#(The more letters I see dropped the more I laugh at the thought of attempting to 'read' this '~aloud~' as an Aut----- But Dang I Could Try) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

flowerandblood · 6 months ago

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The Fall from the Heavens (38)

[ canon • Aemond x Strong • niece female ]

[ warnings: angst, attempted rape, murder, descriptions of wounds and their effects, descriptions of the fight ]

[ description: A cool distance turns into friendship and more when two children see that they can find refuge and understanding in each other. However, naïve dreams collide with the reality in which every event has consequences and what once could have been love becomes a dark, newly painful obsession. Angst, sexual tension, obsession, violence, madness, very dark Aemond. ]

The story in this series is an alternate reality from the oneshot Stay and love, leave and die, in which Aemond reads the letters his niece has sent to him over the years. They are the same characters and it shows what would have happened between them − I have changed the background story from their childhood slightly for the sake of the plot.

Characters & Series Moodboard Lady Strong Moodboard Aemond & Lady Strong Moodboard Aemond & Lady Strong Childhood

* English is not my first language. Please, do not repost. Enjoy! *

Next chapters: Masterlist

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She felt that something hung in the air, that it was all too simple, that Larys Strong would never allow himself to be caught with such ease. She knew this, but no arguments could stop her uncle or her brother, and she was left alone, locked in their chamber in Harrenhal, waiting in fear and tension for their arrival with the hope that they would both return alive.

By her husband's orders, no one was to cross the threshold of their quarters, so she had to remove her gown herself before going to bed. She sighed heavily when she finally managed to free herself from under the layers of her attire and remain in just her nightgown, stroking her belly as if trying to soothe both herself and the child in her womb.

They will come back, she thought in the back of her head.

They will both come back.

She lay back under the thick furs, checking once more with her hand that the dagger her mother had given her as a child was still between the bedframe and the sheets. She let out a quiet breath when she felt the cold steel beneath her fingers and curled up, looking towards the window.

She knew she wouldn't get a wink of sleep that night.

After a few hours she shuddered, snapped out of her half-slumber when she heard a rustling outside her chamber door, and then a click, as if someone had turned a key in the lock. For a moment she thought with joy that it was her husband, but then decided that he would not have crept in, and her hand involuntarily reached for the hilt of her dagger and slid it out, hiding it under the duvet.

She squealed loudly, bouncing in place as the door suddenly opened with a slam and two muscular men, smelling of sweat and alcohol, stepped inside.

"– let's go, little one – don't make me use force –" One of them said as she shook her head quickly, feeling the hard pounding of her heart, her hands clenched into fists.

The man laughed as he saw her pale, terrified face.

"– what a pretty thing you are – maybe we could make use of this body first? – what do you think? –" He chuckled mockingly to his companion, who grinned, from a distance she could see that he was missing a few teeth.

At their words she felt tears under her eyelids, she moved as far away from him as possible, but he grabbed her arm, wanting to lie on top of her, gripping the material of her nightgown.

"NO!" She shouted in rage, the blade of her dagger again, again and again thrust deep into his abdomen, making his voice stuck in his throat, the man behind him shouted in rage, running up to her.

"YOU LITTLE WHORE!" He screamed, pulling her away from his companion, who coughed loudly and slid to the floor, clutching at the spot where his warm blood was dripping, his eyes bulging in shock.

"– LET ME GO! – LET ME GO! –" She screamed and squealed, trying to push him away and stab him blindly with the blade, but he snatched it from her hand, dropping it to the floor with a powerful jerk, crushing her with his own body.

He punched her in the face with his fist, making her feel like she had gone deaf for a moment and lost her sight, his strong, rough hands caught her in half and threw her over his shoulder. They walked out of her chamber into the corridor, as if through a fog she could see the bodies of the guards covered in blood, their wide eyes empty and lifeless.

She didn't have the strength to scream or cry, breathing hard, feeling her swollen cheek pulsing with pain.

And then she noticed some kind of shadow moving behind them – the man noticed it too, because he turned, and after a moment he fell to the floor with her, crushing her with his body. She heard someone's groan of exertion – she took a loud breath as someone slid the man off her, a hand smelling of lavender and clove touching her cheek.

"– Princess – get up, we have to go, quickly –" She whispered, trying to lift her up. She threw her arm around her neck, leading her down the corridor.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the body of the man who had tried to abduct her lying on the stone floor, an axe stuck in his head.

Alys took her to some room that smelled of herbs. She laid her down on something soft, and then she heard a rustling and her gasp of effort, as if she was moving something heavy. She breathed loudly, slowly regaining consciousness, and raised herself up on her arm, seeing that she had pawed the doorway with a large dresser and a table.

"– rest –" Alys said, panting heavily, kneeling beside her, her wide-open green eyes shining in the moonlight. "– you are safe now –"

"– what will happen to my husband and brother? –" She mumbled out with difficulty, feeling her whole body begin to shiver with cold and terror. Alys shook her head.

"– I don't know –"

Several hours passed before they heard the powerful flapping of wings, two dragons began circling around the fortress in the darkness.

They were back.

They came out to meet them, both only in their nightgowns and overlaid robes, running down the stone steps. She stopped and screamed involuntarily, sobbing and wailing at the same time, covering her mouth with her hands, as she watched her brother and the man she was seeing for the first time in her life carry her unconscious husband through the fortress gates.

"– he was stabbed with a dagger in the back –" Jace cried out, all red and sweaty.

"– follow me, immediately –" Alys called out, pointing her finger at them to which chamber they should head to.

She ran after them, watching as Jace and the stranger laid her uncle's body on Alys' bed, her aunt beginning to take out various objects from the drawers one by one, panting heavily.

"– take off his cloak and tunic and turn him onto his stomach –" She commanded, and they obediently obeyed her order. She stood a few paces behind them, looking at his pale face, at his parted lips, and only after a moment did she see that a trickle of blood was trailing down his left foot.

Her whole body was trembling, she was unable to get a word out or move from her place.

When her husband was left in only his breeches and shirt, Alys cut the material with scissors. A terrified, helpless, loud moan ripped from her throat as she exposed the wound from which his blood was dripping and she wept loudly, burying her face in her hands, thinking that if he died, she would throw herself from the highest tower of Harrenhal.

"– hold him –" She ordered the men. Jace climbed onto the bed, sitting down on the side of his head, pressing his torso against the bedclothes with his hands while the other man grabbed his legs.

As her aunt leaned over and poured the contents of one of the vials onto his wound, her husband suddenly opened his eye and screamed as if someone was skinning him.

She felt her body suddenly rush up, running towards him – she fell to her knees beside him, grabbing his hand, stroking his hot, sweaty cheek.

"– shhh, my love – shhh – I know, I know it hurts –" She whispered soothingly. He whined low, his fingers tightening on hers.

"– I want to see our child –" He mumbled out in pain. She wept at his words and rose up on her knees, hugging his head to her breasts, stroking his hair. He screamed out loud as Alys repeated the action, spreading his wound with her fingers.

"– why are you doing this?! –" She cried out, hearing how much pain she was causing him, how much he was suffering.

"– I need to clean the wound and make sure there is no internal bleeding –" She replied coldly, looking at the man standing at his feet.

"– Erwin, there are needles and threads in the second drawer from the bottom – give it to me and a lit candle for me –" She ordered, and the man nodded, walking over to her large chest of drawers, snooping through her things, finding after a moment what she was speaking of.

Her husband was convulsing in her arms when they all watched in silence as Alys took out the needle, washing it with the same alcohol-scented liquid, and then slipped the tip of it into the fire. This went on for a while, and as she took it out, she put a thread through its eyelet and leaned over his wound, looking at her brother.

"– hold him –" She said, and then jabbed the needle into his skin, beginning to suture the wound.

Her uncle hissed and whined, squeezing her hand as hard as if he wanted to break her fingers. She looked at her in despair, not knowing how to relieve him, how to help him.

"– gods, please, at least give him poppy milk –" She mumbled out pleadingly, tears of pain and fear running down her cheeks red with emotion. Alys shook her head, heedless of his sobs.

"– no – he's lost too much blood – he won't wake up –" She said in an unobjectionable voice.

She put her arms around his head, cradling him to her chest, hushing him and stroking his hair as if he were a small child, a little boy.

"– shhh – shhh –"

"– Rhaenys – not yet – not yet –" He babbled, terrified, his trembling hand clamped on her wrist.

She felt her throat clench at the thought of him trying to tell her that he didn't want to die.

"– I'm with you – you're not going to die – you're not going to die –" She whispered softly, kissing his hot forehead again and again. She felt his breath begin to calm, and his grip eased: frightened, she touched her fingers to his neck and was relieved to feel a pulse.

Alys finished her work in silence, then reached for a small vessel standing on the table and opened its lid. She scooped a grey ointment onto her fingers, which she began to apply gently to the fresh wound.

"– the wound must not be covered with any material – he must lie on his stomach all night so that the stitches do not rip – if he survives until morning, there will be hope for him – he has lost a lot of blood –" She said, glancing at her out of the corner of her eye. She only wept at her words, placing her cheek on his head, stroking his jaw with her palm.

Neither of them slept for a moment that night.

However, morning came, and her husband, although burning up with fever, was still breathing.

"What's happening?" She asked, touching his hot forehead, placing on it a linen cloth previously soaked in the icy water Alys had given her.

"– it's a sign that his body is fighting – that he's not giving up –" She said calmly, and she nodded, trying to comfort herself with that thought.

When Jace asked them to speak in private she did so reluctantly, leaving her husband in the care of their aunt. They went out into the corridor and looked at each other for a moment in silence.

"– it was an ambush on me, not on him – his spies must have reported to Lord Strong that I had come to Harrenhal – the information that was given to our uncle was just bait – when they attacked me, he tried to protect me –" He muttered and she nodded, stroking her slightly rounded abdomen.

"– your cheek – what happened? –" He asked, but she shook her head.

"– I don't have the strength to discuss it, Jace –" She whispered, tired and powerless. Her brother nodded.

"– we need to inform our mother about what happened –" He replied.

"– yes – and not only her –"

While Alys replaced the cold cloths she had placed on her husband's back and forehead, she sat at her desk and wrote two letters: one to her mother in Dragonstone, the other to her uncle in King's Landing.

She ordered them to be sent immediately knowing what the consequences would be.

During the day, her husband's condition neither worsened nor improved – he was still asleep and Alys' chamber was cramped, so they decided to move him to his chamber, being careful not to hurt him. As they laid him on his bed, Alys placed the ointment she had used earlier on the table next to him.

"– apply a little of this ointment every five hours, Princess – the wound is swollen but no infection is developing – that's the most important thing – I think the worst is behind us – I will inform the servants to prepare hot soup for him and I will personally supervise how it is prepared –" She said, watching her calmly, without an expression of fatigue or discouragement.

She looked at her and nodded.

"– I am grateful to you, Alys – for everything you have done for me and my husband – when this is all over, decide for yourself where you wish to go – you are a free woman now –"

The woman smiled at her in a way that seemed sincere and filled with an emotion she didn't understand. She nodded and left without another word, leaving them alone.

Her uncle, when she tried to feed him, was semi-conscious. Because of the way he was lying on his stomach, she had to lift his head higher so he wouldn't choke. Her brother helped her attend to him without saying a word, holding his chin as she poured the contents of the bowl down his throat spoon by spoon.

Several times he muttered something in displeasure and furrowed his brow, however, he did not open his eyes, restless, sweat droplets on his forehead.

She only fell asleep in the evening, tired and weak, waking up once in a while, however, checking that he was still breathing. She shuddered when she felt him move, his breath became heavy, as if he was frightened of something. She lifted herself up on her arm to see that his eyelid was open, his lips parted, as if he didn't recognise her.

"– Rhaenys –"

She touched his cheek, feeling her heart begin to pound like mad, her stomach clenched in emotion, hearing his voice again, his skin hot from the heat.

"– I am here, my beloved –" She whispered, looking up at him tenderly, begging in her mind just for him to survive, for the Stranger not to take him away so early.

She heard him sigh quietly with some kind of relief, looking at her with a misty gaze.

"– I knew you would come –" He said quietly.

She didn't understand what he meant, but decided it didn't matter, her lips placed a warm, moist kiss on his forehead.

"– do you still want to marry me? –" He asked with difficulty, and she looked at him in disbelief, feeling her heart stop in her throat.

I knew you would come.

It seemed to him that they were still children.

That she had come to him that night when he lost his eye.

Her fingers ran gently over his jaw, hot, burning tears of emotion and pain running down her cheeks one by one.

"– uncle – we are married – I'm expecting your child –" She whispered, gently grasping his wrist, allowing his hand to touch her rounded lower abdomen. She felt him freeze, his lips parted, relief and warmth in his eyes from which she felt a tightening in her throat, stifling the sob that wanted to escape her lips.

"– I have married you –"

She laughed under her breath, wiping her tear-wet face, stroking his hand with hers.

"– yes, my love – I am your wife and you are my husband –" She whispered softly, leaning over him, placing a tender, sticky kiss on his lips, from which he sighed quietly in contentment.

"– you promised me that you would take me to Essos – you can't leave me now –" She mumbled, feeling that despite her efforts, tears flowed down her face in waves again, her breath heavy and hitched as she pressed her forehead against his, stroking his cheek.

"– never, my sweetest – never –" He whispered and closed his eyes. Horrified, she shook him, feeling her heart stop in her throat.

"– Aemond? –" She mumbled and pressed her fingers to his neck.

She cried out loud, feeling his pulse, and lay down beside him, snuggling into his body, praying aloud to all the gods, old and new, to show them mercy, to reward her husband for what he had done for her brother and to allow him to see the birth of his child.

The gods heard her prayers, and when Alys woke her the next morning, wanting to check how his wound was healing, he was still breathing.

Then Daemon arrived in Harrenhal.

The sight of Caraxes over the fortress filled her with fear and joy at the same time. She ran to meet him along with her brother, and although she knew that affectionate embraces were not in his nature, as soon as he slid off the back of his dragon, she ran to him and threw herself into his arms.

"Father!" She cried out, snuggling into him, and he did not reject her, embracing her tightly, pressing her to his heart.

Their stepfather received the information they conveyed to him with an air of disbelief, as if he thought they were hiding something from him; the uncertainty vanished from his face when he was led to the chamber where her husband rested.

"Will he survive?" He asked indifferently, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. She nodded, pale.

"With god's blessing, yes. Alys says the worst is behind him, but he still has a fever. Last night he woke up and spoke to me for a while, but then he lost consciousness again." She explained and he sighed heavily, running his hand over his face, walking around the room.

"I told your mother to let me handle the Strong and Hightower case, but she didn't consent. Does anyone in King's Landing know what happened here?"

"Aegon." She admitted immediately, looking at him, not lowering her gaze even as he turned to her in anger.

"You are a fool. He'll protect his grandfather. He'll hide him like a rat."

"No. Not after what happened." She said with a confidence that surprised him. He laughed and shook his head.

"Your naivety is dangerous, you are aware of that?" He asked, finally making himself comfortable in the chair and sighed heavily, tapping his fingers on the armrests.

"My men will find Larys Strong, and I will feed him to Caraxes in front of his own people. This, however, is not a problem. As long as Otto Hightower lives, don't hope for peace. And that green whore will never give him up to us, even if he unwittingly almost killed her son."

It turned out, however, that Daemon had been mistaken in his assessment of the situation, and the retinue with the carriage with the Queen inside arrived in Harrenhal after a few days. It frightened her that Harrenhal was slowly becoming a small Red Keep and that this woman would stand before her father.

Alicent, however, did not seem to be bothered by the sight of him, and instead walked up to her, panting heavily, grabbing her by her shoulders.

Only after a moment did she realise she was wearing black.

She wore mourning.

"– where is my son? –"

To Daemon's displeasure, she led her husband's mother to his chamber. When she saw him, she cried aloud, covering her mouth with her hand, and walked over to him, sitting down beside him on the bed. She stroked his white hair as if he were still a child.

"– my little boy –" She whispered in a breaking voice.

She decided to give them a moment of solitude.

While her husband was left in Alys' care, she, Jace, Daemon and Alicent sat down at the table together for the first time since the King's death.

They were all waiting to hear what she had to say.

The Queen sat in silence for a long time, staring dully ahead, not tasting the wine or the food, picking at the cuticles around her fingernails.

"My father is dead. My son-king sentenced him to death after he received a message from Harrenhal. He wanted to fly here in person, but I wouldn't let him." She confessed. Daemon snorted at her words, raising his eyebrow as if her words amused him.

"Your son-cunt is no king, and your father's head should have long since welcomed visitors to King's Landing impaled on a spike." He sneered.

"– father –" She said to him pleadingly, involuntarily stroking her abdomen again, weak and drowsy, having not experienced a peaceful sleep for several days. Alicent looked at her, pale and tired.

"– is this his child? –" She asked, and her father snorted at her words, raising his gaze to the ceiling.

"– for goodness' sake –"

"– yes –" She replied calmly, looking her straight in the eyes.

The Queen smiled sadly and nodded, as if this information actually pleased her.

"I'm glad." She whispered.

"– how touching – did you know that there was an attempt to poison my daughter? – that there was an attempt to kill my son and abduct her? – it's a miracle she hasn't lost that child yet –" Her father hissed out with a fury from which everyone fell silent, all around them only the sizzle of the fire in the fireplace behind him.

Alicent pressed her lips together, swallowing hard, looking down at her empty plate.

"– I tried to reason with him, but I couldn't – he thought, as he has all my life, that I was weak and naive in believing that a war could be avoided – he made me his pawn from the moment he put me under the nose of your brother, and my husband, like a mare for sale –" She replied indifferently, as if she was already tired of pretense and courtesy.

Daemon tapped his index finger on the armrest and licked his lower lip, watching her vigilantly.

"– King's Landing is not burning just for the sake of my daughter and what your son has done – remember this well –" He said lowly and rose from his seat, taking his cup and jug of wine, then left, leaving them in complete silence.

If anything good had come out of what had happened, it was that she and Jace were closer than they had ever been. Her brother watched over her and made sure she ate and drank, convincing her that since his mother was at her husband's side, she could finally rest a little.

"– you need to think of yourself and the baby too – call me if you need anything –" He said softly, looking at her lying on the bed, sitting beside her on the sheets. She put her hand on his and stroked it with her thumb.

"– I love you, brother –" She whispered.

Jace smiled at her words in a way from which she felt moved and leaned in, placing a warm, tender kiss on her forehead.

"– sleep –" He murmured and got up, leaving her alone in her chamber.

She had slept for several hours without waking for the first time in days, and when she opened her eyes, she wasn't sure if it was morning or evening. Only when she rubbed her eyes did she realise that the sun had only just risen above the horizon and she had slept through the night. She shuddered when she heard a quiet knock on the door to her chamber.

"– come in –" She said loudly. The door opened and Alicent stood in it, a small smile on her lips from which she felt warmth in her heart.

"– he's awake –"

Although only in her nightgown and a robe thrown over her shoulders, she ran to his chamber driven by euphoria. When she saw that he was lying on his back, that his eye was open, that he smiled softly at the sight of her, she cried out loudly and rushed towards him, climbing onto his bed, cuddling into his chest.

He hissed quietly, as if she had caused him pain, and she moved away immediately, looking at him apologetically.

"– forgive me – I –"

"– no – come here –" He muttered in a hoarse voice, putting his arm around her, pushing her back to him. She laid her head on his chest, this time being careful not to make any sudden movements. She sighed in relief as she felt his lips place a lingering, loud kiss on the top of her head.

Alicent followed her into the chamber, smiling as she watched them from the side, as if something about the sight brought her relief.

Her husband lifted her chin and furrowed his brow, seeing the remnants of a purple-pink bruise under her eye.

"– are you well? – did they hurt you? –" He asked, but she shook her head quickly.

"– no – but – I killed one of them –" She mumbled, lowering her gaze.

Over the past few nights, she had dreamt of the figures of this two men again and again, causing her to wake up terrified and drenched in sweat.

Her uncle sighed heavily, stroking her cheek with his thumb, looking at her face, his sapphire eye shining in the sunlight.

"– how? –" He asked coldly.

"– as you taught me – I stabbed him in the stomach with a dagger –" She muttered and heard him smile.

"– my Visenya –" He whispered and kissed her forehead with a quiet click.

She involuntarily felt herself blush at his words and snuggled her face into his neck, enjoying his proximity and scent.

"– I will order a meal to be prepared for you –" His mother said and left their chamber, leaving them alone. She felt his uncle's hand slide down to her lower abdomen, stroking her skin.

"– how do you feel? –" He asked quietly, as if she had been stabbed in the back with a dagger rather than him.

"– I feel well, uncle – now that I am in your arms, all is well –"

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ckret2 · 11 months ago

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Chapter 34 of human Bill Cipher not making friends with Stan during his imprisonment in the Mystery Shack, featuring: the tooth fairy and her dentist attempting to steal Bill's teeth in the middle of the night. Stan would care a lot less if he weren't still handcuffed to Bill. And also: Stan and Bill have a friendly chat. As you can see.

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Even though Bill and Stan were trying to watch the same TV as they had dinner, Bill refused to sit in the living room with Stan; so he sat on the bottom step of the stairs in the entryway, Stan perched on the end of the couch, and they strung the handcuffs around the doorway with their little plastic microwave dinner trays balanced on their knees.

Both of their dinners had come out undercooked. Both of them were too proud to complain.

After picking through maybe a third of his meal, Bill decided he'd rather go to bed hungry than eat something he didn't enjoy, dropped his tray on the floor, and kicked it into the kitchen. "Hey Stanley, still glad you went with the cuffs instead of the bracelets?"

"Shut up."

Bill smirked victoriously, and looked back to the TV. "No mayonnaise in Ireland."

"What?"

Bill pointed at the screen and the rows of blank letters waiting for contestants to fill them in. "The round that just started. That's the solution."

"Oh." Stan counted out all the blank letters, frowned, and said unconfidently, "It can't be that. It doesn't make any sense."

"You're wrong," Bill said lightly; and then fell silent, running the tip of his tongue over the new gold spots on his teeth.

When the contestants had guessed enough letters that one could hesitantly offer, "Is it... 'no mayonnaise in Ireland'?" Bill smirked triumphantly at the sound of Stan's silence. He just barely waited until the next board of blank letters flashed on the screen, and then announced, "Tip your waiter."

Stan counted the letters under his breath. "Man. I thought I was good at this, but we'd clean up if we put you on this show. No one would ever figure out how you're cheating."

Bill laughed. "Listen to you! If you were Ford, you'd just be mad that I'm giving away all the answers before you can guess. That's the great thing about you, Stanley: you don't get irritated at me for stupid little reasons. You're more fun." He took a deep breath and shouted, "Hey Ford, did you hear that?! Stan's the fun twin—!"

"Keep it down, you idiot. Ford's in the basement, he can't hear you." Stan had thought Bill was finally sobering up from the sedative; maybe not. (Then again, maybe this was just what he was like sober.) "And what are you talking about? You irritate me all the time!"

"Oh, well, I guess I just don't care when you're irritated." Bill laughed.

Stan grumbled, planted his chin in his hand, and tried to focus on Cash Wheel. It was difficult when he already knew the solution.

He tolerated the silence for less than a minute before sighing, looking toward the doorway, and demanding, "What's with you, anyway? Why are you so obsessed with my brother?"

Bill spluttered in disbelief. Stan could feel his handcuff chain jerk over. Voice even shriller than usual, Bill said, "Excuse m—Excuse me?! Obsessed? Moi?! I don't know what you're talking about!" He forced a loud laugh.

"If Ford's in the room, he's the only one you talk to, and when he isn't here you're yelling across the house for him—"

"Is it obsession to sometimes pay a little more attention to the human here I happen to know best and to whom I happen to be a teacher, muse, and friend—"

"Oh that's a load of bull," Stan snapped, "you're not any of those things! Friend? Friend? He wants you dead, you crazy—"

"Well if he does," Bill said, louder still, "then wouldn't it make perfect sense to keep my eye on the guy who killed me? There's no big mystery—"

"That's it! That's just it!" Stan tossed down his TV dinner and stood so he could face Bill properly. "He didn't kill you alone, remember? That was a two-man con you fell for! But you keep talking like Ford was the only one there!"

Without bothering to stand, Bill looked up at Stan and said, quite confidently, "Only one person killed me. You're just the place where I was killed."

"I wh...?" Stan fell silent, blinking at Bill in disbelief.

"Do you even remember what happened inside your brain? After you took my hand?" Bill asked. "You don't, do you?"

Stan glowered at Bill, but he shut his mouth and said nothing.

"I knew it." Bill laughed nastily. "We were both trapped in there when Fordsy fired the gun. Completely powerless. You were weeping and begging for a way out when the flames got too close, but there was nothing I could do by then—"

"All right," Stan took a threatening step closer, "I know that that didn't happen! I would never—"

Bill leaned back, hands raised palm out in appeasement, "Okay okay okay! All right, you got me—just embellishing the story a little—we actually had a big psychic laser battle. Imagined up all kinds of futuristic weapons. It was very 90's action movie. You did... fine, you were fine."

Stan considered that. "Ehh... sure, that sounds more like me."

"But it was all imaginary," Bill snapped. "It was a vast illusion! At that point there was nothing either of us could do to the other. We were just two victims locked inside a burning house as it came down around us. You didn't kill me, you never even had the power to kill me."

"Huh." That was all Stan said. But he kept looking at Bill, frowning distrustfully, studying him.

Bill's shoulders slowly went up under the pressure of Stan's gaze. "Oh—oh wow, okay, I see what's going on!" He gave Stan a crooked, mean smile. "You're jealous, aren't you? You thought offering up your body to be the scene of a murder finally made you a co-star instead of a sidekick! All your lives, Stanford got more attention from daddy, more attention from the teachers, more attention from the whole world... and you thought you'd finally get at least a little attention from the big bad living nightmare. Just because you let your brother shoot you in the head!" Bill laughed. "You weren't special enough for anyone else—why do you think you're special enough for me?"

Stan jerked Bill to his feet by the handcuff's chain. "I bet I'm special enough to break your face!" He dragged him into the living room, fist raised. "Let's see if you stay down this time—"

Bill scrambled back as far as the chain allowed him. "NO!" Horror filled the one ragged syllable. His free arm was raised to shield his terrified eye.

They froze, staring at each other.

Bill straightened up, forcing a nervous, rattled laugh. "Come on, I just got all this dental work done. At least give me a couple days to enjoy it before you pound it in!" He was talking fast to fill the silence. "Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind having a flatter face, all these bones and cartilage jutting out never did feel right—"

Stan feigned a punch.

Bill flinched.

Stan laughed at him, slapping his knee. "You big chicken! Look at you! Baw-baaawk-bgawk! HA!"

Bill tried, very hard, to explode Stan with his brain. This usually worked on people who dared try to insult Bill Cipher. "If I had one billionth of a billionth of my power, I'd have already destroyed you—!"

"But you don't, sucker!" Stan laughed louder.

Bill screamed in frustration, turned his back on Stan, and stomped upstairs to sulk.

Or, he would have, if he hadn't gotten one step up the stairs before the handcuffs yanked tight. He stumbled back, landed on his butt, and inadvertently jerked Stan down on one knee with a yelp.

Bill cast a resentful look at Stan—who was rubbing his shoulder and finally looking as irritated as Bill felt—and then he lay down and deliberately stared straight at the ceiling. "Whatever. I don't even care about your pointless mammal posturing. It's fine. It doesn't bother me. I'm calm. You're just making yourself look stupid." Bill shut his eyes. "I wanna go to bed."

####

"Bill," Ford said.

Bill cracked open an eye and peered up at the form looming over his makeshift cushion bed. "Mrm?"

In a very calm voice that suggested he was not calm at all, Ford asked, "Why are you sleeping on the floor in front of my bedroom door."

"Oh. Right, you missed it." Bill yawned and sat up. "Well, you see, Stanley got us handcuffed together until tomorrow morning," he pointed at his cuffed wrist and rattled the chain, "and I tried to be accommodating, but he doesn't want to sleep in the attic and won't let me sleep in the guest room—"

Stan yelled through the door, "And Mr. Accommodating here still refuses to sleep on the sofa bed."

"—so the best compromise we've got is sleeping on the floor with the chain under the door. Not my idea of a fun evening, but." Bill shrugged ruefully, like an adult resigned to indulging the whims of a petulant child. "Do you want in? It'll take us a little coordination to get the door open, but we've already done this once, so—"

"I'm not messing with this," Ford said. "I'm sleeping in the basement. Good night, Stanley."

"Night, Ford."

Trying not to sound miffed at being snubbed, Bill said, "Hey, do you still keep your cot on that rug you used to channel me better?" He laughed.

"Nope. I burned that rug." Ford turned the corner and left.

Bill stuck his tongue out at his back. He didn't actually know whether Ford was lying. He wished he'd thought to check out Ford's study before heading down to the portal back when he'd had his time tape.

"Hey." He rapped on the bedroom door. "I thought we weren't asking Sixer for help so he wouldn't find out about the handcuffs." They hadn't actually discussed it, but he'd taken it for granted. "Now that he knows, why aren't we getting his help?"

"What, you think I need his help to solve all my problems? Ha!"

"Okay, fine. Doesn't matter to me, I'm used to sleeping on the floor." Bill lay back down and sighed.

He shut his eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

####

Bill wasn't quite dreaming, but for a few seconds it was something very close to a dream. He saw points of light in darkness. One of his earliest, oldest memories. He'd memorized the constellations outside of his plain when his starblind species didn't even have a word for "constellations."

But these weren't those points of light in darkness. Some nearer, some farther—he could sense their distance—and all of the lights were calling to him. All of his eyes. He could see so many more than he had last night.

One was just a few inches away. He could almost reach out and grab it.

But those few seconds of light-in-darkness were in the gray twilight between the dreamscape and the physical world, and Bill only fleetingly glimpsed them as he passed from sleep back to wakefulness. He opened his eyes.

To see a person looming over him.

And the taste of thick metal tools in his mouth.

"Hi," Bill said, for lack of anything better to say under these circumstances.

It was enough to make Dr. Illing gasp and stumble back from Bill. "Jeez." He clapped a hand over his heart. "I'm sorry— I-I didn't want to—"

"Uh-huh." Bill sat up and took the abandoned tool out of his mouth—pliers. They'd been gently clamped around one of his canine teeth. "Not the most unpleasant thing I've had aimed at my face in the middle of the night," Bill mused, "but it's pretty high on the list." He tried to lift his other hand to feel his face for damage—and only remembered the handcuff when the rattling chain caught his wrist in place.

They both looked at the cuff. As Dr. Illing realized Bill was trapped, a change came over his face—a desperate, crazed fury.

Bill shook his head. "Ohhh, no no no—"

"Give me that!" Dr. Illing lunged for Bill, one hand reaching toward the pliers and the other toward his throat, trying to pin him against the door.

Bill shoved his feet in Dr. Illing's chest, trying to hold him back. "Stanley!" He pounded on the door with the pliers. "We have visitors, wake up!"

"It'll only take a second," Dr. Illing insisted. "You were going to give me one anyway! And that tooth is already loose! You can handle the pain! Just—hold still, I can't damage it!" He managed to get his thumb in Bill's mouth—he cringed when Bill bit down, but didn't back off—and pulled a fresh set of pliers out of his tool bag.

Bill parried the pliers with his own pair. "STAAAN—"

The door unlatched and Bill tumbled backward into the room. He twisted out of the dentist's way, slid the handcuff chain out from under the door, and skittered behind Stan.

"Wha—what's—?" Stan squinted into the dark hallway. "The heck's going on?"

Bill stretched to Stan's nightstand and grabbed up his glasses and hearing aids. "Put your face on!" He shoved them in Stan's hands, then reached back for his dentures.

Stan put his glasses on first. "What the— Illing? What are you doing here?"

Dr. Illing stood forlorn in the hallway, trembling all over, eyeing Stan nervously. "Uhhh," he said eloquently. "I just..." He gestured around Stan's shoulder toward Bill, "wanted to check her fillings. I thought one of them might be a little loose—"

Bill's cackle cut through his excuses. "Oh, come on! I know your boss put you up to this! What does the little lady want with my mouth?"

Dr. Illing's eyes widened. All he managed to produce was a squeak.

Stan said, "What 'little lady,' this guy's self-employed. What are you talking about—"

"The tooth fairy, genius!" Bill flung his free hand in the air. "Why did you think your dentist pays you to pull your teeth! He lives in a van, who'd you think was funding him?!"

"Uh," Stan said. "You know, I sort of just took his whole 'creepy sadist who bribes people to let him pull their teeth' shtick at face value." (Dr. Illing's shoulders slumped.) "But—I know things are weird around here, but the tooth fairy's gotta be fake, right? That's the stupidest..."

A fairy popped out of Dr. Illing's bag—just large enough to use an adult man's hand like a chair, with a bob cut so white it almost shone, giving off a glowing toothpaste-blue aura, wearing a necklace of baby teeth like a hunter who'd taken trophies from the bones of her kills.

"Oh," Stan said. "Well. Never mind. Just one more crazy thing in this town."

Bill's back went stiff, his eyes widened, and he curled his fists into the fabric of Stan's tank top like he was holding his shield in place. "Oh, she's here." He lisped an inhuman swear under his breath.

Ignoring them, the tooth fairy glowered up at Dr. Illing. "How did they know? What did you tell them!"

"Nothing!" he protested. "I swear! I'd never!"

"Well, you must have let something slip—"

Bill swallowed hard; but then he straightened up, let go, and stepped into the open. "Why, if it isn't Miss Pearl E. White, in the fae flesh! To what do I owe such an honor?"

Dr. Illing and the fairy both flinched. She asked, "How do you know my...?"

"Oh, Pearl. I know things you couldn't even dream of." Bill favored her with his best, widest, most unnerving grin.

And got the creeping sense that she'd stopped looking at his face, and started staring at his teeth. He pressed his lips together. "And here's just one thing I know: lady, if you were toeing the line of your treaty any harder, you'd be tripping across it. So tell me what you're doing here and what you want."

She huffed defensively, wings buzzing as they lifted her several inches in the air. "I'm well within the terms of the treaty! I haven't laid a hand on you and I'm not about to start, and I've been offering more than adequate financial compensation—"

"Oh, right," Bill laughed, "I'm sure the queen of your court would be thrilled to hear you ordered your legally-dubious helper to rip out someone's teeth in the dead of night—"

"Hi," Stan said, "question. What the hey are you guys talking about. Treaties? Queens?"

"Oh, this is all going over your head, isn't it! I'll catch you up." He turned to the side to point accusingly at Pearl, "Little miss enamel-happy here has a thing for teeth. To the extent that she started stealing them straight out of humans' mouths. She went so crazy that the local human settlements actually declared war on her court over her dental kleptomania—and the fairies she dragged into the conflict weren't any happier about it than the humans were. So now, under the conditions of a human-fairy peace treaty, she's only allowed to acquire already freed teeth that are voluntarily offered to her by their owners—which is why she started bribing children."

Pearl crossed her arms, fuming. "That's a very biased version of events. You're just trying to paint me in the worst possible—"

"Save it, sparkles! I woke up with your minion's pliers in my mouth, I'll be as biased as I want!" He shifted his attention to Dr. Illing—who seemed to wilt under the force of Bill's glare. "But she's getting deep in a gray area working with this guy. Once a tooth is handed to a dentist, he's its 'owner,' and can freely give that tooth to the tooth fairy��but him extracting the tooth puts the whole operation on shaky legal ground. Really, I think the only reason you've gotten away with this racket so long is because nobody's filed a legal challenge with the fairy court yet."

"Nobody's complained about it," Pearl said hotly.

"None of your victims know about it," Bill countered. "Hey Fisherman," he jabbed Stan's arm, "how do you feel knowing your teeth were sacrificed to the tooth fairy?"

He considered that. "Well—it was free."

Pearl crowed, "Ha!"

Ignoring Stan's reply, Bill blithely moved on: "But by any reading of the treaty, hiring a human to steal teeth straight out of someone's mouth is beyond the pale. So you'd better have a good explanation for this!"

"Yeah. I do have a good explanation." She sucked in a deep breath. "I want your teeth!" She launched herself toward Bill; Dr. Illing had to grab her around the waist to hold her back. "I'd do anything for those teeth! They're the most amazing teeth I've ever seen!" She clawed at the air, hissing and straining as she tried to reach Bill.

"My lady, please," Dr. Illing said pathetically. "The treaty—"

She aimed a swipe at his face. "I know about the stupid treaty!"

Bill stared at her, baffled. His perfectly normal human teeth? But he shook his head, smiled, and said, "Well okay, fantastic! It's been a while since I've bargained with the fae, but I'm not too attached to this body—so how much gold do you have on you, kid?"

"We're not bargaining. You already know too much," Pearl snapped. "I'm not about to get blackmailed by a human, and I'm not going back to fairy jail. So here's what's happening." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder toward Dr. Illing. "I'm gonna have my guy rip out every one of your teeth, and then rip your head apart so you can't talk, and the only negotiating you get to do is whether or not my guy uses the local anesthetic before he starts. So what's it gonna be?"

Dr. Illing went deathly pale and his knees shook as he verged on fainting.

"Hey," Stan waved at the fairy, "listen, I'd love to see this guy's head get ripped apart, but—crazy thing, long story—it turns out there's fifty-fifty odds that killing him could end the world. So, maybe let's talk this out—?"

Pearl gestured dismissively at Stan. "His mouth has nothing left of interest to me. He's a witness. Kill him, too."

Dr. Illing swallowed hard; but, with trembling hand, he reached into his tool bag and slowly pulled out a large power drill that definitely wasn't designed for teeth.

"Right," Bill said. "Okay. This'll be fun." If he said it convincingly enough, maybe it would be true. "Hey, Fisher—you know that spell Sixer's got on me? If I cast it on Frankie here, can you..."

"Yeah, I see where you're going."

Pearl's eyes narrowed. She pounded her tiny fist on Dr. Illing's finger. "Hurry up, before they—"

Before she could issue a warning, Stan charged at them, fist raised. Dr. Illing flinched, shielding his face with the drill; but Stan dodged around him, heading for the hall. Bill seized Dr. Illing's upper arm as he passed—"Amnesia Limina, Stupidi Digiti, Occultus Locus!"—and then Stan yanked Bill out into the hall by their chain and slammed the bedroom door.

Dr. Illing gasped. "What?"

Blue light radiated through the cracks around the door as Pearl darted around, shrieking, "Open the door, you idiot!"

There was a moment of futile scrabbling. "How?!"

Bill and Stan retreated to the entryway. Bill said, "If we get outside, we can lose 'em."

"Or get the car and run them over," Stan said.

"You don't wanna be the guy who kills the tooth fairy! She might be in the doghouse, but she's still old fae nobility. Her court would—"

Bill cut off as Stan opened the door. Instead of leading to the porch and the forest beyond, it now opened into a bone-colored cathedral, the arches and vaulted ceilings constructed out of what looked like small irregular pebbles: teeth.

Stan gaped at the vast chamber. "Where the heck...?"

Bill looked at what had once been the outside of the door; the numbers "13 / 32" were carved into the wood. "Nowhere we want to go! Shut it!"

Stan slammed the door.

"That explains how she got in," Bill muttered. "There's no time to un-enchant this exit, we'll need another one."

Stan pointed toward the living room. "We can go out the—"

"The floor room exit." Bill dragged Stan back toward the hallway they'd just left.

"What?! That's the other end of the house, you idiot, the gift shop's right through here!"

"But it's a straight shot down the hall—" Bill stumbled to a stop.

The tooth fairy was clawing her way out from under the bedroom door. She caught sight of Bill, and her wings raised in a sharp V like a wasp preparing to attack. "You!"

"Never mind."

Stan dragged Bill back toward the living room. "Now can we go—"

Bill saw the living room—that familiar dark room, the familiar walls and carpet, the familiar armchair facing the doorway as though welcoming him back, the pale blue light from the fish tank climbing the walls like flames—and Stanley Pines, dragging Bill by a chain toward this tomb—and he grabbed on to the staircase railing. "Up."

Stan jerked to a stop. "That's a dead end!" He tried again to pull Bill toward the living room. "Are you insane?!"

"Yes." Bill locked his hand around the railing like a corpse in rigor mortis. He'd break his fingers before he let go. "We're going up."

"We are not—"

The tooth fairy shot past them like a glowing blue bullet, streaking into the kitchen. Stan started, and Bill took the opportunity to drag them up the stairs. Stan finally followed.

"You're not getting out of here with my teeth!" Pearl screamed after them.

"Ignore her," Bill muttered, "she can't risk touching us and she knows it. She's powerless without her minion." He stumbled on a step and just kept climbing on all fours.

"I wouldn't bet on her self control!" Stan struggled to keep up, his cuffed wrist in the lead. "Why are we going this way? How do you expect to get out from the attic?!"

"I don't know! It just seemed like a better idea! Do I have to think of everything?!"

"This was your plan!"

"There's got to be a ladder in the storage over the kids' room, we can get down out a window."

"I don't keep ladders—!"

"Well maybe Jesús does, do you know everything in the attic?! Come on!"

Bill kicked the door to the kids' room until Stan opened it. After a short argument about who should climb to the storage loft ("I have to look, you can't see in the dark!" "And you can?! Since when!" "Since always! You didn't need to know!"), Bill scrambled up the makeshift rungs nailed to the wall while Stan climbed halfway up to give the handcuffs a little slack.

As Bill started searching for anything useful, Pearl's ranting filled the shack: "Those teeth are too good for you!"

"I think she's getting closer," Stan said. "Find anything?"

"Not yet." Bill pulled out a broken umbrella with a hooked handle. He clung to it like it was his only defense as he scanned the loft for any signs of a ladder.

Pearl went on, "They're the most beautiful, pristine, unblemished, perfect teeth I've ever seen in my life!"

Bill asked, "Are they really that great?" He'd never paid that close attention.

"Eh..." Stan shrugged and made a so-so gesture with one hand. "A little weird-looking, honestly. They've got those jagged bits in the front that make 'em look like kids' teeth?"

"Huh."

"They're pure," Pearl snarled. "I've never seen adult teeth so pure! And you're ruining them by drilling out chunks of perfect enamel for unnecessary fillings! You don't have the right to those teeth! I deserve them!"

"Hey Bill," Stan said. "So you knew my dentist works for the tooth fairy, right?"

Bill was dragging aside a large box to see if anything ladder-like was hiding behind it. "Yes."

"And you knew she goes crazy for nice teeth."

"Yes." No ladder; he moved to another stack of boxes.

"And it didn't occur to you that she'd be furious that you carved up your new teeth."

"It's in the past, Stanley! Focus on the present!"

"—and I don't even know how you got magic teeth," Pearl continued. "Fully adult teeth in a fully adult mouth, but somehow they're barely a month old! It's impossible! I could barely believe it myself until I saw your mouth with my own two eyes! I must have those teeth, as soon as possible, so I can preserve them exactly like this, who knows if I'll ever find such a novelty again—"

"Ahh, so that's it," Bill said. "Welp, nope, didn't see that one coming at all."

"She's been shouting a while without actually coming after us," Stan pointed out. "What's she up to?"

Bill paused. "Check." He lay down and stretched his cuffed arm down from the loft to give Stan enough slack to peer out the bedroom door.

Stan frowned. "Huh. Weird."

"She's upstairs?"

"Yeah. But she's just flying in a circle. With... I think a veggie container from the fridge?"

Bill sucked in a breath. "Do we have mushrooms?"

"Wh—yeah? How'd you..."

"What!" Bill half-climbed half-fell to the attic floor. "That little cheater's making a fairy ring! That's not fair!" He leaned out the door with Stan. "She's probably already made the matching ring downstairs. We have to destroy it before—"

The circle of chopped portobello mushrooms glowed white; and with a glittery puff, Dr. Illing appeared in the ring. He coughed out a lungful of fairy dust.

Pearl pointed at Stan and Bill and screamed, "Get them!" With a murderous scowl and terrified eyes, Dr. Illing stared them down and revved his drill.

Stan yanked Bill back into the bedroom and slammed the door.

Dr. Illing whined. "Aw, f—again?!"

"Just break through it!" Pearl commanded. "It's just wood! You have power tools!"

"He can't do that," Bill said confidently. "Doors don't work like that."

Stan said, "He can do that." A power tool whine announced Dr. Illing beginning his assault on the door.

"Oh." Bill considered that, eyes scanning the bedroom from one side to the other, mouth set in a grim line. "I have an idea." He pointed toward the window with his umbrella. "Stan, open the window." He hooked the umbrella over his elbow as he ripped the bedsheets off Dipper's bed and started tying the corners together.

Stan shook his head in disbelief. "You don't really expect us to climb out that window on bedsheets, do you?"

Bill dragged Stan closer and murmured in his ear, just quiet enough that their assailants wouldn't hear him over the power drill, "No, I expect them to think we climbed out the window, while we hide in the closet in the alcove. Once they're past us to check the window, we can sneak out and run downstairs."

"I don't like hiding like cowards instead of fighting. Illing's rickety, we can take him."

Bill kept tying bedsheets. He picked up Dipper's zodiac blanket, flinched, and tossed it to the floor on the other side of Dipper's bed rather than add it to his chain. "Funny—you didn't seem to have any problem hiding for a week while I had your brother prisoner."

Stan grabbed Bill by the shirt, dragging him closer. "You wanna say that again?"

Bill's hands shot up next to his face in surrender. "Sorry, sorry, sorry—"

"There were people in this shack I wanted to keep safe," Stan growled. "I'm not half as fond of you."

"Got it," Bill squeaked. He pointed toward Mabel's bed. "But I can see a dozen futures that end with our brains splattered across Mabel's dolls. I do not want to fight power tools."

There was a crack as the drill flung the first few splinters of wood free from the door. Stan's scowl deepened, but he let go of Bill and nodded.

They tied the bedsheet rope to a table leg, opened the window, and flung the rope out the window; then retreated into the alcove at the other end of the room, pulled shut the ragged curtain that hid it, and closed themselves in the closet to wait for the tooth fairy and Dr. Illing to break in.

####

(Thanks for reading!! If y'all enjoyed, I'd love to hear what y'all think! Next week we conclude both with the tooth fairy and with whatever the heck is going on between Stan & Bill.)

#bill cipher #human bill cipher #grunkle stan #stanley pines #gravity falls #gravity falls fanart #gravity falls fic #fanart #my art #my writing #bill goldilocks cipher #(i traced 90% of Stan from the canon death punch because i wanted to make the parallel As Blatantly Obvious As Possible lmao)

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worriedvision · 5 months ago

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Forgery (Chapter 1)

Gender neutral reader, Angst. Wriothesley and Neuvillette distrust reader after letters get sent in threatening Sigewinne. Reader gets sent to Sumeru for punishment, the fic goes into more depth. An attempt at a slow burn, let's see how it goes. Sethos is not going to be a love interest - I don't know quite enough about him yet for it!

When you started working as an assistant to Sigewinne, Wriothesley did find himself monitoring you closely. He was concerned you would talk down to her, or you'd maybe mock her because she happens to be a melusine. Neuvillette had the same concern, and you found it to be common to be 'escorted' to places by either a guard or sometimes Wriothesley himself. You and Sigewinne laugh at this, making it a plan to slap as many stickers onto the unfortunate person assigned to help find your way around.

After a while, both Wriothesley and Neuvillette trust you - you stop being monitored, and you begin to see Wriothesley is interested in you. He wasn't very discrete in showing this either - going out of his way to keep getting you nice things, setting up "meetings" which land up being tea dates. Sigewinne was approving of this as well, sometimes being your wing person.

It was going too well, you worried, but you kept going. Before you could get too relaxed, you find out Wriothesley begins to not trust you once again. His once kind demeanor gone once again, back to how things were before he trusted you. He doesn't explain what's wrong, and Sigewinne is also in the dark about these things, and you can't pry out anything from Wriothesley.

Neuvillette makes an appearance - never good news - and he demands to speak to you.

Turns out, you had been suspected of writing threatening letters for Sigewinne. Some of these letters are going as far as to threaten her life, or worse. It horrified you when you heard this, and when you state you never wrote anything Neuvillette hears none of it.

"This is your handwriting, yes?" Neuvillette hums out, your face dropping as you see the person's forged your writing. Even copying characteristic smears from your hand contacting ink yet to be dried completely.

"I wouldn't dream of writing this!" You protest.

"This is your handwriting, yes?" Neuvillette repeats, eyes piercing you.

"I-"

"Yes, that matches their writing here." Wriothesley interrupts, huffing at your responses. Your throat closes up, the evidence not supporting you as to scramble to think of a way of defending yourself. You knew these letters were not your own, but what evidence could support you?

"Threatening our only full-time medical person is a crime, and a serious threat against our population." Wriothesley states, Neuvillette nodding.

"I never wrote this! And I wouldn't dare harm-"

"Face the consequences of your actions, _! I honestly expected better of you, but maybe I should have trusted my first instincts." Wriothesley mumbles, you trying and failing to defend yourself.

"I cannot trust you to keep your threats away from Sigewinne, or from these threats remaining hypothetical. Plans will be made for you to be sentenced in Sumeru, a neighbouring region, for punishment." Neuvillette states, Wriothesley nodding in approval before you get escorted out by four guards to a solitary room.

You could hear Sigewinne defending you, getting angry that Neuvillette and Wriothesley honestly thought you had the time to write such aggressive letters and even think up such violent thoughts. She cries out when Wriothesley doesn't even allow her to see you, to go talk to you at all. She stomps her foot, throwing a tantrum, before Neuvillette gently takes her to her room.

You don't get the chance to have a conversation with your friend, heartbroken to not have her to speak to or keep safe. You were scared for her safety - the threats were coming from somewhere within the Fortress, and you didn't know where. You wished to find out, but you were forced to stay in this room because of these threats.

On the day you got told you were to leave for Sumer, you get escorted out with Wriothesley leading the way. You hear familiar footsteps rushing towards you, and you turn your head to see Sigewinne demanding to speak to you before you leave. You reach out, hoping even for a few lines, only for Wriothesley to grab your hand aggressively, stopping you from talking to her as a guard holds her back.

"Quit the act. Everyone knows you hate her." He growls, you shutting up before you turn your head to see a short man waiting for you.

Finally getting to him, Wriothesley practically yanks your hand towards the man. He introduced himself to you as if you were friends, calling himself Sethos, and Wriothesley attempts to keep you out of the conversation as you continue walking to the lift. When Sethos doesn't immediately show hostility towards you, Wriothesley takes it upon himself to escort you all the way to the edge of Fontaine.

Sethos, still not seeming to treat you any differently, reassures Wriothesley he'll ensure you won't do anything suspicious. This seems to please Wriothesley, and for some silly reason you hope he's going to tell you to come back when the situation resolved.

Nope. He doesn't even acknowledge you.

Sethos doesn't treat you any differently at all, even during the walk through the desert. You feel like he'll scold you if you need to stop for a short break, and when your legs begin to give out on you, you fail to hide your surprise when he immediately stops to pitch a tent.

"What? Never seen a tent before?" Sethos starts, smiling. "Or maybe you're impressed by my tent making!"

"I...please don't feel like you need to take more time-"

"You're still a human, you'll need breaks. You're barely walking the way it is." Sethos tuts, gesturing for you to take a seat. "I'm escorting you at the request of Cyno, the General Mahamatra. I need to keep you safe."

"...Thank you. How much were you told about the nature of my sentencing for Sumeru?" You ask, Sethos letting out a hum of contemplation as he hands a flask of water to you.

"Writing threats towards Sigewinne." Sethos thinks out loud, shrugging at the idea. "Based on how she acted towards you, however, I really doubt you'd threaten to hurt her. It's not my place to say, but I don't get anything bad from you."

You can't help but laugh at that, a tear rolling down as you finally feel like someone trusts you other than Sigewinne. How ironic the reassurance is coming from a complete stranger.

Before you realise it, however, your eyes shut. You were exhausted from the thing that occurred over a few days - that, the deserts heat and knowing you'd most likely never get back to Fontaine.

"We'll keep going after a good rest, feel free to shut your eyes." Sethos reassures you.

You knew it would be a big headache to get through. You could only hope more people were like Sethos in Sumeru. Realistically, you knew it wasn't likely.

#gender neutral reader #genshin impact imagines #angst #Neuvillette #Wriothesley #sethos #Sigewinne

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yerimacoustic · 1 month ago

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𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 ♡ jun x reader

❝ 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙞'𝙢 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 ❞

summary : you find a sense of familiarity in your sworn rival, jun, while exchanging anonymous letters with a stranger .

content warnings : jun x female reader, regency era au, merchant!jun x bookstore owner!reader, mostly inspired by you’ve got mail, slow burn, frenemies to lovers, banter, misunderstanding, featuring jeonghan, wonwoo, karina and joy, yearning, kissing, sfw. 10.7k wc.

more notes : i finally got this out after weeks and weeks.. honestly i’m not sure if i love this, we’ll see how long it lasts 😭 not proofread. may make edits now & then. mostly historically inaccurate probably but we’re going with the vibes

the walk to the post office was not tedious by any means. not when the promise of a new response in the form of a handwritten letter prompted you to move quickly and lightly on your feet. it had become a weekly routine, early morning strolls to the post house, as well as an awfully great way to start the week.

the postmaster, otherwise known as your childhood friend, jeonghan, stood completely still behind the main counter with his arms folded across his chest. there was a knowing, mischievous glint in his eyes as he watched you quietly shut the door; he had been expecting you. just like he expected you every monday morning.

it wasn’t long before the brunette pulled a small envelope from the series of shelves behind him, gently dropping it onto the counter between the two of you. “here you go. your gentleman’s love letter awaits.”

“good day to you too, mr. yoon,” you teased him and grabbed the envelope, taking note of the familiar wax seal in the front. a neat scarlet red circle with a lion in the center- the familiar sight always managed to bring a smile to your face.

“hopefully he gives you some more clues as to his identity this week?” he called out to you as he strode across the tiny shop in favor of sweeping the floor. a look of feigned disappointment washed over his features as the sound of the bristles scratching across the floor and the envelope ripping open filled in the silence. “...perhaps not.”

just as your lips parted, the door swung open to reveal jeonghan’s assistant, karina. from the moment her eyes were fixed on yours, a mischievous glint akin to jeonghan’s filled her irises. “i thought i might find you here today. what news from the mysterious suitor?”

you shook your head before gesturing towards jeonghan, “i haven’t had the opportunity to read it yet. someone’s made sure of that.”

the man laughed from across the room, “it was never my attempt to keep you from reading it. i only wish that the two of you would at least give each other some hints as to who you really are.”

karina nodded in understanding before turning her back in favor of hanging her overcoat upon the rack near the entrance. “i hate to level with jeonghan in this case, but i’m curious about this mystery man, as well. have the two of you ever discussed meeting in person?”

“no, not at all. we’ve agreed to stay anonymous,” you explained as your fingers curled around the envelope in an almost protective grip. force of habit. “we know the risks but.. it’s quite refreshing, having someone to talk to without any of the societal pressures.”

before too long, jeonghan had finished tidying up and joined the two of you near the entrance. “i don’t understand. you both are clearly fond of each other..”

“who said anything about-”

“and you have a lot in common,” jeonghan mused, eyebrows raised. “in your next response, you should ask him something personal. ask him about his occupation.”

without skipping a beat, you shook your head in protest. “thank you for your unsolicited advice, jeonghan, but i know everything i need to know about this man. good day, my friends.”

you waved goodbye to the inseparable pair, stepping towards the small door. of course jeonghan, who always had to have the last word, called out to you before you could shut it completely, “except for his true identity!”

his words prompted your lips to twist into a smirk as you finally found the right opportunity to open the letter. as you unfolded the piece of parchment, your smirk slowly dissolved into a genuine smile, finding beautiful familiarity in the cursive penmanship. as you took cautious steps on the beaten path, you read the letter carefully:

‘this weekend i had the pleasure of accompanying my cousins as they vacationed in the countryside. they rent a small cottage near the ocean during the summertime and haven’t bothered to invite me until this year. i wish you could have seen it; it was perfectly quaint and tranquil. we spent all but the entirety of the seventy two hours walking along the beach and hunting for seashells. a bit of a juvenile hobby, i know.

i’m not sure where this inkling comes from, but something tells me you enjoy the oceanside. i bet you keep a collection of shells and pearls hidden somewhere in your home. or perhaps you proudly display them for your visitors to see. next time they permit me to join them near the beach again, remind me to fill this envelope with shells to add to your collection.

i know summer is your favorite holiday, and with that being said, i hope you find enjoyment in the final days of the season. take a stroll along the gardens or picnic with some of your friends.

take some time for yourself, my friend.’

–

jun waited three days for a reply, just as he did every week. he and his anonymous friend had fallen into a pattern of consistency, each of them sending a letter out to the other person once a week. even if he knew he could count on whoever this person was to send a timely response, his nerves got the best of him every time. the potential tone of the response occupied his thoughts at all times, keeping him up at night, keeping him from focusing intently on his work.

this week it reached the point where he had to turn his chair around to face the window, hoping that the sight of the rolling hills and graying sky outside would clear his mind. summer seemed to come to an end as quickly as it had begun, the entire season passing by in the blink of an eye. he counted his blessings, realizing that he was indeed lucky to have at least one holiday during the season. even if it was at the very end..

a knock on the door pulled him out of his trance and he turned his chair back to rest in the proper position, tucked tightly under his desk. “come in,” he called out.

barely a minute had passed before jun’s personal assistant and lifelong friend, wonwoo, closed the door quietly behind him and strode towards his desk with an envelope in hand. “your mystery woman sends her compliments,” he mused, handing the letter to jun.

jun’s eyes went wide. “you mean- you saw her??”

wonwoo shook his head, holding back an amused smirk as he watched the disappointment wash over jun’s features in real time. “no. my apologies.”

jun sighed, “just as well, i suppose. god only knows what chaos would unravel if anyone else in the household saw her.”

wonwoo nodded stiffly, folding his hands behind his back. “right you are. maybe there is practicality in anonymity, after all.”

“still, i can’t help but wonder what she’s really like in person,” jun mused, leaning back in his large leather chair with his chin cupped between his thumb and index finger. “there are so many habits and manners of hers i don’t even know about. she could be.. much lovelier in person.”

the bespectacled man tilted his head, taking a completely different approach, “or she could be ill-favored and poorly mannered.” the quiet statement was enough to pull jun out of his daze, causing him to furrow his eyebrows in annoyance. “my apologies.”

“there is no possible way someone who writes so beautifully is as ill favored as you say.” jun disregarded the man in front of him as he began to tear the seal off of the envelope, a silent command for wonwoo to leave him alone. conveniently enough, the door gently slammed shut once jun finally unfolded the small sheet of parchment.

‘i am delighted to hear that you were able to enjoy the last remaining hours of the season with your family. the ocean sounds delightful. your suspicion of my enjoyment of seashells and pearls is a fair assumption, although, i gave up collecting a long time ago. hopefully you invest more stock in your collections than i did.

i’m afraid that i have no plans to take my leave before autumn begins as i’ve been much too busy. i don’t mind keeping an occupied schedule; it takes my mind off things and prevents me from overthinking. especially when i get the pleasure of meeting several people from different walks of life on a daily basis.

i know i say this every week, but it is always a pleasure receiving your letters. sometimes i can’t believe that we met through an anonymous literary discussion group. i’ve received a handful of letters from other attendees, but allow me to say that the discussions are utterly mundane compared to our conversations. it feels like i write to a friend i’ve known for years.

i eagerly await your reply, dear friend.

jun folded the letter and tilted his head back in contemplation, just as he did every time he read one of your letters. the term of endearment the two of you shared always stuck out to him- ‘dear friend.’ as much as he enjoyed reading it at the end of every letter, a small part of him wished that there was a better word to describe how he felt towards you.

how he truly felt towards you was a mystery in and of itself. he valued your time and your relationship, he thought very highly of you.. but there were several complications that interfered.

as if on demand, one of the complications walked through the door without bothering to knock. joy, the daughter of the second wealthiest merchant in town and jun’s fiance strode towards his desk with confidence and charm. meanwhile, wonwoo stood by the door, stoic as ever as he occupied the room in favor of serving as a chaperone. he sent an apologetic glance in his friend’s direction, which jun quickly disregarded.

“still cooped away in this gloomy room, are you?” joy asked rhetorically. “oh dear, what ever is the matter?”

jun had completely forgotten to mask his confusion-fueled anxiety when she walked through the door. he shook his head in quick denial, his gaze softening as he allowed himself a better look at his fiance. “nothing,” he replied shortly and offered her a smile. “what brings you here?”

“i’ve come to ensure you’re still planning on attending the charity auction,” joy replied with an infectious grin. she gently picked up one of his paperweights, a sculpture of hand blown glass decorated with stained petals of lavender.

“oh dear- was that tonight?” jun grimaced, moving both hands to rub at his temples. the thought of socializing with anyone else that night in particular sounded like a nightmare, even if there was the possibility of making important new connections. maybe he had returned from his holiday much too soon.

disappointment washed over joy’s features, prompting her eyebrows to furrow and her lips to curl with a frown. “don’t tell me you forgot.”

“my apologies, darling- i’ve been so caught up with the upcoming shipments that it must have slipped my mind,” jun explained to her with a delicate tone of voice as he rose to his feet. the last thing he wanted was to convey his reluctance to attend the modest party with her.

she smiled faintly, allowing jun to take both of her hands in his. “i understand that you must have a lot to catch up on after returning from your vacation. perhaps we shouldn’t go.”

“no-” jun gently protested and squeezed her hands. “i want to go.”

jun witnessed his intended’s smile brighten in real time, the rest of her features noticeably lighting up once he agreed to make good on his promise. she mused, “splendid. i look forward to it.”

joy began to lean in with the intention to press a gentle kiss against jun’s cheek- however, he was quick to tilt his head back. just as an inquisitive gaze filled joy’s irises, jun tilted his head subtly towards their chaperone, who was standing against the wall with his arms folded across his chest and a knowing smirk tugging at his lips. right.

just then, joy let out a sheepish chuckle and settled for allowing jun to press a chaste kiss against her knuckles. “i will ask for the carriage around seven,” he told her, letting go of her hands and letting his own fall to his sides. “until then.”

“good day.” joy curtsied to him and bowed her head politely towards wonwoo as she left the room in a hurried pace, excitement getting the best of her. she loved parties, no matter the occasion; one of the many subjects where she and jun didn’t see eye to eye.

he clearly did a terrible job at disguising his disdain, for wonwoo was quick to approach the merchant’s side and pat his shoulder in feigned reassurance. “think of it this way,” he mused. “tonight, you may find someone you will actually enjoy talking to.”

“i appreciate your optimism, wonwoo, but i highly doubt that.”

—----

you must have reorganized the tiny bags of tea arrangements twenty times by now, ensuring that they were neatly stacked up against each other. as for the stacks of books on the other side of your booth, that was an entirely different story. you couldn’t come to terms with an arrangement you completely approved of and suddenly wished you hadn’t previously neglected the bookends.

karina noticed your frantic effort to neatly organize the rest of the books and shook her head with affection as she placed a hand over yours. “everything looks perfect, i promise,” she reassured you. “besides, no one will come to your booth if it appears as though you’re still cleaning things up.”

“perhaps you’re right,” you sighed just before the two of you sat down on the stools you’d been provided. silence filled the air between you and your good friend as the two of you watched the patrons circle around the rest of the booths, pausing to get a better look at the products provided by other vendors. you felt somewhat insecure while taking note of your neighbors’ products and wondered if you should have thought outside of the box.

but this was an important, extremely personal matter at hand for you: the library you had grown up visiting every weekend was on the brink of closing down. you presented the idea of a fundraiser to the esteemed owner, strings were pulled, and the rest of the puzzle pieces fell into place. you only wished you had more time to come up with a better product to sell.

at least your fellow vendors seemed to be pulling their weight.

among the sea of clientele was a tall, smartly dressed man with dark, wavy hair. the man walked along the rows of tables with his hands folded behind his back, studying each individual booth a bit too theatrically for your liking. he took slow, somewhat deliberate strides that left onlookers on the edge of their seat. but something about the way he carried himself, his dress, told you that he could invest a great deal of money into a great cause if he cared to.

karina left you alone, promising to purchase some cookies from a nearby vendor for the two of you. being alone with your thoughts at a time like this was less than ideal, considering customers were scarce. of course. you should have known no one would want to buy homemade tea sachets..

before too long the mysterious, smartly dressed man was nearing your booth. you straightened out your shoulders, rising to your feet and plastering the brightest smile you could muster as he approached you. “good evening,” you greeted him, a tad louder than you intended to, “could i interest you in some tea sachets? or perhaps- limited editions of some of my favorite collective works?”

the man stopped, picking up one of the tiny bags in his hand and raising an eyebrow inquisitively. “perhaps. what flavor are these?”

“ah yes, its black tea leaves mixed with brown sugar and vanilla bean,” you replied proudly. “i assembled them myself.”

he placed the sachet back on the table, ensuring that it was neatly lined up with the rest before looking past your shoulder. you could have sworn you detected a hint of distaste in your eyes as his eyes scanned through the stacks of books, but he stepped closer to your collection. “do you enjoy reading george eliot’s works?” he asked.

“well- no, not particularly.”

the man nodded his head once, his eyes lighting up in understanding. “ah. trying to get rid of some extra books, are you?”

you furrowed your eyebrows, stunned. “no.. i assure you, sir, that’s not the case.” perhaps the words left your lips in a much more defensive tone than you intended, but the realization came too late. “i’m simply making much needed sacrifices for a worthy cause.”

the stranger let out an amused chuckle, “trust me, i did not mean to insult you. i was merely curious.”

“right... forgive me for overreacting,” you sighed, feeling unconvinced despite his reassurance. “everyone around me seems to have valuable things to offer for this event but.. here i am, selling dusty old books and tea leaves. i suppose i felt-”

“threatened?” he finished, cocking a brow.

you lifted your chin up, maintaining a friendly but somewhat hesitant grin. “yes, i suppose i felt threatened.”

the man in front of you bowed his head to take a closer look at your merchandise. in any other circumstance, he wouldn’t be caught dead purchasing tea or even drinking it, and he already had most of the books she was trying to sell. however, he lifted his chin to meet your gaze, “i’ll take the lot.”

you paused, utterly stunned. “please, sir, don’t feel the need to humor me or my grievances-”

he cut you off with a gentle laugh, one that you found far too sweet and angelic, “i’m not. i’m simply contributing to a worthy cause, as you stated earlier.”

the stiffness in your shoulders and spine that appeared upon receiving his offer would not disappear. you chuckled, hoping to ease the tension, “well.. if you insist. how generous of you.”

a smirk crept upon his lips just as he bowed his head again, looking through his jacket pockets for his leather bound wallet. “don’t mention it,” he mused, totaling the sum and pulling the bills out of his collection accordingly. “although- i feel like i should, at the very least, know the name of the person i’ve given a large sum of my savings to.”

you chuckled and took the money from him, your fingers brushing over his palm fleetingly. “y/n,” you replied. “although, now is probably a good time to tell you that all of my earnings are going towards funding the library.”

his eyes widened, and it was probably the most he’d done to showcase his emotions in the entirety of your exchange. “how noble of you.”

“it's for an important cause. important to me, at least.” you shrugged. “do i get to know the name of my generous donor?”

he chuckled, finally allowing his timid smile to reach his eyes in the meantime, “jun. pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“the pleasure is all mine,” you mused with another faint chuckle.

just as you had finished preparing his bags with all of the books and tea sachets he had taken off your hands, a woman with long, gently waved hair and a bright smile joined his side. her eyes went wide as she linked her arm around his own and took in all of his new belongings. “darling! i hope you weren’t planning on spending your entire fortune tonight.”

jun let out a sheepish chuckle, which was accompanied by another grin that barely reached the corners of his eyes. he replied somewhat flatly, “no dear, i assure you, that’s not the case. i’m simply helping a friend.”

the woman’s small, unconvinced laugh briefly broke the awkward silence before she spoke up again, “my father’s here. he wishes to discuss some urgent matters with you.”

jun nodded in understanding, almost as if to disguise his annoyance. before he could allow the young woman to pull him away, however, he nodded in your direction, “it was a pleasure to meet you. have a splendid evening.”

you bowed your head in gratitude, although it served as a perfect method of hiding your growing smile. “i won’t forget your kindness. good evening.”

somehow, you were able to steal a glance at the singular ring adorning the woman’s left hand. judging by the rather impressive diamond and the glow that she wore so proudly, you were willing to bet that the two of them were engaged. you were also willing to wager that the tall man the two of them were now face to face with was her father.

you recognized him immediately; he was one of the wealthiest men in the city. if not the entire state. your mysterious benefactor must be a man of circumstance if he was betrothed to someone like the daughter of one of the most notorious merchants. as you took note of the blank expression adorned by jun and joy’s growing smile, you suddenly wished you were gifted with the ability to read lips…

when karina returned with small bags of the desserts in both hands, her eyes went wide upon taking in the sigh of your now empty booth. “oh my! i take my leave for two seconds and you manage to clear the entire booth out,” she chuckled, handing you the small bag of goodies.

you chuckled, “i suppose father was wrong; airing out grievances to anyone who may listen does have its benefits.”

“perhaps,” karina chuckled along with you. “tell me, how many customers managed to buy the entirety of your possessions in the short amount of time i was gone?”

“just one,” you replied with a smirk, gesturing towards the man in question. jun stood awkwardly in front of his future father-in-law with the two large bags still in both hands.

karina’s eyes went wide, “ah, the notorious mr. wen junhui. i must say, i am pleasantly surprised he even purchased anything tonight, let alone the entirety of your collection.”

you furrowed your eyebrows. “you know of him?”

karina chuckled, eyebrows raised to display her disbelief. “you don’t?” she countered. “he’s only the son of the wealthiest merchant in town. he plans to take full ownership of his father’s company by the end of the year.”

“then what is he doing here?” you wondered out loud, puzzled by karina’s revelation. you suddenly grew conflicted, reflecting upon his generous donation. was there a genuine desire to assist you in bringing about a change that was important to you or did he simply see your business as an opportunity to potentially ensure his own financial gain later on?

she shrugged, “i would assume he and his fiance are here to invest in some new partnerships.”

you furrowed your eyebrows as karina voiced your suspicions. “now who would make such…calculated moves at a time like this? my stars, this is a charity auction.”

“someone who only looks out for themselves, i suppose,” karina sighed. she placed a hand on your back and offered you a reassuring smile. “well.. i believe our work here is done. i propose we take our desserts and go on our way after a job well done.”

you laughed lightly, “i would be delighted.”

the two of you passed by the couple as you made your way to the exit, jun’s eyes wandering to inevitably meet yours. he offered you a gentle smile, one that his fiance had just barely missed, prompting you to bow your head politely in return. for whatever complicated reason, you held onto the hope that you would never see that man again.

—---------------------------

do you ever wonder what would become of your future if you had chosen a different path? or if, perhaps, the fates had a different idea for your livelihood?

i don’t attempt to deny how lucky and blessed i’ve been- i have indeed lived a happy, comfortable life since i was a child. without going into too many details (as per our agreement), i would say that my life is very fortunate. but the more i take part in strenuous business meetings with my father and his partners, the more i wonder if there’s something wonderful i’ve been missing out on.

i blame my newfound existential dread on the holiday i took part in with my cousins. not one of us had a care in the world for an entire weekend, and i daresay it was the longest period of time in which i felt no stress at all. this exchange of letters also provides me with much needed reprieve.

i don’t want the entirety of this letter to fill you with melancholy so allow me to say this- there is a pastry shop near my estate that has the most delicious custard pies. if you ever find your way in that corner of town, let’s both hope i’ll be there at the same time. just out of coincidence, of course.

i hope to hear from you soon, dear friend.

you folded the piece of parchment in half and pushed it aside, feeling butterflies begin to take flight in your stomach. the two of you had never spoken about meeting in person, agreeing to keep your relationship confined to exchanging letters. of course, you would be lying if you said that the thought hadn’t crossed your mind on several occasions..

you haphazardly stuffed the letter in your pocket as the door to your quaint bookstore opened and jun shuffled in. he went wide eyed as he saw you stand behind the front counter, appearing to be on edge.

even so, he greeted you with a smile of pleasant surprise, “oh..! i didn’t realize you worked here.”

you chuckled, still trying to ignore your racing heartbeat. “my father owns this store,” you explained somewhat flatly. “is there something i can help you with?”

“no, not at all. just taking a look.” a brief smile was sent your way before jun started wandering through the shop floor with his hands folded behind his back. you were reminded of the way he strode towards the booths in the library when the two of you first met, merely twenty hours beforehand. and just like before, it brought upon a sense of uneasiness.

he stopped near a table in the corner of the room, where a stack of books was accompanied by candles set on top of intricate sticks, a woven tablecloth, and a small circle of.. seashells?

he kept trying to tell himself that it was most likely just a coincidence, but he felt compelled to ask, “these shells add a nice touch. do you enjoy collecting?”

you perked up, gently shaking your head. “no, not particularly. i’m not sure why i even put them there; it’s not like the shop has a nautical theme..”

“they’re rather nice,” he remarked, gently cutting you off. he grinned knowingly as he continued to look through the shelves, studying the contents. “i must say, you have quite the impressive collection.”

“do you speak of my collection of books? or seashells?” you teased him.

he chuckled, “both, i suppose.. beaded periwinkles were always my favorite. i couldn’t help but notice it seems we both hold them in high regard.”

as he tilted his head back towards the small desk in the corner of the room, you’d only then noticed how many of that particular brand of shells you actually possessed. “i suppose great minds really do think alike,” you remarked. “but i’m sure you aren’t here to talk about seashells.”

it appeared to jun as though you were eager to help him with another purchase, however, it couldn’t be further from the truth. mentally, you were crafting another response to your mysterious friend- actually, would it be appropriate to start calling him your suitor?

either way, he noticed the hastiness in your tone and chuckled, “right. to tell the truth, i’ve been meaning to take a look at this shop for some time now. i think i could propose a business venture that would benefit you and your father greatly.”

you raised an eyebrow and asked him in a gentle tone, “and what, pray tell, makes you think either one of us would be interested in a partnership with you?”

he stopped his pacing so he was standing directly in front of you, the front counter creating a fair amount of space. “i seek partial ownership of the shop. if you allow me to make a few adjustments to the building, i guarantee you it will bring in more customers and, eventually, more revenue for the two of us.”

you furrowed your eyebrows, taken aback by his words. “i don’t know if it escaped your notice, but my father is not here. he won’t be for another fortnight, at the very least.” you paused. “but if he was, i can guarantee you he would be mortified by your offer.”

jun mirrored your expression, cocking his head to the side in confusion. “i beg your pardon?”

“my father built this shop by himself and has been working his entire life to pay off his debts. every inch of this place holds sentimental value, i won’t have anyone making alterations for their own benefit.”

he nodded once, “that’s.. understandable. but you lead me to believe you’ve completely forgotten the definition of the word ‘partnership.’ it benefits the two of us equally.”

you furrowed your eyebrows, snapping, “please, sir- do not condescend to me.”

“my apologies,” he mused, taking a step to meet you around the counter. “but allow me to understand your line of thinking- you won’t accept an equal partnership from me, but you will accept a generous donation.”

“need i remind you, the entirety of that donation went into funding the public library,” you protested while doing your best not to raise your voice. “and i now know fully well your true intentions behind that ‘generous donation’ of yours.

“allow me to reiterate- while i most certainly do not speak for my father, i cannot guarantee his interest in your offer.”

he bowed his head with a knowing grin, “allow me to say i’m certain that your father recognizes a great offer when he sees one. i will speak with him in a fortnight.”

“i-” you stuttered, watching him step towards the door.

“i bid you good day, madam.”

—

my dearest, please do not feel any sense of guilt for simply conveying your true feelings. i will not lie to you, i think about all sorts of different paths i may walk in some sort of alternate universe. for example, maybe in another life, we do more than simply write letters to each other. maybe we take walks together or converse over custard pies.

even so, i hope you find a way to make peace with your business partners and yourself. and i really do hope you find what you’re looking for. please allow yourself to take more holidays with friends and family members whenever you can. personally, i find that even something as simple as a walk through the park on a chilled afternoon soothes the spirits.

i hope you reach this letter in time, but i have been craving a good custard pie. i thank you for your recommendation and hope to see you there on saturday around midday. purely out of coincidence, of course.

best wishes and goodbye for now, my dearest.

“my dearest?” jun read out loud incredulously. he was so used to the mysterious writing partner holding him in a more platonic regard. he found himself helplessly staring at the term of endearment, the way she wrote it…

“i see the two of you are now using more personal terms of endearment,” wonwoo observed, a smirk tugging at his lips as he watched jun from across the room.

jun placed the letter in a drawer filled nearly to the brim with the rest of his letters, carefully slamming it shut. “wonwoo… cease your teasing remarks for once and instead tell me what to do.”

wonwoo stepped closer, sitting comfortably near jun’s desk with his hands folded on his lap. “regarding this mystery woman of yours?”

jun nodded with a heavy sigh, which of course, puzzled wonwoo greatly. usually, he was in a brief state of merriment after reading one of your letters- but the way he clenched his jaw and stared at the patterns on his desk in contemplation said otherwise. “i find myself… conflicted. you see, in my last letter, i left something of an.. invitation for her.”

“an invitation?” wonwoo cocked an eyebrow.

jun shifted slightly in his seat, crossing his legs as he expected the worse reaction from wonwoo imaginable. “indeed. and she has taken it upon herself to arrange a meeting place and a time.”

instead of scolding him, however, wonwoo nodded, his confusion still evident. “then.. why are you feeling conflicted, as you say?”

“for a number of reasons, i suppose,” jun sighed. “the first reason being that i’m.. confused, to say the least, about my feelings for her. they are strong, whatever they are- i hold her in the highest regard.. and yet i wonder if we made a mistake staying anonymous.”

wonwoo leaned forward, letting his chin rest in his palm. “you mean to say.. you’re worried there’s something you don’t know about her? something you might not like once you meet her in person?”

“well..yes, i suppose. not to mention there is the matter of my engagement-”

“your arranged engagement-” wonwoo chimed in.

jun paused, drawing in a shaky breath. “precisely.” he rose to his feet, pacing the floor behind his desk and cupping his chin between his thumb and index finger. “my arranged engagement.. that i’ve been second guessing since the day the two of us were made aware of it.”

wonwoo nodded, signaling his understanding. “well.. i suppose the only way to find out if there’s something about her that you don’t exactly ‘like’ is to follow through with this meeting. maybe you won’t come face to face with previously unknown attributes of her personality right away, but the first step is always the most important.

“it seems to me that you have a lot of feelings to work through.. with her. maybe you should write them all down.”

jun furrowed his eyebrows. “you mean- write them down and.. read them to her?”

“why not?” wonwoo countered in a gentle tone, rising to his feet and crossing to the door with his hands folded behind his back. “you have no issue writing seemingly heartfelt letters to her once a week. how would this be any different?”

before jun could answer his friend’s question, he was left alone to stew in the complicated question. as per usual, wonwoo brought upon an excellent idea- one that he hated to consider taking seriously. and with a heavy sigh of disdain and shaky hands, he sat back at his desk and began to write.

—--

“are you sure about this?” karina asked you for what felt like the millionth time, tying the ribbons of your hat together. she stepped back to take a better look at the modest lavender dress you had purchased for this specific occasion, immediately grinning. it was his favorite color; you’d known that since the two of you met through the literary discussing group.

“honestly, karina… i’ve never been more sure about anything in my entire life,” you replied, taking a deep breath as you held one of your suitor’s letters in hand. it wasn’t just any letter, however- it was one of your favorite ones he’d gifted you. “i just wish i’d prepared something beautiful to say to him..”

“just.. speak from the heart,” your friend advised. “it works every time.”

you laughed, “are you quite sure about that?”

“we’re wasting time!” she laughed and gently swatted at your upper arm. “go on, meet your wonderful suitor.”

before too long, karina carefully shoved you out the door with no intention of allowing you back into the shop. you didn’t look back, not even once, striding confidently towards the bakery. you could practically hear your heartbeat echoing in your ears as you finally walked through the door, a loud bell startling you on the way in.

you didn’t know whether or not to call it irony, but you felt your appetite leave you abruptly while sitting comfortably in the corner of the room. you stared down at the envelope, which was still in your shaking hands, unable to continue watching the entry door in suspense.

a timid tap on your shoulder snapped you out of your daze. you whipped your head back to see jun standing behind you with a growing smirk, the sight causing you to let out a huff in disappointment. he responded by snickering, “lovely to see you too, madam.”

you stuffed the letter in your jacket pocket, sighing, “what are you doing here?”

he pondered your question with that all too familiar smirk of amusement, mirroring your actions and folding a small, leather bound book in his inner jacket pocket. “am i not allowed to take time off work to purchase some desserts?”

“that’s not what i said,” you sighed just before he pulled out the chair across from you, prompting you to raise your hand in protest. “please, don’t- i’m waiting for someone.”

you tried not to think anything of the way jun paused, his dark eyes widening. “may i inquire as to who? a friend? an acquaintance? perhaps a suitor- i am more than happy to serve as a chaperone, if need be.”

“that will not be necessary, thank you kindly,” you chuckled without any sense of amusement in your tone. “we are not courting. not that i have to explain the circumstances of our relationship to you, of all people.”

despite your protests, jun sat across from you as his smirk grew into a beam. “what kind of suitor is he, i wonder? a lord? or a baron?”

“sir, i would thank you not to patronize me. and so loudly, at that,” you whispered.

he laughed a little too loudly for your liking, his bright smile on full display, “forgive me, i do not mean to patronize you. i simply wish to know more about who my new friend has taken a liking to.”

you paused, signaling your disdain with a frown before leaning in and speaking in a hushed tone, “well, if you must know, the man i’m supposed to be meeting with is kind, funny, and has an aptitude for reflection and study. he’s completely unlike you in every sense of the word.”

“is he really?” jun asked, taking genuine offense from your words. he drew back in his seat, eyebrows knitting together.

you nodded with such blatant certainty that prompted jun to frown, delicate as the expression was. “indeed. he walks through life with radiant optimism and recognizes the value of literary classics. you, however, view such precious works of art as yet another method of personal financial gain. and i feel sorry for you.”

tension filled the air as jun grew silent, visibly stunned by your words. “forgive me for not telling you everything about my line of work upfront, but i’m not just in the business for the money. you see- i’ve already read the entire collection i’ve purchased from you. a long, long time ago, actually.”

you could have sworn your heart stopped beating completely in your chest- maybe you had been a little too harsh with this man. you timidly asked, “and you’ve.. enjoyed all of them?”

“i don’t think there’s a word strong enough to describe my.. idolization towards the authors. especially dickens.” he paused, rising to his feet. “i feel as though he explores themes of human relationships better than any author i know of. the idea that someone can find redemption and mend even the worst wounds within said relationships..”

he paused once again, leaving you to ponder his annoyingly profound statement with furrowed eyebrows. just as you parted your lips to offer an apology, or even to ask him to elaborate, he spoke up again, “i do hope that one day, you will hold me to a higher regard. that one day, you will see me in the same positive light you see this stranger who clearly did not even bother to meet with you in a timely manner. i bid you good day.”

you felt your cheeks go cold as you watched him turn towards the door, your voice slightly raising, “jun, wait-”

much to your surprise, he faced you completely and offered you a sad smile, “that’s a lovely color on you, by the way.”

you furrowed your eyebrows, clearly caught off guard by his abrupt compliment. “sorry?”

“lavender. it’s a lovely color on you.” and as he let the beautiful, heartbreaking compliment fill in the tension between you, he nodded his head in farwell and turned his back on you for the last time. that afternoon, at least.

you leaned back in your seat as the bell signaled his disappearance. you felt as though there was a lot to unpack from your exchange- clearly you had misjudged jun. clearly, he was well read and you had rudely assumed that he wasn’t. you thought you had better character than that- but clearly, jun wasn’t the only one you had misjudged.

then there was the matter of his unexpected compliment- try as you might, you couldn’t stop repeating his line, his delivery over and over again in your mind. the way the word lavender rolled off of his tongue with ease- was there a possibility he knew that you had chosen to wear that color on purpose?

no- that couldn’t be possible. at least, that was what you kept repeating to yourself non verbally as jun took his leave.

meanwhile, the man in question kicked at loose rocks on the pavement while trying to avoid wonwoo’s gaze. the younger man had accompanied jun to offer him moral support and was stunned to see the meeting ending so soon. he pushed off of the bench where he’d been quietly reading, rushing to the other man’s side.

“jun, what’s happened? why are you leaving so soon?” he demanded.

jun shook his head, refusing to meet wonwoo’s gaze. he told him pointedly, “this was a mistake. i never should have made that offer to her.. wonwoo, what was i thinking?”

wonwoo grabbed his friend’s upper arm, stopping him from taking another step forward. “what do you mean, ‘it was a mistake?’ you were in there for less than five minutes, what could possibly go wrong in that short amount of time?”

he finally held his chin high, his eyes meeting wonwoo’s albeit reluctantly. he folded his arms across his chest as he took another look at the bakery he vowed never to set foot in again. “i saw her,” he muttered.

wonwoo furrowed his eyebrows, his impatience getting the best of him. “...and what became of it?”

“let’s just say if she knew who i truly was, she would regret joining that literary discussion group in the first place,” jun bowed his head, watching the dust settle around two pairs of shiny black shoes as he kicked another set of loose rocks.

the confusion visibly melted away from wonwoo’s features within a matter of seconds. “i see…” he mused. when jun refused to speak again, the stunning reality of the situation circling around him like a dark cloud, he lightly scoffed. “and there’s not even a small part of you that’s willing to talk with her, explain yourself?”

jun shook his head, “trust me, there is no getting through to her.”

“how can you be so sure?” he snapped. wonwoo rarely ever raised his voice; whenever he did, however, jun was always taken aback.

“because i know her!” jun exclaimed. he paused, hoping to steady his racing heartbeat. “and i have known her for almost a year now. i know about things she hasn’t told anyone else, her innermost thoughts, philosophies, desires.. which is why i know for certain that she would never stoop so low to even entertain the idea of courting someone like me.”

“‘someone like you?’” wonwoo repeated incredulously. “you’re being ridiculous. get back in there and set the record straight, i insist- no i demand it.”

jun yanked his arm out of wonwoo’s grip. “you cannot order me to do anything.”

wonwoo smirked, clearly finding amusement in the situation. who could blame him, as he was pushing jun’s relentlessly stiff, almost lifeless figure towards the bakery. “oh, but i am. i’ll be waiting right here for you when you’ve finished explaining yourself to her.”

“absolutely not. now let go of me,” he swerved to the right in order to avoid wonwoo pushing him again.

“you’ve nothing to lose, now get back in there-”

“no!”

before too long, the men were all but wrestling on the dirt path. wonwoo was trying to push him towards the bakery while jun was practically leaping back and forth to avoid even a mere graze of his friend’s hand. any onlooker might have been frightened by their actions and guessed that they were engaged in a genuine scuffle. but neither of them retaliate with violence, of course.

neither of them were sure how much time had passed before the front door swung open, seungcheol emerging with a scowl, “hey! the two of you better get a move on and take your argument somewhere else.”

the simple warning was more than enough to pull the two men away from each other. as the two of them hunched their shoulders in embarrassment, jun turned his back on the store. as if it wasn’t enough to discover the woman of his dreams was actually the one who hated him, he made a fair assumption that he had been banned from the shop.

wonwoo, seemingly unbothered by the shopowner’s warning, walked alongside his friend. his shoulder barely brushed along his with every step he took and much to his surprise, jun didn’t make any effort to stop the fleeting contact. “so.. what happens now?” the bespectacled man asked.

“what do you mean?” jun asked, his eyes fixed on the weeds growing along the path.

“are you planning to stop writing to her? or are you formulating an excuse for ditching her?”

jun paused, taking another look at the shop behind him. he could just barely make out your figure in the small front window, waiting noticeably impatiently at the same table. “i have no idea.”

—--

dearest, i wish that i could provide you with a good excuse as to why i did not meet with you. i am positive there is nothing i could say that could excuse my ill mannered behavior, anyways. i hope you can find it within yourself to forgive me, although i am not so sure if i can ever forgive myself. if you no longer wish to write to me, i understand. i simply want you to know that nothing could ever change how highly i think of you.

it was the shortest letter he had written. you read it once, committing it to memory over the next few weeks without generating a proper response.

you couldn’t remember a time in your life when the sting of betrayal had so effectively wounded you. mundane tasks such as eating, drinking, even concentrating on the simplest tasks at the book shop became too much for you to handle. all that occupied your mind was the embarrassment you felt waiting hours for the ‘friend’ to show up, the way your heart sank when you realized he wouldn’t be coming at all, the way tears blurred your vision as you walked home..

or perhaps the realization that it was all a mistake, that you never should have engaged in writing letters with a stranger in the first place. you never should have allowed yourself to find such comfort in a stranger, someone who could have easily been saying just what you wanted to hear.

usually, you weren’t one to shy away from your responsibilities at the shop, especially considering your father was still gone. but you allowed yourself to make one exception, given the nature of your heartbreak. besides, it was always your father who told you that a walk in the park could be soothing to both the mind and body.

in this case, it was a short walk around in the park before you came to a stop near the large pond. the sunbeams shining on the water pulled you deeper and deeper into a daze of content, providing temporary relief from your heartbreak. the leaves rustled in the wind, a crisp breeze in the air.. it was peaceful.

obviously, a little too peaceful for fate’s liking.

you averted jun’s gaze to the best of your ability as you watched him stroll up the hill, walking the same path you had just minutes ago. as much as you kept telling yourself that this meeting was nothing but a coincidence, a small voice in the back of your mind kept asking if it really was.

inevitably, his eyes found yours and before you could rise to your feet to dash in the opposite direction, he was taking long strides to meet you in your newfound hiding place. you bowed your head, avoiding his gaze as he spoke, “what a coincidence. i didn’t think i’d see you around here.”

“is it really a coincidence?” you asked him, haughtiness in your tone.

jun shrugged, taking a seat next to you on the cold grass. “usually i don’t find myself in this part of town but.. my line of work really takes a toll and someone told me recently that a walk through the park on a chilled afternoon soothes the spirits.”

you furrowed your eyebrows, your eyes still fixated on the patterns of your dress.. that phrase.. it was all too familiar. “wise words,” were the only two words you could muster.

he nodded, allowing uncomfortable silence to pass between the two of you and gazing at the pond. he waited for a moment before speaking again, his tone low, almost timid. “how was the meeting? with that friend of yours?”

you paused, drawing in a sharp breath and fixing your posture in the same movement. “he never came.”

jun turned to look at you, taking a mental note of the pure, unapologetic expression of heartbreak you wore. your pouty lips, the darkness in your eyes.. “i am.. truly sorry to hear that.”

you screwed your eyes shut, fighting back any tears that dared to surface. it took a moment for you to collect yourself enough to speak without showcasing the warble in your voice, “i suppose it’s my own fault for putting my complete trust in someone.”

jun paused, her words echoing in his mind to the point he couldn’t focus on anything else. of course, he felt guilty for not immediately declaring who he truly was and staying at the shop with her. he regretted it from the moment he made the decision to leave her. once again, he found himself overwhelmed from the complications he was forced to face on a daily basis.

“i don’t think it was a mistake on your part,” he finally whispered to you, offering a gentle smile once your eyes met his. “clearly, there is only one person at fault here.”

you nodded, feeling unable to break away from his gaze at that moment. much to your surprise, you were glad that you didn’t immediately push him away upon seeing him stroll confidently through the park. because as much as you told yourself how much you disliked him and what he stood for, there was no denying he possessed a level of.. comfort.

you chuckled, the sadness unmistakeable in your tone. “i don’t think i can find it within myself to..blame him,” you mused. “i know it sounds silly, but.. i would rather blame myself. i keep trying to make excuses for him.”

jun gently furrowed his eyebrows as he processed your words. of course, his irises were still flooded with sympathy as he gazed at you, trying to come to terms with your line of thinking. “can i ask you a question?”

you were slightly caught off guard by his question but you nodded all the same. “go on.”

he allowed himself to look forward again, shifting a little bit to sit more comfortably on the lawn. his knee barely grazed against yours as you did so, the fleeting contact still sending a shockwave along your skin. your cheeks even heated up as his gaze found yours again and he spoke gently-

“you jump through hoops to forgive this man for betraying your trust and yet.. you don’t seem to find it within yourself to forgive me for a simple misunderstanding. i just.. don’t understand why.”

once again, that familiar jab at your heart stunned you into silence. he brought up an excellent point; the moment you watched him leave the bakery, unforgettable guilt rushed over you like a tidal wave. seeing him sit next to you, remaining vulnerable with his emotions- it reminded you just of how much you had misjudged him.

“i’ve been horrible to you,” you finally spoke. “and i want to apologize. i think.. this trip that my father’s been on has been something of a practice round for me. there will come a day when i’m running his store all by myself and..it might come sooner than later. and that terrifies me.”

“that’s completely understandable,” jun replied. “trust me, i’m convinced that if i make one wrong move, i will burn my father’s business, his entire legacy, to the ground. I’m terrified.”

the two of you shared a laugh, sorrowful as it was. as he kept the bashful smile plastered upon his lips, you couldn’t help but take a mental note of the way his eyes lit up as he did so. “i guess we’re more alike than i thought,” you confessed.

jun’s heart sank upon hearing your words. he longed to tell you the truth, to apologize for hurting you so deeply by ignoring you- but something held him back. a sneaking suspicion that this was neither the time nor the place. so he drew in a deep breath before his smile grew wider, “i guess we are.”

you chuckled, suddenly hyper aware of how close the two of you were sitting. however, it felt like the wrong time to bring up the impropriety of your situation, given the context. “but if it really means that much to you, i can arrange a meeting with you and my father once he returns.”

jun pondered your words, his arm grazing yours as he drew in another sharp breath. once again, the brief contact was enough to quicken your heart rate. “i would love nothing more than to work more closely with the two of you.. but please, don’t feel pressured to schedule the interview on my account.”

you chuckled, leaning back on the grass slightly and propping yourself up by your elbows. “on your account? it was your idea, was it not?”

jun laughed in return before smiling down at you, “well.. yes, but you know what i mean. i don’t want you to humor me simply because you feel guilty. i want to meet with your father because the two of you genuinely want to work with me.”

“jun-” you started, taking a hold of his left hand. you anticipated feeling the cold sting of a wedding band on his finger, but there was none. you almost gasped in surprise, promising yourself you would ask him about it later. “i want to work with you. well- forgive me if i sound forward, but i want to do more than work with you. i want to spend more time with you.”

“you..do?”

“yes!” you laughed. “that is.. only if you want to, of course.”

“no, no, of course i do-” jun stuttered gently with a chuckle. “i’m just- i’m confused. you seemed to be pretty confident in your opinions of my character. and, well now..”

“i keep thinking about what you said..about mending relationships. and.. i want to mend ours. as i said before, it seems we have more in common than we might think. i want to get to the bottom of that.”

“and i.” jun’s smile grew wider, the corners of his eyes gently wrinkling at the movement. he even mirrored your position, laying comfortably on the grass after ensuring no one was approaching. “i assume you’ve read austen’s works as well?”

you let out a dreamy sigh, earning a gentle laugh from jun in the process. “of course i have. pride and prejudice will always be one of my favorite works.”

“i should have expected as much from you,” jun teased, toying with a blade of grass he had plucked from the earth. he tied it in a few knots, shyly avoiding your gaze.

you laughed somewhat sheepishly as you watched his fingers toy with the blade of grass, feeling dazed. “and what is that supposed to mean?”

“there’s no shame in enjoying a good romance novel,” jun retorted, looking over to you. only then did you once again realize just how close you were now laying together, less than an inch of space between your shoulders and knees.

for a brief moment, it felt as if you forgot how to breathe. you didn’t dare allow your gaze to fall to his lips as you whispered, “is mr. wen junhui a secret avid fan of romance, then?”

“you could say that,” he replied, his tone growing lower than you’ve ever heard. it was all becoming too much for you to handle, the way the gentle breeze pulled his hair over his eyes, locked with yours, his lips gently parting.

“can i ask you a personal question?” you finally spoke up, your voice lower than his.

“yes.”

“you used to wear a ring..” you started, unsure of how to go about your line of questioning.

he seemed to catch on, however, nodding his head once and drawing back a tiny bit from your figure. “i.. don’t want to think of everything as a business transaction. especially not marriage.” he let his hand rest near his side, inevitably brushing against your own. “my father wasn’t happy. or hers, for that matter. but i stand by my decision.”

you nodded in understanding. “i admire your courage. and i understand where you’re coming from, completely.” you found it within yourself to finally look away from him, drawing away from his godly features to instead look up at the graying sky. “if i ever marry, i want to be endlessly, hopelessly in love with him. without any hesitation or reservation.”

you caught him nodding in your peripheral vision, the smallest smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “i want to know the depths of someone’s soul. i want to savor every small moment with her..someone who fulfills me.”

just then, it felt like a light bulb had finally flashed in jun’s mind; his feelings towards his anonymous writing partner lying next to him didn’t seem so complicated anymore. although he was nervous, wishing he could have waited for another moment to confess his truth to her, the small voice in his head was much too persistent. there truly was no time like the present.

with that being said, he pulled the small notebook out of his pocket. you recognized it instantly; it was the same one he carried with him in the bakery. he sat upright as he opened it, silently prompting you to do the same. before you could ask him what this was all about, he spoke in a low tone, “there’s.. something i’ve been meaning to tell you. well.. i didn’t know it was you specifically i would be addressing this to, but..”

“what is all of this about?” you chipped in.

a shaky hand brushed over the parchment before he began to quietly read, “my dearest friend, i’ve waited a long time for this moment. i cannot tell you how many times i’ve wrestled with the dilemma of asking to meet you in person-”

“wait-”

he took another deep breath before releasing it with a shaky sigh, “but now that we’re finally here, face to face, i have finally mustered enough courage to tell you how i truly feel about you.” but of course, in that moment, his actions betrayed his beautiful words. his heart rate increased, which in turn, affected his breathing.

so you gently took the notebook from his shaking hands, offering him a gentle smile. you began to read his words aloud, prompting his cheeks to darken with a blush, “and the truth is, my dearest, that i have never felt so connected to someone in my entire life. i have told you things no one else knows.

“in turn, although i feel like i know everything there is to know about you, i want to know more.” tears once again began to blur your vision, but you pressed on to the best of your ability. “writing this to you, i can’t believe i ever doubted, even for a second, how i truly felt about you. i can’t believe i had any reservations in telling you the truth in the first place.

“and if you don’t feel the same, that is per-”

jun was momentarily stunned when you fell abruptly silent. however, you had only stopped reading for two reasons: tears blurring your vision and falling down the worn parchment being one, while you also saw no need to read any further.

you scooted closer until your knees brushed against his and reached your hand up to cup his cheek. “it..it really was you..” you whispered.

he rose his hand to cover your own, nodding bashfully. “it was,” he mused. “i know.. i know you must be so angry with me and- and.. confused, but i had to tell you. i couldn’t keep it hidden, i-”

just as a short chuckle escaped your lips, you quickly leaned in to silent him by pressing your lips against his. you felt him smile into your lips before returning the kiss, slowly molding his lips with yours. it was gentle, passionate, and it spoke much louder than words in that moment.

when he broke away, his hand found yours and he laced his fingers with your own. as he gave your palm a tight squeeze, his eyes never left yours. “i’m sorry.. i should have told you sooner. much sooner..”

“i understand,” you gently cut him off, connecting your forehead with his. “i knew.. i knew that i was right not to blame you. i blame myself, i should have-”

jun immediately shook his head in protest, his other hand cupping your cheek. “no. i should have been forthright from the start. from the second i met you in person. it could have spared us both a lot of heartache.”

you laughed in agreement, “you are not wrong… what if we made an agreement, that from this moment forward, we are to be completely transparent with each other?”

“i love the sound of that,” jun whispered before placing his lips against yours once more. this kiss was just a bit more heated than the last, as if the two of you were making up for any lost time. the two of you felt as if you were seeing stars the entire time your lips moved against his. and when the kiss finally broke, the two of you were grinning from ear to ear.

jun, of course, was the first to speak up. “is it.. too soon to tell you.. there is a chance i may be.. possibly, a little bit in love with you?”

you laughed, your thumb brushing along his jawline as your free hand squeezed his palm. “maybe..but i am in love with you too. completely. without any hesitation.”

he chuckled helplessly as he listened to you upstage him with your declaration, pressing a kiss against your knuckles. “well.. then allow me to say that i am completely, hopelessly in love with you too.”

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lewkwoodnco · 10 months ago

Text

Falling For You - Lockwood x Reader

“First person to laugh loses.”

”Not fair! I’m always laughing when you’re around. You’re bloody ridiculous.”

”Fine. First person to…er, feel something, loses. Deal?”

It wasn’t a question as much as it was a challenge. She hesitated. He took a sip from his mug. She let go of the breath she was holding.

“Deal.”

a/n: tfw you almost die in the arms of your future employer :) rip lockwood and co, never an agents first choice be it in canon or fanon ok ill stop now also just to be clear we’re all ignoring how much the title sucks ass okay god only gave out a limited number of brain cells and we can’t ALL be as creative as @bella-rose29 (will make a separate post on this a little later, not enough space here) (but also she was SICKKK for coming up w the title deck the halls (and not your partner) ok didn’t mean to turn this into a belle appreciation post but 👍)

warnings/tropes: fluff fluff FLUFF, this is about as fluffy as it gets from me ashdkd, cringy pick up lines overload, also I declare plagiarism (?) of some rlly popular incorrect quotes, you'll know it when you read them

word count: 2.6k!

TAGLIST | MASTERLIST

She and Lucy were in the kitchen, putting the kettle on and waiting for the boys to reach home. The four of them had split up to get some errands done that morning before breakfast - she and Lucy went to collect the payment for a few jobs, while Lockwood and George dropped off some paperwork at DEPRAC headquarters. Lucy put the kettle on while she refilled their teabag jar, and a minute later the boys walked in.

George was telling Lockwood off for something, who wasn't looking too sorry for whatever it was that he had done, though he clearly cared enough to try to suppress his giggles.

"Those forms took me hours, Lockwood. I wasn't about to let you drop them into some slush."

"I keep telling you, I wasn't going to drop them."

"How would you know when you were too busy making an ass of yourself?"

"I haven't seen a good pickup line in a while, George. You found it funny too."

"Yes, and the threat of you chucking our forms was downright hilarious."

She handed out the mugs of tea.

"What pickup line?"

"It was just a DEPRAC ad. Something like 'Are you a wraith? Because you have me love-locked.' Just a reminder of some quick signs of a visitor presence for Valentine's Day."

She meandered over to where Lockwood was standing at the kitchen counter, a little too casual. He immediately snapped up whatever he was scribbling. She looked mildly (read: exaggeratedly) injured, but he just gave her one of his winning smiles. Really, she was well within her rights to be suspicious.

"S'that?"

"A bill."

"What bill?"

"Nothing to worry about."

"I'm not worried."

"Good."

"Show me the bill."

"You're adorable."

It was a poor excuse of an attempt at a distraction, as she immediately started trying to snatch it away. Lockwood just held the folded paper above his head, trying to pry his jacket out of her yanking hands. After a minute or so of vehement struggling, the scuffle ended the way all of their scuffles ended - her playing at sour grapes.

"Oh! Go boil-yer-head. I don't even want to see that bill anyway."

He slotted the letter into an envelope smoothly as George cut in.

"Speaking of bills, hopefully, we'll be able to pay more of them off soon. Couples like to go away for Valentine's, so it's the perfect time to get any lingering visitors taken care of. We should put an ad in the paper, like DEPRAC."

That set Lockwood off again, and George groaned. As he got up to get another biscuit, she conspiratorially turned to Lockwood.

"Y'know, for someone who's so tickled by pickup lines, I bet you'd be terrible at them."

"Not more terrible than you."

"I beg to differ!"

"Wanna bet?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

“First person to laugh loses.”

”Not fair! I’m always laughing when you’re around. You’re bloody ridiculous.”

”Fine. First person to…er, feel something, loses. Deal?”

It wasn’t a question as much as it was a challenge. She hesitated. He took a sip from his mug. She let go of the breath she was holding.

“Deal.”

Their bet had taken a back burner in her mind while she was preparing for their case that night, but she was still immediately suspicious when she walked into the kitchen to see Lockwood innocently snacking on a bowl of raisins.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing."

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing! Can't a guy eat his raisins?" He silently proferred the bowl to her. She narrowed her eyes.

"No thanks."

"How about a date?"

"When did we get - oh. Ha ha." There was a mischievous crinkle in Lockwood's eye. "Sneaky. I was busy preparing for our case, like a proper agent."

"Hmm, excuses, excuses."

"Fine. If George finds out you haven't read tonight's case file, you're on your own."

"NO no no no please please please -"

She prepped a few pickup lines before they left, just enough to stop Lockwood from becoming completely unbearable.

"Are you a visitor? Because you've been haunting my dreams."

She scrunched up her nose. "Boo. That's terrible."

"You try coming up with a visitor-themed one. They're all so horrible."

She paused for a minute.

"Are you a Lurker? 'Cause you're making my heart race."

"...no one likes a show-off," he grumbled, and she smiled to herself as they continued rooting through boxes, looking for a potential Source.

"Your hand looks heavy. Could I hold it for you?"

"What's it like to be the most gorgeous person in this room?" That one got a good laugh out of him.

"Might be more flattering if my competition wasn't a Raw Bones. You’re pretty and I’m cute. Wanna be pretty cute together?"

"If you and I were socks, we'd make a great pair."

She revelled in the huge smile that lit up his face. She knew he'd get a kick out of that one.

She hadn't expected to have as much fun with their game as she did. They recounted their highlights to Lucy and George on the way home, which made for an entertaining end to the case. As Lucy and George put away their coats, Lockwood lingered behind, looking at her as if there was something he wanted to say, but couldn't quite find the words. She became even more alarmed when he placed a hand on her shoulder, because of how serious he looked.

"Is everything okay?"

He took a shaky breath and tightened his grip on her shoulder ever so slightly.

"If you let me borrow a kiss, I promise I'll give it right back."

The line itself wasn't particularly outrageous, but in the darkness by the door, with their faces in the shadows and him holding her close, she momentarily forgot how to breathe.

"Good one," she whispered.

He gave her a sloping smile and retreated into the kitchen. She stood there for a moment, thinking about the warmth on her shoulder, as if his hand was still there.

"Did it hurt?"

"When I fell from heaven?"

"When you fell down the stairs. Right in front of us. It's been ten minutes and you haven't even gotten up yet."

With a strangled wheeze, he righted himself, looking more than a little stupid with his affronted expression and hair sticking up in all directions. They were on a case, and Lockwood had been a bit too close to the stairs whilst investigating the death glow on the landing. It had been quite a painful-looking rollercoaster of a fall with many bumps as he flailed for the railings, ending with a muffled scream.

"I was checking for broken bones."

"For ten minutes? Do you even have that many bones?"

He had an oily smirk on his face, though it was mostly nullified by his slightly crossed eyes.

"I've got...so many bones, I could give you a...wait. No. Hey lady, do you want a...bone? If you were a bone, you'd be in my...body...my body has all the bones...hang on. Okay, got it. Bones....fuck."

"...concussion?"

"Nuh-uh."

That was the moment his knees chose to buckle under him, and the three of them hurried to hold him upright. Even though he kept insisting he was fine, he was looking far too pale and woozy, so they flagged down a cab and pushed Lockwood into it. After a quick round of rock paper scissors, she joined him in the cab while George and Lucy got to stay to finish the job.

It had been a bit of a challenge to fumble for the key to the front door with the dead weight that was Lockwood compressing her spine, but she somehow managed. She tried her best to keep track of all of his long limbs after he knocked his head on the side of the door frame, groaning again. She dumped him onto their living room sofa, going down with him in the process, and with some difficulty peeled herself out of his grip. The bump had clearly taken quite a bit out of him, for by the time she returned with a blanket, he had completely passed out.

With some difficulty, she wrestled his rapier off of him and draped the blanket over him. She put away her own gear and rapier and curled up with a book on the armchair opposite the sofa. It was odd to see Lockwood sleeping. And even more odd to see him doing it so peacefully, like all thoughts and worries had been knocked clean out of his head. Much like her thoughts, the first time they met.

It hadn’t even been her goddamn fault. She had been lugging around her uncle’s rapiers since hers had been sent for cleaning and it was starting to make her arm ache. She deserved a little lean, no doubt. Only, what she thought was the door frame had been the door itself, so when her then-future employer had opened the door, she stumbled right into his arms.

And then promptly fell out of them when he let her go by surprise. To his credit, he was superfluously apologetic and sympathetic, and kept asking if her head was alright throughout the interview. It was a little annoying, if she were entirely honest, but she was grateful when that sympathy translated into a job, because all coherent thoughts in her head were lying somewhere on their front door runner.

As much as she tried not to think about the incident since Lockwood showed no sign of doing so himself, it kept her up at night more than she'd like to admit. But it had also been rather liberating, as there was little else she could do that would be any worse.

As if hearing her thoughts, Lockwood began to stir after an hour or so, opening his eyes blearily. She instinctively put her book down and crouched next to the sofa, where she immediately felt awkward. After a moment's hesitation, she placed her hand on his forehead, and they blinked at each other in confusion.

"How're you feeling?"

"Great." He cleared his throat, which barely helped his hoarse voice. "Chipper."

"Are you sure? Feeling chilly?"

"No, I'm fine. Are you a construction worker?"

"...huh?"

"Because you are building."

"What."

"I win."

He turned to his side and buried his face into his cushion with a satisfied look on his face.

"Oh, Lockwood. I don't think..."

He pulled his head out of the cushion alarmingly fast. That couldn't have been good for his neck. "Ohhh, too good for my pickup lines now, eh?"

"I...what?"

"I get a bump on my head and you don't like my pickup lines no more?"

"Why do you have a Brooklyn accent?"

"You's got a Brooklyn accent."

"Okay, now you're just throwing a tantrum."

He fussed for a few more minutes, muttering out of the corner of his mouth or into the cushion, but eventually calmed down. As his eyes fluttered close, his breathing becoming long and even, she quietly got up to leave.

"Just so you know...I do think you're building."

The Brooklyn accent was gone, and though his low murmur was comfortably familiar, something in it sent a spark running through her brain.

"I think you're building too."

She could have sworn he had a small smile before his mouth relaxed as he drifted off again.

She didn't see much of him after that, given how much rest he needed, and the reprieve from their game was a welcome relief. The pickup lines didn't slide off her tongue as easily when she meant them as much as she did now. Still, she couldn't hide from him forever, and ran into him in the kitchen a few nights later.

"Oh. Hey."

He held up the biscuit tin. "Hello. Catching up on my biscuit rations."

She smiled. "Feeling better?"

"Definitely. A little sick of lying about, but I think I've finally got my head on straight."

He smiled, and the tension between them melted. She smiled back.

"Must have been scary, having your brain go wonky like that."

"It was...wild. I don't even know how I had the presence of mind to put my rapier away."

Her cheeks burned as she pointedly rummaged through their pantry for a snack while Lockwood brewed tea for the both of them. They sat at the kitchen table in silence, slowly sipping their tea as they ignored the elephant in the room. That is, until Lockwood broached the subject.

“Did it hurt?”

She put her mug down. “Lockwood.”

“Did it hurt?” He pressed, firmly.

“I’ve already heard this one.”

“Just - humour me for a minute, won’t you?”

She looked at the little she could see of his face, given how close they were sitting, and gave a small sigh.

“So. Did it hurt?”

“When I fell from heaven?”

“When you fell into my life.”

He lightly squeezed her hand, it was only then that she realised that they were holding hands. She choked on her breath in a mildly undignified manner, but with the proximity and the unexpected answer, she was well and truly taken aback. She waited for the embarrassment to kick in. There were a lot of things to be embarrassed about at that moment - how he could probably see every imperfection on her face, how he could probably tell how nervous she was getting from how clammy her palm must be, and of course that he remembered their dreadfully embarrassing first encounter.

But the shame never came. If anything, she felt oddly…touched. There wasn’t anything embarrassing about the memory anymore. It was…as much as it pained her to admit it…slightly romantic. She looked away from his face, shaking her head slightly, staring at their gripping hands. So easy it was to hold onto each other in the shadows, but terrifying in the daylight. Scratch that, it was terrifying to see herself holding his hand just as tightly as he held hers. Maybe he did compel…something in her.

His hand disappeared into his pocket, and a moment later he was pulling out a familiar, weathered envelope.

"I've never...I've never asked anyone to be my Valentine. Never knew how it worked. Still don't really know how it works. So I tried writing it all down, and..." Lockwood frowned at the loopy yet measured scrawls in front of him. He sighed in defeat, crumpling the letter. "...and I still don't know how it works."

She swallowed through the lump in her throat. "Me neither. But..." she tore her eyes away from the table, looking at his face with his emotions stacked plain as day. "I think we know enough."

She curled her fingers into his. Years ago, she hadn't thought knowing if she was in love would ever be an issue, but for so many years she struggled to find the love they wrote books, songs and poetry about. But sitting here now, in the dim light of the kitchen, with a person whose face she could trace in her sleep, she realised Little Her had had it right all along.

“I always thought you were very nice to me in that interview. A little too nice.”

“You didn’t hear the way you screamed. I thought you were going down with a heart attack.”

TAGLIST: @dangelnleif @elenianag080 @snoopyluver20 @ell0ra-br3kk3r @avdiobliss @mitskiswift99 @ahead-fullofdreams @neewtmas @mischivana @houseoftwistedspirits

#lockwood and co #lockwood & co #lockwood and co netflix #anthony lockwood #fanfiction #fanfic #anthony lockwood x reader #anthony lockwood imagine #valentines day #fluff

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indecisivekitty · 11 months ago

Text

The Anxiety of Proposals

John ‘Soap’ MacTavish x reader

wc: 607

genre: fluff

warnings: uh none unless ur allergic to fluff ig

“Mate, you alright?” Gaz asked with furrowed brows. He’s noticed Soap staring at the wall for more than five minutes while fidgeting with his dog tags. “You’ve spaced out like what? 3 times now?”

Soap blinked and turned to Gaz after realizing someone was speaking to him. “Aye, just thinking ‘bout somethin’.”

Gaz tilted his head slightly with mild curiosity, then sat down at the table where Soap was sitting. “Care to share?”

The Scot bit his lip anxiously before letting out a breath. “Thinkin’ of proposin’ today once I get back home to me lass.”

Gaz smiled and leaned over to pat Soap on the shoulder. “Ay, good on you, yeah?” Soap let out a small laugh and rubbed his neck with a small nod in response. Arms folded and comfortably leaning back in his seat, Gaz asked, “Nervous?”

“Aye.” Letting out a breath, Soap ran his fingers through his hair. “Can’t stop thinkin’ ‘bout it. Am excited though—can’t tell ye how long I’ve been wantin’ to wed ma bonnie lass. Want a bairn and have a pretty little family too.”

Soap pictures you and him, who knows many years in the future, married and with kids. Aye, he thought, the perfect dream. Feeling the other man’s gaze still on him, Soap looks over to see Garrick giving him an earnest smile before nodding at him.

“Let us know how it goes, yeah?”

MacTavish felt his eyes crinkle, along with a smile forming eagerly on his lips. “‘Course I will.”

Walking up to the front door of the flat you shared, Soap cursed as he fumbled with his keys. The nerves were already getting to him as he counted down the seconds he had left until he was back in your presence, something he constantly found himself doing.

“Bonnie?” he called out, dropping his bag on the floor and attempting to quickly take off his shoes, throwing a glance around the room to find your whereabouts. Frowning, he walked into the room you shared, wondering where you were from the lack of a response. “Lass-?”

“In here!”

Following the sound of your voice in the closet, he blinks when he sees you sitting on the floor with piles of clothes.

Beaming at the sight of your boyfriend, you smiled. “Hi, Johnny. How was work?”

Still confused, he utters, “Was fine, bon.” You hummed contently with his answer before looking at a box of old trinkets you owned. “Now, what exactly are ye doin’ on the floor with all yer clothes everywhere?”

“Well, I thought it would be nice to clean out some of my clothes, and then I saw an old sweater I forgot and decided to try it on, but then I saw an old shoe box of letters-”

“Love-”

“-and decided to read all of them—because hello?? I forgot I had them, so why not go down memory lane? Then I found-”

“Okay, okay, lass.” Kneeling to your level, he studied your face and reached out to caress your cheek. “Got distracted, aye?”

Huffing, you let out a small, "Yes."

Johnny couldn’t help but smile at you, his heart beating wildly at how beautiful you looked—even on the ground with all your clothes thrown about. How could he ever be nervous about proposing to you? He licked his lips. “Marry me, lass?”

“Wai-”

Smiling wider, he brought his hand down to rub your mouth gently. Softly, he whispered, “Marry me?”

His bright blue eyes stared into yours. His gaze was nothing but soft and loving, feeling just like home. Your eyes softened as you memorized how he looked at this moment.

“Of course, Johnny.”

a/n: sorry for lack of writings LOL busy trying to have a productive year while also trying to actually have the motivation to write

#— 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 #john soap mactavish #john mactavish #soap mactavish #soap x reader #soap x reader fluff #john mactavish x reader #soap mactavish x reader #john soap mctavish x reader #call of duty #cod mw #cod mw2 x reader #cod mw3 #soap cod

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harrywavycurly · 5 months ago

Text

Southern Comfort Part 13: Till the Cows Come Home

Masterlist: here

CW: Mentions of loss (death)

Tag List: @wedontknowherorhimorthem

A/N: The time has come for you to try Harry’s baking and he is fully panicking and loses all his manners but he does learn more about you in the process, enjoy✨

Harry nervously twirls his gold S ring around his pinky finger as he waits for you at a little picnic table that’s situated on the back patio of a little cafe near the beach you mentioned you like to take your walks on. He doesn’t exactly know what’s making him so nervous, it could be just the fact he’s about to spend the afternoon with you or that you’re going to give him your opinion on his sad attempt at baking that consists of a batch of brownies he has safely packed in a plastic container sitting on the bench next to him, but if he’s being honest with himself it’s a good mixture of both. He looks at his phone that’s on the table to check the time before he lifts his head and looks around the crowded space, it’s not until a waiter moves out of the way and heads back into the cafe that he sees you and his face instantly breaks out into a grin.

“Hey honey.” Your voice is music to his ears as you maneuver your way around a few people while Harry stands up and walks to the front of the table so he can greet you.

“Hello love.” You smile as you place your purse on the table so you can wrap your arms around Harry’s middle for a hug. His arms wrap around your shoulders bringing you closer to his chest making him chuckle as his chin finds its usual spot right on top of your head. Harry loves how it feels to have your arms wrapped around him, he also enjoys the fact you fit so nicely against him and he thanks the heavens that you’re also a hugger.

“You look cute sugar you meeting someone special?” Your tone is only half teasing as you pull away just a bit so you can look up at him after giving him a little squeeze. Harry is dressed in a black short sleeved button up that he’s opted to keep undone revealing just a solid white tank top that has a pair of sunglasses tucked into the collar and a pair of cream colored shorts, a look that’s not as casual as the jeans and t shirt you’ve seen him in. Meanwhile you are in a pair of shorts and a shirt that says “not my first rodeo” in bold red letters.

“Eh just someone who’s going to rip my baking abilities to shreds.” You laugh as he looks down at you with a slight pout.

“Don’t worry I’ll be gentle.” You reassure him as you drop your arms from his middle making him reluctantly remove his from your shoulders so the two of you can take a seat at the table. Harry smiles as you place your purse in your lap and he can’t help but stare as you lick your lips while you begin rummaging around in your bag. “Here we go.” You grin as you take what looks like a folded piece of tin foil out and place it on the table.

“That doesn’t look like banana bread.” You roll your eyes at Harry’s words as you gently unwrap the foil to reveal a single chocolate brownie and he can tell just by looking at it that it’s going to put his to shame.

“I figured banana bread was something we needed to make together so,” Harry feels his heart actually feel like it skips a beat at the mention of the two of you baking together. “I thought I’d just make the same thing as you.” You just smile at him as you push the brownie closer to his side of the table.

“You know what I hear helps someone judge a persons baking?” He asks with a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth while you just raise an eyebrow at him. “When they tell you more about themselves.” He watches you place your bag on the bench next to you before you lean forward so you can rest your forearms on the table, he notices that you make sure your elbows are hanging off and that makes him smile because of course you use proper table manners.

“What do you wanna know sugar plum?” You ask as Harry finds himself absentmindedly leaning forward in an attempt to get closer to you, his forearms and elbows on the table.

“Everything.” He doesn’t mean to say it, but once it slips past his lips there’s no taking it back and when you just clasp your hands together and turn your head to look at the beach he takes it as a sign that maybe you’re about to tell him your life story which he would be delighted to hear because he truly does want to know everything about you.

“You ever lose someone that makes the only place you’ve ever known to feel like home…all of a sudden not feel like much of anything besides just a place to live?” Your words take Harry by surprise, he can hear the slightest undertone of sadness and he wishes you weren’t still facing the ocean so he could see the expression on your face.

“I can’t say that I have.” He replies and you let out a quiet sigh.

“That’s good because I’m not gonna lie to you honey it kinda sucks.” You finally look back at him and he wants nothing more than to reach over and grab your hands but he doesn’t want to cross any boundaries so he just gives you a reassuring smile. “I lost my granny four years ago and that’s the reason I’m here.” Harry just nods as you look down at your hands and he sees a small smile form on your face when your eyes land on the ring you wear on your index finger, a simple silver band with an initial engraved on it. “She used to tell me all the time that Texas was big but the world was a hell of a lot bigger and that I needed to see it.” You smile as you talk about her and Harry can tell she meant a lot to you just by the way your face lights up at the mention of her.

“She sounds lovely.” Harry can’t help himself this time as he reaches over and gently takes one of your hands in his so he can give it a squeeze.

“She was wonderful and now don’t get me wrong I love my momma till the cows come home but my granny was my bestfriend.” You laugh at Harry’s visible confusion at the phrase mentioning cows but he doesn’t say anything and lets you continue on. “We were like two pigs in a blanket and when I lost her I just didn’t feel like I had anything keeping me there anymore and I knew she’d just be mad as all get out if I didn’t at least try and see the world.” You let out a sigh as you look down at your hand that’s still in Harry’s. “So about a year later I bought a plane ticket and here I am.” Harry gives your hand another gentle squeeze making you look up at him.

“Did she teach you how to bake?” He asks trying to lighten the mood of the conversation just slightly and you just nod and point with your free hand to the brownie that’s sitting in front of him.

“That’s her county fair blue ribbon brownie recipe so if you don’t like it then I’m afraid you just don’t have good taste honeybuns.” He knows you’re joking but Harry can’t help but feel his nerves coming back as he lets go of your hand so he can carefully pick up the brownie that’s in front of him. He’s sure to use both hands so he doesn’t accidentally drop it and he can feel you watching his every move as he brings it up towards his mouth.

“Smells good.”

“Just eat it honey.”

“Don’t rush me I like to take my time.” He doesn’t even need to look at you to know you’re smirking at him because he knows exactly how that little mind of yours took his comment.

He closes his eyes as he takes a bite and the moment the brownie hits his tongue he knows he’s done for. He feels his shoulders slump as his eyes remain closed as an actual sigh somehow escapes him and he swears he’s never tasted anything so delicious in his entire life and he normally doesn’t even care for sweet things. His eyes open as he takes another bite and he sees you just smiling at him and it makes him wonder if this is a common reaction people have when trying your desserts.

“Holy fucking-”

“Language.” Harry can’t even be bothered to be embarrassed by you reprimanding him because he’s too busy taking another bite of the brownie making you just laugh.

“Why’d you only bring one?” Is all he asks as he finally puts the now half eaten brownie back down on the tinfoil. When you reach for it to wrap it back up Harry is quick to pull it away from you making you send him a playful glare. “I’m sorry love but this one is mine and it’s not polite to just take things without asking.” You roll your eyes.

“I wasn’t taking it from your sugar I was just wrapping it back up so you can finish it later.” This explanation doesn’t sit well with him so he picks the half eaten brownie back up and takes another bite out of it.

“Who said anything about saving it for later?” You watch with wide eyes as he talks with his mouth half full and when he opens his mouth for another bite you can’t help but stand up so you’re able to lean all the way over the table and snatch the brownie out of his hands making a frown take over his face as he watches you wrap the remainder of it back up in the foil.

“Lord have mercy Harry you have one decent brownie and all your manners just go out the damn window.” Your words are rushed as you fuss at him and if he wasn’t too busy licking the last remnants of brownie off his fingers he would smile because he loves the way your accent sounds when you’re annoyed, especially at him.

“It’s a bit rude to just snatch a man’s snack away from him like that.” He mumbles as you place the wrapped brownie back on the table but just out of his reach so he’s not tempted to grab it.

“You’ll be fine.” Harry lets out a huff as you raise an eyebrow at him as if you’re waiting for him to tell you something so after a few moments of him staring at you without saying anything you ask, “So what did you think?”

“I think I’m actually a little angry that I only have one of those and not a whole pan.” Harry wishes he was joking but he is being serious, he can actually feel himself getting upset at just the thought of finishing the one brownie you brought him and based on the way you just nod lets him know he’s not the first person to feel this way.

“Well imagine you had six of them okay? And you eat one in the morning thinking nothing of it because you know you have five more then lunch comes around and you snack on another one and after dinner of course you’re gonna have one because why wouldn’t you?” Harry just nods along and leans in closer as you talk and he feels his heartbeat quicken at the thought of running out of the same brownies he’s only taken a few bites of, as your mouth turns downward into a slight dramatic pout. “But then when you do the same thing the next day you realize you won’t have anymore left but it’s too late because you already finished the one you were saving for dessert so now all you have is an empty-”

“That’s enough.”

“You’d be angry wouldn’t you honeybuns?”

“Livid…absolutely livid.”

“That’s why I only brought you one.” You reach across the table and give Harry’s hand a little pat. “I’m glad you liked it.” Harry can tell you’re being sincere because your tone is softer than it just was and he can’t help but return the smile you’re giving him.

“Best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth.” He waits for his words to register in your mind and he’s glad it only takes a few seconds before your leaning your head back and laughing, the kind of laugh that makes your eyes crinkle as you clap your hands together in front of your face. It’s the laugh that Harry thinks is one of the best sounds he’s ever heard.

“Oh sugar I’m so honored.” You dramatically place your hands on your chest as you finally get your laughter under control. “So did you bring me anything?” Harry slowly looks to his left and down at the plastic container sitting next to him and he wants to lie and say no he didn’t make anything but he knows your toes will just start to tingle and he’ll be forced to give them to you anyway.

“I’m sorry in advance my darling.” He mumbles as he picks up the container.

“Wait don’t I get to know something about you?” You question as Harry slides the it across the table towards you.

“What would you like to know?” He asks as you take the lid off the container.

“Everything.” Harry rolls his eyes and chuckles as you try your hardest to mimic him but even you can’t take yourself seriously making yourself laugh.

“Well I’m in a band.” Your eyebrows raise as he reaches into his pocket to pull out his phone. “I’m not sure if you’re familiar with uh One Direction?” You watch him type a few things on it and then he’s handing it to you.

“Oh my heavens y’all are precious.” Harry’s cheeks get pink as you bring the phone closer to your face so you can get a better look. “Is this you? Where are your tattoos? You look so naked.” Harry laughs as you turn the phone around so he can see the screen and sure enough you’re pointing at him.

“That’s me and uh that’s Niall,” he points to the blonde one standing next to him in the photo. “And then it’s Liam and Louis and that’s Zayn.” You just smile and nod as he points each boy out. “But that photo is a little bit after we became a band.” He explains as you hand him his phone back.

“I could’ve sworn I only heard your voice singing that fruit song in Target though?” You ask and Harry rubs at the back of his neck as you reach into the container for a brownie.

“Yes that’s uhm because we are on sort of a break? Or like whatever you want to call it but we are all doing our own things.” Harry looks down briefly as he speaks and when he looks back up he feels his eyes go wide as he watches you open your mouth to take a bite of one of his brownies. “You can’t eat that!” He doesn’t mean for it to come out so loud but he’s glad it did because it causes you to jump slightly making the brownie fall from your hands and land back into the container.

“Harry Edward what the hell has gotten into you?”

“I’m sorry but you just can’t eat these.” He reaches over for the container of brownies but you just smack his hand away making him frown.

“It’s rude to try and snatch a woman’s snack away from her like that.” You say with a glare as you grab another brownie and before Harry can do or say anything you take a bite out of it. He watches you slowly chew and your eyes don’t leave his as you keep chewing for what feels like minutes and Harry feels his face get hot as you look away so you can reach over for a napkin.

“Oh god.” He’s never wanted to just disappear more than he does right now as he watches you try your hardest to keep your face together but he knows, he just knows you put one of the worst things you’ve ever tasted into your mouth and it was something he made.

“Honey what does your sugar container look like?” Your voice is soft and sweet and he imagines it’s the same tone you use in your classroom when talking to one of your students as you wipe your mouth with the napkin after you tried to subtly spit the bite of brownie out into it.

“Uh it’s white with an s on it.” He answers and you just nod as you place the lid back onto the container.

“And what do you keep your salt in?” You ask as you hand the container back to Harry.

“It’s uhm also…in a white container with an s on it.” Harry realizes the mistake he’s made as soon as he’s done talking and you just give him an encouraging smile as you reach over and grab his hands.

“It’s a common mistake sugar it’s okay we can fix it.” He just lets out a huff as he leans his head down so his forehead is resting on your hands that are holding his.

“I just thought they’d taste burnt..or maybe dry…but salty?” You try to hold back a giggle as Harry lifts his head so he’s sitting up and he looks utterly defeated as he glares at the container holding his overly salty dessert. “I didn’t see that one coming.” You just give his hands a squeeze and run your thumbs over his knuckles trying to help him feel better.

“Tell me more about your band.” Harry is glad for the subject change as you give his hands one last squeeze before letting them go. “How long have y’all been on this break thing?” You ask as you dig around in your bag for your chapstick.

“Uhm a few years I-”

“Years? So y’all aren’t getting back together then?”

“I think we will one day.” Harry says with a shrug as you put your chapstick back in your bag, he knows that’s not really an answer but it’s all he has right now.

“What’s a song I might know from y’all?” He smiles as his mind automatically goes to one song in particular that he feels everyone knows, even you.

“Have you heard a song called what makes you beautiful?” The look on your face tells him that it’s not ringing any bells. “You’re insecure not sure what for-”

“Oh my god that’s y’all?” Harry chuckles as your face lights up at the familiar opening line. “That is such a cute song.” You add with a smile as you grab your bag and stand up to get off the bench making Harry raise an eyebrow.

“Uhm where-”

“Let’s take a walk sugar plum.” Harry watches as you grab his container of brownies and shove it into your bag before you hold your hand out for him.

“That’s your hand.”

“It is.”

“Am I allowed to hold it or is this a sick joke because I made saltwater brownies?”

“I’m not that cruel honey.” You wiggle your fingers at him just like you did the very first time he met you in the grocery store. “Come on I don’t bite.” Your voice is teasing but Harry just smiles as he stands up and quickly grabs his foil wrapped half eaten brownie and shoves it into his pocket before taking your hand.

“Lead the way love.” He gestures with his free hand making you laugh as you feel him interlock his fingers with yours.

“Don’t I always?” With that Harry just playfully rolls his eyes as you begin walking towards the steps that lead down to the beach and he’s well aware that even if you didn’t offer him your hand he would’ve agreed to walk on the beach with you because honestly Harry would follow you just about anywhere.

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sweetnsour1 · 8 months ago

Text

9:36:09

Angsty Fluff, Bakugou x fem reader

Part 9 of the Broken Collection

“You probably still have time to order something online.” You laughed at the immediate soft snarl you received as a reply. “Not every gift purchase has to be a contest, ya know?”

“Not a contest if I always give the best shit.” He continued to frown at the display in front of him, seemingly assigning blame to the assortment of objects not meeting his standards.

“If you say so...” You walked past him, making sure to skirt around the bubble of personal space you had imagined to be there, to examine the wall of glass blown wind chimes. He clicked his tongue before diving into his reply.

“You fuckin’ love my gifts.”

You didn’t turn back around, letting the statement fall without confirmation or denial. Instead, you let the silence build up a small wall between you. You ignored the way your shoulders tensed as you resisted the immediate catalog of presents now attempting to push their way through any other thoughts. He, of course, wasn’t wrong. Katsuki was an amazing chooser of gifts. Even the small random finds for no occasion at all were still some of your favorite things. Presents so perfect they had remained in your home even when Bakugou hadn’t. You weren’t able to move them, much less get rid of them. You never would. You really did ‘fuckin’ love’ his gifts. You swiped your finger against the paper laden strings in front of you, sending a wave of jingles throughout the store.

“Excuse me, ma’am. Please don’t do that.”

You snatched your hand back, now noticing a small sign with bold red letters reminding customers to restrain themselves from what you were getting scolded for now. Your face warmed as you apologized, but you still managed to direct a small kick to the shin of the snickering hero behind you. You spun around as soon as the clerk moved out of sight again.

“It’s not that funny.”

“It sure as hell is. You always get into some sort of trouble when we go out.” Your eyebrow arched at the phrasing. He coughed before adding, “uh, out shopping.”

“So am I just here for comedic relief then? Thought you needed help picking out a gift for your mom.”

He laughed again, stretching his arm over your shoulder and leaning toward the wall behind you. Too close. You turned your head as if to scan the back of the store for any missed items, ignoring the quickly changing proximity. His breath, which you definitely didn’t notice was cinnamon scented from the mints that were still apparently his favorite, brushed against your neck. You froze at the sound of a jingle and met the glare of the same clerk that had just reminded you of the rules.

“Excuse me, sir. Please-”

“Yea, yea. I know. We’ll take these.” He had already disentangled himself from your personal space, now holding two glass blown bell wind chimes. “That rule isn’t logical by the way. Unless you don’t actually want people to buy shit.”

“Of course, I can get those wrapped up.” The change in tone was obvious now that a purchase was eminent. Although the clerk ignored the advice, still moving with a swiftness to take the bells as if there really was some looming threat hiding behind the hands-off policy.

“Are you sure?” The choice just seemed so random.

“Course. She’ll love ‘em.”

“Um no offense, but why?” Your head tilted as he hesitated.

“I think they’ll be a sort of good luck charm for her.” His words came out slow and measured, the same way you had all been trained to talk to citizens you wanted to stay calm.

“I see.” You didn’t, but you chose to trust him and ignore how fucking weird he was being. “And you’re sure about the colors?”

“Obviously. They wouldn’t work if they were different.”

“I see.” You definitely didn’t, but at least he had dropped the crisis management voice.

You caught one more glimpse of glass as the clerk began closing the small wooden boxes. The first one, now hidden from view, had been a translucent grey, spotted with orange and black and a few green specks. The second...you frowned at the familiar colors. They were the same ones you were now expected to only wear five days a week. Your color palette.

Your feet did not follow the path set by the hero you had been trailing all morning. They stayed firmly rooted as you blinked at the transaction’s completion. Why? Why was he doing this? Why was he like this? Why had so many small things stayed meaningful? Why did you have any meaning for him? For his family?

Katsuki Never-Picks-The-Wrong-Gift Bakugou had chosen good luck tokens to give to his mother...one that clearly represented Dynamight and the other that suspiciously reflected your costume that his mother had helped design the last time you upgraded. His mother, who, yes had always loved and welcomed you, but shouldn’t care less about your safety after how you’d hurt her son.

You took a moment to berate yourself for questioning the character of a Bakugou. She would never wish for anything but safety for any hero. What was truly upsetting was you had never really let yourself stop to think how he had to tell them months ago. He had to explain to them what you had hardly been able to communicate to him when you left. What had he told them? The truth? That you were detrimental to each other. That it was your fault. That you chose this. That you hurt him. You had a horrible and quickly growing urge to cry.

The pressure of the door handle against your back jolted you back into the space you were filling. You must’ve been slowly backing away towards the exit. Red eyes turned at the noise of the bell you brushed against as you gripped the means of escape. And, of course, you did what had become so natural when those eyes met yours. The motion came even more easily now that you risked tears visbily falling with every slow second that crawled by. The same action you took nearly a year ago.

You fucking ran.

Masterlist

Next part

#bakugou #bnha fluff #bakugou x reader #bnha #bakugou fluff #bakugou angst #bakugou imagines #bakugou drabbles #katsuki bakugou #bnha imagines

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madhatterbri · 5 months ago

Text

Unbothered | F.B. Part 2

Summary: Y/N goes to his hotel room with a "get well soon" card. She just leaves everything by the hotel room door with a card that has her name and a single number from her phone number that Damian brings in for him 😂

Author's Note: Thanks, @theworldofotps , for the idea. This one is short. Just trying to think of ways for him to get all the numbers.

Finn Balor Masterlist

Unbothered Part 1

Tag List: @plentyoffandoms @new-zealand-chic @theworldofotps

Y/N grumbled to herself how this had to be her worst idea ever. Her slipper covered feet slid against the carpet below. She wore a hat and sunglasses to hide from any wrestling fans. There had to be a better way for her to spend her time in the early hours of a Tuesday.

Something inside of her told her to get Finn a get well soon card, so she did. Once she left RAW, she stopped at a local pharmacy and picked up the necessary materials. A card, envelope, and two different colored pens.

Y/N drove to her hotel room. She dropped her purchases on the desk. It had to be something nice. Something that would tell him she was interested, but that she wasn't totally bothered about it. After staring at the blank card, she decided to write something short and sweet.

Wishing you 24/7 comfort and healing.

The 7 was written in a different color and slightly bigger. She signed her name and placed the card in the envelope. Still unsure of what came over her, she walked to his hotel room. Y/N stood in front of the door. It was late at night. Finn needed his rest.

"He's probably already asleep," she told herself in an attempt to talk herself down. Y/N left the card by the door and walked back to her room.

A few minutes later, Damian walked to the room he was sharing with Finn. The champion needed to burn off some steam at the hotel bar. After a few drinks, he figured it was time to get some sleep.

He smiled at the card left against the door. That ring announcer had plenty of surprises in her. The archer of infamy picked up the card and tapped it against his fingers. His friend would be happy to see this.

"Hey, Finn. You got a letter from a secret admirer," Damian told him once he opened the door. At the increase in Finn's curiosity, he handed the envelope to him.

The Irish man grabbed the envelope quickly. He scowled, thinking it was from a crazed fan that knew their room number. His roommate couldn't help but laugh at his apprehension.

"Open it. It's from Y/N," Damian urged. Finn immediately brightened up.

The envelope was ripped open without a care. He opened the card quickly. A smile crept on his face when he saw the 7. For someone who didn't have care, Y/N made sure to let him know the next number.

"Got another number?" Damian asked.

"Yup, only eight more numbers to go," Finn answered. He placed the number under Y/N's contact and smiled. Satisfied with how the night went, Finn rolled over and fell into a peaceful sleep.

The next morning, Finn saw Y/N at the airport. She was always one to be super early to any event she had scheduled. The airport was no different. People watching, she would tell him, would make the time go by faster.

"Lovely card last night," Finn complimented her.

Y/N smiled. "Thanks. Could you tell my pen ran out of ink while I was writing in it?"

Finn couldn't hide his chuckle. "Less than a few hours, and I got 2 numbers I need. Only 8 more. Maybe you are a little more bothered about me than we thought,"

"I guess we will see," she shrugged. "Have a safe flight,"

#fanfiction #wwe fanfiction #wwe fanfic #finn balor fanfiction #finn bálor fanfiction #finn balor x y/n #finn balor x reader #finn balor #finn bálor #finn balór

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metalomagnetic · 8 months ago

Note

I was re-reading Dissonance and I wanted to ask if Abraxas ever kept the poison chandelier? Like is it a treasured family heirloom? Or does Lucius just inherit it when his dad dies with no clue why they have this dangerous, tacky piece of decor he can't get rid of because Lord Voldemort vaguely complimented(?) it one time?

It's hilarious that you sent me this ask, while I am still laughing myself to tears (I just read your comment 1 minute ago).

The 'homoerotic chandelier' (I am STILL laughing, thank you, truly) is, of course, gaudy; just horrid, really, there's a reason no one was buying it, even with Tom's outstanding sale talents.

Being an impulse purchase (a horny purchase), Abraxas didn't think it through- how on earth will he explain this monstrosity to his father?

He hides it in the dungeons, knowing his father doesn't go there (draft and all).

After Tom disappears, Abraxas might, or might not, visit the dungeons to have a look at it from time to time. He sent hundreds of letters to Tom, but they all returned unopened, so he's convinced his enemy-lover is dead. His cold, tiny heart, is broken.

Once his dad finally dies, Abraxas moves the chandelier to Gringotts, wrapped in a secure box, in the hopes he won't have to think about it (Tom) anymore, if it isn't in his house. At first, he wanted to destroy it, but he couldn't make himself. (It's lucky he didn't try, because that was one CURSED chandelier that would have reacted poorly to violence).

A decade or so later, Lord Voldemort shows up.

Abraxas is furious (happy)! How dare that mudblood be even more powerful than when he left? (how dare Tom just show up, as if Abraxas didn't mourn for him, thought him dead, and grew stupidly attached to an ugly chandelier as a stand in for Tom?)

Everyone is playing this silly game, pretending not to recognise this is Tom Riddle. Abraxas cannot wait to actually meet him face to face and spit 'Riddle' at him; he is a Malfoy, Riddle doesn't scare him! Alas, before he can meet him, he hears old classmates are dropping dead all over the place (the only thing they had in common was that they knew the name Riddle) and he reconsiders. It's not that he's afraid (he's terrified), but he's just cautious. Yes, cautious. He determines is better to avoid Riddle (even if his broken, even tinier and colder heart longs to see him again).

But then his stupid son comes back with a horrid brand on his arm (he remembers Riddle doodling it in his schoolboy silly journal) and Abraxas is horrified. Furthermore, Rodolphus keeps saying Voldemort is unnaturally close to Lucius, that they have many one on one meetings, and Abraxas has had ENOUGH. So he goes to face Riddle and tell him to stay away from his son (he has no idea that once, long ago, his own father went to tell Tom to stay away from Abraxas. Apparently it's a Malfoy tradition, now.)

Anyway, things don't go as planned, Abraxas freezes when he sees what Riddle had done to his previously perfect face. He freezes when he feels the *power* emanating from him. He ends up pretending he doesn't recognise him.

It's a long and complicated story (really, it is) but eventually Abraxas invites Voldemort to the Manor ( to discuss Lucius, of course, no other reason. Not like Abraxas had decade long fantasies of bringing Riddle to his Manor and fucking him in the master bedroom or anything like that). On a whim, he has the chandelier brought back from Gringotts and hangs it in the dining room.

Riddle's new waxy, harsh face does something funny, shows some emotion for once, when he sees it. Abraxas is suddenly hot all over, but they attempt to talk normally until Lucius comes home, bows to Riddle ( the indignity! Lucius should only bow to Abraxas) and then, with a sneer, asks if Abraxas has lost his mind, what is that ugly chandelier doing in their lovely home?

The chandelier apparently doesn't take the insult in stride, and , with a thunder like noise, starts raining poison down on Lucius.

It's fine, in the end. Riddle was always good with spells of all kind, the arrogant mudblood, so he fixes Lucius up, and then sends him to get some rest.

The next morning, when Lucius stumbles out of his room, with a headache from the remaining after effects of the poison, he witnesses his lord getting out of his father's room.

He blinks. Once, twice. He rubs his eyes, frozen.

"You're hallucinating," Lord Voldemort tells him. "From the poison. Go back to bed."

Lucius decides that yes, he must be hallucinating (he dearly hopes so, because why else would he see the dark lord, robe not entirely buttoned up, leaving his father's room at dawn?), and he retreats to the safety of his room.

Another decade later, when his father dies, Lucius decides to leave the chandelier in place ( in his father's room, where it was moved after it assaulted Lucius). He thinks it's wiser not to mess with the thing. Besides, it seemed to matter quite a lot to his old man; Lucius swears his father loved that ugly monstrosity more than he ever loved Lucius.

Thank you so much for your comment, and you're at fault for this lengthy, cracky answer! I hope you enjoy it! ❤️

#tombrax #crack #my fics #this is all because of a wonderful comment I got

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oursecretescape · 9 months ago

Text

Forgotten

words: 7.5k

genre: angst

If my fate is to disappear like this, then this is my last letter - Let go xx TW: Mentions of anxiety, panick attack. Trad: anjinho = little angel. a/n: Hello, my babies. This story is the translation of ''Forgotten'' that I recently posted. I tried to make it as angsty as possible, hope I have achieved my goal. My apologies before hand for any grammar erros. English is not my first language. I suggest you all read it along with the saddest song you like. Well... with all that being said, I wish you a happy reading (or sad? lmao. dunno). Tell me later what y'all thought. ♥

"Hey! We'll be there soon. Sorry for the delay. Today's rehearsal took longer than expected. We're leaving now."

Received at 5 in the afternoon.

I take a quick glance at the clock, and it shows eight in the evening. A heavy sigh escapes my lips as I feel my heart drumming slowly in my chest, each beat amplifying my growing sense of unease.

I get up from the couch and reach for the umbrella swaying gently in the wind coming from the window. I shut my eyes and take a deep breath, attempting to manage the sudden surge of fear and despair growing in my chest. My heart is racing, and my mind is in overdrive. A sense of mortality and suffocation, all rolled up into a single emotion: anxiety.

I sit down, sliding along the corridor wall. I try to control my breathing while attempting to steady the pounding of my heart. I think that dying in the hallway of a building would be so pointless and dull that it makes me laugh. A laugh, strained and devoid of emotion, but functional.

Heart rate normalizing. Labored, but controlled breathing. Mind stabilized.

I feel my face wet with tears. I wipe them away with trembling hands. When did I start crying? I rise from the floor, swaying a little. I take another deep breath and press the elevator button.

Dad always said that thinking of ridiculous things in difficult moments would help distract me. He was right, as he always was.

The cold, damp breeze of Seoul's streets warmed my soul. Its black skies, like darkness, covered with thick clouds, carried heavy raindrops that, upon impact, met my umbrella, creating beautiful melodies. It was comforting to hear the drops hitting the hard concrete; they reminded me that I wasn't crying alone.

It was thundering when I arrived at the destination. Bright streaks in the sky made the monument even gloomier. I found it ironic how everything matched my feelings. As I entered through the doors, I could already hear muffled cries. Sadness and suffering permeated the air, leaving me melancholic.

After a few more steps, I could see the person I love the most in the world greeting me with a beautiful smile. His eyes were shining like true rays of sunshine. I sit in front of him, sliding my fingers where his name rests. Lee Joon-Ho.

"Dad, I miss you so much," I say aloud, my voice cracking with emotion. "It's been incredibly lonely without you here. You have no idea how much I long for your company," I said, feeling the salty taste of tears. "I'm sorry I couldn't bring my friends to meet you like I promised. They're all caught up with their own lives, you know how it is. But don't worry, I'll bring them next time when they're less busy," I chuckle, with no emotion.

I hear footsteps behind me. I stand up excitedly, my heart pounding, but this time as a sign of comfort. They didn't forget. I feel my face stretch into a small smile, which is quickly dissolved.

"Hello, young lady. Good evening," the guard gives me a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but I need to ask you not to linger too long on your visit today. The rain caused some minor leaks, and we'll have to close a little earlier."

"Oh okay, I understand," I responded in a whisper.

"I'm sorry. You have 10 minutes. I'll leave you alone," he said, bowing and leaving promptly.

I turn again, sitting on the floor.

"Dad, today I have to leave a little earlier. But don't worry, I'll be back soon," I feel the tears fall like the drops falling from the sky. "I love you so much," I say between sobs. "I miss you."

I stand up in desperation, running out the door, feeling the drops fall freely on my body, without the protection of the umbrella. It was as if I was washing away all the bad feelings flowing from my being.

Arriving home, I take a hot shower and change into comfortable clothes. The room were in dense darkness. It was just the rain and me. And my cat, who was rubbing against my leg, lay on my lap."

I feel my chest inflate with comfort at the presence of the little being and smile at the gesture.

With the phone in hand, I try to distract my restless mind. I see the Twitter icon and feel my heart pounding as if I shouldn't do this, but I do it anyway. The blue screen shining amidst the darkness of the room soon turns into white, leaving my vision blurred. I switch to dark mode and continue scrolling through my feed.

Within a few seconds, I see something that breaks my heart even more. Among the bursts of excitement from Armys, there are videos of the boys, my boys, having fun in a restaurant with her. They forgot about the visitation day because of her. Again, the reason why I was put aside is her.

Knocks on the door make me forget the feelings of jealousy and anger that burned in my body like fire. I hesitated to remove the furry creature from my lap, as it seemed so comfortable. With a little effort, I get up and walk to the door. Upon opening it, I see Adora's face in a comforting smile. Seeing a friendly face, I feel my tears fall freely on my face once again. She immediately drops the bags she was carrying and envelops me in a loving hug.

I can't say for how long we hugged. What I can say is that it was exactly what I needed at that moment. I feel my chest getting lighter as if all the bad feelings had been carried away by the embrace, and I feel grateful to Adora for that.

Slowly I pull away, and I can see her smile return twice as big.

"Better?" she asks, making me nod.

I step aside, and she enters, placing the food bags on the coffee table. I close the door and follow her.

"What did you bring?" I ask curiously, making her laugh.

"I knew food would cheer you up," she laughs. "I brought a lot of junk food. Sweet and savory cookies, ice cream, sweet and sour pork, hamburgers, and sodas."

"Soda?" I wonder. "Since when do you like fizzy drinks? You always said they gave you gas," I hold back a laugh.

"The soda is for you. For me," she reaches into the bag, pulling out two green bottles of soju. "I brought alcohol," she says sticking her tongue out as she shakes the bottles.

I smile at her little dance, but seeing her gummy smile reminds me of him. I feel the sadness wanting to return when I remember the videos, but I cast aside any bad feelings as I grab the ice cream container.

"I didn't want to bring it up, but I'm really sorry I wasn't there. You know how it is at BigHit. I couldn't leave the production until the work was finished," she explains, and I smile.

"It's okay. I understand," I whisper. "The important thing is that you're here now."

"About the boys..." she starts to say, but I quickly cut her off.

"No, it's fine. I don't want to talk about it."

"But you need to, Cassie. You know that. Keeping it all inside will only make it worse. You know you can trust me. Vent it out. I'm here," she holds my hand.

I close my eyes, nodding. I search within myself for the strength to let out everything I'm feeling. Everything that's hurting me. I bite my lower lip and open my eyes. It's going to be okay.

"It's been some time since my friendship with the boys started cooling off," I begin, feeling her squeeze my hand in comfort. "You know I met Tae before he became famous, and he's the one who introduced me to the rest of the boys. Since then, we've had a very strong friendship. We weren't always together, especially with the tours and my work, but we were close, like a real family. No matter how long we went without seeing each other, nothing changed, until recently," I sigh. "Park Ji-Hye showed up about 2 months ago, a few weeks before my dad passed away. She auditioned for the dancer position and passed the test," Adora nods.

"Yeah, I saw her audition," she says.

"So, since that day, I saw her getting closer and closer to the boys. They were always talking about how cool and funny she is, and, you know, I was happy for them. A new friendship is always good, especially for them, who are famous and always have to be careful with opportunists. But it never crossed my mind that she would take the place I had in their lives," I smile sadly. "They started visiting me much less. Calling me much less. Inviting me to the dorm or out much less. Until the day I literally became nothing to them," I look at Adora, whose face is red with anger.

"These..." I interrupted her.

"You don't want to lose your job, right?" I ask, laughing. "And you can't blame them either. She became their official dancer, which means wherever they go, she's with them," I shrug. "She's with them all the time, and that surely made them closer to her. Even more than me," I feel my eyes welling up. "I don't want to lose them, but I feel like I already did."

"Hey," she shakes me. "Calm down, breathe. I know they messed up. And they messed up badly, but it doesn't mean they've forgotten about you," Adora says, trying to comfort me.

"They forgot me the day my dad died, Adora. I'll never forget that. I feel like on that day, I died twice. I remember calling them in desperation, crying, not knowing what to do, feeling like my world was falling apart," I pause as I feel all the emotions returning. "And they said they were coming, but they never showed up," I continued after a few seconds of silence. "After that, they sent me a message explaining that Park Ji-Hye had gotten hurt dancing and they were with her at the hospital," Adora nods.

"Yeah, I remember. She just fell on her butt, but she made a scene like she broke her back. Everyone was freaking out at the company, even Bang PD. But in the end, it was just drama," she laments.

"After that, they didn't even visit me. Not even once," I laughed with no emotion. "Right after, they forgot my birthday. I understand that I wasn't excited at all because of my dad, but it wouldn't hurt to receive some supportive or congratulatory messages from them. I was so upset that I sent some sad texts. In less than thirty minutes, they were knocking on my door. We cried a lot, but I felt like a part of me had come back to life and that everything was going to be okay," I sarcastically laughed. "I couldn't have been more wrong, could I?" I asked.

"Cassie..."

"It's okay. You don't have to say anything. After today, I finally understood," I grab a spoon. "They found someone better than me. Someone who can be with them all the time and help them when they need it. I'm just sad that person isn't me. Not anymore," I shove the spoonful of ice cream into my mouth, to prevent the tears stuck in my throat from coming out.

For the rest of the night, Adora didn't bring up the subject again, and I was grateful for that.

A random movie played on TV, but my mind was far away. I looked to the side and saw Adora sleeping with her mouth open. A piece of cookie rested on her cheek while her hand lay above her head. I silently chuckled, covering us and then turning off the TV.

A distant ringing sound caught my attention. I tapped around the couch until I found the phone under the cushion. My eyes automatically closed from the sudden contact with the bright screen, but just as they closed, they widened.

After the first notification, thousands started to show up. My heart throbbed in my chest as my body was flooded with nervousness.

"Min PD: Cassie, please tell me you're there."

"Joonie: Please respond. We're sorry. It wasn't our intention not to show up..." The message appeared cut off because I hadn't unlocked the phone yet.

"Hobierto: Believe us, Cassie. Please, we know you're awake. Answer us."

"Jinnie: Cassandra, we would never do anything to hurt you. Please let us explain."

"Mochi: Answer the phone."

After that message, a group call popped up on the screen. I stared at it, battling the urge to answer. I sighed deeply and threw the phone back onto the couch because no matter how much I wanted to talk to them, I was still hurt. I didn't want to answer and end up fighting. Saying things without thinking and ending up in a worse situation. The best thing to do now was to rest.

I made myself comfortable on the bed we had arranged on the floor, and put the pillow over my head to block out the notifications. When I didn't see any changes, I pressed the power button on my phone and confirmed it right away. I lay back down and took a deep breath. Tomorrow is a new day. Everything will be okay. ——————————————————

It wasn't even dawn when I heard knock after knock. Disoriented, I got up, searching for where the noise was coming from until my feet led me to the front door. I looked at the clock hanging on the wall and got irritated to see it was six past two in the morning.

I swung the door open, ready to argue with whoever had woken me up so early after going to bed so late, but I lost my voice when I saw the seven people I loved most staring at me ty forlornly.

I felt two arms embrace me tightly, followed by two more until I lost count. Desperate whispers for forgiveness echoed in my ear, making me feel loved... until a certain moment. Memories of what had happened the night before made me wake up from the sleep I didn't know I was in. Slowly, I distanced myself from the seven, able to see the tears streaming down some of their faces and sadness emanating from the others.

"Cassie..." Jimin starts. "I'm so sorry. It wasn't our intention to leave you alone in such a difficult time. Please, believe us."

"We didn't come here to lie to you, Cassandra..." Namjoon says. "It really wasn't our intention. I know this is going to sound completely wrong, but we made a promise to Ji-Hye. We promised to take her out to celebrate her birthday since she's far from her family and would probably celebrate alone," I try to hide a grimace.

They couldn't miss her birthday, but could miss mine.

"As soon as we finished eating, we were going to come straight here. And we really were, Cas, really. But the company called saying we had to go there to finalize the last details for the album. It was then that we sent several messages in the group, but you didn't see any."

"That's why we're here," Taehyung says, interrupting Namjoon. "Cassie, listen to me. You're one of the most important people in my life. Sorry if lately my actions haven't shown that, but please, please, Cas, don't be mad at us. I couldn't bear to know that you're upset because of me," he whispers.

"Go to the dorms tonight. Let's talk about this calmly," Hoseok suggests.

I remain silent for a few minutes.

"Come on, please. Hum? Hum?'' Tae shakes my arm. ''You'll go, right? Say yes," he asks.

"Okay," I sigh deeply. "I'll go."

I feel arms wrapping around my body again, and I relax, enjoying the contact. This time, the hug lasted only a few seconds. The boys said goodbye, saying they needed to be at the company in a few hours.

"Tonight at 7. We'll be waiting for you," Yoongi said and then left.

I closed the door, trying to contain my excitement and the obvious smile on my face. As I turned to go back to bed, I was startled to see only Adora's head peeking out from behind the couch. She had a radiant smile on her face as she looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"Shut up," I say, making her laugh. ——————————————————

I look at the clock on the wall. It's 8:07 in the evening. Damn, I was late. I could already hear Adora's voice slowly emerging in my mind, saying that I should have listened to her and picked out my outfit earlier. Shaking my head, I focus on finishing getting ready. The last thing I needed right now was a lecture from my own mind.

I hear knocks and the doorbell ringing repeatedly.

"Shit," I mutter as I hop over to the door.

I try to put on my sock while walking to the door, but my unfailing plan soon becomes fallible when I trip over my own hand and fall on the floor. The knocks and the doorbell grow louder, and I feel irritation creeping in. "ALRIGHT, I'M COMING," I yell and pick myself up.

I walk back to the door with a pout and my hair completely tousled, covering my face. I take a deep breath, fix my hair, put on a fake smile, and finally open the door. As I see the seven people I love most in the world looking at me with confused faces, I feel my smile turn genuine, and the earlier irritation vanish as if it had never existed.

"Is everything okay? Why didn't you come?" I hear Taehyung ask as he scrutinizes me from head to toe."

"What happened? Something serious?" Seokjin asks, and I shake my head.

"No, guys, sorry. I almost died trying to choose a good outfit to wear and ended up running late, sorry," I explained laughing.

''What do you mean you almost died?" Jungkook asks as I watch their faces turn into a grimace."

"It was nothing, really," I reassure, taking a quick glance at Jungkook, who was holding back his laugh.

He knew it. I am sure he did.

"Are you sure you didn't... you know... fall on your ass?" he smirks. "I'm sure I heard a huge..."''

"Hobi," I said excitedly, "What do you have there?" I pointed to the bags he was carrying while Jungkook laughed.

That little prick.

''Food," he says, shaking the bags. ''We know how much you love eating''.

I chuckle and make way for them to enter. In a few minutes, the food was already on the coffee table, and an improvised bed was set up on the living room floor. I change into more comfortable clothes and join them.

"Look, before we start, we want you to know how sorry we are," Yoongi says.

"Yes... Sorry for not being there on the visitation's day," Jimin adds. "If there's anything you want to say, anything that's bothering you, please let us know. We'll fix it all, Cassie. ''he holds my hand.'' We want things to go back to how they used to be."

"We're here for you, Cas," Jin finishes, and I smile weakly.

I pause for a moment, feeling that it still wasn't the right time. So, I just sigh and shake my head.

"It's okay, guys. Really," I open with a smile. "Let's just watch this movie already. I'm dying to see who'll be the first one to cry and shake in fear like a little kitten." I say, trying to change the subject, and smirk when I realize it worked.

"I am sure it won't be me," Hoseok says with confidence. "Cause you know..." he shows off his muscles. "I'm a man," he pauses for a minute.

It doesn't take long until Hoseok's laughter fills the room, making everyone laugh.

"Who listens to him talking like this, doesn't even think the Gladiator sandal outside belongs to him," Jungkook says, making Hoseok look at him flabbergasted.

''Hey, what do you mean by that?'' he asks shookedt. ''It's fashionable''

"Yeah, Hobi. Sure is," Yoongi says, patting his shoulder.

''Why I don't believe you are being honest?'' Hoseok asks putting his finger under his chain. ''I'm going to expose you on Twitter. Or should I say X?''

''What? Are you into Xvideos?'' Namjoon asks as he returns.

Everybody stops and looks at him. When did he even leave to begin with?

"What were you doing, Joonie?" I ask, smirking at him. "Were you in the bathroom?" he nods as the rest of the boys laugh.

''Now we know why you are thinking naughtiness'' Jimin says.

Namjoon's face turns red as he shakes his hands nervously. He tries to sit down on the couch but somehow ends up falling on the ground. We can see his cellphone flying around the living room as he throws his arms in the air in an attempt to regain his balance, but it doesn't work, as expected.

''No need to be nervous, Joonie'' I say. ''Everybody masturbates once in a while.''

''Do we?'' Yoongi looks at me suspiciously.

"I mean," I chuckle nervously. "How did we even get to this conversation? Let's just watch the movie for God's sake."

"Nah, nah. Don't you try coming up with excuses," Tae says abruptly. "What do you mean by that? Are you dating someone?" Jungkook seems to be having fun as he opens a beer can.

''What? Me? Dating?'' I laugh. ''Not even close. But I can't say the same about Jungkook, can I?'' he chokes.

''Uh? What you on about?'' he asks as he cleans his mouth. ‘’Seven days a week, huh?’’ he burst into laughter. He pauses for a minute before smirking. "Hm, why's that, baby girl?" he says, leaning in my direction. "Are you jealous?" he asks, putting a strand of my hair behind my ear. "Do you want me to…" he bites his lower lip. "You know," he says putting his finger on my lips. I can already feel the cringeness and second-hand embarrassment traveling throughout my body as the rest of the boys laugh. This prick. ‘’You really need to get out from twitter,’’ I say, shoving him away. ‘’The next step is to put up a black and white profile picture and call yourself a webdom’’ He raises both of his middle fingers in my direction before turning his attention back to the beer can. ‘’Are you guys done? Can I finally play this damn movie?’’ Yoongi asks, making everybody nod.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Time passed quickly, and before I knew it, it was time for them to leave. Unfortunately, they couldn't stay overnight. They had to leave very early the next day due to their schedule.

I hesitated to get up; I didn't want to accompany them to the door out of sheer laziness, and feeling Taehyung shaking me with his foot made me even more sluggish.

"If you keep doing that, I swear I'll fall asleep," I say, making him huff.

"Come on, sloth imitation. Take us to the door," Jimin says, but gives up when he sees Jungkook lying next to me.

"Jungkook, I'm sure you really like your video game, right?" Seokjin asks, and in a jump, Jungkook gets up.

"Are you really not taking us to the door?" Yoongi asks, and I remain silent. "Okay then."

When I open my eyes to see what he was going to do, I feel an arm gather and squeeze my legs while a hand starts tickling my feet furiously.

"JESUS!" I scream in surprise.

I heard laughter as I fought for my life. The strange feeling that tickling brought made me confused if I was laughing because I found it funny or if it was fear messing up my nervous system. The laughter increased as I writhed and screamed for help.

"YOONGI, YOU JERK!" I said without realizing that I was actually yelling.

"Weren't you sleepy?" Yoongi asks. "So, I'm trying to help you."

"WAIT UNTIL I GET UP, YOU PIECE OF BROWN SUGAR, I'M GOING TO END YOU."

"Are you going to take us to the door?" he asks.

"OKAY, OKAY, I'LL TAKE YOU, JUST STOP FOR THE LOVE OF GOD," I yell.

I feel my body calm down and my brain start functioning again as the tickling ceases. I looked at Yoongi who was laughing while sniffing his hand.

"Ew, you have smelly feet," he says, and I get up.

"Come here, you little jerk," I chase after him as he runs away mocking me.

After a few seconds, I could already feel that the 70% of water in my body had evaporated and the air in my lungs was scarce. When did my body become so sedentary?

"Idiot," I curse Yoongi who laughs. "I hate you."

"I love you too, beautiful thing," I hear him say.

Finally, I accompany them to the door. After a lazy farewell, I see them about to leave, but a click in my mind makes me stop them.

"As you know, I graduated from college, but since it was at the time when my father died, I didn't have any enthusiasm to celebrate. Adora recommended that I have a celebration the day after tomorrow night, since it's the weekend. Just to not let it go unnoticed. So... you guys are invited."

"We'll be here, don't worry," Namjoon says, and I smile nodding.

We say goodbye again, and this time, I see them leave. Seeing the elevator door close, I go back inside the house. The smile on my face never leaves me for a second, and finally, after so long, I could feel that things would really be okay.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Thanks to Adora, everything was organized on time. The food was ordered since neither she nor I wanted anyone to die from food poisoning. The time we ended up in the hospital the day we cooked for each other was enough. No need to repeat the dose.

I check the time on my phone and see it's 8pm. They would arrive at any moment, so I sit next to Adora on the couch to chat until then.

☂ ☂

Some time passed, and the boys still hadn't arrived. I look at the time again and see that it's 9:46. I try not to think the worst and choose to believe they would be here soon.

☂ ☂

I sigh deeply at seeing what time it is: 11:14. I try to ignore Adora's pitying look and get up from the couch. I suppress the tears once again. I am tired of crying. And more than ever, I realize that they don't deserve my tears.

"Cassandra..." Adora calls me, and I look at her. "I'm sure there's an explanation for this. Something must have happened at the company, and they couldn't let us know." I shake my head.

Something inside me told me that wasn't it, and I decided to trust my intuition.

"Adora, can you take me to the dorm?," I ask softly. "I don't think I'll have the courage to go alone," I weakly smile, and she nods.

"Of course, my love. Of course..." ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The car journey lasted less than I wished. My mind was constantly clouded by memories, anxiety making the painful memories hurt twice as much. I laughed in disbelief. I wondered what I had done wrong to deserve this.

"Thank you for bringing me," I look at Adora. "And thank you for always being by my side in difficult times. If I felt supported and loved, be sure that it's all because of you. You're an amazing person, Adora, and I hope you know that." she smiles.

"Regardless of what happens there, remember that you are enough. Not for them, but for yourself. Don't belittle yourself for them, Cassie, and don't let the love you feel for them speak louder than your self-love. If you survived two hellish months without their presence, be sure that you can live your life and be immensely happy in the future without them. I guarantee you that," I feel her hand squeezing mine for comfort, and I smile. "I'll be waiting for you here," I nod.

I get out of the car, feeling Adora's words take effect. I walk bravely towards the towering building, ignoring every feeling of nostalgia trying to invade me. I couldn't lose focus now.

Arriving on their dorm's floor, I feel my heart skip a beat. I pause for a moment and try to put my thoughts and feelings in order. Seeing no result, I lean against the wall and try in every way to avoid a panic attack that was about to come. As if it were a heavenly help, I feel my phone vibrate. With trembling hands, I pick it up and see a message from Adora.

"Don't forget, you are strong and capable. And never for a moment think you are alone, because I'm here for you."

I clutch my phone tightly. Adora is right. I am strong and I am capable. I can do this because regardless of what happens, I will be okay.

I take a deep breath, gathering all the strength and courage from my being, and knock on the door. I freeze when I realize what I've done, but I quickly compose myself. I will be okay.

A few seconds passed and no one answered, so I knocked again. But just like the first time, there was no response. After the third attempt, I decide to enter. Typing the password on the door, I entered the dormitory.

Upon realizing that there was no one in the main hall, the pounding of my heart calmed down. I begin to walk through the dormitory, recalling every good moment I had with my boys. I feel the sadness emanating in my chest once again.

I really didn't want to lose them.

As I walked down the corridor, I heard voices coming from the kitchen. I started walking with firm steps, but I felt my legs waver when I heard a female voice among their voices. It was her.

"Jungkook-oppa, you're so silly," I hear her delicate laughter, feeling jealousy burning in my chest.

It should be me there.

"The silly you love," I hear Jungkook reply.

I could hear the happiness in his voice. It was as if they didn't need anyone else at the moment but her. And that made me hate her, but my own mind scolded me. She is not worthy of my hatred. She is as innocent as I am in this story. She did nothing to hurt me, so why would I hate her?

"Hinnie," I hear Hoseok's voice.

Hinnie...

"Try it and tell me what you think."

There was a moment of pause until applause and sounds of appreciation were made.

"It's amazing, oppa," she says. "You really keep improving in the kitchen every day."

Unable to bear it anymore, I think of simply turning around and leaving, but something catches my attention. And it was precisely there, in that moment, that I regretted staying.

"Why do I feel like we're forgetting something?" I hear Taehyung say, and I feel my body tremble.

Once again, there was a pause until someone shouted.

"Shit, really," Jimin said. "We forgot to take the drinks out of the freezer."

I feel my heart break, as if that were possible. I let out a disbelieving laugh and finally come out from where I was hiding.

"And try more of this," Hoseok suddenly stops. "Cassie..."

I hear the sound of something falling to the ground. Soon, everyone was staring at me wide-eyed. I repress the urge to laugh. I realize how messy my whole body was the moment I wanted to laugh and not cry.

"Oh no," Jimin says, as if remembering something. "The party."

With that said, everyone becomes even more desperate. Seeing them approaching, I panic.

"Don't come near,"

They quickly stop. I see them not knowing what to do. And it wasn't just them. I end up getting disoriented with so much pressure. Where did my courage go when I needed it most?

"Um... what's going on?" she asks, and I close my eyes.

It's not her fault. It's not her fault...

"Ji-Hye, could you leave us alone for a moment?" Namjoon asks.

"Yes, of course. It's time for me to leave anyway," she gets up. "I'll see you later," she says bowing both to them and to me.

After she left, silence hung in the air. I tried to hold back my laughter, but when I saw everyone's confused faces, I knew I had failed. When I noticed that no one was going to say anything, I took the initiative.

"Do you know what's more disappointing? It's that I really thought this time would be different," I shrug. "I guess I was wrong, wasn't I?"

"Cas..."

"Do you remember when you asked me if I had something to say, Jinnie? If something was hurting me? Well, I do, and I hope I won't be interrupted."

With no response, I continue.

"I feel like I died. It's been a while since I am just surviving," I start. "The fact that you didn't come to the visitation isn't the part that hurts the most, it's that you weren't there when my father passed away. I remember how desperate I was, and the only people I could think of were you. But you weren't there. Damn, you didn't even call." I whisper as tears fall freely down my face. "When I found myself alone in the hospital, realizing that the person who adopted me and chose me to love had died, that was my first death. The person who loved me, who looked beyond language or race barriers, and who taught me everything I know had suddenly left, without even giving me a chance to say goodbye. Do you know how I felt? Devastated."

I pause for a moment. Melancholy takes over my body as I recall all the feelings I felt that day, and for a moment, I allow myself to cry all I needed. I sob so much that I thought I might choke. Without caring about looks or pity, I just allowed myself, knowing that everything would be okay.

"When I called the only people I thought I could count on, and they told me they were coming, I didn't feel so alone," I let out a humorless laugh. "Until I realized that those people never arrived. The people who always said they would be there for me weren't there when I needed them the most. That was my second death," I look at Jin. "Don't say these things to anybody if they are not coming from your heart. Don't hurt anyone else by saying you have their backs or that you will always be there for them when in reality it's not the truth."

I look at each one. Their gazes were distant, as if they were reliving every moment.

"You know, I don't want you to think I'm mad at Park Ji-Hye. Actually, quite the opposite. I was really happy when you said you met someone nice. Someone who really cared about you and genuinely wanted your friendships. I know how tough it is for you to find real friendships with all the fame, so I felt fulfilled too. I remember telling daddy excitedly, and he laughed at my excitement, happy for you and for me. Right after that, I lost him, and little by little, I lost you too, like I was meant to be alone," I smile weakly. "I am sorry if I'm being selfish, but that's how I feel. You guys forgot my birthday. Forgot the visitation days, and to top it off, you forgot my graduation party. It's like you replaced me as if I never even existed in your lives, and that really hurts. Really.''

I finish, and only then I realize they were crying with me. Some didn't have the courage to meet my gaze. We spent a few minutes without anyone saying anything. The only thing filling the air was the sound of our sniffles and sobs.

"On the day your father died," Namjoon begins. "We felt like we had lost a family member because he was, in fact, one. I am truly sorry, Cas, but for me, Park Ji-Hye's fall was an escape. I didn't want to face reality. I wouldn't know how to react to the loss of someone so special, and I also wouldn't know how to act with you," he looks at me.

"On your birthday, we thought you would like to be alone. It would be the first without your father, so we didn't know what to do, Cassie. We panicked," Jimin sighs. "But now I realize how you felt," he laughs humorlessly. "My God, I never thought I'd be such a horrible friend. What a disappointment," he whispers, covering his face with his hand.

"On visitation days," I look at Hoseok. "I confess that I clung to any opportunity not to go, Cas," he cries. "Not because I didn't love you. I love you, and I love you very much, but I never knew how to react to death. The only two times I entered a cemetery, I spent the rest of the week feeling bad, with depressive thoughts. I also couldn't let Armys worry. I didn't want their 'Sun' to lose its brightness. I am so sorry for not being able to tell you this before. I didn't want to seem selfish."

I suppress a disbelieving laugh.

"Hearing all this, I realize how futile our apologies seem," Yoongi laughs weakly. "But they are true, Cassie... I understand what Hoseok says. You know about my history with depression, don't you?" he asks, and I nod. "It's the same thing for me. If I enter a cemetery, my thoughts don't stop. Some come in a worse form, and I feel like I'm going crazy."

"We were selfish, Cas," Seokjin says. "I was. I didn't want Armys to see us sad because I knew the chaos it would be. I have no words to express how special you are to me," he pauses. "Cassie, you are my sister, my family. You weren't crying alone; I cried with you. I just couldn't show it. I knew it would be worse if I saw you cry, just like I am seeing now."

There was a moment of silence. Until his voice broke.

"I am sorry," Taehyung says. "Damn, I don't even know what to say, Cassie. You are one of the most precious people I have ever met. I remember how you stayed with us through thick and thin. I also remember how happy you were for us at the beginning, and I know the genuine happiness you felt when we received our first award. You stood by my side when my grandma passed away. How could I not be by your side too? My God," he puts his hand on his head in an act of despair. "You stayed by our side when we thought about disbanding. It was you who helped us see why we are here, who helped us find reasons to stay," he looks at me anxiously. "How could I be so selfish?"

"We thought that regardless of anything, you would always be by our side. That you would understand us, even with our deplorable attitudes. We always thought we would have you next to us, so we neglected you," Yoongi shakes his head. I feel like he answered more to Taehyung than to me. "Damn, anjinho, I'm sorry," I lower my head as I hear him call me by the nickname I loved so much.

"The fact that we started a new friendship also influenced us," Jungkook says. "We were so excited that someone, besides you, wanted a friendship without interest that without realizing it, we put aside the one that had been with us from the beginning," I hear Jungkook say muffled, as his two hands covered his face.

"We don't deserve you, Cassandra. We left you at the most difficult moment of your life, and yet you never stopped loving us," Yoongi pulls his own hair, a habit he always did when he was nervous. "We can't let you leave thinking that we don't care about you because, Cassie, that would be a complete lie. With the stress of the comeback, things only got worse. It was rehearsal, recording, agendas to fulfill, productions, trips, tours. Our minds were a mess, and Park Ji-Hye tried to help us from there. We know she's not the one to blame, and it's not your fault either. It's ours and only ours. I know this will seem like a lame excuse, but I didn't want to let you go thinking that you aren't precious to us. You are Cas. And you always will be."

I close my eyes and try to control my breathing. If before I felt bad, now I feel ten times worse. It seemed like I didn't even know them anymore. The feeling of comfort they made me feel was replaced by anguish. By sadness.

I open my eyes, and for the last time, I look at my boys. I realize that Taehyung understood my gaze.

"Cassie, please... Please don't..." Taehyung starts, but is interrupted by Seokjin.

"Don't you dare say what I think you're going to say."

"But I can't lose her, Hyung. I can't lose her," Taehyung says, crouching down.

I think about going to him, but then I retreat my body. If I do that, I know my heart will weaken, and at the moment, the only person I need to think about is myself.

"I'm sorry, hyung, but I'll be selfish," Namjoon says to Seokjin, and I look at him confused. "I don't know what your decision will be, Cassie. I'll support you, even if you choose to leave without our friendship. But I beg you... Cassandra, I implore you, try to find in yourself a little piece that doesn't want to give up on us. It doesn't have to be now. I want you to heal, and I don't care how long it takes. The only thing I ask is that you don't forget us and don't give up on us. Come back to us when you feel ready. I don't want to lose you, Cas. I..."

"I really hope you find a way to forgive us, Cassie. But understand that if you don't, we'll understand. You, more than anyone else, have every right to hate us," Yoongi says, interrupting Namjoon. "I hope you don't forget about us because, with all my heart, we won't forget about you."

I feel my heart shattering with every tear that falls on their faces. I smile weakly. I will really miss them.

I bow in a sign of respect, and as I return to my normal position, I raise my hand to my heart.

"Thank you, my boys. For all the good moments. You were a very important part of my life, which I will carry forever. I will never forget about all of you," I smile faintly. "How could I forget my first true friendships? My first loves?" I whisper.

I take a breath and smile. A true smile. A smile of gratitude.

"Regardless of what happened, you guys deserve nothing but love and happiness. Don't let anyone say otherwise. Even far away, please remember I will always be cheering for your success. And whenever you feel unloved, remember I love you. Very, very much.'' I can hear their sobs getting stronger. ''Don't think I blame you for what happened; I think I finally understand that life has its ups and downs. People come and unfortunately go," I see Taehyung desperate, trying to find something to say. I look away. I need to be strong. "I hope that every day your friendship with Park Ji-Hye grows, and that you take from all of this a lesson.''

I take a deep breath, looking at them for the last time.

''From the bottom of my heart... I wish you to be immensely happy."

In a gesture, I send thousands of kisses. I see Tae wanting to approach, so I turn around and start walking towards the exit, and this time, I don't cry. I feel the weight of sadness in my chest, but the weight of peace for having put everything I felt out was greater. And for the first time in two months, I believe it when I say that everything will be okay.

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gayf1hoe · 3 months ago

Text

Part 11

“Y/N I have something to tell you” he says, his left eye clearly twitching a little.

“Sure what is it?” I question.

“Well it's just over the past two weeks I have really enjoyed getting to know you and I think I have developed strong feelings for you”

I'm taken aback by his declaration, it's not that I don't feel the same way, it's the fact I don't know how I feel. I'm just starting to free myself from the stress and constraints of dating Max. I don't think I'm ready to even think about dating another driver. Plus Ollie would go mad if I started dating his friend, it would ruin his and Kimi's friendship as Ollie feels a sense of duty to protect me from everyone I have ever dated.

“Kimi I have feelings for you too but I'm only getting over Max and I don't want to rush into anything prematurely”

“It's fine, I understand it will take time,” he says.

I'm kind of shocked as to how well he has taken the rejection, well it's not really a rejection it's more of a “keep that thought for later on”. I pull out my phone and put on a Netflix show and we sit by the lake engrossed on the screen. With the sounds of the occasional bird and grasshopper chirping echoing around the lake. As it's not that far from the motorhomes I can still hear some of the drivers and then I hear an obnoxiously loud females laugh and I'm not one to be egotistical but I know every driver's girlfriend's laugh but this is one I don't recognise until I look up and see Kelly and Max engaged in a water fight around 15 feet from me and Kimi abruptly disrupting the tranquillity.

“Let's go back” I suggest.

“No,” Kimi says, grabbing my arm as I stand about to get up.

“He's trying to make you jealous and antagonise you. He has all that space behind his own motorhome but decides to do that infront of you it's just a ploy to upset you, don't let him get to you”

I sigh, easing up and sitting back down before turning up the volume on my phone in an attempt to drown out the obnoxiously loud laughter from behind us that is ringing in my ears. It's at times like these I wish Ollie was here and not Kimi because by now he would have gone up to Max and insulted him a few times and we would have left, not having to endure the pain of hearing them two kissing passionately. When we broke up and Ollie found out he sent a text to Max saying:

“Stay away from my friend you Sid the sloth looking dick”

Needless to say Max didn't reply and Ollie didn't need to do that but for some reason he feels it's his duty to protect me despite me being older than him. He's like a parent away from home. Constantly checking up on me and trying to shield me from the real world despite me being a fully grown and independent adult, although many would disagree with the second point.

After a while the sun has really set and the breeze is starting to pick up so I suggest heading back. On our way back the ground beneath us still soaking from Max and Kelly throwing water at each other, providing yet another reminder of their presence outside my head as well as inside it.

As we approach my door I see a letter on the floor and pick it up before Kimi notices, my delusional brain thinking it would be a love letter or something from Max, him apologising and saying he made a mistake but then I remember there are 2 things on earth Max Emilian Verstappen has never done and that'd apologise and admit he was the one in the wrong.

As I pull the paper out of the envelope I see the VCARB logo and see that it's just my copy of the contract for next year. I kind of forgot I told Laurent to drop it by today.

“What's that?” Kimi questions.

“It's my VCARB contract for next year” I say, shoving the paper back in the envelope, it only has the typical Red Bull family performance clauses like “you must finish the year no more than 5 places less than your teammate” and how many points I should be scoring over the course of the weekend.

“Do you want to go out tomorrow? He proposes.

“Sure, where do you want to go?” I ask.

“Well I actually saw a flyer today for skydiving”

“Absolutely not,” I shout.

“Come on, it will be fun,” he pleads.

“There is nothing fun or appealing about jumping from a plane by yourself”

“You aren't by yourself you will be strapped to an instructor”

“Male instructors?” I have a question.

“If you want”

“Say less I'm in”

The next day I am stood in a plane thousands of feet up in the air and now I'm really starting to regret saying yes to this. It's not that I'm afraid of heights. I think it's very reasonable to be scared of jumping out of a plane and having your life depend on a sheet of fabric to stop you from plumbing to earth and dying. The instructor said that nothing ever goes wrong but the videos I watched on YouTube last night and this morning say otherwise.

Kimi of course goes first because this was his idea so if anyone should get hurt it should be him. After this goes well it's my turn. It takes me 5 minutes just to crawl to the open door and when I look down I can just feel my stomach sink. We swing our legs over the side of the aircraft and move to sit on the edge of the floor, the instructor counts us down and as he says “1” I tense up my muscles and close my eyes. It seems like an eternity of weightless drifting through the sky before the ground comes into clear view and I've never been so happy to see a patch of dead grass.

When we land I take a moment to just lay on the ground and become more appreciative of it. Kimi however asks me if I want to go again.

“I would rather sign a contract with Alpine than jump out of a plane again”

We take off all the gear and walk back to the car, well I attempt to walk as my legs feel like jelly and I can't walk in a straight line.

“So what do you want to do now?” Kimi says, fastening his seatbelt.

“I want to sit down for at least a few hours”

“It wasn't that bad, you're overreacting”

“Did we not do the same thing because last time I checked we jumped out of a plane thousands of feet up in the air.”

Ollie texts both of us asking if we can go out and do something together so we agree to meet up and go to a karting track although my legs still don't feel very strong so I don't have high hopes.

Ollie Is waiting for us when we get there and he looks pissed because we are late but the traffic is not our fault.

“I don't want to know why you two are so late” Ollie says in a suggestive tone indicative of something other than the real reason.

“Calm your tits Ollie there was traffic, if this wasn't last minute we would have been here on time”

“It's fine we have got the track for an hour anyway”

We choose our karts and get changed into our race suits and helmets and head to the start line. We chose our starting position by doing rock paper scissors and obviously I won with Kimi being P2 and Ollie P3. Ollie of course wasn't very happy but I said it will be a very realistic race for him not starting on pole.

Immediately as we get underway I am spun by Ollie who does a dive bomb into the first turn so when I catch up to him I return the favour and push him wide but our fighting allows Kimi to capitalise and take the lead but I let him have a false sense of security until the last lap. As I pass him I maintain eye contact with him and watch his face change when he realises he hasn't won.

“That's not fair, I want to go again. He distracted me by looking into my eyes with his amazing eyes,” Kimi complains.

“Mate, that's my best friend, don't talk about him like that, it's disgusting”.

Ollie's comment definitely takes Kimi aback a little but he soon realises that Ollie was just joking and didn't actually mean it so he eases up.

“You know if you two are dating you can tell me I'm not going to kill him”

“Ollie I can reassure you we are not dating yet”

“Yet?” Kimi and Ollie say in unison.

“Well you can never tell the future and Kimi is rather good looking”

“Stop right there Y/N you are going to make me be sick” Ollie says fake gagging a little whilst Kimi’s face flushes fully red.

After dropping Ollie off me and Kimi head to a park that's nearby to watch the sunset. It's quiet and beautiful. I watch Kimi's face increasing in engrossment.

“Kimi” I say breaking the silence causing him to turn his face towards me.

“I've been thinking and I would like to give us a go”

“Are you serious?” He exclaims.

“More than ever”

He immediately lunges onto me wrapping his arms around my torso slightly restricting my breathing before placing a delicate kiss on my lips.

“I promise I won't be a dickhead like Max”

“I know you won't because Ollie would make your life hell”

We decide to take a photo of us in front of the sunset and post it on Instagram and immediately the comments start flooding in.

“They are definitely dating”

“Kimi Is way better than Max”

“So did Max not matter at all to him for him to move on so quickly”

“Some of you seem to forget Max is literally dating Kelly so I have no idea why you are coming for Y/N”

Then Ollie phones us shouting down the other end “Kimi if you hurt my friend I will put you in a box in fact worse I will sabotage your car on a race day”.

With the Spanish Grand Prix rapidly approaching I can't help but feel glad that the triple header is coming to a close it certainly has been a long few weeks of endless meetings, mistakes and interviews and I can't wait to have a weeks break and then come back and do it all again, but me and Ollie are going to Italy during the off week and i'm sure I can convince him to let Kimi tag along as well.

The entire paddock is pretty much packed up with just the motorhomes being left behind but even some of them have been moved along with most of the drivers. Sauber is leaving tomorrow, but the great thing about having a motorhome is that I don't have to pack up any of my stuff. I can just leave it where it is, and hope none of it falls out of the cupboards during transportation.

When Kimi and I approach the door we can see Max stumbling around obviously drunk, which has become a reoccuring theme for him lately. Anyone would have thought he was miserable in his new relationship with Kelly, but that's not my problem. He sees me holding hands with Kimi and immediately approaches us. As he gets closer the stench of alcohol and sweat increases and when he speaks the pungent smell of alcohol radiates from his breath.

“Well what’s going on here” he says practically shouting for all the remaining drivers to hear.

“Go to bed Max you are drunk”

“See Kimi he still cares about me”

“No, I don’t, its just annoying having a dick stand outside your door and harass you”

“You know what your problem is Y/N?”

“I really don't, do enlighten me Max”

“You still love me because if this is anyone else you would have told them to fuck off by now but you havent”

I turn around and enter the motorhome leaving Max to endure the stench of alcohol by himself. When we enter the motorhome Kimi just gives me a slight smile and I walk off into the bathroom dowsing my face with cold water to bring me out of this nightmare that is my life.

At some point in the night I hear a lightly tapping against the thin metal sheets of the motorhome and assume its a branch from one of the overhanging trees swaying the wind, but it gets louder and turns into a loud knocking sound and somehow kimi is still fast asleep so I can't help but wonder how this man would act if someone was breaking in. I get out of the bed and go outside which goes against everyone's natural instinct because who goes outside when it's dark, windy and there is a strange sound. It's like the start of every horror movie to exist. When I do eventually pluck up enough courage to go to the place where I heard the sound I soon realise its max throwing little rocks against the side.

“What the actual fuck are you doing?” I exclaim, trying not to raise my voice above a whisper.

“Throwing stones”

“Yeah no shit Sherlock I can see that but why?”

“To get your attention”

I look around into the 3 AM darkness and look down at myself only wearing a baggy t-shirt and underwear and say “well it worked, What do you want?”

“This” he declares.

Before I can even question what “this” is he makes our lips collide and he wraps his arms around my waist and begins to pull me closer into him. The stench of alcohol from earlier has reduced, indicative of him sobering up a little. I feel the urge to pull away but my body isnt letting me. He begins to bite my lip a little causing me to groan and he seems to find ecstasy in my pain. He then moves down to the neck , biting at it whilst his hands simultaneously play with my underwear's elasticated band and that's what causes me to push him off.

“Max I can't do this im sorry”

I then run off back into the motorhome and get back into the bed like nothing ever happened and pray that that's the last time I fall victim to Max Verstappen's charms and upfront nature.

The Spanish Grand Prix has always been one of my favourites but that might have something to do with the fact that Fernando Alonso is my racing idol and the fact I dedicated my childhood to supporting him and attending every race I could to see him, so it's a great honour to race against my hero at his home race but it doesn't mean I'm going to go any easier on him.

During the press conference it's me, Alex and Max and I'm in the middle of the two. Me and Max haven't said a word since the whole whatever you want to call it outside the motorhome. I'm praying he was still drunk at that point and can't remember anything from it but I keep on seeing him smiling at me from the corner of my eye. The interviewer keeps on directing questions at us that require me and Max to speak together like: “How Is Sauber bringing the fight to Red Bull?” It's almost like the media want to see us speak after breaking up.

“That interviewer really wanted you and Max to speak” Alex comments as we walk across the paddock.

After the press conference interview I go and sit with Kimi as he's a little pissed at how much the interviewer was trying to get me and Max to talk he was also pissed at how Max was looking at me and I can't understand why because I was getting annoyed in the interview with Max constantly staring at me.

Ollie pulls me aside and for some reason he looks angry as well. He pulls me into some side room and makes me sit down before he starts speaking.

“You need to get Max in line”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean tell him there's no chance of you two getting back together because if he continues like this it's only going to hurt Kimi and you may be my best friend but Kimi is also my friend”

“I can't tell Max what to do”

“Tell him you don't love him and to leave you alone”

“I can't”

“Why not?”

“Because I still love him”

Ollie looks stunned and confused at how I could even still live Max but even though he hurt my feelings I couldn't just stop loving him overnight after all I loved this man since day one so it's a bit hard to just turn off my feeling for him

There is about 5 minutes of just pure silence before Ollie speaks up again.

“You need to decide between Kimi or Max and fast”

Race day. The past 2 days have been hell Ollie has been on my case every 5 minutes asking me about my decision between Max and Kimi and I'm not going to lie he's starting to annoy me which is something he's never really done before. My head was full of thoughts yesterday during qualifying and my performance reflected that only being good enough for P5 on the grid today.

We get off the line well and I make up a place straight away as Charles had a poor start that allows me to capitalise.

On the very last lap I'm fighting for first against Lewis when Max comes up behind us and he dives into the turn hitting me and nearly taking himself out.

“What a fucking idiot”

Thanks to Max winning the Spanish Grand Prix is off the table but if he thinks I'm letting him get second he must be deluded. I return the favour and make a brave dive on the last turn to take back second and whilst it's not the race win I still beat him which is more than enough for me.

In the cooldown room when he walks in I don't even acknowledge his existence. In the interview less than 5 minutes ago I called him “reckless” and “childish” so I doubt I'm the last person he wants to talk to.

“good race out there” he says, extending his hand for a fist bump but I leave him hanging.

“It was until you tried to take me out” I say quietly so the cameras can't pick my comment up.

#male reader #f1 #f1 x male reader #charles leclerc #charles leclerc x male reader #racing #kimi antonelli #kimi antonelli x male reader

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solarisstyles · 1 year ago

Text

WARMER

Pairing: Harry Styles x Reader Word Count: 3.2k+ Warnings: fighting, angst, discussions of feelings, neglected friendships Summary: Your friendship with Harry is on the rocks, forcing you to admit your feelings for him. A/N: None!

read part one here

4 years later…

Nothing has changed since that day with Harry. Aside from the fact that you were more confused than ever on where you both stood. When he wasn’t on tour, he was with friends, and sometimes you. It was kind of like doing backflips to get Harry to hang out with you now. Everytime you’d randomly send him a text, asking to hang out, he would already have plans. So, you eventually stopped reaching out, letting him be the one to make a move if he wanted to really spend time with you. Of course, that resulted in several arguments of you both yelling the same thing back and forth to each other.

“I ALWAYS HAVE TO REACH OUT TO YOU. YOU NEVER CALL ME ANYMORE!” Harry screamed over the phone.

“Because you ALWAYS have something else going on, Harry. You’re either busy when I call or already have plans with people!” your voice was strained, trying desperately to not cry. You couldn’t let him hear how much this broke your heart. How much he was breaking your heart.

You decided that night, that if he wouldn’t listen to you, that your journal would. You started out just simply writing, but it evolved into a heartfelt letter. A letter to Harry you swore he would never see. Everytime a big fight would happen, or you would find yourself overwhelmed with feelings, you’d write Harry a letter. Most of the pages in your journal had wet spots on them from tears you’d cry as you poured your heart out to the pages before you. You didn’t care though. It helped relieve the pain some.

The first big crack Harry ever put in your heart, was the night he randomly dropped on you that he had a girlfriend. A girlfriend he’d been hiding for six months. The way he told you though, tore straight through you.

You were having one of those rare nights where he was able to spend time on the phone with you. It was so nice to hear his voice, until you could hear the shift in his tone, like he was nervous to tell you something.

“So, asking for a friend, but what would you do if the girl you were dating for six months now, just ghosted you for four of those months?” The random bombshell made your heart lurch up your throat.

Giving a small forced laugh, you attempted to joke with him, “Is this your way of telling me you have a girlfriend?” you asked.

“No, no I’m genuinely asking for a friend.” he assured.

“Well, I’d dump her. She’s clearly not really into your friend then.”

“See! That’s what I’ve been telling him but he won’t listen!” Harry exclaimed.

Laughing softly, you carried on with another conversation topic you’ve been dying to tell him about. In the middle of your story, he dropped it on you, “I’m the friend.” he quickly said.

There was a beat of silence, you looked at the wall in front of you, waiting for it to open up and swallow you whole. “What?” you asked, wanting to make sure you heard him right.

“I’m the friend with the girlfriend.” He clarified, voice slightly shaky.

“You’ve had a girlfriend for six months and you didn’t tell me?” Your voice cracked, wavering some as you processed what he was telling you.

He was hesitant to speak, scared of how this conversation was going, “I thought I told you…”

“No, you didn't, Harry.” you bit back. “Look I gotta go.”

“No, please I-” without letting him finish, you hung up, freely letting your tears fall and your broken sobs fill the room. You began to reflect back on your time with Harry over the past couple years. He never wanted to take photos with you, anytime you hung out felt like a secret and you had to sneak around, he got upset when you would mention a funny memory you have with him to another friend. You felt dirty, small, insignificant. Were you only good enough when nobody else would pick up the phone? Were you only good enough when he had nobody else to hang out with? Were you just a last option to him now?

You didn’t know when it got to this point. You felt blindsided even though it was in front of you this whole time. Like a snake just waiting to strike when you least expected it.

The next call you got from Harry was on Valentine's Day, you really didn’t know what to expect from him anymore, so you answered with caution, “Hello?”

“Hey…” he softly said, you can’t recall ever hearing him speak so gently. “I, um, I broke up with her.”

You weren’t sure what kind of response he was expecting. You were still hurt that he hid the relationship from you. The worst part was that you didn’t even know why he hid it. You thought you were both closer than that. “I’m…sorry?” was the response he got instead.

“Don’t be. It was a crappy relationship anyway.” he mumbled.

It was silent for a few minutes, and you could feel the tension building in your chest. “Is that all you wanted to tell me?”

“No, no! I also just wanted to say happy Valentine’s Day. I know it’s your favorite holiday.”

He was desperately scrambling to try and make things normal. He hated the divide that seemed to be growing further and further between the two of you. Harry would never admit how much this was hurting him too. He knew what a dumbass he was being and deeply regretted acting the way he was. It was so second nature for him to tell people you were his best friend, but he wasn’t treating you like it.

“Thanks. You too Harry.” you softly replied, wanting to keep the conversation short. “I gotta go, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay, I understand.” it was an open endearing statement, but you both knew what he meant behind it.

You wrote another letter to him that night.

The second time Harry left a crack in your heart, was embarrassingly in front of his friends. You were lucky to have the night off and catch one of their local shows. It was electric and you could see the pure joy and love for the music on all their faces. Harry belonged on that stage.

After the concert, you all hung out for a while, having a few drinks and just enjoying each other’s company. It’d been a while since you hung out with the whole group. It felt like old times that you held close to your heart.

When it was time to leave, you followed them out to their bus. Standing back so they could pack up the last of their things, you stepped forward to give Harry a hug. “Love you.” you whispered low enough where you thought only you two could hear it.

“Yep.” Harry replied, quickly letting go of you.

“Okay, Harry.” you said, instantly annoyed and hurt.

“You can say you love her too, Harry.” Mitch scolded, hearing the interaction between the two of you.

“I’m treating everyone that way, it's no big deal!” he exclaimed, doing a piss poor job of recovering the situation so he didn’t look bad. Walking around to all of his friends giving them a awkwardly quick hug, and trying to pull you and Mitch into a group hug.

You pushed him off of you, “Don’t touch me!” you exclaimed, stepping away from him. This earned a collective round of ‘ooooh’s from the others.

You tried to ignore the hurt look on Harry’s face. He didn’t deserve your pity after treating you this way.

Gathering your things to leave, Mitch stopped you and pulled you into a gentle hug, “It was nice seeing you tonight. I’m glad you could make it.”

Hugging him back, you held back your tears that so badly wanted to rain down your cheeks, “I’m glad I could make it too. You guys did amazing.”

Giving the others a hug as well, you quickly made your way to your car without a second look back. You were glad you didn’t, or you would have seen Mitch going off on Harry inside of the tour bus, and his face contorted as he tried not to cry, watching as you walked away.

You wrote him another letter that night as well.

Over all you had a total of five letters written so far. You read through them one evening with a looming sense of dread hanging over you. Maybe you and Harry weren’t meant to be anything more than friends. It was a hard pill to swallow, and an even more harsh reality to accept. Setting the journal on your bedside table, you laid down and sobbed into your pillow.

How could you be so dumb to fall for your best friend? Why was he giving you so many mixed signals? Did he want you or did he just like being your friend? You thought back to all the hopeful moments he put in your head.

The custom Hogwarts acceptance letter he got you for Christmas, he knew you were obsessed with the series and it was something you both bonded over. But the kicker was he said that would be the perfect gift for a girlfriend. Then there was the time he talked to you about the type of engagement rings he would like to get for the girl he marries. Making random comments about how certain rings would look on your own hand.

There were also the sweet messages he would send you while he was traveling, “I’m trying to send you a picture of the stars from the plane.” he texted you one evening. It took you back to the night you first hung out by yourselves. Sitting on the back of your car and using a shitty constellation app on your phone to look at the sparkling sky above you.

It was moments like these that made you think you were possibly getting warmer. That he would finally make a move. It was starting to seem more and more unlikely though as time went on.

You stopped answering every time he would call. You stopped replying to every text. Pulling yourself away was the only way you knew how to cope. It was your way of accepting how things were.

The next time Harry was in town, he made a beeline for your apartment. Banging on the door loud enough to startle you even though it was 11:00 pm. “Who the hell?” you mumbled, walking over to your door, peaking through your peephole to see Harry standing there with his hands in his pockets, anxiously looking around.

Opening your door, you could see the distress all over his face, his body even seemed tense. “Hey…” he said, trying to be casual.

“Harry, it’s late. What are you doing here?” you asked, concerned something was seriously wrong.

“I couldn’t-...I couldn’t sleep.I needed to see you.” shifting his gaze from you to the ground, he worried his bottom lip between his teeth. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have shown up like this.”

You could feel your anger bubbling over. It didn’t help that he caught you at a vulnerable time of drowsiness. Staring him down, you wondered how he could be so oblivious. Any other time, you’d welcome him into your home without a second thought, but right now you really just wanted to slam the door in his face.

Your strong resolve was crumbling and quickly. You didn’t want to fight with him where it would be a disturbance to your neighbors, so you opened the door a little more and stood to the side, “Come in.”

Once he was inside, you closed the door and returned it to its locked position. “Go sit on the couch, I need to grab something from my room.” your instructions left no room for argument, walking down the hallway to your room before he could protest.

Opening the drawer to your bedside table, you pulled out the journal and held it in your hands. They trembled slightly as you thought about what you were about to do. This was going to either make or break the both of you, and you couldn’t help but think it would break you. He needed to know though. He needed to read all the pain he’d put you through along with all the happiness. You’ve never put your heart out on the line like this for somebody and you always swore that nobody would have this kind of hold over you. Harry snuck in though and wrapped himself around your heart, and if he wasn’t going to take care of it, then you needed him gone.

Slowly making your way back to the living room, you found Harry sitting on your sofa like you’d instructed. He must have felt that he was dancing on thin ice with you and knew it was best to just listen at this point. He didn’t even think you’d answer the door, he didn’t deserve your kindness.

He looked up at you as you came to stand in front of him, clutching the journal to your chest.

You looked back down at him, jaw set and body tense as you thought of what to say. “This…this journal holds some of my most intimate thoughts and feelings. I started writing a while ago as an outlet. What started as a diary for nobody to see turned into a book of letters to you that I swore you’d never see.” a shaky sigh parted your lips. “But, now I think you should.” holding the journal out to him, you watched as he hesitantly looked from you to the book. He seemed almost scared to touch it, as if it would burn him. A twisted part of you hoped it would.

Hesitantly taking the book, he sat it in his lap and looked down at it, like he was trying to telepathically will it to tell him what it said without having to open it. He looked genuinely scared, almost making you feel bad for doing this. You had to stay strong though.

Crossing your arms over your chest, you sniffled softly to clear your nose, “I’ll be in my room to give you some privacy.”, walking back to your bedroom, and softly closing the door. You sat in bed, staring a hole through the door as you waited for a response. Your phone couldn’t even distract you from the jack rabbit pace your heart was beating.

It was cliche but minutes truly felt like hours, and the hours felt like days. It was nearing 1:30 am now and you were starting to wonder if he’d left. Just as you were about to get up and do a sweep of your apartment, there was a soft knock at your door. You felt your heart lurch to your throat once more. It was Harry on the other side, but your heart was beating as if there was an intruder in your home. In a sense he was. He almost felt like a stranger to you now, a spark of hope was still lit inside of you though.

Opening the door, you were once again met with Harry’s face, except this time, his eyes were bloodshot, dried tear stains on his cheeks, and his eyelashes still wet from the tears he’d cried. Now he was the one clutching the journal to his chest, shifting his gaze to the ground in shame when your eyes met his own.

“I don’t know where to begin.” he sniffled, “I know sorry won’t change anything I’ve put you through. I didn’t deserve to know any of this after how I’ve treated you.” his voice cracked half way through his sentence, making your own heart ache.

You stood in silence, letting him gather his thoughts so he could speak his own feelings to you. Putting on a brave face so he didn’t see how absolutely nervous you were.

“I’ve been a horrible friend to you. I don’t deserve to even be standing here right now or holding this journal. Worst of all I’ve been so painfully blind to how you feel about me. When I look back on it, you made it so obvious. Truthfully the thought of you being in love with me scares me, because I’m in love with you too, I’ll fuck up though, I already have.” his face contorted as he began to cry again.

Your own eyes started to sting with unshed tears, your chest began to ache as it felt like your heart was constricting within you. Words failed to escape you as you tried to find a way to comfort him. Nothing could express how happy you were that he didn’t run like he always would. He didn’t push you away this time.

Stepping forward, you wrapped your arms tightly around him, hugging him close to you as you rested your head on his shoulder.

Dropping the journal, Harry was quick to wrap you in his arms as well, resting his head upon your own as he cried. “I never meant to break your heart the way I did. I thought I was protecting us both by keeping you at a distance. I’m so sorry.” His hand cradled the back of your head gently as if you would break in his arms more than you already have.

Your own tears now stained his shirt, knowing your feelings were finally heard, and seen felt like the biggest weight off your shoulders. Like you were able to drop a boulder you’ve been carrying for so long. “I forgive you.”

“I don’t deserve it, but I’m so happy you do. Because I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you.” his eyes were screwed shut, soaking in the feeling of you finally being in his arms like he wanted you to be for so long.

“You were my friend before anything Harry. I wasn’t going to let our friendship die over this. But I needed you to know how bad it was hurting me.”

“I understand.”

Standing in your doorway, the both of you stood in silence as you held one another. Eventually the tears were dried up and the exhaustion began to set in. “Do you want to stay the night? I’m so drained.” you asked, feeling like your eyelids had a ten pound weight resting on them.

“I don’t want to be anywhere else.” Harry assured you, rubbing your back softly.

Moving to your bed, you both laid there, facing one another in the now dark room. You could feel Harry looking at you, as you were looking back at him. “I love you.” he whispered.

“I love you too.” you whispered back.

Feeling him shift closer to you, and his arms wrap around you once more, your face cuddled into his chest as the exhaustion pulled you under.

Harry stayed awake till he felt your breathing even out, letting him know you’d fallen asleep. This wasn’t how he was expecting things to end up when he showed up on your doorstep. As he fell asleep with you in his arms, he thanked whatever higher power there was that things turned the way they did.

#harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fic #harry styles x reader #harry styles one shot

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asukaskerian · 10 months ago

Note

omg #2 from the arranged marriage prompts but with grimmichihime, where ichigo and orihime are already in a relationship and maybe even engaged but a war with hueco mundo/aizen faction leads to an arranged marriage deal where orihime is sworn to grimmjow in the hopes of ending the war... the drama of it all

2. Royalty AU - To end a war IT'S 2K LOOOONG sobs. also do not ask me about the worldbuilding i don't want to think about it because i WILL try to figure it out andm qvbv bqjhrvb f. yes. that.

anyway.

"You ain't supposed to be here, princess."

The girl's lower lip quivered; her brows scrunched down. A child's attempt to appear fierce. Grimmjow snorted, leaning his hip on the fancy chest of drawers he'd been saddled with for this farce. Embroidered shit from Hueco Mundo and local kimono bundled side by side, a present he hoped to never use again.

"I know. I thought--"

"You thought you'd see me without a chaperone and make double sure we got hitched?"

The twisted tangle of her hands came apart into fists. "No!"

Hooo. Grimmjow tilted his head, regarding her. She had a baby face; he'd have thought her sixteen instead of twenty had he not read the reports. Her hands clenched in her high-waisted, pleated skirt and he couldn't help but notice that it had been rigged so the hem was higher, easier to move in; underneath were dress uniform pants and laced-up ankle boots. Probably how she'd managed to climb his balcony -- but for a princess she sure wore some foreign style underthings.

"No?"

"No," she repeated, anguished, and then breathed in and out to steady herself, eyes closed. "That isn't why. I just -- there hasn't been a moment to talk to you directly, and I think -- you probably don't know. About me."

"Ah. Last-ditch attempt to have me break it off."

"I'm not actually a princess, you know."

She lifted her chin like she expected shock, anger. Grimmjow laughed. "Oh yeah?"

"I'm not!"

"You got the mark of the Soul King. Right? One of his fancy powers."

"Yes, but -- Grimmjow-san, that's not. I'm a commoner, I-- I was legitimised last year. We don't even know what branch I come from for sure." She met his eyes, sad but resolute. "My mother was a prostitute. This marriage alliance -- it's an insult."

... Haa. He reclined against the wall, arms crossed loosely, watching her. Trying to be brave, to be honest and good. She was gonna be devoured alive.

"I'm only a duke as a way to keep my rebellion in check."

"--Ah?"

He snorted. "Don't even got a single drop of blood in common with Aizen, but I had enough support that he needed a way to break my power base in two and put a leash on me. So now the anti-royalty have ditched me and the rest have been fuckin' appeased by thinking I have a chance at the throne whenever he kicks it, but he won't. Guy's fully intending to become immortal somehow."

His voice had gone bitter by the end. He swallowed it; pointless to show too much emotion to someone so ill-suited to court. She would never keep the secret tight enough.

He was gonna have to carry her back home to the royal palace and be saddled with keeping her in one piece, though. Another weight chained to his ankle, disguised as an attempt to make him more palatable, give him more appeal to the cowards of the capital.

"So he knows..." she whispered, a slow horror rising as she started to understand the implications. "He won't break it off."

"Nah. Gonna wait until we're married and then make a fuss about suddenly discovering it to gain an advantage against your country, probably." Or take Grimmjow down a peg by starting rumors at court. Or both. Aizen was nothing if not efficient.

His fiancée (how fucking alien a word, related to him) pressed both hands against her face and muttered to herself for a bit. Grimmjow left her at it. He probably had letters to read--

"I'll run away," she blurted out.

Grimmjow gave her a nonplussed look. "What the fuck. Who do you think is gonna hunt you down then?"

"You won't find me."

He pushed away from his perch, took a few slow, gliding steps toward the girl. She didn't step back, chin up, feet set, like a glowing ball of bunion-healing power was gonna keep her safe from him.

... She really thought he wouldn't find her, too.

Grimmjow had never lost a quarry and the whole continent knew it. She didn't seem that stupid.

"I thought you wanted to stay home, but that's not even it, huh," he mused, voice low, looming to see how much pressure she could take. "What's your reason? Can't be your previous fiancé."

Shocked indrawn breath. "You knew about him?"

"Sure. Had to know if you were gonna pop out a really premature baby, didn't I."

The girl flushed, said nothing. He didn't even get the impression that this was why she was so desperate to stay home -- that she had celebrated her previous engagement too early.

"But you can't marry him and live in his back garden, now can you," he kept going, testing, searching. "The fuck are you thinking? Think some bland civilian schmuck would give you a nice little life hidden away in the attic?"

The way her eyelids twitched on certain words needed to be trained out of her at some point.

Her guy, she believed wholeheartedly, could and would hide her -- had the ability, or had the connections; had the determination. Her guy would take the risk of putting the Four Noble Houses on his ass...

Because they were already riding it anyway.

Grimmjow barked out a laugh. She stared at his widening grin, and her hair pins pulsed with glowing gold, like now she was properly wary of him -- of a man from an enemy country who outweighed and out-reached her and of whom everybody would say he had a right to do to her whatever the fuck he wanted.

A pretty girl like her had to know his kind of man was dangerous, and yet she was only afraid now.

"You guys are in the rebellion."

He was only barely surprised when the window swung open and a man in battered samurai armor plunged sword-first at him.

He was slightly more surprised when the rejected beau -- some nobody from the cadet branch of a fallen noble house, from the reports -- managed a slash and a swipe at a surprise angle that clanged hard against Grimmjow's not-so-decorative vambrace.

Nice.

Grimmjow drew his blade, and while the man was distracted eyeing it, kicked him solidly in the guts, folding him in two. No armor but two pauldrons to get in his way; the room was large enough to maneuver. He rolled low, swiped his feet out from under him as the guy wobbled back up, lunged --

Got kicked off in a way that sent him crashing through a folding screen. The wood splintered noisy like a gunshot. He rolled to the side, behind the low table, kicked it upright to break the guy's charge and then shouldered it straight onto him. Ahh, noisy, so noisy, Aizen was going to be so pissed off. Grimmjow couldn't stop grinning.

Their swords rang against each other, sliding until they locked at the guard. Grimmjow leaned in to smile. The guy had the same kind of forthright, justice-blind eyes as the girl. Well-matched pair of idiots. He hated it.

He shoved forwards with his superior weight, feinted left, right, punched. Was a little appreciative whent his fist was almost blocked, parried enough to lessen the impact.

But the guy's sword was longer than his, so now that Grimmjow was under his guard he was fucked. He aimed the point of his sword--

Golden god-light, impassable. Jarring his arm to the shoulder. He tried to go around the side and it only grew to cut him off again, and then suddenly it was blooming out like a sail catching wind and shoving him back.

His fiancée stepped forward, hands joined at the fingertips before her chest. "Don't fight!"

Ah. Not just a small healing ability, then. The powers inherited straight from the Soul King seemed to be very random when all put next to each other, but also... people usually didn't get more than one. Interesting. Did Aizen know? Was he trying to sneak her out from under the Seireitei's nose? Or had she managed to hide it even from him? Grimmjow pressed a hand to the barrier and while it didn't hurt him, it also didn't yield at all.

"No fighting! Sh-- Kurosaki-kun, we know things about him too. He won't -- he won't sell us out. Right?"

He watched her give soft entreating looks to her old boyfriend, the boyfriend slowly shift to stand before her. "I guess" was the first thing Grimmjow heard in his voice, quiet and roughened by doubt and effort.

"Don't know why you're pretending not to be a Shiba when you could be the clan head's ginger body double."

"Well see, usually when I'm committing treason I wear a mask," Kurosaki-Shiba replied dryly, and discreetly eyed the room for an escape route.

Grimmjow had turned them around, though; he stepped right in the middle of the wide open window, opening his arms, and crooked his fingers invitingly.

"I... don't suppose you're planning to let us pass through."

"You can come right into my arms, sweetheart." He turned his wrist so the edge of his sword would catch the lamplight.

The next look was toward the door, but the noise they'd made had not been subtle. The corridor was filling up with hotel employees and guards from Grimmjow's country -- who knew better than to barge in without his say-so, but weren't going to disperse without having put eyes on him either.

Shiba's sword stayed up for long seconds of narrow-eyed wary thought before the point flagged down. "Fine. What the fuck do you want."

What did he want... Hm. Shiba had good fighting instincts. Could be better, though, sharper. The princess was a little sneakier and a lot more powerful than she seemed. Their righteous fervor was gonna grate on him something awful very soon...

Aizen had a leash on him, but the only real leash on them would be through Grimmjow, and they didn't like him enough to stay their hands out of fear for his safety.

He dropped his sword, tossing it onto an abandoned sitting pillow. Baffled, the lovebirds stared at him with dumbly blinking eyes.

Grimmjow smiled, slow and languorous, as he undid his waistcoat and tugged loose his shirt laces, letting the cloth slide open over his chest.

A twitch, a yelp, two blushes.

Cackling, Grimmjow tackled them both around the waist and let his momentum carry the three of them right into his bed.

"Whoa whoa what the fuck?!" "Iyaa, wait, wait--" "What are you--"

The mattress bounced under their combined weights. Cackling, Grimmjow sat up, straddling them both, and wasn't shy about digging in his knees. "Welp, looks like we're all compromised now. Gonna have to marry you both."

The shriek that came out of Shiba was higher than even the princess' voice could reach. He seemed to have switched from trying to punch Grimmjow's nose in to pressing both hands to his chest to keep him away, as if Grimmjow was even seriously trying to lean close. Virgin bottom behavior. Even the girl was still earnestly trying to knee his balls back inside his body.

"Ahh, shut up, I'll scratch your backs if you scratch mine. Yeah? We can all benefit from this."

And he threw an abandoned book at the door, making it clank obviously enough that the guards would decide it was sufficiently like a knock and check in on him.

As the door creaked open, he decided to indulge his captives' panicked squeakings -- had to start things off on the right foot if he didn't want to have to deal with too many knives in his household, after all. Princess was yammering about how he couldn't marry Kurosaki-kun who wasn't a maiden at all and boys couldn't marry boys and anyway she didn't want him to be a concubine but you couldn't have two main wives--

"Ah, don't worry, in my country you can marry whoever the fuck you want." Behind the bed the room was filling up with rubbernecking guards, come in to stop an assassination attempt and discovering a tryst instead. Ignoring them utterly, he grinned into her wide, wide eyes, her scarlet face. "It's gonna piss everyone off, I can't wait."

#grimmichihime #Asuka writes #bleach #writing meme

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moljh · 2 years ago

Text

Unwanted Reunion

Eddie Munson x Reader

Summary: You convince your husband Eddie to attend his 10 year high school reunion and as expected it doesn’t go well.

General fluff, mentions of sex, minor violence

Unedited

This was your first time in Hawkins, despite your efforts to persuade your husband to bring you back to his hometown, he had always had a strong stance against it. But when the letter arrived in your mailbox notifying you of a 10 year reunion, you had badgered him until he finally agreed.

You had been with Eddie Munson since college. You'd met in a class that he later dropped out of, but continued seeing each other after that. After Eddie dropped out he opened his own mechanic shop, which gradually grew to multiple stores which were all incredibly successful.

Eddie always made little side comments about getting married but he didn't build up to ask you until the day of your graduation. Your family and friends had been there and whilst you were too busy trying to watch where your cap had been thrown to, Eddie had gotten down on one knee.

You'd been married for 5 years now and you loved Eddie more that you could've ever imagined.

The drive to Hawkins was easy, most of the roads were pretty flat in this area, according to Eddie's constant facts. Despite his continued trivial knowledge, you knew something wasn't quite right as he only rambled like this when he was nervous or trying to get something from you.

"What's wrong?" you bluntly questioned him

He kept his eyes on the road and replied dimly "Nothing’s wrong"

"Eddie" you said in your warning tone, causing his eyes to flick over to you "what's the matter? You've been acting strange ever since we left home?"

"It doesn't matter" he assured you "it's stupid"

Despite his clear desire to drop the conversation, you knew he wanted to talk. He wasn't as hard to read as he'd like to think and you especially could read him like an open book.

You softened your gaze and softly said "It's not stupid, c'mon, what's wrong?"

He let out a small sigh "You know how I always say you never would've dated me in high school?"

"Yeah..." you replied, unsure how this related

"Well there's a lot more reasons behind that then you think. I wasn't exactly liked back then"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I went to school in a small town in the 80's, people didn't exactly like different and I was pretty different"

Eddie continued to tell you more about himself, most of which you knew and some you hadn't expected.

"You've seen the pictures, I had tattoos, I listened to metal and played D&D. People thought I worshipped Satan and was evil, I wasn't really liked or even wanted around, they were probably all glad when I left"

"I'm sorry Eddie" you said placing your hand on his knee "If you don't want to go to this thing we don't have to, we can just go and visit Wayne and then drive home tomorrow"

"No," he said "I want to you, I want to go in there and show them all that I didn't end up in jail like my shit dad and I made something of myself"

You squeezed his leg and coughed a little reminding him of you presence.

"And I landed myself a fucking hot ass wife!" he shouted

You laughed at his choice of words.

"Ok, I'm glad" you reassured him

"Yeah, me too" he said

"I'm also glad I brought two different outfit options just in case"

Eddie looked at you sideways, raising a brow "what kind of outfit are we talking about here?"

"Remember your birthday?" you smirked

You could see the wheels turning in his head as he thought back to then "I think you might be arrested if you go naked"

You smacked his leg in response "No you idiot! What I was wearing before that!"

"Ooooh..." he said in realisation "Oh yeah, that'll do it"

It seemed to amaze you that despite distance and state lines, somehow the interior of a public high school always looked the same. The same linoleum flooring and white walls with some sort of colour attempted to be painted onto them.

As you walked inside, you could feel Eddie's grip tighten around your arm. Making your way down the hall, Eddie glanced around at the lockers and pictures along the corridor.

"See that locker?" Eddie whispered to you, pointing out at one

You looked in the direction and assumed it must've been his "That's where I made a pass at Mindy Cornwell and then her boyfriend punched me"

"Eddie!" you looked at him horrified "why would you tell me that?"

“Hey, you're the one that wanted to know my high school experience..." he defended "not my fault it was shit" he muttered

Coming to the end of the hall, you walked up to the table that was set up at the entrance of the sports hall. From where you were you could already see the obscene amount of decorations and lights beyond the doorway.

"Name?" the blonde lady in front of your asked, giving you a smile and looking down at her list

"Edward and Y/n Munson" you said

The expression of shock was evident on her face, she didn't do anything to bother to conceal her expression and even felt so bold to do a double take.

"Is there a problem?" you insisted, feeling rather observed

"No, sorry" she spluttered, searching the table for the name stickers

Picking them up, she handed them over to the two of you and you headed on in.

"Hey relax" you whispered to Eddie, gently giving his forearm a squeeze "we're in, one part down"

"Thank you," he said, pressing a soft kiss to your head "you know your amazing right?"

"Only cause you like to remind me" you laughed "c'mon, let's see if we can find Robin, she told me she was coming tonight"

Making your way around the room, you noted the large 'Class of '86' banner along the wall. You were surprised at how many people were already here, though based on what Eddie had told you, it seemed like most of them hadn't moved away.

Just as you were about to finish your lap of the room, you spotted the person you were looking for.

"Robin!" you exclaimed, pulling away from Eddie and dashing over to your friend.

"Y/n!" she shouted back bringing you into an embrace "how are you?"

"I'm good, how are you?" you asked, then noticed her lack of companion "Where's Sarah?"

"I'm not too bad, unfortunately she got called back into the hospital last minute"

"That's a shame, I was looking forward to seeing her again"

Over the years you had met a few of Eddie's friends at random times, but when they had all come to the wedding you got to see the true chaos of them together. Since then, they had all come and visited you occasionally, and you had visited them as well. So you'd gotten to know them all and become pretty close with Robin.

"Hey Rob" Eddie cut in, re-joining your side "guessing y/n's already beaten me to the small talk and niceties?"

"I'm afraid so Eds" Robin sarcastically remarked, shaking her head slightly "unfortunately once again your gorgeous wife had proven she's far too good for you"

The three of you continued to chat and catch up as the evening progressed. You could tell Eddie was doing his best to avoid heading back into the larger group, but you didn't mind, you were here for him, not for yourself.

"Hey," you interjected "I'm just going to go grab a drink"

"Did you want me to get it?" Eddie offered

"No, that's ok"

"Ok, well can you get me one as well?"

"Sure"

Weaving your way through the crowd made you way over to the table covered in food and drink. As you were getting yourself a wine and Eddie a beer, you overheard something that caught your attention.

"Oh my god did you hear the freak is here tonight?" one voice said

"I can't believe he isn't in jail or dead" another spoke

"I heard he's going bald and is broke and he's back in town to move in with his uncle"

"No, no, apparently he's here with a woman, Michelle said he brought his wife!"

"You're kidding!"

"No way! She must be blind or stupid if she married Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson"

You stood there stunned for a moment as the realisation that these grown women were gossiping about you and Eddie hit. You weren't sure what to do for a second, as you registered their mean words and childish behaviour.

"Sorry can I just get past you?" a voice pulled you away, glancing up you grabbed your drinks as a blonde haired man stepped beside you

"I'm sorry, just lost in thought" you politely smiled

"Don't worry, just getting a top up" he laughed, gesturing to the empty beer bottle in his hand "I don't seem to recognise you, did you go here?"

"No, no" you replied "I went to school in North Carolina, I'm here with my husband, he's the one that went here"

"Oh really, what's his name, I might've known him?" he asked "I'm Jason by the way"

"It's nice to meet you Jason," you replied "his name is Eddie, Eddie Munson..."

Once again that evening, a shocked look fell over another persons face. This man who you'd known for all of five seconds gave you the biggest look of bewilderment and confusion.

"Eddie Munson?" he finally said, questioning you as if you'd said the wrong name "Eddie Munson is your husband?"

"Um yes..." you replied, unsure why he was so confused by your words

"How the hell did he get someone like you?!"

You weren't sure how to answer that, so you just tried to defuse the situation by laughing, though it sounded more nervous that you would've liked.

"Well it was nice meeting you Jason, I better get back" you said, trying to rush away, suddenly very uncomfortable by the change in conversation

You quickly walked back over to where Robin and Eddie were still standing and you quickly rushed to Eddie's side.

"I'm so sorry" you told him, cringing at what had happened

“Why are you sorry?" Eddie questioned, raising a brow

"I may have accidentally just spoken to your least favourite person here..."

"Mrs O'Donnell's still alive?" he said in shock

"No you idiot" you shot back "Jason Carver"

"Oh, that makes much more sense" he paused for a second and then huffed out "why?"

"I didn't mean to, he just started talking to me and by the time I worked out who he was it was too late to just run away"

You couldn't hide away for much longer, as you spotted out of the corner of your eye, a few people looking your way. Gradually as you heard Jason's words get louder, presumably with the help of some more alcohol, more people began to notice you. Usually you wouldn't care about people looking but it was clearly making Eddie uneasy.

Before you knew it, Jason and a few others that looked just like him, appeared before you.

"Jason" Eddie said flatly, trying to not acknowledge him

"How did you do it Munson, actually what did you do?" Jason laughed not wasting any time and clearly a few drinks in "You knock her up and force her to marry you or are you just paying some random hooker by the hour?"

"Fuck you Carver" Eddie replied, clearly angered by his words

"Oh the freaks got a backbone now does he?" Jason said, moving closer towards Eddie "cause last time I remember the only thing you were good at was running" he spat

Eddie didn't give Jason time to react, let alone retaliate. In one strong hit, Eddie swung and Jason was on the floor. Everyone gasped at the sight and you heard Robin shout some sort of profanity.

Your eyes widened at your husbands sudden act of violence but you didn't feel sorry for the excuse of a man on the floor. Somehow amongst all the shit talking, it clearly hadn't been mentioned that Eddie did hard physical labour all day and wasn't just playing board games anymore (though you did still have the box in a cupboard at the house).

"Don't speak like that to my wife again you asshole" Eddie said, grabbing a hold of your arm and marching you out of the gymnasium

He didn't say anything as you two rushed out into the night and towards your car. You still were sure exactly what was happening, it all played out so quickly, you hadn't had time to process.

"Eddie, woah, woah, just stop for a second" you begged

"I'm so sorry y/n" he said, looking back at you with hurt eyes "I never should've come tonight, I knew that it wouldn't have gone well"

"Hey, stop... This isn't your fault" you said, bringing your hands up and gently holding the sides of his face "I'm sorry I forced you to come"

"This isn't your fault either" Eddie was quick to reply, "let's say it was no one's fault and move on?"

"Sounds good to me" you smiled "though I do have to say it was pretty hot you knocking that jackass to the ground"

"Well I'm glad it looked good cause it fucking hurt my hand" Eddie muttered clutching his right hand "but I wanted to seem cool"

You couldn't help but laugh at your hopeless husband. Even in the shittiest situations he managed to be ok and make something funny, which is something you loved about him.

"I am sorry about what he said about you," Eddie said in a more sincere tone "no matter how much they hate me, that was just wrong to say all those awful lies"

Wrapping your arms around his waist, you breathed in his cologne that had been the same since you met.

"How about we go?" you suggested and the two of you got into the car

As you were driving along, the headlights guiding your way on the dark road, a realisation popped into your head.

"You know..." you said, pausing for a moment, trying to think over your words "It wasn't all lies"

"What?" Eddie replied clearly confused "Um... Unless you've changed jobs, last time I checked you weren't a cheap hooker

"No, that's not it" you said

Eddie clearly wasn't listening to you, lost in his own train of thought "I'd hope you'd at least be a high class one, for politicians and stuff, you know, important people" he went on

"Well I'm glad you think I'd made a good hooker" you chuckled

"Only the best for my girl" he smirked at you

Rolling your eyes, you looked down at your feet for a second.

"No Eddie," you softly said "I mean... technically you did knock me up"

Your words just about made him crash the car.

In a flash Eddie had pulled over on the side of the road and flung around to face you in the passenger seat.

"What?" he stared at you blankly "are you serious?"

"Yeah" you smiled nervously

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit" he excitedly shouted

He froze for a second and suddenly looked back at you again.

"How long have you know? How far along are you?" he rambled

"I've known for about two weeks now, and the doctor says I'm only a month along"

Once again Eddie froze and he didn't utter a word for at least a few minutes, which had to be some sort of personal record.

"That fucking dress!" he exclaimed "God it really was a good birthday!"

You couldn't help but burst out into laughter as Eddie put the pieces together. Hopelessly smiling at your husband, he pulled you towards him and held you tightly as the excitement of what was to come became reality.

#stranger things #eddie munson #eddie stranger things #eddie x you #stranger things eddie #eddie munson x reader #eddie fluff #husband!eddie #stranger things one shot #eddie oneshot #eddie munson oneshot #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #eddie husband #eddie munson husband #husband!eddie x reader #husband!eddie munson #one shot

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