was taking to make themself less miserable - resting or rubbing their eyes, pulling their coat tighter around themself - were cries for help. Each time they asked Whumpee if they were okay, they were rewarded with a glare or a surly shrug.

The evening found them back in Whumpee’s apartment. Caretaker had grown genuinely worried about Whumpee. They watched as Whumpee stared at the same paper they’d been holding for the past ten minutes. They shut their eyes and slouched forward in their chair before closing their eyes. Caretaker frowned at the way Whumpee’s jaws were clenched, the way their shoulders were bunched, and the way their face was flushed. Whumpee’s clothes looked rumpled and uncomfortable. Not exactly surprising since they were the same ones they’d been wearing the previous day.

“You’re half asleep, Whumpee. Why don’t you at least change into some fresh clothing?”

They expected a brusque reply, but Whumpee put down the paper and nodded without looking at Caretaker. That set off warning bells.

Whumpee used the coffee table to steady themself as they rose and Caretaker reached out to help when they saw how badly Whumpee’s arms were shaking.

“I’m fine,” Whumpee muttered as they stood to their full height.

“Bullshit,” Caretaker said as they stood too. They’d spent the entire day watching Whumpee suffer needlessly and they’d had enough. “You can’t keep pushing yourself.”

Caretaker waited for Whumpee to tell them how they’d be better in the morning, or they’re just tired, or...

Whumpee swayed on their feet and their eyes rolled back before their knees buckled and dropped to the floor with jarring force. Caretaker swore as they quickly closed the distance between them and caught Whumpee’s upper body before they could fall the rest of the way. Whumpee let out a distant-sounding moan as their forehead rolled on Caretaker’s shoulder. As Caretaker held Whumpee’s chest against their own, they were shocked at the heat rolling off of Whumpee.

How the hell did Whumpee let themself get this bad?!

Caretaker didn’t berate Whumpee for neglecting themself. Rather, they gathered Whumpee in their arms. There was a flash of confusion, then annoyance on Whumpee’s face. Caretaker pretended they didn’t see the latter emotion.

“Just gonna get you to bed,” they said.

Then possibly to the hospital, they added in their head.

Whumpee didn’t put up a fight as Caretaker carried them back the hall and to their room. Caretaker angled themself so as not to run Whumpee’s head into a wall or door frame. They were unsurprised to find that Whumpee had left their covers a tangled mess. They set Whumpee down and helped them into a seated position while they straightened the covers as best they could. Caretaker circled back around to where Whumpee sat and all the aggravation they’d felt at Whumpee for not taking better care of themself fled them completely.

Whumpee’s arms hung at their sides, their mouth was part way open and their eyes were glassy. Without worrying about Whumpee’s sensibilities, Caretaker put their palm on Whumpee’s forehead.

“You’re burning up, Whumpee,” they said. That Whumpee was running a fever was far from surprising, but the sickly heat that was coming off of them was no less worrying to feel. “Jesus, how long have you been sick?”

“Few days,” Whumpee said. They looked up at Caretaker with wounded pride and they tried to pull away when Caretaker cupped their neck with their hands.

“Sshh,” Caretaker said as they gently pressed their fingers against Whumpee’s throat. They winced at how swollen Whumpee’s glands felt beneath their fingertips.

They frowned and idly swept a damp lock of hair from Whumpee’s forehead and decided what to do.

“Okay,” they said. “Is there anything we need to bring with us to the hospital?”

Whatever indignation and bravado were left in Whumpee disappeared. Whumpee’s eyes went a little wider and they shrank back from Caretaker as they drew in several sharp breaths as they shook their head.

“No. No hospitals.”

“Whumpee, you passed out and you’re running a high fever. I really-”

“No!”

Whumpee tried to stand, but Caretaker stopped them before they could land on the floor again. Caretaker put one hand on Whumpee’s shoulder and held onto one of Whumpee’s arms, trying to hold them as steadily and as gently as possible.

“Woah, woah, woah,” Caretaker said. They kept their voice low as Whumpee landed back on the bed and began to struggle. “Easy, Whumpee. Hey, it’s okay. Calm down. It’s okay. Hey, hey, look at me.”

Whumpee’s energy flagged and finally, their wary, fever-bright eyes found Caretaker’s.

“That’s it, Whumpee.”

Caretaker knew Whumpee had a thing about hospitals, but they never would have guessed it was this bad. Had their fever amplified that fear, or had it simply laid it bare?

“No hospitals.”

Caretaker sighed and nodded. It wasn’t going to do either of them any good to drag Whumpee, half out of their mind with a fever, into an emergency room. Maybe they could talk Whumpee into it if it came to that. Or maybe they’d call an ambulance. Caretaker let go of Whumpee’s arm and rubbed their shoulder. Their heart went out to Whumpee when they felt their breathing hitch beneath their palm.

“Okay,” Caretaker conceded. “No hospitals. But we have to get your temperature down. Where do you keep your thermometer?

“I’ve never been this sick before,” Whumpee said. Their voice was thick and apologetic as they dropped their gaze.

No thermometer, then, Caretaker concluded as they alternated between rubbing and patting Whumpee’s shoulder.

“Okay, what about some Tylenol?”

Whumpee paused and thought about it.

“Above the bathroom sink.”

Caretaker located the bottle. Empty. They sighed, discarded it, and moved to the kitchen. They rummaged through Whumpee’s fridge, but settled on taking them a glass of water. Whumpee sat where they left them.

“I want you to drink some of this,” they said as they pressed the glass into Whumpee’s hands. “I’m going to go pick up a few things, okay?”

Whumpee looked from the glass and back up to Caretaker. They nodded and took several sips of water before setting the glass on their nightstand. Caretaker took note of the way they winced each time they swallowed.

““Do you think you’d be more comfortable in different clothing?”

Whumpee gave them a tired mmhmm and tried to lift themself again.

“I got it,” Caretaker said as they put up a staying hand. “Let me help.”

Whumpee directed them to the bottom drawer of their dresser. Caretaker selected a pair of black athletic shorts and an overly large gray tee shirt. Whumpee didn’t protest when Caretaker helped them out of their old clothes and into the new ones. Whatever energy Whumpee had was depleted and they allowed themself to be helped down to the mattress without complaint. They used one arm to unevenly pull their covers back over themself. Caretaker refrained from helping them pull the covers more completely over them.

They didn’t want to leave Whumpee like this for any amount of time, but if they were going to help them, they needed to. Caretaker fetched Whumpee’s cell phone from the living room and put it on the nightstand next to the water.

“I’ll be back soon, but if you need anything, just call.”

All told, it took them about a half an hour for them to visit a drug store and a convenience store - both within walking distance - to gather what they needed and return. They organized everything on the counter, then took the immediate essentials to Whumpee’s room.

Whumpee was asleep beneath their covers and the water sat, untouched, on the nightstand. Caretaker regretted that they needed to wake them up. They put a hand on Whumpee’s forehead - still far too warm - then patted their cheek.

“Hey, Whumpee,” they said. “I need you to wake up for a minute, okay?”

“Mmm?” Whumpee mumbled as they looked up at Caretaker with bleary, half-lidded eyes.

“Just gonna get your temperature,” they said as they held up the oral thermometer they’d bought.

Whumpee frowned.

“It’s clean,” Caretaker said, though they doubted that was Whumpee’s objection. They leaned down and put the tip of the thermometer to Whumpee’s lips. “C’mon.”

Thankfully, Whumpee did as they were asked.

“Keep it under your tongue,” Caretaker told them, letting memories of their mother be their guide.

Whumpee kept their eyes closed while the thermometer worked, but they opened them again when the beepbeepbeep sounded. They reached for the offending instrument, but Caretaker halted them.

“Just leave it for a sec,” they said. Part of them didn’t want to see the reading, didn’t want the numbers to force their hand with Whumpee’s care.

They removed the thermometer and turned it so they could see the segmented, digital numbers.

“One-oh-three point nine,” Caretaker said, frowning at the thermometer as though it were to blame.

Not great, Caretaker thought, though they knew it could be worse. They tried to remember if they’d seen Whumpee eat anything the past couple of days. They picked up the new bottle of Tylenol, but paused when they saw Whumpee’s face. Whumpee’s jaw clenched as they clumsily wiped a tear away, They crouched down at Whumpee’s side - the pills rattled as they did so - and they put a hand on Whumpee’s arm.

Caretaker cursed themself for not stepping in earlier, for not seeing just how sick Whumpee was, for not making Whumpee take better care of themself. The latter was easier said than done, of course, but now it seemed the confirmation that they were sick was too much for Whumpee to bear.

“Okay,” they said, speaking more gently than they could ever remember speaking to Whumpee. Overt tenderness, or any other sort of tenderness for that matter, had never been a part of their dynamic. Whumpee let themself sniffle and that led to a coughing fit. Caretaker seated themself on the mattress next to Whumpee and patted their back as they waited for the coughing to pass. “It’s okay. I know this sucks. We’ve gotta work on getting your temp down, though, so I want you to take these pills.”

Caretaker helped them lean up and take the pills.

“You need to drink more, too,” Caretaker said, careful not to sound like they were scolding them. They wondered how much longer Whumpee would have let themself go without some sort of aid. A niggling thought worked its way into Caretaker’s mind. There was the very real possibility Whumpee had never had anyone to care for them in this way.

Caretaker gave Whumpee’s forearm a squeeze and then stood.

“Be right back,” they said.

They returned with a cool, damp washcloth. Caretaker swept Whumpee’s hair back and put the cloth on their forehead.

“Cold,” they murmured without opening their eyes.

“I know,” Caretaker said as they sat down on the edge of the bed. “Just don’t want your brain to get cooked.”

Whumpee hummed in agreement and laid still. Their breathing evened out and Caretaker removed the cloth when it had taken on as much of Whumpee’s body heat as it could. Whumpee didn’t stir while Caretaker repeated the process several times.

Once they were sure Whumpee was resting soundly enough, Caretaker went about the business turning their case over to other, equally competent hands. They didn’t look forward to telling Whumpee, but they’d cross that bridge when they had to.

When Caretaker returned to Whumpee’s room, Whumpee was curled on their side. Their mouth was open and their breathing was deep. Caretaker risked placing the back of their hand on Whumpee’s forehead. Still warm, but it was better.

All was quiet until just after one in the morning. Whumpee stirred and Caretaker sat upright in the recliner in the corner of the room. Whumpee rolled onto their back and pawed at the covers.

“Hey,” Caretaker said as they walked over to the side of the bed. They put a hand on Whumpee’s shoulder and shook it a little bit. “You good, Whumpee?”

Whumpee’s eyes slid open and settled on Caretaker. It took a moment, but Caretaker could see the memory of the evening return to them.

“Too warm,” they rasped.

“Fever’s breaking,” Caretaker said with a nod as they helped Whumpee off with the covers. To Whumpee’s chagrin, Caretaker got their temp again, though that time it was a much more agreeable ninety-nine point eight.

“Don’t have to stay,” Whumpee mumbled as they rubbed a hand over their face.

Yes I do, Caretaker thought.

“It’s no problem,” they said with a shrug. “Besides, I know your WiFi password. Can I get you anything?”

Whumpee swallowed and grimaced as though there was a bad taste in their mouth.

“Drink?”

Caretaker brought them ginger ale, more pills and chapstick. Whumpee was quick to fall back to sleep after that.

Whumpee’s fever spiked again in the morning, though it was nowhere near as harrowing. What worried Caretaker was how pliant Whumpee had become. Just more evidence of how run down they’d let themself get.

After they took a shower, Whumpee set up camp in the living room and Caretaker took the opportunity to change the bedclothes. It was a small thing, but sometimes those provided the most comfort. Caretaker knew they were well on their way to becoming a mother hen, but they couldn’t quite bring themself to care.

Caretaker waited for the inevitable questions about work, but they never came. Caretaker wondered if Whumpee already knew what they’d done. The day wore on and Whumpee alternated between dozing and trying to watch whatever brainless actioner Caretaker opted to play. Their blanket was on. Their blanket was off.

Caretaker intermittently cleared away tissues when they began to accumulate around Whumpee. Caretaker plied them with a steady stream of drinks (Tea with honey seemed most effective.), and in the early evening, despite their declaration that they weren’t hungry, Whumpee managed to eat some soup. Caretaker extended a hand to take the dishes away when Whumpee was done. Whumpee started to say something, but their words fell off and they looked down at their lap when Caretaker took the dishes from them.

Caretaker wanted to reassure them, but they knew whatever they said in that moment would sound useless and patronizing to Whumpee. Maybe the best thing they could do was give Whumpee some alone time. At least for as long as it took Caretaker to pick up some things from their own place.

When Caretaker got back Whumpee was ready for bed. Caretaker regarded them. Their cheeks were flushed again and their eyes were glassy. Caretaker asked them the same questions they’d been asking them all day. How’s your throat? You okay? Do you need anything?

“I’m just tired,” Whumpee said as they started off with shuffling steps towards their room.

“Okay.” Caretaker calculated the time they’d remind Whumpee to take more pills like the world’s most proactive medi-minder. They chewed their lip as they watched Whumpee go. They hoped they got some rest. “Let me know if you need anything.”

That night, Caretaker dozed in the couch, but a single whimper from Whumpee’s room woke them. They crossed the room and fumbled for the lamp’s switch. The golden light revealed Whumpee, sweating and tangled in their covers. Their eyes were dazed and frightful; their mouth opened and they let out a pathetic groan as they pulled themself toward the edge of the bed.

“Whumpee,” Caretaker said as they put a hand on Whumpee’s shoulder; they were looking at them, but they weren’t seeing them. “Hey, Whumpee.”

“Nonono,” Whumpee said. Their voice was far off, but it sounded no less distressed. “Stop Don't Please. It Hurts. N-”

Whumpee came awake and they panted as they braced themself on their elbows. They recoiled from Caretaker’s touch with a whimper and their feet worked at kicking their covers away.

“It’s okay, Whumpee,” Caretaker said. “Ssh. You’re safe. I promise you’re safe, Whumpee.”

They risked putting a hand back on Whumpee’s shoulder. They reminded themself to stay calm for Whumpee’s sake. A sob escaped Whumpee as they fell onto their side, breathing hard. Their feet stil moved ineffectually under the covers.

Caretaker pulled the blankets off of Whumpee and they stopped trying to escape whatever was hunting them. Caretaker grabbed the thermometer and the tissue box before sitting down next to Whumpee and began rubbing the curve of their shoulder.

“It’s okay,” they repeated. “Shshsh. Just a bad dream.”

Was it, though? How dramatically had their fever spiked?

After a bout of coughing, Caretaker offered Whumpee a tissue. Whumpee blew their nose before Caretaker tried to get them to take the thermometer in their mouth. Whumpee turned their face away and pursed their lips. Caretaker might have found humor in the sheer petulence of the gesture had Whumpee not looked so scared.

“C’mon, Whumpee. I’ve gotta see your temp.”

“No,” Whumpee said as they reached with a weak hand, trying to bat away the thermometer.

Caretaker caught Whumpee’s clammy hand and lowered it to the bed.

“I’ve gotta know how bad it is, Whumpee. It’ll just take a minute.”

“Don’t…” Whumpee said as they looked at Caretaker with unfocused eyes. “Don’t take me to the hospital. I can’t be there.”

“I’m just-”

“I can’t.”

Caretaker took a breath. They couldn’t let Whumpee work themself into a lather.

“You’re just coming out of a nightmare, Whumpee. Just give things a minute to make sense.”

“I-”

Whumpee cut themself off; Caretaker hadn’t said whatever they’d expected to hear.

“Just focus on me for a minute. Can you try to do that?”

They nodded, blinked and looked at Caretaker as though they were actually seeing them. Silence fell between them. Whumpee took a deep breath and rested their head back on their pillow and stared at the opposite wall.

“Okay,” they said finally. They allowed Caretaker to place the thermometer under their tongue. It seemed to take an eternity for the thermometer to beep. Caretaker took it back and before looking at it, they prayed to whoever or whatever might be listening that they didn't have to get Whumpee to a hospital.

“One-oh-two point six,” Caretaker said with relief. “That's not so bad. Just a bad dream that did a number on you.”

The lines of Whumpee’s face relaxed and they rested on the pillow, but some sort of melancholy had taken the place of Whumpee’s fear. It was an equally disheartening sight.

“Need anything?” Caretaker asked after they went through the routine they seemed to have established in nursing their friend.

“No.”

“Okay, ” Caretaker said. “Just let me know if you do.”

Caretaker stood and pulled a blanket back over Whumpee, who took its edge in their hand and pulled it to their chin.

“Wait,” Whumpee said when Caretaker turned.

Caretaker paused and looked back at Whumpee.

“Can you…” Whumpee looked at them, their eyes begging Caretaker to understand. “Can you stay?”

What had they dreamed that had them so rattled?

“Of course, ” they said. They settled back down next to Whumpee and swept Whumpee’s hair out of their face. “Whatever you need.”

Whumpee slept late the next morning and Caretaker took the time to tidy the apartment and ask for updates on the case. It had been solved.

When Whumpee came out into the living room, they made a beeline for their recliner. Though Caretaker was constantly present, they exchanged few words and Caretaker could tell Whumpee was putting effort into avoiding their gaze. The news that the case had been resolved seemed to do little to cheer them.

After cleaning the lunch mess, and doing dishes Caretaker sat on the side of the couch that was closest to Whumpee.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Whumpee said without taking their gaze off of the TV.

“It’s no problem.”

More silence. Whumpee dozed off and Caretaker channel surfed.

Caretaker chose a book from Whumpee’s shelf.

Caretaker read the same sentence five damn times before giving up and putting the book on the coffee table.

Whumpee jolted awake with a gasp. Their fingers dug into the armrests and their eyes darted over the room as though they’d woken up somewhere entirely foreign. They cursed and let out a harsh breath.

Caretaker guessed embarrassment, and not sickness, colored Whumpee’s cheeks.

“It’s fine,” Whumpee said before Caretaker could ask.

Whumpee stood, shakily at first, then walked to the kitchen. Caretaker knew any attempt to help them would be rebuffed, so they waited for Whumpee to stare into the refrigerator before they selected a bottle of water before moving back to their seat.

Whumpee sat and sipped.

Caretaker needed to address the elephant in the room. Or at least let Whumpee know the elephant could stay where it was.

“We don’t have to talk about it. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to,” Caretaker said. “But I hope you know you can if you need to.”

Whumpee’s fingers worried at the armrests.

“I do. I do know. I’m just not used to...” Whumpee’s voice was low but solemn as they gestured toward all the signs of care that had been taken on their behalf. “... to any of this.”

Caretaker wanted to pull them close and tell them how sorry they were to hear that, that they never needed to hesitate to ask for help. They didn’t know what they could possibly say to make it better. Instead, they flashed the easygoing smile that had been missing from their features for the past couple days.

“Well,” they said. “Get used to it.”

243 notes · View notes

desyeuxdeluna · 3 years

Text

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫-𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 → 𝐂.𝐒𝐂

Pairings: Non idol!Seungcheol x female!reader

Word Count: 5.3k

Warnings: Strict parents, mentions of Violence, gunshot, suicide.

Genre: Romeo and Juliet!AU, Angst.

Summary: “You never thought you would fall for your sworn enemy, you know this only happens in movies, and that was real life. But destiny had other plans for you.”

a/n: i have already posted this before, but i decided to repost it because the old one had a lot of errors and i wasn’t happy with it, anyways i hope you like this one better and please give me feedback i would love to heart what you guys think of it. enjoy. ♡

You looked at your reflection in the mirror and almost started crying, you felt pathetic, you never knew why your parents wanted you to get married so soon, you were still twenty-two years old, you had plenty of time to find the right husband for you, you were just starting your life, you don’t want to get married anytime soon.

A knock on the door brought your attention back, you took a deep breath and closed your eyes trying to prevent the tears from flowing down your cheeks. You allowed the person at the door to enter, you saw your brother, Jeonghan standing there when he saw you and smiled.

Jeonghan was the only person in your family that truly didn’t want you to suffer, he always protected you and made sure that none of your parents harmed you in any way even if it was by using their harsh words. You were thankful to have Jeonghan in your life, if it weren’t for him you wouldn’t have made it this far.

“Well look at you, don’t you look pretty?” Jeonghan said smiling, you smiled weakly back, he frowned and sighed. He saw right through you, he knew don’t want to do this, and he wishes he could help you. He took your hand in his and patted it. “Don’t worry, I’ll be there every step of the way, and besides, the boy downstairs is actually pretty nice. Trust me.” Jeonghan assured.

You trusted your brother, you looked at him for reassurance, when he smiled nodding, you sighed and linked your arms with his and went downstairs. You descended the stairs and saw your parents having the time of their life with your soon-to-be fiancé. You rolled your eyes mumbling,

“Why don’t they marry him instead.”

You and Jeonghan walked inside the living room and your parents’ attention turned to you, they smiled and the man turned around, once he saw you he smiled widely and stood up. He was handsome you had to give him that, and he didn’t look like the rest of the rich kids you know. He walked over to you and held out his hand, you were thinking he was going to shake your hand, but when you held out your hand, he placed a soft kiss on your knuckles.

“Nice to finally meet you, I’m Joshua.” the man said and you faked a smile. Now you understand why, he has good manners, no wonder why your parents and Jeonghan like him very much, he was a true gentleman.

“Likewise, I’m Y/N.” you said and he smiled and let go of your hand. You stood still waiting for your parents’ orders, not wanting to anger them, the last thing you wanted right now was being shouted at.

“Joshua offered to take you out on a date so you can get to know each other better, what do you say?” your father asked and you kept your hard gaze ahead of you.

“As you wish, father,” you answered and he smiled pleased with your answer.

“Very well then, off you go.” your father said, giving Joshua his approval.

You turned your head to look at Jeonghan who smiled reassuringly, you then turned your head to Joshua who held his arm out for you, you linked his arm with his silently and watched him smile.

“I will have her home by the time of her curfew.” Joshua promised and your parents smiled.

“Enjoy yourselves, kids! Have fun.” your mother said waving at you smiling widely.

You left the house and saw Joshua’s car parked in front of it, like the typical rich kids, he had a fancy car, he opened the door for you and you smiled and entered buckling your seatbelt, he closed the door and walked to his side and got in and buckled his seatbelt as well and started driving.

***

You sat in front of Joshua who was talking about his business, you didn’t care honestly, you were tired of the same topic being spoken by your father, and here you thought you were going to have fun. Joshua noticed how tensed and bored you were and blushed in embarrassment.

“I’m rambling and boring you, aren’t I?” he asked his voice small, and you felt bad, you shook your head smiling a little to assure him.

“No no, you aren’t I just zoned out, I tend to do this a lot, it happens and I don’t know how.” you lied smoothly and he smiled relieved, believing your lie.

His phone rang and he looked at it his eyes widening, he looked at you and excused himself to answer it throwing a bunch of apologies before going to answer it.

You looked around bored as hell, your eyes fell upon a boy who seemed to be around Jeonghan’s age, he was having a drink with a girl, and he looked as bored as you did with Joshua. His eyes met yours and he stared at you titling his head to the side before smiling.

You turned your head quickly and looked back at your glass. After a moment or so, you heard someone clearing their throat when you looked up you saw the boy you were looking at earlier standing in front of you.

“May I ask what a beautiful girl like you doing here all alone?” he asked and you raised your eyebrow at him, his bluntness surprising you.

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you this?” you asked and he let out a chuckle.

“Sassy? I like it. It’s not every day I meet a rich girl this way. But that’s not what I’m here for.” he said and sat in Joshua’s seat in front of you.

“Excuse me, but I don’t think I invited you to sit down,” you said looking around for Joshua who was taking too much to answer his phone.

“My name’s Choi Seungcheol, and I couldn’t help but notice how miserable you looked sitting with the guy you were sitting with earlier. I know because you have the same look I’m wearing sitting with the girl I came with. So, I say we ditch both of them. What do you say?” Seungcheol asked, you looked at him shocked but smiled teasingly.

“And what makes you think I will say yes?” you asked and he smiled back liking your confidence by every passing second.

“I don’t, but I promise I’m more fun than the rest of the rich kids,” he said winking.

You weren’t that naïve to leave with a boy you just met, you sat back and put on your hard gaze once more and simply gave him the answer to his offer.

“No.”

Seungcheol didn’t seem shocked by your answer and that’s what made you confused, he smiled and simply stood up and giving you one last smile and said before leaving.

“You’re going to be trapped for the rest of your life if you don’t stand up for yourself. Make your own rules, don’t follow them if you don’t like them, you don’t need anymore breaking, you’re already damaged.”

With that Seungcheol left and your eyes following him as he returned to his table once more, his words hitting you hard, was it that hard for you to cover how broken you were? Or did he really saw through you?

“I’m so sorry for being late, it was just my father,” Joshua said but you didn’t listen to him, Seungcheol’s words ringing in your ear loudly.

***

It’s been a week since your last date with Joshua and also meeting Seungcheol, you couldn’t get him or his words out of your head, it seemed like he saw right through you, was he that good at reading people or it was obvious that he heard your screams for help? Either way, you really wanted to meet him again. You googled his name and turns out that he was the son of the founder of Choi Enterprises. Your father’s biggest rival.

Cliché isn’t it? How you were bound to meet the son of the rival family, and it turns out that you were interested in one another. But that wasn’t going to stop you from meeting him again. You already had everything planned, you were going to ask your friend, Sojung to help you.

You put on your shoes and grabbed your phone and some cash to go and meet Sojung. Luckily your parents liked her enough to let you hang out with her but to be honest, you think it’s because they want Jeonghan to marry her, but that wouldn’t happen because Jeonghan already have a girlfriend and they loved each other so much.

You saw your mother looking at you with a raised eyebrow as she saw you getting ready to leave, “And where do you think you’re going?” your mother asked and you turned to her with a fake smile you replied,

“I’m meeting Sojung for lunch.”

Your mother looked at you sceptically before nodding letting you know that she was okay with it, you smiled and looked at Jeonghan and then at his car keys. He looked back at your mother making sure that she wasn’t looking then gave you a nod to take the car keys.

You quickly left the house and got in the car and drove away before anyone sees you driving your brother’s car. You heard your phone ding and you grabbed it and saw a message from Sojung telling you where you can find Seungcheol. You smiled and thanked her and drove to the location she sent.

***

You arrived in front of a bar, you shivered with excitement and took a deep breath before getting out of the car to enter the bar. Once you entered, your eyes wandered around the place with awe, it was the first time you ever went to a bar, so you were unfamiliar with the place. Your eyes fell upon Seungcheol who was sitting alone on a chair, you smiled and fixed your hair and walked over to him.

“Is this seat taken?” you asked, he turned around slowly but once he saw you he smiled his dimples decorating his cheeks causing your heart to almost melt, he took a sip of his beer.

“Looks like I was right from the beginning,” he said chuckling slowly causing you to get confused.

“Pardon?”

He shook his head with a smile and motioned for you to sit on the chair next to him. You both were silent for a few moments, you honestly didn’t know what to say and started wondering why you were here in the first place. Seungcheol noticed your small dilemma and decided to help you.

“You know, I didn’t quite catch your name,” he said and you looked at him with a smile grateful that he decided to cut the tension between the two of you.

“Oh, it’s Y/N, Yoon Y/N.” you answered and he laughed sarcastically.

“Silly fate, the daughter of my father’s sworn enemy sitting down with me right now. I assume you already know that we’re supposed to be enemies right?” he said and you smiled tilting your head to the side.

“I thought you make your own rules.” you said causing him to crack a smile in interest impressed by you.

“Using my own words against me, I’m genuinely impressed.” Seungcheol said causing you to smile, the barista returned and Seungcheol said, “A glass of wine for the lady please, you drink right?” he asked and you nodded.

The barista returned and handed you your glass, you smiled thanking him then turned to look at Seungcheol. You two talked back and forth and you felt yourself loosen up. Seungcheol was a really fun person to be around, and he was very interesting and not a stuck up like almost all of the rich kids were. He had a good heart, and you admired him and the way he was talking about what he loves making you feel warm inside.

He also asked you about your interests and you started talking about them enthusiastically happy that you found someone who found what you were doing fun, and interesting. You felt like you know each other for years, and you loved how comfortable you were with him. You were sitting with someone who understood how you felt, you relaxed knowing that you weren’t the only one miserable from the life you were born in.

It’s been two months since you met Seungcheol, and you started to date secretly, you loved him with all your heart and he loves you just as much, you couldn’t ignore your feelings towards each other, and he decided to ask you to be his girlfriend. He was there for you and always risked everything you ever dreamt of, he took care of you and was always there for you and made you happy.

The only one who knew you were dating is Jeonghan because he noticed how happy you became lately, and also he may or may not have caught you making out with Seungcheol on your bed. Although he was surprised seeing you with him and reminded you that neither of your family is going to accept your relationship. Nevertheless, he was really happy that you finally found happiness and he also became good friends with Seungcheol.

You sat at the dining table next to your brother, and across from your mother. You looked at your father and noticed that he was absolutely pissed, you didn’t know why but you could tell that it was from business.

“Jagi? Are you alright?” your mother asked and your father looked at her his eyes held fire and answered.

“No, Choi fell ill and now his son has taken control over the business, that boy made me lose my clients and goods!”

You bit your lip to stop yourself from smiling, you were proud that he proved everybody who doubted him and said that he wouldn’t make a good CEO and underestimated him. The biggest proof in front of you was how angry your father was.

“What? His son is now the CEO?” Jeonghan asked completely surprised, looking at you with confusion and you nodded, your small encounter going unnoticed by your parents.

“Yes, and looks like he isn’t as stupid as we thought, he knows what he is doing.” your father replied and you said absent-mindedly,

“He must be proud of himself.”

Your eyes widened and before you could take back what you said, you saw how all your family looked at you in utter shock at the words you have spoken. You panicked when you saw how your father was staring at you.

“I mean that he must be proud that he beat a good enterprise like yours? father, he can boast about how he is now keeping up with the Yoon Enterprises.” you explained trying to save yourself.

“I agree! But we can’t let him enjoy himself that much.” Jeonghan backed you up. You looked at your father who seemed to be convinced by your words.

“Aren’t you such a smart girl Y/N? You would make a good CEO.” your father praised and you smiled relieved.

“I learnt from the best, father,” you replied and continued eating your food.

You ate in silence for the rest of dinner, you were too scared to say anything stupid again and wouldn’t be able to get out of it easily. Your father suddenly spoke up,

“By the way, tomorrow night we’re meeting Joshua’s family,” your father announced and you looked at him blinking and internally groaned.

“What for?” You asked.

“Because tomorrow you will officially be engaged to Joshua.” your father replied and you dropped your fork.

You looked at Jeonghan who was looking at your father, you kept your mouth firmly shut. You silently stood up excusing yourself saying that you were going to sleep and went to your room. You paced around the room not knowing what to do. You couldn’t get married to Joshua, you already had a boyfriend whom you love very much. You grabbed your phone and sent Seungcheol a message telling him to meet you at your secret spot.

You knew he was going to be furious with the news, but you had no option, your father would never let you marry him. He was the same boy that your father was angry with not thirty minutes ago. You have an idea as to why he wanted you to marry Joshua faster, he wanted to be partners with Joshua’s father so they can take down Seungcheol’s enterprise.

When the clock hit eleven-thirty, you were already climbing down the tree planted in front of your window and descended it gracefully. When you were on your feet you quickly ran away from your house. You saw Seungcheol’s car parked at the end of the street, you ran faster towards it and when you reached it opened the door of the passenger seat.

“Let’s go,” you said and buckled your seatbelt looking back to make sure no one saw you running away. Seungcheol drove away quickly.

***

You sat in front of Seungcheol your head down as he paced back and forth in front of you in frustration and not thinking straight. You looked up at him to see he was gripping on his hair tightly. You just told him the news about you marrying Joshua and he wasn’t pleased.

“No way, you’re not going to marry him. No, over my dead body.” Seungcheol finally spoke up. You looked at him and sighed running a hand through your hair.

“It doesn’t work like that Cheol, I can’t just go to my father and tell him I don’t want to get married, he will kill me,” you said trying to think of another idea, Seungcheol sat on his knees in front of you and taking your hands in his.

“I can go to your father and tell him that I want to marry you, you know how much I love you, Y/N.” he said looking into your eyes and kissed your hands and you answered weakly.

“My father literally hates you.”

“I know, but I don’t care, you’re the only person that matters the most to me in life, I would drop everything just to be with you,” he said and kissed your lips lovingly. You put your hands on either side of his face and kissed him passionately.

You wanted nothing more than to be with him, but how can you do that? Your father was very strict and what he wanted he got. He didn’t care that he was sacrificing his daughter’s happiness for the sake of his business. And besides Joshua didn’t deserve this, he doesn’t deserve a wife whose heart was with another man. You considered him as your friend and you didn’t want to hurt him. You pulled away from Seungcheol and rested his forehead against yours.

“I just want to ask you to run away with me, but I don’t think you would want that,” he said and you closed your eyes.

He was right, you couldn’t just drop everything and run away with him, even if the idea sounded so nice and tempting, but you can’t just go and leave everything behind, you couldn’t leave Jeonghan behind, he was the only one who supported you and you didn’t want to disappoint him or put him in front of your parents and be their punching bag.

“I’m so sorry Cheol, you know I would if I could. But I can’t leave everything behind, I can’t leave Jeonghan alone.” you said and he nodded understanding your point. “But I can postpone this ‘engagement’ as much as I can, and I will ask Jeonghan to help me,” you promised and he nodded smiling.

“And I’m not going to let you slip away from me easily, even if it meant I had to fight the whole world just to be with you.” Seungcheol said and you kissed him.

This time you kissed him feverishly and he replied your kiss with the same passion getting on top of you running his hand all over your body taking your clothes off piece by piece as the two of you made love the whole night.

***

It was dawn, the sun still coming up, you climbed into your room and it was dark, you opened the lights so you can take your clothes off. But was surprised when you saw your father sitting on the sofa. Your heart dropped in your stomach and your breath hitched, your father stood up and walked towards you, you backed up until your back hit your wardrobe.

“May I know where have you been?” your father asked his voice as cold as ice, you tried to control your breath but couldn’t, it was too late to come up with a lie, and you’re sure that he knows everything by now.

“N-Nowhere.” you replied. Your father raised his hand to slap you across the face and you flinched closing your eyes, however, though you didn’t feel anything. You opened your eyes and saw your brother holding your father’s arm.

“No father, you aren’t going to lay a finger on her, not as long as I’m alive,” Jeonghan said dangerously and hid you behind his back. Your father stared at him wide-eyed scaring you.

“You dare to go against me? Your father?” your father asked in disbelief and this time he slapped Jeonghan across the face. You cried as you saw your brother but he held you back, your father yanked Jeonghan and you had to watch your brother getting beaten up by your own father.

Your father grabbed him by his shirt and threw him on the floor, hitting him over and over again bruises forming already. You tried to pull your father away from him but it was in vain. Your mother walked in with a panicked look on her face and gasped when she saw the scene in front of her.

“Y/F/N! What are you doing?! This is your son! Leave him!” your mother cried as she pushed your father away. You were quick to pull Jeonghan away from the scene and dragged him to your closet locking the door.

You heard banging on the door but you didn’t care, you looked at Jeonghan who had bruises all over his face and arms, and you were sure he also had bruises on his body, but they were covered. You put your hand over your mouth grabbed the cotton from the cupboard along with some alcohol that you kept there in case. You grabbed a plushie and rested Jeonghan’s head on it as you cleaned up his wounds.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Jeonghan, please forgive me.” you said crying, Jeonghan was too weak to answer. When you finished he had his eyes closed. You didn’t want him to sleep on the floor, it wouldn’t be good for him when he is like that.

Your phone rang and you got it out and saw it was Seungcheol, you answered immediately crying hard.

“Seungcheol.”

“Baby girl?! What happened? Are you alright?!” he asked frantically, you just cried harder and looked at your brother.

“He knows, my father, he tried to slap me but Jeonghan stopped him and he beat him up bad, I’m so scared, Cheol,” you said and he was quick to soothe you.

“Don’t worry baby, I will come to get you both right now, you’re not staying with this monster,” he replied and your eyes widened.

“No, Seungcheol, listen to me! He is going to kill you if he saw you!” you said already thinking of the worst scenarios.

“I don’t care, as long as you’re safe and sound, I can take care of myself,” Seungcheol said and you shook your head crying again.

“No! You don’t understand he is going to be furious, don’t worry about me, just please don’t come, I don’t want to lose you! I wouldn’t be able to live if something bad happened to you.” you said and you heard him sigh from the other side of the phone.

“I’m sorry Y/N, but I promised to protect you till my last breath, and I’m staying true to my words.”

And with that, the line went dead.

***

You sat anxiously on the floor still locked in the closet, Jeonghan started to gain back his consciousness and he tried to sit up but couldn’t, so you helped him to sit.

“I’m so sorry Hanni, I did this to you, I’m so sorry," you said and he tried to brush your tears but couldn’t. He was about to say something but someone knocked on the door hard.

You gasped and got closer to Jeonghan, you were scared that it might be your father, but suddenly you heard the familiar voice that you loved so much.

“Y/N? Baby, open the door, it’s me, Seungcheol.”

You stood up and unlocked the door and threw yourself in Seungcheol’s arms as you cried and held onto him tightly never wanting to let go. He tried to calm you down, it broke his heart to see you this vulnerable, you were never like that. He pulled away from you softly.

“Come on, come with me! I won’t leave you here, let me get Jeonghan and then we will leave and never come back.” Seungcheol said and you nodded and quickly with the help of Seungcheol you were able to help Jeonghan stand up.

Jeonghan let out a cry of pain and Seungchoel draped his arm around his neck and you did the same to the other arm.

“What about my father?” you asked worriedly.

“He is locked in the basement, we have to hurry now!” Seungcheol replied.

The three of you walked so you don’t hurt Jeonghan, you reached the front door and opened it and you were about to leave but were stopped by the voice of your father’s.

“If you take another step I will shoot you.”

You turned around slowly and gasped, Jeonghan tried to push you behind him but you didn’t leave his side. Seungcheol stopped in front of the two of you.

“Drop that gun, I don’t want to hurt you,” Seungcheol said dangerously, your father laughed creepily and honestly you were scared, you’ve never seen him like this before.

“You think you can threaten me in my own house boy? You’re stupid to think that my kids will go with you. So, I suggest you walk out of the door now or else you’ll get a bullet in your skull.” your father said and you looked at him crying.

Seungcheol didn’t seem intimidated, so he just grabbed your hand and turned around, from the corner of your eye you saw your father raising his gun and aiming it at your lover, you gasped and hugged Seungcheol tightly and turned your back to your father, the bullets piercing through your back.

“Y/N! No!”

You fell on the floor and Seungcheol fell with you and let out a loud cry, he hugged your body close to him. Jeonghan was screaming in rage, Seungcheol quickly got his phone to call the ambulance. You held his hand and tasted the metallic liquid, Seungcheol was crying waterfalls, he held you close to him.

“It’s okay,” you whispered, he shook his head his bottom lip trembling, as he cried looking at you not believing this happened.

“No, it’s not! You shouldn’t have done that, it’s me who is supposed to protect you. I promised you, and now you made me break my promise! This all my fault,” he said and you raised your hand weakly to wipe away his tears.

“Don’t blame yourself, love. I have never been more okay than now, please stop crying. It’s okay, I don’t feel any pain. I want to thank you for making these past two months the most amazing time of my life, you truly made me happy. I love you so much, Seungcheol.” you said and he cried harder and kissed your forehead.

“I love you more baby.” he said. Jeonghan bent down weakly and you looked at him smiling slightly,

“Don’t cry Hannie, please. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, I couldn’t ask for a better brother.” You whispered, let his tears fall before pressing a kiss to your cheek.

“You deserve the world, Y/N. And even though I wasn’t the best brother, god knows how much I love you.” Jeonghan said.

You smiled at him and a loud scream erupted and you saw your mother who was finally able to get out from the room your father locked her in, when she saw you she ran towards you trying to stop the bleeding. She felt so guilty, but she knows it was too late to apologise, she wished she had treated you better and gave you the happiness that she was supposed to give you as her duty as a mother.

“No no not my baby please, I’m so sorry baby please forgive me, I’m so sorry please, anyone but her no, please! She is just a girl!” she yelled and you smiled patting her hand that was holding yours.

“It’s too late for that mother, but I forgive you.” you whispered as Seungcheol held you tightly against his chest.

You looked back at your father who was down on his knees not believing what he just did. You stared at him for a while before coughing up blood which made him cry knowing what he just did, you looked at Seungcheol and smiled. You closed your eyes as darkness washed over you. Unable to hear the loud cries of Seungcheol who just lost the person he loves the most in the world.

Seungcheol stood in front of your glass coffin with a dead look in his eyes. His heart stopped beating the moment yours did, he was no longer the boy you fell in love with. He eyed you and smiled slightly, you looked peaceful as if you were sleeping, your pink dress and simple makeup made you look like Aurora from Sleeping Beauty.

“I’m sorry I broke my promise baby, I’m sorry that I couldn’t protect you. I miss you already, but that’s no problem now because I’m going to be with you.” Seungcheol said smiling as he drank the small bottle of poison.

He kissed your lips for the last time in his life and waited for a couple of moments until the effectiveness of the poison kicked in. Suddenly, he started to feel like he was being stabbed in his whole body, he let out a cry and fell on the floor next to you, despite being in unimaginable pain, he still wore a smile on his face knowing that he was going to meet you. Seungcheol closed his eyes happy that he will be reunited with you again.

Jeonghan entered the church with a bouquet of flowers, his girlfriend, Miyoung next to him trying to comfort him as much as she can, he didn’t know what was waiting for him once he stepped inside and saw the body lying on the floor.

Jeonghan gasped running towards the body to check who that was, he saw it was Seungcheol and started crying when he saw the bottle in his hand, Miyoung called the priest telling him what happened. Jeonghan looked at his sister then at her lover who was lying on the floor with a smile on his face he spoke.

“Because they couldn’t be together in this life and he couldn’t be without her, he decided that they should be together in the afterlife. Wherever the two of you are, I hope you’re both together and happy.”

#ficscafe #caratsnetwork #kdiner #caratwritersclub #seventeen #seventeen imagines #seventeen reactions #seventeen scenarios #seventeen fanfic #hiphop unit imagines #choi seungcheol imagines #seungcheol fanfic #scoups imagines #scoups fanfic

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worldoffanfiction2021 · 3 years

Text

Eternal Love of Dream - Chapter Next 2

(Image source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/1829656087662319/)

The Bai household was bustling with activity today. The former queen of Quingqui and the future queen of Sky Kingdom, Bai Xian was visiting after a long time. Her son Ah-li was with her too. He had always been quite close to his Fengjiu Jiejie. Knowing that Fengjiu was in coma had had both Xian and Ah-li worried. So they had come to check on her.

Bai Xian and Dijun exchanged pleasantries. Dijun introduced Gungun. After the initial shock and surprise, Bai Xian and Gungun took an instant liking to this little silver haired boy.

Bai Xian checked on the sleeping Fengjiu and then excused herself. She went on to look for her mother.

Ah-li and Gungun took a seat at the window, watching the birds outside and started chatting. Dijun busied himself with preparing medicine for his wife. He could hear the little boys talk excitedly nearby.

“So, where have you lived all this while, Gungun? What’s your home like?”, asked the ever curious Ah-li.

“Mother and I lived in the mortal realm. Not in any one place though. Mother says I grow much slowly than mortal children so to avoid people talking and making more trouble, we move every few months or every couple years.”, Gungun explained. “We still do get into plenty of trouble anyways, but at least we have gotten better in the last couple years”, he added.

That just piqued A-li’s interest immensely and his eyes shone brightly. “Tell me all about it. I know when I went around with Fengjiu Jiejie we often got into trouble, but she always made an adventure out of it.”

Dijun was listening, he did get worried when Gungun said trouble, but on hearing Ah-li’s response, a tiny chuckle escaped him. Yes, that was true. His Xiaobai could turn a trouble into an adventure any time. That was one of the many things he admired about her. Curious to learn more, he diverted his attention back to the little boys by the window.

“Well, my earliest memory is of Mother fighting a bunch of roughs. Their leader wanted to hold Mother’s hand and take her away. He said he had never seen a beauty like her. Mother tried to reason with him to leave her alone, but when he didn’t listen, she kicked him. So they all came to fight with her.

Out of nowhere Mother took out a knife, made it into a sword and fought them all by herself. But the leader guy was sly. He picked me up and started threatening her. She was furious. She did something with her hand, a bright red light shot up and the guy holding me went flying backwards, while Mother caught me. That scared them all and they ran away shouting. But all that fighting had injured Mother too. She was bleeding all over and was also spitting blood. I was very scared. But Mother is brave. She smiled at me, told me not to worry, collected just a few things from home and took me away.” Gungun’s face showed all kinds emotions as he spoke. But most of all, you could feel the pride the little boy felt for his Mother. She was his hero.

Listening to all this perturbed Dijun’s heart. He should have been there for her. She had been all alone while he was still alive. He had promised her, over and over, that he would never leave her alone. That he would always be with her. He had failed miserably to keep that promise. No wonder she had not believed him and walked away, when he had said no one was more important to him than her. After what she had gone through, after what he had inadvertently put her through, how could she ever believe him? Why should she believe him? His heart broke at the thought. The ring on Xiaobai’s finger glowed again.

Ah-li’s eyes had grown as big as saucers. “Wow, what an amazing story! I am so proud of Fengjiu Jiejie. Tell me more.”, Ah-li said leaning closer.

“More? Well there are so many stories like this. A few months later, Mother had started covering up the Phoenix feather on her forehead with something she called cosmetics. She had also started dying my hair black so we could both look more like mortals. At that time she ran a small tea stall in a different town. One day it started raining heavily and before we could wrap up our stall and go home, we were both drenched. Her cosmetics had washed away and the Phoenix feather on her forehead glowed. I thought it looked so pretty, but there was a mortal nearby who saw and told everyone she was a demon. People gathered around us and wanted to throw all kinds of things at us. The bad guy jeered at us, he told everyone to capture Mother and hand her over to him. Mother did something clever this time. She did some magic to make the black snake come out of his sleeve. And then she told everyone that the guy himself was a bad wizard and he kept black snakes as pets. That scared everyone long enough and we ran away.”, Gungun recalled.

“You ran away to where? What did you do after running away? Did the bad guy chase you? Tell me, tell me, tell me....”, Ah-li begged to know more.

“He tried to chase us, but we were too fast for him. Mother flew us away to nearby forest and we took shelter in a cave that time. Her magic had hurt her though. She was spitting blood for so many days after that. She said it was because of backfire from her magic. Immortals were not allowed to use magic in mortal realm, so it was like a punishment. ”

“We began living in that cave. We did not have any quilts etc in there, but Mother made us beds with some grass and we kept fire running at the door all the time. Mother said it kept the wild animals away. She worked hard there too. She would take me on her back and go gathering fruits and hunting during the day. At night she would feed me first and eat only if something was left over. She used to get fever at night for several nights - may be because of the back fire or the cold in that cave. But at least we were safe from bad guys for the time being. In spite of all this, she always kept smiling and told me I was enough for her to be happy. I tried to help as best as I could. Slowly things got better as Mother recovered. We lived in that cave for several months, all the way till winter was almost starting.”

“That’s an amazing story! I wish I could have been there with you both. I would have also helped and would have also enjoyed the adventures.”, Ah-li sighed.

Chonglin came in at that very moment. He bowed to Dijun and the little ‘your majesties’. He had brought dinner for Dijun and a message for the boys. “Your grandma said you both need to come with me. I will help you wash up for dinner.”, he said.

Gungun looked at Dijun as if asking for permission silently. He didn’t really know Chonglin yet. Dijun smiled and nodded a yes. All of them left to go eat.

Dijun was alone with his wife. He left the food alone for the time being and gave her her medicine. He lovingly wiped her face and adjusted the quilt on her. He bent down and planted a soft kiss on the Phoenix feather on her forehead. Dijun sighed. Xiaobai did not stir.

He sat next to her bed as he started eating. His thoughts drifted again. He had wondered why she had stubbornly stayed away from him for almost 200 years. Even if she was mad at him, she could not have stayed mad at him for that long. She would have at least tried to meet him once. She would not have made a deliberate attempt to avoid him like that.

Her actions were becoming more and more clear now. When he did not show up for their wedding and also didn’t show up for over a couple months after that, she was forced to believe that he had given up on them. She must have believed that he had chosen Ji Feng and left her. She must have realized she was pregnant at that time. So to avoid complicating things, she had taken herself away. She had stayed away to protect his son and also to protect him.

It had been a huge mistake to hide things from her. It had been his mistake. It had been his love. She had paid the hefty price for it.

And yet, she had come. In spite of everything. When she had heard Dijun’s side of story from Chonglin and found out about his battle with Miao Luo, she had kept everything else aside and rushed to protect him.

He recalled how her delicate, fragile frame had burst in through the Star Light ward wielding her Pottery sword in front of the fearsome Miao Luo. Her graceful, agile movements had showed no trace of hesitation. She was determined to save him. Even if it meant sacrificing herself.

How could someone love him so much? How could she love him so much? Love was mysterious in many ways!

He realized that while he thought he was protecting her, she had suffered so much. For him.

And in the end it had been her who had protected him. It was the blood from her heart, the heart of the only red nine-tailed fox in the universe, that had cleansed the immense negative energy from Miao Luo. It was her blood that had destroyed Miao Luo forever, cleared up all the negative energy, broken the Star Light ward and saved him. Saved Bihai Cangling. Saved this universe from chaos.

Yes, he had underestimated her grossly. He had been captivated by her ethereal fragile beauty, her innocence. He had completely missed her strength, her perseverance and her power. Yes, she was powerful. In her own right. She had not need him as much as he had needed her, he thought wryly.

Yes, she was the only one for him.

#three lives three worlds the pillow book #eternal love of dream #pillow book #bai feng jiu #dong hua #donghua dijun #xiao bai #bai gun gun #cdrama

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ur-jinji · 4 years

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wallflowers: part three

zuko x f!reader modern au

summary: things get heated and tense when zuko gets jealous at a party with you

warning: alcohol consumption, angst :(

a/n: @teelagurl558 and i had a good discussion about zuko & alcohol and i really wanted to make a part three lmao

You gazed out the car window, watching the passing houses and streetlights. You turned towards the driver, Zuko, and he moved his head to look at you for a quick moment, smiling softly. He took one hand off of the wheel and placed it on your thigh, giving it a squeeze before resting it there. Your heart melted completely. This guy made you into putty every time he touched you.

You spent the last month with him and your friends so happily. But sadly, the long break was coming to an end. A new semester was starting in a few days, so this was your last night together; you were leaving tomorrow afternoon to head back to your town. You had been staying at both Suki’s apartment and Zuko’s. Your relationship with him had blossomed so naturally. He asked you to be his girlfriend about a week before. You two weren’t rushing things, and took the time to really get to know each other, go out, spend time together, and even sleeping over at his house. You were willing to do long distance, but you weren’t sure if Zuko was, so you had been afraid that this would simply be a fling. But when he asked you to be his girlfriend, he told you he was more than happy to have a long distance relationship. He told you how special you were to him and even started planning the next time he would want to see you after you left. You really, really liked him.

“I wish you could stay one more day,” Zuko spoke, breaking the comfortable silence.

“I know, me too. I just have so much packing and preparing to do for the new semester,” You replied sadly.

The two of you were headed to Suki apartment. She and Katara had planned a surprise going away party for you. One last hoorah. You were under the impression that it was a simple get together that would include ordering pizza and hanging out. Little did you know, they invited about ten other people you befriended through them during your stay, Toph brought a big ol’ speaker, and Sokka bought a bunch of alcohol (everyone who planned on drinking helped pitch in money for it, of course). And obviously there would still be pizza, among other snacks.

Zuko pulled up outside of Suki’s apartment building. The two of you made your way inside and a couple flights of stairs until you made it to her door. He put his hand on the handle and slowly opened it. Your eyes widened when you saw it was completely dark inside, not a soul in sight.

“What the hell?” You said, very confused. Zuko shrugged in response before grabbing your hand and walking inside. As you did so, the lights flickered on, and a bunch of familiar faces jumped out of nowhere.

“Surprise!” They all yelled somewhat in unison.

You felt your soul leave your body as you flinched.

“Holy shit, is it someone’s birthday?” You asked in response, gaining some laughs.

“No, dummy! It’s our ‘y/n-going-away-and-we-are-sad’ party!” Suki said, appearing from the crowd of people.

“I’m celebrating!” You heard Sokka say from across the room.

“I love you, oh my god! You guys didn’t have to do this,” You said before hugging her and planting a kiss on her cheek. You turned to Zuko. “Did you know about this?!”

Zuko nodded and smirked. You pulled away from Suki and hugged him tight. “Might as well have some fun before you go,” He said, a hint of sadness in his tone.

“Well, thank you, everyone!” You yelled as you pulled away from your boyfriend, but not before giving him a peck on the lips. You made your way around the room, hugging and thanking everyone who was there. Toph surprised you the most by hugging you the tightest and the longest. You swore you could hear her sniffle a little. You eventually made your way back to Zuko, who was holding a wine cooler out for you.

“Thank you, hun,” You replied before cracking it open and taking a swig.

You spent the night eating snacks, talking with your friends, listening to music, playing card games, etc. It was the most fun you’ve had in a while. Zuko was attached at your hip all night, which you were fine with, but it made you a little concerned. Something seemed off with him. He slammed a few drinks with Sokka and went through more pretty quickly after. When you suggested he slowed down, he mumbled an excuse like, ‘I thought this was a party’ and shrug it off. You eventually found yourself on the couch, feeling the alcohol hitting you, but you felt fine. Just a little dizzy. Zuko had drunkenly walked away for a moment to get you some water. Sokka plopped down next you, placing a hand over his eyes.

“I should’ve stopped a few drinks ago,” He grumbled.

“Are we gonna have a repeat of the last party?” You asked jokingly.

“God, I hope not,” Sokka replied under this breath. He slouched over, his head accidentally falling onto your shoulder. You heard some snores. You decided to let him stay there since he clearly was feeling sick. You looked up and saw Zuko enter the room, tripping slightly. His eyes landed on you and then glanced over at Sokka’s head on your shoulder. He gripped the water in his hand tightly.

“Hey, baby, mind giving the water to Sokka? He doesn’t feel too good,” You asked, sitting up forward. Sokka’s limp, sleeping body fell behind you. Zuko suddenly tossed the water bottle at Sokka and walked away. What the fuck?

You got up, letting the drunk boy fall roughly onto the couch, causing him to wake up.

“What happened?” Sokka asked, slurring his words.

“I don’t know. He came in and threw that water at you and left,” You explained. Sokka sat up and rubbed his eyes.

“Maybe he got jealous. He gets weird sometimes when he drink. I can go talk to him,” He said, surprising you at how level headed he was suddenly being. He got off the couch and walked down the hallway, and you followed closely. You found Zuko standing at the bathroom vanity, gripping the sink hard and holding himself up. His head hung low.

“Zuko, buddy, what’s wrong?” Sokka asked the weirdly angered boy.

“I don’t know. Maybe don’t make moves on my girlfriend?” Zuko replied nastily as his head shot up, glaring at the two of you through the mirror. He turned around, falling slightly but catching himself.

“Dude, what?” Sokka questioned, confusion in his tone. He walked towards his friend. “I’d never do that to you, bro. Plus I have a girlfriend? Who I love more than anything?”

“Zuko, what are you talking about?” You pitched in from the bathroom doorway.

“Go put your head on Suki then, buddy. Don’t touch my fucking girlfriend,” Zuko snapped, suddenly charging the other boy and pressing his puffed out chest against his aggressively.

“Hey! What has gotten into you?!” You yelled, running over to break them up.

“Yeah. What has gotten into you, dude? Don’t pull this shit right now,” Sokka replied with a bit of an attitude, but trying to keep his cool to not make the situation worse. “You’re drunk. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I know what I saw!” Zuko sneered, pushing Sokka away roughly. His eyes were filled with rage. You backed away in shock, not liking this side of him. Why was he being like this?

“Really, Zuko? My last fucking night here and you want to start a fight over nothing? Sokka is fucking drunk and wasn’t feeling good, and fell on me,” You explained angrily.

“Yeah, man, what the hell,” Sokka added, sounding disappointed. “I’m not fighting you, dude. This is ridiculous.”

Zuko suddenly pushed Sokka again, causing you to break.

“Zuko! Enough!” You screamed before grabbing Sokka by the collar of his shirt and dragging him out of the bathroom. You pushed him away once you exited the bathroom and stormed to Suki’s room, slamming and locking the door behind you. You sat on the edge of the bed, anxiously running your hands through your hair before fishing your phone from your pocket. You bounced your leg nervously, trying to busy yourself and calm down. You couldn’t believe this was happening.

A few minutes later, a knock at the bedroom door startled you.

“Y/N? It’s Suki and Katara! Can you let us in?” A voice from the other side of the door asked worriedly.

You got up and unlocked the door for them. Two worried looking girls strolled in, closing the door behind them.

“What happened?” Katara asked.

“Sokka’s drunk as fuck, his head fell on my shoulder, Zuko walked in, stormed out, and then we confronted him about it what was wrong, and then he tried to fight Sokka!” You explained irritatedly.

“What? Why would he get so mad about that? Sokka always falls on people when he’s drunk?” Suki questioned. “He falls asleep!”

“I’m just so pissed. You should’ve seen him. He was being so irrational. I didn’t even recognize him,” You muttered, replaying the scene in your head. The girls sat down beside you at the edge of the bed, rubbing circles on your back.

“I’m sorry, honey. For what it’s worth, Zuko sounds like he feels awful,” Katara offered with a light smile.

“I don’t care. I hated seeing him like that,” You mumbled. “I just need to be away from him right now.”

“Sokka told me he’s been feeling down knowing you leaving. Maybe that has something to do with tipping him over,” Suki suggested. You shrugged and buried your face in your hands. The image of the anger in his eyes was stuck in your head.

“Can you guys leave me alone for a bit?” You asked. “I need to cool off and think.”

The girls nodded sadly before getting up and exiting the room. You fell backwards on the bed, staring at the ceiling miserably. A couple minutes later, a few knocks sounded and the door knob started to jiggle. They must’ve locked it on their way out.

“What?” You yelled at whoever was at the door.

“Y/N?” It was Zuko. His voice sounded scared and worried. “Please let me in.”

On the other side of the door, Zuko was leaning against the wood, his hands pressed against it. He felt horrible. He didn’t know what had gotten into him. After you left the bathroom, Sokka got Katara and Suki and reasoned with him, calming him down. After the intervention, he realized what he had done. He felt terrible knowing he had hurt you. He couldn’t imagine how scared and upset you were to see him like that. He hadn’t acted like that in a very long time.

“Y/N, baby, please,” Zuko begged. “Please open the door for me. I’m so sorry.”

Silence.

The quiet from the other side was deafening. A pit formed in Zuko’s stomach. Was he going to lose you?

a/n: don’t hate me pwease🥺 part four is coming soon! ah!! thanks for reading!!!

taglist: @teelagurl558 @complainsalot @coldlilheart

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need-a-fugue · 3 years

Text

Trustworthy (Chapter 6)

Summary: You’ve spent the last three years teaming up with Santiago Garcia on every mission you had a hand in coordinating… and the past several months plotting with him to take down the biggest bad to hit your radar. But even all your time at the DEA and all your experience in the field couldn’t have prepared you for this.

Pairing: Frankie “Catfish” Morales x Fem!Reader (slow burn)

Warnings: language and just plain being miserable

It’s cold and wet and fucking miserable.

Your day so far… wake at the ass crack of dawn to a jerking, sputtering, clearly about to go down helicopter. Get – essentially – tossed from said helicopter into the midst of a bunch coca farmers out in an Andean valley. Become an accomplice in the unwarranted deaths of a few said coca farmers. Mill about the tiny community – wary eyes watching your every movement – as Santiago trades money for those lives… and for a handful of donkeys. Or mules, or whatever the fuck they are. Load up said donkeys with millions of dollars – certainly the type of cargo these poor animals are used to carrying – and head off into the jungle. With a sprained ankle. And a probable concussion. And – you realize just as that familiar ache begins to set into your hip – a shit ton of rain headed your way.

You’d lost track of how far precisely you’d gone, how many miles you’d traversed through this treacherous environment. And you refuse to ask, afraid that it’ll be just a fraction of how far you feel it’s been. By the time the sun descends and everyone hunkers down beneath a cluster of heavily rooted trees – just enough of an overhang to provide a bit of shelter from the once-again assaulting rain – it feels like you’ve all piled four damn marathons one on top of the other. But looking around at the thick foliage around you, noting the relatively small trail tamped down by your group as you climbed and trampled and fought your way up and out of that valley, it’s very clearly been closer to the length of a 5K fun run. Minus the fun. And the free T-shirt.

You let out a ragged, rather dramatic harrumph, the sheer annoyance at your predicament currently outweighing any fear or discomfort. But the discomfort is there none the less, every single nerve ending either on fire or vibrating from the utterly depleting fatigue that this day has caused.

Benny scoots closer to your side, tucking you back behind his shoulder just as you let loose with another full-body tremble. The action pins you even tighter to the wall of roots and mud and bark behind you, and to Frankie, who flanks your right side. “This fucking sucks,” you mutter, the final word coming out in an odd shuddering trill as the chill works its way out of your body.

“Yeah,” Ben breathes out with a soft chuckle before leaning back with an exhausted sigh. “Well, we’re dancing with the devil now.”

“Dancing?” Frankie returns, causing your tired gaze to swivel his way. “We were dancing when we got on the plane to come down here. I’d call this full intercourse.”

You all release a threadbare laugh, little more than a trickle of amused breaths being about all anyone has the energy to emit. Your arms wraps tighter around your core as you tuck yourself a bit deeper into Benny’s side, your eyes still trained on the man to your right. “Let’s just pray this is a one-night stand,” you smart, lips pulling into a sly smile the moment Frankie turns your way.

It takes a moment for his face to falter, the pained set to his features slowly melting into something just a little bit more relaxed as he snorts out an amused breath of his own. He gazes down at you, watches as you lean further back, burrowing even more into Ben’s warmth. He stares deeply, his dark brown eyes cutting through the onslaught of rain that continuously dribbles from the brim of his hat. “How’s your ankle?” he says finally. And the question catches you entirely off-guard. Not because it’s so strange or unwarranted, but because you’re certain that whatever thoughts and questions were just tumbling through his head, that rather benign inquiry wasn’t among of them.

You offer a small shrug. “S’fine,” you lie, biting the corner of your lip as the twisted appendage continues to throb. “Not like I got shot or anything,” you say as you lean forward and peer around Benny, trying to catch a glimpse of Will through the heavy rain and dark surroundings. “How ‘bout you, Ironmaiden? You still with us?”

You hear a short snicker from the man – and from Ben too – just before a deep rumble of, “Not dead yet,” cuts through the impending night. His face remains hidden in the dark, but you’re convinced that a hint of a smile flitted over it at the very least, and that’s enough to make you feel like a good deed’s been done.

But when you look back at Frankie, his shoulders heavily slumped as he leans away from the relative shelter of the trees, out into the pounding rain, you feel that tiniest hit of triumph swiftly uncoil and fade away. “Hey,” you bark out at him, nudging him with your foot as you lean back once more. “You’re gonna freeze out there.”

His lips tug up at the corners, but the small, closed-mouth smile never reaches his eyes. He makes no move to duck back beneath the leafy canopy, instead turning away and letting out a long, deep sigh. You nudge him again, saying nothing, but raising a questioning brow when his gaze connects with yours. “Pretty fucked up,” he mutters blandly before dropping his head again to stare down at the wet earth beneath his boots.

“Yeah,” Ben agrees beside you. “Pretty fucked up.” He uses his shoulder to jostle you a bit, get you to sit up and turn towards him. He holds up a giant, ripe mango, giving a little nod in place of an order to take it.

“Thanks,” you say, plucking it from his grasp. He merely nods again, this time a silent no problem, before shifting to present another to his brother. You look back at Frankie, his broad shoulders still slumped, now thoroughly soaked as well. “Hey,” you begin, the word coming out more as a pained grunt as you reposition yourself and fold the twisted ankle up beneath you.

His eyes fly up, wide and worried at the hurt in your voice. But the last you thing you want is for him to feel even worse than he obviously does right now. So again, you brush off the pain, shaking your head and rolling your eyes at the unasked are you okay? emanating from his stare.

“A little help?” you ask, holding the mango out to him. He reaches for it with a look of confusion. “My hands are so cold, fingers are numb,” you state with a shrug just before leaning forward and capturing his arm. Before he has the chance to even register what you’re doing, you’ve already wrapped yourself around him, tugging him with the only remaining energy that you have back beneath the tree’s canopy.

He lets out a little groan in protest, but appeases you all the same, scooting back until he’s flush with the wall of roots behind you. “You could just bite into it,” he mumbles as he settles back and uses his thumbs to break into the fruit.

“Mmm,” you hum out, no real response at all. His left arm is still held tight in your grasp, your cold – though not actually entirely numb as you had led him to believe – fingers pressing into his bicep, gliding along the soaked-through fabric of his windbreaker. You scoot closer to his side, still feeling Benny at your back, but now craving the heat being put off by the man in your hold instead.

“Here,” he breathes out, handing you a mangled chunk of mango.

The smallest titter of a laugh blows past your lips as you accept it and drop your heavy head down to his shoulder. “Don’t you have a knife?” you ask before shoving the food into your mouth.

He stills in your grasp. “Huh,” coming out of him in a surprised sort of grunt. He moves the mutilated, dripping fruit up to his lips, licking at the juice before tearing into a hunk of orange meat with his teeth. He shakes his left arm free from your clutches and deftly wraps it around you to tug you close, all without ever disturbing your cheek’s perch atop his shoulder. His wide open palm slips down to your hip and presses its warmth right over the dull ache of that damn old injury, and the deep tenor of his voice resounds in your ears as he says simply – mouth still full – “didn’t think of that.”

000

The sun rises somewhere around your second or third hour of hiking. You think. The burner phone you’d brought along had long since gone dead, and it’s been ten years or so since you’ve worn an actual watch. But it certainly felt like two to three hours went by from the time Santi roused you from your shivering near-sleep and the ominous birth of a new day.

Thick mist and fog gathers round, clinging to the ground, the trees, obscuring the way and growing heavier the higher into the mountains you climb. You take to doing rollcall every fifteen minutes or so, each calling in turn to the person behind, making sure that no one’s been lost to the surrounding haze.

You lose all sense of time, not even realizing how long it must’ve taken to get to the terrifying and precarious footpath cut into the side of the mountain until you look up to see that the sun is now high in the sky, closer to its journey down than up. The fog had just begun to abate as you all reached the narrow trail, and while that was very clearly a good thing – because if ever there was a time when you needed to see exactly where your feet were stepping, this was it – a part of you cursed the cloud for lifting and allowing an unobscured visual of all that lay below.

You can’t help it. With every step you take, your eyes veer from the placement of your feet along the narrow, rocky trail over to the steep drop off and then out to the endless acreage of mountainside and jungle below. Every step. Every plodding, breathless, horrifying step. And to make matters worse, to ratchet your heartrate and blood pressure just that much higher, the children in front of you have chosen this time to begin petulantly arguing and hurling accusations.

You roll your eyes and try to tune out the thinly veiled allegations and insults being tossed back and forth, each man’s voice carrying a different shade of I’m tired and hurt and hungry and I need a damn nap.

It was really only a matter of time, you figured, before the grumpiness managed to overflow into conflict. That’s just what happens when people – men in particular – go without rest for this long, carrying the burden of survival on their backs for endless hours of drudgery. Sure, you’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this… if anyone could find their way through unparalleled stressors without cracking, it’d surely be a team of elite special ops guys. But, then again, these men were all retired. They had real lives that they’d left just to get sucked into this shit. They had families and jobs and car payments waiting for them back home. And they’d been under the mistaken impression that they’d be able to get back to them all in just a handful of days. A week, max.

Also, one of them had been shot… and everyone else harbored at least some injury from that helicopter crash that you still hadn’t been able to fully mentally process. So, sure, it makes sense that they’d eventually devolve into juvenile bickering. But did they have to do it on the side of a fucking mountain?

You stop short, a small gasp of surprise shooting from your lungs as you nearly faceplant into a donkey’s ass, Will and Ben both having come to a sudden halt in front of you. “The fuck” you nearly shriek, but neither of the men so much as toss a glance your way. You peer around the animal in front of you and glare at Will, tired eyes burning into the side of his skull. “Fucking move!”

He turns then, shooting you a confused look, taken aback, it seems, by your sudden irritation. As though this moment of impatient annoyance should be reserved for just him and his brother. But before you can say another word, before he’s able to come to the obvious realization – that there are other people in this world! – on his own, his stare veers, eyes blowing wide as they lock onto something behind you.

A crunch of rocks, a shuffling sputter of movement, a terrified scream blossoming from the mouth of the donkey in the rear. By the time you’re able to maneuver yourself around to see to what’s happening, all that’s left is a cloud of cash slowly trailing behind the fallen animal, and a stricken Frankie cemented up against the side of the mountain. You catch his horrified gaze, hold it for a moment before finding the words, “Are you okay?”

He gives a weak nod as he pulls himself upright, slowly making his way behind your – now nervous-as-hell – donkey. Ahead of you, the arguing has intensified, though what’s being said, you can’t quite glean. And you don’t honestly care. Frankie pushes past, giving your shoulder a reassuring squeeze on his way, and finally makes it to the front of the group where he directs everyone to keep moving… convinces them, somehow to let go of whatever the hell it is that they’re bitching about.

Had to get all the money…

Fucking Lorea…

Just move, damn it!

That’s about all you manage to get from their conversation. It’s all you care to get. Blame, accusations, words in general, none of that matters right now. Frankly, the sudden loss of a donkey and millions of dollars doesn’t matter to you right now. Nothing matters right now except continuing to put one foot in front of the other for however long you have to do it… however long it takes until you reach a place where you can collapse into the exhausted, pained heap of a being that you are and simply sleep.

Taglist:

@tweedlydumbtweedlydoo @icanbeyourjedi @greeneyedblondie44 @mrscrain-x7 @kyjoraven@elephants-are-a-thing @nakhudanyx @thirsty-flygirl @leannawithacapitala

#frankie morales #frankie catfish morales #francisco morales #frankie morales x you #frankie morales x reader #triple frontier #santiago pope garcia #will ironhead miller #benny miller

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teenwolffanclub-me · 4 years

Text

Season 1, Episode 11: Formality

Hey there beautiful reader! If you’re new here, this is a series I’m writing where each chapter is an episode from the first season of Teen Wolf. If you’ve been here before, hey! I missed you! Previous and future chapters are linked at the end of each part if you want to catch up.

Pairing: Stiles x Psychic! Reader (FINALLY!)

Warnings: angsty angst angst

Notes: Does anyone still like this series? The last part kinda flopped 🤨

Anyway, I’m back and super excited bc my babies are FINALLY official and they only had to almost die like three times to do it!

P.S. Lydia has terrible taste in men, Y/N still sucks at being a psychic, and the high school desperately needs more security

————————

Have you ever had a day go so unbelievably sideways that you honestly can’t even comprehend how fucked up it is?

Yeah, welcome to my Friday.

“This is the worst! My life is literally over.”

I huffed in annoyance, my jaw dropping at the pure absurdity of that statement. “Scott, Peter tried kidnapping you this morning and you’re worried about a dance?”

He frowned from beside me, his shoulders sagging. Last night, Deaton tried making Stiles and I leave the clinic once he was all patched up, but we both refused. I still wasn’t completely convinced that he was alive until he woke up with a start this morning.

It didn’t take long for Peter to show up, demanding that we hand him over. Actually, I can’t really say we because the three of us hid in the back while Deaton somehow took care of it.

Derek was still hanging out in the Argent’s basement, probably being tortured by Kate but most likely dead by now. I tried talking to Allison when I got to school this morning, but she practically ran away from me when I brought it up. I had no idea how much she knew at this point, and it was freaking me out.

And, to top it all off, Scott was flunking so many classes that coach banned him from the dance tonight.

Clearly, that was the most pressing issue.

He was so desperate afterward that he asked Jackson to watch over Allison, since he is her date. He apparently refused because it’s Jackson, so Scott had been losing his mind with worry all day. He was convinced that Peter would be after her next, but I wasn’t so sure.

She wasn’t an obvious choice. I mean, her family is literally just a bunch of professional werewolf hunters. Adding her to his pack wouldn’t make much sense.

“I just—I can’t sit by and watch him try to kill everyone I love.” Scott forced a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh.

My steps faltered and I peered over at him, my eyebrows raised in surprise. “You love her?”

“Oh,” His eyes widened as he realized what he said. “Yeah. I do. Holy shit. I love her.”

I watched as his lips slowly pulled into a grin, relieved that he wasn’t freaking out for a moment. It’d been pretty obvious for awhile that they loved each other, and I was honestly shocked it had taken him this long to acknowledge it, but happy for him nonetheless.

“That’s it. I’m going tonight.” His face hardened with determination before he turned on his heel and walked away briskly.

“Okay. Bye to you too!” I chuckled, curious to see how he’d manage to sneak in.

I only made it a few steps before someone rammed into my side forcefully. A pair of hands gripped my arms to steady me as I nearly toppled over. My eyes narrowed as they landed on Stiles’ sheepish expression.

“Hey. Sorry.” He let me go quickly and scratched at the back of his head. “Where have you been?”

“Class..?” I drawled slowly, my eyes trailing over his twitchy frame slowly. He seemed more wired than normal, which was saying a lot.

His chest was heaving as if he’d just run a mile—which I’d recently learned he was surprisingly incapable of—and his eyes were shining with barely contained anxiety.

“I just...uh—I have a, I’ve been trying to...will you go to formal with me?” He rushed the words out so quickly, it took me a second to process them.

I just stared at him, waiting a moment to see if he was going to follow that up with anything else. “You mean the one that’s tonight? Are you serious?”

His honey eyes widened, as if he wasn’t expecting that response. I mean, what else was I supposed to say? I’d been waiting for him to ask me for almost two weeks now, and he waits until the day of? Who does that?

“Uh,” He glanced away from me quickly, his cheeks turning pink under the fluorescent lights. “Not if you’re going to say no.”

I just rolled my eyes, ignoring the way my heart began fluttering at the thought of going with him. I took a step forward so that there were only a few inches separating us and leaned up to place a gentle kiss on his cheek.

“It’s a date.” I patted his chest before walking away, an amused smirk pulling at my lips at his stunned expression.

————————

I let my fingers trail over the frilly materials hanging in front of me as I took in my options. I was failing miserably at finding something decent to wear tonight. I wasn’t used to dressing up or being overly girly, so I had no idea where to start. I’d really just been standing here for the last several minutes, overwhelmed by all the colors and textures.

Allison was standing to my left, inspecting a few dresses in a full length mirror. Lydia was long gone somewhere behind me with a mountain of cloth in her arms. I picked up a knee-length blue dress and decided it wouldn’t hurt to try it on.

I saw someone approaching Allison out of my corner of my eye and glanced her way fleetingly, but froze as my gaze locked with Peter’s. I looked around, not fully believing that he was here, before jerking my attention back to him. He gave me a slow, amused smirk before shifting his eyes toward her. My head whipped back to the dresses in front of me, my entire body going rigid as I tried not to alarm her.

Maybe Scott had been right this afternoon. But would he really try to turn her now? In the middle of the mall?

“That’s not your color.” I heard him murmur, and stole another look their way. I didn’t want Allison to catch on that I knew him, or that anything was wrong. Very, very wrong.

Allison shifted her weight, looking uncomfortable as he stared at her intensely. “Sorry if that was intrusive but, considering your skin tone, I’d go lighter.”

“Because I’m pale?” She asked quietly, somehow not questioning the fashion advice from a strange man.

“Fair.” He corrected, his head tilting as he tried to look well-meaning. “I mean, you can’t call skin like yours pale. Not skin that perfect...”

“Okay.” She laughed awkwardly and put the dress she was considering back on the rack beside her.

“Trust me, I have a...unique perspective on the subject.” She nodded and turned to walk away with a tight smile, obviously weirded out, but he stepped to the side so she couldn’t get away. My skin crawled at the predatory gleam in his eyes as he practically sized her up.

She watched nervously as he grabbed a new dress from the rack behind him and took her hand in his. She reeled back instantly at the unwelcome touch, but that didn’t stop him from bringing her skin up beside the material for comparison. “See? Much better.”

I’d heard enough. I took the few steps needed to close the distance between us, my heart racing in my chest. I wasn’t convinced that he was stupid enough to try anything wolfy in public, but I wasn’t about to take any chances, either. I stopped at her side and grabbed her wrist gently. Her wide eyes jerked toward me, swimming with relief.

“Hey, Lydia needs help in the dressing room.” I rushed the lie out quickly, barely registering that she nodded in understanding before pulling her away.

I didn’t even spare another glance at Peter as I weaved through the narrow isles briskly, not stopping until I found Lydia clear on the other end of the store. She actually was by the dressing rooms, posing to herself in a full length mirror. I staggered to a halt at the sight of the champagne dress she had on. It was somehow...familiar?

“That was so creepy.” Allison muttered quietly as she shook my hand off and plopped down onto one of the plush chairs beside the mirrors.

I walked right up to Lydia, unable to stop myself as I continued inspecting her dress. She watched me for a moment and raised her eyebrows expectantly when my gaze rose to meet hers. My face pinched in confusion. There was a persistent nagging at the back of my mind as I looked at her, like there was something I should be picking up on. But I just couldn’t place it.

“I think that’s the one.” I jumped as Allison suddenly spoke up from behind us. I cleared my throat and took a step away from Lydia, realizing how weird I was being.

She turned away from me with one last questioning glance before giving herself a satisfied smile in the mirror, her hands smoothing down the silky material before resting on her hips.

“Me too.” She spun around excitedly and disappeared behind one of the dressing room curtains.

I couldn’t explain it, but I suddenly felt my stomach twist as a dark cloud of dread washed over me.

————————

I looked over Stiles’ shoulder, the hardwood floors beneath my feet vibrating as loud music rang throughout the space. We were slow dancing for the second time tonight, my arms locked around his neck and my head resting against his chest. It was really nice, being this close to him. It helped lower the base level of anxiety I’d been fighting all day.

It’d been nearly an hour since I last saw any of our friends. We all met up with our respective dates at the start of the dance, Lydia having brought a random lacrosse player since Jackson was with Allison. Just then, my eyes found them dancing stiffly a few couples away, but the sight did little to calm my nerves.

He was completely wasted at this point, since he thought it was a good idea to bring a flask of vodka with him, and she was just trying to make the best of it until we all went home. It was clear that neither of them wanted to be here together, but Scott had pretty much threatened him into watching over her, and she didn’t want to be without a date.

Scott successfully snuck in through the roof—don’t ask me how—and was managing to keep an eye on them while dodging coach all night. My eyes swept over the room, seeing nothing but familiar faces, just not the one I was looking for.

Stiles suddenly pulled back and my arms loosened from around his neck. His eyes rounded as they flickered around my face with concern. “You okay?”

I glanced over his shoulder again, feeling uncomfortable under his intense gaze. I didn’t want to lie to him, but I also didn’t know how to explain the uneasy feeling I’d had since we got here. My dancing faltered as I noticed that Jackson and Allison were gone.

“Have you seen Lydia recently?” I asked absently, my eyes still sweeping around the gym quickly.

I took a step away from Stiles and turned all the way around, my chest tightening with anxiety. For some reason, I felt like I needed to find her. Right now. Or something terrible was going to happen. My anxiety was quickly rising to panic when I didn’t see her anywhere.

“Y/N?” Stiles put a hand on my shoulder and I glanced back to see him watching me closely, his brows pinched in confusion.

“I have to...” My skin was crawling with the intense need to get out of here. Something was wrong. I could just feel it. I leaned forward to place a quick kiss on his cheek, already feeling guilty for what I was about to do. “I’m sorry. I’ll be right back.”

I started jogging away before he could try and stop me. My legs had a mind of their own as I stumbled through the dense crowd toward the exit. I braced my hands against the gym doors and pushed my way through, stopping for a moment as they fluttered closed behind me to consider where she could be. I huffed, feeling an urgency deep inside me that was only growing with each passing moment.

I turned on my heel to keep moving, and slammed right into a hard chest. I reeled back, ready to brush past whoever it was, but stopped when I saw that it was Jackson. His chest was heaving, as if he’d been running, and his eyes were wide with fear.

“Jackson?” I asked tentatively, the look he was giving me only increasing my unease.

He stammered silently for a few seconds, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly. His eyes fluttered as they glanced away from me apprehensively. He was acting like he’d just seen a ghost, or maybe something worse.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” I pressed, taking a step toward him.

He gulped and let out a shuddering sigh. “I-I was out behind the school and...and I was...”

“What? What did you do?” My voice hardened with frustration as I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously. He had definitely been up to something, if his guilt-ridden expression was any indication. I momentarily forgot what I was supposed to be doing as my curiosity peaked.

“I-I told...Allison’s dad, he was...”

My heart skipped a beat with panic at his words. Mr. Argent was behind the school? Why would he...

Oh shit.

Oh my God.

Without even sparing him another glance, I rushed past him and straight down the hall. Within seconds I was outside, the freezing night air causing my skin to rise with goosebumps instantly. My head whipped from side to side as I tried to figure out which way to go. On instinct, I starting running toward the lacrosse field.

My heart was hammering painfully in my chest as I sprinted as fast as humanly possible. I was suddenly very glad that I’d chosen to wear ballet flats tonight, instead of the heels Lydia had tried forcing me to buy. I let my intuition guide me as I kept going until I reached the edge of the field.

I staggered to a stop, my eyes widening at the sight of Lydia standing at the other end. Her back was to me as she walked around slowly, looking lost. I opened my mouth to call her name, feeling my chest loosen just slightly at the fact that she was okay.

I froze, my whole body growing rigid with fear as Peter suddenly emerged from the tree line just outside the field. His figure was mostly cloaked by the bright stadium lights as he approached her, and it didn’t seem like she’d seen him yet.

“Lydia!” I screamed, finally finding my voice through the panic coursing through me. I started running in her direction again, having no plan but just needing to be there with her.

She whipped around at the sound of her name, but made no move to get away. There was nothing I could do but watch in horror as Peter stalked toward her and opened his mouth wide, his eyes flashing bright red. She didn’t react nearly fast enough.

By the time I reached them, she was laying in a crumpled heap on the turf, blood splattered across her dress. All the air rushed from my lungs as a heavy sense of déjà vu washed over me.

Of course, how could I be so stupid? It was the vision I’d seen when Derek helped me, finally playing out in real life.

I let out a trembling breath, my chest feeling like it would collapse any second from the intense pressure. My mind went blank as Peter kneeled over her body, blood dripping down his face. His eyes, still red, slowly swept up to meet mine.

“Well, they don’t usually run toward me, but I’ll take it.” He muttered lowly, an amused smirk twitching at his lips.

My eyes were still locked onto Lydia’s unconscious frame beneath him. Her new dress was ripped, the red stain at her hip growing alarmingly fast. My heart clenched painfully and tumbled down into my stomach at the sight.

I was too late.

Peter took his time standing to his full height. I could feel his intense gaze on me, watching me closely, but I couldn’t look away from Lydia. She was so...broken. A wave of nausea washed over me and I forced my eyes to meet his.

My vision blurred as I tried desperately to catch my breath. “Is she dead?”

My voice was barely above a hoarse whisper, my entire body trembling. It was from the overwhelming terror being this close to Peter initiated, but I wasn’t just scared. I was angry. I knew something was going to happen all day, and I ignored my instincts. I saw this very thing happen weeks ago, but did nothing. And now, Lydia might be dead. Because of me.

Peter hummed low in his throat, his eyes scanning me from head to toe before glancing down at her fleetingly. “Not at the moment.”

A few tears escaped down my cheeks as I tore my gaze away from him to look at her again. I wasn’t even sure if she was breathing. If she was still alive, it was just barely.

My panic only rose as I thought about how unlikely it was that I’d get out of this situation in time to bring her to a hospital. Her chances of survival were dropping by the second. And mine too, probably.

“Tell me, Y/N, what do you see in my future?” Peter look a slow step toward me, and I stumbled back to keep some distance between us.

My eyes jerked up to his as I stiffened, a shiver wracking my body as I became more aware of the freezing temperature. “How do you know about that?”

The earth crunched beneath his shoes as he stalked toward me. I stood impossibly still, knowing I wouldn’t be able to escape him. He didn’t stop until he loomed only inches away.

“How does anyone know anything?” He murmured hoarsely into my ear, and I recoiled back, my stomach clenching painfully in disgust. My eyes pinched shut as one of his hands came up to brush a stray lock of hair away from my face. “You, my dear, would make a fantastic beta.”

My eyes jerked open again and I took a miniscule step away from him, my hands clenching into fists at my sides. “Trust me, I wouldn’t. I’ve been told I can be really annoying. I wouldn’t make a good beta. Or a good anything, really. I’m hardly a psychic. You should just keep searching because, you know, whatever it is you’re looking for...isn’t me.”

“Oh, I think I’m willing to take my chances.” Time seemed to slow as his eyes flashed bright red, his mouth opening wide to show his razor sharp canines.

I whipped around, ready to at least attempt running for my life, but instantly froze at the sight of Stiles barreling toward us.

“No!” I shouted frantically, my heart leaping into my throat with panic.

A strong arm wrapped around my stomach and wrenched me backward. I slammed against Peter’s chest, hard. The air was knocked out of my lungs from the force, just as a clawed hand snaked around my throat.

Stiles lurched to a stop in front of us, his dress shoes slipping on the damp turf. He flailed to the ground before popping back up instantly, his eyes wide with horror as they glanced down at Lydia before landing on me.

“Don’t kill her. Please.” His voice was trembling with desperation as he held a hand out toward us hesitantly.

The tips of Peter’s claws dug into my skin and I winced, tears now running freely down my face. I was terrified. For myself, Lydia, and now Stiles. Peter had killed many times before, and there was literally nothing stopping him now. Stiles’ eyes flickered to my neck, his jaw clenching tightly.

“Of course not. Just tell me how to find Derek.” Peter drawled, as if he wasn’t currently poised to do the opposite.

“W-what?” Stiles stammered, seemingly surprised by that request. His gaze was still firmly planted on Peter’s hand.

I felt a sharp stabbing at the base of my throat and my lips parted as a shuddering gasp escaped me. He was surely drawing blood at this point. Stiles’ eyes widened with alarm at the sight and his hand jerked toward us as if he were itching to intervene.

“Tell me how to find Derek Hale.” Peter leaned down, his warm breath fanning my shoulder. I tried jerking my head away, my heart lurching in my chest at his close proximity, but didn’t get far with his tight hold around me.

“I don’t know that! How would I know that?” Stiles’ voice rose to a frantic shout, his chest heaving as his glistening eyes finally moved up to Peter.

“You’re the clever one, aren’t you? And because deception has a very particularly accurate scent, Stiles. Tell me the truth. Or I will rip her apart.”

As if to prove the validity behind his words, his hand tightened around my throat. I instantly started pulling at his fingers as I felt my airway closing. My lips parted in a silent gasp, my lungs spasming painfully as I tried to force a breath in.

“Look. I don’t know! Okay?” Stiles rushed the words out in a complete panic, his eyes darting between Peter and my neck. Tiny black spots dotted my vision as I felt myself growing faint. “I swear—I swear to God I have no idea!”

Peter hummed low in his throat, his chest vibrating against my back. “Wrong again.”

Everything that happened next must’ve taken place in only a few seconds, but they seemed to drag on and on. Peter’s head jerked down to my left shoulder, his teeth digging into my skin easily. A scream tore through my throat as he finally released it, my vision blurring as unbearable pain rippled along my upper body.

Stiles face crumbled in utter horror and he lunged toward me just as Peter’s arms disappeared. I tried gasping for breath as I sagged to the ground, but my body just wasn’t cooperating. It felt like Stiles caught me, but I couldn’t be sure as I lost all feeling in my limbs.

Then, everything went black.

————————

I stirred, already wincing in pain as I slowly regained consciousness. A high pitched droning was the only sound in my otherwise quiet surroundings. My eyes fluttered open and instantly squinted against the harsh fluorescent lights above me.

Everything felt heavy. I sluggishly started turning my head away from the lights, but jerked to a stop as searing pain radiated from my shoulder. My face fell into a grimace as a pitiful groan escaped my lips.

Something shuffled at the foot of my bed and I froze. My heart jumped in my chest with panic. Memories of Peter came flooding back all at once, and I started trembling with fear at the unknown presence.

Stiles jerked upright, appearing at my side a split second later. I let out a small sigh of relief, wincing as my lungs angrily protested each breath I took. My body began relaxing as I realized I was safe.

“Oh my God! Y/N!” He practically yelled in my face as he leaned down over me. “Are you okay? Wait, that’s a stupid question. How are you feeling? Does it hurt?”

One of his hands disappeared beneath the thin mesh blanket covering my body and he pulled out a hallow cord with a small switch in the middle. “If it hurts you can push this button as much as you want and I won’t tell. You’ll be higher than a kite, but—”

“Stiles.” My voice was barely above a hoarse whisper as I interrupted his frantic rambling. “I feel okay. Just tired.”

Truthfully, I hadn’t been awake long enough to know how I felt. I’d gathered that I was in the hospital, but obviously didn’t know much else. My entire left side hurt like hell.

My eyes trailed over Stiles quickly, noting that he was still wearing his clothes from the dance. His white button up was stained with blood and dirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His black jacket had been discarded on a table by the door.

Maybe it hadn’t been long, then?

“Seriously?” He sagged down into the chair that sat beside my bed, his eyes widening in surprise. “You were asleep for almost thirty hours.”

“I was what?” I planted my hands on either side of my hips and pushed myself up, ignoring the pain that ripped through my shoulder at the movement.

How the hell had I been out that long? That meant it was already Sunday, although probably somewhere around midnight. Too many panicked thoughts invaded my mind at once to make sense out of any one of them.

Stiles bolted back to his feet and pushed me against the bed with a disapproving glare. “It was actually twenty eight hours, forty seven minutes, and sixteen seconds, if that makes you feel better.”

“You know what, somehow it does.” I huffed sarcastically with a roll of my eyes, wiggling around on the hard mattress in an effort to get comfortable again.

Stiles twitched his eyes at me while he sat back down apprehensively, as if not trusting me to stay put. He brought a hand up to rub at the back of his neck as he glanced down to my injured shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Y/N...”

“For what?” My brows furrowed in confusion. I really had no idea why he would be apologizing. There was definitely a list of people that should feel bad right now, but he wasn’t one of them.

“I should’ve listened. If I’d just told him what he wanted...” He let out a heavy sigh and rested his elbows onto his knees before dropping his head into his hands.

I reached out and took one of his hands in mine, rubbing my fingers across his skin soothingly as he looked up at me cautiously. He had no reason to blame himself. Peter had already proven time and time again that he’s literally insane, and I’d made the stupid decision to run toward him mid-attack. I had a feeling he would’ve bitten me either way, regardless of anything Stiles did.

“It’s not your fault.” His lips pressed into a thin line, his eyes glistening with a slew of intense emotions.

I didn’t even have time to start deciphering them before he sat forward in his chair, his face hardening with determination. “I should’ve brought this up before I had to watch you almost die, but...you’re not—you know, how you are with me...with any other guys, right?”

His voice was timid as he struggled to stutter out the words. My heart swelled in my chest as my lips pulled up into a small smile. That was the most adorable, perfect, Stiles way of phrasing that question. For a moment, I forgot about all my worries.

“Stilinski, are you asking me to be your girlfriend?”

His eyes twitched as he squeezed his fingers around mine minutely. “Only if you’re gonna say yes.”

I didn’t even have to think about it for a second.

“Of course I’m saying yes, you dork.” I let out a breathy giggle as a big grin took over his face.

His caramel eyes shined with happiness as he brought my hand against his mouth to place a gentle kiss on my fingers. It was about damn time we had that conversation. I honestly shouldn’t be surprised that it took us this long to make things official, considering how stubborn we both are. Regardless, it felt amazing to finally be able to call him my boyfriend.

My boyfriend, Stiles. It had a nice ring to it.

I only let myself relish the moment for a few more seconds before finally asking about the one thing I’d been dreading thinking about since waking up.

“How’s Lydia? Is she...?” I trailed off, not able to say the word out loud.

When I’d seen her last, she was only moments away from death. I was sure of it. If I’d been here this long from a bite to the shoulder, I couldn’t imagine the damage that had been done to her. My heart clenched with regret as I thought back to all the moments I could’ve done something differently that would’ve saved her.

Stiles winced beside me, hesitating for a long moment before answering in a quiet mumble. “She’s uh...missing.”

“Excuse me?” I instantly tried bolting upright at his words, my anxiety skyrocketing. Missing? How could she be missing?

He guided me back down gently with a hand on my uninjured shoulder, his eyes narrowing again in warning. “Yeah. She just kinda disappeared from her room this morning.”

It was like he could sense that I was about to try getting up again, as he peered down at me sternly and pressed his hand down more firmly. “My dad already has the entire department out searching. There’s nothing you can do.”

My mind was racing with anxious, jumbled thoughts. She could’ve been taken if no one was sitting by her bedside like Stiles had clearly done for me. Or, she could’ve run away. But why would she do that? She was in the hospital. Where she was safe and getting treatment. I guess, there was always a chance that she’d taken to the bite and shifted already...

I didn’t know what any of this meant for me. I could only assume at this point that I wasn’t a werewolf. I mean, my shoulder clearly hadn’t miraculously healed yet. I figured, if I were, it would’ve done so by now. I was just incredibly glad—and lucky—to be alive.

My eyes met Stiles’ as he leaned back in his chair and inspected me closely. He kept glancing toward the place where Peter had bitten me as he drummed his fingers against his lips. It was like he couldn’t tear his gaze away.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I breathed, suddenly nervous. His anxious expression couldn’t mean anything good.

“There’s something I keep—something Derek said awhile ago that I can’t get out of my head.” He mumbled, his eyebrows furrowing in apprehension.

I looked at him expectantly, urging him to continue. He was seriously starting to freak me out.

“The bite—he said it either kills you...and I think we’re good on that one...”

I glowered at his poorly timed sarcasm as his eyes continued flickering between my own and my shoulder. He swallowed thickly, and I could practically see his heart racing as he let out a ragged sigh. He finally caught my gaze, twitching uncomfortably in his seat.

“Or it changes you.”

Well, shit.

Episode 10 Episode 12

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slutforagoodsmut · 4 years

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We All Get Nightmares

(Lars x OC)

The waves crashed along the sand, the moonlight glittered across the sea. For once in a long time, there was silence, There was peace. No gem saving, no gem destroying. It was a quiet, normal night; and for once in a long time, Primrose went to bed without a sore body or broken bone. Curled up in the bed layed the precious girl, her dark locks of springs for hair bunched up in a ponytail, and the one streak of light pink laying lightly against her face. Her soft warm touch, her skin glowing in the moonlight that beamed through her window. Her pencil striaght physique now starting to blossom from child to young woman, her hips starting to curve out and chest starting to broaden. And on her back, in between her shoulder blades, sat a rose quarts gem that reflected off of any twinkling light, which she kept hidden beneath her hair. Primrose Universe was indeed a beauty, just like her mother was.

There she layed all snuggled up in her plush bed on the other side of the room, a small smile graced upon her lips as she clung to the teddy bear her father gave her all those years ago. She just looked like some ordinary 14 year old girl, a girl who wanted to go far in life, go beyond the limits as any teenager would. The Primrose everyone knows, the girl everyone cherishes, was much more than a silly little teenager. She was a gaurdian, a powerful protector of the gems; keeping the bad out. The twin sister of a powerful boy and the daughter of a gem herself.

But aside all that schmazzy jazzy stuff, Prim was just your avgerage teenager. A girl who listened to her father's old music and laughed at the silly faces he made. A girl who enjoyed her friend's company and eating doughnuts. Someone who loved adventure and would sometimes get in a lil trouble along with her brother. An open minded person who accepted anyone as a friend. That is who Primrose was.

It wasn't far into the night when Prim's phone began to buzz on her nightstand. Prim, being the light sleeper she was, woke immediately, her eyes being blinded by the light the phone gave off. She groaned. "Who's calling in the middle of the night?" She fumbled for the phone and pressed the 'accept call' button, holding it lazily to her ear. "Yo," she said.

"Prim, are you awake?" A certain Lars Barriga voice came through the phone. Prim rolled her eyes and sank her head back into her pillow.

"Oh yeah sure, totally awake, like i always am..." she peered over at her clock, "...at 2:30 in the morning," she said sarcastically.

"I know it's late but I just couldn't sleep! Maybe you could come over for a bit?" Lars asked, his voiced getting a bit high. "Ya'know, help me fall asleep?"

"You've gotta be kidding me Lars," she sighed, her hand sliding down her face. "Dude, you're like almost 17 years old, can't you tuck yourself in? I mean, haven't you tried calling Sadie?" Prim yawned out as she spoke, covering her mouth.

"Yes I could tuck myself in, thank you very much!" Lars hissed. "I just...I had a bad dream and now I can't sleep," he mumbled into the phone. "P-Please?"

Primrose looked back at the clock, then sat up and looked at Steven, who was sleeping soundlessly all the way on the other side of the loft. It'd be easy getting passed her brother, but what about the gems? Nothing could get passed them, and I mean nothing. She put a hand on her head and sighed again. "Fine, I'll be there in 15 minutes."

"thanks Prim, you're the best!" Lars said into the phone.

"I know I am," she grunted as she sat up, stretching her legs and arms. "Oh and Lars?"

"Yes?"

"You owe me." Was the last thing she said to him before ending the call. She couldn't believe she was actually doing this. 'I swear to god if this is a joke...' Prim yawned again as she put her hair up in a messy bun, not bothering to do anything with it at the moment. She didn't bother changing either, and not that it was a big deal anways. Prim was wearing a pair of shorts and tank top, all she needed to do was throw on a bra and head out. Prim walked passed her brother and got her flip flops on, kissing him on the cheek before climbing down the loft. 'Was it cold out?' she wondered, before grabbing a sweatshirt just in case. Now here was the difficut part; getting passed Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. Pearl was a nutjob when it came to safety, and on the other hand Amethyst could care less, so she would be easy to get by. But then there was Garnet. Garnet was a tricky one, and probably the sneakiest and wisest off them all.

"Alright one step at a time..." Prim whispered as she tip toed silently across the floor boards. Amethyst was snoring on the couch and Pearl was curled up in a ball, but where was Garnet? They should have been in the temple, so this was going to be a little harder than usual. Prim looked around. Uh oh, this wasn't good. Garnet must be in the temple, right? No harm at all! She lightly stepped around carefully, making sure not to step on a squeaky floorboard by mistake. 'Just an hour!' Thought Prim 'and I'll be back before sun rise!'

It took a few minutes but Primrose managed to slip out of the house quickly and quietly. "Phew, that was close," Prim said feeling a bit exhausted.

"What was close?" A voice asked.

She gasped, holding her breath as she clasped a hand over her mouth tightly. "Oh Bejeebus!" Prim slowly turned around to see the giant gem standing over her with her arms crossed, no emotions expressed over her face. It wasn't that she was terrified of Garnet...well....maybe just a tad, it was the fact that Garnet was always right, and to see Garnet dissaprove her actions was one of Prim's biggest fears.

"Where must you be so late at night?" Garnet asked.

"W-Well, I--uh, ya see, something--um c-came up! Yeah that's right, something came up and...." Prim faltered, looking down. Garnet raised a brow behind her glasses, putting a hand on Prim's shoulder. She looked up at the gem and sighed, rubbing the side of her arm. "Lars called me..."

"Lars?"

"Oh! I meant Big Donut Boy!" Prim corrected herself.

"And what does "Big Donut Boy" want with you at this hour of the night?"

"Its sort of embarrassing but...he had a nightmare. And he called me cuz he couldn't go back to sleep."

"A nightmare, huh?" Garnet repeated, putting her hands on her hips. "Well, if you must. This does sound important."

"Yeah I know Garnet I shouldn't leave without--wait what?" Prim stopped herself with wide eyes, looking up at Garnet like an idiot. "Really?"

"Yes, you may go, but don't tell Pearl."

Prim blinked, raising a brow. "Are you an imposter Garnet? Shouldn't you be giving me words of wisdom or something and telling me not to go?"

Garnet cracked a small smile and ruffled Prim's bed head. "Geez Prim, you make it sound like I'm another Pearl." Prom laughed at that. "But yes, I trust you. Just be back before Pearl notices."

"You got it Garnet!" They young girl whispered and gave the gem a quick hug before running down the steps.

*10 minutes Later*

The temple was only a few blocks away from Waterman St., so a walk to Lars's house was a piece of cake for Prim. Her sweatshirt was tied around her neck to keep her shoulders warm and hands tucked in her pockets with her phone. Like she expected, it was a little chilly, but nothing Prim couldn't manage. Matter a fact she loved the chilly weather, and sadly it was something Beach City hardly ever got.

In the distance Prim could see Lars sitting on the steps of his porch, resting his head on his lap. 'Oh man, maybe this really is serious,' she thought as she got closer. He looked miserable, but what was different? He always looked miserable, especially around Prim and Steven. Yes Prim knew Steven could be a bit annoying, but so was she at times! They both had many flaws and messed up--a lot--but hey that's what twins did together! It was both of them or none at all!

"Hey," Prim said, stopping in front of the Barriga Residence.

Lars looked up and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked like he hadn't slept for days! To be honest he looked like a crack head in Prim's opinion... 'No, he would never!' An image of Lars doing crack came to mind. Prim shuddered in fear. 'He may act like Mr.Badass all the time, but he wouldn't dare to do such a thing!'

"Oh, Prim! You're here!" Lars exclaimed a little groggily, as if he were just dozing off. He wore a black Under Armour tank and a pair of grey shorts, her hair a bit of a mess btw.

"Well no shit Sherlock, of course I'm here."

"How did you get out of that wacko of a house and passed that nut job of a family?" He questioned. 'Such a bitch...' Prim thought as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Watch it chicken legs, I still don't have a problem breaking your arm."

Lars backed off. "Alright alright."

"Well it was fairly easy to get passed my nut job of a family, besides, Garnet is covering for me."

He nodded and patted the spot next to him, indicating for Primrose to sit. Prim gladly took the seat and looked off into the distance, sitting in an awkward silence.

"Rough night?" she asked.

"Uh yeah, rough night," he said, sighing wand rubbing the back of his head. "It hasn't been good the past couple of weeks, I haven't gotten a single drop of good sleep."

"Have you gone to the doctors?"

"Phssht, the Doctors?" Lars scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Doctors are for wimps, big baby, wusses, shall I go on?"

"And the Doctors are for people who are in need of major help, for those who need a diagnosis, and for recovery," Prim corrected him, eyeing Lars up.

"Oh whatever," he groaned, putting his head in his hand. "My parents said that I should go to the Doctors but...I don't know I feel little weird about it."

"Yeah I get," Prim started, "the doctors could be a scary place, no lie, but the only thing they want to do is help you."

Lars sighed, looking down sadly. "Yeah..."

Prim put her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, why don't we go in? Sort of chilly out here don't you think?"

Lars looked at her with depressing eyes and nodded, getting up from his seat and Prim followed him in quietly. "My parents are away on a trip, won't be back till like sometime next week."

"That's pretty cool, gonna throw a few parties?" She elbowed his side and wiggled her brows. Lars shrugged and gave a very small smile.

"I suppose a party or two wouldn't be so bad," Lars thought aloud, flicking the lights on in the kitchen. There on the island sat a plate of doughnuts, soaking in all the glory. Prim licked her lips and her eyes lit up. Lars plopped down on a chair and the younger of the two sat across from him. "Want one?" Lars asked, taking a pink icing topped doughnut.

"Do I ever!" Exclaimed Prim, taking the one with white icing and rainobow sprinkles. She could never turn down the most delicious thing in the entire world. Well, right behind cookie cat. "Oh man these are bomb!"

"Big Donut never fails to impress," muffled Lars while eating his doughnut. After a few more bites of their delicious treats, Prim cleared her throat to speak.

"So how about we talk about the nightmare, hmm?"

"Oh, u-um, now that I think about it, I don't really think it's worth mentioning anymore." Lars rubbed his arm uncomfortable, fidgeting around in his seat.

"Dude I came all the way over here because you had a nightmare, I could be sleeping right now." She rolled her eyes. "So you're telling me."

"But it's stupid, really."

"Not to me it isn't."

"Well to me it is."

"C'mon Lars I didn't come here for nothin' "

"Prim just let it go."

"Nope."

"You're really starting to annoy me."

"Don't care, now spit it out already!"

"No!"

"Why not?!"

"Because it's dumb!"

"Its not dumb!"

"Yes! It! Is!"

"UGH!" Prim stood from her seat and jabbed her finger into Lars's chest. "Why must you be so freakin stubborn?!"

"Why are you always trying to get into everyone's business?!" Lars pushed Prim's arms away.

"YOU TOLD ME TO COME OVER!" Prim flailed her arms around. "God, you say you're life is so horrible, so miserable! Oh boohoo Lars!"

"Yeah! SO WHAT?!"

"Maybe if you talked about your feelings you would be a nicer person and everyone would like you!" Prim yelled at him, shoving the chair in and leaning over table to get in his face.

"Well in so sorry your majesty but I HATE talking about my feelings!"

"WHY?!"

"B-BECAUSE I'M SCARED!!!" Lars's hand went down and he hit the table with a loud bang. Silence fell between them, the only sounds filling the air at the moment was their heaving. "Are you happy?!" His voice cracked as he wiped the building tears from his eyes, sitting back down and hiding his face in his arms. Lars's shoulders shook as he cried and Prim looked down at him pitifully.

Prim sat back down and sighed, running a hand over her face. "Lars..."

"W-What?" He whimpered into his arms.

"Look at me."

Lars moved his head so that Prim could only see just his eyes; those dark eyes that were streaked with tears.

Prim put her hand on his arm and leaned in. "Tell me what happened."

Lars furrowed his brows, wiping his eyes and grabbing a tissue from the tissue box beside him. "It's just...it was all dark. No light, nothin, just pitch black. A-And I was alone! Just me, falling down an endless pit of darkness. Prim I couldn't escape! I was so scared! No mom and dad, no Sadie--no Steven...n-not even you..." he placed his hand over Prim's, looking away with tinted cheeks. "I thought it would never end. And then there was horrible voices. They said such hurtful t-things..." Lars shut his eyes tightly and his shoulders shook.

"What did these voices say Lars?" Prim asked gently.

"They....they...called me pathetic. A-A waste of s-space. They said my parents were ashamed of me. That I was a loser." He covered his eyes. "But they were true. These voices were right about everything they said."

Prim's eyes widened and it felt like her heart broke. 'Oh you poor thing...' She was his friend, this was probably the first time Lars has ever opened up to anyone, but Prim didn't know what to do.

"Why can't I just be like Steven?" Lars said. "Why can't I just be like...you?" He looked up at her. "You're kind to everyone and everything. You're smart, passionate, you help everyone who has a problem, and you make a new friend everyday--the same with Steven. Y-You're nice to me, even when I treat you badly," the teen looked away with shame.

Prim shook her head, "There's only one Steven, there's only one of me, and then there's just one of you. And to just think of two Stevens drives me nuts," she cracked a toothy smile, thinking of her brother. "The things those voices said aren't true in any way, shape, or form, I promise you that. You are who you are, and no one could change you. Sure you have your bad days, but who doesn't? And sure you have more bad days than good, but that just makes the good days seem even more special then they really are." Prim cupped Lars's cheeks, wiping the tears away with her fingers. "You're special."

"R-Really?" Sniffed Lars, swallowing hard and face becoming hotter.

"In my eyes you are. To me you always will be." The two smiled at each other, faces rather close now. "We all get nightmares. Even you Lars, even I."

"Thank you, Prim..." Lars whispered. "Ya'know, now that I look at you more and more often, I never told you this, but you really are beautiful."

"Jeez, I get you to open up once and you're already telling me I'm beautiful?" She smirked, blowing a lose strand of hair out of her face.

He rolled his eyes, moving his eyes away from hers. "W-Well, since we're in the moment n' all, I thought I should just tell you. I mean, you're gorgeous!"

Prim's face started to feel hot with embarrassment, the sweatshirt suddenly not being needed anymore. Prim pulled back and pulled the sweatshirt off, the cool breeze hitting her skin and her gem glowing with passion. It was out there, making her body feel warm with....love? 'This is an odd feeing...' she thought to herself. She only ever felt her dad's fatherly love, or Steven's brother love, even the Gem's motherly love in a way...never this kind. Maybe it wasn't even love, she didn't know, but from then on when she looked at the boy in front of her, she felt...different. Her stomach tingled, like butterflies swarmed inside. Her heart pounded in her chest, her cheeks going red as she leaned forward again.

"O-Oh w-w-well thanks," Prim laughed softly, rubbing the back of her head. "You flatter me---

A pair of lips pressed against hers, a hand on the back of her head. Prim stuttered into the kiss, her heart skipping a few beats, a feeling of warmth engulf her. Prim kissed Lars back, holding his shoulders. A few seconds later they both broke away, gasping for air, falling back in their seats. She touched her lips with her fingertips, slouching in her chair. 'Did he just...?'

Lars himself looked like he couldn't believe what he had done. He covered his mouth, his face passed the color red, looking away out of sheer humiliation. "I'm sorry Prim, I...I-I don't know what came over me--" Prim rose from her seat, looking at Lars with a smirk. "Wait, where are you going?" He asked, sounding a bit saddened and panicked.

She rolled her dark eyes at him and walked around the table and stood in front of Lars. "Where am I gonna go?" She asked, a smile on her lips.

(Ok so like I don't know if this is Would be labeled as pg 13/14 form this point on, so don't go nutso in the comments!)

Prim sat down on Lars's lap, facing him with her arms around his neck. Lars seemed to be in a dazing shock, his eyes still glittering with settling tears and face shining with streaks. She pressed against his chest, a small cheeky smile spread against her face. Lars stuttered over his words, his hands resting on her back, fingers moving over her gem. "I-I-I like you..." Lars mumbled quietly, looking her in the eyes (I know, real cheesy). "Like...really really like you..."

"Really? I haven't noticed," Prim raised her brows, "I'm just curious why me and not Sadie."

"Sadie..." he started, "I only ever seen Sadie as a friend. Nothing more, but I think she feels a bit stronger about me instead."

"You don't think she'd be really mad at us, do you?" The girl of 14 asked a bit worriedly. After all, Sadie was her friend too, and she would never want to upset her.

"I don't know, actually, we'll just have to see."

"So that means..." Prim laughed a little, shrugging her shoulders, "that we're dating? Like...a thing?"

Lars smiled widely, nodded his head, and rested his forehead against hers. Prim kissed his cheek, then his jawbone, and then laid a small kiss on his neck, and then a bigger one where his shoulder and neck met. "You won't ever abandon me, would you?" he moaned, his grip on Prim becoming stronger. "Like, leave me for someone better?"

Prim, the girl with dark, long springs for hair, chuckled softly, hugging the older boy's skinny yet strong chest to her. "Never" is what she whisper, giving him a loving kiss on the cheek.

#steven universe #lars #lars barriga #lars x reader #stuff #idfk #garnet #pearl steven universe #amethyst #Steven

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danddymaro · 4 years

Text

Addiction | Old Snake x Reader

An Ending to MGS4 that ends in happiness for our good boi Snake

Fixed/Edited

BTW: Let’s shift the events around and pretend he went to go talk to Big Boss Before Meryl's wedding.

Thoughts are italics in quotations = 'Example'

Flashbacks are in italics = Example

Word Count: 2225

Addiction

From betwixt the snug place of his lips, the smoke in which he took pleasure from was snatched, aggressively pulled out in a single motion,

"Snake," A familiar male's voice said in a harsh whisper, sounding frustrated and disappointed all together, "Just what in the world do you think you're doing!?" Otocon added with the same tone of exasperation.

Silently, Snake's blue eyes drifted right to see the bespeckled brunette male giving him a half-hearted glare, his entire expression full of annoyance as he glared onto the man that seemed many years older than what he truly was.

"You know you shouldn't be smoking," Hal said while shaking his head in the same disapproval, making sure to exaggerate a low dragged out sigh, "Honestly...Snake, you'd think that at least today you'd make an exception." He added.

'Today...' David started, 'Today is a special day... for not just me, but for her too,' He thought while grunting, knowing just what the other man meant, feeling guilt weigh down over his shoulders as he recognized his selfishness.

With a dull gaze as a response, Snake returned the look back to his long-time friend, 'I know this already...don't think I don't,' He silently told the man while pressing his lips together tightly.

Tearing his eyes from the hardened dark chocolate orbs, David then trailed his oculars down to the discarded nicotine as it now lay on the floor, a small, thin line of smoke still rising from its end, a gentle flicker of a red spark still visible as well.

He could pick it back up. After all, it was salvageable, but even so, his reaction remained prolonged.

He stared at it for a few moments before he closed his eyes to rid himself of the tempting image.

"You will end up smelling like burnt ash and tobacco. I don't think she'd like that," Otacon continued to speak, convincing him to make the right choice.

Dropping his shoulders, Snake nodded in defeated agreeance, knowing it to be true.

After a few silent minutes passed, he then gave a frustrated sigh and stepped on it, crushing it under his shoe and making sure it was put out by the stomp.

"yeah yeah," David grumbled, because he was well aware of the fact and had already mentally kicked himself for it.

"I know you're nervous," Hal then said with a soft, understanding smile rising, "it's understandable," he said while placing his hand on his friend's shoulder, "But you should do it for her. " He added, truthfully, also being concerned for Snake's health.

"Now come on, " Emmerich said with brightened brown orbs, "It's about to begin," he reminded the other male, his index finger tapping the little face on his watch as an exited grin overtook him.

Having spent almost his entire life in battle, it wasn't like he could fit into the normal world with ease. He couldn't just chuck himself into an easy everyday life as simple as that, no matter what anyone tried to tell him.

He'd been told to live his life, to enjoy what bits he had left and to salvage it the best he could, but he hadn't the least bit of an idea as to how to do so,

'how? ' He wondered helplessly, uncertain as to just how he could go on so simply.

What could a man that's known nothing but battle do in the normal world?

He couldn't go back to his family as other soldiers would often do, because he had none. He had no mother, father, brothers, or sisters, to fall back to.

Heck, he didn't even have a damn dog to go back to and run toward at the end of the day.

All in all, he had nothing. So, he couldn't just join into the masses of civilians and blend in, because it just hadn't been in his plans.

He'd never thought that far along, and for a long time, he'd thought there was nothing there for him.

But of course, life had its crazy, little surprises, especially one he'd never anticipated...

"Marry me!" She said out loud, her voice rising with plea, the sudden proposal stopping his movements entirely.

His steps came to a complete halt, and the foot that had almost touched the ground stayed suspended for a moment, hovering over the placement by just a centimeter.

He then took two slow breaths before he placed it down to the Earth, turning to the woman with confusion, his brows knotted together to show a visibly painted look of dumbfoundedness,

"wh..what?" He breathed, almost inaudibly as he tried to comprehend what he'd heard.

He was certain that it was just his old age playing with him.

He just knew it was the only explanation as to why he heard her say the words because it was just unfathomable to him,

'I must be hearing things,' He thought to himself, deflated at the sudden realization that dawned upon him.

Dementia; he probably had dementia.

He'd thought he had just a bit more time before then, but it seemed that he wasn't lucky enough, and surely the old age he presented himself with had finally fully beaten him,

"What...what did you say?" He asked slowly, staring at her with furrowed brows.

She took a step forward, inching herself closer to him with anxiousness, seeming uncertain on coming near,

"Did...did you not hear me?" She squeaked, face turning beet red, seeming mortified at the fact that she had to once again repeat herself.

" Perhaps... but I could have been mistaken." He grumbled, watching her continue to move closer to him.

Slowly, and tentatively she stepped forward, soon standing three feet from him, staring up at him with a harsh swallow, a small lump gliding down her throat before she spoke yet again,

"I...I...I said ...I ... I said ... will you marry me..." she repeated with strain, sounding much smaller the second time around, losing all the sense of confidence she'd previously fueled herself with.

"Marry you..?" He repeated, still at a loss.

At her side, he noticed she held the white bouquet full of flowers tightly bound within her hold, and it was the same bunch that Meryl had thrown up in the air not a few moments ago.

When she realized just what he had been staring at, she held it up with a rather quirky smile, " I think this kind of means I'm next, and I don't see anyone better around," she said while raising both her brows to dance up and down until he turned away from her, not in the mood for the show of playfulness,

"Huh?!

- What! Please don't go!" she cried out, rushing after him, soon managing to stand before him, her arms widespread to stop him from moving past her,

"I'm being serious!" She declared, looking up at him with frantic (e/c) colored eyes, "You have to believe me!" she added, continuing on with her story.

She reminded him of the fact that they'd met before. It had been a while back, an event that had embedded itself deep within her heart, even if he'd forgotten,

"Because..." She started, " Because I've thought of you every day after that," she confessed. "And then I spoke to Hal, and he brought me here, he told me that now...Now was my chance to tell you. " She confessed to him.

She'd waited years, pinning for the man through each and every one of them, waiting for the day she'd one day stand before him again.

And it all began to make sense by then, why Otocon seemed so insistent on him joining the ceremony, despite his own refusal to show because he'd had other plans in mind, all of which didn't include infecting everyone with his miserable air.

"I'm not exactly meant for romanticism, " he told her. " And even if I were..." He trailed off, keeping his eyes drawn away from her, his words dying out as he let her fill in the blanks.

Even if he had been willing to take the risk, to suddenly go off and get hitched to some strange woman he just vaguely remembered,

his life was draining, and all in all, he had nothing to offer her.

"You're better off with someone else... " he said lowly, " someone who has the time," he added with the same dejection, moving to leave her behind before she stopped him again,

"Wait," She said with a stilled breath.

Her two hands both grasped his, stopping him and effectively holding him back. The soft, warm palms of her two hands enveloped his own hand which was much rougher and less dainty, " Let's at least try?" she said with hope,

"I already know," She told him, " I've already known about your condition...but still..." She went on, daring to step closer, " Still... Even then, it doesn't change the way I feel, and, in fact, It just fuels me to want to be with you even more, " She admitted.

"It's sudden, I understand, but at the very least, give me the opportunity to come closer to you." She tried to compromise,

"If you begin to feel the same way I do...then... then we can make something of it. " She told him, slowly convincing him with the lovely stare of her pleading, (e/c) colored eyes.

He reflects back to her proposal far more than he cares to mention because it had been the moment his life took a complete turn, going from muted grey and black to cheerful, colorful vibrancy in every step that she accompanied him in.

And it all lead him to where he was now, standing before her, dressed properly and prim, left awestruck at her beauty, moreso than he typically was, reminding him that perhaps his luck wasn't so bad if it had somehow aligned their lives together.

she held his hand in hers as she slid the silver band onto his finger, the smile she wore on her red painted lips never faltering, not once losing its lovely show of fulfilled happiness, because she couldn't be any more joy-filled, something everyone commented on.

- There wasn't a happier bride in the planet.

Her cheek was then pressed to his chest, her nose scrunching up as she let out a soft sigh, not sounding angry, but he knew she wasn't all too pleased either,

"You were smoking..." she said softly, closing her eyes slowly as she let her body be led by his slow movements.

He wasn't a dancer, and she wasn't either, but nonetheless, they rocked together, bodies pressed close as their friends watched the couple's first dance together.

"I can smell it on you," she added with a small sound of exhaled air produced from her nostrils.

She hated loving the scent, the smell of smoke making her think just of him and nothing more.

"I was nervous," he said in defense, his response making her giggle softly,

"Don't tell me you want out already?" she asked him, drawing back slightly to look up at him, saying it in a joking manner, but even then he could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

"Because I think it's a little too late for that," She reminded him.

"...Do you?" he asked her back, and he watched her shake her head in denial,

"Of course not silly," She said earnestly.

And he loved what followed, what always came after she looked up at him,

"I never would," She breathed, her gleaming eyes soon straying down to her wedding band, lovingly eyeing the silver piece, " David, I loved you then..." she started sweetly, her gloved hands sliding up from his chest to his cheeks, " and I love you now..." she reminded him, rising up on her already heeled feet.

His paled blue eyes closed, his mouth melted onto hers before she brought him the tender heat of their plumped goodness.

His two hands then fell over her hips but didn't stop to land on them, instead, they slid around her, his arms taking complete hold of her during their loving connection in an embrace that spoke more than words ever could.

"I'll love you always," she managed to murmur between their mashed mouths.

A squeal of enjoyment left her as he squeezed her tightly within his arms, loving all the attention he fed her.

She lived for it; Blossoming beneath his rays of affection.

"David..." she said again, drawing back, her eyes brightened with a type of light he knew existed only when he stared at her, because the woman adored him, something he'd always found to be unbelievable, yet a bliss.

He'd gone days without the death stick, days which later turned into months, and finally years.

He'd gone the rest of his breathing days without so much a thinking of them, but not a single one of those passing dates did he resist her, always caving in to her, even in their darkest days.

By then he'd found out that there was something far more addicting than nicotine, and it was the sweet flavor of her lovely lips, the warmth of their tender press, and much more the dedication behind each one that she let graze him.

All in all, she became his one fixation, the one thing he couldn't ever dream of living without.

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jaskiersvalley · 4 years

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So because I also have been reading your stuff on ao3 (it's good and wonderful thank you) and on here (i couldnt believe they were both you) (like how dare you be such an amazing writer). Thank you so much I have all the emotions reading your fics. I cannot thank you enough. I dont have the words to. So here have a bunch of purple hearts! 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💛

Purple hearts!!! Of all the colours to pick, you’ve managed to choose my favourite

Time was a funny thing,Geralt mused. He wasn’t affected by it like humans so it held little meaning to him and he forgot how humans aged. Jaskier, on the other hand, was painfully aware of it and the longer Geralt spent time with him, the more he realised Jaskier was rather vain. The various creams and lotions in his bag grew and he spent more and more time each morning to get ready. Not that it made much of a difference in Geralt’s opinion. There were still wrinkles and bags under Jaskier’s eyes. Only once did Geralt make the mistake of pointing out grey hairs on Jaskier’s temple and he was greeted to a full blown, rather dramatic wail.

Still, nothing stopped the marching of time and Jaskier started to be more shy around Geralt. It had been so long since he’d last seen his bard naked. They had enjoyed many an evening together but perhaps age had affected that too. The doublets Jaskier had been so fond of looked a little tighter. So perhaps time wasn’t as kind to Jaskier as hoped and he was ashamed. Next to Geralt, no human really looked impressive but with age, a little more weight and maybe even a bit of sagging, Jaskier felt inadequate. Little did he seem to care that Geralt still loved him regardless of his looks. But his ageing lark seemed so self-conscious, Geralt was content to love him in any capacity he was allowed. Sometimes he wondered whether age had brought other, more embarrassing complications for Jaskier in the bedroom department too but it wasn’t a question he ever asked.

Over time, Jaskier had gone completely grey, had a little paunch but his voice was still just as strong and he kept up with Geralt on the roads. So even if Geralt wondered whether they should settle somewhere for Jaskier’s twilight years, he couldn’t find a reason to suggest it because outside of cosmetics, Jaskier didn’t seem any different. Except for if Geralt saw him before his morning ritual of what he called skincare, Jaskier screeched and ran, hiding himself. But that was just Jaskier’s brand of dramatics.

They were walking through the edges of Vengerberg when a disbelieving voice called “Jaskier?”

Geralt watched Jaskier freeze, face looking pained and obviously trying to think of a way to run away.

“I don’t believe it! Julian! What the hell have you done to yourself?”

“Valdo,” Jaskier ground out and turned. “Please don’t-” Whatever he had been about to say, it was silenced as Valdo Marx marched up to him and swiped a thumb over the swell of his cheek.

“What is all this? Why are you marching around like some old man?” Valdo licked his thumb and swiped again. It was like he was wiping age from Jaskier, where he touched, youthful skin peeked through. “And what’s this?”

Playfull, Valdo patted the small stomach and laughed brightly. “Pillows? Really my dear? What’s the meaning of all this?”

Jaskier’s gaze slid to Geralt and Valdo’s followed. A frown morphed into realisation before Valdo burst out laughing.

“It just got awkward to mention, okay?” Jaskier pouted as Valdo clutched his shoulder.

Now that Geralt looked, Valdo looked no different to how he had been all those decades ago when they met at a banquet once. Still as cocksure, ageless in a youthful way and dressed just as garishly. It seemed that time hadn’t just been kind to him, it had all but forgotten him.

“You’ve always been an idiot,” Valdo snickered and ruffled Jaskier’s hair, hand coming away a little white. He looked at it and laughed again, shaking his head. “This is priceless. I’ll be singing about it for a century, that’s for sure.”

Finally having enough, Geralt stepped closer, trying to figure out just what the hell was going on. Plus, Jaskier was looking and smelling more stressed and embarrassed by the minute. Id didn’t help that where Valdo had swiped a thumb over his face was dusted in a healthy pink.

“If we go to an inn with a bath, I can explain,” Jaskier mumbled, uncharacteristically quiet. It only made Valdo snicker.

“Well, nice to see age hasn’t brought you any wisdom. I’ll see you around, Jaskier.” With that, he flounced off, laughing to himself like an idiot.

Silence engulfed them and Jaskier looked rather miserable. Going to the inn was like taking him to the gallows. The bath was called and Jaskier waited for it to be filled, nervously fidgeting with the hem of his doublet.

“Just don’t be mad, okay?” he said and Geralt nodded, sat on the bed and confused. Slowly, Jaskier stripped. A few oddly shaped pillows were pulled from under his doublet, as he stripped, Geralt was struck by one thing. His body didn’t match his head. There were no wrinkles, no signs of ageing, his chest hair wasn’t silver like his head. In fact, his body looked no different to the last time he had seen it. After a moment’s hesitation, Jaskier stepped into the bathtub and dunked himself under with a deep breath, hands scrubbing at his face and hair. The water clouded white and when Jaskier resurfaced, his hair was back to its usual brown, face wrinkle free and youthful. On the bed, Geralt was perplexed.

“Surprise?” Jaskier gave an awkward jazz hands for effect.

“I don’t understand.” Geralt truly didn’t. One moment Jaskier was a grey haired, older man and one dunk in some water later, he was back to his ageless youthful looks. “Are you rejuvenated by having a bath?”

A bark of laughter erupted from Jaskier before he clamped hands over his mouth the stifle the slightly hysterical sound. “No. It’s easier if I show you.”

He climbed out of the bath, uncaring of his nudity and went to his bag, pulling out all the lotions and creams Geralt had watched him hoard like a dragon. There were powders, all shades of white.

“Watch,” the command was gentle and Jaskier began to apply the various things with a practised hand. Within minutes, Geralt’s old companion was back, minus the white hair. There were shadows highlighting wrinkles, his skin looked more weathered and aged. “I liked spending time with you. But you thought I was human.”

Walking back to the tub, Jaskier dunked his head under and washed all the make-up off with ease.

“You...,” Geralt was a little speechless.

“I made myself look like I’ve been ageing because I didn’t want to lose you. It got to a point in our relationship that I couldn’t turn around and say ‘by the way honey, I don’t get old’ because too much time had passed.”

“So, instead, you spent coin on things to make you look older. How did you think this was going to end?” Geralt frowned.

“I thought you’d get tired of me and leave me behind one day. Deem me too old to keep up with you. Thought maybe if we stopped having sex, you wouldn’t want me around but-” Jaskier broke off with a small, sad smile.

“But?”

“But you kept loving me. Kept me around, made plans to settle just for me. And I couldn’t figure out how to stop the charade. Valdo, as much as he is a blight upon this world, actually did me a favour even if he just wanted to mock me.”

There were so many things rolled up in such few words, Geralt was offended Jaskier had thought he could just leave his bard behind one day. Rather than deal with the big emotions, Geralt kept things simple.

“To get this clear, I thought you were a human, to keep up my belief in that, you made yourself look older through make-up and hair dye.” He watched Jaskier nod and look contrite. “We stopped having sex because you couldn’t disguise your body like you could your face.” More nodding. “Now that I know, does that mean we get to have sex again?”

#geraskier #geralt of rivia #jaskier #valdo marx #immortal jaskier #tldr: jaskier is an idiot and amazing at make-up

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tjlikesprettythings · 4 years

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Guys it’s only been a few days since my macriley obsession started and I already decided to write a bunch of stuff floating around in my head...I’m ruined! I’m not part of AO3 yet so thought I’d just share my craziness here! Enjoy the madness or ask me to stop.

________________ Desi starts noticing things slowly, she always knew that they were close. Riley was kind of like Jack’s replacement in Mac’s life she deduced in the beginning. She liked Riley, she was smart, could fend for self, and honestly felt she had nothing to worry about because she seemed highly principled, hell she went to jail trying to change the world. But as time passed, she started to see just how Mac looked at the other woman.

It was how his eyes would find her in any situation, look for her approval. She didn’t believe in jealousy, it was such a useless feeling, but she couldn’t help but think about these small encounters that she noticed. So, of course, the voice in her mind started to question if there was more to this, did she need to worry? She decided it was her trying to come up with excuses to run because she had done this before.

But she couldn’t deny the fact that during their double date, there was a look on his face as he watched Riley and Aubrey. She also recalled him muttering “what kind of name is Aubrey anyway?” under his breath when they had finally spoken about Riley’s new live-in boyfriend. She chalked it up to him being a protective older brother. Riley, Bozer, Matty, and Jack were his family, she understood this much.

It would build up slowly like after Riley moved in and she would come over after her day was done to find them laughing casually to some sci-fi movie that they had watched, or it would be the two of them shouting at each other playfully while playing video games or that they would be attempting to cook dinner together, each with a task and laughing when the other failed miserably. An easy banter that flowed so naturally. Riley always seemed open with her, smiled and welcomed her, gave them space. But it was the time they spent all together that gave away to the fact that she was the third wheel to Mac and Riley set not the other way round.

As they ate take out, Mac spoke about everything and Riley seemed to keep up. She didn’t look bored, if anything she hung on his every word and would challenge him or bring him back to earth when he veered from laymen with a wise crack and a roll of her eyes.

“How many times do you think you watched Die Hard with Jack?” Mac asked eyes trained on Riley.

“Son, when I was a kid or now?” Riley laughed, “I definitely got you beat in that department, I’m sure.”

“There’s no way! I will bet you...something when I think of it.” He laughed harder.

“Deal! I need another Mac gadget. That wifi signal booster you built me came in handy.” She said taking a swig of her beer.

Desi watched almost enchanted, she hadn’t seen this Mac in a while. The silly beautiful blonde genius that she fell for. It wasn’t easy for them like it was for him and Riley she realized and it tightened her throat a little. He’s never made her anything, has he? She later rationalized that it made sense that they would be comfortable with each other, they’d had more time to adjust. Yea, that’s what it was.

Even when Riley ran away to join him at Codex, she said to herself that it was because they were friends and if she were honest she was glad that Riley did so he wouldn’t be alone, that she had his back. Why couldn’t Desi have his back? Why couldn’t she see the bigger picture and trust Mac? But all that did was proved her point more. Mac and Riley were a package deal. Could she have a relationship with a man that had another woman he was in a co-dependent relationship with? Could she be with a man that she didn’t fully trust? But she did trust him, didn’t she?

Until that moment with Codex, she thought it was all one-sided attachment from Mac but when she looked at Riley’s eyes when they thought it was Mac who blew up, she recognized the look of devastating loss. Well fuck, Riley Davis had feelings for her boyfriend. She chose to file it away for another time when she had time.

The next few days just drove the matter home to death really. Mac had asked for some time to be alone, he had just lost his only remaining family, but the person who he didn’t ask space from was Riley. Of course, her living in the house made the situation complicated. But she knew in her gut that the person who he needed was Riley to get over this. If there was anyone that could ground him it was Riley.

So when they were in congress fighting for his mother and aunt’s vision, she made a point of telling him she knew him too. He did smile at her then but it didn’t look as brilliant as when he would later smile at Riley who sat proudly as he spoke his argument towards the climate issue and the new green deal. What’s one more lie that’s what she told herself anyway.

She couldn’t be mad at Riley, she really couldn’t. Riley did her best to steer the respectful road, she no longer sat close to Mac, she kept her distance and even told Mac she would be moving out soon, that she had found an apartment that would be available in a week’s time. That night Mac was in a terrible mood to the point that she decided to go back to her place. She felt sorry for all of them really. She just had to prep herself for what she knew had to be done, but there was a part of her that continued to rationalize all these events.

Everything really came crashing down when they were on a mission and he had to choose between her and Riley. She’ll give him some credit that she thought he did hesitate for a millisecond but ultimately he went after Riley. She almost laughed at the irony of the situation. Fuck what a spectacularly horrible feeling she felt spread across her body at that moment and it had nothing to do with her pending death.

Russ was able to save her, and Mac saved Riley. She watched as he held the smaller woman close to his side checking her over, concern, and devastation was written all of his faces. He hadn’t glanced over to her yet. The funny thing is, it could’ve been seconds but when you’re the one feeling like a fool it sure feels a lot longer. She felt the familiar anger come alight.

When they finally got back home and did their debriefs and written their reports, she decided to go over to his place. Riley was in the hospital for observation. It was no surprise that Mac was only home for a quick shower before he’d be back in the hospital.

“This isn’t working.” She said flatly crossing her arm across her chest, needing the protection. He just sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, so he wasn’t going to fight her on this.

“No, it’s not. I wanted it to, believe me when I say that. I thought our own thing could be enough. But I think we both deserve better, you especially deserve someone better.” He said sincerely.

“You’re right I do deserve better, I deserve someone who can trust me fully, I deserve someone who will fight for me the way you fight for her.” the words slip out before she has a chance to stop them. She’s not this person who fights over a man or belittles another woman, but the anger and hurt take center stage for a second and she loses control.

He looks confused for a second, then as if the realization of her words really hit him. “I’m sorry Desi.”

She chuckled, “We never stood a chance. You didn’t have room for me.” finally voicing what she’s known for a while now. “It’s always been her, hasn’t it?”

It’s as if he’s figuring all of this out for the first time, which just made it all the more shittier. How could she even be mad when they were so oblivious and respectful and willing to just bury it to keep each other in the status quo. “Fuck! Are you serious Mac?! Do you not realize that it’s Riley! That you’re in love with her?!” she runs a hand through her hair which slowly makes it’s way to her lips and she starts to laugh eve though her eyes sting as well.

“Desi…” Mac takes a step forward, but she steps away from him holding up a hand to stop him. Giving herself a second more she clears her throat, swiping away at the tears that spilled over.

“I know,” she simply says. Because she does, he’d never hurt her intentionally but doesn’t mean this doesn’t hurt. “Mac, get your shit together or you’ll lose her. Tell her how you feel before she buries how she feels about you.” With that, she walks away from his place. He doesn’t try to stop her, and she’s glad that he doesn’t.

Later when her heart cools and she has a chance, to be honest with herself. She actually is happy that Mac found someone who fit him in every way. She made a pact with herself to follow her gut next time. She tries to stay away from the hospital but decided she owes Riley at least the courtesy of a colleague.

She’s not surprised to see Mac next to Riley’s bed holding her hand to his lips. She decides that maybe it’s best to just give them all the space. So when Russ looks at her in the lobby with understanding, she realizes that they were all just in a Shakespearean level tragic comedy. But hey that’s life, full of woderful moments and losses.

#macriley #riley x mac #Desi #macgyver #angst #fanfic #i'm ruined

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iforgotmypreviousaccountlol · 4 years

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Starting Line

Happy Holidays, @carson-asmo-lover

This is your Secret Santa gift. I hope you like it!

AU: Asmo is a uni student who just moved into a new apartment unit, Solomon is living next door learning how to bake. Every day, Asmo would smell the sweet aroma of baked goods from his room and in the hallways. One day, after a hectic day from uni, he stops in front of the door trying to guess which baked good is being made for that day. The door opens, cue awkward silence, Solomon invites Asmo into his apartment, and into his life.

ASMO

There, there it is again. Asmodeus glanced at his wall clock. Right on time: 2 o’clock in the afternoon. The sweet smell of sugar and pastry permeated his room. His next-door neighbour is baking again. He closed his eyes and inhaled, trying to take a guess which pastry his neighbour decided to make today. It has been a good past-time for whenever he found himself bored on some days when he doesn’t have uni classes. Not that he had nothing better to do, he had to catch up on a lot of schoolworks but he isn’t in the mood to do them right now.

He moved in just a few months ago so he could be closer to school, but now that he enjoyed the new-found freedom that is living alone, he realized he missed the constant presence of his brothers. Sure, having his own place meant that Lucifer wasn’t around to nag him when he goes out to party most nights, or if he brings people back to his place for some night escapades (He never did bring someone over though. Maybe he should.) He made a mental note to go home for the weekend if the workload permits.

“Cinnamon rolls,” he finally said, propping up from the couch. The sweet smell of the cinnamon powder that contrasted with the slightly sour cream cheese made Asmo’s mouth water. He groaned. “If you’re gonna make pastries, at least offer some to your neighbours so we don’t get hungry from the smell.”

Now he has no choice but to go down and buy something sweet to satisfy his craving. He put on a peach sweater and wrapped a white scarf around his neck. He stared at his reflection for a moment. His champagne-colored hair was longer on one side, stylishly swept to frame his face. His diamond stud earring reflected light when he turned his face in a certain angle. “Alright, enough. I look stunning, as always.”

He wrinkled his nose at his neighbour’s door when he passed on his way out, the smell of cinnamon is much stronger in the hallway. He hadn’t even met the mysterious baker, given that he’s almost always out to some party when he isn’t in class, it’s strange that they never even once bumped into each other in the lobby or the elevator. He shrugged and went on his way to hunt for some cinnamon rolls.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Asmo was almost dragging himself back to his condo unit after a hectic morning. He had a 3-hour lecture for Fashion Marketing and he had to pass a 10-page essay on Fashion Theory (which of course, he crammed last night. He even skipped a campus party!) and he’s just about ready to pass out and is determined to take a long nap for the whole afternoon. That would have been a solid plan, except it’s 2 o’clock in the afternoon and the scent of baked sweets wafted from his neighbour’s room and into the hallway.

He stopped on his tracks and inhaled the scent, his brain immediately fell to its routine, trying to discern which ingredients are being used to create what pastry. “Milk, definitely. What else? Eggs? And oh—”

The door suddenly opened. Asmo jerked back in surprise, his hand latched to the strap of his sling bag. He blinked once, twice.

A tall man with silvery-white hair with stunning blue-gray eyes, wearing a black turtleneck with sleeves rolled up to his elbows and white apron, came out of the room carrying a small trash bag. Asmo was never one to be at a loss for words, especially not in front of attractive people, but his tongue refused to make an audible sound.

“Oh, hello. I suppose you’re my neighbour? I believe this is the first time we’re meeting each other?” The man continued, “I’m Solomon.”

Asmo shook off his surprise and cleared his throat. He wore his usual disarming smile and nodded at him. “Asmodeus. I just came back from school, I was just, uh,” he said while gesturing to his unit’s door.

“I see.”

Awkward silence filled the space between and around them. Asmo noticed a faint sprinkle of flour on Solomon’s right cheek, he clamped down the urge to reach in and dust it off.

The fire alarm started beeping causing the two to jolt in surprise. Solomon raced to the trash chute, dumped the trash bag and raced back inside his room to turn off the oven. Asmo stood unmoving to the doorway. He wondered if he should offer help.

Thick smoke came out of the oven when Solomon opened it, he fanned the oven with a mitt. The fire alarm hasn’t stopped beeping so Asmo mindlessly stepped inside and grabbed the nearest flat object (which happened to be a pan of piped cream puff dough) to fan the alarm component on the ceiling. He honestly had no idea what he’s doing. The piped dough from the baking pan fell and scattered on the floor, one even hitting him right on the cheek.

“Oh. It stopped,” he commented, the pan still raised over his head.

Asmo glanced at Solomon who was still kneeling in front of the oven and saw that a bunch of dough pieces is now strewn around the kitchen floor. A solitary piece of dough stuck on the baking sheet finally gave up and dropped on Asmo’s forehead. He blinked slowly, unsure on how to react.

Solomon snorted, obviously trying but miserably failing to hold back a laugh. Asmo flicked away the dough which earned a chuckle from Solomon, which in turn triggered Asmo to burst into laughter.

“Sorry, that was… not funny.” Solomon said in between laughs.

Asmo doubled over. He wiped a tear that escaped his eye from laughing and said, “It kinda was.”

“Listen, why don’t you sit and clean yourself up. I’ll just tidy up for a bit and we could enjoy the successful batch I made earlier. Think of it as a welcoming present.”

Asmo considered it for a moment. Sleep or… this? “Sure.”

Solomon smiled, and started cleaning up the mess.

Asmo pulled out a chair and sat. His rose and gold eyes followed Solomon’s movement. It mesmerized him; the grace in his movements, certain and self-assured. He stared so hard he didn’t even notice that Solomon was already standing in front of him asking something.

He shook his head a tiny bit. “I’m sorry, come again?”

Solomon chuckled. His chuckle sent a shiver down Asmo’s spine.

“I asked if you would like tea or coffee. To pair with the cream puffs.”

“Tea, please. With milk.”

Solomon nodded and proceeded to the kitchen counter to make the tea. Asmo wanted to face palm and cringe. Why is he acting this way?

“So… tell me about yourself,” Solomon said.

Asmo paused. In any other instances, he would’ve already started talking about himself without even needing to be prompted. Why is it that he can’t think of something interesting to tell this guy?

“Why don’t we talk about you first?” Asmo deflected the question.

That earned another smile from the fair-haired man. He brought the cooling rack containing the cream puffs and a tray of tea and cups.

“What do you want to know?”

Everything, Asmo thought. Instead he asked, “What’s your major?”

“Chemistry. You?”

Huh, that surprisingly fits him. “Fashion design. Why are you always baking?”

Solomon sipped his tea. “I promised my little brother Luke I would teach him how to bake. You see, a friend of mine, Barbatos went overseas for a job. He was the one who was supposed to teach Luke. But since he can’t, I decided to give it a go.”

“That’s incredibly nice of you.”

“Thank you. For now I still need to watch videos and study the recipe but I think I’m starting to get the hang of it. Well, except for the incident earlier.”

Asmo nodded. The cream puffs looked so good he wanted to pull out his phone and post it on his Instagram but he stopped himself. He reached for one and popped it into his mouth.

The milky taste and the slight crisp of the puff blended well, it tasted divine—Asmo’s thoughts stopped at the same time he stopped chewing. WHAT IS THAT? It’s bitter and spicy and sour, flavor after flavor assaulted his taste buds faster than his brain can process the actual taste of the pastry.

He looked at Solomon, the latter clearly expecting a comment or reaction from him. Good thing he quickly managed his expression. He smiled, the cream puff still stuck on the roof of his mouth.

He was saved by the ringing of Solomon’s phone. When Solomon turned his back to reach for his phone, he quickly spit out the pastry on his handkerchief and stowed it on his bag’s pocket.

Solomon’s eyes widened slightly at him when he saw him gulped down his tea as a desperate attempt to wash out the aftertaste. “You sure are thirsty. More tea?” Solomon offered.

“I am. Yes, please.” Asmo nodded vigorously.

“So, what can you say about the cream puffs? It’s my first time so I can understand if they didn’t turn out perfect.”

That would be the understatement of the year, Asmo thought. He also dreaded the question. To tell or not to tell? “Do you have any more of the strawberry tart you made the other day?”

“How did you know I made some?”

“Please. Everyone on this floor probably knows what you’re baking every day.”

Solomon chuckled and proceeded to get a strawberry tart from his fridge.

Asmo swallowed, bracing himself. Just a small bite. A chaos of flavors.

He placed his palms flat on the table for 10 seconds then rushed to the sink to spit out the tart and gargle water. “What the hell was that?”

Solomon raised an eyebrow at him. “What do you mean? It tastes normal to me.”

Asmo’s jaw fell when he saw Solomon eating his tart with no problem, enjoying it even. He can’t believe he spent his days craving for sweets his neighbour baked when in reality they taste this atrocious.

“That’s it, Solomon. You’re not allowed to bake anymore,” Asmo said, shaking his head.

“Huh? I thought I was doing fine. I really need to learn though, I can’t disappoint Luke.”

Asmo bit his lip, considering. He sighed. “Fine. You can bake all you want, but never without me. I’ll oversee whatever you’re doing to make sure you never end up making those… those unidentifiable monstrosities again!”

Solomon smiled; in his grey-blue eyes, Asmo saw wonders, and potential, and… a future. “Deal.”

SOLOMON

Solomon checked his watch. It’s Friday and Asmo will be coming over in a minute or two. It’s already been more than a month since they started their “baking lessons.” Granted, it’s not every day; it’s only twice a week, thrice when their schedule permits. But would it be a stretch if he admitted to himself that the highlight of his weeks are the days when Asmodeus comes over to watch him work?

A knock interrupted his thoughts. He should just give Asmo a spare key, he thought while walking towards the door.

“You’ll never guess what happened in class today! So see, I crammed a paper again last night so I almost came late for class. Our professor for that class was Professor Simeon, you know? He’s wonderful but can be very strict so I didn’t want to be late and be scolded but then, on the way to the classroom…”

Solomon’s lips tugged at the corner as he watched Asmo lament about his tiring day at school. His strawberry champagne bangs swept stylishly, slightly messed up by the wind. His gold and ruby eyes sparkling along with his words and gestures. Asmo always looked alive to him. No, not the usual alive as in living. Really alive. Maybe that’s what happens when you know to find love in everything.

“Anyway, what are we making today?” Asmo finished, hanging his white coat on the rack near the door.

We. It shouldn’t have sounded as nice as it did. “We,” he said the word with maybe a bit more excitement than warranted, “are making red velvet cake.”

“All right! That’s great. I love red velvet.”

“I already prepared—”

He stopped because of the irritation that flashed in Asmo’s eyes. He bit his lower lip to suppress a smile.

“Throw it out.”

“That would be a waste. At least try out the batter before rejecting it.”

Asmo put both his hands on Solomon’s shoulders and looked at him seriously, emphasizing his words, “Solomon, I know for a fact that you are an amazing and smart chemist, but you’re hopeless in the kitchen.”

Solomon laughed which earned a chuckle from Asmo. “No, no, I didn’t add any suspicious ingredients this time. I swear. I followed the instructions word for word.”

Asmo begrudgingly took a spoon and tasted the batter.

“Good?”

He shrugged. “Surprisingly.”

It was two weeks ago when Asmo finally figured out what he was doing wrong all this time. Solomon had a bad habit of experimenting with ingredients, most likely because of his chemistry experiments. But even after figuring out what’s the problem, Asmo continued supervising his baking. Not that he’s complaining, and not that he would ever ask the arrangement to be over. He would never admit it out loud, but he liked having Asmodeus over.

Solomon started whipping the frosting with a hand mixer while Asmo stayed close to watch him. It took a lot to focus and not glance on his side.

Asmo said, “Hey, you got a little something—”

His eyes met Asmo’s in time as Asmo’s fingers dusted something from his cheek. They stayed frozen in time for a moment; staring at each other, Asmo’s fingers barely grazing Solomon’s cheek.

The moment would’ve lasted longer if the mixer’s whisk attachment hit the side of the bowl in a wrong angle and sprayed both of them with frosting. They blinked at each other before bursting into laughter.

“Kitchen blunders for the nth time,” Solomon joked.

Asmo pulled out his phone and suggested they take a picture, Solomon let Asmo take their “selfie.” After Asmo was satisfied with the pictures, Solomon reached for a paper towel to wipe frosting from Asmo’s usual immaculately beautiful face.

After the cake cooled, Asmo helped design the frosting. He also took pictures to post on his Instagram. Solomon made an account last week just to look at the pictures occasionally. The photo of the cake earned hundreds of likes and comments in minutes. Well, that can’t be helped, Asmo is a popular guy. Solomon would be too if he actually bothered to socialize, but he found it rather exhausting to deal with people he’s not interested in.

“Hey, could you send me our picture from earlier?” Sol said.

“Oh yeah, sure.” Asmo fiddled with his phone. “…And sent.”

“Thank you,” Solomon replied.

They settled down on the table to eat the cake they made and have some tea. They talked about their days and their upcoming exams. Eventually, the sun started setting. Its golden rays streaming from the window, dyeing the room in a soft orange hue.

“I think you’re okay now, Solomon. Remember to just always follow the instructions and don’t add any unnecessary ingredients to whatever you’re cooking or baking, and it’ll turn out fine.”

Solomon raised an eyebrow. He pushed away the idea that Asmo will now stop coming over because they already eliminated the cause of the weird taste (which isn’t actually weird for him).

“It's a force of habit. I’m always curious so I can’t stop myself from experimenting with things.”

“I guess…”

“Why, am I eating up too much of your time?” He asked.

“Of course not. I like spending time with you, Solomon.” Asmo’s cheeks flushed a bit.

Solomon sipped his tea.

Asmo took the small window of silence to change the topic. “Anyway, I got a call from Mammon the other day and guess what? He’s appearing in a mag—”

“Me too,” he interrupted.

“Hmm?”

“I like spending time with you too.”

Asmo was caught off-guard but eventually smiled. He reached for his bag and pulled out a silver box with a champagne-colored ribbon. “By the way, here.”

Solomon’s brows wrinkled. “What’s this?”

“Happy Birthday, Solomon.”

“How did you—”

Asmo winked at him. “Information comes easily when you have a lot of friends.” Asmo laughed and continued, “Kidding. I’m in the same class as Meph, he works in the registrar’s office as an assistant so I asked him. I had to do him some favours, but eh, it’s worth it.”

“Thank you, Asmo. Really.”

Asmo’s phone beeped, he looked at his notifications. His eyes widened a fraction.

Solomon smiled. He had an idea why Asmo was surprised. He glanced on his own phone, notifications pouring in fast. He clicked on a post, his first one ever.

It’s a photo Asmo took of them earlier. Asmo, lively as always, was throwing a peace sign while winking, his ruby and gold eyes full of wonder; Solomon, his blue-grey eyes a pool of mystery, was smiling a bit, looking at him contentedly. The caption? Best birthday with ‘that special someone.’

His phone chimed, a notification appeared on top of his screen: Asmodeus liked your photo.

#obeymesecretsanta2020 #obey me au #obey me asmodeus #obey me solomon

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halothenthehorns · 3 years

Text

All in the Family

Chapter 109: Percy and Padfoot

Sirius slammed down on a very sturdy desk, but all he upset was a very old bottle of ink that spilled over his lap and would soon stain the wood if he didn't fix it. Peter felt as if he were being bodily slammed into a bed, but he sent up such a cloud of dust everyone's sneezing and coughing only doubled as they'd been doing it upon arrival.

One peek out the window made this all the more strange, they were back at the Burrow.

"Surely they weren't hanging around Grimmauld Place for so long this home started resembling it," Sirius said in disgust, picking up the now dripping book and siphoning the ink away, though the cover still remained an inky black and bothered him greatly.

"No, I think it's just this room," James corrected quietly as he gazed at the empty closet. He couldn't even imagine Arthur and Molly's distress at their child who'd abandoned them, but he didn't think cleaning his room would be top of the list. He tried to picture it, if Harry had turned out like Malfoy or something and James couldn't be so proud of this future kid of his. The idea was unbearable and he hadn't even convinced Lily to like him yet.

Lily watched his look of honest sympathy, and it took her breath away. She'd never imagined he could hold any kind of emotion except pigheadedness, and here he was, caring about this family's troubles with an unmistakable expression.

When Sirius Black actually read out the chapter title, she startled more in surprise of remembering there were others in the room than such an odd chapter title. It was no wonder they were in Percy's room then, but what did that have to do with Sirius's animagus? His better half, she mentally concluded, as at least he couldn't talk like that, unlike now when he read highly obnoxiously about Harry waking up and writing out a secret letter to him. Not that she'd deny Harry's letter was very clever, certainly no outsider would get it. She just didn't think he should be laughing quite so obnoxiously about Harry's genius.

Peter listened with a grimace as Harry got to the owlery and spotted another of those demon horse things, he'd honestly stopped mentioning seeing the same all their time in the forest by third year as his friends had stopped laughing by then and just rolled their eyes. Sirius had even accused him of this being a stupider running gag than making puns about his own name. The fact that Harry was mentioning it so frequently made him hope he'd figure out what they were, Prongs's kid had a very good track record of that.

Lily smiled as Cho made an unexpected entrance, and when all was said and done, gave Potter the most obvious look one couldn't miss from Pluto. "It's nice some Potters know how to talk to a girl without making an arse of themselves."

"They talked about Quidditch half the time," Potter had the audacity to widen his eyes and look innocent of what she could mean. "I'd love to discuss that with you more Evans, you just never seemed to take to it."

"Surely she meant the part about how she'd defend you from Filch, Prongs," Sirius Black corrected with a hearty snicker. "You can go order as many dung bombs as you like in front of her and she'll be your alibi."

Lily scowled and considered storming into the empty closet behind her and slamming it in their face just to vent as Potter laughed. She turned to face the empty coat hangers regardless, and so when her heart skipped a beat in surprise at Hermione reading out the paper and Sirius Black's real current whereabouts, nobody noticed that she actually winced in concern for the idiot.

'For Harry's benefit,' she mentally corrected herself quickly. If Sirius Black got caught in this future, well, Potter had been more miserable and down-hearted than she ever could have believed back when all that had been going on in third year. If he went back there now, it would only be worse for everyone, including her own kid having whatever parent he could ripped away like that for such a ghastly unjust reason.

She turned back slowly to eye him now, and was fascinated to see him reading the whole thing with his chest puffed up and complete swagger for how foolish he found his godson's worries. He even went into the next article about that Podmore fellow like nothing had happened. She knew that was bravado, he'd been more dejected than Potter during that Azkaban mess, and found it fascinating he chose to play it off and get a rise out of his friends by laughing about it all in the end.

Was that really their answer to everything? It certainly seemed so the longer she watched. They really were a fascinating bunch of idiots. Maybe when they got back she'd steal bits of their hair and study some potions on them to see if-

"Yes!" Regulus whooped in triumph, launching himself onto the bed beside Peter, but now bouncing on it in excitement as his older brother described Harry and Ron skiving off homework for double Quidditch practice. "This is going to be the most fun we've yet heard! I can't wait for the tournament when we get back to ours!"

It was the most undignified thing they'd ever seen him do, probably to ever go on in this room honestly. It had been a choice between this display his mother would kill him for, or finally bursting into tears and trying to hug Sirius again for watching his brother try to keep reading like that. After only a few bounces, he definitely preferred this.

Peter laughed and after a moment got up to jump on the bed with him, spraying them all with dust once more. Being back in this particular room had only reminded him he'd spent so many years here hiding out as Percy's pet, like a curse was on this room and everyone in it, he definitely needed to just not think for a few moments.

Alice laughed and finally stopped rubbing at the back of her hand in worry for that school, of Neville getting a detention as well. Sirius Black nearly fell off the desk laughing at the two, and then decided to jump up there with him and continue reading like a loon. The other two watched with indulgent smiles, and likely would have gone up there with them if there had been room.

Frank and Lily exchanged exasperated looks at the lot of them, but neither could repress a smile through the whole practice even as the Slytherins showed up and tried to make larger arses of themselves than usual.

It wasn't until Percy's letter showed up that Sirius finally slowed, and it wasn't because the springs gave out. He tried to keep reading it and bouncing, but by the end his knees started shaking and he almost fell off and busted his head on the desk.

James caught him, his forehead an inch from the corner, but he stayed slumped in his arms for a few more moments as what he really read sank in. The idiot was the opposite of him, but the exact same as him, leaving his family because he didn't believe the same as them. Now though, even that humongous bighead bothered to reach out to his kid brother and offer the same hand, something Sirius had never actively bothered to try!

James's laugh echoed oddly in the suddenly quiet room as they all waited for Sirius to spring back to his feet and keep going. "What was that your mother said about monkeys on the bed Peter?"

The two had abruptly stopped at Sirius's little fall, Regulus now holding onto the bed frame for support and frowning in concern. When Sirius finally did shake himself and keep going to Ron's reaction, it sounded oddly detached, and he winced with every rip he gave his brother's letter.

This bizarre reaction made sense to no one, how could Sirius be sympathizing with Percy of all people?

Sirius absolutely did not want to explain though while he was still kicking himself in the arse. He spoke of his own interactions with Harry almost all in one breath, and in the end found it oddly accurate as everything was being ripped away once more, that was clearly the only thing he was really good at.

#Harry Potter #fanfiction #reading the books #hp #OotP #Marauders #wolfstar #Jilly #James Potter #Remus Lupin #Sirius Black #Peter Pettigrew #Alice Smith #Frank Longbottom #Lily Evans #Regulus Black

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