#As in if I didn’t speak the language and couldn’t get offended it would still have not been a good musical | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

daistea · 4 months

Text

"𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚜" - 𝙼𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚞𝚗 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

“Many think that the captain makes an effort to hide his emotions. He doesn’t. He’s an open book. It’s simply a very blank book, is all. There’s not much there to read.”

You knew what Cithis was getting at. You also knew there was more to read than what she thought, because Mithrun was your friend and you adored him and wanted to kiss his face with your face. Still, accepting that remained quite difficult.

(Learning a new language is always hard at first)

gn reader, implied to be a short lived race

5,000+ words :o

tw: minor description of violence and blood

Post-canon Mithrun, could be considered spoilers

An ink black eye flickered up and landed on your face. You knew it was there. You always knew when it was there. The light shiver that ran down your back was like a cold finger languidly tracing every bump of your spine.

You didn’t know whether you liked it or not.

But you accepted it, for the most part.

Mithrun’s gaze was devoid of light as you met it. It was only natural for his prosthetic eye to be glassy and lacking in life. Yet, his remaining eye was like that as well. Fleki liked to joke that the captain had ‘dead fish eyes’ and you could see what she meant sometimes. Most of the time, though, you considered his gaze to be more like an endless pit. An endless pit that you were always on the verge of falling into.

But you managed to keep your balance— for the most part.

It didn’t help that Mithrun stared. He stared, and stared, and stared. If you were in an especially combative mood, you’d meet his gaze and stare back. His good eye would start to flicker a little, like when a cat slowly shuts its eyes. You once heard that cats slow blink to signify that they love you. But Mithrun wasn’t a cat. He was an elf. An elf who had a habit of trying to consume you with his gaze alone.

It was one of the days when you couldn’t help but return his look. You glanced up from your plate of food, fork in your left hand and your other hand fiddling with a napkin. Ever since the dungeon, Mithrun had become more physically expressive. He had his elbow on the table and his cheek resting in his palm. As his sleeve fell down his forearm ever so slightly, you could see a hint of a pale scar.

“Don’t you ever get tired?” You couldn’t help but ask. The words were out of your mouth before you could stop to think about the consequences or implications.

Mithrun only blinked. A slow blink.

“No,” he answered simply. His voice wasn’t what one would call particularly deep or rumbling, but it was scratchy. When you heard him speak for the first time, you wondered if he had ever drank a glass of water in his life.

And the lack of inflection in his tone was something you eventually got used to. With a sharp ear, you could pick up the lilts at the end of his sentences when he asked a question. You recognized when he was annoyed, when the growl in his throat got more pronounced. You knew when he was sad, when emotion thickened every word. It was all subtle, learned. And you were good at learning.

For the most part.

“I don’t mean physically,” you replied, returning your attention to the food on your plate.

“Then?”

“I mean—” What did you mean? You weren’t quite sure. You were sure of the fact that you didn’t want this particular vegetable as part of your lunch. So you lifted your plate and absently scraped it off onto Mithrun’s. He didn’t react.

He did, though, slightly raise his brow. He shifted to sit up a little, moving his palm to his chin instead, eyes still lingering on you like petrichor after a rain shower. The slight tilt of his head told you that he was expecting an answer.

You forced the words to the tip of your tongue. It was rare for you to keep your thoughts to yourself, especially around Mithrun. As unreadable as he could be, the assurance that it was difficult to genuinely offend him was comforting. Except, this instance was different. If you openly acknowledged his habit of staring, that was too close for comfort to a much bigger acknowledgement. Mithrun’s heart, and yours, were closely guarded, surrounded by layers of walls. He’d knocked down a few of yours. You’ve knocked down several of his. But going any further was risky, at least in your opinion. The walls were bigger and more well guarded and seizing them might not produce anything good, anything worthwhile.

But his head was tilted and he was watching you. You felt as if you were on a stage with a spotlight shining down on you.

Might as well get it over with.

“Staring,” you said, “don’t you ever get tired of staring?”

His good eye blinked. You’ve seen Mithrun surprised or shocked before, and you knew he wasn’t. Then, that meant he was expecting that question. He was aware of his staring and was doing it on purpose.

“No, I don’t get tired of it,” Mithrun said as he sat up straight, elbow slipping off the table. He grabbed his fork and began poking at the food you had scraped off onto his plate. Peeking just barely through his hair were the chewed, jagged tips of his ears. They flickered. Elves really couldn’t hide their emotions well, their ears tended to give them away.

The fact that he was feeling anything made your heart flutter. If only you knew what it was. It couldn’t be embarrassment or shame, those didn’t exist within Mithrun. Then what? What else could someone be feeling when called out for their habit of excessive staring?

“I mean, I’d just like to know why,” you said without thinking, again. It was rare for either of you to feel as if you needed to fill the comfortable silence you often shared, but at that moment in particular your heart was clenching and something unpleasant passed through your abdomen. The question had crawled up your throat and slipped out of your mouth.

“Why I stare at you?” He asked. You were seventy five percent sure it was a question. But sometimes, Mithrun would simply state something, not asking at all, just echoing. You could usually tell the difference in the lift of his voice. Subtle, but there.

“Yeah,” you met his gaze. Ink black. You started to teeter on the edge of the dark pit again. “Do you stare at everybody like that?”

“Do you ever see me staring at other people like this?”

No. And Mithrun knew that you didn’t. The question was hypothetical, designed to draw the answer out of you.

You felt your jaw tighten as you stared down at your food. You’d missed something, a little morsel of a vegetable you didn’t like. You promptly scraped it off onto Mithrun’s plate before answering him. “I guess I don’t.”

“And?”

Fire flickered to life inside your chest. “And what?” You snapped your gaze back to his, “What do you want?”

His brow raised, “You’re the one who wanted something.”

“I want to know why you’re always staring!”

“Why do you think?”

You couldn’t help but groan, burying your face in your hand, “Mithrun, please just give me a straight answer. I can’t handle this right now.”

“Why not?”

Glancing up, you saw the corner of his mouth twitch ever so slightly. His ears flickered again. Was he enjoying this? As much as he could enjoy something, at least, which was more than before the dungeon.

That fire within you only grew taller and hotter and more destructive. The flames warmed your heart but also threatened to burn through your bones and muscles and ligaments and consume your body entirely. You didn’t know whether you wanted to smack Mithrun over the head, or grab the collar of his shirt and pull him close for a kiss.

Or both? Both were good.

You managed to resist the urge growing beneath your skin and instead shot him a weak glare, “Because— Because you’re not eating and it’s weird for me to be the only one eating right now, especially with you staring at me, watching me chew.”

Half true.

Mithrun’s nose wrinkled a little in thought. Slowly, he grabbed his fork and speared one of the unwanted vegetables you’d given him, finally eating. Relief flooded your body, until his gaze flickered back up to your face once more.

“Happy?” He asked before swallowing.

“Never,” you snarked back, “you’re still staring. Why?”

Did you want to know?

Another wall was crumbling and you were doing all you could to keep it from crushing you beneath bricks and emotions and emotional bricks. It was a mistake to ask that question, to even bring this subject up. You couldn’t go that far. You shouldn’t knock down those walls. You wouldn’t acknowledge the terrifying, unknown thing that had been growing between you and Mithrun ever since he’d decided to live.

You remembered that day. Celebrations surrounded you. Mithrun’s hand clenched the grass beneath him, the only betrayal of his feelings at the time. His knuckles turned white, but he finally let go as the realization, the emptiness, settled in; acceptance of the fact that he had nothing to live for anymore.

You remembered the relief when it all changed, when the listlessness disappeared. You remembered Senshi’s words. You remembered the sting of hot tears in the corners of your eyes as Mithrun smiled for the first time in forever.

It was a secret tucked inside your chest, kept close, chained up. But at night, when you stared at the ceiling with bright eyes and racing thoughts, you let the secret out just a little bit. You loved the captain like a desert dweller loved an oasis. You loved the captain like flowers loved rain. You loved the captain like—

“I can’t not stare at you,” Mithrun’s voice interrupted your thoughts. You crashed back down to Melini, to the restaurant and to him, shattering on the floor and making a complete mess.

“What?” Your voice was just as scratchy as his now. You grabbed your sweating glass of water and gulped it down.

Mithrun waited for you to finish before he continued, “I can’t not stare at you. It’s simply what I do. What I want.”

And he wanted so little.

The wall crumbled, and you internally cursed yourself before returning Mithrun’s gaze. “You don’t want that.”

“I want that.”

Was this really happening? Years of longing, of denial, of fear, all built up into one moment. And the moment was taking place in a dingy restaurant where you and Mithrun were surrounded by chattering people and the scrape of utensils on plates. Nearby, someone laughed. But it was as if cotton had been stuffed into your ears, your focus entirely on the elf sitting across from you— and his dead fish stare.

You began to consider your possibilities:

Option 1: Kiss him.

Option 2: Fake a heart attack to get out of this.

Option 3: Explain your fears about starting an official relationship with him.

Option two looked best.

You put a hand to your chest and coughed a little, “I-I think I’m—”

Mithrun rolled his good eye and stood up. The legs of his chair scraped across the ground as he loomed over the table, looking down at you. “Let’s go already, we have work to do.”

You scoffed, “I’m kind of busy having a heart attack here.”

“The heart attack excuse didn’t work when you wanted to get out of that dinner with the Canaries, and it won’t work now.”

He was right. He was always right. You hated that.

You stood up as well. Mithrun went to the front of the restaurant to pay. People used to cast him curious glances as he passed by, but very few did that anymore. The locals of Melini knew who Mithrun was and were generally used to his presence. Plus, the kingdom had become a melting pot of different races and cultures as of late. Seeing an elf wasn’t too surprising these days.

You watched the back of his head. He had a curl there. He’d always had that curl. Something in the back of your mind desperately urged you to wrap it around your finger.

Mithrun cast you a flat glance as he made for the front door. “Are you going to just stand there? Or are you coming?”

Your frown covered up the flutter of your heart. You followed, silent, grumpy, your right hand itching to take his left.

And as you followed him into the street, you noticed, just for half a second, that his fingers flexed, then curled into a fist before releasing.

This was bad. How could the people of Melini happily go about their lives as your world started to shift? How was the sun still shining? Why didn’t time stop for you as the growing thing between you and Mithrun got too large to ignore?

(Perhaps you were being too dramatic.)

‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - - ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵

The captain did not only stare. He touched.

It was weird, really, because he didn’t enjoy being touched. Mithrun would prefer to keep his personal space, you knew. The Canaries often invaded it and he said nothing to stop them, but you saw the twitch of his ear, the slight narrowing of his good eye. Lately, since he’d been learning how to be more expressive, he would sigh. It was that kind of sigh that told the listener precisely what he wanted, the kind of sigh that spoke a thousand words his lips refused to say. Those thousands of words usually consisted of ‘get away from me’ or ‘stop touching me.’

He never sighed with you.

But perhaps that was because you knew better than to invade his personal space. He had no qualms invading yours. He touched you. Often. At first, you noticed it too much. The feeling of Mithrun’s hand on the small of your back made your mind race with questions. Eventually, you got used to it and hardly noticed it anymore.

But that hyper awareness had returned since the staring conversation.

And also since the staring conversation, he touched you more than ever before.

Mithrun’s long fingers wrapped around your wrist. They were always cold, for some reason. He held up your wrist between your bodies, but he wasn’t looking at you. His attention was on something rustling through the forest. His other hand leaned against the rough bark of a tree. There was absolutely no reason for Mithrun to be holding your wrist right now, but you had a feeling he didn’t even notice what he was doing.

“Quiet,” he said in a low tone, casting you a glance, “there’s someone up ahead.”

“Someone?” You asked, “Not something?”

“Yes. Someone.”

Melini had many types of people. Most of them were good, interested in the future of the nation. Yet the existence of an entirely new country caught the attention of other types of people. The laws weren’t yet established, Laois didn’t really care about imposing taxes, and homes were still being built. While it had settled down as of late, criminals still flocked to the area.

Mithrun cast you another glance. His good eye, black, flickered up and down your body. The look only lasted for half a second, but it still made heat flare up in your abdomen.

“Stay here,” he commanded.

The heat disappeared as you sent him an incredulous stare, “Excuse me?”

“Stay here,” he echoed.

“No,” the argument escaped your lips quickly and harshly, “I’m going with you. There could be any number of people out here and I won’t let you face them alone.”

His eye narrowed slightly as he turned to fully face you, “There’s a chance I won’t even be fighting. They could simply be hikers.”

“Don’t lie to me, I know when you’re on edge.”

Another narrowed eye, another flicker of his ears. The chewed tips slowly lowered, pressing back against his head, barely visible through wavy locks of silver. You’ve always thought that when elves did that, they looked quite aerodynamic.

“Fine,” his voice was flatter than usual, “but stay close to me. I won’t allow you to be hurt.”

Mithrun released your wrist, but his fingers deftly slid down your skin, across your palm. A shiver ran through you as he tangled your fingers together. They were puzzle pieces fitting perfectly, created specifically to hold each other.

And Mithrun didn’t seem the slightest bit affected by the fact that he was now holding your hand. He simply turned and began trudging through the foliage of the forest, gently pulling you behind him. Did he have any idea what he’d done? Did his sharpened elf hearing notice the pumping of your heart? Would he even acknowledge it?

He held your hand tight, as if afraid you would slip away.

“They know we see them,” Mithrun murmured. Tension filled the air and threatened to suffocate you. It was the feeling of danger, and a tingling through your limbs that made your hairs stand to attention.

He pushed aside a thorn bush, not caring when the sharp tips pricked his skin or when they clung to his clothes like childish hands trying to desperately keep him from leaving. He slowed down a little so you could navigate the bushes more carefully. His fingers slipped away from yours, but he kept your hand, holding it up like a gentleman helping a lady out of a carriage.

The moment you escaped the bush, he interlocked your fingers once more.

Your mind raced as you followed him. Why was Mithrun holding your hand? What did it mean? Was he trying to acknowledge your relationship? Impossible. That was impossible. Mithrun surely didn’t want a relationship with you. There was something between you two, obviously, but it wasn’t anything either of you were ever going to do anything about. At least you thought as much. His desires weren’t just going to randomly appear again. And surely you weren’t special enough to cultivate anything new within him. No, Mithrun was just being—

The taut pull of a bow string filled the air. It happened too quickly. The whish of an arrow cutting through the atmosphere— it sliced the tension in half so smoothly, like butter. You only caught a glimpse of it as it came straight for your chest.

But it never hit you. You’d closed your eyes without realizing, but when you recognized an utter lack of pain, your eyes shot open to inspect the situation.

Mithrun still held your hand. Tight. A little too tight. You could see his jawline clenched, his ears pushed back. In front of you, only inches away from your chest, was the arrow. He’d caught it mid air. His hand was wrapped around the shaft and his knuckles were white as he gripped it.

Your heart didn’t just skip. It flipped, did an entire gymnastics routine, then promptly flopped onto the floor and passed out.

There were wasps in your stomach. Not butterflies. Wasps.

And Mithrun was angry. His chest rose and fell before he slipped his hand away from yours. You only caught a glimpse of his face as he turned away, but you could see the flicker of silver consuming the black; the crackle of a flame, the flip of a switch, a lightning strike in the distance.

He reared his arm back and promptly launched the arrow at something between the trees. A guttural noise erupted. It was thick with something, pain or blood or shock or fear. A tall-man stumbled out of hiding with the arrow lodged in the front of his neck, then he collapsed face down in the grass.

Silence.

Mithrun lowered his arm and stood up straight, staring at the body.

Your throat was strangled, but you managed to push the question out nonetheless. “Did you just… throw a goddamn arrow so hard that it went through a man’s neck?”

“Hm?” Mithrun sent you a glance, his eye widening just the slightest bit. But it returned to the black pit that you were seconds away from falling into. “Oh, yeah, I did.”

“Just now,” you pointed at the literal corpse laying in front of you, “you killed him.”

His brows furrowed, “Obviously.”

“Why?”

“He was going to kill you,” Mithrun looked at you as if the answer was clear and he was genuinely confused at your bewilderment. He lifted his hand, the left one, and held it out for you expectantly.

While your mind raced with questions and horror and a bit of admiration, you placed your hand in his. The air smelled like blood, metallic. Mithrun told you that he wouldn’t allow you to get hurt. He meant it. It felt as if someone had knocked the wind out of your lungs.

Maintaining eye contact, he leaned forward, pressing his dry lips to your knuckles. The forest, the chirping of birds, even the warmth of the sun overhead, faded into the background. All you knew at that moment were his cold fingers holding yours, the feeling of his lips on your skin, the lingering look he was giving you.

Damn.

His expression wasn’t blank this time. His good eye wasn’t lifeless. He looked at you through his lashes, his gaze glued to your face. Or perhaps not glued, but rather welded. He didn’t smile, he didn’t blush. But the intent was clear. His lips gently brushed across your knuckles for precisely four seconds, but it felt like an eternity. Your heart started to do its gymnastics routine again.

You could’ve lived beneath the spotlight of his gaze forever.

Yet soon enough, he dropped your hand and turned away. The tension dissipated like mist as he began walking, casually stepping over the corpse. “Let’s go. There’s been reports of a cockatrice nearby.”

Right. Monsters. Work.

You looked at the corpse and the blood soaking into the soft earth, drying to a darker color on the leaves and grass. You should’ve been horrified, but…

The fact that Mithrun was willing to kill for you only made you burn. Your knees were weak.

This was a desperate situation. This was a confusing situation. This was the kind of situation that required an expert.

‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - - ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵

“Are you stupid?” Cithis asked.

Perhaps. You weren’t quite sure anymore.

You held a coffee mug tightly, wrapping both hands around it as you sent Cithis a pleading look. She returned your expression with something like boredom and disinterest. White braided hair fell over her bare shoulder. She sat across from you with one knee over the other and her hands politely clasped in her lap. While this elf woman was the picture of elegance, you knew what she really was. You knew how she could be.

Which was precisely why you’d come to her.

“I don’t understand,” you began explaining, feeling a ramble coming on, “he stares at me. He holds my hand. He gets furious if someone tries to hurt me. He looks at me sometimes with this face that almost makes me think he wants me. He—”

“I think you’re stupid,” Cithis interrupted casually, “Or in denial. You know precisely how the captain feels. Admit it already and stop wasting everybody’s time.”

You couldn’t help but scowl, “I don’t want to admit it.”

“Why not?”

“Because—” the words got caught in your throat and you had to forcefully shove them up and outwards, “Because it freaks me out. I don’t want to ruin the comfort between us. I don’t want Mithrun to one day get tired of me. I don’t want to… to die and leave him behind. He deserves better than that.”

Cithis only tilted her head, “Don’t you think he deserves to get what he wants? How often does the captain want something?”

Rarely. And you held the firm belief that when Mithrun wanted something, the world should bend its knee to meet that desire. Yet, this was different. Did he want you? Why? How? How can you be sure? Cithis seemed sure. How? Why?

Her stare was unamused. She looked at you as if you were a dead fly that landed in her food.

“I guess I just don’t want to assume,” you finally said with a heavy exhale.

“There’s no assumptions to be made here. He wants you. Everybody knows it.”

Your head shot up, “What?”

“Everybody knows it,” her eyes narrowed.

Nonsense. That couldn’t be true. You scoffed, “No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Listen,” Cithis leaned forward in her chair, pinning you in place with topaz yellow eyes— or piss yellow, how you described her eyes usually changed depending on your mood. “Many think that the captain makes an effort to hide his emotions. He doesn’t. He’s an open book. It’s simply a very blank book, is all. There’s not much there to read.”

You shot Cithis a dark look. Her lips twitched into a smile that held not even a hint of humor.

“I’m aware,” you said, “however, that doesn’t mean I understand. Does he even know how to flirt? Does he know how a relationship would work with him in this state? Do I know how a relationship would work between us? Does he have any desire to be, you know, intimate? Does he—”

Cithis interrupted, “Honestly, I believe the captain would burn down the world just to keep you warm. But that’s just my observation.”

What?

“What?”

“Idiot,” she huffed, “he touches you every chance he gets as if he’s afraid you’ll disappear if he doesn’t have his hands on you in some way. He stares at you like you’re a damn masterpiece—”

“He stares at me rather blankly, actually.”

“But he’s still staring.”

“Maybe I’ve always got food in my teeth or something on my face.”

“You know I don’t really enjoy doing this.” Cithis leaned back in her chair and twirled a lock of hair around her finger. Her piss yellow eyes narrowed, “It’s much more interesting to watch you and the captain silently orbit each other than it is to so dramatically reveal his feelings. Yet, I think it’s time you stop being foolish and give him what he wants. He’s developed this odd love language for you and I think you should start learning it.”

She was right. You hated it when Cithis was right.

But that was why you’d consulted her in the first place, because you knew she’d be right. Still, how annoying.

“Okay,” you threw your hands up, “What do I do? What’s the next step?”

She smiled softly, but her furrowed brows and pitying eyes made it clear that she was condescending you. You were a child trying to ask her why the sky was blue.

“Kiss him, obviously.”

Kiss him. Just kiss him. How simple. How elementary. The idea of kissing him definitely didn’t fill you with stinging wasps or anything.

All you could do was close your eyes to block out the sight of Cithis’s condescension. “Yeah. Kiss him. That’s– Yeah.”

“Now go,” she waved a dismissive, elegant hand, “off with you.”

Whatever. You shot her a glare before setting the warm coffee mug on the table in front of her. You’d been gripping it like a lifeline, and you hoped it left a ring on her nice table. Her lips parted in silent offense at the tiny act of revenge.

You left Cithis’s home. Were you assured? Yes. Were you going to kiss Mithrun? Probably not.

There was still so much to sort through, still so many concerns. Mithrun wanted you and, apparently, everybody knew it. He hadn’t even been trying to hide his feelings all this time. You accepted his staring and his touching and his willingness to do anything you asked as simple friendship.

Maybe you should kiss him.

Maybe you should—

“What’re you doing?”

A shout ripped from your throat. You couldn’t control yourself, you stumbled backward, putting up your hands as your heart jumped and your stomach churned. You knew who it was that had snuck up on you. He did this all the time.

“Mithrun,” you hissed, “stop teleporting to me, you know it drives me up a wall!”

Mithrun’s nose twitched ever so slightly. He was considering your words, just a little. Then he shook his head, “No. I don’t think I’ll stop.”

Right. Okay. So, he wasn’t willing to do anything you asked of him. Again, you could only wonder if he enjoyed this. Did Mithrun like getting on your nerves?

You two were standing outside of Cithis’s little house. She should’ve been in jail, really, but she and the other Canaries had been pardoned, sort of. It was really more like a house arrest. You knew that Cithis didn’t care enough to watch you and Mithrun out her window, but it was still unnerving to be so near her, knowing what she knew.

Now, you were the one grabbing him. You took his wrist, gently pulling him down the road. “Come on, we need to talk,” you said.

Mithrun’s good eye widened just a little as you led him through the streets of Melini. It was more crowded than usual. Merchants called out to passersby and people laughed and talked and lived their own little lives. And this was your life, now, pulling the man you adored through a crowd in a desperate attempt to find a quiet, private spot.

You still hadn’t decided whether or not to kiss him.

There was an alley nearby. It seemed relatively clean. You and Mithrun entered the alley and walked around the corner of a stone building before you released his wrist. Yet, immediately, he took your hand, unwilling to allow even a second of no contact between your bodies.

The words came flowing out of your mouth as if a dam had broken within you. “Your love language, I’m learning it.”

He only blinked, “What?”

“Physical touch,” you raised your other hand, wrapping it around his, “quality time,” you met his eye and considered the possibility of drifting in black ink forever, “acts of service.”

He blinked once more. “Oh. I see.”

Your brows furrowed, “Why were you near Cithis’s house anyway?”

“I was simply passing by when I saw you.”

“And your first response was to teleport to my side?”

His head tilted slightly, “Yes. It was.”

“Why?”

Now it was his turn to furrow his brows, “Why not? It’s what I wanted to do, so I did it.”

“And the staring,” you murmured, breathless, “the hand holding, the lingering touches… That’s what you want as well?”

You didn’t expect Mithrun to react strongly to this conversation, and his reaction fulfilled your expectations. He remained calm, but his gaze lingered strongly on yours. His other hand slowly raised and he cupped your cheek, his thumb tracing soft circles onto your skin. You couldn’t help but lean into the touch.

“Yes,” he answered, voice as scratchy and tired and level as ever, “that’s what I want.”

“Why?”

His composure broke just slightly. His eye narrowed and his lips quirked into a little frown. “Why wouldn’t I want to touch and stare at my partner?”

…What?

“Excuse me?” Your tone was thick with disbelief as your heart began to do flips. “Your partner?”

“Yes?” His brows furrowed and he blinked a few times as if confused, “My partner.”

“...Me?”

“Yeah.”

“But—” it was as if someone had punched you in the lungs, “Me?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m your partner?”

A sigh as he closed his eyes. “Yes. You’re my partner. You have been for the last year.”

“...Huh?”

His eyes opened to pin you in place, “Were you not aware that we’ve been dating for this long?”

“No!” You couldn’t help yell, “I wasn’t aware! I thought we were just good friends!”

Mithrun said your name, tilting his head with a hint of a smile on his lips. He was amused. How rare. You only wish it wasn’t at your expense. “I wouldn’t do these things with just a good friend.”

Alright. Cithis was right in calling you an idiot.

You felt like you were about to explode. You weren’t sure if that explosion would be from anger, embarrassment, or adoration. All three? You were going to self combust, then your flesh would fly everywhere and get on the walls and cause this huge, bloody mess. All that would be left of you were chunks. But if that happened, Mithrun wouldn’t be able to hold your hand anymore. He wouldn’t be able to stare. You weren’t about to take that away from him. The world needed to kneel and deliver him whatever he desired on a silver platter and you were not about to stop that from happening just because you exploded.

“I am in love with you,” you said matter-of-factly. It was pure word vomit.

“Yeah,” he remained calm, “I know.”

He knew. Of course he knew. You wanted so badly to smack him over the head.

“If you knew…” your voice was strangled as you resisted every urge to scream, “then why haven’t you ever kissed me?”

Mithrun shrugged. He shrugged.

“Do you want me to?”

“Yes!” You snapped.

“Alright.” He released your hand, then grabbed your face and gently pulled you closer. His lips met yours. You wanted to melt. You were basically a popsicle on a hot summer day, then. And you had no clue what to do with your hands.

The kiss was… chaste. And soft. You weren’t quite sure what you expected. Certainly not passion, not from Mithrun. But chaste? That wasn’t right either. It was kind of… laid back, as if he’d kissed you a million times before and this was just another to add to the pile.

That wouldn’t do.

You figured out what to do with your hands. One gripped the front of his shirt, balling your fingers up in the fabric. The other stretched around his neck and tangled into his hair. He made a small noise of surprise. Satisfaction flickered through your chest. Gently, but firmly, you pulled him closer to you. Your back hit the stone wall. Your chests brushed against each other. His left hand dropped from your cheek and found your waist as he dug his fingers in and suddenly yanked your body against his.

There. That was better.

Slowly, Mithrun deepened the kiss, tilting his head. His hand slid away from your cheek and found a resting place on the back of your neck. You were both breathing through your noses as you kissed and kissed and kissed and kissed.

Heat began to build up in your abdomen. Your entire body tingled. He pushed you further against the wall and let out a soft exhale before introducing a soft bite on your lower lip. Another flash of heat wracked you, leaving you breathless.

Finally, the need for oxygen dominated and Mithrun pulled back, but only a few inches. He rested his forehead against yours and closed his eyes, letting out an exhale.

“I think… I like that,” he murmured, “We should do more of it.”

All you could do was nod weakly.

“Right. More,” you leaned in, pressing your lips against his, and it started all over again.

One might call it a new beginning. In reality, it was a continuation of what always was. You set aside your endless questions and kissed him. And kissed him. And kissed him some more.

You’d officially fallen off the edge. No more teetering, no more balance. You were gone, and you’d never hit the ground.

#ehehe #I take requests btw #rubs my dirty little raccoon hands together #will I ever write for another character? perhaps #x reader #reader insert #mithrun x reader #mithrun #mithrun of the house of kerensil #dungeon meshi #dunmeshi #delicious in dungeon #my writing #writing #dungeon meshi imagines #dungeon meshi x reader #gn reader

536 notes · View notes

kyojurismo · 1 year

Text

— SECRET MEETING

# sanemi shinazugawa

synopsis : you are in a secret relationship with the wind hashira and his desires become unbearable right before he’s about to leave for a new mission.

tags : fem!reader, nsfw, kissing, nipple play, oral sex (f receiving), unprotected sex (don’t be silly), 1.2k words, not proofread.

a/n : COME GET YOUR FOOD !!! alright okay uh, i decided to finally finish one of my wip and it turned out like this. pls lemme know if i missed a tag, i’m actually pretty bad at tagging smutty works lol. pls keep in mind that english is not my first language so i’m sorry for any error . . . anyway, i hope you guys enjoy <3

you walked out of the hashira meeting beside shinobu, chatting with her. you smiled at her, nodding, before someone grabbed your arm and stopped you. “uzui-san, i swear–” you turned and met sanemi’s face, stopping mid sentence. “shinazugawa-san,” you offered him a smile.

“i need to talk to you… about that mission,” his tone was low, since shinobu was still near waiting for you. his eyes silently communicated with you and when realisation hit you, you nodded and turned to your friend. “shinobu-chan, i’ll see you later. i need to speak with shinazugawa about an important matter,” you explained, bowing to her. “oh, no worries! see you later,” she grinned at you, confusing you a little, and turned around to walk away.

what— your thoughts were interrupted when sanemi started pulling you with him towards a more private place, away from prying eyes.

“i told you to meet after the meeting because i’ll leave soon, dumbass.”

you sent him a glare, offended. “shinobu was talking with me, it would have been rude if i–” you gasped as sanemi leaned closer and kissed your lips fervently. his hands grabbed your hips, as he moved even closer to your body. you didn’t protest as you put your hands on his shoulders, gripping them as his kiss became more heated.

“i missed you so much,” he groaned as his hands started pulling at the buttons of your uniform, desperate to feel your skin under his palms. “d-don’t tear it again,” you tried to help him, careful not to ruin your uniform once again. once your chest was free, his hands moved to caress your skin and he started kneading your breasts. a soft moan escaped your lips as you closed your eyes.

sanemi’s lips traced the skin of your neck before he moved lower and started biting your skin, his fingers pinching your hardening nipples enough to make you gasp. “w-we shouldn’t… you need to stop,” you noticed him kissing down your body until he reached your belt. “i’m not gonna wait two weeks or more to have a taste of you,” his voice was gruff, but full of desire, and it was enough to make you clench around nothing — and of course agree with him. you gulped and noticed him glancing up at you before kneeling in front of you.

his warm hands started caressing your legs, moving up under your skirt before pulling it up to expose your underwear. your cheeks grew hotter as he smirked at you, noticing a wet patch on it.

“needy, huh?” he licked his lips before removing your underwear, fresh air hitting your center. his eyes stared at your most intimate part with pure lust and hunger. he looked so hot, you couldn’t—

"..sanemi!" you gripped his hair, your head hit the wall behind you. your eyes were closed now, your parted lips caused a few whimpers to slip out before you had to cover your mouth with your own hand. sanemi held your thighs with urgency, as if his life depended on giving you pleasure. you pushed your hips towards him, making his head completely disappear under your skirt. "you taste so good," he groaned against your cunt, lapping and sucking like a starved man.

you tried hard to keep any sound from escaping your mouth, knowing damn well anyone could pass and hear the two of you. not only you two were doing something indecent right under the sun, but no one knew you two were dating — no, everybody thought sanemi could barely stand you, his fellow hashira.

“n-nemi!” you whimpered, securing your hand around your mouth once more as you got distracted by the approaching orgasm. “you close?” you nodded eagerly, your legs quivering. at that, sanemi stopped and lapped at your throbbing clit one last time before getting up. “what the hell?!” you whispered angrily, annoyed. you were so close and sanemi had the audacity to leave you hanging on the verge of flooding his mouth with your sweet essence. it was a loss for him too, though.

“i just remembered the master asked uzui to come back a few time later, that jackass could hear us loud and clear and you know he won’t keep it to himself.”

oh. oh! you were quick to move your hands and undo his belt, pulling his pants open and moved the fundoshi enough to grab his hard cock. “shit baby– should have told you sooner,” he half groaned, smirking at your sudden eagerness. you pulled him into a kiss, shutting him up. sanemi got the hint and cupped your cheek with his hand, caressing your hot skin. you stroked his tip, gathering a few drops of precum before starting to pump him a couple of times before sanemi pushed your hand away as a low grunt escaped his lips.

“turn around,” he said gently, kissing your cheek. you did as he asked and felt him pull up your skirt, sanemi spanked your ass as he lost himself for a moment, admiring you. you bit back a moan, feeling the familiar sting. he pulled your hips towards him, making your hands rest against the wall for leverage. he didn’t hesitated further, pushing his cock into you.

you both moaned, a bit too loud for your judgment. as he started thrusting into you, sanemi’s hand wrapped around your mouth letting you moan freely against his palm. your warm walls clenched around him, making him groan. “fuck— you feel amazing,” he rested his forehead between your shoulders. his other hand gripping your hip hard enough you were sure it was gonna leave a handprint.

sanemi’s thrusts grew desperate both for the fear of someone hearing and for the approaching orgasm, for the both of you. you cried out right into his palm, wetting it with your saliva as one of your hand desperately grasped at his wrist. you came hard around him, your juices starting to run down your thighs as sanemi kept moving, his hips slapping against your ass. he was good at keeping quiet, while you were crying from the burning sensation coming from between your legs — a very pleasant sensation.

sanemi hand moved to grope your chest, suddenly needing to feel more of you. his lips met your neck, as he groaned into your skin while he painted your gummy walls with his seed. the feeling of his cock twitching inside you while he came made you clench around him. you shivered when he whimpered at the feeling, as you milked him until he finished emptying himself.

as he removed his hand, you gasped for breath. sanemi pulled away and shivered as he slipped out of your warm and welcoming pussy, already missing the feeling. you turned around slowly and noticed him smiling at you. “lemme help, mh?” he helped you fixing your clothes and silently thanked him.

“good luck on your mission, shinazugawa-san,” you winked at him and then you two shared a final kiss, before parting ways. you bumped right into tengen and tried your best to act casual.

“oh, [l/n]… i thought you left with kocho,” tengen smirked down at you, as if he knew something. “i uh… forgot to speak with oyakata-sama about an important matter,” you replied, a bit taken aback. “ha! right, always focused on your duty as a slayer,” uzui teased you, chuckling, and you tried to not make him suspect anything more as you smiled and bowed to him before walking away.

sanemi too bumped into uzui, but he pushed him out of his way and simply walked away. “you and [l/n] are bonding, huh?” sanemi stopped right in his track, but tried not to turn around. “i still despise her, uzui.”

“what a couple,” he said to himself, chuckling.

reblogs & comments are super appreciated! thank you for taking your time reading it, i hope you enjoyed it. have a good day / night <3

#📂 — writing !!#sanemi shinazugawa x reader #sanemi shinazugawa x you #sanemi shinazugawa x y/n #sanemi shinazugawa blurb #sanemi shinazugawa drabble #sanemi shinazugawa imagine #sanemi shinazugawa one shot #sanemi shinazugawa fanfic #sanemi shinazugawa smut #kny sanemi #kimetsu no yaiba #kimetsu no yaiba fanfic #demon slayer #demon slayer fanfic

884 notes · View notes

lorre-verie · 2 years

Text

❝ Waking Up with Jake ❞ ✧ ೃ༄

summary: gn! omaticayan! reader and Jake wake up one morning. that's it. literally. you guys do not make it out of the bed aside from a flashback but then again that’s not really getting out of bed is it?

word count and approx. reading time: 1.2k, 3-5 minutes?

pairings: jake sully x you

basically: - this takes after Jake Sully is permanently in his na’vi body, and you guys are mated - also tsu’tey is alive and the olo’eyktan cause we can’t have Jake leaving you too early in the morning for chief duties, can we? - oneshot - this is b4 the omaticaya move to highcamp cause I NEED the forest feelz for this (PRETEND IT NEVER BURNT DOWN USE YOUR IMAGINATION JSUT BE HAPPY.)

warnings: fluff, physical contact, nothing suggestive (I THINK???)

dictionary:

oeyä tìyawn: my love yawne: beloved

masterlist

You feel the morning light shine warmly on your face, waking you up from your deep slumber. You open your eyes to the familiar sight and feeling of your home; the radiant forest of Pandora. You could hear the sounds of the creatures chittering and gliding around in the air above you.

Taking a deep breath to wake yourself up, you were able to smell the scent of the bark and leaves of the trees surrounding you and your freshly woven hammock, made by you and your mate to commemorate your union before Eywa. Your mate, who had his hands wrapped tightly around your waist and his chin rested on top of your head.

“Ma’Jake, it is time for us to rise.” you half-whispered, trying to sit up. But his arms would not budge. “Mmmpf. Just….5 more minutes, love.” Jake said in the language of the sky people. You groaned, slightly, still struggling to get out of his tight grasp. Him speaking his language reminded you of the time you both first met.

It was pure coincidence; he had been stranded by Neytiri by accidentally saying something to offend her, and he ran the wrong direction while trying to catch up to her. You were collecting herbs for healing wounded warriors, and he stumbled upon you. “Hey!” he called towards you, seeing you scraping some bark off the trees and placing it into a pouch tied to your waist.

You turned to him, and he stopped dead in his tracks. You looked stunning to him. You, on the other hand, were confused. This was the man from the Sky? What was he doing here all alone? “Isn’t Neytiri supposed to be with you?” you asked him, but he didn’t understand. “Neytiri? Neytiri uhm. She left me here.” he said, in a clumsy accent, trying to pull together words he learned from Neytiri beforehand.

You shook your head, holding in a laugh as you walked towards him, lightly treading on the grass. You couldn’t understand him completely, but you got the gist of it. He froze as you approached him, heart beating fast at the way your smile changed your face entirely from stunning to absolutely captivating.

You put your hands on his shoulders, checking his back and letting your eyes roam around his body to examine for any scratches, wounds or bruises. And for…other purposes. Needless to say, you were pleased with the result. His toned chest was unharmed, and his muscular arms were firm. And also unharmed. That’s why you were feeling his arm up.

No other reason.

You did a great job being subtle, Jake thinking that this was simply the Na’vi way of checking people for bruises. You looked up at him, looking into his eyes. You weren’t short, but this man was tall. The way he looked back at you, meeting your gaze, it was electrifying. You quickly looked to the side, turned around and started walking to the direction of the camp. You looked over your shoulder to see that he was still standing right where you left him.

You gave him a side eye, and started remembering some of the english words that the healer from the sky, Grace, had taught you. “Come.” you called to him, and he snapped out of his trance. He quickly jogged towards you, and you led him back to camp.

Ever since that day, you had been seeing him more often. He taught you english and you taught him the na’vi language, helping Neytiri’s efforts to assist him in rolling his R’s correctly. Whether it be by meeting by pure chance in the middle of the woods, near the healers tent, him choosing to sit next to you during dinner or laying right next to you when you woke up, he had become a very important part of your life.

“Oeyä tìyawn. Wake up.” you urged, trying harder to get out of his grasp, but it seemed the more you struggled, the more complicated the situation got. He tangled his legs with yours, and you were able to feel his warm body against your back.

You sighed, but then a devilish smirk creeped up onto your face. You had recalled him telling you that there was a certain part of the male human body that was more sensitive to others, and upon him tangling your legs together, it gave you the perfect opening. You kicked your leg back, hitting his crotch.

“OGH!” he howled in pain, letting you go. You sat up triumphantly, and quickly tried to get away from your shared hammock. But as soon as you stood up, he grabbed your hand and pulled you down, and you let out a shocked scream. You now were laying on his chest, hands on either side of his head, staring into his yellow eyes. And he was staring into your eyes.

He let out a smug smile, “Fall for me again?” he said in a husky voice. You rolled your eyes and was about to say something back to him, but he took the opportunity to take your stomach and pull it down onto his, but that was a mistake in his case. You heard his super fast heartbeat coming from his chest, and you slowly looked up at him, smiling. “Yawne, I think it is you who misses me.”

He shut you up by tickling your sides, to the point where you couldn’t stop laughing. “Ma’Jake-” you let out in between laughs, “must get to our duties-” but he didn't give up. He wanted to make you pay for disturbing his wonderful period of resting with his mate.

Eventually, he stopped. Now it was him who had you pinned to the hammock, looking up at him. He inched his face towards you and grinned, showing off his fangs. “I’ll let you go if you just apologise, babe.”

You frowned. “For what, ma’jake?” you inquired.

“For making me feel like this." he whispered. "All I can think about sometimes is you.” he says, face turning fully serious. He had hearts in his eyes as he gazed at you, taking in your form.

You looked like a deity to him. He would worship you day and night if it meant he could spend the rest of his life with you like this, seeing your smile and your frowns, seeing you deep in thought and seeing you with the wind blowing your hair back as you rode happily on the back of your ikran, seeing you.

You were more radiant to him than any sight he could ever see on Pandora.

Now there was barely any space left between you two. You put your hand on the back of his face and pushed him towards you, pressing his soft lips against yours. He closed his eyes, and you closed yours. You both relished in the feeling of each other, and you smiled against the kiss.

He pulled away suddenly. You looked at him, wondering if you did something wrong. “Is there something wrong, love?”

“Yeah.” he says, and as you’re about to apologise, he presses a quick kiss to your forehead. “It’s the fact that I can’t get enough of you.” he smiles, pressing more kisses around your face as you laugh.

Mornings like this were perfect, and you both wouldn’t spend it any other way.

∘°∘♡∘°∘

masterlist

MAN I wrote that in like what? An hour? Idk if I can even write fluff but like i hope you guys enjoyed it 💚 this is definitely not proofread so in case i made any mistakes or referred to the reader as a certain gender please feel free to lmk! have a wonderful day and thank you so much for reading to the end! (ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈) ༉‧♡*.✧

445 notes · View notes

stardustjmk · 6 months

Note

hello! I saw that your requests for Greta are open, and I was wondering if I could request something for Jake? I am hard-of-hearing, and I suppose I would love to read something about how that has an impact on Jake and Reader's relationship. If you have any specific questions or anything, just let me know! I can totally help out. I hate to say it but I'd love for it to be a little angsty, like, obviously hearing loss is not a choice and maybe Jake is just like... still upset that Reader can't fully hear things and asks to wear headphones at concerts. I would assume IRL Jake isn't an ignorant jerk like that but maybe for this he's just hurt that he isn't able to fully be heard literally and takes offense that like the headphones make it seem like he is being ignored. Thanks in advance!❤️

Loud and Clear | J.T.K

Summary: In which Jake does his best to be understanding and mindful of his hard of hearing partner, but a particular request upsets him.

Pairing: Jake Kiszka x gn!reader | Genre: angst, hurt/comfort Warnings: angst, jake being unintentionally ignorant. | Word count: 2.6k

Note: I am not the best at writing angst, since I crave fluff, but I do hope there’s enough of it to fulfill your expectations 🥹🫶🏻 Thank you for requesting!!

DISCLAIMER: I myself am not hard of hearing, nor do I personally know anyone who is. The last thing I want to do is offend anyone, or anything along those lines. So, in the case that something in this story comes off as offensive, please understand that is not at all my intent. Also please let me know if that is the case, so I do not repeat any mistakes.

There was a point in time where you couldn’t see yourself being anything more than a friend to Jake Kiszka.

When he first showed romantic interest in you, you’d be lying if you said it didn’t scare you. After all, you’d been met with numerous challenged relationship, and it was rarely your fault, to put it simply.

That being said, Jake was persistent, unlike any other guy you’d ever had interest in. He showed you, time and time again, that he would take every challenge, and erase it the best he could. Not once did he make you feel bad, or guilty for being hard of hearing, and he certainly didn’t let anyone else make you feel that way either. So, between his persistence, patience, and love, you let yourself fall for him, getting wrapped around his finger.

Jake does his best to learn sign language, along with other means of communicating, but being so busy with making music, doing shows, and all the other tedious tasks of his job, it’s hard find the time to attend classes or do lessons online. Especially given that in order to make that happen, he usually has to sacrifice time with you, or friends, or family.

You know he does his best though, and it shows in the way he speaks to you, which in turn is enough in your book. Not to mention, guys you’d seen before had much more free time on their hands, but never put in the effort to learn, whereas Jake manages to find time no matter how busy he is, all while keeping up his relationship with you.

That’s not to say you don’t have your struggles with him, though.

You can recall a few moments where he’d gotten impatient, trying to explain something to you. One time, he’d waved it off, and even though he explained that it wasn’t because of you, but more so the point he was getting at just stopped being that important to him, it still hurt to be dismissed, when you were trying your hardest to understand. From that moment on, it was very rare for him to be frustrated, but you could sometimes see his shoulders slump or lip twitch. You did your best not to take it personally, and most of the time, he would make up for it whether it be outright apologizing to you for it, or cleaning up his act as soon as it starts - nevertheless, his patience and understanding always outweighs the few occasions where it isn’t so.

All things considered, this might be the worst situation you’ve been in with him.

You hug Jake’s arm as he talks to the boys backstage, the four of them preparing for the show they’ll be playing in a few hours. Jake wears a small, proud smile, evidently excited to finally have you come to a show. The four of them talk to one another, and between looking at their lips, along with the occasional signed words they’d picked up on, you could follow along fairly easily.

Each one of them had learned at least some basic sign language, but Jake had learned the most by far. In fact, when you met his parents for the first time, you were almost shocked by just how much of their words he was able to sign to you. Now, he does the same, and you find yourself with a smile that mirrors his, heart swelling with nothing but love for him.

Your eyes scan the room, and when your gaze lands on a cluster of neatly placed noise-cancelling headphones, you realize that you’d left the ones you brought in Jake’s dressing room. It would likely be easy to go retrieve them, but you’d be lying if you said the “Greta Van Fleet” stickers on the ear muffs didn’t appeal to you.

So, you wander back to the conversation, and wait until a good time to grab Jake’s attention. When it comes, you tap his shoulder gently. He immediately gives you his attention, and you take a moment to admire the smudged liner that beautifully enhances his brown eyes, making your head spin with how good it looks on him.

“Would it be okay if I take a pair of those headphones?” you ask, gesturing to the table, and Jake is quick to nod his head, but it seems he didn’t exactly process it, because as you grab a pair, his brows furrow. “Wait, why do you need them?” He asks. You told him once that your ears are sensitive to loud sounds, but it was months ago, and honestly very brief, so you aren’t upset that he doesn’t remember.

“My ears are sensitive, remember?” you try to jog his memory, and he nods slowly. He does remember, and also recalls reading something about it, possibly back in school, but it still makes his shoulders slump and mood falter. He tries to mentally reason with himself, knowing that you can’t help it, and that he wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable, but Jake is known to be stubborn. Anyone who’s close to him knows that and has likely experienced it at least once.

You try to shake off the guilt that bubbles in your stomach - it’s not your fault.

However, as time passes, instead of getting over it, Jake only seems to grown more frustrated with you. It makes your heart ache, to think back on when you first met him. Even though he’s just as sweet now as he was then, a part of you thinks that he wouldn’t react like this if you went back in time and found yourself in this situation.

By the time you gather the courage to confront him, it’s not exactly a convenient time. The opening band is set to be going on in just a few minutes, and you should be making your way to your seat, but you decide it can wait. “Why are you mad at me?” You ask suddenly. You’d been watching Jake make his last adjustments to his makeup, outfit, and guitar (at least, the ones he could do backstage), and it was silent the whole time. You could feel how upset he was, and in a way, it made you mad, which is what made you ask.

“I’m not mad at you,” Jake says, not even bothering to look at you, when normally he’d be fully focused on you, knowing it makes it easier for the both of you. It’s a clear sign that he doesn’t want to talk, and your stomach turns. You’d never experienced this with Jake - shit, you could barely imagine experiencing this with him, given how he’s acted thus far.

A part of you starts to freak out, as this has happened before, in other relationships. Things go well, then something happens, you get blamed - even though it isn’t your fault - and then they break things off. Is Jake going to break up with me? you think to yourself, suddenly dreading the trip to your seat, and the hours following where you’re going to be expected to be happy.

“You are mad,” you say, a little more stern this time. He still refuses to look at you, and you feel a lump forming in your throat. “Jake,” you say, almost certain that your voice is shaky. He finally looks at you. “I just…” he sighs, “The music means so much to me, and the thought of you not hearing it is upsetting,” he explains. You watch his lips as he talks, eyes flickering between them and his hands as he tries to sign it. It’s slightly relieving, knowing that he’s not so mad as to completely give up communication, but there’s still a weight on your shoulders.

Before you can say anything, the boys are being rounded up, and Jake gives you a quick kiss on the cheek. “My mom will help you to your seat,” is the last thing he says before heading off with the other boys, making your heart sink. Your lip trembles, and tears well in your eyes, but you force them away. With shaky hands, you grab your headphones and soon meet with Karen, finding your way to your seat.

Despite the lingering sadness in regards to your predicament with Jake, you do your best to enjoy the show.

The lights turn back on, the boys disappear, and the once screaming crowd now evolves into chatter throughout the arena. Karen has been nothing but sweet to you, and as you both head back stage, she links her arm with yours. You’re coming up on a year of being with Jake, and at this point, you’re close enough with his mom that resting your head on her shoulder as you walk isn’t a big deal to either of you. In fact, she presses a kiss to your head, making a small smile form on your lips.

You aren’t sure what to do when you see Jake, so you hesitantly walk towards him, standing awkwardly to the side as he talks to one of the tech guys. As their conversation comes to an end, Jake turns to you. It’s clear that he also isn’t sure what to do, but he chooses to take your hand in his, gently guiding you back to his dressing room.

He seems gentler now, which is relieving, but you’re still worked up about the whole situation, and you’re sure it’s still on his mind as well. You take a seat on the small leather couch that’s in his dressing room, occasionally glancing at him as he changed out of his sweaty suit, and into a pair of old jeans, and one of his beloved button ups. Since it’s a Nashville show, you assume he’ll worry about a shower when he gets home.

He turns to you and walks towards you, eyes locking with yours. You’re not sure what to expect. He lifts a hand and brushes his knuckles against your cheek before cupping it. It’s a silent apology, that, and the way the look in his eyes begs for forgiveness. “We can talk about it later, okay? I don’t want to brush anything off, but I also have to-“ “I know, Jakey,” you stop him, turning your head to peck his palm, before standing up. “Do what you have to do,” you tell him, grabbing your headphones off the couch arm where you’d rested them, as well as making sure to grab the ones you’d brought. You kiss his cheek then walk to the door, opening it as to press your previous statement.

You aren’t sure exactly how long it is before Jake is done, but you do your best to wait patiently. You talk to the other boys, to his mom again, and eventually just linger around Jake himself, trying not to get in the way as he does what he can to help get things packed up.

After some time, everyone finishes up, and you’re back to where you were earlier, with your arm wrapped around Jake’s as you leave the arena. You say goodbye to the boys, along with Jake’s mom, then head your separate ways. The walk to his car is quiet, and you can only assume he’s also thinking about what to say, and what’s going to be said when you talk. He opens the passenger door for you, shutting it gently once you’re settled, then heads to the drivers side.

He waits to start the car, and instead looks at you. You figure he wants to go ahead and talk, and you ultimately decide sooner is better than later. “You said that I can’t hear you, and that upsets you,” you remind him of his words, giving him a chance to correct you, or add onto it, but he just nods. You look at him, and the look on his face reads that of guilt, but also a hint of his own frustration is mixed in with it. His silence gives you the floor to speak, but you can tell he’s worried.

You reach over the console and take one of his hands in yours, then use the other to gently direct his face towards you. His eyes meet yours, and you offer a half smile. “I do hear you, Jake,” you start. “Maybe I can’t listen to it the way you do, or the way your fans do, but I hear it, Jake. I see it, too…I feel it. I feel the drums, I feel the vibrations your amps, I see the way you react, the way the crowd reacts- Jake, I hear you loud and clear,” you conclude, and you can tell that it hit him particularly hard, with the way he sighs shakily and squeezes your hand.

He nods, processing your words, then waits for you to continue. When you stay quiet, he takes over, “Talk to me, please. I know you’re hurt and I just- I want to fix it, so please talk to me,” he says, taking over the role of assurance and comfort. “I just need you to hear me too, Jake,” you say, sighing softly. “I love you so much, and the idea of you being frustrated with me over this…it just hurts, you know? I didn’t ask for it,” you explain. You aren’t attacking him, or even trying to make him feel bad, and he knows it, so he lets you vent, without interrupting. “I know, and,” he pauses, pressing a kiss to the back of your hand before laying it on his lap. He uses his hands to sign as he talks. “I’m sorry. You don’t deserve that,” he says, and the way you can see the wheels in his head spinning extra fast, trying to make sure he doesn’t mess up, makes you crack the faintest smile.

“I love you too, and I promise that this won’t happen again, okay?” he says, and you nod, leaning in to kiss his lips softly. He kisses you back, lifting a hand to cup your cheek. You practically melt into him, the way he’s so delicate and passionate all at once making you crumble. When you pull away, he’s wearing a grin. “Now, you’re more than allowed to decline…but I think maybe we need a do-over, if you want to come to one of the next shows,” he suggests, and much to his excitement, you do agree.

When the next show rolls around, Jake gifts you a pair of noise-canceling headphones. You open the mix to find a pair of bedazzled ones, black rhinestones making up the majority of them, with “Greta Van Fleet” spelled out in carefully placed silver rhinestones. “The rhinestones were Josh’s idea, weren’t they?” you ask, making him let out a genuine laugh. “You bet it was Josh’s idea.”

This time around, things go a lot smoother, and Jake makes sure to look extra hard for you in the crowd. The smile on your face, the bedazzled headphones - which you eventually found had your initials embroidered on the underside of the headband part, along with “all my love” in jake’s handwriting - which he comes to absolutely adore, the way you’d dressed up for the show, all of it makes him fall even more in love with you. Not to mention, he watches you for longer than he might should, but it’s worth it to see you enjoying yourself, and that’s when he realizes that you do hear him, loud and clear.

#jake kiszka fanfic #greta van fleet fan fiction #jtk x reader #gvf x reader #gvf fluff #gvf fic #gvf fanfiction #jake gvf #jake x reader #jake kiszka x y/n #jake kiszka x you #jake kiszka fluff #jake kiszka fic #jake kiszka x reader #jake kiszka angst #jake kiszka

38 notes · View notes

asshlyyyy · 1 year

Text

Absolute Silence Pt. 1

Part 2

This was supposed to be just one part, but I wanted to do so much and I didn't want to make anything too too long! This post takes course over the period of two years. It will be noticeable by the dividers between takes.

There are not many stories/fics out there appointmented to those with disabilities. I certainly haven't read one yet for deaf/ hard of hearing people. I hope I didn't offend anyone by writing this. I did do some research, but it may not all be correct. If you spot something that's wrong don't hesitate to reach out to me!

Masterlist

Pairing: Austin Butler x Deaf!Fem!Reader

Warnings: Some Information may be incorrect, Swearing, Spelling and Grammatical Errors. Let me Know if I MIssed Anything!

Word Count: 2.8k

For your entire life things have always been rough. From trying to get a normal education to trying to work around adulthood. You saw and heard the world differently compared to others. It’s how it’s been since the beginning of your life. You learned to live a certain life and… well it wasn’t that much of a disappointment.

You were treated differently, and you always were. That never meant that it was okay or that you were okay with it. You generally just wanted to be treated like everyone else. Yet… you couldn’t. Because normal people were able to hear and you couldn’t. You had to learn early on that… that was how life was.

Was it hard? Absolutely. There was no doubt in your mind that it wouldn’t be. You learned sign language very young. When others would learn to talk, you learned to sign. Yet, you still knew how to talk. You probably sounded terrible, but you knew how to if needed. It didn’t matter much because you couldn’t hear yourself.

You opted to not use your voice often. It only came out when you saw people get physically upset with you, and when you were getting someone's attention. Your parents taught you how to speak. They told you that it was important how to use your voice in case you were in danger. You could yell for help.

Sure you and your family looked over possible options for hearing. Yet, they were all out of your parent's range of money. Even with insurance, there was no way your family could afford to get you a cochlear implant. You guys were not rich, in fact, you wouldn’t even consider you guys to be middle-class statues. They never shared the price with you, but upon looking it up yourself… let’s just say that… the price of a cochlear implant was like buying a car at full price.

Sure, there was the option of hearing aids… but you were deaf from the moment you came out of the womb. Hearing aids were for those who were hard of hearing… not deaf. That still didn’t stop your parents from trying though. They felt at fault that you were this way, but there was nothing they could have done.

You were currently sitting at a small coffee shop. It was only a few steps from your apartment. In fact, it was right across the street. It was honestly very convenient, and since you come in so often they know how to work with you. You sat at a table with your pink iPad in front of you and a coffee next to your side. You were currently working on a design for your fashion class. Early on in childhood, you knew you wouldn’t be able to hold a normal job. So, you searched for jobs that wouldn’t require… hearing, or even communication.

As you picked up your coffee and looked in front of you, you nearly felt yourself jump out of your seat. There in front of you stood a guy, a complete stranger in fact. He was tall, quite tall in fact. He had dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He fits into that surfer boy aesthetic from California. You haven’t met very many people with blue eyes but… they were truly memorizing. How long has he even been standing there?

“Can I sit?” His lips moved but you heard nothing. Of course, over the years you had pretty much mastered the art of lip-reading. So, you easily knew what he had said. You were also the same person who wanted to be left alone most of the time.

You brought your hand up to sign that you were deaf. Of course, he wouldn’t understand what you meant, but he would have at least gotten the gist of it. No one ever really dared to learn your language. You truly knew how natives felt when people visited their country and didn’t bother to learn their language.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize.” Your eyes widened at his quick hand movements. “I was just wondering if I could sit here. I’ll be gone before you know it.”

You nodded your head quickly as an answer and watched as he pulled out the chair. Who was this man and why did he know sign language? Not that you were complaining, you were just… confused. No one ever put effort into learning sign language unless someone they knew were deaf. Hell, some people wouldn’t even bother to put that much effort into doing that. You smiled softly and shook your head. For once you felt as if you mattered.

“I’m Austin,” he introduced himself. You nodded at his introduction and signed back your own name. “That’s a beautiful name.”

You felt your face heat up from the compliment. You turned your head away from him to hide your red face. You engrossed yourself back to your design as you told yourself off. You couldn’t just let yourself fall for the first guy you met who knew sign language. There had to be some catch to it. Maybe he used it as a way to lore deaf girls. He could have been a murderer for all you knew!

Maybe you were overthinking this. Okay okay, you were majorly overlooking this, but even so… you were way too nervous to make any sense of a first move. He probably already had a girlfriend. Look at just how pretty he was. There was no way in hell he was single. You can’t just let this opportunity go away though. He knew sign language! Who knew if you would ever find a guy who knew sign language? You had to take this opportunity. Even if it did end in empressement. You let out a breath and looked up at the guy again. He seemed to have found you looking at him cause he turned to face you.

“I know this is very straightforward of me, but could I get your number?” You asked him with a hopeful smile. Austin smiled in return and nodded his head. You were quick to reach for your phone and hand it over to him. You couldn’t believe he even agreed to such terms. Most men would have run away by now.

“How about you put yours in mine? That way we both have each others?” He suggested as he handed your phone back. You nodded in agreement and watched as he slide over his own phone. You quickly tap your number into his phone and left the contact as your name. As you handed back his phone he signed a quick thank you and stood up.

“I’ll text you later.” Was the last thing he signed to you before he left. God… you were hopeful that he would text you. You knew nothing about this man but you were so goddamn hopeful that he would text you.

After you finished up your drink and design, you decided it was best to head home. You didn’t have much else to do. Sure, you could go to the bookstore… but let’s be honest you didn’t need to spend any more money than needed. Yet, you loved to read romance novels. You always wondered what it would be like to have a romance like such.

Letting out a sigh you pushed open the door to your apartment. You closed the door behind you and reached down to your purely white cat and gave her a quick pet. You placed your iPad on the table and plopped down on the couch. What if you texted him first? No no, that would seem too eager and sad.

Turning on the tv you figured you could pass the time by watching some movies. It wouldn’t help, mostly because Austin was on your mind. The first boy to talk to you and you were suddenly head over heels for him? God, you were a joke.

Later on that evening when you woke from your nap you decided to check your phone. For no reason in particular… okay, you were looking to see if Austin had texted you. There were some texts here and there from your parents but- wait a minute-

New Message from Austin

Okay, no way! Sure he said he was going to text, but a lot of guys say that. You were sure that Austin was going to be one of those guys. Boy were you glad you were wrong. You smiled and unlocked your phone and quickly went to the messages to see what he said.

Hey! Sorry I’m getting to you late, been cooped up!

No worries!

How was your day?

Eh, pretty mediocre, though I did have a certain someone on my mind.

Oh?

Mhm

Her name is Y/n

Was he talking about you? Your name was y/n, but that didn’t mean other people couldn’t have your name. What if it was someone else with the same name? That would be pretty upsetting and embarrassing. God, you feel so stupid to let yourself fall for this go so quickly-

And I wanted to know if she’d like to go on a date sometime.

By the way, I mean you

You let out a gasp. You couldn’t believe it! He was talking about you and he asked you out on a date! Okay okay okay, be cool… be cool. Don’t scare him away right now. Just don’t do it… You pressed your thumbs against the letters and sent out your reply.

I’d love to!

That was cool, right? It was simple and it didn’t seem too eager. You couldn’t wait to tell your mother about this. All she wanted was for you to find happiness in this dark silent world. If she knew you possibly found someone… God, she would absolutely lose her marbles!

How about tomorrow at four?

I’ll come and pick you up.

That sounds perfect! Can’t wait!

┗━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━━┛

Life was going perfectly. Too perfectly in fact. You were worried that something bad was going to happen. That was how it was in the end. You get a taste of happiness and that sweet sweet life of forever. Next thing you knew it all comes hurdling down into the ground.

“Blow out the candles.” Your father signed to you. You smiled and looked at the people around you. Your family, your friends, your boyfriend. You thought shortly for your wish, which was the same every year and sucked in a breath. You puffed out your cheeks and blew out all the candles. You watched as everyone cheered.

Your older sister came along and pulled away the cake to cut it into pieces. Your mother had her phone pointed at you to capture the moments. Something she always did, even when you were a baby. You felt a soft pair of lips touch your head and you turned to face the person.

“Happy Birthday, clover.” Austin signed as he gave you an envelope. You smiled at him and accepted the card with ease. Austin liked to call you his clover. His lucky clover in fact. It was given to you pretty early on when he got the role for a movie he’s been dying to get. He says you gave him that extra push he needed.

You tore open the envelope and pulled out the card. You read it over and when you opened it you saw a piece of paper with a picture of a cochlear implant on it. You looked over at Austin in confusion.

“What is this?” You asked him.

“Your wish is coming true, sweetheart.” He smiled. You felt your heart burst as tears started to form in your eyes. You started to shake your head from side to side. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening. There was no way in hell Austin was buying you a cochlear implant.

“No,”

“It is. Your appointment is tomorrow.” Austin told you. You let out a small whimper and stood up from your seat and threw your arms around him. There was no way you could ever repay him. The amount of money he is spending just so you were able to hear? That was priceless, and something that could not be repaid.

Tears started to fall from your eyes quicker than you could react. Austin pressed his thumbs against our cheeks and wiped away the tears. He mouthed I love you and you nodded and mouthed it back. He pulled your face close to his and kissed you gently.

Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough! You were ecstatic the whole rest of the day. Even while in bed you were restless. You wanted to get the doctors. Get everything set up and head into surgery. You wanted this to happen fast. You wanted to be able to hear. You wanted to hear your boyfriend.

Even while in the car you couldn’t stop moving. Your leg bounced with excitement. Austin was in awe by watching you. You were like a little kid on Christmas morning. Without him, you would have never been able to have this opportunity. And for that, you would be forever grateful. You turned over and looked at Austin, a huge smile on your face.

“You excited?” He asked you. A quick nod was your answer. It was a simple answer but it brought forth all your emotion.

“Super, I cannot wait!”

It didn’t take too much longer when you arrived at the place. There were three stages to getting a cochlear implant. The first was to do all the questions and tests. The second was getting the surgery, and lastly was healing. Technically there were a lot more steps, but… luckily you went through those when you were younger.

The appointment went quickly and fast, and you got your surgery date stated. Sure… you had to wait a whole goddamn week… but you waited years just for this opportunity to arise. In fact, you never thought that this opportunity would come. You were grateful for Austin, and you owe him everything.

┗━•❃°•°❀°•°❃•━━┛

“So, you’ll need to change the batteries every so often,” The doctor explained to you. You nodded just to get the conversation to end. You wanted to put it on already! You wanted to hear the world. You wanted to hear Austin. The doctor turned and spoke some words to Austin. You kicked your feet eagerly.

Before you knew it the doctor handed you the external opponent. You quickly placed it around your air and placed it into place. You looked around ready for anyone to speak. Your eyes landed on Austin. He walked up to you and took your hands.

“Hi clover,” he spoke, and you heard it! You heard his voice. Your mouth opened a bit in shock. His voice… his voice just matched him so perfectly.

“Oh my god,” You muttered out as you heard your own voice. Your hands flew up to cover your mouth. So many things were happening at once. You couldn’t believe this moment! You heard the sound of the air conditioner. You heard the buzzing of the fluorescent lights above you.

You started to tear up. You started to shake your head and soon tears were falling down your face. Austin chuckled lightly and wrapped his arms around you and pulled you into his chest. He rubbed your back and nodded towards the doctor as a thank you.

“If any problems arise, give me a call and we’ll get her an appointment. I’ll leave you two be.” The doctor announced. You looked over at the doctor and just felt more tears. You couldn’t believe this. You couldn’t even begin to describe what it felt like to hear it again.

Austin rested his cheek against your head as you wrapped your arms around him. You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him. You know you kept saying that but… you really did mean it. Austin was your everything, and he gave you everything. He gave you, your hearing back. How many people can say they did that for their girlfriend? Probably none.

After you calmed down a bit you pulled yourself away. You looked up at Austin. He looked down at you and smiled. He brought his thumbs up to your face and wiped away your tears. He brought his lips down to your face and kissed both of your cheeks.

“I love you, Y/n,” Austin spoke. You thought you were all out of tears, but he just brought them all back. That was the first time you ever heard that.

“I-I love you too,” you weren’t used to your voice just yet. That was something you were going to need to get used to. Austin pulled your face forward and kissed you. You leaned into his touch and kissed back. This was heaven. You said yes to heaven.

Mutual Taglist: @darlinboypresley, @emmymaehereeeeee, @venus-haze, @austinstyles

#asshlyyyy writes #austin butler fanfiction #austin butler imagine #austin butler x reader #austin butler #austin butler fanfic #austin butler x y/n #austin butler x you #austin butler fluff #austin butler fandom

184 notes · View notes

starwarsbutmakeitgay · 1 year

Text

Miscellaneous Star Wars headcanons :3

((This aint all of them but we’d be here forever if i put all of them))

Ahsoka grows to be taller than Anakin (yes Anakin is offended by this)

Anakin’s first language isn’t Basic (its not even his second its like 4th. Outer Rim folk don’t speak a lotta Basic)

Tatooine is like Australia, Colombia and Texas combined SO the accent is Australian, Colombian and Texan combined. Luke’s Tatooine accent leans harder on the Texan side. He says howdy :)

Leia studied former politicians from the Pre-Empire days (because Bail wants his girl to be EDUCATED) and accidentally ends up learning a little about Padmé.

Leia’s first words would’ve been mama if Padmé and Anakin had gotten to raise their child

Luke felt isolated as a kid, even though he was very social. Partly because kids found him weird, partly because ‘Skywalker’ is a slave name.

Obi Wan doesn’t find it gross that Anakin eats bugs, he finds it gross Anakin eats RAW UNSEASONED bugs. So uncivilised

The Clones on Kamino have hug piles. (They need comfort ok)

Rex cries a lot in private.

Even though Aalya and Luminara are a few years older than Anakin, Anakin befriended them really quickly became friends :)

Canonically Anakin is a really good artist but doesn’t show people SOOOOooo the headcanon is Obi Wan finds a sketch of him one day by Anakin while cleaning up after Anakin’s mess in his room and loves it so much he hands it in how own room.

Padmé proposed to Anakin

Padmé gets just as jealous as Anakin, she’s just not as melodramatic and can destroy people with words

Anakin smokes from time to time (don’t tell Obi Wan or Padmé they will kill him)

Obi Wan had 0 spice tolerance before living on Tatooine and had to build it up when he started living there

Anakin, Leia and Luke are all autistic

Han is surprisingly good at mingling with ‘the higher ups’ during politics dinners/parties with Leia

Shmii was a lil bit Force sensitive and helped shield Anakin when he was little

Padmé experienced prenatal depression and didn’t tell Anakin. Or anyone.

Shmii and Anakin couldn’t write and Anakin only knew how to read a few words. Anakin learnt when he was taken to the temple

Togruta’s yawns like a snake. When Ahsoka yawned infront of Rex for the first time his soul left his body

Yoda hunts frogs in the ponds within the Temple. Little Dooku saw him donit once. No one believed him

Owen mumbles to Cleigg and Shmii while he works like they’re still alive and with him

Shmii would tell Owen tales of what Anakin was like

Both Leia and Anakin make attempts to befriend any droids they meet. Its polite :)

Luke would dig for bugs with Beru and they’d pan fry them for dinner

Vader heard so much gossip because officers and stormtroopers just assumed he wasn’t listening to their whispering.

Ahsoka is banned from any and all kitchens because she burns 99.99% of everything she cooks

Shaak Ti had to babysit lil Anakin once and found him delightfully courious

Anakin swears in Hutesse to get away with it infront of Ahsoka. Ahsoka figures it out and starts repeating after him.

Anakin is banned from 501st game nights because he’s too competitive

Obi Wan experienced really bad nightmares after Qui Gon’s death for months

Anakin thrives in disfunction

Leia never really allowed herself to properly mourn her parents. Breha and Bail always plagued her mind.

Padmé is a dancey drunk. Anakin finds this hilarious

#There are 35 headcanons here ooooooo booooyyy #i have so many thoughts #so many things to say #many many thoughts #star wars #star wars fandom #sw fandom #anakin skywalker #leia organa #padme amidala #sw #obi wan #ahsoka tano

61 notes · View notes

ficnation · 1 year

Text

Chapter 1

Series: The Cockroach Word count: 2,3k+ Pairings: Negan Smith x Reader; Lucille Smith x Reader; Negan Smith x Lucille Smith Warnings: cheating, mentions of cancer, usual twd themes A/n: Hi! Just posting lil finished something for you while I work on all of my other wips. Enjoy! If you're not on the taglist but would like to be tagged let me know!

Full Masterlist

“The Cockroach” Masterlist

NEXT CHAPTER

“He’s getting on my nerves, hun. Ugh, he’s just so infuriating but for some reason, I still can’t give up on him,” Lucille grumbled, and you could hear her restless footsteps on the other side of the phone.

You chuckled at her words but immediately bit your lower lip to muffle it when she snapped at you that it wasn’t funny at all.

You were at a point where you had no idea what advice you could give her in that matter. You were no marriage expert. But you were a good friend, so you listened through her hours-long monologues about her husband and butted in when you could to reassure her. She deserved more than Negan could ever give her because that guy gave her nothing but headaches.

“Maybe it’s just his charm,” you threw in, shrugging your shoulders even though you knew she couldn’t see it.

“Well, I wish this charm of his stopped working on me. Fuck, it’s just as if we’re speaking different languages. I tell him that we’re struggling with money and he goes on with his life spending 600$ for a fucking leather jacket! I just can’t believe it,” she complained, groaning at the memory of their latest fight.

“What an asshole,” Murphy spoke out loud from his place beside you on the couch, his ear pressed to the other side of the phone so he could listen in on the gossip.

You shushed him with clenched teeth, swatting at his arm. He promised you beforehand that he was going to be quiet if he wanted to listen in and keep you company, but he couldn’t keep his mouth shut like always. Annoying bastard.

“Yeah, you could say that. Hi, Murphy.” Lucille laughed on the other side of the line. It didn’t bother her anymore that your friend was so invested in her life’s latest gossip and drama.

“Hello, darling,” the man greeted her back, yanking the cell phone out of your hand. He ignored your loud protests, standing up from the couch so you couldn’t reach for the device. “You know what, you should totally leave that douchebag and go on a date with me,” he joked, a proud grin on his face.

“Murph, not to burst your bubble but you’re also an asshole. Don’t think it would be a huge improvement for her.” You stuck out your tongue at him before jumping up to your feet and grabbing the phone out of his hand.

The man in front of you pretended to be offended by your comment, clutching his chest theatrically. “Take that back!”

You rushed over to the bathroom and locked yourself in for some peace and quiet. Murphy groaned from the other room so loudly that you could hear him through the walls. You laughed at that. He was just like an overgrown child.

“Is he gone?”

“Yeah, he started getting on my nerves,” you admitted, biting your finger in thought. “You deserve so much more, Lucy. It saddens me to hear how he treats you.”

“I just… I can’t leave him. I know that somewhere inside there he is still the sweet man I fell in love with.” You could hear your friend’s voice breaking on the other side of the line, and you had a feeling that tears were already streaming down her face.

Lucille was the strongest woman you’ve ever known, and you admired her so much for it. But everyone has a breaking point where they lose all hope and feel like everything around them is falling apart. You were afraid that your friend had just reached that point in her life. It broke your heart to even think about it and imagine what she was going through.

“Try talking to him, Lucy. You’re both adults, even though sometimes, or most of the time, it feels like you’re the only grown person in this marriage. Words can change so much, sweets. Just try one more time. Don’t leave it like it is,” you encouraged her, hoping that your words would give her at least a little bit of hope. You knew she hated giving up, even when it compromised her well-being; she was stubborn like that.

The woman sniffled into the microphone, making you sigh in sadness. You wanted to hug her and make it all better, but you knew you didn’t hold power like that in your hands. What you could do, though, was distract her, but you weren’t sure if she was in the mood for it.

“Tell you what, how about you come over for dinner and a sleepover tomorrow? Just a little break from it all.” You pinched your arm and waited for her to respond, hoping she would agree to it. You missed her so much.

There was a long pause on the other end before Lucy sighed. You already knew her answer was going to be negative. Scratching your arm, you cursed yourself in your head. You got your hopes up, like always.

“I wish I could, hun, but I have an MRI tomorrow,” she reminded you; you could hear her nails tapping on the counter nervously.

“Shit, it’s already tomorrow? Will he pick you up?” The concern was evident in your voice. You waited for her response with bated breath.

“I haven’t asked him yet, but I know he will. After making me so mad, he knows he needs to make it up to me somehow.” She chuckled, trying to brighten up the mood of the conversation. It worked just a little more than you allowed yourself to admit.

“He has no other choice now.” You smiled slightly to yourself before another negative thought popped up in your head. What if he doesn’t show up? No, you couldn’t think like that. Lucy was right; he had to make it up to her somehow.

“But… If he doesn’t—”

The woman cut you off confidently, “He will. No buts.”

“Lucille, seriously. If he doesn’t, and god I hope he’s not that fucking dumb, but if he doesn’t go with you or pick you up, you call me immediately. I will run there for you if I have to.”

“You’re too sweet to me, hun.”

“Only to you, Lucy.”

The next day you couldn’t sit still for more than five minutes. With your cell phone always pressed into your palm, you waited impatiently. At this point, you didn’t care about whether Negan showed up; you just wanted to hear from her that she was healthy and they didn’t find anything unsettling in the scans.

Around the evening, you heard knocking on your door. At first, you assumed it was Murphy coming over to annoy you for the hundredth time that day, but he had keys. He’d just let himself in without a second thought, and he’d make a lot more noise than that, screaming your name and telling you all about his day before he even knew whether you were home or not.

You looked through the judas, and you had to do a double take because you didn’t expect at all to see the familiar green-eyed woman standing on the other side of the door. You quickly unlocked it with trembling hands.

“Lucy, what are you doing here?” you asked when the door no longer shielded you from her.

“Is that dinner and sleepover proposal still on the table?” your friend asked with tears streaming down her face. Even the smudged mascara on the top of her cheeks and the messy hair on her head didn’t make her look less angelic.

“Of course it is,” you assured, looking her up and down in concern.

Lucille threw her arms around you and burst into sobs. Her shaking body pressed tightly against yours; she needed to feel that you were truly there for her. She just needed someone to care, to be there for her without her having to beg for it.

You could almost hear your heart breaking into million pieces in your chest. You weren’t sure whether Lucille’s presence at your door meant something had happened between her and Negan or that the doctors had found something in the scans. But you cried for her all the same, pulling her into the apartment and kicking the door closed with your foot.

The both of you stood in the middle of the hallway, embraced and in tears for long minutes that felt almost like hours before you managed to calm down enough to lead Lucy towards the couch. You helped her sit down but didn’t let her go even for a second, sticking to her side like glue.

You waited patiently for her to start the conversation herself, no questions asked. Nothing was more important to you than making her feel safe and cared for. You weren’t in a hurry and didn’t want to rush her into something she wasn’t ready for.

After some time, she mustered the strength to speak up, “Thank you for being here for me.” Her voice sounded hoarse, and you could only imagine how much pain her mind had to endure today.

You hugged her tighter and kissed the top of her head. “Anytime, Lucy, anytime. You know that.”

Lucille sniffled, trying to regain control of herself before she sat up straight again and faced you. She played nervously with the hem of your shirt while you raised your sleeve to swipe over her moist cheeks, her mascara leaving smudged stains on the blue fabric.

“Did they find anything strange in the scans?” you asked gently, holding her hand in yours and running your fingers over her knuckles.

Her face fell once again. Lucille nodded and then buried her face into the crook of your neck. She sobbed in anguish, not knowing how to stop the tears from escaping her eyes. Every cry that wracked her frame pierced your heart. You wanted to take all that pain away from her or even just a part of it so she wouldn’t feel so alone in that battle.

Your mind was whirling with questions, but you said nothing. It was all that mattered at the moment to be patient and be there for her. She needed you more than ever. After all, that’s what friends did, right? They supported each other no matter how hard it could be.

You didn’t know how much time had passed before Lucy calmed down and sat up again. Her nose was still red, but she stopped crying. Your hand caressed her messy hair, twirling the random strands between your fingers. You hoped your touch could help her focus on the world outside her mind.

“I have cancer,” she whispered, barely able to look you in the eye.

Your blood turned cold. You’d been expecting something horrible, but this? This was worse than any possible thing you’d considered in your head. You swallowed hard and took in a shaky breath. So many questions raced through your mind that processing them took you a minute. In the end, the only word that came out of your mouth was, “What?”

It seemed to be all she needed to tell you because her shoulders soon shook again. You reached out, put an arm around your friend, and pressed her head to your collarbone as she dissolved into more tears. And just like that, you lost it too.

You had no idea what you could say to reassure her about the future. How could you tell her that everything will be alright without knowing for sure? You would never lie to her.

All you knew was that you loved her. And it wasn’t going away; you weren’t going away. That realization sent your whole world crashing down. But you held her tight and rocked back and forth, trying to console her. For her sake, and yours, you had to remain strong.

You made spaghetti for dinner while Lucy lit up a few incense sticks and candles around your living room, something that always made her feel a little more at peace. She settled down on the couch, wrapping herself in one of the blankets that was carelessly thrown over the backrest. It was her favorite one, made out of thick wool with little pink strawberries embroidered all over the green fabric.

You watched her through the doorway as she slumped down against the couch and pulled the blanket up to press it against her cheek, always amazed by its softness. The corner of your mouth quirked up slightly at the sight.

When you finished cooking, you grabbed two forks and jumped onto the couch, sitting down next to Lucille. You handed her one of the plates, kissing her cheek softly and dropping the remote on her lap. Without a complaint, you let her choose every movie you watched that night, making sure she was busy deciding whether she was in the mood to watch a horror or a comedy, too occupied to let the dark thoughts overwhelm her.

The next day when Lucille returned home, she had no more tears left in her. She left all of her pained cries and the uncertainties swimming around her head at your apartment. You had listened to her yesterday for long hours, staying up till the sunshine slipped in through the blinds. You let her get everything off her chest and offered comfort without expecting anything back.

But she kept a few pieces of information for herself, away from your reach. She didn’t tell you that Negan was fucking her friend Janine and that he lied to her, saying he was “too busy” to pick her up from the clinic. She didn’t want you storming into her house, ready to choke him to death and make him regret being born. Lucille wanted to deal with it herself. Her own way.

@whiskeypowder @hopefulatrocity @witheringblooddemon @humanmistakes @yttricuz @twdeadlysins @donttelltheelff @spidergirla5 @sexyseabass @sweetpotatospock @witchygagirl @tuttifuckinfruttifriday @hopefulatrocity

#the walking dead #the walking dead x reader #twd #the walking dead amc #negan #negan x reader #negan smith x reader #negan smith #negan x lucille #lucille smith x reader #negan and lucille #lucille x reader #angst #the walking dead fic #the cockroach series

91 notes · View notes

sneakypunmaster · 10 months

Text

Sleepless Night

(targeted advertising to creatively tell someone to go to bed)

“Y O U” a gravely voice whisper shouts from the void to the offending artist.

Turning to face the sudden interruption, Maria did an out of sync slow blink. Like a lizard with no concept of thyme lazily staring down an offending bug. The bug in question was a dark blue blob with some gold accents here and there. It was an odd sight to see in the dark of their room and even though a corner of Maria’s mind screamed about how the ‘hat man’ was finally here to whisk her away to the unknown. Another part of Maria’s mind, a much deeper and more personal part whispered that they knew this offending blob.

There was no mistaking it, this offending blob was a familiar personification of a skrunkly. A skrunkly, Maria knew very, very well. For they had once spent countless hours designing this character over and over again, even going as far as to hide a poorly drawn version away from others. Away from any judgement that may match the internal “ew no” Maria experienced when first experimenting with the character’s appearance.

‘This was It’ Maria thought to herself ‘I finally snapped’ their thoughts continued on as they took in the sight before them. It was a character they had written for one of their AUs that had gotten significantly popular. Moon or CS Moon for short stood before her with an unimpressed expression on his face. The faint glowing of decorative stars lighting up the very much ‘tired all of this and everyone’ nightly god. Highlighting a softness to his form that was currently not present in Moon’s expression.

“What are you doing?”

The question was clearly rhetorical and yet Maria moved to answer it. Opening their mouth to speak only to have Moon shush them,

“When-“ Moon spoke in a language Maria was all too familiar and yet unfamiliar with. The foreign language danced around her ears like an unintelligible melody. Something that would never be understood by such simple ears and yet sounded like a beautiful language at the same time. Even though Maria couldn’t understand they guessed it wasn’t said in the brightest light their ears had heard it in. Moon looked about as grouchy as ever, like a disappointed parent catching their child up and dancing at night.

“-told me that everything and everyone was a story book character in an alternate world. I should have known better than to indulge them” he wiped a hand down his face agonisingly slow. As if the thought itself was more than enough of a reminder of how he ended up in this place.

“What are you t-“ Maria couldn’t even get a word in before Moon sent them a sharp glare. A glare sharp enough to cut air and silence those around the god and silent Maria fell. Mouth thinning out into the thinnest of lines as they subconsciously gulped and leaned back in their chair. While Maria knew Moon would never hurt her, she still decided to let him take the reins of this conversation. After all, their mind and body felt like jello. Like a leaf in the wind, floating along to whatever was going on and just existing alongside the invisible tides. Though they would never admit it, Maria was too tired for this.

How sleep deprived was Maria? She had no idea but judging by how life-like and realistic Moon looked, she knew she had just crossed some sort of border. A boundary between waking sleep and sleepless night or whatever the right word was — this was taking up too much mental energy to name. Seemingly already out of it, it took Maria a full minute to realise someone was talking to them. But who was talking to them again? Oh right, Moon…or well one of their Moons. Out of all the Moons in the world, Maria was glad they were hallucinating about this one. After all, they didn’t want to get mauled without their trusted lume 5000 flashlight.

“Did you even hear what I was saying?” Moon’s unimpressed tone caught Maria off guard. Causing her to splutter and look up at the fictional god in confusion,

“s-sorry uhhh…what?”

Maria cringed at the tone of their own voice, sounding scratchy and exhausted despite being wide awake. Knowing this was all most likely an odd little dream, the least traumatic form of sleep paralysis they had ever experienced. Maria just blinked up at Moon once more and earned a sigh from the skrunkly in return.

“When was the last time you slept?”

The question was simple and yet Maria found herself counting on her fingers. Staring off into space in thought before forgetting what she was supposed to be even doing in the first place. Making a quick pop sound with their mouth, Maria looked up at Moon almost expectantly. Almost as if Maria’s brain would communicate through the dream character and tell them what amount of time had passed since they last slept. Instead of this however, Moon let out another long sigh. Shaking his head once the god of night already knew the answer, it had been too long. Far too long one too many times for what was considered healthy for mortals.

Rushing to reassure the figment of their imagination, Maria opens their mouth to speak, “I’m really not that ti-“ only to be interrupted by an involuntary yawn.

This did not seem to impress Moon as much as Maria had hoped. Shifting his weight from one side to the other the night spoke his final question,

“Why are you even awake?”

Ah, this was something Maria could answer. Pulling out their pathetic excuse of a phone, Maria held it up in the air. Waving it around a bit as the smart phone was already one foot in the grave as it tried not to heave out its hard drives. This gesture only seemed to confuse the centuries old god. Rather that was because phones had not been invented in its time or rather because it just didn’t understand where Maria was going with this. But that’s ok, they would explain it to him,

“This is my phone” they started off slowly so that Moon could keep up, “I’m writing the next chapter on it…but it’s a little hard. There’s lines of dialog I don’t think Éclipse would say” Maria explains like it’s nothing. Though there is a tint of frustration in their voice.

“Éclipse?”

“Oh um don’t worry about it” Maria tries to awkwardly segway away from the topic and doesn’t fail to live up to the awkward part at all. Turning back to her desk, Maria accidentally drops the half-dead phone and splutters to pick it up. Quickly turning it on and off to make sure it was somehow still working despite being on its last leg and luckily it was still going. Maria turned back to the awaiting god of night and looked up at him. Sheepishly trying to hide the wobbly smile on their features with an awkward laugh. Causing Moon to squint his eyes at them, clearly this display was not working as much as they had hoped.

“You need to go to sleep”

Moon emphasises on the word ‘need’ and frankly Maria silently agrees with him. But there was no way she could sleep, not like this. Already having crossed the point of no return centuries ago, Maria opens her mouth to protest,

“But I need to get this chapter out. If I could just figure out how t-“

“No”

Maria’s words are cut off by Moon taking a step forward through the darkness of their room. Body highlighted by the faintest streaks of light as the early morning sun teased its arrival and the start of a fresh day peaking out from beyond the horizon.

“You can get back to writing later, but for now you must sleep”

Moon reiterates in a much stronger and more commanding voice. Causing Maria to whine in protest, unable to come up with a good comeback other than ‘I’m not tired’ and ‘I’ve stayed up later before’ knowing that would not help her case here.

“…b-but I can’t sleep”

Maria tries to explain and at this it seems Moon understands. Looking the tired artist over before looking back up at them and doing something Maria had never expected from him. Moon smiled at Maria, actually smiled and the smile caused the artist in question to pause. Leaning back in their chair, Maria knew what he was planning. After all they did design and write Moon. Whatever dream-state mirage this was, Maria knew what was in store for them.

“Do you want to sleep?”

“I mean yeah b-“

“Then you shall sleep~”

The god of the night said so smoothly and softly it was almost jarring compared to how Moon usually spoke. Knowing what was to come, Maria’s eyes widened in realisation as they say their own fictional character audibly begin to sing a foreign melody. Moon didn’t even get to sing the first line of the lullaby before Maria promptly passed out. Out like a light and laying slump against her chair as Moon took note of the soft rising and falling of her chest.

Smirking to himself, Moon pat himself on the back. This was a new record, no mortal he had crossed paths with before had been this sleep deprived. Looking over the sleeping artist once more Moon made sure they were ok before grabbing a nearby blanket and tossing it over their sleeping form. Doing one last look over before whispering a simple little, “Good night”

“Alright, I’m ready to come back now. If you told anyone I left the celestial realm. I’ll remind the higher gods you pushed me into this world”

Moon grumbled impatiently at the open air of the room. Back turned to Maria as he awaited the familiar portal to open up and step through it. Shooting a glare at the guilty god in question as he silently curses himself for having let his guard down so easily.

@pillowspace I mean this lovingly when I say, “go to bed, you sleepless heathen”

#{playing}#writers don’t tuck each other into bed writers send each others SKRUNKLIES after them #this is what I was hehehehe oh hahaha-ing about in chat #write my own fic ❌ write this instead for funsies ✅#I accidentally came up with the title as I was writing this out. so you can quite literally sea where i made it #if you reblog this immediately I’m going to send moon FNAF after you #no fancy flashlight for you #face the consequences #enjoy #moon x reader? moon x MARIA #MOON GOT MARIA HAHA #how does it feel to be taken down by your own creation?#{save tag you’re it}

39 notes · View notes

1autistictacticalrefrigerator · 1 year

Text

( This is my first time writing a- what? AU? Headcanon? Don’t rip on me if its a little bland or if someone wrote smth similar to this 🫵😔)

So I’ve seen people draw König with a t-shirt or a shirt for the sniper hood, and that gives me a idea. Ok hear me out..

ClosetMonster!König and ClosetOwner!Horangi.

Horangi, as a child, used to hear and fear things that bump in the night. He was afraid of the closet, and what lies inside at 3am. His father would check the closet for Horangi, and tell him, “See? Nothing to be scared of, my boy.” His mother would say that it was just him being imaginative. She told him it was a phase, that when Horangi grew up, he wouldn’t “hear” things coming from the closet anymore.

….Except he didn’t stop hearing the sounds. Of course, as Horangi grew up, and joined the military, he learned to not be scared of “closet monsters” or anything along those goofy lines. He didn’t even believe in it anymore. However, sounds from his closet was definitely there. He was sure he wasn’t delusional, but just in case, to not sound like a fool- he doesn’t tell anyone which he later is grateful for when he wakes up in the middle of the night on a cold, cold, day. Horangi couldn’t sleep, so he decided to sneak out and go for a jog. Maybe that could help calm his mind. He couldn’t go out with his top half bare, so he reaches for the closet, and opens it to try and grab a jacket, or shirt, or something to put on.

BAM!

The closet door flies open with what seemed like the sound of panic. Not from Horangi, though, who already scrambled onto his feet and was reaching for the gun on the nightstand.

“Who the fuck-“ Horangi started before looking up, and he rubbed his eyes, two times, to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. He even pinched himself to double check, but that creature was very still there- a monster, that towered over Horangi. Horangi could tell it was upset, but this was a matter of fight of flight for Horangi. Horangi stands up. “Who are you? What’s your name?” Since the monster didn’t seem to show any obvious signs of aggression, Horangi stops pointing the gun at it, not wishing to trigger it- however, still not dropping it just incase the thing goes all ham all of a sudden.

Then the monster stands up. Maybe for intimidation? But when it stands, you could see it’s full monstrous hight, and it’s huge frame. It was humanoid, though, so Horangi was secretly glad he didn’t shoot it on the spot, or else Horangi would’ve felt a little awful for doing so. Horangi didn’t have time to react next though, monstrousy huge claws already were reaching towards him. Ready to grab him.

Horangi suppresses a scream. He’ll have to take care of this giant quietly, meaning he can’t use a gun, or else nearby people’ll be alerted. Horangi ducks and grabs a nearby knife, plunging it into the monster’s tough hide. “OW.” The beast barks. “Stop!”

Horangi freezes- he didn’t necessarily think the monster could speak human language. Okay. Now Horangi feels extra bad for stabbing it, but still. It was HIS closet. And HIS room. The monster can’t stay. The monster grabs Horangi’s wrist forcefully with inhuman strength, making Horangi drop the blade.

“The last owner of this room was nicer..” The monster muttered, “At least they left me alone.”

“Uh, hello. Your in MY room.” Horangi retorts.

“Sure, but this closet was MINE before it was YOURS.” The monster snarls, still refusing to let go of Horangi’s wrist even though Horangi tried to tug it away.

Then for a moment, the two just stayed still. Horangi’s brain was spinning. So this monster can speak. Maybe we can negotiate. I need to get rid of him before it’s officially time to get up.

“Can you get out?” Horangi says, breaking the silence and growing tension.

The monster looked horribly offended, “What?”

“I said, can you get out.” Horangi repeated. What am I doing..? This is stupid.

“How about you get out instead?” The monster spat back.

Horangi blinked. This thing either has intelligence, or I’m just REALLY dumb.

The monster slowly lets go of Horangi’s wrist. “Leave me alone. Or I’ll make you.” It hissed. Then the monster turns around and walked back into the closet, shutting the door in a mood.

“WAIT! We aren’t done here!” Horangi rushed to open the closet again, only to find it was sealed shut. “Can you at least give me my cloths..”

How can someone that big fit in there anyway? Horangi thought. Well there was no hope now. He sighs, climbing back into bed. Maybe the monster would be less angry at him in the morning and then he could talk to it.

…

When Horangi woke up, he saw a pair of cloths neatly folded in front of the closet. Horangi couldn’t help but smile. Maybe they aren’t impossible after all.

Once he was dressed, he decided he’d get some food for the monster as a thanks. After all, the monster seemed persistent in staying in the closet. If Horangi had to share his room, he’d much rather have a less sour roommate who might jump him when he’s getting shuteye.

When Horangi returned with the food, he was hesitant. What did the monster eat? What if a human offering his kind food meant war or something in their language?? Oh well, that’s gonna be it’s problem.

Horangi tries the closet. It wouldn’t budge. Alright- so maybe trying to invade someone’s personal space without warning was rude. Horangi tries a different approach. “Hey, open up? Are you hungry?” Horangi says softly.

The closet was silent. Horangi was just about to give up and leave when the closet opens slightly.

Horangi quickly turns back around, giving the monster distance to come out. “I promise I won’t hurt you.” Horangi coaxes, it was like coaxing a small little lost puppy, in all honesty.

“I’m not scared of you.” The monster mumbles.

He mumbles a lot.

“I’m more dangerous to you than you are to me.” Then it pauses. “What do you want.”

“Hungry..?” Horangi asks, holding out the tray for the monster to grab.

“Are you trying to poison me?” The monster asks suspiciously.

“No.” Horangi says flatly.

“I haven’t ate in a while.” The monster slowly said.

“Then take it.” Horangi said with a hint of impatience. He quickly realized that might’ve been a tad hostile- “If you want.” Horangi quickly adds.

The monster peeks it’s head out of the closet. The first time Horangi saw it was when all lights were off, but now Horangi gawked in disbelief. The monster looks even more human in the light.

“..whoa..” Horangi whispered to himself, mesmerized.

The monster wasn’t very scary in Horangi’s opinion, in fact, it looked kinda hot. No- “kinda” was a understatement. Very hot seemed like better adjective.

The monster finally steps into the light, Horangi was sure he was blushing. The beast had muscles in all the right places, it was tall, and it’s eyes spoke and told stories more than his words did.

“Thank you.. erm..” The monster gestured towards Horangi as it accepted the food.

“Horangi.”

“Thank you Horangi.” The monster’s eyes crinkled.

Is it smiling at me?

“Yeah not a problem..” Horangi nods. “Um, what’s your name? Since you know mine and all.. feel like it’s only fair if I know yours.”

“The name’s König.” König said.

“Well König, I need to go. Can you like.. keep a low profile or something…?” Horangi asks, “Please.”

“I’ve been doing that.” König nods, “Goodbye Horangi.”

And with that, Horangi turns towards his door. He had just made friends with a beast.

…

The next week or two has been the same, Horangi fed König, König thanked him. Not much progress had been made except that sometimes Horangi would talk a bit to König about his day. That is- until the day Horangi comes back injured. Some idiots decide to play a prank on Horangi, but it ended nastily. Horangi was ready to throw hands before he remembered he could get in trouble for doing that, so he stormed back to his room. That night, things between Horangi and König changed.

König could probably hear Horangi stomping back to his room since Horangi was making a almighty racket doing so. When Horangi threw open the door, it was clear he didn’t want to talk for the day. In fact, he hadn’t even spared a look at the closet. That hurt. So at night, König steps out.

“Are you okay?” König asks.

Horangi sighed.

König could see Horangi didn’t stop by medical to get his injury patched. König tried to recall a conversation he had with his roommate.. something about Horangi hating having to go to medical. Well thats okay. König thought.

König scrounges for a medkit in Horangi’s room, earning him a confused look. When König found it, he walked over to Horangi, slowly reaching for Horangi’s wounded arm. Horangi didn’t protest. Maybe he trusted König? Regardless, König felt happy he didn’t pull away.

As König tend to Horangi’s wound, his eyes finally meet’s his human roommate’s. Horangi’s eyes spelled shock and adoration. The fact that König is treating even the most simplest of wounds with such sincerity and care. König finishes bandaging Horangi’s wound.

“Thank you.” Horangi whispered before yawning.

“You should sleep.” König insists.

Horangi grins, already slowly dozing off, “Yeah.. goodnight König.”

And both of them knew after their eyes locked, that things’ll never be the same again.

Fin.

#Call of duty #call of duty mw2 #körangi

30 notes · View notes

inherstars · 3 months

Text

Gears of War | Unknown Issue (4 of 5)

Gotta leave for lunch soon, but here's a bit more. Both of these people just need a fucking hug. Previous section here.

Scylla’s throat tightened with a logjam of questions, a breath she couldn’t let out, but she held it all in check. Marcus wouldn’t look at her, continuing to turn the scrapbook pages, but he got out at least one word, choked around the stricture of emotion.

“...Eat.”

She dug into the sandwich again, needing something to do besides sit there and gawp at him. It took a long time for him to speak again, sorting slowly through the snippets and snapshots and sketches of her life.

“Where have you been all this time?,” he growled. “Why did you wait this long?”

“I was at New Hope,” she got out between bites. “I was their ward until I turned eighteen. Six months ago I bought a train ticket out here. I’d spent a year trying to track down if you were still alive and, if you were, where I might find you. And that information wasn’t easy to come by, let me tell you.”

A grunt. “That’s by design.”

“...anyway. With the money I had left after the ticket, I bought that bike. Rented a room in a boarding house. Now I work in a cafe in town. Sometimes I pick up shifts at the thrift shop, they give me a discount on clothes and stuff.”

Just for a second the blue of his eyes caught the light as he looked at her.

“That bike’s gotta go.”

She sat up, unexpectedly offended.

“I like my bike.”

“You’re not riding that thing uphill when winter gets here.”

Scylla’s head was spinning. When had this even become a debate? And the only uphill from town was here.

Marcus reminded her, “You didn’t answer my question.”

But the answer wasn’t that easy to articulate. She took a break to eat more of her sandwich, though her internal alarms were starting to sound about the amount of room she had left inside.

“It’s a complicated answer.” She adjusted her fingers on the soft cushion of bread, trying to piece the explanation out in a way he’d understand. “When Anya… when she signed into the program at the clinic, there was language in the paperwork about what would happen to the baby’s remains if it didn’t survive, or was stillborn. For research, I guess. I’m about as familiar with legal jargon as I am medical, but technically I was stillborn. Until I wasn’t. In the absence of a mother, and further instructions, I became their property.” She shrugged, but limply. “So… pretty recently, that was just how I was raised. As a ward of the facility. Lots of genetic testing, bloodwork, studies.” He stopped turning pages and looked at her, squarely this time.

“No foster parents?”

“No fixed ones, no. I had a private room. A tutor. Sometimes, somebody or another took me home for an extended holiday, if they didn’t have staff to mind me at the facility. But no one I got attached to.” More quietly she admitted, “...no one that got attached to me.”

He leaned forward, frustration rising in his voice.

“Why the fuck didn’t you come find me before now?”

Scylla started to answer and stopped. Her mouth shut quickly, and she looked tightly away, sitting back in her chair. The curve of her jaw hardened as she clenched it, trying not to cry.

Fuck, he was bad at this. He’d always been bad at this. If ever he’d had the capacity to be soft, life had strip-mined it from him long ago.

With a growling sigh his attention returned to the scrapbook, flipping another page aggressively.

More photographs. These were different, however: perfect squares on matte white cardstock, clinical in execution and presentation. There were twelve altogether, arranged across a two-page spread, two by three. At first he mistook them for mugshots, the central figure in each one posed to stand in front of a white wall with black lines demarcating height by feet and inches.

It was Scylla in the pictures, he realized. From age one through twelve, one snapshot for each year. Year one required the assistance of two hands from off-frame holding her upright, her eyes owlish, expression confused. Age two through five almost looked like normal school photos, if not for the height chart. She stood on her own, dressed in a plain white undershirt and leggings, smiling in that exaggerated, gap-toothed way of all small children who don’t really understand why they’re being made to look in a camera. She held a stuffed toy in one of them.

Six years old, and the smile was gone. The eyes she gave the photographer were wary, as if she’d just been scolded.

Seven, eight, nine. There was no life left in this child. No light in her eyes. She couldn’t be scolded or bribed to look at the camera.

Ten, eleven. She was so thin. Listless. A hand had to be reintroduced to the photo to push her upright to the correct height.

Something changed when she was twelve. There was life in her again, but it wasn’t joyful. They were his eyes burning out of her face, under dark brows, with a rage he finally, instantly, unquestioningly recognized. Her fists were clenched at her sides, little fingernails cutting into her palms, shoulders rolled angrily forward.

That’s my daughter, he thought. He’d never been more certain of anything in his life.

Marcus closed the book quietly.

“...what did they do to you when you were twelve years old?”

But the girl in front of him was a reflection of her eleven year old self: thin, listless, slightly slouched, as if she needed a hand to push her upright. Her eyes found him only tiredly, with an ache he felt in his gut.

“When I was little, I asked them who my father was, and if I could meet him. I asked for years. When I was around… seven, I guess? They told me it was you, but… they said you’d signed away rights to me when I was born. That you weren’t interested, when you found out it was a girl. And because I’d killed your wife.”

She sat up straighter, smoothing her hands outward along the table’s edge. “When I was twelve I finally realized that was probably a lie. That a lot of what they’d told me might have been a lie. That you might not even know I existed at all.”

Her eyes sheened, and she was back to twelve. Welled up with rage, though not at him.“...look,” she whispered. “I know this is not what you were expecting, and it may not be what you want, and it’s… it’s okay if you want to turn me away and never see me again. I spent years steeling myself for that, but I need to know. I just need to know how much of that is true. If you knew about me… if you didn’t want me. And if not, why.” Scylla shook her head at him, staring down the wide shock of his eyes, unwilling to be cowed by his emotion or her own. “We don’t have to fight about it. But I need to know.”

Continued here.

#gow #gears of war #Marcus fenix #my writing

3 notes · View notes

something-tofightfor · 2 years

Text

Root Pearl: 4

Pairing: Ezra x female reader - musician AU

Word Count: 10,177

Rating: M. Language. Some alcohol. Conversations about the past. Sex talk/talk of previous partners. Ezra feeling uncertain/inadequate about his missing arm.

Summary: Having Ezra and Cee over for dinner brings you all out of your comfort zone for a little while... but it’s nowhere near as awkward as you imagine.

Blanket warnings: loss of a parent, character death, survivor’s guilt, learning to deal with the loss of a limb, infidelity (not Reader w/Ezra), blood, bodily injury, heavy angst.

Author’s note:

Finally. But I’m going to take a short break from posting this one to focus on Kinktober, Dangerous, Not Like The Movies and to finish Life is Good. I’m still going to be writing this one - but I want to push out a few other things before I circle back around ... and that also includes Locked Down. TY in advance for your patience - but this is a pretty good place to leave them (for now.)

Catch up on the first three parts of this story here

She wants to corner him and ask Ezra questions as soon as you step out the door, but Cee tells herself that she can’t. If he wanted to talk about it, he would have told me. She’s excited though, despite the fact that she feels terrible - the girl’s intrusion clearly interrupted a moment that the two of you would never get back. But I didn’t know. I couldn’t have known because they never said anything.

She sits on the edge of her bed, staring out the window at the city beneath her. Then, Cee grins, pleased in a way that she hasn’t been in a long time at the idea that finally, Ezra is doing something that makes him truly happy and not just sitting in the apartment with his thoughts. She stands, moving over to her dresser to grab her hair dryer, but before she can turn it on, there’s a knock at the door and then it opens - just a crack. “Cee?”

“Come in.” Setting the dryer down, Cee turns and faces Ezra directly, her arms crossed over her chest. “So you had a good night?” He enters the room, the man taking a deep breath, and then he nods enthusiastically. “Do you want to -”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to have to backtrack, little bird.” Ezra’s smile grows, the man looking almost youthful, and Cee can’t remember a time he ever seemed so excited about something that didn’t have anything to do with music. “But I don’t … I don’t believe that I have any reason to do that. Tonight was …” He frowns, briefly as he thinks, but then the smile returns. “She invited us over for dinner next week, so I didn’t fuck it up too badly.”

“Dinner? At her house?” Ezra nods in reply, his eyes still on the girl. Why both of us? “So I’d be third wheeling on a date? That’s like …”

“She specifically invited you. She wants you there, too.” That doesn’t make sense to her; Damon’s dates never wanted her around, and neither did he, even when he’d bring women to their place. And it never mattered what I did once I introduced people to Ezra or Zed or Damon before. They just… “Cee?” His voice interrupts her thoughts, the man reaching out and carefully closing his fingers around her arm. “I told her Tuesday. She said we can come over after my session, but I’ll need to give her an idea of what to cook. So think about it, and let me know, alright?” She nods, still trying to process what he’s telling her.

“You can’t be grumpy with her, Ezra. Even after a bad PT session. Not on a second date.” Ezra laughs, rolling his eyes. “I’m serious. She might like you, but -”

“I will do my best not to offend someone that is offering to feed the two of us for the night. You have my word.” Cee laughs then, hearing the amusement in his voice, and then sits back on the end of the bed, looking up at him.

“I interrupted you tonight, didn’t I?” He nods without hesitation and she winces. Oops. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“It might have been for the best.” What? “I never planned on inviting her up here. It just happened.” She gasps as she realizes that he’s speaking the truth - Ezra hadn’t ever invited any of his dates to the apartment with the exception of Inumon, and that was only because she’d already been there for music related purposes. So even having her here tonight was huge. I knew it. “She invited herself up in the first place, but … but I invited her in.”

“You said she came up because she was trying to help you. Was that a lie?” Ezra shakes his head slowly, pressing his lips together. “Was she hoping that -”

“I made my intentions clear earlier tonight. Hers were just as transparent, Birdie. She was just making sure that I got in alright. But I didn’t know if you were here or awake, and you know that I have trouble with my medication sometimes, so…”

“So you invited her in.” She bites her lip, narrowing her eyes. “And then once she was in …”

“Yes.” He shivers as he looks up at the ceiling, reaching up and stroking his beard briefly. “Taking things a step further might have muddied the waters, even though I wanted… I wanted to.” Wrinkling her nose, Cee laughs again, crossing her legs at the ankle and then leaning forward.

“You weren’t lying.” She pauses, giving him a chance to catch up. “You definitely had something to tell me after tonight.” He laughs - loudly - the sound filling the room and when Cee pushes off the bed and makes her way to where he stands, he’s still going, shoulders shaking with the sound. “I’ll go to dinner, Ezra. But I’m not staying the whole night, alright? She might have invited me, but I’m sure that she wants to spend time with just you.”

“That’s fair.” He sucks in a breath, steadying himself. “And I have to admit that I have an ulterior motive for wanting you to go.” Oh? “I don’t usually date, so I am … not well-versed in all that the act entails. I may need your help.” She knows he won’t - knows that once he becomes truly comfortable with you, things will come naturally. At least I hope so. “My first question.” He clears his throat, genuine confusion on his features. “Flowers or chocolate? Both? Neither? Do I take a bottle of ale? Wine? Is there -”

“Ezra, I’ve been out on like… four dates in the last couple years. We weren’t ever in one place long enough for me to have a relationship with anyone, plus Damon wasn’t exactly… thrilled with the idea. And just because I might like something, or think that I would like something…” She trails off. “But I’d skip the chocolate. Not everyone likes it. And it would depend on what she drank tonight if you want to take a bottle of something. She had a mixed drink when she and I were at dinner, so I can’t help you there, but …” Cee stands again, putting her hands on her hips. “Start with her social accounts. Look at the pictures she’s posted. See what she likes, Ezra. If you want to take something over to her house, make it personal.” She rolls her eyes. “I know you’re not used to doing that with the people you -”

“Alright, alright.” He holds up a hand, his smile gentle. “Understood, Cee.” She watches him yawn, ducking his head down and tucking his face into the crook of his elbow and she follows suit, her eyes closing and her nose scrunching up with a wide yawn of her own. “It’s late. I should sleep. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so … sociable.” She sees that he does, in fact look tired from up close, and Cee nods, gesturing back to her bed.

“I’m not far behind you. Can I use the car tomorrow? I have some -”

“Of course.” He agrees, yawning again before turning away from her. “Thank you, Cee.” Glancing back over his shoulder, she watches as his mouth tilts upward into a small, knowing smile. “For including me in the things she offered to send you. I don’t… I don’t know where this is going to go, but …” He trails off as the phone in his pocket makes a noise, his eyes darting down to his waist. Bet she’s texting to let him know she made it home.

“You’re welcome.” She nods as she turns back to where the hair dryer rests, reaching for it. “And Ezra?” He hums in reply, waiting. The barrel of the dryer in her hand, Cee turns to face him, glad to see that the man’s looking into her room again, even though he’s partially in the hallway with his hand on the doorknob. “Don’t fuck this up. Whatever’s going to happen… will happen. Don’t sabotage yourself.” There’s no verbal reply, but she sees the smile return to his lips, Ezra’s head bobbing up and down as he pulls the door shut, giving her her privacy. And hopefully checking the message he just got.

Moments later, the sound of the dryer is all she hears - but the girl grins at her reflection in the mirror the entire time she gets ready for bed.

—

She’s driving, but it’s only because Ezra is nervous, the man fidgeting in the passenger seat so much that more than once, Cee has to stop herself from drawing attention to the way he’s treating his shirtsleeves - first pushing them up to bare his forearms and then pulling them back down again to cover himself to the wrist.

She doesn’t want to embarrass him, but she understands why he’s more anxious than usual. Even though she doesn’t know what made him decide to wear his prosthetic from the physical therapy appointment to your house, Cee is happy to see the man using it - choosing boots with laces that he’d had to use both hands to tie, bucking his seatbelt with his right hand instead of reaching across his chest with his left, tapping a rhythm against his thighs with both hands. It’s progress. Only a little, but it’s progress.

When she pulls up to your house, they both take a few minutes to observe it before she removes the key from the ignition and turns her head to look at him. “Do you want to go in first? I can wait -”

“No. We go together.” Ezra’s eyes are clear and when he looks into hers, she sees that he’s not only anxious - he’s also determined. Good. “Cee, should I take off my -”

“Do whatever makes you feel confident, Ezra.” Cee licks her lips, glancing over at your front door. “I think it’s good for you to keep it on, but if you want to take it off, I can help you with that once we’re inside if you need me to.” He thinks about it for long moments and then shakes his head, the fingers of his right hand tightening against his knee.

“I’ll keep it on. The doctors said… the doctors said I need to use it more often, and … this is as good a time as any.” It is. She nods and then jerks her head to the left, raising a brow. “Yeah. We should go in. I don’t want her to get the wrong impression.” Ezra opens his door after unbuckling his seatbelt and then exits the car, reaching into the back seat for the things he’s brought for you - a small bouquet of flowers that he’d had arranged based on a few of your previous posts and a bottle of an ale that you’d said was your favorite a few months back. That had been a little difficult to find, and it had actually been her doing, but Cee is more than happy to help Ezra out, especially if it means making him look good in your eyes. Not that he needs much help.

She follows closely behind him as he heads for your front door, his back straight and his shoulders squared, and Cee can’t keep the smile off of her face as he lifts his hand - the right one - and raps on it with his knuckles, the neck of the bottle held tightly between his fingers.

You answer quickly, pulling the door open with a radiant smile on your face and for a few seconds, Cee’s frozen in place at the way you look at Ezra - eyes lighting up as you see him standing there and then widening when you notice what he’s holding. Your lips part when he holds the flowers out to you, but even as you take them, thanking him, you’re looking past the man and at Cee, some of the joy turning into uncertainty. Not today. Cee winks at you and that’s all it takes - your expression settling back into happiness as you lift the bouquet to your nose, inhaling. “Thank you, Ezra. This wasn’t … you didn’t have to…”

“I wanted to.” He sounds relieved and Cee bites back a giggle as you invite both of them in, telling them they can leave their shoes by the door and their coats over the back of the couch. You take the bottle from Ezra before the man bends down to untie his bootlaces, and Cee looks around the room to get her bearings.

The space is open and airy - decorated with everything that makes it feel like a true home; pictures and books, candles and other knick knacks on shelves. Your couch looks comfortable, as does the chair that is in position so that no matter where someone sits, they can see the screen mounted to the wall. “I thought we’d eat outside.” Your voice is a welcome interruption of her thoughts, and Cee looks over at you at the same time Ezra straightens up, shrugging his coat down both arms. “I turned on the space heater so it’s warm enough, and we should have enough light.” Wetting your lips, you let your eyes move from Ezra to Cee and then back, one hand pointing behind you and into the kitchen. “It’s about ten minutes from being ready, so -”

“That sounds great.” Cee interrupts you, stepping forward and tossing an arm over Ezra’s shoulders, leaning into his side. “I like your house. I’m jealous that you have a yard. We have the balcony, but… it’s not the same.”

“No, it’s not.” Ezra looks down at her, relief in his eyes. “And Birdie’s right. This is a nice place. I would look more closely, but I don’t want to offend you, so -”

“You’re not.” Holding the flowers out, you continue. “Let me get these into some water, and that bottle into the fridge, and then I’ll give you guys the tour. It’s not much, so we can definitely finish before the food’s ready.” You pause. “If you want.” Cee wants, and she knows Ezra does, too, so she’s relieved when the man agrees, both arms hanging by his side and his fingers flexing nervously.

You lead them around after returning from the kitchen - showing them the living room and the lower floor of the house before taking them upstairs to the bedrooms and bonus room. She pays close attention to the pictures hanging on your wall and sees some with your friend Jillian, along with ones that include what she assumes are family members. But everything with Robbie is gone. Cee smiles, noticing that there is also no trace of the fact that only a month earlier, a man lived there, too. And that’s good for Ezra.

You’ve given her no reason to mistrust you, but the thought of you doing something to hurt the man that she’s grown to think of as family puts an ache into the center of her chest. She isn’t like that. Cee doesn’t know you well, but she has a good feeling about you, and an even better feeling about the way Ezra acts around you. And it’s none of my business. They’re adults. They can… make their own choices.

By the time the three of you are back on the main floor and standing in the kitchen, Cee’s smiling again. “Can I help you carry anything? Plates or cups, or -”

“Everything’s already outside except the food, but if you and Ezra want to get something to drink and then go sit, you can.” You point to the door that leads to the back yard. “I’ll carry everything else out.”

“Let me help.” Ezra reaches for you with his right arm but stops before he touches you, his gaze dropping to his fingers, which curl back against his palm before he retracts it, sucking in a breath. “I have two hands tonight, let me make them useful.” You frown at his hesitation to touch you with his prosthetic and Cee feels it at the same time she sees your expression change, followed by your movement - a half step toward him and not away, even though you also stop yourself from actually touching him, instead nodding.

“Fine.” You raise a brow. “But take drinks outside first, alright? Then you can come back in and carry that bowl out.” When you look at her, your smile grows. “But you, Cee? You can stay outside and enjoy the back yard. There’s really not much to help with.”

“Ok.” Cee smiles back, cocking her head to the right. “If you say so.”

—

He’d made a few missteps, but for the most part, Ezra thought the night was going well. Dinner was delicious, and even though Cee was a good cook, you were very good, encouraging both of them to have multiple servings and making a point to tell them that you’d be sending home leftovers since you’d made way too much. “And it’s just me here. There’s no way I can finish it all.”

Cee had agreed immediately, chewing on a breadstick, and Ezra was in no position to say no, especially since it meant that neither of them would need to cook the following day, either. But as you got closer to the end of your meal, Ezra knew that things were about to change. And they did when Cee pulled her phone out while she was helping you clear the dishes, Ezra sitting in his chair and staring out over the small but well-kept yard.

“Ezra, is it alright if I leave for a while?” She poked her head out the door, smirking. “Allera’s home from work, and she wants to go shopping.” That’s a poor excuse, Birdie. Cee stepped back outside and toward where he was sitting, phone still in hand. “I’ll come back and get you later, but she doesn’t have another night off for -”

“You’re leaving?” You followed Cee outside, a towel held in your hands. “Does that mean -”

“My friend’s got a night off of work, and she wants to go to the all-night flea market. I haven’t seen her in a few weeks, so I thought it would be fun.” She looked between the two of you, and Ezra held his breath. What if she wants me to leave with Cee? “I’ll come back and get Ezra. Unless you -”

“I thought we could all watch a movie or something.” You frowned, even though you didn’t stop gathering the napkins and empty cans from the table, putting them into a bag. “But if you want to go, that’s fine too. That flea market’s really fun.” He watched as you bit down on the corner of your lower lip, deep in thought.

“I’ll call a ride home, Birdie. You haven’t seen Allera in a long time. Go. Have fun.” He caught Cee’s wink and then watched as she turned toward you, opening her mouth and talking excitedly as the two of you headed back into the house, leaving him alone again. It didn’t take him long to relax, sinking deeper into his chair and propping his chin up with one hand, that elbow on the table.

“I brought you another drink.” You cleared your throat, Ezra’s attention drawn toward the sound of your voice. “Figured we could sit out here for a little while longer.” He extended his arm, taking the drink from your hand and after you took your own seat, you pointed at him with one finger. “You’re still wearing it. Does that mean that therapy today was good?” Taking a sip, you paused and then closed your eyes, swallowing. “I mean, you don’t have to tell me, that’s not my business, but …”

“It wasn’t bad.” He sipped, too, head shaking back and forth slowly. “And I figured you’d ask, since every other time you’ve seen me, I have been down a limb.” He barely caught it - the smallest twitch of your lips before you spoke again.

“Not every time.” No, not every time. “But I’m glad that it was a good day for you. My dad had knee surgery when I was a kid, and most of the time when he was done with his PT sessions, he was miserable for the rest of the day. He hated going to them even though he knew he needed to.” You took another drink, that one longer, and Ezra waited to see what else you’d say. “Why’d you stop yourself from touching me earlier? Is it because Cee was there, or was it something else?”

The way you were looking at him was enough to tell Ezra that you already knew the answer. But why is she making me say it? “I…” He looked away, thinking. Fuck it. “I wasn’t sure you’d want me to touch you with it. It’s one thing if you don’t know, but -”

“Ezra.” You leaned forward, your hand shooting out and settling over the one he was resting against the tabletop. “I don’t…” You closed your eyes, letting out a breath, and when you opened them, he saw the determination in the way you looked at him. “You could have touched me. I wouldn’t have stopped you.” You curled your fingers over his hand and then pulled it back, sitting up straight in your chair. “I hope that no one’s made you feel like -”

“No one has.” He glanced down and then back at you, fingers flexing. “I’m just self conscious about it. That’s part of the reason that I don’t wear it as much as I should. I know that it looks like my actual hand and arm, but …”

“But you know it’s not.” Yeah, that’s… right. “Can I ask you something?” You sipped from your drink, waiting until he’d nodded. “Can you feel anything when you wear it? If you use it to pick something up, or to touch something, can you feel it?”

“Yes and no.” He shifted in his chair, leaning closer to you. “I can feel pressure. So if I go to pick up a fork or tie my shoes, I can feel when I’m touching something. Same thing when I touch it or my doctors do.” He brought his right hand up and held it a few inches off the table, spreading his fingers. “But I can’t feel anything else. No temperatures. No pain. It… my hand doesn’t get tired, and my grip is…” He flexed his fingers, staring down. “It’s a reminder of what Iost, because it’s not …”

“It’s not yours.” Cautiously, you reached for him again and slid your fingers over the back of the hand he’d just been talking about, slowly trailing the tips of them over the ridges beneath the skin. “I take it it won’t be that way when you get the other one? The permanent one?” He turned his hand partway to the side and your fingers followed, switching from the back of his hand to his palm, the edge of one nail tracing over the lines etched into the skin that covered the underlying structure.

He closed his fingers around yours a few seconds later, agreeing. “That’s what they tell me. This one is a true prosthetic, and even though I can control it thanks to an implant, it’s not … integrated into my body. The one I’m waiting on will be. That one won’t be removable. That one will be tied directly to my nervous system, and if everything goes according to plan, it’ll be almost like having my real arm back.” They way they’d explained things to him had sounded too good to be true, but before he’d made a decision, Ezra had met with others that had the same types of artificial limbs.

Their stories had encouraged him, and in more than half of the conversations he’d had, there’d been no visible way to tell which was the implanted limb - which encouraged him more. “I hope that it works out for you, Ezra.” You smiled at him, squeezing his hand once and then pulling yours back. “I’m sorry if I asked something I shouldn’t have. I was just … wondering.”

“Of course you were.” He reached up, running his fingers through his hair before he let his hand fall back into his lap. “And like I said the other night, nothing is off limits for you. I meant that.” You eyed him for a few seconds and then stood, reaching for your mostly empty drink. “Are we going in?”

“Yeah. I was serious about watching a movie.” You arched a brow. “And now that Cee’s not here, we don’t have to worry about paying attention.” What? “We can keep talking, if you want.” You grinned. “Come on. You can pick for us.” He followed you into the house, drink in hand, and when he walked into the living room, saw that the case for his prosthetic was propped up on the chair, the small bag that contained his backup sleeve next to it. “Cee left that for you. Just in case you wanted to remove it.” You stepped next to him, one shoulder brushing his. “She said you don’t usually wear it for as long as you’ve had it on today, so…” He felt a surge of affection for the girl - and for you, the man turning to face you completely.

“I’ll… if you don’t mind, yeah. I want to take it off.” He watched for your reaction, waiting to see if you were disappointed that he didn’t want to keep his arm on, but you only nodded, pointing at the hallway.

“If you need privacy, you can go into the bathroom or the office. I don’t… I’m sorry, Ezra, I don’t know much about this. Do you need help? Is that an offensive question?” You were genuinely nervous and it was endearing to the man in a way that he couldn’t have explained if he’d tried. But I like it.

“I appreciate the offer, but I can get it. It’s not … there’s a lot of scarring. Cee has seen it and it doesn’t bother her, but I can manage.” He didn’t want you to see the end of his residual limb; the large, jagged scars still raised and healing, nothing like the subdued silver of the one on his cheek. “At first, I couldn’t. But over the months…” He continued to speak even as he reached for the case and bag, lifting both with one hand. “I’ve gotten better.”

“Well if you need me, I’ll be out here. Just let me know.” You paused. “Ezra? Do you want popcorn? Maybe some chips? I’ve got plenty of snacks.”

“I don’t. Dinner was enough for me.” He hesitated in front of the bathroom door, looking over his shoulder at you. “It won’t take long, I promise.”

“No rush.” You lowered yourself onto the couch, shrugging. “Take as long as you need.” Nodding twice, he closed the door behind himself a few seconds later and then set the case down on the counter, opening it.

The process was actually quite simple - pulling his shirt over his head before releasing the seal that attached the limb to the remaining portion of his arm. Next, he eased it down and free of the protective sleeve beneath. The difficult part was balancing the weight of the arm in his good hand and ensuring that he didn’t drop the prosthetic. But I haven’t done that in weeks.

And he didn’t do it that night, either. The man exhaled in relief as it came free, Ezra nestling the bulk of it in the padded case before pulling off the sleeve and exposing the skin beneath it. He’d have to cover it again, unlike he did when he was relaxing at home most nights, but Ezra wanted to give the skin a few minutes to breathe. So he busied himself with packing everything securely and closing the case, setting it on the floor.

He stared at himself in the mirror for almost a full minute, eyes traveling over his bare chest and stomach, lingering on the wound there. I almost have more scars than clear skin. He scoffed, bringing his hand up and prodding gently at his abdomen, fingers tracing over the edges of the scar. That had been the thing to almost kill him. Though his arm had been bad, most of the blood had been contained, pooling beneath his skin. But his stomach was a different story - and one that he didn’t like to think about. Especially now that I know why Damon crashed. He turned on the water and carefully cleaned off the end of his arm before applying lotion to it, letting that soak in and then covering it with a thinner sleeve that covered the surface but didn’t constrict it completely.

When he pulled his shirt on, Ezra looked back into the mirror and frowned, hating the way the end of his sleeve just hung loosely. But there’s nothing I can do about that right now. Cee would have tied it off for him, the girl’s hands working the material into a nice, neat knot. But she’s not here, and there’s no way I’m going to ask. When he stepped back into the main room, Ezra was happy to see you curled up on the couch, the remote in your hand as you flipped through channels. You turned your head toward him, giving him a single nod and then motioned for him to come sit.

Ezra did - stopping long enough to put the case on the chair and then dropping down next to you, settling against the cushions but leaving some space between your bodies. “Feel better?” Sitting up straight, you turned to face him, waiting for the man to nod in agreement. “Good.” Your eyes drifted down to the end of his sleeve, and then, in a voice so hesitant that Ezra wondered if you regretted asking before you even finished your question, you spoke again. “Do you want me to roll that sleeve up for you? I’d offer to help tie it, but I don’t want to stretch it out.”

“You don’t…” Ezra frowned but then agreed, twisting his body so that the empty sleeve was closer to you. You made quick work of it, fingers nimbly rolling the fabric up so that it wasn’t hanging anymore, the bottom few inches of the remaining portion of his arm exposed. Your fingers lingered there for a few seconds, but then you pulled away, nodding in satisfaction. “Thank you.”

The two of you leaned back and got comfortable, continuing to flip through channels until you found something to watch, and when you set the remote down, you cleared your throat, turning your head to the right. “Gali, lights down 20%.” The room darkened and you didn’t say anything else, the two of you focused on the wall-mounted screen.

It was silent, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, Ezra gradually relaxing next to you as the movie played. He was watching the screen, sure, but he was also thinking, the man wondering how you’d react if he put an arm around your shoulders and drew you closer. Only one way to find out, he decided after a few minutes. Ezra lifted his arm and stretched it out along the back of the couch and then, after a couple seconds, brought it forward, running his thumb over your upper arm slowly.

He didn’t have long to wait for your response. You leaned closer, tilting your head to the side and letting it rest against his shoulder, and when Ezra shifted slightly to accommodate you, he felt your intake of breath. “Should have grabbed a blanket before we got comfortable, now I don’t want to move.” Your voice quiet, you sighed. “But I also want a blanket, so…” He laughed, looking down at you. “How about you, Ezra?”

“I wouldn’t say no to a blanket.” He wasn’t cold, but the thought of being close to you and covered, the cocooned warmth of whatever blanket you chose offering a sense of intimacy that he hadn’t experienced in a long time appealed to him more than he wanted to admit. “Do you want me to get one? Tell me where they’re at.”

“You’re a guest, Ezra. Stay put.” Pulling away from him, you stood and then crossed your arms. “Want anything? Need anything?” He shook his head, keeping his eyes on you and his arm stretched out over the back of the couch as you walked to the other side of it and bent over, pulling a large blanket from a basket. When you sat again, you sat closer to him, using both hands to unfold the fabric and then drape it over both of your lower bodies. “Much better.” When you leaned in, returning your head to his shoulder, you laughed quietly. “You can put your arm back around me if you want.” I want.

But instead of timidly touching you, Ezra used a hand on your arm to pull you closer, half of his palm resting on bare skin, the other half settled on the material of your t-shirt. “Did you do this on purpose?” A questioning “hmm” was your only reply, and when Ezra continued, he hoped that he wasn’t reaching - and that he was correct in his assumption. “Sit down so that I’d have to sit with my good arm next to you when I came in.” You didn’t answer right away but when you did, it was with an upturned face and a tiny smile, your eyes glinting.

“I might have.” His eyes widened, mouth opening briefly, but he didn’t have a chance to speak before you continued. “I didn’t know if you’d sit right next to me, but …I hoped you would.” The blanket moved as you fidgeted, but Ezra didn’t let you flounder for long, saying your name as his eyes dropped to your mouth and then flicked back up to meet yours.

“You’re very thoughtful.” He blinked. “Even before we met, you’ve… been considerate of me. And now of my condition.” You looked away briefly, glancing at his right arm, but then looked back up, waiting. “Thank you.”

“You’ve been through a lot, and the last thing I want to do is make your day more difficult.” He felt your hand brush against his thigh but it wasn’t intentional - you were just trying to settle both of your hands in your lap. I wish it was intentional. “Plus, I wanted to see if you’d try and make a move, Ezra. Gave you an opening, had to know if you’d take it or not.” He laughed at that, the tension suddenly broken, and before he knew it, the arm around you tightened, Ezra urging you even closer to him.

“Oh, I took it alright. You think I’d pass up the opportunity to put my arm around you?” Your hand moved then, coming out from under the blanket and crossing his stomach to brace against the couch on his other side. “You’re crazy.”

“No I’m not.” You hugged him, even though the angle was a little awkward, and Ezra dropped his hand lower, sliding it down your arm and letting it rest near your elbow. “I like hanging out with you. I’m having fun. It wasn’t like this with…” Trailing off, you pulled away from him and frowned. I don’t like that. “It wasn’t like this with Robbie. Not even in the beginning.” So I was right. It wasn’t ever really good between them. “Shit. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have -”

“No, it’s fine.” He squeezed your arm, saying your name. “You just ended the relationship. You’re going to think about him. It happens.”

“I don’t want to, though. He cheated on me, Ezra. For months. Made me feel like shit about something that I wasn’t even doing. He doesn’t deserve another one of my thoughts, so -”

“Hey.” He reached up, laying a finger over your lips and catching you off guard. “I’m having fun too. I know that the first couple dates with someone are usually pretty awkward, but … these aren’t.” He shrugged. “If we keep spending time together, these topics are going to come up. And if I’m honest with you, it’ll probably happen more on my end than yours, just because …” Because I’ve gotten around. “Because of all the places I’ve been and things that I’ve done.” He saw understanding in your eyes, but no flash of jealousy - and that was a surprise to him. Because people can’t always hide that. “But I do agree with you. Anyone that would do something like that to you? They don’t deserve a single second of your time.”

He’d moved his finger from your lips as he spoke, though he didn’t look away from you, and Ezra realized that his knuckles were tucked beneath your chin, his lower lip pushed out in a pout during his pause. “Ezra? You -”

He leaned in first, angling his head to the side, but you followed suit, closing the distance between you until you were just as close as you’d been the previous night. No one is going to interrupt tonight. He wet his lips, barely retracting his tongue before they met yours - but it only took seconds for him to move to deepen the kiss … and you let him.

—

Bringing up Robbie hadn’t been on your to-do list, but it slipped out, and you were angry at yourself over it. Ezra didn’t seem to mind, though, and when he reached up and put a stop to your words with a single finger, you were stunned. He wasn’t doing it to be condescending or to assert dominance; Ezra’s touch was because he was right there and he knew that it would get your attention - and it did.

As the seconds passed, Ezra agreeing with what you’d said, you realized where things were leading and had no problem with it. Because I’ve wanted to kiss him for a long time now, and … You stared at him, focused on his mouth and when the pink tip of his tongue appeared, wetting his lips, you finally closed your eyes, the sight of it too much.

But it wasn’t until his mouth met yours that you really let yourself believe that it was happening. Ezra’s lips were soft as they pressed to yours, the tickle of his mustache on your upper lip causing your nose to wrinkle in surprise. You didn’t pull away and neither did Ezra, and after only a few seconds, you felt him part his lips just enough - and then his tongue teased against the seam of yours as his hand moved to the back of your neck. Oh… oh, alright.

You kissed him back - accepting his tongue into your mouth and meeting it with your own, and as the kiss continued, you reached up with one hand, fingers tangling in Ezra’s hair - which was much less styled than it had been when you’d gone out for dinner, the loose curls at the back of his neck a perfect place for your hand to fall. I’m kissing him. I’m … Sighing into his mouth as Ezra’s hold on you tightened, you slid the hand that you’d used to brace yourself toward the back of the couch, cracking one eye open long enough to ensure that you weren’t going to bump into the end of his arm. “C’mere.” He mumbled the word, taking a breath. “Closer.”

The only way for you to get closer was to completely turn your body and straddle his lap, and Ezra had to know that, but he still pulled on you, lowering the hand on your neck and pressing it against the space between your shoulder blades He must know that. Ezra’s hand didn’t move. So you did as he requested, lifting yourself off of the couch and carefully hooking one leg over both of his, knees on the cushions beside his body without breaking the kiss.

That position was much less awkward, and once you were settled, he put his arm back around you - that time at your waist, fingers spread wide. Extending your arms, you crossed them behind his head, resting your forearms on the top of the couch and linking your fingers together. After you were in place, you settled against Ezra’s lower body, the kiss continuing, each passing second adding to the intensity. You only broke away when you needed to breathe, putting some space between you and the man beneath you before looking into his eyes. “I’m glad we waited.” Biting down on your lip, you nodded. “I’m glad Cee walked in on us the -”

It was Ezra that interrupted you that time, the man leaning forward at the same time he urged you closer. But instead of just kissing him, you took his lower lip between your teeth, biting down on it briefly. He groaned at the feeling, his hand moving up your back to keep you close, and when you released his lip, Ezra leaned his head back - forcing you to chase his mouth in order to keep the kiss going. “You can do that again.” His voice low, you heard the rasp in it, Ezra nodding once, the movement of his head slow. “Whenever you want.” Good to know.

Shifting your weight, you finally opened your eyes all the way to look at him and found Ezra’s staring right back, the warmth in them almost tangible. You couldn’t help yourself, bringing one hand to the man’s temple and trailing your fingers through the blonde patch there as you pushed his hair away from his face. It is soft. “Hi.” He nodded, staying silent. “Let me know if you want me to move.”

“Might be kind of hard to finish the movie if you’re not looking at the screen.” He raised a brow, smirking. “I’m glad we waited, too.” He seemed genuine, and you felt his hand begin to move against your back, fingers stroking gently. “Wouldn’t have wanted that to happen when I was on painkillers, hmm?” He grinned. “Now I’ll remember all of it.” I will too.

You wanted to kiss him again. In fact, you would have been content to kiss him until the moment Cee showed back up to get him or he stepped out the front door and headed home, but you didn’t want to appear too eager. That would be bad. With one final stroke of your fingers against his scalp you took a breath and then swung your leg back over, bracing your hand on his shoulder for a few seconds before you could get back into position next to him on the couch. He stayed quiet, waiting until you were settled in - the blanket back over both of your laps, your right arm tucked between your bodies and your left one slung over his belly while you leaned against his side again - to speak.

“I’m surprised you moved.” His arm back around you, Ezra lowered his head, speaking into your hair. “Especially because I didn’t tell you to.” You could have said any number of things back to him, but you opted for telling him the whole truth instead of a few half truths. You’d thought about Ezra a lot since you’d exchanged numbers at the bar, and even more in the previous few days - but no matter how much he was on your mind, you always tried to stay realistic.

“You said you weren’t up for anything more than a kiss the other night, and I figured the same was true now.” Keeping your eyes on the screen, you continued. “If I would have stayed on your lap, Ezra, there’s no telling what might have happened, and I didn’t want things to get to the point where one of us had to draw a line.” He sucked in a breath, the small sound of surprise audible. “And the truth is, I don’t miss Robbie or anything like that, but … we just broke up. And it would feel a little like a rebound if I moved too fast with you. I don’t want that.” I wouldn’t like that at all. “I hope that’s alright. I know you’re not used to -”

“I’ll tell you what I’m not used to.” He paused, his hand sliding down your arm and then back up, the movement slow and controlled. “And that’s someone that’s not just trying to get me into bed with them so that they have a story to tell their friends that night on the way home.” You froze, waiting to see if he’d say anything else. I can’t imagine what that must feel like. “Someone that isn’t trying to document every second we spend together as proof of our encounter.”

“Ezra…” Closing your eyes, you tightened your arm around him. “I…” But you stopped yourself because you didn’t know what else to say. How do I even respond to that? “I would have asked you for a picture if we’d ever met at a show.” Your hand moved over his hip - back and forth, fingertips trailing over the material of his shirt. “Probably an autograph, too. But I never would have thought that you wanted to kiss me.”

“I would have gladly given you all three of those things.” He laughed, turning his head and pressing his cheek to the top of yours. “I’m not talking about taking pictures with fans or signing a couple albums. I’m talking about the women that have tried filming on the bus, or in a hotel room. I mean the ones that take and post pictures and stories online about what their time with me was like.” He sighed. “I know I didn’t exactly do anything to stop it because I kept associating with them, but…” But that’s still your privacy. “There was one girl that asked if we could make a sex tape ten minutes after I met her, and -”

“What?” Sitting up straight, you gaped at him in shock. “A sex tape? What did you even say to that?” He grinned, the expression one that you were surprised to see.

“Told her that if that ever happened, it would only be with someone that I was actually in a relationship with, and that it would be recorded on my phone. That way I’d know exactly who had it, because the only way they could get it would be if I sent it to them.” He raised an eyebrow. “She was pretty and I love sex, but I’m not stupid.” He laughed again, running his fingers through his hair. “She was not happy with me, but didn’t ask again.”

“At the risk of sounding boring, Ezra, I don’t think I could ever ask someone that, especially after only knowing them for a few minutes.” He was still watching you with interest, both brows raised. “What’s that look for?” He narrowed his eyes briefly, a small smile appearing on his face.

“I haven’t even told you the most interesting part of that ordeal yet.” Oh, Kevva, what could it be? “Three months later, there was a video of her and someone from another band - I can’t remember who it was right now, but we’ve played shows with them before - that got leaked.” He paused and you gasped, one hand rising to cover your mouth. “So I believe that I made the right decision on that one.” So she was trying to … oh, Ezra.

“Yeah, I’d say so.” You felt for the man, even though he’d chosen to live the lifestyle he did. There was a difference between baring yourself onstage with music and lyrics and having your privacy stolen because someone wanted to be famous for a few weeks. And there’s nothing wrong with casual sex, either, but … “You must have to be so careful.” Shaking your head, you eyed him. “Making sure people are of age, not telling them anything they can use against you or share without your consent, keeping them from taking compromising pictures and videos of you … that’s a lot. And you’ve been doing it for years, how -”

“I’ll admit that it was much more difficult when I was younger.” He sighed, scrubbing at his beard with one hand. “The first few years after our debut album came out, I was wilder than a Jaccola while we were on the road. I indulged more often than I did not.” He took a slow breath and you realized that he was about to tell you something important, so you stayed quiet, waiting. “Alcohol. Spice. Sex. We were having fun and it was giving me material to write about, so I couldn’t complain.” Ezra looked away from you, his eyes focused on the screen for a few seconds, and when he met your gaze again, he looked almost apologetic. “I made some mistakes. Luckily for me things weren’t as easily documented back then, but it was a wake up call. All of it. I learned my lesson, and became much more … subdued. I stopped with the Spice. Was more selective about partners.”

“Was it after Aurelac Rush?” It jumped out of your mouth before you could stop it, and you winced at the thought that you’d just exposed yourself as someone that knew too much. “I just -”

“It was.” He smiled broadly. “How did you know?”

“Your music was different after that.” Lips pressed together, you shrugged. “The lyrics got more serious, especially with Karoclan and then your solo album. You were expanding what you played, too, with the guitar? I like the early albums, don’t get me wrong, but …” You looked down, the fingers of both hands twisting together. He knows you’re a fan. It won’t change anything. “I like your new stuff much more. Shows how talented you are. And if The Queen’s Lair is an example of what you’re working on now, it’s only going to get better.”

He was quiet for a long time, the man staying still next to you, and when he said your name you looked over at him, waiting. “You probably have so much you’d like to ask me, don’t you.” You hesitated before you nodded, wetting your lips and averting your eyes. “Why haven’t you? I’m an open book.”

“Because I’m not going to interview you while we’re out on a date, Ezra. You shouldn’t feel like you’re doing your job when you’re out trying to have fun with someone. You’re a musician, yeah, and that’s why I know of you, but I don’t want you to think that it’s all I care about.” You fell silent again, staring at your hands. This is why it’s probably easier for him to do casual, because he doesn’t have to worry about people like me.

“I know it isn’t.” You felt it then - the man’s thumb moving in a slow arc over the base of your neck, and you lifted your head again, turning it to face him. “And I don’t think it would feel like an interview. We’ve asked each other questions many times. Have I ever complained?”

“No, but…” You poked your tongue into your cheek. “My life is boring compared to yours. I went to school, got a job, dated a couple guys. That’s it. You’ve been all over, even off planet for a tour or two. I could ask you hours worth of questions, and it still wouldn’t make a dent in what you could tell me.”

“So you think …” He repositioned himself next to you, hips shifting. “Do you think that I’d think less of you because you haven’t experienced the same things I have? That I’d hold it against you that you chose a life for yourself that’s different than mine?”

“No. But the answer to one question would lead to another, and then I’d just feel like I was pumping you for information. You get enough of that from other people. And I’m sure it gets old.” He sighed, swearing under his breath.

“Actually, it’s kind of nice to have someone that knows what they’re talking about with me.” He repeated your name, asking you to look at him. “Some… most of the women I’ve been with haven’t really cared. They know enough about me to make conversation, but they haven’t been interested in anything that doesn’t involve…” He trailed off and you spoke up, finishing the sentence.

“Sex?” Ezra nodded in agreement and you felt his hand tighten against your neck.

“Not always sex, but … physicality.” He groaned and you saw his eyes flash, the base of his throat reddening slightly. Is he embarrassed? Why would he be? “I have been with a large number of people, but not all of those encounters resulted in the traditional act.” He swallowed. “And that’s another reason why I made it a point to tell you that sex wasn’t on the table last week. I’m sure that most of what I’ve told you is no surprise, but Kevva knows I don’t want you to think that -”

“Oh.” It slipped out before you could stop it, your eyes going wide. “Ezra, I didn’t…you don’t need to -”

“I do. It’s one thing to be with someone for a few hours or a night here and there. But that isn’t what this is.” He moved what was left of his right arm, gesturing toward you with it, and you saw the moment that he realized what he was doing, the man’s eyes darkening and his lips twisting into a scowl. “I don’t even know if I’m able to -” Oh, no. I’m not going to let you go down that road.

“Ezra.” You reached out, touching his jaw and then cupping it in one hand. “I’m sure you’re more than able. But we’re not there yet, alright? You kissed me for the first time like … an hour ago. When… if we need to talk about everything that goes along with sex, we will.” And I hope we do. I know it’s early but … “Besides, I meant what I said about not wanting to have this feel like a rebound. Jumping right into bed with you would be a lot of things, and I don’t want any of them to have anything to do with him.”

Ezra didn’t reply right away but when he did, it was with a nod and a wink, the man turning his head enough so that he could nip at the heel of your hand, the scrape of his teeth making you shiver. “A lot of things? Want to tell me about some of them?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” You leaned closer, eyeing him. “Need me to stroke your ego?” Retracting your hand, you’d just pulled it away from his face when he grabbed your arm. His fingers closed around it with some pressure, the man’s thumb pressed firmly to the inside of your wrist, pulse thrumming beneath it.

“You walked right into this one,” he murmured, tugging on your arm and leaning in, too. “There are plenty of things that you could stroke…” But he didn’t get any further because he kissed you then, his grip tightening around your wrist as he lowered your connected hands to your lap. He didn’t guide it anywhere, though, just kept it secure in his grasp as his tongue licked into your mouth again, Ezra’s entire body moving toward you as he pressed his chest against yours.

You whined against his lips - you couldn’t help it, and you felt Ezra smile, the man finally letting go of your wrist and sliding his hand back to your waist, pressing it flat against the blanket that still covered you both. You reached out with your left hand, fingers finding the material of his sleeve, and even though he flinched when you made contact with his right shoulder, he didn’t pull away or break the kiss. Because I’m not moving my hand. I’m just … touching him.

When your lungs began to burn, you pushed on his shoulder, lips parting as you gasped for air. Ezra chuckled, his hand still on you. “You’re not even out of breath.”

“Singer’s lungs.” He pressed his forehead against yours briefly. “And before the accident, they were even better. I Inhaled a great deal of smoke while I was unconscious, and it fucked them up a little.” He cleared his throat. “That’s why my voice sounds like this now, too.”

“Permanent bedroom voice?” You raised a brow, unblinking. “I’d think that would be something that you could work with.” He laughed, agreeing.

“Yeah. I guess it’s not so bad. We were worried for a while that it was going to change the way I sound when I sing, but it didn’t.” Ezra eased himself backward and onto the cushion again, sitting next to you. “I’m a little raspier now, but it’s… mostly the same.” You pulled the blanket off of both of you, setting it next to your thigh and reaching over to put an arm around his shoulders.

“I’m excited to hear it, Ezra. I’m looking forward to the benefit show.” He reacted with surprise, but Ezra’s words came fast.

“You don’t have to wait that long.” He stood then, your arm falling away, and then turned to look at you. “I have a studio in my apartment. Come over and sit in while I practice sometime.” Is he really offering to let me listen? Privately? “It’ll be nice to get an opinion from someone that’s not in the band.”

“What about Cee?” You looked up at him, hands clasped together between your knees. “Doesn’t she -”

“She hasn’t heard me since the last show we played. I’ve offered, but I think … I think it’s hard for her.” That made sense to you, and you didn’t press him to explain further. “Some of my gear’s in there, too. Guitars and a keyboard.” Ezra scratched the back of his neck. “Haven’t touched those since …” He sighed. “Well.” The man looked over at the clock hanging on the wall and then back at you, holding out his hand. You took it, letting him help you to your feet. “I should call Cee, and see if she’s anywhere near here, or if I need to get a ride.”

“I’ll drive you home.” It was barely 10:30, and even if you took a few minutes to leave, you’d be back home from dropping him off much earlier than you usually went to bed. “Don’t make her leave her friend.” He opened his mouth to disagree, but you beat him to it, head shaking. “No. It’s fine, Ezra. I offered.”

“If you’re sure…” He was still holding your hand. “Then I accept.” Good.

“Alright, I’ll just get the leftovers for you from the kitchen and then we can go. We didn’t finish the movie, but -”

“I couldn’t even tell you what we put on.” He tugged you closer, eliminating the distance between your bodies. “But I don’t care.” When you were right in front of him, he let go of your hand, returning his to your hip. “Do you?”

“Not at all.” You touched his side, your hand sliding up and resting against his ribs, the other one coming up to hold onto the back of his elbow. “Ezra, you -” But instead of finishing your sentence, you surged forward, catching him by surprise and kissing him hard, his surprise turning into a groan that you were more than happy to swallow.

As you kissed him in the dim light of your living room, you stopped thinking and let yourself feel - the warmth of his body beneath your touch, the plush give of his lips as they moved with yours, the way his nose dragged against the skin of your cheek, Ezra letting you lead even though you knew that that probably wasn’t how he typically operated. And when he pulled away, his eyes fluttering open to look into yours, he was smiling, a dimple visible on one cheek through the dark hair of his beard. “If you do that again, I might not let you take me home.”

“I have to work in the morning.” Your words were little more than a whisper, Ezra’s eyes widening at the sound. “So you have to go, because if you stay here, I won’t sleep.” He laughed again, leaning in and kissing your forehead before lifting his hand from your side and curving it around the back of your skull, holding you in place.

“Alright.” He released you, barely holding back another smile. “Don’t let me keep you awake.” Oh, Ezra. As you moved into the kitchen to grab the containers you’d packed for him and Cee, you had a feeling that the number of days - and nights - when you and Ezra weren’t keeping each other awake was dwindling. And I can’t wait.

—

Tag list coming separately!

77 notes · View notes

jaesxnuwu · 2 years

Text

Chapter VI: Familiar Face

As I walked closer, the blonde recruit, I’m assuming, still hadn’t noticed me yet. The young man seemed like he was heavily focused on something, but I couldn’t tell what it was. His head looked slightly bent forward. Was he reading something?

I guess I need to be a little less subtle.

“Hey, you new here?” I called over, “Were you looking for me?” As I finished my sentence, he finally lifted his head and turned around.

He had clear blue eyes and a face that retained just a bit of roundness. He looked around my age too. For some reason he looked like he was happy to see me.

He wore the standard Guard uniform with the jacket on as well. He wore a chest harness in addition and a Guard tracking collar.

I felt a strange, vague sense of familiarity.

I could see his eyes light up as he walked over to me with his arms outstretched. What was up with his enthusiasm?

“Jae! It really is you!” he gave me a wide smile, “I’m so happy we get to work together again!”

He tried to wrap his arms around me once he got close enough, but I dodged backward at the last moment and thrust my hand out.

I’ve never had a recruit this eager before. Is this a common thing for others?

“No thanks,” I gave him a firm decline before continuing, “And unless stated otherwise, please address me as Captain.”

He cocked his head to the side, as if I was speaking another language before his eyes widened. Did it finally register in his head?

What is up with this guy?

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you, Captain!” he suddenly stood up straight as he said this, “I’m very sorry for any disrespect. It wasn’t my intent.”

“That’s fine, you’re new.”

“I know, but I-I just… I guess I shouldn’t have expected you to remember me,” he let out a weak chuckle.

“We’ve met before?”

This is news to me. If we have, then I guess that explains the familiar feeling.

“Yes, actually. We were in squad 4 together… I probably don’t have to explain the rest, right?” he looked up around the cameras slightly nervously. Then it dawned on me finally.

He was the other kid in my squad back then! He was a lot shorter than me before, but now he’s basically the same height as me. It makes sense why he doesn’t want to talk about it though. Just like last night with Crow, a lot of our work in the Guard is kept a secret once we transfer.

“Yeah, I get you. I remember you now, don’t worry,” I waved to reassure him, “Come on, let’s continue this inside then. It was Inari, right?”

“Wow! You actually remember my name too!” he was blushing at this point, “It’s a great honor to be working with you again, Captain.”

I nodded.

What else am I supposed to do in these situations?

I slipped past him and placed my palm on the scanner to open the door. A single beep and mechanical voice echoed through the hallway before the doors slid open. I stepped inside and gestured for Inari to follow me in.

“So Inari, it’s good to see you again,” I feigned some back and forth pleasantries with him before getting down to business. The entire time I was trying to remember what he did while we were in the previous squad together.

At the very least, everyone who was assigned to squad 4 had some unique skill, fighting ability, or potential novel use to the Guard. Not that they ever said that outright, but it was easy enough to figure out. I don’t think I had ever seen what he did though because I was drawing a blank every time I tried to remember.

I glanced down at his waist as we chatted and noticed a dagger-like weapon strapped to his side.

Was it that? Was he just quick and agile back then? I mean if he’s assigned as just a regular member in this squad, then I imagine whatever it was just wasn’t good enough by Kalecia’s standards. Whatever, it would be rude for me to pry. Maybe we could catch up another time.

“Umm, Captain?” I heard Inari’s voice pull me from my thoughts, “Did you catch what I said?”

I looked up to see his worried face that was beginning to show the first signs of panic. This guy really needed to relax.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking about a meeting I have later,” I lied casually, “What did you ask?”

He breathed a sigh of relief before smiling at me again.

“Oh, it’s alright! I must have bored you with my rambling, sorry. I was just saying that I should get started with my shift and if you could finish signing my registration forms?”

“Yeah, of course,” I nodded and finished off the rest of the tedious paperwork, “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“No, please don’t be sorry, Captain. I’ve really enjoyed… being able to catch up with you, even just for a little bit!” Inari smiled again before turning to leave.

“Hang on, Inari.”

“Yes, Captain?” Inari turned like an eager puppy.

“Where are you assigned today?” I asked out of pure curiosity.

“Oh, umm… I think the schedule said that I would be joining one of the investigation teams looking into some illegal trading reports with Al. I haven’t met him yet, but I’ll just be supporting them,” Inari spoke timidly.

“Gotcha. You’re in good hands. Al’s been working here probably as long as we’ve been alive,” I smirked to reassure him, “That’ll be all. It was nice seeing you again.”

“You as well, J—uhh, Captain!” Inari bowed awkwardly before leaving.

I lingered for a bit as I watched Inari turned the corner. What a strange encounter.

It wasn’t unheard of for different members of different squads to be working together again down the line, but this was the first time for me. Maybe it was more common than I thought.

Admittedly, I didn’t feel overjoyed to see him since we weren’t much more than essentially work acquaintances at the time. Maybe I was being too harsh. He seemed very excited to see me, so maybe that was just the soldier in me being awkward and distant again. I have been trying to break out of it recently, so maybe I should just take this opportunity and roll with it too.

I sighed before turning back to my desk to start the workday finally.

Maybe after he comes back, I should ask to catch up with him. It’s not like I’m making any friends with these veterans and other subordinates I’m surrounded by.

The rest of that morning felt tedious, but somehow it managed to feel like time flew by quickly.

I got on the system to review all the missions and schedules for the rest of the squad. Just like Inari mentioned, he was out to investigate a location nearby that had been receiving accounts of criminal activity. Some of the people sent to investigate the reports said it seemed like a medium-scale illegal trading operation, perhaps drugs or weapons. Were it a smaller situation, they would have handled it on their own, but due to the number of people they saw at the time, they decided to record what they saw and take things back first.

It's hard to say what is going on or even know when they might return, so Al’s group will be investigating today. This isn’t the first case like that either. For a while now, the reports of crime incidences have been going up. At the moment, the people that we have taken in haven’t been related to each other, but this all feels too suspicious still. I want to get to the bottom of this soon so that I can take it easy again.

I turned off the screen and rested my head on my desk, letting out a frustrated moan.

I would love to be able to go out myself and take care of things quickly, but I’m caught between watching my squad and dealing with the never-ending work that comes with being a captain.

I decided to take my lunch early today and left the building to visit a bakery for a quick energy boost and treat. The front desk was used to seeing me come and go as a I pleased, so they just nodded understandingly as I left. If I fell behind on work, I would have to answer to Kalecia, of course. But as far as the people in my squad, there was nobody who could say anything. Not that they should. I finish al my work in the end.

A sign by the window read “Sweets & Treats” in pastel. The bakery shop smelled heavenly even from outside. Immediately, I felt as if all my stress had left itself at the door. An older woman with gray hair tied into a neat bun greeted me with a warm, gentle smile. I had been here many times before, so we all knew each other here.

“Good afternoon, Miss Florence” I couldn’t help but smile back in response.

“My, Jae! You’re here awfully early today. Did you forget to eat your breakfast this morning?” Miss Florence asked with a hint of genuine concern, “You know, you can always come by to the bakery if you’re hungry. I know you all work so hard for us!”

“No, no. I just felt like eating lunch early this time,” I could feel myself getting embarrassed.

“Well, if you do need anything, let me or one my grandkids know,” Miss Florence gestured toward a young man and woman quietly arranging a fresh batch of various breads, “We also have some new doughnuts that they worked on if you would like to give those a try.”

Well, I’m not going to turn down something sweet.

I made my way over to the new and limited section and grabbed two dozen of the new doughnuts. One of them for me and the other for the front desk. They were all either a shade of blue or purple with some decorative white patterns on top.

I think they’re supposed to be some sort of galaxy theme. Either way, they all smell delicious.

I checked out with Miss Florence who carefully arranged my doughnuts into two plain white boxes while I made my payment. As I waited, I let my eyes wander to the display cases next to us. There was an assortment of whole cakes as well as individual slices that almost seemed to glitter underneath the display lighting.

“Jae? Did you want something else?” Miss Florence’s asked me, but it sounded closer to a suggestion, “If you want, I can add in a slice for free.”

“No, that’s okay,” I shook my head trying to assure her.

I would be lying if I said I’m not thinking of buying those cakes, but I know it wouldn’t be the best look for the others seeing me haul both doughnuts and cake back into my office. Besides, I could come back this evening if I was still in the mood for it.

I thanked her one last time and left back to work.

I entered the building, with the sound of the rustling bag causing the front desk staff to glance up. They immediately noticed the bakery logo on my bag and their faces lit up.

“Oh, Captain!” one of the guys stood up from his seat, “Did you get your food?”

He wasn’t very good about hiding his intent.

“Yeah. I picked up some doughnuts for you guys too.”

“Thanks, Captain! You’re the best!”

“Don’t mention it,” I nodded and dropped off one of the boxes with them before heading down the hallway back to my office.

Before that, I made a quick stop by the kitchen to grab a cup and can of tea from the fridge. There were a few people taking their lunch break who gave me a quick greeting before getting back to their meal and conversations. I found what I needed and quickly left.

I set down the food on my desk and the glass that I borrowed. I transferred the can of tea to the glass and sat down at my desk.

The tea came straight out of the fridge, but I still preferred if it was a little colder. I held my palm over the cup and produced a few ice cubes that fell into the cup, causing a few drops of tea to splash up onto my hand.

I licked off the sweet liquid, slightly annoyed. Maybe I should have made the ice cubes on the side and then dropped them in instead.

I took a quick sip and turned my attention toward checking for any updates.

Nothing new seemed to be happening, so I let my eyes start skimming most of the text. I then moved onto responding to some of the higher-ups about the new recruits’ performance.

It felt like the hours were dragging on and on as I worked.

A loud banging on my door woke me from my trance. I looked up, confused. Most people usually left messages if they needed something from me.

I opened the door to find a communications team member fidgeting and mumbling frantically to himself. He looked up at me with fear and worry in his eyes.

“Captain, I… don’t know how—they were there—but then—they,” he stammered and gestured his arms around trying to explain.

“Okay, slow down,” I grabbed his arm and forced him to look into my eyes, “Who are you talking about?”

He seemed to calm down a bit more. I could still feel him shaking against me slightly, but at least he was speaking more slowly.

“Al’s squad.”

“Okay, what happened?” I nodded, waiting.

“We lost contact with him. All of them.”

#Kalecia #JaeVerse

18 notes · View notes

harrison-abbott · 8 months

Text

Kill the Silence

I just couldn’t believe that somebody had said it again. And when I responded angrily a hot silence flooded the table and it stayed there, stuck, for over five minutes, with nobody prepared to kill the silence. Until I did. I tried a wee joke. And somebody laughed falsely. I thought he had been my friend … thought that I was doing well in a social environment, for once. And then he just went and said that.

Yes, I thought he was my mate. But when I look back on it now: he could never hear what I was saying. Even though I sat right next to him it was always, from his angle, “What? Huh? Sorry?” He could never ever make out what I was saying even though I spoke the same language. And I was about as shy as possible during that period. I blushed a lot. Didn’t know how to be funny. I was practising, in a social sense. And the environment in the college forever seemed wide; that there was this sense of everybody watching you in the classroom. The way they positioned the tables in a square, with nothing in the middle: so that there was a huge gap in the middle of the room, with you on the perimeter.

And the college tutor was a horrific bully who enjoyed prickling your shyness whenever it took his fancy. But we’ve talked about this rat cunt tutor far too often on this blog to have him be mentioned again. The Hell with him. A mean, arrogant man, who shouldn’t be talked about more than he deserves.

So everybody was still silent after fifteen minutes, twenty. And I felt like my face was on the floor; stuck on a grey floor without any hope of getting up. I was still stunned from the insult.

The lesson ended and I got on the bus back home. And the college was an hour long bus ride from where I stayed, and throughout that ride homeward I was as blue and dejected as I can ever remember. Just felt awful. I got back to the house and went into the kitchen and put some baked beans on the hob … and shortly after this, my mother came home with her partner. They both came into the kitchen. And my mother, without any greeting, started yelling at me about my bicycle lights.

“Have your lights been stolen?”

No. I said. They hadn’t been stolen.

She didn’t believe me even though I said no twice after this. And then I snapped and yelled back at her. She got offended. I stormed upstairs. She came and asked me what was wrong but I did not want to speak to her of all people. She’d already been at my throat for months and I was thoroughly spent with her.

And it lasted in a similar way for the remainder of that semester and the following one. The boy who I’d thought was a friend stopped sitting next to me in class. I grew totally disinterested in going to classes physically. And studied at home instead. My mother had zilch faith in my academic output. And she was constantly suspicious that I wasn’t putting the work into the course. So I had to motivate myself. And I put belief in rote learning the material, in my bedroom, with my notes and pencils.

In February 2012 I got a conditional offer from University of Aberdeen. And I kinda knew as soon as I got this offer that I would be going to this university.

On the same night, mother attacked me for supposedly stealing one of her bottles of wine. I hadn’t; stolen it: I just didn’t. So I said to her, “No, I didn’t take it.” And then I told her about the university offer and it fairly shut her up.

Despite the offer, I still had my doubts. That I wasn’t able to go to university, that I didn’t belong there. The aftermath of school and all of the self doubt that those teachers had pedalled in me had orchestrated this inner unease, and I was not sure whether I had the skills to head to a top college.

But I kept revising the course material. Psychology, Sociology, Philosophy and advanced higher English. I had to do the English course through another institution and make this portfolio of work that would be sent off for markers somewhere in England. Luckily, the book that they assigned me was Great Expectations. I kept studying. Simple as that. Just as I try to write stories: I’m often not sure whether I’m any good at it or not – but I try anyway. It was like that with academia. I had no clue if I was smart enough. But there was a sense of magic about that offer from Aberdeen: and if I could just get there then it would be a way to enhance my mind, to adventure out into the world.

The four exams came up.

I’d made no friends at all throughout my college course; hadn’t made any mates on campus. It was me as well. It was mostly me. I was just way too shy; way too undeveloped; too unforgiving; sensitive. I thought that I was caustic and repellent towards other people; that they didn’t like me for reasons I didn’t understand. I had a prominent stutter. And the facial tics were visible and violent. And I found it impossible to speak up, volume wise. And I found being around the pretty girls in the classroom excruciating, because I wanted to talk to them, but didn’t know how.

The whole ordeal was a masochist journey up into light.

And I got there, because I passed the exams and then Aberdeen told me to come up and study with them. And University of Aberdeen gave me four heavy years of intellectual bombardment. The library, and the old fashioned campus, with the cobblestones. And all of those glorious books I read.

I was still a fuck up socially. But I’d ‘become an academic’, and had gotten there single handedly. Nobody had helped me out. Or encouraged me along the way. Then I was at this five hundred year old university. Where I was supposed to be. I had problems, for sure. But they hadn’t beaten me.

#writeblr #creative writing #writers on tumblr #stories #tumblr writers #spilled ink #spilled words #thoughts and feelings

1 note · View note

chimswae · 1 year

Text

Unwind Ch1

Summary: Torn between past and present; Park Jimin and Jeon Jungkook, does this ring a bell? Was it a fate or mere coincidence? Jeon Jungkook might change but he is still that shy boy you used to love. Park Jimin? You hate how much his warm and gregarious presence affects you. Now, do these two rings any bells again?

- Pairing: Jungkook x OC , Jimin x OC

- Genre: Fluff, Slight Angst, Romance

- Wordcount: 2245

-Author Note: This is an old story that i wrote 6 years ago, please ignore the cliché/ Awkward style in my writing , i was 24 years old and this was my very first fic that i wrote properly. I didnt change any of the content/style as i wanted to let my 24 years old work stay just stay as it is. ^^

Chapter 1

Kiara’s POV

It was never easy at first place moving to this unfamiliar neighbourhood with my inability to speak like locals. I sighed to myself as I remembered how stupid I was for not practicing my mother tongue language fluently back in England. This reminds me to not take things for granted as we never know when we need the skills in the future. I had a hard time adjusting in my new school and I was bullied and labelled as an “Arrogant Wannabe White Bitch” for using English as a way to communicate with people. Nevertheless, I overcame the hardships with the help of two angels that meant the world to me, Kim Sera and Song Sunhi.

*Flashback*

“Do you even learn manners in England?” said the tall girl with big eyes who had been staring down at me fiercely. I nodded timidly afraid that I might offend her even more. The other girl who I assumed her devoted followers, step on my thigh seemed unsatisfied with the answers that I gave.

“YAH! ARE YOU MUTE? CANT YOU ANSWER HER CLEARLY?” the pain grew even more as she kept pressing my thigh with her filthy and unsanitary foot. I finally gathered my courage to answer her “ y-es..i am sorry…if I offend y-ou..i will make sure next time to talk formally” i held back the groan at the back of my throat.

The tall girl leaned down and held my chin to face her up “ It is called courtesy. Sunbaenim is for a senior like me. You don’t call me by my name, “you” or even worse “yaaa”. You understand me new girl?” she snickered. I nodded weakly as my tears cascaded down slowly hitting the ground. The other girl lifted her foot off from my thigh and walked away leaving the broken me alone. As I was about to get up, I saw two pairs of hands before me offering help. I looked up and I saw two girls with not much difference in height staring at me with their concern looks.

The girl with cute bangs broke the silence “Let us help you. You do not seem alright” her voice sounded friendly and she gave me a sincere smile. I hesitated at first because I was afraid of meeting fake people who ended up hurting me again. I heard another soft voice talking to me “ Don’t worry we won’t hurt you, we just want to help. Trust us, please?” the other girl with smiley eyes convinced me. I was in pain and couldn’t even stand up by my own; therefore I reached out and hold their hands as a support. They brought me to school’s medical room and I was treated by the friendly and kind school nurse. Both of them left for awhile and came back with the principal Mrs Song.

I was taken aback to see the principal and bowed at her politely, however she insisted for me to sit down as she didn’t want I got hurt. “I heard from Miss Song and Miss Lee that you were hurt. Mind to tell me what happen?” she sounded concern.

“I tripped. I am sorry” I hung my head down afraid to tell the truth about those bullies. I was sure they would be after me if I ever told anyone about the incident.

The girl with bangs hissed “ Liar. You weren’t tripped; I was there with Sera witnessing the whole thing. You should not be afraid of telling the truth. You must protect yourself from those bullies”

The other girl whom I assumed named Sera nodded in agreement “ We saw the girls treated you awfully. Don’t worry we will be your witness; we cannot let this thing slide. It is a serious offence. It is never okay for anyone to get bully that is just so wrong. I am sorry if I am overreacting but I don’t like to see people getting hurt” I chuckled at her last word a little. I did not want to cause trouble here not when it was only my first month in the school. The principal took my hand and gently rubbed it “Dear, tell me is it true you were bullied? Remember this is not a petty case, you must tell me then only I can help you and the bully” her words were as warmth as her presence. I missed this motherly attention.

“Y-e..yes. I was bullied by these senior girls. They were never satisfied with anything that I did and made fun of my ability to speak fluent Korean. I apologized for causing trouble please do not punish them. I promised to diligently work out my Korean skills and adjust in this new environment” I held back my tears which by anytime soon might roll down. Sera and the girls with bang sat beside me and held my hand tights assuring everything will be alright.

“From now on we will be protecting you just like how we protect our delicious lunch boxes from being stole” the girls with bang cracked a not so funny joke but it made me smile a little.I could feel the sincerity from these two girls and ever since then we were never apart from each other.

*End of Flashback*

Sunhi’s chirpy voice brought me back to reality “Oi, Cho Kiara I have been looking for you everywhere. Don’t you know how hard it is to walk in these heels?” she pouted. I giggled at her unending nagging of the heels “Did I remind you not to wear heels; it is just a school talent show. And we are here to support Sera not to flaunt your skills in red heels.”

“Ugh, you never understand my devotion for fashions. For one’s to be beautiful we must endure the pain. I have to be pretty if I am going to find boyfriend this year. I, Song Sunhi refuse to celebrate valentine alone this year! ” Sunhi proudly smiled at me which I replied with a small whack at the back of her head.

“Right, you MUST GET BOYFRIEND THIS YEAR. And you do realize Valentine is in 2 weeks right? Where will you find boyfriend unless OH MY GOD SONG SUNHI YOU SNEAKY PUNK DID YOU FIND ONE ALREADY? Oh god did you really urm get back together with that guy you dated for 2 years?” I shrieked excitedly at the thought of Sunhi dating someone behind our back.

“He cheated on me yeah but it is so hard to actually dump him when he came begging with roses and he got me a cute necklace” Sunhi proudly tugged sparkling necklace around her neck. I gritted my teeth in dismay, I really could not believe this girl and she was being all soft for a guy who apparently cheated on her.

“SONG FREAKING SUNHI! HE FUCKING CHEATED ON YOU OH GOD I CANT BELIEVE YOU ARE ALL HOTS FOR HIM AGAIN JUST BECAUSE HE WHAT??? HE GAVE YOU FLOWERS AND NECKLACE” I tugged the necklace hanging around her neck to bring her closer to me . Sunhi frowned cutely and pushed my forehead with her forefingers. “YOU RUDE GIRL! Do not touch my necklace it is precious. I swear this will be the last time okay?” I hissed under my breath and shot her a death glare.

“We will see what Sera would say about this Miss Song” I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Song Sunhi surely one of a kind, she never listens to me and Sera yet she stills went to get love advice from us.

Loud cheers from the crowd causing us to divert our attention back to the stage as the theatre had begun its first scene. We cheered even louder when Sera appeared and paid our full attention when the show started. The theatre ended successfully and both of us charged to the stage to find Sera still in her costume that she wore on stage.

“Oh my god you guys come!” she excitedly gave us a big hug.

I ruffled her hair “ Of course! We don’t want to miss this important stage. You were awesome back there! You should consider in applying to art colleges” she cracked a satisfied grin.

“that would be out of my league girls, save that for later” Sera replied with a cute pout.

“So what are we getting for dinner? We have to celebrate this” Sunhi came out with a dinner idea which I could read from her face. It was written with food and hungry all over her face. “Let’s get chicken I have been craving for one!” Sera quickly clasped her hand giddily. I shook my head watching my best friends obsessing over food and they got hungry super quickly too. I started to think i had a change in my eating habit ever since we became friends, which was a good thing.

“Let me change first then we go find our fried chicken!” she excitedly went to dressing room to get change. Sunhi on the other hand shifted uncomfortably knowing that she would receive a long lecture from Sera any minutes from now. I muttered under my breath while eyeing Sunhi “ You are so dead Song Sunhi”

Sera slammed her chicken drumsticks down on her plate after hearing sinful Sunhi making her confession “ WHAT THE HELL SONG SUNHI? WHY ARE YOU BACK WITH HIM? HE FUCKING CHEATED ON YOU! Don’t you remember how much you cried and pestered us when you broke with him 1 month ago? Oh my lord, what were you thinking” her cheeks reddened in anger.

Sera was very protective when it came to me and Sunhi, that was what I loved the most. She never hesitated to give honest opinion whenever we told her something and a good listener too. Sometimes, Sunhi and I were scared to see her over the top reaction but we could tolerate her mean remarks even though sometimes it offended us.

I swore I could see Sunhi’s mind plotting something mischievous in her mind to convince Sera, acting cute attack. Sunhi poked Sera’s left arm timidly and started pouting “ I am sorry for keeping it away from you guys. We really are in the process of getting back together. I planned to give him the answer this valentine. Sera please support your pretty friend with him because I don’t want to be alone this valentine. It sucks” she pouted.

Sera rolled her eyes and twigged Sunhi ears lightly “ You never listen don’t you? What is so good about him? He is not even that good looking for fuck sake. And, he is much older than us . When a guy cheated once they are deemed to commit it again in the future Song Sunhi. Have you ever heard of that? Or does your brain are full with your fashion quote?” she cringed her nose and tapped Sunhi’s forehead with chicken drumstick. “ You are not even chicken yet you are so gullible letting this man trick you again . You apparently volunteer to become his dinner.” Sera continued.

“That sounded so wrong” Sunhi rubbed her forehead and shoved one piece of chicken in her mouth, munching it down with a pout. “ I just want to give him second chance. We have been dating for so long,and I cherish the memories that I have with him. I swear this will be the las-“

I cut her before she continued with her unreasonable ramble. “ That is the third time you saying the same thing all over again. Remember your first break up, he flipped out when he saw you had this P.E class with our classmate which is not even straight. Then, you caught him hugging some random woman who is at his age. And now, you obviously read his flirty message with the girl. Oh god Song Sunhi why are you so soft? “ I sighed and shook my head .

“I know I know.. this is my third time. Im ashamed of myself, but I will make sure this is the last time. If I caught him cheating again I swear to god I will dump him for good okay? Please don’t be mad, im happy with him. You are my best friend, I hope you are happy for me too?” Sunhi held our hands and gave a small smile.

Sera sighed in defeat “ Fine Sunhi. You must be grateful that we love you so much that we do not want to jeopardize your happiness. But, if he hurt you again I will make sure to slit his throat and plug that adam apple out from his throat so that he wont be able to flirt with any girl again with that voice of his!” we cringed at Sera’s gruesome imagination. She sure knew how to make everything sounded so awful .

“OH MY GOD THANK YOU!I LOVE YOU BOTH” Sunhi pulled us into a tight group hug which suffocated me especially. I was not a fan of skinship but for some reason Sunhi knew how to annoy the hell out of me. I pushed Sunhi sway from my body “Enough with hugs. You smell horrible Song Sunhi, wash properly or you he will leave you for your odour problem this time” I teased Sunhi who seemed flustered and immediately sniffed her body odour.

#bts fanfic #bts romance #bts #jungkook fanfic #jimin fanfic #bts fic #bts fluff #bts series #jungkook #jimin

0 notes