#I was in the elevator today and there was a mixed race couple

[mostlykind]

I feel like all these racist riots have now caused all white people to worry about seeming racist that they’re now going out of their way to prove they’re NOT and are being so much nicer in public

[deathofpeaceofmiiind]

illicit affairs | ten

*Ellie’s POV* I think I still love you… I stared at my phone, my hands were shaking as I realized what I just said to Noah. As much as I didn’t want to admit that I still loved him, I had to stop lying to myself. Seeing him today, smelling his cologne and him holding me just solidified it. I waited to see if he was going respond to what I said, but nothing. He was probably in a dead zone on the highway. My breath hitched as I walked back into the living room, realizing Matt and I were going to be over before we even started.

“You okay?” Matt asked me as I sat near him, but not close enough for him to touch me.   “Yeah, it’s just been a long day.” I lied, avoiding his stare. My phone buzzed in my pocket, causing my face to get hot. As soon as a saw Noah’s name on my screen, I shifted in my seat causing Matt to send me a puzzling look. “I’m sorry, Tyler just texted me…I forgot to give him Liam’s backpack for daycare.” “Oh, okay.” He replied as he watched me get up and frantically put my shoes on. “Do you want me to come with you?” “No, I won’t be long.” I said, grabbing Liam’s backpack and my keys at the door. I felt bad for lying to him, because Liam already had his own backpack at Tyler’s. “Just make yourself comfortable. We can order food when I get home.” I slammed my door shut and walked towards the elevator, hitting the button to the parkade over and over. I looked at my phone again and my heart raced looking at Noah’s text asking me to FaceTime him. I got into my car and peeled out of the parking lot, not sure what direction I was going. I’m still not sure what was coming over me to talk to him so desperately, but maybe my heart knew more than I did. I pulled into a grocery store parking lot, did a double take in the mirror before I facetimed him, applying lip gloss as I waited for him to answer me. “Hey…” I felt my eyes sting with tears as his face appeared on my screen. He was sitting outside somewhere with his AirPods in, his hair was disheveled and he just looked so adorable to me.

“Hi.” Was all I managed to get out. “Where are you?” “Uh, somewhere near Portland I think?” He replied as he looked around. “We just stopped for food and some fresh air.” “I haven’t been to Portland in forever…” I trailed off, almost wanting to get to the point. “Noah we should -“ “I know.” He cut in. “I’m sorry about this morning. I was trying to not be selfish because I want you to be happy, but I’m gonna be selfish now. I want us to work things out, Ellie. I just want you to think about giving us another chance, I don’t think our story is over…I don’t want to be.” My hand clasped over my mouth as I absorbed his words. I took a deep breath as more unexpected words fell past my lips, “maybe we should talk about this in person? I can fly down in a couple days or -” “I’ll come see you…when does he leave?” Noah asked, not keeping his eyes off me. “Tomorrow morning.” “I’ll be there tomorrow night then.”

He hung up and I sat in silence for a few minutes as I mulled over what he said to me. Was I really going to let him back in my life this easy? I think a part of me just needed to hear him out and maybe we could have a mature conversation about this. My head hit the back of my seat, trying to get rid of these mixed feelings. 

“Hey, I’m back.”

I threw my keys onto the kitchen counter and saw Matt hadn’t moved since I left. He was watching a baseball game but didn’t look too interested in it. He turned to me and met me with a soft yet sad smile. My stomach twisted harder in my stomach as the guilt hit me, I needed to tell him the truth. “El, I think we need to talk.” Wait, what?

“I think we do too.” I replied as I sat down beside him. I turned my body towards him so we could look at each other. I really did care about him, I did. We had good chemistry and the one time we had sex it was amazing... but was it enough? It also wasn't fair to string him along when I’m clearly still in love with one of his best friends. 

“You know how I mentioned if things got weird we could stop?” I nodded to let him continue. “I personally feel weird standing between you and Noah. I know I’ve had some choice words about him and how he treated you, but…I saw the way you two looked at each other today. I’d hate to be the one to ruin you two getting a second chance.” “Wow, Matt. I don’t know what to say.” I swallowed a lump in my throat. “I don’t know what’s going to happen between me and him, but I know I’ll regret not giving it another shot. I’m just sorry I dragged you into this, and gave you false hope.” “You didn’t. I found an opportunity to have a chance with you, but it wasn't meant to be. Truthfully, I love you enough to let you go.” He whispered, bringing his hand up to my face and wiping the one tear that escaped. “I’m not going to be bitter about it. I still want us to be friends the way we were before.” “I want that too.” I trembled as more tears poured out of me. Matt scooted closer to me and took me in his arms. My eyes closed as my head fell on his chest. “I’m not going anywhere.” He replied, pulling me closer to him. “I’d wait forever for you, don’t forget that.” I lifted my head to look at him but my tears were blinding my vision of his face. He brushed my chin before pressing his mouth onto mine gently. I wanted to protest but I fell right into the kiss. He laid me down on the couch as the kiss deepened. My hands were tangled in his hair while his body pressed harder onto me. As we broke apart, I saw a side of him I never thought I’d see. His eyes were glistening with tears and one of them landed on my cheek, causing my heart to take another fatal blow. “One last time?” “I don’t -” “This feels like the perfect way to say goodbye...”

[loominggaia]

What’s with the continued conflict between gold & silver dworfs? Aside from their skin being unable to blend what acts the source for all this conflict? What are some stereotypes they have about eachother? And if a mixed race dworf couple or a dworf character gets race swapped how many jimmys would get russled?

Good question! To answer this properly, we have to go back in time.

The gold-skinned dworfs descend from just one ancient tribe in Noalen. The silver-skinned dworfs descend from an ancient tribe not too far from them. These two tribes were pretty similar, but differed on some superficial levels like accents, religion, cuisine, fashion, etc. Naturally these differences caused some conflict.

But the majority of their conflicts were due to resource competition. These early dworfen societies invented advanced technologies and infrastructure very quickly, but these things required a lot of raw resources like wood, minerals, water, and so on.

Both tribes were located in the mountains and shared the same river, but the gold tribe was at a higher elevation. You know what they say..."shit rolls down hill". This meant that the silver dworfs' section of river was getting polluted with the gold dworfs' sewage and refinery pollution. Also as the two tribes expanded, they would squabble over logging, mining, and farming territory.

These conflicts lasted a long time, and during this time the dworf tribes harbored resentment towards eachother. They just couldn't seem to put aside their superficial differences and become allies.

That is, until they were both assimilated into the Great Kingdoms. But even now, echoes of their turbulent past still ring through many of their communities today.

Exactly how bad this prejudice is depends on where you are. It varies city to city, or sometimes neighborhood to neighborhood. Sometimes it's barely there, and other times it's impossible to miss. Stereotypes will vary a lot too, and some will even contradict eachother. Gold dworfs tend to think of silver dworfs as lazy, slobby, alcoholics, while silver dworfs think the gold are gluttonous, vain, narcissists.

I could imagine some dworf communities getting very upset if a popular dworfen character was race-swapped. They might complain and protest. But ultimately they are a minority, and most modern peoples wouldn't care that much. To other species, it would seem no different than casting a brunette in a blonde's role; it's different, but the difference is superficial and ultimately affects nothing.

Likewise, the dworfs' skin colors are just superficial differences that mean nothing. Their original cultures and traditions are long gone, thousands of years in the past. Even their ancestral lands have been absorbed by Evangeline and Folkvar. Whatever they squabble over now are just problems these communities made up in their heads due to generations of prejudice.

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

[leafweaverryn]

*lugs in a very big shitty pot* okay, so i needed something to work on today because my brain was having a hard time focusing on the thing i should have been working on. i asked a couple friends for prompt ideas, and one of them has been on a revolutionary girl utena binge, so he said "utena au" while another friend said "make it lilanette".

so here we are. a very shitty pot. i am dumping and jumping, probably never coming back to this pot. there are notes at the bottom of stuff i was going to include, but didn't get to. be warned, it's been years since i consumed any utena content, so the lore is going to be baaaad

without further ado...

cw - lilanette, Lila Rossi, bad utena au, lots of cussing, and lots of lesbian thoughts

Only one thing made the school gossip about more than they do over who has the rose bride.

Transfer students were rare, short-lived, and were talked about more than the yearly newbloods. At least the academy freshmen knew what they were getting into; transfers seldom did. Their innocence, their ignorance of the carnivorous academia aws always something to behold, and bets were often placed on how long before the transfers ran or died. Underclassmen would race to be the first to meet them; upperclassmen knew it was only a matter of time.

When Marinette saw her first, the upperclassman felt… curious. Not hopeful or pity as she normally did, but curious, as if she had found a stray little glass animal, a missing part of a larger set yet to be discovered and collected. Originally, she had been taking papers between teachers, but seeing her made Marinette change her path, go out of her way for a closer look.

As if something tied to her breast was pulling her.

The transfer wasn’t in uniform yet. She was tall, but her platform boots could be the culprit for that, rather than the natural length of her legs. Her limbs, however, were slender and willowy, and she had a strut like a model, as if she knew she was being admired. Marinette kept her distance, and when the transfer stepped into an elevator, turning the interior red with her hair and clothes, the upperclassman didn’t try to follow.

Instead, she leaned on the bannister and watched the transfer ascend to the dorms. Shaking her head, Marinette walked away, writing off the encounter and dismissing it from her memory.

Someone else can have the bragging rights of meeting her first…

She already has a target on her back…

Meeting me would just give the others a reason to pull the trigger.

~~~

If Lila was sure of anything, it was that this is the weirdest fucking university I’ve attended yet!

For one, it was a castle and a city, self-sustaining and closed off from the rest of the world like a dream. That she didn’t mind. What woman didn’t want to live in a castle? Her only regret was that she didn’t have the luggage space to pack all of her gowns and dresses, but surely there’s a mall here somewhere! This place has everything else. Garden, dining hall, ballrooms, a labyrinthian library… The dorms were also very nice, as one would expect from a castle-city-school, with every student from the lowly freshmen to the higher echelon in doctorate programs had their own room, as spacious and well furnished as a small apartment. Lila was not one who enjoyed sharing, regardless if it were a pencil or shower.

She had no complaints about the uniforms either. The dress code was lax in its terms, allowing her to mix and match pieces so long as she was consistent and wearing the university’s rose emblem. For her day-to-day uniform, Lila opted for a red jacket with black detailing and lacy trim, and a matching red pleated skirt. Her usual platforms were restricted to only after-class hours and weekends, leaving her feeling shorter in the standard flats. There were no rules for hair color or styling, which she saw some of her classmates took advantage of with a small handful who dyed theirs. Her wearing of the uniform turned heads in the halls, though that could also be because I’m so beautiful, she thought with a flick of her hair and a smile.

The classes were standard fare, with a few eccentric electives and unusual programs in the listings, but she’d arranged her class schedule so that she was able to have a few free hours after breakfast and around lunch. She was halfway to her third major graduate degree, and the extracurriculars sounded like a fun little challenge that she signed up to a few without really thinking very hard about what they were.

No, what struck Lila as the most weird thing about her new university was the student body itself.

Never, in any of her years going to college, university, grad school, whatever, had she been to a place where a dozen or so of her classmates were armed with swords!

At first, when she saw one young woman with a katana, Lila didn’t care. She shrugged it off as a weirdo being a weirdo who only got away with it because who bullies a woman with a live-steel katana, no thank you. But then she saw a pair of blonds with rapiers, and a pair of goths with pirate sabres, and annoyance bubbled and seethed to the surface, barely caught before she could whine to the nearest professor, “Why do they get swords?! I want a sword! Why can’t I have a sword?!”

Day one, Lila had a mission.

Usually it was to find the head bitch in charge of the student social ladder and go straight for the kidneys, or clitoris depending on how the bitch in question swung, but the moment Lila stepped into the castle, even before she put on the uniform and got lost in the sea of bodies between classes, she knew that here, the game was different.

Very different.

Perhaps even… a little dangerous. 

She squealed at the thought.

Her mission to start was reconnaissance. Observation. Gather information to fill in the blanks she came in with. Lila didn’t like not knowing anything, but even she was willing to admit that she was at a disadvantage. So against her usual methods, she instead laid low and let the information come to her.

The first opportunity presented itself during afternoon break that same day. 

Lila was one of the first to arrive at the cafeteria, getting a cup of tea, a light cucumber sandwich, and a couple of macarons before she took her seat at a corner table where she could watch the door, her back to the wall. She was also very obvious, in a place where she herself could be seen; she wanted the others to see her, so she could judge them appropriately.

And it was very obvious what the other students thought of her.

Each and every one of them would pause, look at her, then scuttle away, whispering between one another. They would look at her again and again, but were never brave enough to approach her directly.

She bit back a scowl as she sipped her tea.

I’m an animal at a zoo, Lila thought darkly. Something to be stared at and whispered about to her face, as if she can’t understand. Peasants. Go on and whisper. Say what you will. As soon as my claws are sharp enough, I’m breaking out of my cage and clawing my place to where I belong at the top, queen of this antique jungle.

But no sooner had the thought finished did a classmate approach her table. Lila assessed her in a flash. There was an edge to the blonde, one that made Lila want to lick her fangs and grin. The fact she was wearing the sleek jacket and pants version of the school uniform only added to her regal presence. Her jacket was gold satin that shimmered when she moved, and her golden hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. This was one of the armed students, with a silver rapier at her hip. Behind her, a red-head in the standard puffy sleeves and skirt uniform and buggy-eyed glasses hid in her lady’s shadow.

The golden blonde smiled as sweetly as honey laced with venom.

“Oh!” she chirped. “You must be the new transfer!”

No shit, Sherlock. Lila smiled. “I am.”

She clapped excitedly. “Oh wonderful! Why don’t you join me at my table? The view is much better.”

“I’d be delighted!”

Lila stood, but when she reached for her tray, the blonde stopped her, “No no no, don’t worry about that!” Her pretty blue eyes went to the plain young woman beside her as she clapped her hands again. “Bibi, get her tray.”

Without a sound, the plain spectacled woman picked up Lila’s tray. The blonde giggled and offered her elbow, which Lila accepted without hesitation. As if they were a couple at a promenade, the blonde took her time in leading Lila through the bustling cafeteria.

“So what is your name, pretty ruby?” the blond asked, side-eyeing the woman on her arm.

She framed her face and gestured as she answered, “I am Countess Lilaousia de Francesca Emelia Catharine Rossi the Third…” Her hand slid along the blonde’s arm in her hold. “But I will let you call me Lila.”

“Mmm, never heard of you,” purred the blonde. “But then again, I’ve never been to Spain.”

“Italy,” Lila corrected.

“Whatever.”

Bitch.

The blonde led her to a table on a dias that did admittedly have a better view of the cafeteria. There were three other tables on the raised platform, all unoccupied. Quickly, the plain woman scurred to set Lila’s tray down, careful not to jostle the contents, then pulled out a chair for the blonde and one for Lila.

As she sat, the blonde continued, “I am Chloe, and this,” she gestured to the bug-eyed woman, “is my Sabrina. You can talk to her as you see fit, but you can only use her as a servant when I’m around.”

Lila’s eyes glittered in interest as she sat, looking between them. “The underclassmen serve the upperclassmen here? How fascinating.”

“No.” The word cut hard, and Chloe narrowed her eyes on Lila. “Bibi is mine because I won her. Simple as that. If you want your classmates to serve you, you have to earn it.”

She only smiled, mentally noting the other woman’s defensiveness. Like herself, Chloe was not a woman who enjoyed sharing. At first thought, the idea of “owning” her fellow classmates was boring, but the more Lila chewed on the idea… 

There was one pretty little thing Lila had seen on her way to the dorms earlier. Short, slender, ebony hair… Lila was disappointed that she didn’t get to see the young woman’s eyes, but her body, in the puffy sleeves and uniform skirt, left little to be desired, save that the clothes were removed to give her imagination a break.

The “pretty ruby” gestured vaguely at Chloe with her teaspoon. “Is that what the sword thing is all about? So you and the others can fight over your classmates and collect them like trading cards? I do wonder, is there a weekly swap day? How do you rank your little prizes? I hope it’s not by how many you have, because if Miss Bibi is your only one, I have to wonder at your skills when it comes to… penetration.”

At Chloe’s elbow, Sabrina blushed and snickered, but went silent at a glare. 

“Yes and no,” Chloe hummed to her tea. “Some do, and I’d suggest you learn how to mind that tongue of yours, since you are also fair game… But the prize, the true prize is the rose bride.”

“I beg your pardon… Whomst?”

~~~

edit: oh god i made another one

[cacoetheswriting]

chasing a feeling pt. II - spencer reid

Warnings: this goes from angsty, to fluffy to smutty tbh: swearing, a lil jealousy, small alcohol consumption, smut, really 18+, dom!Spencer/sub!reader dynamic, oral sex (receiving and giving), choking, a little dirty talk, rough and kinda sloppy sex, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it!)  Word Count: 4.5k Summary: this is part two: Conflicted about his feelings, Spencer decided to apologise and try to convince you to stay. He appears at your door in the middle of the night and the two of you work through your differences - or do you? (these two can't catch a break oops, PART THREE is out now)

| PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE |

-

Spencer found himself stood outside your hotel room door. The rest of the team was fast asleep by now, after all it was nearly two in the morning. He should be in bed too, however, after tossing and turning for hours straight he sprung out of bed and his feet carried him here. Was it the guilt? Because he was riddled with it. Mixed of course with a faint feeling of anger. The emotions spread inside his body like a disease making him nauseous.

His fingers curled into a fist and he knocked three times. No answer. You were probably sleeping which made all of this so much worse but he knocked again, this time using more of his strength.

He heard shuffling inside. No turning back now. He took in a deep breath and anxiously waited for you to open the door. To his surprise however it wasn't you that greeted him sleepily, it was the officer you flirted with earlier that day. Shirtless. Spencer stood frozen, dumbfounded. The guilt feeling present inside of him just a second ago was gone. In the blink of an eye it was replaced by ire and annoyance. How dare you.

“Can I help you?” The officer asked quietly, one hand on the door as if he was ready to shut it in Spencers face any second. “Yeah uh, I’m here for Y/N.” The officer yawned. “Can’t this wait? It’s like two a.m.” “No, it can’t wait.” Spencer grumbled. His anger levels spiking. He wondered how in the hell you got his number since the napkin it was written on currently lay at the bottom of Spencers hotel bin. “What are you doing here anyway?” “No offence agent but that’s kind of none of your business.” The officer smirked at Spencer who's fists were now clenched by his sides.

He was mad, borderline furious. You tell him you're leaving again, make him feel as if it's all his fault, and then land yourself in bed with another man? All in the space of a couple hours? What a sick joke.

“What’s going on?” You appeared behind the officer wrapped in a white hotel robe. Your eyes landed on the brunette doctor and the air caught in your throat. “Spencer.” His name escaped your lips so faintly you weren't sure at first you even said it.

Nervously, you turned to the officer and asked him kindly to leave - ‘duty calls’ was your excuse. You reassured that you’d find him later, maybe grab some lunch. Spencer watched as the officer nodded and disappeared into the dark room to grab his things. He came out moments later, kissed your cheek while saying goodbye, and walked away leaving you alone with the brunette agent. 

Spencer rolled his eyes at the interaction as you stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind you. You looked up to meet his gaze expecting the worst. The look spread across his facial features however wasn't one of animosity or bitterness. It was grief. That can't be right?

“What are you doing here?” You asked sheepishly. “I came to apologise, see if there is anything I could do to make it better between us and maybe get you to stay but it seems you’re doing just fine.” Spencer huffed irritated; you detected a hint of heartbreak in his voice. “Spence-” “Just forget it Y/N.” He sighed, turned on his heel and began walking away.

“Spencer!” You hurried after him. “Spencer, please!” He continued to rush ahead, ignoring the sound of your pleas. Did he really despise you that much? Yes, what you did tonight was bad considering everything else that happened but was it cause for this much animosity? Probably. 

You managed to catch up with him just as he reached the elevator. He pressed the arrow button as you stepped between him and the metal door - just in case it opened. “Spencer let me explain.” He rolled his eyes. “I don't want to hear you have to say.” He gritted through his teeth, jaw clenched.

“It’s not what you think.” You blurted out. “Really? So you didn't have sex with the half-naked man I encountered at your door just moments ago?” When you didn't respond, Spencer smirked. “That’s what I thought.”

There was a quiet ‘ding’ and the elevator door swooshed open. Spencer manoeuvred his way around you and stepped inside. Not wanting to let him get away, or rather win this argument, you followed. The machine began to move.

“I only did it because-” “Because what?” Spencer interrupted taking a step towards you. “Because you needed someone to make you feel better? Because you wanted to make me jealous? Or maybe because you wanted to prove to yourself that you weren't just soliciting yourself earlier? That the two of you really made a connection!?” He belittled.

As you stood there stock-still listening to his outburst, you found yourself thinking about earlier today. About the fight, the words that were said, the pure unfiltered anger the two of you seemed to fuel inside one another. Your mind then wondered to the kiss. That passionate, fiery, lustful kiss. Spencer has never kissed you like that before. No. He used to be so timid. He’d kiss you so gently, as if he was afraid to hurt you. Earlier was the complete opposite however. When his lips smeared across yours, his body pushing into you, it was as if he wanted nothing more but to break you.

You bit your bottom lip unconsciously at the thought. A small act that Spencer noticed immediately. He stopped mid-sentence. His gaze lingered on your mouth for a second. Those full, luscious, soft lips. Fuck. He looked back up to meet your gaze and was about to say something, resume the fight, when the elevator door opened brining you both back to reality - ‘ding’.

He surged out towards his own room, you following closely behind.

“You are not the victim here Spencer!” You jeered after him. “You made my day impossible, and don't pretend you didn't. I decided to quit after one day with you. Quit a dream job because your ego couldn't handle the fact that I was back in your life and not for reasons you might have wanted!”

He stopped in his tracks causing you to bump lightly into his back. He turned around in his spot. Eyes narrow, lips rigid and pursed into a thin line. “I didn't want you back in my life Y/N! I haven't thought about you in years!” “Your mom would disagree.”

Spencer blinked. “What did you just say?”

The brunette doctor stepped towards you. You ambled backwards until you hit a wall; bouncing off the facade with a soft thud. Only inches away, he placed his hands flat on both sides of your head trapping you completely. Heat radiated off him as if you were standing next to a fire.

“What did you just say?” He repeated, the sound of his voice stern. His hot breath hit your skin sending a shiver down your spine. You swallowed, but unwilling to show him how scared you were beginning to feel you crossed your arms. Spencers eyes immediately travelled to your bosom which was now barely covered up by the clinging robe. He let his arms fall before averting his gaze.

He ran his hand through his already messy hair and looked up to meet your stare as your body relaxed. A raised eyebrow and a sly smirk present on your facial features. “What?” He seethed trying to come off unbothered; but he was betrayed by his own actions as his eyes once again wandered to your visible cleavage. “Are you going to yell at me some more or just continue goggling at my boobs?” You asked, the smirk on your face spreading wider.

“Perhaps you should be wearing something more appropriate to bed.” Spencer ridiculed. “Do you always sleep naked or was that just for the gentleman caller I found in your hotel room?” You couldn't help but roll your eyes. “I bet you’d like to know doctor Reid.”

He huffed at your comment but didn't deny it. Satisfied that you managed to rattle him, you continued. “Is this better? Can you concentrate now?” You asked sarcastically as you uncrossed your arms. “Or perhaps you’d prefer this?” Your fingers fidgeted with the cotton rope around your waist untying it, your eyes glued to the man in-front of you. The robe fell open revealing well, everything.

There was something about Spencer hat always drove you crazy. It crept up on you, this weird feeling you only ever experienced when you were with him. He stirred something inside of you that you couldn't explain no matter how hard you tried. After all these years apart however you forgot this sensation even existed; the two of you moved on with your lives. But now the switch was yet again flipped and unknowing to you, the feeling was mutual.

Spencer pelted at you, grabbing each side of the garment and closing it. “Very mature.” He breathed heavily. “Someone could have seen you.” “Someone did see me.” You teased. Spencer ignored you. Instead, he looked down and focused on tying the robe shut. He could feel your eyes burning into his skull. His fingers shaky as his mind raced. The image of your naked body impeded in his brain.

Spencer was rigid tense. He knew deep down that he couldn't control himself much longer around you - which is why he was so angry. The question he’s been asking himself this last day once again riddled his brain: How come you still had such an effect on him? You broke his heart when you left, in that moment he swore he would hate you forever. And he kept that promise until he saw you again. The minute his eyes landed on you the angry facade rumbled but his conscious continued to tell him you were evil, so he acted as if you were. Now he was conflicted.

There was a brief moment of silence when he finished. Spencer sighed. He seemed unwilling to look up and meet your gaze, or let go of your robe for that matter. His fingers trailed along the cotton bind, tugging at it lightly. You could not help but let out a mellow giggle. “I don't think you can make that any tighter Spencer.” A faint smile graced his facial features. For a split second the robust, irate man that gave you the cold shoulder these last few hours disappeared. In-front of you stood a young Spencer you loved all those years ago. “S-sorry.”

“It’s okay.” You reassured while placing a hand gently on his bicep. “Honestly, I should be the one apologising right now. Thinking about this now it would have been a good idea to call you before my first day and see if you wanted to meet up. We could have talked this out calmly. It would have saved us a lot of awkwardness.” He chuckled, finally looking up to meet your gaze. “You mean save us the arguments.” You rolled your eyes playfully. “Right.”

Slowly, you moved your hand down his arm until you reached his knuckle. He let go of the robe and intertwined his fingers with yours. His touch was gentle as he rubbed circles into your wrist using his thumb.  

“When did things get so screwed up?” Spencer asked, his eyes scanning yours as if he was searching for the answer deep inside of your soul. “Probably when I left.” “No.” He shook his head, giving your hand a soft squeeze. “It must have been before that otherwise you wouldn't have left.” “Spencer.” “According to a study by Bumpass and Sweet from 1989, the odds of successful lasting relationships are even slimmer than those of marriage. Over half of non-married couples break up within two years and about ninety-percent dissolve within five years. Realistically, we stood no chance.” “I don’t entirely agree. We were crazy about each other but we wanted different things. You just started with the BAU. I was knee-deep in studying for the BAR exam as well as completing my training at the academy. Honestly, I think we were just too young and expected too much out of one another.”

Spencer sighed. He stood quiet for a moment before letting out a short laugh. “I guess our ambitions are to blame then.” You giggled. “I guess you’re right.” He lifted his free hand and tenderly caressed your cheek as you smiled at him. “For what it’s worth, I’m really proud of you. You’ve really done everything you said you would do.” His words caught you by surprise. “Are you forgetting that I left you? You were pretty mad about that a few hours ago.” He smiled; his hand now cupping your cheek. You leaned into his touch. “I’m still pretty mad but I think that’s just because of the way you left-” “Without an explanation you mean?” You interrupted and he nodded. “I looked for you. Spent months trying to figure out where you could have gone.” “I’m sorry Spencer. I really am.”

“Why did you leave Y/N?” He asked. There were now tears forming in your eyes. “I-I eh-” You took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I-it was as if one morning I just realised that I wasn't myself anymore, I didn't know who I was. And near the end we hardly saw each other. The last thing I wanted was for us to start fighting, we were both so young and dumb. I watched us wither, and I just thought I would be better off alone.” “But you could have told me.” He placed a strand of your hair behind your ear before going back to holding your cheek; not breaking eye contact. “Spencer, I knew if I told you than you would have talked me into staying. I needed to figure out who I was before I could let myself grow old with someone.”

Spencer nodded, taking in all of the information you just provided him with. He let out a deep breath. “Do you want to raid the mini-bar in my room? We could continue this conversation over a glass of something strong.” He offered, you smiled. “I’d like that.” Hand in hand, the two of you walked towards Spencers hotel room.

“So where did you go? Like I said I trying looking for you but it was as if you dropped off the face of the earth until I got a tip that you were in L.A.” You smiled meekly. “I uh stayed in Virginia for a while. After graduating from the academy I decided that I wanted to just pursue law for a while so I got an internship at a small firm. Plus I figured it would be the last place you would look for me, home.”

He unlocked the door when you reached his room and pushed it open, allowing you to enter first. He followed and locked the door behind. You switched on a lamp situated on one of the nightstands as Spencer rummaged through the mini-bar. He took out two small bottles of gin and poured the content into clean coffee mugs. You made yourself comfortable on his bed, kicking off the white hotel slippers you leaned back against the headboard and spread your legs straight in-front of you. Spencer handed you one of the cups before taking off his own shoes and sitting down beside you.

He clinked his glass against yours and took a sip of his drink; squinting his eyes slightly as the clear liquid burned down his throat.

Over the next hour you answered every question he asked, as honestly and truthfully as you could. All the puzzle pieces aligned themselves in Spencers brain and for the first time since you left he felt whole again. You told him about everything you’ve been doing. He returned with a detailed explanation of everything that has happened to him; from becoming a godfather to his recent time in jail.

“No wonder you’re so mean looking now.” You teased, nudging his arm. “And what’s your excuse?” He clapped back, smirking as he finished his drink. He placed the empty mug on the side table and rested his head against the bed-frame; tilting it slightly to look at you. 

There was a brief moment of silence. Only this time it wasn't uncomfortable or angry, it was peaceful.

“Y/N?” “Yes?” You waited patiently for him to ask his next question, but he never did. Instead Spencer leaned in, his hot breath hit your skin igniting a fire that was built up inside. In the space of a heartbeat his lips were on yours. The warmth of his closeness was soothing and you shut your eyes instantly. 

Spencers hand closed around your jaw, pulling you further into his lips, as his tongue pushed inside your mouth entwining with yours. The two of you began feverishly making out like a couple of high schoolers. Tips of his fingers tangled in your hair, tugging it. You sucked on his lower lip, he bit your tongue playfully as it danced with his. His stumble grazing your chin as your heads moved from side to side to the rhythm of your heartbeats. A quiet moan escaped you causing the brunette doctor to smile against your mouth while deepening the kiss even further. 

Each of your bodies relaxed into the sensation. His tongue eagerly explored your mouth as his hand moved down from your face to your neck. He gave it a gentle squeeze making you moan again, only louder this time. Spencer groaned at the sweet sound of your pleasure; biting down on your lower lip hard before pulling away. 

In one swift motion, Spencer yanked you down by your waist so that your head was resting on a pillow. He straddled over you, his lips now at your collarbone. He kissed up until he met the hollow of your throat. You could feel his member grow harder through his pants, pinning into your leg. He moved to the side of your neck, sucking and nibbling as he traced along. Your body arched into his, chest swelling - there will definitely be a faded purple bruise on your neck greeting you in the morning.

Your hands made their way underneath his t-shirt, tracing the muscles of his toned back. His lips moved up to face yours allowing you to swiftly remove the garment over his head and throw it to the ground. His tongue traced down your jaw as his hands worked on the cotton rope belt of your robe. He undid it quickly; the garment fell open. 

Spencer pulled back for a split second to admire the view before burying his head between your breasts. He cupped them in his hands, his thumbs rubbing harshly over your nipples. Hastily, you tangled your fingers in his hair and bit your own lip as his mouth latched on to one breast; his fingers pulling the nipple of the other. 

His free hand moved down your body until he reached your inner thigh. He traced circles into your flesh, and you instinctively tensed the closer he got to your pussy. You ached for his touch and Spencer knew it too. Smiling against your naked flesh, satisfied that he held all the power, he steered himself down until his face was at your entrance. He wrapped his arms around your thighs steadying them before diving in without warning. His tongue swept from your opening to your clit. 

Throwing your head back, squirming and writhing, you dissolved completely. He continued licking you out. His lips sucked on your clit as a finger slipped inside of you. Instantly, he found your g-spot and massaged it while sliding in and out creating the sluttiest wet noises you had ever heard. Moans of pure ecstasy left your mouth only enticing him more.

The brunette teared away but before you got a chance to complain his fingers were in your mouth. You could taste your own saltiness as your tongue instinctively enveloped around them, sucking. Spencer smiled wickedly at the sensation. It didn't take long for him to jerk his hand away, and grab your face by your jaw. His nails dug into your cheeks.

“Get on your knees for me.” - a simple instruction which you obliged straight away, no hesitation. 

Both of you now completely naked. The head of Spencers fully erect cock rested on your bottom lip. You ran your tongue over it, vertically, letting your lips close off at the tip. But Spencer wasn’t willing to give up the control. He grabbed the back of your head and thrust his shaft fully into your mouth. Your eyes went wide at the intrusion and it took you a second to accommodate this length. 

He withdrew. You managed to swirl your tongue over the tip of his dick when he plunged back into your mouth. He pushed past your gag reflex and into your throat making you moan into his member. He repeated the act a few more times gradually increasing speed. “Fuck yesss...” Spencer groaned, watching you intently. Your jaw ached as he fucked your mouth; your lips in a tight O as he pumped into your mouth so forcefully you struggled to keep up. 

He drew out briskly. He pulled you back onto the bed and positioned himself on-top of you. His face inches away from yours, a caring look spread across his features for a moment. “We can stop if you want.” You shook your head. “No, I want this. I want you.” Smiling at your response, Spencer leaned down and pressed his soft lips against yours. 

In that same moment, he pushed his cock into your wetness. You moaned against his mouth at the sensation. His tongue breached your teeth, once again intertwining with yours, and you felt him pull out only to thrust back in deeper this time. You trembled underneath him as he pushed back and forth in slow strokes; each movement creating gasps of pleasure. 

He increased his speed. His thick member pounding into you; a smacking sound now echoing in the room. His mouth trailed hungry kisses along your jaw, his stubble grazing your skin. His fingers found your neck, wrapping around it gently. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. The brunette doctor continued to thrust in and out of you as you circled your hips, grinding against him. Your tits bouncing at the created friction. His panting mixed with your shallow breathing and moans - you could feel your orgasm building rapidly.

The tighter your pussy clenched, just aching to explode, the harder he pushed into you. He fucked you deeply, roughly. His fingers digging into your neck as he bit down on your shoulder. Eyes rolling, you screamed his name over and over. Your hips buckled with each strong thrust, you threw your head back. 

His name rolled off your tongue again as he pinned you to the bed by your throat, careful to avoid your windpipe in the process. His mouth found your ear and when his hot breath hit your skin a shiver tingled down your spine. “Cum for me.” He whispered and that was all it took. You screamed, body writhing under him. He moved his face back to meet your lustful gaze. A smirk circled his around his lips as you cascaded into an orgasm which rolled through your entire body. 

Your back arched and your hands grabbed at the sheets. Spencer continued to fuck you. His thrusts still as rapid and rough as before. His movements didn't die down until his own orgasm overcame him. Your hips buckled as one last moan escaped you; eyes still locked together. His lips found yours as he exploded, your juices mixed trickling down your inner thighs.

The two of you were breathless and sweaty as he rolled off you. Looking at the ceiling above, both of you tried to steady your heavy panting. Spencer placed a hand on his chest which propelled up and down heavily.

“That was-” You began, trying to organise your thoughts. “Amazing.” Spencer finished your sentence. He tilted his head to look at you. You did the same, smiling at him warmly. He reached out his hand and slowly, while caressing your cheek with his thumb, placed the loose strands of hair behind your ear. 

The two of you lay there like that for a moment longer before reality struck. A knock on the door caused you to jump out of bed scrambling for your clothes. You wrapped the hotel robe around you and hid behind the wall as Spencer put on his pants and went to answer the door.

“Emily, hey.” Spencer cleared his throat. You listened in, holding your breath so not to make a sound. “There’s been a break in the case. Can you get dressed and find Y/N? JJ went by her room but there was no answer so we’ll just meet the two of you at the precinct.” “Sure.” You heard the door creak; as if he was about to close it but stopped. “And Reid-” “Yes?” “Please be on your best behaviour. We want Y/N on this team and I won’t tolerate bad bearings like earlier today.” You knew she was referring to him calling you a whore.

The door shut. You shuffled out from behind the wall and looked at the brunette doctor. “You didn't tell Emily I was resigning?” You asked, slightly confused. He shook his head no slowly as if he was scared of your reaction. “Why?” “I- eh- wanted to first try and convince you to stay.” He admitted letting his shoulders fall. In that moment, a terrible realisation hit you.

“Is that why you slept with me?”

“What? No!” He was taken aback by your question. This couldn't possible be what you were thinking now. 

You began to feel sick to your stomach. Head dizzy as a whirlpool of emotions hit you out of nowhere. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god...” Your hands clasped your mouth out of shock. 

“Y/N-” “I have to go.” You cut him off and pushed past him to the door. “No, Y/N listen to me.” He grabbed your arm as you reached for the handle but you shook him off. “I’ll just meet you at the car in ten. I’ll talk to Emily myself when we get to the precinct.” You barked, possibly too harshly, and hurried out of there as fast as your legs could carry you. 

You found it hard to believe that Spencer would stoop as low as have sex with you to make you stay. But then again in the last twenty-four hours he’s proved that he is not the person you once knew. 

The brunette doctor called after you but you blatantly ignored him. In the distance, you heard him curse loudly and slam his door shut. A lone tear trailed down your cheek. You wiped it away quickly trying to contain yourself. No, you weren’t going to let him get in your head like that. This was your dream job, your life. You decided a long time ago that he wasn't going to influence your decisions, now was no time to stop. If he wanted to fuck with your head, fuck you, than two could play that game. 

-

story taglist: @ashwarren32, @haylaansmi, @spencersblog, @lovebodymindstuff, @april-14-blog, @wooya1224, 

masterlist

[domesticblisss]

What If It is Not Meant for Me?

Jay White x Female Reader Requested Prompts: “can you write anything with jay. It can be fluff, angst!” Rating: PG-13 Word Count: 1397 Warnings: Uhhh, not much? Maybe a little angsty fluff? Probably some self doubt and some pinning. Summary: Jay has a new neighbour. A/N: My dear requester let me free ball it and I am on my monthly “Don’t delete the kisses” bullshit soooo, hope y’all like it.

Jay has a hard time accepting the good things that appear in his life.

His routine took a turn after she moved to the only other apartment on the floor of his condo. The once lifeless and bleak hallway now always smelled like pancakes and flowers, faint sounds of dog barks could be heard, accompanied by calm music and the sweetest voice he had ever heard. On fridays the voices multiplied, laughter was constant and the music was a bit more agitated. Clinking of wine glasses, toasts, and the occasional sound of glass breaking filled his ears.

If you asked him to be honest, he would tell you he envied her.

They met a month after she moved in. The elevator was almost closing when he heard someone shouting “no no no” and when he looked up, Jay was graced by the vision of her running towards him, her baby bull terrier on one arm and the length of her flowery sundress being held by the other hand as she ran, her boots making squeaky noises as the soles touched the smooth floor. He quickly stopped the door and moved to the side so she had more space for the ride.

“Thank you so much!”

“No problem.” Jay’s voice was quiet, almost monotone, a drastic contrast to the cheery one owned by his new neighbour.

She noticed that the twelfth floor’s button was highlighted and decided on introducing herself. “I moved in around a month ago. Are you new here too?”

“I”m Jay, and no, I’ve been living here for a couple of years now.”

“Oh, that’s nice! It’s always so quiet on your side that I thought I was alone.”

“I’m always travelling.” He keeps his words short and a low tone of voice, trying not to give in how the thoughts were running a million miles per hour on his head.

The elevator stops, the robotic woman’s voice announces they had arrived and the doors open.

“It was nice meeting you, Jay. See you around! Come on, let’s go Kobe.”

Jay stayed on the elevator a little longer, watching the woman race her puppy to the door. 

He finally smiled.

Jay has a hard time accepting the good things that appear in his life.

After their first encounter, they started bumping into each other more. Late night cardio sessions in the condo’s gym, pool meetups and even a “grabbing the same cart” situation at Whole Foods.

He made sure to change his schedule, always doing things in the oddest hours but they always ended up bumping into each other. He almost started believing in fate. 

She noticed he wasn’t much of a talker and Jay was thankful she didn’t push him. She kept it simple, a good morning/afternoon/evening, telling him to watch out for something or if she had found a good deal at the grocery store. 

The next forty days he spent in Japan were clouded by thoughts of her. His friends noticed the changes in his humor. He wasn’t as hot headed as usual, the young lions didn’t suffer as much and he opened up more.

It was after one gruesome match, when he and his stable mates went to the closest club to unwind, that Tama decided to ask what was going on. The man wasn’t drinking and going after girls like he used to and his friend noticed. So he told him. Told him how he felt, how he missed her and how he didn’t know what to do with his feelings.

“You gotta let the good things come to you, man. I can tell this girl is good just with the way you talk about her. Your eyes are glowing and I haven’t seen you give a normal, sane man smile in almost a year. Stop depriving yourself from experiencing love because there’s a little bug inside your head feeding you lies. You are a good dude, an amazing guy and you deserve good things, open yourself for them.” Tama’s words echoed on his head the whole week. 

It was on a hot early summer evening when they saw each other again. Jay had just gotten back from a 17+ hour flight from Tokyo and the first thing he sees when he comes out from the elevator is her surrounded by several grocery bags, struggling to find her keys. 

“Hey, welcome back!” her still so cheery voice greets him as soon as she hears the ding of the elevator. 

“Hi! Let me help you.” Jay grabs most of the bags and enters her apartment, setting them down on the kitchen counter like she asked. The apartment is exactly how he pictured it would be, plants and flowers crowded the place, mixed with a minimalistic yet cozy decoration. Kobe ran to him, licking the man’s hand asking to be picked up. 

“He really likes you, that’s new. Kobe is not that into other guys, you know?” she laughs and continues “Thanks for the help.”

“It’s no problem, really.”

“Mmm, I don’t want to overstep your boundaries and I know you will probably want to sleep all day tomorrow, but I’m having a little dinner with my friends, if you want to, you can come.”

“I would love to!”

“It starts at seven…”

“Great, I’ll see you then.” 

Jay has a hard time accepting the good things that appear in his life. But he was starting to like them. 

He arrived at 7pm sharp on that first friday. She was alone, still cooking. As usual, music played in the background, her lips were wine stained and her right cheek was smudged with focaccia flour. Jay sat by the counter listening to her talk. The look on his face was the same Kobe had when he was afraid of a new object. 

“What is it?” Her sudden laughter startled him. 

“You look like a lost, scared puppy, Jay. I’m talking your ears off, eh?”

“No, it’s fin–“

“Tell me about yourself.”

“Like what?”

“Whatever you want me to know.” she smiled. 

So he told her. He told her how he came from New Zealand to pursue his wrestling dream, how he had traveled the world, how he now works in Japan and he is on the run to become their new champion, how much he loved dogs. He almost told her how he feels about her. Almost. 

Her friends arrived one by one and Jay became the centre of the attention, everyone sat around him wanting to hear his stories, curious about his life. 

That one friday became every friday. He made sure to always arrive at 7pm sharp, so he could have her undivided attention, even if it was for only a little while. 

“It’s just us today.” That’s the first thing he hears when she opens the door after two months apart. “Hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not.”

That night was different. They sat side by side on the floor, using her coffee table for support. She was closer than usual, listening intently to what he had to say. As always, she was curious about his matches, wanting to know every move, wanting to know how it felt to hold a belt. 

“You wanna see it?” Jay asks shyly. 

“Of course!”

He comes back almost five minutes later with a black velvet bag on his hands, carefully taking the belt out of it and gently placing it in her hands. 

“Gosh, it’s so heavy.” she tells, mesmerised. Her delicate hands trace the words announcing he was the IWGP NEVER Openweight champion. “It’s beautiful too. Put it on.” 

Jay channels the persona that presents itself on that ring almost every night and makes a show of it. 

“Yep, you were made for it.” her statement makes him blush.

Two bottles of white wine, four legs intertwined and a whispered conversation later, she kisses him. 

The world stops for Jay. It was all too fast and too slow. Her breath smelled like the sweet wine  they had been drinking and his lips tingled from her touch. Pressing her forehead to his, she smiled, leaving him breathless.

“You should pay more attention to the signs, Jay.”

Suddenly, everything made sense.

“I’m getting more wine, do you want some?”

Jay had a hard time accepting the good things that appear in his life. But he sure as hell loves them now.

[xxxxhannyxxxx]

Dancing Dreams

Chapter 1

(I would love some feedback especially since i decided to start writing again, I will also be working on re-writing My Han Fanfiction and making it better, Thank you)

Synopsis ..... As a 20yr old born and raised in Busan South korea, you finally moved forward in your life and managed to Join The Best Dance company out there. You make Friends you could never forget and so many memories you will cherish in your life. Your love Life will blossom and the sturggles of life will finally reach its peak. Will you manage to get through it or get overwhelmed by evrything and everyone ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was an early Monday morning, the sun rays were shinning through the cracks in your curtains perfectly lighting your face. "its too early for any of this" you groan and turn over to the other side where the sun dont shine. "Y/N get up youre going to be late!" your mom yelled at you from the kitchen. You turn back around and sluggishly sit up right, criss-cross apple sauce still half asleep and slouching forward. "Thats right" you thought to yourself, "Todays the first day of my dance class" you check your phone and time reads 7:34am. You get up and start making your way to the bathroom still dragging your feet, but you couldnt help but feel butterflies in your stomach. you make your way to the bathroom and brush your teeth, then your face and you apply lotion " you cant forget to take care of your face" you say as you laugh. You walk towards your closet wondering what to wear. your closet was full of black and white, not really any other color because brights just wasnt your thing. you decide to go with some black sweats, a white crop top and some white Filas. you decide to keep your hair down, kinda wavy and grab a hair tie for later. you head down stair and you can hear the sizzling of possibly bacon or sausage and the smell of toast. Your mom had breakfast ready for you, two eggs over easy just the way yiu love em, two strips bacon and some white toast. " Thank you, if you wouldnt have made me breakfast i would have gone on coffee for the whole day" you say wiith a moutful of toast. You tend to live off of coffee, not a day goes by without it. once you finished eating, you grab your keys and head out "Bye mom, ill see you later" you say as you turn around and wave good-bye.

You hop in your car, plug in your phone and start listening to some of your favorite tunes. The first song that plays is Enhypens Given-taken "Wake up in day one, cheonnare achim jomyeongin bichweo taeyange nunbit" you sing, using your vocal chords to their full extent. Next played Aespas- Next level which lead to ITZYs Mafia. You pull up to a starbucks and lower your music, "Hello welcome to starbucks, what can i get started for you today?" The employee asks cheerfully this morning. "Hello can i get a Venti Iced caramel macchiato with 2 extra shots of espresso and extra caramel" It was your go to drink, just the perfect amount of espresso and caramel mixed together. "Of course, is that going to be all for today?" she asked, "Yes ma'am, thank you" she tells you the price and you pull up the window, you grab your drink and head off straight for the dance studio. A couple more songs played through, you jammed out to Nct, Exo, A.C.E, Oneus and so many other groups and then you finally arrived. Your heartbeat accelarated slightly just at the thought that you finally get to start your dance classes.

When you were just ten years old you found k-pop, it was music you had never listened to but your curiosity got the best of you. From finding TVXQ you were slowly dragged down the K-pop hole but it was possibly the best thing that had ever happened to you. From then on 3yrs went by, you were finally 13 and you thought to yourself that you wanted to be a dancer and that someday you would be a back up dancer or a choreographer for the idols you look up to. You asked your mom to sign you up for dance classes , she agreed and signed you up for modern dancing, from then on you moved on to hip-hop, contemporate and breakdancing which was honestly possibly the hardest to learn, who knew breakdancing could make you feel like you could break yourself in a heart beat. And thats how you got here, you auditioned to join Dream Team dance studio, one of the hardest to pass and yet you managed to make it through, but the price for this dance class was pretty high so you also planned on getting a part time job.

You finally turned off your car and started heading towards the building, since you were still new here you had to follow sign procedures and which classes you would be available for and suited for. You headed towards what seemed to be the front desk but didnt see anyone there. "Hello?" you called out, and then a girl peeked her head out the corner of her office "Hello sorry i didnt hear you walk in" she said very sweetly " what can i do for you today?". You open your bag and pull out the paperwork you had to fill out Prior to your first day "Oh, i am new here and today is going to be my first day starting my dance classes" you hand her the papers and she goes through, she tells you to give her a quick minute and she walks back to the office, she comes back with a lanyard and keycard attached " Welcome to DT, Heres your badge" she hands the item over to you and you seemed kinda confused " oh, sorry let me explain. So we do get certain people who come thorugh to practice at times and we use this badge so that any unwanted personal dont just barge through wihtout permission. we really do want our dancers to feel safe and comfortable in this enviroment" its like she read your expression. So many questions came to mind of who could possibly come to this studio, Idols seems to cross your mind but you just push it away because it only happens ever so rarely. "Thank you so much, ill make sure not to lose this", you start to head towards the doors and turn around because it totally slipped your mind to ask what room your class was in. “im sorry, but what room will i be heading to?” you ask. “ oh, right i guess we forgot, you will be headed to  floor 7 room c” - she chuckles. You start to make your way back to the double doors then you hear her say " if you lose the badge, its a $100 fee to replace it", You grab the badge tighter knowing that thats alot of money just to replace it. You excitedly scan your badge and make your way through the double doors, as soon as you walk through you see a cafeteria  to your right and a mini market to your left. You walk towards the cafeteria and see that they also have a cafe in the corner. “oh hell yeah, i can grab myself some coffee anytime i want now’” you think to yourself as you sip on your starbucks.   You turn around and starts making your way to the elevators, as you walk back you overhear a group of girls chatting about floor 7, you stop in your tracts to listen in a little more, you werent trying to eavesdrop but you were still new here and wanted to know what they had to say about the floor your class is in.  They started talking about how the rumor about idols showing up at the dance studio was true but the only floor they ever go to was floor 7, since floor 7 was were the best choreographers were located. You start to walk away slowly picking up your pace because in your head that was impossible, you werent notified exactly of who the special personal was. You thought maybe you should have asked more in depth questions, but you didnt because you were so excited. You finally make a stop at the elevator doors almost running straight into them,you push the up arrow button and the doors open. When you head inside you push level 7 but on the mini screen it says Please scan badge. You grab your  badge slightly shaking and scan, you get approved and the doors close.  The  elevator starts to go up and you are so deep in your thoughts you start thinking out loud. You start pacing back in forth asking yourself if what the girls were saying  was true. The last thing you needed was for an artist to show up and make a fool out of yourself, at this point you have your arms up in the air and you dont notice that the elevator stopped on floor 3. As you turn around you see three different males standing infront of the levator staring at you, all three were in black masks and some sort of hat making it hard to notice their faces. You make eye contact with one and the realise your arms are still up in the air. “oh my god, i am so sorry” you say as you are still panicking. The one on the left giggles to himself, the one on the right is unphased but the one in the center kept eye contact with you. You  could barely utter another word, but you manged to scoot over and make room for the three of them. You are so embarassed you face away and place your head against one of the elevator walls. You see that one of them goes to push floor 7 as well but they realise that floor number 7 is already chosen. They look over and notice that you also have a badge that lets you in the top floor but they leave it at that. The ride from floor 3 to floor 7 seemed like it was taking forever, and you couldnt believe that on your first day you managed to make a fool out of yourself. You finally reach floor 7 and the elevator doors open. You make your way out first   and walk as fast you can to room C, the  boys follow behind. With your mind still racing you walk straight passed room C  unknowingly that you almost run into a window at the end of the hall.  As soon as you come to a stop you hear, “ You do know thats a window, and not a door right?” he says with a mocking tone. “ oh yeah, i knew that, i just wanted to take in some sun” you say as you turn back around and go straight for room C.  “Hyunjin, youre going to be late for our dance class” han says  after opening the door to room A, “Sorry, i just wanted to take in some sun” he giggles to himself.

You have eyes looking at you from running in and closing the door shut, your face lights up red "I'm sorry". You continue to walk in and the dance room catches your eye, its so spacious, the walls painted an oxford blue, and a set of two clear window that reach from top to bottom on the left. "First time here i see" one of the girls calls out to you, "oh yeah, this dance room is nice" you are in complete awe. "i was the same way the first time i walked in this room, by the way if you dont mind me asking, what was that all about earlier?" she cocked her head to the left. "oh that~, so i made a complete fool of myself infront of these guys who were on the elevator with me, i guess i was so nervous that i also almost walked into the window at the end of the hall until one of them called out to them" you say with a slight laugh as you look down on the floor. "Oh geex, i would have probably done the same. So whats your name?", "my name is Y/N, whats yours? you ask, "Oh my name is Elizabeth but you can call me Eli, i hope we can be good friends from now on". As soon as she finished the doord behind us opened, "Hello, it seems like everyone here seems aquianted, well lets get started from where we left off. Hello you must be y/n, i have heard alot about you from our scouts who were at the auditions." She says with a very curious tone, you can feel all eyes on you. "He-hello" you tense up slightly just at the thought the teacher knows who you are. The class officially starts and everyone seems to have gone to their places, you make your way towards the back of the class to watch the dance everyone one learned last semester. You watched them practice a couple times before you joined in. After going through the dance a couple more times Eli looks at you in awe "I can see why you were accepted into classes in the 7th floor, youre really good"

  Classes proceeded for the rest of the day that time went by so fast, it was already 7pm and it was time to go home. "So i believe i will be seeing you tomrrow?" Eli asked, "Definitely, i had so much fun today and im so excited for the rest to come. I might stick around to practice just a little more" You say with enthusiasm in your voice. Eli leaves while waving back and youre the only one left in the room. You walk up to the radio and plug in your phone through the aux chord, you scroll through your playlist you are debating between Enhypen- given taken, TXT- Puma and Starykids latest release Thunderous. You decide to go with thunderous since you just had decided to change the end because you crouched down and walked foward by yourself it would look funny. You finally finished making the end and finally remmebering it so you decide to finally run through the whole dance. After dancing Thunderous a couple times you finaly drop down tired, you hear the door open behind you and turn around to see who could possibly still be here and to your suprise its the 3 mysterious men from earlier. "You're really good, did you make the ending for Thunderous?" asks the one with the medium length black hair, his voice sounds so familiar but you cant seem to remember who it could be. "Oh uhm, yes i did. i kinda figured if i danced it alone i would look stupid" You giggled to yourself "Like imagine crouching down and doing this?" you start to do the ending of the dance, "Youre right, haha it would look kinda funny" Says the one on the left, and again his voice also sounds very familiar but you really cant remember. " I guess we should introduce our selves, My name is Changbin, Seo Changbin" Your eyes widen, "Hi My name is Jisung, Han Jisung. But don't tell anyone you saw us" He shoots a wink. "Well i guess it my turn, My name is Hwan hyunjin, and if you ever feel like Getting some sunshine again Make sure not to try to run out the window" He laughs to himself. Youre face flushes red, You barely manage to even Speak. Did i really just make a full of myself infront of STRAYKIDS?!?! Is the only thought running through your head.

[frostedfaves]

Family Emergency

Pairing: Jake Peralta x reader

Summary: Y/N deals with a family emergency.

Word Count: 1.6k

Warnings: death/suicide of a parent, grief, overall angst with soft and caring Jake mixed in

A/N: This is one of three versions of this concept that I wrote. Still debating if I want to post the others, so if you’d be interested in reading them let me know!

-

You watched the phone ring for a second time within the hour, Jake's goofy grin popping up and reminding you that someone was waiting for you to come home. Eventually you put the phone back in the cup holder and rested your hands on the steering wheel, looking back at the raindrops racing down the wet windshield. Upon reaching the apartment complex, you'd turned the car off immediately, but couldn't bring yourself to do anything but listen to the tiny daggers hit the roof and stare off into the rest of the parking lot through sheets of water.

It was 7PM now, a full two hours later than the time you clocked out from work. Jake knew this, which explains the third call your phone was now buzzing from. You wanted to pick up the phone and tell him that you were just outside, and that all you had to do was come inside the building, take the elevator up to your floor and walk into the apartment. That once you accomplished that, you would take off your jacket and explain why you were so late. But you couldn't bring yourself to do it, because that would make everything real.

You left work as normally today, interrupted by a call from the hospital before you could pull off. A nurse explained that your mother had been brought in from a suicide attempt, and that despite their best efforts, she wouldn't live past the next hour. You found yourself driving without thought, close to breaking all traffic laws as you sped off to see your mother alive one last time. You made it just in time to hold her hand as she flat-lined.

After making the necessary arrangements so that her body wouldn't be abandoned in the morgue, You left and began your trip home, almost laughing at the coincidence of a thunderstorm on one of the saddest days you'd ever lived. Aside from feeling mocked by the weather, you felt comforted by the fact that you weren't the only person clouded with gloom at the moment, certain that another heart was as heavy as yours somewhere.

Your phone rang a fourth time, this time Rosa's name appearing on your screen. She was your best friend (aside from your boyfriend of course) but she wouldn't pry if you asked her not to. You took a chance and answered.

"If you're breaking up with Jake, can you tell him already so he can stop calling me?" Rosa's voice filled the speaker immediately and you were suddenly brought to reality, a nice-sized lump forming in your throat. "Y/N?" Rosa spoke up again when you didn't respond. "What's going on, dude?"

"Tell-" you backpedaled, realizing saying Jake's name brought the same lump to your throat, and tried a different approach. "Tell him I'll be home soon."

"You okay?"

"Y-no, but don't tell him that yet. It's just...I'll text you or call you later or something, okay? Bye." You hung up after hearing a response, taking a deep breath. You finally tucked your phone into your jacket pocket to save it from the rain and took your seatbelt off, grabbing your work bag and stepping out of the car.

The rain was heavier now, but you moved as slowly as if the sun was out, carefully closing the door behind you and walking to the building in an almost dreamlike state. When you reached the door, you held it open as you slowly turned and locked the car, returning the keys to the safety of your other pocket as you kept going to the elevators.

When you reached your apartment, you unlocked the door as slow as you could manage without unintentionally teasing Jake with your entrance. You came in and when you turned around from hanging your coat and placing your shoes on the mat, Jake was standing across the room.

"I made your favorite soup. I figured your boss might've been holding you late, and wanted to soften the blow of your bad day," Jake spoke from his spot across the room as he smiled warmly but carefully.

You took a couple steps and dropped your phone and keys on the coffee table in front of the couch, still refusing to make eye contact with him. Still refusing to fully accept what was going through your head and tell it to someone else. So instead, you whispered a thanks in response, brushing a kiss onto his cheek as you passed him to head into the bedroom.

"Are you mad at me? Did I do something to hurt you?" You heard his voice again from the doorway as you changed out of your soaked clothing and felt a pain in your heart at the unsure shakiness in his tone, knowing you caused it.

"No. I'm sorry." You forced yourself to look at him, knowing that the longer you held it in, the more of a risk you'd have of losing him. As if you could handle two immense losses in one day. "Something...something happened, Jake."

He stepped over to you quickly, taking your hands in his and luckily succeeding in getting you to meet his eyes again. "What is it, babe? Talk to me."

"My mom killed herself." You felt another stabbing pain at the sharp intake of breath coming from the man in front of you. "I mean, she tried to. She did, but I still had time to say goodbye but, did I? I mean, I still don't know why she...how she could...I don't..."

You took a deep breath that was instantly shortened by the sobs that fell from you so freely, now that you were no longer holding onto the information, no longer the only one in the room who knows. You felt your legs giving up and you listened, grateful when Jake wrapped his arms around your shivering body and followed as you sank to the floor. He kissed your damp hair and whispered reassurances over and over again until everything was just one hushed noise to you. You cried until you were sure you ran out of tears and broke free from Jake's hold. Looking into his eyes and seeing his soft and worried gaze was nearly enough to send you spiraling again, but you held it together so you could speak to him.

"I don't know what to do, Jake. I mean I know I'm supposed to hold a funeral and invite relatives and accept pity glances for the next few months, but how do I deal with how much it hurts? I've never known how to process these things and right now it seems that's all my body can do is just ache. I feel so closed in and just...how do I do this?"

Jake placed his hands on either side of your tear stained cheeks, eyes watering as he watched you start to fall apart again. "I honestly don't know, baby. I really wanted to lie to you and tell you that eventually a day will come where you'll barely feel the pain anymore, but I really just don't know. And I'm sorry I can't help you figure that out, but I do know that I can be here for you, holding your hand through all the funeral stuff and the pity looks and whatever else comes."

You swallowed hard, forcing yourself to regain control and continue the conversation. "Babe, I can't ask you to go through that with me. It's too much." You let out a couple sniffles, smiling a bit as Jake rubbed away a few tears with his thumbs as he held you in place.

"Y/N, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't make myself available to you when you needed me most? I'd never forgive myself, especially because you've done the same for me many times since before we even started dating." He leaned forward to plant a feathery light kiss on your forehead, immediately giving a second one with a bit more pressure before pulling back completely. "We're in this together, okay?"

You studied his features, noticing the small crease between his brows, the watery and shimmering state of his eyes as he watched you, waiting for a response. His lips pressed tightly together. "Okay. Can you tell Rosa for me? I can't say it again. I considered sitting in the car all night so I wouldn't have to tell you. I wasn't ready for everything to be so real quite yet."

"I understand," he mumbled into your hair as he pulled you in again, kissing your head once more. "How about this? You go grab a bowl of soup and wrap up in your favorite blanket on the couch while I text Rosa and get your favorite movie set up in the DVD player? I think maybe you could use a distraction right now before you have to deal with real life tomorrow."

A real smile broke out for the first time in hours as you reached up to run your thumbs over Jake's jawline. "I'd like that. Thank you. I love you."

He grabbed one of your hands in his own, pulling it away from him for a second to kiss your palm before placing it on his jaw again. "I love you, too. Come on, time for Operation Feel Better. 1, 2, 3, break!" In one awkward motion, he pulled back and rolled away from you on the floor, crawling on his knees out of the room before he stood finally. His heart thumped happily in his chest at the sound of your laughter, grateful that he was already starting to succeed at being the rainbow that appeared in your clouds after the rain.

-

Tags: @halfofwhatisayismeaningless @gaulty74 @ochrythum @xetherealbeautyx @marie-03 @makapaka11

[sandwichrin]

A Little Into You (Junkyu x Reader Fic) (ch. 5)

Word Count: 3.1k words

Pairing: Kim Junkyu x Fem. Reader (Treasure members are all included as well)

Genre: PG-13, Comedy, Romance

A/N: Hello! Finally, the fifth chapter is up! Hope you guys enjoy this one, and Happy New Year in advance 🥰🧡

You keyed in the combination numbers of the lock on your door and slammed the door shut behind you once you entered your home. Your heart was racing, you could hear your own breath shaking from the sprint you just did after leaving the elevator.

It was another member of the group, wasn’t it? Why are they all hanging around here?? And most importantly, why am I meeting them all now? Like, you’ve been staying here for more than a year now and yet you never seem to run into any of them before.

You rest your head against the door behind you. Still trying to catch your breath, you thought to yourself- maybe Jeongwoo was telling the truth about him visiting his friend. Maybe they all like to hang over at their friend’s house here?

You shook your head. Enough is enough. You didn’t want to think about them for now. It was nerve-wrecking enough that you almost got sued on the spot by Treasure, and if you hadn’t made a run for it when Jeongwoo was making that phone call, who knew if the lawyers really did send you a lawsuit for messing with their company’s boys?

You stood up straight and headed for your room. You wanted to take a warm shower and just relax for the whole night.

                                                                *

 “Ah Junkyu-ah! Come in, come in!” Jihoon exclaimed when he saw his best friend at his dorm’s front door. (Note: The boys are living in 3 separate dorms in this fic as updated in their KProfiles’ site)

Junkyu entered the house and took off his shoes at the front entrance.

Jihoon walked away from the spot and headed towards the kitchen. “The rest of us are in the kitchen, come join us,” he said.

Junkyu nodded and tagged along behind his friend, seeing his other friends seemingly busy doing something in the kitchen.

Mashiho was busy whipping the eggs in a medium-sized bowl with all his might—in which Junkyu was concerned that if he whipped it any harder it would turn into a dessert instead of fried eggs. Not far from Mashiho was Doyoung, slightly in a bowing posture, deeply focused on watching a kimchi pancake recipe from his phone’s Youtube.

Junkyu felt warm being close to his friends. He had always appreciated their existence in his life, even before they debuted together, he had always felt a special bond with them. Junkyu pulled out a chair out of the dining table which was opposite the kitchen island where Mashiho and Doyoung stood.

A hand placed a glass of water in front of Junkyu, and he raised his head to see Jihoon nodding slightly at him.

“Thanks,” he said to his best friend.

“You know you can take off that face mask now right?” Jihoon asked obviously. “No fans can follow you around in here you know that,” he added, chuckling.

Junkyu snickered as he pulled the face mask off. He reached for the glass of water in front of him and took a big sip from it before placing it back down onto the table. Both him and Jihoon kept quiet whilst watching their dongsaengs both being busy in the kitchen.

“Mashi-hyung, can you pass me the salt behind you?”

Mashiho stopped beating his eggs. “Oh? Sure, here,” he passed the bottle of salt to Doyoung.

“Thanks—WAIT what is that??”

Mashiho blinked his eyes innocently at his dongsaeng’s question. “Huh? What is what?”

“THAT,” Doyoung pointed out at the foamy bubbles formed in the bowl Mashiho was holding.

Mashiho’s eyes looked down into the bowl in his hands. He smiled brightly as he said, “Eggs! I’m making omelette today!”

“I—” Doyoung was speechless at what he saw. He wasn’t sure if he should tell his hyung that he might have overbeat his eggs at this point since he looked so proud with what he did.

“Don’t worry, I’ll add in some leeks too! It’ll taste really good,” Mashiho added, his smile still beaming on his face.

Jihoon got up from his seat to peek at Mashi’s bowl. Jihoon snorted out loud, in which he quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

Mashiho turned to look at his hyung who was standing behind him by now, “What? What’s so funny, hyung?”

“Nothing, nothing. I just…you better cook those eggs now Mashi. There’s no need to beat them anymore,”

“But, I want to add in leeks—” Mashiho said but was cut off by Jihoon tugging him and directing him towards their kitchen stove.

“Sure, sure. Just add in everything you want. There you go, no more beatings. Just add in them leeks and cook okay?”

Mashiho looked at him, puzzled by Jihoon’s behaviour. He shrugged and followed his hyung’s instructions without further questions.

Doyoung who was a few feet away from both of them, raised a thumbs up at Jihoon for acting quickly before their omelette turns into something else.

Jihoon nodded briefly at Doyoung before returning to his seat beside Junkyu again.

“What happened there?” Junkyu asked as soon as his best friend was beside him again.

“Nah, nothing big. Just some issues with eggs.”

“Oh.”

Suddenly, they heard the front door being closed. Everyone turned to see Jeongwoo walking into the kitchen with a solemn look on his face. Jeongwoo headed towards the kitchen sink and washes his hands thoroughly, since he had just taken out their trash earlier. After making sure his hands are clean, Jeongwoo wiped them with a kitchen cloth and proceeded to take a seat with his hyungs at the table.

“Wow someone looks down in the dumps,” Jihoon said as he saw the look on Jeongwoo’s face.

Jeongwoo ignored him and continued staring down at the table.

“Oh come on. Don’t you get it? Down in the dumps? You went to throw the trash out in the dumps earlier? No?” Jihoon said, trying to explain the pun he made.

Junkyu rolled his eyes slightly at his hyung’s lame pun.

“Oh come on, Junkyu! You don’t think it’s funny either??” Junkyu shook his head at Jihoon who asked him in disbelief. “Man, I must be really losing it,” Jihoon said to himself, noting that he was getting less funny now.

Junkyu eyed Jeongwoo who was sitting opposite him. “Hey Jeongwoo. Hyunsuk said that you called him and sounded like you were in trouble earlier. Are you okay?”

Jeongwoo raised his head to meet Junkyu’s eyes. He looked like he wanted to say something but then he shook his head and looked away again.

Jihoon furrowed his eyebrows, feeling confused at what was going on with his dongsaeng. “Wait, Jeongwoo called Hyunsuk? When?” he asked Junkyu.

“Yeah, I was talking to Hyunsuk on my way back here on the phone and Hyunsuk suddenly told me to check up on Jeongwoo because he was worried about him after receiving a call from Jeongwoo,”

“Huh…Hey kid, speak up. Something happened while you were taking out the trash, right? Now that I think about it, you were gone for quite some time too. Usually when we take out the trash, it takes us less than 10 minutes to come back here,” Jihoon said, his voice now filled with concern for his dongsaeng.

Jeongwoo blinked a couple times before looking up at both his hyungs. “The trash shoot on our floor was under maintenance so I went to the main trash container outside the building.”

“Aahh, so you had to go all the way down there huh, just now?”

Jeongwoo nodded at Jihoon.

“And? What happened down there? Did a sasaeng stalked you?”

Jeongwoo shook his head at this. However, his face was still written with disappointment. Jihoon and Junkyu exchanged looks, concern starting to form on their faces as well.

Jeongwoo lets out a loud sigh. He rests his head against the table, which made it more difficult for his hyungs to read his expression now.

Jihoon decided to shake Jeongwoo’s shoulder, “Hey, you better tell us what happened. We’re genuinely worried about you.”

Another sigh escaped Jeongwoo’s lips. He raised his head, and this time, his face showed double the frustration compared to when he first entered. To be honest, he actually looked like he almost cried.

“Yah…what really happened?”

“I…I just can’t! I feel like I’ve disappointed everyone!” Jeongwoo exclaimed loudly.

Both Jihoon and Junkyu was surprised by this. Even Doyoung and Mashiho whom were busy cooking stopped to look at what was going on.

Jeongwoo got up from his seat and paced around the kitchen. He was contemplating to tell what happened, but at the same time he felt like it was no use because in the end, you had already escaped from him.

“Jeongwoo-aa, just tell us. It’s okay, who knows we can help you. We’ve been together for so long, you don’t have to be scared to tell us anything,” Doyoung chimed in, trying to calm Jeongwoo down. He already stopped mixing his pancake batter by now.

Jeongwoo stopped pacing around the room. Taking a deep breath, he nodded at his hyung. Doyoung was right, he shouldn’t feel scared to tell them this. He walked back to the chair near Junkyu and Jihoon and joined them again. He took in another deep breath before opening his mouth, “Okay…I’ll tell you guys what happened earlier…”

                                                                 *

 It had been a week since the incident of you meeting the treasure members at the convenience store. It had also been a week since you met Jeongwoo for the second time that day at your apartment’s trash container. There had been no more encounters with these people so far, and you were grateful for it.

You were already prepared to be ambushed and to be filed a lawsuit by last weekend but since nothing happened, you took it as a sign that maybe—just maybe, Jeongwoo was kind enough to look the other way and not file a lawsuit against you. Maybe.

And because there was no proper closure on what was going to happen to you after the encounters you had, you started being extra careful whenever you leave for work or even when you head home after work. Like, literally, this whole current week, you had been walking very fast to work and every time you’re about to pass by the YG Building, it makes your anxiety level rise up, making you hustle like as if you’re running a marathon every single time you pass by the building.

Of course, the only pro to this is that, you’ve been arriving to work earlier than usual and you were able to get more of your work done before it was due.

Since it’s been a week, which means it’s already Friday again today, you were already packing up your belongings from your desk at work before noon time.

“y/n-ssi? Are you done with the brochure I asked you to design?” Sangyeol, another colleague you often work with, asked you.

“Oh yeah. I emailed it to your second email address. The one for department purposes?”

Sangyeol was quiet for a while, staring at his monitor on his desk. Probably checking his email. “Oh right. I’ve got it. Thank you! I’ll let you know if it needs any improvement, yeah?”

You smiled at him, nodding. “Sure, just let me know.”

Your eyes landed on the small table clock on your desk that marked 12.05pm. Bingo. Time to clock out!

                                                                 *

Stepping out of your office building, you felt the warm sun seeping through your skin. It felt good. You love the warmth more than anything. If anything, you hated cold weather more than you hate finding beansprouts in your noodles when you ordered them at a shop. Sure, a little breeze is nice but heck no if it’s the bone-biting cold weather.

After a couple good minutes of soaking in the Sun’s warmth, you proceeded to walk down the block, straight towards the convenience store to commence your usual “Ramen Fridays” ritual.

                                                                  *

 “Welcome!” you heard the young cashier greet you as you entered the shop.

Your eyes met him from afar and you flashed him a friendly smile, considering you were comfortable with his presence by now since you see him every Friday.

“Ramyeon?” he asked out loud as he saw you heading towards the instant noodle’s aisle.

You looked at him and nodded briefly. He smiled at you, a soft and cute one too. You chuckled to yourself thinking that you literally find this cashier cute today when usually you wouldn’t even glance at any guys around you.

Shaking your head to yourself, you focused on scanning the row of instant noodles on the shelves.

You leaned down to take a closer look at the ones at the bottom shelf, when you heard the cashier greeting some other customers into the shop.

                                                                 *

 “Welcome!” the friendly cashier greeted Jaehyuk as he entered the store. He bowed slightly and headed straight towards the chiller. His eyes scanned for that small yellow bottle of his favourite drink, in hopes that it hasn’t sold out yet.

He was busy zoning in on the chiller, he didn’t realise Jeongwoo grabbing his shoulder, making him almost jump out of surprise.

“Hyung! I told you to wait for me, didn’t I? Why did you leave me?” Jeongwoo whined at him.

Jaehyuk chuckled at his dongsaeng’s behaviour. Jeongwoo is indeed the baby brother in the group. Jaehyuk’s eyes narrowed as he smiled behind his half-covered face at Jeongwoo, thinking that this dongsaeng is acting all cute and clingy.

“Eyy you know I want to make sure that I get this drink, right? I need to get a good amount of supply before it runs out,”

“But hyung, what happened to the supply you bought last Tuesday?” Jeongwoo asked him.

“Aish, those are all finished already,” Jaehyuk answered him, his hands already grabbing two bottles of the banana milk in front of him.

“Wait—but you bought 6 bottles the other day,”

Jaehyuk stopped in his action and turned to look at his dongsaeng. “Jeongwoo-aa…”

“Yes, hyung?”

“What happened to those 11 cups of ramen you bought last week?”

Jeongwoo fell silent. “Okay fair point. You can take as many banana uyu as you want hyung,” he said in defeat.

Jaehyuk grinned and proceeded to grab onto more of the banana milk since there seems to be plenty of them today. “Hey Jeongwoo, grab that basket over there. I might take half of these,” he urged his dongsaeng to grab the basket near the front door.

As Jeongwoo was grabbing the basket, a familiar figure tapped his shoulder.

“Oh! Hyung! Gosh, you startled me!” he said, his hand clenched at his chest.

Hyunsuk’s eye smile formed above his face mask. Fixing his cap on his head, he nodded at his dongsaeng, “Where’s Jaehyuk?”

Jeongwoo gestured towards the drink’s chiller, and there was Jaehyuk, arms holding onto 5-6 bottles of banana uyu.

The both of them made their way towards the struggling man and helped him put his drinks into the basket.

“Hyung! What are you doing here?” Jaehyuk asked as soon as he saw Hyunsuk.

Hyunsuk leaned against one of the glass doors of the chiller and smirked as he said, “Jihoon sent me out here to check up on you just in case you buy too much uyu,”

Jeongwoo’s eyes glanced at the basket he was holding, which already had 7 bottles of banana uyu in it, and Jaehyuk’s hand was still reaching into the chiller to grab some more.

Hyunsuk’s eyes darted into the basket as well. “Okay Jaehyuk, that’s enough. This is enough to cover a whole week for you. Put that one back into the chiller,” he points at the bottle in Jaehyuk’s hand.

“But hyung…” at this point, both Hyunsuk and Jeongwoo could hear Jaehyuk pouting as he says this. It was easy to tell that Hyunsuk and Jeongwoo was smiling underneath their masks.

Hyunsuk shook his head and said, “Seven is enough Hyuk-aa. Put the rest back,” his tone sounded like he was still smiling though.

“Aww but hyunggg,” Jaehyuk dragged his words, all in a whining tone now. Jeongwoo was already giggling at him now.

Hyunsuk too, started snickering when his eyes landed on the girl at the payment counter. He stopped what he was doing as he tilt his head slightly. The small orange-coloured heart keychain hanging out of the totebag seemed familiar.

He turned around to look at both his dongsaengs arguing about the banana uyu.

“No, hyung! You heard Hyunsuk-hyung right? Seven is enoughhh,”

“Just one more, please just one more Jeongwoo-aa,”

“Hey Jeongwoo, you settle things up with Jaehyuk first okay? I’ll be right back,” Hyunsuk told his dongsaeng beside him. Jeongwoo nodded at his hyung before proceeding to nag at his hyung about self-control.

                                                                 *

 “No spicy kimchi stew flavoured ramyeon for you today, miss?” the cashier asked as he beeped your bowl of instant sweet curry flavoured ramyeon you had placed on the counter.

“Ooh no thanks. I’m feeling for something sweet today,” you smiled at him.

The cashier nodded at this and smiled as well. “Alright, that’ll be $8.”

You took out your wallet from your tote bag and opened it to pay when suddenly the cashier spoke up again, “Wait—”

Your eyes looked up from your wallet and into his. A questioning look formed on your face, “Y-yes?”

“You didn’t buy any drinks yet,”

You blinked a couple times. “Oh? Oh! Oh no no, I got myself a bottled water today,” you grinned at him. You pulled out the water bottle from your bag to show him as well.

“Oh, alright then,” he giggled. “Okay that’ll only be $8 then.”

You nodded and pulled out a $10 note from your wallet and paid it up to him. You were waiting for your change when suddenly you heard someone’s voice beside you.

“Excuse me,”

You turned around to see a man wearing a cap and face mask on. Only his eyes are visible for you to look at. “…yes? Can I help you?” you asked this man.

“Oh? It’s really you!” the man sounded happy saying this to you.

“Erm, miss, your change?” the cashier interrupted you and the stranger as he handed you your change back. You smiled and took it from him, shoving it into your tote bag. You grabbed the ramyeon bowl from the counter and looked back at the guy in front of you.

“I’m sorry…? I…don’t recall…You are?”

You heard him chuckle. “Oh right, how would you tell? Silly me.” He removed his face mask and lifted his cap slightly to show you his face. His grin was fully visible to you now.

Your eyes widened. “H-Hyunsuk-ssi,” you said softly.

Hyunsuk nodded and smiled brightly at you. “Yes! It’s me! Oh my god it’s been a while!”

You blinked a few times, in hopes that this was just a dream but the more you blink, he’s still there right in front of you. You swallowed the lump in your throat. How…Just how…did I end up meeting him again?

To be continued...

[earthfire-75]

Chapter Two, Part Two: That’s the Way (Sleepwalking)

“What did he-“

“Can’t you see that I’m not in the mood right now?!” I snapped. “He acted like a prick! What more do you need me to say?!”

She said nothing, Rogina decided to stand up and leave. This anger that I was feeling wasn’t just towards Cole, but to myself as well. Even if he kept his big mouth shut, seeing Robert’s face before he walked out onstage made me feel guilty. This ire that I had towards myself for potentially hurting him, especially after receiving a kiss from Rogina. My frustration was geared towards her as well for making me feel the way that I did. I guzzled down the remainder of my drink and headed back to the sideline. I kept my mind on my work as I took care of handling the instruments. Everyone did their part in making the rest of the show an explosive one. The lights went dim as Alice Cooper and The Who joined Led Zeppelin to take a bow. The crowd went wild as the sea waved their lighters. The first night was officially over the moment they returned backstage.

Congratulations were in order as they all talked amongst themselves about a fantastic first show. However the exhaustion had settled in and so it was time for them to return to the bus. The road crew got to work as the musicians were escorted out by security. I looked over to the two golden hair singers, but their backs were turned as they followed their bodyguards. I wanted to say something, yet my feet walked in the opposite direction. As I took to the stage, I saw the throngs of fans dissipate through the stadium doors,meanwhile there were others that attempted to make their way backstage. The first item that I grabbed was a tambourine, Robert’s tambourine. I held it for a moment, rubbing the stretched out skin of the percussion instrument. I quickly placed it into its container and went about the business of packing up.

With the equipment packed up and put into their proper places on the tour buses, the road crew were taken to the hotel where we would be staying. Between the bands and the roadies, the entire top floor was full. Each member of the bands got their own rooms along with G and Cole. The roadies, however, got stuck sharing rooms. At least we didn’t all have to cram ourselves into one room. A few of the roadies that didn’t seem to have any issues with me offered to let me stay with them as we ordered a late dinner and even offered me the bed. I insisted on taking the couch instead, since I didn’t pay for the room.

As we waited for the food to arrive a couple of roll-away beds were brought up and made for a few of the guys as well as an extra set of bedsheets for me. The food arrived shortly after and we ate and talked about the job. We ate as we watched a bit of TV, fighting over what show to watch like little kids and it did help to lift my mood. As we got ready for bed, I noticed a connecting door to the next room over. I shrugged to myself, figuring it probably led to Cole’s room so he could wake us in the morning a bit easier. My mind was racing as I arranged the bed sheets. Seems like so much had occurred in such a short amount of time. I was tired and ready to allow sleep to hold me in its welcoming arms. Yet I couldn’t help but wonder what would be in store for tomorrow.

I was suddenly awakened by the sound of the door being opened up and I could see Robert’s figure quietly stepping in. I turned to my side and pretended to be asleep as his feet shuffled across the carpet. I could hear him quietly grunting as he shifted onto his knees, I kept perfectly still as I steadied my breathing.

“Anjelika...” he whispered. “Anjelika, are you awake?”

Even as he spoke in such a soft tone, there was a feeling of anguish in his voice, “Anjelika, I… I um… I heard about what happened with Cole. I’m so sorry, I don’t know what that man’s problem is.”

Silence from my end, a part of me wanted to turn around and tell him to go back to his room, but I continued to listen.

“Just so you know, I think you did a great job on your first day… we all think that. Rogina feels the same way.” He sniffled, “She um… seems to think highly of you… and so do I. Well, I’ll let you rest darlin’. See you in the morning.”

Robert stood up and made his way back to his room, I heard another sniffle from him again, and then a heavy sigh before the connected door was gently shut. The guilt was flooding in the pit of my stomach as I grasped onto the pillow. I shut my eyes and tried my best to fall back asleep, yet I heard something coming from the other side of the door. Robert’s breath had become shaken as a faint and muffled sob could be heard. I wanted to reach out so that I could knock on the door and hold him, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it; even as the voice in my head ordering me to do so. The guilt was spreading throughout my body as a lump formed in my throat. I buried my face into the pillow and let out a quiet cry into the fabric. Aside from the guilt, I wish that I wasn’t feeling the other emotion that was there.

…”You will hold the fate of three hearts in your hands”…

I woke up with a start, the woman’s voice and words haunting me in my sleep. Looking over at the clock and seeing it was five in the morning, I decided not to bother going back to sleep, but instead gathered my things and headed to the bathroom for a hot shower and change of clothes. I then headed downstairs, hoping that the continental breakfast would be ready. Thankfully,it was and I got myself something to eat and a large coffee. I would need the extra caffeine today due to the lack of sleep last night.

As I sat down and began to eat the breakfast sandwich I made from the English muffin, sausage patty and cheese, Jimmy sat down across from me. “I’d like to apologize for Cole’s behavior yesterday.”

I set down my food and looked at him. “It seems everyone is apologizing for Cole’s behavior, except for Cole. But why do I get the feeling that’s not what you really want to talk to me about?”

“Straight to the point. Very well. I think there are things you aren’t telling us. I don’t mean little white lies or normal things people simply don’t think to mention. You aren’t from here, are you? I mean, from this point in time.”

I blew out a long breath, rubbing my hands down my face. “I’m gonna need something stronger than coffee for this conversation.” I muttered, taking a drink of said coffee. “You’re right, there are things I’m not telling you. Perhaps the time has come far sooner than Bonzo and I thought, but I’m not going to go into it here when other people could come in at any point and overhear.”

“Right.” Jimmy unfolded himself from his chair and grabbed himself some coffee and a sweet roll. “We can take this conversation up to my room.”

I shook my head but picked up my plate and coffee, following him back upstairs and to his room. Inside, we sat on the couch, one at each end and set our food down on the coffee table. Jimmy poured a shot of Jack into each of our coffee’s with a little knowing smile and handed me a stirrer. I took it and mixed the Jack into my coffee before taking a sip. “For all the good it will do.”

“What does that mean?” He asked.

“I’ll get to that eventually. One thing at a time, no pun intended.” Jimmy huffed out a laugh and I continued. “You were right that I’m not from this point in time, but it’s far more complicated than that. Are you familiar with the Multiverse Theory?”

“The theory that multiple, if not infinite, words exist next to each other?” Jimmy asked excitedly. “I might have heard of it…”

“Right,” I laughed.”Well, it isn’t just a theory in reality. Very few people know that, Hell, I didn’t until a few years ago. Something happened to me that I can’t explain because I still don’t understand it. But once in a while I find myself in situations like this, in a different universe. But being thrown into the past as well, is a new one.”

“I see. And this isn’t something you can control, I take it?”

No, it isn’t or I would have gone back to my own universe a long time ago and stayed there. I keep…never mind, that part isn’t important. I’m just trying to survive here until I jump again, for lack of a better term.”

“I’m sorry, Anjelika. I-“

“I’m not quite done, Mr. Page. There’s one more thing you should know. I’m like Bonzo.”

“Like Bonzo?”

“Yes. I’m a Nightbane.”

Jimmy’s eyes went wide, a combination of fear and fascination behind them. “Do…do you look like him too? In your other form, I mean.”

“I haven’t seen his Morphus, but it’s unlikely we’re even similar. Every Nightbane’s form is different. Did he not explain any of this to you?”

“Somewhat I guess. I suppose I just wanted it confirmed by another. Bonzo is the only one that we’ve ever seen or heard of. His…what did you call it? Morphus form? It looks like a demonic bear with a stigmata, I think he called it, razor sharp bits of glass sticking up out of his spine.” Jimmy was staring into his cup as he spoke, a shiver running down his spine before he took a large drink. “I called it fascinating at the time, and while true, it was also terrifying.”

“It’s been said that our Morphus forms are something we dream or how we see ourselves in a dream state. It’s why it’s called Morphus. On the flip side of that, our human forms are referred to as facades. A fake, if pleasant, cover to hide the monster underneath. My own Morphus is rare as it isn’t obviously monstrous, but I have a stigmata of my own. There’s an open wound over my heart that constantly bleeds.”

The last part seems to bring Jimmy back from his thoughts. But there was a loud knock at the door before he could respond. Peter’s voice booming through the door; it was time to start getting ready to leave. I swore under my breath and grabbed my food and coffee. Jimmy opened the door for me so I could get to the room I stayed in and get my things while I finished my breakfast. After scarfing down my food and grabbing my belongings, Jimmy and I hurried to the elevator. However a voice from the hall asked us to hold it. I placed my hand out and whose face should happen to be there but Rogina’s. She momentarily took a step back to take a quick breath before entering, her eyes looking away from mine when she mumbled a thank you. She stood on the opposite side with a bag clutched tightly in her hand. Seems like the weight of the elevator felt heavier as it went down.

Jimmy broke the silence, “Morning Rog.”

“Morning Jimmy.”

“Did you have a good rest, love?”

She shrugged, “Yeah, more or less… What about you?”

“I slept alright,” he answered.

Things became quiet once more, perhaps we were just a little tired. Rogina quietly sighed and kept her eyes on the metallic doors before her. The final ding indicated that we had arrived at the lobby floor, Rogina placed her hand on the door and allowed for Jimmy and myself to walk out. A part of me wanted to pull her aside and apologize to her. To let her know that what I had said last night was stupid and that I should have never acted that way. Yet we continued to walk towards the large group of musicians and crew members. Robert was all smiles as he was engaging in conversation with Cooper, Moon, and Townshend.

“Well someone is certainly in a merrier mood today,” Jimmy noted.

Robert replied, “How could I not be? After all, everything seems to be going so well in the tour so far-”

Pete interjected, “Careful there Robert, you don’t want to jinx this. The first leg hasn’t even finished.”

Moon rolled his eyes, “Always expectin’ the worst aren’t you, Pete? Come on, ‘ave a little fun! Loosen up will ya?”

“Keith if you couldn’t already tell, this is a very big tour for all three of us” the lanky guitarist noted matter of factly. “Besides, anything could go wrong and it will.”

Alice took a sip of his coffee and responded, “Well budget wise, you should probably stop wrecking your guitars. Those things aren’t exactly cheap.”

“It’s part of rock and roll. It’s about making a statement! You out of anyone here should know that, what with your cryptic makeup!” Pete shouted.

Rogina placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder, “Pete, it’s too early right now for you to get on your soapbox.”

Robert chuckled, “Yeah, you should probably save it for tonight’s show anyway, Big Bird.”

All eyes were on Robert as Moon broke out in laughter. Next thing he knew, Rogina had the singer in a headlock, giving him a good noogie on the top of his golden curls. The men further encouraged her, Keith exclaiming to give him a purple nurple.

Rogina smirked, “No one insults Pete, except me and Keith. Got that golden boy?”

“Suffocate him!” Keith yelled.

Robert tried to pry himself free, “How are you this strong?”

“Well unlike you, my exercise involves more than just fucking groupies,” she happily explained.

Keith bent his knees as he looked at him, “You should consider this an honour. Loads of fans would love to be in your place.”

Pete raised a brow as he crouched down to Keith, “Course when you did it, you lost a tooth. Made you look like a proper vagabond, it did.”

Rogina finally released him when she saw Peter coming over. She moved him away as she tugged out the wrinkles in her shirt, giving the mountain of a man a sweet grin and acting as if nothing happened. Peter grunted as he rolled his eyes. Seeing that unfold brought a smile to my face. There they were, not just musicians, a group of friends enjoying each other’s company. Finding ways of making each other laugh, even at another person’s expense. They looked ridiculous and their little scene did cause a fair amount of the guests and staff to notice,as if Keith’s vocals weren’t already amplifying the situation.

Robert fixed up his locks and gave her a little smirk, “I will say this much, I do love the feeling of you forgoing a bra.”

Nothing was said, all that we heard was Rogina cracking her knuckles with a harsh smile across her lips. Robert’s face went pale as his lopsided smirk tightened up and he backed away slowly. Alice stood between them and told them to break it off, reminding them that it was time to kiss and make up. And just in time too now that Peter announced that it was time to get on the bus. Robert stood behind his manager like a frightened child, Rogina stuck her tongue out as she walked past him.

As I was about to board the roadie bus, Jimmy called me over, inviting me to ride on their bus. I wasn’t sure that was a good idea, but he convinced me. “I spoke with Bonzo a bit, he thinks it’s time to tell the band and G.”

I sighed but nodded. “I want to tell Rogina too. I owe her an apology anyway.”

“Alright, I’ll go get her.”

I swallowed my nervousness and climbed up onto the bus and immediately came face to face with Bonzo, who gave me a comforting hug before taking my bag and setting it with the others. I took a seat on an empty couch and waited for Jimmy to come back with Rogina. In the meantime, another roadie sat down next to me and introduced himself.

“Hi, I’m Magnet. Well, that’s what everybody calls me anyway. We met yesterday, but I didn’t think I introduced myself. You’re Anjelika, right?”

“Yes. I remember you, you offered me to stay in the room with you and a few of the others.”

“Yeah, that was me. A pleasure to meet you, Anjelika. And, I’m sure you’ve heard it enough times already, but I still want to say I’m sorry about Cole. He’s always been a bit of a dick.”

“Yeah, well hopefully he’s learned his lesson.”

Magnet laughed. “At least where you’re concerned, I think he might’ve.”

Jimmy came back then, Rogina right behind him and the bus door closing right behind them as it started to slowly move forward. Rogina kept her eyes on mine as she came over to sit on the other side of me. I took her hand in mine and slowly turned my head toward Robert, holding out my other hand to him. Hesitantly, he took it and stepped closer to me, Magnet moved so Robert could sit next to me as well.

“I need to apologize to both of you. I’m so sorry for the way I acted yesterday. I was just still so angry with Cole…and myself. I never meant to hurt either of you. I find myself caring about both of you, far more than I want to admit.”

“Anjelika…” they spoke at the same time.

“Hold off on whatever you two are going to say, because I have more to explain.” I looked over at Magnet, then Jimmy.

“It’s alright, Magnet isn’t going to say anything. This doesn’t leave this bus, no matter what happens.”

I nodded and took a deep breath before explaining everything I had told Jimmy earlier that morning before going into things I wasn’t able to then.“There are some abilities that all Nightbane have in common. Mirror Walk, the ability to go between this world and its mirror image, what we call the Night Lands. Night vision, that one’s self explanatory. We can shapeshift between our facade and Morphus at will, are stronger and tougher even in the facade, add to that faster and more agile in Morphus. Some can even fly if they have wings….like I do.”

I held up a hand as I took another breath before continuing. “We also have abilities we call talents, most of which involve the manipulation of shadows in some way or another. Though there are some that can manipulate something that has to do with their Morphus.”

The bus was quiet for a few moments when I finished. Seven pairs of eyes looked at one another, unsure of what to say next. Grant looked towards Jonesy, the bassist appeared pale. I wondered if he looked as scared as he did when Bonzo told them about himself as well. The drummer reached out and placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder, giving him a gentle rub. Silently reassuring him that everything would be alright. Jimmy sighed as he looked at the remainder of the group. Robert opened his mouth to say something, but there was nothing. Magnet stared wide eyed and shocked.

Rogina seemed frightened and a little tense, like she was ready to run out of this bus and return to her bandmates. I reached out to take her and Robert’s hands again. Robert gazed at me, and then slowly interlaced his fingers with mine. Rogina stood up and backed away. Her body was still and her face petrified, like she had just come face to face with a most horrific creature.

I felt my heart start to ache, “Rogina…”

Rogina gulped, she was like a frightened animal placed into a corner with no hope of escape. I stood up and she walked back even further, slowly shaking her head.

Robert placed a hand on my shoulder, “Anjelika, please sit.”

I just walked a little more towards her, “Please Rogina, you need to understand-”

“Get away from me. Stay back!” She screamed.

I could feel a lump forming in my throat as my eyes began to fill with tears, “Please don’t be afraid of me. I won’t hurt you. I’ve never hurt anyone!”

Robert interjected, holding my shoulders, “Rogina, everything is alright. Nothing’s going to happen. Come back.”

Rogina’s breathing had become shaken, “No! How do I know that you’re not one of them?! You?! All of you?!”

Magnet stood up, “Rogina come on, you’re overreacting. I mean Bonzo is one too.”

“What?!” Rogina screamed.

Bonzo shook his head, “Well that was certainly a great thing to spill. And at a time like thi-”

“Shut up!” Rogina shouted. She looked around frantically for the nearest exit, “I want out! Get me off this bus!”

Peter cleared his throat, “Rogina, here why don’t we have a little chat?” He placed his hands up, “And don’t worry, I’m not a Nightbane.”

Rogina shook her head, but Peter gently insisted. As terrifying as that man can be when having to deal with people that can be difficult, there was a side to Grant that made him more approachable. Like a father figure that wanted nothing more than to keep his family safe from harm’s way. He was a man with a strong voice, yet he could show kindness when the situation called for it.

Rogina still looked as if she wanted to run, but eventually nodded, following Peter toward the back of the bus and into a different room. I stood there watching until they disappeared from view, then slowly made my way back to Robert. I buried my face in his chest and started to cry, unable to hold them back anymore. The singer wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his lap, kissing my forehead softly and whispered reassurances.

Almost an hour later, Peter came back out, but there was no sign of Rogina and I buried my face back into Robert’s chest. Peter rubbed my back comfortingly as he walked past to sit down. “It’ll be ok, I think. She’s just asking for time to process.”

The rest of the ride is nearly silent, the only sounds besides the engine was Robert comforting me and Bonzo keeping John Paul calm. A few hours later, we stopped to refuel and get lunch. Everyone slowly got off the bus except for Robert and myself. When Rogina came from the back room, she stopped and looked at me, opening her mouth to say something, but closed it again and left. I stared at the door where she left before finally looking away, my eyes downcast, not even looking at Robert.

Slowly, we get up too. As much as I was not feeling hungry at that moment, I needed to eat something. I went inside with the singer and found a table away from the others and ordered a soup and half sandwich with tea for lunch. Robert sat next to me with his slightly bigger lunch, trying to radiate as much comfort and calm as he could. There was nothing that I could say to him, Rogina, or to anybody really. A part of me wished that the floor below me would open up so that I could slip into a hole and stay there. Why did I ever have to end up here? In this timeline specifically? And why must I find myself showing feelings? Knowing very well that sooner or later, probably when I least expect it, that my time here will end abruptly. I’ll find myself alone again, like always.

“Anj,” Robert whispered, holding my hand. “Darlin’ I know that you’ve had a hard couple of days, but please eat something.” He placed a hand around my shoulder and held me close to his side, “You know, when Bonzo told me about being a Nightbane… I couldn’t talk to him for three days. I just didn’t know what to say to the man.”

I kept my eyes on my food, sighing deeply.

“I don’t know what it’s like to be what you are, but I know this… I care about the ones around me, Nightbanes and humans. Just know that I care about you. And Rogina, well like G said, this will take a bit of time for her to process.”

I looked at him and nodded, but I still felt upset, as selfish as that sounded in my head. Reluctantly, I grabbed onto my sandwich and took a bite. Robert sighed quietly with relief when he saw me eat, at least I would have something in my stomach for the time being. After another bite, I excused myself and headed over to the bathroom to collect myself. I didn’t want to cry in front of anyone, and I couldn’t bring myself to do it right now. I looked at my reflection and tried to steady my breathing, hoping that I wouldn’t come out looking like such a mess. Still he was right, mortal beings have a tough time accepting something that strays from what they consider to be normal. With creatures that can shapeshift, well that’s a different story entirely. I couldn’t help but wonder what Robert must have felt when he had first learned that his oldest friend was not quite what he seemed to be. I wonder how Bonzo reacted after telling everyone in the band what he was. Did he feel lonely? Upset? Regretful?

All mopiness aside, I had to return back to the table. To my surprise, I saw Rogina sitting across from Robert as I slightly opened the bathroom door. I stayed in for a few minutes, watching her lips move as he leaned in to listen to her speak. She still appeared afraid and a bit angry at him, even though her voice sounded calm. All I could see from Robert was him either shaking or nodding his head as she continued. Rogina’s eyes then caught sight of me as I stepped out, she slowly stood up and headed back to the table with the remainder of the group. When I took my place again, I continued with finishing the remainder of my meal. I wanted to ask Robert what they were talking about, yet I couldn’t bring myself to ask. Robert looked up at me, seeing the questions behind my eyes I won’t voice. “She’s still upset, but not just at you. She’s upset with us too, the band, I mean. And Keith, apparently. I didn’t know it, but Bonzo told Keith too, about a year ago and he’s kept it a secret as well.” He took a drink of his lemonade before continuing. “She still cares about you, though. She didn’t exactly say it, but I can tell.”

We finished our lunch and I picked up some saltwater taffy. When Robert insisted on paying this time, I didn’t argue. I felt too drained to even try and I think he knew it. We went back to the bus to wait for everyone else.while we waited, the singer spoke again. “I know how this might sound, but I want you to stay in my room tonight. Just so I can keep an eye on you. After Bonzo told Jimmy and Jonesy, he didn’t want to be alone.”

Still too drained to argue, I just nodded my head. I couldn’t blame Bonzo. I didn’t want to be alone either. Curling into him, Robert pulled me into his lap and held me as I lay my head on his chest. After everyone got on the buses, we started moving again and I fell asleep on Robert’s lap.

[prettyinlimegreenboots]

Twelve Days of Holly, Jolly Tidings - Day 11

Disclaimers: I watched “Dash & Lily” the other day on Netflix. This story is LOOSELY based on that book and Netflix series.  I do not own “Dash and Lily” or Newsies or anything recognizable within the series.  There are occasional curse words throughout the series, nothing too horrible but there’s some. 

Catch Up Here

Monday, December 23 

Two days before Christmas found Kat curled up on her couch watching “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and hugging a mug of peppermint hot chocolate in her hands. Her doorbell rang, causing her to pause the movie, getting up to answer the door. 

Pulling open the door, her eyes went wide seeing someone dressed up as a gingerbread man standing at her doorway.  “Are you Katherine Plumber?” 

Knowing this had Jack’s name written all over it, she slowly nodded. “I am. And you are?” 

Instead of answering her, the gingerbread broke out in song, singing “Holly Jolly Christmas” loudly, along with intricate dance moves and twirls. Part of Kat wanted to slam the door in its face, but a bigger part of her was secretly enjoying the singing gingerbread man. Once he finished, kneeling in front of her with his hands stretched out, she clapped for him. She paused, giving him a look. “Thank you for that absolute stunning performance.”

Pulling the gingerbread man’s hat off, she started laughing loudly seeing who was underneath. Giving her a dirty look, Albert shook his head. “Damn Jack for at least paying me to do this.” 

“Do you want to come in?” Kat asked, pushing her front door wider, allowing him to step inside. 

Albert was one of Jack’s friends that she absolutely adored - he went to college with them. Him and his fiance Finch were really good friends and they were often invited to game night at their house.  “So how much did Jack pay you to do that?” 

“You don’t want to know.” Albert shook his head, giving her a look. “Besides, he told me I had to bring this to you.” 

Holding out the green notebook, Kat took it from him with a grin. “Thank you and thank you for making my day with that song and dance.” 

“You’re welcome. Thank goodness you didn’t get any of that on film.” He grinned, putting the gingerbread man’s head back on. 

She grinned . . . little did he know that she had a Ring as a doorbell. She wouldn’t be sharing that knowledge, allowing the video to do all the talking when she shared it with Jack and Race. 

“Thanks again Albert.” She grinned, walking him to the door. “Have a great rest of your afternoon.” 

She watched him walk down the stairs before shutting the door behind her. Shaking her head, she leaned against her door, opening up the notebook. 

Happy 11th day of Christmas, Kat! 

Hope you enjoyed that performance Al put on for you. BTW, I want the footage from your Ring! 

I apologize that you’re getting the notebook late . . . . it took far too long to convince Albert to do that. I had to bring in the big guns of Finch, Race, AND Spot to get him to do it. But I hope that it made you smile. 

For today’s adventure you’re going to the tallest building in the city. Go climb your mountain, your adventures awaits . . . so get a move on!  Once you’re at the top, continue reading. 

Grabbing her warm hoodie and her coat, she grabbed her bag, tucking the notebook into it before heading out the door. She shook her head, thinking she should’ve grabbed a mug of something warm before hitting the streets. 

Stepping out of her apartment building, her eyes widened seeing the freshly fallen snow that fell overnight. At least six inches had fallen, creating a winter wonderland throughout the streets. Rubbing her hands together, she dug her gloves out, putting them on before heading towards the subway station. 

Ducking into the underground, a heater blows warm air at her before a coldness could seep into her bones.  Walking through the turnstile, she headed for the platform to wait.  She smiled hearing kids jumping and giggling as they too waited for the train to arrive.  With it being two days before Christmas, spirits were high and excitement palpable on the platform.

Skipping onto the train, she watched a little girl mimic her before taking a seat at the far end of the car.  Keeping her eye on the little girl, Kat watched her as she kept a hand on the handrail as she spun, twirling her dress, her infection giggling ringing loudly in the car.  Kat wiggled her fingers in the girl’s direction as her face lit up, eagerly shaking her hand back at Kat. 

Several stops went by before she got off the train, heading to the street level. She would never get tired of getting off the subway and seeing One World Trade Center standing in front of her. The first couple of times she saw it, she would never be ashamed to say that she cried. It was just that powerful and moving. 

Making her way to the building, she was relieved to see the area wasn’t that crowded.  She stopped at the waterfall pools to pay her respects before heading to the stunning tower.  

Walking into the lobby, she bought tickets to the Observation deck before joining the queue to the elevator.  A couple of other people were in front of her so they made quick work on getting them onto the elevator and up to the 102 floor. 

Stepping off the elevator, her eyes adjusted to the bright natural light from the big windows.  Finding an empty bench, she took a seat, taking in the scene of the big windows, the city laid out at her feet, with a 360 degree view. 

Opening the notebook, she found today’s entry before continuing to read. 

Welcome to the One World Trade Center Observation deck. It’s another favorite place of mine - there’s something about being so high in the air that you can see a full 360 degrees around you.  It’s a good place to think and draw when I’m feeling restless. 

Anyways, I wanted you to come here to look at the prettiness of the city from your perch above.  You have your stories about 9/11 just like I do but that’s not the purpose of today’s adventure. It’s just to appreciate the beauty surrounding you. 

So, spend some time reflecting on the beauty around you. Write down everything you see beautiful, no matter how little or big it is. 

Spending the next few minutes, she wrote down everything beautiful she had encountered in the last few weeks. The smile was permanent on her face as she relaxed with the sound of her pen scratching across the paper. 

She felt someone sit down at the other end of the bench but paid them no attention as she continued to write.  Clicking her pen, her eyes reread the things she wrote before moving onto Jack’s scrawl. 

I think one of the things that we all do is getting caught up in the little nuances of the day that we forget that there’s something beautiful in every day. There’s always something good in the messy world we live in. I often have to remind myself to stop and smell the roses - slow down and just enjoy the little things that are around me. 

Now, there’s a surprise for you today . . . . but it’s different from your usual surprises. In the exhibit hall, there’s a Christmas theme exhibit that you’ll want to check out. It’s actually really cool. In the exhibit, you’ll find your surprise. 

Closing the book, she reread the last paragraph, confused by Jack’s words. Knowing, not to question him, she tucked the notebook back in her bag before walking over to the exhibit hall. Walking up the ramp, her eyes widened seeing the whimsical artwork along the walls. There was a wintery scene painted with various creatures greeting her as she walked; a mix of digital artwork and paintings. 

At one point, there was a digital video that played. Watching it, she smiled, getting lost into the artwork that surrounded her. Continuing on her journey, she was stopped by a stunning painting of a woodland scene. The moon was in the corner, shedding light on the many birch trees in perfect lines.  She searched the painting for an artist's name, frowning when she didn’t see one. “Stunning painting, huh?” 

“It truly is.” She whispered, not taking her eyes off the work. “I was trying to find the artist’s name.” 

“The artist’s name is Jack Kelly.” A familiar voice said as she looked over at his shoulder at him. He had a big grin on his face as he stepped up to join her. “Surprise!” 

Her jaw dropped. “It’s stunning Jack, absolutely stunning.”

“Thank you.” He ducked his head, a blush on his cheek. “You kinda inspired it.”

Kat’s eyes furrowed, looking at her boyfriend. “How?” 

“A couple of weeks ago you were talking about going into the woods just to get away, needing somewhere to breath and escape. I went home after that and painted this.” Jack smiled. “I knew they were doing this exhibit and after the hospital mural, I was approached to submit something for this. Your idea of needing to escape and going to the woods was actually good because it fit perfectly in with this wonderland.” 

Slipping his hand in her, he squeezed it. “You’ve inspired more art of mine than you probably know. You’re a good muse.” 

She giggled, a blush crossing her face as she ducked her head.  “That’s good to know.” 

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell you which ones.” He grinned, tugging on her hand as they made their way through the exhibit. “Let’s finish walking through. I haven’t actually seen the rest yet.”

“This is pretty cool . . . do they do this every year?” Kat asked as they stopped to look at a few more paintings. 

Jack nodded. “They’ve done it the last few years. I came last year just to scope it out.” 

She grinned, slipping her arm through the crook of his elbow as they continued their walk. Along the way, Jack pointed out little things that she wouldn’t normally see. She smiled as they finished walking through the exhibit. 

Nodding, she followed him on the elevator as they descended. She watched him out of the corner of her eye. “You alright? Something is off about you but I can’t put my finger on it.” 

“Just enjoying the Christmas feeling in the air.” He grinned. “You know it’s only two days until Christmas.” 

She giggled. “A little birdie told me that. My parents left this morning for California.” 

“Their loss and my family’s gain.” Jack shrugged, leaning over to kiss her cheek. “Come on, let’s head out.” 

Leading her off the elevator, they walked out into the cooler night. Kat tugged on their linked hands, dragging him over to a bench. Sitting down, she shut her eyes, and just relaxed. “Pssst …. what are we doing?” 

Cracking open an eye, she looked at him. “You were the one that talked about taking time to enjoy the little things. So I’m doing what you said.” 

“Oh ok.” Jack grinned, reaching into his pocket to grab something before putting it on Kat’s lap. “While you’re doing that, I’m just going to make sure no one kidnaps you.” 

Feeling a weight on her lap, she opened her eyes to look down - a white box laid there. “What did you do, Kelly?”

“Me?” He asked, eyes widened. “I didn’t do anything. This is your surprise for the day.” 

Her eyes widened, picking up the much bigger box than usual. “It’s bigger than all the rest.” 

“Way to pick up on that Captain obvious.” Jack mumbled, as she reached over and back handed his shoulder. “Maybe you should open it and not hit me anymore.” 

Removing the lid, her eyes went wide seeing a bracelet inside. But she gasped as she recognized the contents on the bracelet. Attached to the bracelet were all the charms from the previous 10 days. Picking it up, she twirled it so she could see all of her little surprises. Looking up at Jack, her lips curled up in a smile. “It’s perfect, Jack. Thank you.” 

Leaning forward, she pressed a kiss to his lips as he grinned. “I’m glad you like it.” 

“It’s a perfect representative of the last 11 days.” She grinned as he took it from her before attaching it to her wrist.   

“Perfect fit.” Jack twirled it so that all the charms hung from her wrist. 

Lacing her fingers with his, she gave them a squeeze. “Hey, I want to say thank you. You have completely turned around this holiday season for me. I love you.” 

“I love you too.” He tugged her close, bending down and kissing her. “I hate it when you’re upset and angry and truth be told, I just wanted to do something that would make you smile. And you’ve got a family that you’ve created all on your own, outside of your physical family and they care just as much for you as you do for them.” 

Shaking her head, she looked down at their linked hands as tears crowded her eyes. “Thank you Jack.” 

“You’re welcome, Kat. I’d do anything to make you smile.” He kissed her. “Anything.” 

Standing up, he tugged her up into a standing position as she slipped her arm in the crook of his elbow.  “So I have a question for you?” 

Looking over at him as they walked, she raised an eyebrow. “Yes?” 

“Is there anything that you would change in the past eleven days?” He looked over at her, his lip between his teeth, as if he was nervous about something.

Taking a few moments to think back on the eleven days, she twitched her mouth as she thought. Jack chuckled at her face watching her. 

“Honestly, I don’t think so. You wrote so elegantly in that journal and made me think about a lot of things. You were constantly surprising me and bringing up the little details of our relationship that, honestly, I had forgotten about. It was a good trip down memory lane.” Kat grinned, shrugging. “But to answer your question, I don’t think there’s anything that I’d change.” 

Nodding, Jack grinned. “Good. That’s what I wanted to hear.” 

“I mean . . .” Kat started, Jack quickly shaking his head. 

“You had your chance to speak your mind and you didn’t.” Jack interrupted, sticking his tongue out at her. 

Her eyes lit up as an idea hit her. “Wait, I have one thing.” 

Jack gave her a look, before nodding. “What’s that?” 

“Another favorite look of mine.” Kat’s eyes lit up and truth be told, Jack would do anything to see her face light up like that again. 

Biting his lip, he thought back on the past 5 years. “Another look . . . hmmmm.” 

“Trying to figure out which one to tell me about or the one that’s less scandalous.” Kat grinned, as they stopped at a crosswalk. 

Jack threw his head back, shaking his head. “No trying to figure out which ones I love more.” 

Crossing the street, they continued to lazily walk down the street, with no real destination in mind. Kat tilted her head towards Jack. “Got one?” 

“This outfit was the outfit you were wearing when I realized that I loved you.” Jack grinned. “We met in October and this outfit was one you wore in the middle of November. Remember when we went to clean up the woods?” 

Kat’s eyes went wide. They had volunteered with a bunch of other kids in their dorms to clean up the ravines behind their campus. “I was in ratty jeans and an old hoodie. That’s one of your favorite looks of mine?” 

“Yes, that’s one of my favorites. You had your hair tied up in a ponytail but by the end of the day, your hair was everywhere from walking in the woods. You kept telling me that you were a mess but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from you.” Jack grinned, biting his lip. “You were so drop dead sexy and you didn’t even know it.” 

A blush crossed her cheeks, as she looked over at him. “Well if I knew that was going to be in your top ten looks, I would’ve cared a bit more.” 

“The thing is, if you had known, it probably wouldn’t be in my list.” Jack quipped back grinning. “Besides, that was the first time that it hit me that I was actually in love with you.” 

She raised an eyebrow. “So how long after that did you tell me?” 

“I think like a week.” Jack chuckled. “But everyone knew I was gone over you. I am surprised that no one spilled the beans.”

Kat laughed. “Much like the last eleven days.”

“Oh I told them I wouldn’t hesitate to kill them and bury their body if they spoke a word about the last eleven days with you.” Jack chuckled, shaking his head.

She threw her head back and belly laughed. “Jack Kelly, that’s awful.”��

“I wanted to make sure those idiots didn’t ruin the surprise for you.” He defended his actions. “But there’s more to come - you’ve got one more day left.” 

Her eyes lit up at that. “Any hints?” 

“Maybe . . . . do you want to know?” Jack asked, as they stepped onto her street. 

Biting her lip, she shrugged. “If it’s going to ruin anything, no I don’t want to know. If it’s not, then sure.” 

“We’re going to one of your favorite holiday places tomorrow.” Jack grinned. “That’s your clue, do with it what you will.” 

Filing the piece of knowledge away for later, she nodded. “I’m really looking forward to it. But you know this blows anything that I got you out of the water, right?” 

“It’s not a competition, Kat.” He raised his eyebrows. “But I wouldn’t sell yourself short.” 

She paused in her step, causing her arm to be ripped from the crook of his arm. “What do you mean by that?” 

“Not uh, Kat. You’re not getting anymore from me.” He chuckled, stopping at the bottom of her apartment stairs. Giving her a look, he held out his hand. “Now I believe you have something that belongs to me.” 

Digging in her bag, she grabbed the notebook, handing it over to him. “Thank you. Be ready by eight tomorrow morning and dress warmly.” 

“Eight is awfully early, Jack.” She raised an eyebrow. 

He chuckled. “Just be ready. I’ll bring coffee and I’ll see you then. I love you.” 

Pushing onto her tiptoes, she leaned forward giving him a kiss. “I love you too and I’ll be ready.”

“Have a good night, Kat. See you in the morning.”  He stole one more kiss before he headed down the street, back to his own apartment. She watched him until she couldn’t see him anymore. Shaking her head, she let her mind reflect back on the past few hours and just laughed. Anytime she spent with Jack would never, ever be bored, that’s for sure. 

[crystalwillow]

Hesitant

Pairing: Elijah Greene x Casey Valentine (F!MC)

A/N: Like myself, have you ever wondered what a blossoming romantic relationship with Elijah and Casey would be like? After talking it over in a group chat recently, I was inspired to take the leap and write a fiction about just that. I feel like there is going to be a lot of fluff and sweet love ahead. Enough to maybe rot your teeth and make you shed a few tears. So grab a snack, drink and a tissue or two. Maybe three. And settle down to take a sweet journey with two of our favourite residents as they realize they’re falling in love.

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It was another busy afternoon at Edenbrook, and a lot of the staffs pagers had just gone off, calling them to the ER for triage. Casey rushed towards the stairs seeing that the elevators were crowded. At the back of a long queue she saw one of her fellow residents, Elijah at the back, trying to wheel his way through the chaos. She stopped and her legs automatically turned round and carried her over.

“Okay people! Y’all who have legs and can use stairs shift it in that direction. We have doctors here that actually need to use the elevators!” she commanded loudly. Others looking at her in shock as she stopped beside Dr. Greene.

The other doctors knew she had a point and realized it would be quicker for them to take the stairs, so they hurried in that direction. Elijah smiled up at her as he wheeled himself forwards and pressed the button to call the elevator.

“Thanks Casey.”

“It was nothing. I didn’t just become a doctor to help out the people in the rooms who need our care.”

“Join me?” he asked as the elevator pinged and the doors opened. Smiling she stepped inside with him and hit the button for the ground floor.

“You know what sucks?” he asked.

“What?”

“We’re on dinner duty tonight.”

“Awesome. I’ve been wanting to cook this new pasta dish.”

Elijah smiled as he laughed, shaking his head lightly. “You can be real shameless.”

“And? So can you. When you want to be.” She replied as they headed towards the doors of the ER.

“Alright. Professional faces back on.”

“I shall see you after this Dr. Greene.”

“Copy that, Dr. Valentine.”

Casey giggled and then got straight to work at getting people’s symptoms and tagging them correctly. Though when she reached one patient, her heart dropped as she heard his voice.

“Not to sound rude, it’s extremely busy here. Please, talk.”

“I have a slight headache and a bunch of cuts and scrapes. My leg is also in extreme pain.”

Casey knew she had a job to do but she was frozen, scared to look up. It was just a coincidence, some dude had a vocal tone that was similar to her friend Bryce, she just hadn’t detected it yet.

“Casey?” Bryce said gently, wincing as he reached out to place his hand on her shoulder.

No. No. No. Damn it. It is her friend. Taking a brief moment to breathe, she turned her gaze up to him, only to gasp at the cuts and scrapes he had all over him. He smiled softly with an encouraging nod which seemed to give her enough strength to tag him correctly and move on. Once triage was complete, she waited for the other doctors to clear out before trying to leave herself. She looked at Bryce who was being seen to as she waited. As if he sensed her, he looked over and gave a smile as if to tell her he was going to be fine. She looked back at him, a sad frown etched on her face.

“I’m going to be fine Case. It’s looking like all I have is a broken leg.” He called out and smiled as he watched some happiness comeback into her being. As if some life had been put back in her with those few words. She waved and then filed out of the ER behind the last few doctors and headed back to her work.

--- That Evening ---

Casey and Elijah were at home, chilling on the couches with their gaming controllers in hand as they played Mario Kart. They were trash talking and nudging each other as they both had their competitive side starting to show.

“Haha! Eat my banana skin you stupid mushroom man! I’m going to win!” Casey exclaimed as she raced towards the finish line

“Oh yeah? Well why don’t you, eat my dust!” Elijah shouted as he used a mushroom to speed past her and cross the finish line in first place. “Hahaha! Yes! That’s what I’m talking about baby. First place! Out of nowhere.”

“Very slick Elijah. Very slick. Well done.” Casey congratulated with a smile as she placed her controller on the coffee table.

“Aw. Are we not going to do another race?” Elijah pouted

“I’d love to. But, we have dinner to cook.”

“You’re right... We should do that before the zombies return and have nothing. They’d eat us.”

“Exactly. After you.”

Elijah put his controller next to Casey’s and wheeled himself to the kitchen.

“So. Casey. You said something about a pasta dish?”

“Yeah. It’s a basic tomato and basil pasta but I want to try and put a twist to it. My own unique taste. Maybe then it could be referred to as the Casey Special.”

“Not fair! I’d know the secret too. It should be called the C&E!”

“Nope. E is what I call Ethan. During work hours it’s Dr. Ramsey, so when we hang out as friends if I say Ethan, he knows he’s in trouble.”

“Okay. Then how about... The Elijsey Special?”

“The Elijsey Special...” she pondered, looking at the sink before turning back to Elijah with a smile. “I like it.”

“Awesome! So what can I do to help?”

“How’s your experience in making a tomato and basil sauce?”

“I’m pretty good at that, believe it or not.”

“I wouldn’t doubt you for a second. Well, not when it comes to things like this. If you were to do something incredibly stupid on the other hand...”

“What? Like, I don’t know, run down the street screaming “I’m practically Taylor Swift. Watch!” then drop into a puddle, shouting the lyrics to Enchanted. Very passionately may I add.”

“That was one time Eli. And plus. Taylor Swift is one of the most powerful female figures in the entertainment industry. I was doing some promotion for her.”

“At 2am. Walking home from the bar?”

“I’ll have you know, Dr. Greene, All the best things happen with a bar, and 2am involved somehow.”

They shared a look and laugh as they continued cooking dinner. They were just plating up when the door opened and closed, a tired yet frustrated sigh following it.

“Worst. Day. EVER!”

Casey and Elijah shared a look of concern before heading out into the main area of the apartment, where they saw Sienna on the couch. Face buried in a cushion before she let out a frustrated scream. She didn’t seem to notice they were there as they shared a deeper concerned look. Things must be really bad for her to be screaming into cushions.

“Hey... Si?” Casey asked hesitantly.

“Is everything... okay?” Elijah added.

Sienna sat up and looked at them with a little bit of shock.

“Oh! Casey. Elijah. Hi.. I um, I forgot you were home first. I.. Sorry about... all that.”

“Don’t apologize for having feelings.” Casey said as she sat next to their friend

“Yeah. Everyone has them, and if you don’t let them out things get real ugly. Fast.”

“But you guys have never seen me like this before. It’s embarrassing.”

“That may be true. But Elijah and I just finished dinner. Why don’t we sit at the table. You can rant to us about everything that’s made today horrible and then afterwards we’ll watch some movies.”

“I’ll watch movies if we can finish with a Star Wars film.”

Sienna looked back and forth between her roommates, a small smile graced her delicate features.

“That... Sounds like exactly what I need actually. Do we have wine?”

“Only the best red money can buy to accompany a pasta dish.”

“You guys made pasta?!”

“Yup. And the tomato sauce was made by yours truly. So if it tastes amazing... It was all me.”

Casey laughed and playfully shoved Elijah’s shoulder as she passed him to the kitchen and put 3 plates on a tray, carrying it to the table. Elijah followed behind with the wine and the glasses, setting them out and pouring them all a glass as they settled into enjoy the meal. Sienna ate a mouthful of pasta, groaning in bliss.

“You guys. This is amazing.”

Casey and Elijah smiled at each other before turning back to their friend and accepting the compliment with a thanks, and together they all tucked in as Sienna ranted about her day. It sounded rough. She talked about how she had 2 patients die, charts getting mixed up when she knew she put them in the right places. And so much more that made her mood extremely valid. After the meal, just as Casey said, they all sat around the TV and watched movies. Sienna had made herself comfortable in a chair with her blanket. Elijah and Casey sat on the couch, Casey resting her head on Elijah’s shoulder. His heart racing at the close proximity and one question in particular raced through his mind. Does she like me too?

Elijah had liked Casey for a while but didn’t want to accidently blur the lines and ruin the good friendship they’d built. She wrapped her arms around his waist to hug him as she looked up and smiled at him. God, there it was. That sweet smile that matched the scent of her perfume perfectly. After a moment he looked down and smiled back at her as his arm naturally went round her shoulder, hugging her closer. A couple of movies passed before Sienna started falling asleep, saying goodnight to her roommates, and going to her bedroom. Jackie had made it home by now and was at the table eating her dinner. Casey and Elijah finished the movie they were watching and in that time Jackie had finished her food, disappearing to her room for the night as well. Casey sat up, stretching as the movie finished.

“I’m going to the toilet. Then I’ll grab us some more drinks and snacks so we can watch that Star Wars movie yeah?”

“Sounds great!”

Casey left to sort herself and everything out before coming back, cuddling on the couch with Elijah again. They were quite a way through the movie when Casey turned to look at Elijah after feeling his breathing change. She smiled softly and paused the movie, moving carefully to pick him up, turning round carrying him to his room to put him to bed. She then went back and cleared everything away, washed the dishes and was about to wheel Elijah’s chair to his room and leave it by his bed, when the door opened, and an extremely tired Aurora walked in.

“Hey.” Casey greeted softly.

“Hey.” Aurora smiled tiredly.

“Your dinner’s in the kitchen. Me and Elijah made tomato and basil pasta”

“Thanks. I’ll try to keep my eyes open long enough to eat it.”

The two chuckled, then Casey headed off with Elijah’s chair before going to bed herself. She had just closed her eyes when her phone rang. Groaning she answered it.

“This better be important because I just got into bed.”

“Casey... It’s Bryce. You need to come to the hospital. Now.”

Hearing the urgency in Bryce’s tone, she hung up and put her phone down. Grabbing the closest pair of sneakers, she slid her feet into them, tying the laces. Having only enough time to grab her phone and keys, before rushing out of the door. When she arrived at Edenbrook, she quickly found Bryce sitting in the main atrium with his leg in a cast and crutches beside him.

“What’s up?”

“It’s Dr. Ramsey.”

“What about him?”

“He’s in the ER going nuts!”

“Over what?”

“Nobody knows! He just stormed in and...” at a loss for words Bryce just gestured his hands.

“So why call me?”

“Dr. Banerji requested it. Not even he can calm Ethan down, and well he knows you and Ethan sort of.. just get each other.”

Sighing and pressing the heels of her palms into her eyes and rubbing, Casey sighed as she shook her head.

“I’ll see if I can help. But I’m not making any promises.”

Casey turned and headed to the ER walking through the door and was met with a wall of chaos and shouting. Looking around she found Ethan at the foot of a bed, yelling at a nurse to work faster. The nurse looked terrified as her hands trembled trying to get the IV line steady and positioned properly. Sighing she walked over and placed a gentle hand on his arm.

“Ethan.” She sighed sadly.

He turned and looked beside him but just shrugged Casey’s arm off. Too enraged over whatever it was to even speak back, he moved on. Casey sighed deeper knowing she’d have to bring out the theatrics.

“Ethan please.” She pleaded following him, sadness and desperation in her voice.

Sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose he turned around. “What is it, Rookie?”

“Not here please. Somewhere... private.”

He looked down into her eyes that she had molded into perfect pools of sadness and confusion. He closed his own eyes for a brief moment, biting his lip before telling her to follow him. Together they walked towards the exit, nurses and doctors alike silently thanking her with subtle nods of their heads. They reached Ethan’s personal office and he shut the door behind them.

“What is it? What’s happened?” “That’s what I should be asking you Dr. Ramsey.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Yes you do. Why did you go into the ER and just start shouting. That isn’t you Ethan. Not even when your super stressed about a case do you do that.”

“Yeah, well. Maybe I’m not the amazing person you draw me up to be Casey.”

“What? Of course you are. Okay... so you have a prickly side. But so does everyone.”

“No they don’t Casey. Not like I do.”

“Ethan please. Sto-”

“NO CASEY. YOU STOP! STOP TRYING TO MAKE ME HAPPY. STOP TRYING TO SEE THE GOOD IN ME. JUST STOP TRYING WITH ME. WHILST YOU STILL HAVE THE FUCKING CHANCE!”

She was taken aback for a moment at his harsh tone towards her but as he continued shouting, her resolve hardened, and she punched him full force in both arms. He glared at her then continued shouting. She hated resorting to it, but she pulled her hand back and with a little jump to help boost her higher, she slapped him round the face. Leaving a handprint behind. Shocked, Ethan stopped talking almost immediately and stared at her.

“Fucking finally.” She retorts annoyed, rolling her eyes.

“Did you... Did you just JUMP to slap me?”

“So what if I did. You needed to shut the fuck up so you can listen.”

For about another hour, they sat and hashed out what was making Ethan so angry in that moment. At the end of it he was exhausted and yawning like a baby.

“You should get home Ethan. Get some sleep before tomorrow.”

“I guess so.” He said as he let out another yawn. “Let me drop you home though. You shouldn’t be walking alone at this time of night.

“Thanks.” Casey smiled sweetly and headed to the atrium to wait for him to change and come down.

“Ah! Dr. Valentine.”

Casey turned at the mention of her name and saw a brightly smiling but very tired eyed Dr. Banerji walking towards her.

“Dr. Valentine. Thank you for coming here so late. I know it’s a terrible inconvenience.”

“No. It’s no trouble at all. Anything for my friends.” she replied, stifling a yawn behind her hand.

“As a thank you, don’t worry about starting your next shift at 7am. Come in for 1pm. You need the rest you deserve, and it is late.”

“Oh, Dr. Banerji... I- I don’t know if I can...”

“Nonsense. I’ve already watched Ethan do this. I’m not letting you do it too. You’re going home and you’re going to rest. And by rest I mean sleep.”

Casey opened her mouth to protest but stopped when she saw Ethan coming over and just gave a smile and curt nod to Naveen. After saying goodbye’s and Naveen turning down a lift home from Ethan about 6 times, Casey left with her mentor and they headed to her apartment. Ethan parked on the curb and said one more thank you to Casey before they shared a hug, Casey heading inside. When she got to her room, she fell into her bed and went to sleep instantly.  

The next day it was close to 10:25am when Casey stumbled tiredly from her room, heading to the kitchen to get coffee before getting ready for work. She knew Naveen had said 1pm, but she was up earlier than that so she may as well head in as soon as she can.

“Casey?” Elijah questioned as he came out the kitchen with a drink of his own.

“Oh. Hey Eli” she smiled with a yawn.

“I thought you started at 7 today? You’re late.”

“No.” Casey shook her head. “I got called to the hospital last night after you fell asleep. Dr. Banerji all but ordered I go in for 1pm.”

Elijah chuckled. That sounded exactly like Naveen.

“In that case. Could we talk about something before you leave?”

“Could I get my coffee first?”

“Obviously. I’m not a monster”

Casey grinned and went into the kitchen, brewing herself a cup of coffee before joining Elijah on the couch they shared the previous night.

“So. What’s going on Dr. Greene?” she smiled, sipping her coffee

“Well... Are you good with feelings talk?”

“I talk with patients about them all the time. I’m all ears. Whatever it’s about.”

Elijah hesitated before sighing deeply, trouble clouding his eyes.

“The thing here is. It’s about you. And my feelings regarding you.”

“Oh. Have I done something to upset you? Was I supposed to remove your jeans before tucking you in?”

“So that’s how I got to my room. I thought I’d fell asleep elsewhere.” Elijah chuckled. “But no. it’s nothing bad.”

Casey sighed a breath of relief but then confusion crossed her face. “Then what is it?”

“I.... I think I should just come out and say it. I like you Casey. And not just as a friend. I like like you.”

Casey sat in stunned silence as she reveled in his admission. She too had felt something between them. She just wasn’t sure what it was, so never acted upon it beyond a friendship. Though she had no idea he felt the same way. If she even felt what he was feeling that is.

“Casey...”

“Hm? Oh yeah. I’m still here.”

“Are you... okay?”

“I’m fine.” She reassured and drank more of her coffee, watching as Elijah’s face fell.

“You don’t feel the same do you?”

“Elijah-”

“And I’ve just ruined our friendship by admitting my feelings.”

“No Elijah you ha-”

“This was stupid of me. Why would you want to date the guy in the wheelchair? When you can have any number of fully able bodied men at the hospital who could ta-”

“Elijah. Will you stop?!” Casey placed her mug back on the table and grabbed his hands, pulling herself closer to him. He stopped rambling and looked up into her eyes before grinning sheepishly.

“Sorry.” He apologized

“I... I feel something for you.”

“Y-you do?!”

“Yeah. I... just don’t know what it is.”

Elijah looked at their hands briefly before looking back up.

“Would you want to... go on a date?”

“I.... Yeah. I’d like that.” She smiled. Elijah smiled back at her, squeezing her hand lightly and she squeezed back.

“After my shift? I finish at 9:30, maybe we could make a last minute plan to do something?”

“How about I cook for us.”

“Elijah you cooked last night.”

“Not for the whole apartment. Just for us, silly.”

Casey smiled, blushing lightly at her early morning dumbness.

“Oh right. ... Of course.”

“Anything in particular?”

“Nope. You make the choices. I’ll just enjoy the meal, and the company.”

Elijah smiled at her one last time before they hugged and Casey got ready for work, heading out to catch the train across town. She arrived at Edenbrook and strolled up to the diagnostics office, she entered the room as the team was in the middle of a differential.

“Nice for you to finally join us, Dr. Valentine.” Ethan commented with a soft smile

“Sorry, Dr. Ramsey. I was on a train when you paged.”

The team gave her a baffled look before shrugging and getting back to work, filling Casey in. Nothing was going to bring her down. Well... unless something really tragic happened of course. But for now she was going to focus on work and her date with Elijah later that evening.

Later that night she was about to clock out when a nurse came running up to her.

“Dr. Valentine!”

She turned to them, fully alert.

“Sarah? What is it?”

“It’s Dr. Varma. Quick.”

Eyes widening she followed Sarah to where Jackie was leaning against the wall, hyperventilating and sweating profusely.

“Jackie?”

Casey looked on worriedly as Jackie could only spare a quick 1 second glance before looking at the floor again and passing out as she breathlessly said 2 words. “I’m..... fine....” then her world went black, Casey rushing to close the short distance between them before she hit the floor.

“Sarah I need you to find a spare bed asap. I’ll page for help.”

Nodding, Sarah rushed off in search of a free bed, whilst Casey paged Baz and Zaid for help. Within minutes the twin doctors were there as Sarah came back with a bed, stopping it beside Jackie and applying the breaks. Together Baz and Zaid lifted her onto the bed, making sure she was comfortable and covered with a blanket.

“Casey. What happened?” Baz asked

“I don’t know. I was about to clock out, then head off home to get ready for my date tonight. That’s when Sarah ran up to me, informing me something was wrong with Dr. Varma. I arrived on scene seconds later, she seemed to be having a panic attack. All I got from her were the words “I’m fine.” before she passed out.”

“Well clearly, she wasn’t fine!” Zaid snapped.

“Alright bro, calm down please. She isn’t a doctor right now. She’s a patient. We need to treat her as such.”

Zaid wiped his hands over his face with a sigh, knowing his brother was right. He turned to Casey and gave her a tight nod.

“We’ll take it from here. Don’t keep your date waiting. Go.”

Shocked, Casey left the room and the hospital before Zaid could change his mind. She got outside and quickly caught up with Bryce.

“Don’t tell me you actually went to work today.” She chuckled

He turned his head to her and gave a smile. “Of course I did! Not even a broken leg will stop these magic hands from saving lives. Give me a chair and I’m fine.”

Casey laughed brightly beside him as they stopped before parting ways.

“Never change Bryce Lahela. Never change.”

“I don’t plan on it.” He grinned.

Casey grinned back and then they said goodbye to each other and headed home. When she walked inside, Casey smelt something delicious but didn’t dare go to the kitchen and peak, so instead she headed straight to her room grabbing a towel, and getting in the shower instead to wash off the sweat and grime from the days work. After that she felt refreshed, and ready for her date night with Elijah. She opened her closet looking for something to wear, when that feeling settled in. She clutched her stomach and closed her eyes tightly trying to will the butterflies away, but she couldn’t. She was nervous and turning into a sweaty mess. She didn’t want to mess this up. She looked through her dresses, but they all seemed too professional for a date. So she turned to another section, skimming through when she gasped. She smiled at the navy blue jumpsuit with a gold waistbelt. “I forgot I had this.” she muttered to herself as she took it out and off the hanger. This is what she would wear. She put it on, done her hair and makeup then picked out a cute pair of sneakers to pair with the outfit. There was no way her feet would fit back into another pair of heels now. She sat on her bed picking up her phone as it dinged. She smiled when she saw a message from Jackie. Thank goodness she was going to be okay. She typed out a quick reply as a knock sounded on her door. Placing her phone on the bedside table, she opened the door to Elijah who was dressed in a dress shirt and tie, his regular jeans dressing the look down a little but still ensuring he looked somewhat formal. His jaw dropped as he drank in Casey’s appearance. She giggled a little as his eyes roamed her body in a show of adoration.

“Hi.” She smiled

“You’re absolutely gorgeous...”

In the moment of silence that followed, Casey blushed as Elijah continued to stare at her in awe. She cleared her throat briefly then resumed her smile.

“You look very handsome tonight.”

“Yeah... But compared to you... Ahem. Excuse me... Um, dinner’s ready.” He smiled shyly

“After you.” She smiled and followed him to their dining table where he had set up the cutest romantic scene she’d seen in a while.

“Oh! Elijah.. this is...”

“Is it too much?”

“No.” she said shaking her head. “It’s beautiful.”

Elijah grinned and helped Casey into her seat, plates of steaming hot food already at the table. It looked delicious. Chicken fillets, potatoes, vegetable, gravy. It was then Casey realized how hungry she was as her stomach growled loudly, causing a furious blush to spread up her neck and onto her cheeks.

“Uh.. sorry about that. I haven’t really stopped today..” she said shyly, and Elijah chuckled.

“It’s okay.” He reassured and they dug into the meal. After a few bites, Elijah spoke up again. “Is it okay?”

Casey nodded as she swallowed the bite she just took. “I’m not just saying this because we’re on a date. It’s delicious! The flavors are amazing!”

He grinned brightly at her comment and they finished the main dish.

“Dessert?” he asked, taking a sip of wine.

“Did you make some?”

“Of course.”

“Then I’d love some!” Casey smiled and Elijah took their plates to the kitchen and came back with two bowls of dessert, placing Casey’s in front of her first. She gasped when she saw what it was.

“Eli?!”

“Yeah?” he asked with a smile as he put his own bowl on the table.

“You... You remembered?” She said, choking on her emotion. Elijah just smiled with a nod in response, Casey leaning over the table and kissing his cheek making him freeze momentarily before smiling shyly and blushing as they dug into their chocolate cake and cream. The rest of the night went smoothly, conversation flowing freely. They quizzed each other on their medical knowledge during dessert, then moved to the couch where they told each other more about their home lives, and growing up. As the night drew to a close Elijah smiled at Casey.

“I guess I should walk you home.”

“How gentlemanly of you.” Casey grinned as she rose to her feet. Together they made their way to Casey’s room.

“Well...” She smiled, pointing to her bedroom door. “This is me.”

They came to a stop and smiled at each other.

“I had a wonderful time tonight Casey.”

“Me too. You’re a great guy Eli. Would you... want to do this again sometime?”

“Yes! ... I mean, yes. I’d love to do this again.”

Casey smiled brightly, bending down and giving him a kiss on the lips good night.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She said softly opening her door.

“Y-yeah. See you tomorrow Case.”

He watched as Casey went into her room and shut the door. He stared at the closed door for a while as he touched his lips, still feeling hers present before smiling to himself.

“Goodnight Casey!” he called through the door, it opened again, and Casey poked her head out.

“Goodnight Elijah.” She replied with a smile then shut her door.

That night Elijah went to bed with a smile on his face, knowing he’d hit the jackpot and was now dating the most beautiful doctor at Edenbrook.

[greyfongschemmenti]

Under Pressure 5|15

FryeArcana

Chapter 5

Jealousy

Notes:

So I never explained but when the text is in italics is your inner thoughts.

“Shit” you groan as you slowly open your eyes but squint seeing the shining lights “fuck what time is it?” you look over at the clock and see it’s 7:30. “fuck�� your rub your face and try to work off your hangover. You have 30 minutes to make it to the station, you’re not going to let last night stop you from working or even late. You push yourself off and stumble to the shower and quickly shower and brush your teeth at the same time. You brush your hand through your hair as you get changed into your Lieutenant uniform instead of the metal armor. You look at yourself in the mirror, eh it’s alright, your hair is a mess, but you can brush it off as a new hairstyle. You grab your keys from the bowl by the door leading to the garage and you metal bend the garage open and mount on your bike and put your helmet on. You start it up then drive off before metal bending the garage door closed. You sped off to the station, weaving past cars and carriages and make yourself to your usual spot.

           You head inside the lobby and look up at the clock and see 8:10. What’s 10 minutes

You go into the elevator and go up to your office and look through your paperwork as you put your helmet in the bottom drawer of your desk, before getting a knock at your door, “yes?” you don’t look up. “Lieutenant y/n, I was about send an APB on you.” You smirk and let out a laugh as you look up “I’m sure that would’ve made an eventful morning. How can I help you, officer Zhang” you stand up and walk over to give him a handshake and greet him in as he laughs at your comment. “yeah, it would’ve been, but I’m just here to drop off recent anonymous tips on the triads.” He hands you a folder that you gladly accept. “thanks, Zhang, but why didn’t you just drop it off like usual?” you give him a soft smile but couldn’t help to give him a confused look while you open the folder and looks at the papers. Zhang cleared his throat “I also was going to ask if you had any idea on the Chief.” Your ears perked up but don’t look up, “the Chief, what do you mean?” you calmy ask. “Well, She hasn’t appeared in the office. Assistant Chief Saikhan doesn’t know. I know you and she are sort of friends” he asked slowly.  You slowly nod “I see. Well no, unfortunately I have not. She could be out on patrol. You know she likes to go on her own. A meeting with new president Raiko.” You put a finger on your chin as you think of another possibility. “or maybe she took a personal day, Raava knows that woman never takes a day off.” Both of you laugh as he agrees. “well that’s true” he shakes his head as he brushes his mustache with his fingers. “but I’ll use my detective skills and find out, make sure she’s ok.” Both of you stand up as you walk him out your office before giving him a pat on the back as your eyes glance over to Lin’s office, the door closed.

Is she not showing up? Should you check up on her. No, you’re not her girlfriend. Like she said, stop trying. You turn around and go back into your office, closing the door behind you and go over the new information you’ve just received.

           After a couple of hours you’ve been working on your large writing board putting down all the information you have of the five bending triads. You have a folder on each of them, slowly building up a case on each.

Agni Kai Triad—an all-firebender triad

Red Monsoon Triad—an all-waterbender triad

Terra Triad—an all-earthbender triad

Creeping Crystal Triad—a triad with many earthbending members

Triple Threat Triad—a mixed bender triad, consisting of earth-, fire, and waterbenders

Most of all the triads are involved in making money by organized crime except for the Red Monsoon Triad who are known to participate in extortion. The last you’ve dealt with the Red Monsoon; they were the ones you and Mako chased and took down two of their members. You’ve been trying to locate one of the warehouses or locations of where these triads would stash their supplies and weapons. You’ve always hated the Agni Kai Triad after you heard what they did to Asami’s mother and though she never told you to you swore to take them down. The other being the Triple Threats Triad, they’re one of the powerful triads and one of the few mixed benders. “Where can I find you pieces of shit” you mutter as you pace in your office looking down at the pieces of papers scattered on the floor in different piles. There is a knock on your door “come in” you call out not looking at who walked in “hey there Lieutenant” they look at the mess in your office, “woah, some mess you have here” that voice belonging to none other than Gang. You gruff “it’s called work, you should try it sometime” you snap at him but don’t give him your attention as you put a pin on a large map on your wall “you here to question my work ethic or you got something worth my time, Lieutenant” you glare over at his direction. Gang is stood in shock unsure of what to say and you pinch the bridge of your nose, “sometime today, Gang!” you bark out. Gang stood up straight “uh, just to let you know, Chief’s in and she’s requesting a meeting with you concerning the triads” Your pupils dilate a bit hearing that Lin came into the office, but you collect your cool. You sigh running your hand through your hair before rubbing the back of your neck “fine, thanks for telling me”. Gang walks out and heads back to his desk as you head out your office locking the door behind you as you make your way down to the Chief’s office.

*

You mentally prepare yourself to see Lin, after last night you’re not sure how to react but you have to be strong to keep your cool. You knock on the door and hear the familiar voice call you in and you step inside closing the door behind you, putting your arms behind your back standing in attention, “Chief”. “Lieutenant y/n, I’m sure Gang has told you the reason for this meeting.” She looks down at her papers wearing her glasses. “of course, Chief” you respond and don’t bother to start a friendly conversation and keep your professionalism “so with the new information we’ve received on the triads, we’re getting closer to finding a location for the Triple Threats.” You walk around the room as you state your findings, not looking once at Lin and keeping your arms behind your back to keep yourself grounded. “what did you find? President Raiko has been on my neck to knock these triad down a peg or two.” She snapped. “After the end of the Anti-bending Revolution, several members had their bending removed because of their criminal activities, which we’re aware of from Avatar Korra. Since then there has been a change in hierarchy order in who will be the new leader which left with Viper replacing Zolt as the triad’s new leader.” You look around the office, you haven’t really looked at the details the most you’ve seen was the desk and the couch. “yes, that’s already been discussed you got anything new?” Lin spat out, you roll your eyes your back facing her, but you quickly turn around and look ahead and continued on with your report “With the help of undercover work we have found that there’s been talk about moving a shipment to a new location of those gloves, Hiroshi Sato made. It’s scheduled to be moved by the end of this week, late at night over by the shipping yards. Triple Threats are hoping to make a large profit in selling these goods to the other nations. I’m planning on doing a stakeout with a few selected officers and then rush in and take out the Triple Threats and prevent that shipment from leaving this city. I have my sources and am confident this will be a success, Chief.” You stand across from her desk looking over her going back at attention.

*

Lin’s POV

Lin could sense you approach her office, those footsteps she grew accustomed to get used to it. Before you came into the office she exposed her right foot and placed it on the floor before calling you in and sense your pulse. She noticed it had raced a bit before returning to a normal pace, keeping her nose down as she has on her glasses on looking at the paperwork. “…I’m sure Gang has told you the reason for this meeting” she said flatly not looking up at you as she shuffles some papers around. She listened to you speak, you talking to here with such professionalism that she hasn’t seen since your beginning days at the force. Her throat tightens at the thought, she noticed that you haven’t looked at her once since coming into the office. Not even a smile or a glisten from your eyes, she never knew how much she took advantage of your smile. In her frustrations on how you’re being right now, with this act towards her she spats out with you “…you got anything new”. There. At least some reaction it was faint, but your heart did race for a second, either by anger or surprised. Instead of some of your little teasing comments you just kept on with your report. You finally break and look up at y/n, her eyes gazing out at the window and you think she caught your glance as she turns to walk in your direction, but she looked over you. She’s purposely averting your eyes. You listen to y/n’s plan on her stakeout on the Triple Threat in the following week. You nod understanding her words and then watch as she stands across from you at her desk staring at your eyes once she’s done. Y/n eyes are dark, not vibrate as you recall, this is a different side of her you haven’t seen. Is this an act or is she following your order from last night and has stop trying with you?

*

“well, chief?” you look at Lin’s eyes, the first since last night. You’re analyzing her face, and body language and can’t gather any information. Lin is a professional at keeping her emotions in take inside and outside. “very well, you seem to have a plan in order. As far as the stakeout, I’ll be joining you.” Your eyes widen and you begin to stammer your words and your arms slightly dropping from your back “with all due respect, Chief, I believe we’ll do fine without having to bother or ruin your evening,” you state out bringing your arms back up at their proper height behind you. “I have to be there as Chief to make sure this will be successful as you say. I will not allow anything to prevent us a win. President Raiko expects a win for the public.” Lin looks up at you and meets your gaze as she stands up from her desk, you watch her intently calming your pulse as best you can. “Very well, Chief. I’ll send you the plan for the night in the following days. Everything will be in order--for you to review, of course of any changes”

“thank you, I’ll be expecting it on my desk as soon as possible” Lin steps aside and walks around the desk as she skillfully closes her boot quietly. You give her a nod as you watch her movement “Sure thing, Chief, anything else you require?” Lin waves her hand no “that is all, Lieutenant.” You both reach for the door, your hand reaching the knob first with hers landing on top, you give her a slight smirk as you turn the doorknob and open the door as you look over to her “Chief” you dismiss yourself coolly nodding towards her as you remove your hand from hers and walks away not looking back as you go back to your office.

*

Once you reached your office you closed the door behind you and leaned against the door trying to catch a deep breath. You felt like you couldn’t breathe in the same room with her, yet you somehow powered through. You rubbed your eyes then the rest of your face, you haven’t slept much since getting home so late. You could go for some coffee right about now; you head back out and head over to the watering hole where this is water and coffee. Luckily there is some coffee left in the pot and you pour yourself a cup adding a bit of sugar and milk. You accidentally get bump into the shoulder by someone hurryingly around a corner. You quickly evade getting the coffee spilled on you most of it falling on the desk and you grab some paper towels to clean the mess “oh sorry Lieutenant y/n didn’t see you there” you were about to curse them out and looked down and see Rei gathering paper that have fallen “oh Rei, it’s fine. I was quick enough to evade a bigger mess” you give her a smile as you finish tossing the rags in the trash bin and set the cup down so you can bend down to help her “where are you hurrying over to anyways?” as you help pick up some packets of paper as you look at her. Rei blushes at the embarrassment of running into you, she’s one of the office assistants that help out in the station, you often greet her whenever you see her as you come in to work. “I’m sorry I was just running over to restock the office supplies and drop off letters to the mailroom” she says hurryingly as she tries to gather the large stake of papers in her arms. You nod giving her the indication that you’re listening, but your eyes look over behind her head to Lin’s office. You’re pretty sure she heard the commotion; you take a sip of coffee and notice how bitter it is and make a sour face. Sure enough Lin’s door is open, but you don’t see her, so you look back at Rei “well it’s nice to see someone taking their job seriously, but make sure not run into anyone” you joke as you laugh a bit. Rei’s cheeks redden some more as she tries to hide behind the papers and you shake your head assuring her “I’m only joking, I’m sorry.” you give her a smile. “Oh, okay, usually with you officer I can’t tell if you guys are grumpy or joking, no offense” she jokes letting out a soft chuckle pushing your shoulder a bit, but she was slow to remove her hand away letting it run down your arm. “ah, well I guess it comes with the job. Stress and trying to keep the image that we’re hard to be brought down” you joke back and notice her hand as it runs down your arm but you don’t look down at it instead look down at your cup just holding onto it unsure what to do with it, it’s too bitter to drink. She giggles at your comment and you give her a small curl of your lips to form a smile. You’re familiar to this, Rei is being affectionate to you flirting with you by giving you these small touches. You’ve seen it before at Zaofu when you were in their security uniform. Women seem to like to see you in uniform. You glance up and notice Lin is standing by her doorframe looking at your direction. You quickly glance back to Rei and force yourself to take another sip, it seems to be even more bitter than the first, but you try to contain your face your nose scrunching up which Rei notices. “oh is the coffee bitter?” she whispers over to you her hand still resting on your arm and you nod. “yeah, but it’s all there is and I’m too lazy to refill the pot” you let out a laugh. “follow me, the secretary breakroom always has fresh coffee.” Your eyes widen “you sure? I wouldn’t want to take away coffee from the secretaries. It’s ok, this coffee will do” you shake your head but give her a smile. “no it’s fine, come on” she absentmindedly grabs your hand and pulls you along down the hall you chug the last of your coffee down before tossing the cup in the trash. Before you go down further down the hall you glance back at Lin’s door and your eyes meet hers, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks. Is she jealous?

*

Lin heard a bit of commotion coming down the hall of desks towards the watering hole she rolled her eyes and thinks it must’ve been Lu or Gang the dimwitted detectives. Until she heard two female voices, one familiar than the other, you open the door to let the chatter come in the room. It was definitely y/n’s voice but who was that other one? Lin stood away from the door not wanting to just watch out the spectacle. Lin just heard mumbling but clearly this girl is laughing at y/n jokes or commentary. Lin stand over and watch from inside your office and watch how the two of you exchanging words and smiles. Those smiles you know so well, though y/n sort of looks uncomfortable and looks like she ate a sour grape. Maybe it’s the coffee, you start to think you’re about to turn back to your desk until you see the girl put her hand on y/n’s arm as she leans in and whispers to in her ear. Lin notice that y/n looks over at her direction before looking away and Lin eyes narrow as you cross your arms. What the flameo FUCK is going on here?! Her ears start to redden in sudden anger thankfully her hair covered it, Lin looked at y/n as she looks down at her cup of coffee she hasn’t looked at the girl’s hand on her arm, but she looks up and glances back at Lin. Your eyes briefly meet, and Lin looks away then look back at the scene as Lin notice the girl takes her hand away and your breath comes back. That is until you see the girl grab y/n’s hand and tugs her along, you hoped y/n would pull away, but you just watch her chug her coffee like it was a shot of liquor before tossing the cup in the trash and giving you a final glance before she disappear around the corner. You take a couple of steps forward seemingly to go after y/n. A sudden blush creeps up on your cheeks, a vein popping out your neck and your fists balling up. The officers looking at you and you instead put your anger out at them “what are you all standing around for?! This isn’t a daycare. Go out there and make some god damn arrests!” she barked out before she walked back in her office and slammed the door with her cables.

*

You felt terrible inside as you replayed that whole scene in your head. After Rei got you the coffee she even made it how you liked it, she learned from watching you prepare your coffee over the past couple months, you didn’t know if that was cute, sad, or weird. You thanked Rei for her kindness and dismissed yourself back to your office where you’re sitting behind your desk thinking things over.

That was wrong. You shouldn’t have allowed Rei do that. You should have brushed her advances and you should have pulled your hand away. But she doesn’t know about you and Lin, so she wasn’t at fault. This is all you. But you and Lin have nothing. Why are you feeling bad, she told you to stop trying. Besides how is the coffee, tastes pretty great when it’s fresh and it’s made just how you like it. Rei is pretty cute fire nation girl too.

You groan as your rub your eyes trying to get rid of your thoughts. You feel misaligned since last night, you don’t feel your carefree self. You don’t remember when the last time was you worked out or mediated. That’s what I need, a good work out or mediation hour, I’ll do that, maybe after work that should help clear my thoughts and emotions. You shake your head as you finish the rest of your coffee battling the heat and let the burn keep you away. The burn in your tongue stung and helped your thoughts and focus on the rest of your plan on the stakeout.

*

While still in your office you unbutton your uniform jacket and hand it in the small closet. You grab a t-shirt pulling it over you then grab your coat and hat as you head out of your office locking behind you as head out the station walking past Lin’s door as you go downstairs. You take an unmarked car, you and drive over to a disclosed location where you walk down the alley slowly and carefully watching over your back and all corners. You hear a soft whistle which you turn your attention to and see a figure hiding behind a dumpster. You step cautiously closer to them until you hear your secret name “Nix?” you relax a bit “Skoochy?” you call back softly and see the boy step out. “long time no see, where’s Mako?” Skoochy perks up as he sits on the garbage bin “he’s out on vacation. Raava knows where at though. How’s the streets?” you smirk as you lean against the wall. “exciting as always” he beamed. This little boy always pickpocketed, Skoochy is an orphan and vowed to never go back once he escaped his second orphanage. He is acquainted with Mako and Bolin during their days as street urchins, you met him while on your case against the Red Monsoon. Apparently there has been some turf wars going on between the Triple Threats and them so Skoochy had some information on it. You look over at him and sort of pity the boy, but you admire his cleverness and wit, “so, I’ve been hearing there might be a way to get some of them spark gloves. You got any idea where I can get my hands on it?” you raise your eyebrows at him "My memory's a little 'foggy'. Maybe you can help 'clear it up'." He pretends to yawn and reached his palm up to you giving you a smirk. You laugh and put your hand in your pocket and takeout a small bag “Your memory better be clear. I’ll double it if it’s crystal” you eye him as you give him the bag. He uses his hand as a scale to weigh the bag and then opens and sees solid gold pieces of yuans then closes it back up. “You didn’t hear it from me, but the Triple Threats are planning to move their inventory out the city Friday night, during the pro-bending match. Since majority of the city will have eyes on the event that gives them the opening to do the move.” You hear Skoochy give you the information as you look around the alley making sure no one else is listening or anyone looking suspicious. “what time specifically, they got any weapons I should know?” you ask quietly “I’m not sure. My memory is getting foggy again” he quips, and you roll your eyes and smirk as you pull out some bills and hand it to him. “10 pm, just the usual weapons as always, though they might use the gloves, some non-benders joined.”

“oh well how about that, sounds nice” you deadpanned at him “alright I gotta go, before anyone comes looking for me” Skoochy jumps off you put a hand on his shoulder to stop him and hand him a small stack of bills “thanks for your crystal memory, kid” he smirked and tipped his hat “pleasure doing business, Nix” he ran off and you walk back to the car hiding your smirk as you finally got confirmation and a plan stirs in your head as you start the car and leave the place. You check the time-9pm- and decide to head on home instead of going back to the station.

*

Lin groans as she looks up rubbing her neck rolling her shoulders, she’s been locked in her office all afternoon. She looks up at the clock and notices it’s 11pm, her stomach rumbles, “shit, did I not eat today?” of course she didn’t she lost her appetite after watching that little show earlier. She got up and called it a night heading out to her car and went to her place. She didn’t understand why she was mad in the first place. She thought it was funny as she watched that girl make a fool of herself, but once she put her hand on y/n and then took her hand and y/n didn’t step back or pushed away her advances, it made her blood boil. Why didn’t you back away y/n?! Then there were those glances y/n gave you in between the conversation. Was she trying to get a reaction from me, make me jealous? Is that what this is, jealousy? You scoff at the thought and let out a laugh as you pull up to your apartment. You head inside and lock the door behind you as you bend your armor off and head to the kitchen to grab some cold leftovers from the icebox and a beer. She took a couple of bite of food before she lost her appetite again and just kept drinking beer. Her eyes glanced over at the front door, a small part of her hoped you would come through the door or that she would wake up and realize this was all a bad dream. She pinched herself and sighed when it was proved real and rubbed her face, “I’m not weak. I will not let y/n have power over me. I’m Lin Beifong. I’m a fucking Beifong!” she yells out as she slams her fists on the kitchen table. She grudgingly goes to bed and dreadfully goes to sleep. “y/n…” Lin muttered in her sleep she turned onto her side as she clutched onto a pillow. Her heart aching for what her mind wouldn’t allow her to realize what she really wants is… you.

[fandomfanfics12]

For Blue, Blue Skies-Part 4

Title: For Blue, Blue Skies Pairings: Steve x tony Part: 4/5 Warnings: swearing, bullying, abuse (physical and verbal), blood, angst, fluff. Summary: Steve was sure he’d aced his latest test in his forensics class but as it turns out, Professor Fury failed almost everyone. In order to get extra credit Steve and his friends join a program that Fury called The Avengers to deal with a bullying problem at the nearby high school. Hidden behind the glitz and glamour of his father’s money, most people can’t see that Tony Stark’s life is a nightmare. All Tony wants is to get out of this hellish school as quickly as possible and get as far away from his abusive father as soon as possible. A/N: This took me like a thousand times to get write but i am finally happy with the result! Hope you enjoy!

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Steve’s eyes widened and his stomach churned as the old man charged for him, his fist connecting with Steve’s face. It was the shock Steve needed to get his ass into gear as he stumbled back, pain radiated from his left cheek.

“Get out of here! Go!” Tony’s voice was raw, hoard and Steve inhaled sharply. He wasn’t going anywhere, not now, not seeing Tony like this. his cheek was throbbing but Steve couldn’t think about it right now, he had to figure out a plan and fast.

“I’m not going to fight an old man.” Steve growled, but that only antagonised the old guy even more. His eyes wild with rage and Steve’s mind racing for an answer, a solution.

“Old?” he snarled and moved to throw another punch, but Steve caught it, his nose scrunched up and lip curled as revulsion rolled through him.

“Don’t fucking touch me.” Steve snarled and risked a glance at Tony. His guard dropped as he took the younger boy in, face swollen and bloody, back covered in welts and he was gasping for breath. It felt like the whole world had slowed down as Steve glanced to Tony, crying and begging for Steve to get out of there.

“Go.” he whispered just as the old man landed a blow to Steve’s stomach and Steve doubled over, the wind knocked out of him.

“Get the fuck out of my house!” the man roared but Steve shook his head, shoving the man aside and began to make his way over to Tony. Tony began to shake his head, his eyes were wide and skin awfully pale, but Steve wouldn’t leave him here. Not like this. and then something sharp and hard came down on Steve’s back, a crack sounded in the air which was followed by Steve’s cry as he fell to the cold hard floor.

-

Tony’s eyes widened as he saw Howard’s belt come down on Steve’s back, his father was so consumed by rage that he had whipped a stranger. But not just any stranger, Steve. Tony was aware that they were screwed now, there would be no containing Howard, he’d gone too far.

“Steve go!” Tony pleaded, why wouldn’t he just listen to Tony? Why was it so impossible for him to just leave, let Tony take this rage like he had done on so many other nights. Instead Steve clambered up to his feet, body flinching from the agony that definitely wracked through his body at the action.

“What are you going to do now?” Howard demanded and Tony’s eyes zeroed in on Steve’s hands which had curled themselves into fists.

“Nothin.” Steve shook his head, uncurling those fists and turning back to Tony. He took a step forward and Tony inhaled sharply as his father moved to follow. But then Steve spun, first connected with Howard’s face and Howard’s body crashed against the floor. Tony winced but the man wasn’t unconscious, though he was struggling to get back up onto his feet. But Tony didn’t get to study his father for long before Steve scooped his body up off of the floor and carried Tony outside bridal style, the cold air bit at Tony’s skin.

“It’s going to be alright Tony, I’ve got you now.” Steve whispered and Tony nodded, though he didn’t feel any better.

“Why did you come back? Tony whispered, though it came out more like a sob and Steve’s grip tightened on his body, pulling him in closer. The warmth from Steve’s chest spreading to his body, Tony could feel Steve’s racing heart on the side of his face.

“I was coming back for my jacket.” His voice was tight, strained and Tony inhaled sharply. Oh. Of course, he’d just come back for the jacket. Tony hated the stab of disappointment that filled up his entire being and he suddenly wished he could disappear. Why did he care so much about Steve? It was clear that Steve didn’t even like Tony, why would he have come back just for Tony? Tony was overcome with feelings of stupidity and wished his back wasn’t in so much pain that he was incapable of walking. Wished he could fly out of Steve’s arms and hide away for the rest of eternity. Wished that he didn’t find so much comfort and safety whilst he was being held up in Steve’s arms, wished he didn’t find those blue eyes so damn gorgeous. Wished that it wasn’t near freezing so Tony didn’t have to snuggle into Steve’s chest so he would die from hypothermia.

But alas, life could be a bitch sometimes.

-

While Steve had know that Tony was skinny, he still hadn’t expected him to be so light. Insanely light, he practically weighed nothing. And Steve was grateful that Bucky had pushed him so hard at the gym so that this task wouldn’t seem so damn difficult. His back ached with each and every step Steve took his mind racing a million miles a minute. It was no surprise really, if that was the house that Tony had grown up in, he probably didn’t get to eat very much. Steve glanced back over his shoulder, fear and paranoia mixed and moulded together in his gut, putting Steve on edge.

“You alright?” Tony mumbled into his chest, his body shivering. Tony snuggled in deeper and once again Steve tightened his grip, not wanting to let go.

“Feeling kind of tired.” Tony mumbled and Steve nodded, stomach churning.

“You’ve got to stay awake alright, don’t fall asleep on me.”

“What do you want me to do?” Tony asked and Steve bit his lip, glancing down at Tony’s big and brown and warm eyes.

“Talk to me.” He raised a brow and nodded.

“What about?” Steve hadn’t actually thought that far ahead, and he was growing tired.

“Anything, tell me what your favourite colour is.”

“Red.” Tony said without hesitation and Steve chuckled.

“fair enough, hospital’s left here right?” Steve asked and Tony’s body stiffened in his arms.

“we can’t go to the hospital.” Tony told him and Steve rose a brow. What?

“Why the hell not?” he’d been walking around all afternoon and he could feel the blisters that had formed on the back of his feet.

“my dad has contacts there.” Tony mumbled, looking scared suddenly and Steve relaxed his face, letting his jaw go slack and erasing any momentary frustration.

“Alright then, I’ll take you back to my place.” Steve said and changed directions and Tony relaxed once more.

-

“Do you want to take a break?” Tony asked after another ten minutes. Steve nodded but then shook his hand.

“We’ve gotta get you stitched up.” Steve murmured but Tony shrugged, starting to pull out of Steve’s arms.

“Two minutes isn’t going to make much of a difference.” So they sat down on a bus bench, both of them slumping together.

“Thank you, for saving me.” Tony whispered, his voice sounded so raspy and broken.

“I wasn’t going to leave you there.” Steve whispered back and Tony squeezed his eyes shut, trying to even out his breathing. No one had ever cared before, no one had ever been there before.

“What’s your favourite colour?” Tony asked, resting his head on Steve’s shoulder. Steve’s own head came to rest atop of Tony’s and they snuggled together for warmth.

“red or blue, maybe black. I can’t decide.” He admitted and Tony’s lips formed a faint smile.

“Do you think I really am so awful?” Tony whispered, terrified of Steve’s answer.

-

Steve inhaled sharply, his heart breaking for the fractured boy beside him. Steve’s hand moved out without his brain’s permission and took hold of Tony’s.

“No. I was worried at first, but you’re not a bad person Tony.” He nodded and Steve half expected him to let go, but he held on, as if his life depended on it.

“thank you.” he whispered and Steve squeezed his hand.

“How long was that going on for?” Steve whispered into Tony’s hair, squeezing his eyes shut as he waited for the answer.

“couple years.” Tony admitted and Steve inhaled sharply. Shit.

“I’m so sorry Tony.” But Tony just shook his head and pulled back, still holding onto Steve’s hand.

“don’t be, you’ve done more for me tonight than anyone had in my whole entire life.” And that might be the most devastating thing that Steve had ever heard. There was no way that his small and simplistic acts today had been the nicest thing that anyone had ever done for Tony. But the sincerity in Tony’s voice made Steve believe it. and to think that only a few hours ago Steve had thought Tony was a spoiled rich brat who didn’t give a damn about anything. About anyone.

“I’m sorry that I judged you so harshly when I first met you.” Those big soft brown eyes met Steve’s blue ones, how could anyone hurt Tony?

“We should get going before we get frostbite.” Tony said and Steve nodded, letting go of Tony’s hand so he could pick up his body and carry him.

“I can try and walk.” Tony whispered and Steve snorted.

“you’re funny.” He grumbled and besides, it wouldn’t be long before he made it back to the apartment. Tony just had to hold on for a little while longer. He could feel Tony’s body going slack in his arms and Steve’s heart began to race.

“Hey, stay with me.” Steve murmured and Tony’s eyes opened, he nodded once.

“Okay.” Steve could see his apartment building now, relief flooded his veins. Thank god. When Steve stepped inside of the lobby, it was mercifully warm and empty. They both groaned at the sudden heat and Steve made his way over to the elevator.

“I can stand.” Tony mumbled and Steve nodded, putting Tony down but wrapping his arm around Tony so he wouldn’t fall. The elevator doors opened as soon as Steve hit the button and they stepped inside, soon Steve could collapse down into his terrible couch.

“almost there.” Steve whispered and Tony nodded. The doors opened and together they stepped out into the empty hall, it was then that Steve realised his keys were in the jacket that was still all the way back at Tony’s house. Fuck. Praying that Bucky and Nat were home, Steve kicked the door with his foot. He banged a couple times then waited.

“About time!” Bucky swung open the door and then rose a brow when he saw them.

“Bucky?” Nat asked from behind.

“what the hell happened?” his eyes kept wildly looking back and forth between Steve and Tony, as if the answer could be found there.

“I promise that I’ll explain all of this later.” Steve said as he stormed passed, marching Tony all the way back to his room and onto the bed.

-

The world was spinning and tilting and then Tony was aware that he was laying down on a bed. And the scent that filled his nose was so purely Steve that it made him dizzy.

“Slow down.” Tony whispered, but his voice was lost in a sea of shouting. Bucky and Nat were arguing with Steve, Tony couldn’t decipher what the fuss was all about, his head was just pounding. But then he was rolled onto his stomach, his thin shirt lifted and an ointment was being rubbed into the welts of his back. Tony arched his back and let out a scream as the sting radiated throughout him. The roars ripped out of his throat and his body writhed on the bed, hands clawed at the sheets in an attempt to escape.

“Stop!” he cried, curling into the mattress but the hands didn’t stop, more just joined to pin him down to the bed.

“It hurts, stop!” he sobbed, his face was now wet with tears as they streamed down his cheeks.

‘I know Tony, just breathe through it alright.” Steve’s soothing voice murmured and Tony began to grind his teeth together.

“This looks bad Steve, shouldn’t we call for an ambulance?” Bucky asked but the hands never faltered, never stopped.

“No, we can’t go to the hospital.” Steve said and Tony sobbed. Soon the hands pulled back, slipping off of him as if they’d never been there at all.

“Bucky and I will go get some pain killers from the pharmacy.” Natasha said before the sound of footsteps exited the room.

“Tony?” Steve asked softly and Tony slowly eased himself up until he was sitting. He cracked his eyes open to take in Steve’s warm and comforting face. But amongst all that warmth and comfort was fear.

“I’m so sorry.” Tony whispered as the realisation dawned upon him that he had brought Steve into his nightmarish mess.

“Hey, this is not your fault.” Steve said and Tony nodded, but it really was his fault. Steve took hold of Tony’s hand again and Tony’s heart fluttered in his chest. Steve moved so he was propped up against the headboard and then pulled Tony down so his head rested on Steve’s chest. Tony squeezed his eyes shut, inhaling deeply and was met with just the smell of Steve. And then Tony was crying, because his life had officially turned to shit.

-

At first all Tony did was cry, and then he would apologise. It was an hour before Natasha and Bucky came back, she handed Tony two tablets and a glass of water.

“I got the strongest ones I could, they’re going to make you drowsy though.” Tony had just nodded, taken the tablets and then Nat had slipped out of the room, not daring to utter another word. Steve’s back still throbbed and ached but he didn’t let out even the smallest whisper of complaints. Not after he’d gotten a proper look at Tony’s wounds, not when he knew Tony had suffered through Steve’s pain a thousand times over. it had killed a part of Steve, to rub the antiseptic ointment in while Tony had screamed. But Bucky had said words of encouragement and Steve had known he had to keep going.

“thank you, for taking care of me.” Tony mumbled, the words melding into one another.

“Of course.” Steve whispered, only starting to become aware of how much Tony would mean to him.

“do you feel any better?” Steve asked and Tony nodded at that.

“Yeah, the pain meds must be starting to kick in.” Steve relaxed. Good. He thought to himself as he studied Tony’s face. Tony’s eyes were closed, he looked so peaceful for once. Not a trace of the chaotic energy he seemed to have always carried with him.

“Good, I’m glad.” Steve admitted. Steve stayed perfectly still as a comfortable silence filled the room, and Steve just held Tony gently in his arms whilst Tony hung on for dear life.

“Please don’t leave me.” Tony whispered into the dimly lit room and Steve squeezed his eyes shut. as if he could ever go anywhere now. as if Steve could ever let go of Tony Stark.

“I’m not going anywhere Tony.” Steve promised as Tony’s body went limp in his arms. The other boy began to snore ever so softly and Steve’s whole body relaxed with each little exhale.

-

When Tony woke up, he was still being held in Steve’s arms. He was safe and his back actually felt better. Still painful but at least it was bearable now. sunlight was streaming in through the windows of Steve’s bedroom, revealing just how simple Steve’s room was. Steve’s jaw was slack and open, his head tilted to the side. His body was still propped up against the headboard, leaning rather than laying and a wave of guilt washed through Tony. What had he done to deserve Steve’s help? How would he ever repay Steve for this? Tony was aware that he literally owed Steve his life, and he had no idea as to how he would repay that debt.

“You’re staring.” The words barely passed through Steve’s lips but Tony’s entire body tensed up.

“sorry.” He mumbled and Steve chuckled, his whole body moved with the little laugh.

“good morning.” Steve mumbled and Tony couldn’t stop the small smile that formed on his lips.

“Good morning.” He’d woken up in Steve’s bed, in Steve’s arms. And for half a moment, Tony let himself consider what life would be like if he and Steve were together. What life would be like if he could do this every day. But he didn’t let the thought go much further, thoughts like that would only break his heart.

“feeling better?” Tony nodded, not wanting to move from the warmth of Steve and his bed but knowing he would have to soon.

“Yes I am actually, thank you.” Steve nodded and then he started to sit up. Tony backed away but Steve’s hand reached out, fingers grabbing onto Tony’s.

“good.” Steve’s blue eyes met Tony’s and he inhaled sharply.

“and you?” Tony asked and the corner of Steve’s mouth twitched upwards.

“Good.” He said and Tony nodded, not daring break the eye contact. They really were the prettiest blue eyes that Tony had ever seen in his entire life, they were unbelievably blue. His brain short circuiting by the fact that his skin was touching Steve, they were holding hands.

“Good.” Tony echoed, his mind racing with a thousand other things he could say, but unsure of what was the right thing to say first.

“Are you hungry?” Steve asked and Tony’s stomach growled in answer. At that, Steve tipped his head back and let out a laugh.

“No?” Tony said and Steve raised a brow, amusement lit up his eyes and it tugged at Tony’s heartstrings. Why was Steve so nice?

“your stomach says otherwise. I’ll make you some soup.” Tony shook his head in protest, his heart pounded at the mere thought.

“it’s fine Steve, save your own food for you.” Steve just rolled his eyes and pulled away, exiting the room and leaving Tony alone.

-

Steve heated up the chicken and vegetable soup and put some bread in the toaster. His mother had always made him this whenever he was sick, but did Tony’s injury equal sick? Was Steve trying too hard? All he’d known when he woke up was that he could feel Tony watching him and that he hadn’t wanted to ever let go of Tony’s body. Had wanted to stay in bed, with Tony in his arms for the rest of his life. And that was only mildly terrifying since Steve barely even knew Tony. But maybe going through what they had done last night had changed something. Had brought them together. As soon as the bread had turned into toast, Steve put on heaps of butter and cut it up into thin strips. He put the soup in a bowl and set it down on the counter.

“Tony?” he murmured, entering his room and finding Tony surveying his back in Steve’s mirror.

“it looks better.” He mumbled, blushing slightly and Steve nodded, his stomach twisted into knots.

“yeah it does. Your soup is ready.” Tony nodded and followed Steve to the kitchen. Steve sat him down on the couch, grabbed some fluffy blankets and wrapped Tony up into them. He then handed Tony his soup and Tony just stared at it.

“Who knew you were such a mother hen?” Tony asked, a smirk was splayed on his lips and Steve just rolled his eyes.

“just eat your soup.” Steve grumbled and Tony laughed, it put Steve’s mind at ease just hearing the sound. He’s okay now. Steve told himself and was startled by how much comfort that brought him. He was most definitely in some deep shit then, if he was so worried about Tony’s wellbeing.

“No one’s ever done anything like this for me before.” Tony admitted as Steve sat down on the couch next to him, turning on the tv. Steve looked over and studied Tony as he ate his soup, his heart breaking at the thought. He had to get Tony out of that house, away from that bastard of a father. Steve would protect Tony, no matter the cost.

[kpopficsincorporated]

NK (New Kid)

Pairings: Bang Chan x reader, Jimin x reader

Genre: Fluff, Angst Romance

Words: 2217

- 

a/n: wow, I haven’t posted in, like, a million years. I hope you like this update.

-Admin Sam

-

Prologue, Ch. 1, Ch. 2, Ch. 3, Ch. 4, Ch. 5, Ch. 6

-

Warnings: not sure if this qualifies, but, there is mention of anxiety and panic attacks in this chapter. There was a small mention in the last chapter and I should have posted a warning there as well. I also need to state that everyone who suffers from anxiety and panic attacks have different experiences. Each person’s experience is their own. I used myself as a reference. I suffer from emotional outbursts that leave me numb afterwards, and then I am emotionally exhausted, but it’s better than the overwhelming panic I feel. This is from personal experience, and yes, I am receiving medical help for it.

I don't claim to know everything about them, but I know myself, if that makes sense. If this kind of thing bothers you, please don’t read this. 

- 

Chapter 5

You woke up to your phone ringing for the billionth time. You could have sworn you turned on ‘do not disturb’ earlier before you passed out, which meant that whoever was calling had been calling multiple times. You reached under your pillow, sliding to answer.

“Hello?” You laid the phone on top of your face, snuggling into your blanket once more.

“Y/N! I’VE BEEN TRYING TO CALL YOU ALL DAY!” It was Chan. And he sounded frantic. You opened your eyes, checking the time on your phone and noticed that it was only about 3 in the evening. You also noticed the missed calls and piles of text messages and social media notifications.

You placed the phone back to your ear, sitting up. “What’s wrong?” You were worried. Chan had never shouted at you before, and with all those missed notifications, you were feeling your anxiety rising, causing you to tremble.

“I’m coming to pick you up. I want you to put on a hoodie; grab a cap and face mask, too, and meet me at the spot. Shit, actually, stay in your room, I will come and get you, okay?”

“What? Chan, what the heck is going on?” you asked, but you followed the instructions, putting him on speaker phone and quickly getting dressed. Chan never came to your dorm, and the fact that he was, scared you.

“I’ll explain when I see you. Just stay on the line. I’m almost there, okay?” You felt like you wanted to cry, because Chan sounded frantic and you really didn’t know what was going on.

“Chan,” you whimpered, wiping a tear that fell down.

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay, Y/N. I promise. I just don’t want to tell you anything over the phone. I’m almost at your door.” You threw open your door, looking down the hall and finding Chan. He was dressed in all black, his hood up and mask on his face. He had a couple bodyguards with him, too. Now you were really scared.

“Why do you have bodyguards?” you asked as he came into your room and shut your door. The bodyguards stayed posted outside, and you could feel your heart racing.

“Come on, pack a bag. You’re gonna stay with me for a few days,” he said, rushing past you and grabbing your duffel bags. He started throwing your clothes and underwear into the bags haphazardly, rushing around. “Grab your phone charger, get your school stuff. Come on Y/N, we need to hurry.”

You were so confused. You didn’t know what was happening. Why did you need to stay with him for a few days? Why was he running around your room franticly? Why were there bodyguards outside? Your heart was racing and you felt like you couldn’t breathe. There were tears clouding your eyes and you stumbled a bit into your desk chair.

“Chan, what’s going on?” you asked. He stopped when he saw the beginnings of a panic attack.

“Hey, hey,” he muttered softly, enveloping you in a hug. “Breathe. I promise I’ll tell you, but I need you to breathe first.” You nodded, clinging tight to Chan. You breathed in the scent he carried around himself – a mix of his cologne and his bodywash and shampoo. Just as you had calmed down, there was a knock at the door, signaling for you to hurry.

“Okay, I’m going to give you the simple version, and I need you to stay calm , okay? Just stop me if you need a second,” you nodded in understanding, wanting him to hurry and tell you what the heck was going on.

“Okay, so short version is, when you were leaving BigHit and Jungkook was carrying you out, someone was hiding and took a picture, but they also followed you to the college. And before you ask, no they did not capture your face. They don’t know what you look like, they just know that you go to college here. So, until this dies down, you’re going to come stay with me.”

You didn’t know what to say. You should have been more careful, even if you think you’re safe, you should always be careful.

“Do they know that I’m NK?”

“No, but there are people who are taking guesses. Some say it’s you and some say it’s just a random girl who is in college. Bang PD is taking action against the pictures, and JYP is trying to take action silently. If people knew that JYP was taking action, it would just lead to further rumors and questions, so he’s trying to be quiet about it.” Chan grabbed your mask and put it on your face for you. He pulled a cap onto your head and pulled the hood up over it. “I know you need more time to process, but we gotta go. There are a lot of people waiting at the gates. We’re gonna go the back way and Mimi will pick us up there.”

“This is too much, Chan,” you muttered as you grabbed your backpack, double checking to make sure you had everything.

“I know, I’m sorry.”

“No need to be sorry, bub. You didn’t do anything,” you ran your hand through his hair, petting his head for a second, before grabbing a duffel bag and putting your hand in his. “Let’s go.”

-

Luckily, there was no struggle getting to Mimi, and you were quickly on your way to Chan’s dorm. You handed your phone to him and asked him to check your notifications. You were too scared to even look at them.

“Okay, so you need to call Jungkook today sometime. He’s blown up your phone with worry. I already told him I picked you up, so it’s calmed down a little, but you still need to call him. Jackson is at my dorm waiting for you, so you don’t have to call him. JYP is also at the dorm. He wants to talk with you about everything-“

“Am I in trouble?” you asked, laying your head on Chan’s shoulder and wrapping your arms around his one arm. He maneuvered you, placing your legs on his lap and his arm around your shoulder to where you were cuddled to his side and hugging his body instead of his arm. He was trying his best to comfort you.

“I don’t think so, no. I think JYP is going to tell you that you should have been more careful, but I don’t think you’re in trouble.” He answered honestly. This was another thing you loved about Chan. He comforted you, but he never lied to you and tried to make things seem better than they were. He was optimistic when he needed to be, never pessimistic, but just honest. It was refreshing.

“I was just so tired, Chan. I wasn’t paying attention.” You started tearing up again. With the fact that you were on the verge of a panic attack in the dorm, you knew that just being hugged and comforted wouldn’t help. You needed the outburst of the emotion welling up inside so that the panic would fade away.

“Go ahead, you can cry, Y/N.” Chan held you as you let the dam break and by the time you arrived to the dorms, you were feeling much better. You didn’t feel happy. You felt slightly numb, but you knew that the numbness would pass after a while. The numbness was better than the overwhelming emotion that had built up; the emotional exhaustion was better.

After the bodyguards were sure that you weren’t followed or being watched, Chan helped you carry your bags up to the dorm. You were so lost in your head and numb to your surroundings that you didn’t even notice that you were in the dorm. You didn’t notice that you were being hugged by someone until Jackson whispered in your ear that it was going to be okay.

“Y/n,” someone called your name from the living room.

“Hello,” you greeted JYP robotically with a small bow. He gave you a sympathetic smile, understanding.

“Have you started seeing that doctor I told you about,” he asked as he stood, giving you a look that made you feel like you’d done something wrong.

“No, sir, I haven’t yet. I forgot to even look into it. I’m sorry,” you bowed again.

“It’s fine, Y/N. I’ll get you an appointment set up.”

“But-“

“You had your chance to set the appointment yourself. You waited too long and I know it’s getting worse,” he said with that ‘You know I’m right, so don’t argue’ look on his face.

“Yes, sir,” you bow again. He sighs heavily, motioning for you to sit on the couch.

“I need you to tell me what happened.”

You explain what happened, keeping your eyes focused on the coffee table in front of you, not looking up once.

“We had been working on the song until, like, 5 something. I was so tired and I hadn’t been getting much sleep lately. So I went into my ‘shut down, bed now’ mode and I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. Jungkook helped me down to the van – I had almost fallen over completely in the elevator. He offered to carry me, and if it weren’t for that, I would have fallen asleep in the elevator and would have been dead to the world for a few hours. When I made it to the van, I went to sleep on the floor of it, and that was it. Mimi dropped me off at the campus, I went to my room and went straight to sleep. I’m so sorry for not paying attention,” you sighed, closing your eyes, and trying not to cry in front of the boss man.

“You’re not in trouble, but, because of this, I would like to move you to a private dorm that isn’t on campus. You’re already one of my artists, you have a manager who can drive you to the campus when you need to be there. You already spend most of your time either here or at the company. It won’t be much of a difference for you, except you’ll be safer. You’ll be a couple of floors away from Chan if you need any help. I think this would be the best course of action for now.”

You had a feeling that he would say this. When you had first signed the contract, he tried to convince you to move to a private dorm, but you were already paying to stay on campus. It would be a waste of money if you moved.

As you opened your mouth to argue, he held his hand up. “I’m not asking. I’ve already taken care of everything. Your new dorm will be ready in a week. You’ll be spending this week going to classes and packing everything up. Mimi will be with you at all times except during your classes. I’m also assigning you an extra manager, but she’ll be more of a guard than an actual manager. Mimi might be fierce, but she isn’t fierce enough that extra backup wouldn’t be helpful.”

You opened your mouth to argue again, but he kept going. “You don’t have to pay for anything. It will be taken care of, Y/N. I would also prefer if you stayed with Jackson until your room is ready, but I know you’ll be here with Chan, anyway.” At that, he gave you a knowing look.

You crossed your arms over your chest and pouted, a blush marking your face at what was being insinuated. “Where are the rest of the boys?” you asked.

JYP gave you an infuriating smile – a smile you wanted to wipe off of his face but knew it would be extremely rude to do so. He knew he won by the change in topic, but he only won because you didn’t get a chance to say anything earlier. Despite everything, you were happy that he was trying to make sure you were safe. Having a bodyguard posted outside your door on campus would be like a huge blinking sign that said, “THIS IS NK, SHE LIVES HERE IN THIS ROOM.” You understood why he was making you move and understood why you were getting an extra manager; you respected his decision. He was only trying to help. Plus, he was paying your bills right now anyway.

“They’re at practice,” Chan answered from his seat at the kitchen table. You sat up so quickly, you felt slightly dizzy.

“Did I make you miss practice?” you asked, worried. Chan deserved better than a friend who was a constant distraction.

“No, JYP did,” he answered, smiling at his boss.

“Chan is going back to practice in an hour,” JYP rolled his eyes with affection, smiling kindly. “Jackson is going to stay with you for now. I should get back to the company and see if we can get things sorted with all of those reporters posted outside the university.”

He stood to leave, everyone standing as well to walk him out the door. He told you he’d keep in touch and keep you updated on the details and you were grateful.

It had been such a long day already and you were ready to go back to sleep.

[wienerbarnes]

Whatever It Takes (5/6)

Pairing: Bucky x Doctor!Reader

Word Count: 2,362

Prompt: Doctor AU

Warnings: nothing! fluffy stuff!

A/N: sorry this is late again! tee hee hopefully ill be forgiven w this chapter! i was proofreading and i honestly think this is my fav chapter :) anyways enjoy! last chapter next friday!

SERIES MASTERLIST

“Where have you been for the past two days?”

You’re greeted by Dr. Abraham and Dr. Jordan as you return to the hospital later in the afternoon. Walking into your office felt like returning home after a long trip, which, is essentially what you did. You’ve never been so exhausted in your life, you never even bothered to put your heels back on, shoes hanging from the tips of your middle and ring fingers and blazer hanging around your shoulders.

“Whatever happened to our race car driver?” You ignore Dr. Abraham’s question and plop yourself down behind your desk, a deep exhale exiting your lips as you almost drool at the thought of your bed.

“She had heatstroke, like I said. She was released this morning. Did you have fun on your vacation?” Dr. Jordan sarcastically asks.

“I was actually-“

“Don’t say you were with the Avengers.” Abraham cuts you off.

“Okay, okay. I was actually in Midtown helping some rich jerk treat his son’s sniffles. The lookalike that came was one of their security beef-heads who likes the Avengers a little too much, you happy?” You retrieve your bag from the drawer in your desk that you had left behind two days ago.

Bucky escorted both you and Dr. Curtis out of the Avengers Tower, ordering a separate private car to take Dr. Curtis to the airport while he drove you back to Brooklyn himself. The car ride was nothing too special, simple flirts and teases sent back and forth amongst one another over the light radio music. You even almost came close to holding his hand. That was a couple of hours ago.

“We have a new case actually-“ Jordan begins but you wave your hand with furrowed eyebrows.

“No, no, no.” You refuse, “We’ll start this again tomorrow.” You begin to gather you bag and tug your blazer over your shoulders again, feet still bare.

“But it’s only three P.M.-“ Jordan tries to stop you but you gather your bag and shoes once more and walk towards the door anyway.

“Goodnight!” You call out as you walk out of your office, the deep sighs of your employees fading as you get farther and farther away from your office.

The walk to the elevator feels as though it takes forever, and the elevator ride itself feels as though it takes longer. Finally walking through the lobby of the hospital, you’re extremely excited for the l-o-n-g night of sleep you’re going to get when you get to your apartment. As you near the main doors, you see a figure dressed in all black sitting on one of the benches outside the doors. As your steps slow and you get closer to the door, what you suppose is a man lifts his head to look at you and they quickly stand.

“They let you out of the ice box early?” You greet Bucky as you open the door and walk outside.

“Very funny. I’m here to take you up on your offer.” Bucky says, stepping closer to meet you halfway on the sidewalk.

“You want to quit the Avengers to work for me as my personal assistant at a shitty hospital in Brooklyn?” You ask to confirm.

“No,” Bucky chuckles, “I actually meant your offer on showing you some ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ is how you put it, I think.” Bucky clarifies, hands lifting up in air quotes.

“Oh! Um, now?” You ask, blush rising on your cheeks.

“No, you goofball, I’m trying to ask you to dinner, I wanna take you out proper.” Bucky spits out, giggles falling from his lips.

Your blush gets impossibly deeper as a shy smile grows on your face. His smile and small dimples and wrinkles around the corners of his eyes are so cute. You struggle to find a response. I mean, of course, you want to go out with him, but it’s been forever since you’ve done anything like this! I mean between going to medical school and shadowing doctors, to having your own practice for a while, to getting a job at the hospital, to working your way up to Department Head, you’ve just lost time for love over the years. What if I’m not good at sex anymore?

“Are you barefoot?” Bucky inquires after taking in your tired appearance.

You huff out a chuckle and cover your face with your one free hand. The hottest guy you’ve ever encountered wants to go out with you and you’re standing here, barefoot, and not even giving him an answer, you’re blowing this!

Bucky grabs your hand from your face and places a gentle kiss on the top of it.

“Here’s what going to happen. I’m going to drive you home like a gentleman, leave you with my number, and whenever you’re hungry, you give me a call. And I’ll be there.” Bucky reassures you.

I’m about to melt, you think. You give an affirmative nod, not being able to form proper thoughts after hearing his gentle voice soothe your nerves about his entire existence, his soft fingers rubbing small circles in your knuckles where he placed a kiss; you don’t even believe to have been so lucky to snag such a nice guy.

The both of you walk back to the car Bucky brought you in, hand in hand. Bucky lets go only to open the door for you and offer his other hand to you as you climb inside. Before he shuts the door, you hold out a hand.

“So, you’re not taking me to show me some interrogation techniques?”

Bucky can’t help but let out a scoff as he playfully pushes you the rest of the way into the car and shuts the door.

…

You wake up about sixteen hours later. Seven the next morning, to be exact. You look around your sun-lit room through your swollen and crusted eyes and realize you’re still wearing the same slacks and shirt you’ve been wearing for three days now. You let out a long sigh before pulling yourself up, muscles stretching and bones cracking the more you move your limbs.

After taking a long, hot, and well-deserved shower, you tip toe your bare feet to your kitchen.

Hmmm… cereal and a container of mushrooms. Bucky did say to give him a call if I was hungry…

“Hello?”

“Hi, I’m trying to get in contact with Aldo the Apache, please?”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand that reference, sweetheart.”

The giggle that comes through the phone makes you smile so big, your cheeks hurt.

“Well, soldier, you told me to give you a call if I was hungry, and my stomach’s a-growling pretty loudly this morning.”

“Be ready in twenty minutes, sugar. I’ll take you for some food and drop you off at work after.”

“Wow, hopefully I’ll have some time to thank you for your generosity in the car.”

There’s silence over the phone and you can almost hear his blush as you catch the tiny hitch in his breathing.

“Ha, ha. I’ll see you soon, gorgeous.”

Your thoughts freeze over at the sound of that last pet name, and you hear the line click to an end. Good Lord, pull yourself together!

As you dress yourself for breakfast and work, your normal black slacks, plain shirt - light blue today, inspiration from a certain someone’s eyes, and heels. The more time that passes while you get ready, the more butterflies flutter around your stomach. It’s as though they’re restless; and every time you looked at the clock, the time only seemed to move slower. You try not to overthink things when the time shows that twenty-one minutes have passed, but those thoughts are quickly silenced at the sound of a gentle knock on your front door.

You gather your bags and head over to the front of your apartment, opening the door for Bucky, only to realize you two are accidentally matching. Light blue t-shirt that’s tight in all the right places, his nipples poking through in just the slightest. A black leather jacket dons his broad shoulders, the discolored creases show that he’s had it for a while. Tight black skinny jeans, you’re afraid the seams will burst around the thickness of his muscled thighs.

“Well, one of us is going to have to change.”

“Too bad I left my heels at home.” You let out a soft chuckle at his tease and push past him to close the door behind you.

“Not even gonna invite me inside, doll?” Bucky teases at you, leaning against the door frame as you lock the door.

“Sorry, the prostitute from last night was still asleep, figured I’d give them some privacy.” You wink at him before leading down the hallway.

Bucky takes you to a bakery cafe, not too far from the hospital. It’s still driving distance, but you wouldn’t mind taking an extra thirty minutes to walk if it meant spending more time with Bucky. He urges you to sit while he orders and you plop down in a small table in the back corner of the cafe. Soon, Bucky returns with two coffees, one smelling of vanilla and the other smelling of cinnamon. He takes a seat and pushes the sweeter smelling one towards you. The cup feels warm around your hands, heat spreading through your hands and arms and soaking your body to the core.

“And what makes you think I take my coffee so sweet?” You ask, teasing him but also craving the sweet, vanilla coffee on your tongue.

“You’re not fooling anyone. Well, maybe you’re fooling some people, but I see right through you; you’re sweeter than sugar and I can only imagine you drink coffee the same way.” Bucky flirts.

“Lucky guess.” You bring the coffee to your lips and, perhaps, the warmth is what makes the blush on your cheeks darker. Perhaps, it’s the way Bucky’s giving you heart eyes across the table. Probably the coffee.

“And cinnamon for you? Would’ve thought you take your coffee black, maybe a hint of whiskey or gasoline in the mix.”

“Very funny. Sugar was a luxury back in my day, and then I was fed out of an IV for seventy years after, so. I’ll have all the sugar and flavor I can get, thank you very much.” You both giggle and it warms your heart to see such an intimidating man, a soldier, have such an uncontrollable sweet tooth.

Bucky appreciates that the atmosphere remained open and carefree. He didn’t mean to be so casual about his past, and normally, throwing out how he was kept from solid foods for seven decades in casual conversation makes him and everyone involved just a bit uncomfortable. But you laughed. And that allowed him to laugh with you.

You and Bucky share your coffees, along with a multitude of donuts and muffins that he insisted on buying, and soon you’re sitting in the car having the saddest car ride of your life. Why are you so sensitive all of a sudden? You feel like a kid whose just left the toy store and now has to return home toy-less. All you want to do is be with Bucky. You want to talk to him, hold his hand, hug him, kiss him, and share all the sweets in the world with him. You’ll never admit it to him, but he makes your heart explode with fireworks, sparks flying from corner to corner.

Bucky pulls into a parking space close to the main doors of the hospital and puts the car in park.

“I, uh, hope you have a good day at work today.” He wishes quietly; you can sense that he doesn’t want you to leave, either.

“Hopefully it’s not too good, all those sick people have so many germs.” You retch.

Bucky smiles and looks up at you to find you staring at him already. You break the eye contact after a few seconds and reach down between your feet to grab you bags, undoing your seatbelt afterwards. You glance at him again to see how you’ll find it in yourself to say goodbye and you notice him looking between your eyes and your lips. Neither of you can resist as you lean into one another and your lips meet.

It’s probably the best kiss ever. For both of you. Both of your lips are soft and somewhat sticky from all of the sugar consumed, tasting of vanilla and cinnamon sweetness that has you both swooning. Bucky wants to kiss you silly everywhere. Your lips, your cheeks, your neck, your chest, your legs, wow, he could kiss you forever. He places both hands on either side of your head to bring you impossibly closer to him and you smaller hands wrap around his forearms to keep him from moving. Bucky’s tongue slowly licks at your lips to coax them open and he slips his tongue between the gap you give him. Soft and wet and slick; your tongues wrestle each other and taste every corner of the other’s mouths. You let out a soft moan and Bucky uses that a cue to pull away, but not before sucking and pulling at your bottom lip, releasing it when he meets your eyes. You bite at your own lips trying to savor the taste of him and you don’t know how you’re going to focus for the rest of the day.

“Text me when you get out later.” Bucky whispers, his breaths brushing against your lips.

“Will do.” You whisper back. You’d probably feed him a sarcastic comment of some sort but you can’t it in you to even think of anything right now.

You regrettably gather your things and exit the vehicle, not without stealing one more kiss from Bucky, though. As you walk towards the main entrance doors, a loud honk makes you jump and you whip your head around to see Bucky chuckling to himself in his car, proud to have made you flinch the way you did. You hold in your own laughs as you exaggeratedly roll your eyes and continue towards the door.

This is going to be a long day.

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