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zintranslations · 3 years

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Kaleidoscope of Death, Ch. 132

Kaleidoscope of Death by Xi Zixu Link to Chinese / Novel Updates

Chapter 132: By Day, By Night

After hanging up, Lin Qiushi got out of bed. He went to the living room to check on the door and television, making sure both those things were still the same as they had been during daytime yesterday.

After that, Lin Qiushi left the apartment in a hurry. Halfway out he even got a call from Wu Qi, asking why he wasn't at work.

"There's something I have to do." Lin Qiushi was already in a car and had honestly completely forgotten about going to work. He tried to wheedle: "Ask for time off for me."

Wu Qi, "okay, how long should I ask for?"

Lin Qiushi, "half a year?"

Wu Qi, shocked, "…half a year?? Are you planning on resigning?"

Lin Qiushi glanced at his watch, not thinking of work at all.

"Or yeah, you can just resign for me."

Wu Qi seemed like he had something to say, but whatever words were on the tip of his tongue never made it out—he only sighed: "Fine, I'll get time off for you. If there's something going on you've got to tell me, alright? Don't carry it all on your own."

Lin Qiushi made a noise of agreement, expression still pensive.

The car continued on, and over an hour later, it arrived at where Lin Qiushi wanted to go. Lin Qiushi got off, went upstairs, and knocked on the door—every motion done in a single smooth breath. The truth was, however, that these few simple motions were only possible after extensive emotional preparation done during the car ride.

The door he knocked on opened after a bit, revealing a beautiful middle-age woman—it was Ruan Nanzhu's mother.

Because before they'd entered the door, Ruan Nanzhu had taken Lin Qiushi home. Now Lin Qiushi had a clear memory of where Ruan Nanzhu's old house was. Coming here this time was simply to confirm one thing…

"Hi Auntie," Lin Qiushi greeted politely.

"Hello." The woman watched Lin Qiushi with curiosity and asked, "is there something I can help you with?"

"I wanted to ask, do you know who Ruan Nanzhu is?" Lin Qiushi asked carefully.

"Ruan Nanzhu?" The woman's tone of doubt sent Lin Qiushi's heart sinking, and the question on her face only grew stronger. "Sorry, I don't know who that is."

"Then do you know Ruan Baiye?" Lin Qiushi brought up another name—this was the name of Ruan Nanzhu's older bother.

"Baiye? He's my son…" Mama Ruan said. "He's not home right now, but he'll be back later tonight. Are you looking for him?"

Lin Qiushi, "ma'am you…only have one son?"

Mama Ruan nodded as the way she looked at Lin Qiushi got stranger and stranger. Which was fair. Suddenly coming to her house and asking questions like these, Lin Qiushi didn't seem like a normal person at all.

Lin Qiushi had no idea what else to say either. After bidding Mama Ruan goodbye, he rushed back downstairs and hurried off to another location.

Ruan Nanzhu's existence had been completely wiped. There was nobody in this world named Ruan Nanzhu, not even to his parents, and even Obsidian, the organization that he led, had stopped existing…

This time, Lin Qiushi's destination was Li Dongyuan's White Deer.

When he arrived at White Deer headquarters, Lin Qiushi discovered that the building that once belonged to White Deer was now commercial offices, labeled with the name of XX Bank. Lin Qiushi was standing in the doorway contemplating how to sneak upstairs when he saw a familiar face leave the building. That person was wearing a suit and speaking to someone beside him; judging by appearance alone, he was that baby-faced Li Dongyuan that Lin Qiushi knew.

Seeing this Lin Qiushi hurried forward and called, "Li Dongyuan!"

Li Dongyuan's feet stalled, and he glanced in Lin Qiushi's direction. With eyes both cautious and distant, he asked, "who might you be? If you'd like to discuss something please book an appointment with my secretary first."

"I—" Lin Qiushi said. "Do you know me?"

Lin Qiushi lifted an eyebrow and didn't speak. His expression though, gave Lin Qiushi an answer—he did not know Lin Qiushi, and even thought Lin Qiushi's question odd.

"You don't recognize me?" Lin Qiushi also couldn't quite convey how he was feeling just then.

"Should I recognize you?" Li Dongyuan smiled a smile that wasn't quite a smile as he scanned Lin Qiushi up and down.

Lin Qiushi suddenly recalled something else. He said, "then do you know Zhuang Rujiao?"

Li Dongyuan didn't answer, and still seemed unfamiliar with the name.

"What about Jin Yurui?" Lin Qiushi tried again.

"You know her?" Li Dongyuan's smile, however, faded. "You're one of hers, then?"

Lin Qiushi could finally be sure why some people didn't exist in this world—because they were still alive. If they still survived in the world outside the door, then they did not exist inside this door. Both Li Dongyuan and Jin Yurui were dead, so they had new identities inside this door.

And, those who had died inside the doors aside, the people who were competely unrelated to the doors did not seem affected by this rule at all. They existed both inside this door and outside it, and had nothing to do with living or dying.

"Is there anything else?" Eyeing Lin Qiushi, who was deep in thought, Li Dongyuan lifted his chin with a cold expression. "If there's nothing else why don't you take your leave? This is a place of work."

Lin Qiushi took one last look at him before turning to go.

"Who is that?" the person standing beside Li Dongyuan asked as they watched Lin Qiushi leave.

"I don't know," Li Dongyuan said. "Looks kind of familiar though. Never mind, bring me that data and let me confirm…"

Lin Qiushi left White Deer headquarters and glanced at his watch. It was already twelve noon. An idea surfaced in his mind, and Lin Qiushi got out his phone to book a roundtrip flight for C City the next morning.

There were some matters he wanted to confirm in C City; it was already too late to go today, so he could only hurry there tomorrow morning and try to make it back in one day.

Fact of the matter was, Lin Qiushi didn't want to try spending the night on an airplane. Hell knows how terrifying that would be.

After taking care of lunch at a random spot in town, Lin Qiushi returned home and took a nap. As he thought about what would happen later that evening, Lin Qiushi thought he wouldn't be able to sleep. But in fact he slept quite well, passing out the moment he hit the bed. When he woke it was already five in the afternoon. Chestnut sat by his side, meowing, looking to be hungry again.

Lin Qiushi got up and, after fixing up some food for Chestnut, called some delivery for himself. He ate while watching TV.

He saw the trailer for Tan Zaozao's new movie. From the language of the advertisement, Lin Qiushi figured out that Tan Zaozao had already won the award. The award-winning movie was exactly the same as it had been on the outside, only the director was a different person this time and not Zhang Yiqing.

This world was so very similar to the world that Lin Qiushi lived in, but there was one fundamental difference—Ruan Nanzhu, the person Lin Qiushi most wanted to see, was not here.

Good thing that was so, actually. This door, for a lot of other people, would likely be of insurmountable difficulty. Like Zhuang Rujiao. Or Cheng Yixie for that matter. That was because here, they could once again see their most beloved person…

The night deepened, and Lin Qiushi got everything ready.

Around ten in the evening, it suddenly began to rain outside.

Water came down as if tossed from a ladle, washing clean the earth scorched dry by the sun. Lin Qiushi stood by the window, watching as passersby scampered home along the sidewalks until only streetlamps were left on the empty streets, with only the occasional car passing by.

Chestnut fell asleep sprawled out on the couch. The atmosphere grew quiet. Some senseless program played on TV as a queer sort of silence began to crawl out inside the house.

Lin Qiushi smelled petrichor. He used to be quite a fan of this smell, until he encountered a particular door. After that, this tainted scent of rainwater became something a lot more unpleasant.

The hour hand turned bit by bit, and twelve o'clock was nearly here.

Lin Qiushi sat in the living room, as if a spirit waiting for the death god's verdict. The switch from day to night came, and the clock hanging on the wall finally began to ring: ding dong, ding dong, ding dong…Twelve chimes heralded in another world.

The moment it became twelve, someone was immediately knocking at his door once more. Backpack on, Lin Qiushi came to the door, and through the peephole saw a woman standing on the other side, smiling at him.

He remembered the woman's name. It was the NPC hidden among the crowd in the Sister's Drum door, Xu Jin.

"Hurry up and come out already," Xu Jin told Lin Qiushi. "Come out already, my sister's coming to find you."

Lin Qiushi didn't open the door. He heard a soft noise from the window, however, and when Lin Qiushi turned, he saw a figure pressed against the glass.

It was a person with all her skin stripped off, her body a mess of blood and flesh from head to toe. The bloody face pressed against Lin Qiushi's glass and her mouth split open, showing Lin Qiushi her stark white teeth. It looked like she was trying to open up the locked window, and judging from her motions, she seemed close to succeeding.

Opening the door looked to be the only option right now. Gritting his teeth, Lin Qiushi twisted open the door handle and faced Xu Jin, standing on the outside.

Xu Jin clearly knew what Lin Qiushi was worried about, and began to chuckle.

"How could I bear to hurt you?" A pause, as her gaze lingered on Lin Qiushi's backpack. "My diary is still in your hands. Did you give it a good read yet?"

Lin Qiushi, "…" Why did he feel like he was being teased?

But there wasn't time for him to worry about that, because Xu Jin's sister was about to come in though the window. Xu Jin grabbed Lin Qiushi by the arm and ran. The two made their way down the hall and came to the elevator.

"Go on inside, but watch out," Xu Jin said. "There are other things that want you dead."

Lin Qiushi asked, "what about you?" He recalled that Xu Jin didn't have a very good relationship with her sister.

"Me?" Xu Jin’s eyes curved up in a sudden smile. "How do you know that I don't want you dead?"

As soon as she said this, the skin on her body began to fall off patch by patch. The startled Lin Qiushi rushed into the elevator and pressed a number.

Xu Jin was chuckling again, and though her laugh was bright like silver bells, her terrifying appearance struck a sharp contrast.

Even though she now looked scarier, she didn't seem keen on pursuing Lin Qiushi.

The elevator started. In theory, Lin Qiushi ought to be safe, but that weird sense of danger once again assaulted the top of his head.

Lin Qiushi looked all around him, and when he spotted a certain something hanging in the elevator, goosebumps appeared all over his body. He'd spotted behind him, on what should have been an empty elevator wall, a huge black picture frame. There was nothing inside the frame, but the frame was pointed at exactly where he was standing.

Lin Qiushi reacted swiftly, hitting the button for the floor closest to him. At the exact same time, black water stains began appearing on the white paper inside that frame. First there was only one drop. Then it began spreading on the canvas paper.

He watched as the shape of that stain began to look more and more like a woman. It dispersed across the canvas and, in a short amount of time, managed to coat the entire large canvas.

Luckily it was then that the elevator reached the nearest floor. Lin Qiushi immediately took off, and the moment he cleared the elevator, a pair of pale white hands burst out of that canvas paper, searching around like it was looking for something to grab hold of.

Lin Qiushi was currently on the sixth floor. The moment he was out of the elevator he turned for the emergency exit right next door, bounding quickly down the stairs.

It was dim in the stairwell, with just enough light to see the path beneath his feet. Lin Qiushi ran down two stories before feeling something was off. He took a closer look, and discovered that he'd been turning round and round on floor six.

The stairs seemed to have become a mobius strip—up, down, backward, forward, it all came back to the sixth floor.

Lin Qiushi's feet screeched to a halt. He took in his surroundings, and noticed, on the white stairwell ceilings, little black spots of water appearing. That chilling stench of rain too was spreading through the air.

The thing had found him. Lin Qiushi made an executive decision and left the stairwell, stepping out onto the hallway. But back in the hall, Lin Qiushi discovered that the corridor had underwent a terrifying change: black frames hung on both sides, and inside each frame was a human head with its expression all twisted up. As for the ceramic tile floor, there was now a new carpet, thick and black—the pattern on it looked the same as in a door they'd encountered before.

Lin Qiushi looked up and saw, on the other other end of the hallway, another painting hanging. That painting was a woman in black with a long, sharp hat. Her eyes were half closed, but it felt like she was staring right down the hall and meeting Lin Qiushi's eyes.

Lin Qiushi wanted to leave the hallway, but when he glanced back, he found that the stairwell he had just came from had disappeared. The length of the hallway too seemed to be slowly shortening; Lin Qiushi could sense the painting of the woman getting closer and closer, closer and closer…

At that moment, a drop of water fell onto Lin Qiushi's forehead. Lin Qiushi gave it a wipe, and realized that it was blood. On reflex he looked up—a black hole had appeared above his head without him noticing, and blood was dripping from its edge onto his head. A pair of black eyes glimmered faintly in the dark, and then right after, a pair of pulpy, bloody hands reached out of the hole for Lin Qiushi.

Lin Qiushi's instincts were to back away, but the strange thing was, the hands stopped when they got to him. As if a miracle, he sensed no animosity from this pair of hands.

The hallway was still getting shorter and shorter, as if it were becoming a cage keen on trapping Lin Qiushi inside. With a clench of his teeth, Lin Qiushi reached up and grabbed the fleshy mess of those hands, and then felt a sudden force as he was brought out of that shrinking hallway.

"Aiya, looks like you can't manage without me after all."

The voice belonged to Xu Jin, but from appearance alone, he couldn't tell it was her at all. The skin on her body was completely gone, leaving only scarlet flesh and blood. She was grinning brightly at Lin Qiushi, and the contrast between her smile and appearance was strange, but Lin Qiushi didn't find it scary at all.

"Thank you," Lin Qiushi said to her.

Xu Jin didn't speak. Her gaze instead leaped over Lin Qiushi to look behind him.

Sensing something, Lin Qiushi too twisted around, and spotted on the other end of the darkness a pair of glowing red eyes.

"Meimei, my sister."

The owner of those eyes was also a skinless monster. She didn't have any legs and could only walk on her hands, but that didn't mean she was slow. She glared at Lin Qiushi with vitriol and bared her teeth; like a hyena hunting its prey, the sheer amount of hatred in her eyes was strong enough to materialize.

"Why did you betray me?" she said. "Do you like him that much? Since you like him so much, why don't I keep him here for you?"

Xu Jin tilted her head, and also smiled.

"But Jiejie, even if you did that, I still won't like you."

After that, she told Lin Qiushi to run, and threw herself at her sister. The two monsters clashed and tangled together.

Lin Qiushi got up and sprinted in the direction of the light. By the time he reached its source, he found that he'd already escaped from the apartment building, and was standing in the yard of the residential block.

It was still raining outside. Lin Qiushi pulled an umbrella out of his backpack and slowly pushed it open, stepping out into the curtaining rain.

The rain came down in sluicing torrents, and the streets were completely empty, with only water splashing along the ground. The rain ought to have been noisy; but at a time like this the loudness of the rain only made the world sound more silent in comparison.

"Help me—help me—"

There was a sudden cry for help. A silhouette came stumbling out of the rain, and Lin Qiushi could just make it out: she was a pitiful-looking young woman, staggering through the rain in a long dress. It looked like she was being pursued by something, and when she spotted Lin Qiushi standing not too far away, it was like she'd found an oasis in the middle of a desert—she came running immediately.

"Help, help!! Please, I'm begging you please help me, something wants to kill me…" She fell to the ground, looking up pathetically at Lin Qiushi. "You're also someone going through the doors, right? So am I, this door is so scary—"

Had this been reality, Lin Qiushi would've definitely helped the young woman up by now. But at this stage he wasn't moving, and a light furrow had appeared between his brows. The truth was, he found the person before him a bit familiar—more specifically, everything that appeared at night now was familiar, and he was certain he'd seen this person somewhere before.

"Mister, mister." The woman collapsed in the rain saw Lin Qiushi unmoved, and slowly crawled forward. She wiped at the rainwater on her face and said, shakily, "I know a safe place, and I can bring you there. Do you want to come with me?"

Lin Qiushi said, "do I know you?"

The woman said, "we met once in the door, and you even helped me out." Her lashes lightly trembled, looking vulnerable as anything. "But I didn't deserve that mercy, I still didn't make it."

"We met inside a door?" Lin Qiushi now found the shape of her eyes familiar. "Which door?"

The woman approached Lin Qiushi, saying, "you know, that one."

As Lin Qiushi watched her, he suddenly spoke: "There's something behind you."

The woman halted.

"A giant picture frame," Lin Qiushi said. "She's here."

The woman wheeled around in fright, but when she didn't see anything behind her, she suddenly realized that Lin Qiushi had recognized her. What had been a pitiful expression immediately went cold.

"It's been a while," Lin Qiushi said, "Yang Meishu."

The woman chuckled coolly.

"You still recognized me?"

Lin Qiushi shrugged. "I didn't want to, but I can count the people who wanted me dead on one hand. Since you're not a ghost, you must be somebody who hates me…"

He paused, and quickly announced, "she really is here."

But Yang Meishu didn't believe him. She said, "do you really think I'm that dumb? You've fooled me once already, you think you can do it again? I—"

As she spoke, getting more and more agitated, she felt a sudden breeze behind her. Yang Meishu glanced back, and found the woman in black standing right behind her. The woman's white face was impassive, and in her hands was a black picture frame that she swung right at Yang Meishu.

Yang Meishu knew this was likely it for her, and a terrible scream came out of her mouth. Right after she screamed, she became a portrait in the hands of the woman; soaked from head to toe, her expression bore both fright and a lively, vivid resentment.

Lin Qiushi took the opportunity to run further away. The woman didn't seem intent on chasing after him either, only watched him go with an icy gaze.

The rain came down in torrents, and Lin Qiushi was completely soaked. In such a strong rain, the umbrella was practically useless. As he ran, he fished out his cell phone and sent Ruan Nanzhu a text.

How are things on your end? After some thought, Lin Qiushi added: I'm fine over here, don't worry about me.

After the text was sent, he didn't get a reply for the longest time. It wasn't until Lin Qiushi found a place to hide from the rain that the message notification dinged, displaying four simple words: I'm good, don't worry.

Seeing the message, Lin Qiushi huffed a bitter laugh. Because how could he not know? Had Ruan Nanzhu truly been alright, the text would not have been so short. Ruan Nanzhu had trained his way through so many doors, so god only knew how many malicious NPCs and dead people from the inside he would meet at night. From what Lin Qiushi understood of him, if he had everything under control, he would've definitely sent a message first asking about Lin Qiushi's situation. Now, even his text message was so short. The situation on his end could not be good.

He wanted so badly just to be by his side—Lin Qiushi clenched his phone and thought bitterly. Whatever he had to experience would be fine, as long as he could be by Ruan Nanzhu's side.

[Ch. 131] | [Ch. 133]

#kaleidoscope of death #xi zixu #cnovel #chinese translation #死亡萬花筒

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missymurphy1985 · 3 years

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The Massage (Cillian Murphy One Shot)

Request? Yep!

Warning - SMUT!!!

Taglist @queenshelby @margoo0 @being-worthy @peakyscillian @ntmynouis @janelongxox @elenavampire21 @noctvrnalmoth @ysmmsy @cloudofdisney @lauren-raines-x @namelesslosers @misscarolineshelby @screemqueen @cilleveryone

"He was such an asshole!! Barking orders at me like I'm his fucking SLAVE!!" You cried, flopping onto Cillian's sofa dramatically. He came through from the kitchen with a bottle of wine and two glasses, pouring you a glass and sitting next to you on the sofa.

You quickly sunk the first glass without stopping, making Cillian nearly choke on his first sip. You'd left the pub fifteen minutes earlier, already well on your way to incoherent.

"Fucking hell y/n, you'll need carrying home at this rate!"

"I don't care. This week can go to hell! First I end up on the WORST blind date of my life, no thanks to YOU and your god awful taste in men - "

"Hey now, first off I don't have a 'taste in men', and secondly I thought you'd be a good match!"

"He had to be escorted out of the restaurant after threatening to have the waiter beaten up for overcooking his steak, Cillian."

"Yeah... Okay fair comment and my bad..."

"I'm staying single FOREVER. Then my new boss decides that I like doing the work of THREE people, including him, and working through my lunch breaks, just so he can reap the credit for the whole fucking thing!! My feet are agony!!"

"I told you to come work for me, didn't I? I need someone to manage my appointments and affairs, you'd be perfect at it!"

"I don't mix business with friendship Cillian, you know that." Another glass of wine, very quickly taking a gulp from it. The alcohol hitting your empty stomach and the drunk feeling it came with feeling utterly blissful after the hellish week you'd had.

Without speaking, he lifted your feet onto his legs and took your heels off, resting his hands on your ankles.

"All done now - time to relax, although you seem pretty relaxed right now!" He squeezed your ankles gently, emitting a groan from you.

"Fuck... Do that again, please?" You asked, as he raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I've been on my feet for hours running round after that stuck up prick..." You wiggled your aching feet in his lap and he chuckled, taking your left foot in his hands and massaging it softly, easing the tension in you instantly.

Your right foot rested on his thigh as he worked magic on your heel and toes of the left one. You moved to lie against the arm of the sofa, relaxing into the large cushions with your refilled wine in one hand. The other resting on your stomach.

"That... Feels... Amazing...." You sighed as he got to work a little harder on the balls of your feet.

"You leaving any of that wine for me or shall I grab another bottle?" He laughed, glancing at the near empty bottle on the coffee table.

"Don't even think about moving Cill," you glared. Closing your eyes again, you couldn't help but let out a deep groan as his hands massaged you perfectly. You didn't notice him clearing his throat and shifting his body underneath your left leg.

"Feels so good... Don't stop..." You couldn't hear his breathing becoming shallow. Your eyes closed, you didn't see him biting his lip and looking up to the ceiling trying to distract himself. You suddenly switched your feet, your right one coming up to meet his hands and tried to bring your left one down to his lap but he held them both in place, trying to massage them both at the same time.

"Cill, one at a time is so much better.." you rolled your eyes watching him try and massage both and stifled a giggle when he dropped your left foot into his lap.

"Ah... Fuck..." He gasped, jumping slightly. You gasped too when you realised what your left foot had landed on.

"Cillian?" Your eyes widened as he moved your feet and oulled a cushion over his lap, holding his eyes closed with his fingers.

"Fuck sake... I'm sorry okay, it's just.. it's been a while and you were making those noises and... Fucking hell..." You bit your lip as you considered your options.

Yes, he was your best friend.

Yes, you'd been his best friend since his early days in theatre.

Yes, he was impossibly attractive.

Yes, you wanted to fuck him.

Deal done.

You moved quickly, pushing the cushion off his lap and kneeling next to him, your face inches away from his and your eyes locked together.

"I can help you with that, if you like?" You smiled, running a hand over the significant bulge in his trousers. He pulled your hand away.

"I don't think that's a good idea, do you?"

"Why not?"

"You're drunk, for a start!"

"Come on Cillian, it's just a friend helping a friend in need, yeah? And you're clearly in need..." You returned your hand to his erection and squeezed it through the fabric making him hiss.

"Friends aren't supposed to..."

"Aren't supposed to, what?" Your lips at his ear as you pulled the button and zip down on his trousers, his hips as you pulled them down to just above his bent knees.

"Turn each other on..."

"Well you've been turning me on for years Cillian." Grasping his thick cock in your hand, squeezing the tip and the base gently, he groaned, closing his eyes and giving in to the feeling of your hand wrapped around him. His right arm hung over your shoulders, his left hand on top of your on his hardness, guiding you to what he needed.

"So you like it being squeezed, do you?" You whispered. He nodded, his eyes watching your hand move on its own now, his mouth open, breathing heavily.

It wasn't long before his orgasm built - your hand clamped around him sending him soaring to the edge. You pumped your hand quicker, squeezed tighter.

"That's it... Fuck that's exactly it... Holy shit y/n...." His words coming out in gasps, his hips thrusting up into your hand as he gripped your hair, pulling your head back and latching onto your lips with his own. You pulled away.

"Don't hide those moans from me, I wanna hear them all..." You smiled, pumping him harder and faster, milking him as he groaned, and the first few spurts left his cock, his body jerking as he came over his stomach and your hand.

You slowed your movements as he came down from his high, his head resting back on the sofa. You felt a sudden gurgle in the pit of your stomach, and before he had time to react you ran to the bathroom - the alcoholic contents of the evenings beverages violently leaving your body into Cillian's downstairs toilet.

************************************************************

You woke the next morning in his spare room - your head was pounding. You made a silent vow, promising to all that was holy that you would never touch another cocktail, glass of wine, or spirit ever again. The night before was hazy - you remembered stumbling into Cillian's Dublin townhouse with a bottle of wine... And that was it.

The smell of bacon downstairs lured you, and you slowly edged out of bed, throwing on the dressing gown you always kept at his house and headed downstairs. A coffee, paracetamol and pint of water waited for you on the kitchen table, followed by a bacon sandwich.

"You passed out in the toilet - I cleaned you up as best I could but you were, erm, yeah you were a mess y/n. Showering you wasn't easy." He chuckled, before taking a sip of his coffee and eyeing you weirdly.

"Thanks for this Cill... I'm so sorry about last night..."

"Don't be, it's fine - we can just put it behind us yeah?" He cleared his throat awkwardly and looked to the floor.

"It's not like it's the first time it's happened Cill?"

"Well I certainly don't remember it happening before y/n?"

"You're kidding me, right? It happened three weeks ago!"

"I think I'd remember my best friend giving me a handjob three weeks ago y/n?"

Your eyes widened - what the fuck did he just say? He caught your expression and his mouth dropped.

"Fuck... You don't remember do you..." He asked. You scrunched your eyes closed, trying to think back to the night before... The memory was cloudy... But...

"Oh my god.... Oh Cillian... Shit... I'm sorry!!!" You stood up, your hangover however getting the better of you and you quickly sat back down. You could see the cogs turning in Cillian's mind, almost like he was having some kind of internal debate with himself.

"Do you remember what you said to me?"

"Bits of it..." He moved closer, leaning on the table next to you.

"Drunken rambling? Or did you mean it?" You looked up at him, knowing exactly what he was talking about and looking to the floor, your cheeks changing from grey to a deep crimson. He nodded, and lifted you up slowly to stand in front of him.

"I know an incredible hangover cure, if you need one. Just call it one friend helping another... In need. Yeah?" He smirked, his hands on your waist pulling you into the hallway and up the stairs.

"Cillian..."

"Shh... Just trust me..." He opened his bedroom door and walked you over to the bed. Backing you up til your knees hit it, he untied your dressing gown and threw it aside, his eyes admiring your now naked body.

"You put me to bed with no clothes on..."

"I had to wrestle you in the shower washing your fucking hair y/n, I'd lost the will to live at that point," he smiled, pushing you onto the bed and opening your legs.

"Cillian what are you doing?" Your mind was whirring at 100miles per hour.

"I'm about to make you scream my name while my tongue is pressed against your clit, my fingers are going to push you over the edge, and then I'm going to fuck you so hard you won't be able to walk straight." You mouth hung open at his deadpan statement and before you had time to react his mouth went to work - no build up, no foreplay, straight onto your clit making you cry out from the shock and extreme pleasure coursing through your body.

The man had skills - his tongue rolled your clit around, sucking and occasionally nibbling at it, as he pushed a finger inside you, immediately finding that small bundle of nerves and pressing against it.

"Fuck!! Shit... Cillian there... God don't stop... Please!" You felt him chuckle against your core, his eyes looking up at your arched body through his long eyelashes. You were gripping the bed sheets for dear life, his tongue ripping sensations from you that you'd never experienced before.

His mouth never left your core once, you found yourself writhing against him like a woman possessed.

"You taste incredible... You gonna cum for me, riding my face like that?" He returned to his work, eating at you like you were his last meal.

"Cillian... Fuck I'm coming... Oh god yes..." Your back arched again as you came over his tongue, his fingers fucking your g spot hard and fast, prolonging your pleasure as much as possible. His fingers removed briefly as he pulled his clothes off, you heard a drawer slide open, and a foil packet being ripped. Before you had time to refocus, you felt him enter you, your legs being lifted up to your sides as he rested his body on top of yours, starting a slow rhythm thrusting into you.

"So fucking tight y/n... So fucking good...." Your legs wrapped around his waist as he eased in and out, his forehead resting on top of yours as your eyes locked together. You could lose yourself in those eyes. Reaching up to cup his cheeks, you leaned forward and captured his lips in yours. Your lips molding together, he slipped his tongue into your mouth, both of your groaning against each other as his thrusts picked up in speed and force.

"Rail me into this bed, Cillian...." You groaned. He raised his body off you and lifted your hips, his knees underneath them giving you leverage. Your legs raised in the air, held in place by his arms as he pounded into you, the angle catching your still sensitive spot deep inside with expert precision.

"Y/n... I need you to cum..." He panted, your hand quickly moving to your clit where you massaged it hard, desperate for another release.

His facial expressions as he fucked you were perfection - the way his eyes scrunched closed... The silent O of his mouth hanging open, the breathy pants and moans coming from him... You came hard and quickly over him, your legs shaking from the new force he fucked you with.

"Gonna cum... Fuck... fuck... fuck..." Three hard thrusts into you and he shot his load into the condom, releasing your legs and falling onto you, both of you panting from the exertion.

He pulled out slowly, discarding the condom, and pulled you under the duvet with him, holding you close under his arm. You wrapped your body as close as you could to his, your legs tangled together.

"Explain something to me y/n..." He asked, kissing the top of your head.

"Mhmm..." You sighed, snuggled into his chest as you eyelids grew heavier.

"Why's it taken us so long to do this, huh?"

"I have no idea... But we ARE doing it again, right?"

"Every day for the rest of our fucking lives baby." He linked his hand in yours as you both drifted off into a deep sleep, both of you knowing this was only the beginning for you both.

#cillian fanfic #cillian smut #cillian x fem!reader #cillian x smut #cillian murphy x smut

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mediocreauthor · 3 years

Text

NANA Week, Day 4: Fireworks @7daysofnana

They celebrate their first Hanami since Nana left.

She will come. She will come, she repeats herself as she puts Nana’s kimono neatly on the bed. She prepared cow meat sukiyaki, she might be hungry, after all. She takes out strawberry glasses Nana gifted her two years ago. It seems like centuries ago, when their relationship was being put to a test.

When Nana, no, she is Hachi now.

I am Hachi since Nana named me.

When Hachi thought she was going through the hardest time of her life. But it was okay, it was all okay because Nana, even though not right beside her, was still here.

She dusts Nana’s guitar; she may want to play it. Maybe she will hand it to Nobu, while she sings with her sultry, magical voice. Just like she did when she climbed on their table, holding a cell phone. When she enchanted her. She glances at Ren, he is fast asleep on the bed. His little face looks angelic. ***

Her entire body is on fire. She is going to die! She can’t form coherent sentences to describe her pain, it is too late for an epidural, Fujiko-chan says. She wants to clog her. A hand squeezes hers, she can feel the cold metal of Nana’s ring. “You can do this Hachiko. I am right here with you, you can do this.”

She should wonder where the hell Takumi is, but when Nobu’s hand gently rakes through her hair, she can’t even remember his face. Her daughter is coming. She has waited so long for this. Her baby, the one she sacrificed so much for will be here any moment. The hand holding her loosens and she turns her hand in panic.

“Nana please don’t leave me!” She can’t recognize her own voice, it sounds ragged and hoarse. Her ears buzz. She sees her other half’s beautiful face through tears, Nana looks surprised for a second, Hachi can’t understand why, obviously she can’t do this without her.

But then she cradles her from behind and kisses her sweaty hair. “I am not going anywhere.”

*** She hears a faint knock on the door. Her chests clenches with anticipation, she missed her people.

Your people.

Swinging the door open with a bright smile, Hachi greets Yasu and Miu. They are both in kimonos as she requested. “Welcome, welcome!” her tone is barely above a whisper. “Ren is napping.” Yasu smiles, heading to the room. He really loves Ren so dearly, just like his best friend would.

“I can’t wait to be an uncle.”

She will not cry today. She will welcome Nana with a big smile.

Miu asks how she’s been, they dive into an idle chat. She is the only one who asks how Takumi is too. The rest don’t acknowledge his existence, she doesn’t blame them. She herself wants to forget it sometimes.

“You have prepared so much. We should have come earlier to help.” Miu begins setting up the table.

“Oh, that’s okay. I went a bit extra for Nana, I want everything to be perfect for her. Just like our first Hanabi.”

Miu looks at her with an emotion she knows all too well, it’s on Junko’s, Kyosuke’s, Takumi’s face every time she talks about Nana’s return. She pays them no mind, they don’t know Nana.

“I heard it rained so much that year.” She comments. Hachi giggles and turns her back to Miu, washing tomatoes that Jun gave her.

“These tomatoes are good. Where did you buy them?”

God, shut the fuck up.

She spends the rest of time going over minor details, mixes bath salts to create Nana’s favourite smell (it reminds him of Ren), she folds her bedtime clothes, tastes every dish thrice, turns on the ventilator, Nana would appreciate the breeze. Climbing up seven floors does things to your body temperature.

Nobu and Shin’s arrival wakes Ren up, her son seeks her with his little grabby hands, once again filling her heart with affection. Shin bursts into the room immediately, his face lit up with a smile. Hachi kisses his cheeks, he hugs her tightly.

“Hello mama. Why did you make my brother cry?”

“I didn’t make him cry! You guys' arrival woke him up.” Hachi pouts but gives Ren to Shin regardless.

“We are sorry for that.”

Her stomach clenches and she faces Nobu, he looks at her with a sincerity she doesn’t deserve. He coos at Ren, tickling his chin. “Hello little buddy. Sorry we woke you up.” Ren stops crying in favor of chomping on Nobu’s finger.

“He is teething.” Hachi explains. Nobu studies him lovingly. “You're all grown up now, Ren.”

***

“It’s a boy!” Fujiko-chan declares.

What? She sees her baby’s face covered in blood and something gross, bellowing. A nurse approaches, taking him away. She wants to reach but her arms feel like chunks of metal.

“No it’s a girl… I really thought he was a girl.”

Her eyes meet Nobu’s, tears matching one another. “You did it Hachi.”

Nurse gives her his son, he is heartbreakingly small, but his warmth comforts her. She looks for a sign, a resemblance of Nobu but this little creature weirdly just reminds him of Shin. Nana walks toward the door, panic envelopes her for a second, but she looks back and says “I will let others know.”

Nobu drapes his arm over her shoulder, they stare, baby stares back. His irises are light brown, filled with curiosity. Hachi gently grazes her finger over his cheek and she can swear he smiles but she is probably high on adrenaline. “Welcome, my love.” She takes in a long breath. “I wanted to name him Satsuki. You know, like- like Ren picked. I really wanted to-” A hiccup crawls over her throat. She can feel Nobu’s fingers on her chin, he looks like he’s about to say something, but kisses her instead, almost reverently.

They seperate, so much unfinished hanging between the short distance. Nobu rests his forehead against hers.

“How about Ren?”

***

They sit down to eat, she would prefer if they waited for Nana but starving her guests doesn’t scream hospitality either. Misato- Mai, damn it- has arrived, she smiles ever so politely at her.

“These are so delicious, Hachiko-san. You shouldn’t have gone into all this trouble.”

“Abuh!” Ren protests when Yasu confiscates the chopstick he almost stabbed himself in the eye with.

“Of course I should have! Nana can arrive any moment now.” Her friends look at each other, mentally communicating, eventually Shin sighs and puts his bowl down.

“Hachi,” he begins. “Nana may not come today.” She immediately understands from the guilty faces that avoid her gaze that they have rehearsed this conversation. She lets rage take over.

“We always celebrate Hanami together, Nana knows this. She will remember.”

“That was before she left Hachi. I don’t think Nana wants to see us right now.” Nobu at least sounds demure.

“We don’t know where she even is yet.” Miu adds.

We don’t know if she is alive, is left unsaid.

“She knows where we are! Isn’t it enough?” Her high voice startles Ren, he picks up the tension right away, eyes getting glossy. Yasu gives him his glasses.

“We just don’t want you to be disappointed wh- if she doesn’t show up.”

I am not a fucking child.

“How dare you give up on her?” She knows it’s unfair. She knows that Yasu spent all his life savings on a private investigator. She is aware the police precinct is sick of Mai’s calls. She knows Nobu stops by Ren’s warehouse every morning, hoping his friend would open the door.

“If you think Nana actually forgot about us and started a new life in god knows where, were you even her friends?” Her tone is filled with disdain, she hates herself.

They have the nerve to look dejected, Hachi just continues. “She is just healing. She’s been through so much. She needs a break, she will come back.” She glances at her hands, noticing they didn’t have nail polish. “She will come back.” Hachi weakly repeats.

“Of course she will.” She perks up, Yasu is confidently smiling at her. “Healing takes time. It might be too early for her, this year. But one day, we will be all sitting at this table together. Don’t worry, Nana.” “Guh!” Ren shakes his head as if he knows what Yasu is talking about, maybe he does.

Maybe it’s Ren who knows.

Shame creeps up on her, “I am sorry.” she murmurs. “I am so sorry. I just… I thought if I believed enough, it would come true.”

Small explosion noises are heard and the light of the fireworks fills the sky. Ren gets antsy on Yasu’s lap and reaches for her. She holds her son, watches how fireworks reflect on his big, astonished eyes.

She thinks of Nana’s warm smile by the river, how the small firework Hachi was holding illuminated her face, she remembers Ren (as if she ever forgets), showing the word Satsuki proudly.

***

She remembers Nana’s eyes, wandering around the room, unable to focus on anything. Her movements are jittery, her cheeks are hollow- has she lost weight since the last time she saw her? They lay quietly in the dark room.

“Hachi, do you want to go to the beach?” She is about to drift off to sleep, her voice is muffled by the pillow. It’s the middle of the night. “I can’t leave Ren alone, can we go tomorrow?”

Nana’s breath hitches. “Sure, tomorrow.” Her voice is so small. Hachi barely hears the last sentence as sleep takes over her. She should have realized.

“I want to see the sea.”

***

Ren’s little hand wipes her wet cheeks, he licks it in wonder. She quietly sobs, burying herself in his hair. She sees the untouched strawberry glasses from the corner of her eyes, they taunt her.

Next year, she tells herself.

#osaki nana #komatsu nana #ai yazawa #nana manga #nana week #Terashima Nobu #okazaki shinichi #honjo ren #yasushi takagi #miu shinoda #if this timeline dont match its because i am stupid #dont come for me

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hs-devote · 4 years

Text

iv. láthi: the mistake

Moodboard * Content * Masterlist

Disclaimer:

All characters and situation in this story are fictitious. Resemblance to any person living or dead is only God knows.

chapter iii. láthi: the lie

iv. the mistake The pouring rain is the first thing Y/N hears when she opens her eyes, the cold wind outside coming through her window makes her pulling her blanket up until her neck, not caring about making someone lying next to her whining of losing the warmth from the thick blanket that wrapped his body earlier.

She stays still, cocooned her naked body to keep the warmth and turn her back to Harry, who seems no longer bothered by the cold that morning. Yet, he stirs a little in his sleep. Unconsciously wrapping his arm around her hips and bringing her closer.

Y/N really wants to fall asleep again, but the dream she just had earlier a bit bothered her.

In the dream, she was standing alone in the middle of a hallway in a massive castle with a high ceiling that she could barely see it. She was just there alone. When she stepped her foot to find about what was the place, she saw a large bright ball approaching her along with several small balls twinkling. She didn't know what it was, but they seemed to want to lead her out of the place. And that’s what she did.

Once she got out, the light balls were no longer there. And now, she saw the endless ocean with thick fog covering its surface. She could faintly hear the flow of fast water stream.

She was confused.

Where was she?

“Your Majesty.”

She never snapped her head this fast, hearing someone addressed her with such a title. She was the only one there, who else did they mean if not her?

She found a girl who appeared to be a maid, looking at her timidly. The young girl looked scared, but scared of what?

Y/N hadn't yet had time to open her mouth, yet someone embraced her from behind and made the maid leave immediately.

“Darling..”

The voice.

She recognised the voice.

Unfortunately, when she wanted to turn around to see who was holding her, she awoke from her sleep with extreme confusion.

What's the meaning of that?

She blinks her eyes when she feels her neck being kissed from behind, making her slowly turn around and find Harry staring at her with his sleepy eyes.

“Good morning, love.” his lips draw a small smile, “You wake up first.”

“Mhm,” she hums softly while brushing away his unruly curls from his forehead, “The pouring rain woke me up. And it's cold.”

"Cold? I should be the one who feels cold because you took the blanket." he groans, snuggling closer to her warm body. Y/N laughs softly, her hands stroking his cold cheek.

“Are you hungry? I want to make something before my granny wakes up.”

“Sometimes it makes me feel a little bad when your grandmother is sleeping in the other room while we have sex and try not to be noisy. Yet, at the end of the day, we couldn't hold back the screaming.” he speaks softly while his arms creeping under the blanket and rubbing Y/N's hips with his thumb, “I hope she's not traumatized.”

“You're such a filthy animal when it comes to sex.”

“That's why I prefer my place.”

“Harry..”

“Okay, okay.” he chuckles, “Go make something delicious, I'll wait here.”

Y/N just rolls her eyes before picking up her discarded clothes on the floor and get dressed. Before she leaves the room, she doesn't forget to give her man a delicate kiss on the lips making the man's heart soars in affection.

When she gets to the kitchen, she's surprised to see Ilitia who had prepared the breakfast on the dining table. With a small smile, Y/N comes closer to her grandmother and give the old woman a kiss on the cheek.

“Buongiorno nonna.”

“Mia cara..”

"I just wanted to make something for breakfast but it seems you beat me first." Y/N hums while sitting on the chair nearby, looking at Ilitia who just turn off the stove. The grandmother just smiles while taking off her apron.

“Non preoccuparti! I knew you were going to wake up late. So, I thought I could do something for you and Harry." she shrugs, "Are you not tired? Your scream was loud last night."

“Nonna!”

Y/N's face flushed red when Ilitia teases her while wiggling her eyebrow, she blushed even more after her grandmother gives her the I-knew-what-you-did look. Were they that loud last night?

“I thought you were already asleep.” she mumbles under her breath while fumbling with her fingers, avoiding the eye contact with her dear grandmother who just admitted that she heard they had sex last night. Well, this is not her first time hearing her granddaughter having sex with the guy named Harry, but what she heard last night kind of traumatized her. She doesn't know this horny couple could be wild if they wanted to.

"I did, mia cara. But, the way you guys screamed hurt my hearing and made me awake.”

Y/N slumped her shoulder in embarrassment, in the bottom of her heart, she promised to be more careful and maybe keeping their hands off each other when Ilitia around.

"My dear. I know I have no experience with love and things like that but are you sure? Are you sure about him? Because Harry is the first man you take home and I see you really into each other. I just don't want you to get heartbreak if something goes wrong."

This is the first time for Ilitia to talk seriously to her granddaughter, the look on her face so careful and concern. She doesn't want her only granddaughter to feel hurt from choosing the wrong person. This is the first time Y/N has shown she really likes someone and it seems that her feelings are much deeper than Ilitia thought.

"I really, really like him. I've never felt like this with anyone. He's a good man and.. I'm really happy with where we are now."

“Nonostante non ci ufficializzi.” she adds with a sad smile.

It's right. They admitted to liking and adoring each other, not hesitate to kiss each other and even have sex. But, Harry never openly make their relationship official as a boyfriend and girlfriend. That's all enough for her. The most important thing is they admit their feelings and her feeling isn't one-sided.

She really wants Harry to make official of their relationship, yet she understands that he's not someone who's outspoken about romance. Just each other know where they stand, what they feel, and all set. They're in a relationship. But, is it a boyfriend-girlfriend thing? She isn't sure.

One thing she knows and the matter is.. they live the relationship as it should.

While Y/N is happy yet a little worried about her relationship with Harry, the legal wife of him, Selene, is angry and also worried about her husband. She had just returned to Centauri with anger fueling her chest. She just catches her Harry whom she loves so much, sneaking behind her back with another woman and seems to have feelings for that woman. Not just a woman, a mortal human who is far below them. What even human compares to Goddess, like her?

She doesn't know what her husband was thinking and seeing in that woman. She's much honourable than that creature.

She wants revenge, yet she doesn't want to get her hands dirty. She has to gather a lot of evidence before carrying out her plans.

Fine if Harry doesn't want to be honest and listen to her.

Like she said before, she would make him regret for ignoring her.

“Kynigos!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

One of her trusted men immediately approaches her when the Goddess calls him. He bent down for a few seconds before returning to his feet like a tough fighter.

“I have a mission to carry out. Bring Khosaid, Aharo, and Helios to the throne room now.”

The man just nods, leaving a smirking Selene who's plotting something inside her head. She has hundreds of plans to get Harry back into her arms and deter him. No one can take her husband from her. No one. . . . .

Selene is wondering out loud.

What kind of human could make her husband turn away from her.

She doesn't know the name, doesn't know anything about her but her face.

She admits that the human is beautiful, but still she’s more beautiful she thinks, and look innocent. Yet, behind the innocence, the human is even worse. She doesn’t know how Harry got hooked on his secret lover.

And she wants to know.

That’s why she’s now standing a few metres away from a certain flower shop. According to her spy, the girl works as a florist, also she just found out that her Harry often buys flowers there. So, she thinks it all started with him buying flowers and they met regularly. If it isn’t her husband’s affair, she won’t want to come down and mingle with the humans on Earth. Selene avoids that very much.

“Hello, can I help you?”

What a coincidence.

The woman she was looking for, is standing in front of her with a smile formed on her lips that she hated. The lips that her husband savoured beside her, the lips that she's sure did something more than just a kiss..

“Do you have Anemones?” Selene quickly pulls her focus back, doesn’t want the woman to be suspicious since she almost throwing a glare, “The red ones, actually.”

“Yes, we do. How much do you want?” Y/N immediately put on her gloves and looking for a scissor, not realising that her new customer had been gripping it for some reason.

“Make it a bouquet.”

"Sure! Let me find my sci– Oh, thanks!" Before she finishes her sentence, Selene quickly holds out the scissor right in front of her. To her surprise, her customer seems to be pointing the scissor in front of her face rather than holding out because how quick it was in her face.

“My.. darling said this is the best flower shop in Syracuse,” Selene begins, her eyes staring at Y/N who’s picking up her order, “And now I know.. why.”

“I think your boyfriend is too much. But, thank you.” Y/N smiles, “I guess he once bought flowers here?”

“My husband,” Selene corrects her, “And.. yeah, I guess. He often buys flowers here. Or I could say, always.”

“Your husband? You’re so lucky then, having a romantic husband.” she beams while tying up the Red Anemones, “I should have known him if he always buys flowers here.”

“Mhm. You could say that.” Selene silently rolls her eyes, feeling sick of this nonsense talk. But, she has to be patient so she can get what she wants. Her eyes looking at the woman in front of her closely, from the head to toe. She doesn’t find see anything interesting about Y/N, and why could her husband be attracted to her, get into her trap, and was lulled into forgetting the fact that he’s a married man.

“You’re lovely, you know that? It’s a bit embarrassing you work just as a florist.” Selene shakes her head, “I wonder, a lovely girl like you must have a boyfriend already.”

“Something like that.” Y/N chuckles, handing out the finished bouquet to her customer.

“Ooh, he’s lucky then.” hums Selene, “Or.. you are lucky then. Because I believe, Italian man is so damn romantic.”

“He is,” her cheeks flushed, indicating that what Selene said is true. She smiles shyly and it makes Selene feel even more annoyed, “But, he isn’t Italian. So..”

Enough.

Selene no longer wants to hear the words from the woman in front of her. The Goddess immediately take the money out from her pocket and gives it to Y/N without asking the price. She quickly leaving the confused Y/N without saying another word.

Did she say something wrong earlier? Y/N wonders.

She shrugs. Maybe the woman is in a hurry, she thinks.

Not long after, she sees from a distance that Harry had just closed his car door. With a blinding smile, the man walks towards her with something in his hand.

“Hi!”

“Hi, Harry.”

The man quickly gives her a peck on the lips, before he hands her a paper bag from his hold, “Here, I brought you lunch.”

"Why?" Y/N smiles, slowly take the bag and peeked inside.

“I know you sometimes forget your lunch. Then I stopped by at the nearest restaurant before I got here.” he shrugs, “That habit will get you sick. And I don’t want you to get sick.”

“Thank you,” she grins, “Come inside. We can eat together behind the counter, Mia will be here soon.”

Y/N grabs Harry’s hand to follow her inside. Luckily, her boss didn’t come today so she can freely sneak him inside without any worries.

“You’re off tomorrow, right?” he asks when she’s taking out the lunch box, “I want to take you somewhere.”

“Yep,” she confirms, “Where to?”

“It’s secret.” he winks, “But, you’ll definitely like it.” . . . .

Y/N has an off day today and like Harry promised yesterday, he takes the advantage to take her out for a date. A date like normal humans usually do. It’s just one day trip in Marina di Ragusa, yet he already rented a private boat for both of them to enjoy the beautiful Mediterranean Sea until the sunsets. When they arrive at the port, someone was waiting for him. Harry and the person talk for a while and soon give him the key, and not forget to wish them a nice trip.

“This is unusual,” Y/N hums while they walk to their boat, “But, I like it.”

“Oh, you’re going to love it once we hit the water.”

The man carefully helps her to climb into the boat, with the help of the dock clerk of course. Once he joins her in behind the steering wheel, he puts the key into the ignition, letting the engine to roar and ready to sail.

“Ready?” he averts his gaze to the girl next to him, lips forming a smile seeing her looked all giddy and excited.

“Of course!”

He shakes his head of how cute she is. After the dock clerk gives him a clear to sail, he doesn’t hesitate to show his skill to drive a boat expertly. In fact, he’s so carried away by the sea breeze hitting his face as they started to move away from the dock, and makes him pick up the speed.

“You’re expert at driving a boat, huh?” Y/N teases him, her eyes occasionally glance at him while looking at the distant coast.

“One of my hidden talent, actually.” Harry jokes, before making a sharp turn that caused the water splash over them. He let out a laugh while Y/N groans because her clothes are wet a little.

“I told you to bring spare clothes, didn’t I?”

“All of this was planned, wasn’t’ it?” she pouts, “You wanted to get me wet so you told me to bring spare clothes!”

“We’re on the water, so it makes sense if our clothes get wet.”

“I know, but – Harry!”

She screams as the boat suddenly accelerated, making her startled and reflexively grabs his arm. When they slowed down in the middle, she slaps his hand on the wheel.

“You want to knock me overboard?” she glares at him, “Don’t do that!”

“You have to see your own face!” he giggles, “It was funny.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“Good thing that you’re still on your seat. If you were standing, you could fall in and drown.”

“Sometimes I can’t trust you behind the wheel, you know?” she murmurs under her breath, and now looking out over the endless expanse of the sea, “And now we’re in the middle of the sea. What we will do?”

“Technically, not.” he shrugs, “Well, I just want you to feel the calm water. Isn’t this calming?”

“It is, H. But, I’m just afraid that if we run out of fuel and cannot come back.” she laughs, eyeing him with a raised eyebrow.

“We can swim. I’ll hold you tight if you can’t swim, though.”

“How romantic of you.”

“Second to none.”

Y/N chuckles at his silliness. The way his unique thinking always amazes her, and it seems Harry always has his own thought. And sometimes, she cannot guess it.

“I just want to cherish our time together. I just want to be alone with you and enjoying each other’s company.” he starts, “I know sometimes the world doesn’t work the way we want but I’m always here for you.”

“Harry…” she coos, “I know the world is too hard and cruel sometimes but I’ll always be by your side. No matter what.”

She doesn’t know where this comes from, him talking like this isn’t his usual. Like there’s something he tried to convey implicitly, it’s clear from the way he looks at her. He doesn’t smile, lips pressed together but his eyes are so soft.

“Promise?” he then cheekily put his pinky finger for her to intertwine, and of course she happily locking their pinky’s together.

“Always.”

Harry lovingly grabs her face and kisses her dearly. Both of them closed their eyes, letting the moment drown between them. He smiles into the kiss as does she. Still locking their lips together, tasting each other, and melting their feelings into one.

They hurriedly untied their lips when the boat rocked suddenly, making them laugh.

“We shouldn’t be here to long,” Y/N nervously giggles, “It seems the ocean hates us.”

“Fine then, we’re going back to the coast.”

Before he drives them back, he pulls her head towards him and kisses her forehead.

“What was that for?”

“You’re just too cute.”

From the very distant dock, the woman can see what’s happening with her own eyes. She understands what’s going on between them, their feelings, yet she has to make a decision before it’s too late. . . . .

“You’re one step closer, Your Majesty.”

"You're very close to your destiny but you haven't realised that."

“You must be careful.”

Harry gasps when he opens his eyes, watching the huge waves roll away from him as if it had finished delivering the messages. His eyes wandering at the reflection of the moon on the surface of the ocean before his eyes. Then, he remembers Centauri, Selene, his mission. And.. Y/N.

Sweet sweet Y/N.

How come he likes a mortal human, especially he already has a wife who’s always waiting for him to come home every day?

How could he believe that the human made him fall in love with her?

How could he feel carried away and complacent, making him forget his wife when he was with Y/N?

Those kisses, those touches, their skins against each other.

Their lust for one another.

The desire.

Harry knows what he committed, yet he couldn’t stop.

He cannot.

What if Selene finds out? His people and his realm know that he's cheating with a mortal human and having affair?

They won’t blame him.

They’re going to go after Y/N, and he doesn’t want that. But, he doesn’t want to let go of her.

While Harry was standing on the beach and contemplating his thought, Y/N was arguing with her grandmother who suddenly forbade her to be close to Harry without giving a definite reason.

"Why are you suddenly against my relationship with Harry, granny? You never said anything before?" Y/N asks quietly, staring at Ilitia who's looking at her with a gaze she cannot interpret. Ilitia just sighs, paused for a moment to choose the right words to say.

“I just.. there’s something wrong with him that I feel but I can’t really say. Especially, I don’t want you to get hurt later because he didn’t say anything about your relationship, did he?” Ilitia gives her a plea look, “If he’s good man, he’ll make clear what kind of relationship you two have.”

"He's a good man, granny. He takes care of me well. He's always nice with you and why don't you like him?" she fights, "I thought you like him.."

“I do, mia cara. I just–”

"If you don't want to tell me, I won't listen to you." Y/N stomping her feet before leaving Ilitia like a grumpy child. She doesn't understand why Ilitia suddenly forbids her to see Harry even though her grandmother seemed fine before. She gets suspicious since Ilitia won't tell her the reason behind of all this and she thinks it's odd.

When she just steps out from her porch, she sees Harry who just gets out of his car. Her mood gets lighten seeing him who comes to her house.

“Harry!”

“Love..”

The pair kiss each other immediately when they get into one another’s arms. Y/N smiles into the kiss, feeling the joy while Harry stroking her hips with his thumbs. They break the kiss shortly after and putting their forehead against each other.

“What are you doing outside on nights like this?” he hums, rubbing her nose with his own.

“I kinda.. arguing with granny for some reason.” she puckers her mouth, making him give a quick peck on her lips before backing away.

“Why? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Granny asked me to stay away from you.”

Harry is the one who frowned this time. He didn't mishear, did he? Why on earth did Ilitia ask her granddaughter to step back on him? He made no mistake. Why?

"She doesn't have a valid reason yet she still remains adamant against our.. relationship." she answers his unspoken question, "And that's why I'm here."

“Want me to talk with her, love? Maybe there was something she was doubting about?”

“Are you sure?”

“Gladly.”

Without another word, Harry takes Y/N's hand to follow him from behind. Slowly, he opens the door and finds Ilitia pacing in the living room – looking all confused and anxious.

“Good evening, Ilitia.”

“Granny..”

“Mia cara!”

The old woman quickly pulls her granddaughter from Harry, making the young couple shocked by her act. Ilitia stares at Y/N and him in turn, before standing to shield Y/N from the man who just escorted her granddaughter back home.

“You better go home, Harry.” Ilitia warns him, “And please, never come back.”

“Did I something wrong, Ilitia?” Harry confusedly asks, “Why are you suddenly like this?”

“I don’t like you.” Ilitia scoffs, “My granddaughter is better off without you.”

“Granny!” Y/N cries out, “Why did you say that? You were fine with him before. He didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Ilitia, I apologise if I made a mistake. But, please. If you don’t like me, please tell me the reason so I can fix it.”

"The way you can fix it by staying away from Y/N, and forget her." Ilitia hiss, "I don't want my granddaughter to get hurt if she's still with a man like you."

"You're talking nonsense, granny. You don't even have a clear reason why I–"

“Y/N Y/L/N!”

Y/N flinches. This is the first time in her life that her grandmother yelled at her and called her full name. She's sad and ashamed by the way Ilitia treats her like a child. Never once was Ilitia like this before. Her heart sink and her tears are ready to burst. Before Ilitia and Harry see her crying, she quickly leaves them both to burst into her room, making them both hear how loud she slams her door.

"Ilitia, I don't know why you hate me so suddenly. If I made a mistake, then I'm sorry. But, please give me a chance to prove to you that I won't hurt her. We both love each other and…"

"Love?" she scoffs, cutting him off, "Are you sure about that? Don't tell lies to me. We both know what's your intention; you're just fooling around with Y/N. My granddaughter's future is bright even more if you stop this nonsense. Whatever you're having with her is just bullshit!"

“Excuse me?”

“I know who you’re, Harry. Don’t fool me.” she pushes him out, which makes him wonder why this old woman is strong enough for her age, “Just leave before you regret everything. I just want to protect my Y/N.”

Harry winces as Ilitia slams the door right on his face, making the hanging pot next to it rattling. He doesn't understand what Ilitia told him. What makes him even more confused, why did she dislike him so much? He was always nice to her and didn't do anything wrong. He's always trying to please her beloved granddaughter and makes a nice impression on her.

Maybe Ilitia was just tired and had a lot of thoughts that made her like that. He hopes tomorrow everything will be fine and back to normal. He wants Ilitia to like him because he knows how much that means to his Y/N. . . . .

When Harry opened his eyes this morning, he felt something strange.

That day was gloomier and sorrow, as if a storm was coming. The sun even seemed shy to shine on the Earth, dark clouds clustered over the sky. And when he passed the shore, the waves looked fiercer than usual.

And, he doesn’t know why.

The unexpected scene a few days ago between him, Y/N, and Ilitia still nagging his mind. He hasn't met Y/N again because he doesn't want to annoy her grandmother, meanwhile, he also gives Ilitia time and space to calm down.

He was thinking about what caused Ilitia to despise him.

He and Y/N never quarrelled, he never made her cry. Their so-called-relationship is fine. Then, what?

Then, he remembers Y/N’s face that night. She looked sad, obviously wanting to cry yet she holds back. He never saw her so sad, he always saw her smile and laugh even when she was tired.

Oh, Harry misses her.

He misses her smile, her laugh. Everything.

He hadn’t seen her for days, but during that time they’d been texting each other. He couldn’t call her because she was worried that her grandmother would hear them. He also couldn’t see her at work since, according to Mia, Y/N asked to take leave. When he confirmed it to her, she didn’t deny it. Ilitia forced her to take leave because her grandmother knew Harry would try to see her.

But, on that day, his heart forces him to meet her, whatever the risk. He hopes that during the few days he didn’t see her, her grandmother will soften up on him a little.

So, he takes his keys and quickly drive to her house.

On the way Y/N’ house, he then remembers his wife who hadn’t sent him a message like usual. Every week, he would receive a roll of parchment about his wife’s longing letters, and that made him feel less lonely. Selene would tell him her daily life or whatever she wanted to tell him.

But, that feels like it’s been a long time.

She stopped send him the letters since his return to Centauri that time.

And he wonders, why.

However, with Y/N by his side, his loneliness was relieved. His void of love and affection is perfectly fulfilled because of her. That woman always showered him with care, attention, and.. love.

Love is a strong word, Harry knows that.

But, he feels it. He feels it towards her.

Yet, his heart hesitated. How could he love two women at once, at the same time? How could he fall in love with another woman when his wife is always waiting for him at home.

That's what made Harry never clearly declare his relationship with Y/N. He never makes their relationship official as a boyfriend and girlfriend. She knows his feelings and so does he. Their feelings aren't unrequited, and that's enough for him for their relationship.

It’s like he’s having affair. And he’s very well aware. However, he cannot let her go. He’s addicted to the woman. He sounds selfish, he doesn’t want to lose Selene if she finds out, but he also doesn’t want to let Y/N go.

He knows his behaviour hurts the two women, and he wants to be selfish and keep them around. He cannot imagine losing one of them, or both. He loves them too much to lose them.

Strangely, it only took a few weeks for him to fall in love with Y/N, but it took years for Selene to win his heart.

Although there is some Selene's behaviour that he doesn't like, but he cannot deny that it was Selene who never got tired trying to capture his heart. While many females threw themselves at him, she remained patient and tried until he finally melted at her.

Meanwhile, Y/N.

The darling, sweet Y/N.

She didn’t overtly show her efforts to win his heart. Yet, her shy and sweet gestures that melted him. She has this factor that made him unable to get the woman out of his mind, and let her creep down and capturing his heart.

If Harry likens his wife to a fierce woman, Y/N is more shy one who’s gentle and very careful with everything. They’re very different, and he never knew he could fall in love with two opposites females.

Nevertheless, he doesn’t want to think about it now. All he thinks are his longing for Y/N. He cannot wait to see her.

When he arrives at her house, he gets out of his car with a smile painting on his lips. He didn't forget to buy a basket of her favourite flowers when he stopped by the middle of the trip. He's a little confused to see her door is wide open. Were she and Ilitia having guests? But, their house looks deserted.

With confident steps, Harry rushed inside. Yet, his frown gets deeper when he sees the living room was messy. Everything scattered on the floor. Something must have happened.

“Y/N?”

“Ilitia?”

He calls them loud but no one answered.

This is strange.

He’s getting inside, seeing the kitchen and dining room empty. Then, he sees Ilitia’s bedroom which the door is closed. His mind begins to diverge, thinking about nonsensical things. His heart starts to race fast when the house feels even more empty with the two hosts nowhere to be found.

Then, he faintly hears dimmed sound from Y/N's bedroom. Without thinking twice, he immediately runs and seeing the door was open. His eyes found a scene unfold that makes him feels the time freeze and everything stopped. *

oops... 👀

#harry styles #harry styles au #harry styles series #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles writing #god harry styles #romance #fanfiction #mythology

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justatiredpotato · 4 years

Text

Set Me Free | Chapter 2

Chapter List

Pairing: hybrid!Yoongi x human!reader

Genre: Angst, fluff, coffee shop AU, hybrid AU

Word Count: Chapter: 7,000~ Total: 40,000~

Updates daily at 10pm MST

Warnings: anxiety, Yoongi’s life has been sad to this point I’m sorry

Summary: Yoongi, a cat hybrid, has been hurt time and time again by a world that would have him believe he’s worthless. One day he finds himself in your protective care, and gets a new family to boot. But is it really that easy to escape the past and embrace a new beginning?

Author’s Note: In this fic the reader’s name is Yeoji

Once you’d pulled yourself together a bit you joined the boys in the cafe. Jungkook already had drinks made for everyone, and Jimin brought you your favorite coffee as you entered. His brows furrowed and his lips settled into their signature pout when he noticed your tear-stained cheeks. Once you settled into one of the loveseats he immediately snuggled up to you, trying his best to curl into your lap. Taehyung quickly joined, sitting on the floor and resting his head on your lap. To your surprise, Jungkook even joined the pile of hybrids surrounding you. He hadn’t been much for cuddles since he became a teenager. Nonetheless, he squished himself into the space on the other side of you and Jimin, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and pulling you into his chest.

The sudden warmth and comfort brought tears streaming down your face again. Jungkook gently petted your hair, sniffing at it lightly to gauge your level of distress.

“It’ll be okay, noona. Hoseokie-hyung said he’ll get better,” Taehyung’s deep voice rumbled from where his cheek rested on your leg.

Jungkook lifted his head from your hair to look at you, then at Hoseok.

“Hyung, that hybrid smells weird. What’s wrong with him?” he said. The other two boys sniffed at your clothes, catching the injured man’s scent and frowning.

You turned to look at him. “What do you mean weird?” you asked, sniffling.

“Hybrid-y. But not? I don’t know how to describe it since you can’t smell it,” he tried to explain. “It seems familiar somehow.”

“It’s like, we can tell he’s a hybrid, the details aren’t there. Sort of? His scent is there, but it’s really light and… blurry?” Taehyung added, brow furrowed as he tried to find the right words.

Jimin sniffed at the curve of your neck where Yoongi had been crying. He looked up at you with wide eyes.

“You didn’t say he’s a kitty like me!” he said.

“I didn’t know for sure. I didn’t really have a chance to ask,” you said, petting his hair mindlessly.

“It sounds like he’s using some kind of scent-supressing product?” Jin said.

“Woah, aren’t those like, expensive?” Jimin asked.

“Yeah, and they’re bad for you. Since they’re marketed toward… “stray” hybrids, they aren’t regulated very well. Some of them cause really bad skin irritation,” Jin said. “I’ve seen people come into the shelter who’ve used them.”

“They can make your hair fall out too,” Jungkook said. You all looked at him, surprised. “I’ve never used them, but some hybrids that looked after me before I met you guys got ahold of some. They said it was worth it if it kept you out of the shelters.”

No one said anything to that. Jungkook didn’t mention the time before he came to live with you and Joon very often. Being alone on the streets as a child was traumatic to say the least. You grabbed his hand and twiddled his fingers.

“Well, he doesn’t need to worry about that now. He doesn’t have to hide here,” you said.

“Is he staying?” Taehyung asked hopefully. Namjoon raised his eyebrows expectantly.

“He isn’t going to be your new favorite kitty, is he?” Jimin asked, nuzzling further into your t-shirt. You laughed, smoothing over his ears with your free hand.

“Don’t worry Jimin, you’ll always be special to me. And I’ll always have room for more sweet kitties in my life.” You squished his cheeks, making him giggle.

“Did you convince him to stay here?” Namjoon asked.

“I don’t know,” you sighed. “I barely stopped him from running out into the snow right now. He was about to go pick up a set of clothes from the alley and leave.”

“I think he trusts you,” Hoseok said. “If you’re up to it, he might be willing to stay here. I doubt he’s felt as safe as he does with you for a long time.”

“Of course, he can stay. I hope he does. I just wish I’d known sooner. He must’ve had such a hard time. He comes in every day, I can’t believe I missed this!”

“Not every day,” Jungkook corrected. You looked at him, waiting for an explanation. “He only comes in when you’re working. Did you really think a broke street performer was buying fancy coffee every day just because? You don’t need hybrid senses to know he was coming in for you.”

You felt Jimin nod, another giggle escaping his lips.

“You seriously didn’t figure it out, noona? I noticed the first time I met him.”

“All this time…” You thought back over the last year or so. “I only asked his name a couple of months ago.”

“It’s okay, noona. You see a lot of people,” Namjoon said in an attempt to make you feel better.

“Not a lot of people that come in every day, and smile at you like you made their day by remembering their order,” you said. You spiralled, thinking about how all of this could’ve been prevented if you’d just asked him anything. “All of my regulars don’t wear the same ragged clothing every day, and come in without an umbrella when it's pouring rain, or no coat when it’s going to snow, they don’t order the cheapest item on the menu like it’s a delicacy.” You leaned out of the boys’ embrace and put your head into your hands. When had you started crying again?

“It’s not your fault, noona. Nobody knew,” Tae said, attempting to pull your hands away from your face. But that statement somehow made it worse. Because he was right; no one knew, because no one had bothered to ask. He’d obviously been starving on the street and no one noticed. The quiet tears had devolved to hiccuping sobs again and Tae stood on his knees to hug you.

“I should’ve asked,” you cried into his chest. “I should’ve noticed he wasn’t okay. He hasn’t been okay the whole time I’ve known him.” Taehyung clutched you tighter, wishing he could fix this for you.

“But you know now. You helped him when no one else did. And he’s safe now. You did that. And he’s so lucky to know you,” he said. He kept mumbling comforting words until you calmed down a bit.

“I should go check on him,” you said as you stood.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Hoseok asked.

“You can check on him, but then you need to go home. It’s late and I know you work tomorrow,” you said, running a hand over your face.

“Do you want us to stay?” Joon asked.

“No, I think I’ll just close the shop for tomorrow. One day won’t kill my profits. Then I can help him look through his things and replace what he needs.”

“I’ll bring some clothes in the morning to get him by,” Jin said. He wrapped you in a hug before leading the boys out to the car. They all gave you hugs, Jimin lingering and gracing you with comforting purrs before letting you go.

Hoseok followed you back into the apartment, catching your wrist to stop you before you entered your bedroom.

“Hey, I didn’t want to mention this in front of the others, but be careful with him, alright?” He nodded toward Yoongi. “I don’t know how he was living before, but he’s pretty scarred up.”

Your eyes widened. “What kind of scars?”

“I can’t say for sure,” he said, pausing for a long moment before meeting your eyes. “They seem to be from some kind of assault.” He sighed heavily, suddenly looking very tired. “It would explain why he was so skittish when I was patching him up. The most recent lash marks on his back were at least a few years old.”

Your breath caught in your throat. “Lash marks? Oh god. What happened to him?”

“Look, this is really something you should hear from him. I don’t feel right sharing his private information like this.”

“Of course, you’re right. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“Just, be gentle with him, noona. He’s been through a lot,” Hoseok said with a sad smile.

You spent an hour or so after the boys left trying to clean up some of the personal items they’d managed to salvage. The ragged clothes went into the wash, and you did your best to dry out any notebook pages that weren’t smudged beyond recognition. Your counters and dining table ended up covered with crinkled pages weighted down with whatever you could find. You rummaged around in the hall closet and pulled out a fan, setting it to blow over the mess of papers. Yoongi’s backpack sat forlorn on the floor next to the table.

You debated whether you should pull out the contents and try to dry them out, but decided against it. The last thing you wanted was for him to feel you’d further invaded his privacy. His keyboard was already well-worn when you’d seen him playing it on the streets outside. But looking at it you doubted it would work at all now. For some reason looking at the battered instrument made your eyes water again.

You turned away quickly and instead went to the kitchen to make another warm drink, not worried about the caffeine despite the late hour. You settled onto your couch, wrapping a fluffy blanket around your shoulders and holding the warm mug in both hands. At some point you must’ve dozed off, because a soft grunt woke you. You blinked, a bit disoriented waking up somewhere other than your bed. Early morning light was streaming through the windows. Glancing at the clock you found it was already 9am. You turned toward the sound that had woken you and found Yoongi slouched in the bedroom doorway. He glanced around nervously before meeting your eyes.

“Hey,” he said, voice scratchy from sleep and the tears of the night before.

“Hey. What are you doing up?” You rose and made your way around the couch toward him. “Are you hungry?”

“Don’t worry about it. I just figured I should start getting my stuff together,” he said, already making his way toward his bag.

“I can help you with that later. For now let's get some food in you. You shouldn’t even be on your feet yet. I’ll get your bag for you.”

You gently took his arm and guided him to the couch instead. He seemed to consider resisting, but thought better of it. His slight frame was stiff against your side, but he started to lean on you a bit after he nearly tripped on the living room rug. You settled him onto the couch and took the blanket you were wrapped in, tucking it around his shoulders. He nodded his thanks and pulled the blanket up around his head to cover his ears as well. You turned to hide your smile at the cute gesture and brought him his bag.

Once he was settled in where you could keep an eye on him you went to the kitchen to put some breakfast together.

“Are there any foods you don’t like?” you call, pulling out bread and cheese since you already knew he liked cheese toast.

“Anything is fine,” he said, ducking his head in thanks. You nodded, thinking before pulling out some sausage and eggs as well. The boy needed to get some meat on his bones. You glanced over at him on occasion watching as he pulled a laptop out of the bag and opened it. He seemed to sigh in relief—apparently it still worked. He rummaged around for another moment before looking around the room.

“Missing something? I can go look for it, whatever it is.”

He didn’t answer, instead scanning over all the surfaces in the room with wide eyes.

“My notebooks… Did you-?” He met your eyes, seemingly shocked.

“Oh, yeah. I laid out what looked salvageable to dry. Hopefully most of it is still alright. I wasn’t trying to snoop, but I couldn’t help reading some. They’re lyrics, right?”

He nodded, eyes focused on his hands fidgeting on his lap.

“They’re really good, what I saw, I mean. You’re talented. Maybe you could show me some of your music sometime? If you’d be comfortable with that.”

He winced, glancing at the keyboard on the loveseat to his left.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to play anything for you. Sorry.” The wobble in his voice made your heart clench. You put the finished meal on a tray and made your way over to sit beside him on the couch.

“We can get you a new one,” you offered weakly. He nodded, blinking rapidly.

“It’s not a big deal. The thing was a piece of s*** anyway.” He tried to sound dismissive, and you didn’t push the matter, instead making him a plate and setting it in front of him before making your own. You glanced at him expectantly, but he wasn’t eating.

“Do you want something else? I can see what else I have if this doesn’t look good. I need to run to the store later-”

“No, it’s just- You didn’t say I could-” He stopped when your eyebrows shot up, eyes wide. His face flushed bright red as he shifted uncomfortably. “You didn’t say I’m allowed to eat.”

Your stomach flipped uncomfortably as you realized what he was implying. “Yoongi, you don’t have to get my permission to eat.” He shrank in on himself, but you didn’t let it go. Your hand came to rest gently on his arm.

“Hey, look at me. You’re my guest, not a pet or a- a-” You cringed, not even wanting to say the alternative ways people described hybrids. You shook your head, trying to clear the anger that flared up when you thought of how poorly he must’ve been treated before you knew him. “You are a person, Yoongi. I am going to treat you like a person, because you deserve that. Okay?”

He nodded, face hidden behind the hem of the blanket still tucked over his head. The two of you ate in silence after that. You observed carefully, making sure Yoongi cleared his plate and coaxing him into seconds as well. Once you were satisfied he’d eaten enough, you stood to clear the dishes.

“Coffee?” you asked as you headed back to the kitchen to make a cup for yourself. He glanced up from his bundle of blankets with a shy smile and a nod.

“The usual?” you asked. He didn’t respond and you glanced up to find him debating something. “Why? Do you want something else? You can have whatever you want, Yoongi.”

“Can I have cream?” he asked quietly.

“Of course you can have cream! How much?”

“Whatever you think,” he answered.

“So, a lot?” you said with a grin. His small smile grew and he nodded. You returned to your spot on the couch a few minutes later with two cups of coffee. You handed him his, and his eyes widened when he saw the pile of whipped cream you’d added.

“Good?” you asked hopefully.

He gave you a gummy grin before taking a big sip. You couldn’t help but giggle, delighted by the first genuine smile you could recall seeing from him.

“It’s great,” he said smiling again as he licked the line of sweet cream off his upper lip. You laughed at the spot that still stubbornly remained on his nose. Without thinking, you reached out and swiped it away with your finger. He had a pretty adorable nose, so you’d be lying if you said the impulse to boop it hadn’t crossed your mind before. He went cross-eyed for a second as he followed the gesture. A low chuckle escaped him and you felt warmth spread through your chest at the oddly comforting sound.

“Thank you. For everything, I mean,” he said, gesturing with his mug but obviously meaning much more.

“I meant what I said last night. You can stay as long as you want. I wouldn’t mind the company.”

“I don’t want to be a burden. I’m already indebted to you, and I have no way to pay you back. And then there’s your friend’s medical supplies-”

“You mean Hobi? Don’t even try. There’s no way he’ll accept money for helping someone who needed it. I’m honestly surprised he lets the hospital pay him his salary,” you said with a laugh, trying to deflect the conversation.

“Well, I have to get these clothes back to that other guy-”

“Jin.”

“Yeah, right. Where are my clothes, by the way?” he asked, glancing at the items you’d sorted through that were scattered around the room.

“Oh, right! I have to change out the laundry,” you said. You stood to hang the clean things and put in the next load. “I washed what the guys brought in last night. Everything you were wearing except for the hoodie was ruined. Sorry.”

He visibly reddened, remembering the ordeal he’d woken to the previous night.

“Right, of course.” He paused. “Hey, did you see my hat?”

“Hat? Why? Are you cold? I can turn the radiator up. Do you want more blankets-”

“No, I just- I don’t like to show my ears,” he said quietly. You paused, setting the clean laundry aside to sit with him again.

“Why not?” you asked gently.

“It’s just- I don’t like to. People treat me differently when they know what I am. I want people to treat me like a person, you know?” he said, scratching at his ears under the blanket.

“Knowing you’re a hybrid doesn’t make me think any less of you. So please don’t feel like you have to hide anymore. At least not with me,” you said.

He held your gaze for a moment before he apparently came to a decision. He slid the blanket back down to his shoulders. His ears were covered in soft looking black fur, though it was thin in patches near the top.

“From keeping them under a hat all the time,” he explained. “They look gross, I know,” he said. He was clearly anxious and he almost pulled the blanket back up. You stopped him though, smiling softly because he was just so dang cute. He examined your expression.

“No, they’re- You’re actually even cuter this way,” you said absently. His ears twitched and a blush crept across his cheeks again. Your eyes widened and your own cheeks grew red as you realized what you said.

“I’m sorry, was that rude? That was a weird thing to say, I’m sorry,” you backpedaled. Surely you’d made him uncomfortable now, just as he was opening up to you.

“No, no. It’s fine. That’s actually really nice of you to say.”

You gave him a gentle smile and with a nod of your head, turned back to the laundry. The morning then settled into a comfortable silence. The quiet hum of the radiator and the soft rustling of the blanketed man sitting next to you blended with the random b-movie you found on Netflix.

━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━

Jin came by late that morning to drop off some clothes for Yoongi. You let him in and poured him a cup of coffee before settling at the table with your own.

“So, how’s he doing?” he asked, glancing around and noticing Yoongi’s absence.

“Better. He got up and ate with me this morning. I put on a movie and he napped through most of the afternoon.” You looked over your shoulder toward your bedroom door. As soon as you’d told Yoongi that Jin was on his way he’d scurried off to the bathroom to take a shower. You told Jin as much.

“Yeah, he didn’t seem to care for me; or Hoseok for that matter. Seems to trust you though.”

“I guess. He still seems like he’s waiting for me to throw him out, or hurt him somehow. Earlier he-” You cut yourself off, not wanting to violate the trust that Yoongi had placed in you.

“What?” Jin prompted. “Did something happen?”

You paused, debating. Jin was probably the best person to help you help Yoongi. You sighed, deciding to ask him about what Yoongi had said.

“He was waiting for me to give him permission to eat…” you said, shifting uncomfortably. “I told him that he never has to ask something like that, that he’s a guest. But that seemed to make him even more nervous?”

You met Jin’s eyes again and found a grimace on his face.

“Just be patient. It sounds like he wasn’t very used to kindness where he was before,” he said vaguely.

“Where he was before? Do you know something? Please, I just want to know how to help him.”

“I think I know places like it.” He shuddered. “Look, if he wants to talk about it I’m sure he’ll come to you. For now just keep an eye on him. Hoseok seemed shaken after he treated his wounds last night. He’s seen lots of cases like this at the shelter… Is there something else going on with Yoongi? Something you haven’t told me?”

You pulled your knees up to your chest, tucking in your chin. You thought of what Hoseok said about the scars he saw; some from others, some probably self-inflicted. You found your eyes tearing up again, but quickly shook off the feeling.

“It’s not really my place to say. I already feel like I’m already sharing a lot of his personal information with you. I don’t want to break his trust,” you said, blinking rapidly to clear your eyes.

“I understand.” Jin nodded. He ruffled your hair. “Just promise that you’ll tell me if you need help. You or Yoongi.”

He pinned you with a stern look and held your gaze until you nodded. He smiled approvingly.

“I better get going so he can come out.”

You walked him to the door, and he turned to wrap you in a tight hug.

“I know you’ve gotta be strong for him, he needs you. But don’t forget that the boys and I, and your lil’ bro, we’re here to be strong for you,” he said. You nodded against his chest, squeezing him tightly before pulling away. Jin waved goodbye and crept down the sidewalk toward his car, stepping gingerly to avoid slipping on the ice.

You turned around and nearly jumped out of your skin when you found Yoongi peeking out of your bedroom.

“Geez, you scared me!” you exclaimed, making his ears twitch before they flattened remorsefully against his head.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay, Yoongi. I’m not upset with you,” you reassured him gently, cursing yourself for reacting harshly in the first place. You held out the bag Jin had left to him. “My friend brought you a change of clothes. Hopefully they’ll fit you better than those pajamas.”

“That’s not necessary.” He tried to wave the bag away. “I can just wear my old stuff now that it’s dry.”

“Your old stuff got pretty messed up last night, Yoongi. I have to run to the store so I was going to see if you wanted to come along. We can pick up some things for you there,” you said. He looked at you blankly for a moment before looking away. He seemed to hunch in on himself again. You took a step forward, alarmed by his sudden change in demeanor.

“Why are you doing this?” he said quietly.

“What?” you asked, not sure you heard him right.

“Look, I appreciate you patching me up, but I’m not looking for a new owner.”

You blinked, horrified that he thought that of you.

“Yoongi, I’m not trying to own you. If Jin or Hobi were having a hard time, I’d help them. I’m your friend, Yoongi. Or at least I’d like to be. I take care of my friends.”

“I won’t just mooch off of you, Yeoji-ssi. I can take care of myself,” he argued.

“Why don’t I give you a job then?” you suggested. “I have two other part-timers at the shop, but with Kookie starting uni this spring and Jimin taking more time off for dance, I could use the extra help. You can earn your keep.”

“But I can’t just have you buy me stuff,” he said, still hesitant.

“Just think of it as an advance. You can keep all the receipts if it makes you more comfortable. Then you can pay me back when you’re able to.”

He pondered your offer for a moment, scanning your face. “Are you sure you aren’t… uncomfortable? Having me here, I mean?” he asked, scuffing his sock-bundled toes on the hardwood.

“Actually, I realized this morning how nice it is to have someone around.”

His ears twitched as he considered, before agreeing with a small nod. You smiled, relieved that he wasn’t set on running off at any moment.

“Why don’t you go get changed? Then I’ll get ready and we can head to the store.” He nodded again, taking the bag from you and heading to the bathroom to get dressed.

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By the time you and Yoongi left the house it was mid-afternoon. Yoongi wasn’t thrilled with the pastel blue hoodie that Jimin had loaned him, but the clothes definitely fit him better than Jin’s had. At least the hems of his jeans weren’t dragging in the snow, and the boots were keeping him warm. Jin had also supplied a cozy puffy coat which made Yoongi look even more soft and cuddly than usual. He topped off the look with his trusty beanie, which you didn’t question.

You walked to the garage where you parked your car, humming softly as you appreciated the fresh fallen snow preserved on the tops of flower pots and inside the tiny fenced yards that lined the front of the apartment buildings on your block. You glanced into the alley, checking for cars before crossing, and images from the night before flashed before you. You pushed them away and hurried onward, grabbing Yoongi’s sleeve to tug him along with you.

The garage was relatively empty; only a few people venturing out on a cold, sleepy Sunday afternoon. The sunshine was deceptive, as the cold wind still stung your cheeks. You stuffed your hands in your coat pockets, cold despite your gloves and many layers.

When you got in the car you pulled out your phone and opened up your shopping list before handing it to Yoongi.

“Can you help me write a list on the way?”

He nodded.

“Great. Do you have a favorite food? Anything in particular you want to get?” you asked.

“Anything is fine.”

“Yoongi,” you whined, nudging him with your shoulder. “I’m serious. I’m not picky, and I hate making decisions. You’d be doing me a favor.”

He thought for a long moment before answering. “Meat.”

You stared at him blankly. “That’s it? That’s all I have to work with? Come on, give me something more specific.”

“I like steak, and bulgogi, and japchae when you add lots of beef. Samgyeopsal is good too. And the bacon we had this morning…” He continued to list dishes, and you nodded, humming appreciatively when he mentioned one of your favorites. Once he finished he had a solid list. You chuckled, looking at him fondly. You certainly wouldn’t run out of meal ideas.

The shopping center came into view, and soon enough you were headed inside. The large building contained a wide variety of stores, selling clothing, technology, furniture, and groceries, as well as several restaurants and services. Jin’s shelter was just down the road, which was part of the reason you frequented that particular mall.

“Alright, let’s pick up some essentials for you first,” you said. “Any particular store you’d like to try?”

Yoongi shook his head no, looking around curiously. A group of women walked by, laughing and chatting loudly. You stepped aside and found that Yoongi had moved closer, almost hiding behind you. You scanned his face, noting his slight frown and the ways his eyes were glued to his shoes. He glanced up to meet your eyes and you flashed him a bright smile.

“Let’s start over here.” You grabbed his sleeve and started guiding him to a shop in the opposite direction of where the women had gone. The store you entered was one of your favorites: not terribly expensive, but the quality was good, and their clothes weren’t outlandish or uncomfortable, which seemed to be in style most places.

Yoongi wandered between the racks of clothing throwing socks and underwear in the basket without even really looking. Then he wandered into the racks off toward the tops browsing the styles.

“What would you like me to wear?” he asked you absently. You blinked, cringing at the implication.

“Whatever you want to, Yoongi. You don’t have to check with me,” you said, trying to mask your reaction. Just what kind of life had he been living? He looked up at you and nodded seriously.

“Okay, can I still ask what you think of things though?”

“Of course! Do you see anything you like?”

He took his time pulling out sweaters and long-sleeved t-shirts usually in black or white. He held each up to you in turn, asking your thoughts. You tried to read his expressions so you could be enthusiastic about the things he liked most, but he kept his face neutral, carefully observing your reactions.

After the first couple items he picked you started to notice that while his face stayed blank, his ears were a little more expressive. They twitched forward happily when he seemed to like something, but flicked sideways and flattened when he was uncertain. You tried to hide a pleased grin at this new information, nodding enthusiastically when he held up one he liked. Once he had a modest pile of shirts and sweaters he grabbed a couple pairs of jeans.

“Do you want to try those on first?” you asked, noticing how he held them up uncertainly.

“Yeah, that might be good. I’m not sure if these will fit with my tail.” He headed toward the fitting rooms. You browsed the coats while you waited for him, pulling a couple things off the rack that you thought might suit his taste.

He reemerged with a couple pairs of jeans to add to the basket.

“Do you like any of these?” You held out the coats you’d picked. He looked at them in turn, pausing when he found one that he seemed to like.

“This one is cool,” he mumbled, his voice more of a low growl. The sound made you feel oddly warm and calm, and you couldn’t help but smile at him as he squished the puffy material. “Feels cozy.” He confirmed with an approving nod. You giggled, happy to see him enjoying himself. He graced you with an adorable smile in return.

You made your way to the checkout, Yoongi picking up a couple of beanies on the way. He shifted anxiously on his feet behind you as the cashier rang up your purchases. You felt him peering over your shoulder as the total climbed, and when you went to swipe your card, he stopped you.

“Yeoji-ssi, this is too much. Let’s put some of this back.”

“Absolutely not,” you said, not giving him room to argue as you swiped the card. “I already saw you put back several things that I know you liked. Besides, Jin said you can keep the boots, so that’s one less expense.”

“But-” he started to protest again. “Yoongi.” You stopped him softly and took his hand. “I’m making up a rule for just today. No stressing about money for today. Please, I want to do this for you.”

He relented, grabbing the bags as you took the receipt.

“I’ll give you the receipts tomorrow, and we can talk about your wages at the shop then, okay?”

“Yeah,” he agreed. He was quiet for a moment, before he spoke again. “I’m sorry for arguing with you. I’ll listen better from now on.”

“I don’t want you to listen to me Yoongi, I just want you to let me do things for you sometimes. But please tell me if you ever feel like I’m ordering you around. That’s the last thing I want.”

“Thanks.”

You turned to him and smiled. “Thank you for trusting me.”

On the way to the grocery store you stopped to buy Yoongi a phone, since his old one was trashed.

“I’m sorry it’s nothing fancy, I just got you the same model as mine.”

“Nah, this is super nice. My old one was just something I bought off of some guys I hung around with. You can actually get games and stuff on this, and the screen isn’t cracked!” he said, holding up the phone cheerfully and giving you a blindingly sweet smile. You laughed and reached up to ruffle his hair, like you would with the other boys. He stiffened and flinched away from your hand and you recoiled, realizing what you’d done.

“Oh crap, I’m sorry Yoongi! I didn’t mean to touch you without asking,” you said quickly, holding your hands out in front of you.

“It’s alright.” He tried to reassure you, gently grabbing your hands in one of his. “It’s just a reflex. I know you aren’t gonna hit me or anything.” He glanced awkwardly away from you, but didn’t let go of your hand.

“Are you sure? You have to promise that you’ll tell me if I do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”

“I promise. I trust you, Yeoji-ssi,” he said with an almost shy smile.

“So, is this okay?” you ask, clasping his hand in yours as you walked together. “The boys like to hold hands when we go out.”

He nodded, adjusting his grip on the bags in his free hand. You continued on to the grocery store in comfortable silence, swinging your linked hands between you.

You were forced to let go when you entered the grocery store so you could get a shopping cart. Yoongi placed his shopping bags in the cart before offering to push the cart for you. You happily accepted so you could focus on your list. The store was thankfully pretty empty since you’d come at an odd hour, so you were able to grab the items you needed quickly.

You found yourself observing Yoongi as he observed everything else. He seemed fascinated by the wide variety of foods available, asking the purpose of items here and there. You weren’t a particularly skilled cook, but you answered him the best you could. When he seemed particularly interested in an item, you casually added it to your cart, acting as if it had been on your list the whole time. If he noticed, he chose not to comment. The cart was getting rather full, and he walked a little quicker to catch up with you.

“Yeoji-ssi, do you usually buy this much? You’re not spending a lot of extra money because of me, right?” His brow furrowed, clearly concerned.

“Are you kidding? I have six boys in and out of my house all week. I can hardly keep my kitchen stocked,” you said with a laugh. Was that a bit of an exaggeration? Yes. Would you still use it as an excuse to buy Yoongi as much food as he could possibly eat? Absolutely. Your heart hurt at how skinny he was, noticeable even in his fluffy winter clothes.

Once you were satisfied with your heaping cart of provisions you headed to the checkout. As the total climbed you tried to keep a straight face and swipe your card without hesitation. The cafe was busy lately, you could manage this. Especially with an extra part timer and the festival starting tomorrow.

Yoongi walked with a spring in his step, pushing the cart toward your car. You heard a car approaching so you slowed your pace as you approached a corner. As you leaned to peek around and check, a white car whipped around the corner, cutting close to the beam you stood by and moving fast. Yoongi sprang forward, yanking you back by your coat. You fell, causing both of you to crash into the concrete wall. Yoongi grunted, glaring up at the car as it sped away. His grip on you tightened, and you pushed gently on his chest so you could get a look at his face.

“Oh my god! Yoongi, are you okay?” you asked, frantically checking him over as best you could. His arms still wrapped tightly around you, pinning you to his chest as he stared blankly after the car.

“Yoongi? Yoon, are you okay?” you asked again when you didn’t get a response. You gently put a hand on his cheek to turn him to look at you.

“Huh?” he said, his expression almost distant. He blinked, then seemed to refocus on you. “Yeah, I just thought I recognized the driver. No big deal.”

He looked around and his eyes widened. He released you darting off down the slope after the shopping cart. He caught up to it just before it slammed into the only other car on the level. You watched him as he returned. Though he kept his head down, his eyes kept darting around, searching for potential threats. He was panting, winded from the short run because of his still healing injuries. Once he reached you you slipped your arm around his, giving what you hoped was a reassuring squeeze. You smiled up at him, and he returned it, though it didn’t seem to reach his eyes.

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As soon as you’d hauled the groceries back and put them away you started preparing dinner. As per Yoongi’s request you were having steak and some vegetables you roasted in the oven. Yoongi had gathered his papers, which were still scattered on every available surface, then hurried off to the bedroom to put away his clothes. He seemed touched that you’d emptied a drawer in your large dresser for him.

Left alone in the kitchen, you thought about the incident in the parking garage. Who would Yoongi have recognized? It was unlikely that the driver was another hybrid, since they couldn’t get a driver’s licence. You thought of his scars. What if it had been a former owner? One of the people who hurt him? You shuddered. Anger welled up in you as you clutched the pan handle in your fist. They could’ve recognized him. They might try to take him back. Frustrated tears welled up in your eyes. Would you be able to protect him if they did?

“Yeoji-ssi,” Yoongi called. You turned to face him, finding him delightfully cozy. You forced yourself to push aside your worries for a moment and be happy with him. He wore that gummy smile you were quickly coming to love, clearly pleased with his new clothes. He wore baggy sweatpants and a fluffy black sweater. You noted with delight that he was also sporting a pair of fuzzy white socks that you hadn’t even seen him pick up.

“You look very cozy,” you said, returning his smile.

“Don’t laugh! My feet get cold,” he pouted. Wow, this boy was trying to melt you into a puddle on the floor.

“No, I mean it!” You laughed. “My feet get cold too.”

“Actually,” he said, shuffling closer to you. “There were two pairs. If you want one, I mean.” He held out a pair of sunshine yellow socks, like his. If he’d been looking you in the eye he would’ve seen hearts shooting out of them. Every minute with him just confirmed that you would do anything to keep this boy safe.

“Thank you, Yoongi! That is so sweet of you,” you said. You ruffled his hair, then put them on right away.

“I know you technically paid for them. But I’m paying you back for everything soon, so just think of it as an advance gift,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Ah, right. Why don’t we talk more about that while we eat?” You took the dishes of food to the table. “Can you grab us silverware? It’s in that third drawer.” He quickly grabbed forks and knives and joined you. You settled in and gave him a while to enjoy the food before you started talking.

“So, you’re okay with working at the cafe?” you asked.

He nodded, mouth still full of food. You smiled, glad to see him eating happily.

“In that case, I’ll show you around tomorrow. Jungkook works tomorrow, so he can help you figure things out. He’s a rabbit hybrid.”

Yoongi seemed to tense at the mention of a new person.

“He’s like my baby brother,” you continued. “My little brother Namjoon and I took him in right around when I finished college. He was about fourteen then. He’s really shy, but I think the two of you will get along.” Talking about your little brothers reminded you of something else.

“By the way, how old are you?”

“I was born in ‘93,” he said.

“Ah, so you’re hyung to everyone but Jinnie! Feel free to boss the kids around a bit,” you joked. “And you can call me noona, if you want. No need to be so formal.”

He nodded obediently. You took in his reaction before adding.

“Unless you are more comfortable calling me by my name! Whatever you pre-”

“No, I like that. Calling you noona, I mean.”

You did your best to hide the goofy smile he brought to your face. “You want seconds?” you offered, already getting up to refill his plate.

“I’m okay.”

“Are you sure you can’t eat more?”

“I mean, not that I can’t,” he conceded.

“You need to eat more, Yoongi. You’re too thin. Remember Hoseok, the doctor that treated you? He said you need to put on some weight. Do you think you could eat a little more, please?” you asked, trying your best to hit him with some puppy-dog eyes, which you learned from Jimin, ironically.

“Okay. Not too much, okay?”

“Right! I don’t want you to get sick,” you assured him.

You filled his plate and sat with him until he ate his fill.

“I’ll get the receipts together for you in the morning. I pay my other part-timers $**.** and hour, does that sound fair?” you asked.

His eyes went wide. “That much? Even with their owners getting a cut, that’s a lot for a hybrid,” he marvelled.

You frowned. “Owners getting a cut? Yoongi, that’s not how it works with us. That money is theirs. They earned it. Jungkook decided he wanted to earn his spending money while he goes to school. And Jimin started paying for his own dance classes when he turned eighteen. But neither Namjoon or Jin would take their money from them.” You reached across the table to take Yoongi’s hand. “They’re family, so they take care of each other. That’s all I’m trying to do for you here. The odds are stacked against you, and you’ve been through more than anyone deserves. I just want you to know I’m in your corner, and you have a family now, if you want it.”

You finished and caught your breath. You hadn’t really planned on making a speech, but you needed him to know where he stood, and how you felt about everything. You looked at him, waiting for a response, but he just kept his eyes focused on where your hands held his on the table between you. Anxiety rose in your stomach. You’d made him uncomfortable. Now he probably wanted to leave. Why couldn’t you just keep your mouth shut?

You loosened your grip on his hands, prepared to let go and give him some space but his fingers tightened around yours. You lowered your head a bit, trying to get a look at his face which was hidden by his bangs. You were about to say something when he finally spoke.

“Thank you, noona.” His voice trembled and he squeezed your hands tighter. After a moment he looked up, eyes shiny, and found tears already streaming down your cheeks. You met his eyes and smiled, taking a moment to gather yourself.

“Movie?” you suggested.

He nodded happily, releasing your hands and heading to the couch. You dabbed at your face with your sleeves before joining him. He’d already grabbed a blanket and curled up, making himself impossibly small. You grabbed the remote and started flicking through netflix. There was a new original movie out which promised to be painfully cheesy.

“You up for a rom-com-cringe-fest?” you asked, looking over at Yoongi.

His feline eyes scanned the synopsis curiously. “I haven’t seen a lot of movies, so I’m sure it’ll be interesting.”

That simple statement saddened you, reminding you of how many things had been taken from him. He must’ve sensed the shift in your mood, because his ears flattened a little in nervousness. You flashed him a smile.

“That’s one way to describe it. Let’s give it a shot!” you said, pressing play. As the opening credits rolled you glanced over at Yoongi, who was shuffling to find a comfy position.

“Can I-” you started, then stopped yourself. He looked at you, ears perked, giving you his full attention. When you didn’t answer he made a low, rumbling ‘hm?’ sound in his throat.

“I was just thinking, when I watch movies with Jungkook and the other boys- Well, Jimin is a cat hybrid and he likes when I play with his hair and pet his ears…” you trailed off, trying to gage his reaction. He blinked. You’d caught him off guard. The brief silence made you nervous, so you quickly tried to take it back.

“Is that weird? Dammit I’m sorry I keep doing that-” You were interrupted when Yoongi’s head settled in your lap with a soft thud. He pulled the blanket over with him, tucking it around your legs as he settled. You smiled, not speaking any further as you gently ran your fingers through his dark hair, smoothing it away from his face. You scratched at the base of his ears, and quickly started hearing an unmistakable rumble. Yoongi tensed, and you could see his face grow red in the light of the TV.

“I’m sorry, I can’t help it. You can stop if you want,” he said, hiding his face in the blanket on your lap.

“Actually, it’s nice. I love purrs. You know they’re healing? Cats don’t just purr because they’re happy. They do it to comfort their sick or scared friends. At least that’s what Jimin told me. So I feel special when one of my friends purrs around me,” you assured him, continuing to pet his hair. He glanced up at you, a small smile playing on his lips as he nodded and returned his attention to the movie.

He barely made it past the ten minute mark. You quickly found yourself watching the movie alone, Yoongi’s adorable blend of purring and quiet snores making an oddly peaceful background noise. You yourself soldiered on for forty more minutes before also falling asleep.

#yoongi fanfic #bts fanfic #suga fanfic #yoongi fluff #yoongi angst #hybrid!au #cafe!au #hybrid!yoongi #yoongi x reader #min yoongi #suga #bts #bts suga #bts yoongi

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moon-yeongjun · 3 years

Text

Cat Got Your Tongue? || Moon Princess + Ting-Ting

Summary: On the morning of September 22, Jun races off to Ting-Ting’s in search of a solution to his little furry problem.

@princess-haru-chan

@princess-ting-ting

@moon-yeongtae

JUN: Jun was a cat.

Unfortunately, this fact had not changed during the frantic drive from the Moon Farm into town. Jun did not suddenly wake from this horrible nightmare to find himself hungover from last night’s Chuseok celebrations with a cough in his throat, rather than a hairball. But no! Instead he sat in Haru’s lap the entire way into town, though he took every opportunity there was a bump in the road to dig his claws into her thighs. Just a little revenge, though naturally he blamed his brother’s terrible (illegal!!!) driving.

And so he arrived at the Qins house as a cat. Yes, in one piece, but maybe getting run over would have been preferable.

Kidding.

Maybe.

It depended on how this early morning emergency magical consult went.

And it was early. Unfortunately, it wasn’t even 7 am yet, and Jun’s phone was probably under the couch somewhere ( he hoped? Honestly, where had his clothes gone?! Would Eomma find them and think the worst?) so they hadn’t been able to ring Ting-Ting beforehand. Jun just had to hope for the best-- namely, that she was a morning person, who saw this kind of thing (spontaneously cursed into the form of a cat) a lot.

So Jun leaped from Haru’s lap as soon as the truck’s door was open and dashed to the front of Ting-Ting’s house. “Hurry up, hurry up!” he hissed at both Haru and Tae as they clambered out too. Tae reached down to pick Jun up, but Jun bat his hand away. “Think about it and die!” he hissed.

Haru just rolled her eyes and then reached forward to knock on the door persistently, until it opened.

Instantly, Jun meowed first, despite how pointless an effort this was. “Ting-Ting, ah, thank god it’s you! Oh, we apologize for coming so early, but I need your help! Tell her, tell her!”

HARU: Haru wasn’t a cat, but she sure wished she was.

If she was a cat, she wouldn’t have claw marks in her thighs and she wouldn’t have to worry about translating for a very grumpy Jun-cat so humans could understand him. That was maybe the worst part of this whole thing so far because Jun-cat wasn’t a very nice cat. He hissed a lot, used his claws, and was not above using his teeth.

Haru tried for a bit, asking Tae to slow down and watch how he was taking corners, but every time Haru translated something, Tae would look down at Jun and smile at him which made Jun more angry and ended up hurting her legs even more. She stopped translating around the time Jun started threatening to never let Tae drive again and didn’t pick up again until Ting-Ting opened the door.

“Hello,” Haru said, shushing Jun-cat as he batted at her ankles. “I don’t know if you remember me but--”

“Jun-hyung is a cat!” Tae blurted, covering up his giggle with his hand. Haru wasn’t sure when he went from anxious and worried to thinking the whole thing was funny, but she supposed laughing was better than hyperventilating.

She turned and looked back at Ting-Ting.

“He’s not wrong,” she said. “This is Jun.” Haru gestured at the handsome black cat currently hissing at her. “He wants me to tell you he would really appreciate any help you can give him.”

Haru offered Ting-Ting an apologetic smile. “Sorry if we woke you.”

TING-TING:

Ting-Ting would like to say that she was up bright and early, but the truth was, she was actually fast asleep when the doorbell rang. At first she thought it was part of her dream (and it was a very good dream, actually, where she was a character in Dragon Age and — okay, that was besides the point), but then it rang again, and again, and finally Ting-Ting realized that oh, someone was at her door before 7 am and maybe it was serious.

Blinking away sleep, she grabbed a robe and made her way to the door, hoping that Mei and Su were still asleep.

She had no idea who it could be, but she certainly wasn’t expecting a hissing, spitting cat. She certainly wasn’t expecting Jun’s brother to blurt out that the cat was Jun. Slowly, she blinked. She looked at the woman, who she’d definitely seen around at Moon Market, but could not remember the name of, then looked at the cat.

“Oh my God,” said Ting, and she opened the door wider.

Immediately there was a bark. Key came sprinting down the stairs, her tail wagging furiously, as she caught the scent of a cat. Tiptoeing behind Key was Princess Kevin, who meowed curiously, but remained a safe distance away from Jun the Cat. Ting did her best to block off Key with her leg, while still ushering her guests in.

“Sorry it’s a bit of a menagerie in here,” she apologized. “Uh — sit down, please. I’m gonna make some tea so I don’t look like a total zombie.”

“Ting-Ting!” This was Mu Hou, calling from upstairs. “What’s going on?”

“Just some friends!” said Ting, as loud as she could while not being too loud. “Please don’t wake Mei and Su.”

Key barked. Kevin meowed. MuHou came sliding down the rain of the stairway. Ting wanted to bury her face in a pillow.

Instead, she put the kettle on, then sat down on the couch.

“So… why don’t we start at the beginning? How did … this happen?”

JUN: The relief Jun felt when he saw Ting-Ting lasted approximately… mmm… maybe seven seconds.

And then there was barking.

Every instinct in Jun’s cat-body reacted before his human brain. Because in his perspective: the dog was big, bigger than him, and coming straight for him.

He shrieked. It sounded like a yowl. And without warning, he launched himself up his brother’s leg, scrambling until a flustered Tae finally collected him in his arms, wincing and complaining as soon as Jun’s claws dug through his shirt. Jun could not be blamed for this! There was a massive dog and a strange cat and too many scents! He shivered in fright, never feeling more vulnerable as he did right now. Oh, the privilege of having two legs and standing up right! He missed it, needed to be a human again the way he was supposed to be!

Jun was therefore carried into Ting-Ting’s house and as soon as Tae and Haru sat down, Jun hopped off Tae’s lap but stayed squished at his brother’s side. His eyes tracked onto the loud dog and his ears flattened. If it got so much as one step closer to him…

Was that a monkey?! “What the hell?!” Jun hissed.

Oh, this was so overwhelming!

The best thing to do was get through it as quickly as he could. So as soon as Ting-Ting sat down, he meowed toward Haru. “Well! You should know, you’re the reason I’m like this! Tell her about your… your… cat magic ways!”

“Cat magic?” meowed the cat.

Wait, Jun could understand that? His ears perked and then he groaned, putting a paw up to his face. It was too early in the morning for this.

HARU: Haru wasn’t exactly sure what she was supposed to say. It was hard to think with Jun meowing loudly at her one second and practically yowling the next. Ting-Ting had always seemed very nice when she came into the market, but Jun should know better than most people that it was hard to tell random strangers your life story! Haru had been keeping the cat thing secret so long (mainly because of Jun!) that having him hiss at her to tell Ting-Ting was a little disorienting.

Sure, she knew they’d come here for help, but what if Ting-Ting couldn’t help them? What if Haru told Ting-Ting all about her home and how she was actually a cat and then Ting-Ting simply said she didn’t believe her and kicked them out of her apartment?

Ugh!

“Hush, Jun! I can’t think with you hissing at me all the time. Gosh you’re so whiny as a cat.”

With pink cheeks, Haru turned her attention back to the woman across from her.

“So, um, he said I should tell you how this happened to him, but I don’t actually know. He thinks, and he’s probably right,” she added while looking back over at Jun where he was squished against Tae, “that it has something to do with me being a cat.”

Haru blinked and continued, avoiding Ting-Ting’s gaze. “I, um, I actually come from somewhere else. I think it’s really weird like, portals are involved and everyone where I come from is a cat. I’m actually a princess, my country is called Nihon and I sort of miss it but Swynlake is really nice too and Jun has been so helpful and sweet and…” Haru trailed off, realizing she was rambling. “I don’t know how this happened to him, but I really hope you can help him. Do you think you can?”

TING-TING:

On one hand, Ting-Ting was very flattered that Jun kept coming to her for magical help but on the other hand he kept coming to her with increasingly complicated situations — honestly, she wondered how the heck he managed to get himself caught up in all of this? People taking on other’s appearances?! A world of cats?!

She wondered if there could be use in going to Reza — this seemed like a curse, if she had to guess. Though it didn’t seem malevolent… more like an accident if anything. But transmutations and transformations were absolutely out of Ting’s wheelhouse and honestly, all things considered Jun-as-cat’s internal Yin-Yang balance was pretty fine. Well, at the very least she could probably try to restore his power of speech, but…

She listened as best as she could, trying to formulate some sort of actionable plan — literally anything, when Mu Hou spoke.

“Oh dear,” said Mu Hou. She hobbled into the kitchen, lifting the whistling kettle off the stove and said nothing else.

Ting whipped her head around.

“You only say that when you know more than you’re letting on,” she scolded. “What is it?”

At her feet, Key rested her head, never once taking her eyes off Jun. Kevin aloofly kept his distance, but tilted a head in their direction every so often.

Mu Hou tsked her tongue, as she prepared the tea tray.

“You’re going to have to go back home, dear,” she said, not to Ting, but to Haru. She walked over, setting the tray down on the coffee table. “The only way to reverse this is to return to Nihon — this is a magic that won’t be undone here. I mean, theoretically, it could since — “

“There is in theory a spell for anything,” recited Ting, rolling her eyes a little.

“Yes, but it might take years to decipher. Your best bet, sir,” and here, Mu Hou addressed Jun, “is to go back with this young woman and find someone to remove the spell. They’ll know how to do it there. It’s pretty standard.” She hummed to herself and poured some tea. “But Ting can at least give you your voice back, if you’d like — isn’t that right?”

“Oh yes,” said Ting, standing up. “I can prep the spell for that if you don’t mind waiting a bit.”

JUN: Wait wait wait. This monkey said what?

First of all, Jun was quite unsatisfied with Haru’s explanation. It left out most of the important facts in his opinion! Like--

Well, actually, Jun did not know. For the first time, he realized his own squeamishness when it came to magic had meant that he’d never really asked Haru how she had become human in the first place, or why she’d come to Swynlake, or any of that. He’d just… well, he’d put it out of his mind completely. But surely she had to know much more about these things, at least the piece where she ended up in Swynlake! Yes, she was running away from a marriage, but why here? And how? Did she steal a, a charm, or could she open up portals herself, or what?!

There were missing pieces of this conversation that made Jun even more uncomfortable than he was. Miss Monkey’s confident diagnosis hardly did anything but make him more dismayed.

So while Ting-Ting stood up to at least give him his human voice back-- thank god!-- he glanced from Haru to Mu Hou and back again. At least they both could understand him.

“That makes no sense! Why are you so sure we have to go back to Nihon?” Jun demanded of Mu Hou. “And you!” This, to Haru. “You never explained to me how you even got here, eh! That seems relevant to this conversation, don’t you think? What kind of magic have you been hiding this entire time?”

TAE: As far as holidays went, this Chuseok was probably one of the more memorable ones. It wasn’t every day that his hyung’s girlfriend woke him up to tell him that his hyung was actually a cat and by the way so was she, you know? In fact, as the little cat form of his hyung snuggled up against his side, shying away from the other animals in the room, Tae was still struggling to wrap his mind around the whole thing. As far as he knew, Haru was related to someone at church! That’s why she’d been around so much. That was obviously a lie.

Now Tae was sitting in a room with talking monkeys and a girl who could understand his hyung when he yowled at her in cat and honestly he was going to have to talk to Jun as soon as all of this blew over--have a chat about telling lies and dating magick cat-girls like some anime or something.

Actually--Tae laughed from his spot on the couch, his fingers petting over Jun-cat’s back absentmindedly--and then blushed when they all looked at him. They were clearly having some sort of serious conversation that he could only hear half of and he’d interrupted them, but it was just so funny. His hyung was living an anime! He couldn’t wait to tell Nemo--well, as soon as the whole thing blew over and it wasn’t a giant secret anymore--but he was literally dating a cat-girl and then got turned into a cat!

“Sorry, I just--” he said to the room. “I was just thinking about something funny, don’t mind me.”

Haru cleared her throat beside him and he turned to look at her. He still really liked her, cat-girl or not. She was good for his hyung. He’d paid attention. He’d noticed Jun smile at her and let himself have a little fun when she was around. He really hoped Jun didn’t hate her too much for this.

“It’s not my magic,” Haru said, basically out of nowhere, though Tae was sure she was answering Jun’s meows. Heh. Cute.

“Back home we have a sorceress, Purrseph--she was kind of like a mother to me sometimes. I liked to follow her around, ask questions about what she was doing and she let me. I think she--well, I think she liked me more than my own family did sometimes, but that’s not important.” Haru’s eyes got a little shiny and Tae felt his heart twinge. He could understand that. Not that his family didn’t like him, but there was that fear of rejection--being scared of being tossed aside. He reached over and patted her arm.

Haru smiled at him and kept going.

“She told me she’d figured out a way for me to be happy when I came to her. She said she knew I didn’t want to get married to that stupid cat and that I was going to come to her so she’d been working on it. She said it would send me somewhere where I’d find that happiness and only when I found it would I be able to come back so I had to be sure.”

Haru’s cheeks were super red and Tae looked from her to Jun then smiled.

“Aww, hyung, you made her happy!”

“I think it was your whole family, Tae,” Haru said. “You all were so kind and welcoming and I just--I felt really at home with you. So thank you.”

MU HOU:

While Ting-Ting busied herself with the spell components — muttering a quick apology before dashing upstairs to the landing to collect all the reagents — Mu Hou pursed her lips, listening to the chatter of the cat-girl and the boy-cat (they were different, you see, for one was a cat turned girl and the other was a boy turned cat).

“Ah, I see,” said Mu Hou, with an understanding sigh. “I would’ve done the same for my girls. Well, perhaps not the same — but once I had them switch bodies to teach them a lesson. We mother-figures have to get creative sometimes, you know, otherwise a lesson won’t stick.”

She figured Haru would understand — animals often went about their ways in more indirect manners than humans. Part of it was not always being able to communicate in the same way, but Mu Hou found that those lessons stuck more when the people had to figure it out on their own.

“I’m back!” called Ting-Ting, darting down the stairs. “So so sorry — somehow we do have all the reagents, which is great, so they're all bubbling together right now and — “

“You’ll have to journey to the cat kingdom,” repeated Mu Hou. “I bet this Purrseph put a specific lock on the spell that only she can break. Complicated, yes, but lots of sorcererers will put failsafes on these sorts of things — especially when they come from the heart.”

She smiled at Haru, then looked fondly at Jun.

“It might seem… unconventional, but I have a feeling you will come out of this with something valuable.”

“Oh, please don’t tell me this is like those cookies,” moaned Ting, who scrunched up her nose. “That was a nightmare.”

“And you learned!” said Mu Hou. “Now — fetch that spell and help poor Jun find his voice again at the very least.”

Ting did as she was told — she always did — and soon enough, the spell was assembled and handed over to Haru in a little vial.

“Uh, he can lap it up using a little saucer?” offered Ting.

JUN: Ah, yes. A cat sorcerer. If there were a cat kingdom, and a cat princess, why wouldn’t there be a cat sorcerer? Though the more Haru explained, the more Jun wished she didn’t because of what it all implied--

Haru had been happy.

Apparently, Jun was this way because Haru was happy. He was supposed to fill in for this strange cat prince, and go rule a kingdom or something, like this was a strange faerytale about kissing frogs. If Jun had skin, he would be red from the tip of his ears to the tip of his nose. Did this mean that Haru actually like-liked him?

Yah, what was he, a fourteen-year-old?! Thinking things about ‘like-liking’ someone! He really needed to get out of this cat body, it was frying his brain!

(Though he couldn’t ignore that he’d had similar thoughts last night. But it wasn’t so much a feeling, was it? No butterflies at all. He and Haru had been perfectly comfortable with each other and that’s why Jun thought all those maybes. Maybe dating her for real wouldn’t be awful….maybe she’d be a good mother, a good wife, one day… maybe maybe maybe…

This was his fault too.

He’d never admit it!)

Instead, he leapt off the couch and padded toward the saucer. At least he could stop this high-pitched mewling! Jun lapped up the potion quickly, which wasn’t difficult because it was actually quite delicious. Then, blinking, he looked around at Mu Hou and Haru and Tae and finally Ting-Ting. “Well, I don’t feel any different. How do I know it’s work-- my voice!” Jun exclaimed. He could hear it this time, his words! His voice was back!

“Ah, thank you so much Ting-Ting! You have no idea how grateful I am. I promise, I’ll find a way to pay my gratitude.” He bowed...as a cat. Several times.

Though the main problem wasn’t fixed. But apparently… they had to go to Nihon for that.

He glanced at Haru. “Come, Haru, Tae-yah. We should er, let Ting-Ting get back to her morning. I’m sure she’s very busy.”

#para #moon princess #junting #moon bros

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chayacat · 4 years

Text

Devil’s Sweet Star (13)

Fandom: Dead by Daylight

Ghostface x Female Reader

Rated M for Violence, Language and Smut

***

Dreams. Dreams are sometimes the expression of our most pleasant desires, our most unsuspected fantasies or our deepest fears. Some of these dreams, without knowing it, even allow us to see a future event. We have all experienced this premonitory dream at least once: A topic of discussion, a person you have never known, a garment that you or a friend of yours wear.... And sooner or later that dream comes true. You then feel like a feeling of already seen.

But dreams can sometimes also be memories: happy days... and days you'd like to forget forever. And it was one of those horrible dreams that woke you up on that sunny morning. For once, no Ghostface chasing you to shove a knife down your throat, after an endless chase through a maze. But at the very least, between that and what woke you up, you would have preferred this nightmare with him inside.

You yawn while stretching and decide to take a shower. This will wake you up a little before you go to work. On your way, you pass a picture of you and your mother, posing proudly in front the Statue of Liberty. You kiss the photo and enter the bathroom. The mirror perfectly reflects your head: hair in battle, sad look, and weak dark circles under the eyes. But after a good shower and a good brush stroke, you will go much better.

A few minutes later, you emerge from the bathroom, as fresh and elegant as the rose that has just hatched. Breakfast was simple: a green apple and a glass of homemade orange juice. Full of vitamins for a good day ahead. You turn on the small radio and set it to pick up the local station because yes, in addition to having a newspaper, Roseville also has its own radio station. It's a small room that is located at the town hall but it's better than nothing.

“The headless body of a man was discovered this morning at the entrance of our small town. Police have no information on the identity of the victim at this time.” said the man on the radio.

“On the other hand, I think I know who separated his head from the rest of the body …" You said before you bite into your apple.

Imagining Ghostface decapitate a man without any remorse made you wince. Twisted and completely sadistic over the market. It's amazing that he didn't come to see you last night, but in a way, so much the better. Why did this lunatic have to decide to set his sights on you? He could have just killed you like everyone else but no... He decided to leave you alive for his personal curiosity... And you'd rather not even think about the lustful thoughts he might have on you.

“It doesn't matter where you are... no matter who you're with... I'll always find you.”

This sentence keeps coming back in your memory. Even leaving the city... one way or another he will find you. And God only knows what he will do to you.

“You have to hold on (y/n), the police will eventually arrest him sooner or later. It's undeniable, after all... no criminal is perfect. He'll make a mistake that will cause his loss. But for now, you have to keep up with him, don't give him what he wants to see... Otherwise you'll cause your loss.” You said to yourself to give you the strength to face him for the times to come.

You take your stuff and cakes that you brought back coffee and gave them to Jed, Melina and Mattew. Hoping that none of them are allergic to mango or kiwi. At the same time the door was knocked and when you opened it, Jed stood before you, his eternal angelic smile on his face.

“Ready to go Miss? Is... Is this all for me?” he said with a little laugh when he sees the box of cakes.

“For you...And for Melina and Mattew. Just to give yourself strength when you need it.” You answer before closing the door behind you.

“Well, we're going to have to avoid leaving them in sight then... My boss loves pastry and if he sees yours... I think there's one that's going to disappear. Or even all of them. And if this continues, you're going to be our official pastry supplier, everyone in the Journal is talking about you.”

“I'm flattered. And if it can open me up other horizons... Why not?”

“I'll talk to the boss then.” Said Jed getting into his van, waiting for you to get on to start.

He took the road and put on some music to relax the atmosphere. And he is quite right because, if he seems not to have been more embarrassed by the brief kiss you exchanged the other time, you on the other hand, it is not the case.

“Jed...” you start as he humming without taking his eyes off the road. “About what happen the other night...You know when we came back from the reception, I’m really sorry for that. I wasn’t thinking at this moment and I swear it wasn't intentional.”

“I've already told you; I don't blame you. And... I... I didn't find it unpleasant. I would be lying if I said the opposite.” He responds blushing slightly.

“Oh hum...Well... I'm relieved. And... What About Hoggins? Have you made progress in your work?” You replied trying hard not to show him your emotions.

“My Boss, Mr Hembrook managed to find two of the four Hoggins’ old "partnerships" that sank because of him. They agree to testify and thus flesh out our article but on the condition that their identity remains unknown. Apparently Hoggins is like McKellan: willing to do anything to keep a good image. To the point of removing any obstacle in front of him, by all means. In addition to what I have learned, we will have to be more careful: a journalist who came from Georgia to also cover the event also trying to break into the office. But unlike me, he got caught.”

“Great...what a pickle brain.”

“You can say that. But hey... we're not risking anything right now.” he said before stopping in front of your coffee. “We'll see each other later... good luck you may have a busy day.”

“You too. Say hello to Melina and Mattew for me.” You respond by closing the van door.

You walked towards your coffee and faced Jed, waving at him, a gesture he gave back to you. You preparing to open the door to enter when a man catches your attention. You barely have time to turn your head to face him as you feel a pain in your stomach and screams coming from pedestrians. You look down and put a hand on your belly before you notice that it is covered in blood. Your blood.

“From McKellan: Remember your place in this world, you bitch.” Said the man before running away.

You fall to the ground with your hand always resting on your belly. You hear a door slammed and a voice is calling you: Jed was still there; he had seen it all. He yelled at everyone to call an ambulance while trying to keep you awake. Lindsey, the owner of the flower shop, used one of her old aprons to prevent the wound from bleeding even more.

“Hey! (Y/N)! Stay with me, okay?? The ambulance will arrive so stay with me! you hear me?? Don't close your eyes...Please...” Said Jed with a trembling voice.

But you felt little by little your strengths run out and the last thing you hear before you pass out... was his voice shouting your name. What a sad image you give.

Your whole life flashes before your eyes and what a life. Your whole life has been pure happiness, a happiness that you often wonder if you deserve it. You haven't done anything exceptional except... be yourself. Nothing more. Everything was going so well... to this fateful day. This day that you will curse forever. You remember everything: the rain, the sirens, the security cordons, this policeman who prevented everyone from passing and... the tears that flowed all over those faces.

All these sounds, you will never forget them. The screams, the policemen who did everything they could and... other voices you don't recognize. In fact... You've never heard those voices. Everything turns black and these snippets of voice, unknown to your ears, became a little clearer. One man and then, a woman, spoke one after the other. And that woman's voice... you recognize it among a thousand. Melina.

“Are you sure about yourself? Is she going to be okay?? Can we see her??” she said behind the door.

“Your friend reacted very quickly and we were able to take her as an emergency immediately. You can see her... but take it easy. The wound mustn’t reopen.” Said the man, who's probably a doctor.

You open your eyes dimly as the door opened. The light made you slightly wince and once your eyesight adapted to it, you look around before you see familiar faces: Melina and Mattew were there. But not Jed.

“Oh, thank God...She’s alive.” Said Mattew with some tears at the edge of his eyes while Melina took you in her arms, avoiding hurting you.

“Where...Where am I?” You ask weakly.

“Zanesville Hospital. The paramedics tried as fast as they could to keep you alive. You're safe here.” Responds Mattew.

“Jed arrived completely panicked and bloodied at the office. We thought he was the one who was hurt, but when he told us what happened... The boss let us go. Oh God... You scared us all.” Said Melina.

“Where is he?” You replied.

“In his van. He... he didn't want to follow us... for personal reasons. But I'm going to let him know you're awake. I'm sure he'll want to see you, knowing you're safe.” Said Mattew.

“Thank you.”

Mattew left the room for a few minutes to warn Jed that you were awake. Poor Jed... He's seen it all. Until Mattew lets him know, or even until he SEES you... he must be in an indescribable state of shock. You're still wondering why he didn't come in. Maybe he'll tell you about it when he feels the need to talk about it?

“The doctor said that... If all went well, in two or three days you'll be back on your feet. Don't worry about your coffee... We will come from time to time to make sure that everything is okay. We'll need the key, though.” Said Melina sitting next to you on a chair.

“I'll give it to you... Thank you very much. I wonder... what he went through so horrible for not wanting to go to the hospital. You respond by looking at her.

“I don't know. Jed doesn't like to talk about his past. He wants to focus on his future and forget what's behind him. He is not wrong.” she replied before seeing Mattew come in again. “So? Is he better? “

“Yeah. He... He apologizes but he doesn't feel the strength to come to you now. But he told me he would come by tomorrow. He promised that.” Said Mattew.

“I understand. Thank you Mattew.” You simply said.

They stayed for a few hours before letting you rest; Melina having taken the key of your café. Mr. Larson will take care of your apartment until you get back. The nurses and doctors came by from time to time to check if everything was okay and bring you food. It's been a long day, after all, it's not in your habit to do anything. After the last meal and the last visit of the evening, you turn on the little TV that was in your room. At least you've got something to distract yourself. And besides you are no longer likely to be disturbed here by this damned …

“Well. I finally found you... after 3 bedrooms.”

God damnit. You turn your head to see Ghostface, sitting on the window sill, passing his gloved finger over the blade of his knife. He wasn't lying, he'll find you wherever you are.

“How did you get here? And how do you know I was here??” You ask grimacing slightly.

“The news goes fast to Roseville. Everyone is aware of what happened this morning. And for your other question... a magician never reveals his secrets. How do you feel?” He said without looking at you.

“Ghostface who cares about someone's life. While you've killed dozens of people... I must be dreaming. Or it's a nightmare.”

“You know my little angel, I'm still a human being. It may seem amazing but I still have a heart under this mask.”

“I no longer value someone as having a heart or being a human from the moment he kills people for his own pleasure.”

“It's... True. But you should think about what makes someone a murderer or not. You did not answer my question.” He replied approaching you.

“I’m...a little tired. But I’m fine. Thanks.” you simply respond.

“Good. I'm not going to bother you any longer. I have... some jobs that awaits me. Starting with... to find those who did this to you.”

“Certainly not! It's up to the police to find them! and ALIVE. Not you.”

“In case you forgot... I told you that you’re MINE. And if anyone has to hurt you it's ME and only ME. I will not let ANYONE touch what belongs to me. Especially a face as beautiful as yours. Get it?” He said caressing your face with one of his hands.

You chase his hand with a quick gesture, causing him to step back. He laughed as he put away his knife before he started to pass the window. he turned to you and sent you a kiss that made you wince.

“Rest well... Have a beautiful dream, my little sweet star.” He said before he vanished.

You sigh, definitely he will stick to your skin for a long time... Can't get rid of him. But deep down... you didn't dislike it strangely. You get a taste for his surprise visits. Maybe learning more about him will help you get rid of him.

And after what he told you...

Your curiosity about him tickles your mind.

***

(And it’s done! I was thinking about taking more time to write a chapter but I get used to write it in a rather short time... But if I were to do so, would have to publish a chapter every two weeks just to allow people to have more time to read the old chapters. I'll see if I do it or not. I hope you like this one just like the others! Good weekend to all! See ya!)

#dbd fanfic #dbd #dead by daylight #ghostface #danny johnson #jed olsen

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hockeynascarfan91258 · 3 years

Text

Banner made by me!

A/N: Here is Chapter 2. If you need to catch up and the link to Chapter 1 is provided at the end of this Update.

It's been a few days since Eden started her relationship with both Sid and Kris. The day after the gala was Valentine's Day Sid took her out on a nice little date of playing golf before they headed to the game. After the game in which they won and Sid and Kris had both scored a goal and gotten an assist, they head back to Sid's and they celebrated with Kris who had made them all dinner. And of course they had ended the night with wild steamy sex. Eden made sure she was packed and ready as after the Penguins game ended she was headed to the Daytona. She was happy that rain was on her side.

She had her car at the arena with her bag in it. As soon as the game was over she was going to head to the airport and fly to Daytona and Chase going to meet her at the airport. The game had just started. They were playing the Red Wings. Eden was happy.

The Penguins ended up winning and again both Sid and Kris had a goal. Eden went to clean up and put things away and stock up for the next game. She then went to look for Sid and Kris to say goodbye before she left for Daytona.

Eden heads into the locker room. The guys have all left except for Kris and Sid. They had media before they could shower and suck. She walks in and Sid was sitting in front of his make locker stall. He hadn't showered yet either. Eden goes over and climbs into his lap.

"Hey baby." Sid says.

"Hey are you okay?" Sid asks.

"Yes just didn't want to leave cus I know when we do I will be going home with out you." Sid says.

"Aww baby. It's just a few days. Then I will be back here." Eden says.

"I know but with him." Sid says.

"Who Chase?" Eden asks.

"Yes Chase." Sid says.

"He's just my best friend. Yes I love him to pieces but not like the way I love you." Eden says.

"I'm afraid you are going to leave me for him because you don't want to share me with Kris." Sid says.

"Hey look at me baby. I would never leave you baby or Kris." Eden says.

"Are you sure?" Sid asks.

"Unless you cheated with another girl then yes I am sure." Eden says.

"Okay." Sid says looking up into her eyes.

Eden sees a bunch of emotions swirling in them. She leans down and kisses him. One kiss lead to another until they were fighting for control of the kiss. Soon they were all but ripping each other's clothes off. Eden then lowers herself down onto Sid's cock and starts to move riding him.

"God baby that's it ride my cock." Sid moans leaning back against his locker watching her.

"God baby you feel so good inside me stretching me." Eden moans throwing her head back in pleasure.

"Hmm you look so pretty taking my cock up inside your sweet pussy, tits bouncing as you ride me cow girl." Sid groans.

Eden starts to move harder and faster. Sid leans forward and starts to attack her breasted with his mouth ravaging them both making Eden Yelp out in pleasure.

"Fuck Sid." Eden screams.

"That's it baby let them know who is fucking you, making you feel so good." Sid moans.

He flips her onto her back on the bench and starts to pound into her. Eden wraps her legs around his waist pulling him in further.

"Sid oh god." Eden calls out as she digs her nails into his back.

"Cum for me pretty girl. " Sid begs knowing she was close.

"Sid god." Eden calls out as she cums hard.

Orgasm rushing trough her.

"Eden baby." Sid moans as he cums hard feeling her walls milking his release out of him.

They ride it out.

"Hmm we need to head to the showers baby Kris is there waiting for us." Sid says.

"Hmm okay." Eden says.

Eden and Sid head to the showers. Kris was in a stall locked in. Eden and Sid shower together. Eden finished before Sid and goes to get out. She heads out to Sid's locker so she could get dressed. She was drying off when Kris comes up behind her wrapping his arms around her. He was still wet from his shower. Eden turns to face him.

"God all wet baby." Eden purrs at him.

"I am now question is are you wet for me?." Kris asks pulling her in for a kiss.

That was all it took. Eden pulls off his towel and Kris pulls off her. He then picks her up and slams her back into Sid's locker. Eden wraps her legs around him letting him go deeper.

"God Kris." Eden moans.

"Sorry I needed you baby. Its going to be fast and its going to be rough." Kris groans.

They both move together building each other up. They call out each other's name as they both orgasm. They ride it out.

"We need to get dressed and go out cus I have a plane to catch." Eden says.

"I know baby but me and Sid wanted to fill you up with our cum so you remember who you belong too." Kris replies kissing her.

Kris puts her feet on the ground so she could get dressed. She does. Sid comes out and both him and Kris get dressed.

"Safe trip baby, text me when you get to Daytona." Sid says kissing her cheek.

"I will baby. See you guys Monday night." Eden says.

"Okay baby." Kris says kissing her too.

"Please play nice when Chase is here." Eden says.

"Can't make promises baby but we will try." Kris and Sid both say.

They then head out of the arena and up to their cars. Eden gets in hers. She had a text from Chase.

"After the game drive to the airstrip there is a surprise waiting for you." Chase texted.

"Okay see you soon." Eden replied.

"Sooner then you think. ;)." Chase replies back.

Eden shook her head. She then heads out to the airstrip. A little bit later she arrives and parks. There was a plane waiting for her that she didn't recognize. She gets out of the car grabbing her bag. She heads towards the plane as the door opens up and the steps come down. Eden happily climbs them. Waiting inside was none other then Chase, Ryan and Fletch.

"Hi baby." Eden coos as Fletch jumps all over her.

"Down Fletch." Chase says.

Fletch lays down immediately.

"Aww he just missed me." Eden says squatting down scratching his ears and rubbing his belly.

She then stands up and embraces Chase in the biggest hug. Chase hugged her right back.

"Oh would you two get a damn room." Ryan says rolling his eyes chuckling.

"Hi to you too Ryan." Eden says.

"We better get going." Chase says.

"Yup got a race to run later today." Ryan says.

"Are you flying?" Eden asks Chase.

"Yup this is my plane." Chase says.

"Aww okay." Eden replies.

Chase heads to the cockpit. Ryan and Eden take seats and buckle up. When they were cleared they took off for Daytona. Ryan and Eden both snooze on the flight.

A little bit later they Eden and Ryan woke as they were landing.

"Thanks for coming to get me with Chase." Eden says.

"Always. I am just glad you could come. He has been so happy." Ryan says.

"I am glad I could come too. I love watching him race." Eden replies.

"Yeah he has a surprise for you when he gets you back to the coach." Ryan says.

"He always does." Eden says smiling.

Chase finished got them on the ground safely. He then turns off everything and heads out to get Eden and Ryan so they could get off the plane and head back to the track. Chase comes out.

"Okay we can go now." Chase says leashing Fletch.

"I will take him." Eden says taking the leash from Chase.

"Okay I will get your bags." Chase replies.

Eden nods her head. Chase grabs the bags and the three of them and Fletch get off the plane. They head to Chase's car and get in. Chase drives them to the track. He shows his credentials and heads to the motor coach lot. He pulls up beside his coach and parks.

"Thanks for going with me to get her." Chase says to Ryan.

"Anytime man." Ryan says.

"Goodnight Ryan." Eden says.

"Goodnight guys. See you later today. " Ryan says.

He hugs them both and then heads off to his coach. Eden walks Fletch over to the grass and lets him use the bathroom. They then head back to Chase's coach and head inside. Chase carries her bag into his room.

"Oh am I sleeping in here?" Eden asks.

"Figured you would want the bed. I will sleep on the couch." Chase says.

"No that is okay Chase we can share the bed." Eden says.

"You sure?" Chase asks.

"Yes figured we could cuddle and watch Netflix until we fell asleep. That way Fletch could sleep with us too." Eden says.

"Okay." Chase says.

He left her to get changed. Eden changed into her pajamas and then called Chase back in. Chase got ready for bed and they both climbed in. Eden snuggled up against Chase. Fletch jumped on the bed laying at their feet.

"I missed you Clyde." Eden says.

"I know princess I missed you too." Chase says kissing her head.

"So I have to tell you something. I know I can and you won't judge me." Eden says.

"Never would I judge you." Chase says.

"Sid isn't just my boyfriend. I am also dating Kris too." Eden says.

"Wait what?" Chase asks.

"Yeah apparently Kris and Sid are bisexual and are in a relationship. So they wanted me to be in a poly relationship with them both." Eden replies.

"Okay, are you happy?" Chase asks.

"Yes." Eden says.

"Then I am happy." Chase says kissing her head.

"This is why I love you so much. You always support me and have my back." Eden says.

"I love you just as much. I will always have your back and I will always support you. Just like I know you will always do the same with me." Chase says.

"Always." Eden says.

Chase and Eden cuddle as they watch netflix. They end up falling asleep.

*****************************

Later that next morning Eden woke up to something smelling amazing. She opens her eyes seeing Chase walk in with breakfast.

"Something smells so good." Eden says.

"Breakfast in bed for my princess." Chase says.

"Oh what did you make?" Eden asks.

"French Toast, eggs just like you like them, scrapple and sausage." Chase replies.

"My favorites." Eden says.

"Of course." Chase replies smiling.

He sits down and they both dig in. Fletch tried to steal some. Eden and Chase didn't feed him food but they did let him lick their plates when they were done.

"So what time is the race?" Eden asks.

"Four." Chase replies.

"Okay." Eden says.

"Since I am racing the hooters theme, I have an outfit for you." Chase says.

"Want me to be your hooters girl huh?' Eden asks chuckling.

"Of course." Chase replies.

Eden laughed. She would do anything for him. They hung out at the coach until it time for them to head down to the track. Eden put her orange shorts and hooters shirt on. She then links hands with Chase and they head down to the track. Eden stood on Pitt lane while Chase did drivers intros. Finally Chase joined her at his car. Eden looped her arm through his and leaned her head on his shoulder. They say a prayer and then the anthem was sung. Finally it was time for Chase to climb into the car.

"Be safe baby." Eden says.

"I will. See you after." Chase replies.

"Yes. Good luck." Eden says.

She kisses him on the cheek.

"Love you Princess." Chase says.

"Love you too Clyde." Eden says.

Chase gets in the car and Eden took her seat on the box. Ear phones on so she could hear Chase and Allan.

***************************

Meanwhile back in Pittsburgh. Sid and Kris were at Sid's in the game room. They were watching the Daytona 500. During the anthem they zoomed in on Chase and there Eden was looking like a two bit hooker leaning against Chase.

"What the actual fuck." Sid says.

"How the fuck could she do that on National Tv." Kris says.

"She looks like a whore." Sid says.

"Yes and Chase is an asshole." Kris says.

Sid grabbed his phone.

"What the fuck are you doing Eden? Looking like a whore on National TV." Sid texted.

Eden didn't reply which only pissed Sid off more. He would have to teach her a lesson when she got home.

**********************

Eden was enjoying the race. Chase was running good and she was so proud of him.

Chase ended up winning the race and she was so happy and excited. She all but jumped off the box and read to victory lane. A few minutes later Chase pulled in and got out of the car. They celebrated him and then interviewed him. Eden goes over and kisses him.

"Congratulations Clyde I am so happy for you." Eden says.

"Thank you baby." Chase asks returning the kiss.

Eden got an idea. She took the checkered flag. After posing in a few pictures with Chase she left VL. She took the flag back and headed into the coach. She stripped out of her clothes snd wrapped the flag around her body waiting for him to come back.

A little bit later Chase finally came back and entered his coach.

"Eden you here?" Chase calls out.

"Yes in the bedroom." Eden replied.

Chase comes walking through the door a few seconds later.

"What is this?" Chase asks seeing her as she kneeled up on the bed.

"Come get your prize Clyde." Eden says.

Chase walked over to her. Eden locked eyes with him seeing the love and lust in them.

"Are you sure?" Chase asks.

Eden grabbed him by his firesuit belt pulling him closer to her kissing him. Chase kissed back. Eden reaches up and starts to pull down his suit. She then runs her hands up his chest as she lifts his under shirt up and over his head.

"God damn." Eden says voice hitching.

"Eden are you sure about this? Once we cross this we can't go back." Chase says.

"I know Chase trust me. I want this." Eden says.

She then finished taking off his suit followed by his boxers. Eden then looked him up and down wondering why she didn't do this sooner. Chase kisses her as he pulls the flag off her throwing it behind him.

"God Eden you are so beautiful. I love you so much." Chase says as he gently lays her back on the bed.

"You're not bad on the eyes either Clyde." Eden says.

"I don't have any condoms." Chase says.

"Chase I don't care I just need you. And wait why don't you have condoms?" Eden asks.

"Because I am still a virgin Eden. I love you and I was saving myself for you." Chase says.

"Aww Clyde. I love you too." Eden says.

Chase leans down kissing her softly as he pushed into her. Eden moans against his lips. He was a lot bigger then Sid and Kris so it took a few for her to adjust.

"God Eden." Chase moans out as he moves.

"That's it Clyde baby. Doing so good." Eden purrs as she moves with him.

Chase moans as he moved a little harder.

"God Chase that is it." Eden moans moving with him.

She digs her nails into his back as she moves.

"Fuck baby." Chase groans as it made him move harder.

"So close Chase so close." Eden moans.

"Me too baby, I am going to pull out since I don't have a condom." Chase says.

"No baby please cum inside me." Eden begs.

"Are you sure baby? Chase asks.

"God yes please. I want to feel you inside." Eden begs.

"God okay." Chase moans.

He thrusts into her a few more times.

"God Clyde baby." Eden calls out as she cums hard.

Her orgasm running through her.

"Eden baby." Chase moans as he cums hard her walls milking his release from him.

The ride it out together. They make love a few more times before falling to the bed spent. Eden was curled up against Chase's chest. They were still connected from their love making.

"God that was magical." Eden says.

"Really even with my inexperience?" Chase asks.

"God yes baby. You made me orgasm four times. That is pretty good for being a virgin." Eden says kissing his chest.

" I'm glad I lived up to the hype." Chase says kissing her head.

"You did and I love you." Eden says.

"I love you too Eden. I have always loved you." Chase says.

"I know. When we went to senior prom together everyone thought we were a couple then. I should have listened to them and we wouldn't be here right now." Eden says sadly.

"Where do we go from here?" Chase asks.

"I am not sure but I love you. However after a good nights rest we can figure it out." Eden says.

"Yes so true. I have some media to do in the morning then I can fly us back to Pittsburgh." Chase says.

"Okay baby get some sleep." Eden says.

"You too princess, Goodnight I love you." Chase says.

"Goodnight Clyde I love you too." Eden says.

They snuggle together with Fletch at their feel falling into a much needed sleep.

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smallerinfinities · 5 years

Text

Taking Me Back

a/n: In which a drunk boy confesses his sins

Oh, hello! Yes, I’m coming to you live to say that this was supposed to be a blurb but turned out to be a 3.5k oneshot that will most likely actually have a second part because recovery is a thing that doesn’t get enough attention. I had this idea driving back home from out of town and listening to “Taking Me Back” by LANY. Highly suggest a listen. I was originally just going to write straight angst, but the more I wrote Shawn the softer I got...so without further ado, here it is.

warnings: 3.5k of angsty sad boy...you might hate me later idk

Soft pellets of rain splash against the floor-to-ceiling windows as his warm hands trace slow, circular patterns on the bare skin of your back. It’s soothing, incongruent to the feeling of his fingers bruising your hips as you rode him a few hours ago. The sheet sits low, draped across both your hips. He leans down to kiss your shoulder blade, sending a chill all the way down your spine. Peppered kisses warm your blood, making a home between your thighs again.

“If you don’t intend to finish what you’re starting, then stop right now,” you say only half sternly, your cheek smushed to the back of your hand resting against the mattress.

“Honey, have I ever been a quitter?” he smirks, disappearing beneath the sheet.

You let out a loud squeak when his massive hands flip your hips over, pressing your back into the sheets again. He spreads your knees wide to make room for him between your legs and your squeak turns into a deep moan. Your fingers fist into his floppy curls and tug, bringing his eyes to yours, mouth open and chest heaving.

“Fuck, I love you so much,” he breathes. He says it again above you, inside you, over and over until your toes curl and you scream it back to him.

You woke up to heavy sheets of rain pounding against the windows. His fingers, his heavy body, his warmth weren’t there. He hadn’t been there for months. Restless sleep and a cold bed had been your companions since then. That day you woke up to 400 text messages and one TMZ report.

Bleary eyed with shaking fingers, you had clicked on the link. Seen the photos. His fingers interwoven with hers. His eyes on the camera. That knowing smirk. He’d wanted them to see. Wanted you to see. He had left for meetings in LA just two days before, a kiss on the forehead and a promise to call.

You’d lost count of how many texts from him you’d deleted without reading. Changed his name to LYING BASTARD after he’d left messages you didn’t listen to. What possible reason could he have given? There couldn’t be an explanation for this. Just because you’d never gone public with your relationship, just because you hadn’t wanted to open up your life to public scrutiny and fandom opinion, didn’t mean that it had meant nothing to you. The handful of your friends who had known were tight-lipped, dead silent to anyone who would have paid them money for information. What you had had with Shawn had been private and you both liked it that way...hadn’t he? Apparently not. It hadn’t been hard for him to throw it away with one clasped hand and a conveniently placed cactus.

The dreams still came almost every night, haunting you with happiness. Looking over at the clock, you groaned. 2:30 AM it blinked green against the darkness. You shifted and stared at the ceiling, counting thunderclaps, begging sleep to take you again. Take you back to a different time, a different dream. Your eyes began to drift.

Boom, boom.

Thunder rang louder than before. The storm was moving closer. But when had the lightning struck?

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.

It wasn’t thunder. You wrenched the comforter off of you and scrambled to your feet. Someone was banging on the door. What had been a low and rumbling pattern of knocks at first was now frantic pounding. What in the world? Reaching for a thin cotton robe, you rushed to the front door.

“I’m coming!” you shouted, darting across the living room, “who is–”

You stopped short.

“Baby, please,” he sobbed. Shawn. Surprise mixed with hot rage and something else you couldn’t quite put your finger on. The concoction was numbing, like liquid lidocaine traveling in your bloodstream from the crown of your head to the tips of your toes. You didn’t remember getting to the door or gripping the knob, but it swung open anyway.

Shawn Mendes fell into your apartment face first. He tripped over the threshold and into your stiff arms. He must have been leaning on the door frame.

“Oh god, I didn’t think you’d answer,” he slurred, smelling somewhere between a wet dog and straight tequila. You caught at his shoulders and pushed him up against the entryway wall.

“Shawn, what the fuck are you doing here?” you practically spat at him. Venum pooled in your mouth. It was acrid, all-consuming. It took a minute for the red rage clouding your vision to recede, allowing his face to come into sharp relief.

His cheeks were blotchy, stained with tears. His eyes glassy and unfocused. He was drunk. Drunker than you’d ever seen him. He was also soaking wet. His waterlogged clothes dripped fat drops that splashed on your hardwood floor forming a puddle under his expensive shoes.

“Did you walk here?”

He nodded his head. Well, it was more of a lull to the side if you were being honest.

“How?”

“With my feet,” he slurred again. He lurched off the wall and tried to take a step forward. Instead he pitched forward, wrapping his arms around you and soaking your robe through to the tank top underneath.

“I see you haven’t lost the sarcasm,” the poison you had tasted earlier was quickly replaced with concern. You slithered out from his embrace and let him lean against your shoulder. “Come on, I’ll get you a towel.”

You deposited him on your sofa and he immediately slumped sideways, laying his cheek against the cool leather. Grabbing some fresh towels from the hall closet, you took a second and leaned against the wall before going back to the living room, hidden from Shawn’s line of sight. Not that he’d see me anyway he’s so smashed. What is he doing here? Why here? Why me? Where is his precious famous girlfriend? Why isn’t she picking his drunk ass up off the couch?

The anger flared again but it had lost its bite. He was obviously in some kind of pain, but you weren’t going to get anything out of him like this. You sighed heavily, heading to the kitchen for water and some ibuprofen before returning to the couch.

“Shawn?” You crouched down next to him, reaching out to push a curl back off of his face. He was snoring, a bit of drool coming from the corner of his perfect lips. He was so peaceful.

Snap out of it.

“Shawn, you have to get out of these wet clothes.”

He stirred, opening just one eye to look at you. It took him a minute to reorient.

“How long was I asleep?” He swiped at his mouth and sat up slowly.

“About three minutes. Now get up and strip.” You stood above him expectantly, fighting the urge to tap your toe at him. He fumbled with the buttons on his dark blue silk Oxford shirt. The fabric stuck to every defined muscle in his torso, every cut of his biceps. You counted to thirty before he got one undone.

“You’re going to get hypothermia if you keep that up,” you thrust the towel at him, “how about you dry your hair instead and let me handle the hard stuff?”

He mussed his hair with the towel while you crouched down in front of him, making quick work of his buttons. When the shirt finally hung open, you pushed it back and off his shoulders, revealing what seemed like miles of lightly tanned skin. Dammit. How can he still be so fucking beautiful? You had tried to hate him, tried to block him from your memory, but he always came back. The memories and the feelings and the pain always came back.

You tossed his soaked shirt across the room near the door to the washer. His body sagged forward. His curls were dry, big and frizzed from root to tip, but at least he wasn’t catching a chill. He needed to get horizontal quickly or he was probably going to toss his cookies right here on your white leather couch.

“Shawn,” you tapped at his face to refocus him again, “drink this and take these.” You held out the water and ibuprofen. He took them with no argument. Definitely too drunk. Sober, he would have spouted some bullshit about over-the-counter drugs being bad for your health or toxic for your muscles or something he’d heard From Jocelyne or Cez. You were thankful that you didn’t have to listen to that nonsense tonight. He would thank you in the morning when the headache was dull instead of blinding.

“Now, stand up and strip off the rest of it,” you ordered.

“Naked, eh?” His eyebrow raised at the same time as the corner of his mouth. You rolled your eyes.

“Throw it over there with your shirt. I think I still have a pair of your boxers hanging around somewhere,” you grumbled, turning your back on him and marching toward the bedroom. The truth was that you knew you had a pair of his boxers because you’d washed them recently after wearing them to bed when you missed him. The dreams always felt more vivid on those nights but you wore them anyway. For the same reason I just invited his drunk ass inside tonight. Because I’m a fucking masochist. You grabbed the boxers, navy and white stripes with little anchors on them, and returned to your living room.

He stood in the center of the room, between the couch and his wet laundry, in nothing but a towel wrapped low around his hips. His skin was dry finally, flushed where he’d scrubbed at it, glowing in the low city lights trickling through the windows. He was a little dazed and a lot sleepy, inspecting his hands and fingers where they had pruned in the rain. It was like one of your dreams, a memory of what had been. Everything had been such a mess for the months he’d been gone. A gaping hole in your chest had opened and as much as you’d tried to mend, to get over him, he’d left a wound that wouldn’t heal. When he burst through the door, beneath all the anger, it felt like breathing for the first time. Feeling for the first time. He belonged here and you belonged with him.

Then why did he leave?

“Shawn,” his head snapped up, eyes wide, “why are you here?” He grimaced, hearing the pain in your voice. He seemed to be sobering, the bright rosy color in his cheeks was returning to a muted pink. Reaching up to scrub at his damp curls, he cleared his throat.

“I….” his voice was hoarse, “I’m not sure.” You walked over to his pile of wet clothes and tossed them in the washer, keeping silent while he watched you, waiting for a reaction. Or an explosion. The only sounds in the room were the machine filling with water and your padded footsteps back to a safe distance from him. The rain had stopped.

“Well, you’re naked in my living room so you better start fucking figuring it out!” You threw the anchor printed boxers squarely at his chest as the rage came simmering back.

“I missed you, okay?!” He threw his arms wide, sputtering, “I, I was out drinking with the boys and got too drunk and was thinking about how happy I used to be and that happiness was all because of you…” He was looking at you but looking through you at the same time, like he could see all of those memories you’d been dreaming of, like maybe he’d dreamt them too. You shook your head. It didn’t make any sense. He was happy with her. He left you for her. He’s supposed to be with her.

“Don’t lie, I saw the fucking photos, Shawn. Don’t act like I don’t know that smile as well I know my own. You looked pretty fucking pleased with yourself,” you hissed. Images flashed across the back of your eyelids like a slide projector with every swift blink away from his face: her long dark hair fluttering behind her as they walked back to his hotel; his curls fluffed out in weird directions like her fingers had run through them in the car; that fucking bag strapped to his back like the perfect boyfriend. It was the last photo that always sent a wave of nausea, the one of him hanging over the balcony half naked. Whether they’d fucked or not was a moot point, that’s what they wanted people to think. What he wanted me to think.

“You could have picked up the goddamn phone and broken up with me like a civilized person,” you scolded, still unable to look at him.

“IT WASN’T REAL!” He bent over with the force of his confession.

Your head shot up. What?

“What??” A weightless feeling came over you. Looking down, you had to check that your feet were still on the ground. It didn’t make sense. You must have heard him wrong.

“I-I don’t understand,” you stuttered, “I saw it, all of it.”

“Didn’t you read my texts?” He sounded like he was under three feet of water. Your ears were ringing. “I called so many times...I just thought you needed time to get over me not telling you before the pictures leaked but you never called back. None of your friends would answer my messages...” You covered your ears and closed your eyes to block out the sensory overload even though he was still talking. No, no, no. He got caught cheating and he’s trying to backtrack.

But you had heard the rumors, the gossip rags had all printed it. The doubt, the convenience of the timing...but you’d blocked it out because it was too easy to believe and too painful to hope.

Two hands gripped your upper arms and your eyes flew open.

He was right in front of you. Less than three inches. His eyes were so dark, still dilated from the alcohol coursing through his system. He’d put on the boxers you’d thrown at him and ditched the towel. It was everything you had to not pitch forward into his warm chest.

“It was Andrew’s idea.” He hooked a finger underneath your chin and made sure you were looking at him. “There was a meeting, her people, my people, they ambushed me. Said it would be a good idea to promote the single, push my image, deal with the old rumors. I told him I didn’t give a fuck about that old shit but they just kept coming and coming and coming, something about helping her with her album and placating executives who kept asking questions, so I said yes but I fucking told them I had to have notice before they dropped the pictures so I could tell you…” He swiped his thumbs across your cheeks, smearing the wet tears that had fallen while he talked.

“They didn’t wait,” he sighed, “Andrew sold them without telling me. I tried to tell you. All those calls, all those texts, I promise I didn’t want you to be blindsided.”

“But I fucking was, Shawn,” you stepped back and took a deep breath. “You had opportunities to call right after the meeting, before they took the pictures, but you waited. Why? Why did you wait for other people to break my fucking heart?”

“I was an idiot!” he raked his fingers through his knotted, dried curls. “I thought somehow that if I was able to control everything that no one could get hurt. I would tell you, we would keep doing us and I would have things I had to do in front of cameras but it wouldn’t mean anything. We would work on a plan to go public together after it was done. A few months at the most.”

“A few months?! What were we gonna do for months in hiding?! How many times were you going to hurt me, fulfilling some bullshit contractual obligation that you didn’t even discuss with me first?” You stumbled back to your room and he followed. You had to sit down or you were going to be sick. He followed behind, his giant feet sticking to the hardwoods with every step.

At first, the truth had felt like another dream, had made you weightless, but the more you thought about it, maybe this was worse. The idea of seeing him holding someone else’s hand for cameras while he came home to you at night was like a slap in the face.

“I wasn’t going to let them release the pictures before I talked to you first, before I knew it was okay,” he knelt down in front of you, taking your hands between his, “I never wanted to hurt you. Andrew did it anyway. When you wouldn’t return my calls, I just went along with it, all of it, like a zombie shell.” He looked past you, seeing the months you’d been apart. He was haunted too.

“The fans started to notice. Half of them thought it was fake from the beginning, but after awhile they all saw the dark circles, the exhaustion of keeping up the facade. I started losing weight. It was all there for the world to see. I thought about you everyday. I think about you everyday.” He pressed his forehead into your entwined hands. His shoulders shook. It took you a minute to realize that he was crying.

You took your hands from him, dragging your fingers through his curls, full and frizzed out from root to tip. You let him cry for the both of you, for the lost time, for the unfairness of the business he loved so much, for the deception, for all of it. Slowly, his breath evened against the skin of your exposed legs. He needed to sleep. So did you.

“Shawn…” you started, pulling his head up between your hands.

“I fired Andrew.”

You stilled completely, “you what?”

“I fired Andrew.” He said it a second time but it still wasn’t computing. Andrew was family. Andrew was untouchable. Andrew was the one person in Shawn’s life not related by blood that you thought might make it into the family burial plot.

“But, why?” you said, unable to think of anything else eloquent or comforting.

“The last eight months have been some of the worst in my career, in my life,” he took a moment, closing his eyes, calculating what he was about to say. “Last week, I went to him and said I wanted to end the sham relationship, to take control of my life back. He said it wasn’t possible, that we only had a few more months left. But he’d said that before. We only had a few months left before he extended the deal to cover an album release, the holidays, promotional singles...

“I talked to a lawyer. I had to pay a considerable amount of money to get out of all of it, but I’m done. Done with the PR bullshit, done with AGA. The label is still supporting me while I look for new management, but I’m taking a break. I’ve been writing at home, making voice memos, but I gotta figure out what my life looks like when I’m in control because I haven’t been in control for years. Maybe not ever.”

He took a breath and released it, his shoulders visibly relaxing. That was it, the whole truth. Everything made a lot more sense. It didn’t hurt any less, but the broken pain in his eyes when he’d fallen in the door an hour ago was clear. He was independent for the first time in his adult life...and he was terrified.

He yawned. His body was more leaning than kneeling at this point, and your legs were going numb. You moved to stand and he looked up at you, wondering what to do now that he’d cut his heart out and laid it at your feet.

“Come on,” you gestured to the bed, “get on your side.”

You took off your robe and crawled underneath the covers, still rumpled from your earlier dream. There was about three feet between you and Shawn in the king-size bed and you could tell he was trying to keep his distance, turning his back to you and isolating himself to one side. It was a struggle to keep from snorting. You scooted over and curled your arms around his chest. He was massive, but not so massive that you couldn’t be his big spoon.

The night had been such a rollercoaster, so much emotion from the earlier dream to everything that had happened since he pounded on the door, drunk and soaked through. There was so much you wanted to ask, so much you needed to yell at him for, but now that it was quiet, not that he was pressed against you in an embrace like he’d never left, those things felt so far away. You were going to have to think hard when the sun came up. What if I wake up and this was all a dream? You squeezed him one more time to make sure he was still there, tangling your legs with his under the sheets.

“This isn’t forgiveness,” you whispered, relishing the heat that radiated from his back into your chest. He hummed an assent, knowing there was still so much to say and so much to atone for. But for now, just right now, you both slept.

It was the best night of sleep you’d had in months.

taglist: @justanotherfangurl272 @siennarossi @trustfundshawn @alone-in-madness @harryandmolly @thatindiannerdygirl @mendesromano @fromthicctosticc @esoltis280 @softmendesss @sinplisticshawn @nedthegay @september-lace @itrocksmysocks @disaster-rose @mendesoft @luvluvxx @i-play-video-games @ihearthemcallingforyou @gentleshawn @kitykatnumber @enchantingbrowneyedgirl @ijustreallylikeshawnokay @shhhawnmendes @shawnsblue @imaginashawnns @night-girls-world @cherrysruin @mariahocker @jessybellsworld @myangelarcade @valedictorian65

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#shawn mendes #shawn mendes imagines #shawn mendes fanfiction #shawn mendes angst #shawn mendes fic #shawn peter raul mendes #my writing

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dragonologist-phd · 4 years

Note

Could I request something with, “What am I supposed to do when I can’t even trust my own mind?” or, “You see everyone so clearly except yourself,” using one of your Pillars OCs?

thank you for the prompt! I got You see everyone so clearly except yourself from someone else, so I’ll do What am I supposed to do when I can’t even trust my own mind?

For this one Rudi grabbed my inspiration, so have some Rudi & Eder BroTP!

(AO3)

When Edér first wakes up and realizes Rudi is gone, he isn’t too worried. Over the course of their travels, he’s learned that she’s got a habit of up and wandering off whenever she can’t sleep. He himself is usually the first one of their little group to rise in the morning- an old habit from years of farmwork that still hasn’t died off- and it’s no strange thing for her to come waltzing back into camp just as he’s relighting the fire, brandishing a rabbit or two for breakfast. So rather than wonder where she’s gone, Edér simply follows their routine and waits for her to return.

When the sun has crept up above the horizon and the others are beginning to stir awake, Edér does begin to get a bit concerned. The woods along the river pass aren’t especially thick, and Rudi is more than able to handle any stray bandits or wandering beasts… but still, with her luck it’s hard to tell what she might encounter. Best to check in on her, Edér decides, even if she makes fun of his hovering later on.

It doesn’t take long to find her- she didn’t bother to cover her tracks, and it’s hard to miss the lion footprints leading down dirt path. The first moment Edér catches sight of her, he thinks that maybe she actually fell asleep after all. She’s nestled on the ground, back against a tree, knees curled up to her chest so she can rest her chin on them. Sol is curled up at her feet, his tail flicking lazily through the leaves that cover the ground.

Then his foot comes down on a twig with a sharp snap, and Rudi’s head shoots up. Sol is on his feet at once, teeth bared and every hair in his mane standing on end.

“Whoa there, buddy,” Edér says, holding up his hands and giving the big cat a grin. “It’s just me.”

The lion only snarls in response, not relaxing until Rudi lays a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Sol.” She stands, stretching out her arms as she does, and turns to give Edér a weak smile. “Checking up on me now? Sorry, I guess I lost track of time out here.”

Her tone is casual and unworried, but it doesn’t match up to her appearance. She just looks so damn tired- bags under her eyes, unsteady on her feet, and a half-hearted grin that just doesn’t quite do the job. “Now, I know it ain’t polite to comments on a lady’s appearance,” Edér says, keeping his tone light, “But did you get a wink of sleep last night?”

He’s hoping to draw a laugh out of her- and normally he might have- but today Rudi’s mood instantly shifts, her eyes narrowing and her mouth setting into a hard line. It’s the same look she gets when she’s deciding whether to shoot something or not, and if she weren’t looking too exhausted to aim straight Edér might consider hiding behind a tree. Eventually she settles for crossing her arms and fixing Edér with a stern look. “Maybe. It doesn’t matter. I don’t need sleep. I need to hunt down Thaos before…”

She stops and looks away, blinking hard and lifting a hand to her temple. The moment passes quickly, and then she’s pushing past Edér with a scowl. “Let’s just get going.”

“Whoa, there,” Edér says, putting a hand on her shoulder as she passes. “You sure you’re good?”

“I’m fine,” she insists, pulling away.

“Right. You’re actin’ exactly a person who’s fine.”

Rudi turns her glare on him again, to which Edér only raises an eyebrow. And then the fight goes out of her, just as suddenly as it came, and her shoulders slump as she lets out a heavy sigh. “Fine, yes, I got some sleep. For all the good it did.”

“What does that mean?”

“I had…dreams.” Rudi looks down and kicks at the dirt. “Memories, I guess, I don’t know. And then I woke up and I didn’t even know where I was, I just kept thinking I had to find…someone. Like it was the most important thing in the world that I find her right away.”

Watcher stuff, Edér thinks, worry sinking into his stomach. He knows Rudi’s been having nightmares and visions and a whole mess of strange stuff. But he’s been hoping it’s the sort of the thing to get better with time, not worse. “Who were looking for?”

Rudi shrugs, but her eyes flicker upward, and for a moment they flash as Rudi stares at something that isn’t there. “Iovara.” She speaks the name heavily, as if each syllable carries an unfathomable weight.

Rudi goes silent then, until Edér finally has to ask, “Who’s that?”

The questions breaks her from her reverie, and she scowls and throws her hands into the air. “I don’t know!!” she exclaims, turning to pace in a circle. “I just had to find her, and I started moving- with no idea where I was or why I was here- and then Sol came up to me and for a split second I was scared. Of Sol. Like I didn’t even know who he was.”

Her voice gets thick, and she stops to take a breath, sinking once again to the ground with her back against the tree. Sol watches her with concern, and approaches to nuzzle against her shoulder. A small, sad smile creeps onto her face as she runs a hand through his mane.

As Edér watches the two of them, it occurs to him that he’s never actually seen them separated. Sol sleeps at Rudi’s bedside, shares her meals, even sit next to her in the receiving hall at Caed Nua. For Rudi to not even recognize him, even for a second…he can’t imagine it.

And apparently she can’t, either.

Eventually, Rudi recovers herself enough to continue. “After that, I guess I just…woke up. I remembered who I was, and the other memories went away but I…gods, Edér, I couldn’t go to sleep again. I couldn’t risk going away like that.” She closes her eyes, her hands trembling as they continue to stroke Sol’s mane. “I’ve always been able to take care of myself. But what am I supposed to do when I can’t even trust my own mind?”

It’s a big question, that’s for sure. And yet to Edér, the answer is immediate and obvious.

“You trust us, of course.”

Whatever Rudi is expecting, apparently that isn’t it. She blinks, looking up at Edér in silence, and he takes advantage of her surprise to continue. “Hey, I know you haven’t really known us all that long. But you know we’re your friends, right?” He chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, maybe not Durance. I wouldn’t put much trust in him. But me and Sagani and everyone else- we got your back.”

He bends over and holds his hand out to Rudi. “We’re gonna look out for you, and we’re gonna find this Leaden Key guy, and we’re gonna put you right as rain again. So don’t worry too much about bad dreams and memories and such.”

Rudi hesitates, watching Edér with unveiled skepticism. “And if I forget again?”

He shrugs. “Bucket of cold water. It’s a cure-all, and I bet anything it’ll wake you right back up.”

Rudi regards him for a moment, then snorts as she takes his hand, letting him pull her up. When she’s on her feet again, she shakes her head and punches him in the arm. “That’s your first instinct? Really?”

“It’s an incentive, too,” Edér answers with a grin. “Keeps you on your toes.”

“Ass,” she says, but she’s laughing, and the tensions seems to have left her shoulders. She still looks exhausted, and maybe still a little worried…but she also looks much more like the Rudi Edér knows so well.

“Alright, let’s get back. For real this time.” She starts walking in the directions of the camp, rubbing your back and groaning as she goes. “Gods, I’m too old to be staying up all night. And we’ve got a long day ahead of us.”

Edér grins, falling into step beside her. “Bet you could convince Maneha to carry you for a while.”

“Oh, I like the sound of that. First good idea you’ve had all day.” She continues like that, talking and making jokes as they approach the campsite, Sol padding quietly at her side. Just before they arrive in sight of the others, however, she pauses and glances at Edér from the corner of her eye.

“Thanks, by the way,” she says hurriedly, as if embarrassed by the words. “I do trust you, you know. I haven’t had someone like that for a long time, but…you’re a good friend.”

Edér nods- of course he knows. ‘Cause Rudi’s his friend, too- probably the best one he’s had since his brother- and looking out for each other is just what friends do.

#ch: rudi #prompt fill #thanks for the prompt!#pillars of eternity #risualto

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ihatecoconut · 4 years

Text

4 Times People Found Out They Were Dating, And The One Who Always Knew.

1- Jack

Jack was, to most people, pretty mild-mannered. The angriest most newsies had seen him had been during the strike, and even then, it wasn’t anything on how angry some of the other older newsies could get.

Some people said that he was mild-mannered thanks to the years of being in charge of the newsies, others argued that he was their leader because he was so calm all the time, but it was irrelevant really. Jack was calm. He was the one who broke up fights, he never started them unless he was defending someone.

This was the reason it was such a surprise when Jack and Race got into a heated argument one night after the littles had gone to bed.

“Jack, all the littles are asleep. You don’t need my help.”

“It’s not the point is it?” Jack hissed back, teeth clenched and very aware that raising his voice would wake them up.

“Then what the hell is the point?”

“You keep sneaking out! And don’t think I don’t know where you’re going, you’re sneaking over to Brooklyn every night, ain’t ya?”

Race didn’t see the point in denying it. “Yeah, I am, what’s it to you?”

“What’s it to me? You’re my second! Mine! If you wanna be Brooklyn so bad, you might as well stay there.”

“Maybe I will.” Race snapped, keeping his voice low, and then he turned and left, continuing his original path out of the lodging house, pausing to call back to Jack, “Don’t expect me back in the morning.”

Race was many things, a gambler, a newsie, but most importantly he was true to his word. He was not back in the morning, or the evening. Through the day Jack could put on an indifferent face- “I’m not in control of where he goes, he sells in Brooklyn anyway, he’ll be back this evening”- but when Racer was nowhere to be seen come sunset he began to worry. The littles sensed that, they knew something was wrong when it wasn’t Race who woke them in the morning, he would always tell them if he wouldn’t be there.

“I want Racer to tuck me in.” Rain objected. A chorus of ‘me too’s agreed with him and Jack found himself looking around the littles’ area hopelessly.

“He ain’t back yet kid, sorry.”

A couple of them started crying and Jack looked around desperately for help. To his relief, Albert and Crutchie had come in to settle them down.

Albert caught his shoulder as he moved out, “You need to apologise to him. He’s Manhattan, and we need him.

“I will. In the morning.”

Morning came and Jack bought less papers than usual, planning his walk over to Brooklyn and his apology to Race in his head. He managed to sell a few on the walk, stopped by one passer-by to ask where the boy he normally bought from was because he hadn’t seen him today or yesterday. Jack gave a quick and hopefully sufficient answer and walked on, behind him the man shrugged and opened his paper.

“Ay! Hot Shot!” Jack called, gratefully upon seeing Spot’s second, Hot Shot gave him a cold look.

“You ain’t supposed to be in Brooklyn.”

“I’m looking for Racer.”

Hot Shot stared at him for a couple seconds.

“I’m here to apologise.”

“He’s with Spot.”

“Thanks.”

Jack walked away, forcing himself not to glance back at Hot Shot despite the feeling of eyes on the back of his neck. Everyone knew Spot’s normal selling place; it was where his newsies could find him with a problem or where other boroughs could find him to discuss business.

The only problem was that Spot was nowhere in sight when he approached the docks.

Confused, Jack began to wander around, glancing around and listening out in case Spot had decided that he’d had enough of Race on his turf and was going to soak him. He glanced down an alley, saw two boys kissing and hurriedly kept going. It was weird, he thought, that Spot hadn’t gotten rid of the boys who used his selling spot as a make out spot.

“Kelly!” He turned at Spot’s voice,

“I’ve been looking all over for you two!”

Spot raised an eyebrow, Race was standing a little way behind him and his lips looked kinda swollen, and he had a bruise on his neck and- oh. Jack almost laughed, how had he missed that? This was why Race had been sneaking over to Brooklyn at night, this was why Spot was alright with him selling in Brooklyn.

“I’m sorry,” he found himself saying, before he’d even finished processing his stupidity, “I know you’re Manhattan, and I shouldn’t have accused you have being a traitor or anything, but I need you- I can’t run it without ya.”

“How sweet.” Spot muttered, but he shut up when Race moved past him to hug Jack.

“That was all I needed.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” He paused and glanced at Spot. “I get it now.”

2- Davey

Jack ran Manhattan and Davey had been his right-hand man during the strike, so he guessed it made a small amount of sense that some newsies from other boroughs assumed he was now Jack’s second. Most didn’t seem to care either way when he corrected them until he ran into Queens’ second. He couldn’t remember the kid’s name, and the kid only called him ‘Mouth’ so he wasn’t really interested in learning it.

“Ay, Mouth.”

“Hey.”

“I just want to tell ya that when I take over for Queens I wanna make a proper alliance with ‘Hattan, now you’re the second.”

Davey nearly told him that he wasn’t the second, that was still Race no matter what people seemed to think, but the kid’s attitude confused him. “Why not before?”

“Didn’t wanna when there was a risk of having to deal with the last one.”

“The last… second? Racer?

“Yeah, fuckin’ fairy, y’know?”

Davey did not, in fact, know, but he nodded anyway and didn’t correct the kid because he was a little worried about what his reaction would be. He found Les and Jack quite easily due to the amount of noise they were making and quietly explained what the kid from Queens had said to him, only saying that he apparently didn’t like Race for whatever reason.

Jack’s face went hard, and he nodded, smiling when Les turned back to them. “I’ll arrange a meeting with Queens soon.” Was all he said, and Davey relaxed, it wasn’t his problem anymore.

Or he thought it wasn’t. Not correcting the kid had apparently been a mistake because he had gone and blabbed to a load of his friends about how the Mouth was replacing the fairy, and it had got to Brooklyn, which was why an angry Spot Conlon had shown up at their lodging house demanding to speak to Jack. Both Davey and Race had got up when he had come in, but both been ignored.

Together they watched the boys argue from the window, Spot kept hitting his cane on the ground as if the emphasise a point.

“What do you think’s wrong?” Davey asked, knowing Race knew Spot much better than he ever would.

“Apparently some kid from Queens has been going around saying Jack made you second.” Race replied, “he asked me about it today.”

“Oh God,” Davey muttered, remembering the kid from a few weeks back.

Race turned his head to stare at him, “What? What did you do?”

Normally he would have been slightly offended by the accusatory tone in Race’s voice, but the guilt at maybe being the cause of this overwhelmed that and he quickly retold the conversation.

Race frowned, “He say why he didn’t like me?”

“Yeah… he called you a fairy. I don’t…”

“You don’t know what that means?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m queer.”

“Queer?”

“I like boys like most guys like girls.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?”

Spot’s anger suddenly seemed to make more sense. Spot didn’t hate Davey; he wouldn’t have this big of an issue with him being Jack’s second. He was angry on Race’s behalf.

When he saw Spot pull Race out of sight, just before he left, Davey waited until Race came back.

“So, Spot, huh?”

Race threw a cigar at him, “Shut up.”

3- Crutchie

Crutchie walked in on them, there was no long build up to him finding out, he just refused to be distracted by Davey who knew exactly what Spot and Race were doing on the roof. (making out)

Davey knowing had been a slight relief to Race, he could tell one person the truth- who actually bought him a new shirt, why he had a small flower behind his ear, where he was gonna take Spot the few times he came to the Lower Manhattan lodging house rather than the other way around. And Davey had performed admirably in the position of confidant, even going as far as to distract anyone who made like they were going to wherever Spot and Race were hiding.

This time, he had failed. Crutchie wasn’t as easily distracted as the other newsies (neither was Jack, but he was still keeping Race’s secret) and he had noticed Davey’s pattern. He had also noticed bruises on Race after Spot had been by and was suspicious.

Slipping away from the group and making sure he was out of Davey’s eyeline, Crutchie quietly made it up the stairs, as quietly as one could when using a wooden crutch. Unfortunately, Race and Spot were very confident in Davey’s abilities and slightly distracted by each other, and so did not hear the crutch on the stairs or anything at all until Crutchie went “Oh my God!”

Yanking away from each other they both gaped up at him, trying to come up with some excuse for why they had been kissing. Crutchie gaped back and the roof was silent for a very long time.

Eventually Crutchie found his voice again, “Sorry, I’ll just, uh…” he backed away finding the door with his hand, “Carry on!” and then he fled, as fast as he could, sitting next to Davey and swearing that he would never doubt him again.

Up on the roof Race and Spot watched him go and immediately started laughing, great gasping laughs of relief and hysteria.

“It’s Crutchie. He wouldn’t tell anyone.” They reassured each other, “We’re safe.”

4- Katherine

Katherine hadn’t really meant to become part of the newsies group, she had just been hanging around them because she was dating Jack, and after they broke up, because she was friends with Davey and his sister and the lodging house was really the only place she could meet up with them. Anyway, she accidentally had become part of the group and Race had taught her to play card games, she was pretty certain he let her win whenever she did, but he was a naturally nice person and they never did it for money between the two of them due to the huge imbalance.

Regardless of the imbalance, the three years between them, and the fact that they had almost no common interests, one year on from the strike, Katherine considered Race one of her closest friends. Weirdly, she found that he was also the person she went to for relationship advice when Darcy asked her on a date- Race was kind, slightly cynical, understanding of her confusion and supportive when she eventually decided that she did want to go on the date.

Three months into dating Darcy, it suddenly hit her that Race gave shockingly good advice, almost as if he were in a long-term relationship and understood personally. He was especially good at advice when Darcy had to move away to help his father with business.

“Are you seeing anyone?” she asked as they sat down at the back of the room for their private game,

“Like dating, a ghost or a shrink?” Race responded, grinning up at her,

“Dating.”

“Why miss Pulitzer, you are a taken woman!”

She threw her cards at him, “Answer the question, idiot.”

He sobered suddenly, “Why do you want to know?”

“You give advice like you are. To me, about Darcy.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah?”

“I am seeing someone.”

Sensing that he didn’t really want her to push the subject, Katherine nodded and picked up her cards again. Race did not, staring at the small table instead.

“It’s Spot.”

“What?”

“I’m seeing Spot.”

She blinked twice. Not selling papers meant that she only really spent time with the newsies in the evening and she wasn’t completely aware of the complex newsie politics, but… “The King of Brooklyn?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m impressed,” she told him, trying to steer the conversation back to the light-hearted joking he seemed to prefer, “that’s some catch.”

Race laughed and finally picked up his cards again, “For sure.”

Later as she was leaving he hugged her, “Thanks Kath.”

+1- Albert

Albert prided himself on being Race’s best friend, the first person to know when something was wrong or right in Race’s life, the first person Race told when he had won big at the races and he had spent years in that position. Years that he had spent learning Race’s body language, learning how to tell how Race was feeling at a glance and he could.

He could always tell when Race was unhappy or upset and would know what to bring to make him feel better- and the reverse, he could always tell when Race was happy, and about a week after the strike was settled Race had started coming home after selling happy every single day.

Curious, Albert had asked to sell with him at Sheepshead one day and had been accepted. Race chattered on, as usual, as they made their way across the Brooklyn Bridge and towards the races. They split up to sell- two newsies in one place sold less papers- and met up again for lunch, where they were joined by none other than his majesty himself, Spot Conlon. Albert’s first thought was that he had come to argue about Albert selling in Brooklyn, but Race’s explanation that the two of them just hadn’t spent much time together seemed to fly just fine, and Spot bought all three of them lunch.

Watching Race while he ate his sandwich, Albert finally understood what was making him so happy- it was Spot. Just Spot. Always Spot. And when Spot leaned in to brush a crumb off Race’s face, apparently having forgotten Albert was there, Albert relaxed, happy in the knowledge that his best friend was loved.

He watched the others find out, was the first one that Jack cornered to ask about it when he brought Race back from Brooklyn after their argument, watched as Davey protected them whenever they were in Manhattan and was thankful when Kath and Crutchie gave their acceptance in their own ways.

But, Race was still his best friend, his brother, and it was immensely satisfying to be able to give the King of Brooklyn the shovel talk.

#newsies #92sies #1992sies #race newsies #spot conlon #sprace #newsies fanfiction #newsies fandom #writing #writer #my writing #writblr #writeblr #writers of tumblr #short story #fanfiction #flash fiction

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lynnsfics · 4 years

Text

Penny For Your Nightmares?

Pairing: Bucky x Reader (Prompt List #76 “I had the weirdest dream”)

Word Count: Approx. 2k

Possible TW: Nightmares, Near Death Experience

Requests Open! See notes at bottom for details!

~~~

The waves came crashing down around you. Thunder boomed overhead, and lightning struck the water. With every stroke you made the surface seemed to grow farther and farther away. A cry tried to escape your lips, but as soon as you opened your mouth water filled your lungs.

You shot up in bed, heart pounding. Electricity danced along your fingertips, increasing the level of static energy in the room. It happened again. No matter how many times you told yourself the fear was irrational, nightmares still plagued your dreams. Sam tried his best to get you to go to therapy, but you thought you could deal with it yourself. Trying to shake off the clammy post-nightmare feeling, you lightly stepped out of bed. The cold wood floor sent a shiver down your spine. Grabbing the slippers from your bedside, you slipped them on. That was better.

As silently as possible, you opened your door and creeped down the hall. The absolute last thing you needed was the team waking up. Thankfully the kitchen was right down the hall. The time displayed on the stove clock illuminated the counter. 3:01 A.M. Deep down you knew you needed rest, but the idea of a nice hot cup of coffee appealed to you more. Besides, after what happened, you weren’t sure if you even wanted to go back to sleep.

Taking out your favorite mug from the cabinet, you added in the perfect amount of coffee and sugar. Tony liked to make fun of you for not using the coffee machine, but there was something so soothing about preparing it yourself. As you filled the kettle up with water, a voice came from the living room.

“You know, Sam says tea is better to have at night. Caffeine will just keep you up.”

Your heart skipped a beat as the kettle clattered noisily into the sink. “God, Bucky don’t scare me like that. Almost gave me a heart attack.”

“Sorry doll,” you rolled your eyes at the pet name but you smiled anyways, “mind if I ask why you’re up in the first place?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” you said, purposefully dodging the question.

“I’ll tell you if you tell me,” he countered. You sighed in defeat as you continued filling up the kettle. There was no way you’d be able to leave this kitchen without talking about your feelings. God, Sam was practically determined to turn everyone in the tower into a psychologist. “Alright fine.” you said, turning on the stove, “ I had the weirdest dream, happy now?”

“Well, I’d be a lot happier if you told me what exactly this weird dream was about.”

“Okay, so it wasn’t a dream, more of a nightmare. I was caught in the flood again. Except this time I never made it out. It felt like my lungs were filling with water, I couldn’t breathe. Instead of being saved by the lightning strike, I drowned.” You said it all in one breath, not wanting to dwell on it. “I know it’s stupid, because in reality I didn’t drown, I’m perfectly fine. And yet,” you trailed off, staring at the coffee grounds in your cup. Bucky made his way to the kitchen counter and took a seat on the barstool next to you. “Doll, look at me,” when you didn’t even glance up he grabbed your coffee mug away from you. “Hey,” you exclaimed, “What was that for?”

“I asked you to look at me, and you didn’t so I had to come up with something else. But now it’s my turn to share why I’m up. You’re not the only one in this tower plagued by nightmares. Every night I relive my days as him. And even though I know that part of me is gone, that I’ll never be the Winter Soldier again, the thought of it still terrifies me. So no, it’s not stupid.”

“What do you do to cope with it all? I feel like sometimes it’s just too much to deal with.”

“That’s just it, doll. Sometimes things can’t be ‘dealt with’, and you need to talk to someone to help you through it.” You rolled your eyes as you snatched back your cup. Sliding off the barstool, you walked back over to the stove. “Sam put you up to this, didn’t he,” you asked as you poured the water.

“No,” Bucky sighed, “he didn’t. But he was the one who encouraged me to open up about things. Something you could benefit a lot from.” “Alright, say I do talk things out, then what?” “Then you have a support system who can help you.” “Well, I don’t know-” Bucky cut you off, “How about this, if you aren’t ready to talk to a professional, the next time you have a nightmare you come to me and tell me about it. Alright?”

Turning to face him, you nodded in agreement, “Okay, deal.” As you took a sip of coffee a sudden clap of thunder shook the tower. Lightning lit up the darkened room a second later as rain started to pour down.

Your blood ran cold as you felt fear grip you. Closing your eyes you kept telling yourself that you were safe, but it wasn’t helping.

Bucky looked over at you, worry laced in his voice, “Doll, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, yeah, it’s nothing just the storm,” you paused for a moment but then decided to open up a little. As you walked back to the barstool, you took a deep breath. “The flood was caused by a sudden storm like this one. I don’t mind a little rain, but when it’s unexpected I just freeze up.”

He gently put his hand over your own. “Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked.

You shook your head ‘no’, but then reconsidered. “I was going to sit on the couch and try to watch some dumb reality TV,” you replied quietly. “It usually helps me to calm down to laugh at something, and it could block out some of the noise from the storm. Would you want to watch it with me? If not that’s alright, I should be fine.” “No, that sounds great, besides I wasn’t planning on going to bed anytime soon,” he answered with a smile.

That’s how you two ended up falling asleep on the couch together, HGTV playing in the background. You awoke the next morning to find that Bucky had ended up wrapping a protective arm around your shoulders. Somehow you managed to slip out of his embrace so it wouldn’t result in an embarrassing situation.

Neither of you talked about it that day, but a few nights later when you were up again from another nightmare you found yourself back on the couch with him, this time watching a sitcom.

Before either of you realized it, it became a habit. If you or Bucky woke from a nightmare, or if a sudden storm came on, both of you would go to the living room and put on some cheesy show. Luckily none of the other team members ever found out, or you’d both be teased about it relentlessly.

Through it all, you found yourself developing feelings for Bucky. Even though you tried to tell yourself those feelings were strictly platonic, you’d be lying if you said you would refuse a relationship with him.

It wasn’t until a month later when you realized just how dependent on him you had become. Bucky was out on a mission, but since it was a low-level threat, you were able to stay at the tower. Some of the team had accompanied him, so the compound was a lot quieter than usual.

Wanda was preparing dinner while you and Sam sat at the counter debating conspiracy theories.

“I’m just saying, don’t you think we would know if Area 51 had aliens? We’re the Avengers, and Thor is literally an alien.” “No, Sam, because I don’t trust the government. Just because I technically work for them doesn’t mean I need to believe everything they say.”

Wanda chimed in, “I think it might be something from another dimension. Didn’t Dr. Strange mention something about a multiverse when he helped us with that mission last year?”

“Exactly,” you agreed, “it doesn’t have to be an ‘alien’ as we would define it.”

The lights started to flicker, and an uneasy knot formed in your stomach. Sam glanced at the lamp and back at you, “Y/N, are you doing this?”

“No, it must be a storm,” you responded, your voice shaky. FRIDAY’s voice spoke over the intercom, “There is a severe thunderstorm coming in. Flash flooding may occur.” It was like a vice was crushing your lungs. You didn’t want the others to see you panic over a storm, so you made up an excuse. “Ya know what guys, I’m not feeling hungry. I’m gonna go lie down for a bit.”

Wanda and Sam exchanged a look as you exited the kitchen but said nothing.

As you crawled under the covers of your bed, you put in your earbuds and started playing some soothing music. However it didn’t help, and nothing could help you fall asleep. You crept to the closet and pulled out an oversized shirt. Bucky had lent it to you during one of your reality tv marathons and you never ‘found the opportunity’ to give it back. At some point you probably could have, but you wanted to hold onto it for a little while longer.

Slipping it on over your head, you took a deep breath. It still had traces of his cologne on it, and it made you feel a bit safer. When you crawled back into bed, you fell asleep almost immediately.

A knock resounded at your bedroom door, and you answered groggily, “Come in.” “Hey doll, I just thought I’d let you know the mission went well. By the way, Sam mentioned that you were acting strange during last night’s storm,” he paused mid-sentence, a slight smirk on his lips, “Is that my shirt?”

You glanced down, vaguely remembering slipping it on the night before. “Possibly,” you answered sheepishly. “I couldn’t sleep and you weren’t here so I just, sorry,” you trailed off.

“It’s fine, it looks cute on you,” he mumbled, brushing a loose strand of hair back from his eyes. “But I came here to ask if you’re alright? Sam told me about you leaving when the storm hit and I was worried.” “I managed to fall asleep, but it took a while. I’m feeling better now, though.” “There’s another storm on the radar, do you want to go play Uno or something until it ends?” You smiled in response, “That sounds great, thank you.” When you put down the +4 card and called out “UNO!”, Bucky laughed and rolled his eyes.

“Wow, I had some good cards that time too. You’re lucky I decided not to play them.”

“Uh huh, I believe that,” you chuckled.

Later that night during the team movie night you found yourself sitting next to him, head on his shoulder. “I think I love you,” you whispered, thinking he wouldn’t hear. Hoping he wouldn’t hear.

He turned to look at you. Damn that supersoldier serum. “Say that again doll?”

Taking a deep breath, you felt your chest tighten. Might as well get it over with, you just hoped it wouldn’t ruin things between the two of you. “I love you,” you repeated, still a whisper, but more sure this time.

“I love you too. I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to mess things up, but I love you too.” “Look, I get you two are having a moment,” Sam said from the other side of the room, “but some of us are trying to watch a movie.”

~~~

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@sydneyisnotawriter

@dark-night-sky-99

Hey y’all! So this is from a prompt list I’ve been looking at for ideas. I will be posting the list right after this and will link it here! My ask box and inbox will be open to requests, just give me a number and ship! (No pedophillia or incest ships tho please!) As always, likes and reblogs are appreciated! Love you all <3 (And if you’re protesting please stay safe!)

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strayen-fx · 5 years

Text

Monochrome

Hyunjin x Reader

Genre: Fluff, Angst, Barista!AU, Soulmate!AU

Word count: 2k

Summary: You found him, and he found you. Everything felt perfect, but what if everything that you felt right has been wrong all along?

A/N: I've been wanting to try the bulletpoint type of au, so here it is! Not sure if I did it right, but I hope you enjoy it~

• Everyone believed in soulmates

• Well, not everyone, but you get what I mean

• Most people are too worked up with finding their own destined partner

• Hoping to see "the one" with whom they'll spend their life with

• Actually, there is a special bond shared between soulmates

• Once your soulmate dies, your world would turn black and white

• And I mean literally

• You will stop seeing colors, and everything you see would be in a bland monochrome, like an old movie

• You personally think it as a sad and sentimental part of people's destiny, but at the same time, you found it romantic.

• You don't know how people realize who their soulmate is, though

• Some people say they hear a bell when they walk past their soulmate

• Some people say they feel a slowmo moment, as if time stopped and all they can see is their soulmate in front of them

• Some people say that you would just feel it when the two of you met. It would be an unexplicable moment, something that nobody else but the two of you would understand.

• But, well, you don't know, really

• It's that time of the year when lovebirds are spotted everywhere

• And while you are secretly a hopeless romantic, you simply don't have the time to invest in a relationship

• You are a college student

• And needless to say, you're stressed af

• Midterm exams are coming, and there's a TON of things you need to review for your major subjects

• And there's your minor who loves to pretend being a major

• But anyway

• You just don't have time time to spare

• You spend most of your time in the library, burying yourself in books and notes

• Because you definitely did not procrastinate in the previous weeks

• But today, you find yourself in the cafe with your best friend

• Because you're hungry

• And you definitely need some caffeine in your system

• You were about to get lost in the world of numbers

• Lmao what was that

• And just then, this tall barista came to your table to serve your coffee

• And you did a double take

• Because god

• He's SO CUTE

• And he has such an adorable eye smile

• He smelled like coffee and morning sunshine

• And he GLOWED

• When your eyes met, your heartbeat picked up its pace

• Alexa play P.A.C.E. by 3RACHA

• Even after he left your table, you were still dazed

• You can't concentrate AT ALL

• You were staring at him the whole time you were there

• He catches your eyes sometimes, and you would immediately avert your gaze

• But he noticed you looking anyway

• So he would offer a small smile each time your eyes met

• And you were dying inside

• You convince yourself it's the coffee that makes you palpitate

• But MAAAAN

• A part of you was convinced

• "He definitely is my soulmate."

• I mean, nobody can possible make your insides go crazy, right?

• Except for the person who is destined to be with you for the rest of your lifetime

• It was a feeling you could not explain

• And when your eyes met for the nth time that day, you were sure of it: that barista is "the one"

• So

• After that day, you became a regular in that cafe

• And that's because their coffee tastes great

• Definitely NOT because of the cute barista

• Nope. Of course not.

• You soon learned that his name is Hyunjin. Hwang Hyunjin.

• What happened with the barista not being the reason why you're there

• You started having small talks each time while he's preparing your Americano

• 🎶Americano, joa joa joa 🎶

• You learned that he's also a student in your school, taking a major in dance

• And you were like, WOAH, that's why he's got a nice built

• After a few weeks of visiting the cafe, you inevitably became close to him

• And he also grew fond of you

• One day, you lost track of time. You stayed until the end of Hyunjin's shift

• You were surprised when someone took the seat opposite yours

• "You're not going home yet?" Hyunjin asked.

• You glanced at your phone. It's already seven in the evening.

• "O-oh? It's this late already?"

• "You need to eat proper dinner. Wanna go with me? My treat," he offered.

• And then he smiled

• And you were like, holy crab

• When God said he has no favorites, he definitely lied

• Because in front of you is a perfect being

• The epitome of beauty

• You simply nodded like the lovestruck you are

• He brought you to his favorite diner

• You weren't expecting much with the food, but once you took a bite of their pasta, you were like

• WOAH WHY DIDN'T I KNOW THIS PLACE BEFORE?

• Hyunjin was smiling at you as he watched you savor the dish

• At the end of the meal, he offered to walk you home

• You obliged, of course

• You were talking about random things while walking

• When suddenly the topic was brought to the idea of soulmates

• "I don't know... I guess I'll feel it once I saw him," you said.

• "Did you feel it when you saw me?"

• You stopped on your tracks, and you just looked at him

• You felt your blood rising up your neck to your cheek

• You noticed that Hyunjin's cheek was also tinged with pink

• And his ears were practically burning

• But he did his best to look straight into your eyes

• "Because I felt it when I saw you," Hyunjin said.

• You felt the sincerity in his voice when he said:

• "I like you, Y/N. No, scratch that -- I think I love you. I know we haven't known each other for long, but I know that you are my soulmate, and--"

• You would lie if you'd say that you didn't like him

• So you did the dumbest most sensible thing at the moment

• You kissed him

• Ohmygod you kissed Hyunjin

• Hyunjin's eyes widened in surprise

• But he immediately recovered and kissed you back

• He was smiling through your kiss

• You can't help but think of how lucky you are to be Hwang Hyunjin's soulmate

• Soooo

• The two of you became official

• You continued spending your free time in the cafe, waiting for Hyunjin's shift to end so the two of you could hang out after

• You were having your date practically every week

• Everything felt perfect. Everything felt right.

• You hadn't even noticed that time flew right past by, until one day you were already celebrating your second year anniversary

• Yeah, time flew so fast

• You've done a lot of things together

• Hyunjin felt so happy to have you as his partner

• And nothing can convince him otherwise

• And you were beyond happy to have him as your soulmate

• And there were no doubts in your mind

• Until one day

• You fell asleep in one of your classes

• And when you woke up, you couldn't believe your eyes

• Everything you saw was in black and white

• You immediately grabbed your phone to call Hyunjin

• He wasn't answering

• You ran all the way to the cafe where Hyunjin was working

• You didn't care if you stumbled and fell and got a couple bruises and scratches

• A lot of people were looking at you weirdly, but you didn't care

• When you got to the cafe, you saw a lot of people

• Ordering

• Hyunjin was there at the counter, busily preparing the drinks of the customers

• Just then, your knees lost their strength

• You fell right there in the middle of the cafe

• You broke into tears

• You didn't know what else happened, the next moment Hyunjin was there hugging you, asking you what was wrong, peppering you with soft kisses

• He brought you to the staff room, tending to your small wounds while trying to calm you down

• And honestly, you didn't know if you were crying out of relief that Hyunjin was alright

• Or out of the fact that Hyunjin was not your real soulmate

• After the fateful day, you refused to tell Hyunjin about what really happened

• You did your best to pretend that everything was normal, but Hyunjin knew something was wrong

• He would catch you looking at him with sad eyes

• Sometimes he would see you crying

• When he asked you, you would simply say that you are stressed with your academics

• He knew you were lying

• But he can't bring himself to confront you

• Because you would just hug him and bury yourself in his arms

• The whole thing was taking its toll on you

• You would sometimes ask yourself: Who is Hyunjin's soulmate? Are they suffering, because I stole the person they were meant to be with?

• You thought: Of course -- who am I to think I deserve someone like Hyunjin to be my soulmate?

• You felt bad for your real soulmate -- they died, and you were out there thinking of somebody else. You were there on somebody else's arms, instead of staying by their side.

• You were out strolling one night, thinking and rethinking all over again, when suddenly, it rained so hard

• You have your umbrella in your bag, but you just didn't have the energy to take it

• You walked in the rain, soaked and drenched, shivering

• Then you saw someone barreling towards you

• You can't process anything at the time

• The person crashed to you, tackling you into a hug.

• "H-Hyunjin?"

• "What are you doing?!?! Do you want to get sick?! Do you want to get into an accident?!?! What are you thinking?!??!"

• He broke away from the hug to inspect your face

• He has an umbrella, but he was also drenched because he ran from place to place to look for you

• You cried even more

• You cried, because you knew that you didn't deserve someone like him

• You didn't deserve someone like Hyunjin

• Someone is out there, destined for him, destined to be with him

• And that person is not you

• You tried to smile at him, but instead, you can't help but break down

• "I'm sorry, Jinnie. This is all wrong. I'm a terrible person."

• "What are you saying?"

• "I don't see colors anymore. Everything is in black and white."

• He was silent for a while. He was just staring at your eyes.

• And then: "So?"

• His word took you by surprise.

• "'So?' That's the only word you're gonna say? I'm not your soulmate, Hyunjin! My soulmate is somewhere... dead! And your soulmate... Your soulmate is somewhere else! It's not me! You should be looking for them instead of staying with me!"

• Hyunjin's eyes softened. "I can't see colors, too."

• The world stopped, and at the time, you weren't seeing anything else but the man staring right into you.

• "W-what?"

• "It started just when we began dating," Hyunjin explained. "I was in the middle of my shift, and then suddenly, I felt dizzy. I lost consciousness, and when I woke up, I suddenly can't see colors anymore.

• "I ran to the campus then, but just in time I saw you going out of your class."

• "Y-Yeah, I vaguely remember that," you answered. "You just showed up in your barista uniform and bear-hugged me out of nowhere."

• Hyunjin smiled softly. "I thought I lost you. As selfish as it may sound, I was happy that you're not my soulmate."

• You felt stuck in the ground, frozen. You didn't know what to feel, nor what to say.

• You were sad

• And at the same time, you were happy

• You felt sad that your actual soulmate has died

• But at the same time

• You are happy that Hyunjin is standing in front of you

• You are happy that Hyunjin stayed

• Despite knowing that you weren't each other's soulmate

• He took your cold hand into his equally freezing hand

• "I can live forever in this monochromatic world, if that would mean spending every minute with you. I don't mind living in black and white as long as I have you by my side -- as long as I could live my life with you.

• "Are you willing to stay with me?"

• You nodded immediately, tears reforming in your eyes

• But they weren't brought by grief this time

• They were brought by love

• "You are all the colors in one, Hyunjin. I need nothing else but you."

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galacticguppy · 4 years

Text

Warm Moments in Cold Rain

Words: 2,029

Summary: After Marble Hornets, Tim and Jay moved on with their lives. They got married and adopted five kids- Vinny, Evan, Jeff, Alex, and Steph. Things are going well, but then the Operator starts showing up again, and the Merrick-Wright family is forced to go on the run.

Thanks @yourpersonaljaskier for helping me come up with the title!

~~~

Tim hated hotels. He had spent far too many nights curled up under crappy sheets, afraid to go to sleep because he didn't know if he'd be safe when he woke up, didn't know if he'd be himself when he woke up, to regard them with anything but anger and dread.

He had never wanted to spend another night in a hotel, scared for his life. And he had definitely never wanted his kids to have to.

It wasn't fair. He thought it was over.

It was supposed to have been over. It had been years since Brian and Alex died, and he and Jay had been doing well. They had stayed on the road for a while afterwards, still looking over their shoulders, but nothing seemed to be following them. No masked men, no murderous former friends, no horrifying creatures. And so eventually, they stopped looking.

They got jobs, and they rented an apartment. They started putting their pills in the medicine cabinet instead of under their mattress. They started sleeping in the same bed, with Jay's camera tucked away in a drawer instead of set up to watch over them. They started going on dates, and instead of being nervous about getting lost in the woods, Tim was nervous about impressing his boyfriend.

Things had been normal. Things had been wonderful. They'd gotten married, and adopted kids, and Tim had never been happier. His whole life he'd been pretty sure he was going to die young and bloody, but now here he was, with a beautiful husband and five amazing kids, a house and a good job, like some kind of- some kind of normal person.

He'd made it. It was over.

Or at least he thought it was. But now he was here, in a shitty hotel room with Jay and all five of their kids, and he felt watched in a way he hadn't in years.

"Why are we staying in a hotel, Dad?"

Tim was startled out of his thoughts by one of his kids, Vinny, sitting down on the bed next to him. The rest of his children were crowded on the other bed, watching over Evan's shoulder as he played some DS game.

Vinny's glasses shone in the too-bright light of the hotel room, and for the barest fraction of a second, Tim felt a familiar fear curl in his gut. But then he blinked, and it was just Vinny- his son- and he immediately felt guilty for having been afraid. Alex was gone. That, at least, was over.

"Are we running from the monster in the window?" Vinny asked.

Oh boy. This was not a conversation that Tim was looking forward to. But Vinny was looking up at him expectantly, and the others had started to take notice of them talking.

"Yeah, Vin, we're here because of the monster." Tim put his arm around Vinny's shoulder and beckoned the rest of his family over to the foot of the bed. Jay sat down on the other side of Vinny, and the other kids piled on around them. The mattress dipped under the weight of five preteens and two fully-grown men.

"So, you kids have all been seeing something that looks like a tall, faceless man around the house recently, right?" Tim asked.

The kids all nodded.

"And you said that you've seen it before, too, when you were still in the system." That was frightening. Tim hated to think that there might be more kids out there who were suffering because of this thing.

"That's why we left the house. That thing is dangerous, so we're trying to get away from it. We'll probably be on the road for a while. We might have to..."

Tim trailed off. He had thought about this before, but this was the first time he was going to say it out loud.

"We might have to move away."

When Tim and Jay had bought their house, they had made sure that they were far, far away from Rosswood Park and the old hospital. Apparently, it wasn't far enough. They would probably have to leave the state to get away from it. Of course, that was assuming it couldn't just follow them anywhere they went.

Tim felt shaky. For the first time in five years, he wanted a smoke.

Jay reached around Vinny to squeeze Tim's shoulder. He gave his husband a small smile and then turned to address the children.

"We might be on the run for a while, but I promise you we'll keep you safe. That thing is- well, it's really bad, it's dangerous- but your Dad and I have beat it before," Jay assured them.

"Really?" Steph asked. "When? Before you adopted us?"

Jay nodded. "When we were younger, it followed us and some of our friends for a few years."

That was one hell of an oversimplification, but it was probably best to leave out most of the details. They didn't want to scar the kids for life.

Though, there were a few things they should probably tell them.

"Evan, you know the episodes you have sometimes?" Tim asked. Evan nodded. They all remembered the panic of trying to find Evan after he'd disappeared, and how distraught he'd been when they found him, sobbing over the already long-cold body of a rabbit. He had woken up screaming for weeks after that.

"Well," Tim said, "when your Poppa and I were dealing with this- the first time- something similar happened to me."

He took a deep breath before continuing.

"I had episodes where I wasn't in control of my own body, and when I woke up, I couldn't remember what had happened. It was like I had been sleepwalking."

It hadn't happened for years, but he hoped to god his medicine didn't run out while they were on the run. Tim wasn't keen on finding out if he could still tackle Jay to the ground.

"I tried to ignore at first," Tim said, "but that didn't go so well." He gave Jay a wry smile. The look that he got in return was closer to a grimace. Tim wondered if he was thinking about all the times they'd almost died.

"And I'm not going to let my kids handle this as poorly as your Pop and I did. If something weird happens- memory loss, someone acting strange, headaches, anything- you tell us, ok?"

The kids nodded.

"Dad?" Jeff asked. "The monster can teleport, right? What happens if it gets in here?"

Jay shot Tim a worried look, but Tim just got up from the bed and said, "Wait here."

He walked across the hotel room to where their hastily-packed suitcases stood next to a dusty green pull-out couch. After digging in his suitcase for a few minutes, he pulled out a dented metal bat.

"If you see it, run," he said. "But if you can't, hit it with this."

Jeff's eyes lit up.

"Will that work?"

"Who knows," Tim replied. "But it's better than not doing anything, right?" He handed the bat to Jeff, who took it with an excited smile.

"Do you think that it might leave us alone if we beat it up?" Jeff asked, turning the bat over in his hands.

"Uh, I wouldn't-"

"Maybe!" Evan cut Tim off before he could object to his kids trying to fight an eldritch monster.

"I bet we could take it in a fight," Evan continued, puffing his chest out. "I mean, it's just some tall dude in a suit, right? I've fought tall people before."

Steph rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but this isn't a person, dummy. It's got powers and stuff, you're not going to beat it in a knife fight."

"Don't call your brothers names, sweetie," Jay reprimanded, his voice more fond than lecturing.

"She's right, though," Alex spoke up. He had taken his hat off when they got to the hotel room, and now he was worrying the edge of the earflap between his fingers.

"We'd probably need a lot of force to stop it," he said. "We could shoot it or something?"

"Maybe we could run it over!" Vinny suggested. The room exploded with chatter as the kids started talking over each other. The anxious tension in the room had dissipated, and now the kids were chatting excitedly. The conversation quickly turned to discussing how to get the creature to stand still long enough that they could hit it with the car.

Tim sighed. Vehicular manslaughter probably wasn't their best option, but he was glad that the kids were having fun. He turned to give Jay a smile, only to find his husband completely engaged in the kids' conversation, which was getting less plausible by the minute. Tim had to stifle a laugh. Jay was listening so intensely Tim thought he might start taking notes.

The springs of the old hotel beds creaked and groaned as the kids began to move between them, still talking about how they were going to defeat the monster. Eventually, the plan got so convoluted that Jay couldn't follow it, and he got up to go take the first shower, giving Tim a quick kiss on his way to the bathroom.

Tim lay back on the bed and stared up at the hotel room's bumpy ceiling as the kids talked. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't scared- terrified, even- of what was ahead. If his past experiences were anything to go on, it wouldn't be easy. It might be a long time before this was over. Hell, it might never be over- that thing might follow them until the day they died.

But Tim would be damned if he wasn't going to go down fighting tooth and nail to keep his family safe. Even if that thing followed them forever- if it followed them to the ends of the earth- he was going to protect the people he loved.

Tim closed his eyes. The kids were still chatting, though their conversation had moved on from the monster. It was past their bedtime by now, but Tim wasn't going to say anything. They could sleep in the car tomorrow if they got tired.

The sound of the water running in the bathroom was loud in the hotel room. It was soothing. Tim yawned. He was getting really tired; maybe he'd take his shower in the morning instead. He wanted to get up early tomorrow so that they could get on the road.

He must have drifted off at some point, because he woke to Jay gently shaking his shoulder. He blinked groggily and looked around the room. Jeff and Alex were curled up on the pull-out couch, already fast asleep. Vinny, Evan, and Steph were sitting on the other bed in their pajamas, quietly arguing about who was going to have to sleep in the middle.

"Hey, honey," Jay said, smiling down at Tim. "Do you want to actually get in the bed, or are you just going to lie on top of it?"

Tim grinned and leaned forward to catch Jay in a kiss.

"Hmm, I don't know," he hummed. "I'm pretty happy here."

Jay rolled his eyes, smiling fondly. Tim slid off the bed and got back in under the covers. Jay got in next to him and tucked his head against Tim's chest. Tim wrapped his arms around him and pressed a kiss to the top of Jay's head. Jay was warm, like his own personal space heater.

On the other bed, the kids had finally settled down. A quiet settled over the hotel room, broken only by the occasional creaking of the bedsprings as the kids shifted.

Tim sighed happily and nestled closer to Jay. He didn't know what the future was going to bring, and that scared him. But he wasn't going to worry about that tonight. Tonight he was content to cuddle up with his husband and listen to his children's breathing even out as they fell asleep. Let the future come. Tonight he was safe, with his family beside him, and that was all he could have asked for.

#tim wright #jay merrick #vinny everyman #jeff koval #alex koval #evan jennings #marble hornets #everymanhybrid #jam mh #steph emh

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