#well eventually i just asked the lady who runs the mail room like

[adelheidvonschicksal]

182 Centimeters | Tall!F!Reader x Surprise

A great boon has been bestowed upon Aoi Todo. First, he got to meet Takada in person. Second, he gained a brother. Third, he was able to fight a special grade all in one month.

Is there anything else that could make this trip perfect?

Todo didn't think so until he lays eyes on you, standing in the middle of the hallway with luggage tucked under one arm and the other holding onto a rolling suitcase. He remembers now about Mai mentioning a late edition transfer student who was going to be joining in the school games a little late. He only wishes Mai had warned him about the other thing about you. The fact that you are an amazon in the flesh.

"She has to be 187," Todo thinks upon first seeing you and sizing you up from a respectable distance. "No, she's definitely closer to 185. Definitely, 185," he corrects as he tries to measure you by judging how far your head was away from the top door frame. When he glances down at your feet, he realizes his stupid mistake and smacks himself on the forehead. "I'm such an idiot. I forgot about her shoes." Taking your soles into account, he finally narrows down your height range. You have to be 182cm. An even 6 feet. That makes you taller than even Takada!

Todo's eyes widen upon the realization.

You had half his attraction factor right there; and with his help in training, you would definitely have the second half. He knows plenty of exercises that would make your ass look great and have the rest of your body strong enough to toss any curse. You guys could make training into dates, and dates would lead to the two of you making kissy faces. Aoi can already picture it. Naturally, you'd be admiring him, shirtless and glistening with sweat, unable to take your eyes off him. Then, you'd grow embarrassed when he would call you out on it and try to look away like you were never staring in the first place. Luckily for you, he wouldn't mind if you wanted to look at his chiseled chest a little while longer. Or better yet, touch it. 

Todo isn't sure what he's done to deserve such luck. Perhaps the world is rewarding him for finally breaking his record of 1000 sit-ups in an hour or maybe it's the limited-edition lucky Takada-chan charm that arrived in a mail a week earlier working its magic?

Either way, this might be the best year of his life, Todo decides.

That is until he hears a familiar voice. 

"Hey there! How are you doing?" Yuuji asks loudly as he walks up to your person. Todo should've known. Of course, his brother would sense best girl material walking into the building.

"My name is Yuuji. What's yours?"

"I'm (Name). I'm a new student here. I'm a little lost actually. Could you help me out?"

Even your voice sounds so cute! You were so perfect.

That means Yuuji had no chance with the way he was doing things now. Despite Todo wanting you for himself, he could never leave his brother to make such an embarrassment of himself. If the two of them are to battle for your love, it has to be a fair battle.

"Yeah, the dorms are thi—" Yuuji yelps as he's suddenly tugged away from you and dragged around the nearest corner, leaving you in a confused state where you stood.

"What’s the big idea?" Yuuji asks, breaking free from the grasp that held him.

"I'm trying to save you, brother! What do you think you're doing walking up to a woman like that so casually?" Todo asks.

It takes Yuuji a few seconds to realize that Todo meant you were the woman that couldn't be so casually spoken to since he's fairly sure you're a first-year like him. "I'm pretty sure she's the same age as us, dude."

This is worse than he thought. He's definitely going to have to give Yuuji the rundown on how to properly ask a girl out. "That doesn't matter. She's still a lady that requires finesse if you're going to try to ask her out," Todo says. 

Sadly, they are too busy in their discussion to notice you getting impatient for Yuuji to return or to notice another one of your classmates passing them and heading in your direction. You are just thankful to finally have someone help walk you to your dorm and not ditch you instead.

For the rest of the day, Yuuji is stuck with Todo lecturing in his ear. The first time being at the baseball game against the Kyoto school.

"First, you need to set the mood. And by mood, I mean you need to get her attention on you. Do something to impress her without her knowing you're trying to impress her," Todo instructs as you round home base on long legs, which Todo claims is made for a goddess. You were able to get a score for the team thanks to Fushiguro's sacrifice bunt, and the two of you take a seat in the dugout.

"Shouldn't you be helping your team?" Yuuji asks Todo after seeing him compliment your score. Todo sighs. Obviously, Yuuji needs more lessons. 

Eventually, Yuuji steps up to the plate for his turn. Naturally, he hits a home run. As he rounds home, he sees you applauding loudly. Your eyes perfectly on him. It definitely feels good to have a cute girl's attention, and Yuuji realizes that he did really want to ask you out. He wonders if Todo thinks that's a good way to set the mood.

The next time Todo decides to instruct Yuuji is after they all take their showers and decide to rest up before dinner. "Next, you need to leave a letter under her door. Something to pique her interest and make her want to meet up with you."

Luckily, Yuuji has seen this before in anime. "Right, right. I heard of that actually." He easily drafted a letter and slid it under your dorm door. It sounds like you're talking to someone else on the other side so Yuuji hopes you'll see it in time so the two of you can meet up in fifteen minutes.

"Finally, make sure the place you meet up is scenic," Todo says, nodding his head and closing his eyes to repeat the steps in his head as he follows his brother to the school's courtyard. Impress? Check. Letter? Check. Scenic meet-up place? Check.

It isn't until he feels Yuuji's hand on his shoulder and a quick thanks that Todo realizes his mistake. Yuuji rushes away from him to the other side of the courtyard where you're waiting with the letter in hand. 

"My name is Yuuji. I don't know if you remember me from class."

"Oh, yes, I know! You hit that homerun. It was really great."

Todo stands in shock. 

...He was so busy trying to teach that he actually forgot to pursue you first!

"Really? Thanks! I was just trying to make sure I actually hit it. I wasn't expecting it to go so far." Yuuji laughed. "So, (Name), I was wondering if you wanna go out together?"

Todo could cry. Actually, he already feels the tears coming down his face, but his brother could at least be happy. And if his brother is happy, that's all he needed!

"I'm sorry," you say sweetly. "I only showed up because I didn't want to stand you up, but the truth is I already like someone, and I wouldn't feel comfortable going out with someone when I have a crush on another person."

Todo's ears ring with your words. You already like someone!

"Oh, well, that's too bad, I guess. Thanks for telling me," Yuuji says with a disappointed yet understanding smile while Todo finds the opportunity to scoot in the middle of your conversation.

"Excuse me but your crush wouldn't happen to be on me by any chance?" he asks, hopeful.

You force a smile onto your face and tilt your head. "Sorry...Have we met?" you ask, nervously.

Todo gasps as he feels his world crashing down. Your date. Your marriage. Your kids. All gone, and it’s all black in his memory after that. The next thing he can recall is sitting in the eating area with Itadori. He remembers this heartache once before. "It's just like with Takada-chan..." he mumbles heartbrokenly.

"I told you already. We never went to the same middle school, and you never confessed to Takada," Yuuji grumbles, but Todo knows that Yuuji is only trying to make him feel better. He is so lucky to have such a good brother.

"Who...Who do you think it is anyway?"

Yuuji pauses.

He actually wonders that as well.

Then, they hear your voice ringing through the dining hall. Immediately, both sets of eyes are on you. 

"Fushiguro-kun, I wanted to thank you for helping me get settled into the academy. My mom gave me a buy one, get one free for a sushi place for when I made some friends, so...I was wondering if you wanted to be my plus one?"

Then, Yuuji finally gets it. He had been ignoring the small conversations happening around him the entire time thanks to Todo's interruptions.

The Hall.

"Excuse me. I'm looking for the dorms. Gojo-sensei was supposed to show me, but he got sidetracked so I've been sort of left on my own."

"Of course, he did. Geeze, that guy." Megumi sighs. "You can follow me. I'll show you where some empty rooms near the other girls are."

"Thank you so much! I'm (Name) by the way."

"Fushiguro," he states plainly and simply as you struggle behind him with your luggage. "Is that stuff heavy? Want me to help you carry it?"

”Yes. My arms got numb while I was waiting. Thank you so much!”

The Game.

"Out!" Gojo says. Fushiguro rounds first base to head back to the dugout, but you at least made it home to score. You head to the dugout as well.

"That's too bad, Fushiguro. You'll get it next time," you say, sitting next to him.

"As long as Kugisaki made it to second and you made it home then it's fine. I'm not really too hyped up on winning anyway."

”Oh. I was really looking forward to seeing you get one.”

”Too bad. Guess you’ll have to wait,” and by “wait” Megumi had meant probably not ever but you laughed anyway even though you had got what he meant. 

”I don’t mind waiting.”

The Dorms.

"Kugisaki-san said you could summon different shikigami animals."

"That's true."

"Would you mind showing me sometime? I love animals."

"What is your favorite?"

"I really like rabbits. Are you able to summon those?"

"Not at the moment, but I’ll show you when I learn it. How do you feel about dogs instead?"

”That cute dog was yours? That’s amazing.”

And now.

"Yeah, sure. I wasn't really in the mood for anything at school anyway," Fushiguro agrees, and your face lights up with a glow that could rival sunshine. Yuuji thinks if he squints he can see the anime hearts starting to dance over your head but Fushiguro didn't seem to mind.

Itadori could almost laugh. That's a new record in anyone ever befriending Fushiguro. The two of you must have hit it off really well. Yuuji smiles. In that case, he couldn't be upset. That must mean fate has something in store for you guys, and he didn't want to get in the way. "I guess girls really do like that cool, quiet type."

Meanwhile, Todo is crying in defeat. How could a woman like you like Fushiguro? 

"He's so boring though..."

[scripturiends]

gave me no compasses, gave me no signs

Read on ao3

Summary: It was the one time her hunch had been wrong.

In which Han Joonhwi is acting suspicious, and Kang Sol A intends to find out why.

Rating: T

Word count: 3,848

Notes: Title taken from Taylor Swift’s ‘invisible string’: “Time, curious time, gave me no compasses, gave me no signs; were there clues I didn’t see?”

~

As promised, here is the Solhwi fic that I had hoped to be up before Episode 7 airs. I went straight to work after receiving positive feedback from an interest check post. As I mentioned there, the story isn’t necessarily dwelling on the current timeline, but is, for the most part, still canon-compliant. I totally made up all the legal jargon, so please bear with me. And, like the show, I decided to do ‘cutscenes’ instead of one unilinear fic.

I had a lot of fun with this little project for the past two days, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it :) I’d also love to hear your thoughts, please do send me a message or feel free to comment, it would mean the absolute world to me. Thank you and let’s all look forward to Episodes 7 and 8 this week!

The fic is under the cut. As a sidenote, this fic is un-beta’ed. All mistakes are mine.

~

I.

Kang Sol A swears she only drifted off for a second.

She had been burning the midnight oil for the past few days, well into the weekend, so much that the tension was radiating into her atmosphere, so much that the heat was starting to get to her head. Her Civil Code paper may not write itself, but neither could she if it took every ounce of her energy just to even sit up. So she plopped down on her bed, head heavy on her pillow, still fighting the urge to doze off.

She blinked, slowly, and as her eyes fluttered at an alarming rate, they eventually closed — just for a moment, I’ll count to ten and then wake up again — and stilled.

Birds were chirping outside her window when her eyes shot open, and that’s how she knew she messed up big-time. She woke with a start, frantically shaking off the books and papers off her person and frisking for her phone, silently praying that she wasn’t too late for her meeting with her project partner Seo Jiho, who she knows absolutely despises latecomers.

Sol A felt something vibrate from behind her, and an incomprehensible sound escaped her lips as she checked her phone. There were mountains of notifications that prevented her from checking the current time: self-set alarms, e-mails from her professors, reminders about today’s meeting with Jiho, and missed calls from a certain Han Joonhwi.

Clearing all of them at once, she finally reads: 9:07 AM. She was supposed to meet Jiho at 9:15. Sol A breathes a sigh of relief, but her momentary celebration is cut short when her phone starts to ring.

Han Joonhwi was calling again.

She didn’t even get a chance to speak yet when the voice on the other end asked, “Breakfast?”

Sol A put him on speaker phone as she packed up her things. “Can’t,” she replied mindlessly. “I have to meet with Seo Jiho and I’m already late. Eat by yourself.”

A few seconds of silence went unnoticed as Kang Sol A zipped up her knapsack and wore it over her shoulder. She finally picked up her phone and switched back to the handset. “Don’t skip breakfast, you hear me?”

Still nothing. “Joonhwi-ah.”

“Walk fast,” was all he said. And then he hung up.

That caught Sol A off guard, but she heeded the advice anyway.

She made it to the study room at exactly 9:13, only stopping by the entrance to catch her breath and tie her hair back into a ponytail. It was silent, so she half-hoped that no one would be there, but half-expected nothing less from Jiho. So she walks in, footsteps heavy, only skidding to a halt when she sees Jiho staring someone down, someone whose back looked all-too-familiar.

“You like her, don’t you?” she overhears from Jiho. “Kang So-”

Jiho suddenly fell silent at the sight of Sol A, and the man opposite him suddenly turned his head towards her. She was right about who it was — it was none other than the person she spoke with on the phone just a few minutes ago.

If Joonhwi was surprised, he didn’t show it.

But Kang Sol A did. She blinked once, and with a hint of dubiousness, she asked, “Who likes who?”

The men shared a look, and she was met with silence again, which was beginning to irk her. But she bit her tongue, took a seat across Seo Jiho, and grinned cheekily at him. “Sorry I’m late.”

“You aren’t...” Jiho replied, trailing off.

“I am by your standards. I know you,” she said matter-of-factly. “For Seo Jiho, ‘on time’ actually means ‘thirty minutes early’. Which means I’m late.”

Sighing wistfully, Sol A added, “I learned that the hard way.”

She locks eyes with Joonhwi momentarily, but he averts his gaze, expression unreadable. Sol A ignores this and tries her luck once more, eyes flitting from Jiho to Joonhwi and back. “Who were you guys talking about?”

This time, almost with no hesitation, Joonhwi finally spoke up. “No one,” he answered. “My roommate was just practicing his cross-examination skills on me.”

He stood up, giving Seo Jiho a final staredown. “They’re very poor at the moment. Help him out, will you?”

Then, without looking Kang Sol A in the eye, he gave her a soft squeeze on the shoulder, and promptly left.

Sol A’s eyes followed Joonhwi’s back, and stayed there even after he left. His touch lingered on her shoulder like a ghost, but instead of comfort, all she felt was fear. Suspicion. Restlessness. That maybe he was hiding something, and whether it involved her or not, she was keen on finding out just exactly what it was.

II.

“I’m telling you, Yeseul-ah,” Sol A insists. “Something’s up with him.”

They link arms, walking past the school entrance and into the lobby. Jeon Yeseul turns to her, hair falling perfectly into place as she lets out an angelic laugh. God, Sol A thinks. Even her laugh is perfect. But past the admiration for her Aphrodite-like features, Sol A feels like she’s being mocked.

She pouts. “You don’t believe me.”

“I do!��� Yeseul defends. “You think he likes Kang Sol B.”

Sol A slides her left hand off Yeseul’s arm and holds her friend’s right one lightly. “So why are you laughing at me, then?”

“Unnie.” Yeseul wraps an arm around Sol A’s shoulder. “Has it ever crossed your mind that maybe Joonhwi-oppa likes you?”

Sol A almost choked on her spit. Of course she’s thought about it — after all, she’s a hundred percent certain that it was the name Kang Sol that slipped from Seo Jiho’s mouth a few days ago. But none of the evidence so far points to it being herself. And anyway, it’s not as if he’s shown any interest in Sol A as a woman. In fact, all he does is tease her. And she’s okay with that. And Sol B already likes Joonhwi. And they seem to be a far better fit than Sol A and Joonhwi. And it’s not like she harbors any romantic feelings for him, either.

She pushes the thought away before it could become bigger.

Sol A denies, deflects, and defends. “That can’t be right.”

“Why not?” her friend challenges.

“Why would he be avoiding me if that were true?” Sol A counters.

“People do that when they feel awkward around their crush,” Yeseul rebuts.

This is starting to feel like a game of chess rather than a conversation between best friends. “I think he’s just scared I’ll tell my roommate or something.” Before Yeseul could say anything else, by some stroke of luck, Sol A spots Joonhwi from her peripheral vision, walking past Lady Justice.

Yeseul smiles kindly at Sol A. She doesn’t doubt its genuineness, but she feels like it’s laced with mischief. “Should we test your theory, then?”

What does that mean?

“Joonhwi-oppa!” Yeseul shouts, waving at him from across the room.

She’s not going to ask him, is she?

Yeseul runs to Joonhwi, a light skip in her step. “I have something to ask you.”

Wait.

“Wait,” escaped from Sol A’s lips, barely a whisper before it started registering on her what Yeseul was about to do. And when it does, she finally sprints. “Jeon Yeseul, wait!”

“Oppa.” Yeseul bats her eyelashes at Joonhwi. Sol A was in tow behind her, feeling small but unsure why.

“Oh, Yeseul-ah,” Joonhwi greets. His eyes lit up at the sight of his friend and classmate.

While it pained Sol A to just sit back and watch, knowing that Joonhwi had been purposefully avoiding her, she let the scene unfold, trusting that Yeseul knew what she was doing.

“You haven’t been going to the study group sessions lately,” Yeseul starts.

Sol A hoped it would get a rise out of him, seeing as he was the one who started the group to begin with, but was barely showing up these days. Instead, all he said was, “The pair project in Civil Code has been holding me up.”

Yeah, right, she thinks. A second-round judicial exam passer and a former police academy student having a hard time in Civil Code? Why do I find that hard to believe?

Sol A scoffs, and Yeseul pinches her side. “Sol-unnie and I are meeting the others for lunch. You should come join us.”

“Ah,” Joonhwi drawled out slowly, as if coming up with an excuse to say no. Sol A expects it to be his next move. “I wish I could, but-”

Knew it.

“Kang Sol B will be there,” Sol A blurts out, fully aware that it’s a total lie. Still, she had to try.

Something in Joonhwi’s mood changed, and his face hardened. Still not making eye contact with Sol A, he excuses himself from Yeseul. “I’ll take a rain check today, okay?”

And without another word, he left again, leaving Sol A with the same emptiness that she had felt in the study room the other day.

Yeseul finally turns to Sol A, crossing her arms. “You’re right. He’s being weird.”

III.

A few more days without Joonhwi’s company, and Sol A was starting to feel its ill effects on her. She hadn’t realized just how much she took him for granted until he was no longer around to challenge her ideas, to annoy her over the littlest of things, to calm her down when she’s freaking out, to be her drinking buddy, to be someone she could tell any and every stupid story to, with the utmost confidence that he’ll keep it to himself or that he wouldn’t belittle her for it.

They’d been through too much together now, and even their fateful first meeting all those years ago didn’t faze him from her. In fact, her little scheme, no matter how deceitful at the time, brought him closer not just to her, but to Byeol, her mom, and to an extent, even Dan.

So what changed? What on earth did Seo Jiho say to him, and what on earth did she walk into, that made him close himself off from her? Proximity may not breed familiarity, but right now she wishes nothing more than to be in his orbit again.

Arguably the worst consequence of the lack of Joonhwi in Sol A’s life right now is having no one to eat with.

During one of her all-nighters at the dorm, she found herself with an intense craving for some ramyeon. She removed her earphones, partly to pull herself back to reality, but mostly to ask her roommate to have a meal with her. As if Sol B would say yes, but it was worth a shot.

“I’m going downstairs for a bite. You wanna come?”

No response, as expected from Kang Sol B. Sol A inwardly rolled her eyes, spinning in her chair to tease her roommate, only to find the desk empty.

She scratched her head while walking, wondering where Sol B could be at this time of night. And without a heads up, too… She was getting worried.

But it seems like her concern was all for naught, because Sol B was right where Sol A was headed.

And she was there with Han Joonhwi.

She was laughing. It was the first time that she saw Sol B laugh, maybe ever, and to see that Joonhwi could be someone who could do that for her, made Sol A feel proud. Like knowing Han Joonhwi was a privilege, not only because of the way he could make people comfortable around him, but also because Sol A had once been on the receiving end of it herself.

She should be relieved. In fact, she should be happy. Because it means that her guess was right, which means she doesn’t have to keep digging anymore. She could just tell Joonhwi that his secret’s safe with her, and they could finally go back to the way they were before... Right?

And yet something about witnessing the pair interact as a mere bystander didn’t sit right with Sol A. There’s a pang in her chest that she can’t quite comprehend — maybe she just misses him, or maybe it’s something else completely. Because if Han Joonhwi has feelings for Kang Sol B, and they’re together right now, then that leaves only one explanation: he must be avoiding her, and for a completely different reason.

It was the first time her hunch had been wrong.

Needless to say, Sol A lost her appetite and trudged back upstairs lifelessly, a bitter taste in her mouth and an ache in her stomach that she couldn’t quite place where it even came from.

IV.

Come Friday, Sol A was too exhausted to even think about Han Joonhwi. Between the endless deadlines and papers to write, her job in the copy room, and the Seo Byungju case, her energy had been too depleted and her social battery too worn out to even care that her relationships could be falling apart.

The only thing she has going for her now is the Legal Clinic, the one place where she could bury her nose deep in case digests and law readings and she would absolutely never get tired of it, because it’s the one place where she feels like she’s making a real difference, especially when people’s lives are at stake. It was the remaining part of her life where Sol A felt like she was in control, so these days, all her emotionally-charged passion was focused on this one thing.

But of course that had to fall apart too, when Professor Yang asked for her to stay after class.

He cut right to the chase. “I’ll be meeting with my defense lawyer today so I need you to consult with the client in my stead.”

Count on Yangcrates to always give Sol A a heart attack in under two seconds.

“M-me?” she stuttered.

The professor’s face twitched, ever-so-slightly, which Sol A took as a sign to backtrack and confidently proclaim that she’s up to the task. She knows there’s nothing Yang Jonghoon hates more than a quitter.

“Ah, yes, of course,” she accedes, with a little more verve.

He nods once in her direction. “And take Han Joonhwi with you,” he commanded.

She’s doomed. Not that she wasn’t doomed before, but now that Professor Yang had to drag her personal life into this, she was really in shambles.

Sol A clears her throat. “With all due respect, Sir,” she laughs nervously, “don’t you trust me?”

Professor Yang takes a moment to think about it. Sol A wonders if today’s the day she finally gets a definitive answer. But Yangcrates is as sly as ever. “This is your chance to get back at him for the Bad FaMa case. Make him your assistant this time.”

He walks away, leaving Sol A dumbfounded once again, but not before he adds, “Under my orders, of course.”

Sol A’s knees buckled at the thought. Normally, she would find this predicament to be absolutely funny, a chance to bicker with Joonhwi and learn something from him at the same time. But he’s angry at her, and she doesn’t even know why, and even merely approaching him has turned into a problem.

Everything in Sol A’s life right now is a problem. She wonders if it's getting Joonhwi back that would fix everything.

Upon leaving the classroom, she spots him getting a drink from the vending machine. She has to slap herself twice, just to mentally prepare herself, to muster up the courage to approach him again.

“Come on, Sol,” she whispers to herself. “This isn’t hard.”

Shaking off the nerves, she takes a step forward, but in a momentary state of weakness, takes another step back. “So what if he’s mad? That’s his problem. I’ve never given him a reason to be angry. He should suck it up. Not me. Come on. Just do it.”

A step forward.

“Just do it.”

A step back.

“Goddamn it.”

One final step back to boost herself forward, and she’s running towards him, pretending to be as casual as possible. “Han Joonhwi!” she calls out to him.

His eyes widen at the sight of her, knowing he has nowhere to escape.

“Did you get my text? Professor Yang needs our help at the Legal Clinic.” She smiled at him. “Let’s go.”

Joonhwi scratched the back of his head, and Sol A just knows it’s about to be another lame excuse. “I can’t. I’m meeting Sol B for our Civil Code term paper.”

He can’t even look at her, and Sol A wonders just how bad she had hurt Joonhwi for him to feel like this towards her. But that only lasted for a second, when she realized just exactly what he said. Then, her pity turned into irritation, as she accused, “Liar.”

Sol A crossed her arms, and glared at Joonhwi. “Did you forget that I’m her roommate? She went home today.”

V.

Sol A sat across Joonhwi inside the Legal Clinic, her eyes narrowed to slits. A profound silence enveloped the room, interrupted only by a sharp inhale from her.

“You like Kang Sol B, don’t you?”

The only response she got was Han Joonhwi’s signature smirk, playful and taunting, one that said, ‘You don’t know me, and you never will’.

She hated that.

She slammed a hand on the table, and pointed at him accusingly. “Don’t look at me like that. I would have kept your secret if you just asked. Is that why you were avoiding me? Because you think I’d tell her or something?”

The same smile painted on his face, Joonhwi exhaled defeatedly. “Kang Sol A, I thought I taught you to never make any claims with unfounded bases.”

An eyebrow perched up on Sol A’s end. “It’s not unfounded,” she argues.

“Where’s your evidence, then?” he dared her.

Sol A had been waiting for this. She listed everything he had ever done — or refused to do, which was spend time with her, speak to her, or even look at her, which was absolutely the bare minimum — since the incident with Seo Jiho up to this very moment.

He waves his hand dismissingly. “That’s all speculative.”

If his goal was to rile her up, then it’s definitely working. “Then what about what I heard Seo Jiho tell you that one time? And most importantly, you straight up lied to my face.”

“Circumstantial,” he quips. “That would never hold up in court, especially not when the only witness is yourself. How are you going to be both the defense lawyer and the sole witness?”

Han Joonhwi should be at the edge of the precipice here, and yet he has managed to flip the situation over and turn it into an interrogation for Kang Sol A.

Nothing can hide her frustration anymore. “I would never be the lawyer in my own case. Look, it’s still evidence. You asked, and I gave it. Seriously, Han Joonhwi, what’s with you?”

Instead of a direct answer, he points out, “You rely on your emotions too much.”

Almost immediately, she shoots back, “And you rely on the law too much. This isn’t a courtroom. This is a human conversation.”

He purses his lips, unable to say anything, and Kang Sol A continues. “You’re too stubborn.”

“And you’re too nosy.”

“You’ve benefited from it more than once.” Sol A’s patience is getting thinner by the second. “Can’t you just tell me what I did so that I can either apologize for it or call you out for being wrong?”

“You and Sol B are hardly friends. What reason would I have to be afraid?” Amusement gleamed in Joonhwi’s eyes; Sol A was astounded by how he could stay so nonchalant about this. “Think.”

She glared at him, but still ceded. Damn his tenacity. “Fine, I’ll play along.”

She rolled her eyes, and in a blasé manner, started to think out loud. “I overheard Jiho ask you if you liked Kang Sol, and then you started avoiding me. Yeseul asked you to join us for lunch, and when I said Sol B would be there, even though she really wasn’t, you declined. So I thought it was her that you liked. But it doesn’t make sense, because I saw you two hanging out at the cafeteria that one night-”

His arrogant expression changed to one of shock. “You did?”

“-and then you straight up lied to me about your plans. Unless you two are already dating-”

“We’re not,” he interrupts once more. Sol A eyes him with suspicion. “We’re not,” he repeats indignantly.

“-it could only mean that you do like Kang Sol…”

Joonhwi starts slowly nodding, face a little flushed, but somehow urging her on to continue.

“...just not B. You like-”

“Kang Sol A.” Professor Yang enters the room, calling out her name.

She’s sure her professor asked her to do something, but she was unmoved. At this point, she doesn’t think anything could pull her out of her reverie for the rest of the day.

A veil that covered her eyes was lifted, and she had never been so pitiful of the blindfold that Lady Justice wore. The scales Kang Sol A carried, as heavy as the burdens she was facing, balanced with Han Joonhwi holding them up with her. She wanted nothing more than to take his hand right at that moment, to feel the heaviness in its entirety, and thank him for staying anyway.

They don't talk for the rest of the day, but Kang Sol A is unbothered.

Her questioning attitude may have always gotten her in trouble in school, but this was the one time she was glad to be wrong.

Epilogue

Han Joonhwi fell asleep on his desk again.

He normally finishes up all his revisions early, but because of his agitation, the cold table seemed to be more inviting than the bed, where he simply ends up tossing and turning.

Despite the stiff neck it was bound to cause, he’s been doing it for days, only being woken up by his constant 8:30 alarms. This time, however, it was his gracious roommate Seo Jiho who finally interrupted him from his slumber.

Jiho slammed a sealed instant ramyeon pack on Joonhwi’s desk. He groggily looked up at his friend, whose hair was still disheveled, and asked, “What’s this?”

“It’s from Kang Sol A.” Before walking away, he deadpanned, “Do your own bidding next time. I’m not your messenger.”

Joonhwi took the cup ramyeon, spotting the bright yellow sticky note on it, not unlike the ones he’d put on Sol A’s notebook, or occasionally, her forehead. He smiled to himself as he read the message, walking out to heat up some water for breakfast, but not before carefully displaying the note on his bulletin board for the whole world to see.

Han Joonhwi,

For a second-round judicial exam passer, you can be so dense.

I like you back, you idiot.

Now stop sulking and have breakfast with me.

Idiot.

~

Send me your thoughts/fic requests here!

[jjungkookislife]

Fic Recs 2020 Pt. 1

Seokjin

let’s get married [SMAU] @hangsangwithbts

Summary: seokjin has no intention of getting married, but after facing tremendous pressure from his family to finally settle down, he comes up with the brilliant idea to fake a marriage. the lucky bride just so happens to be you.

voice mail @joonary

summary: kim seokjin is best known around campus for his romance advisory podcast, voice mail, but to you, he’s just your lovable idiot of a best friend. but when he accidentally lets it slip that he’s fallen for one of your fellow peers, you can’t help but be a little bit curious (and quite frankly, a tad bit jealous).

Yoongi

cheers if you agree @out-of-jams

summary: If it weren’t for the fact that he didn’t know who you were or even how to get into contact with you, Yoongi wouldn’t be posting all over Weverse for anyone to see. Not that he thought anyone would be smart enough to put the pieces of the puzzle together with how many people responded to his posts anyway.

snake kisses @peekaboongi

summary: You are grossly unprepared for the snake hybrid that enters your life. Yoongi is quiet and sneaks around you but eventually, even the cold reptile warms up to you.

under construction [SMAU] @luffles424

summary: In which y/n is just trying to figure out what to do with her life with the help from her (un)helpful friends

Hoseok

going once, going twice, sold @bxebxee

summary: But the real reason anything at all started with Hoseok was something much simpler, and probably wholly unexpected - not that you ever planned on any of the other members of the MBA Society to find out.You leave your unlocked phone in his car before stumbling your way into your tiny, studio apartment. And he sees a twitter notification asking you for further discount on your panties.That is all it takes.

just practice @lamourche

summary: The second time you hook up with Jung Hoseok, he doesn’t remember the first time.  You’re surprised.  It was only a few weeks ago, and you were in a broom closet. That has to be different, right? (Well, not really, you’ll learn.)

game over @9uk

summary: your boyfriend has been gaming all day without paying much attention to you. that is until his friends on discord brings up the moaning noises in the background.

you’re my kryptonite @dovechim

summary: Superheroes are immortal, they are everything we are not. The Krypton are a race of superhumans sent down to Earth to protect humans, and they are the epitome of nobility and protection. You have always believed in their immortal, God-like powers, revered and admired them your entire life. Your wish for your very own superhero is granted when you meet Jung Hoseok, a Krypton with the most unique, powerful abilities you’ve ever seen.

Namjoon

first, do no harm @yandere-society

summary: Dr. Kim is well known as the most skilled heart surgeon in the hospital, but when you notice his mortality statistics seem skewered, you discover all is not what it seems. Now, Dr. Kim is offering you a choice: will you join him? Or become yet another broken heart beneath his scalpel?

internet friends [SMAU] @bts-celestials​

summary: meeting through online, namjoon slowly starts to fall for the person who likes all the things he’s into. maybe having friends online is fun.

Jimin

reset @dovechim

summary: We are made of the pieces of what we remember, and we hold in ourselves the hopes and fears of those who love us. As long as there are memories to call our own, there can be no true loss. But Park Jimin has no such privilege.

paparazzi (tw: flash banner) @chinkbihh​

summary: What if the roles were reversed and it was Jimin who was the fan and you who was the idol?  But what if he wasn’t just a casual fan, but an avid fan?  Maybe even a sasaeng…  

Taehyung

the morning after @softlyjiminie

summary: one night, full of passion, whispered promises and heated kisses. one morning, full of regret and unwanted memories. is a night with your ex enough to send you running back into the arms of the devil?

fake love @mygsii

summary: an arranged marriage between you and taehyung leaves behind feelings of bitterness and hatred. will your heart be able to survive, especially when you’ve loved him all your life, or will it fall apart with this marriage?

cheap skate @gukslut

summary: Who doesn’t know Taehyung and his lady? Cutest couple in town, I’d say, and have been since they started dating in their college days. Oh, that was a while ago, though. And still, they’re happy as can be in that place they have together. Almost hate seeing one without the other, y’know, it’s like seeing just one testi- oh, right, I’m not supposed to talk like that. Anyhoo, I only say that because I saw Taehyung at a jewelry store the other day while I was buying my sweet Jiminie his presents. Maybe that boy’s finally gonna pop the question, but I do hope he’s got a good plan for it. Something sweet and romantic. Maybe I’ll find out after Jiminie gets back from that cabin he’s visiting.

baby i @jiminsfault

summary: a one night stand with a stranger leads to so much more than just great sex

Jungkook

only for love [SMAU] @lysjeon

summary: for almost four years it had been just him and sarang, and he had no plans on changing the life they had become accustomed to any time soon, but of course y/n has to come and shake his world.

one time in your room @ubemango

summary: There are papers to write, and virgins to daydream about. (You can think about Jeongguk’s dick later.)

piss off your parents @littlemisskookie

summary: In an effort to piss off your parents you move in with their worst nightmare- a boy with tattoos, a rock band, and an irresistible charm.

departure @nomnomsik

summary: As a flight attendant for Korean Air, you’re scheduled for a thirteen-hour flight to Japan. However, things get intimate between you and your partner and co-pilot, Jeon Jungkook, when he realizes Park Jimin, the famous idol from Korea, broads the plane and blatantly flirts with you.

curiosity @hobidreams

summary: when innocent jungkook comes to you with a not-so-innocent question… you decide it’s easier to just demonstrate.

inkling @gguksgalaxy

summary: Jungkook is your brother’s boyfriend’s co-worker, they own a tattoo and piercing parlour. In other words, he’s tall, gorgeous, has his passion literally etched into his skin, looks incredibly good in a man-bun, and is semi-unattainable for you. Why? Well…you’re not entirely sure but him ditching right after a very heated make-out session sure isn’t a good sign. His extremely poor mood the next week sure isn’t either, but the only way to fix it is to face the beast head-on. Right?

j’aime @baepop

summary: You’re the newest hire at a local café and head barista Jeon Jungkook takes you under his wing.

pop goes the cherry @1oserjk

summary: jungkook comes back home to find you visiting as well, all grown up — in more ways than one.

skirt chasers @1kook

summary: “Baggy clothes are in, but you wouldn’t know that, Miss I Draw Inspiration From Catholic School Girls.”

kiss it better @jincherie

summary: When one goes to Kim Seokjin for advice, it’s almost guaranteed to never end well. This is something Jungkook learns quickly when he mistakenly follows treasured advice to ‘be smart’ and ‘use his assets’. He just did what he was told! Of course, the execution was a bit poor… and embarrassing. But hey, if rocking up to cheer practice in a skirt doesn’t woo your crush, what will?

pay by play @yoonia

camboy!au

deeply poisoned @xmagicxshopx

summary: Kiss me on the lips, a secret just between the two of us. Deeply poisoned by the jail of you. I cannot worship anyone but you and I knew the grail was poisoned but I drank it anyway.

speeding ticket @minstrophywife

summary: Caught speeding to get home in time, you find yourself pulled over by a very delicious cop. Perhaps you can talk your way out of the ticket.Or,“I’m afraid I’m going to have to do a cavity search ma’am.”

OT7/Multiple Members

buttercream @minniepetals

summary: you were always adorable in their eyes, sometimes a little too adorable.

dulce periculum @forgottenpasta

summary: Devious and devilish, your two new impish hybrids never miss a chance to torment you for your hopeless attraction to them, knowing exactly what they do to you. But is sly sexuality and enigmatic allure all there is to the tiger and wolf hybrid, or do the depths of their eyes hide something more for you? Part ½

tropicana @dragunjk

summary: groovy punch sippin

amaranthine @koyamuses

summary: As the sole owner of Nightshade, a quaint bed and breakfast on the outskirts of the city, you find pleasure in rising each morning to tend to your guests but behind closed doors and within the shadows, you are the covenant leader to a group of young vampires who have claimed you as their mate.More often than not, your day is brimming with a mix of daily chores and back door deals that ensure the survival of your covenant. However, everything changes when three werewolves come stumbling into your life, all three of them claiming it was your scent that drew them closer as the words true mate ring into the silence.

testosterone boys @kiwiscript

summary: A little end of the year party tradition gets taken too far.

operation love letters @ve1vetyoongi

summary: When every student on campus is going crazy about a survey that claims to make true love bloom, your best friend manages to convince you to join in on the fun — except you’re disappointed to find out that your results just seem to be lost causes. That is until a love letter from a mysterious secret admirer turns up and you find yourself on a mission to find the person behind the pen — but you quickly realise it’s going to be a lot harder than you initially thought when you have 7 possible bachelors to investigate, right? Operation: Love Letters a-go!

our princess @iridescentjin

summary: In your newly established poly relationship, you are intimate with both Taehyung and Seokjin at the same time for the first time.

[marvel-and-mischief]

Apple Blossom

Part of my Floriography Series

Pairing: Maxwell Lord x GN!Reader Words: 1600 Warnings: fluff, slight angst (but only because we know what happens next), pining Synopsis: A few days before the events of the Dreamstone, you have a late night take out with your boss, Maxwell Lord.

Apple Blossom: ‘fame speaks him great and good’

💐

1st July 1984

You padded barefoot through the empty corridors of the Black Gold building, a bag of Chinese takeout in one hand and your work shoes in the other that had been irritating you after a full day of work. The lights were low and the phones were silent, an all too common occurrence in the past few months. The business was once a bustling ray of money and hope and now it was running out of luck. 

You saw the unpaid bills when you picked up Maxwell’s mail, the angry investors that would corner him in his office, demanding their money back. He had to tell you eventually, the company was going under but he had a plan. He couldn’t tell you what, but he had a sure way out of the crippling debt and you found yourself trusting him. There was no reason not to.

You reached Maxwell’s office, tapping on the open door and walking in without waiting for an answer.

Maxwell looked up from behind his desk, a relieved smile growing on his lips as he saw it was you. He placed the magnifying glass that he’d been using in a drawer and gave you his full attention. 

“Looking at anything interesting?” you asked, spying pages of a language you couldn’t read and diagrams of rocks you hadn’t seen before.

“No more interesting than the food in that bag,” Maxwell stood and pointed to the takeout in your hand, leading the way to the corner of his office where a comfortable couch was waiting for you. Maxwell moved a cushion for you to sit and took the bag of food from you. 

“I am making progress,” Maxwell said excitedly, opening the plastic tubs of various dishes and arranging them on the coffee table.

“Will I get any details today?” Your voice held a teasing edge to it but you wanted to know why he was being so secretive if it meant saving Black Gold.

Maxwell hesitated to answer though, distracting himself with the food before taking a seat next to you on the couch, motioning for you to dig into the takeout.

“Just trust me, all will be revealed soon,” Maxwell spoke around a forkful of noodles and you decided to drop it. He seemed excited and confident about his plans so who were you to question him. 

You sat in amiable silence whilst you both ate your food. Times like these were rare a few years back, when you were starting out in the company you would be working well into the late evenings, keeping Maxwell’s mug filled with coffee, answering the phones, signing off on this and that, some days you’d forget to eat. 

Now, you found yourself struggling to find something to do. You’d make up work just to fill the time in your day. You weren’t just Maxwell’s PA anymore, you worked general maintenance, dabbled as a cleaning lady, you even drove Raquel home most evenings just to stop yourself chewing your nails down to the skin. 

Sometimes you asked yourself why you stuck around. And then you’d take one look at Maxwell, how he brightened up when you entered the room, how much he confided in you about his anxieties about the business and immediately remembered why you had to stay. He needed you and you wanted to be there for him if his plans didn’t work out. 

Maxwell would need someone to be his anchor when the ship sunk. And that would be you.

Maxwell gave a sigh of contentment after his last forkful of noodles, placing the empty tub back on the coffee table to rifle through the bag the takeout came in.

“Don’t forget your weekend with Alistair is coming up,” you reminded him, licking sauce from the corner of your lips. 

“Huh?” Maxwell was distracted by his new find; a box of fortune cookies at the bottom of the bag, “want to open one? See what our future holds?” he asked with an exaggerated wiggle of his eyebrows. You laughed and nodded, holding out your hand for a cookie.

Maxwell watched as you snapped your cookie in half, pulling the two pieces apart to reveal a slip of paper inside. You carefully pulled it out, placing the cookie pieces on your lap to read the fortune.

“‘Fame speaks him great and good’,” you read, raising an eyebrow to Maxwell who looked surprised, “d’you think that means you?”

Maxwell laughed loudly and ripped the paper out of your hand to check you weren’t making it up.

“It really says that,” Maxwell confirmed, “I keep telling you good things are coming for us.”

You smiled at the look of delight on his face, and thought maybe there truly was nothing to worry about when it came to Maxwell and Black Gold.

“Come on then, open yours,” you nudged his knee with yours, eager to find out what his fortune said.

Maxwell made a show of rolling up his shirt sleeves, making you giggle around a mouthful of your cookie. He cleared his throat and snapped his cookie.

You watched as his eyes widened ever so slightly, before he righted himself and rid his features of anything that resembled what he felt about what he was reading. You frowned, wondering why he was reacting so weirdly. It took too long for Maxwell to read aloud his message, and eventually you had to prompt him by tapping him on the arm.

“Just as I thought, ‘fortune is on the horizon’,” Maxwell laughed but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. He pocketed the piece of paper and cleared his lap of crumbs.

“So there’s really nothing to worry about?” 

Maxwell looked at you like a deer in headlights, then gave you his award winning smile, his hand reaching over to rest atop yours.

“Absolutely nothing,” he promised, and you believed that he believed that but that didn’t stop you from feeling uneasy about Maxwell’s secretive plans, “we will be okay.”

You mustered up a smile and he tapped your hand before standing.

“I’m going to bathroom,” he stated, and as Maxwell walked through his office a small piece of paper fluttered out of his pocket and fell to the ground.

“Oh, Max-“ but he had already left as you jumped up from the couch to pick it up. You realised it was the fortune he had acted strangely around, and instead of leaving it be, placing it on the table for when he got back, you couldn’t help wanting to look. So that’s exactly what you did. 

‘The love of your life is right in front of your eyes’

The breath caught in your throat as you read and re-read the line. It hit you then how badly you wanted it to be true. And suddenly everything made sense. Why you worked so hard for him, why you didn’t entertain the idea of ever leaving Maxwell or Black Gold no matter how much the company was going downhill, you were prepared to ride or die, right to the bitter end. It was because you liked him. And this all but confirmed to you that he didn’t feel the same about you.

You were so busy overthinking your own feelings that you didn’t hear Maxwell returning from the bathroom. He stood over your shoulder, holding his breath as he watched you for your reaction.

“I can’t do anything about it,” Maxwell whispered into the silence of the room, making you spin around in surprise to face him, and you instantly noticed he was a mere couple of feet away from you. 

“I knew it,” you sighed, shaking your head. Of course he didn’t like you, you were just his assistant after all.

Just as you were about to turn around and gather your things he grabbed you softly by the arm, making you face him once again. 

“That isn’t what I mean,” Maxwell looked lost for words, screwing his eyes shut as he tried to gather his thoughts, “I want to be more than your boss, more than your friend, but this thing I’m doing, that I swear to you will change everything for the better, I need to do that first.”

During his speech Maxwell had stepped closer to you, taking your hands in his and pressing them against his chest, eyes boring into yours. You shouldn’t have been thinking it, not when he was trying to be honest and open with you, but you thought he looked beautiful. You’d always known he was handsome but this close, he had pretty brown eyes and a nose that wouldn’t looked out of place on a marble statue for all to admire. 

“I’m doing a big thing for the company, for Alistair, but also for you. So I can be someone you are proud to walk through galas with on your arm, that you are proud to shout about,” Maxwell took a deep breath and slowly rested his forehead against yours, “will you wait for me?”

It was a loaded question, one that stopped you in your tracks but it really shouldn’t have. Waiting is what you’ve been doing, isn’t it? Without even knowing, you’ve been waiting for this moment where you’d wake up to your feelings and be faced with them. You knew you could wait a little longer, especially if Maxwell was promising himself on the other side of whatever he had planned.

“I can wait,” you smiled, leaning forward to place a quick, chaste kiss to his lips, “whatever happens, good or bad, I’ll wait.”

Permanent tag list: @autumnleaves1991-blog @phoenixhalliwell @computeringturtle @anu-simps​ @bts17army​ 

[caitlyn-winchester]

Pilot Part 1

Disclaimer link in the master list of this story

Cordell Walker x Daughter!reader

word count: 2,180

warning; character death, angst, gunshots, little fluff, comfort

masterlist 

It was a sunny afternoon, a perfect day to be riding around with the windows down jamming out to music with my mom. We were going to meet up with my dad before we headed out to deliver supplies. It was one of those days where my mom let me go with her to drop them off since there was no school. She’s always helping people which is what I admire so much about her. I would love to help people as much as she has, that's why I go with her sometimes so I can learn how to help others.

We pull up on the dirt road and see my dad’s truck approaching. My mom parks the car and gets out. “Well look at you. Did you get your guy?” she smirks at my dad.

“Do you even have to ask?” he states, taking off his hat and putting it on the hood of his truck.

“You get huffy when I don't ask” I chuckle to myself at my mom's response.

“Yeah, I got my guy.” he rolls his eyes and approaches mom more, “You heading out already?”

“Yeah I gotta pick up Geri. she’s got the supplies” she says then dad pulls her into a kiss.

“Ew! Come on guys!” I yell through the car window. “I’m right here.” They pull apart and laugh looking at my direction with their arms still wrapped around each other.

“Its love sweetie, you’ll understand when you’re married one day” mom tell me with a smile

“Which won’t be till your 40!” my dad adds in.

“Really dad” I rolled my eyes and hopped out of the car. I walked toward them crossing my arms, trying to be annoyed but fail and end up smiling. Dad laughs and pulls me into a hug.

“I’m serious Butterbean. No boys” He pulled me tighter in the hug and gave me a kiss on the top of my head. He pulled away smiling, then looked at mom and said “And you’re going to be..”

“On the approved route that you gave me.” she finishes his sentence. He nods and looks over at me again.

“And you little missy will..”

“Stay with mom and listen to her directions.” I replied.

“Okay.” Dad nodded satisfied with our answers.

“Don't worry, Ranger Walker. We’ll be fine” Mom pulled me into a side hug and I leaned my head on her shoulder. “Now get up to the house. Augies waiting on you, with your parents. It’s game night.”

“Right. Uh, how do I play that game again? Every time you tell me the rules I-I black out. And I’ll be at a loss without my usual partner” He says looking to be at the last part. I roll my eyes.

“You’ll be alright, Dad. you might lose every game because I’m usually the reason we win.” I smirk

“Oh really” he said

“Babe.” mom cut us off “just go in there, go have dinner. They're just excited to see you. You could lose every single game and it wouldn't matter”

“Why are you talking about straight to me losing?” he laughed and kissed her again

“Oh for the love of” I grumbled to myself. Jokingly of course, I'm happy that my parents love each other so much.

“Hey. Be safe.” Dad told mom once they pulled away. She nodded and dad looked over at me and said “You too Butterbean”

“Of course daddy.” I said, hugging him one more time before climbing back into the car.

                               »»————-　★　————-««

It all happened so fast. One minute mom, Geri and I were handing out supplies then the next mom was telling me to run. We kept trying to run but the person was still chasing us. I was running right beside my mom but then she told me to run in a different direction.

“What?” I said as best I could while running.

“I need you to run in that direction,” she nods her head to the left, “ and keep running until you reach your dad’s and my spot, you know where that is right?” She asks and I nod my head. “Good and no matter what happens or what you hear, do not turn around.”

“But what about you?” I ask her tears welling up in my eyes.

“Don't worry about me, just keep running alright”

I nodded my head and said “I love you mom.”

“Love you too baby, now go!” she told me but I looked at her hesitantly. “Now Y/n/n!” she yelled and started to pull out her phone.

I took off in the direction she told me to go in. I was so scared, I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest, my lungs and legs were burning, begging me to stop. I heard the faint sound of a gunshot and scream in the distance. It took everything in me to not turn around and go back to my mom but I kept running. I had to, she told me to not stop “keep going, keep going Y/N, she wouldn't want you to stop running” I kept telling myself. I'm tired, confused, scared and overwhelmed at this point. I tried to wrap my head around every scenario that could have happened a couple of minutes ago. Who got shot? Mom? Geri? Was the shot fatal? Did the shooter miss? If I go back would I have been able to save them? Tears are pressing against my eyes, I just want to go home. Adrenaline is the only thing keeping me going at this point. I don't know how long I’ve been running for but I eventually saw my parent’s the white gazebo at Lady Bird Lake.

                                »»————-　★　————-««

Emily pulled out her phone and called Cordell’s phone, she waited a couple rings before he answered.

“Emily, you alright?” he asked.

“Just had to call you. I told Y/N to go to our spot. Something's not right.” she answered sounding scared

“What do you mean?” Cordell asked, growing concerned for his wife and daughter. Emily didn't respond, Cordell can only hear her panting over the phone. “Emily. Emily.” he says trying to get a response from her. Then he could hear a gunshot and her scream over the phone. His heart dropped and he started to panic, this can't be happening. “Hey.” he said before the line disconnected. He quickly told his family that the call was work stuff. He didn't want to scare them with what he just heard on the phone. He quickly went outside and tried his wife’s phone again. All he got was voice mail. He yelled in frustration and sadness and started crying. The worst thing has happened to him, he lost his wife and possibly his daughter. His daughter! Cordell suddenly remembered that Emily said Y/N would be at their spot. He quickly pulled himself together the best he could and hopped in his truck. He started making his way to Lady Bird Lake praying to God that his daughter will be there. His heart was pounding, Cordell normally doesn't get scared a lot but in this moment he is. Pulling onto the road leading to the gazebo he sees his daughter run out of the trees and collapse. At the sight of her he feels slightly relieved, at least he didn't lose both of girls in the same night.

                                   »»————-　★　————-««

As soon as I reached the white gazebo I collapsed. I start coughing and gasping for air because my burning lungs need it. I flinched away when I felt a hand touch my shoulder, scared it might be the shooter and he might have followed me here.

“Hey, hey, Y/N/N, it's ok.” I heard dad's voice. I looked up and saw him kneeling on the ground to be at the same level as me. He opened his arms out to be and instantly jumped in them and clung for dear life. Dad instantly responded by wrapping his arms tightly around me, stroking my hair and every once and while my back. With the adrenaline worn off my emotions finally caught up with me and I finally burst. I started sobbing, my whole body shaking and I started gasping for air again. “Oh butterbean, you're ok now. It's all over. Take some deep breaths for me.” my dad said the calmest he could while repeating the soothing motions. I could tell he was trying to hide how upset he also is by the shakiness in his voice and I could feel tears drip into my hair. “Are you hurt?” He asked me gently and I shook my head in response.

“M-mom,” I was able to stutter out once calmed down enough “she told me to r-run….then there was a gunshot...I don't know if she’s-” I wasn't able to finish the sentence as I started to cry again. Dad shushed me and continued to keep telling me it's going to be ok…..I’m trying to believe him but I don't know if I can.

                                  »»————-　★　————-««

                                        Eleven Months Later………

It’s dad's homecoming night. He’s returning from an undercover case he was on, I haven't seen him in eleven months and haven't talked to him in three. August and I started living at our grandparents house and Uncle Liam moved in shortly after to help take care of us. Uncle Liam and I got closer as he became my rock during dad’s absence. The whole family and dad’s old ranger partner, now chief, are waiting outside for dad to arrive home. He’s late of course, I am not even surprised at this point, and i’m starting to think he is not even going to show up at this point.

“Let’s just go inside” I told August

“He’s coming” August responded, looking down the road hoping for dad’s truck to pull in. I rolled my eyes.

“Oh, absolutely! Neither hell or high water could keep him away.” I said sarcastically. Then a vehicle pulls up onto the road leading to the house. My heart sped up and I got excited at the sight, I was finally about to see my dad again. That excitement fell when I realized its not dad’s truck but its Stan Morrison’s.

We greeted Stan and all went inside to have dinner. I was quiet for most of the night, not that anyone really paid attention to me. There wasn't really much for me to talk about since this dinner was supposed to be for dad, which he falled to show up too completely. After dinner I just went into my room while the rest of the adults talked. I started drawing in my sketchbook, nothing too detailed I just like doodling really. Tears were pressing against my eyes, I was so excited to see him again but when didn't show up at all I was heart broken. A knock at my door made me quickly wipe my eyes. The door opened to reveal Uncle Liam, he gave me a small smile.

“How are you holding up Y/N/N?” he asked. I just shrugged my shoulders and continued to look at my doodles. “You know I need a better response than that.” He said while walking further into my room and sitting down on the edge of my bed.

“I just...miss him you know? I haven’t seen him so long. I wish he never took that stupid case.” I said.

“Your dad is saving people when he’s on a case, but I understand that you miss him….and that you're mad at him too.” he told me giving a reassuring smile

“Was it that obvious?” I laughed a little and he nodded smiling.

“Get some rest ok. You have school tomorrow.” He told me, walking towards the door but I stopped him before he could leave.

“Do you think he’s mad at me?” I asked.

“Y/N, we talked about this.” he sighed

“ I know Uncle Liam, it's just...think about it, if I went back when the gunshot went off maybe I could have saved mom?” I mumbled.

“The key word in that sentence is maybe. I told you where the wound was there was an unlikely chance you could have saved her. And if you went back there was a more likely chance you would have gotten shot too.” He reassured you.

“Don't tell me you don't think that if mom was alive, dad wouldn't have been on a case for this long” I snapped. “I should have done something! But I didn't!” I cried. Liam quickly sat on the bed next to me and pulled me into a hug.

“Listen here Y/N, you did the right thing. I know you don't think so but you did but trust me when I tell you, you did everything right. You listen to your mom’s instructions and isn't that your dad’s rule anyway? ‘Always listen to mom’?” he comforted and I nodded at his question.

“I just want him here” you sobbed.

“Me too, me too.” he agreed, rubbing your back comfortably.

PILOT PART 2 

[kpop-zone]

Change of Mind | Mina

CEO!AU | meet messy | “You confuse me.”

Wordcount: 1,430

“Dang it! Who comes late to a job interview?!”

You cursed yourself breathlessly as you ran down the street towards the tall glass skyscraper in front of you.

This morning, everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. First, you didn’t hear your alarm. Then, you spilled coffee on your shirt which ultimately caused you to miss the last subway that could have gotten you here on time. Now you were already running five minutes late and you hadn’t even entered the building yet.

“Who am I even supposed to meet?”

Panicked, you tried to recall whose name you had read in the mail, but you completely blanked. While silent curses rolled off your tongue, you hectically fished for your phone in your bag as you kept running in full speed. You probably should have known that your attempt at multitasking couldn’t end well, but in midst of all that stress, you ignored the red flags. It wasn’t until you ran into something, or better someone full force that you were humbled again. The collision knocked the air out of your lungs, but you were even more bothered by the hot liquid that seeped through your shirt.

“Are you serious?!”

A voice quivering in anger made you flinch, and you reluctantly lifted your gaze to look at the victim of your clumsiness.

“Oh no.”

The moment you laid eyes on the person, your face became paler than ever, and your heart stopped beating. This couldn’t be. No one in this world could have that much bad luck.

The person standing in front of you was none other than Myoui Mina; youngest female, self-made multimillionaire of the country and the CEO of the company that you wanted to work for.

“M-Ms. Myoui, I-I’m so sorry.”

You stuttered ashamed but she didn’t even seem to hear your apology.

“Do you know how expensive this shirt is?! You shouldn’t make other people pay for your obvious incapability to manage life.”

She growled while patting a napkin on the huge coffee stain that was ruining her perfectly white, and very expensive looking blouse. Ashamed, you looked to your feet and endured her yelling silently.

“A diligent and decent person wouldn’t have to run anywhere. That’s what differentiates the successful from the scum. I would-“

The young CEO went on and on until she finally looked up from her shirt, causing her to suddenly stop cursing you. Her fiery gaze met yours before it wandered down your body as she examined you shamelessly. Your cheeks seemed to have caught fire and you helplessly stood there, not being able to utter a word while you let the woman do whatever she wanted.

Eventually she was done eyeing you and looked into your face again with an unreadable expression. She seemed to enjoy making you sweat bullets though as she stared at you silently with an amused glint in her eyes until you couldn’t even remember what a beating heart felt like. Everything around you seemed to be so distant as all of your attention was drawn to her flawless face. She seemed to be casting a spell on you that only she would be able to break, which she did by clearing her throat.

“Aren’t you late to something?”

She eventually piped up, causing you to gasp; you had totally forgotten about that.

“Um...I- yes. I- your shirt.”

You stammered, still not being able to think straight. Nervously, you started searching for your purse in your bag to compensate for the ruined blouse when the CEO suddenly put her hand on top of yours.

“Go.”

She ordered you with a stern expression on her face that forbade you to be disobedient. Awkwardly, you bowed to her while mumbling incomprehensible apologies before rushing to the entrance of the company.

You still felt dazed as you walked to the reception in the huge foyer to announce your arrival. The lady behind the counter looked at you disapprovingly, making you remember that you had a huge brown stain on your shirt while your hair stuck to your sweaty face.

This whole morning was a disaster.

Therefore, you weren’t even surprised when the head of the department responsible for your job interview instantly started yelling at you when you entered the conference room.

“Who do you think you are? Do you think I’m only waiting for you? And then you appear here looking like that?”

He pointed up and down your body and you felt a lump forming in your throat. You were slowly reaching your breaking point. But the head of the department didn’t even look like he was close to being done with you. He inhaled deeply, getting ready for another batch of accusations when a different voice caused your breath to hitch in your throat.

“Is that how you deal with all of our applicants? Do you think that’s good publicity for my company? My god, you must have been raised by animals. Your incompetence is truly astonishing.”

All of a sudden, Myoui Mina appeared next to you and you stared at her with wide eyes.

First, she yelled at you and now she was defending you?

Calmly, she looked at you while the head of the department stammered justifications and apologies. Once again, she had that same unreadable expression in her face that made you lose all sense of reality. If she could make everyone feel this way, you had no trouble understanding why she was so successful.

“Well, I don’t really have time for your irrelevant babbling. For your sake, however, I hope that you will quickly fill this position with the right person. Otherwise...well, I think I will not be having any use for you.”

Calmly, the CEO averted her gaze from you to look at the head of department with a cold smile on her face. He looked like he had seen a ghost, but Mina didn’t bother to lose any more words, choosing to turn on her heel and strut out of the room instead. Now you were almost feeling sorry for the poor guy in front of you. He was looking even worse than you now and nervously asked you to sit down before starting the shortest job interview that you had ever experienced. After only five questions, he offered you the job to your surprise, but you weren’t dumb enough to question his decision. Therefore, you gratefully accepted the offer before leaving the conference room after only 10 minutes on shaky legs.

Why did this day feel like it was 48h long?

So many things had already happened that it seemed to be too much for one day alone. Therefore, you closed your eyes as soon as the door to the conference room closed to take a deep breath. You really needed to do something to steady your heartbeat if you didn’t want to die of a heart attack right on the spot.

But apparently you weren’t granted to catch your breath.

“Congratulations.”

For the third time this day, the same voice caused your heart to skip a beat.

Slowly, you turned your head to see that your future boss was leaning against the wall right next to the door of the conference room. Perplexed, you stared at her. Had she been waiting for you? What did this mean? All of your thoughts were jumbled in your brain and you had trouble finding an answer.

“I- thank you. It’s just-“

You stammered, feeling completely confused as to why this woman was suddenly so nice to you. Expectantly, she waited for you to finish your sentence until she realized that you were at a loss for words again.

“It’s just what?”

She chuckled while pushing herself off the wall to move closer to you, causing you to gulp.

“It’s just...I don’t understand why you’re doing this for me. You confuse me.”

You blurted out without thinking, causing Mina to laugh.

“You’ll figure it out soon.”

She stepped even closer to you to the extent that your bodies were almost touching, causing goosebumps to run down your spine.

“Anyways, see you Monday.”

All of a sudden -like she had not just caused you to almost faint- Mina stepped back before winking cheekily and turning on her heels to walk away.

Completely dumbfounded, you stumbled backwards, having to support yourself on the wall to stop yourself from falling as you watched her disappearing around the corner.

Was this all just a fever dream?

You couldn’t have truly caught the attention of the richest, most beautiful but also most intimidating woman ever...or could you?

[j-hawthorn]

Keep Him Close

(This fic can be found on AO3 here!)

ALSO! Wanna join a discworld fanfic writers discord? Send me a message and I'll add you! It's a fun, safe environment to chat about wips, life and just generally hang out!

--

Whatever strong smelling ointment Lady Sybil was delicately spreading over the backs of his shoulders made Vetinari's skin simultaneously freeze, sting, and most irritatingly, itch. It did, however, soothe the fire that had been burning for the last couple of hours.

Sitting near the middle of her bed, with his legs at odd angles, Havelock hugged a pillow. While he wasn't naked, he did in fact have a pair of Vimes' shorts on, clothing was not something he wanted anywhere near himself. His whole body ached, and stung from faded burns. He hunched forward, his hair up in a small pony tail, giving her all the access she needed. Sybil's hands paused and she kissed the back of his neck, sending a shiver down Havelock's spine. He closed his eyes with a sigh. His arms felt better. With bandages wrapped from around his thumb and palm to just above his elbow, the burning on his arms had almost completely gone.

'Honestly, what a cruel thing to try,' Sybil whispered, clicking her tongue.

'Assassination attempts are never going to be polite, my dear,' Havelock said softly, focusing on her touch and not the stinging itchiness spreading over his back.

Sybil flicked his ear with a scoff, 'Obviously, Havelock, you dopey thing. What I meant was the very concept of poisoned thread! What happened to a good old-fashioned knife in the dark?'

Havelock smiled, 'I shall pass that on, to whomsoever tries to hasten my departure next, that my dear friend and love Sybil Ramkin wishes for me to receive a quick stab in the kidneys. Perhaps I'll hang an instruction sheet on my door and you could initial it?'

'Bold of you to try and make fun of me,' Sybil tutted, but it was good natured and she pressed another kiss to the nape of his neck.

He pressed his cheek into the pillow, eyes half open, a small smile on his lips. The bedroom door opened and a slightly wet and barefoot Sam Vimes wandered in. He kicked the door shut behind himself, his scraggily notebook in one hand.

'Gods, I could smell that stuff from down the hall, what are you smearing on the poor man?' Vimes chuckled, unbuckling his armour. Havelock watched as he shed the layers of metal and mail, leaving him in just his breeches and undershirt. The fabric at the man's neck and sleeve ends were darker, damp from rain.

'Where are your boots?' Vetinari asked softly.

Vimes blinked, 'Down stairs. Didn't want to track mud in.' He wandered over and stood in front of Havelock, 'You alright then?'

Smiling, Vetinari waved a hand in the air, 'Never better. Have your men found anything?'

'Not exactly-'

'Ah -'

'Your man did though.'

'...Pardon?'

Vimes shrugged a shoulder, sitting on the edge of the bed. He flicked open his notebook as Sybil took her bowl and ointment back to the bathroom.

'Your man, Drumknott. Took great offense to the poisoning of your personal wardrobe and sprung his own trap. He and Carrot are sorting it out as we speak,' Sam closed his notebook with a snap, tossing it onto the bedside table.

Havelock paused for a moment, puffing out through his nose. 'Well then,' he said. 'Good show.'

'Top notch!' Sybil said, returning while drying her hands. 'I've always said he was a fine young man, haven't I, Sam?'

'Yes dear,' Vimes yawned, shifting closer to Vetinari. He reached up, lovingly stroking back a loose strand of black hair, tucking it behind Havelock's ear. Turning, Vetinari pressed his cheek into Sam's palm with a soft sigh. Chest heavy, he closed his eyes, letting the warmth of the man's touch soothe him.

'You'd do well to keep him on, is all I'm saying, ' Sybil ran her hands over Havelock's hair, carefully taking the tie out. She sat behind him, humming softly, 'Have I mentioned how dashing you look with longer hair?'

Vetinari chuckled, the smallest blush on his cheeks, 'No, but thank you.'

'Very handsome, isn't he Sam?'

Vimes snorted, shifting to kiss her cheek, his hand braced on Vetinari's knee, 'You flirt.'

Sybil giggled and began running her fingers through his hair, sending shivers over his scalp and down his back. Vimes took his hand in his, lightly tracing the edge of the bandage with a calloused finger. The man took Havelock's pillow away and gently cupped his cheeks, kneeling in front of him.

The bed shifted as Sybil stood, sharing a look with her husband that Vetinari politely didn't see, 'Right, I'm going to go get you some dinner, Havelock. You need to eat something, and I won't hear any complaints.'

As the door clicked shut, Vimes tipped Havelock's head back, leaning in as if to kiss him. He stopped just close enough for the lips to brush as he whispered, 'I'm sorry.'

Vetinari frowned, hand on Sam's knee. He gave him a squeeze, 'You haven't done anything-'

'Exactly. I should have been more aware; I should have kept better tabs on everything, I'm your guard-'

'Sam, please,' Havelock sighed. 'You are only one man. You cannot be hovering in my office every hour of every day. Also, I'd like to say, out of the two of us, you are not the one who gets to be dramatic about all this. Need I show you my back?'

He shook his head, clicking his tongue, 'Yeah, alright. C'mere.' Vimes pulled him forward, guiding him to sit on his lap. Wrapping his arms around the commander's neck, he nuzzled into his damp hair.

Sam's hands found their place low on his hips, 'Go on, then.'

'Excuse me?'

'Have a mope. You've earned it.'

Havelock rolled his eyes, 'I don't think I've ever "had a mope", as you so delightfully put it. And I don't think I'm going to start now.' He cupped the man's cheek, pressing their foreheads together, '...But I would accept some attention from a handsome man-'

'Shall I go find you one-'

'Sam...'

When Vimes kissed him, Havelock could taste the rain. His stubble scratched. Rough hands held Vetinari so tenderly he could almost believe he was made of glass. So enveloped by the commander was Vetinari that he didn't hear the door open -

'Gods, I can't leave you two alone for a minute before you attach to each other like limpets,' Sybil snorted, setting a tray on the bedside table. A bowl of soup steamed enticingly, and Havelock's stomach gave an uncharacteristic pang of hunger. The waft of fresh bread made him light headed.

Sam broke the kiss, hands over his eyes. 'Sybil!' He frowned, cheeks burning red.

Havelock grinned, gently pushing the commander onto his back. 'I have nothing to say in my defence, except simply this: look at him, can you blame me?' He stroked his bandaged hands down Sam's sides, feeling the shift of his body as the man heaved a massive sigh.

Vimes rolled his eyes, 'You're menaces, the pair of you.'

With careful movements, Havelock moved to sit on the edge of the bed. He tucked a leg under himself and picked up the bowl. Warmth radiated through his hands. Pleasant at first, but the longer he held the bowl, the more it seeped into him. He hissed through his teeth, and set the soup down. Vetinari shook his hands, holding his palm up to blow on.

Sam settled on the pillows behind him, hand on his hip, 'Here, one of us can hold it for you-'

'I'm sorry Havelock, I didn't think. We can help-

'I do not need to be handfed,' Vetinari snapped, snatching up the bread. He sucked in a sharp breath. 'Pardon me, I'm sorry. That was uncalled for.'

Sybil cooed softly, sitting beside him, hand on his knee. 'Darling,' she whispered. 'It's okay. I could go get you some more bread?'

'No,' He sighed, covering her hand with his. 'No, but thank you. I'll wait for it to cool. I'm just...tired.'

Kissing his cheek, Sybil stroked back his hair, holding the underside of his jaw tenderly in her palm. 'You're okay, my love. Rest here for as long as you need. We've got you.'

Havelock nodded, feeling Vimes give his hip a reassuring squeeze. He leaned into Sybil, cheek pressed to her shoulder, and let himself accept their kindness. He closed his eyes, his whole body suddenly weighing a hundred tons. Sybil stroked his hair, pressing soft kisses to his forehead. Letting himself drift, he felt Vimes move position behind him. Someone took the bread from his unresisting hand. Eventually he shift to lay down, his arms folded over Sam's chest, his aching back bare to the room at large. But he wasn't worried. With Sybil guarding, and Sam holding him, in that moment he had nothing to worry about.

[jojo-fantasy-aus]

Fantasy AU!

Josuke x F! Reader- CH 1.

First post, yay! This will be a longer series, so feel free to give me any criticism or suggestions!

-----

  Being born into a peasant family was definitely not the greatest way to secure a happy life, but you made due with it. Your mother was a seamstress, father a carpenter, and you made it a point to learn everything you could from both of them. The more skills you had, the more likely you were to get a better job, and in turn, create a better life for you and your family.

  And that was exactly what you did. You managed to get a job at the Royal Palace, a favor from some family friends, and quickly moved up the ranks. Everyone knew that it was because you were kind, and had made a good impression on the king, but you'd rather say that it was because of all the hard work you had done.

  You had been the head lady-in-waiting for some time now, and had thought you'd seen everything. The Crown Princess, your beautiful best friend, tended to always get into some sort of trouble. You always made a point to try and prepare yourself for any incoming inconveniences, but today was... different.

  "I just don't understand why Father makes me go to these things!" You hummed in response, currently focused on lacing up the powder pink dress she was to wear tonight. The beautiful fabrics elegantly draping just below her ankles, you regarded the dress with pride, it was one of your mother's designs. She was over the moon when Yukako asked for one to be made for the People's Gala.

  The People's Gala was more of a festival than anything. An outdoor event, and  favorite of everyone in the kingdom. The festival was a kindness the king gave the commoners every year to show his gratitude. It was a wonderful tool to keep the everyone in the kingdom happy.

  "Well, there isn't another crown princess to attend for you, Yukako." She huffed, standing patiently still as you tightened her corset to a breathable squeeze. You checked her hem for any stains or rips once more, and stood once you were done, making sure she could move around just fine. Smiling a bit when you remembered something that was sure to lift her spirits.

  "You know, rumor around the Palace is that the page boy you like will be attending. Koichi Hirose, was it?" Yukako's icy face lifted immediately, excitedly turning around to clutch your hands. She opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly closed it. Brows furrowed, frowning. You already knew what she was thinking. A ball of sadness and empathy forming in the pit of your chest.

 "I'm sure he wouldn't want to see me again. Not after what happened." You had almost forgotten. You sighed, the princess had... a bit of a manic episode a while back. Focusing on Koichi in an... unhealthy amount. Needless to say, he had become quite wary of her. But she still snuck glances at him when she attended the royal library during her studies. You had never been in love yourself, but you knew enough about it to know she had it bad.

  "I'm sure he won't be too flighty Yukako. At least you will be able to see him once again?" You murmur half-heartedly, briskly making your way around the room to blow out rose-sented candles and put things you had used to get her ready back in place.

  "I suppose..." you let out a pitiful chuckle, hoping that your friend would feel better once she was at the gala. It had become her favorite, but only because she always seemed to be able to speak to Koichi as he shadowed the head page during the king's speech. You didn’t actually know Koichi that well, so you hoped for the princess' sake that he had forgiving mannerisms.

  You quickly brought the Princess' shoes out, and laced up your own boots as she put them on. Smoothing out your plain blue skirt as you stood, you held out an arm to escort the princess. Usually it was unseemly to see a woman escorting another, but Yukako refused to let anyone else escort her. The king only allowed it because you managed to keep her out of trouble. (It was also partly due to the fact that she was too infatuated with Koichi to have eyes for a woman.)

  The walk down to the palace gates was unfortunately, and uncomfortably, long. Yukako was squirming in her corset the entire time, desperately trying to look ladylike while she did. You tapped her arm lightly, a simple reminder to keep her composure. Servants and cooks were running around the ground floor like crazy, frantically trying to get everything together. Weaving in and out if the fray was quite tiring, but eventually the two of you made it to the gates unscathed.

  Vendor tents were proped up as far as the eye could see, sweet smells floating in the breeze to antagonize those who had not yet eaten. The guards let you through with a wave as you and Yukako prepared yourselves for the onslaught of people along the streets.

  The tents were all decorated beautifully, flowers and suns and other symbols painted on the cloth roofing. The setting sun casting a beautiful golden hue on everything and everyone. Those who recognized the princess bowed and curtsied as you passed, and those who didn't just waved and gawked at her beautiful dress. Some simply said nothing, as her cold outside demeanor seemed a bit intimidating. You knew yourself that she could be a bit scary when she wanted to be, but right now she was in awe. Looking at all the vendors with a sparkle in her eye. It was good to see her be herself in public for once.

  "Try not to get too enamored, Princess, your father wants us to meet him for his speech. Knowing him we'll be there all day."  You mused, leading her through the crowd carefully, keeping away from alleys and sketchy figures. You knew you were probably being overly cautious, but for some reason you just felt the need to be careful. Nerves welling in your stomach telling you so. Having always had correct gut feelings, you search for something else to focus on to mask the concern, not wanting Yukako to lose her cool herself.

  You thought about that for a moment, no, Yukako would never be thrown into a panic due to gut feelings. She'd be a bit more defensive maybe, but she'd never let weakness like that show.

   Every once and a while you would pass a few royal guardsmen watching over the festival, you made a point to wave at them when you could to make sure they were watching you and the princess. This settling sense of anxiety was pointless, you knew, but you certainly would rather take precautions then suffer the consequences.

  At last, you had finally made it to the gazebo. Elegant white and gold trim framed the marble pillars, ceiling slumped in a slender tent-shape. It had been freshly cleaned, but the doves still fluttered about in the rafters. The king was atop a temporary throne, speaking to his advisors. The knights at all four corners bowed as you two carefully ascended the steps.

  "Yukako! Dear, just who I wanted to see!" The king cheered when he spotted her, calling out your name just after. The king was a rather large, jolly man. He wasn't quite handsome, not to the point of being ugly, but needless to say it was hard to believe that Yukako had come from, well, him. The king's crown sat grandly upon his head, dressed in fine fabrics and deep indigo colors he certainly looked the part for his title.

  "I assume that there were no problems arriving?"

  "No, your majesty." The words fell from your mouth robotically, more of a reflex than an answer at this point.

  "Wonderful!" The king started to ramble on as he does, and your thoughts drifted to lunch, the chores awaiting you at home. You wanted to think about anything that could make the time possible pass faster. The king continued to drone on, always prone to these things. Yukako herself looked like she was about to fall asleep from boredom. Her arm slipped out of yours quite a bit ago, but you hadn't really noticed. Blankly staring at the king as he spoke about the splendid flower arrangements, and the farms that they came from.

  "Yes your majesty, the hydrangeas are quite beautiful." He heartily laughed, sending a friendly wink your way.

  "They always have been Yukako's favorite! Ever since she was a girl she- Yukako?" The king looked around with a confused look, you didn't understand why. The princess was  right next to you-

  But then again, she wasn't. She had disappeared from you side. You spun a around in a panic, searching through the wide, open, gazebo. She was nowhere to be found. You were right about the gut feeling yet again, weren't you. Panic built up from your stomach and pushed into your chest, overwhelming any other sense.

  "Princess?" You try your best to push the words out of your throat, turning to the side exit. Your eyes desperately search through the crowd. The king was talking to you, words muffled, you had blocked everything out, just until you saw a flash of pink in the crowd.

  "Hurry and find her!" And just like that, you took off in a sprint. Calling for her as you pushed through the crowd. Your heart was pounding in your ears. Didn't she know how dangerous this was? The least gaurded festival of them all and she decided to disappear like that? Was it even her own decision to run off, or was she taken. You didn't know, and you certainly couldn't rationize anything right now.

  The methodical feeling of your boots hitting the ground and pushing you forward was what you focused on to keep you calm. Step, push. Step, push. Rinse and repeat until you had almost collected your witts. There!-A flash of her pink skirt around the corner. You had found her. Or, you did, before your foot skidded across the gravel, and you plummeted to the ground. You slammed against the gravel, hard.

 "Whoah! Are you ok?" You pushed yourself off the ground as quickly as you could, but a pair of hands steadied you as you stood. They belonged to a taller man, blue eyes peering at you quizzically. He was a muscular build, probably a knight, you assumed. His hair was done up in such away that you would assume he was a royal, if it weren't his dirtied chain mail armor. You certainly had no time to gawk however. You tried to take off running once again, but he caught your arm.

  "Let me go!"

  "Just hold on a moment, would you? Why the rush? Are you being chased?" You didn’t have time for these questions! To no avail you tried to tug your arm away from him. And when you realized he wouldn't let you go you blurted out the only thing you could think of in that moment.

  "The princess is missing, I'm trying to find her, so let- Go!" His eyes widened, grip loosening for a split second, just enough for you to slip away. Once again sprinting in the direction you saw her last, turning the corner. The guy who had let you go was calling for you, and somehow made it to your side almost impossibly quick.

  The crowd started to become denser as the pathways winded farther away from the gazebo. Carts rumbling around the walkways and vendors passing out samples in the streets. Unwillingly you had started to slow, the man pulling ahead of you by just a bit.

  It was hard to pay attention to the people around you while you searched for Yukako. Bumping into one person and then another as you squeezed through the crowds. Turning your head just a bit you saw that the man still had an eyes on you. Peering over his shoulder as he ran. He mouthed something to you that you couldn't quite understand.

  You almost tripped again when he grabbed your hand, and yanked you into a makeshift alleyway.

 "What the hell do you think your doing!?" You yanked your hand away from him, running back to the entrance and trying to peer over the dense amount of people. Nothing. You started to get angry. Yukako could be in danger and you had lost her trail thanks to him.

  "I'm helping you find your princess." You wiped around in rage, a mouthful of words ready to fire. But once you looked past him, you saw that characteristically long hair, powder pink dress dirtied from her disappearance. A little man with silver hair, Koichi, defensively standing in front of her. You stood in shock, he did help you find her.

  "Oh, Josuke! Its just you," Koichi dropped his defensive demeanor, and Yukako's eyes followed him, completely enamored. She hardly even notice your disheveled, panicked self next to the handsome stranger that Koichi apparently knew.

  "Yeah, sorry for the interruption-" Your shock started to wear off a bit as they talked, relief and anger overwhelming your senses. Yukako was actually smiling as she watched Koichi talk though, at least she was happy.

  That's what you wanted to think anyway. You were too overwhelmed with emotion to think if anything but the fact that she wasn't hurt, and she was certainly not dead. Both men looked at you quizzically as you passed them and wrapped Yukako in a hug.

  "Yukako, what were you thinking?!" You had started to tear up, holding onto her tightly. You had forgotten about formalities just this once, thankful that your friend was ok. Once you let go of her she simply shrugged, pointing a sour look at you. Making eye contact and flicking her eyes to Koichi and back. Oh.

  You eyed Koichi with suspicion, and he immediately stiffened up, starting to ramble.

  "I'm sorry! I was just enjoying the festival and then I saw Yuka- her highness! And I thought she was lost so I-" Honestly it became harder to understand what he was saying the more he went on. The man from before, Josuke? Clapped a hand on Koichi's back, and he started to chill out a bit. Josuke looked up at you with a slight smile, and you almost blushed. He was quite handsome. You cleared your throat.

  "I suppose I should thank you. I'm sorry for the rudeness." He laughed, and you knew you were blushing, you tried your best to suppress whatever spell he had you under, treating it as a simple, shallow emotion that you wanted to rid yourself of.

  "Don't sweat it," He said curtly. "You had me thinking that she was in danger though, I'm a little pissed at that. But I don't mind." The crude words almost hung in the air, it was strange to hear people cursing so openly. You used to have the mouth of a sailor yourself, until the proper poise of the castle servants started to rub off on you too. Lord help the soul who curses in front of the king.

  "I know that her highness can be a bit unmanageable sometimes." His eyes grew serious, looking dead at you like the Princess wasn't even there. You could feel Yukako prickle behind you. She was definitely pissed. your face had twisted in a foul way at his words as well, but you pushed out a sigh, pushing down the defensive words you wanted to say because you knew he was right. 

   Koichi started to complain at Josuke's attitude and you almost felt relieved when his serious gaze shifted away from your own. You turned back to Yukako with a sigh as the friends bicker. She still had her eyes squarely on Koichi.

   "Yukako, what happened?" You whisper, lacing your hands together to resist popping your knuckles or fidgeting. Yukako folds her arms, dark gaze pointed at you once again. You probably would've been afraid if it weren't for the fact that you knew her well enough that she wasn't going to pose any threat as long as Koichi was around.

   "I'm not going to apologize because I'm not sorry. The old man should've known how boring his speeches were anyway." She explains why she ran off, Koichi was in the crowd, he waved, mouthing something to her. She ran over to him on impulse, and he panicked, trying to get her somewhere where there were less people, and where there was less of a chance of her getting hurt.

   She started to blush when she started to get to the end, you suppose that something more happened between her and Koichi that she was leaving out, but didn't press. Instead, you raise your eyebrows at Yukako with a slight smile.  She playfully swats you away, fully flustered now. 

   Neither of you knew what to do when you heard the screaming. 

   It was everywhere, women, children, and men alike, the crowd outside the alley clearing out fast, people frantically running from something or someone. You slowly step forward to stand beside Josuke, Koichi backing away to make sure yukako was ok. You tried to peer over the crowd looking for what the commotion was all about. 

   You yelp as someone yanks you back, but you already knew who it was, recognizing the restrained tug. You snap your head up to spit out a retort at Josuke, but the words die in your throat, he was focused on something that you couldn't see. His eyes set in a terrifying manner, you couldn't tell if the fear stinging in your chest was because of him or the mass panic. His hand remained on your back, softly holding onto you.

"...Jo…Josuke…" Koichi's cough causes you to jump, heart pounding in your ears as you and Josuke whipped around. Both Yukako and Koichi were in a coughing fit, a mysterious gas filling the back of the alley. You didn't think it was even possible for any more panic to settle in your chest until you saw Yukako double over, falling to the ground in her fit. Koichi fell beside her as you ran to them. Josuke was calling for you to come back but you could only hear the blood rushing in your ears.

   The moment you stepped into the mist it felt like you couldn't breath. The gas ripping coughs out of your chest, lighting your lungs on fire and leaving you to struggle to push out the smoke. Your eyesight became blurry as you saw figures step out of the thickest part of the mist. 

   "N...no…" You struggled out, watching as they picked the two of them up.The insignia on their backs burning into your memory. Your eyes began to get heavier and heavier, you started to slip into the abyss. 

   You didn't know how Josuke pulled you out of the mist. In fact, you didn't even realize you were out until you were in his arms as he ran. You tried to speak, but only a groan came out. It was hard to focus, hard to stay awake… Everything was hazy and hard to understand.

   "Don't you fall asleep on me, ok?" Your chest felt wet and sticky, a pain in your chest starting to reveal itself. Were you bleeding? You couldn't think straight. What had happened? Where were Koichi and the Princess? You could hear arrows whiz past you and Josuke. He cursed under his breath, and you weakly held onto him as he made a sharp turn. 

   He suddenly stopped. Shit. Dead end. He held you a little tighter as his face shifted into something unreadable. You were beginning to wake up more, but the pain in your chest remained constant. Josuke suddenly set you down with an apology as he set you against a wall to keep your balance, hands grazing your waist as he pulled away. It was getting easier to focus, you pressed a hand to where the pain was centered on your chest, sticky blood coating your hand when you took it away.

   You almost felt faint, the adrenaline starting to set in again. You frantically looked for Josuke again, scared that he had left you. You spotted him at the very end of the alley, flinching as the sound of metal on concrete echoed off the walls. Josuke was catching his breath after setting the sewer grate down, facing you slightly.

   "We're going in there, aren't we." You murmured, the anxiety returning as shouting grew closer to the alley. Josuke let out a pained laugh as he quickly made his way back to you. Helping you hobble over to the open grate. He hopped in first and you sat down, feet dangling through the hole, when you managed to move in just the wrong angle. A stabbing pain shot through your chest and you sucked in breath, unable to move. 

   Thank God Josuke noticed, a worried look flashed across his face. He grabbed your arm with one hand and hooked the other under your knees, awkwardly maneuvering you through the open grate. You could tell he was trying to be gentle, but the pain only grew worse. Your face contorted in pain as he gently set you down on the concrete maintenance path, his arms remaining put. You glanced up just in time to see the grate slide shut on. it's. own.

   "What the Fuck?" You whisper, earning a wide smile from Josuke. His face quickly changed when loud voices shouted overhead.

   "I thought you said they went this way, dimwit!" Josuke pressed you to his chest protectively, ready to take off with you in his hands if he had too. You could feel how built he was through the chain mail, and realized he had supported your weight along with the armour the entire way he had carried you. The thought alone makes you blush. You needed to put out this crush, he was a stranger you just met.

   "They did go this way! I swear!" A scoff and the sound of a slap echoed, you flinched a bit, keeping your eyes closed tight as you prayed for them to leave.

   You and Josuke both started to calm down as the footsteps grew farther and farther away. Josuke's stiff posture relaxing, yourself letting out a breath you hadn't realized you'd been holding.

  It was silent for a while after, you assumed Josuke was waiting a while longer to speak just in case the men returned. You almost missed the warmth of his body as he pulled away to look through the grate. Satisfied with whatever he had seen, he sat down next to you, completely relaxed. Confident in that the men were long gone, (Thanks to Josuke's reaction,) you gathered the strength to speak.

   "Where are they?" Your voice cracked. Josuke avoided eye contact with you, leaning his head back on the cold stone behind the two of you. You could clearly see that he was ashamed, and worry started to boil over in your chest.

   "I couldn't get to them." He was struggling with the words, and you just knew he was holding something back from you. Keeping some sort of detail to himself.

   A rush of mixed emotions flooded through you. Did he just leave them behind? Why?! What did he even mean he "couldn't get to them"? You decide to keep your manners in check as you sit. He was obviously a close friend of Koichi, and out of everyone you knew it was clear to you that Koichi was too honest and respectable to remain close with someone unworthy of trusting. If Koichi trusted him, you decided that you probably should too.

   Shifting uncomfortably where he was sitting, Josuke turned towards you and oh so gently moved your arms a bit so he could see the wound on your chest better. Chills ran rampant across your arms, and you hoped he wouldn't notice.

   "I managed to drag you out of there with my stand. But when I hesitated to get us out of there they started to shoot." Your brows furrowed in confusion as he scooted closer. You shuddered as he pulled open the ripped part of your white blouse just enough to see the shallow wound. It stretched from the tip of your shoulder to just below your armpit, and damn did it hurt like hell when he exposed it to the open air.

   "Stand?" Josuke shook his head, and you were in too much pain to demand an explanation. Josuke's hands remained on the edges of the ripped fabric, and even though you could see them it somehow felt like he was touching the wound. 

   "An arrow grazed you a little too close while I was standing there like a dunce, I want to apologize for that. I should've registered that we needed to escape before you were hurt." You suck in a ragged gasp as the pressure of the invisible touch increased just lightly, and suddenly the pain stopped. You look in awe as the wound starts to heal itself up completely.

   "A knight and a Mage too?" You mused after the initial shock wore off. It wasn't uncommon for "magic" and healers to be heard of, but it was certainly a shock to actually meet one. You honestly had been a little skeptical until now, and it was still hard to believe. 

   "Something like that." Josuke smiles lightly, sitting back against the wall where he was before. You didn't talk much after that. He asked you if you remembered what the men looked like, and you tried your best to explain the symbols on their cloaks, but you were afraid that you weren't very good at it.

Josuke couldn't quite understand what you were describing, and you both ended up agreeing that you both needed to look for Koichi and Yukako. Josuke as the muscle and you for… information? Moral support?

   You didn’t know, but with Yukako's life on the line you weren't going to take no for an answer even if he wanted to find them alone. 

   Your eyes started to grow heavy, but you didn't want to sleep. You felt too open, to vulnerable to sleep. Josuke was a complete stranger, and yet he had done more for you than anyone else had in ages. He had helped you, saved your life even, but doubt still trickled in through the back door of your mind. How long would it last?

   You wouldn't follow down that rabbit hole anymore tonight, sleep taking over your body swiftly as you truly started to process everything that had just happened.

[ssa-daddyhotchner]

Undercover - Chapter 23

Chapter Selection 

Aaron POV

I was in my office glancing at the doors every few minutes. I was expecting y/n to walk in and go to her desk; she never did. She was still at the house when I left... where the hell is she. 

I looked at the clock she was an hour late, I took out my phone and tapped on her contact. The phone started ringing... and kept ringing. Eventually it went to voicemail. Maybe she was still driving and didn't want to answer the phone. 

I called again and again and still no answer. I was getting anxious; I stood for my chair and walked into the bullpen, "Have you guys heard from y/n today." They said no and asked what was wrong, I ignored them. 

I went down to Garcia's office, typing in the code and going in. I shut the door and stood behind her putting a hand on her chair, "Sir you scared me." I hummed. 

"Can you track y/n's phone, I haven't heard from her." 

"Ok... it says she is on 5, she's not moving. Hold on- there was an accident that just happened this morning", she said turning to me. "Do you think it's her?" 

"I don't know, don't tell the team where I'm going. I need to make sure." Garcia nodded turning to her computers. Going into the elevator I waited for seemed like forever to get to the parking lot. I started driving to 5... 

It couldn't be her she would never be reckless. When I arrived at her last location there were cop cars and a fire truck. I approached one of the officers. "Do you know what happened here?" 

"Truck rear ended that car. There was one person injured... that's all we know." I tried to ask him what hospital they took the person too but he didn't know. I called Garcia.

"I think it was y/n... from what I can tell it's her car. Where are they taking her." 

"Oh my god... uh yeah- they're going to... the General Memorial." I hung up the phone immediately getting into my car and driving. I didn't pay any attention to the speed limit or really any other cars, I just wanted-- needed to get to her. 

When I got to the parking lot I ran in going to the front desk, "I'm here for a y/n y/l/n.”

The lady was going to give me a bullshit excuse so I pulled out my credentials and she told me what room to find her in. I went to the 2nd floor room 225, I walked in and there she was. 

I saw her chart on the wall, she had a concussion and some miner internal damage but ultimately she was going to be okay. I took a seat next to her bed letting Garcia know she was fine. The car was on fire... if she was in there. 

Y/n POV

I didn't open my eyes yet but I could feel another presence in the room. I could smell their cologne and in an instant I knew who it was Aaron. I started moving around; I winced in pain, "You're awake." I sensed him move closer and grab my hand. 

I opened my eyes and the lights burned my eyes for a moment before they adjusted. He had a sad smile on his face, "How are you?" My lips tugged upwards, "Good for someone who just got hit by a car..." The realization set in and I remembered the whole event. 

I snapped my head towards Aaron, "How's Jack." he furrowed his brows in confusion. "What do you mean? You dropped him off didn't you?" I shook my head. "H- he was in... the car", I let out a small yeah and closed my eyes tight. 

"Do you kno- know where he is." 

"When I woke up in the car Jack was gone... I didn't see anything." I watched as anger washed over Aaron, his son was missing and I was my fault. 

He didn't blame me but himself for not driving with me or taking Jack himself. "We got to tell the team. This is a case till I say otherwise." He walked out the room and made some calls. A few minutes later he walked back in and sat down with me. 

Aaron was about to speak when the nurse entered the room, "You're up, how are you feeling on a scale of 1 - 10." 

"Maybe 5", She jotted down on my chart and checked my vitals. "You seem to be ok, we'll check up another hour then we can get you the discharge papers and get you out of here." I gave her a smile and resumed the conversation with Aaron.

"Do you know how long it's been since the accident", he sat down in the chair next to me.

 "Maybe a few hours, I'm not sure... give me a cognitive."

"Who do you think might've done this." I racked my brain trying to find the answers that were hidden away. My concussion made it harder to remember little details. I sat up in the bed while Aaron turned the lights down. 

I held my head in my hands, rubbing my temple like somehow it was going to give me my memory back. I was focusing, running the moments in my mind, going through frame by frame like it was a movie.

"I unbuckled my seatbelt and looked for Jack- he wasn't in the car so I crawled out the broken window. I stumbled my way to the road and I saw a car pass by... shit." I forgot who was driving it but they looked familiar, I couldn't figure out if it was a male or female.   

"I'm going to get some sleep... it'll come back to me", Aaron looked down at his hands; a tear falling from his eye onto the floor. I noticed. "Aaron, it’ll be okay. We'll find him." He glanced at me, wiping his eyes.

"Yeah I know", I grabbed his hand and held it reassuringly. I laid back down and closed my eyes. 

"Watch out!" I didn't understand what Jack was talking about until it was too late. There was a truck headed towards the car, slamming into the rear end.

Before I knew it the car was tumbling; I got knocked out and when I came too I was upside-down. My vision was fading in and out and my ears were ringing, I made out trees and wet grass. 

I was able to unbuckle my seatbelt and turn around- Jack was gone and I didn't see a trace of him anywhere. No blood, clothes... just nothing. I stumbled out of the car and made my way to the road. Seeing a car drive passed, what I did get was a clear view of the driver... Mark. 

I jerked up, tugging on Aaron's hand and waking him up as well, "Mark took Jack." When the words fell from my lips Aarons anger returned. He kept calm but I could tell he was fuming underneath. The nurse walked back in, "Here you go." 

She dropped off the discharge papers; Aaron signed them in an instant and we left. He took me home, out of habit I checked the mail, oh fucking course. I followed Aaron inside and set the note that he left on the island. We read it together. 

You took my child away from me... something special. I can't have you y/n I cared about you.                          You fucking killed my kid. So I took something from you. 

When we were done the letter I got a call from Morgan; I put him on speaker. "Guy's you might want to get back here, this is something I can't say to you over the phone." 

I ended the call and hopped back into the car, my head was pounding from all the movement but I didn't care. Aaron rushed back to the office entering the doors and elevator. We reached the bullpen and we saw the team gathered in the round table room. 

Rossi nodded to Garcia and she turned on the tv, and it was a live feed. 

Jack was in a blacked out room, there were toys on the floor and a flat broken bed. The wallpaper was dingy and peeling. A single window allowed light into the room with crust and dirt almost completely covering it. 

Aaron was fuming, I could feel it radiating off of him. I hesitantly reached up to his arm and guided him out to his office away from everyone. "What the fuck!", he yelled out. 

"Baby, I'm pissed off too but you need to calm down." He turned, going behind his desk and leaning his hands on it. 

"And how exactly am I supposed to fucking do that! Please tell me!", he shouted and I felt small. I backed away from him going into the corner; I felt tears brimming my eyes. I get he was beyond pissed and I was too, Jack was basically a son to me. I let him express the anger. 

He slowly calmed down and realized what he did. His face dropped and he hesitantly made his way over to me, "Y/n I'm sorry." He said softly.

"It's fine", my voice was strained trying to keep it together, him yelling... reminded me of- him. 

I took my time then I stood in front of him. "I get it, not completely but I do. One time... that's it, we all lose it sometimes-", I went closer to him gripping his jaw and making him look at me in my eyes. 

"But if you ever. yell at me like that again, I'm not going to be so understanding", I saw tears in his eyes, the rage melted away and now he was just- missing his son. He nodded and he hugged me, resting his head on mine. 

"Trust me, I'm not gonna yell at you again."

2 days later

"Where is he!?", I heard from coming from the bullpen. I glanced at Aaron asleep on the couch and decided to leave him. I opened the door and saw an angry Hayley coming through.

"You can't be here", I stared at her as she came closer to Aarons office. "Fuck the restraining order, where the hell is my son", I knew if she found out that I was with him when he was kidnapped she would quite literally  shoot me right here. 

I didn't answer but the commotion attracted the attention of everyone in the office. I felt a hand on my lower back and I turned; the yelling woke Aaron up. "What do you want?", she looked at him dumbfounded.

"Is anyone gonna tell me where my goddamn son is?"

"He's not here", Hayley scoffed clearly. "You would think his father would know." I wanted to punch her, I could just imagine my hand hitting her in the jaw. 

No one on the team liked Hayley but they thought she should at least know. Rossi walked out of the round table room and called her over. She made her way through the door and was met with the live feed of Jack; he was sleeping in the thin bed. 

I watched her as she fell on the floor and was crying. Nobody bothered to pick her up or console her. Eventually she collected herself and stood against the table. Tears still flooding her face she turned to me, "This is your fault, you and your fucking ex husband." 

Aaron was quick to cover me and standing in front, "This isn't anyone's fault." Fully standing up she took a step towards him, "Of course you'd say that. You're the one that lost him." 

"If you weren't deemed unfit for a time then you would've had him with you. Then you can blame yourself. Like I said this isn't anyone's fault." He spat the words out and I was thinking what she said. In a way this was my fault, it was just Mark. He was behind everything although we already knew that. 

If I had never been with Aaron he wouldn't be in this situation, Jack wouldn't be. I pushed the thoughts back in my mind, I didn't notice but Hayley was gone and Garcia had cut the feed. 

I walked up to her, "Are you sure you can't track it?" Pen shook her head.

"It's bouncing off of so many proxy servers- I'm sorry." I sighed and went back to Aaron. He had walked back into his office when Hayley left. I softly knocked on the door, "Not right now." Not listening I opened the door, He was laying on the couch with his arm resting on his head. 

"I said not right no- oh", he saw me and sat up. I went to the couch and sat down, Aaron laid his head in my lap. I ran my fingers through his hair, "Get some sleep." He closed his eyes; I knew he was sleeping when I felt his breathing steady and he was taking deep breaths.

I moved and got up, careful to not wake him after some time. I turned off the lights and walked out to the briefing room. I was thinking about Jack, just missing his face. I saw the remote in the middle of the table and picked it up. 

When I the tv turned on there he was, Jack was awake. It was getting dark out but the camera had night vision. He was scared and cold; I could see his breath in the video. His birthday was coming up and we might not be there for it. 

I had the video muted because I couldn't bring myself to turn it on. To hear his voice calling out for his dad... me. It broke my heart. 

I was driving him to school and within seconds I was flipped over and he was gone. I made silent promises to myself that we were going to get him back. I heard steps behind me and a hand on my shoulder. 

"How are you doing?", Reid sat down next to me. "Right now... not great. I miss that kid so fucking much, he was like a son to me." Reid reached his hand out.

"It'll be okay, we're going to find him." I knew he was right but I can't help the thought if we never did. How would Aaron and I move on? Would he blame me for it? 

"What if we don't." He took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to comfort me. 

"We can't start thinking like that, we will", he was right. The negative mindset was going to set us off course. I needed to think of Mark; what was his end game. 

He wanted a child and that's why he thought I was a safe bet, he thought I'd keep it. All I could think of was that he wanted a child. Not a random child but one that had a connection to me. He wanted to feel like I was around him all the time. 

Jack was young and impressionable, he picked up some habit that I did. He wasn't going to hurt Jack but raise him as his own. Even though he was young he wasn't going to forget his parents. Which makes sense considering he was in a locked room. 

"Do yourself a favor, go home the rest of the team and I will keep working." I give him a sad smile and pat his back and walk to get Aaron. When I walked in Aaron was at his desk on the computer. 

I didn't say anything, I went over to him and sat on his lap wrapping my arms around his neck. His hands traveled to my waist and back holding me close. "Spencer said we should go home", he hummed in agreement. 

I pulled back and looked at him in his eyes, "He's not wrong, we need sleep." I got off him and pulled him up by his hand. He closed the laptop and grabbed his stuff; walking out towards the elevator we were getting eyes from the team. 

Getting pity looks, It’s what I didn't want. The unwanted attention followed us through the building as we walked through to the parking lot. Word traveled and we had people feeling bad for us everywhere. 

When we sat in the car we didn't speak. Silence coated the both of us, we just needed time. The darkness from outside made the both of us feel alone. 

Going into the empty house, no laughter, no cartoons in the background. I glanced at the coffee table seeing the drawing he made while he was waiting for me to take him to school.  

Aaron and I looked into his bedroom seeing his toys neatly stored away like he taught him. The made bed that I showed him how to do because he never listened to Aaron. I thought back to that moment and it made me smile. 

I tugged on Aaron's arm bringing him to bed. We laid down and I pulled him close to me. I was hopping any second I would hear the patter on the floor as Jack ran into the room but... nothing.

____________________________

@mac99martin @donttellanyoneireadfanfiction @appleblossoms-posts @marie1115  @wanniiieeee @oreogutz @errorcosplay67 @aberrant-annie 

[fourthwallhateclub]

Help me

Description: Emma is with Phoenix when she is kidnapped, can Bravo set aside their emotions in time to save her, or will they be too late...

A/N: I wrote some things like this over on Ao3 under “FourthWallHateClub”, this will eventually have a second part but with my ADHD I don’t know when that will happen 🙃 please feel free to send feedback on the fix, I know it’s shit but I live for shit so 🤭

@rebelreblogs

Emma's POV

Darkness... Floating... Silence... My eyes fluttered open and started to adjust to the light... where was I? The door slammed open,

"You're awake!" Was that... was that an Afghan accent? Then it all came back to hit me like a freight train...

48 hours before hand

"Sup Dalton." I said.

"Shut it Hayes." He said pissed off.

I turned to Mac with a questioning look, "Who pissed in his coffee?"

Mac smirked, "Don't take it personally, he's not pissed with you, he's pissed with Maddie. He was on his way to a football game with one of our old delta buddies when he got the call."

"It's..." I glanced at my watch, "1300 hours?"

"We we're gonna have a few beers!" Dalton groaned.

'More than a few.' I mouthed to Mac, he just coughed to stifle his laugh.

Matty walked in, tapping the glass creating a privacy screen, and clicked a button bringing an image up on screen. "Amir-Botzwat-Asharu."

"10 of clubs..." I breathed out in disbelief.

"International arms dealer, drug trafficker-"

"and grade-A prick." Jack stated matter-of-factly.

Mac snorted, "You can say that again."

"The guys been evading Phoenix since it was OPS, us personally for years, why are we concerned about him now?" I wondered.

"What's this got to do with us, CIA took over the case, why now?" Jack asked.

"If you’d let me talk, you’d know,” Matty said sarcastically, “He recently kidnapped and murdered an American. Phoenix have had him on our radar for a while now as you’re aware but the higher ups refused to green light the op to take him out, saying CIA had it handled. That all went to hell when their undercover agent was exposed, they shot him and put a bounty on everybody CIA affiliated."She said.

"We're on their SOS list Matty, we outrank some shitty little 'bounty' list." I said.

"Regardless, you, Dalton and MacGyver leave for the Middle East at 1600 this afternoon so you arrive at night, get your affairs in order because the big men upstairs say you don't leave till the jobs is done. You'll be properly briefed on the plane, but there are more pressing issues, you guys have up to date parachute qualifications right?"

"I don't like where this is going..." Jack mused.

"Me either..." Mac agreed.

"As much as I hate agreeing with you two shmucks, me three..." I said.

"Well whether you like it or not your jumping from that plane, there's no where for it to land where you'll keep your cover. Unless you want to walk 13 miles to where you'll be staying?" She challenged.

"WE'LL JUMP!!" We said in unison.

She smirked, "That's what I thought."

"Okay... where exactly are we going in the Middle East, and where are we staying?" I asked.

"You are going to Afghanistan."

"Fucking Trashcanistan?!? You've got to be kidding." Jack screeched.

Ah Dalton and his hatred for that place... he would get along with Uncle Sonny, man has a fear of bloody everything...

"SHIT!!" I yelled.

All heads snapped to me, "What's wrong Hayes?"

"Um... where exactly would we be staying?" I asked biting my lip.

"Navy base in J-"

I laughed nervously, "Would that be in J-Bad by any chance?"

"Yes, why?" Matty asked.

"We have a little problem..." I mumbled.

"And what would that be..." She mused, raising an eyebrow.

"My uh- my family was spun-up there a few weeks ago." I said.

"What do you mean Em?" Mac asked.

"I mean my family, is Bravo team. They are currently in the Middle East, and are stationed in J-Bad for the foreseeable future. What do we do?"

"I'm assuming that they were not among the people you told about your job?" Matty asked.

"No ma'am. Mac, Dalton, Bozer and Riley are the only ones who know..." I answered.

"You arrive at night anyway, you cover your tracks and stay as hidden as possible, don't talk to anyone and stay away from the sailors. Nobody is to know what you're doing there or who you are... to them you three are Black Rose, Hunter, and Eagle." Matty said.

"Yes ma'am."

"Well... get out of here."

We didn't need to be told twice, we were running out the door and to the squad room.

"What the fuck do I do?!?" I yelled as we entered the room.

"Want a hug?" Mac asked opening his arms. I nodded and walked into him tucking myself into his figure, "You'll be ok."

Jack's POV

"Wait! Is your dad the Jason Hayes, like Bravo 1, the legend?!?" I screeched.

"Uh- yeah.." Emma said pushing away from Mac and scratching her head.

"That explains a lot..."

"What do you mean?" She was confused.

"I mean, having worked with your father, I see where you get it from."

She laughed, "You are so old."

I gasped, "You mean we are so old. Mac and I worked together in the Army."

“No. You? You're old enough to be my dad. Mac? Is old enough to be my big brother." She laughed.

"Yeah, and we'll protect you like it too." I said hugging her shoulder.

"You won't have to do anything if my family spots me. I'll be on the first plane out of there and back home, complete with a tracker and navy seal protection detail. They'll never let me out of their fucking sight." She grumbled.

"You'll be ok. Let's get ready to rak out." I said.

"You're right."

I walked into my office and grabbed my rucksack and duffel. I met them back in the main room.

"List it Hayes."

She groaned, "Why???"

I smirked, "We're acting like the older brother and dad we are."

She rolled her eyes but spoke anyway, "I made sure my camping gear, fatigues and survival gear was in my bergan, along with Guns, ammo, knife and spare phones," we looked at her weirdly, "What? I'm sick of Mac breaking my shit. Dalton and I spend way to much fucking time at the Genius Bar creating new and inventive covers to explain what Mac does as is."

Mac raised his hands, "You got me."

She smirked, "I know I do, anyway, I grabbed my go-bag, passport and fake ID's."

"What's in your go-bag." I quizzed.

"Toiletries, Clothes, Cash, Raincoat, Matches, Lighter, Laptop, Flashlight, MRE's, water purification tablets, rope, duct tape, whistle, batteries, knife, and First aid kit. Why do we keep doing this?"

"Good, and we do it because we care." Mac said kissing her head.

“Ugh! Let's go." We headed out to Mac's truck and dumped our stuff in the back. She hopped in the back and we drove to Mac's place.

"Bozer!" Mac called.

"Sup guys." He said bro hugging Mac.

"We're heading out, I need you to take care of some stuff for us." Mac asked.

"Yeah ok, let me grab some paper." He said.

We walked into the kitchen and told him what we needed, Mac didn't need to worry because he lived with Bozer, so Em went first, "My rent is due first of the month, it auto pays but I need you to check on the seventh if I have mail just in case it didn't go through. I need mail collected on the 7th, 14th 21st, and 28th. Plants need to be watered but that can be done when you grab my mail, if anything happens there is a contact sheet folded in the draw of my desk, it'll tell you who to call, in what order. You good with that?"

"All good Em." He said with a smile.

"Thanks Boz."

"Your welcome, Jack anything you need." He questioned.

"I live next to Emma so same as her just no plants to water, if you could check on my place when you water Emma's plants that would be great, and there is a contact list in the box on top of the CD rack."

"Cool, I got it."

“Thanks Boz." Mac said walking back into the room with his bag.

"It's all cool man." He said.

We walked to the door before he called out, "Be safe, I want you back in one piece."

"We'll try Boz."

~Time skip brought to you by Sonny’s Bam-Bam~

We'd been briefed and where currently in our hammocks grabbing what sleep we could before we hit the ground running.

"Drop zone is up in 35."

"Let's go kids." I commanded with a laugh.

We packed up our hammocks and pulled on our jump suits. I strapped my duffel to the bottom of my bergan and grabbed my chute. Strapping my Bergan to my back I pulled the parachute over the top. I walked over to the ramp and waited for Mac and Em to join me.

"2 minutes to the drop zone"

"Ready ladies." I yelled over.

"We're coming." Mac laughed.

We attached to the central line and clipped in, we watched as the light turned on and the ramp lowered,

"5...4...3...2...1..."

The light turned green and we jumped. My drill instructors voice went through my head. Breathing Dalton... in for 2... hold for 4... out for 3... parachute in 3, 2, 1. Pull the cord. Release the parachute. Move your body vertical. Feet pointed down. Legs slightly apart. Hit the deck in 3...2...1. Land crouched. Bend knees and run forward 20 yards. Unclip and pull.

Emma and Mac landed next to me and we packed up our chutes.

"Base is roughly 1 click 228 degrees north east." I said.

"Comms up?" Mac asked.

"Yeah they are." Matty answered.

"Good." I said. "Let's go."

We moved our bergans to our fronts and held our duffel bags. We broke out into a jog eager to get out of the heat. Arriving at the 'base' we were met with our assigned CIA handler.

"Agent Jayden Riggs." He said offering his hand.

I shook it, "I'm Eagle, this is Hunter and she's Black Rose."

"Real names?" He asked.

"That's need to know." Emma answered.

“What do you mean, I'm your handler?"

"Look Riggs, we don't like spooks ok. We work alone, off our own intel. It's important our identities remain a secret." She answered shortly, that's my Hayes.

"Alright then, let's get you set up in cabins, Black Rose, you'll be separated from the men." He said as he started walking away.

"What?" I said.

"Gender sensitivity. Men and women are separated." He said like it was obvious.

"Yeah no, she stays with us. We don't care about gender sensitivity." Mac said before I could, reel in the big brother before you get yourself in trouble Mac.

"It's protoco-"

I cut him off, "Screw protocol, Black Rose stays with us."

"Of course." He relented.

He led us to a cabin as a humvee pulled up, out climbed 6 men and a dog, all in fatigues, before I could see anything else Emma pushed us into the cabin and slammed the door shut behind us as we collapsed onto the floor.

"What was that??"

"That! Was my family." She helped us up.

Jason's POV

We were on night patrol in a neighbouring town to J-bad, we'd been out for 6 hours and it was 0300. I decided it was time to head back.

"Let's move out."

We walked back to the humvee and climbed in. We'd been driving for about 15 minutes when we saw three figures drop from the sky.

"What the hell is that?" Sonny asked.

"I'll find out." I said keying my comms, "Havoc base this is Bravo 1, we've got three parachute jumpers coming towards base."

"Copy that Bravo 1, I'll find out." Blackburn answered, a few minutes later he keyed his coms again, "Stand down, their friendlies."

"What do you mean their 'friendlies'?"

"I'll find out."

I rolled my eyes, cryptic much. We watched as they landed about 5 clicks ahead of us and packed their chutes away, then started running towards base.

"We're not far out now. We'll talk when we get in." I said.

We got to the base gate and rolled through, getting out I saw three figures standing outside a cabin glance at us before one pushed the others into the cabin and slammed the door. Weird. After we dumped our gear in the shed. We walked into the team room where Eric and Mandy were waiting.

"Who were they?" I asked.

"Apparently they work for some government agency, they're following a lead on a case." Mandy said.

"Which agency?" Brock asked.

"I don't know guys. I don't know..." Eric said.

"Why did they jump Eric? Why not just land on the airstrip?" I quizzed.

"Apparently they're meant to be discreet. Nobody was supposed to know they're here." Mandy said.

"Well they did a crap job of that." Ray said.

"Actually Ray, you guys weren't meant to be out tonight, had base been on routine nobody would have seen them come in." Eric spoke.

"Well that's creepy." Clay said.

"What do we know about these guys Mandy?" I asked.

"Two guys, one girl actually." She stated hint of amusement in her tone.

"A girl?!?" Sonny yelled.

"What? Don't think women can do the same jobs as men? Or are you just worried she's going to outshine you." Lisa interrogated.

"No but if she gets snatched we'll be the ones collecting her." He grumbled.

"So? If she's snatched it's going to be for bad intel, and unfair conditions. Not because she's a woman." Lisa challenged.

"Enough! What do we know about them?" I yelled.

"Their handler couldn't tell me much, mainly because he didn't know a great deal. However, their code names are Black-Rose, Hunter and Eagle. Their handler doesn't know their real names and I suspect that's by design." Mandy spoke.

"Ok. First off those why do those code names ring a bell, Second what do we know about the organisation they work for?" Clay asked.

"Honestly? Nothing. None of my bosses know who or what they are and the further up I went the more I was told to stop digging." Mandy said.

"So what do we do?" Trent asked.

"We stay away. We don't talk to them, not only for your safety but for theirs too. You see them walking you say nothing, although I suspect given all the trouble they went to so they weren't seen while getting here, we won't be seeing an awful lot of them." Eric mused.

"Alright then." I said clapping my hands, "We need to sleep." I turned to Eric, "I trust if you find anymore information that could be of use you'll speak to us?"

"Of course." Eric said nodding curtly before walking out of the room.

[jalaluvsu]

Interference

https://beautiful-disasters-sunshine.tumblr.com/post/631749044177403904/what-if-marinette-was-tims-little-sister-who-was

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“Y’know, just ‘cause Kori’s got a baby coming doesn’t mean you can boss us around Robin,” Beastboy whined as he stepped out of the Zeta Tube.

He scoffed at the notion, “That’s literally exactly what I can and will do, you absolute buffoon.”

“Oh, shutup.”

He sighed. There isn’t ever a moment where Garfield doesn’t wish Starfire still led the Titans. The past three weeks have gone by at an agonizingly slow pace, filled with never ending fights between him and Damian. And! Before you get the wrong impression, no, he did not start these fights. In fact, he was practically the one getting attacked!

Really, what’d you expect him to do when Damian insulted tofu during dinner at the Waynes’? Smile and wave?

Laughable.

Garfield will tell you what happened after, whether he’s proud is a matter of who asks. Let’s just say Alfred’s put him on a month-long ban from the dining room at the manor; worth it, nonetheless.

“Beastboy, earth to Beastboy,” He heard Raven chant over comms. Oh, right, the mission.

“Reporting for duty!” he saluted obediently, like the responsible hero he is.  

“Stop standing there and you know, actually read the coordinates I sent to your navigator,” he grinned at her snark as he pulled out his compact. A hefty amount of unchecked notifications was in its wake.

Automated message coupons from the local pizza place at Jump City (hell yeah!)

Missed calls from Terra, he faltered at the offending contact; as if he would respond. The time for that has passed, long passed.

He scrolled down the small screen as he flitted his gaze past the hundreds of junk mail. Ah, and lastly, one lengthy preview of information regarding the mission. The text listed an address along with...enrollment details? Huh.

Garfield glanced both ways before crossing the busy street; him previously being in the too-bright alleyway. 

Okay, see, he knows what you’re thinking. Someone like him- or rather someone who looked like him, would stick out like a sore thumb. Especially in a place like Paris. How common were metahumans here? Probably not as high as the rate in Metropolis, that’s for sure.

There were only so many green colored people, and a good ninety-nine percent was or is associated with heroes (vigilantes, fine) or even aliens. That being said, he was keeping it on the down-low. In Paris, he wasn’t the cool, collected, and most desired by all Garfield Logan. In Paris, he was just Grant Roth. What? It’s a good cover! And he was planning on taking Raven’s surname eventually anyways. (wink wink, nudge nudge)

A few spells and enchantments via Magical Goth Gf ™ prior to his ride in the tubes later; he practically looked uncanny to his appearance before the whole ‘failed experiment injection’ thing. You know, a mop of auburn hair, pale as paper skin, and cutesy little freckles (Blue Beetle’s words, not his) (Okay, maybe it was his too..)

Garfield pulled out his pocketed compact once he safely made it across the street. Now that he gave more than a glance at the address it looked...short. In fact, it was vague, extremely vague. He discreetly looked around for any eavesdroppers and lowered his voice to a whisper as he walked down the 21st arrondissement.

“Uh, guys? Where exactly am I supposed to go?”

He hated not knowing how to do something he was expected to, incredibly so.

“I was hoping you’d dispose of your body there,” he paused, "but since you asked so nicely, we’ll tell you.” Robin chimed in matter-of-factly.

Garfield could practically feel the next set of words. He didn’t know what they were, but they were going to suck. He just knew it.

Raven took a long swig of coffee before announcing the dreaded news, “We’ve signed you up for a foreign exchange student program,” 

Ah,

“You what?!” he shrieked. A couple of onlookers gave him dirty glances, he smiled sheepishly.

Blue Beetle toggled his audio, “C’mon Gar-“ Robin interrupted,

“No names on field!”

 “Shutuuuuup,” he drawled out.

“Anyways, Beastboy,’’ cue pointed glare at Robin,’’ did you really think we’d let you roam around without a leash for what? Three months? In a foreign country of all places?” Garfield could practically hear the smirk in his voice, the fucker.

“I was hoping, yeah!” Damn. He thought he would get away with them actually trusting him here alone, wishful thinking on his part.

He pouted at the idea as he scouted for a place to lounge in.

Raven huffed, “You’ll be living with a host family during your stay at Paris, if it wasn’t clear enough already.”

He froze; what other surprises were up their sleeves?!

“C’mon, be real for a sec. I’m a superhero, I don’t need to go to public school, I don’t need a couple of strangers!” he stressed as he weaved between crowds of Parisians.

Ooh, a bench. He sat with the intent of winning this argument, no matter the consequence. So what if he looked crazy, supposedly talking to himself? Priorities people, priorities.

“Doom Patrol’s strict orders, you know, ‘cause they can’t homeschool you a whole continent away,” Jamie deadpanned.

Garfield dragged a hand down his face. Stupid Doom Patrol, stupid worrying for his wellbeing. “But- it’s a mission!” he gestured rapidly, in clear exasperation.

Jaime tsked, “And? Gotta keep that brain of yours in tip-top shape, amigo!”

“Whatever, man;” he got up to dust himself off, “still don’t know how that’s related to the address on the Seine but- “

“They live there, your host family,” Raven supplied.

Garfield scratched his chin in wonder. Who lives in a body of water? That’s so- Wait. His friends were totally holding out on him!

“You guys didn’t tell me I’d be staying with Aquaman! That makes this ten times better!”

What were the chances that the man himself was in Paris too? They can bond over sea creatures, and Garfield could show him his animal transformations! This mission wasn’t so bad, it wasn’t bad at all. He had an extra skip in his step as he pranced down the pavement.

“Are you entirely brain dead?” Robin audibly face palmed,

”No, you’re not- you know what? Yes, you’re going to be living with Aquaman. At a river. In France,” quiet murmurs along the lines of ‘idiot, and ‘cómo adorable,’ sounded out from his remaining teammates.

“This is gonna be so awesome!” Garfield exclaimed giddily.

He spotted a boulangerie-pâtisserie a couple blocks away. Aha! Time to get him some sweet, sweet, treats. And hopefully, some directions.

“Robin spent weeks doing full analysis on the whole family,” Jaime grinned over the comm.

Raven cut in, “Even though it was incredibly self-destructive, “

Analysis? On the King of Atlantis? Boy, no one was safe from Damian’s wrath.

“Awww. You do care, Robin!” he cooed as he entered the bakery.

Robin gasped, affronted, “Don’t flatter yourself! I needed to make sure you wouldn’t feel obligated to blabber all our secrets, obviously.”

“Better than nothing, I suppose,” Garfield shrugged to himself, but quickly zipped his lips shut once someone came into view.

“The Couffaines are...adequate at best;” he quieted, “well, at least from what I could infer before I was so viciously torn away from my research!” was sniffed hotly.

Couffaines? Was that a code name?

“If I didn’t know any better Robin,” Jaime mused, “I’d think you were taking after Tim, especially with how many late nights you’ve had...”

A beat.

Garfield ignored the squabble taking place in his left ear, opting to chat with the kind looking, lady at the register.

“Hello! What can I do for-“ she looked up from tying her apron,

“Oh! You must be new here; I don’t recognize you,”

Garfield offered his hand, “Hah, yeah! I was just walkin’ around town. I’m Grant, by the way,’’ he silently praised himself for remembering his alias.

She shook it firmly, “Sabine.”

A warm smile was sent his way before she gestured to the variety of sweets on display. His mouth watered at the sight and contemplated his choices, no matter how hard it was.  ‘’What would you recommend?’’ he whispered, completely in awe.

Sabine paused to give him a once-over before lighting up. ‘’Well, you don’t strike me as a tart kind of guy so, how do you feel about chocolate?’’

‘’Love it.’’

‘’Great! My husband just put out some fresh Pain Au Chocolates before you came in!’’ Score. His luck hadn’t completely run out.

‘’That sounds fire! I’ll have that,’’ he exclaimed cheerfully.

She blinked at his wording, ‘’Pardon?’’

What? Did she not unders- Oh.‘’Sorry, American slang. It means cool!’’ he rushed out.

She mulled it over, ‘’Ah, okay. Well, coming right up!’’ Sabine opened the glass in search of the Pain Au Chocolates.

“Don’t ever compare me to that insufferable fool, -“

He snickered, “Your brother?”

Robin fumed, “-you complete and utter nincompoop!”

“Now, now, don’t use big boy words on me,” Jaime taunted.

“I’ll show you ‘big boy’ words-! “

Garfield faux scratched his ear in favor of switching off the comm as he watched Sabine bag the treats. He grinned in thanks once handed to him.

“If that’ll be all...?” She trailed off.

He wasn’t really paying any mind as he took a big whiff of the sweets. His thoughts floated over to a haven filled with a never-ending overflow of pastries. Ah, what’s stopping him from staying here forever? A pat on his shoulder, apparently.

“Hm?” Garfield found the petite baker leaning over the counter with a patient smile.

“Sorry, I totally zoned out! Did you say something?” he rubbed his neck bashfully.

She chuckled, “I asked if there’s anything else I could do for you, sweetie.”

If there anything else she could- Right! Yes, he needed to know where the hell he was staying at. Garfield fumbled for his phone, luckily for him he copied the address into his Notes app.

“Yeah actually! Well, not food wise but, I’m here in Paris for,” he blanched momentarily, “uh, an exchange program; and I have a like host family here, right?” he gestured to his voice; the American accent evident.

She nodded.

He continued, “And I don’t really uh, like, know exactly where I’m supposed to meet them. I was wondering if you by chance knew someone who lived on the Seine around here?” Garfield shoveled a croissant into his mouth.

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

Marinette was a lot of things.

To some she was the sweet bakers’ daughter, insanely witty and clever, granted a bit scatterbrained, but she was your trophy student by all means of the word; to others though, she was someone to be wary of. A classmate’s spew of lies crawling under their skins, itching to be taken into account. Every move watched meticulously, waiting with bated breath for a slip up, for anything to grasp on to.

In simpler terms, Marinette was over it. Over being unable to speak her truth; over being villainized, constantly put under a spotlight. There was already enough on her plate, one of its regulars accumulating to a steadily-rising designer. One of her biggest flexes, if she was being honest; because really, what fourteen year old could say they constructed glasses for the Jagged Stone? Surely not the average bunch.

Oh, and did she mention superheroine? Yeah, she’s a superheroine.

The whole gig was shoved at her face, three months shy of her thirteenth birthday; and by gig she meant a brief guide, a blindingly red polka-dotted suit, a questionable choice of weapon (seriously, a yo-yo?), and an ill-timed partner.

Nonetheless, she worked with what she got. It's kept her alive so far already, why complain now?

She rubbed her eyes with a stifled yawn, ‘’Radiant....Carefree....Dreamy…’’

Marinette slammed the snooze button at the sound of that god forsaken jingle. Christ, she needed to change her alarm. All it did was make her reminisce of her former crush on Adrien Agreste; top teen Parisian model, son of fashion mogul Gabriel Agreste, and current boyfriend of future Olympiad, Kagami Tsurugi. Alas, old habits die hard, and this one was going to crash and burn any time soon; Marinette was sure of it.

A groan sounded out as she flopped to the floor, skillfully ignoring the tinkling laughter coming from her bedside. Ah, who was she kidding? It’d take some sort of absolute miracle to get over him completely. She would end up forever lonely, pining over a taken man, indefinitely getting dropped from position as lead designer for Jagged, friendless, Akumatized, disowned by her parents-

“None of those things are true, and you know it!”

She snapped her gaze up to the floating embodiment of creation, Tikki. Had her friend really thought that, that look could get Marinette to take back her spiel? She looked like an angry kitten for crying out loud!

Her cheeks reddened as she got up and dusted herself off, “Did I say that out loud?”

Judging by the narrowing of the tiny god's eyes, she’d say yes, it was said out loud. Damn, she was not looking forward to a morning lecture about her declining self esteem and her tendency of speaking her mind. Before Tikki could get even a word in, the Just In Case™ alarm for bad mornings went off. She shot the kwami a rueful grin and scurried over to the counter.

“Radian-“ the clock was chucked out of the three story building. Marinette watched from her window as it plummeted to its demise, in a heap of cheap metal and wires. Lovely.

A red blur zoomed to the front of her face, making her go cross-eyed, ‘’Marinette!’’ Tikki frowned shakily, struggling not to smile at her antics. 

She shrugged and skipped over to her closet, in search for acceptable clothes,

‘’What? It was getting annoying! And besides, it’s not like it was worth that mu-!’’ They both froze at the pounding of the trap door.

Ugh, couldn’t they wait to bother her later?

‘‘You better get out of there soon, young lady! I don’t want another call from your school added to the list,’‘ Marinette was going to absolutely combust. It sucked enough that barely any of her ‘‘friends’’ stuck around, but Tom and Sabine? Really? Believing some complete stranger over her? It must be the lack of familial relation that makes it sting a bit less. It must.

She groaned tiredly, ‘’Yes, Sabine.’’

Once the descending pattering of her footsteps quieted, Tikki raced over to latch onto Marinette’s cheek. Her bluebell orbs peered up at her, filled with sympathy for her holder. She shook her head at the silent offer to talk; there’s no time for a pity party. 

The kwami sighed sadly, before pecking her cheek and floating over to rest on her shoulder. Marinette plastered on an encouraging smile, ‘‘C’mon Tikks’, help me pick out and outfit for today! You know how indecisive I can be,”

After some thinking, they’ve come to the mutual decision of something completely out of Marinette’s alley. Instead of her usual pink capris, floral shirt, blazer, flats, and pigtails; she sported a plaid pleated skirt, a tucked in Queen Bee graphic tee, black two-inch heart buckled platform Mary Janes, and spacebuns. Who knew her wardrobe from Clara Nightingale’s on-set music video would come to use? 

She ogled her reflection with a satisfied smirk, yeah, she was hot. 

‘’Holy shit, Tikki, if I was still into Adrien,’’ she whistled, ‘’he’d drop to the floor as soon as he saw this; and that’s coming from me!’’ 

The kwami shook her head good naturedly, ‘’I’m glad you think so. I really like confident Marinette!’’ she nudged her shoulder, ‘’Although, I hope you aren’t doing this for your classmates’ approval...’’ 

She directed her gaze at Tikki; an other person’s approval? Why would she do something for another person’s approv- Oh. She actually wasn’t that far off. 

‘‘Pssh. No, I would never! This is all me baby! The awesome, cool, and Pinterest board version, I mean,’‘ Marinette gave her little friend finger-guns and grabbed her purse. Enough about her, they needed to get to school before she was late again. 

‘‘Get in Tikks’, if we wait any longer I’ll be,’‘ she checked the time on her phone, ‘‘like five minutes late to homeroom!’‘ 

She flitted into the bag as Marinette settled it onto her side. With one last look-over, she was off. 

To say she struggled down the stairs was a complete and utter understatement. She almost died, multiple times. Maybe the platform shoes were a bad idea, a very, very, very bad idea. Marinette clutched onto the railing with an inhumane grip that could rival Alya’s on her phone; and that was telling you something. 

Once she made it passed the death trap, or rather simply a few steps, she grabbed an espresso and a handful of cookies; the former being for her, and the latter for Tikki. She gave a fleeting wave to Sabine and Tom, not that they gave any mind. 

She pulled out her phone, 8:26, she could work with that. Her phone buzzed with a text notification. 

 (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ 𝖈𝖍𝖑𝖔𝖊 𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖇𝖎𝖙𝖈𝖍 ♥          ɴᴏᴡ

where the fuck are you

Marinette snorted and slid the cookies into her purse. She unlocked the screen and tapped the message icon.

{𝟖:𝟐𝟕}  .•°¤*(¯`★´¯)*¤°   🎀  𝓃𝑒𝓉𝓉𝒾𝑒  🎀   °¤*)¯´★`¯(*¤°•.    

wouldnt you like to know weather boy

.

.

.

{𝟖:𝟐𝟪} (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ 𝖈𝖍𝖑𝖔𝖊 𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖇𝖎𝖙𝖈𝖍 ♥

wow ur so funny im literally laughing so hard rn 😐

.

.

{𝟖:𝟐8}   .•°¤*(¯`★´¯)*¤°   🎀  𝓃𝑒𝓉𝓉𝒾𝑒  🎀   °¤*)¯´★`¯(*¤°•.  

thank you, thank you, im here all night 🖤

.

 Marinette looked both ways before crossing the intersection, Dupont just about a block away. She chugged her now-cold coffee and tossed it in the recycling bin, ‘’Score! And the crowd goes wil-!’’ the atmosphere suddenly stilted.

‘‘Dupain-Cheng,’‘ she swiveled around, and was met with the putrid swamp green slits shes grown to despise. 

A snarl rolled off her tongue, ‘’Rossi.’’ 

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omg guys so hi. im doing this. im actually doing the thing i said i would do here  cuz im a bad bitch. 3k words i think. sorry for any mistakes i literally wrote this while watching pbs kids LMAOOOASODFWOEB @beautiful-disasters-sunshine idk if u still wanna be tagged when i do this kinda stuff but pm me if u dont <3

[kimberly-spirits13]

Right Hand Man (Loyal to the End) Pt. 8

Pairing: Damian Wayne x reader

Synopsis: You were like Talia’s daughter. The only thing was that you weren’t and instead, you had grown up in the foster care system and at a young age were taken by and personally trained by Talia. Along the way, you meet Damian and the two of you start to work side by side and eventually, after some time become closer and closer. However, when disaster in the league strikes, you face balancing an old, forgotten life as a normal child and the burden of right hand to the demon heir.

Note: I know that this is long and that there are a good number of time skips, but I didn’t want to make this into a series and just wanted it as a long fic because .... well because I can lol

Also, I didn’t want to have Damian so young in this so just go with it. I’m thinking maybe early 15 or almost 16 at the most. Idk I just don’t like writing for young Dami.

Warnings: angst, almost losing someone, buildings on fire, bombs, the usual lol

Word Count: 2181

Masterlist for Series

Both you and Damian had now been secretly dating for two months. It was an exhausting game of cat and mouse of either running from his family, or the prying eyes of the press. You had just excepted at this point that this was just going to be a new normal for a long time. There was nothing you could seriously complain about much however. This was all you had wanted for years and if the company of clandestine meetings was going to be a center of attention in this relationship, that was what was going to happen.

        Dates were mainly just tea or coffee on the rooftops late at night for only a short amount of time if it was on patrol, and longer if it was at the manor. Right now, you were sitting in the library, laying in Damian’s lap, both reading your own books. No one but Alfred was in the manor however, you were sure that he knew about you and Damian. Light streamed in through the windows and silence blanketed the room as Damian ran his fingers through your hair, occasionally braiding it. You fiddled with the matching golden ring on your left ring finger some as he did this. This was the most relaxed you had been in years and you wouldn’t trade it for anything.

        He didn’t know this until recently, but the only professor that had ever lived was one that you had. Your voice professor used to braid your hair during warm ups. She was the closest thing that you had ever had to a mother and in return for this, you begged Talia to let her live. You decided not to make it out so that you trusted or cared for her, but rather that she had connections to people that the league could use. With this tactic, Talia actually allowed her to leave but under a life- long oath of secrecy to protect the league. You braid your own hair when you were stressed or anxious but it’s better having someone else do it. Damian only found out when you started braiding and braiding your own hair in the roof tops one night at the league, only to let the piece unravel and start again.

        “Beloved are you going to go on patrol tonight?” He asked breaking the silence.

        “Of course.” You answered, “Is there a reason you asked?”

        “No, I was just checking.”

        “...Damian, how long do you think we’re going to stay a secret? I’m not upset or anything of the sort, it’s just a bit exhausting sometimes.” You questioned, flipping the page of your book.

        “I don’t really know Beloved. How long do you think you’d want to stay like this?” Damian set down his book to give the conversation his attention seeing as this one was important.

        You audibly sighed as he started braiding a portion of your hair, twisting it around and then letting it lose again, “I don’t really know, 3 months at most maybe?”

        “Are you tired of seeing strangers online pine away after me?” He asked smirking.

        You rolled your eyes and jokingly slapped his arm making him laugh, “What about me? I’ve seen plenty of suitors for myself.”

        “Don’t remind me Y/N.”

        “Oh no, I’ll remind you. First there was one that actually messaged me asking if I was single. Oh, another that tweeted asking if I was single. Then, there was another that mailed a love letter to the man-“

        Damian cut you off, putting his hand over your mouth making you laugh. You sat up and sat crisscrossed in his lap facing him, running your fingers through his hair.

        “You didn’t really think you could shut me up that easily did you demon?” You asked quietly.

        “I’d gage you would find a way to get your point across any way you could General.” He kissed the corner of your lips which made you glare at him some before pulling him in for a real kiss.

        “Next time some girl gets a hold of you at a gala though, just make sure not to charm her for me, will you?”

        “Whatever you say.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        Patrol started off boring and uneventful. Nothing exciting was happening but for maybe a few ally level crimes. You and Damian were perched on the rooftops looking down at the city lights and occasional people. Damian had obviously gotten the whole Robin outfit, in his own version of course. You however, took the same style as your past uniform. It was similar in the sense that it was amour and a hood, you still had your knives and compartments, this time though, the color was different. He couldn’t see the look on your face through the mask you were wearing which covered your lower face to your eyes, but he was sure you were bored. He was going to start a conversation when the comms came on with Bruce talking loudly.

        “I need everyone at the Rosehill Apartments on 7th Street! There’s multiple bombs spread throughout the building, civilians are inside.”

        You looked at Damian who nodded at you before you both swung off the building.

        “ETA 2 minutes.” You replied back getting onto your own bike and speeding off towards 7th St. following Damian.

_______________________________________________________________________

        Upon arrival to the building, you could see that everyone else was already inside but for Nightwing who on crowd duty until you two had gotten there.

        “There’s one more bomb in the kitchens. Everyone else is either getting their own or helping the residences escape.”

        You looked around for an entrance that wasn’t in terrible condition. Once you found one you ran towards it at full speed with a bomb on your mind.

        “Stick close, the roof might not be stable anymore.” You said, “If the bomb goes off, I expect you to leave immediately.”

        “Beloved I’m not leaving you if anything happens.” Robin replied running beside you.

        You didn’t reply, instead bursting into the kitchen and jumping over one of the carts in the way of your path. Using the locator on your wrist device, you scanned the room stopping when it got a hit.

        “It’s in the freezer!” You ran over and opened the door into the large room, “Hold this open and make sure it doesn’t close, I’ll disarm the bomb.”

        Damian nodded and did what you said as you went inside and ripped open one of the floorboards to find a massive collecting of wires and buttons connected onto one device. The type of timebomb was one that you had seen plenty of times before in training and when you yourself had used them. Part of training was learning to make one so it wasn’t too terribly difficult to disarm this one. The hard part was getting out.

        “Y/S/H/N!” You heard from behind you as you were about to stand up, “The place is on fire.” Damian called out, “We have to leave!”         You turned around and saw the place ablaze. Damian already had his other mask up over his face so he could breathe when you got out of the freezer. The two of you started running out to find the hallway also up in flames.

        “Don’t come near the kitchens, the whole place is going up in flames.” You said, “Bomb has been disarmed however.”

        “Good, now get out of there.” Batman replied back.

        “Working on that.”

        You and Damian sprinted down the hallway making sure no one else was inside on your way out. Once in the lobby you turned hearing someone screaming from a room nearby.

        “I’ll be right back.” You said turning around locating the person who was a small child.

        “I can’t find my Mommy.” She said sobbing into your arms.

        “I promise you I’ll find her.” You said running back up front, “I’m going to give you to Robin and he’ll take you outside, I’ll find your mommy.”

        You reached the front of the building where Robin was, “Take her, she can’t find her mother, I’m going in after her.”

        “You can’t, the building is going to come down at any minute!” Damian said taking the girl in his arms.

        “I have to check, I can’t let her grow up without parents like I did.”

_______________________________________________________________________

        You ran inside not really aware of what was happening outside anymore. Looking around you saw no sign of anyone but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t be buried under something. As you did this, you pulled out the scanner again but this time had it scan for biological creatures instead of machinery. There was nothing at the point where you were. Going farther into the structure was a no go at this point but it was your only option.

        Outside, Damian was trying to find the girl’s mother in the crowd as he mentally cursed himself for allowing you to go inside. He should’ve done more, he could’ve done more but he didn’t. Running to the line of ambulances, he looked for someone that matched the girl’s description of her mother. When he finally found the person, he rushed over just in time for the lady to see her daughter and burst into tears. She hugged her daughter and thanked Damian for bringing her back to her before Damian rushed back to find you.

        “Y/N!” He screamed getting inside catching your attention.

        Further down the hallway you heard Damian yelling for you. You turned around and started headed quickly for him and once he saw you, he announced that they had found the mother outside of the building. The two of you started running for the exit when you looked up hearing a faint beeping. The exit was 50 feet ahead and the closer to it you got, the louder the sound.

        “Damian! There’s a bomb above us, I- I think it’s about to blow.” You said as pieces of wood from the building came down little by little, “5 seconds now!”

        Damian had a look of terror as he picked up the pace. You knew that both of you wouldn’t make it without a little boost so you got behind Damian and launched him out of the way where Nightwing was standing right as the building was coming down. The last thing you heard was a defining thunder and then the screams Damian who was kicking and trying to get away from Nightwing to go back for you.

        “Y/N is still inside you idiot let me go!” He sobbed trying to elbow his oldest brother in the rib.

        The second round of explosions came, only making the structure collapse more, fire raining down.

        “Beloved!” He screeched making Nightwing almost drop him in surprise at what he called you.

        He understood why Damian was fighting so hard now, but that didn’t mean that he could let him go. The rest of the family standing by heard it as well. It would’ve been hard to miss anyways.

        “You can’t go in after her!” Nightwing yelled over the explosion.

        “I have to! She’s the only one I have, I have to go! Let me go!” Damian got lose just as the dust was settling.

        He ran to where he last saw you and started digging, tears filling his eyes so that he couldn’t see. There was no chance you were still alive and if you were, it wouldn’t be for long. That was when he heard you try and move something. He was looking in the wrong place, only a few feet away. When he saw where you were, he lifted the piles of wood and debris off of you to find you badly injured and hardly awake.

        “Beloved stay awake for me okay?” He said lifting you up out of the rubble.

        There was a part of your side where you had gotten impaled. It didn’t look like it hit any vital organs, however, you were bleeding out rapidly.

        He swept the hair out of your face and gently held you to him as he ran for the Batmoblie quickly trailed by everyone else. With you in the backseat, Nightwing front, and Batman driving, you were quickly headed for the cave. Damian wrapped your wounds tightly and held your head up in his lap checking your pulse every few seconds.

        “How is she?” Bruce asked sparing a glance at the back seat.    

        “Unwell, I-I don’t know how she’s still alive.” Damian responded.

        “Enhanced strength from the pit.” You groaned some in pain.

        “What the hell?!” Dick turned around to see you trying to sit up, “Enhanced strength my ass, how many times did you take a dip?”

        That earned a sharp glare from Damian and a reprimand from Bruce. He apologized realizing that he overstepped.

        “Beloved don’t move like that, just stay down.” Damian said gently, “You’ll only hurt yourself more.

        Getting to the cave, you don’t remember much, just waves of pain and floating in and out of consciousness. The only part that you really remember was the worst part, but that was later to come when everyone really thought you would die.

Tag List-

@we-want-mini-mini​ @a-door-into-my-mind​ @idkmanicantenglish​ @queengeorgiaaa​ @lucy-roo​ @wolfiemichele​ @grey-water-colors​ @random-fandom-girl-24​ @crumpets-are-better-with-jam​

[chayacat]

Devil’s Sweet Star (10)

Fandom : Dead by Daylight

Ghostface x Female Reader  

Rated M for Violence, Language and Smut  

***

The sky is clear on this evening, the wind is not too cool, almost an ideal time to go kill or stalk someone. Unfortunately for Danny, this ideal evening is a bit taken by Mr Hoggins' reception. Melina invited you with him and Mattew to come to her house to get ready, so you will quickly be at the reception. As the women prepared in Melina’s bedroom, the boys changed in the guest room.

“Damn I don't like costumes! I feel way too different! How can you...” he starts, turning to Danny before freezing on the spot. “wow...”

Danny was in front of him, putting the sleeves of his jacket back on. His hair was not tied this time, cascading over his shoulders. He had left his glasses in their boxes, revealing his piercing blue eyes. Did I ever tell you that this boy was beautiful? Tell you that, in a suit, he's divine to look at.

“Damn Jed! You've got fucking class like that! You're going to get everyone's attention like that.” said Mattew impressed.

“You... You think so? Well, thank you. You're not bad either.” answer Jed with a little smile while Danny smiles bigger. Of course, he’s handsome. he knows it since a long time.  

“Frankly, you should have more confidence in yourself and your physique.”

“Is everyone ready?” said Melina by putting on her earrings. “woah what a class... If I didn't know you, I would have invited you for a drink.”  

Danny sighed, shaking his head before he saw you. His heart missed a beat when he saw you in this purple dress, your hair well-coiffed, a very discreet makeup on your face. You looked like an angel. If you had been alone, believe me that Danny would not have hesitated for a moment to explore every part of your body. As Ghostface of course.

“You’re...you’re beautiful.” He said by placing a kiss on your hand.

“So are you.” you respond blushing at this gesture.

“If these gentlemen, ladies, are ready... we have a scandal to find.” replied Melina with a wink.  

Danny slit his throat, in order to regain a countenance and then headed with the others to the car. As a good gentleman, he opened the door for you and let you ride the first one before settling down. Melina got behind the wheel and once everyone was tied up, she set out for Mr Hoggins' villa for the reception.

“Well remember everyone, the purpose of our presence is not only to cover the event, but also to find evidence about the plots of Hoggins and McKellan. Jed has to go to Hoggins' office without getting noticed, find the evidence, and then we're off. Got it?” said Melina looking at you and Danny in the rear-view mirror.

“We'll stay in contact with the little earbuds that our boss gave us! If we ever see any movement, we will notify you immediately!” said Mattew.  

“if you're not too distracted by the butlers or some of the guests.” said Danny sneering.  

Mattew slapped him on the knee, making him laugh even more. Then he put his attention to you, a big smile on his face thinking back to last night. Seeing you as confident but frightened as a little doe amused him a little.  

The road seemed endless, almost falling asleep, but after an hour and a half drive, the villa of Hoggins was visible. Danny looked at you and saw that you were slightly stressed when you saw the building.

“Just relax. It's going to be all right. stays natural no matter what, okay?” He said, laying his hand on your shoulder.  

“Okay...I’ll try my best, but It's going to be difficult.” You answer with a little smile.

Melina parked a little further and everyone got out of the car looking closer at the building. The group advanced to the front door, Danny warning the security that you were accompanying them. There were a lot of wealthy people tonight, discussing everything and nothing with such arrogance that, if Danny had a knife on his hand, he'd slit them all to the last, before gutting them and cutting them into thin slices.  

They had a drink handed to them by a butler and took the opportunity to listen to the discussions between the guests. While some were delighted and surprised about this partnership, others were not really surprised.

Among them was Richard Hoggins, the master of the place. He must have been in his fifties, bald but straight and proud as a prince. Everything about this man was sweating lust, and that's what disgusted Danny to the point.

“You must be the journalists of the Roseville Gazette, I suppose? It's strange, your boss told me you'd only be 3...who is this lovely lady?” said Hoggins, placing a kiss on your hand.  

“She came with us.” Said Danny, taking you by the waist to get closer to him. If there's one thing Danny doesn't like, it's to share what’s HIS. And if he doesn't want to end up as a headless rider, Hoggins better leave you alone.

“Well, I count on you to immortalize this evening so that all the newspapers of the state see the magnificence of my success. For the fifth time.”  

“Sure Sir! Mattew and I would like to ask you about this, our readers want to know more about this new partnership you signed and its long-term future. it should last... 1 or 2 hours maximum?” Said Melina staying calm looking at Danny who nodded, understanding the message.

Hoggins nodded and took Melina and Mattew to a room away from the noise to chat quietly. Danny took his camera out of his purse and started taking pictures of the reception. If he didn't want to be spotted, he had to play his role. He took the opportunity to take a picture of you, which surprised you.

“A little souvenir of the evening, and the best photo I would have taken.” he said with a smile.  

“So... what’s the plan?” you ask innocently.

“We'll take some pictures for the newspaper as planned. We have to go into hoggins’ office and find out what we are looking for. Don't lose sight of me and stay close enough to me. Okay?” he whispered at your ear.  

“Okay.”  

Danny took a few more pictures before putting his camera in his bag. Noticing that in the next room there was music and people dancing, a mischievous smile came to his lips. And why not enjoy it a little?  

“Wanna dance? since we're here... we might as well enjoy it, right?” he asks, reaching out his hand towards you.  

“I... I don't know how to dance... I never had the opportunity. And then we don't really have time for that... Don't you think so Jed?” you answer shyly and embarrassed.  

“It's true. But it's not every day that you can go to a reception. And don't worry... I never had the opportunity to dance either.” replied Danny with a little smile.

You hesitate a few seconds before taking his hand. You both find yourself in the middle of the dancers and, if you didn’t know how to dance, Danny is an expert. He couldn't help but smile when he saw your desolate look every time you missed his foot or missed a step.  

But little by little you pick up the pace. Everyone was looking at you two, Unintentionally, you became the center of attention. Danny doesn’t care, it flattered his ego, his narcissism fed on this attention.

And among all these worms, these rotten bourgeois to the marrow, there is you. An angel among the demons, a sheep among the wolves. You are HIS toy, and only to him. If you must be afraid, if you must feel in danger, it will be only because of him. And his mask. Until he kills you, tired of you.

After about thirty minutes, you finally stop dancing, but you don't let go of each other. Danny ends up being the first, clearing his throat to regain a countenance.

“See? You’re pretty good for someone who has never danced. Come on, we still got something to do.” he said before leaving the room, you at his heels.

He walked to hoggins’ office, but the corridor leading to it was closed and guarded. We're going to have to find another way in. One advantage for Danny is that there is no security camera. How does he know? When Danny does research, he studies everything. Absolutely EVERYTHING.  

What? Did you forget who he was or what? It shouldn't surprise you though. Danny went outside, pretending to take some air before beckoning you to follow him discreetly. He was impressed to see how involved you were. You could be a good accomplice... if you were less naïve.  

Escaping from all eyes, he saw the window of Hoggins' office slightly open. What an idiot... he is so pretentious that he leaves the windows open. It's an invitation to go home for our dear assassin. he is almost flattered.

“I could pass through the window... But I need to know if Hoggins is still interviewed. Mattew? Do you hear me? Hoggins left the room or not?” ask Danny  

“Hey! No Melina continues to interview him. But she'll be soon run out of questions. How about you?” respond Mattew through the earbud.  

“I found a way in. Stay careful and watch the door in the main room. It's the hallway that leads to the office.”

“No problem! Be careful! I'll warn you at the slightest movement!”  replied Mattew.

“If you see anyone coming this way, stay natural, okay? Just pretend you're getting some fresh air outside.” said Danny to you before getting inside the office from the window.  

One thing is for sure, this office is more luxurious than the rest of the villa: statues, paintings, a library going around the room, and an office so large that you could put 5/6 computers on it. This is what serves as an office for one of the most influential men on the market.

“It doesn’t surprise me to see this when you are one of the biggest crooks in the country... Tsk he deserves more than prison.” said Danny before examining the desk.

He opened the drawers one by one, looking for a folder, a letter, something that could be used for the newspaper. He eventually found a printed e-mail sent by McKellan. He said he was just waiting for the green light from hoggins before taking action to sink his competitor with whom he had just signed a partnership. That's exactly what he needed.

“Well, Hoggins...seems like YOU’LL be the one who sink soon. And maybe your head will fall too...just like McKellan. I think I found a new victim.”

“Jed! Hoggins goes to his office. Get the f**k out of here quick! Said suddenly Melina through the earbud.  

Danny took a picture of the mail before closing everything and coming out the window, closing it as it was. Taking you gently by the arm, you return to the interior to find Melina and Mattew. But it's hard to spot them with all this crowd. He beckoned Melina when he saw her with Mattew and they both joined you.

“I found something. I'll show you this in the car.” said Danny discreetly.  

“Too bad I would have liked to have taken advantage of it a little more …" said Mattew.  

“Are you leaving already? I hope you were able to take some pictures...” Said Hoggins, looking at Danny with a smile.

“Don’t worry, I'm the best photographer you’ve never met.” responds Danny before taking a photo of Hoggins. “You will soon be able to admire your face on the Roseville gazette as well as on all the newspapers of the state.” he replied with an Insolent smile.

“Looking forward to seeing you again... Miss.”

You fake a smile and then leave the reception with the trio. You sigh in relief when you finally reach Melina’s car.  

“I don't want to see this guy again... Never again.” you said worried.

“I promise you won't see him again. Look what I found.” said Danny before showing the picture to the others.  

“Tsk motherf***er. He will pay soon. Let’s get out of here. This place made me sick. Said Melina before starting the car and go home.

The way home appeared shorter, and once you arrived, you and Danny picked up your bags where your clothes were. Then he drove, greeting Melina and Mattew before taking the road with you in the passenger seat. Arrived at your destination and once on the doorstep of your apartment you take off your shoes.

“I'm glad I'm not a woman. I don't think I would have had the faith to wear these things.” said Danny laughing.  

“it's real torture. I'd like to be in your shoes. At least the only shoes you're wearing are sneakers.” you respond with a sigh. “but I don't regret this night. I had a great time. Let's hope we don't do this for nothing.”  

“With this e-mail, we're sure to make things happen. Even the bribes won't save him this time.”

“Thanks Jed... Good night.” you said, placing a kiss on his lips unintentionally.

Danny was speechless. And it took him a few seconds to regain his spirits. You realized what had just happened and not knowing what to say, you back up to your door and go back to your apartment without saying a word more. Danny quickly returned home and quickly slammed the door, knocking on her.

“Shit! This is not the time! I have to stay focused... I can't destroy everything now. I can't... not right away.”

He goes to his office and get his bag before looking at his hunting board, especially Mike's photo.  

He still has some work to do.  

He has a gift to prepare.  

***

(Done! I'll hope you liked it like the others! By the way, do you have a tumblr page to recommend me about slashers? See ya!)  

[writingsfromhome]

Lookalike (2/2)

Part 1/2

A/N: there were a couple requests for Part II to this one, I hope it makes up for the angst of Pt I!

———————————————————————

Jules and I pretend to look at the menu at brunch, already knowing full well we were getting a large stack of pancakes and endless iced coffee. It was our usual Sunday plans for the Saturday nights we spent together.

I had crashed at Jules after the party, too down to imagine going home to an empty flat. And Jules had been more than happy, talking my ear off about the half hour she had spent with Ed, analyzing every detail and falling more in love with him, only hitting pause when I reminded her he was married.

“The usual?” Jules looks up from her menu, her nose scruchled in humour which makes me laugh in agreement. As soon as we place the order, Jules launches into what she’d been sitting on all morning: “So what was up with Harry’s new girl being your exact lookalike?”

Even though this was the last thing I wanted to discuss, I knew it would also keep me sane. “Do they not realise how she looked just like me?”

“I know I kept asking myself that every time I saw her. He’s so not over you. Did you get that vibe?”

“I don’t know Jules! He ended it! That’s so not fair. It feels like I won but I also just feel like the biggest loser ever.”

We’re interrupted by our server and soon we’ve tucked into pancakes, discussing all the details of last night and every last word of mine and Harry’s conversation.

“It’s so weird how you two ended things. I never said anything before but that doesn’t seem like something he would say? He always seemed like one of the good ones.”

“That I’m holding him back?” The words are just as painful now as they were then.

“Yeah! He was so in love with you. I just can’t believe he thought that.”

I shrug, it was those words that made it so hard for me to move on. I felt like I couldn’t trust what anyone said to me-I thought I knew Harry and our falling out just showed I hadn’t. Who knew what would happen if I trusted anyone else.

***

A couple weeks had gone by since seeing Harry, I’d mostly been able to move it to the part of my mind that only activated when I couldn’t sleep at night. If I pretended I was okay, I would eventually be okay. Right?

I decide to walk home from an interview that day instead of taking the heated tube. This was the third interview I’d been to this week and my morale was low. Days like these, I wondered why I even went to uni when I could have stayed in my family’s food business. Who wanted to be depressed and barely making rent when I could have been well-fed and still home. I sigh.

I step into the supermarket as I near closer to home to pick up a few essentials. In line, I notice the trashy magazines with the collage of pictures. But one of them...is me. I do a double take before I snatch it up.

This was definitely me, in the club with Harry. My face is only half in the light, Harry’s profile is clear. It’s when he took me off to the side to talk. How did papparazzi get into the club?

I quickly pay for my groceries and the magazine and rush home, barely putting my bags on the countertop before I rip the glossy pages open.

Is Harry secretly dating twins or does he just have a thing for lookalikes?

A side by side of the picture on the front with me and a photo of Harry walking through a park with Katy. Katy is turned to the side, saying something to Harry. You can see plain as day the similarity. The world knew! I was in a bloody gossip magazine and the world saw what I saw! Harry was dating somebody who looked exactly like me!

I try Jules but she goes to voice mail. I didn’t even know what to do with this information. I always thought my first time in a magazine would be for something far more important.

I sit, try to take some deep breaths. I needed to talk to somebody about this. I look at the spread again and realise there was nothing there about my identity. Nobody knew who I was. At least there was that.

My spiralling is interrupted by an unknown caller. Thinking it was Jules from work, I pick up without checking.

“Y/N,” Harry’s distinct voice carries through the phone to me and it has the same effect as always. I instantly unclench my shoulders but stay on guard. Why was he calling me?

“Harry,” I clear my throat. “What...why are you calling?”

“Um, I don’t know if you’ve been on Twitter and seen the shots...my publicist asked me to reach out to you because...” I almost laugh. Of course it was just business. Why did I think Harry was calling for me. About us. “...and if you can just lay low for a bit. He was saying...”

I zone out again to Harry’s quiet tone. He was probably with his publicist now. I wondered how much heat he was in. I glance at the picture again, trying to see what the outside world saw. It was intimate, I had to admit. Harry’s hand balanced on the wall I was leaning on. His eyes are trained on me and so is what you can see of mine. You can tell we knew each other, Jules would even call that gazing. I wonder what Katy thought. Why did I even care!

“If all you’re calling is to tell me to wait for the photos to calm down, you don’t have to worry.” I cut Harry off. “I’m not famous or anything, that’s your job remember?”

There’s silence on his end, I hear a whisper somewhere-was I on speakerphone?

“Ah great. Thank you Y/N, I owe you.”

“Don’t bother,” I hang up, ignoring the sting.

***

There were some days that just felt harder than others, and I wasn’t sure where it came from, but I could barely get out of bed the next few days. My job search felt useless, I felt so lonely and used, I didn’t know why I couldn’t move on from my past. Why I was sabotaging my future like this.

It was 2pm and I had gotten up for a late breakfast before hiding under the covers again. London was rainy and I couldn’t be bothered.

Jules calls me after work, by then the sun was a lot lower in the sky and my stomach was starting to grumble in hunger. “I’m buying you a get well dinner, I’m swinging by in twenty and you better be ready.” Jules was no nonsense.

“But I really-“

“No butts except yours in a cute outfit. I’ll call you when I’m there.”

***

“Jules this is fancy,” I gasp when we pull up to a dimly lit restaurant I knew was owned by a celebrity chef.

“Don’t worry, it’s on me. I can smell the fact you didn’t take a shower recently, so I know you’ve been in bed all day. You need this.”

Tears spring to my eyes and I pull Jules into a tight hug. “I’d be in a ditch somewhere without you.”

Everything is going perfectly, I even begin to feel myself relaxing and forgetting about my worries temporarily. But it’s like the universe really couldn’t give me a break.

“Don’t look right now,” Jules says as she casts her eyes to our dessert. “But the devil himself just walked in with your doppleganger.”

“What?” I whisper. “Are you kidding? Here?”

“Shh,” Jules switches to a laugh and launches into a story as if she were midway through it. “So I’ll be doing casts of people’s heads next week and-Harry hi!”

I slowly turn, the blood rushing to my head, pounding against my ears. He’s in a stylish black button up and perfectly tailored trousers, his hand holds Katy’s who is wearing a fitted checkered dress. Her eyes meet mine and I attempt to smile but she looks away-so much for being friendly.

“Jules, Y/N, what a surprise. To bump into you two here.” Harry sounds closed off.

“We’re celebrating, so I picked the fanciest place I know. You can join in the celebration if you want?” Jules says cheerily.

I kick Jules under the table but she barely glances at me, still smiling up at Harry. I finally look at Harry and he’s watching me. Our eyes meet for one, two, three seconds, and he breaks contact.

“Best not to, what with all the stories right now...it was nice uhm seeing you ladies.” Harry looks nervous, his other hand running through his hair before he trails after the waiter who’s showing them to their table.

“What was that?” I hiss at Jules. I don’t bother even responding to Harry. He wanted to make it business so I would keep my personal feelings out.

“It’s so obvious Harry and his girl are one date away from breaking up.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Did you not see the same couple I saw?” Jules exclaims. “Mega. Tension.”

I eye them again from where I sit, no one’s smiling or talking. They stare at their menus. Then suddenly, Harry looks to the side and our eyes meet. Shit.

“Can we change the topic?” I ask, my body is breaking out in a sweat and I couldn’t piece together what I felt. Why I still felt a connection with Harry when he thought he was too good for me or why every inch of my body was aware of Harry in the room.

Jules changes the topic as requested and the rest of the evening is spent on edge. I turn down Jules’ offer to get drinks. I just wanted to be alone; today had been a roller coaster. And I was tired, I don’t even change when I get home. I simply collapse onto the couch and turn on the TV.

But at midnight on the dot, I receive a text.

I know I don’t deserve to ask, but can I see you? -H

I cross check the number to the one that called me before and it’s the same. This was Harry, wanting to see me. But after how he’d treated me-not even how he left me, but the way he played with me at the club and then left it strictly business on the phone, I didn’t want to deal with him.

You’re right, you don’t deserve to ask, I respond. I had to have some self respect if I wanted to move on from this part of my life.

I just need to explain, please? I’ll leave you alone after this if that’s what you want.

It was like holding my breath underwater knowing I’d come up for air eventually. It was just a matter of when I’d crumble. After re-reading his text, I come up for air. I let him know the door was unlocked, he knew this flat inside out. He knew where to come if he wanted to talk. And I swore I’d just let him talk and then take him up on his offer to leave me alone.

It was as if he were in the lobby because I hear the door open a few minutes later.

“Were you downstairs the whole time?” I ask as he walks in, his magnetism undeniable.

“Uh,” he pauses by the doorway. “I guess I should have given it a few before I charged up?”

I shake my head, fighting back a smile. Harry was never a good liar, but a very good charmer.

“Do you want a drink?” I ask out of habit.

“Ah no...no. Y/N...I just want to explain some things.”

I sit back down and Harry walks over tentatively, perching on the sofa himself, his long legs stretching out. It was weird seeing him back here.

“What did you want to say?” I ask.

“Firstly, that I’m an idiot and I’m sorry.” He looks down at his hands, barely making eye contact. “I regret so many things but the way I treated you is number one. Everything’s just a bloody mess and I keep getting deeper into this pile of shite I created.”

I raise my eyebrow, where was he going with this.

“Right so I...I had to call you that day, about those photos. I really didn’t care if people saw you with me or not but I realised if they found out who you were, you may not get any peace so that’s the only reason I agreed to call you when my manager said I should-“

“Yeah since I’m not cut out for fame, right?”

“No, no tha...” Harry sighs, I was being petty and I knew it. I ease up and let him continue. “That’s not it. I didn’t want you to be harassed every time you stepped out. But what I was trying to say is...Y/N I’m sorry for the way I ended things. It was a shitshow-“

“That’s right,” I interrupt, I couldn’t help it. “It cheapened the whole relationship. Harry I don’t even know who you are or what you want with me anymore. You claimed you were too good for me, I was holding you back-“

“I didn’t mean any of it! I heard you that day.” Harry stops my rambling. “I heard you on the phone with your mum, saying you were thinking of deferring your last semester to join me on tour. It killed me! I knew you were going to do it. But I would hear you talking about your studies and...you love what you do-but you were willing to put it aside to be with me? I couldn’t let you do that. I’m not worth that Y/N. And I tried to word it but you know how shite I am at words. It was a slippery slope and before I knew it you were angry at me at something I didn’t even mean. But it was better that, than you going on tour and realising you didn’t want to be with me and realising you’d wasted your year for nothing.”

The silence that follows his confession is loaded. I can barely swallow. But I can see his relief at unloading, the burden lifts from his shoulders, he finally looks at me with hesitance. But the burden settles on my own shoulders. All this time, all the weeks turned to months I had felt my lowest and this breakup had just added to it...it was all just a misunderstanding, a way for Harry to push me away because he thought he was protecting me. Where did that leave me? Leave us?

“Why are you telling me this now?” I choke out, tears threatening to fall.

“Because I realised...I realised I still love you. I bloody love you and I don’t think I’ll ever stop. Katy is a wonderful woman but she was a stand-in...I was only looking for you. I...” Harry gets up and walks over to the window to catch his breath. “I’m ashamed it took me this long to realise I was dating your lookalike. She looked just like you Y/N, how did I not see that? I was just trying to hold onto you.”

He turns to me and his eyes have a wild look, I can’t imagine all the trouble he’d gotten in since those photos. With his team and his girlfriend. And here he didn’t even know his girlfriend was just a lookalike. He literally went out and dated my lookalike and he hadn’t even realised! The thought bursts my tension like a bubble, a giggle escapes me and Harry furrows his brows.

“Are you laughing?” He asks. Which sends me into a full blown laugh. The reality of what happened between us settles over me, I feel a sense of clarity. All this anger and hurt I’d held onto for so long was just Harry’s fucked up insecurity pushing me away. He never meant a thing. And I feel lighter than I had in forever: He didn’t hate me, I was enough for him.

“I-you didn’t even...” my words trail off as I’m overtaken by more laughter. “When did you realise she looked-“ I manage to get out.

Harry begins chuckling at this point as he sits back down, closer to me than before.

“Well as soon as I saw the two of you side by side that night. I knew I fucked up.”

I fall back and laugh harder, but as I catch my breath again, a sob bubbles up in it’s place and pretty soon my laughing fit has turned into crying.

Harry looks on, confused by my manic descension. “Y/N...” he sounds unsure.

“Jesus, Styles, You put me through hell.” I say as I gain control of myself again, taking a few breaths to calm down. “I was at my lowest because of you. I was barely living here.”

Harry moves back, “I’m sorry Y/N. You don’t know how sorry I am. I hated myself for doing that to you. And I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you if I have to.”

“How?” I demand. “We’re on two different paths remember? And you’re dating Katy.”

“We broke up after those pictures,” Harry moves closer to me again. “We just had to keep up pretense for the paps. And who bloody cares if we’re on two different paths. We’ll build a bridge or something. We’ll make it work.”

Harry’s voices grows deeper as he moves in closer, lowered so I couldn’t hear it if I were across the room. I don’t stop the smile overtaking my face, I’d felt ungrounded for so long. Harry being here, promising me a future where we can make it work, it felt like my old roots were finding me again. I feel myself shedding the darkness I’d been clouded under for so long.

“You’re radiant,” Harry gazes at me, his hand coming up to the side of my face and I feel the heat rush to my face.

“You’re charming,” I try not to give in too easily but he made it difficult with the way he grins, his eyes drifting to my lips.

“As for how I can make it up to you,” Harry whispers to them before he looks back up at me. “I can think of a few ways.”

He slowly leans the rest of the way in and every one of my senses are overwhelmed as he kisses me the way he always did. The way he was always meant to. The way we always would.

I wasn’t too fussy. With each kiss Harry leaves across my face, my neck, my body, I forgive him a little more until there’s just me and him and nothing else between us.

[charming-oddities]

I Got A Creepy Letter From The Person Who Used To Live In My House, And I Can’t Help But Wonder If What They Wrote Is True

I am so thankful that summer is finally here, but this morning I was kind of surprised when I looked at the calendar and saw that it was already May. April flew by, but thankfully it took the last of the chilly weather with it.

As I put my daughter down for her nap, I start to cover her up with an old baby blanket that my grandmother had made for me when I was a baby. Something about those hand-stitched roses lining the edges of the fabric feel like home, reminding me of summers of my childhood spent sitting on her living room floor, watching her hands work magic with that thread and needle. I quickly decide against using the blanket on my daughter as I wipe a bead of sweat off of my own temple with the back of my hand. Instead, I fold the blanket neatly and hang it over the railing at the foot of her crib. I turn and pull one of my grandmother’s old wall decorations out of the box on the floor and reach up to hang it on the nail on the wall across from where my daughter is now sleeping. I pull the newly-hung curtains to the side to allow a fresh summer breeze to come in through the window, carrying the scent of the former resident’s rose bushes in with it. While doing this, I notice the mail lady coming up the sidewalk. I tiptoe out of my daughter’s room and run to the door to greet her on the porch.

“You’ve got something for me?” I ask, unable to keep the excitement out of my voice.

“Yes Ma’am.” She says, handing me a plain-looking envelope.

I accidentally snatch the envelope out of her hand and then apologize immediately. “I’m sorry, I’m just a little excited. This is the first piece of mail that I’ve received at this new address. I just moved in a couple of days ago.”

The mail lady smiles patiently. “I understand. Have a nice day.” She turns and walks toward the next house.

Feeling like a little kid opening their first present on Christmas morning, I start to tear open the envelope but stop as I notice that my address is scrawled in unfamiliar handwriting on the front. This excites me, even more, when I realize that my very first piece of mail might actually be a handwritten letter.

The “We Just Got A Letter” tune from Blue’s Clues pops into my head as I sit down and tear the rest of the envelope off, to reveal a few pieces of notebook paper covered front to back with small handwriting in blue ink. Anxiously, I begin to read:

Hello,

You don’t know me. Perhaps this is silly, but I feel an obligation to you that I write this. I’ve been thinking of you a lot for the past couple weeks, and there are some things that I think you need to know. If I were you, I would want to know.

I shift uncomfortably on the cement step of my front porch.

I used to live in your house. I grew up there, from 1993 until December of 2010. I drive by your house often, seeing as I take the main road to get to where I need to go. I suppose in a typical situation when a person drives by an old place from their past, their automatic instinct would be to turn their head and take a quick glance at the site where they spent so much of their childhood growing up. Well, that’s certainly not the case with me. When I drive past 17201, my eyes don’t flinch from the road in front of me. However, on the few occasions when I force myself to glance at the house, I immediately feel something staring back at me, every single time. It’s as if the home has a pair of eyes of its own, and they recognize me, too.

Like I said, there are some things that you need to know.

“Who would write such a thing,” I wonder. “And why would they want to make me feel uncomfortable here?”

In 1990, when my parents and sister (who was roughly a year old at the time) first started moving their stuff into the house, my mom noticed that crucifixes were hanging above every window and doorway inside. In a way, she found comfort in seeing them. My mother said that they made her feel safe, but my dad thought they were a little weird. Within the first few months of them living there, my mom noticed that one by one, the crosses started to disappear. She assumed that it was my dad who had been taking them down discretely because they had been making him uncomfortable. She thought it was sweet of my father to sort of take his time doing it like he was trying to be nice about it and ease the crosses away from her one at a time, so she wouldn’t be offended by their sudden absence.

One day, after the crosses had all been removed, my dad asked her where she had put them because he had favored one particular cross that had been hanging above the window in their bedroom. Of course, this upset my mother because she thought he was teasing her. Once she realized that he wasn’t, they actually searched the house for the crosses, thinking some of them might have just fallen off the wall and landed on a bed or behind the couch or something. They never did find them.

Without realizing it, I look away from the letter and walk to my car to grab my pack of cigarettes from the glove compartment. I place one between my lips with shaking fingers. Why are my fingers trembling?

After I was born, my sister and I shared the master bedroom. There would be nights when our mom would carry us to bed after we had fallen asleep on the couch and the phone would ring, or something would distract her, and she would leave the room. A few moments later, she would remember that she had forgotten to tuck us in, or that she hadn’t covered us up at all. She would return to our bedroom and stop in the doorway, confused to see that the blankets were already covering us, neatly tucked in under and around us while we were sound asleep.

My mother viewed whatever might have been in that house as harmless, or even protective, until a few years later when my sister would cry inconsolably until our mom would let us sleep in the living room. My sister would always say how she felt ill in our room like there was something bad in there. Growing up, we would spend our summers and weekends sleeping on the couch rather than in our own beds. When I was 7, my mom said she woke up in the middle of the night because she heard one of us crying and call out for her from our bedroom. Still half asleep, she got up and went into our bedroom and turned on the light, only to give herself a mini panic attack at the sight of an empty room, before remembering that my sister and I were actually on the other side of the country in Oregon visiting our uncle at that time.

We were always seeing and hearing strange things in that house. When any of us would sit in the recliner in the living room and watch TV, we would often see tall, dark shadow figures in the hallway, out of the corner of our eye. Eventually, we all just stopped sitting in that chair and started sitting on the couch or the floor so we couldn’t see into the hallway. There was a day when we were cooking dinner, and my dad just barged into the kitchen, demanding to know if any of us had just been in the hallway. We all just kind of looked at him like he was crazy, and he explained that he had just seen someone walk down the hallway and into our bedroom. He was worried that someone had broken in and been hiding in the house. Of course, neither he nor his baseball bat found anyone upon further investigation.

Whenever our cousins or friends would sleepover, we would all take turns between sleeping on the couches or on the living room floor. Our guests who were sleeping on the floor would often wake us up, scared because they heard weird noises in the basement under them. A lot of strange things happened in that basement. At one point, our cousin moved in with us, making a room down there. During his second week of staying there, he was awoken by the sound of humming and rustling bags. He started talking to my mom, assuming that the noises he was hearing were just her going through bags of dirty clothes and doing the laundry. When she didn’t respond, he got up and walked to the other side of the basement to the washing machine, only to discover that he was alone in the basement. When I was in middle school, I remember heading into the basement to toss some dirty clothes into a basket by the washer. When I got to the stairs, I froze. I looked up just in time to see the head and shoulder of a dark figure peek out from behind the furnace in the middle of the basement. Naturally, I dropped my clothes and ran like hell. From that day until the day that we moved out, I refused to go into that basement. My mom was often afraid to go in the basement alone, so she would make my dad go with her.

This strange phenomenon continued into my high school years. During my junior year of high school, I used to wake up at 5 in the morning, an hour before everyone else in the house so I could have the bathroom to myself to get ready for school. While doing this, I would usually listen to music through my headphones to help wake myself up. One particular morning when I was getting ready in front of the mirror, I started hearing a strange background noise that I knew wasn’t part of the music. I took my headphones out to see where the noise was coming from. At first, I thought the toilet was overflowing, but then I pulled back the shower curtain and discovered that the faucet in the bathtub had been turned on full pressure. Everyone else was asleep, and the knobs in the bathtub were really hard to turn. I struggled to turn the knob with both hands to shut the water off. By the time I finished applying my mascara that morning, I had convinced myself that it never happened. I mean, if whatever had the strength to turn on the old faucet in the bathtub, what else did it have the strength to do? Luckily, we didn’t live in that house long enough to find out. A couple months later, a week after my 17th birthday, we moved out.

I apologize for the length of this letter, but I assure you that this is just a brief summary of all of the strange things that have happened there in that house. At this point, you probably think that I am crazy. Or maybe you don’t. Maybe there is a reason why you read this letter to the very end. Maybe you have experienced some unexplainable things for yourself. Well, I am here to assure you that it wasn’t all in your head. Anything that you have seen or felt was very real. I also wanted to write you this letter because I have heard that the reconstruction or redecoration of any building can often trigger the activity of whatever might still be residing within it. Just know that you are not alone.

Please be careful.

I will continue to pray for you.

After reading the letter, I continue to sit on the front porch step. I stare at the traffic on the road in front of me and watch as the cars go back and forth in a hypnotic manner. I look at the pile of cigarette butts on the sidewalk in front of me and laugh out loud. I haven’t smoked this many cigarettes at one time since I was 18 years old. I am reluctant to admit that the letter definitely had me going there for a minute, but the person who took the time to write something so long and ridiculous to a stranger must have been bored, not to mention crazy. Too bad I don’t believe in that stuff.

I laugh again as I get up and go into the house to grab a water out of the fridge. I crumple up the letter and toss it into the trash can under the kitchen sink. Just as I head to the living room to sit on the couch, I hear my daughter giggling in her room. How is she awake already? I grunt, then head to check in on her. In her doorway, I freeze.

In her crib, I find my daughter laughing, cozily tucked in under my grandmother’s blanket, and pointing at the wall on the other side of the room. I turn my head and look. The wall is bare.

Where did my grandmother’s crucifix go? _______________________________ (C) Gina Clingan 2018  Originally published on Thought Catalog

[pizza-soup]

Found a new abandoned place this afternoon while looking for more produce. At first I thought it was occupied, just because the front door’s wide open doesn't mean noone’s around, I leave my doors open too. I called out a few times, waited, rung the doorbell, knocked, looked through the windows...

I hesitantly stepped inside and was met with the smell of animals. There was poop on the floor along with towels, clothing and various items. Looking in the bathroom, feathers on the ground from some birds that got in. Yeah, this place was occupied but not by humans. There was a washing machine with clothing on the top, as well as a little crochet doll. There was a staircase leading to the second story above me, but I didn’t go up it. I wandered around to the kitchen, the backdoor was wide open, leaves and dirt were carried in from the wind and weather, the wood was warped. The kitchen looked like a time capsule, old appliances like a very 50s two burner stove, old cookies jars looking like they came from the 70s, a microwave straight out of the early 80s. The place was very much the home of a hoarder though. Things piled on things, tons of knick knacks, closets packed to the brim with shoes and clothes, tons of photos on the wall and shelves.

There was a small hallway leading to what I assume was a master bedroom with a large bathroom and shower, then a much smaller one near the back of the house with handles on the sides. There was still water inside the commode which was odd, normally these places were dry and sometimes held terrible surprises from previous visitors. I walked a short way to a bedroom on the left, no mattress, just random items on the ground, clothing and a broken closet door. The hall opened to a living room with a view of the front yard. This confused me. This wasn’t the same front door I came through yet it opened to the front. So this place had two front doors? Weird. I heard a hiss of water come from the toilet. There was water in the tank?

I had a mini panic attack. Did I just break and enter into someone’s home? What if they just stepped out for a bit? Because hoarder houses can ‘look’ abandoned after all. Another terrible thought came to mind, a situation I’ve read about online from other urbexers. Coming across the deceased. It happens. Sometimes seniors who live far from family or have no family, will pass away and not be discovered for months until a concerned neighbor comes by. But urbexers stumble upon them too, and it has caused many of them to not explore anymore because of how it affected them. Finding the body of a senior brings to mind a beloved grandparent, and since I was the one who found my great aunt, I really wasn’t ready to relive that again. I’d probably breakdown. But that's one of the risks of this hobby, and with current events going on it’s an even bigger possibility. After all, this world is dying with two viruses back to back.

I walked only just a few feet to that bedroom door, and saw some writing on the door in black sharpie. It was an obituary. Someone had died here but the bedroom itself was piled with items much the rest of the house. And there were..cats! I smiled. They owned cats. Or maybe these were feral cats from the farms. They were all sleeping on the bed, there was a broken window where they were coming in and out of. One of the older cats was pregnant, she hid under the bed, but a few curious little kittens were checking me out from a shelf and dresser. This is funny, as I thought they were cat figurines at first. They were so tiny they looked almost doll like.

I went back to the kitchen, to see if there was any cat food but there was nothing. They were probably hunting birds and getting water from the still working toilet. Three kittens followed me from afar. I caught sight of a tiny Siamese kitten, almost blending in with the ground. I was going to pick one up but they dashed away. Yeah, they were ferals, which was a shame, if someone could socialize them, they'd be good pets. I did mange to grab a tiny black kitten and fell in love with her. She didn’t fight me, probably was too young to know what a human was, she had the softest little mew, but she was so painfully thin, I could feel her ribs. She also had fleas.

I wondered how long ago this house was abandoned. Why did it still have running water but no electricity? I looked through the mail for answers. The home belonged to a senior lady named Kathrine, one of her bills read 2018 March, so her passing wasn’t even that long ago, her family likely hadn’t shut off the utilities yet, meaning technically I was still trespassing and could get into a lot of trouble. But I was still worried about the kittens. It didn't feel right to leave them, and the mother should be fixed to prevent more ferals. I saw a few numbers on the wall by an old phone jack and decided maybe I should call around, maybe get in contact with her family, and tell them that I saw the cats from a window or that a neighbor gave me their number?

I decided to leave. Part of me was already on edge that someone would come up the driveway, find me in here and call the police. I closed the doors and the windows. I filled a lot of large bowls with water in case it eventually got cut off. I looked in the fridge, it smelled. The milk jug was bloated and open, eggs rotten, something had gotten inside, probably mice. I looked through the pantry and found a few cans of chicken in water, they were still good, I gave it to them and they seemed to warm up to me, probably understanding I meant no harm.

My heart was still stolen by the tiny black kitten. I really had to fight the urge to take her, but then realized I couldn’t walk that long way back with her, she’d probably wiggle away, escape and get lost. If I was going to take her, I'd do it the right way, get a hold of someone, ask them and if it was a Yes, I'd take her in a carrier. I made a mental note to ask a neighbor near by if they knew the owner, people are close knit around here, maybe they could contact the owner’s family or maybe they were family to them. That would be the best case scenario. I’ll have to wait and see.

I’m hoping things fall into place, because I know some people who will gladly come by for the rest of the kittens. They rescue animals, they can socialize the kittens, find them homes, as well as get the mother fixed. She will likely be too wild to be a house cat, but my neighbors are always looking for barn cats, and she will be guaranteed food and warmth.