#I can hop on over to the CoS game

[barovia-buddies]

A Friend is dm-ing a pf2e conversion for Curse of Strahd and I’m gonna be joining as a player* but my boy has spoilers…wanna post some concept art of him but a lil nervous in case the other players follow this blog somehow….

[cherienymphe]

A Caged Bird (Coriolanus Snow x Reader)

WARNINGS: NON-CON, blackmail, stalking, abuse of power, hints of dacryphilia, slightly spoiler-esque

summary: Birds are best kept in a cage where one can see them...and where you know where they are at all times.

~

You thought that it was over when you won.

That’s what winning The Hunger Games meant, right? The psychological torture, the grueling conditions, and the fear that wouldn’t leave you until you finally left the arena was supposed to be over. You made it out through blood, sweat, and tears, and so your reward was to go home and reunite with your family and try your best to put the memories behind you.

Try your best to put him behind you.

So, why were you still being tormented?

When you first locked eyes with Coriolanus Snow, your first thought was how strikingly blue his were. Almost as if they weren’t real and had been specially manufactured in The Capitol for him, somehow. His hair, too, was just so much blonder than anything you’d seen in District 12, and again, you noted how so much about him seemed…artificial.

…but then he spoke…and the effect his voice had on you was very real.

“You don’t seem like you’re supposed to be here,” you’d said to him after stepping off of that train.

His response was expected, a charming chuckle leaving his pink lips, blond curls the perfect addition to his features.

“I’m not,” he slowly admitted.

The intensity behind his gaze whenever he so much as glanced at you was enough to make any girl’s heart race, and despite what you wished, you weren’t immune. He was beautiful—gorgeous as some of the other tributes and mentors liked to call him—and despite the initial intimidation, there was something about him that made you want to let your guard down.

…but he was your mentor…and a capitol citizen…and you were nothing more than his ticket to notoriety.

“Don’t you know who his dad was?” another tribute, one from one of the better districts, had said to you in a tone like you were stupid.

That was all the confirmation you needed, really.

…but he’d hopped onto the truck with you and gotten into that cage with you and brought you and your district mate food. He gave you poison to use against the other tributes. He wanted you to appeal to the audience so he’d have the funds to send you supplies. It was hard to decipher what was purely for show and what was just because he wanted you—and him by extension—to win. Perhaps, they were one in the same though, and it was impossible to have one without the other. Maybe it didn’t matter his reasons behind his desire to have his tribute win.

Maybe all that mattered was that you’d win.

…but that was when you thought winning meant you’d be free.

Coriolanus Snow was your best chance at winning, and so when the rebels rigged the arena, you didn’t hesitate to stay behind and save him. It wasn’t even a question in your mind because mentor or not, he was hurt, and you had to believe that that one fluke was not your only fighting chance. You couldn’t allow yourself to believe that in saving him, you’d allowed freedom to pass you by.

“You saved me,” he told you, a gentle brush of his handkerchief under your eye to catch your tears. “You saved me, and I am going to get you out of here.”

You had no idea then that he meant out of the games…and to him.

It was that flickering moment of doubt where you wondered if you could actually win, and you recalled what you’d said to him earlier about believing you could, how much you needed him to actually believe it. Now, you were the one doubting, and he could see it, blue gaze flicking over your face and soaking in the fear and uncertainty, because if you couldn’t win…

You’d die.

A lingering gaze and a tense atmosphere, and you felt yourself pulling back, realization hitting you as to just what you were about to let happen. It was hard to decipher who overstepped first, but you couldn’t allow yourself to get wrapped up in something that was only ever meant to be strictly professional. Coriolanus was your mentor, and you were his tribute.

That was all.

You didn’t know then the full lengths he went to just to ensure your victory. How could you? You were too busy trying to survive, trying to fight off rabid tributes and teenagers driven mad with the sole desire to just live. It was all so unfair and angering, and you were sure that with less focus, you might’ve gone insane too. You didn’t have the luxury to worry about your eerily handsome mentor and whatever ulterior motives he might’ve had to see you beat this thing.

So, when you did win, all you could feel was relief. All you could focus on was your family and their faces when you’d ultimately reunite with them. All you could even entertain were thoughts of pushing this very real nightmare to the back of your mind for as long as you possibly could. Initially, you didn’t even notice that you weren’t immediately reunited with your mentor when they crowned you as the winner and got you out of there.

At least, not until you came face to face with him in your own district.

“I thought they’d killed you. I didn’t know if my actions had come back on you too,” Coriolanus told you in a secluded corner, the loud music drowning out his words and the cover of darkness hiding your faces.

Those beautiful pale curls were gone, and any thought that so much of his beauty relied on his golden locks was gone too with one drink of him. He was still the same handsome boy that mentored you, the same one who’d garnered the nickname ‘gorgeous’ among the other tributes. Up on that stage, you’d been thrown to meet a familiar gaze, your harmonious tune pausing for half a second as he met your shocked stare with an expression of his own you couldn’t place, pink lips curved upwards ever so slightly.

Any question of how and why he was here had disappeared as you registered his words. Confusion filled you as you stared at him, a slight frown between your brows as you wracked your brain for how that could possibly make sense.

“Why would they kill me…?” you slowly asked him, and you and the shadows were all that was privy to his confession.

The water bottles, the handkerchief, and the snakes—even the poison. Coriolanus had cheated to secure your victory, broken rules that plucked him out of The Capitol and dropped him here in your very own district as a Peacekeeper. The shock you felt that your victory was far from a fair one warred with the confusion you felt as to why he’d risk everything just for you to win.

If you’d lost fair and square—as you probably should have—there was no doubt in your mind that he’d be safely tucked away in the lavishness of The Capitol instead of lingering about in some rundown excuse for a bar in lowly District 12. If he knew what awaited him should his treachery be discovered…then why chance it? Nothing about your brief tutelage with him could justify what he’d risked and ultimately lost.

You wanted to ask him why, but something in you was afraid of the answer.

That almost kiss—a kiss you hadn’t thought about in months—suddenly came to mind, and even though you didn’t ask him why, something in you knew why even if you wanted to deny it. It was there in the dim lighting and rowdy atmosphere of some rundown building that every minor interaction didn’t start to feel so minor.

Every brush of his hand against yours as he reached for you, the unsettling way he seemed to watch you in that short time that you’d simply written off as concern for his tribute, and the ruthless desire to see you out on the other side of the arena. The kiss that never was only seemed like a lapse in judgement to you then, but in this moment, you had suspicions that it was very much intentional.

You swallowed, realizing that in that brief internal introspection, Coriolanus hadn’t taken his eyes off of you once.

“Did they send you to District 12?” you finally asked him.

You didn’t know what gave you away. Perhaps your tone, maybe your face, or maybe your eyes weren’t as secretive as you’d like to believe. Either way, something about your visage and demeanor gave the blond man pause, head tilting just a tad as those baby blues glinted with something you didn’t recognize but you know you didn’t like. He studied your face before coming up with the answer he probably thought you wanted.

“Of course.”

You didn’t know if you believed him.

…and Coriolanus could tell.

You’d played enough cat and mouse games in the arena—you never thought you’d have to play them in your own home too.

Starving off the affections of some boy in your district wasn’t hard or uncharted territory. Even spurning the forbidden advances of a Peacekeeper or two wasn’t unheard of, but Coriolanus was different. He wasn’t some average Joe turned cop. He was born and raised in The Capitol with a powerful father, and even though the man had been taken before his time, your former mentor still had been brought up with the kind of influence and reach and mindset that surpassed the average Peacekeeper.

They were followers—controlled by The Capitol and tasked with maintaining order. Most were no more than dumb brutes, mindlessly following orders without question, simple enough to be bribed and swayed. If Coriolanus’ actions had shown you anything, it was that he was not a follower. He did what he wanted and played by his own rules, and it was how you found yourself hunted by a gaze you thought you’d left behind in the arena.

Since the discovery of your former mentor’s presence in your district, you never felt alone.

Every walk to trade for food felt shadowed, every footstep home was accompanied with an echo, and a sweep of your eye over the crowd as you played an instrument or sang a tune was rewarded with a familiar blue one that made your heart freeze. You were forced to ignore it no longer when a single rose was left for you on the doorstep, your ma’s gaze questioning as she held it out to you.

You didn’t know where or how he got it, but you only cared about giving it back.

“I can’t accept this,” you told him, gaze steady but fingers trembling as you held it out to him.

It was raining, and the cover over your heads sheltered you from the downpour, but it did little to drown out the sound of it. Coriolanus simply stared at the flower for what felt like too long, making no moves to take it from you, and you swallowed. His blue gaze zeroed in on the action before it lifted to your face.

“…and why not?”

“Because I think it means something different to you than it does to me.”

Your response was swift, and you watched him sigh, eventually reaching out to finger the flower like he did that day before he’d proceeded to put it behind your ear. He finally took it, and just like that day before the games, it found its way behind your ear once again. The only change this time was the shudder that traveled down your spine, and the apprehension you felt when his gaze met yours.

For the longest time, the only sound was that of the rain, a few stray drops making it’s way onto your face and clothes due to the wind. If the man before you still had the locks you’d met him with, they would’ve been rustling with the breeze, right now. Both of you were very still, or maybe it was just you—nervous and fearful of how he’d respond. He briefly looked past you, eyes glinting briefly before they hardened once again, his pink lips pressed together as he regarded you.

“…and if it does?”

He continued when you frowned.

“Mean something different to me than it does to you,” he elaborated, and you blinked.

Taking a deep breath, you tried to gather your thoughts.

“I know…that I’m only standing here, now, because of you,” you slowly started, watching him push his shoulders back. “I won because of you, I know that, but-.”

“Exactly,” he cut you off, making your lips part. “You won because of me…and everything I sacrificed was to make sure you won.”

“…but I didn’t ask you to do that!”

You felt…cornered, somehow, because on the one hand, yes. You did owe so much to the man before you, but at the same time, what did you owe specifically? Your attention? Your affection? Whatever he deemed an appropriate compensation? When you saved his life in the arena that day, and he vowed to save yours in return, you didn’t understand the full ramifications of the deal you were agreeing to.

“I saved your life, and you saved mine, and I’m sorry for the things you felt the need to risk, but that’s where it ends.”

The cold from the rain didn’t faze you nearly as much as the heat from his gaze boring into your back.

You wanted to believe that your lack of confrontation was what led you to the predicament you found yourself in. After all, things between you two had held too many ‘what ifs’ and lingering feelings and questions. You liked to hope that telling the man in no uncertain terms that your relationship should never and would never progress beyond anything professional would fix things.

You never would’ve guessed that your bout of confidence would only prove to make things worse.

“My ma doesn’t even know any rebels, and you know that.”

You’d whispered the words so quietly, throat too choked up to speak any louder as you tearfully stared Coriolanus down, your words only intended for the two of you. Your back was pressed to the doorway as he stood before you, a foot or two of space between you as other Peacekeepers did their duty to search your house as thoroughly as possible. The reason you’d been given was suspicion of treason—to the shock of your ma—but both you and the handsome man before you knew the truth.

“One can never be too sure. It’s always those you least expect.”

His cool response only made you look away, a few tears escaping.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. You won, you were free, so why did it still feel like you were in the game…except a much more dangerous one this time? You could feel his eyes on you as you watched man after man rifle through you and your ma’s things, your younger sister not home to witness this. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see him take a step towards you—just one, but one was enough to make you flinch.

You still didn’t give him the satisfaction of looking at him though.

“Unbearable,” he quietly said. “…not able to be endured…or tolerated.”

You swallowed.

“Not to be confused with hard—requiring a great deal of endurance or effort.”

Another step towards you.

“To find something unbearable means that you quite literally cannot stomach it any longer. It forces a change to come, forces something to…give,” he whispered.

Your gaze was still focused ahead, but his words made you blink, made your heart sink, and you swore that he knew that.

“I can make things incredibly unbearable for you…and your family.”

You straightened at that, finally looking at him with a venomous gaze and a heaving chest. Coriolanus reached up to pick at your shirt, removing a piece of grass from it, and you watched him inspect it before turning his blue eyes back onto you. They lingered on your own eyes before lowering to your lips, his own twitching so subtly you might’ve missed it if you were anyone else.

“Or I can make sure you’ll be taken care of, looked after as if you were my own…” his gaze met yours again. “It’s entirely your choice.”

You two stared at one another for an infuriating amount of time before he let out a sharp whistle, telling the other men that nothing seemed to be here and to move on. His wording was not lost on you, and you crossed your arms over your chest. Coriolanus was the last to walk out, and despite the feel of his heavy gaze, you didn’t look his way the entire time.

Your ma commented on the strangeness of the whole ordeal, but nothing about it was strange to you. It was all very calculating and sinister actually, and while you grew up hearing countless talk of running away and living off the grid, you were never more tempted than in this moment…but you were not alone. Your ma was sickly, and your sister was too young.

…and if you left, you could only guess what you’d be leaving your family susceptible to.

Your future seemed inevitable no matter how much you tried to find a way out of the path set for you.

The first night you slept with Coriolanus Snow, it was storming just like that day you’d attempted to give him back his flower. You’d cried for a good three hours before, feeling helpless in the aftermath of another so-called inspection from Peacekeepers—this one much more destructive. The only light that night came from the brief flashes of lightning, and the sound of the rain drowned out the reluctant gasps to leave your lips.

Hands much softer than you ever expected trailed down your frame, curving over your hips and dipping underneath your thighs. The blond man’s lips rarely left your skin, kissing whatever part of you that came to mind, nose gently grazing you as he did and pulling shudders from your frame. It was a foreign feeling to be so heated and afraid at the same time.

Under the cover of darkness, his fingers intertwined with your own and his hips were flush with yours. The feel of him inside of you was much more jarring than you thought it would be, choked deep breaths leaving your parted lips as he pressed his face into the crook of your neck. His thrusts were slow, the complete opposite of what you expected, and you didn’t know if you liked that better or worse.

Every kiss felt wrong, like you were betraying yourself, but in the same manner, they also reminded you of that first day you met. You thought about when you stepped off of that train, and that smooth voice escaped those pink lips, and your stomach flipped no matter how much you pretended it didn’t. The person you were that day wanted to throw your head back and welcome the little nips he left along your skin.

The person you were, now, wanted to crawl inside of your skin.

This man had stalked you to the highest degree, following you all the way from The Capitol just to collect on the young woman whose survival he ensured. The things he’d risked and ultimately lost, he placed the weight of on your shoulders as if you were responsible to compensate for that somehow. As if it was your duty to make his sacrifices worth it.

When he pulled you into his lap, resting on him with arms circled around your waist, it was your turn to press your face into the area where his neck and shoulder met. His fingers dancing along your skin made you shudder, and that just made the tears collect more because you didn’t want to enjoy this, but your body and your brain didn’t seem to be in alignment.

When you were forced to come around him, you saw stars, and you were positive your nails left marks on his back.

You didn’t really think that no more trouble from Peacekeepers was worth the figurative collar around your neck. The abundance of food and supplies might have been, if only to just see the smiles on your ma and sister’s faces, but even then, when you found your back pressed to Coriolanus’ chest as he drove his cock up into you, you wondered if it was actually worth it.

Your ma would say no, that you knew for sure, but you supposed it wasn’t her call to make.

After all, the alternative was psychological torment and worst-case scenarios you didn’t even want to entertain.

“Would you have had her arrested?” you quietly wondered one night.

The sheet was clutched to your chest, and you were facing the wall, still unable to look him in the eye directly afterwards. You’d never been able to, feeling used and low and indefensible. You tried not to dwell on the feel of his fingertips tracing patterns into your shoulder, his cool breath hitting your skin as he exhaled.

“I mean…would you have…framed her somehow? Found some justification for it?”

You didn’t know why you were asking, certain you wouldn’t like the answer, and as you predicted, you felt your throat tighten the longer the silence stretched. Against your will—like many things you’d been doing as of late—a few tears escaped, and even before he answered, you knew what you were going to hear.

“Yes,” he confessed, just as quietly.

You squeezed your eyes shut, subtly wiping your face.

“I sacrificed so much for you to win, and not just because your win was my win…but because I wanted to see you win,” he murmured, placing a kiss to your back. “…because I wanted you.”

You knew that, but having it confirmed so plainly was disturbing.

“…and when I eventually make my way back to The Capitol, as we both know I will, I’ll still want you.”

Your stomach sank at that, and for the first time, you turned to look at him while still trembling in the aftermath of what had quickly become a nightly occurrence. His gaze was still focused on where your back had been, and when his eyes flitted up to connect with yours, you didn’t have the words to convey how you felt about what he was insinuating.

“In The Capitol, you’ll have access to things you could never even imagine…and you could send those same things back to your family,” he told you, reaching up to touch your face.

When you moved to sit up, he stopped you, a firm grip on your arm. Coryo—as he liked for you to call him—fixed you with a look that you knew all too well. It was the look he gave you when you tried to come up with any excuse as to why you couldn’t meet with him. It was the look you received when you briefly forgot the power dynamics here, turning away from him and attempting to push him away.

It was a look that told you not to fight the inevitable.

“I want you there with me.”

His tone left no room for argument, and there was so much conviction in his voice that the thought of arguing seemed legitimately draining. You simply stared at him, eyes glassy, and he stared back, waiting for verbal confirmation of what you both knew was going to happen, anyway. You had no choice in the matter, you never did, and for a brief horrifying moment, you almost wished you were a lone orphan who didn’t have to look out for anybody but yourself.

That thought did make tears spill over.

It was a horrible thing to think, but your loved ones were being used against you, and you knew that your ma—and your sister if she were old enough to comprehend these things—would never want this for you. Coryo sat up with you, a hand resting on your cheek as he gazed at you, a thumb brushing the tears away. It wasn’t meant to be comforting.

Nothing he did was ever meant to be comforting.

“I want you there with me,” he repeated.

You wondered what someone like you would possibly do in The Capitol.

“I don’t belong there,” you whispered, a poor attempt to get him to change his mind.

His response was swift and clipped.

“You belong with me.”

When he pressed his lips to yours, it was expected that you would kiss him back. His thumb brushed along your skin as you did, a low hum sounding in the back of his throat that quickly escalated into a groan. His free arm snaked around you, and your last attempt at resisting proved futile, so you let him lay you down.

Sex with Coriolanus was a maddening experience.

You didn’t want it, and your brain didn’t want it, but it was as if your body was its own separate entity running on hormones and animal instinct.

When he rested his full weight on top of you, you shuddered for a multitude of reasons—one of which you didn’t want to acknowledge. When he slid his hand between your breasts and down to your stomach, your back arched, chest pressing up and into his. When he pushed into you all torturously slow as he always did, you involuntarily held your breath, shaking at the feel of his hips connecting with yours, the length of him fully sheathed in your warmth.

You were terrified of him, so that was why you opened up for him like those budding roses he used to carry around, but in doing so, you made yourself vulnerable beneath him. You made yourself more susceptible to his kisses and his touch and that maddening voice that knew just how to get its way. He wasn’t a very talkative man when he was inside of you, much more content with letting his actions speak for themselves, but tonight was different.

“Look at me,” he whispered, curving his hips into yours. “Look right at me.”

You did, and while you didn’t know the specifics of the psychology behind this, you knew that looking into the eyes of your tormentor while in the act couldn’t be good.

“Keep your eyes on me,” he breathlessly told you, nose brushing against yours with every thrust.

You could hear that it was starting to rain again, and you pressed your hands into the small of his back, trying to ground yourself in some way—trying to have control over something, anything. Tears kissed your eyes, and you swore—you swore—that something in those blues of his twinkled. It sparked something in his gaze, and in his psyche, his thrusts becoming more powerful and making you gasp, nails pressing into his skin.

He only looked especially satisfied when the tears spilled over.

When he came inside of you, and you around him, you swore you saw stars.

You even thought you saw snow.

[deadtired-highkeyenergetic]

By Your Side

The Arcane brainrot remains strong, and is apparently strong enough to make me write a fic twice as long as usual. Dammit Silco

Summary: Silco receives reports of an enforcer in Zaun beating the chem-barons at their own game and goes to investigate. He doesn't expect to see a ghost of his past.

It's always on the bridge that his life-changing moments happen. First it was Felicia's death, then Vander's betrayal. Now…now it was you, trading your life for his, pushing him away as enforcers moved towards the both of you.

Go, your lips mouth as your dagger sinks into the throat of the enforcer closest to him. You rip the blade out, causing blood to spurt from the wound and whirl around to face the others, shouting a challenge to draw their attention away.

His feet remain rooted to the ground, throat dry as he watches enforcers crowd around you, hears your war cries as you turn into a deadly whirlwind of steel and suddenly Sevika is dragging him away, eyes hard. Your cries get softer as Sevika hauls him further and further away from you, until he can no longer hear you anymore, nor see you.

No, he can't lose you too. Not after everything, not after what he's promised you. Not when the reality of Zaun is so close at hand —

"—co! Silco!" He blinks slowly, raising his head. Sevika stands before him, her flesh hand on the table supporting her as she leans forward, staring right at him.

"What is it, Sevika?" He groans, noticing the fallen pieces of paper that he will have to reorganise later.

"There have been reports of an enforcer single-handedly cutting their way through Zaun. All the chaos has been affecting business and the chem-barons have been complaining."

"Are they all that useless? One enforcer is giving them so much trouble?" Silco rubs his temple. As if the chem-barons themselves aren't enough of a problem already, now they're handing him more problems to deal with.

"The enforcer apparently knows all the ins and outs of Zaun or something," Jinx chimes in from her perch atop the rafters. She lazily rolls over to look at Silco, playing around with her latest grenade, grinning down at him. "Disappearing into the alleys only to pop out again when everyone least expects it and kills everyone."

Silco frowns, how would an enforcer know Zaun's streets well enough to trick chem-barons? The only plausible explanation he can think of is that someone had given the enforcer a map, and a traitor in their midst was an thorn he had to remove with haste.

"I suppose I will have to clean up after them once again," he sighs. "Sevika, track this enforcer down. Follow their movements, take note of anyone they meet and report back."

"Understood." With that, his ever-loyal right-hand exits his office, leaving him alone with Jinx.

"You know," she hops onto his desk, "that enforcer looked rather familiar."

Silco raises an eyebrow at her, and she smirks, knowing she has stolen back his attention. "They looked a lot like…someone…what was their name again?"

Silco turns back to his stack of paperwork when she falls silent once more and Jinx rummages through a drawer, only to slam it shut with a loud bang that echoes all around the room. She lunges forward, deft fingers quickly finding the thin chain around his neck and pulls on it, hard.

"They had this hanging around their neck too." She whispers. "Sounds familiar?"

No. No, it couldn't be. You — you were gone, dead, lost to the enforcers that day on the bridge. It couldn't be you, it had to be an imposter, there was no way — he had to see it for himself. He had to know, had to confirm it with his own eye.

"Are you sure?" He asks calmly, careful not to break his facade. He had to remain rational, control his emotions for this could be a trap laid by Piltover, but how would they know about you? Too many questions, not enough answers. He could wait for Sevika's report, he had patience.

Jinx lets go of the chain, sliding off his desk. "I saw it myself. You can't miss it, dangles from their neck like an obnoxious piece of jewellery."

Silco's eye widens slightly. There is no doubt about it, it really is you, but how? How had you survived the fight, the riots, and why didn't you come back to Zaun? To him? His fingers curl around his cup as he searches for the answer in his past. You'd promised to be by his side, and he thought that promise lost when he was separated from you that day, but you were very much alive. Had you lied? Yet another question to ask when he got his hands on you.

Jinx notices the twitching and frowns. Silco was clearly hiding something from her, and she didn't like it when he did that. She leans forward, "who are they to you?"

"Someone I may know," he answers, pushing Jinx away. "Don't you have better things to do than bother me?"

"Hmph," Jinx pouts, annoyed that she isn't getting a proper answer. "They're clearly someone you were close to, otherwise they wouldn't have that ugly ring."

Silco sighs, picking up the topmost paper from the pile, "Not anymore. Now go and tinker with something else or make yourself useful and help Sevika track the enforcer down."

Jinx groans but exits the office, leaving Silco alone with his thoughts. Was the enforcer really you? How were you still alive? He plays with the ring hanging around his neck, remembering the day you had presented him with the ring. It hadn't been anything special, fancy or big. Just a simple gesture of shoving a box into his hand and telling him to open it.

"What's this?"

"A surprise gift! Open it!" You grin at him, clearly rather excited about his reaction to whatever that gift is. He frowns, mind cycling through possible pranks you could pull with this 'surprise gift' of yours and stares at it suspiciously.

"I told you it'd backfire," Vander chuckles, cleaning a glass. "You can't escape that reputation of yours."

"Oh come on! I'm not that bad…am I?" You blink owlishly as the two men stare at you incredulously. "…I see. Thank you both for the votes of confidence."

"You're welcome," Silco drawls, suppressing a chuckle of amusement as he pulls the box closer. "You're going to clean up whatever mess comes of me opening this box, understand?"

"I swear there will be no mess!" You pout, slumping onto the table. Vander laughs, ruffling your hair, "I can vouch for her this time, Silco."

"Fine," Silco sighs, but still braces himself as he opens the box — to reveal a simple metal band resting on a cushion.

"So, gonna marry me or —"

"How did you get this?" Silco lifts the ring into the light, studying it. There are carvings set in the metal, your initials and his, bringing a smile to his face as he reads it. "And yes, I am 'going to marry you', don't fret."

"Yes!" You whisper-yell giddily, excitedly bouncing around the bar. Vander pours three drinks, pushing two towards Silco and you while drinking the last one, chuckling. Silco rolls his eyes, taking the cup offered by Vander and throws his pen at you. You yelp as the pen hits you squarely in the forehead and then chuck the pen right back at him.

Silco calmly dodges your terrible aim, taking another sip from his cup, "are you going to answer my question or not?"

"I stole it!"

"I don't believe you."

"What?!" You flop onto the floor dramatically. "The man I love doesn't believe me, it's over."

"Who did you steal this from?" Silco slips the ring onto his finger, then takes it off again. It's far too loose. "I'll need to hang this around my neck."

"Uh…a jewellery merchant I happened across a couple days ago."

"And you didn't even check the ring size."

"I'm supposed to know your ring size?" You snort, moving over to the counter top.

"I don't know, are you?" Silco leans in close, swiping your drink.

"Hey! That's mine!"

Silco simply smirks at you as he drinks half before handing it back, "too slow."

"Give that ring back! I'm reverting my decision, you drinks thief!"

"It's mine already, I'm afraid I'm not keen on parting with it." Silco quickly glances around, ensuring no one is looking before pressing a chaste kiss to your lips. "Although I could make it up to you with a return gift."

"Oh? Better not disappoint me then, Sil~" You grin, capturing his lips into a full kiss, which he returns.

"Have I ever, love?"

He tucks the ring away upon hearing his office door open, revealing a scowling Sevika who has a couple of scratches.

"They got away, sorry," she grunts, "but I did find out who they are. It's Y/N. They really are alive."

"How?" Silco growls.

"Don't know, but they don't remember me. Don't know if they'll remember you." She frowns. "Going in alone is stupid, don't you dare think about it."

"I wasn't." Silco sits back down, pinching the bridge of his nose. There's a weird ache in his chest, a pull that tries to drag him out of his office but he forces it back down. He can't let his emotions take a hold of him, there is much he doesn't know about your situation, going after you right now is far too risky.

Still, he takes a different turn during his usual nightly routine, entering an alleyway and takes out a cigar, lighting it. He lets the ring around his neck dangle outside his clothes, the silver reflecting what little light exists at this time of day. A ring of smoke floats into the air, disappearing into the cold night sky as footsteps sound from his left.

"About time you showed up, you've always been late whenever I wasn't around to haul you out of bed." Silence greets him, save for the click of a gun and Silco turns to face you. "Silence really doesn't suit you."

The gun lifts, pointing right at him and he simply stares back. A finger curls around the trigger, pressing it down slightly but he remains unfazed.

"Y/N." He can see the ring that hangs around your neck now, a simple gold coloured band hanging from a thin silver chain. He remembers the day he gave it to you, the way you took great care of it every day, but now it hangs tarnished from your neck, stained and rusted. "It's dirty."

He reaches over, pressing his chest against the barrel of the gun and inspects the ring. He can easily get rid of the rust that has set in, scrub away the dirt but returning it to its former shine will be quite impossible. He clicks his tongue, annoyed and lets go of the ring lifting his gaze to meet your empty eyes. "Let's go home."

The gun doesn't go off, your finger falling from the trigger when you see the ring hanging around his neck, images flashing through your mind. Memories that feel familiar and alien at the same time roar in your head, confusion eating away at you and you drop your gun, clutching at your head. Your chest tightens, lungs refusing to inhale the oxygen you need and your heart thunders in your ears.

No no no no no.

"Breathe." A deep voice cuts through the haze. "In and out. Focus on my voice, follow my instructions. I will not lose you again."

You force your lungs to cooperate, following the instructions step by step, encouraged by the gentle deep voice until your vision refocuses.

"Silco," you whisper shakily. "Silco."

"I'm right here," he murmurs, arms wrapping around you.

"I —"

"Hush now, love. Everything's alright."

"No, it's not. I nearly — I — Sevika —" Panic bubbles to the surface but Silco quickly steps in before the situation can spiral.

"Sevika is alright. You held back enough for her to escape with a few scratches." He presses a kiss to the top of your head. You're back, with him, in his arms. Silco tightens his grip, hugging you closer. It can't be a dream, such a dream would be far too cruel.

"They took me, suppressed my memories, Silco I —" You choke out a sob, tears silently flowing down your cheeks. His heart aches at the sight, it always has whenever he saw you cry.

"But they could never take away our love." He presses his forehead against yours, breathing in your new scent. You smell like Piltover, a weird freshness, a hint of lavender that doesn't suit you in the slightest, and that disgusting blue clashes with the colour of your eyes. Your hair is no longer as rugged, it's combed neatly and Silco ruffles it, running his fingers through the strands like he used to.

He kisses you until your breath smells like cigars, throws his jacket over your shoulders and bundles you in it until he's satisfied he can't smell the Piltover stink anymore then presses one more chaste kiss to your lips. You smell like ash now, like the smoke that fills Zaun's air and he allows himself a small smile. The only trace of Piltover left now is the blue uniform but that has to wait until the both of you are home.

You're back now, with him, safely in his arms, and that's all that really matters. You, by his side once more, keeping the promise you had made to him years ago.

Don't worry, I'll be by your side, always.

[alanisinstone]

okay bluecollar!rafe but yall. can we make it MARINE!RAFE?? or more specifically MARSOC!rafe* who works for ward at cameron construction co. on leave?? like hello i need him bad guys.

cw: MDNI smut, cursing, stuff in public, food play, cum eating, military stuff, ass play, manhandling, 1 mention of fighting, recording

*marsoc: Marine Forces Special Operations Command - basically what COD men do

like he starts off as a standard private officer after enlisting when you guys graduate high school. he works his way up from private to corporal to sergeant major, and then eventually to captain, colonel, then general. i mean hes fucking unstoppable, hes blowing thru these ranks like nobodys fuckin business, and he not stopping anytime soon baby he in his primeeee.

he moves on to MARSOC and leads a small team on SPEC-OP missions in like borneo. hes literally the best of the best. his full file is like 4 pounds, full of successful recon missions, confirmed kills, successful captures of enemy targets, accurate tracking efforts, successful counterterrorism efforts, successful hostage rescue and successful direct action raids. when theres a REAL threat? they call LT Cameron. callsign? RAIDER

NOW. when baby comes home on leave he works at the family construction company ward owns, building giant beach houses for rich kooks. he eventually inherits cameron construction when ward gets too old to work and he helps ward retire bcs of the cash from being the most elite soldier in the US military. bae is tannnn bcs of construction work ofc, but also since being in the military he likes to go on runs and be in nature to clear his head. and yall alr know hes yatteddddd, both sleeves done by his boy at home on the cut, who happens to be a very talented tattoo artist (barry...)

strictly keeps a buzz for deployment but will grow out a mullet when hes home. signature gold chain is always on, and has a tat on his ring finger for you and maybe one on his forearm. does he have both ears pierced with fake diamond studs in? yes.

is currently in the blueprint stage for a beach house he wants to build you on figure 8 (and one in florida... and will probably start planning another one if he ends up having a long ship-out next deployment) even tho he despises rich fucks and is suchhhh a country boy. i mean hes like pogue!rafe but hes more of a mudding, dirt biking, bonfire, shotgunning beer, lifted truck, bar hop, football game kind of guy. and the most elite soldier in the US military ofc.

takes you on stargazing dates and fucks you in the truck bed, a big beach towel set down and his head in your neck while he ruts into you short and fast. occasionally gets into bar fights when some dick is tryna say sum to u. is such an ass man and will smack and grope that shit wheneverrrr whereverrrr - has zoned out of convos with people while feelin HIS booty up + loves to grip your pussy with his big ass paw when no one is looking.

has a super firm grip due to years of being a marine and WILL manhandle ur ass around - into various positions, onto the bed or couch or counter or etc., up over his shoulder when you gettin on his nerves. gets actually animalistic when yall fuckin, and yk that boy a munch. growls and grunts sooo loud the whole time.

will take you to the dock and fuck you on the family fishing boat. will christen any new bar yall go to by fucking you in the gross bathroom and carving both your initials in the wall with his pocket knife that ward gave him when he was 15. is kinky af but lets u bring it up bcs he feels awkward talking about it. is sooooo nasty - will eat his cum out of you with his whole mouth, eyes locked on yours, sucking your lips into his mouth. then, when it’s not enough, he drags you up to sit on his face and rubs your clit, watching you clench and letting his cum drip from you right onto his tongue.

will stick a thumb in your ass during doggy, while reaching for his phone bcs the way u throwin that ass back on him? yall bout to make another movie. loves watching you clean him up after round 5, when his dick is covered in his and your cum - will not let you miss a spot, even where it dripped down over his hefty balls to his ass. and he rarely shaves - uncut.

if it’s a hot day, he’ll turn the ac off and find you so he can lick the sweat off every crevice of your beautiful body while he’s fucking you over the counter. both of you completely butt naked bcs it’s hot. has a sweet tooth - will interrupt you while you’re baking and strip you, laying you on the counter like the dessert you are and eating the frosting off his favorite parts. get especially excited when it comes to sweets on your nipples.

honestly if that aint a FEASTTTT i dont know what issss

[razorblade180]

Streamer AU 6

Number 5 <-

Weiss:*rolls into view*….I’ve returned.

Yang:The bitch is back.

Weiss:Wow! Okay, rude. It’s not like I really left. I was in your streams all the time. I just don’t feel like doing my own after missions.

Yang:And yet somehow you still have more subscribers than me.

Photo Bunny gifted 30 subs

Weiss:Oh my gods! Velvet, thank you so much!

Yang:And the rich get richer!!!

Weiss:She says, knowing I’m not rich anymore.

Yang:And yet the money still pours in. Chat, make her play a horror game for being gone for so long.

“Yes!”

“PLEASE!”

“Alien Isolation.”

Weiss:Absolutely not. We have plans already. I’m just waiting for my co-host.

Yang:What am I then?

Weiss:A person who saw me hit the “live” button and immediately hopped into call to call me a bitch.

Yang:It’s in all in good love.

The Reaper: “Ayo! Look who’s back!”

Yang:Ruby, call Weiss a bitch.

Weiss:I’ll un-mod you. I’ve learned to do that recently.

Ruby: *enters call* Oh gods, chat, she’s learning computers. Tech savvy Weiss is dangerous. Who taught her such power?

Weiss:Your girlfriend.

Ruby:Oh, sorry chat. My girl can do no wrong.

Protector of Friendship: “💚”

Ruby:What’s the gameplan today? “Just chatting?” We can play Uno again.

Weiss:You hate teamwork. I swear you do.

Yang:Sends us on a life threatening mission where trust is needed, just to ruin it a day later.

Thunder Thighs: “How was mission? Everyone okay?”

Weiss:It was just bandits. Lots and lots of them. Unfortunately they ruined a village so most of the expenses went to rebuilding the town.

Yang:Chat, this woman is only on camera right now because her power bill is scaring her. This cute face has a price tag.

Weiss:Hey! I actually missed gaming. It’s oddly relaxing when I don’t listen to Ruby’s suggestions. Or Blake’s.

Ninja of Love: “League actually isn’t that bad.”

Ruby:That’s what I’m saaaaaying!

Yang:Don’t listen to them. They’re ill and can’t be cured.

Weiss:*looks at scroll*…Oh, I’ll be right back. Yang, you’re in charge. *gets up*

Ruby:Why not me?

Weiss:Because Yang doesn’t play League!

Ruby:You two lack vision. The four of us could be our own team! We could grab a few more friends and train for tournaments.

Ren: *enters call* Ruby, you are way too toxic for that. *leaves call*

Yang:Hahahahaha!

Ruby:You can’t just show up to say that!?

Weiss walks back into view rolling a second chair next to her. She’s then handed a coffee cup she gladly sips as she sits back down, all nice and cozy. Sitting next to her is Jaune, chilling in her merch hoodie as he waves.

Jaune:Hello…

“Whaaaat?”

“Oh it’s the guy.”

“Hi Jaaaaaaune!”

“Nerd alert”

“Co-host?”

Yang:I can’t believe you chose the other blonde over me. How cruel. What does he have I don’t?

Jaune:*holds up Kingdom Hearts*

Ninjas of Love: “FINALLY!”

Yang:..I would’ve bought it.

Ruby:Alright, maybe you chose better than Uno.

Weiss:Okay everyone, you can guess tonight’s game. It’s not like it hasn’t won several polls.

Ruby:Oh! Oh! Weiss, sub goal idea! 80 subs and you have to do a cover of the opening!

Weiss:I haven’t even heard it yet!

Jaune:You might like it more than the song from FFX.

Weiss:….

Yang:She’s setting you up for success.

Weiss:…We will circle back to that. Speaking of FFX, same rules apply. I don’t need back-seating from chat. My wonderful co-host here will help manage the stream and aid me with anything I ask.

Blake: *enters call* Jaune, what version is that?

Jaune:It’s from the 1.5 collection, so final mix. Post the patch.

Blake:You’re a good man.

Weiss:Do you want the camera on you or is that uncomfortable?

Jaune:I’m okay. This setup is nice.

Ruby:Questions like these wouldn’t be an issue if you got a VTube model. Penny could hook you up.

Weiss:I only recently learned how to fix normal PC problems. Don’t put that burden on me.

Yang:What does OBS stand for?

Weiss:I saved your life yesterday. What’s your damage with me?

Big Bags & Miniguns: “Is this the mystery boyfriend we’ve been searching for?”

Weiss:Cocoa, you’ve known Jaune forever. He’s always been around as a mod.

Thunder Thighs: “That wasn’t a no.”

Jaune:I literally showed my copy of the game. You all know why I’m here.

Cardinal Pride: “As if she’d date someone as lame as-

Message Deleted

Photo Bunny: “Please remember the chat guidelines before typing”

Ruby:I would’ve blocked him.

Weiss:He gets one more chance. I’m in a good mood.

Jaune:That’s the Kingdom Hearts spirit. *puts disc in*

Weiss:This won’t make me cry like Final Fantasy did, will it?

Blake:Oh….sweetie….

Weiss:*inhales* Great.

Yang:I already made a crude layout for the singing goal. I swear graphic designers should be thankful I like cars and fighting Grimm more.

Jaune:Don’t have any lower goals?

Weiss:I’m 20 away from having to cosplay a character from a game I’ve played. They also get to vote on an emote.

BB&MG: “How many subs for a boyfriend reveal?”

Weiss:…*rubs chin*

Ruby:You’re thinking about it!?

Weiss:I mean I’d have to talk it over with him to see if he’s comfortable with others knowing, but also that goal has to be high enough for Cocoa to be scared.

Jaune:….This game isn’t terribly long, and you have new followers. Personally I’d shoot for no less than 300.

The Monkey King: “Bleed her dry. 350”

BB&MG: “I thought we were friends Sun?”

Weiss:350 it is! After I discuss it of course.

“You’re on!”

“You underestimate our power!”

“I swear if it’s Neptune.”

“Just wait until payday!”

Yang:Like I said, the rich get richer.

[jirsungs]

ep 17: i missed you (too)

word count: 3.1k

You join Jisung in the kitchen and when he sees you arrive, he hops off the counter before he can look at your choice of outfit for the evening. 

But when he does, he wishes he could rewind the moment you walked in so he can pay more attention because holy fuck. Those words were the only coherent thing he could pull out of his brain, but he didn’t blame himself for the mental trouble, because seriously, holy fuck.

Lord, he wishes that no one else has seen you in this black strapless midi dress, which he’s 80% sure is from Kukombo, he remembered you and Ning raving about it a couple of weeks back. Your hair perfectly dolled up, just like the first time he saw you, with your pearl necklace layered by your Tiffany & Co. Infinity Pendant necklace sitting pretty on your collarbone.

He recalls you gushing about how much you love layering jewelry pieces together or how complete it makes you feel on the first night you hung out alone. He also remembers you telling him that the Tiffany & Co. necklace you’re wearing now was bought with Renjun’s card after you begged him on your birthday. 

“You look pretty.” Jisung blurts out before his brain can process that those words actually left his mouth.

His compliment makes you smile. “Thank you.”

Should I have said more? Was that not enough? She looks absolutely gorgeous, but if I say that, I might come off desperate and I am not desperate. Wait. Am I?

Pfft, no, of course not.

He shakes out of his mental dilemma when he hears you talk again, “You too—I mean, you look good.”

Despite you seeing him blush in front of you and mumble a “thank you”, his physical appearance did not match. An awkward guy dressed in his black graphic t-shirt and gray denim baggy jeans. To everyone else, he was seen as a stern, quiet dude who stayed close to his friends and played drums weekly, but to you? He was anything but stern or quiet.

“What’s with us always meeting in kitchens?” You try to joke, your horrible attempt to ease the weird tension in the air.

It was a pretty bad joke, if you could even call it one, but at least, you know that there will be someone who laughs at anything you say. And that’s Jisung. “Right? I guess it’s the place where we’re just destined to be together. We first met in Karina’s kitchen, then had our first interaction after Karina’s party in Johnny’s kitchen—”

“One horrible interaction.” You both wince at the immature memory. 

“Yep, it was pretty bad… But now, you’re here with me in Chenle’s kitchen after… ghosting me for two weeks.”

An awkward laugh escapes your mouth, not knowing what to say now that the air suddenly grew uncomfortable. Fortunately for you, Jisung doesn’t notice and is instead embarrassed by himself.

“Sorry, I said kitchen too many times. That was–it sounded weird.”

It’s been two weeks without him and yet somehow, he still holds the power of making it impossible for you to be mad at him. You hate that you always find his awkwardness endearing.

“You’re fine, Ji. In fact, it didn’t sound weird to me at all.” You reassuringly smile, nudging his side.

And that one overused nickname he's heard from multiple different people sounded the prettiest when it came from you. A light switched in him and the next thing you know, Jisung's ranting about Rockway's past gig to Jeno breaking their blender after attempting to make a blueberry banana smoothie for him before their workout at the gym.

Your friends come over once they spot you two in the kitchen corner together, cutting your conversation short. Suddenly, you’re in the arms of Ning and Haechan, engulfing you in a hug while Jisung is kept occupied in conversation with Renjun, Mark, and Jaemin. 

Soon after, your interactions die down with Ning and Haechan accompanying each other to go dance and the three guys who busied Jisung left due to Chenle pulling them away for a game of beer pong. 

Chenle was successful in dragging Jaemin and Renjun while Mark followed suit. But as Mark was about to leave, he stopped to offer Jisung a spot to join, which you encouraged, since Rockway usually boasts about how skilled he is at the game. But he turned down his friend’s offer with a shake of his head. 

You guess Jisung made a signal to the clueless guitarist because Mark says no more, glancing between you and him before letting out an “Ohhh…” He winks at the guy next to you, who you see grow more flustered by the minute, and exits out of the kitchen.

Jisung finally lets go of the breath you didn’t realize he was holding onto for so long and you’re left alone together once more.

The quiet gives Jisung the perfect opportunity to continue catching up with you. You’re not even thirty minutes into the conversation when it gets interrupted again, this time by Yeonjun and Jeno whining about their loss in beer pong. And after multiple pleas from them, they were finally able to pull the beloved drummer boy away from your side.

“I’ll be right back after this, I promise.” Jisung gives you one last pouty look before the guys tug him by the arms. 

“Yeah yeah, don’t get clingy, lover boy.” Yeonjun chirps out as he and Jeno drag him away, the latter following up with a, “We’ll take good care of him, Y/N!”

Your eyes follow the three guys, they join the crowded table that has multiple red solo cups set on either side, and you take notice of how Jisung radiates a whole new light when he’s surrounded by his bandmates, along with your friends. You adored that you all became such a tight-knit group so quickly. It’s nice. Well, sometimes. Haechan and Mark currently screaming over one another is one of the reasons why you say “sometimes.”

“You guys already have Yeonjun! Let us have Jisunggg!” Haechan whines. 

Mark lets out a humorless laugh, “What’re you talking about? Renjun clearly made y’all win last game!”

Your eyes shift over to Jisung, who’s covering his ears at the noise. It makes you laugh under your breath.

Luckily, the argument between Haechan and Mark didn’t last long because the next time you looked over, they were already concentrating on their game. Shotaro, a mutual friend of Rockway’s, was focusing his aim on the cup. 

While Jisung is playing beer pong with the others, you’re left alone, feeling peaceful as you watch the party around you. But to your dismay, your content mood turns sour when you see Jaeyun, your ex-situationship, walk over.

“Y/N alone at a party? That’s a new one.” He snickers, pouring himself a cup of the cheap beer.

You watch him take a sip and scowl. “What are you doing here?” 

“It’s an open-invite party, pretty face. You know I never skip out on these.”

“You’re not even friends with Chenle, or anyone here, for that matter.”

Jaeyun takes another sip of his drink, “Eh, so what? Again,” He lowers himself to directly meet your eyes, “It’s a free party.”

He disgusts you.

Once Jisung takes his turn throwing the small ping-pong ball towards the cup and it lands inside, as expected, his teammates Jeno, Mark, Yeonjun, and Wonbin cheer and hype the drummer up at his performance. 

As Jisung glances between the four guys surrounding him, he sees you accompanied by someone in the background. His friends don’t notice him moving to the back of them as their attention is set on Jeno already being pushed to the front for his turn.

His eyes widen when he realizes who's talking to you. Jaeyun. The one guy you told him about on your first hangout together when he was curious about your past. He’s glad you didn’t hide yourself away from him when he asked because now, he knows that the guy is nothing but a lovebombing asswipe. But what he isn’t so thrilled about is the fact that he shares a class with the guy, let alone the same major. 

You’re uneasy, he can tell. It’s painful to watch. And he’s sure your feeling gets worse once he sees you grow visibly stiff when a girl comes over and kisses Jaeyun on the cheek.

Insecure isn’t typically a word Jisung would use to describe himself. He sometimes becomes doubtful of himself, sure, but insecure isn’t a word that would be in his pile of descriptions. Plus, he knows he's on your mind every second of every day, and that was more than enough assurance for him. 

But Jaeyun intimidated the hell out of him, he knew this, despite being a few months older than him, Jaeyun was bulkier and he was aware that his looks could kill, he guessed that’s how he got you gripped on him at one point in your life. However, that still didn’t stop him from excusing himself from his friends, lying to them that he needed to go to the bathroom.

Surprisingly, his friends paid no attention to his departure with how engrossed they were in their game, making it easier for him to rush to the kitchen. 

You’re too busy tolerating Jaeyun and his next fling’s drained conversation they were having with you, to notice him walk in. That is until you feel a presence beside you and an arm wrapped around your waist, leading you to look up at the culprit and see Jisung. It was new seeing him touch you so comfortably like this, or be possessive either. You weren’t complaining though, it was definitely something you could get used to.

But the said man doesn’t have time to make eye contact with you because all he’s focused on is his main goal here, and that’s for Jaeyun to get out of your goddamn face.

“Sim, you’re not making her uncomfortable, are you?”

What is he doing? You think. Jaeyun letting out a low whistle and opening his obnoxious mouth again doesn’t allow you to dwell on it.

“Wow, Y/N, I didn’t think you were into,” He eyes Jisung up and down unimpressed, “lousy playing drummer boys all that much.”

Oh God.

You feel Jisung’s arm around you tense up, “What did you just say?”

Jaeyun only snickers. You watch Woona, his new fling who you, unfortunately, remember the name of cling onto him tighter. You roll your eyes at the action.

“I mean, as far as I remember, you were better than picking underground losers off the low-paying nightclubs his band plays at.”

You scoff. It was obvious he knew nothing about Jisung, Rockway, or any of their successes, “You’re full of shit, Jaeyun.”

Your ex-situationship couldn’t care less about what you said because once he sees Jisung’s fuming face slightly falter, he knows he got him. So he continues, “Jisung, I’m warning you now, man. You better find a better chick 'cause all you got right now is some bitch who’ll whore around for anyone with a dick attached—”

Everything happens in a blink of an eye. You seriously don’t know how.

One moment Jisung’s arm is wrapped around your body then the next, he and Jaeyun are on the kitchen floor while Jisung lunges at him right away, giving Jaeyun barely time to react before his fist crashes down on him. The connection to Jaeyun’s jaw creates a painful crunch that echoes across the room, resulting in some partygoers reacting to the scene.

Your expression never changes as you watch in disbelief at the whole thing, Woona instantly screaming and trying to push Jisung off. It doesn’t work though, she falls over when Jaeyun attempts to regain himself, bouncing back a punch that has Jisung’s head taking a hit to the side. But Jisung rapidly returns his attention. Regaining control of his fist, he delivers another vicious blow to Jaeyun’s face, then follows with another, and another, and by the next punch, he finds himself losing control.

The number of punches he’s thrown, Jisung stays unaware of it, and frankly, he doesn’t give a shit about it. He continues to stay unaware even when people’s arms are grasping him from behind to force him from the wounded Jaeyun.

“Jisung, what the fuck is wrong with you?” It isn’t until Haechan’s distressed voice snaps him out of his daze, that he finally notices Jaeyun being helped up by Yuta and Jungwoo.

He observes Jaeyun’s bleeding lip and bruised face and finds no remorse in his heart. Throwing punches at the guy isn’t the worst thing he could’ve done, he knew that Jaeyun knew he deserved it too.

Instead of answering Haechan and the others as their worries talk over one another, his breath remains raggedy when he takes a glance over at you, you didn’t move from the spot, your hand over your chest as you’re heaving, trying to recollect yourself from what just happened. His gaze is fixated on you while your eyes shift between Jaeyun and Woona, who’s giving you the worst side eye known to man. 

Jisung guesses he didn’t hit Jaeyun hard enough, because he dares to open his mouth again. His voice raspy and taunting, “Shit, you’re lucky your band came to the rescue ‘cause I would’ve ripped you apart.”

“You never shut your mouth, do y—” It was stupid, Jisung knew it was, but it still had him attempting to pounce forward in the grasp of his friends but they swiftly pulled him back, making loud protests.

With all the voices that rang throughout the room, Chenle’s was the only one that caught Jisung’s attention, seeing his best friend angry was a usual thing, just not like this, “Ji, if you don’t wanna calm yourself down, take this shit outside.”

“Fine.” The younger’s eyes soften as he looks between Haechan and Jaemin who are currently holding him, “Let go of me.”

Haechan arches his brow at him, unsure of whether to trust Jisung or if he'll start something when he’s freed, but the two exchange a look before letting him go.

And just like that, Jisung storms out of the kitchen, paying no mind to Jaeyun who tries to reach for him. He exits Chenle’s apartment, and you immediately follow after him. 

Your hurried steps make contact with the concrete sidewalk as you reach outside of the house, trying to walk faster to match his pace. The cold air quickly reaches your body, making you rub your arms in hopes of warming up. 

When you’re walking close behind him, you speak up, “Jisung, I can’t believe you just did that! That whole thing was unnecessary, I don’t even know why you decided to get yourself hurt over someone as stupid as Jaeyun!” Your words coming out as a scold.

His abrupt stop in his tread almost makes you bump into him, but he turns himself around and faces you. He lashes out. “Unnecessary? My ass, it was unnecessary! I couldn't stand hearing him talk about you like that, especially when he's the one who treated you like garbage.”

Confused at his sudden outburst, you lash back, “Jisung, why did you do that?”

Jisung releases a deep breath, “Y/N, I did it because…” He can’t dare to look at you, so he glances up at the night sky instead. "Geez..."

You grow angrier seeing his focus not on you, “What, Jisung? What?”

“Fuck, because I like you, you idiot! Can’t you see that?” Your eyes slightly widen and you swallow the next agitated remark resting on your tongue. With you now becoming quiet, he allows himself to slowly calm down, “Look… I know I'm not the best with words, we know that. But these whole two weeks of me waiting by the phone just for one single text from you confused the hell outta me. I mean, at one point, you're hating me, and then I'm hating you, to us being friends, now to whatever this is.” He motions his hands between the two of you in a stressed manner.

Still. You can’t believe your ears, so you dumbly ask, “You what?”

He’s calmed down by this point, looking like an ashamed puppy, “I like you, Y/N. I really really like you.”

“And what makes you think I didn't feel the same?” Now it's Jisung's turn to be confused, his lost eyes being nothing but cute to you. Even beaten up, he was adorable. You sigh, “I like you too, stupid.” 

“Oh, thank God.” 

In a flash, his head is tilted down to match your height, and he leans in, his hands reaching for your jaw. Then, his lips meet yours. His fingers keep their place on your jaw, gentle and scared to move down. Finally, he thinks. Expecting you to pull away, he’s surprised when you kiss him back, your hands gripped on his shirt, pulling him closer to you. Fireworks weren’t going off, but your heart sure felt like they were.

You never thought your first kiss with Jisung would be like this, desperate and full of want. But you don’t care, he longed for this, and so did you. 

He pulls away and rests his forehead on yours. He circles your waist with both arms, before he speaks, his breath still heavy, “I know that you told me you always wished for a fairytale kiss, but I couldn’t help it anymore. So, uh, I hope that kinda made up for it?”

He just kissed you and he’s awkward?

You affectionately smile, “It made up for it, Ji. Really.” You loop your arms around his neck. “Now is this a bad time to apologize for how stupid it was to ghost you or…?”   

He chuckles, “You’re cute.” You pout and mumble a “shut up” before he continues, “But yes, it is. I mean, I already forgave you the moment you came over. I’m kinda hurt you didn’t realize that.”

His fake frown leads you to remove one arm from his neck and smack his chest, “I can’t read between the lines!” 

“My bad, my bad. That was my fault for thinking so.”

You hmph, both of your arms taken off his neck for you to cross them instead, “Thank you.”

Jisung thinks your attitude is adorable, and he can’t even be mad at you. Especially with you finally in his arms again after yearning for you for three months, it made everything worth it.

previous ☆ masterlist ☆ next

note: THEY FINALLY SAID IT YALLL 🙏 this chapter is cliché and cheesy af!!!! but did i still kick my feet proofreading it? of course, i did 🤭 also so sorry for such a late update ☹️, i got busy prioritizing other things! but i'm finally back!

🎫: @idkwhatursayinh @sunghoonsgfreal @multifandomania @nanaxwi @odxrilove @sourrpatched @hancafe @chaellaa @dojaejunging @jising-jisang-jisung @heheheeral @haechansbbg @renjunsversion @seunghancore @woshixinqgiu @jiiieun @pinknjm @mrshwang-park @neozon3nha @joyzluvr @aerivrs @nosungluv @haechology @beomgyusonlywife @injunnie-lemon @tommina @222low

[paper-mario-wiki]

What is your favorite bar from the myriad of good bars from Kendrick Lamar involving drake, i.e. Euphoria, Meet the Grahams, & Not Like Us?

note: when I say "Drake" I mean the constructed pop star. when I say "Aubrey" I mean the human being and actor behind the narrative that is "Drake".

Euphoria my favorite bar from this track is the whole "I'm the biggest hater" refrain. i like it because that singular section alone completely obliterated Taylor Made Freestyle. by paraphrasing the late DMX's famous quote about Drake, he is demonstrating how you can respectfully and powerfully use words from the mouths of dead predecessors to discredit your opponent, further showing how much of a stupid tactless clown-show popstar-turned-con-artist Aubrey Graham is in using the AI mockery of Tupac's voice to taunt Kendrick, the current voice of the West Coast and-- to many-- the people's successor to Pac.

6:16 in LA with a slightly lighter tone than the other disses, i consider this song to be a person to person sit-down and final warning to Aubrey that Kendrick is willing to provide. he explains that OVO is full of moles and wires, Aubrey is being hustled with nobody on his side, and going as far as saying "you can't sleep, these images trouble you" hinting at the fact that he would be going after Drake's personal failings that he thinks about when he goes home at night and stops being Drake. which he totally did in meet the grahams. also, bonus points to my favorite rhyme scheme in the song, just cuz it's so much fun to say:

Your lil memes is losin' steam, they figured you out The forced opinions is not convincin', y'all need a new route

like, what a perfect little two-bar rhyme scheme.

meet the grahams in this song, the most powerful lyrics to me (and the ones that usually make me start tearing up) are the ones where Kendrick stops being sorrowful and starts being angry.

You a body shamer, you gon' hide them baby mamas, ain't ya? You embarrassed of 'em, that's not right, that ain't how mama raised us Take that mask off, I wanna see what's under them achievements, Why believe you? You never gave us nothin' to believe in

this reminds me of every traumatic scolding i ever received as a child. i think that the word "disappointed" isn't strong enough to convey the feeling here. something closer would be "let down", because Kendrick's whole thing recently has been peace and uplifting people. he was willing to tolerate the competition for the game, but there were so many times that he warned Drake to not mention Kendrick's family. ultimately, in this stage of their careers, what they were fighting for was not fame or power, it was their legacy. they were fighting over how they were going to be remembered, and Kendrick was not about to let his pacifism make him passive in watching someone pretending to be a part of his culture stain how he will be written about in the records of Hip-Hop history. in specific, i love the line "take that mask off, i wanna see what's under them achievements" because he is BEGGING Audrey to respond honestly, as himself. he is begging him to cast off the facade of "Drake" and speak with any amount of dignity, because at this point there was no more room to speculate on whether or not he actually was who he claimed to be with regards to his music. at this point, the consensus was pretty thoroughly in the camp of "the actor Audrey Graham has been co-opting the image of the American Rapper for his career".

Not Like Us i think i love the bar "he has all eyes on me and imma send it up to Pac" because it goes back to the core of what this is about to Kendrick in fighting for legacy. the media, specifically the white dominated media, sucks the culture (that is to say, Black culture) dry for all it's worth monetarily, and in the process there have been many twisted caricatures or unfair narratives left in the wake of black creatives who are no longer alive to defend their own names. there's an entire tangent about how tabloids disproportionately affect black creatives due to the very fact that white supremacy discounts the respect these names have to the (largely un-melinated) higherups in hollywood, and as a result there is less PR dedicated to keeping their image clean, but i think im not qualified to go off on it. the point is, Drake disrespected Pac's legacy (and continues to do so by owning his ring, really, instead of having it be in the possession of someone who's at least from the west coast), and Kendrick wanted to put some honor on his name. he made sure that he was not just mentioned in the shameful (Taylor Made) and angry (euphoria) parts of this beef, but also its most triumphant moment.

[villainbait]

Corvid Coeducation

Pairing: Sylus x MC (implied) Rating: G Tags: drabble, crack, fluff, humor, mc as a teacher, third person, 3rd person, painting, playful fighting Summary: MC teaches Mephisto how to paint. Loosely inspired by this image (I know it's a raven in the photo not a crow but it gave me inspo all the same♥). Word Count: ~500

“What are you doing?”

The girl doesn’t look up from the crow she’s currently giving careful instructions to. A small easel meant for a toddler or a small child was set up in Sylus’s bedroom, and a large old towel lay underneath it so paint didn’t stain the floor. 

“I'm teaching Mephisto how to paint.” 

Sylus sounds amused. “Do you know how to paint?” 

“I'll have you know I'm good friends with a…“ Maybe she shouldn’t bring up Rafayel here, but was too late and Sylus latches onto her hesitance. 

“With a what, kitten?” A different face came to mind and she was quick to offer Thomas up without hesitating. “...art curator.” she said quickly, busying herself with helping Mephisto dip his paint brush again. “So that’s a no.” Sylus sounded skeptical and his words dripped with disbelief and disappointment. 

She ignores him.

“Yeah! so I know how to paint–kind of.” She grumbles, before directing the unruly crow back to canvas. Sylus allows the little white lie, a slight smirk playing on his lips. She was getting better at this kind of game, clumsy as she still was at it. He should reward her for that. He crouches next to her, far too close, enjoying the way she fidgeted nervously at his proximity. They both watched as the crow attempted to make a masterful stroke, but all that came of it was a splotchy red blotch instead. 

“Remarkable job. Perhaps I should take lessons from Miss, too.” Sylus comments dryly. The girl shoves at him and they get into a tussle, the painting session forgotten while they grapple. She doesn’t play fair and manages to smudge Sylus’s face with a streak of red paint, her expression momentarily triumphant before he grabs her wrist and jerks her close. The tension is palpable in the air, heavy with anticipation. Sylus leans in, his trembling lips hovering above her own, but is startled by the sudden interruption of an angrily squawking Mephisto from behind him.

He pulls back with a wry smile, admiring how disheveled and flushed the girl looked. His voice is a little rough when he speaks and he clears his throat softly. “Mephisto says we are ruining his creative process.” She can only nod and Sylus crosses his legs in front of the tiny easel meant for a child, tucking her into his lap before she can protest. His hand reaches out to take the brush from the crow, who obediently hops over to offer it. 

“You’re putting too much paint on the brush,” Sylus murmured gently, removing some paint with a towel until only a thin layer remained on the tip. “Like this, see?” His breath flutters next to her ear and she struggles to focus on his instruction. “It will help him control the brush better if it’s not so weighed down with paint.”

He angles the brush between Mephisto’s beak and watches as the crow hops back to the canvas, his strokes more dramatically effective this time. For a while, the process repeats and the girl is content to sit in Sylus’s lap, their co-education producing a fine painting in the end.

Sylus holds it out, admiring it with the critically trained eye of a collector. “I’ll hang it in the hall where guests can see it.” 

The girl can’t bring herself to tease him about it, but she swore Sylus oddly looked like a proud papa.

[kanekoii]

How do you think Luxiem and Noctyx would react to collabing with the Reader who is a popular indie vtuber and their kamaoshi?

lyra’s notes -> methinks…you should read and find out

pairings -> luxiem, noctyx x gn! indie vtuber! kamioshi! reader

!! since this is intended to be romantic sorta, reader is male in uki’s part !!

genre -> scenario

song -> don’t wake me up - jonas blue & why don’t we

warnings -> they all have a crush on u, food in mysta’s part, joking mention of death in fuglur’s

VOX AKUMA ->

he’s going full adorable fanboy about it, screaming with joy when you agree to collab with him and freaking out over it on his twitter- i mean x. xitter. he will be so stoked about the opportunity to talk to you in person when he usually just lurks in your chat. he’ll take the opportunity to flirt with you and try to show off a little bit, only to fail miserably and be met with a laugh. yet he still made you laugh, so mission accomplished. he was so excited to collaborate with you and make you laugh, and he’s sure to ask to collab in the future.

IKE EVELAND ->

compliments. so many compliments. he’ll straight up tell you how excited he is to work with you and how you’re his kamioshi. ike will be sure to tell you how adorable he thinks you are and just how much he genuinely admires you. he is so absolutely smitten that poor boy can barely handle talking to you without blushing or getting flustered. the more times you collaborate, the more used to it he’ll become and the more he’ll start to hint at his crush on you.

LUCA KANESHIRO ->

he didn’t even believe you’d ask. you’re his literal kamioshi and you asked to collaborate with HIM of all people? he’s absolutely grateful for the opportunity to work with you and be able to talk to you more than just occasional comments in your chat when he’s not streaming. it was an off-collab too, so you’d be seeing him in person to see if he was just as pretty off camera as he was on. someone (me) akasupa’d and asked to give opinions on each other and the revelation that you loved his content just as much as or even more than he loved yours had his heart soaring.

SHU YAMINO ->

he would get SO flustered and nervous before you hop on call together to play the horror game he had chosen. it would likely lead to poor boy getting more scared than usual just because he’s nervous to be talking to someone he admires that much for the first time. he would most definitely try to flex his math skills too as some weird way of trying to gain your attention. every time he makes you even smile with his silly comments, his heart will soar out of pure pride.

MYSTA RIAS ->

he’s keeping it cool. or at the very least, he’s trying to. he knows his personality type doesn’t appeal to everyone and he’s so happy when he finds that you actually enjoy his loud yet introverted personality and his weird antics. the stream you did together was you teaching him how to cook without poisoning everyone. please teach him how to wash rice properly and how to cook it without the starch water. please i’m begging teach him how to cook and he will be so happy, bragging to chat that he learned this recipe from you.

FULGUR OVID ->

hooligan wants to play co-op rage games with you just to see you mald and absolutely lose it. hear me out, what if he invites you to a crab game or among us collab and introduces you to everyone and he gets teased for teaming with you and trying to essentially carry you. instead of die for nari it’s die for you. he will see to it personally that you win every game you play together just as a little chance to impress you and get you to smile. that would make him SO happy.

SONNY BRISKO ->

cutie will be so taken aback to see you in his chats sometimes, so a collaboration would be more than heaven to him. he looks up to you and your content so much that he’s sure he’s dreaming when he has a full conversation with you on stream. your collective chats ship it SO much. imagine all the ship edits when you do a stream together in person as an off-collab.

UKI VIOLETA ->

(male reader for this one) he would definitely do a baking stream! much like the ones he’s done with his fellow nijisanji en members, he gives vague instructions and you try to figure it out from there. while uki is muted, his viewers would be subject to comments about oh my god he’s adorable he’s trying so hard to make me happy. ugh boy is down bad and let’s just say there will be so many more streams like that in the near future <3

ALBAN KNOX ->

he’s SO insanely shy and nervous it’s adorable. though, as the stream with you goes on, he becomes less nervous and goes back to his normal silly self. if he needs to, he’ll break out the mickey voice to make you laugh but that’s a last resort. his personality compliments yours in such a way that it’s just so enjoyable to watch, and he’s such a comforting person to be around as well.

[freyito]

ᴛʀɪᴄᴋ ᴏʀ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛ! ⨟ ɪᴅɪᴀ ꜱʜʀᴏᴜᴅ

✭ pairing(s): idia shroud x gn reader

✩ in which: he celebrates halloween with you.

✧ a/n: i got attached to this Guy overnight and i need to take a bite out of him. Anyways!

✦ taglist: @shinysora

→ trick or treat masterlist

🗒 cw: gn reader, just fluff :P, maybe a little ooc? (havent read ignihyde's chapter yet ((so many idia vignettes tho)), not proofread

✎ wc: 677

Trick

Well, for one, Idia is absolutely, positively, against any party whatsoever. He’s not here for the hype week, he’s in it for the candy and showing off his cosplay skills. As such, unless you are in his room at all times, he kind of sucks at communication during Halloween Season. Which means unless you want some alone time (or he kicks you out), you’re bunking with him quite a bit. No matter how much he protests.

You might get dragged into his games, especially with their Halloween events. If even one of them has a co-op or invitation event, you’re pushed into making a new account or joining him. And you must, at least, run dungeons with him 10 times a day. He has to stay at the top of rankings somehow! And you’re his key to that, one that he’s not necessarily willing to give up, either.

He also tends to buy extra candy. What, to give away? No! He’s hoarding this stuff like a dragon and it’s pile of gold. Sure, he’ll give you some, but if he has to play nice, he’s doubling his pay. In gummy worms. Oh, and he gatekeeps any gummies from other people. Not you, of course, you can take as much as you want (as long as you leave him some of the blue raspberry or cherry flavored ones). But, this leads to an excess of candy bags just… chilling in his room now. Not that he tosses them wherever he wants, he has a carefully crafted system, you know. But sometimes there is something known as too much candy.

Treat

Despite all of that, isn’t Idia the best person to hang out with during Halloween? With all his dedication to his costume, it comes out genuinely wonderful. He spent most of his time working on the finer details, one of the truest adaptations of… which character was it again? You’ve heard so much of this character that it feels like your brain has fizzled out. Regardless, his costume is still amazing, you’re a little jealous. And you’re sure you’ll hear much more about the character, and you’ll be subjected to watching the show regardless. Not that you mind.

You are in for a nice and cozy night, however. After the parade is done and Idia’s social battery is thoroughly drained, all he wants to do is either sleep (which he can’t because he’s gorged himself on candy), or finish up the events on his games to make sure he stays at the top of the rankings. Once he’s finally free of his costume (after about an hour…), he takes a couple of minutes in your arms, laying on top of you like a massive pillow, while he mutters something about his costume and what not. After about half an hour, he’s up and at ‘em, back at his game. Perhaps he’s realized how he’s neglected you over the month, and so he does his best to include you in his gametime, whether you choose to play with him, or simply sit on his bed and listen to what he has to say.

Before the sugar wears off, Idia is suddenly cramming in a last minute grind session, hopping from server to server to kill the event’s boss as the minutes tick down. Even as he’s fighting sleep, he’s kicking monster ass and topping the rankings. You can feel yourself slipping into sleep until he jolts you awake with a loud “YEEESSS!”. Almost immediately after that leaves his mouth, he’s apologizing profusely to you in a soft voice, completely forgetting about his game and slinking over with his hands out like he was calming down a scared horse.

With his win secured, he slips into bed easily. Which is earlier then he usually falls asleep, about a couple more hours before. But he’s won top ranking player during almost every event for three years in a row, and perhaps it’s time to celebrate (by sleeping early– and sleeping in even later), and also apologize for waking you up so abruptly.

© freyito, 2024 | masterlist | queue | kofi | discord server | star header by roseschoices DO NOT REPOST AS YOUR OWN, REPOST ON ANY OTHER PLATFORM, OR USE FOR AI/AI CHATBOTS.

[thankskenpenders]

There’s been some discussions on Twitter recently about if Blaze’s dimension is worth keeping around and expanding on or if it should be ignored/merged with Sonic’s world thanks to a Bumblekast clip. What are your thoughts on Blaze’s dimension as a story-telling hurdle/ alternate setting? I personally feel like it wouldn’t make a difference if Blaze was a princess from another dimension or a princess from the other side of the world, it would just be easier for her to show up if she wasn’t from another dimension, but I also think it’s be neat to expand on Blaze’s world as a parallel to Sonic’s.

I think there's a whole cottage industry of Sonic fans who just like to take things Ian says out of context so they can rile people up on Twitter, and the fandom falls for it every time, and it's extremely tiring

But also I think Ian is right

This isn't something I've really shared, but I actually have a document where I've kept ideas for what I would do with a hypothetical modern reboot of Archie Sonic where I'm allowed to start from scratch and change anything I want. (I might share some of this someday, perhaps with some character designs, but for now it's just a thing for me. It's not like I'm gonna do a comic or anything.) For Blaze, I immediately decided that all of the elements from the Sol Dimension should be merged with the regular Mobius. I would just say that Sonic and friends have all their adventures on one hemisphere of the planet, and Blaze is from the other. I mean, the Sol Dimension already has a heavy Australia/Oceania vibe. It'd be really easy. This way, there would still be some level of separation, and Blaze would still have her own territory where she gets to be the main hero, but it'd be WAY easier to actually use those elements. Characters can just show up on whatever part of the planet they need to be on for any given story

For some reason people seem to think that Blaze being from a separate dimension isn't a storytelling hurdle at all, and I really don't know what franchise they're following, because it sure as hell isn't the version of Sonic I know. Yes, in theory it could be as simple as just using a warp ring to hop over to the Sol Dimension whenever. There are ways to write around it. I'd love to see that happen so that we could flesh out Blaze's world some more. Give Blaze some more allies and villains of her own! Give her more to do over there, and more reasons for Sonic and co. to visit! But clearly Sega isn't down with that, considering the Sol Dimension has only ever been in one game and, what, two issues of the IDW comics for maybe ten pages total? Sega's just sitting on it, and it's impossible not to see the fact that it's a whole separate dimension as the reason.

Even if we were getting more stories about traveling to and from the Sol Dimension, it'd still be a hassle. You want to use the Chaotix in a story in the Sol Dimension? Wanna use Marine or Johnny or whoever in a story set on the main world? Well, you'd better think up an airtight excuse for why those characters are traveling between the dimensions and pray that Sega approves of it. And right now that seems to be one hell of an obstacle, given how little we see of the Sol Dimension even though I know damn well Ian and Evan would love to explore it more. It's gotten to the point that Blaze is now on an endless "vacation" on Sonic's Earth so that they can actually use her in stories. People have been acting like merging the worlds would completely take away everything that makes Blaze special as a character, when it would just make all of her personal story stuff infinitely easier to work with than it is right now.

"Oh but what about the Sol Emeralds?" There's no reason the Sol Emeralds couldn't exist on the same planet as the Chaos Emeralds. We've already got other magic rocks like the Time Stones, the Phantom Ruby, and the Warp Topaz. "But what about Eggman Nega?" I could not give less of a shit about what happens to Eggman Nega and Sega doesn't even use him anymore, but also he's already supposed to be from Silver's future, not the Sol Dimension. "But what about the plot of Sonic Rush where the whole point was that they had to stop the worlds from being merged because they thought it was a bad thing?" Yes, because Sonic has always been a series that treated canon as sacred an immutable, and Sega would never do something that contradicted a game from almost 20 years ago

Anyway, all of this is a moot point. It's not like this is going to happen. Ian just brought up the possibility on the BumbleKast as an "if I could change literally anything" type deal. Sega is not going to do this. He is allowed to have his own opinions on Sonic things without fans having to take it personally and scream and cry about it. You don't have to agree with him on everything. I've certainly had points I disagree with him on! It's fine! That's normal! He's only human. Yes, Ian is on the Lore Team, but he's just one voice in the room. He's not even the boss of that team. If Ian could get whatever he wanted, we'd have seen the Freedom Fighters and Sticks by now

[arcadia-of-pluto]

Divisa; Two

Pairings; LADS OT4 x reader

Word count; 1, 771

Themes; reality hopping, alt universe (same universe but something is a little...different), doppelganger, multiple endings, slowburn

Warnings; Excessive swearing

Notes; Words with a " * " by them will be explained at the end of the chapter <3

Hey guys! Finally onto chapter 2 of Divisa! I could've made this longer, but I wasn't sure I'd have a stopping point if I continued so if the ending seems abrupt– that's why. Also, there will be a ton of posts today, none are too important. Just the Divisa Masterlist, the page to navigate to each character moodboard, annnd the five moodboards!

Now, please do bear in mind that the Love Interests moodboard will have spoilers pertaining to their backstories, so if you don't want to seem them, then look past the bio and look at the pictures I included! 🩷 I know I probably shouldn't post any spoilers for this since I'm only on chapter two and no character is fully fleshed out just yet but...I wanted to! If anything in their bio changes in the future, I just thought of something better. That's all.

prev || next

☆ Masterlist ☆

“What're you talking about?” Your brows knit toward and you try to grab the photo from him, but Sylus holds it above his head.

“Ezekiel L/n. Forty-five years old. His pregnant girlfriend went missing over twenty-three years ago when a rift opened in their downtown apartment complex.” The man finally decides to quit teasing you and sets the photo in your hand.

“He's been a Hunter for over twenty-six years, so it's hard to not know him.”

That's…odd. From your knowledge of the games, the first Deepspace Tunnel opened in 2034 with the Chronorift Catastrophe…so how come the dates are off?

You clear your throat, snatching your wallet back to tuck the photo back safe inside. “Well, I don't know him.” You look away from Sylus.

Something about this felt…

This whole ordeal felt off.

How the hell was your father from here?? If your mom clearly has pictures with this man, could it just be a coincidence? That, perhaps, your father just so happens to resemble this man?

“You don't know your own father?” Sylus hums, tapping his index finger against his temple.

“Never met him before.” You sigh, setting your coin purse onto the table. “Look, are you going to buy anything or not? I'm done talking about my family issues.” You cross your arms over your chest and you can tell Sylus is thinking about his response before there's a knock on the door.

One of the men walks over to Sylus, whispering something to him, and you hear Sylus click his tongue. “That damn fish…” He sounds annoyed, but he nods his head.

“Sure, let him in.”

“It appears you have another buyer.” Sylus waves his hand and the coin purse gets wrapped in a reddish black mist, before it floats into his hand.

As he opens the purse to look through the coins, a second person enters the room.

What in the main character luck…

A purple haired man dressed in a sleek suit waltzes over to Sylus, crossing his arms over his chest as he stands over the other man. “Were you trying to monopolize all of these rare artifacts?” The man clicks his tongue. “Seriously, Carrion*, you know I need antique coins for my showcase next month.”

“If I were the seller, Betta*, I wouldn't sell you a damn thing. Considering you ignored them.” Sylus glances up from your coin purse and jerks his head in your direction.

You were silent as the familiar purple-haired man turned to look at you. You knew your face was covered so he wouldn't immediately recognize you, but your body broke out in a cold sweat in fear that he might realize who you could be, just by looking at your eyes.

“Wait…” The man's eyes narrow as he takes the seat closest to you. “Can you..” He motions toward his face, miming the action of pulling down a mask. “You seem familiar.”

Your breath hitches in your throat and your eyes dart over to Sylus, coincidentally meeting his eyes and he chuckles. He shakes his head and pats Betta on the shoulder. “Tone it down a bit, yeah? She's in a bit of shock. Introduce yourself first before you scare off a big catch.”

“I'll use my real name then, if she's so worried. Rafayel.” He holds his hand out toward you and you grab his fingers, shaking his hand that way instead. “We use code names at the Nest, not that it matters since we have easily recognizable faces. Carrion is Sylus. But you can use a code name, if you want. It seems like you're a little worried about revealing your identity.”

“Ah…” you ponder for a moment before you finally make a decision on your codename. You definitely couldn't use your own name, so you settled on the nickname your mom gave you in the womb.

“You can call me Comet.”

“Alright then, Comet…So what had her so shocked?” Rafayel turns to look at Sylus and the white haired man pauses his search once more with an annoyed sigh.

“She was shocked to learn that her father is Ezekiel L/n.” Is all he says and Rafayel's head snaps in your direction.

“Wait, seriously?” He looks you up and down before you sigh and pull the photo back out. “So it is true…Wait. I know him. He commissioned a painting a while back and..” he taps his finger against the half with your mom on it.

“He wanted a painting of her. I finished it, but I could never find him again to hand it over.”

“Can I have it?” You can't stop yourself from asking and your hand quickly flies up to cover your masked mouth.

Rafayel chuckles, running a hand through his hair. “If I can find a 2000 Sacagawea, a 1947 Silver Walking Liberty half dollar, and a 2023 Silver Peace Dollar then I'll gladly give you it– as long as I don't have to pay for my coins.” He flashes you a smile. “Deal?”

“I have no idea what my grandma had, but if you can find what you're looking for…” You shrug, clasping your hands together. “Then, sure. It's a done deal.”

“Perfect. You're a lifesaver. My up-coming showcase is called ‘A glimpse into the Past’ and it's going to be filled with unique artworks based on antiques like those.” Then, Rafayel turns to grab the coin purse from Sylus, who promptly smacks his hand.

“Wait your turn, Betta.”

Seems like Sylus refuses to call Rafayel by his name…Either way, it's very odd to see the two of them interacting, however it makes sense. They're the only two that would ever step foot into the Nest, besides Xavier, of course.

“Has Velveteen* stopped by recently? I'm sure he'd love to find some air and space commemorative coins.” Rafayel speaks after he finally got his hands on your coin purse, dumping it out on the table in front of him to sift through the change.

“He just got done with a little hunter's mission, so I'm sure he's gone home for a nap.” Sylus taps his index finger against his temple before he looks through the bills in his hand.

Since all you could do was sit in silence, you could…theorize on who Velveteen is?

It's definitely a type of rabbit…and he's a hunter…and he takes a lot of naps…

There's no way they know Xavier, right?

Nah, that would be…Well, that would be crazy, but everything that's happened today could be considered crazy so it wouldn't be a long shot for Xavier and Velveteen to be the same person…

After a few hours of looking, you finally got your big paycheck. It was a surprisingly large amount of money, and you were left with no leftover coins or bills.

You tuck your cash filled wallet back into your back and stand up. As you do, Rafayel slips a business card into your hand.

“You have a phone, right?” As he asks, he takes his own out and looks at you expectantly. “You can come over to my studio and pick up the painting.”

“Ah…” You'd rather not risk running into yourself– Gemini – so after you type his number in and call him so he can save your number, you clear your throat. “I’d prefer to meet up at Meow’s cafe or in Azure Square, if that's alright.”

“Hmm? Oh, that's fine with me. See you later, Comet.” Rafayel pockets his phone and his three coins before he leaves.

You let out a sigh of relief and put on your backpack, getting ready to leave as well, but then a hand grabs your wrist. Your eyebrows furrow and you turn around with an annoyed look in your eyes before you realize Sylus is who grabbed you.

“You need something else?” You relax your face and glance down at his hand around your wrist.

“I saw you were looking for a place to stay. Try finding the Moonflower apartments. You might find what you're searching for there.” Sylus lets go of your hand with a small smile and you're left wondering what exactly he meant by that.

Once outside of the Nest, you first head to a convenience store to grab some essentials like food, a few drinks, a notepad, and a pen before you try to find a place to crash for the night.

As you walk down the sidewalk, a voice catches your attention.

“Excuse me, Miss?”

You turn in the direction and spot a woman. She looks about ten years older than your mom.

“Me?” You look around, pointing at your chest and she nods, beckoning you over.

While you felt this was a stupid idea, you decided to shove down your instincts and approach the woman. Once you were close enough, her hands darted out to grab your own.

“You seem familiar.” She questions. “You…don't appear to be from here.”

Your eyes widen and you try to pull away from her grip, but she's a lot stronger than she looks.

“What the hell is wrong with you!?”

Bop

“Ouch!” You cover your head with your hands as you pout. “Geez lady, what's your deal?” You rub the back of your head, your skull lightly throbbing from where she smacked you.

“You've got less manners than your mother.” She clicks her tongue, rubbing her palm with a thumb. She must've hurt her hand when she hit you– serves her right.

Wait–

“How did you know my mom?” You ask with a hand on your hip.

“I first met her twenty-four years ago on this very street.” The older woman muses. “She appeared just as confused as you are now…She reminded me of my late daughter, so I took her in for a few days. A few days turned to months…then a year. She told me everything. I was even by her side when she was pregnant with her–” she lightly hits your shoulder, “–ungrateful child.”

“I'm sorry, lady!” You hold your hands up in defeat. “I seriously didn't know who you were.”

“That's alright, dearie. I didn't expect you to…It was just an old crone's wishful thinking.” She laughs before it turns into a hacking cough. “Sorry, the name's Josephine. Enough with all of that, it seems you need a place to stay. Why don't you stay at your mom's old place? I haven't touched it since she left.”

“My mom's…place?” You echo her words. Your nails biting into your palm as your hand clenched into a fist and you quickly nodded your head. “Sure, where is it?”

“I'll take you there…It's room 013 at the Moonflower apartments.”

I know this is really short, but I'm hoping my moodboards and other posts will make up for it! <3 The next chapter will probably be around 2k or 3k, I'm not too sure yet. I've only barely started it.

I hope I didn't lose you on the old coins portion. I was looking up antique coins and I found a bunch of ones that would look pretty as artwork! You don't need to know what they look like to enjoy the story, though.

*Carrion— a species of crow, they're known to harass predators and competitors that come in their territory

*Betta— a type of fish, known for their aggressive personalities. These types of fish are also intelligent; able to make calculated decisions based on specific details

*Velveteen— a breed of rabbit, but also a children's story. This breed of rabbit is most active during dawn or dusk, and prefers to sleep during the day and evening; in the children's story, this rabbit is said to long for love and friendship.

Taglist; @ladyparamount , @the-love-of-my-life96 , @rui-drawsbox , @deputy-videogamer , @yoongi-tunes , @fallenfromgrxce , @msturi2u , @myheartfollower, @schwnapps

[universecorp]

Heartbeat pt.2

Summary: After starting a situationship with your best friend from high school, things start to become complicated. Especially when you start to catch feelings.

Jaehyun x Reader

Haechan x Reader (In pt2 and 3 ) w.c: 12.2k

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Smut, Angst, Fluff

Warnings: Protected sex (they wrap it before they tap it, what a concept!, Mentions of oral (f.receiving ), sexual themes, drinking, degrading (not during sex though so proceed with caution), a couple arguments, Jaehyun is kinda dick in this part sorry, rejection, trying to kiss someone without their consent, if i missed anything please comment but i think that’s it!

Playlist: ♡

<- Previous Part

It was about a month after the beach and you were on one of  several failed dates. You wondered if you were doomed to just never have a partner at this point as you walked away from your date. You were also starting to think that maybe Jaehyun raised your standards too high, but you also knew your worth and knew what you deserved. Speaking of him, he was calling.

“Hey,” You sighed out, hopping on the bus back to your campus.

“Oh, you sound disappointed. Was it that bad?” You could only chuckle at how even over the phone he could tell when something was wrong. That was just good best friend behavior you figured.

“It wasn’t bad, he's just a little self absorbed. The whole time he just kept talking about how he was valedictorian in high school and all his awards and accolades.” You explained at a hushed volume out of respect for the other riders. “Then he went on to talk about the game he’s developing and how it’s already been kickstarted by some sponsors. The game part was interesting but it was the damn “me” show about high school when he’s a whole junior in college.” 

“Yeesh, sounds boring. Well I have something that might cheer you up and get you some action.” Jaehyun spoke, there was some rustling in the background so you figured he was still in bed. 

“I’m listening.”

“Alphas are having a party tonight, theme is cartoon characters, so if you take the bus to my place we could go out and go shopping, pregame, and then head over.” That sounded intriguing and like just what you needed to forget about this yet again unsuccessful date. 

“I do need to stop at my dorm for makeup though, so can you pick me up there?” Jaehyun made an affirmative humming sound from the other side of the line. 

“Yeah, I'll be there in ten.” 

—————————————————————————

The party was in full swing, and you could successfully say that your pregaming had you feeling good. You were dressed as Bloom from Winx Club You managed to find a blue minidress in your closet so that eliminated part of your outfit. When you and Jaehyun went shopping you also found some wings and a tiara and before you knew it your costume  was complete. 

At the moment you were dancing with some guy you couldn’t remember the name of; loving the way his hands felt on you. He had his chest to your back and was using his hands to help you grind back against him. The song wasn’t even that kind of song but in your state it just felt right. Everything felt perfect and everything about your dance partner was so attractive, his jet black hair, his sun kissed skin, and the moles scattered across his face only added to his beauty. His voice sent shivers down your spine as he whispered things in your ear the things he wanted to do to you and you couldn’t deny that you wanted those things done to you. You were on cloud nine, feeling numb enough to not notice the pair of eyes that was watching you and your dance partner, but conscious enough to know that you wanted the man behind you. 

“You’re so gorgeous, can’t believe you didn’t come with anyone.” Ok, maybe you had failed to mention that you came to this party with Jae, but you weren’t together so that didn’t really matter. Besides he left you the second you walked through the doors, so as far as you were concerned you were just friends who happened to be at the same party.

“I could say the same for you too, honestly.” You weren’t lying either, maybe he was a serial killer and that's why he didn’t have someone. People like him did tend to be serial killers, charismatic, handsome; were you dancing with a serial killer? 

 “Let’s go back to my place babe,” he whispered in your ear, voice low and raspy, “I’ll show you a better time than this lame party.” Saying no was the last thing on your mind as you allowed the pretty stranger to lead you away from the crowds and loud bass reverberating through the cramped house. Even if he did turn out to be a serial killer at least you got to have a good time before you died.

—————————————————————————

You could confidently say that Donghyuck wasn’t a serial killer. You could only say that because you were in his bed being given what you could only classify as your best lay since Jaehyun and not dead in a field somewhere. Words weren’t the only thing he was smooth with, you could name about three other things on top of that. One of them was his dick, which was currently in you. Unlike most men you’ve fucked after parties, Donghyuck took his time with you; bringing you to orgasm once from his tongue and fingers before he finally entered you. Needless to say, you were in a state of pure ecstasy and didn’t want it to stop anytime soon. 

“Hyuck-, fuck, feels good…” Your nails were digging into the skin of his shoulders, no doubt leaving marks, but that seemed to only spur him on. You could feel every drag of his cock against your walls as he pulled out almost to the tip before thrusting back in roughly. You could hear every whimper and whine he was letting out which was slightly muffled by the pillow his head was buried in. Judging from the way he ate you out earlier, you could tell he was getting off of the fact that you felt good too and it almost stirred something in you. 

“You’re so gorgeous, you sound so pretty for me.” His voice was a bit husky in your ear, but still had that nasal lilt to it that you found so attractive. You could tell he was close by how his thrusts were starting to grow erratic and less calculated, somehow he was still managing to hit your g-spot dead on, despite his clear fatigue. As if he knew he wasn’t going to last long enough to pull another orgasm out of you, he quickly moved his hand between your bodies to start rubbing roughly at your clit. You couldn’t help the loud moan that came from you as he continued the onslaught of pleasure but moving his mouth down to your neck again to suck hickeys onto your neck. “Fuck, come on baby, give it to me.” It felt like his permission was all you needed to let go for a second time that night and only seconds later he was following you, moaning your name out into the silence of his apartment as his thrusts came to a stop. 

Donghyuck finally rolled off of you after a few minutes, five of which those seven minutes consisted of a slow makeout session as you came down from your highs. You could feel his eyes on you, so you turned to face him, giving him an awkward smile. “I’ll call an Uber.” You figured that’s why he was looking at you, and before you could exit the bed he grabbed your wrist.

“You hungry?” 

A pregnant pause.

“I could eat.”

—————————————————————————

Sitting in a Dennys at 2:00 AM is not how you expected your night to end. You and Donghyuck had spent the better part of an hour talking and getting to know each other. He was easy to talk to, and funny, you didn’t feel like you were forcing any of your reactions which made you feel a lot more at ease than usual.

“Wait, you're Haechan? The streamer?” Donghyuck nodded, shoveling a scoop of hash browns into his mouth. “That’s so fucking crazy, my best friend loves your streams. We used to fuck and I remember one time he got the notification for your stream and stopped mid fuck to watch you.” Donghyuck nearly choked on the strip of bacon he was munching on.

“Please tell me you’re joking.” You shook your head. “That’s so sick, did he at least like pick up where he left off while watching?” Another shake. 

“I had to push him on his back and ride him.” Donghyuck laughed loudly, catching the attention of most of the other late night eaters, but it was clear he didn’t care. 

“Now that I think about it, there was this one time I read a comment and it deadass said ‘I was fucking my girl and stopped to watch.’ I thought it was probably a troll, but that might’ve been him.”

You scoffed, shaking your head once again. “There’s no way that was him, he would never refer to me as ‘his girl’ it would be kind of funny if that was him though.” Donghyuck hummed in agreement, it was all he could do since he didn’t even know Jaehyun. 

There was a small awkward silence filled only with the sounds of plates clinking and light chatter from the other patrons. Donghyuck looked like he was having a debate with himself befofe hr finally opened his mouth. “Look, uhm, I don’t usually do this, I honestly don’t usually take my hookups to pre-breakfast either, but I was wondering if I could get your number?” 

You were a bit shocked. You thought maybe this was normal and Donghyuck was just one of those nice guys who treated his fucks to post coiatal meals. Hearing otherwise brought a bit of heat to your cheeks. 

“So uh… is that a no? Don’t leave me hanging here.”

“Oh no, wait no, I mean yes! Yes… you can have my number.” 

—————————————————————————

“You’ve been smiling at your phone a lot lately. You and big head aren’t fucking again right?” Minjeong was doing your nails on the floor of your dorm, and you were definitely making it hard since you were texting Donghyuck with the hand she was trying to get you to dry. 

“Of course not. I’m texting a new guy, I met him at that party me and Jae went to.” Minjeong perked up at the mention of a new guy. Talks like these reminded you of being a teenager, but they were always relaxing. You seriously owed Minjeong some girl time anyway with how far up Jaehyun’s ass you had been for the past year.

“So what’s his name?”

“Donghyuck, he goes here obviously, also get this, ” Minjeong leaned in “he’s that streamer that Jae likes a lot.”

“No way!?” Minjeong gasped, she accidentally swiped a little polish on your finger, but you didn’t mind.

You nodded, smiling basically ear to ear. “Yes way, and he’s so cute. He’s telling me how he wants to take me on a date this weekend!” You closed your phone to give Minjeong your undivided attention while she swiped acetone over her previous mistake.

“I’m happy for you, I know I was kind of an ass with all the ‘I told you so’, but I really just wanted you to be with  someone who treats you for what you’re worth.” You knew that, but hearing it felt really good. You always knew Minjeong was just looking out for you, but she also knew that whatever you felt for Jaehyun wasn’t going away like magic. Even now you sometimes felt a twinge of what you used to when he did certain things, but it wasn’t as strong as it was a month ago. 

“It’s ok Minnie, I know you only had my best interest.” You brought your nails hand up to blow on the wet polish. “Look on the bright side though, I went through all that and now I've learned my lesson. No more wasting time or energy on people who don’t deserve it.” 

Minjeong jostled your shoulder, “That’s my girl.”

—————————————————————————

 A week later you were with Donghyuck in his apartment, playing a co-op game called “it takes two” that he specifically bought for the date. He turned on his twitch to stream, but he left his mic off to enjoy the moment with you. He was ticking so many boxes and even Minjeong gave him the stamp of approval when he met her a couple hours ago. Everything today was perfect, he bought you flowers, ordered from your favorite takeout place and even surprised you with slippers for you to wear around the apartment. You had been seeing each other for about a month now so you figured he would be asking you to be his girlfriend soon, but you were in no rush. His gestures meant the world to you and even then just his presence was enough for you to feel satisfied. 

Now the two of you were snuggled up side by side, controllers in hand and your head on his shoulder. Nothing could ruin this moment, nothing except your phone which had been buzzing on the nightstand for a good two minutes. “Hey babe, I can pause if you wanna get that?” You looked up at Donghyuck with a small pout before shaking your head. You felt bad that whoever was calling you clearly didn’t get the memo that you were busy. 

“We can keep playing, I’ll talk and play, m’sorry.” Donghyuck waved it off as he waited for you to answer your phone. You rolled your eyes slightly when you saw Jaehyun’s photo, but still answered the facetime call. “What’s up loser?” You sounded less than enthused, but he should’ve expected that since you ignored his calls for two minutes. 

“God what crawled up your ass and died weirdo and why aren’t you showing your face?” Jaehyun scoffed as if his facetime screen wasn’t paused.

“Just the fact that you’ve been calling me for two minutes. What the fuck did you want? I’m kinda busy.” You cursed under your breath since you and Donghyuck failed the game stage for the fifth time. 

“First of all, I wanted to see if you wanted to grab dinner and come watch a movie, I’ll buy obviously. Second of all, if you’re gonna lie about being busy at least make it believable, I can hear you playing a game in the background.” Jaehyun had some fucking nerve assuming you would lie to him about being busy, but you weren’t gonna fight about it. You were gonna be civil. Even though Donghyuck had heard the way you and Jaehyun talked to each other before, he was a little annoyed that the other man was accusing you of lying. 

“Jae, I’m on a date and we’re playing a game, so I actually am very busy. 

“Wait… are you playing ‘it takes two’?” Jaehyun didn’t know about Donghyuck. He knew you had been on dates, but since he didn’t ask who with, you didn’t bother telling him it was Donghyuck A.K.A. his favorite streamer. 

“Yeah, with my date.” You knew you sounded like a bitch, but you didn’t care. Jaehyun had barely been hanging out with you and even then it seemed like he only wanted to when he was bored. You were trying to follow Minjeong’s and your own advice and stop wasting time on people that don’t deserve it.

“If you’re actually playing a game with your date, show your face and his, then show the tv.” You were so close to hanging up on Jaehyun, but when you saw the screen pause and suddenly your phone was being held up by Donghyuck. 

Donghyuck didn’t look happy. All of the irritation must have been building up to a point where even Jaehyun looked concerned. “Look, Jaehyun, I get it, you’re bored. I’m sure you miss having Y/N at your beck and call because you knew she would drop anything for you before.” Jaehyun opened his mouth to speak, but one glare from Donghyuck had him closing it immediately. “Those times are past and whatever sick game you’re playing at needs to stop. Got it?” The silence on the line was loud, Donghyuck knew he made his point. “Good. Now I’m going to go back to playing games with my girlfriend, enjoy the stream Jaehyun.” With that he pressed the end call button with a sigh and immediately after you were straddling the man.

“Girlfriend huh?” 

Donghyuck set his controller down and placed his hands on your hips, it was all he could do to look cool despite the blush rushing his face. “Yeah uhm… I was going to ask you later during pillow talk after some earth shattering sex, but this is cool too I guess.” 

You giggled, placing a kiss on his cheek. “This is cool too, don’t worry. We can still have earth shattering sex but now as boyfriend and girlfriend.” It was Donghyuck’s turn to giggle now. “Do you want to keep playing, we could even turn on the mic?” 

Haechan shook his head, “No I think it’s time for that earth shattering sex we were talking about.” You bit your lip trying to suppress a laugh, he was so goofy and hot at the same time, you didn’t understand how anyone could be capable of that. 

“I think that can be arranged…boyfriend.”

—————————————————————————

“He told you off?” Mark nearly yelled, catching the attention of several of the other students in the library. 

“Dude keep it down, we’re in a library.” Johnny reminded before focusing back on his music theory assignment. 

“Sorry, he told you off?” Mark asked again this time in a more suitable whisper.

“Yes, and she didn’t say shit bro, she just let him.” Jaehyun grumbled, taking a chip from the bag Johnny had managed to smuggle in. 

Johnny was pretty unamused with the entire situation, given that he asked if the two men wanted to study in the library, but had basically been talking the whole time. “Have you ever thought that maybe she’s over how you treat her. I know you think you’re like bestie of the year, but you literally evaded her feelings for at least 6 months just so you would have an easy fuck.” 

Jaehyun scoffed, “Remind me to stop telling you about my problems.” Johnny simply rolled his eyes before training them back on the score in front of him. 

“I mean he has a point. You knew she caught feelings a while ago, and your agreement was to break it off, but you kept everything up. Plus you were the one who kept fucking with her and being all domestic, she’s probably traumatized.” Jaehyun shot a glare at Mark; he did not come here to be ganged up on.

“She can’t be but so traumatized since she spends all her time with Haechan, or Donghyuck, whatever the fuck his name is.” Mark and Johnny looked ready to hit their heads against the table, but clearly this was a delicate situation that needed to be nurtured and cared for so that Jaehyun would actually get some sense.

“Jae, buddy, pal, old friend if you will.”

“Get to the point Johnathan.” 

Johnny sighed, “See the point is, she’s in a relationship now. You had your 15 minutes of fame where she basically avoided getting into something because she was holding out hope for you. Now, she’s tired of waiting. She wants something that makes her feel loved and worth it and frankly, your bare minimum effort of taking her back to your place to watch a movie and then fuck, isn’t cutting it.”

“Bars.” Mark fist bumped Johnny, adding an explosion sound effect at the end.

“You guys are losers. She didn’t seem to be complaining about the movie and fuck a couple months ago.” Mark cringed and Johnny simply shook his head at the way their friend could so shamelessly talk about you like that.

“Jaehyun, listen to yourself, you sound delusional. She may not have been complaining, but that’s also because if she did you would’ve had to break all of that off. You’re acting like she broke up with you when the two of you weren’t even together in the first place.” Johnny’s volume was starting to increase, but he couldn’t help it, he wasn’t the closest to you, but he refused to let Jaehyun disrespect you like this. “Also you literally only text or call her now when we can’t hang out. Do you think that makes her feel good?” Jaehyun opened his mouth, but Johnny cut him off. “Don’t answer that because I know you’re about to say some bullshit. You need to get with the program and stop treating her like some play thing that you decide to pick up everytime your other toys are broken!” Johnny finished closing his laptop and packing up his belongings. 

“Dude, where are you going?” Jaehyun groaned before looking at Mark who was following in Johnny’s actions. “You too? Come on!”

Mark just shook his head, slinging his backpack over his shoulder before speaking again. “Dude, you have some serious soul searching to do. We don’t mind if you vent, but the way you talk about and treat her is sick.” Jaehyun just clicked his teeth in response to the younger man. 

“Whatever.” Jaehyun stood up from the table and stormed out of the library.

“He needs to get laid.” 

“Totally.” Mark agreed.

—————————————————————————

“How in the fuck do you remember all of these bones?” Donghyuck asked, leaning over from behind you at all the flash cards you had laid out. 

“I print out flashcards for all of them and corresponding pictures and play matching games.” You responded, matching the humerus card to its corresponding photo. Donghyuck puffed out a laugh before kissing you on the cheek and walking into the kitchen to assess what he could make for dinner.

“So do you want ramen or ramen tonight?” He asked, peeking out his head from behind the cabinet. 

“Oh, what about ramen? I saw a recipe for it the other day.” 

Donghyuck hummed while grabbing two packets out of the cabinet. “Sounds good!” 

You and Donghyuck had been spending a lot more time together since you officially got together. Most nights were spent at his apartment, to the point where he cleared out a drawer as well as closet space for some of your clothes. You hadn’t heard much from Jaehyun, but you weren’t surprised. You heard from Mark that he had been moody lately so you just figured he was in some funk he needed to get over. 

“Babe, how mad would you be if I got lazy and ordered chicken instead of cooking.” Donghyuck materialized behind you at some point, startling you. He laughed a little at your shocked state, not for long though as he brought his hands down to your shoulders and began massaging them, relieving all your tension. 

“I would be a little upset because you said I could pay for the next meal.” You craned your neck to look up at him, putting on your best pout. Donghyuck made a few dramatic facial expressions as if he was a cartoon character trying to resist something. You played along, jutting your bottom lip out farther and making your eyes bigger and as if you had shocked him he went flying back. You turned around to see him on the floor clutching his heart and couldn’t help but giggle at his dramatics.

“Girlfriend pout, very effective, health level critical.” Donghyuck made his voice more scratchy as he writhed around on the floor. He made eye contact with you and you shot him another pout which seemed to do it since he went limp on the floor, sticking his tongue out as an ending flourish. 

You stood up from the table and joined Donghyuck on the floor. You leaned down to connect your lips to his cheek and he sat up so quick you almost bumped foreheads. 

“Kiss of revival, full health restored!” 

“You’re such a dork.”

“Yeah your dork.” Donghyuck stated matter of factly you couldn’t help but nod in agreement as you placed another kiss on his lips this time. 

“Yes my dork, now do you want soy garlic or plain?” Donghyuck looked at you as if he was offended. “Soy garlic it is, go make some rice dork, I’ll order some kimchi too since we ran out.” 

“I like the sound of that.” Donghyuck hummed out, kissing your shoulder.

“Of course you do, it’s hard to forget how much you like kimchi, you’ve gone through two of those big ass jars in a month. It’s a bit concerning actually, how is your stomach not fucked up? 

Donghyuck made a sound of disagreement, which made you raise an eyebrow. Did he even hear anything you said?

“No not that, I liked when you said ‘we ran out’ s’cute, like we’re married.” You didn’t even realize you said that which made you blush, maybe you were getting a little too comfortable. 

Obviously Donghyuck didn’t mind, he seemed to like the pace you were moving at, and you did too, but you didn’t realize how easily you were slipping into the domesticated lifestyle. It wasn’t necessarily bad, but it was just surprising, you never thought you would act like that with anyone other than Jaehyun. Now that you were here and got to share it with someone that actually wanted you, it felt nice.

“Marriage is a little extreme.” You pulled up the delivery app on your phone, hoping the harsh light would conceal your blush.

“This early on, I suppose, yeah. After a year or two, though, maybe it won’t seem as extreme.” Donghyuck was now sitting behind you, his chin hooked over your shoulder. 

A small pause filled the air.

“Food’s ordered! I need to keep studying so you need to let go.”

Donghyuck whined loud and dramatically, the nasally sound which would probably be annoying to most made you smile. 

“Look, not all of us are nerdy CS majors.” You kissed his cheek before attempting to stand up and return to the table, but Donghycuk was weighing you down. “Hyuck, come on. The sooner you let me study, the sooner we can go to bed and cuddle.”

“What if I don’t want to cuddle?” His voice was suddenly darker which made you gulp a little.

“We can do that too, but not until I finish studying. The longer you keep me here, the longer you have to wait.” Donghyuck paused for a moment before ultimately letting you go. 

“You better give me the most mind boggling head later.” 

You couldn’t help but scoff as you sat back at the table, continuing your matching game. “I can do more than that, don’t worry. If you keep distracting me though, you won’t be getting anything.”  

“You wouldn’t dare.” Donghyuck was glaring at you from the sink where he was washing rice.

“Try me Donghyuck.”

It was all playful banter, but Donghyuck didn’t bother you after that. Unlike Jaehyun, he actually understood that you needed to pass your classes. You never realized how behind you always were until you were with Donghyuck. Anytime you needed to study he didn’t pressure you into keeping him entertained or rush your studying. Jaehyun did exactly the opposite and while it didn’t always bother you, there were definitely times you wished he wasn’t so pushy. 

After about 45 minutes your food finally arrived and you also felt like you were in a good enough position to stop studying. Your test was in a couple of days, but you needed to stay on top of everything so you didn’t fall behind. Donghyuck prepared both your plates while you put your flashcards away and the two of you ate in a comfortable silence before retiring to his room for the night . 

—————————————————————————

A month and a half later you were at another party. The end of the semester Greek life kickback was in full swing and Donghyuck of course knew a few people who were able to get the both of you in. Since you and Donghyuck were still together, you decided that you would spend your summer with him. Usually you would go home and Jaehyun would drive you to visit, but since the two of you hadn’t spoken since your last “fight” your plans changed. You and Donghyuck still planned to go home to introduce him to your parents at some point, but for now the two of you were basking in the last light of your honeymoon phase. 

Currently you and Donghyuck were outside by the fire pit, smushed together on a hammock as you nursed the shitty alcohol provided by the frat. You met a few of his friends that were in the frat, and all of you were enjoying the night together.

“Wait hold on, he took you out to denny's after and asked you out there?” Chenle, one of the frat brothers and Donghyuck’s friend, asked incredulously.

“Yes, I mean I just thought it was normal for him, but then he told me otherwise. It was kinda cute honestly.” You glanced over at Donghyuck who seemed less than amused with the topic.

“Dude you gotta work on your game.” Jeno commented, taking a sip from his cup.

“Where else was I gonna take her at 2 in the morning?” 

“He has a point.” Jaemin said from beside you. He was the reason you and Donghyuck were basically on top of each other on the hammock. 

“I mean maybe ask after sex like a normal person or order a pizza and ask. Who makes someone get up and go out after blowing their back out.” Chenle argued, spilling his drink slightly as he talked with his hands. 

“I was trying to impress her a bit, pizza is so cliche, also I was trying to make sure she didn’t dip after; pizza in the apartment gives someone the chance to dip.” 

You couldn’t help but giggle as they argued about you as if you weren’t there, but it was entertaining to watch them all go back and forth.

“Ok you have a point, she definitely could’ve dipped. Would you have dipped?” Chenle directed his attention back to you.

“I mean like you said I had just gotten my back blown out, so probably not.” 

“See! You could’ve done pizza.” Donghyuck rolled his eyes at his friend, but ultimately relinquished the fight by putting his hands up.

“I have to pee really quick, I’ll be back. Does anyone need another drink while I'm gone?” You asked as you struggled to stand up from the hammock.

“I’ll take one, just ask for one of the pitchers, they’ll give it to you if you mention my name.” You nodded at Jeno before making your way into the noisy house.

The music was so loud you could feel the house shaking around you, and pushing through all the sweaty bodies was making the experience all the more overwhelming. You knew there was a bathroom on the second floor that was only for frat members, but Jeno and Chenle told you no one would even notice you use it, let alone go upstairs. You regretted wearing a short dress since you had to pull it down with basically every step you took, but Donghyuck had gifted it to you, so it would’ve felt wrong not wearing it. After pushing through for about two minutes you finally saw the stairs, but before you could take the first step you felt someone grabbing your wrist.

“What the fuck!” You looked behind you to see who had the audacity and you almost wish you hadn’t. 

Jaehyun was there, holding your wrist before pulling you into his chest. He wrecked of alcohol and sweat, the smell leaving a sour taste in your mouth as you tried to pull away. 

“Y/N, I missed you. Where have you been?” His words were slurred and he wore a small smirk on his face. The same smirk that used to reel you in made you feel nothing, it honestly disgusted you. 

“With my boyfriend, now if you could let me go I need to pee.” 

“Still? Come on, we need to catch up.” Jaehyun’s grip on your wrist didn’t falter, no matter how much you tugged against his grip. 

“Jae, please let go.” You were trying to keep your voice firm, but you were starting to become distressed. You left your phone with Donghyuck so you couldn’t text him for help and the music was too loud to even think about screaming. You only had one option truthfully. “Jae, just let me use the bathroom and then we can talk.” Your ultimatum seemed to please him because he loosened his grip enough for you to slip away and up the stairs.

You locked the door immediately after you entered the bathroom. You hoped Jaehyun wasn’t so drunk that he wouldn’t try to come in, but you had no idea at this point. You looked across from the door, praying there was a window that you could yell out of to get your boyfriend’s attention, but when you were met with a white wall you lost all hope. For now you just focused on peeing, maybe Donghyuck would come inside and look for you after noticing how long you’d been gone. 

“Hurry up!” Loud banging on the door followed by Jaehyun’s slurred speech startled you as you were washing your hands. You hoped he hadn’t followed you, but of course he did, of course he was behind that door banging on it like a maniac. “If you don’t come out, I’m coming in!” 

You groaned loudly and opened the door, pulling the taller man in. He was still wearing that stupid smirk on his face as he looked down at you.

“You’re still so easy.”

“What?”

You couldn’t believe your ears. It really was a game to him at this point. He sounded completely sober, was he playing you this entire time?

“You sure you like this guy, you opened that door pretty easily. Just admit that you wanted to mess around like old times, I won’t be mad.” Jaehyun stepped closer to you as he spoke, cornering you to the point that your back was painfully pressed against the sink. “Let’s just start again, I’m sure you got over what was going through your head back then. Don’t you miss it? Don’t you miss me, miss being my girl?” He leaned in closer and you could feel your breaths mingling the closer he got to you.

You a few months ago might’ve reacted differently. You probably would’ve kissed him and fallen into his sheets just like every other time. Would’ve gone back to your dorm and cried to Minjeong and Ten like a baby. You were tired of falling and crying though. Tired of letting Jaehyun constantly have his way with you because he knew you would never say no.

“Get the fuck off of me!” Using all your strength you pushed him off. “You do not get to ghost me for almost two months and then suddenly decide you want me back in your life. You’re a selfish piece of shit who only wants to be around me when you’re bored or horny!” Jaehyun opened his mouth to speak but you cut him off. “I’m happy with Donghyuck and I'm sorry you can’t accept that, but it’s the truth. I’m not leaving him anytime soon and even if I did it won’t be for you.”

“You say that, but I’m sure when he breaks your heart like all the others, you’ll be back in my bed.”

“Fuck you!” You seethed before storming out of the bathroom. You could feel tears brimming in your eyes. You felt so stupid, at least you stood up for yourself, but he still knew how to play you like a fiddle and it infuriated you. 

You couldn’t make it all the way down the stairs before bumping into someone’s chest. You mumbled a quick apology as you tried to pull away but a pair of hands held firmly at your shoulders. Not again was all you could think as you tried to push whoever was holding you. “Get the fuck off!” You sounded like you were throwing a tantrum, but you had hit your limit after being cornered and then belittled by your so-called best friend.

 “Hey, babe, it’s just me, calm down? You were gone for a while and I got worr— hey why are you crying?” Ducking your head was the best attempt you could make at trying to hide from Donghyuck. It was futile but you didn’t want to really relive the things Jaehyun had said to you. “Baby, what happened?” 

“Nothing, let’s go back outside.” 

Donghyuck grimaced, but didn’t push any further as he took your hand. Pushing through the sweaty bodies wasn’t as bad this time with his hand warm in yours. You were scared Jaehyun would catch up with you in the kitchen, but hopefully he wouldn’t cause a scene seeing you with Donghyuck. Finally the two of you were back outside with Donghyuck’s friends. The air thankfully didn’t shift, despite your mood and it made it easier to take your mind off of what had happened earlier. 

—————————————————————————

“So you gonna tell me what happened up there?”  

The blinking from the turn signal felt much louder in the silence of the car. Red illuminated the car like a spotlight and it was pointed on you. You could either stay silent and pretend to sleep like you had been doing the entire ride home, or speak and confirm what Donghyuck already knew.

“It was stupid.” 

“You’re such a liar. Clearly it wasn’t that stupid if you won’t talk about it.” 

Silence.

He was right, to you it wasn’t stupid it sucked, but you didn’t want to get Donghyuck riled up. You knew if you told him he’d get pissed, although there was nothing he could do now since the part and Jaehyun were so far behind you.

“It was just Jae being an ass again. That’s all.” 

Out of the corner of your eye you saw his grip on the steering wheel tighten. 

“What did he do?” 

“Donghyuck it’s fin-”

“What did he do!?”

 You couldn’t help but flinch. His tone was harsh; it was the first time he’d ever raised his voice at you.  

“I’m not angry at you. I just want to know what happened.” Donghyuck sighed, features softening as he rubbed a stress-filled hand down his face. “I’m tired of him disrespecting you and our relationship.” 

“If I tell you… what are you gonna do?” Jaehyun was still your best friend at the end of the day. He pissed you off but no matter how horrible he was you couldn’t help but care for him. 

“It depends on what he did.” He glanced over at you just as the light turned green. 

Now your red spotlight was being replaced by spotty harsh yellows and whites as you drove through the sleepy streets of your college town. It was still yours despite the erratic flickering, but it felt more like an interrogation light they way it would suddenly flash on and off.

“I mean it’s like you said, he disrespected me and our relationship…” Maybe this would be enough for him?

“Y/N, stop being vague.”

A sigh and another awkward pregnant silence filled the space.

“He pretended he was drunk and tried to kiss me after cornering me in the bathroom.” You wouldn’t dare look at Donghyuck. Even though you didn’t cheat you still felt so dirty letting Jaehyun talk to you like that. You didn’t understand why you thought you’d be able to have a civil conversation  with the way he’s been acting lately. Some part of you kept holding out hope that things could go back to how they were in high school, but each day that went by proved that it could never be the same.

“When we get home, I want his number.” 

“Hyuck, it’s over, can we please drop it?”

You didn’t even notice that you were now parked in the garage under his apartment. 

“No, I already told you I’m tired of him disrespecting you.” You could tell he was trying his best not to raise his voice. “I’m tired of him acting like a child just because he’s upset at something he did. You didn’t break things off, he did, so he can’t be upset at you for moving on.”  

“I know…I just-”

“You just what? You just don’t want to hurt his feelings? Because he’s, oh let me guess: your best friend?” You opened your mouth, but Donghyuck’s voice was filling the suffocating space instead of your own. “ He’s not your best friend anymore Y/N, if anything he's more like a frenemy. He only cares about you when it benefits him. Wake up!”

You felt like you were being choked by the truth. You knew he was right, but your stupid pride didn’t want to admit that. Jaehyun cared about you, he was just being weird. Granted he had been weird since you started fucking, but that was the besides the point. He had to still care about you deep down, a friendship like yours can’t just fall apart like that. Can it? 

“Look I’m not gonna keep lecturing you, but I’m also not gonna take shit like this lightly. You and Jaehyun need to have a conversation about this shit, because the next time it happens, I will beat his ass.” Donghyuck slammed the door leaving you alone in the car. Alone with your thoughts and your phone. 

Ring

Ring

Ring

“Hello?”

“Jae…”

“Hmm?”

“We need to talk.”

—————————————————————————

“So Y/N is spending the break with her boyfriend?” 

Jaehyun didn’t want to hear about you anymore. Your talk didn’t go bad per say, but his guilty conscience wouldn’t get any better the more you were talked about. The talk was filled with tears and apologies, and ultimately Jaehyun agreed to give you some space. After some much needed reflecting he realized that Johnny and Mark were ultimately right, which he hated to admit, but deep down he always knew they were.

“Yeah, they really hit it off, she told me she's visiting next month though.” Jaehyun answered, pushing around the large shell noodles on his plate, as if something new would appear underneath the creamy sauce the plate was drenched in. 

“Oh good, I’ll give her mom a ring and see if we could have a nice dinner all together? I’d love to meet this boy, he sounds lovely based on what Y/MN (your mother’s name)  has told me!” He loved that his mother was excited for you, it was only natural. She considered you like the daughter she never had, and you considered her like your second mother. 

“Sounds like a plan.” 

“Honey, you’ve been off since you got home, what’s wrong?” Curse mother’s intuition. 

“I just messed up. Me and Y/N had a falling out, but it was my fault.” The fork made an ugly screech across the plate. “Mom…I think I’m in love with her.”

The gasp of shock he was expecting never came so Jaehyun was finally forced to meet gazes with his mom.

“Oh sweetie…I know. I’ve known for a long time.” He didn’t know why he expected her not to. Moms always know when somethings up. “Jae, your lack of dating through college was enough evidence. Also I was young once too, playing footsies under the table and then going on a “walk” is not the most amazing cover up.” 

Jaehyun groaned, wishing he could disappear, but he should’ve known his mother was more perceptive than he gave her credit for. “Please try to forget about that, but yeah we had a fling, kind of, it's complicated.” 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jaehyun only nodded in response. “I’ll bring out some dessert and tea.” 

True to her word Jaehyun was now sitting with a large piece of cake and a steaming cup of tea, while recounting some of his very shameful behavior to his mother. 

“And now we’re not really talking much. I check on her here and there, but we don’t call like we used to. We haven’t hung out one on one in months truthfully.” Jaehyun was treating his cake almost like his half eaten pasta at the moment, smushing it around like a child who didn’t want to eat their veggies.

“I don’t blame her for not talking to you honestly.” His mother sighed, taking a small sip from her tea. “You do have a good one though, you’re lucky she hasn’t cut you off.” 

“I know… I just don’t know what to do though. Like I'm just supposed to let her slip from my fingers and be fine with it?”

Mrs. Jeong clicked her tongue and gave her son a knowing look. “I mean yeah. You had your chance to make her yours and I think she gave you more than enough time to get your head out of your ass.” Jaehyun could only nod as he waited for the next onslaught of lectures. “Look baby, you’re just gonna have to be happy for her. It sucks and it’s probably never not going to suck, but if you care for her you’ll wait for her.” 

“But what if they like, last longer and he proposes or something?” 

Another knowing look and a sad smile.

“Then you’re just gonna have to accept it. She went and found something that makes her feel wanted, you can’t blame her for wanting that forever.” 

No mother wanted this for their son, but she also wasn’t going to lie to him. Jaehyun knew that, he always did, but some part of him wanted to be babied and told it would be ok, even if it wasn’t.

—————————————————————————

Finally you were venturing home to visit as well as introduce Donghyuck to your family. You weren’t terribly nervous, but you could tell that Donghyuck was. He had spent all week picking out the perfect clothes to wear in front of your family, as well bought gifts for your mother and father. You kept reassuring him that it wasn’t necessary, but he just couldn’t fathom walking into your house empty handed. 

“Donghyuck, the gifts you got are enough, you don’t need to buy flowers and a cake.” 

“I can’t show up empty handed to a potluck! Also the flowers are a housewarming gift.” He had his hands pressed against the glass of the cake display, looking at all the various options he could choose from. 

“Baby, they’ve lived in that house for twenty years, so you’re about two decades late for housewarming. “

“Should we get ganache or buttercream? Actually don’t answer that, I'm getting both.” 

You rolled your eyes, but relented in your efforts to stop him. Donghyuck clearly had his mind made up on how to impress your parents, and you weren’t going to burst his bubble. Your parents already liked him from how highly you spoke of him, but if this would ease his mind you weren’t going to ruin his fun.

“Y/N, welcome home darling! Oh, and you must be Donghyuck, I’ve heard so much about you!” Your mother welcomed both of you with kisses on your cheeks and tight hugs. 

“It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Y/LN (your last name).” Donghyuck ever the charmer handed the large bouquet to your mother as well as a small box. She opened it and gasped at the pearl earrings held inside. “I hope they’re to your liking, I can always exchange them for something different-“

“Oh sweetheart they’re wonderful, please don’t fret. Come on, let’s go join everyone else.” 

Your mother led you and Donghyuck out to the backyard where the whole neighborhood seemed to be in attendance. You made your rounds, saying hi to all the attendees and introducing Donghyuck whose nerves seemed to melt the more he talked. After what felt like an hour of talking (more like 20 minutes), you finally got an opportunity to talk to your father. He seemed more than pleased with Donghyuck and the watch that he was gifted by him. 

“This one’s a keeper, Y/n, don’t fumble.” Your fathers attempt at whispering was pretty poor so you rolled your eyes in response before shooting an apologetic look at your boyfriend. Donghyuck found it amusing though. It was a relief to know all your family liked him so far. Your neighbors seemed charmed as well which was doing wonders for not only his nerves but his ego as well.

“So how did you two meet?” Your father took a swig of his beer while flipping over one of the hamburger patties on the grill. He was definitely one of the best multitaskers you knew, especially when there was alcohol or grilling involved.

“At a party, he wined and dined me at a Denny's afterwards.” You smiled at Donghyuck, leaning against his arm. You could feel a pair of eyes on you as you talked to your father, but chose to ignore it. 

“I promise we went on better dates afterwards.” Your father seemed amused at your boyfriend's hurried tone. It was cute Donghyuck felt like he had something else to prove. You knew he had already won your parents over, especially since you gushed so much about him over the phone to your mother; but he was in the right to feel a bit nervous still. “We’re actually going on a skiing trip for winter break, some of my extended family owns the lodge we’re staying at.” That was new to you. You looked up at him in disbelief and Donghyuck simply winked at you, his little way of saying “surprise”. 

“Is your family rich?” Your dad sure was subtle. 

“We come from a bit of old money, but I do work myself. I’m slated to take over the IT division of my uncle’s company after I graduate.” Your dad seemed very intrigued and so were you. Donghyuck wasn’t usually one to brag which is probably why this was the first time you were hearing any of this. You knew Donghyuck was a hard worker and he didn’t like talking handouts, even his tuition was covered by a scholarship and not his mom. You weren’t sure how much his mom made, but he had told you she was an entrepreneur and she made enough to cover his school, but he refused. His hardworking attitude was one of the things you loved about Donghyuck. Even though he found school relatively easy, he refused to do a stream or even relax until all his work was done for the week. It led to a lot of all-nighters, to the point where he would finally join you in bed when you were about to get up for the day, but it left more time for the two of you to be together at the end of the week. 

“You sound like you have a bright future ahead of you son, good for you.” You could see Donghyuck practically preen at the praise, which made you giggle a little. “Now then make sure you keep this one in line, also a ring on that finger in six months would be great!” You were seriously gonna punch your dad later.

“If she’ll have me, I’ll make it happen” You gawked at Donghyuck. You didn’t understand how he could so casually talk about marriage when the two of you had only been together for a few months. Sure you’d been to a few of Jaehyun’s friends' weddings, he was about to graduate after all so it was normal for people his age to get married. You, however, felt way too young to even be flirting with the thought of marriage. 

“Ok that’s enough you two, I don’t need you giving him any more ideas.” You pulled Donghyuck away to go make small talk with the few neighbors you hadn’t greeted yet. One of them was unfortunately Jaehyun, but it felt wrong to not at least say “hi.” 

Donghyuck was in fine spirits, but the moment he realized where you were pulling him, his happy demeanor frosted over into a glare. Jaehyun had no idea the two of you were even venturing over, but you wanted to keep it that way. Hopefully Donghyuck would be civil, once you approached him, but you knew that glare would throw everything off immediately. You nudge your boyfriend to fix his face before tapping on Jaehyun’s shoulder. Jaehyun turned around slightly confused, but replaced his shock with a tight lip smile. You glanced at Donghyuck just to make sure he wasn’t still glaring, and thankfully he wasn’t but he wasn’t wearing the most pleasant expression either.

“Hey, how’s it going?” Jaehyun asked awkwardly.

Before you could answer, Donghyuck placed a protective arm around your waist, pulling you closer to his side. You shot a small glare at him, because you understood he had his qualms about Jaehyun, but you hoped he could at least be civil for five minutes. 

“It’s going well, just making my rounds with Hyuck. What about you? How’s your summer going?” You did your best to pretend like your boyfriend and your ex friend with benefits, weren’t currently having a silent battle, but it was proving to be quite difficult. You don’t know why you have a thing for strong personalities, but clearly it’s biting you in the ass currently.

“It’s going fine. How’s your summer? Enjoying your honeymoon?”

Oh fuck.

“It’s going great, our summer and our “honeymoon.”” Donghyuck bit back at Jaehyun, moving his hand down lower so it was resting practically on your ass. You didn’t miss the way Jaehyun’s eyes followed his hand.

You had to admit it was kinda hot seeing Donghyuck annoyed and the possessiveness was also a bit of a turn on. However, you weren’t gonna continue to let the two have a petty war over nothing. You and Jaehyun talked and agreed to be civil and hopefully rekindle your friendship, but you knew Donghyuck wasn’t entirely happy about that. So you could understand why Donghyuck was acting this way, but Jaehyun was being a bit ridiculous, in your opinion.

“Guys, can we not?” 

“Can we not, what? We’re just having a nice conversation.” You threw Donghyuck a scandalized look. You understand why he was pissed at Jaehyun, but you weren’t gonna let him take that tone with you. 

“Jae, we’ll be back.” You wave the older goodbye before dragging Donghyuck inside and upstairs. You found the nearest bedroom, not caring if it was the guest room before locking it. “You’ve lost your fucking mind.” You didn’t mean to snap at him but you were so frustrated with all the petty bullshit.

“You can’t be serious right now.” Donghyuck huffed out. “I’m out of my fucking mind? Did you not just hear him disrespecting us once again?” Donghyuck had a point but you just wished for once he would be the bigger person instead of letting Jaehyun under his skin immediately. “Why do I always have to yield to his douchery?” 

“Donghyuck, it’s just easier if you don’t give him a reaction. He’s bitter and hurt, he’s working through it.” 

Your boyfriend pokes his tongue on the inside of his cheek, chuckling ruefully at you. “He’s bitter and hurt? Well he wouldn’t be if he actually treated you like you were worth something! It’s not my fault that I actually give you what you were looking for! I shouldn’t have to be his fucking punching bag!” 

“If anyone is his punching bag it’s fucking me!” 

You were both screaming and you were sure anyone close enough to the window could hear you two. Clearly this was something that needed to be addressed, again. 

“You’re not the one who’s been harassed and made to feel like shit by their own best friend, for months, just because I found something better.” Here came the tears of course. You hated crying during these conversations but everything just seemed to come out no matter how hard you tried to hold back. “I’ve been trying to fix shit, on both ends. And I know you don’t see it but he’s been trying.” Donghyuck looked skeptically at you, but he knew you weren’t done so he didn’t comment. “He wants to be able to be in a room with us and not feel like absolute shit, but it’s just kinda hard for him.” You sighed, because you knew what you were about to tell Donghyuck wasn’t a surprise, but he hated hearing it. “He came to the conclusion that he is in love with me and has been for a while, but didn’t want to admit it. I know he fucked up and lost his chance, he knows that too, but watching someone you love be happy with someone that isn’t you is hard.” You shot a pointed look. “Even you have to admit that.”

Donghyuck sighed. He did know that was hard. He watched it happen in high school to one of his friends. Which is probably why this whole thing made him so angry, it just felt like a repeat but instead of being a bystander, he was in the middle. 

“Ok yeah, you’re right. I’ll give him some grace.” You felt sort of relieved that Donghyuck was willing to yield at least this once, but you weren’t going to take his kindness for granted. If Jaehyun ever truly stepped out of line as bad as he did at the frat you would end your friendship entirely. That was something you promised to Donghyuck that same night. Aside from that though, Jaehyun said he was going to do his best to be a good sport, and while he was off to a bad start, you hoped he would at least apologize later. 

Donghyuck engulfed you into a nice bear hug that you couldn’t help but smile and giggle at. He gave the best hugs and always seemed to know when you needed one. “We’re ok, I’m sorry for being rude out there, especially towards you.” 

“It’s ok. I’m sorry I snapped at you that was uncalled for.” 

“It’s ok, I know you just want me and bighead to get along.” Lord, he's been spending way too much time with Minjeong lately. 

“Alright Minjeong Jr., let’s get back out there.”

Just as you opened the door you came face to chest with Jaehyun who had his fist raised up. He must’ve been about to knock, but as always your weird friend-sense seemed to beat him to it.

“Hey, I just came to apologize.” 

“It's all cool man, I’m sorry too.” You were a little surprised Donghyuck apologized, but honestly it made you happy that there was a possibility the two of them could get along. “Also, I don’t know if this is too much to ask, but would you maybe want to game sometime?”  That surprised you even more.

“Like all of us, or just you and me?” Jaehyun seemed surprised too, but clearly wasn’t entirely opposed.

“Just you and I. She refuses to play Overwatch and we need another player for our team. Who do you main?” 

“Cassidy” Jaehyun finally cracked a small smile on what felt like ages. 

“Nice, we’ve been needing another DPS on our team, you down to join?” Donghyuck asked cooley, bringing his hand up to dap up the other man. 

“Yeah, just shoot me a message whenever.” Jaehyun pulled out his phone, swiping through until he found discord. 

“Real, we’re going home in a few days, so maybe we can play then if you’re back too.” 

You felt like a third wheel at this point. You knew if the two ever found a middle ground it would definitely be gaming. 

“Sure, I should be back like a day after yall I think.

“Sounds great.”

—————————————————————————

Donghyuck and Jaehyun had been texting for almost an hour now and you were starting to feel like it was a bad idea that they exchanged contact info. Not because they were fighting, but because they were getting along a little too well. 

Donghyuck had been giggling at his phone like a schoolgirl the whole time, while you just laid next to him scrolling on your own phone. “I can’t believe we were beefing before. You did this on purpose.” 

You gawked at your boyfriend, scandalized that he would even accuse you of that. “Hyuck I did not! You think I would make up that shit about him harassing me at the frat party?” 

A skeptical look.

“Unbelievable.” You flopped backwards onto the bed. “My boyfriend is gonna leave me for my old situationship slash best friend.” You threw your hand over your face dramatically. Trying to gain some sort of leverage over Donghyuck.

“You’re right, I am.” Donghyuck supplied, still typing away at his phone. 

Scoffing, you tried to peek at what the two were talking about. “What is he even saying to have you this enraptured? I’m literally laid out all nice for you and you’re not even interested.” You weren’t really wearing anything special, but you were wearing one of Donghyuck’s oversized shirts and some nice panties, which usually would’ve caught his attention by now. 

“Babe that’s nasty, your parents are literally down the hall. Also we’re talking about genshin, since you refuse to play that too.” He did have a point about your parents, but you could be quiet… sometimes. “Besides we have all summer for that, I do still enjoy seeing you in my shirts if that’s what you’re worried about though.” He placed a small kiss on your temple, trying his best to reassure you.

“I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about you and big head talking about my deepest darkest secrets.” You knew Donghyuck was better than that, but sometimes Jaehyun wasn’t. You learned from Mark that sometimes Jaehyun didn’t know when to shut his mouth about you and sex. It wasn’t entirely embarrassing since sex was normal, but you also didn’t like your business to be aired out like that. 

“Don’t worry, we’ll only make fun of you when you’re around to defend yourself.” Donghyuk was suddenly above you, a teasing smirk playing at his lips. “Besides, I’m too possessive. Only I get to talk about you like that, and I'll keep it that way.” You were starting to regret not booking a hotel like Donghyuck initially suggested. He was practically purring as he spoke and the words were going straight to your core.

“Are you sure we can’t mess around a little… I’ll be quiet.” 

The laughter that spilled out of Donghyuck was infectious, you knew it was a ridiculous request but no one could blame you trying. 

“You’re unbelievable, It’s only two more days. Think about how good the sex will be.

“It could be good now.” You pouted up at him through your lashes.

“Well I'd like to be invited back in the future, so you’re just gonna have to wait.” He kissed your pout away just as quick as it appeared, smiling down at you softly when he pulled back. 

You loved moments like this, moments where it just felt like you and Donghyuck. Moments where you’d lightly trace your fingers over his moles, connecting them like constellations. 

“Fine, I’ll wait, but don’t expect me to lift a single finger.” 

Donghyuck simply rolled his eyes before rolling back over next to you. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” He yawned, pulling you closer to his frame.

—————————————————————————

The fall semester was finally here and it was a shit show. You started your nursing internship at one of the local hospitals and instead of challenging classes taking up the majority of your time, it was now strenuous shifts there. You weren’t working 80 hours like most nurses, but the majority of your days were spent at the hospital. And when you weren’t working you were sleeping. You were honestly glad Donghyuck and Jaehyun were gaming buddies now, because you didn’t have the energy to or time to pay as much attention to Donghyuck as you wished. He was being a good sport through it all, but you could tell your lack of intimacy and time together was starting to take a toll on him.

Now it was 2am and you were punching in the six digit code to Donghyuck’s apartment. Even though you still had a dorm with Minjeong you felt some part of Donghyuck was fulfilled when he woke up next to you. So here you were after your 10 minute walk in the cool, early morning, August air. Your scrubs felt and probably smelled dank against your body and you were so thankful that this weekend would probably be spent in Donghyuck oversized shirts and your own shorts while you caught up on sleep and time together. 

Upon entering the house you made a beeline for the shower, wanting to wash all the sterile hospital smell off of you. You were in the infant ward today so most of your day was spent cooing at babies as well as checking their vitals. You changed a few diapers, helped a few mothers, all in all it wasn’t as intense as some other days this week. It was honestly a nice break. It still didn’t change the fact that you were exhausted though. The hot water was working wonders on your aching body, but you honestly didn’t know how much longer you could stand. Deciding on just a body shower you quickly lathered and rinsed yourself before turning off the steaming shower head. You blindly reached your hand out for your towel. All you could feel was the slightly dewy metal of the towel rack before you finally made contact with the fluffy cloth and something else. Something that felt warm and familiar.

“What are you doing up?” You questioned who you hoped was your boyfriend and not some stranger who followed you home amidst your post shift delirium. You were patting your face dry, so you couldn’t really see Donghyuck behind the towel or

the steam that covered the glass of the shower door.

“I was gaming. I wanted to make sure you got here safely.” You could hear the fatigue in his voice. Donghyuck rarely stayed up late, which was surprising since most gamers tended to have a horrible sleeping schedule. Donghyuck was the exception though, opting to wake up in the morning hours to get his homework and other errands out of the way and saving his nights for streams that ran no later than 11:00pm. When you had a normal sleeping schedule, this worked very well for both of you, but now it made you upset that he felt the need to derail his own sleep just for you.

“Thank you for waiting up, it means a lot. Don’t make a habit of it though, I want you to sleep. You shouldn’t stay up just for me.” You stepped out of the shower, the towel now wrapped around your frame. The steam cleared and there was Donghyuck in his overtired glory. Eyelids so droopy you were worried he would fall asleep standing up. “Did you at least take a nap?” You crossed the bathroom until you were standing in front of him, cupping his face before planting a sweet kiss on his lips.

Donghyuck shook his head. “I woke up late today.” 

You wanted to counter that statement since Donghyuck never slept past 10am, but decided to leave it alone. You were grateful he waited for you. It was nice knowing you would fall asleep in his arms and not just impossibly close to his frame for comfort. 

“You can go, I’ll be there in a few minutes.” 

Another shake. 

You knew there was no point in pushing it so you got dressed and finished up the rest of your night time routine as quickly as possible. When you and Donghyuck finally fell into the sheets together, it was a little past 2:30. You were a mess of tangled limbs and tacky skin as you tried to find a comfortable position to cuddle in and once you did both you and Donghyuck released a contented sigh. 

“This internship sucks.” Donghyuck sighed, placing a chaste kiss on the back of your neck.

“I know, but it’s only one semester. I’ll be all yours for graduation.” You did your best to speak through a yawn that Donghyuck caught after you.

“It’s not enough, it should be illegal for you to be at the hospital that long.” 

“Well I’m also sleeping for a lot of that time.” You tried to reason.

“Shhh, blame the hospital, not your body’s needs.” Donghyuck’s words were starting to slur, a true testament to how tired he actually was. The fact that he had managed to stay up this late was impressive enough, but you knew in seconds if not minutes you’d be hearing soft snores. “You’re off this weekend right?” You couldn’t help but chuckle a little. He’s asked that at least three times this week, it was cute, almost like he was in disbelief that he’d actually get to spend time with you. “It’s not funny. I only get to see you when you’re sleeping, it’s kinda creepy.” 

“Ew, you watch me when I sleep?” 

“You’re lucky I just watched, the amount of times I wanted to draw a mustache on you is a bit concerning.” Donghyuck yawned again, snuggling closer to your back.

“You’re terrible.” Was all you could muster as you finally let sleep win, drifting off into a much needed slumber.

—————————————————————————

“Dude, we’re being eaten alive over here, where are you?” Donghyuck whisper-shouted into his headset. You were still sleeping so he was trying his best to control his volume, but his team was getting beat so bad that he wanted to scream. 

“There’s a fucking sniper on my ass, everytime I step out they shoot at me.” Jaehyun yelled into his headset, groaning as another attempt at aiding his team was thwarted by the widowmaker that had him in their sights.

“Fuck they got Jeno again.” Jisung cursed.

“Jae just throw a flashbang at the building, it’ll at least stun them.” Donghyuck seethed into the mic. He looked back at the bed to make sure you were still soundly asleep and in that one moment. he was gunned down with his fellow teammates. “Fuck!” Donghyuck quickly covered his mouth, beating himself up when he heard you stir in bed. He didn’t mean to yell, but unfortunately at the end of the day he was a gamer, a very passionate gamer.

“What time is it?” You groaned quietly, craning your head slightly to get a better view of your boyfriend. 

“It’s a little past noon, I’m sorry baby, I didn’t mean to yell.” Donghyuck could hear the guys making fun of him through his headset, but chose to ignore it.

“S’okay. You playing with the guys?” You stretched in bed, arching your back in an attempt to wake up.

“Yeah, you wanna say hi?” 

You made an affirmative sound before pulling the gaming chair from the desk Donghyuck bought for you. The desk was for school, but he argued that a gaming chair was more comfortable than a regular rolling chair. 

You grabbed the second headset Donghyuck also bought for you, so you could talk to the guys while he gamed. “Good morning…” You yawned into the mic, leaning your head back on the headrest of the chair.

“Hi Y/N!” A chorus of deep voices chirped back.

“How’s the internship going?” Jeno piped up, healing Donghyuck in the process.

“It’s going fine, I like it a lot. I’m just tired… all the time. Next week I go on day shift though, so I’ll have a decent sleeping schedule.” You could see the way Donghyuck was grinning at that information. It had been a long time since the two of you had a normal sleeping schedule and even if this was only for a few weeks, he would be happy with what he could get.

“Any hot doctors, or are you still into mr. loser?” Jaehyun jabbed. In the past that would probably be something that you and Donghyuck wouldn’t laugh at. As of now though all the bad blood was gone and you could comfortably joke like you used to with Jaehyun. It made you happy that he and Donghyuck could get along and that you and Jaehyun were slowly patching up your own relationship.

“No, I still love mr. loser, that might change in a few wee— Babe on your left!” 

“Fuck yeah!” With your help he was able to gun down one of the enemies and get the kill count almost even. “What the fuck how did you even see them?” Donghyuck didn’t understand why you didn’t want to play Overwatch when you had such good eye coordination. Even if you couldn’t play fps  games,you could at least heal or provide support. 

“I don’t know, I thought they were pretty obvious.” You shrugged, stealing a sip from the coffee next to his keyboard. “Did you get me any?” Donghyuck nodded, motioning to the bedside table. You planted a quick peck on his cheek before retrieving the caffeinated beverage and your phone. “Did you eat yet?” 

“No, there’s no food though…” Donghyuck replied sheepishly. Unfortunately when your sleep schedule was shitty, so was his. The usual time your boyfriend would go get groceries was now nap time while the rest was focused on school or streaming.

“I’ll order something, don’t worry.”

—————————————————————————

Another end of semester frat party is where you found yourself tonight. Your internship had ended a few days ago and after some much needed rest you were ready to kick back with Donghyuck and your friends. Currently you and Donghyuck were in a heated game of beer pong against Minjeong and Ten. At this point both teams had three cups left, it could be anyone’s game— you were determined to make it yours. 

“Go to the left a little- too far… there you go.” Donghyuck had been your coach all game and you two probably looked sickening. He was standing directly behind you, one hand on your waist, the other on your throwing arm. Ten and Minjeong claimed you were cheating, but you begged to differ since you were the one actually throwing. “Go ahead, baby.”

Cautiously you moved your arm back and forth to get the right angle, once you were satisfied you let the ball go. The ball bounced once before sinking nicely into the cup full of beer across the table. Ten and Minjeong exchanged equally unimpressed looks before rock, paper, scissoring over who would have to chug the beer. Ten lost for what was now the third time in a row and begrudgingly downed the drink. 

It was now Donghyuck’s turn and with ease he managed to land the ball in the second to last cup. Ten and Minjeong looked scared now. There was one cup left and while it could still be anyone’s game— Donghyuck had the ball. 

“Can she just chug this and end it?” Ten asked, wanting to spare himself the humiliation of possibly throwing up. 

“Nope.” With that simple deceleration the ball was

sunk in the cup. 

—————————————————————————

After cup pong you and Donghyuck took to the dance floor before he decided he wanted to do karaoke. He was singing an amazing rendition of “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO. While you enjoyed watching him, the stuffy atmosphere of the frat was starting to make you feel a bit light headed. 

“I’m gonna step outside for a bit!” You shouted at Jeno before making your way towards the back door. Sliding the glass door open made you release a sigh of relief when you felt the chill of winter air against your skin. Thankfully a cropped puffer was a part of your less than winter appropriate party outfit, so you at least had something to keep you warm. 

When the chill started to become a problem you moved to sit by the fire. Warming up your fingers and legs as you appreciated the quiet crackling as opposed to loud bass you could still hear thudding on the house. You sat there for a moment with your thoughts and the fire as your only company before you heard the back door slide open. You didn’t bother craning your neck, figuring it was some random party goer searching for the same solace you were just a few minutes ago. 

“I didn’t think I’d find you out here.” Jaehyun sat in the chair next to you, beer slung loosely in his hand. He tipped the bottle towards, but you declined. You had way too much during your beer pong game and you were just now starting to sober up. “Surprised you aren’t watching your boyfriend’s performance. He’s doing a pretty good rendition of “Billie Jean.”” 

“I was, but I needed some air, we pregammed here so I’ve been in the house for a while.”

 Jaehyun hummed, taking a swig of his beer before returning his gaze to the fire. “So next semester will be your one year, right?”

“Yeah, mid april, kinda hard to believe.” The conversation was awkward. Jaehyun was definitely holding something back, but as always he seemed too stubborn to admit it. “Is there something on your mind, you’re being weird.”

“You’re too intuitive, sometimes.” He chuckled, had still fixed on the fire as if looking at you would turn him to stone. “I don’t know how to say this without making you upset.” 

That confused you. The two of you haven’t fought and neither has he or Donghyuck lately, so this was odd. 

“What do you mean— why would I get upset?”

“I think I’m still in love with you.” 

Your breath halted for a moment. Now it was your turn to stare into the fire. You don’t know what you were expecting, but it surely wasn’t this. In the Eight months that you two had cut things off

you were very confident in the fact that you had no romantic feelings for Jaehyun whatsoever. This didn’t necessarily throw a curveball at you, honestly it made you kinda angr— oh, that’s what he meant.

“Jae… this isn’t- we’re not doing this again.” How could you say this without blowing up? “If you said this to me 7 months ago, I probably would’ve dropped everything and ran back to you.” You sighed deeply, blinking back tears you didn’t even realize were forming. “I’m happy now… I really love Donghyuck. I love you too, but not in that way anymore.” You were crying now, but you didn’t know why. In a way this was the closure you always wanted, but not what you expected him to say.

“I don’t want you to drop everything… I just…” He took a deep sigh. “I wanted to tell you, so that I can get over you.” 

“You want me to reject you?” You looked at him dumbfounded.

“More or Less, yeah.” 

You sniffled as you tried your best to compose yourself. “This is not how I wanted to get my closure, but whatever.” Chuckling a bit you took a deep breath, “Jae, I don’t love you as more than a friend. I’m happy with Donghyuck, and I can genuinely see us lasting for a long time.” You felt so stupid saying that, but you also felt somewhat relieved hearing it out loud. “Was that good enough?”

“That was perfect.” 

Taglist: @snapcracklen, @peachesmilk, @clblnz, @ahgazen, @dulyrana

[futfemfantasies]

failed \\ sam kerr x reader

TW: injury (the dreaded 3 letters), fluff

2023 World Cup. Home soil. Co-captain with the love of your life. Playing in your hometown Stadium is one thing but playing a World Cup there? It's a whole other dream come true.

Sitting next to Sam, your knee is bouncing uncontrollably. She put her hand on your thigh and gives it a light squeeze, silently asking if you're okay. You nod and plant a soft kiss on her cheek. The starting lineup including you and Sam start to walk out to meet your mascots. You look around and everyone has theirs except you. A small tap on your thigh forces you to look down at your mascot. It’s none other than your mini me aka your niece Athena. You pick up the smiling and now excited to-year-old and kiss her squishy, chubby cheeks.

"You win Aunt y/n/n?"

"Not yet princess, Aunt Sammy has to score some goals first"

Sam turns around before giving your your niece multiple kisses.

You nudge Sam to start walking out and the roaring of the fans brought a wide smile to your face. Lining up, Athena starts bouncing on your hip in excitement. After the national anthem, you give Athena back to your sister and start to get prepped for the game. Your job back to the team just in time to hear Sam's pep talk.

"1...2...3... TILLIES!"

You and Sam do your quick handshake before you jog to midfield alongside Katrina and Kyra. The whistle starts and the battle for third place begins. Sweden have come in strong but you and your midfield trio have held your own. So far, Rolfö and Asilani have been targeting you and every time you get up, Sam looks more pissed than before. Around 30 minutes into the second half is where things went wrong. Recovering the ball from Stina was fine, it was the popping sound in your left knee that wasn't.

Screaming as you went down immediately saw the ref blow her whistle. Medics rushed to you, only for Sam to beat them. Same place your head in her lap as the medics touched around the rapidly swelling area.

"Even if it is what we think, I'll be there every step of the way"

Sam helped you off the field, with a standing ovation from the crowd and players. Sam turns back to the game and stomps over to Stina.

"What the fuck is your problem huh? She's injured because of you. You injured your teammates and the best midfielder in the game! I hope you're happy with yourself"

Stina looks visibly scared and your teammates push Sam away before she got herself carded. Sam made at her personal mission to win this game for you, even if that meant doing a few extra slide tackles and shoulder pushes. The final whistle blows after extra time and Sam is speechless. You watch on the small tv as Sam is in full blown tears and the medic said you can go out to the field.

Hopping down the hallways, you see the familiar entryway to the field. Taking your time, you finally get to the grass and you start looking for your short ponytailed beauty. Stina notices you looking around and decides to quickly apologise before Sam scares her off again. The poor girl was on the verge of tears until you reassured her it was nothing she did. You lock eyes with Sam and said your goodbyes to Stina.

You both meet halfway and Sam pulled you into a tight hug, burying her face in your neck. Crutches dropped to the floor, you gave back and even tighter hug as you hear what Sam's mumbling.

"Hey, look at me"

You almost whisper, holding Sam's face in your hands.

"You gave it your all and that's what matters. I love you through all the wins, losses, draws, fourth places. We've done this country so proud okay?"

Sam looks down at your knee and nods slowly.

"I love you too, I'll be here through it all. I'll take some personal leave"

You argue back-and-forth but decided she can take two weeks off. Sam turns around and squats down a little picking up the crutches.

"Jump on. I think there's some fans that want to say thank you to their hometown hero"

You roll your eyes and hop on the slightly older girls back.

You see your teammates first before doing a lap of honour. Right at the end, Sam stops just before a little boy with your jersey on. You direct Sam over and hop down, still leaning on Sam.

"Hey buddy, cool jersey you have on there"

"Y-you my favourite. I wanna be you when I’m older"

You pout at the cuteness at the boy who couldn't be older than 4. You decide in the moment to give the boy your jersey. You take it off and someone gives you a marker. You write a sweet message on it before giving it to him. His mum asked for a photo and of course you say yes. The boy thanks you numerous times and you give him a hug before leaving.

Sam comes back and put a jacket on you before carrying you to the locker room. She said she down at your cubby, which is next to hers, and gives you a look.

"i'm fine babe, really. Are you okay?"

Sam shrugs her shoulders and looks at you.

"I dunno. I wanted to win for you and I failed"

Sam hangs her head, looking at her boots. She hold back tears and you scoot closer to her the best you can.

"You didn't fail me baby. Every game you play for a club or country makes me so unbelievably proud of you. You can never fail in my eyes Sam"

Without warning, Sam pulled you into a bruising kiss, with your teammates wolf whistling and fake gagging.

"Marry me?"

Sam whispers as your foreheads touch.

"A million times yes my love"

“Now let’s get that knee better Mrs Kerr”

“MRS KERR?!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

liked by samanthakerr20, stephcatley, leahwilliamson and 89,064 others

ynyln: 19.08.23 ✨ the worst day became the best ✨ can’t wait to do life with you 🥺😍

view all 42,689 comments…

stephcatley: she’s growing up!! Happy for you boo xx

↪️ ynyln: ❤️❤️ love you my steffy

samanthakerr20: Mrs Kerr has a nice ring to it I think 😉

↪️ ynyln: 🙄🙄🙄

leahwilliamson: big sis is getting married!! I’m so happy for you 😁 love you always xx

↪️ ynyln: 🥺 lil sis, love you xx

[gretavangroupie]

Valor (Chapter 4)

Pairing: Jake x Reader, Daniel x Reader

Word Count: 25.1k

Warnings: Cursin', Smokin', Drinkin'. Angst: Struggle and Poverty, Emotional Manipulation, Abandonment, Jealousy, Mentions of Violence, Mentions of Weapons, Fire & Property Loss, Physical Fighting, Blood, Mentions of Death, Mention of Suicide, Heavy Angst, Reckless Driving, Allusions to Shady Activities, Coercion, Gambling, Betting. Smut: Kissing, Heavy Petting, Allusions to Sex.

Valor Playlist: Apple Music | Spotify

A new project in collaboration with my talented co-writer @gretavanmoon.

HER POV

You twist your fingers together nervously waiting for them to walk your way. You saw the other car pull away in a cloud of dust, but the two of them still stood in the same spot, talking amongst themselves. You swallowed anxiously as you saw them start to head your way, sitting up a little taller in the front seat of Jake’s truck. 

Jake opens the door and slides in behind the wheel, as Danny leans into the passenger side window. “What do you think, you hungry?” he asks, looking down at you beneath his dark lashes. 

“Yeah, I could probably stand to eat something.” you pause, looking over towards Jake. “Plus it’s his birthday…”

“Yeah it is…What do you think Jake? Louie’s? My treat?” he asks, earning him a soft smile and a nod. 

“Yeah, sounds good. Drop your bike at the shop first?” 

Danny nods and smacks his hand gently against the windowsill, pushing away with a smile as he heads towards his bike. Positioning himself on the seat, he starts the bike and takes off first, Jake following behind him. 

“So… Wha–what was the meeting about, or can you tell me?” you ask, as Jake pulls a cigarette from the carton in his pocket. He flicks the carved zippo to life, holding the flame to the tip and taking a long drag. 

“Well, that man was at the poker game the other night. Just wanted to talk to me and Danny is all.” he answers, the cigarette dancing around his lips as he spoke. 

“That’s it? That seems sort of strange? Why didn’t he just come to your shop?” you ask, confused. 

“Nothin’ to worry ‘bout.” he says, turning the wheel toward the shop. You sighed, feeling the same feeling that they were holding things back from you again. None of your business, right? 

You blinked back the confusion, scooting over so Danny could hop in the passenger seat beside you. 

“I’m starving. I think it’s meatloaf night!” Danny rubbed his hands together, and you noticed just how hungry you had gotten, too. It was mere minutes before you were pulling into the parking lot of Louie’s. You’d really forgotten just how small this town was. 

As you made your way to the front door Daniel held it open for you to enter first, seeing Geraldine working the counter. She motions for the three of you to sit wherever, so you follow Jake’s lead to a small booth in the corner. You slide in first, Danny taking the spot next to you as Jake sat across. Seconds later Geraldine was greeting you with menus and mugs.

She poured steaming hot coffee into the mugs, before telling you she’d be back. Your eyes scanned over the menu, not really feeling like the days special of meatloaf.

“Did’ya tell her?” Danny asked, looking across the table to Jake. 

“Nah.” he grumbled, not bothering to look at Daniel.

“Tell me what?” you ask, folding your menu and setting it in front of you. 

Jake’s eyes flashed to yours, before meeting Danny’s. “Okay, so the guy didn’t just want to talk to us.” he starts, pausing to run his fingers over his chin. “He saw us fight the other night.”

“Okay and…” you press. 

“And, he wants us to fight in matches.” Danny finishes, pulling his folded hands in front of his face. 

“Matches? Like– Like boxing or something?” you question, with a furrowed brow. 

“Yes, but not boxing. Fighting. For money.” Danny answers. 

“What? Why would he– Why you two? I’m confused.” 

“So are we, but he said he sees something in us.” Danny took a deep breath and turned his body toward you to speak directly. “Look, there’s maybe a bit you don’t know about me, Y/N.” He confesses. “Since I was young, I’ve always been a bit of a fighter. I like to tussle. And I guess, I’m kinda good at it?” His eyes squinted as he said the words, blowing the steam off the top of his mug. 

Your eyes catch Jake’s as he silently confirms Danny’s admission with a quick nod. “Taught me how to fight, that’s for damn sure…” 

“Okay, so he saw you two fight at the poker game, and he thinks you’re good enough to fight in matches for money?” you ask Danny. 

“Yeah, but not just me. Both of us. He wants both of us to fight.” he says, letting his eyes trail over to Jake.

“Money…How much money?” you ask. 

“Don’t know for sure, but he said the word thousands.” Danny answered, embellishing the last word with a twirl of his hand. 

Hold the phone. “You two aren’t actually considering this are you? I mean, you don’t even know this guy. You have no idea what you could be actually walking into. What if– What if it’s a set up or something?�� you question. 

“No risk, no reward.” Danny touts. 

“We can’t just drop fuckin’ everything to go fight, Daniel.” Jake says. 

He crosses his arms and sits back in the booth, “I think we should do it.” He digs around in his pocket, pulling out a business card and slapping it on the table. You snatch it up, looking at the name and the phone number, before flipping it over. Blank. 

“This says nothing. It’s just his name and number…” you question. 

You watched as Jake started bobbing his eyes around again, like they both did the day you met them. Always paranoid. “He said this shit was underground. Doubt Oscar is even his real name.” Jake quips, twisting the paper card between his fingers. 

“Okay, so say this isn’t some scam or some shit, and you two go and fight… What about the shop? What about my car?” you ask.

“Parts for your car won’t be here for another week and a half. This fight is in a few days, so...” Danny says, helping you piece this together. 

“Okay so, if he’s right, and you two do end up winning some money, it would help you pay that guy back right?” you ask. Jake nods his head, you can tell he is considering every single pro and con, while Danny already has his bags packed. 

Geraldine walks back over towards the table, effectively shutting all of you up. “You guys know what you’d like?” she asks, pulling her pen and pad from her apron. 

“I’ll take the special, how it comes.” Jake says, followed by Danny gesturing a two.

“Alright, two specials, and you hun?” she asks, eyes meeting yours. 

“Could I please do… a BLT?” you ask, closing your menu and watching her scribble it down.

“Be right up.” she nods, walking away towards the kitchen. 

“Okay, anyways…” you pause, making sure she’s out of earshot. “Say you two go fight, what happens when you get injured or something? How will you be able to work?”

“Jake and I have been fighting each other for a long fuckin’ time. Has yet to be a fight we haven't bounced back from the next day.” Danny says, smugly. 

“Yeah, but you aren’t fighting Jake. You’re fighting god knows who!” you shout, quickly reining it in. 

“Do you think we’re gonna lose, Y/N?” Danny laughs. 

“I don’t know! But I don’t want either of you to get hurt!” you say, laying your fist on the table. 

“You’ve gotta trust us. Can you trust us, Y/N?” he asks. 

You let out a long deep sigh and look up to Jake, his eyes reassuring you. “Okay, yeah… But for the record I still think this is all a giant set up, and a really bad idea.”

A small laugh leaves Danny’s chest, “Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out.” 

—

The three of you push your nearly empty plates towards the center of the table, the food disappearing quickly from your plates. The conversation had shifted away from the proposition from Oscar and into reminiscing about years past. Much of the meal was filled with laughter between the two guys, one funny memory spurring on the next. 

You felt a tingle of excitement in your chest as you remembered the little surprise you had pulled together for Jake earlier this morning. You bit your lips together to conceal your smile, but Jake noticed. Just as he was about to ask, Bubba stepped up to the table, sliding into the booth next to him. 

“Well, another year huh, boy?” he said, throwing his arm around Jake’s shoulder.

“That’s what they tell me.” he laughs, making room in the booth. 

“You know, you’d think with time, things would get a bit easier on us but have ta say feels a little worse each year.” he says sullenly, twisting his fingertip around his thumb. 

“Hell of a way to spend a birthday ain’t it…” Jake quips. 

“I know, I’m sorry son.” Bubba says, squeezing Jake’s shoulder.  “He was a good man beneath it all, I promise yeh. I know he’d be proud of his boys.” 

“I reckon you went to that meetin’ right?” he asks. 

“We did.” Danny answers. “What’s that guy's deal?”

“Well, he rolled into town a few days ago. Stopped in here for a bite to eat, took the seat next to mine at the counter. We got chattin’ for a spell, and mentioned your name. Said he’d heard ‘bout some boys that did some fightin’. I said, ooooh yes, I know those boys. Invited him to the poker game, since it seemed like he mighta had some money to blow. Led em’ right to yeh, and you boys put on quite the little spectacle for ‘em. Saw him the next day, and told me he wanted to arrange a meetin’. And well, you know the rest.”

“Yeah, Bubba…He wants us to– he wants us to fight in underground matches. NHB fightin’.” Danny says, hesitantly. 

“I figured as much. You boys considerin’ it?” he asks, leaning into his elbows on the table. 

“Talkin’ about it. What do you think?” Jake asks, looking over to him. 

He sniffles, and looks towards the door before turning back to the three of you. “I think there's some good money to be had in those kinds of fights. ‘Specially if they’re run clean. Think you two boys could do fairly well for yerselves.”

“So you think we should do it?” Danny asks, a child-like innocence on his face as he asks Bubba for his approval.

“Think anythings’ worth tryin’ once. Least to say ya did.” he answers, and you almost see Jake’s body relax. “I have a good feelin’ bout him, boys. Think you should give it a go. Think there’s a reason he came to town lookin’ for you two.”

Jake nods his head and looks at Daniel, the two of them communicating silently as Wanda brings the check over. Bubba snatches it up off the table as he slides out of the booth, heading towards the register. “Happy Birthday, Jacob.” 

—

DANNY POV

“I have a surprise when we get home.” Y/N’s voice was as soft as butter on the ride back from the diner, and your heart skipped a beat when she referred to the place as home. You let your hand run over her thigh in the darkness of the cab, creeping it closer to the heat between her legs. 

“Is it for me?” You said flirtatiously, gripping your hand into her thigh. 

She lightly slapped you across the chest. “No, dummy. It’s not your birthday, now, is it?”

You laughed through your teeth, tapping the top of her leg before removing your hand. “When even is your birthday, Danny?” 

“Not until the winter, babe.” You thought ahead, realizing that really, neither you nor Jake ever did anything special for your birthdays. Never had enough money. Never had enough reason to care. 

“You don’t need to do anything else for me, seriously. This has already been a better day than I’ve had in a long, long time.” Jake interjected. And you believed him. He seemed so upbeat today. Like good things were on the horizon. Like he had a sparkle in his eye. 

“S’not much, nothing extravagant. Just thought maybe you’d like a cherry on top of your day.” You glanced out of the corner of your eye to see Y/N gently lay her hand across Jake’s upper thigh, petting it sweetly before ripping it away as soon as her sentence was finished. It made your breath catch in your throat. Why did she just touch him there?

“Pull over here, I need to go do something.” You motioned for Jake to pull into the lot of the motel, seeing that the light in the lobby was still buzzing a dull fluorescent yellow. Jake skidded the tires into the lot, pulling in right up front. 

“What are you gonna do?” He asked, the tone of his voice letting you know he was going to follow you inside. 

“Just stay here, I’ll be right back.” You flung the door open and slammed it shut, just a little pissed off that you saw Y/N’s hand brushing dangerously high on Jake’s leg. 

Being met with Wanda’s now unfamiliar face after knowing her for so many years felt strange; it was like she was a completely different person. Stature, clothing, overall appearance…ten years ago you would have never guessed this would be how she ended up. But what had changed the most was her personality. She wasn’t the sweet and witty lady you always knew. Now she was wily, deceitful, and overall the most unaccommodating motel owner you’d ever met. 

“Well if it isn’t little Danny come to grace my presence. How’s business, boy?” She yelled, squinting through one eye. 

“Could ask you the same, Wanda. But I think I already know the answer.” You firmly placed both hands on the counter, straightening out your elbows to lean down. “I need to check the person out of room number seven.”

You watched as Wanda lifted her glasses to her wrinkled nose, sarcastically smiling with her mouthful of only a few teeth. “Oh, the girly come from outa town. She paid for seven nights. Still got four to go.”

“Right well she’s checking out, she won’t be back. And I’m here to collect the difference for the nights she won’t be stayin’.” You responded, feeling the gall rise up in your chest. 

Wanda stepped forward and raised her voice to an even louder volume than it already was. She punched her pointer finger down to her ledger book, right over top of Y/N’s name, ironically the last person to have checked in to the motel since. “It’s non-refundable, and non-negotiable. She signed her name here, and my policy says—”

“Your policies don’t mean shit to me, Wanda. You probably didn’t even tell her that when she signed, did you?” You were seething. “Plus I know you overcharged the hell out of her…thirty-five dollars a night? Really Wanda?” You took your fingertips and pushed the ledger back toward her. 

Wanda’s jaw clenched closed as you watched her face get hot. “Now what you ain’t gonna do is walk up in my establishment and tell me how to run my business, boy!” You felt the spit travel from her mouth onto your face as she yelled across the countertop. “Huh, if Ace was still alive he would have your ass—”

“If Ace was still alive this town would be in a lot better shape than it is now!” You lurched toward her. How dare she bring up Ace’s name like that. “And this isn’t your establishment, Wanda, shit. If Bubba was still running it you wouldn’t have gutters fallin’ off the building and the police here every single fuckin’ night!” 

It had turned into a screaming match. You just knew Jake and Y/N were getting a show from inside the truck. But you’d been wanting to go in on Wanda for a long time, now. This just gave you extra reason to speak your piece. 

Your mind thought back to when Bubba and Wanda were married not eight or so years back…the motel was actually thriving. It was one of the only businesses in Joslyn that was worth a damn. Bubba kept the building in top shape, and Wanda ran all the housekeeping. They did it by themselves, and they did it well. 

Then once Ace died, and Teddy took over holding the reins of the town, everything went downhill. Wanda got in with the wrong crowds, started fighting and arguing with Bubba…the people who were once the ones you looked to for comfort in your younger years had turned into the poster-people for the phrase ‘nasty divorce’. Bubba couldn’t do it anymore. She asked for a divorce. And Bubba lost everything. 

“Four nights’ stay total. You can even keep the pocket change.” You held your hand out, wiggling your fingers to let her know you weren’t leaving this room until you had the cash in your hand. And she knew you… she knew you were serious. 

“That’s my fuckin’ money, Danny.” She spat, her voice lowered now. 

You rolled your eyes. This is was getting to be a chore. You leaned in close again, the dirty smell of the musty carpet below your boots and the asbestos-ridden walls suddenly enveloping your senses. “Hm, be a shame if I called the state and reported my stay here was full of rat shit, bed bugs, and roaches, wouldn’t it? Black mold in my shower?” You raised your eyebrows, knowing the threat might not be all untrue. But the last thing she needed was an inspection from the state and probable shut-down, so she conceded. 

She limped back to the back room and re-emerged with a handful of cash, gritting her teeth after licking her fingers, counting the bills back out to you one by one. 

“That all?” You demanded to know, flattening your hands across the counter. “Because she’s out in the truck, I’ll come right the fuck back in here if this isn’t it, Wanda.”

“Yes that’s fuckin’ it, Daniel. Now get the hell out of my lobby ‘fore I call the law on you for harassment.” She barked. 

You wadded the cash up and stuck it in your pocket, offering her the tiniest nod of your head. You turned to push the front door open before stopping yourself short, and turning back around to face her again. 

“Oh, I almost forgot. We know you let Teddy know she had money. Sent Joey and Tanya out to see if she was there…we aren’t fuckin’ stupid, Wanda…plotting to find her and take her money… Snitchin’ on your guests’ whereabouts ain’t good professional practice, hm?” You raised an eyebrow to her before backing up again. 

“Just tell your buddies up the road to stay the fuck away from her.” You spat again before shoving your way through her door, letting the old wooden slats rattle hard behind you. 

——

JAKE POV

As you pulled into the driveway of the shop the sun was down and a blanket of stars littered the sky. You sat and watched as Y/N and Daniel exited your truck, Daniel shutting the door behind the two of them. Your eyes followed her as she and Danny made their way toward the front door, hand in hand. The sound of the rumbling engine tuned out every other sound, and you watched as their bodies cast shadows on the building from the beam of your headlights. You could tell he wanted to be near her, feel her touch… even if it was just a little bit. You’d only been around her for less than a week, but the energy that emanated from her was unlike anything you’d ever experienced before. And you knew Danny felt it too. 

It hurt your heart a little to admit that you noticed her body language didn’t always match with his. Not all the time, and not obviously, but it was there. Within seconds, she released his hand, bounding forward as he pulled his keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. 

She had a sort of giddy excitement on her face sending a little shiver through your body as you pulled the keys from the ignition. You reached over and locked the passenger door before stepping out and locking your own, letting the heavy metal door swing shut. 

You walked slowly into the house, hearing a little chatter coming from the kitchen and deciding to join in on it. Your fingers fidgeted with the zippo in your pocket, letting your nails gently scrape over the carvings in the metal. 

“Okay, okay sit, sit!” Y/N instructed. “And don’t look! It’s a surprise.”

You tossed Daniel a questioning look and she shrugged his shoulders, clearly not privy to her surprise either. You both sat at the kitchen table, turning your attention away from whatever she was doing, but hearing the freezer door open and shut and a plate hit the countertop. She opened and closed a few drawers in search of something, but eventually gave up with a huff. 

“Okay, I don’t think you guys have any candles, but…you get the idea.” she says, walking towards you with the plate. “Oh wait! Where’s your lighter?” she asks, reaching her hand out. 

You lean over, shoving your hand in your pocket to retrieve the item, presenting it to her in the palm of your hand.

“Okay…” she says, flicking it open and producing a flame. “We’re just going to pretend, okay?” she says as she hovers the lighter over the plate, which holds a slightly frozen piece of bread, soaked in milk, sprinkled with sugar and pinch of cinnamon. A birthday cake. You felt your heart clench, as you realized that this is probably the first birthday cake you’d ever had.

You swallowed down the lump in your throat as your eyes met hers, the flame flickering as it reflected into her eyes. She began to softly and nervously sing, “Happy birthday to you…Happy birthday to you…Happy birthday dear Jake…Happy birthday to…you…”

You couldn’t help the tears that began to well in your eyes, trying your hardest to fight them away as you nodded your head feeling more shy than ever before. “Th-thank you.”

“Blow out the flame…” she pauses, “Make a wish.” her eyes were locked on yours and as you stared at her you could hardly tear your eyes away. Had anyone ever cared this much? The soft orange glow from the small flame lit up her entire face, and her smile was warm and genuine. She wasn’t doing this because she had to, she was doing this because she wanted to. For you. 

As you let your eyes take sight of the dancing flame you knew exactly what you wanted to wish for. But should you? Wishes never came true anyways, right? What would it hurt?

You swallowed, and took a deep breath, blowing out the flame as she let the familiar sound of the metallic lid flick shut. You made your wish, even though you knew you shouldn’t. She placed the plate in front of you and presented you with a spoon. “Happy Birthday, Jake. I know it’s not much, but–”

“Thank you.” you interrupted, reaching for her hand and holding her soft fingers in yours. “It’s more than I’ve ever had.” you say truthfully. Your eyes flick over to Daniel, who is grinning as he watches, nodding his head in approval. You look back at her, squeezing her hand before letting it go, even though you really didn’t want to. 

She walks back over to the freezer, grabbing two more plates she had prepared earlier in the day, and two more spoons. She placed a plate and spoon in front of Daniel, as he squeezed her hip in thanks, before grabbing her own and sitting down at the table with you. It was quiet as the three of you enjoyed your little dessert, in a solemn but happy moment.

“Did you… know that cinnamon is my favorite?” you ask, breaking the silence. 

“No, I just…My mom…she used to make this for me when I had a bad day at school, or if she knew I was feeling sad about something. Always said a pinch of cinnamon was her special secret ingredient. Kind of became a comfort thing for me. I know it’s not really the same as a real birthday cake, but it’s what I could do. I just wanted you to have something…” she explained, almost as if she felt guilty for not doing more. 

“Y/N, this is more than I ever expected, more than I’ve ever had. We’ve ever had. Danny will back me up on this.” you said, nodding towards him. 

“He’s right. This is…special for us. No one’s ever cared.” he smiled at her, brushing his knuckles against her arm. 

“Thank you for thinking of me. Made my whole day.” you said, offering her a smile. 

“You’re welcome, Jake.” she said sweetly. You watch her bite her lips together, and you almost think there's more she wants to say, but she quickly looks back down to her plate, scooping her spoon into her dessert. 

Daniel stands from the table and puts his plate into the sink, “I’ll be right back, okay?” he said, running his hand over her shoulders as he made his way down the hallway. 

You hear the front door close and realize it’s just the two of you now, and you let your eyes nervously flick up to look at her. She’s staring off into space, probably still thinking about her mom or maybe the last time she had this. Again you find yourself unable to look away from her, that is, until she looks back at you. 

“Jake?” she asks. 

You swallow thickly, “Yes?”

“Can I ask you a question?” she pauses, “And you tell me the truth?”

You bite your lips together, and let out a breath through your nose, “I can try.”

“If those guys get to me somehow…Are they going to hurt me?” she asks, eyes searching yours. 

“Honestly, yes. Probably.” you answer, seeing panic shoot across her face. “But I’ll never let them.”

“You swear?” she pleads. 

“Between me and Danny… No one is layin’ a finger on you. I promise you that.” you say confidently, knowing that for certain.

She nods her head and looks down at her plate again, swirling her spoon through the melted icy milk. “Thank you…For looking out for me and everything. I know you didn’t sign up for all of this.”

You place your hand on top of hers as it lies on the table, gently squeezing her hand, silently reassuring her that she’s no burden to either you or Daniel. Your mind wanders off to the visit from Joey the other day, and you wonder if her fears really are warranted. Would they take her? Would they hurt her? But more importantly you wonder if they knew that you threw the game the other night. Surely they had to be getting suspicious after so many wins. Would they use her to send a message?

Suddenly she stands from the table, grabbing her plate and yours before walking over to the sink to wash them. You watch her as she does it, trying to block out the bad thoughts swirling through your mind as your eyes focus on the sway of her hips. 

She dries the plates and puts them back in the cabinet, hanging the kitchen towel from the stove handle as you watch. She turns back to you and rests her hands on the back of a chair. “Think I’m gonna go take a shower, and go to bed.”

You stand to meet her, mimicking her stance as you push in your own chair. “Okay, Daniel will be back soon I’m sure. But hey, I just—thank you again…for all of this. I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you did that. I don’t think anyone’s ever sang me happy birthday before. If they did I don’t remember it…”

She smiles and steps forward, wrapping her arms around your body, and pulling you in for a surprising hug. You’re stiff for a moment, unsure of the last time you really received a genuine hug from anyone, but once the shock wears off, you feel a warmth spread through your chest and a tingle in your stomach. Her head is pressed to your chest, and you can smell her hair and her perfume and the tingles in your stomach start to ripple through your entire body at the feeling of her so close to you. You nervously wrap your arms around her shoulders, pulling her in and letting your fingertips memorize the feeling of her skin beneath them.

“You’re welcome Jake.” she breathes into your chest, almost a whisper. Then, all too quickly she pulls away, letting her hands linger as long as possible before breaking away. Acting quickly you grab her hand softly in yours as you pull her back towards you, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek letting your lips linger a second too long. “Goodnight, Y/N.”

You can feel her skin heat beneath your lips as she pulls away, a dark blush tinting her skin as she stifles a smile. You drop her hand and let her step away, shoving your hands into your pockets as she responds. “Goodnight, Jake. Happy Birthday.”

She retreats down the hallway, pausing and offering you one more quick glance over her shoulder before slipping into the bathroom and closing the door. 

—

You could see her face, the orange of the flame glowing onto the apples of her cheeks, the flame flickering and dancing around in the reflection of her eyes. You could see her lips moving, so soft and pink, although no sound came out. You could stare at her like that for hours, just watching the way her fingers gripped your lighter, how effortlessly she pressed the igniter, the way her tongue glided over her lips as she did so. She was gorgeous, and every day you spent with her you began to realize that more and more. 

Black smoke started to gather behind her, thick and dense, you could hardly see her anymore as it crept forward. Soon it completely enveloped her, though she was completely unphased. You tried to grab for her but your hand went right through her, as if she was made of smoke too. You looked around, panicked to know where the smoke was coming from but you couldn’t see anything other than the thick black clouds completely obstructing your field of vision. It was getting harder to breathe, completely unable to take a deep breath as you choked on the smoke filling your lungs. It burned, you could feel it in your chest, taste the ashiness of the smoke on your tongue, but still you couldn’t reach for her, in fact you couldn’t move at all. 

You tried to yell for help, but no sound came out. You could still see Y/N in front of you, smiling as she continued to mouth the words to the birthday song you’d always desperately wanted to hear. You tried to wave away the smoke burning your eyes, reaching for her again, but this time as your hand reached for her she disappeared into the thick smoke, as if she was never there at all. Trying to take a deep breath you choked on the hot smoke, coughing and sputtering as the smoke seemed to completely devour you until all you could see was the darkness.

You shot up in your bed, sweating and gasping for air, pushing your hair off of your face and looking towards the alarm clock on your nightstand that read 3:42am. But that’s when you smelled it. It smelled just like your dream. Was that actual smoke? 

You jumped out of bed, eyes scanning the room for a pair of jeans, pants, anything you could find. As you pulled on a pair of dirty jeans you noticed the flicker of orange glowing through your bedroom window, stepping over to it and flicking open the blinds. You could feel the heat radiating from the crack in the window. Holy fuck.

You bolted out into the hallway, pounding your fist on Danny’s door. “Danny we’ve got a fire! Get the fuck up!” you yelled. You quickly grabbed your shop keys, running out to the garage, and flipping on the lights. They began to buzz to life but you could hardly hear it over the sound of your heart pounding in your ears. You ran to the opposite side of the garage, sliding into your work boots as you grabbed the old, dusty, fire extinguishers from the storage rack. You heard the shop door swing open, and you whipped your head to find Daniel pulling a shirt over his head. 

“The fucks’ on fire?!” he yelled.

“Somethin’! Smell woke me, saw the flames from my window! Open the bay door, and grab the hose! Y/N!?” you called out. 

“She’s coming! She’s calling the fire department.” he answered, pulling the metal chain as quickly as he could, watching the garage door fly up. 

“Oh motherfuck it’s my fucking shed!” he yelled, running towards the flames.

You ran after him, pulling the pin on the extinguisher, but you knew from the looks of it, that your small extinguisher would be no match for this blaze. You tried anyways, knowing that hundreds of dollars worth of parts and materials sat in that shed, even a few spare bikes. This would be a total loss for him. 

He grabbed the hose, spinning the spigot and letting the water spray against the vicious flames in a feeble attempt to quell them. You could hear the fire truck in the distance and felt thankful that Y/N had the clarity of mind to call them, while your first instinct was to try and fix it yourself. Though, that was kind of how you lived your life. How could you depend on anyone but yourself?

“Danny, back up!” you yelled, the roar of the burning shed almost deafening. He ran towards the shed, nearly burning himself in the licks of the flames.

“I can’t I gotta– I gotta get my bikes… My tools–” he stammered, knowing in that moment exactly what he was losing. 

“I’ll fucking replace them! I can’t replace you! Get the fuck back!” you screamed, seeing Y/N rushing out to you from the corner of your eye. You were sweating from the heat, sweat falling in streams down your chest as you tried not to breathe in the thick smoke filling the air. 

“What happened!? What’s happening?!” she cried, running up behind you. Daniel walked over, throwing the hose to the ground in defeat as the fire truck pulled into the gravel lot. 

“I think we’re bein’ sent a message.” you answer.

“Message received, loud and fuckin’ clear.” Danny said, grabbing Y/N, and wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

The firefighters piled out of the truck, running the hose to the hydrant at the front of the property. Within seconds the water was pummeling the flames, making quick work of a seemingly out of control fire. In a way you felt relieved that it was only a parts shed, and not your full garage, and you knew it would take a little bit of time for Daniel to come to that same realization.

—

They worked the fire until it was just a dripping mess of blackened rubble and ash, the three of you watching on as the light of the day started to peak over the horizon. As Daniel talked to a firefighter, Y/N walked over towards you, leaning her shoulder into yours as you both stared off towards the smoking shed. 

“You should go get some sleep…” you say, nodding your head towards the house. “We’ve got this.”

“No, I’m not leaving you two to deal with this alone.” she insisted, as her eyes met yours. “I feel like this is all my fault.”

You shook your head. How could she think this was her fault?

“This wouldn’t have happened if my stupid car hadn’t broken down. If I hadn’t stopped here and intruded into your life.” she scolded herself. 

Your hand brushed the back of hers as it hung at your side, “M’kinda glad you did.” you admit quietly, offering a shy grin. 

Her fingertips grazed across yours as she turned to face you with her own nervous smile, “I guess I kinda am too. I wanted an adventure, right?”

You felt your chest grow warm as you nodded. “That you did.” you pause, watching the sun start to rise. “Really, go back to bed. I promise we’ll be fine out here.”

“Dunno if I’ll be able to sleep with all of this goin’ on. Been a little bit on edge lately. Not sleeping too well. Especially…by myself.” she admits, almost seeming a little embarrassed. 

“Just try? We’re right out here, and if you can’t…I’ll… send Danny in for a little while, and I can clean up.” you answer, swallowing the lump in your throat. 

“And… if I’d rather your company?” she breathed, hesitantly.

You huffed out a nervous laugh, licking your bottom lip before biting them together. You grabbed her hand in yours, giving it a gentle squeeze in place of words you knew you couldn’t speak. She seemed to understand as she nodded her head again, and looked at you for a second before walking over to Daniel whispering in his ear. Your eyes met hers again as she made her way back to the door, giving you one last glance before disappearing into the house. You knew you and Daniel had a lot of work to do to clean this up before you could move on with your day, and once you got the okay from firefighters, it would be full steam ahead. 

—

So what, was this a war declaration?

You stood outside smoking a cigarette in the early morning light, watching as tiny puffs of smoke still rose from the ashes of his shed. 

But why? A war on what? You already owed them so much money…what more could they want?

You tossed your cigarette to the ground, stomping it out before walking toward the piles of smoldering rubble and ash, kicking around to see if there was anything you could save. A few old tools, a metal stool, and some more expensive parts that he had locked in a box looked like they might have survived. 

Why the fuck does Teddy hate you so much? Constantly doing everything in his power to make your life a living hell…and you have never done anything in retaliation. He was just a bully that lost the love of his life twenty-some years ago, and you’re the product of his heartbreak. Like you could fuckin’ help it. Ace ended his own life…what else did he want?

You let the water get extra hot as you scrubbed away at the parts you were able to salvage, watching as the dirty, soapy water spun down the drain of the shop sink. You felt like the fire that burned last night was now burning in your chest, a madness brewing that you’d never felt before. How dare Teddy catch your property on fire, the son of a bitch…

You felt horribly for Danny losing all these parts and tools, most of them he’d collected since he was a kid, before he even made his way into you and Ace’s home. One day you would replace them all, one day you would pay him back…

“What’re you doin’?” Danny’s sleepy voice broke you from your thoughts. 

“Ah, just found a few things that looked salvageable. Gettin’ some of the soot off.” You shook the water from your hands as you set a tin box on a towel beside the sink. 

“Thanks, man. You didn’t have to do that…” Danny rested his hands against the deep sink, seeing what else you brought in. “Shit, did you sleep at all last night?” Danny asked through a harsh yawn. 

You scrunched your face. “A little. In and out, mostly. Kept wakin’ up.”

“Me fuckin’ too.” He huffed. “Y/N hasn’t been sleeping good either. Up and down all night.”

Your brow furrowed as you think back to just a few days ago, and how peacefully she slept next to you. “Hmm…probably the stress of everything…”

“Yeah probably.” he pauses, “Man, I applaud firefighters, though. That shit was exhausting.” You let a little laugh escape your chest, knowing the best medicine for chaos was to laugh your way through it. 

You watched as Danny fingered through the pile of tools in the sink. “You know what we gotta do, right?”

You nodded solemnly. “Fuck. Yeah…we gotta call Oscar. Need this motherfucker paid off and off our backs.” 

“You really think he’ll stop once we pay him, though? Swear he does this shit for sport now…”

He had a point. Even after paying Teddy all of your dad’s debts, would he ever really stop harassing you? Probably not… you wagered. 

“Gotta fuckin’ try somethin’. Got a bit more involved these past few days, hasn’t it?” You raised your eyebrows to Danny, gesturing back to his bedroom with your eyes. 

“Yeah…yeah it has. Gotta get her to Atlanta, man.”

——

You let your finger dial the rotary, while the other one intently followed the phone number off the card. You took a deep breath as you pulled the phone up to your ear, listening to the tone ring out. Danny sat in Ace’s chair, leaning in closely to listen to the impending conversation. You tapped your fingers nervously on the desk as you heard Y/N downstairs scrounging up something for breakfast. 

“Talk to me.” The voice on the other end finally picked up. 

“Hello, yeah, I’m calling for Oscar, please.” Your eyes darted anxiously to Danny. 

“Who’s ringin’?”

“Uh, Jake, from…Ace’s Garage…”

“Oh. He’s been expectin’ yeh. Hold on.”

Your eyes widened again as you whispered to Danny, covering the speaker with your palm. “We’re 100% sure we wanna do this, right?”

“Fuck yes!” He whisper-yelled, throwing up a fist to your face. “I swear to god, Jake, if you bitch out…”

“Jacob, nice to finally hear from yeh. Have a little time to think about my proposition?” Oscar’s voice was the exact same as it was at the saw mill. 

“Oscar, yes, hello. We um, we did have some time to think…b’lieve we wanna give it a shot.” You felt your insides churning with nerves. But you’d never let Danny see it. 

“Excellent, excellent. Got an arrangement down in Kirksville day after, think you might want to get on the bill?” You realized he was probably speaking in rounds to keep suspicion from anyone around him, or anyone listening…

“Kirksville, only about three hours away.” You glanced to Danny as he nodded his head up and down so quickly you thought he was going to break his neck. 

“Yeah, yeah, we can be there. Just give us details.”

“Wonderful, eh? I’ll get yeh a room at the Cosby Motel, my treat seein’ as how you’re my newest friends. Check in under my name by 4 o’clock. Once’t you get there, I’ll have further instruction.”

“Okay…Cosby Motel 4 o’clock…” you gestured for Danny to write it down. “Anything else we need to do?”

“Just start hydration’ now. Fuel yourselves up. And don’t be out back fightin’ each other, now, yeh hear? Don’t need you busted up and ugly for your debut.”

“Yes, got it got it.” 

Debut?

“Okay, see you then. Oh, and Jacob?”

“Yes sir?”

“Heard about the action last night. Sorry to hear about that. Hope yeh know I’m here to help combat that sick son of a bitch ruinin’ lives, you understand me, son?” Oscar’s voice got quiet, an almost whisper. “That’s one thing I do not and will not tolerate, someone ruinin’ lives just for the sake of ruinin’…”

“Ah, right. We aren’t happy about it either. Could have ended up worse. ‘Least no one was hurt. Then I’d be the one burnin’ shit down.”

“That’s right, kid.” You listened as Oscar erupted into a deep, hearty laugh that lasted all of ten seconds before he finally calmed down. “See you boys soon.” 

With that, you heard the click of the phone hanging up on the other end, before pulling yours down to the receiver with a clack. Danny’s excited energy was radiating from him. 

“Kirksville?”

“Kirksville.”

——

The loud whining sound of the air impact drill echoed through the bay as you attempted to get a tire off an old Mustang, your mind clouded with thoughts about the fight. Like clockwork, Danny must have felt your anxiety, as he came barreling over to your side of the shop, two beers in hand. 

“How the fuck we gonna break it to Y/N that she has to come along with us?” He wasted no time in asking as he cracked them both open, handing one to you. 

You let the impact drop to the ground, having been wondering the same exact thing, on top of the million other worries rolling through your mind. 

You shrugged, taking a long drink. “Just gonna tell her, I guess.”

“You think it’ll be that easy?” he huffed, “Not sure if you’ve noticed, Jake, but she’s a bit of a fire plug. What she says goes, if you know what I’m sayin’...” Danny side-elbowed you as he made the insinuation. 

You pushed the visual of her being in charge at all in the bedroom far from your mind, letting logistics take over. 

“I don’t need to hear ‘bout that, Daniel. Look, she already knows she has to basically be a stowaway here, anyway…shouldn’t be that hard to tell her she’s still safer with us even if we’re not here. This place ain’t a fortress, we learned that last night.”

You made a good point, knowing that if she stayed here alone, they could just as easily catch this place on fire, too. “Last thing we need is to get a phone call that this place is on fire, and she’s missin’.” 

Your stomach turned over at the thought of her being three hours away from you, here…all alone, without your protection. But why did you care? You don’t care…she’s just passing through…

“Yeah, but we can’t ask Oscar to accommodate her, too. We don’t have the money for an extra room, Jake.” Danny argued. 

“But she does. Fuck, if she wants to get her own room, so be it. But somethin’ tells me she’ll be shackin’ up with you that night, anyway, hm?” You gripped the wheel of the tire, ripping it from its hold to begin taking the brake pads off. 

Danny breathed hard through his nostrils. “What about this place, huh? Losin’ two days’ work, we can’t afford that…”

“Been thinkin’ that, too. Let’s see how this goes, if we wanna stick with it, then if not maybe we can find some help. Geraldine told me there’s a drifter in town lookin’ for mechanic work. She didn’t tell him about us right off the bat ‘cause she knew we couldn’t afford him. Maybe after this, we could.”

You watched as Danny’s gears began turning, his fingers working over his peach fuzz as he thought about everything. “Alright, yeah. Alright.” His fingers padded against the hood of the Mustang before he resumed what he was doing across the bay. 

You both worked silently for a bit longer before Y/N emerged from her morning bathroom routine, hand-drying her hair with a towel. She sat down in a lawn chair, flipping open a newspaper and kicking back. You eyed Danny, silently saying now or never before you both made your way to join her. 

“Oh shit, what’s wrong?” She asked suspiciously. 

“Nothin’, nothin’…we just wanted to tell you we called Oscar earlier, and gave him our word we’re goin’ ahead with a fight…” Danny explained. 

You watched as she bit her lips in before folding the newspaper on her lap. “Great. And?”

“And…you gotta come with us, Y/N…s’in Kirksville day after tomorrow.” 

She nodded. “Figured as much. On my way to start my new life and get sucked in to this fuckin’ mess…” 

Whoa, you didn’t expect her to be this upset.

“Y/N, we didn’t ask for this either, it’s been a fuckin’ whirlwind and you just got here four days ago…” you interrupted. “This is somethin’ we have to fuckin’ do, okay? We’re not exactly out here living like royalty…”

“Can’t I just stay here? Bubba can come check on the place…” 

“Y/N! They set a goddamned fire last night! To our property! They’re threatening us, don’t you get it?! This isn’t just some fun little side-gig, this is real fuckin’ money that we need, okay? If we don’t do this, we could end up losin’ a hell of a lot more than a storage shed and some spare motorcycles…” Danny raised his voice. 

You watched as she closed her eyes, understanding the weight of what Danny said. And he was right. 

“And I guess you forgot, but they have their eye on you too, Y/N…I’ll be damned if I leave you here alone…” Danny ordered. You could see the worry in his eyes. 

“Yeah, and you don’t wanna be away from us for two days, do you?” You winked at her, gently punching her shoulder to lighten the mood. 

She grinned a little, raising her hands up. “Yeah, yeah. I’m sorry, you’re right. Just…a lot going on I didn’t expect to be a part of…”

“It’ll go by quick. We’ll be back before you know it, the parts will be here for your Scout, we’ll get it fixed, and you can be on your merry way to Atlanta.” You could hear the dismay in Danny’s voice at the thought of her leaving. “I'm sorry you had to be a part of all this.”

You glanced at Danny, running your hands across your coveralls. “Yeah, we’re sorry, Y/N.”

“It’s kinda funny, you showed up and our world kinda turned over on itself. Maybe you’re a good luck charm.” That one earned Danny a sweet smile from her, the glimmer in her eye making your heart rate spike. 

God, she’s…really pretty…

“I’m gonna go upstairs and reschedule our next two days’ appointments to next week. We’ll close up shop and leave Saturday mornin’.” You tried to pull yourself away from the situation, feeling that if you looked at her one more time, you would start feeling that strange feeling again down deep in the pit of your stomach. “Gonna pull some cash from the safe for gas to get us there and back.”

“Anything I can do to help?” She asked, throwing both of you off. 

“Uhh, no, I don’t think so…” Danny stopped in his tracks, spinning around in confusion. 

“Figured all I do is sit around all day, could make myself useful and clean up the shop or somethin’.” She offered, immediately walking over to grab a broom that had been leaning against the wall for probably the last six months. 

You shrugged to Danny. “Feel free, babe.” The word naturally slipped from your mouth before you could even catch it, but Danny didn’t even seem to notice. She gave you a sly smile over her shoulder as she began sweeping. Fuck, you haven’t called someone ‘babe’ in years…

“Just uh, just watch the grease and oil, it’ll stain your shoes…”

“Oh! I’ve got a pair of old boots in the Scout, I’ll be right back.” She walked to the wall and grabbed her keys off the hook. “Ya know, I can’t believe you guys are making such a drastic career change from mechanics to fighting and crackin’ heads….”

You huffed out a laugh. Ha! Crackin’ heads. 

If she only knew…

Wait. Stop. 

“Hey, what? What did you just say?” You felt like a million light bulbs went off in your mind, ringers and buzzers and flashing lights galore. 

She stopped in her tracks. “Uh, mechanics to cracking heads?”

Oh my god.

You ran to her, unable to stop yourself from grabbing her face in your dirty hands, planting a giant kiss right on her cheek. 

You pulled back, holding her surprised face in your hands. “I don’t hardly know you, but I think I love you.” Your words came out as loud, forced mumbles as you dropped her face and ran to Valor, ripping the old tarp off the top.

“Whoaaaa, you what now?!” Danny yelled. “Did you just say you—”

“Yeah, Danny. If I find what I think I’m gonna find, yes, I love your girlfriend. And fuck, I’ll tell her again, too…” you were simply about to burst with joy. Please…please let this be it… come on, Ace…

You popped the hood, immediately going to your rolling tool kit to pull it your way. You worked fast, faster than you’d ever worked before. It felt strange, working on Valor sober. You could see. You could feel…nothing clouded, nothing slipped and forgotten about…no bad memories being thought about through teary eyes…

You felt Danny and Y/N join you on either side as you kept working, clawing away at exactly what you were looking for. 

“Daniel, bring me the light…”

He jumped up, switching the hanging light on before bringing it to you. 

“I’ll be damned…” you mumbled. “I’ll be damned!”

You jumped from under the hood, grabbing Y/N with force again as you shook her shoulders. 

“What? What, Jake?” She chided, concerned about your sudden excitement. “What the fuck is going on?!” 

You felt yourself smile, positively beaming at her. It hurt your face muscles to smile that hard. And you weren’t sure you’d smiled that hard in years. 

“She just told me what’s wrong with Valor.”

—

“A cracked head?! Are you fuckin’ serious?!” Danny leaned down into the belly, readjusting the light to see better. 

“I swear to god, man…look…”

“Son of a bitch…that is it, baby!” You could tell Danny was overcome with excitement too, as he picked up Y/N around the waist, lifting her into the air and twirling her around, having no regard for how dirty he got her. 

She squealed as he spun her. “Put me down! Put me down!” She laughed. “And explain to me just what the hell I said?!”

He set her back down on the floor, and she walked closer to lean inside. 

“Look…” you paused. “Right here… The wall between cylinders 2 and 4 have a crack between ‘em. Compression has been bouncing back and forth between the cylinders making it run like shit. I tried everything, so did Ace…Could never figure it out. Checked timing, checked fuel pressure. Fuck I even checked the compression… it wasn't horrible but it wasn't great… fuck how did I miss this!?” You explained, knowing she probably didn’t understand, but she was trying. 

“So just now, you said crackin’ heads and…it clicked. I pulled the head of the motor and finally found the crack in the cylinder…right there, see? It’s tiny, but it’s there. Normal compression runs like, 130 and I was only gettin’ 60 psi. Fuck. I shoulda checked that years ago…”

“I have no idea what you just said but I believe you.” She laughed. “So, what now? You can fix it? We can take it to the fight?”

“Nope. It’s fucked.” You said, crossing your arms. “It’ll need a whole new motor…” 

“Wait man, why don’t we just pull a motor from a scrapper? Won’t take us a day…” Danny suggested, motioning out to the lot of cars.

You nodded as you peered back down inside. Something so damn small…over seven years of searching…

“Yeah…yeah let’s fuckin’ do it…” 

Y/N didn’t know it, but you wanted to kiss her cheek again. Hug her, even. Worship her big beautiful brain. You were elated…filled with so much relief. Yet again, because of her.

“Seven fuckin’ years, Ace…”

——

HER POV

You can almost feel the energy radiating off of Jake as he zips around the shop, collecting parts and talking himself through a mental checklist. His boots are heavy against the concrete floors as he walks back and forth grabbing tools and depositing them on the ground in front of the car. You stood nervously watching as Daniel joined him, putting on a pair of coveralls, and zipping them up to his neck. 

“Gonna go grab an engine stand, need anything else from the back?” he shouts towards Jake, who is digging through his tool box. 

“Yeah, grab some engine flush, and a bottle of coolant if you can.” he replies, letting his eyes catch sight of you before offering you a sly grin. 

How did your silly little comment tip him off? 

You hear the wheels of the engine stand rolling its way through the garage, then you see Danny walking up with the bottles in his arms and one hand steering the large metal frame. He parks it next to Valor and sets the bottles down, before leaning into the side of the car. “I’m thinkin’ we pull it from that old Biscayne.”

“Shit, either that or– Isn’t there an Impala out there?” Jake counters, standing up and wiping his hands across his coveralls. 

“Yeah, the Impala had that timing issue, remember?” 

“Oh fuck, yeah you’re right. Yeah, the Biscayne has the same block, let’s see if we can pull it. I grabbed the spanners and the breaker bar, just gotta grab my socket set.” he ponders, looking around the messy state of his tool box. 

The two begin to make their way out towards the gravel lot, rolling the engine stand in front of them as Jake carries all the needed tools. As their feet hit the rocks, Jake turned around motioning for you to join them with a smile, “Let’s go miss brain, we need your help.”

—

You stood back watching as they finally broke the motor free from the long abandoned Biscayne, attaching the hook to the chain wrapped around it, and praying the engine stand would bear the weight. Jake crawled out from underneath the old car, covered in dirt and dust, but with a smile on his face nonetheless. “Alright, jack ‘er up.” he said, dusting off his pants. 

Daniel spun the arm, and slowly but surely the engine rose out of the car. Jake used all of his strength to roll the stand away from the car as the engine gained enough height to make the clearance, but the gravel was making the job a bit more difficult than it needed to be. Daniel stepped in and with both of their muscles behind it, the wheels began to spin and the engine began its journey to its new home.

By the time the stand made its way to Valor, Jake and Danny were both winded and sweating, taking a second to catch their breath before repeating the exact same process with the motor still resting inside of Valor.

“Fuck, you ready to do that again?” Danny joked, earning him a laugh from Jake. A sweet sound you hadn’t heard too much of before. You noticed a dimple appear in his cheek, as he turned to look at you, and the glimmer of happiness in his eyes was magnetic.

He looked back to Daniel, who was cranking the arm of the engine stand, guiding the motor to the floor before unhooking the hook from the chains. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

—

Much of the day had been spent pulling the engines from the two vehicles, a few regular customers stopping in for quick oil changes or something of the like. You made yourself busy around the shop, tidying small messes here and there before finding your way into the house to see what you could do in there. You made the two a quick lunch, delivering it out to them as they held bewildered looks on their faces at the gesture. 

“What, you two never seen a sandwich before?” you laughed, handing them the paper plates.

They both shrugged and took the sandwiches, and they were gone before you could blink. You let your legs carry you back inside, cleaning up in the kitchen as the sounds from the garage echoed into the empty house. 

Hours passed as they worked steadily placing the motor into Valor. Jake underneath the car, while Danny worked from the top. You could hear the muffled chatter between them, and you were positive you’d never heard Jake talk more than he had in the past few hours. Danny seemed to enjoy it as the conversation flowed between the two of them endlessly, where previously it was a word or two every few hours. 

As the sun was long past set you slipped into the shower, letting the hot water wash away any worries plaguing your mind. You grabbed the soap from the ledge, twisting it between your hands to a lather, before washing yourself, and realizing that it must be Jake’s since it didn’t smell like Danny at all. Your eyes flashed around and saw the shower gel, lifting the lid and being hit with the scent of Danny. The two could not be more different from each other, you thought. Opposite in nearly everything except their loyalty to each other. 

You quickly washed your hair, and reveled in the comfort of the hot water before spinning the knob and reaching for a towel. You wrapped it around yourself, and rang out your hair before stepping out of the tub. You could hear talking in the kitchen as you opened the bathroom door, the steam spilling into the hallway as Danny popped his head around the corner. 

“Dinner break?” you asked, quietly padding into the kitchen. A smile spread across Danny’s lips and Jake stopped mid bite as he saw you. You blushed a little as you saw his eyes scanning over you, before quickly looking away. 

“Yep, got a little bit left to do, then I’ll be in, okay?” Danny said, placing his hand on your hip. 

You nodded your head and pulled your wet hair to the side before making your way back down the hallway and into Danny���s room. Your heart was pounding out of your chest as you shut the door behind you, thinking of the way Jake studied your body. You realized he was probably a little taken aback, having never seen you, like that. You wish you knew what he was thinking. Was he thinking the same thing you were thinking? 

You pulled a t-shirt over your head, and slid on a pair of panties before climbing into Danny’s bed, a guilty feeling washing over you for even thinking of Jake like that. You grabbed your book from the floor and found your page, letting the words transport you to another place where things weren’t so uncertain.

You weren’t sure what time it was when the sound of the bedroom door shutting woke you from your sleep. Your eyes cracked open to see Daniel stepping towards his dresser, hair dripping with a towel around his waist. You swallowed harshly as you took in the sight of him, still glistening from the steam of the shower. He dropped his towel, putting on a pair of dark colored boxers, before running the towel through his long waves, drying it just enough to get into bed. He tossed the towel over the closet door and pulled back the sheets sliding in next to you as you put your book on the floor and turned off the lamp. 

“You showered?” you croaked out, a thin smile on your lips. 

He grabbed your hips and pulled you in to him, “Mhmm…started gettin’ used to doin’ that now that you’re here with me. Wanna smell good for you.” You felt his face nuzzle into your neck as his hand slid under your t-shirt, resting over your ribs. 

You twisted in his arms, soaking up his body heat. “Mm, well you do smell good. You guys get it finished?” you ask, voice still sleepy.

“Almost, still got a fair share to do. Think Jake’s still gonna work on it for a bit.” he answers, letting his eyes close. 

“Can’t believe my stupid joke helped figure it out.” you giggled. 

He pressed his lips to your forehead, “I know…Our little lucky charm, guess we gotta keep you around.” he hummed. 

“I don’t feel like I’m very lucky. Look at what’s happened since I showed up.” you countered with a laugh.

“I don’t know. I, for one, feel very, very lucky.” he says, letting his hand trail further up your shirt, his thumb dusting over your nipple as his lips trail down the side of your jaw. You arch your chest into his touch, giving him the go ahead to touch you again. He palms your chest as you feel his dick growing hard against your stomach. 

He pulls away from you just slightly, looking into your eyes before attaching his lips to yours. He rolls your nipple between his thumb and forefinger, letting his tongue lick into your mouth. Your hands that previously rested on his bare chest, have now found new placement as you stroke him through his boxers. He whines into your mouth before pulling away from your lips dragging his teeth over your bottom lip.

“I wanna fuck you, baby. I swear I do. But I’m so fuckin’ tired.” he admits with pleading eyes. 

“I know. Just kiss me again.” you beg, and in seconds he complies, letting his hand slide down your torso, to cup your heat over your panties. His lips are soft and warm against yours and if you could live in this moment, surely you would. It’s you who pulls away though, brushing his damp hair out of his eyes as he savors the taste of you lingering on his lips. 

“It’s okay…Go to sleep, it’s been a long day.” you whisper, watching his eyes close in relief. 

“Hey…” he breathes. 

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for agreeing to come with us. I don’t think we could have left you behind even if we wanted to. I know I couldn’t.” He pulls you close to him, resting your head on his chest as he rubs circles into your shoulder. 

“I wanna take you on a date, soon. A real one. Once I win my fight and become a zillionaire…take you someplace special.” You felt the low vibration of Danny’s sleepy voice rumble in his chest as your head rested on his breastbone. “Show you that I’m not someone you have to run from…like that asshole ex of yours. Still good ones out here, Y/N. Wanna show you I’m one of them.”

His words made you melt into a puddle and want to cry at the same time. It wasn’t often, you’d found, that Danny let his tough-guy guard down, a trait you’d noticed he shared with his brother. 

You huffed a tiny giggle as you readjusted your head to press your lips to his bare chest, leaving tiny kisses from there and up to his throat. “Where you gonna take me?”

He then laid a sweet kiss to your forehead, a gesture of true care he hadn’t shown you yet, until now. It made your body flood with the sweet flow of  endorphins, and you were sure you might disintegrate into a million pieces if it weren’t for his arms wrapped tightly around you. 

“M’not sure yet. But I’ll think of something, if you say you want to go with me…”

“Of course I do, Danny. Wherever you want.” You answered honestly. You suddenly felt an overwhelming feeling of protection envelop you, like you could lie here in his comfort forever if it meant you never had to feel the pain of heartbreak ever again. 

You hardly knew this man at all, either one of them, for that matter. But effort was a two-way street, and though the situation was so intensely twisted into a predicament you didn’t expect to find yourself in, he had already shown you more effort than Peter ever had. Jake, too, if you were being honest. 

You breathed through a deep yawn, and it wasn’t  long until the two of you were slipping off into your dreams, tied up and fighting off each and every intrusive thought that passed through your mind as his hand gripped hard into your thigh. 

—

The metallic sound echoing through the walls woke you from your broken sleep. Your eyes flick to the clock hanging on the wall reading 6:08. God, was he already out there?

You slowly slipped from the warmth of the sheets, doing your best not to wake Danny who was completely passed out next to you. You pulled on a pair of Danny’s boxers from his pile of clean laundry, and silently made your way out into the hallway. After a quick stop in the bathroom to pee and brush your teeth you found yourself wandering out to the garage. You opened the shop door as quietly as possible, which wasn’t too quietly as it squeaked on the hinges. 

Jake rolled out from underneath the car, looking exhausted and filthy, but completely and utterly overjoyed. He sat up and looked in your direction, wiping his hands on the chest of his coveralls, before standing to meet you. 

“Jake…Have–Have you been out here all night?” you ask in shock. 

“Dunno. Guess so.” he smiled, placing a hand on his hip.

“Well is it almost done at least?” you ask. 

“Mm…No, not really. Still got more to do. Engine is in, just gotta flush it out, add new fluids, all that.” he says, reaching for his cigarettes in his chest pocket. Realizing the carton was empty, he mumbled under his breath and tossed the empty carton towards a trash can. 

“You have to sleep eventually, you know…” you said playfully.

“Who needs sleep when you’ve got nicotine?” he winks.

“Well, you, since your vices have run dry.” you banter back.

He smiles, and maybe for the first time ever you’re rewarded with the sight of every perfect white tooth in his head. “You think you’re funny, don’t you? Standing there condemnin’ me in Danny’s underwear…” he laughs, shaking his head.

“You wanna do me a favor?” he asks, his voice rich with persuasion.

“Maybe…” you answer, twisting your fingers together.

“Go in my room, in my dresser, top drawer on the left, grab me the pack that’s sittin’ there?” he asks, running his dirty fingers over his chin hairs. 

“Mmm, what’s in it for me?” you press.

“Well…” he pauses, leaning on the front of the car. “You don’t have to squeeze between Daniel and I for a three hour car ride, for one.”

“And who said I wouldn’t enjoy that?” you quip, walking off towards the door to retrieve his cigarettes. 

You quietly make your way back into the house, slipping into his room and breathing in the smell that was so perfectly him. You open the dresser drawer and see the pack of smokes sitting there next to his boxers, a small black notebook, and a familiar piece of folded paper. You grab the carton, and beneath it you find a pack of cinnamon gum with a few pieces missing. You swipe a stick and pop it in your mouth, letting the familiar, comforting flavor quell your morning hunger. 

You make your way back out into the garage, finding him leaning up against Valor with his ankles crossed and his arms crossed over his chest. He raises his eyebrows to you, flashing you yet another smile as you approach. You extend your hand out, offering him the carton of cigarettes as his eyes flick to your mouth. “You stealin’ from me, sweet thing?” he smirks, tapping the carton on the heel of his hand. 

“Borrowing…” you jest. “I’m out of my own cinnamon candies, didn’t think you’d mind, but if you want it back I’ll gladly give it to you.” you challenge, throwing him a raised eyebrow and a flirtatious smirk.

He sucks his teeth and shakes his head, mumbling something indiscernible under his breath, turning back towards Valor, stopping and doubling back as if he’d changed his mind and wanted to say whatever it was, but again he just smiled and shook his head.

“So you really think we’ll take her out to…Wherever we’re going? Kirksville?” you ask, shifting your weight on your hip, biting your bottom lip between your teeth.

He flicks his lighter on, holding the flame to the tip of the cigarette hanging from his lips, taking a long drag and blowing the smoke behind him. “Mmhm…God willing, baby.”

You could tell the pet name slipped from his lips before he could stop it, and you felt your insides melt as it swirled into your ears. He didn’t seem too mad about it, as he took another long drag from his cigarette, holding it between his tattooed fingers, flicking the ash to the ground. You could hardly peel your eyes away from him as you watched the way his lips wrapped around the smoke between his lips. You felt positively drawn to this enigma of a man, and in this exact moment you were pretty damn sure he was feeling it too. 

Baby…

Yeah, you could get used to that. 

—

DANNY POV

“Daniel, you’re pacin’. You never pace. You ain’t got somethin’ to fix over there?” Jake muttered as he balanced on one leg with his head in V’s belly. 

“Sorry, man.” Your nerves were shot. Normally you could handle things like this. You stayed cool, calm, and collected when it mattered, but your nerves about finally getting Valor running, your excitement about the fight, and the fact that you were developing a crush more serious than any other you’d had before, you felt like you were about to jump out of your skin. “You sure you don’t need any help?”

“No, I’m good. The hard part’s done…” he twisted a socket wrench a few times before giving you a side-eye. 

“Sorry. Just…antsy.” 

“Well go be antsy with that oil change on the Cadillac. You’re making me nervous.” You listened to him hiss a breath as you begrudgingly heeded his demand, flipping your baseball cap around backwards as you trudged back to your side of the bay. If he really fixes this car… mmm. You simply couldn’t wait to spin the tires hard on the pavement, leaving a black trail behind you as you kicked her sideways. Cars were something of a kink for you, the sound of engines revving and the feeling of the wheel in your hands was enough to get you going in more ways than one. And you weren’t too shy to admit it. 

You climbed back under the lift, and busied your mind with the oil change, watching as the thick brown liquid poured into the drain pan. You breathed a sigh, waiting for the tank to empty. You glanced over to the doorway and found Y/N leaned against the threshold, watching both of you intently. You motioned with your eyebrows for her to look to Jake, giving her a knowing smirk saying he’s almost got it. 

The last of the oil dripped down into the pan, and you set it on the floor below you. Just as you came back out from underneath the Caddy, Jake hopped off his step stool, taking a step back as he wiped his hands on his towel. 

You and Y/N made your way over, standing in the line of Valor as Jake bit his cheeks in. “Did you get it? Think she’s good?” You chirped. 

“I think…I think so…” he mumbled, pulling out his cigarettes and lighting one up. “You start her. I can’t do it.”

“Yeah you can, Jake. You have to, she’s your baby.” You argued, knowing that he should be the only one to do the honors. 

Jake took a quick deep breath. “Ace’s baby. My unwanted older sister that was always in trouble…” he joked as he slowly walked to the driver’s side door, flicking his still-burning cigarette to the floor as he stepped inside. 

You moved in closer to Y/N, letting your fingers flutter against hers as you both waited in anticipation. She gave you an excited smile, probably physically feeling the nerves rushing through your body. 

Jake’s movements were slow and calculated, cautious though he had literally turned the key in Val’s ignition a million times. He closed his eyes as she roared to life, the sound of the pistons firing loud, bouncing off the concrete walls. He peeked one eye open after she ran for ten seconds or so, of which you returned with a thumbs-up. So far, so good. 

Another ten seconds passed with the low purring sound sitting steady as ever. He had both eyes open now. He slowly brought both of his soiled hands to the wheel, gripping it tightly as you watched him swallow. The final test…

He moved his foot to the gas pedal, pressing gently at first, giving it just the tiniest bit of gas. When it held steady, he pressed harder, revving the engine to work a little bit harder. Still sounded smooth. His eyes finally met yours as he neared hitting the metal, a smile creeping to his face as the loud sound nearly deafened you. 

You couldn’t help it. The excitement was enough to make you physically jump for joy, so you did. Fist to the air, you jumped to the driver door as Jake let off the gas, listening to the engine calm back down to idle. 

“That’s fuckin’ right!” You yelped as Jake jumped from the seat, the same look of pure elation written all over him. “You did it!” He wrapped both arms around you, gripping you tightly as you jerked each other around with harsh pats to each others’ backs. 

When you finally released, you ran to Y/N, wrapping her in a giant celebratory embrace, too. “I’m so proud of you guys!” She squealed. 

You watched as Jake moved to face the front of the car, flipping the engine off with two middle fingers. “I figured you out, you beautiful ol’ bitch!” He slammed the hood closed, and leaned down on it. He took a few seconds, savoring the sound of the purring engine, a sound Ace had been trying to achieve for way, way too many years. 

Finally. 

He whipped his towel from his back pocket as he made his way back over to you and Y/N. 

“Fuel, air, and fire, baby. That’s all she needed.” He said, eyes flicking to Y/N’s then to yours as he clamped an appreciative hand to Y/N’s shoulder; you both knew if it weren’t for her, he probably would have never made the realization. Or in his case, realizations. “Let’s celebrate.”

The three of you made your way to the liquor cabinet to find the appropriate libation to mark the day. You left Valor running, and you were positive that if Jake could have his way, he’d let the sound of the engine be his lullaby as he drifted off tonight. 

—

“Got everything ya need?” You asked Y/N as she trudged back from her Scout, kicking up dust as her boots carried her toward Valor. The late spring air was blowing a sweet-smelling morning breeze, and you felt like there was a change in the atmosphere. Positivity was springing from your every limb and extremity, and though deep down you were nervous as all get out, your confidence in yourself trumped it tenfold. 

“Think so…” her tone indifferent as she pulled the leather backpack from her shoulder and tossed it into the backseat before climbing in. You let yourself adore her tight-fitting cutoff Levi’s, paired with a raglan shirt. She made herself comfortable as she began digging through her bag, pulling out a pair of aviator sunglasses and placing them across her face. She’s so fuckin’ cute…again, how the hell did you manage to bag this one?

You moved to the shotgun seat and Jake wasn’t far behind, throwing his own bag and small cooler on the floorboard. “Jake, you agree…the best thing to come outta the 70’s was chicks deciding against wearing bras at all, yeah?” You grabbed the top of the door frame of your rolled-down window, turning to give Y/N a playful smirk. 

Jake laughed along and he turned the key over, hearing Valor purr to life again with a few revs of the engine. He nodded, “Yes, siree, Debbie Harry knew what she was doing. I think we should burn them all.”

You watched as Y/N embarrassingly crossed her arms over her braless chest, sending you a snarl of her nose as you threw your hand back over the seat to grab hers. “M’just teasin’, baby. You’re gorgeous all the time in whatever you’ve got on.” You reassured her. 

Jake backed the car from the lot and onto the hardtop, ready as ever to take V on her maiden voyage with her brand new engine. “Alright, you mean old thing, let’s see if you still got it…”

You gripped the frame again, bracing yourself for what you knew Jake was about to do. He gripped the gearshift, shifting it quickly as he hit the clutch, sending Valor flying forward quickly already, and she was only in first gear. When the engine idled out, he shifted again, picking up speed as he raced to the bottom of the hill. You felt your stomach turn over with excitement, your jaw clenched together as you felt the rumble and vibrations in the seat below you. 

“Ahhh! Jake slow the fuck down!” Y/N yelled from the back seat, but he didn’t listen. He shifted again, forcing your back into the leather seat as he took off again at top speed before shifting down to a reasonable speed to make the curve at the bottom of the hill. 

“Did you just accelerate down a hill you fucking wild ass?!” Y/N leaned her head forward between you as she hit Jake across the shoulder. 

He was smiling ear to ear, that familiar smile you’d seen him sport fairly often these past few days. “Son of a bitch she’s still fuckin’ got it!” 

You could feel the excitement radiating from the both of you, from Valor herself, and from the watchful eye of Ace, wherever in the universe he had ended up. Keep looking after us, Ace. We’re making progress…

After a few quiet minutes on the freeway after you’d marked your route on the fold-out map, Y/N spoke up from the back seat. “So since you both felt the need to comment on my lack of undergarments, tell me. Danny, are you an ass man, or a boob man?”

Your jaw fell slightly open as she posed the question, making you feel a tad intimidated. You sucked your teeth as you lowered your sunglasses to look at her. “You sure you don’t already know the answer to that?”

She met you with her chin in the air, arms still crossed. “I sure don’t, enlighten me.”

You turned back around to face front, letting out a huff. “Consider myself a boob man, I think. Chest, shoulders, all of that region, just…” you circled your hands over the entire area you spoke of on yourself. “It’s my favorite to look at.”

“Mhm. And Jake, what about you?” She asked him, making him readjust himself in his seat as he let his cigarette burn down to nothing. 

He blew out the remainder of his last inhale, the wind whipping through the rolled-down windows filling the cab with the smell of his Lucky Strikes.

“Ass man. Definitely.”

“Really?” You asked him. “Never would have guessed that.” 

“Ass man, hmm?” She pestered. 

“Mhmm. Ass, thighs, hips… all shapes and sizes. Never encountered one I didn’t want to meet…” he chucked his cigarette out the window as you glanced back to Y/N, the look on her face full of some type of surprise. “I read once that women store stress in their hips, and I dunno how true that is, but I like to think I’m pretty good at helping to relieve it.”

Damnit Jake, stop with your fuckin’ smooth dirty talk…gonna get my girl all worked up in the backseat…

“Is that right?” She muttered. “What, with like a hands-on deep-tissue massage?” she taunted.

“Mm, you could call it that, I guess.” He laughed as he glanced at you. “Just take out the tissue part, and replace hands with—”

“Alright, Jake we get it, fuck.” You interrupted him. 

He let out a boisterous laugh, this side of him and his sense of humor becoming familiar to you again. You hadn’t seen this Jake in years. You watched as she sucked her tongue over her teeth, crossing one leg over the other as she cleared her throat. “Alright. Noted, I guess. Anyway, here.”

She was handing you an 8-track over the seat. “Springsteen?” You asked questioningly as you slipped it inside the player. 

“Ah, fuck. Not that guy…really, Y/N? I thought you liked the good shit…” Jake teased as he rolled his window up a little bit. 

“He just put this out a few months ago, and he’s a hell of a musician, Jake, for your information. Just listen to this…” 

You pushed play, turning the knob up a bit as the heavy harmonica sound and light acoustic poured from the speakers. Everyone in the car went silent as the lyrics began, even you feeling a sudden solemn and reflective feeling. You could picture you and Jake recreating this exact song…harmonica and guitar…that’s all it was…

The sweet song came to a close, and you watched as Jake swallowed his words. “Alright, that wasn’t bad, I guess. What’s the album called?”

“Nebraska.” She answered stoically. “I’ve played it nonstop since I walked in on Peter—”

You took a quick look behind you again, watching her move closer to the small window, placing her chin in her hand as she stared at the passing scenery. 

You finished out the album without another word passing through anyone’s lips the entire time, except for Jake at the very end as the tape clicked off. 

“Flip it, and play it again.”

—

The Cosby Hotel was definitely a step up from the motel back home…two stories with an actual parking lot, a fresh coat of paint, and every light surrounding the vacancy neon in working condition. The check-in lobby looked clean and well-kept, green turf carpet lining the walkway where the sidewalk ended and luggage carts parked outside. 

“Well, at least it doesn’t look like serial killers live here.” Jake said as he pulled the car into the parking lot. The both of you stepped out and made your way to the entrance, keeping an eye on the sleeping Y/N parked right outside. 

“Hello, room under Oscar, please?” Jake said quietly to the man working the front desk. He was about your age, chipper and happy and welcoming as he looked up the reservation. 

“Yes sir, one second.” The man disappeared to the back before returning promptly with two keys on a ring and an envelope. “Room twenty-six. Hope you have a wonderful stay, let us know if there’s anything you need. Oh, spare sheets and pillows are in the closet for the pull-out bed.”

“Thank you, have a good night.” You responded with a wave as you and Jake turned to leave, both of you eyeballing the envelope in Jake’s hand. 

“What is that?” You asked as you quietly got back into the car. 

“Not sure…” he unfolded the flap to find a handwritten note inside. It was the seven digits of a phone number. 

Call me.

-Oz

You both gave each other a look as he backed out to pull around to the side lot, choosing a spot right in front of your room. You turned around to find Y/N curled up in the backseat still sound asleep. You stepped out and pulled the seat forward, nudging her a little to wake her. 

“Hey, sleepyhead, we’re here.” She peeped her eyes open as she got her surroundings, stretching a little as she sat up. 

“Shit, when did I fall asleep?” She asked through a groggy voice. 

“Oh, about halfway through the third play of Nebraska.” You laughed. “Come on, we gotta get going.”

The three of you made your way toward the room, letting Jake open the door to find a large room equipped with a queen-sized bed, plush couch, large TV and separate bathroom. “Shit, it even has a mini-fridge!” Jake exclaimed as he threw his bag onto the couch to go over and inspect it. 

You chuckled as you flipped on the lights, finding the decor to be a bit posh, and you knew immediately this place would have been way out of your price range had you gotten it yourselves. It even smelled nice. You felt Y/N press against your back as she slipped inside behind you, darting to the bathroom first thing. 

“Sorry boys, gotta go!” She pranced off to the bathroom while Jake ripped the envelope from his back pocket, motioning for you to join him at the phone. 

“He’ll recognize your voice.” You said. “You go ahead.” 

Jake picked up the old beige phone, dialing out Oz’s number. He pulled it away a bit so you could lean in, listening as well. After a few rings, the other end picked up. 

“This Oz.”

“Oz.  It’s Jacob. Just wanted to let you know we just got into the room.”

“Jake! Hello, boy. Good ta hear you made it safely?”

“We did, and thank you for the room…it’s, it’s real nice.”

“Not a problem, not a problem. Listen, I’m gonna give you some specific instructions, you ready?”

“Yes sir, ready…”

“Go eat dinner now. Diner down the road if you head East about a mile n’ a half. Lots of protein and starches, you hear? Fill yourselves up. And drink water only. Take a rest. You’re to drive to the very end of Halstead Street and park at the abandoned white building. Walk around the back and down the hill there ‘til you meet the old factory. The basement door ain’t hard to find. That’s where the matches will be tonight. Knock three times on the door, tell them you’re with Oz. 11 o’clock sharp, got it? Comfortable clothing, no jewelry. You’ll be barefoot. And you boys both got that long hippie hair, don’tcha? Tie it back.”

“Halstead Street, white building, find the factory basement. 11:00. Got it.” Jake relayed back to him, looking to you for a nod of confirmation. 

“That’s it, boy. And listen, attitude is half the fight, you hear? Come in like you’ve done this a hundred times before. Don’t wanna see you wide eyed-and bushy tailed and embarrassin’ me, you got it? There is some money to be made here, tonight, boys.” Oz spat, followed by his extremely long guttural laugh. 

You grinned hard as you covered your mouth and fought to laugh along with him. “Yes sir, got it.”

“Go eat. I’ll see yeh there.” And without a goodbye, Oz clicked the phone. 

Jake breathed a sigh as he hung up the phone, giving you an exasperated look of panic mixed with excitement. Just then Y/N emerged from the bathroom with her hands on her hips. “You guys hungry?”

—

After an early dinner that followed Oz’s specific instructions, and a few hours’ rest back in the hotel, darkness started to fall as the time grew closer and closer to 11:00. 

After a few episodes of Hee Haw, Jake shot up from his place on the couch, jumping up and down and rolling his neck. 

“I dunno man, should we stretch? Go for a warm-up run? I’ve never done it like this before. What do we do?” His words fell without punctuation, and you could tell the nerves were creeping up to him just the same as they were you. But you held steady in your cool exterior. 

You heard Y/N laugh through her nose at him. “Chill out, Jake. It’s gonna be fine.” You tried to calm him. “I’ve never fought planned, either. We’re gonna have to pretend we’re doin’ this on a whim.”

You watched as he shook out his limbs and sat back down on the couch. “I don’t know why I’m nervous, man. I’m never nervous.” He put his face in his hands as he rubbed his eyes. 

“I’m nervous too. But it’s gonna fly by. Just pretend you’re fightin’ me.” You tried to reason, feeling the anxiousness literally radiating from him. Y/N slithered in behind him, looking at you as she began to knead her hands on his shoulders, trying to loosen up his nerves. He closed his eyes and took a second, recentering himself as she dug her thumbs into his neck. 

“We ain’t even there yet, and I’m actin’ a damn fool.” Jake mumbled. 

Y/N glanced at you again with sympathetic pity in her eyes. “No you’re not. I’m ready to see my dinner again, if I’m bein’ honest.” You laughed, the nerves making your stomach turn. “Y/N, you’re comin’ to watch… right?”

You watched as her hands slowed on Jake’s shoulders. “Yeah, I am. I mean, if you want me to, at least—“

“We want you to.” Jake interrupted. “Be good to have a friend in the crowd, eh Danny?” He gave you a tiny wink. 

Jake patted his hand against Y/N’s in silent appreciation for the massage, standing slowly and reaching into his back pocket. “Oz didn’t say shit about no smokin’, though, did he?”

—

10:50pm.

The air had gotten cooler as the night fell, and before you knew it the three of you were parking Valor in the lot of the old white building… the tall, abandoned factory looming directly behind it. There were a few other sporadic cars parked here and there, but not enough that made you think this was going to be some big event. Thank god. You squeezed your fists together and popped your fingers and wrists, rolling them around as the nerves turned into excitement. 

You caught up with Y/N after locking up the doors of Valor, Jake not being reluctant at all in his decision to let you drive. 

You slipped her hand into yours, the heat of her palm immediately making you feel a hundred times better. It was a strange thought, and it was so new that you hardly believed it, but her touch felt more like home than any place you had ever inhabited. No home with a cozy fireplace, no seat of the fastest motorcycle you owned, not even the arms of all the women you thought you loved felt better than just the touch of her hand. 

You looked down to her to find her hair wisping around in the breeze as the three of you hurriedly walked toward the back of the building, her sly but reassuring smile making you swoon. It was silent, no noise, music, distant conversation…it hit you then how underground this really was. It had to be, with all of the money involved, right?

The smoke from Jake’s cigarette floated back and hit you in the face, and you breathed it in deeply. The smell grounded you, the familiarity bringing you back down to earth. He’s here with you, you’re here with him. Everything is going to be fine. 

“You got your piece?” You asked him, watching as the cherry of his cigarette burned a bright orange as you walked. 

“Mhmm.” He patted the back of his old blue jacket, his safety-blanket of a clothing item that was ridden with cigarette burns and dirt, the grease stains still present from when it belonged to Ace. You weren’t sure Jake had ever washed it. 

Of course you brought a weapon. A new town, unknown people…hell, you’d only met Oscar once, and you didn’t even get to have a conversation with him. Of course you brought a weapon…

10:54pm.

You neared the back of the building and spotted what had to be the basement doors, and you felt Y/N squeeze your hand as you got closer and closer. 

Before you knew it, the old, heavy metal doors were in front of you, and you heard the very faint sound of men talking inside. “Here goes fuckin’ nothin…” Jake said, banging his fist hard three times on the door. He stepped back and shoved his hands in his pockets as the three of you waited for an answer. 

Within seconds, the door pushed slightly open to reveal a giant man, husky and looming as he eyed you. 

“Y’all Oz new recruits?” He asked, the only visible part of him was his gangly hand holding the door open. 

“Yep, that’s us.” You said matter-of-factly, watching as he peeked out enough to see Y/N cowering a bit behind you. 

“You bring a cheerleader?” He quipped. 

“Yeah, she goes where we go.” You said with as much candid confidence as you could. 

“C’mon. Oz’s room this way.” He motioned you inside through the dark hallway, the only light in each room you passed a singular light bulb hanging from the ceiling. Random men crowded the hallways, and you instinctively walked ahead of Jake, pushing Y/N behind you as Jake fell in behind, sandwiching her between you. 

You followed him around corners and crowded rooms full of old machinery and dusty equipment, nodding to each shady man you passed as you creeped through. The air was dense, and you could smell the remnants of some type of oil that was probably used to grease all the moving parts of whatever machinery this was. 

11:00pm.

Finally you were ushered into a better-lit room, pushing through a few more guys as you walked further inside, finding Oscar seated at a desk he had commandeered. His feet were propped up as he reclined in an old metal desk chair, his fedora hat tipped backwards as he puffed on a cigar. 

When he saw you, he perked up, interrupting the conversation he was having with a few other men when he recognized you. “Hey, my new favorite fellas!” He stood from the chair, quickly making his way to stand in front of you. “Right on time, boys. Right on time.” He shook each of your hands as he said hello, inviting you further into the room to sit. It didn’t take him long, though, to notice there weren’t just two of you. 

“Ah, and who do we have here?” He asked, holding his hand out to Y/N. 

“My name is Y/N, pleasure to meet you Mr. Oz.” She spoke sweetly, her voice laced with honey. The concern on his face switched quickly to a genuine smile as she shook his hand. 

“My, my…it ain’t often we get a pretty face to bless our presence at these things, eh boys! And a firm handshake, I respect that, ma’am. Nice to meet you, likewise…likewise…” Oz laughed hard again. “You positive you wouldn’t like someone to escort you to another place where you don’t gotta be seein’ these two get riled up?” He asked her. 

She pondered for a second, glancing to each face in the room before she spoke. “No, sir, I appreciate that, though. Believe I want to be here from start to finish with them, if at all possible. Doesn’t bother me to see a little blood.”

You thought you were going to have to convince him to let her be around, but it looked like she was doing it herself. 

Oz’s eyes widened at her confidence, and he tilted his head back in his infamous cackle again. He brought her hand up to lay a quick kiss to her knuckles, only breaking away to continue his hearty chuckle. “What the lady says, goes, fellas? You hear me?” He grinned ear to ear as he looked to his confidants lining the walls of the room, earning him nods of obedience his way. “Someone get her some champagne…” he snapped his fingers in the air as one man escaped through the door, apparently going to fetch her a drink. 

You looked quickly to Y/N, in complete and utter disbelief that she had won over Oscar in under a minute. And you thought that was going to be a struggle…of course he already liked her…her bubbly personality had won over yet another man…her gorgeous looks were just the icing on the cake. 

Within seconds, a flute of champagne was placed in Y/N’s free hand, and you could see her hesitation to accept a drink from a stranger. Like clockwork, Oz stepped in. “Sweetheart, I notice your restraint in taking things from strangers, but I can assure yeh, though we may appear to be no-good wrongdoers who only go out at night, I run a professional outfit, though it may be underground. You can trust each and every man in this room, baby. You hear?” He shifted his gaze to you and Jake, biting the tip of his still-burning cigar between his teeth. “We ain’t here to fuck around, we’re here to make money. Win matches, and make money. You do good for me, I do good for you, ain’t that right fellas?” 

A collective “Uh huh, yes sir, sure is.” fell in mumbles from the men lining the walls as they all agreed. 

“And you’re in my house. My house, my rules. Simple as that. If the rules aren’t followed, the consequences follow, right boys?” Another collective sound of agreement. 

“So go ahead, sweetheart. Have the champagne. We’ll keep ya flute full all night, if that’s what you prefer.” Oz reassured her as he eyed her down. She pondered another minute, and you squeezed her hand still wrapped in yours. She shot back the champagne glass, finishing the drink off in a few short gulps, her eyes never leaving Oz’s. 

Oz clapped his hands together. “Alright, boys. Shall we gather at the ring? Time’s a wastin’, forty-five minutes till the bell.”

You let Oscar lead the way out of the crowded room, following in behind the hoard back out into the dark hallway. It hadn’t quite hit you yet that Y/N had just taken on the responsibility of an inkless contract, showing her trust in Oz at her own expense… not yours, not Jake’s. With the tip of her flute glass, she signed away your fate, putting her trust completely in the hands of Oz. She showed him that if in fact they had messed with her drink, they’d then have to feel the wrath of you and Jake, and that wasn’t something they wanted to do this early in the game. Not ever…and Oz knew that. He knew that the minute he watched you fight in the dirt during the poker game. 

The deal was sealed. There was no turning back, now. 

—

11:36pm.

The room suddenly filled with more bodies, the same type of shady characters that lined the hallways now began filing into the large middle room, also more well-lit, taking their places in rusty chairs and on dusty work benches left behind from the failed factory. 

Oz pulled you and Jake to the side as he began wrapping your hands in white tape. “Listen here. Gonna be 5 bouts t’night. Two before y’all. One afta. Daniel, you’re up first, Jacob, you’ll be directly after. Now I don’t know these boys, we call this an amateur fight, few other of my constituents who run these kinna’ contests bring about new guys just like you, see what you’ve got. This ain’t the big leagues, yet boys. You hear? Trial runs, trial runs…” you both nodded as you listened to him, trying your best to keep eye contact as your feet stepped side to side below you.

“Look at me, boys.” He said lowly as he finished up the last wrap of your hand. “They’s $200 a piece in y’all pockets tonight whether you win or lose…guaranteed. If you win, an extra $300 goes on top. Lose, $200. Win, $500. Ya got it?” You both nodded hard to show you understood. 

He placed one hand on either of your cheeks as he brought you in, looking you both in the eyes. “I see somethin’ in you boys, both of yeh. I know you ain’t gonna disappoint me, you wouldn’t disappoint me, would yeh?” You both shook your heads, halfway terrified to disagree with him. 

“I know y’all got yourselves in some heavy debt  from that dirty son of a bitch Teddy. I wanna help, I’m here to help.” You both nodded, murmuring sweet appreciation to Teddy as he stepped backwards. “Help me help you, boys!!” He pointed both fingers your way. 

12:00am.

A man dressed in a leisure suit walked by you, the same man who brought Y/N her champagne from earlier, and dutifully refilled her glass she held onto so tightly now. She gave him a nod of thanks as he scurried away to the next task. Oz sure ran a tight ship. 

The three of you stood ringside as you watched the first bout of the night, a whirlwind of swings and steps and kicks, growls of menace and disapproval from the men who placed their bets from the sidelines. You felt wide-eyed as you watched them brawl under the dull lights strung above them, eyes already swelling as they both became panting, sweaty messes of exhaustion. 

You glanced to Jake, standing still with one arm crossed against his bare chest while the other hand spun at his mustache. You knew he was still nervous. “Jake, you alright over there?” You mumbled watching his eyes flash around. 

His jaw clenched as he nodded. “Yep. ‘M fine.” But you knew he wasn’t. 

You wrapped your arm around Y/N shoulders, pulling her in a little as you all continue watching from the shadows. “Oz will be in our corners, givin’ us all the advice we’ll need…it’ll be alright. This will be nothin’. We got this in the fuckin’ bag.” You we’re trying to convince yourself as much as you were trying to convince him. 

The referee held one man’s hand high in the air as he stumbled around, blood pouring from his nose while the other man lay writhing on the floor beside him. “Winner!” The ref yelled, and a few men along the sidelines cheered. 

You swallowed hard as the two men were escorted off the raised mat, ready to be tended to by whoever would help. The mat was cleaned and dried, ready for the next round. And then you were next. 

“Daniel!” You heard Oscar call from a few yards away. He motioned with his hand 3 minutes, then pointed to the ground next to him. You nodded that you understood. You felt your heart rate rise and your face get hot as you began trying to psych yourself up, bouncing on your feet to get the blood flow going. You pulled your hair back again and re-tied it tightly, wanting to keep it from falling in your face for as long as possible. 

Three minutes. 

While you watched Jake busy getting in his own head as he paced around, you took a second to talk to Y/N, the look on her face an expression you hadn’t seen in her yet, except maybe the night of the fire. 

You turned her toward you, leaning down and grabbing both her hands in yours, wrapped up and mummy-like in your tight white wraps. “Listen to me, I don’t want you to worry, okay? This is going to be shit to watch. Just try to tune it all out, walk away if you have to…same during Jake’s fight. We’re not forcing you to watch anything you don’t want to.” She nodded again, and you grabbed her face, putting another sweet kiss to her forehead. 

God, what is this woman doing to you?

“You’re gonna be fine…you’re gonna be fine, Danny. Both of you.” Her hands found your wrists as you squeezed her cheeks, your breathing picking up as the time dwindled. 

“Tell me, Y/N…tell me you’re my girl. I need to hear it…” you spat out, without even thinking it through. Her look turned to confusion, she was unsure what exactly you were asking. Hell, so were you. 

“I’m not asking you to be my girlfriend, Y/N, just…tell me you feel this too…whatever it is…” you breathed again, motioning to the air between you. “I haven’t felt like this ever before, Y/N, a-and, it feels good, okay? It feels so good…I…I really like you. A lot. Just tell me you feel it. That’s all I wanna hear. That I’m not crazy…”

You were cut off by her lips crashing to yours, heated and sweet as they cut your rambling sentence in half. You could have cried, her gesture telling you all you needed to know before she pulled away, taking your face in her hands now, bringing her lips close to your ear. “I feel it too, Danny…” she whispered before lowering herself off her tip-toes. 

“But you are a little crazy, look what you’re about to go do…” she winked one eye closed, gushing a little as you both laughed at the situation. You brought her in again, breathing in the smell of her hair. 

“Shame we’re sharing a hotel room tonight…really wanna fuck you again…” you felt the smattering of her hair against your lips as her body tensed in your embrace. 

“Yeah, been thinkin’ about that, too…” her face blushed as you stepped away, looking to Oscar. “Go kick ass, baby.”

JAKE POV

You walked up behind Danny, reaching up to place your hands on the back of his shoulders. “Yeah, go fuck him up, Daniel.” You said, squeezing his traps. 

You watched as he leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to Y/N’s cheek, and bounded away toward Oz. You huffed a sigh as you took your place next to her, steadying your feet as you prepared yourself to watch. 

“You guys seem awfully cozy. You in love or somethin’?” You asked, more teasing than really wanting to know. 

She scoffed, folding her arms across her chest. “Shut up, Jacob. No, we aren’t in love…”

“Mmm, he’s pretty taken with you. I can see it in his eyes. I would know…” you explained, truthfully. 

She didn’t have much to say, just stood awkwardly as she watched Oscar whisper hard into Danny’s ear. “I really like him, too, Jake.” She finally uttered. 

You nodded, your heart sinking a bit. “I know you do.” You heard the referee yell something as Danny and his opponent stepped into the ring. “You gonna break his heart?” 

That one earned you a quick snap of her head. You loved getting her worked up. “What? Why would I do that?”

“Because I see the way you look at me… I’m not stupid, Y/N.” 

Was it risky? Yes. But there was something about her that made you want to shout from the rooftops, all your insecurities finding you before they knocked down the walls you built. She was destroying them, and fast. 

“Don’t be ridiculous, Jake…” she scoffs.

“I’m not. And I know I’m not making it up, either.” 

Just then, the shrill sound of the bell went off, and the referee signaled for the fight to begin. Danny wasted no time in undermining his opponent, a thinner guy about Danny’s height, with nowhere near the muscle or agility that Danny naturally had. 

He laid an immediate low blow to his ribs, the sound of his knuckles cracking radiating through the room. His opponent retaliated with a sharp hook to Danny’s eye, lowering him to a quick crouch before he stood again, returning with the same motion. They were wailing on one another, going blow for blow as they stumbled around the ring. 

Immediately you felt Y/N move closer to you, taking your hand in both of hers as she squeezed tightly. Her nerves had finally sunk in. Danny delivered a blow to the guy’s jaw, sending blood flowing into the air as he spun. Cheers erupted from half the crowd as they patted their hands on the mat. That last blow caused his opponent to fall to one knee, and Danny seized the opportunity. He tackled him to the floor and into a semi-headlock while the man rolled and tumbled. Danny wrapped his legs around him, effectively stopping his every movement while Danny continued lighter blows to the man’s face where he could. 

“Fuck, is he winning? Is he winning Jake?” She spouted, obviously feeling overwhelmed. 

You watched as the opponent’s eyes began to slowly flicker closed as Danny held him between all his limbs. 

“Yes Danny!” You screamed. “Hold him there! Hold him!!” 

You watched as Danny squeezed with all his might, his jaw clenched hard as his nose poured with blood. You could tell they were both exhausted. It was mere seconds before the man gently tapped on Danny’s arm around his neck, only seconds away from passing out. An immediate win. 

“Yes! Yes yes yes!” You jumped and spun in the air and Y/N crouched down in disbelief. Danny released the man and stood, helping his opponent shakily get to his feet. The referee held Danny’s arm into the air, his body already black and blue from the fight that barely lasted two minutes. 

“He won! He won, Y/N!!” You ran to her, lifting her into the air and kissing her cheek as you spun. For the tiniest split second, you felt her hair fall onto your face as you held her above you, watching as the elation grew on her face. Your faces were so close that you felt her breath, dripping with the essence of champagne, savoring the taste of it on your tongue before placing her back down on two feet. 

Oscar dashed to the middle of the ring and grabbed Danny up, walking him down the steps and to an old metal folding chair. The two of you rushed to him in a whirl of congratulations and quiet squeals of happiness. 

“Fuck yeah, Daniel!! Fuck yeah!” You shoved his shoulders back as he sat down in the chair, wincing a little already. He was breathing heavily as his hair fell out of the tight knot he had wrapped it in. He tried to smile through his already swelling lip and eye, a bit too dazed to comprehend what had just happened. You were all overjoyed. 

“Your turn now, brother.” 

And before you knew it, Oz was whisking you away to the mat.

DANNY POV

“You did it, baby! You did it!! I’m so proud of you!” Y/N was squatted down to be even with your face, pulling the strands of hair back as they stuck to your sweaty, bloody face. 

“I fuckin…did, didn’t I?” You breathed through labored breaths. One of Oscar’s men was immediately at your side with wet cloths and drinking water, dabbing away at your wounds while your eye began to steadily swell closed. Y/N’s hands felt like hot coals on your shoulder and knee, as you both had no choice but to watch Jake go through the exact same thing you just had. 

His opponent was a bit bigger, though. Had about a foot on him, and definitely more reach. You sucked in a quick breath of disappointment, knowing that he was going to have to fight for his life out there. You watched as they shook hands before the referee stepped between them. 

“Fuck, Danny. That guy’s huge…” Y/N mumbled. 

“No shit…he’s got it, though. He knows how to fight a guy that size, because he knows how to fight me. I taught him how to counteract someone with reach.” It hurt your lip to talk. 

The bell rang again and you watched as the man went right for Jake’s jaw, leaning forward with the strength of a thousand fists. You scrunch your face up, waiting for him to feel the blow. But he didn’t. He swerved. Ducking quickly to avoid the blow and instead stepping sideways so the other guy tripped over his feet a little. Jake took the opportunity, laying a quick left-right blow to his ribs, followed up by a kick to the back of his knee, making him stumble again. 

“YES Jake!” You yelled, getting to your feet. You could hear Oscar’s voice overtop of everyone else’s, the crowd quickly erupting into a deafening roar as Jake gained the upper hand off the bat. 

But you knew better. All that did was piss the other guy off. And you were right, when he found his footing again, it was a wild blur of long arms falling and delivering hit after hit to Jake’s face and torso. He tried defending himself, blocking the hits and backing away. 

“Don’t let him corner you! Push forward! Step into it!!” You yelled, hoping he heard you. Jake stepped forward and kicked him again, reaching an arm up to hit him directly in the ear, a guaranteed disorientment for his opponent. He already had red strawberries creeping up on his skin and tiny scratches all over his face and neck. 

The guy was good, no doubt, but he wasn’t as quick as Jake. You watched as he got out from underneath him, pacing away as he turned and readied himself. The fight lasted a while, and they continued well into the second round. You could tell he was tiring out, the look of exhaustion coming over him. 

“Is he okay, Danny? Can he finish this out?” Y/N was standing swaying side to side with her hands in a praying position in front of her face. 

“Yeah, yeah he can. He’s got it.” You responded, turning your attention back right at the second that Jake lurched into him, finding the last little bit of heart he could find to pound directly into the side of the opponent’s skull. He stumbled backward, falling directly on his behind with a thud, followed by leaning over onto his side and rolling to his stomach. 

The referee ran to him, laying down toward him while he wailed with his head in his hands. You watched as the man shook his head from side to side, letting him know that no, he wouldn’t carry on. 

You shot up from your chair, both fists held high as you screamed again, and the place erupted with roars of both defeat and success. The referee held Jake’s hand to the air, shouting “Winner!” over the loud booming crowd. 

“Yes!!! Yeahhhhh!” You bellowed, fighting through your own pain and ailments as Oscar walked him down the stairs to the chair beside you. “Fuck yes, brother!” You attacked him with a big embrace, nearly knocking his unsteady self over as he hugged you back. 

“Ah, the ribs, the ribs…” he muttered, his cheek gashed open with blood pouring. You and Oscar made sure he sat down and had plenty of water to rinse and spit the blood from his mouth. 

“Goddamnit, you didn’t disappoint, boys! Neither of yeh! I’m so goddamn proud!” Oscar was overflowing with pride and accolades as he held your cheeks and faces, looking at you both as if he had just won the grand prize. 

“Jimbo, take care of our fellas, here. Clean them up real good, okay? Have them back to my office as soon as possible. Need to collect their winnins’.” Oscar stood up, being met with ten or so other men in congratulatory embraces. 

And Jimbo did. He unwrapped your hands, gave you water, cleaned and treated your cuts with better treatment than you would get at a doctors office. You glanced over to Y/N as she bit her fingernails, giddy and vibrating with happiness for you. For the both of you. 

Jake was right, maybe she was a good luck charm. 

—

HER POV

It’s mostly quiet on the way back to the hotel, only the muffled sound of the radio as it quietly plays. The loudest is the labored breathing coming from both of the men in front of you. There’s a slight tremble in Jake’s breathing and you can tell that swift shot to the ribs is causing him some major pain now that the adrenaline has worn off. The street lights are flashing in through the windows every few seconds, highlighting the dark smears of blood and bruising starting to color their skin. 

Jake’s left hand hangs awkwardly over the steering wheel, as his knuckles are too swollen to grip it properly. His fingers are twitching from the overexertion, but you can tell he is doing his best to ignore it. His right hand sits delicately on his leg, his hand facing upward as he tries to flex his fingers with little to no avail. Danny seems to be in slightly better shape, his match not going nearly as long as Jake’s had, affording him slightly less damage to his body. 

One particular shot to his face had his left eye swelling, and the sheer force he used to knock the guy out had split the skin on his knuckles. He took a few blows to the ribs, and you could see the purple blooming on his skin only minutes after he left the fight. A punch to the nose left a trail of dried blood on his face, and black spots developing under his eyes. Their bodies were worn down, and completely exhausted, but to them it was worth it to walk out of that building knowing they had proved themselves to Oscar. You were sure it didn’t feel half bad to have a pocketful of cash either. 

Jake struggled to turn the wheel into the parking lot of the hotel, but he managed, taking a deep breath before shifting the car into park. He painstakingly pulled the keys from the ignition and flipped his seat up to let you climb out of the back. You gave him a sympathetic smile as he shut the door behind you, the two of you walking over to meet Danny at the hotel room door. 

As he spun the key in the lock, the three of you entered and the door slammed shut behind you. Your eyes scanned the room for an ice bucket, spotting a vending machine area at the end of the corridor. Danny fell back onto the small queen size bed with a groan, a deep breath releasing from his chest as his muscles began to ache. You grabbed the ice bucket, and walked over towards him as he lifted his open hand to you. You grabbed it, gently holding his tired hand. “You should shower, get the blood off of your face. I’m going to go get some ice so we can ice that eye.” you said, to which he responded with a tired groan. 

You saw Jake out of the corner of your eye, doing his best to pull the cushions from the couch to pull out the stowaway bed. His hands were clearly bothering him, you could tell just from the way he was holding them. You set the bucket down on the dresser and rushed to help him, his eyes meeting yours in silent thanks. The two of you worked to pull the bed from underneath the cushions, unfolding it and watching the thin mattress spring to life. You walked over to the small closet, pulling out a spare set of sheets, and a pillow before making your way back over to the bed. You could see the pained look on his face as he realized he would have to get the bed ready, but what he didn’t know is that you never intended to make him.

You quickly found the fitted sheet and shook it out. You saw Danny stand from the bed, and make his way into the bathroom, turning the shower on to warm up. He shut the door behind him and your eyes met Jakes. 

“Thank you… for helping me. I swear I’m not helpless I–”

“It’s fine Jake. I don’t mind. Really.” you said, tucking the last side of the sheet over the mattress. You threw the flat sheet and blanket over the mattress and fluffed the pillow. “There. All set. I’m gonna go get some ice for you two and I’ll be right back.”

“They have a vending machine?” he asks. 

“Yeah, end of the corridor, Ice and Vending.” you answered. He gave you a soft smile and nodded his head, perching himself on the edge of the bed as he struggled to untie his boots. You slipped quickly out the door, making your way to the ice machine, filling the bucket and the two plastic bags you were allotted. The weather was cool, and the wind felt nice on your skin compared to the sticky humidity in the hotel room. You made the walk back a little bit slower than normal, just enjoying the coolness of the night before pushing the door to your room open. 

As you entered the room, you flicked the latch to let the door close fully. You set the ice bucket and the two bags down on the dresser, stepping over towards the bathroom to grab small towels to wrap them in. Danny was now laid out on the bed in just his boxers, his damp hair creating a halo around his head as he laid there. You could hear the shower running and assumed Jake decided to let the hot water soothe his aching body. 

You grabbed one of the ice bags and wrapped the small white towel around it, as you sat down next to Daniel. “Hey…” you breathed, running your fingertips down his chest. “Should ice your eye. It’s swelling pretty bad.”

He opens his eyes to look at you, giving you a soft grin and grabbing the ice filled towel from you. He places it over his darkening eye, before grabbing your hand and lacing your fingers with his. “I’m glad you came.”

“Why, so I could be your sexy nurse?” you laughed. 

He smiled and shook his head, “No. You were good motivation. Wanted to win. For you.” he admits. 

“Well you did. I’m proud of you. Both of you. Consider me very impressed by your manliness.” you say, rubbing your thumb over his. 

“I don’t know about manly. I feel like I got hit by a truck.” he groans. 

“Used a lot of strange muscles I’m sure. And I hate to say it but I know it’s going to hurt worse in the morning…”

“I know, I know. You coming to bed?” he asked, moving over to the right side of the bed. 

“Yeah. I’m gonna wait for Jake to get out of the shower and make sure he ices his hand, then I’m going to have a shower. I’m sure you’ll be long out by then.” you smile. He nods his head and shuffles himself beneath the stiff hotel sheets, letting out another groan of pain as he settles. 

“If you can stand five more minutes of the ice, you can be done and go to sleep.” you say, standing and walking back over to the dresser. 

“If I fall asleep with it on my face will you take it off? I don’t know if I’m gonna last five more minutes with my eyes open.”

You laugh as you prepare Jake’s ice pack. “Yes, I will take it off. Close your eyes.”

“Goodnight, beautiful.” he breathes. 

“Night Danny.”

It’s less than two minutes before you hear his breathing even out and his hand that was holding the ice bag fall behind his head. You grab your book from your bag of things, and kick off your shoes as you move to position yourself on the left side of the bed. A few minutes later you hear the bathroom door open, and are met with the vision of Jake walking slowly across the hotel room with a towel around his waist. The water is still dripping from his skin, and you can’t help but think that maybe he was in too much pain to really dry himself much more than he did. 

Your eyes travel the length of his tattooed torso, catching sight of a few new tattoos you hadn’t noticed yet. You tried not to stare but the way his skin pulled across his stomach was positively hypnotic. You flipped the page in your book, pretending to read the words on the page, but the truth is that you were studying his every move as he pulled clean clothes from his bag. With his back to you, you were free to look as conspicuously as possible, but as the towel began to sink lower and lower on his hips, your heart rate began to spike. 

You swallowed nervously as he stood up, stepping carefully into his boxers, and pulling them up his legs as the towel dropped to the floor. You felt the tendons in your neck jerk as you caught sight of his bare ass, and as he spun around you felt your face grow hot with guilt of being caught.

Your eyes snapped back to your book as he looked at you. You could see him bend over to pick up the towel, quickly running it through his hair to dry the dripping ends. He tossed the wet towel over the back of a chair, sitting on the end of the bed, with a painful exhale. You closed your book and set it on the bed, standing to retrieve the ice pack you’d made for him. You grabbed it off the dresser as his eyes fixed on you, nervously turning to meet his gaze and you held it out to him. “For your hand.”

He took it from you, letting his fingers brush yours for a miniscule second, before setting the cold towel on his knuckles. You watched him swallow down the pain, as his eyes flicked up to yours. “Thank you.” he paused, tumbling over his words in his mind. “Might have gone a little too hard on the first one.” he smiled, hoping to earn him a little laugh. 

“Worked in your favor.” you said, raising an eyebrow. “Gonna take a shower. Leave that on there for as long as you can, okay?”

“Yes ma’am.” 

—

The room was dark when you stepped out of the bathroom. Just the sounds of Danny’s snoring and Jake’s hard breathing. You hung your towel on the back of the bathroom door, running your hairbrush through your hair as you walked through the room. The room was stuffy, the A/C not cooling the room below 76, so you opted for just a large t-shirt tonight, hoping it wouldn’t be too warm. 

You pulled the sheets back on the bed, crawling in next to Danny and letting out a comfortable sigh. In your peripheral you watched Jake roll over on the pullout bed, the sound of the metallic springs filling the room. You knew it couldn’t be comfortable, especially for how much he was hurting. You’d trade places with him in a second but you knew there was no way he would let you take the worse bed. The sound of the barely functioning AC unit roared to life and you let the whirring sound of the fan lull you to sleep, thankful that you were here to help them out in what little way you could. 

—

Your bladder wakes you, begging for relief. It’s an ungodly hour, probably around three if you had to guess, and you begrudgingly slide yourself out of the bed to cave to the nagging feeling. You hear Jake roll over again, a sigh leaving his lips as you shut the bathroom door to relieve yourself. You wipe the sleep from your eyes as you flush the toilet, hoping it wouldn’t wake either of them. As you pad back through the room you see Jake move to get up, succumbing to his own bladder. 

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” you whisper. 

“No. I’ve been up. Can hardly sleep.” he answers, his voice just as soft as yours. You take a drink from the glass of water on your nightstand as he quickly returns from the bathroom, falling into his bed with a hiss of pain. 

“Jake, please take the bed. I feel so bad.” you plead, walking over towards him. 

“No. I’m fine. I’m just sore. I’ll be okay.” he replies, trying to position the pillow beneath his head. The thin flat sheet laid just over his hip, leaving most of his stomach exposed. You let your eyes travel over his body as you sat in front of him on his bed. 

“I’m sorry that you’re in pain. Wish there was something I could do. I’d do it.” you admit. 

“I’ve been in pain much worse than this. Swear. Don’t want you to be worried about me. Dealt with this shit my whole life, this is nothin’.”

“You have nothing to prove to anybody, Jake.” you said, letting your hand rest on his.

“Do you often quote Maya? Or do you do it because you know I like it?” he asks. 

“What if I say both?” you breathe. 

His fingers move subtly against yours, “Then I’d say don’t stop.”

“Did Danny teach you how to fight?” you ask. 

“You have a lot of questions. How about you answer mine and I’ll answer yours.” he counters. 

“Okay. What’s yours?” you ask, grabbing the melting ice pack from the floor, and placing it on his swelling cheek. 

“Why do you read that Maya book, over and over?” he asks. 

You swallow harshly, unsure if you want to tell him the real reason. “Um…” you pause, trying to formulate your answer. 

“No. Don’t lie to me. I know there’s a reason. You’ve seen my ugly, now show me yours.” he demands. 

“Because her words help me realize that there is a life worth living if I just keep pushing through. Because she’s brave and– and I just keep hoping that if I read the words enough that something will stick and I will find that same braveness buried down somewhere in myself.” you answer honestly, completely unsure if you’d ever spoken the truth aloud. 

“You left your husband, right? That was brave…” he presses, letting out a shaky breath. 

“He was my fiance, we weren’t married yet. And yeah, I did.”

“Sounds pretty brave to me.” he says, his voice comforting the nervous feeling in your stomach. 

“Now your turn. Answer my question.” 

“Yeah. Danny taught me how to fight. We were young, he was fighting every damn day. Think it was because of his foster family at the time. Treated him like shit. Watched him punch a kid in the face, so I asked ‘em if he’d show me how to do it.”

“So, you two have always been this way…” you asked. 

He nodded his head, adjusting the ice on his cheek. “What’d your fiance do?”

The pain was still fresh, you hadn’t even really talked about it to anyone. “He cheated on me with his bookkeeper.” you said, letting your eyes flick down to the tattoo that sat just on top of his ribs. “Tell me about this tattoo.” you said, running your finger over the outline of the dark black spade, wanting to change the subject.

“That one, huh?” he sighs, “That would be a spade for Ace. He had one too. Got it when he died. Spades have been known to represent a few things, and well, when I was reading ‘bout em, I thought it was kinda fitting. They’ve got two meanings. Right side up, marks the end of life, upside down means you’re lookin’ for something. Something just beyond your reach.”

“What are you looking for?” you ask, letting your hand rest over the inked symbol.

“Dunno. Something. It’s out there, whatever it is. I feel it.” he says, wincing as he rolls to his side. Your hand falls from his ribs down onto the sheets and you pull it back to your lap. 

“Hey, thank you for… I don’t know. You kinda fixed Valor. I would have never thought of checking the heads for cracks like that.” he says, a look of genuine thanks in his eyes. 

“Nooo… You would have figured it out eventually, I didn’t even do anything but make a stupid joke. You really should give yourself more credit, Jake. I think you’re smarter than you want people to believe.” you answer. 

“Really? You think that?” he asks, a boyish quality to his voice. 

“Yeah. I do.”

You can tell he is biting back words as his lips twitch, and in this moment you’d give anything to hear them. His swollen hand slides up your bare leg to grab your hand as it sits in your lap. His skin is perfectly warm against yours, and the fire in your stomach seems to be growing from a smoldering ember to a full on blaze. 

“Got you somethin’.” he breathes, letting a sweet smile cross his lips. 

“What? Me?” you question, furrowing your brow. 

“Mmhm. Grab my jeans from the floor.”

Your eyes scan the floor spotting the old Levis crumpled in a pile by his bag. You lean over the bed, grabbing them from the floor and holding them in your lap.

“Reach into the pocket.” he presses. 

You check the front pocket and you feel a long hard foil roll, wrapping your fingers around it and pulling it out. You hold it up in the darkness of the room, trying to make out what it is. A warmth radiates from your chest as the light hits it just right, and you can make out the words. ‘Lifesavers - Cin-O-Mon’

“You got me my cinnamon candy… Where did you– When?” you ask, holding the foil roll in your hand. 

“While you were in the shower. Vending Machine.” he smirks, squeezing your hand.. 

“Jake, you didn’t have to do that…” 

“Wanted my first purchase with my winnings to be something special.” he breathes.  “Nevermind they were only fifty cents.”

You feel your heart twist at the sweetness of the gesture, and that fact that he even remembered you mentioning you were out. “Jake…Thank you…” 

You rub your thumb over his hand, grasping it tightly and pulling it up to your lips. You press a soft, gentle kiss to his swollen knuckles, letting it linger just a little longer than you should as your eyes lock with his. 

“You’re welcome.” the words barely audible as they leave his mouth.

You stand to make your way towards your bed, but as you pull away his hand doesn’t let go of yours. He holds you there, the two of you locked into that moment. He purses his lips together as he blinks slowly, “Goodnight, cinnamon girl.”

A shy smile spreads across your face as his words sink in. Your mind swirls back to just the other night in the garage. Just you and him baring your souls to each other, much like you are now. Cinnamon girl…

“Goodnight, Jake…” his name on your tongue never tasting sweeter than it did at that moment.

He drops your hand and lets you walk over to your bed, but you hear him turn over as you place the roll of cinnamon candies on the nightstand with your book. You slide into the sheets and pull them up over your shoulders, attempting to get comfortable again. You feel Danny wrap his arm around your waist, pulling you in tightly to meet his body, but as you peer over the edge of the bed to the pull out bed across from you, your eyes lock with Jake’s again. The two of you just lay there, staring at each other for what felt like hours, and as Danny’s hand slides down your hip, you can’t help but wish it was the hand that belonged to the brown eyes staring back at you, instead. 

—

When the morning came your eyes sprang open, quickly taking in your surroundings and remembering where you were. You could feel Danny’s warm body pressed against your back as a sheen of sweat covered your limbs. Your eyes caught sight of Jake, still in the same position he laid in as you fell asleep, although this time his bruised eyes were closed and he was sleeping soundly. You wondered how long he continued to look at you after you fell asleep last night, pondering the thought that you’d seemingly slept through the rest of the night after your chat with Jake. Something that hadn’t happened in the past few days. 

You rolled to your back before turning to face Danny, the sight of his face just as bruised and swollen as Jake’s. You lift your hand to gently rub your thumb over his swollen cheek, stirring him awake as his eyes fluttered open. 

“Good morning.” He whispered in a scratchy voice. 

“Morning…How are you feeling?” you ask, feeling his hand grip your hip under the sheets. 

“Don’t think I can complain too much when I’ve got you here like this…” he flirts, letting his thumb slide under the hem of your panties. When you don’t stop him he takes it further, sliding his fingers into the front of the pink fabric, dusting his fingertips across the sensitive skin.

“Danny!” you huff, looking over your shoulder to see Jake still asleep.

“What? He’s out. Can’t hear shit anyways.” he gripes, pulling his hand from your panties. 

“Later.” you offer, and he accepts with a soft kiss to your lips. 

You slide out of the bed, and make your way to the bathroom with your clothes for the day, dressing and brushing your teeth before returning to the bedroom. Stepping through the bathroom door you see Jake sitting on the edge of his bed, putting on his jeans and his boots before standing to grab his shirt. Danny is dressed and sitting on the bed, spinning the car keys on his finger. 

“Ready, baby?” Danny asks, seeing you emerge from around the corner. 

You tear your eyes away from Jake pulling on his t-shirt over his purple marred skin as you answer, “Yep, but I get shot-gun this time.”

Jake flashes him a laughing grin as he slings his bag over his shoulder. “You heard ‘er. Let’s go.”

—

The drive home seemed significantly shorter than the drive there, but you’re sure that was due to the nerves running through all of you at the time. You were glad it was done and over, but you knew it probably wouldn’t be the last time. Not after the highs they were riding. 

You smiled to yourself as you watched Jake flip the 8-track for the third time in a row, offering him a lifesaver from the pack he so generously gifted you. He popped one into his mouth with a twinkle in his eye before you turned to Danny to offer him the same. 

“Eh, no thanks, don’t like cinnamon that much.” he says, squeezing a hand over your shoulder from the backseat. You wrap up the candies and place them in your purse as you let the cool wind blow through the window and across your face as Bruce serenades you with his gentle crooning. 

—

It wasn’t long until the car was pulling in at the shop, and the overwhelming feeling of being home washed over you. Which was a little strange given that this wasn’t your home. Did you even have a home? The three of you piled out of Valor and made your way into the house, the familiar homey smell comforting, as you’d grown accustomed to over the last week. 

Almost immediately Jake excused himself to the garage, turning on the radio as the shop door slammed shut. You followed Daniel down the hallway to his bedroom, seeing him flop down on his bed with a sigh.

“Backseat is small as fuck. You’re lucky you’re so cute and that I can’t say no to you.” he teases, grabbing your hand and pulling you down on top of him. His hands come to rest over your ass as he cranes his neck up to press his lips to yours. 

“Mmm, you ready for that later now?” you murmur against his hot wet lips. 

Pressing his hardening bulge against your center, he smirks, “You tell me.” 

—

The two of you had fallen victim to exhaustion after a few long overdue rounds. Both of you taking it easy on each other as his body was still riddled with bruising and sore muscles. That didn’t seem to phase him however, and even with minimal effort he held you in the palm of his hand as he had you falling apart for him over and over again. You wondered if you’d ever get used to the way he unraveled you, leaving your body exhausted and spent in the best ways. 

He was still asleep next to you as your eyes took in the darkness of the room. You silently crawled out of the bed, pulling a t-shirt over your head as you slipped out of his bedroom and into the bathroom. The house was quiet, and the music in the garage had stopped. You could hear talking though. You could make out Jake’s laugh from a mile away. Your brow crinkled as you wondered who was making him laugh like that if you and Danny were locked away in his room the whole night. 

Your curiosity got the best of you as you snuck into the kitchen, and gently twisted the knob to the shop door. You knew it would squeak if you opened it all the way, so you only just cracked it, opening it just enough to see Jake and the blonde haired woman leaning up against Valor. Who is that?

Realizing it was truly none of your business you shut the door, and made yourself a glass of water. You leaned on the countertop as you sipped from the glass, drinking down its contents as you let your mind wander back to last night. Why were you feeling so jealous after such an amazing night with Danny? 

You shook the thoughts from your head, knowing you needed to go back to him before he noticed you were gone. You began to wash the glass, drying it with a kitchen towel to leave no trace of your presence. The doorknob twisted, causing you to jump as you placed the glass back in the cabinet. With the unmistakable squeak, the door flew open and Jake and the unknown blonde woman came stumbling into the kitchen completely connected to each other. 

Her arms were wrapped around his body as he closed the door behind them, clearly unaware of your presence as his hand traveled to her backside, squeezing and what you now knew was his favorite part of a woman. Her mouth was attached to his neck, as his hands wandered her body. She caught sight of you, growing tense and stopping her actions with Jake as she cast you a dirty look. 

“You need somethin’? Wait, who’re you?” she scoffed.

“Y/N. Who are you?” you quipped back.

“Suzanne.”

Jake whipped his head around to see you pressed into the kitchen cabinets in nothing but a thin white t-shirt. His eyes flashed to your chest, where your nipples stood at attention from the rush of cold air coming in from the garage. You crossed your arms over your chest as he cleared his throat. 

“Yeah, she’s uh–” he paused, sucking his teeth as he pulled away from her. “She’s Danny’s girl.”

“Since when does Danny have a girl?” she asked, as if the thought was ludicrous. Not waiting to hear his answer she continues walking through the kitchen towards his bedroom. “Whatever. You coming, baby?”

Baby?

He breathes in deeply as he pulls his gaze from you, turning to face her as she reaches for his hand. 

“Yeah, I’m comin’. I’ll be there in a sec. Go wait for me.” he answers, smacking her ass as she walks down the hallway.

He looks to you and pauses for a moment as if he wants to say something. His eyes search yours, but it seems he can’t find the words he needs as he blows out a breath and swipes the stray hairs away from your face instead. He pulls his hand back and runs his fingers over his face as she calls his name from the hallway. He turns to follow her, and instinctively you follow after him, pausing as you reach Danny’s bedroom door. You turn, pressing your back to the wood door to watch him as he takes the few steps towards his door.

The two of you turn to look at each other one more time, and suddenly you’re back in that same moment from last night. Completely locked in on each other like you’re the only two on the planet. His eyes bore deep into yours, hoping you could hear what he was trying to tell you, but there was nothing. Static, just white, jealous, deafening static. 

You’re both pulled back to reality as you hear her shrill voice call to him again through the door. He blows out another breath and reaches for the doorknob, pushing the door open but pausing to meet your gaze as he smirks. He pulls his nearly empty pack of gum from his jeans pocket and slides a stick into his mouth. He rolls the red gum around his tongue as he blows a quick bubble, his warm pink tongue running over his bottom lip.

In a split second decision he makes a move to step back towards you, walking slowly and placing the pack in your hand as your eyes flashed down to the single stick left inside. 

“There. Now everybody gets a piece, don’t they...” he says with the raise of his brow as he turns back, stepping through his door, and locking it behind him. 

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Echo Point Nova: Tribes Ascended

Echo Point Nova may be one of the best cases I've ever seen for people wanting to frag like its 2001. Today's gaming landscape, particularly the independent scene, is thriving with revivals of all sorts of proto-FPS genre shooters. From the singleplayer campaign driven "Boomer Shooter" games like Amid Evil and Zortch to those who long for the multiplayer days of Unreal Tournament with games like Splitgate or the squad tactics of Battlefield 2 with games Battlebit Remastered, these styles are certainly coming back into style. I want to talk about a very particular type of action that was lost long ago in a sea of games and buried revival promises, I want to talk about Tribes.

Releasing originally in 1998 as Starsiege: Tribes the game garnered its own following thanks to its fast paced movement centered approach to Deathmatch and Capture the Flag gameplay. Jetpacks combined with a physics engine bug that let you "ski" around maps a la sliding down slopes and ramping off hills made for incredible fun action packed fights. Three years later in 2001, Tribes 2 debuted making skiing an official form of gameplay, building on the fun of the previous title. The game fell somwhere in between quake arena and unreal tournament, with vehicles, large open maps, a bevy of scifi weaponry, and fast paced action. Though the series would go on all the way to 2012 with the free to play Tribes Ascend by HiRez Studios, the game has since been yet another title in an ever growing pile of "forgotten classics". Until now.

So what IS Echo Point Nova? Stay with me here, EPN (to save some time and typing) is a scifi action shooter where you explore an open world of floating islands with the help of a grappling hook, a hoverboard, and a momentum system that only slows down when you tell it to. EPN is in almost every way, a singleplayer/co-op successor to Tribes. Trading out the scifi weapons for a more modern military arsenal doesn't take away much of the fun. Zipping around and clearing out hordes with a .50 cal sniper rifle is just as fun as a railgun, and blasting mechs with an RPG is just as satisfying as a triple rocket launcher could be. The game WANTS you to feel fast, to feel dangerous, like only the best of the best could stop you. All it's missing is proper PVP, which the developer wants to add support for soon as of the writing of this article. Lets get more specific though.

Level Design:

One half of the puzzle is how EPN's world gives you truly unbridled freedom to explore at breakneck paces. If you thought the vistas and cliffs of breath of the wild being open was impressive, this puts that to shame handily. A massive world of floating island arenas awaits you, all you have to do is get there. As mentioned before the game provides you with a few modes of transit, a grappling hook, your hoverboard, and a set of supplementary equipment like air boost pads and grenades that you can use to gain height very quickly. Movement in the game is nothing short of gorgeous. Fast, fluid, and effortlessly smooth, you can glide and hop your way to just about everywhere.

Let's talk more about the hoverboard, arguably the games most shown off feature. Holding down what would traditionally be a sprint button allows you to speedily glide over any form of terrain the game can throw at you. Grass, snow, sand, lava, all of it. On top of this, touching any flat surface that isn't the ground or a floor with the hoverboard will allow you to grind across and up said surface, gaining you some sweet style points in the process. The game is VERY generous with the grinding, and lets you stay on unless the terrain itself is too uneven to glide over without launching yourself off. Using this you can scale entire mountains and grind circles around the poor enemies of the game, giving them little chance at keeping up with you. Combined with the grappling hook, which allows you to propel yourself in whatever direction you're aiming despite where you grappled on to, you can reach truly dizzying heights and speed with ease. All of this is to say that the game's level design allows for pure freedom of movement. Rarely will you find yourself not jumping or grinding your way around spacious combat arenas laden with half pipe ramps and grind rails. Verticality is KING in Echo Point Nova, and the world knows that. Vast desert expanses, rolling mountaintops, fractured shards of floating rock, its got it all and it is good.

Gameplay:

Though I already went over the gameplay a bit in the last section with the movement and traversal, I'd like to focus a bit more on the core shooting of EPN and just how good it feels to do so. The game gives you access to a decently sized array of pistols, SMGs, assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles/DMRs, and explosives to do in the cyborg mercenary armies that oppose you. All of which feel incredible. Perhaps the only negative point I could give is that many weapons can often feel very fast and loose, but the game's projectile system more than makes up for it when allowing you to pepper entire areas with two entire glock magazines. Complimentary to the guns are the perks you earn from doing the game's core combat loop of arriving in an arena and spawning enemies until you've killed the requisite amount for that particular challenge. Perks can range from giving you more ramming speed on your hoverboard (oh yeah you can ram enemies with your hoverboard by the way) to the very first perk you gain, Adrenaline, slowing down time for a few seconds via a refillable meter you gain just for moving at high speeds.

Combat becomes a gravity defying dance of bullets and explosions. Ramping off enemies here, grappling them into them there, throwing out a grenade to pop a shield and riding the explosion shockwave up to the scifi quad-copter that's firing missiles down at you the entire time. Its a beautifully chaotic mess that relies on your mastery of the game's movement to be proficient in. Sure you could just run around Call of Duty style and pop cyborgs in the head, or you could send them into the endless abyss by slapping them with two and a half feet of hoverboard all the while sending a .50 cal round through two of his friends.

It is a joy to experience. The exploration is always rewarding leading you to new challenges that give you either new perks, a new gun, or a fun hat to wear over your character. If you played the dev team's previous game, Severed Steel, you know exactly how high energy and impressive the combat encounters can feel.

Story:

Honestly? It's nothing special. You crash land onto one of the many floating islands, a mysterious voice tells you to get your gear as comrades from whatever scientific group you're a part of tell you to also grab your gear and survey your surroundings. It's VERY loose, and it's perfect that way. The boss fight set pieces don't come bogged down with lengthy cutscenes or anything at all to break the pacing. Voice acting is kept to enemy shoutouts, and everything is told through text logs that you're guided to pretty steadily throughout the game. EPN's story is just what it needs to be and the devs know that. Severed Steel boasted an equally loose but compelling story following the game's protagonist rising up against her scifi imprisoners, and Echo Point Nova is just as short and sweet with its writing. Serviceable, short, and just right.

Soundtrack:

How could I ever talk about this game without mentioning the positively electrifying soundtrack. Composed by artist Floating Door the OST has a range of action driving Drum and Bass tracks that just make you want to go faster. Ethereal synths combined with strong pulsing bass tracks create an otherworldly feel as you grapple and hoverboard your way around the islands, picking up into heavier more chaotic tracks when enemies are found or an encounter is started. It reminds me so much of the more techno/trance inspired soundtracks of later PS1 and PS2 titles that I can't help but grin and nod my head as I zip around blasting things with an RPG. No notes, 10/10, it fits the game beautifully and is a strong set of tracks to listen to on their own. Give it a listen!

Conclusion and comments:

I got away from myself a little bit in this review, but I'd like to close by doubling back to that Tribes comparison. Does Echo Point Nova have EVERYTHING that tribes had? No. It's missing things like vehicles, structured modes of play, hell even proper PVP matchmaking, but that's not the point. The spirit is what lives on in EPN. That 2000s fast paced techno-shooter with weird movement and momentum. The rush of a movement shooter before that phrase was even considered to exist. I don't think this game is Titanfall+DOOM 2016 like a lot of other reviews like to say. What I WILL compare it to if I must, is Halo, Tribes, and just a hint of classic Call of Duty (think COD 4). It's wonderfully made with a clear amount of love and respect for old school shooters. Refined to a razor edge of fluid mobility and rock solid shooting. I really do think its a big step towards keeping the spirit of old games alive without just remaking them or making things that only exist as tributes to them. If I've gotten anything wrong, and the devs never played anything like Tribes before, then that's fine I've been wrong before and I will be again. But playing this game was like playing a love letter written in voxel landscapes and high speed firefights. One that I'd happily reread over and over, or at least listen to the music.

Check out Echo Point Nova here: