#yes mother Mei was a bit rude to her mother that happens to be the point of the movie

[thearoacescout]

Pixar and Queer Stories

With the new teaser trailer for Inside Out 2, I think this is a good time to point out that if there is any animated movie that has the potential of showing a beautiful queer coming out story - its this one. Let me explain.

Pixar is known for its great people-focused story telling. They focus on the struggles of different groups of people through metaphors and allegories and that's how they create relatable and inspiring stories with powerful messages. The metaphors that they use sometimes go over people's heads, but they still provide a good starting point for more serious conversations about hard topics. Inside Out especially takes this to a whole different level by literally being about the emotions one has while going through points of life. We see that inner conflict within Riley's head as she struggles to adapt to her new life. Despite never moving as a kid, I was able to feel and relate to her because they did a great job of showing the struggle between joy and sadness. Imagine if they showed that struggle in relations to accepting one's own queerness.

I don't know about y'all, but I was in heavy denial for a while about my asexuality and aromanticism. That couldn't be me. I was already told that I would grow up, get married, and have my 2.5 kids. There was a lot of fear, disgust, and anger in discovering myself and I can only imagine what other people felt as well.

With the increase of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments in many parts of the States, this type of story could easily show how hard it can be to accept yourself as queer. It's not just something for attention. It's not something that we decided on because of the internet. It's not something that we are confused about or needs to be fixed. It's a part of who we are.

Even if it is only a small part of the story or just subtly put in there, it would be great to see that inner conflict so more people can understand that struggle when so few do. Inside Out is perfectly structured to show this type of story and to let people know that it is okay to have complicated emotions about your identity.

[thoughtfulstudentsalad]

AnY Chapter 204 Review

It was a good chapter, although politically, it disappointed me.

There have been debates among readers about whether or not Su-Won was in character. The way he compartmentalized everything (but now slowly failing to do so) was, but I don't know about how hastily he jumped to kill Mei-nyan. Honestly a very Su-Won thing to do would rather be to pretend to accept her offer, use her knowledge to win the war, then kill her after. Did the thought of taking her hostage NOT occur to him? What happened to the king who seeks to minimize sacrifices? Who strategizes the most efficient path?

This time, it seems he had no patience for that because she went into a tirade about Hiryuu being great. As Soo-Won believes that blood-relation doesn't just entitle you to anything (as expected, he killed his own uncle), the fact that this applied to Mei may have played into Soo-Won's resentment to think it was better if she was killed, as she seemed no different from Il.

Evil Twins mistranslated this, but Su-Won does NOT say that he got ill after ascending the throne - Mei-Nyan tells him he “should be aware of the existence of King Hiryuu” which triggers the headache and flashback of Il that we’ve seen 5 times now. Phew, does this traumatize him. 

Now we have actually seen such a similar expression before! On his mother! 

“The beautiful hair caused Yon-Hi to remember the existence of King Hiryuu”

Does the pain get stronger the more aware the descendants are of King Hiryuu? A legitimate question of what causes the illness to sprout. 

Su-Won’s response in return, “I’m so fed up with it (the pain)” shows he is at his wits end now because this woman triggered yet another headache because she made him think of King Hiryuu.  

He says his thoughts aloud, clearly for the first time, “I wonder why the reincarnation of King Hiryuu and the dragons were born.”

Hearing the outright rejection of King Hiryuu, Yona is petrified. 

And it’s interesting, because she has never heard this direct attack on who she is until this point. We as readers have seen Su-Won reject God, so, SO many times to count. This is the first time Yona sees it in the present. This is the first time she also sees it directed straight at her. 

Because it’s pretty much Su-Won wishing Yona was never born, right? 

Until the betrayal, they had a genuine friendship, and even then Su-Won clearly still cared about her, so surely Yona had never imagined that Su-Won would ever say something like this, that it would be nice if she were never born. It is quite jarring. Were the years they spent all a lie, then? 

Moving on, we then see Mei-nyan understanding that negotiations have collapsed. She begins to freak out, and when Hyoo-ri appears, she bolts. 

I must say, for supposedly a strategist, Mei-nyan was pretty naive and reckless. It appears that the others were prepared to kill her prior to this meeting, but she comes thinking her talk would succeed. She doesn't even think of a back-up plan in the case the king doesn't agree.

She doesn't even tell Su-Won that she was previously a general. We all know, being a general is 100x more valuable to him then being a descendant or a concubine with false intel, any day.

I can argue that the negotiations might have not failed if she'd not talked about Hiryuu and instead about being a general or how shitty Kai treated her and how she actually is loyal to Kouka. She is reckless, that one! How did she ever become a general with such a personality?!?! People like her certainly don’t live long. 

Luckily, Jae-ha appears to save the day. And I actually really like this scene, because... Mei-Nyan is clearly affected by how the same dragon who vowed to protect Yona and did not let Mei-Nyan hit her, is NOW protecting her. 

This is what she always wanted, and she is shooooook. Look at her pained eyebrows. I feel for Mei-nyan here. Also Jae-ha, ouch. 

Yona runs to save the day with her merciful nature, as she always seems to do. Kye-Sook, who finds it a “quaint” quality like her late father, asks her to stand down. (most hilarious line) 

Then Yona asks Su-Won for his opinion, but Su-Won, who was already in annoyed mode, is now directing it towards Yona, who has come running to interfere. He is fed up thinking about it and does not want to deal with her. 

Yona still does not back down. “Turn over here! Even if you don’t need me, even if you’re fed up, look me in the eye and talk!” 

Very strong words. Until this I have never seen Yona be so direct with Su-Won, even if she harbored hatred, even if she was very calm. And this probably is because she felt rather hurt by Su-Won’s words. Understandable.

Next we see Su-Won explode: “I already said, this doesn’t concern you!” 

OKAY we get it Su-Won, calm the F down. 

Yeeeeeesh, this rude spitting viper is the same guy who was only gentle and kind with his younger cousin?????? 

let’s be honest if Hak saw Su-Won shouting at Yona he would wreck him 100x harder than he already wanted to

.....Perhaps we should just accept that familial ties don’t matter to this dude, especially if you’re a King Hiryuu reincarnation telepathically blowing his brains out because he doesn’t pay you enough attention. Can you blame him?

His line is rather ambiguous though. Does he mean it like, “stop being a fucking nuisance, I’m the king right now, this concerns me not you” 

OR is it like, “this conflict I have with King Hiryuu doesn’t concern you, you are Yona!” Maybe he doesn’t want Yona to feel bad about being born like his mother did? 

Maybe he is struggling with both meanings. Who knows.  

Now, after that Yona attempts to make him see past the entire conflict with Mei-nyan’s interest in Hiryuu and the dragons AND the fact that she has knowledge of the secret. 

And I can see Yona's point. Yon-Hi's existential crisis, seeing a red haired girl "steal" what belonged to her clan, is similar to Mei-nyan's. 

It makes sense. Why should he be so quick to kill her? She has clearly suffered herself. 

It seems like Su-Won wasn't thinking straight and realized later that he isn't just his father's son, but also his mother's, because now, he lightens her fate to imprisonment. Yes, imprisonment. Letting this woman go is obviously not the right idea either, especially after they acted so hostile to her, no guarantee that she still wants to negotiate. 

The big mistake though, is that everyone from Kouka, even Yona, underestimated Mei. None of them know that she could easily break out of jail if she wished. Even while in pain from the Crimson illness, she’s able to wound (possibly kill!) these soldiers. 

....Except our favorite MC Hak, doing 6000+ sit-ups like it’s nothing, is about to know!!!!!! 

I think Hak will the one to learn this first, and I actually think they could form some alliance based on being ex-generals. This girl will fill Hak in on wtf the Crimson illness is, and we might finally see Hak’s reaction -- OH SHIT, Su-Won actually hates something??? Maybe Hak’s beloved Princess is more involved with that than he’d like. 

I don't think they will go a love triangle of Hak-Mei-Yona route, at least I really hope not, because Hak is loyal af and that does not need to change one bit. At most it'd be funny to see Yona get slightly jealous but honestly I'm not sure if that's necessary either. 

Anyway! I would have preferred Mei-nyan stayed an antagonist rather than yet another talk-no-jutsu ally of Yona’s. But okay. We’ll see where this goes, along with the reasons Hiryuu even came down to Earth to start with. 

(On a side note, Zeno was great this chapter, wasn’t he? I missed hearing his words of wisdom)

[prewar-james]

He gets the news of Jin Guangshan's death throught the television.

They say he was found dead in his bed, had a heart attack in the middle of the night and there was no one there to help him. Meng Yao doesn't have to know much about his father to know that is unlikely. Not to speculate about a dead man, but the idea of him not having some woman or another in his bed every night almost makes him want to laugh.

--

Some time later, after the funeral and all the rituals to which he was not invited, Meng Yao gets a call from an unkown number.

"Hello? Is this Meng Yao?" a woman's voice asks when he picks it up.

"Yes? Who is this?"

"Ah, good. I am Qiao Mei, Jin Zixuan's lawyer," she states simply.

"... What?"

Mistaking his surprise for misunderstanding, she repeats the words instead of giving further explanation.

"Why are you calling me?" He doesn't mean to be rude, but the lady isn't exactly being helpful.

"It's about Jin Guangshan's will."

Now that bluescreens his brain. Jin Guangshan's will? What the hell?

"Um..." He tries to figure out what is going on, but the only reason he can think of to why there is a lawyer calling him about his father's will is completely absurd. He asks anyway. "Did he leave me something?"

"Well, not exactly," Qiao Mei doesn't answer. "Jin Zixuan wants to meet with you, if you're willing."

Couldn't he call me himself?, he wants to ask, but decides it'd be too much trouble.

Meng Yao agrees to the meeting, and the next day finds him at the door of the lawyer's office at the scheduled time.

The surprises don't seem to stop, he finds as he opens the door and sees two people already there, sitting at the big meeting's table, a woman close to his age with dark and perfectly straight hair, and a very young man with messy bangs and- eyeliner? They look familiar, even though he is sure he never met them. Meng Yao never forgets a face. The laywer and Jin Zixuan are nowhere to be seen.

The man gets up first, his enthusiasm seeming a little out of place in the serious atmosphere of the office. "Hi! Who are you? I'm Mo Xuanyu, but you can call me Xuanyu. Do you know what's happening?" he lets out a little too fast, striding across the room to shake Meng Yao's hand. He is nervous, Meng Yao notices, but his bright smile does a good job of masking it. Meng Yao can sympathise.

Before he can answer, Mo Xuanyu is talking again, almost dragging Meng Yao to the side of the table where the lady is still seated. "This is my friend, Qin Su. She's pregnant! She doesn't know what's happening either." Meng Yao suspects friend might be an exageration, but he doesn't point it out.

The lady, Qin Su, makes to get up to greet him, but Meng Yao sees her struggle and gestures with his hand. She settles back into the chair with a grateful look and a sweet smile.

"Hello, I'm Meng Yao, pleased to meet you." He shakes Qin Su's hand and plasters on his best costumer-service smile, deciding it's the modus operandi he is going for until he can figure out what all this is about.

"Hi," she answers quietly as Meng Yao and Mo Xuanyu sit next to her, one on each side. "Jin Zixuan's lawyer called you too?"

Meng Yao nods and is about to ask if she has met him, but gets interrupted by the door to the room opening. Qiao Mei enters the room, followed by Jin Zixuan, and wastes no time in sitting across from the other three, a heavy-looking folder landing on the table. Brief greetings are exchanged, but soon Qiao Mei takes the lead.

"Thank you all for coming. As I said, this is about Jin Guangshan's will, and what he left, or rather, didn't leave for you. As his children, you all have a share in the inheritance, but as he didn't mention any of you in the will, this can lead to juridical complications. To avoid fighting in court, which you still can do, Jin Zixuan wanted to offer an agreement."

Finally, finally she pauses. Meng Yao pinches the bridge of his nose at the feel of a headache forming, his thoughs rushing through his mind. The news of his father having more illegitimate children doesn't come exactly as a surprise, but he never expected to meet them, especially not in these circumstances. He didn't expect anything from his father, not after getting literally thrown out of his house when he was fourteen, but now Jin Zixuan is trying to... what? Offer him money? Make ammends? It doesn't make any sense.

As the baffled silence drags on, Meng Yao lifts his head and catches his expression mirrowed on both Qin Su and Mo Xuanyu's face. His siblings. What the fuck.

"What the fuck." Meng Yao hears Mo Xuanyu echo his thoughts and immediatly clap his hands to his mouth. Meng Yao lets out a surprised laugh while Jin Zixuan grimaces at the realization that perhaps Qiao Mei didn't take the best approach to the issue.

"Well..." he starts, clearly struggling with what to say next. "I uh- I know my father wasn't the best person in the world." That gets him three sets of identical raised eyebrows. "And I know the three of you weren't treated fairly by him, being at best ignored and at worst..." he trails off, glancing at Meng Yao. Kicked down the stairs doesn't need saying. What happened was no secret, and it still stings a little bit, but it was a long time ago. Meng Yao is over it. "But," Jin Zixuan gets out before someone can interrupt "I want to, well, not fix it, but offer some compensation. You are his blood, after all."

A few moments pass as the three process Jin Zixuan's words. Qin Su is the one to gather her wits first.

"How do you know it's just the three of us? We all know your father's reputation, are you sure we are the only other children?"

Jin Zixuan grimaces again, but doesn't break eye contact with her. "I'm not. We tried to locate others, but if they exist, they have no idea. Not like your mothers were sure."

Hm. Interesting.

--

They spend almost two hours talking, wrangling the deal and writting official documents, and when Meng Yao leaves the room, he has two more siblings and is a few signatures away from getting a life-changing amount of money to his name.

[stray-tori]

An Innocent Sin & the good gay flashback ft. my descent into madness

I wasn’t sure if I should post this but I mostly want it archived so here we go. This is from like,, September?

So. “An Innocent Sin” is a dumpster fire unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I don’t remember why I decided to read it. maybe I was crazy. Either way... I read it. It soon started to touch upon (very very outlandish) sexual abuse which I thought was interesting. (the angst, not so much some of the wack circumstances surrounding it)

ANYWAY. at some point... we have a flashback. And not just that. It has a gay character.

And it turns rly gay. which mind you, is still in a het smut manwha (that has a “gay” side couple, but still!)

And it destroyed me.

For those who want to read it because I genuinely think the flashback is a decent bit, it’s all the bonus chapters between chapter 77 and 78 I think. There’s a part before that too, but idk where exactly anymore. (It’s on lezhin! or your platform of choosing)

I don’t THINK you’ll need any other knowledge to get the flashback bit? but it’s been a while.

Below the cut (rip mobile users), you can read all of my amazing reactions (all of these were text messages, for context - but I took most of the replies and convos about other things out). Post is also tagged as long post. :))

(i’m serious, this is fucking long)

__________

Here I am. Liking the gay flashback character. Feck. Main dude is still straight but idk it's cute pff

This is a mess. The girl white hair likes, likes black hair, maybe, but thinks white hair is attractive

What just happened is sth I'd like to know too pff He's so cute tho omg. Watch me melt Can we stay in this flashback before everything got perverted af and before white hair gets assaulted all the time I would send an eyebrow emote if I could Context: he's asking he says it again

Ik it's not mutual but loookkk he's so sweet. He's kinda rude in present time, can't we stay in this flashback forever

I never asked for gay, never expected gay but I got gay

This story is trash why am I still reading it shdhhd

He caught his mom cheating. And now she's forcing him to watch??? What is thissss Well adoptive mom But still sudhdidu what Bitch how dare YOU exist

Save my babyyyy

Yay sister that's not yet a rapist to the rescueee

This flashback is actually just nicer in every way let's just stay here This is a super long flashback btw Idek anymore what triggered it

Okay I think I'm gonna make the sensible decision and let this dumpster fire rest and just go sleep

It was very wild. I kinda wanna see white hair get therapy but it has 90 chapters and I'm at like 30... So I'm very concerned this is gonna be very dragged out. Idek if it's even finished ahahsududi - but I do kinda wanna see where it goes and see more cute Noah (white hair) so. Here we are.

yeahhh like i was down for the sexual abuse angst but then the mother killed the adoptive son's mother bc the dad had a thing for her?? and it was someone a person studying with white hair knew and so he's investigating and I'm like how did this turn into a crime organisation kind of plot

hhhhhhh i... i appreciate these horny things also tackling abuse but it always kind of gives me weird vibes to have both, especially when its very horny. And when people are horny to people who've been abused. Idk but I'd assume... you might try NOT to tie them up if they're frequently bondaged during their assaults. I'm just.... disjdksdj hello?? am i weird?? why are they fine with it???

also this manwha is so wild, theres this murder mystery investigation thing and then theres just a couple doing honry stuff sprinkled in between and i'm like OKAY

they rescued a guy in their basement and he's understandably very traumatized and they're trying to question him cut to our main couple trying bondage which i still dont understand bECAUSE HE'S A RAPE VICITM WHY ARE YOU OKAY WITH THIS the ones questioning arent the main couple of course but idshkjds

like im glad he's somehow okay with all this horny stuff despite his trauma and im glad he can be happy and have a nice relationship but DO WE NEED THIS MUCH OF IT he's very cute tho

i like that even when i try other stuff lezhin recommends me it still has large amount of gay in it

[mei: i mean... that's pretty great, if you ask me]

I mean I agree, I'm enjoying the gay eheheh these tonal whiplashes there's not even that much white space between the panels fhjd nvm it just turned horny goddamn it can there be 1 chapter without fucking? okay, there were the flashbacks

WE ARE BACK IN FLASHBACKS but im not getting the gay relationship, sad

OH WAIT AM I GETTING GAY COMFORT bc thats very good too

OH NNOOO this turned sad very quickly

I'M SORRY IM SPAMMING BUT THIS IS JUST ANGSTY

I'M :((((

different species confirmed

I rly like them :((( I like the current girl too but it's just..... very horny with her. the flashbacks are nice [current tori edit: she’s very unloyal idk why i said I liked her] im weird HHHHH RIPPP 

someone help him he looks so saddddd

not sure if thats the most healthy relationship but I'LL TAKE IT

AWWW black hair's mom cooks mild food for them bc Noah can't eat spicy food :((( im soft

PFFF

I LOVE THE FLASHBACKS :(((

awww

i feel like theyve done much more bonding than noah's current relationship. I mean yes I think its cute when she comforts him, too, but they rarely do anything besides be horny together

OH OH THEY'RE KISSING

best buildup, honestly

the position is hornier than I'd like later here goes hope it stays cute

D-did someone just respect the word "stop"??? I am amazed

i think you might uh. have some trauma stuff too so yknow

Dohye is a little dramatic in his reassurance but it's all rly cute so I'm :(( I like them a lot pls stay like this getting invested in flashbacks is always like: ik it wont stay but pls stay like this

hELP

chapters ending in "i wanna touch him" is never good. I'm scared. Oh okay he didnt do anything. PHEW. He's already better than the girl, can't they just end up together lmao

[Noah was jealous]

w-why do you look so evil dohye haukdhjs

oh. oh no. the horny is starting. pls dont... just be cute forever

DOHYE NO YOU WERE SO DECENT WHY ARE YOU LYING ABOUT KOREAN TRADITIONS TO GET HIM TO DO STUFF HORNY STUFF TOO NO PLS STOP I JUST- WHEEE TvT the manwha is actually less visually horny in the flashbacks but im not sure if its bc its BL which isnt rly the genre of the manwha or if its bc they're still kids basically, which... I'd respect the latter, tho I'd prefer it to be like this constantly haha

okay. he's not respecting stop anymore, but it's also more of embarrassed nature more than "no i dont want this stop" so maybe i can forgive it. Still losing points, but he hugged him and it was sweet so HHHHHHHHHHH NOT SURE HOW I SHOULD JUDGE THIS SITUATION

They [Noah’s family] forbid him to visit his friends house I AM DEVASTATED

understandable they're a rapist, a fucked up murderer mother and a father with a thing for younger women so

tho he dont know any of that but yknow he's so pretty just fucking end me on the spot

hooo

they are boyfriends and ik from the future that his sister is gonna ruin it allll she has those drugs that make visual imaginations feel like they rly happened to the person (dont know if thats real but holy fuck its terrifying) and she's used it before to say that Noah assualted her. and im pretty sure shes gonna use it again bc there was a panel of Noah remembering Dohye being uhhhh intimate with her and thats why Noah began to hate him and im so sad im not ready for it. bc he's denied it in the future and i honestly couldnt see it happening even before that or she drugged Dohye, i guess thats a possibility too

[current tori: oh girl, it’s neither and it’s wack]

which if, btich you gonna die even more enough rambling, more reading. this makes me so sad but also spicy

on the manwha note, he thinks Noah doesnt like his family bc he's adopted and doesnt feel comfy which....... fair enough i suppose. and he's so cute im gonna melt just looK AT THIS 

SHUt UP, IM GONNA CRY

OH MY GODDDD he ate like ice and gum and all that, and Dohye assumed it was bc of the more spicy food and got rl worried, but he was just trying to get the smell out of his breath bc he wanted to kiss him ukhsdjs HOW CAN YOU BE SO CUTE HELLLOOOOOOOOO

look at them. LOOK AT mY BABIESSSS

how am i ever gonna care about the main couple again aww he-he wanted to go to the same highschool as him :((( im sad bc i know its not gonna happennnnnn

[mei: also at this point, you're literally never gonna care about them. i don't even know the main couple that well and i honestly don't care about them whatsoever.]

WAIT NO they're actually going to the same school awww ik it wont take long until sister fucks it up for them but for now theyre so sweet ohmygodddd

cant he move in with them, fuck his family honestly

dohye he's not a fucking pokemon iukhsdjs

oh. its. turning horny i am displeased with this development but i guess its natural for their relationship however COULD YOU DO IT AT HOME AND NOT IN SOME DUSTY SMALL ROOM how do ppl do this i like that the comments too are just "... is anyone still carng about the other girl?" sakjds

this is the best 3 panels in existence.

h-he just took your hand dohye idk what to tell you

[mei: "you blush at everything i do" god if that isn't me, idk what is]

awww its cute dohye is getting bonus points bc he invited Noah over while his mom wasnt home, they watched some sexual stuff and he DIDNT try to do anything what is this where can i get more of this

"well im not okay"

MY BABIESSSS 

they still didnt do much btw they're just kinda exploring and its honestly nice TvT I dont want this to ever endddd

[Dohye sees Noah’s sister and approaches her] N O

N OOOO

this is the starttttt of something.......... TERRIBLEEEE 

:((( babyyyy

I AM EMO

Noah was drugged im sure. hes having dreams and waking up in pain and the sister is asking doyhe over I DONT LIKE THISSSSSSS OH HE DECLINED

OKAY OKAY he saw him with her again but it was from behind and im not sure if it rly happened??? oh no this is terrible. Noah :((( poor child

i am so emo about this

[reminder he’s been abused TvT]

[the sister: “Don’t you want to know why?”]

i will. murder someone he called to ask her to delete his number btw what is this manwha but this is just gonna make it that more tragic when whatever happens that breaks them apart :(((

he's such a good bf but Noah just wont TELL him his side I'M SO SAD

I AM SO SAD

No

NO

It cant end im actually tearing up nooo you were so cuteeee and happpyyy

[*sister is telling dohye to come to the gym hall*]

what else is she gonna do she already teared [current tori: ahem... T O R E] them apart THAT'S NOT DOYhE. THATS NEVER HIM. OH MY GOD. is it a look alike??? damn, she's dedicated to just. ruining it, huh

I’M

I’M SO SAD

now he's switching SCHOOLS NO NOOOOO how will i ever find happiness againnnn NO they're misunderstanding further they're not talking properly i mean i get it but oh my god

I'M :((( 

NO NOOOO pls make up in the future at least omg he tried to clear it up tooo ahhh i dont even have hopes for them getting back together but i just i want them to clear it up im crying first manwha to make me cry and it's this dumpster fire ahaha maybe a little too bc it kinda hit a little close to home i guess but goddamnn ittttt they were so cuteee and so happy and AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

OH NO. Noahs getting drugged and assaulted. And he's realizing it happened before, he just forgot. I am. so sad it's not horny drawn either which i appreciate but MY HEART NO

N O DONT YOU DARE MAKE THIS WORSE

Im. gonna cry more 

Doyhe kept an eye on him im so emo :(( but he thought he was doing well enough and gave up.... Im im so sad no i want you to make up and get back together its all just a stupid........... MEHHHH will i ever find sth like this flashback again

[mei: p-probably not, no]

i am so devasted i dont even wanna go back to the main couple just fucking. i want this relationship back :(((( but i guess the investigation might end up somewhere so hhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhh the baker manwha had a similar flashback feeling so. i just gotta find more of that haha

BUT THIS WAS SO SAD??? im so emo

[Dohye got kidnapped // the flashback commentary stops here but I think my descend into madness is pretty funny too]

OH YEAH THAT HAPPENED. THE FLASHBACK WAS SO LONG I FORGOT. NOOOO SAVE HIM. JESUS CHRIST PLS JUST ONE GOOD THING

its. actually rly smart to have another, more focused on them flashback, before the arc where he gets kidnapped by the rapist murder household so. good job. from a meta perspective but also NO but also. maybe theres hope for them making up at least after all :(((

[main couple kissing] this is. very weird now. but im glad he has someone, he deserves it but dohyeeeee

and switching to sex, YET AGAIN now i wanna see this EVEN LESS THAN I DID BEFOREEEE it's even.... a threesome now with one of the other characters why are you like this why can't you be. like in the flashback i am so upset HAHHHHH WHEEEZEEEE

I am just stop fucking jesus christ PLEASE I DONT WANNA SEE IT ANYMOREEEEE

im just stop the horny pls just tell me who that new guy is and why doyhe likes him so much

[mei: this manwha is a fucking mess but at least we got your lovely commentary out of it]

dhsuksj thanks i feel honored at least i got cute BL out of it before everything went [back] to shit

[mei: THAT TOO]

[...]

tbh im getting kinda mad about doyhe... i dont... feel like he'd just fall instantly for a guy who looks like Noah... but eh not my character

i just want closure for dohye at this point, fuck everything else ... not literally pls theres already too much of that

pls get it together for like 1 chapter is the investigation even still happening i am so confused save dohye plEASE wait what i have less than 10 episodes left Dont tell me this shit isnt even wrapped up yet

[Dohye is having a breakdown over the Noah double not coming to see him anymore]

yeah i this... doesnt feel like Dohye... at all... Even when Noah was rejecting him he was just kind of... taking it with some humor and maybe he was a little desperate and risky sometimes but... oh well... i do want him to get better but... im having a hard time believeing this development??? he never seemed overly anxious or anything. but who knows what else they did to him. Sister can still go fuck off tho

[...]

i mean. i liked the flashbacks a lot honestly??? it stayed simple and focused on the dynamics and less trying to balance smut with murder plots

[dm partner: NO THAT'S WHAT I MEAN LIKE CLEARLY THE AUTHOR CAN MAKE A GOOD STORY SO I'M JUST... CONFUSED AS TO WHY THEY DIDN'T STICK WITH SOME SOFT, FLUFFY BL ROMANCE MANWHA AND DECIDED TO MAKE WHATEVER THIS IS INSTEAD ]

okay i dont care bc dohye is currently getting assaulted nobody asked for this why i just. this is terrible. he was... so sweet. he doesnt deserve this. nobody does of course but jesus christ pls someone save him at least its not horny visually, one saving grace

ah... the assult is back to being depicted horny-ly thank you for nothing

[... removed some general confusion about the plot]

YES. SOME SHIP FOOD.

i am. suffering i mean i cant stop but GOD

okay so apparantly. the sister. has just an arsenal of people who look like other people Dohye, then Noah... and even Noah's GF??? this is ridiculous??

one good message 

why 

did you feel the need to add that [actual tired rage]

im gonna die this manwha is gonna kill me im laughing but im suffering oh hes arrested great and thats the end and the last update was in january of this year

why AS IN NOAH IS ARRESTED nobody who actually did anything is arrested What is this why is this AHHH I at least wanted the complete-ness of finishing this but now I'M JUST SUFFERING

[ mei: I MEAN TO BE FAIR I'D BE SUFFERING TOO BC JUST... WHAT THE FUCK I HAVE?? MANY QUESTIONS?? AND MANY CONCERNS BC THIS MANWHA IS JUST... AN EXPERIENCE ]

its an experience allright WELL

_______________

yup that’s it.

in my head, in a twist of events Dohye and Noah make up and are actual endgame. Something like that must exist out there but I won’t ask because it’d destroy the surprise and ruin the point.

That’s it.

Have a nice day.

[yeet-man]

One’s Rebirth (Christmas Special)

A/N: Ayo, I know this is kinda weird to upload since it ain’t Christmas but some parts are canon and etc so uh ye. Reblog asking what’s canon and anything else ya wanna know and I’ll be sure to answer it. Hope y’all enjoy this chapter!

As Christmas neared and school let out for the holidays, all the students, at least in class 1-A including Mei, were going to J'me's house since dorms didn't exist yet. It would be their first holiday together, and they planned to make it memorable.

Everyone went directly to J'me's house on Christmas Eve. He opened the door to let everyone in, he was nervous, to say the least. The house was decorated as best he could do by himself, his mother went out for the night so they could have the house for themselves. Everyone from class 1-A would be there including Mei. The only person that was absent would be Kairo.

Ryan would walk in and look around at the decorations before walking over to J'me. "So.. everyone's here right?" He had a relaxed smile resting on his face as he asked this.

"Yeah, though I don't see Kairo. Who cares, man can go fuck himself for all we know." He said jokingly and simply shrugged at Kairo not being there. "How have you and Mina been? Seems like you got a crush on her."

"Uhh... Well, we're good friends." He'd kinda lean in a little so that he was at J'me's level. "Also how'd you know that?"

J'me just looked at Ryan and chuckled slightly. "It's not that difficult to tell plus didn't you say you had a crush on Mina in the real world?" He said with a small smug face.

Ryan would shrug a small bit. "You're right...I did...I was hoping I could use this party to ask her out."

"Nice, I planned on asking Mei out during our 'secret santa' stuff. Though we all know I rigged it so you got everyone and I got Mei."

Before Ryan could respond a huge box and then a small box came crashing through the window. It broke the window and landed on the floor, the boxes had a tag that read 'To the dumb fucks that are my friends.' Kairo was, of course, talking about J'me and Ryan. The gift for Ryan was a red and black scythe, Kairo didn't care what Ryan thought about it, he just hoped he wouldn't be questioned about it. J'me's gift was in the small box, it was sharingan contacts with the tag reading 'fucking weaboo'.

Hearing the crash, J'me immediately opened the door to see no one in the snow. He let out a sigh and had an annoyed look on his face. "I swear to god Kairo..." He turned to look at Momo, she noticed the broken window and simply nodded. She made a new windowpane, J'me smashed the old one and replaced it with the new one. "Ryan, can you pick up the glass while I put the presents under the tree?"

A rock came through the new fucking windowpane because Kairo was being a bitch.

He'd nod a little as his tendrils picked up the shards and dense purple flames shot towards the rock and glass, causing the glass to melt back to its normal shape.

"I hope Kai-" J'me made a clone to go after Kairo. He put the presents under the tree. "It's fucking Christmas, why does Kairo have to pull his dumb pranks?"

He'd shrugged a little as he looked around, seeing the small Mineta walking around looking at the girls. "Hmm.."

Mineta would try to flirt with the girls before Iida smacked him and waved his arms in multiple directions at once. "Mineta! It's Christmas, this isn't a time to flirt with girls!" 

J'me chuckled and looked at Ryan. "By the way man, enjoy yourself... Just don't pull a Kairo."

He would smile a little before walking towards Mina. "Sure thing mate."

Mina would turn to look at Ryan. "Oh hey Ryan! How are you enjoying the party? I'm surprised J'me had a house this big, it looks so pretty!" She looked around in excitement before looking back at Ryan with a smile.

He'd let out a small chuckle as she said that, and looked around. "Yeah, his house is pretty nice... Also, the party seems alright so far. Are ya having fun?"

"Who wouldn't be having fun! Well except for Kairo since he broke J'me's window..." If Kairo was in the room, let's just say he would be dead.

"Yeah." He'd smile a little, "Kairos being a little rude is all." He'd then glance back towards Mineta as he saw him start walking in their direction.

"Agreed..." 

Mineta would walk up to both of them not caring if they were trying to have a conversation. "Hey acid girl, how about we go somewhere else?" Mineta would have a small smug expression on his face. He would also be staring at Mina's boobs.

Ryan's gaze would change as he looked at Mineta. His expression would change to that of annoyance and aggravation. His expression made him seem like a real life demon. "Mineta… stop," he'd deliver a swift kick to Mineta, which would send him flying.

Mineta would fly into the wall, that's when J'me looked at Ryan. "What did I say about pulling a Kairo? Next time kick his ass into the ground." Mineta would be out for the next few minutes.

He'd glance at the wall, which had no damage. "I didn't pull a Kairo, J'me." 

Ryan would then turn back towards Mina with a smile. "So… how about we move to somewhere else... maybe a place that Mineta won't find us."

J'me just rolled his eyes and walked over to Mei.

Mina would start to blush after she heard the question. "What do you mean by that Ryan?"

Ryan would think about his words for a second before a slight blush went over his face. "Uhh... what do you want me to mean?"

"Something that isn't inappropriate you pervert." She was playing of course...or was she?

Mineta woke up with a confused look. He was wondering what he got kicked for asking a question.

He'd smile a little more as he grabbed her hand and slightly pulled her away from the group "It doesn't have to be inappropriate…" Ryan would then pause for a second as his blush deepened in color a bit and mumbled quietly, "unless you want it to be..."

J'me would notice Ryan dragging Mina and got a basic idea of what was gonna happen. "Ryan, there's a mini log house in the back for reasons ya know!"

He'd glance back with a large smile on his face as his face got even redder. "Uhh.. yeah, thanks J'me."

J'me just smirked seeing Ryan turn red. He knew they weren't gonna do it but just in case. Who knows what the hell Ryan would do. "No problem man." He started hanging with Mei, that was till Mineta walked over. 

"Hey momma, how about we get our own room?" 

J'me's eye twitched just hearing that question. He picked up Mineta by his shirt. "Who the fuck said you could come over here you little shit?" Before Mineta had time to respond J'me already slammed him into the ground.

Ryan could be heard from somewhere in the house. "You pulled a fuckin Kairo."

The ground wouldn't be damaged, just the fuck boy knocked out. "Naw chief just knocked his ass out for a while."

Even though he wasn't seen he'd nod before pulling Mina into a room "Sure mate."

An hour or two would pass before J'me would call everyone to the living room. "Alright, it's time to exchange gifts, I swear to god if anyone else pulls a Kairo you will be kicked out of this house."

A few minutes later Ryan and Mina would come back to the living room, both with slight smiles. They seemed to be holding hands.

J'me would look over at Ryan. "Man, could you not wait till it was time to exchange gifts to give Mina's hers?"

He smirked a bit, "I guess I couldn't." He'd pause as he took a wooden box out of his jacket and tossed it to J'me. "And this is your gift mate."

J'me would catch it as if it was nothing. "Hm..." He would open it to see the special kunai in it.

Ryan used his quirk to make a kunai out of dense flames that looked similar to the one in the box. "It's a special kunai that has some of my dense flames fused in with it. Also, it has your 'special' formula on it because Mei helped with it."

He would look at Mei, then Ryan. "This is really nice...I'm just mad that yo dumbass couldn't figure it out by yourself."

He'd yeet his flame kunai at J'me. "No problem mate."

J'me would catch it. "Hey hey now, let's wait till the next battle to fight man."

Ryan would let out a small sigh as the kunai he threw vanished. "Bet... so, did we miss anything while we were gone?" He'd motion to him and Mina.

He looked around for the kunai and then looked at Ryan. "Wait y'all were gone?" He said jokingly, "so why are parts of your clothes melted?"

He would glance down at where some of Mina's acid had accidentally hit and blush a little. "Uhh... She accidentally got some of her acid on me."

"Oh? How did that happen? Y'all weren't fucking were y'all?"

Ryan's face would turn to a deeper red out of embarrassment, "No…"

Mina would quickly protest. "We wouldn't do anything like that!" She exclaimed with a heavy blush on her face.

Ryan would quickly nod in agreement.

"Hm...Alright...." He motioned everyone to sit down so they could exchange presents.

Ryan would sit down as his blush faded and motioned for Mina to sit next to him, instead though she plopped right onto his lap. "Ok... uhh who gets the first present?" The red had faded now, mostly gone except for a slight pink tint.

"Shit uh...I guess let the biggest pervert get his present first."

Ryan would smile a bit as he used his foot to slide a present to Mineta "This is for you mate." 

Mineta would catch the present, which seemed to be twice as big as him and started to slowly unwrap it. "Is this what I think it is?!" Mineta would see Mt. Ladys head and tore off the rest of the wrapping paper with glee, his present was a Mt. Lady body pillow, and Mineta loved it. He had a little drool dripping out of his mouth and a slight nosebleed as he looked at it "Ahhh... Mount Lady... big boobs... big thighs..." He continued to mumble stuff like that as he played next to the pillow.

"Now that you have your present, shut the hell up and go to the corner." Mineta followed his instructions since he was very excited.

Ryan would look down before sliding a present over to Mei. "It's from J'me," he lied about that. It was from him but wanted J'me to get the credit, so she'd think more of him. It was the newest, most expensive wrench set available. Along with some brand new power tools.

As Mei was opening it, J'me looked at Ryan. 'What the fuck…' He mouthed to the boy who was taller than him.

He'd shrug with a slight smile. "What do you mean? You're the one who got it, remember?"

Mei looked at the wrench set and power tools. She then hugged J'me tightly. "Thank you so much J'me!"

He would look at Ryan and simply nodded. "Yeah, no problem Mei."

Ryan would give a slight nod before grabbing a smaller box and handing it to Mina. "This is for you."

Mina would smile lightly as she opened the box with excitement and saw the gift, a golden necklace with her name on it. The name was made of shaped gold with a single diamond where the dot for the I is. She'd see this and smile even more as she spun on Ryan's lap and hugged him while wrapping her legs around him. "THANK YOU RYAN!!" She'd give him a slight kiss before putting it on.

J'me would get a smug face on his face as he watched Mina and Ryan.

Ryan would smile a little as Mina did her thing before glancing at J'me with a smirk.

J'me stood up and helped Mei up as well. "It's time for the actual present I was going to give you." He grabbed her hand and guided her outside.

Ryan would stay where he was and smile as he started hugging Mina and tossed a gift to Midoriya. "Mate, here." 

Deku would open it nervously and see a note that read "Shoot your shot already man." Deku knew what he was talking about and continued into the gift. He soon found a new costume. It was similar to his normal design but more like All Might's "Wh--WHATTTT!! Thank you so much!!" He'd grab it and run to the back before coming back out with it on.

Bakugo would stare at him with a slight grin before muttering, "Idiot," and looked towards Ryan. "Love bird, Where's my gift?"

Ryan would laugh a little as he picked up a small box and tossed it to him, "It's right there." 

Bakugo would open it and stare at it for a second. They were a new set of drum sticks "What are these for?" He'd look to where Ryan was pointing and smile a bit. A new drum set was sitting behind the tree with an orange bow on it. "Thanks."

Once J'me and Mei were outside, they started to walk away from the house. The scenery was stunning, snow falling down on everything. It truly looked like a winter wonderland. 

J'me had a special place where he wanted to ask Mei out. As they were walking towards the place, it was clear they were cold. Their bodies shaking uncontrollably, even with the coats that were on them.

Mei reached her hand out to touch J'me's hand, but she hesitated. The girl was afraid that he wouldn't like it and think she was weird. After a few seconds she gathered up the courage and grabbed J'me's hand, blushing in the process.

J'me turned to see Mei blush as she grabbed his hand. "Mei, why are you holding my hand…?" He questioned with a gentle tone in his voice. Every time he spoke, small breaths of air could be seen in the snow.

"I'm...I'm taking measurements for your hand!" She tried to keep her energetic attitude even if the girl was extremely nervous. 

"Oh really? If you were taking measurements, why are you blushing?" He said with a slight smirk on his face. 

Mei wouldn't be able to say anything in order to counter J'me's question. She blushed even more and looked away, still holding on to his hand.

J'me smiled and kept on walking to the special place. He still held her hand because he secretly liked it.

A few minutes would pass in silent before they reached the place. It was a park with a small lake around 10 meters from it.

"Here we are…" He guided Mei to the middle of the park and turned to look at her.

She looked at the scenery before turning her attention to J'me. "This...this is really beautiful J'me…" Mei would have a light pink blush on her face.

"Thanks!" He looked around for a couple seconds, J'me had no clue how to start this off. All he knew was the feelings he had for Mei and that he wanted to express them somehow. He grabbed both of her hands and held them tightly. "Mei...I don't know how to express this but...I…" He was hesitant to say it, J'me was afraid Mei would reject him for some reason. "I like you...I don't mean as a friend either…" J'me could already fill the blush appearing on his face. 

Mei's face would be filled with a huge blush as she looked away and out to the lake. She felt the same way about him, but did she really want to date him? She bit her lip and thought about it for a couple seconds. "Some people say that love doesn't exist...but here I am liking you as well J'me." She had a soothing yet caring voice as she spoke.

The blush on J'me's face would only get bigger by the second. "R-really? W-would you be my girlfriend…?" He felt extremely embarrassed to ask, but he wanted Mei to be his girlfriend. He looked into her creamy coffee eyes and hoped she would say yes.

The girl finally turned her direction to the boy after the question. Mei looked J'me in his dark wooden eyes before she spoke. "Y-yes, I'll be your girlfriend J'me Falcon." She smiled after her response even with the blush Mei had on.

J'me smiled like a huge idiot but he couldn't help himself. He was truly happy for one in his depressing life. He pulled Mei into a hug and softly placed a kiss on her forehead.

Mei hugged J'me back and only blushed more as he placed a kiss on her forehead. She stuffed her head to his chest since it was very comfortable.

With the hug in front of the lake, the scene looked like it came out of a movie. It was truly beautiful and for once J'me had a reason to look forward to Christmas.

After a few minutes J'me pulled away from the hug and smiled. "Mei, I promise I'll always do my best for you."

"That's sweet J'me but just having you by my side is good enough." Mei smiled hugely as she spoke to him.

He blushed softly before grabbing her hand and taking the girl back to the house.

They held hands through the walk home which helped them stay warm somewhat. It did stop their uncontrollable shaking. 

Once they got back and J'me opened the door, everyone turned to look at the new couple. Most of them smiled for how cute the sight was, unlike Bakugo's bitch ass. 

They sat down as if nothing happened or well pretended like nothing happened.

Ryan would smile and whisper to Mina, "looks like we're not the only ones who got together." He'd give her a light kiss before pulling her closer and holding a thumbs up to J'me. 

J'me just chuckled at Ryan's thumb up. He looked to see some others that got their present. "You actually gave Bakugo a present?"

Bakugo's eye would twitch slightly as he stood up and walked over to J'me. "Is there a problem you fucking pipsqueak?!" 

J'me let go of Mei's hand and stood up as well. "Yeah there is a problem…" The boy sent a right jab straight at Bakugo's jaw. "The problem is you, you fucking bitch."

Before Bakugo could react Mari jumped in between the two boys. "J'me it's Christmas, try to be a bit nicer today okay?" The immortal then turned to face Bakugo. "Let's try our best to not cause problems Suki," she teased lightly. 

"You're right Mari, it's Christmas. I should be acting a bit nicer. My bad Bakugo, you know how I can get mad at you quickly. I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry." J'me sat back down and held Mei's hand.

"Yeah whatever you pipsqueak…" He walked back to his spot and sat down, an angry expression on his face.

Mari let out a small sigh of relief and sat down herself.

Ryan would smile and as the conversation went on. He pulled a blanket over him and Mina while continuing to cuddle with her.

"Hold up partner, the party ain't over so y'all can't cuddle 'Mr. I'm gonna buy everyone a present'." He said holding Mei's hand tightly.

Ryan would flip him off jokingly and point towards the presents, "You hand out the rest."

"Bruh don't you have a demon or some shit inside? Make that fool hand the rest out."

He'd let out a sigh as all his gifts started sliding towards their recipient's.

As each person opened their gifts, they'd all thank him since they all either helped with their quirk or was about something they liked. Ururaka got a note similar to Deku's too.

J'me looked to see if there were anymore presents under the tree. It looks like they forgot about Kairos gift. He got up and tossed Ryan's present to him. "We forgot about Kairos gift he gave us...oof."

His gift seemed to unwrap itself since he was still cuddling with Mina, "a scythe? Nice."

J'me unwrapped his gift as well. "Hell yeah, sharingan contacts. I'm bouta pull an Itachi." He said in a joking manner.

For the people who don't know, Itachi is a character in the famous Naruto series. He was basically forced to kill his entire clan to prevent a war between the clan and village.

The scythe would lift into the air and float almost like something was guarding Ryan and Mina, "bet mate."

J'me would just laugh a little before sitting back down next to Mei.

Mina would pull a small gift from her pocket. It was a box wrapped up, inside the box was a watch that had Ryan's initials on the side of it. She then gave it to Ryan, "I'm sorry it's not much but that's the best I could do."

Ryan would look at the watch then back at her, "It's perfect Mina." He'd give her another kiss before putting it on, "thank you."

Jesus Christ Ryan, the two of yall just got together. You really need to stop being a damn man thot tryna get hella kisses and shit.

Mei would smile a little as she pulled out a small box of her own and gave it to J'me, "Here, I made this for you." She'd have a slight blush on her face as she gave it to him. It was a bracelet that had a button on it. 

J'me would open the gift and hugged Mei. "It's amazing, thank you so much Mei." He put the bracelet on and touched the button to see what it would do.

The bracelet would instantly shoot out around his arm, creating a gauntlet that could shift into a shield.

J'me's eyes widened in excitement as he hugged Mei again. "This is really amazing! I can't wait to use this in battle!"

She hugged him back and blushed a bit more. "Y-you're welcome J'me…"

Ryan would glance down at Mina and see that she was now asleep, still sitting on his lap with her legs wrapped around him, and leaning on his chest with her arms around him. "So... we're staying here for the night right?"

"Yeah I guess so...except Mineta is not staying." 

Mineta looked sad for a second, "why not?!!"

Ryan would smile a bit before motioning to Mineta's pillow, "I think he'll be fine."

J'me looked at the pillow and rolled his eyes. "He does one thing and he's out in the snow for the rest of the night." 

Iida stood up and started waving his arms around. "Alright guys! Time to get into our pajamas and into the sleeping bags!"

Ryan would smile as he looked down at Mina again and saw she was already in pjs. "Umm... I'm ready."

Before J'me changed he called out to Ryan, "Yo Ryan can I talk to you outside before we had to bed?"

He'd nod and slightly/gently moved mina off of him, "Sure." He'd stand up and start walking to the door.

He pressed the button on the bracelet so it wouldn't cover his arm anymore. He grabbed his coat and tossed Ryan's to him. "Put that on dipshit." He said putting his coat on and walking outside.

He'd laugh a little before catching it and slipping it on. "Ok mate," He'd then walk out after him.

He made sure the door was closed before speaking. "So, what are we gonna do about All Might? Since I have all these powers I wanna heal him but I don't wanna fuck up the timeline."

He'd shrug as he thought about it, "I could heal him too... but I don't think we should mess up the timeline."

"I mean we already fucking up the timeline just from being here...hell even Kirishima knows I'm not originally from here."

He'd nod slightly "Same with Mina...."

"Hold up wait a fucking minute Ryan. How the fuck did that happen?" 

"It's a long story to say the least J'me."

"I don't give a damn, you better tell me."

"Well it all started at the hero vs villain part..." He'd go on to explain how they worked together and she realized that he knew the place, and so he explained to her what happened.

"I see...well shit not everyone needs to know we aren't from here."

"I know...Mina said she'll keep quiet as well."

"So did Kirishima," He would let out a small sigh. "How much of the timeline do you think is affected just from us being here?"

He'd start scratching his head a little before he responded. "Uh.. probably all of it.. considering there's that other girl.. Mari I think.."

"I don't think she's really affecting the timeline, considering it's like she's been here her entire life."

He'd nod, "Yeah...wait. What if she's the first thing that's wrong with this timeline...all because we came here."

"Ryan what the fuck are you trying to hint at?"

"Maybe she's here because we're here..."

"That could be possible but how could that even happen?"

He'd make a dense spike and start drawing in the snow, "This is their timeline." He'd draw a straight line off of their timeline "This is the timeline now, since we appeared here..." He'd then draw a line from the front of the main timeline to the tip of their timeline, "But there's always a possibility that these two timelines separated at the start of the first one because we were destined to be here.." He hoped J'me was keeping up.

"Why were the four of us destined to be here then? What use do we have here..." He then realized why. "What if we are here because of overhaul? We know they had trouble fighting him."

He shrugged a little, "Or maybe we're here for a different threat." As he said this Mina would come out and with a tired voice saying, "You left me on the couch baby."

J'me would simply nod, Mei came out with Mina as well. "J'me come on it's getting lateeeee." J'me chuckled and started walking inside, "come on Ryan."

He'd laugh some as he put his coat on Mina and picked her up, "C'mon let's go in." He'd then walk in and sit back down on the couch with Mina, who was already asleep and had her legs and arms wrapped around him, and pulled her closer before pulling a blanket over them.

J'me would grab Mei's hand and guide her to his room. "Goodnight guys!" He called out before leaving the living room.

Everyone fell asleep rather quickly, it was a quiet night. The only one who didn't get sleep that night was Iida. That was because he kept hearing weird noises in J'me's spare bedroom which beforehand, he saw Ryan and Mina go in there in the middle of the night.

Once the sun started to rise, J'me woke up and decided to make a big breakfast for everyone.

He quietly made his way into the kitchen without waking anyone up and started to cook.

After a few hours passed, the food was finally done and everyone was awake. "If you make a mess, clean it up please." Once he said that he let everyone eat. While they were eating, he went into the living room to sit down and relax. 

That's when Mari came into the living room as well. "Hey, J'me right?" She said slightly messing up his name.

"Yeah that's me, what do you want Mari?" He had a confused look on his face, normally she never even talked to J'me.

"Um...I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for throwing the party and making us breakfast, I know you didn't have to do that…" The immortal spoke with a warm tone in her voice.

"Oh, it's not a problem. I just wanted our first Christmas to be special, that's all really. Merry Christmas by the way." He said with a smile on his face. 

Mari simply smiled at the reasoning, "Merry Christmas J'me." She then walked into the kitchen.

Everyone ate breakfast and shortly left after. Of course they thanked J'me beforehand for the party and food.

Thus the end of One's Rebirth, the Christmas special. Merry Christmas everyone!

[krreader]

like a butterfly | chapter 5

pairing: min yoongi x reader fandom: bts warnings: non idol!au ; single dad!yoongi ; language ; mentions of smut genre: fluff ; angst ; smut previous: 1 ; 2 ; 3 ; 4

summary: you never planned on becoming the babysitter of min yoongi’s daughter, one of the richest and most famous man of south korea. you also didn’t plan on becoming so attached to the little girl, as well as her father. (Or: hot, successful and single dad hires broke babysitter.)

a/n: WELL, THINGS ARE STARTING TO GET INTERESTING; HUH? 

ask box | masterlist | fandoms | faq | multifandom reader blog

Finally, after weeks and weeks of studying, you were done with the semester and could relax at last.

Or at least, not worry about grades and all that for a little while. Because you still had to work, after all. With you now being at home, you decided to not only play the nanny, but the housekeeper as well. It wasn't that the apartment was dirty, Yoongi did have someone employed for that specifically. But there were still things, like laundry and buying groceries, that someone had to do. And it most certainly wouldn’t be Yoongi.

You had dropped Mei off at school earlier, went grocery shopping straight after and were now about to do the laundry, when you realized that you couldn't find Mei's tutu. Which was a problem, because she had a performance later tonight and you hadn't washed it yet.

You went through every drawer, looked through every bathroom (Yes. Plural. Because obviously this apartment would have more than one bathroom) and even looked in your upstairs area, but it was nowhere to be found.

Yoongi was still at home – which was unusual, because he usually left relatively early for work – so without thinking twice, you grabbed the laundry basket and balanced it on your hip when you opened the door with your free hand, not bothering to knock. 

Which you should have.

“Hey Yoongi, have you seen..- Oh,” you stopped talking and began smirking, one eyebrow raised at what you saw in front of you, “Hello Sarah.”

There she was, on her knees for him, while he was sitting at the edge of his bed, his hands fisted in her hair.

“(Y/N), get out!” Yoongi said, trying to put everything back into his pants, while you let your eyes roam over his hard length for as long as you could, before looking back at Sarah.

“Still being the rude bitch that you are, I see,” Sarah got up and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Still sucking his dick, I see,” you retorted like a shot, while you smiled sweetly.

Before this could escalate any further, Yoongi had grabbed your arm and dragged you outside, closing the door behind him.

“Ever heard of knocking?” your eyes were still glued to the bulge in his pants, until he grabbed your chin and made you look up at him, “Hey!”

“I told you I was going to see you naked. I just thought it would be when you and I finally have sex,” you said sarcastically and pretended to pout.

“Because that's going to happen,” he snorted and shook his head, “What do you want?”

“I need Mei's tutu for her ballet performance and can't find it.”

Without wasting a second, he walked into his bedroom and the bathroom that was only his, before coming back out before you could even say a whole sentence to Sarah, the tutu in his hands.

“Anything else?” he put it into the laundry basket.

“Nope,” you looked to the tutu, then back up at him, grinning, but not making a move to leave, until he grabbed your shoulders, walked you back until you were outside his room, then he went back in and this time, he locked the door, “Remember to protect yourself, kids!” you yelled, laughing while walking off to the laundry room.

You were glad that you and him were finally friends, or at least something like it. After that night a couple of weeks ago, the dynamic between you two had shifted. He was more open towards you and you and him often shared a drink at night. He often asked you about your opinion on his music and he often wanted advice when it came down to Mei.

Whatever label your relationship now had, you were happy with it.

But that didn't mean that you wanted to hear him have sex with Sarah, so as soon as the laundry was in the washing machine, you had grabbed the car keys and left the apartment.

Spontaneously, you and Jimin decided to meet for coffee an hour later, both of you already missing each other, despite having last seen each other only three days ago.

“So you walked in on him? While he was.. you know?” his eyes were wide, looking for the tea, but not wanting to hear all the details, apparently.

“Yeah,” you laughed and leaned back in your chair, “He wasn't even embarrassed about it, though.”

“How can he not be embarrassed about it? I still remember when Hoseok walked in on me once. I was mortified.”

“Oh, right. I still remember his detailed story about that,” Jimin blushed, lowering his head and playing with his fingers, “Awww, don't be embarrassed, love. I was glad to hear you finally got laid again.”

“What's that supposed to mean?!” his head shot up in an instant, his eyebrows furrowed, “I get more than you do!”

“I'm living with a child. What do you want me to do, sneak in one-night-stands?”

“Why would you do that when you're living with Min Yoongi?”

You rolled your eyes, “Not again, Jimin.”

“But don't you see how perfect it would all be? You told me how much the girl loves you.. just imagine.. if you were with her father and you would eventually marry each other, you'd be her step-mother! She'd be the happiest girl on earth.”

“It won't happen, okay? And besides, I'm happy with how things are right now. We're at that stage where I can walk in on him getting a blowjob and I'm shrugging it off with a grin. It's like we're.. friends,” the corners of your mouth curled into a smile at the thought of how you and him acted around each other. How he would now greet you with a smile when he came home from work. How he would laugh at something stupid you said when you were watching TV after Mei was already in bed. How he would carefully listen to what you had to say when it came down to his kid and how he now always tried to be his absolute best for the girl.

“Right.. friends,” Jimin muttered under his breath, while he watched you daydream about Yoongi.

“Why do all women take so long,” Yoongi whispered to himself, getting up from the couch and walking towards the stairs, “Hey! Can you hurry up? We're going to be late!”

“Just give me a minute, goddamn it!” you yelled back and he let out an annoyed huff, putting his hands into the pockets of his pants and pacing around the living room.

You had dropped off Mei at the venue of her performance two hours ago and had went back home, since she wanted tonight to be a complete surprise for you and therefore, didn't want you to stick around. You took that time to take a nice, long bath and get ready without any time pressure. But maybe you took a bit too much time in the bath, since you were actually running late. Not by much, but still..

You made your way down the stairs, your black over-knee boots clicking against the wood beneath you, while rummaging through your purse, not seeing the way that Yoongi was staring at you with his mouth slightly agape.

He had noticed your beauty before, how could he not, but now that you were all dressed up, your make up done, wearing a tight-fitted, black turtleneck dress and those shoes? Well, maybe he had underestimated just how beautiful you really were.

“Alright. I think I got everything,” you looked up at him and he immediately tensed up, clearing his throat and acting like he hadn't just been staring at you like you were his dessert for the night.

“Finally. Can we go then?”

“Yes,” you hooked your arm with his and grinned up at him, “It's like a date.”

“You wish.”

Or was it maybe the other way around? From the way he had a hard time keeping his eyes on the road throughout the entire ride, it seemed like he was the one that wanted to take you out on a date right now. Or, you know, stay at home and do other things.

“I'm so excited. She's been working so hard for weeks..”

“Hm? Who?”

You slowly turned your head to look at him, seeing him gulp just in time. You began smirking knowingly.

“If you stopped staring at my legs for a second, you might have heard what I said.”

His head turned to you when he stopped at a red light, but you just wiggled your eyebrows at him with a grin.

“Don't think anything of it. I'm just worried that other people might think that the dress is too short.”

“That is so thoughtful of you, wow. Thank you so much, Yoongi. I appreciate the concern.”

“You're welcome,” he knew it was sarcasm, but he didn't want to admit that he thought you looked ridiculously sexy tonight.

It's not even that your dress was as short as he made it out to be and it wasn't the boots or anything like that. It was just.. you.

Your perfume, that made him want to bury himself in your neck, your make-up, that he wanted to admire for a little while longer, your face, that he wanted to kiss, your body, that he wanted to touch, your looks that he wanted to implant in his mind.. your personality, that he wanted to get to know more. 

It just all fit.

And how come he only now started to realize all of that?

It wasn't long after that he parked on the parking lot of the venue, both you and him making your way into the hall like all the other parents. It was a big performance, hence, a big hall and even more people. And Yoongi knew none of them.

He didn't know a single face around here, even though there surely were parents of his daughter's friends here, right?

“Min Yoongi? I'm surprised to see you here,” a man walked up to the two of you, extending his hand with a friendly smile, “I'm one of Mei’s teachers. Kim Namjoon.”

Wow. He looked.. young. And good? How come you never had such young and good looking teachers like him? 

“Ah. Nice to meet you,” he tried to keep it as friendly, even though he really wasn't interested in talking to this guy, especially because of the way you were eyeing him.

“And you are.. Mei's mother?”

“No,” you giggled when he smiled at you. Something that Yoongi noticed. And didn't like one bit, “I'm just her nanny.”

“Oh, you are the nanny that she keeps talking about these days. She's infatuated with you, you know? At least now I finally understand why.”

Yoongi wanted to throw up into his face for flirting so blatantly with you, even though he was standing right next to you both. And he wanted to punch him for being able to make you giggle and blush like that.

He wasn't having any of this tonight. And he wouldn't stand around here and not do anything, while this guy was practically undressing you with his eyes. Not on his watch.

So he wrapped one arm around your waist and pulled you closer. So close that you could smell his cologne and feel the heat of his body. So close, that you had to look up at him and would only have to lean forward to press a kiss against his cheek.

“I think we should go and find our seats.. excuse us,” he pulled you with him, but since you didn't try to stay behind, it wasn't a hard task.

“Jealous?” you asked with a smirk, when he still wouldn’t let you go.

“Just concerned he'd fuck you right there and then. There are children here after all.”

“Don't worry,” you both sat down in the first row and you smiled sweetly at him, “You're my date tonight, remember?”

He laughed as if you had said something ridiculous, but he liked the sound of that. And when Mei's math teacher walked by, he smiled triumphantly at him and put his arm on the back of the chair behind you, as if he wanted to say: 'Try harder next time.'

The rest of the night, both you and Yoongi focused on Mei.

As expected, she did fantastic. All that hard work really paid off and even though she was still so young and you'd expect it not to look professional, she managed to pull it off so effortlessly. The last and first time you had met her ballet teacher, she had told you that if Mei kept practicing so hard, she would have a bright future ahead of her. And finally, you could understand what she meant. She was a natural.

And you couldn't help but watch Yoongi out of the corner of your eyes, a happy smile on your face each and every time you saw how proud he was of his little girl.

And when the performance was over only an hour later, he was the first to get up and clap, Mei waving her little arm with excitement at you and her father.

“And did you see my pirouette, daddy?” she pulled on his hand and jumped up and down when you entered the living room, “Did you?”

“I did, love,” he laughed and picked her up, spinning her around once, earning a happy laugh from her.

You could only watch them with a smile, until Mei ran towards you and jumped into your arms, “I want to be a ballerina when I'm older!”

“You'll be whatever you want to be, pumpkin,” you kissed her cheek and continued chatting with her about the night, when Yoongi suddenly received a call.

Even though your eyes were focused on Mei, you couldn't help but listen to the conversation Yoongi had, especially when you realized that it was a business call.

“What do you mean? Listen, I promised my kid I wouldn't stay away for that long anymore. Why can you not do it yourself?”

As if on queue, Mei turned around and watched her father end the call with a sigh a moment later.

“What's wrong, daddy?”

He lifted his head and waved her towards her, sitting her on his lap, when he settled on the couch.

“I know I promised I wouldn't do any trips anymore.. or at least not very long ones, but..-”

“No, daddy,” her lower lip already trembled and he didn't even have to finish the sentence, “You promised me!.”

“I know, Mei, but this is important work.”

“I'm never important to you,” gone was the happiness and excitement her body had filled her before. How quickly her emotions could change always fascinated you.

He looked at you with desperation, especially when the first tears began rolling out of Mei's eyes. So you sat down next to Yoongi and asked: “Where to?”

“What?”

“The trip. Where to?”

“Hawaii.”

You grinned and brushed Mei's hair out of her face, “What if we went with your dad, hm?”

“What?!”

“A family trip!” she screamed with excitement, already wiping away those, now, unnecessary tears.

“No! I have to work there, I can't..-”

“You work, Mei and I enjoy ourselves. She's got a break soon anyways, which means she won't miss school. And I think a little vacation would do us all some good.”

It was two against one and Yoongi knew that he was outnumbered by his girls. And how could he refuse when one: his daughter was already beginning to talk about the beach with the biggest smile on her face and two: when there was a possibility he would see you in a bikini.

[nethwan]

Yellow and Red

Chapter 1: Yellow Tulip

Summary:  Mei will meet, who she’ll think, is the most obnoxious man on earth: Lars Janssen. The feeling will be mutual. Lars will thought that Mei is such an insolent and rude woman. However, her eyes and her smile won’t be easy to forget.

Note: This fic only has 2 chapters, so it will be updated soon. Also, this is a rewritten story, from one I already post, but I wasn’t satisfied with the result. This is also a Modern Pride and Prejudice AU. Yellow tulips have a lot of meanings, but I chose the “unrequited love” because it fits the story. 

Other links:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13236210/1/Yellow-and-Red

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18137162/chapters/42884600

Mei checked that all the flowers were in their right place. There were roses, peonies, and tulips. Everything looked perfect, like a dream. Now she had to give the bouquet to the bride. She arrived to the room where she was, the door was half-opened, so she could hear a masculine voice:

“Why they are so late with the bouquet? What kind of service is this?”

“Lars, please, you seemed more anxious than me”

Mei knocked at the door; the bride smiled at her and took the bouquet. The man next to her was serious and hardly looked at her. Another young man appeared; he looked at the bride and smiled. He told her that it was time.

“Well, here I go” the bride took a deep breath.

Mei followed them while the wedding march sounded. The bride walked at the aisle and the ceremony began. Mei thought that was a very cute couple. One of the things she enjoyed the most about being a florist, besides the flowers, was when she had to work in weddings.

---

When she arrived to the reception, Ling, her sister and coworker, was there. Mei found everything in order. The bride and the groom had asked them to stay and enjoy the party, and both sisters did it gladly.

“So, Antonio, little brother, you couldn’t get marry with a better girl than Emma. I really hope you’ll be happy, take care and love each other. Now toast the newlywed’s happiness, and please, don’t make me uncle so suddenly…” The groom’s best man said.

Everyone was laughing, but the bride’s big brother. Mei thought he had to be such a bitter guy to not laugh at a little joke. For a moment, she thought that he was looking at her, but he looked away before their eyes met. Probably, it had been a coincidence.

“Hey, Lars, what are you doing? Why don’t you talk with the bridesmaids” Paulo said.

“It’s what I told him; there are so many pretty girls here” Henri said. Then someone got his attention. “Like that girl”, and he followed her.

Paulo smiled and said:

“What about the other florist? She is really gorgeous”

Mei heard that comment, but she didn’t pay them so much attention. That Lars seemed so obnoxious that she didn’t want to hear his response.

“I don’t think I could call her ‘gorgeous’. I’d say she is… ok, I guess, but I wouldn’t waste my time on her” he replied, annoyed.

“What the…! That guy…” she thought, but it wasn’t the moment to make a scene, besides, he seemed to be the worst person she had ever met. It wasn’t worth it. She told Ling about it and both laughed. After a while, they went to talk with the newlyweds. He was there too.

“Brother, why don’t you have fun and dance with someone?” Emma asked him.

“Listen to your sister, I’m sure you’ll find someone pretty enough for you and not only ok” Mei smiled sarcastically, and he blushed.

A bit later, Mei and Ling said goodbye and left the party.

Lars was still shocked by that answer. He made a fool of himself. But also, what an insolent woman, he was glad that at least they wouldn’t see each other again. However, those defiant eyes and that mischievous smile would be difficult to forget.

---

“I’d say she is ok. What an idiot” Mei said.

“Forget that” Ling asked her.

“I see you two had fun” Jiang said when they arrived home.

“Yes, we did, but you must ask Ling instead, she had more fun” Mei said winking.

Jiang just looked at both of them, and smiled.

“Nothing happened! We just talked” Ling replied, blushing.

They told him about the wedding, the flowers, the bride’s dress and that blond young man called Henri. Then Ling’s phone rang, she looked at the screen and smiled. He sent her a message.

---

While Mei and her siblings opened the flower shop, they saw it was about to open a new and bigger one. Her big brother, Yao, just shook his head. Mei sighed, they were losing clients lately, and the shop needed some reparations, but they hadn’t enough money for it.

The sound of Ling’s phone broke the silence, she answered nervously. Mei could notice that Ling’s cheeks turned pink and she smiled shyly. “It must be Henri” she thought and let her alone.

Even though, Ling said he was a friend, her smile when she talked about him, said another thing. At least she met someone nice at that party and not an obnoxious person, who he thought he was? Mei got mad because she couldn’t forget that moment.

It wasn’t because Mei liked to think about it, but obviously, Henri reminded her of him. And now, due to a bad karma, she saw Lars every day in her way to work. He looked away every time they met. Mei ignored him too; after all they weren’t even acquaintances.

---

“Mei” Ling started, she seemed shy and Mei knew that she was about to ask her a favor. “I’m going to go out with Henri, but I would like that you come with me”

“Why? It’s a date; I can’t be your third wheel”

“No, it’s not a date; he’ll invite a friend too. Please, Mei”

Mei accepted, she wasn’t interested on a blind date, but if it was important for Ling, she’d do it. She thought that maybe the friend was one of the wedding guests. Then she had a bad feeling. What if he was Henri’s brother? No, she thought, that man was too arrogant for these things.

When they arrived to the place where Henri was waiting, Mei’s smile disappeared. Lars was there too. What kind of joke was this? She wondered. Ling apologized with a glare, but Mei just smiled at her.

They went to a restaurant. Both Lars and Mei were quiet and they didn’t see each other. Ling and Henri seemed uncomfortable as well. Then Henri made a comment to start a conversation. It didn’t work.

As soon as Lars gave his opinion, Mei contradicted him. First about fashion being a waste of money, then because she said he was greedy and he probably had no idea of what he was talking about. They had very opposite opinions, and both were stubborn enough to not giving up and change their minds.

Finally, Ling and Henri decided to say goodbye and end the date early. Mei apologized with Ling for her behavior, but she already knew how her sister was when she confronted people.

Henri wasn’t upset either. However, Lars was thoughtful, he wondered why even if he was just arguing with that woman; he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He thought she was too blunt and obstinate, but she was also too lively and clever, defending her arguments with such a passion that it was almost admirable. He had mixed feeling now.

---

A couple of days later, Lars went to the store to buy a bouquet. Mei wondered why he didn’t go to the other flower shop. He was too arrogant and disdainful to choose her little store.

“It’s for my mother. It’s her birthday. Also, my office is nearby, so I thought flowers would be a nice present” he explained, as it wasn’t a big deal. Actually, he wanted to see her and maybe apologize, but he couldn’t do it.

She didn’t respond. If he wanted to start a small talk, he chose the wrong person and moment. And she was still mad at him. Then he talked about the meaning of the flowers of the bouquet. He did it awkwardly.

“I know what they mean. It’s all what you want?” she asked.

He nodded, paid and said goodbye. She sighed. Then she understood why she saw him every morning. Why she had to put up with him, and also, what made him think that she was interested on knowing about his life. She had enough with that awful “date”.

---

“I invited him to my birthday party” Ling confessed.

Mei was happy for her. Ling was very quiet and reserved, people thought she was kind of intimidating, but actually, she was a little bit shy. That Saturday, Henri arrived early, but he wasn’t alone, his brother was with him.

“I am sorry his brother is here again” Ling told her.

“It’s fine, as long as I don’t have to talk with him” Mei joked.

Mei looked at Ling and Henri at the distance; both were still too shy, but friendly. She couldn’t believe that Lars was just standing in a corner as if he was judging everyone there. If it was for her, she would have invited him to get out of there.

And then, her eyes met his, she ignored him. And it happened again and again. Every time she turned around to see him, he was looking at her; she wondered what his problem was. She wanted to ask him to stop. Maybe he was looking if her family was good enough for his brother, and that’s why he was there.

“That’s the guy?” Lien asked her later.

“Yes, he is” Mei said annoyed.

“Well, he has been looking at you for a while”.

“Ugh. I can’t stand him. He is just there, avoiding people as if he was superior”

Then, a noise in the garden distracted them. Jiang shook his head while Yao was scolding Li and Yong Soo. They just started a fire in the garden; none of them felt guilty. Mei got mad at everyone, she saw Ling trying to hide her embarrassment, and Henri looked very worried. When the two brothers went home, Mei felt relieved, but she couldn’t say the same about her sister.

---

In the next days, Ling didn’t see Henri as much as she used to. Then, he called her to tell her he was going to move to another city, because of a new work. She wished him luck.

“Are you going to be fine?” Mei asked her.

“Of course I will. He is my friend; after all, his works is important”

Mei didn’t know what to say. She knew Ling always took everything so easy, and she would keep her feelings to herself. Mei sometimes wished to be like her, but at the same time, she didn’t want to see her suffering in silence. So, she tried to distract her by inviting her to their favorite restaurant.

---

Friday, Mei and Ling went to their favorite restaurant, as she promised. Mei noticed that Lars and other people were there, she just sighed. Why? Why in her favorite place? That was too much. She went to the bathroom to wash her hands. Two of Lars’ companions were there.

“His brother is so lucky; can you believe he didn’t want to accept that job?”

“I know right? He wanted to stay just because of a girl, and according to Lars, she didn’t like him back. Fortunately, he convinced him…”

Mei couldn’t believe what she heard; Lars was the one who separated them. In that moment, she was more than convinced that Lars Janssen was the most selfish person on earth. What was she going to tell Ling? She was about to confront him, but when she got out of the bathroom, he wasn’t there.

---

The next day, Ling and Yao went home early. So when Mei was about to close the flower shop, Lars appeared. He looked at her, excused and left, but he returned, and while he looked at the floor, he said:

“I can’t stand it anymore… I tried to kept this as a secret, but it’s too much”

She didn’t understand what the hell he was talking about. He continued talking, his voice had an imperceptible trembling, he couldn’t see her, and he was anxious. Mei crossed her arms and sighed impatiently.

“What I want to tell you is… that, I think… I like you. I know it’s strange, especially because apparently we don’t have anything in common and people are going to say that I pulled myself down confessing to a girl who isn’t my type at all. You are so sarcastic and sometimes blunt, your family is noisy and a mess, and in spite of that, I like you. I’m surprised, but that’s how I feel. So, please, could you go out with me some day?”

She frowned at him. If he wasn’t that tall, she would slap him.

“No”

He turned pale when he heard the answer. “What?”

“I said no. Do you think I’m going to date a man who says he likes me even if he thinks I don’t deserve him? And how you dare to insult my family, and separate Henri and Ling, because that’s your fault, am I wrong?”

“That’s different, I was sure she didn’t like him”

“Are you serious? She can’t express her feelings easily, you don’t know her, you don’t have the right to judge her”

“You are doing the same with me. Don’t I have a chance?”

“No, you don’t. You are the last man I’d love... I hate you! Now, stop wasting my time. Get out of here. I am tired and I want to go home”

He couldn’t find anything but anger in her glare; he didn’t say anything and left.

Even though, Mei told him everything she thought about him, she felt that something was wrong and that didn’t let her sleep. She remembered him, he was vulnerable, and it seemed that he needed courage to talk with her. But he really had to be joking if he believed that she could accept him after that confession.

The next days, she didn’t see him again. She was glad, a problem less, she decided to forget what happened; after all he caused her nothing but troubles. A couple of days later, Ling gave her a letter.                

“What is this?”

“It’s from Henri’s brother. Look, I know you don’t like him, and you have your reasons, but maybe you should read it. He said it was important”

Mei hesitated and kept the letter in her purse. She read it when she was alone; ready to know what he had to tell her.

“Mei,

I’m really sorry. My intentions were good, but I didn’t know how to express my own feelings, and I ended up for offending you and your family. Forgive me for all the things I did and said. You were right, it was my entire fault. I was trying that my brother didn’t get heartbroken again, it was very hurtful for me seeing him in that condition; but this time I was so wrong. I deserved what you told me. Forget what happened. I won’t bother you again.

Best wishes, Lars.”

Mei read the letter twice. Inside the envelope she found a yellow tulip, she felt sad for that gesture… she thought that ended up there and they’d be at peace, but she was wrong.

[singingunderthecurtain]

DIAMOND (CEO AU Baekhyun Series) Part 2

Also on AFF

Picture not mine, found everything on Google

Author: @julietsoddeye  AU: CEO!Baekhyun Genre: Angst | Smut | Romance  Pairing: Baekhyun x Lee Soojin (You/OC) Trigger Warning: Smut on future chapters. Mentions of car accident. Mentions of being blind. Baekhyun being an a-hole. Word Count: 1,984

Plot: After 10 years of exile to another country, you are finally back home and you were surprised to find out that you are engaged to the son of your father's long-time friend and business partner.

Diamond Mini Masterlist

You don’t know where he is taking you, a stranger, a completely handsome stranger. You shouldn’t trust him; he was clearly checking you out before the shitstorm happened. But your vertigo pervaded mind wholly trusts the beautiful and unfamiliar person who is now leading you inside a room similar to your hotel suite. The lights and air conditioning system roar to life with a mere swipe of a hotel card key.

Baekhyun sat you down gently on the cashmere sofa and left you there briefly. Almost immediately he comes back to your side with a tall glass of ice water. He brought the mouth of the glass to your lips and helps you tip it so you can drink its content. Without pondering, you consume the whole thing of water with a hard and painful gulp as if you haven’t drunk water in forever. You close your eyes suddenly feeling sleepy and relaxed. You open your eyes again and the worried face of your mother is now in front of you. You looked to your right side and your PA, Mia, is holding a piece of cardboard to fan your face with.

“Oh honey, my sweetie, are you okay?” Your mother fills your face with kisses as she was caressing your hair.

“Wh—what happened? Where am I?” You ask the both of them as you prop yourself up from the soft mattress.

“We’re in Baekhyunie’s suite, my sweet child. He said you fainted after he gave you a glass of water.” Your mother explains, both she and Mia helped you sit up on the bed. Instead of your Swarovski studded heels, Mia slipped on a pair of slippers on your feet with the logo of the hotel embroidered on it.

“Baekhyunie? How long was I out for, mother?” You ask again and you cradled your now throbbing head inside your palms.

“You’ve been asleep for almost two hours now.” She answers you, her voice full of motherly concern.

“Mother, please take me to my room. I want to rest.” With your request, she bobs her head and Mia immediately, but slowly stood you up and helps you walk out of the room.

With the sound of the bedroom door opening, the three men, Baekhyun, his father and yours, stopped their conversation to look at you. Baekhyun instantly stood up from his seat when he saw you being guided by your PA.

“We’re taking her back to her room, she needs to rest.” Your mother explains to the three men and your father nod in approval. You discreetly tug on Mia’s hand to tell her to pick up the pace so you don’t have to talk to any of them, especially Baekhyun.

“I’ll be going with you. I guess I’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow, then?” You heard your father said.

We’ll see you all tomorrow, my friend.” The friendly voice of Chairman Byun answered back.

“How am I engaged without me knowing, father? Mother, please explain.” Both your hands slowly knead your temples out of the stress of the situation you are currently in. Mia was about to exit your hotel suite, but you stopped her when you gripped her coat. You feel so violated right now and you needed a friend or an ally. And she’s the only one you can trust right now.

“Soojin-ah, I need you right now…” The authoritative tone of your father’s voice is still there, with a hint of desperation.

“How am I being engaged to a stranger helping you, father?” You wanted to scream and be mad, but the shake in your voice failed you.

“Baekhyunie is not a stranger my dea—“ You cut your mother’s words off.

“To you, he’s not, but to me he is. He’s a stranger to me, mom. I don’t know him, I don’t know if he’s some creepy son of a CEO or if he’s some psychopath who masks himself with expensive clothing, okay!” You started sobbing and Mia immediately rubs your back soothingly. Thank goodness she’s totally sympathetic of you.  You can tell by her gentle whispers of ‘shhhs’ on your ears. Your parents, on the other hand, are just frozen in front of you; their feet are growing roots on the ground.

“I need you to take over the company, Lee Soojin.” Your father said your whole name, indicating that he is gravely serious.

“Why me? Isn’t Seungmin oppa supposed to do that for you?” You snap your head up to them, showing your tear streaked face boldly.

“Your brother left us.” Was the only response your mother gave.

“Wh—what do you mean?” Your voice shook again.

“He fell in love with a maid and they ran away together.”

__________

The breakfast wasn’t particularly peaceful, but it’s tolerable. Baekhyun managed to keep quiet and his father was the one doing all the talking for him. Asking you about the stuff you like and what you don’t like. What your favorite literature piece was or if you like anything art related. What kind of music you listen to and whether you prefer to travel by air or by sea.

“I really don’t have a preference, Chairman Byun. I’ve been living alone for the last ten years of my life and I have avoided vacations and traveling by pleasure altogether.” You answered him while cutting the delicately poached egg on top of your breakfast waffle and the orange yolk burst out all over the crispy crust. You looked at the old man and he smiled at you. He probably knows that your father kicked you out and sent you away at the tender age of 13. He should know, they’re best friends after all.

“Remember we went to a beach that one time with Hisa and Mei-mei?” You were surprised your mother called your friends by their nicknames. She wasn’t very fond of them at first, but then she realized slowly that they were the only other people who love and cares for you when she wasn’t around.

“Mom it was only one time and the beach was just an hour drive from my apartment, it wasn’t necessarily a vacation.” You said in a matter-of-fact tone. She cocked her head to the side before speaking.

“It was still fun, isn’t it.” She smiled brightly and went back to eating her breakfast salad.

“You and Baekhyun should travel together and get to know each other. Maybe in Hawaii or The Bahamas?” Chairman Byun suggested just as you were taking a bite of your food. You almost choked and your mother is hitting your back slightly as you let out a cough. Here we go, here come the engagement talks.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Chairman Byun.” You said after you recovered.

“Lee Soojin!” Your father warned with a slightly restricted hit on the table with his tight fist. Chairman Byun tapped your father’s arm soothingly and his hard expression softened.

“Please Soojin-ah, call me father.” The old man smiled warmly at you and it made your stomach turn in a strange way. Chairman Byun is much warmer and fatherly to you than your own dad and it almost makes you want to cry and rant out your bottled-up emotions.

“F—father?” You stuttered.

“Yes since I will be your father-in-law sooner or later.”

After breakfast, the three elders left you and Baekhyun to have a little ‘get-to-know-each-other’ privacy. The two elder males went to the golf club of the hotel for a friendly competition, which they do almost every other weekend. Your mother then went back home to take care of her garden and to welcome your sister Soojung back home from a vacation. You honestly wanted to go with your mother, but she insisted that you needed to spend time with your fiancé. You almost wanted to scoff at that word because you barely know Baekhyun except for his name.

“Look, I’m sure you’re a nice dude and all, but… I don’t like this. All of this.” You drew a big imaginary circle in the air with your hand gestures. You heard Baekhyun huff and your jaw almost dropped at his audacity.

“Look, I don’t like this either. I don’t like you.” Baekhyun reiterates. Your skin crawled when he said he doesn’t like you. This is the first sentence he said all morning and he’s sneering at you already, rude.

“Excuse me?” You placed your right palm on your chest and faked a hurt tone. Baekhyun’s lips curled upwards at your sarcasm.

“I’m only doing this for my father. He’s a very good man and I have fucked up a lot of times in the past. I don’t want to fail him now so if you could cooperate with me, that would be lovely.” He said with an arrogant intonation in his voice as he sips his tea. You gazed at him intensely and you slightly snarl your lips up with his cockiness.

“It’s not my problem anymore if you fail your father again this time.” You said through gritted teeth and your nose flaring with annoyance.

“It’s your problem too. Your father will be disappointed with you again.” ‘Again? What does he mean by again?’ You thought to yourself.

“Again? Wha—what do you mean by—“ Before you could even finish, he abruptly interrupted your sentence.

“You heard me. I know everything about you Lee Soojin-ssi. I know it’s your fault why your youngest sister is now blind.”

With the mention of Sunmi, your blind sister, your body immediately stiffens. You felt the skin all over your body heat up with anguish and guilt. Baekhyun flashed you a taunting smirk when he saw your lips quiver. You bit your lower lip to stop it from totally convulsing out of control and you cleared your throat to compose yourself. Baekhyun stood up from his chair and walked up to your side.

“So please, Princess, cooperate with your Prince.” Baekhyun jabs. He tucked a few stray hairs behind your ears and kissed your cheeks near the side of your lips in a teasing manner.

As he swiftly left your side, his familiar scent entered your nose. But instead of comfort, your stomach churned and you can taste bile in your tongue. When Baekhyun was long gone and you are alone, that’s when you broke down. Your hands covered your face as you sob on your palms non-stop. The guilt and shame are slowly eating you up again, something you haven’t felt in almost a year now. But here you are, having a panic attack because you are reminded why your parents sent you away from home. You were sent to solidarity for a decade because it was your fault why your sister is now blind.

As the car was rolling down the hill, you were strapped in the driver seat; you look at your 10-year-old sister beside you on the passenger side.

You try to yell at her to fasten her seatbelt on, but she couldn’t function anymore. She was already a crying mess.

So you decide to reach out to her side of the seatbelt, but you were already constricted by your own. And before you can block her body…

CRASH!

The car you were in crashed on a tree in your backyard.

You were knocked unconscious, head bleeding nonstop when it hit the steering wheel.

Sunmi, on the other hand, went flying through the windshield.

The last thing you remember was your parents screaming incoherent and blood-curdling shrieks.

[vesperlionheart]

Pompeii 25

Urgency was different in Pompeii. Sakura used to think of urgency like a held breath. She could only hold in her urgency for so long before she had to act on it, like some sort of rodent in a pond of water. Pompeii wasn’t like that. Pompeii held its urgency like a whale holds its breath. The panic and mummers of a snake-man made near immortal sent shockwaves through the community, but Pompeii endured in its habits, in its rituals, in its nuances. Pompeii held its breath long enough for Sakura to almost forget about the threats.

Almost.

“More allergies,” Sakura sighed, watching the tiny buds on the trees outside.

It was still chilly, and it would be a bit longer before anyone shed their jackets, but the flora and fauna in Pompeii was hearty, with breeds that enjoyed coming out early to torment those with sensitive immune systems. The landscape was changing yet again and she felt left behind. Hadn’t it just been the Yule tide? Hadn’t she just welcomed winter? It wasn’t even technically spring yet, but stuff was blooming.

“Ah, yes, but at least this is something easy for us to help with. People forget the simple things and come in thinking their head is going to roll off their shoulders. I would rather tell them it’s allergies than something worse,” Shizune chuckled, organizing the papers at her desk.

She looked more cheery than usual and Sakura was beginning to wonder if that was because the older woman could tell Sakura was unnerved by the things she didn’t understand. Sakura knew enough to worry, but not enough to know when to stop worrying.  

When Sakura had tried asking around she had been treated little better than a child. She had been praised for her caring heart, cheered for her willingness to help others, pat on her head and turned around with a cup of milk and cookie for bed. Well, that last part was more figurative than literal. The head pats were literal but only a few people had actually given her food when ushering her along. Though, she didn’t mind the food.

“It’s brought in a few new faces, I’ll say that much,” Sakura sighed. “But I guess you are right. I like that I’m able to help in something around here. I should have a better attitude about things, like you.”

Shizune blushed the way mothers blush when being bragged about. “Sakura, you do an amazing job here. You help people every day.”

“Yeah, thanks. Hey, what does the rest of the day look like. I thought I saw we had a few cancellations but we’ve seen a good two dozen today.”

“That’s what happens when the broods come in. I swear some of these families populate like bunnies. Here it is, our list of appointments for the day….” Shizune ran her finger down her handwritten list. “That’s funny. You were right about all the cancellations. They’re today at the end. You’ve got one more patient coming in but after her you’re free to run back to your room for reading or whatever it is you do on your own.”

Sakura panicked internally and snickered on the outside, doing her best to stay cool. “No, it’s totally porn Shizune. What else could it be?”

“Obviously,” Shizune laughed along. Shizune’s chuckle doubled after she thought about it, glancing at Sakura’s face and then shaking her head, like the thought was too hard to imagine.

“What’s last on my list for today?” Sakura sighed, reaching for the list herself when it seemed Shizune would be lost in her fit of giggles for a moment more.

“Oh, I shouldn’t laugh so much, I told myself I would warn you about this next one. She’s a friend of mine and Tsunade. She’s…a bit eccentric and the Mizu boys all know to be weary of her. She’s sort of the shadow king to their faction, but is very hands off about things. Mei likes to stay out of politics and just generally leave society to itself.”

Sakura raised a single brow before reaching for the file and flipping through. She saw a few pages of barely any notes. Mei was older, but hadn’t been in more than maybe twice in all her time in Pompeii.

“She’s not a mermaid…it says she’s a…” When Sakura looked up she saw Shizune wincing and Sakura screwed her lips shut. “Sorry, I know, sorry, won’t say that stuff out loud.”

It was still rude for even doctors to mention the classification of certain citizens of Pompeii and Mei was one of them. Sakura thought it might wear off in time after she had been in Pompeii for a while, but it never did. Apparently, when someone shared that with you it was a sign of either deep respect of affection. Some used it as a flirting tactic, others guarded themselves strictly even when their classification was more obvious than others.

Sakura returned her eyes to the notes to try and figure out the rest on her own. It said Mei was a type of Cecaelia related to the Blue Ringed breed found in the waters around Australia. If Sakura remembered correctly the Blue Ringed was a type of Octopus.

The door chimed and a tall woman with long red hair sauntered in, looking as healthy as a spring breeze. Her heels clicked light across the floor and stopped in front of Shizune. Hands on her hips the new woman scanned the room before speaking. “Where’s the pretty new doctor that’s made such a riot in my waters?”

Sakura stood up from behind her desk and came out so that Mei could see her. “Mei Terumi?” Sakura asked, extending a hand to shake. “I’m Doctor Haruno, it’s nice to finally meet.”

Mei’s eyes were brilliant in a shade of aqua green as she reached out a hand to meet Sakura’s shake, but instead of the typical shake she tugged Sakura closer and clasped Sakura’s hand in both of hers. “No, the pleasure is all mine,” she cooed, eyes still dancing. “I’ve been looking forward to when I would finally be courageous enough to make it here. Oh, you are such a cute little thing. I’m sorry it took me so long. You must have been horribly harassed by the men here in Pompeii. I can’t imagine how they’d ever leave you alone.” She tugged Sakura’s hands up to her chest and pat them there. “We girls need to stick together sometimes, don’t you think?”

Sakura smiled, more amused by Shizune’s gesturing hand motions in the background than Mei’s words. “Of course. You said you wanted a physical with us. Why don’t I show you to your room so you can get comfortable while I get your things.”

Mei tittered in delight. “Of course. Yes, comfortable.”

Sakura smiled and nodded, leading the woman away. Before she rounded the last corner she cast a final look over her shoulder at Shizune who was giving Sakura a big thumb’s up and mouthing ‘good luck.’

After the check up Sakura was glad she had the rest of the day cleared. She went up to her room to change out of her day clothes into something more casual and flipped open the book of sass to see if it would talk to her today. Some days it did, some days it only showed her pointless chatter, and other days it was as silent as a dead thing.

Today was one of those days.

She quickly realized after starting to get her things together for tea that she was missing her favorite mug. It was downstairs in the work room where she had left it after washing it. She toed into her ballet flats and made her way back downstairs with the intention of picking up her mug and leaving, but paused when she saw Shizune shuffling through some papers and looking lost.

“Shizune?” Sakura asked. “Something wrong?”

Shizune looked up and smiled. “No, I’m just having trouble entering some data on this computer and I need to do it all before going to the bank which closes in an hour.”

“Do you want me to do the data entry for you? It’s easy enough for me to figure out.” Sakura edged over and saw what Shizune was working on. It was simple input and Sakura knew she could have it done in twenty minutes, maybe twenty five if the computer loaded like a slow beast.

“No thank you dear. If you do it for me again I’ll never learn. I think I can do it, I just need the time. Oh! But there is something you could help me with.” Shizune reached for the money pouch with all the checks and ‘odd’ forms of payment that needed to be cashed at the end of the week. “Will you take this down to the Hyuga bank? I know it’s a few days early but we’ve been so busy it’s extra full and it’s making me nervous.”

“That’s easy enough,” Sakura chuckled. “Let me get my purse and I’ll be out soon. If you’re still on this when I come back I��ll help you out, but I think you have got the hang of it.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, you’ve come a long way since day one.”

“Oh, that’s one of the nicest things anyone’s ever said about my work skills,” Shizune cheered, honestly moved by the praise on something she was struggling with.

Sakura skipped back upstairs to get her purse and stepped out of her flats and into some boots. It was still a little cold outside which meant she needed to layer up some more. Sakura paired her jeans with a nicer sweater, this one without stains, and pulled down a green army jacket to wear over her sweater. If it rained she would be fine.

Sakura paused at the thought of rain. She hadn’t seen Pein in a while. He’d been gone, off on business with some of the other ‘important’ members of Pompeii society. Yesterday Sakura had visited his favorite diner for an order of waffles and hung out extra long in hopes of catching him. Konan ended up teasing Sakura about it and promised she would tell Pein to stop being so busy he couldn’t stop by and say hi.   

But it wasn’t just Pein. The crows and ravens stayed ever present outside her window, but she hadn’t seen a single Uchiha on the streets. When she went to the mountain to visit Izuna for his monthly treatment his home had been empty. It was only when she was leaving did she see Madara, and he pouted terribly when she asked about the other Uchiha.

Pompeii was different.

Sakura locked the doors behind her and kept the money bag safe in her purse as she walked the rest of the way to the bank. She made it in less than eight minutes of quick leg work and found it mostly empty. A mousy white eyed woman approached Sakura and asked if there was anything she could do to help.

Withdrawing the money bag from her purse Sakura handled it carefully. “I need this currency exchanged and deposited in our account. Who could I see for this service?”

“I’ll be handling the doctor’s finances,” a new voice cut in. The younger Hyuga woman nodded and backed away before returning to her work.

Sakura turned and saw behind her a vague but familiar sight. “You’re Neji…we’ve met before. Hinata’s cousin, correct?”

He was taller than her with a curtain of perfectly treated coffee colored hair that reached the middle of his back. It was tied back in a braid that helped show off the clear white color of his moon colored eyes. Neji nodded to her and gestured to an office off to the side.

“You are not mistaken, doctor. We have met before and I know of you well enough.”

“You’re a very informed man, sir,” Sakura tried to chuckle. She felt odd, almost as if she were speaking to marble. His face was without flaw, his posture was perfect, and even the fabric of his suit seemed immaculate. He was too pretty for a boy and Sakura thought of how Haku might feel if he were to be left in a room with another boy so pretty. Would he be envious?

“This way please.” Neji held open the door to his office and let her take a seat inside before closing the door behind them and sitting down behind a desk.

She noticed on the wall behind him was a calender for phases of the moon and below that a small table with perfectly arranged quartz crystals, silver coins, and sparkling white chains and jewels. It looked like a small dragon’s hoard.

Neji coughed once, positioning himself between her and the pile. “You have mixed currency to exchange?”

“Yeah, Shizune says this is the best place to go for that sort of thing.”

Neji lightly huffed, reaching for the money bag as she passed it to him. “We are the only bank worth mentioning. The Hygua family has been managing the finances of this town for as long as banks served a purpose. Such knowledge is common. You would do well to learn this.”

Sakura felt a tick above her brow and forced a smile. “Sure,” she said, wincing at how hard it was to stay civil with the man across from her. He was cold and stiff. Did he know he was being rude and not care, or was he really that dense?

“Um, thanks for doing this, by the way. It’s awfully nice of you.”

“This is my job.”

“Y-yeah, but still, I appreciate it.”

“Hmm. I will now assess the contents of your purse. Please, do not disturb me during this process if you wish for the utmost in accuracy.”

Neji unzipped the pouch and removed the assortment of items. Much of it was money Sakura recognized, but some of it was odd paper and there were even pieces that didn’t look like money at all. Neji sorted through all of it with fine, pale fingers that worked more like wires, manipulating the items seamlessly in a rhythm that reminded her of puppeteers. A moment later he had his piles.

He read off the amount each pile was worth and listed the name for its brand of currency. There was a stack of what looked like leaves, but when turned over shimmered like brass. Those were called LeeBrans or Leaf Brands, and were worth a different amount depending on the number of points and color of the leaf. Neji had them all memorized and worked quickly to calculate their worth.

Neji was so focused on the work in front of it it gave Sakura a free moment to think and watch him without feeling nervous about it. Usually she would want to look away after staring too long in fear of being caught looking, but Neji was distracted and she was curious.

Most of the people in Pompeii had the otherworldliness feeling to them, and Neji was no exception but he was different. He was so easily not human. Sakura didn’t know what he was, and wasn’t going to ask, but he was too perfect, too neat, too pretty, and too articulate with his hands to be something as trivial as human. And even if he had been rude, Sakura wasn’t blind. Neji was nice to look at.

Too bad he was sort of a jerk.

“The total monetary value in common currency is listed here on this slip,” Neji said, printing something out and placing it in front of Sakura.

He circled a number and Sakura grinned. It had been a good week, after all.

“I’d like to deposit it into our account, please.”

“Any withdraws today?”

Sakura shook her head. “None.”

She had loans to pay off, but she had to wait until pay day to tidy that monthly expense up. She’d be paying off her loans for the next few years, but at this rate she would still be able to live comfortably. It was such a nice change from before.

Someone outside the office caught Sakura’s attention and she turned, expecting to see Hinata, but it was only another Hyuga who looked similar.

“Something wrong?” Neji asked, frowning at her divided attention.

“No, I just thought I saw your cousin Hinata, but I was mistaken.”

Neji’s glower was instant and Sakura had to blink to make sure she didn’t imagine it. A second later he blushed and looked away. He distracted himself by coughing into his hand and tugging the front of his suit down. “No, the lady Hinata would not lower herself to come here where the actual work is done. You are mistaken. I have made the deposit and here is your receipt. Are you satisfied with your service?”

“Oh, yeah, thank you.”

She started to stand and he watched her before moving to stand himself. “Than if everything is agreeable and you have no issues with the service here might I suggest you deposit your money with me personally next time your office needs to bank. It would not be a waste of your time.”

‘And have to sit awkwardly across a desk with someone stuck with a stick so far up? Who would want that?’ The thought made Sakura feel a little guilty. Neji wasn’t the most social or tactful, but he wasn’t terrible. Maybe she just needed to give him another chance.

“Sure thing, Neji. You’re the expert. I’ll see you next time.”

“Yes, I am.”

Sakura felt awkward, not knowing how to respond, so she just sort of waved and walked out on her own, stopping at the top of the stairs when she noticed the rain all around her, but not on her. Sakura looked up in the sky and smiled at the hole cut out to keep her dry. Pein must have gotten the message about missing her at his diner. She liked to think this was his way of making up for it.

The rain came down but it was more like a light mist. Some of it splashed her, but she kept her hood up and was more dry than wet as she walked home. She didn’t have far to go but she took her time, and made sure she was aware of her surroundings on the way back.

It was because she was looking that she saw it. Sakura stopped and turned towards the space between two buildings, seeing a shadowed figure standing stiffly in place, face turned three quarters away. She thought she recognized him, but approached anyway to be sure.

“Sai?”

He didn’t respond. The rain kept coming down on him but he didn’t move. His black clothes were soaked and clung to him. He had to be cold. Sakura was in twice as many layers and she was still chilled, even though she wasn’t even wet. She cursed when she reached him, seeing how pale his skin was. He had always been pale, but this was the next level of white. She touched his face and hissed. He was like ice.

“You’re going to get sick like this, honey,” Sakura chided, taking him by the shoulder and pulling him. “What are you doing out here?”

Sai didn’t respond, he didn’t even look at her as he continued to stand there in the rain. Sakura had to draw closer to him. There was no rain falling down on him when she stood beside him, so she stayed close, pulling him closer to her. She called his name a few more times and waited but he never reacted. He was still breathing and she felt the pulse of life through his veins on his neck, but Sai was mentally checked out.

“Come here you poor thing,” Sakura sighed, dragging him with her.

He came almost unwillingly, but that was because he was stiff to move and needed to be pushed and pulled all the way back to her building. Shizune was gone but Sakura led Sai into one of the exam rooms downstairs and began to pull off his wet things. She brought dry towels and then comforters and blankets.

“What happened to you?” Sakura asked again after he had been mostly dried. He didn’t react once during the whole time she had been trying to help him. He blinked maybe once, but he seemed mentally checked out and devoid of emotion more so than usual.

Nearly an hour of her watching over him passed. Sakura left him on his own a few times, but always came back. Sometimes she came back with warm tea for him to sip, or a hot bagel for him to chew on. He didn’t respond to either, but did curl up in the blankets she brought down. Sakura combed back his hair as he stared blankly across the room, waiting for him to say something.

It was dark and the room was only dimly lit when Sakura heard the first thing of the night out of Sai.

“Please, not more. You said we would be the last.”

Sakura rushed to his side, hoping to see a reaction or something new on his face, but it was as blank as ever. “Sai? Sai, who are you talking about. What’s supposed to be the last? Can you talk to me please.”

A moment later Sai opened his mouth and showed off the tattoo there before closing it and his eyes and going to sleep. Sakura let him, but stayed close by in the next room over, unsettled by what she had heard and saw. She was unwilling to leave him alone but gave him his space.  

Sai had been traumatized by something and it wasn’t over, by the sounds of it.