#you can expect forbidden ch 4 soon

[imagines-corner]

ya girl has finished her first semester of college

[silhouetteofacedar]

Pearl, Ch. 5: Marche Funèbre

Previous Chapter - AO3 - MSR, rated E

It’s just another Tuesday.

Scully’s been telling herself that all morning as a kind of mantra in an attempt to calm her nerves. It’s not working.

It’s just another Tuesday, and she’s getting ready for an unremarkable workday. She showers, blowdries her hair, puts on the little pearl earrings her father gave her when she finished her undergrad.

In another timeline, in the life her parents wanted for her, she would be putting these earrings on beneath a lacy white veil. Her mother and sister would fuss over her dress, adjusting the train and making sure it hung well on her healthy frame, pressing a sprawling bouquet of flowers into her arms.

But that’s not her reality; in this timeline, she’s alone in her bedroom, putting on the creamy beige suit she’s worn to the office several times already. Her mother doesn’t know, and her sister is dead.

She feels oddly like she’s preparing for her own funeral, albeit a little premature. Will my mother have me cremated, or will they bury me in something I never wore? she wonders.

She thinks of Mulder then, a spouse in name only, and her stomach clenches.

Don’t go there, Dana. Tuesday.

She barely eats breakfast; cautiously nibbling at dry toast, wincing as it sticks in her throat. Her appetite has shrunk considerably lately, and her nervousness this morning isn’t helping. She gulps a glass of tepid water, eyeing the clock in the kitchen.

She doesn’t have to be at the office for another hour, but she decides to go in anyway.

She arrives a half hour early and is surprised to see that Mulder is already there. He rarely arrives before her unless he’s preparing a slideshow or simply never went home the night before. She would usually assume he slept in his desk chair, except this morning he’s freshly shaved and wearing a suit that’s still crisp from the cleaners, a blue striped tie neatly fastened at his neck.

As soon as he notices her enter the room, he covers his eyes and spins his chair away from her. “Bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony,” he says, attempting levity. The joke falls flat.

“Good morning to you, too,” Scully replies drily, setting her briefcase on her chair. “You’re early.”

He peeks at her over his shoulder and turns back to face her. “Yeah, I, uh, thought I should get a head start on some paperwork since we’re taking a long lunch today.”

Long lunch. Is that what they call eloping nowadays?

Scully raises a brow. “That’s surprisingly reasonable of you, Mulder; are you feeling okay?”

He huffs a laugh. “I could use some coffee,” he admits. “Didn’t get the best sleep last night.”

A clumsy response flits around in her mouth, about the quality of sleep one should expect from a leather sofa, but she swallows it. Instead she pulls out her day planner, leafing through the pages until she reaches March eighteenth, scanning her notes. “We have a meeting with Skinner at ten,” she reminds him, setting the book down on the desk. “I’ll get us some coffee from upstairs, and then we can dig into that inbox.” She gives him a tight little smile before leaving the office in search of caffeine.

-

Mulder’s had a rough morning.

He woke up just after five and thrashed about on his couch for half an hour before giving up on sleep altogether. He threw on some clothes and went for a nippy predawn run, relishing the lactic acid burn in his sleepy muscles; chasing one ache down with another.

Back at home he showered and scrubbed every inch of his body clean, even though Scully wouldn’t see it. He shaved carefully, slowly tracing his jaw with the razor. He didn’t want a single nick to mar his skin today.

Every thought, every movement, every little choice he made this morning, was for her.

It was almost funny, them both arriving to the office early and desperately pretending everything was normal. He hopes this new fog of awkwardness around them eventually dissipates; the whole point of this arrangement was that, in spite of legal status, their relationship wouldn’t change.

Scully retreats to find them coffee, and Mulder heaves a sigh, slumping over his desk. He’s going to wrinkle his shirt, but what does it matter? As far as anyone else knows, it’s just another Tuesday.

He glances down and sees Scully’s date book open on the desk, filled with notes and appointments in her neat, slanting script. He angles it toward himself and casually scans the day’s page, two appointments catching his eye.

Get married, 1:00

Chemo, 4:00

He grips the edge of the desk, inhaling sharply. That deep, forbidden feeling hits him like a wave of nausea, rolling sickly sweet through his stomach. He wants to throw the book away, hide under his desk, dissolve into panic on the worn gray carpet of their office. She’s breaking her remaining days into neat little pieces, organizing them tightly in the grids of her calendar, squeezing every last drop of time out of them. And giving that time to him.

This is the worst way to want a woman, he decides. Selfishly lapping up every spilled second, thirsting for more than she can give. Probably more than she wants to give.

Scully walks back into the office, two styrofoam cups in hand. Mulder feels a quick burst of shame at having been caught reading her appointment book, as though it was a secret diary and not a simple calendar.

“It’s at one, in case you forgot,” Scully says, passing him a cup. Coffee, black, one sugar like always. She sits in the chair opposite him, hands cradling a cup of what appears to be tea, judging from the little paper tag fluttering from a string hanging out of it. He wonders how the ring in the small box in his pocket would look on her slender hands.

“Mulder,” she prompts, casting her eyes up at him as she blows on the surface of her drink to cool it.

“Sorry, was I staring?” he asks.

“Mm,” she nods, taking a careful sip. “I’m fine, if that’s what-”

“No, no,” he says quickly. “You. Um. You look very nice today, actually. That’s all.”

Her cheeks remain pale. “Oh. Well, thank you,” she says calmly. “You look very nice today too.”

That was the idea, Mulder thinks desperately, painfully. I wore this tie to match your eyes.

The minute hand on the clock lurches silently forward.

[peachyyykid]

Deceivers Ch. 4 - Flit

Word Count: 3748

Chapter 3 - Noble

Chapter 5 - Pirates

One week had passed since the world noble Charlos bought you at the auction house. After the branding, the guards had put you into skimpy lace underwear that barely covered your nipples and ass. You had felt slight relieve when they brought out a piece of fabric to put around your waist, but it was completely see-through and therefore, useless. The exploding collar was still in its place and Charlos added a leash to it.

You would walk behind him with another woman next to you, whom you weren't allowed to speak to. He pulled you through the streets and alleys of Sabaody, the eyes of the people in town made you uncomfortable, their gazes lingering on your exposed body.

It was so utterly embarrassing and degrading. From time to time, you would feel tugs in your chest, but you managed not to cry. Tears meant him kicking or punching you in front of all these people, and that somehow embarrassed you more than being half naked.

Some looked at you with pity, some shady men enjoyed your private parts almost spilling out, but most people just looked away. You were walking with a world noble after all, and they probably didn't want to die. He was usually riding on the back of another slave, and although you were in the same predicament as him, your heart hurt every time he trembled under Charlos' weight. But how could you help him if you couldn't even help yourself?

Every time you spoke without being asked, he gave you a hard back handed slap and if he felt particularly angry, he kicked you until you fell to the ground. The first few days this hadn't stopped you from annoying him on purpose, but the bruises piled up and soon you felt a stinging sensation in your ribs while breathing. The branding on your back healed quite well, although whenever you saw it in a mirror you cringed. They called it "the hoof of the flying dragon", which would be a beautiful name if it didn't have such a horrid back story.

Death, either yours or his, became an option you considered every time "Saint" Charlos groped your ass or fondled with your breasts. The thoughts you had about him grew more and more violent each day. You just wanted to hurt him.

The worst day so far was today. He wanted to eat dinner at a very fancy restaurant, and you stood next to him while he ate, making disgusting smacking and slurping sounds and laughing about "peasants" with his father and sister, who you despised as soon as you met them.

"Dear son", Rosward whistled, "you must give wife 14 the infertility shot as soon as we are home. It would be a shame if our blood were tainted with an improper heir due to your activities."

Your eyes widened as he mentioned infertility shots and the "activities", but you didn't dare to speak. Actually, thinking about it, it didn't really surprise you that much. He gave you the name wife 14, and he most definitely doesn't just display his wives somewhere just to look at them. His intentions were clear as glass.

"It will be so much fun, wife 14! I will get good use out of you", Charlos cheered while grabbing a handful of your exposed ass, making you flinch. You just wanted to smash his head into the plate of food.

"I know a good doctor, brother. If she wears out, he can stitch her back up, my friend said his mistresses were just like new", Shalria giggled behind her hand and Charlos formed his mouth into an o-shape. The fact that they spoke so freely about these things as a family, while normal families talked about their kids' school days or something, made you shiver in fear of what he was ready to do in private.

Her mentioning stitching you up sounded so nonchalant, while this practice was nothing else than disgusting. Some of your medicine books mentioned it, but it was a really old tradition that was actually forbidden by the world government. And here were the world nobles, completely ignoring rules that applied to everyone else (and for a good reason that was).

Jeany was right and all your life, you had blindly believed all these great and noble things you learned about the government and the world nobles.

How could I have been this stupid..., you thought and lowered your head. Small tears were forming in the corners of your eyes, and you blinked them away before anyone could see them.

If you had told your past self about the life, you had now you would have laughed. It was kind of ridiculous. Suddenly, something dawned you: You definitely had to flee, but time was running out. As soon as Charlos took you to Mary Geoise it was over, there was no way to get away from there. Your escape had to happen on Sabaody, basically the sooner the better.

Carefully, you eyed your surroundings in the restaurant. It was a fancy place, white furniture and walls with floor length windows. All the waiters were dressed in suits and had impeccable posture, carrying shiny silver plates with dish covers.

According to their status, the world nobles were seated on an open landing above the other guests. A flight of stairs led to the ground floor, with the kitchen on the left. Waiters scurried in and out of the room, trying their best to satisfy the demanding customers.

The world noble's table was the only one on the landing. It looked very expensive, clad in a white satin tablecloth reaching the floor. They sat on comfy chairs that matched the table.

Charlos' disgusting smacking and slurping never left your ears and it was becoming unbearable. Neither him, nor his father and sister were paying you any attention while they indulged on their food. You would expect table manners from someone like them, but they just looked like hungry pigs.

You frowned and carefully glanced at Charlos' other wife next to you. When she looked back, you motioned towards the stairs with your eyes. She widened her eyes in shock and shook her head, telling you to stop having crazy ideas.

If you were honest to yourself, you didn't even know what your plan was. You went through some ideas in your head.

Plan A was running, nothing else. But you ditched that plan quickly, they would just catch you or make your collar explode. Plan B was better, attacking them to get a chance to get rid of the collar. But how? The guards in the auction house said even attempting to remove it would trigger the explosion. Both of these possibilities weren't perfect, but you didn't have a plan C either.

However, fate decided to play in your favour.

A young waiter was coming up the stairs with another plate for the nobles, which was filled up to the brim with food. He visibly struggled balancing the silver platter and just before he reached the safety of the table, the plate wobbled dangerously, and he lost concentration. With wide eyes you watched as the plate tipped over in his hands, comically slow. The waiter tried to catch it, but he only made it worse. Mid-air, he hauled the plate towards Charlos and his family instead of catching it and the dish landed on their faces with a splattering sound.

The whole situation seemed like a theatre play. Before you could even think twice about it, you used the confusion around you to roughly yank at the leash that was connected to Charlos' chair, resulting in it tipping over with him on it. With a loud thud, his body hit the ground. Shalria and Roswald shrieked, trying to wipe the food away from their faces. Charlos tried to get up, but he just rolled around on his back like a fat bug.

"Shalria!", he yelled from the floor, "get the remote!"

This was your cue. You made a beeline for the stairs, carefully not to trip over the poor waiter. You pulled him up by the collar.

"You need to run, they'll kill you", you said and then looked back at the other enslaved woman, who was still standing there motionless. She shook her head and didn't budge, and you knew that she was too scared to run. It was her decision though, you couldn't help her if she didn't want it.

The leash was rustling behind you as you hurried down the stairs. If Charlos got a hold of the remote to make your collar explode it would be over for you, but it would still be better than being tortured and raped in Mary Geoise until they disposed of you.

Since the nobles were still screaming their heads of, you figured that they still hadn't found it.

At the end of the stairs, you quickly jumped into the kitchen, past some waiters who wanted to attend the scene on the landing.

"Ok, what do I do now", you panted, running around the room hurriedly. While scanning the counters and appliances with your eyes, they fell on a big pot of cooking oil.

With no hesitation, you grabbed the pot and poured the oil over your head and the explosive collar. If you tried hard enough, you could squeeze your head through it with the help of the greasy liquid.

"Hot!", you swore when the oil hit your skin, but luckily it wasn't hot enough to burn you.

You sat on the floor, rubbing the oil over your head and neck. Suddenly, the collar started beeping and you put two and two together. It was only a matter of time until the collar would explode. Breathing heavily and stretching your neck as far as possible, you pulled on it with slippery hands.

"Please... please. Come. Off!", you cried and with one last pull, the collar slipped over your head, landing on the floor next to you. You felt a sharp pain in your ears from the collar going past them, but you had to ignore that for now.

Your breathing picked up when the collar started beeping faster and you kicked it mindlessly, to get it as far away from you as possible. You managed to kick it a good meter farther and the collar exploded with a loud noise. The impact pushed you to your back and your ears were ringing.

A sharp pain travelling from your foot up to your hip pulled you back into reality. The explosion had been too close after all, and you saw your leg bleeding.

"Oh my god", you panted, and tears were threatening to blur your vision. Reading about such things in books was way different than seeing yourself being actually hurt, and the pain was numbing your head.

I don't have time for this, you thought and pulled your leg up carefully, wiping the tears away. You had another look around the kitchen and found some towels and a roasted piece of meat with some string around it.

Somehow, you heaved yourself up, finding support on the counters. The string around the meat easily came off and the paper towels weren't far either.

"Ok, I know what to do. I learned this", you said while wrapping the towels around your injured leg. You hissed when the material touched the wound, but it couldn't be helped. You tried your best tying the string around it and when it felt like it could last a while, you started limping towards a door at the end of the kitchen that you assumed would lead outside.

It was only a matter of time until the nobles came after you, so you approached the door as fast as possible. Luckily, it wasn't locked, and you peered through the frame. You were right, it did lead outside and even better, you couldn't see anybody. When the door fell back, you could hear aggravated screaming outside the kitchen door.

"What am I paying you stupid bodyguards for! If you don't find that slut, I will feed your guts to the dogs!" That was Charlos, who had apparently called his bodyguards inside the restaurant for a little help.

You couldn't afford to think about the consequences of your escape if they found you, so instead you picked up your pace. Your leg hurt like hell, but you would have to deal with it later. Your primary goal was to survive.

When another wave of adrenaline hit you, you started running in the direction that would lead you the farthest away from the restaurant. Charlos and his guard dogs would surely find you in no time if you hesitated, although it was getting dark outside.

"Shit", you exclaimed when you saw where you had ended up after a good minute of running. It was the shore, and there was no way to run any further. Sabaody was made of several small islands, but there wasn't a bridge or anything that would lead you to the next island. If you ran along the shore, they would spot you instantly.

Anxiously, you looked around. The only thing you spotted was a ships mast behind a tree. No matter who this ship belonged to, it was your only hope. The furious voice of Charlos rang in your ears and you made your way towards the ship.

It seemed like there was no one aboard and when you were close enough, you wanted to shout out to them, but you decided against it when Charlos' voice came closer. There was no ladder on the ship, so you had to think quickly.

The adrenaline made the pain in your leg more bearable, and you managed to jump high enough to grab the gunwale. You lost the hold as soon as you wanted to haul yourself on deck, since your hands were still slippery from the oil. You tried to hold onto the hull, but to no avail. With a loud splashing sound, you landed in the ice-cold water.

"Shi-", you hissed and cursed Charlos' clothing choice for you. The coldness was all around your body and you were afraid that you'd freeze to death, although the sea water soothed your injured leg.

"Guards!", bellowed Charlos' nasal voice and your heartbeat picked up instantly.

They found me!

You pressed your body under water and as close to the bottom of the hull as possible. If they couldn't see you, they would maybe retreat. Your heart beat so fast that you thought it was impossible to overhear from where they stood. But instead of checking the water, the men jumped on the ship.

"Search that ship and then come back immediately!", Charlos ordered, and you prayed that they wouldn't sink it when they were done. It was your only hiding spot.

Shalria's shrill voice came from the distance. "Brother! Brother come back quick, wife 10 tried to escape but we managed to stop her!"

Charlos tsked angrily, turned on his heel and his guards left the ship. They slowly went back to the restaurant, and he muttered inaudible things under his breath, sounding very upset.

Wife 10 tried to escape... that poor woman, why didn't she come with me!

The other woman's fate was settled. It was surely over for her, and you felt guilty that you didn't take her with you, by force if necessary. But it was too late. It was a miracle that you managed to escape, and luck had really been on your side tonight.

By now, the sea water had washed away the oil, and you started another attempt at climbing up the hull, digging your fingers into the bumpy wood as hard as possible. Maybe you could treat your wounds on the ship and find something to eat, in the best case some new clothes. This was probably a ship belonging to some merchants or something. If you explained your situation to them, they'd surely understand.

It was a particularly dark night, so you did neither see that the bow was actually a dinosaur skull, nor the pirate flag swaying proudly in the breeze. A white skull with fiery red hair and goggles glanced down on you and watched you as you intruded the ship.

You didn't make it far because a wave of fatigue washed over you, so you decided to sit down first. Immediately you regretted that decision because it took away the adrenaline and you now felt the pain in your entire body. Your leg, your ears and your hands were the worst. You shivered in your wet, skimpy clothes and hugged your body tightly to gain some warmth.

For the first time since the start of your escape, you felt empty and lost. You had thought that it would become better, that being away from the world nobles would make your situation more hopeful, but nothing changed. You had nowhere to go. Your parents were still dead, everyone at home was dead. You didn't know where your brother was and no way of finding out. You had never been told where exactly Deku-sama lived and walking around on Sabaody wasn't an option either.

For now, you could only sit around on this ship. You wanted to stand up, to at least find a blanket and some food, but at the same time you wanted to sit in the freezing cold to numb the pain. Finally, you were able to cry. It was relieving to at least feel some kind of emotion.

Violent sobs racked your body and the planks below you turned dark with tears. At last, you could let it all out. You curled up into a ball on the wooden planks. It must have been pitiful to look at, and you wished for someone to pull you into their arms, rocking you back and forth to comfort you. You craved the gentle embrace of your mother or even just your father patting your back. Something, just some kind of physical comfort. But you would never feel that kind of tender care again because everyone was gone.

After what felt like hours of crying, your tears had dried and only occasionally you let out a quiet whimper. You didn't know if the physical or the emotional pain was worse. The makeshift bandage on your leg was merely a piece of cloth now, but at least the bleeding had stopped. You looked at the throbbing limb and tried to concentrate on something other than the obvious pain.

It was useless. The crying and the pain took a toll on your body, and you slowly slipped into a rough sleep, feeling as numb as never before.

You woke up startled, scurrying around on the deck because of one of many nightmares that you had since you were abducted. You blinked rapidly, trying to make out your surroundings. It was dawn already and you could finally see what kind of ship you climbed onto. It was quite colourful, a black mast and sail, a green galley, red quarters, and a giant yellow skull in the front. A very odd merchant ship.

A giant yellow skull in the front? A black sail... there's a skull with flames on said sail..., you thought, looking up.

"Holy shit, not again!", you exclaimed while letting your eyes roam the ship. Again, you had somehow ended up on a fucking pirate ship. A brutal looking one at that. It was a lot larger than the ship of that dirty captain and looked more special. There was no doubt that it belonged to a ruthless pirate crew.

Loud chattering and hoarse laughter shifted your attention towards the shore. Carefully, you peeked over the railing. You saw a group of men in the distance, making their way towards the ship. With wide eyes you watched them banter with each other, but soon your eyes fell on the tall man walking in the middle, who didn't engage in the playful antics of the others.

He just smirked, carrying a bottle of alcohol in his right hand, his left hand stuffed in his trouser pockets leisurely. He wore a dark, heavy looking fur coat with golden spikes and a thin leather bandolier around his chest, holding a dagger and a small gun.

You looked at the sail above you, then back at his face. No doubt, it was his jolly roger up there. The fiery red hair and the goggles on his forehead were definitely his trademark. You studied his appearance a little more, even though you were scared to your bones.

His height was impressive. He was the tallest among the crew and the fur coat didn't hide his bare chest, his muscular torso clearly visible. His amber eyes, no, his whole face was intimidating. It took you a few seconds to realise that he didn't have eyebrows, but it didn't look ridiculous. He had red lips, kind of matching his hair.

You found yourself staring at him a little too long, not really knowing why. Something just drew you to him. His face and demeanour screamed danger, but he somehow fascinated you with his confident stance and his fierce eyes. His presence was overwhelming, although not in a bad way. He was different from the other men you had met in your life.

You should have escaped the ship while you still had time, but you had lost yourself in the man's eyes. When you came back to your senses, the group had nearly reached the ship, and you hurried to the other side of the deck to jump into the water. Finding a hideout on Sabaody to look for an innocent soul to help you or the marines seemed a better option than staying on yet another pirate ship, even with the world nobles at your heels.

You wanted to run but your leg didn't really allow it. With a few last limps, you barely reached the opposite railing. A whooshing sound behind you made you halt and turn around. The huge shadow of the man in the fur coat blocked the rising sun as he jumped onto the deck. Frozen in shock, you missed the last chance of escaping into the water.

With doe eyes, you watched him as he landed in front of you, inspecting your sitting frame with a frown.

"Who the fuck are you and why are you on my fucking ship?"

[dreamingofaizawa]

Powerful Ch. 2

Yakuza! Shouta Aizawa x Fem! Reader

*Mafia AU*

Warnings: Misogyny (not from Shouta), a dagger, kinda fluffy

Word Count: 3.5 k

Author’s Note: This is turning out pretty good, I think. It’s turning into a kind of slow-burn ish thing, and as much as I can’t stand slow-burn sometimes, I’m liking it so far. If I’m being honest I feel like (hopefully) this is the thing that can help me get over my smut writing block. I haven’t been able to get myself to write smut for a while, and I’m hoping this can help me fix it.

Chapter 1 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4

Also, if you haven’t figured it out by now, I usually put in that little line spacer when there’s a pov change. You know, this one:

____

So yeah. And the three asterisks (except the ones at the beginning):

* * * Usually means a timeskip. If it’s unlabelled it’s only a short skip, anything over 24 hours I’ll label.

Enjoy~

*

*

*

Shouta woke you up, his rough hands rubbing your back and deep voice softly calling your name. When you let your eyes flutter open you realize you’re still on top of him, only your head is further cradled into his neck and your leg had found its way around his waist. The position had your face warming as you lifted your head and met his dark eyes.

“Good morning, little one.” He sounded groggy, like he’d just woken up himself. You pulled away and he released you so you could sit up. Off of him. You couldn’t quite hold his gaze, so you looked down at the bedsheets.

“Good morning, Shouta.” He sits up beside you, a hand grasping your chin and making you look at him.

“Am I too forward? Or are you afraid of me, little one?” You raise your eyebrows, not expecting him to really consider your own comfort.

“Can I speak freely?” He nods, and you take a breath.

“You are being just a little forward, but I think it’s only really enhanced because you’re known for being cold and unwelcoming. And also the fact that we only formally met last night.” His hand drops, and he waits for the second half of your answer. You take a moment to choose your wording, make sure you’re accurately communicating your feelings without offending him.

“While I do feel awkward and, frankly, small around you I don’t necessarily fear you. So far you’ve shown that you aren’t cruel, and though you are capable of some...violent things, I have no reason yet to believe you would be violent toward me.” A small smile tugs at his lips, a foreign thing to see.

“I assure you, I am not a violent lover. Nor will I ever be.” He reaches over and grabs your hand, lifting it to his face and leaving a soft kiss on your knuckles. It’s a simple, sweet gesture that has your face and chest heating. Then he gets up and you follow him out to the living room where three large suitcases are waiting. Your suitcases, you realize, Mother and Father must have packed all your clothing and had them sent here. Shouta picks up two of them and you take the last one, returning to the bedroom.

“The closet has plenty of room, so go ahead and sort everything out. I’ll be in my office. Once you’re done just wait for me, we’ll be going out later.” You nod, and he’s disappearing into his office. For the first time, you take a good look at the room. Your room now, you remind yourself. 

It’s large, enough to fit three more king beds with plenty of spare room. The king-sized mattress sits in a black frame that was built to look like it was hovering inches off the ground, fitted with light gray sheets and a large black comforter. The entire room is illuminated by lights embedded in the ceiling, the floor a dark hardwood that matches the doors to the bathroom and walk-in closet. A table sat on either side of the bed, both painted black to match the bed frame.

The walk-in closet is big as well, though it’s much brighter than the main bedroom. The floor is smooth white tile, a white center island with a glass top looking into the top drawers that held numerous watches and ties. Most of Shouta’s clothing seems to be folded, the suits and more high-end clothing the only pieces hung up. You filled the empty spaces with your own clothing, keeping everything organized like you had back at home. With everything tucked away, you decided it was time to change out of the robe, tugging on undergarments you missed those, a pair of loose sweatpants and a racerback tank top. Then you brought the now empty suitcases back to the living room and dug through the kitchen for some breakfast.

____

Shouta emerged from his office to you humming to yourself as you worked over the stove of bacon and pancakes. He didn’t even know he had bacon, let alone the ingredients for pancakes. It was quite cute, seeing you bounce lightly along with the tune you’re humming, spatula in hand. It’s a domestic sight, completely foreign to him. He leaned on the doorframe, choosing to admire you a while longer.

“Are you just going to stand there or are you going to come get some food?” He blinked, slightly shocked, you hadn’t even turned around to see if he was there. You must have heard the door open, though he made sure none of the doors in his home creaked. It’s an irritating noise. He made his way over to you, hooking his chin over your shoulder and placing his large hands on your waist.

He knows he’s moving a little fast with the intimacy. He’d asked you earlier, though you said you didn’t mind, you were absolutely right that it’s weird being so close so soon. In all honesty, as long as you’re alright with it he wants to continue being touchy like this. He’s never truly had any interest in naming a partner, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want company. He’s been lonely for a long time, longing for someone to hold, and while he’s absolutely sure any woman would love to court him willingly, he wants someone special.

He can’t stand the women that throw themselves at any man with power and money, most of them only in it for their own gain. If he were to announce before the ball that he was looking to name a wife, he’d probably have had a line of fawning women on their best behavior to butter him up, flirting and smiling those too-big smiles in an attempt to get a rock on their finger and power to wield at their leisure. That’s why he’d decided to watch from afar, and you struck him as different the moment he’d laid eyes on you.

The more time he spent in your company, the more he’s commending himself for picking you. You’re one of the probable few that held a semi-neutral opinion of him, not fearful nor starstruck. You’re intelligent, well-articulated, and while you have your limits you tend to go with the flow, let the wind carry you this way and that. And you’re honest with him, he has no doubt you’ll tell him if there’s a boundary he crosses.

____

You’re grateful he can’t quite tell the state you’re in right now. Shouta’s hands on your waist flustered you, more than you care to admit. Sure, he’s advancing rather quickly, but you meant it when you said you didn’t mind. You’d been forbidden from dating, made to save yourself for the strategic marriage your father had planned. For the longest time you’d wanted to be held, touched and loved by someone. And here Shouta is, fulfilling all your teenage daydreams. He has no reason to be so close behind closed doors, where no one can see you, so he must feel some sort of real attraction toward you right? Otherwise he’d be more closed off, only opting to speak on his own terms and not caring at all about you or your comfort.

You shake yourself from your thoughts and the two of you sit at the dining table, quietly eating your breakfast. It is a little awkward, but you expected as much. Shouta, like you, probably isn’t used to eating with another person. You both finish breakfast soon, and once the dishes are washed Shouta startles you with his next words.

“We’ll be leaving in an hour or two for a lunch meeting with a few other clans.” You have to take a pause and think about what he’d just said.

“We? You want me to join you?” A part of you wants him to confirm it, another hopes he doesn’t.

“Yes, I want you there with me.” Cue your confusion.

“It’s almost unheard of, having a woman in a clan meeting.” As much as you hate the patriarchy and its traditions, they are still traditions that, once challenged, could upset many people.

“Let’s say I’m breaking the status-quo. If I’m going to have a wife, she’ll be wielding my power alongside me, not just existing as a means to further the bloodline.” It becomes apparent to you that Shouta, despite his position, is very much not traditional. You turn to him and lean against the kitchen counter, crossing your arms over your chest.

“So why have you chosen me? I’m the daughter of a very low-ranked oyabun, have almost no experience compared to you and I am most definitely not someone other oyabun would approve to be your wife, let alone leading the entirety of the Yakuza.” He quirks an eyebrow at you, crossing his own arms.

“I don’t care what other oyabun may think of me or my choices, they don’t dictate what I do. As for why I’ve chosen you, it’s quite simple. I’ve known you for less than a day and it’s already obvious to me that you can take most things in stride, without allowing it to affect you emotionally. You’re good at compartmentalizing your own thoughts, can keep a level head under pressure, and that’s exactly what I need.” Your own eyebrows raise, not expecting a read like that.

“And last night as I watched you, it was clear to me that you’re skilled at masking your emotions, especially nervousness or fear. Think about what any other woman would have done, had I walked up to them and asked their name. Before I could get another word out they’d probably drop to their knees and begin begging for their lives. Most would probably faint on the spot, pounce on me, or any other number of unsavory responses after announcing a sudden engagement to me. But you? You did nothing, simply answering my question and taking my hand with no theatrics.” 

You nod slowly, mildly understanding his point. While it’s true you had almost no reaction, you’re almost sure there’d be at least a dozen other women in that hall that would have reacted the way you had. 

“Still, there must have been many others that acted like I did. For me to be so completely unique is…” You trailed off, not sure how to finish that sentence.

“Unlikely? Yes. Impossible? No. I trust my own judgement, little one, and you should have a little more faith in yourself. Now, let’s go get ready. I’ve already got a dress for you to wear. It’s only semi-formal, we’ll be going to a restaurant for this meeting.” You give a small sigh as you follow him into the bedroom. 

All you can do now is go along with it, whether you trust his judgement or not. Suddenly being put in a position of so much power is stressing you out a little bit, but Shouta isn’t wrong about your compartmentalization. The stress could be dealt with later, right now you have a meeting to attend.

* * *

On second thought, maybe the stress should have been dealt with earlier. Standing outside the restaurant, wrapped around Shouta’s arm is making your heart pound in your chest. You’re unconsciously squeezing his bicep, and even as he looks down at you, there's nothing on your face to indicate your nerves. You’re completely deadpanned, eyes focused and mind working overtime. Shouta’s calloused hand falls over yours, a mildly comforting gesture.

“Don’t worry, little one. The most you’ll have to do is sit still and look pretty. I’m aware of your inexperience, I don’t expect you to be put on the spot. If you are and feel uncomfortable then all you need to do is tap my leg. You’ll be fine.” You nod. The pep-talk is appreciated, but it isn’t the meeting itself you’re worried about. What kind of backlash will Shouta be getting once you enter? What will be said about his reputation afterward? All you can do is wait and see.

You stride into the venue, and are led to a private room by a hostess. You can hear the casual conversation from the open door, but once you’re inside the immediate silence is unsettling. You don’t need to look directly at the half dozen men to know all their eyes are fixed on you as you both sit at the head of the table. Shouta quickly and smoothly brings the attention off of you.

“It’s good to see you, gentlemen. Let’s get this meeting started, shall we?” The tension in the room is still palpable, the clear discomfort from the men hadn’t vanished, but their main focus now is the subject of the meeting. You sit and listen carefully as they talk about several things, from natural disaster preparations to minor territory disputes. Some of the smaller syndicates under these oyabun had spread operations outside their borders, but that was quickly settled as most was due to small misunderstandings and unclear borders. Soon the meeting was nearly coming to a close, and suddenly Shouta left to use the restroom. 

And now, you’re a lioness in a clan of hyenas.

You keep quiet, listening to their conversation and following along with the political debates to further familiarize yourself with the inner workings of the higher circle. Suddenly the table goes quiet, and you lift your eyes from the table to meet the gaze of six men that value tradition. Unsure what to do, you drop your gaze again, but don’t drop your chin, choosing to look down your nose at the wood grain. Shouta had told you to hold yourself as he does, and you make sure to try, but you know when to keep to yourself.

“Tell me, girl, what are you doing here?” You blink, not expecting to be confronted so blatantly. You look up at the man who had asked the question. He looks to be in his late forties, jet black hair graying at the temples and striking brown eyes aged and tired. He’s not thin, a little heavier-set, but it’s clear there was a point that he was fit and muscular. He’s already irked you. You nod your head, a small bow, before calmly answering.

“My name is (y/n). I would appreciate it if you could please use it, Oyabun. I am here because Shouta wants me to be here.” The man narrows his eyes at you, a small scoff comes from one of the others but you don’t avert your eyes to him.

“Well why does he want you here, girl?” The blatant rejection of your request made your blood boil, but you kept a pleasant face.

“I don’t know. If you wish to know you may need to ask him yourself, Oyabun. And please, call me (y/n).” You’re certain he won’t use your name, and you addressing it again will probably anger him, but you can’t care too much when you know you’re within your right to ask that anyone use your name. Especially when you yourself are using a title for the man.

“I’ll address you how I see fit. Just because you’re the Black Dragon’s fiance does not mean I will acknowledge you as anyone of importance.” Ah, that’s right. You had forgotten Shouta’s nickname. Black Dragon is the name people used for him, whether they were afraid of the man or in awe of him. You take an imperceptible, steadying breath. Misogyny is one of the few things that challenge your composure.

“I do not ask you to acknowledge me as a person who holds power. In fact, I am aware of my previous rank and understand that it was maybe unwise to have me here. All I ask is that you please use my name.” The near growl that escapes the man does nothing to your self-control, doesn’t even strike any kind of emotion other than irritation. At this point, the other five men seem to be siding with you, their gazes fixed on the rather aggressive-reacting oyabun with something akin to confusion. 

“Do not talk back to me, girl! I should remind you of your place here.” The other men sit in shock as he rises from his seat and begins to circle the table. He must have had tunnel vision, because Shouta’s voice cuts through the room so abruptly he freezes, his eyes snapping over to the entrance where Shouta stands, glaring daggers at him.

“Touch her, and I will personally bury you six feet under.” The man is frozen in shock, almost in disbelief. He tries, albeit weakly, to get Shouta on his side.

“O-oyabun! I… This girl, she--” 

“I believe she asked you to use her name. Politely, might I add.” He’d been listening? How long had he stood there?

“In fact, you should address her as Onna-oyabun.” Your breath caught at that, the same as the rest of the room. That title was a myth, a rarity in its own right. There were so few instances where that title was applied to a woman under such specific circumstances that it’s a mere legend today. The most recent was an old woman who had inherited her deceased husband’s clan, which was extremely small, and even that was long ago. 

Shouta’s hand landed on your shoulder, his rough thumb drawing small circles into your skin. He was silent, waiting for the older man, or anyone in the room, to oppose him. You could feel his glare in the faces of the other clans’ oyabun, the intensity of it making even you uneasy. It felt like an eternity before Shouta spoke again, venom laced in every syllable.

“I’ve chosen to let you keep all of your teeth, in favor of keeping her from seeing what violence I’m capable of. Next time, I won’t be so gracious. It’s time to go, little one.” You bow your head quickly before taking Shouta’s extended hand and strolling out of the room.

In the car, it’s silent. You have every intention of apologizing for causing a scene, though you aren’t sure if you should speak here or at home. Shouta doesn’t leave you any options.

“What is it? There’s something bothering you.” How perceptive.

“I’m sorry, Shouta.” He turns his head, his expression questioning your intelligence.

“For what? For asking to be addressed in a way that isn’t demeaning? He had no reason to ask why you were there, let alone attempt to attack you like that. I always hated that man, you’ve just given me a reason to threaten him.” You did a double-take.

“You heard everything? How long were you standing at the door?” 

“Ah. I put a bug in the metal piece on the front of your dress. I knew they might be unsavory toward you, and with me out of the room they were more likely to speak their minds.” You nearly gawked at him. No wonder he’d chosen your dress for you. 

“You never went to use the restroom.” He shook his head.

“No, I didn’t. It is I who should be apologizing, little one. The entire ordeal was intentional, as much as I hoped it wouldn’t actually take such a turn. Though I will say I was serious about that title. I fully intend to marry you, and I intend to have you by my side for every meeting from here on out.” You suck in a sharp breath at that bit of information. Marriage seemed like such an abstract concept until now, having Shouta say it somehow made it all the more solid. And to join him for every meeting? 

“As long as there are no more surprise incidents then I think I can come with you.” A low chuckle rumbled in his chest, and he squeezed your hand.

“Deal. Though I may need to do that a few more times just to keep some men in line.” You let yourself giggle, he must hate a few of the others as well.

“In that case I’ll help you. I was afraid he’d actually get me for a second there.” 

“Really? You didn’t even react. What if I were a split second too late?” You smirked, a mischievous little tug at your lips.

“Well if you were too late he’d have at least one stab wound and be bleeding out on the floor.” He shoots you a bewildered look before you tug up the hem of your dress, exposing a large dagger strapped to your thigh. He can’t contain his laughter, throwing his head back and wiping away at a few stray tears once he can breathe again. You can’t help but laugh with him, and notice just how handsome he looks when he’s happy, or in this case amused.

“Wouldn’t that be an unpleasant surprise.” He chuckles a bit more, getting it all out of his system before looking over at you. 

“Regardless, I won’t be letting them get that close. I’m sure you’re capable of defending yourself, and as much as I’d love to see you stab an annoying misogynist, the risk to your safety still remains. Not to mention he disregarded my warning last night. You’re untouchable, little one, he knows this and still thought he could touch even a single hair on your head.” 

You let a small smile settle on your lips, lacing your fingers with Shouta’s as a comfortable silence falls between you.

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

Tags:

@inumorph

[official-weasley]

The Irreplaceable Charlie Weasley: Pt. 2, Ch. 7

PART 2: THE YEAR OF MISCHIEF AND SNEAKING AROUND Chapter 7 - The Forbidden Christmas

Nova

Upon our surprise, Molly let Charlie stay at Hogwarts for Christmas AND she gave Bill a choice to come home or stay, whatever he would want. Of course, in her letter she indicated that she would rather that he comes home, so one night before he had to leave he made Charlie listen to a half an hour-long speech about how he better be good. How he got some of his friends, which are staying for Christmas, to keep an eye on him and that if anything ought to go wrong he will never leave him out of his sight ever again.

Of course, Charlie nodded to all of his threats as he couldn't believe just how easy his mum made it for us to go into the Forest.

In the week before Christmas, we visited Hagrid a couple of times. It was hard not to talk about the Forest as it was all we could think about and we couldn't help but sneak behind his hut one afternoon before we returned to the Castle, just to see if we remembered the entrance correctly.

Tonks and Tulip were all up for us going into the Forest and even offered to keep watch and tell us if we would have to come back sooner. We didn't know exactly how they were planning to do that but Tonks said that we should leave that to them so we didn't give it a second thought.

Penny, on the other hand, had a lot to say about our plan. She thought it was foolish that we were going without any of the adults knowing about it. She also said that we are way too young to pull something like this off successfully and that she can't understand why we can't wait a year or two more to go or simply why do we have to go at all.

In the end, she didn't have a choice but to let us go. She knew how much we wanted to explore the Forest and she even admitted that she was against it only because she didn't want anything bad happening to us. After promising her that we would come back to the feast on time she joined Tulip and Tonks on the guard duty.

The last week before Christmas passed quicker than expected. I thought the time was going to pass slower as we could hardly wait to go to the Forest. We got our equipment ready as we both prepared warm clothes and somehow managed to sneak the coats Hagrid gave us the last time, on our last visit to his hut.

We also took our wands, in hope that we wouldn't lose them and decided to take one day before Christmas Eve to go down to the Lake and practice some defensive spells we learned this year in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

As the day finally arrived, you can imagine that I didn't sleep well at all as I was so excited that we were actually going to pull this off. We packed our bags and went over everything we were going to bring with us at breakfast so that we wouldn't lose any time at the feast.

When the feast finally started and Dumbledore finished his speech, we quickly filled our plates with food and ate as much as we could but not as much that it would slow us down going into the Forest.

Then I started to act as if I was sick, which was Tonks' brilliant idea, and Charlie accompanied me to the bathroom. Since everyone was still at the Great Hall, including the teachers, we sneaked out of the Castle and towards Hagrid's hut.

We decided to take a little detour to the hut as we didn't want to risk Hagrid coming down from the feast earlier than planned or that anyone would spot us through the Castle windows.

Soon we were standing at the exact spot where we entered the Forest with Hagrid. We took a deep breath, took out our wands, and slowly stepped inside. We decided that as much as we would like to explore the whole Forest in one evening, we would only go as far as to the tree where we found the Bowtruckle the last time.

As it took us 4 hours with Hagrid, we didn't want to get lost or risk being caught as we both knew that meant that we wouldn't get another chance like this again.

We were quite proud of how fast we found the tree where the Bowtruckle lived. We didn't have any Fairy eggs but we were hoping that he would remember us from last time and let us observe him anyway.

Much to our disappointment, the Bowtruckle was nowhere to be seen and since Hagrid wasn't with us we couldn't get up the tree to search for him. We then decided to stand in complete silence and listen if we would be able to hear the Unicorn again. The Forest was so quiet this time around that it was quite eerie.

“Let's go to the right.” Charlie whispered to me after thinking about our next move for a few minutes. I nodded.

I grabbed his elbow as we started to move. We wanted to make sure that we weren't going in deeper but just to the right of where we already were. I wasn't certain that was the case, though, as the Forest got darker and darker the more we walked.

“Charlie,” I was getting concerned as it felt like we were walking for more than 15 minutes and we haven't seen anything but trees, “I think we're lost. Should we go back?”

“Yeah, I think we won't be as lucky as last time.” Charlie stopped for a second and turned to me.

“So, um...” I started and looked around. “Which way exactly is back?” My voice shook a little.

I admire how brave Charlie wanted to look for me, but I could see that he was just as worried as I was.

“Well, if we trace our steps we should find our way out in no time.” His smile was weak.

We turned around, cast Lumos, and pointed our wands at the ground. Our footprints were nowhere to be found. We both gulped and looked at each other in fear. Suddenly, we heard a noise on our left. It sounded like the wind at first but then an arrow hit the tree next to me.

We both screamed and started running. Unfortunately, not in the same direction but at that moment we couldn't be bothered. I ran and ran as much as my legs allowed me. As I was running, I was looking more behind my shoulder rather than where I was stepping and I caught my foot in a tree vine. I fell flat on my face and I decided to stay like that for a second to catch my breath and to listen for any more arrow sounds.

“Cha...Charlie?” I tried to steady my voice. I called for him a couple of times more and suddenly it dawned on me that I was completely alone. I stood up and dusted my jeans and my jacket. I picked up my wand, the tip was still lit, and looked around. There was nothing but trees around me and there was no hint of where to go to exit the Forest.

I was on the verge of tears and was ready to just sit down next to the tree that tripped me when I heard Charlie's voice.

“Nova!” I could barely hear it but it was enough for me to gather up some courage and wipe my tears.

“Charlie! Charlie, where are you?!” I shouted in every direction and then I stood completely still so that I could learn where his voice was coming from.

“Nova! Please help! I'm in trouble!” I looked to my left. I was 100% sure it was coming from that direction. I started to sprint and I promised myself that I wouldn't stop until I find him.

I called out for him here and there just to confirm that I was still going in the right direction. At that moment, fear left me completely and I didn't care what kind of creature I stumble upon. My best friend was in danger and he needed my help.

Charlie's voice was getting louder, making me run even faster.

“Charlie, where are you, I'm coming!” I stopped for a second to wait for his reply.

“No, Nova, you need to get help! Don't come here!” Of course, he was going to say that if he was in trouble but I knew that if I leave I'll never find my way back to him again.

“Ahhh!” I heard Charlie shout and I started running again. I couldn't help but notice that the ground underneath my feet started to change. There was no more rustling of the leaves. I was stepping on something dry and a bit slimy.

“Charlie?” I lowered my voice now as I took a few more steps. I pointed my lit wand to the ground and saw that what I was stepping on looked like a web. I gulped as I moved even closer to where I last heard him.

I narrowed my eyes as for a second I thought I saw Charlie's red hair. I quickly took a few more steps and saw that my eyes were not deceiving me. He was standing in what looked like a hole in a giant tree, looking up at something. He didn't look like he was in trouble at all. I ran towards him.

“Charlie, what are you doing just standing around?” I grabbed his hand and tried to pull him out of the tree cave. He was still looking up, so I did the same. What looked like at least 100 spiders, the size of my head were crawling towards us from the trees. I gasped and pulled Charlie's hand one more time but for some reason, he couldn't move.

I looked at his feet and they were covered with spider webs, gluing him to the ground. His wand was also on the ground, almost swallowed in spider webs.

“Nox.” I frowned. Then I took a step back and pointed my wand at Charlie's feet.

“Flipendo!” The webs ripped open and freed Charlie's foot. I cast the Knockback jinx on his other foot and finally set him free.

We exchanged a look that told us both to run. Charlie picked up his wand along with a ton of spider web as we turned away from the cave and started running. We barely escaped some of the spiders that now dropped to the floor and started crawling after us. I couldn't believe how fast they were.

I decided not to look back and just keep running. Suddenly, a Centaur appeared in front of us, his bow aiming at us and if I didn't pull Charlie by his hand, he would've run straight into him.

“What are you doing in our Forest, younglings?” He frowned at us.

“Mr. Centaur, sir.” Charlie bowed to him. “We are just trying to get out of here. We got lost.”

“And what were you doing in the Forest in the first place?” The Centaur narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

“We...we were trying to find a Unicorn we saw the last time we were here with our friend Hagrid.” My voice almost a whisper.

“You are friends with Hagrid?” He lowered his bow.

“Y...yes.” I nodded.

“My name is Torvus,” he gave Charlie an angry look as Charlie opened his mouth trying to introduce himself, “and you shouldn't be in here alone, especially so far in. You are disturbing peace.”

“We are aware of that Mr. Torvus, Centaur sir.” Charlie bowed his head. “We are just trying to get out, would you be so kind and point us in the right direction?”

Torvus looked like he was giving Charlie's proposal some thought.

“Alright, as you are friends of Hagrid's. However, if I ever see you in the Forest again, you are never getting out.” We both nodded.

We followed Torvus for quite some time. I couldn't believe how deep into the Forest we went. I couldn't help but wonder what the time was and if the feast was over already. We have been walking in complete silence for a few more minutes as Charlie finally gave up on questioning Torvus and wanting to know him better as the Centaur obviously ignored him when the trees started to thin out and we were finally able to see the moonlight.

“This is as far as I go.” Torvus suddenly stopped and turned to us. “Now promise me you will not go into the Forest again. You were lucky that I was the one who found you.” He looked at both of us.

“Thank you, Torvus.” I said and bowed my head. “We promise we won't be so foolish anymore.”

“Can we come and visit you?” Charlie asked enthusiastically. Torvus responded with a glare and galloped back into the Forest.

“Do you think that means no?” Charlie kept staring in Torvus' direction. I couldn't help but chuckle.

“C'mon. Let's hurry before we're too late or someone spots us.” I squeezed his shoulder.

On our way to the Castle, Charlie told me that I was lucky that I only saw the small spiders coming to get us. When I commented on the fact that those spiders didn't look small he told me what was in the tree he was standing in.

As he was running he stumbled upon it and thought it was a good idea as he was sure that a fascinating creature had to live inside. As he got closer something shone in the cave and he soon realized that it was 4 pairs of eyes looking right at him. The giant spider rose from its nest and got closer to him and before he could make a run for it saw that his feet were already covered in webs.

He said that the spider spoke to him and introduced himself as Aragog and Charlie, of course, complimented his name. The spider kept talking about how nice it was to see a face other than Hagrid's and Charlie started to tell him all about how Hagrid is his friend and thought that Aragog was rather nice.

While Aragog was asking if he was alone, Charlie couldn't help but search for the clicking sound he kept hearing. He then looked up and realized that Aragog was not talking to him to make friendly conversation but rather to distract him so that his younglings could come and get their dinner.

“You saved me just in time, Nova. Thank you for that.” He stopped at the Main Courtyard and hugged me tightly. “I would probably make a lot of baby spiders very happy if you didn't come to my rescue.” We entered the school.

“Did you think that you telling me not to come and find you was going to stop me?” I smiled at him.

“Well, I was trying to be modest but I was really hoping you wouldn't leave me behind.” His cheeks turned pink. “And nice job on the Knockback Jinx, Nova! If Flitwick saw that...”

“If Flitwick saw that, we would both be expelled.” I chuckled.

We might not have been as lucky with our Forbidden Forest adventure but we have at least been lucky enough to sneak back into the Castle and sit back down to our House Tables as the feast wasn't over.

Tulip bombarded me with questions immediately, while I could see Tonks smiling at the Hufflepuff Table and Penny looking rather relieved to see us alive.

“I'll tell you later.” I whispered to Tulip and put some food on my plate. I was starving.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

hey steph!! hope you’re safe and well at this time, i was wondering if you knew of any johnlock fics which involved the paparazzi, or interviews, or s + j being on tv, or generally in the public eye/as celebrities (not as an au, just having a celebrity status similar to what was in the show),especially if they’re publicly together. thank you so much!!! sending my best wishes to you 💞💗💓

JOHNLOCK IN THE PUBLIC EYE

Hey Nonny!

Ahhh, I actually don’t have very many:

The Newlywed Game: Johnlock Edition by patternofdefiance (E, 9,020 w., 7 Ch. || Fake Relationship, Fake Marriage, Friends to Lovers, Humour, Romance, Smut, Case Fic, Self-Esteem Issues) – John and Sherlock pretend to be married in order to be contestants in a Newlywed Game. Of course it’s for a case. Of course it doesn’t stay that way. Part 8 of I Blame Tumblr

Paparazzi by SilentAuror (E, 10,543 w., 1 Ch. || Virgin Sherlock, First Time, Friends to Lovers, Post S3) – John moves back into 221B Baker Street after his marriage falls apart and the paparazzi won't leave him and Sherlock alone about the status of their supposed relationship. Sherlock, of course, never denies it, until one day he does...

And of course the AUs (I know you didn’t ask for them, but in case other lovelies want them:

Children of the Revolution by BadNewsForBrainWork (E, 7,655+ w., 4/? Ch. || WiP || Moulin Rouge AU || Prostitution, BDSM, Multiple Pairings) –  John is an English writer travelling to the small village of Montmartre in Paris, France is hopes of taking part in the Bohemian Revolution. As soon as he arrives, he gets swept up by the revolutionaries and taken to the Moulin Rouge where he meets Sherlock Holmes. He quickly finds himself caught in a dangerous love triangle that could risk his entire career and maybe even his life. (TO READ)

This Is Your Song by agirlsname (E, 79,990 w., 19 Ch. || Moulin Rouge Fusion || Prostitute Sherlock, Poet John, Acting, Singing, Dancing, Writing, Poetry, Musical, Song Fic, Heavy Angst, Unreliable Narrator, Sherlock is French, Love at First Sight, UST, First Kiss/Time, Frottage, Coming in Pants, Anal Sex, Switchlock, Clothed Sex, Crossdressing, Secret Relationship, Forbidden Love, Jealousy, Terminal Illnesses, Grief/Mourning, Breakup/Makeup Sex, Past Drug Use, Attempted Rape, Canon-Typical Violence)– When John Watson is invalided home from the army in 1895, he moves to Paris to rediscover his writing and find a new meaning in life. His old friend Stamford invites him into a group of artist friends, and suddenly John finds himself auditioning to write a show for the famous brothel across the street. There, he meets the most beautiful man he’s ever seen - Sherlock, the star of the Moulin Rouge. But Sherlock is already promised to the investor of the show, the rich Duke Moriarty. (TO READ)

Sherlock, P.I. by Callie4180 (E, 83,264 w., 11 Ch. || Magnum P.I. Fusion || Past Relationships, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Canon-Typical Violence, Stalking, Creepy Moriarty) – For the Fall TV Sherlock fusion project. Sherlock, P.I. is an American television show that follows the exciting adventures of genius private investigator Sherlock Homes and his friends as they live their lives on the beautiful island of Oahu in Hawaii. Sherlock solves crimes as he wrestles with the ghosts and demons of his past. (TO READ)

A Case of Identity – The Musical by shamelessmash (E, 83,147 w., 15 Ch. || 1950′s Hollywood AU || Musical, Case Fic, Undercover as an Actor, Dancing, Happy Ending, Kidnapping, Drugs, Fluff and Angst, Humour, Writer/Director John, Slow Burn / Romance) – A mysterious death on set causes chaos in Stamford productions latest movie. With the premiere date left unchanged, they must find a new lead actor and reshoot an entire movie in two months. Sherlock Holmes goes undercover as a lead actor in a Musical: a juggling act to solve a murder while singing, dancing and charming his way through 1950s Hollywood. The last thing he expected was to fall in love with the screenwriter along the way. Or as I like to call it: the case where Sherlock finally gets to dance. Based off this prompt. (TO READ)

To the Sticking Place by blueink3 (E, 121,973 w., 20 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Musical Theatre AU || Showmance, Friends to Lovers, Bickering, UST / RST, Fluff, Virgin Sherlock, BAMF John, New York City / Broadway) – Renowned Shakespearean actor Sherlock Holmes has finally burned all of his bridges in the theatre industry save for his constant director, Greg Lestrade. John Watson has made a name for himself in the musical theatre circuit, but age and injury are working against him. Can they reinvent themselves for an all-male Macbeth without killing one another? Part 1 of the Screw Your Courage series (TO READ)

Performance In a Leading Role by Mad_Lori (E, 156,714 w., 21 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Hollywood / Actor AU, Secret Relationship, Falling in Love, Slow Burn, Romance, Coming Out, Fluff and Angst, Pining) – Sherlock Holmes is an Oscar winner in the midst of a career slump. John Watson is an Everyman actor trapped in the rom-com ghetto. When they are cast as a gay couple in a new independent drama, will they surprise each other? Will their on-screen romance make its way into the real world? Part 1 of Performance in a Leading Role

-------

If anyone has any that they can add that meets Nonny’s request, please add them!

[maliby]

When The Night Comes | CH. 1

↬ Pairing: Jimin x Reader | Taehyung x Reader ↬ Story Genre:smut, angst, vampire!au ↬ Warnings in this chapter: none ↬ Word count: 4.7K ↬ Summary: Your school has two courses: the day course, and the night course. Rules say that it’s strictly forbidden for both courses to interact but can you really follow the rules when you see the same eyes that have been showing up in your dreams for months on a mysterious hot guy from the night course?

↬ a/n: this series draws some inspiration from the anime “vampire knight” but only in some details like the school, so if you haven’t watched it but want to don’t worry, there will be no spoilers <3

CH. 1 | CH. 2

For the past two months now all of your dreams consisted of the same thing - a set of very hypnotizing silver eyes. You didn't know to whom they belonged to, you didn't know why they were haunting you, all you knew was that they were all you could think about.

The dreams never started the same way, you could be dreaming about picking up flowers in a huge beautiful field or you could be dreaming about smacking your annoying little brother in the head for something stupid he had done, but at some point in time it would all go black and those two silver orbs would appear in front of you, waking you up with a racing heart and a sweaty body.

Needless to say that these dreams were taking over your life and you really despised them for it, especially on nights like this one where you had to wake up early for a test the next day but were wide awake and panting at 4 AM.

“Y/N? Did you see the eyes again?” Your roommate Yujin who was sleeping in the bed right next to yours asked as she turned her light on.

“Yeah... sorry I woke you up Yujin.”

“You need to go to a psychologist, Mr. Moon is making you go coo-coo.” She pointed to her head and did the universal gesture for a person that is bat shit crazy - little circles with her finger.

“Tell me about it. I mean, when the hell am I gonna need this algebra shit? It's all just a plot to fry my brain cells I’m telling you.”

“Our brain cells,” she corrected.

“Ugh,” you let your upper body fall back on the bed and adjusted the covers to cover your now cold body. “What does the moon have against me? I mean, first there’s those eyes that look like moons, then it's Mr. Moon…Why won't the moon leave me alone? It's like it wants me or something.” You looked through your bedroom window and there it was, all round and shiny looking down at you.

“Yeah, the moon wants to make you its prisoner and claim your soul for all eternity,” she said in a mocking tone.

“Shut up, I'm serious!” You took your pillow and threw it at your roommate, hitting her right in the face.

She grabbed the pillow and threw it back at you. “Come on moon princess, just try to get back to sleep, you're gonna need all the rest you can get for tomorrow.”

“Yeah, you're right I’m gonna try to get back to it. Good night jinnie.” You grabbed the pillow she had just thrown at you and adjusted it under your head so you could try to sleep.

“Good night Y/N.”

It hadn’t even been 5 minutes since Yujin had turned off her light to get back to sleep but she was already snoring; you envied her for you had tossed and turned but those piercing eyes were so engraved in your mind that you simply couldn’t fall asleep. It was weird because as much you swore you had never seen those eyes before (due to the obvious reason that nobody has silver eyes unless they are wearing contacts) they somehow felt familiar. Maybe Yujin was right and you truly were going crazy.

“Fuuuck meeee! Why does Mr. Moon hate us? It’s like he gets a kick out of failing us all.” Yujin said as you and two of your classmates left the classroom.

To no surprise the test was a complete failure on your part, you didn’t even need to get the results back to know it. Actually, you’d prefer if Mr. Moon just took it and threw it in the trash where it belonged. Maybe you could have a decent result if you could have focused on the questions for more than two minutes, but that certainly didn’t happen.

“It's so unfair! How can he ask questions based on the results from previous questions? Like, I knew how to answer question number three but I couldn't do it because I didn't know how to answer question number one!” Your other friend Eunbin said with her signature cute pout.

You put your arms around your friends and gathered them all in a tiny circle, giving them small pats on the back. “My friends, we are all doomed. See you all in failure-land.”

“If any of you dares to pass this test I'll revoke our friendship. I'm not friends with successful people, they crush my ego.” Yujin pointed at all of you as she warned you all with a fake menacing look on her face. Yujin was one of the cutest people you knew, and she looked even cuter since she cut her bangs, so it was very hard to take her seriously when she tried to look mean.

“Oh my god guys, look!” Eunbin said as she broke from your friend circle. “Not all at once!” She added in a hushed tone as she watched you all turn your heads.

“You told us to look, what do you expect us to do you, dummy?” Your other friend Lisa said.

“Y/N, you look first,” Eunbin said.

You turned your head around and met with the object of Eunbin’s excitement - a guy from the night course.

“What’s a guy from the night course doing here during the day?” You asked.

As soon as the words ‘night course’ left your mouth the rest of your friends turned their heads to look in the direction you were looking, ignoring Eunbin’s orders. Seeing a person from the night course was like seeing an endangered species in the wild: not only was it extremely rare but you felt like you had to look carefully, or they could evaporate into thin air.

Your school had two courses: the day course and the night course. While the day course had classes during the day, the night course would frequent school during the night. To differentiate one from another, each course was represented by a different coloured uniform: the day course was white and night course was navy blue.

None of you knew why, but it was extremely forbidden for the night course and the day course to interact with each other. All of you had your theories as to why that was, the most popular one being that they were all rich and famous people that wanted to go to school in peace and quiet without having to deal with the normal folk.

“Fuck me, look at that smooth black hair. I just want to run my fingers through it,” Lisa said, her expression looking like one of those cartoons that had hearts bouncing out of their eyes when they saw someone they liked.

“Come on, turn around. Let us see that gorgeous face of yours.” Yujin said.

“If his face is as amazing as that ass then I'm in trouble.” As soon as you said that he turned around and looked straight at you, making you instantly freeze into rock. He was smiling at you but his eyes were the ones stealing your attention - they were the same as the ones that haunted you during the night except they were brown. You wanted to go up to him and ask him who he was but immediately as you started to move your legs he turned back around and made his way to the principal's office.

“Did you guys see that? He was totally making eyes at Y/N!” Yujin grabbed you by your shoulders and started shaking you with excitement but you remained unresponsive.

“Y/N, you need to find out who he is and go talk to him! Did you see those sinful lips? I swear he could make a freaking statue kiss him back.” Lisa said.  

“Y-Yujin, his eyes…” you couldn't believe you were even thinking about this, but after seeing those damn eyes every night for months you felt that there was no way you were wrong about this.

“Oh yeah, I could get lost in those beautiful eyes.”

“No, you don’t understand. His eyes are the ones I've been seeing in my dreams, except in brown.” You explained, your eyes still focused on the spot he was in just moments before.

“You’re telling us that you've dreamt of him even before you met him? Oh my God, you're meant to be.” Eunbin said as she started jumping up and down with excitement.

“Y/N I'm sure that they’re simply very similar and you're getting confused about this, I mean you haven't slept well in a while and you're stressed from the test…” She said in a careful tone, not wanting it to sound like she thought you were crazy.

“Yujin, I know what I saw.” You knew that she was just trying to be rational and look out for you and your sanity, but there was no doubt in your mind that they were the same eyes.

“Okay, well maybe it’s just a coincidence? I mean, you’re not actually suggesting that you had some weird visions about this guy are you?” Her words made total sense to you and on any given day you would agree with her, but something inside of you was telling you that there was something more to this and you weren’t gonna rest until you found out what.

“No...it’s just that it’s weird as fuck.” Your eyes travelled to the principal’s closed door and just stared at it as if they were trying to make a hole in it to see him again.

Courage was always something you lacked when it came down to boys (the only boyfriend you had been the one to make a move on you), but this time your curiosity was bigger than your fear of rejection so you were determined to go and talk to him. You wanted to wait out for him until he left the principal’s office (even though you were sure that would make you look like a total creep), but the sound of the bell calling all students to their next class sabotaged your plan.

“Ugh, already? I swear they’re making breaks smaller and smaller, seems like we just left that bloody test.” Lisa said, her head hanging low in sadness as she slowly dragged her feet in the direction of the classroom.

Eunbin followed Lisa but Yujin stayed behind as she noticed you were still staring at the principal’s door. “I know you want to go talk to him and get some peace in your head but we need to go to class now babe.” She offered you a kind smile as she put a piece of your hair behind your ear.

“Yeah, you’re right. I guess that if he really is the guy I’ve been seeing then we’ll meet again.” You finally stopped staring at the door and turned to your roommate with a forced smile on your face.

“Come on, let’s go. You know that Mr. Bang hates it when we’re late.” She locked her right arm with your left arm and started walking with you to class.

A week had passed since you last saw the mysterious hot guy (as Lisa nicknamed him), and the dreams had only gotten worse and worse. Before this, the eyes would only appear at the end of your dream but now they were constantly there just watching you from above. At this point, you pretty much had given up on having a good night’s of sleep, concealer becoming your new best friend to help you hide those hideous dark circles that had become part of you.

Yujin insisted that the dreams had gotten worse because you had formed this idea in your head that they meant something, and maybe she was right, but the inner conspiracy theory voice in your head kept telling you that the reason they had gotten worse was because you had finally seen him in person, whoever he might be.

For the past week, you and your friends had always hanged around the principal’s office during the breaks, hoping you could see the mysterious hot guy again and talk to him, but that just didn’t happen. It wasn’t until Eunbin pointed out that a guy from the night course would probably never come here during the day again that it all clicked for you - you knew where he would be, you just had to go there during the night.

Your plan was really simple: you’d wait for Yujin to fall asleep and then you would sneak out to the nightwing, where the night course hanged out and had their classes, and try to find the mysterious hot guy. If you did end up finding him, chances were that he’d think you were totally crazy, but you just had to know if all of this was in your head or not for the sake of your sanity.

During the afternoon you had managed to convince Yujin to go for a run after class so she’d be extra tired and fall right asleep when the night came. The only problem with your plan was that you would also become tired as fuck, you having to result to caffeine to stay awake until it was time to leave.

The classes from the night course only ended at 2 AM, but you didn’t want to take the risk of getting lost in the nightwing and lose your opportunity of meeting mysterious hot guy so at 1 AM you checked to see if Yujin was sleeping and left your bed.

Your way to the nightwing went completely fine, everybody from the day course was sound asleep so there was absolutely no soul to be found. It was when you got to the entry of the nightwing though, that your luck seemed to have changed.

“What are you doing? You can’t be in here, it’s against the rules.” It had never occurred to you that there would actually be guards but now that one was in front of you you felt stupid. You couldn’t believe you had never thought of this, but if the school would go as far as to create rules then it was obvious there would also be guards.

“Ughh...I…” You were so fucked, and not in a good way. You had absolutely no idea of what to say and the only thing you could do was wait for some miracle to happen.

“Right missy, I’m gonna have to report you-”

“It’s okay John, she’s with me.” A smooth deep voice you didn’t recognize said from the behind the guard, completely saving your ass.

“But she is from the day course sir, you know-” then the owner of the voice emerged from the shadows and fuck was he a looker. If that man was a colour he’d definitely be red; not only was he wearing some reddish copper contact lenses to go with his fiery red hair but the shirt from his uniform had 3 buttons undone, showing his toned golden chest. All of him screamed fire.

The man smirked at you before he turned to talk to the guard. “John, let's forget about what happened here. It’s late and you must be sleepy,” almost on cue, the guard yawned, like the man had just reminded him of how tired he was, “why don’t you go to bed early? Your substitute shouldn’t be long.” His voice was so soothing that it was having a weird effect even on you, almost like he was putting everyone who heard him into a trance.

“Yeah, you’re right sir. It’s my birthday and everything, I deserve to leave early,” the guard said in a sleepy voice.

“Happy birthday John. Go get your rest.”

“Thank you, sir. Have a good night.” Without even thinking twice the guard went to his little desk, gathered his things and walked by you like he had forgotten all about you.

“Now, what is a handsome girl from the day course like yourself doing here at this time of the night?” He put his hands in his pockets and sat himself at the edge of the wooden desk, right in front of you.

“I am looking for someone.” You couldn’t keep eye contact with him. It was like you were afraid of getting caught in his web of seduction.

“Someone huh? Any chance that someone is me?” He chuckled.

“Ugh..I…” Judging by the warmth you are feeling in your cheeks and ears they must match the colour of his hair perfectly by now. Did he have to be this handsome?

“I’m kidding. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself, you’re just so damn cute, I could just eat you up.” The way his voice went down a few octaves at that last part made your heart race like mad.

“W-what?” Fuck was he toying with your emotions, and he had barely even talked to you. Who was this guy? Freaking Casanova or something?

“Nothing, nothing.” His words tried to calm you down but his expression only served to make you burn up even more. “Why don’t I take you to our hangout place? Classes are almost over, so that person you’re looking for should drop by there to chill out.”

“Oh, that would be great! Thank you so much.”

You know those kinds of people that have such a dominant aura that can make you feel nervous just by their mere presence? Yeah, that was him. During the walk to the hangout place his presence made you feel so nervous that you just couldn’t talk like suddenly you had forgotten all words in the dictionary. You’d think that maybe he’d break the ice himself but no, he just smiled all the way through like your misery was his favourite form of enjoyment.

The structure of the nightwing was exactly the same as the daywing, except when you got to the hangout place. If you felt uncomfortable and nervous before, then oh boy were you in for a treat when you entered the hangout place; if you could describe it in two words it would be ‘sex club’. Everything in there straight out screamed ‘sex’: the red lights, the red couches, the big crystal chandeliers, the numerous scented candles and the loud sexy music. All you knew was that the rational part of you was begging you to just turn around and leave, but the horny part of you wanted you to stay.

“Sit here.” He grabbed you by your hand and guided you to a free couch near the door, his cold hand being nothing like you would expect from a guy that screamed ‘fire’. “Do you want something to drink little one?”

“Water is fine, thank you.” You sat as closest to the door as possible, wanting to have the opportunity to escape if you needed to.

“I’ll be right back then,” he winked at you and moved towards the bar to get you your drink.

As you waited for him to return with your glass of water you let your eyes study the few people who were in the room. There weren’t a lot of people there, since classes hadn’t finished yet, but the few that were seemed to be in some kind of weird lust trance; every single person in there was involved in a make-out session, it didn’t matter if it was a guy with a girl, a guy with a guy, or a girl with a girl.

“Here you go.” The red guy handed you your drink and sat right next to you, totally ignoring your personal space. “So, what’s your name beautiful?”

“Y/N.” You took the glass of water to your lips and drank half of its content, the refreshing liquid calming you down a bit.

“Y/N...that’s a nice name.” He took a sip of the whiskey he had bought for himself as his eyes scanned you up and down.

“Thank you, and what’s your name?”

“My name is Taehyung but people call me V, you know why?”

“No, why?”

Taehyung put his whiskey down on the glass coffee table in front of you and got close to your ear, making a chill run up your spine. “Because V is the first letter of my favourite dish.” He placed his large cold hand on your bare knee making all your senses go into overdrive.

“I-is that so?” You managed to say.

“Yeah. You know,” and it was at that moment that his hand started to move, slowly making its way up your leg, “it takes real skill to eat it. People say nobody eats it like me.”

As soon as you felt his cold touch over your panties you got up in a state of panic. “I need to go to the bathroom.”

“Down the hall to your right.” He hadn't even finished his sentence but you were already making your way to the exit; you actually didn't even had to go to the bathroom, you just really needed to get out of there.

You couldn’t really explain it but everything about that place and those people made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and not in a good way, more like in a fight or flight kind of way. And that guy Taehyung, he was hot as hell and your friends would totally kick your ass if they knew you had just blown him off, but all of him seemed to emanate danger like he could wreck you with a snap of his fingers.

The bathroom oozed the same erotic feeling as the hangout place - with its black tiles on the wall and gold sinks and mirrors - but it made you feel much more at ease thanks to its lack of people.

You turned the water from the sink on and splashed your face with it, the feeling cooling your body down. As you looked up at yourself in the mirror you started to wonder what were you doing in this place. Were you really going out of your way to look for a guy that you thought had appeared in your dreams? Did you really want to talk to him if he frequented places like the one you had been in just now? Maybe he had just smiled at you so he could lure an innocent girl from the day course to his dark cave of sin and taint you.

Determined to leave that place and go back to your single bed you closed the tap and left the bathroom, only stopping when you noticed you had to pass by the hangout place; you didn’t want Taehyung to see you, so when you got near its entrance you slowly peaked inside to see if your coast was clear but as soon as you spotted him sucking on the neck of a girl with purple hair you froze in your spot.

The sight you were witnessing was just so inviting: she had her eyes closed and her lips parted to release tiny moans of pleasure, while he was holding her neck with one hand and running his other hand up her exposed thigh like he had done with you just minutes before. You had to admit, the part of you that was making you press your thighs together was kind of mad at yourself that that could have been you in her place, but the part that had made you run away was glad that you could spot a heartbreaker when you saw one.

“V, do it baby. Don’t be such a tease.” She said with a lusty voice as she grabbed his red hair to bring him closer to her neck.

“I don’t appreciate when people tell me what to do; I prefer when girls deny me,” he slowly raised his head and locked eyes with you, that dangerous smile of his making you press your thighs together even harder, “makes it that much more exciting when I take what I want from them,” his copper eyes were fixated on you, making sure that you knew that he was talking about you, “but you are such a slut that you just can’t wait, isn’t that right?”

“Y-yes,” she moaned.

“Well then, bon appétit.” He opened his mouth revealing to you a pair of growing fangs that he so teasingly licked before he dived into her neck. Before you knew it a river of blood flowing was flowing from his mouth down to her cleavage, painting her skin with red streaks.

Horror filled your entire body as you tried to make sense of what you were seeing. Everything was pointing to one thing, but you refused to believe it - vampires don’t exist. The only logical explanation for you was that you were having another one of your bad dreams and that those silver eyes would soon appear again and make you wake up with your heart trying to pump itself out of your chest.

When Taehyung’s eyes opened up and looked at you once again they had changed from a coppery colour to a blood red one, confirming at last that he was, in fact, a vampire and that he had never been wearing contact lenses. You were ready to scream bloody murder and run the hell away from there but a cold hand that was suddenly placed over your lips prevented you from doing it.

“Shhh, don’t scream. You’re gonna startle everyone else,” a soft and seductive male voice whispered in your ear, strangely making you feel a bit more at ease.

When you turned around to discover the identity of the voice your eyes met with the ones from mysterious hot guy, only this time they were as silver as the ones in your dreams. In a blink of an eye, your emotions were up in a roar again and you were ready to scream once more. Noticing this, he pressed his hand harder into your mouth and softly pushed your body into the wall. “I said don’t scream.”

Suddenly you didn’t feel the need to scream anymore, a sense of calmness invading all of your body. Once he saw you relaxing he removed his hand from your mouth and stepped backwards, giving you your personal space back.

“Y-your eyes...y-you...h-he’s a...vampire.” Your mind was total chaos. You wanted to say so much but you didn’t even know where to start.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, totally ignoring all of your questions.

“W-what’s going on? Who are you?!” The more you looked into his silver eyes the more you were certain that it really was him in your dreams, how could it not be?

“I’m Jimin, and you?” Fuck he was so fucking charming. You swear he could make you tell him your deepest and darkest secrets just by flashing you that smile, but the way he kept avoiding your questions was annoying you.

“Stop avoiding my questions! First, that guy is a vampire and is feeding off of that girl in a place that, quite frankly, looks like some sort of sex dungeon minus the sex objects and second, you keep appearing in my dreams. What are you? An incubus?” You had no clue how you could be this brave, for all you knew he could kill you on the spot, but the truth was you were sick and tired of all this and just wanted to know the truth.

“An incubus?” he started laughing like you had just told him the funniest joke. “Did I fuck you in your dreams?” He said nonchalantly but still with a charming tone.

“What? No!”

“Well, then I can’t be an incubus then. What kind of incubus doesn’t fuck its prey?” He teased.

“You know what? I’m tired of this, I’m leaving.” You turned to leave but his strong hand gripped your arm to stop you. “Let me go!”

“I don’t remember you being this bratty before.” His tone was, once more, a teasing one, knowing that his words would make you stop whatever you were doing.

“What do you mean before?” You were petrified of his answer. Something has not been right for a few months now and judging by recent discoveries you have reason to fear the worst.

“Knew that would get your attention,” he chuckled. “It’s not your first time in here.”

“Wouldn’t I remember being here if that was true?” You asked.

“You would...if I hadn’t erased your memories.”

“You what?”

To be continued...

[jj-lynn21]

You will remember things that we never said ch 6

Warning: angst, fluff,  

Radiohead -talk show host

Dolly Trauma songs: "Stephanie" , Trepana 

ch 1,  ch 2,  ch 3, ch 4  ch 5 ch 7

Stephanie gets ready nervously. She doesn’t want to disappoint Axel but is pretty sure she will. She knows in all reality Lisa wasn’t the only person he has been with. And She is practically a virgin in his world. A big part of her doesn’t even know why he is interested.

She thinks, the fact he said he loves me doesn’t really mean he does, does it? Why am I even going though with this with someone so experienced? She looked in the mirror. Twirled in her black flirty mini skirt. Adjusted her breasts in her hot pink low-cut t-shirt. And took a deep cleansing breath. To late to back out now girl he will be here any minute.

       Axel texted:

        You ready?

       Stephanie:

       I think so. Be right down.

She grabbed her phone. Put it in her backpack with some over night necessities. And went to get in Axel’s truck.

As soon as Stephanie is in his truck Axel pulls her face over to kiss her deep and powerfully. Her hands go under his arms to hold his shoulders while he keeps kissing her until he needs a full breath. His eyes are dark green hungry when he eventually pulls away. “You look so good I could eat you right now Stephanie.” A low growl rumbled from his chest. “But I can wait.” He pulls away from the building to head to the venue.

Stephanie gasped as she heard the sound coming from him. Her eyes were wide. She was a mix of turned on and scared. She decided talking about schoolwork would calm her body’s reactions.

“I got a lot of work done.” She tried to sound casual. “I’m ahead on most of my subjects.”

“I’m sure you always get your work done and do what your told,” He picked her hand up to kiss it while focusing one eye on her and one on the road.

Stephanie was amazed how he could do that.  He liked she hadn’t mentioned how weird his eyes were. He knew she had to notice.

“Did you do your tattoos yourself Axel?” She watched him drive so confidently.

“Some of them.” He kept a hold of her hand like it was a lifeline.

“Why the one on your neck.” She was curious about all of them really. “It is so abrasive.”

“That tat scares off most of the people that fucking suck.” Axel was bluntly honest. “You know how the world is Stephanie. Most people are just asshats.”

“I guess,” She looks down biting her lip.

“My innocent pretty girl.” He smiled. “I guess that’s why I love you. I think my next tat will be the picture I did for Art class. Somewhere everyone can see it.”

She giggled, “Really?”

He pulled into the bar parking lot. “Yes, really.”

Axel gets out of the truck. He rushes around to open Stephanie’s door. “Todd and Drake have all the equipment with them. I need to help them carry things inside after I set you up at the bar, alright?”

“You want me to help carry equipment?” She asked.

Axel puts his hand on her lower back ushering her inside. “No need for that. Sit right here for now.” He kisses her quickly. Then gets the bar tender’s attention. “Give her a virgin colada. Does that sound good Stephanie.”

“Yes, Axel.” She smiles.

Axel leaves to help his bandmates who are just coming in the door. They set up a merchandise table in the back with CDs and T-shirts before setting up their equipment.

 Stephanie sips on her drink watching excitedly as they set up on the small stage just a few feet away. Drake slams his drum set. Tightens a few things. Then slams them some more. Todd tunes a few of his guitars. Axel blows in the mic and grins at the sound and how Stephanie is watching. He puts a guitar around him starting to play a few cords with his back turned. 

Stephanie perks up as she hears him play. It’s the first time she has seen him play the guitar and not just sing. Even though there isn’t to many people in the bar her initial instinct is to rush up to the stage. She holds herself back.

“Let’s warm up with Talk Show Host by Radio Head ” Zeitgeist starts playing. Axel turns around to start singing into the microphone.

“I want to I want to be someone else or I'll explode Floating upon the surface for the birds The birds The birds

You want me Fucking and come and find me I'll be waiting With a gun and a pack of sandwiches and nothing Nothing Nothing Nothing

You want me Well come on and break the door down You want me Fucking come on and break the door down I'm ready I'm ready I'm ready I'm ready I'm ready I'm ready”

Stephanie is biting her lip as Axel jumps off stage and walks over to her. His face is emotionless. He kiss her cheek and rests a hand on her knee as he look around her to get the bartenders attention. “I need two Millers and a bottled water.”

The bar tender nod and gets him what he asked for.

Axel looks at Stephanie intensely. “How did that sound from here Stephanie?”

“It was great Axel,” She was all starry eyed. “I love that song.”

“Me to,” He grins rubbing his hand over her knee. “let me give these beers to the guys and we will all go hang out by the merch table until it is time for us to go on.”

“Cool,” Stephanie said.

Todd and Drake were setting the bands equipment aside. They took their beers and hoped off stage going straight to the merchandise table. Axel took Stephanie’s hand. People started filtering into the bar. They went to the back, Stephanie sat down as Axel and the other guys started chatting with fans and selling their merch. Occasionally, Axel looked back to Stephanie with a nod. She smiled and nodded back.

A young girl Stephanie thinks might have snuck in the back of the club or had a fake ID giggled as Axel shows her the merch on the table. After she buys something, she leans in, to hug Axel. Stephanie gets up. She rubs Axel’s back. He puts his arm around her. The girl stands with a smirk on her face.

“Sally this is my girlfriend, Stephanie.” Axel kisses Stephanie’s cheek. Sally walks away. Axel holds up an XL sweatshirt to Stephanie. “We don’t have any smaller left, but you want this one?”

Stephanie nods yes. Axel slides it on her. Then puts a CD in the front pocket. He whispers, “You can wear this when you miss me. Listen to the CD to hear my voice.”

Shivers run through her body. “Thanks Axel.

Drake shakes his head watching them, “I didn’t know we were giving free merch to band bitches now.”

Axel glares at him.

Stephanie laughs, “Well, now you know.”

Axel looks at her and chuckles. “Yeah Drake, now you know.”

He introduces Stephanie to a few more fans as she helps sell the merch. He gets a guy to buy an extra large for his girl because it looks so cute on Stephanie. She blushes a little when Axel has her turn around to model the look. Zeigeist packs up their merch as the next band comes in to sell their stuff. 

Drake and Todd take the boxes of left over merch to the van. Axel pulls Stephanie into a dark corner to kiss her. He reaches under her skirt rubbing her slit through her panties.

“Not long now,” He whispers to her. “Go on up in your spot. I have a performance to do. And Then we go to my place..”

Stephanie gasps when she feels Axel’s touch. She bites her lip not to make a sound. With the loudness of the crowd no one would probably hear her anyway, but she didn’t want to take that chance. Axel goes to the backstage area. Stephanie makes her way to the front of the stage. It is not super packed so she has no problem. She notices all females up front and smirks. She knows what most of these girls are after and he’s taken.

When Zeigeist takes the stage and begin to play people scream. Axel nods to Stephanie. Then acknowledges the audience. “Thank you for coming out to hear us tonight and buying our shit. This first one’s called Trepana 

The music starts. Axel looks down until its time for him to start singing. “Stealing one glimpse of a moment forbidden. Each tells the other it laid as we planned it. Ten minutes later a whisper in my ear. Two minutes later, why am I still here. Will you remember things that we never said.,,If this was simple would sleep follow liquid. And if he was watching would I still make you wet? And why is it up to me always, always up to you, up to us. Two minutes later I’ve known you forever. In the next life, Will you remember things that we never sang…darling first my darling first, You will remember things that we never sang, you will remember…tell me how this will end…we never said…Just because.”

Stephanie revels in the sound. She worships at the stage alter like many others there. Some stand with their arms wrapped around their partners in front of them. They’re not jealous how horny Zeitgeist, especial Axel, gets their partners. They know it will only benefit them at the end of the night.

“This is something new,” Axel straps a guitar around him. “It’s called Stephanie” He begins to play and sings, “She’s on her knees and she lying, she’s one degree from receiving, there’s got to be why she lying,  beer on the floor, she a diamond, So, where will you sleep tonight,,, Stephanie I think your minds miles away, your talking to rocks again, its funny how I can’t believe you today, this time was no good for us,  luck justified is amazing, she is a tease like a new string, theft justified is amazing, so take what you need, it’s a good thing, And where will you sleep tonight… Stephanie I think your minds arms away,  I wanna go, we need to go, I’d love to go…This time is no good for us,.. You say, you say, I want everything to be great for us, happy like nothing’s wrong…when will the fire be going out. When will divine voices call you out.. Want me, Stephanie…When will you say that we’re going out…”

Axel takes the guitar off. He jumps down to Stephanie. She wraps her arms around him tightly tears in her eyes.

Axel holds her as some fans stare, “Sorry if that’s not what you expected. I was still fucking pissed when I wrote part of it.”

“I loved it Axel,” She kissed him. He kissed her back. “And I will tell whoever you want, we are going out.”

“Will you be sure to tell Ryan?” Axel murmurs in her ear.

“I haven’t talk to him since the movie Axel.” She leaned her forehead against his. “But I will tell him I only belong to you the next time I see him.”

“I like the sound of that,” Axel grins. “Your mine. Let’s go to my place.” 

He puts his hand on her back, escorting Stephanie out of the club. A few people stop to say they loved the new song. He just nodded as he moved on with her. His hair and body dripped with sweat. Some droplets dripped down his face. There was something about the pheromones he gave off that still attracted Stephanie in his perspiring state. She didn’t mind being close to him at all. 

[imagines-corner]

Forbidden: Liam Dunbar (Ch. 4)

pairing: Liam Dunbar x OC!Reader

word count: 2.1k

warnings: lack of consciousness? creepy dreams?

summary: As tensions rise in Beacon Hills, the “Wonder Twins” are the only ones with the answers - and they don’t even know it.

a/n: Thank you so much for waiting this long for me to post again! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in class/the shower/walking to work thinking about how badly I wanted to be writing. Luckily, I’ve successfully finished my first semester of college and I have almost a month of break to continue writing (and, since I’m not doing a field placement next semester, hopefully I’ll have more time? but no promises...). I really appreciate everyone who has decided this blog is good enough to wait around for! I hope I can continue to bring you content you can enjoy. For now, here’s the next chapter in this series, my inbox is always open, and I’ll see you soon!

Chapter 1 // Chapter 2 // Chapter 3

CHAPTER 4: THE SPACE BETWEEN

“What’s going on?” Rowan screamed, “Liam, I’m driving!”

“She- she passed out!” Liam exclaimed, pulling himself into the back seat, “Keep driving!”

“Is she still breathing?” Rowan asked, his hands shaking against the wheel.

Liam’s hands wrapped around your torso, pulling you up into a sitting position. “She’s still breathing,” He confirmed, listening to your shallow breaths and slow heartbeat.

“Good God, she’s so stupid,” Rowan breathed, sniffling. He tried his hardest not to come off as weak, but he couldn’t help but feel a tear of relief roll down his cheek.

“Where are we going?” Liam asked, his jaw quivering from the stress of the previous moments. He held you in his arms, watching as your chest rose and fell slowly with every breath. He was focused on your pulse, listening as your heart tapped rhythmically.

“I dunno,” Rowan confessed, “I’m just driving.” His eyes were trained on the road, occasionally looking into the mirror to see if anyone was following them, and to watch Liam. Even though Rowan was hesitant to trust him, he could tell from the way Liam held you carefully that Liam was an ally. “Any ideas?”

Liam thought quickly, but he couldn’t think of a safe space that wouldn’t put everyone else in danger. “The clinic.”

“The clinic?” Rowan asked, “We’re gonna hide in an animal clinic?”

“It’s not just an animal clinic,” Liam replied, “He’s a friend… Of our kind.”

“Is he a friend of mine?”

“He’s more like you than I am.”

Rowan nodded. “Can you give me directions?”

“Yeah,” Liam spoke, feeling you stir as his eyes were off of you for a second, “We’re close.”

The school hallways were dark. The only source of light was from the moonlight that trickled in from the windows, giving everything a mysterious and eerie glow. An unnaturally cool breeze caused the hair on your neck to stand on end, signaling that there was something wrong. You looked around, the doors behind you shut tightly and the stairs leading up to the second floor darker than the rest of the hallway. You looked forward, the hallway ending in a mysterious darkness that you couldn’t explain.

There was an odd clicking noise coming from the distance as a feeling of fear came over you. You looked around frantically, trying to locate the creature that was causing this, but you couldn’t find it.

“Show yourself!” You exclaimed, stomping your foot on the ground.

Then, everything went black.

You sat up, gasping.

“Shit!” Rowan screamed, knocking a few things off of a metal table in the corner of the room, “You couldn’t have revived any quieter?”

You looked around frantically, trying to recognize your surroundings. You had been lying on a metal table, a bright light shining above your head, almost like a halo. The walls were covered in brick, with metal tables and cabinets surrounding the room, medical supplies stacking the shelves. There were several people in the room you didn’t recognize, standing amongst Liam and Rowan.

“Where are we?” You asked, rubbing your forehead.

“Beacon Hills Veterinary Clinic,” Scott McCall answered from the shadows across the room, “You’re safe here.”

You nodded, staring at the strangers who surrounded you. “What are we doing here?”

“Hiding,” Rowan spoke, “That… thing is clearly growing stronger.”

“Then why are we just hiding?” You asked, “Why aren’t we out there fighting it?”

All eyes stared at you while you sat there, confused.

“Because,” Liam mumbled, “You’re the strongest - and smartest - person here. We were waiting for you.”

You furrowed your brows. You had never believed that you were the stronger or smarter person of any group, especially among group of werewolves.

“We saw what you did back there,” Scott continued, “With Monroe.”

And I know what you’re really capable of, Rowan confessed, reminding you of your abilities through the shared memories of your practice sessions.

“That doesn’t mean I’m the one with the plan,” You corrected, “We don’t even know how to stop this thing.”

“Well, what do we know?” A girl asked, crossing her arms over her flannel covered shirt, stepping out of the shadows.

“We know it’s causing mass hysteria,” Liam answered.

“Anything else?” The girl asked.

“We can figure that out,” You suggested, looking at your twin. He looked up from the hem of his shirt, staring at you as if you had several heads.

“You can’t be serious,” He spoke, “You nearly got yourself killed out there because you were strained, and now you want to-“

“Rowan,” You spoke calmly, “Together. We’re stronger that way.”

“And you haven’t rested,” He breathed.

“Divination is nothing compared to what I did earlier,” You reminded him, “We’ve done this so many times. We can do it in our sleep.”

Rowan chuckled slightly. “You promise, the second you feel fatigued you’ll give up?”

“Fine,” You nodded, patting the cold metal table, “Let’s do this, brother.”

Rowan reluctantly walked over to the table, crossing over to the side opposite you so that, when you lied down, your heads were next to each other. With your legs dangling off the side of the table, Rowan raised his right arm over his head so that you could connect it with your left, linking your fingers to increase the connection.

“What are they doing?” The girl whispered, leaning over to Liam, “Some kind of freaky twin telepathy?”

“Something like that,” Liam nodded, watching as your eyes closed gently.

Are you ready? You asked, grasping Rowan’s hand tighter.

As ready as you are, He replied, taking one last breath before the two of you descended into a collective unconscious.

Rowan opened his eyes, his body shivering from the breeze that swept through the hallway. He looked over at you, watching as your eyes scanned the surroundings.

“I was here before,” You spoke, staring over at your brother. You took a few steps forward, stopping once the clicking noise began. “It’s here.”

Rowan looked around frantically. “Where?”

You shook your head. “I don’t know.” You continued down the hallway, grabbing Rowan’s hand and pulling him along into the darkness, following the clicking.

“Is this a good idea?” He asked. You shrugged in response and continued to pull him down the hallway, stopping when you saw two figures stare back at you.

“Do you recognize them?” You asked Rowan. He shook his head.

The two of them looked at each other, disappearing within a second. They were soon replaced by a taller, humanoid creature, one that stood off in the distance with its back turned.

“That’s it,” Rowan spoke. He took a step forward, leaving you behind as he went to inquire. The two of you knew that no permanent harm could come from these visions, only temporary pain that would grow dull once you woke. In your dreams, Rowan was fearless.

As he grew closer to the creature, you could feel the anticipation. Something was going to happen, something Rowan wasn’t going to expect-

Suddenly, the Anuk-Ite turned, staring Rowan down with its bright purple eyes. Immediately, Rowan turned to stone, disappearing as his mind was removed from the vision.

Instead of staying, you ran.

Rowan sat up, his chest heaving.

“What did you see?” Malia asked, “Did you figure out how to kill it?”

“No,” Rowan spoke, “But I know how it’ll kill us.” He looked over at you, watching as your chest rose and fell peacefully. He knew what you were dealing with was far from peaceful - something he learned the hard way - but he knew you would be the one to find the answers.

You always were.

“Why isn’t she waking up?” Liam asked, taking a step closer to the table.

“Don’t touch her,” Rowan warned, “She’s still looking for an answer. If you touch her, she’ll wake up.”

Liam nodded, removing his hands from the vicinity. Rowan climbed off the table, continuing to wait for you. He checked the time - he had been gone for 20 minutes, meaning you likely would be in this state for much longer.

And you were running out of time.

You ran for the doors, pushing your way through them to escape. What should’ve been the courtyard outside the school was actually an abandoned train station, the same one you had dreamt about when Beacon Hills was visited by the Wild Hunt. You turned, noticing that the door you had came through disappeared, leaving you alone in this station, trying to look for an answer.

As you wandered around the room, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Everything was still in its place from when you had last seen it, though this time instead of seeing the sea of semi-conscious people, it was just you.

“Dammit,” You sighed, throwing yourself down on one of the benches. You rubbed your face, putting together all of the pieces that had come together from this vision, but nothing remarkable was coming to you.

“Hello there.”

You jumped, throwing your hands in front of you as you turned to see the figure that was sitting behind you. She was a pretty young woman, with bright red curls that were pulled away from her face with a headband and tied up into a messy bun. She was wearing some kind of floral robe, one that you knew for certain your mother would disapprove of. In her hands sat a magazine and a pen, open to a crossword puzzle that she was doing.

“Hi,” You spoke, assuming a stance that was less threatening. “Who are you?”

“You know, if this wasn’t your dream, I would ask the same,” She smiled, “I’m Winnie. Winona, to most people. You’ve probably heard of me.”

Furrowing your brows, you thought for a second.

“You’re the dead aunt,” You replied, “My mother’s sister.”

“Ah yes. Sybil. She always did have a stick up her- irrelevant,” She shrugged, “I won’t talk about your mother that way.” She looked back down at her crossword puzzle before her eyes leaped back up at you. “Can you help me with this?”

“I was hoping you could help me,” You muttered, “But sure.” “I need an eight letter word for ‘high elevation.’”

Thinking to yourself for a second, you shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

“Me neither,” She sighed, “I’ve never been good at these things. I was always more of a sudoku kind of girl.” She stuck the pen in her mouth, thinking, before removing it. “What about a seven letter word for ‘mandatory outfit.’”

“Uniform,” You replied, crossing your arms.

“Oh, the word starts with ‘M!’ An eight letter word meaning ‘high elevation’ that starts with ‘M?’”

“Mountain?” You asked, sitting across from her on a different bench. She smiled, nodding as she scribbled down the words before reading another one.

“How about a three letter word meaning ‘dusty residue.’ Ends with ‘H.’”

“Ash?” You suggested, receiving positive nods and hums from Winnie.

“Now, what was your question dear?”

“Have you ever heard of the Anuk-Ite?”

Winnie’s eyes widened. “Oh, no.”

You sat up, looking around.

“Did you get any answers?” Rowan asked. You looked at him, still sleepy and confused, before rubbing your eyes.

“She didn’t answer my question,” You sighed in frustration.

“I need a pen and paper,” Rowan demanded, looking around. Quickly, he was handed a sheet of white printer paper and a pen. “Describe it. What did you see after I left?”

You began describing what you had seen, even touching upon Winnie and her crossword puzzle.

“What did she ask you for?” Rowan asked.

“Weird words,” You replied, “Mountain, uniform, and ash.” Your eyes widened. “Mountain ash.”

“So,” Rowan spoke, “To recap. Two people were replaced by the humanoid.”

“Two halves make a whole,” Scott spoke from behind your brother, “The Anuk-Ite is two halves of one whole.”

“Then,” Rowan added, “I turned to stone when it looked at me. It turns people to stone.”

“I stood in the station from the Wild Hunt,” You continued, “It was released when the Wild Hunt came.”

“And we kill it with mountain ash,” Scott nodded.

“Good job, wonder twins,” Malia spoke, “It only took you an hour.”

“But now we have all the answers,” Liam reminded, “All we need is a game plan.”

“Out of all the bad ideas I’ve participated in,” Rowan sighed, “This is the worst.”

“Shut up and drive, Rowan,” Malia spoke, “Just because we’re separating you wonder twins doesn’t mean this is the end of the world.”

“I’m saying, this is a bad idea,” Rowan spoke, “We’re going where, again?”

“To the school,” Scott reminded from the back seat.

“To do what?”

“Fight the Anuk-Ite!” Malia yelled, “Do you really need me to remind you?”

“I’m just hoping the more you repeat it the dumber you’ll believe it is,” Rowan mumbled, pulling out of the parking lot.

“Do we have a choice?” Malia asked, “No, we don’t. Now, keep driving.”

[elvendara]

Elmwood Ch 4

Elmwood Reading List

I feel like I should add a trigger warning. There is some torture and mental anguish at the end. Sorry!

“You idiot! You were supposed to be watching him!” Jumin was livid and screaming at the guard in charge of Saeran.

Saeyoung and Yoosung were stunned. Both feeling a strange sense of betrayal, albeit for different reasons. Yoosung thought he had been getting through to Saeran, that he had made a connection.

“I’m sorry Saeyoung, I thought, I thought…” he couldn’t finish, breaking out into a sob.

“Not your fault Yoosung. You did what you could. That lich has a hold of him somehow, we won’t get him back until we deal with her.” Yoosung nodded as Saeyoung patted him on the back. He had to agree with Saeyoung’s assumption. Something had been holding Saeran back, no matter how close he had come to trusting Yoosung.

“We will stay with Jumin and his band. If he is going after her, I want to be there too. I willll help him rescue his brother, if he will help me rescue mine.” His jaw was set, the course decided on. Yoosung merely nodded again. They would find them, they would save them. They had to.

“We just lost our best chance to find her.” Jumin fumed, he was no longer yelling but his anger was still palpable.

He strode around the area where Saeran had been the night before. He was casting a spell the words he used taking form in wisps of smoke emanating from his mouth. They streamed out, creating a circle above where Saeran had lain, Jumin uttered a final word and the smoke exploded outwards dissipating. He stared at the area, his eyes seemingly focused on something no one else could see. After a few minutes, his eyes grew large and he turned away in frustration.

“Gah!” he spat on the ground. “That foul demon!”

“What did you see?” Jaehee asked.

“She gifted him with shadow magic! Why did I not detect magic in him? He could have escaped at any time.”

“Shadow magic?” Zen asked.

“It allows the user to travel from shadow to shadow. You could conceivably traverse the world, as long as there are shadows to inhibit.” Yoosung explained. “They can also be used to cloak oneself, but, that kind of magic drains the body.”

“Yes, the boy is using his own life’s essence to fuel the magic.” Jumin finished.

Yoosung and Saeyoung exchanged glances.

Saeyoung asked Yoosung, “What does that mean?”

“It means every time he uses the ability, it shortens his lifespan. It’s small increments, but they add up.” Yoosung responded.

“And judging by the kind of work Rika has him doing, he is bound to have used it considerably.” Said Jumin.

“So, he is slowly killing himself?” Saeyoung was shocked.

“Yes.” Was Jumin’s cold answer.

“Something else is bothering me. I should have been able to sense it as well. Shadow magic is dark magic, evil, it should have been palpable. How was it hidden from both a cleric and a mage?”

“Good question, another one to add to the list of research I need to do. Pack up, we move out as soon as possible.” Jumin walked towards his tent.

“We’re coming with you.” Saeyoung said.

“I know.” He shot over his shoulder. Stopping a moment later he turned around to face Saeyoung. “We should still visit that psyonicist, he could be helpful in figuring out what to do about the mind control she has on both our brothers.” Saeyoung nodded, everything was worth a try.

“Mind control, yeah.” Zen muttered.

“Zen!” Jaehee scolded.

Saeyoung and Yoosung looked at the beautiful silver elf questioningly. Jaehee’s lips were tight as a drum, but the tall elf merely smirked.

“Jumin’s brother V was next in line to the throne.” He began.

“Enough Zen.” Jaehee whispered harshly. Flicking her eyes to the tent in which Jumin had disappeared.

“If they travel with us, they have a right to know. Do not argue with me.” His tone was harsh, but his eyes were soft. Jaehee sighed and nodded in assent.

“He fell in love with a beautiful and kind sun elf. This is not technically forbidden, but as the heir to the throne, he was expected to take on a high elf wife. He balked, of course, he was in love. But his father forbade him to ever see her again. Rika... “

“Rika?” Yoosung and Saeyoung echoed, incredulous.

“Yes, the one and the same. She was a capable mage but her power was relatively weak. She desperately wanted to help people, but her thin power was not enough. She tried many things to enhance it, nothing worked for long. Then she turned to dark magic. I’m sure she told herself that she would use it for good, but you know once you begin down that road…”

“You end up wanting more and more power.” Yoosung finished.

“Exactly.” Zen agreed with a wink for Yoosung.

“It began to consume her until all that was left was her desire for more and more power, her original intent forgotten. She convinced V to run away with her, that they could be happy together, away from the elven court. The fact that V had a younger brother that could become the next heir helped. He left with her. Jumin can believe whatever he wants, but I do not think that Rika cast a spell on him, or controlled his mind, I think he left and stays with her willingly because he loves her.”

“That is only conjecture, we do not know for sure.” Jaehee countered.

“But if you are right, then there is no saving him.” Saeyoung said.

“Agreed. If I am right, Jumin will have to come to that conclusion on his own, and I fear it will be a painful one.”

“You sound almost sympathetic, I thought you did not like him.” Saeyoung alleged.

“I hate that haughty privileged lord!” Zen spat. “But even I know that what he does he does for family and love, and that, I cannot hate. If I had family, I would do the same.” He looked down, clearly upset, and walked towards his own tent.

Jaehee watched his back, sadness in her eyes.

“I imagine he has his own story?” Saeyoung asked softly.

“Do we not all?” her eyes clouded over, as if remembering her own.

Saeyoung had to agree, his own story was anything but pleasant. He strode to his horse, Yoosung had already saddled it and his own. His earliest memories were of when he and Saeran were five years old. Their mother was a whore who worked for money, food, or a pretty trinket. The hovel they inhabited had no extra rooms, so when she “entertained” the twins would leave. They walked the streets, usually with no shoes, and always dirty. One day they followed a family, a father, mother, and son that appeared to be their own age. He wore a clean, crisp, white tunic and wool overcoat that looked warm. His breeches were the same olive green as the overcoat and fit him perfectly. There were no holes in his shoes and the leather was well worn and shiny. They were entranced by the stylish family. The mother and father smiled at each other and held their son’s hands. What would that feel like?

The family stopped at a sweets stall and asked their son what he wanted. He chose a fruit pastry and a bagful of honey roasted nuts. The twins watched greedily, they had never tasted anything so fine. The boy turned away from his parents as they haggled with the merchant and saw the twins in the alleyway watching him hungrily. He had taken a bite of his pastry and chewed slowly. Saeyoung knew he should pull his brother away but he was just as mesmerized by the sweets. Saeran stepped out and approached the boy.

He smiled at the twins, “Hello, do you want some?” he held out the bag of nuts to the Saeran. His parents turned and saw the dirty street urchin and their son holding out the bag to him. The mother screamed and her hands flew to her mouth, terrified. The father grabbed his son and yanked him back so hard the boy lost hold of the bag and the nuts went scattering all over the cobbles.

“Stay away from my son you filthy vagrant!” the father screeched.

Saeran’s eyes filled with tears and he shrank back. Saeyoung took hold of his brother and pulled him close.

“Fuck off you putrid piece of dung!” he screamed at the man. The man’s eyes widened and he grabbed his family and shuffled away as fast as they could. Once they were out of sight Saeyoung knelt and began to pick up the nuts, putting them in the dropped bag. He grabbed his brother’s hand and ran back towards their home. He stopped them under an awning in front of a closed shop and they huddled in the entryway. Saeyoung looked around, making sure they were safe. Then he pulled out the bag, opened it and stared at the golden treasure within. He pulled one out and handed it to his brother. Saeran’s eyes were wide as he grabbed the nugget and slowly placed it in his mouth. His eyes closed as the sweet nectar exploded in his mouth. They ate the entire bag, Saeyoung making sure Saeran ate the most. The look on his brother’s face made him glad.

Saeyoung smiled at the memory.

“What is that for?” Yoosung asked, bringing Saeyoung out of his reverie.

“I was just thinking about how much Saeran loved sweets. I wonder if he still does?” He rolled up his blanket and tied it to the back of the saddle, he went around the horse and checked his bags and weapons.

“Move Out!” Jumin sat on the wagon’s bench next to a guard who was driving the horses. He had large book in his hands, opening it and flipping through the pages. Jaehee rode in the back and appeared to be stretching her limbs. Zen was already on his horse, plate mail shiny and gleaming, just like him. The rest of the guards were spread in front and behind the wagon. They began to move, Saeyoung and Yoosung quickly mounted their horses and followed the wagon.

“I want to talk to Jumin. I will be right back.” He spurred his horse forward until he was beside the wagon next to Jumin.

Jumin closed his book and glanced at Saeyoung.

“I am sorry about your brother. I know what it feels like to have lost someone you love. To have them back and lose them again…I am sorry.”

“Thank you. I…uh…appreciate that.” They continued in silence, nothing else needing to be said.

“I am curious about something you said earlier. You said Saeran could have escaped at any time. Why did he stay as long as he did?”

“I have been wondering about that as well. It could be that he thought he could still gain the objective he was tasked with. Or, learn some information important enough to take back to his master.”

“What do you think they were after?”

“Me. She has been trying to kill me for years.” He shook his head. “But this attack felt different. No, they were after something. I just wish I knew what it was.”

“It would have been helpful to keep Saeran talking.” Saeyoung glanced at the short haired mage. “I have a different theory.”

“About?” Jumin’s eyebrows rose.

“About why he stayed so long. I think it is because of Yoosung.”

“The half-breed?” Jumin scoffed.

Saeyoung’s glare was enough to silence the mage.

“His name is Yoosung! And a better person I have never met. No matter how much you disdain him, put him down, call him names, if you need help, he will give it to you and expect nothing in return. Can you say the same?”

“The world does not work that way.”

“Yoosung’s world does. He…he has a way of worming into your heart when you are not looking.” Saeyoung recalled his own experience with this. “I felt the same a you when I first met Yoosung. He smiles too much, he is too trusting, you do not have to steal from him, all you have to do is ask him for what you want, he will give it to you if it is within his power to do so.” Saeyoung smiled at the memory of Yoosung taking his boots off and giving them to the man who had just robbed him because the man’s own boots had no soles.

He shook his head, “There is something special about his spirit and it has nothing to do with his god. No, I think, somehow, Yoosung made a connection with Saeran. Something I do not think Saeran has had in a long time. Not since…”

“He was with you? He is not just your brother, he is your twin, yes?” asked Jumin.

“Yes.”

“Indeed, that is a very powerful and magical connection.”

Saeyoung nodded.

“If you are right, then our most powerful weapon against him is the cleric…” he glanced sideways at Saeyoung before uttering, “Yoosung.” Saeyoung nodded and they both turned around to stare at the object of their discussion.

Yoosung rode his horse between the wagon and the two guards in the rear. His blonde hair loose around his shoulders and his clerical robes once more pristine. His face was solemn and Saeyoung knew he thought about Saeran and what he might have done wrong and what he could and would do better next time. Yoosung never gave up on anyone. He worried that Yoosung would only end up getting hurt. He wanted his brother back, but he had to admit to himself that it might not be possible, that he was too far gone and in the clutches of the bitch queen.

Watching Yoosung, he had to hope for the best, because that is what Yoosung would do. He smiled once more, nodded to Jumin and fell back to ride beside his best friend.

(Meanwhile)

“Stop lying to me Saeran!” Rika stood in front of him. His body was bound to the cold stone wall at his ankles and wrists by iron shackles.

“Why do you make me do this?” she purred into his ear as she ran her fully fleshed fingers down his jaw, his neck, and his chest.

“I have the reports of the contingent that went with you to recover the staff. They told me about the blonde half-elf. And the red-head. They captured you because you were weak, because you were soft, because YOOSUNG captured your heart. I thought your heart belonged only to me.” She whined, digging her nails into his flesh.

“NO!” Saeran screamed. “They mean nothing to me! I only stayed to try and obtain the staff. I swear.”

“So, love had nothing to do with it?”

“Love??” Saeran laughed. “What do I need with love? My heart is black as coal, you should know.”

“Ah, but, your actions prove otherwise. Imagine his face, his lavender eyes, his blonde hair, his milky white skin. Imagine his lips, his mouth, his soothing words in your ear. Can you see him?” she teased quietly.

“No, no, no.” Saeran shook his head, trying to keep the image of Yoosung out of his head, but he was failing. He remembered how close he had been to the half-elf’s face, the heat of his breath, the smell of his hair, the thrill that went through him when Yoosung had said his name.

“Yes, perfect.” Rika snarled before shooting Saeran with electric energy through her fingertips. He screamed, throwing his head back slamming it against the stone. His short hair stood on end and his body shook with pain.

“Again!” she ordered.

“No, please, stop.” He pleaded, but her intrusion sent the image of Yoosung inside his head once more, the gentle eyes, the calming resolve, the self-assured certainty that Saeran could be trusted someday. And just as he embraced those images, another bolt of energy was sent through him. The pain encapsulating him and screeching through his nerves. He screamed yet again, the images of Yoosung burning away into ash.

“You can make the pain stop Saeran.” She cooed at him, licking the side of his face. His breathing was harsh and tears smeared his face. The dark coal he used to line his eyes streaking over his cheeks.

“Can you see his face?” Saeran shook his head. “Can you feel his touch?” he squeezed his eyes shut and sobbed. He felt Yoosung’s warm hands cupping his face sending calm energy into him. He remembered not wanting the feeling to end. And then…more pain erupted from his abdomen and spread throughout his body. He arched his back, his arms and legs straining against the shackles, his screaming so loud his voice cracked from the strain on his vocal chords.

Over and over it went. Rika forcing Yoosung’s image into Saeran’s head then punishing him for it. Saeran’s body was covered with sweat and he sobbed uncontrollably, the weight of his body straining his wrists.

“Please…” he pleaded, the pain was unbearable.

“Please what?” Rika whispered in his ear.

“K…K…kill me.” He begged through the torrent of tears.

“Never.” She trilled and laughed in his face. She took his chin in her hand and tilted his face to stare into his minty green eyes. “If you want the pain to stop, you must eliminate the source. Whose fault is it Saeran? Whose fault is it that your world has come crumbling down? Whose fault is it that your body is wracked with pain? Whose fault is it?” she demanded.

“Y…Yoosung’s.” he cried. Rika grinned.

“Yes my lovely, it is all Yoosung’s fault. And how do you stop the pain?” she asked, eyes sparkling.

“K…Kill…him.” He grated through clenched teeth. Rika let go of him and twirled, raising her hands to the air and releasing a torrent of electric bolts, laughing hysterically.

This chapter may be a little rough. It was really hard writing that last bit and I just couldn’t go over it anymore. I’m sorry Saeran! Next chapter may not be till next week. Weekends are always busy and, well, hurting Saeran was hard.