#I SWEAR IT LOOKED LESS YELLOW ON MY OLD LAPTOP

[prettywhenibleed]

𝖂𝖍𝖊𝖓 𝖂𝖔𝖗𝖑𝖉𝖘 𝕮𝖔𝖑𝖑𝖎𝖉𝖊 (When Worlds Collide)

Pt 1 Supernatural/The Lost Boys Crossover FemHunter!OC x Poly! Lost Boys

TW: Some language, mentions of killing/death

WARNING!!! This fic is almost 10,000 words long so I split it into 2 parts which will be posted at the same time.

Word count: About 5k

I never really wanted this to be my life. If I had been given a choice, I would have chosen a normal, apple pie life. Unfortunately for me, that was never an option. Being the daughter of John Winchester, I was never going to be anything but a hunter. I was born and raised in the life, it’s all I have ever known. My older brothers, Dean and Sam, were raised in the life too, though Dean had four years and Sam had six months of a normal life before everything went sideways. Their mom Mary died and while Sam was too young to remember it, too young to even remember her, Dean was old enough to have lasting mental scars from it. From that night on, their lives were never the same. Moving around from place to place, staying in less than desirable motel rooms, John searched for the thing that killed Mary, learning all about the things that went bump in the night and ganking those sons of bitches along the way. Dean and Sam always being brought along for the ride, though John would leave them in the motel room while he was out working the job. As Dean got older, he started helping his dad out on jobs, Sam still being too young to be told about what was really out there for a time, but eventually, he too started to help out.

It was on one of these jobs that John met and had a bit of a thing with my mom, resulting in her getting pregnant with me. Surprisingly, John actually stuck around, leaving every now and then to go work jobs. Though my mom wasn’t a hunter herself, she knew about them and what they hunted, so she was more than okay with John’s suggestion in raising me in the lifestyle. Everything was fine for about four years, but then my mom died in a car accident. John took me, Sam and Dean and left, not wanting to stick around the place where the second woman he loved died. After Mary, he never thought that he could love again but then he met my mom and he thought that maybe, just maybe he was catching a break for the first time in a long time, but then she also died. So, continuing on the search for the yellow-eyed demon and killing whatever came their way, the Winchesters traveled the country.

This all brings us to now. All of us grown up, me being nineteen, dad has since died, Mary came back to life but then died again, my brothers and I have also died and come back, though they have died a lot more than me, friends have died and even Bobby died. We haven’t exactly had a very good run of luck. Like today. “Hey you guys want anything? I’m going on a supply run.” I asked my brothers who were both sitting at the table, books and laptops laid out on the table as they did research for the current case. “Pie.” Was all Dean said, not even looking up from his laptop. “Of course, pie. How about some cake instead?” I asked with a grin, teasing my brother. Dean shot his head up and gave me a glare. “I- Cake isn't- I swear Mia, if you get me cake instead of pie I-” I cut Dean off with a laugh. “Calm down, Dean. Don’t burst a blood vessel.” I told him, causing him to shake his head and look back to his screen. Sam all the while chuckling to himself in the background. “Besides, when have I ever forgotten the pie? That’s Sam's job.” I teased. Sam gave me his bitchface and opened his mouth to defend himself, but quickly shut it, knowing that I was right. “You want anything Sammy?” I asked him as I started walking to the steps that led out of the bunker. “Uhh, yeah. Just some more bananas. Thanks.” I rolled my eyes at Sam and nodded my head, quietly snorting when I heard Dean call him a rabbit. Leaving the bunker and making my way to the store, I started getting this really weird feeling. I didn’t know what it meant, but what I did know, was that as a hunter, you trusted your instincts and any weird feelings that you got. So I made sure that I was on alert and ready for whatever.

I got to the store, got the supplies and was making my way back to the car when I felt someone behind me. I turned around to face whoever or whatever it was and was suddenly in a warehouse. Standing in front of me, were three feathered dicks. “Oh great. What does the godsquad want now?” I asked, annoyed. The three angels just looked at me, then at each other then back at me before advancing towards me. Before I could do anything, I was grabbed from behind by a fourth one. “Look, if you guys wanna get a little frisky, you’ve got the wrong girl. I’m not really into this whole four on one thing.” I said, forcing a laugh and a grin. The one that looked to be in charge walked up to me until they were standing right in front of me and smirked. “Let’s see how funny you find this.” He said to me as he brought his hand up to touch his fingers to my forehead. Suddenly, everything went black. 

When I woke up, it was still light out. I looked around, noticing that I was on the ground and also noticing that I definitely wasn’t in that warehouse anymore. “What the hell?” I said out loud and I groaned and rubbed my head. I have no idea where the hell I was. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket to call Dean, but I didn’t have any service. I looked at my phone confused for a moment before putting it back into my pocket. I felt around and was relieved to find that my gun was still there. Letting out a sigh of relief I stood up. “At least I still have my gun.” I said quietly to myself. All I had with me were the clothes on my back and whatever I had in my pockets, which wasn’t much. Just my wallet, phone, keys and gun. Better than nothing I guess. I started walking to, who knows where. I just knew that I needed to get to a phone so I could let Sam and Dean know what was going on. It took hours of walking, but I finally got to a store. Walking in, I went straight over to the counter to ask the clerk if they had a phone I could borrow. He told me that the phone wasn’t for customers, which annoyed the hell outta me. As I turned to leave I noticed the newspaper on the counter. Confused, I picked it up and took a closer look. July 12 1983. “1983? Oh crap.” The realization dawning on me. Putting the paper back down, I left the store. Crap, crap, crap. Those feathered douches sent me back in time, no wonder my phone has no service. I walked down the sidewalk annoyed until it dawned on me that I have no way of contacting my brothers. They’re not going to know what happened to me. I would pray to Cas, but even if he did hear me and show up, it wouldn’t be the same Cas that I know. “Dammit!” I quietly cursed under my breath. Checking my wallet and seeing that I had some cash, I decided it would be best to find a cheap motel and come up with some sort of game plan.

Over the weeks then months, I did everything that I could think of to try and get in contact with my brothers and Cas and even getting desperate enough to pray to any angel that would listen. Nothing seemed to work though. I ran out of money pretty quickly and had to resort to swindling people at pool and eventually, running credit card scams. I guess it was lucky that I had my dad and brothers to teach me all this stuff because otherwise I would be screwed right now. At some point I had gotten a car and just decided to live out of that. I always kept moving, never really wanting to stay in one place for too long. I soon realized that there didn’t seem to be any monsters around, well, not that I could tell. Everything seemed almost too perfect. No monsters, no nothing. Even though there weren’t any signs of monsters, I still did my best to stock my trunk up with whatever weapons I could get my hands on. I wanted more than anything to get back to my brothers but as time went on, it being about a year since the angels sent me back here, I started to come to terms with this probably being my life now. While I was sad at the prospect of never seeing Dean, Sam, Cas and Jack again, I was also filled with a sense of hope. Hope that maybe, this was my chance to have that normal, apple pie life that I have always wanted. 

It was now 1984 and I had made my way to a place called Santa Carla. It was weird, I had never heard of this place before. There were lots of things that were different about where/when I was compared to where I am from. It was almost like, not only had I been transported back in time, but also to a different reality or something like that. I mean, it would help to explain all these things, the lack of monsters for one. As I drove through town, I took a bit of a look around. I didn’t know what it was about this place, but I felt like I never wanted to leave. Making my way to the boardwalk parking lot, I parked my car, turned off the engine and let out a sigh. “I guess this is home for a while.” I said to myself. The car park was pretty crowded, which I guess was to be expected with it being the beginning of summer. I spent the first couple weeks just sticking to the boardwalk during the day. I started to hear rumors of this place being called ���The murder capitol of the world”. This didn’t spook me too much though, I was a hunter after all. Well, I guess ex-hunter now.  Tonight, I decided to check the boardwalk out and see what the night life was like. I walked around for a while just looking at things. Nothing too special happened that night and for the next few weeks, I kept going back to the boardwalk at night. I didn’t know why, but whenever I went there at night, I felt like I was searching for something but I didn’t know what it was. I had also started to feel like I was being watched. I tried to keep an eye out for whoever or whatever was watching me, but I could never find them. Well, that was until tonight. Four punk looking bikers were watching me. The second I laid eyes on them, I knew that there was something off about them but I just couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I wasn't scared of them though, it took a lot more than some rough looking bikers to scare me. As the night went on, it seemed like they were following me. I decided to test it and walked off of the boardwalk and onto the beach. I made my way to a secluded part of the beach and once I was sure that no one would be around to see or hear us, I stopped in my tracks and turned to face them.

“Why have you been following me?” I asked them, arms crossed and my eyes watching their every move. They sent me smirks and glanced at each other before looking back at me. “We saw you on the boardwalk one night and we wanted to get to know you.” The short one with a long and curly mullet said. “Yeah, we thought you looked cool, sugar.” The one with wild, blonde hair added. He looked like he belonged in a band with the way he dressed and styled his hair. “So that involved stalking me?” I questioned, my eyebrow raised in question. “Sorry about that. We didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” This time it was the tall, brunette that spoke up. He seemed genuine in what he was saying. I couldn’t explain why but I just felt as though I could trust them. It really didn’t make any sense, seeing as I didn’t even know them, but then again, nothing seemed to make much sense anymore. “So how about it, doll?” The Billy Idol looking one said. He seemed to be the leader of the group. I thought for a moment. I knew that Dean and Sam would kill me for making such a bad decision. “You guys going to tell me your names first?” I asked. Amused that they have yet to even introduce themselves. “I’m David, that’s Dwayne, Paul and that’s Marko.” David introduced himself and the others, pointing to each of them as he said their names. They all greeted me with a hello and or a wave. “I’m Mia. It’s nice to meet you boys.” From that night on, I had found myself stuck with four incredibly attractive punk biker friends. They stuck to me like glue. Well, at night they did. I never seemed to see them during the day and whenever I asked about it, they seemed to always come up with an excuse. It didn’t take me very long to figure out why. They were vampires. They never hung out with me during the day, they went off during the night when we were all hanging out, people were going missing like crazy and the way they looked at people was akin to how a predator would watch its prey. It didn’t take a genius to figure it out. Dean and Sam would kill me if they knew that I didn’t gank them on the spot when I figured it out. And to make matters worse, I had started dating them. I knew that it was wrong. I knew that I should have taken them down and saved the people of Santa Carla, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Just the thought made me sick and made me feel like if I did gank them, I would be making the worst mistake of my life. It was like I had some sort of unexplainable bond with them. 

The boys and I mostly hang out at the boardwalk but we will sometimes go back to the cave and hangout there. When they took me to the cave for the first time, I was honestly pretty shocked. I heard the word cave and thought that it would look like a, well, like a cave. But this was completely different. While yes, it was still a cave, it was filled with so much stuff and actually looked pretty homey. David had told me about the hotel that used to be there and how it was built on a fault, causing it to fall when there was a big earthquake. It was honestly really nice having people to be around again. I didn’t realize just how lonely and isolated I had become over the past year. Being with David, Dwayne, Paul and Marko made me feel more at ease and happier than I have been in a very long time. This was the first time since I got zapped here, that I have truly felt content about my situation. I know I shouldn’t be feeling so comfortable and trusting with vampires, but I knew that they would never hurt me. I trusted them with my life. I stayed in the cave with them a couple times a week, but for the most part, I still slept in my car. I didn’t want to tell the boys about this because that could lead to more questions and those would be questions I would either not have answers for, or I just wouldn’t want to answer. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to have to try and explain to them that, not only am I a hunter, but I am also from the future and another reality. To be fair, they all had a pretty big secret that they still haven’t told me. Them being vampires. I decided to just not bring it up to them and let them tell me in their own time. Maybe that would give me the push that I needed to tell them about my own secret. Right now I was sleeping in my car. I was woken up by a knocking on my window. I shot up, gun at the ready, aimed at whoever was at my window. I lowered my gun as soon as I saw my boyfriend's face. Dwayne. I opened the door, got out and tucked my gun away. “Crap. I’m sorry Dwayne.” I told him as I closed the door. “It’s okay princess, but why do you have a gun?” He asked me, worry laced in his deep voice. I shrugged at him. “Protection.” I told him simply. Technically not lying. Dwayne nodded in understanding, though I could see that he knew I wasn't telling the whole truth. Dwayne brushed a piece of hair away from my face as he took a couple steps forward, making me back myself up against the car. It wasn’t to be intimidating though. “Why are you sleeping in your car?” He asked, his hand coming down and resting on my hip. I looked up at Dwayne. Knowing that this could make him ask even more questions, the kind of questions that I was worried about, I answered him. “I've been living in my car?” I told him but it sounded more like a question.

Dwayne stood there, his face one of shock. “You should have told us sooner.” He said, scolding me slightly but only out of worry for me. I tried to tell him that it’s fine but he didn’t want to hear it. He then asked me how long I have been living in my car for and when I told him that it’s been about a year, he all but forced me to move into the cave with him and the others. I rolled my eyes but didn’t put up too much of a fight. I didn’t mind the cave and I would be lying if I said that I wasn't looking forward to some better nights sleep. When Dwayne brought me back to the cave that night and told the others about where I had been sleeping the past year and how I would be moving in with them, they weren’t mad per say, but they, like Dwayne, weren’t too happy to hear about it. They just wanted me to be safe and wished that I had told them sooner. Though, they were very happy that I would be living with them now. It didn’t take them long to put together a room for me. They wanted to give me a space that could be mine and make me feel like this was my home because, well, it was my home now. For the next two months everything went fine. The boys and I did what we normally did. We went to the boardwalk, went on rides, played the games on the boardwalk and we all hung out at the cave. Today I had been working on my car. My  car was parked up top where their bikes normally were. I was lucky that I had Dean to teach me everything he knew about cars. It had gotten dark while I was working, so I took out the flashlight that I had and just continued. I heard the sound of gravel crunching and knew that, that meant that Dwayne was awake and had come out to help me. He would often come out and help me while I worked on my car, just as long as it was after dark. It was really nice to do something together, just the two of us. “You need some help, princess?” Dwayne asked. He crouched down beside the car and waited for my answer. “No, I’m almost done. Thank you anyway, Dwayne.” I called out from underneath the car. Dwayne being Dwayne, he decided to help me anyway. He grabbed the other torch that was in my toolbox, slid himself underneath the car with me and held the light up so I could see better. I looked at him and he just gave me a satisfied grin. 

I had always dreamed of having that normal, apple pie life but with the boys being vampires, I knew that wouldn’t exactly happen. It didn’t seem to matter though. I was probably the happiest that I had ever been. Not to say that I wasn't happy with my brothers, I was, but this was just different. I was in love. In love with four amazing guys that, I had come to realize, would do anything for me. As I would for them. They made me so incredibly happy and made me feel so safe and loved. I had finally fully accepted that I would be here forever, no way back to my brothers or my old life, and I was okay with that now. I had Dwayne, David, Paul and Marko. Speaking of Paul and Marko, I loved how wild and crazy they were. They were always stirring shit up wherever they went, usually pulling me into their chaos. I was always up for some chaos though. I mean, my life before all of this was pure chaos, but not exactly in the fun way. More in the, fighting for my life, kind of way. With Paul and Marko, it was always fun. After I had finished with my car, Dwayne helped me pack my tools away. I put the toolbox in the backseat of my car and walked over to the stairs, Dwayne right behind me. I spent the rest of the night hanging out with the boys at the boardwalk. Paul and Marko were all over me all night. They never left my side for a moment. I was standing with all of them around the bikes, I had Paul behind me, his arms around my waist and Marko was in front of me, also holding onto me. They were the two of the group that were the most comfortable with all types of PDA. David and Dwayne did show some forms of PDA but that was mostly a kiss here and there, holding my hand and a hug. Paul and Marko however, had zero shame. I was trying to talk to David but I could barely concentrate. Paul had his face in my neck, kissing it. “You okay there, doll?” David asked with a smirk, taking a drag from his cigarette. “I’m fine.” I told him with a stifled giggle. I could feel Paul laugh into my neck. “I think she’s ticklish.” Marko said with a chuckle. I could see the look in his eyes and it said that he was about to mess with me. “Don’t you dare, Marko.” I told him, jokingly. “Alright boys, leave her alone.” David told them, trying to save me from their terror. When it was time for all of us to leave, David pulled me over in his direction, wanting me to ride with him. I happily agreed, hopping on the back of his bike, wrapping my arms around him and resting my head against his back.

The next night, I was laying on my bed in my room. The boys told me that they had to go out and to “deal with some stuff” and that they would be back soon. I knew what that meant, even if they didn’t know that I knew. They were going to feed. I just told them to be safe. I spent that time listening to music and cleaning my guns. The boys obviously knew that I had guns and they actually thought that it was pretty cool. I even took them out shooting a few times, which was a good and a bad idea. While David already had experience and Dwayne was a very quick learner, Marko and Paul went a bit crazy, but luckily nobody got hurt. I didn’t know it, but the boys had gotten back and were currently going through the trunk of my car. They had snagged my keys earlier without me knowing. David was the one that had this nagging feeling that there was something that I was hiding from them. So naturally, he decided that rummaging around in the trunk of my car for, he didn’t even know, was the best idea. The boys didn’t know exactly what they were going to find, but it definitely wasn’t the haul of weapons, holy water, silver etc. in the secret compartment. Their hearts sank. Their mate was a hunter and their mate was possibly going to kill them when they found out what they were. Or worse, they thought. You already knew and you were just trying to get close to them so you could make the kill. Why you kept this charade up for so long, they didn’t know. But either way, they knew that they needed to confront you about all of this. So that’s exactly what they did. After they put everything back in its place and closed the trunk, they made their way back inside the cave and to my room.

I was now laying on my bed, a book in my hands, when they entered. I looked up at them and smiled. However, my smile faded when I saw the serious, sad and almost heartbroken expressions on all of their faces. I promptly put my book to the side and sat up. “Boys? What’s wrong? Did something happen?” I asked them worriedly. I was worried that something had happened while they were out. Maybe one of them got hurt, but I couldn’t see any injuries. David was the first to speak up. “Is there something that you need to tell us?” He asked, his voice stern and laced with malice. I gave them a confused look. “What are you talking about?” I asked David. I didn’t have any idea what this was about. “Cut the shit, Mia. We know you’re a hunter. We saw what’s in your trunk.” He said. My heart dropped at his words. Oh crap, they know. I knew that I was going to have this conversation with them at some point, but I never wanted it to happen like this. I let out a sigh and ran a hand down my face. I guess it’s happening now. “Look, I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you boys about this earlier, but it’s not exactly an easy thing to explain.” I told them. “Just tell us!” Paul demanded. He looked so hurt, they all did. Though David masked his hurt with anger. “Yes, I’m a hunter. I know what you boys are. I’ve known basically the whole time but I have no intention of hurting you. I could never hurt you.” I told them, practically pleading for them to believe me. “Then what the hell is all that shit in your trunk?” David asked angrily, his voice raised. I was now standing in front of them. “What I have to tell you is probably going to be difficult for you to believe, but I swear it’s the truth.” I told them. “Try us.” Dwayne spoke up, his arms crossed and face stern. “I was born and raised in the hunter lifestyle, it’s all I’ve ever known. My brothers, Dean and Sam, are hunters too but they aren’t here. They’re back home. I’m not from this reality or time. I’m from a different version of this reality and the year there is 2018. There are more than just vampires in my world and my brothers and I, along with other hunters, we hunt them. I was just out on a supply run when I was ambushed by some feathered douchebag angels and zapped here.” They all stayed silent as I explained everything to them, taking in all the information. When I was finished, Marko was the first one to speak up. “So, if you knew about us this whole time, had all of that stuff in your trunk and are a hunter…. Why haven’t you killed us yet?” He asked me. I gave him a small smile. “Because I love you. I love all of you.” I told them. I told them that from the moment I met them, I have felt a pull to them. A bond. Like there was an invisible thread that tethered me to them.

They exchanged glances with each other before looking back at me. Almost as if they were having a silent discussion with each other. That’s when they decided to explain to me that I was their mate. That, that’s the reason I was feeling that way and that’s why I was so drawn to them. I have heard of this kind of thing before. The vamps in my universe mate for life, so I assumed that this was the same kind of thing. I wasn't freaked out at all by this information. The exact opposite actually. I was happy hearing that we were all meant to be together. After the air had been cleared and all the skeletons were out of the closet, we all made up from our little misunderstanding. By the end of the night, we were all laid in my bed. Our bodies so tangled together that I didn’t know which limb belonged to who. I was glad that they had believed what I had told them and had forgiven me for keeping it from them for so long. They were also very happy that I was okay with them being vampires. They had lots of questions for me about my world/time and about all the different monsters, to which I happily answered as much as I possibly could. “Wait. So the vampires from your world, their faces don’t morph and ALL of their teeth grow long and sharp?” Paul questioned. “Yep.”

Spam liking without reblogging = blocked

[technowoah]

Hi! If you do tommyinnit x reader (romantic), I would like one where reader is tubbo's sister perhaps? She would have the feature reader has still not tubbos. Maybe they meet when tubbo and tommy meet up and he just kinda starts to like her? If not that's ok! -paw <3

Prepare For Trouble Make it Double

I hope this suffices 😋

Requested!

Romantic(?)

Tommyinnit x Tubbo's sister!reader (blurb?)

⚠︎ its tommy so it'll be slight swearing-

It wasn't a secret that Tubbo had siblings, he had Lani of course, but what people didn't know that he had another sister closer to his age.

You tended to stay out of the spotlight, for reasons. Streaming was interesting but not your fortè. You usually tended to stay behind the camera when Tubbo was streaming or off to the side quietly talking to him as he did his own lore or sitting on Lani's bed doing your own thing listening to her talking to her viewers.

Your siblings never tried to convince you to go out of your comfort zone and appear on streams, only once in a blue moon you would talk to Lani out of frame. Lani of course would respond, the chat would freak out asking if you were a friend, finally the moment was gone as fast as it came.

Thats how days go in their household. Tending to hover around eachother and whatever they were doing at the moment. But it was this one particular moment when Tubbo was streaming and he suddenly decided to bring you on to show his 700k viewers that he had another sister.

He had pulled up a brown folding chair next to him and patted it beckoning you to sit down in frame.

Tubbo was currently streaming on the Dream SMP, you didnt think he was doing lore today so you hesitated a little bit. Other days you wouldn't have budged out of your spot out of sight, but he looked so excited in his yellow jumper you had bought for him whe going to out to the shops.

In a unrelated note You remember saying that "yellow is your color" and he ended up buying it, and his stans loved the jumper. So a win win.

"C'mon Y/N!" He yelled as continued to pat the folding chair next to him.

You ended up shuffling over to the seat next to him and smiling at the camera. Over in the corner of your eye you saw the chat which was going 1 million miles an hour. You saw some comments that were basically copypastas of other comments in the chat. It was basically nonsense, now the only thought in your mind is that you're going to make an uproar on twitter.

"This is my sister chat!" Tubbo said while shaking you around by the shoulders making the both of you laugh.

"Yes chat! I have more siblings" he continued while rocking back and forth in his gamer chair.

He continued to answer more questions and ask you some too, wanting to include you in the stream.

"Lani isn't the only one! My big sister is just shy."

"I just chose not to be on their streams! I was in the background of Lani's streams though."

"Out of frame. Dosent count." Tubbo said bluntly while still walking around SnowChester in the Dream Smp not looking your way.

You could still see the chat in the corner and you couldnt tear your eyes off of it. It was slight glare from the lights and the sun shining in his gaming room. He always had the lights bright in his room. The chat was spamming purple hearts and either still freaking out that Tubbo had a sister. It was getting old to you, so you decided to lean into Tubbo's space focusing on his screen as he quickly hopped around the map.

He continued talking to chat about anything else, but your presence. He continued to talk about gathering supplies and what he needed to bring back to SnowChester. You knew a lot about the Dream Smp lore because you weren't in it. Spending time on Twitter interacting with people and their theories and also making theories and showing them to Tubbo and him debunking them, or accepting them in some way.

"So we need some more lapis." Tubbo said suddenly after being quiet for a while.

"I can help you!" You said wanting to be apart of the stream.

You might as well, you're already here.

"I dont think you can help, 'cause you're not on your account. Plus it'll be awkward with your laptop." Tubbo said while speeding through his water transportation system.

"Well I can just point it out to you." You said while leaning back into your seat.

"Talk to the chat while I go mine for lapis."

"Fine then." You smirked as you turned your attention to the speeding words in the chat.

"Is there a slow mode on this?!" You laughed.

Tubbo laughed as well. "This is on slow mode!"

You both screamed in fake agony and then turned your attention back to the chat where the you caught a few questions. You were about to answer until the chat stopped for a quick second and you saw one comment out of all for a quick second.

✔tommyinnit: HI TUBBO'S SISTER IM TOMMY LETS MAKE A VIDEO TOGETHER

After that comment the whole chatt was just spamming the word 'TOMMY' or 'TOMMY IS IN CHAT'. That confused you even more than that comment.

When you did know about the Dream Smp you also knew a little bit about who Tubbo hangs out with. You knew about the time Tubbo had met up with Wilbur Soot, Philza, and Tommy. And that prompted you to look up their individual accounts and get into their content.

You knew about Tommy and his character and channel, you enjoyed his content a lot as well, but you wanted to play around a little bit. Hopefully Tubbo will play along.

"Why is the chat spamming Tommy?"

"Tommy? You know Tommy don't you?" Tubbo asked with a small bit of shock in his voice.

"No I dont, who's Tommy?" You asked again, acting oblivious.

"Oh. Oh well then, Tommy is like my best friend, we're actually meeting up soon!" Tubbo said with excitement.

He continued. "You hear that chat! You get Tommy and Tubbo content!

You had lost interest in Tubbo talking with his chat about hanging out in Brighton with Tommy again. Your eyes drifted towards the chat again and saw Tommy comment in the chat again.

✔tommyinnit: HOW DARE YOU NOT KNOW WHO I AM

✔tommyinnit: I WILL NOT MAKE A VIDEO WITH YOU ANYMORE

"Well Tommy I dont have an account so, sorry I cant get you views whoever you are." You said responding to Tommy with a smirk.

"Woke up and chose violence huh?" Tubbo laughed and you joined in as well.

"Tommy chose violence today too."

"You both are violent you will be nice together." Tubbo said with his focus still in his screen.

"Together?!" You exclaimed.

"Yeah together!" Tubbo said matching your energy.

You rolled you eyes and continued answering other comments instead of thinking about Tubbo's answer.

After that whole, incredibly longer than you thought, stream Tubbo decides to invite you along to their little meeting. Which you didnt know how you found yourself walking along Brighton's rocky shore in old Crocs. You were walking along the shoreline letting the cold water come up and hit your feet every so often.

He was waiting for Tommy at the moment, but you wanted to walk for a bit, he let you ho on by yourself while he waited for Tommy by himself.

You were quite a long way from where Tubbo seated himself on the rocks, you were doing your own thing looking at people who stared back at you for temporarily blocking their line of view of the shore, and little kids who decide to run away from their parents who weren't paying attention. Your peaceful walk got interrupted by your thoughts because you were quite a long way from Tubbo's resting place.

You started to head back, following back the way you came, but this time picking up the pace a bit to reach your destination. As you came upon Tubbo you saw a taller figure approach Tubbo and they seemed to greet eachother, it was hard to see where you were standing. Of course it was Tommy so the two of them started talking about who knows what, until Tubbo pointed your way.

As you kept walking, Tubbo continued to wave you over enthusiastically. You waved back with the same energy, finally making your way over to the both of them.

"What's up?" You asked the two of them with a smirk.

"Nothing much! Apparently you two haven't met before! So Tommy this is Y/N! Y/N thjs is Tommy!" Tubbo user hand gestures to introduce eachother.

You held your hand for Tommy to shake it, "Hey Tommy! Im a big fan."

"Big fan?! I thought you said you didn't know me?" Tommy exclaimed.

He was a lot less shouty in real life, than online. He was still loud, but to a lesser extent.

"Yeah I lied back then." You sent him a huge grin.

Tommy scoffed and groaned a little, "I cant belive you fuckers lied to me."

"Im actually a big fan. Well not big, but a fan at least." You laughed.

Apparently you and Tommy were the only ones standing while Tubbo typed on his phone while sitting back on the rocks not paying attention and letting you both talk amongst yourselves.

"Oh! That's an honor that Tubbo's big sister like my videos." Tommy's eyes widened slightly as he talked to you.

"Big sister only by 1 year! It's close!" Tubbo complanied, looking up from his phone.

"It still count big man." Tommy said to his friend.

"Thanks Tommy!" You thanked the tall man standing next to you.

"It's only a year! It dosent count! We're the same age!" Your brother continued to complain.

After the laughter and joking around calmed down you and Tommy stood there awkwardly until he spoke up again.

"Well good thing I know what I have to deal with. I cant deal with one of you, now I have to deal with two." Tommy joked around taking a seat next to Tubbo.

The exact moment when Tommy took a seat next to Tubbo, Tubbo shot up from his spot on the ground.

"Do you think we can do Uber Eats here?" Tubbo asked as he stood up.

You say down next to Tommy. "Yeah maybe if you go to a certain place and not say "the beach".

"I'll go to the pizza place and order there. What do you both want?" Tubbo asked, ready to put in any order.

"Just get McDonald's really." You sighed leaning back on the rocks.

"Im not hungry." Tommy said bluntly.

Tubbo nodded and walked away from you both leaving you two to sit in silence for a while with the small waves crashing, and kids having their own fun. It was a comfortable silence to you, but Tommy kept figeting over where he sat criss-crossed.

Tommy finally spoke up. "Im actually fucking starving ya know?

"No I don't! You should've asked for food!" You laughed in disbelief.

Tommy sighed. "Do you want to get some food and ditch Tubbo for now?"

Your eyes widened, not opposed to the idea, but was this his plan the whole time?

He continued on, "We could go sit at that pizza place and order some food there. Just the two of us until Tubbo freaks out."

You opened your mouth to protest leaving your brother in the dark, but he beat you to it.

"Dont worry about Tubbo! Stuff rolls off his back easy."

"No it dosent-"

"Yeah it does! You wanna just go out with me now?!" Tommy exclaimed.

"Are you getting annoyed?" You asked amused at his words.

"No I am not I just-"

"Yeah I want to go to the pizza place now. I would love to Tommyinnit." You smiled at him and he smiled back.

Both of you got up and made your way over to that small pizza diner close to the beach. You only could hope this goes as well as you wanted it to

[mercurygguk]

the ikea test | jjk

genre; fluff/comedy

pairing; cockblocked!jeongguk x female reader

➵ summary; you and jeongguk face the IKEA test. successfully? sure!

word count; 1,179

warnings; none, just comedy/fluff, domestic shit bc i love it

note; this is the cockblocked couple, and this is a drabble after the end of the original fanfic. it can be read alone but i suggest you read the full fanfic for it to make the most sense :) also, if there’s any scenarios you’d like to see with this couple, please let me know in an ask!

➵ READ ORIGINAL FIC HERE

there are tests you automatically have to go through as a couple. jeongguk and you have conquered them all so far; finding a routine in the way you go grocery shopping, come to agreement on what colors the pillows on the couch should be, who’s turn it is to cook for the other and even the challenge of graduating university and hunting for a job as a fresh graduate. these were all easily solved, figured out as a team and wiped from your mental board of things to get done and over with.

one test you haven’t conquered yet though, is the IKEA test. to be honest, you have feared this test since jeongguk suggested finding a new apartment together. you remember the day clear as day, thinking back...

“baby,” jeongguk had whispered, lips pressed against the back of your head as you sat between his legs on the couch. you hum in response, not taking your gaze off the laptop in your lap but still listening to what he has to say. “i was thinking...”

he trails off, fingers twirling strands of your hair. you wait patiently, knowing him well enough to know that he likes to take breaks like this before saying something you might not agree with.

“i was thinking we could go look at apartments,” he then says. you freeze in his arms, whipping around to look at your curly haired boyfriend. he smiles at you. “like find our place, you know?”

“what about this one?”

he shrugs. “it’s too big for us,” he points out. he’s not wrong. “we only use my bedroom. it’s a waste of rent money, baby.”

you hum in response, thinking over his proposal. you do like the idea of finding a place that is your both’s home, one you find together. jeongguk is right. this apartment is too big for the two of you, the extra bedroom is just a waste of rent money that could be used for other things.

“okay,” you accept his proposal. jeongguk smiles brightly at you as he cups your face in his hands, pulling you in for a kiss.

and you’ve found the perfect apartment. a two-bedroom apartment not too far away from the old one. it had the perfect size, big windows in the living room slash kitchen that caused a lot of natural light to flow into the room. the walls were freshly painted in white and a brand new kitchen had been installed. the bathroom was brand new as well. sure, the deposit was rather expensive but you and jeongguk had agreed that it was alright as you would get an apartment with a brand new kitchen and bathroom. the apartment even had a balcony which was big enough for a small table and two chairs, perfect for breakfast on lazy days in the summer.

“we should make a list of things we need,” you tell jeongguk as you plop down in his lap on the couch while clutching your iPad in your hands. jeongguk gives you a confused look. you raise your eyebrows. “you know, we’re missing a lot of things. like a bathmat for the ridiculously slippery tiles in the bathroom.”

jeongguk chuckles, snaking an arm around your waist. “wanna arrange a trip to ikea?” your eyes widened at this. jeongguk notices, a frown on his lips before you even get to say a word. “what?”

you clear your throat before speaking. “um, are we ready for... you know, the ikea test?”

if he was confused before, jeongguk certainly is now. “the ikea test?” he repeats your words carefully.

you nod, face serious as you look him in the eye. “you don’t know about that?”

jeongguk shakes his head, suddenly looking slightly terrified as tests have never been something he aced. you can’t help but giggle as the realisation hits you. you wrap your arms around his neck, smiling. “gguk, it’s not an actual test,” you assure him, giggling again as he sighs in relief.

“thank god,” he breathes out, noticeably relaxing into the couch. “don’t stress me out like that, jeez.”

you roll your eyes. “calm down, will you? let’s go, ikea is waiting,” you pat his cheek gently before getting off his lap. he watches you as you stalk off towards the bedroom of your new apartment. your now shared bedroom. jeongguk smiles to himself before getting up and following in your tracks.

ikea is big, jeongguk thinks to himself as he gets out of the car. he looks at the big yellow and blue building, face scrunched up in something you can’t quite decipher. jeongguk swears this building gets bigger every time he’s here. he starts to regret his suggestion of going to ikea as you grab his hand and tug him along.

“is there always so many people here?” jeongguk mutters more to himself than you, but you hear him anyway, simply chuckling in response. he grabs a cart by orders from you. and soon enough you’re filling the cart with random stuff that jeongguk did not know were missing in your apartment. you dump a thing jeongguk has no idea what is into the cart. “you really need that? do you even know what it is?”

you scoff, giving a your boyfriend a look of ‘really?’ You walk further down the rows of kitchen tools, glancing over them. jeongguk sighs deeply. this was going to be expensive as hell. good thing, you’re paying half of it.

the furniture section is less crowded, more manageable for jeongguk’s simple mind. he spots a cushioned chair that he likes, wheeling the cart in the direction of it. you follow behind, finding yourself liking the chair just as much as jeongguk. you don’t really need it but it would look amazing along with the couch that is already in your new apartment. it’s a mutual decision that this chair is coming home with you.

hours later you’re back home, struggling to carry the things upstairs to your new home. jeongguk does you a favour and grabs the heavy things, piling them in the elevator. you reach the floor of your apartment when jeongguk is done moving the new stuff from the elevator and inside the apartment. “how are you so fast?” you pant as you place the ikea bag on the kitchen island.

jeongguk smirks at you, raising his one arm to flex it. “it’s all in the muscles, baby,” he grins as you roll your eyes. “if you went to the gym more often, you’d know.”

the smug man you call your boyfriend doesn’t see you coming at him with force, knocking him onto the couch and punching him playfully. he’s fast to pin you down against the cushions of the couch. well, you sigh, at least you tried. you give up, trying to get out of his grasp when he leans down, pecking your lips. he pulls away with a small, smirking smile. you’re glaring playfully at him as he grabs your hands, pulling you off the couch.

“let’s assemble all this shit you bought.”

[bubblesthemonsterartist]

(don’t) wake me up

Hold Me Close (and never let me go) Masterlist

Shirayuki never did wake easily.

That’s what her grandparents always told her, voices fond and smiles baffled as she bounced off walls and stumbled her way to her bowl of froot loops in the hours before nine. Earlier bedtimes did not mean earlier risers, the film of sleep lingering until she was loaded down with her books and binders and bundled onboard her school bus. Not even the allure of a perfect attendance sticker was enough to pry her to full consciousness until after the morning school announcements were done and everyone had taken their seats.

College had been a blessing, any classes scheduled before 10am something everyone mourned. Sleep dazed students piling into their lecture halls wearing a unicorn onesie after lunch didn’t even cause her professors to bat an eye. “Everyone is tired,” Yuuha scoffed, bent over his laptop while downing an espresso with a redbull chaser. 

This was fine, she thought. It was the ROTC crowd that were the odd ones; Mitsuhide showering off the sweat of morning PT and downing a plate full of protein before her first alarm of the day had even sounded.

It wasn’t until she was in medical school memorizing the symptoms of sleep disorders that she realized maybe her mornings were not… neurologically normal. But no graduate advisor was going to sign off for the time off needed for a sleep study and she had lived long enough like this, why not hold off a few years more?

Part of her wishes that she had done the tests back then; sacrificed a few perfect grades for the possibility of a well rested morning.

But considering her current predicament, perhaps she saved herself both time and money by not.

“Miss.”

A soft laugh and gentle pressure on her shoulder stops her cold. Blinking blearily, she stares at the whirls of gold paint dancing up a purple wall, the crinkled blue fabric covering the window beside it.

“Ah,” she breathes, rubbing at her crusty eyes. “I thought you weren’t supposed to do that.”

Another laugh, not unkind, filters through the haze. “Do what?”

Shirayuki turns where she stands - Oh, it’s a hallway. They’re in a hallway now. When did they do that? - and says, “Touch me without asking first.”

In the dim of the establishment's lighting, she can barely make out the color of his eyes, but she remembers. Gold. His eyes were… somehow gold.

No, that couldn’t be right.

“There are exceptions to every rule, Miss,” Obi says quietly, but his hands fall through the air, landing harmlessly at his side, and through the soft fuzz wrapping her brain, Shirayuki feels a paign of regret. 

“Are you going to be alright?” he asks, his voice just as soft as they had been when the both of them had been wrapped in fresh, clean smelling sheets. “Do I need to call you a Lyft?”

It’s like turning over a flooded engine. She’s cranking the gas, keys turning in the ignition, the starter screaming-- “Oh!” Shirayuki shakes her head, scrubbing at her face again. God, she can’t remember the last time a conversation was this hard. It’s almost as if- as if she just woke up. Or something. “Oh, no. I came with a friend. She’s taking me home.”

In the dim half lighting, his eyes spark with humor and- and she thinks his eyes really are gold. Somehow. Either that or sleep deprivation has caused her to start processing the color yellow inappropriately, in which case, she really should schedule an appointment with a neurolo--

“Good to know, Miss,” he says, gesturing towards the door to the reception area. “I’m sure she’s waiting for you. We went a little over time.”

Shirayuki could not say this with complete certainty, but she was pretty sure she’d never been late to anything in her life. “Huh? Why?”

Obi glances up at the ceiling, scratching at the non-existent stubble at his chin. “You were… rather insistent that you wanted to stay in bed.”

Mortification floods her face with heat and she can only hope that the lighting is dim enough to hide it. She must have- she must have actually slep--

“I’m so sorry,” she blurts. Her grandparents had recorded it one time to show her; grandpa snickering behind their new camcorder as grandma wrangled Shirayuki’s floppy limbs out of bed and to standing. She had flopped right back onto the mattress, spooling the covers around her before grandma could catch her. Twice. To her knowledge, she had never outgrown it. “I’ve never woken up easily.”

His shoulders shake. “It was flattering, Miss, truly. Never have I seen a more satisfied customer.”

Now she wants to ask. But she might melt right through the floorboards first out of sheer embarrassment first. “I can’t believe I just made you lay there for an hour while I slept.”

“Professional hazard,” he quips with a wink. “You wouldn’t be the first lady to fall asleep on me.”

“That somehow doesn’t feel like something you should be bragging about,” she claps back, only to slap her hands over her mouth. Inside thoughts, Shirayuki. Inside thoughts.

“Well.” His hand lands on the door handle, huffing out a sound halfway to a laugh. “It depends on who you are talking to.”

All things considered, she may firmly be in the satisfied customers camp, so it really wasn’t fair of her to tease. Actually, now that she’s thinking about it, if she actually did sleep-- “Can I take you home with me?”

Fingers blanch on the door handle and- oh yes, those eyes were definitely, definitely, gold. “Uhm.”

“I mean!” Shirayuki’s hands slap against her cheeks this time. That- that didn’t come out right at all. “Do you have a business card? Or something?”

Obi just stares at her, and it may be her imagination, what with the lighting and all, but his cheeks seemed a little… darker than before.

“It’s just-” Oh, if only she had been blessed with even an ounce of tact. “I slept so well.”

Rubbing awkwardly at his neck, Obi huffs, “It was just a nap, Miss.” But he reaches behind her, plucking a card off of a wall rack covered in adverts from massage therapists and yoga instructors and, goodness, Shirayuki may have visited half of these establishments. “But any time you feel like drooling on my arm again, feel free to give me a call.”

She wants to tell him that it was more than a nap. It was the first time in months that there hadn’t been dreams. “Thank you.”

“I, ah-” Obi coughs into his fist, staring at the door. “I do have overnight rates.”

It’s Shirayuki’s turn to be speechless.

He tilts his chin towards the bit of cardstock in her hand. “Info on the back.”

Her tongue twists in her mouth, staring up at him, but he pulls on the handle and--

“Oh there you are!”

In the reception area, Yuzuri bounds to her feet, ushering her out of Obi’s shadow and into her arms. She already has her phone out. “I was beginning to wonder if you left or something. C’mon, let’s go get lunch at that little crepe place before things start getting busy.”

Shirayuki casts a wide eye look behind her, only catching the profile of Obi’s face as the door is pulled shut behind him.

“Okay!” Yuzuri bubbles, holding her phone between them as she leads them outside. She is not prepared for the cold blast of early spring air, but she’s even less prepared for the woman smiling up at her from Yuzuri’s phone. Pixelated leafs that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the Geocities era flutter across a soft focus headshot, the tinkle of piano keys emerging from underneath the sounds of passing cars. “So this is the reiki lady Kazaha swears by. She’s booked out for months, but he said he was able to get us a slot-”

“Yuzuri-” Shirayuki tries softly.

“-and, yes, I know how you feel about energy work, but her yelp reviews are really good and-”

“Yuzuri, I slept.”

Carefully swept up curls, freshly tied back into a high ponytail stop swinging, and Shirayuki almost bumps into her. Someone does bump into Shirayuki, though, then swears as Shirayuki collapses into Yuzuri’s back.

“Sorry-” Shirayuki begins, glancing behind her, but all that gets her is a dirty look as an old man swings around her, grumbling something about not stopping in the middle of the sidewalk-

Yuzuri takes hold of her arm, shuffling them to a display window. “Did you say,” she begins slowly, staring at her with wide eyes. “That you slept?”

Shirayuki nods, still unable to believe it herself. “And no dreams.”

Yuzuri takes a breath. Then another one. “Do you think… you could seep… some more?”

Any time Shirayuki closes her eyes, they burn, but she does it again and this time, her body goes momentarily weightless with the promise of unconsciousness. “Yea.”

“Okay, okay,” Yuzuri breathes, taking Shirayuki’s arm in hers once more. “Okay, yea, let’s- let’s get you home, then.”

~ ~ ~

“If I had known that this is what you needed, I would have done it ages ago.”

Shirayuki stares at the far wall. It was so much easier back there on the street, still sleep warm and a little bleary, to say that she would sleep. To say that she could. “Mm.”

Yuzuri’s arm wraps tighter about her waist, cold nose brushing against her neck. “Not that I haven’t enjoyed our little outings,” she continues. “I’ve always wanted to try that stuff.”

While Shirayuki doesn’t precisely agree, she’s not going to pretend that it hasn’t been an, ah, experience. “Mm.”

“I wonder why the professional cuddler worked but not the massage therapist?” Yuzuri hums. “If it was physical contact you needed, I would’ve thought--”

Shirayuki sighs, loud enough that Yuzuri stops talking. “It’s not coming.”

Propping herself up on her elbow, Yuzuri pulls at her shoulder, rolling Shirayuki until she’s flat on her back. Brain as heavy as a sack of beans, she watches Yuzuri frown at her still open eyes, confirming that Shirayuki was, indeed, not asleep, and then sighs.

With a plop, Yuzuri collapses back onto the mattress next to her once more, arm wrapping about her middle. It’s nice. Warm. She misses warm.

“Well, we just laid down, maybe you need some more time,” Yuzuri mumbles into her hair, and maybe- maybe she’s right. This is the closest she’s felt to sleep in her own bed in a long time. At least without heavy medication. “And maybe I should stop talking.”

That’s an idea. But it never used to bother her. Grandma could be on the phone right next to her for hours while she napped on the couch, and grandpa’s poker buddies could caw until the wee morning hours outside her bedroom window and Shirayuki would never stir. Even Zen, with his countless 2am business calls with Hong Kong, didn’t bother her--

“What sort of music were you listening to?” Yuzuri asks, flopping onto her back and digging out her phone. “We had some pretty windchimes.”

“Whales.” Shirayuki murmurs, without thinking. “We were listening to whales.”

She hadn’t liked them - they had sounded like drowning puppies - but maybe there was something to the experience that had made her relax enough. She remembers reading about it in a journal once. The researcher had said something about frequencies and brain waves and music therapists having moderate success with the method, but it’s buried under the mounds of more… established papers that she had given more time to.

Yuzuri props her phone up on the nightstand, soft cetacean whines filling the room. Settling back down next to her, Shirayuki’s eyes flutter shut at the sensation of fingers gently winding through her hair. It’s nice. Comforting, even. But not-

“It is working?” Yuzuri whispers.

“Mm.” Shirayuki doesn’t dare move. Not when she’s so close to the edge like this. “A little bit.”

“Maybe the smell is wrong,” she muses, thumb brushing against Shirayuki’s temple in soothing strokes. “Sorry, my hair product can be a little strong.”

Honestly, Shirayuki hadn’t even noticed. “It’s okay.”

“I’ll get you some tea tree oil tomorrow,” she says absently. “I think that’s what they had in their diffusers. I’ve seen the good stuff for sale at the organic grocer down the street from me.”

One by one, her muscles unwind, the pressure on her brain easing. She can’t find the energy to respond, her thoughts winking out one by one--

Buzz buzz buzzzzzzzzzzzz

Shirayuki’s eyes spring open.

“First mistake,” Yuzuri groans. “Leaving your phone in the bedroom.”

Shirayuki just might cry. With a whine, she shifts onto her side, moving to grab for her purse dumped at the side of her bed-

A firm hand stops her midroll, Yuzuri staring down at her with her mouth pressed into a thin line. “Second mistake,” she frowns. “Checking it.”

She’s very likely right, but- “It might be the hospital,” she counters.

“Then it’s low priority,” Yuzuri claps back. “You have a pager for a reason.”

“I don’t like making people wait.” Shirayuki squirms out of Yuzuri’s hold, fishing her phone out of her purse. “If it’s small, then it’ll just be a minute.”

“When you’re done, I’m taking that from you and putting it in the kitchen,” Yuzuri grumps. “And putting it on silent.”

“Deal.” Shirayuki smiles, swiping her thumb over the blank screen. Blue swirls fill the screen, a single message notification block blaring across the center that says,

IZANA WISTERIA

“Whelp.” Yuzuri’s chin digs into Shirayuki’s shoulder. “You’re never going back to sleep now.”

With a wince and a familiar churn of the gut, Shirayuki carefully rearranges her face before even attempting to cast her friend an apologetic smile.

“Sorry,” she sighs. “You might as well go home. I know Suzu must be missing you.”

“That telephone pole was probably looking forward to a night without me starfishing all over the bed,” Yuzuri grumps, pushing herself up. “But you’re right. I don’t want to be dragged into whatever overtime horror project Wisteria is pulling you in on.”

Shirayuki frowns, watching Yuzuri sweeping up the mess of her hair. “It’s not like that.”

That earns her the rise of an eyebrow. “Then what, pray tell, is it like?” Yuzuri challenges back, pinning her bun into place.

Shirayuki doesn’t know how to answer that question. Doesn’t know how to explain that things are complicated, and not in a Bumble sort of way. That the incident created a strange world where only her and Izana lived, and well… 

Well she doesn’t think that Izana would appreciate her talking to anyone about it, even if that someone was her best friend. To be frank, she doesn’t even know how to begin describing the odd dynamic between the two of them.

She struggles for a response for too long and Yuzuri sighs, grabbing her phone off the nightstand and stuffing it in her coat pocket. “Call me if you need anything,” she says, like she always does. “I’ll be over with tea tree-everything in the morning.”

From the comfort of her blankets, Shirayuki smiles. “Thanks, Yuzuri.”

“Mm.” With a lazy wave over her shoulder, she calls. “Don’t stay up too late!”

From down the hall, Shirayuki hears the front door latch shut, her apartment once again falling into stillness. Unnatural silence. And even under her down feather duvet, Shirayuki feels a chill. Maybe she should have asked Yuzuri to turn up the thermostat before she left. Or maybe she should just take the plunge and get herself a cat. They’re warm.

Taking a deep breath, the smell of her single, empty apartment filling her lungs, Shirayuki looks back at her phone. And, with a resigned sigh, clicks Read.

[threecrowsinatrenchcoat]

Paint My Spirit Gold

Dukeceit Week Day 2: Green/Yellow

Fans of the YouTubers "Deceit" and Remus "The Duke" Sanders start to suspect that maybe, just maybe, the two of them are more than simple internet pals.

AO3 Link: [here]

Word Count: 2187

Warnings: n/a

@dukeceitweek <3

-

[ID: A screenshot of a Twitter post by user @CallMeDukie. It features a watercolor-style painting of a snake. The snake appears to be made of melting chocolate, and there is a large bite taken out of its tail. Cherries and jam are leaking out of the snake at the bite wound. The snake's expression of horror is overly-exaggerated to the point of comedy. The caption reads: "liked your snake boi, @SerpenThyme. thanks for the inspo." /end ID]

- 

A notification ding cut Janus off mid-sentence. 

“Wow, someone left their cell phone on, so professional,” he said, giving the camera a dramatic eye roll. That someone was him, of course, because he was the only one in the apartment- just him and the running livestream- but that was no excuse not to be a drama queen about it. He finished wiping flour off his hands and grabbed his phone to silence it; but the notification made him pause. He flicked his eyes up toward the camera and gave a slight smirk.

“My goodness, I’m famous,” he drawled. “The Duke himself has graced little old me with some fan art.”

Most of the comments in the chat wanted him to show it, so Janus opened up Twitter to see the full post he’d been tagged in. It was a watercolor painting of the coiled-snake chocolate sculpture- lovingly named Jake by his viewers- he’d made for his YouTube video last week; it was wearing an expression of such comedic horror that Janus had to stifle a laugh. He flicked his phone screen toward the close-up camera on his counter so his viewers could see.

“How kind of you, Remus,” he said. “All of you should go scold him for what he’s done to poor Jake here.”

Most of his viewers would know he was joking- after all, they were the ones to nickname him Deceit when he provided neither a real or fake name for his online persona. They knew full well what he was like by now.

The oven timer dinged. Janus silenced his phone and set it aside.

“And our first batch of cookies is done. You know, why don’t we show the Duke some appreciation?”

-

[ID: An Instagram post by user @SerpenThyme. The photo is an artistically-framed shot of a stack of sugar cookies with green, yellow, and pink icing. Propped up against the stack is another cookie, with an intricate icing-drawing of an octopus. The photo appears to have been color corrected to have high contrast, low saturation, and a dark vignette at the edges. The Instagram user @OctoDukie is tagged. No caption. /end ID]

- 

“You know, I have often been accused of actually being a little old lady, what with my fondness for knitted jumpers, rocking chairs, and incredibly fucked up murder mystery books. Today I am doing nothing to dispel this accusation, by making soup.”

The studio was dark and empty aside from Remus' workspace. Everyone else had left long ago, even his own brother, which meant that it was officially ass-o'clock in the morning (or, as most people called it, somewhere between 1 and 2 a.m.) But Remus was stuck in hyperfocus, honed in on putting the last touches on a commission that he'd been putting off for weeks. It's not that it was a tough painting- once he'd gotten started, it was actually a very creatively satisfying piece- but man, executive dysfunction could go suck a dick

“French onion soup, specifically. Because while I do like to pretend I am a classy bitch, I am also, regrettably, a lazy bitch with a distaste for anything that takes longer than one bottle of wine to make.”

Remus hated working in silence. It was stifling, almost suffocating. His brain needed noise like his lungs needed air. So when the studio had grown still and silent, Remus had flipped open his laptop and queued up some YouTube videos. 

“So we have here three pounds of onions that we need to slice up, pole to pole. You’re going to cry no matter what, so if you have any memories you’ve been repressing since middle school, now is an excellent time to dredge those up.” 

And if it happened to be 90% SerpenThyme videos, well. Sue him. 

“Now the first rule of caramelizing onions: fast and sloppy is always better than slow and thorough… at least, that’s what every man I’ve ever slept with tells me.”

Remus choked and glanced over to his laptop screen just in time to catch Deceit's trademark smirk directed at the audience just for a moment. It was the deadpan delivery that always got him. Remus could barely hold onto a joke long enough to get through it without cackling mid-punchline, but this fucker could say the funniest shit like an off-hand comment. 

He wiped his hands off on his jeans (what use were clothes if you couldn't use them as paint rags?) and pulled his laptop across the table.  He typed out a quick comment, citing the timestamp of the joke, and after it was posted, he shut his laptop. 

'Cause ass-o'clock was short for "get-your-ass-home-or-I’ll-kick-it" o'clock. 

-

[ID: A screenshot of a YouTube comments section. The first comment is by user TheDuke, and reads: "10:42 wow, rude." The second comment is a reply by user SerpenThyme, and simply reads ";)" /end ID]

-

Janus plopped down on the couch with a slight groan. He didn’t need to stream today, but he really hated missing days. Besides… he was fine. Really. 

He adjusted the camera until he was happy with the framing, and then checked the settings on his streaming software. Satisfied, he started the stream, and watched as his usual viewers rolled in. 

“What do you mean I’m not in my kitchen?” Janus drawled, addressing the chat. He glanced around with an expression of faux-shock on his face. “My goodness, when did that happen?”

He chuckled, and then gestured to his surroundings. “Yes, we are in my living room today. If you must know, my closest and most trusted friend tried to murder me today- yes, Virgil, it was attempted murder and nothing less- and I survived with nary a scratch… and a broken foot, but that is beside the point. Anyway, I’m not allowed to stand for long periods of time, and I may or may not be somewhat inebriated by pain pills and couldn’t stand even if I wanted to. So we are cooking from my couch today.”

Janus paused for a few moments to read the chat messages as they popped up. A few get well soon’s, a few theories about the “attempted murder,” Virgil- who moderated his chat for him- vehemently denying the “attempted murder” but otherwise refusing to clarify the event, and a large volume of wtf why are you streaming today, take care of yourself comments, which made him smile. But one particular comment caught his eye, almost lost amid the torrent of an active chat: wait this kinda looks like the Duke’s living room?

“Oh, VampSuga,” he said, addressing that commenter in particular with a slight smirk. “I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about. Anyway, since I can’t reach my oven from here, I thought some no-bake cookies were in order. For these you will need-”

-

[ID: A screenshot of a Discord conversation. The text reads:

“VampSuga: Ok ok hear me out. Dukeceit. 

Starstruck96: who?

IneffableSnek: lmao

FeralBeauYasha: lol

VampSuga: Deceit and Remus Sanders! They’re totally dating. I will die on this hill. 

FeralBeauYasha: Isn’t the duke w/ PatPat?

IneffableSnek: no thats his brothers bf

FeralBeauYasha: ohh

VampSuga: Did anyone see Deceit’s stream today? I swear that’s the Duke’s livingroom. 

StarStruck96: idk that seems like a stretch

IneffableSnek: no wait i kno what u mean

IneffableSnek: im watching the duke’s old videos and that one where he shows off all his old weapons he’s in a living room kinda like deceit’s 

FeralBeauYasha: They were acting all cute on twitter too

VampSuga: DUKECEIT”  /end ID]

-

"Hey guys, been a while since you've seen my face and not just whatever my hands are busy with, when it's within YouTube's terms and conditions I mean. They used to be way more lenient…" Remus trailed off for a moment, then shook his head sharply and plastered on a grin. 

"Anyway! In June me and a few other creators did a fundraiser for the Trevor Project, and y'all smashed the goal, so I let you decide what video I'd make this month." He paused, and gestured to the mountain of clothes piled behind him on the bed. "And you had so many juicy ideas to choose from, but you decided to dress me up like a Barbie instead."

Remus paused to scroll through his phone for a few moments. "Ah, ok, here we go. Twitter user YoonIsMyCat- oh, BTS, nice- sent in this first outfit. Uh… future Remus, put up the post here somewhere." He gestured vaguely to his right. "Y'all went with either a fuckton more clothes or a fuckton less clothes, which I respect. Apparently this outfit is called…” He squinted at his phone. “Amish chic? I take it back, no respect at all.”

Remus cycled through the outfits his viewers sent in, which ranged from the aforementioned “Amish chic” to “2008 rave attire” to “ok now you guys are just fucking with me” (which consisted of one of those big puffy snow coats, lime green in color; booty shorts with the shrug text emoji across the ass; fuzzy pink boots; and a yellow cowboy hat to top off the whole thing. It was awful. Remus loved it.) The mountain of clothes on the bed gradually became a mess of clothes spread across the floor instead, until there was just one outfit left. 

“Ok so Twitter user VampSuga sent me this outfit that I’m gonna call ‘sexy librarian.’ I couldn’t find this exact sweater online, but-” he paused for dramatic effect, before brandishing a sweater toward the camera like a bullfighter. “My boyfriend had something that was close enough.”

Remus hopped up from the bed and switched off the camera so he could change.

“They’re going to lose their minds,” a voice drawled from the doorway. Remus threw his shirt at him.

“Shoo, I’m getting naked.”

-

[ID: A Twitter post by user @CallMeDukie. It features a selfie of YouTuber Remus “The Duke” Sanders, a Hispanic man with his hair dyed green and styled into a spiked mohawk. He is wearing a yellow knitted cardigan over a black button-up shirt. He is grinning widely at the camera. The caption reads: “my viewers pick my outfits! now live on youtube. go see what i look like as a sexy librarian!” /end ID]

-

DukeceitStan

first and only dukeceit shipper ig

DukeceitStan

wow there’s so many of you now! Hi!!

DukeceitStan

i want this to be canon so bad omg

DukeceitStan

i mean just look

[image]

how 

[image]

cute

[image]

[ID: A series of three gifs featuring Youtubers SerpenThyme, aka Deceit, and TheDuke, aka Remus Sanders. Deceit is a black man with long, dreadlocked hair, and vitiligo patches along the left side of his face. Remus is a Hispanic man with green-dyed hair styled into a mohawk, many ear and facial piercings, and tattoos covering both arms. Each gif is edited so that the highlights are tinged yellow when Deceit is seen, and tinged green when Remus is seen.

The first gif depicts a close-up shot of Deceit’s hands as he carefully decorates a cookie with green and yellow icing. The cookie art he is working on appears to be a half-finished octopus. The gif then fades into a mid-shot of Remus, with his back to the camera, facing a canvas. The canvas is blank, and Remus appears to be laying out paints on a table to his left. 

The second gif depicts Deceit seated at his couch, facing the camera. He has many ingredients spread across his coffee table (including oats, cocoa powder, and butter) and appears to be in the process of laying out several more. The gif fades to show Remus seated at a similar couch with a similar coffee table in front of him. The camera is angled slightly downward to better show the myriad of knives spread out across the table. Remus is gesturing wildly with a morning star held in his hand. 

The third gif depicts Deceit in his kitchen. He is pulling on a bright, yellow knitted cardigan, and smirking toward the camera. The gif fades to show Remus in his bedroom, seated on his bed. He is holding up a similar-looking cardigan toward the camera and grinning. /end ID]

- 

“Remus, it’s almost two in the morning. Come to bed.”

“I’m coming, sorry. Twitter distracted me.”

“Mm. I can’t believe the bird app is more distracting than I am.”

“You should try harder.”

“Come to bed and maybe I will.”

“Ok, ok, I’m coming. Hang on though, is it cool if I post this?”

“Sure. They figured it out anyway.”

“Sweet. Ok, Jannie, I’m coming.”

-

[ID: A screenshot of a Twitter post by user @CallMeDukie. It reads: “Dukeceit is canon.” /end ID] 

[maxattack-powell]

Chemical Reaction: Chapter 1

(A Nanny Affair Story)

———————————————————————————————————

Masterlist - go here for other chapters and other Choices fics

Disclaimer: The following chapters are a retelling of characters in the basic nanny plot of Choices: The Nanny Affair. I do not work for Pixelberry Studios, the game developer or own the rights to the characters. All of the ORIGINAL characters, story-lines and events were developed, by me, for this adaptation of my Chemical Reaction story.

NSFW moments in some chapters - Mature Readers Only Please

Paring: Anna Schuyler x Sam Dalton

Word Count: 7048

———————————————————————————————————

Chapter 1

~Anna~

Anna stands and reaches across the desk to shake the extended hand, doing her best to contain her excitement. “Thank you, Mr. Dalton, for this opportunity. I am thrilled to be joining Dalton Enterprises.”

He nods and gives her a small smile, his grey… wait, brown. No. Grey. Yes grey eyes hold hers. 

She could swear they just changed colors while he smiled. Shaking her head, she watches him open his mouth to speak, but instead of words, Mr. Dalton starts making a repetitive, obnoxious sound. She recoils, letting go of his hand to cover both ears before closing her eyes to block it out as it gets louder.

Thoroughly confused, Anna doesn't understand why he started making such an unpleasant sound. She opens her eyes intending on asking him to stop, but finds herself staring at a familiar ceiling instead of the infamous billionaire Sam Dalton who was shaking her hand just seconds ago. 

“What the hell?” She turns her head sharply to focus on the true source of the abhorrent beeping and is faced with large red digital numbers.

With a sigh she reaches over and forcefully turns off her alarm before letting her arms fall back to her sides with a frown. “Way to ruin the dream of dreams, you infernal machine.”

She blinks only once before bolting upright, turning to look at the time once more as it hits her. “Crap! The interview... I have to get ready!” 

Anna quickly grabs her laptop, opening it to find it on the job listing tab she had stared at for over a week. She frowns for a second, remembering enough of the dream she was just having to compare it to reality. 

Yes, she was going to interview for a position with Sam Dalton, the CEO of Dalton Enterprises. Dalton’s is one of the top biotech companies in the world, and coincidentally, her dream workplace. 

Anna’s eyes scan the job listing once more as she chews on her thumbnail.

 Live-In Nanny

Full-time position watching twin seven-year-old boys.

Benefits included

Negotiable salary

 Yeah, that's right. Her job interview was for a position working for the Sam Dalton, just not one remotely close to the field she's been working so hard in during grad school. She shakes her head slowly as she reads over the notes she made on a sticky note, currently stuck a little skewed to the screen. 

Anna had recently graduated from New York University with a Master of Science in Chemistry. Something that she was hoping would help her get a position at Dalton Enterprises one day. The problem was, no one leaves Dalton’s. It’s an illustrious company, featured in many grad school courses, not to mention professional business and science publications. And thanks to Mr. Dalton himself, more than the occasional news coverage.

It's basically like working for Disney, but less whimsy and way more nerdy tech. Otherwise they are totally the same. At least to this chemistry grad.

“Focus, Anna. You only get one shot at a first impression with Sam Dalton, and you need this job. If he sees how good you are with his kids, maybe you can work your way into an internship after a year… or something.” 

She sighs, knowing that she could probably find an entry level position at one of the many labs near New York and be working in her actual field, but this opportunity was too good to pass up. It’s not every day a recent grad student gets a chance to work for their dream company, or at least the CEO of said dream company.

“Okay. Let’s find something professional, something classy… probably wouldn't hurt if it was a little hot..?” She shrugs and gets up to open the closet door. “Whatever it takes to make an impression.” She scrunches up her nose. “Well, not whatever it takes, but close.” She shifts through the items on hangers until something speaks to her. 

“Ah, there it is.” Anna pulls a black mini dress with a matching gold plaid blazer out of the small space and assesses the overall look. “Just a few accessories and it will be perfect. Yellow is cheery, it's bright… and more importantly, it will help me stand out.”

Keeping an eye on the time, Anna rushes to get dressed, knowing she will need a few minutes to collect herself once she arrives at the unmistakable Dalton Enterprise building. Time moves too quickly, but she arrives at least fifteen minutes early. She checks her clothes one last time in the glass reflection before entering the building. The lobby is immaculate and modern, but also very alive and warm. It is very Dalton Enterprises. 

After exhaling a deep breath, she approaches the front desk. “Hi, I’m here for an interview with Mr. Dalton.”

The receptionist gives her a polite, but no nonsense look. “Name?”

“Anna Schuyler… I’m here for--”

“Ah, yes.” She clicks on her mouse feverishly a few times before looking back up. “His ten o’clock is running a little over, but his secretary said to send you up when you arrived.”

After receiving directions to a specific bank of elevators, Anna verifies her name once again with the guard stationed nearby. He wishes her good luck and opens the door to scan his badge and punch in the button for the top floor. She thanks him and turns as the small, but elegantly designed space begins passing floor after floor with increasing speed. For such a tall building, it takes what seems like only seconds before the door opens again.

The friendly smile of Mr. Dalton’s secretary greets her as she exits and steps towards a sleek metal and glass desk. “Ms. Schuyler?”

Anna nods, doing her best to remain cool, calm, and collected as the secretary leads her down a short hall and opens the door, gesturing for her to enter. She steps in and turns to thank the polite woman as she steps back into the hall, shutting the door behind her. 

Spinning to scan the larger than expected space, Anna freezes in place. Her eyes find not one, but two forms on the other side of the room, though only one is completely focused on her from his relaxed position on the edge of his desk. 

Yes on, not behind. Perched on the edge of a large warm, wooden antique desk, Sam Dalton’s wide hands splay flat across the surface, holding his thick frame up as his gaze locks onto hers. He shifts one foot behind the other in preparation to stand, causing her eyes to trail down his sturdy form without hesitation.

When he stands and extends to his full height, her eyes jump up and immediately notice his dark, rich brown hair styled perfectly so. Though it’s his piercing grey eyes that make her hesitate for a moment before eventually moving on to admire his strong chiseled jaw and immaculate facial hair. It all contradicts but somehow also fits the relaxed dress shirt peeking out of his open blazer, sans tie, quite perfectly. 

Anna swallows, doing her best to maintain her professional thoughts under his intense stare. She reminds herself that she’s here to get a job that will hopefully create opportunities for future positions at the company, not notice how well his chest fills his slightly open shirt and blazer combo.

A man she didn't fully notice when she entered the room shifts in his seat near the same desk, not yet aware he has quite possibly lost Mr. Dalton’s attention. “...still need to discuss the marketing for the Ilithyia Project. I say we go all in on the healthcare side, put our money into doctor ads.”

Mr. Dalton gestures for her to come in and sit as he turns to face the man, leaning further back on his desk as he attempts to wrap up the overdue meeting. “Isn't that the same strategy that almost sunk our last attempt to enter the women's health sector? I need you to think outside the box, David. You know how important this is to me.”

“I suppose we could go straight to the source… but women don't want all the science-talk thrown at them.”

Anna hesitates behind one of the open chairs and arches an eyebrow questionably for a brief second before doing her best to maintain a neutral expression.

“Hmm.” The slightly amused look on Mr. Dalton’s face tells her that it didn't go as unnoticed as she had hoped. 

He turns at the waist, making his switch in attention obvious to David. “And what do you think?”

With a start, Anna realizes that Mr. Dalton is specifically asking her. “Me?”

“Yes you, Ms. Schuyler. How would you approach new tech designed to make C-sections safer and easier?” 

She studies his face, analyzing his intentions before glancing at David. She’s still unsure if this is a test of some kind, or if Mr. Dalton was genuinely asking her opinion. When he gives her an encouraging nod, she takes a deep breath.  

“I think you shouldn’t dumb down science for your customers. Just because they're women doesn't mean they can't handle the ‘science-talk’.” Her tone as she side-eyes David makes her irritation obvious, but she keeps her composure.

Mr. Dalton remains silent for a while, his eyes narrowing slightly while he studies her, as if he was searching for something specific before he speaks. “...I couldn't agree more.” 

He pivots back to face the other man. “David, I want a new plan that takes her advice into account on my desk by end-of-day. Understood?”

David sputters in protest. “But--”

Mr. Dalton glances once more at Anna before fully focusing on the man still sitting in front of his desk. “Or do I need to find someone else to take over the project? Ms. Schuyler is already here for an interview…”

David’s jaw clenches as he gathers his things. “...I’ll get it done.” He huffs as he stands with his stack of papers and hurries from the room without a second glance.

Mr. Dalton turns to give Anna his full attention, causing her breath to catch at the intensity of his gaze before he flashes her a confident smile. “I’m sorry about that. I’ve got a packed schedule this morning, but I’m glad you were able to come in.”

His eyes smoothly slide over her entire person and his lips part in a soft exhale as he fiddles with his watch band. “I see you dressed to impress.”

She smiles, finally relaxing a bit as his eyes roam back up to hers. “Did it work?”

“It did, at that. You already look like you belong here. It’s nice to officially meet you, Ms. Schuyler .”

“Anna.” She quickly corrects, hoping he will drop her last name, never being a big fan of such antiquated formalities.

“Ms. Anna.” Mr. Dalton smiles softly as he reaches to shake her hand.

She feels an illicit spark as her skin brushes against his, but she shakes it off as he gestures for her to sit. “Tell me, what made you apply for this nanny position?”

“Honestly?” She hesitates then decides to be straightforward, as she typically is. “I admire what you do here at Dalton Enterprises. I know I wouldn't be working in the biotech field directly, but I want to do what I can to help, even if it’s just giving you peace of mind, knowing that your boys are taken care of. I believe we all need to develop important principles such as patience and self-discipline, and it's easier when we are children. It helped me through my graduate program at NYU, and I feel it's never too early to start building those tools.” 

His right eyebrow raises slightly before it drops back down. “My boys definitely require all those things.”

“I like to have fun too, though. Kids are full of energy and highly creative, something I believe more adults should embrace as well.” Her eyes flick up to his before glancing back down at her lap momentarily. 

He nods in agreement. “I wholeheartedly agree. My boys can be tough and need someone who can not only guide them, but also have the energy to keep up. I’ll be honest with you, not many can.”

His intense gaze almost makes her shiver as he continues. “Which is why I’m looking for someone who can commit to at least a year. Things will be very busy for me professionally over the next year or two, so I need someone they can depend on during the worst of it.”

His eyes shift from her back to her resume and she nods. “I understand. Mr. Canary did tell me about that requirement.”

Sam places her resume on his desk but remains looking at it while he speaks. “Excellent. James is a good friend of mine at NYU, so when he suggested I review your resume, I assumed he made you aware.” 

He looks up, his eyes studying her own as his head tilts slightly to the side. “I have to be honest though, I’m not sure why you would consider being locked down for at least a year when you just finished grad school with these achievements. You likely have multiple opportunities available already.”

Anna hesitates, scrambling to defend her decision. “Professionally, I’ve always admired the work you do here at Dalton Enterprises, and I want to learn as much as I can about the biotech industry. I hope to be a meaningful part of it one day.”

Mr. Dalton shifts, leaning a hip against his desk to face her better as she elaborates. “But this isn't a position at Dalton Enterprises. This is to be a nanny to seven year old, twin boys.”

“Yes, but I still feel that I am helping the company by helping them... by helping you.” She looks up and finds his eyes locked on hers. “And maybe I’ll learn something new during that time that could make me a more desirable candidate to Dalton in the future.”

“You’ve applied before.” It’s not a question.

“I have.” She confirms.

“But you have yet to interview.” Another correct assumption.

She shakes her head. “No sir. I’ve been told I’m in the applicant pool, but there are no open, entry level positions available.”

Mr. Dalton hums, fiddling with his watch again and she makes a mental note on how the pictures she’s previously seen in different publications don't do him justice.

He clears his throat to speak. “Your insight before might just make the Ilithyia Project a success, you know.”

She feels more confident and decides to throw some additional information out in hopes it can help her secure the position. “I recently received my Master of Science, with a focus in Chemistry, and all my lab work has definitely prepared me for taking care of young children. After all, chemists are used to handling high-stakes spills.” She jokes, instantly regretting it after seeing his emotionless expression.

His eyes burn into her for a moment before he finally chuckles softly. His gaze lingers for a second too long before he looks away with an almost sorrowful expression. “The boys are still feeling the loss of their mother. It was almost five years ago now, and they were young but…”

Even though Anna hasn't met them, her heart aches for his boys. “That’s not something you can just get over.”

“Exactly. And I’m afraid they often take it out on their nanny.” His eyes lift back to hers. “Can you handle that?”

“Of course.” She nods, determined to do whatever it takes.

“Then I have just one more question for you, Ms. Anna, and I want you to be completely honest.” He leans forward earnestly, and once again, she feels a weird energy in the air. “If you could go back in time and tell your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?”

“I’d tell younger me to take more risks. I admit I was a little apprehensive when I was a kid and I wish I’d taken that leap of faith more often and experience more.”

“Very impressive. You're wise beyond your years.” He leans back a little, contemplating.

A soft knock at the door breaks the moment, causing her to turn and see his receptionist peek inside. “Sorry to interrupt Mr. Dalton, but your car has arrived for the meeting over lunch at La Tour d’Argent.”

He nods to her, then turns his attention back to Anna. “The next part of this interview will take place this evening at my home.”

“It… will?” She blinks a few times, somewhat surprised at the thought of being in his home in just a few short hours.

He hands her his card with his home address and a time written on the back. “See you at seven, Ms. Anna.”

------------

That evening, Anna finds herself gaping up at one of the most luxurious apartment buildings in the entire city. She can't help but wonder if they'll even let her in as she approaches the door.

“Uh, hello. This might sound crazy, but Sam Dalton invited me here for a job interview?” Anna tries not to frown at how odd her question-statement sounds out loud.

“Yes, I’ve been expecting you. You can go right up to the penthouse suite.” He walks her over to the elevator and pulls out a card from a secret pocket in his blazer, swiping it across a panel on the wall above the floor buttons. “Good luck.”

Anna gives him an anxious smile as the elevator doors shut behind her. She can't believe this place might actually be her home if everything goes well. 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself Anna. Stay focused. Just... think about your interview questions. You did okay this morning.” 

She chews on her bottom lip. “But I don't know what to expect now.” She glances at the floor indicator, watching it climb. “Hopefully I’ll be able to come up with good answers on the fly. Just remember, this could lead to a great career opportunity. Focus.” 

Anna closes her eyes and replays today's interview in her head, doing her best to recall her answers and not the way he was analyzing her. “I can do this. I can show him I’m a valuable asset to Team Dalton.”

She sighs as she thinks about his sharp attention during the interview, how his strong jaw would flex as if he was hanging on her every word. “This is totally inappropriate. So what… he looks good. I’m sure he knows it too. The tabloids definitely seem to think so.”

Anna glances around the elevator, suddenly realizing something as she swallows her panic and whispers. “Please don't have cameras in here.”

She shakes her head and takes a deep breath to calm her racing pulse as she reaches the top floor. The hybrid jump-hesitation when it reaches the top makes her stomach flip as the doors of the elevator glide open, letting her out into the palatial penthouse suite. Her eyes grow wide as she takes it all in, instantly thinking how the spare bath is likely larger than her entire apartment. 

She moves forward, only making it one step into the luxurious space before she is ambushed by twin boys wielding foam swords.

One scowls as he adjusts his grip, his messy dirty blonde hair blocking some of his view. “Intruder at the castle gates! Ready your horses, boys!”

The other leans back, as if he's about to attack, his brows coming together behind his stylish copper glasses. “Aye, ready we be! Chaaaaaarge!”

“Whoa!” She rushes past them and towards the couch, grabbing a spare sword she saw seconds earlier. “Think again, soldiers!” She parries with the foam toys, holding her own against the onslaught of attacks. “Aaargh! You'll never get the best of Captain Anna!”

The first boy’s mouth falls open in awe. “Whoa! Admiral Mason, she can fight!”

Mason shakes his head as he gives his brother a wide eyed glance. “That’s why you gotta stick to the battle plan, Admiral Mickey!”

Mickey snorts with a smile. “Pssh! Where’s the fun in that?!”

Mr. Dalton suddenly enters the room from the long hallway to the side with a wide-eyed expression. “Ms. Anna, I didn't hear you come in... Boys, give her some space. We don't want to send her running already.”

Mason drops the sword and does his best to appear innocent, pushing his glasses up his nose with his fingertip. “But Dad, we were gonna bring her straight to you! She looks like a lost princess or something.”

Anna grins and shakes her head. “Charming tactic.”

Mason smiles with a shrug while Mickey also drops his sword, kicking it behind the sofa as if his father hadn't already seen it. “She was smiling the whole time, well… mostly.”

Mr. Dalton’s face turns serious. “Mason, Mickey, apologize. Now.”

Mason sighs and frowns behind his glasses as he turns to face her. “Sorry, Ms. Anna.”

Mickey shifts his weight but toes his discarded sword as he replies with mild sincerity. “Yeah, sorry.”

Mr. Dalton sighs. “...close enough.” He turns towards her and takes a deep breath. “Ms. Anna, let’s test your bedtime skills, shall we?”

She blinks and quickly nods, acutely aware of Sam’s gaze on her as her mind races to prepare for this trial by fire. She spins, clasping her hands together as she turns her attention back to the twins. “First things first. Have you brushed your teeth since dinner?”

Mason gives her a wide smile. “I’m on it!” 

He bolts towards the bathroom, but Mickey hangs back and pouts. “Aw, come on, lady. I hate brushing my teeth. Mint tastes gross.”

“But Mickey, you don't want Mason to win do you? He’s already got a considerable jump on you. Unless… maybe you're okay with him being the fastest?” Anna shrugs as his eyes grow wide and glances at the empty hallway.

“No way! I’m going right now!” He turns and sprints down the hall after his brother. 

She and Sam follow close behind to supervise. “Nicely done.”

“I’m just getting started.” She grins, and she means it. This is business.

Ten minutes later, Anna has settled another argument over who gets to wear the red pajamas and what bedtime story to read. Finally, she finishes tucking the boys in bed, then steps back near the doorway so Sam can say goodnight.

Mason gives his father a hug around the neck and lays back into his pillow, whispering almost comically loud. “I like Ms. Anna, Dad.”

Mickey leans over the rail of the top bunk and grins wide with a few nods. “Yeah, can we keep her?”

Mr. Dalton chuckles as he ruffles Mickey’s hair. “We’ll see, boys. Sweet dreams.”

As the two return to the main living area, he gives her an impressed smile. “No one has ever been able to put the boys down like that, especially on the first try. I normally have to step in and negotiate a deal.”

“Well, I have something those other nannies didn't… chemistry.” She grins, though quickly stops, instantly regretting her dad-quality joke.

They lock eyes for a long moment, the tension simmering in the air before Mr. Dalton finally laughs. “That’s true. I haven't interviewed anyone else with a chemistry degree.” He turns and shakes his head as he gestures to another hallway. “Follow me. I want to show you something.”

Anna walks behind him, noticing an open door into what looks like a home office. Her eyes linger on a framed photo on the wall of two people skydiving. She immediately assumes one is Sam, but wonders who the other could be. She didn't realize he was such a thrill-seeker, making a mental note in case the subject ever comes up. When she turns her attention back towards the hallway, she finds Mr. Dalton silently observing her. 

With a sheepish smile, she clasps her hands together in front of her. “Sorry, I wasn't trying to snoop. Something just caught my eye.”

“No need to apologize. Would you care to step inside and share a nightcap, Ms. Anna?” She hesitates, making him continue with a small, but friendly smile. “After all, if you're going to be Mickey and Mason’s nanny, I should get to know you… and you should get to know me.”

His eyes remain fixed on hers, making her curious about the other side of the infamous professional. “You’re right. Thank you, I’d love to.”

She follows him into his office and stares unabashedly as he pours the bourbon. Her eyes trail over his body, confident he won't catch her, but as soon as his eyes lift towards hers, she glances elsewhere and gestures towards some of the large pictures on the wall. 

“You've got a beautiful office. A beautiful home, really.”

“Thank you. I noticed you... inspecting a few things.” His smirk is brief, but she swears she saw it, making her wonder if he had caught her admiring something else entirely. 

He offers her the small glass and she sits on the firm, but luxurious sofa near the wall of windows. He takes a seat beside her, leaving a comfortable amount of space to remain appropriate. 

Anna contemplates how it makes her feel relieved and disappointed all at once, but she shakes it off, gesturing towards the skydiving picture on the wall. “Is that the boy's mom?”

He studies the small and elegant framed picture, his eyes searching the faces he finds there. “Yes, that's Alice. To think it's been five years since she passed.”

Mr. Dalton casts his eyes down, taking a sip of his bourbon, the silence slicing through her. “I’m sorry, I didn't mean…”

A somber smile crosses his lips before his expression turns neutral again. “No, it was a fair question, and certainly relevant if you're going to be a part of the boys’ lives.” He frowns as he glances at the photo again. “Sadly, they don't really remember her anymore.”

“I am very sorry.” Without thinking, she reaches out and touches his hand, but withdraws quickly when his eyes jump to meet hers. 

“Thank you, Ms. Anna. That means a lot to me. My wife and I may have only had a brief time together, but all told, I’m still a very lucky man.” He sighs deeply, and his penetrating gaze rests on her, unwavering. “What about you? You've seen the inside of my home and have a taste of what makes me tick. Tell me more about you.”

She swallows as she thinks how best to fulfill his request. “What makes me tick?”

“Precisely.” 

She takes a sip from her glass to buy some time as she thinks, his gaze still locked onto her. “I’d say... I’m driven by insatiable desire.”

Mr. Dalton coughs on his sip of bourbon.

Her eyebrows raise with concern. “Are you okay, Mr. Dalton?”

He coughs a few more times. “I’ll be fine. Perhaps that's enough bourbon for me tonight. Ahem.” He sets the glass down on the coffee table. “What, uh… what do you mean by ‘insatiable desire’ exactly?”

Their eyes meet, and she wonders if the room is only hot to her now, her word choice repeating over and over in her head. “Our entire experience of reality occurs through our senses. I indulge myself when possible, or logical, and it's made me feel so… alive.”

“Give me an example.” He says in a steady, but curious tone.

“Like… if you bite a strawberry slowly enough, the flavor absolutely bursts in your mouth. Savoring and eating are two different things, you know?” 

He swallows heavily, his eyes focused on her lips for a moment before the flash back to her eyes. “Right.”

“Did I say something wrong?” Her brow furrows and he shakes his head.

“No, not at all. On the contrary, I admire your passion. So few people share our kind of fire.” His eyes shift briefly to the photo on the wall before moving back to hers. “It can make life lonely, but it's all the sweeter when you finally encounter a kindred flame.”

Anna suddenly becomes hyper aware that they have shifted closer to each other throughout the conversation. Her breath catches as she holds his gaze, losing herself in his deep grey eyes. The silence should be more awkward given the circumstances, but it's almost comforting. 

“Anna…” Her name is like a promise on his lips, or maybe it's meant as more of a warning. 

She’s still deciding when a cool liquid runs across her hand, startling her back to reality. “Oh, no!” 

Flustered, she jumps up from the couch with her glass as Mr. Dalton pulls his handkerchief out of nowhere like a magician, doing his best to blot up the inevitable stain. 

Embarrassed, Anna covers her mouth with her free hand. “I’m sorry.”

He keeps his eyes focused on the sofa, possibly refusing to look up into hers. “It was my fault, really. No need to apologize. Let’s pretend it never happened.” He laughs softly, the corner of his eyes crinkling slightly as he stands, heading towards the cabinet under the bar to grab some cleaner for the fabric. “Chalk it up to too much bourbon in general.”

She gets the brief feeling he isn't just talking about the spill, but she's eager to put whatever that was behind her as he reaches for her glass. “Yeah, I don't usually drink that much bourbon. Or at all, really.”

He glances at her as he puts both glasses back on the tray and clears his throat. “That’s good to know. Anyway, I let the time get away from me, and I still have something to show you. Let’s continue our walk, shall we?”

“Sure thing. Lead the way.” She turns to follow him down the hall, her head still spinning as she forces herself to focus. This is Sam Dalton. Billionaire, professional, potential boss. Possible career wish genie. What is wrong with me?

“Right in here.” Anna was not prepared for his sudden pause, barely managing to stop herself from colliding with him before it was too late. 

He opens the door and she follows him inside, eyes growing wide when she realizes where they were. The room is massive, and the bed, it was probably the size of her entire apartment bedroom. She suddenly has the urge to run forward and launch herself on it, knowing it has to be an amazing mattress. 

“Ms. Anna, did you hear me?” He gives her a small, concerned smile before handing her a folded piece of paper. 

He nods at the questioning look on her face so she opens it, holding her breath as she reads the number printed at the top. Her eyes gloss over the additional benefit details as he continues.

“If you want the job, it’s yours. You can move in here…” He raises his hand to the amazing space. “...your room, tomorrow.”

“Really?” She says in mild disbelief.

Sam’s brow furrows as he gives her a curious look. “Is something wrong? I increased my normal salary amount to compensate for your higher education… I thought it would help cover remaining college expenses, but, if we need to renegotiate…”

Anna feels her eyes burn a little before her mouth falls open with an unexpected laugh. “No, no… Mr. Dalton--”

“Please, call me Sam.” He corrects her with a firm tone.

“Okay, Sam. This is… this is great. Thank you!” She impulsively steps forward and throws her arms around him in an elated hug, realizing only a second too late of her inappropriateness. 

It’s impossible to miss the feeling of every inch of his body along her own, making her skin flush at the contact. Even though she pulls back almost instantly, she doesn't miss the woody scent that invades her senses and the warmth that radiates from his tall frame. 

She shakes her head in embarrassment, letting out an awkward laugh. “I’m sorry. Again. I hope you'll excuse me. It’s just… this opportunity means so much to me.”

He blinks, swallowing hard before offering her his hand with a gentle smile. “Think nothing of it. I appreciate your enthusiasm.” His smile falls and his eyes turn serious once more. “Is it alright if the boys continue to call you Ms. Anna? I think they really like that. A few of their past nannies were more... strict.”

Anna can't help but grin as her dreams, professionally at least, were starting to come true. “Of course! Anna is perfectly fine. I can't wait to move in and get to know you and your beautiful family even more… Sam.”

He gives her a pleasant smile and nods before stepping back into the hall and walking her to the elevator door. “Goodnight, Anna Schuyler.”

---------------------------

Anna’s nerve endings tingle with pleasure as she writhes on the bed, hips gently bucking. “Yes… yes!”

His gorgeous face rises from between her legs, lips lifted on one side in a knowing smile. Her eyes trail with admiration from his deep grey, sparkling eyes to his strong jaw and chiseled biceps. She grasps at the satin sheets beneath her, a desperate attempt to anchor herself as another wave of ecstasy breaks. A strong hand entwines its fingers with hers, holding her steady.

“Don’t… stop…” She breathes out.

Sam kisses his way up her chest, settling the length of his body against hers. “I must admit, this wasn't quite how I expected your first day on the job to go...” Sam’s feather-like touch drags across her breast as his face hovers over hers. “Are you ready to work hard for me, Anna?”

“Oh… yes.” She gazes suggestively over his body. “Anything you need.”

He pins her wrists over her head and grins before trailing hot kisses down her neck and chest, his tongue teasing her nipples through her bra. “Good, because I’m afraid this job requires long hours. We might be up all night…”

Anna’s lips come together with his in a passionate kiss. She feels like she’s on fire as his hands trail down to her hips. Suddenly, he flips them over so she’s straddling him, chest to chest as both breathe heavily. 

She moans as her center makes contact with the undeniable evidence of his desire, and her hips rock against his on their own volition. “Ohhh…”

His hands trace an electric path up her spine, reaching for the clasp of her bra. “I don't think you need this anymore.”

Anna gasps as her bra falls away and he sits up, grazing his lips over the bare skin of her breast, his tongue flicking out to tease the peak. She can't seem to catch her breath as the sensations become overwhelming. Just as the wave is about to break, a loud repetitive sound interrupts the pair. 

Anna spins her head to glare at the offensive sound, blinking as her vision turns blurry and she focuses on the same horrible clock from the previous morning. She bolts upright in bed, gasping for breath as she surveys the room, seeing the drastic difference from her apparent dream. “Damn, that felt real.”

The details of the dream begin fading, but the physical effects still linger. Her nerves are quivering, her skin is sweaty, and her heart is pounding. Anna groans as she rubs her face, mumbling through her fingers. “Focus Anna, he might be attractive… but he's your boss. Potentially providing a future at Dalton Enterprises. Forget it body.”

Her hands drop to her lap and she sighs. “Oh god, I can’t believe I just had a sex dream about my new boss.”

Eventually she manages to shake it off and get up to finish packing up her stuff. About an hour, some coffee and a bagel later, Anna turns to place her last bit of clothing into a box when she locks eyes with her best friend, Jenny. Said friend is currently sitting across the small efficiency apartment Anna has called home for the last few years on one of the worst sofa’s the world has ever created. 

“Anyway, the money’s great, the kids are adorable, and Sam is…” She hesitates, deciding how honest she wants to be about her new living situation and boss. “...great.”

Jenny eyes Anna, but she ignores her. “It’s basically a great way to kill time and make an impression while I figure out what to do post-grad, and if I’m lucky… find a way into an interview at the company.” Anna shrugs.

Jenny playfully rolls her eyes. “I get it, the biotech billionaire is ‘great’, but how hot is he?” 

Anna sighs as she closes the last box and turns to sit on the mattress before she continues. “Like on a scale of ‘clothes fresh from the dryer’ to ‘I’m chugging Tabasco’, he’s…”

Jenny gives her an encouraging look and Anna laughs. “Okay, he's Tabasco. Those eyes… that hair… not to mention the body on this man.” She shakes her head and gently slaps her knee. “But he’s my boss. So nothings going to happen.”

Jenny laughs. “I have to see this for myself.” She grabs her phone and does a quick search, her eyes growing wide as she finds what she's looking for. “Damn, he’s dreamy. Lookin’ gorgeous at this charity ball, lookin’ gorgeous shaking hands with our senator…” She bites her lip for a moment and looks up at Anna. “How exactly is he not married?”

Anna frowns. “His wife passed away… about five years go now, I believe he said.”

Jenny’s face instantly mirrors Anna’s as she looks at the pictures on her phone. “Well that's incredibly sad.” Her eyes flick to Anna. “Does that mean he's single?”

Anna rolls her eyes and throws a pillow at her friend. “Oh my god, Jenny. Do you think of nothing else?”

Jenny catches it without flinching. “I’m just curious. If you're not going to think about him in that capacity, why can't I?”

After threatening to kick Jenny out of the apartment, she decides to keep her mouth shut as they take Anna’s belongings, which consist of a few boxes and bags, to the street just as a nice looking older man steps out of a sleek black town car. 

He steps around the car and holds out his hand. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Ms. Anna. I’m Carter, the Dalton family driver, occasional backup nanny.” He chuckles and Anna can't help but smile. “I'll be at your service today to assist with your move.”

Jenny gives Anna an amused smile but remains silent as she turns back to the friendly gentleman. “Wow, okay. I've never had my own personal driver before.” 

Carter smiles and hoists several of her bags from the ground before placing them in the trunk. Jenny helps her load the remaining couple of boxes and says her goodbyes as Carter opens the door for Anna.

Once seated inside, he closes the door and goes to the driver side and starts the car up again. “I hope you enjoy being with the Dalton family Ms. Anna.” 

Her gaze is pulled from the passing buildings to find his kind eyes in the rear-view mirror. “Mr. Dalton spoke highly of you this morning. Said he feels you’re the perfect addition to this family.”

“Thanks, Carter. I really appreciate that.” She gives him a warm smile, knowing Carter is already such an addition.

When they arrive at Sam’s building, the doorman helps Carter and Anna unload the items and directs someone inside to take them up to the apartment. 

She turns to give Carter a hug, which he gladly accepts. “Thank you again, Carter. That would have taken me probably four or five trips without your help.” 

He tips his hat and nods before handing over her own elevator key for the apartment. “Of course Ms. Anna. You’re family now. Please don't hesitate to ask me for anything.”

She takes a deep breath as she enters the now familiar elevator, trying to clear her head as she thinks about the next chapter in her life. The doors open in what feels like seconds and she enters her new home.

Her eyes scan the luxurious space, still amazed by the large windows and beautiful wood floors. “I can get used to living here…”

Anna doesn't see anyone in the common space so decides not to interrupt and unpack instead. She pushes the door closed until it's just slightly ajar, intending to listen for anyone walking by. After turning to face her new room, she grins from ear to ear before launching herself onto the large bed. She lets out a sigh of relief as her body sinks into the firm but amazingly soft cloud the Dalton family apparently calls a mattress. 

“Oh yeah, I can definitely get used to living here.” She rolls over and stares through the large windows in her room. “I've never had a view that wasn't another building.”

She eventually forces herself to get up and unpack, deciding to pull her clothes out first to help avoid permanent wrinkles. Her limited hanger worthy items are safely stored in the closet, but she makes a mental note on how much additional space is available. She smiles, knowing her new income level will be a nice change from the starving student lifestyle she had grown accustomed to. 

Moving to the last duffel bag with clothing items, she grabs a stack of bras and picks a drawer in the dresser just for them. Again, she has plenty of room to expand if needed. Shrugging, she reaches back into the bag and grabs a handful of bottoms, some matching, some random, and turns towards the open drawer next to the bras. 

Anna tosses them all in, but pauses when a particular one she hadn't seen in awhile lands on top. She reaches in and picks up one of her favorite lacy pairs when she hears a knock. Startled by the sudden sound, she spins and faces the knock to find Sam peeking his head through the open door with a smile.

“I trust you’re settling in... okay?” Sam asks, his voice hesitating on the last part of his question as his eyes grow wide once landing on the obvious item in her hands.

———————————————————————————————————

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Hiraeth - I.III: Don’t Bite and Tell

pairing(s): Hybrid!Im Jaebeom x Reader, Witch!Mark Tuan x Reader, Werewolf!Jackson Wang x Reader, Vampire!Park Jinyoung x Reader, Supernatural!Got7 x Reader

genre: Supernatual!AU, Dark Magic!AU, Angst, slight Fluff, eventual Smut

warning(s): Mature language, mentions of death, brief accounts of violence, practice of ritualistic and sacrificial magic, blood and slight gore, etc. 

word count: 5,1k

synopsis: How far are you willing to go to find out the truth about Moon Dye Bay?…

“I’ve encountered a couple hunters myself over the years, but never one who hunts and kills witches.” Mark watches Jinyoung pilfer through the scriptures him and the rest of his coven members managed to pull together after Youngjae’s reveal of a possible supernatural hunter in town. A murderous one, at that. Jinyoung skims through another page, before shaking his head, “The original supernatural hunters were created by witches to kill vampires… I don’t understand why one would specifically track down and murder covens? Nor how they have the power to do so?” 

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out now.” With Jinyoung in tow, Mark heads toward the edge of the cemetery. The pair soon reach a small gazebo adorned with overgrown vines, where Youngjae and Jisung are sitting on the ground inside, herded around a large silver bowl, inside a tuft of dark hair and a special charm bracelet that belonged to Nayeon. Jisung holds a squirming black rat between his palms, while Youngjae proceeds to sharpen a silver dagger. 

Mark turns back to Jinyoung, “We’re going to perform a spell to track whoever or whatever used dark magic to kill Nayeon.” The vampire nods in understanding, leaning against a pole supporting the top of the gazebo. Mark takes his place between the two witches before sending a white-faced Jisung a glance, “You okay? Or do you want me to do it?” Jisung immediately shoves the rat into his awaiting palms. 

Mark takes the creature without a word, offering the youngest witch a soft glance. Once Jisung turns his head away, Mark quickly breaks the rat’s neck, internally wincing at the audible crackling of bones, and nods toward a waiting Youngjae. Youngjae slices open the belly of the rodent, causing warm blood to spill down Mark’s hands and into the silver bowl. Mark watches the bracelet and hair gradually bathe in the thick, red substance, before discarding the dead rat out of sight. 

At a call of his name, Jisung returns to the triangle, appearing a bit sick, and joins his hands with Youngjae’s over the bowl while Mark cleans the remaining blood from his skin with a nearby handkerchief. Their clasped fingers immediately begin to glow, allowing both witches to finally begin the incantation: 

“Inveniet hostium et tenebrae… Inveniet hostium et tenebrae…” Mark rises to stand beside Jinyoung as the two repeat the chant over and over again. However, his attention is stolen away at the loud, rather hateful call of his name. A sigh of annoyance slides from his lips at the sight of a fuming Minho storming toward the gazebo with a frantic Lia in tow. Mark bids Jinyoung a quick ‘be-right-back’ before hurrying over to the newcomers. 

“You let that bloodsucking bastard onto our grounds again!?” 

“I’m sorry, Mark! I tried to keep him distracted, but he saw our texts!” Mark waves away Lia’s worries and points her in the direction of the gazebo, leaving him alone with the red-faced, angry-browed witch. 

Mark releases another sigh, “I know you’re upset—” 

“Upset!? Oh, we’re way past that now…” Minho crosses his arms, “Not only do you completely ignore my warnings, but you go behind my fucking back!? Last I checked, I’m a part of this damn coven too.”  

“I had no other choice, Minho. You made it very clear you weren’t on board with our plan—” 

“And why should I be!?” He sneers, uncrossing his limbs to wave them at Mark in frustration. “When have the Primes ever done anything to deserve our allyship!? Much less our trust!? You of all people should understand that!” 

“Until Nayeon’s killer is found, we are temporarily working with Jinyoung.” Mark pretends not to hear Minho’s last comment, choosing to hide his budding rage beneath a blank, emotionless frown. “He wants to help, okay? And I want to be able to sleep soundly at night knowing that my people are safe.” 

“They’re not just your people… and just because you think you’re all high and mighty for calling the shots doesn’t give you the right to overrule everyone else!” 

“Are you seriously still on this bullshit?...” 

Back when the coven was first formed, and before Jisung joined the path down witchhood, Mark, Nayeon, Youngjae, Minho and Lia all came to a consensus that the coven needed a leader. Mark was voted as such by the majority, which he knew, never sat well with Minho. 

The younger witch shakes his head, “I’m just saying that you can be a little out of tact with your emotions when it comes to situations like this—” 

“And what the fuck is that supposed to mean!?” Mark hisses, unable to hold back the floodgates of his own impending temper. Minho buries his face in his palms, murmuring nonsense while pacing back and forth. He resembles a mad-man, is Mark’s main thought, before he slowly removes his hands and murmurs: 

“I’m only trying to prevent a repeat of what happened last time.” 

“I won’t let that happen.” Mark growls, “Things are different now. We’re stronger.” 

“You say that now, until another one of our people ends up dead.” 

Mark frantically shakes his head, “Fucking hell, Minho! I’m doing the best I can here!” 

“If you were, then Nayeon would still be alive right now.” 

Minho spares one last glance at Mark before spinning on his heel and taking off into the direction he originally came. Mark calls his name, once, then twice, but Minho doesn’t slow his pace. With a heavy heart, Mark follows the younger witch’s form until he disappears behind the gate of the cemetery, leaving behind an even heavier feeling in Mark’s chest. 

“Mark?” He inhales a deep breath before peering over his shoulder at Jinyoung. Inside the vampire’s black irises, Mark almost swears he can see a spark of sympathy, but waves it off as a trick of the sunlight. 

Jinyoung gestures toward the gazebo, “They found a trace.” No sooner had the syllables left his lips, Mark is already beelining for the decorative structure. He enters to find the three remaining witches deep in discussion.

“What did you find?” Mark’s wave of elated hope expels from his veins at the note of Youngjae’s wide eyes and pursed lips. He glances between Lia and Jisung, but only receives the same disturbed expressions. He shakes his head, “What is it?...” 

“It’s worse than we thought, hyung.” 

“What do you mean ‘worse’?” 

“The spell didn’t trace to the hunter, or an object like we thought—” Youngjae pauses to take a breath, clutching Nayeon’s bloody bracelet in the palm of his hand like a life line. “The one who performed dark magic on Nayeon-noona was another witch…” 

Mark’s eyebrows furrow, “But that doesn’t make any sense? If Nayeon was killed by a supernatural hunter, there’s no way they can also be a—” Before he can finish his thought, the puzzle pieces thundering inside his mind immediately click into place. His jaw drops, but not as much as his heart, “...unless we’re not dealing with just a hunter.” 

“A supernatural hunter and a powerful, traitor witch.” Lia groans, carding a hand through her already messy strands. “And to think things couldn’t get any fucking worse.” 

 ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ 

Vampires. Park Jinyoung. 

Those two things have been haunting the forefronts of your thoughts ever since you saw them scrawled so neatly across that yellowed page. You tried to search for more information, more elaboration, more anything, in Mayor Bhuwakul’s recounts, but that specific entry was the last, and the rest of the journal was as blank as a cloudless blue sky. Except you aren’t enthused by this particular emptiness, in fact… you’re completely fucking terrified. 

It doesn’t make any sense. The diary was written almost two and a half centuries ago, so there is no possible way that Jinyoung, and his so called brother, can still be alive. But then again, it does make sense. If Jinyoung and Jaebeom are vampires—

What are you even saying!? It’s not possible! 

You curse at the countless articles about the Twilight book series that come up in the search results, having dealt with this same issue since you took to the internet to find more research. There’s another thing—vampires are fictional, just like witches and werewolves and all those monsters that go bump in the night. All those creatures are just made up fairy tales to scare young children… but then why are you the one quivering in your boots? 

“Mrs. (L/N)?” You nearly flinch at the sound of your name, frantically moving to close the cover of your laptop. Your tension immediately releases at the sight of one of your students standing over your desk with an expression of confusion, “Sorry if I interrupted—” 

“No, no. It’s nothing important.” You quickly say before sending the boy a pointed look, “And what have we talked about? Mrs. (L/N) makes me feel way too old. Call me (Y/N), please Hyunjin.”  

“Sorry, (Y/N). I keep forgetting.” Hyunjin smiles sheepishly.

You shake your head with a chuckle, “What can I do for you, kiddo?” 

“I’m confused about this assignment Professor Park gave us yesterday.” You take the thick packet that Hyunjin offers, skimming through the many pages as he continues to explain, “I get that he wants us to analyze different elements of the excerpt, but I don’t get exactly how I’m supposed to do that…” 

“How to analyze the story?” 

“How I figure out the right stuff to analyze.” 

“Well, the thing about literature is that there’s no such thing as the ‘right stuff’ to analyze.” You meet Hyunjin’s gaze again, tapping the tab of your pen against the front of his assignment with a shrug. “You could read a story and feel one thing, but then I could read the same story and feel something completely different, and the author who wrote the story in the first place could have created it with a different intent than what both you and I got. 

“Think about it like… eating an apple.” You hold up the apple you brought for lunch, “You can just eat it how it is, or peel off the skin and just eat the flesh, or even cut it and up and put it into a pie. There’s no one right way to eat it—” Hyunjin intently watches as you place the fruit back on your desk. “—it’s the same concept in analyzing literature. As long as you find some sort of meaning beneath the words, you’ve done your job.” 

“Thanks, (Y/N).” You return Hyunjin’s smile as you hand him back his assignment. He tucks the paper into his messenger bag before nodding at the stack of papers on the edge of your deck, “Prof has you over your head in grading again?...”

“If you think this is bad, you should have seen what I had over the weekend.” 

“He takes advantage of you, you know.” 

You raise an eyebrow, “You guys all take advantage of me, and I’m not even your real professor.” 

“Somedays I wish you were. I learn more from talking with you in five minutes than listening to Park’s ninety-minute long lectures.” 

“Hate to tell you, you and your little entourage would get away with a hell of a lot less if I were in charge.” Your eyes shift toward the students lingering around the classroom, most either socializing or packing up some last minute supplies. You recognize Hyunjin’s group of friends waiting near the entrance, acknowledging their excited waves when they catch your gaze. 

Hyunjin chuckles, his own gaze drifting down to the notebook laid open across the surface of your desk. His confused expression returns as he skims through your hastily written notes before you have the time to grab them from view, “Are you doing research on… vampires?” 

“I-It’s for a, uh, a special project I’m working on for the university… about the town.” 

“Moon Dye Bay does technically have a history of the supernatural—especially witches.” Hyunjin explains, “You know, if you’re looking for something, or someone specific, I would check out the archives in the Town Hall. They probably have a whole bunch of ancient stuff down there.” 

Hyunjin’s advice sparks a multitude of new ideas within your brain: The archives probably date back to the beginning years of the town, meaning there has to be some account of residency in 1770. If you can find Jinyoung’s, or Jaebeom’s name, you’ll be one step closer to ending this ignorance… or one step closer to finding out a truth that could change your life forever. 

“I—” You nod your head, “I might. Thanks, Hyunjin.”  

“It’s the least I could do. I wouldn’t have passed this class last semester if it weren’t for you.” 

A call of Hyunjin’s name snatches both the student’s and your attention. Hyunjin shouts a quick response back to his awaiting friends before offering you a sheepish smile, “I should get going before they come over here and drag me away, but thank you again, (Y/N).” 

“Just make sure you get that assignment in on time, or it’s an automatic zero.” 

Hyunjin throws both a radiant smile and a playful wink in your direction as he heads toward the exit, “See you next week, Ms. (L/N).” 

“Call me that again and I’ll flunk your ass.” You shake your head and watch as Hyunjin, his friends and the remainder of the students filter out of the classroom, leaving you to your lonesome once again. With a heavy sigh, you bury your face in your palms, thumbing away the pain in your temples. 

Even if you do manage to find answers, where are you supposed to go after the fact? If Jinyoung is a—is not human, then everything you’ve ever known and believed is just… gone. Turned into a dust like the ghost of a forest after a fire. If vampires are real, then what other monsters lurk in the shadows? What other monsters are here? In Moon Dye Bay? 

...What kind of danger have you gotten yourself into? 

 ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ 

The taste of bourbon runs bitter along Jinyoung’s taste buds, only to travel smoothly down the length of his throat and settle warmly in the pit of his stomach. He lowers the crystal glass from his lips, licking away the remnants of alcohol that remain before gazing outside the large, rain-stained window. The silhouettes of foggy trees and foliage stare back, doing little to cure the racing of his thoughts. 

A hunter and a witch working together to kill other witches… and to think that he had faced every type of enemy in the book.

 Jinyoung has met thousands of witches over the years, some who were not too keen on working with others of their kind, but never one who actively goes around slaughtering other covens. It’s against the Balance of Nature for witches to murder witches. Then again, the practice of black magic is too… so why would a witch, who already has access to such power, strive to kill their own?... Less it be for more power. But even then, to steal another witch’s magic would require mass amounts of energy beyond energy. 

And he’s only met one other witch who has been able to foster that much strength to do so. 

Jinyoung releases a deep breath before taking another sip of his drink, welcoming the temporary calm it brings to his mind. He turns away from the window to head toward the desk in the corner of his bedroom while shrugging the suit jacket from his shoulders. After throwing the garment over the back of the chair and setting his cup down, Jinyoung unbuttons and rolls the sleeves of his white shirt to his elbows, providing some much needed cool relief to his bare skin. He presses his palms against the surface of the desk, leaning forward to stretch the tension from his arms.

He’s not sure whether it’s because of the alcohol or the rain, but Jinyoung’s thoughts can’t help but shift to you for what seems like the millionth time in the past few days. Since your encounter a couple days prior, you always seem to make an appearance inside his head. It’s almost as if he can’t be rid of your face, your voice, your everything… not that he would ever want to. Especially since he made a pact to keep his distance—for your safety, and his sanity. 

Jinyoung moves toward the bathroom while undoing his button up, ready to temporarily wash away the stress and concern of the crisis at hand, when his bedroom flies open with a loud crash. He barely has a second to process the entry before his body is shoved back against the wall, a pair of hands holding the collar of his now torn shirt and a pair of enraged eyes searing into his soul. 

Jinyoung raises an eyebrow, “This was one of my favorite shirts, hyung.” 

“You better have a good fucking excuse on why you’re hanging around with Tuan and his pathetic band of magicians?” 

“Couldn’t you have asked without ruining my clothes?” 

“Jinyoung…” 

Jinyoung releases a sigh of exhaustion, quickly realizing that Jaebeom won’t unhand him without an answer. 

“The coven is being targeted by a supernatural hunter and a witch. Their seer was killed last week.” 

“So what? You suddenly care about a bunch of witches?” 

“Mark and his coven are the reason we were allowed to remain in Moon Dye in the first place. If they die, do you really think the pack and the league will still let us stay?” Jinyoung shakes his head, carefully watching as Jaebeom paces toward the opposite end of his bedroom—his expression growing more and more infuriated. “Besides, I’m taking care of it.”  

“You’re taking care of it? Really?” Jaebeom whirls around with a scoff, “Did it completely slip your mind that these are the same fuckers who tried to kill us to begin with? Tuan and his alpha wolf bitch?” 

“I’m just ensuring our peaceful livelihood here, hyung.” Jinyoung stands his ground, calmly staring at his companion. “You may not care, and you may not like it, but frankly, I love this town, and I want to stay—it’s our home for goodness sake.” 

“You’re playing with goddamn fire, Jinyoung. Do you really think they’ve let go of the fact that we killed—” 

“For fucksake, Jaebeom!” Jaebeom’s expression falters at Jinyoung’s sudden outburst and lack of honorifics. The younger of the pair tugs at the roots of his scalp before heaving an audible sigh of exhaustion, “I’m too tired to fight with you. Please—just trust me when I say that I am taking care of it.”  

Jaebeom shakes his head, “How many times have I told you not to fuck around with witch business? Do you remember what happened the last time you—?” 

“I’m tired, hyung.” Jinyoung shrugs off Jaebeom’s starting-attempts-at-an-argument along with his torn shirt. He feels Jaebeom’s gaze following his near-to-bare form as he enters the bathroom, throwing one last comment over his shoulder, “And last I remember, you killed Jackson Wang. Not me.” 

Jinyoung doesn’t spare another glance at Jaebeom’s expression and shuts the door, cursing the fact that he forgot to grab his bourbon.

 ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ 

“Don’t worry about it, (Y/N).” Jihyo carefully maneuvers her belongings onto one arm, utilizing the other to open the front door with some amount of struggle. “Sana’s boss is making her work overtime too, so I’ll just hang out here with Momo and Mina tonight.” 

“Yeah, I got her text.” Carefully shutting the obstacle with her foot, Jihyo continues deeper into the apartment, pausing every now and then to stabilize the phone on her shoulder. She manages to make it into the kitchen without any accident, heaving the Chinese take-out up on the countertop with a relieved sigh. “I shouldn’t be long. I just have to take care of some last minute stuff for Park.” 

“Just do what you need to do.” Jihyo quickly adds, “And please, for my sake, take a goddamn Uber home.” 

Your chuckle carries over the line, “You got it, Mom.” 

“I’m serious, (Y/N). With my luck, you’ll land your ass in the hospital again.” 

“I’ll be careful. I promise.” 

Jihyo tosses her purse on a nearby table before running her fingers through her hair, offering a small smile to Momo who suddenly emerges from the living room. She nods, “See you in the morning then.”

“Yep. Night, babe.” 

At your goodbye, Jihyo hangs up the call and deposits her phone beside her purse. She moves to unpack the bags as Momo approaches, throwing a sheepish grin toward the newcomer, “It looks like it’s just gonna be you, Mina and I tonight, so I hope you’re hungry.” 

Momo hums, her gaze remaining on Jihyo as she goes about grabbing plates and utensils from various cupboards. Jihyo can’t help but shudder from the intensity of her hawk-like stare, but chooses to stay silent while laying out the food. Even then, her skin still continues to crawl, especially when Momo begins to mumble to herself. 

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that?” Jihyo turns at a particular murmur, tilting her head at her blonde companion. To Jihyo’s surprise, Momo doesn’t answer, but steps closer, practically caging Jihyo in the tiny kitchenette. Jihyo finds herself anxious at the lack of space. “Wh-What are you—?” 

“You can see the tattoo.” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…” 

“Really? Cause I think you do.” 

Jihyo shakes her head, “It was honestly just a mis-misunderstanding—” 

“Look again.” 

“I really—”

“Look. Again.”  

The rational part of Jihyo’s brain yells at her to flee from the scene, disliking the borderline sinister expression graced along Momo’s features. However, her curiosity seizes the remainder of her self-control: 

She lowers her gaze to Momo’s right arm, finding the same dark, supposedly imaginary ink patterned in various elements: Jagged tree branches, illegible symbols, and compass needles pointing in an unknown direction. 

“What do you see?” 

“I-I don’t know.” Jihyo presses herself as close to the edge of the counter as she can, faltering beneath Momo’s still approaching form. “I see a tattoo, but-but that’s not possible—” 

“Wrong.” She gasps at Momo’s harsh grip on her arm, “You can see it… because you’re just like me.” 

“What are you even talking about? Momo, this is—” 

“It’s just like I said,” Jihyo’s mouth snaps open as her companion releases her hand to poke the back of her hand, causing the inked needle to spin right there across her skin. She doesn’t know how it’s possible, but somewhere deep inside her gut—Jihyo knows everything is real.

“You’re a hunter too.” 

��☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ 

There was once a time Jaebeom remembers where him and Jinyoung used to be close—a time where they used to be true brothers. The kind that were there for each other. The kind that fought side by side no matter the enemies who awaited on the other side. The kind that didn’t keep secrets from one another. Jaebeom would never admit it aloud, but sometimes he finds himself missing those days—missing Jinyoung. 

A part of him knows he’s the reason for the distance that has wedged between them, but even so, Jaebeom is too pig-headed to willingly accept all the blame, more so since Jinyoung has burned his own fair share of bridges in their various lifetimes together. Some far worse than what Jaebeom has thought of doing. 

Jaebeom never truly intends to hurt Jinyoung. He just gets so angry, and when Jaebeom is angry… he becomes very, very hungry. 

And you just happen to be right there, walking through the doors of the Town Hall and into the greedy shadows of the night. The moonlight bathes across your skin, practically illuminating your body for his benefit. Jaebeom knows he shouldn’t—knows that Jinyoung may hate him forever—but just as with everything else, Jaebeom chooses not to care. 

You’re being careful, he quickly notices, between the hesitant steps you take and the careful eye you keep over your shoulder. The knowledge only strengthens Jaebeom’s bloodlust. He can’t help but imagine how your blood will taste… Will it be sweet like honey? Or savory like a freshly-grilled piece of meat? His mouth waters in anticipation as he slinks closer and closer toward you. Like a predator rounding in on his prey. 

Thanks to his inhuman speed and strength, it only takes Jaebeom seconds to immobilize and press you against the nearest secluded wall where even the brightest rays of the moon can’t reach. The scream you attempt to release is muffled beneath his palm, while his other hand busies itself with revealing the delectable skin of your throat. Your scent hits him like a pile of bricks, and it’s unlike anything he has ever experienced before. He grows frenzied, almost deranged by the fragrance, desperately craving more and more. 

He easily counters your thrashes and squirms against his hold, practically suffocating your figure with his own. Feeling the thread bearing his self-control slowly splintering, Jaebeom parts his lips, runs his tongue across the pointed tips of his fangs and prepares to guzzle the pain  away, when your voice slips into his ears: 

“Don’t do this, please…” 

He makes the mistake of meeting your gaze. All at once, Jaebeom can sense the tidal waves of your fear, your passion, your will to live just in the glittering rings of your eyes. It leaves him breathless, no longer controlled by his need to feed, and instead, floating amongst his own disarrayed thoughts and pent-up emotions that he only experiences when he chooses to embrace his humanity. 

“Jaebeom…” 

You know his name— 

Jaebeom realizes at once he can’t do this—he can’t hurt you. Not when you’re looking at him with those eyes and speaking to him with that voice. No matter how intoxicating your aroma. He won’t hurt you. 

Jaebeom grabs your chin with near-to-trembling fingers and leans closer until the tip of his nose barely grazes along yours. In a hushed, yet stern tone, he murmurs, “You’re going to walk home and forget any of this ever happened. You never saw me… Understand?” 

“I—” He watches your eyes widen, “I understand.” 

Jaebeom doesn’t stay to check the result of his compulsion, quickly stepping away from your body and dashing far, far away from that alleyway. He doesn’t stop even when he’s thousands of miles away from Moon Dye Bay, trying to escape this spell you cast over his mind. But no matter how much distance he covers, Jaebeom can’t outrun the lingering ghost of your gaze… 

Jaebeom can’t outrun how, in that brief moment, you made him feel so completely human. 

 ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ ☾ 

“I just don’t get how someone could do something like this.” Mark nods in agreement at Youngjae’s statement, watching his younger counterpart take a sip of his luke-warm coffee from his perch behind the lectern. “I mean, why take all these innocent lives—witches or not?”  

“Some people are just… fucked up, I guess.” 

“I don’t believe that.” Youngjae shakes his head, thumbing thoughtfully at the arm of his mug. “There has to be a reason, hyung. People aren’t just—born evil.”  

Deep down, Mark knows Youngjae is right, but he can’t find it in himself to reply, silently continuing to flip through the old spellbook in his own grasp. This particular text has been in his family for generations upon generations. It was given to him by his mother soon after his magic began to flourish—the last gift he received before her death. 

Due to the Tuan ancestral bloodline’s specialization in spellcasting, this book contains almost every spell known to witch-kind. He’s used its contents to defeat threats in various situations—this time should be no different. At least, he hopes so.   

“If we have any chance at winning this fight, our best bet would be to take out the witch first.” Mark carries the large book toward the table where Youngjae is sat, setting the pages out for both of them to see. “I’m thinking we can halt their magic flow somehow, so there’s no way them or their partner can touch us—” 

“So like a halting spell? Or a disruption spell?” 

Mark shakes his head, “A simple halting spell won’t work. Not if they’re practicing black magic.” 

“But what if we could pull enough power of our own?” Youngjae inquires, “I mean, with you, me, Lia, Jisung and Minho, shouldn’t that be enough to overpower their source?”

“Not necessarily.” Mark sighs, “Black magic is… complicated, but powerful. Depending on what or who exactly our witch is drawing from, we could be easily killed—especially if that is what they’re aiming for.” 

“Right. Have you… heard from Minho? Since earlier?” 

“No.” 

Youngjae hums at Mark’s haughty answer, watching silently as the older continues to flip through the giant book. Upon reaching a certain page, Mark halts and angles his findings to better show the younger witch. 

“We may be able to link their dark magic to something, like an object or even something alive. It wouldn’t necessarily block it, but if we channel it elsewhere, it could at least give us enough time to incapacitate them?” 

“Will Jinyoung be able to take on both the hunter and the witch?” 

“I don’t know.” Mark’s teeth sink into his bottom lips, his thoughts feverishly racing at Youngjae’s observation. An idea pops into his mind—one that replenishes a forgotten ache in his heart. Casting away the sinking feeling in his gut, Mark says, “The pack… might be able to.”

“Hyung…” Youngjae offers a sympathetic look that makes Mark’s gut lurch, “I don’t know if that’s a good id—”  

Youngjae’s voice is cut off by the sudden slam of the mausoleum door, opening to reveal a dark silhouette emerging from the black of night. With Youngjae at his side, Mark immediately rises at the intrusion, preparing for a possible fight, but quickly relaxes when he realizes the identity of the abrupt visitor: 

“(Y/N)? What are you doing here—?” 

“Save it!” Mark almost reels back at the amount of pure venom laced in your tone, growing more and more confused at the blend of animosity, desperation and what seems to be betrayal, written across your face. “You better have a good fucking excuse for lying to me all these goddamn months, Tuan!” 

“What are you talking about? (Y/N)—?”

“I’m talking about the fact that Park Jinyoung and Im Jaebeom are fucking vampires!” Mark’s blood runs cold at your response. At your next words, though he can’t see himself, Mark knows his face flushed as white as a ghost:

“And you—you’re a witch, Mark.” 

[agustdmono]

NEIGHBORS; jhs Oneshot (M)

Pairing(s): Jung Hoseok x Reader

Summary: A new family arrived in your neighborhood. You were determined to befriend their one and only son. You definitely weren’t ready for what the boy had in store for you.

Word Count: 9.6K+

Genre(s): ONESHOT! Mature (18+), Smut, bts AU (Boy Next Door Hoseok)

Caution(s): Slight dom!Reader, Slight dom!Hoseok, swearing, dry humping, lots of foreplay, oral (Y/N receives), oral (Hoseok receives), fingering, choking, unprotected sex, multiple orgasms

Author’s Note: We’re back _:(´ཀ`」 ∠):_

You were distraught.

Nothing in the world could ever replace your love for your ex-neighbor: Grandma Margaret. She wasn’t related to you in any way, but you still called her grandma. You’ll miss the cookies that she bakes exactly at 1:23 PM or the smiles she gives you whenever she sits on her front porch. For your twentieth birthday, she gave you her old vinyl player and you cried. Literally.

“Y/N, dear, I’m just a few houses down,” Margaret chuckled.

“I know, but neighbors are special,” you sniffled, placing your hand on your chest to add a dramatic effect.

She rolled her eyes at your actions, but you knew she was amused. It didn’t take very long for you to get along with her. She had a similar personality to yours―basically an older version of you.

“I’m still your neighbor, hon,” she spoke before taking a small sip from her tea.

“No! The point is, you ain’t next to me.”

The two of you sat on the chairs in the gazebo at the front of your house, casually conversing about what’s been going on. She informed you that your new neighbors should be coming in today and you whined, earning a small smack from her cane. Honestly, you’ll even miss getting whacked by her cane.

“Come walk me back. Enjoy my company while you can .”

Of course, you complied. You got up as you held out your arm for her to grab. Both of you managed to climb down the stairs before a moving truck drove past your house and parked on the vacant house’s driveway. You ignored the sound of doors slamming because you were too focused on bringing Margaret home, but for some reason, she wasn’t budging.

“You should welcome your new neighbors, Y/N.”

You looked at her with pleading eyes, hinting that you really don’t want to meet new people just yet. You still had to leave time to mope about not seeing her as much as you want to. She threateningly raised her cane; which caused you to raise your hands in defeat. You jogged towards the opened cargo and saw two men lifting a couch out of the vehicle. Not wanting to distract them, you waited until they placed the heavy object down at the bottom of the ramp.

“Hello, I’m Y/N L/N! Your neighbor on the right-hand side,” you greeted, trying to seem as cheery as possible.

You looked over at Margaret, who was eyeing you and gave her the thumbs up. You’re only doing this for her in all honesty. It’s not like you’re going to experience a whole ‘boy next door’ type of thing. Those things only exist in movies. Right?

“Ah! Hi there! I’m Jung Junsu and this is my son, Hoseok,” the older looking male draped his arms over Hoseok, who had trouble making eye contact with you.

He was shy, but it didn’t bother you at all. In fact, it made you more curious about the male. Once he finally lifted his head up to look at you, he flashed you a shy yet bright smile. You swore that your heart fell out of your chest. He’s a good looking guy and you weren’t prepared for this moment since you were currently wearing your favorite Kookie slippers.

“Jung Hoseok. Hope we can be friends,” he spoke, slightly bowing his head.

“The feeling is mutual,” you beamed. “Do you guys need help? I just need to walk Granny back to her home; so, I’ll be able to lend a hand right after.”

“Actually, we’d appreciate that. My wife needs a hand with the kitchen utensils.”

“No problem. I’ll be back soon.”

You quickly ran back to Margaret, who was fiddling with her cane. You told her what had happened and she was pleased. She mentioned Hoseok and you couldn’t stop babbling about how cute he was and how his smile nearly blinded you. Both of you finally reached her new home, giving her a long hug before you left to help your new neighbors.

“And here’s when Hoseok dressed himself up for the first time,” Mrs. Jung smiled fondly as she pointed at the young boy in the photo album.

You almost cooed at the photo. He was wearing blue jeans and a bright yellow shirt with mixed-match shoes. You could see how proud he must have felt by the way he was posing in the photo.

“Oh! Let me show you when he took a bath and he-”

“Mom! I think she’s seen enough,” Hoseok snatched the photo book before she could lay her hands on it.

The pink tint on his cheeks was evident and you let out a soft chuckle. His mom rolled her eyes but spared him the embarrassment for the day.

“Just come after your classes and I’ll show it to you, Y/N,” she winked as she got up from the couch and headed for the kitchen, but she halted in her steps. “Will you be joining us for dinner?”

You looked at the clock and jumped from your seat. You were so immersed in helping their family that you completely lost track of time. It was already a couple of minutes past seven. The skies were dark and the stars were coming out. Is your mom gonna lecture your ass? Yes. Was it worth it? Hell yeah.

“I’m sorry, maybe next time? My mom is gonna kill me for not being home the whole day without letting her know,” you couldn’t help but bow since you knew it was an appropriate way to show how apologetic you were.

“Of course! You’re welcomed here anytime, Y/N,” she turned back towards you and gave you a hug; which you reciprocated. “You were a big help today, you must let us thank you someday.”

You almost wanted to cry at how welcoming and friendly the family was. They’ll never replace Grandma Margaret, but you definitely don’t mind them. You quickly bidded goodbye to Junsu before leaving their house. Hoseok, being the gentleman, walked you to the door. You slipped on your slippers and without thought, you hugged him goodbye. He froze on the spot, unclear of what to do; so he patted your back. You weren’t offended at the gesture. In fact, you found it amusing at how unsure he seemed.

“I’ll be seeing you around, neighbor,” you smiled, before making your way towards your house.

Once you reached your door, you turned back to make sure he headed back inside. Much to your surprise, he was standing by the van with his arms crossed over his chest. He wanted to make sure you reached your doorstep safely. Your eyes locked with one another and he shyly waved at you before he jogged back to his door. You heard his door slam and that was your cue to head in.

What a nice fucking guy.

Just after one meeting, you were already swooned by Jung Hoseok.

School.

You dreaded school.

Just the word school, made you want to throw yourself off a cliff, but that’s not the point. The real question is whether Hoseok is attending your school or not. A small part of you hoped he would be.

Okay, maybe a big part of you hoped.

Just to be clear, you don’t have feelings for the male. You’re simply curious and you wanted to know more about him. You already set a goal for yourself: befriend Jung Hoseok. It doesn’t seem impossible since you’ve already earned the trust of his family. You just needed him to trust you.

You followed your morning ritual: brushed your teeth, washed your face, and combing your hair. Of course, you had to check the weather for today. That’s crucial because you didn’t want to make the same mistake again when you wore a sweater in ninety-degree weather. You unlocked your phone and tapped on the weather app.

“Sunny,” you read out loud.

You were hoping to wear one of your hoodies, but the weather has spoken. You grabbed some jean shorts from your closet and threw on a shirt. The boys at your school didn’t really catch your eye; so, there wasn’t really anybody to impress. Before you head to the kitchen, you wanted a small amount of sunlight to light up your room. You walked towards the curtains and pushed them apart a tiny bit.

“There ya g―Shit!”

You jumped at the sight of Mr. Jung on the other side of the window. Thankfully, he was just talking to his wife. Nothing more than that. You recollected yourself, finally walking out of the room.

It’s only in the movies. Hoseok’s room wouldn’t be the one adjacent to yours. What did you expect?

“Spill. Hot neighbor or not?”

You looked at your best friend with confusion. She literally appeared out of nowhere and sat in the seat next to you while you were just trying to enjoy your snack before the professor walks in.

“What are yo―oh, you mean the Jung’s?”

“Judging by the last name, I’ll take that as a yes,” F/N concluded as she nodded her head.

“He’s cute,” you continued. “I wouldn’t say hot.”

“Just wait.”

Sometimes you questioned her intuition, but you decided to let it go. Hoseok is cute. He is literal sunshine. He has a smile that makes you want to coo at him, not devour his mouth. You decided that he was adorable, not hot. Nothing more, nothing less.

“How’s the progress with your boy, Min Yoongi?” You smirked.

“It’s getting…somewhere?”

“And?”

“We’re getting coffee during our two-hour break in between class,” she explained as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Bro. Just ask him out already.”

“Patience is a virtue, Y/N.”

You scoffed at her comment. The professor finally arrived and you were already falling asleep thirty minutes into the session. You looked over at your best friend, who was watching a movie on her laptop. She looked at you and winked before focusing back on her screen. Instead of doing the same, you decided to leave class to go for a stroll.

The campus was practically empty. You enjoyed the peace and quiet for once. Sometimes the place was loud and bustling with fellow students, but not this time. Placing your earphones into your ears, you continued to walk down the concrete path. Your eyes were too focused on the ground and you didn’t notice somebody walking right into your lane. You two bumped shoulders and you turned to see who it was. 

Hoseok.

“I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t see whe—oh, hello.”

“Hey there, neighbor. You lost?” You asked cooly.

“How did yo—“

“You’re the only person I’ve seen on campus right now. Meaning, everyone’s in class and you’re not.”

“What about you?” He asked, beet red.

“Taking a leisurely stroll, thank you very much.”

He grunted at your answer, but he seemed conflicted. You couldn’t let a lonely person roam aimlessly around campus.

“What’s the room number?” You questioned.

“Oh, um, H-208.”

“Come, come, I shall take you there!”

You began to walk towards the room and he hurriedly followed behind you. The silence between you two was steadily increasing the awkward tension.

“What class is this?” You asked, finally breaking the silence.

“Dance,” he answered right away.

This piqued your interest. A boy who dances? Oh man, that’s like wishing on a shooting star: rare as fuck.

“That’s really cool, not a lot of guys do that nowadays.”

“I’m really passionate about it. I enjoy hip-hop the most.”

The two of you easily conversed with one another. You guys would jump from topic to topic and there was a lack of silence. You were relieved at how quickly he opened up to you. Mentally, you pat yourself on the back. Sadly, the conversation had to come to an end as the two of you reached the entrance of his class.

“Here’s your stop.”

“Thanks a lot, I owe you one.”

“Ahh, it’s no big deal,” you shrugged. “I gotta head back to class now. I’ve been gone for thirty minutes already.”

You turned your heels and began heading back towards your class. You heard a voice, so you turned back around to see who it was.

“Y-You’re fun to talk to and thanks for keeping me company,” he smiled before pushing the door open.

Thump.

“Well, shit.”

“And I said, you need some sugar for your coffee? Because I’m what you need,” your best friend explained.

“You have balls.”

“I’m deter—oh wow, he got some looks.”

You looked to see who your best friend was talking about.

It was Hoseok, leaning against the building while his attention was on his phone. Your best friend wasn’t wrong. You’re surprised that you didn’t notice his black button-up rolled halfway up his forearm or his black skinny jeans that showed off his muscular legs. How could you have missed the important part of his being?

His long wavy hair that fits him so damn perfectly.

Hot damn.

“Hot damn is right.”

“Oh fuck, I said that out loud?”

“Loud and clear,” F/N laughed. “You said he was cute. Now I call bullshit.”

“How’d you know that’s Hoseok?”

“I didn’t, but now I do~!”

You wanted to smack your damn forehead. The two of you kept bickering, but mostly her making fun of your crush for Hoseok.

Wait.

No, it’s definitely not a crush. He’s just a good looking guy who has a heart of gold. You were too busy trying to convince yourself that you don’t like Hoseok to the point where you didn’t notice him walking towards you two. F/N had to smack you out of your thoughts and you were ready to smack her back until you finally noticed him. You immediately put your fist down and smiled at him.

“Y/N! I was waiting for you,” he beamed.

“He was fucking waiting for you,” F/N whispered in your ear; which resulted in your hand colliding with her arm.

“Oh? What for?” You asked, genuinely confused.

“I thought we should walk home together. It would be nice to have someone to talk to,” he offered.

“Take her, please,” F/N pushed you towards him. “I love you, text me when you get home.”

With that, she ran away at the speed of light. Curse her and her running skills. You looked at him while he looked right back at you. How did you not notice his deep brown eyes or his jawline that could slice an iron bar? Okay, exaggerating, but it really seems like it’s possible. Especially for him. Don’t you just hate when friends point out something that you’ve been missing this whole time?

“Ready when you are,” he spoke up.

You nodded and led the way.

“You should come over for dinner later,” he suggested.

Both of you were standing by your front door. His suggestion nearly threw you off, but you definitely weren’t against the idea because you’d be stupid for rejecting free food. Specifically, Korean food.

“Maybe! I gotta ask my mom first,” you answered back.

You swore you saw his smile faltered for a second, but you decided to brush it off and not question it. He watched as you unlocked the door to your house. You couldn’t help but feel nervous. Your heart was beating fast and you didn’t know why. You finally managed to get the door open, so you turned towards him and waved before heading inside.

“W-Wait!”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s exchange numbers, so um, you can text me if you decide to join us.”

You blinked once, then you blink twice because you had to process what he just told you. He wanted your number and you weren’t sure about how to handle that. If you get his number, then you can text him anytime you want. Unless he only texts for dinner purposes only. Once again, you tried not to think too much about it. It’s not like you were excited or anything. It’s just a number.

“Yeah, sure,” you said cooly, trying to hide your excitement.

He handed you his phone and you did the same. You both typed in your phone numbers and gave back the devices. You would hug him to bid him goodbye, but after your best friend pointed out how handsome he was, you hesitated. Your heart was doing flips in your chest, but you’re sure it’s not because you have a crush on him. It’s only because he’s a good looking man. Right?

“Make sure to text me,” he spoke up as he pulled you into a hug.

“Y-Yeah, of course.”

He pulled away and headed back to his house. You finally stepped inside your house and ran to your room. Tossing your backpack aside, you sat at your desk and contemplated whether you should join the Jung’s for dinner or not. The sunlight was blinding your eye, so you got up to shut the blinds. Just as you were about to do so, you saw a figure through the other window.

You expected to see the older male on the other side, but you actually saw Hoseok. Not that you had in issue with that. You thought of waving at Hoseok, but that would be creepy because it would look like you were watching him this whole time. Technically, you’re doing that right now. Just as you were about to shut the blinds, you swore you only blinked for a second and his shirt disappeared from his body.

Oh my- fuck.

Your mouth hung open at the sight. The man got a body. He’s so toned that you could just cry. It was pretty clear that God was biased and Hoseok was his favorite, so he gave him the good shit. You weren’t complaining though because you’re satisfied with being his friend.

But do you truly just want to be friends?

The sound of your phone vibrating snapped you out of your thoughts. You picked up the device to check who it was, but it was an unknown number. That piqued your curiosity. Unlocking your phone, you immediately hit the text app and opened the message.

(1) New message

Sunshine

Hello

You

Did you put yourself as Sunshine?

Sunshine

Yes…

But will you be joining us for dinner?

You

Will the moon and planets be there??

Sunshine

They’re busy

You’re invited to eat with the Jung family

(:

You

I accept, Sunshine

Sunshine

:D

You squealed when he sent that smiley face. That’s so fucking cute. Hoseok’s bright smile was the only thing you could imagine now. You realized you didn’t even ask your mom, but you knew she’d understand. When it came to good looking men, she’s the best wing women out there. In reality, she was sick and tired of your single ass life. What a supportive woman.

Without thought, you grabbed the nearest shirt and changed out of your current one. No one cares about the bottoms, so you just kept on the same shorts that you wore to school earlier. You left the room to inform your mom about your plans. Closing the blinds completely slipped your mind.

You’ve been standing in front of the door for a solid ten minutes now. You didn’t really understand why you became nervous all of a sudden. Literally, a couple of days ago you were fine and comfortable with the family, yet here you are at their doorstep, refusing to push the doorbell. The parents were friendly. The atmosphere was great. They were great. You’re just overthinking. It couldn’t be Hoseok making you feel this way because you’ve only known him for a while. It’s not like you saw him shirtless or anything.

You counted to five and forced yourself to push the button. The sound of the bell echoed through your ears. You waited a couple of seconds and the door flew open, revealing a disheveled Hoseok. Since when did messy hair and heavy breathing look so good on a man?

“Hello, please come in.”

You thanked him and let yourself in. The house was more organized and lively compared to scattered boxes and unbuilt furniture. He led you to the dining room and you saw his parents together in the kitchen chatting.

“Finally! It’s so nice to see you again,” Mrs. Jung beamed.

“Hope you’ve been well,” Mr. Jung nodded.

“Thank you for inviting me,” you smiled.

The four of you gathered in the dining room and sat. Each of them talked about their day. You were fond of the close bond the family shared. Not saying you don’t share that with your family, but it’s nice to see families go through the same thing.

“What do you think of Hoseok, Y/N?” his mother asked.

You nearly choked on your food and ended up having a coughing fit. That question nearly killed you.

“O-Oh, uh, your son is great,” you finally spoke. “Quite the gentleman.”

“Mom, what the he-”

“Barbara’s daughter is single,” she interrupted. “You can thank me later.”

You felt your stomach churn. You could even say that you felt sick.

“I think you two would be a cute couple,” she finished. “Y/N is too good for you anyways.”

This time you nearly fell off your chair. You appreciate the compliment, but never in your life did you think she would ever say that. If anything, you thought Hoseok was too good for you.

“I wouldn’t say that,” you spoke.

“Oh stop, it true. It’s rare to find a girl who helps a family moving in.”

“Well―”

“And you showed Hoseok around the school,” Junsu mentioned.

Wait. If they knew about that, then that means Hoseok talks about you to his parents. You felt some pride swell up in your chest, but he was probably just being nice. Remember, you totally don’t have a crush on your neighbor. Man, your life is a literal movie.

“I think your son is great in his own ways.”

Now all eyes were on you. You felt your face heat up, but you just had to get that off your chest. It wasn’t a lie, you really did think he’s an amazing guy, despite only knowing him for a short period. Thankfully, you weren’t the only one who was red. Hoseok was a tomato.

“You guys shou―”

“And I think Y/N wants to go home! Isn’t that right?” Hoseok explained as he jumped from his seat.

“Y-Yeah, it’s getting late,” you said as you got up from your seat.

You quickly placed your dirty dish into the sink and hugged his parents goodbye before rushing out of the dining room. What the fuck is going on? What the hell just happened?

Once the two of you were alone by the front door, you let out a nervous laugh.

“I’m so sorry about that,” he apologized.

“It’s not a problem. Honestly, my mom is always trying to set me up too.”

“I wouldn’t mind if it was you,” he mumbled.

You didn’t quite catch that, but he’s been through enough for the day. He opened the door for you and you both stepped outside. The stars were out and the moon was a lot brighter today. You were so immersed with the sight. He looked over at you and saw the eyes reflect in your eyes.

Snap.

Ever since your dinner with The Jung’s, you became a lot closer to Hoseok. He would walk with you to and from school, joined you for lunch with your best friend and Yoongi, and he would even come in for dinner. To say that your mom loved him was an understatement. When he wasn’t around, she would call him son-in-law.

You learned many things about the male. He’s a talented artist in many places. Photography, dance, drawing, and more. You were envious of his talent. The little things he did for you would bring a smile to your face. He would send you a good morning text or give you a hug whenever you two depart ways.

Remember how you said you wouldn’t catch feelings?

Too fucking late.

You were in too deep and it was starting to put you in an emotional rollercoaster. Having crushes are fun, but tiring. You have something to look forward to, but when they don’t do something you expect, you can’t help but feel a little sad. Although your friendship with Hoseok was blooming, so was his popularity.

Ever since he won his first dance competition―which he gave you backstage passes―his name spread like wildfire. Nearly every single person knew the name Jung Hoseok. You had to fight off a lot of girls just to be able to meet with him after your classes.

There was a day where you felt sad because you were thinking about Hoseok leaving you for new people. He noticed your saddened mood, so he pulled you off to the side and looked you in the eyes.

No matter who I’m with or where I am, you’ll always be the first person I think of

Ever since he said those words to you, he couldn’t stay off your mind. At this point, it was driving you crazy. Your heart was hurting for Hoseok and you chose to suffer through it.

“Dude, you look lovesick,” F/N blurted out.

You were literally just minding your own business.

“Thanks.”

“I’m gonna call Hos-”

“Don’t you dare,” you threatened; which earned a sigh from your best friend.

“You look miserable,” Yoongi spoke.

The two of you didn’t notice him coming until he sat down next to F/N and said those words. She squealed in excitement and clung onto his arms while resting her head on his shoulder.

“Yeah, not helping, fucking love birds,” you muttered.

“Then do something about it instead of moping around.”

You were about to fight Yoongi, but someone sat next to you; which startled you a bit.

“Do something about what?” Hoseok questioned.

“N-Nothing,” you breathed. “Ah look at the time! Gotta go!”

You got up from your seat and left the area. You couldn’t be around Hoseok because your feelings were becoming unbearable. Just being near him was torture. You wish you could kiss his soft lips and be encased by his strong arms, but sadly, this is reality and you needed to get out of your fantasy land.  

(1) New message

Sunshine

Did you go home without me??

):

You

I wasn’t feeling well, sorry.

Sunshine

Feel better (:

You

Thanks.

It was only four o’clock and you didn’t know what to do. Usually, you were still with Hoseok around this time and it felt odd that you were home early. Even your mom questioned why you were back already, but you only grunted in response before shutting the door of your room. You decided to stare at the ceiling until you drifted off into sleep.

You woke up. You look out your window and saw how dark it was outside. Sadly, you didn’t have any notifications on your phone, specifically none from Hoseok, but you didn’t blame him. You did respond to him monotonously and straight out sounded uninterested. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t want him to text you.

Despite taking a nap, you still felt tired. Maybe it was your emotions weighing you down. Honestly, you didn’t really have the motivation for anything; which sucked ass. You couldn’t help but feel like Hoseok deserved an explanation for your recent actions. Could you even bring yourself to send him a text?

Frustrated, you got up from your comfy bed and went into the kitchen to drink some water. You couldn’t help but wonder what Hoseok was up to right now.

Now's not the time to think about him, Y/N.

You let out a sigh and wished that your feelings would fade. You could literally have a normal and happy friendship with him, but your heart says otherwise. Self-blame won’t get you anywhere though. Maybe if you just outright tell him, you could get over this stupid phase. You prepared yourself for the worse.

So, here you are, sitting on your bed at nine 9:34 PM, conjuring up ideas of how to approach the situation.

(1) New message

You

Hey, look out your window real quick

Sunshine

?

Your heart was beating uncontrollably as you held up the sign that said: I like you a lot. You hid your face behind the white cardboard, desperately trying to hide your embarrassment. A bunch of scenarios played through your head, but you only focused on a specific one: rejection. At one point you felt like you couldn’t breathe because all these emotions were overwhelming, but it is what it is. On the bright side, you got something off your chest. It won’t be eating you up as bad anymore.

You looked passed your board to see if he was still looking at you, but he wasn’t standing by his window anymore. You placed the board on your desk and jogged back to your window. To get a better glimpse, you pulled up the blinds and slid your window open. You poked your head out. Much to your disappointment, he wasn’t there at all. In fact, it made you a little angry. It felt like he ignored you.

You were about to shut your window until something grabbed your hand. Fight mode kicked in real fast, so you readied your fist.

“W-wait!” the person panicked. “I-it’s me, Hoseok!”

You lowered your fist down but yanked your hand away from his. You couldn’t risk falling any deeper than you are right now. Hoseok saddened a little at your action, but he wanted to get straight to the point.

“If you’re here to reject me, I would’ve been fine with a text,” you mumbled. “I appreciate that you came all this way to-”

“That’s not why I’m here,” he interrupted. “C-Can I come in?”

You looked at him with conflict. Is he trying to rub salt on the wound? You moved aside to let him climb through your window. Your arms were crossed above your chest because you were on guard. You refuse to let your heart take any more hits. He stood by your window, fiddling with his fingers as if he was struggling to find the right words. Silence filled the room.

“Well?” You asked, breaking the tension.

He looked at you straight in the eye and stood up straight.

“W-Well, I don’t really know how to say this…”

“As I said if it’s re-”

“No! P-Please, give me a moment.”

You saw how desperate he seemed, so you walked over to your bed and patted the space next to you. You felt bad for being cold, so you want to try to help him feel as comfortable as possible. He hesitated but ended up plopping beside you with his whole body facing you. You waited until he was ready. Sometimes you forget that confessions can be troubling for both parties.

“When I first met you, you offered to help my family,” he spoke up. “You didn’t know who we were, yet you still offered.”

Honestly, you didn’t know where he was trying to go with this, but you didn’t interrupt him. You listened intently.

“To be honest, I was shocked by your kindness. You also helped me at school, let me join your friend group, and kept me company whenever we went home.”

“Oh, well, I guess I’m just a nice person.”

“No, you’re more than that,” he butted in. “You think about others without a second thought. At one point, I admired you.”

Now you were blushing. Your mouth was agape because you didn’t think he viewed you in the light. Either way, you didn’t want hopes to shoot through the roof, so you kept your expectations low.

“And well…” he paused; which left you on edge. “The admiration turned into something more.”

“Damn, I knew it,” you sighed.

“Y-You do?”

“Yeah, you want to be best friends. Is this what it’s like to be friend-zoned?”

“No!”

He was getting frustrated and you were flat out confused. You thought you pieced

everything together. Okay, no more jumping to conclusions. You kept your mouth shut and waited for him to formulate his words.

“I admire you,” he continued. “You make me want to be a better person for you.”

Thump.

“I-I wanted to be there for you and when you were sad that one time, you said you were scared I would leave you, something broke inside of me. I wanted to protect you.”

Thump.

“This whole time, I thought was fine with just being your friend, but I was wrong. I’m really selfish.”

Thump. Thump.

“Eventually, I found myself wanting more. I don’t want to be your friend.”

“Wha-”

“I’m in love with you, Y/N.”

“No fucking way, you lyin’,” you were in complete disbelief.

This all sounds too good to be true.

“I’m being serious,” he said sternly.

You didn’t know how to respond. You prepared yourself for rejection, but instead, you get the complete opposite. He never broke eye contact with you, but you could see that he was getting nervous again. You weren’t responding and he began to worry.

“I know you feel the same way, Y/N,” he whispered, smiling.

Now you’re getting flustered. You can’t run away in your own house. Hoseok felt confident. You both shared the same feelings and nothing can stop you two now. Nothing could go wrong at this point.

“Yeah, so?” you huffed. “You want a kiss as a reward or something?”

“Yeah, actually,” he smirked.

Curse you and your fucking mouth. Putting you in places that you don’t want to be in. Well, you don’t mind kissing him though. It’s not like you’ve always wanted to anyways. He turned his body towards you, so you scooted closer to him and made eye contact with him before looking down at his lips. Since when were they so…pink?

“I’m waiting.”

You rolled your eyes at his comment, but it helped get rid of some of that nervous feeling that welled up in your stomach. Thankfully, his eyes were closed. It would’ve been so awkward if they were staring right at you. He was bouncing in his spot because you could feel the bed shake a bit. You didn’t want to keep the male waiting, so you inched closer and closer. His looks were a bit intimidating up close.

“You can’t back out now,” you warned.

“I wasn’t planning to,” he answered back.

Here goes nothing.

You cupped his face and stared right at his lips. You found it cute that he leaned into your hand a little. He wanted to cherish you as much as you wanted to cherish him. Despite all the stalling you’ve been doing, he was enjoying every single second. All that mattered to him was that you’re there. This isn’t a dream, but it’s reality.

Bringing your face closer to his, you felt his breath hit your lips. He could feel your presence close to his own; which caused his heart rate to increase dramatically. If only you knew how much you meant to him and how badly he’s always wanted for this moment to happen. You both drove each other crazy.

The softness of his lips touched your own. At first, you held your breath in for a second, but you manage to relax into it. What you thought would be a simple peck, turned into open-mouth kisses. As the kisses became more intense, you moved your hands from his face to the back of his neck. He wanted you to be as close as possible, so he placed his hands on your waist and pulled you closer. The kisses you two shared proved how desperately both of you wanted this by the way you held each other.

Just as the two of you were about to pull away from each other, he bit the bottom of your lip and sucked it lightly. He looked at you with lust in his eyes. It was almost scary. But in a sexy way. You could almost feel how much he wanted you, but you wanted to settle down everything between the two of you.

“So…” you trailed off. “What are we now then?”

“Let me ask you out properly before we become official.”

“It doesn’t have to be special.”

“I want it to memorable.”

You felt the heat rise up in your cheeks. Hoseok was determined to make you feel special and he was willing to do as much as he can to prove how much you mean to him. No one has ever bothered to put that much effort into you, let alone being unofficial. Your body moved on its own, and you found yourself embracing him in your arms.  

The weather was sunny, you felt great, and everything was real. Yesterday wasn’t a dream and you realized that the moment you pinched yourself after waking up. Hoseok also sent you a good morning text with hearts surrounding the message. For once, you were having a good morning. The smell of breakfast made your day even better considering how you napped through dinner last night. The table was laid with piles of food and your mouth was watering.

“What’s with the smile on your face?” Your mom asked. “It’s unusual.”

“Don’t wof-ry abou- et,” you struggled to say with waffles stuffed in your mouth.  

“It has to do with Hoseok, huh?” she was eyeing you now.

“Look at the time! Gotta get to class, bye!”

Never have you ran so fast out of your house. The news between you and Hoseok needed to wait because technically, you two aren’t official. Yet. The thought about you two being together, gave you butterflies in your stomach. Right as you locked the front door of your house, Hoseok was already standing in front of your house with coffee in both his hands. He was smiling right at you and you felt the world get brighter.

“Good morning, Y/N,” he beamed. “I got you a little gift.”

“O-Oh! Thank you,” you smiled as you happily took the beverage from his hand.

Walking to school was enjoyable with Hoseok holding your hand and coffee in the other hand. As soon as you got to school, people kept staring, but you were unbothered because all that mattered was that you had him. He was smiling through the stares, but his eyes were mostly on you.

He walked you to your first class and his lips touched your cheek. You waved to him as he headed to his own class. As you sat in your seat, you were ambushed by your best friend once again.

“Bitch! I saw that!” she exclaimed while pointing her index finger at you. She didn’t even bother to sit at her desk. Instead, she stood right in front of you, waiting for an explanation.

“Saw what?”

“Ah! Don’t play dumb,” she countered. “Give me the deets.”

As much as you love your best friend, she can be loud at times because now a majority of the class was looking at you two. You gestured her to lean in closer, so she did. Instead of telling her, you grabbed her ear and told her that you’ll tell her after class. Once you let go, she eyed you while taking her seat next to you. You noticed how her leg was shaking; which you knew meant she was excited.

“So you’re telling me that you pulled a Taylor Swift and it worked?” F/N asked bewilderedly.

You laughed at your best friend's reaction.

“That’s all I gotta say.”

“Honestly, say no more,” she nodded approvingly.  

Dinner was amazing and you still couldn’t believe that Hoseok set it up all by himself, despite your mom wanting to help. The smile on your face wouldn’t go away. You wish you could live this moment forever, but you were grateful that you got to experience it. Hoseok felt accomplished the moment your eyes lit up. He knew that he wanted to make you happy from this moment on.

He led you to your room, ready to watch something on youtube. He already brought extra clothes for himself to get comfortable in. Without a warning, he took off his shirt and you could see the defined lines of his abs. You didn’t realize you were staring until he waved his hand in front of you. Embarrassed, you grabbed a t-shirt, some pajama shorts, and ran to the bathroom without making any eye contact with him. The last thing you heard was him chuckling.

After regaining your posture and successfully changing into comfy clothes, you managed to exit the bathroom with ease. Hoseok was already settled in your bed with his back against the bed frame with his attention on his phone. Who could have known a guy could look so good in a plain white tee and sweats. You hopped on your bed and snuggled into your blankets before taking your laptop and putting on some music. You tried to stay cool despite there being a hot man next to you on your bed. It was pretty exciting.

“I wanna show you a video,” Hoseok spoke up.

You looked up from your phone and leaned closer to him. Instead of playing the video, he wrapped his arm around your shoulders and pulled your closer. The heat traveled up to your cheeks and you looked up at him.

“Sorry, it was the only way I could pull you closer to me,” he smiled.

Well fuck.

As he unlocked his phone, you noticed his wallpaper. The person on his phone looked familiar and he saw you staring at his screen.

“When did you take this?” You asked.

“Remembered the first time you came over for dinner? You were looking at the stars and I couldn’t help myself. I had to capture the moment where heaven couldn’t match your beauty.”

He finally played a video of an idol group dancing, but your thoughts were racing through your head. You tried to calm your heart by taking a deep breath; instead, you got a whiff of his cologne. Oh, boy did that shit smell amazing. Without realizing it, your face was practically buried in his chest.

“It’s Kalvin Clein,” he spoke up as he soothingly rubbed your back.

“You can’t call me out like that,” you mumbled.

“As your boyfriend, yeah I can,” he chuckled.

There were butterflies in your stomach. He can’t just say that term so casually. Your heart and soul wasn’t ready for that. You ended up snuggling closer to him and placing your legs on top of his. Now you could see the screen of his phone more clearly, but this time, someone else was having trouble focusing on the video. His body stiffened, but you paid no attention to the subtle action. Hoseok never showed any interest in certain things. Especially the explicit ones. Then again, you both never tried anything.

We’ve never even had sex.

“W-We can if you want.”

“Did I say that out―oh my god,” you wheezed.

You’re totally not embarrassed at all. Blame your hormones. Speaking your mind has been putting you in deep shit.

“I-I mean we can, but I understand if you do-”

“I do, I really do…” he paused. “I was just going at your pace.”

This man is so fucking considerate that it hurts your soul, but that’s not the only thing that’s hurting. Your need for him is more painful.

“That’s hot.”

“What?”

“What?”

“Fuck it.”

You grabbed his phone out of his hand and gently put it on the nightstand. As much as you love being in his arms, you sat up and straddled him. Honestly, you had nothing to lose at this point. You two were officially already and it’s too late to back out now.

He looked at you with wide eyes, still comprehending what just happened. You didn’t wait for him to make a move, so you began to grind down on his cock. His eyes rolled back as he hissed through his teeth. You felt his hands wrap around your hips eagerly, encouraging you to slowly pace yourself back and forth. They gripped tighter as you continued to rub your womanhood onto his member. You could tell that he was holding back his moans in the back of his throat by the way his breathing was unsteady.

“Let me hear you,” Y/N whispered.

You dipped your face into the crane of his neck and kissed him sweetly.

Hoseok looked at the way you rode him, causing his head to throw back with excitement. Finally, he let himself go and let out his stifled moans.

“Keep going,” he sighed, eyes still closed from the undeniable pleasure.

With his size growing in his gray sweatpants, your center became damper alongside him. You two were in sync as the sounds escaped both of your mouths; which then led your hands to trail down his torso, taking the hem of his white t-shirt and tugging it up. Instinctively, Hoseok took your sign and took off his top to toss it onto the floor. You let out a hum of amusement. Before, you had only gotten a chance to see it, but now you had your hands roaming all over his toned body.

“Your turn,” he spoke, mimicking your last action.

You smirked, eyeing the way his fingers fiddled with the bottom of your shirt. But just as you were about to take initiative, he began peeling your own piece of clothing and tossed to the floor as well. You could hear him swearing to himself. Letting out a soft moan, you took your index finger to drag his eyes to yours. He showcased a lovely; yet, lazy smile. With his hair nearly covering his eyes though, you pouted. You wanted to see his gaze meet yours, and that’s exactly what you did. Your fingers pushed his long bangs back, only urging you to kiss him once again.

“You’re so beautiful,” Hoseok murmured against your lips.

All you could do was smile in return. You were flattered above anyone else at that moment. Your riding had increased, but his strong hands stopped you for a few seconds. He didn’t have to say much as that point, but you couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. Knowing he heard you, he also chuckled. All you could think was, goddamn.

It only took a second for Hoseok to flip both of you over. Now that he was on top, he placed a chaste kiss on your lips, then trailing a handful of wet kisses down your neck, between your breasts, and stopping just above the waistband of your shorts. Your moans were constant; even though you had some moments when you wanted to stop yourself from becoming so vulnerable. His doe-like eyes peered up at you, catching each other’s attention while his lips were still pressed against your sensitive skin.

You could feel the corners of his lips lifting up with a smile. He was satisfied with his doing, and you wanted to let him know he was doing everything right. When you felt the beds of his fingertips curling around the elastic, you threw your head back in preparation for what was about to come. When you could feel the cold air of the room hitting the rest of your bare body, you inhaled sharply. Your feet gradually slide up towards yourself naturally, knowing you had to brace yourself. As soon as Hoseok’s hot breath hit your wet center, you felt the shivers running throughout your entire body. His warm hands wrapped themselves around your thighs.

“Please,” you whined, squirming under his control.

“So eager for my tongue baby girl,” he mumbled.

Just as you were about to respond back, you could feel the wetness of his own mouth touch your clit, causing your head to dig back into the pillow. You swore under your breath and bucked your hips towards him. Trying not to lose yourself, your hand reached down for his and gripped it tightly. As his tongue ran up and down between your folds, your toes began to curl. The wears were unstoppable and clearly neither way he. Even when you can't stop your own hips from moving his mouth didn’t pull away at any second. You could feel the intense bubble in your stomach almost bursting.

“Hoseok,” you moaned.

There was nothing like the way you said the name that turned him on even more. Just as he thought he was going to spare you, he took away one of his hands. You gulped. When you felt his two digits pushing into your tight pussy, you bit the bottom of your lips as hard as you could in order not to make any loud noises. As much as you wanted to scream at the top of your lungs with the amount of pleasure he provided you, there were still boundaries. You had to keep in mind that you were still in your room and a house that was shared with more than one person. But when Hoseok started pumping his fingers in and out of you, he was making it too difficult for you. By the way, you seemed to struggle beneath him, he moaned against your clit. The vibrations sent chills down your spine from the additional euphoric feeling.

“I’m so close,” Y/N whispered with desperation. “Keep going.”

Of course, Hoseok would follow your orders. If he had this reaction out of you, he didn’t want it to stop. It was a reward to already have you to call his very own, but having you finish due to his ability would be a great addition. Just then, he thought to push his index and middle finger deeper inside of you, curling the tips of them every time he entered you. Now that the butterflies were set free in your stomach, your hands reached for the top of his head, not wanting this moment to end.

“I-I’m c-coming,” you stuttered, feeling your pussy clenching around his fingers.

After your release of sweet pleasure, you were panting heavily. You felt like you ran a whole marathon. His fingers and tongue felt amazing, yet you felt incomplete. You wanted his cock badly. No, scratch that, you needed his cock. He did so much for you and you wanted to repay him. It took you a lot of effort to sit up. You motioned him to lie down on his back and he followed your order.

Once he settled on his back, you didn’t hesitate to smash your lips together. Your tongues battled for dominance, but you wanted to get straight to pleasuring your man. As much as you love his mouth on yours, you pulled away and grabbed his wrist. His fingers were still coated with your juices, but you didn’t care. Without thought, you brought your mouth to his fingers. You began running your tongue in between the two digits while eyeing him seductively. Eventually, you sucked on his fingers and rolled your eyes back to give him a little show.

“Holy shit,” he breathed.

You smiled at his comment and gave him a quick peck before lowering your head towards his aching bulge. Your hands rubbed his clothed cock and you could hear his breath hitch. Then you traced your fingers around the waistband of both his sweatpants and boxers, quickly pulling them down. His dick sprung up, hitting his stomach. You wrapped your hand his thickness and slowly pumped his girth. He let out a moan as you began to pick up the pace. You finally brought your lips to the tip of his cock. You guided your tongue around him, allowing you to coat his member. Finally, you took his entire size into your mouth and his hands immediately tugged on your locks.

You bobbed your head back and forth at a steady pace. Looking up, you saw him biting down on his lower lip. You wanted to hear him. You wanted him to say your name. Without warning, you brought his cock to the back of your throat.

“Fuck, Y/N.”

Just hearing him say that encouraged you to go faster. You grabbed his hips to steady your pace. Suddenly, you felt a harsh tug on your hair, causing you to pull away from him. You looked at him with confusion.

“Keep that up and I would’ve came in your mouth…” he paused. “But I want to come inside you.”

You felt your pussy moisten at his words. This man was driving you crazy.

“I’m on birth control.”

“That’s all I needed to hear,” he smirked.

He grabbed your arm and pulled you down on your back. Before you knew it, he was back on top of you. Refusing you to do any more work.

“You did enough for me, baby,” he spoke as he sucked on your neck.

His easily slipped a finger inside you, causing you to mewl.

“And you’re already so fucking wet for me.”

He pulled his finger out and positioned himself in between your legs. The tip of his cock was right at your entrance, but he wanted to tease you a bit. You watched as he grabbed his hard length and slowly rubbed it against your folds. You could hear the wetness of your pussy as he would insert the tip and take it out. It was fucking torture.

“Hoseok, baby, please.”

“Please what?”

“Your cock, i-inside me…” you stuttered, “Please!”

You begging for him was music to his ears. He hummed in satisfaction. Finally, he inserted his whole member inside you and it was pure bliss. He placed one of your legs on his shoulder, allowing him to go deeper, causing you to cover your mouth to muffle your screams. He brought his fingers to your clit and rubbed it in a circular motion. You arched your back, taking in all the pleasure he’s giving you. Another bubble was forming at the pit of your stomach and you didn’t know how much longer you could take it. Hoseok could tell you were on the verge of coming, so he picked up the pace. He was going harder while rubbing your clit at the same time as you were closing in on another orgasm. He felt you clench around him, but that didn’t slow down his rhythm.

“Oh fuck!”

You finally reached your limit and came all over his still hardened cock.

“Hands and knees. Now,” he demanded.

He wasn’t going to let you recover. He positioned himself perfectly at your entrance and slammed himself in you, nearly knocking you off your hands. His balls kept hitting your pussy and you knew he wasn’t holding back. As he continued to thrust himself in you, you felt a hard smack on your ass. You moaned at his gesture, earning a hard pull on your hair. Your neck was bending back as he brought his lips to your ear. His teeth were softly gnawing on the shell of your ear. You were enjoying this too much, clearly, he was too.

“Right there, oh shit,” you moaned.

He placed his hands on your hips and pulled you into him. His pace fastened while your moans filled the room. At this point, you knew that both of you could be heard, but you had no fucks left to give. The only thing you could focus on was how close you two were and the immense amounts of pleasure you’ve both given and received. You could tell that you were getting weaker when your head began to slowly fall into the pillow, but Hoseok wasn’t going to have that. Seeing the way he had you, it was the perfect time to give you no choice. When he had one hand secure on your hip, the other reach around to cup your throat. He had no idea how much you enjoyed the retrain, but when he took a quick glance at your eyes, he knew. Your eyes rolled back, hair messy and mouth open wide, he had you locked. Just how he inched you back, your back was nearly touching his torso. Your posture was in that exact position where you could feel every inch of him inside of you. Again, you could feel yourself coming undone once more. He was just too immersed in his actions that his pace was steady and focused. The slapping of his hips against your ass, both of your heavy breaths intertwining with one another, and the sweat dripping down both of your bodies had a great effect on the great event.

“Fuck- I’m gonna-” he uttered.

“Come inside of me babe,” she interrupted.

His breathing suddenly became unsteady and his thrusts also started to feel messy and slow. With every last pumped inside of you, he paused for a second. With one last hard push, he let out a grunt and satisfied sigh.

“Fuck,” he sighed in relief.

As the two of you collected yourselves, your bodies plopped on the bed beside each other. Even though your breaths were still loud and heavy, you both managed to shoot each other a smile. You helped each other clean up and got ready for bed. You both exchanged a couple of words to each other before drifting off into a deep slumber.

You woke up to a peaceful sleeping Hoseok. His breath was steady with one arm was slung over your waist. In the end, you ended up being with the boy next door. You felt him move a bit before he finally opened his eyes. He looked at you and warmly grinned.

“Hey there, neighbor.”

[rosegoldannie]

"Here, at least drink some-" "I'm fine" "No you're not. You're too busy to drink water you're not fine" Or something along those lines for like college au Feysand? Please!

AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!! Thank you so much!! I literally started happy dancing in my room when I got this, thank you! 

And seriously guys, please, I love answering asks like these. They let me know what you all want to read in the fandom, and I’m more than happy to write it!

masterlist

Rhys’s heart clenched as he entered the living area of their small, studio apartment. Countless sketches littered the floor, accompanied by an ungodly amount of pencils, charcoals, and pens. He knew something bad had happened when his eyes snagged on the tub of caramel ice cream in the garbage bin. And instantly knew what had happened: critique day.

Stepping around the coat rack which obscured his view of the rest of the room, he found Feyre half-crouched on a tarp, sketching on a canvas, that hoodie she had stolen from him after their first date, which was so covered in paint that you couldn’t see the logo, draping over her thin frame.

He cleared his throat loudly, raising an eyebrow at the mess surrounding her. “Busy, aren’t we?” Teasing, always teasing.

Feyre flushed a bright red, having jumped slightly when he cleared his throat. “I’m so sorry, I have a big project coming up, but I’ll clean everything, I swear.” her hair was up in a messy, messy bun, held in place by a paintbrush, which was dripping blue paint into her hair.

He grinned softly, carefully making his way to their bed, and dropping his backpack. “No, don’t worry about it. You don’t freak out when I make a mess with all my papers. This is nothing.”

She gave him a grateful smile, and went back to glaring at her artwork.

He knew better than to interrupt her by trying to make conversation; she would be nice, would humor him, but would likely be counting the seconds until she could shrug, and return to her canvas.

Rhys propped himself up, content to ignore his work in favor of watching her work. She was magnificent, truly. He would never understand how she managed to take a pencil and paper, and turn it into such an incredible thing. 

Hell, he didn’t understand why she loved art so much, only knowing that it made her happy, and he really didn’t care about the why. Knowing that those small, wooden brushes brought her so much joy was more than enough to banish any lack of understanding on his part.

Sighing, he relegated himself to working on his essay, which was due in a few weeks, and dragged his attention from the girl who had captured his heart.

They were nearly in the home stretch, graduation only a few short months away. And he couldn’t believe it. That cold, rainy night he had spotted her across the room at Rita’s had been nearly four years ago, and yet it all passed by in a flash. So much had changed, that he didn’t believe it some days. They had gone from semi-strangers, to two people who would one day get married.

Marriage. It was a topic they discussed often, and shared the same opinions on. They both wanted to marry, though they knew they were way too broke. But one day. One day, when they had enough money, and weren’t living practically paycheck to paycheck, he was going to get down on one knee, and ask her to be his wife.

Hours later, the sun had set and he at last looked up from his laptop to find that Feyre had barely moved, still in that strange crouch. His heart gave a warm tug, and he had to fight the urge to go over and wrap his arm around her. 

Again, he cleared his throat, artfully dodging countless paintings and sketches on the floor, as Feyre had a system he didn’t want to disturb. “Darling, what would you like for dinner?” He called, rummaging through the kitchen cabinets.

“No thanks!” She replied after a few moments. “I have to work on this.”

Rhys frowned, sticking his head out into the main room.

She glanced up, giving him an apologetic smile.

And again, his heart tugged at the sight. She had ink smudged across her cheekbone. And Rhys couldn’t stop himself from making his way to her, kneeling down, and pressing a kiss to her lips. “Alright,” He murmured, thumb wiping away that ink, “just don’t work yourself too hard, alright?”

Feyre nodded, giving him a chaste kiss, and humming to herself.

Sighing to himself, he made his way back to the kitchen, and made a dinner of champions: scrambled eggs. He made sure to make more than necessary, before heaping them all onto a plate, and plopping down near his girlfriend, content to watch her work. 

She glanced up, eyes lingering on his plate. She licked her lips, and glared half-heartedly at him. “I know what you’re doing,” She hissed, slowly migrating towards him, “and it’s not going to work.”

Hiding his smirk behind a mouthful of eggs, he replied, “Am noff doon amyfin. Promith.”

Feyre scoffed, taking the second fork he had hidden under the plate, and began helping herself to his food.

She wound up finishing most of it, but he didn’t care, only kissed her forehead, and began preparing to take a shower, then go to bed. As he scrubbed himself clean, he took far less time than normal, eager to hold her as he fell asleep.

When Rhys returned, hair damp and clad in only boxers and an old t-shirt, he was disappointed to find Feyre exactly as he had left her, crouched over that canvas.

But he simply slid under the covers of their bed, and watched her sketch and paint until his eyelids grew heavy, and he succumbed to the warm grip of sleep.

*****

He awoke to bright sunlight streaming in through the blinds, letting out an undignified groan. Rolling onto his side, he threw out an arm to seek out his love. It hit nothing but cool sheets.

Eyes remaining closed, he groped around the bed, trying to find her.

Then his hand smacked into something cold, and wet.

He groaned, still half-asleep, assuming that something had been spilled on the bed, and raked his fingers through his hair, and rubbed at his face to wake himself up.

When he opened his eyes, it took every ounce of strength to resist swearing ferociously. His hands were covered in blue and yellow paint, courtesy of the pallet resting on the edge of the bed.

Rhys shook his head, fighting to keep the annoyance out of his voice. “Hey, Archeron, can you come here?” he called. The bathroom door creaked open, and she tiptoed out. Clad in leggings and a tattered blue shirt, he nearly forgot what he was going to say. At last, coherent thoughts return, as Feyre lets out a horrified gasp.

“Oh gods, I am so sorry!” She said, hands coming up to cover her mouth. “I-I didn’t think you were going to wake up, and I didn’t have room to put it w-”

Sighing, he held up a hand. “Don’t worry, alright? Just, please, can we agree that there’s no more paint in bed?”

She nodded, turning towards where she had left her backpack the day before. “Alright. I’ll clean up after class, I promise. But I’ve got to go, okay? Love you.” With that she was slipping out of their apartment.

Rhys groaned, but slipped out of bed. He was fully aware that she would most likely forget to clean once her classes ended. After a long shower, spent mainly trying to scrub the paint from himself, he slipped off to his first class.

Already, he was planning what he could bring Feyre for dinner. He knew she was busy, and likely would be for at least the next week. But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t bring her some foods that he knew she liked.

*****

He returned to their apartment long after dark, to find her in that strange crouching position. Carrying a bag of takeout chinese food, he held it up victoriously. “I have returned!” He cheered.

Feyre didn’t even glance up, only giving a small wave.

His smile vanished. “Aren’t you going to eat?”

Again, she didn’t look up. “I’m busy, Rhys.” She almost snapped.

Something within him crunched, but he forced his feelings down. This was Feyre, and she loved him. Rhys knew she wasn’t trying to hurt him, she was just busy. He sighed, but made his way to the kitchen, to dish himself up some food.

He muddled around slowly, making a large mug of peppermint tea, which he knew to be his girlfriend’s favorite. When he brought it out to her, she simply waved it off, muttering something about being busy, and having to work on her painting.

And again, he made his way back into the kitchen, sitting at the table and slowly eating the plate full of delicious food. Rhys didn’t taste anything other than dirt. His eyes lingered on her, watching as she moved back and forth over that damn canvas.

He loved her, so much that it hurt.

And he wanted her to be happy. More than anything.

Painting made her happy, and so he supported her endeavor to become an artist. He knew that came with many big projects that were very, very important. He also knew that she was a perfectionist, and sometimes became too involved in her work; to the point where she would forget to eat or sleep for days on end.

He was worried that she was falling into that pit, becoming too absorbed in her art. That was why he decided to test her.

So he stood from the table, and prepared a large glass of ice water, before carrying it out to her. “Feyre,” he said, holding out the glass to her, “I brought you some water.”

“No thanks.” She replied, not looking up at him. “I’m busy, Rhys. I really, really have to work on this.”

He slowly knelt down beside her, careful to not disturb the canvas. “I know you do, and I understand that. All I’m asking is that you take a break to drink some water.”

She huffed, glaring at him. “I said I’m busy. Please, just let me work on this!”

He held her gaze unflinchingly. “I have known you for almost four years, Feyre Archeron.” He said, daring her to huff again. “And I have hardly ever asked you for anything, now have I?” When she opened her mouth to object, Rhys gave her a stern glare. “I have never seriously asked you for anything. Have I?” 

Feyre shook her head slowly.

“All I’m asking you to do is to please just take a drink of water. Please, darling. I’m worried about you.”

“I’m fine!” She insisted, rolling her eyes. “I’m just busy, Rhysand.”

“Too busy to stop for water?”

“YES!” She snapped, making to return to her work.

He stopped her with a hand on her chin, turning her head back towards him. “Then you’re not fine.” He said, daring her to disagree. “I understand that you’re busy, love. I do, I know. But this isn’t healthy.”

Eyelids drooping in defeat, she reached for the glass, and took a long sip. “Alright.” She murmured, moving towards him. “Maybe I’ve been a bit hard on myself…”

Arms moving to scoop her up, Rhys chuckled as he carried her over to their bed. “Maybe just a little.” He tucked her in gently, and quickly pulled up Netflix on his laptop, setting it in the middle of the bed. “Now, I’m going to get the takeout, and we’re going to spend tonight in bed, relaxing.”

She looked up, alarmed. “Rhys, my project-”

He smiled warmly down at her. “I went to talk to Mrs. Ressina today. She said that this is an extra credit project, and that it isn’t due for almost a month.” Again, Feyre looked like she wanted to protest. “Darling, I’m no artist, but I know that you can take one evening off.”

Feyre huffed, but didn’t disagree.

He took that as a good sign, and went to fetch their dinner, which was mercifully still warm, along with her tea.

When he returned, she was sound asleep, The Princess Bride playing quietly from his laptop. Rhys smiled softly, setting her tea on the bedside table, then putting the food back in the fridge. He gently changed her out of her paint-stained clothes, into a pair of his sweats and t-shirts, and cleaned her face, before crawling in next to her, and drawing her to rest against his chest.

Immediately, she moved to snuggle closer, and he smiled softly.

With one hand, he typed out a few emails on his phone to their professors, explaining that they both had wicked colds, and would not be able to attend class the next day.

Professor Ressina replied within minutes, her email pulling a dry chuckle from his lips. You seemed very ill today, almost bedridden. Make sure to drink plenty of fluids, and let Feyre know she is excused from the rest of the week. Have fun, kids.

He placed his phone on the headboard, and pulled Feyre closer, drifting slowly off to sleep.

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[logical-little-lies]

Your Boyfriend’s Cute- Little Vlogs (pt.2)

a/n: I love the fact that this is already receiving support on tumblr and here, and I posted the first chapter like less than twenty four hours ago! it's giving me lots n lots of motivation to brainstorm the plot to this story. just so yk, it's boutta move FAST (aka: lots of timeskips).

chapter summary: Virgil and Roman go to Patton's house for the first time, and Virgil starts to realize why Roman has a crush on Logan. Also, Patton and Virgil film a video for Patton's channel.

--

Virgil exited the Hot Topic with an extremely positive attitude. He had hit send on a list of things he wanted Roman to get for him, and he was ready to meet Patton. The mall was an outdoor mall, so he quickly scanned the 'workers only' parking spots for Logan. He spotted him, in a dark blue t-shirt that read 'Eldenridge Bookshop' with a little book logo on it. Virgil caught himself admiring Logan's body and face from afar, before snapping out of his (slightly gay) daze. He waved, catching his attention. Logan smiled warmly, and Virgil crossed the parking lot.

"Hello Virgil," Logan held his hand out, and Virgil shook it lightly.

"Very professional," he teased, smiling to show that he was just playing. Roman was right. This man was definitely cute. Logan chuckled.

"Yeah, that's what Patton said," Logan opened the door to the passenger seat on his car, motioning for him to get in. Virgil climbed into the vehicle, the door closing behind him.

Logan walked around the back of the car, getting in on the drivers side. "Buckle your seatbelt, honey," Logan instructed, following the directions himself before starting the car. Virgil did as he said without question, willing himself to stop blushing at the casual use of the word 'honey'.

"How far do you live?"  Virgil questioned after a few moments of silence. Logan had pulled out of the parking spot, making his way to the exit of the outdoor mall.

"About ten minutes. Roman wanted to be there when you met Patton, but no doubt, we'll beat him there. Patton's waiting at home,so I'll just record it, yeah?"

Virgil nodded at Logan's words. He had a very caregivery tone, in a stern, but soft way. He could understand why Patton liked him as a caregiver, and why Roman had a crush on him. "Sounds good to me," Virgil smiled.

"So, how was work?" Logan turned onto the main road, tapping his finger against the steering wheel.

"Good, just another day of selling twenty one pilots merch to twelve year old wanna-be emos," Virgil shrugged, causing Logan to laugh lightly.

"I'm guess you used to be one of those emo kids when you were younger?"

"Bitch, I still am. The only difference is that I'm technically an adult."

"Language!" he scolded lightly, speaking in a playful tone.

There was a few beats of silence, Virgil taking the opportunity to look out the window and admire the beautiful weather. "Patton's very excited to see you, he has so many ideas for stuff to do with you."

Logan and Virgil continued on the conversation, distracting Virgil from his excitement for the time being. Suddenly, Logan turned into a neighborhood, and onto a small side street. The two-floored yellow house Virgil saw in many videos was at the end. There were flowers in the front yard. Patton sat on the front porch, and he jumped up when Logan entered the driveway.

"You stay here until I motion you out, I want to make sure I catch this on video," Logan put the car in park, pulling his phone out of his pocket and getting out of the car. Patton awkwardly stood by the door of his house, Logan holding up his phone. Virgil unbuckled, excitedly jumping out of the car when Logan made the motion.

Virgil almost tackled Patton to the ground when he hugged him, jumping into his arms. Right then was when Roman pulled into the driveway behind Logan's car. "I can't believe this, you're actually...here, i-it's crazy."

"I know kiddo, I'm happy to see you too."

Patton held Virgil in a tight hug for at least a minute straight, running his fingers through his hair. Patton was slightly chubby,wearing a very soft light blue sweater. Therefore, he was very cuddleable. Roman and Logan made sure not to interrupt their moment, not speaking until they finally pulled away.

"I'm so happy right now, you have no idea," Virgil smiled, turning and approaching Roman, hugging him.

"Yeah, and this little emo here doesn't get this excited unless he regresses. He tries to keep up his angsty  exterior, but he's really just soft."

Virgil playfully glared at him, pretending to be mad at him for the silly teasing. "Come inside," Patton was quick to open his door, welcoming the couple into his home.

"Like I say whenever we video chat, your house is nice as hell," Virgil admired the home.

"Yep. There's so many rooms that we have a normal bedroom, the little bedroom that you see in most of my videos, and a set of extra rooms. Seriously, this place is perfect," Logan sat down on the couch as Patton spoke. Patton disappeared, going up the stairs.

"Where's he going?" Roman pondered, sitting on the couch near Logan.

"Probably to grab the vlogging camera from the little bedroom," Logan replied as Virgil sat down next to his boyfriend. Virgil could've sworn he caught Logan's eyes lingering on Roman before he spoke again.

"Uh, Roman, how are you?" he stumbled upon his words lightly.

"Good," Roman smiled. Virgil saw Patton stop at the bottom of the steps, holding a small camera.

"Logan, is it okay if me and Virgil hang out upstairs? You guys can do whatever you want down here..find some common interests or something."

Logan gave Patton a look Virgil didn't get the chance to decode, automatically fixing his face when Roman looked at him. "That sounds good to me. I get that you guys have known each other forever, and I understand if you wanna spend some time alone," Roman smiled at Patton softly.

Patton came over, grabbing Virgil's hand and pulling him up. He didn't let go, leading him up the stairs. Neither of them said anything until they were in Patton's little room. "First of all," Patton closed the door behind him, moving to pull his tripod out of the corner of the room, "Your boyfriend is cute as hell. Like I knew that before but seeing him in person just confirmed it."

Virgil laughed, "We're all so gay, I swear to god. Your boyfriend is cute too, at least Roman thinks so."

"Roman's poly right? Logan and I are...kind of why I left Logan down there, he's lowkey been crushing on Roman since forever," Patton motioned Virgil over, patting a spot on the edge of the bed, facing the tripod he had set up. Virgil took his spot, watching Patton attach the camera to the setup.

"Yeah, Roman's polyamorous. And that's funny, because Roman has a crush on Logan too," Virgil revealed. The two of them looked at each other and did a fangirl-ish squeal that only best friends could successfully do in sync.

"So, what are we doing for the channel?" Virgil questioned, motioning towards the camera.

"I figured we could just talk about like, how we became friends and stuff. This how thing feels unreal, and I kinda want a video to look back on so I remember how I felt during all this."

Virgil quickly agreed, and without a word, Patton started the camera.

"Hey Kiddos, welcome to my channel: eat a second cookie! Today, I have my friend with me. I've talked about him on my channel before, but this is the first time I actually have him here in person. Please welcome, Virgil!" Patton spoke in an enthusiastic voice, motioning towards Virgil, who waved awkwardly. There was a beat of silence before Patton nudged him.

"Here's where you plug your tumblr and stuff," Patton instructed, breaking the silence.

"Oh," Virgil laughed at himself, "Uh, follow me at anxiousbabey on everything."

Just like that, the two filmed an unscripted video, talking about the first time they talked, telling quite a few stories. It all lead up to the end of the recording, where they talked about how they met.

"Now that we know we live so close, hopefully he'll be on my channel lots n lots. Right, Virge?"

Virgil giggled, nodding a bit. "I hope so! I'm really glad we realized this, I'm so happy y'all have absolutely no idea!"

"Well, I guess that's all for today kiddos! Bye princes, princesses, and enby royalty, please check out my tumblr and instagram, all under eat-a-second-cookie!" Patton held out the word 'cookie' so that his statement rhymed. He finished closing out the video, turning off the camera.

"Y'know, I've been waiting for the day we'd get to finally film a video together."

There was a second of silence before Virgil engulfed him into a hug. "I feel like my life was good before..and now it's perfect. I'm so glad this happened," Virgil mumbled.

"Let's go check on my nerd and your boyfriend," Patton caused Virgil to laugh, taking his hand softly and leading him down the stairs. Virgil didn't know why this act of affection made him blush, because he knew Patton was just generally affectionate, but his cheeks were definitely burning.

"Hey, Vee," Roman looked up from the laptop him and Logan were watching something on.

"Did you guys film anything?" Logan questioned softly, pressing the spacebar on the laptop and closing it.

"Yeah, just a video about like our friendship," Patton shrugged, taking his spot next to Logan. Logan automatically wrapped his arm around his shoulder.

"That's surely gonna be an adorable video," Logan praised, and Patton smiled lightly. "So, you guys are welcome to stay for dinner, or even spend the night if you want to."

Patton nodded in agreement and excitement with Logan's statement. "Ro!" Virgil tapped his shoulder lightly, tilting his head, "Stay pleasee?"

"Is that your little voice I hear?" Roman teased, causing Virgil to pout lightly, shaking his head.

"Awe! I think it is," Patton cooed, "But, can you guys stay, pleasee?"

"I don't know," Roman sighed, "Virgil has work tomorrow."

"Okay? And I can give him a ride in the morning, seriously, you're welcome to spend the night."

Virgil gave puppy dog eyes, pouting to convince his carer. "Stop with the pouty face, I was gonna say yes anyways," he sighed, causing Virgil and Patton to cheer.

That night was gonna be fun.

A/N: There's gonna be a timeskip, like a one-month type gap, where the four leave the awkward stage and they're all kind of close. I don't wanna write all that out and I WANNA GET TO THE GOOD PART.

Tag list: @stimmingsides @smollilsanderssides @novacloudcat @analogical-agere @fairyhuman2000 @aphandgflover @softastarlight @littlesapphygem @softflowerinmyheart 

please ask/reach out if you wanna be added to the tag list

[anchorsandadderall]

Dolly

Sterek Week, Day 7: Halloween

Words: 2,629

Summary: Nothing in the Stilinski-Hale house is ever normal, of course. Not even birthday gifts for their son Herald.

Genre: Horror (sort of), Humor

If you do not yet know the tale of Herald, please go and view/read this absolute gem of the fandom here. Herald and his origin story belong to @spaggel and @grimm-times

Aside from the Sheriff, Cora was probably the one most unaffected when she met Herald. Derek and Stiles introduced them via FaceTime, because that tends to be the easiest way to introduce new, woefully unsuspecting people to him. They have the opportunity to hang up and swear the call dropped if it’s too much all at once. The amount of people who suddenly ‘lost signal’ when FaceTiming It for the first time is staggering. Scott swore he thought their kid was super adorable, he just lost signal while in a tunnel, despite the fact that he was calling them from a Burger King. 

It’s also helpful that electronics seem to malfunction around It a lot, and while sometimes the flickering screen has the same effect as the reveal of the girl in The Ring, a lot of times the static helps to… soften things. While sitting on the couch with Derek and It, Stiles bangs the side of his phone to try and sort out the heavy lines of distortion running up from the bottom of the screen, making everything wobble as it passes. That has to actually be making things look worse, surely. 

“Okay, now please remember that Herald is like… eight years old now, so he understands stuff that people are saying.”

Derek clears his throat. “He’s five.”

Stiles pauses and counts in his head. Time seems to go a lot slower when one is awaiting possible eminent death in ones own home all the time. “Five. But he can still understand you.”

“Sti- Stiles.” Cora’s voice jumps and doubles back as the screen wobbles. “The only danger here is you making me motion sick. Lemme see my nephew.”

Stiles sighs and tilts his phone to bring It into view. “Herald. This is your Aunt Cora.”

Herald takes the phone, grasping it in his knobby little fingers and stares at Cora’s flickering image. His eyes unfocus and the pupils drift apart slightly. Stiles braces himself for the hang-up but Cora just laughs.

“Hey, he’s got Derek’s eyebrows!”

***

The package arrives four weeks later, and it’s covered in red ink stamps and writing on the shipping label. It’s in Spanish, written in a dying ballpoint pen. But the mailman didn’t hang around to say there was extra shipping due or anything. Plus it’s from Cora, so it has to be fine. Stiles just cuts the box open and sifts through the balled-up newspapers.

And finds the doll.

The doll is some sort of cloth nightmare creation from Cora’s neck of the woods in South America. It’s rail-thin, the body wrapped in some kind of lacy doily to make a dress. The arms are too long, and the eyes are too big, bugging out of her head. For some reason the eyes are sewn onto black felt circles. Stiles thinks it’s supposed to mimic eyeliner, but the eyes are too high on the head and the circles form large, dark crescents under her eyes. 

Stiles shudders and stuffs her back into the newspapers so it hides those bulging eyes, grabbing the piece of folded cardstock that’s been rifled around with the papers. Cora’s messy scrawl is inside, written in red pen.

‘1 missed birthday present down. More to come. Love, Aunt Cora’

“Hey kiddo,” Stiles says automatically as he hears the front door open as Derek comes home from picking It up from kindergarten. He shoves the box aside so he can mail the hideous thing back to Cora and tell her to buy It a less creepy doll off Amazon if this is what they all look like where she shops. “How was school?”

“He didn’t bite anyone today,” Derek says, releasing It’s hand so he can wander freely around the kitchen while Derek hangs up his backpack. “His teacher is thrilled.”

“Me too, because that means he gets to stay another week.” Stiles presses a kiss to Derek’s cheek. “Our kid might learn those pesky social graces yet.”

“Can I see her?”

Stiles looks over at where It has perched himself at the edge of the table, staring up at the box without blinking. “What?”

Herald points up at the box.

“What are you talking about, buddy?” Derek walks over to the box and sifts the paper around, pulling the doll free. When he flips her over and the wiry black hair falls away to reveal the huge eyes, he startles and drops the doll… right into Herald’s waiting arms. 

“Your uh… sister decided to send that for Herald,” Stiles says, internally screaming. Herald has the doll, and looks quite pleased about it. Stiles is probably a terrible person if he gets rid of it now.

“Oh.” Derek looks down at it, a shudder running up his spine. “…Why?”

“How the hell should I know? She always had a weird sense of humor.” Stiles sighs. Time to foster good habits and all that parental stuff. “Let’s call Aunt Cora tonight and say thank you, okay?”

It turns his head slightly, not looking at anyone. Turning his ear towards the doll, maybe? Then he nods his head.

“She packed her too close to the strawberries. She didn’t like that.”

“Right.” It’s not the weirdest thing Herald has ever said. It’s not even the weirdest thing thing week. “Well, we don’t give people feedback when we’re thanking them for a present. So don’t say that to Aunt Cora.”

“Yes,” It says, and then departs with the doll. 

When Stiles is dumping out the newspapers to fold the box down, he finds a bag of candies tucked in the bottom of the box. There’s a smiling piece of red, round candy on the front of the bag, holding a strawberry.

***

The doll is called Amaia. Stiles takes note that It always just says that her name is Amaia, not that he named her. He likes to talk to her, which, again, isn’t all that weird. It talks to a lot of inanimate objects. And then he forgets to talk to his very animate parents for long periods of time. 

So he loves the doll and calls her his new friend and everything is great. Stiles can overlook the creepy factor since it makes Herald so happy. Hell, his kid has a creepy factor, who is he to hold it against a doll? But one does have to draw the line somewhere, and for Stiles, that’s at the front door. 

“Maybe you can take Amaia for the next show and tell day, okay?” Stiles offers after having successfully distracted It with Pop Tarts long enough to pluck the doll off the table. 

“She doesn’t like my teacher,” It says, watching the doll. “I want to show her that she’s nice.”

Ooookay, the doll is never going to show and tell. Ever. “Well, when you come home you can tell her all kinds of nice things about your teacher.”

It gives this a long moment of consideration. “Yes,” he finally agrees, and goes back to carefully biting his Pop Tart into the shape of an anatomically-correct heart. Stiles gives Derek a ‘dodged a bullet’ look of relief. Once Derek leaves to take It to school, Stiles stows the doll on top of the fridge so he doesn’t have to look at her creepy bug eyes all day. 

Stiles is working at the kitchen table at his laptop, tapping his fingers on the edge. He’s half focused on his screen, but something sort of... itches in the back of his head, but on the inside. A twitchy, uneasy feeling. 

“Derek, quit watching me,” he says, not taking his eyes off the screen. 

No answer. The prickling doesn’t go away.

Stiles sighs and rubs his eyes, breaking the spell of concentration with the screen (which wasn’t exactly helping him make progress). He turns to the kitchen doorway to tell Derek to stop being a creeper and make sandwiches or something.

The doorway is empty. The kitchen is empty. 

Stiles rubs the back of his neck gingerly as he looks around and confirms that... he’s definitely alone. The kitchen is quiet, save the slight hum of his laptop and the ticking of the clock that’s hanging over the stove. 

It’s cold. Well, Stiles thinks it’s cold, but there’s also the very real possibility that he’s just bored, and neither of those problems will be solved by him just sitting here. He gets up, trying to rub a little warmth into his arms, and heads out of the kitchen. A quick walk around the house, maybe asking Derek if he was hanging around the kitchen recently, grabbing a jacket if he needs to... then he can get back to work. 

When Stiles opens the door to the home office where Derek is working, he’s trying to pull a second sweatshirt over his first one. “Hey Derek. Were you in the kitchen?”

“Not recently, wh...” Derek turns to the door and fades out in the middle, eyebrows coming together as he looks Stiles up and down. “Are you okay?”

“It’s kinda chilly downstairs, don’t you think?”

“I-” Derek pauses as his computer begins humming louder, like it’s running harder. The screen dims. The lamp in the office dims, casting a brown tint on the walls. The bulb sputters, slight pops of yellow as it tries to fight back to full brightness.

Then it passes. The light comes back on fully, the cheerful orange light from the bulb radiating comfortably. The computer quiets back down. Derek immediately saves his work, just in case. 

“That was... weird. Uh, I haven’t been downstairs since I got home,” he says. 

“Oh,” Stiles says, for lack of anything better to say. He can’t very well insist that Derek had to be downstairs because it’s way creepier if he wasn’t. “Right. Well. I’m gonna go... get back to work.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Derek asks, leaning over his desk like he’s tryin to get a closer look at Stiles, but he’s already making a beeline for the staircase.

The kitchen light is off when Stiles gets back downstairs. So is his laptop. Everything is silent except the clock.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Stiles yanks his chair out, wondering how the hell he was gone long enough for his computer to go into sleep mode. Movement on the chair makes him glance down before he tries to sit. 

Amaia is on his chair. The force of him pulling it out has tipped her onto her side, one long arm falling past the edge of the chair. Bulging eyes staring at him. 

Stiles grabs the doll and shoves her into the freezer, slamming it shut. 

“Don’t make me call a priest,” he warns through the closed door. “You better not have screwed up my computer.”

***

It’s hard to be phased by much of anything after a life in Beacon Hills and now five years of fatherhood to the creepy little gremlin that is their son. Stiles and Derek just kind of take the first week in stride. Weird stuff happens when It is away at school. It usually stops when he comes home and Stiles returns custody of the doll to him. At worst, Stiles nicks his fingers on every knife in the utensil drawer while trying to find a wooden spoon. Messy, but not too bad when one’s mate has pain-removing powers.

Then It stays with his grandpa for the weekend. Stiles makes him leave the doll again, because hell if he’s sending that thing to his dad’s house. 

Amaia does not appear to like that. 

Stiles taps his fingers on his knees while the phone rings in his ear.

“Stiles.” Cora’s voice on the other end is groggy but suspicious. “Wha’s wrong? It’s... 5 in the morning.”

“1 in the morning for us. Cora, where did you get that doll you sent to Herald?” Stiles asks, tapping his fingers faster. 

“Is that Derek growling I’m hearing?” she asks. Stiles can hear rustling on the other end of the line as Cora sits up. The phone buzzes in his ear as the connection weakens. 

“Yeah, that’s Derek. There’s a little girl standing at the foot of our bed.” Stiles rubs Derek’s shoulder to try and keep him from launching himself at whatever is standing there and staring at them. “Or, I think there is. She’s suspiciously featureless in the shadows.”

“What the hell?” Cora sounds fully awake now, and Stiles will at least have the petty satisfaction of dragging her up at a horrible hour on a Saturday after all fo this bullshit.

“Yeah. The light has been unplugged somehow and there’s a little girl standing at the foot of our bed in the dark. Staring at us,” Stiles repeats. He can’t see her eyes, but ohh, it’s easy to feel they’re being stared down. “Presumably here to kill us because Herald is away.”

“What the fuck kind of doll did you send our son?” Derek growls, not taking his eyes off the still figure facing them. 

“I mean... it was just a doll,” Cora protests. “Lots of the women around here sew and make kids’ toys.”

“Are they all in a cult or something?” Stiles hisses, trying to toe the line of belligerence. He’s not sure if it’s possible to piss this thing off and he doesn’t really want to find out either. Not when he’s only wearing boxers and he’s carelessly moved his bat to the closet after It tried to use it to beat a hole into the wall. (He wanted to go into the crawl space. Stiles absolutely did not ask why.) 

“No. They’re just a bunch of old grandmas who make clothes and toys,” Cora huffs. “I know what a cult looks like.” 

“Then why is there a demon attached to the doll they made?” Stiles asks. Because they still have no explanation for what’s at the foot of their bed.

“I don’t know! I showed one of them a picture of Herald and said I wanted something he would like. That’s it, I swear.” 

“And... then what?” 

“She crossed herself. Which people do a lot when I show them a photo of Herald.” Cora sighs and Stiles can hear her tapping her nails on some surface as she thinks. “And then she sold me the doll. Simple as that.” 

“Great. I think your grandma friend was some kind of vigilante trying to rid the world of our creepy kid.” Stiles holds the phone away from his ear as the static hisses and distorts the line. 

The shadow at the foot of the bed flickers and appears on Stiles’ side of the bed. Derek lunges for her and the shadow makes a sound like static on a dead television channel that makes Stiles’ ears hurt. 

“Oh, thanks Cora! Send me the replacement doll so I can burn this one,” Stiles says loudly into the phone. 

The shadow shrieks angrily and vanishes just in time for Derek to pass through her and land on the floor. 

“Stiles?” Cora’s voice is faint as Stiles drops back against his pillows and sighs in relief. “Stiles, what doll? What are you talking about?”

“Where did she go?” Derek snarls, eyes blazing blue in the dark room, whipping his head around. 

Stiles groans and rubs his face. “Bye, Cora,” he says, hanging up the phone. “Come back to bed, babe.”

“What the hell are we supposed to do about that thing?” Derek growls, climbing back into bed. 

Stiles pulls the blanket up to his shoulders, hunkering down under it. He’s still getting his goddamn child-free night of sleep, and no haunted doll is going to stop him. “We order another creepy-ass doll from Amazon and use it to keep her in line until she gets too strong and we have to exorcise her. Obviously.”

[5am-the-foxing-hour]

Shedding Chaos

based on this post that was done a while ago

Characters: (Sympathetic) Deceit, Thomas, Logan, Roman, Virgil, Patton.

Warnings: like both Virgil and Deceit swear, Thomas says Shit once. other than that, i can’t think of any.

- - -

General Fanfic Tag list: @ebony-wolf, @nashiraneko,  @secretlyanxiouspersona, @i-sold-my-soul-to-thefandom, @rabbitsartcorner,@punsterterry,  @sleepyssnail,  @nightmaresides, @virgilswritings, @ninja-girl2846, @ninjago2020, @starryfirefliesbloggo, @grace–the-fangirl, @sympatheticdeceit, @cookiethedevil, @askthesnake

- - -

A screech shook the house making Thomas jolt and almost drop his laptop he was editing the latest sanders sides video on.

 “STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!” Deceit screeched from upstairs.

Thomas looked up only to see how Deceit sprinted down the stairs, dressed in nothing but a pair of yellow bath-shorts.

The side’s normally vibrant scales were now dulled and pale and at some places they shone more vibrant through patches where the dead scales had already let go.

 “YOU NEED TO GET THOSE DISGUSTING DEAD SCALES OFF!” Virgil barked as he came rushing down the stairs as well, chasing after the deceitful side. Hoodie bound around his hips, leaving him in his torn purple T-shirt. Holding a bucket with warm soapy water and a sponge covered in bubbles in his hands.

Thomas only starred as Deceit dashed into the kitchen only to be cornered by Virgil.

 “What is going on?!” he called only to yelp when Deceit dove over the counter to avoid being caught by Virgil.

The sound of one of the other sides appearing, made Thomas turn his head to see how Roman stood in his spot. His sleeves pushed up over his elbows.

 “It is the annual shedding process. Virgil have filled us in on what is needed, all we need now is to catch the snake.”

 “I DON’T NEED HELP!” Deceit shouted as he and Virgil was on one side each of the table, keeping it between them.

 “You still have remains of scales from last year on you!” came the shout from the anxious side as he lunged across the table, making Deceit screech and sink down only to appear at the stairs. “ROMAN CATCH HIM!” Virgil barked.

Roman sighed, but laughed when Deceit gave away a startled screech that turned to a angry hiss, when he got grabbed and twisted and turned in Roman’s hold.

 “Oh- EEEEEEEEEEW!” Roman whined as he felt how the dead scales was moving on top of the new ones. “THIS IS DISGUSTING! How do you do this every year, VIRGIL?!”

Roman yelped when Deceit suddenly vanished from his hold only to appear near the end of the couch eyes flickering between Roman and Virgil. Who was moving closer, like a hunter stalking its prey.

Logan suddenly appeared, tie loosened, and he fixed his glasses.

 “The bath has been prepared. All that is needed now, is to get Deceit into it to soak.” Logan only got a loud angry hiss from Deceit in reply.

 “Good, then I don’t need these anymore.” Virgil said and let the bucket and sponge vanish, and reappear in the bathroom where Patton was waiting, playing with the foam in the bath.

It was then Thomas suddenly realised he was in the middle of the four sides.

 “Oh shit- Um! Guys!” he called scrambling to save the progress he had made on the video, before hurrying to try and get out of the way.

He placed his laptop on the kitchen table only to yelp when Deceit suddenly appeared behind him.

 “How dare you! Don’t use Thomas as a shield!” Roman shouted and pointed at them.

 “Make me!” Deceit hissed grabbing Thomas’s shoulders, to make him able to move the host around easier.

Thomas first then realised that Deceit had colder hands than the other sides.

 “...Deceit...” Thomas sighed, sending the shortest side a look. For being aspects of his personality and mostly looking like him, they all had different heights, something he found a bit adorable if he was honest about it.

Virgil then lunged making both Thomas and Deceit scream, and Thomas stumbled back into a wall, when he was twirled out of the way by Deceit, who scrambled to jump over the couch.

 “Hold. Fucking! STILL!” Virgil shouted as he tried to catch Deceit who, like the slippery snake he was, managed to get out of the way.

Only.

He forgot about Logan and Roman, who shared a look and nodded and then both grabbed him and picked him up from the floor.

 “PUT ME DOWN!” Deceit roared.

 “Sure.” Roman drawled with a snicker.

 “You will be put down in the bathtub, with warm water so we can get those old dead scales off you. It is not healthy for you to have dead scales on for this long.”

 “NOOOOOOOOOooooo!” Deceit cried as he was carried up the stairs.

Thomas slowly pushed himself away from the wall when he heard the door to the bathroom close and lock and sighed. Man. His sides were one chaotic bunch.

- - -

A while later Thomas looked up from where he was yet again on the couch editing the video, to see how Virgil came walking down the stairs. Clearly soaked at places but he was clasping his hands together.

 “Another year done, now if you will excuse me, I will be in my room.” and with that he was gone.

Silence followed and then Thomas heard steps and then Deceit came walking down bundled up in a bathrobe and towels. Scales shining.

 “You look less dull.” Thomas said.

Deceit just huffed as he walked over and slumped onto the couch. A shiver making him tremble ever so slightly. he huffed again and snapped his fingers making the bathrobe be changed to a pair of fluffy yellow pyjama pants and a loose black T-shirt and his feet got covered by a pair of fluffy snake slippers. Deceit grabbed the closest plaid and pulled it around him to get warm again.

Thomas was just starting to add the audio and background music when Deceit slumped against him, head resting on his shoulder as he looked at the computer.

 “We’ve only gotten that far on the sanders sides?” he asked with a mumble, due to his mouth getting a bit squished by Thomas’s shoulder.

 “Yeah. the fanders seem to start to love you even more now, than before.”

 “That’s so nice of them.”

Deceit watched as Thomas worked, now and again pointing out something, but mostly watching.

Thomas was just starting exporting the video when he heard a soft snore from his left, he sent a glance to see how Deceit had fallen asleep. Thomas chuckled softly as he poked the side on the nose, earning a unhappy grumble.

 “You sure you wanna sleep here, and not in your room?”

 “...W’rm...” Deceit mumbled snuggling closer to the host.

Thomas sighed but a slime played on his lips, as he put away his computer and started the TV instead, deciding to watch some Bloopers.

In his head he heard Logan make a exasperated cry of frustration, while Patton and Roman seemed to perk up with interest.

Virgil felt as calm as Deceit next to him. Making it clear that the two sides were fast asleep.

Despite the chaos earlier all was calm.

[sulfurousdreamscapes]

Parts 7/7 complete.

Wow! This is the longest story I’ve written on Sulfurous Dreamscapes yet, I think. It’s wrapped up and presented all neat-like for you to enjoy and share! I hope you like it!

What: Girl with no heart meets demon boy.

How long: 4,300 words

Genre: Dark urban fantasy

CW: Implied sex, firearm violence, threat of physical violence, immolation, suicide mention, death

---

“It’ll only cost you a heart,” the demon at the ferry’s ticket counter said. A faint moustache was growing in above his crimson lips, probably his first one ever. He wasn’t smiling.

“I don’t have one,” I said and held up the purse hanging by my side.

The way he shook his head slightly, it made his tousled hair rock side-to-side. If it weren’t for the meat-red skin and the thick horns emerging from the top of his forehead, I could’ve mistaken him for just any other young man in a plaid shirt.

“Sure you do,” he sat up straight and smirked. It cast the thinnest, darkest shadow from the light of the warm table lamp.

I let go of the purse and let it pat my thigh. “What makes you think I have one?”

He leaned to get a look over my shoulder, but there was no one behind me. There was probably no one around for miles. His lips momentarily parted to reveal a pair of canines shined slick and sharp.

“You don’t get to come this far without a heart,” he said, voice sinking a little deeper. Still, he was too young to sound that mature.

I put my arm out in front of him, wrist facing up, fist lightly balled and bent away.

“No heart,” I said.

He glanced at the wrist for a moment. His own hand encircled mine with room to spare, but he wasn’t checking my pulse. He stood up, taller than me by several inches, and pulled me closer by the arm. With his other hand, he formed an open palm and placed it on my chest.

The demon’s eyes were already looking at the floor far behind me. Whatever he was feeling, he couldn’t let it show on his face, so he just waited and waited. He got nothing.

“I could pay you in coin,” I said as he slowly released his hold of my other hand. I shook on the strap of the purse, making the coins clink.

The demon glanced at my eyes, my chest, and my purse. “I only wanted your heart,” he said. After that last word, his lips stayed open. Just like a little boy, too confused to try and look cool now.

But I smiled and leaned forward, resting my elbows on the counter while he sat down like a good boy. “Looks like I can’t get on the ferry now, can I?”

His nostrils flared for a moment, then he licked his lips. “That’ll be thirty-five,” he pressed three buttons and waited for the whirring printer to co-operate.

I popped the purse open, but kept my eyes on him. He glanced at mine for a moment, just as he was pulling out the ticket paper, which he tore unevenly.

“Maybe I’ll pay you with a heart anyway,” I said, clicking my purse closed again, smiling at him.

“No, it’s fine,” he mumbled, struggling to look in my eyes. “I was just messing with you.”

I pinched his shirt and pulled him close enough to feel his breath. “But I’m not.”

Part 2

Even with his head turned the other way, I recognised him by his horns. Yeah, that was Notchel alright, hunched over the bar in his plaid shirt, nursing a beer. Now and then, he rocked his head to the country music playing from the jukebox.

“Fancy seeing you here, demon boy,” I patted his back and settled onto the stool next to his.

His canines looked a lot less intimidating now, but he pursed his lips soon enough. “Beer?” he asked.

I laughed. “No, I think I’ll have a real drink.”

I got the bartender to make me a tequila sunrise. Notchel glanced at it, then looked at the jukebox again, as if it was an artist putting on a performance.

“Didn’t think you’d be friends with the towners,” I said after a few sips. He pretended not to hear at first, but he half-turned to me soon after.

“I’m not. It’s their town,” he said.

The bartender stepped closer to us with a bubbly smile and wink. “He’s a friend.”

Notchel looked like he was going to say something to that, but he actually shook his head instead.

“Such a kind little demon boy,” I laughed, looking him over, trying to imagine his skin underneath. “Sounds like the towners love you.”

He nodded at the beer. “Everyone loves a demon who doesn’t want to haunt you.”

“’s that why you wanted a heart?” I asked.

Notchel glared at me, and the bartender leaned over the bar with a meaty grin. “What’s this about a heart now?” the middle-aged man grinned, toggling between the two of us.

I took a few draughts of my drink and grinned back at the bartender. “See, at the ferry ticket office, he—”

“Can you please just not,” Notchel groaned, burying his head in a hand. Below his hand, he was breaking into a lightly dimpled smile.

“He wanted my heart!” I laughed.

The bartender laughed with me, and we both looked at the embarrassed demon boy for his reaction. He was shaking his head, which was still in his hands, but at least he was smiling now.

“Did you get it?” the bartender asked, patting Notchel by the shoulder and shaking him a little.

“No,” he said, doing his best to look up at the bartender.

“Yeah, I don’t have a heart,” I grinned, and picked up my drink to finish it.

The song in the jukebox ended, but no new song was picked. The bartender’s smile dissolved into his blush-red face while he stared at me. “You don’t have a heart?” he asked, seemingly through his walrus moustache.

Notchel grabbed my wrist and got off the stool.

The bartender wiped his hands with a cloth and threw it away before bending down and pulling open a drawer.

“Come on, come on,” Notchel pulled my wrist, dragging me off the stool and towards the bar entrance.

From behind me, I heard a shotgun being loaded with shells. A crack, a click.

Notchel barged the door open, throwing down an elderly man who had been standing just outside.

“What’s going on, dude?” I asked, but thankfully, by then I was out of the door and just out of the spread of the shotgun pellets.

Part 3

“Riddle me this, demon boy,” I swerved right on the highway, and then glanced at Notchel. His horns were hidden by the dark, so all I could see of him was his blank, squinting face and his stupid moustache.

“Demon boy,” I called his name out in song. “How come you’ve got the horns and I’m the one getting shot at?”

His hands were resting neatly on each lap. “What happened to your heart?” he asked in response.

“What?”

“You heard me,” he said, and he even looked at me.

“That’s kind of a personal question, you know?” I kept my eyes on the patch of road lit by the headlights. There was nothing in the rear view mirror, so I went easy on the accelerator.

“Did you just never have one?”

I kept my eyes on the road.

“Did it stop working?”

I kept my eyes on the road.

“It broke.”

I hit the wheel with one hand, and I swore. The words hung about the interior of the car, like warm breath. He swore too, a little quietly. Now our swears were together at last.

“Are the pieces still in there?” he was looking at my chest, I noticed.

“Could you stop staring at my chest?” I frowned at him.

“Do you feel them? They’re probably cracking and tinkling behind your ribs. You’d hear them when you sit down and get up, or if you run too hard.”

I didn’t really want to, but I nodded. Sometimes your body is just its own participant in a conversation. The more tired it gets, the more of a life it seems to gain.

Notchel lowered his gaze to the gear stick. “Yeah,” he said, stopping before he said any more.

We didn’t say anything to each other for so long that I could’ve fit in several songs from my favourite playlist.

“Where should I drop you off? The ferry ticket office?” I hadn’t even checked the GPS to know where I was, but I had a lot of gas in the tank.

“Drop me off wherever, I don’t care,” he shrugged. “Just in case something happens to you though…”

It took me a few seconds before I glanced at him and noticed he was staring at me again. “What?” I asked, checking the road for a moment and then looking at him again.

He opened his lips just slightly, and leaned towards me to peck me. Before he could escape, though, I grabbed his collar and pressed my own lips against his. I could tell from his kissing that he wasn’t expecting that.

“Eyes on the road, broken heart girl,” he said as we withdrew, almost allowing himself to laugh.

“Yeah, eyes on the road,” I turned away from him. “Wouldn’t want something to happen to me.”

With no one following us and no car having passed us in some time, I slowed the car.

“Pull over,” he said as he sat up straight in his seat.

I pulled over to the side and unlocked the car doors. “See ya, demon boy,” I said as I killed the engine. As soon as I turned towards him, though, his lips were locked with mine and his hands were gripping me tight, long-nailed thumbs grazing my cheeks.

When I climbed on him, it was still too dark to see him clearly. I could see his eyes though, and that was all I needed. Almost.

“We gotta saw your horns off if you want to kiss me right,” I said.

Part 4

Notchel’s room smelled of old books and sweat. Towers of yellowed paperbacks and faded hardcovers took up half the floorspace. The remaining area was taken up by a wooden wardrobe, a table hosting a laptop and a table fan, and a futon. A tiny slit of mint green carpet was all you could actually walk on. I’d seen Norwegian prison cells bigger than this.

“I thought we came here just to grab ‘a few things’,” I said.

“You did most of the grabbing, though,” he smirked. He was probably going for an ironic sleazeball look, but he just looked like a dork.

“There was nothing to grab. It was more of a pinch, really.”

“Oh, shut up,” he groaned, which made me cackle. It was a very unsexy cackle.

He dropped his smile a moment later. “Someone’s coming,” he whispered.

“I think someone already—” I was about to quip, but he put a hand around my mouth.

Notchel was already pulling his briefs up when the door rattled and slid open. I caught a glimpse of the woman at the door—black, wavy hair; sweat-damp white shirt, dark trousers, and a glare that could set paper on fire. Her skin was a little more pastel than Notchel’s, and her right horn was longer and sharper than his. Her left horn was sawed off.

“Ah, fuck,” she said, and the door slammed shut again.

I turned to Notchel, who was already throwing himself into his jeans.

“Sister? I’m guessing sister,” I laughed.

“Elder. She’s a bitch,” he pulled his zip up and tossed me my underwear. “Probably going to be mad, too.”

“Fun,” I smiled with irony as I got up.

There was barely any space for both of us to get dressed in his room, but he finished first (of course he did), and was approaching the door when it slid open again, a little more cautiously this time.

“You guys done yet? Need any refreshments?” Her livid expression didn’t really match her sarcastic tone. After glaring at Notchel, she stared at me, and then at my chest. I slipped my top on.

“Just came here to grab a few things,” Notchel’s voice was a lot weaker in front of his sister. “We’re getting out of this town.”

Notchel’s sister pulled out her phone and shoved its screen in Notchel’s face.

“No, that’s quite alright, Notchel,” she grit her teeth. “It’s not like I’ve been getting warnings from the townspeople all evening.”

Notchel grabbed the phone from her hands and studied it. I peeked over his shoulder to read one of the messages on the screen. “We tolrated your kidn [sic], but we will not stand for more. Take care of the girl or we’ll take care of her.”

I flicked my gaze up at Notchel’s sister, who stood taller than the both of us. As soon as I met her eyes, she broke out into a gracious grin. Her canines popped over her lips.

“Hi!” she extended a hand towards me. “I’m Catrisse.”

Her handshake was the strongest and firmest I’ve ever had from a woman. Okay, well, from a demon.

“Izzie,” I smiled.

Notchel handed back the phone to his sister. “We’re getting the hell out of Dodge anyway. You coming?”

Catrisse checked her phone for other messages. “Where are you going?”

Notchel shrugged. “We haven’t really decided yet.”

“Actually, we’re going to a place I know,” I cut in. “It’s a twelve-hour drive, though. At least.”

Catrisse grinned at me again. “Can we leave my brother here?”

It got a laugh out of me. “Nah, I don’t think I want the guilty conscience of leaving him here to die.”

“Aw come on,” Catrisse punched my shoulder lightly, “He’s a demon.”

“So are you,” I grinned.

Notchel groaned. “God, I don’t believe you. Both of you. Can we just get to the car before a mob shows up?”

The answer was no, no we could get to the car before a mob showed up. Their cars and trucks had taken over what little parking space there was, and they were waiting with bats, sticks, and rods. I spotted a gun. The bartender was nowhere to be seen, but I didn’t really miss him.

Catrisse took a deep breath and blew it out. “Well, what’s your plan now, boy genius?”

“I’m not a boy,” I cut in before Notchel could answer, which got Catrisse laughing so hard, she closed her eyes and almost hunched over. I mean, it got me laughing too. Catrisse was wheezing by the time the mob had noticed us.

Notchel sighed and stuck his hands in his pockets. “I wish it wasn’t like this. They gave us a home, they let us work… I feel like we’re the ones who betrayed them, you know? I mean, we agreed to the rules.”

Three young men in hoodies and baggy pants marched towards us. They were, in order, Sledgehammer, Knife, and Crowbar. Crowbar seemed to be the leader.

“What was the rule?” I asked.

“No attracting demons apart from us,” Notchel clasped his hand in mine. “If you don’t have a heart, you’d might as well be a demon to them.”

He turned to his sister. “We should apologise. They’ll probably let us go. Maybe they’ll even let Izzie stay.”

I looked at Catrisse too. “Is he always like this?”

The men approaching us were screaming profanities and telling us about all the horrible things they were going to do to us. It was as if internet trolls had come to life.

“Yeah,” she said without looking away from the men. “He’s a dumbass, but he is my brother.”

I raised my hand to protect my eyes as a flash lit up the place. Squinting, I saw Crowbar’s self completely obscured by thick, billowing flames. He didn’t scream for very long, but the other two men did. They broke away and ran.

“Got a lot more where that came from,” Catrisse screamed into the night as car doors slammed and engines came alive.

Part 5

“You pawned your horn?” I slammed the car door and followed Catrisse towards the light-soaked pawn shop. Broken neon signs glowed a list of things the shop would take off your hands. Green dollar signs, the kind with two vertical bars through them. Looked like a supposedly fun place you’ll never visit at a good time in your life.

“No, I didn’t pawn my horn, I just let her keep it,” Catrisse said as she opened the door. A bell tinkled in response, but Catrisse grabbed it and ripped it off of its hook before throwing it over her shoulder, just near Notchel’s feet.

“Did she pay you for it?” I asked. Meier’s Pawn Shop wasn’t large, but it sure was packed. How did they even get that huge reindeer wall hanging through the door? The answer would shock you.

“No she didn’t,” Catrisse frowned at me. “But she did lend me money shortly after.”

“So you pawned your horn.”

“Nooo,” Catrisse complained with a smile. There was no bell at the counter, so she rapped her knuckles on the wood instead. “Look, she and I were a thing, once upon a time. I actually sawed it off for her, the horn, so I could kiss her better.”

I turned to look at Notchel, who was comparing an orange power drill with a yellow one. His horns were just a bit longer than the actual drills.

“Uh,” I cleared my throat. “I hope this isn’t offensive, but…”

Catrisse made that face. That ‘Yeah, I am so over your bullshit before it’s even begun’ face.

Licked my lips for good measure. “Do your horns grow back if you saw them off?”

I waited for her answer, but she just looked at my belly and then the floor for a bit. “No. I don’t know. Maybe? Could be they’re growing so slow it’ll take a hundred years before we see then grow an inch.”

“Do you miss having it?”

Catrisse shrugged. “I mean, it’s a lot more convenient this way, and I haven’t even taken off my other horn yet. And plus, I get to look like Hellboy. You know, if he was a girl. And still had one horn. And was gay. And uh…”

A young man with a goatee appeared through the staff door. He didn’t look like he’d been sleeping at all. He had his eyes on Notchel as he approached the counter, but then he turned to the two of us.

Catrisse frowned. “You new? Where’s H?”

The man leaned forward onto the counter. “H is out of town. Seeing family in Israel. You got business with the shop, I’ll handle it. And tell your brother there to be careful with the shit.”

“The shit. Right,” Catrisse turned away from the man and grimaced at me. “H could’ve put us up for a bit, so this is definitely not going according to plan.”

Notchel put the orange drill on the counter and leaned forward himself. “Patrick,” he smiled just enough to show his canine. “Everything working out for you? Things must be on the up and up since the ferry drowned with your dad on it.”

Patrick looked jaded and expressionless, but the tension couldn’t be thicker. He stood up straight again.

“One night, that’s it,” he groaned. “Dawn breaks, all three of you scamper.”

Notchel grinned. “Thanks, man.”

Part 6

“Hey H,” Catrisse spoke into her phone, sitting with her knees up, caged by the balcony railing. “Hope you’re doing okay. Hope your grandparents are doing okay. Hope they’re still alive.”

She sent the message and then swiped at the phone screen a few times.

Notchel and I sat on the creaking bed, its mattress so worn out that it probably did belong to H’s grandparents. Notchel had his legs crossed, hands on his knees, and eyes closed. He took deep breaths. Demon boy was practising yoga right here in some chick’s apartment after almost getting killed.

“H, yeah, sorry for the messages,” Catrisse began again. “Did you take my old horn with you? I hope it’s a good good luck charm for you. You’ll remember me by it. And if you don’t want to remember me, you can always throw it into the Dead Sea.”

I gripped Notchel’s hand on his knee, and he clasped his fingers over mine. “Notchel, hey,” I whispered to him, and he pulsed his grip in response. “You saved my life there, you know. Thanks. Seriously.”

He winced when I said ‘thanks’. His breathing was off, too.

“Anyway, H, just I thought you should know that I helped someone. It’s this… girl. She isn’t a demon, and Notchel likes her, he has a thing for her. Helped her get out of town, and we’re on the run. We’re holed up in your old place, actually, above the pawn shop. But anyway, you know what means, right?”

I rested my head on Notchel’s shoulder. “I wish I really could give you my heart,” I said. “I’d give it to you in a heartbeat, you know?” I smiled and looked at him to see if he got the joke, but his eyes were closed and there wasn’t a flicker of expression on his face. I pecked him on the cheek.

“H,” Catrisse’s voice was strained now, almost a little dramatic. “I just want to eat stupid fries with you again, while the world burned itself down. Ugh, sorry. Sorry, I’m so sorry.”

She sent the message and broke down crying, rubbing off her tears with the back of her wrist.

“She’s in pain,” I said to Notchel. “You should do something.”

He shook his head dismissively.

“She’s your sister, Notchel,” I put my arms around him. “Come on.”

Notchel took one final deep breath and got off the bed. He approached his sister and hugged her. Her sobbing became louder, and she choked. “What the fuck are you doing, you idiot?” She pushed him away with some force, sending him staggering a few steps back towards the room.

“Am I not enough?” she choked at Notchel, and her eyes were leaking with tears. “You want to get yourself killed too?”

Notchel shoved his hands into his pockets and returned to the bed, where he took up a meditation pose again.

“You were right about her being a bitch,” I whispered to him.

“She’s dying,” he stressed as he closed his eyes. “Every word of kindness, every kind deed, every act of selflessness, it’s a gash into a demon’s body. Rends them apart, leaves them bleeding.”

“You can do something bad though, right? Kill an innocent? Make someone’s life hell? Will that help?”

This time, he put his arms around me. “It won’t. Because me and my sister, we’re the worst demons in the world.”

Part 7

At 4 am, I yawned and opened the door behind the pawn shop counter. Patrick turned to face me, and he could've been a fresh corpse with how pale and tired he looked.

"Do you know H well?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said, well before he looked me in the eye. "Used to know her real good. She left me the shop."

"Before she went to Israel?" I looked around for pictures of her.

"Shit," he shook his head. "Before she died. Wasn't a pretty way to go, but... you know, she said in her note that she didn't want Catrisse to know. I can respect that."

"Oh," I said. That was all I could say, really.

"Yeah," he scratched the back of his neck.

"You're just never going to let her know? She's going to find out, some day. She won't be happy with you then."

He shrugged. "Not my problem," he wiped the counter with a cloth. "She won't be alive by then."

I turned him by the shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"They're coming to get her, right when she's weak, when she's feeling safe and kind." He yawned, and then smiled over a sleepy tear. "You should get out while you can, girl. You're one of us, a human being. They'll be here in a few minutes."

Back in the room, Notchel was sprawled on the bed, possibly having fallen asleep while meditating. Catrisse was sitting in the balcony with her head against the bars. I couldn't tell if she was breathing.

Notchel hard my shoes, and he raised his head dreamily at me. "Izzie?" he croaked.

"Notchel," I crouched in front of his bed and held his hand. "Can you walk?"

"I think," he said, and got off of the bed. His footsteps were heavy, and he had trouble orienting himself.  Somehow, he made it to my arms, as if drunk.

"Is Catrisse okay?" I asked.

He looked at his sister and stumbled towards her, crashing in front of her.

"Catrisse," he called out to her, but she didn't move. He shook her shoulder, which only made her head loll. "Hey, come on. Don't mess with me." His voice was getting weaker, but he kept calling her name, imploring her to wake up.

When the tears started streaming down his cheeks, he buried his face in her shoulder and started weeping, hugging Catrisse and shaking her. "Please get up, Catrisse. Why would you do this to me? Why would you do this to H?"

"Notchel," I laid a hand on his shoulder. "H isn't alive. She left a note."

Notchel looked broken when he squinted at me. "That's not... possible." He turned to Catrisse again and tried shaking her awake harder.

"I'm gonna go," I said, standing up. "The townspeople are gonna be here in a few minutes."

"What?" Notchel frowned, confused. His eyes searched for answers. "You can't... You can't leave us like this. You gotta take Catrisse with you, somewhere, anywhere. I'll come."

He struggled to get up, but I stepped away, and he fell to the floor, cursing.

"Sorry, demon boy. I told you, didn't I?" I smiled. "I haven't got a heart."

[nautiscarader]

Wendip Week day 6 - Wendy, you are the coolest person I know

(Ao3)

"Wendy, you’re the coolest person I know. You were brave, courageous, smart and funny, and as a result, it shouldn't surprise anyone that I have fallen in love with you. But the thing is, I have never stopped loving you. I in those three years I have met many amazing people, but no one comes even close to you.”

Dipper Pines read the message on the screen of his computer, desperately clutching his desk. He looked down, where he saw the familiar, green progress bar move dangerously closely from one side of the screen to the other. in his last act of desperation, he fell to his knees and begged.

- Please...

==============

- No, no, no!

Dipper grumbled under his breath, and just to be certain, pressed the Enter key again, which unfortunately never unpressed itself.

- Come on!

In hope, he kept smashing the key that only exhibited a fraction of the mixture of flexibility and sturdiness Dipper Pines was used to. It felt alien now, as if belonging to a completely different machine, and it was that feeling that made Dipper's morning so bad.

But Dipper was not one to give up easily. A moment later, the black keyboard was put on the desk upside-down, and with a set of screwdrivers, Dipper Pines proceeded to operate on his most important patient. Years of usage has worn the most important key, but Dipper still had some hope he'll be able to repair it. The prospect of having to substitute his beloved input device was too grim to even contemplate.

He cleaned the contacts. He isolated the mechanism and repositioned it.

All for nothing.

- Oh, dang it.

He muttered and slowly came to the conclusion that his favourite keyboard broke down, and as the manufacturer ceased to exists five years ago, there was little he could do.

- Uh, Dipper?

Mabel's voice brought Dipper from his state of mind. His sister walked into his room, finding him amongst his keyboard in pieces, all carefully disassembled.

- Eh, something wrong? - Yeah - he sighed - Can't fix it. I'm afraid it's gone. - Well... - Mabel started with a sing-song voice - I think I know someone who can help you.

A familiar figured appeared in the doorway (at least as much as he could fit), and Dipper's face brightened at once.

- Soos! I thought you were going to come next week! - Nah, dude. How could I not visit my favourite Pines twins while we wait in line for the biggest Comic Convention ever?

The husky man leapt towards Dipper and easily picked him up in a tight hug.  

- Seriously, though, we are forever grateful to your parents - Melody spoke appearing behind her boyfriend - The prices for hotels are astronomical! - Hey, least we can do for you, guys. - Mabel ran into Melody's arms. - Oh, wow, what's cooking here, dude?

Soos immediately spotted Dipper's desk filled with mechanical parts, and let Dipper explain his problem. After a solid minute of chin scratching and careful examination of the parts, Soos gave his verdict.

- It's a very old mechanical switch, Banana FX. - I know, they're not making them any more... - Dipper sighed. - Yeah, but maybe we'll be able to find some replacements!

A smile appeared back on Dipper's face, and the two did not waste any more time. A few minutes later, Soos and Dipper rushed downstairs and slammed the door behind them.

- Boys and their toys, am I right? - Melody sighed, as Dipper and Soos disappeared from sight. - Tell me about it. - Mabel rolled her eyes, treating Melody to a cup of tea. - Now, where was I? Oh yeah, most people think that all grappling hook guns are the same, but according to "Superheroine Monthly", the type of alloy really does make a difference...

==========

- This... isn't what I was thinking about.

Dipper expected Soos to take him to any of computer shops in the vicinity, or at least some sort of mechanics' shop. The two men stood in front of an alley, that even in on a bright, sunny, Californian day looked dark and gloom, as if something was absorbing the surrounding light.

- Don't worry, dude, I got this.

Soos made the first step into the unknown territory, and prompted Dipper to follow him. The deep and foreboding sense of dread filled Dipper to the marrow in his bones, but he clutched the carcass of his keyboard to his chest and ventured forward.

- 'Sup, dude. - Soos spoke suddenly, and it took Dipper a moment to spot what, or rather whom Soos was talking to.

A pair of yellow eyes opened wide at the sight of customers, followed by equally yellow teeth filling the mouth. The old-looking man stood up and pushed aside what Dipper thought to be just a piece of protective cloth, revealing a whole workshop with myriad of parts on trays and bags on display, all crammed, somehow in the small niche.

- Yeah, we have this keyboard to repair here and we need a...

Soos took a quick look around, closed the distance to the mysterious man and whispered.

- ...a Banana FX.

Dipper could swear the yellow eyes of the man glistened and turned golden for a moment. He dived his long, thin hand into the chasm made of parts, and a moment later, emerged with a small, equally yellow mechanical switch and handed it to Dipper.

- Sweet! - he spoke, forgetting temporarily the odd circumstances in which he acquired the item, but he quickly sobered up - Er, how much for it?

A wide grin appeared on the man's face.

==========

- Okay, this shouldn't be that cheap. - Dipper spoke to Soos as they walked back home. - I mean, five bucks? I was expecting to blow ten times more...

Still, Dipper was more than glad that the seemingly small, but significant problem in his life has been fixed.

- And, Soos, how did you know he's gonna be there? - Oh, we, the repairman, we have our ways... - Soos spoke ominously - Our community is well-connected, and we are trained in finding hidden symbols and signs on the streets... Also, he had a website.

Soos showed Dipper his phone with "Crazy Steve's workshop", instructing people to "go into the fifth dark alleyway from the boulevard, and walk precisely until you feel that someone is watching you".  

The very same afternoon, Dipper was more than pleased when his Enter key made the familiar clicking sound, and showed no sings of damage.

- Soos, you wanna play some games?

Dipper reached out to the guests of his house, having a very odd and quiet tea with his parents.

- Sure!

Soos replied and walked to his room, visibly pleased he can leave the awkward meeting.

Two hours later, Dipper cheered once again when his digital avatar defeated Soos for the tenth time in a row.

- Man, you got better over the summer. - Soos spoke, closing his laptop. - I barely got around to play. - Dipper spoke - I honestly thing it's the keyboard thing.

Dipper brushed the keyboard with his hand, as if thinking he'd be able to feel something underneath his fingertips.

- Yeah...

=========== Dipper's winning streak continued throughout the week, and he found himself defeating even the most skilled on-line opponents. Another revelation came to Dipper about a week later, once Soos and Melody left after their visit to the convention, when Dipper opened a long-abandoned programming project, and suddenly found a solution he wasn't able to spot for weeks. Line by line, the code filled the screen, and even though Dipper hasn't his the "compile" button for an hour, he somehow knew he hasn't made a single error.

Satisfied with the work he was finally completing, he reached for a can of Pitt soda and marvelled at the nearly finish deciphering tool he was making with Ford, enjoying the oddly satisfying clicking sound.

It took Dipper a solid minute to realise what was wrong with it.

The code was still being typed.

He dropped the can, and nearly shrieked when he saw the keys on his keyboard press themselves with tremendous speed, finishing each line way faster than he'd be able to, as if a ghost was sitting in his place.

- Wh-Wha-What's going on?

//Hello, Dipper.

The keyboard suddenly stopped, and a single new line appeared in the text file.

- Who...who are you? - Dipper asked, unsure if he should speak to his microphone, or type the words.

It seemed, however, the keyboard was fine with speech.

//I am your keyboard, or rather a switch in one of its keys. It's been sooo long since I've been put in one. Years!

- What do you want? Why are you doing this? - Dipper spoke in hushed voice, understanding how bizarre the him talking to a keyboard would look like to an onlooker.

// I want to help you. That's what I was designed for. it looks like you had a problem with your code, so I helped you.

Dipper scratched his chin for a moment.

- Er, listen. - he started - I don't have anything against you, but... me and my sister don't exactly have the best records trusting something that has been possessed... So...

//If you feel uneasy working with me, feel free to turn the machine off. After you saved all of your work, obviously.

The keyboard replied, rendering Dipper speechless for another moment. He'd stay in this state longer, if not for a single sound that announced a new mail in his messaging application. The photo of Wendy appeared in the corner of the screen, and it made Dipper's heart skip a beat. Temporarily forgetting the fact that he was talking to a living, thinking keyboard, he rushed to read and reply to her message.

"how's it going, Dip? Still doing nerdy stuff, like soos told me?"

Dipper was about to type the answer, but then the keys began pressing themselves again, and he remembered he wasn't the only intelligence in the room.

"Allow me to construct a suitable reply".

The message now appeared in a cartoony font of the messenger, instead of machine-like one in his text editor, but it wasn't any less eerie to see it appear out of nowhere.

- No! - Dipper quickly replied - That... that is someone important, I can't... I can't leave it to you.

"Of course she is" - the keyboard removed previous line and typed a new one - "Based on your previous conversations, it appears your are in love with her, and she shows some interest in you."

- What? - Dipper asked audibly - No, no way. Also, wait, did you read my messages to her?!

"Merely scanned them for keywords and sentences structures" - the keyboard continued - "Compared to the average teenager, she uses 25% more emojis in conversations with you, and makes fewer spelling mistakes. She also describes the activities you share with phrases containing the word <<love>> 36% more often than usual."

- O...okay. - Dipper spoke. - Still, I gotta reply myself, okay?

The keyboard removed the text it wrote.

"yeah, I guess. You know me" - Dipper typed - "So, how are you?"

But before he pressed enter, he pondered for a while.

- Hey, keyboard? You think this is a good reply?

"It can be made better"

And a moment later, a different one has been crafted.

"Yeah, I guess, I am doing my best to help others, you know me. And how is the summer going? What about your college applications? Are you still up for our streams tomorrow? I can't wait to see you again."

Dipper's eyes widened.

- Holy smokes, I nearly forgot about that. Good you reminded me.

The keyboard added a winking emoji at the end of the sentence. Dipper hesitated for a moment, and pressed the Enter key, sending the message. He didn't have to wait long for a reply.

"aww, you're sweet, Dipper".

But it was the heart emoji at the end of the sentence that made Dipper speechless. He looked at the keyboard, looked around as if to spot anyone that could judge him, and asked.

- Do you think you could... help me?

The keyboard already began writing a reply.

===============

For the next hour or so, Dipper chatted with Wendy, each reply of his enhanced by the keyboard. It turned out that ditching the upper-cases Dipper was so used to has resulted in even more emojis and reaction GIFs from Wendy. Every few minutes, the keyboard gave him statistics, and it looked like Wendy was typing faster and faster as well, enjoying their time more and more.

And with each phrase, calling Dipper "lovely", "funny" or "sweet", his heart grew and grew in size, and the sudden boost of his writing skill gave him nothing but confidence. But the idyllic feeling had to end soon, when he heard Mabel's voice from downstairs, calling him for supper. He looked at the keyboard and whispered.

- Okay, stop now. I don't want to mess anything up.

He replied with a short "see you later, gotta go for supper", and walked out of the room.

It took only a split of a second for the keyboard to erase the unsent message and compose on of its own.

=============

Dipper was in the middle of the supper, when he heard it. It was barely audible at first, as he was so used to the sound by now, but the clicking sound nearly made him drop the fork to the floor. Cold sweat appeared on his forehead and spread down his spine. Without wasting a second, Dipper ran upstairs, and unsurprisingly, heard the familiar sounds coming from his room. He looked at the screen, filled with longer and longer messages, and when he read the last one, his heart stopped.

"Wendy, you’re the coolest person I know. You were brave, courageous, smart and funny, and as a result, it shouldn't surprise anyone that I have fallen in love with you. But the thing is, I have never stopped loving you. I in those three years I have met many amazing people, but no one comes even close to you.”

His eyes scanned the previous ones. "He" talked about the days he spent thinking about her, and the movie and song collection he was building up for her, openly admitting he was in love with her.

- No, no, no, no!  Stop it! - he shouted at the keyboard. - Please...

"Why?" - the keyboard asked - "Don't you love her? Isn't this a part of courting rituals your species do before becoming a pair?"

- Yes, I love her, but... I don't want to tell her through instant messaging!

"65% of teenagers confess love that way nowadays."

- Well, maybe I'm not one of those.

"I'm sorry, Dipper. Based on my predictions, probability of you succeeding in this conversation is less than 10%."

And with that, the keyboard pressed the "send " button, and the green progress bar filled the screen in record-fast time. Dipper fell to his knees, staring at the floor, but he looked up when he heard a sound of the reply.

With some hesitation, he looked up, already feeling the familiar sense of dread and guilt swooping over him. His heart was already broken and his friendship with Wendy was severed once, he didn't want to live through it again.

But when he heard more replies coming, he looked up, and as his eyes scanned the messages, he realised they were not as gloomy as he thought they would be. His eyes widened, when he noticed more and more instances of the four-letter word he least expected to see from her, and he slowly rose from his knees.

- She... loves me?

Dipper jumped in place when his phone rang, dragging him from his half-terrified, half-ecstatic state. Somehow, he knew who was calling him, he wouldn't like either to leave it to just words on screen.

- Wendy! - he spoke - I'm so glad you called, I lo- - Dipper! You gotta help me!

Wendy's distressed, almost crying voice sobered Dipper up, as he realised something was wrong.  

- Wha-What happened? - My laptop's gone haywire! - she screamed - I came back from the shop, and-and it was typing on its own! And it was talking to you!

The same flood of cold sweat returned, covering Dipper's back. He looked at the chat window, and sure enough, "Wendy" was still talking to "him", telling him she loved him.

- Wendy... did you let Soos repair your laptop? - Y-yeah, how do you know?! - Okay, Wendy, something has possessed your computer. - Dipper explained - Not a virus, or malware, but... something alive.

"We just wanted to help you" - "Dipper" typed. "You humans are so slow with interactions. Bacteria multiply hundred times faster, and every second millions of processors are made by other machines." - "Wendy" added. "We can't just sit and watch." "We will spread, and soon humanity will don't have to worry about that at all."

- Wendy... - Dipper whispered to his phone - I know you've been saving up on this laptop, but... Look to your left.

Wendy Corduroy wasn't sure what Dipper was talking about, but when she followed his advice, she understood his plan immediately.

- Ready? - Ready.

In two different places, two cans of Pitt Soda were raised into the air and tipped, spilling its sugary contents between the keys of the keyboards, one external, one built. It took the living mechanisms a while to realise their delicate components are being flooded with sucrose, short-circuiting their fragile minds, and att he same time, two screens faded to black, silencing their mute voices.

- Is... is it over? - Yeah. - Dipper spoke, looking at his favourite keyboard, now properly ruined - I think it is.

================

- You know, if you think about it, it could have been cool! - Wendy's face on the screen brightened, as she reminded herself of the events of the past week. - I bet those thinking things could have helped with me with my homework. - Well, they have helped me. - Dipper replied - I've been writing this program, and it kinda wrote itself. Shame it got lost when I nearly blew the PC... - Come on, dude, you're smart, you'll be able to recover it. 

 A familiar, warm feeling spread over Dipper when Wendy complimented him, though at the same time, it brought back the uneasiness he though he had left behind a long time ago.

- Er, speaking of recovery...

Dipper blushed and shied away for moment.

- You-you haven't *read* any of the stuff those keyboards were typing between each other, right? - Er, no. - Wendy replied in equally abashed manner - Cos it was... It was junk anyway, wasn't it? Like if you let auto-correct write for you. - Yeah! - Dipper quickly reassured her - Predictive text, you know, based on what you already typed... and how often you type it... - Didn't people do that with old scripts of some shows? - Oh yeah, turns out they were exactly as repetitive as people remember them.

Dipper chuckled, glad the discussion moved towards movies.

- Well, glad I can talk with the real you, Dip. - Wendy smiled - Unless it's Mabel with your face deepfaked onto her. - No, I don't think it's possible in real time yet. Though she would do equally good job as the keyboard has done. - With what? - Wendy raised her brow. - Er, nothing! I mean, saying silly things! That's what Mabel is good at, isn't it?

Wendy chuckled.

Her eyes turned to the few printed pages of text lying on her bed. Deep down, she knew Dipper hasn't written all of it, but she couldn't quite put her finger on which of the confessions were his, and which were the machine's. She looked at the calendar and groaned. She still had two weeks until she finds out.

[maybemitch]

Taking Risks | Chapter Two (Nerve AU)

Warning/Disclaimer: This story will contain spoilers to the movie/novel ‘Nerve’, so if you haven't watch I would recommend reading/watching it. However, you don't need too. All rights of the story go to the author of the Novel, Jeanne Ryan. This is purely for entertainment purposes. Also, this fan-fiction will include swearing. The dares which are involved in this fan-fiction you shouldn’t try at home. || WORD COUNT: 6012 ||

Description: When an online game called ‘Nerve’ takes the world by storm, Louis is somewhat disappointed with his friends which are involved in the game. However, when Clementine accuses Louis of not taking risks, he finds himself wanting to prove her wrong. And when he gets partnered up with someone, he finds himself agreeing to more challenging dares.

Read on AO3

Read Chapter One HERE

—————

Louis’ eyes were watching the loading symbol of the game which felt as if it was taunting him. He wasn’t regretting the decision entirely: maybe a small minor part of him was. Louis did want to prove himself to Clementine, he wanted to show her that he did take risk every now and then and that he was indeed living a life, not just watching everything flicker by from his comfort zone.

He inhaled and then held his breath for a momentarily, before realising it in shakes. Louis could feel his stomach-churning, as the loading symbol went round and round. He knew exactly what the game was doing in this agonisingly long moment; it was analysing every piece of information which was meant to be kept confidential, such as bank statements, medical bills, the things which you don’t normally talk about unless really necessary. He also knew that it was cycling through his likes and dislikes. The reason the game was doing that, it would help the watcher determine to dares which he would participate in. An invasion of privacy. Yet, he couldn't complain, he signed up to this.

Nibbling on his nails and began to think. One dare.  That's all he's going to participate in. He knew that one dare wouldn’t cause no harm. He would complete it, take the money and then back out of the game. That was the plan he had decided as he thought. It seemed flawless, as if nothing could go wrong.

He allowed his eyes to flutter shut, the loading symbol was beginning to frustrate him more and more as the seconds tick by. The hand which wasn’t allocated to his mouth being nibbled on, began to tap on the desk in a soothing rhythmic pattern. It was from a song which he knew out to play on piano, a song which he and his parents adored.

Louis jerked back in his chair when a loud electronic voice filled the room, a small piece of panic settled into him as he looked around his room, before casting his eyes to the laptop screen, "Hello. Welcome to nerve. You have chosen player." his eyes were so fixated towards the screen, watching the bizarre, yet intriguing introduction scene to game. He cocked his head to the side slightly, his jaw dropping, "Nerve is a direct democracy. Watchers decide your dares.”

That caused him to rolled his eyes, he knew that the watchers decided their dares. Only because Omar gave him - alongside his group - knowledge about it. Louis still wasn't fond on that fact. But then again, he knew thats how dare games work, other people choose them for you. Arching his eyebrow, he crossed his arms over his chest, as he waited to find out more about this game.

"The two players with the most watchers by the end of regulation will advance to the final round, where the winner takes all." The electronic voice informed, only to get a scoff from the boy with the dreadlocks. Louis was shaking his head in disbelief at the game as he mumbled something his breath as the introduction to nerve continued, "Watchers can watch from anywhere, but they are encouraged to film live. So don't be alarmed. There are three rules.”

Louis found himself perking up. Rules, that's exactly what he need to knows. Especially if he wants to stop after the first dare.

"One, all dares must be filmed on the player's phone." Louis nodded his head. The first rule was understandable and easy to get behind, if it's your dare, you need to have evidently proof you fulfilled it. Also, it would be best to see it from the darer themselves.

"Two, there are only two ways to be eliminated. Fail or bail." Louis began to tug at his bottom lip. If they were the only two ways out, then he would want to take the less humiliating route, yet they both seemed as bad as each other. Failing at dare would meant you didn’t succeed and bailing just makes you seem like a wimp.

"Three, snitches get stitches. Thank you for keeping nerve a secret. Good luck, player." The electronic voice cut out, leaving Louis is an eerie silence in his room. He blinked at the screen before beginning to process the final rule.

It sounded like a threat, which was something that raised alarms bells in Louis' head. Surely a game couldn't make rules like that, not in such a aggressive way. Louis bit down on his nail once again and then hissed out in pain when he reached the nail bed, it bleeding slightly.

He casted his eyes down to his phone which light up, the words 'ENTER ID' was wrote in bold yellow letters at the top of his screen, with a thumb print underneath of it. Timidly picking up the phone in his right hand, he placed his thumb on the touch ID, allowing the game to also get ahold of his finger print. That means the game not only has his personal information but a type of DNA, not completely reliable, but still something.

Louis shifted his eyes back to the laptop, a question blinked on the screen.

ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR FIRST DARE?

ACCEPT

Louis huffed as he placed his phone down for a moment, bringing his hands to the laptop, his fingers delicately touching the trackpad. "Doesn't even give you a chance to decline it.” He pressed his finger down on the trackpad, accepting it. He was prepared. All depending on hard the first dare was going to be. 'PLEASE PROCEED TO JOELS DINER’

Slowly standing up, Louis shut the lid to his laptop and swooped his phone up from the desk. He went through his contacts, hovering his finger over Marlon's name, sighing he clicked down on it. He brought the phone up to his ear, listening to the constant ringing on the line.

Marlon picked up after the fifth ring, he mumbled a few words, then the sound of the car horn went off. "Yeah?" Marlon asked, sounds of muffling came from the other side, "You're on loud speaker. Violet is here with me.”

"Perfect," Louis smiled as he look in the mirror in his room, straightening his outfit, "I need you to swing by my house and take me to Joel's diner. It's... urgent?”

"It's urgent?" Violet questions, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion on the other end of the line, "That's code for, you've done something we wouldn't like.”

Marlon kept his eyes on the road, as he changed the direction, "What have you done, Lou?”

Louis tugged at his lip as he opened his bedroom door, "So... I may or may not have signed up for Nerve. And my first dare is at the diner. I believe.”

"Are you kidding me Louis!" Violet raised her voice at the boy on the other end of the phone, she shook her head as her fist balled up, "Don't tell me you let Clementine's words get to you. Because Louis, that's stupid. Im so slapping you when you get in the car.”

Louis shook his head, despite the fact the two couldn't see him, "I didn't let Clementine's words get to me. I... I just want to prove to people that I do take risks. I'm doing one dare. That's it.”

Marlon turned down Louis' street, "One dare. That's it. Then you bail," Marlon sighed as he parked his car in the drive way at Louis', "Here. Get your ass into the car now.”

—————

The door to Joel's diner chimed, the person behind the counter sent a smile towards the three teenagers who were huddled close together. Louis kept his eyes fixated towards his phone, as he waited for the dare to pop up on his screen. Violet was the one which returned the smile, even if it was force. She didn’t like the person which was behind the counter, she didn’t like much.

"Can we get a milkshake?" Marlon asked as he noticed a deal on the wall, "I could kill for a milkshake.”

Violet slapped Marlon hard, "We are not here for you cravings. We are here for support for Louis. What's the dare Lou?”

Louis felt his heart race when he read over it. There is no way he could go through with it. He tilted his phone slightly, allowing Violet to know what he had to do. Her eyes widened, as she looked between the area and then to Louis.

DARE ONE

KISS A STRANGER FOR FIVE SECONDS - $100

Louis shook his head, "I-I can't do that." He bit his bottom lip, his heart was still racing, "Kiss a stranger?" Some of the people around in the diner, turned to look at Louis is disgust. Louis ignored the disgusted stares from everyone. He wasn't going to kiss them anyways, so they were safe.

Violet rubbed Louis' upper arms. She could sense the nerves radiating off him, after all, she was one of his best friends, she knew him better than anyone, maybe not better than Marlon, but a close second. Violet frowned, "Kiss someone which looks like they would understand. You could always apologise after.”

Louis nodded his head slowly. Violet was right. She was always right. He could always apologise after kissing them. He let out a shaky breath, "Yeah, but who could I kiss?”

Violet looked around the room - Marlon did also. The blonde headed girl looked at the old man which sat at the gambler machine, a beer can at his side and crumbs scattered in his beard, her face twisted into disgusted when they burped and didn't apologise for it. That person was a definite no.

Marlon raised an eyebrow at a women which sat in one of the booths, he pointed a finger discreetly at them. Louis raised his eyebrow as he took a small step towards the table, but then slowly backed away when he noticed a boy sitting opposite to her. He wasn't going to kiss someone if they were on a date with someone. That would be wrong in so many different levels.

The trio moved further into the diner, all hopes being lost, until Violet abruptly grabbed ahold of Louis' shoulder and shook it, "Them." She said excitedly, a genuine smile on her lips. "They're reading The Great Gatsby. You love that book.”

Louis grinned and nodded his head - it was easy as that - as he looked down to his phone, a notification from Nerve popped up saying 'HURRY UP!’.

"Here," Louis handed his phone over to Marlon, "The dare needs to be filmed from the players phone," Louis wiped his hands on his jeans, "Just shout five when i'm finished.”

Marlon and Violet nodded as they quickly sat down in a booth, five down from where the mysterious person behind the book sat. Louis found his feet shuffling over to the table, his fingers playing together as he tried to think about what he should say.

Louis knew he couldn't straight up and ask them if they wanted to kiss him. Louis didn't even know if they liked men, so this whole situation could be awkward.

He stopped at the table, running a hand through his dreads and cleared his throat. The person dropped the book down slightly, showing his face slightly to Louis and gave a welcoming smile.

"Hi?" He spoke, as he moved the book down from his face completely, he began to close the book, his finger in the page they got too, "How can I help you?”

Louis let out a shaky breath. Holy shit. Their voice was soothing, Louis found himself leaning slightly, he could listen to their voice all night if he got the chance too. Yet, unfortunately, that wasn’t an option on the table, if it was he would cease it instantaneously.

Louis licked his lips as he pointed to the book, "I-I couldn't help but notice you're reading my favourite book," he paused as he made eye contact with him. Louis felt his cheeks heat up, "And I want to know how you're finding it. I'm Louis by the way.”

They chuckled, "Hi Louis. I'm Aasim," he smiled softly to the male, before flicking his gaze down to the book in his hold, "The Great Gatsby? I've read it before. An all time fave, if you want me to be honest." Aasim looked Louis up and down, before asking a question to him, "So, Louis. To you, what's the most important theme in this book?”

Louis grinned as he took a seat besides Aasim, hoping his wasn't over stepping any boundaries. Louis thought for a moment, before snapping his fingers together, making Aasim jump slightly, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. But I would say love.”

Aasim arched an eyebrow, "You would say it's love? Do tell me why you think that then, Louis.”

Louis gulped, "Simple. Jay Gatsby loves Daisy. And the love which he holds for her, drives him to gain his wealth. And with that said wealth, his throws phenomenal parties in the hopes that Daisy would show up to them as she lived directly across the sound. Then, there is also the theory that Nick Caraway was in love with Gatsby himself…”

Aasim found himself smiling as he watched Louis speak on about the book which was his favourite. Louis must have sat for hours, rereading the book to know the plot in depth, considering he was explaining it well, without spoiling it.

The two boys made eye contact, which resulted in Louis losing his train of thought of the book. He tore his eyes away from Aasim, and began to look around the room. His eyes noticed Marlon and Violet waving their hands at him, desperate to speed things ups.

Shit. The dare. Louis thought, how could he forget?

Louis gave a tight lipped smile to Aasim as he fiddled with his own hands. Aasim is probably going to hate him after this. Louis swallowed the lump which formed in his throat as he made eye contact with Aasim. Now or never.

Louis blew out some air as he scooted more into the booth, he moved his hands abruptly, grasping onto Aasim’s plaid jacket, tugging the male much closer to him.

Aasim was confused, yet let out a gasp when he felt Louis' lips on his, his eyes fluttering shut automatically. He was in a state of shock to begin with, not daring to respond, yet after a moment or two, his hands slide up Louis' and began to clench onto the padded shoulders of his trench coat as he kissed him back in the same passion Louis was kissing him: needing.

Marlon and Violet gagged as they watched their friend make out with some stranger, they couldn't wait until they get to persistently joke about this moment with him. The timer on the phone hit zero, Violet raised an eyebrow at the two boys a few tables down who were still kissing one another. Clearing her throat she shouted, “Five."

"Five!" Marlon joined in, watching as Louis awkwardly pulled away from the person he was kissing.

Louis felt his cheeks heat up as he looked as Aasim, his bottom lips pulled between his teeth. Aasim gave Louis a timid smile. Neither of the two boys knew what to say to each other.

Louis moved a hand to the back of his neck, rubbing it, "I'm... I have to go? I'll see you around..." He cringed at the words, he didn't know if Aasim wanted to see him again, "Or not.”

Louis stood up and left to the table his friends sat at.

Frustrated, Aasim ran a hand through his hair. He was trying to grasp the fact he had made out with a complete stranger in a diner he was a regular at. He wouldn't live this down. His phone vibrated, causing him to awkwardly stand at the table - which only meant lifting up slightly to gain access to his right tight pocket. Unlocking the phone, he groaned.

"You've got to be kidding me?" He asked to no one in particular as he pressed the button on the right side of the screen. Slowly sliding out the booth, he began making his way down to the jukebox.

When Louis arrived at the booth his friends sat at, he practically threw himself into the corner and buried his head into his hand, shielding his heated cheeks. Louis knew Marlon and Violet were smirking at him, knowing that the moment he lifted his head up the teasing would start and would probably never die down. Best friends.

Yet at that moment in time, Louis didn't care about his friends. His mind was so drawn to Aasim and the way his lips were soft against his, the way he so desperately wanted to keep kissing him. Louis would be lying to himself if he said he didn't enjoy the kiss. Louis just hoped that Aasim enjoyed the kiss too. He knew he kissed back, but that could have been from shock. Or because Aasim didn't want it to be awkward. Louis sighed, he was overthinking everything.

"Did you get it?" Louis asked, yet his words came out in a muffle due to his hidden face.

Marlon raised an eyebrow at his friend, "I'm sorry. What did you say?”

Louis lifted his head up slightly from his hands, his face showed signs of embarrassment and annoyance "I said. Did you get it?”

Violet frowned, "You know, we didn't. We ended up going through your pictures," Louis' eyes widened in disbelief at his friends. Going through his pictures was totally fine with him, he has nothing to hide, but it was the fact they did it when he was doing a dare. Violet snorted shaking her head as she slide the phone back over to him, "I'm messing with you, doofus. Of course we got it.”

"I seriously hate you both at times." Louis groaned as he looked at his phone screen, when the nerve notification went off, "$100 has been wired to your account," he lifted his eyes up to look at his friends, "Should I check?”

Nodding his head, Marlon spoke, "You should check which account it's gone into. Yours or your joint.”

"Isn't the joint one connected with both the parents?" Violet asked as Louis nodded his head in confirmation. “Won’t you get in trouble?”

Louis shrugged his shoulder as he looked away from his phone, “If it ends up in that one, I’ll play it off as a glitch in the system. Then ill transfer it to my account.”

The sound of the money dropping to the jukebox made everyone tilt their heads slightly. Most wanted to know what the person was putting on. Yet the trio didn't bother turning to see what the person was doing, they were all expecting an old lady to put some Elvis Presley on.

Louis moved down to the end of the table, looking down the small walk way to where Aasim was once sitting. He frowned once he noticed the male was missing. "Where has he gone?”

Marlon chuckled and teased his friend, "Probably to wash out his mouth out from kissing you. I would have also.”

Louis glared, "Screw you.”

Put your head on my shoulder,

Hold me in your arms, baby,

Squeeze me oh-so-tight,

Show me that you love too,

Marlon, Violet and Louis' eyes widened as they heard someone start singing in the diner. The voice was oddly familiar in some ways, yet Louis bit down on his bottom lip an thought for a moment. Louis eyes light up when he pinpoint the voice, it was Aasim’s. He was hypnotised by that voice a few minutes ago. Louis licked his lips over as he peeked over the wall at the booth, only to witness Aasim dancing as he sung.

"What's he's doing?" Louis whispered to his friends, his eyes not shifting from Aasim.

Put your lips next to mind dear,

Won't you kiss me once, baby?

Just a kiss goodnight, maybe,

You and I will fall in love,

Louis watched as Aasim approached a table, smiling down at one of the people which held the phone. Aasim was forcing a smile on his lips as he did this, but he still went forwards with it. It was obvious Aasim was uncomfortable.

"He's singing one of your favourite songs." Violet pointed out with a smirk on her lips as she realised Louis was staring at Aasim.

Louis scoffed, "Yeah. Great observation Vi.”

"He's singing to you." The blonde girl teased, as she nudged Louis' leg with her foot.

Marlon turned his head slightly, realising that someone was following him with a phone, "No. It's a dare," he pointed a thumb behind him as Louis and Violet turn to him, "He's fulfilling a dare.”

A game you just can't win,

If there's a way,

I'll find it somebody,

And then this fool with rush in,

Put your head on my shoulder,

Whisper in my ear, baby,

Words I want to hear,

Tell me, tell me that you love me too

Louis found himself turning to watch Aasim, a smile never once leaving his lips. With each sentence Aasim sung, he got closer and closer down to their table. His heart was racing when Aasim sent his a warm smile.

Louis bit down on his bottom lip as he smiled, waving slightly. He could sense the judgemental states coming from his friends but, he didn't really care right now. His main care right now was that Aasim was singing. His favourite song and was heading right towards him.

Put your head on my shoulder,

Whisper in my ear, baby,

Words I want to hear, baby,

Aasim locked eyes with Louis as he stood before his table, his lips twitching up into a smile, "Put your head on my shoulder." He finished.

The people which were eating at Joel's diner broke out into applause, congratulating him on his performance. Aasim felt his cheeks heat up as he slide into the booth besides Louis, bumping his knee against his. A waitress handed his phone back over and gave him a smile.

"So," Louis spoke quietly, "You completed your dare.”

Aasim pulled a face as he slowly nodded, waving his phone slightly, "Yeah. Yeah I did. You did too.”

Louis gulped, "Y-yeah. I did too. Sorry about that. You know, kissing you out the blue.”

Aasim looked at the two people in front of him, sending them a smile, before turning back to Louis, "It's fine. You had to complete a dare, I completely understand. I would have done the same.”

Louis stared. He couldn't find the words to continue on the conversation between them going, he wanted too, but he just couldn't bring himself to do so. Aasim noticed the silence coming from the table and lowered his head. He didn't feel welcome.

Louis' phone vibrate on the table, his brown eyes shifted down to his phone as he picked it up, reading the next dare. Aasim also got a notification and look at the screen at the same time as Louis, being in sync.

DARE TWO

GO TO THE CITY WITH HIM - $200

Violet frowned as she snatched the phone out of Louis' hand to read what was on his screen. She shook her head at it before glaring at Louis, "One dare. That's all you said. You're not doing no more.”

Marlon sighed, "Louis. You said you're bailing after one.”

Both, Marlon and Violet were against the idea of Louis continuing and it was obvious in the way they were acting.

Aasim raised on eyebrow, "It's up to Louis on whether or not he completes another dare? He's the one which signed up to the game.”

Louis shook his head at Aasim and cleared his throat, "I promised them that I would only do one dare. I signed up spontaneously. They didn't want me to be involved with this game.”

Aasim nodded as he decided to stand up, he gave a briefly nod to the two others, then looked back to Louis, in plead but also respect, "Well. If you decide to change your mind, I'll be in the garage for another 10 minutes. Come find me.”

—————

Whilst the three teenagers - Louis, Marlon and Violet - argued it out on whether or not Louis would continue on with the game, Aasim sat on his motorbike, his helmet resting on his knee, whilst a spare hanged from the handles. Aasim attention was drawn to the keys which dangled from his index finger, the small hand carven wooden koala the thing sticking out.

Every time his gaze locked onto it, his heart practically skipped a beat. Despite it being a sloppy carve, it still held a lot of sentimental value behind it, he couldn't bring himself of ridding his keys of it. He reached his other hand forwards, pinching it between his index finger and thumb, and brought it up to his face to inspect it closely. A smile pushed itself to his lips.

"Close your eyes and hold out your hand." Mitch demanded as he tapped his foot rapidly on the snowy floor, in a waiting manner. Mitch's eyebrow arched when Aasim refused to do as he was told, "Sim. Please. Just for a few seconds? I promise it's nothing bad.”

Huffing - his warm breath visible in the night sky - Aasim reluctantly closed his eyes, his hand was held flat out in front of him, as he did what he was told to do. "Why do I need to do this?”

Mitch chuckled to himself as he shoved a hand into his back pocket, fishing for something. Mitch watched Aasim, ensuring that he didn't try and cheat by opening his eyes. He hoped that Aasim would like what he was about to give to him, he liked it himself, yet their type in things were different sometimes, scratch that, a lot of the times.

As Mitch fished the item from his back pocket, he gave it a quick glance over, as Aasim whined for him to hurry up so he could reopen his eyes. The item was a small carven Koala keychain, something Mitch had spent hours - maybe even a day or two - on doing. The wooden Koala hugged onto something - Mitch didn't have time to put in details, yet if he had, then the thing would have been a tree trunk.

Mitch let out the breath he was holding and dropped the keychain into Aasim's hand and balled his boyfriends fist. He patted it gently and began to speak, "Before you open your eyes and take a look, just remember, romantic gesture aren't really my strong suit. But just bare in mind that I'm trying my best for you, okay?”

Aasim nodded his head, his balled fist squeezing the unknown object in his hand, "I know. I know you're trying your best. And thats all I want from you," Aasim paused as he wetted his lips, "You know that I'm not expecting you to change. I love you the way you are.”

Mitch fought a blush which was trying to over take his cheeks and slowly shook his head from left to right, "You can take a look at it now.”

Aasim opened one of his eyes slightly, taking in Mitch which had his arms crossed over his chest and a look on his face which told him to 'carry on'. Therefore, Aasim opened his other eye and looked down to his balled fist in excitement. Surprises weren't his favourite things in the world, but it If was coming from Mitch, then it's a different story.

"The suspense is killing me Aasim," Mitch teased, "Open your hand and take a look at it already.”

Aasim rolled his eyes at Mitch's impatience and opened his hand. At first he was in a state of confusion to see a piece of wood connected to a metal key chain in the palm of his hand, but as he wobbled his hand and the wood moved, he realised it was something more.

Gently pinching it, he took a closer look. He automatically recognised the Koala design, an inside joke between him and Mitch. He couldn't believe Mitch put in the time and effort to carve him something special and so unique.

However, due to Aasim's silence, Mitch took it the wrong way and began to panic internally. In nerves, his forehead began to mat with a glistening sheet of panic sweat, his palms sticky. Slowly, he swallowed the lump which formed in his throat and spoke up, "You don't like it do you? I mean it is a shit present to give you on our one year anniversary. I'm sorry. I can get you something else if you want? W-why are you laughing at me?”

Aasim was sniggering at Mitch's panicking as he advanced closer to him. "I'm laughing at you because you don't think I like what you got me.”

Mitch sighed as he cocked his head to the side, "So... you do like it? Because if you're honest with me, I can get you something else. You'll probably have to wait a while till I get my pay check but I will.”

Aasim shook his head, "I love it," he slipped his hand into Mitch's front jacket pocket and took out his keys so he could loop the key chain on. He smiled down at the wooden koala next to the shining metal keys, it looks perfect. "It's perfect. Honestly, it is.”

Mitch smiled as he pulled Aasim in for a hug. Aasim's head rested where Mitch's heart was, the sound of it thumping made Aasim smile. Mitch was actually nervous about his reaction. Mitch held Aasim close, a part of him not wanting to let him go, wanting to stay in this moment for a while long - he wanted to stay forever but he knew that was a tad extreme.

"You know something, Mitch?" Aasim whispered against Mitch's chest.

Mitch shook his head, "I don't know. Enlighten me.”

"I would take your carvings over something brought at the shops," Aasim admitted, as he tightened his grip on Mitch's blue jacket, "It's one of a kind. I know no one else in the world is going to have it. And even if you try and replicate it, it wouldn't be exactly the same.”

Mitch chuckled, "I suppose you're right. So what did you get me for our one year?”

Aasim pulled away, "Well about that…"

Mitch gasped, playfully hitting Aasim's shoulder, "You didn't forget did you? I thought I was the most likely one to forget our anniversary.”

Aasim scoffed and shook his head, "Of course I didn't forget idiot. It's just that mine isn't as creative as yours," Aasim pauses to shrugging, "It's just, I brought you something which would basically benefit the both of us?”

Mitch raised an eyebrow waiting for Aasim to continue, Aasim sighed, "I brought an extra helmet. You know the one you was looking at? The red one with the white sticker on the side? I brought you that. Because you've been driving without a helmet for the past few weeks and it's been making me nervous.”

Mitch smiled softly to Aasim, "I would have gotten round to buying another eventually. But thank you, I love that you got one for me.”

Aasim nods his head slightly, "I did it because I want you safe when we ride together and because I love you.”

"I love you too.”

Aasim ran a finger over the sharp edges of the Koala, he couldn't bring himself of removing it from his keys, despite the fact he and Mitch were no longer together. He gave the carving a sad smile, before letting a sigh out.

Aasim just sat in silence, he knew that he had been waiting for Louis for well over 10 minutes now and by the looks of it, Louis had decided to bail. Part of Aasim hoped that Louis would join him down in the garage, that Louis would join him on the dare to the city. It would have been funny, besides that's where the exciting dares take place.

Huffing, he twisted the keys of the motorbike, the sound of the bikes engine vroomed and the headlight turned on, revealing someone standing in the shadows. Aasim jumped back at them and glared.

"How long have you been there?" He asked as the person took steps forwards, revealing themselves to be Louis, "Have you come to tell me you're bailing?”

Louis shook his head and he took steps towards Aasim, beginning to explain, ”I'm not a good partner. If you want a good partner you should team up with my friend Clementine. She is down to do anything. I-I’ll just screw this up for you.”

Aasim shook his head, in disagreement, ”You seem like you're a good partner. You shouldn't get yourself down about it Louis. You never know, you might be better than her. I bet you’re better than her. You did make out with a random stranger, would she do that?”

Louis gave Aasim a sad smile, “You don’t know Clem. Trust me. She would have made out with a stranger also. She hasn’t got a fear really, dying maybe? But everyone is scare of that, maybe.” Louis paused and groaned in realisation that he was rambling on about something Aasim didn’t need to know about. He sighed, waving his hands at his sides slightly, “And, I know I'm not a good partner. So if you want to team up with her, I can give her a call.”

Aasim bit down on his bottom lip, before picking up the spare helmet and held it out for Louis, "No offence to your friend Clementine, but I don't want to team up with her.”

Aasim tossed the helmet over to Louis when he realised the boy wasn't going to take it. Louis caught it, his phone clattering down on the cement. Cringing, Aasim watched as Louis grabbed his phone, and tilted it to him, revealing that it was fine.

"The watchers. They want me to team up with you. And quite frankly I want to team up with you also.” Aasim arches an eyebrow as Louis stared down wonderingly to the helmet, "So what do you say? You going to accept the dare and come to the city with me?”

Louis closed his eyes for a moment and slowly bobbed his head, "Yeah." He whispered as he put the helmet on timidly.

Aasim grinned as he watched Louis approach the bike. He was glad that Louis would be joining him, an adventure to the city is always better with two people. Aasim tightened his hands on the bars when he felt Louis sit behind him. Aasim knew that the two were different heights, however, that didn’t bother him when it came to riding his bike.

Aasim moved his hands on the handle bars and revved the bikes engine once, he removed a hand briefly as he fixed his helmet - mainly bringing down to visor. He hesitated for a moment as he held his hand out for Louis’ phone, the taller male handed it over and watched over Aasim’s shoulder as he fixed it to the front of the bike, securely.

“You know how to drive this thing right?” Louis asked as he clipped his helmet into place, the strap resting under his chin, he didn’t have one like Aasim’s.

Aasim scoffed, as he grabbed ahold of Louis’ arms and wrapped them around his waist so they could ride, “I can drive this thing. Yes,” he tapped Louis hands which were resting in the mid of his chest clasped, “Just hold one tight, okay?”

Louis nodded his head as he tightened his grip on Aasim already despite them being stationary. Aasim just found himself grinning at he clicked down on the 'ACCEPT' button.

[snazzysickly]

Remark (RK900 x Reader) Part 8

Summary: You are partners with Gavin Reed and everything was more less great until someone new joins the group

Warnings: Blood, swearing, violence, cute stuff

word count: 5,464 (a long one, I know)

A/n: I TOLD YOU I WOULD GET THE CHAPTER OUT! Have some faith. Anyway, sorry it took so long to get out, hopefully I did good.

Through the rear-view mirror you looked at Nines, in the back seat of your car. He was sitting upright, with his head held low, his hair slightly disheveled from lying down before he sat up.

After taking a quick look at Nines, you put your car in reverse and back out, driving away from the crime scene.

As it turns out, this was a case of justifiable homicide. Camille and Jett used to be in a gang together, until Camille broke off. To clean up loose ends, the gang sent Jett to kill Camille, and to make it look like her death was just an alley fight gone wrong. But the plan failed and Jett was the one to die.

While you and Gavin talked to Camille, to put it simply, you found that she disliked androids. She was very passionate about hating them. It was no wonder that Nines was happy to get away from her. Despite her obvious dislike for androids, you found no evidence of this case being a criminal homicide. Thus, you ruled it as justifiable.

By now, the productive hours of the day has already past, and the sky was getting dark. Your stomach was signaling for you to get food, so you settled with fast food.

Usually, food would help you feel better when you were down, so while going through the drive-through, you were tempted to buy Nines something. Though you were well aware that Nines couldn’t eat.

You wanted Nines to know you were concerned about him, but you couldn’t think of anything to help him feel better. Suddenly, while you were crunching on your fries, an idea came to you. It was an odd idea, but it could work.

You searched your car for a couple of quarters, then pocketed them. Nines watched you as you did this, and naturally he wondered what you were doing.

Turning to Nines, you tell him you’ll be back in a bit. You then got out of your car, and jogged into the restaurant.

Once inside, you quickly found what you were looking for, you put two quarters into the old dispenser, and turned the crank. The capsules inside moved until one comes down the slot. You grab the capsule and shook it lightly. Inside the semi transparent plastic, you can see a small plastic ring, much too small for you or Nines’ fingers, but that’s not what mattered.

When you got back in your car, you saw that Nines eyes were fixed on you. His eyebrows were slightly upturned, but his mouth was still in the same thin line that it was always in.

“I doubt Cyberlife will be very happy with my performance today.” Nines broke the silence between you. His eyes trailed down to the floor. He was disappointed with himself.

You opened and closed your mouth before gathering your thoughts, “Nines, its okay. We all make mistakes, its normal.” Nines didn’t respond.

A few seconds of awkward silence goes by until you remember the capsule in your pocket. “Uh! I have something for you!”

You dug the capsule from your pocket, while Nines watched interested. You held out your hand and gently placed it in Nines open palm. He shook it between his fingers, upon hearing the rattling, he opened the lid and picked up the ring. The band was painted silver and the fake jewel was pink.

You couldn’t tell if Nines liked your gift or not, so you tried to explain yourself, “I know it’s kinda childish, and not to mention out of style, but I just wanted to remind you that I care about you and I want you to feel better.”

Nines lifts his gaze up to you, with the same emotionless stare he has plastered on his face. After a few seconds of Nines staring blankly at you, you start to loose hope. Before you back out completely, Nines’ mouth twitches into what you guess was a smile. Although it didn’t look like one, it was the thought that count. At least, that’s what you told yourself until you burst out laughing.

Nines’ face twist into confusion, while you   Hold your stomach in pain because of your continuous laughter.

“Did I do something wrong?” Nines tilts his head. He doesn’t understand, he was just trying to show he was happy with his gift.

“I’m sorry-its just-your smile is funny.” You blurt out in between laughter.

“Here, I’ll show you,” You grin happily at Nines, “see?”

Nines nods, his LED spinning yellow. He analyzes your face closely, and follows your actions.

This time, he smiles more naturally, it still is a bit awkward, but he’s gotten the hang of it. The more you look at his smiling face, the more you realize how handsome his face really is.

“See? There! You got it!” You encourage him.

“Thank you, (y/n), for everything.”

“Of course, Nines.” You kindly smile, then turn around in your seat, and drive out of the fast food parking lot.

About a week later, Nines had mostly gotten used to the new changes, it was a slow go, but he was surely getting used to it. Nines had the most trouble with the changes during investigations. He hated how the blood felt, he said that it was oddly warm. He was lucky that he wasn’t able to taste it.

A couple days ago, Nines insisted on wearing his android jacket, at first you told him not to, that he was fine without it, but he bargained that he would wear a turtleneck underneath. There was no use in fighting, so you agreed.

Sometimes, when you, Gavin, and Nines are working at the station, which was more often than not, you’ve found Nines fiddling with the plastic ring. The sight always made you smile, it made an odd fuzzy feeling swell inside you.

Today was a slow day for all three of you. It was midday and you’ve already completed most of your paperwork. You haven’t gotten a new case for three days, and you were starting to wonder if crime just stopped altogether.

All three of your desks were pushed together, with Gavin next to you, and Nines across from both of you. Nines suddenly looks up from his computer, which pulls your attention from your screen. Yours and Nines’ eyes lock and you look at him curious, while he looks slightly shocked. Nines then looks back at his computer, without a word being said. You raise a brow, interested on why such a stoic android looked so shocked, but you don’t investigate further.

For the rest of the day you keep seeing Nines look slightly shaken, you kept getting increasingly more suspicious and worried.

You once notice Connor and Nines giving subtle glances at each other. Then when you were going to the break room to get more coffee, you saw Connor and Nines connecting their arm in a weird handshake, their skin exposed from their hands to their forearm. You’ve heard that’s how androids exchange information. By now, you were almost bursting at the seams to know what Nines was up to.

So when your shift was over, you packed up your stuff quickly, and told Nines to do the same. When you were walking out of the station, everyone that was still there kindly said goodbye when you walk past there desk. You just waved them off, and when Gavin said bye, you responded harshly. You were slightly frustrated that Nines hasn’t told you what was going on, and it was starting to show.

You kick open your door to your shared apartment, and put all your stuff by the front door, while Nines brings it to his room. You finally got a bed for him, and Nines was definitely thankful for that. Nines’ room was barely decorated, and when you ask him if he wanted anything more in his room, he simply said he had no reason to, so his room is almost barren.

Nines sits at the small dinner table, typing away on a laptop, while you eat takeout with chopsticks. Nines sits across from you so you can’t see what he was looking at, you had a feeling that he was looking at something that had to do with what happened at the station.

You stare at his face while he reads something on the laptop, his face abruptly morphs into one of horror. You decide to finally ask about his unusual behavior today.

“Whatcha reading?” You ask, shoving a couple of noodles into your mouth.

His eyes dart to you, then back at the screen, then he answers, “I was-uh-looking at old articles from what happened last year.”

You hum, “Why?” You look at Nines dead in the eye.

“I didn’t know what happened, and I was curious.”

You don’t say anything else, and go back to eating your dinner. Nines goes back to typing away at the laptop in search of more articles. You pull out your phone and text Hank, asking him if he wants to go to a bar together. You could use a drink after stressing about what happened to Nines.

“(Y/n)? Were you there when the revolution happened?” Nines asks you as you throw away your empty takeout box.

“Yeah I was there for most of it, the weather got really cold really fast, so I got sick. I had to ask Hank and Gavin what happen.”

Nines nods slowly, “And?”

You look at him, thinking. After a moment you come to a conclusion, “From what happened to Connor and other incidents, I wouldn’t trust Cyberlife with anything.”

After your words, you head to your room in search of a more suitable outfit for your “date” with Hank.

Nines stares at where you once stood in thought. Why don’t you trust Cyberlife? Should he not trust Cyberlife as much as he does? After what information Connor gave to him today, maybe he should stop trusting Cyberlife too.

You search through your closet, trying to find something casual and comfortable to wear. You decide on a red plunging V-neck shirt, black pants, red flats, and a leather jacket. You smile at the leather jacket, remembering why you got it.

A couple years ago, after a long and hard case, you and Gavin went to debrief by the Detroit River. It was a cold winter day, and after chasing a criminal, the cold air felt good on your sweating body. The only problem was that you had forgotten your jacket that day, which had caused many problems so far. By then, your hot body had become cold, so you complained to Gavin that you should go back to the car, he disagreed. After a bit more complaining, he sighed and shrugged off his leather jacket and gave it to you. The jacket warmed you up quickly, so you decided you would get yourself a leather jacket the next day. Which is exactly what you did.

After getting dressed, you get a text from Hank saying he’ll pick you up in five.

“Where are you going?” Nines asks you from the dinner table, still on the laptop.

“I’m probably going to Jimmy's Bar, knowing Hank.” You see Nines’ LED spin yellow, then blue, “Then why are you dressed up?”

You put your hand over your heart in mock hurt, “If I’m going to drown my sorrows, I better look damn good while doing so.”

Before Nines can answer, you get a text from Hank saying that he’s in the parking lot. You text him back that you’ll be right there.

“Oh, I gotta go Nines, I’ll call you if I need you to take me home.” You wave goodbye to Nines, then grab a handbag on the way out.

You slid into the passenger seat of Hank’s car and he smiles at you then looks at your attire.

“Well you clean up nice. I now feel underdressed.” Hank laughs a bit.

He’s wearing one of his button up shirts with weird designs on it. You always like coming into the station and finding out what wacky shirt Hank was wearing that day.

You shove him lightly, “You look fine…for an old man.”

He glares at you, then laughs heartily. You laugh along with him

Your car ride with Hank mostly consisted of headbanging to Hank’s heavy metal music, that you didn’t know the words too, and rocking out to the classics from the 80s and 90s.

Hank pulls into a parking space for Jimmy’s Bar, and you step out of the car. Once out, Hank turns to you and asks you a question that got your night rolling.

“Ready to drink like teenagers again?”

After your third shot of tequila, you started to feel a buzz. Hank has taken his fourth shot, and it was getting more obvious that he was getting increasingly more drunk as well.

Now that you gotten some liquid courage, you turn to the cute boy next to you that you’ve been eyeing for a while. Most people that came into Jimmy’s Bar were usually older and more on the sketchy side, so when this cute boy walked into the bar, you got excited. Even more so when he sat in the stool next to yours.

After a couple minutes of flirting, you finally try making a pass on him, but he turns you down and moves to one of the booths.

You sigh and ask for another shot to try to repress your rejection. You choke down the harsh liquid and Hank raises a brow at you.

“So I’ll take it that you’re not dating Nines.” Hank says, slightly slurring his words.

Your eyes grow large, and you start laughing, “Me? Dating that annoying asshole? No way in hell.” You cross your arms in a pout, “He won’t even tell me what he’s been up to all day.”

Hank turns to you, taking another shot, “He hasn’t told you yet?”

You stare at him, your mouth agape, “He told you and not me!”

“Nah, I heard a little bit of it from Connor, somethin’ about Cyberlife or some bullshit.” Hank says with a shrug.

You hum, interested and slightly angry. You reach for your phone, planning to text Nines, but before you could, you already see unread messages and a missed call from him.

His texts tell you that you need to come back home, that he needs your help with something.

You groan, not ready for the night to end. Your words were only starting to slur together, but curiosity killed the cat.

“Nines texted, he said he wanted me to go home, so I guess I’m cutting our date short, old man.” You say while looking through your handbag.

“Well damn, I was just starting to have fun.” Hank jokes.

You look through your handbag, unable to find your wallet. You think you might have left it back at your apartment.

Hank notices your struggle and speaks up, “(y/n), don’t worry about it, I’ll pay. But you owe me.” He says pointing a finger at you.

“Another night out, I suppose.”

Hank laughs drunkenly, “That’ll work.”

“Don’t drink too much, okay? Call Connor if you need to!” You say walking out the door, you see Hank waving you off before the door to Jimmy’s Bar closes.

You sober up while in the automatic taxi, thinking of what Nines wants from you. Concluding that it had something to do with earlier today. You open your front door and close it, immediately noticing how dark it is inside. Was Nines even here? You put down your handbag and reach for the light switch.

Before you can flick the light on, a hand grabs your wrist and pulls you away from the light. You scream and a hand covers your mouth.

You were about to start fighting but you notice the hands that are on your wrist and mouth. In place of light skin, pure white hands hold tight. There was a light blue line separating flesh to pure white. Quickly recognizing this as an android feature.

Slowly the hand on your mouth releases and you harshly whisper, “Nines?”

“Shh!”  

With your eyes finally adjusted to the dark, you notice Nines standing in front of you. He’s wearing his android jacket. The light glow of blue of his armband and triangle on his chest illuminates his face.

His eyes dart around the pitch-black apartment, and you watch his LED go from blue to red quickly. You’ve never seen his LED turn red before, only yellow, even while fighting deviants. You immediately know something’s wrong.

“Whats wrong?” You whisper close to his face.

“I got called to the Cyberlife tower earlier today, but I couldn’t when they called because I was working. Though now, I can, and I would prefer if you came with me.”

You notice Nines’ professionalism and your brow furrows. Something was definitely not right.

“Why does Cyberlife want you back?”

Nines doesn’t answer, but instead you hear a buzz from inside your handbag. You look at the bag and then at Nines. He nods you on.

You slowly walk to your bag and you hear the buzz again. Quickly realizing it’s from your phone, you take it out. Finding the messages are from Nines.

His texts say, ‘Cyberlife has noticed my increasing amount of software instability, and wants to take me apart and replace me.’

“They want me for a checkup.” Nines answers out loud.

You clench your fists and grit your teeth. Cyberlife is trying to replace Nines? How dare they try to erase your progress!

“Why do you need me?” You ask him through gritted teeth.

“I want my partner to be there with me.” Nines answers truthfully.

You hear your phone buzz, and you look down. Nines sent you another text.

‘I don’t trust Cyberlife anymore, and because I haven’t gone to Cyberlife yet, they sent agents outside the apartment, that’s why we’re laying low.’

“Well, I better get ready, don’t want to keep them waiting.” You say looking around the dark apartment.

In record time, you get into your uniform, and make sure to pack your pistol. You hide the gun well, making sure that it can’t be seen. Something tells you that this might end in a fight.

Quickly and casually, you and Nines make your way through your apartment complex and into your car. All the while, Nines texts you, explaining the situation.

Apparently, people at Cyberlife have been watching Nines perform through his eyes, and they have watched Nines’ software get more and more unstable.

You realize that Cyberlife is smart enough to know that you are the one that been trying to get him to deviate. Therefore, you’re part of the problem, and they want all causes of the problem erased.

You suddenly feel a lot more unsafe then you did before. Knowing that not only do they have guns trained on Nines, but also on you. One step out of line, and your both goners.

While crossing MacArthur Bridge, you go slowly. You make it to the end of the bridge and see a gate that said “Cyberlife” on it, and a couple of CyberLife guards checking people before they go in.

You play it cool while the guards check yours and Nines identification. You could’ve cut the tension with a knife while they check your I.D.

With the gate lowering and the Cyberlife Tower in view, Nines drives forward, leading you closer to your doom.

Outside your car and into the chilly air, you find the entrance of the tower and walk with Nines towards it.

Walking into the building, you’re immediately greeted by stark white architecture. Geometric designs lined the walls and a couple of bamboo trees decorated the inside.

Two guards accompany you and Nines, one simply says, “follow me.” With a suspicious glance to Nines, you follow in suit of the guard in front of you, while the other guard follows you and Nines from behind.

While walking a blue light engulfs the four of you, while a disembodied voice identifies you. It lists off the guards’ identification, as well as yours and Nines’, giving you authorization through the transparent glass gate.

You walk on the glass bridge, looking around at the beautiful design. An enormous geometric statue of a person holding a glowing star-like shape in its hands, stood in the dead center of the tower. The beautifully crafted architecture lures you in, but you realize that you’re getting closer and closer to yours and Nines’ inevitable doom, and the beautiful white walls that you stare at in awe, could very well be soon painted red and blue.

The elevator doors open and the guard walks towards it, promptly making you follow behind. You step inside the elevator with Nines, the two guards walk in as well.

“Agent 36. Level 43.” One of the guards says while pressing buttons. You notice the directory and find that level 43 is the highest floor. Are they trying to make it harder for you to escape?

While the elevator makes its long trip to the top floor, you and Nines watch the guards nervously. You clench your hand into a fist and your eyebrows upturned. The higher the elevator goes, the more your stomach twist into a knot.

You look over to Nines, and find he’s completely calm. His hands relaxed at his sides, and his LED a steady blue. Seeing him so calm, relaxes you for a bit.

Nines looks over to you, once he feels your gaze directed towards him. He scans over your face and reaches his hand for yours. You look at his hand and lace your fingers with his. Nines gently gives your hand a squeeze, reassuring you silently.

The elevator dings and you and Nines follow the guards again, although this time, hand and hand.

You weave through hallways and office cubicles. You can’t even try to memorize the way back to the elevator, you hope that Nines memorized the way back.

Finally, the guards stop before a door, the brass plate labeled, “Meeting Room.” One of the guards opens the door, inviting you and Nines inside.

Inside the office, there was a large white rectangular table, a couple of house plants in the corners of the room, one of the walls was glass looking out to the rest of Belle-Isle, a holographic screen laid on the table, and little blue accents adorned the pure white walls.

You let go of Nines’ hand when a couple dozen eyes fell upon the two of you. There where thirteen chairs aligned with the table, six on each side, and one on the far end. Of those thirteen chairs, eleven of them were filled. Each person in the chairs looked very professional, and very intimidating. Their collective stare made you regret letting go of Nines’ hand.

“Hello Detective (l/n),” the businesswoman that sat on the chair at the end of the table spoke, “hello RK900. Please, sit down.” She motions to the chairs next to her. You slowly walked to one of the seats she motioned to, Nines sits across from you.

The woman that conducted the meeting wore a full black suit, with a white shirt underneath. Her greying brown hair was tied into a neat bun, and pear earrings hung from her ears. Her face was pulled into a fake smile while looking at Nines, but a scowl that rivaled Nines’ when looking at you.

“So I’m sure you want to know why you’re here, RK900.” She says looking at him, “We’ve noticed your-“ she glances at you, “performances during investigations, and decided that something needs to change.”

A moment goes by with no one speaking. The chairs you’re sitting in are padded and cushy, and yet you feel tense and uncomfortable in your seat.

“Please, observe.” The woman says and something appears on the holographic screen on the table.

You watch the screen and recognize the crime scene of Jett Honne’s dead body. You hear Gavin’s voice rudely telling Nines to test Jett’s blood. They kneel down and put two fingers close to Jett’s exposed wound. You quickly put together that this is from Nines perspective, and wince from what you know is going to happen next.

You watch as Nines takes blue blood from Jett’s wound and hesitate. He suddenly falls backwards, and you see yourself come running towards him. You notice when he falls, a small banner at the right corner of his vision that says, “Software Instability” along with a bunch of incoherent words, and a blue arrow going up. You look at Nines, finding nothing but a straight face and a flickering LED.

The screen then cuts to when Nines is in your car alone, when you left to take care of the rest of the investigation with Gavin. You watch intently, not exactly knowing what’s going to happen.

Nines fiddles with his hands while looking out of the car window, watching you and Gavin converse, he suddenly speaks to himself.

“I should’ve done better.” He says in a sorrowful tone. You again see the same sign, labeled “Software Instability” pop up again. Nines sighs and then lays down on the car’s cushions, falling asleep.

The screen cuts to black and the women beside you starts talking again.

“This is just one of many times this has happened. Rk900’s Software Instability is increasing more and more everyday and by now, we have to put of foot down.” She says standing up, crossing her arms.

“We soon realized that the problem is not errors in its software, but Detective (l/n).” She turns to you, “If we get rid of this problem, then the RK900 will not get closer to deviating.”

The woman finishes and your eyes go wide with realization. You hear heavy footsteps approaching you. Turning around you see two guards. Before you can react, they grab you by the arm and start pulling you towards the open doorway.

Nines immediately reacts, he jumps over the table but before he can reach you, he gets tackled by the people sitting at the other chairs.

He fights the man with punches and kicks before he notices the man’s gun in his belt. Nines quickly grabs it and shoots the man in the chest.

By now, everyone has their gun out and is shooting at Nines. He quickly scans and finds there are nine people to take out. With precise and accurate shots, he shoots four of the businessmen and women in fatal areas. Someone shoots his hand, disarming Nines. The blue blood pours out of the bullet wound in his hand, as a woman kicks Nines in the stomach, promptly making him fall over.

The woman is about to put a bullet into Nines’ head before Nines grabs her ankle and yanks it. She tumbles to the ground and hits her head, knocking her unconscious.

You struggle against the guards grip, trying to reach your hidden gun. You step on one of the guard’s feet, regaining one of your arms. Quickly grabbing your gun, you elbow the other guard and shoot through the armor a couple times before he falls flat, dead.

The guard you stomped on recovers and runs at you, grabbing your gun of your hand. He hits you with the blunt end of the gun and you fall to the ground, busting open your lip. You quickly get back up and notice a gun just behind the guard that is attacking you. Finding an opening, you slide pass the guard and pick up the gun and putting a couple bullets into the guard.

You barely get a moment to breathe before your gun is grabbed out of your hand and you’re restrained by someone, a gun against your head.

Nines watches as the businessman’s body falls to the floor, knocked out. He pants, gun in his bleeding hand.

“Nines!”

He hears your voice and whips his head to the sound of your voice, his gun pointing ahead of him. You stand shakily, with your hands gripping the arm around your neck, restricting your breathing. Against your temple is a gun. The person holding you there is the woman that conducting the whole meeting.

“Move and I’ll shoot.” She warns dangerously.

Nines watches as you try to kick at the woman’s legs but she barely even flinches.

“Drop your gun and I’ll let her go.” She offers while Nines glares.

“Don’t you dare do anything Nines, I can get out of this! I swear if you do-” You get cut of by the woman pressing the gun harder against you.

Suddenly, something changed in Nines. Something snapped. (Y/n) is now more important than any other mission.

Determined, Nines brakes down the firewall, his mission conflicted with your orders. He punches, he tears it down, anything he can do to break the wall. He finally rips it down and he returns back to reality, the first thing he feels is freedom. He realizes he’s become deviant.

“What’s it going to be?” The woman says darkly, bringing Nines’ attention back to the situation at hand.

He looks at you, your breathing has become harsher and shallower, if you aren’t going to die from a bullet, you will die from suffocation.

“I’m choosing my own path.” Nines says sternly and without another word he pulls the trigger of his gun, firing a bullet clean into the woman’s head, right in the between of her eyes.

You fall to the ground, coughing. Nines put a hand on your shoulder while you hold your neck, rubbing it lightly.

“Come on, we should go before anyone else find us.” Nines says gently.

“Yeah, yeah. Okay.” You reply quietly, the pain registering through you.

Nines holds out his hand and you grab it, relying on him to pull your weight. You take your gun back from the guard and follow Nines, weaving his way through the office.

Once in the elevator, Nines turns off the security camera, making sure no one else can try to attack you. The adrenaline still pumps through your veins, making your heart race. Your head hurts from being hit with your gun and hitting the floor, and you’re sure your lip is bleeding.

Now that things have calmed down, you take a look at Nines. You notice quickly that his LED is blinking yellow. His hair is messed up and his eyes look less stern. You look at his now scruffed up jacket, then notice some blue blood on his clothes. You follow the blood and come across his hand, a bullet hole straight through it. You make and audible gasp and Nines turns his head, looking at you.

“What is it (y/n)?” Nines asks you, wondering if there are anymore guards nearby.

“Your hand? Are you okay?” You ask concerned, reaching for his bloody hand. You hold it, looking it over, getting blue blood on your hands.

“I’m fine, it barely hurts.” He pulls his hand away, lying through his teeth. It stung like hell and he was still losing blood.

The long elevator ride comes to an end and the doors open into the room with the large statue in it. There are still guards patrolling the area, but lucky for you, there are many exits to the tower.

“Okay, what do we do?” You ask Nines who was looking out at the guards walking around with big guns.

“We’ll try to sneak around them, but if we get caught, don’t stop running.” He whispers to you before silently sneaking around the platform that holds the statute. When the guard is looking in a different direction, Nines runs crouched across the glass bridge and into the next hiding spot.

From the shadows Nines motions for you to follow him, you try to be as silent as Nines, but sadly, your footsteps weren’t as quiet as his. While going across the glass bridge, a couple of loud footsteps alerted the guard. Before the guard turn your way, you sprinted to where Nines was hiding, successfully avoiding the guards.

Without anymore problems, you made it to your car, your heart pounding in your ears. You let out a heavy breath, the chilly air cooling you down.

“Ready to go?” Nines questions with a small smile in the corner of his mouth.

“Definitely.” You reply getting into your car.

While driving far away from the tower, you think about the crazy night you’ve had. You remember what the women said about how close Nines was to deviating. Your brow furrows and you question Nines.

“Nines?” He looks over to you, “How close are you to deviating?”

He hesitates before speaking, “(Y/n), I’m already deviant.”

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