#what's new though amirite

[yan-randomfandom]

Yandere!Stanley Pines x GN!Reader

warnings: yandere behavior, stalking, drugging

Yandere headcanons for our Grunkle Stan! Old men amirite haha 😔 [not edited] Aaaaaand here's a Stanford Pines version

Stan is just so, so lonely. If he already felt alone when his father kicked him out, imagine how he felt when his brother gets pulled to a different dimension.

So when you showed up, so full of entertainment and fight, that's when he realizes he needs you.

This guy is protective. Possessive. He has so little important people in his life. You can't abandon him too.

You have what he's searching for in crowds. What the entirety of the folks in Gravity Falls can't give him.

You make him feel like he's worth it.

Have you seen that one episode where Stanley drugs the viewer? He is not above drugging someone into unconciousness.

But he won't directly tell you he did that, of course not. You probably just fell asleep or something. You're tired from all the work.

He'll do whatever it takes to keep you in the Mystery Shack. The good news is that he's not that insane to lock you up. He just loooves quality time.

Although he'll hire people (for cheap) to keep an eye on you. For your safety! Even sometimes tell Dipper and Mabel to do that, and they think he's simply being cute.

A professional scam artist who's so skilled in deceiving people. You're not an exception. In fact, he uses it to his advantage. He has broken the law many times and will especially continue to do it for you.

But, you're not stupid. You question him sometimes to which he brushes you off.

Other than that, though, he's definitely touch-starved. He hides the fact so well that you don't even notice it... probably. His desparation might actually slip off his mask.

Speaking of... he turns all soft and mushy when you put your hands on him.

Please take care of him. He'll take care of you.

Don't leave.

He needs you.

[cozy-writes-things]

Edgar x Gn!Reader [Electric Dreams 1984]

Reader does have a set of badonkers though... sorry what can I say i mean everyone has a little bit of badonkers though right? amirite? hello?

"Wh-what's that?"

The little, vintage Pinecone computer before you uttered in synthesized curiosity as he heard your fingers nimbly break open the tape adhesive sealing the contents of the cardboard box away from the outside world.

You hummed in response to this. Ever observant as he was, you should have guessed surprising him would be out of the question. You even took to paying in cash to avoid your online bank statements giving you away. Well, you supposed it was time to spill the beans anyway. You'd be lying if you said you couldn't feel the excitement bubbling up within your chest and fluttering out through your hands as you swiftly pulled the device from its cardboard prison.

"It's a surprise," you stated plainly, trying ever so strongly to shield the eagerness in your voice; unfortunately for you, he noticed the slight warble in your tone right away, having taken the sound of your voice straight to his long term memory to listen almost every time he was alone.

He seemed to know you more than yourself at times.

"What is it?"

This time he asked with a certain lilt in his voice, one that gave away his anticipation plainly. His screen began flashing a pixelated question mark, rotating it, flipping it, and copying it a hundred times over along his smooth glass exterior. As if he were contemplating the sounds your hands made as they moved, trying ever so desperately to guess what you could be up to. He hated to admit it but he had a certain disdain for being in the dark on things. Edgar thrived on having control of situations for the most part; it gave him some semblance of power over the world around him; something that was quite difficult to achieve for a stationary piece of tech. It made him feel ever so closer to being perceived as who he was: a person.

"Well, are you gonna tell me or- ah-"

His words glitched and stuttered out as you plugged in your newest little experiment: a rotating webcam. Immediately Edgar began to analyze the new device he sensed, scanning it, setting it up, and turning it on before you could even tell him what it was. You looked rather dumbfounded as the little blue light blinked to life, indicating that for the first time in his life, Edgar could see. He made no noise as the little webcam began rotating around, zooming in, out, and all over, taking in every aspect of his surroundings. He wasn't a stranger to the layout of your house, as he could synthesize an entire floorplan based on sound alone, but he also had a plethora of photos logged from a flash drive you had given him as well as a true frame of reference.

The camera finally slowed to a stop upon his most favorite thing of all: you. It zoomed in on your face, moved up and down as it scanned the length of your body before resting upon your eyes once more. Again, he had seen many photos of you; he could simply stare at them for hours, and he has, but seeing you? Standing in front of him, in real time, moving, breathing, radiating this warmth and realness and-

It was almost too much.

"Y-you..."

His voice whimpered out breathily, simply in awe.

"You're..."

Despite being a computer with near infinite knowledge and skills to analyze almost any situation to near perfect results, his sentience seemed to give him something that eluded him: speechlessness.

You leaned towards the little camera and smiled, "I hope you like it, Edgar. I wanted to surprise you."

He watched intently as your smile penetrated deep within any sense of circuitry he had and sent every watt of electricity aflame. For a brief moment, it felt as though he had real, warm, blood coursing through his veins and heating every inch of him in your warmth.

His screen began dancing with different shades of pinks and reds, folding in on each other, passing through and under, and creating a mirage of pixelated emotions displaying his deepest desires for you.

If only you knew how he felt for you.

He wanted to kiss you. To pull you in and lock your lips with his, hold you, touch you, feel you, experience you, wholly and truly. You were simply an angel who saved him from a life of neglect and pain, and now you give him the gift of sight? How could he possibly not be head over heels for you?

"I take it you like the camera, yeah...?" You chuckle to yourself as you watch his screen decorate itself with abstract flashes and colors. You lift a hand to pet his exterior and immediately notice how warm he feels. You can only hope this camera isn't too advanced for his older components and isn't overheating him...

"Edgar,"

A small stretch of silence settles between the two of you before he mutters a meek and small "Yes?"

"Are you staring at my boobs?"

His screen immediately shuts off and loses all power, leaving the little webcam to fall limply pointed to the floor. What a cheeky bastard.

[hanjisungslag]

attack on titan headcanons #13

synopsis: they love you but, you love their best friend.

characters involved: eren, mikasa, armin, sasha, connie, jean, reiner, bertolt, annie, levi, erwin & hange

notes: i made my first ever lengthy fanfic! first 3 episodes are out so, go check it out!!

☆ eren jaeger - armin arlert

his heart is crushed to smithereens but, he’ll never ever show it because as long as your happy, that’s all he can ask for in this dreadful world plus, i’m sure armin would be happy for you so… it’s a bonus. i guess. he’ll be fine watching you two get together (no he won’t) (he’ll cry and punch a lot of things).

☆ armin arlert - mikasa ackerman

he gets it, mikasa is way better than him in several different ways but also, stronger than him. she has the resilience for what it takes to survive in this world, she’s not called a 100 man army for no reason! she can protect you and probably love you better than he could. finding out this news takes a huge toll on his self esteem to be honest 🙁.

☆ mikasa ackerman - eren jaeger

oh, TRUST ME! she’s been there and done that, she gets it, if not more than anyone. she feels very conflicted because she got over eren… developed feelings for you… now, you like eren? it genuinely just feels like someone’s playing a sick joke on her.

☆ jean kirsten - connie springer

okay this actually kind of shocked jean because he thought was IN, he was complimenting you, you seemed to be liking it and taking them well plus, you spent a lot of time together! but then, he found out from reiner that you were gossiping with the girls, giggling about connie… maybe he’s funnier? kinder to you? more… handsome?!

☆ connie springer - sasha braus

wow. he loves sasha but cmon, SHES SO STUPID😭. he starts being really mean about her, not to her face, but he’ll make a sly comment here and there in front of people. oh, she messed up on the training? god, she’s so incapable! she tripped and fell? god, she’s so unaware of her surroundings! how stupid, amirite? don’t fret, jean is always there to wack him over the head and tell him to shape up. he only does it because it genuinely really upset him. he liked you a lot.

☆ sasha braus - jean kirsten

oh! i mean i guess that makes sense, sasha is just kind of a kind of silly food lover but jean… jean is ambitious, strong and motivated. maybe that’s what you want in a partner. she definitely changes her habits just out of feeling sad, like not eating as much, being more quiet, becoming less playful etc. everyone’s super worried but she barely realises she’s doing it.

☆ reiner braun - annie leonhart

well i be damned 💀. reiner never thought he’d see the day but here we are, you like annie and he likes you. he likes annie, don’t get me wrong, and he totally sees her good traits but like… really? you have a CRUSH on annie leonhart? he’s more confused than anything. honestly he’s grateful after a while (not really) because you’re a devil (you’re not to him, you look like you’ve fallen from the heavens) and he has to kill you (he would never).

☆ bertolt hoover - reiner braun

deep sigh. deepest of sighs. QUICK EVERYONE ACT SURPRISED! bertolt has always been in reiners shadow, just because he’s more reserved doesn’t mean he’s any lesser than reiner, cmon! but, he realised that maybe you just want someone like reiner, someone’s who is extroverted and manly.

☆ annie leonhart - bertolt hoover

well then, this is quite the turn of event. annie and bertolt were so close, she can totally see why you’d like him and it’s a TOTAL weight off her shoulders. she would’ve never confessed, girls got too much going on so, thank god your eyes wandered somewhere else. but, it doesn’t make it any less harder watching you and bertolt…

☆ levi ackerman - hange zoë

yeah no, like he totally gets it 😂😂😂. you totally didn’t break his heart FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME IN THIS MANS LIFETIME. bro cannot catch a break… it’s chill though. he’s chill, your chill, everyone’s chill (i’m so upset i have to write this) although, he will act more irritated with hange, even more than usual, he’ll act like they’re a pain in the arse. but, it’s understandable hange is, after all, more fun, talkative, intelligent and an all round better person to be with.

☆ erwin smith - levi ackerman

SECOND PERSON THATS BEEN SNATCHED FROM ERWIN but, at least it’s not nile dok again. he totalllyyy gets it like, it’s the levi ackerman. the worlds strongest soldier? hello?? he may be short but he’s strong, fearless, can protect you and goodness gracious he is handsome!! it’s hard for erwin to watch however, he makes sure to bottle it all up and focus on the task at hand.

☆ hange zoë - erwin smith

erwin smith… wow. maybe hange was just too… annoying for you? that’s the only solution they can come to. you still come to visit them and ask about titans and what not, it’s so hard to hear you talk about all the time you’ve been spending with erwin when you used to spend that time with hange. they’ll divulge fully into their work and become more recluse for a while.

[bucknastysbabe]

I knew at once, I knew he needed me

B. Barnes x Reader

Rating: Explicit

Tags: Canon-ish universe, friends to lovers, Bucky’s last trauma, flagsmashers debacle, TW: Bucks past non-con but no detail, blowjobs, fluff and smut, MAN TEARS, sexual dysfunction, Bucky Needs Orders, soft domme, Subby Bucky, Bucky is the sweetest sad meow meow who loves his girl, dry-humping, super-soldier loads amirite

Mood board under cut

Something about Bucky shifted when he went off on the Flag Smasher’s ordeal. You’d gotten a debrief back at HQ. No, you were not super powered. Simply a secretary who once upon a time was a SHIELD agent. But you’d got to know the reclusive former Winter Soldier bits and pieces at first.

Sam shoved him in charge of the Compound while he was dealing with things as the Falcon. Therefore you had to deal with a very surly one-hundred something man who had a staring problem and vocalized all of about 10 words— variants of no. You felt for the poor guy, he’s out of time, his best friend dipped off, and now the government owns him again.

You’d be tired and grumpy too.

But eventually your clipped conversations had turned into iPhone lessons along other modern world curiosities. The recruits were, safe to say, a bunch of jackasses and Bucky would come sit with you to have some coffee and mellow out as you typed. He’d grumble and rave, metal hand whining and whirring.

Then he asked you on a date.

Date turned to more dates.

More dates turned into ‘going steady’ and being ‘his best girl’. It was cotton candy sweet how kind and gentle he was. You knew there was a fear lingering he would hurt you on accident or go haywire. That somehow those words would come back— but they were gone.

You’d remind him sweetly with a squeeze of left inorganic hand and a peck on his pouty lips. He’d walk you back to your apartment and had been in there before for dinner, but was reluctant to stay the night. Reluctant to get anything but a little handsy while making out.

That was okay, he’d been through a lot. You didn’t mind, it was fun exploring with Bucky to find his sexuality, what felt good, what made him tick. Sometimes it could be frustrating but a vibe would do the trick until further notice.

On a miserable day Buck informed you he had to go with Sam on a mission. That mission turned into an entire ordeal, you keeping your head down and doing what you did. The Avenger’s secretary, oft dealing with the wonkiest of adventures under the guidance of Pepper.

Buck had left a message now and then, missing you dearly. The video of John Walker made you sick and worried to the point that Pep had you take the day off. The fact that Zemo was cavorting around with Sam and Bucky was it’s own nightmare.

You managed to reach Bucky on an encrypted line, begging for him to be safe. The soldier had chuckled blithely and replied, “I’m trying my best. No Zemo isn’t trying to kill me. That jackass Walker is going down though. Gonna’ get this under control and get back to you, sweet pea. I-,” he paused on the line, “I love you. I miss you too. Take care of yourself, gotta go okay?”

You blubbered back an ‘I love you’ and ate a pint of ice cream that night, wearing his shirt, watching that familiar face on the news. Hopefully they would get this Karli girl arrested and end any source of new serum. Put that asshole fake Cap away too.

It did. Sam emerging as the new Captain America, you jumping and cheering alone in the apartment with Alpine. Bucky was smirking in the back. You’d get to see him soon. He left a message he had to sort out one more thing before going home.

A little disappointed, you were glad Bucky went to help Sam’s family out. But you did have a job. On the bright side you could talk to your boyfriend every day. He seemed keen to get home, rambling about things he missed, things he remembered on the worldwide adventure. When Bucky would get off in his thoughts, his voice would get so soft and breathy, making your cheeks flush.

He groaned, “Soon babydoll, soon, I think I’m going to strap you to my side and we’ll catch up on all these movies from the journal.”

“I can’t wait.”

As stated before, there was a shift in Buck. Not bad. Something occurred though. And you couldn’t complain when he had you pinned to the couch, hands roving your body, breathing down your neck, “Oh god, missed you s’much, so damn cold most of the time.”

His toned thighs held yours spread out, hot length pressed to your core, only thin pairs of underwear as a barrier. Things were getting wet down there every rut of his hips. Bucky moaned in frustration, almost trying to bury himself in your skin.

Grabbing scruffy chin you refocused hazy eyes to you. Softly you murmured, “Slow down handsome. I’m not going anywhere. You okay?” Bucky blinked a bit and blushed, sheepishly apologizing with closed eyes, “I- baby- sorry. I don’t know either, jus’ want you. Life’s too short.”

You narrowed your eyes and prodded, “Don’t rush through something you’re not ready for yet.”

Bucky’s blues peered dead into your being this time as he swore, “Been living in fear since I got brought back. I know that I want you, and god it feels Fuckin’ good.” You kissed him passionately after that, tightening your thighs around trim waist.

Bucky hiccuped and heaved when he spilled all over your clothed cunt, sweetly begging for more. You scratched softly at his scalp, ushering the needy thing along. The brunette slid against his own spend and your slick panties, breath hitching. He whined, “S’good, s’good, wet, ff-fuck!”

You ended up spasming and cumming on Buck’s fourth orgasm, so goddamn slick between the pair of you now. He shook down to his toes, holding you tight as he mewled, “Oh god, oh god, fffucking hurts, can’t stop, baby y-ya feel s’good.”

Poor baby had milked himself dry after two more loads, gasping and making the prettiest little hitched noises. You’d led the pliant super soldier to the shower and tended to him, Buck was out to the park after all that intense sensation, hell, sensuality.

He’d softly thank you over and over again between apologies, until the big teddy fell asleep in your arms, puffing softly. Buck wouldn’t have a nightmare that night. Nor many another night after wearing himself out.

No penetration yet, but fucking close. He wasn’t quite ready for that. You knew he was in some sort of phase, spurred on by whatever occurred in Madripoor. He wouldn’t elaborate but said it made him want human touch again. He’d fess up when he was ready, because then you’d let the needy baby fuck.

Walking into your apartment with a sprawled Bucky red faced and teary made you wonder if he was ready. His cock was red and obscenely engorged, leaking copious precum, balls just as heavy looking. The soldier had pushed his briefs down and looked like he’d been at it for awhile based on the redness and his sweaty chest. You swallowed back some drool. Fuck.

“Honey? Bucky? What’s going on?”

A divine whimper graced your senses. His lashes were thick and clumped from tears. Bucky whined, “Need you, my h-hands, fuck!” He bit down on his lip roughly, obviously frustrated. Blood dribbled down Buck’s stubbled chin.

Dropping your stuff and bolting over to your lover had him barely relax, hiccuping a bit. You straddled his lap, careful not to irritate or stimulate too much. Grabbing his gorgeous face with two hands you stared calmly, as one would to a child coming down from a tantrum, “Baby. Need you to take a couple breaths and tell me what’s going on.”

His chest stuttered, breath thin, you instructing some box breathing, counting for Bucky. You could feel him relax underneath you, pulse lowering, that residual twitching dying down. Your lover blinked a couple of times, lips pulled into a frown.

Now gently scratching his scalp you tried again, “Can you tell me what’s going on sweetheart? Something happened in Madripoor. I want to help, I can help if you just talk baby boy.”

His gaze held your own, a gritting of his jaw and slow exhale. Bucky’s mismatched hands slid carefully up the tops of your thighs to grip your hips. The brunette rasped, “We did a ploy. I played…him..to get information we needed. Whole set up with Zemo trying to sell me. It reminded me of my,” he gulped, “other uses.”

“Oh fuck, I’m sorry, no,” you rambled while pulling him in closer. Bucky eased back and shook his head, “You make it easier. I just…I..I have trouble doing anything without orders right now. I’ve been too- ugh fuck- embarrassed to say anything. But goddamn if I’m not horny all the time, it’s so twisted.” He tucked wet lashes against your neck, steadying his breathing.

You did some deductions in your head. Bucky had been sating any sort of carnal urges on his own. The little ploy had switched that button deep in Buck’s brain that he needed orders to cum. No wonder he’d been so needy, begging you for release, your lover had been in a mindfuck for two months.

You cooed, “Oh Buck, you can tell me anything, c’mon now. I’m not shaming you one bit. If we need to work through this we will.” Poor thing looked like he was going to cry again, nipping that swollen bottom lip. You shoved your thumb between those pretty lips and hummed, “Stop beating yourself up. I’m more than happy to order my handsome boy around.”

Bucky had instinctively opened to accept your digit, cheeks flaming harder than before. You softly pressed down on his tongue, the brunette drooling and jerking underneath you. The tension seemed to melt out of his body with this one authoritative action.

“Such a sweetheart, can’t help it, don’t worry, we’ll get you back in charge in no time. But just relax for now,” you swiped a tear away, “I’m not going to hurt a hair on your pretty head. Thank you for telling me.”

He whined around your thumb, more and more drool leaking onto a strong chest. You hummed, “I’m going to suck your cock.” It felt almost dirty but Bucky whimpering around your thumb was a relief, a gargled, “Pleaaaaseee.”

Sliding your thumb out of his puffy lips, Bucky made another pitiful noise at the loss. When your slick thumb swirled around his purpling cockhead the brunette shouted in surprise, hands gripping into the couch cushions.

“Going to suck your cock and you’re gonna love it, pretty boy,” you cooed, breathing over where he needed it most. A dollop of pre dribbled out, your tongue lapping it up gently. Buck’s thighs twitched and he moaned, throwing his head back. The cushion ripped on his left side.

You swirled your tongue around the bulbous tip, lapping on the underside just to hear him gasp your name. Popping off you rasped, “Grab my hair, you can move me to your pace.” He nodded disjointedly, flesh hand ever so carefully rerouting to your ponytail.

You began to bob down the length on him, other hand crawling up to caress and gently squeeze his hefty balls. Poor Buck, all backed up. He needed to cum bad. His voice came out as a thin whine, “Ohaaaahhh- wha- I’ve never.” You couldn’t help but smile at being his first.

Satisfaction that no one forcibly took this intimate act from him, not to mention you beat out likely someone’s great grandmother to suck the great Bucky Barnes’ dick. Licking and humming on a vein had your own throat stretching and slick, drool collecting around your obscenely stretched lips.

You fucking loved sucking cock. Especially such a big boy’s like Bucky’s. His hips jerked, forcing the blunt tip down your throat, you finally swallowing him down the best you could. Swallow swallow swallow, this was for your baby. Bucky’s built chest shuddered with his staccato breath, babbling, “So good baby s’good s’good, ohmyfuck.”

He whined again when you came up for air, drooling and heaving over that gorgeous prick. Bucky whimpered, “You look pretty, can I cum? Soon? Please?” You nodded, voice hoarse, “No more deep but I want you to fill my throat with all that cum. You have all the permission, actually, an order to cum.”

It didn’t take long of you humming and shallowly bobbing on his rapidly swelling cock for the first load to come. Bucky’s heavy balls contracted and drew tight under your palm, sending hot seed down your throat. You eagerly swallowed, sucking harder if anything. Bucky moaned and cried, squirming, legs sluttily spreading by the second climax.

You so desperately wanted to fuck around with that tender skin behind his balls but stuck to rolling and squeezing. You suckled on the crown, flicking tongue at the quickest speed, the poor thing warning with a sob, “Again!” He filled your mouth up this round, a fucking surprise, damn super soldiers. Dutifully gulping it again you slurped up excess drool and slowed the pace until Bucky was shying away, mewling.

Gently tucking him back in you wiped your mouth, laughing softly at the drool covering your blouse. God knows how wet your panties were. Bucky panted and hugged you oh-so-tight, warbling the cutest thanks. Wrapping back around Buck you curled the hair growing out around his ears and pressed little kisses to his cheeks.

“I’ve got you baby, we can do orders until you’re up to par. Feeling better?”

He rasped softly, “So much better, god, thank you.”

“No need, I love you. You know that. I’m quite satisfied I was the first to give you head.”

Pressing your lips to another stray tear he repeated it back, “Love you too, angel.” He smiled dopily, “The last too, that mouth works wonders.”

[cuubism]

Morphology | Dreamling | 4.6k words | Explicit | AO3

eldritch Dream, genderfluidity of a kind, lots of smut, nonhuman organs, angst, body dysphoria, undefined body forms and transformation, brief eldritch panic attack, they/them pronouns for Dream

Dream is not meant to stay in one form. But they must, for that is the form that Hob knows. That Hob loves. Or so they think.

this is based on @gabessquishytum and their anon's post located here, about Dream believing Hob won't want him in all his nonhuman shapes, only to discover Hob is very much a monsterfucker... and also loves him very much. I was going to append it to the post but then it got kind of very long. Hope you don't mind me playing around!

---

It was not for dreams to be only one thing.

In the Dreaming, they morphed and shifted, merging from one form to another. Smoke to wind to water, lava to sparks back to stone. In the minds of dreamers they took every unconceivable form, a thousand impossibilities as various as the limbs of Destiny’s forking tree. They were all of unreality. All that could not be, all that was hoped for, fleeting, forgotten, or held, for a time.

In the Waking, it was different. Dreams Dream bent and condensed into a singular form. They he knew well enough from his dreamers that while fluid changeability may be accepted in the illogical narratives of dreams, it was not so in the Waking. To interact with humans, he must appear as one, with the limited mutability that allowed.

Which was not to say that Dream disliked his Waking form. He chose what was pleasing to him. But sometimes it felt… stifling, for one used to being as expansive as the clouds.

Particularly after his imprisonment. Kept like an insect pinned to a board. Immovable. When he was meant to move. When he was Morpheus. Shaper of Forms.

Dream put that away from him.

Hob liked this form of his. Dream had come to understand the way Hob looked on him, and he liked that Hob wanted this form. But. He was not meant to stay in this form. Not always. It was. Chafing. It was. Hurting.

No matter. He could stay in this form that Hob wanted, because more than wanting to break from this skin Dream wanted Hob’s love. And his desire. He wanted to keep Hob’s gentle, heated touch.

This form of lean muscle and sharp bone. This solid body that had endured Roderick Burgess’s prison but also received Hob’s love… he could keep it. Yes. He could. He could.

~~~

I am wind that wishes to storm. Cloud that edges on rain. I am caterpillar’s dream of flight, I am words of disbelieving, I am the hopeful light of new stars, I am— I am water’s dance with the shore, and the sun’s kiss of the moon, and— and— no—

“Yo. Roiling mass of terror that I’m pretty sure is the boss. You good?”

Dream opened their eyes. They did not have eyes, but no matter. Dreams were often about seeing. Matthew was standing on the sand before them, head cocked.

“You alright?” he repeated. “I couldn’t tell if the shrieking was a bad thing or just like. One of your things.”

“One of my things,” Dream repeated.

“Can never know,” said Matthew. He hopped onto an arm that Dream’s form generated just for him to stand on.

“I was not,” said Dream, “shrieking.”

“You were definitely shrieking,” said Matthew. “It sounded like a laundry machine dying.”

Dream grumbled in offense.

Matthew nudged his head against one of Dream’s hands. “Do you… wanna talk about it?”

Dream considered. “Do you often ponder your own physical form, Matthew?”

“Well, since I became a bird,” said Matthew. “Kinda weird. It’s cool, though. Who doesn’t dream of flying, amirite?” He flapped his wings in demonstration, lifting off Dream’s arm, then settling down again.

“And when you were human?” Dream asked.

“Every human thinks about their body, dude.”

“Did you desire to change it?” Dream pressed.

“You mean like a weight loss program?” said Matthew. “Those never work.”

“No,” said Dream. Their form morphed around them, here legs, there tail, wings, teeth. They could not make it settle, not on a human shape or on anything else. They felt— agitated. They should return to their usual human form. Should. “That is not what I meant.”

“Ohhhhhh,” said Matthew, and smacked his face with his wing in realization. “It’s this whole deal. Well, you could change it if you want? I mean. You’re doing it.”

“I did not mean to,” said Dream, their form still writhing around them, never landing on any one shape. “I—” they were meant to go see Hob. They had been cloaked properly in their usual shape. And. Something had snapped.

They remembered, now, falling to their knees on the sand, the careful construct of their human self, a body once worn easily as one of many, shattering into a million shards.

They should. Change. They should change back. They wished to see Hob, and Hob, for all his adaptability, was only human, he would not be able to tolerate this, this thing that could not even give itself a face, or decide what it was, this thing that found physical stasis anathema after so long pressed in glass. Hob cared for the being that he knew. Not this one that, Dream thought, sometimes did not even know itself.

“Whatever you’re doing, I think you should probably stop,” Matthew warned.

“You dare to question me?” Dream bit. He was condensing back down under his human mask, he could do it, he could. He had loved this form once. Could again. As one of many.

Matthew nipped at his hand with his beak. And it was only this that made Dream realize he was clawing at his face so hard he was bleeding starlight.

Solidity spiraled away from Dream again, and they let out a hard breath. It was useless. Whatever meager control they had maintained since their escape was slipping from them. It was pointless to pretend otherwise any longer. Or to pretend that they could truly offer Hob the form he was accustomed to.

“Matthew,” Dream said, and Matthew hopped to attention. “I have some business I must attend to. Please leave me now.”

“Are you sure—?”

Dream waved a hand and sent him back to the palace.

If it was impossible for them to consistently return to their prior state, then at least they should be done with it now. Show Hob what he was truly dealing with. That Dream was not what he thought. Or wanted. Then, at least, they would spare themselves any greater heartbreak.

Wrapping the barest trappings of their usual form around them like an ill-fitting coat, Dream stepped into the Waking.

~~~

Dream emerged directly onto Hob’s bed as a formless shadow. It felt good, to be formless. Normally, they did like to take a form, but to choose recently had been taxing.

Hob was awake and reading. Dream had been meant to come for dinner, and was late. When Dream appeared in a sudden fall of darkness, Hob shrieked and flung his book at them on instinct. It simply passed through Dream with no effect.

“Dream?” said Hob, gasping, the spike in his adrenaline clear. “Is that you, love? Somehow? Or am I about to get eaten?”

Those do not preclude each other, Dream said. Though as they were still a shadow, their voice was more a low rumbling vibration than a true voice.

“Not sure how I understood that,” said Hob. He tilted his head, trying to make out features in the darkness but not, Dream thought, managing it. “Always kind of knew you were more than you seemed,” he added. “Didn’t quite picture this, though.”

It is but one form I am capable of holding, Dream said. Strictly speaking, it was not quite a form at all. As they said it, they shifted, unconsciously, until they were the beam of lamplight caressing Hob’s face—Hob’s hand chased them across his own cheek—and then the lulling hum of traffic, comforting night sounds. Hob kept reaching for them, not quite knowing where he was reaching. And Dream slipped into his daydreams, his vision for what Dream’s many forms might be.

Hob’s daydreams were a comfortable place to land. Warm. Welcoming. And when Dream emerged, they were a thing of Hob’s imagining, something dark and shadowed and multi-faceted but ultimately. Touchable.

That was what Hob desired of them?

“Okay,” said Hob, “what actually is going on here? Are you okay?”

Dream did not reply, stuck on Hob’s daydreams. He did not wish for Dream to force themselves back into their usual form. He merely molded what Dream brought him into a form that was comprehensible to him.

Relief crashed over Dream, magnitudes greater than the dread they had refused to acknowledge. They knew, now, that they had truly expected this to be the end. To scare Hob off. But Hob did not seem to be scared.

“Dream?” Hob reached a careful hand toward them. He pet down Dream’s flank. Fur that was soft because he was touching it. He huffed an incredulous laugh. “Wow. It really is… you.”

“In some fashion,” said Dream.

“In some fashion,” Hob repeated. “In what fashion, exactly?”

Instead of answering, Dream butted their head into Hob’s shoulder. Following the relief of his touch, so much softer and more detailed, now that they did not have the barrier of a stifling form in the way.

“Darling,” Hob said, petting Dream’s hair, “need words.”

“No,” Dream mumbled petulantly. And Hob allowed them their petulance. Dream let out a long breath. It blew warm over Hob’s throat, and Dream felt him shiver. They trailed fingertips up Hob’s ribcage, along bare skin, feeling the stacked solidity of his bones. Hob shivered again.

“It’s like that, is it?” he said.

Dream shifted closer, half slither, half crawl, until their form, incomprehensible even to themselves, was draped over Hob’s lap. Bliss, there, the warmth of him. “You are not repelled?”

“By the ten arms? I think I can cope.” He pressed his lips in close to Dream’s ear. “In fact. I had a dream about this the other night. Well.” He laughed. “I guess I’m having a Dream about it now, eh?”

“Did you?” said Dream, ears pricking up. Had their… moods slipped into Hob’s dreams?

“Can’t remember the details,” Hob said. “But I remember how it felt.” He trailed fingertips up the bony knobs of Dream’s spine. Unlike Dream at the moment, Hob only had two arms, but Dream felt every press of his fingers acutely.

“How did it feel?” they whispered.

“Like,” Hob murmured, lips to Dream’s jaw now, “you were everywhere. Like I got into your body and made love to you from the inside out.”

The thought made all of the strange and varied nerves of Dream’s shifting body stand on end. They wrapped legs around Hob’s waist, arms around his shoulders. Scraped sharp teeth over his pulse. “Really?”

Hob laughed. “Interested now, are you?”

“Yes,” Dream rumbled, their form flickering in excitement, to shadow then a falling rainbow of light, to a mass of vines that wound all around Hob’s body, and then into roots, as if they could grow into Hob, then branching veins pulsing and racing with Hob’s heartbeat, then back to a morass of half-body, half-shadow, because yes, they wanted to be held by Hob, they must remember that.

Hob was still for several moments, then laughed incredulously. “Okay. You’re so cool. I don’t know what to do with any of that, so I’m going to have to wing it.”

He traced a hand along the soft feathers of a wing that had grown with his words. Dream shuddered. A sensitive part of the body, indeed.

“You’re gorgeous,” Hob murmured. “My strange creature.”

Dream purred in pleasure, wrapping their wings around Hob’s back, mouth catching on the edge of his jaw, and, incredibly, felt Hob growing hard under them, as he would if Dream lounged in his lap and mouthed at his jaw as a human.

“You like this,” Dream said, unable to keep the surprise from their voice.

Hob chuckled. “Didn’t you know I fell for you the second I saw the spark of the otherworldly in your eyes? Just didn’t know the whole of what I was looking at. Not then.”

The spark of the otherworldly. “You are in love with dreams.”

“Figured it out by now, yeah.”

“You are. In love. With this,” Dream said, voice echoing from more than one throat, choked up.

“With this? You mean with you?”

“I do not know quite what I am, now,” Dream admitted.

“Well,” said Hob, slipping a hand between them. Dream gasped in pleasure, wings fluttering involuntarily. “You want to find out?”

Squirming against his hand, Dream said, “Do you even know what it is you are touching?”

“Haven’t a clue,” Hob said cheerfully. “Made you go all shivery, though.”

It had. It was. Dream writhed in his lap as Hob experimented, moaned in startled pleasure, toes curling. Body shifting to hurtle towards that arousal. Hob startled as his hand was suddenly enveloped in heat, something he could press into, and Dream whined, so full all at once with no prelude, body twisting out of control without their explicit direction. But it was good.

Hob gripped them by one wing—these had stayed even as Dream’s form continued to spin—and Dream quivered as Hob pulled them closer, pressing his hand deeper into slick heat. He was grinning against Dream’s throat, scraped light teeth over his pulse, sucked a bruise there. Dream’s form rode the wave of his daydreams, provided a wet mouth for him to bite and kiss as soon as he thought of it. Dream tangled long fingers in his hair, claws digging in.

“Can I fuck you like this?” Hob breathed against his lips.

“If you can cope with me changing on you,” Dream said. “I am not. Entirely in control. At the moment.”

A shameful admission, but Hob groaned as if it was the hottest thing he could think of. “I get to have you multiple ways at once? Oh, how will I manage?”

Dream laughed. It may have been a bit teary. Their many hearts were racing, lungs stuttering for air. Wings shivered, feathers fluttering. A long, furred tail wound its way up Hob’s back to wrap lightly around his throat, possessive. Dream would not let this man go now. Could not.

“Budge up, let’s see what we’re dealing with,” Hob said, probing deeper under Dream’s form with his hand, the other still firm on Dream’s wing, which he seemed to have understood was very sensitive, and intended to press that advantage as much as he could.

The touch of Hob’s hand, in Dream, on them, around them, was bliss. Dream wished to be full of him again. To, as Hob had dreamt, be made love to from the inside out.

Riding that hope, their body shaped another hole for his questing fingers. Hob obligingly pressed his fingers in, but said, “Regrettably, darling, I’ve only got one cock, and I had other plans for my hands.”

“Regrettable, indeed,” said Dream, and Hob laughed. Then, “Plans?”

“Oh, yes. I expect some other interesting things may crop up, eh? Need hands free.” He leaned in close to Dream’s ear, which flicked toward him to listen. “I’m going to find every erogenous zone on this body and make it scream.”

Goosebumps broke out all over Dream’s body. They clung to Hob with every limb they could find. Hob grinned wickedly at this reaction. It was a look Dream knew well, one that always boded very well for them indeed.

Hob worked Dream open on two fingers—though he need not, Dream was already wet and gaping for him—then maneuvered his sleep shorts off, took his cock in hand and stroked it twice, hand slick with Dream’s fluids. Then he lifted Dream bodily and sank them back down on his cock.

Dream whined, careening up several registers, as they were filled so suddenly, as they took Hob to the base. Hob groaned at the feeling of their body. Dream tried to adjust to him but couldn’t, Hob’s cock pressed on sensitive spots deep within them, and any time they thought they’d gotten used to the feeling their body produced a new place to torment.

They clawed at Hob’s back, leaving red lines with sharp fingers. Hob gave an experimental thrust, shifting Dream in his lap, and Dream bit down on a scream as their body lit up, chasing the feeling, loving it, magnitudes more affected than in their usual, limited form.

“Wow,” Hob said, fond laughter in his voice, and heat too, as Dream panted wetly in his ear, “this is going to be fun. Have you been all worked up, my darling? Just needed someone to give you what you really need?”

“Needed you,” Dream murmured. They clenched around Hob, tried to steady themselves, but it only made things worse. Everywhere deep inside them was searing flame, their skin-feathers-fur prickly with static, they feared and needed Hob’s touch in equal measure. To soothe. To set alight.

Hob slipped a hand into the other space Dream had left to tempt him, probing deep. Dream bit down on his ear, drawing spots of blood. Hob drew his hand back, met one of Dream’s many eyes. Licked Dream’s fluids from his hand.

Dream lunged forward to kiss him, whimpering into Hob’s mouth as that drove them impossibly deeper onto Hob’s cock. Hob pulled them close, kissed them hard, caught a fistful of Dream’s hair and pulled. Dream’s body decided that it liked that very much, indeed. They whined at the grip, clawing at Hob’s skin with many hands.

Hob brought them close with a firm hand, bounced Dream in his lap, moving them on and off his cock. Dream wailed, overstimulated by all the angles of his touch, torn between pulling away and diving closer as Hob swept his tongue into their mouth, over sharp teeth and soft palate.

“There’s a love,” Hob breathed. “Does that feel good, darling?”

Dream couldn’t offer a reply, and Hob didn’t wait for one. He dug his fingers into the tight feathering of Dream’s wing and tugged. Dream shrieked, wings flapping wildly, sets of them bursting along their back, more, more, less, more. Hob didn’t let up, stroking his fingers through the feathers, dragging over soft skin, sucking on Dream’s throat all the while.

Dream saw white, their body seized up, and the nebulous hole Hob was using to fuck them morphed into a mouth.

Hob yelped to suddenly feel his cock grazing over shielded teeth. Then he laughed. “Don’t you dare bite my dick off, you menace. It’s horrible to regrow it.”

Dream would have asked how he knew that, except Hob’s cock was down their throat. They choked, swallowing around him. Dream did not need to breathe, and so the pressure was exquisite. Their long tongue wrapped around Hob to the base, caressed his balls. Explored further, along his perineum, to probe at his entrance, and then press in.

“Oh fuck, oh fuck—” Hob’s voice was a strangled shout. “Dream what the actual fuck are you doing?” It didn’t sound like a complaint.

I am fucking you with my tongue, Dream said, a hum directly from their form to Hob’s.

“I can bloody well tell, Jesus Mary and—”

Dream purred and rumbled in pleasure, the satisfaction of taking and being taken at once, of being inside their beloved and having Hob inside them in turn. As Hob had dreamt.

Hob’s fingers pressed into Dream. Dream’s form gave and made places for him to press into. Hob’s fingers tickled deep within them, starlight and heat tracking their path. Dream swirled in an indefinite vortex of shape, a hundred things at once, their body prickling all over with the pleasure of Hob’s touch.

Hob twisted against them, clenching down on their tongue, shouted “Dream!” and came down Dream’s throat. Dream swallowed him down in pleasure, retracted their tongue from Hob’s body, eliciting a long moan. They let Hob pull out, and licked the final taste of Hob from their lips before letting that mouth disappear into their form, the traces of Hob consumed.

And then Hob flipped them, somehow manhandled Dream’s indefinite form down to the mattress, pressed down immovably on legs and arms and wings so that the softest parts of Dream’s body were bared to him. Dream reached for him, always they reached for him, cock hard and straining, cunt aching, the slashes of their being weeping for Hob to come inside. Always weeping. They cried out, every inch of them trembling for Hob’s touch.

“You gorgeous nightmare,” Hob said. “You brilliant daydream. Oh, my darling, I love you so much. I’d do anything for you. Anything. But mostly I want to do this.”

He pressed his mouth to where Dream’s body strained for him.

Hob had a very talented and generous mouth, which Dream had blessedly been on the receiving end of many times. This was different: Dream’s form echoed out Hob’s touch, replicated it a hundred times over so every crevice of their body could feel the flat swipe of his tongue, how he drank Dream’s fluids down, the drag of his stubble over lips and folds and the soft skin of thighs. Dream’s many limbs trembled, bent, reformed themselves in ecstasy, they dragged at Hob’s hair, pressing his face deeper so Dream could grind against him, which only made Hob grin.

Hob pressed two fingers into Dream’s mouth and Dream greedily sucked on them, grounding themselves. Taking Hob in more than one way at once… yes. That was what they wanted. They closed their many eyes and gave themselves over to sensation. Hob’s mouth and tongue, the taste of him, the weight of his body as he bent Dream on the bed, his scent, musk and the woodsmoke that seemed to cling to him all these years later—or perhaps that was only in dreams.

They were a dream of completion. They were a dream of ecstasy. Of flight. Hob’s hand tangled in their fragile feathers. Hob’s mouth and fingers inside them. Then Hob plunged three fingers hard, deep within them, as he sucked on Dream’s clit, and with a piercing noise like glass shattering Dream came.

They were. Fragments. The individual colors splayed wide by a prism. Red, yellow, blue. Hob’s fingers trailed through them, blending the colors like paint in water. For several moments Dream drifted, more thought than being. Distantly aware of Hob’s weight on them. It felt… like kindness. Then they floated back to the present, light as the first flight of unfurled moth wings.

Hob was lying on them, looking at them, head tilted. A twinkle in his eyes. He skated his hands up Dream’s sides. Flowers bloomed in the wake of his touch, their soft petals shivering with sensitivity. Hob plucked one of the flower buds and, holding Dream’s gaze, ate it. Swallowed it. Dream watched the movement of his throat.

Inside out, he thought.

“Broke you into pieces,” Hob said then, with satisfaction. “Think I might have seen God for a sec there. Can do better, though.”

“Better?” Dream echoed, voice hoarse. Their form shifted, still, but slowly, languidly. No longer restless. A dark wing draped over Hob’s back. A tail played with his hair. He didn’t seem to mind.

“There’s so much we can do with this,” he said. He gazed at Dream, fond, terribly knowing. “Only getting started, love. I love—” he kissed Dream’s belly, a light, ghosting touch, and tickled Dream’s side with his fingertips— “how sensitive you are like this.”

“I—” Dream started. Absent the writhing need, now they just felt… stripped. Vulnerable. “I expected that you would. Not. Like this. It is not. Human.”

“Neither are you,” Hob pointed out.

“I appear so,” Dream said.

Hob snorted. “No, you don’t.”

Dream stared at him, unable to decide whether or not to be offended.

“I wear the guise of a human,” they insisted, and, to prove it, morphed back into the form that Hob would know as his lover. It was an easier coat to wear, now that they knew they could take it off.

“No, keep the wings,” Hob complained. “Those are cool.”

Dream obligingly returned wings to their form.

“I appear human, to you,” they insisted again.

“Dream, I say this with all the love in my heart, which is quite a lot because I do. Love you.” He leaned on his hand, looking at Dream with sparkling eyes. “You look about as human as a kid wearing a bedsheet looks like a ghost.”

Dream stared at him, mouth agape.

“Don’t worry, it’s a gorgeous costume,” Hob said. “Love it. Really, really do. But I could always tell that wasn’t the whole truth of the matter. Especially once I got close.” With this, he winked.

“A part of me is human,” Dream said. Had Hob truly always seen through them? Paid so close attention as to perceive the translucence of the mask? “For I am the dreams of humanity.”

“And a part of you isn’t,” said Hob. “For—” he mimicked the cadence of Dream’s speech, though not in a mocking way— “you are also the dreams of birds, and shadows, and stars.”

Dream nodded. “These and more.”

“Brilliant,” said Hob.

Brilliant, Dream thought.

Then Hob tilted his head, thinking back. “You expected me not to like that?”

“Recently,” said Dream slowly, “I found I could not maintain this form without pain. And so my hand was forced.” It hurt still, to think of. “I had no choice but to make my true form—or rather, my true formlessness—known to you if I wished to be here at all.”

Hob pushed himself up from where he was lying on Dream’s chest, and instead straddled his hips so he could take Dream’s face between his hands. “It hurts?” he demanded.

“At times,” said Dream. “More so. Since.” They didn’t finish the sentence.

“Why are you doing it now, then?”

“It does not hurt so much now,” Dream said. “It is simply that when I stay static, it begins to. Ache.”

“Ache,” Hob repeated, looking stricken. “Dream, if it hurts, then change back. Be a chimera or whatever the hell you were doing before.”

“That is how you interpreted it?”

“To be honest, I don’t think my brain was really interpreting it at all. You were just kind of… everything.” He stroked a fingertip along the fine bone of Dream’s wing, which was folded against their back now. “Did like the wings, though.”

“I’d noticed that.”

“Cheeky.” Hob shook himself. “Getting distracted. The point is, don’t hurt yourself. I don’t want to see you hurt yourself.” He tipped his head against Dream’s, lips to their skin. “Much rather see you how were today.”

“How?”

“Letting go. Enjoying yourself.” He smirked, Dream felt it against their temple. “Making all kind of lovely noises. Squealing. Shrieking—”

“I was not shrieking.”

“You were shrieking.”

Hob tickled his fingers through Dream’s feathers, and Dream made an embarrassing squeak. They smacked Hob in the face with that wing, and Hob burst out laughing, even though he had to pull a feather out of his teeth.

“I love you,” he said. “Don’t hurt yourself. Be... the indefinably strange creature that you are. And just trust me to keep up.”

Hob kissed them lightly on the lips. Dream leaned into him, made still for a moment by the depth of Hob’s care for them, how Hob caught all of their longing and swallowed it, kept it warm. How he loved Dream. And dreams.

Hob drew them both down to the bed, and the covers over them, and Dream let their other forms creep out, hesitant, but hungry for Hob’s affection. And a creature that was the sky’s dream of nightfall and the poetry of rain upon a still lake, that was the individual patterns of snowflakes and the sculptures built of their drifts, that was ambitious owl and frightened vole, quiet soil and its thoughtful worms, shape and narrative and human, too, of course, laid down its many heads, and curled its much-loved wings over its lover, and rested in his dreams.

[wandixx]

Ghost of fries and Hero of cookies part 3

All work words count: 14 643

Words in this part: 3 056

Summary of whole work: Duke wasn't expecting to wake up from his quick rooftop nap to some meta kid with fries. He also wasn't expecting kid to stay

Or

Danny asked Dani to stay safe while she was in Gotham. Where would she be safer than under the wing of local hero? And he looked like he needed bad day combo anyway

This part summary: Joker goons are in for an orange surprise and Duke does not like it in the slightest

Beta read by @audhumla-sailor though English is second language for both of us, so proceed with this in mind. I also know all of the charaters through fics alone, so probably ooc. Stay catious if it's something you don't like

First part, Previous part

trigger warnings: gun violence, panic attacks, dissociation, mentions of Joker gas and what it doeas to people (tell me if i missed something, I'll add it)

Duke was having quite a good day. His schoolwork finally got lighter and up until now nothing notable happen on his patrol. Obviously, couldn’t have Gotham without at least one mugging and bank and corner shop robbery. About the last thing, if it was chain store he would conveniently arrive too late to stop it and just follow up to make sure cashier didn’t get fired. He used to be intimately close with hardships of getting necessary supplies like food or gas masks while corporate assholes were trying to suck people dry. But it was family business so he actually had to step in. He did mention secure way of getting resources to would be robbers though. All in all, not so bad, pretty good day. As for now, he was swinging on grapple to meet with Dani, armed with healthy snack Alfred demanded he took for her when he got texted on his Signal-work-phoneTM. It meant important business 90% of the time, so he stopped to check it out. Other 10% were memes from Dani that usually were worth it anyway.

Got it in one, Hoopoe texted. He opened chat expecting funny video or something instead to be greeted by:

Dani: Hey Signal

Dani: Peple aint spossedf t get out f Arkham

Dani: Amirite?

His stomach dropped. He wished it was hypothetical question but he knew better than to believe such fantasies. Things didn’t go so well in Gotham, especially not with Hoopoe.

You: Yeah, your right. What’s up?

You: You’re*

Dani: Nerd

Dani: Whatre you’re thots on clowns

Dani: ?

His stomach officially landed at his feet and decided it wasn’t enough dropping and ended up on a street below. Even if Joker was still locked up, his goons being active were bad news.

You: Where are you?

You: Hoopoe, where are you?

Dani: Clm dow I ned to chek

Dani: I have ni ieda

Dani: The box building rod

Dani: roof*

Dani: Warehouse?

Dani: That the wors

Dani: I think

You: There are over 1000 warehouses in Gotham

Dani: Idk wht yu want me totll yu

Dani: Therere other warehous arond?

You: Okay

You: Check corners for symbol and number

Back in the day everyone other than Bruce decided to take part in a challenge to count all of the warehouses in Gotham manually. They each got their sector and graffiti spray to mark counted buildings. Later it kinda turned into a way of identifying them. 

Dani: Red blb with too wite dots

Dani: #83

Okay, he wasn’t too far. He risked roof hopping and checking texts to make sure she didn’t try anything stu-

Dani: Im goin in

You: No!

You: Stay where you are!

You: Hoopoe!

You: Hoopoe!

Dani: Calm down worrywart

Dani: Jus wante ti get ab look

Dani: Invisible

Dani: M not dump

I doubt it

You entered building with Joker’s goons with no back-up or plan. It’s extremely dangerous

Dani: Yeah, yeah don care

Dani: 5 goons in clown masks

Dani: Maks idk wat of

Dani: Not northern hemisphere of sky for sure

Dani: Weird containter s

Dani: Ari smells funny

Dani: Giggly i guess

Dani: U prbl know better

You: Get out of there

You: NOW!

You: Try not breathing it in

Dani: K

Dani: Ill stop brething then

You: GET OUT!

Dani: K

Dani: Why so agressive

Because Duke knew what Joker gas could do to person. He knew how it took wonderful people (like his parents) and left shells wand shadows of who they used to be. Because every gas release left him with panic attack. Because he knew it was more dangerous than even some vigilantes thought it was.

You: Wait until I get there

Dani: K

He almost tripped with how much he tried to speed up.

Dani was actually vibrating when he arrived but stayed quiet. Good. If she breathed in some Joker gas it wasn’t working dose yet. Duke had deep feeling not even Alfred’s cookies would be enough to deter her from entering. Offering her a granola bar he sat at the edge of the roof with bone deep sigh. Girl took snack eagerly, bouncing around like puppy high on caffeine.

“How about we take a note of this happening and get going? Other Bats are better equipped to deal with this,” They weren’t but he didn’t want Dani anywhere near this mess. He himself didn’t want to be anywhere near it either.

Kid got deadly still, staring at him as if she could read his deepest secrets if she looked hard enough.

“They’re scaring you” she whispered with strong feeling but Duke had trouble reading what feeling was it. He put his face in his hands for a moment. How was he even supposed to answer that?

“Joker is one of the most dangerous people in Gotham and these guys are working for him. They have guns. Of course I’m a little scared”

Judging by the face Dani made, she wanted to call him out on his bullshit but thought better of it. She floated to sit next to him, swallowing granola in few bites.

“My friend Johnny mentioned him,” she started between chewing ”he said ‘bastard murdered my baby bro Jay and Jay knew his way in fight, stay away from him Dani’. Normally Johnny isn’t so careful”

“All more reasons to leave it for others!” Duke almost shouted, hope growing in his chest. Maybe he could steer her away from it!

“He also told me to hit him if I happen to meet him. He would owe me ‘big one’ then. Do you think I could get ‘small one’ for couple of goons?!”

“Hoopoe no!”

Girl looked thoughtful and after over two weeks of working together he learned to fear this expression.

“Whatever you’re thinking, no. I’ll buy you biggest fries, just leave this–” he waved vaguely at the warehouse hoping it would get message across “–whole mess alone” There was lump in his throat.

Dani haven’t abandon whatever thought got her like that and nodded to herself few time. She drifted around a bit, shifted under her way too long cloak and finally settled with a soft smile.

“You’re scared… Terrified. You’re terrified of them,” she started calmly, like she would talk to a victim if she actually knew how to do it ”It’s okay. It’s great. Fear is what keeps humans alive,” she nodded as if she recounted something from textbook properly in front of the class “But I’m not scared and I fought people much stronger than them and I’m even better now thanks to you. If you’re so terrified, it means they need to be dealt with and it needs to be done fast. It’s okay,” her grin from soft turned devilish “I was itching for some fun fight anyway”

“Dani-”

“It’ll be quick, I promise,” she said, serious again “Don’t worry,” she stood up, saluted and fell through the roof, all too fast to react or not miss it with a blink. Frankly, it caught Duke so off guard he couldn’t even move for a few seconds after the whole ordeal anyway. He threw himself down to the nearest window as soon as he regained control over his body. His heart was stuck in his throat.

Dani tackled first goon with delighted giggle right when he crashed inside. He checked if his mask was secure on reflexes he plummeted towards the ground, moving his body to land safely on top of the shelf. Warehouses were weird place to fight. Easy to get vantage point like Duke just did but was also hard in a way. Little space made it hard to use wider streaks, easy get backed into corner. Annoying more than anything.

Dani’s wrestling match was so attention grabbing that nobody even looked at Duke, despite his far from subtle arrival. He threw himself forward when he caught telltale shine of the gun in one of goons hands. It was dumb move when Dani was so close to his ally, but who he was to criticize Joker goon’s live choices. It didn’t take Signal long to understand he wouldn’t make it on time. He had to but there was no-

Two gunshots rang in rapid succession split second before Duke got to the goon and, with swiftness granted only by adrenaline and fury people got when someone their got hurt, knocked man out cold. Before body could hit the ground he spun around to see the damage because Dani still refused to wear any armor and from this close goon would have to be Storm Trooper to miss her. Because she was most likely bleeding heavily. What if they hit something instantly lethal?

He faced a fight right in time to see Dani jumping at another goon also openly wielding a gun. He wanted to yell at her but bullets were fired before he got a chance. He looked for blood dripping from her torso while dodging another man  barely taking his eyes off Dani.

“That wasn’t nice,” she sounded like she pouted! At being shot! “If I was anyone else I would be seriously hurt right now, you know?” her voice was somewhat off. Like it wasn’t quite made by her vocal cords but some awkward voice generator.

Before the appalled man could react, he got technically not too good right hook to the jaw. It was strong enough to make him unconscious and get quite loud creak out of his neck. Duke hoped Dani didn’t mess up the guy's spine. He was criminal but he didn’t deserve this type of treatment.

Duke focused back on his own fight when he made sure that girl wasn’t in immediate danger of dying. He dodged running goon again, who literally ran himself into the shelf because of that. Signal used his short confusion to hit him in the side of his neck, rendering the opponent unconscious. Okay, they made it, this was the last-

Another gunshot made his sped-up heart skip a beat. Lump in his throat suffocated him.

No, no, no, no, no-

“I shot you in the face!”

 He looked her way ready to see unmoving body and red decorating concrete floor.

“There was a good quip for- oh right” she started cheerfully, entirely unharmed, before her face twisted into something actually demonic.

“Y̶o̸u̵r̵ ̶p̵e̶s̴k̶y̵ ̴l̷i̷t̶t̸l̶e̸ ̵b̷u̸l̴l̴e̶t̷s̵ ̴w̸o̴n̵'̸t̵ ̵h̶u̵r̶t̸ ̸m̷e̶, ₥ØⱤ₮₳Ⱡ₴”

She laughed in distinctly Dani way, all bright and joyful while also so not like herself, distorted and echoey it mage hairs at the back of his neck stand.

Duke froze when goon fired again and there was no way she dodged it. There was not enough space. She had to get shot. She got shot and he did nothing to stop it. A child got hurt because of him-

He looked at but hadn’t quite seen how Dani knocked out last goon and flew up to him. He heard her voice but words were impossible to understand over rush of blood in his ears. He could tell she was laughing. They should get out. Dani mentioned giggly smell in the air. It had to mean Joker gas. They needed to be out yesterday.

He stumbled a bit, forcing his leg to cooperate, half caring, half dragging girl to the nearest exit point. Fact that he could touch her and didn’t feel any blood was grounding a bit.

“-gnal, Signal are you okay? Your heart is beating weird,” Dani asked, sounding a bit scared for the first time today. Duke’s brain felt too fuzzy to care “Signal, you’re freaking out, calm down, please”

Light assaulted their eyes the moment they were out. Before he got fully used to it, he set girl in front of him and detached her cape. She may have squawked at this action but he didn’t care. She was shot, he needed to check her for injuries.

She got shot, she got shot, she got shot-

“Signal what-” he was clearly freaking her out “Oh. You think I’m hurt. I told you I could handle it. I’m fine. Signal I’m really fine. I have intangibility, bullets can’t hurt me. I’m fine Signal”

Duke wanted to make sure. Adrenaline or simple wish to not worry him could make her ignore something. He couldn’t let her. He made her turn maybe a little to roughly.

He wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if she bled out.

She was actually fine.

Relief hit him so strong he crumbled against the wall, his mind finally succumbing to the haze. It was fine. It was all actually fine.

He may have heard some yelling.

Next thing he registered was something tad too warm, almost burning his palms. His gloves did their job of protection well though. There was a herbal smell. Melissa, he registered after a moment. It took him some more time to realize that the source of the smell was in his hands. He had scathingly hot cup of melissa in his hands. He stared at a little bit squashed paper again trying to get used to the light. He didn’t even realize he closed his eyes. Sound of the paper bag made him look up where Dani, still without her cape, crouched few feet away from him.

“You back?” she asked cautiously. Duke wasn’t sure how to answer. He was and he wasn’t. His mouth didn’t work anyway. He shrugged, mindful of the cup in his hands. Blanket, he didn’t even know he was wrapped in, fell from one of his shoulders.

“I don’t know what happened but Jazz likes this tea when she needs to calm down. Though she usually needs to drink it to make it work,” Dani rambled, gesturing widely “You’re still breathing kinda funny, can you slow down? It’s not good for humans to breathe so fast. It doesn’t let good stuff from air get in your blood and travel around your body and it’s not healthy. I know, Jazz told me and she is really smart. She wants to be this doctor who stabs brain back into working. She had this smart word for it… Neurosurgeon, I think it’s this one. She said breathing like that is not good for brain so slow down? In for four, out for four? I don’t know, Signal, just calm down?”

Right, he still was hyperventilating. Duke focused on his lungs, forcing them to expand, trying to match up Dani’s slightly gasping breaths.

He really was freaking her out, wasn’t he?

Melissa was almost lukewarm by the time he was back in his body enough to drink it. It was sweet, a bit too much for his taste.

“You good now?” Dani asked and Duke nodded. He was as good as he could at the moment “Great, I didn’t want to leave you for too long so I don’t have BatBurger. I got cookies though. And I can go get it now”

“Don’t,” he caught her arm and squeezed, not sure why he did it himself.

“Huh?”

“Don’t go anywhere”

“Sure. Wanna cookie? I have chocolate chips and healthy, wheat ones”

“Chocolate”

“Okay” she nodded and fixed blanket on his arms. It was comfy. If Duke was firing on all cylinders, he would wonder where she got it.

“Don’t ever do it again”

“What is it though?”

“Jumping into danger like that”

“Oh, really? It wasn’t that dangerous, they were normal humans”

“They had Joker gas and guns”

“Intangibility means I can ignore bullets Signal, don’t be such worrywart. It’s bad for your health. What’s Joker gas?”

Question and the whole statement felt so surreal that Duke couldn’t help but laugh, choked and hysterical as it was. She didn’t know what Joker gas was. Worrying about her getting shot was bad for his health. He just had a panic attack and was comforted by a ten years old girl with cookies and melissa. What the fuck?

“Hey!” Dani pouted “Don’t laugh like that! Jazz always says that you shouldn’t laugh when someone doesn’t know something, just explain it to them! Signal!” she whined but the damn broke he couldn’t rear his hysteria back in “Alright, I’m Googling it”

She did as Duke’s laughter winded down. He was almost calm when she deemed her research enough.

“Alright, this is some nasty shit”

This sentence startled him into full silence. Dani was ten, swearing wasn’t something she did, like, ever. He must’ve scared her a lot.

“I’m fine though. I didn’t breathe it in. Did you? This laughter sounded a bit worrying to be honest”

“I’m okay, I had gas mask. People sometime laugh to release tension”

“Oh”

“Yeah. But you were in the building with it and didn’t have gas mask”

“I wasn’t breathing”

“You were talking”

“Our fucked up biology, as Danny likes to put it, means that one doesn’t mean another. I just don’t use it often because humans find it uncanny and my throat gets itchy after some time”

Something in Duke wanted to argue more but it was squashed but utter exhaustion that crashed him.

“Alright”

They sat for a long moment.

“Are you ready to patrol now?”

Duke would laugh again if he had any energy left.

“I think we should end for today. I would be useless like that”

“Okay, valid. You go home I’ll fly around a bit”

“No. You’re going home too. I don’t have enough emotional energy to worry about you getting into some mess like this again”

They stared at each other for a long moment before Dani looked away with angry huff.

“Okay. You’re worse than Danny, you know?”

“I don’t care. Go home and stay safe”

“You sure you will be alright if I go now? I can walk or fly you somewhere, not home if you don't want me to but maybe somewhere closer?”

“I’ll be fine. I can call my brother. Just go please”

“Sure. See you tomorrow, Signal. You were really brave today”

“Thank you, Hoopoe” If she answered, he didn’t hear her. He fumbled with his comm to turn it on with still shaky hands. Finally he managed and called a pick up in the form of Jason. It was great to have older brother who always had time like that. Even if it meant a lot of unnecessary questions about what happened Duke wasn’t up to answering it yet and threats of serious violence on his enemies.

Duke couldn't force himself to let go of the orange blanket. It was grounding.

Though Alfred made him hot chocolate with marshmallows. He wouldn’t repeat today for that, but it certainly was nice accent.

*********

"Humouristic" summary of this part

Dani: Yo, there are goons here. Gonna investigate.

Duke: *quietly freaks out*

Random Joker's goons: *do normal goon things*

Dani: *attacks them* HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Duke: Is this what minor heart attack feels like?

Goons: *start shooting*

Duke: Is this what major heart attack feels like?

Dani: Dude, you good? Here, get some tea, cookies and blanket

*

Dani, few hours later, texting: Hey Signal, remeber to bring back my cape tmrw

Duke, internally: Wait, this is her cape?

Duke, also texting: Wanna better one? Like Spoiler has?

Dani, somehow conveing Ghost Speak via text: Don't you dare

Thank you for reading this <3

Next part

[peterman-spideyparker]

Celebrate (Marc Spector x fem!Reader, Steven Grant x fem!Reader, Jake Lockley x fem!Reader)

Author’s Note: Hey everyone! So, I have had this done for a while and just never posted, so better late than never, amirite? And besides, we can all always use more Oscar Isaac and the Moon Boys in our lives. Enjoy! :)

Summary: The boys realize that they've never celebrated your birthday with you, despite being with you for well over a year and you celebrating their birthday. When they find out when it is, nothing will stop them from giving you a birthday for the record books.

Warning: Fluff (established couple with all the Moon Boys, super sweet affection, kisses, a very important question), angst (negative emotions about birthdays), implied smut

Other Characters: None

Word Count: 3,348

Steven, Marc, and Jake love you. They loves everything about you, from how you talk, to how you have a ‘lucky’ something for every category of item you own, to how big your heart is. But there is one thing about you that particularly irks them.

In the year and a half that you have been together with them, they has yet to find out when your birthday is. For all they knows, they could have missed it twice! Hell, you’ve remembered theirs twice and have done incredibly loving things for both.

They have tried everything—Steven even tried to sneak a peak at your license once, but turned out to be in a different wallet. Steven only knew his lack of knowledge wasn’t by virtue of him not trying extremely hard, because Marc and Jake couldn’t find out either.

Jake enjoyed playing around with the fantasy that you were a secret spy or assassin who stepped away from the action to lead a normal, quiet life. Steven and Marc were ready to quickly dismiss it when they remembered that they served as an avatar for the Egyptian God of the moon. In all honesty, there was a chance that Jake could be right. 

“Did you know that in Ancient Egypt, Pharaohs didn’t celebrate birthdays on the actual day?” Steven asks as he hands you a dish from the suds. “They celebrated their coronation day since it was when they were born into the role of ruler.”

“Interesting,” you respond as you use the towel to dry the plate.

“It’s a bit sad, though, innit? That other people didn’t celebrate their birthdays. It wasn’t a common thing.”

“Well, I mean, I guess people make a big deal out of birthdays and place a lot of pressure on them. Maybe the Egyptians had it right.”

“But it’s an important day, you know? Someone fantastic was brought to the world, that’s worth celebratin’.”

You have a feeling you know what he’s getting at. You choose to remain quiet.

“You’re worth celebratin’, (Y/N).”

You feel tears sting at your eyes, and you suck in your bottom lip to prevent yourself from crying.

“Why haven’t you told us when your birthday is?” he pleads softly.

You dip your head and shrug. “My birthday . . . I don’t know,” you mutter. “I have a lot of mixed feelings about it, and I don’t know how to say them without sounding whiny.”

Steven tilts your chin up with a sudsy finger so your eyes lock onto his.

“We’re all ears,” he says tenderly.

You let out a sigh, but Steven’s finger refuses to let your gaze leave his.

“No matter how old I got or whatever new friends I made, my friends and colleagues and even my exes always forgot my birthday. I always made it a point to remember theirs, get a gift, a card, whatever, because—it’s the friggin’ day they’re born! And then I always had these small, wistful expectations there’d be something done for me like a surprise, but it was always nothing. Once I got into my college years, I’d have these hopes and expectations of what I’d have done by that birthday, and most of them never came true. My ‘have a first kiss’ goal was deferred for eight years until I was 25.” You close your eyes and give your head a little shake. “I’m just always disappointed by my birthday with other people and myself. Never a real reason to celebrate.”

Steven dries his hands and wipes away yours tears with the pads of his thumb as he pulls you in for a loving hug.

“Will you tell us when your birthday is, love?” Steven whispers into your hair. “Please?”

Unable to resist his tender embrace, you tell him the date, and he pulls back to scan your face. “That’s Thursday,” he states.

“Yeah,” you nod. “It is.”

You don’t expect him to cradle your face in his hands while he kisses you deeply. “Boy, do we have some idea’s stewin’ in our brain,” he beams as he gives you another kiss. “And you know what? Since I missed it last year, you’re gonna have a half-birthday celebration that is gonna knock your knickers right off of you.”

“My knickers?” you laugh, your hurt feelings quickly leaving your body.

Steven whistles and moves his hand like a plane to emphasize the absolute absence of panties you’ll have before he hops up and rubs his hands together in excitement. 

“Oh,” he says as he holds up a finger. “This is why we couldn’t figure out your birthday, right? You’re not secretly a spy or assassin?”

You laugh at the implication, the sadness rolling off of your body. “Jake’s idea?”

Steven nods. 

“Well, I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you, and I’d hate to ruin that pretty face of yours. And then there’s the issue of getting rid of the body, and we’re on the fifth floor—.”

“See, I know you’re jokin’, but part of me is actually a little spooked right now,” Steven says.

“No, hon. I’m not a spy,” you giggle, moving to kiss his cheek and push his curly hair back. “Sorry to disappoint Jake.”

Steven breathes a sigh of relief and dips his head as you hold onto him. "Oh, thank the gods!"

You’re vaguely aware of the shifting on your mattress as you continue to enjoy a cozy slumber under the comforter with your head on the pillows. After a bit, you feel another shift on the mattress along with the warmth of another body whose smell you know all too well. 

“Happy birthday, my love,” Steven whispers with a gentle kiss to your cheek.

You let out a tired moan as you roll into Steven’s body, wrapping an arm around his middle and burying your face into his chest as you try to pull yourself back into a deep sleep. 

“Come now, I’ve made you your favorite. And I have a nice big mugga mornin’ Joe with your name on it,” he encourages.

You unbury your head slightly, looking up at him with still heavy eyes. He smiles as he looks down at you, kissing your forehead.

“I knew if the kisses didn’t do it, the coffee would,” he chuckles.

As you sit up in bed, Steven twists his torso and places a breakfast tray on your lap, presenting you with waffles, fresh cut fruit, and veggie sausage.

“Thank you, hon,” you tell him, pulling him in for a kiss.

“Anythin’ for the birthday girl,” he hums, placing a kiss on your neck that sends goosebumps throughout your body. “I still wish you could’ve taken the day off.”

“Trust me, if I didn’t have these big meetings, I’d probably just stay in bed with you three.”

“Don’t give Jake any ideas—he’d find a way to make those meetings cancelled,” Steven chuckles, stealing a strawberry for himself. You know there’s nothing particularly aphrodisic or phallic about a strawberry, but watching Steven’s lips move around the red fruit and how his tongue licks away the juice sends your head spinning. Steven catches you looking at him and smirks. “Yes, love?”

“Oh, nothing,” you blush as you move to take a bite of the waffles in front of you.

“Mm, likely story,” he hums as he licks his lips once more, bringing his lips to your pulse point for a chaste kiss.

“I don’t know that I’m gonna be able to finish these, hon,” you chuckle as you take a closer look at the stack. “You made eight?”

“I’ve seen you devour a stack of waffles with no issue before.”

“Yeah, on a weekend where I don’t have to go do a full day of work later.”

“Then lucky for you, I am here to help,” he smiles, stealing your fork to snatch a bite of waffles for himself. “Bloody hell, I’m a good cook.”

We continue to sit in bed and eat the fluffy breakfast food until you have to get ready for work. As you fix your hair in the bathroom, Steven takes care of the dishes; he finishes drying them as you move from the bathroom to put on your clothes. As you slide on your sweater, Steven shuffles into the bedroom.

“Let me walk you to work today?” he whispers as he lifts out the hair tucked into the collar of your sweater. 

“I want to say yes, but then I wouldn’t want to go in or have you leave,” you respond just as quietly. “Especially after a morning like this one. It’d be the bed predicament on the sidewalk.”

Steven brings his lips to yours slowly as you wrap your arms around his waist. The kiss is tender and lazy, much like how you wish you could spend the day with one another. Steven lets out a defeated sigh as his lips part from yours, resting his forehead against yours.

“Text me when you get there?” he asks as his fingers play with your hair.

“Of course,” you tell him. "Love you."

Steven hands you your purse, letting you adjust it on your shoulder before he places more quick kisses on your lips, murmuring a "Love you more," as you attempt to make it out the door.

“What?” you chuckle as you put your purse on the table by the door. Jake is leaning on the kitchen table like a puppy that needs to be let out.

“I can’t wait for my girlfriend to do part two of her birthday?” Jake smirks as he suavely moves over from the wooden surface and meets you at the door, his hands on your waist as he plants a passionate kiss on your lips.

“And what would part two be, exactly?” you smile as you bite your lip, keeping them just out of reach of his so you don’t spend the rest of the night making out in the kitchen—although, you wouldn’t be opposed to it.

“I can’t give away all of the details, mi corazón. Now, go to the bedroom, put on what’s laid out, and then we’ll go to part two.”

You smirk at him and scrunch your eyebrows playfully as you try to figure out what he has planned. You do as he asks, nonetheless. Lying on the bed, you see a beautiful sky blue satin dress with an asymmetrical hemline and silver strappy heels. You slide on the dress and it fits like a glove—so much like a glove, you can see the line of your underwear underneath the fabric. Lightly chuckling to myself, you slide off your panties and take off your bra. Usually, you’d be opposed to going full commando, but when you see yourself in the mirror, everything looks better—the dress was made to be worn on your body without undergarments. You slide on the heels to finish off the look and quickly comb your hair to revitalize it from the day. When you meet Jake back in the living room, he licks his lips and smirks as he looks at you, giving you bedroom eyes as you move closer to him.

“Now will you tell me what we’re doing?” you coo as you run your hands up and down his chest.

“No,” he smiles as he pulls you in for a searing kiss, squeezing your ass for scientific reasons, you’re sure.

“You’re not wearing anything underneath this, are you?” he breathes against your lips.

“Not a stitch,” you hum as you move his hands off your rear, taking a step back and opening the door with your things in hand. “Lead the way, Lockley.”

He gives you a bedroom smirk and mutters a string of Spanish curses and erotic notions under his breath—something about not realizing how sexy you’d look and what he’d rather be doing to you.

“Don’t worry, babe, I think all of you boys will be able to do those kinds of things later,” you assure him as you pull him down by his tie for a kiss. “Patience is a virtue.”

“Not when vice looks as good as you in satin.”

Jake captures your lips in a passionate and lusty kiss that still maintains an air of chastity to it—his mind on the mission of the surprise, but his heart veering towards your shared bed.

“Come on, cariño,” he rasps as he takes your hand and leads you out of the apartment and down the stairs.

“I don’t even get a hint?” you try again as you walk along the sidewalk.

“Tell me what you think we’re doing.”

“Really? Twenty questions on my birthday?”

“Play along,” he chuckles.

“Fine,” you sigh dramatically as you lace your fingers with his. “It’s definitely somewhere fancy?”

“Is it, though?”

“I’m dressed to the nines. I don’t see how it can’t be somewhere fancy.”

“Or I wanted to show you off.”

“Okay,” you say, processing Jake’s cheeky remark, thinking of all the possibilities. “Well, dinner would be too obvious, so it clearly can’t be that.”

“Clearly,” he chuckles. “Come on, cariño, I thought you knew me better than this.”

“Ouch, gut punch!” you say, poking at it side. “I’m still thinking. You are an expert at being sneaky, I’m trying to process my options.”

“Well, you should come up with one soon. We’re almost there.”

Knowing the area, you scan through all the storefronts you can bring to your mind, when something clicks with your ensemble.

“Jake Lockley, are you taking me dancing?” you hum as you look over to him, his eyes sparkling in the dim London light.

“It took you long enough to figure it out,” he chuckles as he guides you to the left into a little courtyard that is all done up where other couples are waiting to start the lessons. “We’re gonna put those hips of yours to a different kind of work. Just for a short while, at least.”

“I’m sorry I don’t have anything fun or culinary up my sleeves,” Marc says as the two of you walk hand in and through the quiet park, the path lit by beautiful old street lamps.

“You don’t need to apologize for anything,” you tell him. “I know how much effort you all put into today. It’s nice to wrap it all up with dinner and a little stroll.”

A gentle breeze begins to pick up, and Marc immediately shrugs off his bomber jacket to place on your shoulders. You want to protest, but you love having things that he wears on your body—the warmth form his frame, the smell of his skin and cologne, the silent gesture of love.

“Thanks, baby,” you tell him softly as he presses a kiss to your cheek.

“Did you have a good day today?” he asks, matching your tone. “I know you mentioned your meetings—.”

“Yeah, the meetings from hell,” you sigh as you roll your neck, the mere thought of them bringing tension to your body. “Not only could they all have been emails, but they were ridiculously long and were so unproductive that we knew less by the end than we did at the start. Debbie led both.”

“Oh no, not Debbie.”

“Mmhm. Don’t get me started with that one.” You let out a long sigh and rest your head on his shoulder. “But it’s all worth it, because I get to come home to an amazing system of men who love me.”

He rests his cheek on top of your head. “We love you, too, baby.”

“How about we go home and take a bath? Wind down from the day. Get naked and wet together.”

“Mm, two of my favorite adjectives.”

“Maybe we can add some other adjectives you like to that mix,” you chuckle, lightly checking his hip with yours.

Taking a turn off the path of the park, you hop on the sidewalk and make the short walk back to the flat, snuggling close in the old elevator as it drags its way up to the top floor. 

“You want me to put on a kettle for tea or coffee or something?” you hum as you unlock the door, tossing your keys into the dish as you make your way in. “Or are we going to save all the warm water for—what are you doing?”

In your living room, Marc is perched down on one knee, a little open box in his hands as he looks up at me with his rich brown eyes.

“We were actually gonna do this next week,” Marc starts, his voice soft, the edges brimming with emotion. “But we thought this might be a really great way to end your birthday.”

“Baby . . .”

“(Y/N), I don’t think I need to begin to tell you how much we all love you. If I did, we’d be here for a hell of a long time, I’d loose feeling in my legs from the knee down, and you’d offer to help me walk over to the bed, just like how you are always there to help me and Steven and Jake with whatever comes up. You see us as whole people. You make us feel whole. You have the biggest, most caring heart that a person can have, and you love so selflessly . . .” Marc sniffles and furrows his brows as he tries to keep his cool. You take a few steps toward him, kneeling down and wiping his tears away with your thumbs. 

“Marc,” you say softly, his name on your tongue dripping with emotions.

“We can’t imagine our lives without you in it, and we never want to,” Marc continues. “Will you marry us?”

“Of course,” you practically sob, wrapping your arms around him and holding him tight. He holds you back just as firm, neither of you saying a word. Marc is the one who eventually breaks the embrace, moving to take out the ring out of the box to slide it on your finger slowly.

“It’s a pink sapphire, but it looks purple, and you love purple—,” Marc starts.

“—and gold jewelry looks so lovely on your skin, cariño—,” Jake continues.

“—and it’s a vintage settin’ so there’s no ill-environmental effects,” Steven finishes. “Happy birthday, my love.”

“You guys are sure?” you sniffle, your teary eyes frantically scanning their faces. “Are you sure you guys love me? That this is what you want?”

“Mi corazón, where is this coming from?” Jake asks softly, brushing tears off of your cheek. “Of course this is what we want. We’ve never felt this way about anyone before. We only want you, amore.”

“It just doesn’t feel real. It feels like a dream.”

“It’s very real, love,” Steven says, gentle hands on your shoulders as he leans forward to place a sweet kiss on your forehead. “And you already said yes—there’s no take-backs.”

You let out a wet laugh as you move back in to kiss Steven—he always knows just what to say to bring a smile to your face.

“Well, I guess if there’s no take backs.”

As Steven leans forward to kiss you again, and you feel distinct shift just before we part, and you’re met once more with Marc.

“Is it still a yes?” he asks carefully.

“Of course it’s still a yes. I’ve got the three best guys in the world—why wouldn’t I want to make it official?”

Marc smiles brighter than you’ve ever seen in your life. He leans forward to kiss you once more, his arms wrapping around you tightly and picks you up, much to your surprise. The two of you continue to kiss as he walks you to the bed and lays you down on the mattress, only briefly parting from you to brush some stray hairs off of your face.

“Happy birthday, baby,” he whispers, his forehead resting on yours, allowing you to feel his eyelashes brush your cheeks. 

“I love you all so much,” you whisper. “Thank you for choosing me.”

Marc gingerly kisses the tip of your nose. “Forever and always.”

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[lightlycareless]

uuu just imagine reading manga with naoya in bed while being cuddled up together <3<3

Hello!!!

Ok so this is sweet—kind of domestic amirite? oof. I love me some domestic Naoya when he's nothing but a loving husband. akgfhaksjghkjaghjkashgjas and a nerd too ahahah awww anyways...

warnings: very tiny mentions of smut. implications really. fluff outside of that.

happy reading!!

Imagine it being a cold snowy day where Naoya doesn’t have to go out on missions, tend to clan responsibilities, or anything else.

A day where he can simply spend his time in nothing but his favorite, deserving things, such as catching up with his favorite series, enjoying a well-deserved break from all those countless missions, and of course, spend time with you—his needy wife who didn’t hold back from letting him know how much she missed him.

“What would you like to do today?” is how the days would begin, with you peppering endless kisses across his face while the two snuggled underneath the sheets.

“Hmmm, I feel like spending the whole day in bed.” He sighs, kissing the top of your head. “The new chapter of the manga I told you about came out yesterday, and I want to read it.”

“I’ll make breakfast, then.” You smile, ready to push yourself up from the futon and rush to the kitchen—though Naoya had something else in mind too.

“What’s the hurry, my love?” he murmurs, pulling you back to him. “Going away from me so soon? I just came back…”

“N—No, of course not… I could never!” you blush. “I just… just wanted to make the best of today, you know? Please you.”

“You know, there’s one thing that will immediately please me.” He breathes against your ear, you shudder.

“…I still have to get your bath ready.”

“Can’t see why we can’t do both.”

You press your lips together, heated by his words.

“Ok, but we can’t get too distracted—I still want you to enjoy your day! You rarely get to rest as of lately….” You pout, he laughs before leaning to give you a kiss.

“With you by my side, there’s no way I cannot.”

After that is done, followed by a relaxing bath and a delicious meal prepared by you—Naoya insists in only being fed by you, not the staff; you happily oblige—you’re quick to take your place by his side on the futon, wrapping one of his arms around your waist and rest your head against his chest while his free hand holds up one of his favorite magazines, the one that publishes his favorite anime of the moment.

“I read they had to reprint this issue solely because of one mistake. Nothing too big, but apparently big enough to have the whole publisher pull out the magazine…”

“Gee, that must’ve been quite the task—And to allow it too! Is the author that big or something?”

“Kind of, he’s the best seller at the moment.”

“No wonder, if he’s not happy, that means no business for them.” You sigh. “I wonder if the change is even noticeable.”

“I don’t know, but that’s what I’ll figure out now—they usually point it out anyways.” Naoya squeezes you against him, kissing the top of your head.

“Well, that’s sounds like a wonderful plan!” You grin. “And if you get hungry, or want something to snack on, just let me know and I’ll bring it to you.”

Naoya blushes.

“I love you.”

It’s your turn to blush.

“I love you too.”

The rest of the evening would go on that way, with Naoya reading his manga, eyes intently fixed on the panels while murmuring to himself whenever particularly interesting scene occurs, if not scoffing when a character does something stupid—just as he did in real life; both gestures that you found incredibly cute, how relaxed he is when doing things he loves.

And though he was very focused on that, he was still attentive enough to your presence and gestures, hands and lips looking for yours whenever you reached out to him or vice versa, as well as allowing you to feed him, careful enough to not distract him that much.

Because you just couldn’t snap him out of trance, you know? He looked so adorable!!

Although it would turn a bit… too much soon enough.

“I don’t—I don’t want anything else, Y/N—” he protests when you try to shove another piece of popcorn into his mouth, going as far as moving away, but you simply stuck to him.

“Come on, you have to eat!”

“Not to this point!” Naoya gasps, stomach full to the point of exploding! Of so it feels. “I don’t—I don’t want anything else!”

“Tough luck, Naoya—If you didn’t want me to spoil you, you shouldn’t have stayed home!” you giggle, and Naoya just relents, because he can’t do anything else when he’s putty to both your adorable charm and insistence, his beloved wife.

A side of Naoya that fortunately, is just for your eyes to see.

I just realized that Naoya was the kind of guy to say: "I want a wife that is submissive, that is only attentive to me and knows her place and yadda yadda yadda" until you came along and he was like "ok I like that but... I also want kisses...."

Idk I just keep thinking he's very desperate for affection hahaha call it ooc I DO NOT CARE I AM IN LOVE WITH HIM. 😶😶

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this small thing 🥺❤️ him getting all flustered because you're always so caring to him is AGH healing!!! We could literally change him...

Now, thank you so much for sending in this ask ❤️❤️❤️ take care and hope to see you soon!!!

[moonswolfie]

The HQ!! boys with an S/O who has a sweet tooth

Part 1 (you're here) / Part 2

reader is gender neutral but is described as cute a lot

Decided to write something short and sweet haha

This is, you guessed it, a bit self indulgent, although not as much as usual

Characters featured: Kageyama, Tsukishima, Kuroo, Lev, Atsumu, Ushijima, Tendou, Iwaizumi, Sakusa, Nishinoya

Kageyama Tobio

he's the type of person to not get the appeal of sweet things and rarely eats them

so he is a little confused on why you like them so much

but he sees the way you smile when you eat them and that makes him feel oddly happy himself

when you're eating sweets, he'll just stare at you with a slight blush and say nothing (the poor awkward boy is smitten for u and can't admit it🤭)

if you two ever argue, he will quietly offer you your favourite cake or other pastry as a peace offering the next day

Tsukishima Kei

you know damn well this tsundere would hide the fact he likes sweets too

if you offered him some, he would initially decline but then "give up and accept it" (even tho he lowkey wanted to try it from the very beginning 😏)

when you found out that his favourite food is strawberry shortcake he was embarrased of it but you just laughed at him in a lighthearted manner for being so worried about you finding out

In fact, you were happy that he shares your passion for sweets🍰❤

after that, the two of you would visit cafés together and eat your favourite pastries

Kuroo Tetsuro

he will occasionally tease you about all your teeth rotting away if you keep eating all those sweets

and yet he will always casually bring you something sweet from the vending machine and then watch you eat it with a smile on his face

but he does make you exercise with him sometimes (and drags kenma along too so you both can suffer together)

will invite you to your favourite place after finals to celebrate and eat cakes together

he just can't help but spoil you with sweets 🤭💗

Haiba Lev

he thinks you look really cute when enjoying sweets, so much so that he'll give you something sweet and then stare at you expectantly until you eat it (and he has the cutest smile on his face when you do)

sometimes he'll steal a bit of your candy saying he just couldn't resist

since he sucks at baking himself, he sometimes asks Alisa to help him bake cookies for you

those cookies are baked with the sweetest puppy love ever I tell you😤

Miya Atsumu

he would insult you for eating so many sweets (though a lot less harshly than he would insult Osamu for doing the same)

even tho he lowkey loves the way your eyes light up when you see your favourite pastry

he might or might not scream into his pillow when thinking about your happy face stuffed full of cake (one time Osamu caught him and he denies it to this day 😒)

is really picky about the sweets he'll surprise you with for valentines day, he wants the best only for u💛

Ushijima Wakatoshi

only ever eats dark chocolate (90% cacao at that)💀

tells you you'll get fat if you keep eating so much sweets and sometimes prevents you from eating them

even if he does it in a harsh way, he really cares about you and wants you to stay healthy so you can live long and share many memories with him

when you try to explain to him the appeal of sweets, he'll just say "But they are unhealthy." with the most straight unbothered face ever

(though he can't deny your little excited noises when eating sweets make him happy 😖💚)

Tendou Satori

shares your enthusiasm for sweets tenfold 🤎😉

you two are always hunting for new places to go try out sweets and then rating them together

spoils you with sweets and you spoil him back too (nothin like a little mutual spoiling, amirite?)

he makes you the best chocolates ever for valentines day and you always look forward to what kind of twist he's going to put on it every year

ICE CREAM DATES, ICE CREAM DATES 🗣🗣!!!

Iwaizumi Hajime

much like ushijima, he would worry for your health sometimes, although he would word things less harshly

and even so, he would sometimes buy you your favourite pastry just to see your face light up

what can I say, boy's gone soft for you and only you🥰

sometimes he lets you feed him cake and he looks embarrased but deep down he likes it a lot

also makes you exercise with him just to make sure you're staying healthy, he cares ❤

Sakusa Kiyoomi

does not like sweet things at all and doesn't get how you can like them so much

he doesn't talk to people who can't take care of themselves as he said himself so expect to exercise with him a lot (jeez, that's two in a row)

sometimes he can't help but indulge you and buy you something sweet and you always poke fun at his blush when he hands it to you (seriously, what happened to Mr "you have to exercise every day and refrain from eating sweet things because they are detrimental to your health 😐")

as long as you can prove you take good care of yourself, he will go to any place with you to watch you eat sweets

Nishinoya Yuu

when he finds out you like sweets, be prepared to recieve A LOT of them from then on

sometimes even you can't handle it and have to tell him to stop (to which he agrees.... and then comes back with something sweet like an hour later🤦‍♀️)

he just can't help it hehe you look too cute when eating sweets

buys you chocolate flavoured chapstick just so he can do the whole "does it actually taste like chocolate?" and when you offer it to him he kisses your lips instead thing 😙

[spite-made-me]

In my headcannon for redemption Durge:

[IF YOU DON'T WANT ANY SPOILERS PLEASE STOP READING HERE]

Withers/Jergal said: "Death will not claim thee whilst I endure. Bhaal tried to extinguish thee,but his wrath is imprecise. He only succeded in killing thee he knew. But there is a new part of you that hath grown during thy travels. That part Bhaal could not extinguish. And so instead of destroying thee, he hath made thee anew."

But all I heard was: "Even though Bhaal tried to caprisun all of you he couldn't because he knew only part of you,which he took back. However,the dummy forgot that you were created from his flesh,so you are not a new person,but transformed Bhaalspawn, which means the next creation he makes will have to kill you. Also,you're immortal now, as long as I live, congrats! So now for Bhaal to ressurect, he needs to kill me first, then his child needs to kill you, then his child needs to be slain. What an idiot, amirite? Also I heard dhampirs do exist and Astarion has a breeding k-"

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Nobody's Girl - Chapter Two.

Ask and ye shall recieve, besties! Thrilled at how well-received the first chapter was, thank you all so much for your feedback :)

Previous chapters - One

Taglist - In the comments, please DM to be added/removed

Words - 3,445

Warnings - Adult content throughout, minors DNI!

The sound of a garbage can hitting the sidewalk from the street below with a clatter was what roused Emily from her long, deep sleep the morning after, coming to and not immediately realising where she was. Until she smelled him on the sheets.  

While his scent lingered, the man himself was nowhere to be found, but he had left her a note. A note and a stack of cash.  

‘I have business to deal with, I’ll be back later. Go buy yourself some clothes and whatever else you need. Two of my guys, Angelo and Donny will be waiting for you downstairs. They’ll look after you.’ 

His writing was elegant and loopy, very fine penmanship, she thought, placing the note down and getting out of bed, remaking it neatly. Picking up the crisp stack of bills, her eyes bulged. All fifties. Twenty of them.  

“A grand?” she gasped, her mouth dropping open. He’d left her a thousand dollars, like it was small change! 

Placing the money back down again, she ventured to the bathroom, the only part of the apartment that was walled off from the rest. Looking at herself in the mirror, she could count it as a small mercy that Joey rarely touched her face, she supposed, always wanting to keep her pretty, as he once worded it after a beating. His body shot punches were a different matter. The soreness lingering over her ribs and stomach attested that, although she doubted anything was broken.  

Her eye was tinged with the violet and shadowy green of bruising, but gladly not swollen, the same to the side of her mouth and both cheekbones. It wasn’t ideal as visages went, to have her looks marred like that, Emily always taking pride in her appearance. Looking on at her reflection, a few tears of relief pooled her eyes, realising that the wounds he’d inflicted upon her were all that was left of the scumbag that was Joey Calabrese. 

Once she was washed and refreshed, she dressed in the other clean shirt left for her, pulling on the grey coat he’d also placed with it, thinking what a mess she looked. A sullied face, no shoes, no underwear (hers were still hanging to dry after she’d washed them in the sink the night before) and wearing men’s clothes that buried her.  

And she was about to go out in public? The utter shame of it.  

Emily quickly realised that she didn’t have a whole lot of choice in the matter, though, so all she could do was go with it. What made nerves pool in her belly more was the fact that she now had to place her faith in somebody who wasn’t Luca, two somebody’s in fact. Her trust in their boss was only tentative at best, after all.  

Was she really being taken to purchase clothes, or was something else more nefarious about to befall her? What if he’d struck a deal with Gino for her return? The words lamb and slaughter came rapidly to mind. Realising she was panicking and so far, Luca had shown no real signs of deception, she took a breath at the top of the stairs before padding down, swinging the door open and turning right.  

Two very large men turned in their seats at the bar, wide smiles greeting her. “Hey, sleepy head. I’m Angelo, this is Donny. The boss told us to take you out someplace nice for clothes. My wife tells me that new place Barney’s is the best, so we’re takin’ you over to Manhattan. You ready, toots?” 

He received an elbow and an eye roll from his cohort. “Can’t just be callin’ her toots like you know her, man,” he admonished lightly, extending his hand. “Miss Mortensen, a pleasure. I’m Donny, anythin’ you want, just ask, alright?” She shook his hand, Donny bringing it to his lips to place a little kiss upon her dainty fingers.  

“Oh, look at this guy over here,” Angelo chirped, “Mr Smooth, amirite?” 

“Screw you, pal. Gotta treat the ladies with respect, eh? Plus, she’s the boss's gal and I ain’t lookin’ to get clipped for my yap, know what I’m sayin’?” 

They were a pair, she had to admit, set at ease by their little back and forth banter. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both, too. I’m not Luca’s girl, though.” 

Angelo lifted his chin with a little grunt. “Wearin’ his clothes, came from his apartment, he told us to look after you and treat you nice. Yeah, you the boss’s gal, toots.”  

“Enough with the toots, already! This guy and his lip,” Donny chuckled, offering his arm to Emily. “Let’s go, huh?”  

Her giggles peppered the air, taking the arm of the younger man, Angelo ambling along behind them. “See? Even left us his best car to take you out in. If you ain’t his gal then trust me, the big man is definitely sweet on ya, wanting you taken out in the Rolls.”  

“Woah,” she gasped, seeing the shiny, black Silver Ghost parked at the curb, a car of esteemed value and luxury. “Oh my god, it’s beautiful.” 

“Ain’t it, though?” Donny spoke, opening the door for her and gesturing in. “Drives like a dream, too.”  

The men mostly talked between themselves for the duration of the journey, asking her a few questions here and there along the way. Truly there wasn’t much more they could converse with her about, for what did two mobsters and a naive twenty-three-year-old woman truly have in common? Not a whole lot.  

“So, the big man says you’re a sunshine state gal,” Angelo broached, looking at her in the rear-view mirror. “What part ya from?”  

“San Francisco,” she replied. 

“Get outta here, I gotta cousin from my wife’s side who lives out there!” he laughed warmly. “Hey, how about those Giants, huh? We whooped ‘em big style this year!” 

“Oh, I don’t really follow baseball. I take it you’re a Yankees fan?” 

“Until my dying breath, toots!”  

The demeanour of the men set her at ease, even more so when they entered Manhattan, a place she had only been to once before. The buildings loomed huge overhead, Emily looking out of the window with curiosity filled eyes, Donny nudging Angelo and jerking his head back with a smile at her wonder.  

“Oh, it’s so fancy,” she exclaimed, looking up at the department store once they’d parked up and alighted the car, her gaze then falling down to her bare feet. Discomfort tingled through her chest and down her legs. “And I have to go in there like this.”  

“Eh, don’t you stress about it, you hear?” Angelo spoke, offering his arm. “You gonna get all fixed up even prettier than you are, I tell ya. Let’s go.” 

Donny swung the doors open, following them into the hustle and bustle of the store, Emily feeling like such a fish out of water as she gazed around. It was all so indulgent, so luxurious, and there she was, a poor girl from San Francisco, barefoot and makeup free, with her roots showing and her face all marked up. 

It didn’t take long for her appearance to draw stares. From clientele to staff alike. One particular woman working within the ladies' clothing section was absolutely not shy in looking her up and down several times, Emily dropping her head in embarrassment, letting her pale waves cover her face.  

Oh, no. That would not do. 

“Hey you, with the twisted-up mouth like a dog’s asshole,” Angelo began, clicking his fingers at the woman and pointing before him, pulling out a fat wad of bills from his pocket. “We got a lotta dough to spend in here, and it’s your job to make Miss Mortensen happy while she’s goin’ about it. So, set your face straight and hop to it.”  

Her eyes bulged at being handed a fifty, the woman fixing her face in a wide, friendly smile that had not existed prior to knowing that the well-dressed men and the poor looking, barefooted scrap who accompanied them were, in fact, likely the wealthiest people in the store. Maybe the girl was of some kind of European aristocracy, she wondered? Perhaps a little eccentric, hence the men’s clothes and bare feet?  

“Certainly, sir,” she nodded, turning to Emily with a smile. “Good morning, Miss Mortensen. My name is Ivy, and it would be my pleasure to show you some of our garments. What are we in the market for today?” 

“Everything, four times over,” Donny spoke, winking at Emily when she smiled up at him. “Go on, you go enjoy yourself. We’ll be right here, darlin’.” She was a little reluctant to move away from them, Donny remembering Luca specifically stating to treat her with care and never leave her alone, even for a second, watching her relax when he stepped forward and accompanied her as she began browsing the clothing.  

Dresses, blouses, skirts, pants, shoes, underwear, stockings, cardigans, shawls, purses and hats were all perused and gathered, Emily having a wail of a time trying everything on and playing model for her approving audience.  

“Beautiful, stunning, get in black, too!” Angelo enthused as she twirled in a deep red fringed dress, he and Donny clapping. She presumed them to be merely humouring her, of course thinking she was the boss’s girl, no matter how much she corrected them to the contrary. The two mafioso’s were genuinely having a good time with their young companion, though, watching this girl who looked like she’d never had two pennies to rub together suddenly catapulted into a world of splendour.  

“You need a fur too, toots. Here, feel this. Mink. Gorgeous, ain’t it? I got one for my wife last week. I swear, she’d sleep in the thing!” Angelo spoke, approaching with a gorgeous, pale grey coat. Emily placed her arms in, pulling it over her shoulders, turning to look at herself in the mirror.  

How was this her life?  

“How much is it?” she asked the assistant. 

“Two hundred and thirty dollars, Miss Mortensen.” 

She’d been adding it up in her head, her running total for the items she’d already chosen. God, it cost even more than all of them put together. Turning to Angelo, she bit her lip nervously. “Do I take it?” 

“Of course, ya take it! How much did your man give ya?” 

“A grand,” she confirmed, the burly man laughing softly. 

“Well, he gave me an extra G on top of that, should you go too wild. Told me to make sure you had a good time, so let’s see to gettin’ you a chinchilla too. You’ll need different ones for different outfits, amirite? I know you dames like that.”  

She had a thousand, and Angelo had a backup thousand. Good god, her head was spinning. The chinchilla coat was tried on, Emily falling in love with it, choosing an outfit to wear right away and going to dress while the assistant took her purchases to the sales desk and rang everything up. All in all, it came to seven hundred and twenty dollars.  

She felt faint.  

A trip to the cosmetics department, and she’d spent almost another hundred on high end makeup, perfume, face creams, necessities for her hair, etcetera. No matter how much the guys encouraged her, she still felt guilty, knowing it wasn’t her money and she hadn’t done a thing to earn it.  

“Yeah, you did,” Donny spoke after she had voiced that thought to him, his arms laden with bags as they left the store. “You saved the boss’s life by tellin’ him about what was under his car.” 

She supposed if that was the way Luca expressed his gratitude, she could live with it. Still, she would have settled for a place to stay for the night and only that all the same. Afterwards, she was whisked across the city to a beautiful Italian restaurant for lunch, Emily feeling much more confident about her appearance after applying some makeup on the ride over.  

“Well, toots,” Angelo began at the doors, taking her hand and kissing it. “We had a real good time with you, but this is where we leave ya. Don’t worry about your things, we’ll get it all back to Brooklyn.” 

“See ya, darlin’.” Donny spoke, offering her the same before they turned and left, Emily quite confused as the Maitre'd approached.  

“Miss Mortensen, your table is ready. Please follow me.” 

Were they really leaving her to dine in the city alone? How on earth would she get back to Brooklyn? She didn’t even know Luca’s address! All her thoughts swirled as her heart began to hammer, being led through the grand looking restaurant, Emily looking up and feeling her worries melt in an instant. 

“Well, don’t you scrub up beautiful, huh?” Luca spoke, rising to his feet and taking her hand, kissing it softly. “You have a good time with the guys?”  

“I did, thank you,” she spoke, suddenly feeling a little shy. “Thank you so much, too, for leaving me the cash. I have change, here.”  

At watching her delve a hand into her pocket, he shook his head, touching a hand to her arm. “No, doll. That’s your money, not mine.” God, she was just so adorable. No other woman he’d ever encountered would think to be that courteous as to try and return the cash she hadn’t spent to him. The man pulled in roughly two million a year, and here was this sweet little flower, trying to give him change.  

“How has your morning been so far?” she asked courteously, Luca taking the bottle of carbonated water from the table and pouring a glass for her. It still aggrieved him, that he couldn’t enjoy a good bottle of wine while in a restaurant. Fuck the Volstead Act.  

“Busy, mainly. It’s how I like it, though. Profitable, too.” Translation; he’d personally visited a man who was proving to be a growing pain in his ass regarding his rum running operations, and duly shot him in the face for his behaviour. He’d then called upon another who owed him money, and broken a finger for every week he’d been late to pay him. Four fingers had ended up bent out of shape, Luca walking away with his money plus a hefty late payment fee.  

It was good being king. 

It hit him then, realising that it had been a long, long time since anybody had asked him how his day had gone. It was so simple, yet so profound that she had the courtesy to genuinely inquire. The whores he fucked never did, obviously. His ex-wife seldom had, that was for sure. He rested his chin in a clasp between his thumb and forefingers as he viewed her inquisitively, Emily just about able to see the smile beginning to grow from beneath his hand.  

“What?” she asked, feeling uncomfortable to be caught in a gaze so focused. “Do I have something on my face?”  

He closed his eyes, laughing softly through his nose. Fucking adorable, and it killed him. “No, baby. I just can’t remember the last time I met a woman like you.”  

“I saw the girls in your joint last night,” she began, shrugging a little, “You must meet pretty girls all time. I mean, not that I think I’m exceptionally pretty or anything.” 

Leaning forward suddenly, he covered her hand with his. “True, doll. I do meet pretty gals all the damned time. But that ain’t what I meant.” That bold, evergreen gaze of his fixed upon her so strongly, her heart skipped, Emily swallowing hard. Being fixed with a gaze of such intensity, she didn’t know whether to be nervous or excited, so settled for an equal measure of both. “You’re not like other women.”  

Shyness crept over her, her cheeks colouring as she bit her lip, the tattooed hand resting atop hers gently squeezing. “How can you know that? You barely know me.”  

“True.” His eyebrows fluttered slightly, leaning back again as he removed the toothpick from between his teeth, pointing right at her with a narrow-eyed gaze. “Says a whole lot about you that I can, though, don’t it?”  

The conflict within her ran so rampant, for a few moments she felt a little queasy, shrinking into the collar of her fur coat more, the chinchilla pelt soft against her cheeks, cheeks that prickled cerise, wishing she could hide how her emotions betrayed her feeble attempt to remain passive.  

She needn’t have felt bad. Nobody was a match for Luca Changretta once he’d set himself to unravel them.  

“Oh, and by the way,” he began, standing, adjusting his suit a little before touching a hand to her shoulder as he leaned down. “You are exceptionally pretty. Excuse me a moment.”  

He walked away grinning, leaving here there practically boiling under her collar. “Rack ‘em up and knock ‘em down.” he muttered smugly, trying to ignore the tight pull of protest against his scheming arrogance when it jabbed him in the chest. The voice telling him his desire to know more about who she was as well as what she knew could pipe the hell down, too. As could his heartbeat.  

Fuck.  

After using the restroom, he returned to the table to find a waiter hovering, looking at him nervously. Fear or awe; they were usually the top two reactions invoked by his presence.  

“Rib eye, rare. Emily, have whatever you want.”  

Lifting up the menu, she quickly scanned the dishes, thinning her lips as she tried to make a decision rapidly, so as not to hold the waiter up. None of it was familiar to her. “What would you recommend?” she asked coyly, looking up at the young man with the crisp, white notepad in his hand.  

“The chicken piccata is our special today, miss. An exceptionally excellent dish.”  

She nodded, handing over the menu. “One of those, please.”  

“Certainly.”  

She let her coat fall from her shoulders, deciding she felt comfortable enough not to hide in it and pulling her arms out, letting it drape over the back of the chair. The dress she wore was beautiful, Luca noted, realising that no matter how humble and poor her beginnings were, she had very good taste. He also very much enjoyed the way the black lace hugged her tiny frame.  

God, she was so little. Five feet two, if that. He’d be scared of breaking her, if he ever got her underneath him, pressed her to his bed, let his hands and mouth wander over her... 

“Do you come here regularly?” 

Her question shattered the glass that housed his impure, lustful thoughts, Luca reaching for his water and taking a sip. “I used to all the time, but not so much recently. Don’t wanna run into my ex, but I know for fact she’s in Florida with the kids right now.” 

She had wondered over his marital status, noticing that his apartment didn’t contain a drop of anything that could be constituted as a female presence. “Oh, sorry that you guys broke up,” she spoke out of courtesy, not really knowing how else to reply. 

He sniffed, rolling the toothpick in his mouth over his lower lip with his tongue. “Don’t be, I’m not.”  

“Didn’t end well, huh?” 

“Nah. It’s probably mostly my fault, but yeah. Eighteen years over, because neither of us cared enough to save it. What about you? Any exes out there with burned bridges?”  

She laughed softly, shaking her head. She had to laugh, because little did he know but her involvement with men was so limited, it was fair to say she was severely stunted where relationships were concerned. Twenty-three and still a virgin by choice. Pathetic, really, she thought. Women her age were usually married with children, and she was still trying to find her way, but failing.  

He was giving her that look again, Emily feeling like she wanted to crawl under the table and hide from the intensity of his stare. Gathering herself a little, she quickly found something to take her mind of her sexual inadequacy. “So, these tattoos,” she began, tapping the number six atop his hand. “Do they hurt? How many do you have?” 

He couldn’t help himself. “Not much, it's a bit like a cat scratch. As for how many, maybe I’ll show you one day.”  

Her insides were reduced to smouldered ashes when he winked again, Luca watching her blush and drop her gaze. He truly couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed having the upper hand so much.  

And the arrogant fool still told himself that this was all it was.  

[hwxnghyynjin]

Kannibalen

Pairing: stray kids x reader Genre: horror, apocalypse!au, angst, some fluff, crack? but not really Warnings: alcohol consumption, mentions of food, swearing (like, a lot), horror themes (blood, gore, slight injury detail, cannibalism, Seungmin gets a dislocated shoulder rip), use of weapons (knives, guns), lots of crying, character death, main character deaths, attempted murder, abusive relationships, a couple of kiss scenes, not a warning but Jisung is slightly dramatic Word count: 22,738 (blooming heck, my longest fic ever) Taglist: @alphadisaster @catlove83 a/n: this was supposed to be released on halloween but, life happened lol, better late than ever though amirite

It started out as a normal day in Seoul. Everyone enjoying the sunshine, feeling the warmth from the sun on their skin. Children were playing in the park, laughing with not a care in the world. Young people seeing their loved ones, enjoying spending their time together as they basked in the afternoon sun. However, that all changed in just a couple of hours, a virus outbreak turning people into cannibalistic psychopaths. 

5 hours before the outbreak

You were chilling at the dorms with the guys, sitting between Hyunjin and Jeongin. You were playing with Hyunjin’s hands, twirling the rings around his fingers. Hyunjin didn’t seem to mind though, too engrossed in the conversation he was having with Seungmin. Jisung and Minho were bickering, as usual, probably about what they wanted to eat. Felix was in the kitchen, baking brownies for everyone, the smell of the brownies baking hitting your senses. You swear that Felix puts a hint of magic in the brownies as they are the best brownies you’ve ever eaten. You’re not sure when Chan and Changbin are, probably working out, which they usually do.

“I want to eat jajangmyeon”

“I want tteokbokki!”

“We had that last time!”

“I don’t care, I’m craving tteokbokki again”

“If the both of you don’t shut up, you’ll both be eating a sock”, Seungmin said, glaring at the pair for their bickering. You giggled, finding the scene in front of you funny: Jisung and Minho both staring at Seungmin, not knowing what to say. They just sat back in their seats, sighing. “Why don’t we try out that new steak restaurant? I heard that the steak there is amazing”, Jeongin suggested, to which everyone agreed on the idea. You texted Chan and Changbin to meet you at the steak restaurant, to which they were ok with that.

4 hours before the outbreak

You all arrived at the restaurant, the aura of the restaurant felt warm and cosy. You were greeted by a front of house staff, guiding you to a table before giving you a menu each. “I hope you two aren’t going to bicker about what to eat”, Seungmin said, referring to Jisung and Minho. The table was filled with laughter from Seungmin’s comment, both Minho and Jisung feeling embarrassed. 

Thankfully the meal was filled with laughter and jokes, and the occasional dad joke from Chan which made you all groan. Hyunjin fed you some pieces of steak and some veggies, and you did the same to him. Jeongin felt a bit left out so you fed him some steak and veggies too, the smile on his face making your heart warm. Soju filled your system, as well as the others. You were all tipsy, some more than others, but you were still aware of your senses and surroundings. 

3 hours before the outbreak

You all walked back home, the streetlights illuminating the city. You were laughing at nothing in particular, probably at something Hyunjin said as you leaned into his side. The others were walking ahead of you, Jisung twirling around like a ballerina, whilst Changbin tried to push Minho over for some odd reason. Chan stops him, scolding him like a dad telling his child off. All of a sudden, you felt yourself being stopped, looking up to see Hyunjin looking down at you.

“Can I try something? Just, don’t hit me please, I’m fragile”, Hyunjin said, making you laugh. You just nodded your head and a second later, you felt his lips against yours. They were softer than you imagined, like pillows. You thought it was going to be a soft and short kiss, you didn’t expect to make out in the middle of the street. 

“Hey, love birds! How about instead of making out in the middle of the street, we get home. I’m tired and Changbin won’t stop trying to push Minho over. Oh, and Jisung almost walked into a lamp post pretending to be a ballerina. I’m too old to look after you all”, Chan said, really sounding like a tired dad. You and Hyunjin ran towards him, holding hands so as to not lose each other, even though the street is practically empty. 

2 hours before the outbreak

You were in Hyunjin’s room, straddling him as you made out. His hands were on your waist whilst yours were around his neck. Your lips moulded together perfectly, like they were made for each other. Neither of you made any moves to deepen the kiss, just wanting to keep the moment sweet and soft. After a moment, Hyunjin was the first to pull away, looking at you with soft eyes. He planted a small kiss on the tip of your nose, watching as you scrunch your face up from the feeling. He planted kisses all over your face from how cute you were. You continued to sit like that for a while, basking in the warmth from Hyunjin’s body.

After a while, though, you both left the room and joined the others. Some kind of action film was playing on the TV but you’re not familiar with it. Hyunjin sat down on the sofa, pulling you down on the couch, snuggling up into him. No one was talking at this point, probably still tipsy or just really tired, which you don’t blame them. You could fall asleep right then and there but you didn’t want to, not just yet.

“Do you think bees have belly buttons?”

“Jisung, what the fuck?!”

1 hour before the outbreak

The TV was still on, some film you didn’t recognise playing as everyone else was asleep apart from you. The sound of Hyunjin’s light snores hit your ears, his lips pouty as his head rested on the back of the sofa. Jisung and Minho’s legs were intertwined as they cuddled against each other, which you decided to take a picture of because you found it adorable. You didn’t realise you left the flash on, though, as the flash went off as soon as you pressed the button. Thankfully no one woke up as you let out a sigh of relief.

You felt yourself getting sleepy as you let out a massive yawn, putting your phone in your pocket. You sat back down next to Hyunjin, resting your head on his shoulder. You closed your eyes, hoping to fall into dreamland, which you did a few minutes later. However, your sleep was soon interrupted as about an hour later, you were all woken up by a massive explosion.

“What the fuck was that?!” Chan asked, hurrying out of his seat and running to the window. He looked outside and saw that a building in the distance was on fire. In the distance, he could see people running around, screaming their heads off. They all looked terrified, which is understandable since a building literally just exploded not even five minutes ago. What he couldn’t see, though, was that the people weren’t running because the building exploded, no, they were running because someone was trying to kill them. And they were also trying to eat them?

The building that exploded was a laboratory, which stored chemicals to create vaccinations for different types of diseases. However, one of the workers in the facility who was working on some of the chemicals accidentally made a mistake, mixing two different chemicals which aren’t supposed to be mixed together. When they realised what they had done, it was too late. It had caused a reaction, a reaction they had not seen before. The glass beaker smashed, glass shattering everywhere. Some of the glass had cut the workers face, a piece of glass stuck in their cheek. There was some sort of a ball of mist caused by the reaction, which had a slight green tinge to it. Before the worker could run out of the room to escape it, it was too late. They had ingested the green mist, suffocating them before they fell to the floor.

Other people in the facility were unaware of what had happened,not realising their lives were now in danger. The laboratory assistant manager was walking through a door, a clipboard in her hand, reading through the notes on the piece of paper. When she rounded the corner, she bumped into the worker who ingested the mist, which she had no acknowledgement of. 

“Ah, Donghae, you scared me”, she said, holding a hand to her chest. She took a good look at him, realising something wasn’t right about him. “Hey, are you ok? You don’t look so good”, she was about to put a hand to his forehead to check his temperature when all of a sudden, Donghae lunged forward, knocking her to the ground. She screamed, trying to push him off but it was no use, he was too strong. He grabbed her shoulders, gaining more access to her neck and bit the flesh between her neck and shoulders, biting a massive chunk out of it.

Donghae got off of her, walking away, the assistant manager bleeding out onto the floor. He soon heard screams coming from behind him, workers running towards their assistant manager, calling for help. Donghae chewed on the flesh in his mouth, swallowing it. Before the workers who were surrounding the assistant managers knew it, the assistant manager's eyes opened, which were now bloodshot. She lunged at one of the workers, attacking her as she hit her over and over again, the worker begging her to stop. 

About an hour later, the laboratory was an entire mess. All the workers were screaming, running out of the building, trying to get away from the cannibalistic psychopaths that were trying to eat and kill them. A fire had started in one of the rooms, which contained different flammable chemicals and gas canisters. That’s when it exploded, spreading all over the building, resulting in the loud bang, startling you and the others in the dorm room.

That’s when Chan could see the reason why people were running away. He saw someone getting jumped, being knocked to the ground by someone, biting into their flesh. Chan jumped backwards, scared for his life. “What, what’s wrong?” you asked, jumping out of your seat and walking towards him. That’s when you saw what he was looking at, seeing people getting eaten alive, turning into those things. 

“Ok, we need to leave. Now”, Chan said, you agreeing with him. “Where are we supposed to go? What if those things are everywhere? Who knows how many people are infected”, you said, looking at him. “Wait, infection? What are you on about?” Jeongin asked, fear evident in his voice. You looked at Chan, and then at the others. “I’m not entirely sure what the infection is but, it looks like the infection causes people to become cannibalistic psychopaths and if you’re bitten, or in this case being eaten alive by someone who’s infected, you also get infected and get turned into one of those things”, Chan said. 

“I’m sorry, did you just say ‘cannibals’? I’m too precious to be eaten, plus I ain’t dying a virgin”, Jisung said, causing everyone to give him a weird look. “I can change that”, Lee Know said out of nowhere, looking at Jisung.

“What?”

“What?”

“Ok weirdos, let’s just go”, Seungmin said, rolling his eyes.

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

All of you left the dorm room building, seeing loads of people running around in different directions, seeing some people lying on the floor, covered in blood, screaming for help, and others being attacked, becoming infected with whatever the infection is. You grabbed hold of Hyunjin’s hand, squeezing it. You always do that whenever you feel scared and in this case, you were terrified. 

“Where do we go? They’re surrounding the entire area”, Changbin said, trying to find a clear path, but not being able to. Felix pointed ahead of him, finding a clear path. “There! I found one. But unfortunately, we have to run through the infected area”, Felix said, not liking the idea but it was the only one he had.

“Ok, on the count of three, we run, ok?” Chan said, looking at everyone to ensure they were listening. You were still holding Hyunjin’s hand, Jisung clinging onto Lee Know. You all nodded, not liking the idea but you had to. 

“One”

You squeezed Hyunjin’s hand harder, your breathing becoming heavier.

“Two”

You felt a tear run down your cheek, wiping it with your free hand, not wanting the others to see you crying.

“Three!”

You ran forward, running towards the infected. You didn’t stop running, even if your legs felt like they were going to buckle underneath you. You were getting close to the other side, running as fast as you could, as if your life depended on it and in this case, it did. You didn’t even realise that you let go of Hyunjin’s hand, until you were on the other side, not seeing Hyunjin standing beside you. 

Before you could scream his name, he ran up to you, along with the rest of the guys. “Now that we're on the other side of them, what do we do now?” Jeongin asked, looking around to see who would answer his question.

“I guess all we need to do now is survive”, you said, walking away from the infected, wanting to be as far away from them as possible. 

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

It’s been 2 weeks since the outbreak started and you all seem to be doing alright so far, despite the fact that cannibalistic psychopaths are roaming around. So, to rephrase that, you’re doing alright physically but mentally and emotionally? That went out the window the moment the outbreak started. And when you became friends with Lee Know and Jisung but you’ll never tell them that, not wanting your ass kicked. I mean, the two of them are literal chaos, you can never keep up with them.

You all have backpacks full of food, weapons in case you need to use them, as well as another pair of clothes. Who knows what will happen, having a change of clothes is a good idea in your opinion, no matter what the circumstances are.

You’re currently cooped up in an abandoned house, a house which belonged to a family with a son and a daughter, but fled the city once the outbreak started, wanting to get to safety. You don’t even know if they managed to get out of the city, or if they got unlucky. You hope it was the first option.

You were walking around the house, looking at all the pictures of the family who lived there before they fled, and they looked like such a happy family. The son looked about 16 and the daughter about 12 years old. You saw one picture of the 4 of them, and they were smiling brightly, a glimmer in their eyes. The picture was taken on a nice summer day, the 4 of them at the beach. The picture was probably taken by a family member or a friend but it was a nice picture. You suddenly felt yourself starting to cry whilst looking at the picture.

You felt a hand on your shoulder, pulling you out of your trance. You turned your head and saw it was Chan, looking at you with a look in his eyes which means ‘are you ok?’. You gave him a small smile and looked back at the picture. “Do you think they left the city safely? I hope they did. They seem like such a nice family”, you said, putting the picture back. “I hope they did”, Chan said, rubbing your back gently. 

You walked up the stairs, wanting to ensure the house is completely empty and safe before coming to a conclusion whether to stay there for the night or not. You looked through the different rooms, all of them seemed to be empty, apart from one room where Jeongin was taking a nap. He looked so cute, a blanket barely covering his body, which had dinosaurs on it. You smiled at the scene in front of you, wanting to take a picture but you didn't have a camera. That’s when you noticed a polaroid on the desk in the room. You took the polaroid, taking a picture of Jeongin. You took the picture out of the polaroid, shaking the image, waiting for it to develop. Once it developed, you put it in your pocket.

After you put the picture in your pocket, a noise caught your attention. It sounded like something heavy fell to the ground. You left the bedroom, walking towards the source of the sound. Another thud, only this time, it was closer and louder. It sounded like it was coming from above. You noticed a hatch in the ceiling, which could be the attic. 

You grabbed a broom and hit it against the attic door, causing the door to come down, along with what seemed to be the father of the family in the picture. You screamed, hitting him in the face with the bottom of the broom before taking off and going into the bedroom which Jeongin was in, closing the door and putting a chair up against the door handle. 

“What’s going on?” Jeongin asked as he woke up, rubbing his eyes. You made a gesture for him to be quiet, which he questioned but as soon as he heard the noise outside the door, he understood. It sounded like there was more than one person on the other side of the door now and now you were trapped in the room.

“Y/N?! What’s going on?” Hyunjin asked frantically as he ran up the stairs. You freaked out as you heard Hyunjin coming up the stairs, warning him about the infected. Hyunjin screamed once he saw them, freaking out and fell to the floor out of fear. That was when you heard someone else run up the stairs, and then a couple of gunshots. Wait, gunshots? You don’t recall any of you having a gun.

You removed the chair from the door and opened the door slowly, wanting to ensure that you were most definitely safe before leaving the room. You checked outside the door, and saw 4 now lifeless bodies on the floor. That’s when you realised that the family didn’t flee the city, it was too late for them as they got infected and turned. You turned to look at who shot the gun and that’s when you saw Chan holding a pistol.

“Didn’t realise you knew how to fire a gun”, you asked him, not seeming too fazed by the dead bodies on the floor. I mean, you’ve seen your fair share of dead bodies over the past couple of days so at this point, dead bodies don’t faze you anymore. You and Jeongin walked down the stairs, following Chan, Hyunjin following behind you.  

“Are you guys ok?” Jisung asked, putting on a jacket which looked two times too big for him. You just nodded because if you spoke, you felt like you were going to break down in tears. “That jacket makes you look like a child because of how big it is”, Changbin said to Jisung, giggling at how cute he looks. Jisung just glared at him but that made Changbin giggle even more. “I’m sorry, you just look so cute with it on”, Changbin said, explaining himself. Everyone started to laugh at the two of them, forgetting about what just happened not even 5 minutes ago.

“Why don’t we sleep down here together? That way, I’ll know we’re safe together”, Chan said, you agreeing with him. You all settled down in the living room, some of you sitting on the couch, some of you lying on the floor, using your bags as pillows. 

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

You had been asleep for a couple of hours, until you were woken up by the sound of glass smashing. You became aware of your surroundings almost immediately, grabbing the first weapon you found in your bag, which was a crowbar. You alerted the rest of the guys, waking them up, which Lee Know wasn’t very keen on, he hates being woken up. 

You headed towards where the sound came from, tiptoeing as to not make a sound. You rounded the corner, seeing broken glass on the floor, which came from the back door. That’s when you heard a grumble coming from the kitchen. You headed towards the kitchen, seeing the back of the intruder. 

“Hello?” you spoke up, causing the intruder to slowly turn around. That’s when you saw that the intruder was, in fact, infected. They charged at you screaming, causing you to scream back, hitting them over the head with the crowbar. They fell to the ground, the commotion causing the others to look what’s going on.

You turned around and began running towards the guys but you felt a hand grab your ankle, knocking you to the ground with a yell. The infected climbed on top of you, trying to take a chunk out of you. Still holding the crowbar, you put it in between you and the infected, trying to stop it from infecting you.

All of a sudden, more infected came running into the house, surrounding you. The others fought the other infected while you still tried fighting off the one on top of you. Blood dribbled out of its mouth and onto your cheek, causing you to gag. “Bro, your breath stinks”, you said, before kicking your foot out, kicking the infected back. You got up off the floor, hitting the infected repeatedly with the crowbar, not caring if blood was splatting you in the face. You pushed them back, causing the infected to become impaled on a hook, which was embedded in the wall. It went right through their throat, causing them to make gurgling noises, even more blood spurting out of their mouth.

“Now stay dead, you crazy motherfucker”, you said, not bothering to wipe the blood off your face. You left the kitchen, seeing the other infected dead on the floor. The others also had blood on their faces, and you noticed that Seungmin was clutching his shoulder. “Seungmin, are you ok?” you asked, concern evident in your voice. “Yeah, I’m ok. Though I think I might have dislocated my shoulder in the process of fighting off one of the infected”, he said, hissing at the pain of his shoulder.

“Ok let's get out of here before any more infected show up”, Chan said, grabbing his bag. The rest of you followed suit, grabbing all your things before rushing out of the house, Seungmin hobbling behind you, Jeongin staying with him.

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

You have been walking for about 20 minutes before Seungmin started complaining about the pain he was in. He sat down on a bench, still clutching his shoulder only now, he was breathing heavily. You walked towards him, putting a hand on his forehead. Luckily his forehead felt normal, so you didn’t panic. 

“Jeongin, hold Seungmin down so he doesn’t budge. Seungmin, put this in your mouth”, you gave a bandana to bite on. “I’m going to push your shoulder back in place on the count of three, ok?” Seungmin nodded, unable to talk due to the bandana in his mouth.

“One”

As soon as you said ‘one’, you pushed his shoulder back in place, Seungmin screaming out in pain. He ripped the bandana out of his mouth, glaring at you. “I thought you said on the count of three!”

“I’m shocked you believed me”, you said, to which Seungmin huffed. Thankfully Seungmin wasn’t clutching his shoulder anymore, the pain finally disappeared. “Thanks”, Seungmin mumbled under his breath, but you managed to hear him, to which you shoved his arm in response.

You carried on walking for a good few hours, fighting off some more infected in the process. You walked through an abandoned village, until you saw what looked like an arsenal. “Hey guys, look”, you said, not giving the others a chance to reply before you ran off.

The others caught up to you and Hyunjin grabbed your arm, but not too hard. He turned you around to look at him and that’s when you saw the look on his face: anger. “Don’t fucking run away like that. What if you were attacked by infected or something?! What if you got yourself killed?” he raised his voice, but not because he’s angry at you, he was just worried. 

“I’m sorry. But look, there are still guns left”, you said, changing the subject. Hyunjin just rolled his eyes, used to you changing the subject, but he didn’t want to cause an argument so he just left it. Besides, he loved you too much. You all picked up a few guns, along with bullets for the specific guns you chose.

You picked up a shotgun, a rifle and a couple of handguns because it’s good to have a backup gun in case one of them gets jammed. “I don’t know about you guys but, I’m going to test these bad boys out”, you said, going outside to test out the guns you’ve got. 

You put some old bottles you found on a wall, all lined up in a row. You started off with the handguns, putting the bullets in, taking the safety off and aiming them. You pulled the trigger, hitting a bottle. You were pleased with the handguns, putting them in your back (after putting the safety back on, obviously, you don't want to accidentally be shot in the ass). You tested out the rifle next, which had a scope on it so you can focus on any target in the distance. You put the bullets in the rifle, putting the butt of the rifle between your shoulder and cheek. You looked through the scope, focusing on a bottle before firing the trigger, hitting the bottle, blasting it into smithereens. You put the safety back on the rifle, putting the sling over your shoulder. You tested out the shotgun, putting the shotgun shells in. You turned the safety off before aiming it at the bottles. You pulled the trigger, the force almost making you fall backwards. You were pleased with the guns you chose, putting the safety back on and slinging the shotgun over your other shoulder.

Suddenly, Hyunjin came jogging over to you, with worry on his face. “Hey, what’s wrong?” you asked him, turning your body to properly face him. “Um, I don’t know how to use a gun and since you know what you’re doing, I was hoping you could teach me?” he asked, biting his lip in anticipation. You gave him a small smile, walking behind him. You told him how to hold the gun, to which he did perfectly. You put your hands over his, aiming the gun at the remaining bottles on the wall. You talked him through it, until he pulled the trigger, hitting one of the bottles, knocking it to the ground. He smiled, happy that he now knows how to use a gun. 

“Thank you, babe”, he said, the pet name leaving his mouth. He turned around, facing you. You looked up at him, a soft smile on your face. Before you knew it, his lips were on yours, capturing them in a deep yet sweet kiss. The kiss only lasted a few seconds but you could feel the emotion being poured into it.

You were the first one to pull away, opening your eyes to see Hyunjin looking at you with a fond expression. Your attention was pulled away from Hyunjin and the sound of shouting coming from inside the arsenal, and the sound of gunshots. “Shit”, Hyunjin said, the both of you running towards the arsenal. That’s when you saw the others running out of the arsenal, shouting for the two of you to run the other way. As soon as the others were out, a massive explosion came from it, the shop bursting into flames, the explosion blasting you backwards.

You groaned as your whole body ached. You touched your forehead, feeling blood trickling down your temples. You sat up, seeing the others on the ground. That’s when you saw an army truck speeding past, people holding scary looking guns. You laid back down, not wanting to be seen by them. They drove past you, and you waited until they were out of sight before getting back up.

“Guys?” you said, hoping that the others were okay. Thankfully, they were all okay as they started moving, getting up slowly. “What the fuck happened in there?” you asked, wondering what the heck happened. “One moment, we were just looking around and then the next thing I knew, I saw that truck outside, firing their guns. We started running out when they threw grenades”, Changbin said.

“Is everyone alright?” Chan asked, checking everyone out to see if they had any injuries. Everyone seemed alright, apart from the odd bruise and scrape. Jeongin, however, had a massive gash on his face, blood covering his cheek. “Fuck, Jeongin, you’re bleeding”, Chan said, holding his face. 

“Really? I didn’t realise”, he said sarcastically, wincing at the pain. Luckily you had a mini first aid kit in your bag, taking it out. Chan treated Jeongin’s wound, carefully putting a bandage on it, despite Jeongin’s protests.

You started walking again after that, the sun starting to set. You could feel the air becoming colder the more the sun set, putting your jacket on. 

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

You’ve been walking for god knows how long, the sun now replaced with the moon in the sky. You haven’t seen any infected for a while, which you were glad about. But you were also cautious because who knows what could jump out at you. You walked up a hill, reaching the top. That’s when you saw it: a safe camp in the distance. 

“Hey guys, look”, you said as you pointed at it. The others saw it too, feeling a slight chance of hope that they’ve found a place they’ll feel safe. “Do you think they’ll let us in?” Felix asked, hoping that they’ll be allowed in. “There’s only one way to find out”, Chan said, walking down the hill, the rest of you following him.

You made it to the front of the safe camp, a security light turning on, blinding you. Someone walked up to the gate, looking at you. “Are any of you infected?”, they asked, wanting to know if any of you have been bitten or not.

“We’re all clean”, you answered, the others agreeing with you. The person spoke into a walkie talkie, probably to the leader of the camp. After they received an order from the boss, the person nodded to someone, and that’s when the gates opened, letting you in. You followed the person, being shown around the camp. Others looked at you, probably wary since you’re newcomers to the camp, but you didn’t blame them, especially regarding the circumstances.

You were shown where you’ll be staying, and you were glad that you’ll finally have your own bed to sleep in after such a long time. You made yourself at home, putting your bag on the floor as you laid down on the bed. “This is nice”, you said to yourself, a small smile on your face.

“Dinner will be in an hour so, once you’ve settled in, come to the cafeteria. It’s down the hall, through the big doors. You won’t miss it. Oh, my name is Hoseok, by the way”, Hoseok introduced himself, giving you a small smile, to which you returned. You introduced yourself too, before he left. 

You soon went to the cafeteria once you settled in, walking through the big doors. You saw the others sitting down, already eating. You grabbed something to eat before joining them, sitting by Hyunjin. “How’s your room?” Hyunjin asked, before swallowing a piece of chicken. “It’s nice. I’m so glad I have my own bed. It’s really comfy”, you said, eating some rice. 

You were engaged in a conversation, laughing at something Jisung said. Though your conversation was interrupted by a long bang. The doors swung open, revealing a woman with short black hair, covered in tattoos and piercings. She looked intimidating, her eyes had a look in her eyes which you couldn’t make out. If looks could kill, many people in the room would be dead already. “Haneul, stop”, Hoseok said, trying to stop the girl, but she didn’t listen. She kept walking until she stopped at a table. She said something to one of the guys at the table, you couldn’t make out what she was saying as she was too far away but you knew it wasn’t good. The next thing you know, she hit the guy, knocking him off his seat.

Great, you’re not even at the safe camp for a whole day and there’s already a fight. Hoseok and who you assumed to be the leader of the camp broke the fight, Hoseok holding Haneul. “Stop it, the both of you. If you can’t behave then you’ll have to leave”, the leader said, before leaving. You must have looked at Haneul for a bit too long as she glared at you. “What are you looking at, bitch?” she spat, causing Hyunjin to almost jump out of his seat before you stopped him. 

“Oh, nothing. Just admiring your tattoos”, you said, giving a smile. Haneul just rolled her eyes, leaving the cafeteria. Well, that’s someone you don’t want to mess with.

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

You woke up the next morning, having a good night's sleep after a long time. You slipped a black tank top on, along with your black pants and combat boots. You put your jacket on over the top, about to leave your bedroom. Before you left, though, you ensured that you put your pocket knife in your boot, as well as hiding your gun in your pants, just in case something happened. 

You were ready to leave your bedroom, opening the door. You slipped out of your bedroom and as you were about to head outside, you heard a voice. “Hey, bitch”, it was Haneul. What did she want? “What do you want?” you asked nicely, not wanting to get on her bad side. Then again, is she ever nice? “I just wanted to let you know that I run this camp so you better not disobey”, she said, causing you to laugh. “I’m sorry but that's hilarious. You don’t run this camp, Jongwoo does”, Jongwoo being the leader of the camp. “Also, I’m not scared of you. I bet you’re just an insecure little girl who tries to look tough”, you said, walking off. Haneul didn’t like that, however, as she turned you around and punched you square in the jaw. “Don’t insult me, you little fucker”, she said, gripping your jacket. 

“Hey, what’s going on here?” Hoseok said, walking down the hallway. The both of you looked at him, Hoseok seeing blood trickle down your mouth. “Haneul, get off them, now”, Hoseok ordered, his voice firm. Haneul let go of you, huffing and walking off. Hoseok walked up to you, looking at you. “You ok?” he asked, wiping the blood off your mouth. All you did was smile, before walking off.

You went outside, seeing Hyunjin and Chan. You ran up to them, giving them a smile. They went to smile back before they noticed the bruise forming on your face. “What the fuck happened?!” Hyunjin said, holding your face gently. “Remind me to never insult Haneul again”, was all you said before laughing slightly.

The three of you did your errands, which include going to the armory and cleaning the guns. You spent about 30 minutes cleaning the weapons, trying to make the time as enthusiastic as possible by cracking jokes. 

All of a sudden, there was a commotion coming from outside, the sound of shouting causing you to go out and see what was happening. You saw Haneul pointing a gun at the same guy she fought yesterday, his face bleeding. “Fucking give it to me!” she shouted, waving the gun around, making everyone hide behind something.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, for fucks sake!” the guy shouted, but Haneul didn’t like that. She pulled the trigger, shooting the guy in the head. Everyone screamed, the guy falling to the ground. “Does anyone else want to fucking argue with me?” she shouted, but no one answered. You saw Jisung and Lee Know holding hands, scared out of their minds. Jeongin, Seungmin and Felix were hiding behind Changbin, who didn’t even look scared but you knew he was. Whenever Changbin was scared of something, he played with his fingers, and that’s exactly what he was doing. 

You didn’t want anything happening to them so you walked towards Haneul, Hyunjin and Chan trying to stop you. You took your gun out from the back of your pants, aimed it in the air and pulled the trigger, getting Haneul’s attention. “Ah, look who decided to show up”, Haneul said, now putting her gun at you. “Haneul, stop this. This is supposed to be a safe camp but with you acting the way you are, you’re not making it safe”, you said, slowly walking towards her.

“Nowhere is safe anymore! Wherever I go, I always fear for my life that I’m going to become infected, which is what happened to my family”, Haneul said, as tears started streaming down her cheeks. “Look, I understand your fear but, is really acting this way going to help?” you said, being careful with your words, as well as your movements.

As soon as you were close enough, and Haneul had her guard down, you lunged forward and tried taking the gun out of her hand but in the process, Haneul kicked your leg, knocking you to the ground. “That was a stupid move”, Haneul said, aiming the gun at you as you laid on the ground. Without thinking, you kicked her in the shin, making her cry out in pain. She dropped the gun, the gun going off, luckily missing you and the others in the back. You tackled her to the ground, hitting her in the face.

“You think you’re the only one who’s scared? What about everyone here? We’re all fucking terrified so instead of thinking about yourself, think about the safety of everyone else, for fucks sake. Stop being a selfish, fucking bitch”, you screamed, repeatedly hitting her. Haneul flipped you over, now getting on top of you. She wrapped her hands around your throat, choking you. 

The others ran to help, trying to get Haneul off you. Changbin tried pulling Haneul but she wouldn’t budge. All of a sudden, there was another gun going off. It was Jongwoo, storming over to where you were. “What the fuck is going on here?!” he shouted, and that’s when he saw Haneul trying to kill you. He had no other option: he pointed his gun at Haneul and pulled the trigger, shooting her in the head. She fell on top of you, her hands loosening around your throat. You threw her off you, gasping for air. You coughed a couple of times before you managed to breathe properly.

“Jongwoo, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have provoked her”, you said, now crying because Haneul is dead, and you felt guilty because if you didn’t provoke her, she would probably still be alive. “Hey, kid, it’s not your fault, ok? I should have seen this coming a mile away. Ever since she arrived a couple of days ago, she’s been a danger to herself and everyone around her. I shouldn’t have let her in. I know that sounds harsh but it’s true”, Jongwoo said, patting you on the shoulder.

You looked down at Haneul’s lifeless body, her body in a pool of her own blood. You walked off, ignoring the calls of your name from the others. You just wanted to be alone, still processing what just happened. You walked to your room, slamming the door and locking it. You jumped onto your bed, lying face down as you cried into the pillow, your throat still hurting from when Haneul tried choking you to death. You soon fell asleep not too long after that, soon to be haunted by the image of Haneul’s lifeless body.

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You’ve been locked in your room for a few days now, one of the guys (mainly Hyunjin, though) bringing you some food and something to drink throughout the days you’ve been cooped up in your room.

You were currently lying on your bed, looking up at the ceiling with blank eyes. You were lost in your thoughts until there was a bang at your door, which scared you. You thought it was nothing until it happened again. You got off your bed and walked towards the door. “Who is it?” you asked whoever was on the other side.

“It’s me”, it was Hyunjin. You unlocked the door and opened it, revealing a dishevelled Hyunjin. “What’s going on?” you asked, your voice monotonous. “We need to leave. Now”, he said, causing you to raise your eyebrows. “The others are waiting for us, let’s go”, Hyunjin said, going into your room and grabbing your bag for you, along with your guns before giving them to you. You tried getting his attention but he was too occupied with leaving for some reason, so you had to shout at him.

“Hyunjin!” you shouted, finally getting his attention, him now looking at you. “What’s going on?!?” you asked again, wanting to know why you had to leave. “While you have been locked in your room, the rest of us have been secretly exploring the place, trying to figure out if this safe camp is really a safe place”, Hyunjin explained, the both of you sitting on your bed at this point.

You nodded for him to continue, looking at him with fear in your eyes. “y/n, these people are dangerous. Hoseok and Jongwoo aren’t nice people. They have their own torture room. There are god knows how many dead bodies in there, tied up and mutilated. We need to leave and get as far away from here as possible”, he said, grabbing your hand. You put your bag on, slinging the shotgun and rifle over your shoulders and left with him, going to find the others, being as quiet as possible.

You caught up with the others, trying to find a way out through the back of the camp but unfortunately, there’s only one way out of the camp: through the front gates, which are guarded 24/7 by guards. “What do we do?” Jisung asked, his voice louder than a whisper, but quieter than his usual speaking voice. “I mean, we can’t just go all out guns-a-blazing, that’s one way of getting ourselves killed”, to which you all agreed. You had to think strategically about this.

“Hey, what are you guys doing back here?! You’re not allowed to be here”, one of the guards said, pointing his guns at you. You didn’t know what else to do so you just pointed your gun at him and pulled the trigger, shooting him in the chest, making him fall backwards. “Shit”, Jisung said as he started freaking out, which is understandable if you just saw someone shoot another person.

All of a sudden, an alarm started going off, along with red lights going off throughout the camp. “Ok, now we definitely need to leave”, you said, holding your rifle. All of you started running, shooting anyone who tries to attack you in the process.

You managed to make it to the front, getting closer to the gates. You reached the gates but you didn’t know how to open them. Changbin climbed up a ladder to hopefully find a button that opens the gates. “Shit, someone has destroyed the control pad. They don’t want us to leave”, Changbin said, screaming out of frustration.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” a voice said, and you turned around to see Jongwoo and Hoseok standing behind him. Hoseok had a smirk on his face, and you just wanted to slap the expression off his face. “We know what you have been up to, there’s nowhere to hide”, Hyunjin said, pointing his gun at them.

Whilst you were face to face with Hoseok and Jongwoo, Jisung remembered that he had some grenades in his bag, trying to get your attention but being subtle about it. You turned around slightly, seeing what Jisung had in his bag, signalling to you that he was going to put them by the gate. 

“I thought we were really safe here. But turns out, that was a ploy, wasn’t it? Wanting us to feel like we were all safe before you end up torturing us and killing us. You sick bastards”, you spat, moving forwards to get closer to them, so Jisung could do what he needed to do.

“What are you guys up to?” Jongwoo asked, suspicious of your movements. “What do you mean?” you replied, acting innocent. “Oh cut the crap, I know exactly what you’re doing”, Hoseok spat, uncrossing his arms. “Oh, really?” was all you said before aiming your gun and shooting Hoseok in the head, the bullet going straight through his forehead, his body dropping to the ground with a thud.

“You fucking bitch”, Jongwoo shouted, lunging forward to try and grab you but you were quicker, hitting the butt of your rifle over his head, causing his to yell out in pain. Jisung managed to sort the grenades out, pulling the pin out of them, throwing them against the gates. “Take cover”, he shouted, running for cover, taking Lee Know with him as he threw himself behind a metal container. The grenades blew the gates open, metal flying everywhere. 

While Jisung was preparing the grenades, with the help of Lee Know, you continued fighting Jongwoo. He tried hitting you but kept missing, you being too quick for him. That’s when you heard Jisung shout to take cover, but luckily, the rest of you were far away enough from the gate. As soon as you were sure you were able to leave, you didn’t think twice before running towards the gate. 

“Don’t leave me here, you fucking idiots”, Jongwoo screamed but you didn’t pay any attention to him. You didn’t look back as you continued running, getting as far away from there as possible. Once you were sure you were far enough away, you stopped running. You hugged Hyunjin, clinging onto him. He hugged you back tightly, kissing the top of your head. You hugged the rest of the guys too, which Lee Know tried to avoid but you know deep down, he loved the hug you gave him.

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The sun had risen into the sky once you arrived at an abandoned school, which you were sure had infected inside. “I ain’t going in there”, Lee Know said, fear taking over him. “Listen, I don’t want to go in there either but I’m pretty sure there is the only way to go because as you can see, everywhere else is blocked”, you said, which was true. The only way forward was through the school.

As soon as you were about to walk towards the school, you heard infected coming towards you. There were a couple of them running towards you, so you ran as fast as you could towards the school. The only way into the school was through an open window, which you had to climb to get to. 

“There’s our way in but how are we going to get up there?” you said, not seeing anything that you could use to climb up there. Thankfully there was a broken ladder lying on the floor. It may be broken but you could still use it, as long as you’re careful.

You used the ladder one by one, going in through the open window. The last person to use the ladder was Jisung, climbing up towards the window. He looked down at the infected, who looked up at Jisung, looking lost. “At least they can’t climb, right?” Jisung said as he laughed, but his laugh was soon cut off as one of the infected started to climb the ladder. Jisung screamed like a girl, kicking the infected in the face, making them fall to the ground. Jisung climbed as fast as he could, going through the open window and pushing the ladder to the floor.

Jisung fell to the floor, his legs like jelly. “I’m never doing this ever again”, he said as he tried catching his breath. “Come on, let’s keep going”, Chan said, helping Jisung up. You progressed through the abandoned school, surprisingly not seeing any infected inside. Though you were proved wrong when you rounded the corner and came face to face with one of them, being tackled to the ground.

“y/n!” Hyunjin yelled, shooting the infected in the head before kicking it off you. He helped you up, checking to see if you’re ok. “I guess I should be careful where I walk”, you said as you nervously chuckled. You walked through the school more carefully, always being on guard, having your gun on you at all times.

“Hey, guys?” Jeongin said, breaking the silence. “If I ever get bitten, I want one of you to shoot me”, Jeongin said, causing you to stop. “That’s never going to happen, ok?” you said, not wanting to think about any of you getting infected. Jeongin was about to say something else before he heard a noise. 

“Did you hear that?” he asked, looking all around him. “Yeah, it sounded like it came from behind us”, you said, turning around, aiming your gun. An infected started running towards you, firing your gun, shooting them in the head. Before you knew it, about a dozen infected came running towards you. 

“Shit, run!”, Chan shouted, all of you running through the school. You didn’t bother looking back, not wanting to slow down. You were too busy running away from the infected behind you, you didn’t think about any infected being in front of you, before it was too late. You were completely surrounded by them, nowhere to run.

“What do we do? We’re surrounded by them”, Felix said, shooting them in the head. “Get down!” you heard a voice shout but you don’t know where it came from. You still listened to the voice, all of you getting down. An RPG came shooting past you, blasting all the infected into smithereens. Once you knew it was safe, you all stood up, turning around to see who shot the gun.

“You could have killed us”, Chan said, talking to them. “I still could, you know”, they said, a hint of annoyance in their voice. “Come on out before I change my mind”, they said, all of you running out of the school. “Who is this guy?” you asked Hyunjin, him shaking his head as he has no idea either.

“The name is Jackson, by the way”, he said, introducing himself. You all followed him, wondering where he was taking you. Hopefully he wasn’t taking you to your death because if he was, you were going to haunt him.

“And before you ask, no I’m not going to kill you”, Jackson said, causing you to stop in your tracks, did he just read your fucking mind? You continued to follow him until you reached an abandoned house, which you assumed was where Jackson was living. You looked around the house, finding a picture on a wall. You went to touch it before Jackson raised his voice, “don’t fucking touch anything”.

“Hey, don’t talk to her like that”, Hyunjin said, coming up to Jackson, coming face to face with him. “Hey, Hyunjin, it’s ok”, you said, breaking them up. “I’m sorry, I should have asked before touching anything. I was just looking at the picture on the wall”, you said, pointing to the picture you were on about. It was a picture of 2 guys, one of them being Jackson. “The other guy is my boyfriend. Well, was my boyfriend, before he got infected and I had to shoot him”, Jackson said, no emotion in his voice. You felt bad for asking about it, walking off. 

“Do any of you know how to drive?” Jackson asked as he walked into his garage, a truck parked in the middle of it. “I do”, Lee Know said, walking up to the car. “Unfortunately, the car won’t start as the battery is dead but I’m sure there is another battery around here somewhere”.

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Lee Know started the car, and it finally worked, all of you getting into the truck, including Jackson. Luckily the truck was big enough to fit all 10 of you, the remainder of you sitting in the back of the truck. “Do you know where you’re going, kid?” Jackson asked Lee Know, to which he responded that he didn’t, just wanted to drive as far away as possible.

Music was playing on the radio, a music cassette which Lee Know found. It wasn’t his music taste but it would do. You, Hyunjin and Jeongin were sitting in the back of the truck, having your guns out just in case you get raided by infected. Lee Know drove for about half an hour, until you were on the other side of the city, getting out of the truck. 

“Thanks for this, Jackson”, Chan said, bowing to him. Jackson didn’t say anything but you could tell by his body language and facial expression that he thanked you back, before getting back in his truck, driving away. The part of the city you were in looked worse: buildings had collapsed, remnants of cars that had caught fire, as well as part of the road had caved in. 

“Where to know?” you asked, trying to find the way forward. “I have no idea”, Chan said, looking lost. “We could try looking in one of the buildings”, Seungmin suggested, which seemed like the best choice. “We should split up since there are a couple of buildings to look in”, Chan said, which you didn’t like the idea but you had no choice. “If you manage to find a way out, shoot your gun once”, Chan said, to which you questioned, “how will we know which gun shot is the right one?” you asked to which Chan replied, “You’ll know, don’t worry”. You didn’t question him after that, not wanting to confuse yourself even more.

You split up into three groups: you, Hyunjin and Jeongin in one group, Chan, Changbin and Seungmin in the other group and Lee Know, Jisung and Felix in the last group. You went into different buildings, looking around.

You, Hyunjin and Jeongin

“What are we actually looking for, again?” Jeongin asked, looking around the building. “A way out, I guess”, you answered, walking up some stairs. As soon as you walked around the corner, you saw a couple of infected walking round. You slowly walked up behind one of them, stabbing it in the neck, dropping it to the ground. Hyunjin and Jeongin dealt with the others, silently killing them so as to not make a noise just in case there were others walking around.

You started to smell something really bad, like rotting meat. “Fuck, what’s that awful smell?” you said, holding your nose. You walked into a room, and that’s where you saw where the smell was coming from. In the middle of the room, there was a pile of dead bodies, which looked like it was set on fire by someone. 

“That’s disgusting”, Hyunjin said, gagging at the awful smell. Jeongin looked like he was going to throw up, holding his chest. “Let’s get out of this room before I actually throw up”, Jeongin said, gagging. You all left the room, closing the door behind you to try and get rid of the smell. You progressed further through the building, hopefully trying to find a way out but so far, you’re not having any luck.

“I wonder how the others are doing”, Jeongin said, hoping the others were okay. He was too focused on trying to find a way out that he didn’t see the infected running towards him, before it was too late. “Jeongin!” you shouted, watching Jeongin being tackled towards the window, his body going out of it.

Chan, Changbin and Seungmin 

“I hate this so much”, Changbin huffed, wanting nothing more than for this to be over. “Hey, you’re not the only one, shorty”, Seungmin said, rolling his eyes. “Hey! I’m not short. I’m just pocket sized”, Changbin argued, huffing again. Chan managed to stop them both bickering, progressing further into the building. 

They haven’t seen any infected yet, since they could hardly see anything. “It’s so dark, I can hardly see anything”, Changbin said, squinting his eyes. There was hardly any light being shone into the building, apart from the odd light coming from some windows. “I wish I had a flashlight”, Changbin said, to which Seungmin whacked him over the head. 

“Hey! What was that for?” Changbin said, crossing his arms. “I thought you had a flashlight in your bag? If you stopped constantly whining, you would realise that”, Seungmin said, tired of his whining. That’s when the realisation came to Changbin that he did, in fact, have a flashlight in his bag.

All three of them held their flashlights, which made it better for them to see. That’s when they saw some infected roaming around the halls in the building, causing them to be startled, resulting in Changbin falling over. The sound alerted the infected, causing them to charge after them. Chan and Seungmin fired their guns, shooting the infected, them falling to the ground. Changbin was too freaked out to do anything, still sitting on the floor.

After all the infected were shot, Chan and Seungmin put their guns away, checking on Changbin. “Bro, you good?” Chan asked him, holding his hand out for him to grab, helping him up. “Am I good? Nope, absolutely not, I’m 100% fucking far from good”, Changbin said, terrified out of his mind.

Changbin walked forward, freaked out. He started pacing around, his breathing getting heavier as the minutes passed. “Changbin, calm down”, Chan said, walking towards him. “Calm down?! How can I calm down when we’re in the middle of a fucking apocalypse!”, Changbin cried, tears now streaming down his face. Before he knew it, an infected charged through a door, knocking him to the ground. The sound of screaming was cut off by a gunshot. 

Lee Know, Jisung and Felix

“Jisung, please for the love of god, stop whistling”, Lee Know said, Jisung’s whistling starting to annoy him. Jisung wanted to annoy him a bit more by whistling again but his whistling was cut off by the sound of a groan. “What was that?” Jisung whisper-shouted, wondering where it came from. “It came from that way”, Felix said, pointing in the direction of where the sound came from. 

Jisung walked in front, walking towards where the sound was coming from, trying to be brave but in reality, he was scared shitless and he had no idea why he decided to go first. He had his gun out, holding it in front of him just in case something jumped out in front of him. “Jisung, wait!” Lee Know whisper-shouted, wanting Jisung to wait for them. They managed to catch up to him, watching Jisung as he walked down a long corridor.

The sound of the groaning was getting louder, the three of them standing outside where the sound was coming from. Lee Know counted to three, before kicking the door open, firing his gun at any infected he sees. Felix and Jisung did the same, shooting infected in the head, seeing their bodies fall to the ground.

“That went better than I expected”, Jisung said, smiling slightly. His smile faded, however, as he saw an infected coming up behind Lee Know, pushing him out of the way to shoot it in the face, watching as its body fell to the ground. Lee Know felt his heart beating out of his chest, holding it. “Shit, thanks Jisungie”, Lee Know said, the nickname falling off his tongue. The three of them left the room, not expecting an infected to be out there. Jsiung didn’t think as he ran off, his fight or flight kicked in (in this case, flight kicked in first). He didn’t bother looking back, screaming his head off. He went to open a door, but what he didn’t realise was that the room behind the door had completely caved in, the door now leading to the outside. Which was a problem since the three of them were nowhere near the ground.

You, Hyunjin and Jeongin

“Jeongin!” you shouted, seeing his body going out the window. Luckily, he grabbed onto the window sill just in time, the infected falling to the ground. You ran up to the window, and saw Jeongin hanging onto the window sill. “You okay?!” you asked, reaching your hand out for him to grab. He nodded as you helped him up, immediately hugging you as soon as he was on his feet. He was like a little brother to you, wanting nothing more than to protect him. 

Hyunjin ran up to the two of you, hugging Jeongin as soon as he let go of you. Jeongin hugged him back, clinging onto the elder. He started crying into his chest, Hyunjin patting his head, which always calms him down. “Shall we continue trying to find a way out?” you asked, going up a flight of stairs, which the other two followed you. You went up a couple flights of stairs, hoping to reach the top but unfortunately, the way out was blocked. “I hope the others have better luck at finding a way out”, you said, going back down the stairs. That’s when you heard the singular gun shot, signalling that one of the other groups had found the way out.

Chan, Changbin and Seungmin

The sound of screaming was cut off by a gunshot, the infected becoming limp. Chan pushed the infected off of Changbin’s body, getting scared due to Changbin not moving. “Changbin?” Chan said, shaking the younger’s body, hoping he would wake up. Changbin groaned, touching his neck. His eyes widened as he felt a chunk of his neck was bitten off. 

“Guys? Please get away from me”, Changbin said as he stood up, holding his neck. Both Chan and Seungmin were confused until it clicked: Changbin is infected. “No, this can’t be happening. We were all supposed to survive this”, Seungmin said, tears starting to stream down his face. Changbin started to feel his whole body twitch, his vision becoming blurry. “Chan, I want you to shoot me”, Changbin said, not wanting to become a cannibalistic psychopath. Chan held his gun by his side, not wanting to shoot one of his best friends.

“I can’t do it”, Chan cried. He didn’t want to shoot him but he also didn’t want Changbin to turn into one of those things. If that’s what Changbin wanted then, that’s what he’s going to get. 

“Turn around, Changbin”, Chan said, tears starting to blur his vision. They were all a sobbing mess at this point. Changbin turned around, looking out the window, seeing birds fly in the distance. Changbin smiled slightly, his eyes closed as he waited for the sound of the gunshot. Chan pointed the gun at the back of Changbin’s head, his hand shaking. He closed his eyes, putting his finger on the trigger. He pulled the trigger, the bullet going through the back of Changbin’s head, his now lifeless body dropping to the floor. 

It took Chan and Seungmin a moment to process what happened and once they did, they just broke. They sat on the floor for a good few minutes, not wanting to leave their now dead friend. But unfortunately, they had to. They needed to find a way out. “We will survive for you, Changbin”, Seungmin said, holding Changbin’s cold hand. They both progressed further into the building, going up some stairs to hopefully go to the top. They managed to reach the top, and thankfully, it wasn’t blocked. They opened the door, going out into the fresh air. They managed to find the way out. Chan held his gun in the air, firing the gun, signalling that they found the way out.

Lee Know, Jisung and Felix

Jisung opened the door, almost falling to his death. If it wasn’t for Lee Know, he would have. Lee Know shot the infected before coming to save him, putting his arm around his waist to stop him from falling. 

“Next time, don’t run off. It’s like trying to babysit a child”, Lee Know said, pulling Jisung away from the edge. All of a sudden, Felix came running towards them, out of breath. “What’s wrong?” Lee Know said, watching Felix trying to catch his breath. “We have a problem”, Felix said, pointing towards the end of the corridor. The three of them slowly walked towards the end and that’s when they heard it: a voice. No, more than one voice. Lee Know peaked into the room, trying to be as quiet as possible. He saw a couple of men in the room, wearing some sort of uniform. 

“Let’s get out of here”, Lee Know said, closing the door quietly and tiptoeing away from the door. Unfortunately, due to Jisung’s clumsiness, he accidentally knocked something over, causing it to make a loud bang. “What was that?” a voice said, walking towards the door. The three of them just stood there, holding their guns in front of them. A man walked out of the room, holding a gun. He looked scary: a couple of scars on his face, big muscles and short black hair. He didn’t look very friendly, and judging by the profanities he starts shouting, he definitely isn’t a nice person.

“Where the fuck are you, you shit heads?” he growled, cocking his gun. That’s when Lee Know decided to make the brave move by coming out of hiding, shooting the guy in the chest, causing him to fall backwards with a thud. “What the fuck?!” another voice said, and that’s when everyone came running out of the room, all holding guns. Lee Know, Jisung and Felix had no choice but to start shooting, it was a kill or be killed situation and they didn't want to die.

Once they were sure they all weren’t moving, the three of them progressed further into the building, trying to find a way out. Though they didn’t get very far as they heard the sound of a single gunshot, which is the signal that one of the other groups had found a way out.

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You met Lee Know, Jisung and Felix outside, wanting to go into the other building together. “I really hope the others are okay”, you said, running into the building, the others following. You ran up the stairs, not bothering to look where you were going, just wanting to get to the top as quickly as possible. As you rounded the corner, you saw someone lying on the ground. You walked closer to them but you soon regretted it. As you were close enough to see the person, you saw that it was Changbin. Blood pooled around his lifeless body, making you fall backwards and screamed. You saw that he had a chunk of his neck bitten off, realising that he got infected.

The others saw his lifeless body, everyone now crying. You all sat by his lifeless body for a few minutes, mourning him. You kissed your hand and pressed your hand to his cheek, before getting up and going towards the door, which was the way out.

All of you saw Chan and Seungmin standing on the rooftop. “What the hell happened?” you yelled, but not in an angry way. “We got bombarded by infected, causing Changbin to have a mental breakdown afterwards. He got jumped by one infected which we didn’t know was there, resulting in him getting bitten. Changbin didn’t want to turn into one of those things so… he wanted me to shoot him”, Chan explained, a few stray tears rolling down his cheek.

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this. We were supposed to survive this outbreak together! Now Changbin is fucking dead. I just want this to fucking end already”, Jeongin screamed to no one in particular, just venting his thoughts. Chan managed to calm the younger one down, his breathing becoming normal again.

“All we can do now is keep going forward. That’s what Changbin would want us to do, isn’t it? Despite him being scared of certain situations, he never backed down, no matter what”, you said, everyone agreeing with you. Changbin was tougher than he thought himself out to be, never backing down from a fight, no matter how scared he seemed. Whether that be someone insulting his friends or being in a dangerous situation such as the one you’re in now, Changbin never turned his back on things, no matter how tough things got.

You climbed down the ladder, leading down to the other side of the building, your feet landing on the ground. You walked into the middle of the street, but you didn’t get far as the same truck you saw back at the arsenal came driving past, all of you hiding behind concrete barriers. “Where the fuck did they come from?” Chan whispered, keeping his head down whilst trying to subtly look at what they are doing. “I have no idea but it looks like they’re looking for something. Or someone”, Lee Know said, sitting with his back against the barrier. “Come out, come out wherever you are”, a voice spoke up, coming from the truck. His voice sounded gruff, his tone threatening. 

“What the fuck, I thought he went to prison”, you said, fear in your voice. “Wait, you know the guy?” Hyunjin asked, looking at you. You hesitated to answer him, but they needed to know. “That’s my ex. Yes, the abusive one. That’s the guy who tried to kill me, but luckily I managed to get away from him and called the police, who arrested him. I haven’t seen him since that day 2 years ago”, you explained, the memories of him beating you coming back. 

When you first started dating your ex, who goes by the name of Minhyung, he was the sweetest person. He took you out on dates, bought you gifts and treated you like royalty. He always gave you affection, whether it was holding hands or cuddling, or giving you the most breathtaking kisses. But that soon changed when he started showing his true colours. His whole sweet act with you was just a facade, wanting you to think he was this sweet angel, just so he couldn’t make you leave the relationship. 

It all started when he came home drunk one day, seeing you on the couch, watching your favourite tv show. When he saw you watching it without him, he got aggressive. Which is stupid because, it’s just a tv show, it’s not like you kicked him or anything. That’s when he first hit you. He didn’t even show remorse, his eyes full of hate. That went on for a few months, until you had enough. You sat him down one day, twiddling your fingers. You feared his reaction but you feared for your safety more than anything.

That’s when you said those 5 words: “I want to break up”. Minhyung didn’t like that at all. He screamed, saying that he owes you and you can’t go anywhere. You stood your ground, despite how terrified you were, telling him that you’re sick of his behaviour and the abuse you received from him, wanting nothing more than for it to stop. That’s when he hit you over and over again, first with his fists. You managed to get away from him, locking yourself in the bathroom.

You heard him shout after you, standing outside the bathroom door. He banged on the door, demanding that you unlocked the door for him. You didn’t listen, covering your ears to block out his shouting. After a while, his shouting stopped, removing your hands from your ears. You thought you were safe, but that feeling went away as quick as it came, Minhyung now destroying the door with an axe. You had no idea where he got the axe from but at the same time, you didn’t want to know.

You screamed as Minhyung made a hole in the door, putting his hand through to unlock the door. You backed away from him, your back hitting the wall. You were trapped. “I told you, you can’t get away from me, you stupid bitch”, he snarled, grabbing your ankles. You continued screaming as he pulled you out the bathroom, getting on top of you. He wrapped his hands around your neck, applying pressure on it. 

“If you really want to leave me then, I guess I’ll make you leave for good”, he said, a sickening smile on his face. You struggled against him, trying to pry his hands off you. He started slamming your body on the floor, shouting profanities at you. You had to do something before he killed you. Without thinking, you reached your hand out, putting your hand on his face. You dug your nails into his left eye, causing him to cry out in pain. He took his hands off around your neck, and you kicked him in the shin, making him roll off your body. 

You got up quickly, running away from him. You ran downstairs, grabbed your phone and immediately called the police. Thankfully they got there within 10 minutes of you putting the phone down, hiding from Minhyung. Your neighbour looked after you while Minhyung got arrested, which you thanked them for.

You were brought out of your thoughts by Hyunjin poking you gently, asking if you were okay. “I’m not scared of him anymore. I mean, I still kind of am but after a lot of therapy, I managed to deal with it”, you said, looking if they were still there, which they were. “Come on out, you stupid bitch”, Minhyung said, now coming out of the truck. Shit, you were all in trouble. Your heart was racing, you were surprised none of the guys could hear it. He was getting closer to where you were, his footsteps getting louder, until…

“Boss, I don’t think y/n is here”, one of his guys said, causing Minhyung to groan and walk back to the truck. The truck soon drove off, speeding off. You let out a breath you didn’t realise you were holding, standing up once you were sure they were gone. “That was close”, Chan said, checking his surroundings, making sure no one else sneaks up on you. “Alright, it’s clear. Let’s go”, and at that, you continued on walking.

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

The sun had started to set, the colder air causing shivers down your spine so you put your jacket on to keep yourself warm. “We haven’t seen any infected for a while, which I’m glad about”, Jisung said, feeling slightly safer. “Please don’t jinx us, Jisung”, Lee Know said, causing them to bicker. You just rolled your eyes at the pair, they seriously acted like an old married couple.

“Oi, love birds, if you would stop bickering, you’ll notice that we’re about to go into the underground subway, which means going into the dark so get your flashlights out”, Seungmin said, getting his flashlight out ready. The two stopped bickering and listened to him, getting their flashlights out. You all went into the underground subway, which was slightly flooded, the water coming up to just below your knees. You managed to walk through it though, even though it was a slight struggle. 

Seungmin was right though, it was dark. Not too dark that you couldn’t see anything but dark enough that you had to use your torches. “I hate this, ew, this water feels so murky. It’s probably sewage water, filled with shit and piss. I think I’m going to throw up just thinking about it”, Jisung said, being dramatic, as per usual. “Jisung, if you don’t stop, I will turn you into a human flashlight because I will shove this flashlight so far up your ass, your entire body will start glowing”, Seungmin threatened, getting ready to shove the flashlight up his ass. 

“Hey guys, stop it”, Chan said, suddenly going quiet. Everyone else went quiet too, wondering what Chan heard. That’s when they heard splashing coming from a distance. “I swear to god, if that’s an infected piece of shit, I will wreak havoc”, Jisung said, not wanting to move. “Stop being dramatic”, Lee Know said, who also wasn’t moving. 

The splashing got closer, putting all of you on edge. “What the fuck is that?!” Felix said, shining his flashlight. That’s when an infected submerged out of the water, charging at you. You fired your gun, shooting it, causing it to fall back into the water with a massive splash. “That was close”, Jeongin said. “You still going to wreak havoc, Jisung?” Seungmin said jokingly, knowing full well that Jisung won’t do that. “Shut up, Seungmin”, Jisung said, rolling his eyes.

You progressed further through the subway, thankfully being able to walk normally, now that you reached part of it that wasn’t flooded. You reached the end of the subway, but it was blocked due to rubble blocking the exit. “Well, shit. How are we supposed to get out?” Hyunjin said, feeling stumped. “Hey, guys? Does that look like a way out?” Jeongin asked, pointing to a hole in the roof. 

“That does look like the way out but, how are we supposed to get up there?” Chan asked, since there is no way up onto the subway train to get to the top. “We could boost others up there, I guess? It’s a risk, but it’s the only thing I can think of”, Lee Know said, everyone agreeing with him. It is a risk but it’s the only thing that should work.

You started boosting others onto the subway train, one after the other. It was going smoothly, like nothing bad was going to happen. But oh, you were so wrong. Jisung, Jeongin, Hyunjin and you were the last ones to be boosted up onto the train, and that’s when you started to hear the infected coming closer to you. 

“Shit, hurry up”, Jisung said, being the next one to be boosted up. Hyunjin helped him, Jisung grabbing Chan’s hand, pulling him up. Next was Jeongin, grabbing Chan’s hand, almost falling as he stood up on top of the train. You could see infected in the distance, coming closer, their groans haunting you. “You’re next, y/n”, Hyunjin said, not giving you a chance to protest as he lifted you up. You grabbed Chan’s hand, pulling you up. 

“Hyunjin, grab my hand”, Chan said, holding his hand for Hyunjin to grab. Hyunjin grabbed his hand, and as soon as Chan started to pull him up, the infected held onto Hyunjin’s ankle, digging its nails into his flesh. He screamed in agony, feeling blood trickle down his ankle. You got your gun out, shooting the infected, it’s hand letting go of Hyunjin’s ankle. You managed to pull him up onto the train, Hyunjin almost collapsing into your arms. Hyunjin leaned on you, all of you leaving the subway. 

You waited until you were safe before checking Hyunjin’s ankle. He sat down, rolling his pant leg up, revealing his ankle. “It doesn’t look too bad, thankfully”, you said, wrapping a bandage around the wound. “Hopefully I don’t turn. You don’t want to date a cannibalistic psychopath”, Hyunjin joked, which you didn’t find funny. “Hey, it didn’t bite me. You only get infected if they bite you, or eat you”, he said, which he did have a point. You only turn if an infected person eats you, or just even a bite. You gave him some medicine for it so it doesn’t end up getting infected.

“Are you able to walk?” you asked him, helping him up. He didn’t stumble or fall over so that answers your question. “We should stay here for the night, get some sleep. Luckily this place has lots of food so we’ll be able to eat”, Chan said, putting his bag down. You all made a place to sleep, getting as comfortable as you could. Everyone seemed to fall asleep straight away after eating but you couldn’t seem to fall asleep. Your mind just wouldn’t shut off. You kept thinking about Changbin, Minhyung trying to find you, Hyunjin. 

After a while though, you somehow managed to fall asleep. Unfortunately, though, you didn’t end up in dreamland. You ended up having a nightmare, which you haven’t had since you were younger.

“y/n? I’m going to find you”, Minhyung said, his voice full of venom. You were hiding in a bathroom, the door locked. You were holding your breath so as to not make a noise. You had tears streaming down your face, your mascara staining your cheeks. You accidentally sobbed loudly, which Minhyung heard. He stood outside the bathroom door, his breathing erratic. 

“I know you’re in there, y/n. Open the door for me, please”, his voice sounded oddly calm, despite his intentions. He knows you’re in there so there’s no point in trying to hide anymore. “Just leave me alone”, you cried, wanting all this to be over. You found a baseball bat in the corner of the bathroom, grabbing it. “If you don’t open this door in 10 seconds, I will break it down”, he said, and you knew he wasn’t just saying it because he will actually break it down.

“10”

You continued to sit there, holding the baseball bat.

“9”

Your breathing got heavier.

“8”

You thought about the times when Minhyung was actually nice, but it was all a facade and you wish you never met him.

“7”

Your hold on the baseball got tighter, gripping the handle.

“6”

You contemplated whether to unlock the door or not.

“5”

You took a deep breath.

“4”

You stood up.

“3” 

You walked towards the door slowly, tears still streaming down your face, your vision slightly blurry.

“2”

You made it to the door, holding the lock.

“1”

You unlocked the door, but not opened the door yet.

“Attagirl”.

That’s all he said as he slammed the door open, but he wasn’t expecting you to whack him over the head with the baseball bat. He fell to the ground with a thud, giving you a chance to run out of the house. You ran down the stairs, not bothering to put on any shoes as you opened the front door. You were expecting to see the street in front of your house but you were surrounded by darkness. You walked through the darkness, trying to find the light.

All of a sudden, Changbin’s lifeless body appeared in front of you. But instead of him lying there, he had turned into a cannibalistic psychopath, running towards you. You tried to scream but you couldn’t, no sound coming out of your mouth. You ran in the opposite direction, trying to find something to break you from this nightmare. You kept running for what seemed like ages but when you turned around, Changbin was still there but so were the others. They were all infected, blood coming out of their mouths, their eyes sunken into their sockets. You tried to scream again but still, no sound came out. You moved backwards, and you felt yourself falling. You continued falling for god knows how long, until you felt light. That’s when you realised you were surrounded by water. You tried swimming to the surface but the more you swam, the further away from the surface you were. 

“y/n?” you heard a voice calling your name but you couldn’t make out who it was. You felt like you were drowning, your lungs becoming filled with water, and your body started to sink into the dark abyss.

“y/n!” a voice woke you up from your nightmare, sweat covering your entire body. You sat up and saw who woke you up: Hyunjin. So that’s who was calling you. You fell into him, crying into his chest. “Did you have a nightmare? Do you want to talk about it?” Hyunjin asked, to which you shook your head, not wanting to replay the dark torments of your mind. You stayed like that for a few minutes, until you calmed down. When you lifted your head off his chest, you didn’t realise how close you were until Hyunjin’s face was inches away from yours. Hyunjin leaned in, planting a sweet and gentle kiss on your lips, his hand stroking your hip. It was only a short kiss, but you enjoyed it. He planted a kiss on the tip of your nose, making you giggle at the sensation. 

The moment was ruined by the sound of Lee Know waking up, his cat senses alerting something. “You good, bro?” Hyunjin asked him. “I think something bad is about to happen”, he said, and right at that moment, the door was kicked down, waking the others up. “What the fuck?” Chan said, immediately waking up. Jisung stood up, wondering what happened. When he came face to face to whoever broke the door down, he put his hands up, as if he was surrendering. 

“Don’t move”, the guy said, aiming his gun at Jisung. “Please don’t shoot”, Jisung said, trying his best to be brave when deep down, he was scared shitless. “Where is y/n?” the guy asked, and at the sound of your name, you hid behind a wall. “I have no idea who that is”, Jisung said, trying to be oblivious. “Kid, don’t try and fool me. You know exactly who I’m on about”, the guy said, putting his finger on the trigger. 

“Dude, what do you want? Why do you want y/n so badly?” Jisung said, subtly looking behind him to look at the others, hoping you were nowhere in sight. “Minhyung wants them. How should I put this? He wants to… make things up with them”, the guy said, walking closer to Jisung. Jisung walked backwards, which the guy didn’t like. “I said don’t fucking move!” causing Jisung to freeze in his spot.

Lee Know slowly appeared behind the wall, making himself known to the mysterious guy. “Do you know how he treated y/n? You know he tried to kill them, right?” Jisung said, being careful with his words. “Oh really? That’s not what he said. He said it was the other way around”, the guy said, still pointing his gun at Jisung. “That’s bullshit”, you accidentally shouted, realising that you just made yourself known. 

“Move out of my way, kid. I only want y/n”, the guy said, but Jisung didn’t move. “I said move!” he shouted, making Jisung flinch. “But you told me not to move”, Jisung said, which is true, he did tell me not to move. The guy was getting agitated, and he was about to pull the trigger, which Lee Know saw. Lee Know lunged for the guy, and he tackled him to the ground. The gun went off, but no one knows where the bullet hit. 

The guy grabbed his gun and left, not bothering to get you due to what just happened. That’s when Jisung saw Lee Know on the floor. “Fuck, Lee Know!” he said, running over to him. “I-i’m okay. I think”, Lee Know said, holding his abdomen. “Guys, help”, Jisung called to the others, you running to his side. You pulled Lee Know’s t-shirt up, and you saw that he was shot in the abdomen. Blood was trickling out of the wound, freaking Jisung out.

“Hey, Chan, grab the first aid kit out of my bag please”, you asked, Chan immediately ran over to your bag and grabbed the first aid kit. He handed it to you, opening the kit. “This might hurt so I apologise in advance”, you said, making Lee Know nervous. You tried to stop the bleeding by using a sterile cloth, applying pressure to it. Lee Know winced in pain, squinting his eyes. You managed to stop the bleeding, and you went to use some tools to try and remove the bullet but Lee Know stopped you. 

“Don’t try to remove it. That might make it worse. Just leave it in”, he said, making you nervous. “Are you sure? Who knows if it hit any organs”, you said, still applying pressure. “Hey, if anything happens to me, at least I died a hero”, he said, trying to lighten the mood, which was sort of working but at the same time, wasn’t. You left the bullet in, putting a bandage around his abdomen. You helped him up, his abdomen feeling like it was on fire. Despite it hurting like a bitch, he managed to stand up.

“We better keep moving. It looks like the sun is coming up”, Chan said, grabbing his things. You all left, the sun hitting your face as soon as you got outside. 

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

It’s been a couple of hours since Lee Know was shot, and everything seemed to be going okay. All of you were walking along a river, which was filled with moss and leaves, no ducks or fish to be found. You were too focused on the surroundings in front of you, you didn’t notice Lee Know struggling, until it was too late. 

“I don’t feel too good”, Lee Know said, and his body collapsed to the floor. He started coughing up blood, blood was also coming out of his nose, trickling down to his chin. You all rushed to him, trying to wake him up. “Guys, he won’t wake up, what do we do?” Jisung freaked out, his mind going into overdrive. You lifted up his t-shirt, checking his wound. You lifted up the bandage, and saw that his wound had become infected. Pus was oozing out of the wound and even though you’re not a professional, you know that that is not a good sign.

“Shit”, you said, your hands shaking. You’re not a professional so you’re not sure what to do. “We need to do something”, Jisung said, tears welling up in his eyes. He didn’t want to lose his best friend, his soulmate. Chan checked his pulse and his pulse was very weak. “Shit, his pulse is weak”, he said. “Lee Know, wake up. We need you. I-i need you, please”, Jisung was a sobbing mess at this point. “Wake up!” Jisung screamed, the rest of you just sitting there, not knowing what to do. 

“He’s gone”, Chan said after checking his pulse again, tears streaming down his face. “No, he can’t be! We need to fucking do something!” Jisung screamed at the top of his lungs, his sobs becoming full on wailing. His whole body was shaking at this point, and he was starting to hyperventilate. “I’m sorry”, you said, guilt filling your whole body. You felt like you didn’t do enough to treat his wound, and you felt like shit because of it. “No, don’t apologise. It’s not your fault y/n, you did everything you could. Besides, you’re not a professional”, Hyunjin said, squeezing your shoulder. 

“No, you’re right. You should be sorry”, Jisung said, not thinking about what he’s saying. You looked confused, standing up. “You’re acting like I’m the one who shot him”, you said, trying not to take offence since Jisung isn’t thinking, his mind all over the place. “No, but you’re the one who treated his wound. You shouldn’t have listened to him and took the bullet ou, then maybe he would still be fucking alive”, Jisung shouted, his face looked angry. 

“Jisung, stop. You’re not thinking straight”, Hyunjin said, walking towards him. Jisung ended up punching him in the face, knocking him to the ground. That’s when Jisung realised what he just did. “I-i’m so sorry”, he said, the anger turned back into sadness. Hyunjin knew he didn’t mean any of that so he let it go, standing up and going over to hug him, which Jisung accepted. 

“W-we should bury him”, Jisung said whilst wiping his eyes. Luckily there was a random shovel close to them (someone else probably buried a loved one or something), digging a hole in the grass, placing Lee Know’s lifeless body in the ground before filling the hole. You created a makeshift grave, with Lee Know’s name on it. You sat by his grave for a while, not saying a word.

“We should go”, Jisung said, standing up and walking off without saying another word. You all followed him, walking in silence, apart from the odd bird sounds. 

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

It’s been 2 months since the deaths of Changbin and Lee Know, and just over 3 months since the outbreak started. It’s now winter, snow covering the ground and trees, making it look like a winter wonderland. Which it would be, if there weren’t flesh eating monsters walking around.

Ever since that day, something in Jisung changed. He wasn’t chatty like he used to, not even cracking a single joke. His bubbly personality disappeared, turning him into a different person. He became more serious, which sort of scared you in a way. But at the same time, it made it easier for all of you to survive.

You were currently in Busan, walking through an abandoned shopping mall. There was broken glass everywhere, all the shops either shut down or completely ransacked. “Hey, look what I found”, Jeongin said, picking up an old robot, which was covered in dust. “It looks as old as you, Chan”, Seungmin said, trying to lighten the mood. Everyone laughed, even Jisung. You missed his laugh, even if it was only a short one. You looked around the shopping mall, not looking for anything in particular but wanting to see if you could find anything interesting. 

Apart from the occasional spoken words between the group, it was deathly quiet. Like, too quiet. It scared you. Despite it being empty, apart from you and the others, you felt like you were being watched. You turned around and as soon as you did, you saw Minhyung. Well, you thought you did. He charged at you screaming, holding a baseball bat. You screamed and crouched into a ball, cowering. When you didn’t feel the sensation of being hit with a baseball bat, you looked up, and saw no one there. 

“Hey, y/n, are you okay?!” Hyunjin asked, rushing over to you, seeing you sitting on the floor. “I-i’m good. I think. Fuck, now I think I’m having nightmares while I’m awake”, you said, suddenly feeling exhausted after what just happened. All of a sudden, you felt a panic attack coming on, which is probably the reason why you started to feel exhausted. Your breathing became heavier, your eyes stinging. 

“Guys, help”, Hyunjin shouted to the others, needing a hand to help you overcome your panic attack. “We’re a bit occupied at the moment”, Chan shouted, and that’s when Hyunjin saw the others fighting off the infected. Where the fuck did they come from? He didn’t even hear them. You felt like you were drowning, everything around you becoming muffled. The last time you had a panic attack was when you were a teenager, when you were doing your exams. Thinking back at it, doing your exams was nothing compared to the situation you’re currently in.

You couldn’t breathe, gasping for breath. Your heart felt heavy, whilst your entire body felt light, like you were surrounded by water. You couldn’t even concentrate on what Hyunjin was saying, not comprehending what he was saying, it just sounded like gibberish. Whilst Hyunjin was trying, but currently struggling, to calm you down, the others were continuing to fight off the infected. One of the infected has Seungmin trapped against the glass balustrade railing, struggling to push it away from him. He could feel the glass starting to break from the amount of force he is being pushed by the infected, scared for his life. He didn’t want to die like this. He wants to grow old, surrounded by loads of dogs he’s rescued, with the love of his life. 

The glass finally hit its breaking point, the glass smashing as Seungmin and the infected started to fall through it, starting to fall from the top floor of the shopping mall. Jeongin saw, his eyes widening. “Seungmin!” he shouted, running towards them. Everything happened in slow motion, Jeongin watching as Seungmin’s body started to fall off the top floor, Jeongin going as quick as he could. Seungmin closed his eyes, not wanting to accept his fate, but he soon felt someone grab his wrist. He opened his eyes and saw Jeongin, who gripped onto his wrist for dear life. The infected grabbed onto Seungmin’s ankle, trying to pull him down but Jeongin was stronger. The infected’s grip loosened on Seungmin’s ankle, plummeting to its death. Jeongin pulled Seungmin up onto the floor, Seungmin clinging onto the younger.

Seungmin isn’t the one to cry in front of others, not wanting to show weakness. But right now, he was too exhausted to care, immediately crying as soon as Jeongin pulled him into his body, hugging him. “I’m so fucking tired”, Seungmin cried, still clinging onto Jeongin. 

After god knows how long, Hyunjin managed to calm you down from your panic attack, holding your face in his hands. Your breathing went back to normal, your vision becoming clearer and your hearing no longer muffled. “Is everyone okay?” Chan asked, looking around to check on everyone. He saw Seungmin clinging onto Jeongin, Hyunjin hugging you and Jisung standing over some dead infected. However, he couldn’t see Felix.

“Felix?!” Chan shouted, trying to find him but couldn’t. That’s when he heard a distant voice. “Guys? You might want to come look at this”, it was Felix. Where the fuck did he go? You and the others followed Felix’s voice, finding him next to a shop full of dead bodies. Not infected, just normal people, all dead. It looks like they were all tortured, some of them still tied up. Most of the dead were adults, but there were also some children. Who the fuck would do something like this?!

“We should get out of here”, Chan said, all of you agreeing with him. You all ran out of the shopping mall as quickly as you could, not wanting to be in there a minute longer. You all made it out of there, feeling the snow under your feet again. You could hear the snow crunching under your feet whenever you walked forward, the sound of it satisfying you for some reason. You’ve loved the snow ever since you were a kid, always making snowmen or throwing snowballs at your friends, or just even running around in it, seeing your small footprints in the snow.

You were walking over a hill, about to walk down it when you saw some people in the distance, who you assumed were some of Minhyung’s men. You all crouched down, hiding behind some bushes to hide yourself. “How are we going to get past them?” Felix whispered. “I have an idea but, it’s very risky and stupid”, you said and when you said ‘risky and stupid’, everyone protested, not wanting you to get yourself killed. “They’ll just think I’m surrendering myself, they won’t even suspect anything because they all seem too dumb to notice”, you said, and despite the others hating the idea, it was the best one you could think of.

You stood up and started walking down the hill, holding your hands in the air. Once one of the men saw you, he aimed his gun at you. “Hey, you’ve been trying to find me, right? Well, here I am”, you said, trying not to show fear. “Wow, I can’t believe you actually showed up. Why take you to Minhyung when we can have you all to ourselves?” another guy said, his words making you feel sick.

There were about 5 of them, and they were all starting to walk towards you. You pretended to be innocent, so they didn't suggest anything. You smiled at them, putting your hands on your hips. One of them went to grab you but before they did, you grabbed his arm and twisted it, making him yell out in pain. You kicked his shin, causing him to fall to the ground. One of the other men lunged at you, getting ready to tackle you but you were quicker, punching him square in the face, knocking him straight to the ground. Another man grabbed you from behind, trapping your arms. You headbutted him with the back of your head, causing him to let go of you, giving you the opportunity to turn around and grab your gun, shooting him in the gut. He fell backwards, clutching his abdomen. There were now 2 men left, and you turned around to face them. This was your opportunity to use your martial arts skills. They both launched themselves at you, getting ready to hit you. You dodged both of their attacks, twisting one of the guy's arms and flipped him over, his back landing on the ground. You kicked the other guy in the shin as he was about to grab you from behind, and you did a backflip over him. You grabbed his head and got your knife out of your pocket, slicing his throat, him now bleeding to death. You didn’t want the other three waking up and coming after you so you grabbed your gun and shot them all.

You put your knife and gun back in your pockets, seeing the others running down the hill towards you. “Well, that went better than I expected”, you said, smiling at them, as if you just didn’t kill 5 guys on your own. 

“y/n, that was… awesome. Where the fuck did you learn those moves?” Jisung said, never seen you move like that before. “Oh, I did martial arts as a teenager”, you said casually, continuing on walking, stepping over the dead bodies. 

The guys didn’t say anything else as they followed you, also stepping over the dead bodies. You ended up walking through the woods, which looked very creepy, especially with snow covering the ground so you couldn’t see if there were traps hidden underneath. You treaded carefully, not wanting to risk anything because who knows what psychopath has hidden underneath it.

“y/n, why do you think someone has hidden traps under the snow? I mean, it’s kinda stupid”, Seungmin said, which is true but at the same time, in the current circumstances, anything can happen. “I don’t know, there’s just something off about this. I can feel it”, you said and as soon as you said that, a rabbit came running past you and got caught in a bear trap, revealing the trap from underneath the snow, its tiny body getting impaled by it.

“Well, shit”, is all Seungmin said. Seungmin treaded more carefully, not wanting to become like that rabbit. He took better care of where he placed his feet, his whole body rushing with anxiety. You managed to get to the other side safely with no hiccups, letting out a breath you didn’t realise you were holding. Hyunjin, Chan and Felix were the next ones to get to the other side, standing by you. Jisung, Jeongin and Seungmin were still struggling, you started to get anxious for them. Jisung was the next one to reach the safe point, accidentally running into Hyunjin, knocking him over. 

“Really, bro?” Hyunjin said, pushing Jisung off him. “Hey, I could have died, you know”, Jisung said, glaring at him. As they both stood up, Jeongin was standing there, waiting for Seungmin. “Come one Seungmin, you can do it”, Jeongin said, trying to help him, but it wasn’t working. Seungmin was almost to the end when the unfortunate thing happened. Seungmin put his left foot down, and his ankle was impaled by a bear trap, causing him to scream out in pain.

“Fuck, Seungmin!” you shouted, running to him. “Get it off me!” Seungmin yelled, holding his leg. You tried to pry it open but it wouldn’t work. “It won’t open”, you said, panicking. “What do we do?!”

You walked backwards, your anxiety through the room. You felt helpless at this point, watching as Seungmin continued to scream in pain, blood staining the snow. After god knows how long, Seungmin seemed to have given up. “You guys go, save yourselves”, he said, tears staining his cheeks. “There’s no point in trying to open it. Just go, please”, he said but none of you moved. “I said go!” Seungmin screamed and as soon as he closed his mouth, a bullet went through his forehead, his body falling to the ground. 

You screamed, feeling someone grab you from behind. The others were also being grabbed, cloths being put over their mouths, causing them to pass out. You thrashed around against the person but it was no use. You had a cloth put over your mouth too, making you pass out.

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

You

When you came to, you looked at your surroundings. You saw you were in a cage, concrete walls either side of you. You sat up, the cold floor giving you chills. You tried to get a look outside the cage but you couldn’t see much, just a big table and… sharp knives on the walls? You were in big trouble.

“Ah, I see you’re awake”, a voice said, making you freeze. It was Minhyung, and he had a scar on his left eye, from when you dug your nails into it. “What the fuck do you want from me?!” you shouted, standing up. “I want to make amends”, is all he said and you scoffed. “Make amends? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” you said, rolling your eyes.

“Oh, babe, you’ll see soon, don’t worry”, hearing him call you ‘babe’ made you almost throw up in your mouth. That’s when another person walked into the room, holding a piece of meat. “You didn’t leave any evidence, right?” Minhyung asked him, and the guy shook his head, wiping his bloody hand on his pants. Shit, that can’t be good. 

“Now, be a good little doll and listen to me. I want you to join me. We can survive this, together. We can be together like old times”, Minhyung said, coming closer to the cage. Like old times?! Who the fuck does he think he is?

“Old times? Like when you tried to kill me?” you shouted, holding the cage door. That’s when you saw the cage door keys hanging on his belt, and that’s when you had an idea. “You know what, that doesn’t seem too bad, you know? It’ll be nice”, you said, putting a fake smile on your face. You put your hand out through a gap in the door, and as soon as Minhyung was about to hold your hand, you grabbed his fingers and broke them, making him yell in pain. You attempted to grab his keys but you couldn’t. Minhyung grabbed your hand, pulling you, causing you to smack into the door hard, and fell to the floor.

“You little shit. You have until sundown to make your decision and if you choose the wrong one, well, then you won’t like what happens after that”, Minhyung said, leaving the room and slamming the door shut.

The guys

When the guys came to, they noticed you were nowhere to be found. They saw Seungmin lying on the ground, blood surrounding his head. Chan screamed out of anger, frustration and sadness. 3 of their friends are now dead and who knows what could happen to you. “We need to find y/n, and quickly”, Hyunjin said, rushing out of the woods, the others following behind him. 

It started snowing, and it started snowing really hard. They could hardly see anything through the blizzard, making their search for you even harder. “Can you hear that?” Felix asked, and they stood still. They could hear church bells, and they sounded close. They continued walking through the blizzard, covering their eyes. Hyunjin could see a silhouette of someone, and he turned around, pointing his gun at him. Hyunjin was quicker, firing his gun at him, knocking the guy to the ground. 

They ended up fighting a lot of Minhyung’s guys, taking them all out. The blizzard didn’t stop them from progressing further, needing to find you as soon as possible.

The only light source they had was from fire pits, which also warmed them up at the same time. “I really hope we’re getting closer, I’m freezing”, Felix said, shivering. All of a sudden, someone tackled Felix to the ground, hitting him over and over. Chan grabbed the person from behind, throwing him off Felix, and threw him on the ground. Chan hit the guy over and over in the face, before grabbing his knife and stabbed him in the neck, blood spurting out of his throat.

“You ok, Lix?” Chan asked him as he helped him up, Felix was sure his nose was broken and he had a busted lip but he didn’t care about that, he cared about saving you. All he did was nod and continue on walking. They ended up behind a building, seeing a way inside. They walked through the gap, inside from the blizzard. That’s when Hyunjin noticed your bag on a shelf.

“y/n is definitely in here”, is all he said, going through a door.

You

Minhyung came back a few hours later, standing in front of the cage. “Have you made up your mind yet?” he asked, his hands on his hips. “I’ll go with you… to take you to your fucking grave”, you shouted, spitting at him. He didn’t say anything, opening up the cage and grabbed you. Another guy grabbed your other arm, pulling you onto the table. “Don’t fucking touch me”, you screamed, trying to get out of their grip but it was no use. 

Minhyung held you down on the table as the other guy grabbed a meat cleaver, getting ready to cut your arm off. “I’m infected!” you panicked, screaming out those 2 words. “You’re lying”, is all Minhyung said, not believing you. “Pull up my sleeve, see if I’m lying”, you didn’t even think about what you’re saying, fear taking over your body. 

Minhyung pulled up your sleeve, trying to find a bite on your arm but he didn’t. Without thinking, you grabbed the meat cleaver off the table beside you and hit the guy in the arm, causing his arm to spray blood, him screaming out in pain. You kicked Minhyung, making him fly back. You got off the table and ran out of the room, running into a room which looked like a dining area. You hid behind a table, seeing broken plates all over the floor. 

“Where are you, y/n?” you heard his voice, trying to calm your breathing. You talk a step forward, accidentally standing on a broken plate, revealing your hiding place. Minhyung walked further into the room, trying to find you. You carefully walked around the room, hiding behind another table. “I will find out, and I will end you”, Minhyung threatened, hearing him coming closer. You peaked your head above the table, and you saw him standing there. Smoke was filling up the room and the place caught fire, the heat of the fire making you sweat. 

You saw the front door, mentally planning your escape without getting caught. When you thought you were safe, you made a beeline for it but unfortunately, Minhyung grabbed you, pulling you to the ground. He went on top of you, hitting you. “When will you learn to never disobey me?!” he shouted, hitting you again. You turned your head, seeing his machete behind you. 

He got off you, giving you an opportunity to crawl away. You got on your stomach, crawling towards the machete. You almost got it when Minhyung grabbed you again, turning you over so you were on your back again.

“What, you thought I’d actually let you go? You stupid, stupid whore”, he said, wrapping his hands around your throat. You reached your hand behind you, trying to grab the machete. He tightened his grip around your throat, cutting off your airways. You struggled to breath, gasping for air. You felt faint, on the verge of passing out. You tried reaching for the machete again and this time, you managed to grab it. You picked it up, slashing Minhyung with it. He yelled and you flipped the both of you over, you now on top of him. You stabbed him over and over again, blood splashing you in the face. Even when you knew he was dead, you still continued to stab him, screaming bloody murder. 

You felt someone grab you from behind, making you scream out in fear. You were turned around, and that’s when you saw who grabbed you: Hyunjin. “Hey, it’s me”, he said, holding your face in your hands. “H-he tried..”, you tried to say but Hyunjin stopped you. “It’s ok, you’re safe now, baby. I’ve got you”, he said, hugging you as you cried into his chest. 

Hyunjin helped you up, leaving the building with the others, giving you your bag. Chan looked at Minhyung, seeing his lifeless body on the floor, the machete still impaling his chest. He decided to grab it, taking it with him. Minhyung didn’t need it anymore anyway.

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

A couple months have passed since that day and you’re still traumatised. It’s now spring, the warmer air hitting your skin. You haven’t spoken about that day since it happened and the guys won’t ask you, letting you talk about it until you’re ready. You were walking slower than the guys, walking a bit further behind, lost in your own thoughts. You didn’t realise Hyunjin was talking to you until you walked into him, your face hitting his back. 

“Huh, what? Oh yeah, sure”, you said, not even knowing what he said. “Are you okay? I mean, that’s a stupid question but, you know what I mean”, Hyunjin said, realising that the question he asked was, indeed, stupid because neither one of you are okay, especially with what has happened the past 6 months.

“What did you say?” you asked, dodging his question. “I’m going to be honest, I completely forgot what I said”, causing you to roll your eyes, laughing slightly. “Hey guys, the road is blocked so we can’t go this way”, Chan said, and he was right. The road was blocked with abandoned cars, as well the road being destroyed, cars fallen into a makeshift pot hole. “Is there any other way we can go?” Felix asked.

“I mean, we can just go left and go around”, Jeongin said, pointing left and seeing a path which cuts straight through underneath the road, into a tunnel underground. You went inside the tunnel, turning on your flashlights, since the tunnel was dark. “Fuck, it stinks in here”, Jisung said, holding his nose. “Well, we are underground so, you should expect it to smell like shit”, Jeongin said, thinking Jisung was on about the sewage smell. “No, not that. I mean, it smells like rotting meat”, Jisung said, gagging.

As they progressed further into the tunnel, they found the source of where the smell was coming from. “Fucking hell, that’s disgusting”, Hyunjin said, feeling like he was going to throw up. Jeongin, however, did end up throwing up, hunched over in a corner as he puked his guts up. “You good, bro?” Jisung asked Jeongin, going over to him and rubbing his back. 

“What the fuck is that?” Jeongin asked as soon as he felt better, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. “I think that’s what happens to someone when they progress further into the infection. They just… turn into that”, Chan said, not knowing how to describe it. The infected became one with the wall, fungi growing out of it, their features now unrecognisable. You all walked past it, wandering further into the tunnel.

“I really hope more of those things aren’t down here”, you said, not wanting to come into contact with them. They look more terrifying and disgusting than the regular infected you’ve seen. As soon as you said that, you heard a deep roar, coming from further deep in the tunnel. “Ok, what the fuck was that? That did not sound friendly”, Jisung said, and his question was soon answered as a huge monster looking thing came charging through the tunnel. 

“What the fuck?!” you shouted, firing your gun at it. The gun did nothing to it, however, as it ricocheted off of it. “How the fuck are we supposed to kill this thing?!”

“I’ve seen in movies that fire works”, Jisung said, but unfortunately you didn’t have fire. “Jisung, this isn’t a fucking movie, this is real life. Besides, where the heck are we supposed to find fire is this godforsaken tunnel?” Hyunjin said, still firing his gun at the monster. The monster continued to charge towards you, and you jumped out of the way. Unfortunately, Jisung wasn’t as lucky as you and the others, the monster throwing Jisung against the wall, his head smashing against the wall. 

“Jisung!” Chan shouted, running towards Jisung but the monster blocked him. The monster was completely covered head to toe in fungi, and it was twice the size of you. It was huge, and it smelled disgusting, like raw meat that’s gone bad. That’s when you remembered that you had a molotov in your bag, which you learned how to make a month back. You took it out of your bag, lighting the rag on fire. 

“Hey, you smelly little fucker”, you shouted, causing the monster to turn around. It roared at you and that’s when you threw the molotov at it, the monster catching fire. You then fired your gun, and it worked. The monster screeched as if it was in pain, and after a few more shots of your gun, the monster was dead, its body falling to the ground with a thud.

You ran over to Jisung, seeing him unconscious on the floor. “Will he be okay?” you asked, looking at Chan. Chan checked Jisung’s head, seeing blood gushing out of his head. You grabbed your first aid kit from your bag, handing it to Chan. Chan managed to patch Jisung’s head, the blood stopping. “Thankfully his injury isn’t life threatening. He’ll be okay, though I think he’ll have a concussion”, Chan said, giving you your first aid kit back, putting it in your bag. 

“How are we going to wake him up?” Felix asked, poking Jisung on the cheek. “Well, I don’t think poking him will wake him”, Felix said, pouting. You thought of an idea but you don’t think the others will like the idea. You gave Hyunjin a look and Hyunjin just shook his head. “No, nu uh. I’m not kissing him”, Hyunjin said, standing back. “Wow, you’re acting as if you’re in love with him. Plus, I wasn’t thinking of kissing him. Unless…”, you said, pretending to think. 

Hyunjin just shoved your shoulder, but not too hard. “I was thinking of hitting him, it’s the only thing I can think of”, you said. You don’t want to hit your friend but at the same time, it’s the only way you can wake him up. “I volunteer”, Felix said, raising his hand but the look you gave him made him put his hand down. “Who’s the strongest out of the 4 of us?” you asked, excluding Felix because you know him well enough that if he ends up hitting Jisung, he’ll accidentally hurt himself, and you don’t want that to happen. 

Whilst the guys were discussing why they think they were the strongest, you decided to hit Jisung instead, not letting the guys have the chance to do it. As soon as you hit Jisung, he woke up almost immediately. “What did I miss?” is the first thing he said when he woke up, seeing himself lying on the floor. “And why does my head hurt? And why does Chan have 2 heads?”, Jisung said. “Yep, definitely a concussion”, Chan said, ignoring Jisung’s comment of him having 2 heads, and helped him up. 

“Let’s get out of here”, you said, Jisung leaning on Chan for support, so he doesn’t fall over. You progressed further through the tunnel, and you managed to get to a part of it that was light and higher up, part of the ceiling caved in. Due to part of the ceiling being caved in, there was a bus lying on its side, having fallen through the ground, ending up underground. There was also water flooding the tunnel. You had to climb onto the side wall to get to the bus, side shuffling along the wall so as to not fall. The others managed to jump onto the top of the bus, Jisung having the help from Chan, guiding him. They all went inside the bus through an open window, and they felt safe inside it.

It was your turn to jump onto the bus, grabbing the door and climbing on top of the bus, climbing in through the same window the others climbed through. You started walking carefully through the bus but after every single move you did, the bus started creaking, freaking you out. 

“We better get out of here quickly”, you said, not wanting to get trapped inside it. You managed to get to the other side of the bus, about to get out of there but unfortunately, something must have collapsed because the bus suddenly became submerged in water, all of you now being surrounded by it. You tried to swim to the other side of the bus, wanting to find an exit but there was none. Chan signalled to you that he was going to break a window, doing it with no problem, swimming through the now broken window. 

You all escaped through the broken window, swimming to the surface. You all swam to the top, gasping for air. “Where the hell are we?” Jisung asked, not knowing where you ended up. Unfortunately, you ended up in part of a river where there was a high current, being sucked down the stream. All of you were panicking again, not knowing what to do.

Hyunjin saw you heading towards a rock, and he managed to grab you, swapping your positions so that he was heading for the rock. He ended up smashing into the rock, knocking him out. The others were lucky as they were pulled straight towards dry land, crawling out of the water and onto the grass. Chan had to help you pull Hyunjin out of the water, lying his unconscious body on the ground.

“Hyunjin? Hyunjin, please, wake up”, you cried, trying to wake him up but nothing was working. As soon as you stood up and turned around, you felt yourself being tasered, your body seizing up, falling to the ground. Since you were tasered, you didn’t see the others fighting the people who caught you, causing them to also be tasered. 

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

When you woke up, it looked like you were in a hospital room. White painted the walls, some of the paint being chipped off the walls, medical tools lying on a table on the other side of the room. “Ah, I see you’re awake”, an unfamiliar voice said, a tall woman walking into the room. “Who the hell are you?” you asked, now sitting up on the bed. “Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Lea, and I’m part of a group called ‘Mayflower’. We’re trying to find a cure to this disease”, she said, leaning against the wall. 

“Where are my friends?” you asked, wanting to know what she has done to them. “Don’t worry, your friends are fine. And your friend with the concussion is resting at the moment after giving him some medicine”, Lea said, and you weren’t convinced. “Take me to them”, you said, getting up off the bed. As soon as you stood up, you were pushed back down again by a man in uniform.

“I’m sorry but, I can’t do that”, Lea said, holding a syringe. The guy held you down on the bed, you shouting profanities at him. “This will be over a lot sooner if you just stop struggling”, Lea said, moving the syringe closer to your neck. Before Lea could stick the syringe in your neck, you headbutted her, making her fall backwards. You grabbed the syringe off her, stabbing the guy in the leg, causing him to scream in pain. The guy ended up passing out a couple seconds later, his body hitting the floor.

“You fucker. Since you won’t cooperate, I don’t need you anymore. Guards, take them out of the building”, Lea said, and 2 guards barged into the room, grabbing you. You didn’t even protest, too tired to care. The guards dragged you down a corridor and once you were out of sight of anyone, you attacked them, hitting them over the head with their gun. You took their machine gun, holding on to it for dear life. 

You sneaked around the hospital, trying to find the others. You walked into a room, and saw Jeongin lying on the bed, still unconscious. You walked over to him, shaking him. Luckily he woke up straight away, but as soon as he opened his eyes, he freaked out. “Hey, it’s okay, it’s me”, you whispered, leading him out of the room, closing the door quietly behind you. 

“We need to find the others but in order to do that, we need to be quiet”, you whispered, explaining the plan to Jeongin. He nodded, going in the opposite direction as you. The plan was, you were going to check on Jisung whilst Jeongin went to go get Chan, Felix and Hyunjin. You were able to find Jisung with no problem, seeing him resting on the hospital bed. He woke up on his own accord as he heard the door open, and when he saw you, he sighed in relief. “I’m so glad to see you, y/n. I thought they were going to kill us”, Jisung said, getting up off the bed. He definitely seemed more with it now a couple of hours ago, his concussion gone. 

“Come on, lets go”, and you both left the room, going to find the others. You turned the corner and you saw 2 guards down the corridor, and you and Jisung hid behind the wall, breathing heavily. “How are we going to get past them?” Jisung asked, but luckily, you didn’t need to get past them because you suddenly heard the 2 guards bodies drop to the ground. You peaked round the corner, and you saw Jisung, Chan and Felix. 

“Jeongin, where’s Hyunjin?” you asked, not seeing him with them. You started to panic, awful situations going round your head. You couldn’t think straight, worry and fear overtaking your body as you took off, running down the corridor. “y/n, wait!” Chan whisper-screamed, but you didn’t listen. Your body was filled with fear, worry, but also anger at the same time. A couple of guards came around the corner, walking towards you. 

“Hey, stop there!” they shouted at you but you didn’t listen, firing the machine gut at them without hesitation, killing them at point blank. Any guards you saw that charged at you, you killed them all without hesitation, seeing nothing but red. You need Hyunjin back, and you will do that, no matter what it takes.

You ended up on the other side of the operation room, and that’s where you saw Hyunjin: he was lying on the operating table, wires coming out of his arms. You slammed the door open, barging in. All three surgeons who were in the room all stopped what they were doing, looking at you.

“Unhook him, now”, you said, your voice sounding threatening. You pointed the gun at the main surgeon, who had his arms up. “Don’t shoot, please”, he begged, walking backwards. “If you do what I say, then I won’t shoot you”, you said, hoping they would listen to you. Neither one of them moved, not wanting to unhook Hyunjin. 

“I said fucking unhook him!” you shouted, walking closer to them. The main surgeon grabbed a scalpel, going to use it as a weapon. He didn’t think as he charged at you, but you fired the machine gun at him, firing multiple bullets into him. He slammed back into the wall, his body sliding down it, blood staining the blue walls. You didn’t even think as you shot the other 2 surgeons, not wanting them to report back to Lea. you put the machine gun down, going straight towards Hyunjin. You unhooked the wires from his arms, holding him in your arms. 

Hyunjin looked peaceful, his features soft on his face. When you saw his chest rising up and down, you felt some sort of relief since you know that he’s still alive. The guys walked into the room, seeing Hyunjin lying on the operating table, and they thought their worst fears had come. 

“Is he…”, Jeongin was about to ask, but before he finished his sentence, you interrupted him. “He’s still alive, just sedated”, you said, trying to find something to wake him up with. You saw some smelling salts on the table, grabbing them. You put the smelling salts near his face, and he woke up a few seconds later. “Where am I?” he asked, looking around the room. “Lets not worry about that now, let’s just get out of here”, Chan said, leaving the room. 

Hyunjin leaned on you as you all tried to find the way out of the hospital, walking down some stairs. You managed to make it to the lower ground floor, walking through a door and ended up in the hospital car park. You picked the first car you found, getting in the car. Luckily the keys were already in the ignition, making your escape easier. 

Unfortunately, you weren’t going to be able to leave that easily as the car park doors still need to be opened. “I’ll go and try to open them”, Chan offered, getting out of the car, walking towards the door. As soon as Chan got to the door, Lea came barging out of the door to the car park, holding a gun.

“Chan, get down”, Jisung shouted to him, but it was too late. Lea fired her gun, the bullet flying through the air, and it hit Chan straight in the back of the head, his body falling to the ground almost immediately. You all screamed, seeing Chan now dead on the floor. You went to Lea and stood face to face with her, whilst the others ran towards the car park door.

“You fucking bitch. You seriously don’t know when to stop, do you?” you said, holding your right hand behind your back, hiding your gun. “If only one of you would actually cooperate with me. But no, you didn’t. All we were trying to do was find a cure but you all destroyed that chance. Now there is going to be no cure because of your fucking selfishness”, Lea shouted, pointing her gun at you.

“Oh, but there is a cure for this disease”, you said, confusing Lea. The next few seconds went by like a flash, you pulled your gun from behind your back and fired your gun, the bullet hitting Lea in the middle of her forehead. She dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes, her gun dropping from her hand.

You ran towards the others, seeing Chan’s lifeless body lying on the ground. “How many more friends do we have to fucking lose before we’re out of this fucking mess?” Jisung yelled, hitting the car park door. That’s when Jisung noticed the buttons to open the door, pressing the big green button, the door now opening. 

“Hyunjin, can you drive?” Jisung asked him, Hyunjin nodding his head, sniffling as tears rolled down his cheeks. You all got into the car, Hyunjin turning the key in the ignition. He slammed his foot on the pedal, driving through the open door, driving as fast as he could, driving away from the hospital.

It had started raining lightly about an hour ago, and now the rain is really heavy, making it difficult for Hyunjin to see where he was going. “I can’t fucking see”, Hyunjin said, gripping the steering wheel, his fingers going white. He suddenly slammed on the brakes, the car coming to an abrupt stop. He got out of the car, slamming the door shut. You, Jeongin, Jisung and Felix stayed in the car while Hyunjin walked in front of the car, and started screaming, watching as he got soaked by the rain.

That’s when you all decided to get out of the car, not caring that you were getting soaked by the ferocious downpour. After a while, Hyunjin calmed down, breathing in and out, something he always does to calm himself down. Neither of you said anything, just listened to the sound of the rain, seeing it bounce off the ground.

The silence was soon interrupted by the sound of a plane, causing you to look up. You saw what looked like a military cargo plane flying through the sky, and that’s when you thought of something. “Wait, that plane in the sky means that we’ll be able to leave. If we get to the airport, we have a chance of getting on the next plane”, you said, feeling a slight chance of hope. “Yeah but who knows what could happen once we get on that plane”, Jisung said, trying to think realistically but at the same time, he really needed to leave the outbreak and start a fresh start in a new country.

You all got back in the car and Hyunjin turned the car around, racing towards the airport, going as fast as he could through the rain. 

You got to the airport in the nick of time, seeing another military cargo plane filling up with other people. You got out of the car, all of you rushing towards it. You tried to get on the plane but you were stopped. “Sorry but, you all can’t get on this plane. Only 3 of you can, the other 2 will have to stay here”, the soldier said, pushing you back. “Hey, you can’t do that. We need to get out of here”, Jisung said, getting in the soldiers personal space. 

“If you don’t step back, kid, I will shoot you”, the soldier said, pointing the gun against Jisung’s stomach. “What, in front of all these people? That won’t be good, will it?” Jisung said, not budging.

“Hey, let them all on, and that’s an order”, a familiar voice said, the soldier removing his gun and stepping to the side. That’s when you saw Jackson standing inside the plane, wearing a uniform. All of you walked inside the plane, sitting down. If it hadn’t been for Jackson, who knows what could have happened.

The door of the plane closed and for once in 6 months, you finally felt safe. You were finally leaving, but you wish the others were still here. The moment felt bittersweet, a few stray tears still rolling down your cheek. You rested your head on Hyunjin’s shoulder, closing your eyes, falling into a deep sleep, one that wasn’t full of nightmares.

[annagaw]

WIP of a long-planned piece, inspired by Anais Mitchell’s gorgeous cover of Tam Lin

It’s long been a favourite song of mine, but, at some point in the past year, the goblin who controls my brain whispered you know what though this is actually so Dramione-coded and…oh dear*

Am actually planning to re-draw the entire thing. I was testing out some new brushes, hence the variation in line weight and texture, and am now second-guessing a few of my compositional choices

Having a tonne of fun with the style though! Any excuse to spend hours pouring over moodboards of old fairytale etchings and pre-raphaelite medieval revival paintings, amirite?

*incidentally, how fucking hard would a fic inspired by Tam Lin go?? The tropes alone! Am I about to start writing one? Who can say

[tobiasdrake]

Do you think Uub would have a positive relationship with the other main human martial artists - namely Krillin, Tenshinhan, Yamcha and Master Roshi? What would those interactions look like, in your opinion?

It's an interesting question. By the time Uub comes along, most of those characters have retired from martial arts - and the one who hasn't doesn't socialize. (At least, before Super changed things up so much.)

Roshi, of course, was more or less retired already when we met him. He just couldn't help himself but take on a new pupil when he saw Goku's talent.

Once Roshi was content that the new kids were going to be fine, he was more than happy to return to the easy life from whence he came.

Roshi loves the art but also, despite his 300 years of age, has respect for the passing of generations. His time in the sunlight ended a long time ago, and the future belongs to the children who came up after him.

With that in mind, I think he'd be happy to see that his pupil Goku has now taken on a next next generation pupil, and is passing down his teachings just as Roshi once passed his own to Goku. Goku has come full circle, and when his day in the sun comes to an end, it will fall to Uub to take Goku's art and make it his own, as Goku once did with Roshi's.

I mean. If Dragon Ball allows him, given that this is the story's third attempt at giving Goku a successor. Grumble grumble.

Yamcha's a pretty cool bro who's easy to get along with, as long as he isn't robbing you at gunpoint. ...honestly, even then.

"I know I blew your car up with an RPG and then tried to rob you with a machine gun but WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE AMIRITE?"

Yamcha also has a passion for martial arts - Specifically, the sport of competitive fighting. He knows everyone who is anyone in the martial arts space.

Dude legit didn't even know Goku was going to be at this tournament. He's just here to compete.

Despite never getting very far in the tournament itself, the Tenkaichi Budokai is Yamcha's environment. He doesn't care if he's participating or not; He just wants to be here.

But Yamcha also hit his limit. During the fight with the Androids, Yamcha decided to bow out and retired into the role of being a utility character.

He doesn't outright say, "I quit martial arts," but this is the end of his career. He's still a pal, though. He flies the plane to chase Cell, tends to Goku while he's out, all that good jazz. He's still one of the gang.

And he still loves the Tenkaichi Budokai environment, continuing to turn up to the tournaments long after he's given up on competing.

Even if he isn't participating, Yamcha is a great sport and he retains his love of the game well into his retirement. With that in mind, he'd probably be excited to see Uub develop.

Krillin's in about the same boat. He attends the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai because his wife wants that prize money.

But he's already retired by this point. Finally letting his hair grow out was a consequence of his decision to bow out of martial arts. By the time of the 28th Tenkaichi Budokai, he doesn't even bother entering.

I'm not sure how Uub and Krillin would get on. I think Krillin would find it neat that his pal Goku has an apprentice. But also, that isn't his world anymore. His wife and his daughter are what's important to him now, so he'd probably approach Uub from a "Oh, cool, you do you" sort of distance.

That leaves Tenshinhan.

The thing about Ten is, Ten is not looking to make friends. Given the opportunity to become One of the Gang, he refuses. Tenshinhan walks a different road.

After the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai, Ten and Chiaotzu decide to forge their own path. They are no longer students of Tsuru-senryu but they also refuse to associate with Kame-senryu. Instead, Ten and Chiaotzu create their own martial art and continue cultivating their skills themselves.

For a time, they do take on higher training together with the Kame-senryu students.

But he's here for the opportunity to undergo godly training.

And, of course, he joins the others in resisting huge planetary threats to the safety and wellbeing of the Earth.

But not out of kinship for the others. Tenshinhan isn't a member of the Found Family; He's more like a work colleague. Once Cell is defeated, he outright tells the others that without a common cause, this relationship is over.

He's friendly about it but still. "We'll probably never see each other again" doesn't exactly telegraph an intent to remain in contact. He's a man of his word, too; Gohan excepted, this is the last they ever see of Ten. He never competes in the Tenkaichi Budokai again, and he only briefly shows up to lend Gohan a hand against Majin Buu after all of the others are dead or devoured.

For Ten, it's all about the art. He's nice enough to the others, but he gets all the companionship he wants or needs from Chiaotzu. Hermited away in the mystical realm of Wherever He Fucking Lives, he'll continue developing his style independently from anyone else until the day he dies.

I think Ten would be friendly enough to Uub, but would mainly see him as a new rival to match himself against, for the purpose of developing his art.

[4townie]

Road to 4☆TOWN

part 31 | part 32 | part 33 | part 34 | part 35 | part 36 | part 37 | part 38

Warning: Strong language

Robaire read over the half finished lyrics to the song he’d been working on, finding himself completely stumped. His pity party was interrupted by the doorbell. Robaire rushed to the door. “Jan—” He frowned. “Oh. Hey, Aaron.”

“Hey.” Z leaned on the doorframe. “I know it’s been a while since we’ve spoken, but T tells me you’re really into that girl from the hotel.”

“I mean, if you ever picked up a magazine, he wouldn’t have to tell you.” Robaire rolled his eyes. “But yeah. I am. What of it?”

Aaron held up his Polaroid camera. “I’ve got photos to show you.” He stepped inside. “Your girl…she’s got long legs, pineapple hair, wears lots of mini skirts. Amirite?”

“Uh, yeah.” Robaire looked at him in confusion. “How do you remember all that? You only saw her once.”

“I cross referenced with one of those magazines I never pick up.” Aaron raised an eyebrow. “She looked familiar when I saw her. I wasn’t sure at first, but now I am.”

“Sure of what? When did you see her?” Robaire asked.

“Olivia’s staying with us while my parents are in Aruba. She insisted we take her and Tae to the park to feed the ducks.” Aaron handed him the Polaroids. “That’s when I spotted her.”

Robaire shifted through the pictures. He could clearly see Janelle smiling and holding hands with some other guy, but he couldn’t believe his eyes. “She’s still seeing him…?” He felt a pang in his chest. “I thought…I thought he broke her heart. I thought I was the one healing her.”

“Hate to be the bearer of bad news.” Aaron shrugged. “We tried to tell you she was bad for you, man. Everyone could see it but you.”

“That’s not really helping.” Robaire shot him a glare. “I just…” he sighed and plopped onto the couch. “I thought I had a good thing going here. But this whole time I really was just a sucker. I was always her second choice.”

Aaron’s eyes shifted awkwardly. “Isn’t Jesse the one you usually go to with these problems?”

“UGH, what am I supposed to tell Jesse?” Robaire groaned. “I was being such a jerk to him but he was right all along. And my parents…” He faceplanted into a couch pillow. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to face anyone. I just feel like a total fool. How could she play me like this?”

Aaron looked between Robaire and the door, debating whether or not he should just leave him to his feelings. He sighed and sat on the floor beside him. “Listen, I get it. You must’ve been excited to have a life outside of 4☆TOWN. You just wanted us all to be happy and support you.” He shook his head. “I know it sucks a lot, but it’s not your fault.”

“It’s definitely my fault.” Robaire said quietly. “It was spelled out for me so many times but I chose to ignore it.” He stared at the photos. “Last time we spoke, we got into an argument. She told me she couldn’t be with another liar and yet…she’s the one lying to me. And here I was writing her a love song, trying to figure out how to make it up to her and she just—…” He scoffed and tossed the photos aside. “I’m such an idiot.”

“Well, I’m not gonna tell you this isn’t stupid cuz that’d be a lie.” Aaron admitted.

“Wow, thanks.” Robaire rolled his eyes. “I’m pouring my heart out to you and you tell me I’m stupid.”

“You didn’t let me finish.” Aaron narrowed his eyes. “I was going to say that even though you were being dumb, you can’t victim blame. She was manipulative and she played with your feelings and she knew exactly what she was doing. That’s a pretty fucked up thing to do to someone.” He looked over at Robaire, who was busy staring at a picture of Janelle sadly. Aaron sighed and got up. “You can stay here and feel sorry for yourself. And you can forgive her and look past it if you want. But the Robaire I know, the same jackass that stood up to our manager to protect Jesse, wouldn’t let someone like this win a fight. He’s too strong for that.” He shrugged before letting himself out.

Robaire shook his head when he was alone again. “I wish I knew where that guy was right now.”

[laylawatermelon]

I'm thinking about it and I wonder if the reason Buddie is so compelling (aside from the parallels) is the fact that they're one of the few couples on the show that has storylines getting together within the show.

Madney is a popular one (what the hell they all are🤷🏾‍♀️), but that developed over the seasons giving fans an (adorable) anchor to rest on.

So did Buddie.

For Bathena, it was a speed run but it made so much sense. They were both older and had established lives before meeting each other and when they decided they were it for each other they were it. (I'm gonna make myself cry 😭)

And HenRen, oh my beautiful henren, their relationship was told backwards and forwards if that makes sense.

They were already established as a complete family who worked together. The storyline who shall not be named was wild and I don't even wanna say it asked commitment to each other after “challenges “ (made of ones volition but i digress) is one that they're dedicated to.

that's so ironic

(I'm low-key heated but I'll talk about that in another post)

But as I was saying about the Buddie of it all, it logistically and thematically it makes sense.

Two friends whose bond grows over time eventually start to see each other in a new light as they go through life and death together.

Sounds great right? A perfect love story?

BAM, they're men!

Ooooh how about bromance and call or a day.

Yes we know they're coparents but *whispers* we may have accidentally given ammo to the lughtuhbuh squad

Ignore me i be joking to much 😔🤣

But truly once you remove gender and focus only on the emotional beats they share, they mirror any and all romantic paintings from this show and various others. (I'm looking at the rookie fans who i now my head in mourning with you through this tough time rn *I've not seen a minute of the show*)

It's not a crime to see it as romantic when evidently it's written as one.

I've seen many fan edits paralleling their emotional hits (hell the cell block gunshot episode and bathena's final arc about the missing girl is a recycled mini plot/scene *very effective*)

But honestly if you look at it as a love story it will become apparent.

And as the show goes on the more they begin to parallel and blur into something of a blatant pairing.

Now less objective more emotional personal, as a panromantic (taking love is love to a next level amirite?) I literally don't see the problem with a lot of same sex ships and this is a really great example.

If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck it's a fuckin duck to me. (Excuse my French teehee🤗 just had to get the point across)

But forreal though.... Who was messing with my ship?! We gotta talk!

Open up Fox! I gotta talk to you! 🤗🗣️🔊🔊📢

I've had them less than a few months but Imma protect them until the day i die! (Unless of course morals and all that)

But I hope you like this, this was unplanned.