#7 hour shift quickly turned into an 11 hour shift and i want to lie on the floor

[jynxraven513]

am finally home bc i stayed at work 2 hours later than my shift because we ran out of everything again and i wasn't about to just yknow, leave without making some attempt to prep things when i know night shift will be just as busy.

mostly bc i was not about to let a teenager get slammed with a scheduled 40 top plus nornal saturday night business (plus holiday business) with absolutely nothing prepped.

so i prepped literally everything and now am very very tired and still have not eaten but shall remedy that shortly.

[kireimarkeu]

wild heart; l.dh

+repost, i did not make any changes to this fic.

summary: where your best friend starts to fall for you 

2.5k words

[11:36 PM] movie night

"No, Hyuck! Geez!" you groaned, your hand pressing onto his shoulder brutally as you reached up to snatch the remote control from Donghyuck's grip. 

He winced when you pinched his shoulder, settling down on the couch then stuck his tongue out at you in a teasing manner. You crossed your arms with a pout, looking away from your best friend. 

"Are you being pouty, right now?" he asks, taking a look at you before a burst of loud laughter left his lips. "it's my turn to choose the movie though," he says, pressing onto the buttons on the remote to turn on the same movie the both of you have watched millions of times.

"I don't want to watch To All The Boys I've Loved Before for the 50th time," you grumbled him, scooting further away from the boy sulkily.

He stops pressing the buttons on the remote, "well, what do you want to watch then?" he asks you staring right at you, while you didn't spare him a single glance. 

You raised your eyebrows at him in confirmation, he only nodded positively. "A new movie just came out and I wanna watch it with you."

He chuckled, "with me?"

You nodded, "it's an action movie."

He pretended to puke, then looks at you with a disgusted look, "I only watch rom-com, dummy. How could you not know that? You're my best friend."

You rolled your eyes at his statement, "the only rom-com you watch is To All The Boys I've Loved Before."

He scowled at you and threw the remote at your direction, hitting you softly on the thigh. "Fine."

You could only grin in satisfaction as you turned on the action movie you have been dying to watch. Once the movie started playing, you shifted closer to Donghyuck and laid your head comfortably on his lap.

[6: 43PM] he helps you find clothes

"Wait- I don't think I look good in this," you say from inside the room. 

You were told a few days ago that your brother was getting married, so you needed a new dress to wear to the wedding. You didn't hesitate to call your best friend for help, knowing he was the best at being completely honest.

You stared at your reflection in the mirror, a frowned plastered on your face. Donghyuck had picked a few dark blue dresses to match with the theme. 

You finally tried on the last dress, the one Hyuck had been waiting for you to put on. It was something you have never worn before. It was just so- revealing. 

There was a slit all the way up to the thigh, a V-neck in the middle that ended just right above your belly button. And, god- why was it so tight? It hugged your curves just right. You felt so naked.

Donghyuck rolls his eyes and replies, "I'll be the judge of that."

"But I look really bad in it," you say, turning to see your side view in the mirror, "I think dark blue doesn't suit me."

Donghyuck rested his back against the wall as he stretched his long legs. "You're already ugly, it doesn't matter."

"Lee Donghyuck!"

"Did I lie?" he asks, "Did I fucking lie??"

You let out an annoyed groan and unlocked the door, peeking your head out to look at the boy who was staring at you with lazy eyes. 

"I look so bad," you whined, "can I just change and find another dress?"

Donghyuck sighed, "We met at 1 pm, it's almost 7 now, y/n."

You pouted, opening the door wider as you stepped out of the room to let Donghyuck see the dress. 

Donghyuck's eyes widen as his heartbeat started to pick up its rate. The dress you wore is stunning, why didn't you like it?

"You look..." he lets out a low whistle. "you look great, why do you not like the dress?"

You shrugged, "I don't know, maybe because it's not me?"

He rolls his eyes, "well you're shopping for a dress, of course, it won't feel like you."

You turned back around to face the mirror in the room again. With Hyuck's reassurance, you felt slightly more confident. It did suit you. Maybe the dress wasn't so bad. 

You turned back around to face the boy, "do you think I should really get this?" you ask Donghyuck. 

He nodded, "just make sure you wear lots of makeup. Or else the dress would go to waste," he joked. 

You turned to send him a sarcastic smile, "great! Now let's shop for shoes!" you tell him, earning a groan from the boy.

[11:18 AM] when you call each other pet names

You didn't know how it all started. You weren't sure if you were the one who started it- probably Hyuck since he was a lot more playful. But the both of you have playfully called each other pet names in front of everyone. 

"Do you want some, baby?" you ask Hyuck, bringing the spoon filled with rice to his lips. 

You could feel everyone on the table staring at the both of you. 

Donghyuck nodded, opening his mouth to let you feed him, "Thanks, babe." 

The table fell silent. 

"Are you guys...?" Jeno trailed off with raised eyebrows.

The both of you raised your eyebrows, waiting for him to finish his sentence.

"Dating," Jaemin completes the sentence for his friend.

"Are you guys dating?" Jeno repeats, his eyes wide in confusion. 

You scrunched your face in disgust, "me and Hyuck? Hell no!" 

The table fell silent as they all stare at your best friend.

Perhaps Hyuck's heart broke when the words left your lips without hesitation. Perhaps he did have thoughts of the both of you dating.

Jeno had a surprised expression plastered on his face, "O-oh, well you both were calling each other pet names, so I thought the both of you were already dating."

Already? What did Jeno mean by that?

You shrugged, "I don't know how it started, but we both started using it and became comfortable with the nickname."

"Yeah," remarked Hyuck, "we're just really comfortable with the name."

[9:09 PM] sleepover!!!!

You: r u coming??

You: hyukkiii

You: babyyy

You: why are you taking so long D:

You: can you RUN

You: i'm going to eat all the nuggets >:(

Right when you sent the last text, you heard a loud knock on your door. You ran to the door and unlocked it as fast as you can. You were met with Donghyuck in the matching blue pyjamas that you had bought for him when you went to Jaa. (You had forcefully made him wear the matching blue pJ's whenever the both of you had a sleepover.)

"You're so slow," you complained, pulling your friend in by his arm. "Did you bring the snacks I told you to?" 

He lifted his hand to show you the bag filled with the snacks that you were craving for. "Just admit you invited me because you want to bring food."

You turned to Hyuck, feigning a confused expression, "I would never," you expressed dramatically. 

Hyuck rolls his eyes at your words. "I'm choosing the movie," he tells you, plopping on the couch, reaching for the remote quickly before you could snatch it from him. 

You empty the bag filled with snacks that Donghyuck left on the table. "Fine. Make sure it's not another rom-com."

Donghyuck whines, "what's wrong with Peter and Lara Jean? They're so cute together!"

[11:21 PM] dancing together in the living room

Both of you have ditched the movie he chose and decided to play music instead. Hyuck was in charge of music since he had better taste. 

Suddenly, your favourite song, Feel Special by Twice started playing. Your eyes widened in glee as you stared at Hyuck. You immediately stood up and started dancing to the choreography terribly.

Donghyuck could only laugh as you dance offbeat. You stared up at him with shining eyes, grabbing his hand in yours before pulling him to stand next to you. 

Without thinking, you started dancing next to your best friend. Donghyuck lifted his hand that you were holding above you to twirl you around. 

He couldn't afford to ruin the moment. He loved seeing you this way- so carefree and happy. It would be a lie if he didn't feel butterflies in his stomach seeing your eyes shining so brightly. 

[1:56 AM] he sings you to sleep

After hours of singing and dancing, you finally grew tired. You suggested that both of you should head to bed if Hyuck wanted to get breakfast tomorrow. 

"I'll sleep on the couch," Hyuck says, grabbing some of the pillows on your bed. He pressed his hand on each of the pillows, he didn't like pillows that are way too soft.

You frowned at your friend's words. "I changed my bedsheets for you," 

He turned around to look at you with raised his eyebrows, "what?"

"I made space for you in my bed," you explained, "cuddle me~"

You weren't sure why you wanted him to sleep with you. You just wanted to be in his arms. 

Honestly, Donghyuck was nervous. The last time the both of you cuddled was months ago. Usually, he didn't feel anything while both of you were laying together on your bed, but this time, it felt different. 

He felt his heartbeat starting to pick up its pace, his face turning crimson red from your whines and your pouty lips.

"You want me to cuddle you?" he asks again, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He didn't realise he was clenching onto the pillow that he was holding this whole time. 

You nodded cutely. "Just like the old-time."

Right. Just like the old time. 

"Okay."

Within a few minutes, you had Hyuck's arms protectively wrapped around you, while your head rest neatly on his chest. You snuggle closer to your best friend. 

"Donghyuck-ah," you yawn, your hands fisting his grey sweatshirt. Earlier, Donghyuck had claimed your dorm was too cold so he put on his sweatshirt that he had left at your place last time.  

"Hm?"

"Will you sing me to sleep?" you ask quietly.

You felt Donghyuck's hands thread through your soft hair, "do you want me to?"

You nod, "I love it when you sing."

And without hesitation, Hyuck started singing softly in your ear while you slowly went into a deep slumber. 

Donghyuck tried his best not to move around too much when he knew you were deep asleep. He tilted his chin down to stare at your features. He slowly let his finger trace your nose down to your lips.

"Y/N," he breathes, "why am I feeling this way?"

[2:03 PM] playing with your hair

You were currently seated on the floor between Donghyuck's legs. He had his hands tangled in your hair, occasionally twirling it around his fingers or braiding it halfway. 

"Ow," you winced when you felt a particular tug from your hair. "That hurts, you bitch," you cussed at your best friend. 

"It wouldn't if you actually wash your hair," he argued back, his hand threading through your hair, untangling your long brown locks. 

Donghyuck loved to make sarcastic remarks about everything. But one thing he would never admit was that he actually loved your hair. He loved the smell of your hair; it wasn't strawberry or coconut. It was nothing of the sort, the smell of your hair made him feel like he was at the right place. With the right person. 

He loved the natural soft curls you had on your hair. It was unique. The soft curls you had, made you become you. 

He would often hear you complain about how you hated your curly hair and how you wanted to straighten it. Or how you wanted to have your hair dyed brown because you hated your black hair. 

"Should I cut my hair, Hyuckie?" you asked from below, tilting your head upwards to look at the boy.

"Hm?" he asked with raised eyebrows, looking down at you, "I think short hair would look good on you," he says truthfully.

"Well, I'm not planning on cutting it real short, maybe until here?" you say, pointing on your shoulder. 

Donghyuck let's go of your hair, "you'll look good, baby. You don't have to worry."

[12:01 AM] he kisses you

You didn't know how the both of you ended up in this position-- you in-between his legs, one of his hand resting on your cheeks while the other was planted on your waist.

The both of you were so close, one move and his lips would be planted on yours. 

"y/n," he breathes, his hand trembling slightly, "can I kiss you?"

Your heartbeat started to pick up, how long has Donghyuck been waiting to ask you this? 

Your eyes linger on his pretty pink, pouty lips. You slowly nod, pulling him closer to you by the strings of his hoodie. 

His lips crashed onto yours in a matter of seconds. His lips were so soft, you just wanted to kiss him forever. Your hand thread through Donghyuck's hair while you breathe through your nose. A minute passed, and both of you finally pulled away. 

You breathed heavily as a giggle left your lips when you saw his swollen red lips and messy hair. 

You bit your lips nervously, "wanna make out?"

He pretended to think then he looked at you with stars in his eyes, "I don't make out with my friends."

You kept quiet, dumbfounded by his reply. Was this all a joke to him? You pulled away from Donghyuck but he prevented you from doing so by tightening his grip on your waist. 

You looked up at him, tears already brimming your eyes. You were embarrassed and disappointed. 

"y/n, will you be my girlfriend?"

[2:09 PM] you both get ice cream

"Two chocolate ice cream cones please," Donghyuck ordered, his hand reaching out to pay for both of your desserts. 

"Aww," you playfully punch your boyfriend while he winces in pain, "you're paying for my food?" you ask, wrapping your arms around his bicep while batting your eyelashes in his face.

He sends you a disgusted look, "do you even have a single cent on you?" he replies sarcastically.

You stick your tongue out and push him away from you, "fuck you, Lee."

Hyuck grabs both the ice cream cones and hands one to you while the both of you leaves the ice cream parlour. 

You happily licked your ice cream while the satan next to you bites his ice cream. You didn't say anything though, knowing it was his habit since he was young. 

"Babe," Donghyuck calls from beside you. 

"Hm?" you turned around only to feel the coldness of the chocolate ice cream resting on your nose. "Lee Donghyuck!" you yelp, punching his chest and arm.

Your boyfriend only laughed loudly as he tried to dodge your soft and weak punches. 

"Wait, wait," he says, one hand holding onto your arm to stop you from punching him. He slowly leans down to press his lips on your nose, kissing the cream off your nose. 

Pulling away, he was met with your blushing face. He couldn't help but plant another soft kiss on your lips. 

[wind-becomes-lightning]

Private Tutoring - Electricity

Once again thank you for reading and reblogging :) I love writing for this it is so much fun.

Eventual Smut, so PG 18. (not this chapter but the story itself)

Pairing: Kakashi x Fem!Reader

Chapter 1 - Enjoyment | Chapter 2 - Warmth | Chapter 3- Electricity | Chapter 4 - Urgency | Chapter 5 - Amazement | Chapter 6 - Heat | Chapter 7 - Lightning | Chapter 8 - Pleasure | Chapter 9 - Satisfaction | Chapter 10 - Intimacy | Chapter 11 - Tumbling  | Chapter 12- Love | Chapter 13- Future // End

Ao3 Link [x]

You get some french lessons.

“Is everything okay at your current position?”, your supervisor asks, brows raised. You are bowing, one knee on the ground in front of him to give a status report: “Yes, sir.” A month has passed since you have been assigned to your new position. You have found yourself at ease with it, comfortably working around the schedule of Lord Sixth, who only ever calls you to have a friendly chat with you or to do other things. It is interesting to be around so many people, watching their behaviour from afar and studying their reactions.

In the short time you have been stationed in the hokage tower you already learned a lot. In many ways. “Good. The hokage has indicated that he is satisfied with your work so far”, he says and you can feel your heart lift for a second. Praise from the hokage always fills you with happiness. “I want you to continue what you are doing for at least another month, if not more.” He looks down on you. “Continue staying out of the hokage’s way unless he needs you, understood?” You nod your head. “Yes, sir.”

From ANBU headquarters you make your way directly back to the hokage tower. You had been nervous about your appointment with your supervisor, oddly insecure if you’d done a good enough job. There was also this strange uneasiness that he might know about your private lessons with the hokage. That you might get scolded for it. You would never be able to lie to a superior and are therefore relieved that it wasn’t mentioned. Turns out, when the official ANBU guard is involved in some sneaking around, ANBU doesn’t know. You don’t quite understand why, but you want to keep this to yourself. Just your secret with Lord Sixth.

For the last few weeks he has only called you for administrative matters. To inform you how and when he has to go to which event, what time he would be taking and at which hours your shift would be changed with the night guard. No private lesson had been added to the last one you’d had. While you sometimes spend that free time reading in the many books you borrowed, more often than not you decide not to go to sleep. You just stay instead in the vicinity of the hokage’s apartment to keep a look out for him even at night. This is not your assignment and you pretty much act on your own choice, but you don’t want to leave Lord Sixth’ side. If you are not with him you think about him, so you can’t sleep anyway.

So today again you head back downtown even though your shift is technically already over. Not having slept last night you run on 30 sleepless hours now and you have yet to feel tired. You land on the rooftop of the tower. All the windows are dark so it's likely that everybody has already gone home. You look around for the other ANBU guard and can’t see it. They must have gone to the hokage’s apartment by now. You make yourself ready to move on when you can feel a presence behind you. Alerted, you take out a kunai and press it against your body to hide it, but then you can hear the hokage’s voice behind you. “Tora.” You turn around and there he is, hokage cloak draped over his clothes. He has come very close to you, probably through an erased presence. He had been an elite ANBU after all.

“Sir”, you say, bowing your head slightly. He walks over to you: “What are you doing here?” You put the kunai away. “Just checking things quickly.” Not a lie. He raises a brow. “Your shift is over, isn’t it?” You feel found out. “Right…”, you say, not daring to look in his eyes. “Not planning to spend another night watching the area around my apartment, right?” he asks and you can’t hide your surprise. “H-how did you know that?” He puts a smile in his eyes. “You are good at hiding yourself, but I am better at noticing when I am being followed.” Of course, you could never outsmart someone like Lord Sixth. You can feel your cheeks redden and you think that this is how embarrassment must feel like. “My apologies, sir” you say, bowing apologetically.

“I’m glad you are concerned”, he says, putting a hand on your shoulder, “but you need to sleep too. Your body needs it. I order you to stop staying up all night. You have to sleep, understand?” Crossing eyes with him for a second and looking away immediately you confirm: “Yes, sir.” The hokage sighs. “You are good at your job, Tora. I am satisfied to have you by my side.” There it is again, the little flutter in your heart as he compliments you. “I always try to be there.”, you say, voice quiet, “At your side.” He shakes his head. “You have such a way of expressing yourself...Anyway, let's go downstairs.” He points to the stairs and you follow him down to his office.

As soon as he is in his office, the hokage lets the white cloak fall from his shoulders onto his desk. “I hate the heavy thing”, he murmurs more to himself than to you. “I think it suits you”, you hear yourself say, which seems to surprise him. “Clothing opinions, huh?”, he raises a brow at you. “You are the hokage, a good one, those cloaks are a symbol of status that you deserve”, you explain and could swear that you can see his cheeks colour. His gaze rests on you for a moment. “Right, we haven’t done that in a  while.” He scratches himself at his chin. “That, sir?” you ask, but deep inside you already know the answer. He gives you a thumbs up and a smile. “Let's have another, eh, lesson.”

You find yourself pressed against the wall in the tiny cupboard room again, mask pushed left, with your mouth pressed against Lord Sixth’. Technically there was absolutely no necessity to go into this small room, as the hokage tower was completely empty and dark. But neither him nor you commented on it. Maybe that tiny closet was now your refuge, a place for just you two and nobody else. It was becoming just another hideaway. Once again, it feels easy to go back to kissing him. 16 days since the last time you’d done it has made you miss it. Your gloved hands fly to his hair and he pulls you close at the waist. The warmth is immediately back.

A little out of breath he pulls away from your lips after a while. “I was thinking”, he says, trying to get his breathing in order, “that you could accompany me to a kage-meeting in Kumogakure which is coming up soon. As my personal guard.” He pulls you back and kisses you again, before you can even reply. You find it hard to concentrate when his fingers touch your skin, but his words do get through to you. “This is outside my authorization, Lord”, you say apologetically. You can feel him shake his head: “No, I will ask for you specifically. Don’t worry.” His hands touch your face and you feel oddly elated. “I would be honoured to come.” He kisses you again, but this time he slowly moves over your lips with his tongue. “What…?” you whisper.

“Stick out your tongue”, he orders and while it makes you a bit uneasy, you follow the instructions. You can feel him search for the tip of your tongue with his thumb, probably to help locate it in the dark. He draws his head closer and you can feel his breath on your face, then, gently, the tip of his tongue touches yours. Of course you have a basic idea about biology and human anatomy. You know that the tongue has many nerve endings so one can taste. That different parts of your tongue correspond to different tastes. Sweet, sour, salty and so on. But never had anyone ever told you how electrifying another tongue can feel on yours. Who even came up with this? Which genius found out that touching tongues would be even better than touching lips? You can’t come up with an answer because your brain fogs up in a way it has never before.

He moves his tongue around yours, gently touching it from every angle and you try again to match his movements. You can feel your pulse quicken. The feeling of it gets you excited. The hokage pulls back, and you answer his question, before he can ask it: “It’s like electricity in my veins.”  You just presume he wanted to ask how this other way of kissing makes you feel. “You -” he laughs quietly, “you’re always so oddly descriptive about it.” You want to ask him if that is something bad, but he continues before you have the chance to: “Do you want me to electrify your veins some more?” Something around your heart flutters. As if for a second it stopped beating. “Yes”, you breathe.

Immediately he pulls your head to his again and kisses you. Both of your lips are now a little wet. He once more moves with his tongue over your lips and you carefully open them for him. To keep your hands from shaking the way they do, you curl them into his hair, just like he told you you should, and he lets out a soft moan you’ve never heard before. You feel a warmth spread from your core. His tongue is in your mouth! And it feels great! Especially since his lips are now also touching yours. This must be some kind of sensory overload. Clearly having fun with it, he moves first over your tongue and then over your teeth. This makes him laugh at himself. “You have really sharp corner teeth”, he observes, every movement of his lips against yours.

“Can I also ..?”, you ask carefully. “Oh god-, I-I mean, err, yes, you can yes.” You have never heard Lord Sixth stutter about anything. Maybe his veins also feel electric, you think. Moving your head upward you close lips with him again. He kisses you with a half opened mouth, giving you easy access. You meet his tongue, touching it gently the way he has done with yours, trying to figure out how he could ever taste so sweet. He lets you explore freely, touch his teeth as he had too.“That tickles”, he laughs. “Oh, apologies, sir”

“Teeth are usually not a component”, he explains, “I was just playing a little. It’s just about the tongue.” You take a mental note of this just in time before he kisses you again. Now, with your tongues moving against each other, you are unable to form a coherent sentence in your mind. You feel the electricity pulsing through you, spreading the warmth from your core to your tips. And something else rears its head. A different feeling. A want. You want to be closer, touch him on his neck and back and be touched in return. Something that makes your head spin, your heart beat faster and quickens your breath. It also makes it hard for you to pull away from him. If kissing did not feel like an addiction to you before this, it definitely is now. He strings your hair around his fingers again and you can hear a sound of pleasure leaving your mouth.

Embarrassed, you finally pull away. “I’m sorry, Lord. That was out of my control.” Your face suddenly feels very hot, like you’re coming down with a fever. This and the heart fluttering earlier, you think. Something is clearly wrong with me. “That just shows that you enjoy it. You should embrace these moments”, he says, fingers still playing with strands of your hair. “I feel very warm”, you move a hand to your forehead, “It seems very warm in here.” He touches your forehead with his, making a “hmm” sound. “I think it might be enough for today”, he concludes. “The air in here is pretty bad, especially with two adults sharing it between them.” Somehow, this makes your face feel even hotter. Lord Sixth moves to open the door and you quickly put your mask back on your face. Him seeing your face like this, so feverish and red, is oddly making you uneasy. So many new emotions to work through.

--

You still feel his tongue in your mouth once you have made it back to your sleeping quarters, laying awake on your back staring at the ceiling. It is as if your mouth remembers that something foreign had entered it and left its marks all over it. You replay it over and over in your mind. The first tongue touch of his and yours, the way the lips had felt and the sound he had made when you ran your fingers through his hair. You have to stop yourself from remembering it too clearly, as it brings the heat back to your face and heart. You are so grateful that your first position inside the village is as the hokages guard. If only you could have stayed a bit longer with him in that cupboard. If only you could always be with him in that cupboard. You shake your head at yourself. No, that was a ridiculous thing to think. “What the hell is going on with me?”, you say out loud.

Since you can’t find any sleep anyway you decide to look up emotions in one of the books you borrowed from the library. A fat, encyclopedia like guidebook, that lists and defines the most common emotions and feelings. From how worn out it is you can guess that other ex-root members probably had similar issues as you. Which, as always, gives you a bit of ease. At least you are not alone in this. You skim through it, skipping chapters on negative emotions, fear and disgust thinking that this is probably not what is happening to you. Rather you seem excited, even happy, when in the vicinity of the hokage. Of course that could easily be explained by his kindness towards you, the first time anyone has ever shown this to you, but you feel like this can’t be the only thing.

Finally, you find yourself reading through symptoms that match the way you feel. “A feeling of being euphoric, giddy and nervous around a person” seems correct. “You always look forward to seeing them and you don’t like parting from that person” this also applies. “Everything they do with you is new and exciting” This absolutely applies as he is teaching something you previously had not known about. “You prioritize them and always make time when they need you.” Yes, well that is only the nature of my job, you think.

 “You idealize their best traits.” Now, granted, you can’t find any faults in the hokage’s behaviour towards you and others, but that is not because you idealize him, you think, It’s just because he does not have any faults. Easy as that. A model of strength, kindness and hard work. If he doesn’t sneak away into cupboards to avoid it of course, you think, but then he is often teaching me, so he is just being kind after all. So he remains faultless. “Your pulse can rise and you might blush easily around them.” You feel elated upon reading all these descriptions as they all in all match your condition so well. You look up to the top of the page to see which emotion is being described here.

To your absolute surprise and confusion the title says: “When one is in love.”

[americxn]

“What happened? What the hell happened. Why do you make it so hard to love you?”

Kai Anderson x GN!Reader

This is definitely not good enough to enter, but I used the prompt from @tatesimper anniversary writing competition so I guess this is my entry? (fig, I’m so sorry for butchering such a good prompt lmao)

also, I realised when writing it that this could serve as a prologue to this fic:

https://americxn.tumblr.com/post/652835852669648896/paranoia

wordcount: 2.5k

warnings: genocide/murder mention, swearing (this is based off episode 11 of season 7)

The night air was cool on your exposed face as you took the front steps to the door of Kai’s house, not bothering to knock as you pushed it open, the warmth and light from within spilling onto the smooth concrete of the front step and pooling around your feet; having been in a committed relationship with Kai from a year and a half now, this house was practically your own. Stepping past the front porch after abandoning your shoes and jacket, you entered the uncharacteristic quiet of the house, scanning the hallway for any signs of life, usually abundant within these walls in the form of Kai’s blue shirt-clad, blindly deferential followers. 

 “Okay. A little bad news to start,” your body instinctively angled towards the voice, distinctly Kai, that sounded through the empty hall from the back room. You set off down the hallway, his voice growing in volume as you approached, somewhat confused. He hadn’t notified you of a scheduled cult meeting that evening and yet his tone of voice was threaded with the assertive cadence that he utilised only when addressing his followers.  “It turns out finding a thousand pregnant women to murder is super hard. No one will ever accuse me of lacking ambition.” He continued as you reached the threshold to the large room at the back of the house that served as a secondary living room; breath catching in your throat, you halted, your hand reaching for the wood of the doorframe to steady yourself as the meaning of his words settled into you. To murder? “So, Night of a Thousand Tates is off.” A ripple of groans and dejected sighs rose from the small sea of men at Kai’s words, quickly falling silent to allow him to continue. “But, Night of One Hundred Tates is on.” His words sent a wave of prickly dread spider walking down your spine; he hadn’t told you about any of this. Killing a thousand pregnant women? You wanted to stride into the room with a bright laugh to wave away his abhorrent words and demand for the real reason that he had called a meeting. But you knew. A terrible, truth filled part of you was all too aware that he was deadly serious A chorus of thrilled cheers drifted up from the small crowd in twisted elation with the newly revealed knowledge that their hands would still be stained with blood by the end of the night. Your breath became too loud in your ears, your mouth turning utterly dry as you examined your suddenly empty mind for a solution to Kai’s monstrous plan that you could use to convince him to call it off. But you came up short, taking a small step back into the safety of the dimly lit hall, your back coming to press against the wall beside the open doorway to ensure that nobody would be able to see you eavesdropping from within. This was too far. Kai had done many questionable, twisted things over the past year but this... this was too far. You were full of self hatred for the amount of things that you had stood aside for and let Kai go ahead with, but not this. You refused to take so much of an ounce of accountability for this. Pulling your phone from the confines of your back pocket, you drew in a shuddering, grounding breath, your thumb working on the keypad. The digit shook as it pressed onto the screen, your teeth catching between your lower lip as your gaze flicked from the brightness of the device’s screen to the open doorway at your side. The sequence of 911 you had typed glared up at you, bathing the underside of your jaw in artificial light as you craned your neck, leaning forwards slightly to peer into the room. Kai stood by the far wall, his men arranged in a neat group before him, all sitting straight backed to attention on their chairs.  Just behind Kai, displayed on the low table pushed against the wall were two silicone models of a woman’s torso, ripe with the swell of a baby within; one was positioned to the side as a cross sectional diagram, the other facing straight on, the small model of a baby in the third trimester curled up within the artificial uterus. Your attention snapped back to Kai as he took a step forwards to address the group.  “Look under your chairs, I’ve handed each of you a unique list of targets, all ready to pop.” Your stomach twisted in horrified disbelief as the men all shifted in unison, pleasure curling the corners of their lips upwards as they read the names of the people they were soon to mercilessly slaughter. You watched with teary eyes as an impressively built, stocky man who you didn’t know the name of slowly lifted his hand to the ceiling, Kai’s eyes immediately flicking to him in agitation. “You raise your hand one more fucking time and I will cut it off.” The powerfully built man visibly shrunk down into his chair at Kai’s hissed statement of reproval but timidly uttered his question of “how do we know they’re all pregnant?” Kai’s eyes flashed in impatient annoyance as he tore his eyes off the man, flicking them briefly up to the ceiling before deigning to answer. “Because Gutterball pulled the rosters of four ob-gyns, two Lamaze classes and a Momtra Yoga over on Main. Great job, Gutterball.” The blond man who went by Gutterball, sat on the front row of chairs close to Kai, beamed in self-gratified delight at Kai’s gracious recognition, lifting a fist into the air in triumph. Kai smiled proudly down at him before turning to address the group as a whole once more. Your eyes flicked down to the bright screen of your phone, the numbers displayed there beckoning. Your thumb twitched, a conflicted frown creasing your forehead as Kai continued on, pulling your attention back to him. “Manson’s family - I admire them, but they did get a little sloppy.” You watched on in nauseating alarm as Kai pulled a large blade from the black sheath at his hip with a flourish, the metal glinting in the light of the room. “Their message got lost in their mess. What we are doing requires more precision. It is imperative that both mother and child are impaled. Don’t fuck this up.” He scanned the gathering before him, gaze as sharp as the knife clutched in his grip before turning to the models behind him.  “Aim for the belly button but stab in a downward motion. If you stab straight,” in one fluid motion, he had buried the curved tip of the blade in the portion of the fake uterus just above the baby’s head with a solid thunk, “you miss the baby - and our entire message is lost.” Withdrawing the knife, he turned back to address his cult, the weapon hanging loosely from his fingertips by his thigh. “Tomorrow night, when your blades tear open one hundred pregnant bellies, you will be releasing a power into the universe. Detonating a neutron bomb of truth, blood and amniotic fluid. You will be galvanising an army.” “With their sisters gutted, women everywhere will be forced to react. They can’t ignore an injustice this brutal. They’ll have to rise up, and in their collective rage, they will train it on Senator Jackson, on all incumbents, on any of the people in power who failed to keep us safe. As the most vulnerable are slaughtered, as the pregnant bodies pile up on Senator Jack-off’s watch, we will be surfing an electoral bloodbath straight to Capitol Hill. And then… the White House.”  The collection of cult members all voiced their assent in a chorus of whoops and ovated cheers, a nauseating sense of unease dragging it’s claws up the length of your spine. You turned away with hot tears blurring your vision, not wanting to hear more, your phone a heavy weight in your hand and the decision it presented even heavier.

Sat on the edge of Kai’s large bed, your knee couldn’t cease it’s anxious bouncing, your lower lip chewed raw by your teeth. The door swung open suddenly, sending your heart leaping into your throat. Kai stepped into the room, the small smile stretching across his lips broadening as he beheld you perched on the mattress’ edge. “Hey, when did you get here?” He questioned, reaching to tug you to your feet and wrap his arms tightly around you in a warm embrace. “I only got here like five minutes ago.” Your lie was muffled into the thin shirt at his shoulder, his hands splayed flat on your upper back as he held you close to him. Withdrawing yourself from his grasp, you frantically scanned his face, heart sinking at the pleasure dimly glowing in the depths of his dark eyes, pleasure fuelled not by your sudden appearance, but in anticipation of the merciless slaughter that he would be carrying out in mere hours time. “What?” He asked curiously, his head tilting slightly in concern as his smile faded, caught in the grave despondency of the stare you had him pinned under. His tape-wrapped hands settled on his shoulders; shaking him off, you stepped away, your chest bubbling with emotion that was dangerously close to spilling over. Dropping your gaze to the floor, you pressed the heels of your palms into your eyes, forcing the tears that threatened to flow to stay at bay. Groaning through clenched teeth, colourful sparks flashing through your blocked vision from the force with which you pressed your hands into your eyes, you blindly felt Kai’s warmth as he stepped forwards to comfort you. Dropping your hands, you retreated another step, Kai stilling at the look of stangled confliction latching onto your features. “What happened?” Voice breaking, you brought a hand up to press against your forehead, icy panic unfurling in your gut amongst the turmoil of roiling distress flooding through your insides. Kai looked utterly lost, his eyes boring into yours as he searched for an answer to the question that he couldn’t understand. “What the fuck happened to you, Kai?” His heart splintered at the raw anguish in your choked, lamenting tone, automatically taking a step towards you, wanting nothing more than to smother the emotions swarming your features. “I used to be so, so happy with you.” His lips parted in disbelief as you continued. “I would’ve done anything for you.” You couldn’t help the tears that spilled over, your voice pushing past the quivering of your lower lip and growing in strength, your breaths turning sharp and rasping as they were sucked in between your passionate words. “Y/n…” He didn’t know what to say as he watched you struggle to keep a grasp on coherency.  “I don’t know what happened to him. To the Kai that I fell in love with. But he’s gone now. He’s gone and I don’t know how to get him back.” Sorrow gave way to desolate fury as you plowed on, your jaw clenching as you stepped towards him to deliver a harsh shove to his hard shoulders. Kai fell utterly silent, stumbling back slightly under your touch, unnerved and unsure by the eruption of messily confessed words that spilled from you, seemingly out of nowhere. “Answer me.” You demanded gruffly, shoving at his solid frame once more. “I… y/n, I don’t know-” With a third shove, his eyes flashed in agitated warning, silently daring you to repeat the action a fourth time. You did, shoving at him with as much force as you could muster, breathing hard when he took ahold of your wrists, pulling you to him and pouring his branding stare onto you. “Stop.” Your face was flushed, plump tears cutting through your face and dripping from your chin as you plowed on. “What happened, Kai?” His nostrils flared, eyes wide in confusion as he battled to grasp onto your thoughts, to make coherence of the biting words falling from your lips. “What happened? What the hell happened. Why do you make it so hard to love you?” Your ragged breaths filled the sudden silence in the room, the roaring silence infiltrating Kai’s head drowning out all other sense as he stared down at you in cold disbelief, your eyes wild and face screwed with festering ardour, raw and demanding, your lashes damp with bitter tears. A symphony of surprised shouts echoed up the stairs from the ground floor of the house, Kai’s attention snapping to the door at his back and eyes flooding with sharp panic. He released his hold on you as the cries from below grew in volume, laced with alarm. A single gun shot rang out and it was your turn to take ahold of Kai, the tape wrapped tightly around his wrists warm under your fingers. His head whirled back to you, his eyes alight with uneasy confusion, his gaze frosting over. Bringing your face closer to his, you laid a single, lingering kiss to his lips, your own wet against him. “I’m sorry.” You said quietly, several heavy sets of footsteps sounding from behind the door as they thundered up the stairs. Kai’s eyes frantically searched yours as he pulled against your unrelenting grasp, his gaze briefly parting from yours to snap to the door as the sequence of footsteps and shouts grew louder. “But I can’t let you do this.” His throat bobbed, his eyes widening in terror as the reality of the situation settled over him. “I sentence you to rot.” Tugging at his wrists, you forced your face closer to his before muttering to him, your breath hot on his face and the recognition of your betrayal manifesting in the cold fire smoldering in his gaze: “Just like how my love for you has turned to rot.” His face contorted in rage as the bedroom door was forced open, the panel of wood swinging open and hitting the adjacent wall with a bang, several armed policemen flooding into the room. You loosened your grip on his wrists, stepping away as two of the men took ahold of Kai by the back of his shirt, twisting his arms behind his back. He shrieked in rage, straining to turn his head towards his assailants as they began to pull him from the room. Sinking down onto the edge of the bed, you locked eyes with Kai’s as he turned back to you, cool rage simmering in his dark gaze, his lip curled into an enraged snarl. He pinned you with his stare, not even bothering to fight against the men holding him as he was pulled from the room, a savage promise glittering in his unrelenting stare. A promise of vengeance. Of suffering. 

taglist: @kitwalker02 @three-eyed-snail @forevercountess @kitwalkerangel @milly-louise @thecountessesglove @undeadcortez @kitwalker64 @samsassinparvismagna @xmaximoffic @divineruler @liandav @tatesweaterweather @evanmybeloved @tatelangdonsupremacist @ikkleroniekins @ananad1 @shlutnutt @mossybank @tatesimper (dm to be added or removed <3)

[chilly-me-softly]

Every Little Thing’s Gonna Be Alright • Chapter 21

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13 - Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18 - Chapter 19 - Chapter 20

"Morning" Jack's hoarse voice reaches Evelyn's ears just a moment after she dials his number.

"Did I wake you up?"

"Nah the alarm went off just a few moments ago"

"So you're up already?"

"What's on your mind?"

"Nothing it's just that I'm out here, I was hoping you could open the gate for me" there is silence over the line where Evelyn can only hear a few indistinct rustles and noises.

"Jack?"

"Oh my god you're really here" she hears him murmur before the gate in front of her opens slowly, he had probably run to the video intercom to make sure she wasn't messing around. And she giggles moving forward those few metres so she can park and get out of the vehicle.

"Hurry up!" he rushes her, opening the door swinging nervously as she settles the blanket over Cece before grabbing the car seat and taking those few steps that separate her from him.

"You're so impatient. You know how cold it is, you should have put some clothes on before answering the door" Jack rolls his eyes absentmindedly running a hand over his bare chest, waiting for her to put the car seat down not taking his eyes off her for a moment. And when she finally does, nothing more can keep him from holding the girl in his arms. Evelyn sighs against his chest, closing her eyes enjoying the moment.

"Are you really here? How?"

"Well you know I took the car and..." her derisive tone is replaced by her laughter as Jack moves his hands over her body tickling her. They move without realising it eventually crashing into the sofa and falling over it. They both laugh this time before Evelyn reaches up to his face to leave a tender kiss on his lips.

"The holidays are over and I wanted to see you. You know spending some time with you without time running on us"  

"I like that"

"Yeah? Because I'm a little tired to get into driving again" Jack chuckles holding her close, burying his head in her neck and inspiring her natural scent. He only raises his head then as Cece starts to draw attention, smiling as he pulls away from her on the couch to get closer to the little one.

"Hi little one. You're right, your mommy isn't the only pretty girl in this room" he cooed picking her up from the carrier as Evelyn settled down properly on the couch.

"Isn't it time for you to go get ready for training?"

"Mom is a tad jealous"

"I'm not! I'm just bringing you back down here to remind you you're busy"

"You can't just show up here and then kick me out like this" he complains making her laugh as she approaches him, stroking his arm lightly.

"All I'm saying is that we're here now. And we'll be here when you get back"

"Promise?"

"Promise" so Jack sighs dramatically gently handing Cece to her before leaving a kiss on her lips and disappearing down the stairs. Evelyn catches up with him more slowly, settling both of them into his bed and watching him go back and forth across the room to get ready as he occasionally reaches out to leave her a kiss, for no reason yet the smile on her face never stops widening.

Eventually Jack leaves the house only ten minutes later than usual, after making sure he gave her a quick overview of where to find what if she needed something and after kissing her countless times and telling her to get comfortable and practically forcing her to do the dirty work.

And she's bringing in her things to keep herself together when Ben rings her up. "Hey bro"

"I didn't dream it did I, are you really at Jack's?" the disbelief in her brother's voice is so palpable she can't help but laugh.

"I left you a note"

"You expected that to be enough for me? Anyway oh you definitely need to see this. Kitchen. Bottom drawer"

"What? If he's got some horrible secret I don't want to find out right now Ben"

"Just check it out" he chuckles as she puts the phone on speaker laying it on the table before looking at the drawer itself unsure of what to do.

"Come ooon!" her brother's voice comes behind her making her huff but finally she decides to open that drawer.

"Oh my god, look at this!" she can't believe what she sees as she brushes a hand over a mountain of candies and different kinds of sweets before her eyes. Everything anyone could want is in there.

"He says they're for his nephews and nieces but we lads don't believe that so much" Ben continues and she laughs.

"Do you need me to be a spy?"

"You're a good sister Lyn" he solemnly states causing her to shake her head as she closes the drawer and absentmindedly adjusts Cece's t-shirt who's starting to get a little restless.

"What is it? Is your nappy dirty? Hell sometimes I feel like I'm raising you as a newborn version" she comments lightly giving both of them some attention and noting that indeed there was a need for a change.

"Better me than someone else"

"Ben" she admonishes him throwing a glance at her phone before grabbing it along with her bag and heading for the bathroom.

"What?" she rolls her eyes, that tone of challenge from her brother has always rattled her since she was little. God knows how many times she wanted to slap him for that sassy tone he used, the one that seemed to say 'come on, challenge me. I'm ready to fight'. Just like that time.

And she knows exactly what her brother was implying. If she had decided to put the whole Lucas story behind her, her brother had not been of the same opinion. To say he'd been furious that day doesn't even come close, she honestly doesn't know what had stopped him from walking all over town to confront him. But still, she doesn't want her daughter to grow up feeling other people's hatred for her father, she wants her to have her own feelings about the matter, and the sooner she makes that clear to her family, the sooner the damage will be limited. She may be weak or too naive but it's better for her not to talk about something rather than talk badly about it.

So she takes a deep breath, shifting her gaze for a moment to her little girl who is already looking at her expectantly. "Cece says she misses her favourite uncle"

"Yeah sure use her to soften me up" he sighs from the other end of the phone, "I miss you too sweety. Your mean mama didn't even let me say goodbye to you"

"Hmph like you're never gonna see her again"

"Well I don't know how long you're gonna stay away for"

"I don't know, I still have to talk to Jack"

"Ooh look at you, you really are a couple"

"Shut up" she giggles, "it's still his house you know, his space"

"Yeah I know, but I wouldn't worry about it that much. I'm sure if it was up to him he wouldn't let you come back here"

"We'll see..." but honestly she didn't mind that idea at all...

-

"You think Jack will ever stop staring at us like that huh?" Evelyn cooed, playing with Cece's chin and not taking her eyes off her as Jack shook his head, smiling and finally approaching the two of them. Coming home to find them there carefree, with Cece on Evelyn's lap watching her intently and curiously, as if it was a normal thing, had made him feel something totally new and he had simply stood there admiring that scene captivated without saying anything so as not to ruin the moment.

"Sorry, you seemed so wrapped up in it. I didn't mean to bother you" Evelyn laughed reaching out to leave a kiss on his lips.

"How was your day?"

"I couldn't wait to get back here. Is it that bad?" a fake worried expression accompanies his hand going to caress the little one's.

"The captain getting distracted by a girl, mmh..."

"Two girls"

"Well I didn't want to tell you this but you will likely lose your place. Just be strong Jack" she smiles sarcastically patting him on the knee as he opens his mouth wide in shock before scoffing at her.

"Your mommy is so mean. Come with me you, I have a surprise for you" he turns to Cece leaving her a kiss on one cheek settling her in his arms carefully before getting up and starting to head for the door leading to the garage.

"What did you do?"

"You stay there. Only my favourite girl is allowed to follow me" Evelyn can see the derisive smile on his face though as he quickly turns around one last time before walking out the door. And it goes without saying that she eventually caught up to them, not taking long to see what he had done.

"Jack you-" the words catch in her throat as she takes a few tentative steps forward, under Jack's smiling face.

"Gave her a more comfortable place to sleep than that car seat? Yeah I did"

"She seems to like it" Jack's voice shows how proud he feels of that gesture and she can't take her eyes off that little cot her daughter is now in, mesmerised by the little bee hanging over her head.

"You're amazing" she sighs as he wraps his arms around her body from behind, allowing her back to lie against his chest. "Really, I have no words at all. You've been doing so much for us lately"

"No need to thank me, I wanted to. I actually wanted to do it earlier but I didn't want to put pressure on you in any way"

"You wouldn't have. Well I mean I probably would have messed up my plans for the holidays" Jack chuckles leaving her a kiss on the temple before suggesting to bring that cot into the room and set it up.

Between chatting with each other and entertaining the baby, the rest of the day comes to an end. There's a sense of familiarity to it all, bathing Cece before putting on her pajamas and putting her to sleep; sitting on the couch to relax in each other's arms; getting into bed together for once finally without any thoughts, not thinking the other has to go away just a few hours later, just enjoying the moment. And as they fall asleep at the end of that day, a common thought floats through both of their minds: they could get used to this.

----

I'm not very satisfied with this chapter so if you've made it this far thank you! I'll make it up with the next one, I hope.

Tag: @alexajanecollins @emwritesfootball @rosie7703

Chapter 22

[marauderbilliepevensie]

Peter Pevensie : Irritated

Narnia One-Shot (Modern)

You sighed as you changed the sign on the door of the neighbourhood’s local cafe to “Open” at 7:00am. You headed back behind the counter as your thoughts drifted back to the usual - how much you hated your life. The doorbell rang loud and clear, cutting through your grey, miserable thoughts like a knife. A handsome boy with dirty blonde hair and ocean blue eyes walked in. You observed that he only looked a year older than you.

“Yes.” You said - rather rudely - once he’d reached the counter. “You okay?” He asked, furrowing his eyebrows. “You seem really irritated.” “I’m not irritated!” You said through gritted teeth, wringing out a tea towel as if you were trying to strangle it. ”Don’t lie, your irritated.” “Is it that obvious?” You replied, grimacing slightly. “Kinda,” he said, wincing in what you supposed was an apologetic way. “Sorry, I just had the worst day yesterday.” You sighed, “Anyway, what would you like?” “Just a black coffee and a cinnamon roll please,” he said quickly looking at the board above my head. “What happened?” He asked, referring to your previous comment. “Really? Just that? Nothing else? No specific amount of sugar or milk I need to add in that makes no fucking difference to the overall taste whatsoever?” You asked. “Nope. Anyway, what happened?” He pressed. “You really want to know?” He nodded. “Well, you asked for it,” you sighed, turning around to begin making his beverage. “I just had a really shit day at work. Here and at the fucking restaurant I work in, you know, the big fancy one around the corner? Anyway, the first asshole customer of the day arrived before anyone else - such great way to start the day. He complained for like, five hours that there was just a smidge too much icing on his cake and that his coffee was just that bit too bitter. He was ranting for so long that another customer had arrived before he had finished, so I asked - politely too - if he could move aside so I could take their order, but he refused! And when he finally left, he just stormed out without paying, and no tip! Are you fucking kidding me! Anyway, it continued like that with only around three customers being mildly decent. Then, when my shift here ended, I got a call from a friend who also works at the restaurant round the corner, asking if I could cover her shift because she were ill. I said, yes - why? I have no idea, because it meant I had to miss over half of my two hour break between work here and work there, so I didn't get lunch. Anyway I got there, and of course, it was the same as here. Rich snobs who’ve never lifted a finger in their life complaining without any consideration for anyone else’s peace. One girl, who really fucking pissed me off, returned her meal three times - three fucking times!” “Why?” He said, leaning on the counter, now invested in the story. You scoffed, “You’re gonna love this, the first time because it wasn’t salty. The second because it wasn’t salty enough, and the third, because she had already eaten most of her boyfriend’s fucking food, so she wasn’t hungry enough to eat it! Insane. Eventually, I got home 11:30, only managed to eat a scrap of food for dinner before I passed out on the sofa, only to wake up with forty-five minutes before I have to be here for work, which is 6:20 - an ungodly hour no one should be awake at in my opinion - to spend forty minutes cleaning everything again to remove the nonexistent particles of dust off the table that only the bloody manager can see, and setting everything out to open on time, meaning I haven’t had breakfast. And the worst part of all that, is that you are the only person in the history of this damn cafe who has ever entered this bloody place before 8:15, so we don’t really need to be here before 7:45!” You finished, placing a mug of black coffee and a warm cinnamon roll on a plate hand-painted with flowers on the counter with a satisfying pronounced thud. “You’ve had it bad.” He stated bluntly, looking you in the eyes for a few moments before you both burst out laughing. “What’s your name? I think that after listening to that, I have the right to know.” He said between laughs.

“Y/N, Y/N L/N. What’s yours?” You said after regaining your breath.

“Peter. Peter Pevensie.”

“So what are you doing  at this time of the morning Peter?” You inquired, seeing no harm in starting a conversation as no one was likely to appear for another hour or so thank god.

“I’ve started at Oxford and decided I’d find a quiet cafe to get breakfast in before school.”

“Oxford! I’m going there next year to do History and Art. What are you studying?”

“Maths, Medicine and History. Most people think they’re boring subjects but they're the best!” You smiled at his excitement.

“I know! Well, about History anyway - I've always loved it. I did it for GCSE and then for A-Level as well English, French and Art. I’m doing a gap year now to earn a bit of money and I’ll start next year.”

“Nice to already know a future fellow-student,” He smiled. “So when do you work here?”

“7:00am to 14:00 pm, Monday to Saturday, and I work at the restaurant 16:00 to 21:00 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday too but I get breaks during both jobs and obviously there’s a gap in between them.”

We continued talking until unfortunately, he announced he needed to leave.

 “See you tomorrow?” He said as he backed towards the door.

“Yeah, see you tomorrow!” You called back. As you lost sight of him around the corner, you smiled to yourself. Somehow, being at the cafe by 6:20 in the morning didn’t seem so unappealing anymore.

[terreisa]

Love Down the Line: Chapter 12

The last thing Indie musician Emma Swan needs is a gigantic wrench thrown in the workings of her biggest tour to date weeks before its launch.  When her backing guitarist that caused the problem says she has the perfect solution Emma is skeptical but left with little choice but to accept.  Unfortunately she isn’t really prepared for said solution to be former Rock Star and leading man of Emma’s teenage fantasies, Killian Jones.  With no other options and a month of performing across the country ahead of her Emma just hopes she doesn’t come to regret letting Killian onto her stage and into her life.

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 10, Ch 11, AO3

~*CS*~

 Boston, June 8th

Emma shifted from foot to foot in front of the door marked 520.  It had taken her over a week to get her shit together and make the trip that she’d originally intended to make the morning after her show in Vancouver.  Of course that had been before her phone had blown up with calls and texts about Killian’s video, which had hit a million views before the sun had even risen.  It had also been before the small gaggle of paparazzi had grown to a crowd and forced her to use the same back door to leave the hotel that she’d used to enter it the night before.  Those were the excuses she told herself in the light of day.  She was much more honest with herself at three in the morning when she couldn’t sleep.

In the dead of night it was easy to admit that she was a fucking coward.  Killian had laid his heart bare for the entire world to see, and judge, and all she’d done was call her manager.  Granted she’d had to take a dressing down and listen to a frustrated rant meant for someone else but that was nothing compared to the self flagellation she’d been doing since she’d landed in Portland and driven north instead of heading south.  To add an extra layer to her guilt she watched Killian’s video two or three times a day and that didn’t even count how many times she only pulled up the song portion.  That, in the end, had been what decided it for her.

She’d tried finding the song on every streaming service and on every platform that sold downloads but it wasn’t anywhere.  For the entire week she’d checked every morning when she woke up and every night before she went to bed but the song only seemed accessible in the video he posted.  The temptation to illegally download it had crossed her mind once or twice but she’d been able to hold herself in check, mostly because she knew the audio quality would suck but even more so because it felt almost cowardly.  That that would be the thing to somehow tip off Killian that she would rather torture herself with a shitty copy of the song he wrote for her than to actually talk to him.

It took far too long for her to piece together that because it couldn’t be downloaded or streamed meant that he wasn’t making any kind of profit from it.  When she finally did she felt like her heart had been plucked out of her chest and was on the precipice of being ground into dust.  She’d been out the door and on her way to Boston within five minutes of her realization and long before she could talk herself out of it.

The four hour drive had given her plenty of time to think over some things.  How she felt about him, really, truly felt about him, for one.  While Killian had pretty much said that he loved her she wasn’t so sure that was what she was feeling in return.  She definitely liked him, a lot, so much so that the weeks since she’d practically ghosted him she’d grown used to the constant ache under her breastbone.  The restless nights and obsessing over his video seemed a bit much but she could easily admit to herself that she missed him.  It didn’t necessarily mean that she loved him, they’d really only been together for a matter of days after all.

Then there was the slight issue of what the hell she was going to say to him.  An apology was a given.  On the flight back to Portland from Vancouver she’d finally admitted to herself that she might have possibly, slightly overreacted when she’d heard about Killian’s record contract.  She wasn’t completely in the wrong, he had lied and hidden things from her, but she definitely could have at least listened to what he’d had to say.  That was another thing, she was going to keep her damn mouth shut after she apologized and let him say whatever it was that he needed to say to her.

Her planning and imagined conversations got her into Boston but once she’d parked her car she’d begun to worry.  There was every possibility that he’d refuse to speak to her, that he’d take one look at her darkening his doorstep and slam the door in her face.  He might not even open the door at all, just see her distorted image through the peephole and decide not to bother.  By the time she’d reached his apartment she’d worked herself up so much with the ‘what ifs’ that she couldn’t bring herself to even knock on the damn door.

She’d been psyching herself up for at least ten minutes, raising her fist in a burst of courage only to drop it as another wave of unease washed over her.  As she lifted her hand for the fifth or fiftieth time one of his neighbors slammed their door shut.  Startled, her knuckles tapped the door, softly but enough to make a definite sound.  Resigned and relieved she sucked in a deep breath and soundly knocked twice, stepping back quickly so if he did look through the peephole he’d clearly see that it was her on the other side.

For a few agonizing moments she stood, waiting.  The neighbor who had slammed their door passed her by, giving her a curious look but kept walking.  She briefly wondered if he knew he lived on the same floor as potential rock legend.  The thought fled her mind when she heard the slide of a lock disengaging and the door in front of her slowly opened.

She could tell that Killian hadn’t been sleeping as soon as he stepped into view, there were dark purple shadows under his eyes that hadn’t shown up in his video.  His hair was even more of a disheveled mess than it had been in the video too, and longer.  He was wearing a pair of thin blue flannel lounge pants and a threadbare grey t-shirt with a rip at the collar and a faded Led Zeppelin logo.  She’d never seen a more heartbreakingly beautiful sight.

“How-”

“Regina mostly,” she rushed to explain.  It was way easier to tell him how she found him instead of why she had wanted to, “Robin helped with the doorman though.”

“They’re old friends,” he murmured absently.  His gaze darted all over her, as if he couldn’t quite believe she was there, “Tuck put in a good word for me with the board when I decided to move here after rehab.  Why are you here Emma?”

She winced, “Can we, um, go inside.  I really don’t want to do this out here.”

Something flared bright in Killian’s eyes as his mouth tightened.  She almost expected him to cross his arms and refuse.  Saying everything she needed to say out in the hallway would have been embarrassing and awkward as hell but she was prepared to do it.  In fact, she realized she would do almost anything to just get him to give her a chance.  He must have seen that in her own eyes as he gave her a terse nod, stepping back into the apartment and opening the door wider for her to pass through.

As she walked by him she resisted the urge to reach out and brush her fingers against the back of his hand or worse, stop completely to wrap her arms around him and never let him go.  Every ounce of courage she’d lacked before was suddenly filling her from root to tip.  She was still nervous as hell but she wasn’t about to destroy everything for once and for all by chickening out at the last second.  If things didn’t go the way she wanted it wouldn’t be because she decided that giving up was easier than fighting them.

Her steps slowed to a stop as she fully stepped into the spacious apartment.  One of the living room walls was floor to ceiling shelves filled with books, cds, and vinyls while the second had an impressive entertainment system with a giant tv that had a soccer game frozen on its screen.  There was a cozy looking couch and matching chair facing it that broke up the space between the living room and breakfast bar and the kitchen.  What really caught her eye was the view from the sliding glass doors behind a round dining table that opened to a small balcony.  It wasn’t full dark but the facade of the State House was already lit, its golden dome gleaming dimly.

“Nice view,” she muttered quietly.

“You were more excited by the one in Malibu,” Killian said flatly, startling her as he stepped up beside her.  He gave her a wry grin, “Bit jumpy there, Swan?  Don’t worry I won’t bite.”

She turned fully towards him and held his gaze, “I’m more nervous than worried.”

A muscle in his jaw ticked but he didn’t look away.  After a moment he gave a small sigh and moved toward the kitchen.

“I’d offer you a stiff drink but chamomile will have to do.”

He brushed past her, moving into the kitchen.  When she didn’t move he huffed and pointed to one of the high backed stools tucked under the breakfast bar.  She gave him a small smile and when he turned his back to her to open a cupboard she shook her head at her nervousness.  Silently admonishing herself she sat down and watched him move around the space, a defensive set to his shoulders as he gathered the things for their tea and set an electric kettle to boil.  Once there was nothing left for him to fiddle with he turned back to her, leaning casually against the far counter and crossing his arms over his chest.

“So it took you ten days to ask Regina where to find me?” He asked in that same flat voice.

Despite his attempt to sound indifferent she could hear the hurt in his words.  As much as she knew her answer would only serve to harm him more she couldn’t lie to him.  There was enough of that between them already.

“I called her as soon as I finished watching your video-” she dropped her gaze to where her hands were folded on the bartop, not quite strong enough to watch him react to her answer, “ten days ago.”

Her confession was met with silence.  She could hear the water in the kettle start to boil and the gentle hum of the refrigerator but that was it.  After a few seconds of quiet torture she steeled herself and looked up, needing to know exactly how pissed he was at her.  What she saw didn’t disappoint.

He hadn’t moved an inch, still leaning against the counter but there was nothing casual about it.  Every one of his muscles were tense, his fingers digging into his bicep with enough force to turn them white while his eyes were two chips of ice, cold enough to burn as he stared her down.  She was almost relieved at seeing the signs of his anger, anything was better than the indifference he’d been displaying before.  The kettle clicked off but he showed no sign of noticing aside from the slight tightening of his jaw.

As he glared at her she tried not to let her own frustration and anger flare up.  There were still so many things that they needed to talk about and any one of them could have him throwing her out of the apartment.  She wasn’t about to be meek or amenable but she sure as hell wasn’t about to keep poking the beast that she’d awakened.

“Honey?” He growled.

She blinked, “Wha- what?”

“In your tea-” he uncrossed his arms and gestured to the mugs beside him, “Honey?”

“Um, yeah, that’s fine.”

He gave her a terse nod and began fixing their tea.  With his back turned to her she took a deep, calming breath.  She was no longer nervous, his reaction had been pretty much what she’d expected and that part was over with.  Instead a hollow ache of longing had settled in her chest.  There was nothing she wanted more than to talk like they used to, open and without pretense but also with a bit of teasing and flirting thrown in for good measure.

Killian topped his mug off with a splash of milk before turning and handing hers over.  It was a white mug with a line drawing of a guitar and the words ‘I’m a kettle head’ written over it.  She couldn’t help her snort of laughter at the sight of it.

“Something funny, Swan?” He asked with a raised brow, his cup of tea halfway to his lips.

She spun the mug so the graphic faced him, “Gag gift or did you buy this yourself?”

He rolled his eyes and took a sip of his tea but she could see his ears turning red.  She let her own eyebrow tick up as he swallowed, shaking his head.

“Gift from a fan, actually.  I made mention in an interview years ago that I enjoyed a good cup of tea in the afternoon.  I’m still receiving packages of tea and its related wares on a steady basis-” he tipped his head towards her mug, “That was one of the more clever ones.”

Spinning it back so she could grasp it by the handle she hesitated.  The opening was clear for her to start the conversation that needed to be had.  She knew she should take advantage of it but he was no longer glaring at her and she wanted to bask in the small reprieve she’d found herself in.  To prolong the moment she took a sip of her tea, humming at the soothing warmth and delicate flavor that danced over her tongue.  The corner of Killian’s mouth ticked up and her heart skipped a beat at the sight.

“Not as good as my hot chocolate but it’ll do,” she teased.

Emma knew she’d pushed his patience to its breaking point a half second too late.  Killian’s smile flared for a second before he pressed his lips together in a thin line and turned his gaze away from her.  Her own small grin slipped and she berated herself for expecting too much too soon.  She waited, quiet and still, until he looked back at her.

“I’m sorry.”

His eyes widened and he let out a little huff of surprise but she barreled on, needing to get it all out.

“I’m sorry for so many things, waiting ten days to show up, not calling the second I finished watching your video, blocking your number so you couldn’t call me, fighting with you when I answered Ruby’s phone-”

“Swan-”

“I get that you’re mad at me.  Good, you should be.  I was terrible to you and I know it’s no excuse but I was hurt and you lied to me, but I still should have given you a chance to explain-” she gave a little hiccuping laugh, “God, if you’d done that to me and showed up at my house I would have slammed the door in your face and been done with it.  And you?  You invited me in for tea?  Why?”

Killian shook his head with a huff.  She could see his smile threatening to break loose again and the sight mystified her.  He saw her bewilderment and pushed off the counter behind him with his hip, setting his mug in front of hers and leaned into her space, gently taking her hand in his.

“Don’t you know, Emma?” He asked, painfully earnest. “You said you watched the video, so you must know.”

“You’re mad at me,” she pointed out, even as she gripped his hand.

He tilted his head, considering her, “I am but that doesn’t change how I feel.”

“I’m not sure how I feel,” she confessed in a whisper, “I know I hated not talking to you late at night or being near you almost constantly but…”

She trailed off, unsure how to proceed without stoking either of their tempers again.  Killian’s thumb ran over the back of her hand, encouraging her, and she reveled in the feeling.  He gave her an encouraging nod and she took a fortifying breath.

“You lied to me-” he winced and tried to pull his hand from hers but she held on fast, “You lied and if whatever this is between us is going to work I need to know why.  I promise to actually listen this time.”

He gave her a pained smile, “And if you don’t like what you hear?”

“I won’t know until you tell me,” she countered softly.

“Alright,” he said with a nod, one that seemed more for himself than for her. “Alright, but can you promise me one more thing?”

“Anything,” she agreed quickly.

“No interruptions.  I think it’ll do us both good to have it all out in one go.”

She used her free hand to mime that she was locking her lips and throwing away the key.  He gave her a small snort of a laugh, no longer looking pained or apprehensive, which had been her goal.  As she gently squeezed his hand in encouragement she really hoped she’d be able to keep her promise.

Killian blew out a harsh breath and began, “Are you familiar with Cora Hart?”

Her eyebrows shot up and she bit the inside of her cheek to keep her mouth shut.  Cora Hart was the agent of all agents.  Her firm was the one every struggling artist wished would represent them because every one of their clients was a superstar or on their way to being one.  To be one of her personal clients was like getting a golden ticket to everlasting fame, fortune, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  However, it came with a price and Emma wasn’t entirely convinced that it wasn’t someone’s soul.  Plus Cora Hart was known by everyone in the industry as ‘that cold hearted bitch’.  It was an unpleasant surprise to hear her name coming from Killian’s lips.

“Yes, I can see that you are,” he sighed. “She’s my agent.”

She grimaced.  As much as she’d been prepared to hear it it still made her stomach drop.  There were only so many ways his story was going to go and she wasn’t sure she was entirely ready to hear it, but she would, because she promised.

“I’ve been with her since the beginning.  She found us playing at a small pub in Liverpool and snapped us up.  If it weren’t for her we’d probably still be playing pub gigs but only on weekends-” he gave her a wan smile that didn’t last long, “I owe a lot to that woman, not everything but enough to know not to question her decisions on where to take my career.  Even if I wanted to seek different representation she’s got me in an iron clad contract for at least three solo albums.”

“What?!”

She couldn’t help her outburst.  While it was normal for a record label to offer contracts like that, she’d signed one herself for that matter, she was pretty sure it wasn’t standard for an agent to do the same.  Then again she didn’t actually have an agent of her own.  Regina was an employee of her label and didn’t need a separate contract with her and seemed more than happy to take care of everything herself.  Emma thought that things had been working out alright, aside from the fiasco that had put her right where she found herself at that very moment.

“I have been bound by this contract for quite a while, Swan,” he said wryly. “Since even before the accident.”

“But that’s gotta be extortion or something, right?” She asked indignantly. “I mean, it’s been almost fifteen years!”

He gave her a warm look, “There are plenty of people who have been with their agents for much longer and I thought I said no interruptions, love.”

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly.

“Realm of Jewels made Cora a very rich woman and an equally hot commodity in the industry.  I had already planned to do a few solo albums and signed with her because she was someone I already knew.  Back then I thought three albums was nothing, I had written material for at least six,” he said with a shrug. “After the accident and pulling myself out of the bottle she was gracious enough to allow me to do whatever I needed to do to get my life back on track.  Even if it meant nothing more than doing recording sessions for other artists’ work.  Of course, her patience could only be pushed so far and I’m sure I’d far exceeded the limit.  She started not so gently reminding me of my contractual obligations about a year ago.

“At the time I figured I could piecemeal something together from my old lyrics and maybe a cover or two to get an album together.  It wouldn’t have been great, fair to middling if anything, but it would have been enough to satisfy Cora for the time being.  I wasn’t excited by the prospect and in the meantime I was still being hired for session recordings.  One of which was for your album.”

Emma smiled and ducked her head.  He’d made it sound like it was some great honor instead of a few hours work on a couple of songs.  She didn’t even get to choose the musicians that got to record, that was all left up to the label, though she did get final say on how it sounded.  That didn’t mean to say she hadn’t gone back to listen to those backing tracks almost as much as the song he’d written for her.

“It was the day we were recording for Snowdrops and Buttercups that I first met Regina.  It just so happened to be the same day that Cora had come to the studio to once again remind me of my obligations.  What I wasn’t aware of was the fact that Cora is Regina’s mother-” Emma’s head shot up at that and he nodded, “Whatever you do try to avoid being in the same room as them, especially when business is involved.  I left the studio that day with my three album contract inexorably attached to the record label that Regina represented.  There was also the small inconvenience of a series of deadlines being imposed.  The first of which was having enough songs written to begin recording an album within six months.  When Ruby called about needing a replacement I had about two months left to put something recordable together.”

Emma bit her lip.  It was getting harder and harder to keep her comments and questions to herself.  Especially with the bomb he’d dropped about Regina and Cora.  She decided to take a sip of her tea instead.  Before her mug even made it to her lips Killian was grinning widely at her.

“Go ahead, love,” he said with a bow of his head.

She slammed her mug down, splashing tea over her hand.  With a hiss she shook off the droplets impatiently, ignoring Killian’s outstretched hand, not wanting to be deterred.

“Cora the heartless is Regina’s mother?!  And if you had only two months to write an entire album why the hell were you allowed to come on tour with me?  Is that why you had that lunch with Robin and Regina?  For the album?  Why didn’t you tell me all of this already?”

Killian’s expression immediately dropped into one of regret as she sat back, stunned at her directness.  She absentmindedly rubbed at the reddened spot on the back of her hand that the tea had spilled on.  The lingering pain was an excellent distraction from the tension that had sprung up between them.  With a click of his tongue Killian moved to the sink, wetting the corner of a dish rag.  When he turned back to her he paused and she gave him a nod, holding out her hand to him hoping he would see it as the olive branch she was offering.

“At first it didn’t seem as though it would be an issue,” he said quietly as he gently pressed the rag to her burn, “You only needed a temporary guitarist and as I mentioned earlier I had dozens of notebooks already filled with lyrics that would suffice.  Regina was the one who scheduled the meeting with Robin as soon as I was officially attached to the tour.  I believe her intention at the time was for me to hand over the completed songs and get the ball rolling as it were.  She, of course, had no idea that you and I would become what we did.”

“Did you, um, have any idea?” She asked hesitantly, dropping her gaze to where his hand was still holding the damp cloth to the back of hers.

He used his other hand to tip up her chin and looked her in the eye, “I’d hoped but I could never be quite sure how you felt.  Until Chicago.”

She wanted to confess that her hopes had started long before Chicago.  That he had somehow snuck past her defenses into her heart with his charm and unwavering support but she couldn’t.  He still hadn’t answered the question that mattered most to her.  With a sigh she pulled away from his gentle touch.

“I still don’t understand why you didn’t tell me any of this,” she said a bit sharper than she intended, her frustration and confusion bleeding into her tone. “We talked for hours on that damn bus.  I listened to you talk about how much better felt tip pens are than ball points three separate times!  Was it really so hard to say ‘by the way, Swan, I’ve signed with your manager and have to get an album written while we’re on the road’?”

He let out a heavy breath and ran a hand through his hair, “I didn’t want to upset you.”

“And look where that got you,” she said with a humorless chuckle waving her hand between them. “If you’d said something off the bat I would have been pissed at you for, like maybe a week, and I also wouldn’t have gotten my heart broken.”

Emma froze.  She hadn’t meant to make that confession, especially when she wasn’t even one hundred percent sure what it was she felt for him.  Killian seemed caught off guard too, as he stood staring at her with wide eyes and not appearing to breathe.  He blinked and closed the small distance between them but made no move to touch her.

“I’m glad to hear it,” he murmured.

“You’re glad to hear I got my heart broken?” Her voice cracked and she pulled as far back from him as she could.

“If it can be broken, it means it still works,” he said softly but she could hear the hope in his words all the same. “I know I hurt you immeasurably, love, and I’ve earned no right to a second chance but if you can see it in you to do so I’ll gladly spend the rest of my days earning your back your trust and, perhaps in time, your heart.”

“Killian…”

“Finish your tea, Swan,” he said with a tight smile though his eyes were sparkling with the same hope she’d heard, “Don’t want it to get cold.”

She stared down at the amber liquid and watched the curling tendrils of steam as though they’d give her some kind of sign of what to do.  They didn’t, of course, not that she really believed it would be that easy.  There were still so many questions she wanted to ask but only one really mattered.  Guarding herself against a final blow she looked up at him with determination.

“Were you ever going to tell me about any of it?  Or was it always your plan for me to find out from someone else?”

Killian jolted back, as though she’d slapped him.  He shook his head with a sigh before running a hand over his face.  When he caught her eye again the hope had been replaced with pain and a flash of the anger she’d thought was behind them.

“I’d intended to tell you everything the night of the interview over the dinner we were supposed to share at my home.  I suppose it was fortuitous that I’d listened to it or I would have sat with our meal laid out on the table, waiting for hours for your arrival.  As it was I had to endure one of Regina’s assistants traipsing through the house, gathering your items and ignoring my pleas to explain what the hell was going on.  Then, of course, there was to be no explanations forthcoming for nearly three days and absolute devastation once I’d received them.  But after all that my feelings for you never changed, not once.”

Emma sucked in a breath at that.  Even as he was justifiably dressing her down for what she’d done he was still playing it safe.  He’d never stated outright what he felt for her but she knew without a doubt what he wasn’t saying.  Funny thing was, his caution made her realize exactly what she felt for him with startling clarity.  She gave a little laugh that bordered on manic but she was helpless against the sudden euphoria she was feeling.

Killian glared at her, “I won’t have you laughing-”

“I love you.”

The words seemed to hang between them in the quiet kitchen like a line cast out to the unknown.  She could only hope that Killian would grasp onto them and tether her heart to his.  As the silence stretched out she found she only wished she had told him sooner instead of dragging out both their heartaches.  Shaking her head at her own stubborn foolishness she gave him a tremulous smile.

“I love you and I’m sorry.  I was trying so hard to protect myself from getting hurt again that I just hurt us both so much more instead.  I’m so tired of feeling like I tore a piece of my own heart out.  You said your feelings haven’t changed.  I want this.  I want us.  Do you?”

Instead of answering her with words Killian moved at a speed that surprised her.  Almost before she had finished the question he was standing in front of her, his arms bracketing her with his hands on the back of the chair and the counter.  His expression was deadly serious but his eyes were lit with joy as he leaned into her space.

“Swan, I want nothing more.”

Her smile was cut off by his lips pressing to hers.  She gasped as one of his hands delved into her hair while the other banded around her waist, his thumb stroking at the skin above the waistband of her jeans.  It was as if he was pouring every emotion into the kiss.  His passion, his elation, his fervor, and most of all his love.  With a moan she pulled him impossibly closer, hooking her ankles around the back of his legs to draw him in.

To her surprise he broke away, leaning his forehead against hers, breathing heavily, “There’s one last thing that needs to be said.”

“Now?” She panted, arching up slightly to nip at his lower lip. “Can’t it wait?”

“Not really,” he groaned.  He kissed the corner of her mouth, then her cheek, sliding his mouth to her ear where he quietly sang to her, “But I wouldn't trade a day for the chance to say, My love, I'm in love with you.”

Tears welled in her eyes as he pulled back, looking at her as though she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.  He gently brushed away the few tears that had fallen with a finger, following closely behind with soft kisses that travelled across her cheeks, leaving her wanting more.  By the time he moved to her mouth the heat between them had returned but she leaned back before he could press more than one delicate kiss to her lips.

“Emma,” he growled, his hand flexing on the back of her neck, his eyes hot.

“You know, you never gave me a tour of the place-” she gave him a teasing smile and gave an exaggerated look around, “I bet there’s all sorts of interesting rooms.”

He caught on quickly, his smile unfurling into something wicked, “Indeed there are, my love.  Shall we begin with the bedroom?”

He didn’t give her the chance to answer as he swiftly pulled her up from her chair and tugged her quickly down the hallway.

Much, much later Emma was seated back at the breakfast bar in nothing but her underwear and Killian’s Led Zeppelin shirt.  Her feet were perched in Killian’s lap, which was covered by dark blue boxer briefs that he’d only pulled on when the pizza they’d ordered had arrived.  She tried to smother a giddy grin behind her crust but he caught sight of it and raised a brow at her.

“Something you’d like to share, Swan?”

“I’m just-” she gave a little shrug, “happy.  I guess I’m still trying to process it.”

“I know what you mean, love,” he agreed, his hand dropping to her ankle to give it a squeeze. “If someone had told me yesterday that we would be here tonight, like this, I wouldn’t have believed them.  Now, if they’d predicted us reconciling by the end of the week I wouldn’t have questioned it.”

“No?” She asked, humming in pleasure at the confidence in his voice.

“You’re not the only one who can wheedle an address out of Regina,” he said with a wink.  Then he grew serious, “If I hadn’t heard from you by the end of the week I was planning on driving up to Maine to plead my case.”

“I’m surprised she gave it to you,” she mumbled around a bite of her crust. “She was all worried about you breaching your contract because of deadlines two weeks ago.  A side trip to Maine would definitely eat into your studio time or something.”

“Oh-” Killian scratched behind his ear and then said offhandedly, “I’ve, er, been in breach of my contract since I posted that video, love.”

Her last bite fell from her fingers as she gaped at him.  A flush was rising along the back of his neck and he gave her a sheepish smile.

“What?”

“Well, according to some of the very fine print in it I was forbidden from releasing any music by means other than through the label-” he shrugged and waved a hand as though dismissing the seriousness of the situation, “My lawyer assures me that at most I’ll only have to pay a minimal fine.”

“Pay a…” she brought her palms to her temples, “Killian that’s still going to be thousands of dollars.”

“I would have posted a hundred unsanctioned songs and paid every cent I have to my name just to get you to talk to me again,” he said matter of factly.  He leaned over and plucked the piece of crust from her lap, tossing it into the open pizza box before fixing her gaze with his, “And it would have been worth it.  You are worth everything.”

She dropped her hands with a huff, “Stop being romantic when I’m worrying about you.”

“Never,” he said with a wide grin that made his eyes crinkle. “And you don’t need to worry about me, Swan, I’m a survivor.”

“I love you,” she said with a shrug, “I’ll always worry about you.”

His grin mellowed into something that made her feel warm and cherished.  He leaned over and grasped her stool, dragging it towards him until the already small distance between them was narrowed so only a puff of air could pass through.  She gave a wayward thought to the state of his floors at the abuse they suffered but it vanished as his hand came up to cup her jaw, his thumb drawing a delicate arc across her cheekbone.

“I love you too,” he murmured just above a whisper, his eyes intent on hers, “I always will.”

Her happy sigh was swallowed by his lips on hers.  The kiss was far more gentle than any of the others they had shared, even the ones from before their separation.  With a slight thrill she realized that they would have hundreds, even thousands, more kisses of all sorts in the years to come.  As they parted she couldn’t help her giddy smile at the thought.

Killian raised his brow at her, his gaze teasing, “Already, Swan?  We’ve only just surfaced.”

“What?  No!” She laughed, pushing him back, “I mean, yeah but not like that.  I was thinking about us kissing but years from now kind of kisses.”

“Years from now,” he repeated in awe.  He leaned back towards her, “I like the sound of that.”

“Me too,” she sighed.  Then she crinkled her nose at him, “Even if I do end up supporting you because you have to keep paying fines since you’re a big YouTube star now.  I know how you guys gotta keep posting content.”

“Har, har, love.  Just so you know, Cora has already spun this in my favor,” he said smugly. “She’s convinced the label that it’s the perfect way to garner attention for my forthcoming album.  Which is why I’ll only be paying a minimal fine instead of what it easily could have been.”

Emma sat back, “So you’re still going to do it?  Record the album?”

“Not exactly, no,” he said with a crooked smile, “The songs I was planning on recording before are, quite honestly, rubbish.  I’ve had a wellspring of inspiration these past few weeks.  Robin is quite pleased with them as a matter of fact and he’s not hold back over the years when something of mine is only worthy of a bin.  I’ll be heading to the studio once the whole contract debacle is taken care of.  That is, of course, only if you agree.”

“Agree to what?” She asked, confused.

“The songs, my love-” he dropped his eyes for a moment and when he looked back up his gaze was wary, “You, us, what we’ve been through?  Well… you know.”

And she did.  She’d written dozens of songs about the man who’d left her in jail and pregnant and just as many about her lonely childhood in foster care.  There was more than one notebook filled with longing ballads about the son she’d never even held.  Hell, the notebook in her purse was pages of scribbles and half formed lyrics about Killian and their time together.  So she knew exactly what he was getting at.  She also had one niggling thought about it.

“Yeah, I do,” she said with a slow nod.  Reaching towards him she took his hand between hers, “I think you should record the songs you’ve written, even the ones that I know don’t paint me in the best light, but I do have one request.”

“Anything,” he breathed, his hand flexing in hers.

“I don’t want to hear any of them until the final mix-” she let go of his hand to cover his mouth as he tried to protest, “No, hear me out first.  I’m sure the songs are good, great even since Robin is excited about them, and that’s exactly why I want to wait to hear them.  I know how much work goes into making an album and thanks to Ruby you know exactly how big a fan I am of your music.  I just- I think I want to have that giddy moment listening to your first big solo album as the finished thing.”

Killian tugged her hand away from his lips and gave her a wry grin, “So you want to enjoy the sausage without seeing all the unappetizing steps of how it gets made?”

“Uh, weird analogy but yeah,” she said, relieved that it hadn’t caused another fight, “I wouldn’t mind seeing the pigs before slaughter though.”

“So you’ll berate me for the initial analogy but then proceed to take it to a much darker place.  I see how your mind works, Swan,” Killian said with narrowed eyes and a look of mock sternness.

“I work with what I’m given,” she said with a shrug.

Killian huffed out a laugh before he grew serious, taking the hand that was still in his and placing them both over his heart, “You can look at every song I’ve ever written, love.  Even the shit ones from primary school.”

She gave him a smile she knew was giddy, “Oh, I definitely want to look at those but I think for now I’ll stick to your most recent ones.”

“Wise decision,” he murmured,half rising from his stool, “Shall I go get them now?”

“No, it’s late, I can look at them tomorrow-” she flexed her fingers on his chest and when he looked back at her she tried to let him see every ounce of love she was feeling, “I’m not going anywhere.”

His smile unfurled slowly but adoration and love was bright in his eyes, “Good.”

[thetomorrowshow]

Slower Than Words Ch. 5

1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12

I legitimately feel sorry about this chapter! It wasn’t meant to be this intense, just lightly angsty. Virgil really threw himself under the angst bus for this one so buckle up y’all

cw: gagging, unethical eye operations (not in great detail), panic attack, kidnapping, by a cult specifically, character being restrained (both on a table and not), brief mention of blood, fever, intense pain, vomit, that’s a lot of warnings, passing mention of drugs, singular mention of an IV, surgical implications

~

Everything was decidedly not going to be okay, Virgil realized several days later when he was rudely awoken by rough hands pulling him out of bed and out the door before he could say a word. He opened his mouth to scream and had a rag stuffed in it, which was also rude.

While being dragged down a hallway, Virgil took the moment to reflect on his current mental state, which was scarily calm considering what was happening. Shock, probably. Even more likely was the overwhelming gratitude he was feeling that it was him leaving the safety of the room, not Patton. That gratitude gave way to fear (finally) as he was brought into another room, one with a distinctly medical smell.

The room. Not the room, please, not the place where his eyes burned and he could hear himself screaming but was fairly detached, watching from the side as the men and women in white coats leaned over him and measured his reaction. The place where he was left alone, for weeks, as his eyes slowly healed but never saw again. The place where they had strapped him down, hadn't drugged him even as he struggled and sobbed with pain—

They were doing that now, Virgil realized with a start, and he began to fight, trying to force them away and roll off the table, but they already had his ankles secured.

“Get that out of his mouth, we're not monsters.”

Virgil would have cried at hearing words that didn't come from his own mouth if he weren't already crying. The rag was pulled from between his teeth, and he gasped out incomplete sentences of pleas and desperation.

“Virgil, is it?” a woman said.

“My name, that's my name,” Virgil sobbed, almost incoherently. No one had said it in so long, he almost wanted them to say it again.

“Well Virgil, we're here to help. All we need you to do is lie still.”

Virgil would have promised anything, but he was suddenly aware of the fact that they had finished strapping him down. He didn't have a choice here. He tried to calm his hitching sobs, aware that he definitely looked not only like a fool, but weak.

“Wh-what are you going to do?” he asked pitifully. There were several long moments of silence. Then the same woman before spoke, saying eerily familiar words.

“We're going to fix you, in the name of the Prophets.”

Virgil screamed.

-

Virgil had been in the back of this van for far too long. His mind was still in overdrive with fear, but now he could wonder—why had he been kidnapped? There was nothing special about him. He was just like any other college kid, trying to make his way in life with money in the negative and relationships even lower. The only person who might care about him was his roommate Roman, but he also had no money and therefore would never be able to pay a ransom. Not to mention, Roman was promising. He was only failing geology, he'd just gotten a role in a production at the high end theater across town, and he had a boyfriend who definitely didn't care about Virgil.

There was nothing he could do to escape whatever awful fate these strangers had for him. They didn't look too dangerous, all four men wearing square-looking jeans and plain t-shirts, but none of them had very built figures. Only one looked like he worked out, which was a testament to the fact that Virgil was a pathetic weakling. He should've splurged and bought that gym membership.

The van stopped for hours at one point, Virgil assumed in a hotel parking lot or something. He would've liked to get out of the cramped space, but it was clear that wasn't happening any time soon. His hands were tied to his ankles (a fact that had sent him into more than one panic attack) and both were pulled behind his back in a hog tie, and a bandana was bundled up in his mouth and tied around the back of his head. He could tell it was night; some of the light from the part of the van with seats filtered in during the day. It was nice to have a little light. Darkness scared him—he always slept with the blinds on the window turned to let some moonlight in, now that he was far too old for a nightlight. Now, however, there was zero light and Virgil was barely keeping himself from freaking out. He just had to survive the night, then nothing would ever be dark again.

They were back on the road. The men chatted loudly, but so many of the words seemed to have a different context for them than they did for him. Haven? Blessings? Liberating? It sounded like a cult, and Virgil once again attempted to free himself of the ropes. The only thing he gained was rope burn.

When the door opened and Virgil blinked at the sudden light and wave of heat, he had to assume they'd arrived. Instead of moving (or shooting) him, two people stared. A man and a woman, the man in a simple suit, the woman in an even simpler dress. Sweat trickled down Virgil's temple as he stared back at them, his jaw aching and limbs strained.

“This one will do,” the woman said eventually. The man nodded agreement, and then the ones that had kidnapped him in the first place were dragging him out of the van. Virgil maintained eye contact with the two as he passed. What did that mean? What did they need him for?

The sun beat down on them as the four men carried Virgil across a dirt road. There were small, one-story houses lining the street, but nobody outside. Virgil only had a moment to wonder why before he was being ushered into a large building. It was cooler inside than out, but still stuffy, like the air conditioning was one of those old window units.

He was carried into a room that smelled like a hospital—and looked like one. The counters were laden with different tools that he had no idea what they were to be used for, but looked vaguely like they belonged in a horror movie. The four men rolled him onto the operating table in the center of the room, then set to work untying him. Virgil lay still, hoping to trick them into thinking he would be compliant. He'd wait until his legs were free, then start fighting back.

That was a no-go, as it turned out. The men easily grabbed his legs and pulled a strap over them, securing him into place. He managed to flail his fist into one person's nose, and felt a deep satisfaction when the man doubled over, bleeding. It was quickly snuffed out as the other three got a hold of his arms and strapped them down as well. Then they all left, even the man Virgil had hit, shutting the door and leaving him alone.

Virgil's eyes darted around the room, taking it all in. The only sound was his heavy breathing. He flexed his fingers and toes a few times, trying to get feeling back into them. He groaned deep in his throat as they began to tingle, then ache. He shifted a little, the sweat pooling under his shirt and hoodie making him supremely uncomfortable.

The door opened with a bang, startling Virgil enough that he jumped. Quite a few—seven, maybe—people in white lab coats entered, the last man wearing plain clothes and looking less like a nerd than the others and more like a bodyguard. Virgil swallowed. What were they going to do to him?

“Hello, Virgil,” an older man with a scar on his chin said, smiling too wide. He leaned over the table, and Virgil tried to lean away. The man tsked, his smile dimming slightly.

“Now, that won't do. Don't be scared, Virgil. We aren't going to hurt you.” The man frowned for a split second, then chuckled. “I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to lie. This will likely be very painful, Virgil.”

Virgil couldn't force his eyes away from the man's, cold brown eyes boring into his soul. He felt the fear rise, bubbling out of his throat in a muffled cry, even as a tear slipped out of his eye and rolled toward his temple.

“We're going to break you, in the name of the Prophets.”

Then they were holding his head still, and—no—no—not his eyes, please, anything else—

Virgil screamed.

-

Virgil didn't know how long he feverishly drifted, but it was certainly hours. His eyes—it was more than burning, somehow. It was the fire of a thousand suns, concentrated in his eye sockets and pounding through his head. All he could feel was the pain, not knowing where he was or aware of any outside stimulus.

The moment Virgil recognized that it was terrifying was the moment that he could feel his fingers. Suddenly, he was no longer a miasma of pain, but a human being (engulfed by pain) again. That was also when he realized there was something pressed up to his lips. He opened his mouth—water, warm and stale but still water—flooded his dry mouth and and he choked as it hit the back of his throat. The bottle was pulled away, and Virgil spluttered for a few moments before all the water was clear of his airway. Exhausted by the fight and debilitated from the pain, Virgil let his eyes slip closed and drifted again.

When he next woke, it was to incomprehensible pain and the sensation of moving, as if whatever he was laying on was being moved. Barely letting himself wonder where he was headed, Virgil drifted again.

The cycle repeated for a while before Virgil found himself fully conscious. It hurt to turn his head, so he laid still, despite all the noises around him. He was shaking constantly, and he was pretty certain he was strapped down. The room wasn't cold, exactly, but Virgil longed for a blanket, something to perhaps weigh down his legs and ease the quaking.

“Can you hear me?”

Virgil wasn't sure if the person was talking to him or not, so he didn't respond. The other noises around the room—a sink running? A quiet conversation?—continued as if nothing happened.

“Can you hear me?”

This time, the voice was louder, and distantly familiar. Virgil nodded slightly, cut short as he grimaced in pain. Moving his head made the pain spike, inducing nausea. Now he felt he was going to throw up, as well as shiver to death. Great.

“Tell me your name.”

“Virgil,” he rasped. He'd never given these people his last name—how they'd found out his first was a mystery to him—but it didn't quite count as an act of defiance when just saying his first name had sapped all of his energy. He tasted copper in the back of his mouth and wondered vaguely if he'd screamed so much that his throat had bled.

“He's conscious enough. Try to get him to stand up.”

Virgil was trying to figure out how to respond to this when he registered the sound of Velcro tearing, then hands grabbed his arms and pulled him off of the surface. Immediately his headache spiked, and he cried out, barely aware of his knees buckling and hitting the floor.

A sigh was heard. Virgil sniffed back tears, despite the little voice in the back of his head telling him he had literally zero dignity left. He didn't want to cry, especially not at just standing up.

Then suddenly, they were moving. Virgil struggled to get his feet underneath him, but failed and resigned himself to being dragged. He was certain he was about to pass out. His head grew fuzzy, limbs filled with pins and needles. The sound of himself being pulled on the concrete was even louder than anything that had just been going on in the room; it filled his ears and pounded along to his heartbeat.

He distantly heard a laugh, then gasped as someone let go and his head cracked against the floor. It wasn't too bad, he wasn't very far from the floor anyway, but the pain of the impact still caused him to lose the battle against his stomach, vomiting all over himself and the floor. Some commotion followed that; Virgil's head was spinning and splitting and his eyes burned and put simply, he couldn't keep track.

He drifted again, laying on the floor in his own sick, not sure what was real and what wasn't. Too soon, though, he was brought back to the waking world by a jet of water hitting him square in the stomach. He jerked, then spluttered as the water hit his face. Somehow, while shocking, it was more pleasant than the pain, a nice distraction. That didn't last, though. Soon enough, Virgil was shivering and numb as the water kept spraying, a sob tearing from his throat as more and more went up his nose.

Finally it stopped, the only sounds being the water dripping from his soaked clothing and his shuddering sobs. Virgil couldn't stop crying and shaking, and there was only one thought in his head, playing over and over: I want Patton. Please I want Patton. Please Patton please I want Patton please—

After what felt like hours of just laying there, hands grabbed his wrists again and began dragging. Virgil didn't even try to stand, or stop crying. He was so cold. So, so, cold, and he just wanted Patton, just wanted to be safe. . . .

More noise—so loud—and a little more strain on his arms before he was dropped, palms bouncing lightly off the floor. Virgil wanted to curl up on his side, hoard what little body heat he had, but he couldn't move. He couldn't move, and they were coming closer. His sobs ratcheted up as he just knew they were right above him, holding those tools and moving closer and—

Someone touched him, and Virgil whimpered loud. He couldn't—not again—please no, please please please no—

They took his hand and touched his wrist—an IV, they were just putting drugs in him—with warm fingers, tracing something—

Tracing . . . something. . . .

P-a-t-t-o-n.

“Patton,” Virgil croaked. Patton was here. Patton was safe, Patton would make everything all right. With that knowledge, Virgil finally fell into a comfortable sleep.

~

Taglist (let me know if you want to be added/removed): @enragedbees @gotta-love-alejandra @bunny222 @basiic-emo @patt0n-sanders @rosiepupper @fangirlgeekandfreak @dn-fan21 @that2000skid @remy-the-lemon-berry @itsadastraperaspera @xionbean @sanderssides-angst @hell-yea-we-gay-tonight @maybedefinitely404

[overwhelmedbyskeletons]

When Nothing Moves

I can’t sleep. The sun is too bright.

I started this job cleaning out fruit slicers all night a month ago and I haven’t had a good nights sleep since. Every night filled with tossing and turning, trying to find a way to comfortably shield my eyes from the suns blinding light. Working a graveyard hours job meant I was sleeping all day and working all night. The cruddy curtains in my room were doing fuck-all for blocking out sunlight. Some of the guys at my job that were friendly enough told me to buy some blackout curtains and it will make my room completely dark, even with the sun beating down and hopefully it will help me get some good rest. after my work week ended, in my car I ordered that highest-reviewed blackout curtains I could find online and they were due to arrive at my apartment the next morning, in seven hours.

I woke the next day to a knock on my door and a shine directly into my eyes. I could have rearranged my entire room several times and still wouldn’t be able find a way to not get work on my tan while I sleep. I hurried to the door to get the package and gave a wave to the delivery driver before they made it down the stairs out of view.

Putting up the curtains was smooth, even though they were quite heavy material. My biggest fear was that they would pull the curtain rod from the wall, but that worry didn’t last long as the void that my bedroom had become was a sight for sore and tired eyes. I poured myself a glass of water in the kitchen before sitting down on my bed. Before I could take a sip, the comfort of my sheets began to sing symphonies to my tired muscles and lull me back to sleep.

I slept in, something that was unheard of even before I started my backwards sleep schedule. The clock on the bedside table read 9:23pm in red digital font, illuminating my wallet and phone that I had forgotten to plug in after last nights shift and was now most definitely dead. Still in a sleep state, I reached down to grab the charger and plug it into my phone when I heard a noise come from the other side of the bed. A tapping in a rhythmic matter, which would explain why i hadn’t noticed it sooner, but now it had gotten louder, almost annoyed at me paying it no mind and I froze leaning halfway off the bed. The jolt of fear that swarmed my body woke me up better than any instant java could ever wish. It knows that I know and its playing with me now. The tapping is getting faster and multiplies and I now that it is the sound of fingernails tapping on my wall.

(Did somebody break in am I really going to get murdered in my bed after the first night of decent sleep in my life?)

The tapping stopped suddenly, followed by a bang on the wall knocking out one of the nails holding up the curtains. My fists clenched among other things. I roll off the bed into a stance and with a sorry excuse of a warcry ready to fight whatever it was in my room to the death if need be. Nothing was there; I was sure of that. The curtains had fallen letting in the bright glow from the 7-11 across the street, revealing the only thing out of the ordinary in my room was that I needed to clean.

“Must’ve been a dream.” I said out loud, an attempt to calm myself after what I just experienced or just only imagined.

I flicked the flicked the lights on and fixed the curtains. Hammering in the nails all a little more for good measure before walking out of my room to start my day.

My apartment is in no meaning of the word interesting. I’ll state that I had, two chairs, a couch, some scattered goodwill tables of varying size, and a flatscreen TV on a small Swedish table decorated with a collection of games and movies. It wasn’t much, but I enjoyed what I had.

I prepared myself a bowl of cereal and sat on the couch to watch a show when I noticed movement down the hallway into my room. It wasn’t a natural movement in any sense and even now it is hard to explain. It was as if the world had lost focus of that specific spot in my bedroom doorway and it had grown hazy and distorted. It had the height of a man in a sheet ghost’s clothing and it was raising what I presumed to be its arms when an ad on the TV startled me back to reality. I started up a show and began eating my food quickly, doing my best to forget what might be lurking down the hall and failing as thoughts raced through my head.

(I didn’t check under the bed FUCK no one can fit under there anyways FUCK THE CLOSET FUCK it’s nothing probably just a reflection YOU HAVE NO MIRRORS IN THERE DUMBASS AND YOU CLOSED THE CURTAINS IT’S A GHOST YOU ARE BEING HAUNTED CONGRATULATIONS SHIRLEY FUCKING JACKSON WOULD WRITE A BOOK ABOUT YOU CALLED THE IDIOT’S HAUNTING IF SHE WAS STILL ALIVE)

Frustrated with myself I hopped up and marched down the hall to my room huffing and puffing with each authoritative stomp, making sure that whoever await beyond the door knew I meant the most serious of business, as well as sloshing my breakfast everywhere. As I pushed the door open fully I was rushed by what I can only describe as a shadow, knocking me on my back. spilling cereal and milk all over me and as I looked up I could see the shadow turn left at the end of the hallway into the TV room and out of my sight.

I was terrified. I tried to stand myself up while keeping my sights on where I last saw it. As I got to my knees and began to prop up, the shadow peaked around the corner with a featureless, translucent face starring at me with what I assumed was malicious intent. Frozen in fear, I could only muster up the breath to ask a single question.

“Who?”

To which, to my absolute horror it responded in a echoed whisper.

“Boo.”

And vanished.

With my pants shit and my legs like jello, it took me a moment to breath, let alone move. When Blood returned to my veins I hastily made my way to the bathroom to clean myself of spilled Golden Grahams and milk and to face the realization that what I had just witnessed was anything but normal. I spent a moment arguing with my thoughts, fighting the impulse to sleep in my car. My reflection in the bathroom mirror helped to ground me in reality, to remind me that I am fine and no harm was done. I convinced myself of a resident Casper The Friendly, albeit roughhousing ghost. I soon after left the bathroom.

I poured myself another, bigger bowl of cereal and sat down to watch anything the TV had to offer. I spent the rest of the night on the couch, eating and finding any excuse to not look down the hallway.

At around 2:51am I had had enough of wracking my brain, thinking that at any moment the shadow would reappear and attack me again, this time finishing the job. I bolted down the hallway to my bedroom, grabbed my keys and wallet and headed out my apartment to go across the street to the 7-11 for a early morning slurpee. The cashier knew me and joked about my usual purchase of sugary drinks and snacks. I gave no response, paid my $6.23 and headed out the door.

As I was crossing the street back to my apartment, I looked up to my second floor bedroom window, half hoping to see nothing, other half expecting bloody Mary herself. After what I had been through that night, I’m not sure why I even went back into that apartment. The curtain rod had been torn out of the wall again and standing in my room were two of the shadow figures latched to the windowsill, with the distinct outline of hands pushed against the glass. They watched me as I continued crossing the street; my heart was almost bursting out of my chest. I was running on fear induced auto-pilot and my destination was my apartment door. When I reached my door I finally paused and reflected on what had happened tonight.

(If they wanted me dead, They could have done it already. They were playing games with me, but why?)

I stood in front of my door for a minute before realizing I had never locked it and walked right in ready to confront whatever was inside. I flicked the kitchen light on, set my drink and bag down, and looked down the dark hallway. Spilling out of my room were dozens of shadows piling over each other, all different shapes and heights of darkness, fading in and out as if there was a draft blowing through them. I began nervously pacing in my small kitchen, checking on the hallways inhabitants every few rounds. They never moved. After a while a voice moaned from my bedroom.

“Leave”

“No.” I spat out responded in annoyance.

“Leave or...”

“Or fucking what?” I shouted with such ferocity that my neighbors definitely heard me.

“Die.”

All the blood drained from my face and immediately the shadows in the hall began screaming and moaning, shifting from side to side,all while inching towards me. My legs turned gave out from under me. trying to catch myself from falling I had turned the kitchen light off which seemed to invite the shadows to come closer. As they got closer, their faces appeared mangled and distorted consisting of holes where a human features should be. As their shadows began to overtake my motionless body, I shut my eyes so tight that it hurt. Amidst the moaning I heard one last phrase.

“Sleep again now. We’ll do the rest.”

The next thing I know, i’m laying on the doormat outside of my apartment. I didn’t care how I got there. I quickly got on my feet and down the stairs to my car. I closed my eyes as I backed out of the parking lot. I didn’t want to ever look at that window ever again.

I stayed at my friend Aiden’s place for a week. He lived alone, so he liked the company and he had the room for it, so he didn’t mind. I had told him a lie of how the landlord was spying on me when I showered and once tried to seduce me while fixing the sink. I think he believed it.

I only wanted to go back to the apartment once to get my stuff. After a week of staying with Aiden, the two of us drove to the apartment building and found that where my bedroom window used to be was blown out, stained black with burn marks. Aiden didn’t know what to say and I was beyond confused. We parked the car and I went to the landlord’s door alone and asked what had happened. He told me in detail that four days again my room had exploded from a gas leak and that I was lucky I went on vacation or else i’d be a deadman. There was nothing to be packed up that wasn’t ash. I apologized to him about his building, and said goodbye. I headed back to my friends car who was waiting with a drink for me from across the street. I got into the car without a word.

“What the fuck happened? Did he try to kill you? Tried to burn you alive cuz you weren’t turned on by his wrinkles?” Aiden said as he started the car.

“No, he doesn’t know what happened. Gas leak they think, he told me.” I said. “Let me take one last look.”

“Oh, sure. Of course.” He said, shutting the engine off. I rested my arms on the top of his car looking up to my once bedroom window now black from the fires, but somehow still intact. I thought I saw something and ran across the street to see it closer. There were two marks on the burnt windowsill; marks I could swear were burned in hands.

“You ok, Rick?” Aiden shouted from the driver’s seat.

“Yea, no, I’m good. Just getting a closer look.” I said as I ran back to the car. “Just saying goodbye is all.”

“Well alrighty, you want to grab some burgers?”

I nodded and smiled.

I never asked him if he saw the handprints.

We pulled out of the parking lot, passing my old apartment building one last time. I instinctively waved to the window that used to be my bedroom. Nothing waved back.

[kireimarkeu]

No Contact

+another repost! i did not make any changes to this work.

summary; mark as your secret boyfriend.. but the both of you aren’t very discreet..

i was inspired by this drabble… so cute

5.1k words..

i swear i tried not to make it too long but it was so hard… also the ending is kinda funny lmfao!!!! im so funny

anw i hope you guys enjoyed this…? bc this was so so so fun to make although it’s lowkey kinda empty bc i didn’t want to make it too long!!! but yes hopefully you like it!! okkk bye!! njoy hehehehehe <3

+Day 18 3:32PM

You were holding Mark’s hands tightly, talking happily about anything and everything. 

That was why you loved Mark; he made you feel so comfortable, you could talk to him for hours and never get tired. He’s someone who you would need in a friend group to make everything less awkward. 

“And so, Yeri fell and we all laughed!” you told him, laughing at the old memory. 

You used to work as a choreographer for Red Velvet, but after a while, you decided to stop since it was affecting your studies a lot. While working with SM, you met the boys, and that was how you met the rest of NCT. 

When you didn’t get a response from Mark, you turned to look at Mark, only to find him frozen, staring ahead. 

“Mark?” you call, turning to see what he was staring at. Your eyes widened when you saw Jaehyun and Doyoung crossing the traffic light. “Oh, fuck.”

“Shit,” your boyfriend cursed, “we need to go,” he tells you, tightening his grip on your hand. 

The both of you speed walk to the opposite direction, hoping his members wouldn’t walk the same path as the both of you. Mark let out another string of curses when he saw his members walking behind them. 

Mark suddenly pulled you into a random store, trying to lose his friends. He pulled you deeper in the store, hiding the both of you from the main entrance. 

Your boyfriend was standing so close to you, the proximity making you nervous. You could feel your heart beating quickly as your cheeks flush red. Your hands going up to press them against Mark’s chest, pushing him back slightly. 

Mark didn’t notice, too distracted on finding his friends. When he noticed that he has lost his friends, he pulled away from a breathless you. His hands smoothly pull yours away from his chest. 

“I think they’re gone— wait, why are you so red?”

+Day 24 11:22PM

You were laying on the couch, playing with your phone while your boyfriend worked on some music that he has been writing for the past few days. 

“Mark~” you whine, your eyes were still stuck on your phone. You just wanted to disturb him for fun. 

Suddenly the door of the studio opened, Taeyong stumbling in as he stared at you and Mark in shock. 

“What are you doing here?” Taeyong asks you. 

“Uh…” you drag out, turning to look at your boyfriend for help. He looked at you then he quickly looked back at Taeyong. 

“I was making a new song for our Japan stage and had y/n help me with the choreography and all,” Mark explained, letting out an embarrassed chuckle. 

That was a lie. Well, not really. Mark did need help with the choreography, but at the same time he wanted you to be there to accompany him. Your presence calms him.

Taeyong remained silent as his eyes went back and forth between you and Mark.

“Should I leave?” you ask awkwardly, looking at your boyfriend then back at Taeyong. When you didn’t get a response, you stood up ready to grab your things.

The older man shook his head, “no, no, stay,” he tells you, walking further in, “I just didn’t know the both of you were so close,” he says while taking a seat next to your boyfriend. 

You let out a chuckle, “we’re close, you guys just didn’t know,”

+Day 33 9:02PM

After Taeyong found out how close Mark was with you, he wouldn’t stop inviting you to the dorm to hang out with the rest of the boys. 

“So, what movie are we watching today?” asks Taeyong as he took a seat next to Doyoung. 

You and Mark were seating next to each other. Mark was sitting at the very end while Jaehyun was sitting on the other side of you. Mark and you was sharing a blanket, your hands placed on your lap. 

“Parasite?” suggests Taeil. 

Loud whines filled the room, “we’ve all watched it, Taeil-ah,” whined Johnny. 

“Y/n, have you watched it?” asks Taeyong, turning to look at you. 

You shook your head. You were told it was pretty graphic and scary and you hated anything that has got to do with blood. 

And Mark knew that, so he would always avoid watching scary movies with you. 

“Should we watch it again? Since y/n hasn’t watched it?” suggests Taeyong, looking at the members for confirmation. The rest of the boys nod their head in agreement.

“Hyung,” your boyfriend voices out, “I don’t think—”

“No,” you quickly deny with a smile, “let’s watch it,”

Taeyong shrugs and plays the movie. 

Mark bit his lip.

A few minutes later, you felt your phone vibrate, you noticed it was Mark who has texted you. You turn to look at Jaehyun, making sure he wasn’t looking. You lowered the brightness of your phone before opening Mark’s text message. 

Markie Pooh: will you be okay?

You turn to look at Mark, but he was staring at the TV screen with a straight face. 

You bit back a smile as you typed a reply. 

You: yes, don’t worry abt me :) 

Mark quickly looked down at his phone to see your reply before keeping his phone away again. Your boyfriend let out a cough before shifting nearer to you until your shoulders were touching. 

You tried to hide your smile by looking down before looking back up, trying to keep a straight face. 

Mark had already watched the movie with the boys when it first came out. He knew when there was going to be a bloody scene. 

So, before the scene started, he had secretly reached for your hand under the blanket. 

You felt his fingers slowly reaching for yours, letting his fingers lace with yours. You tightly grip his hands, not wanting to let go. When you saw the bloody scene, your grip on your boyfriend’s hands tightened as he soothingly strokes the back of your hand with his thumb, hoping it would calm you. 

His fingers on yours distracted you from the graphic show that was playing. You were smiling like a crazy woman as Mark continued to stroke your hand with his thumb. 

“Are you… smiling?” asks Jaehyun as he turned to look at you weirdly. His question made everyone in the room to stare at you. 

Your eyes widen, shaking your head profusely. “No, I wasn’t,”

Johnny nodded, “you did, I saw you,”

At this point, Mark had already pulled his hand away from yours as he stares at you with amusement.

“I wasn’t smiling! It was a scary scene, why would I be smiling?” you ask them, crossing your arms defensively. 

Donghyuck lets out a sigh, “I think we all know y/n just loves horror,”

Taeil nodded, “yeah, she feeds of dead people,”

“Excuse me?!” you screech, throwing a pillow at Taeil, “what does that— no I don’t!”

The boys let out a roar of laughter, amused at how defensive you were acting.

Markie Pooh: you like that, huh? ;)

You looked down at your phone, letting out a soft scowl before reaching under the blanket to pinch Mark’s thigh. 

Mark let out a quiet squeal as he pushed your hand away. 

+Day 49 10:01PM

You were listening to Mark talk about his day. You couldn’t help but smile at how adorable he was; his pouty lips and chubby cheeks which you so desperately want to pinch. 

“Babe, are you listening?” Mark asks with a frown, noticing how you haven’t moved for the past few minutes. 

You nodded, “yes I am, baby,” you replied. 

Mark grins, “okay,” and he went back to talking about his best friend, Donghyuck. 

After hanging out with the boys for a couple of time, you and Donghyuck became close as well. Maybe because he was your boyfriend’s best friend, but you and him just got along so well that the both of you even started texting almost every day.

“So, what did you do today, babe?” asks Mark, snapping you out of your thoughts. 

“Huh? Oh, well I didn’t do anything today,” you tell him, “I cleaned my house a little bit then I took a nap,”

He puffs his cheeks out, “it’s a good thing you didn’t go out today, the air quality is really bad.”

He was always taking care of you; it always made your heart flutter. Mark was always looking out for you despite him being busy himself. Sometimes he would forget to take care of himself which always resulted in you lecturing him. 

Mark was in the middle of saying something when someone barged in his room, screaming. 

“MARK LEE!” you recognised it was Taeil’s voice. 

Mark quickly hid his phone, resting it on his chest. 

“Ah, Hyung, what are you doing here? What do you want?” you heard him ask.

You decided to mute your mic, just to be safe. 

“Why? Can’t I come in and talk to you?” asks Taeil. 

You suddenly heard a loud huff from Mark, as his phone fell off his chest and onto his white sheets. You assumed Taeil was laying on him. 

“Ah~ get out,” whined Mark, pushing the elder off him. 

You heard Taeil click his tongue. “who are you talking to? Your girlfriend?” he asks, “MARK HAS A GIRLFRIEND!” yell Taeil as you laugh out loud. 

Luckily your mic was on mute.

“I don’t have a girlfriend!” groans Mark as he stood up to push his member out of his room. He quickly locked the door before jumping back to bed, grabbing his phone. 

You unmute your mic. 

“Hi,” you giggle. 

He let out a huff, but letting out a shy smile, “Hi, so, where were we?”

+Day 57 7:57PM

Mark entered your house after taking off his shoes. He quietly took a seat at the very end couch. 

It was hard for the both of you to visit each other especially with the boys around, so you decided to have dates at your place instead. It was a good idea since no one could come over and interrupt the both of you. 

“Are you okay?” you ask Mark, noticing how he was so stiff. 

He nodded hesitantly, “it’s just…”

You waited for him to finish his sentence. 

“-awkward,” he finishes, looking up at you. 

You laugh at his words, “why?”

He shrugs, “I don’t know! I’ve never been to your place.”

Amused, you scoot closer to your boyfriend, wrapping your arms around his, leaning up to whisper in his ear. 

“There’s no one else here, Mark.”

You liked teasing him. You enjoyed how he would freeze up at your words. Or when his cheeks would turn a bright red colour. Or how his palms would turn a little sweaty. 

Pulling away from you, he quickly stood up, shaking his head. “No, no, that’s not what we’re going to do.” He tells you, stepping further away from you as you looked up at him in enjoyment. 

“We’re here to watch a movie,” he says, “that’s all.”

He was convincing himself. 

+Day 69 4:13PM

Marker: babe ):

You: what

Marker: I miss you ):

Marker: )))))):

You chuckled at his texts. 

Marker: what are you doingggggg

You: I’m watching a drama

You: what are you doing?

Marker: practice ):

Marker: so bored wo u here

Marker: miss your pretty face ):

You: stop it with the sad emojis!! >:(

Marker: ):

Marker: ):

Marker: ):

Marker: ))):

You: bye

You: I’m going to put my phone on dnd

Marker: nooo don’t leave me baby

Marker: okokokokok I’ll behave

You: good

Annoying boy: hehe

Annoying boy: wht are u up to babyyyy

Annoying boy: wait I already asked that

You: yes u did, u loser

Annoying boy: can I come over later?

You: y 

Annoying boy: causeee I miss u 

You: fine but not too long

You: I don’t want the boys to be all suspicious

Annoying boy: ok bb!!! I won’t hehehe ok

Annoying boy: I have to go now!!

Annoying boy: ily!! Bye bye 

You: see you later

+Day 74 2:36AM

You had one of your leg bent on Mark’s thigh, your hand resting on his chest. He has one arm around your neck for comfort. 

“Mark,” you sigh. 

Mark’s eyes were glued on his phone but let out a hum at the mention of his name. His fingers stroke your shoulder as a sign to assure you that he was listening. 

“We haven’t gone on a date in so long,” you say sadly, drawing hearts on his chest with your finger.

Mark put his phone down, “you wanna go on a date?”

You look up at him and nodded. 

When he made eye contact with you, he couldn’t help but press his lips on your forehead, “okay, but we can’t get caught,”

You nodded, wrapping your arms around your boyfriend’s neck, pulling yourself up so you could press kisses all over his face. Mark’s face scrunch at the ticklish feeling of your lips.

“tickles,” he giggles, pulling his face away from you. 

You pout when he pulls away from you. Your eyes slowly trail off his face to his hair; your fingers automatically going up to play with the black strands. 

Fuck, Mark literally just fell in love with you. 

He enjoyed the position that the both of you were in. You- laying on top of him while he had both hands resting on your waist, staring up at you lovingly. 

“I love your black hair, Mark,” you mumble, eyes stuck on the boy’s hair. 

“Yeah?”

“Mhm,” you nod, “never dye it any other colour,” you look down at him, “or I’ll get mad,” you joke. 

He laughs, “Anything for my girl,”

Your boyfriend’s hands that was resting on your waist, went up to stroke your back softly. He put a little pressure on your back, pushing you down to capture your lips in his. 

+Day 80 11:22PM

It was another movie night with the boys.

This time it was Donghyuck who had invited you over since promotions are over. 

You walked over to sit next to Mark, but you heard Donghyuck whine your name. 

“Sit with me~”

You let out a smile, sitting next to Haechan. The boy immediately grabs your arm, wrapping it around his shoulders before cuddling against you. 

Your met Mark’s gaze from across the room. You could tell he was pissed from the way he was nibbling on his lip and clenching his fist. He looked away, typing into his phone. 

You felt your phone vibrate, knowing it was from Mark. You didn’t bother checking the message because it was too risky, especially with Haechan cuddled to your side. 

✯¸.•´*¨`*•✿ ✿•*`¨*`•.¸✯

A few hours and lots of movies of later, the boys finally grew tired and decided to call it a night.

Since it was too late for you to head back home, the boys offered you to sleep over. You told them you would take the couch. They were a little hesitant to let a girl sleep on the couch, but you managed to convince them. 

It wasn’t like you would be sleeping on the couch anyway. 

Once you were sure that everyone was in their respective rooms, you quietly sneaked into your boyfriend’s bedroom. 

“Mark?” you whisper, opening the door quietly. 

When you saw the mop of black hair laying on the pillow, you smile, closing the door quietly, your feet padding towards the bed. 

You pull the blanket down so you could lay next to your lover. You rest your arm on his waist as you snuggle closer to him. 

“Hi handsome,” you whisper, letting out a giggle as you stare at his pretty face. A frown replaced your smile when he didn’t reply to you. “Are you okay, baby?”

Mark could only pout. You pout along with him, the hand resting on his waist going up to push away the stray hair from his face. 

“Why are you pouting?” you ask quietly, pressing a kiss to his pouty lips. 

He pouts even more, “why did you sit with Haechan just now? Why didn’t you sit with me?”

You bit back a grin that was forming, “why? Were you jealous?”

He frowns and shook his head, “no! why would I be jealous of Haechan?”

“Really?” you ask, “if you’re not jealous then I’ll sit with Haechan from now on,” you tease, your fingers now caressing his exposed chest. 

He shrugs, “fine by me,”

You suddenly stood up, letting his arm fall on your lap, “actually, I’ll even go sleep with him,” you continued to pester Mark, enjoying the way it was bothering him. 

“Hey!” he whisper-shout, his hands wrapped on your wrist, stopping you from getting out of bed, “You can’t do that!”

You chuckle, laying back down with your boyfriend, “I won’t, dummy,” you flick his forehead.

He lets out a satisfied sigh, pulling you closer until his cheeks were resting on the top of your head. 

“You’re mine. Mine only.”

+Day 89 12:35AM

The both of you were on facetime again. 

Despite being only 30 minutes apart, the both of you couldn’t meet; not wanting anyone to catch the both of you. Furthermore, you felt bad, since Mark had just finished practice, it would be tiring for him to come over your place. 

There was a sudden knock on Mark’s door. Your boyfriend hastily hid his phone and you naturally mute your mic. 

“You busy?” you heard someone ask, from the voice, you assumed it was Taeyong. 

“No,” Mark reply. 

“Were you talking to someone? Is it y/n?” asks Taeyong. 

Mark pretend to grimace at your name, “why would I be calling y/n?”

Taeyong shrugs, “we all kinda assumed you had a crush on y/n,”

“Ew,” Mark shook his head, “I’ll never like y/n,” he says, “she’s not even my type.”

You knew he was just saying that to stop the suspicions of the both of you dating but what he said actually hurts. 

“Really?” Taeyong questions, “we were so sure you would like y/n,”

“I swear, Hyung. Y/N isn’t even my type, her personality isn’t even my type,” Mark tries to persuade the older boy. 

Now that actually really hurts. 

You weren’t sure if he was just lying or saying the truth. 

You couldn’t bare to listen another second of their conversation, so you immediately hung up. 

Markie: baby

Markie: whyd u end the call haha

Markie: Taeyong’s gone call me back hehe

2 missed calls

Markie: why are you not picking up??

1 missed call

Markie: call me baaackkkk babe

Markie: did u fall asleep?? Haha

Markie: but it’s so early tho :(

Markie: I guess you’re asleep~

Markie: ok goodnight baby sleep tight dream of me :3

Markie: I love youuuuuuuu

+Day 90 12:46PM

Markie: good morning my love

Markie: can we call??

Markie: I kinda miss you haha 

1 missed call

Markie: heeyyyyy

Markie: are you ignoring me?

Markie: I didn’t want to think you were ignoring me, but I feel like you r

Markie: did I do something wrong? :/

Markie: can you tell me what it is at least?

Markie: at least we can talk it out or at least I can apologize?

Markie: babe

You: why did you say that

Markie: say what?

You: yesterday

You: what you said about me

You: tht I wasn’t your type nd all 

Markie: call me

Few seconds later, you received a call from your boyfriend. You answered the call, placing your phone on your ear. 

“I didn’t mean what I said,” he quickly says, “I just wanted to convince him that we weren’t dating,”

You were quiet for a while; you could hear Mark’s heavy breathing. You knew he was stressed with work and all, and you being sulky definitely wasn’t helping him. 

You let out a sigh, “I know.”

“Was it too much?” he asks you. 

“No,” you answer, “I just, I was just overthinking it and—”

“I get it,” he cuts you off, “don’t worry about it,”

“I’m sorry,” you blurted out, “I know you’re really busy and stressed over work and I’m just making you feel worse by overthinking and all—”

“Hey,” he cuts you off again, “Don’t worry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

You couldn’t help but feel sorry.

“Sorry,” you apologised again. 

“Apologize one more time and I’ll end the call,” he jokes. 

+Day 100 8:35PM

Mark hid his hands behind his back, holding the small box in his hand tightly as he faced you with a cheeky smile. 

“What do you have behind your back, Mark Lee?” you ask, squinting your eyes at him suspiciously. 

It was your 100th day together, and since the both of you couldn’t go out to celebrate, the both of you agreed to celebrate at your place instead. 

Since Mark couldn’t make it special for you, he decided to get you a present, just to make-up for all the secret dates. 

“It’s a present,” he answers cheekily. “I got you something to make up for all the secret dates,”

You pout at his words, “I’m okay with all the sneaking around, Mark,”

Your hands going up to his jaw, your thumb caressing his cheek softly. Mark loves your touches; he couldn’t help but lean into your touch. 

Tilting his head a little, he pressed a small kiss against your palm, one of his hands reaching to grab your hands in his. 

“I bought it because I think you’ll look good in it,” he tells you, pulling out the box from behind. 

You gasp when you saw the Tiffany & Co. box. 

“Mark,” you exclaim, looking up at him, “that’s expensive!”

“You haven’t even seen it yet!” he laughs. 

He slowly opens the box, showing off the elegant 18k diamond necklace. 

Your hands went up to your mouth, gasping. 

“Mark Lee,” you shook your head, “you’re fucking crazy,”

He smiles, satisfied with your reaction, “do you like it?”

“Are you crazy? It’s beautiful!” you tell him. “But all I bought for you were $15 chocolates but here you are— gifting me an 18k diamond necklace!”

Mark giggles, pulling out the necklace from it’s box. 

“Turn around,” he murmurs. You automatically turn around, pulling your hair to one side so he could easily put the necklace on you. 

He swiftly place the pretty necklace around your neck, pinning it. You turn around to face him. 

“Pretty?” you ask him, tilting your head a little. 

“Gorgeous,” he responds, a smirk playing on his lips.

Just as you were about to reply, you heard a knock on your door. Your eyebrows scrunch in confusion, who would come over at this timing?

Mark frowns, “did you invite someone?”

You shook your head, “No, stay here, I’ll go see who it is.”

You stood up, walking to your door, checking the peephole, finding out who is on the other side of the door. You let out a soft gasp when you saw Donghyuck standing behind the door. 

You quickly kick Mark’s shoes under the cabinet at the front door then running over to your boyfriend. 

“Who—”

You grabbed Mark’s arms, pulling him up. “Fuck, it’s Haechan,”

He let you pull him into your bedroom with furrowed eyebrows, “why is he here?”

You shake your head, pushing Mark into your walk-in wardrobe, “I have no idea. Stay here, I’ll try to distract him, okay?”

You didn’t even let him answer, already rushing out, making sure to close your bedroom door. 

When you opened the door, Haechan immediately walked in, whining on how you were taking forever to answer the door. 

It has been 15 minutes and Haechan still hasn’t left and Mark was growing tired and sweaty in your wardrobe.

Baby Mark: is he still there

You: yeah

Baby Mark: fuuuck

Baby Mark: tell him to leave

Baby Mark: it’s so hot in here :(

You: I’m trying!! He just won’t leave

You: are you okay in there

Baby Mark: no

You: fine just get out of the wardrobe and stay in my room

You: sorry

You: make sure u lock the door and don’t make too much noise

Baby Mark: okay

+Day 101 2:34AM

You let out a heavy sigh when Donghyuck finally left. Closing your eyes tightly, you let out another heavy breath. You could finally sit down and rest. 

Oh shit— Mark!

You ambled towards your bedroom, twisting it open, realising it wasn’t locked. 

This little shit. 

When you walked in your bedroom, you were met with your boyfriend laying on your bed, hugging one of your pillows, asleep. Your heart warmed at the sight, you felt bad making him wait for hours when it was your 100th day as a couple. 

Walking closer, you climbed in next to him. Your hands caressed his hair and his pretty face. 

“I’m sorry for making you wait for so long,” you whisper. 

You didn’t know what made you so emotional, but you couldn’t help but tear up. 

You really didn’t know why. Maybe because he had gone out of his way just to see you. And maybe because he had to wait for hours just for you and in the end both of you couldn’t celebrate the special day. 

“You’re the best boyfriend I could ever ask for—” you choked a sob, a hand going up to cover your mouth. 

Taking a deep breath, you continue, “You do so much for me and I’m always messing up.”

For once, you were thankful that your boyfriend was a heavy sleeper. 

“I love you, Mark,” you mumble, your eyes scanning his face, appreciating everything about him. “Remember that.”

After wiping your dried tears, you slide next to him, removing the pillow that was between you two. Snuggling right into his arms, your head resting on his chest while his cheek was pressed on the crown of your head. 

“I love you,” you whisper one last time before falling into a deep slumber. 

+Day 124 7:28PM

The dome was filled with loud voices, everyone was holding their green NCT lightsticks. You felt out of place, especially when you didn’t have any kind of lightstick or poster on you. 

You nervously took a seat on your assigned seat, waiting for your boyfriend to come out. 

NCT was holding a concert after a while and Taeyong had given you free tickets to support them. 

Mark had actually gotten hold of an extra ticket for you and was about to surprise you but found out that his members had already invited you. He was a little bummed out about it but shrugged it off. 

The light dimmed and the crowd started cheering. The girls around you started squealing in excitement. 

Soon, the boys started performing. When your boyfriend’s face was on the screen, you couldn’t help but grin at his cute face. 

The fans next to you would squeal and gush at how adorable your boyfriend is. You were proud that he was your boyfriend, sadly you couldn’t show him off. 

At the end of the concert, the boys lined up in the middle of the huge stage. They started thanking the fans for coming and supporting them. 

“But I think Mark is really happy today,” Jaehyun suddenly blurted out, turning to face Mark. 

The camera started zooming in to your boyfriend’s face. 

Mark’s eyes widen , confused, “what, why? Why?”

“Because his girlfriend is here!” Jaehyun screams into the mic as the boys let out a string of weird noises. 

Mark froze on the spot as everyone went crazy over the statement. 

“Wha—”

“Okay, we will end this concert here! Thank you everyone for coming!”

Before everyone was even ready to leave, you had already run to meet your boyfriend back stage. 

Fuck, did Jaehyun actually say that?

You’re met with the sweaty boys laughing in the dressing room. 

“What the fuck was that?” you ask breathlessly as you scan each of the boys facial expression. 

“Uh oh, his girlfriend is here,” joked Johnny, staring at you with amusement. 

Mark turned to stare at the boys, “you guys knew?!”

“You guys weren’t very discreet.”

You were already standing next to your boyfriend, “how did you guys know?”

“You really think we won’t see the both of you holding hands in a public place?” scoffs Doyoung. 

Taeyong shrugs, “Mark never brings girls to the recording room.”

Your face turned red at Taeyong’s comment as Mark groans at his words. 

“And you think I wouldn’t see you guys holding hands under the blanket? Jesus,” sighs Jaehyun, rolling his eyes. 

“Fuck you,” Mark replies while Jaehyun flashes the middle finger to his friend. 

“Also, you talk way too loud y/n,” Taeil says, Taeyong immediately agreeing with him. 

“Or maybe the walls are too thin?” Taeyong questions. 

“Oh my god,” you whisper, embarrassed. “So, you guys heard everything?”

“Wish we didn’t,” shrugs Johnny. 

Mark had quietly reached for your hand, a habit he had whenever he’s nervous. 

“Also, I knew Mark was at your place, that’s why I came over,” laughs Haechan. 

You had let go of Mark’s hands to stomp over to the boy, hitting his back. “Lee Donhyuck! Did you know how long he had to wait in my wardrobe?!”

Haechan rolls his eyes, “oh please, you let him out because he was sweating.”

You let out a loud gasp, “you knew that too?!”

“Which idiot would put their password as 0000?”

“You went through my phone?!” you raised your voice, hitting the boy on the back once more. 

With furrowed eyebrows you frown and let out a sigh, “now what? Everyone knows Mark has a girlfriend,”

“I checked Twitter,” Jungwoo says, “some weren’t very happy but there are many who are supportive,”

Your frown deepens. You knew this would happen. It would affect Mark’s career badly; that was the main reason the both of you kept your relationship a secret. 

You turn to look at your boyfriend who was looking incredibly stressed right now. 

“Don’t worry y/n,” assures Johnny, you turn to look at him. “Mark is one of the most experienced and hardworking people in SM, I’m sure they’ll let you both off,”

You had your arms crossed defensively, “are you okay with this, Mark?”

You were worried for your boyfriend. 

You knew how much being on stage meant to him. He would do anything to continue performing. 

“I…I think so?” he says after a minute of pure silence. 

You pout slightly at his words. 

“I just wanna rest right now, I’m tired.”

The boys quickly agree with the younger. Everyone started standing up, grabbing their bags, leaving the room. 

You stayed with your boyfriend, accompanying him.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” you ask him again. 

He kept letting out sad sighs and it was concerning you. 

“Honestly,” he started, “I don’t know,” he turns to look at you. 

The palm of your hands automatically going up to stroke his back, attempting to comfort him. 

“I just… I just wanna be with you right now,”

You lean closer to him. “Okay.”

“Whatever it is,” he says, “we will go through it together.”

[katherinewilliams221b]

For A Greater Good 12/18

gif not mine, just the text. Appare Vestigium

Summary: Kate Williams, young healer and member of the Order, joins Durmstrang’s staff at Dumbledore’s request. Her mission? Find a   Death Eater and survive long enough to tell the story. Set in 1996.

Pairing: Charlie Weasley x ofc/mc

Masterlist

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5]

[Part 6] [Part 7] [Part 8] [Part 9] [Part 10]  

[Part 11]

–

Kate felt the coolness of the night on her lips and decided to enter the castle again. A chill ran through her body and had nothing to do with the icy breeze that crossed the threshold of the door behind her.

She folded all the scrolls as best she could and slipped them into the inside pocket where her notebook was before she started walking back to her room.

She climbed the main stairs slower than usual; many thoughts came into her mind: the danger that lurked in the recesses of the castle; the responsibility she felt to keep her students safe from a potential killer; the idea of Igor Karkarov wandering around the place even though no one had seen him; the goal of finding a secret room that only two people knew about: one had been dead for several centuries and the other was a serial killer in prison.

Overwhelmed by not knowing what her next step should be, she stopped on the first floor and gripped the staircase railing. She took a couple of deep breaths and looked down.

A shadow quickly crept down the corridor on the lower floor, but before it could disappear, it stopped short.

Candlelight showed Kent Jorgensen’s face changing from an alarmed expression to one of surprise. Kate bowed her head in greeting and hurried off towards the top of the building. She had no intention of engaging in a conversation with anyone in the castle.

She was about to reach the first floor when she saw Jorgensen again at the foot of the stairs. Her heart was racing.

She couldn’t think of anything else but hiding, so she followed her instinct and turned the corner before bending over, letting the shadows do the rest of the work. She saw the teacher looking at the place where she had been a few seconds earlier and followed a corridor in the opposite direction.

Kate let go of the breath she was holding and ran to the safety of her room. She placed her chair under the doorknob and immediately felt like an idiot. She had felt watched before, but the accumulation of things that had been happening to her since she arrived had finally had the expected effect.

Without thinking, she grabbed the quill and a scroll and, standing up, began to write,

Dear Charlie,

For the first time… I felt fear.

She returned the quill to the inkwell and crumpled up what was going to be a letter and threw it on the floor. She sat down on the bed and went over her notes.

She jumped to her feet again, remembering that she had to prepare the greenhouse activity for the lesson.

In the days that followed, many questions remained unanswered; who was waiting in the woods? Someone from the castle? It was a man, that was clear. When did she have to go? The note did not specify a specific time. How long did she have to wait for that person to contact her? Would anyone contact her at all?

Her students noticed her absence and took advantage of her distracted mind to get out of some responsibilities and leave greenhouse chores unattended. If Professor Williams was not aware of it or simply overlooked it, they did not know.

Kate visited Corentin to distract herself from Dumbledore’s map, but her spirits fell when she remembered that she had to investigate Nerida Vulchanova’s plans.

When Corentin laid them out before her, she almost decided to drop the whole thing. He didn’t exaggerate when he said that only Vulcanova knew how to move through the tunnels. The blueprints of the building were composed of twelve scrolls, four had symbols and numbers, four contained fragments of rooms, and the rest showed each floor of the castle.

“How do you know this is belongs here?” She said holding a blank scroll except for a small triangle in one corner.

“I have no idea. It was on top of the others. It could be anything….”

Kate inspected the first document, marked “the ground floor” of the building. She smiled a little and held the scroll up to her nose.

“I like the way it smells. Sweet.” Corentin raised an eyebrow at the comment and sat down next to her.

“I know there is one in this room. But it only connects to the first floor of the library,” he said, pointing to the circle representing the tower where they were, “Sometimes I use it to surprise first graders.”

She turned the paper to place the library drawing in front of her, and Corentin pointed at the symbol of a staircase.

“Where is it?”

“Right behind my desk. Behind the curtain.”

Kate held the map of the ground floor and followed the librarian to his desk. He pulled back the curtain, and they heard a faint sound of chains as the wall opened. A torch lit up the interior.

“That staircase leads to section C on the first floor.”

Kate entered the narrow nook and found that to her left was a staircase that led to the upper floor. To her right, there was only one wall.

“Tsk. I need the other scroll perhaps… or… I better go now. I have to grade some assignments, clean up the greenhouse, go to class, meet with Rhode, and go to…”

They had come back to the table while Kate was talking and started to collect the scrolls. She decided not to comment on the cryptic message Dumbledore had sent her.

She considered telling the headmistress in case she thought she knew the person she had to trust in the forest.

Could it be Corentin? No, he wasn’t the kind of person to hang out with a man like Dumbledore.

“What a tight schedule.” Kate took a deep breath and let the air out heavily.

“Yes… and now this…” She gasped and looked at Corentin with round eyes “And the AEDA! I must check the list…”

The librarian grimaced at her tone of voice, but was reassuring in his speech.

“We don’t have to do this…”

“Yes. I must. I have the impression that someone is also looking for Grindelwald’s room. We are not the only ones who know about the existence of the passages.”

Kent Jorgensen and his evening walks, Mer Yankelevich and her mysterious affairs that Libor Marek knew about, Leron Angelov and his entrance to the greenhouse, all the hours when no one knew anything about Cassandra Steiner…

Any of them could be looking for that room. Any of them could be a Death Eater.

“I’ll keep them safe.” he said, pressing the scrolls to his chest.

Kate said goodbye to Corentin and went to Class 82 to pick up the list she had hung for her students to write their names on.

“I hope they have an idea of what to do…” she said to herself before arriving.

She passed by Grindelwald’s column, now surrounded by a magic barrier to prevent it from collapsing through the crack, and continued on to the classroom.

Before entering, she saw two guards talking at a shift change in front of the lake. She hurried to pick up the scroll hanging on the other side of the door and read the names on it. Micael Angelov was the first on the list, followed by only two other students. Perhaps they could consider working together.

She went to the desk and after leaving the list on the table; she took the scrolls out of the top drawer and set about correcting their writing. She had an hour before the herbology class started.

Kate raced against time and ran to the other side of the castle on her way to the greenhouse, in vain, as she did not manage to get there in time.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry.” She exclaimed as she walked to the end of the central table. She left the scrolls on top of the wood.

“Professor Williams, you’re not wearing your overalls!” exclaimed a boy as he pointed his finger at her.

“You’re absolutely right, Jon, but you’re going to have to turn a blind eye for a moment. These are your essays.” As she said this, everyone got up to find theirs and Kate slipped into the wardrobe to put on her work clothes.

The sound of papers crumpling up under her cape reminded her of the many things she had to do after that class. Dumbledore’s map was burning in her pocket.

“I’ve made a list of the mistakes that have been repeated the most. I want to start by doing the transplant exercise again…”

Several grunts showed their dissatisfaction. She heard some murmurs saying things like “we’ve done that a thousand times already”, “it’s boring” or “we haven’t done anything else lately”.

“Do you want to do something different today?” Kate asked, resting her hip on the table. “Do you have something in mind?” Nobody answered. Kate observed how they looked at each other. With a gentle but decisive clap she said, “Get your garden shears. We’re going into the woods.”

Like a mother duck and her ducklings, Kate took her students across the bridge to the entrance of the forest. It benefits us all; she thought, to convince herself that she was not making a serious mistake.

“Alright,” Everyone crowded around her so they could hear what she was saying. “Rules: you can’t go to the lake or back to the castle without me knowing about it.”

She turned to point out the path into the forest. “You may follow the path and move away a little as long as you do not lose sight of the castle, the path, or any of your companions. If you move away, I will know.”

A little lie that served to make more than one of them look down.

“What we are going to do is this… do you have all your books?” They shook them or lifted in confirmation.

“Perfect. Let’s do what every good herbologist does: an herbarium. An herbarium is a collection of plants and flowers that are kept after they are dried, with information that identifies them. Today we must do the important part, the collection. I have brought the only basket that we own, I need someone to carry it”.

They looked around, pretending to admire the landscape so as not to be chosen to carry the basket. Michael Angelov reached out to grab it.

“Brilliant. Thank you, Michael. You have your scissors and the book to remember how to cut a plant properly. Cut a maximum of two herbs each. Be respectful of the forest and don’t abuse it. I trust you. Come on, go play”.

Nervous, but still determined to stick to that makeshift plan, Kate looked for Dumbledore’s map in her pocket. She followed the path and went into the woods.

With each step, the laughter and footsteps of her students faded away. Following the line indicated on the map, there came a moment when only her own steps could be heard. A turn to the right, a jump over a fallen log, and a few more steps led her to a clearing. The line on the map did not advance in any other direction.

The wind suddenly picked up and Kate put her hand to her chest and covered her throat with her robes. She looked up. The treetops swayed above her. They were really tall. A strange thing for the climate of the area. She took a few steps to the nearest tree and placed her hand on the wood.

The entire tree vibrated, and a golden glow surrounded it for a second. Kate smiled. They were protected with magic, a rare technique given their difficulty in execution, but if done correctly, entire areas of vegetation could be preserved for centuries.

She glanced around, looking for signs that someone had been there, but did not notice anything out of the ordinary.

Drawing out her wand, she mumbled, “homenum revelio”, but only the wind appeared.

She took a deep breath and twisted the wand slightly to prepare for the next spell. It was time to demonstrate that she had been paying attention to Charlie’s tracking lessons, and that she hadn’t just stood by and stared at him.

“Appare vestigium.“

A golden swirl came out of her wand, illuminating the area. Several scenes were played in front of her: Kent Jorgensen transforming into a hawk, a hooded figure talking to Leron Angelov, Cassandra running, Mer Yankelevich looking around, Libor Marek casting a spell, footprints of…

A creak of branches alerted her.

She stood still where she was and looked around, trying to make as little noise as possible. All she could hear was her breathing and the whistling of the wind through the leaves. She saw a glint in the branches and held her breath. A centaur appeared from among the trees.

Keeping her eye on the arrow that was pointing at her, Kate raised her arms, showing the map and wand. She did not look away from the weapon; she knew a herd surrounded her. There was no need to check.

Would he be the one Dumbledore wanted her to trust? Slowly she bent down and left both the wand and the map on the ground.

The centaur pulled the string of his bow, and Kate gasped.

“There are children in the forest! And they are my responsibility. I’m looking for someone, I don’t want any trouble,” she said hurriedly, fearing the worst. She resisted the urge to grab her wand because that would be digging her own grave.

The arrow shot out before she knew it, hitting the target effectively. Kate pressed her eyes closed instinctively.

But the pain never came.

She looked down and saw it stuck in the ground. A scroll was wrapped around it. When she looked up, the centaur was gone. She bent down to pick up the scroll and unrolled it.

Find the room and the names. There is not just one mark.

Nerida had more than one profession.

Do not return. We will not meet.

You can tell this person is a friend of Dumbledore’s, she thought.

She didn’t dare touch the arrow, so she left it where it was and set off to return to her students. She dawdled her way to the children, a little afraid of another reunion with the centaurs. She knew that they avoided humans at all costs and that this time they were just messengers, but the thought of endangering the students gave her goosebumps. She heard laughter and people talking, but before returning to them, she held Dumbledore’s map and the stranger’s note and with a wave of her wand, set them on fire.

“Professor Williams? Professor Williams!”

Kate shot out, waving her wand in the scream’s direction and found one of her students, Vivien, waiting for her to arrive. The smile on her face reassured her.

“Professor Williams, look!”

Kate mentally counted all the children who had arrived when she heard Vivien’s voice and found that no one was missing. They walked to a tree that was thicker than the rest and, with a little more inspection, Kate discovered what Vivien wanted to show her.

“Oh! Umbrella flowers!” Three small umbrella-shaped flowers floated near the tree and swayed slightly in the breeze. Two of them were pink, the other was yellow. “These are beautiful! Very good find, Vivien.”

“They look like mushrooms…” said Jon Hopkins.

“It’s a very interesting comparison because… Look inside, they have some small capsules where they keep spores. They are not reproductive, they are responsible for floating.” She turned away so they could look inside the flowers. “These are tiny, but they can be the same size as you. The cover that gives them their name protects them from heavy rain and cold.”

“They are a bit boring. In the book it says that there are plants that have fangs or claws. What do these do?” commented another student. Kate stood there thoughtfully, reproducing in her head the image of clawed umbrella flowers, and a laugh escaped her lips.

“Well, don’t you think it’s enough that they fly? If they also had teeth that would be…” She gasped, “What a great idea you just had, Ivan!” They shared some puzzled looks before looking at Kate as if she had just gone mad.

“What if I told you it might be possible… to make them have teeth?” He let them mutter to each other before going on, “it could be our project for AEDA. I’ve seen fanged geranium seeds in the greenhouse. We could try…”

“You mean…” started Micael Angelov “crossing the two species?”

“Yes. Exactly that. I’ve never done it, it could be fun, what do you think? Does anyone else want to participate?”

Kate approached the flowers and asked Vivien to borrow her scissors. With great care, she cut a strand that was growing from the inside and gave the tool back to her student. “This will be enough.”

Michael extended the basket for her to examine.

“Very good collection. Let’s see what’s in here… wolf’s bane! Interesting. This looks like wild celery… and these I don’t know. Brilliant! We already have a lot to do.”

They discussed it animatedly together on the way to the castle and Kate used their good humour to remind them that even if they had this project in hand, they would not be spared from practising transplanting between pots. The last stretch was filled with grunts and laughter from Kate.

The next day, Kate met with Corentin again, with all the intention of telling him about her escape to the forest and the information she was presented there.

The librarian received her with his own good news.

“I have found it.” He said with excitement. “Follow me. Last night I couldn’t stop thinking about…you know…so I began studying the blueprints.”

They gathered at their usual small table, away from prying eyes. Corentin pointed to the scroll.

“Here is the library, the duelling classroom, the charms classroom, the hospital wing…” He pointed at each of the rooms on the ground floor until he reached the trophy room. He moved his finger back a little and waited for Kate’s reaction.

She looked at him and shook her head. “There’s nothing there.”

“No… but if you put this on top…” He slid a scroll that had only several lines and squares drawn in no particular order, and had one edge fitted into the space on the bottom plane.

“There is a secret room a little further back.” She nodded proudly, but her happiness quickly evaporated. “But that’s what we expected. There must be dozens of hidden places here. Unfortunately, it means nothing.”

“There are at least four. I’ve done the same for each floor plan, and there’s only one match in each one. These 8 scrolls show each floor in its entirety plus the fragments of the secret rooms.”

Kate looked at the table in amazement. “Excellent work, Corentin.” He bowed his head and smiled. “I have something to tell you too.”

Corentin didn’t believe what he was hearing. He kept his calm demeanour, but Kate noticed that it surprised him.

“So a person you don’t know who he is, and whom you haven’t seen, has delivered a message to you in the woods.”

“Yes.”

“And you trust this person.”

“Yes.”

He raised an eyebrow and looked at the plans again. “Everything seems to point to Nerida Vulchanova, doesn’t it?”

“It seems so. Maybe we should start in the trophy room. There’s a painting of her there, isn’t there? Maybe it’ll give us a clue.”

“Unlikely. But we can try.” They were silent for a while, and Corentin turned to find Kate looking at him. “You mean now?”

She smiled innocently, and Corentin agreed to the little manipulation. Together they sorted out the papers before going to investigate Nerida’s painting.

The portrait received them with a small smile, as if she knew what they had been up to. Luckily for them, the room was deserted.

“Corentin, what do you know about her?”

“Well… the essential. She was a brilliant woman. She designed and built the castle as a perfect fortress. She was skilled in many disciplines; architecture, of course, the dark arts, alchemy, astronomy… It is said that she liked to sail, and that she drew hundreds of maps of the seas showing islands that only she had found.”

Kate touched the plate of her date of birth and death. “How did she die?”

“It is not known exactly. Her death was filed as ‘in strange circumstances’. The books do not agree on the date either.“

“And this one here? Is it the right one?” Corentin approached to inspect it and shrugged..

“It could be. The newest texts date from those years so…” He took a handkerchief out of his pocket to clean the plate from the dust layer it had and, as he did so, it slipped off, leaving a hole in its place.

“Corentin!” Kate gasped. He pulled out his wand and lit the hole, but it was apparently empty.

The librarian went to put his hand in, but Kate stopped him before he could do anything. “What are you doing?”

“It could be a similar mechanism as the one in the library.” Corentin put his hand inside and when he pressed, a slight ‘click’ was heard. They took a couple of steps backwards and Nerida Vulchanova’s huge painting slowly opened.

“It’s Muggle-like. It’s brilliant, if you think about it, the blood purists would never have thought of it,” said Kate.

The painting stopped moving, revealing a stone wall. Disappointment was evident on both faces. They stared at the wall for a moment without saying anything to each other, until Corentin spoke,

“There’s a reasonably simple potion for getting through walls. It’s dark magic, but I know you’d be able to perform. You need water from the lake, sopophorous beans and bottled ghost breath. Then you heat…”

“How am I supposed to get bottled ghost breath?”

“Well, you need a bottle and a willing ghost.”

“You just want to see me bang my head against the wall, don’t you?”

“It was just a suggestion…”

Kate shook her head and went over to the wall. She placed both hands on top of it and pushed to see what would happen. She felt around the stone, looking for any irregularities or anything that might indicate a mechanism similar to the one in the painting.

“Corentin, look at this.” The librarian approached and crouched in the corner where she was. The Deathly Hallows symbol adorned the stone.

“I think we’re on the right track.”

–

[Part 13]

Tag list: @eldritchscreech​ @meteora-fc​ @cazreadsstuff​ @the-navistar-carol​ @am-i-space​

[oureuphoria]

Worst of You - JJK 05

You meet him under horrible circumstances but that doesn’t stop you from developing a very abnormal and completely unsolicited crush on your local hot police officer™. Too bad you have a bitch of a best friend, anxiety and an inability to learn from your mistakes which cripples your chances to be with the man of your literal dreams. Oh, and he has a lifetime’s worth of emotional baggage at 23.

Or

“I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong.” “Cool, I’ll let everyone know that you’re moving in then.”

Genre: fluff, angst, comedy

Pairing: officer!jungkook X  collegestudent!reader

Word count: 2,521

Note: If you don’t imagine that vine of the kid taking a sip of his mother alcohol when Y/N takes a sip of the wine then I will be very disappointed. 

| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 |

It was 3:15 and Jungkook was nowhere to be seen. You decided to play a game to distract yourself but you (ironically) lost track of time prompting you to completely miss Jungkook’s arrival which prompted him to watch you curse at geometry dash for a good 7 minutes. He cleared his throat to get your attention which startled you, enough so to have you fumble your phone to the ground with a loud bang that had a couple of people looking your way.

“So, where’s my congratulations cake?” You asked while simultaneously checking your phone for blemishes. Fortunately, the screen wasn’t cracked, unlike your cool moments ago. “The best I can do is a muffin, take it or leave it.” You giggled in response but the sound mellowed down into a soft silence. It wasn’t awkward at first but you quickly got fidgety under his stare.

“So I needed at least 90% to maintain my 4.0 GPA but I got 89.9% and my professor refuses to round it. Can you arrest him for that?” The question may have sounded playful but you were in no way kidding. One more slip up and you could kiss your scholarship goodbye. “No. Y/N, 89% is great, don’t stress.” You nodded with a forced smile that Jungkook hadn’t noticed (or if he did, he didn’t comment on it) and for that you were grateful.

“Look, I know this is kind of sudden but I need a favour?” You hummed in reply, gesturing for him to continue. “Do you think you could baby sit my kids.” You dropped your phone again in shock and Jungkook facepalmed in shame. “My brother’s kids! Not mine, I don’t have kids.” He reached for your phone while you did and your hands touched for what could be described as a split second. You - being the melodramatic pre-teen that you are - had to suppress the urge to squeal at the very minor touch.

“How old are they?” You loved kids (aged 3-9) but babies scared you and you wanted absolutely nothing to do with them. “My niece is 7 and my nephew is 4.” “I can babysit them but are you sure your brother won’t mind?” Jungkook winced at the mention of his brother. He was quiet for a moment before he started shaking his head disapprovingly. “We just won’t tell him.” His fear was almost comical and you would’ve laughed if you weren’t afraid the sound would break him.

“They’ll be in good hands. Trust me.” And he did, he just hoped his older brother would too. “So, when am I babysitting them?” “This Friday, if that’s okay? They’re staying with me for the weekend but I have a work dinner scheduled that night so if you could occupy them from around 6-10 that’d be great.” You gave him a thumbs up in approval, mouth full of strawberry cheesecake. “Thank’s Y/N. I owe you.”  

You didn’t mean to leave your roommate in the dark about the two children that would be occupying your dorm for a few hours but the entire ordeal slipped your mind. In fact, when Jungkook showed up on Friday, you had been completely unprepared. “Oh, hello…” You waved at the kids who moved to hide behind their uncles legs - an act you remember doing before you were too big to hide behind people. Once your eyes had trailed down though, your focus shifted to Jungkook’s gorgeous thighs and your thoughts took a sharp 180. He was clad in black trousers and a slightly unbuttoned dress shirt and to say you weren’t practically drooling over him would be a lie.

“Okay, Luna take care of your brother. Alan, don’t break anything.” He lectured them cutely and you wondered how he ever managed to yell at hardened criminals with that soft face but you’d seen him mad and he definitely wasn’t a force to be reckoned with. The children nodded dutifully and you couldn’t help but smile. They were so small and cute and you were quickly finding yourself becoming quite excited to hang out with them.

“They both haven’t had dinner yet but you can feed them anything, Luna is really well behaved but she can be a bit sassy. Alan has an issue with grabbing random things but if he gets too out of hand just give him his iPad in his bag, he’ll know what to do. Okay, thank you so much. I have to go, bye!” Jungkook spoke so fast that you almost questioned if he spoke at all. You turned to the kids with a sheepish smile and a simple question to break the tension. “So, who want’s to play Just Dance?”

After a night of G-rated video games, McDonald’s and a very self-indulgent amount of baby Yoda, both kids were finally asleep on your couch and Alex had just gotten home. “Hey, who are the kids?” She quietly set her keys down before walking to the kitchen to get a glass of water, her eyes trained on the mini people draped over your couch. “They’re kids I’m babysitting; for a friend.” She nodded absentmindedly and you assumed from her quiet demeanour that something was off. You decided to ignore it. “So, um, we have a dorm inspection in a month. You should probably clean your room.” She waved you off with a nod and a flick of the wrist while she made her way to her room. You sighed and looked at the sleeping kids. “She’s not going to clean her room is she?” You whispered to particularly no one.

It was around 11pm when Jungkook eventually showed up. He scooped both of the sleeping kids into his arms and bid you farewell without a second to spare. The apartment suddenly felt empty and a nagging headache began to become apparent.

You let yourself fall back onto the couch with a huff, this was the life you were destined for. You were everyone’s second choice. The back-up plan, the plan B. You were a constant in a world that was continuously changing and yet you weren’t even a good one. You couldn’t dwell over your uselessness for long though. You had a paper to write and feelings for Jungkook that you needed to get over.

Unfortunately for you, Alex was upset and when Alex is upset she does some pretty reckless things. Like, calling her ex-boyfriend, for example who is now not so quietly comforting her in the only way he knew how. The Jimin way that always - without fail - keeps you awake for far longer than you anticipated.

You walked into your morning class the following day with a giant cup of coffee and a pair of sunglasses to hide the pain that glowed in your baggy eyes. You couldn’t keep the glasses on during the class though and just as you took them off, Jimin rushed to make a snarky comment.

“You look like death today.” “I blame your high pitched moaning, daddy.” Jimin might’ve been aroused by your use of his (not-so) secret kink but you looked like you wanted him dead and the venom dripping from your voice proved it. “At least I’m getting laid.” You rolled your eyes and decided to not press further. The two of you could argue till the end of time and in that moment you just needed to focus until the end of the class.

After 96 dreadful minutes of your human anatomy teacher’s droning, you managed to make it out of the class alive but not without catching the attention of William who was now chasing you down no matter how hard you avoided his gaze. “Hey, Y/N.” You smiled forcefully and hoped that your exhausted exterior didn’t come off as bitchy - but that was a stretch. “The officer told me that the attacker had no motive for doing what they did, so don’t worry, they’re not out for you or anything.” William smiled, laughing a little at the joke you seriously didn’t mean to crack. Did you even make a joke? You needed sleep, and fast.

The rest of the day went pretty much the same. You continued plaguing your college campus like a cast member of the walking dead with barely any purpose and motivation. Because the world hated you, you didn’t get home until 6pm and your exhaustion pretty much decided you’d be skipping lunch and dinner for whatever semblance of sleep you could get.

You were in the midst of brushing your teeth through the dull ache of your tiredness (because dental hygiene is important, you’re not scared of the dentist), when there was a knock on your door. You assumed it was Alex who had a history for forgetting her keys but when you opened the door, clad in iron man themed pyjamas, you were met with Jungkook who was visibly, not Alex.

You might’ve asked something like why he was here or how he got through the building door but your toothbrush was still in your mouth and the situation was getting awkward. “Get dressed, I’m taking you to dinner.” You gave him a weird look as you held your hand out to ask him to wait. You rushed to the bathroom to finish brushing your teeth before returning to the door which Jungkook was leaning on to tell him, “but I brushed my teeth.”

Jungkook scoffed at your excuse with both astonishment and annoyance. “It’s 6pm.” He retorted while his eyes skimmed your very small dorm to sit on your even smaller chair. “I wasn’t planning on eating!” He waved you off before taking out his phone. “Go get dressed so I can repay you for the babysitting.” You gave him a small glare, although you were hungry, you were more tired and all you wanted to do was sleep. “Couldn’t you have just given me $20 like any other person?” Jungkook doesn’t move his stare off his phone while he replies. “Where’s the fun in that? Now go get changed.”

You stuck your tongue out at him (even though you knew he couldn’t see it) before stomping off to your room to change into something more appropriate. Judging by Jungkook’s choice of fancy attire, this was probably going to be some fancy restaurant where you couldn’t pronounce anything and everything cost more than your rent so you decided to wear a light pink dress. You didn’t spend that long getting ready, in fact 90% of the time you were trying to fit all of your necessities into a tiny (impractical) purse because it was the fanciest thing you owned.

“You seriously wore a dress with sneakers?” Sure, expecting a compliment or a simple wow, Y/N may have been a little delusional but you certainly were not expecting him to insult your precious pink Fila disruptors. You didn’t reply as you trudged behind him with a scowl on your face.

“Where are we going, anyway?” You asked with a voice laced with annoyance as you stepped into his terrifyingly fancy car. You didn’t even want to know how much that thing costs to insure. He didn’t answer your question which you found pretty rude but the glare on his face stifled any complaint you were going to make. You watched Jungkook drive which would’ve been a lot more innocent if he wasn’t smirking every 3 minutes and annoying you even more.

The entire drive was composed of awkward silence and unanswered questions before he eventually he pulled into  bright driveway before getting out handing his keys to the man who ran the valet service.

Wait, valet service?

“This looks expensive, honestly I would’ve been fine with the $20.” You whispered to Jungkook before you walked inside but all he did was chuckle. “Y/N, it’s fine, it’s just a restaurant.” That, was a blatant lie. It was one of the most renowned Italian restaurants in New York and it was incredibly hard to get into but of course you didn’t know that so you were up for a pleasant surprise once you opened the menu.

“Oh shit, this is no-price-on-the-menu fancy.” You whispered to no one in particular but Jungkook picked up on the incoherent sound. “What?” “Nothing!” You quickly squeaked out. You were not going to let a simple menu intimidate you. Unfortunately, the entire thing was in Italian and you failed all the language classes that you took in high school.

“Order whatever you want, yeah?” Jungkook was hoping you weren’t intimidated by the prices but unbeknownst to him, that was the last of your concerns. You nodded slowly; too focused on trying to comprehend what the menu said. “You know what, I’ll just get whatever you get.” Jungkook looked at you with masked concern that you wouldn’t have been able to notice if not for his revealing eyes.  “Why? Do you not like Italian?” “No, it’s not that. I just don’t know what’s good here so, I trust you.” You lied straight through your teeth with a cunning smile that even had you fooled. Jungkook nodded and didn’t say much more. “Well, I usually get the steak.” You could feel the panic settling in. You hated steak - with a passion.

“I lied, I don’t know how to read this menu at all.” You blurted out before he could call the waiter and braced yourself for his degrading laugh. He did laugh but you were thankful for his guidance after. He explained pretty much the entire menu to you before you decided on getting some kind of pasta.

After Jungkook had ordered, (you’d rather stay out ordering food unless it’s completely necessary) another waiter followed quickly after and asked if you wanted any wine. Jungkook nodded but the waiter assumed it was for the both of you so he poured you a glass as well. You watched Jungkook’s eyes widen in fear when he noticed but before he could say anything the waiter was on his way. You looked at the glass with obvious fascination that Jungkook was positive on shutting down.

“Y/N if you drink that I will literally arrest you right here." “Yikes, okay, I’m sorry.” Your apology was sarcastic but he relaxed nonetheless; a mistake, on his part, because you were immediately picking up the glass to take a sip anyway. “Y/N!” You didn’t hear Jungkook berating you over the deafening scream of your tongue as the disgusting liquid went down your throat. “That was horrible, how can you drink that?” You spoke through your coughing fit while Jungkook carefully removed the glass from your grasp, calling a waiter over to take it away and bring back a coke instead. “You’re an idiot and now a convicted felon.”

You gave him a sheepish smile in return. “I was curious…” He shook his head in disapproval but didn’t press further; he found it hard to stay angry at you. You spent the rest of the night trying to make him laugh with your really (subjectively) funny dad jokes. He didn’t laugh but you blamed it on his dead sense of humour which Jungkook thought was a reasonable excuse.

“Y/N.” You cocked your head up to look at him with a frustrated expression. Who knew pasta was so hard to eat? “What?” You tried to say though it came out muffled as you tried to eat. “It’s sad watching you eat.” “It’s not my fault the pasta is so slippery!” He grabbed the fork out of your hand and effortlessly spun the pasta around your fork. You scoffed in astonishment but Jungkook decided to ignore your frustration. “Open.” You felt like a toddler, Jungkook (a grown man) was feeding you (an allegedly grown woman) pasta because you couldn’t figure out how the mechanism worked.

After you finished eating, the room was engulfed with an awkward silence. The distant voices and the clatter of cutlery filled the void although it wasn’t nearly enough. “So, you up for dessert?” You shook your head quickly, you were so exhausted you could’ve sleep right on the uncomfortable chair. “I’m too full.” Jungkook nodded and asked a waiter for the bill. You curiously tried to take a peek at the total but Jungkook snatched the bill towards him before you had the chance. “Think of it as payment for taking care of my niece and nephew.” It seemed like a little too much for just babysitting but you knew there was no point in arguing with him.

The entire car ride was quiet. You were too busy trying to conjure up the courage to ask Jungkook out (properly) and Jungkook was too busy trying not to crash the car. The moment his car was in front of your building, you blurted out the question before you could stop yourself. “Jungkook, can I ask you a question?” He was a taken aback by the abrupt question but he nodded nonetheless.

“I um… I like you, a lot and I just don’t want to get my hopes up and expect anything from you because that’s unfair and of course I don’t expect anything now I just…” You trailed off once you realised you had been rambling but  Jungkook didn’t seem to notice. His expression seemed entirely indifferent and you wondered if you had even confessed at all.

The silence was getting incredibly uncomfortable so you tried to diffuse the situation you had unwillingly created. “It’s fine if you don’t! It’s just a crush. I’ll get over it eventually so really-” Halfway through your rambling, Jungkook crashed his lips onto yours and you froze. Now, you’ve been kissed before, but never like this and the lack of warning shocked you enough to have you accidentally bite the poor man’s lip. “Ow. What the fuck Y/N?” You began apologising profusely while he held his lip and though the mood was definitely ruined, he couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m sorry! Are you okay?" “I’m fine. Goodnight Y/N.” You were about to leave the car before you quickly turned around and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, then you hurriedly screamed ‘thank you’ and sprinted into your dorm building. Jungkook drove away with his heart heavy and his mind racing. He may have just ruined his entire plan.You on the other hand just realised you never got an answer.

[emy-loves-you]

Sanders Sides AU-gust Day 20: Single Parent

Logan needs a nanny to watch his 3 sons. Patton wants to take care of kids. Sparks fly and chaos ensues. Patton POV, logicality with creativitwins, familial Intruprinxiety and dad!Logan Ages: Logan(37), Patton(35), Remus and Roman(7), Virgil(10)

Day 19 | Masterlist | Day 21

Patton smiled at the cheery tune the chimes played as he stepped into the cafe. He checked his phone again to reread the email he had been given just a few minutes ago. He said he was sitting at one of the tables wearing a black polo, blue tie, and glasses. Patton fought back a giggle as he scanned the tables. This reminds me more of a blind date than a job interview- there he is! Patton quickly made his way over to the small table in the back of the cafe. His potential employer was hunched over his phone, reading an article of some sort. Patton stopped when he was a foot away from the table and spoke up. “Mr. Sanders?” The man’s head shot up, and Patton fought down a blush. He had assumed that Mr. Sanders would be an older man, in his late 40s or early 50s. He didn’t look a day over 30. No time for gay panicking! Patton fiddled with the sleeves of his cardigan. “I’m Patton Hart. The one applying for the nanny position?”

Mr. Sanders nodded. “Of course. Take a seat.” He gestured to the seat across from him and Patton sat down eagerly, trying not to let his nervousness show. As far as Patton was aware, he basically already had the job, and this was just a customary interview to make sure that Patton didn’t lie about anything in his application. Still, Patton couldn’t help but fear nervous. Patton tried to ignore his anxiety and focus on what Mr. Sanders was saying. “So, Mr. Hart-”

“Please, Mr. Hart’s my father. Call me Patton, please.” If Mr. Sanders noticed the was that Patton nervously tugged on his cardigan sleeves, he didn’t say anything.

“Patton, then.” Patton smiled appreciatively. “Would you like to order a beverage before we begin?” Mr. Sanders used his coffee cup to gesture towards the front of the cafe.

Patton blushed. “No thank you. I tend to talk more with my hands when I’m excited or nervous. I’ve learned from past experience to not have hot drinks around when that happens” Patton used his head to gesture towards his hands as he spoke, which were gesturing as he spoke.

Mr. Sanders gave him a look before continuing. “Alright. I will go over your application and ask a series of questions. If you feel as if a question is too invasive, please let me know.” Patton nodded, and with that, the interview began. “Patton Sanders, 35 years old. Raised in North Carolina. According to your previous employers, you’ve done extremely well with children in the past. You’ve dealt with kids at almost every age. You’ve been shown to successfully perform both the Heimlich Maneuver and CPR. You have also been employed as a tutor and have multiple years of volunteer work at shelters and public schools. It says here that you recently moved here a few weeks ago. Are you intending on pursuing any other job while employed as a caretaker?”

Patton shook his head. “The original offer you gave should be enough for me to afford my apartment.”

Mr. Sanders blinked, and Patton suddenly felt like he’d done something wrong. “I’m afraid there was a communication error somewhere. Allow me to clarify: you would be staying in my house while working for me.”

Now it was Patton’s turn to blink. “What?”

Mr. Sanders frowned, adjusting his glasses as he spoke. “I am very dedicated to my job, Patton. Sadly, my job requires me to have extremely flexible hours. It would be incredibly redundant to have you stay from 8 AM to 5 PM, then have to hire a sitter from 5 PM to 11 PM. There would also be several benefits on your end. Unless you started using an excessive amount of food or utilities, you would not have to pay for food or housing. You would be staying in the guest bedroom, and you would have every Sunday off, which is my day off as well.”

Patton rubbed the back of the neck sheepishly. “I think I remember reading that in the advertisement, but I assumed it was less of a requirement and more of an option.”

Mr. Sanders steepled his fingers as he stared at Patton. “I apologize, but it would be necessary for you to stay in the guest bedroom in order to ensure that my children have constant adult supervision. If you do not wish to be employed, I completely understand-”

“No!” Both men were surprised by Patton’s shouting. Patton blushed as he continued. “I still want the job, I just didn’t want to waste your living space if it was optional. If it’s mandatory then I’ll take the room. I’ll just have to wait for my lease to end in a few weeks.”

Mr. Sanders nodded. “Alright. Next question: why do you wear your cardigan around your neck?”

Patton smiled. “I don’t get cold very easily, but I always have my cardigan on me just in case. Besides, it makes me look more friendly and fun. Kids like to call it my superhero cape!” He struck a dramatic pose, and he felt a surge of triumph when Mr. Sanders' mouth quirked up slightly.

They went through several more questions before Mr. Sanders smiled, holding out his hand. “I believe you would get along well with my children. I understand that you would like to wait until your lease ends to move in, but I would appreciate it if you start a daily shift on Sunday. I will be there to make sure that you interact well with them. Does that sound satisfactory?”

Patton nodded, shaking Mr. Sanders' hand. “Sound’s like a plan, Mr. Sanders!”

“Please, call me Logan.” Patton smiled as he heard the name. Logan. It’s fitting.

“Well, Logan, what are your kids like? I was given general ages and names, but nothing else. What are their favorite colors and activities? Any allergies or disliked food? Any mental illnesses, disorders, or sensitive topics that I should know about?”

Logan took out his phone and showed Patton the lock screen. It was a photo of Logan with three children. Two identical twins posed in red and green respectively, while the third child looked slightly older with a baggy purple hoodie. “The twins are Roman and Remus, 7 years old. Roman always dresses in red, while Remus dresses in green. They both have extremely vivid imaginations, and they get upset when you don’t participate. Roman has some confidence issues, while Remus suffers from intrusive thoughts from time-to-time. Virgil is 10. He’s almost always wearing that hoodie. He says that his favorite color is black, but it’s actually dark purple. He has been known to suffer through anxiety attacks, and he tends to have trust issues towards strangers. Virgil prefers to be left to his own devices, and music tends to help when he’s stressed. The twins tend to find amusement in pulling pranks on Virgil, though he does not appreciate the sentiment. They all enjoy watching Disney movies and all have artistic talent. There are no food allergies to speak of. All of them were closed adoptions, so I would appreciate it if you don’t bring up their birth parents. That is all you should need to know before you meet them.”

Patton smiled as he listened to Logan describing his kids. It was clear from the tone of his voice that he deeply cared about his kids. “I’m sure they’re lovely. I can’t wait to meet them!”

Logan nodded, moving to stand up. “I assure you they’re just as excited to meet you. I’ll email you my address.”

“Oh, wait!” Patton reached into his pocket and pulled out an ink pen. He then grabbed a clean napkin from the table and scribbled his number onto it. He handed the napkin to Logan. “Here’s my phone number. It would be best if we have each other’s numbers in case of an emergency.”

Logan took the napkin, and Patton suppressed the shiver he felt from where their fingers met. “I’ll be sure to contact you with my address as soon as I get home.”

Patton blushed, moving to leave. “Alrighty then. See you on Sunday!”

Logan nodded. “Farewell.”

Patton smiled before hurrying out of the cafe. He quickly drove to his apartment, not stopping until he was inside of his (soon to not be) home. He gently caressed his own fingers, blushing as he remembered the electricity he’d felt from their fingers touching.

Patton shook his head, but the grin and blush he had never faded. “Logan Sanders.” He whispered to himself. Patton then tilted his head curiously. Logan Sanders…where have I heard of that name before?

Patton went over to his bed and pulled out his laptop. Search: Logan Sanders. Patton flipped through several websites until he saw Logan’s face. He quickly clicked on the article and gasped.

Logan Sanders, 37 years old, was just appointed as the CEO of Logic Tech two months ago. That’s where I recognize his name! I can’t believe he works for Logic Tech. Isn’t that the same company that he used to work for?

Bzzz.

Patton slammed his laptop shut, suddenly feeling like he’d done something wrong. Was this technically invading Logan’s privacy? It was an article that Patton could easily access at any time (he was pretty sure he’d read it before), but did that mean it was okay? Was Patton in the wrong for searching for Logan’s name?

Patton’s phone buzzed again and he nearly threw his laptop. He tried to calm his racing heartbeat as he checked his phone.

?- (4:13 PM) Salutations. This is Logan Sanders.

?- (4:14 PM) Is this the correct number?

P- (4:14 PM) Patton Hart here! You have the right number

L- (4:14 PM) That is good

Patton was then sent an address.

P- (4:15 PM) You want me to start on Sunday, right? What time?

L- (4:15 PM) 3:00 sounds amenable. Since it is my day off, you won’t need to be there in the morning.

P- (4:16 PM) Alrighty then! I’ll see you on Sunday!

Patton smiled as he turned off his phone. He was going to meet the children on Sunday! And seeing Logan again would be a nice bonus.

[roman-apples]

im not okay ( i promise ) | prinxiety

PAIRING:  roman / virgil  |  roman & virgil 

GENRE:  hurt / comfort ??

WARNINGS: swearing, breaking things, yelling, cheating ( mentioned ), toxic relationships ( mentioned )

-

❝ well, if you wanted honesty, that's all you had to say. ❞

in which they meet in a junkyard.

-

"fuck!"

"hey, dude, are you okay?"

virgil watched the person jump, before running a hand through his hair. he turned to face him with an exasperated look on his face.

virgil had moved there less than a week ago, and decided to take a 'short' walk around. he, accidentally, ended up going too far. that was how he found himself in a junkyard at 1am, with a guy who seemed to be ready to break the first thing he saw.

"do I look okay?" the short man asked, walking forward.

"right, uh," virgil shook his head, "what happened? and is your leg okay? because—"

"of course! I'm just dandy. all bright and peachy."

with a huff, virgil rolls his eyes, "I can just leave if you want."

as he begins walking away, he hears the brunette call out to him, "wait! come back, I'm sorry."

he complies with a smirk. the other continues, "I'm usually not that mean. let's start over; I'm roman." roman puts his hand out for virgil to shake. the latter takes it, shakes it, and let's go.

"virgil," virgil replies, "now, what's up? you can't lie to me, by the way. I saw that broken T.V. fly from how hard you kicked it."

after a breathy laugh, roman answers. "it's a stupid story."

"can't be stupid if it makes you that mad."

he groans, "okay, basically, I had a really, really bad day. and it's a little long—"

"I have enough time." virgil snorted.

"okay! fine. basically," roman begins to pace, "I come home, right? now, I had a really long, boring shift selling tickets for annoying little rascals and their parents all day. and then I come home with a headache, two hours late due to traffic," at this point, roman begins to quicken his pace as he 'walks' in a circle, "and I go upstairs, ready to greet my boyfriend and go to sleep, but what do I see—?"

oh, virgil knew exactly how this would end. he felt pity already.

"—my boyfriend kissing my brother. my fucking brother."

"oh, shit."

"yeah! 'oh shit' is right. I mean, what does he have that I don't? we're twins. twins! and I'm just so sick of everyone thinking choosing him in the end. my last boyfriend did the same thing. what's wrong with me?" roman whispered the last part, pacing now stopped. tears built up in his eyes before he quickly wiped them away,

"and now I'm here. like a coward. I just ran out."

virgil stood in slight shock, slight guilt. he felt bad and wanted to help cheer him up, but how?

with a sigh, he steps towards the brunette, before opening his arms up. "wanna hug or something?"

roman stares, before letting out a small laugh, he walks forward to accept the hug. "thanks."

"no problem, dude," they fall into a short silence, "wanna get a slushy?"

"absolutely."

—    👉👈   —

the two walk outside of the 7/11, frozen drinks in hand.

"hey, what time is it?"

"2am." roman replied, looking up from his phone.

"shit, I should get home," virgil sighs, "I hope everything works out for you."

"me too," roman looks up at him sadly, "could I get your phone?"

after receiving it and putting his number in, roman smiles. he reaches up, placing a small and short kiss on the taller boy's cheek. "you better call me!"

"I don't know if I want to or not," virgil teases, snorting once he receives an annoyed squeak.

"whatever," he reaches into his pocket, pulling out a slip of paper. he grins, "here's mine. now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna go beat their asses."

with a bow and a wink, roman runs off the opposite direction. virgil watches as he almost trips, before stabilising himself and running once again. he laughs, before walking off to his own home.

— 👉👈 —

at 4am, virgil received a message.

it was a picture of the boy from before. in it, roman grinned. behind him sat a burning pile of clothing and a man who seemed to be mid-yelling.

JUNKYARD BOY 😳💕: guess what I did  .

-

[chilly-me-softly]

Every Little Thing’s Gonna Be Alright Chapter 12

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11

"You're so cute. So cute and... perfect" Evelyn smiles looking at the little bundle sleeping in her arms. She still can't believe it's hers. She can't take her eyes off her, she watches her chest rise and fall regularly and thinks there is nothing more perfect. But then the little one moves slightly in her sleep, unconsciously clutching at her, and that becomes the most beautiful thing in the world.

"She doesn't look like him" she sighs suddenly, meeting Deb's gaze for a second, "I know it's still early to tell, but I was afraid she'd remind me of him right away"

"I can't judge without seeing him. Idea. Let me see him"

"What?"

"You want me to lie to you? Because if so she looks just like you"

"You're... take my phone" she sighs checking the little girl in her arms again before accepting the phone and typing something on it. "Here"

"Girl you banged this guy?!" Evelyn laughs heartily at the girl's expression, before grimacing at the discomfort she feels.

"Don't make me laugh!" the girl puts on an innocent smile before Ben walks through the door with a vase full of flowers in his hand.

"What are you girls talking about?"

"Nothing" Deb is quick to reply turning off the phone screen making Evelyn giggle silently.

"Are those for me?" the girl decides to change the subject by pointing at the vase with her head.

"Yeah. From the team"

"Oh how cute! Please thank everyone for me"

"Sure. Oh come here little one, come to you uncle Ben" Ben is quick to approach the bed once he has placed the vase somewhere.

"Ben she's sleeping, please" she scolds him but he takes the baby anyway, sitting down on the chair next to the bed and arranging the cover wrapped around that little bundle.

"She can very well do that in the comfortable arms of her favourite uncle, can't she?! Yes, she can!" he cooed and she gave up, she thought she was the crazy one but her brother totally outdid her. Totally lost for that little girl.

"You're also the only one, it's not like she has a choice in the matter" Deb teases him while Ben opens his mouth wide in mock indignation before shaking his head.

"I'm the only one? I mean his family, have you ever met them?" asks Ben after a while and Evelyn shakes her head.

"No, it had been too short a time for the introduction to the families I told you. I think he has a brother, but for all I know he might not even have told them" interrupting that moment is the little girl who frowns slightly before starting to cry, obviously bringing everyone's attention back to her.

"There she is, my beautiful niece. Hi" Ben cooed distractedly running a finger along the little one's face, but she began to cry more and more determinedly forcing Ben to leave her in Evelyn's hands.

"I think she's hungry. Ben could you please leave for a sec?"

"Please, we took baths together when we were little"

"We bathed together when my chest was still flat, now please get out" she retorts rolling her eyes, stroking one of the little girl's legs asking her for a little more patience.

-

"Deb, where's Ben? Don't think he could be upset for earlier"

"Nah he's probably on the phone. He's too whipped to your daughter to be away for her" she commented sarcastically as she walked around the room with the baby in her arms, making Evelyn laugh. She hadn't seen him since she kicked him out of the room to breastfeed the baby, and it had been a while. She could already imagine him outside the door, peeking in every few minutes, impatient to get back in, but as always her brother managed to do the opposite of what she thought.

"I'll phone him anyway, let's see where he is" she murmurs, picking up the phone, but she doesn't have time to unlock it when Ben finally returns. And he's not alone.

"Mom?" Evelyn murmurs in disbelief as tears immediately cloud her vision and the woman in question quickly approaches her, wrapping her in her arms and bursting into tears as well.

"I’m late, I’m late. I'm so sorry"

"Mom, mom. It's okay"

"No it's not, I was so horrible and unfair to you"

"I love you" Evelyn holds her mother tightly stopping her rant, there will be a place and time to clear the air. Right now the important thing is something else.

"Do you want to meet your granddaughter?" the woman wipes away her tears as best she can, leaving a kiss on her daughter's forehead before nodding. And the baby in the meantime has gone into her grandfather's hands who has taken the opportunity to cuddle the newcomer without any hurry.

"My baby had a baby" she murmurs, the emotion evident in her voice as she manages to hold her granddaughter in her arms for the first time.

"What's her name?" it's her father's turn to hold her and kiss her and whisper how proud he is of her, which makes her emotional again on that eventful day.

"Cecilia, Cecilia Chilwell"

"Well welcome to the family, Cece"

-

She's finally alone after that long day full of emotions. No one would have wanted to leave, but Evelyn had played the 'it's my day' card and asked everyone quietly to go and rest. The nurse had taken little Cecilia to the nursery anyway and she was fine, plus visiting hours would be over soon so better to leave before they were kicked out.

And she should probably follow the advice given to the others and rest but she can't. She is still struggling to process everything that has happened, still excited and incredulous at having given birth to a small, defenceless baby girl. To have held her in her arms, inhaled her perfume, watched her sleep, felt her delicate skin in contact with her own. Her daughter has twelve hours. Just... unbelievable.

A knock on the door makes her shift her gaze from her belly, no longer the size of a balloon, and she is already ready to scold whoever it is that has returned when she sees who is there. A smile paints on her face before her hands go to cover her face.

"What are you doing here?"

"Uncle Ben was too excited not to let the whole world know he became an uncle" Jack smiles as he enters the room.

"You shouldn't have come, I'm not decent at all"

"Doesn't matter and congratulations, I hope you don't mind but I went to see her first. She's beautiful"

"Only fair" she murmurs as Jack pulls the chair closer to the bed and sits down.

"How are you feeling?"

"A little bit sore. Tired. Excited mostly. I have a little girl, I still can't believe it" Jack smiles sweetly.

"I brought you something" Jack leans slightly to the side, under Evelyn's disbelieving gaze, to pick up an envelope he'd placed on the floor when he'd sat down.

"Jack, you shouldn't have-"

"Shut up and open it" and she looked at him for a few seconds before finally deciding to open that package, finding a small blanket inside. A cot blanket. Grey, soft, just gorgeous.

"I don't know if you ended up buying it, but still, it's better to have more than one isn't it?"

"It's beautiful, thank you. I'm sure Cece will love it" and she goes to take the other one too, but it's heavier than the one she already took from the bag. And bigger too she can see.

"That one's for you"

"You bought us two matching blankets?" she asks incredulously, her heart beating wildly in her chest.

"Yeah like... so you know you two can match" he murmurs, embarrassment coloring his cheeks slightly.

"I... I don't know what to say. I'm not gonna cry" she chuckles before taking a deep breath and looking at him, "Thank you so much Jack, that's a very nice thought"

"Come here" Evelyn spreads her arms wide before her brain can kick in, and Jack is quick to catch on and wrap his arms around the girl's torso, gently, careful not to hurt her. Satisfying the silent desire of both of them.

"Mum came at the end" she states smiling as he sits on the bed carefully.

"I told you it would only take time"

"Well it's all but settled but it's a first step" Evelyn shrugs as their attention is caught by a nurse knocking on the door without adding anything else making Jack sigh.

"I should go. The nurse only gave me five minutes" he says pointing with a thumb behind him.

"You should have called, I'm sorry you came all this way for practically nothing"

"Well it only means I'll see you again soon then" he leans in to leave a kiss on her cheek before approaching the door.

"Jack?" Evelyn calls back to him and he turns around when he's already outside the room, his chest half resting on the doorframe. "Text me when you get home"

----

This is one of my fav till now and I really hope you’d like it too! Also this is the real turning point of this story so be ready for some more actiong. I have so much saved in my draft, so much to make happen and really can’t wait for you to read everything! 

Tag: @alexajanecollins @emwritesfootball

Chapter 13

[owlsbride]

Blinding Lights.

Chapter II

She No Longer Heard the Music.

Is it cruel or kind Not to speak my mind And to lie to you Rather than hurt you Well, I'll confess all of my sins After several large gins But still I'll hide from you Hide what's inside from you I no longer hear the music

Sakura glanced at the clock hanging on the white wall of her office at Konoha hospital and discovered with feigned amazement that she had been working there since 11 pm from the day before. At which point 20 and a half hours had passed, no one could tell, much less her. She remembered that the day before around 8 o'clock she had stopped by the office of the new Hokage to leave him the reports of the previous shift, and after a small talk, she had quickly retired to the hospital to fulfil with excellence one of the last orders that Tsunade had imposed before resigning her position: Co running Konoha Central Hospital together with Shizune. And speaking of Shizune, where could she be now? Sakura looked at the clock again and sighed. Surely her Senpai would already be at home resting. She would have retired hours ago after warning her leaving for the day, asking the young nin doctor if she needed anything and recommending that she should rest too. Sakura already knew the routine by heart: she would simply dismiss any question from Shizune by waving her hand in denial, or she would have pretended not to listen to her Senpai and continued working, as usual, that inhuman amount of overtime. Shizune would have just sighed and after one last tired look, would leave the medical facilities until the next day, leaving Sakura to her own. Sakura felt comfortable in her hospital, she knew it like the back of her hand and every corner, no matter which one, it was like being in her own home. Not that she didn't have a home for her own, well, yes, yes she had, and a very comfortable one by the way, but she felt a lot better when working either in the ICU, the rooms, the laboratory or her office. She did not hate her own house, but she preferred to arrive there once she had finished all her duties. Exhaustion taking over her body and mind so that she could simply enter her comfortable apartment to take a shower and fall on her bed and finally sleep as deep as possible in the most dreamless dream, so she wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night or the day depending on the worked shift. Sakura shook her head coming back to reality once more reading the records of the day, those that she would have to leave to the Lord Sixth at some point in the afternoon which means today she would be forced to leave the hospital shortly. It was 8 pm, if her math didn't fail her if she finished her work around 9, she could find Kakashi on his way to his own home, and at that moment she would deliver the papers. The oral report should be left for tomorrow and knowing her former sensei as she did, that would not be a problem. Kakashi had proven to be a better Hokage than anyone would have ever thought; still, old habits die hard: working more than necessary in bureaucratic matters was not in his nature, less now in these times of peace, so different from those that they had faced so many years ago. So many years ago. Had there really been so many? Yes, they had been, but they had passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, Sakura had gone from being a wayward 13-year-old girl starting her shinobi path to becoming a 25-year-old woman. A direct disciple of Tsunade, a Nin doctor, a great Kunoichi and a promise for Konoha medicine. Her professional life was settled for at least the next 15 years, and she was delighted with it. Even more now that the wars fought in the past had given way to brighter times for the new generations that slowly began to repopulate the village. There were already more births that were attended in the hospital than the fatal cases produced on the battlefields. Of course, people kept dying, that was inevitable, but it was one thing to lose shinobis and villagers due to natural causes and quite another to do it due to the horrors of war. Even so, Sakura, daughter of fire, anger, and convulsed times never let her guard down and was always attentive to a new outbreak of violence. Maybe it was a way of staying attached to a past that made her feel much more supported and contained, but prevention was never too much. The sun could shine brightly now, but no one would never know when a storm could come to sweep away everything built since then. Sakura was satisfied. Satisfied. No, not happy. Satisfied. She knew she was settling for little, but that's how the last few years had been. It's been said that in life one can't have everything and that's why it is better to settle for what at least in some way can go well, so that's exactly what she did. Sakura always considered herself as a woman with will and power, but on more than one time, the lack of self-confidence had led her down dark paths that she didn't even want to think about. However, it was not only her who thought so. She had heard the rumours about her. Since she was a girl, Sakura felt that she didn't fit in. She had grown up in a typical and wealthy home. Unlike the team 7 she had had the possibility of growing up surrounded by the love of her mother and father, she had not suffered the losses that Naruto, Kakashi or Sasuke suffered which at times she almost romanticized. She knew that as an only daughter, she had been the object of her parents' devotion and focus of all their attention, which turned her into a spoiled child. It is true that she was weaker than the others and that she also cried often, but it was also true, and no one could deny that when the time came, the change she had made to become stronger had been radical. She would never be left behind again, and yet the gossip continued. She had even heard them come out of her best friend Ino's mouth. What could Sakura know about the life of a Kunoichi when it was the closest to perfection. Ino had lost her father in the fourth war just like Hinata and Tenten lost Neji. Shikamaru had lost his father. Temari had grown up without the love of her parents like Naruto and Sasuke. Sakura was far from being able to empathize with his two teachers, how she could understand Kakashi's feelings or Tsunade's resilience when losing not only her brother but also her lover and later Jiraiya. For Ino, the most significant loss Sakura had ever suffered was her long pink hair that time as a child. What Ino didn't know is that each of those losses that didn't belong directly to Sakura, they did indirectly. Sakura loved each of her friends intensely and from the depths of her being. Each tear, each pain of any of them was her own in her skin blood and bones. She suffered with them and for them in silence, and that silence hurt more than anything. That is why she had decided to be a doctor, so as not to see anyone else ache again, and if somebody had to do it, after all, better to be her, because deep down she was strong, and she would be even more for others. Silence. That silence was slowly killing her. She was slowly sinking into loneliness and apathy. Ino would always be her best friend no matter what the blonde could say about her with a few too many drinks or for the simple fact of wanting to stand out as she had always been. The rest of the boys would be her family forever, and she would accompany them in every important step they took in this new adult life they faced. They all grew so much, they were even starting their own families. Even Naruto had overcome his unconditional love towards her, and now Hinata was the light in his eyes. Maybe Sakura should have paid more attention to him when she was a child, perhaps if she had tried to fall in love with the self-proclaimed future Hokage, today she would be happy. What Naruto wouldn't have done for her? However, she had always been in love with Sasuke. From the first day she had seen him in the academy, from the first second, and for a moment she thought they could have their happy ending, after the fourth war, revenge, repentance and tears, peace appeared. Sakura believed then that love was enough for everything and she had tried. Sakura and Sasuke finally began their love story. Sakura was ecstatic, and at first, she thought she had everything she had ever proposed. She would form a family with the last of the Uchiha and reestablish the clan, they would have many children who would exalt the surname once more. Children who grew up strong like Sasuke and sweet and determined like Sakura. However, the happiness that Sakura thought she had were nothing more than projections of her wishes. Sasuke was rarely in the village, and when he did, the distance between them was enormous even though neither of them said so. A devious routine that hurt more than any kunai. At night Sasuke and Sakura could love each other intensely for a couple of hours, even talk to each other about their days or their wishes. Sasuke would sleep wrapped in nightmares and night fears while Sakura would watch over those dreams trying to provide comfort to her lover, caressing his forehead, whispering comforting words in his sleeping ears, Sakura would spend hours without sleeping, and when the morning arrived, after having breakfast together they would go their own way without much to say to each other. And so over the years, Sakura realized that she no longer heard the music. All those melodies of love, dreams of illusion vanished, and she quickly began to feel nothing for Sasuke. They had nothing in common, and the truth struck her like a thunderbolt: they were together out of habit, fear and anxiety. She had to finish everything as soon as possible to stop the spiral of wounds that a relationship like this left, however, her heart and nobility played a trick on her. Sakura felt that she could not abandon Sasuke, that he could not suffer another loss and despite losing her own happiness, she had to sacrifice herself to achieve the mental and emotional well-being of her loved one. That's what she was for, that's what a woman was for. she wouldn't be as cruel as the world was when Sasuke was little. She could save him even if no one saved her. And so, without much and without anyone noticing, Sakura became a ghost, the shadow of herself. More and more silence, more and more loneliness and more fake smiles. She was lost again as she was when she was a child. And one day Sakura's world stopped. She should have seen the signs. That night Sasuke and Sakura had sex, the most intense and intimate sex they had ever have. Long hours of love and pleasure till they both fall asleep. In the morning Sakura looked for Sasuke by her side, but he was gone. On the bedside table was a letter that was written in the neater handwriting she had ever seen, and she didn't need to open it. Sasuke had left and would not return. Sakura was relieved and scared of her own feelings, but it was better this way. Both would go their own way and would have to discover who they really were for the first time. Sakura had a new chance. And with this new chance in hands, she devoted her life to the hospital and to others. Yes. She was satisfied. Sakura began to gather her things and put together the folder that would present to her Hokage in just a few moments. She smiled to herself at the thought of him: his languid figure with his false hunched posture, the smile behind the mask, maybe the white robe slung over one shoulder in case he had felt too lazy to take it off and leave it in the office and his hands in his pockets. Kakashi was a mystery; however, those little glimpses of his gestures Sakura knew them perfectly. She had known Kakashi since she was 13 years old and since then he had perhaps been the only person who had stayed closest to her in all this time. Ever since her sensei had assured her and her teammates that he would protect them with his life on their first mission against Zabuza, even if it was a clone talking, even if it was a strategy, she knew then that he was serious. She also knew back then that she was at his feet. She was a child then, she was impressed with Kakashi, even hating sometimes his antics. She wasn't in love with her sensei, she didn't have a crush on him; then, it was just pure admiration and respect. She used to felt secure around him, and so she did through all these years: during missions, in the war and now that he was in charge of all the people of Konoha. Kakashi loved Konoha as much as she did, and that made her respect him even more. He had never turned his back on his people, despite everything he had ever had to go through, he always remained true to his principles and had never become a monster to fear. So far away was Kakashi from Sasuke in the end, those who might once have looked alike, today proved to be totally different. Sakura could trust in Kakashi. No matter how many vague answers he gave to her tireless questions, how many evasions he invented so as not to talk about himself, or how many times she wondered if there was ever a genuine smile underneath that mask, in the end, Kakashi was always loyal, faithful and honest. Sakura admired his joviality. The man remained the same as when she had met him, he seemed not to have aged a year, while she had aged all together. How many years separate them? Thirteen, maybe fourteen, and yet at times, she seemed even older than him. She had to ask him the secret of youth. Saying that Kakashi was attractive was a no-brainer. Everyone knew it, she knew it, even without seeing his face. She knew or thought she knew that under the mask was one of the most beautiful faces of Konoha, however, perhaps because of the secrets it hid, Sakura felt that her Hokage looked even more attractive like that. It was not necessary to speak of his body. Kakashi was an elite shinobi, his body had been shaped for that so he could be a killing machine, however, he also may look like a rag doll sometimes. Sakura knew a large part of his thanks to the number of times she had healed his wounds as a doctor, and she had seen many other men as well, but the former Copy Ninja had a different complexion from the others. While most of the shinobis looked either too thin or too formed, Kakashi was the balance between the two. Long legs, narrow waist, a flat abdomen, broad shoulders. Yes, Hatake Kakashi was the closest thing to perfection Sakura knew that any woman who could have him for herself would be lucky in more ways than one and she was jealous just imagining it. Sakura blushed from just analyzing her thoughts since when had she started observing her sensei like this? She almost chastity herself and force her mind to change the course of her thoughts. Not everything was beauty and light in the Hokage, and that Sakura could see it too. Behind all that carefree facade, the tired looks and mischievous smiles, she also saw loneliness. Whole hours spent in an office to which he had no attachments and a home to return to where he could only find his dogs if they were invoked. She wondered what was going through Kakashi's mind. Was he still missing Rin? Would he have overcome Obito's loss, this time for good and the Sharingan as well? Kakashi was a man of action, Sakura felt that even in times of peace, he would miss the din of missions, a battle, the fire and the anxiety of not knowing what would happen next. Sakura sighed. In the end, Kakashi was more like her than she could have ever imagined. They both clung to a dark past, a present that offered only apathetic calm and a future full of promises of lonely stability. Sakura felt her heartache for both of them, but even more for Kakashi. Once again, her mind and soul were trying to heal somebody else before herself, but she couldn't help it. Thinking of Kakashi filled Sakura with a warmth in her body that she hadn't felt in a long time. It wasn't just physical attraction. It wasn't about wanting to spend a night with Konoha's most coveted ninja. No. Sakura wanted to share her sorrows along with his. She wanted to touch his hand and reassure them both that everything would be fine. She craved to talk to him for hours, contemplate the stars with him, gaze at his profile, laugh at his silly jokes, and get mad at his ridiculous excuses. Suddenly Sakura wanted everything from Kakashi, she desired to know him as he really was. She wanted to remove him from the pedestal she had once put him on and make him human, re-meeting him as what they were now: two adults. Sakura took her things and went out determined to meet the Hokage. She would give him the reports and see what happened next. She would invite him to dinner just for the sake of being courteous and talking to him. Just to know what his answer would be. Even if it were a no, which she supposed would happen, she would begin her attempts to get closer to him and know if he wanted to get closer to her. She didn't care what kind of relationship they could strike up. She wasn't expecting anything, just hearing his voice, even his rejection. Maybe that's how Sakura could felt something again, even if it was just pain.

If you want to read the first part you can ask for the link to AO3, or scroll down to find it here. Third part on it’s way. Hope you all like it. The song belongs to The Libertines: Music When the Lights Go Out, and Naruto, doesn’t belong to me, obviously.