#you see I made this great; executive choice to put my blankets and pillow covers into the wash while I was watching a movie at 6:30 am and

[is-your-name-anronpa-cause-dang]

HEADCANNON

Tsumugi refers to herself as a perfect Junko copy but I don’t think that’s correct. Tsumugi isn’t a perfect copy of Junko, because she uses her(Junkos) plan, her idea and ‘mind’ as a failsafe but I don’t think junko would use failsafes, shed like the excitement of her plan falling to bits without a net underneath her, cause if there was one it wouldn’t be fun.

Original Enoshima didn’t try to escape nor stop her execution once the decision to vote hope and kill her, -trial wise- had been put in motion, and in the anime, in her purgatory/ little cinema hell that she watches with miss chisa after she dies, the following conversation goes as:

Junko: aww! The story’s already over?

Yukizome: No.

Enoshima: Hm?

Chisa: Bizarre as it sounds, our Hope is just getting warmed up.

Enoshima: Lame.

Enoshima: Huh. As if I even care.

Enoshima: Get over yourself, slut. We're dead!

 (English dub) (future arc episode 12)

I don’t think she cared for continuing her story after she died either. She said something about it being new and not expected,(in a good way) in the future arc season when the next mastermind was revealed.(this is also cinema) She didn’t appear to want to keep her title as a sort of weekly mastermind.

‘but her alter ego carries on her wrath in sdr2!’ I hear you cry. Well even if she claimed she made that by herself, she wasn’t chihiro fujisaki, a programmer, and had to get some sort of help to do so. So there can definitely be some very small differences when she built another her. She could have changed her ideology after her death, but not be able to update her alter ego. also, she’s completely unpredictable and does things by random, (let me remind you that she killed her sister on the bases of boredom) so she could probably have separate ideas to her AI. This means she can plausibly disagree with her alter ego self and this can still sort of make sense

Back to my first point- Tsumugi kept fighting in trial 6/ chapter 6 because it would end danganronpa, and in turn, popularity. (i don’t believe junko would care to make a legacy so long and dragged out all for 53+ seasons, she wanted to die asap and it would be ‘boring’ if there was season after season after season. Please remember she got bored with herself easily)(<-) Also, Junko DID want to bring despair onto its viewers/ survivors of The Tragedy which is the whole reason trigger happy havoc’s game aired. And, in its most roundabout and basic form, that was what kiibo was for, so kudos to tsumugi I guess but it did kind of backfire into hope because she decided to give the walking Twitch-Chat-Plays-Danganronpa sentience so her plan backfired horrifically so no dice. (so ^this WAS my original statement but on further thought I actually think junko does/ would be ok with this, but she would be incredibly bored with her playing mastermind every time. She also wouldn’t like Tsumugis narrative with her playing Junko or the ‘enoshima pops up from the dead afton style in a despairing fashion’ with zero context.[I add this at the bottom instead of the top instead of where it originally was because it got too long.)

ALSO!!! Tsumugi copied the secret entrance idea. Also also she uses timers/deadlines (ha) to fall back on if things fail. Yes, while Junko raised her hand over Sakura to kill someone if things didn’t pan out, she would not directly murder like Tsumugi did. this does raise a concern: does Tsumugi and Junko the 53rd count as the same person? Does Tsumugis actions mean Junko did it too? Or are they separate if they aren’t in cosplay? I’d assume no because it’s just her cosplay and all, but if it is in costume? What happens??

Think about it this way: Tsumugi could only kill and slip up as a junko copycat because she knew about the hidden door, therefore she’s the mastermind, and junko is the mastermind, so she’s junko, but OG Junko cannot kill in the circumstances that were posed, So they aren’t the same person? So there’s two masterminds? That doesn’t make sense, their the same person. And now we’re back at square one. However she’s the same person because as far as I know, tsumugi doesn’t canonly have D.I.D so technically, every cosplay personality is already in her mind from her will. But theres still very clear differences between them. Even so, I still think I have something here

To simplify it, I’ve made four routes I can go down to explain this fuckery:

Tsumugi and Junko are different and it’s a multiple personality situation (if we assume this based off of the little evidence, there would be a whole other seperate kerfuffle but also junko remembers everything tsumugi does so memories are linked, and the outfit changes, and that’s not a very common thing to make people change a character. Oh yeah alSO EVERY OTHER CHARACTER THAT IS CHANGED INTO , YEP THAT WOULD ALSO MAYBE BE A CHARACTER So let’s not go here. There are easier ways to lose your mind)

It’s entirely Junko. Tsumugi is Junkos fake identity. (Does not match up with what has been previously stated.)

It’s entirely Shirogane. Tsumugi and Junko53 are the same people. There isn’t a seperate Junko entity, it’s just Tsumugis will. (The most sense, maybe this was what ‘copycat criminal’ meant?)

Tsumugi and Junko are different people. But not in D.I.D . They’re just two separate entities. (No.)

Conclusion? I lost my damn mind going down this rabbit hole.

The conclusion you are actually interested in: I think Tsumugi is infact not a perfect junko copy, but she’s a danganronpa employee and a fairly convincing copycat with unlimited funding and a spaceship

[booburry]

Echoes in Time Chapter 4: A Star is Born

Chapter Summary: A day of hot and cold between Mallory and Sam leaves them with a clearer path forward and a renewed determination from Sam. WC: 9,988 - sorry (not sorry?). But hey! I managed to keep it under 10k lol

CW: Accidental nudity, emotional angst, they be smoochin', game spoilers

A/N: Thank you all for your patience with this one! As you see it's a long one, but I couldn't cut anything out and I didn't want to end it abruptly either, for the sake of keeping it shorter. I will try to keep chapters within the realm of 6.5k to 8k but sometimes the words just roll. I hope you all enjoy

The idea that Mallory’s mood could have gotten worse from the moment she admitted to ‘outing’ herself as a time-travelling ‘alien’ would seem improbable to impossible.

Unfortunately, as if struck by bad luck, it did.

It’s those damn Coes and their stupid book. Mallory grumbled within herself as she put on her socks before getting out of bed to get dressed for the day. She laid out some clothes on her bed, her sheet and blanket messily bunched up from her active sleeping—she never stayed still.

She was pondering over two options when, unexpectedly, there was a light knock on the door.

“One moment!” Mallory called out, upset and anxious that she suddenly felt rushed to decide what she was going to wear.

“Yup, no problem...” Sam called out, elongating his ‘o’. Mallory instinctively grabbed a blanket to cover her exposed parts despite there being no way he could see her.

It would also be a lie if Mallory claimed the idea of only a panel of wood standing between Sam and her didn’t also excite her—her mind compulsively jumping into the deep end of that fantasy, losing herself until she heard Sam clear his throat from the hallway.

“I just put on my socks!” Mallory called out, rushing to pick an outfit and frustratingly finding that now knowing he would be the first to see her left Mallory wishing to put more…effort into her choices.

It also just made her anxiety rise and her executive function vanish.

“Okay,” Sam called out, Mallory smiling as she just pictured him slightly rocking back onto his heels with his hands in his pockets.

Naturally, she reached up to grab Sam’s necklace only to realize it wasn’t there. Without hesitation that became Mallory’s next goal, but she couldn’t seem to find it. Clothes were flying, pillows, blankets and sheets were tossed off the bed, drawers and cabinets dramatically being opened and shut.

“Hey, you okay?” Sam asked with a great amount of concern, probably at the sudden, and loud, sounds from within her room.

Mallory immediately felt as if her stomach was about to fall out of her ass as she realized, before being able to fully act, that Sam was about to walk in and see her wearing nothing but a pair of fuzzy socks.

“Sarah is wa—"

And boy did he.

“aaaaauuhh…mn.” Sam let out a prolonged, strained, sound that Mallory—if she were not frantically leaping over her bed to grab the sheet she threw to the side—would have teased him for relentlessly.

“Would you—” Mallory started to speak as she almost fell to the ground to roll herself into some amount of fabric. “Close the door!?” She called out to him, expecting him to walk out but the man, either in his confusion or boldness, stepped in and closed the door behind him.

His eyes were firmly on the floor.

“So…you, uh, put your socks on first, huh?” He slowly asked, obviously calculating a million things in his head as he sputtered out the words. Mallory felt her toes curl in as she stood up to tightly wrap the sheet around herself, ensuring it had zero chance of falling off.

“I don’t like the feeling of my bare feet touching things, okay?” Mallory defensively stated, feeling embarrassed by her quirks before immediately reminding herself of the complete invasion of her space, flashing a scorching glare at Sam. He didn’t see, of course, as his eyes were still glued to the floor. “Since when do you just walk in?”

“I—” Sam still wouldn’t look at her, which Mallory told herself was good, but god she also desperately wished he would. “You said socks…and then the noises…I, uh, I—” He tried to continue but still fell short. “I panicked.” He finally admitted, causing Mallory to feel a sudden urge she couldn’t resist.

“We’ll have to work on that.” She told him, mocking the words he had just used yesterday when she admitted she similarly panicked in a moment of high stress. But, despite the tone Sam may have used in themoment before, Mallory decided to say it with a slight, completely unfair, adjustment.

She pitched her voice deeper, making an effort to sound breathy while ensuring her words flowed together like silk and honey. She saw Sam’s chest pop out with a sudden and short exhale but the rest of his body was like stone.

“That’s…so cruel.” He told her, a light shake to his head, his face hidden behind his hat but Mallory knew how wide his smile was and the exact shade of crimson present on his cheeks from the tone he spoke in.

“You subjected yourself to this torture when you walked in here,” Mallory informed him with a matter-of-fact tone, losing herself in the moment. “It’s only fair I get even.” Sam chuckled.

“This is even?” He asked, suggesting as if what she was doing to him was much worse than what he just did. Maybe he said it because he did his by accident, while Mallory was, enjoyably, torturing the man intentionally.

But still…he should learn to never walk into a lady's room.

“Do I need to remind you what you saw?”

“No.” Sam quickly said. “No, no no.” He repeated yet Mallory saw his hat slowly lift. “Uhm—” Immediately back down. “Yeah, no.” He confirmed.

“So, I’ll take that as a ‘no’.” Mallory laughed, finding it both endearing and irresistible how he was right now. “Now, turn around and don’t look—please.” She quickly added the last request, her other part becoming present and in contention with her bolder self, reminding her to not come off as bossy, impolite or being too demanding.

Sam just deeply chuckled.

“I would have preferred it if you just demanded me to.” He slowly glanced up at Mallory, who became immediately self-conscious about how tightly she had wrapped her sheet around her body. His eyes lingered, but at least he didn’t try to hide it, and he ensured to give Mallory a smirk and a playful, pronounced, wink.

“Turn.” She said with a laugh. “Around.” And continued with a teasingly annoyed tone while raising an eyebrow at Sam—a suppressed smile pushing its way forward as her heart beat against her chest. Sam just smiled and closed his eyes.

“Mmmn,” he hummed as he immediately obeyed, “yeah…that’s much better.” He encouraged her, the rumble of his voice more pronounced, his tone taunting.

It seemed that Sam had decided to fight just as dirty in the game Mallory had started. His eyes looked towards the ceiling, Mallory’s gaze immediately being drawn to the pronounced curve of his strong neck.

“You’re so bad!” Mallory said with a laugh before realizing how the words she chose would be easily used against her when said to a person like Sam Coe.

She heard him hiss in a sharp inhale, a moment of silence and then…nothing.

“You alright?” She asked, with a small amount of concern that she had broken his ‘witty bone’.

“Yeah—well…no, but,” Sam paused another moment, Mallory truly starting to worry she had broken the man, “I wouldn’t change a thing. I just…can’t…really think, right now.” He slowly stated as his head leveled out and he awkwardly adjusted his posture. Mallory smirked.

“Blood rushing elsewhere?” She quickly asked.

“You could say that, sure.” Sam quickly responded, his head flinching for a moment, as if to look at her, before remembering her request—or as he, apparently, preferred: command. “Are you getting dressed, or are socks and a sheet your outfit for the day?” He asked, Mallory smiling as he seemed to regain his composure.

Leaning into the mischievousness Sam brought out in her, Mallory planned to drop her sheet at Sam’s feet, but something caught her eye that pulled her right from this moment.

The book of Solomon Coe laid open on her desk, on the page with the photo that had completely shattered Mallory’s world last night, and did once again in this moment.

“Just a moment.” Mallory responded, all of her cheek and tongue erased from her being.

“You alright?” Sam immediately asked, dropping the back-and-forth exchange they were enjoying for a tone of concern. “I’m sorry if I went too far—”

“It’s not you, Sam.” Mallory reassured him but she knew the way she spoke would only cause for more concern, but she couldn’t help it.

She threw on the closest things, the patterns and colours clashing but she couldn’t give a care in the world as she flashed another glance at that cursed book before walking towards the door.

“You said Sarah is waiting?” Mallory asked as she walked in front of Sam and grabbed onto the door.

“I tried to, yeah.” Sam calmly stated, no doubt watching Mallory closely to understand her sudden switch off. Mallory didn’t respond as she opened her door to see Sarah waiting in the hallway.

“You two aren’t making it entirely discreet, are you?” She asked, her voice and tone sending only one message: disappointment. “I’ll make it quick then.” She added, pushing herself off from the wall she leaned against. “I’ve thought about it a lot and I agree with your plan Mallory—I will leave it for you to execute and bring me the final review of the questions. If anything changes from what you originally proposed, I need to know immediately—do you understand?” Mallory nodded vigorously, having previously experienced being spoken to like this from a boss but there was something about Sarah’s delivery that just made everything seem more…stern. “Good, I will go speak with this…Nada and arrange a meeting with you two within New Atlantis to arrange the terms.”

“You can’t be serious.” Sam’s stated, the rough edges to his voice more noticeable than usual.

“Oh, but I very well am, Sam.” Sarah retorted, her gaze challenging him to continue to protest.

Which he did without hesitation, stepping through the door frame to stand between Mallory and Sarah.

“It’s not a good idea.” Sam continued his protest despite Sarah and Mallory seeing eye-to-eye on the matter.

“I think it’s for the best.” Mallory tried to reassure him but as soon as he looked at her, she immediately knew her words could not penetrate whatever it was that was blinding him in this moment.

“It’s not safe, you will put yourself in more danger than it can help any of us.” Mallory shrugged, no longer having the words to try to convince him he was wrong and feeling deflated from the moment prior to this conversation.

Besides, she would never feel unsafe around him, and by doing this interview she could control the narrative of what is told about her life and who she is. Sure there were risks, but there were risks with everything within this world—and truthfully this seemed a heck of a lot more tame than other things Mallory had learnt about.

“You can’t—” Sam huffed at Mallory’s nonchalant attitude and turned to look at Sarah. “She can’t do this!”

“I can make my own decisions, thank you very much!” Mallory snapped, finally over Sam relentlessly trying to stop this from moving forward. He turned to her, his fire tempered and his expression deflated.

“You won’t be safe.” He told her, almost begging her. It took a moment of just looking at him to realize Sam was acting a bit clueless to, what should be, the obvious truths. She smiled.

“I’m learning how to defend myself—”

“That won’t be enough!” Sam interjected, despite having praised her for her progress yesterday. Mallory knew it was his protective nature getting the better of him and keeping him obtuse.

“I also have you.” Mallory continued, seeing Sam’s body language and expression immediately change. Being acutely aware they were in the presence of Sarah, Mallory scrunched her nose in an attempt to suppress the stupid grin she felt approaching.

“Oh.” That was all he managed to say. “Um, well…” Sam drifted off, his eyes staring deeply at the floorboards again. It seemed like, for the second time today, and since she had met him, Sam was speechless.

“I’ll excuse myself.” Sarah said, having already backed away from the two of them, and promptly leaving their vicinity before they could even think to say something.

Silence lingered between them.

“Do I, uh, do I really make you feel that way?” Sam hesitantly broke the silence between them. “Safe, that is.” He quickly added, his awkwardness and uncertainty showing in his tone and body language—if not by the sudden redness on his face.

“And here I thought cowboys don’t blush.” Mallory teased him with a smile.

“No, stop it.” Sam said with a laugh, not being able to help himself before his smile thinned into a serious frown. “I’m being serious here…for once.” He took a slight step forward towards Mallory, but to her, it felt like he leapt a mile. It was her time to gain crimson cheeks. “Do I?” He asked again, his voice sending a shiver through her shoulders and neck.

“I—” She felt her head tilt upwards, to look at the man who stood above her. “I, um…” Her eyes closed as she saw Sam do the same, the rim of his hat blocking out the light above her, his breath lightly batting against her face. Mallory hated herself for the thought and words that came next. “Cora, Sam.” She warned, reminding them both of the reason they knew they couldn’t act on the obvious feelings they had for each other.

“Right.” Sam softly agreed, stepping back quickly. “You’re right.”

“I’m meant to go back—”

“Yeah…no, of course.” Sam quickly said, obviously trying to recover from that moment but doing so horribly.

“We can’t give her hope that I will stay, that the three of us could be…more than what it has to be.”

Sam looked up at her with a mix of emotions swirling around in his expression—pain, surprise, joy, anger—before he looked away just as quickly.

“Right…of course.” Sam quietly agreed, repeating the same words, again, that he had just said.

However, something in his tone made Mallory feel like he wasn’t thinking of Cora’s hopes being crushed at that moment. It hurt Mallory too, she had been feeling nothing but fury slowly build within her once she learnt how this would end.

But she couldn’t change fate, a fact Mallory knew even before this bizarre experience. She had been nothing but a victim of the damn thing her entire life. Or so it felt like, to her.

The silence returned to the hallway they stood in, Sam’s face twisting as his mind obviously raced despite speaking nothing. It deeply pained Mallory to see it, the pain she caused him and when she thought of the pain to come…well, the idea of that nearly brought her to tears.

“You do, for the record, make me feel safe.” Mallory decided to break the silence this time, wishing to soften the moment. “Being with you, and Cora, is the only sense of normalcy I find within this…world—time—whatever.”

Beyond that, the only thing that has given me a sense of purpose and belonging; ever. Mallory thought to herself, knowing speaking those words would not only be cruel to Sam but also to herself, for she knew she had to return to her time.

“You can’t say all of that now.” Sam gave a small huff from his chest, a slight tone of disbelief hidden under his light teasing.

“I could say a lot more, but it wouldn’t be fair.” Mallory replied, finding herself wanting to be honest—for once—with her feelings for Sam while also wanting, needing, to distance herself from him.

But he was so intoxicating to her, so essential, that it felt like an impossible feat to be apart from him.

“No, it wouldn’t be.” Sam whispered, his arm hesitantly reaching out to lightly pinch her chin and raise her eyes to meet his. “Although, for you? I may endure a little unfairness.” Mallory felt herself melt at his touch, but it was the way he watched her when he said such inviting words that did her in. It took every bit of willpower to turn her head from his ocean eyes. “I’m sorry…” he began but Mallory immediately cut him off.

“No, it’s not you Sam.” She reminded him again followed by a deeply strained sign. “I just…I have to go back, with no way of returning. This is it—nothing else. We can’t…I can’t—” Mallory shook her head as her words failed her again. He was, in every way, the man she wanted to be with.

Not because he was from the future, or a man in front of her that happened to be interested in her, but because of his morals and actions—everything that made Sam Coe himself…that is what had taken hold over her heart.

It truly made her feel broken, and nauseous, at the thought of losing him. Or Cora.

“You don’t have to go back.” Sam tried to softly remind her but Mallory just shook her head.

“I do.” Mallory simply said through a clenched jaw, the fact that she found solid proof of something that all but confirmed what she was saying never leaving her present mind. She had to return to that miserable existence where there was no way for her to achieve her dreams.

Yet here she was now in space, in the presence of a good and caring man, whose daughter Mallory was incomparably smitten with—every goddamn dream or goal she had wanted in life.

How bitter that tasted.

“You can’t prove that.” Sam tried to fight her but Mallory gave out an angry, fed-up, seething exhale.

“Yes, I can!” She exclaimed storming back into her room while Sam slowly and cautiously followed. When he came into her room, she closed the doors before pointing at the open book on her desk.

It was the book of Solomon Coe, opened to an image of the ‘First Coe in Space’—the guy Cora had talked about yesterday.

That image was a NASA faculty photo…and in the front row of that group photo was Mallory.

“I don’t remember taking this photo, Sam.” He peered down to look closely at it before turning to look at Mallory with confusion.

“So?” He said, genuinely seeming not to understand the significance of the photo, and it just ignited Mallory’s anger and pain further.

“So!” She almost yelled, a flash of worry flying across Sam’s face. “It means that I go back, Sam. I haven’t taken this photo yet, but here it is in this book about the past—so I have to go back. It…” The rampant panic that had forced Mallory to ramble at an unnatural speed suddenly halted as a flood of pain and resentment crashed into her.

It felt like all of her anger and frustration from her constant back and forth between wanting to stay in this world and feeling obligated to go back had finally come to a boiling point within her. Steam rising, pressure building, until she finally snapped.

One, powerful and unhinged, punch to the wall released enough of that pressure.

But Mallory had forgotten, blinded by her pain and rage, that Sam was there.

“Woah!” He exclaimed. “Mallory, what’s…talk to me, please.” She felt Sam gingerly grab a hold of her trembling fist before he guided her to sit down before she burst into tears.

“It’s—it’s j-just my luck that…” Mallory managed to get out between heavy, irregular, breaths before her body tensed further at the pain ripping her apart. Not just Sam but pain from…everything.

Just…fucking…everything.

Her entire life trying to live for other people—live to garner approval from her mom, live to make her dad proud. All while also always doubting herself, limiting herself, cause she always ran from what she wanted most—too afraid to fail, to be unwelcomed or abandoned.

So instead Mallory had made a small box for herself. She had a steady, easy, and overlooked job. Enough friends to fill most of her time with their problems and life events, and a few hobbies to fill the rest, as she just…floated through life. Endlessly aimless. Endlessly hopeless at finding something fulfilling.

All of her life, she was told to be small, to take little and finally, finally, when she was actually taking the steps to go for what she wanted—that hope was mercilessly shattered, too.

Mallory tried to force her breath to steady, exhaling a lungful of air while tears continued to stream down her face. Sam took the moment to sit next to her, taking tissues to her face to help dry her cheeks. Mallory couldn’t help but give a small, hopeless, laugh at how much sadness his compassionate gesture brought her.

Slowly, she brought her sad, swollen, eyes to look at him—Mallory immediately seeing how much the sight of such a visual deeply hurt him.

“Just my luck,” She managed to continue with a steady tone, “that I would—” Mallory’s lips curled into themselves as she bit down hard, trying her best to use the physical pain to subside her emotional pain. “I would find a man like you in a place, and time, like this.”

Mallory felt her neck and shoulders tense as she finished her thought, her inner tormentor relentlessly repeating how she was always meant to be unlucky, that this is what she gets for reaching outside of her box—her role.

“Funny…” Sam slowly said, Mallory feeling his hand wrap around hers. “I would say the same thing about you.”

 He paused only a moment, his tone soft and gentle to ensure it helped soothe her. Mallory, absent-mindedly with her free hand, reached up for the necklace again, only to remember it was still missing.

“I’ve been told countless times how lucky I am—absurdly lucky, unfairly so to a degree. But I never really believed it. At least…not until you.”

Naturally, Mallory’s gaze fell to his and she both loved and hated how calming he was for her. Sam gave a small half smile before his lips tensed for a moment, his eyes searching Mallory’s for something unspoken.

“I still can’t wrap my head around what the chances of our paths crossing would be, not even considering how…uhm, well, how we feel about each other.” Sam stumbled over his words, something Mallory had noticed usually only happened when he was talking about her, or how he felt about her. “I’m so lucky to have you in my life Mallory, I really mean that.”

He squeezed her hand before bringing his free one up to cup her wet cheek.

“I can’t have you thinking this is bad luck.” He softly added, his thumb gliding along her skin lovingly.

“But it’s different, Sam. Your position and mine.” Mallory corrected, pulling herself away from his embrace to crawl onto her bed and sit cross-legged in the center. “You have Cora, and Constellation and the whole galaxy to explore! I have…” Mallory trailed off, unable to mutter the words ‘nothing to go home to’. “I appreciate what you are trying to say, Sam, I really do, but it’s not comparable. I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for.” He softly told her before standing up. “I’ll, uh, return the book to Cora.” He added, walking over to the desk and snapping the book closed with, Mallory noticed, more force than he would normally use with one of Cora’s prized books. Mallory did not look up as she heard Sam move around her room, only slightly turning her head when she heard the sound of him opening her door. “Just…let me know if you want to talk at all, okay? This,” Sam stressed the word as he raised the book slightly into the air, “doesn’t change anything for me. My feelings are still the same.”

Sam stood still, watching Mallory who peered at him from the far corner of one eye, until she gave a short, soft, nod of acknowledgement. He didn’t wait and expect more, and promptly left Mallory to her privacy.

“My feelings remain the same, too.” She whispered to herself, clutching a pillow to her chest, as she curled up into herself, prepared to cry herself to sleep.

But then there was a prominent knock on her door followed by the door opening. She sat up to see Sam rushing in, looking bothered but determined.

“You said this is all you ever wanted, being in space, seeing the stars, right?” He asked her, out of breath from him rushing back in. “Mallory.” He called out to her, forcing her brain to process the moment.

“Y-yes.” She stammered, as Sam immediately marched towards her at her response.

“Good, then let’s go.” He told her, reaching down to grab her hand. Despite the dominant nature of his actions and demands, his touch was still very much gentle.

“Sam…where are we going?” She asked as she struggled to get her footing while being, practically, dragged by Sam.

“To take you to the stars.”

--//--

Mallory was unsure how long the walk to his ship was, her mind wasn’t really focused on her surroundings or the speed at which they walked. She was mostly focused on how he still held her hand as he walked through New Atlantis, how strong his grip was, how large his hand felt compared to hers.

Then there was the intent on which he walked ahead of her, the focus he had, that even he managed to be silent was saying something. It made Mallory wonder what it was that kept him so silent or had him barge back into her room and decide to do this.

Her mind was so focused on him that it wasn’t until Sam took off and into orbit that she remembered where they were heading.

Mallory was slowly inspecting the areas of his ship while he was preparing for take-off. He ensured to tell her, immediately upon getting into the ship, to make herself comfortable and feel at home. The notion had given Mallory a smile, although almost every interaction with Sam these days left her with a smile.

The ship itself wasn’t large, by any means, but slightly bigger than the only other spaceship she had been in. Mallory wasn’t the best judge for the expected or appropriate size of a spaceship. What was interesting about Sam’s ship was the cockpit, as there were two pilot seats.

The only other custom thing she suspected was the multitude of mismatched shelves full of books.

It felt very much like their space, or home…and it was incredibly comforting to be in.

Mallory spotted the only bed in the single living area, and it was very obviously decorated for and by Cora. A mixture of plushies, science sculptures and horse figurines rested on the shelves; between the books, of course. She even saw some photos of people, but before she could take a closer look, Sam called out.

“Hey, come up here when you can.” He called out to her, Mallory not shying away from wanting to be close to him and walking towards the cockpit without hesitation.

She walked up to the side of the pilot seat he occupied, resting a hand on the top of the headrest and standing to the side of Sam. He looked up at her with the biggest, stupidest, most inviting grin, before turning back to look out into the dark blanket of space.

“So, where you taking me, cowboy?” Mallory asked, smirking as he looked back up at her.

“You keep calling me that, I might start calling you darlin’.” He warned her, his voice lower than usual, Mallory’s eyes flicking to his hands tightening around the controls. Realizing that, no matter if he either had to hold onto them, or was firmly stuck holding them, she wished to take advantage.

“I don’t think I would complain about that.” She told him, lifting his hat from his head and placing it on hers. “But if I’m the cowboy, do I get to call you my darlin’?” She asked, hearing and seeing Sam chuckle with such a deep husk, it did numbers to her body and senses.

“Let’s set a course first.” He told her, a wide smile and heavy dose of amusement ever present in his tone. “I wanted to take you somewhere specific.” He continued, pausing as if to wait for Mallory to tell him no, or that they were to do something different.

“You think I’m going to ‘know a place’?” She laughed, Sam lightly chuckling along with her.

“Yeah, fair point. Alright...” Mallory watched as Sam seamlessly interacted with the panels in front of him, setting coordinates and adjusting the power supply within the ship. It was fascinating to watch and Mallory found herself excited for what came next. “Buckle up and hold onto your hat, cowboy.” Sam told her, turning around to look at her to ensure she was buckled in, his eyes flitting to his hat before returning to look forward.

Mallory swore she saw him purse his lips but, even if it was true, she wouldn’t be calling out that observation.

Very slowly she heard a resounded hum from the ship, a sound she related to that of an electric vehicle or the THX intro before movies. It was calming, and if it wasn’t for them being launched into FTL travel, she probably would have fallen asleep.

Her eyes went wide as the world around them turned into a tunnel of light.

“Well, it’s going to be about 20 minutes,” Sam informed her. “Gotta stay here thought, got nothing fancy on this ship.” He gave a small laugh but Mallory heard a small sense of pain, guilt or self-judgement behind those words.

“Do I need to stay buckled?”

“No.” He quickly answered, their previous playful exchange simmering. “It’s just for the initial jump and for when we arrive—the force just has a very good chance of knocking you over and…well, we can’t have that, now can we?”

There it is. Mallory thought to herself, a small laugh huffing out of her chest as she unbuckled herself to stand up and walk back to Sam. Gingerly, she placed his hat back on his head.

“You seemed deflated without it.” She teased him again, finding herself not thinking of anything else but the present moment, of feeling like she was meant to be where she was. Sam chuckled loudly.

“I hate to ask, but out of, uhm, morbid curiosity…what’s gotten into you?” He asked her with another laugh.

“It’s quite simple really,” Mallory began with a smile, “I saw your gorgeous hair and it was too much!” She teased him, half because she wanted to and the other because she wanted to avoid talking about herself or her true feelings. “I understand why you keep it hidden—it’s a very powerful weapon.”

“Heh, you don’t know the half of it.” He joked back before clearing his throat. “But uh, seriously, tell me.” He asked of her, his voice like velvet and with her being so calm, Mallory felt herself immediately drop her guard.

“I don’t really know,” Sam opened his mouth but Mallory cut him off before he could do it to her, “I’m going to tell you, shut up.” She wined at him, Sam chuckling again, his smile so wide his cheeks had to of hurt a little by now.

“Alright, alright.” He surrendered, Mallory taking a few steps forward before sitting down on the ground cross-legged and looking toward Sam. He quickly glanced down, his eyes joining his lips in a smile.  

“I know it sounds crazy, but then again I time-traveled 300 years into the future, so what really is crazy?” Sam quickly laughed, a light shake to his head.

“You,” He told her with a smirk, “and me.” He added, Mallory smiling before curling in her bottom lip.

“At the Lodge, it’s nice but it only feels peaceful when I am with you or Cora. I thought that was just because of you two and that the rest of this time was just always meant to feel wrong. But…” Mallory paused a second, her legs naturally rising upwards to tuck against her chest. It terrified her to no end to be vulnerable or to share matters that were close to her heart.

Always in fear that when she would, they would crumble.

“Then I walked onto this ship, and then I was,” Mallory gave a small laugh of disbelief as she looked above her to the panel of glass that revealed the FTL tunnel they were in, “doing this. Seeing…your home.”

“Heh…it’s, uh, not much.” Sam tried again to dismiss his true emotions behind a self-deprecating joke—although Mallory wasn’t much better of an example in that category.

“I think it’s perfect,” Mallory told him lightly, providing him an honest and kind smile, her eyes softening as she gazed at him. “Oh, and then that hum—”

“Of the grav drive?” Sam quickly interjected with a sudden excitement returning to his expression and voice.

“Is that what that was before we, uh…whatever this is.” Mallory looked up before back at Sam, who was now revering her how she had just him. He then, reliable as ever, gave a short, single, laugh.

“Yeah, that’s what does ‘whatever this is’.” He teased her.

“I’m being serious!” Mallory immediately defended herself, her body immediately unfolding from her chest until she was on her knees looking intently at Sam before immediately softening and plopping her butt onto her feet to sit. “C’mon teach, don’t make me rat you out to your daughter for not educating me on something.” She gave him an empty threat, and he knew it. Sam just smiled at Mallory, his expression not showing all she saw moving behind his eyes.

“Traitor.” He teased her, pausing a moment before continuing. “One of the parts to a ship is a ‘Grav Drive’.” He started to inform her, using a tone she only heard during the lessons they had back at the Lodge. “I think at the beginning of space exploration it was called a—and confirm this with Cora—a…Gravitat—no. Uh…I got this.”

“Careful, don’t want your brain to burst.” She warned with a smirk.

“Uh, huh? You wouldn’t want that?” He asked her, slightly annoyed but Mallory knew he enjoyed it. The small smile cracking through his expression only proved it.

“I like your head,” she told him, “especially when it’s attached to your body and, specifically, intact.” Something about what she said caused Sam to burst with laughter, yet he was able to quickly compose himself.

“An important detail.” He noted, lightly chuckling, before raising an arm to deeply scratch his head—Sam letting out a groan of pleasure that sent shivers down Mallory’s spine. The way he looked at her shortly after didn’t help things. “You…” he started but didn’t continue. Mallory half smiled, amused with his most recent dialectical habit that only occurred when speaking to, or around, her.

“Me.” She said, flashing a smile while he just shook his head and looked forward again.

“You should buckle up.” He told her. Mallory immediately trusted his instructions and did so, but found it weird how that much time had already passed.

“Has it really been almost 20 minutes?” She asked him, feeling a bit excited to see their destination.

“No,” Sam said with a distinct chuckle, Mallory’s excitement bursting. “You were just too distracting—I’m pretty sure it constitutes as a flying hazard.” Mallory found herself tucking her chin to her chest at his words, smiling broadly and finding herself to be speechless. A comfortable silence filled the room, along with the hum of the grav drive.

“Is this all it does?” She asked him. “The grav drive.” She added, wanting to distinguish what she was asking.

“No, they also control the gravity we have in the ship. Also, I remembered—they used to be called Graviton Loop Array’s, but everyone thought it was too long and just slowly called them ‘Grav Drives’.”

“Cause they give you gravity and drive you through space?” Mallory clarified.

“Uh, yeah…pretty on point actually. Man, you are way better at explaining things.” Mallory laughed into a sigh.

“You get good at giving key details when your boss only ever has a few minutes between meetings,” Mallory advised.

“Well, Cora for sure could have used your help. I stopped being useful in that department when she was 7.” He joked, as he did, but he didn’t see how his words affected Mallory.

Firstly, she didn’t like how frequently he put down his job at parenting Cora. It was always backhanded or self-deprecating comments. She knew Cora thought the world of him, which begged the question: where did all this self-doubt come from?

Secondly, just the fact that he said that they would have benefited from her presence, even if it wasn’t what he actually believed, struck Mallory in a way most unexpected.

She took a deep breath, going slowly in order to stay quiet and allow enough time for her to prevent the tears from coming forward.

“She’s a wonderful girl, Sam. You’ve done right by her.” Sam hummed into another comfortable silence. “I think you’re a wonderful father and Cora’s just as lucky to have you as you are to have her.”

That garnered a light laugh after a large exhale is air.

“Thank you.” That was all he managed to verbally say but his tone was rich in depth and emotion. Another small silence. “Just a few more minutes now.” He let her know, a slight strain in his voice, as if he was putting a lot of effort into keeping his voice level.

“Where are you taking me?”

“It’s my little spot in paradise,” Sam told her with an audible smile. “I always found myself coming here when times were hard and, well, it’s a beautiful sight.”

“I’m excited.” Mallory told him, feeling a buzz in her chest knowing he thought to bring her to such a sacred place of his.

“There’s, ah, there’s one thing I wanted to ask you before we arrive.” He slowly informed her, that his nerves were immediately present and noticeable.

“Yes?” Mallory asked, to encourage him to continue speaking, as he had gone completely silent.

“When we get there, can we just…for a moment, forget about everything else? Like, everything. All outside pressures and expectations and just…I dunno…ahh, never mind.” Sam finished with a grumble, Mallory hearing quiet mutters under his breath shortly after.

He, of course, didn’t see how wide she smiled.

“I think I would really like that.”

“Wait, really?” He almost stammered in surprise.

“Yes, silly.” She laughed as they finally came out of FTL travel.

The sight was like no other. Never before, even in books or from the advanced telescopes for deep space, had something so marvellous been captured by image.

Mallory found herself practically running up to the glass, pressing her face as close as she could as she stared at a Nebula far in the distance—a new star being born.

“How old is it?” She immediately asked. “Do you know?” She quickly followed up, her eyes not leaving the visual of cosmic dust and gas shimmering against the sparkling black background.

“No,” Sam noted, pausing a short moment, “but I do like to think of when it will; it’s sometimes fun.” Another pause as Mallory tried to press her face further into the glass. “Careful, you may crack it.” Sam joked, Mallory immediately stepping back with concern. “I joke, I—is that what you want to look at?” He softly asked her, Mallory immediately turned to look at him.

He had one corner of his mouth curled, a teasing twinkle in his eyes yet they watched her with such softness that it left Mallory’s throat feeling dry.

It was unfair how he unravelled her, how he just commanded feelings within her to surface or demand recognition. She liked to think she had the same effect on him, but it was hard to believe she could ever muster such a reaction.

Suddenly remembering his question, she just nodded before turning back to the Nebula, so she didn’t see Sam’s expression suddenly change to one that betrayed his feelings—he was scared, terrified even, of how she had a hold over him, while also wishing to give in to her every wish and whim. To see her this excited? Over something as common as a Nebula? It was beyond endearing.

Sam tilted the head of the ship downwards, Mallory looking at him in confusion before looking up at the ceiling of the cockpit to continue to look at the Nebula.

“I may get a kink in my neck looking like this…” She muttered, slightly annoyed that Sam would do something silly like this. He just chuckled as he got out of the pilot seat.

“Not your delicate neck.” He commented, feigning concern but Mallory knew it was there. She watched him, cross-armed and intrigued, at what he was doing.

From a locker, he pulled out a thick wool blanket only to lay it on the floor beneath the ceiling glass panels of the cockpit. He gestured for her to lay down. Mallory flashed a scrutinizing squint at Sam, causing a short, surprised, laugh to escape from him as he threw up his arms.

“Not trying anything, it’s just…trust me?” He asked her two words she could not resist or deny. Mallory slowly kneeled down onto the blanket, straightening out her legs and leaning back on her arms. Her head tilted upwards and…well it was even more beautiful than before.

The Nebula was perfectly centred within the frame of the ship, everything else blocked out seemed to make the colours of the swirling gas and dust brighter and more pronounced. Mallory heard Sam chuckle as he got down onto the blanket himself, she could feel his presence next to her, his hand lightly brushing hers as he took the same position.

“Just tell me I was right.” He smugly asked of her, finally pulling her attention to look at him, the brightest, happiest, smile in her expression.

His head fell to meet her gaze, and she saw how relaxed he was and how much the stress of his life bore onto him. It almost felt like she was looking at a different man.

It also felt like a warmth was spreading through her body, her heart beating as he let out a breathy smile, his eyes dancing between hers.

“I like to think you’ve gotten lost in my baby blues.” He continued with a light chuckle, the crinkle in his eyes pronouncing his smile and amusements. Mallory just pursed her lips, feigning annoyance while she fought every urge to kiss that smug smile off his lips. She turned to look back up.

“You were right.” She admitted, snorting a small laugh as she heard Sam let out a long and exaggerated sigh. Instinctively she reached out her hand to lightly tap his stomach. “You’re so mean sometimes.” She, unconvincingly, complained.

“Oh, and you aren’t?” He quickly became playfully defensive as he turned to prop himself up on one elbow to fully face his body towards her. She glanced down at him, knowing she had no good defense to his question, and instead just flicked off his hat and looked back to the stars. He just laughed while reaching behind him to grab his hat, laying down in the process and placing his hat over his face. “I just can’t with you.” His muffled words lightly escaped from within the top of his hat.

The motion, and visual sign of his defeat, had a gravitational pull on her. Mallory found herself rolling over so her body was close to his, almost laying over him, as she slowly raised his hat off his face.

“You can’t, huh?” She asked, her voice naturally becoming sultry and strained as she reached over his body to place his hat beside him. Perhaps taking advantage of her positioning, or finding himself letting go of the same inhibitions Mallory was trying to, Sam pulled her close to him before rolling them over so that he was overtop of Mallory.

However, unlike when she had gingerly placed herself beside him, his body was directly over hers. The proximity of Sam along with his position made her forget how to breathe for a moment, before Sam smiled, his gorgeous thick hair slowly starting to fall away from its well-structured position.

“You keep this up and I may have to break my earlier promise.” Mallory smiled, honestly not being able to recall anything prior to the moment he caged her within his frame.

“What promise?” She asked him, curious but also feeling a desire to get lost in this moment.

Sam just softly smiled at her, leaning his weight onto one arm so he could reach out to delicately tuck a few strands of hair behind her ear. Mallory felt herself blush deeply and fight every urge to not look away, as she had promised to do before they arrived here. His fingers continued from her ear to trail down the curve of her jaw, his thumb brushing her cheek until he lightly pinched her chin—his gaze, when Mallory had mustered the courage to look at him, was full of care and desire.

He smiled before starting to lean forward.

“This one.” He whispered against her lips before pressing his firmly against hers. Mallory, leaning into this instead of out, wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her hands on the top of his back, pulling him towards her.

All of the pent-up tension between them, the constant flirting and teasing, culminated into this single kiss and they both would be lying if they didn’t claim that they desperately craved a full release of that built tension.

Mallory moved her head, deepening their kiss, the both of them pressing their faces firmly against the other, dramatically inhaling through their flattened noses between each hungry kiss. Slowly they moved back into a seated position, neither allowing a disconnect from the other. Sam slowly removed his leather jacket, either from the heat of their actions or in preparation for something else.

Mallory smiled up at him, the middle of his torso at her eye level. Slowly she snuck her fingers under the fabric of his shirt, running her hands along his stomach while lifting his shirt only to reveal a small trail of hair along his stomach and then along his pectorals.

However, once she raised his shirt to that point, Sam had to take over due to where he kneeled over her as it limited her ability to reach that far—but she was where she wanted to be. As Sam lifted his shirt over his head, Mallory lightly kissed his stomach, just above his belly button. It immediately recoiled as he let out a small smile of surprise before relaxing.

Lightly, and slowly, she kissed below his belly button, and then lower, following the thin line of hair until she was far closer than she ever would have travelled if she allowed herself to have any sense of responsibility in this moment. But she didn’t—they had promised to remove all responsibilities they held in their life, to suspend them as they were suspended in space.

It was, truly, the only way they could ever allow themselves to be this close, this intimate. Or at least that was the case for Mallory.

Sam reached down to cup her chin once more, his eyes squinting as he smiled at her, light flickers within his expression giving away to the many things he was thinking of saying at this moment. Mallory let her head fall back as she left out a deep laugh of amusement and anticipation at whatever quip he would settle on. He smiled, obviously having decided on one.

His hand swept to the back of her head, lifting it into a comfortable position, as he leaned back into her.

“Can’t hurt that delicate neck of yours.” He whispered, a sickly grin spreading across his expression before he tucked his face between her shoulder and chin to firmly kiss her there, and again, and again. His lips travelled down to her collarbone and up to her jaw, each touch deliberate and hungrier than the last. Mallory felt Sam slip a knee between her legs, a fire burning between them yet a sudden jolt ran through her body, unable to—even with her promise—go further at this time.

Sam immediately sensed her hesitation, sitting back up and releasing his grip on her. His eyebrows pinching together in a silent concern, Mallory knew he was waiting for her to speak. Not wanting to burden the mood or moment, she forced a smile but it only lasted a moment as Sam lightly shook his head, telling her he would accept her as she was.

It was a gut punch of acceptance she could never anticipate from anyone.

The tears that welled beneath her eyes were immediate and unstoppable, a hand rushing to cover her mouth as it quivered uncontrollably at the foreign but desperately craved feeling.

Sam shot back, immediately panicked that he had been too forward but Mallory shot out a wide and open hand. She couldn’t manage to even muster a sound, but she shook her hand to try to say ‘no’ before pointing at herself as if to say: ‘It’s me’, ‘I’m the problem’... ‘I’m the crazy one’.

Sam’s expression softened as he rested into a kneeled position, effortlessly reaching out to grab her free but shaking hand, softly running lines of comfort over her skin. It honestly distracted her from her upset and emotions and found herself slowly calming down.

“Down there.” She croaked with a flick of her head, motioning for Sam to lay back down onto the blanket—that now required a bit of re-arranging in order to do so. Mallory swallowed the lump in her throat as Sam, still shirtless, rested against the floor with his hands on his stomach. “God I hate how you make me feel.” Mallory complained as she grabbed the arm closest to her and stretched it towards her, creating a gap for her to place herself against his body and arm.

“I like to think that’s a lie.” He chuckled as Mallory rested her head against his muscular arm, tucking her chin and face against his skin. Sam’s arm adjusted as he reached up to soothingly run his fingers through her hair. “You going to tell me what that was?” He asked her softly, the thought of expressing the reason for that overwhelming feeling had her lips fidgeting.

“Do I have to?” She asked, the final residual tears falling onto Sam’s chest. He immediately strained his neck to look at her face, Mallory sheepishly smiling while wiping the salty liquid off of him. “I’m fine.” She reassured him, but he just cocked an eyebrow and rested his head back down, this time placing his free hand behind it to offer some support.

“You mean you aren’t crying.” He corrected her, not even asking. “I don’t think you count as ‘fine’.” He softly advised, Mallory letting out a small laugh before the two of them laid in comfortable silence, Mallory’s hand naturally running up and down his chest. “Okay,” Sam started, the rumble in his chest present against her fingers, “how about a different question? Why is it that you are terrified of opening up?”

Mallory opened her mouth to give another deflection but Sam continued before she could speak.

“And before you try to be smart about this one too, let me provide my evidence on how I know this is true.” He paused, waiting for Mallory to try to fight him on this, but she just pressed her body further against him as if bracing herself for some rush of force. “I see how your body tenses, your fingers twitch, whenever I even get near a personal topic, but when I finally do manage to crack through your ironclad defences you are immediately relaxed—almost like a different person.”

Those were the five words he needed to say, as it immediately reminded her of the exact moment tonight when she felt the same about Sam. She remembered how elated and calming it felt to see him like that, and had to imagine he must have felt the same.

It was also an upsetting truth to face that she had no ability to relate to how she shut down his inquiries because he never did that to her. Sure there were some things he was hesitant to share, but he still did. 

But Mallory, at least in her mind, had a justified reason to not share her thoughts or enjoyments of life.

Sam just didn’t know that…and with realizing this Mallory immediately, to her great discomfort, knew she had to tell him. She took a deep, shaky, breath.

“There are two reasons, really, that I don’t share things about myself. The first is because my life, Sam...my life just makes people sad. I don’t know how else to say it.” She paused, biting her bottom lip as she felt him stop playing with her hair and move his hand to provide some amount of embrace. “The other reason,” Mallory gave a self-deprecating laugh, “which will make you sad, is because anytime I would share things, I was never given a response of acceptance. As an adult, it was pity and ‘woe is you, you’re so strong for being so normal despite all you went through’. Every time. Then as a child, I—”

Mallory let out a gasp of air as if it was sucked out of her, terrified to be this vulnerable yet Sam had shown her no pity or false, surface level, compliments. He was just listening, softly breathing, his hand lightly running along her back.

“You sure you want to know?” She asked again, giving Sam another chance to not see her for how broken she truly was. Sam shifted his whole body so that he could face Mallory, his arm still a place for her head to rest, his whole body embracing her as if to shield her from the emotional pain she was burdened by, smiling at her as if to wash it all away.

“Without a doubt.” He told her, his expression soft but his tone determined and final. Mallory just pressed her face against his skin, his chest hair tickling her face a bit, slightly pulling her out of her ‘doom and gloom’-y mood.

“My mom.” Mallory managed to get out the two hardest words of this story. “She was, uh...a leading neurosurgeon around the world. I don’t know if you guys have those now but they are the top surgeons in the medical field and...not surprisingly, a good handful of them were narcissists with god complexes—something ‘dear old mum’ wasn’t safe from.” Mallory paused, swallowing and taking a breath in an attempt to take out the sharp edge in her tone. “It also meant she had...that I had to be just as great, if not better. Which...to a woman who thought she was the best thing on the planet, was a detrimental goal to put onto any child.”

“I’m so sorry,” Sam said, a thick layer of sadness blanketing his voice. Mallory just smiled—she had expected those words.

“Anytime I had an interest in something...if she didn’t think it would propel me forward in life, she would destroy it or take on the hobby herself and do it better than me so I would lose interest. So... eventually I just learnt to keep everything close to my chest. If you don’t reveal anything...if you aren’t vulnerable, then you don’t open yourself up to your hopes being crushed.”

“That, uh...that has to be incredibly lonely for you.” Sam slowly said, the same sadness still present.

“I have nothing to go home to, Sam.” Mallory finally admitted to him, knowing that this information would only make his will to fight for her to stay here stronger—his demand that she throw all caution to the wind at the probability that very action would cause a splinter of multi-versus and cause unknowing destruction on a calamity unfathomable to any human mind.

Yet, despite all of that, she truly, desperately, with every fibre of her being, hoped he would manage to convince her to before the end.

He paused for a long moment, his embrace remaining strong and firm.

“I hope you know that...” Sam hesitated a moment, taking a deep breath before letting out a larger sigh, “that you will always have a home here. At the Lodge or...even here with Cora and I.” Sam paused again, Mallory hearing how quickly his heart was beating, before he let out an awkward chuckle. “Not that I’m asking you to move in or anything, I just...”

“You don’t want me to go.” Mallory clarified for him, summarizing his jumble of words as neatly as possible for him. He gave a sigh of relief as he squeezed her tighter.

“I really don’t.” He told her, planting a soft, delicate, kiss on top of her head before resting back against the floor, pulling Mallory with him so she rested more on top of him rather than beside him. He peered down at her, tucking his chin against his neck, looking absurd and causing Mallory to naturally laugh at the silly sight. He smiled, resting it back once again. “Although my experience was nothing like that, I can sympathize with having a parent force you into a role you don’t want.” He added his own sharp edge in his tone.

“I’m so sorry—” Mallory began but Sam immediately cut her off.

“Don’t be, what you went through...” He voice petered off, Mallory thinking that he caught himself starting to say the one thing Mallory hated hearing when explaining her horrible and sad childhood. “Sorry.” He quickly added, confirming Mallory’s suspicions, but the fact that he was so quick to remember and be that thoughtful, well...that was everything to her.

She squeezed him tightly.

“Don’t be.” She reassured him, Mallory hearing him audibly smile.

“I’m going to convince you.” He told her, warned her ever, his voice and words serious and defiant. “I know you found a photo in a book but, and no offence Mallory, your memory sucks and I won’t accept that as the proof you aren’t meant to be here, meant to be...with me.” Mallory smiled into his chest at the hopeful and determined way he said those two words. “And when I do?” He paused for dramatic effect. “I will tell you that I told you so.”

Mallory chuckled.

“I wouldn’t expect anything else, cowboy.” She murmured against him, them both finding unknown and unfamiliar comforts in the other's presence and embrace.

They continued, after that, to lay there on the floor of his ship, changing glances up at the stars and then at each other. Sam mostly shared more facts about himself, how he had left home, how he had gained his skills as a pilot, and how he ended up meeting his ex—a point in the conversation Sam immediately realized Mallory was not a fan of and made a point to quickly skim over to when he had Cora on his own.

They laid in each other's arms for a few more hours until they both managed to, and quite unintentionally, fall asleep.

[aethelflaedladyofmercia]

Hey, everyone! I’ve been saying for a bit I want to get some fics from prompts I’ve written onto AO3 but...it’s so hard...ok it’s not hard, Executive Dysfunction is just kicking my butt. I’m going to post some of them to Tumblr today. If you want to help these babies get on AO3, they need: titles, tags, you pestering me in the comments. If you don’t think they’re good enough for AO3 - fair enough, just hit the little heart if they make you smile!

Prompt: Aziraphale reading to Crowley

(Requested by @zadusk and @lyricwritesprose)

“Sorry, can’t help you,” the innkeeper said, “just rented out our last room.”

“What?” Crowley crossed his arms, huffing through his nose. This was Bethlehem all over again. “This town is in the middle of nowhere, it has three inns, how can they all be sold out?”

“I don’t know what to tell you.” The innkeeper shut the ledger. “Everyone’s headed down to London, and we’re on the way. Now. I can offer you a hot meal, and for, let’s say, half the price of a room you can sleep in the stables. The hay loft is clean, apart from the mice—”

“Stablesss!” Crowley hissed, slapping his hand on the counter. “Do I look like someone who sleeps in stables?”

The innkeeper didn’t appear remotely impressed. “You look like someone who is going to be sleeping in a hedge. Looks like a storm tonight. Good evening.” And he spun away, calling out to the cook in the back room.

“Oi!” Crowley shouted. “Get back here, you—!”

“Crowley! Whatever are you doing here?” The familiar voice was half delighted, half scolding. Aziraphale appeared beside him, same white suit as the last time they’d met, top hat tucked under his arm. “I thought I made it clear we shouldn’t see each other so often. Since I opened the shop, it’s been—”

“Yes, I know.” Crowley waved a hand and turned away. “I’m not here for you, Angel, I have actual business in York.”

“Really?” Despite his words, Aziraphale trailed behind him. “How interesting. I’m just returning from York – oh, no, you don’t think they’ve sent you to undo all my work again, do you?”

Crowley snorted. “No bet.” He dropped his voice into a low whisper. “This is why we need to meet up more often. Look at all this time we’re wasting! And now I have to march through the bloody night in the rain because there’s no place to sleep—”

“Oh! Well, I wouldn’t dream of it. You can share my room.”

“Ngk?!” Crowley’s brain crashed into his skull with all the speed and grace of a train wreck. “Mf. Yk. No I can’t – Aziraphale!”

“Oh, my word – obviously, I’m not planning – that!” His voice dropped even lower and he tugged on Crowley’s elbow. “Don’t be crude, dear fellow. I have a room with a bed that I’m not intending to use. You can have it. I just need a chair to sit in while I read.”

“Jgk.” Crowley turned away, taking a deep breath through his nose. It made sense. He could sleep. Aziraphale could read. No getting soaked, or lost in the dark, or needing to fight off highwaymen or anything of the sort. “Fffine. We can. Er. Do that.”

“Jolly good.” He could practically hear the angel straightening his waistcoat. “Now that’s settled. I’ve already had my supper and was about to head up. Unless you’re hungry—”

“No, no, now is fine.” He still couldn’t quite meet Aziraphale’s eyes. “Lead the way.”

The room, it turned out, was nearly as advertised.

A double-sized bed with a straw-tick and a quilt. A little stand with a pitcher of water and bowl for washing up. Windows that could be tightly shuttered to block out some of the city noise.

The only thing missing, really, was the chair.

“Oh.” Aziraphale’s fingers tapped on his book and he glanced around, as if a seat might be hiding in the corner. “Well, er…”

“It’s fine. I can leave.” Crowley turned on his heel and reached for the latch.

“Absolutely not! I won’t hear of it. You get settled and I’ll – ah – I’ll miracle in a chair.” He peered around the narrow room. “Somewhere.”

“Look, I can—”

“No. Miracle yourself a nightgown or whatever it is you need.”

“I—”

“Hush!”

Resigning himself, Crowley waved his clothes into something more comfortable for sleeping and crawled under the blanket. It was…slightly better than sleeping in the stables, he supposed. The straw was lumpy and the sheet covering it coarse, but the pillow was well-stuffed with goose-down, a luxury he could get used to. He shifted onto his back, trying to find a comfortable angle.

Instead, he found Aziraphale, standing beside the bed, staring blankly at the wall. “There…well…it would appear there isn’t room for a chair,” he confessed. “Not one that will fit my, er…my current corporation comfortably, that is.”

Crowley looked at the ceiling. He could sleep up there, but it would mean abandoning the pillow. Or. Or.

“Look, Angel,” he said as casually as he could. You can, um, you can sit on the bed. I’m not going to be offended or anything. It’s fine.”

“No, I couldn’t – couldn’t possibly—”

“Aziraphale. It’s really fine.”

The quilt tugged, folded back, and with a rustle of straw Aziraphale settled into the mattress. He sat straight, stiff, and so close to the edge he might topple off.

Even so, he was alarmingly close.

“You, um. You need the candle?”

“No, my own light will be sufficient, thank you.”

“Yeah. Obviously.” Crowley tossed his glasses onto the little table and waved a finger at the candle, which immediately snuffed out, leaving the room dark except for the soft glow of Aziraphale, gently illuminating his book.

Crowley closed his eyes and prepared to fall asleep.

He turned onto one side. No good, too close to the edge.

He turned the other way, or started to, freezing when he felt how close the angel’s warmth was.

Then he lay on his back again. The whole room fell very, very still.

“Bless it, Aziraphale, will you relax?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I can practically hear your muscles creaking. How am I supposed to all asleep with all that – that tension barely six inches away!”

“I don’t know what you might be referring to. I am – am perfectly relaxed here, reading my book and you – you interrupt with these – these pointless accusations.”

Crowley gave up and turned on his side, facing Aziraphale, giving him as hard a stare as he could manage. “Your book is upside down, Angel.”

“Is it?” He swallowed. “I mean, of course it is. I am training myself to read upside-down text, a highly useful skill, which I’m sure—”

Crowley shut his eyes. “This was a terrible idea.” He sat up, swinging his legs off the bed.

“Where are you going?”

“Look, Aziraphale, neither of us is actually comfortable with this. So I’m just going to head out. If I leave now, I might make it to the next town before the rain starts, and maybe they’ll have a room. You can have this one and—”

“Crowley,” he said, voice much softer than expected. “My dear fellow. I won’t be able to relax knowing you’re out there. I know you won’t be in – in any real danger but…I would rather know that you’re safe.”

He stared ahead, sitting perfectly still in the way that only beings who aren’t really alive can – no breath, no heartbeat, no tiny motions.

Then, slowly, Crowley pulled his legs back under the quilt and lay on his back.

“What’s this book about, anyway?” he asked.

“Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?”

“It’ll help. Trust me. What is it – poetry? Ancient epics about glorious wars? Not Hamlet again, I hope, that play is a gloomy mess of—”

“No, nothing of the sort. It’s…well, it’s a sort of love story.”

That didn’t sound too bad. “Sort of?”

“Well, yes, it’s more a – a study of the manners and traditions of courtship. Our heroine is the second of five sisters, and there’s a great deal riding on finding them suitable husbands, but her choices are, well…not especially appealing.”

“Does she tell them to go jump in a lake?”

“Not in so many words,” Aziraphale said disapprovingly. “But yes, she has so far turned down two proposals quite bitingly. Although I think she was a bit hasty in her judgement of one of the young men.”

“I like it.” Crowley turned to look at Aziraphale, and found the angel had relaxed, and moved just a little closer. “What’s it called, anyway?”

“Pride and Prejudice.” His fingers tapped against it. “Just released last year. I must try and find the author’s other work when I finish.”

“Well, you’ll have to tell me how it ends.”

“Oh, are you…interested?”

“Hmm,” Crowley settled his head a little further into the pillow. “I do like a good drawing room drama. Perhaps I should pick out a few dresses and spend a year or two back in those circles.”

“As I recall, you were always deceitful and wicked and caused many a scandal.”

“I should hope so. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

Aziraphale smiled down at him, and it made Crowley feel light-headed in a way that had nothing to do with sleep. “Then I imagine you’ll be brilliant at it.” He suddenly turned away, looking at the shuttered window. “Oh! Do you hear that? The rain has started.” The first drops were tapping against the shutters fitfully.

“Good thing I didn’t go out.”

“Yes.” Aziraphale looked at the book again. “Er, would you like me to…to read it to you? Just the first part, until you fall asleep.”

“I…” Crowley cleared his throat. “Yeah. I mean, your voice puts me to sleep half the time anyway, so…”

“Oh, yes, absolutely wonderful. Let me just get the first volume.” He hopped out of bed and hurried over to his jacket, rummaging in the pocket to pull out another hardcover book. When he returned to the bed, it was with almost no self-consciousness, wriggling comfortably against his pillow only a few inches away from Crowley.

“Now, let’s see…yes, here. ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife…’”

It was strange, seeing the angel from this angle, round face slightly lit by his own glow, little smile curving up his lips as the words bubbled out excitedly. His voice rose and fell as he read, trying to paint a picture of Longbourne and Netherfield and the lives of the Bennet sisters. Crowley could get used to it, the look, the sound, the soft familiarity of it all. Not that he was likely to have an opportunity.

He didn’t close his eyes. Not yet.

--

“‘But I can assure you,’ she added,” Aziraphale was quite enjoying the voice he had chosen for Mrs. Bennet, raising it now in slightly erratic excitement. “‘that Lizzy does not lose much by not suiting his fancy; for he is a most disagreeable, horrid man, not at all worth pleasing.’” He shifted again, raising his arm to better articulate the dialogue. “‘So high and so conceited that there was no enduring him! He walked here, and he walked there, fancying himself so very great! Not handsome enough to dance with!’” He dropped his voice into a vicious hiss. “‘I wish you had been there, my dear, to have given him one of your set downs. I quite detest the man.’”

He glanced to his left, grinning, hoping to see Crowley’s reaction to his bit of acting, but the demon had at some point fallen asleep. He lay half on his back, still facing Aziraphale, shock of red hair across the white pillow. His mouth hung slightly open and something emerged that was almost a snore, but rather too small to really qualify. It was drowned out by the wind and rain outside, rattling the shutters. Now and then, in the distance, thunder rumbled.

“Well. I suppose…yes, you sleep now.” Aziraphale turned to put the book down, thinking to find the second volume and pick up where he’d left off.

“Nf.” Crowley turned onto his side, one arm flinging out towards Aziraphale’s waist. “D’n stp,” he mumbled. “Jus’ gettn gud.”

“Er, are you…awake?” The arm tightened slightly, and Crowley pulled closer, pressing himself against Aziraphale’s side. “Crowley, er, dear…you’re…”

“M’fine.” He sighed, not seeming aware of the world at all. “S’nice.”

For a long moment, Aziraphale stared at the demon who had – had invaded his space. Had settled against him in a most – most awkward and undignified way.

Well. There was really only one thing to do.

Aziraphale slid a little lower against the pillow, until he’d surrounded Crowley in the crook of his arm. “Is that better, dear?”

“St’ry.” But he settled into that space between Aziraphale’s side and his arm with a content sigh, arm now draped across the angel’s chest.

Oh, dear. This is not going to be easy to explain when he wakes up. But that wouldn’t be for several hours, at least, and right now, there was a very small smile on Crowley’s lips.

“Well. Chapter four. ‘When Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former, who had been cautious in her praise of Mr. Bingley before, expressed to her sister how very much she admired him…’”

--

Thanks for reading! Pride and Prejudice was initially published in three volumes, in 1813, attributed simply to “The Author of Sense and Sensibility.” I have no idea what was going on in York in 1814 - I mostly needed someplace they could walk to but would take several days - so feel free to attribute whatever historical events you can think of to these dummies! 

[chimswae]

BTS Caretaker CH15

Summary: She may think she has Bangtan Sonyeondan wrapped around her fingers. She may think it is easy to love the members equally without hurting any soul. She may think the boys wont fall head over heels for her. She assumes it is okay to show a little love and affection towards the boys, what if she gets it all wrong? What if it only brings more complication to her already complicated life? Can she survive their charms? Will she be able to resist them? What if they just wont let her go?

- Pairing: BTS x Oc ( Yoongi x OC, Jungkook x OC)

- Genre: Fluff, Slight Angst, Romance, Idol!au

- Word Count: 3,873

- Author Note:Late update again hmm i was a little busy these days with work ;(  i appreciate your feedback and comment, just drop in my ASK BOX :)

Previous | Next

Chapter 15

“The filming is delayed so stay in bed” Jin sunk beside sick Hoseok, giving the younger guy a stern look. A look that killed any of the members whenever they disobeyed him. Hoseok sat up with Jin’s help, resting his back against the headboard “ I don’t think this is a big deal, I still can make it out through the filming” he murmured groggily.

“Bang PD is the one who gives the order. If you happen to have any complain, direct it to Bang PD” Yoongi walked in with a tray of chicken porridge and a glass of water.

Hoseok pursed his lips in disapproval not liking this at all “I don’t want to become the reason that everyone has to put their job at halt. I can film our music video today” his brows pinched together showing his protest.

Annoyed, Yoongi handed the food to Jin with an unknowingly scary glare rendered them speechless “And isn’t it selfish to say you are healthy when you are not? It was not a big deal; the filming can be pushed forward but not your health. Think of how to heal faster first then only you complain. Eat up and stop sulking” clicking his tongue, he left the room leaving Jin and Hoseok dumbfounded.

There was a moment of silence before Jin spoke up “You do realize, Yoongi is saying the right thing, aren’t you? Do not overthink Hobi. Today’s filming is meant to be pushed forward anyways, fret not there were problems with the locations. So, they had to make an amendment on that” he assured.

“Fine..” the sick boy grumbled in annoyance. Jin fed the younger guy patiently with affection and great attention. Whenever one of the boys’ fall sick, they would sometimes turn into an adorable baby. Even the I-don’t-give-a-damn Min Suga will be the cutest out of all them. Hoseok finished the porridge without much trouble, though most of time Jin had to force the food down his throat but he was able to eat all of it.

“Hyung.. Is it true the caretaker lady took care of me?”

“Yes, Seul was here when you passed out. But she left before I could thank her properly. I have no idea why she was in rush” Jin’s lips were pressed together into thin line. To be frank, yesterday he hoped to see Seul even for a little while. Upon his arrival, he was welcomed by an empty house and small note from Seul.

She was obeying the contract that her mother had with the company a little too serious.

Hoseok hummed softly “I remember a woman’s voice though I could not have a good look of her face that time. I wish to meet her and thank her one day. I thought you have her number? Can’t you request her to come here?”

“I did try, but she refused to meet us. She is obeying the terms in the contract. We are not supposed to have any kind of contact with our caretaker, but I eventually broke one of the terms by contacting her through messages”

“She doesn’t cause any harm well at first we though she was a sasaeng. Since her story matched with the original caretaker ahjumma, I trust her” Hoseok’s eyes glimmered with hope. How can this guy have trusted a stranger so easily? Come to think about it, he had not met Seul face-to-face.

The older guy had a small smile at the corner of his lips “I trust Seul too..” his heart hopped slightly at the mere mention of her name. Oh, why was that?

Jin fixed the pillow under him, and laid Hoseok down with a satisfied now “Now, rest. I will wake you up in few hours, so you can eat your medicine” he pressed the back of his palm against Hoseok’s hot forehead.

“Stop pampering me like a baby” he whined weakly accompanied by a soft cough at the end.

Smirking, Jin glared at his way “Arent you one?” Hoseok snuggled under the blanket to find warmth as he nodded weakly without complaint. He felt too weak to even open his eyes, for some reason his eyelids felt super heavy. It must be the food and unnecessary nagging from Min Yoongi.

“Call me if you need anything, sleep Hobi” he patted the top of his head before exiting Hope’s room with the empty bowl.

 ------------------

Pacing back and forth in front of Bangtan’s place, Seul growled in disapproval thinking of what she had gotten herself into. Her mother made her skip her job today just because she was concerned of Jhope’s condition. She was not supposed to open her loud mouth and spilled everything to her mother just now. Now, she had to be the delivery girl for the day, running errands for her mother.

 “Deliver this to the boys” placing a bag full of variety containers come from different sizes in front of clueless Seul, she shot her mother a questionable look.

Seul puffed her cheeks “Mom, I have work. I will be late, can’t you make Hoon do the job?” she suggested, rejecting the request.

“He will not be back until tonight. Can you do me a favour and deliver this food to the boys. Drop everything that you do, I am sure you friend can cover it up for you. Plus, poor Hobi is sick, at this time he needs a comfort food for that dry throat” she sighed.

She gawked at her mom’s reply trying to decipher this absurdity “Mom, you do realize Hoseok has six boys to look after him, right? And, Jin knows how to cook that so called comfort food. Leave him do the job”

“That is totally different! Jin’s cook is alright but it is not enough for Hobi’s body. What he needs right now is a healthy food. I cooked chicken ginseng and porridge for him to savour. And others can share it together in this cold weather”

“You are unbelievable mother! What happen with the so called ‘the caretaker is not allowed to have any contacts with the boys’. This is a breach of contract!” she grew defensive.

Her mother shook her head with a soft huff “The term was breached long ago when you got caught by Yoongi-ah, so we might as well use this chance to meet them nonetheless. Besides, Jinnie contacted me last time to get me your number, so since we all have come to this..There is nothing we can do” Seul looked baffle, and out of sudden she felt victimized. Not that, she exposed herself voluntarily to the boys until she was caught by Min Yoongi. Things just turned out to be this way.

“I am not doing this”

“You are left with no choice”

“MOM WHY” she flailed her arms in disagreement almost too childish, but Seul did it anyway.

Her mother chuckled “Because I am your mother, now go wash up and deliver this before it gets cold! Don’t forget to hand this to them by hand, do not place it in front of their doorstep. I am warning you Ji Seul” Seul cringed when her mother voiced out the plan that she had in her mind out loud. She really should not underestimate her mother.

 “Should I press the button or just leave it here” she mumbled under her sharp breath. After struggling for few more minutes, Seul had finally decided to just leave the food at the doorstep, pressed the bell and quickly escaped before anyone saw her. Yes, that sounded legit.

Carefully, Seul set down the purple bag one the ground not wanting to garner any attention. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the small button softly until she heard a loud ding “Okay run” she chewed her lower lips nervously.

Just when Seul thought the plan the she executed was a success, her body flew backwards crashing onto a hard yet soft surface. She hissed softly at the sudden impact behind her, “What in the world…” someone was grabbing her ponytail.

“Where do you think you are going” again that familiar voice whom caused enough mess to her heart is back. His other hand was holding onto her hoodie, making it hard for her to turn around and glare at the culprit.

Yoongi smug watching Seul struggled in his strong grip “Nice to meet you again Seul-ssi, it is not nice to leave before you can even say hi” with that, he dragged the poor girl inside by her ponytail. Despite using that kind of approach in forcing the girl inside, Yoongi made sure not to use force on her hair, afraid that it might hurt her. Not to forget, he used his free hand to grab the bag full of food left by Seul earlier and locked the door behind him with a mischievous smirk plastered across his face.

“MIN FRIGGIN YOONGI. LET MY HAIR GO YOU FOOLISH MAN”

“Did you just call me Min Yoongi?”

“Then should I call you Min Foolish?” Seul said sarcastically. His grip loosening around her ponytail and without wasting any time, Seul turned her heels facing the devil in the mask. She was fuming with anger, as her nose scrunched up cutely following her heavy breathing.

Amused, Yoongi tilted his head, stared boringly at Seul’s direction with a playful smirk “Cute..” he blurted out of nowhere.

“Excuse me?” She frowned.

“I said you are cute” he stated one more time without any hint of embarrassment. Seul was creeped out by Yoongi bipolar attitude. One second he was acting like a dictator, and another second he’s blabbering some nonsense like right now. Compliment and Min Yoongi did not sound like a good combination to her.

Seul cleared her throat trying to not be affected by his empty words “Whatever. I am leaving. My mother wanted me to deliver those food for Hoseok-ssi. I am done with my task, so please excuse me” Seul was ready to leave. This was not supposed to happen, meeting Min Yoongi and being in the same room as his was the biggest sin ever.

Yoongi caught her wrist before she could pursue her intention in leaving him “We have a lot to talk about” he eyed the girl painfully deep, melting her bones like a fragile vanilla ice cream. Oh no, she vowed to herself to not fall for his gaze. Now her heart is acting up again because of him.

“Like wh-at” she squeaked shyly under his strong gaze.

“First thing first…When will you stop excluding me from the meals that you prepared for us?” he questioned.

“I don’t know”

“I am an impatient man”

“I know”

“So you know. What else you know about me?” Yoongi straightforwardness took Seul off guard. Every time she was confronted by him, her body seemed like to have a mind of its own. Seul would either embarrass herself in front of him or spilling out the truth which she didn’t intend to.

“………..”

“Again, I am impatient, Seul-ssi” he took the chance to take a few steps closer to stiff Seul who showed no sign of wanting to escape. Yoongi ran his finger over her wrist softly, stroking it painfully slow in a teasing manner causing her to shudder under his touch.

“We will get back to that later then”

Stood super close and handsomely in front of Seul was Min Yoongi, he leaned down to whisper those word in her ears. Her breath hitched at the slight contact of his lips against her skin “Secondly, the kisses. Why you kissed me that day and why were you kissing me back?” his thumb grazed her wrist and inched further along her cold arm.

The kisses that the shared previously had been haunting her and so did Yoongi. “Who else know about that” she tried to not let her squeaky voice sounded too weak in his ears.

“No one but us… How is it important to you that no one knows about this?”

“You are an idol, I don’t want to ruin your image. The kisses were a mistake. I was not myself” Seul retorted with a heavy sigh. She feared if anyone knew about this, they might use it to spread some malicious rumours.

Yoongi moved his hand to encircle it around Seul’s waist, “But, I was myself that day” he hummed lowly. Her knees weakened, heart pumping loudly and her heart had been spinning round and round due to this closeness. Anything that came out from Yoongi’s mouth bounced out from her messy brain. The adrenaline rush inside her was so real.  

On the other hand, Yoongi loved the smell of her shampoo, her perfume and her soft skin against him. Everything about Seul was intoxicating, like his mind reacted to its own with her presence around him.

He squished her waist closer, brushing his lips at the side of her neck which frustrated her further “I am excited to see you again Seul. It was sooner than I thought” she clenched her fist as her mind was having a battle. A battle that she could never win, a battle that could change everything in her life.

“I..have to g…o” she palmed Yoongi chest to push him away and she found herself blushing at her own boldness.

He mentally complimented Yeoul again careful this time not to sound too obvious. In some situation it could not be helped especially when it was related to Seul. Yoongi let out a low chuckle, his voice alone could cause pointless uproar inside her heart “What if I want you to stay..” he teased.

Again, it rendered her speechless. Why most of the time she turned into a clueless and dumb girl in front of Bangtan, Yoongi was the major problem here.

Gathering her courage to answer Yoongi and left for good, Seul looked up only to be welcomed by Yoongi small yet alluring lips near her eye level. She tore her eyes from staring too long at that one particular part “I don’t think-“ her sentence was cut off by Jin’s voice.

“Who are you talking to Yoong” the sound if his footsteps were approaching them closer, and like a flash Yoongi quickly settled down, releasing Seul from his grasp. He missed the warmth of Seul’s body already.

Yoongi coughed a little easing the heavy lump on his throat “It is Seul” he said.

“OH? SEUL IS HERE” Jin eyes glimmered in happiness and Yoongi found it was sore to his sight. Why would Jin felt extremely happy to see Seul around? How close they were with each other?

Giving no time to flustered Seul recovered from Yoongi’s weird antic, she bowed politely at Jin with a nervous smile “Jin..i am here to deliver food from my mother. She was worried when she found out Hoseok-ssi fall sick. Can you pass the food to him?” Jin nodded.

“Ahjumma cooked for Hobi? That is nice of her, thank you Seul-ah” Yoongi cringed at their informality making him wonder how things escalated fast between both of them but not him and Seul.

Seul smiled genuinely “There is enough food for everyone and this time Yoongi-ssi is included” Jin’s sense the tense in her voice as she watched them both exchanged a weird signal. A sharp tug of jealousy pulled at Jin. Odd, yet he really felt that way.

“Thank you again Seul-ah for taking care of Hobi yesterday. We are sorry he is troubling you. Anyway, he really wanted to thank you personally, but he is fast asleep. I will let him know that you come with food” his handsome face lit up as is he in love. Again, Min Yoongi was sharp enough to notice the difference in the way Jin reacted around Seul.

“Ah it is nothing. I hope he gets better. I need to go now, I will just urm.. see you around I guess, since we ended up meeting each other now and then” she tucked the strand of hair behind her ear like a shy fangirl.

Does she act that way with every man! Yoongi yowled in his head, looking extremely pissed at the other side. Jin walked passed Yoongi and led Seul to the door “See you around Seul-ah, get back safely!” he chuckled.

“Urm.. yes.. good bye” she left without turning back most likely she feared herself. The feelings that she had for the two men were undeniably disturbing. Now, that she met almost everyone in Bangtan, what else could happen.

 --------------

On her forehead a frown which had taken the shape of a deep horizontal line as her hand was moving in straight line wiping the glass window mindlessly. The frown stayed constantly in place ever since she left Bangtan’s place few hours ago. It was an evident of her discomfort. Seul tended to overthink and it was seriously an illness if she prolonged it.

At the corner, Wongeun and Hwasa were watching the girl closely with a wary look. Not that they wanted to be nosy, however Seul seemed a little off for the whole day. Being a concern friend, they were, Wongeun decided to inquire her after they were done with their work later on.

Seul emitted a soft sigh, finally gathering her sense back ‘Okay get your head together Ji Seul. It is just stupid tingly feeling that tries to mess up with your brain, you are doing fine’ she coaxed her heart. With that last heave, she averted her attention to the already sparkly glass in front of her. She must have spent at least ten minutes there wiping the same area all over again.

She straightened her body and rose from the chair, allowing her gaze drift slowly from the scene in front of her. The corner of her eyes caught a figure beyond the glass holding an expensive camera at her way. To her utter astonishment, the man was snapping a photo of her that caused her to feel displeased at the scene before her.

What is he doing. She placed the old rag on the table and squinted her eyes to get a better look. Indeed, the man in that grey hoodie was too engrossed in his photo taking and he snapped a photo of her. Seul did not want to sound delusional but he was being too obvious.

Inhaling a deep breath, Seul exited the store leaving Wongeun and Hwasa clueless. The man stood not far from the shop she was working and immediately kept his camera down with his eyes wide upon realizing Seul few feet from him.

“Excuse me, did you just take a photo of me?”

The man was panicking as he didn’t expect he got caught this sooner, his free hand was clutching onto a small sketchbook that he used to bring whenever he’s out along with his precious camera. He gulped, “I am sorry” he apologized timidly.

“I understand you are into photography, but I want you to respect people’s privacy. I don’t like my photos being taken by strangers” Seul crossed her arms eyeing the fully covered man before her. Even though she thought his eyes reminded her of someone, but she thought it was just her eyes messing up with her.

The man hung his head lowly in embarrassment “I just thought you are beautiful. I am sorry if it makes you feel uncomfortable” he sighed deeply.

His compliment flattered her, however it wouldn’t change the fact that this man just invaded her personal space “Thank you but can you please erase my photo?”

“Can i.. urm keep one at least?” he negotiated.

“For?”

“For my personal collections. It is nothing just for my collection”

“That sounds so wrong and creepy, Mister”

The man in front of her flustered again as reality hit him hard. He really had a wrong choice of word sometimes, which cause people to feel uncomfortable around him “I apologize, I mean..as my photo collection. It is an art thing. I promise I wont release it anywhere” he rubbed the back of his neck slowly.

“No..” she could not see his expression due to the black mask covering half of his face, but Seul was able to sense his disappointment. She tried to harbour his attention again “Unless you tell me your name. A man like you must have name right, at least I know you are not a creep” he looked reluctant at first.

He went mute for a moment before decided to give in to Seul’s request, not that she expected him to comply to the request. She didn’t think the photos of her could mean that much to him in exchange of his precious name. Guess, people with passion has different point of view.

“It is Vante..” he murmured.

“Van who?”

“Vante..So let me keep your photo”

“Vante..Are you a foreigner? You name sounds unique” Seul was impressed by the name.

Taehyung shook his head to keep this conversation as minimal as possible, no one should know who he was especially this girl that happened to catch his attention. He mindlessly took her photos just because the view in front of him was a piece of art. She looked effortlessly beautiful with the frown evident on her forehead, the photos of her depicted thousand stories behind it.

“Then Vante-ssi, i will let you keep one of it and erase the rest alright. I will just go now. And good luck with urmm taking photos I guess” she felt the awkwardness built between them. Was it because the guy in front of him or was it the situation that they were in?

Taehyung called out Seul once again putting her step at halt “Wait!” he went to her side, tearing one page from his sketchbook “Take this as my apology” he handed a piece of paper with a drawing. Seul scrutinized the drawing closely, “I..am sorry, I sketched a little and this is you.” he explained.

Feeling lightheaded, her lips were formed into an ‘o’ shape “Thank you..urmm Vante-ssi” she smiled brightly. The drawing a little unique to her just as peculiar as his name but the drawing warmth her heart. She could feel the sincerity in that piece of art.

“I just learned how to draw and sorry if it doesn’t appear like it supposes to be” he looked at Seul sheepishly. It was his first time to show his drawing to anyone, not even his members could peek at his drawing. The fact he gave his drawing to Seul, it was something unusual.

A small chuckle escaped from her “It is beautiful. An art is something unexplainable and only few people could understand it. That is why it is called art. Thank you again. It is nice meeting you, goodbye” a small bow from Seul and she disappeared in the shop again to tend her work.

“I FORGOT TO ASK HER NAME AGAIN!” Taehyung slapped his forehead and frowned at his foolishness. He glanced at the tea shop in front of him with a small smile “She works here, maybe next time” he turns to head back with a gleeful smile on his face.

His evening rendezvous turned out fruitful after all.

This work belongs to  Chimswae © 2020. All Rights Reserved.

[efrankclick]

Kitana Chronicles Alternia 8: Enter Edenian Gods

It’s been weeks since the public execution of Erron Black. Silence has grown within the power of Edenia. A split has been made… Kuai Liang has distanced himself from his Queen against Bo Rai Cho’s advice. Kitana notices his disposition but refuses to question it… Jade and Tanya are worried for Kitana’s health, noting her mental change. Kotal believes the change is for the better… Bo Rai Cho meets with Raiden far off from the palace in secrecy.

“I shouldn’t be here Bo Rai Cho.”

Bo swallows a big gulp from his flask before putting the cork back in.

“Quite the contrary. You know what is happening to Edenia.” Yes, I am aware, but it is not my concern.“ “But you wonder why Kitana has such bitterness towards you… She found out the truth about Shao Kahn by you, only when you needed her to. She fought for earth realm and died defending it but you are too ungrateful to acknowledge her strife.” Bo stares at the thunder God with fading respect. “It would be wise to remember who you are speaking too Bo Rai Cho.” “Time has obviously made her forgetful, Raiden. You are no threat to me… Nevertheless, I did not ask you here to argue. Kitana, is becoming tyrannical. She does not know it and she cannot tell the difference between who she was and who she is. This is not Edenia, but a ghastly shell of former greatness.” “You wish for the rule of Sindel and Jarrod to return.” Raiden deduces. “I wish for their glory to return.” “What do you need of me?” “Information, I need to find and restore the Gods of Edenia. One in particular that can connect Kitana with Jarrod as she sleeps.” Bo explains. “You’re trying to get her to inherit the Edenian Lifeforce…” “Yes, it’s the only way.”

Raiden hesitates before telling Bo anything knowing what is needed for this task.

“You will first need to find the Edenian Kamidogu…”

Outworld… Mileena has finally received the corpse of Erron Black. She is not happy.

“How many of her constituents must I kill, she must pay!” She rampages on. “I think it’s funny.” Lu Wang Xi laughs.

Mileena looks at him in confusion.

“How, is this funny? She’s making a fool of me. My own generals are useless!” “I can lay waste to them all, if you let me.” Lu leans back in his throne. “I want her to suffer.” “What better way than to kill them than by burning them alive.” “Its easy, nothing more.” “Well, you need to make a decision. My patience is wearing thin. You must not forget our deal, my queen; I help you destroy Kitana and you help me find the earthrealm kamidogu so that I can kill Raiden.”

Edenia… Kitana’s pregnancy is showing now. She readies herself for bed as Kuai Liang stands ready on his side of the bed. He waits silently as he has done since their argument in the Quielum. Kitana pulls back the covers but stops… This silence, the distance she cannot take it anymore.

“Do I repulse you that much?” She asks.

He does not answer.

“Will you not speak…? You do not touch me, you barely look at me… You only stand there as cold and hard as one of your ice clones! Speak to me, a word, a mumble, something or on my mother’s name I will behead you where you stand!”

He looks at her with offense.

“You would kill me?” “What use have I of a king who does not love me?” “Is that what you believe, that I do not love you?” He steps towards the from of their bed. “I have no other choice.” “Kitana you have plenty of choices. You choose to see wrong in everyone else while everyone else can see that you are the only one that’s changed…”

Suddenly he is kicked out of the room with a blanket and pillow while Kitana rants on in her native language. The bedroom doors shut behind him as he stands in the hall wearing nothing but pajama pants. He looks at one of the guards lined down the walls of the hall. The guard’s face shows shock.

“Don’t get married…” Kuai Liang tells the man.

Far off in lands forgotten by time and lacking the presence of life, Bo Rai Cho makes his way into a large pyramid…

Kitana Chronicles Alternia 9: Awaken Argus

[booburry]

Belated WIP Wednesday:

Cause I can never remember what day of the week it is apparently 🙃

Update on Echoes in Time, Chapter 4: A star is born

Update: Feeling a little guilty with my pace for this chapter, but I am sure it's fine. Thought to put the start of the next chapter below, while I work on the ending structure and then add in detail; about 80% done...I think. Work week has been absolutely draining so it's been a slow chapter progress but I am also setting up a lot for the future chapters and Sam & Mallory's long-term journey that spans the fic.

Also, just a general thing I have been thinking of stating: I plan to and intend on avoiding describing any and all physical features I can when it comes to Mallory. I just prefer that you can fill the visual of the story with your own imagery of her. I don't know if this is something people have been bothered by or wondering where the descriptors are, but this is why. Happy to share what I imagine her looking but I wouldn't expect it to find it's way into the fic.

Lastly, I swear I never ramble IRL...the chapter will probably end up being close to 8k words? I won't (probably) apologize for it.

Content warning: unintended nudity

The idea that Mallory’s mood could have gotten worse from the moment she admitted to ‘outing’ herself as a time-travelling ‘alien’ would seem improbable to impossible.

Unfortunately, as if struck by bad luck, it did.

It’s those damn Coe’s and their stupid book. Mallory grumbled within herself as she put on her socks before getting out of bed to get dressed for the day. She laid out some clothes on her bed, she sheet and blanket messily bunched up from her active sleeping—she never stayed still.

She was pondering over two options when, unexpectedly, there was a light knock on the door.

“One moment!” Mallory called out, upset and anxious that she suddenly felt rushed to decide what she was going to wear.

“Yup, no problem...” Sam called out, making Mallory instinctively grab a blanket to cover her exposed parts despite there being no way he could see her.

It would also be a lie if Mallory claimed the idea of only a panel of wood standing between Sam and her didn’t also excite her—her mind compulsively jumping into the deep end of that fantasy, losing herself until she heard Sam clear his throat from the hallway.

“I just put on my socks!” Mallory called out, rushing to pick an outfit and frustratingly, now knowing that he would be the first to see her left Mallory wishing to put more…effort into her choices.

It also just made her anxiety rise and her executive function vanish.

“Okay,” Sam called out, Mallory smiling as she just pictured him slightly rocking back onto his heels with his hands in his pockets.

Naturally, she reached up to grab Sam’s necklace to realize it wasn’t there. Without hesitation, that became Mallory’s next goal but she couldn’t seem to find it. Clothes were flying, pillows, blankets and sheets were tossed off the bed, nightstands dramatically being opened and shut.

“Hey, you okay?” Sam asked with a great amount of concern, probably at the sudden loud sounds from within her room.

Mallory immediately felt as if her stomach was about to fall out of her ass as she realized, before being able to fully act, that Sam was about to walk in and see her wearing nothing but a pair of fuzzy socks.

“Sarah is wa—"

And boy did he.

“aaaaauuhh…mn.” Sam let out a prolonged, strained, sound that Mallory—if she were not frantically leaping over her bed to grab the sheet she threw to the side—would have teased him for relentlessly.

“Would you—” Mallory started to speak as she almost fell to the ground to roll herself into some amount of fabric. “Close the door!?” She called out to him, expecting him to walk out but the man, either in his confusion or boldness, stepped in and closed the door behind him.

His eyes were firmly on the floor.

“So…you, uh, put your socks on first, huh?” He slowly asked, obviously calculating a million things in his head as he sputtered out the words. Mallory felt her toes curl in as she stood up to securely wrap the sheet around herself.

“I don’t like the feeling of my bare feet touching things, okay?” Mallory muttered, feeling embarrassed by her quirks before immediately reminding herself of the complete invasion of her space, flashing a scorching glare at Sam. He didn’t see, of course, as his eyes were still glued to the floor. “Since when do you just walk in?”

“I—” Sam still wouldn’t look at her, which Mallory told herself was good, but god she also desperately wished he would. “You said socks…and then the noises...I, uh, I—” He tried to continue but still fell short. “I panicked.” He finally admitted, causing Mallory to feel a sudden urge she couldn’t resist.

“We’ll have to work on that.” She told him, mocking the words he had just used yesterday when she admitted she similarly panicked in a moment of high stress. But, despite the tone Sam may have used in themoment before, Mallory decided to say it with a slight, completely unfair, adjustment.

She pitched her voice deeper, making an effort to sound breathy while ensuring her words flowed together like silk and honey. She saw Sam’s chest pop out with a sudden and short exhale but the rest of his body was like stone.

“That’s…so cruel.” He told her, a light shake to his head, his face hidden behind his hat but Mallory knew how wide his smile was and the exact shade of crimson present on his cheeks from the tone he spoke in.

“You subjected yourself to this torture when you walked in here,” Mallory informed him with a matter-of-fact tone, losing herself in the moment. “Now, turn around and don’t look—please.” She quickly added the last request, her two parts already in contention, reminding her to not come off bossy or demand too much.

Sam just deeply chuckled.

“I would have preferred it if you just demanded me to.” He slowly glanced up at Mallory, who became immediately self-conscious about how tightly she had wrapped her sheet around her body. His eyes lingered, but at least he didn’t try to hide it, and he ensured to give Mallory a smirk and a playful, pronounced, wink.

“Turn. Around.” She reminded Sam with a teasingly annoyed tone while raising an eyebrow at him—a suppressed smile pushing its way forward as her heart beat against her chest.

“Mmmn,” Sam hummed as he immediately obeyed, “yeah…that’s much better.” He encouraged her, his tone just as taunting as Sam fought just as dirty in the game Mallory had started. His eyes looked towards the ceiling, Mallory’s gaze immediately being drawn to the pronounced curve of his strong neck.

“You’re so bad!” Mallory said with a laugh before realizing how the words she chose could be easily used against her when said to a person like Sam Coe.

She heard him hiss in a sharp inhale, a moment of silence and then…nothing.

“You alright?” She asked, a small concern that she had broken his ‘witty bone’.

“Yeah—well…no, but,” Sam paused another moment, Mallory truly starting to worry she had broken the man, “I wouldn’t change a thing. I just…can’t…really think, right now.” He slowly stated as his head leveled out and he awkwardly adjusted his posture. Mallory smirked.

“Blood rushing elsewhere?” She quickly asked.

“You could say that, sure.”